Know all about the secrets of the harem

Chapter 39
In the early Qing Dynasty, the Manchu-Mongolian marriage was an established national policy.During the time of Huang Taiji, Mongolian women almost monopolized the harem. Only Horqin Baylor’s Zhaisang family had three titles—Queen Borzigit (aunt of Xiaozhuang), concubine Borzigit (aunt of Xiaozhuang) Zhuang's sister) and Empress Borzigit of Xiaozhuang Wen.

Xiaozhuang came to Shengjing from the Mongolian prairie, and gave birth to Huang Taiji, a son and three daughters (son Fulin, who would later become Emperor Shunzhi). The end of the concubine.

Before Huang Taiji was alive, Xiaozhuang's status in the harem was not prominent.It was her aunt who ruled over everything in the post-officials, while her elder sister Concubine Chen was the one who was favored by Huang Taiji.

In March of the seventh year of Chongde (1642), the Qing army captured Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao of the Ming Dynasty, and the emperor was very happy.Hong Chengchou was a very influential official in the borderlands of the Ming Dynasty. Subduing him is of great significance for winning the hearts of Han intellectuals and disintegrating the rule of the Ming Dynasty.Huang Taiji ordered Hong to be escorted to Shengjing, and sent Han Chen Fan Wencheng and others to persuade him in turn that Hong Chengchou "extended his neck and carried the sword, and was always unyielding".Seeing this situation, Xiaozhuang recommended himself and went to persuade him in person.She pretended to be a waitress, with a pot of ginseng juice hidden on her body, came to Hong Chengchou's residence, said softly, "Touch his lips with the pot", poured ginseng juice for him one by one, moved him with emotion, and understood it. After several days of hard work, he finally persuaded Hong Chengchou to join the Qing army.And this is also unofficial history, without any historical data to support it.

Because Xiao Zhuang often paid attention to participating in the political activities of the Qing court in the later period of Huang Taiji, her political qualities and talents were tempered, and she quickly stood out.This talent is clearly displayed when major political events suddenly occur.

On the ninth day of August in the eighth year of Chongde (September 1643, 9), Huang Taiji, who had been a soldier all his life, died of illness.Because he did not designate an heir to the throne during his lifetime, there was a power vacuum in the court, which caused chaos among the kings fighting for the throne.In the end, the various factions reached a compromise, and Fulin, who was only six years old, was established as the emperor. At this time, Fulin's biological mother, Concubine Zhuang, played an important role as the five concubines. On August 21 (October 10), the enthronement ceremony It was held again in the Dazheng Hall of the Shengjing Imperial Palace. It was her husband Huang Taiji who ascended the throne for the first time, and today it is Concubine Zhuang's six-year-old son Fulin.Huang Taiji collapsed and passed away. As the king of a country, it should be Queen Zhezhe of the Central Palace.Out of instinct, she would definitely recommend Fulin, born to Concubine Zhuang, to protect the interests of her mother's Horqin.In this way, Concubine Zhuang and the Queen are on the same front.Historical records give people the impression that because the eldest son of Huang Taiji, Prince Su Hauge, and the fourteenth younger brother of Hong Taiji, Prince Rui, Dorgon, were evenly matched for the throne, so the snipe and the clam competed, and the fisherman benefited. Lin ascended the throne.In fact, this is only one aspect of the matter.From the subsequent actions of Concubine Zhuang and the subtle changes in the attitude of the Ministers of the Two Yellow Banners at that time, it can still be inferred that Concubine Zhuang spared no effort to demonstrate her outstanding political talents on the issue of Fulin's accession to the throne.

At first, the ministers of the two yellow banners swore to support Hauge at Prince Su's palace, but when the meeting of ministers discussing politics was held to discuss who would inherit the throne, the ministers of the two yellow banners only mentioned the prince and not Hauge; Hauge, who competed with Dorgon, also took a big turn in his attitude, saying that he was lucky to have a bad life, and it was difficult to take on the important task and left the table.This is not a gesture made by Hauge on the surface. Leaving from the usual is a sign of abstention. It does not look a bit evenly matched with Dorgon.But Dorgon did not become emperor, because at this moment, the two yellow-flag ministers in the Dazheng Hall drew their swords and stepped forward, vowing to establish a prince to the death. Tightly encircle the seat of the political meeting.Let's imagine, if Fulin is not allowed to ascend the throne at this time, who can leave the palace alive?No one would dare to wield swords and guns in the palace without the acquiescence of Queen Zhezhe and Concubine Zhuang.

It should be said that Concubine Zhuang's opponent Dorgon is also a politician.Under balance, he chose to support his youngest son Fulin and act as regent himself, paving the way for him to dominate the court in the early years of Shunzhi.Fulin ascended the throne and changed the reign name to Shunzhi, and Concubine Zhuang was honored as "The Holy Mother and Empress Dowager".

Dorgon had long coveted the throne, why did he voluntarily give up at the critical moment?Lack of strength to contend with Hauge?

not necessarily.Perhaps it was Dorgon who proceeded from the overall situation and made concessions to avoid civil strife.But there is another factor that cannot be ignored that contributed to this move—Xiaozhuang's behind-the-scenes activities.

As a member of the Aixinjueluo family, Xiaozhuang undoubtedly understands the harm that civil strife will cause. First, to ease the antagonism between the two sides, the only way to seek common ground in differences is to partially satisfy the requirements of both parties—satisfying The ministers of the Two Yellow Banners wanted to set up a prince, and Dorgon’s desire for power would not be fulfilled. The only way to solve this problem was to support the young master; there were four or five young princes at that time, who would occupy the throne of the emperor?Xiao Zhuang used his skills to win over Duo ErGun, so that DorGun adopted her plan and took her son Fulin to the throne.

The deterrent king is in power, and the Queen Mother Zhuang is begging for perfection

In fact, Dorgon is very yearning for the throne.Since he first advocated Li Fulin at the meeting of the kings, once the pattern is established, it is difficult to go back and overthrow the previous discussion.Although he occupies the position of regent and holds the military and political power of the Qing Dynasty, he is under one person and above ten thousand people, but after all, he did not get what he wanted, which is still a shortcoming. The world is plunged into a state of self-contradiction, remorse, and self-reproach.As his achievements progressed, his desire for power became more and more intense. At last, this desire that scorched his heart like a fire made him make ridiculous actions: stealing imperial vessels and making emperor's dragon robes privately. , Self-admiration in the mirror, etc.

Hauge, who prevented him from obtaining the throne, was accused of weaving in the first year of Shunzhi (1644), deposed as a commoner, and banned until death. Hauge's Fujin was taken into the palace by him and accepted as a newcomer.Ji Erhalang, who lived with him on the position of assistant king, although he shunned from the beginning and handed over the power, but in the end, due to the old hatred of being attached to Hauge, he died in the fourth year of Shunzhi (1647) He was dismissed and demoted to the county king the next year.Dorgon ordered the historian to write notes on his daily life according to the emperor's system, and built a mansion that surpassed the emperor's scale.The dispatching of the army, the punishment, the reward, and the removal of She, as soon as it came out of his own will, inside and outside the pass, only Prince Rui was known.In fact, Dorgon held all the power.Under Dorgon's step-by-step pressure, Xiaozhuang adopted an attitude of forbearance, concessions and humiliation.Her method is to keep putting a high hat on Dorgon and adding titles, so as not to make Dorgon abolish the emperor and stand on his own.In October of the first year of Shunzhi, he was granted the title of Prince Regent for his uncle, and he was granted the title of Prince Regent for his uncle.In the fourth year of Shunzhi, Dorgon stopped kneeling before the imperial court.Finally, around the end of the fourth year of Shunzhi, Xiaozhuang married the regent as the queen mother. Fulin called Dorgon the emperor's father, and the ministers called the emperor's father the regent.On New Year's Day or celebration gifts, Dorgon, together with the emperor, accepts the civil and military palaces to worship.

The fact that the queen mother married the regent is still controversial in the historian circles.Some novelists try to explain this marriage from the perspective of love, which may be a bit idealistic.Dorgon lived a life of indulgence, and Hauge married his wife. He also married the daughter of the Korean royal family without permission. One daughter was not enough for his desire and he married another daughter. This is clearly stated in official documents.The empress dowager got married due to the current situation, so it is probably not worth deliberating if there is any love at all.What's more, in fact, even though Xiaozhuang made concessions again and again, and finally bowed down and married, Dorgon's covetousness for the throne has not subsided in the slightest.Once he also said to people: "If you regard me as the king, and now occupy the position of reserve, why do I have this disease!" Ignore it, and deliberately let Fulin neglect education and become a stupid emperor. As a result, when Fulin was 14 years old, he did not know Chinese characters, and all the ministers were at a loss to understand.Dorgon's so-called "love" to Xiaozhuang's son is so unconvincing.

In December of the seventh year of Shunzhi (1650), Dorgon went hunting and died in the city of Kara.Fulin pro-government, within two months, announced Dorgon's "seeking to usurp the throne" and other crimes.In the process of "reversing the majority", Prince Heshuo Zheng Jierhalang replaced him and became a new power concentration point.Xiaozhuang keenly noticed this sign, and prevented it from happening, so he asked Fulin to issue an imperial edict, announcing that all the memorials would be read by the emperor himself, and there was no need to enlighten Jierhalang, which eliminated possible hidden dangers.Under the arrangement of the empress dowager, the young emperor governed and studied, eagerly absorbed Han culture, and created a new political situation in the early Qing Dynasty in terms of boldly using Han officials and rectifying the administration of officials.

Just as the power struggle came to an end, Xiaozhuang fell into a whirlwind of family conflicts. Manchu-Mongolian marriage was an established national policy set by Qing Taizu Nurhachi during his reign.The establishment of the Qing Empire, and the Mongolian Eight Banners also made great contributions. The Mongolian princes have always been a force to rely on in the political life of the Qing court.In order to ensure that this relationship is passed on from generation to generation, and to maintain the special status of his family, soon after Fulin came to the throne, Xiaozhuang appointed his niece, the daughter of Wu Keshan of Horqin Baylor, Mongolia, Borzigit, as queen.In the year when Emperor Shunzhi was in power, he got married with a grand ceremony, right in the middle of the palace.Since ancient times, the marriage of emperors has always been obviously political, and people's preferences and feelings are secondary.

But Fulin just lacks this kind of mind, and he treats this relationship more with his own likes and dislikes.Queen Borzigit is smart and beautiful, but she likes extravagance and loves jealousy.Originally, as a woman of noble origin, these were not serious problems, but Fulin couldn't tolerate it, and insisted on abolishing the queen and establishing a new one.The underage emperor had a very stubborn personality. Despite the repeated remonstrance of the ministers, he still insisted on his own opinion and did not back down.In August of the tenth year of Shunzhi (1653), Xiaozhuang saw that his son had no room for change, so he had no choice but to agree, and the queen was demoted to Concubine Jing and moved to the side palace.

(End of this chapter)