Preface
In Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty was an era of countless legends and stories. And at the beginning of this era, there was a regent, and his name was Dorgon.
As one of the key figures in the early days of the Qing Dynasty, Dolgon played an important role in the smooth establishment and consolidation of the Qing Dynasty. However, his role and influence went far beyond the scope of the average regent.
What role did Dorgon play in the early days of the Qing Dynasty as regent, how did his actions and decisions affect the fate of the Qing Dynasty, and how did he ensure the smooth establishment and stability of the Qing Dynasty?
1. The struggle for the throne
In August of the eighth year of Chongde, Huang Taiji died in Qingning Palace in Shenyang. This male lord who once ruled the northeast and swept away the Jurchen tribes failed to designate a prince on his deathbed. As a result, the Manchurian aristocracy fell into chaos. Who will inherit this thousand miles? Although the eldest son, Hauge, is young and strong, his younger brother Dorgon is also a great talent. The two have their own supporters, and the battle for the throne is on the verge of breaking out.
In China, there have always been two main forms of succession to the throne: one is the succession of the father to the son, and the other is the death of the elder brother and the younger brother. At this time, although they all wanted to be emperors, the ones who really had the strength to participate in the battle for the throne were the regent Dolgon and Prince Hauge Su.
Huang Taiji had 11 sons, the eldest son Haoge was 35 years old at the time, in his youth and outstanding military achievements, and Huang Taiji had been making efforts to centralize power during his lifetime, which made the Manchu society increasingly feudal, which made the eldest son Haoge a competitor.
The other two banners, such as Zhenghuang Qi, were naturally willing to make Hauge emperor - which could guarantee their superiority. So they all supported Hauge, believing that he had many military achievements and high talents, and was the best successor to the throne. In this way, Hauge has the support of the three flags, and his strength is quite strong.
But Dolgon's strength is not under Hauge, the first expedition to Mongolia Chahar Dorot Department on the military exploits, by the Emperor Taiji gave the title of "Murgen Daiqing", in the subsequent conquest of Korea and the war against the Ming Dynasty is a repeated meritorious service. In addition to his great achievements, he also had the support of many older brothers and younger brothers, so Dolgon was also very strong at that time.
The three brothers are in charge of the two flags, the white and the white, so that among the eight flags, Dai Shan, who has the red flag and the red flag, and Zilharang, who has the blue flag, become the two most important forces, and their attitude will influence the development of the situation.
On the fifth day of Huang Taiji's death, the kings and ministers discussed the issue of succession to the throne in the Chongzheng Palace. But in this regard, the ministers of the two yellow flags sent troops to surround the venue. Sony, the representative of the two yellow flags, first proposed that Hauge was the eldest son and justified himself as emperor, but Hauge excused himself on the grounds that "Fu Xiaode is thin and unworthy of it". But it was Hauge's retreat that allowed Dorgon to seize the opportunity, and immediately said that Hauge had no idea of competition.
Just when the dispute continued, Dolgon had no choice but to propose the establishment of Fulin as emperor, and this plan was immediately agreed by all parties: Fulin was the prince, and the ministers of the two yellow and blue flags had nothing to say; although Hauge was not happy, he also had something to say; Zilharang did not expect that he could be stained, so naturally he would not object. In this way, Dorgon properly handled the thorny issue of the struggle for the throne and basically achieved a peaceful transition to the throne.
On the eve of entering the customs, the basic unity and unification of the Manchus was the key to the victory of the Qing soldiers in several contests with the peasant army, and laid the foundation for the Qing soldiers to smoothly enter the customs and seize power. Dolgon's assessment of the situation, resolving the contradictions, and avoiding the open division of the Manchurian aristocracy were one of his great achievements in the founding of the Qing Dynasty.
2. Hanchen Fan Wencheng
In the first year of Shunzhi, the peasant rebel army led by Li Zicheng captured Beijing, and the Ming Dynasty collapsed. This gave the Qing rulers the idea of going to Guannai to rob the wealth of the Ming Dynasty. Dorgon's ambitions were high, but he also knew that this time was different. He sought advice from Fan Wencheng, a scholar at Hanchen University, in the hope of receiving wise advice.
Fan Wencheng pointed out that this time it was not a competition with the Ming Dynasty, but a competition with the peasant army. If there is no popular support, even if you seize the world, you will gain and lose. He also stressed that if the Qing army wanted to seize the world, it should not always burn, kill and loot, but should appease the people, and only in this way can it achieve real success.
Fan Wencheng's analysis and suggestion gave a deep shock to the Qing rulers at that time. Dolgon was so influenced by this that he decided to take Fan Wencheng's advice. He realized that this advance would be decisive for the fate of the Qing Dynasty and could not be neglected in the slightest. As a result, he resolutely made a super important historical decision related to the fate of the Qing Dynasty: to enter the Guannai and seize the ruling power.
On the seventh day of the fourth month of the first year of Shunzhi, Dolgon led his troops into the Central Plains. This is different from the previous "Zhengming" and "Faming", this is the first change in strategic policy since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and this change is also the inevitable result of the Manchus accepting the influence of Han culture.
It can be said that Fan Wencheng's ideas had a significant impact on Dolgon, prompting him to change the strategic policy of the Qing army's entry into the customs and enter the Central Plains as a "teacher of benevolence and righteousness", thus gaining the acceptance of the majority of Han subjects. This laid a solid foundation for the Qing Dynasty to unify the Central Plains.
3. The teacher of benevolence and righteousness
Wu Sangui's request for help provided an opportunity for the Qing army to enter the Central Plains. Dolgon weighed the pros and cons, changed the original strategic route, and went directly to Shanhaiguan. In his reply to Wu Sangui's letter, Dolgon called the "teacher of benevolence and righteousness" "the only way to settle the Central Plains and rest with the people". In this way, the banner of sending troops has changed completely.
This shift has had a positive effect. First of all, in the Battle of Shanhaiguan, the Qing army won a complete victory. Then the city of Beijing was also like a bag to get things, and the Qing soldiers successfully occupied it. All this is thanks to Dolgon's correct decision at a critical moment. He realized that in order to seize the world, he must stop plundering and show himself as a teacher of benevolence and righteousness.
It wasn't until Dolgon took power that Manchu and Han culture were truly integrated. Dolgon was deeply influenced by Fan Wencheng's ideas and realized that in order to take over the world, he had to change his malpractices and eliminate traitors. Therefore, he played the banner of "avenging the king's father for the subjects of the late Ming Dynasty", strictly enforced military discipline, and made the Qing soldiers turn from a murderous journey into a benevolent and righteous army. This is the concentrated embodiment of the smooth integration of Manchu and Han cultures.
In the cultural environment where Confucianism was the orthodoxy, the Qing soldiers appeared as a teacher of benevolence and righteousness, and naturally won the acceptance of the majority of Han subjects. The smooth integration of Manchu and Han cultures laid the foundation for the Qing Dynasty to unify the Central Plains. It can be said that Dorgon played a key role in this process, and his wise decisions paved the way for the unification of the Qing Dynasty.
Fourth, the Manchu and Han cultures are in line
As early as the reign of Huang Taiji, Manchu culture has begun to transform into Han traditional culture. Huang Taiji's policies of recruiting Confucian students, running schools, opening imperial examinations, and advocating ethics and morality not only improved the cultural quality of the Manchu people, but also promoted the feudalization of Manchu society. However, there has been no change on some key issues, such as the wind of looting and the equalization of the Eight Banners.
In this way, the fundamental way of thinking and values of the ruler before entering the customs have not changed, and they still advocate courage and martial arts, and value financial resources, while the traditional Confucian culture of the Han nationality advocates benevolence, righteousness, propriety and filial piety, and believes that valuing interests is the behavior of villains, and looting is even more shameless for gentlemen. Therefore, if this bandit culture is not changed, the Manchus will not be able to rule the Han people at all.
Huang Taiji failed to achieve the unification of the world, although the lack of troops was one aspect, but the more important thing was that he did not make up his mind to prohibit looting. After his death, the burden of seizing the world fell on Dolgon, who held the real power, and historical facts also proved that Dolgon lived up to expectations, realized the integration of Manchu and Han cultures, and finally entered the Central Plains to seize the world.
It can be seen from the process of clearing troops into the customs that the correctness of the decision determines the victory of the war. Weighing the pros and cons at a critical juncture, Dorgon realized that in order to take over the world, he had to stop looting. So he played the banner of "avenging the monarch and father's revenge for the subjects of the late Ming Dynasty" and strictly enforced military discipline, thus making the Qing soldiers from a murderous journey to a benevolent and righteous army, which is a concentrated embodiment of the smooth integration of Manchu culture and Han culture.
It is precisely because of the formation of a cultural environment with Confucianism as the orthodox ideology that when the Qing soldiers appeared in front of the vast number of Han people with the appearance of revenge for their father's revenge with a teacher of benevolence and righteousness, their behavior was also accepted by the majority of Han subjects. The smooth integration of Manchu and Han cultures was a very important and indispensable link in the process of realizing the unification of the Qing Dynasty.
epilogue
The wheels of history roll forward, and a once-nomadic people finally unify this vast land. In this process, Dolgon was undoubtedly a key figure in his demerits.
He made the right choice at a time of crisis, safeguarded the unity within the Manchu people, judged the situation, changed the strategic policy, and brought about the smooth integration of Manchu and Han cultures. It was his wise decision that paved the way for the Qing Dynasty to unify the Central Plains.
Overall, Dolgon was an outstanding military strategist and statesman. He played an irreplaceable role at the critical moment of the founding of the Qing Dynasty, but there were also some limitations that could not be overcome. His life, like the epitome of that turbulent era, was radiant, but it was inevitably dusty.