Chongzhen was the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and after he ascended the throne, he set out to get rid of Wei Zhongxian, who had brought calamity to the country and the people, and also tried hard to rule, wanting to revitalize Daming, but in the end he was unable to turn the tide and save Daming, on the contrary, the Ming Dynasty also collapsed in his hands.
When Chongzhen was dying, he angrily scolded, "All civilians can be killed." Chongzhen felt that Wenchen had misled him, which was the disaster of today, but Chongzhen lost the Jiangshan, he was not angry with the military generals, Chongzhen was the king of the subjugated country, and most of the military generals under him were loyal and brave, not the generals of the subjugated country.
First, Lu Xiangsheng
Lu Xiangsheng was a jinshi in the second year of the Apocalypse. In the sixth year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng participated in the suppression of Li Zicheng and other peasant rebels, and made great military achievements, and was promoted to the position of right deputy capital Yushi and also the inspector of Huguang. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng once again defeated Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng and other peasant rebels. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng was promoted to the post of Bingbu Shangshu for his merits. In the same year, Lu Xiangsheng led his troops to fight the Qing army and defeated the Qing army several times, but in the Battle of Julujiazhuang, Lu Xiangsheng was besieged by the Qing army, and Gao Qi could not be saved, which eventually led to Lu Xiangsheng's heroic death.
2. Sun Chuanting
There is a saying in the history of the Ming Dynasty, "Chuan Ting died, and Ming died", after Sun Chuan Ting died, Daming was not saved. Sun Chuanting was born as a jinshi, and because he was dissatisfied with Wei Zhongxian's monopoly, he resigned from the government and spent ten years at home. After Chongzhen ascended the throne, Sun Chuanting was reused. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Sun Chuanting was transferred to the governor of Shaanxi, and together with Hong Chengzu, he led an army to suppress the peasant rebel army, and made a meritorious achievement of capturing Gao Yingxiang and destroying fifteen rebel troops.
In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Sun Chuanting was promoted to governor of Baoding and led an army to resist the Qing army. When Sun Chuanting and the Qing army were fighting bitterly, Chongzhen listened to Yang Sichang and Gao Qi's subliminal rumors, suspected Sun Chuanting, and imprisoned him. Sun Chuanting was imprisoned for three years, and Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other rebel armies rose again and became a problem for Daming's confidants, so Chongzhen released Sun Chuanting and asked him to lead his troops to suppress thieves. After his release from prison, Sun Chuanting organized soldiers and horses to suppress thieves, but due to Chongzhen's urging, he was ill-prepared, and in the Battle of Ruzhou, Sun Chuanting was defeated by the rebel army, and finally died heroically.
3. Yuan Chonghuan
Yuan Chonghuan was daming's Great Wall, but unfortunately, Chongzhen personally destroyed this Great Wall. Yuan Chonghuan was a jinshi in the forty-seventh year of the Wanli Calendar, and he came to Liaodong Border Pass through self-recommendation. Yuan Chonghuan's outstanding ability made him appreciated and valued by Sun Chengzong. With the support of Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan led his troops to defeat the Qing army and won the Great Victory of Ningyuan and Ningjin, and made great achievements for Daming.
After Chongzhen ascended the throne, he also attached great importance to Yuan Chonghuan, and made Yuan Chonghuan the military governor of Shangshu and the right deputy capital, responsible for the military affairs of Jiliao, Denglai, Tianjin and other places. Yuan Chonghuan defeated the Qing army many times at the border pass and made great achievements. Later, the Qing army bypassed Yuan Chonghuan's defense and entered Guannei. Yuan Chonghuan led his troops to relieve the siege of Kyoto, but Chongzhen suspected that Yuan Chonghuan had deliberately released the Qing army into the pass and killed him.
4. Cao Wenzhao
Cao Wenzhao was the first general during the Chongzhen period. He was wise and courageous, defeated the rebels many times, and made great achievements for Daming. Cao Wenzhao led his troops to suppress Wang Jiayin, Dian Dianzi, Li Laochai, Du San, Yang Laochai, and many other peasant rebel forces, and he also threatened Shaanxi.
Although Cao Wenzhao and other generals achieved great military achievements in the process of suppressing the peasant rebel army, due to the natural disasters during the Chongzhen years and the chaos of the war, the people could not continue, and they could only rebel, so the peasant rebel army could not be suppressed. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and others gathered 200,000 troops to attack Fengxiang and other places, and Cao Wenzhao and others only had more than 6,000 people, who asked the imperial court for help, but did not respond. In the Battle of Xiangtou Town, Cao Wenzhao was ambushed by tens of thousands of peasant troops, and eventually outnumbered and heroically sacrificed.
5. Sun Chengzong
Sun Chengzong was a jinshi in the thirty-second year of the Wanli Calendar. During Sun Chengzong's tenure as the governor of Jiliao, he built the Guanningjin Defense Line for Daming. He also commanded an army of 110,000, defeated the Qing army, and recovered more than 400 miles of lost land for Daming. Sun Chengzong also built the Guanning Iron Horse for Daming, and trained a number of outstanding civil and military generals such as Ma Shilong and Yuan Chonghuan. Later, Sun Chengzong was ostracized by Wei Zhongxian and forced to resign and return to his hometown.
After Chongzhen ascended the throne, Sun Chengzong was reinstated. In the second year of Chongzhen, after the Qing army entered Guannei, Sun Chengzong led his troops to repel the Qing army and saved the Beijing Division. In the fourth year of Chongzhen, the Ming army was defeated by the Qing army, and Zu Dashou surrendered. The chancellor blamed Sun Chengzong for repairing the old city and causing failure, and he lost his teacher and humiliated the country. Sun Chengzong was forced to resign and return to his hometown. Later, Sun Chengzong was killed by the Qing army for organizing the military and people in the city to resist the Qing army.
6. Zu Dashou
Zu Dashou was Wu Sangui's uncle, and he followed Yuan Chonghuan to defeat the Qing army many times, achieving many victories such as the Ningyuan Victory. In the second year of Chongzhen, after the Qing army entered Guannei, Zu Dashou followed Yuan Chonghuan to aid the Jing division and lifted the siege of jingshi, but then, Chongzhen destroyed the Great Wall and killed the famous general Yuan Chonghuan, Zu Dashou was afraid of being implicated and led his troops to escape from Guanwai, but even so, Zu Dashou did not betray Daming.
After Zu Dashou arrived at the frontier, he still led his troops to resist the enemy. In the Battle of DalingHe in chongzhen's fourth year, Zu Dashou was forced to surrender the Qing army. Later, Zu Dashou fled to Jinzhou and organized soldiers and horses to confront the Qing army. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Zu Dashou participated in the Battle of Songjin, and after falling into a desperate situation, Hong Chengzu led his troops to attack the Qing army at night, and was defeated and captured by the Qing army. After Hong Chengyu was captured, Zu Dashou led his people to surrender.
Although Hong Chengzu and Wu Sangui also had the stain of betraying Daming, in fact, most of the generals under Chongzhen were worthy of Daming, but Chongzhen was ashamed of his generals, so Chongzhen was the king of the subjugated country, and Lu Xiangsheng, Yuan Chonghuan, Cao Wenzhao, Sun Chengzong, Sun Chuanting, and others were not the generals of the subjugated country.