The meanest and thrifty emperor in the history of China.

There is an episode in the TV series "Prime Minister Liu", which is about ministers snapping up worn-out official uniforms in order to establish a clean and glorious image in front of Qianlong. Although this TV series is a joke, it also tells a historical story, but it is not about the Qianlong period, but about his grandson Daoguang.

The ministers of the Taoist dynasty wore rags to court, which was a symbol of integrity and honesty. Eating bad food in front of the public is a beautiful talk that people will regard as their parents. It is said that his father Jiaqing has known about this fashion for some time.

During the Daoguang period, no official dared to wear conventional gorgeous clothes. The price of this kind of clothes is relatively low. Even if you want to sell it, you have to be as shabby as in the TV series, and the new official clothes are wasted. The more worn-out clothes are, the better they sell than bright new clothes.

According to the research of historians, Daoguang was the most stingy and thrifty emperor in the history of China. Practically speaking, his frugality is not entirely to show off.

Looking through the history books, people will find that his frugality was formed as early as when he was a prince. He seldom eats meat and often sends eunuchs out of the palace to buy baked wheat cakes. He and his wife, Niu Hulu, drink tea at dinner. It is said that Daoguang and the queen went to bed after eating sesame cakes. In order to save fuel, even the light was not turned on.

The fact that Daoguang slept with the queen must not be shown to ministers, let alone deliberately. This is probably because the eunuchs or maids who serve daily life saw it, and then choked up and told people that the emperor of the Qing Dynasty was too frugal to sleep with a light on.

After Daoguang ascended the throne, due to bureaucratic corruption and low administrative efficiency, a considerable part of social resources have been saturated by layers of corruption in the distribution process. Because of the negative example of the ruler's own debauchery and corruption, officials at all levels in the political system are urged to compare and imitate the wind of corruption. The binding force of law and the sanctity of morality have been put aside, and the increasingly rampant opium smuggling has further worsened the economic situation. If you can't handle it alone, the problem will be more obvious.

It should be said that Guang knew and deeply felt the crisis of the empire, so he took the lead in setting an example, practicing frugality, taking care of the people's feelings and national strength, and clarifying Gan Kun. It can also be seen from his practice of banning smoking that he is a responsible emperor who really wants to do a good job in the country.

After Daoguang's death, he was buried in Qing Xiling. The rules of his mausoleum are simple. The general principle is to save less, save less, reduce less, reduce less, reduce less. In the column of "Revealing the Tomb of the Eastern Qing Dynasty" in the CCTV lecture room, the speaker did not praise Daoguang's frugality, but criticized his tomb for being unconventional, so that future generations and descendants could not build it. But it also proves that Daoguang really wants to carry out frugality to the end.

However, the reality is often contradictory. The more thrifty the emperor was, the more ragged the officials were, and the more the conscience of the Qing Empire vanished. Simple and honest in appearance, full of benevolence and morality, secretly happy and rotten. Daoguang himself often wears patched robes. As an emperor, it is really not easy for him to do this.

Once, the knee of his trousers was broken, and he mended it. He casually asked how much money he needed, and the people in the interior office told him that he needed three hundred and twenty pieces of silver. Daoguang opened his mouth wide in surprise and could not speak for a long time. There are too many defects in clothes, and no amount of patches will help.

Thrift alone cannot repair the ruin of the Qing Dynasty.