On December 31, 1650, on the ninth day of the first month of December in the seventh year of the reign of Qing Shunzhi, The Prince Rui, and regent of the Imperial Father, Dolgun, died at the age of 39 in the city of Kara outside Gubeikou.
Dolgun
Why did Dorgon, who was in a high position and almost the emperor, suddenly die? Is it death in battle? Died? Or political murder? There are several theories about the cause of his death, the first being the murder of the traitor Jiang Ou, a claim often quoted in novels and film and television works. A year before Dorgon's death, he was indeed fighting the rebel general Jiang Ou, but the Draft History of the Qing Dynasty. According to the Biography of Dorgon, Jiang Ou was killed by his generals in October of the sixth year of Shunzhi, more than a year after Dorgon's death. In December of the sixth year of Shunzhi, dorgon's Daifukujin Borjigit clan died, and he was sad on the surface, but as soon as he turned around, he forcibly robbed his political enemy and nephew Hauge of his side Fujin as a concubine. Then, in May of the seventh year of Shunzhi, Dorgon led the princes Belle to hunt outside Shanhaiguan, and The Koreans sent beautiful women, and Dorgon personally went to Lianshan to greet him and got married on the same day. From this text we can see that Dorgon has no physical and mental problems and is very healthy.
On the death of Dorgon, Draft History of the Qing Dynasty. The Biography of Dorgon records as follows: In November, the hunt was resumed outside the border. In December, he was in kara, Chinese New Year's Eve nine. Did not say the cause of death. The Biography of the Qing Dynasty records the following: In November, the king led the kings to hunt outside the border. In December, there were nine Chinese New Year's Eve. The "Journey to the North" records that Dorgon had a knee injury before hunting, a plaster cast infection was not healed, and the cold wind was biting during the hunt, causing him to fall off his horse and die of serious injuries. But let's not forget that Dorgon grew up on horseback, has been riding a horse since he was a teenager, I don't know how many times he has fallen off his horse, even if he has a knee injury in his prime, is it that he can't protect himself at all at the moment he falls? Of course, it may also be a coincidence that he fell and died in the end, which can also be said.
The third theory is that Dorgon was so dictatorial and made too many enemies that the kings of Belle united to murder him. But it's just speculation, there's no real evidence. In general, the second theory is the mainstay, from the horse fell seriously injured and died.
Full of eight flags
Dorgon Falls off a Horse (Film and Television Stills)
Whatever the cause of Dorgon's death, he died, and the happiest man was his nephew, the young Emperor Shunzhi. Shunzhi ascended the throne at the age of six, and Dorgon assisted him, and as he grew older, he gradually became dissatisfied with Dolgun, who suppressed him at every turn, and eventually developed into resentment, which is recorded in various books on Manchu Qing history.
Happy to be happy, the superficial work still has to be done, after all, the incident is sudden, and the liquidation work is not ready. Shunzhi led the kings, Belle, and Wenwu hundreds of officials dressed in costumes and went out of the Dongzhi Gate for five miles to greet the coffin of Dolgun, mourning the heavens and the earth. On December 22, the Shunzhi Emperor issued an edict praising Dolgun: Zhide Fenggong is unique throughout the ages. In January of the eighth year of Shunzhi, the Shunzhi Emperor posthumously awarded dolgun the title of "Qing Chengzong" (清成宗), and was posthumously honored at the Taimiao Temple( 太寺), and was posthumously honored as "Emperor Maode Xiuyuan Guangye Dinggong An Min Li Zheng Zheng Chengyi Emperor".
But all this is an illusion, and the work of political reckoning with Dolgun is in full swing. The Shunzhi Emperor was the first to appoint his cousins Mandahai (daishan's seventh son), Boluo (abatay's third son), and Nikan (Chu Ying's third son), who had nothing to do with Dorgon, to manage the affairs of the six ministries and stabilize the situation. At the same time, Shi Ganglin, a close associate of Paidorgun, confiscated the Seal of the Prince Regent and began to pro-government. The princes and nobles, who had been suppressed by Dorgon on weekdays, immediately smelled an unusual smell, and then quickly gathered around Shunzhi to form the Inverted Dorgon Sect.
Shunzhi Emperor
When it was ready, the Shunzhi Emperor struck. He was the first to imprison Dorgon's brother Azig for treason. Azig was nurhaci's twelfth son, and he was able to fight well, but not politically. After Dorgon's monopoly on power, he proposed to his brother to make himself "Uncle King", but Dorgon refused. As soon as Dorgon died, Azig immediately became emboldened, intending to seize power in the chaos, and finally failed. Shunzhi used Azig to test the attitude of all sides, and at the same time he would make his strength more solid by the two yellow, two white, and two blue six flags suppressed by Dorgon.
There was no morality in politics, and Dorgon's former right-hand men began to sell their lords for glory. The new ministers, Suksaha and Jandai, began to expose Dorgon's rebellion. It should be emphasized that Suksaha was Dolgun's close attendant, trusted by Dorgon and promoted all the way to where he is today. But Suksaha could not take care of so much, and for his political future, he exposed Dorgon's "conspiracy to usurp". Of course, ungrateful people like Suksaha did not want to die, and many years later they were killed by Aobai in a power struggle. As the charges were revealed, the butcher's knife also fell, and the first to be killed were He Luohui, Tan Tai, Gang Lin, and others who had betrayed the two yellow flags and defected to Dolgun, followed by Leng Monk Ji, a heavy minister during the Taizong period, Gong Adai, Taizu's nephew Gong Adai, Xi Han, and the chancellor Xinebku.
Zilharan
But these people are all supporting characters, and the vanguard of the liquidation of Dorgon is the Prince of Zheng, Zilharang, who is the sixth son of Taizu Nurhaci's younger brother Shulhaqi, who was taken to the palace by Nurhaci after his father was killed. After the Shunzhi Emperor ascended the throne, Zilharang and Dolgun were both auxiliary ministers and ranked before Dorgon. However, Dorgon used political means to continuously exclude Zilharang, and finally replaced him as assistant chancellor with his younger brother Dorgon. Zilharan chose to give in patiently and wait for an opportunity to retaliate. After Dorgon's death, he united Mandahai, Boluo, and Nikan to unite With Shangshu and listed the fourteen major sins of Dolgun: "Emperor Xitaizongwen was loyal to the emperor, and the kings and ministers were loyal, and the emperor was wearing the emperor, because fang was in the year of Chong, he made the minister Zilharang and the prince of Rui, Dolgun, the same auxiliary government." After his arrest, Dorgon monopolized his authority and did not let Zilharang prejudicate, so he made his mother and brother Dorgon the "Auxiliary Uncle King", betrayed his oath, arrogantly and arrogantly, and took the succession of the emperor as his own merit. He also attributed Emperor Taizongwen's former favor to the kings, ministers, officers, and soldiers for our emperor's efforts in attacking the city and destroying the enemy and suppressing thieves. The ceremonial guards, music, and attendants used were supreme, and the palace was no different from the palace, and they were good at weaving satin and storing gold and silver in the treasury. The emperor's attendants Yierden, Chen Tai and their subordinates Ding, Ganglin and Baldaqi were all collected. He also claimed that Emperor Taizongwen had ascended the throne without authorization, and the original system was seized to suppress China and foreign countries. He also framed the threat, so that Prince Su could not let him die, so he took his concubine. And the hukou property is not returned to the public, and it is all enriched. He also tempted the emperor's attendants Erke Daiqing and Sinabuku to attach themselves to him. All political affairs and the approval of this chapter are not ordered, and they are called edicts, and they are good at making blessings, and they are dethroned by mood and anger. Arrogance is not to be enumerated. He also did not allow the kings, belles, beyzi, and gong to enter the court to do things, so that before the Japanese waiting for the palace, they even regarded themselves as the imperial court, showing disobedience. The ministers and others used to fear their prestige, and now Sukh Saha and others have first accused of rebellion, and the details are all true. He shall be punished for his crimes, stripped of his knighthood, deposed of the patriarch, and enlisted in the official position by property. His heir, Dolbo, gave the letter king Doni. (Biography of the Qing Dynasty. Biography of Dolgun)
Shunzhi (film and television stills)
Well, the evidence and witnesses are there, and in February of the eighth year of Shunzhi, Shunzhi issued an edict to cut the knighthood of Dorgon, remove the temple enjoyment, depose the sect room, and seize all the seals and property into the palace. Subsequently, dorgon's grave was destroyed, the corpses were exhumed, the corpses were whipped, beheaded, and the corpses were violently destroyed, and Dorgon's mansion was converted into a temple. It can be seen how much Shunzhi hated Dolgun and how deep the contradiction between his uncle and nephew was. And all this happened two months after Dorgon's death.
Finally, talking about the end of Zilharang, he helped the Shunzhi Emperor successfully liquidate Dorgon, which is a meritorious person, but for this kind of villain, the Shunzhi Emperor did not want to reuse it, and also prevented him from becoming the second Dolgun, so he only gave him a "Shuhe Shuo Zheng Prince" and "all pilgrimages and Xie En are exempt from etiquette", and then excluded him from the political decision-making circle. Zilharan was extremely disappointed and soon ended up depressed.
Statue of Dorgon
(Image from Baidu image)