Blood droplets? The son is not biological? Yongzheng is probably the Qing emperor that the Chinese are most sorry for. The title sounds really puzzling. As an emperor with the greatest reform and the most thorough measures in the history of the Qing Dynasty, why was Yongzheng so evaluated? What did he do wrong to be regarded as "one of the Qing emperors that the Chinese are most sorry for"?
It is rumored that in order to cover up his Han life, Yongzheng did not hesitate to launch a literary prison and severely suppressed dissent. What's more, it is rumored that Yongzheng's biological son Qianlong was actually the illegitimate son of his courtier Chen Gelao, and in order to consolidate Manchu rule, he passed off Chen's posthumous son as his heir. These rumors have been widely circulated, but how much credibility do they have? Did Yongzheng, the emperor who reigned for only 14 years, really do such a heinous thing? Was he really an abominable tyrant, as the rumors said? Could it be that this emperor, who is considered to be the most politically wise in Qing history, has been remembered in his heart for thousands of years?
1. Yongzheng's origin and road to the throne
Born in an extraordinary family, Yongzheng, who is full of poetry and books, has shown extraordinary wisdom and talent since he was a child. As the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi, he keenly coveted the unattainable dragon chair.
Kangxi reigned for 61 years, and in his later years, his attitude towards the issue of the heir was ambiguous, and the government and the opposition were controversial about it. On the eve of Kangxi's death, Yongzheng, who has always been humble and polite, took the lead in taking the lead, and after a fierce competition to the death, he finally discovered the bloody conspiracy of "nine sons to seize the heir", and ascended the throne as emperor in the name of the edict.
As soon as he ascended the throne, Yongzheng had to face a heavy reality: the Manchu Dynasty had become increasingly corrupt in the last years of Kangxi, the government was becoming increasingly unsuccessful, corruption was rampant, and the people were struggling to make a living. In front of him is a mess created by his own hands, and he needs to clean it up completely. He knew that this would be a difficult task that would require extraordinary wisdom and courage.
Yongzheng resolutely looked to the future and made up his mind to inject new vitality and vitality into the Manchu court. He has never been intimidated by any setbacks and difficulties, but has always used his actions to convey a positive and self-improving spiritual strength.
Second, Yongzheng's reform created the peak of centralized power in the Qing Dynasty
Yongzheng was one of the emperors in the history of the Qing Dynasty who attached the most importance to centralization, and he implemented a series of reforms that ushered in the heyday of centralized power in the Qing Dynasty.
First of all, Yongzheng vigorously implemented the reform of the system such as returning envy to the public and raising incorruptible silver. The so-called "consumption of envy" refers to the fact that officials collect more money in the process of taxation as compensation for the loss of tax silver. Due to the lack of supervision, some corrupt officials have taken advantage of this name to engage in favoritism. Yongzheng ordered that the consumption of envy should be collected from the state, and half of it would be allocated as office expenses, and the other half would be used as a performance reward for officials, called "Yanglian Yin". In one fell swoop, this stubborn disease that has accumulated and cannot be returned has been completely eradicated.
Secondly, Yongzheng set up the Military Aircraft Department and established a complete set of centralized administrative management system. The Military Aircraft Department is subordinate to the Cabinet and is in charge of the military, political, and military powers throughout the country. Through the establishment of the Military Aircraft Department, Yongzheng highly concentrated the military power of the whole country and established the absolute control of the central government over the localities.
In addition, Yongzheng promulgated the system of establishing a secret fold of the reserve, stipulating that the secret of the reserve was not open to the public, and the emperor must designate the prince when he still has biological offspring. This system ensured the hereditary system of the imperial throne, but it also left a bane for future imperial disputes.
In addition, Yongzheng also implemented a series of reform measures aimed at strengthening the centralization of power, such as the gentry collecting grain in one, changing the land and returning it to the stream, and apportioning the land into acres, so as to completely return local power to the central government. Although these reforms were criticized in later generations, it is undeniable that they achieved the goal of strengthening the centralization of power in Yongzheng.
There have always been two theories about the evaluation of Yongzheng. One view is that Yongzheng's iron-fisted reform and implementation of high-pressure rule laid the foundation for the future decadent rule. Another point of view appreciates Yongzheng's resolute and courageous reform spirit, and believes that he revitalized the centralized power of the Qing Dynasty and laid the foundation for the prosperity of Qianlong.
3. The ins and outs of the rumors of "Qianlong is not his own son" and "blood drops".
Since ancient times, the struggle for imperial power has been a double-edged sword, which can not only consolidate the rule of the dynasty, but also cause the people of the world to lose their minds. The testamentary dispute between Yongzheng and Qianlong is a brutal example of this.
It is said that Qianlong is the illegitimate son of Chen Gelao, the son of Yongzheng's courtier, but because Chen Jialuo and Qianlong of the Chen family are actually brothers, it later evolved into a rumor that "Qianlong is Chen Jialuo's younger brother". In addition, in order to cover up his Han ancestry, Qianlong launched an unprecedented literary prison and a series of other measures, and this rumor became more and more popular.
However, judging from the historical record, all this seems to be nonsense. First of all, Chen Gelao is originally from Haining, and Chen Jialuo of the Red Flower Society is not a family at all. Moreover, judging from Yongzheng's life, he has never had a fertility disorder in his life, and Qianlong's birth is not abnormal. What's more, after Yongzheng ascended the throne, he personally presided over important ceremonial activities such as sacrifices many times, and it never aroused any doubts or opposition from the Manchu gentry. It can be seen that this statement of "blood droplets" is completely false.
As for Qianlong's statement that he launched a literary prison in order to cover up his life experience, it is not unreasonable. After all, during the reign of Qianlong, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty did push their ethnic and cultural concepts to the extreme. However, what is interesting is that Yongzheng himself is an emperor who is diligent in reading, and he attaches great importance to cultural education, how can he be so slandered by later generations?
According to the analysis of people of insight, all this may be inseparable from the dominance of the Manchu Dynasty and the arduous reforms made by Yongzheng for the centralization of power. In order to consolidate the dominance of the Manchus in China, Yongzheng implemented a series of tough reform measures, which inevitably aroused the discontent of the literati and gentry, and thus brewed such rumors. In order to cover up all this about his father, Qianlong had to do his best to maintain his Manchu blood and avoid being slandered.
Fourth, Yongzheng dug deep into the ancestral grave to open the way for his great-grandson
During his 14-year reign, Yongzheng implemented a series of reforms that brought centralization to unprecedented heights. However, just after this moment of brilliance, Yongzheng seems to have seen the disadvantages of this excessive concentration.
Looking at Yongzheng's reform measures, strengthening centralized power is undoubtedly its core. Through the establishment of the Military Machinery Department, the implementation of the system of maintaining incorruptible silver, and the transformation of the land to the stream, Yongzheng completely returned local power to the central government and achieved an unprecedented high degree of centralization. At that time, this was indeed conducive to the rectification of the rule of officials and the revitalization of the dynasty.
However, just as the laws of history always develop like this, excessive centralization inevitably leads to other contradictions. When the centralization of power reaches the extreme, the space for local autonomy is completely squeezed out, and the monopoly of power leads to rampant corruption, which will only end up in a different predicament.
Yongzheng may have seen through this. The purpose of his radical reforms was not to rest on his laurels, but to clear the way for future change. You must know that the Qing Dynasty at that time was already a decadent feudal dynasty, and its ruling model was already on the verge of being established. If fundamental changes are not made, sooner or later they will be overwhelmed by the torrent of the times.
Therefore, although Yongzheng strengthens centralized power on the one hand, it is also making room for the future on the other hand. His purpose was to completely break the situation of the division of the vassal kings, eliminate all the banes that might split the dynasty, and create conditions for future changes.
This change was finally realized in the Qianlong period. As the embodiment of the highest peak of centralized power, Qianlong naturally continued his father's line and achieved prosperity in a peaceful situation that had not been seen in a century. And the arrival of this prosperous era is precisely based on the foundation created by Yongzheng.
As the saying goes, life has a beginning and an end, and even a great reformer like Yongzheng cannot sit back and watch the government remain unchanged forever. While he did his best to consolidate Manchu rule, he also left room for change in the future, opening a new era for his great-grandchildren.
Fifth, Yongzheng's image whitewashing and due positioning
There have always been mixed evaluations of Yongzheng, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Some see him as a tyrannical tyrant who persecuted scholars, while others see him as the founding master who carried on the legacy of the Kangxi Emperor and revived the dynasty. So, how should Yongzheng be positioned?
Judging from some film and television dramas in recent years, Yongzheng's image seems to have been whitewashed and positively shaped to a large extent. In many works, he is portrayed as a wise monarch with foresight and grace. Whether it is for advice or government disputes, he has shown quite generosity and moderation, far from the tyrannical image of those slanderous words.
Naturally, this positive assessment is also supported by many historians. They believe that Yongzheng was a true reformer, and that the series of reforms he implemented not only ushered in the heyday of Qing centralized power, but also cleared the way for later reforms. It was the wisdom and foresight of this emperor that enabled the Manchu Dynasty to achieve its final glory during the Qianlong period.
Even so, the criticism of Yongzheng has never completely disappeared. After all, during his reign, there were painful atrocities such as harsh literary prisons and the massacre of intellectuals. There is a view that this was a means that Yongzheng had to adopt in order to consolidate Manchu rule, but this was still an extraordinary measure in the end.
Perhaps it is difficult for us to make a comprehensive and fair evaluation of Yongzheng. Because his life is too complicated, too many dark and bright sides exist in him. But it is undeniable that he was undoubtedly a great emperor who left a strong mark in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
No matter how Yongzheng is judged in the future, he deserves to be the founder of the country who opened up a new path for his great-grandchildren under the background of difficult times. Although his reforms were criticized at the time, in a more long-term sense, they injected new vitality and vitality into the already decaying feudal dynasty at that time. All this has forged his immortal position in the history of the Qing Dynasty.