Hong Chengzuo was a famous general in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, who defeated Li Zicheng in the battle to encircle and suppress the rebel army, and made great achievements. Later, the Qing army went south, and Hong Chengyu failed in battle, not only losing the defensive line, but also being captured by the Qing army.
Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty had always admired Hong Chengzu's daimyo, and when he learned that Hong Chengzu had been captured, he wanted to surrender him.
Emperor Taiji ordered people to bring Hong Chengzu back to the capital, imprisoned in the Sanguan Temple, and sent people to summon Hong Chengzu every day. Hong Chengyu knew that Emperor Taiji wanted to use himself, and at the same time, in order to repay the Chongzhen Emperor's kindness, he scorned the Qing people's persuasion, and all those who went to persuade him to surrender were scolded back.
Emperor Taiji was not reconciled and sent an official named Fan Wencheng to persuade Hong Chengyu to surrender. Fan Wencheng was the seventeenth grandson of Fan Zhongyan, but he took the initiative to see Nurhaci and became an official of the Qing Dynasty, and was very highly regarded by the Emperor Taiji.
Fan Wencheng went to see Hong Chengzuo, who had been on hunger strike for a few days at this time, but when he saw Fan Wencheng coming, he still scolded. Fan Wencheng was patient and did not mention the matter of surrender, only chatting with him about his days in the Ming Dynasty. In the course of the conversation, dust fell on Hong Chengzuo's clothes, and Hong Chengzuo repeatedly wiped them several times. Fan Wencheng noticed this detail, sighed, and went back to tell Emperor Taiji that Hong Chengzuo cherished torn clothes so much, let alone his honor?
Huang Taiji felt helpless, but still followed Fan Wencheng's advice and entertained Hong Chengyu well. Just when the Emperor Taiji was at a loss, a surrendered Han general provided an important piece of information: although Hong Chengyu valued fame and dignity, he had a fatal weakness - lust.
After receiving this important information, Emperor Taiji was very happy and planned to send a concubine to persuade Hong Chengyu to surrender. Thinking about it, Huang Taiji decided to send his favorite concubine, Concubine Zhuang.
Hong Chengyu endured hunger and lay on the bed, and then Concubine Zhuang quietly walked in. Concubine Zhuang first expressed her admiration for Hong Chengzuo's noble integrity, and then talked about Hong Chengzu's wife and children. Hong Chengyu was originally bent on death, but as a result, Concubine Zhuang aroused her desire for life and decided to surrender.
This is the folk story of Concubine Zhuang's persuasion, and in addition to this version, there are various versions. Some versions even say that Emperor Taiji sent Concubine Zhuang to serve Hong Chengyu. But none of the relevant historical sources have ever appeared. In this way, the story of Concubine Zhuang's persuasion is not enough to believe, but why are there so many rumors in the folk?
There are two scenarios worth discussing here.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > deliberately demeaned by the remnants of the Ming Dynasty</h1>
It is difficult to find evidence in the historical data of ordinary folklore, because these stories are made up by folk literati according to their own love and hatred. It is not difficult to imagine that some Ming Dynasty remnants suffered the pain of national subjugation and hated Hong Chengzu, a "traitor", to the bone, and Zhuang Fei was huang taiji's beloved concubine, so they deliberately made up the story of "Zhuang Concubine persuasion" to scandalize Hong Chengzuo and Huang Taiji.
The story recorded in the history books is like this: After Fan Wencheng failed to persuade him to surrender, Emperor Taiji personally went to see Hong Chengzuo, and seeing that Hong Chengzuo was wearing very thin clothes, he took off his mink coat and draped it on him. Huang Taiji's heart-warming move deeply touched Hong Chengyu and agreed to surrender.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > deliberate concealment by the Qing people</h1>
Assuming that the story of Concubine Zhuang's persuasion really happened, Huang Taiji must have known that this was not a glorious thing, and for his own face, he would not let the historian record this incident, so we cannot find relevant records in the history books.
So, which scenario is more likely? If we have a certain understanding of Zhuang Fei and Hong Chengyu, this problem will naturally be solved.
Who is Princess Zhuang?
Princess Zhuang was a Mongolian Gege of Korqin, and her aunt was Empress Zhezhe of Emperor Taiji, with a prominent status. After the Qing army entered the customs, she showed extraordinary intelligence, helping the six-year-old Fu Lin to defeat his rivals and ascend to the throne, and also helped Kangxi eliminate Aobai.
Will Concubine Zhuang go to Hong Chengyu alone?
Under normal circumstances, a concubine of a prominent position like Concubine Zhuang could not go out alone, let alone go to Hong Chengyu without even bringing a palace girl. Even if she really went to find Hong Chengyu alone, would the other concubines living in the courtyard be unaware?
Will Hong Chengyu be seduced by beauty? Folklore all mention that "Hong Chengzu was just right, just coveting beauty", but did not say clearly who revealed this information. Moreover, there is no record of Hong Chengzuo's lustfulness in the history books, not because someone deliberately concealed it, but because Hong Chengzuo originally had no affair, and his relationship with his wife at home was very harmonious.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Emperor Taiji could not have done so</h1>
Huang Taiji himself would not do this, if he really wanted a woman to recruit Hong Chengzuo, why did he have to choose Concubine Zhuang? There are so many concubines in the palace, is it not good to choose another one? If Huang Taiji really loved Concubine Zhuang, would he be willing to let her sleep for other men?
Moreover, at this time, Hong Chengzu was already 50 years old, and Concubine Zhuang was a Mongolian, which did not necessarily meet the aesthetics of Hong Chengzu. Emperor Taiji really wanted to use beauty, and it was impossible to send Concubine Zhuang to serve him.
In general, the story of Concubine Zhuang persuading Hong Chengzu to descend must have been fabricated by the people. In addition to Concubine Zhuang's persuasion, there are also stories of Hong's mother scolding her son, which may be a satire on his shamelessness through the mouth of Hong Chengzu's mother. It can be seen that the remnants of the Ming Dynasty at that time hated traitors like Hong Chengzuo very much, but they had no choice but to spread some stories to demean his image.
Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, it is already part of traditional Chinese culture, and there is no such thing as a "traitor" to Hong Chengzu. Treat these strange and wild histories as stories, and I believe that everyone knows the real situation.