«——【Preamble】】 ——»
In November of the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652), the remnants of the Great Western Army killed the Qing prince Nikan in the battle of Hengzhou, south of Shunhu (now Hengyang, Hunan), and defeated the Qing army, thus achieving brilliant results. What was the Battle of Quzhou all about?
«——【·Change of both sides·】——»
This victory also marked the culmination of the third nationwide anti-Qing wave, and was an important battle in the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty. This battle has been repeatedly mentioned in many studies of the Southern Ming Dynasty, but scholars mostly emphasize the significance of the Battle of Hengzhou from a tactical level.
The deeper strategic factors reflected in this battle are ignored, namely the fierce struggle between the top ruling classes of the two warring sides before the Battle of Hengzhou and the completion of the redistribution of power, the change in the military strength of the two sides and their impact on the campaign.
In March of the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652), Sun Kewang sent troops from Yunnan to Hunan and began the Northern Expedition. After the Great Western Army entered Hunan, it successively conquered a large number of prefectures and counties in Hunan. When the news reached Beijing, the Qing court was shocked. In July of the ninth year of Shunzhi, "ordered Heshuo to respect Prince Nikan as the general of Dingyuan."
It is not difficult to see that the Shunzhi army went to conquer Hunan and Guizhou. "In July of the ninth year of Shunzhi, after nine years of fighting in Guangxi, the core figures of the Manchurian aristocracy were almost swept away. In particular, the Great Western Army conquered Guilin, and Kong Youde, the king of the south of Qingding, killed his wife, and set fire to the regent Prince Gong after Dolgon fell ill and died.
High-ranking figures have fallen into the power of death. In the same month, Li Dingguo of the Ming Dynasty divided his troops to invade Guangxi counties and counties, Wuzhou, and the whirlpool of struggle, and Nikan alone was surrendered to Liuzhou twice in the seventh and eighth years of Shunzhi. The entire territory of Guangxi was basically restored by the Great Western Army as the king of the county.
Prince Zheng Zilharang was also forced to go into semi-retirement, and when the news reached Beijing, the Qing court urgently ordered Nikan to change his face, and Dolgon's fellow party Prince Azig died in the eighth year of Shunzhi. In the direction of the internal march, first occupy Baoqing Mansion, and then march into Guangxi.
The continuous intensification of the internal contradictions of Li Dingguo forced the Qing government to stop advancing to the southwest and led the army to re-enter Hunan on the order of Sun Kewang. ”
The lack of coordination from the top led to the Qing army in the southwest fighting on its own, creating conditions for Li Dingguo to break through each other. After learning that most of Hunan had been lost, the Shunzhi monarch and his ministers did not even know the basic situation of the Great Western Army, so they ordered Nikan to lead the army south.
The battle-hardened Nikan, lacking a basic understanding of his opponent, pursued blindly and traveled 230 miles day and night, to the point that the horses were fatigued, which was a great loss. 3 The general turmoil sowed the seeds of defeat for the Qing army.
From the end of the seventh year of Shunzhi (1650) to the beginning of the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651), Sun Kewang, the leader of the Great Western Army, basically completed the collection of the remaining armed forces of the Yongli court in the southwest region, and fully controlled Yunnan, Guizhou and parts of Sichuan.
«——【Trust between generals·】——»
The Southern Ming regime and the communist army had actually formed an anti-Qing entity dominated by the former Great Western Army. As the actual leader of the anti-Qing forces in the southwest, Sun Kewang had rich experience in military struggle. And there is more than ten years of brotherhood with major generals such as Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu.
Although there were also contradictions between them, Sun Kewang appointed the two of them as the commanders of the two Northern Expeditionary Armies, and in the process of the Northern Expedition, he basically did not interfere with their command, and from these two points they still trusted each other.
The trust and support at the highest level provided a stage for frontline generals to display their talents. The Battle of Hengzhou is the best embodiment of Li Dingguo's outstanding military talent. The united and stable situation made the Great Western Army the most powerful anti-Qing force in the Southern Ming Dynasty.
On November 19 of the ninth year of Shunzhi, the Nita army arrived in Xiangtan County, and the Daxi Army retreated to Baoqing. On the 21st, the Qing army set out from Xiangtan, and the next day advanced to a distance of 30 miles from Hengzhou Mansion, and repelled it after encountering a section of the Great Western Army.
Nikan was proud of himself, thinking that the Ming army was vulnerable, that is, on the night of November 21, he marched concurrently, and arrived at Hengzhou Mansion the next day before dawn, and met Li Dingguo's army. Li Dingguo laid an ambush in advance of heavy troops, and ordered the front-line soldiers to pretend to be invincible as soon as they came into contact with each other, and took the initiative to retreat.
Nikan pursued for more than 20 miles and fell into an ambush. Faced with the ambush of the peasant army, the Qing army was panicked and quickly defeated by the peasant army, and the commander Nikan was also killed on the spot in the melee. The Qing army retreated under the leadership of Dorobel Tunzi.
Nikan was the prince, and he led the elite of the Eight Banners to go on an expedition, but he was defeated and died, which greatly surprised the Qing court, and even the Shunzhi Emperor lamented: Our dynasty has never lost this with soldiers. "
The Qing government ordered him to follow the expedition to Dorobelle Tunqi to take over as the general of Dingyuan, and ordered him: If there is a falling horse and is severely damaged, those who have extenuating circumstances will be relieved to come to Beijing, and if there is no extenuating situation, those who abandon the main collapse will be punished elsewhere.
Among the various military forces during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Eight Banners of the Manchurian aristocracy were undoubtedly the most combat-effective, and they were second to none in terms of the quality of the soldiers and in terms of organization and command.
«——【·Historical Record·】——»
Before the Battle of Hengzhou, there were still many large anti-Qing forces throughout the country, and small-scale anti-Qing struggles in various places also broke out one after another, and a limited number of strong banners had to be dispersed and stationed, which further weakened the strength of the Eighth Banner Army.
After the Qing court entered the customs, it emphasized the policy of using the Han to control the Han in terms of strategic deployment and tactical application, which was an important reason why the Qing government was able to occupy the Central Plains with a limited number of Eight Banner Army. The atmosphere was far from being as simple as in the early days of entering the customs, and the number and quality of the army were declining.
Before the Battle of Hengzhou, there were still many large anti-Qing forces throughout the country, and small-scale anti-Qing struggles in various places also broke out one after another, and a limited number of strong Eight Banner troops had to be dispersed and stationed, which further weakened the strength of the Eight Banners Army.
However, during the Battle of Hengzhou, the Qing government further weakened the Qing government's already weak military strength in the southwest battlefield, and isolated Nikan's army. In addition, the "Records of Qing Shizu" records that before and after the Battle of Hengzhou, the Qing government also mobilized the Eight Banners Army from the north to the south.
It shows that the Qing government did not concentrate all its efforts on the southward led by Nikan. Therefore, the author believes that some scholars believe that the number of Qing troops reached 150,000, claiming to be 300,000" is not credible.
The number of Qing troops in this kind of account is more in line with the actual situation at that time. After the Qing court entered the customs, it emphasized the policy of using the Han to control the Han in terms of strategic deployment and tactical application, which was an important reason why the Qing government was able to occupy the Central Plains with a limited number of Eight Banner Army.
However, during the Battle of Hengzhou, the Qing government ordered Wu Sangui in Sichuan and Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao in Guangdong to stand by, thus further weakening the Qing government's already weak military strength in the southwest battlefield and isolating Nikan's army.
After retreating from Sichuan to Yunnan, the Great Western Army took a series of measures to strengthen its own strength, especially the policy of ethnic equality adopted in the controlled areas, which won the support of the compatriots of ethnic minorities.
Hundreds of thousands of ethnic minority soldiers have joined the army, greatly enhancing their military strength. Later, he adopted the line of struggle against the Qing Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, thus winning the participation of a large number of anti-Qing forces in the Northern Expedition.
In particular, after the whole territory of Guangxi was pacified, it was claimed that after the victory of Guilin, Dingguo had more than 400,000 soldiers" P1. In addition, after the battle of Hengzhou, Li Dingguo, the king of Anxi of the Ming Dynasty, and Sun Kewang, the king of Qin, did not get along, and fled to the east of Guangdong, leading tens of thousands of troops, like twelve horsemen, and thousands of Luo soldiers.
It can also be seen that Li Dingguo's group was strong in the Battle of Hengzhou. And at that time, Sun Ke had also led the army into Hunan, which made the military superiority of the Great Western Army in the Hengzhou area more obvious. The obvious superiority in military strength was a direct reason why the Great Western Army was able to win the Battle of Hengzhou.
«——【·Conclusion·】——»
Most scholars believe that the overall situation of the Ming and Qing dynasties has been determined after the Qing army entered the customs, especially after the Dashun regime and the Hongguang regime were overthrown in May of the following year. Since then, the Nanming forces have only been embers of bonfires, and they have been stubborn.
However, the Battle of Hengzhou and its results show that the course of history is often not as triumphant as the pacification strategy left by the victors.
Information sources:
Zhejiang Ancient Books Publishing House - "The Complete Works of Huang Zongxi"