The Manchu Qing Dynasty - Part I -- Political, Social, Cultural, Historical Analysis Of China
Videos about China's Resistance War:
(in English)
Videos about China's Resistance War:
(in English);
(in Chinese)
*** Related Readings ***:
& , i.e., the offsprings of the American missionaries, diplomats, military officers,
and "Old China Hands" of 1920s and the herald-runners of the
Stephen R. Mackinnon & John Fairbank invariably failed to separate fondness for the Chinese communist revolution from fondness for , the communist fetish who worked together with
to infatuate the American wartime reporters.
(More, refer to the
Xia Dynasty
Shang Dynasty
Western Zhou
1050 - 771 BC
1046 - 771 BC
1121 - 771 BC
Eastern Zhou
770-256 BC
770-249 BC
Sping & Autumn
722-481 BC
770-476 BC
Warring States
403-221 BC
476-221 BC
Qin Statelet
900s?-221 BC
Qin Dynasty
221-206 BC
248-207 BC
Western Han
206 BC-23 AD
Western Han
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms
Wei 220-265
Three Kingdoms
Shu 221-263
Three Kingdoms
Wu 222-280
Western Jinn
Eastern Jinn
16 Nations
Di 301-347
Hun Han (Zhao)
Hun 304-329 ss
Anterior Liang
Chinese 317-376
Posterior Zhao
Jiehu 319-352 ss
Anterior Qin
Di 351-394 ss
Anterior Yan
Xianbei 337-370
Posterior Yan
Xianbei 384-409
Posterior Qin
Qiang 384-417 ss
Western Qin ss
Xianbei 385-431
Posterior Liang
Di 386-403
Southern Liang
Xianbei 397-414
Northern Liang
Hun 397-439
Southern Yan
Xianbei 398-410
Western Liang
Chinese 400-421
Hunnic Xia
Hun 407-431 ss
Northern Yan
Chinese 409-436
North Dynasties
Northern Wei
Eastern Wei
Western Wei
Northern Qi
Northern Zhou
South Dynasties
Southern Qi
Sui Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
Five Dynasties
Posterior Liang
Posterior Tang
Posterior Jinn
Posterior Han
Posterior Zhou
10 Kingdoms
902-937 Nanking
907-925 Sichuan
907-963 Hubei
907-978 Zhejiang
907-946 Fukien
Southern Han
907-971 Canton
927-956 Hunan
934-965 Sichuan
Southern Tang
937-975 Nanking
Northern Han
951-979 Shanxi
Khitan Liao
Northern Song
Southern Song
Western Xia
Jurchen Jin (Gold)
Mongol Yuan
Ming Dynasty
Manchu Qing
R.O.C. Taiwan
1949-present
1949-present
QING DYNASTY: PART I
Qing Emperor Shunzhi (Qing Shizu, Aixinjueluo Fu-lin, r. ):
Qing Emperor Kangxi (Qing Shengzu, Aixinjueluo Xuan-ye, r. ):
Treaty of Nerchinsk & Pereira Thomas
Recovering Taiwan:
Qing Emperor Yongzheng (Qing Shizong, Aixinjueluo Yin-zhen, r. ):
Qing Emperor Qianlong (Qing Gaozong, Aixinjueluo Hong-li, r. ):
Qing Emperor Jiaqing (Qing Renzong, Aixinjueluo Yong-yan, r. ):
[ this page:
[ next page:
The Manchus were both a blessing and a disaster for China.
The blessing would be its early territorial expansion which somehow prepared China proper for buffering the Czarist eastward expansion that would inevitably come in the last couple hundreds of years.
The disaster would be its policy of 'closing off the seashore' for segregation of Ming remnants in Taiwan and Southeast Asia from the mainland Chinese.
(The Manchu's territorial gain was at the expense of China's population drop from 51.66 million people in 1620 to 10.63 million people in 1651, a tragic loss from the Manchu invasion, which also exhibited the fact that China was not a country that could be easily conquered and that China's brave men were always willing to fall martyrdom in the resistance to the foreign invasion.)
Li Ao, a critic of the K.M.T. party on Taiwan, echoed Li Hongzhang's comments that the Manchu China's confrontation with 'red-hair devils' (i.e., British) was an extraordinary event not foreseen by China for 3000 years and that Britain, with its military might and fire-power, was an enemy China could not match during the course of past 1000 years.
The cousins of 'red-hair devils', i.e., the Dutch, had arrived at Java in A.D. 1595 and the Chinese coast in A.D. 1602.
From A.D. 1603 to 1624, Ming China exerted hundreds of ships and thousands of soldiers to repelling the
from the Chinese coasts and the Pescadores Islands.
Oftentimes, numerous small Ming ships encircled
big Dutch warships for sake of winning the fight.
Ming China mobilized a huge field army for landing on the Penghu Islands (i.e., Pescadores) and after a fierce fighting, forced the Dutch into withdrawal.
Dozens of years later, Zheng Chenggong, son of pirate-turned Ming General Zheng Zhilong, would first adopt the approach of "defeating the aliens by means of the aliens' weapons".
Zheng Chenggong, whose merchant fleets had sailed to the four corners of the seas, actively purchased weapons, firearms and cannons from the Dutch.
In February of A.D. 1662, Zheng Chenggong successfully expelled from Taiwan Island the Dutch who, having colonized the island from 1624 to 1662, already latinized the aboriginals' language to the extent that the aboriginals no longer remembered their own native language.
Before the Dutch, Ming China waged two wars against
during time periods of
for securing the territorial integrity.
The Manchu Qing China, in the ensuing hundreds of years, had been mostly occupied with " (hedonism) and " (inquisitions), a 1916 comment by Japanese Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu in regards to Yuan Shi-kai's death and its influence on the rise and fall of the Republic Of China. (The worst thing is that today's decadent Communist China is not any better
than the Manchu rulers.
Note that " had doomed China's fate for 20 years after finishing off China's half-century worth of elites and conscience,
had routed China's elites & conscience once again and doomed China since 1989.
China, in addition to losing to the Europeans and the Japanese tons of gold, silver & wealth that were accumulated over the span of 5000 years, would lose almost one century worth of good souls for nothing.
Red alerts !!!)
Founding Of 'Great Jin Dynasty' (The Gold Dynasty)
The later Manchus could be just a kinsmen tribe of the original Jurchens, and at most descendants of the Jurchens who remained in the homeland throughout the Jurchen expansion in northern China during the period of
Similar to the legends about the Jurchen founders, the ancestor of the Manchu founders, Bu-ku-li-yong-shun, had wandered into a village where he was taken in as a distinguished guest and given a woman for marriage.
Bu-ku-li-yong-shun was said to have been born after his mother swallowed a red fruit dropped by a sparrow.
Bu-ku-li grew up under the foot of Changbaishan Mountain.
When he asked who his father was, his mother told him the 'red fruit' story and gave him the last name of 'Ai-xin-jue-luo' which was translated into Chinese as the 'jin' or gold for Ai-xin and
'surname' for Jue-luo.
Bu-ku-li-yong-shun, similar to the Jurchen founders, would somehow pacify the multiple-generation fightings between this village where he took as home and two other neighboring villages.
He was supported by all three villages as chieftain, called 'bei-le'.
Hence the 'Ai-xin-jue-luo' tribe came into existence.
Bu-ku-li-yong-shun descendants would relocate to a place called He-tu-a-la (i.e., later Xingjing).
Jue-chang-an, the grandfather of later Manchu founder Nurhachi or Nurhachu (), would gradually grow in strength.
A Ming Dynasty general (Li Chengliang) at Liaoxi, in order to suppress the Jurchen growth, attacked the grandson-in-law of Jue-chang-an.
Jue-chang-an and his son died as a result of conspiracy between the Huron Chieftain Ni-kan-wai-lan and Ming Dynasty General Li Chengliang.
Nurhachi and his brother were among the Manchus captured by the Ming army.
Nurhachi, for his extraordinary outlook, was set free by the wife of Li Chengliang per "Qing Shi Gao".
"Qing Shi Gao" stated that Nurhachi acquired his stength after winning over the support from chieftains of the Saerhu fort, the Jiamuhu city and the Zhanhe city in A.D. 1583.
Nurhachi, around the age of 25 at that time, would attack Huron Chieftain Ni-kan-wai-lan to avenge the death of his father/grandfather.
Ni-kan-wai-lan fled to the Ming territories, and Nurhachi wrote a letter to the Ming court asking for handover of Ni-kan-wai-lan. The Ming court, however, only condoled with Nurhachi with 30 horses, two coffins, the post of 'dudu' (i.e., governor-general) of Jianzhou-wei, and the title of General 'long-hu' (dragon and tiger).
Nurhachi hence set up four banners of armies, and trained his soldiers.
The original four banners were of yellow, red, white and black, and later blue replaced the color of black.
( pointed out that banner system was first set up in A.D. 1601.) Nurhachi attacked the Ming border castle to have Ni-kan-wai-lan captured and executed.
By the late Ming dynasty, three Jurchen tribes were known, Jianzhou or Chien-chou (Jianzhou Prefecture), Haixi or Hai-hsi (east of the sea or the Huron Lake), & Yeren or Yeh-jen (the uncivilized people).
The territories in the Huron Lake area was named Haixi-wei [West-of-lake Garrison] by Ming Dynasty, and the Ye-he tribe was the biggest of the four sub-tribes in that area.
united various tribes of Manchuria, pacified the neighboring Mongol tribes, and expanded their territory.
Nurhachi first defeated the Ye-he Statelet at the Huron Lake.
Ye-he married over a woman to Narhaci, and Huangtaiji was born by this Ye-he woman. The Ye-he tribe chieftain, considered a vassal of Ming Dynasty, was jealous of Nurhachi's expansion, and he called upon an army of 30,000, including some Mongols, for an attack on Nurhachi.
"Qing Shi Gao" stated that Ye-he assembled three Huron tribes of Qula, Hada and Huifa,
three Mongol tribes of Ke'erxin, Xibo and Gua'ercha, and three Changbai [Mt Forever White] tribes of Ne'yin and Zhusheli.
Nurhachi thoroughly defeated the Ye-he tribe.
The Ye-he tribe promised to send in their daughter for inter-marriage with Nurhachi, but the Ye-he tribe then decided to marry the princess to the Mongols. (The Ye-he family would later produce the Empress Dowger Cixi.)
More Mongol tribes came to submit, including Ke'erxin and Khalka.
Huangtaiji went to Mongolia to have an engagement with a Mongol princess of the Ke'erxin tribe.
By A.D. 1616, Nurhachi would proclaim the founding of 'Da Jin', namely, the Grand Gold Dynasty, at a place called Xingjing.
Nurhachu declared the era of Tian Ming, i.e., the mandate of heaven.
Huangtaiji, the eighth son, was conferred the title of No. 4 Beila, i.e., the fourth prince.
The eldest son, Zhu-ying, was ordered to commit suicide for his intention to subjugate his brothers two years before.
The Eight Banner System
In addition to four princes, five ministers were instituted.
In Aug of A.D. 1616, the Manchu armies went across the Heilongjiang [Amur] River and took over 11 castles.
In A.D. 1617, Prince Ming'an of Mongol tribe Ke'erxin came to pay respect.
The Manchus campaigned against islands in the sea (Huron Lake?, or ? Sakhalin Island in the Japan Sea) in this year.
Aside from the original four banners of yellow, red, blue and white, comprising of 7500 soldiers each banner, Nurhachi set up four extra 'embedded banners' of yellow, red, blue and white [in A.D. 1615 per ].
The so-called 'Eight Banner' system was used for organizing the armies into eight columns at times of war but released to agrcultural production at times of peace.
Later, the Manchu under Huangtaiji set up eight Mongol and eight Chinese banners, respectively,
on basis of the ethnic composition.
The original four banners were assigned as the left wing, and the embedded four banners were assigned as the right wing.
In addition to the Manchu Eight Banners, some Mongol and Han ethnic eight banners were set up, and the total head-count reached 280,000.
After the unification of China, the original four banners, about 100000 soldiers, were named 'Jin Qi' or the Forbidden Banners, which were deployed around the capital.
The remaining 24 banners were assigned to some eight major provincial garrisons around the nation as the Stationed Banners.
Nationwide passes, cities around the capital and Manchuria were staffed with another 25 garrisons.
All banner officers and soldiers were hereditary.
The Manchu, after entering Peking, set up a Green-Camp Standard Battalion of about 500,000 comprising of the turncoat Ming armies.
under the command of"bing bu" or the ministry of army. The Green-Camp was named after the color of its banner and it was ethnic Chinese. The Green-Camp was sub-divided into two parts, the 'Green-Camp At-The-Capital' guarding the capital and the Canal, and the 'Green-Camp At-The-Province'.
By the time of eruption of the Taiping Rebellion, both the Banner and the Green Camp armies had rotten so much that they could not put up a fight.
Twenty Five Years Of War Against Ming China
Southern Manchuria, today's Liaoning Province, was historically the Ming Chinese territories.
Since Qin Dynasty, the Chinese had fled to Manchuria for asylum.
History repeatedly speculated that ancestors of the Khitans could be those coolies who fled the order of Qin Emperor Shihuangdi to build the Great Wall. Though, this speculation could be wrong in attributing the shaved heads of the barbarians to the Qin China's penalizing code of shaving the hair of the convicts - as the recent DNA analysis had proven that the barbarians of northern Manchuria belonged to the C-haplogroup people who arrived in Northeastern Asia 40 to 50 thousand years ago.
Per Li Zhiting, the area from Shanhaiguan [the Mountain & Sea Pass] to Kaiyuan-Tieling had been fortified by a castle every 30 li distance.
On the mountains, the beacon towers were built at a distance of every five Chinese li distance. Liao-dong, i.e., the area to the east of Liao-he River, was especially important for strategic defence as a result of its leveled span of land that linked to the Mongols to the west and northwest, the Jurchens to the east and northeast, and the Koreans to the east and southeast.
In A.D. 1618, Nurhachi, after making an oath of 'Seven Hatreds for the Ming Dynasty' (i.e., the Seven Grievances), would lead an army of 20,000 against the Ming border towns, including the city of Fushun.
The leftside 4 banners were to attack Dongzhou and Magengdan, while the rightside 4 banners to attack Fushun.
What happened here would be what some historians claimed to be a setup by Li Chengliang who, acting as the most powerful border general in Manchuria, deliberately abandoned the dozens of Ming forts in southern and eastern Manchuria to appease Nu'erhachi with whom Li Chengliang was said to have maintained trade relations for years.
With the Manchus taking over the territory of southern and eastern Manchuria from Li Chengliang's treacherous action, the rise of the Manchus became a fact accompli.
Before arriving in Fushun, a Chinese intellectual, by the name of Fan Wencheng, came to Nurhachi's camp to serve as a counsellor.
Nurhachi asked Fan whether Song Dynasty's prime minister Fan Zhongyan was his ancestor, and Fan replied 'yes'.
(What an unfilial son Fan Wencheng was! Unfortunately, China was always not lacking opportunists and traitors: When a forest is growing bigger, you would expect different variety of birds to dwell inside !)
Fan Wencheng wrote a letter to Li Yongfang (a Ming "you ji" [i.e., mobile fighter] general at Fushun), and somehow persuaded him into a surrender.
(Li Yongfang later became a Manchu China founding general and his family enjoyed glory and wealth for hundreds of years to come.) Nurhachi then defeated Ming relief armies for Fushun and killed three generals.
The Manchus killed Zhang Chengyin, a Ming "zong bing" [sub-prefecture military magistrate] general.
In July, the Manchus took over the Yahuguan Pass and killed Ming General Zou Chuxian.
When the news of defeat arrived at the Ming court, Ming Emperor Shenzong sent someone called Yang Hao to counter the Nurhachi Manchus.
The Battles Of Sa'erhu
In A.D. 1619, the Manchus attacked Ye-he and took over more than 20 castles. The Manchus retreated when they heard that Yang Hao had led the Ming army to the aid of the Ye-he tribe.
Yang Hao, who had previously lost a battle to the Japanese Hideyoshi invaders in Korea, would lose the Battle of Saerhu.
Though Yang Hao mobilized an army of 200,000, including 20,000 Koreans and 20,000 Ye-he tribesmen, Nurchaci used the smart tactics and defeated the Ming armies one by one within a matter of one month.
In March, the Manchus decided to attack the southern Ming contingent first.
In the east, Ming General Du Song, departing Fushun, divided his forces between Sa'erhu and Jilin-ya (Jilin cliff).
Under the Manchu attacks, Du Song and his deputies were all killed.
In the west, the Manchus defeated the Ming army at Mt. Shaoqinshan.
In the northwest, Ming General Ma Lin was defeated, and the Ye-he allies fled the scene. In the south, elder Manchu prince Daishan ordered that his soldiers, wearing Du Song's Ming army uniforms, mix up with Ming General Zhao Ting's 10,000 cavalry. The Manchus killed Zhao Ting during turmoil.
Ming "jian jun" (supervisor, i.e., usually an eunuch) surrendered with his Korean allies after the flare of firearms backfired on the Ming camp.
Hearing of the defeats, Yang Hao ordered that Ming's north column retreat.
At Hulan, the Manchus ambushed the Ming Army's north column headed by Li Rubo.
Korean General Jiang Hongli was released by the Manchu for sake of pacifying the Koreans. Yang Hao was arrested and demoted by Ming Emperor Shenzong (Zhu Yijun, reign A.D. ), and "bingbu shilang" [supervisor of military ministry] Xiong Tingbi was conferred the post of "jing lüe" [i.e., managing governor] for Manchuria.
In April, the Manchus attacked Tieling.
In May, the Korean king sent emissary to express gratitude to the Manchus for sparing the Koreans.
In June, the Manchus attacked Kaiyuan and killed Ming General Ma Lin.
In July, Ming "qian zong" (i.e., general in charge of 1000 soldiers) Wang Yiping surrendered to the Manchus, and Tieling was taken. The Mongol Tribe Khalka came to the aid of Ye-he, and the Manchus defeated the Mongols and chased Khalka "beile" [prince] Lejiesai to the Liao-he River.
In August, two Ye-he forts were taken over and the Ye-he tribe was exterminated by the Manchus.
In Oct, Khan Lindan of the Chaha'er Mongols sent a letter to the Manchus in a challenging tone, claiming an army of 300,000-400,000 Mongols.
Five Khlaka tribes sent a emissary to the Manchus for an allied attack at Ming.
In A.D. 1620, the Manchus rebuked Khan Lindan of the Chaha'er Mongols. The Chaha'er Mongols killed the Manchu emissary, and the Manchus killed the Chaha'er emissary in retaliation.
In August, the Manchus attacked today's Shenyang.
In Oct, the Manchus relocated the capital to Saerhu from Jiefan.
Ming Emperor Shenzong died in this year.
In this year, Qin Bangping, i.e., brother of female general Qin Liangyu, came to the Liao-dong area with 3000-men Baigan-bing (white pole) army from the Shizhu County of today's Sichuan basin.
In A.D. 1621, at the Battle of the Hun-he River, two Chinese armies, consisting of Qin Bangping's Sichuan basin Qiangic or today's Yi-zu minority troops, and Dong Zhongkui and Chen Ce's Zhejiang Province army, crossed the Hun-he River to counterattack the Manchu after hearing that Shenyang (i.e., Mukden) might have fallen into the Manchu hands.
At first, the Sichuan army defeated the Manchu white banner and yellow banner army successively. The Manchus then had Li Yongfang roll in the cannons to blast at the Sichuan army.
The Manchus then fought against three thousand Zhejiang army.
The majority of the Sichuan and Zhejiang army soldiers died in the battle.
In MING SHI, this battle was touted as the bravest act of the Chinese army which fought against a strong Manchu infantry army of several folds, that were reinforced by the cavalry.
Around ten Manchu generals were killed in this battle.
(Later, in A.D. 1630, female general Qin Liangyu ()again answered the call of the emperor and took the Sichuan Qiangic army to the capital city of Peking, at the time when the Manchus intruded into the Desheng-men city gate.
Qin Liangyu was married with the minority Ma family, which claimed descent from Han Dynasty General Ma Yuan.)
Loss Of the Two Banks of the Liao-he River
Before Xiong Tingbi left the Shanhaiguan Pass, Shenyang was under the Manchu siege.
Xiong Tingbi
fortified the Liaoyang city and distributed 180,000 soldiers around various forts.
Nurchaci, unable to take over Shenyang, retreated northward to conquer the Yehe tribe.
The new Yehe chieftain, before being executed by the Manchus, sworn that should Yehe have one descendant left, the Yehe people would avenge themselves by capsizing the Nurchaci tribe, and it turned out to be Dowager Express Cixi (i.e., Yehe-nala-shi) who led the Manchu Qing dynasty to its final demise in 1911.
Xiong Tingbi stayed in eastern Liaoning Province for 3 years before he resigned under impeachment by an official of the new Ming Emperor Xizong (Zhu Youxiao, reign A.D. ).
Ming Emperor Guangzong, Zhu Youxiao,
had a reign of only one year, A.D. .
A civil official, Yuan Yingtai, who obtained "jin shi" (a 4th level imperial scorer in the civil services exam, after top 3 titles of 'zhuang yuan', 'bang yan' and tan hua'),
was sent to Manchuria.
When the Mongols suffered from a hunger disaster and came to Manchuria as refugees, Yuan Yingtai accepted all those Mongols and assigned them to the Liaoyang and Shenyang cities.
In A.D. 1261, Nurchaci obtained the cooperation of the Mongol refugees as 'trojan horse', sacked the city of Shenyang, and killed "zong bing" (garrison chief) He Shixian.
Yuan Yingtai lost a fight outside of Liaoyang. The Manchus released the water of the citywall ditch and sacked Liaoyang.
Yuan Yingtai committed suicide.
After that, over fifty forts east of the Liao-he River all surrendered to the Manchus.
Xiong Tingbi was recalled for service by Emperor Xizong.
Xiong Tingbi had a dispute with "xuan hu" (pacifier minister or sub-province governor) Wang Huazhen as to defending the city of Guangning or the Liao River.
Wang Huazhen circumvented Xiong Tingbi in having Emperor Xizong approve his plan to recover the territories east of the Liao River instead.
Wang Huazhen then crossed the river with 140,000 soldiers.
In July, the Zhenjiang city, along today's Yalu River at the Sino-Korean border, killed a Manchu general and surrendered to Ming General Mao Wenlong.
In Nov, the Manchus ordered Prince Ah'min to attack Mao Wenlong's army.
A Mongol clan from the Khalka tribe surrendered to the Manchus.
Xiong Tingbi was recalled as "jing lüe" by Ming Dynasty.
In 1621, Wu Xiang, i.e., father of later General Wu San'gui, passed the Ming imperial martial arts exam as "jin shi" and later married a sister of Zu Dashou.
Zu Dashou was upgraded to "you ji" (mobile fighting) general under the command of Wang Huazhen.
Wang Huazhen was "xun hu" [patrol & pacify, i.e., sub-provincial equivalent governor
for the Guangning garrison of Liaoning Province].
After one year, in Jan of A.D. 1622, Wang Huazhen was defeated by the Manchus.
Sun Degong, a "you ji" general under Wang Huazhen, surrendered the city of Guangning to the Manchus.
All forts around Jinzhou were lost to the Manchus.
Wang Huazhen and Xiong Tingbi burnt supplies and accompanied over 100,000 refugees back into the Shanhaiguan (Mountain and See) Pass.
From Jinzhou to the Shanhaiguan Pass, about 200 kilometer long strip between the sea and mountains was considered Hexi [west of the Liao-he River] Corridor.
Zuo Guangdou ('yu shi' [censor or inspector]), teacher of Yangzhou defender Shi Kefa, recommended Sun Chengzong ('da xue shi' [grand scholar]) for the job of fighting the Manchus. (Zuo Guangdou was later imprisoned by the eunuchs.)
Five Khalka Mongol tribes came to submit to the Manchus.
Seventeen princes from the Mongol tribe of Er'lute came to submit.
In A.D. 1623, the Mongol tribe of Zhalute came to submit to the Manchu, and their crown prince (who served as a hostage with the Manchus) was released.
In April, the Manchus attacked the Zhalute Mongol tribe for their killing a Manchu emissary.
In A.D. 1624, Khalka requested for relocation to the Manchu territories.
In Feb, the Manchus decreed that the Ke'erxin Mongols not to have exchange with the Khalka tribe.
In May, Mao Wenlong invaded Huifa.
In Aug, the Manchus destroyed Mao Wenlong's farming soldiers at the Yalu-dao Island.
In A.D. 1625, Manchu Prince Mang-gu-er-tai defeated the Ming army at Fushun.
In Feb, the Khalka Mongols sent over their daughter to Huangtaiji.
In June and Aug, Mao Wenlong continued to attack the Manchu at Yaozhou and Haizhou.
In Nov, Huangtaiji went to attack Chaha'er Mongol Khan Lindan.
Ming Dynasty conferred Gao Di as "jing lüe".
The Battle of Ningyuan
Sun Chengzong was conferred the post of "bingbu shangshu" [i.e., secretary of military ministry].
Sun Chengzong advocated the fortification of Ningyuan as buffer for the Shanhaiguan Pass.
Sun Chengzong
employed Zu Dashou & Zhao Shuaijiao as his generals, built various forts around Ningyuan, trained 110,000 soldiers, and tilled 50 acres of military farmland.
Four years later, Sun Chengzong was impeached by a Ming eunuch called Wei Zhongxian who had earlier managed to have Xiong Tingbi executed.
Yang Di was ordered to replace Sun Chengzong.
In A.D. 1625, Yang Di contracted the defence line to the city of Ningyuan which was about half way between the Shanhaiguan Pass and the Jinzhou city.
At this time, Nurhachi moved the capital to Shengjing [today's Shenyang City], and built a grand palace with front, hind, right and left accessory palaces.
Hearing of Sun Chengzong's departure, Nurhachi, in Jan of A.D. 1626, personally led an attack at Ningyuan which was guarded by Ming General Yuan Chonghuan [a native of Dongguan of Guangdong Province].
With the help of the Jesuits, Yuan Chonghuan had built a kind of long-range cannons, named the "Red-hair Alien Cannon" [later changed by the Manchu to the 'Red-Coated Alien Cannon' for avoidance of using the "Yi" designation of barbarians by the Han Chinese].
Yuan Chonghuan employed a soldier from Fujian Province, by the name of Luo Li, who was learned in firing the cannons.
Meantime, the Manchus led the Mongol soldiers on an attack of the Juehua-dao Island at the Sino-Korean border.
In April, the Manchus attacked five Khalka Mongol tribes for their betrayal.
In May, Mao Wenlong attacked Anshanyi and Saerhu. The Ke'erxin Mongols sent an emissary to the Manchu to express gratitude.
In Aug of 1626, Nurhachi (Nuerhachi) died at age 68, after a reign of 11 years.
This would be during the 11th year reign of Tianming Era.
Nurhachi was said to have died of the wounds he incurred from Yuan Chonghuan's "Red-hair Alien Cannon" at the Battle of Ningyuan (today's Xingcheng, Liaoning Province).
Yuan Chonghuan was conferred the post of "xun hu" (i.e., patrolling and protecting general or sub-provincial governor) of Liaodong, and Wang Zhichen took over the post of "jing lüe".
Yuan Chonghuan renewed Sun Chengzong's policies of fortification and military farming to the west of the Liao River.
Two years later, in 1628, Zu Dashou was promoted to "zong bing" general for the A.D. 1626 victory at the Battle of Ningyuan-Jinzhou.
Zu Dashou brothers, sons and nephews controlled the major forts and cities like Dalinghe [Jinxi-xian of Liaoning], Jinzhou, and Ningyuan.
The Manchus Sowing Dissension To Have Yuan Chonghuan Removed
Nurhachi's successor, Huangtaiji (), the 8th son, would rename the Era to Tiancong from Tianming beginning from the next year. Huangtaiji was called 'Taizong Wenhuangdi' posthumously.
(The name Huangtaiji was a combination of Chinese 'huang tai4 zi' and Mongol 'huang tai2 ji', both meaning a crown prince.) Huangtaiji was recorded to have red face and did not exhibit fear of coldness in the severe cold winters.
Mongol Tribe Ke'erxin also sent in condolences.
The Han Chinese were treated as slaves by the Manchus.
Huangtaiji decreed that the extra Han Chinese be separated from slaves and treated as civilians and that the Han Chinese select their own good men as leaders.
Later, eight Han banners were set up, with the Manchus heading them.
In Oct of 1626, the Zhalute subtribe of the Khalka Mongols betrayed the Manchu alliance for the Ming dynasty.
Huangtaiji ordered that elder brother Daishan campaign against them.
Yuan Chonghuan sent a lama to condoling on Nuerhachu's death. 14 Khalka "bei le" sent in emissaries for condolence.
Daishan defeated the Zhalute Mongols, killed "bei le" Er'erzaitu and captured 14 more Mongol "bei le".
Huangtaiji departed Shenyang for meeting Daishan at Tieling.
One more Cha'haer tribe came to submit to the Manchus.
Huangtaiji instructed traitor Fan Wencheng to write a reply to Yuan Chonghuan.
Yuan Chonghuan reprimanded Huangtaiji's emissary for challenging Ming China's suzerainty.
In Dec, Huangtaiji decreed that the Manchus be prohibited from trading iron weapons with the Mongols. The Heilongjiang [black dragon river] people came to pay respect to the Manchu.
In Jan of 1627, the first year of the Manchu Tiancong Era, Huangtaiji decided to attack the Koreans and the Mongols first.
Huangtaiji dispatched Ah'min (2nd "bei le"),
"bei le" Ji'erhalang, and Ah'jige etc against Korea.
Huangtaiji and Yuan Chonghuan traded more letters.
Huangtaiji intended to distract Yuan Chonghuan from the Korean expedition.
At the rivermouth of Dongjiang (east river) on the border of China and Korea,
Mao Wenlong, a Ming 'zong bing' general, was attacked by the Manchus.
The Korean King requested for help with Ming Dynasty in driving the Manchus out of their country.
(Korean King Li Chenggui had promised to Ming's first emperor Zhu Yuanzhang to be a Ming vassal forever.)
The Manchus invaded Korea after two Koreans, who offended the Korean king, fled to seek asylum with the Manchus and then treacherously acted as guides.
Huangtaiji circumvented Mao Wenlong who stationed at the Dongjiang Island, and crossed the Yalu River to attack the Yizhou city of Korea.
Huangtaiji earlier faked an attack on the bank of the Liao River for diverting Yuan Chonghuan's attention. The Manchus took over the Yizhou, Dingzhou and Anzhou prefectures of Korea.
When the Manchus attacked the Korean capital, the Korean King sent over his cousin for peace talks with the Manchus.
After subduing Korea, Huangtaiji led his troops across the Liao River to attack Jinzhou.
Yuan Chonghuan ordered that general Zhao Shuaijiao guard Jinzhou.
Zhao Shuaijiao asked an eunuch to write letters to the Manchu for setting up a peace trap, hence delaying the Manchu attack for several days.
With the relief army coming, Zhao Shuaijiao launched an attack and defeated Huangtaiji's Manchu Army.
Then, Huangtaiji circumvented Jinzhou to attack the Ningyuan city.
Yuan Chonghuan ambushed Huangtaiji with a column of army on the right side of the city.
Huangtaiji faked to attack Jinzhou, but he actually retreated to Shenyang in an orderly manner.
At this time, Yuan Chonghuan was reprimanded by the Ming court for not aiding Jinzhou.
Wang Zhichen was ordered to replace Yuan Chonghuan.
Ming Emperor Sizong (Zhu Youjian, reign A.D. ) got enthroned and eunuch minister Wei Zhongxian was executed.
Yuan Chonghuan was restored his position by Ming Emperor Sizong in April of A.D. 1628.
In A.D. 1629, Ming General Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, i.e., the future Manchu Feaudatory generals in Southwest China, defected to the Manchus with Ming China's cannons arsenal and manufacturing bureau after Yuan Chonghuan cheated Mao Wenlong into an arrest and executed Mao Wenlong for his disobedience.
(Mao Wenlong was recorded to have launched numerous attacks at the Manchus and should be considered a brave man.
His execution should be considered an abuse of power by Yuan Chonghuan.
Yuan Chonghuan paid his price later when the Manchu adopted Kong & Geng's advice in attacking Peking from Mongolia in a roundabout way.
Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming had treated Mao Wenlong as step-father.)
Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming proposed to Huangtaiji that the Manchus invade China through the Mongol territories, attack Ming's Longjingguan Pass at the Great Wall and then march on the Zunhua and Peking cities.
To prevent Yuan from receiving an advance alert, Duo'ergun asked the two Ming generals to return to the Ming camp at Dengzhou on the Shandong peninsula.
Duo'ergun stated that the Mongol tribe of Ka-er-xin must have guides for leading the way to the Longjingguan Pass. In Oct 1629, Huangtaiji, after spending days marching through the Mongol land, arrived at the Longjingguan Pass which was guarded by a few hundred Ming soldiers.
The Manchu forces totalled about 60000.
Then, Huangtaiji ordered that the four banners attack the Da'ankou Pass and another four banners attack the Hongshankou Pass. The Manchus pressed on at Zunhua-zhou.
The Ming court sent an urgent request to Shanhaiguan for relief.
Zhao Shuaijiao led the relief army to a place called Santunying where his army was destroyed by the Manchus. Zhao Shuaijiao
committed suicide when Santunying refused to allow him to enter the gate at night. Santunying and Zunhua were taken by the Manchu Qing army subsequently.
Within one month, numerous cities, including Jizhou, Shunyi and Tongzhou, were sacked by the Mongols.
When the Manchus arrived at the citywall of Peking, Mang Gui had led another relief army to the relief of Peking from the Shanhaiguan Pass.
After Yuan Chongyuan led armies and two generals (Zu Dashou and He Kegang) to the relief of Peking, Huangtaiji was very much shaken.
Yuan Chongyuan
defeated the attacks by two Manchu princes.
The Manchu failed to sack the Peking city.
(Later in 1644, when Wu San'gui sent messenger to the Manchu for borrowing an army against Li Zicheng's rebel army, Duo'ergun was very much hesitant on the way to the Shanhaiguan Pass, thinking that it could be a Ming army trap:
Duo'ergun asked how could Li Zicheng's rascal rebels sack the Peking city while he himself failed to do it three times.)
Huangtaiji then played a dissension to have Ming Emperor Chongzhen kill Yuan Chonghuan.
Huangtaiji took the advice from Fan Wencheng to have two 'peace' letters written to the attention of Yuan Chonghuan and then have the two letters deliberately dropped near the two city gates of Peking.
After capturing two Ming eunuchs sent by the Ming emperor for investigating into the two letters, Huangtaiji ordered a Chinese officer to deliberately talk about the Manchu contacts with Yuan in front of the two eunuchs and then deliberately allowed the two eunuchs to flee back into Peking.
Then, Huangtaiji deliberately retreated five Chinese league distance per the fabricated agreement with Yuan Chonghuan.
Soon, news came that Yuan Chongyuan was imprisoned by the 'Jinyi-wei' [colorful clothese] Imperial Eunuch Guards, and two Yuan Chongyuan generals, i.e., Zu Dashou and He Kegang, with 16000 Liao-dong crack troops, fled to exit the Shanhaiguan Pass for the hometown of Ningyuan.
Yuan Chonghuan was ordered to be executed via 'slicing' or peeling off the flesh.
Emperor Chongzhen, at the admonition of court minister Sun Chengzong, immediately sent a messenger to chasing Zu Dashou and He Kegang for pacification even though the two guys had pillaged their way back to the Shanhaiguan Pass.
Huangtaiji withdrew the Peking siege to make the Ming soliders drop their alert and then attacked Peking again after pillaging Gu'an and Liangxiang.
When pressed by an eunuch gestapo, Ming General Mang Gui went outside of the city gate to have a fight with Huangtaiji's Manchu army.
Huangtaiji sent some disguised soldiers into Mang Gui's camp and killed him in turmoil.
Huangtaiji then withrew his army to the Tongzhou area.
At Zunhua, Huangtaiji defeated a cannon column led by Liu Zhilun.
Then, Huangtaiji sacked Luanzhou.
In Jan of A.D. 1630, Za Dashou and Sun Chengzong were ordered to guard Santunying [Zunhua of Hebei Province] and Fenglun.
Za Dashou dispatched troops to Leting, Changli, Huning, Shimen, Taidouying and Yanheying to prevent the Manchu from retreating back across the Great Wall.
300 cavalry scouts were sent looking for the Manchu Army's trace.
After failing to take over Changli, Huangtaiji retreated to Manchuria via the old path: Huangtaiji never ever challenged the fortified Shanhaiguan Pass, i.e., the No. 1 Pass of China.
In Feb, Za Dashou was ordered to cross the Great Wall for Jianchang [Lingyuan of Liaoning Province] where he set up an ambush at the crossroad bordering the Mongol tribe of Keerxin.
On one day, Wu Xiang's scout team had a sudden encounter with the Manchu expedition force.
Wu San'gui forcefully broke out of the city to charge at the Manchu forces and rescued his father at the wound to his nosebridge in the course of killing a Manchu general.
(This is in sharp contrast with his abandoning his father by defecting to the Manchu at the Battle of Shanhaiguan in 1644.)
Eunuch Gao Qiqian, i.e., the adopted father of Wu San'gui, wrote a recommendation letter to the emperor on behalf of Wu San'gui.
Wu San'gui would soon become a
Ming "you ji" [i.e., mobile fighter] general from the post of "zhong jun" under the leadership of Fu Zonglong.
Huangtaiji began to make similar cannons, called the 'Hong Yi Da Pao', i.e., Big Guns With Red Coat, with technology and knowhow obtained through the Shandong cannons factory that were shipped from across the Bohai sea. The Sino-Manchu warfare tilted the balance to the barbarians' favor as a result of the defectors' surrendering the cannons.
Sun Chengzong was recalled for the post of guarding the Shanhaiguan Pass.
Sun Chengzong began to recover the territories of Luanzhou, Qianan, Yongping and Zunhua.
Qiu Hejia was conferred the post of "xun fu" for Liao-dong.
The Surrender of Zu Dashou to the Manchus
In 1631, Wu Xiang was upgraded to the Jinzhou city's "zong bing" general under the command of Zu Dashou.
In Aug of A.D. 1631, Huangtaiji lay a siege of the Dalinghe city where Zu Dashoun and about 30000 civilians and soldiers were in defense.
A column was led by Prince A'qige to attack Jinzhou for sake of preventing the Shanhaiguan relief army from coming to the aid of Dalinghe.
Qiu Hejia ordered that Wu Xiang and Song Wei, with 40000 troops, depart Ningyuan for Jinzhou.
The two parties fought a battle at Songshan. The Ming armies returned to the city of Jinzhou.
In mid-Sept, the Manchu attacked Jinzhou.
On Sept 24th, Wu Xiang and Song Wei were ordered to give relief to Dalinghe.
The two parties used cannons and musketeers during the Sept 27th battle in the area between the Xiaolinghe River and the Changshan Mountain.
Huangtaiji ordered a two-prong attack at the two Ming camps.
When Wu Xiang intended to attack the Manchu camp with fire, the wind changed direction. The Ming armies were thoroughly defeated, and the remnants fled to the city of Jinzhou.
Wu Xiang was demoted by the Ming court.
At Dalinghe, Zu Dashou and He Kegang were defending the city.
Zu Dashou's brother, Zu Dabi, who was renowned for his extraordinary strength, led a brave 120-men commando force on a night assault into the Manchu camp and almost killed Huangtaiji. The Manchus then bombarded the city with cannons.
By winter, Zu Dashou surrendered to the Manchus, He Kegang was captured and killed, and Zu Dabi fled the city.
Among those who surrendered with Zu Dashou would be Wu Sanfeng and Pei Guozhen, i.e., brother and brother-in-law of Wu San'gui.
Zu Dashou proposed to take over Jinzhou for Huangtaiji.
When Zu Dashou arrived in Jinzhou, both Qiu Hejia and Sun Chengzong had already been rebuked by the Ming court.
Zu Dashou hence took over Jinzhou but asked Huangtaiji to defer attack till another time.
Emperor Chongzhen again pardoned Zu Dashou even though Qiu Hejia ["xun fu"] reported the 'fake' surrender to the Ming court.
Mutiny of Kong Youde, Li Jiucheng, Geng Zhongming & Shang Kexi
During the winter, at Dengzhou of Shandong, Kong Youde killed "zong bing" Zhang Dake and drove off "xun hu" Sun Yuanhua.
The mutiny occured as a result of Kong Youde & Li Jiucheng being dispatched by Sun Yuanhua to Manchuria for giving relief to the Dalinghe Siege.
At Wuqiao of today's Hebei Province, the two, with 800 cavalry, pillaged villagers for food and then decided on returning to Shandong Province for rebelling against Sun Yuanhua, i.e., sub-governor for the Deng-Lai [Dengzhou-Laizhou] area.
The rebels sacked Linyi, Lingxian, Shanghe, and Qingcheng, i.e., counties to the north and east of today's Ji'nan.
In Jan of 1632, Kong Youde sacked Dengzhou [coastal Penglai of Shandong] and declared himself "du yuanshuai", i.e., a governor-marshal equivalent.
The Ming court sent the troops of Baoding-Tianjin-Changping to Shandong, but failed to quell the rebellion.
On June 9th, Emperor Chongzhen, at the advice of Liu Chongqing & Wang Wanxiang, ordered that eunuch Gao Qiqian relocate 10000 Liao-dong crack troops for Shandong.
Za Dabi, Jin Guoqi, Wu Xiang & Wu San'gui entered the Shanhaiguan Pass.
On Aug 19th, the Ming armies, with 40,000 troops, which were reinforced by Wu Xiang's Liao-dong troops, attacked Kong Youde at Shahe [Yexian], and on the 30th, pushed to Baima.
After a defeat, Kong retreated to Dengzhou, i.e., the coastline.
On Sept 1st, the Ming army surrounded Dengzhou.
Through Nov, Kong Youde were repeatedly beat back by the Ming army.
Rebel Li Jiucheng was killed in the course of the breakout actions on Nov 21st & 27nd.
Kong requested for relief with Huangtaiji.
Huangtaiji ordered that Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming retreat over the sea to
Manchuria via the north gate of the city.
On Dec 3rd, the Ming army defeated Kong's breakout action at the west gate after obtaining the information from a defector.
On the night, Kong and about 10000 army and family members boarded over 100 ships for the other side of the Bay (Bohai Sea).
Luo Xianglin pointed out that Ming China's "cannons manufacturing bureau" was dismantled by Kong Youde for Manchuria as a gift to Huangtaiji, an event that would significantly strengthen the Manchu firepower.
Kong Youde, upon arriving at Shenyang, proposed that the Manchus attack Lüshun of Liao-dong.
Kong and Geng hence took over Lüshun, killed "zong bing" Huang Long, and pacified a deputy general called Shang Kexi.
Kong Youde was conferred the post of "yuan shuai" [marshal], and Geng and Shang the posts of "zong bing" respectively. The three guys, together with Wu San'gui, would be heads of the later "Three Feudatories".
In A.D. 1636, Huangtaiji changed their name to Manzhou (Manchu) from Jurchen, with a weird combination of characters wherein the water-signed [Manchuria] "zhou" meant for a continent in the sea or an island in the river, and declared the dynasty name of 'Qing', namely, clearness.
Meanwhile, the whole northern China was in collapse as a result of marauding and pillaging by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's rebels.
After the death of Huangtaiji, Emperor Shunzhi was enthroned.
Huangtaiji's brothers, Duo'ergun (Dorgon) and Duoduo, would be responsible for pushing the war against Ming.
The Manchus were said to have boasted of an army of 220,000 for the Eight Banners of the Manchu, Mongol and Han respectively.
(After taking over China, they had raised an additional army of 660,000 for the Green Camp Battalions or Green Standard Battalions.)
In July 1638, Wu San'gui, at age 27, was promoted to "zong bing" [sub-prefecture military magistrate] general after Ming China had exhausted previous generations of fighters.
(Wu San'gui received three promotions within 6 years, from "you ji" to "can jiang" to "fu jiang" to "zong bing".)
Wu San'gui was in charge of the defence of Ningyuan where both Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong had dealt the devastating defeats onto the Manchus.
Surrender of Hong Chengchou
In early 1639, Hong Chengchou, so-called "san bian [trilateral border] zong du [governor-general]" of Shenxi Province, was ordered to relocate to Manchuria, away from his dozen years of entanglement wars with Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's rebellion.
Hong Chengchou instructed Wu San'gui in training the soldiers and practicing the weaponry.
On May 18th, 1640, at Xinshan [Mt Xinshan, Jinxian county of Liaoning Province], the Ming army fought against 1500 Manchu forces who stealthily circumvented Jinzhou to cover the defection of about 30 families of the Mongol Duo-luo-te tribe.
On June 15th, Huangtaiji sent 10000 reinforcements to Prince Jierhalang and Duoduo from Shenyang as replenishment of the loss from the previous skirmish.
Since March, Prince Jierhalang and Duoduo began to attack the surrounding forts of Jinzhou.
With Hong Chengchou's instruction of initiating attacks and defending cities at the same time, Wu San'gui launched an attack at the Manchu Embedded Blue Banner on July 8th.
Having called over Ma Ke from the Shanhaiguan Pass, Hong Chengchou then convened a meeting with four garrison commanders, i.e., Wu San'gui, Zuo Guangxian, Cao Bianjiao and Liu Zhaoji for a new round of attack with 40000 Ming army.
On the 11th, the Ming army fought against the Manchu.
Zu Dale from Jinzhou came over as well.
The Manchu retreated to Yizhou.
Out of the three engagements, the Ming armies gained upper hand over the Manchu twice at Songshan [Mt Pine] & Xinshan [Mt Apricot].
Beginning from 1641, the Manchu cavalry approached the three sides of Jinzhou.
On the following two days after the Spring Festival day, Wu San'gui volunteered to load 15000 units of grain for delivery to the Jinzhou-Songshan-Xinshan cities.
On the 6th day of the lunar new year, Wu San'gui departed Ningyuan, and on the night of the following day, successfully transported the grain over to Jinzhou.
On the 9th day, 20000 Manchu cavalry tried to chase the empty carts.
In March, the Manchu dug up trenches to surround the Jinzhou city and then laid eyes on Songshan.
In May, Hong Chengchou was ordered to go to Ningyuan from Shanhaiguan.
By Dec, the Ming court sent over reinforcements consisting of troops from Datong [led by Wang Pu], Xuanfu [led by Yang Guozhu], Miyun [led by Tang Tong] and Shanhaiguan [led by Ma Ke].
With eight "zhen" [garrison] of troops, about 130000, Hong Chengchou departed for relief to Jinzhou.
Wu San'gui, counted among one of three dare-to-fight "zong bing" generals, personally headed 20000 Liao-dong troops.
By late April, the Ming armies arrived at the area between Songshan and Xinshan.
The Manchu troops stationed on Mt Rufengshan, between Songshan and Jinzhou, and the Manchu cavalry scattered to the east and west.
On April 25th, the Ming armies attacked the Manchu uphill against Mt Rufengshan.
Zu Dashou exited the south gate of Jinzhou to attack the Manchu as well.
Wu San'gui defeated the Manchu cavalry on the west side, and the Ming cannons battalion defeated the Manchu cavalry on the east side.
The Manchu presented 30 "red coated cannons" for bombarding the Ming troops. The Ming cannons battalion blasted the opposite positions reciprocally.
60000 Ming troops fought against 10000 Manchu on the mountain and 20000 cavalry on the two sides through the evening.
On July 26th of 1641, Hong Chengchou, under the pressure of the Ming court, decided on a new expedition to lift the Manchu siege of Jinzhou.
On 29th, the Ming troops arrived at Songshan.
On Aug 2nd, the Ming armies initiated major attacks.
Yang Guozhu sacrificed his life.
On the Manchu side, on July 19th, Huangtaiji [Qing Taizong] personally led relief to Qijiabu of Songshan after a 6 day and night ride.
Again, the Manchu troops dug three circles of trenches, this time to surround Songshan within one day.
On the 19th, Hong Chengchou decided on an outbreak over the limited grain supply in Songshan.
(The Ming army had three days' worth of grain for the campaign.)
On the 20th, the Ming troops failed to breach the trench.
The next day, the Ming troops failed again.
On the night of the 21st, Hong Chengchou ordered a new outbreak the next day.
However, generals, such as Wang Pu, pulled ahead of the outbreak overnight in the hope of being the first to flee.
Wu San'gui adopted the advice of a Mongol in fleeing to Xinshan via the major roadpath which was less guarded by the Manchu troops. The Ming troops fell victims to trenches, and a considerable portion of the Ming army were drowned by sea.
Cao Bianjiao & Wang Tingchen returned to Songshan to be with Hong Chengchou.
Zhang Ruoling, a Ming court supervisor, fled to Xiaolinghe where he rode on a boat to Ningyuan.
The rest of generals fled to Xingshan.
On Aug 24th, the Manchu continued to lay siege of Xinshan and defeated a band of the Ming troops who tried to flee the city.
On 26th, Wu San'gui and Wang Pu exited Xinshan.
The two fought the Manchu along the way to Ningyuan.
Remnants at Xinshan fled in separate directions. The Ming army lost 53783 soldiers.
This was the so-called Debacle of the Battle of Songshan [Mt Songshan, Jinxian county of Liaoning Prov].
Wu San'gui and Wang Pu fled the battle scene.
Seeing the debacle of of the Battle of Songshan-Xinshan-Tashan, Later on March 8th of 1642, Zu Dashou, after one year of encirclement by the Manchu, surrendered to the Manchu with the city of Jinzhou.
Zu Dashou's family sent in a treasure mountain of precious stones to Huangtaiji as show of gratitude and submission.
(A Korean prince, per Li Zhiting, had commented that Za Dashou's family was richer than the Korean king.)
Wu San'gui's Continuous Defence of Ningyuan
After the Manchu sacked Jinzhou, Hong Chengchou was caught alive after failing to commit suicide.
Cao Bianjiao & Wang Tingchen were killed by the Manchu.
Huangtaiji was said to have obtained the help of his concubine in persuading Hong Chengchou into surrender.
Hong Chengchou took the advice of Fan Wencheng in writing to Ming emperor an ambiguous letter for sake of protecting his family members since Emperor Chongzhen thought that Hong Chengchou might already had died for the country.
On the side of the Ming court, Emperor Chongzhen had to execute Wang Pu as a scapegoat but retained Wu San'gui as a garrison general at Ningyuan.
By early 1642, i.e., the 15th year of emperor's reign, Wu San'gui had trained 10,000 soldiers at Ningyuan and commanded a total force of 25,000 outside of the Shanhaiguan Pass.
In March, Wu San'gui & Bai Guangen made a tentative move against the Manchu near Tashan.
Four days later, on March 8th, Zu Dashou surrendered Jinzhou to the Manchu and promised to persuade Wu San'gui into surrendering Ningyuan.
The Ningyuan soldiers refused to accept Zu Dashou's emissaries.
Qing Taizong, against the advice of several ethnic-Han officials in attacking Ningyuan, would seek for a peaceful solution to Ningyuan.
By April, Qing Taizong, at the advice of Zhang Cunren, wrote to Wu San'gui for pacification.
Friends, colleagues, relatives and family members continued to write to Wu San'gui for surrender persuasion.
Wu San'gui kept silence.
On April 12th, Fan Zhiwuan was conferred the post of governor for the Ningyuan-Jinzhou area.
By Oct, Manchu Emperor Qin-Taizong [Huangtaiji] ordered that 7th brother A-ba-tai invade China.
A-ba-tai again circumvented around the Great Wall, this time to intrude into Yanzhou of the Shandong Peninsula in the autumn.
Zu Dashou was ordered to mount both the peace and war campaigns against Wu San'gui.
Zu Dashou sent over a personal knife as 'evidence' of their relationship.
In Nov, Wu San'gui went out of Ningyuan to fight a war against the Manchu cavalry, and lost 72 horses.
In Jan 1643, Zu Dashou proposed to attack the satellite cities of Ningyuan.
On Jan 19th [lunar calendar], Wu San'gui suddenly replied to Zu Dashou by dispatching a Mongol horseman.
Scholar Li Zhiting pointed out that Wu San'gui might have some wavering by this time, but the Ming generals still possessed the kind of patriotism as exhibited by Za Dashou's persistence in defending Dalinghe & Jinzhou under the strenuous conditions of killing horses and soldiers for food.
In the spring, Wu San'gui was ordered to come into the pass for fighting A-ba-tai's Manchu expedition force.
Ma Ke of the Shanhaiguan Pass and Liu Zeqing of Shandong Province, as two other "zong bing", also participated in this campaign.
At the Huairou county, the Ming forces fought against the Manchu.
The Manchu retreated towards the Lengkou Pass.
On May 12th, Emperor Chongzhen decreed a visit to the generals should they come closer to the capital.
On the 15th, the emperor received Wu San'gui, Ma Ke & Liu Zeqing at the Wuyingdian Palace, and offered an imperial sword to Wu San'gui.
Before leaving Peking, Wu San'gui, at invitation, visited Tian Hongyu whose adopted daughter was an imperial concubine.
Wu San'gui sought for a singer, i.e., beauty Chen Yuanyuan, as his concubine.
(Chen Yuanyuan was a singer who was grabbed at Suzhou by Tian Hongyu while leading a 1000 person trip to the south.)
After leaving 1000 taels of silver with Tian Hongyu, Wu San'gui left Manchuria with a promise that he would fetch the beauty later.
By autumn, in August, Manchu emperor Qin Taizong [Huangtaiji] passed way.
Manchu Qing Emperor Shunzhi, the 9th son, at age 6, was selected as the new emperor as a result of compromise of confrontation between Duo-e-gun, the other Manchu princes [like Ji-e-ha-lang] and the dowager empresses.
Unlike the predecessor, Duo-e-gun, as regent, immediately dispatched troops against the satallite Chinese forts like Zhonghou, Qiandun and Zhongqian, beginning from Sept 11th, 1643.
Ming Emperor Chongzhen allocated money, manpower and grains to the defence of Ningyuan and three satellite cities.
Even when Li Zicheng's rebels approached Peking, Emperor Chongzhen was reluctant to relocate Wu San'gui's army away from Manchuria but merely called in Bai Guangen's troops.
Between Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan, only three tiny satellite forts were left.
On Sept 25th, Z on Oct 1st, Qiandun- and Zhongqian was abandoned to the Manchu.
15000 Ming soldiers were lost. Before the loss of Zhonghou, Wu Xiang, i.e. Wu Sagui's father, left for Peking.
Ningyuan, first besieged by Nu-e-ha-chi in A.D. 1626 and then attacked by Huang-tai-ji in the summer of A.D. 1627, became an island.
The Battle of Mountain & Sea Pass
Shanhaiguan, i.e., the Mountain & Sea Pass, was first built by Duke Weiguo-gong Xu Da in 1381 to take control over the so-called Hexi [west of Liao-he River] Corridor.
From Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou, about 200 kilometer long strip linked Manchuria to northern China.
In between would be another important Ming China garrison called Ningyuan.
Since 1395, Emperor Hongwu had ordered the military farming in the Liao-dong [east of Liao-he River] area.
Gradually, officers seized the lands cultivated by soldiers to become the hegemony landowners and utilized the garrison troops as slave labor.
Scholar Li Zhiting pointed out that various border generals, in Liaodong [east of the Liao River], had seized at least one third of the military farms by the early Wanli Era, which would be equivalent to 8390 Chinese acres and 199840 units of grains.
By the end of the Wanli era, in Liaoxi [west of the Liao River], the embezzelment led to merely 170,000 units of grains versus 700k in the early Ming time period of the Hongwu-Yongxi era.
In this place would rise the five-generation Zu Dashou family.
Wu San'gui's father, i.e., Wu Xiang, married a sister of Zu Dashou, paving the way for the ascension of Wu San'gui in Ming China's military apparatus.
In 1644, prior to the fall of Peking to Li Zicheng's rebels, Wu Xiang disclosed to Emperor Chongzhen that the capital could be secured by relocating the Wu family's 3000 landlord-fighters who had riches of hundred acres of land respectively.
(Later in 1648, prior to the western expedition, Wu San'gui obtained the Manchu imperial permission to leave behind a brother, a general and over one hundred soldiers for taking care of 10 farms in Manchuria.)
Wu San'gui, a Ming general at Ningyuan, was on his way to Peking to rescue the Ming emperor, but he stopped at the Shanhaiguan Pass when he heard of the fall of the capital. (Historians pointed out that Wu San'gui deliberately procrastinated from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan.)
Li Zicheng sent a Ming defector general (Tang Tong) to seeing Wu San'gui.
Tang Tong brought the letter from Wu Xiang together with 50,000 "liang" (tael) silver.
Wu San'gui agreed to surrender to Li Zicheng and handed over the pass to Li Zicheng's forerunner general.
Wu San'gui then left for P on his way to a place called Luanzhou, Wu San'gui met his housekeeper who informed him that concubine Chen Yuanyuan was grabbed by the rebel leader Liu Zongmin.
Wu San'gui then returned to Shanhaiguan and planned to surrender to Duo-er-gun [Dorgon] who had already led about 150,000-200,000 cavalry towards the South when the news came of Ming Army's abandonment of all forts in the aftermath of recall of the Ming forces to the defense of Peking.
(However, Duo-er-gun did not know that Peking already fell, and did not fully trust in the rebels' sacking Peking after Wu San'gui's letter mentioned it.
The Manchu treated Wu San'gui's emissaries with suspicion till Wu San'gui himself broke through Li Zicheng's siege of the Shanhaiguan Pass for a personal meeting with the Manchu regent.
Historian Li Zhiting pointed out that Wu San'gui, in his first letter to Duoergun, had asked for the Manchu help in attacking the rebels by circumventing the Great Wall, not through the Shanhaiguan Pass' however, Duoergun changed direction for Shanhaiguan on the road, which proved to be a right decision to meet Li Zicheng's rebels head-on.)
When they came into China in A.D. 1644, the Manchus were said to have brought in majority of the total Manchu army which numbered no more than 150k.
Scholar Li Zhiting cited some Korean documents in pointing out that Duoergun's order had instructions that all Korean males from age 10 [?] to 70 must report to duty so that able men could serve in China's battlefields.
The major armies fighting Li Zicheng's rebels, led by Wu San'gui, however, were still of the Chinese nature.
At the Battle of Shi-he [stony river], next to the Mountain & Sea Pass, Li Zicheng's army of about 000 fought against Wu San'gui's army of 50000 that consisted of gentry-organized forces and the Ningyuan garrison troops. Li Zicheng's troops had at one time climbed over the wall of the Shanhaiguan Pass. Suddenly, the Manchu cavalry descended upon the Li Zicheng camp under the cover of a sand storm.
Li Zicheng lost
[? to be double checked again] troops and 15 generals at the battle.
Three years later, corpses were not not fully buried yet on the spot.
Dorgon, taking advice of two Confucian counsellors (defector ex-Ming general and scholar), would propose that Wu San'gui and Li Zicheng fight the battle first.
While Wu & Li were entangled in a bitter fight, Dorgon led his cavalry on a charge against Li Zicheng all of a sudden.
Li Zicheng retreated to Beijing and decapitated the father of Wu Shangui en route of retreat, and slaughtered Wu San'gui's family prior to exiting Peking.
After the Manchus were invited by Wu San'gui the gatekeeper for the Shanhaiguan Pass, the Manchus used the slogan of 'Restoring the Ming Dynasty' to call for cooperation among the Ming Chinese remnant armies in the wars against the rebels.
Li Zhiting concluded that Wu San'gui had an agreement with Duoergun in ceding the land to the north of the Yellow River to the Manchu.
However, Duoergun would prohibit Wu San'gui from entering Peking, ordered Wu San'gui on a continuous chase after Li Zicheng instead, and broke the promise of dividing China by the Yellow River.
Duo'ergun then relocated the Manchu Emperor Shunzi to Peking.
After losing the battle, Li fled to the west.
Wu San'gui pursued Li Zicheng to Xi'an.
After a defeat in the Tongguan Pass, Li fled southward to the Jiugongshan Mountain, Hubei Province where Li was killed by the local Ming landlord bands.
(Since Li's body was not authenticated by the Manchu or Wu San'gui's armies till months later, there was a rumor that Li had faked death and that Li went to the mountains as a monk.)
The Manchu-Ming armies went on to Sichuan to kill rebel Zhang Zicheng.
After defeating Li Zicheng, the Manchu re-oriented the armies to attack the Southern Ming Court and slaughtered the city of Yangzhou on the north bank of the Yantze River.
Southern Ming General Shi Kefa died during this battle.
Then, crossing Yantze River, the Manchus slaughtered the cities of Jiading and Jiangyin, both of which had rebelled against the Manchu when the queue order was re-issued.
Throughout the campaigns, the turn-coat Ming armies were mobilized for fighting the Chinese. The notorious slaughtering of the Jiading City was conducted by a Manchu general of the ethnic Chinese background.
Entering China Proper
Having ascribed the division point of
Opium War to communist school of thoughts, Hu Qiuyuan concluded that it was Ming China's trinity of i) "eight-part essay" [i.e., stereotyped essay"], ii) sea ban and iii) "eunuch politics" that had pushed China into the down-sloping at a time when Portuguese still acknowledged China's wealth as something Europe never could match.
(Scholar Li Zhiting pointed out that eunuchs participated in politics since Yongle era, entered the army as "jian jun" [monitoring emissary] in Tianqi Era, and continued to play its role even though Emperor Chongzhen eradicated Wei Zhongxian eunuch gestapo gang.)
Hu Qiuyuan also blamed Ming Dynasty's Zheng Heh seven voyages [] for destroying ethnic-Chinese kingdoms in Southeast Asia.
The arrival of Portuguese would further wipe out any remnants of such "colonialist" or "capitalist" buds that China ever possessed.
Hu Qiuyuan claimed that European powers could have converged upon China much earlier than
Opium War should there be absent the British-French War and Napoleonic War.
Further, Scholar Hu Qiuyuan believed that both Li Zicheng Rebellion and the Manchu Revolt were the products of Ming China's mutiny, not peasant uprising, nor minority uprising.
Zhang Xianzhong & Li Zicheng's Rebellion
In northern China, Ming Dynasty was already devastated by the rebellion led by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.
As to the origin of the rebellion, the first significant incident would be the "garrison troops at Guyuan pillaging the prefecture vault for lack of military stipends".
That was, a mutiny.
Mire, Luo Xianglin had pointed out that Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming had rolled up Ming China's cannons manufacturing plant as a gift for the Manchu.
In deed, the Manchu fighting forces had absorbed enormous Ming Dynasty defectors.
In this sense, both Tang China and Ming China had demised as a result of their own military mutiny, not the peasant rebellion.
Historians concluded that Ming Dynasty ended in the hands of rebel Li Zicheng, not the Manchu invasion.
The Manchu further gave last Ming emperor a posthumous title of Zhuangliedi as an elegy.
However, Li Zicheng's banditry did not consist of the displaced Ming army at all.
The background of Li Zicheng (Li Tzu-ch'eng, ) and Zhang Xianzhong was similar:
Li Zicheng was at one time serving Ming China as a "postal garrison soldier", while Zhang Xianzong was a soldier stationed at the Yan-Sui-zhen garrison.
MING SHI, edited by the Manchu throughout 268 years of ruling, had provided us with a possibly forged history about Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong banditry.
still believed that Zhang Xianzhong slaughtered about dozen percent of Sichuan Province population, with 70% other deaths related to epidemics, starvation and wars.
In the following, we will briefly cover the two rebels.
Li Zicheng was born in the [Tangut] Li-Jiqian castle of Huaiyuanbu in Mizhi county of Shenxi Province (for which Li Zicheng later proclaimed himself a descendant of the
Founder at the time of imperial enthronement). After working as a shepherd for a rich person and serving a postal soldier in Yinchuan, Li Zicheng fled a death penalty for law violation.
MING SHI claimed that by the end of the Tianqi Era [], ennuch Wei Zhongxian dispatched Qian Yingjia as governor of Shenxi [western Shenxi Province] and Zhu Tongmeng as governor of Yan-sui [northern Shenxi Prov], but both guys pacified banditry by taking in briberies and ransoms only.
Li Zhiting mentioned a peasant uprising as to resistng government collection of grains in Chengcheng county of Shenxi in 1627.
In the 1st year of Emperor Chongzhen Era [], famine erupted in western Shenxi Province while military stipends were in shortage in northern Shenxi Province.
Garrison troops at Guyuan pillaged the prefecture vault.
There ensued the Wang Jiayin banditry in Fugu, and Yichuan banditry (led by Wang Zuogua, Fei-shan-hu [flying-across-mountain tiger] & Da-hong-lang [big red wolf]).
Gao Yingxiang, a horse thief, rose up in Ansai border post with a pal called Wang Daliang.
Li Zicheng followed his uncle-in-law Gao Yingxiang in rebelling against Ming Dynasty in A.D. 1628.
At the time, rebel Luo Rucai was foighting under Gao Yingxiang.
After Gao Yingxiang died, Luo Rucai worked with Li Zicheng on a 40-60 split of the lootings.
Zhang Xianzhong, who was spared death by his superior officers Chen Hongfan & Wang Wei, would stage a rebellion in A.D. 1630 by rallying 18 "sai" [border villages].
The Ming court dispatched Hong Chengchou to quelling rebellion.
Li Zicheng & Zhang Xianzhong gangs were occasionally destroyed and pacified, but managed to regroup again.
In the winter of A.D. 1633, the rebels, including Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, Gao Yingxiang, and Zhang Xianzhong, broke through the Yellow River cordon at Mianchi, and intruded into western Henan.
In May-June of A.D. 163