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Hong Chengchou
Hong Chengchou (Chinese: 洪承疇; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Âng Sîng-tiû; 1593–1665), courtesy name Yanyan and art name Hengjiu, was a Chinese official who served under the Ming and Qing dynasties. He was born in present-day Liangshan Village, Yingdu Town, Fujian Province, China. After obtaining the position of a jinshi (進士; successful candidate) in the imperial examination in 1616 during the reign of the Wanli Emperor, he joined the civil service of the Ming Empire and served as an official in Shaanxi. During the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor (r. 1627–1644), he was promoted to Minister of War and Viceroy of Jiliao (薊遼; an area which included parts of present-day Shandong, Hebei and Tianjin). In 1642, he surrendered and defected to the Manchu-led Qing Empire after his defeat at the Battle of Songjin. He became one of the Qing Empire's leading Han Chinese scholar-politicians. While he was in office, he encouraged the Manchu rulers to adopt Han Chinese culture and provided advice to the Qing government on how to consolidate its control over the former territories of the fallen Ming Empire. Apart from Dorgon and Fan Wencheng (范文程), Hong Chengchou was regarded as one of the most influential politicians in the early Qing dynasty. However, he was also villainised by the Han Chinese for his defection to the Qing Empire and for his suppression of the Southern Ming dynasty (a short-lived state formed by remnants of the fallen Ming Empire). LifeService under the Ming EmpireWhen he was young and preparing for his future career as an official, he was strictly tutored by a man called Zhang Xianmo, who likely introduced him to the study of military classics, something that would become important later in his career[1]. When he received the jinshi degree in 1616, he was made an official of the Ministry of Justice in the capital, where he remained for six years[2]. During the 1620's he rapidly ascended in the administrative hierarchy, until he was transfered to Shaanxi in 1627 as Administration Vice Commisionner in charge of the Tax Intendant Circuit, although he became embroiled in the suppression of the ongoing rebelions in the province[3]. In 1629 he became formally assigned to the military administration of the province, and displayed great skills dealing with a number of rebel attacks. Because of his performance, he was named Assistant Censor-in-Chief and Grand Coordinator of Yansui in late 1629, and achieved a number of successes in the field against Wang Jiayin and one of the future major rebels, Zhang Xiangzhong, pacifying most of Yansui[4]. He was eventually made Supreme Commander of the Three Border Regions in 1631 to substitute Yang He, who was repeatedly found to not be up to the task[4]. In 1632 he and one of the most able Ming field commanders, Cao Wenzhao, killed several bandit leaders, including Ke Tianfei, Lighted Lamp and Heaven-Disturbing Monkey[5]. In the following years he scored even more successes, either destroying or forcing to flee from Shaanxi every major rebel group[6]. In 1634, with rebellions on the rise once more, the court felt it needed Hong's services as a filed commander, and Chen Qiyu was appointed Supreme Commander of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang and Sichuan instead[7] Hong, along with Cao Wenzhao and He Renlong, bottled up several large groups of rebels at Chexiang Gorge in summer of 1634, including major figures like Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong or Gao Yingxiang[7]. However, Chen Qiyu's subordinates were bribed by the rebels and they convinced Chen to accept their surrender instead of massacring them[8][9]. Soon after, they rebeled again and they continued their activities. Atfer this debacle Chen Qiyu was demoted and Hong Chengchou appointed to his position, giving him command over all military forces in the area affected by the rebellions[10] While Hong was able to obtain various military victories over the rebels in the field, including defeating numerous times and finally killing Gao Yingxiang, these continued their activities in 1635, 1636 and 1637. In fact, 1635 was very eventful for the rebels as they sacked Fengyang, where the founder of the Ming dynasty was buried, and other towns[7]. However, strict time limits set by the emperor Chongzhen forced Hong and the Ming forces to be more aggressive and reckless to make faster progress, which eventually caused casualties and able officers like Cao Wenzhao were killed in ambushes[11]. In fact, Ming forces in the area were pretty limited in comparison with the number of rebel groups and the area they had to cover: only 42.000 were available, of which most were on garrison duties, leaving some 6000 men for field operations[12]. In 1637, Yang Sichang became Minister of War and convinced the emperor to follow his agenda to deal with the rebels[7]. Showing animosity for Hong, he convinced the emperor to establish unrealistic time limits for his campaigns, demoting Hong and his subordinates when they failed to adjust to those limits[13]. However, in early 1638 Hong Chengchou was able to surprise Li Zicheng in the Shaanxi-Sichuan border and dealt him a heavy defeat[8].Betting on the poor quality of his Sichuanese contingent, Chengchou put them in the center of his line. As expected, they broke, and pulled Li's troops down the center, at which point Chengchou's crack Shaanxi troops in reserve attacked the now exposed rebels and caused the collapse of Li's army[14]. In summer of 1638 Hong renewed the pressure on Li, and hotly pursued him. Guessing that he was trying to flee through Tong Pass, Hong contacted Sun Chuanting, who established a three-pronged ambush. Li's army was trapped and destroyed, and he escaped with just 17 followers[15]. That same year, Zhang Xianzhong surrendered to Xiong Wencan. With the rebellions apparently under control and dealing with the aftermath of the 1638 Manchu raid, the court decided to place Hong Chengchou in charge of military affairs in the Northwest, along with some of his officers like Cao Bianjiao. Sun Chuanting vehemently opposed the transfer on the grounds that the rebelions could spread once again, and he was imprisoned. Hong Chengchou would now face the Manchus and their emperor, Hong Taiji Battle of Shanhai PassThe Qing raids into Ming territory brought them treasure, food and livestock, but the logistical difficulties along the circuitous invasion route through the Inner Mongolian deserts (in order to bypass the Ming garrisons of Shanhai Pass, Ningyuan, and Jinzhou along the Bohai littoral) made it difficult for the Qing forces to hold onto their territorial conquests. The Shanhai Pass corridor remained the best invasion route for the Qing forces and therefore the Qing emperor, Huang Taiji, needed to eliminate those Ming fortresses, the first one being Jinzhou. To save the vital fortress, the Ming imperial court sent an army of over 130,000 men under Hong Chengchou to lift the siege. Unfortunately, in a series of skirmishes, Qing forces defeated the Ming army. First, Qing cavalry raided the Ming's granary in the rear, and when the Ming army retreated after it ran out of food, Huang Taiji placed ambush forces along the Ming army's retreat routes and massacred the retreating Ming soldiers at night. Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing regime in 1642, after being captured in the Battle of Songjin. Prior to his surrender, he was the Governor-General of northeastern Zhili and Liaodong. He was attempting to assist the Ming general Zu Dashou, who was besieged in the city of Jinzhou. Hong Chengchou was assigned to the Chinese bordered yellow banner. A fake report of his death reached the Ming ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, who ordered a temple be built to honour him. Hong Chengchou's capture was the third big disaster for the Ming military since the execution of Yuan Chonghuan, and the defection of Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi to the Qing forces (which also led to the execution of Sun Yuanhua as a scapegoat). Service under the Qing EmpireAfter his surrender, Hong Chengchou was made an official only after Qing forces occupied the Ming capital, Beijing. In 1645, Hong Chengchou was sent to Nanjing with the title Pacificator of Jiangnan. His real role in the military was to ship supplies, nonetheless he suppressed many Ming officials and members of the imperial family of the Southern Ming (a short-lived state formed by remnants of the fallen Ming Empire). Hong Chengchou was several times accused of having secret relations with the Ming remnants. He was in 1651 chastised for sending his mother back to Fujian and in 1652 was not allowed to return to Fujian to mourn his mother's death. Although he was appointed Governor-General of the five provinces of Huguang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, his real task again was to provide for the Qing army.[16][17] In 1659, he was recalled to Beijing after he declined to press the war in Yunnan to capture the Yongli Emperor of Southern Ming, who had fled to Burma. Wu Sangui, who was previously one of Hong Chengchou's lieutenants and the commander of the Ming garrison at Ningyuan, was ordered to replace Hong Chengchou to continue the attack on Southern Ming forces. Hong Chengchou was given a minor hereditary rank perhaps due to distrust by some quarters of the Qing imperial court, which suspected him of sympathising with the Ming remnants. Hong Chenghou was transferred directly to the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner eight years after he was put into the Eight Banners.[18] He died shortly after requesting permission to retire because of old age and almost total blindness. He died of natural causes in Nan'an, Fujian in 1665. The location of his tomb is unknown. References
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