Yuetuo

Overview

Yue Tuo, also written as Yue Tuo in historical records, was a member of the Qing imperial family and a military figure in the early Qing dynasty. He was the son of Daishan and the grandson of Nurhaci. Belonging to the imperial clan, he participated in the Later Jin's wars against the Ming and Mongolian regions in his early years. In the early years of the Tiancong reign, during the Korean campaign, he advocated for peace negotiations with Korea and the withdrawal of troops. After the establishment of the Six Ministries in the fifth year of Tiancong, he participated in the Ministry of War affairs and also handled the resettlement of those who surrendered at Dalinghe. Yue Tuo did not always hold the same title. In the first year of the Chongde reign, he was granted the title of Prince Cheng, but was later demoted to Beile and Beizi due to political and military punishments, before regaining his Beile title. Prince, Beile, and Beizi were titles of nobility within the imperial clan, not administrative positions such as Minister of War; therefore, the use of different titles by the same person in different years does not necessarily indicate a different person. In the third year of the Chongde reign, Yue Tuo led an army as General Yangwu to attack the Ming, entering Shandong, and subsequently died of illness in the army camp in Jinan. The following year, his coffin was transported back, and he was posthumously granted the title of Prince Keqin, from which the Keqin branch of the imperial family originated. The posthumous conferment of titles is an honor bestowed upon someone after their death, and cannot be reversed to reflect the title they held during their lifetime when they went on campaign. Their biographies also reflect the situation before the conquest of the Central Plains, where members of the imperial clan simultaneously held military command, ministerial affairs, and political deliberations.