Did Huang Taiji die with an arrow from General Yuan Chonghuan?

The background of the change in the second year of Chongzhen:

Historians usually refer to Huang Taiji's first entrance plunder in the second year of Chongzhen (1629) as "the change in the past". This campaign is of great significance in the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties: from a macro perspective, it marks another major change in the strategic situation of both sides. The fortress promotion, economic blockade and diplomatic alliance policies of the Ming Dynasty gradually disintegrated after this campaign, and they lost their strategic initiative forever. From the microscopic point of view, this campaign has brought out several key topics: for example, Yuan Chonghuan, the inspector, was arrested and killed for treason; The mutiny in Wang Jun, such as mountains, Shaanxi and Gansu, became the key force of the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty. For example, Chongzhen was forced to pay again, and finally fell into an infinite financial cycle; Even because of this campaign, Jiubian guarded against the northern bandits, and the northwest and other places could not get rice and food, and the hungry people grew up, which enabled the unemployed Li Zicheng to start an uprising and eventually became the grave digger of the Ming Dynasty. All kinds of causes and effects were intertwined in this incident, which made the later readers sigh. This campaign lasted more than seven months, starting from the entrance of Jinbing on October 27th, the second year of Chongzhen, and ending at the end of May, the third year of Chongzhen, when A Min and others all withdrew from the customs. This paper outlines the background of this campaign according to various historical materials.

In the sixth year of the Apocalypse (1626), on August 11th, Nurhachi died in Saojibao, and his eighth son, Huang Taiji, succeeded him. At that time, the situation he had to face was quite unfavorable.

Politically speaking, Nurhachi ordered the kings to discuss politics with each other, and Huang Taiji had to sit with the other three Baylor * *. His power was not stable and centralized, and the internal struggle was fierce.

Militarily speaking, Nurhachi didn't fight for a long time in his later years. The last big battle was defeated at the gates of Ningyuan, and the army's morale was low. In the strategic situation, although the late Jin Dynasty expanded its territory, it was quite difficult: the southwest was a solid Ningjin defense line, and it was meaningless to attack hard from the front. To the east is the North Korea and the Mao Wenlong Department of the Ming Dynasty. Although the strength is not strong, it is always harassing in the rear, which is a big hidden danger. Moreover, Mao Wenlong's sea base has become a shelter for Han Chinese refugees in Liaodong, and there are "hundreds of thousands" of people fleeing from Liaodong.

A considerable proportion of the population of the Eight Banners has to fight for years. Most of the farming work depends on Han people and slaves in Liaodong, and refugees keep fleeing, which seriously damages the economic strength of the late Jin Dynasty. On the west, however, there are divided Mongolian ministries. Although Jin regarded the alliance with Mongolia as the most important policy since Nurhachi, he kept wooing it, but for various reasons, these tribes did not completely join. In addition to stable relations with Horqin and other departments, Ligdan Khan, the most powerful Chahar department in Mongolia, has long been hostile to Houjin. Under the provocation and inducement of the Ming Dynasty, the neighboring Kerkha department turned its back on the League three times, attacked Horqin, attacked the envoys of the late Jin Dynasty and looted property. Tumote, Aohan, Naiman, Harqin and other departments are scattered everywhere and do not obey orders. Later Jin was in an isolated and besieged state militarily.

Economically speaking, there was a famine in Liaodong shortly after Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne. By June of the first year of Tiancong (1627), the price of rice per bucket had risen to 8 taels of silver, and people ate people. Although the latter Jin had silver in his hand, he was surrounded by enemies and had nowhere to trade. In this case, there are more and more people fleeing. A student named Yue Qiluan wrote a letter suggesting that peace should be made with the Ming Dynasty, otherwise, I am afraid that "our people will be scattered and died".

in the face of all kinds of disadvantages, Huang taiji showed his great talents. He first sent troops to defeat the Mongolian Khalkha, and then took the opportunity of Yuan Chonghuan to send people to mourn, and began to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty to stabilize the positive situation. Some people think that Huang taiji's peace talks are sincere, because his national strength is weak, but judging from the historical situation, this statement is difficult to establish. The so-called peace talks are largely a political means. Under the cover of positive peace talks, Hou Jin quickly formulated a general plan to attack North Korea and cut off Mao Wenlong's Ministry, and launched the "Battle of Ding Mao". Soon after North Korea was defeated, it was forced to make peace, entered into a "brotherhood" with Houjin, and gave some economic assistance. The vast majority of Mao Wenlong was driven into the island and lost its land base. The worries in the east of Huang taiji have basically been solved.

Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, was not idle when the late Jin Dynasty fought in Korea. He didn't want to risk sending troops to rescue North Korea's Dongjiang River, and he didn't want to go to the Jin-Shenyang base camp as a diversion. He just sent an army to bluff at Sanchahekou. Yuan's abacus is to seize the time to build castles in Jinzhou, Songshan, Xingshan, Daling River and Xiaoling River while Huang Taiji is fighting in the east, and push the defense line of the Ming army from Ningyuan to 2 miles. From this, "plow, build, and advance", "while jinyi, Guangning, and Liaoshen, do it step by step", and build the fortress all the way to Shenyang. According to Yuan Chonghuan's vision, as long as the castle is built slowly and steadily all the way, it will be "four years before and after, and it will be victorious". When he came back later, he boasted that "Liaoning will be flat in five years". In fact, it was not a whim, but his optimistic estimation (or exaggerated estimation) of his strategy.

but in fact, it is impossible for the Ming dynasty to carry out their fortress strategy steadily and undisturbed. Huang taiji must not tolerate the Ming army's castle being built near Jinzhou. On April 18, the soldiers who recruited North Korea just returned to Shenyang, and their breathing was uncertain. On the sixth day of May, he learned that the Ming army was building, and immediately set out again to recruit Ming. The cities of Daling River and Xiaolinghe River of the Ming army have not been completed and have been destroyed. However, Jinzhou has been completed, and the general Zhao Lvjiao led the troops to stick to it. Huang Taiji attacked the city several times, but he could not conquer it, causing heavy casualties. There is no chance to attack Ningyuan again. Coupled with this mobilization, it was originally a hasty move. In the heat and heat, many soldiers died and were forced to retreat. This is the famous "Ningjin Victory" of the Ming Army.

The later theorists focused on the tactical victory of the Ming army, but failed to see that the latter Jin actually took a slight advantage in strategy. In fact, the Ming Dynasty made time to consolidate Jinzhou area at the expense of North Korea and Maobu, in order to use it as a springboard to move forward in Yizhou and Quang Ninh (of course, if we try our best to save North Korea, we may have to take risks in advance to make a decisive battle, which is not good for Ming). However, North Korea was exhausted after three months. After Huang Taiji achieved his goal, it was inevitable that he would return to the army to attack Jin. Even in a hurry, it is imperative. Judging from the results, although Jinzhou could not be captured, all the peripheral castles were demolished, and the Ming army's progress in building a city was restrained, and it could not be restored for a long time, and the strategic goal of the Ming side could not be realized at last.

In fact, Jinzhou was besieged, and the Ming side suffered heavy losses, especially when Tashan was occupied. Ningjin suddenly lost communication and became an isolated city, which made the ruling and opposition parties immediately question whether they should keep Jinzhou after the war. Yan Mingtai, then governor of Jiliao, put forward: "Jinzhou is a remote and secluded Olympic area, and it was a mistake to discuss and repair it that day." What he means is that Jinzhou, a city, was originally defenceless, and even if it was lost, it would not have any impact on the closure of important places. However, Jinzhou is too close to Shenyang, and if it wants to be repaired and defended, it will inevitably attract soldiers. Moreover, Jinzhou is isolated and cannot echo Ningyuan. "With a small projectile, it will scratch half of Kun." Since the Ming army still doesn't want to and can't fight the late Jin, it should take a step back and give up Jinzhou to protect Ningyuan first. At the same time, training in Shanhaiguan and Jiyu Town is the best. Jinzhou is not disobedient, but only a small number of troops can be stationed to "think that it is empty" and should not be "mud for death." "Jinzhou, the original is the policy. If you make a mistake today, how can you make another mistake? "

The military commanders of the Ming Dynasty also objected to guarding Jinzhou. You Shilu, the general commander stationed there, said that Jinzhou was "uninhabitable because of the rain [16]" and withdrew to Xingshan. Hou Shilu, who is stationed in Tashan, also thinks that Tashan is not a place to defend and wants to "relocate".

After comparing the gains and losses, Huo Weihua, assistant minister of the Ministry of War, still feels that "Jincheng has been effectively defended and should never be abandoned. [18] "But he couldn't come up with any good ideas, only saying," If thieves arrive, they will be fortified and clear. " Not long ago, Yuan Chonghuan was impeached and didn't save Jinzhou, so he resigned. Wang Zhichen took over as DuShi and stayed in Jinzhou until February of the following year, and finally gave up. It is difficult to find the exact reason for finally abandoning brocade in historical materials, but at least in March of the first year of Chongzhen, the Ming army had abandoned Jinzhou, Tashan and Xingshan. On May 11th of that year, Huang Taiji sent Abatai and Yue Tuo to lead 3, troops, which destroyed the three cities of Jinzhou, Gao Qiao and Xingshan, destroyed 31 stations east of Thirteen Mountains, and attacked Daxing Fort of the Ming Army to the west, but failed. So far, Yuan Chonghuan's first negotiation with Huang Taiji has been lost for various reasons, and all the castles built have been destroyed, wasting time, money and manpower. Although the latter Jin Dynasty was defeated by Ning Jin, its strategic goal was basically achieved, which further undermined the strategy of the Ming side and won the initiative.

in Mongolia, Huang taiji also had a windfall. At the turn of the apocalypse and Chongzhen, the Mongolian Chahar Department (known as Chahan in Ming Dynasty), which had been nomadic in Xing 'an Mountains since the young prince moved eastward, finally dared not fight the late Jin Dynasty, and moved westward under the leadership of Ligdan Khan (known as Hutun Rabbit in Ming Dynasty). Ligdan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan, is known as the Great Khan of Mongolia and controls 4, troops, but in fact many tribes do not obey his orders. Ligdan Khan tried to reunify the Mongolian ministries, sent troops to attack Boshuo Ketuhan (known as Bu Shi Tu Han in Ming Dynasty) in Tumote, defeated him and fled to Ordos. He then attacked the departments of Harqin Baiyan Taiji, arousing the unanimous resistance of various tribes in Mongolia. In the second year of Tiancong, he fought with the allied forces in Tumut Zhao Cheng. Although he won a disastrous victory, the hatred caused by it grew bigger and bigger, and all tribes rebelled. The five departments of Kharka, Naiman, Aohan, fried flowers and the remnants of Harqin all flocked to the later Jin Dynasty, among which the refuge of Harqin was particularly important for the later entrance, which will be further detailed later.

Huang taiji attached great importance to the Mongolian ministries who came to vote, rewarded them with marriage, and led them to Chahar in September of the second year of Tiancong. In this way, the nearby Mongolian tribes became allies of Huang Taiji, creating conditions for detouring south and entering the Great Wall.

in the Ming dynasty, Zhu Youxiao, the emperor of the apocalypse, died in August of the seventh year of the apocalypse (1627), and his younger brother Zhu Youjian succeeded him as emperor chongzhen. Chongzhen came to power one year later than Huang Taiji, when he was only seventeen years old. The young emperor immediately showed extraordinary tactics. He quietly arranged the preparations, and then cleanly got rid of the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian and cleaned up the so-called "eunuch". At the beginning, the officials who were rejected by Wei Zhongxian and his gang were activated in succession. In April of the first year of Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan was appointed as the Ministry of War Minister and the right deputy capital of Douchayuan, and he was in charge of Tianjin and Denglai military affairs. Yuan Chonghuan resigned and refused, so he went to his post and was summoned to the platform in July. In his reply to the emperor, he was generous and boasted that he wanted to "level Liao in five years." Greatly relieved, Chongzhen answered it politely, gave it Shangfang sword, python jade and gold coins, and promised to meet all his requirements as much as possible.

after Yuan Chonghuan went through the customs, he first dealt with the mutiny caused by Ningyuan's unpaid wages, and then repaired the castle, cleared the troops and unified the affairs. On June 5th, the second year of Chongzhen, he called Mao Wenlong, the company commander of Pidao, for a pretence, and killed him with Shangfang Sword in Shuangdao, and incorporated the troops of Dongjiang Town under his jurisdiction. At the same time, Yuan Chonghuan actively made a second negotiation with Huang Taiji, and the letters exchanged between the two sides from the first month of the second year of Chongzhen until Huang Taiji sent troops.

against this background, Huang taiji suddenly started cutting Ming on October 2nd. This time, instead of attacking Ningjin hard, the nomads from the army went through Mongolia, broke through the pass of the Great Wall and went straight to the mainland. The "change of oneself" happened.

No wonder Chongzhen wants to cut down Yuan Chonghuan.