In 1626, the eleventh year of the Later Jin Mandate of Heaven and the eleventh day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, nurhaci, the founder of the Qing Dynasty, came to the end of his life at the age of 68. After Nurhaci's death, his Khanship was succeeded by his eighth son, Emperor Taiji, known as Emperor Taizong of Qing. In fact, Nurhaci has many heirs, a total of 16 sons, so why did The Emperor Taiji take the throne? For a long time, many people have believed that Huang Taiji is a usurper, what is going on?
It is believed that Nurhaci was the heir to the Khanate during his lifetime, and he was the fourteenth son, Dolgun! After Nurhaci's death, Emperor Taiji forced Dorgon's mother, the grand concubine Abahai, to be martyred, thus seeking to seize the Khan's throne. So is this really the case with historical truth? Not really! Li Hongbin, a well-known expert in Qing history, believes that "after Emperor Taizong Taiji succeeded, the throne of Jin Khan was elected by Zhu Belle, and it was not a seizure."
It turned out that Nurhaci did have heirs, they were the eldest son Chu Ying and the second son Daishan. Later, however, both were deposed by Nurhaci, and the eldest son, Chu Ying, was killed. After dealing with the dynasty, Nurhaci never had an heir again, but adopted the system of eight and a shobel joint governance, of which the four baylors were the mainstay. The four baylors are Daishan, Amin, Mang Guertai, and Huang Taiji.
In 1622, Nurhaci gathered his sons and gave an admonition, clearly proposing the method of choosing the heir to the Khan's throne, that is, to be elected by the kings, and this system would continue. So on the day nurhaci died, the question of the khan's heir began. The highest priority was naturally the Four Great Baylors, of which Amin was the first to be excluded, as he was Nurhaci's nephew.
Although Daishan was old and of high status, he had been deposed by Nurhaci after all, so he was also excluded. The Three Belles Mang Gurtai was brave and rude, and did not get the support of the people. So what are the advantages of Four Baylor Emperor Tai Chi? First of all, he held two banners in his hands, and his strength was strong; secondly, the Emperor Taiji had both wisdom and courage, and repeatedly made battle achievements, so his prestige was very high. Whether it is military talent or political quality, Huang Taiji is superior to others.
So why not Dolgun? At this time, Dorgon was only 15 years old, not only did he have no prestige, but he did not have enough strength in his hands. Nurhaci had been promoting the co-rule of the Eight-Sum Shuobeile, and at this time houjin had a strong enemy outside the Jin, how could he give the Khan's position to a boy with no political experience? After Nurhaci's death, Daishan's eldest son, Yue Tuo, and third son, Sakhalian, proposed to his father to support Emperor Taiji.
The next day, at the election meeting, Daishan spoke out his own ideas, which were approved by Amin, Mang gultai and other Beylers, and everyone unanimously approved it. On the second day of the first month of September, Emperor Taiji led Zhu Belle to swear an oath to the Heavenly Covenant, making it clear that his Khanate was elected by the people and that he would continue to abide by the system of deliberating on state affairs. So a very other phenomenon appeared in Houjin, when the imperial meeting was held, the Emperor Taiji and "the three great baylors sat south".
However, Emperor Taiji could not tolerate the existence of this phenomenon, and he wanted to strengthen his monarchy, so he carried out a merciless attack on the three baylors, and as a result, Amin was stripped of his title and imprisoned and died; Mang Gultai was stripped of his "Heshuo Belle, descended to Dorobelle, and cut the Five Bulls", and soon after "died with a violent disease"; as for Daishan, although he saved his life, he was always trembling and trembling, and was forced to withdraw from the political arena and go home to idle.
References: 1. Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, 2. Records of Donghua, 3. Records of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty