Chapter 5 Chapter Four: The Battle of Guangning shocked the world

On the 18th day of the first lunar month in the second year of Ming Qi and the seventh year of Tianming in Houjin (AD 1622), Nurhachi sent troops to invade Guangning, the location of the Liaodong General Army Mansion of the Ming Dynasty, which is now the location of Beizhen City, Liaoning Province. It is customary to believe that the Battle of Sarhu led to a complete reversal of the strategic situation between the Ming Empire and the Manchu Qing Dynasty.In a sense, this perception is correct. After the war, Nurhachi opened up a whole new world, got the best result he wanted out of all possibilities, and completely gained the strategic initiative.The Eight Banners cavalry swept across Liaozuo like a hurricane, and the world was shocked by it.

Since then, the Ming Empire has been in a difficult interception and defense. The chaos at the top decision-making level of the empire became even more chaotic after this war. Compared with front-line warfare, they pay more attention to the structure of interests in power struggles.Whether it is beneficial to the country has become no longer important, and right and wrong have largely been excluded from the consideration of policymakers.What to do is more beneficial to themselves, and whether they are their own people has increasingly become the most important indicator for them to consider when making major state judgments and decision-making.

This kind of situation will inevitably make the hardships at the forefront of the war even more miserable. The years of hard work of the best members of this nation will often be destroyed in a single thought or overnight, and go to waste. Looking back at Chinese history, we know that this is already a common and typical symptom of troubled times. If it is said that the Sarhu War had a major impact on the situation in Liaodong, then the fall of Guangning may have a more profound impact on the morale of the people on both sides.Xiong Tingbi was the first victim of this situation. In March of the forty-seventh year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (AD 1619), the Battle of Sarhu ended.On the 23rd, the imperial court reinstated Xiong Tingbi, the former censor who had been dismissed from his hometown in Jiangxia, Hubei, as the Zuo Cheng of Dali Temple and the censor of Henan Province, and comforted Liaodong.This position is roughly equivalent to today's assistant president of the Supreme Court and member of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and then inspects Liaodong in the name of a representative of the central government.Xiong Tingbi received the appointment and immediately rushed to Beijing at a speed of 200 miles a day and night.Unexpectedly, when he arrived in Beijing, no one paid any attention to him, and he was left hanging in the post house, which is the government guest house, for more than two months.The reason is that at this time the emperor retreated into the deep palace again, ignoring the helpless world outside.

On June 10, after three months of rest, Nurhachi began to implement the strategy of "quickly taking iron and advancing to Liaoshen". He led 40,000 elite troops from the Banners, marched day and night, and raided the material distribution centers and strategic points of Ming, Mongolia, and Manchuria. Original.They drove for three hundred miles in five nights, and raided the city in the early morning of the 16th. At noon, Kaiyuan City fell.The commander-in-chief, deputy generals, generals, and guards were all killed in battle. Five thousand of the 8,000 defenders died in battle, and the remaining 3,000 became prisoners of war, and Nurhachi ordered them all to be killed.Within three days, all the castles Kaiyuan belonged to fell.

The report of defeat spread to Beijing on June 21. On the 22nd, Emperor Wanli issued an imperial edict to appoint Xiong Tingbi as the right servant of the Ministry of War and the censor of Youqian Capital, and to manage Liaodong.The position of economic strategy, also known as supervisor, was first established in the Wanli period. Its status and power are higher than that of the governor and governor. On July 7th, Xiong Tingbi took the Shangfang sword bestowed by the emperor and "went to the hardships and dangers alone" and rushed to Liaodong. On July 23, when he arrived at Shanhaiguan, the first news he received was that Nurhachi had led a heavy army to Tieling.

In the early morning of July 25, under the command of Nurhachi, the 50,000 Eight Banners soldiers and horses who came from the night attack stormed Tieling. One member of the Ming army surrendered to Kaesong, and most of the rest died in battle. After Xiong Tingbi left the customs, he faced an extremely dangerous situation.He used thunderbolt methods to kill generals who fled the battle and withheld military pay, impeached incompetent border officials, recruited refugees, and tried to revive the morale of the people.For a few months, he did exactly that. At this time, Nurhachi took advantage of Xiong Tingbi's opportunity to rectify the chaos and had no time to take care of it, and suddenly sent troops to attack Ye He's tribe.

The Yehe tribe is the tribe that once gave birth to the beautiful woman Dong Ge, and later gave birth to the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Yehenala family.For a long time, among the Jurchen tribes that fought against Nurhachi, the Yehe tribe may be the most powerful one, and has received the full support of the Ming army.When the Ming army assisted the defense of the Yehe tribe, they even deployed artillery, which was regarded as a secret weapon, on the city of Yehe.In this campaign, Nurhachi's troops suffered heavy casualties.This was a desperate battle, and both sides plus the Ming army who assisted in the defense all fought desperately.In the end, the Yehe tribe was destroyed.

In this battle, among the 1,000 soldiers of the Ming army who assisted in the defense under the leadership of a guerrilla general, except for those who died in the battle, the rest of the prisoners were all killed by Nurhachi's order, and none of them survived. The destruction of Ye He's tribe prompted Xiong Tingbi to step up the defense of Liaoshen.According to historical records, Xiong Tingbi sent people to Shenyang and Fushun twice to learn about the enemy's situation. One of the two men was so frightened that he ran back before reaching Shenyang, while the other was crying and did not dare to go.So, in the middle of a winter night, Xiong Tingbi rushed to Fushun Pass on a snowy night to do close enemy reconnaissance.The left and right generals were afraid of accidents and resolutely dissuaded them.Xiong Tingbi said with a smile, in this kind of icy and snowy place, they would not have thought that the Liaodong Jinglue would dare to go lightly, so they rode away lightly.At the Fushun Pass, he saw Nurhachi blocking the mountain pass with wood and stones, so he smiled and said to the soldiers around him: It seems that Nurhachi also has some fears, because he is afraid that I will send troops to attack by surprise.

Xiong Tingbi did not expect that at this time, Nurhachi had already sent someone to carry the "oath" of friendship and alliance to the Mongolian tribes to conclude an alliance treaty.This move is of great significance. In one fell swoop, the five Mongolian Khalkha tribes that united the Ming Dynasty and opposed the Houjin were transformed into the joint Houjin and Ming Dynasty, and for a period of time, the threat from the Mongolian tribes on the northwest flank was relieved.Looking at the historical atlas, we will find that, in fact, from taking Yehe to western Mongolia, Nurhachi has formed a strategic encirclement situation for the area controlled by the Ming Empire in Liaodong.He restrained his forces and began to quietly wait for the opportunity.

At this time, Xiong Tingbi worked hard on the front line of Liaoshen and built a very strong defense system.He hopes to gain a firm foothold and try to make progress.However, the drastic changes in Beijing made all his hard work for more than a year come to naught. In the forty-eighth year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (AD 1620), Zhu Yijun, the longest reigning Emperor of Wanli in Ming Dynasty, finally passed his long 48-year emperor career and reached the last moment of his life.In the final year of the emperor, two things impressed people: First, he insisted on holding on to the mountains of gold and silver in the palace. On the basis of the tax increase in the previous two years, in March this year, he ordered another tax increase per mu of land.

Second, at this time, the emperor had already returned to the state of ignoring and not responding to the national document reports.The civil and military officials of the empire once again fell into loneliness like a child abandoned by their parents.Dozens of civil and military ministers couldn't bear it anymore. Under the leadership of the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, they came to the Wenhua Hall, knelt on the ground, and resolutely asked the emperor to receive the ministers in order to discuss the state affairs.The emperor ordered people to tell them with the same firm attitude: the emperor is not feeling well, so he retreated quickly.One of the ministers wrote to the emperor in great pain: When Nurhachi led his cavalry to knock on the door, is the emperor also going to answer that he is not feeling well?The emperor is very generous and doesn't care about this guy's rude words. Then, on April 1st, Fang Congzhe, the chief academician—equivalent to today's Prime Minister of the Cabinet—asked the emperor to summon him, but was also refused.On the ninth day of the lunar new year, Fang Cong, a bachelor of Philosophy who was lonely, came to the Sishan Gate of the Imperial Palace and burst into tears, so the emperor allowed him to meet him.It is said that when talking about the situation in Liaodong, the emperor closed his eyes and said only one sentence: "The trouble in Liaodong lies in the disharmony between civil and military affairs." What our emperor said can really be called a wise saying that hits the mark of the time.Unfortunately, there is no more text after finishing speaking.Moreover, this sentence became a prophecy, which predicted Xiong Tingbi's fate like a devil. Nurhachi stood still, waiting for changes in the situation.This change quickly made him wait. On July 21st, the Wanli Emperor Dragon Yu Bintian.On the first day of August, the crown prince Zhu Changluo became the emperor.This Zhu Changluo is very unfortunate.When he was the prince, his grandma didn't love his uncle, so he was an unfortunate prince; after he finally became an emperor, he suffered internally and externally, and was ill, so he was an unfortunate emperor.The so-called "Four Mysterious Cases" in the late Ming Dynasty - Yaoshu, Dingjian, Hongwan, and Yigong four cases are all related to this emperor.The reason why he later gained great fame in history, apart from the fact that these four mysterious cases attracted attention, was because he only sat on the throne of the emperor for a whole month, and died of illness at the age of thirty-eight. So he became the famous "January Emperor". From September 1st, within forty days, two emperors died in succession in the Ming Empire, and the political order of the empire fell into chaos.Finally, on the sixth day of September, the sixteen-year-old eldest son Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne and became the only illiterate emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty.It is said that when he ascended the throne, the governor of Shaanxi happily reported that the muddy water of the Yellow River had become clear for five consecutive days.The ancients said: When the sage comes out, the Yellow River is clear.Therefore, the soldiers and civilians all over the country celebrated together, cheering that they had won a "Taiping and Righteous Son of Heaven". Xiong Tingbi's life did not get better because the Yellow River became clear for five consecutive days, on the contrary, it became more and more difficult.A passage two years ago has become a true portrayal of him today: "There are too many generals but difficult to deploy, weak soldiers are difficult to use, salaries are long and difficult to sustain, thieves are cunning and difficult to control, the land is dangerous and difficult to attack, and helping the few is difficult." (Volume 577 of "Records of Ming Shenzong") Although these are true, Xiong Tingbi can still deal with them. What makes him hate and suffer is the fierce attack from his colleagues in the court. In all fairness, Xiong Tingbi, like everyone else, is not a perfect person.From the historical records, we can know that this man has a hot temper, headstrong temperament, domineering, and immediately yells at people and things he doesn't like.Obviously, the interpersonal relationship of this kind of person in the officialdom may not be very good.History books also talk about "many court officials hate it".However, Xiong Tingbi has great talents, and is known in history as "the most talented person in the world". Especially, he has accurate insight and judgment on the situation in Liaodong, and he is not afraid of hard work.If a person with this kind of temperament was born in Li Shimin's era, he would probably be a famous official in Lingyan Pavilion through the ages. Unfortunately, he was born in the late Ming Dynasty when he was at the end of the road, so he became the best target in the eyes of the enemy. At that time, above the court of the Ming Empire, the party struggle was fierce.There are "Qi Dang" headed by Shandong people, "Zhe Dang" headed by Zhejiang people, "Chu Party" headed by Hubei people, and the famous "Donglin Party" that deserves the name.These parties join forces today, but turn against each other tomorrow.Soon after, the "eunuch party" headed by Wei Zhongxian joined the battle group, which made the imperial political stage in the late Ming Dynasty very attractive. At that time, the power in the court was basically in the hands of the Donglin party members, and it was called "the court is full of righteousness" in history, which means that the court is full of honest men and gentlemen.They especially hate Xiong Tingbi, because Xiong Tingbi is not part of their party, and has publicly criticized or attacked them many times.When he was a supervisor, Xiong Tingbi had a like-minded comrade named Yao Zongwen, and they had many similarities in political views.Later, Yao Zongwen hoped that Xiong Tingbi could recommend himself as a replacement, but Xiong Tingbi refused.At this time, this Yao Zongwen launched the first round of attack against Xiong Tingbi.Afterwards, Xiong Tingbi was attacked like a cannonball.The artillery fire was fierce and intensive, and the most serious ones listed Xiong Tingbi's eight crimes of innocence and three crimes of deceiving the emperor, thinking that if Xiong Tingbi's official was not dismissed, "the major events in Liaodong must not be guaranteed."Xiong Tingbi was dazzled, so he had to write three times, requesting to resign due to illness.He was depressed and sad, and said: "Liaodong has turned from danger to safety, and the minister should go from life to death." Finally, a joint meeting mainly composed of Donglin officials to discuss the case suggested that Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao agreed to Xiong Tingbi's resignation. On September 21, the 15th day after Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne, he formally ordered Xiong Tingbi to be removed from the position of Liaodong economic strategist. Xiong Tingbi returned Shangfang's sword and "pending punishment". Nurhachi has been on hold for more than a year, waiting for this day. Sure enough, as soon as Yuan Yingtai, the new Daming Liaodong strategist, took office, he "changed more and more things" - most of Xiong Tingbi's hard work for more than a year, and then ambitiously prepared to divide the army into three groups to regain lost ground.Before he could organize the troops, Nurhachi quietly led the army to the city of Shenyang.After two days of fierce fighting, Shenyang fell, known as the "first bloody battle" since the use of troops in Liaodong. Six days later, Nurhachi led the victorious troops to Liaoyang, the capital of Liaodong, the political, economic and cultural center of Liaodong.The new manager rushed to the challenge.After the three-day bloody battle—on March 22, the first year of the Great Ming Dynasty (1621 AD), Liaoyang fell, and Yuan Yingtai, who managed the strategy, "sealed the sword and cut himself with a sword."This is a backbone and capable official who does not understand military affairs.When he was about to commit suicide, he said to a supervisory officer who guarded the city together: "You have no responsibility to guard the city, so go away quickly. I am willing to live and die with this city!" The supervisor named Zhang Quan shouted: " I, Zhang Quan, am also a bloody man, and I will never be greedy for life or fear of death!" Zhang Quan was dressed in the official uniform of the Ming Dynasty, and he refused to escape in disguise.After the city was broken and captured, he refused to kneel in front of Nurhachi, and told Nurhachi: "I am the law enforcement officer of the Son of Heaven, and my knees will never bend to you." sword.Nurhachi was greatly moved, and ordered chariots and horses to send the real hero away, but Zhang Quan refused all of them.So, Nurhachi ordered two soldiers to forcibly carry him to the horse and send him back to his former office.On the way, many Liaodong elders pleaded for him with tears, and he shouted: "You are my dignified and good people, don't beg for my life!" Finally, Zhang Quan died in his former office. After his death, in order to express his respect for the loyal ministers and martyrs, Nurhachi ordered his burial with grace, and built a memorial hall for him outside the north gate of Liaoyang City. Only after seeing these people with lofty ideals, we will understand: when a regime is completely corrupt, how sorry it will be to those loyal sons and daughters! However, many of the deeds of the subjects of the Chinese Empire are indeed often unexpected.For example, just after the above-mentioned bloody battle, in order to express their sincerity in surrender, the residents of Liaoyang City collectively shaved their hair, decorated them with lanterns and festoons, wrote "Long Live" placards on yellow paper, burned incense and played music, and beat gongs and drums to welcome Nurhachi to enter the country. city.At that time, the drums and music will be played together, and the people of Liaoyang will stand on both sides of the street, as if they have been well-trained, and bow down together like a ritual, and welcome Nurhachi into the Liaodong Economic and Strategic Office of the Ming Empire a few days ago-now the Temporary Khan of the Houjin Kingdom palace. (Volume 3 of "Records of Emperor Wu of the Qing Dynasty") This situation has happened countless times in Chinese history: ten or twenty years later, when the Qing army's cavalry entered the imperial capital Beijing and all the way to Nanjing, this situation was the same. It has been reproduced; more than one historical record says that these knights from the cold north, who had just killed in Yangzhou to the point that their arms were weak, were about to face the gentle hospitality of the ladies of the Southern Dynasty, causing them to recall the conquest with confusion. The scene in North Korea.It is said that those North Korean women would rather die than let them get close to them. In the next few days, more than 70 cities in eastern Liaodong, including Jinzhou, Fuzhou, Haizhou, Gaizhou, Kuandian, Fenghuang, Anshan, Xiuyan, and Zhenjiang (now Dandong), were all captured by Nurhachi.Seven days later, on the night of March 29th in the first year of Qiyuan (1621 AD), at the celebration banquet, Nurhachi announced the move of the capital and designated Liaoyang as the capital of the Houjin Kingdom. The Liao Dynasty fell, and the capital was shaken. For the first time since the Liaodong War, the capital of the empire, Beijing, was under martial law.The 16-year-old Tianqi little emperor learned from the pain, and issued an edict to reprimand and punish the officials who impeached Xiong Tingbi for their outspoken and fabricating charges. (Volume 9 of "Records of Emperor Ming Xizong", Guiyou in April of the first year of Tianqi) As time goes by, we will have the opportunity to see again and again: In a dirty society, it is not easy to keep the lungs and intestines clean. It is even more difficult to cleanse the already dirty lungs. In order to urge Xiong Tingbi to return to his post, Emperor Tianqi issued two edicts to punish himself, speaking very earnestly, and sent officials to convey his special order.Xiong Tingbi came to Beijing again on the first day of June.Judging from the historical records, Xiong Tingbi's predictions are very accurate, and the history is called "every word is amazing". However, judging from what happened later, believing in the emperor's sincerity this time may be the biggest mistake in his life.He really shouldn't be back. Nurhachi is very different from the past. After the Battle of Fushun, although he got Fan Wencheng, he didn't seem to reuse it, but he started to do things in a decent way from then on. In the three years after the Sarhu War, apart from being in a stalemate with Xiong Tingbi for more than a year, the rest attacked the Yuan, Ke Tieling, Yehe, Fu Mongolia, and won Liaoshen in one fell swoop. Hundreds of cities.He moved the capital of the Houjin Kingdom from the remote Hetuala-Xinbin County to Liaoyang. In the past, apart from Li Chengliang, few civil and military people in the Ming Empire took Nurhachi seriously. Most of them regarded him as the king of grass bandit bandits, who would plunder when he was hungry, and abandon the rest when he was full.To use a word that people liked at the time to describe it, it was a hungry thief-come and grab it when you are hungry, and run away when you are finished.Now, after the capital was moved to Liaoyang, Mr. Meng Sen commented: Nurhachi "changed his old habit of going in and out of bandit banknotes, and then went away when he was full" (Meng Sen's "History of the Ming and Qing Dynasties") began to build his own central government.Although the layout is still rough and simple, it also seems to be well-founded and full of vitality.Nurhachi even once made a promise to "nourish the Han people" in the post-Jin Kingdom. Although the implementation was not very good, or even bad, it showed that he was no longer the kind of reckless hero. After Xiong Tingbi was reinstated, life was even more difficult than before.The words that Emperor Wanli said two months before his death: "Liaodong suffers from disharmony between civil and military affairs" not only came true, but also directly responded to Xiong Tingbi himself. At this time, Donglin party members occupied most of the key positions in the central government, but they were no longer Donglin party members in the era of Gu Xiancheng and other "Eight Gentlemen of Donglin".At that time, the Donglin Party was highly respected and had a wide influence.Now, the clear stream has become turbid after a long time in the dirty canal.They also lost the standard of right and wrong, lacked political talent and mind, ignored the national interests and the overall situation of Liaodong, and devoted themselves to fighting against differences. In previous historical narratives, perhaps because of the tragic struggle between the Donglin Party members and the Wei Zhongxian Eunuch Party and the severe persecution they suffered, people did not want to blame the persecuted too much, so this period of history was downplayed or even seriously distorted. .Now, we know how stupid this approach is, and we know that this really nonsense approach can't find any benefit to the nation except to make people more stupid.Only by facing up to everything that has happened, will we understand that a sage may do wrong things, even completely wrong; a good person may also do bad things, and the harm is great.Only by understanding these can we not only pin our hope and future on "people", but to establish and improve a good system. Now, we have a general idea of ​​Xiong Tingbi's temperament.At that time, someone said of him: "For a while, he was full of talent, and he was full of arrogance and fierceness. He exposed and debated a lot, which aroused public anger and murderous intentions." Public anger, everyone thought of killing him.In fact, this statement is not accurate.An appropriate description should say: In the fierce partisan struggle, the opposite of Xiong Tingbi has the upper hand in power. In this comeback, Xiong Tingbi is facing a more dangerous situation than ever before, not only because of the corruption of the Liao incident caused by Nurhachi's strength and aggressiveness, but more importantly, the threat comes from his colleagues, from the Donglin Party members who preside over the government.This circumstance foreshadowed his mortality.Looking back at Chinese history, whenever faced with such a situation, it seems that there is no capable minister who will be able to escape bad luck.As for Xiong Tingbi, what made the hero cry the most was that this time, he had no chance to display his talents at all, so he was defeated in a muddle-headed way and ended up on a dead end. Xiong Tingbi's partner was named Wang Huazhen, who came to Liaodong a few months earlier than Xiong Tingbi, and was recommended by Donglin party members as the governor of Liaodong.Since Xiong Tingbi's predecessor Jinglue was unable to work due to illness before Xiong Tingbi took office, all administrative, military, and financial matters were in charge of this person.Later, because of the fiasco he incurred, it was customary to say that he was useless.In fact, when he first took over the post of governor of Liaodong, he performed very well and gained a great reputation. He was stationed in Guangning, the last important town in Liaodong.Guangning is today's Beizhen City, Liaoning Province, also known as Beining City. It is the seat of the Liaodong General Military Mansion, and it is also a strategic place that connects Shanhaiguan to the west and Liaoyang, the capital of Liaodong to the east. It was the second largest city in the Northeast after Liaoyang at that time. and the town.At that time, the "Liaoguang" that people used to call was the abbreviation of Liaoyang and Guangning.At this time, Liaoyang has changed from the resident of Liaodong governor to the capital of Nurhachi, and Guangning has become the most important advance base to curb Nurhachi's westward advance and then resume his progress. When Wang Huazhen came to office, there were only a thousand remnants in Guangning.Almost everyone thinks that Guangning must not be guaranteed.Wang Huazhen didn't believe in evil. He summoned the diaspora brave and encouraged the people to unite with the Mongols to defend against the enemy. He even quickly organized an army of more than 10,000 people.He led weak soldiers and remnants to defend the isolated city, and his will was firm, and he became famous for a while.The imperial court thought that he was worthy of the great responsibility, and entrusted him with the important task of guarding the Guangning area. After Xiong Tingbi arrived in Beijing, he put forward a tripartite strategy to restore the Liao Dynasty. The general idea is: first, use Guangning soldiers and horses to confront the bank of the Liaohe River, and form a situation of restraint in response to geographical conditions, so as to prevent and restrain the main force of the enemy; , Set up naval divisions in Tianjin, Dengzhou, and Laizhou on the sea, which is the navy, and landed in Jinzhou, Fuzhou, Haicheng, and Gai County on the sea, shaking the hearts of the people in southern Liaoning, forcing Nurhachi to distract and divide his troops to regain Liaoyang; , set up a special strategy in Shanhaiguan, controlled the three parties, and cooperated with the defense. When Nurhachi was attacked by the enemy, he attacked across the board, defeated him and then wiped him out.The basic policy is to emphasize defense, accumulate strength, and then try to counterattack. This is indeed a stable and practical strategy, from defense, to stalemate, to counterattack, it is grand and strategic.However, such a feasible strategy must have the full support of a strong and promising emperor and the central government.The situation Xiong Tingbi faced was: when he was desperately urging the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of Industry with military affairs such as soldiers, horses, money, food, and equipment, his emperor might be sweating profusely in the palace garden carving carpenter craftsmanship.Ye Xianggao, the chief academician of the Donglin Cabinet of the central government, doesn't think Xiong Tingbi is a good guy at all.Those six ministers probably would rather be a subjugated doctor than see Xiong Tingbi's success. This time, as soon as Xiong Tingbi's plan was put forward, the emperor quickly approved it, agreed to this strategy, and ordered Xiong Tingbi to be stationed at Shanhaiguan Pass, and to explore Eastern Liaodong. However, Wang Huazhen didn't like it very much.He didn't like Xiong Tingbi, he didn't like this strategy, he didn't like him becoming his immediate boss, and he didn't like that he might deprive him of the authority and army he had worked so hard to build up.And Xiong Tingbi also disapproved of some of Wang Huazhen's arrangements, so the two started a spitting war of words.However, the emperor expressed his support for Xiong Tingbi's proposition, which made Wang Huazhen feel bored and unhappy, so he reported to the emperor: You especially value Xiong Tingbi.When Xiong Tingbi heard it, he didn't care about the jealousy in it, and quickly asked the emperor to warn Wang Huazhen, don't miss the opportunity with the excuse that he was responsible for the strategy.At this point, the discord between Jing and Fu began to be made public. However, although Wang Huazhen should accept Xiong Tingbi's leadership in theory, at least in terms of military deployment in Liaodong, in reality, Wang Huazhen's confidence is much stronger than Xiong Tingbi's, and he doesn't take Xiong Tingbi seriously at all.This situation is contributed by the following factors: First of all, Wang Huazhen is a student of Ye Xianggao, the current Chief Academician of the Donglin Cabinet, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet.In history, this Ye Xianggao has a good reputation, and people are often willing to cover up his mistakes in this matter.However, Ye Xianggao was indeed wrong. For the further deterioration of the situation in Liaodong, the chief assistant of the Donglin cabinet did bear an inescapable responsibility.Ye Xianggao hated Xiong Tingbi at first, but now, as the chief minister of the cabinet, he believes that the court should support Wang Huazhen wholeheartedly. Protecting Wang Huazhen against Xiong Tingbi made Wang Huazhen confident. Another key figure is Zhang Heming, Shangshu of the Ministry of War.This supreme military officer is also a member of the Donglin Party. He not only hates Xiong Tingbi, but also had a big conflict with Xiong Tingbi over the issue of military pay a year ago.Now, even when he was mobilizing soldiers and horses in Liaodong, he didn't bother to inform Xiong Tingbi, the governor of Liaodong, and he didn't bother to answer when Xiong Tingbi asked him.What's more, Zhang Heming even instructed Wang Huazhen, explicitly or implicitly, to make his own decisions in Liaodong military affairs and ignore Xiong Tingbi. Another factor may also have contributed to Wang Huazhen's contempt for Xiong Tingbi. Wang Huazhen had dealt with Lin Danhan of the Mongolian Chahar tribe who was known as powerful at the time, and both sides felt good.At this time, the Mongolian chief didn't know whether he was drinking too much or talking speculatively. He patted his chest and told Wang Huazhen openly that he could send 400,000 cavalry to help Wang Huazhen kill Nurhachi, and completely destroy that queen of Jin. Erase from the earth.We know that this kind of promise is extremely attractive to those who are eager to make great achievements or get rich overnight. Even today, many chairman and the like are dragged into the sinking ship under similar circumstances.They have deep confidence in their own charm, and sincerely want to believe that because of their personality charm, a Mongolian chief would rather not be the second Genghis Khan when he owns 400,000 cavalry, but also help himself to destroy Nurhachi.It may be that Wang Huazhen wanted Xiong Tingbi to shut up too much, so without thinking about it, he reported this to the court and included it in his battle plan.Moreover, he really sent troops to attack for this purpose, and he hurriedly retreated home until he confirmed that the Mongolian chief would not appear. The last reason, and possibly the most important reason: Li Yongfang, a Fushun rebel general and now Nurhachi’s grandson-in-law, secretly contacted Wang Huazhen’s confidant general Sun Degong, saying that he was willing to act as an internal response to help Wang Huazhen and Sun Degong kill Nurhachi in one fell swoop.The actual situation is that Nurhachi promised this Sun Degong through Li Yongfang that as long as he can capture Wang Huazhen alive and donate Guangning City, Sun Degong will become Nurhachi's son-in-law and get a high-ranking official like Li Yongfang. The two parties have reached a consensus on this. Wang Huazhen was completely unaware of these inside information, but she firmly believed in Sun Degong's plan to contact Li Yongfang to kill Nurhachi. The 90,000 soldiers and horses in Guangning that Xiong Tingbi got involved in were all handed over to Sun Degong for control.All the soldiers and horses, offensive and defensive, training, equipment, fortifications, food and grass, etc. are all ignored, and they are only thinking about this miraculous achievement of winning without fighting.He really sent troops to attack the Houjin defense area many times, maybe as many as five times, and he made a big show and it was very ugly. He also solemnly reported to the court, "But when the Mid-Autumn Festival is reunion, you can sit back and listen to the good news" and so on. Xiong Tingbi couldn't stand it anymore, and wrote to the emperor, asking him to restrain Wang Huazhen to behave cautiously, "at least don't let the enemy laugh."When Wang Huazhen heard about it, she was furious and immediately wrote to the emperor, saying that she was willing to invite 60,000 soldiers to wipe out the Nurhachi clown in one fell swoop. In this way, a situation appeared on the front line of Liaodong where everyone "does not fight, defends or defends, laughs and laughs, but does not dare to do anything, but restrains everything". (Volume 16 of "Records of Ming Xizong", Renxu in November of the first year of Tianqi) Some people summed up this situation and said: "Since the Liao incident, I have never seen a thing done in a dignified way." ("Ming Xizong Records" "Volume 15, Yiwei in October of the first year of the Apocalypse) Just when the court of the Ming Empire was drooling, and the officials praised Wang Huazhen and attacked Xiong Tingbi one wave after another, the eighteenth day of the first month of the second year of the Great Ming Dynasty and the seventh year of the Destiny of the Houjin Khanate (AD 1622) On the 1st, Nurhachi, after watching carefully for a long time, was convinced that Xiong Tingbi would not do anything more, so he sent troops to press against Guangning. Wang Huazhen believed that the time had come to establish a miracle, so according to Sun Degong's plan, he dispatched all Guangning soldiers and horses to meet the enemy.Unexpectedly, as soon as the two sides fought, Sun Degong, who had already made arrangements, shouted "Ming army is defeated, Ming army is defeated", and then ran wildly.The unknown imperial army thought it had been defeated, so they were defeated like a mountain and collapsed across the board. After Sun Degong and others fled into Guangning City, they spread the news that Nurhachi had arrived outside the city, so the army and civilians in the city were in chaos, and they rushed to flee.Wang Huazhen, who was waiting for the good news, was in a daze, was supported by a general on a steed, and abandoned Guangning, thus verifying the old saying "the wind is rumbling, and the grass and trees are all soldiers". At the Daling River, Wang Huazhen met Xiong Tingbi.Wang Huazhen let go of the past and cried loudly in front of Xiong Tingbi.Xiong Tingbi's behavior at this time was indeed lacking in style. He asked Wang Huazhen with a smile, "Didn't you say that you would raise 60,000 soldiers to wipe out all at once? What's the matter today?" .At this time, Xiong Tingbi only had 5,000 soldiers and horses in his hands. I don't know if it was because of the helplessness of the disparity in military strength, or if he made a real mistake.He replied to Wang Huazhen: It is too late now, the only thing we can do is to escort the refugees into the customs as soon as possible. In fact, Nurhachi, who was cautious in using troops and waited for the right time, was still not close to Guangning at this time.He did not drive straight to occupy Guangning City, until two days later, when the surrounding Ming army was basically wiped out, he crossed the river and came to Guangning City.It is said that when Nurhachi walked far away from the city, he saw Guangning City, the second largest city in Liaodong and the seat of the Liaodong General Army Mansion of the Ming Dynasty, decorated with lanterns and festoons, and the drums and music were loud. The subjects of the Ming Empire were singing and dancing yesterday. The team bowed to him and welcomed him into the Liaodong General Army Mansion that he should be familiar with.According to historical records, Nurhachi dispatched about 50,000 to 60,000 troops this time, and Wang Huazhen may have more troops than Nurhachi.Under the city of Guangning, Sun Deli led the large army that Wang Huazhen gave him to command, which should be quite large, and opened the city to welcome Nurhachi. Professor Meng Sen speculated that the reason why Xiong Tingbi did not compete for Guangning was because he really hated Wang Huazhen's deeds and believed that he had no responsibility for this matter; Awareness, knowing one's own talents and using them, "to reap the effects of the future." (Meng Sen's "History of the Ming and Qing Dynasties" Part II) In this way, the empire's last strategic town in Liaodong fell, and martial law was declared again in the capital of the empire. If the Battle of Sarhu reversed the strategic situation between the Ming and Qing Dynasties and was a battle of great strategic significance, for the Ming Empire, Nurhachi's capture of Guangning, the location of the Liaodong General Army of the Ming Empire, may affect Deeper and deadlier.Because this incident directly led to Xiong Tingbi's death, it intensified the struggle and division among the upper echelons of the empire, and even the loss of Donglin Party and Wei Zhongxian's rise to power may have a lot to do with it.Therefore, judging from the perspective of politics, society and history, Nurhaci's capture of Guangning is much more important than the battle of Sarhu. Soon, Emperor Tianqi ordered the arrest of Wang Huazhen, dismissed Xiong Tingbi and returned home, awaiting punishment.At this time, the Donglin Party members once again showed political narrowness and clumsiness.Wang Ji, Shangshu of the Criminal Ministry, Zhou Yingqiu, Minister of Dali Temple, and Zou Yuanbiao, the famous leader of Donglin Zuodu Yushi, who were in charge of handling the special case, submitted interrogation reports, demanding that Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen be executed together without much reason.Xiong Tingbi was arrested and imprisoned for this reason, and later died tragically in prison.In this way, the Donglin party members used their own party to fight against differences and failures, paving the way for two enemies that were thousands of times more terrifying than Xiong Tingbi.这两个敌人，一个是大明帝国不共戴天的死敌——努尔哈赤，一个是东林党人不共戴天的死敌，在后来几年间搅得整个中国天昏地暗、日月无光的、只比皇帝少活一百岁的太监——九千九百岁魏忠贤。 熊廷弼被抓进监狱后，真的做了一件蠢事：他拜托一位能量极大的江湖人士，说是准备送魏忠贤四万两白银以求雪冤。后来，不知道出于什么考虑，他又放弃了这个想法。结果，听说了此事，又没有拿到银子的魏忠贤恨之入骨，发誓要早日看到熊廷弼的死。两年多以后，已经势焰熏天的魏忠贤，终于将熊廷弼和几位根本搭不上关系的东林党人扯到一起，愣说一位极受人尊敬的东林党人接受过熊廷弼的贿赂，将他们一起干掉了。 熊廷弼的死说来令人心酸，我们不说也罢，就此打住吧。 这时，出现了一位重要人物。他的出现，使辽东局势又添变数。对于大明帝国来说，晦暗不堪的东方地平线上出现了一道亮色；对于努尔哈赤来说，眼前又现强敌。这个人就是时任东阁大学士、兵部尚书的孙承宗。 孙承宗的另外一个身份也让人不能不心存敬畏：他还做过天启皇帝朱由校的老师，使那位即位之前比文盲强不了多少的少年天子，多少读了几本书，懂得了一些道理，也知道了要敬重老师。 孙承宗能文能武，清廉刚正，威望素著，后来以帝师、内阁大学士的身份担任辽东经略。这些，可能是他在经略辽东的职位上坚持三年之久，令努尔哈赤在三年多时间内只能相持、始终不敢轻动的主要原因。 可惜，随着朝中东林党人与魏忠贤的斗争日趋白热化，这位被视为东林党人的中流砥柱式人物，坚持不下去了，他只能退休回家。天启皇帝死后，在崇祯皇帝冤杀袁崇焕时，他曾经再次出来收拾危局；待局面稍有好转之后，便再一次莫名其妙地被撤换掉了。若干年后，清军大规模入关，打到他的家乡河北高阳，年事已高的孙承宗坚决不肯屈膝，他指挥家人、族人、乡亲与清军展开巷战，直至殉国。 孙承宗离任之前，还做过一件对于晚明历史产生过重大影响的事情：数年之间，他高度信任、欣赏、重用了一个人，从而，为这段惨痛的历史抹上了一道极为耀眼的亮色。这个人就是在晚明前清历史上鼎鼎大名的袁崇焕。以拿下广宁达到人生事业巅峰的努尔哈赤，其一世英名就是折在了这个人手上。除了孙承宗和袁崇焕之外，可能还有一个重要原因，导致努尔哈赤在长达三年多的时间之内不再西向进逼。那就是由于他血腥的种族歧视政策，后金国后院不稳，到处都在发生汉族民众的反抗与暴动。 前一年，即大明天启元年（公元1621年）七月，努尔哈赤颁布了“计丁授田”制度。简单讲，就是根据男人数目分配田地、服兵役、出徭役、公差等。这项制度对于女真人来说，无疑是件好事，对于汉人却是一场灾难。原因是，许多女真人本来并不从事农耕，如今所有男人均被平分田地，这些女真人包括他们的女真族奴隶都得到了土地，然后，将掳掠来的汉族农民变成奴隶为他们耕种。而汉人的许多土地则被当作“荒地”无偿征收，用来分给女真族人。努尔哈赤还同时针对辽东汉人推行了“强令剃发”、“强行迁居”、“强征差役”、“清查粮食”等政策，导致辽东汉人由逃亡而反抗，由反抗而袭击，由袭击而暴动。一时间，这种暴动竟有数十起之多，几乎遍及辽东各地。 为了平息这种动荡不安的局势，努尔哈赤又发昏招，公布了“按丁编庄”汗谕。据说，这道汗谕是为了完善计丁授田制度，其核心内容是强行将汉人与女真人编在一个村庄中居住，借女真人监视汉人，明令禁止汉人制造、携带、收藏刀剑、弓箭等。于是，发生了汉人房屋被强占、粮食被抢夺、妻女遭凌辱等事件，更加剧了局势的恶化。 对此，努尔哈赤一以贯之的做法大体上就是灭绝性镇压。 三贝勒莽古尔泰在镇压镇江，即今天的丹东暴动中，杀了多少人无法统计，单是俘获来做奴隶的汉人，就有一万两千多人；大贝勒代善负责镇压复州地区暴动，镇压结束后，复州城里的成年男子全数被其杀光，全城已经找不到男人；努尔哈赤那位孙女婿、大明叛将李永芳负责镇压辽西十三山暴动，据说该地区原有十万余汉族民众，此次镇压中，除七百余人逃进觉华岛——今日辽宁省兴城县菊花岛——之外，其余全部被杀光。 事实上，从抚顺之战正式向大明帝国开战以后，努尔哈赤在相当长一段时间里，对辽东汉人大体上实行这种种族灭绝政策。譬如，萨尔浒之战后攻取开原、铁岭时，允许军队对汉人斩尽杀绝。在后来的战争中，虽然不再见到汉人就杀，但基本是在实行不同程度的屠杀后，将剩余的汉族人口掳掠起来，作为战利品分配给女真军人为奴。到了晚年，这位在清朝官吏和当代某些学者口中号称雄才大略的大汗似乎杀心愈盛。他认为，后金国之所以没有成为女真人安宁的乐土，都是因为明朝旧官吏、读书人和地主士绅们煽动的结果。于是，命令他的将军们，要求他们在汉族人口占据绝大多数的辽东严查细访，只要抓住上述几种人，就一律处死。（《满文老档》太祖卷六十六） 阅读那些史料时，常常令人产生一种感觉：这位努尔哈赤身上，似乎笼罩着某种血腥的宿命，战争与杀人成为他日常生活的组成部分，英雄的梦想、女人、财富和对汉民族的仇恨，成为这个宿命的核心。 平心而论，汉民族中历朝历代出产的人渣不少，他们荼毒自己同类的本领常常出人意表，令人叹为观止；对待异族，则更加全无顾忌，遭人痛恨之处实在可以车载斗量。从努尔哈赤的不少言论中判断，他很有可能认为自己是在代上天恭行天谴。 从众多史料中，我们大体可以认定：这位努尔哈赤的确善于审时度势，韬光养晦，不利时作低服小、细致入微，得势后凶残暴虐，十分残忍。而若要找出此人在政治上如何雄才大略，如何是位伟大政治家之类的证据，实在很难。因此，明清史权威人士孟森先生对他的评价并不高，认为此人在政治上乏善可陈，于民于社会甚少功德建树，其长处更多表现在战争与军事才能上。事实上，只要翻一翻史料，就不难注意到，至少在努尔哈赤时代，后金国所赖以生存的，除了赤裸裸的战争暴力和烧杀抢掠之外，其他的成就几乎可以忽略不计。因此，才会有学者认为，努尔哈赤时代的后金汗国根本就是一个庞大的军事抢劫集团。 孟森教授认为：在大清帝国皇家爱新觉罗子孙与士大夫口中，固然会颂扬努尔哈赤积功累德，应该入主中国，然而，若就史实考察之，则实在没有什么功德。清之取天下，纯由武力。努尔哈赤以矫健警悟，当大敌不惧，受重伤不馁，以此称雄；又以勇悍立威，驱率其族，裹胁益多，并以训练族众见长，遂养成武力，从而横绝一世。（孟森《明清史讲义》下）这种评价，从历史的角度看，很有可能是公正和客观的，因此受到了国内外许多史家的赞同。中国历史上，像努尔哈赤这样的草莽英豪为数不少，大多如过眼烟云。他的政治才能与综合素质，远远不如他的两个儿子——皇太极与多尔衮，或者换句话说：如果没有皇太极和多尔衮，清军铁骑能否踏进山海关实在是个值得怀疑的未知数。 面对动荡不安、此起彼伏的反抗，努尔哈赤必须先稳住自己的后花园。时年已经六十四岁的努尔哈赤，一直以善待时机取胜；此时，他仍然在等待或者叫善待时机。他对于敌人阵营中的优秀人物，似乎具有一种天生的识别能力，从不在这种敌人面前轻举妄动。