From the end of Kangxi to the early years of Yongzheng, many areas in Huguang were affected by disasters. Coupled with the cruel exploitation of the landlord class and the extortion of local bureaucrats, the price of land and grain soared. It was difficult for the local people to survive, so they migrated to Sichuan and Yungui to survive. Zeng Jing, who wrote to Yue Zhongqi, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, was a scholar in Yongxing, Hunan. His hometown was such a disaster area. His family only had a small amount of land, and his life was quite tight. Zeng Jing himself was frustrated in the examination and had no hope of an official career. His status and environment made him dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty, so he issued a cry that "all the land was owned by the rich, the rich became rich day by day, and the poor became poor day by day"("Da Yi Jue Mi Lu"). At that time, Lu Liuliang's articles on current affairs spread to Hunan. After reading them, Zeng Jing appreciated Lu Wen's "difference between Hua and Yi" and "well field feudalism" very much, thinking that these were the reasons for the decline of the world. He believed that the rulers of the Manchu were barbarians, and the barbarians had invaded the Central Plains, destroying the traditions of the Han people for more than 2,000 years. That was why the people were in dire straits. If the Manchu were expelled and the well-field system of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties was restored, then every family would have land to grow and everyone would have food to eat. This kind of understanding reflected the thoughts of some feudal literati who had no way out at that time. If Zeng Jing had only imparted these ideas to the students, there wouldn't have been any major problems in the backward Yongxing County. The occurrence of things was often a coincidence of various factors. During the five years of Yongzheng, Zeng Jing occasionally heard some rumors about the new emperor. His original foundation of thinking made him take the false as true and take risks. He sent his student Zhang Xi to Shaanxi to persuade the Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Yue Zhongqi, to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, the farce of Yin Zhen issuing the "Great Yi Jue Mi Lu" occurred.
The rumors about Yinzhen were originally from the mouth of Yunzhi's henchmen. After dealing with Yunti, Yunti, and the others, Yinzhen successively sent the eunuchs and confidants who participated in their activities to Guangxi and Yungui. At the turn of spring and summer in the fifth year of Yongzheng, Geng Jingzhong's grandchildren Geng Sangge and Geng Liuge, as well as eunuchs Wu Shouyi, Huo Cheng, Ma Shouzhu, and others who were sent to Guangxi passed through Hengyang, Hunan Province. The soldiers who were sent to the army and the innkeepers who lived there all heard about it. Whenever he met a village, shop or city, he shouted loudly: " All of you, come and listen to the news about the new emperor. We have been wronged and want to tell you so that you can tell others.'And he said,'We can only ask about our sins. How can we seal our mouths?”'News about the emperor was enough to confuse people, not to mention that it came from the mouth of the capital's criminals, which made it easier for the local people to believe it. These criminals became the spreading tools of rumors. From their mouths, they said," Emperor Shengzu originally said that the 14th prince was the emperor, and the emperor changed the word 'ten' to the word 'yu'"," Emperor Shengzu was seriously ill in Changchun Garden, and the emperor gave him a bowl of ginseng soup. Somehow, Emperor Shengzu died, and the emperor ascended the throne. He then transferred Yunzhi back to prison." When the Empress Dowager wanted to see Yunchen, the Emperor was furious. The Empress Dowager crashed to death on an iron pillar, and the Emperor left Concubine He and his concubines in the palace. Rumors such as "Da Yi Jue Mi Lu" spread like wildfire and quickly spread throughout the country. Zeng Jing's family lived in a remote village more than 100 miles away from Yongxing County. He usually studied behind closed doors and rarely traveled far. He had heard these rumors from three different people. Like most people, he believed it and believed that Yinzhen was a tyrant who "murdered his father, forced his mother, killed his brother, and slaughtered his younger brother." Although the common people hated such a tyrant, they were powerless. They fantasized that there would be a minister in the court who would fight against the tyrant. According to their own likes and dislikes, the rumormongers created the news about Yinzhen at will, competing to fabricate the story of Yue Zhongqi, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, accusing the emperor three times. This story spread from Sichuan to Hunan through the mouths of merchants who traveled back and forth between Hunan and Sichuan. After hearing this, Zeng Jing believed it again and imagined it without any basis. He had fantasized that Yue Zhongqi was a descendant of Yue Fei from the Song Dynasty, and that her courage to plead for the people was a sign of standing on the side of her ancestors and fighting against the barbarians. If Yue Zhongqi could raise an army against the Qing Dynasty, then the feudal system of Ida would be restored, and the people would be able to live a comfortable life. This ridiculous idea drove Zeng Jing to write a "Zhixin Record" for Yue Zhongqi and sent Zhang Xi to Xi'an, Sichuan and Shaanxi under the alias of Zhang Zhuo. The Governor's Office sent a letter.
Yue Zhongqi was a high-ranking official of the Qing Dynasty. He was the General of Vigor, the Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and a third-class duke. Such an important member of the Qing ruling group had never had the possibility of rebelling against the Qing. After Zhang Xi arrived in Xi'an with Zhixin Lu, he soon learned that the so-called Yue Zhongqi's three pleas for the people were completely nonsense. He wanted to give up, but he felt that it was not easy to come all the way here. It would be unjust to return without trying, so he stopped the sedan chair at the Governor's Mansion and submitted the letter. Yue Zhongqi was shocked after reading the book. In the book, the various attacks on the Qing Dynasty and Emperor Yongzheng, as well as the view of the Qing Dynasty as a descendant of the Jin Dynasty and Yue Zhongqi as a descendant of Yue Fei, were enough to constitute a great crime that would bring disaster to the family. Out of loyalty to the Qing court. After clearing her mind, Yue Zhongqi ordered Zhang Xi to be arrested and interrogated. However, Zhang Xi would rather die than confess, Yue had no choice but to design, pretend to swear to heaven with Zhang Xi, and trick Zhang Xi into telling the truth. Soon, all the criminals involved in the case, including Zeng Jing and Lu Liuliang's descendants and Yan Hongkui, were arrested.
The shock brought by Zeng Jing's book was imaginable. In the five or six years after he ascended the throne, besides eliminating the new nobles and the old opposition forces such as Yunchen, Nian, Long, etc., he mainly adopted the following measures: Rectifying the administration of officials, cleaning up the state treasury and other important measures. On the one hand, he did this because of the political and economic situation. On the other hand, he also wanted to use these measures to make himself a benevolent ruler who loved the people like his own children, so as to win the support of the fishing boats of society and further consolidate the imperial power. Yinzhen never expected that six years after he ascended the throne, when Yunchen and Yunchen were dead and Yunchen and Yunyuwo were imprisoned, the people would still attack and slander the emperor. This reflected at least three problems. First, the power of Yunji and his followers could not be underestimated. They dared to carry out a series of personal attacks on Emperor Cheng, indicating that the imperial power was far from as stable as during the Kangxi period. Second, after the Qing Dynasty entered Shanhaiguan, the main theoretical basis for the folk to carry out anti-Qing activities-"the difference between Chinese and barbarians", was quite popular among some literati. It was a threat to Yinzhen's imperial power and the entire Qing Dynasty. Third, the rumors spread throughout Zhili, Shanxi, and Huguang provinces, but not a single official reported it. This showed that these local officials had neglected their duties. This could not help but attract Yinzhen's attention.
How to deal with this case, Yinzhen spent a lot of effort. Among the three problems mentioned above, the core problem was the rumor. Yinzhen was the central figure in the attack of the rumors. If he did not solve the crimes listed in the rumors, he would always be suspected of usurping the throne and directly affect the stability of the imperial power. However, the number of people involved in Zeng Jing's case was limited. Even if Lu Liuliang, who had been dead for decades, was chopped into pieces and Zeng Jing's entire family was executed, it would not be able to eliminate the rumors spread by Yunzhi's henchmen everywhere. This was obviously not the best plan. Yinzhen's attitude towards rumors had always been to refute them in a timely manner and never let them go. However, in the past, the rumors were limited to "bullying his younger brothers". He had never heard of "murdering his father,""forcing his mother,""killing his brother," or "slaughtering his younger brother." Moreover, Yinzhen's rebuttal of the rumors and clearing of his name in the past was limited to the ministers of the court and had never issued a notice to the whole country. Now that the rumors had spread throughout the country, Yinzhen had to eliminate the poison throughout the country. In this way, Zeng Jing's case became a good thing for Yinzhen. He could make use of this case to make a big fuss and publicize the struggle with Yunka and others over the years. He could not only clear himself, but also further clear his political enemies. On this point, Yin Zhen said very clearly: "Achina and Seth, ten thousand deaths are not enough to redeem them. Yi and other people's evil plot is so, now exposed countless. How can there be only a few thousand or a hundred other villains who obey his orders? All kinds of slanderous words have been spread to remote places. In this way, in the universe, how can Zeng Jing be the only person who is confused by the ignorant people in the countryside? Even if the three surnames jointly receive the reward of Hua, they are in the local area, there is the responsibility of inspection, but Yi will hide what he saw and heard, do not tell others. How can I know that I am in the imperial palace? How can we find out? Why do you take the initiative to analyze and enlighten them so that the people of heaven and earth can understand them together? Now thanks to the emperor's examination and silent blessing, I have ordered the gods to drive Zeng Jing to surrender his head in front of Governor Yue Zhongqi, so that the treacherous people who wrote and slandered him will be exposed one by one. I have just learned of the cruelty of these people. I am brazen and will tell the people in remote places about their daily intentions. I will not be confused by rumors. I can also know that Achina, Sesihei and others are cruel and unfilial. They are not tolerated by the Heavenly Ancestor and cannot be forgiven by the law of the country. The world and future generations can understand my difficulties. This is a great blessing in my misfortune, not something that human beings can do. In this way, Zeng Jing did not make a small contribution, so he could be lenient.”(The Book of Righteousness)
Because of this, Yinzhen ordered Zeng Jing and Zhang Xi to be pardoned. The reason was,"I do not reward a person for my own joy, nor punish a person for my personal anger. Zeng Jing's arrogant words, only slander and jump bow, there is no real rebellion, there is no conspiracy of the party.”However, Lu Liuliang, who advocated the "difference between Chinese and foreign" theory, was opened and his body was whipped. His descendants and students were also imprisoned. Wang Guodong, the governor of Hunan Province, was also dismissed because he was not vigilant about the rumors and did not report them. Then, Yinzhen ordered his repeated orders on the case and the interrogation of Zeng and Zhang's confessions to be compiled into a book called "Da Yi Jue Mi Lu", which was widely printed to show the world.
At the center of the book, Yinzhen refuted the accusations of "plotting against his father,""forcing his mother,""killing his brother," and "slaughtering his younger brother" imposed on him by Yunti and others, in order to explain to the people of the whole country the legitimacy of his accession to the throne and to clarify that the rumors spread by Yunti's henchmen were absurd. As for whether Yinzhen's ascension to the throne was legal or not, it has been analyzed in the previous chapter, so I won't repeat it here. The crime of "killing his brother", because it is completely inconsistent with the facts, proves that the rumors are not enough. Yinzhen was the fourth son of the emperor, and his eldest brother, Yunfu, was imprisoned in the 47th year of Kangxi because he participated in Yunfu's competition for the throne. His second brother deposed the crown prince and was still imprisoned until Xuan Ye died. These two people had long been excluded from the scope of Xuanye's crown prince. They had no power and could not pose a threat to Yinzhen's throne. If Yinzhen harmed them, it would be harmful to him. Therefore, it was impossible for him to "kill" Yun Ren and Yun Ren. That was the truth. After Yinzhen ascended the throne, in order to show his modesty, he specially granted Yunreng's son Hongxi the title of King Li. Yunreng died in the second year of Yongzheng. When he was ill, Yinzhen sent a good doctor to treat him. Before he died, he set up an imperial carriage for him in the Five Dragons Pavilion in Xiyuan. After his death, he was granted the title of Prince in order to win the sympathy of the fishing boat. When he died in the 12th year of Yongzheng, Yinzhen ordered him to be buried with the ceremony of Gushan Bei Zi. The third brother was a potential opponent of Yinzhen at the end of Kangxi's reign. However, he was a dutiful person and didn't participate in Yunzhi, Yunzhi, and the others 'activities. Even if Yinzhen wanted to kill Yunzhi, it was not the right time to do so before the Yunzhi Group was eliminated. Yunzhi was convicted in June of the sixth year of Yongzheng and died in the forbidden place ten years later. When Yunzhi's henchmen spread rumors, Yunzhi was still a prince. The crime of "killing his brother" was obviously fabricated out of prejudice against Yinzhen.
Yinzhen was outspoken and had his own theory about Yunfu and others 'treatment of Tu Di. He believed that the benevolent government of a monarch should not be based on the views of women and children. The first thing to do was to ensure the stability of the state's political power." If you only care about the false reputation of harmony between the nine clans and ignore the great disaster of the ancestral temple and the common people, wouldn't you be confused and inverted?……Ming Jianwen indecisive, do not know righteousness, do not know extreme changes, want to save flesh and blood and lead to the disaster of Yongle, almost to the country's danger and death, become the sinner of ancestors.….?- In short, if a prince is unfortunate enough to encounter such a thing, if he sees it clearly and knows it clearly, he will be in charge of the weight of its interests and make a firm decision. Don't have small and unbearable views, and take care of your own reputation to bring endless disaster."
Yinzhen gradually refuted Zeng Jing and defended himself. He then ordered the book to be published in all prefectures and counties in the world, in remote villages and remote areas, so that scholars and rural people could know about it. And ordered each to store a book in the school palace, so that future new scholars, everyone can read and know. If there are people who have not seen this book or heard of my decree, I will investigate at any time and will definitely punish the province's school administration and the county's instructors severely. From the development of the situation, this measure has received a certain effect.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。