During the three years from the third year of Jin Tiancong to the fourth year of Tiancong, Huang Taiji faced the stubborn resistance of the Ming Dynasty's Guanningjin defense line, and it was difficult to make a breakthrough. Therefore, he decided to adopt a roundabout tactic and led his army from the Mongol region to break into the interior of the Ming Dynasty, trying to force the Ming Dynasty to submit by attacking Beijing. However, the operation did not go as smoothly as expected, and the history is known as the "Jisi Change", and Huang Taiji suffered a major setback in the attack on Beijing.
In the first month of the fourth year of Tiancong, although Huang Taiji led his troops to capture the four cities of Zunhua, Yongping, Qian'an, and Luanzhou, he knew that these four cities were located in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, and it was not easy to occupy them for a long time. Therefore, he decided to consolidate the four cities he had occupied and use them as a stronghold to penetrate deep into the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty did not sit idly by, and they quickly mobilized various armies and organized **, intending to recover the lost territory.
In this fierce battle, although the Later Jin army resisted valiantly, it was ultimately defeated, and the four cities were recovered by the Ming Dynasty. After Huang Taiji learned the news, he felt deeply lost and sad, he was sad and wept, and all the ministers wept when they saw it.
After Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne, he devoted himself to promoting the feudalization process of the Later Jin regime and showed outstanding cultural literacy. He actively promoted measures to revitalize culture and education, changed the policy of his father's ** literati, and selected Manchu, Han, and Mongolian students through examinations, demonstrating the great importance he attached to cultural and educational undertakings.
Huang Taiji actively promoted the centralization of power and gradually weakened the power of the other three Baylors. In June of the fourth year of Tiancong, he took advantage of the incident of Erbeile Amin in the four cities of Luanzhou, Yongping, Qian'an, and Zunhua, convened a meeting of the ministers of Zhubeile, listed Amin's sixteen crimes, and imprisoned him within the high walls and never to be used again. Soon after, Amin died of illness in captivity.
In August of the fifth year of Tiancong, Huang Taiji had a fierce dispute with Sanbeile Mang Gurtai in the Battle of the Daling River, and Mang Gurtai even drew his sword against each other. Huang Taiji took this as an opportunity to severely punish Mang Gurtai, depriving him of the title of Great Baylor, demoting him to an ordinary Baylor, and depriving him of his five Niu Lu's subordinates, and fining him 10,000 taels of silver and a number of horses. Subsequently, Mang Gultai died suddenly in anger and frustration.
At this point, only the three powerful Baylors were left with the Great Baylor Daishan. In December of the same year, when the other Baylors proposed that Mang Gurtai should not sit side by side with Huang Taiji, Dai Shan immediately expressed his support and took the initiative to ask to withdraw from the position of sitting side by side, and obtained Huang Taiji's permission.
In the New Year's Day greetings on the first day of the first month of the sixth year of Tiancong, Huang Taiji adopted the suggestion of Li Bolong, who participated in the politics of the Ministry of Rites, and abolished the old system of sitting in the south and handling the government together with the three major Baylors, and instead sat in the south alone, highlighting the exclusive status of the Khan.
In September of the ninth year of Tiancong, Huang Taiji once again convened a meeting of ministers of Zhubeile and accused Dai Shan of being disrespectful to him. Although the public opinion listed the four crimes of Dai Shan, Huang Taiji knew that this was just an opportunity to strengthen the power of Khan. In order to strengthen the ruling base and unite and win over the Han and Mongolian ethnic groups, Huang Taiji was determined to expand the Eight Banners organization to include Han and Mongolian members. He knew that this move would not only help strengthen the war preparations for the Ming Dynasty, but also balance the military power of the Manchu Eight Banners and Zhubeile.
On the second day of the sixth month of the seventh year of Tiancong (the sixth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, 1633), Huang Taiji made a solemn speech, clearly ordering the soldiers not to disturb the newly joined people, in order to show their tolerance and respect. This move had a profound impact within the Manchus and set a good example for later converts.
The Ming generals Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi and others surrendered to Houjin one after another. Huang Taiji warmly welcomed their arrival, personally led Zhubeile out to the Hunhe River, and showed their respect and preferential treatment with the grand ceremony of hugging and greeting them. Kong and Geng not only brought more than 12,000 strong officers and soldiers and military supplies such as Hongyi cannons, but also accelerated the collapse of the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong coastal defense, bringing important strategic advantages to the Later Jin.
Only four months later, Shang Kexi, the deputy general of Ming Zhen's defense of Guanglu Island, also followed in the footsteps of Kong and Geng and attached himself to Houjin. Huang Taiji was full of praise for him, praising him for "knowing the direction of the times" and "breaking the coastal defense, which is really my work", which further reflected Huang Taiji's attention and appreciation to the returnees.
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With the increasing number of followers, the Han army flag was gradually formed. By the seventh year of Tiancong, the Han soldiers led by Ma Guangyuan had actually formed a Han military banner, which was called Wuzhen Chaoha in Manchu. The soldiers led by Kong, Geng, and Shang also belonged to the Han military banner. Prior to this, the Mongol banner soldiers had also been formed, adding new strength to the military power of the Later Jin.
On March 13 of the eighth year of Tiancong (the seventh year of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, 1634), Huang Taiji held a grand military parade on the outskirts of Shenyang. The military parade was attended by the eight banners of Manchuria, the second banner of Mongolia, and the first flag of the old Han soldiers, a total of 11 flags, demonstrating the strong military strength of the Later Jin Dynasty and the national characteristics of pluralism and integration. This grand event not only demonstrated the great talent of Huang Taiji, but also laid a solid foundation for the future development and growth of Houjin.