What did Emperor Qianlong say when he saw the silver spittoon presented to him by the local officials?

After emperor Qianlong succeeded to the throne, he followed the example of his grandfather Emperor Kangxi and made six southern tours.

The six expeditions were: 16 years (175 1 year), 22 years (1757 years), 27 years (1762 years) and 30 years (1762 years). Different from the TV series "Emperor Qianlong goes down to the south of the Yangtze River", Emperor Qianlong's southern tour is magnificent every time.

Emperor Qianlong's southern tour

In order to welcome Emperor Qianlong and let him eat and drink well, local officials along the southern tour racked their brains and did a lot of new things. One of the local officials named Zhang Pangui deserves to be mentioned separately.

Zhang Pangui, a native of Tongcheng, Anhui Province, was an official in the mid-Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. He has served as a magistrate in Weiyuan, Wuwei, Zhenjiang, jiangning house, Susong, Songtai and Huaiyang. The Draft of the History of Qing Dynasty records that Zhang Pangui is "versatile, especially good at family words". This means that Zhang Pangui has two brushes as an official and is also proficient in Feng Shui.

If the talents of officials are used correctly, it will be good for everyone.

Emperor Qianlong's southern tour

Emperor Qianlong often sailed from Zhenjiang to Jiangning (now Nanjing, Jiangsu) during his southern tour. The fast-flowing rivers in this area bring great risks to navigation. It was suggested that Sun Quan's broken Gangdu Canal, which was built by Sun Quan and sent to the north of Maoshan Mountain in Jurong, should be excavated again as the navigation channel for Emperor Qianlong's southern tour. After on-the-spot investigation, Zhang Pangui thinks that Maoshan Mountain has huge rocks and high mountains. Even if a waterway is barely dug, it needs to be locked and stored, which consumes a lot of material resources. He put forward a more labor-saving and time-saving plan to dig the old road of Jianhe River, and supervised its implementation, which was successful.

After the original Daoqiang River was dug up, it became a new river, which provided great convenience for the travel and transportation of nearby people. As a result, Zhang Pangui was favored by Emperor Qianlong.

Emperor Qianlong stills

But if the talents of officials are used in the wrong place, the result will be embarrassing.

When Zhang Pangui was appointed as Huaiyang Road, Emperor Qianlong made another southern tour. As a local official, Zhang Pangui is responsible for the furnishings of the palace. It is conceivable that this is an opportunity to get close to Emperor Qianlong. Why didn't Zhang Can try his best to please the emperor? Zhang Pangui decided to give Emperor Qianlong a special gift.

Considering that Emperor Qianlong was old and had a lot of phlegm in his mouth, Zhang Pangui would definitely put a spittoon beside him. So, Zhang Pangui made a beautiful spittoon with hollowed-out silver thread and put it next to the seat of Emperor Qianlong. Then, he quietly waited for the reward of Emperor Qianlong. ...

spittoon

Unexpectedly, when Emperor Qianlong saw the hollowed-out silver spittoon, he was not only surprised, but also surprised: "What is the difference between this and Meng Yun's seven treasures drowning device?"

"Seven treasures drowning device" has allusions. The protagonist of the allusion is Meng Changjun, the last emperor of Houshu. After Meng succeeded to the throne, he was still diligent in political affairs and worked hard to govern the country. However, in the later period of governance, they often obviously relaxed themselves, indulged in debauchery all day and lived in luxury. The items displayed in the palace are so luxurious that even the chamber pot used is made of treasures, which is called "Seven Treasures Drowning Device". Zhao Kuangyin and Song Taizu sent troops to destroy Houshu and got this "seven treasures drowning device", which was regarded as national subjugation and ordered to be destroyed.

Zhao Kuangyin, Song Taizu

Coincidentally. When Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, defeated Chen Youliang, he saw a carved gold bed in his palace. He thinks it's no different from Meng Changjun's seven treasures drowning device, which is self-destructive. He immediately ordered his men to destroy the carved golden bed.

Obviously, Emperor Qianlong hated Zhang Pangui's hollowed-out silver spittoon and associated it with Meng Changjun's surrender to chamber pot. Zhang Pangui "flatters". After that, Emperor Qianlong didn't give him a promotion, so he stayed where he was.

Later, Zhang Pangui was dismissed by Emperor Qianlong for another matter.

Zhang Pangui is proficient in Feng Shui, and many officials like to ask him for help when building houses. During the Qianlong period, there was a minister named Yu Minzhong. Yu Minzhong, a native of Jintan, Jiangsu Province, was born as the top scholar, a university student in the cultural center and a minister of military aircraft. After Yu Minzhong made his fortune, he built a large-scale private house in his hometown Jintan and asked Zhang Pangui for help. Zhang Pangui will naturally concentrate on his work.

yu minzhong

1780, after Yu Minzhong died of illness, a huge legacy of unknown origin was exposed. Emperor Qianlong was very angry and sent someone to Jintan for a detailed investigation. During the investigation, the imperial envoy "pulled out the radish and brought out the mud" and found that Zhang Pangui had helped Yu Minzhong build a private house. Emperor Qianlong issued a decree to remove Zhang Pangui from his post and go home to farm.

After Zhang Pangui lost his official position, he was disheartened and stopped pursuing his career, but returned to his hometown to spend his old age. At this time, Zhang Pangui had a strong interest in Zen, reading behind closed doors, studying Zen theory, and writing the handed down books such as Choosing the Authentic.