Zuo Liangyu () (1599–1645) was a

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 ...

and

Southern Ming The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun force ...

general. He was born in

Linqing Linqing () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Liaocheng in western Shandong Province, China. Geography and climate It is located north-northwest of Liaocheng. The city is situated at the confluenc ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

Province.

Campaign against Zhang Xianzhong

After defeating peasant rebels at

She County, Hebei She County (), or Shexian, is a county of southwestern Hebei Province, China, located on the lower reaches of the Zhang River and bordering Shanxi to the west and Henan to the south. It is under the administration of the Handan City, with a po ...

Huixian Huixian () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xinxiang Xinxiang ( ; postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzh ...

and

Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...

and eliminating their presence in Shanxi and

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

provinces, Zuo went the forces of

Zhang Xianzhong Zhang Xianzhong (张献忠 or Chang Hsien-chung; 18 September 1606 – 2 January 1647), nickname Huanghu (literally 'Yellow Tiger'), was a Chinese peasant leader who led a peasant revolt from Yan'an wei, Shaanxi (today Yulin, Shaanxi province) ...

who were threatening

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

province (then part of Huguang). After setting up camp at Yunyang District and

Fang County Fang County or Fangxian () is a county of northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Shiyan City. The county spans an area of , and has a population of 390,991 as of 2010. History During the Sprin ...

, Zuo's army fell into an ambush at

Gucheng County, Hubei Gucheng County () is a county of northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located in the eastern foothills of the Daba Mountains. It is under the administration of Xiangyang City, and is served by G70 Fuzhou–Yinchuan Expressway ...

. 10,000 Ming soldiers were killed and only a few thousand escaped alive. During this campaign, soldiers consumed

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

and

jujube Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Description It is a smal ...

due to a shortage of grain. Zhang eventually led his followers to

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

province.

Campaign against Li Zicheng

Zuo, meanwhile, was forced to head back to Henan to confront the followers of the rebel leader

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-li ...

. Unsuccessful in his request for reinforcements to the Prince of Chu in

Wuchang Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...

, Zuo and general Sun Chuanting engaged Li's forces at

Zhuxian Zhu Xian or Zhuxian may refer to: Literature and media * ''Zhu Xian'' (novel), 2005 Chinese novel by Xiao Ding * ''Jade Dynasty'' (video game), video game adaptation * ''Jade Dynasty'' (film), 2019 film adaptation Places in China * Zhuxian, Henan, ...

. Their defeat enabled Li to capture the city of

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...

Service under Southern Ming

After the fall of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

to Li Zicheng and the death of the

Chongzhen Emperor The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德� ...

, Zuo declared his loyalty to the

Hongguang Emperor The Hongguang Emperor (; 1607–1646), personal name Zhu Yousong (), childhood nickname Fuba (福八), was the first emperor of the Chinese Southern Ming dynasty. He reigned briefly in southern China from 1644 to 1645. His era name, ''Hongguang'' ...

. On May 13, 1645, his forces surrendered to the Manchu general

Ajige Ajige (Manchu:, Mölendroff: ajige; 28 August 1605 – 28 November 1651) was a Manchu prince and military general of the early Qing dynasty. He was born in the Aisin Gioro clan as the 12th son of Nurhaci, the khan of the Later Jin dynasty (the ...

Taiping Prefecture Taiping Prefecture ( Chinese: , ''Tàipíng Fu'') was an administrative region of China during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) Dynasties that spanned roughly the areas of the modern day cities of Ma'anshan and Wuhu in Anhui Pr ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Province. Zuo refused to serve the Manchus and was later executed.吴晋锡《半生自记》

References

* 《小腆纪年附考》上册，175页 * 侯方域壮悔堂集》《宁南侯传》中说：“良玉乃兴兵清君侧，欲废弘光帝，立楚世子。” * 李清《南渡录》卷五记，新升广西总兵黄斌卿于九江附近连败左军，“获其奏檄、书牍甚众，内贻礼部尚书钱谦益一牍，有废置语。斌卿初欲奏闻，恐为诸人祸，乃止”。 * 《明季南略》卷三载《左良玉参马士英八罪疏》、《左良玉讨马士英檄》、《又檄》三文 * 吴晋锡《半生自记》 * 《国榷》载于四月初五日，《南渡录》卷五与《明季南略》卷二载于初四日 * 袁继咸《浔阳纪事》 * 谈迁记：“左良玉兵至九江。袁继咸过见于舟中，俄见岸上火起，报曰：‘袁兵烧营，自破其城。’良玉浩叹曰：‘此我兵耳，我负袁临侯也。’呕血数升，病遂革。”（《国榷》卷一百二） * 袁继咸《六柳堂遗集》余卷，附《家僮禀帖》云：“左宁南要护先帝太子，与黄澍爷带兵马下南京，进城（指九江）挟请老爷（指袁继咸）同行。不料月初四日左宁南老爷大疾死于舟中，其子总爷左梦庚假称左老爷卧病在床，代替管事。” * {{cite ECCP, title=Tso Liang-yü 1599 births 1645 deaths Ming dynasty generals People from Linqing Southern Ming people