In fact, some things had already laid the groundwork in the later years of Kangxi. The trend of luxury and corruption had already arisen. Later, after the Yongzheng period, it improved somewhat. In the face of reform measures such as strict economy and harsh punishments, it was somewhat controlled. However, by Qianlong's reign,
During this period, with the prosperity of society and economy and the absolute abundance of financial resources, extravagance and corruption resurfaced and became more and more serious.
Emperor Qianlong toured various places in the south of the Yangtze River six times in his life. During his travels, he naturally had to pick up and drop off drivers along the way. He carried out large-scale construction projects and the pomp was unprecedented. After Qianlong took the lead, those who came after him were naturally unparalleled. Officials of the Qing Dynasty took advantage of it.
Pick up cars and other opportunities, try your best to share donations, engage in corruption and bribery, and extort money.
From the emperor down, all the princes, nobles, civil and military officials, landlords and merchants all lived a life of feasting and extravagance. Especially the Manchu nobles were the most tainted with the habit of luxury and prostitution. Because the emperor took the lead in extravagance and corruption, bureaucracies everywhere
, the corrupt cells that had been lurking for a long time suddenly lost their restraint and gained the conditions to grow wildly. Then corruption and bribery became common in both the government and the public. In the middle and late Qianlong period, many major corruption cases occurred.
However, the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty was obviously very corrupt at that time, but Qianlong still pretended to be deaf and mute and refused to listen to advice. Corruption naturally caused the disorganization of the Qing Dynasty's military and was also the direct cause of the decline in the army's combat effectiveness.
The military is the main pillar of the state apparatus and the only guarantee of national strength and social stability. In the middle and late Qianlong years, political corruption led to military slack and armaments.
Originally, the Eight Banners Soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were an extremely powerful and skilled army. They were almost invincible when they entered the Pass and made great achievements for the Qing Dynasty. However, after only one generation, the Eight Banners Soldiers had lost the might of their ancestors.
Awesome, heroic and fighting spirit.
Since both the Eight Banners and the Green Camp were degraded due to corruption and completely lost their combat effectiveness, during the White Lotus Uprising, the Qing Dynasty had to mainly use rural warriors and regiment training from various places. During the Opium War, the Eight Banners, Green Camp, Xiang Yong, and regimental training were all used.
It didn't work. Hundreds of thousands of Qing troops were directly defeated by more than 10,000 British troops.
From then on, the Qing Dynasty fell into the abyss of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Due to the successive invasions of imperialism, coupled with civil strife such as the Taiping Rebellion, the situation became increasingly out of control and corruption became day by day. Military, political, and financial powers gradually shifted outwards and downwards.
, the authority of the Qing Dynasty was shrinking day by day. Under the impact of internal and external troubles and the erosion of internal corruption, the Qing Dynasty stepped towards the path of decline and collapse.
The inevitable consequence of the extravagance and corruption of the bureaucratic ruling institutions at all levels in the Qing Dynasty was to intensify the oppression and exploitation of the people, causing the majority of the people to live increasingly impoverished lives. Bureaucrats, nobles, landlords, and wealthy businessmen annexed land in large numbers, leaving more and more landless peasants.
, the people who lost their livelihood wandered around.
The number of refugees in various parts of the Qing Dynasty increased sharply, social instability became increasingly aggravated, conflicts between classes became increasingly acute, and a great social storm was brewing. In 1796, there was a White Lotus Sect uprising that lasted for nine years, and the Qing Dynasty mobilized more than ten people.
The total military strength of the six provinces barely put out the uprising after consuming 200 million taels of silver. This was not a simple uprising. This uprising involved many factors. At the same time, it also completely peeled off the cloak of the Qing Dynasty's prosperous era, exposing
It eliminated the essence of decay and weakness and became an important turning point in the Qing Dynasty's transition from prosperity to decline.
Li Ningyu knew in his heart that he alone could not change the accumulated cancers of the late Qing government, but after seeing the people who just wanted to have enough to eat, his heart bleeds, because the people are innocent existences, why do they rule
Why do we have to impose everything on those people who just ask for three meals a day?
After leaving the Tianlao, Li Ningyu did not leave immediately, but stayed outside the Tianlao, listening to the sounds that sounded like miserable roars to other people's ears, but to Li Ningyu's ears, it was all because of them.
Atone for everything you have done in the past!
But these were not enough, so Li Ningyu thought for a while and said to Jiang Zhongzheng on the side: "Tomorrow morning, take all four of them out to parade for three days!".
"Yes! But principal, these people are all princes of the Qing Dynasty. Is this appropriate?"
"Just do as I say!"
"Understood!" Hearing Jiang Zhongzheng's hesitation, Li Ningyu's eyes flashed with murderous intent, which frightened Jiang Zhongzheng beside him, because he rarely saw Li Ningyu with such an expression, even if he just ordered to communicate with various countries
When the war starts at the same time.
And all this was because Jiang Zhongzheng didn't understand how deeply Li Ningyu hated the governments that didn't care about the lives of the people.
Next, Li Ningyu changed his original plan and drove away directly to a secret prison. Originally, Li Ningyu was going to return to the headquarters, but after thinking about it, he decided to meet the main leaders of the Boxer Rebellion. According to Jiang Zhongzheng's report
, it seems that a leader of the Kanzi sect under the general altar has been arrested!
"Do you know what is going on with this person?"
"According to him and some Boxer members, this man named Zhao Sanduo is indeed the leader of the Boxer Kan clan!" In the car, Li Ningyu closed his eyes and rested, but he still asked about Chiang Kai-shek.
"Is there any other specific information?"
"The leader of the Boxer Rebellion named Zhao Sanduo, known as "Zhao Laozhu", his family has been farming for generations. When he was young, because his family was poor and had no way to live, he worked as a hawker in his youth. Because he learned Plum Blossom Boxing when he was young, he later changed his name
For Boxing, he set up a boxing ring in the border area between Zhili and Zhili provinces in Shandong, and had 2,000 disciples in the early years. In the 1890s, when foreign church forces colluded with local governments, he was invited by the local people to support him!"
"After the Boxer Rebellion broke out, he led the Boxer Rebellion to attack churches in various countries in Zhili and Shandong many times. He was once surrounded by Shandong Governor Yuan Shikai's troops. It is said that he suffered heavy casualties, but in the end he still led the remaining troops to break through!"
Hearing what Jiang Zhongzheng said, Li Ningyu couldn't help but frown, but still closed his eyes and asked: "Oh! Yuan Shikai is not his opponent?".
"Yes!……"
The Hongqi off-road vehicle finally stopped at a place after twists and turns in Beijing. Jiang Zhongzheng got out of the car with a lunge and opened the door for Li Ningyu. Then Li Ningyu walked into this place and detained the main members of the Boxer Rebellion in solitary confinement.
Temporary location.
Why didn't Li Ningyu imprison the Boxer members directly in the sky prison?
Because in his eyes, all the Boxers organized themselves together to resist the late Qing government because they had no way to continue their lives, so they should not bear full responsibility for this incident.
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