In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, due to the rampant greed of officialdom and the increasingly acute social contradictions, huge peasant uprisings broke out in various places. At the same time, the southeastern coast was rife with pirates, and Burma on the southwestern border was also in turmoil from time to time. What's more, the northern Jurchen tribes also gradually rose under the leadership of the leader Nurhachi. For a time, the Ming Dynasty fell into internal and external troubles.
As the saying goes, "the times create heroes", the chaos in the late Ming Dynasty brought turmoil and gave many outstanding generals the opportunity to emerge. For example, Liu Wei, known as the "first fierce general of the late Ming Dynasty" and "the god of war of the late Ming Dynasty", successively defeated Burma and Japan, and put down rebellions many times. It's a pity that this famous general was martyred in the battle with Houjin and failed to continue to save the dying Ming Dynasty.
In the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing (1558), Liu Wei was born in Xinjian County, Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, which is the area of Xinjian District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. Liu Xian, the father of Liu Wei, once fought side by side with famous generals such as Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, and made great achievements by fighting against the Japanese invaders. Under the influence of his father, Liu Ling Xi martial arts since childhood, and the History of Ming describes him"Brave and fatherly".。When he grew up, he relied on his father's favor to enter the government and was made a commander.
In the early years of Wanli, the nine silks in the Yunnan-Guizhou area were in turmoil, and Liu Wei followed his father to crusade, and relied on the merits of first climbing the city and capturing the bandit leader to be promoted to the garrison of Yunnan Province. In the 10th year of Wanli (1582), the most powerful Taungoo dynasty in Burmese history was unified under the leadership of the third king, Mang Ying Long. Yue Feng, a native of Jiangxi who had been doing business in the Longchuan area in the southwest for many years, colluded with Mang Yinglong and gathered hundreds of thousands of elephant soldiers to burn, kill and loot on the southwest border of the Ming Dynasty.
The following year, Liu Wei was promoted to guerrilla general and ordered to guard the border town of Tengchong. At that time, Yue Feng was sending troops to attack Yao Pass, which was guarded by the general Deng Zilong, and as Liu Wei led reinforcements to arrive, the battle situation suddenly tilted towards the side that was favorable to the Ming army. Although Yue Feng was outnumbered, he was only a rabble after all, and when he saw Liu Wei coming, he took the initiative to send his wife, children and subordinates to surrender. After ordering him to hand over the seal letter and dedicate the territory, Liu Wei divided his troops to occupy all parts of Longchuan, and easily defeated the loose Burmese army"The thief is embarrassed, and the Burmese and the elephant are sacrificed, and it is quite peaceful. ”
After pacifying Burma, Liu Wei was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief, but he asked for bribes from Manmo to appease Sishun, and connived at his subordinates to plunder and abuse, causing the resentful Sishun to defect directly to Burma. At this point, the brave and combative Liu Ling was exposed"Sexual greed, your majesty can't".The disadvantages. Knowing that Liu Wei directly forced Sishun away, the enraged Emperor Wanli issued an edict to dismiss him.
In the thirteenth year of Wanli (1585), Luo Xiong Zhizhou Jirong rebelled, and Liu Shizeng, the governor of Yunnan, hurriedly sent Liu Wei to crusade, and the latter conquered the three cities and easily defeated Jirong. After the meritorious service, Liu Wei was able to be appointed as a general in Guangxi. Seven years later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent troops to invade Korea, and the imperial court ordered Liu Wei to set out from Sichuan and lead an army of 5,000 to attack. Due to the long distance, after Liu Wei traveled a long way to Korea, the Japanese army had already evacuated Wangjing in Korea.
As a result, Liu Wei marched to Wuling, Shangzhou, where he worked with Zu Chengxun, the father of the famous general Zu Dashou, to drive out the Japanese troops stationed in that area. Relying on his huge superiority in strength, Liu Wei defeated the Japanese army many times and forced the Japanese to send back the captured Korean prince. However, because Gu Yangqian, the governor of Jiliao, advocated peace with Japan, Liu Wei was soon recalled to China.
A few years later, Yang Yinglong, who had served as the Tusi of Banzhou for generations, rebelled, and the imperial court promoted Liu Wei to the chief military officer of Sichuan and asked him to go to pacify. Liu Wei thought that he had worked hard in North Korea for two years, so he bribed Song Xingzu, the imperial historian, hoping to get an exceptional promotion. However, Song Xingzu quickly brought the matter to the fore, and considering Liu Wei's military exploits, after discussion, the officials only removed his previous title in Yunnan, and renamed him the chief military officer of Lintao, and let him go to Qinghai to quell the rebellion.
In the twenty-fifth year of Wanli (1597), the Japanese invaded Korea with an army of 140,000 again, and Liu Wei was promoted to the chief military officer of the Imperial War, responsible for leading the Western Route Army to defeat the Japanese army. With the news of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, the Japanese army, which had been repeatedly defeated on the battlefield, retreated, and Liu Wei was promoted to the governor of Tongzhi by virtue of his military merits. Immediately afterwards, the imperial court appointed Liu Wei as the chief military officer of Sichuan, and asked him to continue the crusade against the stubborn Yang Yinglong.
Although he was reluctant to travel long distances to Banzhou to quell the rebellion, Liu Wei, who barely took office, still succeeded in defeating Yang Yinglong, and was the most successful among the generals. In the forty-sixth year of Wanli (1618), Houjin invaded Liaoyang in a big way, and Liu Wei was ordered to lead 40,000 troops to crusade. Although he achieved some victories in the early stages of the war, due to his unfamiliar terrain, Liu Wei was accidentally attacked by the Houjin army, and finally died in the country, with only a few people such as his adopted son standing out of the encirclement.
To sum up, it was described by the "History of the Ming Dynasty" as "the bravest among the generals." Ping Burma Kou, Ping Luo Xiong, Ping Korea Wa, Ping Bo Chieftain, Ping Lu, hundreds of battles, prestige and fame in the sea" Liu Wei was indeed a member of the late Ming Dynasty. Despite the stains such as bribery, his presence was undoubtedly quite important for the Ming Dynasty. As the history books say, after his death, the situation at the border passes of the Ming Dynasty became more and more sinister, and it is no wonder that Emperor Qianlong, who was the descendant of his former opponent, praised him: "Liu Weixun is a special book, courageous and excellent, bravely striving for the first, and sacrificing his life the most."