The short video shows the ancient times, and the emperors cried with envy!

Chapter 704: The Banquet for Thousand Old Men Turns into a Deadly Situation Li Zhi: This is murder!

[Although Qianlong's original intention of hosting the Banquet for Thousand Old Men was good, the result was unexpected.]

[Many elderly people who attended the banquet died one after another because they could not bear the hardship of the journey. This was a tragedy that Qianlong had not expected.]

[After subsequent investigation, the reasons for the death of many elderly people can be attributed to three aspects. ]

【The first reason is the hardship of the journey. 】

[The invited elders came from all corners of the empire, so the invitation and preparation work had already begun half a year ago. ]

【In that era, transportation conditions were very backward. 】

[Most of the invitees were over 70 years old. They had to set off for the capital three months before the banquet, and then travel a long distance back to their hometown after attending the banquet.]

[Such a long journey of several months, coupled with the bumpy road, has caused great damage to the health of these elderly people.]

[Many people are physically weak and unable to endure such a rush.]

Zhang Liang looked at the subtitles projected on the sky screen, feeling filled with emotion.

The transportation in his dynasty was also terrible!
He followed Emperor Gaozu of Han, fought in many battles, and marched with the army, so he can be said to have experienced many hardships.

The journey was full of constant traffic and the ride was bumpy and tiring, and my body often felt exhausted.

What's more, for those elderly and frail people, it would be difficult for them to bear the long journey.

Thinking of those elderly people who passed away unfortunately, I couldn’t help but feel sad.

Although Emperor Qianlong had good intentions in hosting the Banquet for Thousand Old Men, it ultimately resulted in tragedy.

This made him think of the situation when he attacked the State of Wei.

At that time, food and fodder were insufficient, and the soldiers were exhausted. Many of them collapsed due to overwork.

The cruelty and inhumanity of war still terrifies him.

"Master Military Advisor, what are you thinking about?"

Han Xin's voice brought Zhang Liang back to reality.

"It's nothing more than a feeling of emotion for what is shown on the sky."

"Master Military Advisor is absolutely right."

Han Xin nodded in agreement: "The inconvenience of transportation does cause a lot of trouble. If there were decent means of transportation, marching and fighting would surely be much easier."

"The world is unpredictable and the future is unpredictable."

Zhang Liang murmured to himself: "Perhaps one day, we will also be able to witness such an era."

Han Xin looked solemn, as if he was thinking about something.

Both of them were immersed in their reverie about the future and were speechless for a long time.

The Three Kingdoms plane.

Zhuge Liang stared at the sky.

As the prime minister of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, he presided over government affairs for many years and had a deep understanding of the importance of transportation.

The terrain in Shu is rugged, with high mountains and long roads, and marching and fighting are often restricted by transportation.

He once made a bold statement that he could plan and win the battle thousands of miles away, but in reality, winning the battle thousands of miles away was extremely difficult.

With heavy supplies and ammunition, men and horses were marching along the rugged mountain road in a rush, and there was a danger of falling behind if one was not careful.

Not to mention those elderly soldiers whose health is not as good as before, but they still have to endure the fatigue of marching.

Zhuge Liang was often worried about this, fearing that someone would die as a result.

If there were convenient means of transportation, both marching and transportation would be much more efficient.

Those elderly people no longer have to endure the pain of long journeys and can enjoy their old age in peace.

"Prime Minister, is there something on your mind?"

Pang Tong's voice came, awakening Zhuge Liang from his deep thoughts. "I was thinking, not only the old people on the sky screen suffer from the difficulties of transportation, but we also suffer the same!"

Zhuge Liang sighed.

"The road ahead is rugged and difficult to travel. Many soldiers are already exhausted. If this continues, I'm afraid more people will fall."

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true."

Pang Tong nodded in agreement: "It is really heartbreaking that those old soldiers should have been enjoying their retirement at home, but they have to fight with the army."

"Unfortunately, we were born at the wrong time."

【Secondly, the cumbersome etiquette procedures are also a big problem. 】

[The elderly who attended the Banquet for Thousand Old Men were required to familiarize themselves with the complex court etiquette in advance to ensure that they could abide by the rules at the banquet.]

[During formal meals, whenever the emperor gave tea, food or gifts, these elderly guests had to kneel down and kowtow to express their gratitude.]

[It can be imagined that this group of elderly people had already kowtowed many times before the formal meal, at least three times and nine times.]

[Such frequent ritual actions undoubtedly put additional burden on their already fragile bodies.]

【Furthermore, the dishes at the banquet had a negative impact on the elderly’s stomach and intestines.】

[Qianlong chose to hold the Banquet for Thousand Old Men on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, which happened to be the coldest time of the year in Beijing.]

[Although there are stir-fried dishes, they often become cold within 10 minutes of being served. Such eating conditions are obviously not suitable for the elderly.]

[Many dishes soon became cold and greasy after being served, and the elderly drank too much, which undoubtedly caused further damage to their already weak bodies, and eventually led to many people becoming seriously ill and dying.]

[In general, Qianlong's original intention of holding the Banquet for Thousand Old Men was good.]

[This feast aims to promote the traditional virtues of respecting the elderly and loving the young, and to maintain social harmony and stability. ]

[However, asking elderly people from all over the country to travel thousands of miles to Beijing for the banquet was also criticized by later generations as a waste of money and manpower.]

Ming Dynasty plane.

The famous thinker Li Zhi stared at the light curtain, his brows gradually furrowed, and his expression changed from surprise to anger.

Those elderly people who have experienced many vicissitudes of life should have been enjoying their old age, but they were forced to travel thousands of miles to Beijing and suffer this disaster!
Emperor Qianlong's action was not respecting or loving the elderly at all, it was clearly harming people's lives!

Li Zhi was filled with rage and wished he could travel through time and space to question Qianlong in person.

He recalled that he had written in "Book Collection": "Human nature is neither good nor evil. Good and evil are determined by habits."

But this Banquet for a Thousand Old Men is clearly imposing "evil" on others, causing innocent old people to suffer.

The red tape is tantamount to torture for the elderly.

The greasy, raw and cold meals destroyed the elderly's fragile bodies.

Li Zhi couldn't help but think of the orthodox teachings that he had criticized. Wasn't this Banquet for a Thousand Old Men the ultimate expression of orthodox teachings?

It looks good on the outside but actually does a lot of harm to people!
Just as Li Zhi fell into deep thought, his disciple Jiao Hong hurried over and was also stunned by the content of the strange phenomenon in the sky.

Li Zhi turned around, his tone unable to conceal his anger: "Hong'er, did you see what the sky showed?"

Jiao Hong nodded and said, "Teacher, I have seen it. This... this is really shocking."

Li Zhi sneered: "Shocked? This is simply shocking! Emperor Qianlong, who always claims to respect and love the elderly, actually takes human life lightly!"

After hearing this, Jiao Hong looked worried: "Teacher, what you mean is that this banquet has harmed those elderly people?"

Li Zhi said excitedly: "It's more than harm! This is simply murder!

Those elderly people endured long journeys, suffered through red tape, and finally had to eat inappropriate meals. Isn't this harmful to people? "

Jiao Hong said thoughtfully: "The teacher once taught his students: 'No one in the world can predict good and bad fortune.' It seems that Emperor Qianlong also failed to foresee the consequences of this action."

Li Zhi sighed and continued, "It's not that he didn't foresee it, it's that he didn't care about it! He only cared about his own face, how could he care about the lives of those old people?"

"This incident should serve as a lesson for future generations. If those in power only care about reputation and ignore reality, they will eventually lead to disaster!"

(End of this chapter)