How many troops did Wu Sangui have to control the southwest? Why could he threaten Emperor Kangxi's rule?

The Rebellion of the Three Feudatories was the largest rebellion in the early Qing Dynasty, and it was also the most dangerous rebellion. It almost caused the Qing army to retreat north of Shanhaiguan.

In history, many people thought that the San Francisco Rebellion was a crushing victory of the Qing Dynasty. In fact, this battle was not easy.

After the Qing army entered the customs, they were extremely brutal and countless people were killed and injured. The originally prosperous and prosperous Jiangnan was like a hell on earth.

Although during the Kangxi period, efforts were made to restore production in Jiangnan and gradually regained vitality, the brutality of the Qing army still made the people fearful and even angry. Just because of fear, they hid their anger in their hearts.

In order to win over the Han people and reduce ethnic conflicts, they began to appoint many Han people as frontier officials. In addition to San Francisco, the more famous ones include Wang Fuchen of Shaanxi and other frontier officials. The influence of the Han people , controlled almost half of the Qing Dynasty.

Emperor Kangxi took over the throne six years after he ascended the throne.

The fourteen-year-old Emperor Kangxi was already disgusted with the power of the Three Feudatories, but because the power of the Three Feudatories was too great, and these people were still loyal to the Qing government, although they all supported their own troops, they He did nothing to affect the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

But Emperor Kangxi did not allow the emergence of a state within a state. Moreover, after more than ten years of recuperation, the Qing Dynasty had accumulated strong strength. At least in Kangxi's mind, the current Qing government was You can fight San Francisco.

Wu Sangui made mistakes again and again

In the twelfth year of Kangxi, an opportunity arose. The old Shang Kexi wanted to retire and return to his hometown in Liaodong, and asked to be let go. His son Shang Zhixin took his place.

The young but very political Emperor Kangxi immediately sensed something was wrong, so he refused Shang Kexi's request and began to implement the strategy of reducing the vassal vassal.

However, Emperor Kangxi was still too young. As soon as the decree to cut down the vassals came, he met with strong resistance from San Francisco. At first, Wu Sangui and others just wanted to make peace and had no other means, but The Qing court continued to exert pressure, making Wu Sangui and others feel in danger.

So, this year, Wu Sangui rebelled.

According to historical records, Wu Sangui was the strongest. The number of troops in this rebellion reached 150,000. After Wu Sangui rebelled, the other two vassal kings responded immediately.

Sichuan, Guizhou, and Shaanxi responded one after another. Even the people in the south of the Yangtze River, who hated the Qing army very much, began to respond, and the opposition swept across half of the Qing Dynasty. Even many ethnic minorities who were dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty, such as Zheng Jing in Taiwan, also raised troops to respond.

This kind of scale and momentum is far beyond the control of the Qing Dynasty's existing strength, but there happened to be a very subtle flaw. This flaw is that the leader of this rebellion is Wu Sangui.

He did not really want to rebel, nor did he really want to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. He was a capricious person to begin with, and Wu Sangui, who was already old, did not have much ambition at all. As a result, the vigorous raising of troops by the three feudal lords became louder than thunder and light as rain.

The first mistake Wu Sangui made was that after occupying Hunan, he did not go north to conquer the Central Plains. Instead, he stood still and confronted the Qing army across the river.

In the early days of the San Francisco army, the Qing army did not have an advantage at all and responded hastily. Therefore, the army did not gather in time, and its combat effectiveness was insufficient. If Wu Sangui could take it by surprise, there might be another ending.

But Wu Sangui did not dare to do this, because he did not want to rebel in his heart, and taking over the Central Plains, although very majestic, was also very risky.

He could not guarantee that when he and the Qing army were fighting fiercely, others would help him or the Qing army. Therefore, Wu Sangui chose to confront.

Subsequently, Wu Sangui made the second mistake, that is, he ignored the status of the Northern Wang Fuchen.

Wang Fuchen is a very capable fighter, and his location is a rare strategic location. He can leave Tongguan in the east and occupy the Central Plains, join forces with Wu Sangui in Henan, and contact the Mongolian Junggar Khanate in the west. Set a fire in the backyard of the Qing Dynasty.

Even if we cannot win, we can still guard the dangerous obstacles in Guanzhong and connect Sichuan to form a strategic defense.

But it is obvious that Wu Sangui's attitude towards Wang Fuchen is not clear.

Wu Sangui did not pay attention to Wang Fuchen's important position, but the Qing Dynasty saw this important turning point. Therefore, when Wu Sangui was guarding the Yangtze River and had no intention of crossing the river, the Qing army took advantage of this God-given opportunity to defeat Wang Fuchen in one fell swoop. and forced him to surrender.

As a result, the north once again became the domain of the Qing army.

At this time, internal strife arose within the group that rebelled against the Qing Dynasty. The first was Zheng Jing's Taiwan Army. Although they also rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, they focused their attack on Geng Jingzhong in Fujian.

As a result, Geng Jingzhong was stabbed in the back by Zheng Jing before he could gain the upper hand in the fight with the Qing army. Therefore, Geng Jingzhong no longer wanted to rebel and had to surrender.

Soon, Shang Zhixin also surrendered. From the twelfth year of Kangxi's reign to the fifteenth year of Kangxi's reign, in just three years, the mighty San Francisco armies dispersed. The Qing army was finally able to concentrate its forces and eliminate Wu Sangui's forces.

Two years later, Wu Sangui died. His grandson Wu Shifan became the emperor, but unfortunately, their army lost the desire to fight and immediately fell apart. However, there were still some strong men who resisted. It took another two years before Wu Sangui's rebellion was completely put down.

San Francisco’s military strength

The San Francisco Rebellion was actually a farce written and directed by a group of capricious villains. It did not have any great ideals or momentum at all. Although huge, it is actually just an empty shelf.

The only one with some combat effectiveness can only be regarded as Wu Sangui's army. Therefore, it is difficult to specify how many troops San Francisco has.

According to the official historical records of the Qing Dynasty, Pingnan and Zhennan vassals each had fifteen assistants, and the Green Camp had six to seven thousand soldiers. The assistant was an official position in the Qing Dynasty. During the Kangxi period, one assistant , can lead one hundred and thirty people, equivalent to a company commander, then fifteen assistant leaders, which is less than two thousand people, plus six or seven thousand green battalions, no more than ten thousand people.

And Wu Sangui has fifty-three subordinates and more than 10,000 people in the Green Battalion, which is nearly 20,000 people. Therefore, the total official strength of San Francisco does not exceed 40,000.

Obviously, this number is unreliable. If Wu Sangui and others want to rebel with this small amount of troops, then they must be old and confused, and if San Francisco relies on this small amount of troops, The Qing army will continue to fight for another eight years, and the Qing army will really become a joke.

Therefore, many data show that when Wu Sangui and other three vassals raised their troops, their strength should be more than 300,000. If the strength of other places is included, then the total strength of this rebellion may reach 70 As many as ten thousand. This number is quite reliable.