The Qing Dynasty s river yamen is dark, why doesn t the emperor care? A note reveals the truth

Mondo History Updated on 2024-02-29

Despite their best efforts to demonstrate their talents, the Qing rulers were unable to achieve substantial victories in the face of many corrupt river courtiers.

Emperor Daoguang hated the corrupt habits of the Hewu Yamen, and he took vigorous measures to crack down on them.

Shen Dianyi and Fan Yukun were ordered to rest. Fan Yukun was not allowed to work in the river. And Tao Shu visited, if he dared to stay at work, he would be severely punished. In fact, Fan Yukun is not a mediocre member.

He once accurately estimated the silver taels required to break the mouth of Mapeng Bay, which was 140,000 taels. However, he offended many important officials because of the strict examination of wages, and was finally dismissed.

However, Emperor Daoguang did not regret this, and in 1832 appointed Wu Bangqing, who had never been directly engaged in river control, as the governor of the East River. Wu Bangqing was ignorant of river affairs, and Emperor Daoguang clearly told him that he also liked Wu's experience as a non-river member.

Emperor Daoguang wanted to change the habits of the river department with non-river affairs**, but his choice of Wu Bangqing seems to be a mistake. After Wu Bangqing was appointed governor of the East River, he once transferred a number of ** to the river department and was accused of wasteful behavior.

Emperor Daoguang had high hopes for Wu Bangqing, but he spent more than 1.1 million taels on inland river affairs. This made Emperor Daoguang disappointed in Wu Bangqing and investigated Wu.

In traditional officialdom, the use of non-river leaders to manage river departments can put leaders in isolation. A leader may choose to do things by sticking to the old ways or promoting his own people.

Although Wu Bangqing was a river worker during his tenure, his appointment may have been unwise.

When Wu was serving as **, although he used a lot of his old genus, it was actually a last resort. Even so, he fulfilled his duty.

Among the river officials, the upper and lower levels are integrated, and a community of interests has long been formed, and it is difficult for individual ** who do not follow the trend to have good results. Kang Jitian was a river minister in the Qian, Jia period, he "controlled the plain strict" and "rigid and clean", but his subordinates hated him to the core.

In 1800, "the officials were afraid of exposing the evils, and set fire to cover up their traces", so that "the dam workers caught fire and the accumulated materials were burned". Wang Bingtao and Xu Duan are similar examples, they are both proficient in business, but because they did not dare to take it lightly, they both ended up being dismissed and retained.

These examples show that it is difficult for a clean official to die well.

It is mentioned in the recital that the success of the project is inseparable from the outstanding ability and noble quality of the senior leaders. Cabinet Auxiliary Ministers Zhao, Zhang, Chen, Shen and others have both ability and political integrity, which can be called collective wisdom and collective efforts, and have made great achievements for the counselor Shenmo.

Other large and small ** have also overcome many difficulties and served the project wholeheartedly. Zonghe, Shangshu Yang Yikui is thoughtful, and the river is unique and comprehensive; He is dedicated, yellow and unique, and shows extraordinary talent.

He led his subordinates, both grace and power, and each did his duty, saving money, and benefiting both public and private. In addition, he also proposed to reward a large number of intermediate** who have made outstanding contributions to the project.

Yuan Guangyu in Zhonghe Langzhong, Fan Zhaocheng in Haikou Langzhong, Li Yuanling in Nanhe Langzhong, Ying Deng, Qingjiang factory staff outsourcing, Xu Chengwei, Qu Qianqiao, deputy envoy Zhan Zaipan, etc., each did their best and made great contributions to the smooth progress of the project.

The 7 middle-level ** should all be promoted and rewarded, and Huang Chengxuan and others in Beihe Langzhong should also be rewarded, because they are mutually beneficial, loyal and virtuous, and have become optimistic and beautiful.

The 28 people who are directly responsible, such as Luo Dakui, who is the same as the Yunsi Division, should also be given preferential treatment and promotion, because they have gone all out, worked hard to divide their minds, were busy with various work, and made great efforts for the smooth completion of the project.

The project to harness the Yellow River ended in failure, and although the main purpose was to divert the water from the 30-mile channel of Huangjiaba in Taoyuan County, and then enter the sea through five ports, the water did not flow along the dividing Yellow River dug by the river ministers as expected, but instead led to the waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the second year, the water level of the Yellow River was **, the mouth was silted up, and the Huai water also flooded the Ming Ancestral Mausoleum in Sizhou. In the documents of the river channel**, they repeatedly emphasized that the water potential was "unseen in a century" and "unencountered in a century", and even exaggerated the facts to reduce responsibility.

This kind of behavior is not uncommon in river affairs, and is often part of officialdom politics, where they crack down on dissidents and disregard the overall situation.

New copywriting: Historically, water conservancy projects have often become the hotbed of ***. For example, when the Huaibei region suffered a serious disaster in 1906, Zhang Jian advocated the restoration of the Huaijun River, treating both the symptoms and the root causes, and urged the two general governors to implement it.

However, in order to stop the project, the end party secretly instructed Yang Wending to tamper with the measurement data, making the project impossible to implement. In the early stage, Jiangsu Province had carried out large-scale guidance, but there was also a phenomenon.

Due to the deduction of the township security chief, the living conditions of the people are extremely poor, the diet is poor, and they are often deprived of food and clothing. In addition, the peasants were forcibly conscripted, which further increased their difficulties.

This phenomenon is not uncommon in Chinese history, and the power of ** is often abused for personal gain.

In the affairs of Huaibei water control, corruption is not uncommon, not only deliberately planned disasters, but also accidents that are neglected to be prevented. River Affairs ** takes advantage of frequent disasters to ask for huge sums of money from ***, which has become their main means of maintaining their interests.

In traditional political practice, large-scale water conservancy projects often bring losses to both the state and the people, but river workers can take advantage of the loopholes in the system to enrich themselves. Therefore, under the old system, the flooding in Huaibei can be said to be both inevitable and reasonable.

Related Pages