I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 545 Comments on "History of the Ming Dynasty"

"History of the Qing Dynasty" was not revised very quickly, it was considered very slow.

Counting from Nurhaci, the "Taizu", to Kangxi, there are only four generations of emperors in total. This cultivation is naturally very fast.

Yongzheng's throne was indeed not recognized, and he was only posthumously named Duke of Ying. This was not a matter of seeking truth, but a historical practice.

In the "History of the Qing Dynasty: Benji", it is also listed as "The Annals of the Duke of Ying, the Annals of the Attached Gongshun Hou (representing respect for the Ming Dynasty)".

The former is talking about Yongzheng, and the latter is talking about Hongli who was beheaded.

The throne of the young Tatar emperor Hongli was not so much dethroned as that his throne was illegal within the Qing Dynasty's own legal system, so it was naturally not recognized. However, there are still detailed descriptions in the history books, and he was also posthumously named Gongshun Hou, including the biography of Yongzheng who was cast on a stele in Litang, Kangzang, and was engraved as Hunde Gong.

The two historical books "History of the Ming Dynasty" and "History of the Qing Dynasty" were written at the same time and were published by the imperial court and published all over the world.

This can really be considered unprecedented!

Throughout the dynasties, revision of history books was not only the right of the victors, but also not for ordinary people. Even ordinary gentry could read it at will, and only high-ranking officials, princes and nobles were qualified to read it.

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty has published and distributed "History of the Ming Dynasty" and "History of the Qing Dynasty", and the prices are not high, which is the price of ordinary books, or even cheaper. Even ordinary people (from well-off families with some money to spare) can afford to read it. .

Xiao Renfang and other historians from the Academy of National History also received corresponding awards after the history books were compiled. Xiao Renfang was directly promoted to Doctor Guanglu. Although his official position remained unchanged, his rank jumped two levels from the second rank to the first rank.

At the feet of the Emperor of Nanjing, there is a tower near the water.

In the past few days, the conversations among Nanjing scholars and people after dinner almost all revolved around this newly published history book of the two dynasties.

Not many people paid attention to "History of the Qing Dynasty". There were only four emperors in total, and they were still Tatar emperors. Two of them were even before entering the customs and were posthumous. The remaining two either died young and there is nothing to say. , or simply have experienced it and know what it is like.

On the contrary, "History of the Ming Dynasty" has attracted unprecedented attention among the people. After all, it is the new Ming Dynasty now, and it is inherited from the previous Ming Dynasty. Even ordinary people are quite curious about it after dinner.

Those scholars all want to see what this history book of the previous dynasty, which has been compiled (closed) by the Manchu Tatars for nearly a hundred years, is like, and what kind of evaluation will the Ming Dynasty give?

On the right side of the three main halls of the Forbidden City are Wenlou and Wenhua Hall. In the early Ming Dynasty, this was a place specially provided for the prince regent to observe the court. During the Jiajing period, on the grounds that the prince was too young to be the regent, the emperor's palace was reclaimed and used for holding sutra banquets and marking examination papers.

The Qing Dynasty followed the Ming system and also liked to hold sutra banquets in the Wenhua Hall. However, the sutra banquets in the Qing Dynasty had to be taught in Manchu and Chinese, and could only be discussed while kneeling.

The back door of Wenhua Hall is Wenyuan Pavilion, which is also the royal library. It has a large collection of precious books and some rare items collected by the emperor.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Wenyuan Pavilion was exclusively used by the royal family. Only when sutra banquets were held, civil servants who were lucky enough to attend could come here to view the books if the emperor was pleased to reward them.

However, during the Ming Dynasty and the New Dynasty, the emperor has fully opened this place to the public. As long as you have an official position (New Branch Gongshi can also be approved to come in to read), you can come in to read and check information. However, it must be registered and cannot be damaged. If it is damaged, the market price will be doubled and gold and silver will be paid.

Meng Yan, who is a daily assistant, did not rush home after work today. Instead, he took a detour to Wenyuan Pavilion first.

Because he heard that two volumes of "History of the Ming Dynasty" and "History of the Qing Dynasty" were completed, as well as revised first drafts, final drafts, and manuscripts, including the emperor's imperial approval.

If you go late, it will be too late.

After walking a long way, we arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion.

There are specially guarded guards and female officials in front of the pavilion.

Meng Yan humbly handed over his official seal: "I would like to borrow the manuscript of "History of the Ming Dynasty" that was put into the library today. I wonder if there are any more?"

The female official confirmed that the official license was correct and said: "The manuscripts and completed books of "History of the Ming Dynasty" have been put into storage this morning. However, the manuscripts, manuscripts, and imperial approvals cannot be loaned out. They can only be read in the pavilion. The completed books can be borrowed, but It can only be borrowed for three days at a time. If it is damaged, compensation will be paid at double the market price."

Meng Yan nodded: "Then let me go in and take a look! It's still early anyway, and there's still some time before the curfew."

The female official put away her official badge, picked up the book, browsed through it for a moment, and then handed a wooden plaque to Meng Yan. There was nothing written on it, but it was to record the floor where the manuscripts and completed books of "History of the Ming Dynasty" were placed.     “Working.”

Meng Yan took it over and the armed guards kept watching him as he entered the pavilion before looking away.

After entering the pavilion, the light inside was not dim. It was obvious that this was taken into consideration in the original design.

Taking the wooden sign, I quickly found the bookshelf on the floor where "History of the Ming Dynasty" was collected. I met almost no one along the way.

This is normal, although the emperor allows officials to come here freely to read books, and even some less important and unique books can be borrowed. But after all, it is impossible for many officials to come to Wenyuan Pavilion to read every day, and it is not like they have nothing to do all day long.

Meng Yan first took out the "History of the Ming Dynasty: Chronicles of the Emperors" and flipped through it: "It's quite relevant."

From Hongwu to Jianwen and then to Yongle, that's basically it. It not only affirmed the achievements of Hongwu and Yongle, but also pointed out the bad politics of these two men. In particular, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes issued by Hongwu and Yongle indeed caused great harm to the people, sects, and officials of the Ming Dynasty. This blame cannot be thrown away no matter how hard we try.

Jianwen... Jianwen doesn't have much to say. He only served as emperor for three years in total, and then was usurped by Yongle.

Yes, in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" compiled by the New Ming Dynasty, the term "usurpation" is used for this paragraph. Although the achievements of Yongle's prosperous era are affirmed, usurping the throne is usurping the throne. What can be argued?

Is this really what Emperor Yongle said: "In the 35th year of Hongwu's reign, my father Zhu Yuanzhang passed on to me?"

What a hell joke is this!

Moreover, in this completed book, Jianwen's "Huizong Ji", Zhu Yijiong also gave an annotation: "I don't have the talent of an emperor, but I have the character of an emperor. I will inherit the Ming Dynasty as a middle-aged man. I cherish the filial piety of the emperor." Emperor Kang (Zhu Biao) died young, causing his uncle and nephew to kill each other..."

Jianwen is indeed a typical example of being deceived by Confucian scholars. This can be seen from the fact that in just three years of his reign, he completely destroyed the vassal border guarding policy left by Lao Zhu.

There are always people who say that it is right to reduce the vassal state, because Zhu Di is also reducing the vassal state, and the Jin Dynasty died in the Eighty Thousand Rebellion. But the problem is that Jianwen just learned how to reduce the vassal state, but after the reduction of the vassal state, he did not take any remedial measures at all. The land completely fended for itself, as if it was a joke.

Zhu Yijiong's comments were very polite. They just said that Jianwen had no talent. If Zhu Biao had not died too early and disrupted Lao Zhu's plan, it would have been impossible for Jianwen to become emperor, and there would be no time to retrain Jianwen.

In the next half month, Meng Yan came to Wenyuan Pavilion almost every day to borrow books. Not only did he read the books, but he also had various first drafts and final drafts, as well as the emperor's personal approval of Shi Hao.

Even without even seeing Nan Ming, Meng Yan was already very excited.

From the emperor, down to the civil and military officials, and even the eunuchs of the inner court, it can be said that they are shining like stars... From the Mingbao Sect onwards, except for a few who are better, the remaining ones are more outrageous than the last.

Even the slightly better emperors, such as the Hongzhi Emperor who created the famous "Hongzhi Zhongxing", were very problematic. Although the book did not deny Hongzhi Zhongxing, it gave a lot of data for reference, and left at the end He wrote an intriguing comment by the emperor: "I think Chenghua is absurd. There are 7000 million common people in each household, but in Hongzhi ZTE, there are less than 5000 million left. Why is this?"

After reading for more than half a month, I finally finished the entire main book. At the end of the main book, there is a summary written by Zhu Yijiong himself: "Emperor Sizong Chongzhen was headstrong and indecisive. If the building is about to collapse, he has his share of responsibility, but he cannot. It all depends on him. In fact, it was Jiajing and Wanli who neglected government affairs, which led to the corruption of the country's government, the collapse of its wealth, the collapse of the party, and the prosperity of the government while the people were in dire straits..."

Headstrong and indecisive, these two personalities are combined in one person, which shows that Chongzhen's ability is indeed worrying.

But he only has the responsibility. He can't get rid of the king of the country, but the responsibility for the rapid demise of the Ming Dynasty does not lie entirely with him.

There are always people who say that the actual death occurred in Wanli, and some even say that the actual death occurred in Jiajing. This statement... is actually quite correct. Although their emphasis is different, the result is theoretically correct.

There were two consecutive emperors in Jiajing and Wanli. One did not go to court for twenty years, and the other did not go to court for forty years.

Jiajing also had Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng to extend their lives and survive. At the end of Wanli's reign, Zhang Juzheng was forcibly overthrown by Wanli, and all his whipping methods failed.

The entire Ming Dynasty accepted anarchy for decades, and then Tianqi and Chongzhen came to take over (I won’t mention the one-month emperor of Taichang). Even Chongzhen’s genius could not turn the tide.

Because the foundation of the country has long been rotten, it has to be destroyed before it can be rebuilt.

At that time, the envoys from foreign vassals even wrote a diary, stating that they had never met Emperor Wanli and could only pay homage to the emperor's dragon chair.

In the end, there were no powerful ministers in the Wanli Dynasty, not because Wanli's methods were so brilliant, but because there was no room for powerful ministers in the Wanli Dynasty.

Even the country's administrative system is almost paralyzed. Even if a powerful minister wants to appear, there is no one under him to work. How can he be a powerful minister?

(End of this chapter)