During Wei Zhongxian's most powerful three years, that is, between the fifth year of the Heavenly Apocalypse (1625) and the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), the situation in Liaodong took a major turn for the better, but it was indeed a bit "exaggerated" to say that the situation in Liaodong turned from defense to attack and suppressed the Houjin.
"I raised my troops in a great way, and all directions were destroyed, and the generals did not dare to discuss the battle and defend. The battle was defended, starting from Chonghuan. ”
In the "Biography of Ming Shi Yuan Chonghuan", the Qing Dynasty gave a high evaluation to their former opponents, and also said an important fact, that is, in the forty-sixth year of the Ming Wanli Calendar (1618), Nurhaci rebelled against the Ming Dynasty with the "Seven Great Hatreds", and the Eight Banners Iron Horse was invincible on the battlefield of Liaodong. During these years of conquest, Hou Jin captured Fushun and Zhanqinghe, won the great victory of Salhu, then captured Kaiyuan and Tieling, captured Liaoyang and Shenyang, and finally took Guangning, firmly controlling a large area of territory west of the Liaohe River. During this period, the Ming army also had small victories such as Mao Wenlong's "Zhenjiang Victory", but the overall battle situation was still that Hou Jin occupied the absolute initiative, until Yuan Chonghuan won the Ningyuan Victory in the sixth year of the Apocalypse (1626), and the Ningjin Victory in the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), and the Ming army showed a certain improvement in the situation in Liaodong. However, from the overall strategic posture, Houjin still occupied the initiative of the war situation, and the Ming Dynasty was still in a state of strategic defense, relying on the "Guanningjin Defense Line" to resist Houjin's attack.
In addition to Yuan Chonghuan, there were two important figures who made important contributions to the Ming Dynasty's stabilization of the situation in Eastern Liaoning and the pace of resisting the expansion of the Later Jin, one was Sun Chengzong and the other was Mao Wenlong.
In the second year of the Apocalypse (1622), Sun Chengzong asked himself to supervise Ji Liao, and the Emperor of the Apocalypse personally sent his teacher out of the palace gate and gave Sun Chengzong a sword, a sitting python, etc., and then the cabinet ministers also sent Sun Chengzong directly to the Chongwen Gate, which can be said to have given Sun Chengzong an unprecedented solemn ceremony.
During the period of the overseer Jiliao, Sun Chengzong also stabilized the situation in Liaodong with a series of his measures, forcing Houjin Nurhaci to dare not cross the Liao River.
First of all, Sun Chengzong made drastic personnel adjustments. Wang Zaijin and a number of other mediocre people were expelled from Liaodong, and a large number of military generals were promoted and trained, who played an important role in the subsequent battles against the Later Jin and Qing Dynasties, including Yuan Chonghuan, Zu Dashou, Zhao Lijiao, Man Gui, Wu Xiang, You Shilu, Yan Mingtai, Mao Wenlong, etc., all of whom were well-known figures at that time and later.
Second, Sun Chengzong strictly enforced military discipline and enhanced his combat effectiveness. He first optimized the team, cut a large number of soldiers with low combat effectiveness, and at the same time implemented the strategy of "defending the Liao territory with Liao people", recruited soldiers on the spot, selected elites from them, and strengthened the training of soldiers to distribute excellent horses and advanced weapons, and these people also became the team of "Guanning Iron Horse" in the future. At the same time, the vigorous development of artillery and firearms has comprehensively enhanced the combat effectiveness of the troops.
Third, with Jinzhou as the starting point, Ningyuan as the center, and Shanhaiguan as the backup to rely on, the "GuanningJin Defense Line" was built. This defensive line also became a "nightmare" for Nurhaci and later Emperor Taiji at that time, especially the newly built Jinzhou City and Ningyuan City, which allowed the Jin army to swallow the bitter fruit several times.
Finally, it was necessary to vigorously develop production in the eastern Liaoning region, resettle refugees, and reduce the pressure on the imperial court.
It can be said that Sun Chengzong and Nurhaci were opponents, and if it were not for Wei Zhongxian's later restraint and framing, which forced Sun Chengzong to resign, Nurhaci really might not have dared to launch the Battle of Ningyuan. During the period of Sun Chengzong's overseer JiLiao, he recovered more than 400 miles of lost land, built nine large cities, more than 40 small castles, more than 5,000 hectares of tuntian, and resettled nearly one million war refugees. It is also because of such great merits that both the Ming Dynasty and the later Qing Dynasty praised it.
At this time, Mao Wenlong had become the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town, centered on Phi Dao, and relied on the establishment of granaries in Tieshan and Uiju in Korea, forming a "base area behind enemy lines" and becoming an important diversion for Houjin. Although Mao Wenlong's "main business" at this time was already focused on the development of smuggling and trade, his "side business" after the attack on Jin was still quite successful and played a key role.
It can be seen from this that on the battlefield of Liaodong during this period, the Ming army's side can only be said to stabilize the situation in Liaodong and temporarily block the pace of the Later Jin attack, and in the two large-scale attacks organized by Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, they successively won the victories of Ningyuan and Ningjin, and Nurhaci was seriously wounded in the Battle of Ningyuan and finally died depressed. However, the victory of the Ming Dynasty was only a victory in defensive warfare, and the confrontation between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty was still formed on the Liao River, and did not recover territory on the basis of the "Guanningjin Defense Line", and was still in a strategic defensive posture.
Therefore, to say that the Ming army in this period suppressed Nurhaci and Huang Taiji of houjin was indeed "exaggerated".
During this period, Wei Zhongxian's role in the Liaodong battlefield should also be viewed in terms of both positive and negative aspects.
In the fourth year of the Apocalypse (1624), Wei Zhongxian began to brutally suppress, persecute and exclude the members of the Donglin Party in order to compete for power, and a large number of key members of the Donglin Party, including Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, and Wei Dazhong, were tortured to death by Wei Zhongxian. After this, Wei Zhongxian continued to cultivate his henchmen and consolidate his power in the dynasty, while at the same time using very despicable means to gradually isolate the Emperor of the Apocalypse from the government, and finally embarked on the peak of power. At the same time as Wei Zhongxian's dictatorship, he also began to "create gods" for himself, his title was increased to "nine thousand years old", and the ancestral shrines built for him were all over the country, and even Yuan Chonghuan and others were forced to choose to go with the flow.
With the gradual stabilization of the situation between The Dprk and China, Wei Zhongxian began to spread his power to Liaodong.
Sun Chengzong, who was a member of the Donglin Party, was continuously ostracized and attacked by Wei Zhongxian, but the Emperor of Tianqi had great trust in his teacher, and even scolded Wei Zhongxian because of Sun Chengzong. However, Wei Zhongxian used an almost rogue tactic in order to overthrow Sun Chengzong, which eventually led to Sun Chengzong's anger and resignation.
Sun Chengzong's successor Gao Di actually ordered the abandonment of Liaodong and the heavy defense of Shanhaiguan with heavy troops, which led to Nurhaci's troops, but this order was resisted by Yuan Chonghuan, so Yuan Chonghuan achieved the great victory of Ning Yuan without any support, and became famous in the First World War. Liaodong was also almost buried in the hands of Wei Zhongxian and Gao Di.
After that, Wei Zhongxian's envoys to Liaodong, Yan Mingtai, the eunuch Liu Yingkun, Ji Yong, and others, went to Liaodong, and this time it can be said that Wei Zhongxian was still properly employed, and then with the cooperation of Yuan Chonghuan, Zhao Lijiao, Man Gui, Zu Dashou, etc., he achieved the "Ningjin Great Victory".
However, as an important contributor to the "Ningjin Victory", Yuan Chonghuan was ostracized and treated unfairly, which directly led to Yuan Chonghuan's resignation and retirement, almost plunging Liaodong into crisis again.
It can be said that in addition to Gao Di, the personnel arrangements made by Wei Zhongxian were more appropriate, and Yuan Chonghuan and others who were not castrated by the party were also reused, but from the essence of Wei Zhongxian, it was still his performance of greed for power, but it was indeed "good luck" and the selection of the right people, and the exclusion of Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan exposed his mentality of excluding dissidents, which also caused turmoil in the war situation in Liaodong.
Of course, in addition to employing people, Wei Zhongxian also played a certain positive role in the war situation in Liaodong during this period.
On the one hand, in support of Liaodong, there is no restriction.
Although Sun Chengzong, as a member of the Donglin Party, was attacked and persecuted by Wei Zhongxian, unlike Xiong Tingbi, a member of the Chu Party who had been the leader of the Donglin Party, Ye Xianggao and Zhang Heming, wei Zhongxian still gave great support to the construction of the Liaodong Battlefield. Including building the Guanningjin defense line, developing the strength of the water division, adding artillery and firearms, training Guanning iron horses, and so on, Wei Zhongxian still gave great support, including Liaodong's military salaries, which were relatively sufficient, even if Mao Wenlong risked merit to receive rewards and empty salaries, Wei Zhongxian did not over-investigate. These are the fundamentals for ensuring the Ming Dynasty's combat effectiveness in Liaodong.
On the other hand, Wei Zhongxian's performance in filling up financial revenue is still remarkable.
All along, one of the positive comments people have given to Wei Zhongxian is that the commercial tax and the mining tax have been levied, and the burden has not been imposed on the ordinary people. In fact, this was due to Wei Zhongxian's hatred of the rich merchants and the current financial emptiness of the court, and the actual effect was indeed obvious, that is, to maintain the social stability of the people and the peasant class, and at the same time to raise the necessary grain.
If we look at it from a deep level, Wei Zhongxian's various behaviors can be attributed to his desire and lust for power, whether his merits or his faults are aimed at fighting for power. As a eunuch, he was doomed to be unable to go further, and all he could do was maintain the status quo and maintain the rule of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, so that he could continue to control the government and continue to hold power.
It is precisely because of this that some of his measures did play a positive role, and also played an obvious role in promoting the war situation in Liaodong at that time, but it cannot be ignored because of this that Wei Zhongxian's various crimes as a generation of chaotic regime castration cannot be ignored, nor can it simply "rehabilitate" Wei Zhongxian.
Finally, it should be noted that although the Emperor of the Apocalypse was obsessed with carpentry work, although he did not ask about the world and allowed Wei Zhongxian to arbitrarily rule, the young Emperor of the Apocalypse was definitely a model of "mediocrity without fainting" and a master of the balance of power, which can be seen from his active support for Sun Chengzong, and the role he played during this period is also obvious.
Therefore, in the three years of Wei Zhongxian's prosperity, there was a brief turnaround in the liaodong war situation, and Wei Zhongxian's role was there, but it was not fundamental, from the Emperor of The Revelation to sun chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan, and a large number of Liaodong officials and generals. The subsequent turning point in the situation in Liaodong, which led to the siege of Beijing by Emperor Taiji, cannot be simply attributed to the mistakes of one or several people, but includes the result of the joint action of many forces such as the Later Jin Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, and even Mongolia and Korea.
Therefore, it cannot be said that because of Wei Zhongxian, he will have the advantage of the Liaodong War Situation, and this advantage is exaggerated.