There is a story that Emperor Qianlong once went down to the south of the Yangtze River and passed by Mount Tai, so he led his ministers to climb Mount Tai to worship Dai Temple. At that time, there was a Yetai Bangzi opera in front of the temple to stage "The Legend of the West Chamber", Qianlong had an idea, and said to the scholar Ji Xiaolan: "I have a couplet, how about the Qing test?"

Qianlong's Shanglian said: "Dongyue Temple, play the West Chamber, and tune from the south to the north." ”

Ji Xiaolan didn't think about it, and said: "Spring and Fang, sell summer cloth, harvest in autumn and hide in winter." ”

The lower link is in the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the upper link is in the east and west, north and south, and it is very appropriate.

In fact, this is just a small episode of a couplet of Qianlong going down to the south of the Yangtze River, Qianlong has gone down to the south of the Yangtze River six times in his life, and performed a series of dramas in the south of the Yangtze River six times. To this end, he also wrote the article "Southern Tour", which summarized the reasons, objectives and results of the six southern tours. At this point, he is very much like his ancestor Qing Shengzu Kangxi, who has visited Jiangsu and Zhejiang six times.

The first time he went to the south of the Yangtze River, in the sixteenth year of Qianlong, Qianlong toured Jiangsu and Zhejiang for the first time on the grounds of inspecting river affairs and coastal defense, inspecting the official Rong government, understanding the people's sufferings and visiting his mother. Qianlong left Beijing after the Empress Dowager and arrived at Qingkou in Jiangsu through Zhili and Shandong. Crossing the Yellow River, reading the Tianfei Gate and Gaojiayan, the edict allowed Xingxing to build the Li Dam of Gaojiayan, passing through Huai'an, ordering the earth embankment in the north of the city to be changed to masonry; and then going south by boat from the canal, passing through Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Danyang, and Changzhou to Suzhou.

Arrive in Hangzhou, visit the Fuwen Academy, and then climb the Chaolou Military Parade to visit the famous places of West Lake. When he returned to Beijing, he made a detour from Nanjing to pay homage to the tomb of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, and paraded troops, and accompanied the Empress Dowager to the weaving machine room to watch the weaving. Then go north along the canal, from the land to Tai'an, to Taishan Yue Temple to burn incense, and arrive at the Old Summer Palace. The first southern tour, a round-trip journey of 5,800 miles by water, lasted more than five months.

The second time he went down to the south of the Yangtze River, in the 22nd year of Qianlong, Qianlong was ordered by the Empress Dowager to leave Beijing and start the second southern tour. Arrived at Tianfei Gate, read dragon wood, arrived at Fan Zhongyan Gaoyi Garden; arrived in Suzhou, and sent the Empress Dowager to visit the weaving machine room, and paraded troops in Jiaxing and Shimen Town; arrived in Hangzhou at the Empress Dowager, went to Jiangning Mansion, and paid homage to the tomb of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty; went to Xuzhou to inspect the river workers, issued an edict to intercept the flow of grain, and exempted all the seeds and rations in arrears; went to Sunjiaji to inspect the embankment work, and ordered the embankment to be replaced with bricks. Inspect Jingshan Bridge and Hanzhuang Gate, arrive at Qufu, pay homage to Kong Lin, and return to the Old Summer Palace in Beijing.

The third time he went to the south of the Yangtze River, in the twenty-seventh year of Qianlong, and Qianlong toured the south for the third time. This southern tour coincided with the disasters in Zhili, Shandong, Anhui and other places, and when Qianlong passed by, he exempted the taxes in these places and allocated some material funds for disaster relief. Then he went to review the progress of the first two ordered repairs, and rewarded the salt merchants of Lianghuai.

After passing through Hangzhou, he went to Haining to read the sea pond, climb the tide tower, inspect the Fujian sailors, inspect the weaving machine room and worship Ming Taizu as he did the previous two times. When he returned to Beijing, he inspected the river workers in Xuzhou, went to Zou County to worship Mencius Temple, went to the Confucian Temple again to pay respects, and climbed Mount Tai to burn incense on the top of the Jade Emperor. Arrive in Zhuozhou, be exempted from disaster relief, and then return to the Old Summer Palace.

The fourth time he went to the south of the Yangtze River, in the 30th year of Qianlong, Qianlong began his fourth southern tour. The time, route and main itinerary of this southern tour are basically the same as those of the third tour.

The fifth time he went down to the south of the Yangtze River, in the forty-fifth year of Qianlong, Qianlong set out from Beijing and began his fifth southern tour. Qianlong said that the purpose of this southern tour is to observe the people in the province and to diligently seek governance. During his southern tour, he issued edicts on many occasions, exempting three-tenths of the money and grain from the land levied in Zhili, Shandong, and other places; all the old people and women were rewarded with favors; after arriving in Shandong, he sent officials to worship Confucius; along the way, he also sent officials to pay tribute to those late officials who built rivers; in addition, he also paraded troops in Hangzhou, Jiangning, and other places, once again paid homage to Zhu Yuanzhang's filial piety mausoleum, and returned to Beijing as a teacher.

The sixth time he went to Jiangnan, in the forty-ninth year of Qianlong, Qianlong began his last visit to Jiangnan. Exempt or exempt the money and grain of the land they pass through; allow the cases of military officials who have committed crimes in various localities to be re-examined, and if there are no cases, they can be added to the next grade; when they passed through Dezhou, they wrote the article "Ji Wen Kao" in the palace of Yanzi Ancestral Hall; they paid homage to the Confucius Temple; inspected the coastal projects in Jiangsu and Zhejiang; met with Vietnamese envoys; and sent officials to pay homage to the tomb of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty and return to Beijing.

Qianlong spent 30 years of his life touring the south of the Yangtze River to visit all parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which shows that he regarded the tour of the south of the Yangtze River as the most important event of the imperial court. Therefore, in the article "Records of the Southern Tour", he summarized the reasons, objectives and results of the six southern tours.

As a matter of fact, as early as two years before he went down to Jiangnan for the first time, that is, in the 14th year of Qianlong, Qianlong had already issued two edicts one after another, explaining the reason for his intention to visit Jiangnan in 16 years; Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials, on behalf of the military and civilian gentry, respectfully asked the emperor to come to the emperor; scholars and Jiuqing suggested that he be allowed to do so on the basis of the scriptures and history and the example of the Holy Ancestor's southern tour; Jiangsu and Zhejiang are vast and densely populated, and they should go there to inspect the people's situation and ask about the people's weal and woe; and to pay homage to the queen mother and visit famous places in order to fulfill their filial piety.

Although the territory of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces is not large, and the population is not particularly large, accounting for only about 2 percent of the land area and total population, it is the land of fish and rice, and the economic and cultural conditions occupy a very important position in the country. The two provinces handed over 28 percent of the total amount of silver and 30 percent of the total amount of grain in the whole country, and the salt tax accounted for 68 percent of the total amount of salt and silver in the country, and the tariff accounted for half of the total amount of taxes in the country.

Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are the most culturally developed areas in the country, and there are many talented scholars, several times and dozens of times that of other provinces. In the 150 years from the third year of Shunzhi to the 60th year of Qianlong, a total of 61 scientific examinations were held, of which 51 champions were produced in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, accounting for 87 percent of the total number of champions in the country, 38 were ranked in the rankings, accounting for 62 percent of the total number of scholars, and 47 were ranked in the rankings, accounting for 77 percent of the total number of scholars.

From the perspective of the imperial court scholars, Jiuqing, governors and other important ministers, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have produced many scholars and governors, such as Lu Gong, Xu Yuanwen, and Yu Minzhong, who were born in the champions, are all appointed to the university scholars. On the other hand, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were also the centers of the activities of the remnants of the late Ming Dynasty, and the anti-Qing ideology and anti-Qing words and deeds have been continuous, and there have been many literary prisons.

Without the huge financial revenues of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and the support of the gentry, it would have been difficult for the Qing Dynasty to consolidate its rule. Firmly control the two provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Make full use of the financial, manpower and material resources of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to develop its prosperity, which is the fundamental reason why Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times.

Qianlong visited the south of the Yangtze River six times, and although the places he passed through and the things he did were not the same, they generally included rewarding the people, inspecting the river workers, observing the people, adding grace to the gentry, cultivating scholars, and parading and sacrificing the mausoleum.

During the period when Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times, he issued many edicts to exempt tens of millions of taels of silver from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui. During the first southern tour, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui were exempted from 2,280,000 taels of silver accumulated from the first year of Qianlong's reign, more than 300,000 taels of silver from Anhui, and 300,000 taels of silver from Zhejiang's current year; during the second southern tour, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces were exempted from the money and grain arrears accumulated 21 years ago, and more than 200,000 taels of silver from Zhejiang; during the third southern tour, the three provinces were exempted from arrears of money and grain from 22 to 26 years, and more than 270,000 taels of silver were exempted from Zhejiang; and on the fourth southern tour, Jiangsu, and Anhui were exempted from more than 270,000 taels of silver and other items; More than 1.43 million taels of money and grain in the two provinces of Anhui and more than 130,000 taels in Zhejiang; the fifth southern tour exempted Jiangsu and Anhui from owing more than 1.3 million taels of silver from 39 to 44 years; and the sixth southern tour exempted Jiangsu and Anhui from arrears of more than 1.3 million taels of silver. A total of six southern tours were exempted from more than 10 million taels.

Qianlong attached great importance to river engineering and coastal defense, and regarded it as a major purpose of the Sixth Patrol Jiangnan. In the seventh year of Qianlong, the Yellow River and the Huai River rose at the same time, and more than 50 prefectures and counties in Jiangsu, Anhui, Haizhou, Xuzhou, and other prefectures and counties were severely flooded, with more than 7 million people affected. Qianlong made every effort to build the river work, the scale of the river construction is large, the investment of financial and material resources is huge, and the construction time is long, Qianlong can be called the only emperor in ancient and modern times.

In terms of funds, the annual fixed annual repair fee for river workers is as much as more than 3.8 million taels, accounting for more than one-tenth of the annual annual output of the imperial court. The temporary construction of large projects often cost millions of taels of silver, like the construction of Qinglonggang in Linyang, and the cost reached more than 20 million.

During the Sixth Tour, Qianlong issued hundreds of edicts to the river workers of the Yellow River and the Huai River, as well as the sea ponds in Zhejiang and Jiangsu, instructing them to deal with the problem, mobilizing tens of millions of taels of silver, and completing a number of projects, which played an indelible and important role in reducing floods and protecting the people's idyllic houses and the safety of their lives.

Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River for another important purpose, that is, to discover talents, cultivate scholars, and win the hearts of the people for the governance of Anbang. During his six southern tours, Qianlong did recruit a large number of capable ministers in political circles, well-educated people, scholars and scholars from the south of the Yangtze River. Every time he toured the south, Qianlong had to meet with literati and celebrities and gentry, and personally put forward the examination, specially approved the expansion of the number of recruiters for those who excelled in the examination, gave them the title of lifter, and awarded official positions on the spot, so as to win over celebrities and celebrities and preach the grace of God. For example, Qianlong found a young talent named Wang Chang in Qingpu, Shanghai.

Although Wang Chang was among the seven gentlemen of Wuzhong at this time, like many famous talents in history, he failed several township examinations in a row and was very depressed. During Qianlong's second southern tour, someone recommended Wang Chang to Qianlong. Qianlong called for the exam on the way, and Wang Chang finally passed the written exam with outstanding talent, and passed the interview with a fluent and profound argument, ranking first in one fell swoop. Qianlong was eager to seek talents, and deeply felt that he hated to see each other late, so he immediately awarded Wang Chang the post of cabinet secretary and joined the Military Aircraft Department. Soon, Wang Chang became an important minister of the court who danced passionately with Ji Xiaolan, Liu Yong, Qian Daxin, and Gentry in the center of the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River for an important purpose that is inconvenient to say, although Qianlong did not say it, but this important purpose is known to everyone. This is why he wants to personally appreciate the prosperous land and gentle township in the south of the Yangtze River.

Since ancient times, Jiangnan has been a prosperous place of flowers and willows, gentle and wealthy. The scenery of the mountains and rivers is beautiful, the cultural resources are abundant, and the gold powder is innumerable, in the words of Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, it is: "the beautiful mountains, the beautiful water, the beautiful wind and the beautiful moon, the beautiful land for a thousand autumns; ”

During the Qianlong period, the cities on both sides of the Yangtze River Canal were prosperous and popular. At that time, there were 10 metropolises with a population of more than 500,000 in the world, and Jiangsu occupied three of them, namely Jiangning, Yangzhou, and Suzhou. Nanjing people are called the beautiful land in the south of the Yangtze River, the family of the emperor of Jinling, the ten miles of Qinhuai, the nine songs of Jinbo, the gold powder of the six dynasties, and a curtain of dreams, all of which make Qianlong fascinated.

Suzhou garden, well-known all over the world; Suzhou embroidery, ingenious workmanship, coupled with small bridges and flowing water, pink walls and tiles, full of poetry and picturesqueness, but also let Qianlong linger and forget to return; waist wrapped around 100,000 runs, riding a crane down Yangzhou, Yangzhou rich businessmen gathered, beautiful scenery, beauty, delicious, all available, is undoubtedly a famous dream city, leisure capital, consumption capital. Qianlong came to Jiangnan, watched happily, had fun, ate deliciously, purchased satisfactorily, and was surrounded by many Jiangnan women, of course, he was tired of it and visited frequently.

For the beautiful gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, Qianlong has a soft spot for it. Every time he went to the south of the Yangtze River, he brought some painters to depict some famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, and then imitated the lion forest in Suzhou, the Ten Scenic Spots of West Lake in Hangzhou, the Jichang Garden in Wuxi, and the Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang in the Summer Palace in Beijing, the Forbidden City, and the Chengde Summer Resort. Therefore, every time Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River, he had to go to Jiangning, Suzhou, and Yangzhou to visit the three places. Naturally, Hangzhou, known as the paradise on earth, is also a must-visit place for him.

Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times to tour various parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and although he gained something, he also lost it; although it was beneficial, it was also harmful. From ancient times to the present, people have mixed reviews and mixed reviews about it. Indeed, under the conditions at that time, it was a huge project for the emperor to go down to the south of the Yangtze River to tour various places. From Beijing to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it is 6,000 miles back and forth. At that time, there was no modern means of transportation, and it was all carried by cars and horses, and it took at least three or five months to make a round trip.

Every time he went on a tour, the emperor led two or three thousand imperial relatives, civil and military officials, and guards to use five or six thousand horses, five hundred vehicles, and thousands of ships, which cost one or two million taels of silver, which not only consumed a very huge amount of state financial resources, but also brought a great burden to the common people.

In this regard, Qianlong once conducted a profound review in the imperial "Southern Tour". He also once said to the military aircraft Zhang Jing Wu Xiongguang: "I have been in the palace for 60 years, and I have not lost my morality, only six southern tours, labor and money, useless, harmful, future emperor southern tour, and if you don't stop it, you will have no face to deal with me." ”