A real Ao Bai.

Ao Bai was a famous figure among the founding fathers of the Qing Dynasty. Because of the story of Kangxi's plan to destroy Ao Bai, this famous minister who was in power in the ruling and opposition in the early Qing Dynasty appeared as a villain in literary works and historical materials. For example, in today's martial arts novel The Duke Of Mount Deer, the word "big traitor Ao Bai" appears very frequently, as if at that time, it was a role that aroused people's resentment, and everyone wanted to get rid of it quickly. Speaking of him, the world will generally associate him with demons, beasts, villains and other images.

But is this really the case?

Ao Bai was born under the Yellow Banner of Manchuria. By birth, Ao Bai can be said to be rooted in Hong Miao. When Nurhachi started fighting with thirteen pairs of armor, Ao Bai's uncle Fei Yingdong was one of the "Twelve Strong Men" wearing armor and the earliest partner in Nurhachi's pioneering stage. There is no exact record of Ao Bai's date of birth in history. According to the draft of Qing Dynasty, he was a veteran of the founding generals of Qing Dynasty from Nurhachi.

Ao Bai's arm is very special. During the Nurhachi period, his arms were called "dead soldiers", that is, death squads. When Nurhachi fought against the Ming Dynasty in the early days, the Ming army used firearms to deal with Jurchen cavalry, while Nurhachi often charged with "dead soldiers" and launched an attack after consuming the ammunition of the Ming army. The battle of Salhu was won by this tactic. Ao Bai is a brave man by nature. Every time the soldiers were killed, they took the lead in breaking the camp of the Ming army and made a lot of contributions. At that time, Ao Bai was still a nobody in Nurhachi. After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, Ao Bai became a real figure around him. He really made his mark because of a crucial battle in the seventh year of Chongzhen (AD 1634): the Battle of Pidao.

Pidao is located at the mouth of the Yalu River, just across the water from North Korea. After Mao Longwen was occupied by the Ming Dynasty during the Apocalypse, it became the base for the Ming Dynasty to contain the Qing army. The Qing army launched many attacks on the Ming Dynasty because the Ming army of Pidao attacked from the rear and had to retreat, which was a nail inserted in the rear of the Qing army by the Ming Dynasty. In order to pull out this nail, we tried our best from Nurhachi to Huang Taiji, but the storm failed, because the Qing army had no navy at that time and Mao refused to surrender. In the first year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1628), Yuan Chonghuan, the new overseer of Hebei and Liao, killed Mao, who was stationed in Pidao. His original intention was to unify affairs, but the situation in Pidao was chaotic. Mao's three experts, Geng, Kong Youde and Shang Kexi, collectively went to the Western Seas, bringing elite navy and firearms to the Qing Dynasty, which greatly increased the grasp of the Qing army to seize Pidao. Since then, the Qing army has launched many attacks, which were repelled by Huanglong, the company commander of Pidao at this time. In the seventh year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1634), Huang Taiji was determined to completely pull out this nail, with Azig as the commander in chief, and launched a massive attack again. This time, the Qing army adopted a diversion tactic. First, the warships were arrayed from the front, and then elite soldiers were sent to bypass the back for surprise attack. It was Ao Bai who undertook the task of surprise attack. Ao Bai issued a military order before the war: "If you can't go to this island, don't come to see the king." . After the battle began, Ao Bai led his troops to land on the beach. When he went to the island, he found that the Ming army was ready, and the intensive artillery fire overwhelmed the Qing army. At the critical moment, Ao Bai reappeared the true colors of "fallen soldiers", braved the bullets, fought bravely, and conquered the position of the Ming army in one fell swoop. After the battle, Ao Bai was injured in more than 40 places. Azig sighed in his report to Huang Taiji: "I haven't seen such a good soldier for a long time."

The victory of Pidao made Ao Bai famous. After the war, he was awarded the title of "Batulu", and Ao Bai's title of "The First Warrior of Manchuria" began. Since then, he has participated in the war against the Ming Dynasty for many times, and made great achievements before and after entering the customs, especially in the 1646 World War I in Xichong, Sichuan, killing Zhang, the leader of the peasant army, and seizing the whole territory of Sichuan for the Qing Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty's unification war, Ao Bai and his army often acted as pioneers and experienced many arduous battles, but rarely failed. Their bravery in fighting was unparalleled among the generals of the Qing Dynasty at that time. However, his political career was full of twists and turns. He was once imprisoned for being framed for conspiring with Prince Su. After Shunzhi's pro-government, he was demoted to a higher level because of minor mistakes and was depressed for many years. However, the emperor shunzhi and sourdrang dowager admired him very much. During the reign of the emperor shunzhi, Ao Bai was already the minister in charge of the guards and became the central figure of the Qing Dynasty.

Ao Bai came to power on the one hand because of his outstanding military exploits, and on the other hand because he was careless and politically on the right side. It can be said that he is the absolute hero of the emperor shunzhi's succession.

When Huang Taiji died in A.D. 1643, there was no designated heir. At that time, the recognized heirs in the ruling and opposition circles of the Qing Dynasty were the younger brother of Huang Taiji and the eldest son of Huang Taiji, Hogg. The two sides are divided into two factions, one advocates that "brothers should be brothers and sisters" and the other advocates that "children should inherit their father's business". The two factions are equal in strength, and the conflict is on the verge. Ao Bai, who was in charge of the Yellow Flag Guard at that time, was armed to the teeth and naturally became the object of both sides' wooing. Ao Bai is a close friend of Hogg. He swore with Sony, Tan Tai and other ministers that Dourgen would never be allowed to inherit the throne. On August 14, during the discussion in Chongde Hall, the Dourgen faction gradually gained the upper hand. At the critical moment, Ao Bai went to the temple with a sword, which angered Dourgen and even threatened to kill him with a sword in front of his neck. Due to the insistence of him and a group of military commanders, Dourgen had to give in. Finally, the two sides compromised, and Huang Taiji's youngest son, Fu Lin, "inherited his father's business". Ao Bai, loyal to Haug, inadvertently became the first hero of the emperor shunzhi's accession to the throne.

Because of this, Ao Bai became a thorn in Dourgen's side during the "Regency". In the year of Shunzhi's accession to the throne, Ao Bai was accused by Dourgen of "lying about military intelligence" and nearly went to prison and was executed. Seven years later, Ao Bai was condemned for opposing Prince Haug and was imprisoned by Dourgen. Fortunately, the emperor shunzhi pardoned him this time, and he was able to save his life. After the death of Dourgen, Ao Bai finally stood tall. First, he was promoted to be the minister in charge of the guards, and then he was entrusted with important tasks many times. When Ao Bai was ill at home, the emperor shunzhi went to see him personally, and Ao Bai was also very kind. Sourdrang dowager, Shunzhi's mother, was seriously ill once. Ao Bai brought soup and medicine and waited on her for 7 days and 7 nights. She is very loyal. In terms of national affairs, Ao Bai is also very dedicated. Today, people say that Ao Bai once created unjust imprisonment. However, during the Shunzhi period, Ao Bai asked for a review of the cases of punishments, and during the Dourgen period, more than 30 unjust, false and misjudged cases were corrected. Most of the rehabilitated people are ordinary people. Dourgen was the most important minister in Zhu Guo both during his reign and after Shunzhi's personal rule.

Ao Bai is a man, if the theory of personality, can be said to be a "straight" word. Honest and frank, a military commander, without the hypocrisy of civil servants, is extremely stubborn. Just as he is not afraid of bullets on the battlefield, he is not afraid of political storms. Dourgen's repeated blows did not make him yield, and he was always loyal to Shunzhi's mother and son. In his daily work, he is also full of the overbearing style of military commanders, talking to the emperor and arguing rudely. For example, in A.D. 1659, Zheng Chenggong of Nanming arrived in Nanjing, and the emperor shunzhi wanted to go south personally. Ao Bai thinks this is impossible. When the argument was heated, he even grabbed the emperor shunzhi's sleeve and roared. However, sourdrang dowager was not annoyed at this. On the contrary, he praised it and said: it is a blessing that the country has a state-owned minister.

In A.D. 16 1 year, the emperor shunzhi, who reigned in 18, died, and Michelle Ye, the third son of the emperor, who was only eight years old, ascended the throne. This is the famous Emperor Kangxi, and Ao Bai was appointed as one of the four assistant ministers. His personal glory reached its peak, and his fate began to turn from this time.

In the early years of Kangxi, Ao Bai was only the last of the four assistant ministers, but he soon became the most powerful one. The reason is simple: among the four assistant ministers, Sony is old and sick, and retired early; Curse must be long-lasting, weak in character and patient in everything; Suksaha is a confidant of Dourgen, so no one can compare with Ao Bai in terms of management ability and trust.

The reason why Ao Bai was gradually disliked by Kangxi was not just "domineering". In fact, Ao Bai is rooted in two historical issues.

The first problem left over by history is the contradiction between the yellow flag and the white flag in the Qing Dynasty. The contradiction between the two banners has a long history, which has existed since Nurhachi founded the Eight Banners. When Huang taiji died, it was almost contradictory that the white flag supported Dourgen and the yellow flag supported Hogg. When he came to Ao Bai to help the government, his political opponent Suksaha was a white flag. Nowadays, many film and television dramas describe Suksaha as a capable minister who "upholds justice", but in fact this person is a famous "swingman" in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty. When Dourgen was in power, he worked hard and took the initiative to take refuge. At that time, he had problems with three other assistant ministers. Therefore, under the frame of three people, Suksaha was convicted of 24 major crimes. When Kangxi refused at first, Ao Bai took out the style of "straight minister" and roared at Kangxi, forcing Kangxi to yield and putting Suksaha to death. From then on, Ao Bai "hung up the number" in Kangxi's heart.

The second is the problem left over from history, that is, the enclosure movement that began in the early Qing Dynasty. At the beginning of the Qing army's entry into the customs, in order to stimulate the enthusiasm of the generals, the "enclosure order" was promulgated, which occupied a lot of land, resulting in the displacement of a large number of farmers in the Central Plains. When Kangxi was in power, the enclosure policy should be abolished in order to restore economic development. Ao Bai is a defender of the enclosure policy. Su Nanhai, Minister of Finance, and Zhu Changzuo, Governor of Zhili, opposed enclosure. Ao Bai hated this, and Luo Zhi put them to death on various charges. At this point, Ao Bai henchmen everywhere, monopolizing power, became a thorn in Kangxi's side, killing Ao Bai, which was not only the need to seize power, but also the need for Kangxi to adjust its domestic and foreign policies and stabilize the rule of the Qing Dynasty. Ao Bai's death is inevitable.

Speaking of Kangxi's plan, in addition to Ao Bai, Kangxi actually made other preparations, except for the arrangement of a dozen teenagers captured in the palace with relish in history. For example, Kangxi united the Aisin Gioro family, Niu Kelu family and Hesailihara family to form a united front against Ao Bai. On the day Ao Bai entered the palace, Sony's son Sototo was transferred to the Palace Guard, and he led the troops to ambush outside early. Even if a dozen teenagers can't catch Ao Bai, he can't escape. Then, in May of the eighth year of Kangxi (AD 1669), Ao Bai entered the palace and was captured by more than a dozen young guards under Kangxi. Then he was convicted of 30 felonies and died in prison a year later. When Ao Bai shot and killed Zhang in Phoenix Mountain, Sichuan, and made great achievements, he once said loudly: Who can escape me in the world? He never imagined that the way to catch him was to capsize in the gutter.