The Jiaqing Emperor was the fifth emperor after the Qing Dynasty entered the Customs, reigning for twenty-five years, but he had little sense of existence in history. This was mainly because the Jiaqing Emperor was normal in ability and did not do anything earth-shattering. However, the Jiaqing Emperor had an advantage, he was kind in heart and generous and benevolent.
For example, when the Jiaqing Emperor went out on a tour, he often encountered ordinary people who blocked the way to sue the emperor, he never punished these people, always carefully inquired, and then ordered the relevant departments to investigate the case. During a tour of Shengjing in the east, the Jiaqing Emperor personally came forward to try civil cases and make decisions for the common people, which was a very rare thing in the feudal era.
Hong Liangji, an official of the Hanlin Yuan, wrote a letter to directly explain the shortcomings of the times, and his words were fierce, and even directly accused the Jiaqing Emperor of saying that the emperor was useless. The Jiaqing Emperor was furious and ordered Hong Liangji to be imprisoned. However, the Jiaqing Emperor specifically instructed the officials of the Punishment Department, "These are the weak people who are studying, and they should not be punished." For this reason, Hong Liangji was moved to tears.
In the end, the punishment department gave the advice to kill the head, but the Jiaqing Emperor did not do this, but only exiled him to Yili. Hong Liangji had only been in Xinjiang for a hundred days, and the Jiaqing Emperor repeatedly read Hong Liangji's recital and finally personally issued an edict to pardon Hong Liangji. There are many more such cases, so after the death of the Jiaqing Emperor, the temple number given by the Daoguang Emperor to his father was "Ren". For this "benevolence" word, the Jiaqing Emperor is well-deserved.
However, what is less known is that during the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor, he was also furious and even wanted to execute his two relatives Ling Chi. These two Qing dynasty clansmen were named Haikang and Qingyao, and they were descendants of Prince Gong Changning. Chang Ning was the fifth son of the Shunzhi Emperor, the younger brother of the Kangxi Emperor, and was given the title of Prince Gong.
Although there are many descendants of Changning, they are not noble, coupled with the regulations of the Qing Dynasty's imperial family, so the title is not high. Haikang's title is not recorded in the history books, only that he was a clan member, and as for Qingyao, there is a clear record that he was a general of Feng'en. General Feng'en was the lowest of the clan titles, and was only equivalent to the military attaché of Zhengsipin.
Although Haikang and Qingyao were relatively distant from this line of the Jiaqing Emperor, after all, they were still descendants of the Shunzhi Emperor, belonging to the clan and being "yellow belts". What serious crime did the two of them commit that made the Jiaqing Emperor angry and wanted to execute the two Ling Chi? It turned out that this incident was related to the Tianli Sect Lin Qing's attack on the Forbidden City!
In September of the eighteenth year of Jiaqing, the Jiaqing Emperor left Beijing and went hunting in Chengde. At this moment, Lin Qing, the leader of the Tianli Sect, organized the congregation and dared to attack the Forbidden City. The Tianli sect even invaded xihuamen and, led by eunuchs, attacked the area around Longzongmen. The Tianli Sect and the Qing Dynasty protectors fought fiercely in the area around the Wuying Temple, and it was not completely eliminated until night.
After quelling this turmoil, the Jiaqing Emperor immediately issued a decree to continue to arrest the escaped Tianli Sect, and after layers of investigation, many of the lurking Tianli Sect members were taken down. It turned out that the sect's Haikang had also been found out, and he was actually a Tenri sect. However, at that time, the situation of Haikang was not thoroughly investigated, but it was "stripped of the yellow belt and sent to Shengjing on the same day, strictly forbidden, and never pardoned."
Not long after, Qingfeng, who also belonged to the clan, came forward to report that he had also joined the Tianli Sect and was Haikang's "apprentice". It turned out that in August of the eighteenth year of Jiaqing, Liu Deshan, a member of the Tianli Sect, told Haikang, who was the clan, about the attack on the Forbidden City in September. Hikvision not only did not panic, but also took the initiative to ask to join the company.
Hikvision also found his "apprentice" Qingyao, who was also very happy and asked to "count him out". Hai Kang and Qing Yao were the royal family of the Qing Dynasty, and they actually did not report this matter, and secretly joined the gang, hoping to get an official and a half-job in the future. After the matter was exposed, the Jiaqing Emperor was furious and "asked Ling Chi to execute him."
However, after all, the Jiaqing Emperor was considered a "benevolent king", considering that these two people were both clan members, he also issued a decree that "he still thinks that he belongs to the clan branch, and he really cannot bear to be punished with capital punishment", so he hanged the two people. The Jiaqing Emperor specifically ordered the two to be taken to their grandfather's grave and "strangled", and all their families were exiled to Jilin.
References: 1. Records of Emperor Renzong of the Qing Dynasty; 2. Draft History of the Qing Dynasty; 3. Records of The Rebellion of Jing