Chapter 19 Lecture 5 Qing Dynasty-2

As mentioned above, the politics of the Qing Dynasty is different from traditional Chinese politics, because behind it there is a group of people who especially support the emperor. These are the same tribe of the emperor, that is, the Manchus.Logically, the emperor is the head of a country, so he should be supported by the people of the whole country, and there should not be another group of people in the whole country who specifically support this regime.Such a government is a private government, and its foundation is not stable.The regime of the Qing Dynasty always had to protect the Manchus, and only with the support of the Manchus later could it be firmly controlled. This was the selfishness of this regime.With this kind of selfishness, he needs a spell.So we say that in the politics of the Qing Dynasty, the meaning of the system was less, and the meaning of the magic was more.The Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister, and the Qing Dynasty inherited this system, and still used cabinet scholars to manage state affairs, which was a convenience for the Manchus.Because the abolition of the prime minister is conducive to the emperor's dictatorship.The emperor, on the other hand, was obviously a Manchurian.

When it came to Yongzheng, another military plane was added outside the cabinet.The Wenhua Hall and Wuying Hall in the Qing Palace are the places where the cabinet bachelors work.Yongzheng also set up another military aircraft office behind the three main halls. This is the so-called South Study Room, which is just a small house.In the beginning, in order to keep military secrets, the emperor issued many matters directly from the Military Aircraft Office of the South Study Room without going through the cabinet.Later, it became a habit that the government's actual important government orders are all in the military aircraft department and no longer in the cabinet.As the name suggests, the cabinet is like civil governance, while the Military Aircraft Department is clearly the name of a kind of military rule.Since the highest decrees belong to military aircraft, of course it can only be said to be military rule.However, the ministers of military aircraft in the military aircraft department are also selected from the cabinet ministers, and a few of the cabinet ministers are selected to work with the emperor in the South Study Room. Secret meeting.So in fact, the Military Aircraft Department in the Qing Dynasty was like the Ming Dynasty, where the emperor did not leave the palace to handle business, but only consulted with a few private persons inside.However, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were smarter. In view of the fact that the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were in power and brought about the disaster of subjugation, they did not find eunuchs inside, but transferred ministers outside.But in terms of system, the two are still the same.Whether it is a eunuch or a minister of military affairs, they can only be regarded as the emperor's private secretary, not a minister of the imperial court.We said last time that first, Zhang Juzheng should not have the right to directly issue the highest orders of the government;A chief and his secretary are only one institution.It is unreasonable for Zhang Juzheng to ask people to send one part of the official affairs to the emperor and one part to the cabinet.If Zhang Juzheng's name is defined as a prime minister, those official documents only need to be sent to the prime minister, not to the emperor.Therefore, from the perspective of the system, Zhang Juzheng's method does not make sense in the end.In the Qing Dynasty, the Military Aircraft Office issued orders directly to the six Ministers of the Ministry of History and the governors of the provinces, and these orders were issued by the emperor.Because the supreme authority of the government belongs to the emperor, the military aircraft department is just the emperor's secretary, and it is really just a "south study" of the emperor.

The procedures for the Qing government to issue supreme orders were also very unreasonable.His highest order is called the Shangyu, and the Shangyu is divided into two types: one is to issue the Shangyu clearly, and the other is to send a letter to the Shangyu.The issuance of imperial edicts is relatively unimportant. For example, the emperor's visits abroad, visits to the mausoleum, sutra banquets, famine relief, as well as the promotion and promotion of the central government's ministers, ministers, and local government commanders above the magistrate, as well as the announcement of Chinese and foreign affairs. The cabinet is drawn up, the emperor reads it, and then the cabinet hands it over to the six ministries. This has always been the practice in China.Sending a letter to an edict was unique to the Qing Dynasty. Instead of following the above procedures, the emperor's military aircraft department sent it directly to the person receiving the order.For example, the edict to the governor of Jiangsu is sent directly to the governor, and no one else knows about it.Or those who want to hand over to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials also send letters directly to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and no one else knows.At the beginning, this method was only used because of military secrets. Later, almost all important matters were sent by letter.This kind of decree was prepared by the Military Aircraft Department for the emperor to read. After the emperor read it, he sealed it and stamped it with a seal.Who handles it there?This is of course the emperor.Once this seal is stamped, no one can read it.For example, if it is related to economic and financial issues, it is sent to the governor of Jiangsu, and even the Minister of the Ministry of Households cannot read it.If it is related to the military, it will be sent to the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the Minister of the Ministry of War cannot read it.The person who handles the military aircraft department is called the Minister of Military Aircraft. He is a minister in name, but according to the legal system, he is not a minister, because he is appointed by the emperor, not the official supreme executive head of the government.After this kind of edict is sealed and sealed by the military aircraft department, it will be handed over to the Minister of the Ministry of War. The Minister of the Ministry of War cannot be opened to read, as long as he adds an envelope and sends it directly to the person who receives the order.If this is the case, all the officials in the country and abroad will have a direct relationship with the emperor, and no one else will know about it.This is not national politics, it has become a secret and is no longer open!Of course, secret politics can only be said to be a kind of magic, not a system!

Until now, there is still the engraved Yongzheng Zhu Bian Shangyu, which is a remarkable imperial decree in the politics of the Qing Dynasty.Yongzheng was famous for being authoritarian.His previous generation was Kangxi.In Chinese history, Kangxi was considered a good emperor, while Yongzheng was too autocratic.We can now see how the emperors of the Qing Dynasty ruled China by looking at his Zhu Zhu Shangyu.At that time, he knew all the activities of the local governors all over the country, probably all over the country, there were secret agents sent by him privately.Therefore, many people's private lives, even the trivial matters of family members, fathers, sons and relatives, cannot be hidden from him.He reviewed all the memorials in detail.Although he is shrewd and authoritarian at the same time, he has his energy and intelligence. He already knows about Chinese and foreign affairs, no matter how big or small, others don't know.In the past, when you were an emperor, the official affairs sent to the emperor were sent to the sixth department first, and the official affairs sent by the emperor must be read first by the sixth department.Because politics should be open, and the six ministers are the chief executives of the country.This is still the case in the Ming Dynasty.At that time, the appointment of high officials was still promoted by the court, while the appointment of small officials was only through the Ministry of Officials.If it is related to education, it must be approved by the Ministry of Rites.It cannot be said that the emperor made a private decision, and it can be done without giving the chief executive a preview.This can never be said to be an institution, nor can it be said to be customary law, it should only be said to be magic.Why?Because it's purely selfish.But selfishness can never form a system.

From this point of view, the Qing Dynasty was more authoritarian than the Ming Dynasty.In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was still the prime minister under the system.The prime minister was abolished, and the functions and powers of the prime minister were concurrently held by the emperor.It's just that the prime minister made a mistake and must be held accountable.The emperor did something wrong, so he is not responsible.Apart from this difference, the system of the Ming Dynasty is generally similar to that of the past.The Qing Dynasty even went beyond this limit.We have said that the imperial edicts of the Tang and Song dynasties must be stamped by the prime minister. Without the seal of the prime minister, it will not be an imperial edict.Why must the prime minister stamp the emperor's imperial edict?This is a system.Why can't the emperor's edict be shown to others, but sent directly?This is a kind of magic.The distinction here is very simple, in other words: one is public and has a reason, and the other is private and has no reason.How can the selfish politics of the Qing Dynasty continue?This is because the emperor was backed by all the Manchurians.If an emperor wants to be dictatorial, he must have some people behind him to support him, so that he can be truly dictatorial.Any dictator has a specific group that supports his dictatorship.When we talk about the dictatorship of the emperor at the moment, we also need to see which force is helping him to be dictatorial and supporting his dictatorship.Since the Qin Dynasty in Chinese history, there has not been such a fixed force behind the emperors of all dynasties.Aristocrats, soldiers, bourgeoisie, none of them.If it is said that the emperor uses scholars, the scholars are supporting the emperor, but it is more fair for scholars to support the emperor.Because scholars are not the emperor's private power.Moreover, scholars are not a fixed group.In Chinese history, there were only Yuan and Qing, and behind the emperor there was a whole group of Mongols and Manchurians to help.The other generations, generally speaking, are scholars from all over the country—it cannot be said that it is unreasonable to have educated and passed examinations among the people of the whole country to help the government.Some people think that this is the "feudal society", which is really nonsense.Scholars are not feudal.Conversely, the emperor or the government deliberately cultivated scholars, and it was not selfish.It is not as good as the Yuan and Qing dynasties, who deliberately supported the Mongols and Manchus.This kind of politics is of course selfish.Because it is selfish, all manifestations do not become institutions, but only spells.

The six ministers of the Qing Dynasty also followed the Ming system.However, the six ministers of the Ming Dynasty had considerable power, especially the two departments of officials and soldiers.The employment and deployment of troops across the country is under the control of these two ministries.The emperor issued an edict, and it had to go through six ministries, and the affairs of the whole country had to go through six ministries, and the minister of the Ministry of War also had the right to issue orders to the governor.The six ministries of the Qing Dynasty had much less power.The six ministers can no longer issue orders directly to subordinates, and the six ministers are no longer the head of administration.What's even more different is that the six ministers and ministers had to play to the emperor alone.It stands to reason that the Minister of the Ministry of War should be responsible for planning all military affairs in the country, and he can order the transfer of troops. The minister is only his deputy, and the chief should be responsible for the affairs.Now the minister of the Ministry of War can only make a statement to the emperor, and the minister can play alone, and the servant can also play alone. In this way, the minister has nothing to do with the minister.In the past six books, each one had a minister and a servant, who were originally chief and deputy chiefs.In the Qing Dynasty, Manchu and Han were separated. If there is a Chinese Shangshu, there must be a Manchurian Shangshu.If there are two Chinese servants, there must be two Manchurian servants.So there are six officials in one chapter, and there are thirty-six officials in six departments.Everyone can speak to the emperor individually. In one, the Chinese Shangshu doesn't know what the Manchurian Shangshu said, and there are four deputy ones, and no one knows who is tearing whose leg.The emperor sent a letter to a certain person, and no one knew what was said in it.May I ask the six volumes of Shangshu, what else can I do?If the six ministries can't do things, the affairs of the whole country will of course be more concentrated on the emperor.In the Ming Dynasty, each department also had a batch of official affairs, even if they were minor officials, they could still express their objections to the official affairs of the emperor.Their objections, on the surface, were not against the emperor's decree but against the six ministers.But the Shangyu must go to six parts, just like the prime minister who issued the order in the Tang Dynasty, according to the law, he was only against the prime minister, not against the emperor!Since the order of the Ming Dynasty was issued by the emperor, but the emperor sent an edict to send six books, and each of the six books had something to do. If they wanted to oppose it, they were actually opposing the emperor.Until the Ming Dynasty was about to fall, the internal rogues Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng rampantly made rebellion, and the Manchurians from outside wanted to invade the pass.This one is also good.The Ministry of War of the Shang Dynasty and the Minister of the Ministry of War also had no objection.But when the people in the matter knew about it, they objected together, and the emperor had no choice but to withdraw the Minister of War.Some people say that the country was subjugated and saved in these places in the Ming Dynasty.Policies are always difficult to implement, and there are many speeches, how to make the country overcome this danger.In modern Western democratic politics, many things are seldom unopposed.The president or the prime minister is fortunate to have the support of most people in the political party, but there are many things that cannot be done.In the past, there were no political parties in China, and all political affairs were open to the public, and everyone could speak.In the face of national crisis, diplomatic issues, military issues, sometimes absolutely require secrecy, and sometimes even dictatorship.In modern times, some people also feel that the democratic politics of the United Kingdom and the United States are sometimes too slow to help, and when the crisis is imminent, they will inevitably suffer.But in terms of constant equalization, secret politics, and dictatorship, the benefits outweigh the enemies.Democratic politics, open politics, always lead to failure.Traditional Chinese politics, if it is based on technology, has two thousand years of experience, but it has its valuable places.The most precious thing is that it is open.Everything is public.Because there is a system, everything is handled according to the system.It is impossible not to make it public.The imperial edicts issued by the emperors of the Qing Dynasty did not have to go through the six departments, and the six departments could not directly issue orders to the whole country. Both the minister and the minister could be presented separately, and there was no right to refute the matter. There are official names for the matter, but they have already been admonished Unity, lost its job.As far as political common sense is concerned, an organ represents a whole.For example, the Ministry of War should be in charge of the representative of the Minister of the Ministry of War. The Minister of the Ministry of War is the deputy chief officer, one in charge and one in charge. There is no agency.For example, the Minister of Finance represents the Ministry of Finance, and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance must of course contribute his financial opinions to the Minister, and should not appeal directly to the Premier.The reason is very simple.Therefore, those measures in the Qing Dynasty were just spells and cannot be said to be institutions.

In the Qing Dynasty, the six ministers and ministers could speak to the emperor alone, as mentioned above.But apart from that, no one was allowed to speak to the emperor.The Imperial Academy is an institution with a high reputation. The Imperial Academy has editors, reviewers, etc., who are supposed to be officials with high reputation. Although they have no political power, they have a high status. They have always been able to speak to the government.In the Qing Dynasty, it was not allowed to "specialize in words and deeds".What about magistrates?Only the governor, governor, vassal (political envoy), and Taiwan (according to the inspector) can speak directly to the government, and the prefectures and counties below Dao and below can't just talk about things.Compared with the Ming Dynasty, commoners could also speak directly to the emperor, which is too far behind.

These regulations in the Qing Dynasty, if we call them institutions, these institutions only require people to stay out of politics.May I ask, apart from selfishness, what is the meaning of this system?Moreover, the Qing Dynasty did not allow the people to have the right to speak publicly.At that time, there were Minglun halls in prefectural and county schools, and the Qing court placed a stone tablet in each Minglun hall. This tablet was not planted vertically but horizontally, so it was called a lying tablet.There are several prohibitions engraved on the lying stele.First, the students are not allowed to speak; second, they are not allowed to form alliances; third, they are not allowed to print words.These three prohibitions happen to be the freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of the press that modern Westerners want to fight for, the so-called three major freedoms.The modern history of the East and the West, in this respect, has a contrast of the exact opposite.Speaking of it, it is really worthy of our inner ashamed.The lying stele was erected in the fifth year of Shunzhi.The famous Jin Shengtan was beheaded for violating the ban on lying on the stele.Because of the corruption of the examiners at that time, some students ran to Minglun Hall and cried to the spirit of Confucius, violating the prohibition of speaking and forming associations.From these places, we can see the intention of Qing Dynasty.In the Ming Dynasty, everyone was specially rewarded for speaking and speaking publicly.This is not only the case in the Ming Dynasty, but also in the past dynasties.It was only in the Qing Dynasty that people were not allowed to speak.What kind of system is this?This is just some unreasonable sorcery by the Manchurian tribal regime to facilitate their rule of China.

In Chinese history, the appointment of officials has always been under the control of the Ministry of Officials.Below the fifth grade, the official department has the right to use it.Above the fifth rank, the Ministry of Officials will give the name to the prime minister, and the decision will be made by the top.The Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister, and the minister was replaced by the court, which was decided by the Jiuqing and Qiqing.But the opinions of the Minister of the Ministry of Officials are respected by everyone.When small officials are appointed, the power remains in the Ministry of Officials.High officials in the Qing Dynasty were specially briefed by the emperor, and the officials did not know about it, so there was no need for court push.The lower officials cannot all be appointed by the emperor, but also returned to the Ministry of Officials. This is a kind of law that has been passed down in Chinese history, and the emperor of the Qing Dynasty did not abolish it.However, those who are distributed by the Ministry of Officials must have an introduction in the Qing Dynasty, and they must wait for the emperor to meet before they can officially take office.This simply means that the right to employ people throughout the country is under the emperor's control.According to the Qing Dynasty, the emperor introduced any kind of small officials.This is not because the emperor valued these officials, but because the Qing emperor used this system to teach the Chinese people, telling the society: This is the emperor's right.If you don't see the face of the emperor, you can't even think about being a sesame-sized official.Of course, it can only be said that it is a spell, not a system.Because these systems are selfish.Selfish institutions, even spells.Magic is about means, regardless of meaning.If spells are meaningful, they are only private.

In the Ming Dynasty, the chief minister was the highest local head.Governors and governors are not set up, they are sometimes dispatched, and they are canceled after the matter is over.In the Qing Dynasty, there were often governors and governors above the chief executive, who became their subordinates, and the governor and governor became the official heads of local administration.This system is still a kind of military control.If so, local administration goes from the county to the prefecture, and the roads and provinces are already at four levels.From magistrate to magistrate, to Taoist, to chief envoy, there are governors and governors above, so it becomes five levels.However, in the military period, the governor and governor still could not make the decision, and the central government had to send someone else, such as the minister of economics and strategy, the minister of counselor, etc., which were the emperor's special officials.The governor and the governor still only accepted the order.In short, the Qing Dynasty did not allow magistrates to have real authority.

The Manchurian army is called the Eight Banners soldiers, and they are the backbone of the country's armed forces. All important military locations in the country are stationed with Eight Banners soldiers.The green battalion below is said to be the Chinese army, but in fact the generals leading the green battalion are all Manchurians.The salaries of these two kinds of armies are obviously different.The governors and governors of the provinces almost in principle only use Manchurians.Although there are some Chinese who have become governors and governors, but not many.As for the Chinese leading Manchu soldiers as generals, there was only one Yue Zhonglin for more than two hundred years.During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War, the Manchus themselves had no choice but left Hu Li to rebuild ZTE for the Manchus. From then on, most of the big officials in the borderlands began to be transferred to the Chinese.However, before and after the failure of the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1895, the officials who feudalized the territory all employed Manchurians, and the Chinese became a minority again.This can explain that the politics of the Qing Dynasty was completely a kind of military control, and this kind of military control was completely a kind of tribal control, because military power should be completely attributed to this tribe. Under this kind of private system, the worst thing is that they have a guilty conscience and want to take a step back for themselves.This regress will stay in the three provinces of Kanto.The Qing government designated the three provinces of the Kanto as forbidden areas, and the Chinese were not allowed to leave the customs.We have already said that Manchurians are a small tribe on the banks of the Songhua River outside Changbai Mountain in Jilin, and Manchuria is not the same as the three eastern provinces.The east and west banks of the Liao River were China's land before the Qin Dynasty.The Warring States Period belonged to Yan.Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, which extends to the Datong River in the east.In any case, the province of Fengtian in the Qing Dynasty belonged to China two thousand years ago.For two thousand years, it has always belonged to China.In the Qing Dynasty, it was designated as their forbidden area, and the Chinese were not allowed to leave the customs.It wasn't until the end of Guangxu that talents from Hebei and Shandong could go out and cultivate.At that time, Taiwan was also designated as a forbidden area.Because after Taiwan was run by Zheng Chenggong, people continued to rebel, so Fujianese were not allowed to cross privately.This is because management is not easy, and it is different from the regressors in the three provinces of Kanto.In addition to the above two forbidden areas, the third forbidden area is today's Chahar and Suiyuan.This is also a place in China, and the Qing Dynasty designated it as a forbidden land, and no additional households were allowed to live in it, and no more acres of land were cultivated.Because these places are close to Mongolia, their purpose is to separate the Mongolians from the Han people and prevent them from contacting each other.It was not until the end of Guangxu that the ban was lifted.The fourth forbidden area is Xinjiang.Therefore, the soil is fertile and has not yet been developed. They want to reserve it as a place for the Manchus to live and eat. They hope that the Manchus can go there, so the Chinese are not allowed to go there.It wasn't until Zuo Zongtang put down the rebellion that the ban was relaxed, and Han people could go to Xinjiang casually.Because of these selfish spells of the Manchus, many forbidden areas were drawn up in China without any reason, forming many special areas.Therefore, some of these places are deserted, and some are developed very late.The Chinese also believed that the so-called Chinese were only the eighteen provinces of the headquarters at that time.In fact, as far as traditional history is concerned, this is not the case at all.