In the 14th year of Qianlong (1749), on October 5th and 17th, Emperor Li Hong of Qianlong successively issued two imperial edicts, giving the reasons for traveling to the south of the Yangtze River for sixteen years. There are four points: first, Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials, on behalf of the military and civilians, respectfully ask the emperor to be auspicious; Second, the example of the college students and Jiuqing's aid to the classics and the Holy Father's southern tour suggests that they be allowed to do so; Third, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are vast and densely populated, so we should go there to observe the people's feelings and military affairs and ask the people about their sufferings; Fourth, pay homage to mother and visit places of interest to show filial piety.
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Emperor Qianlong was in 175 1 (Qianlong 16 years), 1757 (Qianlong 22 years), 1762 (Qianlong 27 years), 1765 (Qianlong 27 years). Emperor Kangxi, the grandfather of Emperor Qianlong, also visited Jiangnan six times during his reign. Emperor Qianlong regarded the southern tour as one of the most important achievements in his life. His six trips to the south of the Yangtze River cost a lot of money, which became one of the reasons for the gradual decline of the country in the middle period of Qianlong.
Six trips to the south of the Yangtze River have advantages and disadvantages. Through six tours, Emperor Qianlong understood the official customs and people's feelings in the south of the Yangtze River, built river works, collected taxes, trained officials and scholars, and preached grace, which played a positive role in winning over gentry, stabilizing Jiangsu and Zhejiang, protecting people's lives and property, developing production, enriching culture, and creating and extending the "prosperous period of the Qing Dynasty".
But, on the other hand, the expenditure is really huge. Each southern tour lasts for four or five months, and there are generally about 3,000 officers and men accompanying the driver. About six thousand horses and four or five hundred boats were needed, and thousands of servants spent millions of dollars, which also brought great harassment to the people. Gan Long is also very familiar with this. In his 49-year imperial book "Journey to the South", he not only described the reasons for the success of two major events, but also clearly pointed out that there are no four conditions: the monarch's "no desire", the driver's "law-abiding", the official's "loyalty" and the people's "longing for the south".
After more than ten years, he had a deeper understanding of the labor and wealth of his southern tour. He said to Wu Shuo, a military aircraft, "I have been in the imperial army for 60 years, but my virtue has not been lost, but I have made six southern tours, which is useless and harmful. In the future, the emperor will make a southern tour. If you don't stop it, I will have nothing. "
Baidu encyclopedia-emperor Qianlong's southern tour