Chapter 357 Chapter 356 Holy Ancestor Aixinjueluo Xuan Ye

Xuanye is the third son of Emperor Shunzhi, born on March 18th in the eleventh year of Shunzhi (AD 1654).His biological mother is Tong.Tong Yangzhen, Tong's grandfather, followed Qing Taizu Nurhachi to fight against the Ming Dynasty and was the founding hero of the Qing Dynasty.Her father, Tong Tulai, was a member of the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army and had made many military exploits.As a result, the Tong family became a prominent family in the Eight Banners Han Army.In order to ease ethnic conflicts, Emperor Shunzhi changed the custom of choosing concubines from Mongolian nobles, and began to choose concubines from the Han army. Tong was elected to the Qing Palace.But the Tong family was not favored by Shunzhi, so Xuan Ye was also neglected by Emperor Shunzhi.

Fortunately, Xuan Ye's grandmother, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, loved Xuan Ye's mother and son very much.She sent her maid Lagu Su Ma to assist the nanny in taking care of Xuan Ye and teaching him to read and write.She also often taught Xuan Ye personally.The teachings of his grandmother fell into the heart of the young Xuan Ye like spring rain, which not only compensated to a certain extent for the fatherly love he longed for, but more importantly, cultivated the qualities that would be indispensable to him as an emperor in the future. Although the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang has been cultivating Xuanye with the standards of a future monarch, Shunzhi loves Concubine Dong E wholeheartedly and hopes to make her son the prince.But who ever thought that the fourth son of the emperor born to Concubine Dong E had a poor life and died in only 3 months.Since then, Xuan Ye's situation has improved.When Xuanye was 6 years old, he went to the palace to meet Shunzhi with his elder brother Fuquan and younger brother Changning.After greeting his father, Shunzhi asked his sons what their ambitions were.Chang Ning is only 3 years old and cannot answer.Fu Quan was born to a concubine, he was old but low in status, he replied: "I would like to be a good king." Xuan Ye replied loudly: Follow the emperor's father and work hard.Shunzhi knew that this was the Queen Mother's order, and he began to have the idea of ​​Xuanye inheriting the throne.Two years later, the young Emperor Shunzhi fell ill. Under the insistence of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, Shunzhi issued a will to make Xuanye the crown prince.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month in the eighteenth year of Shunzhi (AD 1661), Xuan Ye ascended to the throne under the personal auspices of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and the following year was changed to the first year of Kangxi.The empress dowager Xiaozhuang thus took on the important task of assisting the second generation young master-Kangxi.On the fifth day of Kangxi's ascension to the throne, she issued an edict to the royal family and ministers of civil and military affairs: To repay the kindness of my son, Emperor Shunzhi, she must work together with the four ministers to help the young master, so that her name will go down in history.The empress dowager's majesty and affection for the emperor's grandson are beyond words.The four ministers assisting the government are also a new system adopted by Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Tong Shunzhi after repeated consideration.According to the old system of the Qing Dynasty, the princes of the clan assisted the young master in handling government affairs.However, the Empress Dowager still had a fresh memory of Prince Rui Dorgon's dictatorship after the regency in the early years of Shunzhi, so she changed the old system and let senior ministers assist in government affairs, and took the decision-making power into her own hands.In addition, the queen mother put more energy on guiding Kangxi to study and govern.She taught Kangxi earnestly, to live up to the expectations of the people, to be generous and benevolent, to be cautious in words and deeds, and to inherit the inheritance of her ancestors.

When Kangxi came to the throne, he was not yet 8 years old.Although he matured early under the careful nurturing of his grandmother, it is still too early to take on the heavy responsibility of managing the country.Fortunately, Shunzhi had made arrangements in his will to entrust Sony, Sukesaha, Ebilong and Aobai to assist the government.The four ministers made an oath in front of Emperor Shunzhi's spiritual seat: to be loyal, not to seek personal gain, not to form party members, not to accept bribes, to faithfully repay the emperor's favor, and to assist the monarch with all his strength.Among the four ministers, Suo Suo, Obai and E Bilong were all from the Two Yellow Banners. They were veteran ministers who followed Qing Taizong in the southern and northern wars, and later supported the young Shunzhi Emperor to the throne.When Dorgon took power, they were regarded as thorns in the eyes because of their loyalty to Shunzhi.It was not until Shunzhi came to power that they were reinstated and further reused.Although Suksaha among the four ministers is Dorgon's close attendant, after Dorgon's death, he reported the crime of violating the ancestral system and attempting to rebel against Dorgon's funeral clothes, which won the support of Emperor Shunzhi and the Empress Dowager. trust.For a long time, they have been loyal to Shunzhi and the Queen Mother, so they can rank above the clan kings Baylor as courtiers with different surnames, and take on the great task of assisting the young emperor Kangxi.

At the beginning of assisting the government, the four ministers negotiated with each other, and if they wanted to play a role, they went to the emperor or the queen mother together, and after the queen mother made a decision, they issued the decree in the name of the emperor or the queen mother.Although the auxiliary ministers have no decision-making power, they can enter the government, draft proposals, and represent the young emperor's imperial approval. Later, Oboi took advantage of this loophole. Aobai is a man of Xianghuang Banner, the nephew of Fei Yingdong, the founding father of the Qing Dynasty.Prominent family background and outstanding military achievements made him rise to the rank of Duke.Aobai is ambitious, good at playing tricks, arrogant and domineering, and many people fear him.As the elder of the four dynasties, although Sony was highly respected, he was old and weak at this time, unable to do what he wanted.Ye Bilong is cowardly and has no opinion, and he belongs to the same banner as Aobai, so his interests are closely related, so he always echoes.Although Sukhasa is only second to Soni among the four ministers, he has low qualifications and has always had a rift with Soni.In this way, the situation of negotiating and assisting the government was soon broken, and the power gradually fell into the hands of Aobai, who was determined to monopolize the government.He is cronyist, has a wide range of party members, and constantly expands his influence.University scholar Bumbleshan, Minister of the Ministry of Officials Gachuha, and Minister of Industry Jishi are all his cronies who have been placed in key positions.When encountering political affairs, they often decided on countermeasures privately, and then reported to the emperor, and even intercepted the memorial, blocking Kangxi's direct contact with his ministers, in order to control the government and evade the young emperor.

In the sixth year of Kangxi (AD 1666), in order to benefit his own Zhengbai Banner, Obai insisted on transferring the banner land that had been cultivated for decades, which caused the land to be barren and the people to complain.Sunahai, Minister of the Household Department, Governor Zhu Changzuo, and Governor Wang Deng jointly wrote a letter against it. Obai was furious and forced Kangxi to agree to execute the three people. After failing, he ordered the three people to be hanged. Seeing that Oboi was so domineering, Sony felt deeply ashamed of the great trust he had given to the late emperor but was helpless.Therefore, when Kangxi was 14 years old, he wrote many times asking Kangxi to be in power in order to deprive Oboi of his power.

With the permission of his grandmother, the Empress Dowager, Kangxi held a pro-government ceremony on the seventh day of July in the sixth year of Kangxi according to the ancestral system.Before Kangxi came to power, Sony had passed away, and Oboi's ambitions were further expanded. He wanted to surpass Sukesaha and Ye Bilong, occupy the position of Sony, and then become the prime minister, with even more power.So, he wooed Suksaha to recommend him, but was rejected.The old hatred and the new hatred made Aobai determined to get rid of Sukesaha.Sukesaha knew that he was no match for Oboi and his gang, in order to avoid the danger of killing him, he wanted to retreat bravely, so he wrote a letter requesting to guard the mausoleum of the first emperor.Kangxi didn't understand Suksaha's actions, so he sent someone to ask the reason, and asked the king and ministers to discuss the affairs.Aobai was afraid that once Suksaha's request was approved, he would follow his example and hand over the auxiliary power.So Suke Sahalo was charged with 24 crimes, including having resentment in his heart, and he must be sentenced to death.Under the control of Oboi, the Council of Ministers of the King and Minister of State Council requested that Suke Saha be executed in a timely manner.Kangxi was shocked when he received the memorial.He thought that Suksaha was an important minister in the former court, and he had worked diligently and assisted for seven years, so he should be rewarded, so what is the crime?He immediately summoned Wang Jieshu, Aobai, E Bilong and others to discuss politics, and pointed out that there was an error in the replay.Aobai preempted the attack and said forcefully: "I didn't have any grudges with Sukesaha at first, it was just that he deceived the emperor, so he decided it justly, and he must be severely punished. Otherwise, it would be bad for anyone to follow his example. It's done." Kangxi said: "It's not that there are people who bully the emperor, Sukesaha still abides by the rules." Kangxi refused to accept Oboi's invitation, and Oboi became furious, glaring and waving his arms, and raped him in the Golden Palace for days. At the same time, his party members also followed suit, and finally forced the young Kangxi to order Suksaha to be hanged.Facing Aobai's advancing step by step, Kangxi couldn't bear it anymore.But Kangxi knew that Oboi had many followers and great influence, and he was born as a general with good martial arts skills, so he was not easy to subdue, and if he was a little careless, he would harm himself, so he stepped up his efforts to eliminate Get rid of this rape plan.Since most of the existing bodyguards are under the control of Oboi and are not very reliable, Kangxi first selected hundreds of princes and younger brothers from various palaces as his bodyguards to form a good battalion and let them wrestle and punch all day long. In one year, everyone has practiced martial arts with high strength.When Aobai heard about this, he thought the emperor was young and playful, so he didn't take it to heart.In the second step, he made Oboi a first-class prince, and Oboi felt even more safe and sound.The third step is to appoint Suo'etu as the first-class bodyguard.Suo Ertu is the son of Sony and the uncle of Kangxi. In the name of playing chess with Kangxi, he formulated an overall plan to capture Oboi.In order to ensure the safety of the operation, Kangxi sent Aobai's party members out of Beijing to work in advance, and he called the members of the Shanpu camp to mobilize.Kangxi asked everyone: "Are you afraid of the emperor or Oboi?" The guards replied in unison: "Only fear the emperor!" I saw Kangxi sitting in the middle, flanked by majestic young guards.Seeing that the situation is not good, Oboi wanted to repeat the old tricks and show off his power. Unexpectedly, when Kangxi gave an order, the young guards rushed up and took down Oboi.This power traitor who had been rampant for several years and had power over the government and the public suddenly became a prisoner.Prince Kang Jieshu interrogated Aobai on the order of Kangxi.Soon, 30 crimes of Obai's party dictatorship were announced.In the end, thinking of his meritorious service in rescuing Qing Taizong Huang Taiji, he pardoned his capital crime and let him spend the rest of his life in prison.Kangxi also punished Obai's henchmen according to the seriousness of the crimes. Ji Shi and others who committed the most heinous crimes were executed, and the rest were dismissed and demoted.At the same time, Sunahai and others, who were framed by Ao Bai, were brought to justice.Suksaha's descendants inherited his title and world position.Kangxi carried out a large-scale exchange of officials at all levels, and issued the "Sixteen Articles of the Sacred Edict", which was intended to refresh the government and completely eliminate the bad influence of Oboi.

Kangxi, who was only 16 years old, showed amazing courage and wisdom in the struggle against the Obai Group.Since then, he has firmly held the power of the government in his own hands and began to give full play to his political talents. After Kangxi took office, after some consideration, he listed the most urgent affairs of governing the country, and then personally wrote the banner of "San Francisco, River Affairs, Water Transport" and hung it on the pillars in the palace to remind himself at any time.It can be seen that solving San Francisco is the most important event that Kangxi never forgets.San Francisco refers to the three vassal kings Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, and Geng Zhongming who surrendered to the court, and they are entrenched in the three provinces of Yunnan, Guangdong, and Fujian respectively.The kings of the San Francisco descended to the Qing Dynasty successively in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, and made great contributions to the entry of Qing soldiers into the customs.Wu Sangui was named Pingxi King, and Shang Kexi and Geng Zhongming were also awarded the titles of Pingnan King and Jingnan King respectively.

Because of old age and sickness, Shang Kexi has handed over the feudal affairs to his son Shang Zhixin.Shang Zhixin is cruel and violent, drunk and murderous, even Lao Tzu is not in his eyes.He once cut off the meat of pedestrians and fed them to dogs, and even stabbed to death the official supervisor sent by Shang Kexi to deliver the letter for fun.Shang Kexi was worried that his son would cause trouble sooner or later, and at the same time, he was unwilling to be coerced by him, so he wrote a letter in the spring of the twelfth year of Kangxi (1673), requesting to return to his hometown in Liaodong for the elderly. , All its soldiers were withdrawn to their original places.When the news came, Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong (Geng Zhongming's grandson), who had inherited the title of Prince of Jingnan, were both terrified and disturbed. They also wrote a letter pretending to request the withdrawal of the feudal clan to test the court's movements.

Kangxi convened all the ministers to agree on the withdrawal of the feudal domain.Most people disagree.They put forward various reasons: some thought it would be too costly to send troops to guard the original vassal after withdrawing the vassal;The ministers of Baylor, king of politics, also talked about it and couldn't agree on what to do.Only a few people, such as Minister Mingzhu of the Ministry of War, Minister Mi Sihan of the Ministry of Housing, and Mo Luo of the Ministry of Punishment, firmly advocated the withdrawal of the vassal. The 20-year-old Emperor Kangxi resisted all opinions and made the final ruling: "As requested by him, move all the San Francisco out of Shanhaiguan." , Wu Sangui and others have ambitions and have planned for a long time. If San Francisco is not eliminated as soon as possible, they will surely breed tigers and endanger the world.Therefore, Kangxi sent Zhe Erken, the servant, and Fu Dali, a bachelor, to Yunnan, Liang Qingbiao, the secretary of the household department, to Guangdong, and Chen Yibing, the servant of the official department, to Fujian to urge the withdrawal of the feudal vassal.

In order to avenge his family, Wu Sangui lured the Qing army into the customs to massacre the peasant uprising army, so that the Qing soldiers could drive straight in.He betrayed the Ming, and he had a different ambition in his mind.After guarding Yunnan, Wu Sangua took advantage of the privilege of monopolizing one side, recruiting surrenders and accepting rebels, extorting violently, constantly expanding his strength, and becoming the most powerful among the San Francisco.His ambitions swelled accordingly.The officials he appointed in the name of the vassal mansion, the officials and the soldiers are not allowed to interfere, and the officials he recommended are called "Xuanxuan" all over the world.He tried his best to insert his best friend in every critical place.His son Wu Yingxiong was selected as the consort (that is, son-in-law) of Huang Taiji's daughter, thus becoming Wu Sangui's eyes and ears in the capital.Wu Sangui has 53 assistant leaders and more than 12,000 soldiers.Every year, the imperial court pays Wu Fan a salary of more than 9 million taels of silver.Wu Sangui also collected taxes on his own, opened mines, minted money, and exchanged tea and horses with Tibet to amass wealth and mobilize horses and soldiers.The scheming Wu Sangua was afraid of revealing his feet while preparing for the rebellion, so he made a large-scale construction project, recruited beautiful women, and paralyzed the court by pretending to be content with pleasure and without ambition. In the winter of the twelfth year of Kangxi (AD 1673), Wu Sangui believed that the time had come, so he proclaimed himself "Marshal of All the World Recruiting Soldiers and Horses", held up the banner of "Xingming Begging Captives" and openly rebelled. After Wu Sangui publicly rebelled, his party members scattered all over the country responded one after another.Emergency documents from all over the country were frequently sent to the capital, and the whole court was shocked.Those who originally opposed the withdrawal of the feudal domain took the opportunity to slander, thinking that the Wu family's rebellion was caused by the withdrawal of the feudal domain.The university scholar Suo'etu actually asked to kill Mingzhu and others who advocated withdrawing the feudal clan to thank for their rebellion.The young Emperor Kangxi was fearless in the face of danger and severely refuted these arguments for protecting the vassal.He said: "The San Francisco is blazing day by day. Withdrawal is also rebellion, and if it is not withdrawn, it will be rebellion. Therefore, it will never follow the example of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty by punishing Chao Cuo to quell the chaos of the Seven Kingdoms." Afterwards, Kangxi issued an order to counter the rebellion with arms. At this time, the other two vassals also raised their anti-flags, and the flames of war raged across most of China.Kangxi believed that Wu Sangui was the culprit of the San Francisco rebellion, and if Wu Sangui was eliminated, other rebels would not fight and disperse, so he determined a strategy to focus on attacking Wu Sangui.Kangxi appointed Le Erjin as General Jingkou, ordered him to attack the rebels from Hunan, and strictly prevented the rebels from invading Huguang from the east; he also sent General Wallo to Sichuan to cut off the way for the rebels to enter Shu; at the same time, he ordered Mo Luo to lead his troops to station Xi'an, to prevent the rebels from advancing to the northwest. Wu Sangui, who had been arrogant for a while, under Kangxi's careful deployment and successive blows, saw that the general situation was over, and wanted to struggle to the death, so he hurriedly staged the scandal of ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor.In March of the seventeenth year of Kangxi, Wu Sangui sent people to hastily build more than a hundred cottages in Hengyang, and painted the roofs with yellow paint to make it a royal palace.On March 18th, Wu Sangui hurriedly boarded a temporary altar to worship heaven and earth, changed the name of the country to Zhou, completely threw away the fig leaf of "Fuming", and exposed his wolfish ambitions to the world. Not only did his situation not improve, but he became more isolated .At this time, the offensive of the Qing army became more and more unstoppable, and the Wu dynasty was increasingly trapped in internal and external difficulties.Wu Sangui, who was 67 years old, was in constant fear and had only been the "emperor" for less than 5 months. He suddenly suffered from a stroke and died of hiccups.After Wu Sangui died, his son Wu Shifan succeeded to the throne. In the 19th year of Kangxi, Kangxi ordered the Qing army to march into Yunnan, Wu Sangui's hometown, in three routes, and launch a general attack on the rebels.Soon after, the Qing army invaded Yunnan and surrounded Kunming tightly. Most of the defenders surrendered.In the 20th year of Kangxi (AD 1681), the San Francisco Rebellion, which lasted 8 years and affected most of China, was finally put down. After the San Francisco Rebellion was put down, Kangxi decided to recover Taiwan.At that time, the ruler of Taiwan was Zheng Chenggong's 12-year-old grandson Zheng Ke Wang Shuang. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the country was in decline and the military equipment was slack, so the island of Taiwan was occupied by the Dutch colonists who took advantage of the situation.On February 1, the first year of Kangxi, Zheng Chenggong, who was still insisting on resisting the Qing Dynasty, regained Taiwan, which had been occupied by the invaders for 38 years.In this year, Zheng Jing, the son of Zheng Chenggong, proclaimed himself king with the support of his subordinates, and led the army against Zheng Chenggong.Zheng Chenggong, who was only 39 years old, suffered such a heavy blow suddenly during his illness and died of grief and anger.During the San Francisco Rebellion, Zheng Jing once conspired with Geng Jingzhong to attack Guangdong, and agreed to divide the world equally after the event was completed.After Geng Fan surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Jing still rallied his subordinates to harass the coastal area, burning, killing and looting, which was a gang of piracy.At this time, Zheng Jing had already abandoned Zheng Chenggong's original intention of conquering Taiwan to resist the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty.Under the attack of the Qing army, Zheng Jing quickly lost his foothold on the southeast coast and led his troops back to Taiwan.After the death of Zheng Jing in the 20th year of Kangxi (AD 1681), his eldest son ascended the throne, but was hanged by guard Feng Xifan and others soon after.Feng Xifan also made his son-in-law, Zheng Jing's youngest son Zheng Ke Wang Shuang king, and usurped power.At this time, the Zheng Group has lost the hearts of the people, and Taiwan's political situation is turbulent. After San Francisco was basically pacified, Kangxi accepted the suggestion of Fujian Governor Yao Qisheng and decided to take advantage of the civil strife in Zheng's group to recover Taiwan by force.Kangxi has made up his mind to regain Taiwan by force, and the appointment of capable military generals has become a top priority.Yao Qisheng had repeatedly recommended Shi Lang, Zheng Chenggong's former subordinate, as the admiral of the Fujian Navy, and later Shi Lang was strongly recommended by other ministers.But because Shi Lang was demoted, he was criticized a lot.Kangxi tried his best to reject all opinions, and solemnly announced to the ministers in July of the 20th year of Kangxi that Shi Lang was appointed as the admiral of the Fujian Navy and crowned Prince Shaobao. After Shi Lang took office, he immediately began to adjust the force and train the navy.In order to wait for the right time, the time for leaving the teacher was delayed again and again, and in the blink of an eye, it was the 21st year of Kangxi, and there was a lot of talk.During this period, Shi Lang and Yao Qisheng disagreed on the arrangement of the campaign. Shi Lang wrote three times to request that he be granted the right to conscript and lead the army to campaign on his own.Although Kangxi was also dissatisfied with the repeated delays in dispatching troops, he was not influenced by public opinion. Considering that naval battles must be unpredictable and difficult to predict in advance, he adopted a very cautious attitude.He has no doubts about employing people, and in order to ensure victory in the battle, he agreed to Shi Lang's request and gave him the right to enlist. In July of the 22nd year of Kangxi, Shi Lang led more than 20,000 officers and soldiers on more than 230 warships and went straight to Penghu.Qing warships gathered in the sea.The scrambling to attack first affected the offensive, and caught up with the ebb and flow of the wind, Shi Lang's command ship went down the current and fell into a tight siege.Lan Li, a guerrilla from the right battalion of the admiral's department, rushed into the siege without hesitation, and joined forces with Shi Lang to attack, and 4 enemy ships were sunk.During the fierce battle, Lan Li was hit by artillery fire, and his intestines flowed out, but he was bandaged a little and went into battle again.Shi Lang ignored the blood on his face and still commanded the warship to break through.After the defeat in the first battle, Shi Lang carried out a short-term rectification of the navy, and then launched a decisive battle with Zheng Jun.The fleet of the Qing army used 5 ships as a combat unit, known as the "five plum blossoms" tactic. They cooperated with each other tacitly and formed a local advantage of 5 against 1 to attack the enemy ships.The battle lasted from early morning to evening, arrows and stones were like dense raindrops, and artillery fire covered the sky.After this battle, the main force of Zheng's army was almost wiped out, and the door to Taiwan was opened.Zheng Ke Wang Shuang, who was trapped on the isolated island, saw that the situation was over, so he had to send someone to send a surrender form to the Qing army.After receiving the surrender form, Kangxi thought: If he is not allowed to surrender, the remnant of Zheng Jun may go to other places to cause trouble, so it is better to appease him.He also decided to resettle Zheng's big and small officials Jia En who had surrendered.Kangxi's decree dispelled Zheng Kewang Shuang's last doubts.On August 13th, the Qing army led by Shi Lang landed on Taiwan Island to the sound of drums, and Zheng Ke and Wang Shuang led a detachment to welcome them.So far, Taiwan has returned to the embrace of the motherland. After Taiwan's return, disagreements arose among the abandoned imperial courts surrounding Taiwan.Some people use Taiwan's isolation overseas as an excuse to move all Taiwanese to the mainland and abandon Taiwan.Some people even advocated that Taiwan should be given to the Dutch, so that they would keep paying tribute for the rest of their lives, in order to show the power of the pilgrimage.Xuan Lang conducted a field investigation in Taiwan specifically for this purpose, and refuted the argument of abandoning Taiwan based on facts and reasons.He wrote to Kangxi, stating that Taiwan is the key to the security of the four provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, and the guarantee for the southeast.Therefore, Taiwan not only cannot give up, but must also strengthen its defense.Kangxi accepted Shi Lang's suggestion, established the Taiwan government and the three counties of Taiwan, Fengshan, and Zhuluo in Taiwan, and sent 8,000 garrisons to Taiwan and 2,000 garrisons to Penghu.This will greatly enhance the defense of the southeast coast and promote the development of Taiwan's economy and culture. The Northeast region has always been regarded by the Manchus as the birthplace of their ancestors.In the seventeenth century, Tsarist Russia extended its claws of aggression to this fertile land.The aggression of Tsarist Russia was a serious problem for Kangxi.After taking office, he closely watched Tsarist Russia's aggressive activities, and sent people many times to understand the terrain, transportation, and customs of the Northeast.However, because the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty was not over at that time, and then there was the San Francisco Rebellion, Kangxi did not take into account the counterattack against the Russian aggression.In the spring of the 21st year of Kangxi (AD 1682), the San Francisco rebellion had just been put down, and Kangxi led the ministers of civil and military affairs to Shengjing to pay homage to the ancestral mausoleum.Immediately after the ceremony, he inspected the Ula area (now Jilin City), and led his subordinates to hunt and practice martial arts; he also went boating to inspect the navy.He started preparations for armed resistance against Russia, and at the same time he did not give up his efforts to peacefully resolve the Sino-Russian border dispute. However, the Tsarist Russian government had no intention of conducting peace talks. Instead, the Qing government expanded its aggression against China's northern territories while the Qing government was doing its best to quell the San Francisco to clean up the mess and regain Taiwan and other military forces.Under such circumstances, Kangxi decided to carry out an armed counterattack to expel the Tsarist Russian invaders.In the 21st year of Kangxi, Kangxi sent Lang Tan and Peng Chun to the front line to survey the terrain in the name of hunting deer and investigate the aggression activities of Tsarist Russia.The following year, Kangxi decided to send troops to permanently station in the Heilongjiang River Basin in the autumn of the following year.The Qing army marching to the Heilongjiang area was welcomed and supported by the local people of all ethnic groups.The military and civilians jointly fought against the Russian invaders. By the 22nd year of Kangxi, the Russian invaders in the middle and lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River Basin were basically wiped out, and only Yaksa was still occupied by the Russian invaders. With the support of the people of all ethnic groups in the Heilongjiang area, the Qing army made a lot of preparations for the recovery of Zhikesa.Before the Qing army attacked Yaksa, in accordance with Kangxi's decree, the Qing government repeatedly expressed its desire to peacefully resolve the border issue to Tsarist Russia, but Tsarist Russia ignored it and continued to prepare for war in Yaksa.In June of the twenty-fourth year of Kangxi, the Qing army came to the city of Yaksa. On June 24, 3,000 troops led by Peng Chun attacked the city of Yaksa by land and water.In the early morning of the next day, the Qing army sent Lin Xingzhu's rattan soldiers to block the Cossack reinforcements from the upper reaches of Heilongjiang.The rattan soldiers put their rattan tags on their heads, entered the water naked, and advanced with a big knife in their hands.Due to the cover of the rattan plate, the enemy's swords and guns could not display their prestige, but the swords of the Qing soldiers were invincible.Seeing this, the enemy was startled and frightened, shouting "the big hat tartar is coming" and ran for their lives.Most of the reinforcements were defeated by rattan soldiers.That night, the Qing army launched a fierce offensive.They feigned an attack in the south of the city to contain the enemy's forces; they set up red cannons in the north of the city to carry out the main attack.After a night of fierce fighting, Yaksa's towers and city walls were all destroyed, and more than 100 enemies were killed.A small group of stubborn enemies gathered in the city, so the Qing army piled up firewood on three sides below the city, preparing to burn the city.The desperate invaders were forced to surrender to the Qing army, and their leader Tolbuzin swore to the commander of the Qing army that he would never come to Yaksa again to make trouble.Following Kangxi's will, the commander of the Qing army, Peng Chun, accepted the enemy's surrender and released them from death.Forty-five people voluntarily stayed in China and were also granted permission.These "Rakshas", who used to run rampant on Chinese soil for many years, murdered and robbed, are now under the attack of Chinese soldiers and civilians, one by one, naked and barefoot, fled Yaksa in embarrassment.After surrendering the enemy and leaving, the Qing Dynasty completely destroyed Yaksa Castle and withdrew to Aihui. But as soon as the war subsided, Tolbuzin and other bandits gathered reinforcements from Nerchinsk to make a comeback and rushed back to Yaksa.They rebuilt fortifications near the original castle in an attempt to permanently occupy this piece of Chinese territory.When the news reached Beijing, Kangxi immediately ordered the Qing army to quickly prepare warships to attack Yaksa again.He personally summoned Lang Tan and made the specific deployment of the battle, demanding that the Qing army completely wipe out the Yaksa defenders, and then stationed troops in Yaksa to guard them. In July of the twenty-fifth year of Kangxi, the second battle of Yaksa began.General Sabsu of Heilongjiang in the Qing Dynasty led an army of 2,000 to attack Yaksa from land and water.At the same time, Emperor Kangxi continued to propose negotiations to the Russian side.The Qing army excavated fortifications and built forts outside Yaksa City to besiege the enemy.The enemies who attacked in the city were defeated by the Qing army many times.After two months of fierce fighting, the enemy suffered a devastating blow. There were only more than 100 remnants and defeated generals left in the city, and Tolbuzin was also killed.The Qing army built forts on the north and south sides of the city, preparing to bombard Yaksa.At this time, the victory of the Qing army was just around the corner.Forced by the powerful offensive of the Qing army, the Russian side had to agree to resolve the border issue peacefully through negotiations.The Qing army then released the siege on December 10 of this year, waiting for the negotiations between the two countries. After many negotiations between the plenipotentiaries of the two parties, after China made some concessions, on September 7th in the 28th year of Kangxi (AD 1689), China and Russia reached an agreement on the peaceful settlement of the border issue. Treaty of Nerchinsk. The "Treaty" clearly stipulates that the Waixing'an Mountains to the sea, the Geerbiqi River and the Ergun River are the national boundaries between China and Russia, and it confirms that the Heilongjiang River and the Ussuri River Basin are both Chinese territories.China ceded Nerchinsk to Russia.Other provisions of the treaty also stipulated matters such as trade between the two countries and border residents.The content of the treaty was engraved into boundary markers in five languages: Manchu, Han, Mongolian, Russian, and Latin, and erected high on the Sino-Russian border.It brought more than 100 years of peace on the eastern border of China and Russia, and also became a historical record of Kangxi's resistance to the tsarist aggression and safeguarding national sovereignty. After Kangxi regained Yaksa, he immediately set out to quell Galdan's rebellion to split the motherland.Galdan is the leader of the Mongolian Junggar tribe in Moxi Erut.In the tenth year of Kangxi, after Galdan seized the ruling power of the Junggar tribe, he annexed other tribes of Erut Mongolia by force, and occupied Qinghai and the vast areas south of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang.At that time, in addition to Moxi Erut Mongolia, there were Monan Mongolia and Mobei Khalkha Mongolia.Monan and Mobei Mongolia have long surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.In order to annex Khalkha Mongolia, Galdan has often sent people to Tsarist Russia to carry out secret activities since the thirteenth year of Kangxi, looking for backers.For a long time, Tsarist Russia has been waiting for an opportunity to extend its claws of aggression into various ministries of Erut, but their armed invasion and fraudulent activities have not succeeded.Therefore, they hit it off with Galdan and colluded with each other to prepare to attack Khalkha Mongolia. In the twenty-seventh year of Kangxi, Galdan launched a surprise attack on Khalkha Mongolia.Cooperating with the Tsarist Russian invaders, he defeated the Mongolian army of Tusheer Khan and turned the city of Kulun into ruins.On the way to pursue Khalkha Mongolia, the Galdan rebels burned, killed and looted wantonly. People left tents and utensils, horses, llamas, cattle and sheep, and fled southward day and night.At this time, Tsarist Russia took the opportunity to coerce the upper-class figures of Khalkha Mongolia to treason and defect to Russia, which was firmly resisted by the religious leader Jebtsundamba and others.Under the leadership of Jeb Zumbadan, Khalkha Mongols surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.Kangxi sent people to comfort the returning Khalkha tribe, distributed them daily necessities, and temporarily resettled them in the Horqin Grassland.In the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi, Galdan launched another armed attack in the name of pursuing Khalkha Mongolia.The 20,000 rebels he led went south from Hulunchi and entered the Inner Mongolia area.The vanguard of the rebel army fought all the way to Ujumqin, which is only 900 miles away from Beijing. The capital was shaken, and many shops closed down. Regarding Galdan's rebellion, Kangxi once advised him many times, asking him to stop the war and return the old land of Khalkha Mongolia.At the same time, the troops outside the Great Wall were strengthened and preparations were made for armed counter-insurgency.Faced with the deteriorating situation, Kangxi decided to conquer Galdan himself and destroy the rebels' lair.At that time, most ministers in the DPRK and China advocated a compromise with Galdan.They believed that Galdan was located in a remote area, and his rebellion would not affect the overall situation, so it should be dealt with as it should be, and let it happen.Kangxi believed that if Galdan was not eliminated, the frontiers would be restless for a day, and only the suppression of the rebellion would be the solution for ten thousand years.He ruled out all kinds of interference, and in order to ensure the unification of the world, he resolutely led the army to conquer. In June of the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi, Kangxi came to Saibei in person to command the army to fight Galdan.In August, the Qing army fought the rebels in Ulan Butong.Galdan built a "Camel City" next to the mountains and waters to resist the offensive of the Qing army. The "Camel City" is made by tying camels to lie on the ground, stacking boxes on the backs of the camels, and covering them with damp cloth.The rebels believed that the "Camel City" was indestructible, easy to defend and difficult to attack.However, under the fierce artillery fire of the Qing army, the camels were either killed or injured, and instead became an obstacle for the rebels to escape.The camel formation was breached, and the Qing army brigade covered up and killed the rebels, killing them all over the field, and fled in defeat.Galdan took the remnants of the defeated generals and managed to break out of the encirclement.Later, Kangxi went through two personal conquests, and finally quelled the 10-year Galdan rebellion, smashed Tsarist Russia's conspiracy to split China, and consolidated the northwest frontier. Kangxi knew well that the extortion and oppression of corrupt officials was the direct cause of the civil uprising.For the long-term stability of the Qing Dynasty, he attached great importance to the rectification of officials.He adopted the suggestion that "the safety of the people's livelihood depends on the governance of officials, and the governance of corrupt officials depends on the governor", paying special attention to dealing with corrupt senior officials. Shanxi Governor Moore Sai has always been greedy and lawless, and Kangxi has heard of his misdeeds from time to time.One day, Kangxi asked the university scholar Le Manhong and others whether Mursay was upright as an official. They actually covered up for themselves, deceived the emperor, and tried to cover up Mursay's scandal.Kangxi had long hated the phenomenon of collusion between foreign officials and Beijing officials, corruption and perverting the law.Therefore, after finding out the crime of Mursay, he was not only dismissed from office, put on trial, sentenced to hang, but also demoted to Le Manhong and others two grades in a row. Cai Yurong, governor of Huguang, was the general of Suiyuan when he pacified the San Francisco.After accepting the order to attack Kunming, Wu's lair, he stood still; when others broke through the city, he plundered Wu's property that should have been confiscated, and then paid heavy bribes to noble relatives and ministers, and took other people's military achievements for himself. He was even promoted to a noble.After Cai Yurong's crimes were exposed, he was also severely punished. While punishing corrupt officials, Kangxi supported clean and honest officials in many ways and praised them greatly, so as to change customs, strengthen the righteous and restrain the evil.However, in the officialdom where corruption was prevalent at that time, there were very few people who were honest and honest in government, so Kangxi was a great example of honest officials.Yu Chenglong, who was hailed by Kangxi as "the most honest official in the world", is an honest official loved by the people.As early as the Shunzhi Dynasty, when he was the magistrate of Luocheng County, Guangxi, Yu Chenglong planted thorns as a door, and accumulated a lot of soil. His poor life and outstanding political achievements became good stories for a while.In the autumn of the fourteenth year of Kangxi, a serious natural disaster occurred in Huangzhou, and the relief food distributed by Yu Jackie saved the lives of tens of thousands of victims.Later, when he left Huangzhou to go to Fujian to serve as the procuratorate, tens of thousands of people in Huangzhou saw him off to Jiujiang, and the crying and the sound of Jiang Tao became one.Yu Chenglong's honesty, ability and diligence won the praise of Kangxi.In the 20th year of Kangxi, he specially summoned Jackie Chan in Maoqin Hall, calling him "the most upright official today", and rewarding him with platinum, good horses, and imperial poems, etc., to encourage him to be consistent and maintain integrity.Since then, Yu Chenglong has been more diligent in politics, often staying up all night.He is good at making private visits in disguise. After he was promoted to the governor of Liangjiang, his subordinate officials did not dare to do evil, and soon the atmosphere in Jiangnan changed greatly.However, Yu Chenglong, who was deeply trusted by Kangxi and had outstanding political achievements, was later framed by private revengers and forced to leave office.Kangxi also issued an edict to stay in office.After his death, all he had left was a cotton robe and some soy sauce.Kangxi first knew that Jackie Chan was honest and honest all his life, and the so-called change of his behavior later was purely deceitful.Kangxi was deeply moved when he was criticized for his integrity.In order to carry forward the honest style, he specially inscribed the four characters of "Gao Xing Qing Cui" for Yu Chenglong. Kangxi was very sad about Jackie Chan's death. He asked the courtiers: "How many people are as clean and honest as Yu Jackie today?" The courtiers recommended seven people including Zhang Penghe.Kangxi's southern tour passed by Zhang Penghe's office in Yanzhou, and found that his reputation was well-deserved, and he was promoted and reused again and again.Chen Xuan was an upright official who appeared in Kangxi's later years.He believes that there is no difference between being greedy for one coin and taking millions of gold.Therefore, his food, clothing, housing and transportation are very frugal, and he does not take any money from ill-gotten gains.He rode alone with his luggage to Jinan, the capital of Shandong, to take up his post. None of the officials recognized him as the new governor.Kangxi called him an ascetic old monk, and said: "Chen Yu was born in a non-noble family, and he has no old disciples. People all over the world praise him for his sentiment. If there is no real fact, how can he be famous?"病故后追授礼部尚书，荫一子入监读书，以表示对清廉之臣优礼有加。 由于康熙对整饬吏治坚持不懈，不断清除贪官，褒扬清官，在一定程度上保证了国家机器的正常运转。但是当时的官吏日渐腐败，加上俸禄也确实偏低，已经积重难返，康熙费尽苦心进行的察吏，也只能是小修小补，并不能从根本上扭转当时的政风。 康熙统治初期，尽管各地的反清斗争已经被基本镇压下去，但是民族矛盾仍然相当尖锐。三藩之乱就带有明显的民族色彩。尤其还有相当多的汉族知识分子采取不合作态度，这一切都构成了对清王朝的潜在威胁。康熙认为，士为四民之首，要争取民心，扭转汉族人民的反清情绪，关键在于促使汉族知识分子转变反清立场。于是，康熙采取了种种措施争取和笼络汉族知识分子。 他首先从尊重汉族历史传统与儒家文化开始。例如在他南巡时，曾多次亲自拜谒明太祖的陵墓，并亲笔写了“治隆唐宋”的匾额，悬挂在陵殿前。他还提出要查访明室后代，授予官职，让其看守陵墓。后来没有查到，便改派清朝官员按时致祭。他还亲临孔庙祭祀，对孔子的后裔大施恩宠，从感情上对汉族士大夫进行笼络。 除了进行传统的科举考试外，康熙还于康熙十七年（公元1678年）特设“博学鸿词科”，千方百计吸引明代遗老及各种人才参政。康熙还要求各级官员都要将自己知道的学行兼优之士举荐给朝廷，以便他亲自考察录用。经各地官吏推举，有143人参加了康熙十八年的体仁阁考试。清政府给了应试者十分优厚的待遇，除了发给往返路费、衣食费、柴炭银外，康熙还亲自赐与了丰盛的筵席加以款待。表面上考试进行得郑重其事，康熙还亲自阅了卷，但实际上对应试者十分迁就，百般照顾。严绳孙只作了一首诗，潘耒、施闰章的诗不合韵律，都被录用。彭孙遹故意将词写得言词不通，也被录为一等。可见，为了广泛招揽人才，康熙不拘一格，确实花费了一番苦心。这次考试录用的50人都被授予了翰林院的官职，奉旨编修明史。高官厚禄和种种特权使这些人逐渐放弃或动摇了反清立场，落第的文人学士也无颜再以明代遗老自居了。博学鸿词科的设立确实起到了一箭双雕的作用。 但是应试的只是当时汉族学者的二三流人物，而顾炎武、黄宗羲、李颙等著名学者始终拒绝应试，康熙对他们也采取了宽容的态度。关中大儒李颙以身体有病为理由拒不应试，被强行从家乡抬到西安，李颙便绝食抗议，连续6天汤水不进。清朝官员无可奈何，只好又派人将他送回。后来，康熙来到西安，指名要见李颙，李颙托病推辞。康熙不仅没有怪罪他，还亲题了“志操高洁”的匾额赐给他的儿子以示褒扬。太原的傅山被役夫用床抬到京城外30里的地方，誓死不入城，京中的王公大臣们慕名纷纷前来看望，傅山大模大样地躺在床上，既不迎送，也不施礼。结果地方官员只得以傅山老病为由奏请免试，得到康熙的准许。康熙所以能够容忍这些人抵制考试的种种大不敬行为，一方面是因为他们名满天下，影响极大，不愿意轻易触动他们，另一方面他们拒绝出仕，只是退居家中讲学著书，还没有直接触犯清王朝的统治。 不过，康熙朝也发生了十几次文字狱。如果说发生在康熙亲政前的庄廷钅龙一案与他没有直接关系，那么发生在康熙五十年至五十二年（公元1711年～1713年）的戴名世一案，便确系康熙所为了。戴名世是安徽桐城人，自幼聪颖好学，喜读史书。晚年他身居故里，整理了《南山集》一书。书中记载了南明诸王的史事，并采用了同乡方孝标的《滇黔纪闻》中的一些史料。戴名世还主张以桂王死后的第一年作为清的定鼎之年。戴名世57岁才考中进士，担任了翰林院编修。谁想到59岁这年便大祸临头，他的《南山集》被左都御史赵中乔告发为诽谤朝廷之书。结果戴名世被判凌迟处死，戴氏、方氏家族16岁以上的男子全部被判处斩，女子及15岁以下的男子被没为家奴。族人的所有职衔全都被剥夺。到结案时，经“宽大处理”，戴名世才免遭凌迟，改判为处斩，方孝标这时已死，还被剉尸。只有族人方苞幸免于难，他原也被判处斩，只因其文章早已名满天下，康熙怕引起众怒，才下令“免治”，但仍然一度被编进汉军旗中受到管制。平时与戴名世有交往的官员，有30多人被降职。受到案件牵连的，多达300多人。 由此可以看出，出于巩固统治的需要，康熙确实笼络了一大批人才为清王朝所用，但他对汉人的猜疑也是根深蒂固的。 清兵入关以后，在多尔衮执政时曾大规模地进行圈地，把落后的农奴制生产方式强加在中原人民头上，严重阻碍了生产力的发展。顺治亲政后虽有所缓和，但由于当时大规模的战争尚未结束，因此，到康熙时，广大农村还是满目疮痍，农民不得温饱，国家财政入不敷出。于是，康熙采取了一系列措施恢复和发展农业生产。 康熙即位后，便下令停止圈地。但由于鳌拜一伙人从中作梗，圈地仍禁而不止，有时规模还相当大。清除鳌拜后，康熙重申了永远停止圈地的命令，并要求将已圈土地还给农民。康熙二十四年（公元1685年），康熙再次明确规定不许圈种民间新开垦的土地。这样，阻碍农业生产的圈地活动才逐渐被制止。直隶各省修建寺庙，侵占了大片农田，康熙也明令禁止。 鼓励垦荒是康熙采取的又一项重要措施。明末农民战争期间，许多藩王的土地被农民耕种了。康熙承认了这一既成事实，下令各地督抚正式将这些土地给予原来耕种的农民，并禁止作价转让部分土地。这些被称为更名田的土地，约计有16.6万多顷，而且多是肥沃的良田，一经承认属于农民，即大大激发了农民的生产积极性。康熙十二年，为了鼓励在更大范围内垦荒，康熙宣布：各省今后开垦的土地，耕种10年后再交税。同时用授与官职的办法鼓励地主招民垦荒。规定开荒20顷以上，又通晓文义者，授予县丞，不通文义者，授予百总；开荒100顷以上，通晓文义者，授予知县，不通者，授予守备。这些措施对地主和贫苦农民都很有吸引力，于是河南、山东、直隶的老百姓纷纷前往东北垦荒，湖广人民也踊跃去四川垦荒。垦荒农民的汗水不久便换来了丰硕的成果。到康熙三十年左右，清王朝田亩达到了明王朝的高峰，比清初更翻了近一倍。到了康熙五十一年，边远省份的荒地大多已经变成良田。无怪康熙颇为自负地说：“云南、贵州、广西、四川等省，人民渐增，开垦无遗……”此时，除了无法耕种的不毛之地，可以称得上是“四海无闲田”了。 蠲免地丁钱粮，是康熙为了恢复生产采取的又一项重要措施。统一台湾后，康熙认为，国家已经安定，要使百姓安居乐业生活富裕，蠲免钱粮势在必行。康熙二十六年，康熙下令免去江宁等七府及陕西全省600多万两钱粮，后来又先后蠲免过各省的钱粮。随着农业生产的发展，国库充裕了，蠲免钱粮的数额也随之增多。康熙四十一年，因云、贵、川、粤四省没有经常得到蠲免，康熙下令宽免四省43年钱粮。以后康熙常下令全国各省轮免。据统计，自康熙元年到康熙四十四年，蠲免钱粮的总额达9000多万两白银。尽管得到蠲免政策实惠最多的是钱多地广的富户，贫苦农民相比之下获利甚微，但是不能否认。蠲免在一定程度上减轻了农民的负担。这种与民休息的政策，对于全面恢复和发展农业生产起到了积极作用。 清初的赋役制度沿袭明制，随着农业生产的发展和人口的增多，已经不能适应实际情况。康熙先是下令修改赋役制度，于康熙二十六年完成了《简明赋役全书》。到了康熙五十一年（公元1712年），康熙又对赋役制度进行了重大改革，以清除旧赋役制度的弊端。康熙宣布：以康熙五十年的全国丁银数为标准，以后永不增减，此后到达成丁年龄的人一律不再承担丁银。这项被称作“滋生人丁，永不加赋”的措施成了清代地丁制度的基础。后来，康熙又在广东试行了“摊丁入亩”的征税方法，即把全省丁税统统归入田赋，实行征收田赋带征丁银的方法。这样就在一定程度上改变了赋役不均的现象，使无地的逃亡农民免于丁银之苦，重新回到土地上来，也使负担向土地占有多者转移了一些。 治河和漕运都是康熙十分重视的大事，而漕运的恢复又在于治河的成功，因此康熙在兴修水利上倾注了许多心血。康熙执政期间治理的河流主要是黄河、淮河和运河。由于频繁的战争，寅河长年失修，形成了严重的水患。在康熙即位后的最初16年中，黄河竟决口67次。当时黄河下游的部分河道与淮河、运河汇合，黄淮泛滥后，洪水便倒灌运河，切断南北漕运。为了根治黄河，变水害为水利，康熙任命水利专家靳辅为河道总督，另一位专家陈潢做他的助手，开始了大规模的治河工程。当时正是三藩之战进行得非常激烈的时候，足见康熙对治河是十分重视的。靳辅采用了明代潘季训“以堤束水、借水攻沙”的方法，又用开中河、修堤坡等方法作辅助，一年之后，饱受水患之苦的7个州县的土地便能够重新耕种了。又经过十几年的努力，水归故道，漕运无阻。对治河取得的巨大成绩，康熙曾在第一次南巡时，赐诗给靳辅加以嘉奖。康熙的六次南巡都以巡视治河工程为重点，对治河是很大的推动。他对治河的具体措施认真研究，提出了一些很有见地的意见。第三次南巡时，他沿途亲自用水平仪进行测量，发现黄河河床高于两岸田地，指出这是产生灾害的根源，要根治水患，必须深挖河道。他提出用木制的立体治河模型代替平面图纸，以便制定更切合实际的治河方案。他乘坐小舟，不避风浪，亲自察看水情。康熙还亲自主持了浑河的修治工程。浑河素有“小黄河”之称，经常改道，危害沿岸百姓的生命安全，有时还直接威胁京城。康熙曾经十三次巡视浑河，经过试验确定了治河方案。在康熙的督促下，浑河治理工程于康熙四十年竣工，浑河遂改名为永定河。治理后的浑河堤岸坚固，两岸是百姓新盖的房屋和茂盛的庄稼，出现了一派繁荣景象。对治河这件关系国计民生的大事，康熙抓得很有成效。他的名字，不仅作为治河的组织倡导者，而且作为一个颇有建树的水利专家被载入史册。 康熙采取的一系列措施促进了农业生产的恢复和发展。到康熙末年，耕地面积和人口都有了大幅度的增长。国库收入十分充裕，年年有余。国库存粮达到几千万石，京城的国库爆满，只得将漕粮截储在运河沿岸的苏杭等地。国库中有些粮食存放时间过长，竟然变质，只好用来作肥料。 有感于明代奢侈败国的历史教训，康熙很注意节俭。南巡路过南京，他曾做《过金陵论》表达自己的这种心情。康熙初年，宫中所有人员合计才800余人，这与明宫廷仅宫女动辄几千，太监动辄几万相比确实是大大减少了。因此宫廷的费用与明代相比也大大节省了。明代仅光禄寺每年用银即达100万两，康熙时只用10万两；明代工部每年宫廷修造用银最少约200万两，而康熙时只用二三十万两；明代的宫中建筑都要用楠木料、临清砖；而康熙时除特殊需要宫中一概用普通砖瓦。据康熙自己说，他的所有行宫都不进行特别装饰，每处花费不过一二万金，只占每年治河费用的1％。康熙还说，明代一日之费，可抵今一年之用。这话显然有些夸张，但也能说明康熙反对奢侈、提倡节省的效果是很显著的。 “满招损，谦受益”是康熙常说的名言。他为政讲求实效，一贯反对浮夸虚饰。因此，他多次拒绝了臣下为他上尊号的请求。平定三藩之后，朝臣请上尊号，康熙拒绝说：乱贼虽已削平，疮痍尚未全复。如果政事不能修举，上尊号又有什么益处？朕断不能接受这样的虚名。讨平噶尔丹之后的康熙三十六年（公元1697年），诸王、贝勒、贝子、文武官员及远近士民来到畅春园，搞了一次更大规模的请上尊号的活动。这已是第5次为康熙请上尊号了。康熙仍然坚决拒绝，他说：“天视天听，视乎民生，后人自有公论。若夸耀功德，取一时虚名，大非朕意，不必敷陈。”后来，借他的生日等机会，臣下又多次请上尊号，直到去世康熙也没有答应这些请求。他还一再拒收朝臣进献的生日贺礼，不准为他举行大规模的祝寿活动。他50岁生日时，朝廷官员献上了鞍马缎匹和“庆祝万寿无疆屏”等生日贺礼，他婉言谢绝道：“我的诞辰，你们这样进献，各督府也一定会仿效，所以我决不能接受。”在他去世前不久，他最后一次拒绝了群臣为他第二年举行“万寿七旬”贺礼的请求。康熙六十一年十一月七日，康熙病逝，庙号“圣祖”。