Why did the Dashun regime established by Li Zicheng suffer in the early days of its establishment? The 200,000-strong army was defeated in the face of Dolgon's fierce attack at Shanhaiguan, and it took only one year to perish. What is the reason for this historical tragedy?
Historical records show that the Battle of Shanhaiguan was a turning point in the development of Li Zicheng's regime. In this terrible battle, the Dashun army suffered a serious blow, which led to the collapse of the regime and provided the Manchus with an opportunity to attack. Without the defeat at Shanhaiguan, the fate of the Dashun regime could have been completely different.
In March 1644, Li Zicheng conquered the Forbidden City, and Ming Sizong hanged himself, announcing the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Li Zicheng proclaimed himself the Emperor of Dashun and commanded millions of soldiers and civilians. At this time, he reached the pinnacle and stretched endlessly.
Li Zicheng is a typical peasant leader. He came from a humble background, joined the White Lotus Rebellion at the age of 19, and later founded the Lizi Camp and gradually grew in power. After 16 years of struggle, Li Zicheng finally led the peasant rebel army to overthrow the Ming Dynasty and create the Dashun Dynasty.
Standing in the Forbidden City, listening to the voices of the people, Li Zicheng was extremely proud in his heart. After all, it is a rare journey to become an emperor from a peasant all the way up. He had the desire to establish a long-term dynasty and hoped to emulate the great cause of Ming Taizu. However, in the midst of joy, I faintly felt unprecedented pressure and challenges.
Wu Sangui, the guard of Shanhaiguan, became Li Zicheng's biggest headache. This former general loyal to the Ming Dynasty commanded an elite Guanning Iron Cavalry of 10,000 people, and his combat power was extremely strong. Li Zicheng knew very well that in order to consolidate the Dashun regime, Wu Sangui's submission was crucial.
At first, Wu Sangui also planned to go to Beijing to be loyal to Li Ziyuan. As a relict of the Ming Dynasty, he had long been disappointed in the decaying empire. Surrendering Li Zicheng and fighting against the Manchus with him is undoubtedly more likely to win than fighting alone.
However, just as Wu Sangui was about to leave, bad news came one after another—Li Zicheng's subordinate Liu Zongmin not only brutally tortured his father, but also kidnapped his beloved concubine, Chen Yuanyuan. This aroused the fury in Wu Sangui's heart, and he immediately changed his mind, turned back to Shanhaiguan, beheaded the envoy sent by Li Zicheng, and declared a rebellion.
After learning the news, Li Zicheng was furious. He immediately led an army of 60,000 to Shanhaiguan, determined to capture Wu Sangui alive to relieve the fear of the Houjin invasion. Shanhaiguan is a difficult terrain and controlling it is crucial to defend Beijing, so it is imperative to capture Shanhaiguan no matter what the cost.
So, in April 1644, the Dashun army and Wu Sangui's troops launched a tragic battle outside Shanhaiguan. The two sides come and go, and it is difficult to distinguish between victory and defeat.
Although the Dashun army had the advantage in numbers, many of them were poorly educated people from the peasant rebel army, and their equipment and training were far inferior to Wu Sangui's Guanning Iron Cavalry. Wu Sangui knew that it was difficult to win more with less, but he was determined to die with Li Zicheng and vowed to live and die with Shanhaiguan. Therefore, he ordered his soldiers to tie white cloth around their bodies and be ready to deal with Li Zicheng's sudden attack.
However, while Li Zicheng and Wu Sangui were fighting desperately in the diplomatic war at Shanhaiguan, another even greater threat was brewing in the shadows - the Great Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty, Dolgon.
When Dolgon learned of the loss of the Jingshi, he led the army of the Eight Banners to the south. He attempted to seize strategic points and then forcibly seize the Central Plains, fulfilling the ambitions of several generations.
At first, Dorgon was in no hurry to act. He knew Li Zicheng's strength to conquer Beijing and become famous in the first battle, so he planned to let the Dashun army and Wu Sangui consume each other, and then attack when both sides were defeated, completely annihilate the Dashun army, and complete the great cause of unifying the Central Plains.
In order to wait for the best time, Dorgon specifically instructed his generals not to engage the Dashun army lightly, but to hide their tracks for the time being, waiting for the time to come.
In mid-May, however, Dorgon decided the time was ripe. He personally led two elite cavalry of the Eight Banners and quickly raided the flanks and rear of the Dashun army. This iron horse from the grassland came like a torrent.
The Great Shun Army had never seen such a large army of the Eight Banners, and it fell into complete confusion and was defeated on all fronts. The loss of Shanhaiguan directly led to the collapse of the Dashun regime, leaving only more than 7,000 people led by Li Zicheng to flee to the northwest in a hurry.
Li Zicheng's flight marked the end of the Dashun regime. The following year, he was captured by the Qing army in Hubei, and finally died and his body was divided. His dream of empire in Beijing for a year was shattered.
The Battle of Shanhaiguan can be described as a turning point in Li Zicheng's fate. If he had been able to prevent Wu Sangui and stop Dolgon's sneak attack, perhaps the Dashun regime would have been able to prosper for a long time.
However, all kinds of mistakes and accidents laid the groundwork for him and his great cause. Li Zicheng rose from an ordinary peasant to the position of emperor step by step, but in the end he lost all glory and wealth because of his last adventure.
Li Zicheng's defeat directly gave birth to an urgent Manchurian attack on the Central Plains. Dolgon took control of Shanhaiguan and Beijing, providing a smooth passage for the Manchurian cavalry to move south.
Having just fallen and the Han Chinese had not recovered from the turmoil, the Manchurians quickly infiltrated the Yangtze River valley. By 1662, the last Han Chinese regime, the Southern Ming, had also been overthrown. Thus, the Manchus officially completed the conquest of the Central Plains.
Conclusion: Once the wheel of history turns, it is difficult to reverse. Looking back on this period of history, people can't help but wonder, if Shanhaiguan is not lost, and Li Zicheng succeeds in founding the country, will a new historical chapter be opened? However, we modern people can only remember and reflect on this tortuous history.
But this is only the imagination of posterity. Because at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were frequent regime changes, and it was extremely difficult for the new regime to stabilize its rule, with few exceptions.
As the historian Qian Mu said: "Once the Ming Dynasty perished, the world fell into chaos again." Unless there is a brilliant leader who can salvage the situation, prop up the collapsed edifice and restore stability. But such characters are hard to find. ”
Therefore, the collapse of Li Zicheng's regime is not an isolated case. At the same time, the Nanming regime was also losing ground during the same period. This was the inevitable result of the collapse of the legal system and the chaotic situation at that time.
Now, when we look back on that period of history, we can only remember and think. Even after Li Zicheng overthrew the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains was still mired in a turbulent period that lasted for more than two hundred years. It was not until after the Taiping Rebellion and the Westernization Movement that China began to gradually move towards stability.
Therefore, it is obviously more important for us today to learn from history, examine the present, and embrace the future than to simply lament the past. The historical course after the Battle of Shanhaiguan has been irreversible; Today, however, we should strive for a better future for future generations.
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