In the Battle of Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng's elite was almost wiped out, and the 15th General was killed
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Next, we lead to a story from history. After Li Zicheng invaded Beijing and caused Emperor Chongzhen to hang himself, the Ming Dynasty fell. However, Li Zicheng understood that there were still several powerful forces at that time, and if they were not properly handled, his own country might also face the same fate.
Among them, Wu Sangui, who guards the Shanhaiguan, is one of them. At first, Wu Sangui had agreed to surrender to the Dashun army, but then he suddenly repented and started a fierce confrontation with Li Zicheng at Shanhaiguan.
Portrait of Li Zicheng) However, Li Zicheng's Dashun army did not get his wish. Wu Sangui did not act according to Li Zicheng's expectations, but chose to betray and surrender to Houjin.
With the addition of the Eight Banners Army, Li Zicheng's Dashun army suffered a crushing defeat, and the situation quickly reversed. So, what happened in this, and how did Li Zicheng fail miserably?
The following is a specific analysis: 1. Wu Sangui's change of hexagram and anti-water When Li Zicheng occupied Beijing, he immediately contacted Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Shanhaiguan. Wu Sangui had a powerful Guanning Iron Cavalry under his command, and Shanhaiguan was very close to Beijing, and if the Shanhaiguan problem was not quickly resolved, Wu Sangui's existence posed a huge threat to Li Zicheng.
In addition, the strength of the Eight Banners Army at that time should not be underestimated, if Wu Sangui could be used to resist the Eight Banners Army in Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng could eliminate two hidden dangers in one fell swoop, and he would also be at ease in Beijing.
However, Wu Sangui unexpectedly chose to betray and took refuge in Houjin instead.
Shanhaiguan, the border fortress of the Ming Dynasty, has witnessed a turning point in history. At that time, Li Zicheng sent Wu Sangui's friend Zhang Ruoqi to Shanhaiguan to persuade Wu Sangui to surrender with a letter from Wu Sangui's father.
At the same time, he also brought a large amount of gold, silver and grain, showing his sincerity. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Sangui thought that the best option was to surrender Dashun, because years of war with the Later Jin had a deep blood feud between them, and after surrendering, the Jin would have to bear the infamy of being a traitor.
Therefore, after learning that Zhang Ruoqi had come to persuade him to surrender, Wu Sangui immediately sent someone to greet him. Li Zicheng was overjoyed when he learned about it, and sent the general Tang Tong to take over Shanhaiguan. At this time, Wu Sangui was about to take his cronies to the capital to meet Li Zicheng, but when he arrived in Yongping, Hebei, something suddenly happened, and the direction of history also changed.
Portrait of Wu Sangui) There Wu Sangui met a person who came from his home in the capital to report the news, and the other party told Wu Sangui that his father Wu Xiang had been severely tortured by the Dashun army, and his life was hanging by a thread, and he was forced to hand over 5,000 taels**.
At that time, after the Dashun army captured the capital, it began to recover the stolen goods of the capital, the amount was huge, and if the ** could not hand over a sufficient amount of property, it would be tortured to extract a confession.
Wu Xiang did not escape this fate. There is another key, that is, his favorite concubine Chen Yuanyuan was plundered by Li Zicheng's subordinate Liu Zongmin and taken for himself.
Wu Sangui was extremely insulted and angry by Chen Yuanyuan's stills, and he immediately ordered the whole army to return to Shanhaiguan, and regained control of Shanhaiguan when Tang Tong's foothold was not stable.
After Li Zicheng learned of this, he felt that the situation was critical, and immediately took action, put Wu Xiang home, and sent a messenger to apologize to Wu Sangui again, hoping that he would surrender.
At this time, Wu Sangui was already determined to confront Li Zicheng, he killed one of Li Zicheng's envoys, cut off the ear of another envoy and asked him to go back to report the news, Li Zicheng realized that he could only meet Wu Sangui in battle.
At that time, the Dashun army had just captured Beijing, and the soldiers had not yet been fully rested. Therefore, most of Li Zicheng's generals opposed him sending troops, but Li Zicheng knew the importance of Shanhaiguan, so he decided to lead his army there.
According to historical records, Li Zicheng led his troops to Shanhaiguan this time, with a strength of between 60,000 and 80,000, and claimed that there were 180,000. Although Wu Sangui's subordinates had powerful Guanning Iron Cavalry, the number was only 10,000.
Although Wu Sangui still had 10,000 soldiers and horses and 30,000 villagers under Gao Di, the general soldier of Shanhaiguan, their combat effectiveness was insignificant in front of the Dashun army that had just captured Beijing.
Therefore, in Li Zicheng's view, it is not difficult to capture Shanhaiguan.
Li Zicheng had a clear understanding of the enemy he was about to face, and he knew that the Eight Banners Army outside the pass could attack at any time, so he made careful arrangements before the battle, and ordered the troops to act immediately and not give Dolgon any chance.
The journey from Beijing to Shanhaiguan was more than 300 kilometers, however, Li Zicheng led his army to reach his destination in just seven days, marching an average of more than 90 miles a day, which was already a very fast speed in ancient times.
In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops, Li Zicheng did not choose to march rapidly for a long time, so as to avoid the situation that the troops would fall behind. After arriving at Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng adopted a siege strategy, surrounded Shanhaiguan from the three auxiliary cities of Xiluo City, South Wing City, and North Wing City, and set up a defense at Shihe on the south side to prevent Wu Sangui from crossing the river and breaking through.
He acted swiftly and decisively, demonstrating great military skill and determination.
In order to prevent the participation of the Qing army, Li Zicheng sent Tang Tong to lead part of his troops and horses to garrison a stone at the Great Wall Pass in the north of Shanhaiguan to prevent the Eight Banners Army from moving south.
Li Zicheng's siege strategy was very thorough, he believed that Wu Sangui had completely fallen into his trap at this time, and could not get the support of the Eight Banners Army, and it was only a matter of time before he attacked the city.
3. Fierce Battle at Shanhaiguan In the early morning of April 21, Li Zicheng led the Dashun army to attack Wu Sangui in Shanhaiguan, and the Dashun army approached Shanhaiguan from three directions.
Although Shanhaiguan Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, Wu Sangui understands that the strongest card in his hand is the Guanning Iron Cavalry. If you just defend in the city, you will weaken your combat effectiveness.
In general, Li Zicheng was very well prepared for the siege plan, and he believed that as long as Wu Sangui was trapped in the city, and the Eight Banners Army could not support it, it was only a matter of time before the city was breached.
And Wu Sangui had to rely on his Guanning Iron Cavalry to find a balance between offense and defense.
Wu Sangui led a raid on the west bank of the Shihe River, hoping to break through the encirclement of Li Zicheng's army. He knew the consequences of defeat, so he poured all his elite into a fierce battle with the Dashun army. The Guanning Iron Cavalry, carrying the hopes of Yuan Chonghuan and others, often confronted the Eight Banners Army and had extraordinary combat effectiveness.
However, after many major battles and superior numbers, the Dashun army quickly repelled the attack of Wu Sangui's army.
Guanning Iron Cavalry Model**) Wu Sangui led his troops to attack many times, and the two armies fought fiercely on the bank of the Shihe River, ** heavy losses. The front row fell, the back row was on top, and no one retreated half a step.
After a fierce battle in the morning, Wu Sangui's army was never able to break through the defense line of the Dashun army, which was huge, and the main force was exhausted, so he had no choice but to retreat into Shanhaiguan. Wu Sangui had been on the battlefield for a long time and knew that he would not be able to compete with Li Zicheng, but he did not choose to surrender, but waited for the support of the Eight Banners Army led by Dolgon.
Fourth, in order to prevent the Eighth Banner Army from supporting Wu Sangui, Li Zicheng took preventive measures, but he did not know that although he rushed to Shanhaiguan with his troops at the fastest speed, he still failed to shake off the pursuit of the Eighth Banner Army.
When Wu Sangui returned to Shanhaiguan, he did not hesitate to decide not to take refuge in Li Zicheng. At that time, he was facing the front and rear attacks of the Dashun army and the Eight Banners army, and he could only ask for help from Dolgon.
He sent an envoy to write a letter to Dolgon, hoping that the two sides would join forces against Li Zicheng. However, he made it a condition that Dolgon's support must enter through the northern passes, and that if it was done, he would give some land to Dolgon.
Although Hong Chengchou and others mediated, the two sides did not reach a direct agreement at first. However, Dorgon knew that if he wanted to take over the world, his worst enemy would be Li Zicheng.
Therefore, uniting Wu Sangui to fight against Li Zicheng is a great opportunity that he cannot miss.
Portrait of a Qing Dynasty general) When he received Wu Sangui's distress letter, he immediately led the elite troops of Azig and Duoduo to Shanhaiguan. When he arrived at Lianshan, he learned that Li Zicheng's army was about to arrive at Shanhaiguan, so he led the cavalry to travel 300 miles, and arrived at Weiyuantai outside Shanhaiguan in the early morning of April 22 in only one and a half days.
At this time, Dolgon learned that the pass that Wu Sangui had let them pass through had been guarded by Tang Tong, so he immediately sent troops to launch a fierce attack on Tang Tong.
In the Battle of Shanhaiguan, Tang Tong was unprepared for the rapid arrival of the Eight Banners Army, which led to his troops being quickly repulsed. Although the pass was captured, Dolgon did not march as agreed, but continued to observe the battle situation at Shanhaiguan.
For Wu Sangui, this was a desperate situation, because he had repeatedly sent envoys to ask Dolgon to send troops, but there was no response. In desperation, Wu Sangui led his cronies to break through on the morning of the 22nd and came to Weiyuantai.
During this period, in order to cover his own breakthrough, he ordered the defenders of Shanhaiguan to open artillery to cover. Unexpectedly, the shell mistakenly hit the direction where the Qing army was stationed, which almost made Dolgon misunderstand.
Portrait of Wu Sangui) After meeting with Dolgon, Wu Sangui expressed his hope that he would join forces against Li Zicheng. He realized that if the Eight Banners Army was allowed to enter the customs by mountain road according to the previous plan, the Shanhai Pass might have been breached.
Therefore, he directly invited the Eight Banners Army to follow him into the customs, and proposed that in the battle, in order to prevent the Eight Banners from accidentally injuring their own soldiers, his soldiers would shave off the hair on their foreheads, the same as the Eight Banners, and those soldiers who did not have time to shave their heads would tie white cloth around their necks to distinguish them from Li Zicheng's troops.
Dolgon, who had not been able to go south for generations, was now able to enter the Kannai easily, so he was very happy. However, he did not trust Wu Sangui and therefore asked Wu Sangui to shave his hair as a sign of his determination.
Wu Sangui had no way out, so he made an oath with Dolgon, cut off his hair, and the Eight Banners Army followed closely and stepped into Shanhaiguan, all of which Li Zicheng was unaware of.
In the face of the invasion of the Eight Banners, Li Zicheng once again led his army to launch a fierce attack on Shanhaiguan, and his tactics were the same, trying to block Wu Sangui's escape route through the encirclement on three sides and the Long Snake Formation.
However, Dolgon was not in a hurry to enter the battle, he wanted to observe the strength of the Dashun army first, and at the same time had doubts about Wu Sangui's sincerity in surrendering. He warned his generals that Huang Taiji, Azig and Abatai had besieged Beijing three times, but failed to capture them, but Li Zicheng captured the capital in one go, which showed that he had strength beyond ordinary people, so he must act cautiously.
Portrait of the Great Shun Army) Faced with the tight blockade of Li Zicheng's army, Wu Sangui had to personally lead his troops to rush out to meet the battle. He knew there was no way back in this fight, and although he couldn't break through the opponent's defenses, he still persevered in his assault.
The battle lasted from eight o'clock in the morning to six o'clock in the evening, and both sides paid a heavy price. At this time, Dolgon had a full understanding of the strength of Li Zicheng's army, and both sides were exhausted, so it was an excellent time to attack.
Therefore, he sent Azig and Duoduo to lead two armies, one of which went straight to Li Zicheng's main position in the lower reaches of the Shihe River, and the other group headed for the upper reaches of the Shihe River. The upper reaches of the Shihe River were the tail of Li Zicheng's army, and the defense was relatively weak, and the attack of the Eight Banners Army soon led to its collapse.
At this time, Li Zicheng's front could not take care of each other, coupled with the fierce impact of the Eight Banners Army, the entire formation fell into chaos.
Portrait of Duoduo) The Dashun army encountered the cavalry of the Eight Banners Army for the first time, and everyone panicked, and finally most of the troops were forced to the beach, and they were brutally **, and the corpses were all over the beach.
Although Li Zicheng successfully escaped under the protection of his own soldiers, his fifteen generals were killed in this battle, and the original 180,000 elite troops were almost wiped out. Subsequently, he sent envoys to seek reconciliation with Wu Sangui, but Dolgon allocated 10,000 troops and horses to Wu Sangui and pursued Li Zicheng all the way.
Li Zicheng was forced to flee back to Beijing, and then he brutally executed Wu Sangui's entire family on the city walls, which made Wu Sangui even more angry, and he led his army to launch an even more frantic attack on the city.
On April 29, Li Zicheng hurriedly proclaimed himself emperor, but the next day he was forced to evacuate Beijing and fled back to his base camp in the northwest. And Wu Sangui, who was named the king of Pingxi, pursued Li Zicheng all the way west under the command of Dolgon.
When the Eight Banners Army entered the capital, Dolgon did not loot property like the Dashun Army, but reinstated the ** officials and allowed the people to return to normal life.
This won the popularity of the people of Beijing and laid the foundation for his rule. Although Li Zicheng was defeated in the first battle of Shanhaiguan, his tactics were not a big problem, he made full use of his superiority in troops, and predicted the influence of the Eight Banners Army in advance, and decided to quickly capture Shanhaiguan.
However, he did not expect that Dolgon's actions would be so swift, and that Wu Sangui would fall so resolutely to Houjin and let the Eight Banners Army enter the pass. In addition, the Dashun Army did not fight with the Eight Banners Army, and as a result, it suffered a crushing defeat.
If Li Zicheng, like the Eight Banners Army, did not loot the money of the Ming Dynasty when he entered Beijing, then history may be rewritten. Because without Wu Sangui's temporary backlash, he might have sided with Li Zicheng, and China's history might have been rewritten.
Therefore, this failure can be said to have been caused by Li Zicheng himself.