The reason why Kangxi was able to become an emperor throughout the ages, his merits naturally need not be said, as early as when he ascended the throne at a young age. One of these things has been widely praised by posterity, that is, when he was 15 years old, he captured Ao bai.
You must know that Ao Bai did not casually say that he could be captured, but why did Kangxi not kill him after he arrested him, but chose to imprison him for life?
Isn't he afraid that Ao Bai will still be able to turn his hand over to the clouds and cover his hands for the rain while in prison?
In fact, the main reason was that Kangxi at that time did not dare to do so.
At that time, Ao Bai was the elder of the Three Dynasties, and since the time of Emperor Taiji, he led the southern expedition to the northern war, and his achievements were outstanding.
In 1637, Aobai conquered Phi Dao; in 1641, he won another victory in the battle with the Ming army; in 1644, he led an army to pursue Li Zicheng's peasant army, won the Victory at the Battle of Xichong, and successfully defeated Zhang Xianzhong and captured Sichuan.
Therefore, the prestige of Ao bai among the two yellow flags is very high.
In addition, the most important point is that Ao Bai is also extremely sincere to The Emperor Taiji.
When Emperor Taiji died of illness, his brother Dorgon participated in the struggle for the throne, it was Aobai who held heavy troops and Sonny and others swore to support the crown prince's eldest son Prince Hauge, and even Aobai once threatened Dorgon with a sword and had to back down, although in the end Hauge failed to sit on the throne, but Kangxi's father Fu Lin still succeeded to the throne smoothly.
Therefore, Ao bai had a meritorious service to the Shunzhi Emperor.
Fu Lin was only 6 years old when he succeeded to the throne and was regent by Dorgon. As a result, Ao Bai did not have a good life, and was persecuted by Dolgun many times, but he still did not submit to Dolgun, so the Shunzhi Emperor had great respect for Ao Bai after his pro-government, and regarded him as a close confidant.
During the period when Empress Xiaozhuangwen (Emperor Taiji's wife Borjigit) was seriously ill, Shunzhi served the Marquis of Chaoxi. Ao Bai also waited in the palace day and night, and could not take care of his own rest and eating, which was deeply appreciated by the Shunzhi Emperor.
Therefore, if Kangxi really wanted to deal with Aobai on the charge of treason at this time, I am afraid that even the Manchus would not be able to convince him. At this time, Kangxi had just gained power, and began to treat meritorious ministers in this way, which inevitably made other ministers of the former dynasty feel cold.
Moreover, at that time, Ao Bai had already entered old age, and when the Emperor Taiji was ao Bai, he had already led an army to conquer the east and the west, and his age was estimated to be similar to that of Dolgun. Therefore, at this time, there is not much difference between killing and not killing, and it is only a few decades.
Therefore, Kangxi finally decided not to kill, but to imprison him for life, which not only stabilized people's hearts, but also won himself a generous reputation.