The troubles of the vassal kings was the most troublesome thing in the ancient royal family. But whenever a country is first established, how should the founding heroes be placed? They are all named vassal kings, what should they do if they rebel in the end? If the royal family's bloodline is used as the vassal king in order to seize their rights, the final result will be the same. Zhu Di is a living example.
Qing Dynasty As the last dynasty in China, there is also such a problem. But this problem seems to be more difficult than all previous dynasties. You should know that at that time, the Qing Dynasty was able to enter the pass and received help from many Han people, four of whom had the greatest contribution, and they were all named vassal kings.
Of course, the combination of is only for mutual benefit, but if it continues for a long time, the balance will be broken, and the contradiction between the Manchu and Han opposition between the two will inevitably become increasingly prominent.
Coincidentally, a wise king in the Qing Dynasty Kangxi was released. He initiated the reduction of the vassal states with thunder. Then the very important " Three Feudal Rebellion " in history emerged.
But what is strange is that when Kangxi later withdrew from the vassal state, only three vassal kings raised their troops? Even if another vassal king has passed away, his son can still inherit the throne.
time back to before the Qing army entered the pass. At that time, the Qing army was blocked outside Shanhaiguan. If Wu Sangui had resisted with all his might, the Qing army would probably not be able to enter the pass, or at least delayed for decades. It’s a pity that Wu Sangui was angry and became the hero of the Qing Dynasty and the founding hero. However, among the four vassal kings who enfeoffed in the Qing Dynasty, he was the last to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.
Before Wu Sangui, three heavyweights surrendered to Later Jin , making great contributions to the founding of the Later Jin Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. When the Qing army entered the pass, they would face resistance from the whole world.
At this time, the four Han generals either gave advice or directly led their troops to suppress them. Due to their outstanding achievements, they were eventually named vassal kings.
If calculated according to time, the first person to defect to the Qing Dynasty is Geng Jingzhong . To be precise, Geng Jingzhong's grandfather Geng Zhongming , who defected to the Qing Dynasty in February 1633. Geng Zhongming is a general under Mao Wenlong . When Mao Wenlong was killed, Geng Zhongming was worried about his safety and had no choice but to surrender to the Later Jin Dynasty.
After Geng Zhongming's death, his son inherited it. After Geng Zhongming's son died in 1671, his grandson Geng Jingzhong inherited the throne of Jingnan. Because he did not participate in much in the previous war, his relationship with the Qing Dynasty was not very good.
At the same time, he also knew that he was a Han Chinese, so he later cooperated with Wu Sangui to raise an army.
The second person to surrender to the Qing Dynasty was Kong Youde, who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in April 1633. Like Geng Jingzhong's grandfather, he chose to rebel because his leader Mao Wenlong was killed. However, his contribution was no less than that of Wu Sangui later.
You should know that although the Qing cavalry is powerful, it can face Ming Dynasty 's advanced weapons and equipment, especially red-clothed cannons and various ships. , Kong Youde not only presented all these weapons and equipment, but also brought all the craftsmen who made red cannons. It is precisely because of this that the Qing army was invincible since then, and soon unified the whole country after entering the pass.
With his extraordinary achievements, he was eventually named King of Dingnan.
The third person who defected to the Qing Dynasty was Shangkexi , who defected to the Qing Dynasty in October 1633. The reasons for his rebellion were different from those of the first two. He had no choice but to surrender to the Qing Dynasty because he was persecuted by the Ming general Shen Shikui.
In fact, Shang Kexi can be regarded as a general. Shang Kexi's performance in the Shipidao Mutiny and Wuqiao Mutiny in the Ming Dynasty were both good. Later, when he defected to the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji was extremely excited and shouted, "God helped me."
Sure enough, this general made many contributions after joining the Qing Dynasty, especially conquering Guangzhou to open up a favorable situation in the southern battlefield for the Qing Dynasty. Of course, Shang Kexi is also known for his cruelty. After he captured Guangzhou, he massacred a large number of people. Historical records record that as many as 700,000 innocent people died tragically under his butcher knife.
Relying on his achievements, he was finally named King of Pingnan.
The fourth place is Wu Sangui. He surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in 1644.Because he is brave and good at fighting, he has 50,000 Guanning Iron Cavalry under his command to help him kill all directions. After entering the pass, he has made countless contributions, so he has become the most powerful among the four vassal kings.
Because of his great contribution, he was eventually named King of Pingxi.
Of course, there were many Han generals who defected to the Qing Dynasty at that time, but in terms of merit, the four of them were the most. Therefore, after the Qing Dynasty stabilized, they were named the four of them as vassal kings in order to stabilize the hearts of the Han people.
However, in 1673, from the moment Shang Kexi proposed retirement to Kangxi, the Three Feudal Affairs Rebellion began. So why did only three respond when he was clearly granted the title of four vassal kings? Where has Kong Youde, the King of Dingnan, gone?
Although all four of them were named princes, at that time, Nanming was entrenched in Nanfang waiting for the opportunity to fight back at any time. King Kong Youde of Dingnan received his order to attack Nanming, and relied on his outstanding military capabilities to advance rapidly, and even occupied the entire Guangxi area for a time.
However, the famous general of the Southern Ming Dynasty Li Dingguo suddenly led his army to recover Hunan and cut off Kong Youde's retreat. Then Li Dingguo led his troops south and forced Kong Youde into a desperate situation. Even if Kong Youde had three heads and six arms, he could not fight against him and eventually committed suicide.
In fact, the reason why Kong Youde was willing to commit suicide without escaping is actually to buy time for his son Kong Tingxun to escape. Unfortunately, Kong Tingxun ran and rushed forward but could not escape the pursuit of the Ming army, and ended up being beheaded and displayed in public.
Although Kong Youde has a daughter, the Kong family has all the men, and the title of King Dingnan no longer exists. It is also because of this that Wu Sangui later lost the powerful force of the King of Dingnan when he raised his army. Otherwise, it is really hard to say what happened.
After reading the resumes of the four vassal kings, you will find that the Ming Dynasty was actually not unfairly destroyed. So many talents were forced to leave, which shows that many problems had already occurred in the system in the late Ming Dynasty.
Chongzhen Although the emperor took drastic moves after he ascended the throne, he still did not change the root of it. On the contrary, his stubbornness accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty to a certain extent.
It’s a pity, it’s a pity!
Reference materials: "Draft History of Qing Dynasty", "History of Ming Dynasty"
