Emperor Qianlong was the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history. He reigned for sixty years and later retired as the Supreme Emperor. Resignation was an official statement.
The actual reason was that he did not want to reign longer than the Holy Ancestor Emperor Kangxi , so he chose to abdicate in the 60th year of Qianlong and passed his throne to Jiaqing.
This kind of abdication is just a change of position, and the center of power has always been around the Supreme Emperor.
Emperor Qianlong had been familiar with classics and history since he was a child, and he liked to recite poems and compose poems. Although his poems were not good, he was good at poetry in his life. There were countless flatterers among his ministers for fame and fortune, but those who dared to speak the truth were as few as morning stars.
The illusion brought about by power often makes those in power have a strange idea: Who else in the world would be better than me.
means that these people like to think of themselves as saviors and feel that every mouthful of food for the people in the world is a reward for themselves.
Emperor Qianlong, who proclaimed himself the "Old Man of Perfection" in his later years, was no exception.
His ears can only hold words of praise, and almost all other remarks will be mistaken by him as having ulterior motives.
Qianlong himself
historians also put aside their past aloofness and wrote the title of "Kang, Yongzong and Qianlong" in the "Manuscript of Qing History".
They even said that based on the number of people, land area and economic aggregate, the prosperous age of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong far exceeded any previous prosperous age in China.
What a shameless statement! If the prosperous ages of Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong can really be compared with the prosperous age of Kaiyuan, why did thousands of countries come to visit during the Kaiyuan period? But at this time, the country gave Macartney, the British envoy from afar, such an impression: lifeless.
is just the last peak in the historical cycle, like a wavy line that rises and falls. It happens to be the peak of the late wavy line at this time. Is it unreasonable to use historical coincidences as decoration for one's achievements?
Emperor Qianlong didn't know it, but this was power. On the one hand, the supreme status made the authorities feel lonely, and on the other hand, it made the authorities feel like they were sitting in the clouds, unable to see clearly all the living beings below.
Emperor Qianlong paid a private visit incognito. He believed that the Qing Dynasty was in harmony with all the people under his rule, because everywhere he could see were words of praise, but he would never know, or he did not want to believe it. Most of the people are struggling to meet the food and clothing line.
One time when he was out, he came to a country road. The guards were all dressed as boy servants, and the ministers looked like housekeepers accompanying him. Ancient society did not have the powerful media power today.
There are only a few people who can really see the holy face. Therefore, no one recognizes that the person walking on the path at this time is the current emperor.
Emperor Qianlong looked around his own kingdom and said: "There are grains, fruits and vegetables everywhere, and the people live well!"
At such an appropriate time, ministers often appeared and flattered them in time: "It's all thanks to this." Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and he governs the country well, and he is truly a blessing to all people."
The official's words only strengthened Qianlong's inner thoughts, and a proud smile spread across his face.
Going further, Qianlong found two old couples working in the field. They seemed extremely loving. One moment, the old man was helping his wife wipe her sweat, and the other moment, the wife was carrying water for the old man to drink.
No wonder Li Shangyin sighed: "How can I be the emperor in the fourth century? Not as good as the Lu family."
Emperor Qianlong felt an envious expression in his heart. He stepped forward and asked: "Old man, are you tired? ?"
The old man raised his head and said, "I'm not tired. I have been working hard all my life, and I only rely on these acres of land to buy my own property. If I don't work hard, I still feel uncomfortable. "
Emperor Qianlong gave a leadership smile. , and then left.
He was very happy. Living and working in peace and contentment was the pursuit of the people of all ages and the ideal of the rulers.
He asked the accompanying officials: "Can I compare with the ancient Yao, Shun, and Yu?"
The officials said: "There are better than those."
An Old Farmer in Distress
But going further, Emperor Qianlong encountered something that slapped him in the face. He met an old farmer who was tending his watermelons. There was a fruit stall next to the watermelon field.
长As time passed, Emperor Qianlong also wanted to taste the fruit, and sat down at a table swaggeringly. He thought that the fruit farmers would be like the eunuchs and maids in the palace, bowing their heads to serve him
, but he didn't expect the melon farmers to only care about their own watermelons and completely ignore them. When the ministers saw the displeased look on the emperor's face, showing his servant nature, he shouted: "Old man, we are here to buy watermelon, come here quickly. ”
The melon farmer cut the watermelon directly, and the bright red flesh of the melon was exposed, and everyone was salivating.
The ministers still did not dare to forget the way of kings and ministers, so they picked out a piece of watermelon in the center and helped the master remove the seeds, just like holding their own. He held it in the palm of his hand like a child and handed it to Emperor Qianlong respectfully.
Qianlong took the watermelon. When his white teeth touched the watermelon, a stream of sweet juice slid down his throat to his internal organs, and he felt the cells in his limbs. They all applauded the delicious melons.
He asked the melon farmers: "Is the harvest okay recently?" "
The melon farmer nodded!
Farmers are simple but like to chat with others, talk some gossip to pass the time. Unfortunately, this old farmer does not know that the person sitting in front of him is an emperor. Even the literati who have read poems and books say that accompanying the emperor is like such a thing. Ban Hu.
Such an old farmer, who has no idea about the way of serving and does not know the true identity of the person in front of him, will definitely be full of offense to him.
He asked Qianlong: "What do you do?" "
Qianlong said with a smile: "I travel from north to south to move goods and do business, but recently I want to change my career, get a reputation, become an official, and do things for the people. The birthday girl is well-informed, what do you think? "
When the old farmer saw that the other party wanted to ask about him, he naturally knew everything and immediately said happily: "It's good, it's good. It's better to be an official. Once you have an official position, you can sit in the yamen and collect real money!" Eliminate the pain of running around. "
When Qianlong heard this, his words were obviously satirical about official governance, so he asked: "Is there such a thing in the world?
The old farmer explained: "We have worked hard for more than a year, but that time we were all exploited by those beasts. The petty officials exploited the common people, the big officials exploited the petty officials, and the imperial officials exploited the high officials. As for the high officials." All you can do is flatter him. "
The expressions of the officials accompanying the emperor did not change. They had already developed the ability to be thick-faced and dark-hearted. They knew that the other party was mocking them, but they could pretend not to know anything.
A nameless anger arose in Qianlong's heart. , stood up and left. On the way, Qianlong couldn't help but said: "Watermelon is so sweet! It's just that people with this kind of melon..."
After walking a hundred meters, Qianlong said with enlightenment: "The melon farmer or someone else is pretending to be a melon farmer, we will kill him without mercy. "But when the guards returned, the melon farmer was gone.
