Ruyi's Rebirth: Ruyi's Disease Retreat Retreat

Chapter 216: Lü Liuliang opened the coffin and mutilated the body; his descendants were exiled to Ni

In his "Confessions", Zeng Jing praised the Qing Dynasty as "the one chosen by heaven, the one chosen by the people, and the natural right of morality", saying that there has never been a prosperous era like the Qing Dynasty since ancient times.

Zeng Jing made his position clear in time and repented sincerely. In addition, he repeatedly emphasized that he was misled by Lu Liuliang's reactionary books, which eventually made Yongzheng forgive him. Yongzheng also issued a special decree that Zeng Jing and his descendants should not be slaughtered.

Do you think this is Yongzheng's mercy? Wrong, in fact, this is the true meaning of not killing but destroying the heart.

If Yongzheng had killed him, he would have become an anti-Qing patriot. However, Zeng Jing first opposed the Qing state and then rebelled, which made him completely disloyal and unjust. This behavior was especially despised by scholars.

Moreover, judging from Zeng Jing's behavior of living a cowardly life, Zeng Jing was just a public intellectual who was afraid of death and could not accomplish anything, so Yongzheng could let him live without worry.

In order to let the whole country know the ugly face of this "public intellectual", Yongzheng asked him to speak in person and let him tour the country with "The Great Record of Awakening to Delusion". This made Zeng Jing lose face, but he still enjoyed giving speeches.

Poor thing was Lu Liuliang, who had no connection with Zeng Jing. Zeng Jing pushed all the responsibility onto Lu Liuliang. Lu Liuliang was already dead and there was no evidence to prove his wrongdoing, so Lu Liuliang's theory became the culprit and Lu Liuliang became a reactionary leader. So his coffin was opened and his body was mutilated. The descendants of the Lu family were exiled to Ningguta and never could turn things around.

Other literary inquisitions during the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods were indeed unjust, false and wrong cases that the rulers deliberately attached themselves to and wantonly implicated. Things like "the clear wind is illiterate" became anti-Qing slogans, which of course should be condemned!

But Zeng Jing's letter-surrendering case was different. Zeng Jing became anti-social because he failed the imperial examination. This is why he did not rebel during the most chaotic period of the late Kangxi period, but only rebelled during the stable Yongzheng period.

Lu Liuliang cursed the barbaric Qing Dynasty that had just entered the pass, and he himself also showed the firm integrity of an intellectual. Like many other Han intellectuals who did not serve the Qing Dynasty during the transition from Ming to Qing dynasties, Lu Liuliang should be worthy of respect.

But Zeng Jing was different. The Qing Dynasty during the Yongzheng period had been sinicized and had made great progress in all aspects. Emperor Yongzheng also worked hard to govern the country and was a wise ruler. At this time, Zeng Jing still used the sword of the previous dynasty to kill officials of the current dynasty. He insulted the country wantonly through hearsay and attempted to overthrow the current dynasty and become a founding father of the new dynasty, just like a public intellectual.

Besides, Yue Zhongqi was one of the Han generals that Yongzheng relied on the most.

He was a descendant of a military family and fought in Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan, making great contributions to Emperor Yongzheng.

By the sixth year of Yongzheng's reign, Yue Zhongqi had been promoted to Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces and General of Ningyuan, becoming a powerful official in charge of a large number of troops.

With the favor of Emperor Yongzheng, Yue Zhongqi became extremely rich and powerful. He owned countless mansions in Sichuan and Gansu, thousands of servants, and crisscrossing fields of fertile land. He was a high-ranking official.

However, even so, Yue Zhongqi always had a hidden worry in his heart, that was his identity.

Yue Zhongqi was a descendant of Yue Fei, a famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Yue Fei's mortal enemy was the Jurchens, the ancestors of the Manchus.

Therefore, many Manchus often impeached Yue Zhongqi, saying that he was the descendant of Yue Fei and would definitely avenge the Song and Ming dynasties.

Anti-Manchu people in the society also believed that Yue Zhongqi had the blood of heroes and would be the only one to restore the glory of the Han people.

Not only Yue Zhongqi knew this, but Yongzheng also knew it.

Although Yongzheng seemed to be very comforting to him on the surface, no one knew what this "gloomy emperor" was thinking in his heart.

Nian Gengyao was once so favored by Emperor Yongzheng, but what was the result?

Therefore, Yue Zhongqi has always lived under an extremely high-pressure environment.

As early as August 1727, 8, Yue Zhongqi was leading his troops in Chengdu Prefecture.

At noon that day, a man suddenly ran wildly down the street, holding a fist in each hand, shouting as he ran: "Lord Yue is leading the Sichuan and Shaanxi soldiers to rebel! Someone will simultaneously instigate rebellion at the southeast, northwest, and northeast gates of Chengdu. Kill anyone you see!"

It was later discovered that this person was actually a lunatic.

This frightened Yue Zhongqi so much that he quickly wrote a letter to Yongzheng, asking to resign from his post and become an ordinary civilian.

However, Yongzheng replied: “In the past few years, I have received enough slanderous letters against you, saying that you are a descendant of Yue Fei and want to take revenge on the Song and Jin dynasties.

But I think these are all absurd and ridiculous ideas, and I don’t believe them! "

As a result, less than a year after Yue Zhongqi calmed down, he received another letter. The owner of the letter was named "Xia Liang".

The letter said that Yue Zhongqi was a descendant of Yue Fei and should take advantage of the rebellion to avenge the Song and Ming dynasties.

The letter said: "Ever since the wise rulers lost their virtue and the ministers lost their loyalty, the Central Plains have been submerged, the barbarians have taken advantage of the opportunity to steal the sacred artifacts, and the world has been turned upside down."

It can be said that "the sky is dark and the earth is gloomy, China is covered in dust, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer."