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Chapter 234 The sign of the peak of monarchical centralization

After understanding the life of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, ancient people from various dynasties also understood that Yongzheng was a rare and good emperor.

While the common people of various dynasties yearned deeply for Yongzheng, the emperors of various dynasties were more interested in some of Yongzheng's measures.

Among them, the two most interesting points are the Military Aircraft Department and the other is the Ding Ding Mu.

According to the anchor, the establishment of the Military Aircraft Department marks the pinnacle of monarchical centralization. This is what they, as emperors, pursue throughout their lives, to concentrate all the power in the world into the hands of one of them.

The other policy of sharing one's share of land into one's own land was said to be an unprecedented innovation in the taxation system during the ancient dynasty, and it was also of great interest to them.

Li Shimin: Anchor, can you tell us in detail about the Military Aircraft Department and Tan Ding Ru Mu?

He had a strong premonition that the Military Aircraft Department and Tan Ding Rumu would have far-reaching significance to his Tang Dynasty.

Su Chen saw that not only Li Shimin was asking, but also some other famous emperors from various dynasties.

Su Chen didn't hesitate to respond to the requests from these big guys. He found a picture of the Military Aircraft Department of the Forbidden City on his tablet and showed it to everyone.

He is not worried that his imperial power will be restricted by the chief minister of the cabinet. What he is worried about is that future generations will not be able to suppress the chief minister of the cabinet.

"In order to keep it secret, Yongzheng only discussed in secret with a few people such as Prince Yi Yunxiang, bachelor Zhang Tingyu, and Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs Jiang Tingxi."

"This allows the military ministers to meet with the emperor every day, and sometimes they even have to travel between the military aircraft office and the Yangxin Hall multiple times."

Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to admire the military aircraft department system established by Yongzheng.

"Amidst the busy scene, no one dared to make a loud noise. Only when the sky was slightly light did the ministers put down their pens and went to the harem to see the emperor."

"There are officials walking back and forth nearby, handing out memorials, or pacing back and forth."

"According to the system established by Zhang Tingyu, the military minister during the Yongzheng period, the memorial of the day must be processed on the same day."

More accurately, it should be said that if something happens, it will be called, and if nothing happens, it will be exempted.

"According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, the square in front of Qianqing Gate, called Tianjie, was the boundary between the inner and outer dynasties."

"They were regarded as the right-hand man by the emperor and regarded as an authority and role model by their colleagues."

"The location of the military aircraft office is at the northwest corner of Tianjie. From here to the north is the Yangxin Hall, which is closest to the outer court in the harem."

"As for newcomers, not only do they have no say, but they also have to step forward and roll up the door curtain every time they enter or leave the palace. Therefore, they are nicknamed the military aircraft that lifts the curtain."

"In this area known as the Outer Court, there are also major offices such as the Cabinet and the Six Ministries that maintain the daily operations of the court."

In order to strengthen the imperial power, he killed many ministers before abolishing the prime minister and establishing a cabinet.

"More than two hundred years ago, when the Forbidden City was still sleeping in darkness, the low bungalows under the outer wall of the Qianqing Palace were already brightly lit."

"Since the 10th year of Yongzheng's reign, the leading military and aircraft minister has been held by the bachelor in charge of the cabinet. All kinds of documents and memorials can only be read by the leading military and aircraft minister."

Although the cabinet can centralize his imperial power, it also has a drawback, that is, it can easily give the chief minister of the cabinet too much power.

"Although these ministers' daily workplaces are crude and crude, they are the core of the Qing Dynasty's bureaucratic administrative system and represent the pinnacle of China's feudal autocratic monarchy."

"They are all the emperor's trusted ministers selected from the Manchu and Han scholars, ministers, and ministers, ranging from two or three people to eight or nine at most."

"The main hall south of Tianjie is the main place where the emperor exercises power and holds grand ceremonies."

“Since Emperor Yongzheng, Yangxin Hall has become the residence and office space for most emperors.”

"In the fourth year of Yongzheng's reign, in order to completely resolve the rebellion in the northwest region, Yongzheng began to actively plan to conquer the Junggar tribe."

Zhu Yuanzhang: It seems that the Military Aircraft Department is somewhat like the cabinet we established, but it seems to have a higher status than the cabinet.

"The walking distance from the military aircraft office to the Yangxin Hall is less than fifty meters. This setting is obviously for the convenience of the emperor, so that he can summon the military ministers at any time to convey edicts and handle government affairs."

"The convenience of their positions has brought more power to the military aircraft ministers, but when the military aircraft department was first established, such power was very limited."

This set of procedures greatly facilitated the emperor's efficiency in handling government affairs, and also greatly increased the power of the military minister.

"Such a selection method ensures that there is no rank difference between military and aircraft ministers. The rankings are only based on each person's qualifications, age, time of entry into service, and especially the degree of favor with the emperor."

However, the Military Aircraft Department established by Yongzheng perfectly solved this problem and allowed the emperor to control the power of the world alone, which he admired quite a lot.

"The Neichao north of Tianjie is commonly known as Da Nei, where the emperor and his concubines lived."

Zhang Tingyu: I formulated the system and process of the Military Aircraft Department, and now it seems that the effect is very significant.

"And this simple place has a very special name, the Military Aircraft Department."

After it was completed, it was sent to the Yangxin Hall and handed over to the emperor for review, inspection and approval.

"In the eyes of the people, they are the prime ministers of the Qing Dynasty."

"The ministers in the room either stayed up late reading, or wrote furiously."

"The ministers of military aircraft only use close associates, regardless of their origins. Their closeness to the emperor can be fully reflected from the position of the military aircraft department."

"The appointment or dismissal of military ministers is not controlled by the Ministry of Personnel, but is directly determined by the emperor."

"Among them, the most senior ones are the chief military aircraft minister and the lead military aircraft minister, also known as the leader."

After the Minister of Military Aircraft remembered the instructions carefully, he returned to the Military Aircraft Department to draft and write again.

"In the nine-level and eighteen-level official system of the Qing Dynasty, there was originally no position for the minister of military aircraft."

According to the system he established, from Emperor Yongzheng onwards, whenever there was a major military matter, the emperor would summon the military ministers across the wall to the Yangxin Hall for discussion.

"After formulating a careful plan, we began to secretly mobilize soldiers, horses, food and pay to the northwest."

"Because the matter is confidential, it has been handled for several years, and the internal and external subjects do not know that the country will use military force."

"It wasn't until the seventh year of Yongzheng's reign that the army was about to launch, and people had to use their power, so the secret preparations came to light."

"And Yongzheng also officially announced that the Military Supplies House, a temporary office to handle military affairs, will be set up in the Ministry of Household Affairs."

"With the changes in the war situation and the intense fighting on the front line, the office of the Military Supplies House was moved to its current location, and the name of the organization was changed to the Military Aircraft Affairs Office, or the Military Aircraft Office for short."

"When the Military Aircraft Department was first established, there were only a few narrow wooden houses here. The tall Longzong Gate nearby caused a serious lack of lighting and poor office conditions."

"In the early years of Qianlong's reign, the emperor took the opportunity to repair the palace and ordered that the original wooden house be converted into a tiled house, and the Military Aircraft Department took on its current appearance."

"Although office conditions have improved, the nature of the Military Aircraft Department as a temporary office has not changed."

"For a long time, the Military Aircraft Department has not been included in the country's official institutions, nor has it been granted the title of the country's highest government agency."

“In the Qing Dynasty Huidian, an official history book that recorded the laws and regulations of the Qing Dynasty, which was revised during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, there is not even a name for the Military Aircraft Department.”

"Because for Emperor Yongzheng, establishing the Military Aircraft Department was really a helpless choice."

He Shen: The military aircraft office at the beginning was extremely shabby. No one dared to believe that this simple place was the center of power of the Qing Dynasty.

When the Military Aircraft Department was first established, it only had a few simple wooden houses, and it didn't even have the seal of the Yamen.

It was not until the tenth year of Yongzheng's reign that, according to Emperor Yongzheng's decree, the academicians held discussions and decided to officially issue a large seal to the Military Aircraft Department. The seal was the seal for handling military aircraft.

At that time, the Ministry of Rites was ordered to cast the tortoise button, which was made of silver.

In the early years of Qianlong's reign, a new seal for the Military Aircraft Department was created, and the seal was changed to a seal for handling military aircraft affairs.

"In September 1620 AD, after two attempts to establish a prince failed, Nurhachi, the founder of the Later Jin Dynasty, launched a major initiative."

"Nurhaci selected eight Heshuobele from among his sons and nephews. At meetings every five days, they discussed national policies, formulated military policies, rewarded and punished officials, and could even remove the emperor."

"This measure, known as the Eight Kings' Discussion of Government in later generations, made the grassland tribes led by Nurhachi increasingly powerful, and eventually became a Houjin regime strong enough to compete with the Ming Dynasty."

"But it also brought endless troubles to the subsequent successors to the throne. The first person to feel this trouble was Nurhaci's son Huang Taiji."

"In 1626, Huang Taiji succeeded Nurhachi as Khan."

"However, there are several other Baylors who have almost as much power as he does."

"In order to establish his own ruling pattern of supreme monarchy and monopoly of power."

"Huang Taiji first deprived Zhubeile of his privileges to directly command troops, manage finances, and clear prisons by establishing eight ministers responsible for all affairs of the prime minister."

"Then he ordered the princes among the clan nobles and each banner to elect three additional ministers to handle state affairs together. This new form was named the Council of Ministers and Kings."

"In order to further weaken the influence of royal clansmen on the emperor's power, on the sixth day of March, 1636."

"Huang Taiji imitated the system of the Ming Dynasty and established the Three Inner Courts and Six Ministries, which were respectively responsible for drafting edicts, issuing orders and handling daily government affairs."

"But such reforms did not change the national characteristics of the Later Jin regime. Civil servants who were familiar with Confucianism were not allowed to participate in meetings on national affairs and did not have the power to participate in national governance. They also could not prevent the kings and ministers from competing for power."

Shunzhi: Grandpa Huang’s eight-king council system has brought great trouble to my father. Similarly, my father’s council of kings and ministers has also brought me great trouble.

The meeting of kings and ministers to discuss government affairs was a unique system of the Qing Dynasty. In addition to military and state affairs, the content of the discussions also included formulating laws and regulations, dealing with princes and ministers, etc.

Even after he entered the customs, the council of kings and ministers still had great power, which seriously restricted his imperial power.

Even to a certain extent, the power of the council of kings and ministers was greater than that of the emperor.

Sometimes, even if he, the emperor, is dissatisfied with the resolutions negotiated by the meeting of kings and ministers, there is nothing he can do about it.

"In August 1643, Huang Taiji died suddenly without warning."

"When all the kings of the Eight Banners were qualified as candidates, Prince Dorgon of Heshuorui, who held great power in the court, helped Shunzhi, who was only six years old, to ascend the throne of the Qing Emperor."

"For the first time in the history of the Qing Dynasty, there was a situation where young masters and important ministers appeared."

"The powerful Dorgon and the council of kings and ministers he controlled made great contributions to the Eight Banners of Manchuria becoming the orthodoxy of the Central Plains."

"But for the young Emperor Shunzhi, Dorgon became the de facto top decision-maker of the Qing court."

"In December of the fourth year of Shunzhi, at the request of the Manchu and Han ministers, Dorgon was allowed not to kneel down and worship the emperor."

"In November of the following year, Shunzhi promoted Dorgon to the position of regent for the emperor's father."

"In December of the seventh year of Shunzhi, 38-year-old Dorgon died of illness in Luanping, Hebei."

"The sudden death of a powerful minister who was above the monarch gave Shunzhi, who was only fourteen years old, an unexpected opportunity to take charge."

"Shunzhi made a series of Dorgon's crimes public, eliminated Dorgon's cronies, and appointed ministers who were dismissed by Dorgon."

"The Shunzhi Emperor, who had just taken over the imperial power, urgently needed to break the shackles of the ancestral system in the system and reduce his dependence on the meeting of kings and ministers in decision-making."

"But in the face of the increasingly perfect king's conference system for discussing politics, the young emperor did not have many effective methods, and the mature autocratic system of the Ming Dynasty naturally became an example that Emperor Shunzhi had to learn from."

"In 1658, Shunzhi ordered the establishment of a cabinet based on the three inner chambers, trying to reorganize a regime established on horseback into a stable civil regime."

"But just three years later, Shunzhi passed away."

Yongzheng: I love to tell the truth. Although Dorgon was rebellious, I have to say that Dorgon made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty.

It is no exaggeration for him to say that Dorgon was actually the real founder of the Qing Dynasty in establishing national rule.

Because the world had not yet been completely peaceful at that time, and Shunzhi was still young, only a few years old, everything depended on Dorgon.

At that time, Dorgon commanded the Qing army to enter the pass, send troops to fight the peasant uprising, and then went to the south of the Yangtze River to eliminate the Nanming regime.

So objectively speaking, Dorgon played a very important role in the establishment of the Qing Dynasty.

But no matter what, Dorgon hijacked the emperor to order the princes, and he deserved to die for such a heinous crime.

“With the ascension of the eight-year-old Kangxi to the throne of emperor, Emperor Shunzhi’s attempts at reform came to an end.”

"According to Shunzhi's edict, four political ministers who were not relatives of the clan, including Sony and Aobai, were appointed as auxiliary ministers."

"When the four auxiliary ministers came to power, they immediately ordered the abolition of the cabinet and abolished all the Chinese reforms made by Emperor Shunzhi."

"And Oboi, who originally ranked lower among the four ministers, has gradually concentrated the power of the Council of Ministers and the Cabinet in his own hands."

"In 1669, in May of the eighth year of Kangxi's reign, after the authoritarian and domineering Aobai group was eradicated in one fell swoop, the interrupted reforms were continued in the hands of Kangxi, who was only fifteen years old."

"In August of the following year, Kangxi ordered the restart of the cabinet and refined and improved the system according to the Ming Dynasty cabinet system, making the Qing cabinet truly the centerpiece of the national administrative system."

"Memories from officials at all levels across the country must be reviewed by cabinet scholars before they are sent to the emperor for approval, and then their review suggestions and handling opinions are sent to the emperor for approval together with the original petition documents."

"This so-called voting system was once the most important responsibility of the Ming Dynasty cabinet and the core power of the cabinet's academics."

"But in view of the lessons learned from the weight of the chief minister and assistant ministers in the Ming Dynasty's cabinet, Kangxi's power to grant bachelors was extremely limited."

"In the power structure established by Kangxi, the cabinet without real power became the nominal highest organ responsible for handling daily affairs of the country."

"However, under the established national policy of respecting Manchuria, the Council of Ministers and Kings still retains the privilege of reporting on important military and state affairs."

"In order to further strengthen the imperial power in his hands, Kangxi began to try to seek a breakthrough from the political system inherited from the Ming Dynasty."

"There is a row of houses on the south side of Qianqing Palace Square. It is the only place in the Forbidden City that is closer to the palace than the military aircraft office."

"In 1677 AD, Emperor Kangxi selected young Han officials who were erudite and good at calligraphy from the Hanlin Academy to form a new office here, the South Study Room."

"The South Study was originally a place where Emperor Kangxi studied, and the daily job of the officials who joined the South Study was to accompany the emperor to talk about the present and history."

"Although Kangxi warned many times that officials who were on duty in the South Study Room were not allowed to interfere with the government affairs handled by foreign dynasties, they were sometimes allowed to participate in the drafting and writing of special edicts."

Yongzheng knew more about the deeds of Emperor Shunzhi and Emperor Kangxi, so he could deeply understand the intention behind everything.

At that time, Lord Shunzhi passed away suddenly, and the newly established father was too young and not yet capable of handling government affairs. It was very practical that he needed some elderly ministers to assist him.

Since Lord Shunzhi was heavily sinicized, the princes and ministers of Manchuria were very dissatisfied with this.

These princes and ministers will take advantage of the opportunity of their father's accession to the throne to strengthen and highlight the power of the princely family.

The four auxiliary ministers assigned by Lord Shunzhi to his father had all contributed greatly to the Qing Dynasty, and they were specifically allowed to restrict the power of the king's ministers.

However, later on, Ao Bai became arrogant and domineering, monopolizing power by himself and endangering the imperial power.

So when my father grew up, he killed Obai.

In order to strengthen the imperial power, the father specially established a south study room.

Many of the people selected to go to Nanshufang were Han Chinese with high literary standards.

In the beginning, he accompanied his father to discuss knowledge, and then gradually developed to letting them participate in secrets.

Therefore, from the middle period of the father's reign, those who participated in the central decision-making included the Council of State Councilors, the Cabinet, and the South Study Room.

These three have their own division of labor and restrict each other. The final power is still concentrated in the hands of the father.

"The closer the relationship with the emperor, the greater the power in the hands. This is an eternal law in China's thousands of years of feudal dynasty."

"For the emperor, the growth of power in the hands of ministers is the weakening of the emperor's imperial power."

"Only one person rules the world, how can one serve the world? This is a couplet written by Emperor Yongzheng himself, from which we can feel his desire for centralization of power."

"In 1722, when the forty-five-year-old Yongzheng ascended the throne of the emperor, it was the seventy-eighth year since the Qing army entered the Pass." "After sixty-one years of Emperor Kangxi's governance, the Qing Dynasty has initially shown its characteristics. A prosperous situation.”

"But more than 20 years of experience in handling government affairs have also made this emperor in his prime very sober."

"In the last years of Kangxi's reign, government affairs were lax and there were many abuses. After the prince was deposed twice, the struggle for the throne also affected the stability of the political situation."

"And the political pattern of a few masters and many ministers, which happened twice in the history of the Qing Dynasty, made Emperor Yongzheng have lingering fears about the cabinet or the meeting of kings and ministers to discuss government affairs."

"Finally, when the military situation in the northwest was urgent, the Military Aircraft Department, which could help the emperor assume military power, became a breakthrough in Yongzheng's institutional reform."

“After creating the Military Aircraft Department to firmly control the general power in his own hands, Emperor Yongzheng found a tool to concentrate more power in his own hands, which was the memorial.”

Zhang Tingyu: Memorials were not initiated by the current emperor, but only began to exist during the reign of the late Emperor Kangxi.

He knew the memorial system very well and knew clearly that the reason why Emperor Kangxi adopted memorials was because they were fast and confidential.

Because in the past, when ministers reported matters to the emperor, the scripts they used were passed down through various agencies.

In the middle, there are steps such as writing summary, signing tickets, etc., so it is easy to leak secrets and the speed is slow.

The memorial was written by the minister himself and sent to the palace by a special person. The eunuch delivered the memorial directly to the emperor's case.

There are no links in between, it’s quick, and it’s very confidential.

As far as he knew, the earliest memorial was made by Li Xu, who was born in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the 32nd year of Kangxi.

In the Eight Banners system, the servants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs belonged to the emperor's personal servants, and the correspondence between the servants and their masters could also be regarded as the emperor's family letters.

In fact, Li Xu's secret records in the first ten years or so were all about local trivial matters such as rain, harvests, prices, etc., and there was no confidentiality at all.

But on top of the secret memorial, Emperor Kangxi still wrote a comment with a cinnabar pen, instructing Li Xu not to let others know about the memorial.

He understood that the reason why Emperor Kangxi implemented the memorial system was mainly because he was not very confident about local officials and Han ministers in the DPRK.

In this way, Emperor Kangxi could use the memorial system to let some close ministers monitor local trends, monitor the activities of local scholar-bureaucrats, and monitor other officials.

"In 1722 AD, after Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he immediately issued an order to expand the rank of officials with the right to submit memorials to the fifth rank."

"Officials inside and outside the capital, regardless of their official position, as long as they have the emperor's favor and special permission, even humble officials and even abbots and monks of temples can submit memorials and speak out."

"In the Forbidden City, the Military Aircraft Department is one of the few exhibition halls open to the public. Among the collections there is a special box for placing memorials that Emperor Yongzheng ordered the palace's skilled craftsmen to make."

"In order to ensure that the memorial is not leaked during the delivery process, the small lock on the box only has two keys."

"One hand is distributed to officials who have received the emperor's permission to report, and the other is kept by the emperor himself."

"The widespread promotion of memorial boxes made the emperor's eyes and ears spread all over the country."

"For officials at all levels, using memorials to speak secretly is more like a power granted by the emperor."

"Because no one can know what the memorial writer wrote in the memorial unless he has the emperor's permission."

"In this way, the emperor can directly learn about all the public and private events and interpersonal relationships between the central court and local officials, no matter how big or small, from the secret reports."

"At the same time, in addition to the normal relationship between leaders and the led, a relationship of mutual supervision and restriction has been formed between the local government and the central government."

"Such a flat supervisory system may not necessarily be feasible today as the democratic system becomes increasingly developed."

“The Qing Dynasty, when the monarchy’s autocratic system reached its peak, became a more effective tool for punishing official corruption.”

"However, this also creates a drawback, that is, ministers can inform each other, and lower-level officials can report across levels."

Liu Che: Although the Manchus were barbarians who took over the Central Plains, they still had some abilities. This memorial system is very good and I like it very much.

As an emperor, he immediately discovered the beauty of the memorial, which made him very happy.

For him, the biggest benefit of the memorial is that he can monitor all parts of the country and strengthen his control over the whole world.

If he promoted the memorial throughout the country, it would be equivalent to placing eyes and ears throughout the country.

In this way, he can quickly know what big and small things are happening in various parts of the world.

In addition, there is another biggest benefit, which is that officials everywhere will not dare to commit corruption. After all, there is no chance that someone will inform them around them.

Although the memorial system has some disadvantages, its advantages are also very obvious, and it is difficult for him not to be tempted.

When he thought of this, he secretly thought in his heart that maybe the memorial system could be used by big men.

"Among the surviving memorial manuscripts, there are more than 3,000 memorials from the Kangxi period."

"But the Yongzheng Dynasty, which only lasted for thirteen years, had 41,000 memorials."

"Calculated in this way, during the more than 4,000 days and nights in power, Yongzheng had to review ten memorials every day."

"Most of these memorials contain comments written by Yongzheng himself, ranging from numbers to nearly a thousand or even tens of thousands of words."

"According to the statistics of scholars, during the thirteen years of Yongzheng's reign, there were approximately 17 million words of written memorials."

"In addition to the memorials, there are more than 190,000 inscriptions and memorials from the Yongzheng period, and an average of more than 40 inscriptions are reviewed every day."

"Such a huge workload left Yong Zheng with little time to leave his desk."

"According to the "Notes on Yongzheng's Daily Life", Yongzheng started his day's work at five o'clock every morning."

"Contact with ministers, discuss and implement political affairs during the day, and review memorials at night. The busy work often lasts until late at night."

"Even when eating and resting, Yongzheng did not forget to deal with political affairs and did not dare to be relaxed and comfortable."

"For Yongzheng, the price of ruling the world with one person is not to patrol, not to hunt, and to take care of everything all year round."

"Emperor Yongzheng's diligence was an invisible pressure on his successors."

"In the thirteenth year of Qianlong's reign, there were as many as thirteen military ministers who were officially appointed, and assisting the emperor in handling memorials has become the main job of the minister of military aircraft."

"Among the memorials preserved during the Qianlong reign, only three characters of Zhu Pi, the most common one, are known."

He Shen: The emperor Zhu Pi knew three words, which are relatively less important. They were informed by the meeting, indicating that the emperor had read them.

There are generally several types of imperial approval, including those that have been read, those that have a purpose, and those that have other purposes.

There is an edict, which means there are additional opinions on how to deal with it. This reminds the minister that there are other opinions, and the specific opinions are later.

Or the other emperor has already taken care of it and asked the ministers to pay attention to other orders.

The original purpose of Emperor Yongzheng's establishment of the Military Aircraft Department was to improve efficiency and make it easier to implement the emperor's will.

Although he admired the diligence of the late emperor Yongzheng, he also knew that his successor, the current emperor, would definitely not follow suit.

After all, the late emperor died of overwork and illness because he was too diligent and diligent every day.

"In ancient times when transportation and communications were underdeveloped, the main function of a post station was to provide food and accommodation and replace horses for people delivering government documents and military intelligence or officials."

"The imperial court's orders were delivered directly to local officials through post stations of various sizes across the country."

"Despite the seemingly backward form, the emperor maintained effective and close ties with his vast empire."

"Most of what is passed through the inn is government affairs that are handled quickly and secretly by the military and military ministers without going through the hands of the cabinet, according to the emperor's orders."

"But no matter what method was used to issue orders, the Military Aircraft Department became a veritable central hub in the Qing Dynasty's political system."

"In such a power structure, the cabinet has evolved into a day-to-day administrative department, and the council of kings and ministers has completely lost its meaning of existence."

"Under this situation, Emperor Qianlong, who had concentrated all power in his own hands, ordered in the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign to cancel the title of the Councilor King and Minister, and the meeting system of Councilor King and Minister also disappeared."

"For the emperor, the military minister became an indispensable tool for him to manage the country's political affairs."

"With such close ties, the role of the Minister of Military and Aircraft is no longer as simple as drafting an edict."

"They need to be at the emperor's summons at any time for consultation, to participate in the selection of senior and important officials, to discuss major affairs with officials from relevant departments, and even to hear important cases."

"They are not only administrative heads, but also have the opportunity to participate in secrets. They are also in charge of ministry affairs. They have a high position of power and a distinguished reputation."

"But apart from status and reputation, they no longer have any power in their hands."

"These elites of the Qing Dynasty, who have gone through layers of selection and years of training and finally entered the core of power, can only serve as secretaries and think tanks to assist the emperor in managing the country."

Li Shimin: Issue orders through the Military Aircraft Department and concentrate all power in the hands of the emperor. This is a wonderful method!
Although he was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and had absolute majesty, he was sometimes controlled by the prime minister.

There is no emperor who does not want to centralize imperial power and issue orders without being restricted by anyone.

He has been doing this all the time, but with little success and encountering too much resistance. But now the Military Aircraft Department established by Yongzheng has inspired him.

If he could also set up a court institution similar to the Military Aircraft Department in the Tang Dynasty, let the Minister of Military Aircraft assist him in managing the Tang Dynasty, and no longer be restricted in exercising imperial power, just thinking about it would make him excited.

"In the 40th year of Qianlong's reign, the emperor discovered the dignified He Shen while inspecting his guards."

"In less than a year, the 27-year-old He Shen was promoted by the emperor to the right minister of household affairs, minister of military aircraft, and minister of the internal affairs."

"Although Emperor Qianlong stipulated that unless under special orders, military ministers could neither read memorials nor have the right to discuss national affairs."

"But after gaining the favor of the supreme ruler, officials can wield more power."

"In 1795 AD, Qianlong, who had been emperor for sixty years, abdicated the throne to his son Jiaqing, and became the Supreme Emperor who was still in charge of national affairs."

"And the power in He Shen's hands has reached its peak, while serving as the chief bachelor of the cabinet and the leading military minister."

"Heshen also took charge of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Lifan Yuan, and gained the unique highest power and prestige under the emperor."

"He Shen had the power to coerce the Supreme Emperor and order the emperor, so Emperor Jiaqing, who had no real power, had to be cautious."

"During private meetings, Jiaqing even allowed Heshen to perform the grand ceremony of kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times, so that many people privately called Heshen the second emperor."

"In the first month of the fourth year of Jiaqing, Emperor Qianlong passed away."

"Only ten days later, Emperor Jiaqing announced He Shen's twenty major crimes and ordered his family to be confiscated."

"In order to prevent the reoccurrence of the dictatorial power of the Minister of Military Aircraft, Emperor Jiajing began to vigorously rectify the Military Aircraft Department."

"It is strictly forbidden for internal and external officials to notify the Military Aircraft Department of what they have reported, and it is strictly forbidden for courtiers to flatter the Military Aircraft Minister. The prince is not allowed to be on duty at the Military Aircraft Department, and the Military Aircraft Minister and the Imperial Minister are not allowed to serve together."

"In order to prevent the Military Aircraft Department from leaking secrets, Emperor Jiaqing also specially ordered the Metropolitan Procuratorate to send a supervisory censor to take turns to be on duty in the duty room of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"After this series of establishment of rules and regulations, the Military Aircraft Department has greatly improved."

"In the "Jiaqing Huidian" revised in the 23rd year of Jiaqing, the project of managing the Military Aircraft Department officially appeared. Only then did the Military Aircraft Department become a legitimate central authority."

"Subsequently, Emperor Daoguang promulgated nine articles of the Military Aircraft Department in the 30th year of Daoguang. The rules and regulations of the Military Aircraft Department were further improved, and the authority of the Military Aircraft Minister was strictly controlled."

"Not only is it difficult to compare with the power of the past, but it cannot even match the situation during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods."

"A complete and highly centralized government framework has been gradually improved, and all government affairs are handled by one person, bringing the feudal imperial power to an unprecedented peak."

"In the territory of power distribution in the Qing Dynasty, there was no position that could threaten the supreme imperial power."

Jiaqing: Although the Supreme Emperor warned me not to kill Heshen when he was dying, I think it is very necessary to get rid of Heshen.

My father was an emperor who was very happy with his achievements. He spent a lot of money, and his personal expenses were also quite large.

In this regard, Heshen precisely met his father's needs, which was also an important reason why Heshen won his father's special favor.

There were cases where ministers impeached Shen Heshen, but the matter was suppressed by the emperor.

It can be said that the father values ​​Heshen very much, trusts Heshen very much, and can't live without Heshen, so he protects Heshen.

Even when my father was on his deathbed, he left his last words not to kill Heshen.

But he did not obey his father's last words, and finally chose to get rid of Heshen. This was the result of his political considerations.

During the Qianlong period, Heshen relied on his father's favor and became greedy and tyrannical.

He even secretly cultivated his own power network in an attempt to exclude him as the new emperor.

Moreover, He Shen once showed extreme arrogance and disrespect in front of him, and did not take him seriously at all.

He even went beyond him to ask his father to seek a title for him. His hatred for Heshen was already deep-rooted.

Another is that after he officially took power, the national treasury has become empty and there is an urgent need to increase fiscal revenue.

It is well known that Heshen is seriously corrupt, and he hopes to fill the vacancy in the national treasury by confiscating Heshen's property.

He had another important reason for getting rid of He Shen, which was to safeguard imperial power.

As the new emperor, he needs to consolidate his position and show his decisiveness and emperor's majesty.

And attacking the powerful minister Heshen can allow him to establish his authority and thereby stabilize the regime.

So there were many reasons why he got rid of He Shen, and he decided after careful consideration.

“In a political situation without opponents, blind confidence and complacency of rulers are most likely to breed.”

"But beyond the horizon of the rulers, change has become a worldwide theme."

“During the sixty years when Emperors Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng were in charge of the Qing Dynasty, the success of the Industrial Revolution transformed Britain into a huge empire occupying a quarter of the world’s total land area.”

“Through a series of wars, purchases, annexations and other means, the territory of the newly established United States also expanded from the west coast of the Atlantic to the east coast of the Pacific.”

"The European powers that have carved up the world are beginning to turn their attention to the last intact continent in eastern Asia."

"The Qing rulers who were about to face unprecedented challenges did not have the vision and courage of their ancestors."

"When it was necessary to adjust national policies at any time through reforms, following the ancestral system became the most basic attitude for the Qing rulers to deal with changes."

"In the direct conflict between Eastern and Western civilizations, in order to safeguard vested interests, we had to carry out political reforms called the New Deal but which did not touch the foundation of feudal rule."

"This closed and conservative attitude will eventually push the military, which represents the imperial autocracy, to the brink of destruction."

"In April 1911, with the establishment of the Responsible Cabinet, the Military Aircraft Department was completely abolished and withdrawn from the stage of history."

When the last emperors of the Qing Dynasty heard what the anchor said, they all lowered their heads in shame.

Facing external threats, they can only act anxiously, but they are powerless to change everything.

They also wanted to implement the New Deal to revive the Qing Dynasty from the ashes, but the opposition's obstruction was not something they could resist.

Although they are the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, once the New Deal touches the foundation of their rule, they will inevitably encounter crazy resistance.

If they forcefully implement the New Deal, let alone save the Qing Dynasty, it will only accelerate the collapse of the Qing Dynasty.

Facing the severe situation at home and abroad, the demise of the Qing Dynasty is a foregone conclusion and is far from what they can save.

Yongzheng was very sad that the Military Aircraft Department he founded eventually withdrew from the stage of history with the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)