Chen Tingjing, Zhang Tingyu, Liu Tongxun, Ah Gui, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, etc., were all well-known and important ministers in the history of the Qing Dynasty. But these people, without exception, are not powerful ministers, and there are only a few people who can be called powerful ministers in the Qing dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty was a dynasty with a high concentration of imperial power, and its political soil was not suitable for the survival of the courtiers. Only when the emperor is young, dim-witted, or has no opinion, will the courtiers appear. The few powerful people in the Qing Dynasty were born under such historical conditions. From the perspective of the size of power, the author combed the ranking list of a Qing Dynasty power minister.
1st place Ao bai
Aobai was a household name, one of the four auxiliary ministers of the early years of the Kangxi Dynasty, and before his death, the Shunzhi Emperor was appointed as an auxiliary chancellor. Judging from the ranking of the auxiliary ministers, Aobai ranked behind Soni, Shubilon, and Suksaha.
Among the four auxiliary ministers, the first auxiliary Soni is older and no longer sharp, plus he has experienced a lot of ups and downs during the Dorgon period, the city government is quite deep and does not easily express opinions, and is even more reluctant to offend people; The background of Shubilong is the hardest, but it has always lacked opinions, and it belongs to the two sides of the wall; although Suksaha is talented, he is a white flag man, and he is not in the same camp as the other three, belonging to the typical lonely family.
After Sonny's death, Ao bai became the first assistant, and the military state was in charge of the government, forming an opposition to the infant Kangxi Emperor. Although not the wanton trampling of imperial power during the Dorgon period, Aobai also largely threatened the imperial power, forcing the Kangxi Emperor to have to intervene to get rid of it.
It can be said that Aobai, as a Manchu nobleman with a different surname, was the closest ruler to the imperial power in the Qing Dynasty, and his power at his peak far exceeded that of Prince Yi of the Yongzheng Dynasty and Prince Gong of the Tongzhi Dynasty, and firmly sat in the first position of the Qing Dynasty's powerful subjects.
The second place is Shunshun
Su Shun was originally a distant branch of the clan, the seventh grandson of Zilharang, who did not even have a knighthood during the Daoguang period, and his official position was also a small bodyguard, belonging to the idle clan. After Xianfeng succeeded to the throne, Su Shun rose to the top, and the official became an assistant university scholar and a minister of internal affairs.
Su Shun's ability was one of the best among the Manchurian nobles of the time, and he was known for his courage to do things. The Xianfeng Emperor had reached adulthood when he ascended the throne, and was not as controlled as Shunzhi and Kangxi.
However, the Xianfeng Emperor was very unfortunate, after he ascended the throne, there was a rebellion in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom inside, and there were great powers outside. The Xianfeng Emperor's intelligence was mediocre, and if it was during the Taiping Period, he could barely cope with it. However, in the face of this situation of internal and external troubles, the Xianfeng Emperor was obviously left and right, and had no opinion.
The appearance of Sushun just made up for the deficiencies of the Xianfeng Emperor, and it can be said that the Xianfeng Emperor's favor trust in Sushun almost reached the point of obedience, and the important affairs of the military and the state all relied on Sushun alone, thus laying the position of a powerful vassal for Sushun. It can be said that the rise of Sushun was entirely due to the poor talent of the Xianfeng Emperor, which made him a spokesman for imperial power.
Third place pearl
Mingzhu was a powerful vassal in the middle of the Kangxi Dynasty, and after Suo'ertu was deposed, Mingzhu's party was all over the government and the opposition. It is said that there was a long queue of people seeking to see the Pearl at that time, and the Pearl House was even more lively than the Forbidden City.
The Kangxi Emperor was a famous monarch of a generation, but judging from the characteristics of his governance, he was too benevolent and tolerant. When Mingzhu gained power, he planted his henchmen, controlled the personnel power of the imperial court, and blocked the way of speech. But even so, the Kangxi Emperor only issued a warning and did not punish Mingzhu.
We have reason to believe that the Kangxi Emperor was capable of controlling the Pearl, but from the objective facts, the Pearl was indeed suspected of eroding the imperial power, so the Pearl was the second most powerful vassal of the Kangxi Dynasty after Aobai.
Fourth place is Soetu
Suo Etu was also a famous courtier in the middle of the Kangxi Dynasty, and his family background was more superior than that of Mingzhu, his father Soni was a veteran hero, and his niece was the kangxi emperor's concubine. It is precisely because of this origin that Soetu has become the first assistant in a short period of time.
Soetu vigorously cultivated his henchmen, and had too deep contacts with the prince's party, and even touched the imperial power. The Kangxi Emperor could tolerate Mingzhu but not Suo'etu, because their nature was different, and to be too loyal to the prince was to betray the emperor, which the Kangxi Emperor was very principled.
It can be said that Suo Ertu threatened the imperial power without Kangxi's approval, so his end was much worse than that of Mingzhu, not only was he dismissed from his post and imprisoned for life, but he also received the honorary title of "the first sinner of this dynasty".
Fifth place is Washu
Compared with the above four courtiers, He Yan had no background and no qualifications, and only relied on luck to win the appreciation of the Qianlong Emperor. But at the same time, we must also admit that Hezhen is indeed talented, especially in terms of financial management, which can be called the first in the Qing Dynasty.
We know that the Qianlong Emperor was the most centralized, and even the empress dowager could not share a little imperial power from the cracks of his fingers. However, with regard to Hezhen, the Qianlong Emperor's attitude took a one hundred and eighty-degree turn, and almost all the important positions in the imperial court were given to Hezhen.
In the final analysis, Qianlong's focus was on himself and did not dare to make any mistakes. In qianlong's later years, the Qianlong Emperor was profligate, and the Manchu Minister of Culture and Military Affairs could only help him collect money, and he never worried about money. The purpose of giving hezhen some power appropriately is to better serve himself.
Of course, with Qianlong's strength, No matter how much He Yan jumped, he could not escape the palm of his hand, and he did not leave a will for He Yan to protect his way back, because he understood that he could use He Yan, and his son Jiaqing could no longer use He Yan. To put it bluntly, Hezhen is a pawn, a spokesman for imperial power when used, and a slave who can be discarded at any time when not in use.
The sixth place is Mu Zhang'a
Mu Zhang'a could not be called a vassal in the strict sense of the word, but rather a traitor. From the perspective of power, he can also be regarded as a figure who calls the wind and rain in the Daoguang Dynasty.
Mu Zhang'a was extremely favored during the Daoguang Dynasty, and his protégés were all over the world, according to statistics, as many as thousands, and even the later Zeng Guofan was one of them. During Mu Zhang'a's reign, the party fought against dissent, attacked dissidents, and did not think of making progress, confusing the Daoguang Emperor.
He sang a harmony with another minister of the same period, Cao Zhenyong, which led to corruption in the official arena and lack of desire to forge ahead. During the Opium War, he tried his best to make peace, framed Lin Zexu, and made the originally determined Daoguang Emperor waver, and finally lost to the British and signed the Treaty of Nanking, which humiliated the country.
In the Qing Dynasty, there were roughly the above courtiers, such as Prince Dolgun of Rui and Prince Yi of Gong, who were also prominent figures. However, they were of special status, not ordinary courtiers, and had the titles of regent and king of parliament, and were legally endowed with political rights, so they were not listed.