Chapter 4 Chapter Two Contest between Chongzhen and Huang Taiji

Li Zicheng was able to enter Beijing in the Jiashen year of 1644, mainly because the Manchu Qing had greatly restrained the Ming army.Outlaws have always been the biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty, starting from Zhu Yuanzhang, and it has not been completely resolved in the Ming Dynasty.The Ming Dynasty was controlled by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and it has a long history, not only between Chongzhen and Huang Taiji, but can even be traced back to the relationship between Chongzhen's grandfather, Emperor Wanli Shenzong, and Nurhachi. Emperor Shenzong's year name was Wanli, and he sat on the throne for forty-eight years.At that time, the Ming Dynasty was governed by Zhang Juzheng, and the development was quite good, and the country was prosperous and strong.But after Zhang Juzheng's death, Emperor Shenzong used his laziness and greed to bring the Ming Dynasty into a greater disaster. The Wanli Dynasty was actually the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's festering.

Shenzong is lazy.In the 42nd year of Wanli (1614), exactly 30 years from 1644, Ye Xianggao, the chief assistant, said: Of the six Shangshu, only one is left with Shangshu. More than half of the governors of prefectures and counties are missing.In November of the 43rd year of Wanli (1615), Zhai Fengyu, the censor, said in the memorial: "The emperor has not seen his courtiers for 25 years."The ministers outspokenly violated taboos, and even began to scold the emperor, but Shenzong still ignored them, too lazy to even punish people, and Jinyiwei's prison was overgrown with grass.

Shenzong is greedy.In the early years of Wanli, when Zhang Juzheng was in the country, his annual income was about 4 million taels, and the annual expenditure of the palace was fixed at 1.2 million taels, accounting for almost one-third of the annual income.However, after Zhang Juzheng's death, within five days in the twenty-seventh year of Wanli, two million taels of mining tax merchants' taxes were collected.Shenzong ignored any other memorials, but as long as it was related to mining tax, it was submitted and approved immediately.Shenzong reused eunuchs, and asked eunuchs to search everywhere as representatives of the emperor, and all the collected money was put into his own private warehouse, called "neiku".

When Shenzong was lazy in political affairs and searched wantonly, the Manchu Qing Dynasty began to rise.In the northeast, Nurhachi's power is rising. Aixinjueluo Nurhachi was born in 1559 in a Jurchen aristocratic family in Zuowei Hetuala, Jianzhou, Ming Dynasty (now the old city of Hetuala, Xinbinxi, Liaoning).The ancestors were conferred by the Ming Dynasty from the sixth patriarch Mengge Timur, from the official to the right governor; the grandfather Jue Changan served as the commander of the left guard capital of Jianzhou, and his father Tu Keshi succeeded the commander. Nurhachi lost his mother at the age of ten, and his stepmother did not treat him well.At the age of fifteen, Nurhachi had to leave his family and began to live with his grandfather, the leader of Jianzhou, Wang Gao.Later, Nurhachi often went to Fushun, Qinghe (now Benxi North Qinghe City) and other places to do business, made friends, and learned Mongolian and Chinese languages.He especially likes to watch the harmony of the Han people, but not to read the stories, but to learn the strategy of strategy and the art of war from it, and gradually understand the victoriousness of the mountains and rivers in Liaodong and the dangers in the road.At the age of eighteen, Nurhachi was under Li Chengliang's department, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty. He made many military exploits and was highly regarded.

There are several Jurchen tribes in Jianzhou, and they fight and kill each other.Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, took advantage of the contradictions between the various ministries in Jianzhou to strengthen his rule.When Nurhachi was twenty-five years old, Nikan Wailan, the lord of Tulun City in the Jurchen Ministry of Jianzhou, led the Ming army to attack the lord of the ancient city, Ataizhang.A Taizhang's wife is Jue Chang'an's granddaughter and Nurhachi's sister.Jue Chang'an got the news and took Tu Keshi to Guyi City to visit his granddaughter.The Ming army broke through the ancient city and beheaded the owner of the city, A Taizhang.Both Jue Chang'an and Tu Keshi were killed by the Ming army in the melee, and they suffered disaster together.

After his grandfather and father were accidentally killed by the Ming army, Nurhachi took over his father's position as the commander of the left guard capital of Jianzhou.Nurhachi is a man with clear grievances and grievances. Although he hated the Ming army, he did not dare to act rashly, so he blamed his family feud on Nikan Wailan, the lord of Tulun City. The city of Tulum began its military career. At the beginning of the army, Nurhachi did not point the troops directly to the court, but adopted a roundabout strategy, and first went to the war to unify the Jurchen Qing tribe. Nikanwailan was hunted down by Nurhachi, fled here and there, and finally fled to Elhun (near today's Qiqihar), asking for the protection of the Ming army.Nurhaci also chased there, and said to the officials of the Ming Dynasty: "The grandfather and father who killed me were Nikanwailan. As long as you hand over Nikanwailan to me, I will be willing." The Ming army saw that he would not give up. Fearing that it would cause a war, he asked Nurhachi to kill Nikanwailan.Since then, Nurhachi's momentum has grown.

In the fifteenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1587), Nurhachi built Buddha Ala City (now Xinbin County), and began to be king here, also known as Jurchen Kingdom Shulebeile.He issued fatwas and legislated.In politics, grace and power are used together. "Those who obey me are subdued by virtue, and those who oppose me come with soldiers" (Volume 1 of "Records of Emperor Wu of the Qing Dynasty"), which is similar to "those who obey me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish."Soon, Nurhachi unified Jianzhou Sukesu River, Hunhe, Wanyan, Dong'e, Zhechen and other five departments.

In the seventeenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1589), Nurhachi began to reorganize the army, which was divided into the Huan Dao Army, the Iron Hammer Army, the Chuan Red Army and the Nengshe Army. This was the predecessor of the later Eight Banners Army. Nurhachi was named the governor of the left guard of Jianzhou by the Ming Dynasty because of beheading Kewu, the leader of the Jurchen tribe.From the eighteenth year of Wanli (1590), Nurhachi led the crowd to pay tribute to Beijing many times.At that time, Emperor Shenzong was in power in the Ming Dynasty, and Nurhachi was deeply impressed by the bullying and insulting attitude of the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers towards the Jurchen envoys.The Ming Dynasty referred to Jurchen as "Dong Fan", and treated Jurchen "without tenderness and snobbery, with power and power, never ending use of power, endless benefits, harm and bullying, and no state of mind."But Nurhachi came to the Central Plains frequently. He wanted to find out the reality and details of the Ming Dynasty with the purpose of spying.

At the same time, Nurhaci accelerated the pace of unifying Jurchens. In the nineteenth year of Ming Wanli (1591), Nurhachi annexed the Yalu River Department of Changbai Mountain.In June of the 21st year, the attack of the four coalition forces including Yehe, Hada, Wula and Huifa was defeated.In September, in the Battle of Gule Mountain, he led 10,000 people against 30,000 people from the nine coalition forces including Yehe and Hada, and fought together, beheading 4,000 people including Yehebeilebuzhai, and captured Wurabilemantai. His younger brother Bu Zhantai disintegrated the alliance of nine tribes; he took advantage of the victory to attack Zhusheli tribe and Neyin tribe.

In the 23rd year, Nurhaci had good relations with the Horqin and Khalkha tribes of Mongolia.However, the Ming Dynasty even named Nurhachi the second-rank Dragon and Tiger General because of his meritorious service. In the twenty-ninth year of Wanli, Nurhachi implemented the second army reorganization, organized 300 people into a Niulu (Zuoling), and began to use yellow, white, red, and blue flags as the flags of each army.In the thirty-fourth year of Wanli, Huerhachi was honored as "Kundulun Khan" (meaning respectful Khan) by Kalkha and other five ministries.In the thirty-sixth year, Nurhaci had unified most of the Jurchen tribes. In order to confuse the Ming Dynasty and gain more time, he made an appointment with the Ming Liaodong generals to guard the border, but secretly planned to enter Liaodong.

In the forty-three years of Wanli, Nurhachi began to change the eight-banner system, and added four inlaid colors in addition to the four positive colors, so that the Jurchen people belonged to the banner, and when they went out, they prepared for war, and when they entered, they worked in agriculture.Strictly train troops with methods such as "water training" (jumping streams) and "fire training" (jumping over pits). After more than 30 years of fighting from east to west, Nurhaci successively unified Jianzhou Jurchen, Haixi Jurchen, Donghai Jurchen, and Heilongjiang Jurchen. On this basis, the Eight Banners system of military and political integration was formed, and the Jurchens were unprecedentedly powerful and unified.In the first month of the forty-fourth year of Wanli (AD 1616), when Nurhachi was fifty-eight years old, he established the Jurchen minority regime in the city of Hetuala (impromptu capital)—Dajin, known as Houjin in history. The wise king of all countries", Jianyuan Mandate of Heaven. In March of the forty-sixth year of Wanli (three years after Jin Tianming, 1618 A.D.), Nurhachi began to build equipment and attack tools under the cover of building a stable.In April, the Art of War was promulgated, and the idea of ​​"smart victory is the most important" ("Records of the Emperor Gao of the Qing Dynasty" Volume 5) was put forward, emphasizing the wisdom to win and the weak to win He also published the "Seven Great Hate" proclamations denouncing the Ming army for "harming my ancestors and fathers" and "successfully crossing the border", openly raised the anti-Ming banner and declared war on the Ming Dynasty. There are two points in the "seven great hatreds": one is that the Ming Dynasty has always bullied and oppressed the Jurchen; The purpose of "controlling barbarians with barbarians" and "controlling fangs". After Nurhachi reported the "seven great hatreds", he immediately led an army to raid Fushun, an important town in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, and lured Li Yongfang, the defender, to surrender;In July, at Keqinghe Fort (now southeast of Fushun), more than 10,000 people under Zou Chuxian, the guard general, were killed, which shocked the Ming court.Only then did the Ming Dynasty feel threatened by Houjin. In the forty-seventh year of Wanli (AD 1619), the Ming Dynasty launched a counter-offensive. Taking Yang Gao, the minister of the Ministry of War, as the strategy of Liaodong, more than 100,000 troops were assembled to attack Nurhachi in four directions.On the left wing of the middle road is Du Song, the general soldier of Shanhaiguan; on the right wing of the middle road, Li Rubo, the general soldier of Liaodong; on the north road, Ma Lin, the general soldier of Kaiyuan;In order to expand the momentum, it claims to have a force of 470,000.Yang Gao sits in Shenyang and directs the overall situation. At that time, the combined strength of the Houjin Eight Banners Army was no more than 60,000.Later Jin soldiers were a little worried when they learned that the Ming army was attacking aggressively.Nurha said confidently: "If you come a few ways, I will only go all the way." (Xia Yunyi's "Survival Record·Eastern Yi Dalu") So he personally led the Eight Banners Army to fight. Du Song, the commander-in-chief of the left-wing army in the middle, was a well-known general who had experienced many battles. He led an army of 60,000 and was the main force of the Ming army.When the juniper soldiers left Fushun, it was snowing heavily, and juniper rushed forward despite the bad weather.He first captured the mountain pass of Saerhu (now in the vicinity of the Dahuofang Reservoir in Fushun); then he divided his troops into two groups, leaving half of the troops to camp in Saerhu, and brought the other half of the elite troops to attack Houjin's Jiefan City (northwest of Xinbin today). . When Nurhachi saw that Juniper had dispersed his troops, he concentrated the troops of the Eight Banners and captured the camp of the Saerhu Ming Army in one go, cutting off Juniper's retreat.Then, they hurriedly marched to rescue Jiefan.The Ming army who was attacking Jiefan was shaken when they heard that the back road was copied.At this time, the Hou Jin army stationed in Jiefan came down from the mountain condescendingly, and Nurhachi also led the army to rush to surround the Ming army.According to historical records, when the Ming and Qing armies lined up to confront each other, suddenly the sky became dark, and nothing could be seen a few feet away.Juniper ordered the torches to be lit.Now the Ming army is in the light and the Qing army is in the dark, and the whole becomes a target for the Qing army.Nurhachi commanded the Six Banners to attack, while Daishan and Huang Taiji's unified banners attacked on the right flank.Juniper died of eighteen arrows in his body.The commander-in-chief was killed, the Ming army was in chaos, and the entire army was wiped out. Marin on the North Road dispatched troops from Kaiyuan (now Kaiyuan, Liaoning). He had just arrived forty miles away from Sarhu when he heard the news of Juniper's defeat. Erhu Mountain is about 20 to 40 miles away), set up a camp, and dug three layers of trenches to prepare for defense.Nurhachi led the Eight Banners troops from Jiefan non-stop and broke through the Ming army camp.Only the 20,000 Yehe soldiers who came to help Ming Dynasty (the Yehe tribe is a feud of the Qing Dynasty and the ancestor of the Empress Dowager Cixi) saw the situation and retreated without a fight.After defeating the soldiers of Juniper and Marin, Nurhachi returned to Hetuala under the command of the Eight Banners. Yang Gao, who was sitting in Shenyang, was waiting for the good news from various Ming armies, but he was stunned by the bad news that two groups of troops had been wiped out for two days in a row.He quickly dispatched a fast horse to order the other two Ming armies to stop marching immediately. Li Rubai, the Liaodong general on the right wing of the center, was timid and slow to move, so he retreated hastily after receiving Yang Gao's order.Twenty or so post-golden sentinels patrolling the mountain saw the retreat of the Ming army from a distance and clamored loudly. The soldiers of the Ming army thought that there were a large number of pursuers behind them, so they rushed to escape, trampled on each other, and many died. The rest of the way is Liu Ting of the South Route Army.When Yang Gao issued the order to stop the march, Liu Ting's army had already penetrated into the positions of the Hou Jin army, and he had no idea of ​​the failures of the various Ming armies.Liu Ting was a well-known fierce general in the Ming army. He once fought against the Burmese and Japanese pirates, and even led his troops to assist North Korea against the Japanese invasion.He is holding a 120-jin iron sword, which moves like flying, and has the courage of all men. He is nicknamed "Liu Dadao".Liu Ting's army has strict military orders and has many weapons and gunpowder.After entering the Houjin position, they broke through several camps. Nurhachi knew that Liu Ting was brave and could not just rely on tough battles.He chose a Ming soldier who had surrendered and asked him to pretend to be Jun Song's subordinate and send a letter to Liu Ting, saying that Jun Song's army had already arrived at the city of Hetuala, and he was only waiting for Liu Ting's army to join forces and attack the city. Liu Ting didn't know that Juniper's army had been destroyed, so he believed it and went straight to Hetuala.The roads in this area are dangerous and narrow, and soldiers and horses cannot stand side by side, so they had to march in single file.Liu Ting led his troops to Abdali Hill, suddenly there was a sound of killing, and the mountains and valleys were full of Houjin ambush soldiers, killing the Ming army.Liu Ting was in a hurry, so Nurhachi sent a group of post-gold soldiers dressed in Ming army uniforms and Ming army flags, dressed as Juniper soldiers to meet him.Without any doubt, Liu Ting brought the troops into the encirclement circle of the fake Ming army.The Hou Jin army joined forces inside and outside, attacking from all sides, and the Ming army was in chaos.Although Liu Ting was brave enough to wield a broadsword and beat back some Manchu soldiers, he was outnumbered after all. His left and right arms were seriously injured and he finally fell down. The 20,000 North Korean troops who came to support (North Korea was a vassal state of China at the time) were shocked when they heard that the three armies of the Ming Dynasty had been defeated, and surrendered without a fight. From the beginning to the end of this war, it took only five days. The 100,000 Ming army led by Yang Gao lost 60,000, and more than 300 civil and military generals died.And then Kim wins big.This is the famous "Battle of Salhu" in history, which was listed as the most important hundred wars in Chinese history by later generations. The significance of the Battle of Sarhu to Nurhachi was far greater than that to the Ming Dynasty, because Houjin could not afford to lose this battle.This war was the key to the rise and fall of the Later Jin Dynasty. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was powerful and had a population of 60 million. Because the Ming Dynasty implemented a tax policy based on population, the people actually concealed a large number of people. Experts generally believe that the population of the Ming Dynasty was about 100 million.At that time, Hou Jin had a population of about 500,000 and fewer than 100,000 soldiers.No matter how it is calculated, the population of the Ming Dynasty is far greater than that of the Qing Dynasty, so it has an incomparable supplementary ability of the Houjin Dynasty.Hou Jin could hardly bear a defeat. Nurhachi was able to concentrate his forces and use the time difference to fight the three Ming armies separately in a short period of time.The rapid action speed, combat effectiveness of continuous combat and superb command ability of the commander in this kind of mobile warfare are far beyond the comparison of the generals of the Ming army. After the Battle of Sarhu, the Ming Dynasty suffered a severe loss of vitality, and the situation on the northeastern border of the Ming Dynasty became more severe.Since then, the situation in Liaodong has undergone fundamental changes. The Ming Dynasty lost the power to take the initiative to attack militarily and was forced to be in a defensive position, while the Jin Dynasty shifted from defense to offense.Shortly after the Sarhu War, Hou Jin went to Kaiyuan and killed Ma Lin, the general soldier of the Ming Dynasty; took Tieling, killed Ming guerrillas Yu Chengming and Shi Fengming; In the battle between the Ming Dynasty and Nurhachi, the Yehenala tribe fought the most.When it was destroyed, all the young and strong men were slaughtered.When the leader Buyangu was about to be executed, he said bitterly: "Although my descendants have a daughter, they will overwhelm the state!" The huge disaster, which missed the country of the Qing Dynasty, just happened to prove Buyangu's vicious spell when he was about to be executed. After the Battle of Salhu, the Ming Dynasty hastily appointed the famous general Xiong Tingbi.As soon as Xiong Tingbi left Shanhaiguan, Tieling had already fallen.After decades of Shenzong's "diligence in state affairs", military discipline has collapsed, and soldiers have no fighting spirit.The cavalry deliberately killed the horses so as not to go into battle.Hearing the enemy's attack, the soldiers of the Manchu battalion all ran away. In March 1625, Nurhachi moved the Houjin capital to Shenyang, calling Shenyang Shengjing. At this time, Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty was dead, and his son Ming Guangzong died of taking medicine by mistake after serving as emperor for a month.Guangzong's son Zhu Youxiao took over the throne, called Xizong, reign name Tianqi, also known as Emperor Tianqi.Emperor Apocalypse had a special hobby, which was woodworking and painting and carving.He can play with those planers, chisels, axes and saws all day long, to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep, ignoring state affairs, and not reading or criticizing memorials.His greatest "contribution" to the Ming Dynasty was to reuse Wei Zhongxian to govern the country.Wei Zhongxian was the most powerful eunuch in Chinese history.Presumably any dynasty with Wei Zhongxian can only end in subjugation.Therefore, after Chongzhen came to the throne, he decisively eradicated Wei Zhongxian, and everyone in the world rejoiced. At this moment, Nurhachi was invincible and in high spirits, and even sent someone to send a letter to Emperor Tianqi saying that the Han people and Houjin should take turns sitting in Beijing. In the first month of 1626, Nurhachi led an army of 60,000, known as 130,000, and crossed the Liaohe River to attack the Ming Dynasty.But this invincible hero met his greatest enemy in Ningyuan, the Ming general Yuan Chonghuan defeated Nurhachi with a strong city and cannons. After the news of the great victory in Ningyuan came back to the capital, the whole court was shocked and ecstatic.Yuan Chonghuan became famous in the first battle, and has since been promoted to the list of famous Chinese generals.During this period, Yuan Chonghuan even got the support of Wei Zhongxian. After Nurhachi was injured by artillery fire, he returned to Shenyang angrily.In August of the same year, he died of gangrene at the age of 68. In any case, Nurhachi did not expect that in 1644, eighteen years later, his little grandson Fulin would sit in the Golden Luan Hall in Beijing that he had dreamed of.Nurhachi had been looking forward to this day, but what he didn't expect was that this day would come so fast, it was surprisingly fast. The year when Li Zicheng rebelled and became a general (the third year of Chongzhen, 1630 AD) was also the year when Yuan Chonghuan was executed by Ling Chi. At this moment, there are still fourteen years before the end of the Ming Dynasty.Li Zicheng is also quite a military genius, good at grasping the initiative on the battlefield, and often wins by surprise with flexible tactics.It is also a pity for Li Zicheng that he has no chance to compete with a master like Yuan Chonghuan.Of course, Li Zicheng was far from the only one who regretted Yuan Chonghuan. In 1626, Qing Taizu Nurhachi, who was extremely talented in military affairs, led his army to attack Ningyuan. Yuan Chonghuan defended it. Nurhachi was injured and died. I don't think the small Ningyuan City can be captured. What kind of person is Yuan Chonghuan to be so capable!" After Nurhachi's eighth son, Huang Taiji, succeeded him, he believed that Yuan Chonghuan was directly responsible for the death of his father Nurhachi, and vowed to compete with Yuan Chonghuan.Because North Korea has been assisting the Ming Dynasty in cutting off the retreat of Manchuria, Huang Taiji first led his troops to conquer North Korea, and then returned to attack Ningyuan and Jinzhou.Unfortunately, like Nurhachi, Huang Taiji was still defeated by Yuan Chonghuan. Although the manpower and material resources of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were still far from those of the Ming Dynasty, they were just flourishing, with a kind of vigor that newborn calves were not afraid of tigers.Yuan Chonghuan defended Ningyuan with thousands of soldiers, but the 100,000 troops of the Manchu Qing could not take a step forward in western Liaoning. This has a lot to do with Yuan Chonghuan's extremely high military talent.If Emperor Chongzhen could continue to appoint people like Yuan Chonghuan, and last long with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, not to mention western Liaoning, eastern Liaodong could also be slowly regained.If the Manchus wanted to break into Shanhaiguan, that would be a dream. The Ming Dynasty emphasized literature and Qingwu, and the commanders of the army were basically of literati background, and they were all Jinshi in the eight-legged essay examination.It is not easy to find a truly handsome man among literati.Wen Tianxiang, who was relied on in the late Southern Song Dynasty, and Shi Kefa, who was relied on in the later Southern Ming Dynasty, were both literati, but they had no strategy and fought and failed repeatedly.But the luck of the Ming Dynasty was good. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were three famous generals with outstanding achievements: Xiong Tingbi was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Wanli, Sun Chengzong was the second place (second place) in the 32nd year of Wanli, and Yuan Chonghuan was a Jinshi in the 40th year of Wanli. Jinshi for seven years.All three of them were born Jinshi, but they are all rare military experts.It is a pity that Xiong Tingbi and Yuan Chonghuan were killed successively, and Sun Chengzong was also dismissed. Xiong Tingbi is a very talented general. After the Sarhu War, he served as the Liaodong Economic Strategy and went out to command the Liaodong military.However, Wang Huazhen, the governor of Guangning (now Beizhen, Liaoning), believed that Xiong Tingbi's exit would affect his status, and tried every means to obstruct Xiong Tingbi's command.In the second year of Tianqi (1622), Nurhachi attacked Guangning, and Wang Huazhen took the lead in fleeing into the pass.Xiong Tingbi couldn't resist, so he had to protect some people and retreat to Shanhaiguan.When Guangning fell, the Ming government naturally wanted to pursue responsibility, so Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen were thrown into prison together indiscriminately. Wei Zhongxian took the opportunity to blackmail Xiong Tingbi, and asked Xiong Tingbi to pay 40,000 taels of silver in order to spare him the death penalty.Xiong Tingbi was honest and upright, and rejected Wei Zhongxian's request.So the eunuch party framed Xiong Tingbi for embezzling military pay, and Xiong Tingbi was executed.It is a pity that after Xiong Tingbi was beheaded, the head was spread all over the nine borders (Ming Chengzu Zhu Di went out of Mobei five times, and set up towns along the border and sent troops to garrison. Initially set up Liaodong, Xuanfu, Datong, Yansui four towns, Following the three towns of Ningxia, Gansu, and Jizhou, two towns of Shanxi and Guyuan were set up, which are called Jiubian) as a warning. Sun Chengzong is a rising general after Xiong Tingbi.He had a strong interest in military affairs since he was young. According to historical records, he had a majestic appearance and a long beard. When he talked to people, his voice was extremely loud, "sounding like a wall".In the thirty-second year of Wanli (1604), Sun Chengzong became a Jinshi and was awarded the editor of the Imperial Academy. Not long after, one of the three strange cases of the Ming Dynasty, the "Striking Case", occurred. A strong man broke into the womb of the crown prince with a jujube stick, and was about to assassinate the prince Zhu Changluo Ming Guangzong), fortunately, he was caught by the eunuch on duty on the spot.The assassin confessed to the eunuchs Pang Bao and Liu Cheng.It is generally believed that Zheng Guifei, who was favored by Ming Shenzong, wanted to make her son the crown prince, so she sent someone to assassinate her.University scholar Wu Daonan was in charge of the case and felt embarrassed, so he asked Sun Chengzong for advice.Sun Chengzong said: "If it is about the East Palace, you must ask; if it is about the concubine, you must not ask deeply. When Pang Bao and Liu Cheng go down, you must ask; if Pang Bao and Liu Cheng go up, you must not ask deeply." Wu Daonan Thanks to admiration, this extremely complicated case was settled. (See "History of the Ming Dynasty Volume 250 Biography of Sun Chengzong") In the first year of Apocalypse (1621), Sun Chengzong used Zuo Shuzi as a lecturer for the day and entered Shaozhan's affairs.At that time, Shenyang and Liaoyang fell one after another, and Sun Chengzong was appointed Minister of the Ministry of War and Bachelor of Dongge University because of his knowledge of soldiers. After Sun Chengzong took office, he made a list of the shortcomings of the military system and combat command at that time, and sought reform. The main contents are: (1) "If there are too many soldiers, don't train, and if there are too many salaries, don't check."This means that the army was poorly trained and the logistics supply was chaotic. (2) "Use generals to use soldiers, but use civil officials to recruit and train them;Point out the mistakes in the command strategy of "controlling military force with culture" at that time. (3) "It is inappropriate to use the frontier to serve as the classics and caress, while the day asks and fights to guard the court", pointing out that "the general will be controlled from the center".Therefore, he advocated that "today, the power of the general should be emphasized. Choose a Shen Xiong who has the master strategy, and give him the axe. He has to set himself up and set it below the side, and don't let the civil servants stick to the mausoleum with small opinions."In addition, it is necessary to caress Liaoxi, sympathize with Liaomin, Jian Jingjun and so on.Because the Northeast was in danger at that time, these suggestions of his were approved by Ming Xizong. After Nurhachi captured Shenyang and Liaoyang, the Ming army actually faced a strategic choice of how to conduct military defense, that is, to guard the gates and make active defenses; or to stick to the gates and make passive defenses. In order to listen to opinions from all sides, Sun Chengzong called the generals to discuss how to defend.The supervisor Yan Mingtai was in charge of Juehua Island (in the sea east of Xingcheng, Liaoning, today called Juhua Island), Yuan Chonghuan was in charge of Ningyuanwei (now Xingcheng, Liaoning), and Wang Zaijin was in charge of Zhongqiansuo (now Suizhong County, Liaoning). Place).Supervisors Xing Shenyan, Zhang Yingwu and others echoed Wang Zaijin's opinion.After fully considering the opinions of all parties and weighing the pros and cons, Sun Chengzong supported Yuan Chonghuan's opinion of guarding Ningyuan. Yuan Chonghuan was originally a civil servant, but he has been paying attention to the Liaodong War for a long time, and he calls himself a "frontier talent".When Guangning fell, he had just been transferred from a county magistrate in the south to the imperial court as the head of the military department, so he came to Shanhaiguan in person to inspect the situation.After returning to the court, he immediately went to Emperor Shu Tianqi, and recommended himself, "With our army Ma Qiangu, I will guard this alone." Soon, he was sent to the front line of Liaodong, and began his military career. Ningyuan is located in the middle of the Liaoxi Corridor, "Inner Gongyanguan, south of the sea, between the outside and the inside, standing in the shape of victory."Keeping Ningyuan is tantamount to strangling the throat of this corridor and ensuring the safety of Shanhaiguan two hundred miles away.Therefore, Sun Chengzong's determination to keep Ningyuan is quite strategic. The defense of Shanhaiguan also adopted the strategy of Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan guarding outside the customs.After several years of hard work, a solid Ning (Yuan) Jin (zhou) line of defense was arranged, which became an insurmountable obstacle for the Manchu and Qing cavalry.From Nurhachi to Huang Taiji, they have not been able to completely break through this line of defense.After repeatedly bumping into a wall, they were forced to look far away and stop.This line of defense not only protected Shanhaiguan from attack, but also basically stabilized the situation in the Liaoxi Corridor for more than two decades. Sun Chengzong's meritorious service is high and powerful, and he is well-known in the ruling and opposition parties.In order to hold the court for a long time, Wei Zhongxian wanted to pull Sun Chengzong to his side, so he tried many times, but they were all rejected, so he held a grudge.In August of the fifth year of the Apocalypse (1625), Ma Shilong, the general soldier of Shanhaiguan, mistrusted the intelligence of Liu Boxian, who had fled from the Qing army, and sent troops across the Liuhe River to attack Yaozhou.The eunuch party took the opportunity to make a big fuss, besieged Ma Shilong, and impeached Sun Chengzong.Sun Chengzong resigned because of this. Gaodi immediately became Liaodong economic strategy.Gaudi is a mediocre guy who knows neither military nor war.As soon as he arrived at Shanhaiguan, he called a meeting of generals and said that the Qing army was too powerful to defend outside the pass. He ordered the dismantling of the Ningjin line of defense and asked all Ming troops to withdraw into Shanhaiguan.Yuan Chonghuan resolutely opposed the withdrawal of troops. He said: "It's so easy for us to gain a foothold outside the pass, how can we give up so easily!" Gao Di insisted Yuan Chonghuan give up Ningyuan.Yuan Chonghuan said angrily: "My duty is to defend Ningyuan. If I die, I will die there. I will never retreat." The army retreated to the pass within a time limit.This order was issued very suddenly, and the defenders everywhere were unprepared, retreated in a hurry, and threw away all the hundreds of thousands of tans of military rations stored outside the pass.Sun Chengzong's years of hard work were ruined, and the military situation of the Ming Dynasty in Shanhaiguan and beyond immediately fell into a new crisis.It was only because of the bloody battles of the vast number of soldiers headed by Yuan Chonghuan that the Ming army successively achieved the "Ningyuan Great Victory" and "Ningjin Great Victory" in the first month of the sixth year of the Apocalypse and the fifth month of the seventh year of the Apocalypse, which miraculously blocked the fierce attack of the Manchus. , so that not only the Ningjin line of defense withstood the test of the war, but also enabled the Ming Dynasty to avoid the military defeat caused by Gao Di's wrong military decision. In the second year of Chongzhen (1629 A.D.), Huang Taiji saw that Yuan Chonghuan's strong city in western Liaoning was difficult to attack, so he changed his strategy, avoided Yuan Chonghuan, led a heavy army to bypass the natural danger of Shanhaiguan, broke through Da'ankou of the Great Wall, entered from Longjingguan, and successively conquered Zunhua, Ji Zhouzhou, Shunyi, and Tongzhou are approaching the capital.Yuan Chonghuan learned that the Qing soldiers entered the pass by detour, so the soldiers Huining and Jin returned to the army to break the siege of Kyoto.After the Qing soldiers retreated beyond the Great Wall, the Chongzhen Emperor, who was self-serving as a teacher, fell into Huang Taiji's countermeasures and executed Yuan Chonghuan Lingchi, so the Great Wall collapsed.This happened in the third year of Chongzhen (1630). Huang Taiji is also a great military strategist, far-sighted and broad-minded. When he heard that Yuan Chonghuan was killed, although he got rid of the greatest enemy in his life as he wished, he said superficially: "It's rare that this gentleman is dead. Let's go to the Ming Dynasty for a long time." Usually Huang Taiji talked with his generals, and they all called Yuan Chonghuan "Yuan Manzi". At this moment, he suddenly changed his name to "This Lord", which naturally showed respect from the bottom of his heart; Let's mourn, and sigh that the heroes of the world will be rivals from now on. Chongzhen was a man who was strict and unclear, but he was very courageous in punishing ministers.Speaking of it, Chongzhen was not easy. When he was the king of Xin, he huddled in the mansion of the king of Xin every day. He never dared to go out, for fear of being murdered by Wei Zhongxian and his gang. Later, he became the emperor and lived in the palace. The food is also afraid of Wei Zhongxian's influence.Chongzhen, who grew up in such a sinister political environment, is no wonder he is often suspicious.What's more, the Daming country he took over from his elder brother is already riddled with holes.Even if Zhu Yuanzhang is reborn, he will not be able to return to heaven. During the seventeen years of Chongzhen's reign, fourteen Ministers of the Ministry of War (equivalent to the Minister of Defense, here refers to the official head of the Ministry of War, and those who add the title of Minister of the Ministry of War like Yuan Chonghuan are not counted); In addition to Yuan Chonghuan, there were ten governors or governors who committed suicide. Eleven governors were killed and one was forced to death.This is all because of the rules of responsibility. These people who were killed and dismissed were either considered incapable, or considered not doing their best, or suspected of being self-respecting. In general, in Chongzhen's view, they must accept the consequences of their actions.However, judging from Chongzhen's unclear inspection of people, this is undoubtedly self-demolition, suitable for benefiting the enemy. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan rushed back to King Qin of the capital and camped outside Guangqumen.When Emperor Chongzhen heard that Yuan Chonghuan had rushed to guard the capital without a stop, he was quite moved. He summoned him immediately, gave him condolences, and gave him food, mink fur and other things.Yuan Chonghuan asked to enter the city to rest on the grounds that the soldiers were flattering and tired.Emperor Chongzhen did not agree. There were two main considerations for Chongzhen: first, the Qing soldiers were in Tongzhou, not far from the capital, and they were already approaching the city of Beijing; the Yuan army brigade entered the city, and if they were not kept together, Huang Taiji would take advantage of it.Second, since Yuan Chonghuan was good at killing Mao Wenlong, this kind of concern has been floating in his mind-Yuan Chonghuan is currently leading the most elite army of the Ming Dynasty, consuming most of the military pay of the Ming Dynasty.Because the national treasury was empty and the court was short of pay, Yuan Chonghuan even proposed to issue "internal money", which was the money from the emperor's private treasury.Chongzhen was very unhappy about this and was unwilling to take out his own money, but under Yuan Chonghuan's repeated urging, he finally had to take out the money (after Li Zicheng broke through Beijing, the treasury list listed, the government's inventory of silver was 3,700 One million taels, tens of millions of taels of gold, while the household department only had 400,000 taels of silver and 200,000 taels of donated silver. The private treasury of Emperor Xuyue of the state treasury also formed a sharp contrast).Yuan Chonghuan desperately fought for the interests of his subordinates, and even used the emperor's small treasury. Naturally, the soldiers fought hard, at least in Chongzhen's opinion.Yuan Chonghuan didn't know that he had violated the emperor's taboo. But Chongzhen, who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, did not really understand the extent to which military pay had deteriorated.In fact, none of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty should know. In the Yongle Dynasty, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di set up nine sides, and the military salaries needed by each side for preparing for war and providing for the soldiers were mostly paid to the farmland at first.After orthodoxy, military pay was gradually provided by the capital Taicang.The amount of each side, between Hongzhi and Zhengde, was about 430,000 taels per year; the highest amount in Jiajing was more than 2.7 million taels a year; in Wanli, it reached more than 3.8 million taels a year, equivalent to The total amount of land tax income in the Ming Dynasty every year.Military pay became an important reason for the Ming Dynasty’s increasingly financial constraints. Coupled with the brutal exploitation of officers at all levels, it also made the pay short.Even Ningyuan, which is the most important place for national defense, has been in arrears of payment for several months, and there have been many military changes over the issue of military payment.Yuan Chonghuan had no choice but to kill several leading officers, temporarily calming down the situation.But the military pay was delayed, and the soldiers began to mutiny again.The imperial court owed wages again and again, and Yuan Chonghuan put forward the request for "internal money" because the Ministry of Households could not afford the money. Since the emperor refused to let him enter the city, Yuan Chonghuan continued to leave the city to garrison.He did not send troops to fight the Qing army, but only sent a small group of troops to fight fiercely with the Qing army, killing each other. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan brought fewer troops because he was eager to rescue.According to his strategy, he was going to wait until the arrival of Qin Wang's army from all over the country, and then use the superior force to launch a thorough counterattack against the Qing soldiers.Huang Taiji's army went deep alone, and he had already committed a taboo in the art of war; according to Yuan Chonghuan's thinking, it was entirely possible to surround the Qing soldiers and defeat them all at once. Huang Taiji was also a master at using troops, so he naturally guessed Yuan Chonghuan's intention of not going to battle.In order to force Yuan Jun to fight the Qing army as soon as possible, Huang Taiji sent people to burn and kill on the outskirts of Beijing. Many bureaucrats in Beijing have a large number of industries such as manors and land outside the city.Because it was related to their own wealth and property, these people united and ran to Chongzhen, saying that Yuan Chonghuan's refusal to fight had ulterior motives.Rumors also began to spread in Beijing. Many people said that the Qing soldiers were attracted by Yuan Chonghuan for the purpose of "threatening peace", so that the emperor had to accept the peace talks he had always advocated.Some people even stood on the top of the city and threw stones at Yuan Jun below the city, calling them "traitor soldiers". Chongzhen saw that Yuan Chonghuan had been reluctant to fight the Qing soldiers for a long time, and heard rumors that the city of Beijing had spread, so he couldn't help but feel even more worried.Rumors are always easy to be believed, not to mention that Yuan Chonghuan did negotiate a temporary truce with Huang Taiji a few years ago.皇太极恰到好处地用了一招“离间计”，崇祯终于将袁崇焕下狱。这里提一句，崇祯这个时候才十八岁。 得到袁崇焕下狱的消息，皇太极大喜，立即自良乡回军，至芦沟桥，击破明副总兵申甫的车营，迫近北京永定门。崇祯催促武经略满桂（袁崇焕手下大将）出战，满桂出兵后全军覆没，此时离袁崇焕下狱不过半个月。 袁崇焕手下另一员猛将祖大寿本来率军营救京城，看到袁崇焕下狱，掉头冲出山海关北去。祖大寿曾经犯了军法，孙承宗要杀他，因为爱惜他的才华，暗中让袁崇焕出面救解。祖大寿感激袁崇焕的恩情，从此对袁崇焕死心塌地。 崇祯将祖大寿叛出山海关的消息告诉了狱中的袁崇焕，让他写了一封书信给祖大寿，劝祖大寿回头。祖大寿这才重新回兵，意图打胜战立功，以救出袁崇焕。祖大寿和清兵接战，收复了永平、遵化一带，同时切断了清兵后路。皇太极于崇祯三年（1630）自率大军退还盛京，留下二贝勒阿敏驻守关内四城。 在此危难之际，崇祯再次起用孙承宗，“诏以原官兼兵部尚书守通州”，统筹全局。孙承宗首先晓以大义，安定了军心。其后协调各路军队，联合行动，经数月艰苦作战，取得“遵永大捷”，并于崇祯三年（1630）五月将阿敏统帅的清军驱逐出山海关。关内四城（滦州、迁安、永平、遵化）被明军收复，阿敏率残兵败将逃归，逃走前阿敏下令屠城。 阿敏回到盛京后，立即因败军的罪名被自己的弟弟皇太极逮捕下狱。这是因为必须有人对不幸的结局负责，但更重要的原因是——阿敏下了屠城的命令，从此凡是满清攻打的城池将招来顽强的反抗——这大大违背了皇太极一直极力主张的笼络人心的策略。阿敏被幽禁十年后在狱中死去。 反过来看袁崇焕的命运也是一样。尽管满清对北京和王朝的直接威胁已经过去，但朝廷吓坏了，特别是崇祯。出现这样的状况，总得有人来负责吧？于是皇帝选择了袁崇焕。 崇焕被凌迟时，北京老百姓把他的肉吃了个干净。中国人自古以来，只崇拜权力，不崇拜才华，由此可见一斑。 袁崇焕被杀，固然是他本人的悲剧。但崇祯杀袁崇焕，则是大明朝更大的悲剧。1644年的风起云涌、北京城中令人眼花缭乱的改朝换代，并不是突然发生的，它是许许多多的小悲剧、大悲剧累计起来的总爆发。这是历史的悲剧集中上演的一年。 孙承宗再任辽东经略后，仍坚持以积极防御为主的方针，继续加强宁锦防线，决心重筑被高第毁弃的大凌河、右屯二城。崇祯四年（1631）七月，令祖大寿等率兵四千守大凌河，又征发一万四千人筑城。八月六日，动工筑城才二十天左右，大凌河城墙刚刚修完，雉堞仅修完一半，清军突然兵归城下，并于当天开始围城，明军仓促闭门拒战。“承宗闻，驰赴锦州，遣吴襄、宗伟往救”。但宁远巡抚邱禾嘉“屡易师期，伟与襄又不相能，遂大败于长山”。至十月，大凌河已被围三月，守军粮尽援绝，城中发生了吃人的惨剧，祖大寿假装投降，奔还锦州，“城复被毁”。大凌河失守，引起了明廷内部的互相倾轧，“延臣追咎筑城非策，文章论禾嘉及承宗”。孙承宗连疏引疾，求退。崇祯帝为平息朝议，准其归籍，孙承宗第二次被排挤下台。 崇祯十一年（清崇德三年，1638年），后金（清）兵深入内地。十一月九日围攻高阳。赋闲在家的孙承宗率全城军民与之血战。三天后，城破，孙承宗被俘，因拒不投降，被活活勒死。 凡事有因才有果，正所谓没有莫名其妙的爱，也没有莫名其妙的恨。袁崇焕因为军事才能极高而为崇祯所爱，又因为忠诚度不够而为崇祯所忌。袁崇焕被杀的罪名是“擅主和议、专戮大帅”，当然最重最大的罪名是谋叛。谋叛显然是诬蔑之词；“擅主和议”指的是袁崇焕为了拖延时间，曾经与皇太极议和，但事先并没有让崇祯知道；“专戮大帅”一项指的是袁崇焕未经请示，用崇祯赐予的尚方宝剑杀了皮岛统帅毛文龙。这两项罪名其实说到底就是怪袁崇焕总是擅作主张，对皇帝的忠诚度值得怀疑。 我们返回来看袁崇焕重新被崇祯起用的那一段。 崇祯即位后，不动声色地铲除了魏忠贤一伙儿，随即起用袁崇焕为兵部尚书兼右副都御史，督师蓟辽、兼督登莱、天津军务。从这里可以看出，皇帝对袁崇焕的信任度是相当高的。 崇祯首先问到了平辽战略，袁崇焕答道：“只要陛下全力支持我，我只要五年就可以收复全辽。”崇祯听了大喜。 一旁的给事中许誉卿并不相信，悄悄问袁崇焕：“五年真的就能收复全辽吗？” 袁崇焕其实也没有把握，踌躇着说：“陛下一直为了辽事焦虑，我这样说是为了安慰他。” 许誉卿道：“陛下英明，你怎么能随口一答？” 于是袁崇焕又找机会对崇祯说：“辽事本来不容易奏功，陛下既然委任于我，我也不敢因为难而推辞。但五年之内，户部供应军饷，工部供应兵器，吏部用人，兵部调兵遣将，要内外事事相应，才能有效果。” 崇祯听了他的话前后不一，已经有些不高兴了，但也答应了他的要求。袁崇焕于崇祯二年底被下狱时，皇太极已经打到与京师只一步之遥的通州，崇祯想到袁崇焕五年平辽的豪言壮语，显然是失望了。到了崇祯三年八月，收复全辽已经不见丝毫希望，于是袁崇焕被杀。 袁崇焕是历史上的忠臣、名将，但他也是个相当有心机的人，这一点并不广为人所知。魏忠贤权倾天下的时候，袁崇焕跟其他各地拍马屁的官僚一样，在辽东给魏忠贤建生祠。魏忠贤派太监监兵，袁崇焕也应付得很好。袁崇焕中进士的主考官、保荐他的御史等都是东林党人，在政治上属于魏忠贤的敌对派系。当时，魏忠贤大肆消灭东林党人，对袁崇焕还算客气，这不能不说与袁崇焕的手段与妥协战略有关。 袁崇焕刚开始受到崇祯重用、离开北京前去宁远时，也曾经担心熊廷弼和孙承宗背后被馋的命运会落到自己头上，于是他恨严肃地对崇祯皇帝说：“我制辽绰绰有余，但是杜谗不足。我一旦出了关，就在千里之外了。如果朝中有妒功忌能的人员，便足以坏事。这些人即便不能用朝中的权力来牵制我，也会瞎出一些主意来扰乱我的计划。” 崇祯听了这话，站了起来：“你不要疑虑，我一定会为你作主。”大学士刘鸿训请求赐袁崇焕尚方宝剑，崇祯也慨然照办，表示了对袁崇焕极端的重视。 袁崇焕在离开京师这个权力中心时，为了将来便宜从事，所作的事、所说的话都是为了向崇祯要更大的权力。这是袁崇焕本人没有想清臣子忠诚度在职业生涯中重要性的问题。 秦始皇统一中国时，曾经想派大将王翦攻打楚国。王翦说：“要攻打楚国，非六十万人不可。”秦始皇又问李信，李信说：“二十万人就足够了。”秦始皇笑道：“王将军老了，胆子也变小了。”于是派李信和蒙恬带二十万军队南下征伐楚国。王翦便称病回家了。不久，李信大败，秦始皇亲自跑到王翦的老家频阳，请王翦挂帅复出。于是王翦带兵六十万人出征，秦始皇亲自送到灞上。王翦临出发的时候，突然向秦始皇要求赏赐众多的田产宅第。秦始皇不以为然地说：“将军就要走了，怎么还发愁不能富贵呢？”王翦说：“为大王将，有功终不得封侯。所以趁大王还用得着我，我得为子孙作打算。”秦始皇大笑。后来，王翦在出征的路上，还先后派出五拨信使回咸阳，不为别的，只为向秦始皇请求封赏。秦始皇终于答应了。有人觉得王翦是在乞讨封赏，恨是丢人。王翦语出惊人地回答：“秦王生性多疑。如今我统领着几乎秦国的全部兵马，我不请求田园加深大王的信任，难道还要他疑心我吗？”（事见《史记·卷73·白起王翦列传》） 王翦高明就高明在他知道对于武将来说，忠诚度是职业生涯中最最重要的，只有让皇帝彻底地放心，绝对没有谋反的念头，他才能继续他的职业生涯。但从袁崇焕的立场来说，当时他这么做也没有什么不对。根据明朝祖制，大将在外，必有文臣（有时候是太监）监军。他要求更大的权力，也是为了不受牵制，好能大展宏图。 袁崇焕一到宁远，正好赶上军队因为朝庭拖欠军饷发生了哗变，发“内帑”就是袁崇焕在这件事后提出的。袁崇焕到了宁远后，修城增堡，置戍屯田，颇有成效。这期间崇祯对他是相当信任的，崇祯二年闰四月，袁崇焕“叙春秋两防功，加太子太保，赐蟒衣、银币，廕锦衣千户”。但不久后就发生了袁崇焕诛杀毛文龙事件（事见《明史·卷259·袁崇焕毛文龙传》）。 毛文龙，仁和人，最早为辽东大将。辽东失守后，毛文龙从海上逃回，乘虚袭杀满清镇江守将。因为毛文龙只将战果报告给了当时的广宁巡抚王化贞，没有报告给经略熊廷弼，熊廷弼与毛文龙开始不和。当时主事的人是王化贞，王化贞任命毛文龙为总兵，后来累加至左都督，挂将军印，赐尚方剑，设军镇皮岛。 皮岛（今海洋岛）又称东江，位于大海中，绵亘八十里，不生草木，远南岸，近北岸，北岸海面八十里即抵满清界，其东北海为朝鲜。地理位置十分重要，可以有效地牵制满清。 毛文龙蟠踞东江已久，素性倔强，为人又嚣张跋扈，还经常利用边塞之便大量贩卖货物，充作军饷。袁崇焕本已经对他不满，到任后，统一规划，“议更营制，设监司”；毛文龙觉得自己的权力被大大削弱，很不高兴，不同意袁崇焕的意见，语多傲慢。于是袁崇焕婉言劝毛文龙回家乡去看看，意思是他已经到了解甲归田的时候了。毛文龙在皮岛日久，自然不肯轻易放弃权利，大声说：“我早就想解甲归田，但只有我了解辽东事，等辽东事了，我再回家乡不迟。”袁崇焕“益不悦，谋益决”，杀机已现。 不久后，袁崇焕以邀请毛文龙到幄山看将士射箭为名，诱捕毛文龙。当时袁崇焕手下的部将有许多为毛文龙求情，认为他苦守皮岛多年，劳苦功高。袁崇焕不听，请出尚方宝剑，杀了毛文龙，并对众人说：“我只杀毛文龙一个，其他人无罪。”当时毛文龙手下有数万精兵在场，忌惮袁崇焕的威风，竟然没有一个人敢轻举妄动。 其时袁崇焕总掌兵事，毛文龙对他的权力和地位并无任何威胁，袁崇焕并没有令人信服的理由要杀毛文龙。他的动机，很可能有两点：一是出于个人情感，他实在是不喜欢毛文龙这个人；二是因为毛文龙跋扈难制，所以袁崇焕杀人以立威，这是新到任的统帅通常用的法子。但从后来可以看出，杀毛文龙带来了一系列的问题，还不包括袁崇焕因为此事引起了崇祯对他的猜忌。我们不能不说，在毛文龙这件事的处理上，袁崇焕是有极重的私心的，而个人恩怨有时候不但会改变双方各自的命运，还会改变历史的局部面貌，起到微力的作用。当这些微力足够多时，进而成为合力，影响到国家命运的走向。 从另外一点来说，袁崇焕确实有故意专擅的意思，一是将在外，君命有所不受，只要有利于国，专之可也；二是崇祯皇帝给了他尚方宝剑，为的就是让他便宜行事。但袁崇焕忘记了，帝王之心深不可测，君与臣永远不可能完全信任。 袁崇焕随即将毛文龙厚葬，亲自祭奠说：“我杀你，是朝廷大法；我祭你，是僚友私情。”随即将毛文龙手下的二万八千人分为四部，由毛文龙的儿子毛承祚、副将陈继盛、参将徐敷奏、游击刘兴祚分别率领。 崇祯二年五月，袁崇焕才上书崇祯，报告了杀毛文龙一事。崇祯听到后，“意殊骇”，意思是吃惊得不得了；他没有想到袁崇焕自作主张到了这样的地步，因为毛文龙不但是沙场老将，也是手持尚方宝剑的一方统帅。但因为毛文龙已死，国家必须有良将，崇祯还要依靠袁崇焕，只好“优旨褒答”。不久后又“传谕暴文龙罪，以安崇焕心”。显然崇祯的本意并不想这样做，只不过为了笼络袁崇焕不得已而如此。从这时开始，崇祯已经开始警戒，对袁崇焕又爱又恨之。 袁崇焕为了拖延时间，完成收复大业，开始与皇太极和谈。此时努尔哈赤新死，满洲内部人心动荡，皇太极的地位还不十分稳固，他对和谈极有兴趣，立即作出有利反应。袁崇焕提出先决条件，要皇太极先除去帝号，恢复称“汗”。皇太极居然答允，但要求明朝皇帝赐一颗印给他，表示正式承认他“汗”的地位。 当时皇太极并没有一味跟明朝开战，而是千方百计地求和。他不但自己写信给明朝边界官员，还托朝鲜居间斡旋，托蒙古王公上书明朝。而他发动每一个战役，都是“以战求和”的目的。皇太极的眼光相当毒辣，有相当的自知之明。他清楚地认识到，以当时明朝和满清国力人力的对比，满清决计不是明朝的敌手；满清人口与兵力有限，经不起长期的消耗战，明朝的政治只要稍上轨道，满清就非亡国灭种不可。 皇太极还写信给崇祯皇帝说：“满洲国汗谨奏大明国皇帝：小国起兵，原非自不知足，希图大位，而起此念也。只因边官作践太甚，小国恼恨，又不得上达……今欲将恼恨备悉上闻，又恐以为小国不解旧怨，因而生疑，所以不敢详陈也。小国下情，皇上若欲垂听，差一好人来，俾小国尽为申奏。若谓业已讲和，何必又提恼恨，惟任皇帝之命而已。夫小国之人，和好告成时，得些财物，打猎放鹰，便是快乐处。谨奏。”（《天聪实录稿》）皇太极用辞十分谦卑。但崇祯毫不理会，对满清始终坚持“不承认政策”，还妄自尊大，激怒了皇太极。等到崇祯末年，农民军力量壮大，崇祯皇帝再想与满清议和，已经晚了。 当皇太极看到崇祯杀了袁崇焕时，已经知道明朝的气数尽了。但即便是这个时候，他也没有想到满清能这么快地取得明朝的天下，在他预测中，无论如何也还要经过好几代人的努力。1636年，皇太极称帝，改国号为清，明确地表示要推翻明王朝。 有人说，因为袁崇焕妄杀了毛文龙，所以崇祯才误杀了袁崇焕。袁崇焕被杀，不但是他本人的悲剧，也是崇祯皇帝的悲剧，更进一步说，是整个大明王朝的悲剧。“自崇焕死，边事益无人，明亡征决矣”（《明史·卷259·袁崇焕传》）。然而对于明朝来说，这还远不是悲剧的高潮。高潮一直要到1644年才会出人意料地来到。 袁崇焕被时人称为“袁长城”。袁崇焕死后，明朝只剩了最后一座人造的长城，山海关就是明朝最后的屏障。 明朝的长城非常著名。明长城是我国历史上修筑的最后一道长城，也是修建规模最大、历时最长、工程最坚固、设备最为完善的长城。它东起辽东的鸭绿江畔，西至甘肃的嘉峪关旁，横贯今辽宁、河北、天津、北京、内蒙、山西、陕西、宁夏、甘肃等九省、市、自治区，全长六千三百多公里。 有人计算过，若将明代修筑长城的砖石、上方，用来修筑一道五米高、一米厚的大墙，可绕地球一周有余。它翻越千山万水，穿过莽莽荒原，腾飞茫茫沙漠，奔向皑皑雪山，犹如一条巨龙舞动在中国北方辽阔的大地上。 明朝在灭掉元朝以后，原来的统治者蒙古贵族北走沙漠，但“引弓之士，不下百万众也”（谷应泰《明史纪事本末》卷十）。蒙古势力时刻想卷土重来，不断南下骚扰掠夺。同时在东北又有女真的兴起，为了防御蒙古、女真等游牧民族贵族的扰掠，明代十分重视北方的防务。为了防御北方边患，明朝历代政府不得不屡次修建长城。在明朝的二百多年中，几乎一直没有停止过对长城的修筑和巩固长城的防务。开始只对几百年前遗留的破烂不堪的长城进行补修，到后来进行大规模的修建。明朝长城工程之大，自秦皇、汉武之后，没有一个朝代能够与之相比，工程技术也有了很大的改进，结构更加坚固、防御的作用也更大了。我们可以这样说，万里长城这件从春秋战国时期开始修筑，经秦始皇连成一气的伟大工程，到明朝才完成的。我们今天所看到的气魄宏大的长城，正是明代的遗迹。（附图：明长城示意图） 纵观长城的历史，可以看出，大部是在一定的时期内，整体或某个方面比较弱的一方，才修筑长城。长城用于军事的目的，是修长城的一方，想凭借长城保持与敌方的抗衡。到了明朝后期，长城已经成了消极防御的军事工事。 但是，明王朝花费巨大人力、物力修建起来的万里长城，并没有达到预期的效果，这是由当时的社会状况、军事制度和战略思想决定的。单从军事的角度来说，在长逾万里的防御线上，攻击一方是先发制人，攻其不备，在时间、规模、突破口的选择上有主动权。而守军分散在万里长城线上，无论如何地强调常备不懈、居安思危，还是难以阻挡一些规模较大的突然袭击的。 崇祯八年至十一年（公元1635～1638年），清兵曾多次从蓟镇、宣府、大同三镇的董家口、独石口和得胜堡等处拆长城而入。 清军数次攻进长城，长驱于山西、河北、山东等地，几次威胁明朝京都，打了许多胜仗。终因山海关控扼其间，清内外声势不接，不得不掳掠后退出长城。 山海关号称“