Xiong Yanbi was a veteran of the Three Dynasties at the end of the Ming Dynasty, along with Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan, known as the "Three Masters of Liaodong", who devoted his life to defending the borders of the Ming Dynasty, but eventually died of offending eunuchs.
After his death, the Ming Dynasty became increasingly decaying, and the Qianlong Emperor said that the execution of Xiong Yanbi was the Ming Dynasty digging its own grave. Do you know how he died?
As the saying goes, "the cold door produces the noble son", Xiong Yanbi is the noble son in the cold door.
He was poor since childhood without systematic education, experienced famine and almost starved to death, in such harsh conditions, Xiong Yanbi studied hard, in 1597 won the first place in the township examination, in 1598 he passed the entrance examination. Although Xiong Yanbi has ambitions, he cannot be reused because of his strong temperament.
The history books commented that he was "shallow and stubborn, touched, full of arrogance, and disgusted by the courtiers", and under the exclusion of courtiers, he was transferred out of the imperial court in 1608 and went to Liaodong to serve, which was also the beginning of Xiong Yanbi's meritorious career.
Xiong Yanbi was appointed to Liaodong three times, the first time he took up the post of Inspector of Liaodong Yushi, externally he commanded the generals to repair the Huan Fort to resist Nurhaci's invasion, and internally he straightened out the morale of the generals and defended the people everywhere.
At this time, Nurhaci had not yet shown his sharp edge, and the ministers of the imperial court all thought that Xiong Yanbi was really making a big fuss, and after Xiong Yanbi left office, no one in liaodong put Nurhaci in his eyes, and Nurhaci also took advantage of the opportunity to quietly rise like a mushroom.
Xiong Yanbi's second appointment to Liaodong was after the defeat of the Ming army at Salhu, and this time Nurhaci took the initiative to attack, and the Ming generals who had been comfortable for a long time hugged their heads and scurried. In order to stabilize the hearts and minds of the army, Xiong Yanbi first executed the fleeing soldiers, and then deployed troops to appease the people, and the situation in Eastern Liaoning gradually improved.
In 1602, when Emperor Mingguang ascended the throne, Nurhaci took advantage of this "resignation and renewal" to take the initiative to launch an attack, but Xiong Yanbi had already seen through his ruse and defeated him. Seeing that the situation in Liaodong had changed from inferior to superior, Ming Guangzong died at this time, and Ming Guangzong's death was like a fuse, igniting all the ills of the Ming Dynasty.
After Emperor Mingxi ascended the throne, ministers who had a personal grudge with Xiong Yanbi took advantage of Emperor Mingxi's fainting to impeach him, and Emperor Mingxi listened to rumors and deposed Xiong Yanbi and imprisoned him.
After Xiong Yanbi was dismissed, Nurhaci took advantage of the fact that the new officials were not yet familiar with the situation on the frontier and successively attacked Shenyang and Liaoning, and Emperor Mingxi could only appoint Xiong Yanbi again, this time xiong Yanbi took over the affairs of Eastern Liaoning for the third time.
Xiong Yanbi's appointment this time is different from the previous two times, this time he is facing the devastated Liaodong, even if he formulates a "three-way arrangement strategy", he still cannot turn the tide. Coupled with Wang Huazhen's disregard for defensive strategies and disregard for obstacles to take the initiative to meet the battle, the situation in Liaodong is becoming increasingly severe. In 1622, Nurhaci led an army to liaoxi, and Xiong Yanbi was forced to retreat to Shanhaiguan.
The news of Xiong Yanbi's defeat did not go away, and the emperor, enraged, sent someone to interrogate Xiong Yanbi and Wang Huazhen. The eunuchs led by Wei Zhongxian also fell into the well at this time, and they forged the "Liaodong Biography" to frame Xiong Yanbi, and spread rumors that Xiong Yanbi stole the treasury silver in a vain attempt to rebel.
Framed by eunuchs, he was eventually killed in 1625, and the first rank was paraded in nine military towns in the north.
At that time, because some eunuchs slandered Xiong Tingbi for stealing treasury silver, some people said that Xiong Tingbi's family had an output value of one million taels of silver, which should be confiscated as military expenses. So the eunuchs led by Wei Zhongxian entered the rumors and raided Xiong Tingbi's home. Even relatives and the family were raided, and at that time, many traitors and villains took the opportunity to fall into the well, and Xiong Zhaojue, the eldest son of Xiong Tingbi, eventually committed suicide because of torture and abuse.
Xiong Zhaojue's mother was wronged because of the cry of injustice, and the two servants around her were stripped naked and beaten forty boards, and the people around them who were dozens of miles away knew about this matter, and they all sighed and resented.
The Qianlong Emperor once commented on Xiong Tingbi:
Seeing this, he wept with tears, and if the king of the other does not hear it, he will not die? Xiong Tingbi was a time of liaodong longitude. Lyrical service. The music is played. See the loyal fish. At that time, the lord was in a daze. But needless to say. Turning back to the body. Deeply compassionate.
It was not until the Chongzhen Emperor eventually ascended the throne and Wei Zhongxian's party was eliminated that Xiong Yanbi was able to file a grievance.
Although Xiong Yanbi had a talent, he died tragically in the confrontation between Wei Zhongxian and the Donglin Party, and a political plot ruined not only Xiong Yanbi's life, but also the entire Daming River, even if Wei Zhongxian committed suicide and died, but the darkness he brought to the Ming Dynasty could not disappear, and poor Xiong Yanbi suffered this senseless disaster.
References: "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Ming Shi Liechuan 147" and so on