Liu Tongxun (1698-1773), whose courtesy name was Yanqing and whose nickname was Erbu, was a native of Zhucheng, Shandong (now Gaomi, Shandong). In the second year of Yongzheng's reign (1724), he became a Jinshi, and successively held important positions such as Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, Bachelor of the Cabinet, Bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and Minister of Military Aircraft. Liu Tong served as prime minister for more than 40 years. He was honest and upright in government, dared to give direct advice, and made remarkable achievements in official administration, military affairs, river management and other aspects. In the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong's reign (1773), he died suddenly on his way to the imperial court. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Qianlong lamented the loss of his minister, and posthumously awarded him the posthumous title of Taifu, Wenzheng.
Liu Tongxun, who served as the Grand Bachelor of the Three Ministries (Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Punishment, and Ministry of Officials) and Minister of Military Aircraft, Bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, Chief Master of the Study Room, and Ji Xiaolan’s mentor. A native of Zhucheng, Shandong (now Gaomi, Shandong). His grandfather Liu Bixian (1600-1692) was an official in the early Qing Dynasty. His official rank was Wailang, the Guangxi Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and he was ranked as a straight doctor. His father Liu Qi (qǐ) once served as the chief envoy of Sichuan and was a famous upright official in the Kangxi Dynasty. His son is Liu Yong. In 1724 (the second year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign in the Qing Dynasty), he became a Jinshi and entered official career. In 1729, he was appointed as the chief examiner of the Hubei Provincial Examination. In 1736, he was promoted to cabinet bachelor and became the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment. The following year, he was appointed as the left minister of the Ministry of punishment. In September 1741, he was promoted to censor of Youdu. In March 1746, he was appointed governor of water transportation and returned to Beijing in September. In 1747, he served as the examiner of Shuntianfu Township Examination. In March 1748, Gao Bin, a fellow scholar, was ordered to investigate and handle relief work in Shandong. In May, we went to Shaomaying, Dezhou, Jinan Prefecture, the east bank of the canal in Dongchang Prefecture and Liaocheng County, Daicun Dam, Dongping County, Tai'an Prefecture, and Jiangfengkou, the west bank of the Yi River, to dredge the river with dredging dams and achieved outstanding results. In December 1749, he moved to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry, then became a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and then moved to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. In 1752, he was dismissed and retained because he found that there was a shortage of rice and stone in the warehouse.
On the day Liu Tongxun died, Emperor Qianlong sent his imperial minister and Shangshu Gong Fu Longan to visit him with medicine. After his death, Emperor Qianlong issued a special edict: "Liu Tongxun, a great scholar, is mature, well-behaved, and has served as an official for more than fifty years. He is indeed an effective minister of the country. He can be promoted to the Taifu, enshrined in the Xianliang Temple, and rewarded with two pieces of silver from the inner treasury." Qianliang attended his funeral and gave him the posthumous title "Wenzheng". Liu Tongxun became the first minister of the Qing Dynasty to receive the posthumous title "Wenzheng" after his death. This posthumous title must come from the emperor's special decree. "Those who are not worthy of moral character, study, virtue and deeds are not worthy of this title." After returning from the funeral, Qianlong ordered civil and military officials along the way within 20 miles to pay homage to the coffin in person and send officials to escort him. Six years later, Qianlong still remembered this favored minister in his poem "Nostalgia": "He is alert when encountering difficulties, and his temperament becomes strong again. He has the style of an ancient minister, and he will never lose his integrity throughout his life."
Liu Tongxun is incorruptible. Be upright and don't make cliques. Prince Zhaozhen of the Qing Dynasty praised him and said: "The Duke (Liu Tongxun) is simple and arrogant in nature. He does not follow the habit of scientific names. He established the dynasty and was eloquent. He has the style of an ancient minister." Daoguang's "Zhucheng County Magistrate" also praised Liu Tongxun and said: He is "resolute and resolute". He was the most famous official in more than a hundred years. He was imprisoned for many years, and his family owned dozens of acres of land and a poor house. In the first district, he served as an official for more than fifty years without increasing his size..."
After Liu Tongxun's death, he and his son Liu Yong, a great scholar, and Liu Ruo, the Sun's official secretary, were buried in the ancestral tomb of Baijiazhuang, Zhucheng, his hometown. No writings have been handed down.
Being a Han official and not having a family background like Zhang Tingyu, it was not easy to become prime minister in the Qianlong Dynasty, which was the most advocating Manchu and suppressing the Han Dynasty. Because Fu Heng died of illness, there was no suitable Manchu minister to replace him for a while, so Liu Tongxun was able to fill the vacancy. Emperor Qianlong preferred young people, and Liu Tongxun was no longer young at this time. This shows that Emperor Qianlong only wanted him to temporarily fill the temporary vacancy of the chief prime minister. When a suitable Manchu prime minister is found, he will still have to restore the situation of Manchu and Han deputy.
After all, Emperor Qianlong was a British master and was good at weighing the pros and cons. In order to ensure the efficient operation of the state power agencies, Emperor Qianlong followed the routine and promoted the Han minister Liu Tongxun to the chief minister of the cabinet and the Manchu minister Yin Jishan to the military aircraft department. Chief Minister. At this time, Liu Tongxun was only the deputy prime minister, and Yin Jishan, the chief military minister, was the prime minister. They are all in their late teens. Yin Jishan died in office less than a year after taking office as chief military aircraft minister at the age of 76. Emperor Qianlong promoted Liu Tongxun to chief military minister. At this time, Liu Tongxun became the prime minister. However, Liu Tongxun only served as prime minister for two years before he died. Liu Tongxun became the first Han prime minister since the establishment of the Military Aircraft Department.
Liu Tongxun can be regarded as a young man who was successful. He was only 25 years old when he won the Jinshi. During the Yongzheng Dynasty, he served successively in the Hanlin Academy and Zhanshifu, and served as the emperor's literary attendant in the South Study Room, mainly doing clerical work. After Emperor Qianlong came to the throne, he believed that Liu Tongxun was very capable and promoted him. In the first year of Qianlong's reign (1736), he was awarded the cabinet bachelor's degree and was sent to Zhejiang to assist Ji Zengjun in the seawall water control project. In the second year of Qianlong's reign, he became the Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Later, Liu Tongxun returned to his hometown and stayed in the system for three years due to the death of his mother.
In the sixth year of Qianlong (1741), Liu Tongxun was appointed as the Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the highest official in the supervisory system, commonly known as the "General Constitution". One year after he took office as "General Constitution", he wrote a memorial in which he asked the emperor to curb the power of the two prime ministers Zhang Tingyu and Neqin. This scandal shocked both the government and the public. Liu Tongxun boldly pointed out the shortcomings in the imperial court's employment and administration. The first was the issue of cronyism, which was aimed at Zhang Tingyu. Zhang Tingyu was a veteran of the three dynasties of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. After the death of Emperor Yongzheng, he was appointed to enjoy the Ancestral Temple. At that time, as many as 19 people from the Zhang family in Tongcheng, Anhui Province became officials in the court through scientific examinations, recommendations, interviews, discussions, etc. Even Zhang's in-laws, the Yao family in Tongcheng, had 10 children who were officials in the court. He suggested that within three years, except for the emperor's special promotion, all relatives and children of the Zhang family should "stop promotion" in order to "preserve" the reputation of the veterans of the three dynasties. Liu Tongxun believes that the Zhang family has the possibility of "full damage" and should restrain itself. Liu Tongxun also believed that Neqin, who was trained as a prime minister, had weaknesses in his personality, and asked the emperor to give him instructions so that he could improve his character. However, Neqin had too many concurrent jobs, "managing ministry affairs, serving as a guard in the palace, serving as counselor to the Central Committee, and also serving as cashier to Wang Yan, becoming a close guard." He had too much power, and "took things too sharply," which was not the "benefit of modesty." way.
Emperor Qianlong rejected Liu Tongxun's criticism. Although it was self-evident that Emperor Qianlong wanted to get rid of the shadow of the former minister Gu Ming, he did not want to touch Zhang Tingyu immediately. Of course, one cannot deny the closeness of the Prime Minister and Fu that he has cultivated. Generally speaking, wise emperors would not accept such suggestions. Wouldn't it appear that their ministers are smarter than themselves?
Neqin is the grandson of Ye Bilong, the auxiliary minister of the Kangxi Dynasty. Emperor Qianlong appointed him first because he was a relative of the emperor, reliable and young. Emperor Qianlong deliberately cultivated Neqin in order to make him a suitable candidate to replace Ertai in the future. Emperor Qianlong believed that the most important characteristic of Neqin was his integrity. Emperor Qianlong issued an edict on this, saying: "I think of Zhang Tingyu, if Na Qinruo is good at doing power and blessings, Liu Tongxun will not dare to make a memorial for it; now that there is such a memorial, the two ministers have no power to suppress the ministers."
In the past, Emperor Kangxi's rectification of Mingzhu and Emperor Yongzheng's rectification of Longkodo used the imperial censor's impeachment to start the trouble, but this time Liu Tongxun's impeachment was not to impeach the two. The power of supervising the censor is not limited to impeachment, but the power of supervision is broader. Anything that hinders public welfare and disrupts official discipline must be corrected. Under normal circumstances, the emperor wanted to implement his own will and exercise power within the institutional framework. The imperial court relied on the censor system to supervise and inspect the administration of officials. This is the role of the system. All systems, good or bad, are made by people. Therefore, we cannot simply oppose the rule of man to the rule of law.
In the 21st year of Qianlong's reign, Liu Tongxun was sent to survey the river management site, and replaced Fuleh, who was dismissed, to preside over the completion of the dam heightening project. A year later, he went to Xuzhou to supervise the construction of a stone dam near the city. At this time, Liu Tongxun was already in his sixties, and he was very hands-on, visiting the river management construction site and sleeping in the open air to ensure the quality of the dam and its completion on time. Once Liu Tongxun went to inspect the Yangqiao construction site. The dam reinforcement project there was overdue for more than a month. When he asked about the reason for the delay, the relevant personnel explained that it was due to the lack of firewood supply. Liu Tongxun knew that there must be some drawbacks, so he paid a private visit incognito and found hundreds of vehicles filled with firewood parked on the roadside. As soon as Liu Tongxun found out, it turned out that the river members had to pay bad regulations before accepting firewood. Because they had no money to pay bribes, even if the firewood was transported here, they could not unload the truck. The driver frowned and sighed. Liu Tongxun immediately returned to the construction site and severely punished the relevant river workers. The Yangqiao dam was quickly completed.
Liu Tongxun has observed the river engineering of the Yellow River and canals for many years, and of course he has a clear understanding of the crux of the river engineering problems. Unlike ordinary officials who pay more attention to construction strategies, he believes that property management in river construction is a key factor in the success or failure of river management. Liu Tongxun had a profound understanding of the chronic problem of river engineering embezzlement of project funds and proposed countermeasures.
Liu Tongxun knew very well that most of the money spent by the court on river construction fell into the pockets of river workers at all levels, which would inevitably greatly affect the quality of river control projects. Judging from historical experience, this seems inevitable. There was nothing the court could do about this. Although several river workers are often severely punished for embezzling river fees, systemic corruption determines that officials can always get away with it. The laws of feudal society, for heretics, are as legal as deep streams; for corrupt officials, they are often as illusory as laws. As long as the top and bottom are colluding, the risk is not too great. The river workers' materials system is in vain, and the river workers are very capable of deception. "When building embankments, they will cut off the floodwaters to increase the roof; when lifting the river, they will put their heads on the cliffs; when buying materials, they will pile up false piles." Another situation is that the river workers often The river fee is wasted in a wasteful way, and the actual effect is the same. From an institutional perspective, China did not have a mature accounting system and a powerful supervision mechanism at that time, so it was impossible to effectively curb corruption and waste in river engineering. River fees over the years continued to increase the financial burden on the court.
One morning in November of the thirty-eighth year of Qianlong (1773), Liu Tongxun went up to court in a sedan chair and arrived outside the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City. The bearer suddenly noticed that the sedan chair was tilted. He opened the curtain and saw that Liu Tongxun Already dead. After hearing the news, Emperor Qianlong hurriedly sent Shangshu Fulong'an to deliver medicine and first aid, but it was too late. "Xiaoting Miscellaneous Records" records that when Emperor Qianlong came to pay homage to Liu's house in Lvshi Hutong, he had to remove the top cover of the sedan to carry it into Liu's house because the Liu family's gate was short. "Manuscripts of the History of the Qing Dynasty" records that Emperor Qianlong "was mourning when he saw his frugality when he was about to mourn. He walked back to the Qianqing Gate, shed tears and told his ministers, "I have lost an arm." Then he said, "I am truly worthy of my honor." Prime Minister".
Since then, Liu Tongxun’s son Liu Yong and grandson Liu Huanzhi also lived in Lushi Hutong. Liu Yong passed the Jinshi examination in the 16th year of Qianlong (1751) and was elected to the Hanlin Academy. He successively served as prefect, governor, minister, chief master of the study room, and bachelor. Liu Yong died at the age of 85. "Manuscript of Qing History" said that he was a famous calligrapher at that time. Liu Huanzhi, the son of Liu Tongxun's second son Liu Kan, passed the Jinshi examination in the forty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign (1779) and was elected to the Hanlin Academy. He served successively as Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs and Yin of Shuntian Prefecture. He was later demoted by Emperor Jiaqing because he was not familiar with government affairs.