Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 305 Dorgon Dies Suddenly

The Red Army completely wiped out the Dingnan vassal army, and the anti-Qing forces in the south were very excited. At the same time, the news of Dorgon's death was confirmed, which was double joy.

In August of the fourth year of the Yongli reign, Dorgon went hunting outside Gubeikou and fell off his horse. He was only 39 years old, in the prime of his life, and initially he did not take his illness seriously. Unexpectedly, on December 9, during a fierce battle between the Red Army and the Dingnan vassal army, Dorgon died suddenly in Kara City outside Gubeikou.

Before his death, Dorgon was called "Prince Regent of the Imperial Father", but he was no different from the emperor. As early as the first year of the Yongli reign, Dorgon had taken the seal of Emperor Shunzhi into his palace for the convenience of doing things, and he was in charge of all matters, big or small. In the second year of the Yongli reign, Dorgon no longer saluted Shunzhi, "where there is a salute, kneeling will never stop". In the third year of the Yongli reign, Dorgon officially became the "Prince Regent of the Imperial Father", and all government affairs no longer required instructions, but were all issued by imperial decree, which was no different from the emperor. He also "did not allow the kings, beile, beizi, and dukes to come to the court to do things, but regarded himself as the court", and ordered the above-mentioned people to wait for orders in front of the palace every day. In the fourth year of the Yongli reign, Dorgon posthumously honored his biological mother, Consort Ulanara of the Taizu, as "Empress Xiaolie Gongmin Xianzhe Renhe Zantian Lishengwu", and enshrined her in the Taimiao.

Shunzhi was less than 13 years old at this time, and had lived under the shadow of Dorgon for a long time, and seemed to be incapable of ruling the country. Dorgon's death was bound to create a power vacuum within the Qing court, which would lead to fierce struggles among various factions.

During this period, the inconsistencies in the reports sent by the Qing court to various places undoubtedly showed the chaos of the Qing government.

In December, Dorgon's brother Ajige, Prince Ying, attempted to become regent and coerce the two white flag ministers to join him. The two white flags were always managed by Dorgon and were accompanying Dorgon in Gubeikou at the time. The two white flag ministers knew that Ajige had no talent for governing the country and explicitly refused to join Ajige. Ajige was blinded by greed and sent troops to threaten the two white flag ministers. Grand Secretary Ganglin rushed to the capital and informed Shunzhi and Prince Zheng Jirgalang. The Qing court closed the nine gates, gathered elite troops to welcome the coffin outside Deshengmen, and killed all of Ajige's 300 personal soldiers.

On December 26, the Council of Princes and Ministers discussed Ajige's crimes and imprisoned him. His son Laoqin was stripped of his royal title and demoted to a Beizi.

Ajige was good at fighting, but he had a rough character and lacked political wisdom. He was a brother of Dodo and Dorgon. Now that Dorgon and Dodo were dead, Ajige wanted to fight for power, but Shunzhi naturally did not allow it, and his means were quite tough and sophisticated.

But Dorgon had made great contributions and had many followers, so Shunzhi was cautious. While attacking Ajige, he also gave Dorgon generous pensions.

In mid-December, Dorgon's remains were transported to the capital, and Shunzhi issued an edict to honor Dorgon as "Emperor of Great Virtue, Great Achievement, Great Achievement, Peaceful People, and Honest and Righteousness", with the temple name Chengzong, and the funeral ceremony was in accordance with the imperial rites. This month, which was the first month of the fifth year of the Yongli reign, the Yongli Emperor also honored Dorgon's first wife, Borjigit, as Empress Yi, and enshrined her in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Dorgon had no son, so he granted Prince Dorbo of Yu as the successor prince, with a salary three times that of other princes. In order to appease Dorgon's followers, Shunzhi ordered that Dorgon's close attendants Zhan Dai and Suksaha be appointed as ministers of state affairs.

However, yesterday, the Red Army Intelligence Bureau copied a Qing court newspaper from Jiangxi, showing that the political direction of the Qing court had quietly changed: Shunzhi ordered the restoration of the status of the two yellow flag nobles and promoted officials such as Man Dahai, Wakda, Jieshu, and Luo Keduo from the two red flags.

Huang Taiji directly led the two yellow flags during his lifetime, and most of the ministers of the two yellow flags were Huang Taiji's confidants. Dorgon succeeded Huang Taiji and took control of the military and political power of the Qing Dynasty, and tried his best to suppress the two yellow flags.

As for the two red flags, they were always led by Daishan. Although Daishan had no chance of becoming emperor and was unable to take charge of the Qing Dynasty, his family was the most prominent among Nurhaci's sons, accounting for three of the eight iron-hat princes in the early Qing Dynasty.

The remaining two blue banners were even more at odds with Dorgon. The leader of the Bordered Blue Banner was Jirgalang, a political enemy of Dorgon; the leader of the Plain Blue Banner was Haoge, who once competed with Dorgon for the throne and was persecuted to death by Dorgon.

Inside the general's headquarters, people were passing the newspaper around and discussing the matter.

Qian Bingdeng had the most insightful opinion, saying: "Fulin won over the two yellow flags, two red flags, and two blue flags, which gave him an overwhelming advantage over Dorgon's two white flags. He reported the internal struggles of the Eight Banners in the newspapers, and the Tatars from all over the country would guess what he meant and submit memorials to attack Dorgon." Aisin-Gioro Fulin was the ninth son of Huang Taiji and had no chance to inherit the throne. It was only because Huang Taiji died suddenly that Hauge and Dorgon fought for the throne and were deadlocked, so the five-year-old Fulin took advantage and became the third emperor of the Qing Dynasty - Emperor Shunzhi.

Fang Yizhi said: "Dorgon has been in power for a long time, and political enemies such as Jirgalang have always been dissatisfied. This is a good opportunity to take advantage of the situation and attack Dorgon's followers."

Others said: "Ajige is a reckless man who behaves erratically. If it weren't for Dorgon protecting him, Ajige would have died countless times. Now, Dorgon and Dodo are both dead, and Ajige is the only one left alive among the three brothers. He has the worst qualifications and is unwilling to submit to even the two white flags. Ajige can't even protect himself and can't hold up the stage. Fulin wants to settle accounts with Dorgon, and no one can stop him."

Some people gloated over the misfortune and said, "Since the Tartars are in civil strife, we should seize the opportunity and launch a counterattack. First, we will take eastern Guangdong, then Jiangxi, and then we can conquer Jiangnan with a single order."

"Dorgon committed many evil deeds, and died suddenly outside the Great Wall. This can be regarded as a punishment from heaven."

"At first our army showed weakness to the enemy, and Dorgon fell into the trap and went hunting outside the Great Wall without any worries. But when the general's troops took a risky move, they attacked Yanguan Pass by surprise, and forced Kong Ni to death, and then they had the momentum to sweep across western Guangdong. After hearing the news, Dorgon's condition worsened, and he died of worry and fear."

……

Conquer Jiangnan with a proclamation? Heaven's punishment for Dorgon? Danchu was not so optimistic. He looked further ahead and asked a more realistic question: "Do you think that when Fulin issued the edict to win over the two yellow flags and the two red flags, was it Jirgalang's instruction or his own idea?"

Fang Yizhi, who was in the highest position, said without hesitation: "Fulin is still young, and his intelligence may not be sound, so he may not be able to handle everything on his own."

Qian Bingdeng saw things quickly and said, "After Dorgon's death, Jirgalang has the highest status and is qualified to succeed him as regent. But he is a humble person and lacks great talent. Even if he instructs Fulin to attack Dorgon, he himself will not become the second Dorgon. With his personality, he is likely to support Fulin's dictatorship and be content to be a king with an iron hat."

"That's what I'm worried about!" Danchu said worriedly, "The Tartars rose from the bitter land of the northeast, but they were able to rule the Central Plains. Why? Because power was concentrated and policies were long-lasting. The Ming Dynasty had 18 provinces in Han territory, a population and wealth a hundred times greater than the Tartars, but it was destroyed. Why? Because of fierce party struggles, decentralized power, and ever-changing policies."

"The general is right!" Secretary Yang Yunqing was very touched and said, "China is vast and rich in resources, and its national strength is a hundred times greater than that of the Tartars. The cause of the fall of a country in every dynasty was nothing more than party disputes and civil strife."

"From now on, Fulin will hold the throne and take power, justifiably. The Eight Banners will be more united, and the situation similar to Dorgon and Jirgalang fighting for power and being wary of each other will no longer exist." Danchu sighed and said bitterly: "Unlike us, the court has accomplished nothing, and the court officials are still arguing. The Red Army fought for months and completely wiped out the Dingnan vassal army and forced Kong Youde to death. It can be said that they have made great contributions. There are censors who do not understand the situation and impeached me for killing Chen Bangfu and Zhao Yinxuan without authorization. This is really unreasonable!"

(End of this chapter)