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Chapter 285: Hong Chengchou, the first contributor to the Qing Dynasty
One of China's top ten counselors is Hong Chengchou, who was a controversial historical figure during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Some people believe that Hong Chengchou made suggestions for the Qing Dynasty to unify China.

Participating in the central government administration of the Qing Dynasty played an important role in appeasing Jiangnan and preventing the people in Jiangnan from suffering.

However, some people believe that Hong Chengchou is always unable to stand the test and cannot stand upright in the face of major issues of right and wrong. He is a sad and deplorable figure.

Hong Chengchou's life is obviously divided into two stages.

He spent the first half of his life in the Ming Dynasty, suppressing peasant uprisings, and later failed in the battle with the Qing army and was captured. Neither should be affirmed.

In the second half of his life, he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and made suggestions for the Qing Dynasty to conquer the southeast and southwest.

Among them, the suppression of the common people's resistance to the Qing Dynasty and the remnants of the peasant army did cause a certain amount of damage in manpower and material resources.

But judging from the increasingly powerful Qing Dynasty, it actually became the new ruler of all China and quickly completed the unification of the country.

Hong Chengchou sized up the situation, gave full play to his talents, and his efforts were beneficial to social progress.

After this classmate received such a retaliation, he realized that this mountain partridge was extraordinary and not something to be trifled with, so he became more restrained from then on.

"Hong Qiyin believed that Hong Chengchou would make great achievements in the future, and even criticized Jiaju Qianli in one of Hong Chengchou's articles."

"Hong Chengchou sold dried tofu near Shuigou Academy. In order to sell more dried tofu, he also helped the students in the academy to fight against each other."

After learning that Hong Chengchou was unable to go to school because of his poor family, he was allowed to go to school for free.

The person presiding over the funeral asked them if they had any memorial inscriptions. My mother shook her head, but Hong Chengchou said yes.

"He received enlightenment education at the age of seven. Due to his poor family background, he dropped out of school and went home to help his mother make dried tofu."

Some children from rich families looked down upon Hong Chengchou's country classmate when they saw his shabby clothes.

Quanzhou is a capital city, and most of the people studying in the academy are from good families and have no worries about food and clothing.

The partridges are cooing in the mountains, just take a pee and see for yourself, the coarse clothes are sweet and sweet, how can you carve a piece of rotten wood?

"Hong Chengchou studied hard and often borrowed books from Hong Qiyin's home."

"In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, Hong Chengchou left Zhejiang and moved to Shaanxi and was promoted to Shaanxi Supervisor of Food Road."

"After Hong Chengchou studied at Shuigou Hall for five years, he went to Quanzhou Chengbei Academy to study."

He tried Hong Chengchou's talents and appreciated them even more.

Hong Chengchou studied poetry and books under the guidance of his mother since he was a child, and he was smart and studious.

This sacrificial poem is an adapted sentence from the Three Character Classic, and there is nothing surprising about it.

After hearing this, Hong Chengchou was not angry or angry, but used his own talent to reply casually.

"After Hong Chengchou won the second-level Jinshi, he became an official in the capital and served as a minor official in the Ministry of Punishment for six years."

"Although he has some promotion and political achievements, he is still a middle- and lower-level official."

But as an eight-year-old at the time, Hong Chengchou was able to speak in coherent sentences, which shows his quick thinking.

"Shuigou Academy was opened by Hong Qiyin. Hong Qiyin found out that Hong Chengchou helped others to fight against him, so he recruited him to study in the academy without charging tuition."

"In the forty-third year of Wanli, Hong Chengchou passed the provincial examination."

Who said that talented people from Fucheng can do it? If you don’t believe that a carp dares to jump over the dragon gate, its eyes are on its buttocks and it only looks at clothes but not people.

"Two years later, Hong Chengchou was promoted to Zuo Shensuo, political envoy to the two Zhejiang provinces."

"In the second year of Tianqi, Hong Chengchou left the Ministry of Justice and was transferred to Zhejiang."

Hong Chengchou was highly valued by him for his intelligence and became his proud disciple.

"I read everything from "Historical Records" and "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" to "Three Kingdoms" and "Sun Tzu's Art of War", especially books on politics and military affairs."

It is said that when Hong Chengchou was eight years old, his grandfather Fu Yuanwai passed away, and his mother took him to the funeral.

After entering the mourning hall, Hong Chengchou respectfully knelt down and saluted his grandfather's memorial tablet, and then recited the sacrificial inscription eloquently.

"The following year, Hong Chengchou ranked 17th in the second class of the National Examination, and was awarded the title of Jinshi."

After accepting Hong Chengchou into school, he learned more about Hong Chengchou's deeds.

It is said that there is a classmate who is somewhat literate and can also recite a few lines of poetry.

Hong Qiyin: Hong Chengchou was very smart at a young age. I saw early on that he would definitely achieve something in the future.

"Hong Chengchou studied poetry and calligraphy under the guidance of his mother since he was a child."

"In six years, Hong Chengchou changed three positions in the Ministry of Punishment. He was successively the head of the Jiangxi Cleaning Officials Department of the Criminal Ministry, the chief of the Guizhou Cleaning Officials Department of the Criminal Ministry, and was changed to the chief of the Yunnan Cleaning Officials Department of the Criminal Ministry."

Also, Hong Chengchou was recommended by him and went to Quanzhou Chengbei Academy to continue his studies.

He discovered that Hong Chengchou helped the students in the academy to match pairs in order to get them to buy an extra piece of dried tofu.

So in general, the evaluation of Hong Chengchou is more positive than negative.

He once recited a limerick in front of Hong Chengchou, mocking him as a partridge in the mountains.

"After Hong Chengchou entered the officialdom, he worked as an official in the Ministry of Justice, Zhejiang, Shaanxi and other places. For eleven years, his positions changed a lot."

"In the 21st year of Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Chengchou was born in his grandfather's house in Jintian."

The divine wind calls to invite the Lord, the descendants kneel down to worship Kong Yiji, the gold and silver paper money is converted into three thousand, and the gift of pig head is given to the niche.

Judging from Hong Chengchou's various deeds as a child, it is not surprising that Hong Chengchou will have a bright future in the future.

"When Hong Chengchou first arrived in Shaanxi, peasant uprisings arose, and the government troops encircled and suppressed him everywhere."

"In the second year of Chongzhen, Shaanxi farmer Wang Zuoguan led a rebel army to attack Yaozhou."

"Hong Chengchou led a group of officials and joined more than 10,000 local village warriors to surround the rebel army in Yunyang, forcing the peasant rebel army to break out during a thunderstorm night."

"Hong Chengchou implemented the policy of focusing on suppression, applying both suppression and appeasement, and defeating them one by one."

"Wang Zuogao was defeated again at the Huaining River, so he asked the Ming Dynasty to surrender in the third year of Chongzhen."

"Li Zicheng was Wang Zuoguan's subordinate. He and some leaders were dissatisfied with Wang Zuoguan's surrender and sought their own way out."

"After Wang Zuoguan surrendered, he still refused to give up and secretly plotted a comeback."

"In August of the same year, Hong Chengchou and the governor of Shaanxi planned to kill Wang Zuogai and others."

"In the third year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou was appointed governor of Yansui, and the following year he was promoted to governor of the three sides of Shaanxi."

"In the seventh year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou was appointed Minister of the Ministry of War, governor of Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, Baoding, Zhending and other military affairs."

"At the same time, he still held the post of Governor-General and became the main military commander in suppressing the peasant uprising."

"The Ming soldiers led by Hong Chengchou were called Hong soldiers."

"In the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, the peasant uprising army gradually grew stronger and its combat effectiveness was greatly improved."

"After the peasant uprising army entered Shaanxi, Hong Chengchou convened a military meeting with generals to deploy and kill the peasant uprising army, but failed several times."

"Hong Chengchou's powerful general Cao Wenzhi volunteered and led a force of 3,000 men to attack the peasant army."

"The peasant army adopted the strategy of luring the enemy deep and dividing and conquering, so that Cao Wenzhi was surrounded on all sides and was forced to draw his sword and commit suicide."

"After Cao Wenzhi's death, Emperor Chongzhen decided to use Tongguan as the boundary. The military affairs outside the Pass were led by the Governor of Huguang, Lu Xiangsheng, the Prime Minister, and Hong Chengchou was specifically responsible for supervising the troops inside the Pass, and carried out a key siege against the rebel army led by Li Zicheng."

"After Hong Chengchou was ordered, he personally led an army to defeat Li Zicheng in Weinan, Shaanxi."

"The following year, Hong Chengchou led more than 20,000 troops to attack Li Zicheng and other troops."

"Then he mobilized the generals Zuo Guangxian and Liu Shaozong to jointly attack the peasant army and defeated the rebel army in Qianyanchi."

"In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's rebel army marched northward to Shaanxi and then entered Gansu."

"In September of the same year, the Qing troops of Dorgon, Haoge and Abatai entered the Ming Dynasty from Qingshan Pass."

"In October, the Qing army invaded the Ming Dynasty on a large scale, ravaging the capital from the capital to the border of Shanxi, then returning to Shandong and conquering Jinan."

"At the same time, Taiji of the Qing Dynasty led Duoduo soldiers to Shanhaiguan to cope with the Qing army in the pass."

"The Qing army rampaged across the capital area, and Emperor Chongzhen conquered Hong Chengchou and entered the garrison."

Hong Chengchou: I sacrificed my reputation and served the Qing court for twenty years, but ended up in an embarrassing situation. I have to say it is a great irony.

From the moment he surrendered to the Qing court, he already knew that he would be a highly controversial figure.

Some people called him a shameless traitor who betrayed the nation.

But he believed that he was a hero who endured humiliation and saved the country.

The Ming Dynasty's demise was irreversible. All he could do was save as many people as possible.

It is true that he betrayed his master for glory, but he did not betray his nation.

While serving in the Qing court, he always advocated appeasement and prevented the people in Jiangnan from being devastated.

Moreover, he also made important contributions to preserving Chinese culture.

He suggested that the Manchu ruling group should learn Chinese, learn the Chinese language, understand Chinese etiquette and customs, and advocate Confucianism.

In addition, he also recommended many officials of the Ming Dynasty.

He advocated developing water conservancy, reducing taxes, and developing the economy.

In this regard, he has made great contributions to easing ethnic conflicts, stabilizing society, and developing the economy.

But despite this, what he did cannot be understood by the world.

After he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the Han people despised and hated him.

Even his mother yelled at him, and his brother swore not to live with him and took his mother to live in seclusion on the ship.

What's even more ironic is that even the Qing court was alienated and wary of him.

Neither Dorgon, Emperor Shunzhi nor Kangxi allowed him to join the core of power.

Although he felt uncomfortable about this, he had already expected this to happen.

"In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou was transferred to the governor of Jiliao and led the troops to join forces with Shanhaiguan Make and Ningyuan Wu Sangui towns."

"Hong Taiji led his troops to capture Yizhou and used it as a base to launch a siege of Jinzhou."

"In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji established the policy of building a city in Yizhou and setting up farmland here to besiege Jinzhou, and it was put into practice in March."

"In April, Emperor Chongzhen heard about it and ordered Hong Chengchou to state his countermeasures."

"It is also planned to deploy 10,000 officers and soldiers of Wu Sangui and Liu Zhaoji to be stationed in Songshan, and 15,000 officers and soldiers of Hong Chengchou's army will be deployed among the former garrison."

"The 16,000 officers and soldiers stationed in Jizhou are still distributed on Zhongxie 4th Road. The Fu minister Zhu Guodong is stationed at Shanhaiguan, and the town minister Ma Ke is stationed at the Zhonghou Station."

"The Ministry of War highly praised this strategy and compared Hong Chengchou to Fan Zhongyan."

"After slight adjustments, Emperor Chongzhen approved the strategy."

"Hong Chengchou then left Shanhaiguan in May and confronted the Qing army besieging Jinzhou. They won and lost in many sorties."

"In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou was ordered to lead 130,000 elite troops to come to the rescue and gathered in Ningyuan to fight the Qing troops."

"In March, Huang Taiji adopted the policy of besieging Jinzhou for a long time, which is bound to be defeated."

"Hong Chengchou advocated approaching Jinzhou slowly, setting up camp step by step, fighting and defending, and not fighting lightly."

"However, Chen Xingjia, Minister of War, promoted the war. Since Emperor Chongzhen also wanted to be cautious, he adopted the policy of quick war and quick decision."

"In August, Ming army reinforcements arrived to cut off Hong Chengchou's return."

"Huang Taiji personally led the army from Shengjing, stationed between Songshan and Xingshan, and deployed to the south of the Ming army."

"Jilharang's army attacked the outer city of Jinzhou, cut off the connection between Song and Xingjian Ming armies, and cut off the Ming army's food routes."

"Hong Chengchou advocated a decisive battle, while the general military officers of various ministries advocated withdrawing south."

"In the end, we collectively negotiated to break out of the siege. In the end, hundreds of thousands of people collapsed."

Qianlong: Although Hong Chengchou was not loyal to the Ming Dynasty, he could be loyal to this dynasty. It would be most suitable to include him in the first class among the second ministers.

Hong Chengchou contributed to the founding of the Qing Dynasty and the unification of the early Qing Dynasty. He can be said to be the first contributor to the founding of the Qing Dynasty.

Recalling that after the defeat of Songshan, Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in fear of death and became a second official under the banner of Xianghuang, leaving behind an infamy.

When passing through the southwest, he was afraid of difficulties and asked to be relieved several times, hoping to leave his burden and escape.

In the face of great right and wrong, at critical moments, Hong Chengchou always couldn't stand the test and couldn't stand up his back.

This fully demonstrates the weak side of Hong Chengchou's character and is the fundamental reason for his shortcomings in character.

Therefore, although Hong Chengchou was completely devoted and loyal to this dynasty.

But in the eyes of the Qing court, it was not enough and they dismissed it.

This is the inevitable fate of being a slave and a vassal.

Hong Chengchou's life was really sad and lamentable.

But no matter what, Hong Chengchou contributed to the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty was a dynasty established by the Manchus, for the Manchus.

When it comes to rewards based on merit, it is impossible to ensure that all ethnic groups are equal, so Hong Chengchou was inevitably treated unfairly in his later years.

As for Hong Chengchou being included in the Biography of Erchen, it is because the rule of the Qing Dynasty has been consolidated.

In order to make the Qing Dynasty last for a long time, it is necessary to promote the idea of ​​loyalty to one dynasty and one master.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou, who served in the two dynasties, was naturally denounced.

This was due to the need for governance and was not sufficient as a basis for evaluating Hong Chengchou's merits and demerits.

But in general, Hong Chengchou's outstanding achievements in the early Qing Dynasty should be recognized, and he made indelible contributions to the unification of the Qing Dynasty. "In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji returned to Shengjing and ordered Beile Duduo and others to stay behind and guard the army."

"Hong Chengchou wanted to break out of the encirclement and led all his troops to attack Xianghuang Banner, but he failed."

"In October, Huang Taiji ordered Sujun Wang Haoge and Gong Mandahai to station themselves in Songshan."

"In December, Hong Chengchou heard that reinforcements from the pass were coming, and sent a general with 6,000 men to attack the Zhenghong Banner and Zhenghuang Banner Mongolian camps at night."

"Being defeated, they fled back to the city, but the city gate was closed and they couldn't get in, so most of the defeated soldiers were killed."

"The remaining people fled to Xingshan, were ambushed again, and the entire army was wiped out."

"Emperor Chongzhen initially asked Yang Shengwu to lead an army to reinforce Hong Chengchou, but Yang Shengwu died in the battle."

"Afterwards, Fan Zhiwan was asked to replace him, but the Qing army was too strong and the Ming army found it difficult to break through and stagnated."

"Hong Chengchou was besieged until June, and food was about to run out."

"In February of the next year, the deputy general of Songshan City sent someone to ask for surrender. As a sign of sincerity, he was willing to take his son as a hostage."

"In the evening, the Qing army entered the city using ladders and captured Hong Chengchou, governor Qiu Minyang, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and other generals."

"Huang Taiji issued an order to put Qiu Minyang, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen to death, and Hong Chengchou was sent to Shengjing."

"Huang Taiji wanted to take Hong Chengchou for his own use, so he ordered Fan Wencheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, to persuade him to surrender. Hong Chengchou kept cursing."

"Fan Wencheng not only didn't mind, but also discussed ancient and modern events with Hong Chengchou."

"During the conversation, dust fell from the beams and fell on Hong Chengchou's clothes. Hong Chengchou waved his hand from time to time to brush the dust away."

"So Fan Wencheng immediately responded to Huang Taiji, saying that Hong Chengchou would not die because he cherished his clothes so much, not to mention his life."

"After hearing this, Huang Taiji went to visit Hong Chengchou in person. Seeing that Hong Chengchou was wearing thin clothes, he immediately took off his mink fur and put it on Hong Chengchou."

"Hong Chengchou lamented Huang Taiji's treatment of him and kowtowed to surrender."

"Huang Taiji rewarded Hong Chengchou generously and held a banquet to celebrate. He told the generals that getting a guide to the Central Plains was worthy of celebration."

"In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji was in the Chongzheng Palace and summoned Hong Chengchou and all the surrendered generals Zu Dashou and others to the palace to see him."

"When Emperor Chongzhen heard that Hong Chengchou had died, he gave him sixteen altars and set up an ancestral hall outside the capital."

"Emperor Chongzhen was going to pay homage in person, but soon he heard that Hong Chengchou had surrendered, so he stopped."

Hong Chengchou: Compared with the mediocre Chongzhen, Huang Taiji was more wise.

He still remembered the scene where he knelt outside the Qing Dynasty gate and made a statement to Huang Taiji.

As a general of the Ming army, he led 130,000 troops to reinforce Jinzhou. Huang Taiji arrived and defeated him.

After that, he guarded Songshan and was captured when the city was broken. He thought he should die.

Thanks to Huang Taiji's grace of not killing him, he knew that he was guilty of a serious crime and did not dare to enter rashly.

Looking back on the scene at that time, he seemed to remember it vividly, and he still clearly remembered Huang Taiji's edict.

Huang Taiji wouldn't mind if the two sides fought and each took charge.

Moreover, the reason why the Qing army was victorious was simply God’s will.

God has the virtue of good life, so he bestows grace on him. Since he knows the kindness, he should try his best to serve himself.

For example, Zhang Chun once received kindness but could not serve himself, and was unwilling to die to express his ambition. In the end, he died without fame.

At that time, when he came to the court to see him, Huang Taiji ordered him to sit in the palace and gave him tea.

He also asked him about the Ming court system, but the Ming court clan was captured and turned a deaf ear.

If a general is captured in battle and surrenders after all his efforts, his wife will be killed or demoted to slavery. Is this an old system or a new one?

He replied that there was no such system before. Recently, the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Government expressed their opinions and reported to Emperor Chongzhen, which started from this.

Huang Taiji lamented that the king was stupid, his ministers were deceived, and many people died unjustly.

The general was captured for fighting hard, and it was enough to use the money from his palace's treasury as atonement. Why should he punish his children, and why should he kill innocent people?

From this alone, he knew that Huang Taiji was wiser than Chongzhen.

"After Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji made him belong to the Xianghuang Banner Han Army, and he was treated very well."

"But because Huang Taiji was still wary of him, he never appointed him to an official position."

"After the death of Huang Taiji, Dorgon became the regent, and Hong Chengchou gradually came to be more important."

"On August 9, the eighth year of Chongde, Huang Taiji died suddenly."

"Fu Lin, who was only six years old, succeeded to the throne, and his uncles, Prince Rui Dorgon and Prince Zheng Jierhalang, took over as regents and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Shunzhi."

"In the first year of Shunzhi, Li Zicheng's Shun army captured Beijing and Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself. However, the Qing Dynasty at that time had not yet received confirmation."

"When the Dashun Army rapidly marched toward Beijing, Fan Wencheng wrote to Dorgon, pointing out that the Ming Dynasty's demise was the general trend."

"Fan Wencheng proposed a grand plan and aggressive policies and strategies to invade the Central Plains. Prince Regent Dorgon realized that time was tight and hurriedly gathered his troops within a few days."

"Afterwards, they launched a large-scale southern expedition and the Qing army arrived at Liaohe. Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Ping Xibo Wu Sangui sent his deputy general to beg for surrender."

"Dorgon had already learned about Li Zicheng's capture of Beijing and the death of Emperor Chongzhen. He decided to consult Hong Chengchou about military matters."

"On May 2, the Qing army entered Beijing."

"Facing the uneasy situation among the people in Beijing, Dorgon adopted the suggestions of Fan Wencheng, Hong Chengchou and others to appease the people."

"For the Ming Dynasty officials who surrendered, they were restored to their original posts, and for the Han civil and military officials who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, they were promoted and appointed."

"Winning the support of demoted officials in the Ming Dynasty and the support of Han landlords, and mourning Emperor Chongzhen, using nostalgia to gain the approval of the people."

"In order to calm the people's minds, after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it announced the cancellation of the additional taxes imposed in the late Ming Dynasty."

"After this series of measures were introduced one after another, the city of Beijing gradually stabilized."

"After the Qing army occupied Beijing, they divided the merits and rewarded them with honors. Hong Chengchou entered the inner courtyard to help with machine maintenance."

"When Dorgon came to Beijing, Hong Chengchou was already assisting Dorgon in handling aircraft maintenance in the inner court."

"From the perspective of strengthening centralization, he believes that the power of the inner chamber should be increased in order to assist Dorgon in handling government affairs."

"He often made suggestions to Dorgon and proposed to restore the Ming Dynasty's cabinet voting system."

"That is to say, the memorials of civil and military officials at home and abroad, and the chapters of this chapter that are repeated by various ministries, must pass through the inner court."

"From the inner courtyard, it is sent to the Sixth Section, and from the Sixth Section, it is copied and distributed to the various ministries."

"In order to stabilize order in Beijing, Hong Chengchou also made specific suggestions on the investigation work in the capital."

"In the second year of Shunzhi, the Qing government officially appointed Hong Chengchou as the former governor-general to pacify the provinces south of the Yangtze River."

"On the third day of July, Dorgon granted Hong Chengchou another imperial edict in the name of Emperor Shunzhi, expressing his great reliance on Hong Chengchou."

"The imperial edict is more than 700 words long. It is an instruction given to Hong Chengchou before leaving, and it is also a specific policy to pacify Jiangnan."

"In September, Li Zicheng's former translator Tian Jianxiu and Yihou Zhang Ding surrendered one after another under the influence of Hong Chengchou's recruitment policy."

"Hong Chengchou made good plans to recruit Jiangnan and achieved results quickly. The situation in Jiangnan is basically stable."

"Not long after, Hong Chengchou's father passed away, and because of his own eye problems, he wrote a letter asking him to return to Beijing to observe the system."

Dorgon: The war against the rule of the Qing Dynasty brought great trouble to our Qing Dynasty. In order to reverse this situation, I chose Hong Chengchou to solve the problem.

It now seems that after Hong Chengchou took on this important task, he solved a lot of troubles for the Qing Dynasty very well.

In the process of the Qing Dynasty unifying the world, Hong Chengchou formulated several measures to solve the problem of people's resistance.

First, Hong Chengchou's strategy of recruiting soldiers and civilians in the south of the Yangtze River played a major role in preventing the local people from suffering the disaster of war.

Hong Chengchou himself was an official of the Ming Dynasty and knew the psychology of the people in Jiangnan very well.

In addition, Hong Chengchou had many old friends in the south.

In order to alleviate the conflicts, Hong Chengchou actively cultivated human relations with these old friends in the past and promoted their surrender.

For example, Hong Chengchou, the Minister of War in the Ming Dynasty, chose to care about his old relationship and appease this person.

The policy was ensured that he could remain in his original position and the smooth recruitment was finally achieved.

Second, Hong Chengchou launched the imperial examination, which helped many students find their way into officialdom.

Hong Chengchou's approach caused a large number of intellectuals to adopt a more benign attitude of support for the Qing Dynasty, and also allowed the Qing Dynasty to recruit many useful talents.

This also had a very positive significance in reducing the sharp conflicts at that time.

Third, Hong Chengchou suggested reducing taxes to ease the tax pressure on the people.

Hong Chengchou believed that the important reason why the people in Jiangnan were very dissatisfied with the rule of the former Ming Dynasty was that the Ming Dynasty's taxation was too severe.

Reducing people's taxes to a certain extent can alleviate people's hostility and play a very positive role in improving unfavorable conditions.

Hong Chengchou also had another important measure, which was to use force to solve the problem.

The situation in Jiangnan cannot be solved in one go by simply using moderate policies. Tough measures must be adopted when necessary.

Facing the stubborn resistance of the former Ming Dynasty, Hong Chengchou showed no mercy.

For example, there was a Ming general who stubbornly resisted. Hong Chengchou selected officials who had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and used old connections to sneak into the military camp and eventually capture and kill him.

"The following year, Hong Chengchou was promoted to the title of Crown Prince and Tutor, and once again served as an assistant to the Third Academy of the Imperial Academy to handle confidential matters. He also served as the chief executive officer who compiled the book "Records of the Emperor Taizongwen" and the examiner of the general examination."

"Hong Chengchou once proposed the method of recommending governors, governors, admirals, town generals and other local officials at all levels by the academicians of the three inner academies and the nine ministers. Those who recommended well will be rewarded, and those who recommended incorrectly will be recommended consecutively."

"After that, he also served as the censor of Zuodu in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. He screened the censors into six grades and promoted, retained, demoted and punished them according to their merits and demerits in order to rectify the administration of officials."

"In the eighth year of Shunzhi, Zhang Xuan, the censor of Henan Province, impeached the minister of official affairs, Ten Sins and Two Illegals, and some of the articles involved Hong Chengchou."

"Zhang Xuan claimed that Hong Chengchou and the Minister of Civil Affairs secretly discussed defecting at the Temple of Fire, and sent his mother back to Fujian without asking for an order."

"Hong Chengchou argued that the meeting at the Fire Temple was just to identify the different censors, and he was willing to plead guilty for sending his mother back to Fujian privately."

"Emperor Shunzhi gave Hong Chengchou a lenient sentence for various crimes."

"There is no need to speculate too much when calling Hong Chengchou a meeting at the Fire Temple."

"It is understandable that I sent my mother back to her place of origin without telling her about it. I plead guilty for my relatives."

"In the tenth year of Shunzhi, Hong Chengchou was transferred to the Imperial Academy of Sciences and became a bachelor of the Academy of Sciences."

"At this time, Zhu Youlang, King of Gui in the Southern Ming Dynasty, occupied Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and continuously sent troops to attack Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan and other places."

"Hong Chengchou was immediately appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of War and the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Inspectorate, and he conducted military operations in Huguang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces."

"In the twelfth year of Shunzhi, Sun Kewang sent a large army to attack Yuezhou, Wuchang, Changde and other places."

"Hong Chengchou commanded the Qing army to set up an ambush in Changde, and the result was a great victory, forcing Sun Kewang to withdraw to Guizhou."

"Two years later, the Qing government decided not to establish the Five Provinces Economic Strategy."

"Hong Chengchou was packing his bags and preparing to return to Beijing when Sun Kewang suddenly led his troops to surrender."

"In the 16th year of Shunzhi, after the Qing army captured Kunming."

"The Qing government gave Hong Chengchou the task of eliminating Yongli and his regime. Hong Chengchou believed that the most important task at present was to stabilize Yunnan's interior."

"He Shangshu said that Yunnan is remote and has the most types of chieftains, making it difficult to manage."

"It is best to refer to the experience of the Yuan and Ming dynasties and keep troops stationed in towns to ensure eternal peace on the border."

"So the Qing government quickly dispatched Pingxi King Wu Sangui to lead his troops to stay in Yunnan."

"In the seventeenth year of Shunzhi, Hong Chengchou requested to return to Beijing due to illness."

"After returning to Beijing, his great achievements, high position, and weight aroused the suspicion and dissatisfaction of the Manchu nobles and some Han ministers, and he was ignored."

"In the first month of the following year, Emperor Shunzhi died of illness and Emperor Kangxi ascended the throne."

"On the fifth day, Hong Chengchou requested to retire due to illness, and the Qing court agreed."

"After several debates, the Qing court awarded Hong Chengchou the title of third-class Adahahafan."

"In the fourth year of Kangxi's reign, Hong Chengchou died of illness at the age of seventy-three."

"Emperor Kangxi posthumously made Hong Chengchou a young master, gave him the posthumous title Wenxiang, and erected an imperial stele."

Although many scholars in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty were not ashamed of Hong Chengchou's character, there were also many scholars who believed that Hong Chengchou had made great contributions.

The overthrow of the Longwu and King Lu regimes in the Southern Ming Dynasty, as well as the suppression of other anti-Qing forces, all showed the success of Hong Chengchou's recruitment policy.

Hong Chengchou reduced the force of conquest, which reduced war and destruction for the people and society, and was conducive to the stability of the people and society and the development of productivity.

For the Qing Dynasty, it reduced the resistance to unification and was conducive to consolidating the rule of the Qing central power.

In order to stabilize the new Qing regime, Hong Chengchou put forward many suggestions that were adopted.

Learn the Chinese language and read thousands of years of Han culture classics.

Critically absorb the Ming Dynasty's governance strategies and make the transition as smooth as possible.

Actively select talents and adopt the continuous sitting system.

Especially for feudal officials, the recommenders must also be recorded.

If the recommender performs well, the recommender can receive corresponding rewards.

If the recommender's performance cannot achieve the expected results, the recommender should also be punished.

The strategy proposed by Hong Chengchou to govern the country and stabilize the country was very in line with the development needs of the Qing Dynasty, so it was immediately adopted by the emperor.

At the same time, it also shows that Hong Chengchou made a very positive contribution to stabilizing the rule of the Qing Dynasty and ensuring that relevant policy formulation in the early Qing Dynasty was in line with public opinion.

(End of this chapter)