flstandardbreds Chapter 141 Yongzheng: Let go! I can still work!
Chapter 141 Yongzheng: Let go! I can still work!
"For example, if candidates in Henan province boycotted the exam in protest, what would Emperor Yongzheng have done?"
"When he received this memorial, he immediately issued an order: 'The two must be executed as a warning.' (From 'Memorials from the Yongzheng Reign in the Palace Archives')"
Yongzheng: What a load of rubbish! I'll kill him!
"However, after the fourth prince finished his approval, he didn't want to wait that long, so he sent the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Arsona, straight to Henan to execute the three gentry candidates who had led the commotion on the spot. They were all killed."
"After this suppression, many people in Henan harbored deep resentment towards Tian Wenjing, who had submitted the memorial, and even cursed him. Historical records state: 'No one did not hate him, no one did not resent him!'"
"Although the gentry and landlords resented Tian Wenjing, it did not prevent the smooth implementation of the policy of officials and gentry paying taxes together in Henan. It seems that a tough approach is still needed to promote it."
A poor scholar from the Song Dynasty: If you don't want to take the exam, then don't take it!
An old farmer from the Ming Dynasty: Anyway, we common folk just like this style!
……
"The saying goes, 'It's not scarcity that people worry about, but inequality.' Ignoring the grievances of the gentry, the common people at the bottom of society are definitely happy. What they ask for is probably just fairness. Therefore, the conflicts among the people have been alleviated to some extent."
"Yongzheng's design effectively provided the Qing government with stable fiscal revenue, and he also controlled the bureaucratic group by having officials and gentry perform official duties and pay taxes together. Perhaps I wonder if he had thought of all this long ago?"
"When later generations talk about this period of history, no one will fail to mention the Kangxi and Qianlong era, but the Yongzheng reign seems to have been forgotten because it was too short."
"But the fact is that both Kangxi and Qianlong lived too long. One lived to be 69 years old, and the other lived to be 89 years old. Only Yongzheng, who lived to be 56 years old, was the only one in between."
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty: I have lived such a long life!
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: ...
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: They all live so long! But why did the fourth prince die so young?!
A scion of a prominent family in the Tang Dynasty: Logically speaking, he didn't inherit longevity!?
……
"Emperor Yongzheng reigned for only thirteen years, but his diligence in governing was well known. Judging from the total number of memorials he reviewed, he usually reviewed about twenty or thirty a day, and sometimes as many as fifty or sixty. Moreover, Emperor Yongzheng personally reviewed and approved all of them."
"Later scholars have calculated that, throughout his life, Emperor Yongzheng reviewed and approved documents totaling tens of millions of words."
"Moreover, his daily routine, from when he went to the Imperial Study as a child until after he ascended the throne, was basically to get up around 3 AM."
"When Emperor Yongzheng was reviewing a memorial, he once said: 'I have always been more energetic at night since I was a child, and it is not something I have to force myself.' In other words, he was a night owl since childhood and would review memorials at night."
"However, his eyesight was not very good over time, so when he wrote replies to his ministers, he would say that he wrote under the lamp and that his handwriting was messy."
"According to the 'Daily Records of Emperor Yongzheng,' a year in the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign originally had 384 days (including the intercalary seventh month), but he spent 376 of those days handling government affairs. This gives an idea of just how diligent he was in his duties. (Statistics compiled by Professor Shi Song of the Institute of Qing History, Renmin University of China)"
Other princes vying for the throne in the Qing Dynasty: Wow! He's working so hard, no wonder people say he'll work himself to death!
Emperor Huizong of Song: ...So diligent! Doesn't he have any other hobbies?!
Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty: Speechless!
"The Zeng Jing case led him to write his book, 'The Great Righteousness Awakens from Delusion,' but the more he tried to explain, the worse it got. We'll discuss the details of this later."
Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty: ...
"While these rumors were flying around, Yongzheng continued to push forward with reforms despite his own health problems. I would say that such a strict schedule could easily ruin one's health, after all, as you get older, you can't be as healthy as you were when you were young."
"As the saying goes, health is the foundation of everything. Why not change to a more suitable schedule? For example, waking up so early is really too early. It would be better to change it to around Chen Shi (7-9 AM). You should also rest before Zi Shi (11 PM-1 AM) at night and exercise more!"
"Therefore, after the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, the number of memorials he reviewed gradually decreased. The death of Prince Yi that year almost cost him his life, and he summoned many ministers to discuss the gist of the imperial edict."
"He pulled through, but he's not fully recovered yet. He's handling official duties while ill, and he's already around fifty years old. He's not even following the doctor's orders. Even a body made of iron can't keep going like this!"
"The worst part is that he's also obsessed with elixirs. He knows that these things have been around since ancient times, and we've mentioned before the consequences of several emperors' obsession with elixirs. Can you really eat too much of this stuff? They've probably all been poisoned!"
"Oh, I almost forgot, this might have one advantage: your body might not decompose after you die!!!"
First Emperor (again offended): !!!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: !!!
"The weaker Yongzheng's body became, the more he needed to rely on elixirs to replenish it. However, while others took elixirs to achieve longevity, the fourth prince took elixirs to do more work."
"Finally, on the 20th day of the eighth month of the thirteenth year of Yongzheng's reign, he felt unwell. I guess the fourth prince didn't take it to heart at this time and was still working while ill. Until late at night on the 22nd, his condition worsened, and he quickly summoned the ministers to announce his will. He passed away at midnight the next day."
"Regardless of whether he is better than other emperors in other aspects, I believe that he surpasses most emperors in terms of diligence."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: It's a bit of a sad story! He died of exhaustion after only a short time as emperor!
A playboy from the Tang Dynasty: With this level of diligence, he surpasses many emperors! It's just a pity that the fourth prince has been working non-stop since he ascended the throne!
A lazy official in the Ming Dynasty: "I definitely couldn't keep up this kind of dedication, let alone for decades!"
……