In the eleventh year of the Mandate of Heaven, Taizu Nur Hachi died of depression after the Battle of Ningyuan, and the eldest concubine Abahai and two concubines were martyred; Because Nur Hachi died of illness, only the eldest concubine Abahai was by his side, and it is said that he did not leave a legacy (but there is also a saying that Nur Hachi left his will to establish Dolgon as the great khan and assist the government on behalf of the good, but this last life was also lost with the martyrdom of the eldest concubine Abahai), and for a while it became a question who would succeed the great khan.
As Nurhachi came into contact with Han culture, he came to the idea of "Liyan". Nurhachi had four concubines in his lifetime, and the sons born to the four concubines were all concubines:
The first eldest concubine was Nurhachi Yuan with Tong Jia, and the sons born were the eldest son Chu Ying and the second son Daishan;
The second concubine was the Fucha clan, and the son born was the fifth son Manggultai;
The third eldest concubine was Meng Gu's sister, and the son born to was the eighth son Emperor Taiji;
The fourth concubine was Abahai, who gave birth to sons Azig, Dorgon and Dordor.
Since Nur Hachi has 7 concubines, and Huang Taiji is not the eldest son of Concubine, why was he chosen as the new Great Khan? When Dai Shan, Yue Tuo and others recommended the new Great Khan of the Imperial Crown Prince, they said this: "The Emperor Taiji has both talents and virtues, and should quickly inherit the position of the Great Khan." ”
"Talent and virtue crown the world, quickly succeed to the throne"
It was precisely because of Daishan's support that all the Baylors asked Emperor Taiji to ascend the throne; Emperor Taiji repeatedly resigned before he took the throne of the Great Khan and declared the following year the first year of Tiancong.
01 Nurha Chi killed his son
For Huang Taiji to compete for the Khan's throne, there is actually a strong enemy, but in Nur Hachi's later years, he has "helped" his sons to get rid of this strong enemy, this person is Huang Taiji's own uncle Shurhazi, the figure of Jianzhou Jurchen second only to Tianmei Khan, Nur Hachi's half-brother.
We all know the phrase "one mountain does not allow two tigers", Shurhazi has been following his brother to the south and the northern war since his brother Nur Hachi started his army, Nur Hachi from the beginning of the unified state Jurchen, and then later unified the entire Jurchen tribe, broke with the Ming Dynasty and declared war, Shurhazi is a well-deserved hero.
Many people know that the reason why Nurhachi has such achievements, in addition to his bravery, good fighting, courage and resourcefulness, his "five founding heroes" cannot be ignored, in fact, his own brother Shulhaqi cannot be ignored.
The Ming Dynasty has always adopted the strategy of "supporting the weak and suppressing the strong" against the Jurchen tribes, and for the relatively powerful tribes, it is nothing more than the method of dissociation. For example, in the official letters of the Ming Dynasty, Nur Hachi and his younger brother Shurhazi are called together, and Shurhazi, in addition to his status as the governor of Jianzhou Weidu, has also entered Beijing many times to "pay tribute".
Shulhaqi became increasingly dissatisfied with his wealth and status, and in order to strengthen the power of the khan, Nurhazi imprisoned his younger brother Shulhaqi; There is also a theory that Shulhazy was directly killed by Nurhazi.
But whether it was seclusion or execution, Shulhazy was not enough to threaten Nurhazi's Khan's power; It can also be said that for Nurhach's sons, there is one less strong rival to compete for the Khan's throne.
Taizu Nur Hachi and Sejong Emperor Taiji did not establish a succession system of "father death and son succession", so whether Nur Hachi died of illness or Emperor Taiji died of illness, it was adopted to choose a suitable heir in the form of eight kings' discussion; It was not until the death of the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty that the system of succession by his son was finally determined.
It is worth mentioning that although Huang Taiji's uncle Shurhazi has no possibility of competing for the Khan throne, his cousin Bel Amin (Shulhaqi's second son) is still qualified to inherit the Khan throne, but Amin is smarter than his father Shulhaqi, and he knows very well that although he is qualified to compete for the Khan throne, his uncle Nur Hachi has so many sons, no matter how vacant the Khan position is, he will not be able to turn himself.
After Shurhazi's death, the most likely person to inherit the throne was Nurhach's eldest son Chu Ying, Chu Ying, as the eldest son, was naturally the first son who followed Nurhachi to the south and the Northern War, and was named Humbaturu when he was only 18 years old; At the age of 27, because of his great war achievements, he was given the name Alhatu Tumen (Guangli Belle, meaning brave).
Later, because of his many battle merits, he was appointed crown prince by Nurhachi to handle imperial affairs.
It can be seen that Nur Hachi still has high hopes for the eldest son, hoping that the Khan throne will be passed to "Yan" and "Chang".
However, although Chu Ying was a brave and good warrior on the battlefield, he was really not good at handling the affairs of the DPRK, coupled with his narrow-mindedness and rush, he was jointly ostracized by the "four bailes" and the "five ministers".
The four great bailes refer to: the second son Daishan, the nephew Amin, the fifth son Manggultai, and the eighth son Taiji
These four Baylors are different from other Baylors, they are the four Baylors that Nur Hachi attaches the most importance to, not only have a higher status than other Baylors, but also are the banner owners Baylor, not only have the army, power, but also have their own subjects, not to mention that the Jurchen Ministry of Jianzhou has never had the saying of "standing up and standing up", and is naturally dissatisfied with the eldest son Chu Ying being the crown prince and handling the imperial government.
The four Baylors accused Chu Ying to Nur Hachi, and there was indeed suspicion of contending for reserves, but Chu Ying did go too far.
Chu Ying was very careful, not only asking for the property of his younger brothers, but also swearing that he would not be allowed to divide his property and territory in the future; This will naturally cause dissatisfaction among the younger brothers.
The five ministers are: Egyedu, He Heli, Anfeyangu, Gulhan and Fei Yingdong
These five ministers have followed Taizu Nur Hachi to the south and the northern war when Chu Ying was a child, and have made great battle merits, and have a very high prestige in the army, even Taizu Nur Hachi treats these five ministers with courtesy, and Chu Ying not only does not put the five ministers in his eyes, but also does not listen to the suggestions of the five ministers, and decides the military aircraft by himself, which will naturally cause the dissatisfaction of the five ministers.
Chu Ying even said evil to the "five ministers" and "four great bailes": "If I succeed to the throne in the future, all the ministers or brothers who have befriended me will be executed."
"When I ascend the throne, I will kill my brothers and ministers who are evil to me."
It was in this context that the "Five Ministers" and the "Four Baylors" conspired together to sue Nur Hachi against Chu Ying, and Nur Hachi asked each of them to write a document and submit it, and the nine people sued Chu Ying on similar charges, summed up in three articles:
Article 1: Discord with the "Four Baylors" and "Five Ministers"
Article 2: Demand the property of the younger brothers;
Article 3: Speak ill of you: When I take the throne, I will put to death my brother and ministers who have been at odds with me.
Since the "Four Baylors" and "Five Ministers" that he trusted and valued the most were all dissatisfied with Chu Ying, Nur Hachi weighed the pros and cons, and naturally did not dare to reuse Chu Ying, so he distanced himself from Chu Ying.
After that, he sent troops twice, but did not let Chu Ying lead the troops;
This caused Chu Ying's dissatisfaction, so he privately cursed his father Nur Hachi, Sibeile and the five ministers, and when Nur Hachi learned of this, he imprisoned Chu Ying; In 1615, Chu Ying had to be ordered to be executed.
"Chu Yingyi is not self-satisfied, burning the table to sue the heavens, but sitting down"
02 Emperor Taiji killed three birds with one stone, so that Daisan missed the sweat position
After the execution of his eldest son Chu Ying, his second son Daisan became the most qualified person to inherit for three reasons:
In order of eldest and youngest: Daisan is the second son, and the crown prince is the eighth son;
In terms of power: Daisan has two flags, while Huang Taiji has only one;
If we talk about talent: Daishan, who has always treated people generously, and Huang Taiji has always been powerful, and the prestige of Daishan, up and down, is naturally higher.
Nurhachi then decided to let his second son Daisan temporarily take over the imperial government and gave him the title "Guying Baturu".
"Then Brother Guiying will take his father's place"
Nur Hachi even said to his second son, Daishan: "After a hundred years from me, all my younger sons and Dafujin Abahai will be handed over to the eldest brother (Chu Ying is dead, Daisan is the actual eldest brother) to raise." ”
Abahai was Nurhach's fourth concubine, about the same age as Daishan, and gave birth to three sons for Nurhach: Azig, Dolgon, and Dordo.
Perhaps it is because of Nur Hachi's words that Daisan missed the Khan position.
Daishan's temperament is gentle, he has many military merits, and his prestige in the DPRK is very high, if Nur Hachi is not there, many important military aircraft in the DPRK will be directly reported to Daishan. It is precisely because of the different temperaments of Daishan, Nur Hachi and Huang Taiji, and the natural ways and methods of handling government affairs, which will naturally have differences with Nur Hachi over time, and Nur Hachi will inevitably have some arbitrariness in his later years, and the two often have contradictions.
And Huang Taiji cleverly took advantage of the contradiction between the two, performed well, and was reused by Nur Hachi.
And the culmination of the contradiction between Daisan and Nur Hachi is because Nur Hachi Xiaofu Jinde Inze secretly informed the eldest concubine Abahai and Daishan:
Deinze told Nurhach: Dafujin twice prepared delicious dishes for Dabele to eat, and Dabeile not only ate but also exaggerated that Fujin's meals were delicious; Daifuku Jin also sent food to Babele, and Babeile also received it, but did not eat it.
Dafu Jin also sent people to Da Belle's house two or three times a day, as if to discuss something; He would even go out in the middle of the night to the house of Big Baylor.
After investigation, Xiaofu Jinde Inze said that it was indeed the truth, and even at Nur Hachi's family banquet, Dafujin Abahai dressed up and deliberately looked at Da Belle.
These ministers all saw it, but afraid of the power of the Great Baylor Mountain and the Great Blessing Jin Abahai, everyone turned a blind eye and pretended not to see it.
Nurhachi was very angry about this, but the ugliness of the family could not be publicized, and he did not want to blame his son, so he found an excuse to depose Abahai as the eldest concubine; However, two years later, she was restored to the position of Grand Concubine Abahai.
Many people say that this matter was instigated by Huang Taiji, and the purpose is to kill three birds with one stone:
First: let Dai Shan be discredited and lose his prestige;
Second: create a rift between Nurhachi and Daishan;
Third: Avenge his mother, Huang Taiji believes that Abahai took away the position of concubine of his biological mother Menggu's sister, leaving his biological mother depressed.
Although the descendants of this incident did not seem to have been affected, they actually lost their prestige and lost their position with the Khan.
03 Forcing the eldest concubine Abahai to be martyred, Dolgon and the Khan were lost
Among the four great bailes, Amin is the nephew of Nurhach, and although he is qualified to inherit the throne of the khan, he is very self-aware and does not covet things that "do not belong" to him.
And Wubei Mang Gultai and Chu Ying are the same type of people, although they are good hands on the battlefield and can fight well, but they have no political mind; Even in order to win the favor of his father Khan Nur Hachi, he did not hesitate to kill his biological mother Fucha clan (Fucha clan was Nur Hachi's second concubine, but was deposed because he offended Nur Hachi), how can such a cruel person be a great khan?
In August of the first year, Nurhachi died of illness, and only his concubine Abahai was by his side when he died.
For Emperor Taiji, Abahai was the last obstacle to his struggle for the throne: Abahai's eldest son Azig also followed Nurhachi on many expeditions and made many battle achievements, and Nurhachi has always loved Dolgon and Dordor.
Dolgon was only fifteen years old when Nurhachi died, but his talent had already been shown, quite like Nurhach, and he also had Abahai's subtle and generous side, not to mention that Dolgon and Dordor ruled the white and white two banners, if Abahai supported his son to inherit the throne, it was indeed very tricky for Emperor Taiji.
If he confronts Dolgon and Abahai mother and son head-on, Huang Taiji does not necessarily have much chance of victory, after all, he does not have the help of his mother and brother, and other brothers may not support him.
He used the net that Nur Hachi was still under when he was still in place, and the ambiguity between Daisan and Abahai came to push the boat along the water, claiming: Father Khan left his life in front of him, and when he died of illness a hundred years later, he must let the eldest concubine Abahai go down to accompany me.
"When I die, I will be martyred."
When Nurhachi died, the forces of Daisan and Huang Taiji had already been reversed: Huang Taiji had two flags, yellow and yellow, while Daishan, reduced to one flag; Dai Shan knew very well that he was no longer capable of competing with Emperor Taiji for the Khan throne, and he had also lost the confidence to compete for the Khan throne. Daisan also considered that if Dolgon succeeded to the throne, it would be difficult for Wan to repeatedly trace the ambiguous relationship between himself and his biological mother Abahai.
Thinking of this generation of goodness, he even more firmly supported Huang Taiji, stood on the same front with Huang Taiji, and got rid of the eldest concubine Abahai.
Although Abahai did not believe that the Mandate of Heaven Khan Nur Hachi would let him be martyred, for the sake of his sons, he was not allowed to "obey the Great Khan's will" and hang himself, and before he died, he made Huang Taiji and others swear to treat his sons well.
"I have been an emperor since I was twelve years old, and I have been rich in clothes and food, and I can't bear to leave, so I am subordinate to the underground. My second son, Dorgon and Dordor, should be blessed. ”
As soon as Abahai died, Dolgon lost his throne.
Coupled with the support of Daishan, Huang Taiji was able to inherit the throne naturally.
epilogue
In fact, Huang Taiji is very similar to the temperament of his father Khan Nur Hachi, and he does have a strategy, but suspicion is also very important.
The contradiction between Nurhachi and Shulhaqi is nothing more than a struggle for power;
Nurhachi used his own advantages to get rid of a person who posed the greatest threat to his status and power, which actually had a profound impact on the future of Huang Taiji; After all, Shurhazi is his own uncle, and if Shurhazi lives until Nurhazi dies of illness, with Shulhazy's prestige and battle merits, Huang Taiji may not be able to win over his uncle.
However, in getting rid of Shulhaqi, the role of Huang Taiji is not obvious, because Huang Taiji knows very well that his father Khan can no longer tolerate his uncle, and naturally will remove this obstacle.
For his brother Chu Ying, Huang Taiji has a completely different attitude, after all, he is a brother of the same generation, and he has the most direct interests; When his eldest brother Chu Ying seriously threatened his status and interests, Huang Taiji conspired with the other three Baylors and the "Five Ministers" to get rid of Chu Ying.
In the matter of getting rid of Chu Ying, Huang Taiji insisted on maintaining the status and power of his father Khan Nur Hachi, which not only had great significance for his future destiny, but also won Nur Hachi's love and trust.
After that, although the second brother Daisan was in charge, the contradiction between Daisan and Nur Hachi became more and more prominent, and Huang Taiji cleverly used the relationship between the two to improve his status and role.
Compared with Daishan, Huang Taiji is shrewd and capable everywhere, and follows the rules, unlike Daishan, who is inactive; What's more, Nur Hachi's eldest concubine Abahai "helped" the imperial wife very much, and Daishan's ambiguity, the imperial taiji design made the two notorious, the most important thing is that Daishan's prestige has been greatly reduced, and there is no chance with the Khan's throne.
Later, after Nurhachi died, he claimed that "Father Khan let the eldest concubine Abahai be martyred", so that Dolgon and Khan lost the throne.
Huang Taiji walked to the Khan throne step by step, revealing the calculation step by step, the reason why he was able to ascend the Khan throne should be said to be inevitable by chance.