In the sixty-first year of Kangxi's reign, the skin of the prosperous age had already fester into the bones.
For decades, official governance has been lax, cliques in the government and the opposition are intertwined, and local officials are colluding. The vassal treasury lost tens of millions of silver, all the salt taxes went into private pockets, corrupt officials exploited people in the name of disaster relief, river repair, and military training. The people were displaced and the treasury was empty.
Everyone in the government and the public is tactful to protect themselves, civil servants talk about benevolence and justice, the powerful and powerful form cliques for selfish interests, and no one dares to touch their vested interests. All that is left of this prosperous era is an empty shell.
The fourth prince, Yinzhen, came to the throne at a critical moment. Everyone knew that he was cold-faced and ungrateful, and had a stubborn temperament. Both the government and the public looked down upon the new emperor, believing that he was unable to shake off centuries-old evils.
The civil and military affairs of the entire dynasty were in disobedience, old ministers banded together to deceive, local corrupt officials were covering up, and huge cases were covered up layer by layer. Everyone wanted to ignore this lonely emperor.
No one knew it, but the new emperor had long understood that the greatest disaster of the Qing Dynasty was never foreign invaders, but the Manchu dynasty.
From then on, Yongzheng acted like a lonely emperor and used thunderbolt methods.
Chasing shortfalls, confiscating corrupt properties, breaking up cliques, clearing up corruption, and reorganizing officials. One case implicated hundreds of officials, and one investigation went straight to the court.
He is not afraid of infamy, isolation, or turmoil between the government and the public, and he is determined to rid the world of official beetles.
When centuries-old abuses are uprooted and tens of millions of stolen money return to the state treasury, can those courtiers who mocked his harshness and cruelty prop up a truly prosperous country?
