Yongzheng Emperor

Yinzhen (胤禛: 13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735) had the highest honor to orchestrate the imperial ceremonies and rituals during the reign of the Kangxi emperor, which illustrated that Yinzhen was well acquainted with the Confucianism traditions and customs. In the imperial court, Yinzhen was also deeply immersed in the state's affairs and heavily engaged in the political debates where he acquired diplomatic skills.[3] As the Yongzheng Emperor (雍正: r. 1723–1735 CE) of Qing China, Yinzhen was indubitably a very diplomatically inclined ruler who created an institution of a "moral government" based on the Confucian principles. Yinzhen sought four distinctive qualities: loyalty—忠, fairness—公, sincerity—誠, and capability—能, from his subjects in order to run an effective court and to achieve stability.[4] Li Wei (李衛 : February 2, 1687 – December 3, 1738) was a recruit among the Qing officials to possess the desired virtues, and was regarded highly by Yongzheng.

A notable quote from Yinzhen captured during his reign as the Yongzheng Emperor in the 1720s expresses his imperial will:

小事小料理,不可因小而忽之·,大事大振作,不可因難處而隱諱。朕意若果能如此實心奉行,以忠正一一字感化,不數年,賊亦人也。見文武大臣實心忠勇為國,屬員清正愛民,營伍整齊,士卒曉勇,而百姓不懷如是德,不畏如是威,仍去成群為匪者,朕想必無此理也。

— page 190, lines 7–10[4]

If it is a trivial matter, do not just simply neglect the issue because it seems insignificant. If it is a complex matter, do not just simply conceal away the issue because it could become a challenge. To have good governance and dissuade seditionists, is all in the ruler's wish. If the civilians see a judicious court that is loyal and wholeheartedly for the country, and see that the court embraces its people; and the civilians feel the virtue in their court marshalls, then the people would not perceive the court as a threat. Thus, there would be no reason to have seditionaries.[4]

In short, after several years of political chaos, Yongzheng earnestly strived to restore a functional court with "good government",[3] immediately after he ascended the throne in 1723 CE, to stabilize Qing into a unified and harmonious empire. In 1733 CE, Yongzheng successfully institutionalized the Grand Council, which allows Qing to relay communication effectively and efficiently from region to region,[5] thereby enabling the implementation of his domestic reform policy.

With the establishment of his Grand Council, Yongzheng was not only able to discourage corruption, but he was in a position to launch several domestic reforms beneficial to the empire and its people. Canals and irrigation systems were reconstructed to support agriculture and maintain farmlands. During famines, he provided relief to the affected regions by distributing resources.[3] In reparation to the people, who were the backbone of the country, he issued an imperial decree to emancipate slavery under his reign.[6] One of the several tax reform policies Yongzheng introduced was to shift the head taxation to the property taxation on landowners, which greatly reduced the tax burden on the civilians. Additionally, Yongzheng was indeed in full support with the construction of orphanages to shelter the orphans, in building elementary schools to educate the children, and poorhouses to house the paupers.[5] Perhaps the Yongzheng era (雍正: r. 1723–1735 CE) may have been overshadowed by his predecessor's accomplishments, the Kangxi emperor, and his achievements may not have been as glorious as his successor, the Qianlong emperor; however, the Yongzheng era did serve as a remediation to the people, and resentments began to gradually decrease.[4] Hence the Yongzheng era was a peaceful and prosperous reign of Qing China.

In 1712, the Kangxi Emperor deposed Yinreng again, and chose not to designate an heir apparent for the remaining years of his reign. This resulted in stiff competition among his sons for the position of crown prince. Those considered 'frontrunners' were Yinzhi, Yinsi, and Yinti (the third, eighth and 14th princes, respectively). Of these, Yinsi received the most support from the Mandarins, but not from his father. Yinzhen had supported Yinreng as heir, and did not build a large political base for himself until the final years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Unlike Yinsi's high-profile cultivation of a partisan base of support, Yinzhen did so largely away from the limelight. When the Kangxi Emperor died in December 1722, the field of contenders shrank to three princes after Yinsi pledged his support to the 14th prince, Yinti.[7]

At the time of the Kangxi Emperor's death, Yinti, who held the appointment of Border-Pacification General-in-Chief (Chinese: 撫遠大將軍), was leading a military campaign in northwestern China. He was also awarded an apparently grandiose title of "Fuyuan General-in-chief Prince" (撫遠大将軍王) and his departure ceremony was solemnly held. Some other princes, such as Yinsi and his clique, interpret that Yinti might be chosen as heir and, therefore, pledged their support to Yinti and encouraged him to make military achievements to prove his "worthiness".

However, Yi Zhongtian argued that such a "promotion" was Kangxi's way of protecting Yinzhen, Kangxi's secret chosen heir, by distracting the public's attention away from Yinzhen. The court officials, who believed that Yinti would be chosen as the heir, would also no longer pester Kangxi about the crown prince issue. Sending Yinti away to the northwestern border was also meant to separated him from Yinsi, his newly formed ally, and potential flatterers who wanted to curry favour with Yinti. Yinti would also be unable to use his commanded troops to make a coup d'état, since Nian Gengyao, Yinzhen's close aide, controlled the food supply and the return route of Yinti's troops. Promoting Yinti was also a way for Kangxi to control Yinzhen: if Kangxi's "investment" to Yinzhen turned out to be a failure, he still had Yinti as alternative choice. With Yinti as a potential competitor, Yinzhen would not fall into self-complacency and turn against Kangxi. Yinsi's clique, clinging to the hope of Yinti's future prospect, would also not do anything reckless. As a result, Yinti's "General-in-chief Prince" title appeared grandiose, but was actually hollow and dubious; it was neither "general" nor "prince" and could be interpreted in various ways, which could be used in favour of either Yinti or Yinzhen should the situation arise. Such dubious words with multiple interpretations was a traditional trick in Chinese politics.[8]

There were signs showed that Yinzhen was actually Kangxi's secret choices. First, Kangxi occasionally mentioned that how Yinzhen was raised by Kangxi and how he expressed filial piety to Kangxi. Second, at Kangxi's 60th regnal year (1721) memorial event, Yinzhen was given the task of holding the ritual ceremonies for the royal family's ancestors in Three Great Mausoleums in Shenyang. Shortly after that, Yinzhen was also tasked to organize the Sacrifice to the Heaven (南郊禮), the most sacred ceremony in Confucian tradition, on the day of winter solstice. Moreover, Kangxi also highly favoured Yinzhen's son Hongli (future Qianlong Emperor) and that might also contribute to Kangxi's support for Yinzhen as his heir, similar to how Yongle Emperor chose his heir due to his favour to the crown prince's son.[8]

Official court records state that on 20 December 1722 the ailing Kangxi Emperor called seven of his sons and the general commandant of the Beijing gendarmerie, Longkodo, to his bedside. Longkodo read the will and declared that Yinzhen would be the Kangxi Emperor's successor. Some evidence has suggested that Yinzhen contacted Longkodo months before the will was read in preparation for his succession through military means, although in their official capacities frequent encounters were expected.

Yinzhen's tactics during such the struggle for crown prince's position was practically doing nothing and stayed away from the limelight. Instead he focused on filial piety towards Kangxi and dutifully performed the given tasks as a subordinate of the Emperor. Comparing to other siblings (Yinzhi, Yinsi, Yinti, Yinreng), Yinzhen had no clear advantage. Unlike Yinsi, Yinzhen had neither close association nor good relationship with the majority court officers and magistrates, he was also shunned due to the cold appearance and the legalist-style harsh treatment to any kinds of moral sin and legal violation of the magistrates. Acknowledging that fact, Yinzheng intentionally shown no ambition for the heir position to not attract any unnecessary attention and animosity; watching other contenders fought each other to the death was more beneficial for him. Yinzhen even many times pleaded for Kangxi's mercy and pardon for other princes, including the deposed Yinreng, which gained him the praise and favour from Kangxi.[8]

As an experienced player in politics, Kangxi himself knew that Yinzhen's humbleness and filial piety was not really sincere and more of a cover to protect himself, nonetheless Kangxi still made lavish praise to Yinzhen and enjoyed the apparently good relationship with his son. In the situation when his offsprings openly trampled on family relationships, Yinzhen's "false" filial piety and kindness was already a haven for Kangxi. Kangxi also hoped that Yinzhen, despite being pretentious, might really not mistreated his deceased father and the deposed Yinreng in the future, which was proven to be relatively correct. As a result, Kangxi not only didn't expose Yinzhen, but also became the accomplice with Yinzhen's act.[8]

Although Kangxi's meticulous plan enabled Yinzhen later to be crowned as emperor, it also created many disputes about Yinzhen's succession as there was no direct, intuitive way to prove Yinzhen's legitimacy. Kangxi's choice as Yinzhen was a shock to many other princes (even Yinzhen also pretended to be shocked), he was neither the eldest eliglible (Yinzhi) nor the apprently most talented (Yinsi) according to the traditional criteria for the heir apparent. Kangxi also did not make any mention about his choice for the crown prince position, his will was only known via the deceased emperor's testament provided by Longkodo, and there was no decisive evidence proved that the testament was not fabricated. For the contemporary public, there was also no evidence directly inferred that, and explained why, Kangxi thought of Yinzhen as a potential choice. As a result, Yinzhen's succession faced fierce opposition from former contenders such as Yinti and Yinsi. Purging the dissidents and solidifying his own position occupied much of Yinzhen's initial reign as emperor.[9]

There is a widely circulated legend, persisting even to the present day, that Yinzhen was crowned emperor after he modified Kangxi Emperor's final will that detailed who will succeed him.[10] There are two versions of the legend, both of which involves the Chinese character "十" (pinyin: shí; lit. 'ten'), and by extension, Yunti, Prince Xun. One version involves changing the "十" in the phrase "transfer the throne to the Fourteenth Prince" (Chinese: 傳位十四皇子) to "于" (pinyin: yú), which changed the phrase to "pass the throne on to the Fourth Prince" Chinese: 傳位于四皇子).[11] Another version states the character "十" was changed to "第" (dì), which means "sequence number" (四 = four, 第四 = the fourth / number four), thus changing the phrase to "transfer the throne to the Fourth Prince" (Chinese: 傳位第四皇子).[12]

Researchers at Academia Sinica have disproved the theory, as official Qing documents, when mentioning sons of the Emperor, always list the son's title, as well as the son's rank amongst the emperor's sons and the son's name.[13] In this case, the will mentions "Prince Yong, Emperor's Fourth Son, Yinzhen" (Chinese: 雍親王皇四子胤禛), as well as Kangxi Emperor's high regards for Yinzhen, and his belief that Yinzhen can succeed on the throne.[14] In this case, changing the will becomes impossible without leaving obvious signs of alteration, since Yinti, if referenced in the will, would show up as the Emperor's fourteenth son (Chinese: 皇十四子), which contains four Chinese characters instead of three for Yinzhen, as the Emperor's fourth son (Chinese: 皇四子). It has also been noted that the Chinese character "于" is a simplified character that is written as "於" in traditional character, which was exclusively used back in the Qing era. In addition, the will is written in Traditional Chinese, Manchu, and Mongolian. The alteration theory is noted to be based solely on altering the will's Chinese version, as the will, as written in Manchu and Mongolian, is impossible to alter due to different language characteristics.[11]

18th-century Chinese painting of the Yongzheng Emperor wearing a European wig and dress, preparing to strike a tiger with a trident

18th-century painting of the Yongzheng Emperor in costume

The nature of his succession remained a subject of controversy and overshadowed the Yongzheng Emperor's reign. As many of his surviving brothers did not see his succession as legitimate, the Yongzheng Emperor became increasingly paranoid that they would plot to overthrow him. The earlier players in the battle for succession, Yinzhi, the eldest, and Yinreng, the former crown prince, continued to live under house arrest. Yinreng died two years after the Yongzheng Emperor's reign began.

The Yongzheng Emperor continued to perceive Yinsi and his party, consisting of the princes Yintang, Yin'e, Yinti, and their associates, as his greatest political challenge in the early years of his reign. To diffuse their political clout, the Yongzheng Emperor undertook a 'divide and conquer' strategy. Immediately after ascending the throne, the emperor bestowed on Yinsi the title "Prince Lian", nominally of the highest noble rank. Yinsi was also then appointed as the Minister of the Lifan Yuan (Feudatory Affairs Office) and the top-ranking member of the imperial council assisting the Yongzheng Emperor; some historians believe his position at the time was essentially that of a "Chancellor or Prime Minister". By ostensibly elevating Yinsi to a more prominent political role, the Yongzheng Emperor held Yinsi under close watch and kept him busy with affairs of state, reducing the chance of him conducting behind-the-scenes political maneuvers. Yinsi's allies received notably different treatment. Yintang was sent to Qinghai under the pretext of military service, but in reality was watched over by the Yongzheng Emperor's trusted protégé, Nian Gengyao. Yin'e, the tenth prince, was told to leave the capital to send off a departing Mongol prince, but since he refused to complete this trip as the emperor commanded, the Yongzheng Emperor stripped him of all his titles in May 1724 and sent him north to Shunyi to languish in solitude.

The 14th prince, Yinti, born to the same mother as the Yongzheng Emperor, was recalled to Beijing from his military post. The emperor selected Nian Gengyao to replace Yinti as the commander of the northwestern expeditionary force. Yinti, who expected to be placed on the throne himself, was reluctant to recognise the Yongzheng Emperor's succession as legitimate. Yinti was accused of violating imperial decorum at the funeral proceedings of the late emperor, and placed under house arrest by the Yongzheng Emperor at the imperial tombs in western Beijing. Historians believe that their mother, Empress Dowager Renshou, favoured Yinti partly because she raised him herself, while she did not raise the Yongzheng Emperor. Nonetheless, the increasingly sharp conflict between her two surviving sons caused their mother great sorrow. She died less than six months after the Kangxi Emperor.

By forcibly dispatching Yinsi's party to separate locations geographically, the Yongzheng Emperor made it extremely inconvenient for his rivals to link up and conspire against him. While some of Yinsi's subordinates were appointed to high office, others were demoted or banished, making it difficult for Yinsi's party to maintain the same set of partisan interests. The Yongzheng Emperor publicly reprimanded Yinsi in 1724 for mishandling an assignment, eventually removing him from office and then sending him into house arrest. Yinsi was forced to rename himself "Acina", a derogatory slur in the Manchu language. The emperor also confiscated the assets of Yintang and Yin'e.

In 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor bestowed a hereditary marquis title on Zhu Ming in line with his father Kang Xi emperor wish of a Manchu—Han population integration, a descendant of the imperial family of the Ming dynasty. Zhu was also paid by the Qing government to perform rituals at the Ming tombs and induct the Chinese Plain White Banner into the Eight Banners. Later in 1750, during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor's successor, the Qianlong Emperor, Zhu Ming was posthumously honoured as "Marquis of Extended Grace". The marquis title was passed on to Zhu's descendants for 12 generations until the end of the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century.

Nian Gengyao was a supporter of the Yongzheng Emperor long before the latter ascended the throne. In 1722, when he was recalling his brother Yinti from the northwest border in Xinjiang, the Yongzheng Emperor appointed Nian as the commander of the Qing army in Xinjiang. The situation in Xinjiang at the time was volatile, and a strong general was needed in the area. After several military conquests, however, Nian's stature and power grew. Some said he began seeing himself as equal to the emperor. Seeing Nian as no longer within his control, the Yongzheng Emperor issued an imperial edict demoting Nian to the position of a general of the Hangzhou Command. As Nian continued to remain unrepentant, he was eventually given an ultimatum and forced to commit suicide by consuming poison in 1726.

Longkodo was the commander of the militias stationed at the capital at the time of the Yongzheng Emperor's succession. He fell in disgrace in 1728 and died while under house arrest.

Portraits of the Yongzheng Emperor Enjoying Himself during the 8th lunar month

After taking the throne, the Yongzheng Emperor suppressed writings he deemed unfavorable to his court, particularly those with an anti-Manchu bias.[1] Foremost among these were those of Zeng Jing, an unsuccessful degree candidate heavily influenced by the 17th-century scholar Lü Liuliang. Zeng had been so affected by what he read that he attempted to incite the governor-general of Shaanxi-Sichuan, Yue Zhongqi (a descendant of anti-Jurchen General Yue Fei), to rebel against the Qing government. Yue Zhongqi promptly turned him in, and in 1730 news of the case reached the Yongzheng Emperor. Highly concerned with the implications of the case, the emperor had Zeng Jing brought to Beijing for trial. The emperor's verdict seemed to demonstrate a Confucian sovereign's benevolence: He ascribed Zeng's actions to the gullibility and naïveté of a youth taken in by Lü Liuliang's abusive and overdrawn rhetoric. In addition, the emperor suggested that Lü Liuliang's original attack on the Manchus was misplaced, since they had been transformed by their long-term exposure to the civilising force of Confucianism.

The Yongzheng Emperor is also known for establishing a strict autocratic-style rule during his reign. He detested corruption, and punished officials severely when they were found guilty of an offense. In 1729, he issued an edict prohibiting the smoking of madak,[15] a blend of tobacco and opium. The Yongzheng Emperor's reign saw the Qing dynasty further establish itself as a powerful empire in Asia. He was instrumental in extending what became known as a "Kangqian Period of Harmony" (Chinese: 康乾盛世; cf. Pax Romana). In response to the tragedy of the succession struggle during his father's reign, the Yongzheng Emperor created a sophisticated procedure for choosing a successor. He was known for his trust in Mandarin officials. Li Wei and Tian Wenjing governed China's southern areas with the assistance of Ortai.

"The Yongzheng Emperor Offering Sacrifice at the Xiannong Altar" in Beijing, Qing dynasty painting

In the early Qing period, the majority of middle-to-low government posts were subject to a mechanical appointment procedure managed by the Board of Personnel, which was a lottery rule. More specifically, candidates would first be classified into three categories, namely degree holders, office purchasers, and officials waiting for promotion, based on their sources of candidature. These candidates or so-called offices-in-waiting were then assigned to different posts by drawing lots on a monthly basis, known as month selection. This random appointment procedure stemmed from the late Ming dynasty. Sun Piyang, a minister of the Board of Personnel during the Wanli emperor's reign of Ming, was said to invent the method of drawing lots with the intention of introducing fairness into personnel selection when the Ming court was mired in faction politics.[16] It was apparent that this rule-based appointment procedure was conductive to curtailing patronage-network building and rent-seeking, although at the cost of flexibility.

Considering the limitation of monthly selection, the Yongzheng Emperor, inspired by a memorial of Jin Hong, the provincial administrative commissioner of Guangxi province, decided to launch a structural reform on the appointment system in 1731. In the new appointment system, local jurisdictions first were classified into two groups according to governance difficulties. More specifically, to prioritize local jurisdictions and allocate appointment power accordingly, the governability of each jurisdiction was decomposed into four elements, or four "characters": Chong, Fan, Pi, and Nan. "Chong" (thoroughfare) referred to places at busy highways and was designed to capture the characteristics of commercial potential or military significance. “Fan” (troublesome) stood for places with a great deal of onerous official business. “Pi” (wearisome) was the area having difficulty collecting taxes. “Nan” (difficult) referred to the places with crime-prone subjects and recurring violent engagement. Moreover, posts of jurisdictions containing all four elements would be ranked as very important positions and posts of places with three elements would be rated as important posts, whereas posts of places having less than two elements would be tagged as middle-level positions (two elements) or easy posts (one-zero element) respectively.[17]

In this way, the post designation (Chong, Fan, Pi, and Nan) was linked to the importance rating system hand in hand. The appointment power then was allocated based on the importance rating system; posts marked as very important and important were subject to the discretionary appointment by the emperor or provincial leaders, whereas other less important posts still were assigned by drawing lots. As a result, the high-quality officials were matched to the important positions and in turn promoted local governance.[18]

Yi Zhongtian commented that Yongzheng had a very flexible and pragmatic tastes of talent enrollment, based on the advices of Ortai: "Amongst affairs, there are both essential and trivial, easy and challenging. Amongst people, there are both soft and hard, long and short." The emperor, therefore, did not use dogmatic and abstract criteria of "talents" and "morality", instead he acknowledged that every person both have strengths and defects and the tasks given to him should be tailored to suit his specific traits. For example, Li Wei had a very rude personality, but he was brave and clever, Yongzheng assigned him tasks related to law enforcement, criminal punishment and rebel liquidation. Zhu Shih, a scholar with upright and good personality, was appointed as teacher for the future Qianlong Emperor. Tian Wenjing had many personality defects and was heavily criticized by contemporaries, but was favoured by Yongzheng due to his hard-working, devotion and loyalty. Chang Sanle, Wuqiao district chief, had upright and transparent moral conduct, but lacked fevernt in work, hence he was re-assigned to an educational post and removed from administrative works.[19] However, the most critical criterion for the government magistrate was "sincerity" towards the emperor. The magistrate's works, reports, criticisms, suggestion, even flattery and blandishment, should be performed with sincere devotion to and sympathy with the emperor's interests and stance. Suggestion and criticism with adequate "sincerity", even if they were flawed and incorrect, was usually praised by Yongzheng. On the other hand, suggestions which were considered to only serving the magistrate's selfish interests and fame, or to only currying the favour from the emperor, even if the suggestions were accurate and reasonable, would be heavily criticized by Yongzheng and the magistrate could be punished severely. That was the reason behind Yongzheng's apparently "erratic" and "unpredictable" behaviors in punishing and rewarding his subordinates.[20]

Emperor Kangxi's long reign left lasting achievements, but also many flaws and maladies, including budget deficit, unadequate tax revenues, and huge debts. Corruption was widespread, and magistrates and aristocrats frequently borrowed money from the national treasure without any sign of returning the money. Therefore, right after his enthronement, Yongzheng immediatedly began the crackdown against corruption and financial issues. Utilizing his experience during the time as a prince, the emperor used an unconventional approach: first he anticipated the counter-measures that corrupted magistrates might employ to evade state punishment, then devised the emperor's own counter-measures against the magistrates.[21]

To counter the local magistrated well-built networks, Yongzheng organized a group of inspectors consisted of independent Imperial Commissioners and "clean" local chiefs, assisted with a group of regional officer-to-be. When a regional magistrate was found guilty, he would be replaced by a corresponding member amongst the inspector group who had no connection of interest with the local clique and therefore would naturally do his best to continue the purge. Furthermore, local people was forbidden to lend money to their magistrates, preventing them to temporarily transfer the borrowed money to the local treasure to mask the deficits. Yongzheng also created an independent Inquisition Association to examine all the spending and revenue documents to prevent local officers from bribing the Ministry of Revenue to fabricate the financial reports. To prevent the magistrates from fabricating the corruption cases as merely "deificit spending", Yongzheng demanded that the case of deficit spending must be investigated first, and punishment, sanction and compensation should be performed first in the case of deficit spending. Equivocation between deficit spending and corruption was strictly prohibited.[21]

To prevent the guilty magistrates from further exploit the people to compensate for their deficit spending, Yongzheng immediately dismissed the magistrate before compensation began. Dismissed magistrates no longer had authority over the people and had no choice but using their own properties to compensate. As the punished magistrate might use other connections as alternative for their lost authority, paying compensation on behalf of them was also strictly prohibited. The properties of their families and relatives was also confisticated for the compensation payment if necessary. In the cases of magistrates committing suicide to avoid punishment, Yongzheng demanded that their family and descendants had to shoulder the punishment and compensation for the deceased one. The emperor himself admit that he want to see the guilty magistrate's descendants "live in poverty and misery." Yongzheng's drastic punishment earned him the nickname "Emperor of confiscation".[21]

Beside harsh punishment, Yongzheng also improved the state officer's income to remove their incentive for corruption. He created a "Fund for transparency nuturing" from government additional revenues, which was now regulated and controlled by the central government, to provide copious allowance for state magistrate, enabled their daily expenses to be covered without accepting bribes. Magistrates not eligible for the Fund's money also received other kinds of allowances, and officers on business trips were also provide an allowance to cover their essential expenses, which had to be reported to the government. The "transparency nuturing" allowances beside removing the corruption incentive, also helped to publicized the magistrate's incomes, enabled the state to monitor, evaluate and detect any potential signs of corruption. Furthermore, all kinds of gifts and "ritual fees" was now strictly prohibited.[21]

To effectively grasp the situation of his subordinates, Yongzheng utilized the "secret report" system which originated from the Shunzhi Era, which also suited his own tastes of having personal connection separately with each subordinate. The emperor recruited secret informants from the trusted subordinates who had the privileges to privately report to the Emperor whatever they felt suspicious. The components of secret informants was quite varied, including even some low-ranked officers, and was widely distributed all over the empire. To encourage the sincerity and eagerness of informants, their identity and the report's content was kept strictly confidential; even the informants did not know each others, and the procedures and writing style requirements was greatly simplified. Such "secret reporters" enable the emperor to maintain an extensive information network without a specialized internal espionage bureau. The secret informants also have no privileges beside the secret reports and the reports only had reference value with no legal authority, which prevented the authority abuse from the informant like the Ming internal esiponage agents. Also, to avoid false accusation and incorrect reports from informants, Yongzheng collected the information from various sources, and the accused person also had a chance to defend their actions and prove their innocence. Under a capable ruler, secret reports actually protected the innocent magistrates from wrong accusations, as the reports provide alternative information sources beside the official charges.[21]

During the massive population growth in the Qing dynasty and increasing demand from peasant and military populations for grain, the Yongzheng emperor launched a grain campaign in which he incentivized officials in local and provincial governments to compete in buying land meant specifically for farming. The Yongzheng emperor offered officials 5-10 year tax holidays in which they were free from paying taxes. This campaign led to more than one million new acres of farmable land. While these campaigns led to more food and land for the population to use for farming, it also led to officials lying about the amount of farmable land they were contributing in order to win the tax holidays. These tax holidays also pushed the burden of paying the taxes elsewhere.[22]

Ethnicity in Qing China could vary depending on where one was from even locally in China. This ethnic separation along with the booming population led to reduced access to the Civil Service Examinations based on ethnicity and locality. The Yongzheng emperor, in an attempt to allow for as many people to take the Civil Service Examination as possible, set up special exams for people in rural China. These special exams were called Miao exams and were located in Yunnan. In the 1730s, landholding shed people such as the Hakka were still not allowed to take the exams, Yongzheng made it legal for these people to take the exams in an attempt to dispel anger at being excluded from the exams.[22]

A growing number of orphaned children or poor families came with the massive Qing population growth. The Yongzheng emperor sought to remedy this by mandating that orphanages (also called poor houses) be built in every county. These were funded not by local, provincial or high level government but privately funded and maintained. These orphanages existed less to help the local population get out of poverty and more to model how wealthy officials should act towards the impoverished populations.[22]

The Kangxi Emperor mandated that scholars that had passed the Civil Service Examination at any level were able to bypass punishments from the legal system depending on which level of the exams they had passed. Instead of legal repercussions for crimes, criminal officials were instead recommended to the county education commissioner for counseling. This led to corruption among officials who were no longer bound by law. In an attempt to stop this the Yongzheng emperor made it illegal to offer privileges to officials going through the legal system. This did not last long as the Qianlong Emperor reinstated legal privileges for officials that had passed the Civil Service Examination shortly after becoming emperor after Yongzheng.[22]

In the mid-1720s Qing empire, complex levels of tax hierarchies put in place by the Kangxi emperor existed to separate the population into different tax brackets. Households with government officials were in privileged tax brackets that brought with it tax exemptions for not only the immediate family in the household but also extended family members. The Yongzheng emperor removed these privileged tax brackets as he saw the local gentry as competition to the throne. Just like the legal privileges that passing the Civil Service Examination offered, soon after the end of the Yongzheng emperor's reign, the Qianlong emperor quickly reinstated the privileged tax brackets.[22]

Growing distrust of Jesuit missionaries by the Kangxi emperor and later Yongzheng in the early 1720s led to prohibition and action against the Christian presence in China. The Kangxi emperor had banned foreign missions (outside of Beijing and Guangzhou), and Yongzheng took this one step further by removing all foreign priests from China. All Christian churches were shut down and repurposed as local public offices.[22]

Chinese merchant houses belonging to Canton station were grouped together under a larger organization by Yongzheng called Cohong in 1725. This group was responsible for policing all trade within the Canton system.[22]

As silver became more widely used as a currency in Qing China, the validity and purity of the currency being exchanged had to be verified. Silver taels were sent to official appraisers to do the job of verification. During the appraisal some silver was lost in the process, this lost silver must be covered by the payer. This extra charge on the lost silver became known as a meltage fee. These meltage fees were a very important source of income for local governments. It became practice to bribe appraisers to avoid meltage fees. Yongzheng attempted to ban all bribing to avoid these fees and also officially mandated meltage fees as a source of local income. These mandates helped silver become a major part of the Qing economy.[23]