Ruyi's Rebirth: Ruyi's Disease Retreat Retreat

Chapter 214: Zeng Jing's Letter to Emperor Yongzheng

Zeng Jing accused Emperor Yongzheng of being a traitor and an unfilial person who plotted against his father, forced his mother, killed his brother, and slaughtered his younger brother.

According to ancient legends, "Qingyun" is a sign of filial piety of the emperor. When Ortai reported Qingyun, he specifically said that it was a sign of good fortune caused by "the emperor's great filial piety", praising Emperor Yongzheng as a filial son with no moral flaws.

Zeng Jing's letter-surrendering case was a political struggle, and Ortai supported Emperor Yongzheng by reporting to "Qingyun", hoping that the emperor would take the political initiative.

This is actually a political action.

In fact, Ortai himself knew the absurdity of the auspicious omen story. Not only did he not bear a grudge against Liu, the magistrate of Dali County, who ridiculed him, but he praised his fairness and recommended him to Emperor Yongzheng.

He did not hesitate to destroy his own reputation and fabricate auspicious signs to support Emperor Yongzheng politically, which shows his loyalty to the emperor.

The Zeng Jing case was about Zeng Jing criticizing Emperor Yongzheng.

This case involves three main figures: the protagonist Yongzheng, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu Yue Zhongqi, and the deceased scholar Lu Liuliang.

First, Yue Zhongqi was the person Zeng Jing wrote to. I believe everyone is familiar with Yue Zhongqi. He was a Han Chinese. He was awarded the third-class duke for his contribution in suppressing the rebellion of Lobsang Danjin.

After Nian Gengyao was dismissed from the position of general, Yue Zhongqi succeeded Nian Gengyao and became the governor-general of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

The post of Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi was in charge of major military affairs in the northwest, so before this, no Han people had served as Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Also, because his surname is Yue, he is a descendant of Yue Fei.

Therefore, the Qing Dynasty rulers were concerned about his Han Chinese identity and often suspected that he had ulterior motives and wanted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, and usurp the throne, so they were on guard against him everywhere.

It was precisely because of this that the Han people in the society, especially those who opposed the Qing Dynasty and wanted to restore the Ming Dynasty, had high hopes for him. Zeng Jing and his apprentice Zhang Xi were such people.

They hoped to win over Yue Zhongqi and use his power to make military preparations for the anti-Qing movement.

In order to influence Yue Zhongqi, Zeng Jing ordered Zhang Xi to carry the "Students' Response to the Imperial Edict" in an attempt to incite Yue Zhongqi to rebel.

But Yue Zhongqi had no intention of rebelling at all, so he reported the matter to Emperor Yongzheng. In this way, Yue Zhongqi became the medium through which Emperor Yongzheng learned that Zeng Jing had criticized him.

Second, the basis for Zeng Jing's criticism of Yongzheng.

Zeng Jing, known as "Mr. Putan", gave up the imperial examination and official career in middle age.

He then began to write and establish theories, using them as a theoretical basis for his anti-Qing movement. His main viewpoints were:

One is that Emperor Yongzheng was a tyrant, and listed crimes such as "plotting against his father", "forcing his mother", "killing his brother", "slaughtering his younger brother", "greed for money", "bloodthirsty", "alcoholism", "lust", "suspecting and killing loyal people", and "flattering and servile".

He was portrayed as an unforgivable person.

Second, there is the anti-Qing argument that "the distinction between Chinese and barbarians is more important than the relationship between the ruler and his subjects."

The third is to hope to save the people from poverty.

Among them, Zeng Jing's attitude towards Yongzheng came from two sources. One was from the exiled eunuch Yunsi, which was indeed mentioned in "The Yongzheng Dynasty".

After Yunsi's house was ransacked, his trusted eunuch Ma Qiyun and other servants were exiled to the southwestern frontier, where they spread the rumor, causing it to become a topic of conversation in Hunan and Guangxi.

Zeng Jing also learned about the "evil" deeds of Emperor Yongzheng.

Another source of Zeng Jing's theory was the text inherited from Lu Liuliang.

Lu Liuliang was a native of Shimen, Zhejiang Province. He passed the imperial examination in the tenth year of Shunzhi's reign and later gave up his official career to write books. He was very famous among scholars and was known as the "Master of the East China Sea."

Lu Liuliang's writings emphasized the distinction between Chinese and barbarians, which undoubtedly became a major foundation of Zeng Jing's theory.

Zeng Jing admired Lu Liuliang very much, so he deduced anti-Qing meaning from Lu Liuliang's writings, laying the foundation for his theory of "the distinction between Chinese and barbarians".