Since Huang Taiji led the Qing army into the customs, the fate of the children of the Eight Banners of Manchuria has undergone earth-shaking changes. They went from being outlawed in a remote area to being the children of a nobleman with a high social status.
The Legend of Zhen Huan once described Concubine Hua as "naturally preferential", so do you know how much the Qing Dynasty invested in the Eight Banners?The combat effectiveness of these elite units is very strong, so the Qing ** has invested a lot in them.
However, in remote areas with harsh environments, the risk of hunting alone is extremely high, and in order to reduce the risk and ensure survival, people have begun to travel in groups. Over time, their ranks grew to form independent tribes and began to pursue the symbol of the tribe, which was also the original form of the Eight Banners of Manchuria.
In fact, the lifestyle of the children of the Eight Banners is hunting, so their physical fitness is very high. Judging by the Eight Banners system, they mainly hunted during non-war periods, and once the war broke out, everyone could become soldiers.
This shows that their military strength and reserves are very strong.
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing army entered the customs and rewarded the children of the Eight Banners, and the children of the Eight Banners became the leaders in the society at that time. When the imperial family was established in the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners with extremely strong combat effectiveness could not be ignored, and in order to maintain the status of the nobility, the Eight Banners also supplemented the vitality of the Eight Banners in the army.
In this way, the royal family and the Eight Banners formed a mutually beneficial relationship. The soldiers of the Eight Banners became the cornerstone of the construction of the Qing Dynasty, so successive emperors treated them very favorably.
In the Great Qing Laws and Famous Cases, there is a clear difference in punishment policies between the Banner and Han Chinese, and the children of the Eight Banners enjoy preferential policies, which makes them more indulgent and eventually becomes a burden for the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
However, as early as the early days of the Qing Dynasty's entry into the customs, the management of the children of the Eight Banners was very strict, and the Qing Dynasty would provide them with proper arrangements whether they were in Beijing or abroad.
Although the travel management of Eight Flags is relatively strict, there is no shortage of preferential treatment.
During the Kangxi period, for the livelihood of the children of the Eight Banners, the preferential policies were constantly upgraded. In addition to increasing their monthly money, they were also given fiefs and allowed them to call themselves nobles. However, the long-term preferential treatment has made the children of Baqi disconnected from society, lost their basic survival skills, and when the Qing Dynasty is no longer aware, they can only sell their property to support their lives.
The Eight Banners, which originally enjoyed many preferential treatments, all benefits came to naught after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty. In the later period, wars were frequent, and the Eight Banners had long lost their former combat effectiveness due to excessive pleasure.
For Qing **, Eight Banners is even worse and has become the heaviest burden. Someone commented: "At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the treasury was empty, and it was difficult to protect itself at home and abroad, let alone take care of the Eight Banners."
The preferential treatment given by Qing ** to Eight Banners may be the last straw to overthrow himself. ”
We can take a look at the salary paid by Qing ** for the children of Eight Banners. Historical data shows that every adult Baqi child receives a steady monthly share of silver, which is only used to meet their basic needs, such as food, clothing, and necessities.
However, this is only a small part of their subsidy. During the Shunzhi period,
These flag people will receive a subsidy of no less than 20 taels for life events such as marriage and childbirth. Even if you can live to 50 years old, you need 24 taels per year to support a child of Eight Banners, and you can receive a minimum of 1200 taels ** in your life, plus major events such as marriage and childbirth, the total is about 1340 taels.
Of course, the flag bearers with slightly higher status will receive more subsidies.
In addition to the basic salary, the children of Eight Flags also have housing subsidies and financial support for hobbies, and can receive a very good salary even if they do not work. With the development of Qing **, the team of Eight Banners has gradually expanded, and the expenses of Qing ** on them have also increased.
The huge monthly expenditure caused a huge pressure on the treasury, which led to a serious lag in military supplies and procurement, which affected the foreign war of the Qing Dynasty. In addition, the opium consumption of the children of the Eight Banners also had a serious impact on the country.
They were addicted to opium, and the money to buy opium fell into the hands of capital, which was used to buy strong ships and cannons, which opened the door to China. These all show that the damage of the children of the Eight Banners to the Qing ** is far more than that.
Brazilian butterflies flutter their wings and may trigger a hurricane in Texas in a few weeks", from a modern perspective, whether it is the decline of the Eight Banners or the fall of the Qing court, it is very moving.
This reminds us that the only way to be truly lasting is through the labor we create.