Wu Sangui was a very complicated person, and at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he personally opened Shanhaiguan to lure Qing soldiers into the customs, and after the Qing soldiers entered the world, he personally raised the banner of anti-Qing and restoration. It is not difficult to understand that it is not difficult to introduce Qing soldiers into the customs, and there is no shortage of things in history that have rushed to the crown and become angry and red-faced. But when he had already been crowned the King of Pingxi, why did he give up his life to rebel against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty? Is it really loyal to Daming? If he was really loyal to Daming, then he would not have attracted Qing soldiers into the customs, and it was obvious that he had another reason for opposing the Qing and restoring the Ming Dynasty. At the beginning of Wu Sangui's rebellion, the situation was very good, not to mention that the Qing soldiers out of Shanhaiguan could at least compete with the Qing Dynasty, but in the end they were defeated by Kangxi. Why is that? Today we will take a look at the San Francisco Rebellion.
The reason for Wu Sangui's rebellion
There has never been a simple military issue, war is essentially an extension of politics, and the contradiction between Wu Sangui and Kangxi is essentially a contradiction between the imperial court and the local government. In the early days of the Qing Dynasty, it was impossible to eliminate the peasant rebel army and the remnants of the Southern Ming forces in a short period of time by relying only on the Eight Banner Soldiers, and in order to complete the great cause of reunification as soon as possible, the Qing Dynasty reused Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, Geng Zhongming and other Han Chinese. After the unification of the Qing Dynasty, in order to maintain the rule of the ruling class, the Qing Dynasty crowned Wu Sangui and others as local princes. From the moment Wu Sangui and others were crowned kings of the clan, the seeds of the San Francisco Rebellion were sown. Why? Because when the Qing Dynasty sat firmly in the country, it would strengthen the centralization of power, and there would be a fierce competition around the central and local governments for power, and when the political solution could not be solved, it would be resolved through war. History has also verified this matter many times, such as: the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion broke out between the central and local governments during the Han Dynasty, the Anshi Rebellion broke out between the central and local governments during the Tang Dynasty, and the Central and Local Battles of Jingnan during the Ming Dynasty.
During the Shunzhi period, the expenditure of Yunnan Province was equivalent to the total income of the whole country for one year, and the taxes collected by the imperial court during the Kangxi period consumed two of them, and the huge military expenditure was unaffordable for the Qing Dynasty, so it was inevitable to cut the domain. Of course, there will certainly be people who ask why the expenditure is so large? It should be known that Wu Sangui was responsible for dealing with the Southern Ming Yongli regime, Shang Kexi was responsible for dealing with Zhang Xianzhong's remnants, and Geng Zhongming was responsible for dealing with Zheng Chenggong, and they also needed military expenses to reward the three armies. Once the imperial court cut military spending, it was likely to lead to another rebellion by the peasants. Therefore, in the early days of the Qing Dynasty, no matter how much local power there was, no matter how much local military expenditure was, the imperial court would not care. And when the Yongli regime, Zhang Xianzhong's remnants, Zheng Chenggong and other forces are not worried, then the imperial court will gradually reduce local military expenditure and power, and the local government will either boil frogs in warm water and wait for death, or fight to create glory again.
Wu Sangui's fate is already tied to Yunnan, and if he gives up some options and retreats, it is likely to be a death. To borrow a phrase to explain the reason, "How can a great general abandon his wealth (military power) to the East Market (execution ground)?" "Wu Sangui can withdraw, but what about his subordinates?" It should be known that Wu Sangui arranged all his subordinates to be high-ranking officials in Yungui, and if he withdrew, then the imperial court would definitely take his subordinates to open the knife. And if Wu Sangui gave up his military power, wouldn't he be slaughtering the cutting board fish meat? Therefore, Wu Sangui could not withdraw, and his fate was only twofold: one was to add his body to the yellow robe under the persuasion of his subordinates, and the other was to die at the hands of his subordinates or the imperial court. In summary, Wu Sangui has been tied to the old ministry, their only habitat is Yunnan, and the imperial court will definitely destroy the interests of Wu Sangui and others when it carries out centralized power in Yunnan, so the contradiction between the Wu Sangui group (local) and the Kangxi group (imperial court) will inevitably break out.
It was inappropriate for Kangxi to withdraw the domain
Shang Kexi wrote to the imperial court at the suggestion of the counselor to request to return to Liaodong for retirement, knowing that this was the eleventh time that Shang Kexi had written to request retirement. The gratifying approach is equivalent to Zhang Liang in the early Han Dynasty, giving up his right to choose pension. However, being in a high position is not something you want to say you can retire, and Shang Kexi did not care about the opinions of his subordinates and his son, which eventually led to his son being put under house arrest to death during the San Francisco Rebellion. Wu Sangui and Geng Jingzhong also went to the petition to return to their hometowns, but Wu Sangui wrote with the idea of testing the Qing court. All three people asked for retirement, and at this time there were several paths in front of Kangxi, namely:
1: Divide the princes: This means to refuse the request of these three people and let these three people always guard the fiefdom, that is, the princes of the Spring and Autumn Period. But it is not very realistic, because sooner or later the central government will centralize power, and if it does not centralize power, then sooner or later it will become Zhou Tianzi.
2: A glass of wine to release the military power: This means to invite these three people into the capital and then collect their military power. Zhao Kuangyin had used this trick, so the effect of Kangxi's use of it was difficult to say. It is very likely that these three people will strengthen their vigilance, and even directly in the name of the Qing Jun's side.
3: Learn Liu Chan: Zhuge Liang's rights are very large, but Liu Chan never wanted to take back Zhuge Liang's rights, because this operation is very difficult. Liu Chan was very clever, that is, to wait for Zhuge Liang's death to decompose the rights. Kangxi could also wait for Wu Sangui and others to die, and then use the second generation of incompetence to slash the domain.
4: Direct withdrawal of the domain: The most direct way is to withdraw all of them, and then directly go to war. The difficulty coefficient of this method is very high, and it is difficult to return to Liaodong directly with hundreds of officials.
The ministers did not recommend the withdrawal of the domain, but Kangxi said that the withdrawal of the domain would lead to the rebellion of the king of the domain, and if the domain was not withdrawn, it would also lead to the rebellion of the king of the domain, and it was better to withdraw it directly. Therefore, Kangxi ordered the withdrawal of San Francisco, and Wu Sangui originally thought that Kangxi would not remove the king of the domain, thinking that Kangxi would keep them, knowing that Wu Sangui originally intended to be Mu Ying of the Ming Dynasty. But at this time Kangxi dismissed his thoughts and withdrew his vassals. Wu Sangui was dissatisfied with the deprivation of interests, and the Qing court also intended to strengthen the centralization of power, and if the political talks were not close, then the next action - war - must be taken!
The course of the San Francisco Rebellion
On November 21, the twelfth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Wu Sangui officially rebelled, setting off the prelude to the Rebellion of the Three Domains. Wu Sangui's troops went out of Yunnan and directly marched into Changde, Yuezhou, and Changsha in Hunan, while the Qing army was stationed in Wuchang, Yichang, Jingzhou and other places, and the two sides confronted each other across the river. At this time, Sun Yanling rebelled in Guangxi, Luo Sen rebelled in Sichuan, Geng Jingzhong rebelled in Fujian, Zheng Jing sent troops to Zhangzhou, Fujian, Wang Fuchen rebelled in Ningqiang, Shang Zhixin (Shang Kexi's son) rebelled in Guangdong, and almost all of the eleven provinces in the southwest and southeast rebelled, and for a time most of the country was not under the control of the imperial court. The reason why these people are opposed is also very simple - fishing in muddy waters, Wu Sangui has shaken the rule of the Qing Dynasty, and when the Qing Dynasty and Wu Sangui go to war, they will inevitably be unable to take into account other places, and the clan forces, ethnic minorities, and toasts in other places will also take advantage of the situation to divide up the Qing court or seize power and wealth.
At this time, it was very favorable to Wu Sangui, and it was difficult to drive the Qing court to the outside of the Guan, but it was still promising to rule across the river from the Qing court. However, Wang Fuchen was defeated, and the pressure on the northwest of the Qing court plummeted; Zheng Jing attacked Jian Jian, and Geng Jing surrendered in a hurry, and then Shang Zhixin surrendered one after another. The surrender of the pig teammates led to an unfavorable situation, but the great opportunity could not be seized, and Wu Sangui was difficult to support, which was one of the reasons for Wu Sangui's failure. Although his teammates surrendered, the Qing court did not occupy these places, and Wu Sangui still had a chance. However, Wu Sangui's self-proclaimed title of King of Zhou led many anti-Qing and restoration people to be unoptimistic about Wu Sangui and did not win people's hearts and minds, which was also a reason for Wu Sangui's failure.
Politically, Wu Sangui lost badly, and militarily Wu Sangui was equally dim-witted. He did not directly take the rich Jiangxi, but chose to attack Shaanxi, which led to a huge gap in Wu Sangui's defense line, your mistake is the enemy's opportunity, and the future Jiangxi will become a breakthrough point for the Qing army's counterattack. The bigger mistake was that he did not directly pound the Yellow Dragon, and at the peak of Wu Sangui, Wu Sangui did not drink the Yangtze River to directly pound the Beijing Division, but stayed for three months, the reason being that he wanted to cross the river with the Qing court. How can it be possible to win on the battlefield at the negotiating table, history has proved many times that there is only one chance for the king of the clan to rebel, that is, to directly pound the Yellow Dragon, but unfortunately Wu Sangui did not directly pound the Beijing Division like Zhu Di, and finally drank and hated. After the imperial court gathered soldiers and horses, it marched south, and Wu Sangui's illness and death caused the rebels to be leaderless, and eventually the Qing army captured Yunnan, and the San Fan Rebellion ended.
Kangxi's performance
In this rebellion, Kangxi's performance was remarkable, first of all, before the rebels did not rebel into a systematic rebellion, they occupied the land where soldiers had to fight (seizing Sichuan Pass, Jingzhou, Yuezhou, Jiangxi and other places), and it was precisely because of the occupation of important places that they could effectively prevent the rebels from joining together. Kangxi's purpose in preventing the rebels from joining together was to break them one by one, and in fact Kangxi did. Kangxi was not only militarily well deployed, but also politically successful. Shang Kexi himself did not want to defect, and Kangxi seized this loophole to use all his main forces on Wu Sangui in order to prevent Wu Sangui from directly pounding the Beijing Division, but fortunately Wu Sangui did not do so. In addition, except for Wu Sangui, the rebels in other places only wanted to seize the opportunity to seize power and wealth, so Kangxi immediately issued a policy of favor.
As long as you give up resistance, you will not be blamed, and there is a reward for those who give the city. Look at how familiar this trick is, didn't the early Qing Dynasty use this trick to win over Wu Sangui and others to defeat the rebel army? The same edict was still valid now, except that now Kangxi was co-opting other rebels to attack Wu Sangui. Wu Sangui's dim moves were frequent and Kangxi was carefully planning, and the level of the two people had already determined the fate of both sides.
The effects of the San Francisco Rebellion
After the end of the San Francisco Rebellion, the property of the king of the domain was confiscated, and Wu Sangui's old department was also divided into various places, and the feudal town system was completely abolished. The end of San Francisco greatly alleviated the financial pressure of the Qing court, and the lack of so much military expenditure meant that this money would be used to improve people's livelihood, build roads, transport water, and expand territory, and the social economy of San Francisco was gradually recovering and developing. From the perspective of national strategy, internal troubles have been greatly reduced, it is difficult to have an organized anti-Qing and restoration movement, and the army can be used to guard the frontier and contribute to the actual control of the qing court over the frontier. From the perspective of the people's livelihood, the policy of national unity is more conducive to the development of commerce and is also free from the suffering of war.