Film and Television Variety Show: The Jade Girl's Love Affair

In his later years, Emperor Kangxi was plagued by corruption among officials. Many imperial relatives borrowed money from the national treasury and did not repay it, instead indulging in extravagant spending.

Therefore, Tang Yu didn't bother to plunder the imperial treasuries in the capital; he didn't have much money there.

On the contrary, the group fleeing north were the ones who were carrying large bags of gold and silver jewelry, and they simply intercepted them halfway.

"You've lived in the Eighth Prince's house since you came into this world. You went out to play a few times, went to the grasslands a few times, and then lived in the palace."

You've never seen the true nature of this world, and many things aren't your fault, which makes you believe that Kangxi was truly a wise ruler.

At this moment, Tang Yu had already brought Zhang Xiao to a place in the suburbs of the capital.

There was a large group of people, about 1.4 meters tall, with sallow and thin faces, working in the fields. Their clothes were tattered, their eyes were lifeless, and their skin was deeply wrinkled.

"This is the real world. Most people are considered very tall if they are 1.4 or 1.5 meters. Also, although sweet potatoes have been introduced to this world, they are useless."

"Although sweet potatoes are high-yielding, they are actually not nutritious. Eating them for a long time will cause indigestion, and people will not get enough nutrition, so they will not grow tall or strong. It is also impossible to grow them well."

"If you really want someone to grow tall and strong, you need a balanced diet of meat, eggs, and dairy. Sweet potatoes and potatoes are useless."

The hardships Zhang Xiao endured at the laundry department were nothing compared to those suffered by the tenant farmers working outside.

At least she had clothes to wear, and at least her house didn't leak. Although she wasn't full, meals were delivered to her on time every day.

These tenant farmers had no land of their own and could only help others farm.

After a year of farming, they had little money left and owed the landlord a lot of money, and were then sold into slavery.

"But I remember that after Yongzheng ascended the throne, he cracked down on official corruption. He seemed to be a good emperor."

This wasn't because Zhang Xiao loved the house because of its owner, but rather because that was how she remembered it before she transmigrated.

After all, before she time-traveled, Emperor Kangxi was still praised as a wise ruler.

Actually, many of these people's descendants survived, so their descendants helped to praise them.

"He addressed official corruption because the national treasury had no money for war or to pay salaries, not because he wanted the people of the country to live a better life."

Besides, wasn't he nicknamed the "Emperor Who Confiscated Houses"? Although those whose houses were confiscated weren't exactly good people either, this doesn't resolve the real issues.

As for whether he was a good emperor?

Tang Yu couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't remember many things clearly, but why do I remember this dynasty so clearly? Because it was so terrible."

When the people were drowning in the flood, Emperor Yongzheng said that they did not respect the gods and therefore deserved to be punished by heaven.

As for the claim that he saved money for Emperor Qianlong to spend his entire life on? That's all brainwashing. The money he left behind wasn't even enough for Qianlong to spend. Although I also dislike Qianlong, Qianlong was far more capable than him.

His military capabilities were also unparalleled in thousands of years. I remember reading that he used horoscopes to determine which general would be on the front lines.

Thousands of miles away, and he's still giving orders? No wonder an emperor with such a stupid brain died of exhaustion.

He was the weakest of Kangxi's sons, unable to even draw an ordinary bow. If I remember correctly, even the seventh son, who was lame, could draw one!

As for other information, I don't remember clearly. I only remember that when he was negotiating with Tsarist Russia, in order to kill Longkodo or someone else, he voluntarily ceded a large portion of the land to the other side.

Even though they had won all the battles, Emperor Yongzheng called them "Russia's good eldest son"...

Zhang Xiao was shocked after hearing what Tang Yu said, and her positive view of Emperor Yongzheng was shattered.

Is it really that bad?

"You should know that all wise and powerful emperors are diligent in their duties. Did Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wen of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang not work diligently, yet people praise them for their diligence?"

If we only praise diligence as a virtue, then there are no virtues to praise at all…

Zhang Xiaoneng's infatuation with any prince, or even the future Emperor Yongzheng, is all due to her viewing history through a biased lens.

The prince was of noble birth, and yet he was barely showing her any kindness. Wouldn't it be easy for her to fall for him?

In fact, she had no idea what these people really were.

"So that's why you killed them instead of trying to get them to reform themselves from the top down?"

Tang Yu nodded, and then took Zhang Xiao to some fields around the outskirts of Beijing.

Those were all lands owned by the Eight Banners nobles. It could be said that the fertile lands surrounding the capital had been occupied by these imperial relatives.

"Although developing science and technology is important, the most important thing for the world today is the conflict between people and land. Only by fighting the landlords and distributing land can the people be liberated and productivity be developed again."

"I can't say much about the situation in the south, because there are actually many Manchus enclosing land there, but there are also quite a few Han Chinese landlords in the south. We'll talk about that later."

"But for the north, all these fertile fields have been seized by the Manchu Eight Banners."

How can you expect the emperor to reform the land system by confiscating the wealth of the local tyrants and redistributing it to the people? The Eight Banners are their core territory. Asking these Eight Banner nobles to give up their land is tantamount to taking their lives.

If any emperor dared to do such a thing, his subordinates would simply depose him and replace him with another descendant of the Aisin Gioro clan.

Do you think the emperor is invincible? If he can't stabilize the interests of his ruling group, then the ruling group can simply get rid of him and replace him with someone else!

Political struggles are a matter of life or death, so how can there be any gentle reforms? Only violence can change the world.

Tang Yu brought Zhang Xiao to a manor on the outskirts of Beijing, which Tang Yu currently occupies.

This place sheltered many beggar children, and Tang Yu asked Zhang Xiao to teach them to read here.

You don't need to learn the Four Books and Five Classics. Just learning to recognize characters and basic arithmetic is already very useful.

However, this can only be considered a small matter in the rebellion plan.

A true rebellion, of course, requires the training of a powerful army.

Meanwhile, Tang Yu is recruiting tenant farmers from the surrounding areas of the capital.

Now that the Manchus have all fled, the land can be redistributed.

Only by owning land would these people be motivated to join the army and fight.

So Tang Yu carried out land redistribution to the wealthy around the capital, and then recruited craftsmen to smelt iron and make cannons.

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were already artisans who understood artillery. Tang Yu simply absorbed all the artillery artisans in the capital, gave them good treatment, and granted them the status of free citizens.

No one wants to be a slave for life; if there is even a glimmer of hope, these people would want to change the world.

The claim that Emperor Yongzheng was truly incompetent, and that the money he earned was squandered by the spendthrift Emperor Qianlong, is simply a form of brainwashing.

Historical records indicate that the funds allocated for disaster relief during the Yongzheng Emperor's reign (over a period of more than ten years) were less than the amount spent on disaster relief during the Qianlong Emperor's single year.

Chapter 10, Step by Step, Heart-Stopping

Chaos reigned in the south, and the Manchus fled in the north; war raged across the land.

At this time, some people in the north who had heard the news had already joined Tang Yu's forces.

Tang Yu assigned these people to different positions based on their characteristics.

Those with strong combat skills were assigned to the army, those with strong literacy skills were assigned to logistics positions, those without management skills became teachers, and those with special skills became craftsmen.

If you don't know anything, then keep farming.

Food is always the most important thing.

As the team gradually grew, Tang Yu's team naturally found a base.

Whether it's a workshop or a school, a military camp, or a place where land was seized from landlords and distributed to peasants, these are all fixed locations and cannot be moved.

Therefore, the Manchus naturally organized an army to attack.

Of course, most of the Manchus had already fled, and those who could still organize an army to attack were the last remaining stubborn forces.

It's not that everyone is afraid of death. For example, the fourteenth prince, Yinzhen, wanted to duel with Tang Yu on the battlefield.

Even knowing they might die on the battlefield, they still fought desperately.

You can't conquer the world by assassination all the time.

So Tang Yu led his recently trained army to fight a decisive battle with the enemy on the battlefield.

Yinzhen died on the battlefield, and the last Manchu army was wiped out.

In fact, the Eight Banners did not have many troops.

The soldiers fighting around them were mainly Han Chinese, and the Eight Banners soldiers had already become corrupt and decadent by the Kangxi era.

Therefore, with the death of this last batch of elite troops, the Qing dynasty had completely lost its ability to fight back.

Meanwhile, during the months of upheaval in the capital, the Han soldiers and generals rose up in rebellion in their respective localities.

Therefore, in reality, the Qing Dynasty had already collapsed.

Now is the battlefield for the Han Chinese in the Central Plains.

After hearing that Yinzhen had died on the battlefield with the last of his elite troops, Yinxiang committed suicide.

Other descendants of the Aisin Gioro clan either died or fled.

After fleeing to the north, they began to face retaliation from the Solons.

However, none of this concerned Tang Yu. She simply confiscated these people's property and then began to devote all her efforts to developing production.

At the same time, they fought against some Han Chinese armies in the surrounding area that had also rebelled.

Although Tang Yu killed many members of the Manchu royal family, it did not mean that others would be willing to work for a woman.

Especially in the Qing Dynasty, when women had a very low status, Tang Yu's appeal was not strong.

However, Tang Yu never wastes time talking to such prejudiced people; he prefers to settle things directly on the battlefield, taking them down one by one.

"General, I heard that after Nian Gengyao raised troops in rebellion in Sichuan, he also began to follow our example and cut off his queue."

However, Sichuan has added a requirement: they reportedly want to restore Ming Dynasty clothing. We haven't really regulated clothing here; should we follow suit?

Hearing her subordinate's suggestion, Tang Yu chuckled.

“Cutting off queues is relatively easy. Those who are unwilling to even cut off their queues have already become slaves in their minds. No one can respect such people. Therefore, it is possible to force those who join the Tang family army to cut off their queues.”

However, when it comes to clothing, the poor people in the world already have very few clothes at home. Asking them to change the style of their clothes is no different from taking their lives.

Such things cannot be forced. Although I also strongly dislike the Qing Dynasty's shaving of heads and changing of clothes, and find their clothing ugly, we cannot force ordinary people to do such things.

Once we conquer the world and the people become wealthy, they will naturally make new clothes.

We cannot force them to do so right now. We are not yet capable of providing everyone with a new piece of clothing, so how can we ask them to make new clothes?