Yuan Chonghuan is a figure worth mentioning.
Since ancient times, there have not been many generals who can be civil and martial, and Yuan Chonghuan is one.
The year before Yuan Chonghuan was born, the Qing Emperor Nurhachi raised an army, and since then the situation of the Qingming duel has begun.
Nurhachi is 25 years older than Yuan Chonghuan, and he never imagined that 43 years later, he would actually become Yuan Chonghuan's defeated general.
Yuan Chonghuan is a native of Dongguan, Guangdong, he became a Xiucai at the age of 14, and was promoted at the age of 23, although there were some twists and turns, until he was 36 years old, he became a jinshi. But anyway, at this point, Yuan Chonghuan stepped into officialdom with one foot.
At first, he probably didn't think about joining the army.
But he is a very ambitious person, he also has lofty ideals, and at the same time he is very concerned about national affairs.
In the year Yuan Chonghuan became a Jinshi, the Ming Dynasty was defeated in the Battle of Sarhu.
It can be said that this battle was also a turning point in the confrontation between the Ming and Qing dynasties.
From then on, the stronger the Qing army, the weaker the Ming army, until the appearance of Yuan Chonghuan, the situation of the entire decadent Ming Dynasty took a little turn.
After Yuan Chonghuan was admitted to the Jinshi, he did not become an official immediately, and after waiting for a year, the imperial court sent him to Shaowu, Fujian Province to be a magistrate.
After the three-year period, Yuan Chonghuan was customarily required to make a pilgrimage to Beijing. The meaning of Hajj is that the magistrate must accept the assessment of the best and do well before he has the opportunity to continue to work.
We don't know whether Yuan Chonghuan is qualified or not, but this time, Yuan Chonghuan was promoted by nobles and got the opportunity to be an official in the capital.
The Imperial Emperor proposed to the Emperor of the Apocalypse that Yuan Chonghuan should be retained.
Hou Sui is a member of the Donglin Party.
This shows that Yuan Chonghuan had a lot of contact with the Donglin Party.
In the end, the Emperor of the Apocalypse adopted Hou Sui's opinion and appointed Yuan Chonghuan as the head of the Ministry of War.
In the official system of the Ming Dynasty, there were four departments in the Ministry of War, namely the military selection, the staff, the car driver, and the arsenal.
There are mainly four cadres in the staff department, one in Langzhong, and five in the department. One person outside the staff, from the fifth grade. There are two principals, who are the sixth grade.
The promotion from the magistrate of the seventh grade to the capital ** of the sixth grade is a great honor for Yuan Chonghuan.
But Yuan Chonghuan didn't put too much thought into officialdom, he was more worried about how far the current situation in Liaodong had developed.
After Yuan Chonghuan took office in the capital, he did something that no one expected. He volunteered to go out to the border to find out the situation.
After coming back, Yuan Chonghuan explained the situation in Shanhaiguan in detail, and he replied very confidently: "Give my army Maqian Valley, and I will guard this alone!" ”
You must know that the situation at that time, in the face of the dangerous Qing army, everyone was in a hurry, and no one dared to go outside the fortress at all.
After Xiong Tingbi was deposed from Liaodong Economic Strategy, Zhang Heming, the secretary of the Ministry of War, once asked himself to serve as a part-time officer, and after thinking about it again, he shirked and was reluctant to go.
Later, the Emperor of the Apocalypse sent Xie Jingbang to be the governor of Liaodong, but he did not come for some reason.
The Emperor of the Apocalypse was very angry and asked Wang Zaijin to take up his post, but Wang Zaijin had no choice but to refuse, so he had to reluctantly go.
But no one expected that at this time, Yuan Chonghuan actually offered to go to the border guard.
This made the Emperor of the Apocalypse feel overjoyed, and he immediately named Yuan Chonghuan as a five-rank official, and Shandong was appointed as the judge and the mountain and sea superintendent of the army. At the same time, he also gave Yuan Chonghuan a sum of money to prepare soldiers and horses.
Before Yuan Chonghuan left, he had a few simple exchanges with Xiong Tingbi, and Xiong Tingbi asked Yuan Chonghuan what he was going to do in the face of the current situation?
Yuan Chonghuan said, the main defense and then the war.
After hearing this, Xiong Yanbi agreed. The two had a good conversation.
At that time, Yuan Chonghuan definitely couldn't have imagined that soon after, Xiong Yanbi would be subjected to such a **.
He couldn't have imagined that he would face the same situation as Xiong Yanbi many years later.
After Yuan Chonghuan ascended to the military and political stage in Liaodong, in the sixth year of the Apocalypse (1626), the Ming army first won the Battle of Ningyuan.
This battle was the first time in many years that the Ming army won a victory. When the court found out, they cheered.
Nurhachi** would have expected that he would win the battle for almost a lifetime, and he would be defeated in the hands of Yuan Chonghuan.
Because of this victory, Yuan Chonghuan was promoted to the governor of Liaodong, and he was the official position of the third grade, after which he started a two-year career as governor.
Later, in the Battle of Ningjin, Yuan Chonghuan won another great victory.
In the two wars, Yuan Chonghuan made great contributions, and it stands to reason that he deserves the greatest reward.
But the strange thing is that after the Ningjin War, Yuan Chonghuan proposed to return to his hometown, which can't help but make people feel incredible.
After the victory of Ning Jin, the military department **, the court actually ranked Wei Zhongxian in the first place, saying that he had won the first merit, and Yuan Chonghuan was ranked 86th.
The dignified commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Campaign was only rewarded with "an additional rank, a reward of thirty taels of silver, and two taels of red silk", obviously Yuan Chonghuan was excluded by the court.
As mentioned earlier, when Yuan Chonghuan entered Beijing, he was promoted by Hou Sui, and at the same time he had a lot of contacts with the Donglin Party, and his mentor Sun Chengzong was also a member of the Donglin Party.
At the end of the Apocalypse, the Emperor of the Apocalypse Emperor Eunuch Party borrowed the hand of Wei Zhongxian to vigorously suppress the Donglin Party.
At that time, Wei Zhongxian committed rebellion and covered the sky in the court. Wei Zhongxian, as the emperor's personal eunuch, often took the place of the saint.
After Yuan Chonghuan submitted his resignation, it didn't take long for him to receive the approval of the Emperor of the Apocalypse.
The Emperor of the Apocalypse gave his consent to return to his hometown.
I don't know if this is the original intention of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, or Wei Zhongxian's intention.
In short, Yuan Chonghuan did not hesitate, he packed his bags and left the capital as soon as possible.
However, less than eight months after he left, the situation in the court changed again.
In the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1623), the Emperor of the Apocalypse died, and he passed the throne to his younger brother Zhu Youzhen.
When the young Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he immediately rectified the court and removed Wei Zhongxian from his official position. At the same time, he reactivated Yuan Chonghuan and made him go to the border again.
In the second year of Tiancong (1628), Emperor Chongzhen appointed Yuan Chonghuan as the secretary of the military department and the right deputy capital of the imperial history, and supervised the military affairs of Ji, Liao, Deng, Lai, and Tianjin.
Yuan Chonghuan was reused, which shows that at the beginning of Emperor Chongzhen's ascension, he also had the determination to govern the country well.
But I felt that Chongzhen's level and intelligence at that time were not enough to take on the responsibility of leading the entire country.
Moreover, the internal and external troubles of the Ming Dynasty at this time were not solved by taking some measures.
Yuan Chonghuan had not yet arrived at his home in Guangdong, and hurried back to the capital.
There was a brief exchange between him and Emperor Chongzhen.
Yuan Chonghuan told Chongzhen:
The strategy has been sparse. The ministers are subject to His Majesty's special favor, and they are willing to take a cheap vacation, count five years, and the whole Liao can be restored. ”
Yuan Chonghuan said that give me five years, and I hope to recover Liaodong.
This shows that Yuan Chonghuan once seriously considered the matter of recovering Liaodong.
Then, Yuan Chonghuan elaborated on his plan.
The plan for restoration is not the same as the Liao people guarding the Liao land in the past, and raising the Liao people with the Liao soil. The Fa is gradually disappearing, and the reality is not imaginary. ”
In the face of Yuan Chonghuan's answer, Chongzhen agreed and supported.
At the same time, Yuan Chonghuan expressed the hope that he could get the trust and cooperation of the court.
The East Affair is not easy to complete. His Majesty has entrusted the ministers, and the ministers dare to resign. However, within five years, the household department will transfer military salaries, the Ministry of Industry will give equipment, the Ministry of Officials will employ personnel, and the military department will transfer troops to select generals. ”
Emperor Chongzhen also agreed.
Yuan Chonghuan actually knew very well in his heart that if he wanted to restore Liao, it was extremely difficult to operate, although he had the heart, but he could not do it by himself.
Therefore, he needs to get help from the back office. Initially, Chongzhen agreed, but later, as events developed, Chongzhen's trust and support for Yuan Chonghuan ceased to exist.
After Yuan Chonghuan went to the border again, he did several major things.
The first thing was that he put down the Ningyuan mutiny.
At the beginning, after Yuan Chonghuan left, the defense of Liaodong was handed over to Wang Zhichen.
However, it is obvious that Wang Zhichen's ability is not good, and he is not able to handle various problems such as the army, the court, and the enemy army at all, and the contradictions are becoming more and more prominent.
The Liao army was short of salaries, and the soldiers were hungry and suffering, so they could no longer bear it, so they had to resist the uprising.
It wasn't until Yuan Chonghuan returned to the battlefield and rectified it a little that the matter completely subsided.
The second thing is that after Yuan Chonghuan reorganized the army, he immediately set about repairing the Guanningjin defense line.
As a supervisor, although Yuan Chonghuan has the highest command, not everything is going in the direction of development as he thinks.
For example, there was a general named Mao Wendong in Dongjiang, who was unwilling to obey Yuan Chonghuan's orders.
Mao Wenlong was originally a general under Wang Huazhen, the governor of Liaodong, but later, with his own ability, he occupied the power of the Phi Dao side and kept dragging the Qing army's attack in the rear.
The court thought that Mao Wenlong's role should not be underestimated, so he gave him the sword of Shang Fang and promoted him to "General Zuodu Governor".
Regarding Mao Wenlong, Yuan Chonghuan said this, the recovery should start from the Dongjiang River. Wenlong can be used, and if it is not available, it will be removed, and it is easy to hear. ”
In other words, in Yuan Chonghuan's plan, the Dongjiang region is also extremely important, and he hopes that Mao Wenlong can cooperate with his recovery plan.
If not, then he can only go with his arm off.
Yuan Chonghuan negotiated with Mao Wenlong several times, but found that this person ignored it at all, and in the end he could only take the decision to cut first and then play.
Perhaps it was this incident that made Emperor Chongzhen have a great distrust of Yuan Chonghuan.
He may be afraid that Yuan Chonghuan will one day come in with soldiers and horses and take his place.
Of course, things are much more complicated than that.
Yuan Chonghuan laid defensive lines in the areas of Ningyuan, Ningjin, and Shanhaiguan to prevent the Qing army from invading.
But he was still worried that the Qing army would make a detour and raid Beijing.
Sure enough, his concerns were not wrong.
On the second day of October in the second year of Chongzhen, that is, the third year of Tiancong (1629), Emperor Taiji of Houjin Tiancong Khan took soldiers and horses, detoured to Mongolia, and went straight to Beijing.
They broke through Longjing Pass and Da'ankou, the most vulnerable passes in the Jizhen defense area of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, and were about to rush into the capital.
Hearing the news that the Qing soldiers would invade at the door immediately, Emperor Chongzhen was almost in chaos.
He forbade Sun Chengzong, who was in his seventies and had retired, to be the commander, and issued several orders in one day to make him lay out as soon as possible.
Yuan Chonghuan had already said that he wanted to deploy troops to Jimen, but Emperor Chongzhen did not pay attention to it at all.
If the minister is in Ningyuan, the enemy will not be allowed to cross the pass and go west; The thistle door is weak, and it is suitable to stay with heavy soldiers. ”
However, even though the situation was complicated, Emperor Chongzhen did not summon Yuan Chonghuan back.
Yuan Chonghuan went back with his soldiers and horses without any orders and instructions.
Yuan Chonghuan traveled 120 miles a day from Shanhaiguan, which was nearly a thousand miles away, and arrived outside the Guangqu Gate in the outer city of Beijing before the Qing soldiers.
The next day, that is, in the second year of Chongzhen, on November 20, 1629, the Battle of Beijing began.
In this bloody battle of Guangqumen, Yuan Chonghuan and others fought fiercely with the Qing army for eight hours, and finally blocked the enemy's attack.
Huang Taiji once sighed and said: "For more than ten years, there has never been such a strong opponent!" ”
Shortly after the war, Emperor Chongzhen summoned Yuan Chonghuan.
This is the second time that Emperor Chongzhen has summoned Yuan Chonghuan.
Yuan Chunhuan couldn't wait to report the military situation to Emperor Chongzhen, who expressed his condolences to him, took off his fur coat and put it on Yuan Chonghuan.
Yuan Chonghuan then proposed whether he could let the soldiers go into the city to rest for a while, but this simple request was rejected by Emperor Chongzhen.
In desperation, Yuan Chonghuan could only take his soldiers to continue to fight against the Qing army in the starving wilderness.
Even so, Yuan Chonghuan still ordered that soldiers should not be allowed to enter people's homes and rob every meal and food.
Immediately afterwards, the victory in the Battle of Zuo'anmen had to make the Qing army retreat in disgrace.
However, the military victory did not bring Yuan Chonghuan any honor, but instead dragged him into an even darker hell.
Soon after, Emperor Chongzhen arrested Yuan Chonghuan and imprisoned him on the grounds that he had summoned him.
On that day, Yuan Chonghuan heard a messenger summoning him, saying that Emperor Chongzhen had invited him to discuss the issue of military salaries.
Yuan Chonghuan was very happy, and he happily went without thinking about it.
But he didn't know that Emperor Chongzhen had already laid a trap.
Emperor Chongzhen did not let Yuan Chonghuan enter through the city gate, but let him sit in a basket, hang it up the city tower, and then enter the platform.
When Yuan Chonghuan entered the main hall, Emperor Chongzhen sent someone to arrest him.
Emperor Chongzhen's face was gloomy and he asked him three things.
First, why did you kill Mao Wenlong?
Second, why did you bring Qing troops into Beijing?
There is clearly a fraud in this.
It is said that Huang Taiji couldn't beat Yuan Chonghuan, so he used a counter-strategy, bought the eunuch in private, and sent someone to Chongzhen's ear to blow the wind, saying that Yuan Chonghuan had already cooperated with him, and this Qing invasion was Yuan Chonghuan's game.
As for the third thing, shooting General Man Gui, this is obviously framed.
But these three things are not trivial, and Emperor Chongzhen is very, very dissatisfied.
Then, Yuan Chonghuan went to prison.
Yuan Chonghuan**'s incident, his subordinates were very shocked when they heard about it, and his subordinate Zu Dashou was angry, and immediately took the soldiers and horses back to Shanhaiguan.
Later, Yuan Chonghuan wrote to him, asking him to look at the overall situation and not act rashly.
Yuan Chonghuan spent more than eight months in prison, and finally Emperor Chongzhen sentenced him to death.
Emperor Chongzhen gave Yuan Chonghuan a total of nine charges. They are:
The entrustment is ineffective, the deception and concealment, the city rice thief, seeking money to lure the enemy, beheading the commander and fulfilling the contract, arsoning the enemy for a long time, stopping the army without fighting, dismissing the reinforcements, and bringing the monks into the city. ”
On the day Yuan Chonghuan went to the court, the people spat on him, watching him be executed, and clapped their hands one by one, because everyone agreed that the Qing soldiers in Beijing were attracted by Yuan Chonghuan.
On August 16, 1630, the third year of Ming Chongzhen, that is, the fourth year of Jin Tiancong (September 22, 1630), Yuan Chonghuan, the secretary of the Ming Military Department and the governor of Jiliao, was tragically punished and died unjustly.
After Yuan Chonghuan's death, no one rehabilitated him.
It wasn't until the later Qianlong Emperor reviewed the "History of the Ming Dynasty" that he noticed this person and justified his name.
More than 100 years have passed since the day Yuan Chonghuan died.
Seeing Yuan Chonghuan's story, I can't help but feel sorry for him.
Although history may not be entirely so, because the history of the Ming Dynasty was revised by the Qing people, in order to show their legitimacy, the Qing people will inevitably exaggerate the truth of the facts, splash dirty water on Emperor Chongzhen, and deliberately promote Yuan Chonghuan's positive and great image.
However, from the Yuan Chonghuan incident, we can still get a glimpse of the absurdity of the court in the late Ming Dynasty, and there was no trust between the monarch and the minister.
Yuan Chonghuan wanted to do things, but the background did not support it.
Around Chongzhen, villains are in charge, and there are many party battles. He may not be able to tell the difference between truth and falsehood.
Moreover, Chongzhen is still young, and with his ability, he may not be able to take on this big task and deal with the complicated situation.
Yuan Chonghuan's ending was probably doomed from the beginning.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lead a sinking ship, he was just stalling for time.
The Ming Dynasty had long since fallen apart and was heading for the end.
It's a pity that General Yuan Chonghuan was born at the wrong time and didn't meet a good era.