Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Emperor Wanli and the Strangest War

The forty-sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty and the third year of Tianming in the Houjin Dynasty (1618 A.D.). In the middle of the night on April 14th, outside the Fushun Pass in Liaodong, Daming, there was a sound of whimpering Hu Jia, which broke the tranquility of the mid-spring night.For a time, the sky was full of artillery fire, and the sound of killing shook the ground.Li Yongfang, the Fushun guerrilla general of the Ming Empire, was shocked and welcomed a messenger.Someone came to tell the general that Nurhachi led an army of tens of thousands to surround Fushun, the vanguard had entered the city earlier, and now they have occupied every key point, and within a short while, they can attack the city with both internal and external forces.If you surrender, you can save the lives of the people in the city, and the general will enjoy the glory and wealth; if you resist, the city of Fushun will be destroyed.Li Yongfang looked at the flames of a city, and heard the turmoil, and decided to surrender in Kaesong.

The next day, in the early morning of the 15th, Nurhachi's army joined forces inside and outside to take Fushun.Li Yongfang rode out of the city and came to the Nurhachi camp, where he held a surrender ceremony to hand over his weapons. This was the first official battle between Hou Jin and Ming Dynasty.The results of Nurhachi's battle are: 300,000 people and animals were plundered, and 1,000 slaves were sent to the people.Li Yongfang became Jin's first senior officer after the surrender of the Ming Empire.Soon after, he became Nurhachi's grandson-in-law. The war has begun.

This is a very strange war.The weird thing is that the war has actually started long ago, and has actually been going on for more than 30 years, yet the attacked side of the war doesn't care about it at all, and doesn't take this war seriously. To be honest, in the past 30 years, people have continuously issued warnings to the decision-makers of the Ming Empire.Unfortunately, these warnings were completely ineffective.Li Chengliang is an important factor in it, and the more important role happened to our head of state-Emperor Wanli. Since the fifteenth year of Wanli, our emperor has reduced the number of times he went to court for various reasons.Since then, the emperor has been away from court more and more times, and the time has become longer and longer.In the end, the living ancestral spirit simply stopped showing up for nearly thirty years.

Nearly thirty years!Don't take a step outside the Forbidden City!Even though it is full of charms inside, it is only a tiny place after all.Based on this alone, our head of state has created a humanistic spectacle that is enough to shock the world. The news from the palace is: For a long time, the emperor must drink every day, get drunk every time he drinks, get angry every time he gets drunk, and scold or beat the staff around him severely every time he gets angry.It can be seen that the emperor is in a bad mood. The reason why the emperor was in such a bad mood may be related to Zhang Juzheng's severe trauma to his feelings.

It is said that there was another factor that made the emperor's mood worse: The emperor fell in love with Concubine Zheng.The two loved each other so sincerely and touchingly that they had entered eachother's vows and ecstasy.We know that in the palaces of the seventy-two concubines in the Sangong and Six Courtyards of our country, the emperor can vent his sexual desire at will, but he cannot vent his love.Therefore, when the emperor expressed his intention to make the son born to himself and Concubine Zheng the crown prince, he immediately encountered firm resistance from the officials.The reasons for the objection of the courtiers are sacred and grand, that is, the patriarchal system and the ancestral family law of the Ming Empire that have been practiced for at least a thousand years.The reason is that this son is not the eldest son of the emperor.

For this reason, the emperor's love has been widely questioned, and the concubine Zheng Gui, who is likely to be very cute—at least in the emperor's mind—has become a disaster for the country and the people like Baosi and Daji, both inside and outside the court. universally hated. Except for Concubine Zheng, the emperor was full of tenderness and sweetness, and no one paid attention to it at all.He is full of love, but he has no scheming methods, so he can only stand up to the court's civil and military justice for fifteen years.In the end, even the beloved Concubine Zheng lost her patience, and when she acted like a baby, she put her arms around the emperor's neck and called him "old mother".

The emperor's delicate and sensitive heart was wounded.He didn't understand why since Zhang Juzheng's era, he was always the one who got hurt? From then on, he no longer bothered to talk to his courtiers, and was too lazy to take care of the affairs of the empire.When documents and reports from all over the country and various central departments enter the palace, they will be like mud cows in all likelihood, and there will be no more news.In the terminology of the time, these documents and reports were "retained" - left in the palace, that is, to fend for themselves silently.

There was a poor scholar of the imperial cabinet—equivalent to today’s prime minister or deputy prime minister—named Shen Yiguan, who once remarked with melancholy that he had only seen the emperor three times in the past thirteen years.So much so that no matter how hard the courtiers tried, they couldn't remember the majesty's face today. A chief academician named Ye Xianggao, who is equivalent to the Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet today, told his friends disheartened: Nowadays, it is difficult to ask for one thing. And our emperor was even more disheartened. Even when a judicial official named Luo (luo, the same as "Luo") Yu Ren publicly reprimanded him for having "wine, sex, wealth, and gas", the emperor didn't bother to talk to him, but After ordering him to be dismissed, he was blasted out of the capital.

Finally, Li Tingji, a scholar, resigned from the day he was appointed as the chief cabinet scholar, and did not take over any government affairs.More than two years later, after he submitted more than 120 letters of resignation and moved out of Beijing to show his determination, the emperor formally approved his request. Jiangshan is like a woman, it needs careful care.Unfortunately, for Emperor Wanli, Jiangshan was far less important than his women.In fact, for more than two thousand years, similar situations and emperors are not unique, or it can also be said that scum emperors like Emperor Wanli or much worse than him are almost everywhere in the history of our country.Generally speaking, the Chinese have long been calm about shouting long live to such emperors.Therefore, they really don't have much reason to complain about the suffering they have encountered in the cycle of dynasties.

However, after all, in the long past of our country, there seems to be no dynasty like the middle and late Ming Dynasty, where so many emperors were so careless and indifferent to the splendid country in their hands. It's just like the worst playboys and dandies with the beautiful women who have already got their hands-they are already boring and completely deprived of passion.Now, the sons and daughters are thinking about how to decently use this affair to exchange for the excitement and joy that they have not experienced before. Facing the splendid country, the twenty-five-year-old Nurhachi is fighting steadily, taking it into his own hands step by step.

While he began his iron career in a far less ambitious way, his original goal may have been simple - blood revenge, and perhaps included his desire for a few beautiful women.Emotional, focused, and persistent, he has many of the ingredients for such a pursuit. However, to achieve a great cause, these alone are obviously not enough, he needs more conditions.Some of these conditions he already possessed, such as military talent, and some appeared just right, such as luck. The smooth development of his career at the beginning, in addition to his own quality and training, the opponent's lack of quality and training may have helped him a lot. This mainly refers to his Jurchen brothers of the same race.The ones who helped him the most and brought him the greatest good luck undoubtedly came from his most powerful enemies—the emperor of the Ming Empire and his courtiers, from Li Chengliang and Emperor Wanli.As mentioned above, in their hands, the country of the Ming Empire has increasingly lost its reason to continue to exist. In fact, Nurhachi's greatest success in the early days did not lie in how great he was or how talented he was, but in his success in turning the war into the war mentioned at the beginning of this article with the help of Li Chengliang and the Ming Empire. "A Very Strange War". We know that when Nurhaci raised his troops with the so-called "thirteen armors left behind", there were only a dozen of his companions, including himself and his younger brother Shuerhaqi.In the same year, when he led a dozen or twenty people to find out the bad luck of Nikan Wailan, the owner of the city of Tulun, Nikan Wailan, who got the news in advance, reacted by taking his wife and children and fleeing to other places.This shows that Nurhachi's early enemies did not seem to need great talent and generality to deal with them.The situation is probably similar to gang fights of gangsters in the underworld or common gang fights, beating enemies, and fighting with weapons in rural areas. Looking back at Chinese history, it took Liu Bang a little more than six years to establish the Han Empire when the world was in chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty; it took Li Shimin, who was of Hu blood, ten years from starting his army to becoming the emperor of the Tang Dynasty; the situation of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin was a bit special ; while Nurhachi's enemy, Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the emperor of the Ming Empire, took 16 years to establish the Ming Dynasty.Even Nurhachi’s authentic ancestor, Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguda, started his rebellion against Liao in 1113 AD, destroyed Daliao in 1125 AD, and wiped out half of the Great Song Empire twice in 1127 AD. It only took fourteen years.Now Nurhaci has spent thirty-six years and has not completely unified the Jurchen ministries. This cannot but make people doubt his political and military abilities.It also gives people enough reasons to ask: If it weren't for the fact that the Ming Empire was rotten to the bone, would Nurhachi have won? In fact, this suspicion is justified, but it is also biased.For example, it is probably in line with the actual situation to say that Nurhachi has outstanding military talents, superhuman personal qualities, willpower, and the spirit of keeping a low profile. It can be seen from the historical records that the early Nurhaci often led or sent ten or twenty people, or dozens of people to conquer the enemy or fight against the invaders.However, in these military operations, Nurhachi's courage and courage were amazing.This man is tall and strong, skilled in bow and horse, and the weapons he uses are long and heavy, far exceeding ordinary people.The armor he wore back then is stored in a temple in Shenyang today, and it took four strong young men to lift it up.He obviously has almost all the important qualities to be a hero in the cold weapon era. The situation in which Nurhachi strengthened his strength is exactly like the plot in Hezhong. In a siege operation, Nurhachi rushed to the front line and was hit by two arrows, one of which injured the jugular vein, bleeding profusely, and almost fell into a coma.The people around him wanted to help him, but he said, "Don't get close to me, don't let the enemy find that I'm injured." Then he calmly withdrew.Later, after the city was captured, the two strong men who shot and wounded Nurhachi were all captured, and everyone planned to punish them with arrows piercing their chests.Nurhaci said: "It's a pity that such a brave man died in battle. How can he be killed because he hurt me?"The two of them and the generals were convinced, and from then on they followed Nurhachi wholeheartedly to conquer the world. It is said that Nurhaci once fought against 800 people with four people. At that time, there were eighty people around him, and several of them were so frightened that they abandoned their troops and disarmed, preparing to flee.Nurhachi reprimanded him, and then, together with the other three, shot and killed more than 20 opponents.As a result, the other party panicked and ran for their lives.Nurhachi was very satisfied with this, and concluded: "To defeat 800 people with four people, this day will help me." (Volume 2 of "Records of Emperor Gao of the Qing Dynasty") This legend is somewhat similar to Zhang Fei in Dangyang. A loud shout on the bridge scares Cao Cao's 200,000 troops away.If it is not imagination or exaggeration, it can only explain one problem-these enemies of Nurhachi may be some rabble who have not received any military training. The Ming Dynasty implemented a divide-and-rule policy of restraint and balance for the border areas for a long time: if a tribe becomes a little stronger, it will immediately support another tribe to counter it, or support several forces at the same time, sowing dissension among them, so as to achieve the effect of mutual restraint .Therefore, these frontier tribes rarely have the opportunity to expand their military strength, and even simple military training may attract the attack of the Ming Empire army.Under Li Chengliang's long-term connivance, Nurhachi's situation is probably a very special case. There are records that Nurhachi is eight feet long and has extraordinary intelligence. He used to be under Li Chengliang's command. Whenever he faced a battle, he would take the lead bravely and make meritorious deeds. "Chengliang treated him favorably." (Peng Sunyi's "Hearing and Seeing in the Mountains" Volume 1) This situation shows that Nurhachi is likely to have received good military edification and training by the side of Li Chengliang, who is "a great general".A self-evident truth is that whether it is in the past cold weapon era or today, for military operations, whether they have received this kind of edification and training, the results will be completely different.In Nurhachi's early military operations, his enemies often broke up and dispersed, which may be the logical consequence of the above statement. The relationship with Li Chengliang must be of much greater significance to Nurhachi than these. After Li Chengliang killed Nurhachi's father and grandfather by mistake, he took a series of appeasement measures against Nurhachi, the most important of which are two: First, he transferred all the 30 edicts that Nurhachi's grandfather and father had enjoyed—the trade charter Second, he asked the central government for approval, and Nurhachi took over the post of commander of the left guard in Jianzhou. From then on, Nurhachi had a small world of his own. Facts have proved that the wrongful killing of grandfather and father did not affect the relationship between Nurhachi and Li Chengliang. The close and tacit understanding between them was very meaningful in Nurhachi's dealing with the Nikanwailan incident. Originally, according to the principle of divide and conquer, Li Chengliang had been supporting Nikan Wailan, the lord of the city of Tulun, and had sent money and people to help him build a new city.Now, Nurhaci, who has recently been appointed as the commander of Jianzhou Zuowei, wants to avenge his grandfather and father, but he lightly ignores the fact that his grandfather and father died at the hands of Li Chengliang's subordinates, and insists that it was Nikan Wailan who murdered his father. And grandfather, and don't give up.As a result, Nikan Wailan had no choice but to flee into the first version of the city that Li Chengliang helped him build, and let Nurhaci lead ten or twenty people to make a fuss in Tulun City.Li Chengliang's reaction was to ignore him and just sit on the sidelines. We can't find any evidence that Nurhaci's grandfather, father and Nikan Wailan had any troubles. It is also difficult to verify whether Nikan Wailan was really the mastermind or instigated to kill the two of them.But Nurhachi did show extreme hatred for Nikanwailan.According to "Manchurian Records" and other historical records: Nurhachi once rushed into the enemy group alone in order to hunt down Nikanwailan, and was shot in the chest and shoulders with random arrows, and was wounded in more than 30 places.Later, when he heard that Nikan Wailan had fled into the defense area of ​​Li Chengliang's army and was protected by the Ming army, he was so angry that he killed 19 Han people he could find at that time, and reinserted the arrowheads into the bodies of six of them. The wounds of the Han people who were injured, ordered them to report and ask for Nikanwailan.As a result, Li Chengliang's subordinates removed the ladder on which Nikan Wailan escaped, and placed him in front of the blade of Nurhachi's men. In the end, Nikan Wailan naturally lost his life. (Volume 2 of "Manchuria Records") Imagine: Nikanwailan was originally supported by the imperial government. Under normal circumstances, a war against him can actually be regarded as a war against the empire. For any strong and normal government and army, this is often It is the best excuse to start a war.From this, it can be concluded that without the acquiescence of Li Chengliang, the highest military officer in Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty, Nurhachi's subordinates would not dare to do so even if they borrowed a hundred courage. Nurha understood with all his heart and reciprocated.On the one hand, they kept attacking everywhere to expand their sphere of influence; on the other hand, they sincerely expressed their humility and obedience to the imperial government.Sometimes, this kind of humility and deference is especially lovable. for example-- In the 20th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1592), a major event occurred in the history of the relations between China, North Korea and Japan: Japan's Kanbai Toyotomi Hideyoshi went smoothly in his country, so, in a state of self-feeling, he launched a conquest In the Ming Dynasty, it was the great wish to go to the Asian continent.He landed in North Korea in May of that year, and two months later, Seoul and Pyongyang fell one after another.The king of North Korea rushed to Yizhou, a city on the border between China and North Korea, and asked the Ming Empire for assistance.The empire acted very responsibly, and immediately organized an anti-Japanese and aiding army to enter North Korea.Since then, the two sides have won and lost each other, and many people have died in each. In the meantime, what Mr. Huang Renyu called "the biggest diplomatic mistake of all times" occurred—— The emperors and ministers of the Ming Empire believed that they were the victors of the war. In order to appease the defeated, they sent envoys to Japan without knowing that Japan still had an emperor. Envoys succumb to their own great victories and come to seek peace or surrender.As a result, it was not until he faced the letter from His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty that he angrily discovered that he had been placed in the position of a loser and had to undertake the obligation to pay tribute to the Emperor of China and promise never to invade Korea again.And Toyotomi Hideyoshi originally thought that as the winner, he could at least divide North Korea, accept a North Korean prince as a hostage, and make a Daming princess one of his many wives and concubines.Therefore, the top decision makers of China and Japan, who were kept in the dark by their subordinates, could only dispatch troops and generals to fight again. In the end, the war that lasted seven years in a daze, came to an end in a daze because of the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As a result of the war, China, North Korea, and Japan declared that they had achieved great victories, which were recorded in the annals of the above-mentioned three countries. In this war that was inexplicable at the beginning and still inexplicable at the end, Nurhachi was particularly proactive and made repeated requests, hoping to allow him to lead his subordinates to participate in the battle and serve the Celestial Dynasty and His Majesty the Emperor.Although he was politely declined in the end, it left a deep impression on the emperor and his ministers. More importantly, in the past years, Nurhachi has won the support of Li Chengliang and completed the merger of Jianzhou Jurchen.Now, Li Chengliang left the front line of Liaodong and went to enjoy the happiness by the emperor's side.No one expected that Toyotomi Hideyoshi would invade North Korea at this very moment.For nearly seven years, the Ming Empire was fully focused on dealing with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the military focus of the Liaodong region was completely shifted to resisting the Japanese and aiding Korea.God seems to have taken special care of Nurhachi. Since Li Chengliang, he has given him another golden opportunity to consolidate the power of Jianzhou Jurchen calmly.At the same time, on the one hand, they expressed their allegiance and friendship to the Ming Empire, and on the other hand, they challenged other Jurchen tribes. As we know, Korea was the closest ally of the Ming Dynasty.Even after being conquered by the Qing Dynasty, in the private discussions of the Korean monarchs and ministers, the Qing Dynasty was also called a slave.Nurhachi understands Chinese, but his knowledge of Chinese characters may be very limited.Before Fan Wencheng, it was a down-and-out Han from Jiangsu and Zhejiang who helped Nurhachi write the report in Chinese characters.This person's Chinese character level is also difficult to compliment. In the existing literature and history materials of North Korea, we are fortunate to read a letter drafted by him on behalf of Nurhachi.This letter was written to the king of Joseon, and it was very funny and the meaning was very easy to understand.The article said: "I have learned it many times, and I have kept the frontiers of more than 950 (the ancient work "Yu")." The letter was solemnly stamped with the seal of the commander of the left guard of Jianzhou in Ming Dynasty. ("Li Dynasty Xuanzu Shilu" in the first month of Dingyou in the 29th year, and in July of the 33rd year Wuwu) From various historical materials, we can also see similar expressions.As we know, in Northeast China today, when parents scold children who do not follow the right path, one of the most commonly used words is "not learning well". From historical materials, it is difficult for us to find Nurhaci's dissatisfaction with the Ming Empire at this stage.At least in his impression to the imperial officials, this person is quite "learned".For example, in a report to the emperor, a governor of Jiliao in the Ming Dynasty once commented on Nurhachi in this way: "Nurhachi is loyal and obedient, learns well, and works hard at the side." ) There is evidence that Nurhachi often captured those who violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty and handed them back to Ming Dynasty; he also often returned the Han people who had been looted by the Jurchens.Once, Ke Fifty, chief of the Jurchen Muzhahe tribe, led his crowd to plunder Chaihe Fort and killed the commander of the Ming army Liu Axe.When Nurhachi knew about it, he immediately beheaded the chief and sent his head to the Ming army for inspection, showing a proactive, submissive and enthusiastic manner. During this period, he came to Beijing to pay tribute eight times in person. In addition to expressing his envy and desire for the prosperity of the Celestial Dynasty, he also used money to pave the way and pay high-ranking imperial officials.During the thirty-six years, there were a few clear-headed people who kept reminding the emperors and ministers of the empire to be vigilant against Nurhachi.These warnings have lost their effectiveness in Nurhachi's diligent work on the high officials of the empire. There is an unproven saying: Once the Liaodong General Army of the Ming Dynasty held an exercise ceremony, and Nurhachi respected it.With a face full of fear and fear, he repeatedly praised "the majesty of the sky", and repeatedly expressed his strong desire to "become a small soldier in the heavenly army", which made the military generals of the Ming Empire very satisfied with his deterrent and appealing power. During the Wanli period, the imperial palace caught fire and several famous halls were burned down. After that, craftsmen were recruited from all over the country to restore them.There is a saying recorded in a document that Nurhachi, who had already become king near Xinbin County today, even disguised himself as a migrant worker and came to the heart of the empire to participate in the grand event.This statement is not necessarily true.However, there is no doubt that he has a thorough understanding of the rottenness of the empire from the inside to the outside. In this way, during the thirty-six years, Nurhaci, while receiving lofty rewards from the central government of the Ming Empire, went through hundreds of battles and conquered the following Jurchen tribes: Five Jurchen tribes in Jianzhou: Sukesu Huhe tribe, Hunhe tribe, Wanyan tribe, Dong'e tribe, and Zhechen tribe; Three divisions of Changbai Mountain: Yalu River Division, Zhulishe Division, and Neyin Division; The four tribes of Haixi Jurchen in the Songhua River Basin: Yehe tribe, Hada tribe, Huifa tribe, and Wula tribe; There are three tribes of Jurchen savages in the Ussuri River Basin: the Oji tribe, the Warka tribe, and the Kurka tribe. During this period, he became king in Feiala City near Yongling Township, Xinbin County, Liaoning Province in the fifteenth year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (AD 1587).At that time, it was the fourth year of Nurhachi's army, and his sphere of influence was about 200 miles, that is, about ten kilometers long and five kilometers wide, which was equivalent to a smaller town in the north today.Different from other chieftains, there are records that when Nurhachi built the royal city, there may be designers and engineers sent by the central or local government to participate in the design and construction of the project.In this, it can be seen that Li Chengliang's love and support for him have infiltrated.This is normal. Think about it, his father and grandfather were killed by mistake. At that time, they were understood as martyrs for the country, and he himself was so loyal to state affairs. There is no reason why Nurhachi should not be valued by the imperial government. Therefore, two years later, in the seventeenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, and two years before Li Chengliang left the Liaodong front for the first time, the imperial central government ordered Nurhachi to be named "Jianzhou Zuowei Dudu Qianshi", equivalent to the rank of assistant commander of the military region.Evidence shows that at this time, the number of edicts in his hands increased from thirty to five hundred. Six years later, in the 23rd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, when the War to Resist Japanese Aggression and Aid Korea was inextricably fought, the central government of the Ming Empire promoted Nurhachi to the rank of General Dragon and Tiger for his "significant achievements in defending the frontier". Became the first Jurchen chief in Jianzhou to receive such a high title, and enjoyed the special government allowance of 800 taels of silver and 15 pieces of silk and satin from the central government every year. In this way, for more than thirty years, on the one hand, Nurhaci kept expressing his humility and loyalty to the court, on the other hand, he annexed the various Jurchen tribes with his outstanding military talent and valiant force——"Hide your strengths and bide your time to show the court , To create achievements with the name of a piece of paper", so that the court always regarded him as an insignificant mange disease, thinking that everything he did was just like the little hooligan "belonging to the normality of Yishoushu". (Meng Sen's "History of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" Part II) From small to large, from weak to strong, Nurhaci included the Northeast region except the Liaodong Ming Army Defense Zone and the Jurchen Yehe Division under his command.The area he controlled included large tracts of land in Far Eastern Siberia today. As a result, this war that started thirty-six years ago was led by Nurhachi and turned into the most peculiar war in the world.For thirty-six years, the Ming Empire, as one side of the war, kept adding officials and promotions to the other side to help him grow stronger; thirty-six years later, when the power of the other side was strong enough, the sharp spearhead When it was really aimed at the party being beaten, the latter suddenly realized: everything was directed at him! They really thought the war had just begun today. The situation is embarrassing.The imperial system is indeed a roller coaster with no brakes.When it moves in the right direction, it has overwhelming power and is invincible.When it slips down the wrong path, its destructive energy is equally unstoppable. The forty-sixth year of Wanli (1618 A.D.) is an important year in the history of Ming-Qing relations.Zhu Yijun, the Wanli Emperor who reigned the longest in the Ming Empire, was fifty-six years old at the time.He and his courtiers finally ushered in the last two years of the Wanli Dynasty after nearly thirty years of neglect and endless party disputes, strife and quarrels. It is destined that in the last two years of the emperor's life, the empire will start to pay the price for its past carelessness, selfishness, greed, and short-sightedness.This price is - in the years to come, while sending millions of people into dire straits, at the same time sending the dynasty to a dead end. At this time, Nurhachi was in his sixtieth year.This old hero, who was four years older than Emperor Wanli, was vigorous and vigorous when he was sixty years old, and seemed to have just entered the most glorious period of his life.In the first month of the first lunar month, in his unglamorous and even shabby Khan Palace, the 60-year-old old Khan categorically announced: "I have made up my mind, and I will go to war this year." empire.The future course of history shows that it was in the coming eight years that he pushed his career to the top. Three years ago, Li Chengliang died at the age of ninety.In the new year, Nurhachi established the Houjin Kingdom in Hetuala, which is now Xinbin County, Liaoning Province. His famous Eight Banners system.And because Li Chengliang and Emperor Wanli voluntarily gave up the Six Forts of Kuandian, Nurhachi suddenly increased his strategic maneuvering space by eight hundred miles, making the Ming Empire basically lose the forward base to restrain Nurhachi. Hard to notice anything.So much so that even the news that Nurhachi established the Later Jin Khanate, the court of the Ming Empire probably knew about it from the envoys sent by the King of Korea. At this time, Nurhachi's soldiers and horses were strong, and its territory was not insignificant, so it can be said that it is not what it used to be.However, the overall strategic posture is not very good for him.In the south is North Korea, a close ally of the Ming Empire; in the north and northwest are the covetous Mongolian tribes and the Yehe tribe supported by Ming; in the west and southwest are behemoths - the Celestial Dynasty - the Ming Empire.This is a situation that affects the whole body. Except for his cold and desolate back garden in the northeast, the other three sides are all blocked by his enemies or potential enemies. If he advances in any direction, he may be attacked by people from all over the world. The outflanking of the side and rear wings cut off the rear and was attacked on all sides. At this time, he pointed his sword at the seemingly most powerful Ming Empire. This was really an unexpected, extremely bold and brilliant decision. It may be the most important adventure in Nurhachi's life. A desperate gamble.Whether it is due to the character of the desperado, or because he has really gained insight into the seemingly powerful but weak nature of the Ming Empire, the result of this gamble is the same: victory will open up a new world, and failure will lead to bankruptcy and even death. The place of burial. Nurhachi's idea is that if he can hit Daming hard and make this behemoth no longer point fingers, then it will be relatively easier to deal with the Yehe tribe and North Korea on the two wings; otherwise, he may always suffer from the enemy.For him, this is really too uncomfortable.Another factor, which may also be an important reason for his decision, is that he knows the Ming Empire very well and knows that this country is dying.However, in any case, being able to make such a decision made Nurhachi rise from a reckless hero who ruled one side to an extraordinary hero. In the forty-sixth year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (AD 1618), on April 13th, Nurhaci released the famous "Seven Great Hatreds to Heaven" in Hetu Alahan Palace. This is a very cute political statement that mixes major principles and standpoints with trivial matters. It is very similar to those leaflets in our country calling on folks to pick up hoes to beat enemies and eat rich people.The language of this proclamation is simple and provocative, and it must have played a significant role in arousing the grievances of the grassroots to fight against the enemy, but it also shows the degree of political insight of Nurhachi and his fierce fighters. For example, the fourth great hatred among them is very interesting. It is said that the Ming Dynasty supported Yehe, which caused the Yehe tribe to remarry a woman who Nurhachi had been engaged to Mongolia for a long time, which became Nurhachi's great hatred. The woman who made Nurhachi feel ashamed and resented was Brother Dong. Originally, Dong Ge's story had nothing to do with the Ming Dynasty. It is good that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the local civil and military forces did not participate in the snatching of this beauty.Nurhachi firmly believed that without the support of the Ming Dynasty, the Yehe tribe would not have dared to do such nonsense.Therefore, this incident became one of his seven major hatreds. In fact, this is a past event that happened nearly twenty years ago. For this reason, the blood that should be shed has already been shed, and Nurhachi has been holding back because of timing and strength.Now, this woman's youth has passed away, and she has become the "Yehe old woman" in the population at that time, but she was brought up by Nurhachi to speak out, showing that this Jurchen hero really needs to fabricate or find some reasons for her actions. Later, the descendants of Nurhachi were a little embarrassed. In the process of marching into the country and ruling the country, they kept embellishing the original manuscripts of the Seven Great Hatreds, which made the unbearable text much smoother, and finally achieved an article about our life. Something that can barely be seen today. Even so, their military arrangements were thorough and complete.The day after the proclamation was released, Nurhachi moved his army westward, and the next day he captured Fushun, an important town in eastern Liaodong of the Ming Dynasty.Fushun guerrilla general Li Yongfang, who commanded 3,000 troops, surrendered, and later became Nurhachi's grandson-in-law, the son-in-law, who is known as the son-in-law. A week later, the Guangning General Soldier and more than 10,000 men under its command were wiped out, leaving 12 survivors.Historical records: When the news came, "the whole court was shocked". (Volume 231 of "History of Ming Dynasty", biography of Zhang Chengyin) Only then did Emperor Wanli, the son of the Ming Empire, and his courtiers know that the war had begun. At this moment, the Ministry of War, the highest military leadership organ of the empire—equivalent to our Ministry of Defense today—has no one in charge of its work.The reason is that as early as two months ago, the first deputy minister who acted as the Minister of Defense, Cui Jingrong, the left servant of the Ministry of War, had repeatedly written to the emperor, asking for retirement, but was ignored by the emperor who had lived in the deep palace for decades.So the acting minister sealed the seal of the Ministry of National Defense and retired back to his hometown.In this regard, the Imperial Ministry of Defense has no one to preside over the work so far. It is said that the emperor has not filled the vacancies of government officials at all levels and places for a long time.According to statistics, the shortage of officials in various central departments has reached 70%, while the shortage of officials at the local provincial, city, and county levels has also reached 50%.The reason for this is that some people think that the salaries and salaries of these vacant officials can be collected by the emperor. Eight months later, that is, in February of the forty-seventh year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1619), the Ming Empire finally made arrangements for the crusade against Nurhachi in general. Battle". The former Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Ming Dynasty was named Yang Gao, and he was a high-ranking official whose courage and ability are difficult to accurately define.The reason for saying this is because the War to Resist the Japanese and Aid Korea was fought inexplicably under the leadership of this person.如今，帝国再也找不出更加合适的统帅人选了，情急之下，请他出山。另外一位次重要人选——新任辽东总兵官，则由李成梁将军的二公子李如柏将军出任。而恰恰就是这位李如柏将军，娶了努尔哈赤之弟舒尔哈齐的女儿，并生育有一子。于是，辽东人民只好无可奈何地传唱歌谣曰：“奴酋女婿作镇守，不知辽东落谁手？” 出征之前的誓师大会，给人的感觉很不好，其情形令即将奔赴战场厮杀的将士们心情郁闷。 象征大将之威的屠牛刀根本没有开刃，使本来应该挥刀就能斩断的、用来祭天的牛脖子竟然再三再四地割不断；驰马试槊是这种典礼中必有的古老节目，意在宣扬武威鼓舞士气，谁知，一位将军跨上骏马刚刚挥舞起来，那槊头就在已经朽烂的槊杆上折断坠地。 最高统帅的军事部署则更加令人绝望。出征前，大明帝国号称调集了四十七万全国精锐部队，准备以泰山压卵、牛刀杀鸡之势，一举割断努尔哈赤的喉咙。实际到达指定位置的部队则大约为十四万左右。相对努尔哈赤的六万兵马，这已经占据了人数上的压倒优势。谁知，我们的大军统帅可能在说给别人听的宣传中产生了错觉，真的以为自己指挥的是四十七万大军。于是，置兵合则强、兵分则弱的基本道理于不顾，下令化整为零，将十四万人分拆为四路大军，分进合击。结果，自然变成了努尔哈赤在每一路大军面前，都占据了绝对优势。努尔哈赤也就自然而然地选择了“凭尔几路来，我只一路去”的方针，采用了完全符合现代军事理论的战法——集中优势兵力打歼灭战。 战争进程大体如下： 截至二月中旬，明军陆续集结到宽甸、辽阳、沈阳、开原铁岭间四个地方的部队约为八万八千五百九十余人；此外，还有朝鲜军队一万人左右，叶赫部一万五千人，共计十一万三千六百余人；再加上其他土司、镇道的游兵散勇，明军总体上有十四万人上下。相对努尔哈赤的六万人马而言，这仍然是一支压倒性的力量。 问题在于，这些部队仓促集结在四个地点，而这四个地点散布在一个长达四百里的扇面上，各点之间山高水长、地形极其复杂，彼此很难相互呼应支援。此时，万历皇帝和中央政府完全不管千里之外的实际情形，每天只是用最高一级信号旗——红色信号旗催促进兵，于是，前敌最高统帅只好命令四路部队分头前进，在宽甸、辽阳、沈阳、开原铁岭间的四百里扇面上齐头并进，向兴京-赫图阿拉做球心状运动式攻击，希望能够达成分进合击的战役目标。 这四路大军是： 南路由辽阳总兵刘綎为统帅，于宽甸经由董鄂路即今日之辽宁省桓仁县，北向攻击兴京-赫图阿拉的东南侧。此路明军人数约一万人，号称四万，一万人的朝鲜军也划归此一路。后来，战争结束后，努尔哈赤坚定相信，这一路就是有四万多人。 中路右翼以辽东总兵李如柏为统帅，由皇帝亲自点名任命。此路由辽阳出发，经清河东向攻击兴京-赫图阿拉的正面。此路大军人数约二万五千人，号称六万，战争结束后，努尔哈赤宣布战果时，也认为该路敌军为六万人。 中路左翼以山海关总兵杜松为统帅，集结于沈阳，沿浑河河谷出抚顺，经由苏子河河谷，会同中路右翼军李如柏，共同攻击兴京-赫图阿拉之正面，此路大军兵力约三万人，号称八万。 北路以开原总兵马林为统帅，约一万人，加上叶赫部落的一万五千人，兵力约二万五千人，号称四万人，任务是集结于开原铁岭之间，出三岔儿堡——抚顺东北九十里处，进入苏子河流域，攻击兴京-赫图阿拉的北侧。 约定各路部队于二月二十一日分别由各自集结地同时出发，三月二日中路左右翼两军会合于二道关，又名尚间崖，然后，四路大军以炮声为号，齐头并进攻击赫图阿拉。 当时，据说是为了在心理上起到恐吓的作用，大明军队号称四十七万，并且基本没有进行有效的保密工作，致使努尔哈赤对明军在行军路线、行军时间、部队统帅人选等方面了如指掌。因此，当杜松所率领的中路左翼大军，从沈阳出发，沿浑河河谷经抚顺进入苏子河河谷时，努尔哈赤已经知道这是一支号称八万、实则三万的部队，于是，努尔哈赤调动全部六万八旗部队，将第一次打击对准了杜松所部。 三月一日，杜松于漫天大雪之中，饮酒赏雪，并大醉，然后乘酒兴渡过寒冷刺骨的冰河，导致携带辎重的大部队没能过河。杜松遂兵分两路，一路大部队留在河对岸萨尔浒山下，扎下大营，渡过河去的一部分部队由他亲自率领，前去仰攻界凡山上的吉林崖。当日晨，努尔哈赤率军由兴京-赫图阿拉出发，下午到达萨尔浒山以东、界凡山以南地区，将杜松的两支部队从中间隔开，使双方的联系完全中断。然后，努尔哈赤也兵分两路，一路为六旗兵马，约四万五千人，前去攻打萨尔浒山下约两万人的明军大营；另一路为两旗兵马，前去吉林崖，援助并夹攻杜松率领的部队。是时雨雪交加，明军携带的枪炮火器受潮后无法使用，在八旗铁骑的攻击下大败。入夜时分，萨尔浒山下的大营已经全军覆没，努尔哈赤随即将得胜后的六旗兵马全部调到界凡山下，围攻杜松所部。杜松率军拼死激战，终于多处负伤后，力战一夜而死。大明中路左翼军就此全军覆灭。 同是三月一日，大明北路军马林所部已经到达尚间崖。他下令兵分三路，成品字形扎下营盘，以便互为犄角。三个营地相互间隔约三四华里。当日入夜，马林的侦察兵报告他，杜松正在相隔十五六里地的吉林崖苦战，马林没有前去救援，只是下令各营严密防守，直到杜松全军覆灭。 三月二日，努尔哈赤率得胜之师来到尚间崖下。他先割断了马林大营与一个犄角的联系，然后倾力攻打这个犄角。最后的结果是：这三个本来应该相互呼应、相互支援的犄角，不光是不支援友邻部队，他们自己相互之间也是谁也不呼应谁，谁也不支援谁，最后，自然被努尔哈赤一个一个地各个击破。 与这一路大军同时行动的叶赫部一万五千兵马，则根本没有投入战斗，马林所部全军覆灭后，这一万五千兵马悄悄离开前线，回家了。 当晚，努尔哈赤收拢大军回到界凡山，得到侦察兵报告，知道刘綎所部之南路军已经到达桓仁，而李如柏所部之中路右翼军也到达虎栏。努尔哈赤立即命几员重要将领星夜驰回兴京-赫图阿拉，以便防守大本营。 此时，明朝四路大军的最高统帅部并没有随着部队的前进而前移，最高统帅留在沈阳，在那个遥远的地方，指挥协调大军行动。导致四路大军之间既不互相联系，更不协调行动。当时，努尔哈赤的全部主力部队都在战场上，兴京-赫图阿拉的大本营里只有不到四千兵马在守卫。在杜松和马林与努尔哈赤苦斗时，刘綎和李如柏若能够对赫图阿拉发起攻击的话，后来的结果如何就很难说了。结果，直到三月二日夜里，杜松与马林两路大军已经全军覆灭了，刘綎和李如柏还完全不知道友邻部队的命运，他们还在各自的位置上，安心等待攻城的信号——炮声。 三月三日，努尔哈赤下令杀牛宰羊犒劳部队。 三月四日午时，经过一昼夜休整后集结起来的八旗军，与刘綎部在赫图阿拉城外的阿布达里山冈上展开激战。战斗持续了一个下午和整个夜晚，到第二天凌晨，即三月五日凌晨，刘綎及其部下将士大都战死。跟在明军后面的朝鲜部队，则在目睹明军全军覆灭的惨状后，放下武器，全军投降了努尔哈赤。 而李如柏则停留在虎栏。他既没有到达指定位置，没有按照炮声的信号前去攻城，也不去支援苦战中的刘綎，他只是停留在虎栏，谁也不知道他究竟想干什么。据说，从努尔哈赤向明军发起第一波攻击时开始，挡在李如柏大军前面的，就只有二十名努尔哈赤的骑兵。而率领数万大军的李如柏始终没有突破这二十个骑兵组成的防线，始终没有前往赫图阿拉城下，直到从最高统帅那儿接到撤军的命令为止。而努尔哈赤似乎也从来没有准备要攻击李如柏，只是在李如柏撤退时，象征性地追杀了一回。双方默契的程度之高，实在不能不令人怀疑其中必有蹊跷。 战场上实际发生的状况也印证了誓师大会上不好的预感：冷兵器时代，头盔的作用可能比今天的钢盔要大得多。有记载说，有一路大军主帅是一位凶猛的著名战将，谁知他从兵器库中领到的头盔已经锈蚀，结果激战中被敌军一箭洞穿。一路大军主帅就这样莫名其妙地当即身亡。 这就是在晚明前清历史上具有重大战略意义的“萨尔浒大会战”。 战后，明清双方的战略态势完全逆转。努尔哈赤占据了战略主动地位，大明帝国进入全面防守。 就此，不再需要更高一点儿智商，普天下所有的人都已经知道：战争真的开始了。