The history of the Qing Dynasty, as the last imperial dynasty of the feudal imperial system, has always been full of controversy. Although we were humiliated by bullying by foreign powers at the end of the Qing Dynasty, this did not completely negate the legitimacy of the Qing Dynasty.
After all, it can sit firmly in the world, and it has advantages that the Ming Dynasty did not have. However, the wheels of history rolled forward, and the anti-Qing restoration of the Ming Dynasty eventually turned into a slogan, and the Ming Dynasty failed to rise again.
The founder of the Qing Dynasty was not the emperor we often see in film and television dramas, but the Qing Taizu Aixin Jueluo Nurhachi. He was called Qing Taizu in recognition of his status and contributions in the Qing Dynasty.
However, Nurhachi failed to complete the important task of breaking through the south, and he entrusted this mission to his son Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji was the eighth son of Nurhachi, and according to the primogeniture system, he should not have become the Great Khan.
However, his elder brothers appeared to have no advantage in front of Huang Taiji. In the Battle of Ningyuan in the eleventh year of the Mandate of Heaven, Nurhachi defeated Yuan Chonghuan, and his physical condition began to decline, and finally his life came to an end.
Before his death, he designated Huang Taiji as his ** person.
After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he governed the country diligently, vigorously promoted reforms, strengthened the centralization of power, and was determined to break through. Under careful management, he succeeded in establishing the Manchu regime, and became the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty himself, and his entry into the Central Plains seemed unstoppable.
However, just when the Qing army was about to enter the customs, Huang Taiji died suddenly, and there are many controversies in the history of his death, but through in-depth study of historical materials, we can reveal the truth about Huang Taiji's sudden death, which is indeed a bit embarrassing, and it is no wonder that the history books have not recorded it in detail.
Although Huang Taiji was not Nurhachi's eldest son, he was very strong, and Nurhachi favored him more than all his other sons. Huang Taiji attached great importance to reading and learning calligraphy, and when his brothers were riding horses and archery, he was able to concentrate on learning, which made him have the ability to handle government affairs at a very young age.
Nurhachi had asked this son to preside over the household affairs many times, and according to historical records, Huang Taiji was able to handle family affairs skillfully at the age of seven, and even could figure out Nurhachi's thoughts, so he was favored by him.
In the first year of the Mandate of Heaven, Nurhachi established the Dajin Kingdom and awarded the four major beylers, among which Huang Taiji was named the four beylers. These four Beyler's titles may seem insignificant, but in fact they hold real power, according to the regulations, they take turns on duty, responsible for all affairs in the country, and one of them will become Nurhachi's **person.
However, by the time Nurhachi died, three of the four beylers had lost their advantage.
Because of the improper relationship between the Great Beldaishan and the princess Nara Abahai, his prestige was seriously affected, and he was stripped of his inheritance rights by Nurhachi. Although he was not Nurhachi's biological son, he was excluded for his involvement in the defection of his father, Shulhachi.
The biological mother of the Sambel Mang Gurtai was convicted and died for hiding gold silks, and he himself was not supported by everyone because of his rough temperament. In this case, Huang Taiji stood out for his excellent political vision and military talents, and he was always in good physical condition, with 15 concubines, 11 princes and 14 princesses.
Without enough energy, his harem life could become a burden for him. However, Huang Taiji's sudden death at the age of 52 is a puzzling event in history, as there are not many records of his illness in the history books, and it can be seen from the number of children in his harem and his daily behavior that he did not have symptoms of sudden death.
There are some wild histories that Huang Taiji may have been assassinated, and ** is his younger brother Dorgon. Dolgon is also a very capable person, and it can even be said that he is not inferior to Huang Taiji.
What's more, there has always been a complicated relationship between him and Huang Taiji's concubine Xiaozhuang. Therefore, some people speculate that it is precisely because of this relationship between the two of them that they are afraid of being discovered by Huang Taiji, so they join forces to poison Huang Taiji so that Dorgon can hold power.
In fact, there is nothing to argue with this view. First of all, Xiaozhuang is a woman who understands righteousness, and secondly, after the death of Huang Taiji, Dolgon did not establish himself as emperor, but Huang Taiji's son inherited the throne.
If Dorgon did do so, he would not dare to put his nephew on the throne, as it would be a threat to his own life. Since the possibility of poisoning does not exist, it can only be that Huang Taiji's body has a problem.
To solve the mystery of Huang Taiji's sudden death, we need to start with the period before his death. And when we dig into history, we can find some clues.
It is easy for people to get lucky when they reach middle age, and Huang Taiji is no exception. From the images of the emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the battle clothes and ** of Huang Taiji displayed in the Qing Palace Museum, it can be seen that Huang Taiji is burly and should not weigh lightly, and some people even speculate that his weight may exceed 200 catties.
Huang Taiji suffers from nosebleeds, especially in the summer, and his nosebleeds are even served in bowls. In the long run, Huang Taiji's physical condition will inevitably be affected.
However, the last straw that crushed him could be his beloved concubine Hai Lanzhu. Hai Lanzhu is Huang Taiji's favorite concubine, and she was canonized as the Great Fujin of the East Palace soon after Huang Taiji ascended the throne, second only to the queen.
After Hai Lanzhu gave birth to her son, Huang Taiji immediately granted amnesty to the world, which shows that in Huang Taiji's view, her son is his heir, because amnesty is not a treatment that ordinary princes can enjoy.
Concubine Chen's fate was troubled, although she was a concubine, but it did not last long. When Huang Taiji commanded the army in the Battle of Songshan, Concubine Chen fell ill, and Huang Taiji immediately put down his military affairs and hurried back to the palace.
However, before he arrived, the bad news of Concubine Chen's death came. Huang Taiji was in pain and cried for seven days, and after that, his physical condition deteriorated, and he finally died suddenly.
From this, we can infer that Huang Taiji's sudden death was due to a problem with his physical condition, coupled with the chain reaction caused by the death of his beloved woman. To put it bluntly, Huang Taiji died because of a woman, which is extremely embarrassing for the emperor, because it will damage Huang Taiji's image of wisdom and martial arts.
In order to maintain the noble image of Huang Taiji, there are only a few short sentences about the cause of his death in the official history: "He died without illness", which is obviously unconvincing. References include Manuscripts of Qing History.