Among the ministers of the Qing Dynasty, there was an old minister who had been a clean and honest official all his life, but there was a family wealth in his family, and he was Zhang Tingyu, the elder of the Three Dynasties.
Shortly after Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he ordered the home of Zhang Tingyu, an old minister, to be raided, and in his home, as much as 360,000 taels of silver were found, but Empress Dowager Huan did not pursue his responsibility, but instead let Zhang Tingyu enter the Qing Taimiao Temple after his death.
Why did Qianlong suddenly raid the home of a three-dynasty elder, and why did Zhang Tingyu, who had been incorruptible all his life, have so many silver taels in his home?
In 1735, after Qianlong succeeded to the throne, one of the things he did was to add a piece to the Law of the Great Qing Dynasty, and once the Qing Officials were found, the amount of greed for money reached more than 1200, regardless of whether the guan was heavy or not, all were beheaded and displayed to the public.
Under Qianlong's vigorous investigation, sure enough, several important courtiers were directly investigated, and Qianlong showed no mercy.
In fact, in the early days of the Qianlong Dynasty, most of the officials in the court were very honest, at that time there was no internal and external troubles, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, the ministers were also happy to enjoy their success, they would not think about greed, generally their family property would not exceed 10,000 taels, but there was a Qing official who was an exception, he was Zhang Tingyu, a loyal minister of the third generation of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1750, Qianlong ordered the old minister's home to be copied, and this raid found that this lifelong incorruptible minister actually had as much as 360,000 silver in his home, which was a huge number at the time.
However, in the investigation after Qianlong, it was found that the source of this money was really Obtained by Zhang Tingyu.
Why did Qianlong suddenly raid the home of Zhang Tingyu, an old minister of the Three Dynasties?
Zhang Tingyu was an important minister who experienced the rule of the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, and he was also a down-to-earth Han. It should be known that in the environment of the Manchus in the Qing Dynasty, it is not easy for the Han people to reach this position.
Kangxi Dynasty
Zhang Tingyu is a native of Tongcheng, Anhui Province, born in The Xiangmendi, a family of officials and eunuchs, and his father, Zhang Ying, a scholar of the Kangxi Dynasty University, so he was particularly good at tutoring from an early age. At the age of twenty-nine, Zhang Tingyu was awarded the rank of Jinshi and was ordered hanlin again. At the age of thirty-three, the Kangxi Emperor met him on a fortuitous occasion, and found that this young man looked very talented, spoke and behaved particularly steadily and decently, was very generous, and was very happy, and ordered him to "serve the South Study" ("Zhang Tingyu Annals"), that is, to leave him as his own personal low-level secretary. From the age of thirty-three to forty-five, he served as a secretary to the Kangxi Emperor for twelve years. During these twelve years, because the Kangxi Emperor greatly appreciated him, his rank was reviewed from the Hanlin Academy of Qipin, which is equivalent to today's deputy department-level researcher.
Yongzheng Dynasty
During the Yongzheng Dynasty, Zhang Tingyu's official position was high.
When Kangxi died and Yongzheng ascended the throne, Yongzheng was particularly appreciative when he saw Zhang Tingyu, saying that he was "dignified and condensed, and his response was clear" ("Zhang Tingyu Chronology"), that is, his temperament was calm, his mind was clear, and he was particularly organized to deal with. The Yongzheng Emperor was a particularly courageous man who dared to use people out of the ordinary, and only half a month after Kangxi's death, he promoted Zhang Tingyu to the position of Libu Shangshu, which is equivalent to today's Minister. The Yongzheng Emperor loved him, and it is no exaggeration to say that if Zhang Tingyu was a Manchu, then there would be a place for him among the qing dynasty kings with different surnames.
Yongzheng, the famous emperor in Chinese history, was particularly serious, but he was very serious about Zhang Tingyu, but he was as he was, he was very appreciative, after promoting Zhang Tingyu to the title of Rebbe Shangshu, Yongzheng could not do without this person, every day Zhang Tingyu entered the palace, everything, must be discussed with Zhang Tingyu, all the publication of the holy will, is Yongzheng dictation, Zhang Tingyu record.
Zhang Tingyu of the Yongzheng Dynasty gained a firm foothold in the court, and half of the ministers in the court were devoted to his command, but at this time in the Qing Dynasty, another important minister, Ortai, went to oppose Zhang Tingyu, and he was dissatisfied with Zhang Tingyu's identity as a han, so every time, as long as there was an opportunity, he would find trouble for Zhang Tingyu, and slowly the ministers in the court were divided into two factions, namely Zhang Tingyu and Ortai, who looked at each other unfavorably, forming a scene of Manchu and Han antagonism.
Qianlong Dynasty
When Qianlong had just succeeded to the throne, he had not yet taken a firm position and needed the help of these two old ministers, so he did not care about them and allowed them to fight privately, but with the passage of time, the ministers of these two subordinates actually began to dare not listen to him, which also made Qianlong gradually dissatisfied with Zhang Tingyu and Ortai.
Ertai and Zhang Tingyu D quarreled, impeaching others on the charge of greed, Qianlong turned to check the family background of this person, and sometimes even the protégés of other people's father-in-law, this relationship was clearly investigated, and it was concluded that it was not really anti-corruption, so he punished these people.
Zhang Tingyu, who was an official of the Three Dynasties, saw this point, and in order to respond to all changes without change, he simply did not fight back, silently suffered from Ortai's intimidation, and Zhang Tingyu often retreated completely.
This is the wisdom of Qianlong, and Xie Sheng, a university scholar of the Chongzhen Dynasty, once said, "The lord of man is not wise, and now he uses wisdom too much, so that the world is ruined." The same was true of Qianlong, who mobilized his subjects in the early years and was able to use his cleverness to make them obedient, but in the middle and late period, his will became weak and arrogant.
In the fifteenth year of Qianlong (1750), shortly after the death of the emperor's eldest son Yong Huang, Zhang Tingyu once again asked to return to his hometown, which angered the Qianlong Emperor, and the monarch gradually became suspicious, and the evening scene was desolate.
Qianlong twenty years (1755), died at home, eighty-four years old, nicknamed "Wenhe", worthy of the Taimiao Temple, is the only Hanchen in the entire Qing Dynasty worthy of the Taimiao Temple.
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