Compared with Hong Chengzu and Wu Sangui, who were also famous generals in the Qing Dynasty, Zu Dashou did not seem to have such a big "limelight" after the Qing Dynasty.
However, this does not mean that Zu Dashou has "disappeared".
In fact, Zu Dashou "turned the muzzle of the gun" faster than Hong Chengyu, and his determination was greater.
However, for various reasons, his "limelight" is not as good as Hong Chengyu and Wu Sangui.
Eagerly "lead the way" advice
On the fifth day of the first month of May 1642, Hong Chengzu, Zu Dashou and others held a surrender ceremony to bow down to the Emperor Taiji.
After Hong Chengzu surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, there was still a period of "adaptation", during which he did not make any suggestions or do anything for the Great Qing.
Zu Dashou was different, he quickly "adapted" to it and immediately threw himself into the work of serving daqing.
Soon after the surrender, Zu Dashou and his righteous son Zu Kefa wrote letters one after another to lure Wu Sangui down.
After the unsuccessful abduction of Sangui, Emperor Taiji once again launched a detour into the customs operation and plundered various places.
However, if it is impossible to break through Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, just detour into the customs, it will always be difficult for daqing to take root in the customs.
To this end, in the first month of 1643, Zu Dashou put forward the proposal of "leading the way".
To enter the customs, or to take the five cities of Shanhaiguan first! The ability of the Civil and Military Officials of the Ming Dynasty, the virtual reality of each city, and the strength or weakness of the troops are very clear to the subjects! We should immediately capture the Zhonghou Institute and collect Wu Sangui's family members to make them "moved." The rest of the center right office, the middle front office, the front tun guard, one drum can be flat! At the same time, Wu Sangui of Ningyuan was indeed not easy to fight, but the army at Shanhaiguan was a ragtag crowd! If the connection between Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan is cut off, and the five cities of Shanhaiguan are broken first, how can Wu Sangui gain a firm foothold in Ningyuan?
This suggestion was aimed at the lack of night combat capability of the Ming army at Shanhaiguan, first taking five cities such as Shanhaiguan, isolating Ningyuan, and forcing Wu Sangui to surrender.
Zu Dashou's suggestion was extremely fierce, and it was possible to open up the situation immediately, and The Emperor Taiji immediately adopted it.
However, Emperor Taiji died of illness before he could implement this policy, and this plan could only be shelved for the time being.
In fact, Zu Dashou "understood" guan Ningming's virtual reality, so how could Hong Chengzu not "understand"?
It's just that Zu Dashou turned the muzzle of the gun faster.
The performance of the ancestral general after the Qing army entered the customs
Zu Dashou's plan was not implemented in time, and the situation soon changed.
Li Zicheng entered Beijing, Wu Sangui surrendered to Qing, and the main opponent of the Qing Dynasty once became a peasant army.
The generals of the Zu family who were born to shou were still very active in the ensuing battles.
Several of Zu Dashou's sons, Zu Zerun, Zu Zehong, Zu Zeqing, and his adopted son Zu Kefa, all led their armies to fight against the peasant army and the Southern Ming army, and participated in the "anyway" of pacifying Jiang Ou and other surrendered generals, and made many military achievements.
The Qing Dynasty's recognition of the military achievements of the zu family generals
Later, Qianlong wrote the "Biography of the Second Minister" to record the officials who served the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Among them, Qianlong split these "second ministers."
After the Qing Dynasty, all the officials who "only worked hard and made no further achievements" were classified as "Category B"; while the officials who actively served and made meritorious contributions to the new dynasty after the Qing Dynasty were classified as "Category A".
Among them, Zu Dashou, Zu Zerun, Zu Zeqing, Zu Zehong, and Zu Kefa were all compiled into "Category A" together with Hong Chengzu and others.
From this point of view, zu Dashou "disappeared" after the qing dynasty, which is just an illusion.
So why is there such an illusion?
The situation suddenly changed, and the value of Zu Dashou's own strategy declined
Unlike the Ming Dynasty, Zu Dashou was in Liaodong and was a member of the Ningyuan clan.
Since his ancestors, Zu Dashou has been serving in the Liaodong region.
When the battlefield of the Ming and Qing dynasties was in Liaodong, Zu Dashou was definitely a pivotal figure.
For example, after the Later Jin army captured Quang Ninh, Zu Dashou only took 6,700 soldiers to Juehua Island, and he was able to gather tens of thousands of people, which showed the strength of his energy.
Judging from Zu Dashou's suggestions in the Ming and Qing dynasties, when it comes to his familiarity with the military affairs of Liaodong, no one in the two dynasties is out of the right.
However, due to the sudden change of the situation, after Wu Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu Qing quickly entered the customs, and the value of Zu Dashou declined.
Compared with Zu Dashou, who was only familiar with the military affairs of Liaodong Province, who had served as a soldier shangshu in Daming and presided over the battle against Li Zicheng for a long time, Hong Chengzu had a much better grasp of the situation in Guannei!
Zu Dashou was not familiar with the combat characteristics of the peasant army, nor was he familiar with the ideas of the Ming officials and people in Guannei, nor did he understand the terrain of the mountains and rivers in Guannei, and its value was greatly reduced!
Tactical value decreases
Zu Dashou was a late general.
It was not until the time of Sun Chengzong that Zu Dashou, who was in his 40s, was valued and grew into a famous general.
After more than 20 years of Ming and Qing wars, when he descended to the Qing Dynasty, Zu Dashou was already more than 60 years old.
If it is a baby city and defended, the veteran can still deal with it calmly, but it is impossible to travel a long distance on the vast land.
Moreover, in Zu Dashou's long military resume, his fame was the defensive battle.
After the Manchu Qing entered the pass, it was always in a state of attack, and the large army ran for a long time and swept through the north and south.
In this case, whether it is military experience or personal energy, Zu Dashou is probably difficult to meet the requirements!
Can "divide the force"
At the same time, zu Dashou's power can be "taken apart".
The ancestral generals had a long tradition of breaking up and fighting separately.
At that time, Lu Xiangsheng shook the world, relying on not only the "Tianxiong Army" under his command, but also some of the Liaodong Army led by Zu Kuan and others.
Therefore, without the direct command of Zu Dashou, his sons and adopted sons could lead an army and participate in the Qing army.
Doing so will not only enable the Qing Dynasty to exert the military strength of its ancestors, but also be more assured.
After all, Zu Dashou himself was the core of the Zu family general, and moreover, he had descended and returned, and it was always difficult to make Daqing completely at ease.
Dismantling the Zu family army and using it is both easy to use and reassuring, of course Daqing has to do this!
However, from this, the "merits" of Zu Dashou himself are not obvious.
In general, due to the changes in the situation after entering the customs, Zu Dashou himself did not play a role as much as Hong Chengzu, Wu Sangui and others.
However, it is undeniable that Zu Dashou and his ancestral generals, after the surrender, did spare no effort to serve the Qing.
However, thinking of the heroic posture in Ningyuan and Dalingcheng, I never thought that Zu Dashou was sorry for Daming.