In many Chinese feudal dynasties, there was a system of ministers and auxiliary administrations, and the Qing Dynasty was no exception, and the Kangxi Dynasty was the beginning of the auxiliary government of ministers during the Qing Dynasty's young emperor.
The eight-year period of auxiliary government of the four ministers had a great impact on the politics, economy, ethnic relations, military, and social culture of the time, and also influenced the Kangxi Emperor's philosophy of governing the country.
1. The establishment and influence of the auxiliary government of the four ministers
On the seventh day of the first lunar month of the eighteenth year of Shunzhi (1661), the Shunzhi Emperor died of illness, and he established in his posthumous edict the system of four ministers to assist the government, and ordered Soni, Suksaha, Qibilong, and Ao Bai to be auxiliary ministers and assist in government affairs.
After receiving the will, Sony and the others were very terrified. Holding Shunzhi's edict in their hands, they knelt in front of the kings and Baylor and said, "The emperor left an edict and ordered the four of us to assist in the government. State affairs have always been handled by the royal family, and we are all courtiers with different surnames, how can we assist the imperial government? The auxiliary government must be done with the kings and Baylor. ”
The kings and Baylor believed that the reason why the emperor gave such an important task to Sony and the other four must be because they understood their loyalty to the country and recognized their ability, since the edict had been issued, no one dared to intervene and disobey, hoping that Soni and others would not shirk anymore.
With the support and trust of the kings and Baylor, Sonny and others took this matter to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and swore an oath before the throne of Shunzhi, guaranteeing that they would swear allegiance to the country, conscientiously assist in government affairs, do not bend the law for personal gain, do not covet fortune and power, do not make friends with friends, and do not accept bribes to repay the favor of the emperor.
Although Soni and others were not mentally prepared for the auxiliary government, the auxiliary administration of four ministers with different surnames was by no means accidental, nor was it the whim of the Shunzhi Emperor, but the inevitable result of the Qing court's violent imperial heir dispute, Empress Xiaozhuang learned a lesson from the excessive power of her uncle Regency and threatened the emperor's power, so measures were taken to strengthen the imperial power.
The Shunzhi Emperor died in his youth, Kangxi was still a child when he ascended the throne, lacking the ability to exercise imperial power, and some of the founding heroes of that year had died, and those who did not die were already old, and could no longer help Kangxi deal with government affairs.
And Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang also had great power, and could even influence the imperial government. After Kangxi succeeded to the throne, a minister wrote a letter proposing to let Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang obey the government, but Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang refused, feeling that this was contrary to the ancestral system.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang experienced fierce struggles for imperial power, and she realized that the main factor contributing to the instability of imperial rule was the high-ranking and powerful kings within the clan family, and that in order to consolidate Kangxi's rule, it was necessary to terminate the princely regency system previously in place.
The use of courtiers with different surnames to assist the government can avoid problems such as high merit and excessive power, and it is easy to control, which can not only assist the emperor in handling government affairs and serving the country, but also consolidate the imperial rule.
The reason why Shunzhi and Empress Xiaozhuang chose the four ministers such as Sony was because they were all subordinate to the Shangsanqi, were the founding heroes, made great achievements on the battlefield that year, and held important positions in the dynasty.
Sonny and Qibilong were also imperial relatives, who were suppressed and persecuted during the regency of Dolgon, but they were favored and trusted by Shunzhi, very grateful to the Shunzhi Emperor, and loyal to the imperial family.
During the eight-year period of auxiliary administration of the four ministers, many political, economic, military and cultural policies were formulated, which had a significant impact on all aspects of society in the early Qing Dynasty.
The policies and measures formulated during the period of the four ministers had a great impact on the political situation in the early Qing Dynasty, such as the abolition of the Thirteen Yamen to prevent the emergence of eunuch dictatorship to a certain extent. The measures of removing the cabinet, the Hanlin Yuan, and restoring the three inner chambers greatly strengthened the imperial power.
The economic policy of free grain formulated by the four ministers during the auxiliary government period reduced the burden on peasants and promoted economic development, and achieved great success. The four ministers re-established the Lifan Court during the auxiliary period, which promoted the integration of ethnic relations and accelerated the pace of unification of the whole country by the Qing Dynasty.
During the period of the four ministers' auxiliary government, they brutally persecuted and suppressed the Manchu people of all strata, and also vigorously attacked the Han gentry, which led to many tragic cases, strained Manchu-Han relations, and made Han intellectuals hostile to and antagonistic to the Qing regime.
Second, the power of the four ministers and the emperor was unbalanced
The four ministers of the auxiliary government were not only outstanding in merit, but also had a prominent background, Soni was the old minister of the four dynasties, Qibilong and Obai were dukes, and Suksaha was the minister of the interior. Ao Bai is proud of his achievements and domineering, and many people are very jealous of him.
During the eight years that the four ministers assisted the government, the struggle between the four ministers became more and more serious, mainly with Ao Bai and Suksaha as the main figures, and the problems mainly focused on the exchange of land with yellow flags and white flags.
Soni is very disgusted with Suksaha on weekdays, and he does not stop him at all when he sees Ao Bai killing the people in Suksaha camp in a foolish manner, and Qibilong is in cahoots with Ao Bai and obeys Ao Bai's words. Suksaha is not as prestigious as the other three, and does not have the ability to fight with Ao Bai. So in the infighting of the four ministers, a three-on-one situation was formed.
In this situation, Ao Bai became more and more presumptuous, and also violated the oath he had taken before the Shunzhi Emperor when he was an auxiliary minister, and his ambitions began to spread, and he tried to monopolize the imperial government.
In the struggle between the four ministers, Suksaha gradually fell behind, and in the sixth year of Kangxi, he asked for an order to garrison the mausoleum of the first emperor to guard the soul of the first emperor, and Ao Bai took the opportunity to set up more than 20 charges for Sukasaha, asking the Kangxi Emperor to put Suksaha and his eldest son to death and confiscate the family property.
Kangxi knew about the grudge between Ao Bai and Suksaha and understood that Ao Bai's suggestion was a personal vendetta, so he did not agree to him. However, Ao Bai was not dead, and for many days he played the Kangxi Emperor and executed Suksaha, and finally Ao Bai executed Suksaha as he wished.
The system established by the four ministers under the circumstances of Shunzhi's early death and Kangxi's young age is in line with the evolution of the Eight Banners and the reality of the Empress Dowager's assistant to the young lord, and is an effective measure to consolidate the new regime.
However, the four ministers' auxiliary system did not effectively supervise and control, and they had more and more power in the process of auxiliary administration, and later reached the point of being uncontrollable, not only replacing the duties of cabinet members and votes, but even exercising the power of Emperor Zhu Approval.
Under such circumstances, the power of the four ministers gradually expanded, and the ambitions of Ao Bai also increased, and finally reached the point of authoritarianism, which seriously threatened the imperial power and the rule of the Kangxi Emperor.
In fact, there is a development process in the Ao Bai dictatorship. The first stage was from the eighteenth year of Shunzhi (1661) to the second year of the Kangxi Reign (1663), during which the four ministers coordinated with each other, basically moved in the same pace, implemented the established line of the Shunzhi Emperor, continued to complete the war of national conquest, implemented the exemption of the Shunzhi Emperor, restored and developed production, rectified the rule of officials, and consolidated the political power.
The second phase was from the third year of the Kangxi Dynasty to the fifth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, during which Ao Bai's ambitions were swelling and becoming more and more arrogant, constantly suppressing the ministers of the central government, and being tyrannical and tyrannical, executing many of his political enemies.
The third stage was from the sixth year of the Kangxi Dynasty to the eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, during which the Ao Bai party was engaged in private interests, and its strength continued to grow, and he gradually began to control the imperial government.
In June of the sixth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Soni died of illness, and there was no one to suppress Ao Bai, and his behavior became more and more unscrupulous, and in July of the same year, the Kangxi Emperor became pro-government, and Ao Bai forced the Kangxi Emperor to kill Suksaha.
In order to further realize his dictatorship, Ao Bai privately decided on the transfer of the appointment of ministers in the DPRK, expanded his own camp, strengthened the strength of his camp, gradually monopolized the main departments of the central ministries and courts, and controlled the central organs of the imperial court.
The Kangxi Emperor had been taking care of state affairs with the auxiliary ministers since he ascended the throne at the age of eight, and with the teachings of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, he grew up very rapidly, and in the face of the dictatorship of Ao Bai, the young Kangxi saw it in his eyes and had been planning to get rid of Ao Bai.
In July of the sixth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Kangxi made Suksaha ordinary and found an excuse to punish Ao Bai. In May of the eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Prince Heshuo made a fuss, listing thirty counts of Ao Bai, including forming a party for personal gain, excluding dissidents, controlling state affairs, and contempt for imperial power.
In the eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Ao Bai was captured and his henchmen were purged. At only 16 years old, the Kangxi Emperor completely subdued Ao Bai and proved his ability to the ministers, thus ending the auxiliary government system.
3. The influence of the eight-year auxiliary period on the Kangxi Emperor's philosophy of governing the country
Life experience, knowledge structure, moral literacy, and social environment and characteristics of the times all affect an emperor's political ideas. The Kangxi Emperor's political ideas had a lot to do with the struggle of political interests and the Ao Bai dictatorship during the eight-year auxiliary period.
During the auxiliary period, the Kangxi Emperor was still young, and different groups constantly fought for their own political interests, and the ministers took the opportunity to seek personal gain for themselves, ignoring the interests of the country and the people.
Under the turbulent political situation, the various policies promulgated by the emperor and the various measures arranged could not be well implemented, often changed overnight, and the implementation was very poor.
In the power struggle, it was mainly the encroachment of Ao Bai over the imperial power and the political conflict between the Manchu and Han bureaucrats, which posed a great threat to the imperial power and were a huge hidden danger to the Kangxi Emperor's rule.
In the face of the open and secret struggle between the dynasty and the dynasty, especially the serious threat of the Ao Bai dictatorship to the imperial power, the Kangxi Emperor has gained a lot of experience and is constantly growing and improving, and in the process, the Kangxi Emperor also formed a governing philosophy with personal characteristics and the characteristics of the times.
First of all, the Kangxi Emperor formed the concept of absolute monarchy.
In the process of worshiping the dictatorship, the Kangxi Emperor deeply felt the importance of the absolute power of the monarchy, so after capturing and purging the party forces of the Ao worship, he immediately concentrated the power of the state in his own hands.
He believed that the power of the world should be unified in the hands of the monarch, and the affairs of the country should be handled by himself alone. In his view, imperial power is supreme, the core and source of all political power, and bureaucrats can properly participate in imperial politics and have the right to speak, but they must not be authoritarian. Moreover, the right to speak of officials should be granted by the imperial power and have the power to withdraw it at any time.
Under the political concept of absolute monarchy, the Kangxi Emperor firmly controlled the use of human rights in his own hands, highly monopolized the use of human rights, avoided bureaucratic encroachment, and strengthened political control.
Moreover, Kangxi was very disgusted and jealous of the friends formed by the ministers, and he tried to scatter the friends formed by the ministers in private in different posts and places, and repeatedly warned the ministers not to make friends with them, otherwise they would be investigated to the end, dig up all the friends, sit together, and punish them.
Then, the Kangxi Emperor formed the concept of "education first" and "advocating leniency".
After the elimination of the Ao Bai clique, the auxiliary government system ended, and the science began to develop rapidly, and its influence in the political society of the Qing Dynasty expanded sharply, until it played a leading ideology in the political society of the Qing Dynasty.
In the process of the rapid development of science, the Kangxi Emperor's scientific literacy also became deeper and deeper, he regarded education as the foundation of the country, and believed that governing the country should govern the hearts of the people, and only obedience can ensure the stability of the country.
At that time, the contradictions between the Manchu and Han ethnic groups intensified, and the anti-Qing struggles in various places continued, especially when the Ao worship dictatorship was defending the interests of the Manchus and attacking the Han people, resulting in increasingly fierce contradictions.
The Kangxi Emperor was deeply educated and educated, and he believed that governing the country should advocate leniency and cherish talents, so he let the people rest and recuperate, and suspended the sentence of prisoner Shangde, which had a grand political spirit.
Finally, the Kangxi Emperor formed the concept of "great unification" of the state.
During the period of auxiliary government of the four ministers, in order to protect the interests of the Manchus, the four ministers squeezed and suppressed Han officials, reducing the influence of Han officials in politics, and the centrifugation of Han officials posed a threat to the rule and stability and consolidation of the Qing Dynasty.
In order to consolidate military power and rule the whole country, the Kangxi Emperor began to use Han officials after his pro-government, systematically studied Confucian culture, and gradually formed the national concept of "great unification".
epilogue
The auxiliary government system in the early Qing Dynasty was formed in a special political period, which had certain positive significance for stabilizing political rule and social development in the early Qing Dynasty, but this system also had many drawbacks, because the power of the four ministers was not effectively supervised and checked, so it caused the formation of the Ao Bai dictatorship.
The eight-year auxiliary administration period not only promoted the rapid growth of the Kangxi Emperor, but also had a significant impact on his governing philosophy, which adapted to the historical development trend and promoted the development of the country considerably.