The most stingy emperor in history was Aisingiorro Yongning, Daoguang Emperor of Qing Dynasty. In order to save money, he doesn't even turn on the lights at night, and his clothes don't change when they are worn out. He put on the patch and continued to wear it, and ministers followed suit. The result is like a beggar's guild meeting in the early morning.

There were many thrifty emperors in ancient China, but they were as thrifty as Daoguang, so stingy that they couldn't find a second one. After three generations of emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, the Qing Dynasty began to decline from Jiaqing, and by the time of Daoguang, it was already difficult to return, with internal troubles and foreign invasion. Daoguang is not a talented emperor, but he also knows the present situation of the country. He can't think of any good way, so he can only start from himself and be thrifty, hoping to revive the Qing Dynasty. So how frugal is Daoguang?

First, in order to save, don't light at night. After Daoguang succeeded to the throne, he set an example and strongly advocated frugality. He asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to recalculate all the expenses in the palace, cut off all the unnecessary ones and save everything that can be saved. This is far from enough. Daoguang even needs to save lamp oil. Every night after dinner, Daoguang will turn off the lights and go to bed early, because not lighting can save a lot of lamp oil.

Second, in order to save money, if the clothes are broken and not replaced, they will be patched and worn. It sounds a little impossible for an emperor to wear patched clothes, but that's what Daoguang did. His clothes were worn out, and he insisted on not replacing them with new ones, demanding that they be mended and continued to wear them. Daoguang's practice also directly affected the courtiers. Imagine emperors going to court in rags. Which minister dares to wear new clothes to court? Obviously, I dare not, so the ministers came to the court in rags. As a result, the whole imperial court looked like a beggar's guild meeting in the early imperial court, which was unheard of in the history of China.

In addition, Daoguang is also very frugal in other aspects. Anyone who wants to increase military spending and build a river embankment will be severely scolded. Daoguang himself practiced frugality to the point where even the national defense expenditure and people's livelihood expenditure were cut off, which was really too much. Daoguang is so frugal and stingy that there is no second one in history. This is the most stingy emperor.