It is said that Yongzheng is a "workaholic". Is it true?/You don't say.

As soon as Yongzheng succeeded to the throne, he became a "topic figure", and most of them were not good topics, either "seeking power to usurp the throne" or "tampering with the imperial edict" and so on. In short, they are usually not good comments. It can be said that Yongzheng is the most exposed emperor among more than 300 emperors in China history, and there is no one! In fact, these are not exaggerations, and the controversy he has received is really too great. Most of these disputes began when he took over the testamentary edict in Changchun Garden, or even earlier, that is, in the 61st year of Kangxi. As for the dispute after the succession, it goes without saying.

However, since there are bad comments, there are also good comments. So what are the good comments? One of the most important points is Yongzheng's working attitude.

Statue of Yong Zhengdi

In people's eyes, Yong Zhengdi is a veritable "workaholic". Some people say that he often works until three or four o'clock in the morning, only sleeps for three or four hours a day, and doesn't even have a basic nap. He is immersed in state affairs all day.

However, many people have raised questions. So, is Yongzheng a "workaholic"? Let's take a look at his day's itinerary!

Yongzheng-stills

Yongzheng is a workaholic, in fact, a large part of the reason mainly comes from his review of the throne.

According to records, Yongzheng's bedroom was filled with memorials from local officials. These memorials, after being examined by Yongzheng, will be distributed to officials, who will send them back after reading them. The memorials reviewed during the Yongzheng period were compiled into a book called "Records of Yu Yu on Bamboo Skin in Yongzheng", with a total volume of 120, which is the crystallization of Yong Zhengdi's painstaking efforts and diligent attention to political affairs, and also a monument of Yong Zhengdi's hard work and dedication. However, this book records only a part of the memorials of his notes. It is said that several bundles of letters were piled up in the palace until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

In the past, people thought that the emperor was "busy with everything", that is, he had to do 10 thousand things a day. In fact, it was good enough for a person to really do one thing a day. Sometimes even one thing will make the emperors too busy to do the second thing. Yongzheng, on the other hand, takes everything he has to deal with every day seriously and never perfunctory.

Yong Zhengdi-Steels

Yongzheng gets up before four o'clock every day. Every morning, he reads the historical records of Qin Shihuang and a sermon as a collection of imperial edicts. The palace gate opens at four o'clock every day on time, and six o'clock is the working time of ordinary officials. Ministers must enter the palace. See six o'clock. After the emperor finished breakfast, it was convenient for him to meet these ministers at seven o'clock and discuss political affairs with them. If a minister has something special to see alone, Yongzheng will also meet alone, sometimes for hours. After the interview, if time is plentiful, Yongzheng will also ask some scholars to explain classics or ancient books to him.

Besides getting up early, Yongzheng also had a habit of staying up late. If a person gets up early, then he goes to bed early, which is also the understanding of most of us. But Yong Zhengdi didn't. In order to deal with more political affairs, he just used the evening time to read the memorials sent by local officials. No matter how long the paper has been written, Yong Zhengdi will personally review it, as busy as a bee. At the end of the day, you can review at least twenty or thirty copies, and when you have more, you can reach fifty or sixty copies.

So as he himself said:

I am determined to be diligent in front of the world. All courtiers and ministers in the world are holding hands, and outsiders do not believe them. As for the courtiers during the day, they are very complicated and restless, so it is better to get what they need under the lamp. Probably nine times out of ten, foreign memorials were approved late, and this memorial was also approved under the lamp. I grew up in a good spirit at night and had to be reluctant.

In the face of those long speeches written on the monument, he will carefully read it again and again:

Yu's report is rather lengthy, but there is no need to apologize. Although it's tedious, I'm happy to read it, but I'm tired of it. That is, a long article of several thousand words, which I have never read from beginning to end. There is no need to be so polite between the monarch and the minister.

Have to say, Yong Zhengdi is really a good emperor who is diligent in politics!