The death of Soetu exposed the cruelty of the Dictatorship of the Manchu Qing Dynasty! On the surface, the phenomenon is that Soetu personally wielded dictatorship and offended quite a number of colleagues, but in essence, Soetu was involved in political factional struggles, violated the interests of imperial power, and was only a victim of political struggles.
Soetu's beginnings were not only dependent on his own family power, but also his personal outstanding talent and hard work. It is recorded in the Great Qing Huidian that "Suo (Ertu) will be paired with a bear, and the bear (Shilu) will be paired with a bear", which also shows that he is talented. Although he is son of Sony, it is likely that because of his status, his starting point is very low, far inferior to his brothers. He went from being a small bodyguard until he was in his thirties, when he began to gradually emerge.
According to the records of the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", There were four main contributions made by Soetu to the Kangxi Dynasty: one was to assist Kangxi in designing the elimination of Aobai and realize Kangxi's pro-government; second, during the Ping San Fan Rebellion, Soetu presided over the government and took care of military affairs, and made great contributions to quelling the rebellion; third, he signed the "Treaty of Nebuchu" with Russia, and during the negotiation period, he fought on the basis of reason and won the interests of the Qing Dynasty to the greatest extent; and fourth, he followed the Kangxi Emperor in his three conquests of Kaldan.
Except for the punishment for missing the military plane during the first conquest of Kaldan, Soetu's achievements and evaluations were basically positive. His contribution to the Kangxi Emperor's reign is also obvious. The Kangxi Emperor also showed unusual trust and dependence on him. However, why did such a great minister of the country die so miserably that he was starved to death in his old age?
Soetu and his family's stubbornness has offended too many people
Like many powerful courtiers, Soetu could not avoid the criticism of arbitrariness, presumably power is the poison that breaks the hero's guts. To say that he is arrogant, in fact, Soeto is still far inferior to his brothers, these brothers have a higher starting point than him, their courage is also greater than his, and the trouble they provoke is a big basket, and they all have to ask Etu to clean up the mess.
As a result, Suo Etu was not immune to criticism, and Zuo Du Yushi Wei Xiangshu once impeached Suo Etu for "greed for power and indulgence". Implicated by the sixth brother Xinyu, Soetu was dismissed as Minister of Parliament, Minister of the Interior, and Crown Prince Taifu, and kicked out of the political core circle for three years.
The most unfortunate thing is that Soetu offended a person named Gao Shiqi, a down-and-out student. He was recommended and became a doorman to Soetu. However, Gao Shiqi's academic talent was quite high, especially in the creation of ancient poetry, so Gao Shiqi was favored by Kangxi. Kangxi commented that Gao Shiqi's poetry is very unique, that is, no one can write it, and through his guidance, he can also write this kind of ancient poetry with a very different style.
Since being appreciated by Kangxi, Gao Shiqi has been accompanying the king's side and his status has become noble until the official residence is a pin. However, in Soetu's eyes, Gao Shiqi was still a slave of his family, and he was very rude to him, and even asked Gao Shiqi to kneel down to report on his work. When he was unhappy, he often scolded Gao Shiqi and often "greeted" his parents, wives and children. This made Gao Shiqi gradually hold a grudge, so he also joined the "Army of Inverted Suo", and did not take advantage of the identity of the emperor's close attendant to slander Suo Ertu.
Soetu formed a factional struggle with Pearl
Equally powerful as Soetu was the Pearl of Naran, who was called "Soxiang" and "Mingxiang". For sixty-one years of the Kangxi Dynasty, about twenty years were in the struggle between the two factions of suoetu and mingzhu. The Biography of the Pearl of Nalan in the Qing Dynasty Records: "It is mutually planted with the Soetu Party. Suo Ertu was born noble and prosperous, sexually wanton, and those who did not attach themselves to him were reprimanded, and they were only protied by Li Guangdi in the court. Mingzhu is humble and gentle, light on wealth and good charity, in order to attract new entrants, and dissidents trap them with conspiracies, and they are bound by Xu Qianxue and so on. Suo Ertu was kind to the crown prince, and the pearl was the opposite, and the courtiers who served the crown prince were all reprimanded. ”
Suo'er's image is of a vicious tiger, aggressive, mingzhu is like a smiling tiger, yin damage and poisonous, two tigers are in contention, each incompatible, forming two major factions of forces. Gao Shiqi's attack on Suo Ertu has the shadow of a pearl, which is far from being as simple as a personal grudge. This situation has always been a companion of politics, and as the leader of the faction, Soetu naturally cannot escape the bright guns and dark arrows of the pearl. Of course, this situation was also something that the Kangxi Emperor was happy to see, and in the struggle between the two factions, he happened to be right and left. The left hand is the wind, the right hand is the rain, all according to the needs of the Kangxi Emperor.
Supporting the prince's inadmissibility by Kangxi was the root cause of Soetu's tragedy
If it did not involve the interests of imperial power, how the two factions fought, Kangxi would be at ease to watch the drama. The tragedy of Soetu is that he has violated the interests of the imperial power! Suo Etu was the uncle of the crown prince, and out of family interests, he naturally supported the prince and was also the leader of the princeling party. However, the interests of the prince are sometimes not necessarily consistent with the imperial power, and there is even a great conflict.
When the Kangxi Emperor lost trust in The Crown Prince, the first unlucky ones were definitely the members of the princelings, especially the core members like Suo Etu. Forty years after the Kangxi Dynasty, Suo Ertu was allowed to retire on the grounds of old age, and should have spent his old age in peace, not to ask about the world. Unfortunately, a person like him, even if he does not ask about the government, is still the spiritual leader of the faction, and he cannot escape the sea of suffering.
In the forty-first year of Kangxi, a playful thing happened: during Kangxi's southern tour, the crown prince fell ill, and Kangxi issued a decree ordering Suo'ertu to go to Texas to serve the disease. More than a month later, the prince recovered from his illness, and Suo Ertu returned to Beijing with the prince and his party. There are many speculations about this matter, and it is generally believed that this is a test or even a warning by Kangxi to Suo'etu. According to the "Study of Soetu", "Soetu Helpyi (referring to Prince Yinrong) conspired to make a big deal out of it, and when he learned of his situation, he put Soetu to death." Sure enough, the next year, Soetu was suddenly imprisoned in the Sect House, and four months later, he was starved to death in the captivity!
The reason why Kangxi was so cruel is that it is said that some people accused Suo Ertu of "plotting to make the prince take the throne in advance"! Five years later, Crown Prince Yinrong was deposed, and Kangxi made a coffin conclusion to Suo'etu: "Suo'etu Cheng is also the first sinner of this dynasty!" "However, upon careful investigation, apart from empty rhetoric, there is no evidence that Soetu really launched a coup d'état and supported the crown prince. If this is the case, will the Soetu family survive? Does the prince still have to delay until five years before he is deposed?
Therefore, this reason seems to be the addition of sin. The biggest possibility is that Kangxi did not think well about who would be the ideal successor after the abolition of the prince, so he did not dare to act rashly. But the prince's power must be eliminated immediately, so Soetu must die, he is dead, the prince is a toothless tiger, ready to be abolished!
summary
To sum up, Suo Etu was actually a victim of political struggle, a victim of the Kangxi Emperor's balance of the political situation. He is the pillar of the nation when the imperial power needs him, and he is the "first sinner" when he is not needed. To put it bluntly, they are all victims of the imperial dictatorship!
bibliography:
1. Draft History of the Qing Dynasty
2. The Great Qing Dynasty
3. "Soe-Er Diagram Study"
4. "The Biography of the Pearl of Nalan", The History of the Qing Dynasty