Zeng Jing, a native of Yongxing County, Hunan Province, originally hoped for fame and glory, but he only took the exam to show talent and suffered successive setbacks. He longs for an official and a half-job, but this dream seems increasingly unattainable. Just when he was frustrated, he came across the writings of Lü Liuliang, an outstanding scholar and thinker of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, whose writing was full of praise for the Ming dynasty and disparagement for the Qing dynasty.
Zeng Jing was deeply immersed in Lu Liuliang's words, gradually cultivated anti-Qing and reviving emotions, and decided to put these ideas into practice. His target was Yue Zhongqi, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, believing that he was a descendant of Yue Fei and should be loyal. Therefore, Zeng Jing planned to write a long letter of 10,000 words in an attempt to persuade Yue Zhongqi and make him stand on the side of the Ming Dynasty. He couldn't wait to deliver this long letter to Yue Zhongqi.
However, Yue Zhongqi did not hesitate to give the letter to the then emperor Yongzheng. After reading Zeng Jing's letter, Yongzheng was extremely shocked and angry. He may have thought Zeng Jing was a serious political threat, but his reaction was surprisingly unexpected. Although he ordered the execution of Lü Liuliang's descendants, he chose leniency for Zeng Jing, only verbally warning him and letting him go home.
Zeng Jing returned home, but was always worried that Yongzheng might send someone to assassinate him. When Yongzheng heard about this, he decided to personally summon Zeng Jing to the palace, appease him with kind words, and solemnly promise that he would never dispose of him, neither himself nor the future monarch.
However, life is not peaceful. With the death of Yongzheng, Qianlong's first step after succeeding to the throne was to execute Zeng Jinglingchi, and what was even more shocking was that he actually dug up the grave and whipped the corpse of Lu Liuliang.
Some people may think that Qianlong's behavior is a manifestation of Yongzheng's unfilial piety. But from another point of view, Qianlong's actions were aimed at consolidating power and acting as a deterrent to make no one doubt his determination and ability. In contrast, Yongzheng used different political tactics to try to buy off the hearts and minds of the people. The two emperors dealt with each other differently, so it was impossible to simply define Yongzheng as a "tyrant", but Qianlong's behavior was more violent.