The following article was written by essays leader Ada Xavier

Introduction

As a young government official and a resident of Zhejiang, I have some reservations to pass to the emperor concerning the case of Zeng Jing. I have read much about him from the published books by the previous emperor during his captivity in Beijing. Zeng Jing’s affair with the previous regime was not promising since the emperor spent a lot time trying to prove to his subjects that something that Zeng wrote about him was not true. However, despite the numerous surveillance on Zeng Jing, no one knows or can predict what he can do in the future. In this way, I think that Emperor Qianlong ought to reopen the case and punish Zeng Jing for his actions based on the reasons I will present.

The Stakes of the Case

To begin with, the Emperor Qianlong should consider reopening the case of Zeng Jing and have him tried and convicted for his actions against the dynasty of the previous regime. With Zeng pardoned and still living within the kingdom, there is a likely danger to the new emperor. The emperor should have Zeng arrested and prosecuted to destroy the much influence he gained from the Emperor Yongzheng (Spence 320). Thus, there are several reasons for recommending the emperor to have the case reopened.

First, the new emperor might face a challenge in future if the case of Zeng remains closed and pardoned by the dynasty. Zeng Jing is a dangerous man to the dynasty, as he has outside contacts who can bring a revolution. Despite the Emperor Yongzheng pardoning him for his actions of planning to overthrow the emperor, Zeng can turn against the new emperor and use the outside contacts to overthrow Emperor Qianlong. For the emperor to have a peaceful rule, there is a need to re-examine the case of Zeng and prosecute him, hence serving as a warning to any other person planning to follow Zeng in the future.

Zeng influence is likely to spread due to the sentiments he borrowed from the famous author Lu Liuliang. Zeng is likely to turn against the new emperor and influence the people using the writings of Lu Liuliang. In order to reduce the likelihood of the Zeng influencing the people against the dynasty, it is necessary to have his case reopened and prosecuted, hence controlling his influence against the dynasty (Pines et al. 348). The emperor should ensure that Zeng is not a menace, and there is no one from his family likely to inherit his influence and spread it in the future.

Zeng Jing was not against the previous emperor only, but he was against the whole dynasty of Qing. He did not support the Manchu authority that places the Qing dynasty in power over the whole empire. Zeng Jing supports the reintroduction of the previous dynasty of Ming. Despite the previous emperor coming into terms with Zeng Jing, he only recanted the negative sentiments he had made against the emperor. Through his letters, he showed that he was against the Manchu authority and wanted the Yue to assume leadership of the empire.

With Yue Zhongqi still in power and being of questionable behavior, Zeng is likely to collaborate with Yue to overthrow the dynasty. The emperor needs to show his authority, power, and what he is capable of by punishing Zeng Jing. Through this, Emperor Qianlong will be sending a signal to anyone against the succession of power within the Qing dynasty to keep off such plans. The emperor needs to show how powerful he is, hence warning anyone likely to conspire to have the people against his rule, and he should use Zeng as an example.

As Emperor Yongzheng punished Liu for writing against his fathers, it is the duty of Emperor Qianlong to avenge his fathers. When Yongzheng learned that Liu wrote against the Manchu who supported the Qing dynasty, he had his remains exhumed and pulverized. Exhuming and pulverizing his remains served as a punishment for Liu actions that he committed against Yongzheng fathers. As his father did, Qianlong must avenge to those who went against his father, and Zeng Jing was one of the culprits who conspired to overthrow Qianlong father. Though Yongzheng had decreed that no successor of his should punish Zeng, Qianlong had a duty to avenge on behalf of his fathers.

Zeng is an example of the bad people in the empire who are likely to bring harm to the new emperor. Zeng Jing had made some false accusations depicting the previous emperor as a bad person who was not willing to work for the people. With Zeng Jing still free and alive, he is likely to repeat his accusations and lead revolutions that may overthrow the emperor. For the new emperor to establish his leadership without any fear of anyone blocking his way, he has to do away with Zeng Jing as well as his group to prevent any likely revolution against the regime.

The existing agreement that enabled Zeng Jing not to continue with his conspiracy against the empire was between Zeng and Yongzheng, thus making Zeng likely to start another conspiracy under the new leadership. Apart from that, Qianlong stood to face the accusations, as he builds the empire for him to have a legacy. For Emperor Qianlong to reduce such an incidence from appearing during his regime, he had to put Zeng Jing under punishment.

Through the various writings that Emperor Yongzheng wrote in a bid to make the people believe that the accusations directed to him were false, he gave Zeng Jing a lot of attention that could enable him to rise against any future leader in the empire from Qing dynasty. The new emperor needs to put the attention and heroism gained by Zeng Jing in that era and punish him with death. Through the punishment, the emperor will rule without any fear of someone instigating some accusations against him.

For the empire to forget the conspiracy of Zeng, Emperor Qianlong needs to destroy him completely and anything related to him. Apart from that, there is a need to punish him and destroy any writing that was concerned for him in the process. Despite Zeng offending a previous emperor by his conspiracy and accusations and later recanting, he was a possible threat to the success of Qing dynasty. Due to the threat he had to the empire due to the likelihood of continuing to attack or having an influence that can lead to the overthrowing of the emperors, destroying him is the solution. Through this, the empire will have to forget him completely.

Zeng Jing claims that uncivilized and disrespectful Manchu put the Qing dynasty in power. Jing supported sentiments that were anti-Manchu regime through what Liu wrote in his books. The claims were likely to lead to a revolution against by the people in the empire in the bid to expunge the Manchu. For the emperor to reduce the likelihood of a revolution, the new empire needs to punish Zeng Jing and expunge him from the empire, hence preventing him from any damage to the Manchu who supported the Qing dynasty to rise to power. For the continuation of the Manchu supported the regime, Zeng has to face punishment for disrespecting the Manchu.

How Serious Were the Crimes?

Zeng Jing’s actions were a serious crime to the Qing dynasty since he threatened to overthrow the regime. He went further to approach people who were of questionable behaviorto start the revolution. Conspiring to overthrow an emperor is a crime that was only punishable by death. It means that Zeng wanted to bring disruptions in the empire something that could result in negative effects in the empire. The courts should show concern and punish Zeng, his close associates, and family since they are a threat to the whole empire. The concerns shown by the courts should be a warning to any other person planning to commit such a crime to the regime. It is necessary for the courts being strict with such incidences and employ punishments that would discourage any person in the regime from committing such a crime in the future.

Conclusion

All in all, the Emperor Qianlong needs to establish a strong empire that will overcome the challenges the previous emperors of the Qing dynasty underwent. Moreover, he must deal with anyone who is a threat to the regime and who can lead or influence a revolution against it. The new ruler has to correct the mistakes committed by the other emperors, thus being in a position to rule without any issues that might compromise his regime or life of people. With that, one of the greatest mistakes the previous regime committed was letting Zeng Jing be free without having him face the consequences of his actions to the Qing dynasty. In this way, to make things right, the new emperor ought to punish this individual, thus showing other persons with similar thoughts what destiny awaits them.