Tracing China: Through history, dialogue between ancient and modern

Chapter 282
Qianlong's life was mixed with praise and praise.

It is similar to the Tang Xuanzong who was very "mysterious" all his life in history. He was a wise emperor in the first half of his life, and he was so stupid in the second half of his life.

So, in this world, there is no one who can be called the "perfect emperor".

It can be said that there are very few, including Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian and others, there are only a handful of them.

As powerful as Emperor Qin, Han Wu, Tang Zong and Song Zu, they are not perfect models of the feudal dynasty era.

Naturally, Qianlong was not either.

What about his whole life?

During his reign, the Qing Dynasty reached its highest peak since the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong, and Sinology developed greatly during this period.

On the basis of the cultural and martial arts of the Kangxi and Yongzheng dynasties, he further completed the unification of the multi-ethnic country, and the social economy and culture have further developed.

He attached great importance to social stability and cared about the people affected by the disaster. During his reign, he exempted the world's money and grain five times and grain in eight provinces three times, which reduced the burden on farmers. He also paid attention to water conservancy construction, which played a role in protecting agricultural production. full.

At the same time, he prospered in martial arts, made great achievements in quelling the rebellion in the border areas, maintained the unity of the country and expanded the territory, and perfected the rule of XZ, occupied XJ, officially included XJ in the territory of China, the territory of the Qing Dynasty This maximizes it.

Also, during her reign, folk art developed greatly, such as Peking Opera, which was formed during the Qianlong period.

However, in the later period of his reign, he was extravagant, the government was corrupted, and uprisings broke out in many places.

Moreover, his policy of closing the country to the outside world has reached the highest level, widening the gap with the West, causing a crisis in the rule of the Qing Dynasty, and the wind of literary inquisition is more severe than that of Kangxi and Yongzheng.

As for why he is greedy for enjoyment and why he frequently goes to the south of the Yangtze River, there are countless things.

Forbidden City Imperial Palace.

A debate between the ancients and the present has officially begun.

Qianlong was the first to say, "After I succeeded to the throne, the economy developed rapidly. Today, the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty far exceeds that of the Tang Dynasty and the Fu Song Dynasty. Do you agree with this?"

Lin Feng shook his head, "No!"

Qianlong was dumbfounded, "Could it be that you can't see the prosperity of the world?"

Lin Feng pretended to glance at the outside world, and asked questioningly, "Is the world in this era really a prosperous age where the country is rich and the people are strong?"

Qianlong gritted his teeth, "What did you see?"

Lin Feng said disdainfully, "It's just a backward small-scale peasant economy!"

Qianlong said more truthfully, "On tens of millions of square kilometers of land, agriculture is developed, and the people have food to eat and clothes to wear. How can they fall behind?"

Lin Feng pointed to the west direction and said, "Senior, do you know that at this moment, on the western continent, there is a country called the country that has started the process of industrialization?"

Qianlong, "Industrialization? That's just a mode of self-destruction!"

During this period, Qianlong actually saw the new weapons of the country, but people just looked down on them.

He doesn't look down on the so-called guns and cannons, but believes in his own horse bow and arrow.

Qianlong, from the beginning to the end, had a contemptuous and contemptuous attitude towards the country.

I feel that my Qing Dynasty is the number one in the world and the center of the world.

I don't know.

As early as around 1760 A.D., Yingguo was already realizing overtaking on curves, but what about the Qing Dynasty?This huge monster, backward and unaware, shaped like a centipede, is gradually rotting and dying...

Lin Feng squinted his eyes, "Senior, why do you look down on Yingguo?"

Qianlong breathed air through his nostrils, and said, "It's just a small country from overseas in the west. What's the future? I know the group of Western white-skinned people. As far as the country you mentioned, its economic strength is not as good as that of Jiangnan. Great province!"

Lin Feng said, "It's a pity that the country you despise will surpass the Qing Dynasty in a short time."

Qianlong shook his head, "Impossible!"

His attitude is very firm.

Even the light in his eyes was laughing at Lin Feng, thinking that Lin Feng, an uninvited guest, was just talking in his sleep.

Lin Feng said to himself, "According to the historical process, soon after, the country will complete its first industrialization and begin to expand to the whole world. Afterwards, it conquered one piece of overseas land after another. The name of the "Empire!"

"The country where the sun never sets?"

"It's ridiculous."

"What qualifications does it have? No matter how big its territory is, can it have a vast territory like the Qing Dynasty?" Qianlong had an expression of disbelief.

Lin Feng, "Not only is it larger than the territory of the Qing Dynasty, but it is also nearly three times larger."

Qianlong, "My Great Qing, at this time, has a vast land of 1300 million square kilometers."

Lin Feng, "When the sun never sets, the country's territory is the largest, exceeding 3300 million square kilometers."

"I don't believe it!"

"What you said is all about the future, it's just groundless suspicion!"

Qianlong's two rebuttals are not unreasonable.

How can you draw conclusions about things that didn't happen?
Lin Feng stretched out his finger, pointed towards the air, and said, "Senior, look..."

Subsequently.

The "documentary" about the rise of the empire on which the sun never sets begins to flicker, throb, and roll in the air...

These are real scenes.

Qianlong wanted to refute and kept asking. In just 3 minutes, he asked more than [-] questions about the details.

Lin Feng answered one by one.

In the end, Qianlong finally believed it. He sat decadently on the dragon chair and looked over, "Who are you?"

Only then did Lin Feng face up to his self-introduction, "Junior Lin Feng, who came from later generations, came through 230 years of history, just to talk to the ancients, and to unravel all kinds of secrets hidden in ancient times for the people of later generations."

across...

dialogue…

secret…

Qianlong's face became more tangled, but he looked at the light curtain above, but he had to believe it.

Lin Feng said again, "Senior, it was your national policy that caused the Qing Dynasty to lag behind step by step. In other words, since you started, the Qing Dynasty has fallen behind in the whole world and cannot catch up with the world."

"If you fall behind, you will be beaten. Your Qing Dynasty, since you, has been beaten and crushed, and began the tragic journey of losing power and humiliating the country."

Qianlong said excitedly, "After me, there will be generations of emperors, why are they not wrong?"

How could it be so easy to make this old man bow his head?
Lin Feng said with a serious expression, "Senior, it was you who formulated the strategy of suppressing business and focusing on agriculture, which led to the stifling of the strong capital development in the late Ming Dynasty, and fell behind the world trend from then on."

"Besides, when you came to exchange in Yingguo, you were too old to accept the development of the new era."

"You think your horses and cavalry are invincible, but under the guns and cannons, they are nothing more than a pile of scrap metal."

"Since the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, our artillery technology, our 26 types of firearms, the matchlock guns and flintlock guns we invented, etc., were leading the world at that time, but after your Qing emperor settled in the Central Plains, all the technologies Abandoned by you, abandoned by you."

"The junior really wants to say, you emperor of the Qing Dynasty, you are really stupid!"

……

This is the first time, traveling through ancient times, Lin Feng said such a disrespectful word.

Can he be angry?
Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties.

The pattern of war has evolved into a confrontational artillery fire.

But when it came to the Qing Dynasty, it actually returned to the primitive archery on horseback. The firearms were no longer studied, and the cannons were rusted. Are you angry?

When the western powers invaded.

When other people's artillery fire opened our country.

We still use backward bows and arrows to deal with other people's strong ships and sharp guns. Can we have a chance of winning?

In the end.

It was these Qing emperors who were stupid.

These Qing emperors were short-sighted, unable to see the development of the situation, complacent, stubborn and arrogant...

Seeing that the "economic topic" has lost.

Qianlong turned his attention to the "population issue", sat on the dragon chair, and talked about the skyrocketing population of the Qing Dynasty during his rule, which has now broken through the [-] million mark. .

Lin Feng wrote lightly, "The younger generation feels that this is a "hungry age"!"

Qianlong was a little evasive, "Later generations, do you have evidence?"

Many modern people boast about the prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong, saying that the population increased greatly in this era. Because of the rapid economic growth, the population can continue to break through.

But is this really the case?

In the 70s and [-]s, we were also extremely difficult and impoverished. At that time, our ancestors, no one, lived with tight belts, struggled hard, and survived with difficulty.

What about the population in the 70s and [-]s?
Isn't there also a population explosion?
What does this mean?
Could it be that in times of poverty, the population cannot increase?

Quite the opposite!
This is the "fatal" problem hidden in the population increase of the Qing Dynasty!
This is the food crisis behind the population explosion in the Qing Dynasty.

I believe that more than 90.00% of people have not considered this issue, and have seriously thought about it.

They are only obsessed with conditions such as planting sweet potatoes, economic stability, and taxation per mu.

In fact.

Terrible hunger, under the strange rule of the Qing Dynasty, could also lead to population explosion.

At this time, Lin Feng directly threw a blockbuster and asked, "Senior, let's say this year, what is the per capita food possession of the common people outside?"

As soon as the words came out.

Qianlong panicked immediately.

In modern times, some scholars believe that the per capita grain consumption of 700 catties in the middle and late Qing Dynasty is really overestimated.

Since the calculation is based on the yield per mu under the most ideal conditions, and does not include abandonment, fallow, natural disasters, etc., it will naturally lead to a huge amount of water.

In fact, in the year when New China was founded, our per capita grain possession was only 208.9 kilograms, or 418 jin. Considering the development of agricultural technology and the introduction of new varieties during the Republic of China, the grain possession in the middle and late Qing Dynasty would only be lower than this data.

If calculated on the basis of 50% water content, the per capita grain possession in the middle and late Qing Dynasty was only 350 jin.

The ruthless fact is that the per capita food possession is 350 catties, which is already at the dangerous red line of death. If it is lower than this value, widespread famine and even cannibalism will be staged everywhere.

In the feudal era with low productivity, soldiers in combat needed to consume two catties of raw rice every day.

Due to the lack of meat, ordinary people also need at least one catty to meet their needs.

Obviously, if an ancient regime’s per capita grain possession was less than 350 catties, it would be impossible to carry out military activities with much surplus grain, and it would be extremely difficult to maintain war horses and various livestock. We can believe that the per capita grain in the middle and late Qing Dynasty The grain possession data is actually the lowest point in the entire feudal period.

When Macartney, the leader of the mission of the country on which the sun never sets, set foot on the land of this ancient oriental country, what he saw were groups of hungry people with sallow complexions and malnutrition.

Not only were the common people looting expired food thrown away by others in groups, but even the soldiers were exhausted from starvation.

They are in rags and live in extreme poverty.

In the eyes of the pink people who firmly believe in the dream of Qianlong's prosperous age, this is undoubtedly the despicable slander of the Qing Dynasty by the shameless Yingyi.

They found Emperor Qianlong's refusal of the country's excessive request as the country's motive for discrediting the prosperous Qing Dynasty, and they were proud of their research results.

However, the bleak scene of hungry people everywhere in the Qing Dynasty was the inevitable result of the Qing Dynasty's unrestrained encouragement of population growth, but limited achievements in the development of productivity, and it was by no means the normal state of China's feudal era.

It is conceivable that when the rations that each commoner can obtain on average are only about one catty per day, and taxes are excluded, they will inevitably live in malnutrition.

In addition, archeology found that the middle and late Qing Dynasty was the lowest point of per capita height in the Chinese feudal era, which is enough to confirm this fact.

In the Tang Dynasty, the average height of the Han people was about 167cm, but in the Qing Dynasty it degenerated to 162-165cm.

Obviously, the population explosion of the Qing Dynasty led to widespread poverty and malnutrition, which is not very touted.However, when the per capita rations were in a dangerous red line for a long time due to excessive population growth, it was able to maintain the stability of the country. The ruling methods of the Qing Dynasty were really good.

In the end, Lin Feng said leisurely, "In such a "prosperous age of hunger", you can still sit firmly on the throne of the Ninth Five-Year Lord. How did you do it?"

Thousands of waves surged in Qianlong's heart. When he and Lin Feng looked at each other, he always felt that he was seen through by the other party. "Let the people not have enough to eat and starve to death. This is the supreme secret to control them."

I don't hide it anymore.

Qianlong also clearly knew his secret, in the eyes of this young man from later generations, there is no secret at all.

Because of all the history of the Qing Dynasty.

It's all in the minds of the young people of this future generation. Instead of being humiliated again, it's better to take the initiative.

Lin Feng sighed.

This is really a prosperous Qing Dynasty where "you can't eat enough and you can't starve to death"!
The huge demographic dividend gave Qianlong's court unprecedented financial revenue, and those in power asked historians to add embellishments to describe and hide the original cruel facts. This is the bloody truth behind the prosperity.

……

(End of this chapter)