There is a sentence engraved in the ancestral stone square of Xingcheng, Liaoning: "A generation of famous generals, according to guanwai and guannei, can be called loyal and loyal; the two dynasties are subordinates, rebelling against the former lord, negative and posterior lord, and the real person inside and outside is not a person." ”
This passage speaks of a famous Ming Dynasty general, Zu Dashou. As summarized in the words, Zu Dashou's life was complex and controversial.
Zu Dashou was born in the Ningyuan Wang clan, and his ancestors moved to Ningyuan City during the Xuande period and held the military position of Ningyuan. Later, the ancestral family's military position was continuously improved, and the town guarded here for generations.
Zu Dashou's grandfather was the chief soldier of Zhen Shou Ningyuan during the Wanli Dynasty, and his father was a general of Li Chengliang, who later served as the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong. Born in the Shomen family, Zu Dashou's life was destined to accompany the military.
Zu Dashou first served as a guerrilla in the Jingdong camp and later became a subordinate of Wang Huazhen, the governor of Quang Ninh. In 1622 (the second year of the Apocalypse), the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty broke out in the Battle of Guangning, and the Ming army was defeated and Guangning fell. After Sun Chengzong oversaw Liaodong, he asked Zu Dashou to assist the general Jinguan to guard Juehua Island. The following year, Sun Chengzong put Zu Dashou in charge of repairing and strengthening the walls of Ningyuan City.
Ningyuan was a military stronghold and a military fortress for the Ming Dynasty to defend against the Later Jin. Zu Dashou had been guarding here for generations, fighting the enemy, and when Zu Dashou came, the heavy responsibility of defending Ning Yuan came to Zu Dashou's shoulders.
Zu Dashou participated in the defense of Ningyuan several times, successively fighting against Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, and achieved the great victory of Ningjin, defending the border towns of the Ming Dynasty. Hou Jin attached great importance to Zu Dashou, and even Emperor Taiji personally wrote a letter to Zu Dashou to discuss sending emissaries to mourn Emperor Mingxizong, and Zu Dashou sternly refused Emperor Taiji.
For the ancestral family that has been guarding Ningyuan for generations, the imperial court also gave great praise. By the time of Zu Dashou's birthday, the Zu clan had been given official positions, from the general soldier to the officers at all levels in the army, and the Zu clan had people. Ningyuan City, Dalinghe, Jinzhou, etc., were all defended by the Zu generals. In order to recognize the merits of the Zu clan and encourage them to resist the Qing army, the Chongzhen Emperor also specially ordered the construction of the merit arch of zu shi IV Zhen Liao in Ningyuan City.
At this time, Zu Dashou and Zu Clan can be described as "a generation of famous generals, according to the outside of the guan, inside the guan, can be called the reciprocal loyalty" .
However, the change of the self became a turning point between Zu Dashou and the Ming Dynasty.
Due to the defense of Yuan Chonghuan, Zu Dashou and others, Emperor Taiji was never able to capture Jinzhou and Ningyuan. In order to invade Guannei as soon as possible and alleviate the famine in the north, Emperor Taiji blocked the national fortunes and personally led more than 14,000 people from the Mongols to attack the Great Wall from the Mongols in the winter of 1629 (the second year of Chongzhen).
When Emperor Taiji attacked the city of Beijing, most of the Ming army was deployed in the border town, and there were very few troops guarding the capital. Seeing that the Qing army had bypassed its own defense line, Yuan Chonghuan ordered Zu Dashou to rush to the aid of the city of Beijing. Zu Dashou and Yuan Chonghuan rushed to the aid of Thousand Leagues and launched a field battle against the Qing army under the city of Beijing.
After arriving in Beijing, Yuan Chonghuan requested Guan Ning's army to enter the city, but the Chongzhen Emperor refused. Yuan Chonghuan had no choice but to fight with Zu Dashou in a bloody battle with the Qing army under extremely unfavorable circumstances. However, under the influence of the anti-plot, the Guan Ning army was considered a "rebel army" from the Chongzhen Emperor and the hundred officials to the defenders of the city.
Therefore, when Zu Dashou and the Guan Ning army were fighting bloody battles under the city, the defenders of the city actually smashed the Guan Ning army with cannon stones. Guan Ningjun was indignant and very dissatisfied with the imperial court. At this time, the Chongzhen Emperor imprisoned Yuan Chonghuan, completely shaking the hearts of Zu Dashou and Guan Ningjun's army.
No one knew whether Zu Dashou had made up his own mind or was coerced by the army, and just when the war was scorching, Zu Dashou and Guan Ningjun actually left the Beijing Division and returned to Liaodong.
Chongzhen had no one to use, and did not dare to provoke Zu Dashou anymore, so he asked Yuan Chonghuan to write a letter to Zu Dashou. After receiving Yuan Chonghuan's letter, Zu Dashou re-led his army to fight the Qing army and captured Luanzhou, defeated Belle Amin, and recaptured Yongping, and the Later Jin offensive collapsed.
However, Zu Dashou did not dare to leave the military camp again. Just a divisive plan, Yuan Chonghuan was ordered by Chongzhen to be executed by Ling Chi, not to mention that he really led the soldiers away from the battlefield? Zu Dashou did not dare to trust the imperial court anymore, and he was worried that he would be captured by the people of the East Factory, so he lived in the military camp all day.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Zu Dashou was ordered to repair the city of Dalinghe, but before he could repair the city wall, Emperor Taiji personally led a large army to surround the city of Dalinghe. During the three-month siege, Emperor Taiji persuaded Zu Dashou to surrender several times, and he personally wrote a letter to Zu Dashou, with sincere words, hoping that Zu Dashou would surrender. Zu Dashou sternly refused, and led his army to hold the city of Dalinghe, waiting for rescue.
However, the ming army's rescue was defeated by Huang Taiji. The grain in Linghe City was also eaten, and the soldiers even fed on the people in the city.
Seeing that there was no hope for rescue, Zu Dashou's determination gradually wavered. Right here. Emperor Taiji once again sent someone to persuade Zu Dashou to surrender. Zu Dashou did not refuse this time, and he sent his troops into the Emperor Taiji military camp to discuss surrender with him.
After the matter was discussed, Zu Dashou killed He Kegang, who would rather die than surrender, opened the city gate, and led the crowd to the Golden Camp. The Emperor was very happy, and he personally took Zu Dashou's hand and entered the big tent together to set up a feast for Zu Dashou to celebrate.
During the banquet, Zu Dashou "offered advice" to Emperor Taiji, saying that his wife and children were in Jinzhou City, and he could personally lead a group of people into Jinzhou to help Emperor Taiji capture Jinzhou while Jinzhou did not know it. Huang Taiji listened and gladly agreed.
I didn't think that as soon as Zu Dashou entered Jinzhou City, he immediately began to organize a defense against the Qing army. When the news of Zu Dashou's surrender to the Qing army and then the resistance to the Qing army reached Chongzhen, there may be anger in his heart, but at this time he did not dare to surrender to Zu Dashou. In order to stabilize Zu Dashou and let him continue to fight against the Qing army, Chongzhen also promoted Zu Dashou to the position of Zuo Dudu and defended Jinzhou.
At the same time, Chongzhen ordered Zu Dashou to enter Beijing three times, but with yuan Chonghuan's previous experience, Zu Dashou resigned and entered Beijing, always sticking to Jinzhou City.
Seeing that Zu Dashou "did not keep his promises", Emperor Taiji was not angry, and he treated Zu Dashou's relatives in the military camp with courtesy and frequently wrote letters to Zu Dashou. In order to let Zu Dashou go out of the city to meet him, Emperor Taiji also released some of the Ming prisoners and asked them to bring words to Zu Dashou. Zu Dashou was unmoved and could not hold out.
Since then, Zu Dashou has led his army to fight the Qing army several times, and has no intention of surrendering to the Qing army. Objectively speaking, during this period, Zu Dashou still scrupulously abided by his duties, whether he had private contact with the Qing army, he was still able to lead the army to resist the Qing army when his relatives were in the hands of the Qing army, and also beheaded several Qing nobles, which showed his determination to resist the Qing army.
Unfortunately, in the Battle of Songshan, Hong Chengyu's entire army was destroyed and he was captured and surrendered. Jinzhou was besieged by qing troops, and the tragic situation of Dalinghe City appeared again. Without support, Zu Dashou Kaesong surrendered.
This time, Zu Dashou was truly surrendered. Because Zu Dashou first betrayed Chongzhen and then did not pay attention to the emperor Taiji, it is said that he was "a two-dynasty vassal, rebelling against the former lord, negative after the lord, and really a person inside and outside."
Throughout Zu Dashou's life, although he was not as loyal to the imperial court and the emperor as Lu Xiangsheng and others, and died on the battlefield, he did his duty on the battlefield. After the first surrender of the Qing army, they can continue to resist the Qing army, and those who can do this will probably not be able to find a few among the Donglin Party members who claim to be upright gentlemen.
Of course, to say that Zu Dashou is a hero is also completely absurd. Zu Dashou finally surrendered to the Qing army, and compared with other shogun families, the Zu family was a very spineless branch.
Therefore, Zu Dashou is not a traitor, but he is by no means a loyal subject, he is a "wise man" who only has family interests in his heart and no country and nation.