Summoning of the Great General of the Great Qin Empire

Chapter 194

No. 11 people, Kong Youde, a general of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties in the late Ming Dynasty, with 89 in military strength, 90 in command, 74 in intelligence, and 80 in politics;

Kong Youde was born in the 30th year of Wanli (1602). He was a miner in Tieling. He was "good at bow and horse, but illiterate".In the first year of Tianqi (1621), after Hou Jin occupied Liaoshen, Kong Youde and his brother Kong Youxing defected to Ming general Mao Wenlong, participated in the great victory in Zhenjiang, and then transferred to North Korea Pidao.

He had a close relationship with Geng Zhongming, a fellow villager, and it is said that he worshiped Geng Zhongming as his righteous brother. Later, people often referred to him as "Kong Geng".Kong Youde was "brave and good at fighting, and he was the first to ascend before the battle, and he was the crown of all generals", and he was promoted to the rank of general.Mao Wenlong adopted him as his adopted grandson and named him Yongshi.He was so grateful for Mao Wenlong's kindness that he was still "every time he talked about the general (Mao)'s current affairs, he was always overwhelmed with color" even after he became the vassal king of the Qing Dynasty.

After the Battle of Saerhu in the 47th year of Wanli (1619), the Houjin regime rose rapidly in the Northeast. By the time of Chongzhen (1628-1644), it had basically controlled the Northeast. The front line going south.

From the reign of Tianqi to the early years of Chongzhen, Mao Wenlong's tribe used Jinzhou on the coast of Liaodong and Pidao in North Korea as their bases, and repeatedly attacked Houjin's rear, posing a threat to Houjin.However, the military discipline of this army was corrupt. They refused to obey the command of the Ming government, pretended to receive military pay, and harassed the local area, which aroused the worries of the Ming government.

In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), Yuan Chonghuan supervised Liaodong and took the opportunity to execute Mao Wenlong. His old department was under the command of his deputy Chen Jisheng.Kong Youde believed that Mao Wenlong was "innocent and cruelly slaughtered", and felt very chilled and depressed all day long, so he defected to Sun Yuanhua and went to Denglai with Sun Yuanhua.

In August of the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), Huang Taiji led the Houjin soldiers to attack Dalinghe City, and Zu Dashou was trapped in the city.In October, Sun Yuanhua sent Kong Youde to support the Daling River from the sea, but returned due to a hurricane at the mouth of the Sancha River (the mouth of the Liao River).Then the Ministry of War ordered him to march by land. Sun Yuanhua led [-] cavalry to the front for reinforcements.

On November 27th, when Kong Youde arrived at Wuqiao, due to heavy rain, wind and snow, the troops were short of supplies, and the soldiers did not pay for food at the house of Wang Xiangchun, a big family. The punishment, so the soldiers rioted and burned the Wang's manor.The next day, Li Jiucheng persuaded Kong Youde to launch the Wuqiao Mutiny, and returned to Dengzhou. Under Geng Zhongming's internal response, he broke the city and called himself Marshal of the capital.

In the first month of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Kong Youde's troops marched eastward to besiege Dengzhou, and Dengzhou was in an emergency. Sun Yuanhua, who was defending here, still believed that he could appease Kong Youde, and neglected to take precautions.Kong Youde took the opportunity to let more than 300 of his subordinates feign surrender, sneak into Dengzhou City, conspire with Geng Zhongming and others who were in the city, and at night when people were sleeping soundly, attacked from inside and outside, occupied Dengzhou City, and captured Sun Yuanhua, Ming guard Song Guanglan, and his subordinates alive. Road inspector Wang Mei and other officials.

The general Zhang Keda held on to Shuicheng for several days, but finally, due to being outnumbered, Shuicheng fell. Zhang Keda killed his wife and concubines and committed suicide in Taipinglou.Soon after, Sun Yuanhua fled back to Tianjin and was executed by the Ming government, and Yu Dacheng was also dismissed.Soon after, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others broke through Huang County again. The Ming court urgently ordered Xie Lian to be the deputy capital imperial envoy and governor of Denglai, and Xu Congzhi, who participated in politics, was promoted to be the governor of Shandong, and Xu Congzhi was stationed in Laizhou City to prevent Kong Youde's troops from advancing westward.

In February of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Kong Youde led an army to besiege Laizhou. Xu Congzhi and Xie Lian resisted desperately and asked the court for help.However, Liu Tongzhu, the commander in chief who went south from Beijing, arrived in Shandong, but he dared not go to Laizhou to relieve the siege. University scholar Zhou Yanru and the head of the Ministry of War Zhang Guochen proposed to appease him.

The hesitation of the main force of the Ming Dynasty and the activities of the Zhufu faction further fueled the arrogance of Kong Youde and others. He recruited his original subordinates widely, and 3000 people including the Ming general Chen Youde stationed in Pidao also joined the ranks of the rebellion.The rebels attacked Laizhou City with all their strength.Xu Congzhi, Xie Lian and others who stick to Laizhou firmly opposed the appeasement behavior of some officials in the Ming Dynasty.

Under the leadership of Xu Congzhi, Xie Lian, and Zhu Wannian, the prefect of Laizhou, the soldiers and civilians guarding Laizhou "prepared food, set up guards, and occupied the enemy for several months."Surrounded by the rebels, even though the city was running out of ammunition and food, they still refused to open the city and surrender.However, Deng Ke and Wang Hong, the commanders-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, had led tens of thousands of Sichuan soldiers to come to aid from Changyi, only 40 miles away from Laizhou, but they were ordered to stop, hoping to succeed in recruiting.Seeing this, Kong Youde attacked the city with all his might. Governor Xu Congzhi went up to the tower in person, was hit by rebel artillery, and died of serious injuries.His death further aroused the determination of the soldiers and civilians in Laizhou to defend the city.

In July of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Laizhou had been besieged for 4 months. However, some officials of the Ming government were not in a hurry to relieve the siege of Laizhou, but always used methods of appeasement to treat Kong Youde.Due to the strong defense of Laizhou city, it was difficult for the rebels to succeed for a while.Kong Youde saw that the attack on Laizhou was not enough, so he used another trick and wrote a letter to Governor Liu Yulie, expressing his willingness to be entrusted and surrendered, but he wanted to meet Xie Lian for negotiation.Liu Yulie sent Qu Yiyang into Laizhou City. Xie Lian believed it and asked Zhu Wannian, the prefect, to meet Kong Youde at the south gate. Kong Youde told Zhu Wannian that he was willing to surrender.

Zhu Wannian went back to the city to inform Xie Lian of the situation. Xie Lian, Zhu Wannian and the eunuchs Zhai and Liu sent to supervise the army went out of the city to meet Kong Youde and read the imperial edict for him to surrender.Kong Youde had been prepared for a long time, and immediately asked his subordinates to capture the four people, opened the gate of the city wide, and ordered an urgent attack on the city.Seeing the critical situation, Zhu Wannian yelled to close the city gate and was killed by Kong Youde.The Ming army closed the city gate urgently, but Kong Youde's plan to destroy the city failed.

After Xie Lian was captured, the Ming government failed to appease him, so he urgently ordered reinforcements from all walks of life to attack Kong Youde.Seeing that the situation was not good, Kong Youde withdrew to Dengzhou City. Wu Xiang, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, led his troops to conquer Zhaoyuan and Huangxian, and the siege of Laizhou was finally resolved.In September of the same year, the Ming army surrounded Kong Youde's rebels in Dengzhou City.In October, the Ming army began to attack the city, and the battle was very fierce. The deputy commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty Ding Sihou, the lieutenant general Cheng Zhongwen, and Zu Banglou died in the siege. The main general of the rebel army Li Jiucheng was also killed by the Ming army's artillery.

Kong Youde saw that Dengzhou was difficult to protect, so on February 1633, the sixth year of Chongzhen ([-]), he led a rebel army of nearly [-] people to break through the siege, abandoned the city and fled on board a ship.Huang Long, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty stationed at Lushun, Changshan, and Ludao, predicted that after Kong Youde's defeat, he would go to Houjin via Changshan and Lushun.After Kong Youde's troops landed in Lushun area, Huang Long led his troops to ambush, captured Kong Youde's generals Mao Youshun, Mao Chengfu and others, and defeated the rebels.Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others led the rest of their troops to flee to Gaizhou and switched to Houjin. They wrote a letter begging for surrender:
To straighten Chen Zhongqu, to plan big things: According to the Zhu Dynasty to the present, the masters and young ministers are treacherous, and the border affairs are getting worse day by day, and it will not be a day.Soldiers clamored everywhere, not only because of this commander.The former Ministry of Feng transferred aid to the west, but there was a lack of money and food, and there were closed doors and strikes along the way. They were not allowed to eat or sleep at night, so they swallowed their anger.Traveling to Wuqiao, and because of the control of evil officials, all the soldiers rose up.Then broke the new city and Dengzhou, and then conquered the states and counties.There have been three letters in the past year, but none of them have been answered. I knew that they were all intercepted by Huanglong in Lushun.After four episodes of reinforcements and half a year of siege, Peter did not fight me with deep ditches and high fortifications.

There are more soldiers, and I have less food, so I have to abandon Dengzhou and sail the boat division. I originally wanted to take Lushun as the base and unite with Khan.The commander-in-chief will seize the opportunity to conquer Guanglu, Changshan and Shicheng islands. If we talk about the sea, how can it be disadvantageous?The end is not the end.For a long time, Ming Khan recruited heroes from all over the world, who had the minds of Yao, Shun, Tang, and Wu, and those who had no armor and only arrows, still wanted to sweat to show the greatness in their chests; what's more, my commander now has tens of thousands of armored soldiers, more than a hundred light boats, and cannons and firearms. all available.With this kind of military equipment, and even more concerted efforts with Ming Khan, the land and water advance side by side, and the momentum is like a broken bamboo. Who in the world would dare to be an enemy of Khan?This is true, out of a genuine heart.If Khan obeys, great things will be accomplished immediately, and the world under Zhu Chao will be under Khan in an instant.

At that time, what position Ming Khan gave me and where he sealed me was the commander's wish.Special mission lieutenants Liu Chengzu and Cao Shaozhong were the first guests, and Khan quickly took this opportunity to accomplish his great event, which is the blessing of God and the luck of the commander!If Khan doesn't believe it, he can send someone to see what's true.This commander will not go to other places, but only to those who are sweating, because the brilliance of sweating will make great things happen in the future.

In April of the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), they led more than 10000 rebels and their families to join the Houjin soldiers led by Jierhalang, Azig, and Dudu at the mouth of the Yalu River, and were asked to shave their hair. Then came to an end.

Because Kong Youde brought the fleet, red barbarian cannons and craftsmen that were urgently needed by Hou Jin, Huang Taiji attached great importance to their surrender, and personally led Zhu Baylor out of Shengjing ten miles to meet them, and treated them with the most solemn "meeting ceremony" of the Jurchen , still took him as the marshal of the capital, settled in Tokyo (Liaoyang), formed an army of his own, called "Tianyou Bing", and gave him special treatment.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), when the Qing Empire was established, Kong Youde was granted the title of King Gongshun and persuaded him to enter as a representative of Han officials.In the winter of the same year, King Sanshun, including Kong Youde, acted as the vanguard of the Qing army and led 6 Qing troops to attack North Korea, forcing North Korea to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.In the subsequent wars between the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, Kong Youde also participated in most of them and made great contributions.

In the first year of Shunzhi (1644), after the Qing army entered the customs, Kong Youde followed Duoduo to pursue and suppress Li Zicheng and the Nanming armed forces, suppressing the anti-Qing struggles in various places in the south of the Yangtze River.After the triumphant return, he was also stationed in Liaoyang.

In the third year of Shunzhi (1646), General Pingnan was appointed to attack the Yongli regime of the Southern Ming Dynasty. From then on, Kong Youde began to lead the army alone.He occupied the Hunan area, but was defeated by Qu Shixu and others in Guilin.In the fifth year of Shunzhi (1648) from June to Wuchang Houzhi to change defenses, Jin Shenghuan and Li Chengdong rebelled against the Qing Dynasty. Qing troops from all over the country asked Kong Youde for help, but Kong Youde did not send a single soldier.

After Kong Youde’s class teacher returned to Beijing, the situation in the south tended to be stable, and the Qing government planned to transfer Sanshun Wang Nanzheng. At first, he decided to use Kong Youde to defend Fujian, and he was happy to pacify Guangxi. Kong Youde "resolutely took the west of Guangdong as an invitation", so the Qing court approved it, changed him to be the king of Dingnan, led an army of [-] to go to Guangxi, and took his family to guard it.

In November of the seventh year of Shunzhi (1650), Kong Youde led the Qing army to break through Guilin, and captured the important officials of the Southern Ming Dynasty Zhang Tongchang, Qu Shixu, and Jingjiang King Zhu Hengyu, etc. Kong Youde lived in Jingjiang Palace and changed it to Dingnan Palace.At first Kong Youde treated them like honored guests, but later because he intercepted Qu Shixu's secret request to attack Jiao Lian, he executed Qu and Zhang to death at the foot of Xianhe Ridge in Fengdong Mountain, Guilin, and King Zhu Heng of Jingjiang was hanged in a private house outside the west gate. die.

Kong Youde occupied almost the entire territory of Guangxi in the next year, but behind the superficial scenery was the end of the battle.In the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652), Xining Wang Li Dingguo led the East Route Army to recover most of Hunan, and went south to Guangxi, heading straight for Guilin.

In June, Kong Youde, King Dingnan of the Qing Dynasty, personally led his army to Yanguan in Xing'an County, and refused to defend. The Ming army defeated the Qing army with an elephant formation and won the battle of Yanguan.Kong Youde rushed back to Guilin in embarrassment and ordered the gates of the city to be closed tightly.

Li Dingguo took advantage of the victory and pursued Guilin and surrounded the city.On the fourth day of July, when the Ming army climbed the ladder to attack the city, Kong Youde was shot in the forehead by an arrow. Knowing that he had no way out, he ordered his wife and concubine to hang herself (it is said that he was killed by Kong Youde with a sword), set fire to the palace by himself, worshiped again in the north, and committed suicide and die.His son Kong Tingxun was captured by the Ming army during his escape, and only one daughter, Kong Sizhen, escaped.

When Emperor Shunzhi heard the news of Kong Youde's death, he gave him the posthumous title of Wuzhuang. Two years later, Kong Sizhen returned his father's remains to Beijing.Kong Youde's son Kong Tingxun was beheaded by Li Dingguo in the 15th year of Shunzhi (1659), Kong Youde became extinct, and his daughter Kong Sizhen was adopted as an adopted daughter by the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

(End of this chapter)