Jiaqing joke

During the reign of Kangxi, two 60-meter-long ships were built. Ships sailing on the sea attracted many people to watch. When traveling around the world, they also played a powerful role and let the world witness the power of the Qing Dynasty. But in the Jiaqing period, the big ship became a small boat, and even the pirate ship in Vietnam could not beat it. A group of sailors hid under the boat to watch. It can be seen that corruption was serious in the Qing Dynasty at that time, and those in power were deceived by it, so they were eventually eliminated.

Build a top maritime power

In fact, the two luxury ships built by Emperor Kangxi were not used for decoration, but to prepare for the subsequent South China Sea War. Because of the victory of the war, Emperor Kangxi also realized the importance of naval power. So in the next twenty years, the Qing Dynasty spared no expense to empty the treasury and fully developed the shipbuilding technology of the Qing Dynasty. By A.D. 1683, there were more than 60 ships in the shape of this big bird in the Qing Dynasty. This should be placed at sea, and it is the unshakable top military force at sea.

The Opium War was a mistake.

How magnificent the big ships built during the reign of Kangxi, we can compare how shoddy the ships built during the reign of Jiaqing. The Qing dynasty, which had absolute maritime power, was indifferent in the Opium War, and even watched the British army throw its weight around and smash the Qing ship to pieces for a moment. The ship built during Jiaqing was only 20 meters high, which was a joke compared with the 60 meters built by Emperor Kangxi. The reason why it has shrunk so much is because officials are corrupt. Shipbuilding is a piece of fat meat for officials, and maintenance fees will be charged for any problems encountered in shipbuilding. Even if the ship is built, it will not be reported, and the parts on the ship will be sold after a period of time. Officials have money in their pockets. Why doesn't the ship shrink?

The ruler is incompetent.

The shrinkage of ships during Jiaqing period directly reflected the corruption of the country and the incompetence of those in power. How can this level of maritime power in the Qing Dynasty compete with other countries? Sure enough, it was finally punished by history and eliminated by the state.