Qianlong praised the sweetness of melons and ordered the melon farmers to be executed
Qianlong, one of the ancient Chinese emperors with the most private visits to Weifu, roamed the south of the Yangtze River six times during his reign, leaving countless good stories. Among them, the story of Qianlong and Xia Yuhe described in "Huanzhu Gege", as well as the rumors that he visited his biological mother in a private visit to Weifu, are both interesting and surprising.
However, the most interesting thing happened during Qianlong's parade.
Emperor Qianlong, known as a generation of Ming monarchs, set a record of 300 million people during his reign, making China the largest country in the world and the largest economy in the world.
The ten wars he led were all victorious, successfully defended the country's sovereignty and integrity, put down the rebellions of Jungar and Huijiang, and exercised strong control over the frontier, so that the territory of the Qing Dynasty reached 13.8 million square kilometers and the unification of the country was realized.
In order to commemorate this great achievement, Emperor Qianlong gave himself the title of "Ten Perfect" and called himself "Ten Perfect Old Man". He was a benevolent monarch, he went deep into the people, lowered taxes many times, and even once exempted the people of the whole country from taxes on money and grain, so as to reduce the burden of the people, so that they could recuperate and live and work in peace and contentment.
He insisted on lightly paying for the meager and rewarding farming, so Qianlong's reign was the period when the peasants' tax pressure was the least.
In order to promote the progress of agriculture in the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor issued an edict to the localities, requiring them to learn how to carry out agricultural activities, so as to assist farmers to improve production efficiency.
Emperor Qianlong's unremitting efforts encouraged agricultural production and grain production, which played a key role in continuing the prosperity and solving the problem of food and clothing for a large number of people. Emperor Qianlong attaches great importance to the rescue work of natural disasters, he requires the local government to go all out to rescue the victims, if the rescue is not effective, will be severely punished, if the funds are not enough, can be reported directly, the household department will immediately allocate funds for rescue, in order to reduce the pressure on local finances.
Emperor Qianlong's merits made him qualified to be called Ming Jun, but his large-scale construction and depletion of the treasury also became the regret of his life.
Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times, and Weifu made private visits to consolidate his rule. As a member of the Manchu imperial family, they opened the Shanhai Pass through their strength, eliminated the Ming Dynasty, and entered the Central Plains. However, due to the distance between the Jiangnan region and Shanhaiguan, the Manchus did not know much about it.
In order to promote the imperial prestige, many emperors of the Qing Dynasty made southern tours, including Qianlong. The main purpose of the Six Expeditions to Jiangnan was to demonstrate the strength of the Qing Dynasty to the Jiangnan people and strengthen their rule over the region.
In addition, the Gangnam region is rich and inhabited by many families. Another purpose of Qianlong's southern tour was to warn those who might have two hearts to continue to serve the Manchus.
Although Kangxi and Qianlong both went on patrol many times, there were obvious differences in the purposes and methods of the two. Emperor Kangxi was mainly engaged in official business, and his footprints traveled all over the north and south of the river, in order to consolidate his rule and expand his territory.
Qianlong's six southern tours were mainly to deter the Jiangnan wang clan and consolidate the Manchu rule in the Jiangnan region. However, Qianlong's southern tour did not take into account the burden of the people, and in order to satisfy his luxurious life, the local ** frantically looted the people's fat and ointment, which increased the burden of the people in the south of the Yangtze River.
Although Qianlong's southern tour brought short-term prosperity, it also eventually led to an empty treasury, leaving his successors with difficult governance tasks.
Qianlong inspected the melon fields in the south, was so thirsty that he wanted to buy watermelons to relieve the heat, and saw that the old melon farmer was sleeping soundly without being disturbed, and waited in person with a private visit. When the melon farmer woke up, Qianlong had already tasted watermelons and observed his old man selling melons.
Qianlong found that the hot summer, but the old man did not sweat, and asked the reason in surprise, and the old man only responded in five words, but Qianlong was convinced.
The mood is calm, and the coolness is natural", the tranquility and indifference of the old man who sold melons made Qianlong deeply feel his profound cultural accomplishment. It is difficult for a rural villager to sum up such an incisive philosophy of life.
So, Qianlong took out the thorny problems in the officialdom to test the old man, and the result surprised him. The old man had unique insights into these officialdom problems, and some of the answers made him take for granted.
Qianlong immediately decided to arrange an official position for this old man selling melons, so that he could also leave a good reputation in history. However, after listening to this, the old man did not hesitate to reject Qianlong's proposal, bluntly saying that officialdom was fraudulent and too dark, which was not suitable for him, an old man who pursued inner peace.
After Qianlong heard this, he had no choice but to give up and concentrate on enjoying the watermelon in his hand.
When Qianlong finished tasting the melon and was about to leave, he once again sincerely invited the old man to join the court as an official. However, the old man politely declined again. Although Qianlong lost face a little, he still left.
However, on the way back, he suddenly ordered the guards to return to the melon shed and kill the old man. Qianlong, as the king of a country, was rejected twice in a row by a melon farmer, and if the news spreads, he will definitely become the laughing stock of the world.
Moreover, he goes out on patrol in micro-service, and once someone inquires about the news, he may also pose a threat to himself. Therefore, he decided to kill the melon farmer to prevent future troubles. Despite this, Qianlong, as a generation of Ming monarchs, his adventure of eating melons also reflects the merits of his character: he can find the excellence of others, and is willing to put down his posture and invite them to work for him.
After being rejected by the melon farmers continuously, Qianlong did not hesitate to kill the melon farmers to solve the problem in order to maintain the dignity of the royal family and protect the safety of the trip, which revealed the ruthlessness of a generation of kings.