Huang Taiji was the eighth son of Nurhaci. He ascended the throne of Khan after Nurhachi's death. He was another outstanding politician and strategist in the Qing Dynasty after Nurhaci.
Huang Taiji lived in an era when there were four dazzling stars on the land of China: one was Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty Huang Taiji, one was Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Youjian, and the other was the leader of the peasant uprising Li Zicheng , and another one is Mongolia's Chahar tribe Lin Danhan . These four people, each representing the interests of their own nation or social group, participated in that unprecedentedly tragic and evocative political competition. The final outcome was: Lin Dan Khan was defeated and died in Dacaotan, Qinghai at the age of forty-three; Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Meishan Mountain at the age of thirty-four; Li Zicheng only served as emperor for one day in the Forbidden City in Beijing, and was finally defeated and died on Jiugong Mountain. Aged forty. The inheritance of Lin Dan Khan, Emperor Chongzhen, and Li Zicheng eventually belonged to Huang Taiji and his descendants.
It is no accident that Huang Taiji became the biggest winner in this unprecedented political competition. He was obviously superior to his opponents in both civil and martial arts.
When Huang Taiji was born, his father Nurhachi was thirty-four years old and his biological mother Nala Shi was 18 years old. His biological mother was the beloved daughter of Belyanjanu of Yehe tribe, named Menggu, and was called Menggu Gege. Meng Gege married Nurhachi at the age of fourteen and died at the age of twenty-nine. Huang Taiji lost his mother's love when he was twelve.
Huang Taiji’s mother died of depression to a large extent. From her marriage to her illness and death, Jianzhou and Ye Hebei had always been hostile. In the Battle of Gule Mountain, Menggu's cousin Buzaibele died unexpectedly because his horse tripped over a wooden pillar during the fight. Nurhachi ordered Bu Zhai's body to be split into two pieces and half returned. From then on, Jianzhou and Ye He forged a mortal feud. When Meng Gu was critically ill, he asked to see his biological mother. Nurhaci sent someone to meet Ye Hebeile, but was rejected by Ye Hebele. Meng Gu felt regretful.
Huang Taiji, a young boy, lost his mother and had no brothers or sisters from the same mother, so he was all alone. But his family is a big family. He has fifteen half-brothers, and his brothers have as many as one hundred and forty fifty nephews. His seven half-brothers were born to five Fujins, all of whom were from Jianzhou. Only his biological mother was Ye He, and Ye He had a bloody feud with Jianzhou. This family environment had a significant impact on Huang Taiji's growth as a boy.
First of all, Huang Taiji’s grandfather was a famous leader of the Jurchen tribe, and his biological mother Meng Gugege was a smart and beautiful girl. Under the influence of heredity, Huang Taiji was extremely smart. Except for Dorgon's grandfather, the other brothers' grandfathers were all unknown. This background gave Huang Taiji greater political confidence.
Secondly, the loss of his mother as a young man caused him to encounter many hardships in life, which tempered his independent character and strong will.
Again, without the love of his mother, without his brothers and sisters, the extremely lonely situation developed his character of being cautious and reticent, and exercised his ability to communicate and coordinate.
In the end, Huang Taiji had a long-term grievance against his uncle because of his feud with Jianzhou, which put him at a disadvantage in the family and made him good at scheming.
All of these laid a deep foundation for Huang Taiji’s later ambitions.
The Jurchens, the ancestors of the Manchu , like many other nomadic peoples, did not implement the direct lineage system for the succession of the Khanate. There was no system at that time for who would inherit the throne after Nurhachi's death. In order to consolidate his power during his lifetime, Nurhaci first killed his younger brother Shuerhaqi and then his eldest son Chu Ying. In his later years, Nurhaci did not designate a successor, but announced the "Khan's Edict": Implement the system of eight heshuobeles discussing the election of a new khan and deposing the great khan.
As a result, after Nurhachi's death, his body was still cold, and the battle for the throne was already very fierce. The situation at that time was: among the Baylors, the four major Baylors had the greatest power and the highest status.These four beile are: the big beile Daishan , the second beile Amin, the third beile Mang Gurtai, and the fourth beile Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji ranks fourth among the four Baylors in both seat and age. In addition, Dorgon and Duduo are also very powerful. However, Erbeile Amin was Huang Taiji's cousin, and his father Shuerhaqi was convicted and imprisoned until his death. Amin himself made a big mistake, so he naturally had no qualifications or conditions to compete for the succession to the throne of Khan. Sanbeile Mang Gurtai was the fifth brother of Huang Taiji. He was brave, reckless, and weak in power. At the same time, his biological mother Fucha was convicted of negligence. Mang Gurtai actually killed her mother. This gave him a bad reputation. He could only serve as a general in charge of the army, but he could not be the king of a country and had no conditions to compete for the throne. . Among the four, only Dabeile Daishan is qualified, qualified and likely to inherit the throne. Daishan has a gentle and gentle personality, which won the hearts of the people. He also has many military exploits and great power. Nurhachi also predicted that he would take over the throne in the future, saying: "A hundred years later, my youngest son and Dafujin will be adopted by the eldest brother." The eldest brother is Daishan.
Therefore, although Huang Taiji had great ambitions, hidden secrets, and imperial talents, he competed with his brother Daishan for the succession to the throne and was in a disadvantageous position in all aspects, so he had to set up a secret agency.
It is said that Nurhaci's little Fujin Deyinze once reported to Nurhaci that Dorgon and Duduo's biological mother Dafujin Uranala Abahai twice sent delicacies to Dabeile, and Dabeile accepted and ate them. He gave it to Si Beile, but Si Beile accepted it without eating it. Dafujin often sent people to Da Beile's house and went out to the palace late at night. After hearing this, Nurhaci sent someone to investigate and found out. He didn't want his family's scandal to be publicized, so he punished Dafu Jin for some reason. Dafujin suffered some "injury" in this incident but did not "die", and soon gained the favor of Nurhachi. However, after this incident was exposed among the Manchu nobles, the prestige of Dabeile Daishan was greatly reduced, and he was no longer able to compete for Khan.
Some people say that Xiao Fujin De Yinze’s report was instigated by Huang Taiji. Taking advantage of the "privacy" that was difficult to explain between Dafujin and Dabeile, they accomplished the plan of killing two birds with one stone. It not only made Dabeile infamous and unable to compete for the throne, but also weakened the competition between Dafujin's son Dorgon and Duduo brothers. The power of the Khan. This was not enough. In order to completely eliminate the power of the Dorgon brothers to compete for the Khan, Huang Taiji died after Nurhaci. He also told several Baylors that the Xianhan had his last words and asked Dafujin to be buried. Under the coercion of Huang Taiji and other four Baylors, Dafujin hanged himself and died. When he lost his support at a young age, he no longer had the strength to compete with Huang Taiji for the throne.
Daishan lost power, Dorgon lost his mother, and Huang Taiji was in an advantageous position in the fight for the throne. status. The discussion on the recommendation of the new Khan was held outside the temple. Beile Yuetuo Sahalin, the son of the great Beile Daishan, went to the residence of his father Daishan and said: "The fourth Beile (Huang Taiji) is the most talented and has a deep understanding of the late emperor. Sacred Heart, everyone is convinced, and he should quickly succeed him. J
Daishan said: "This is also my long-cherished wish. What you said, heaven and man agree, who will not Agree. "
This is what the father and son agreed on. The next day, the kings, Beile, Beizi gathered in the court hall. Daishan told Erbeile Amin, Third Beile Manggurtai and Zhubeile of their opinions, and a consensus was reached without any dispute. After long and careful planning, Huang Taiji finally ascended to the throne at the age of thirty-five.
When Huang Taiji first ascended the throne, the four Baylors sat side by side and handled military and political affairs, and the four took turns. Later, Huang Taiji got rid of Erbeile Amin, Sanbeile Manggurtai, and Dabeile Daishan, and sat alone in the south, thus consolidating his power.
During the Huang Taiji era, someone summarized his civil and martial arts into eight main categories.
In his later years, especially after entering the Liaohe Plain, Nurhachi implemented some wrong policies. For example, a large number of people were relocated, villages were organized into small groups, grain was collected, fields were seized, Manchus and Han people lived together, and everyone was killed. They were resisted by the Han people in Liaodong , and the ethnic conflicts were very acute. Han people Some poisoned drinking water and table salt, some poisoned pigs for sale, and some blocked roads and killed Manchus who were traveling alone. Organized armed riots also occurred
After Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne, he attacked Nurhachi. The mistakes were made in a timely manner.
To the Han people, he put forward the policy that "the most important thing to govern a country is to calm the people first", emphasizing that the relationship between Manchu, Mongolian and Han people is like the five flavors, "the adjustment is expensive and the right one is appropriate". The new policy he formulated for the Han people was: the Han people should be divided into villages when they are strong enough to live in separate villages, the Han people should be demoted and organized into civilian households, the deserters should be treated kindly, and punishments should be relaxed. So all the Han people were happy, and no more people escaped.
Regarding Han officials, Nurhaci’s original policy was that Han officials were subordinate to Manchu ministers. Their own horses could not be ridden, their own livestock could not be used, and their own fields could not be cultivated. When an official died of illness, his wife would be a slave to the Baylor family. Huang Taiji abolished these policies and favored Han officials as an important policy to win over the upper class of the Han people. He gave land, horses, rewards, and official posts to the surrendered Han officials.
Huang Taiji reused Han officials, model Wencheng is a famous example. Whenever Huang Taiji discussed something, he always asked: "Does Fan Zhangjing know?" When he encountered something inappropriate, he always said: "Why didn't you discuss it with Fan Zhangjing?" When everyone said, "Fan Zhangjing said the same thing," Huang Taiji Approved.
Once, Fan Wencheng was eating in the palace. Looking at the table full of delicacies, he thought of his old father and stopped eating with his chopsticks. Huang Taiji understood what he was thinking and immediately sent someone to deliver the banquet to Fan Wencheng's house.
Later, Fan Wencheng became a bachelor of the Academy of Internal Affairs, which was the beginning of the appointment of Han people as prime minister in the Qing Dynasty.
Regarding the Han intellectuals, Huang Taiji believed: "Scholars are good people, and what the scholars know is the people's heart." At that time, the Ming Dynasty had talents but could not use them, so it went into decline. Huang Taiji felt that whoever had more outstanding talents and used their ingenuity would be able to defeat the opponent.
Nurhachi massacred too many intellectuals in the Ming Dynasty and "executed to death" the so-called enlightened ones. About 300 of them survived and became slaves under the banner of the Eight Banners. Huang Taiji ordered the examination of these slave intellectuals, and the masters of each family were not allowed to obstruct them. This was the beginning of the imperial examination of the Houjin . As a result, more than 200 people succeeded. They were all released from slavery, freed, and rewarded. Later, Huang Taiji held another examination, and 228 people were selected, from which candidates were recruited and reused. This move had a great response and made Huang Taiji's "benevolent reputation spread far and wide".
Huang Taiji did two things that have impacted the ages and will last forever in history. One is to change the name of the clan to Manchu. On October 13, the 9th year of Tiancong (1635), Huang Taiji issued an order to change the name of the clan to Manchu. From then on, the name of Manchu (referred to as "Manchu") officially appeared in the history of China and the world.
The second is to change the country name Dajin to Daqing . On April 11, the tenth year of Tiancong (1636), Huang Taiji held a ceremony to ascend to the throne of emperor in the Dazheng Hall of the Shenyang Palace. He changed the country's name from "Dajin" to "Qing" and the year name from "Tiancong" to "Chongqing". Virtue". In this way, Huang Taiji had two reign titles, one was Tiancong and the other was Chongde, so the phenomenon of twelve emperors and thirteen dynasties appeared in the Qing Dynasty.
Why did Huang Taiji change the name of the country to "Qing"? There is a legend: Nurhaci rode a big green horse when he was fleeing in his early years. He hurried in a hurry and the horse died of exhaustion. Nur Hachi said sadly: "Da Qing, Da Qing, in the future I will conquer the world, and the name of my country will be Da Qing."
Of course, this is just a legend and there is no need to go into it. Huang Taiji changed his country's title to Emperor, intending to show that he was not only the Great Khan of Manchuria, but also the Great Khan of the Mongols, , Han people and everyone else, indicating his ambition to unify the world.
With the development of the post-Jin society, Huang Taiji reformed and improved the political mechanism.The first was to get rid of the second beile Amin and the third beile Mang Gurtai, and hijack the great beile Daishan, abolish the system of the Great Khan and the three great bele sitting together, and change it to Huang Taiji "sitting alone in the south", which strengthened the monarchical power; It consolidated and improved the Eight Banners system, gradually established the Eight Banners Han Army to manage the military, political, and civilian affairs of the Han army and their dependents, and expanded the Eight Banners Mongolia . It strengthened its jurisdiction over Mongolia; the third was to create the Mongolian Yamen, which was later changed to the Lifanyuan, to deal specifically with ethnic affairs; the fourth was to imitate the system of the Ming Dynasty and establish the Third Inner Court, the Sixth Department, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The so-called government structure of "three houses, six departments and two yamen" was formed, which basically improved the organizational system of the monarchy government.
After three major failures in the Battle of Ningyuan, the Battle of Ningjin, and the Battle of Beijing, Huang Taiji finally realized that the important reason for his failure was the lack of the latest weapon - the red cannon. In the first month of the fifth year of Tiancong's reign (1631), the first batch of imitated red cannons produced by Hou Jin were produced in Shenyang and named "Tianyou cheers for the general ".
From then on, Manchuria finally had its own red cannon. This was an epoch-making event in the history of the Eight Banners' weapons and a milestone in the Eight Banners' military history. So Huang Taiji set up a new battalion "heavy army" in the Eight Banners Army, which was a heavy new artillery unit equipped with artillery and other firearms. In this way, the Qing army also had the red cannons of the Ming army, but the Ming army did not have the powerful cavalry of the Qing army. Huang Taiji was even more powerful in his martial arts to open up territories.
In the first month of the sixth year of Tiancong (1632), Huang Taiji ordered Erbeile Amin and others to lead the army to conquer North Korea. Amin led the army and occupied Pyongyang. Then the two sides killed white horses and black cattle on Ganghwa Island, burned incense, and established a "brotherly alliance."
In the first year of Chongde (1636), when Huang Taiji proclaimed himself emperor, the North Korean envoys refused to kneel down and worship. The two sides fought but still refused to yield. So Huang Taiji used this as an excuse to use troops against North Korea for the second time in December. He personally led the Qing army directly towards Seoul, the capital of North Korea. King Li Bao of North Korea (z6ng) fled to Namhan Mountain City, and Huang Taiji also led his army to camp in Namhan Mountain City. In the first month of the next year, Li Bao asked for surrender, and Huang Taiji held a surrender ceremony at Santian Ferry on the east bank of the Han River, establishing the "alliance of monarchs and ministers" between the Qing Dynasty and North Korea.
Huang Taiji sent troops to North Korea twice, achieving the goal of killing three birds with one stone: first, it changed North Korea's position of relying on the Ming Dynasty instead of following the Qing Dynasty; second, it obtained material supplies from North Korea; third, it lifted the offensive Ming Dynasty The worries of Dongguan.
Huang Taiji sent troops to the north, and his troops pointed directly at the upper, middle and lower reaches of Heilongjiang. His strategy was: "To frighten him with troops, and to embrace him with virtue."
Baldaqi, the leader of Daur, lived in Dokotun on the Jingqili River (now Jieya River). Huang Taiji married the clan daughter to Baldazzi, so he became Huang Taiji's niece (niece-in-law). Soon, many leaders of the Sauron tribe came to Shenyang to pay tribute and express their submission.
During the Chongde period, Huang Taiji sent troops to Sauron twice to conquer Bomu Bogor. The two sides encountered each other in places such as Yaksa (today's Albazin, Russia) and Humar (today's Huma) in the upper reaches of Heilongjiang. After fierce battles, the Qing army won, but suffered heavy losses. Bomubogor led the rest of his troops to flee north, and finally captured Bomubogor.
Huang Taiji used both conquest and pacification, focusing on pacification, and finally made the vast area east of Lake Baikal, south of Waixing'an Mountains, Ussuri River to Sea of Okhotsk belong to the Qing Dynasty.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, my country's Mongolia was divided into three parts: Monan Mongolia, which is Inner Mongolia, Mobei Mongolia, which is Outer Mongolia, and Moseng Mongolia, which is Erut Mongolia.
Monan Mongolia is located between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty, and has a covenant with the Ming Dynasty to jointly resist the Later Jin . Lindan Khan of the Chahar tribe in Monan Mongolia was a descendant of Genghis Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty. He was so powerful that he claimed to be the Great Khan of all Mongolia. The Ming court gave Lin Dan Khan a large number of "annual rewards" every year to make him confront Hou Jin.During Nurhaci's time, most of the tribes in the eastern part of Monan Mongolia submitted to the Hou Jin Dynasty, but the Chahar tribe became a strong fortress for the tribes in Monan Mongolia to fight against Nurhachi and his son.
After Huang Taiji came to the throne, he sent troops to the west three times. The main target was Lin Dan Khan of the Chahar tribe. In the second year of Tiancong (1628), Huang Taiji took advantage of the conflicts among the Mongolian tribes in Monan and formed an alliance with the Haraqin and other tribes that opposed Lin Dan Khan. For the first time, the pro-unification army attacked Lin Dan Khan, won the victory in Aomulun, and captured a soldier. There were more than a thousand people, and they took advantage of the victory and pursued them to the Hsing'an Mountains before withdrawing their troops. Four years later, Huang Taiji once again led an army to attack Lin Dan Khan and ran a long distance to Guihua City (today's Hohhot City). Lin Dan Khan fled at starry night after hearing the news. Huang Taiji then returned to the army, and on the way he obtained tens of thousands of people and more than 100,000 livestock outside the Ming Dynasty. Later, the Chahar part collapsed, and Lin Dan Khan fled to Dacaotan, Qinghai, and finally died of pox.
In the ninth year of Tiancong (1635), Huang Taiji ordered Dorgon and other generals to conquer the Chahar tribe for the third time. Lin Dan Khan's successor, his son Ezhe, led his people thousand households to surrender, and presented the state of Chuang. Jade seal. It is said that this jade seal was passed from the Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty. Emperor Yuan Shun took it with him when he fled north. After his death, the jade seal was lost. Two hundred years later, a shepherd saw a sheep that had not eaten grass for three days. , and kept digging the ground with their hooves. The shepherd was curious and dug into the ground to get this precious seal . Later, the seal came into the hands of Lin Dan Khan. Huang Taiji was overjoyed to get this "unifying auspiciousness for ten thousand years" jade seal, feeling that his rule was finally recognized by God.
In this way, Chahar, who had been an enemy for more than 20 years, surrendered, and the vast southern Mongolia returned to the Qing Dynasty.
Huang Taiji sent troops to the Ming Dynasty. He invaded Beijing on five large scales, plundered Zhongzhou, and fell to Jinan, which reflected his courage, courage, and majestic strategy. Among them, the use of counterintuitive tactics to eliminate Yuan Chonghuan is most praised by later generations.
In the first month of the eleventh year of Tianming (1626), Nurhachi was defeated miserably in the Battle of Ningyuan, and soon died of depression. Huang Taiji personally visited the battlefield and witnessed the most painful defeat in the history of the Eight Banners War. He vowed to avenge his father Khan, so he launched the Battle of Ningjin. In May of the first year of Tiancong (1627), Huang Taiji was defeated again in Ningyuan and Jinzhou. This made him realize that Yuan Chonghuan was the "stumbling block" for him to enter the Central Plains through Shanhaiguan. Soon, Huang Taiji came up with a plan: to bypass Shanhaiguan, attack Beijing, mobilize Yuan Chonghuan's "King Qin", implement a "counterintuitive plan", and get rid of Yuan Chonghuan.
In October of the third year of Tiancong (1629), Huang Taiji personally led an army to avoid Shanhaiguan and attack Beijing via Inner Mongolia. At this time, Yuan Chonghuan was re-appointed by Emperor Chongzhen as Minister of War and Governor of Jiliao. When Yuan Chonghuan was inspecting Shanhaiguan, he received a military report that Huang Taiji was attacking the capital. He hurriedly mobilized nine thousand cavalry and traveled day and night to come to the rescue and defend Beijing.
Yuan Chonghuan stationed his troops outside Guangqumen in Beijing. The soldiers had no food and horses and no grass. They fought during the day and slept in the open at night. Yuan Chonghuan took the lead and won two victories in Guangqumen and zuoanmen, and Beijing turned a corner. At this time, Huang Taiji used the method of Zhou Yu in "The Romance of the Kingdom" to use Jiang Qian's stolen messenger to trick Cao Cao into a conspiracy to frame Yuan Chonghuan.
The next day, Huang Taiji warned the armies not to attack and summoned Bao Chengxian and deputy general Gao Hongzhong to teach them secret strategies. In the Ming Dynasty, there was an eunuch named Yang who was captured by the Hou Jin army and imprisoned in the Jin camp. So the eunuch Yang heard two Jin soldiers who were guarding him talking quietly outside. One of the Jin soldiers said: "Today's withdrawal of troops is entirely the emperor's idea."
Another asked: "How did you know?"
The former one continued: "Just now I saw the emperor riding a horse in the direction of Mingying. Let's go. Two people in the Ming camp came towards the emperor. When they saw the emperor, they followed him. After talking for a long time, he left. Yuan Jinglue had a secret agreement with the emperor, and he was about to succeed..."
Eunuch Yang pretended to be sleeping nearby and eavesdropped.The next day, Hou Jinbing deliberately let Yang escape again. Yang returned to Emperor Chongzhen and told Chongzhen about the incident. Chongzhen was a very suspicious person and listened to the eunuch Yang. He believed the report and was very angry. He immediately ordered Yuan Chonghuan to enter the palace. When Yuan Chonghuan arrived at the palace, Emperor Chongzhen immediately ordered the Jinyi guards to tie up Yuan Chonghuan and take him to the death row.
On August 16 of the following year, Yuan Chonghuan, a famous general of the generation, was executed by Ling Chi in the West Market of Beijing. According to the "Northern Strategy of the Ming Dynasty": When Yuan Chonghuan was tortured, people gnashed their teeth and bought the meat cut from Yuan Chonghuan's body and drank it with wine. After taking a sip, they cursed. This record may not be reliable, but it shows that everyone in Beijing fell into Huang Taiji's "counterintuitive plan" and mistakenly believed that Yuan Chonghuan was "collaborating with the enemy." It was not until the Qing Dynasty compiled "History of the Ming Dynasty" () and saw the records at that time in the Manchu documents that the truth became clear. More than a hundred years later, Emperor Qianlong vindicated Yuan Chonghuan's injustice.
Huang Taiji used counterintuitive tactics to make Emperor Chongzhen "self-destruct the Great Wall ". "History of the Ming Dynasty·Yuan Chonghuan Biography" said: "Since Chonghuan's death, no one will benefit from side affairs, and the Ming Dynasty will be defeated."
From here, we will not It’s hard to see the depth of Huang Taiji’s scheming, the high level of his strategies, and the fierceness of his methods. It’s really amazing! Such a generation of heroes should have been able to create greater achievements. However, Huang Taiji died suddenly at the age of fifty-two (1643). On the day of his death, he was still holding government affairs activities. Perhaps it was impossible for him to sit on the throne of the Forbidden City and realize his lifelong dream of dominating Yanjing.
