Li Zhongyue
"Dream of the Red Chamber" is known as the encyclopedia of traditional society and is deeply loved by all levels of society. In addition to involving politics, economy, culture, and family, "Dream of the Red Chamber" also has more military depictions, showing the military background of the four major families. For example, cao Xueqin, the seventh time in "Dream of the Red Chamber", borrowed the mouth of You Shi and Jiao Dazhi to tell the background of Ning Guogong's military merit: "He followed his grandfather three or four times since he was a child. The twenty-seventh time, Jia Lan was angry at Jia Baoyu for stopping him from chasing the fawn, so he used military feats to break the siege for himself: "This will not study, what is idle?" So exercise drill riding and shooting. The Fifty-fifth Tanchun advocated strict economy on the grounds that the military merits of the ancestors were difficult: "What is it that is added well, and who has been raised for twenty-four months?" Otherwise, wouldn't it be the one who sent out the soldiers to let the horse escape from the master's back? ...... You tell him, I don't mix up and subtract, mix ideas. These depictions not only reflect the jia family's outstanding military feats, but also show the transformation of the military style in the later period.
In order to deeply analyze "Dream of the Red Chamber", in modern times, everyone is accustomed to using the method of mutual verification between literature and history to discuss. Since Hu Shi, scholars have mostly linked "Dream of the Red Chamber" to the history of the Qing Dynasty, believing that Cao Xueqin was a member of the Cao Yin family in the Qing Dynasty, and the Cao family was the prototype of the Jia family, starting with great military merit. So did the Cao Yin family have military merit in real history? Is military merit as it is currently rumored to be "outstanding in battle"? What role did Cao Yin play in the Cao family's martial arts? How well does Hongxue and Qingxue fit? And so on, so far, most of the problems are confused. Next, we will try to use the clear historical data as much as possible, through the fog of history, to trace the military footprints of this famous family.
Statue of Cao Yin
Tall ancestors
Cao Yin's ancestors, Cao Zhenyan and Cao Xi, among others, followed Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, and Dolgun in the Ming War at the founding of the Qing Dynasty. There are two extreme views in the academic circles on whether Cao Zhenyan and Cao Xi have made military merits: one believes that these two people have "military merits", and the other believes that these two people have no "battle merits". Neither view seems appropriate.
"Military merit" and "battle merit" are two different concepts, with a relationship between inclusion and inclusion. We can see from the regulations on military merit in the Qing Dynasty: "Battle merit" refers to the merits of officers and men in front-line combat, specifically referring to killing the enemy for profit and attacking cities; the scope of "military merit" should be broad, including not only "battle merits," but also "recruiting merits," and even "officers and men toiling hard." In modern times, it includes both combat merits and meritorious service and defense.
In particular, the "recruitment and fugong", that is, the officers and men can recruit the enemy army and surrender the soldiers without fighting, which is actually a bloodless battle achievement, which is very cost-effective. As early as the Emperor Taiji period, it was included in the scope of military merit. By the time of Dorgon, the conscription was clearly included in the military merit system. The five years of Shunzhi stipulated: "Those who recruit more than 1,000 soldiers, more than 50 ships, and the whole city where the officials and civilians have not yet moved, the commander of the army distributes the generals, and the generals who are sent to appease them are allowed to make meritorious contributions." According to this relaxed regulation, even if the "inferior cloak" can persuade the enemy to surrender, they can also receive military merit rewards.
At present, the scattered Qing historical data is difficult to prove whether Cao Zhenyan and Cao Xi founded "military merit", but whether it is based on the standards of the time or the modern view of military merit, the Cao father and son still have "military merit". Why?
1. The Liaodong Cao clan of the Ming and Qing dynasties had a deep tradition of military merit. Mr. Feng Qiyong has successfully proved that Cao Zhenyan's founding of military merits has the advantages of the background of the times, geographical karma and family connections by combing through historical materials such as the General Genealogy of the Cao Clan of Liaodong in Wuqingtang, the Qing Shilu, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
2. Institutional facilitation of military merit provisions. Cao Zhenyan served as the imperial palace coat, and served as dorgon's "Banner Drum Niu Lu Zhangjing" and other positions. According to the Manchu regulations, when the master is fighting, he must obey the dispatch, or coordinate the battle at the front, or recruit from the sidelines, according to the broad military merit regulations of the early Qing Dynasty, there is a system of "military merit" for making "battle merits" and "labor achievements" and obtaining "military merits".
3. Cao Zhenyan "adds half a future due to merit". "Half a future" is a low-level hereditary title in the early Qing Dynasty, which can be described as a major reward for a subordinate coated petty official. A han-clad petty official can only receive such a special honor if he has made great merits. After comprehensive research, Mr. Huang Yinong believes that Cao Zhenyan is very likely to play an important media role in the process of recruiting Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi with excellent language ability and special blood relationship. In this way, Cao Zhenyan established a "recruitment and fugong".
4. Cao Zhenyan's military and political resume. Cao Zhenyan served as an "instructor" in the Eight Banners Army, and later rose to the rank of "Qigu Niulu Zhangjing", and was specially allowed by the Emperor Taiji to "add half a future because of his merits", and later transferred to the prefect, Yanfa Dao and other civilian positions. Cao Zhenyan's rise in the Eight Banners military and political system reflects the recognition and reward of the Later Jin magnates for their military and political "labor performance". Judging from the standards of military merit in the early Qing Dynasty, there is nothing wrong with its recruitment merit or labor performance being regarded as "military merit". Judging from the modern standards of military merit, there is no doubt that Cao Zhenyan has military merit.
5. Cao Xihu quelled the Rebellion of Jiang Ou from Dolgun. The Kangxi Dynasty's "Chronicle of Jiangning Province" and the "Chronicle of Shangyuan County" both record that Cao Xi once "accompanied Wang Shi to the right side of the mountain" as a "bodyguard" and "made achievements" and "meritorious achievements" in quelling the rebellion of Jiang Xiang, so he was promoted by the Shunzhi Emperor to the second rank of the inner court guard and managed Luan Yi. This is a relatively powerful proof of Cao Xi's military merits. In connection with the objective needs of the war, Cao Xi's own advantages, the master-slave relationship with Dolgun, the literature does not say that the battle merits are more than praise Wen Neng, and Cao Xi can narrate his merits after the war, it can be inferred that Cao Xi, as a bodyguard, has a guard nature, and his own duty should be to escort Dolgun, and it is unlikely that he will personally go to the front line to fight; when He conquered Datong Jiang Ou and other departments from Dolgun, Cao Xi, who was just out of the woods, although he did not have great martial arts, was able to make achievements in the end, and should rely on his excellent literary ability to assist the Qing army in writing Chinese proclamations or entering the city to persuade him to surrender. Dredging up the internal and external Manchu-Han relations, it was finally possible to receive the reward for his post-war merits. Although the possibility of Cao Xi shooting and killing Meritorious Service is not ruled out, based on the logic of historical events, its "merit" seems to refer to "labor performance" or "recruitment and appeasement". Regardless of whether Cao Xi's "merit" is "labor performance", "recruitment merit" or "battle merit", according to the standard of military merit in the early Qing Dynasty, it can be counted as "military merit". As for Cao Zhenyan afterwards, the current historical data does not prove that he personally participated in the counter-insurgency. The Cao Zhenyan songbook of the ninth year of Shunzhi can prove that he provided aftercare support for the Qing army and was a link in the pacification of Shanxi, and all the merits should be "labor achievements", not "battle achievements".
The above can be seen: Cao Zhenyan and Cao Xi's military achievements are unknown, military merits are well-founded, even if there is no "battle merit" in the strict sense of the Qing Dynasty, there should be "military merit". In terms of modern military merit, Cao's military merit is basically no problem. Many scholars believe that "the Cao family started with military merit" is not completely unreasonable, but their way to obtain military merit mostly comes from government affairs and logistics capabilities, which are "labor achievements" or "recruitment merits", rather than direct "battle achievements". Cao's military merits are mostly of the auxiliary type of guards, and they have their Sasuke merits for the military, and then they are appreciated by their superiors and become a major basis for promotion, so why not have anything to do with military merit?
However, the military merits of Cao Zhenyan and Cao Xi cannot be said to be "military merits". The "Eight Banners of Manchurian Clan Genealogy" once said in the "Fan Case": "Nikan and other surnames, there are very few people with remarkable military merit. "In connection with Cao's coated identity, eunuch experience, very few records of military merit and Cao Yin's memories, it can be inferred that Cao Zhenyan and Cao Xi's military feats are actually not much, and the gold content is not too high, far less than the five rooms Cao Gongcheng's vein, compared to the Manchu Han famous generals, it is not worth mentioning, otherwise their descendants should be greatly praised. Such records can be seen from the existing Qing court seals, commentaries by others, and Cao Yin's poems, so Cao's military feats cannot be exaggerated. We must soberly realize that the reason why Cao Shi was able to evaluate the military merits of The Narrative was mainly because of the victory of the Manchurian soldiers and the relatively vague and loose military merits, as well as the prestige of dorgon and other powerful ministers, so that they could barely get a piece of the pie among the officers and men, and in fact, the role was not prominent, let alone irreplaceable. Therefore, if it is said that Cao Zhenyan and Cao Xi have "great military achievements" or "military meritorious families", I am afraid that it is too far from the historical facts. However, the Cao clan has experienced the tempering of war, and has more or less inherited some of the military feats of its ancestors. So what role did Cao Yin play in the Cao family's martial movement?
The dream of military service
In the thirteenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Wu Sangui, Geng Jingzhong, and others rebelled one after another, causing shock in the world. Cao Yin's poem "Jurong Guanyi" indicates that Cao Yin had left Beijing to go south at that time to assist his father Cao Xi in preparing for defense. Some scholars believe that Cao Yin's arrival in Jurong was to assist Naifu in participating in the defense of Yangzhou or Jianghuai. This is not true. Cao Yin and Nai Father should be involved in the defense of Jiangning. why? At that time, the Qing court's troop strength and defense center in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were centered on Jiangning and Hangzhou, not Yangzhou. Judging from the edict, although Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, had a flood, there were basically no police, and the value of guarding was not great, so Kangxi did not issue an edict to defend Yangzhou. In the thirteenth year of Kangxi, Kangxi requisitioned Troops from Jiangning to aid Geng Jingzhong in Pingding, Zhejiang, causing the defense of Jiangning to be empty. Once Jiang Ning loses, the overall situation may break down. This aroused Kangxi's high vigilance, so he repeatedly ordered the left collar of the coat and the Eight Banner Army to go to support. Shi said that for thirteen years in Beijing, some guards were ordered to participate in the defense of Jiangning. Cao Yin is a clothed and bodyguard, and he is a member of the Forbidden Brigade, which has a great chance. In terms of political geography, jurong, which the two men visited, belonged to Jiangning Province, which was its southeastern stronghold, close to Zhejiang Gengjing Zhongbu, so it became a key place for the southern defense of Geng Jingzhong to go north, forming a part of jiangning's great defense. Therefore, they should have participated in the defense of Jiangning at that time, not the defense of Yangzhou.
Since there was no war in Jiangning, the father and son were mainly engaged in logistical work in the local area and had no battle achievements. Compared with cao xi, the role of the young bodyguard Cao Yin in the battle defense is insignificant. Despite this, the young Cao Yin often wanted to quickly make military merit.
Around March of the 14th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, a rebellion broke out on the outskirts of Beijing by the Mongol King of Chahar, and the situation was critical that "the southern expedition was forbidden and the su wei was empty". Kangxi listened to Empress Xiaozhuang's advice and sent Tuhai to collect the Eight Banners of Jing and the "Jian Braves of the Household Slaves", and marched to the Northern Expedition, crushing the rebellion in less than two months. After the victory, Kangxi was greatly rewarded. But the sentimental Cao Yin never mentions the battle in his poems. According to historical deductions, the young Cao Yin, who was skilled in bow horses, missed the battle. One reason may be that Cao Yin was not in Beijing at that time, and was still in Nanjing to assist in the defense; after the rebellion of the King of Chahar, Kangxi recalled many forbidden brigades, including Cao Yin, to Beijing because of the lack of air defense in Beijing; after Cao Yin was ordered to return to the north, the rebellion had been quelled, so there was no personal experience of counterinsurgency, and it was not impressive, but because of the repeated sufferings of the army and the army, there was no time to write poetry lyrics, resulting in him basically not writing poetry for two years, until the situation in Beijing was stable in the fifteenth year of Kangxi. Another possibility is that Cao Yin was already in Beijing, unable to participate in the front-line battles, but because of his miscellaneous service, he was tormented by the military. Zeng Yun, "Sleepless": "Xiao car is like an autumn tide, and thunder has sounded through the empty hall." The dust is insatiable, and it is self-indulgent. ”
Although Cao Yin did not experience the Mongol counterinsurgency, he experienced the long San Francisco War. However, Cao Yin had more than enough heart and insufficient strength, and was trapped in the capital city of Kangxi, unable to personally participate in the battle to kill the enemy, and could only look at the war from the perspective of a bystander, and it did not matter what the battle achievements were.
Despite this, Cao Yin was outside the heart of The Cage. His poems such as "Su Lai Qing Ge", "Three Pieces of Playing on Ice", "Four Songs of Smelling and Restoring Changsha Zhixi", "Chronicle of Happy Rain", and "Passing over Ganyuan" are closely related to the war. Cao Yin used poetry to reflect his concern for the progress of the war situation, expressed deep joy at the major achievements, admired and praised the brightness and greatness of Kangxi, expressed more sympathy for the people in the war, and was deeply saddened by the relatives and friends who died in battle. However, if you think that Cao Yin takes the world as his responsibility, always pays attention to the war situation and the people's livelihood and suffering, so that he actively proposes to fight in the south, it is inevitable that he will be whimsical. The poems he wrote about the people's livelihood and hardships during the war were rare, and they felt like official articles, written for others to read, and did not dare to expose the corruption and incompetence of the Qing army. The main part of his poems still reflects his attendants, social travels, occasional feelings and leisure interests in the capital, which just reflects his life bias, revealing that the young Cao Yin's attention to the life and personal conditions of the capital seems to be higher than that of major national events and people's livelihood. This is inseparable from his background, his small circle of life, and his strict system. Many poems yearning for leisure and freedom, such as "Circle Tiger", set off the expectations and helplessness of his life in Beijing.
In the face of the San Francisco War, he was very envious of those who had made meritorious achievements, hoping to one day create military merit and honor his ancestors. "Su Lugou Inscription Wall" said it most bluntly: "Ten years immediately, the portal is glorious." The Ming Dynasty should shoot the white wolf with a bow and arrow. But what is interesting is that after saying bold words, he often goes to sing and sing with the literati monks as soon as he turns around, pats Kangxi's ass, indulges in poetry and wine, and then from time to time makes some leisurely poems that cry bitterness or even grievances. Therefore, the proportion of "military poetry" is significantly lower than that of "idle poetry". This contrast reflects his dream of military service, that is, his deep struggle with separation and deep in his heart. He once wrote a poem after drinking: "Life is expensive and self-sufficient, and what you get is not false." "Maybe it's the choice to resign yourself to fate after the struggle."
The reason why Cao Yin said "noble and self-sufficient" is because in the San Francisco War, in the face of the disadvantages of the war and even the killing of relatives and friends, in fact, there were many times of "dissatisfaction", and he wanted to emulate his ancestors, kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, and stay prosperous for eternity. The three generations of the Cao family's grandchildren have always had a heart knot, that is, to change the identity of "inferior wrapping". As a slave of the Manchu family, the Cao clan seems to have unlimited scenery on the surface, but in fact, it survives in the cracks, and the honor and disgrace of life and death depend on the impermanent likes and dislikes of the emperor, and the slightest carelessness will destroy the family. If they can go south to make meritorious contributions, the Cao family can henceforth raise their eyebrows and breathe, and they can take the opportunity to get out of the country, get out of the shadow of the slaves, wash away the shame of identity, establish a relatively stable family business, and realize the "glory of the portal".
But Kangxi never gave him this opportunity. As analyzed by Mr. Zheng Tianting, the wrapping system satisfies the dual needs of the Manchu magnates who want to avoid the disaster of eunuchs interfering in politics and the practical needs of eunuchs. As a wrapped cao yin, both literary and martial, full of Han and Han, loyal personality, can be described as an excellent candidate to serve Kangxi and serve as eyeliner. Is it not reasonable to be light and unused by the Imperial Mind Technique and Kangxi? In these circumstances, Cao Yin had almost no chance to fight south and make meritorious contributions, and was firmly tied up by Kangxi, unable to change the political and social status of the family, and could only continue to carry the lowly label on his father's generation and was repeatedly used by Kangxi. Throughout his life, Cao Yin worked as a cattle and horse for Kangxi, and achieved a lot of labor, and because he continued to take over kangxi's southward expenses, he lost his family, but Kangxi did not let him and his descendants get out of the country until his death. This is the tragedy of Cao Yin's life, and it is also the tragedy imposed on him by the Manchurian magnates.
Descendants of the gradient
The middle-aged Cao Yin, whose mentality was old, was no longer willing to get involved in dangerous military service, so that the military style of the Cao family gradually shifted from the main family to the side branches. In the 35th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Cao Yin's second brother Cao Tsuen joined the Kangxi Campaign to quell the rebellion against Kaldan in the 35th year of the Kangxi Dynasty. In the spring of the 36th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, Kangxi personally conquered Gardan for the third time, during which Cao Yin's uncle Cao Erzheng also participated. During Kangxi's three personal conquests of Kaldan, the Qing army was generally short of water, and many troops often had the problem of lack of food, so that a large number of officers and soldiers were sleepy and tired, and suffered a lot. The time of Kangxi's second and third personal conquests was selected in the spring, during the period of little rain and drought in the northwest, the thirst of the army could be imagined, and because of the long distance, the grain and food of the large army were difficult, so that many troops were hungry and tired. Low-level subordinates like Cao Tsuen Cao Erzheng were inevitably hungry and thirsty. During the war, many people died directly, or died of lack of food and water, or disease. It was normal for Cao Tsuen to see dead bodies, and it made sense to come out of the pile of dead people. This special qualification has more contacts and capital for Cao Quan to compete for family rights and inherit the family business.
Although the two brothers had such rich resumes, the Cao family's military education was not in place. In the late Kangxi Dynasty, military education in the Eight Banners generally declined. The second is that Cao Tsuen died young, Cao Yin's heirs withered, and the Cao family enjoyed himself in peace. Cao Yin and others mainly carried out riding and shooting education for future generations, the training intensity was not large, the technical difficulty was not high, and they did not advance the military to hard and learn real combat skills. They practice riding and shooting, mostly according to the routine, but they have degenerated. Cao Yin's descendants like to grasp "Qiaozong", take shortcuts, choose to spend money to buy officials, and will not have much personal experience of the difficulty of family business, but will further accelerate the decline. If the descendants of the Cao clan reflect on the rise and fall of the family, they should focus on the transformation of military style.
Coincidentally, Cao Xueqin repeatedly remembranced the history of family military merit in "Dream of the Red Chamber" and criticized the degradation of military merit education. The military remembrance of the seventh, twenty-seventh, and fifty-fifth times is an example. Mr. Zhou Ruchang believes that the seventh time alludes to the military history of Cao Jiahu's expedition from the west, which can be used as a reference. In addition, the seventy-fifth also depicts Jia Zhen's farce of "shooting through the stuffiness", which is similar to the abandonment and degeneration of the descendants of the Cao family. Jia Zhen was bored because of his funeral, and invited Ji Ji to "shoot more than an arrow" and secretly eat, drink and have fun. Jia Yu and Jia Zheng did not know, "On the contrary, this is the right reason, the text is wrong, and the martial arts should also be practiced, and the situation is in the genus of Wu Yin", so he ordered Bao Yu and others to follow the practice. Unexpectedly, Jia Zhen turned the shooting into gambling, not only did not succeed in martial arts, but also caused Jia Fu to lose money. Compared with the Youshi who respected Jiao Da and the Tanchun who thought of the bitter reform, these decaying eyebrows were really "insulting the ancestors and misunderstanding the descendants"!
Step out of the Dream of the Red Chamber
Cao Xueqin's repeated reference to the decline of the Jia family's military style is not unintentional, but intentionally reflects on it. He used Jiao Da, TanChun, and others to painfully reflect on history, and then warned the people of the world to think of danger in times of peace, not to forget the source of drinking water, to be a man of humility, and to work hard at all times!
Successive dynasties of the Qing Dynasty attached great importance to military merit, and those who were opposed to meritorious service often gave special grace, so that they could be promoted to higher ranks and get rich, and those who retired could reduce their sins and save their lives; they could expand their foundations internally and honor their ancestors externally. The ancestors of the Cao clan inherited the customs of their ancestors, and practiced both literature and martial arts, so that the family business flourished. However, when it came to Cao Yin, under the unfavorable conditions inside and outside and the mentality of Gou An, in the end, there was no success, and the transformation failed. Influenced by internal and external influences, future generations are reluctant to participate in military service to seek military merit, and choose to spend money to buy officials and enjoy luxury. When the descendants of the Cao family woke up, it was a pity that history did not give the Cao family much chance. The continuation of Gao's forty-time marriage to PingHaijiang and the revival of the Jia family can be seen as sympathy for the tragic end of the Jia family. But fiction belongs to fiction, and reality belongs to reality. Regardless of whether "Dream of the Red Chamber" coincides with Cao Yin's family history, the historical facts are cruel. Cao Yin's later life was in a slump, and Gao Yan's continuation was nothing more than wishful thinking and could no longer be realized.
This also prompts us to distinguish between literary interpretation and historical reality. The mutual verification of literature and history needs to be based on solid evidence, and the macroscopic historical construction should emphasize the existence and integrity of the evidence chain. At present, most of the historical materials left by the Cao family are fragments of fragments, and it is difficult to form a complete and smooth chain of evidence. The picture constructed by later generations is very limited, and whether the reconstructed picture is true is also a question, and it is difficult to completely align with the details of the novel. If you don't have to do this, you will go crazy, what can you get? Just like the "Good Song" of the Red Chamber:
The world knows that the gods and immortals are good, but the name of merit cannot be forgotten; where the ancient and the modern will be, and the pile of grass in the desert is gone.
The world knows that the gods and immortals are good, and only gold and silver cannot forget; in the end, there is only hatred and not much, and many times the eyes are closed.
Everyone in the world knows that the gods and immortals are good, and only the wife cannot forget; the king's birthday says kindness, and the king dies and goes with the people.
Everyone in the world knows that the gods and immortals are good, and only the children and grandchildren cannot forget; the obsessive parents are ancient, and the filial piety to the children and grandchildren who have seen them.
Cao Gong edited the Red Chamber, originally intended to help the world understand the facts, "walk out of the Dream of the Red Chamber", move towards truth, goodness and beauty, and build a better society. If I wait for me to consciously or unconsciously re-"plunge into the Dream of the Red Chamber" and return to a world where factions are lined up and deceitful, it will be unfavorable to others and myself, I am afraid that this is not what Cao Gong expected. Fortunately, people have common sense and rationality. In the past, many heroes and good men who studied the Red Chamber stumbled inside and outside the Red Chamber for decades, and finally turned to forgiveness and simplicity, whether right or wrong, it was a good thing. If we can do all this, the day when the truth will come out to the world may not be far away.
Editor-in-Charge: Zhong Yuan
Proofreader: Luan Meng