The Battle of Fushun was the first military conflict in the war between the
Jurchen-led
Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China:
* Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties
* Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty
See also
* Jin (disambiguation)
Jin ...
and the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the Later Jin and resulted in the capture of
Fushun
Fushun (, formerly romanised as ''Fouchouen'', using French spelling, also as Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun Rive ...
and two other nearby fortresses.
Background
The Jin khan
Nurhaci
Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...
was motivated to attack Fushun due to his grievances with Ming policies toward Jurchen tribes and heavy rains that had ruined the crops of his people, causing impending starvation. Military action against the Ming dynasty had been planned by Nurhaci for several years, and its initial success was the culmination of years of effort and planning. Nurhaci's preparations included establishing military farms to raise soldiers and supplies, distributing cattle to increase agricultural output, and cutting down trees to build siege weapons and buildings. By attacking Ming, Nurhaci hoped to consolidate his position as khan among the recently assimilated Jurchen tribes such as the
Haixi Jurchens The Haixi Jurchens () were a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming dynasty. They inhabited an area that consists of parts of modern-day Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia in China.
Etymology
Haixi Jurchen ...
.
Fushun, located on the
Hun River about 10 kilometers east of
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
, was one of 18 key fortresses established in
Liaodong
The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...
by the Ming founder, the
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...
. Fushun was targeted because of its close location to the Jin capital
Hetu Ala Hetu Ala ( zh, 赫圖阿拉城; Manchu:) was the first capital of the Later Jin (1616–1636) state, the predecessor of the Qing dynasty of China. It was the capital from 1616 to 1622. It was renamed to Xingjing ( zh, 興京) in 1634.
The site of H ...
, and also because it was isolated and less-well protected than other Ming fortresses. Its commander, Li Yongfang, was a mid-ranking commandant with only about 1,200 men under his command. Nurhaci was also familiar with the terrain and administration of Fushun since as a Ming tributary, he had traded there in the past. He knew that while Ming strength in the region was nominally 90,000, military administration had been lax, the quality of soldiers was poor, and salaries and rations had gone unpaid for several months. In strategic terms, Fushun made for a good springboard for a Jin assault.
Course of battle
![太祖大戰瑪爾墩](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/%E5%A4%AA%E7%A5%96%E5%A4%A7%E6%88%B0%E7%91%AA%E7%88%BE%E5%A2%A9.jpg)
On 7 May, Nurhaci proclaimed his
Seven Grievances
The ''Seven Grievances'' (Manchu: ''nadan koro''; ) was a manifesto announced by Nurhaci, khan of the Later Jin, on the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month in the third year of the ''Tianming'' () era of his reign; 7 May 1618. It effectiv ...
against the Ming and departed his capital of Hetu Ala with 20,000 men. The Jin army was met with heavy rains which hampered their movement but they were still able to make quick progress and arrived at Fushun on the 9th. A letter was delivered to the city explaining that the Jurchens were there because "your Ming country helped the Yehe." The letter stated:
The Jin army assailed the city walls with siege ladders and the unprepared garrison gave their lives in a hasty defense. Li Yongfang and his lieutenant, Zhao Yipeng, decided to surrender on the condition that no one was to be harmed. Nurhaci agreed to the terms and entered the city. Li was made a commander in the Jin army and granted a granddaughter of Nurhaci as his concubine for his role in minimizing Jin losses. Li would be the first in a series of Ming defections.
Nurhaci left 4,000 men to hold Fushun while he took the remaining army to capture two nearby fortresses, which fell in quick succession. Meanwhile, news of the loss of Fushun had reached Ming on the 12th and a relief contingent of 10,000 under Zhang Chengyin was dispatched to retake the city. The Ming army arrived on the 15th and immediately set up three camps, dug trenches, and began bombarding the city with cannon fire. However Nurhaci's sons
Hong Taiji
Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...
and
Daišan
Daišan (Manchu: ; 19 August 1583 – 25 November 1648) was an influential Manchu prince and statesman of the Qing dynasty.
Family background
Daišan was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the second son of Nurhaci, the founder of the ...
sallied forth and routed the Ming forces, dealing heavy casualties.
The victorious Jin army returned to Hetu Ala on the 20th.
Aftermath
![太祖初舉下圖倫](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/%E5%A4%AA%E7%A5%96%E5%88%9D%E8%88%89%E4%B8%8B%E5%9C%96%E5%80%AB.jpg)
Li Yongfang later fought as a lieutenant-general at the side of Nurhaci and participated in the
Later Jin invasion of Joseon
The Later Jin invasion of Joseon occurred in early 1627 when the Later Jin prince Amin led an invasion of the Joseon Dynasty. The war ended after three months with the Later Jin establishing itself as sovereign tributary overlord over Joseon. ...
. Although spared and given privileged status as one of the first to defect, Li lost Nurhaci's confidence in 1622 when he opposed the khan's desire to massacre any Chinese refugees who sought to escape his rule. Despite this, Li remained ambivalent towards Ming overtures trying to re-enlist him in their army. Li Yongfang died in 1634 with the rank of viscount. All nine of his sons continued to provide service to the imperial throne.
In response to Jin aggression, the
Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...
made
Li Rubai Li Rubai (李如柏) (1553–1619) was a general of the Ming dynasty. He was the younger brother of Li Rusong the son of Li Chengliang. He participated in the Imjin War and the campaign against the Later Jin Khan Nurhaci
Nurhaci (14 May 1559 ...
Commander of Liaodong, and
Yang Hao the Military Affairs Commissioner. These two had previously served as commanders in the Ming army during the
Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, but their lackluster performance during the war had resulted in demotions. Hence Wanli's selection was at once understandable for choosing veterans, but also complicated by their careers. Furthermore, Li Rubai's father Li Chengliang had once served as Nurhaci's surrogate father, after Nurhaci's own father had been killed during a conflict for the leadership of the Jianzhou Jurchens.
Two other military commanders,
Du Song and
Liu Ting
/ ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic tex ...
, were also ordered to hasten to the northeastern frontier.
The Ming court hoped to raise enough resources to amass a force of 130,000 for a punitive expedition against the Later Jin. The Ministry of War released 200,000 taels of silver for recruitment of soldiers. The Court of the Imperial Stud released 60,000 taels to purchase war horses. The Ming court was also intent on building new ships for military transportation, but ran into a lack of funds in the Ming capital, and were forced to requisition supplies from Nanjing, the secondary capital.
Problems with military administration such as unpaid salaries and a lack of funds were also presented to Wanli by Acting Minister of War Bi Sancai. Bi hoped that Wanli would dip into his own personal funds to finance the war effort, which required five times more than what the Ministry of War could raise on their own. Wanli responded by saying that the imperial coffers were empty.
See also
*
Timeline of the Ming dynasty
A timeline of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) from the rise of the Hongwu Emperor to the rise and establishment of the Qing dynasty.
Background
1320s
1330s
1340s
1350s
1360s
14th century 1360s
1370s
1380s
1390s
15th century 1400 ...
*
Timeline of the Qing dynasty
This is a timeline of the Qing dynasty (1636–1912).
Background 16th century 1580s
1590s
17th century 1600s
1610s
1620s
1630s
17th century 1630s
1640s
1650s
1660s
1670s
1680s
1690s
18th century 1720s
1730s
1740s ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Qing dynasty topics
Fushun 1618
Fushun 1618
1618 in China
Military history of Liaoning
Fushun