The establishment of the Qing Dynasty by the Manchurians was able to develop from a minority regime in a corner of Liaodong to a unified feudal dynasty.
Among these demoted generals, the "Three Shun Kings", namely Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi, are undoubtedly very special existences.
These three people were only Mao Wenlong's generals at first in the Ming Dynasty, and their official rank was only to the level of deputy general and staff general, and they could only be regarded as middle-level military attachés, but after the "Wuqiao Mutiny" surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, they became the backbone and pillars of the Qing army, and later they were even named "kings with different surnames" and "kings of different races", which shows the importance that the Qing court attached to them.
Correspondingly, as the highest-level general of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong at that time, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, and Zu Dashou, a senior military attache at the level of the general army, surrendered, whether it was power, status, or title, it was far from being comparable with the "Sanshun King in the early Qing Dynasty".
And the reason for such a difference is, in the final analysis, the "value" of surrender different.
on the Internet).
There are two companies that are engaged in fierce market competition, one is a traditional enterprise that once monopolized the industry, but has gone downhill due to outdated management, internal chaos and constant crisis, and the other is a start-up company that is just emerging and is trying to seize the market.
At this time, a team within a traditional company, due to being squeezed out by other internal teams, took the initiative to jump to this start-up company, and they were not "bare-bones commanders" who came over with empty gloves and white wolves, but with a team, with funds, and with technology, and even brought about about one-tenth of the number of teams in the start-up company. After the switch, these teams solved many of the technical problems that startups could not solve, and they did a great job of gaining market power. In such a situation, it is conceivable that the leader of this team will inevitably be treated well, or in other words, the original shares obtained by these people will enjoy the title of the founder team or core management.
on the Internet).
Correspondingly, the same team within this traditional company, on the verge of bankruptcy of the company, experienced a fierce business war with the start-up company, not only fought for nothing, but the team leader was also forced to corner, in this case, also chose to defect to this entrepreneurial company that has gradually become bigger and stronger. The result is also predictable, even if these people have the ability and have brilliant achievements in traditional enterprises, they are now only professional managers at a higher level in this company, and their status and treatment will inevitably not be comparable with those who came before them.
Through the analogy of this example, it is not difficult for us to find that the "Three Shun Kings", namely Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi, belong to the former; And Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou belong to the latter.
on the Internet).
Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi were all once the generals of Mao Wenlong, the general soldier of Dongjiang Town in the Ming Dynasty, and they were also adopted by Mao Wenlong as their adopted grandsons, and were given the surname "Mao", respectively called "Mao Yongshi", "Mao Youjie" and "Mao Yongxi". Under Mao Wenlong, they were also reused and promoted, and began to hold military positions.
However, in the second year of Later Jin Tiancong (1628), Yuan Chonghuan, who was then the governor of Jiliao, "planned to behead Mao Wenlong" and arranged for Chen Jisheng and others to assist in the management of the Dongjiang River.
It can be said that after Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong, he did not handle the aftermath very properly, and did not effectively pacify and resettle Dongjiang Town, which also became an important fuse for a series of serious consequences later.
on the Internet).
In the fifth year of Jin Tiancong (1631), the "Battle of Dalinghe" broke out, and Huang Taiji led his troops to surround the Dalinghe City guarded by Zu Dashou. After receiving the will of the imperial court, Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai, urgently ordered Kong Youde, who had already submitted to his command, to lead the army north to support Zu Dashou.
However, the Liao soldiers led by Kong Youde had deep contradictions with the local Denglai army in Shandong, and the weather was cold, and there were problems with the logistics of Kong Youde's army. Subsequently, Kong Youde's subordinates had a grudge with Wang Xiangchun, an important minister of the court, because of a chicken, and then began to be excluded and suppressed by all parties. Under such circumstances, Kong Youde, under the persuasion of his generals, launched a mutiny, led his troops back to Shandong, and took Dengzhou with Geng Zhongming as his internal response.
This is the famous "Wuqiao Mutiny".
on the Internet).
After the Wuqiao Mutiny, under the leadership of a group of old Liaodong generals led by Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Mao Wenlong's son Mao Chenglu, etc., a team of nearly 10,000 people was quickly pulled up and began to be armed and divided, which lasted for more than a year, resulting in the Shandong Peninsula being beaten to a piece of erosion, and the Ming Dynasty paid huge losses and costs.
After that, the Ming Dynasty mobilized forces from all sides and began to suppress the rebels, including Zu Dashou's brother Zu Dabi, Wu Xiang, Wu Sangui father and son, and later the very famous Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing and others, all participated in the suppression of Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming.
In the end, when there was no hope of breaking through, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming chose to flee from the sea, crossed the Bohai Bay, and finally shaved their hair to Houjin at the mouth of the Yalu River, and formally surrendered to Houjin in the seventh year of Houjin Tiancong (1633).
When Huang Taiji learned that Kong Youde and others led the crowd to surrender, he was very excited, not only went out of the city for ten miles to greet him, but also let Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming lead the soldiers and horses under their jurisdiction, and gave them the name "Heavenly Blessing Soldiers". In the eighth year of Later Jin Tiancong (1634), Shang Kexi also chose to surrender to Later Jin after being troubled and excluded in every way, and Huang Taiji also warmly welcomed Shang Kexi's arrival, and gave his army the name "Tianzhu Soldier".
on the Internet).
Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi surrendered to the post-Jin Dynasty, which can be said to have had an extremely far-reaching impact.
First of all, they were followed by a large number of craftsmen who knew how to make artillery and ships, and this made the absolute superiority of the Ming Dynasty in firearms and shipping disappear.
Prior to this, the fiasco of Jin after the Battle of Ningyuan and the Battle of Ningjin was related to the lack of firearms troops, and the reason why Phi Dao and Juehua Island were able to become overseas strongholds of the Ming Dynasty was also related to the fact that Hou Jin did not have navigation technology. Today, the Ming Dynasty's advantage in equipment has been lost, and the monopoly position on the sea route has also been broken, which has played a crucial role in promoting the development of the battle situation between the Ming and Qing dynasties.
on the Internet).
Secondly, the soldiers and horses brought by the three of them expanded the number of soldiers of Houjin.
These people played a very important role in a series of wars such as the subsequent conquest of Korea, the Songjin War, and the entry into the south to clear Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, and the pacification of the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty.
Again, Huang Taiji's weight on the three of them also greatly stimulated the ** and generals of the Ming Dynasty, and they also set an example and example for the ** generals of the Ming Dynasty who later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and played a very important propaganda role.
on the Internet).
In the first year of Chongde (1636), Huang Taiji officially changed the name of the emperor, established the Qing Dynasty, and canonized these three people as kings, of which Kong Youde was the king of Gongshun, Shang Kexi was the king of Zhishun, and Geng Zhongming was the king of Huaishun. At this point, the "Three Shun Kings" were officially born, and during the Shunzhi Emperor's period, the titles of these three people also changed to the King of Dingnan, the King of Pingnan and the King of Jingnan.
Among them, except for Kong Youde, who died in Guilin, the whole family was slaughtered, and only one daughter, Kong Sizhen, escaped, and then the royal lineage was canceled, the descendants of Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi all participated in the "Rebellion of the Three Feudatories" during the Kangxi Dynasty.
on the Internet).
In the seventh year of Chongde in the Qing Dynasty (1642), the Battle of Songjin, which decided the fate of the Ming and Qing dynasties, ended with a complete victory of the Qing Dynasty, almost all the Ming army was annihilated, and the main general Hong Chengchou was captured.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty was already on the verge of extinction, and the Guannai area had been devastated by the peasant army of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, and now it suffered a fiasco in the "Songjin War".
In the end, not only out of great disappointment with the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Chongzhen, but also in the hope that he could continue to display his ambitions, Hong Chengchou chose to surrender to Huang Taiji. And Zu Dashou, as early as ten years ago in the battle of the Daling River, had a fraudulent surrender experience, and then returned to the Ming Dynasty, after this surrender, Zu Dashou also chose to return to Shun with peace of mind.
on the Internet).
However, Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou during the Huang Taiji period were not reused.
On the one hand, Huang Taiji is still on guard against the two and is quite vigilant; On the other hand, at this time, the Han generals of the Qing Dynasty, not only Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi, Fan Wencheng and other capable officials, including Li Yongfang's son Bayan, Tong Yangzheng's son Tong Tulai, etc., have also emerged, and are more trusted and respected, so the space left for Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou to play is still very limited.
on the Internet).
Therefore, even though in the Ming Dynasty, Hong Chengchou was the Jiliao Governor with the title of Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and Zu Dashou was also a senior general at the level of the general army, and his rank and status far exceeded Kong Youde and others, but in the court of the Qing Dynasty, it was no longer what it used to be.
Compared with the "King of Sanshun", the avatars of Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou were defeated and surrendered, and only the "Commander of the Light Pole" came himself, and at this time, the trend of "Ming Dynasty and Qing Xing" was already irreversible, and their arrival was just "icing on the cake". It is far less significant than the "sending charcoal in the snow" when the "Sanshun King" surrendered, so it is inevitable that the reward will not be transitioned.
on the Internet).
Wu Sangui was able to be crowned king by the Qing Dynasty because of the special situation at that time.
In the first year of Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1644), Li Zicheng led an army to conquer Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, and the orthodox Ming Dynasty perished.
Under these circumstances, Wu Sangui first surrendered to Li Zicheng's Dashun peasant military regime, but after hearing that his father had been tortured and his concubine Chen Yuanyuan was occupied by Liu Zongmin, he resolutely decided to fight Li Zicheng to the death.
As early as after the "Songjin War", the Qing Dynasty began to recruit Wu Sangui, but Wu Sangui was always unmoved, and this time he also asked the Qing army for help in the name of "borrowing soldiers". However, Dolgon on the side of the Qing Dynasty always insisted on only accepting surrender and not accepting "borrowed soldiers", and at the same time, it was Chen Bingshan Customs.
on the Internet).
In the "Battle of Shanhaiguan", Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng were in the battle, and they were self-conscious and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty before the battle, so under the leadership of Wu Sangui, the Qing soldiers were able to enter Shanhaiguan and defeat Li Zicheng.
So, in this case, it was not only to win Wu Sangui's submission and surrender, but also to better fight for the Qing Dynasty, Wu Sangui, who was already Pingxibo in the Ming Dynasty, was named the king of Pingxi, and after that, he also followed the Qing army to the south and became the vanguard of the extermination of Li Zicheng and the Nanming regime.
Compared with Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou, the key to Wu Sangui's ability to become king is that Wu Sangui has the elite Guanning Iron Cavalry in his hands, and occupies a very important strategic place - Shanhaiguan, which can play a value far more than these two, and Wu Sangui was surrendered, since it is a surrender, the price and chips paid are bound to be higher than those surrendered. Therefore, Wu Sangui can be crowned king, but Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou cannot.
on the Internet).
To sum up, when surrendering, the most important thing is not the "official position", but all its "value", and this is the fundamental reason why Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi and Wu Sangui can be crowned kings, but Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou and others are not treated like this.
And among them, except for Wu Sangui, who launched the "Rebellion of the Three Feudatories", almost all of them also entered the "Biography of Erchen". Whether it is Kong Youde, who committed suicide and martyred the country, or Shang Kexi, who would rather die than participate in his son's rebellion, or even Hong Chengchou, who was re-entrusted with the important task and became the "Five Provinces Economic Strategy" by virtue of his own strength, all of them are inevitably among them.
The reuse of them is the use of their "value", and in the end, their "deeds" are also needed as "negative teaching materials" for loyalty and patriotism, and these people will inevitably be "used by value" again after all, in the final analysis, all these are just tools of political rule.