Qianlong, this name has almost become synonymous with "prosperous times". In the TV series, he is charming and suave, and in the history books, he has eternal achievements, perfect martial arts, prosperous times of Kangxi and Qianlong, and his aura is so dazzling that people dare not look directly at him.
But is the truth really so?
This book ripped off the gold foil. During his sixty-year reign, Qianlong imbued the huge state machine of the Qing Empire with his unique personal temperament, which was shrewd and arrogant, strong and flamboyant, diligent and conservative. He reached the pinnacle of the old system, but was unaware of the great changes in the world under the wave of globalization. The so-called "prosperous age" is just a repetition of the Wenjing and Zhenguan reigns without any new ideas. Behind the so-called "perfect martial arts" is the emptiness of the national treasury and the decline of people's livelihood.
The aura of the emperor was infinitely magnified, and the civil servants and generals who surrounded him were far from what they were in the TV series. Zhang Tingyu was cautious, Fu Heng carried forward with a heavy load, Agui was upright, Fukangan was arrogant, and Heshen was shrewd and greedy... The true appearance of each of them is much more complicated and darker than the joke.
Don't be fooled by TV series again. Open this book and see a real Qianlong and an era that is seriously overestimated.
