Wu Sangui refused to surrender

 

Wu Sangui refused to surrender

 

When Fang Shidi chatted with Agudengba and coachman Azhuo about the stories of sweat-blooded horses, he said: My ancestors were all engaged in selling horses. My grandfather Fangyuanli was the general manager of the sweat-blooded horse breeding farm in the Dawan Kingdom in the Western Regions. , was responsible for escorting tribute horses to the Ming Dynasty court. However, the Jurchen Dorgon defeated the Ming army in the Battle of Songjin and captured Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao in the Ming Dynasty. This not only laid the foundation for the Manchu and Qing Dynasties to enter the customs, but also made Dorgon and another influential figure in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties Wu Sangui had an intersection.

Fang Shidi said:

Wu Sangui was originally a general, and his father Wu Xiang served as the commander-in-chief of Jinzhou in the Ming Dynasty. His uncle Zu Dashou was one of the main generals of the Liaodong military group in the late Ming Dynasty. Therefore, after he passed the military examination, he inherited his father's position and became an ordinary person in the Ming Dynasty. A passable military attache. But in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, the "Battle of Songjin" between the Ming Dynasty and Huang Taiji made Wu Sangui stand out and become one of the influential figures in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.

In 1636, the second emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji, officially ascended the throne and sent troops to North Korea. Without worries, they also began to compete with the Ming Dynasty on the Ningjin line of defense.

In 1638, the Qing army captured Yizhou and garrisoned troops here, besieging Jinzhou. Its purpose was of course self-evident, and the situation outside Shanhaiguan immediately became tense.

In order to deal with the Qing army, Hong Chengchou, who was "proficient in suppressing and approving" the Ming Dynasty, was urgently transferred from Shaanxi and appointed him as the governor of Jiliao, entrusting him with important responsibilities.

Hong Chengchou came east with the Shaanxi soldiers. After he came to Liaodong, he first transferred some soldiers from each battalion of the Liaodong Army to conduct intensive training, which was called "regiment training". Wu Sangui, who was "exquisite in martial arts", served as the chief officer of the regiment training. .

Fang Shidi said:

When Wu Sangui was the chief officer of the regiment training, my grandfather Fangyuanli was the general manager of the blood horse breeding farm of the Dawan Kingdom in the Western Regions. He was responsible for escorting the sweat horse tribute horses to the Ming Dynasty court, and was sent directly to Hong Chengchou's regiment training. From this, my grandfather got in touch with Wu Sangui, the regimental training officer in chief.

My grandfather told me that Hong Chengchou admired Wu Sangui very much. After the death of the Ningyuan commander, he nominated Wu Sangui to fill the vacancy of the Ningyuan commander, allowing Wu Sangui to control the strategic location in Liaodong second only to Jinzhou. My grandfather sent the tribute horses to the imperial court directly to Ningyuan.

Fangshi smiled and said:

Once, when my grandfather sent the tribute horses for the imperial court directly to Ningyuan, he could not find Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan. It turned out that although Wu Sangui fought bravely, he also escaped quickly. When Hong Chengchou was defeated in Jinzhou, he decided to break out of the encirclement. However, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, disobeyed the general's orders and fled first. At this time, Wu Sangui was the first to escape with Wang Pu. Their escape disrupted Hong Chengchou's breakout plan. In the end, the Ming army was completely defeated. Hong Chengchou was captured and surrendered to the Qing army. The tribute horses that my grandfather originally gave to the imperial court were also captured by the Qing army. At that time, my grandfather was very helpless.

Fang Shidi continued:

Afterwards, Wang Pu, who took the lead in escaping, was executed. Wu Sangui, who followed the escape, was only demoted by three levels, and was promoted to admiral of Liaodong not long after. Handing over the important town of Liaodong to Wu Sangui was the last choice of the Ming Dynasty.

Because the talents of the Ming Dynasty were withering in the late Ming Dynasty, in the competition with the Qing army, the only one the Ming Dynasty could rely on was the Zu family military group headed by Zu Dashou. After the "Battle of Songjin", among the remaining forces of the Ming army in Jiliao, only Wu Sangui, who was born in the Zu's military group and was Zu Dashou's nephew, was the most courageous. The imperial court believed that Wu Sangui was "young and strong, brave enough to win the three armies, locked the key to the north gate, and had no fear of nationality." This was why Wu Sangui was defeated and fled, and was promoted to the admiral of Liaodong. From then on, he became a pivotal figure in the wars of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

After Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji recruited Wu Sangui to surrender many times. After Zu Dashou returned and surrendered, Huang Taiji sent Zu Dashou's relatives to Ningyuan City to recruit Wu Sangui to surrender. In the name of the Qing Emperor, he personally wrote a handwritten edict to surrender to Ningyuan City. Huang Taiji also sent some Ming Dynasty demoted officials to write letters to persuade Wu Sangui, but after several months, there was still no reply from Wu Sangui. In October of that year, Huang Taiji wrote a letter personally asking Wu Sangui to surrender again. Wu Sangui's attitude was that he "refuses to answer the letter." Later, Huang Taiji issued an edict for the third time to recruit Wu Sangui to surrender. Faced with Huang Taiji's third surrender, Wu Sangui still chose to remain indifferent and defend Ningyuan City.

The coachman Azhuo curiously asked the Han side about the time and place: Why did Wu Sangui dare to refuse the Qing army's surrender?

Fang Shidi: I also asked my grandfather. My grandfather told me that Wu Sangui refused to surrender to the Qing army for three main reasons. First, it was due to the influence of the traditional thinking of the "Hua-Yi Debate" that had been formed for thousands of years; second, although the Ming Dynasty was already in its twilight years, But in his opinion, the Qing Dynasty did not yet have the strength to dominate the world. Third, Wu Sangui was being relied upon by the Ming Dynasty at this time and served as the admiral of the entire Liao Dynasty. For him, it was better to wait and see how the situation changed than to make a choice when the situation was unclear.

Fang Shidi sighed and said: Huang Taiji saw that Wu Sangui was unmoved and didn't know what to do. At this time, Zu Dashou, who had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, suggested that the Qing army "send troops to the central and rear posts and collect the Sangui family." However, before the Qing army could send troops, Huang Taiji passed away, and the Qing army sent troops was temporarily shelved.

Fang Shidi sang a Ningyuan ballad "Refuse to Surrender":

 

He who would rather die than surrender is a hero,

Kneeling down is like a bear,

Heroes have been praised since ancient times,

Traitors have been punished by God for thousands of years.

 

Not timid in the face of strong enemies,

You need to think carefully before making a decision.

A wise man does not seek quick results;

Weak people are born with weak knees.

 

No matter where the hero comes from,

I only know that betrayal will lose one's soul.

The coffin-covered conclusion will eventually bear fruit.

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River do not flow backwards.