As a general of the Ming Dynasty, Zuo Liangyu participated in many uprising wars, after which his soldiers grew to nearly one million people, which was the reliance of the imperial court during the Southern Ming Dynasty. There are also two opposing versions of the general's evaluation.
Some people say that he was a loyal subject, because at any time, he never thought of surrendering to the Qing court, although sometimes in order to preserve his strength, he treated the battle more negatively. Although many famous generals of the Ming Dynasty at that time defected to the Qing court, he did not do so, so he was loyal to him.
Some say he is a traitor, because as the leader of the rebel army, his men are robbing money and women everywhere, and he has not stopped them. And after he grew stronger, in the face of some orders given to him by the Ming court, he also tried not to obey them.
So what is he? If you only say that Zuo Liangyu is a person, he can be said to be a representative of a warlord, but he is just a warrior in the chaotic world. His personality is relatively weak, and he often has disagreements with others. Especially after the expansion of his power, he was even more arrogant. The imperial court ordered him to lead troops to search for the mountain thieves, but he did not obey, but on the contrary, he allowed his soldiers to rob women wantonly. This dragged on for a month, and when the imperial court sent someone to urge him, he got up and went forward, but by this time the enemies had already left, and they did not have to fight in the past.
Later, Zuo Liangyu defeated Zhang Xianzhong in the 12th year of Chongzhen, and also gained a good reputation for this battle. Since then, he has been very proud and oppressed the local people, and in the face of his behavior, the Ming court has no way but to tolerate and accommodate him.
Later, during the Southern Ming Dynasty, his arrogance reached its extreme. Zuo Liangyu, who sat in Wuchang, had millions of soldiers in his hands, which was very beautiful, and also occupied a military stronghold, and his strength was very strong. The Southern Ming court couldn't help him, after all, it also needed him to resist foreign enemies, so it could only tolerate and please Zuo Liangyu everywhere, and did not dare to order him to do anything at all. It can be said that Zuo Liangyu, a general, is more dashing and more awe-inspiring than the emperor.
Zuo Liangyu was actually quite ambitious, and at the same time had so many troops in his hands, so he must have some ideas. When the Hongguang Emperor ascended to the throne, he was not so willing to accept this fact, and only after persuasion from other officials did he agree to support the new emperor. After that, he also launched an attack like the Southern Ming court, on the grounds of eliminating the bad guys around the emperor. But what exactly did he want to eliminate when he raised an army against Nanjing in this way? If he had not suddenly fallen ill and died on the way to Nanjing, then Zuo Liangyu would have wanted to kidnap the emperor in this name, which would have been extremely likely.
Zuo Liangyu's personality is actually similar to that of a bandit, he never cares about some small things, and it is precisely because of this that he can have a position in this chaotic world, and he can also be quite status. So how did the millions of troops in his hands come from? In fact, it cannot be said that he is a general, because his character is at best a bandit leader.
Some of his soldiers were from serious military backgrounds, and some were bandits in exile. In the end, these people who had nowhere to go followed Zuo Liangyu, not because he had anything outstanding, but because of his temper and personality, plus he didn't have to worry about running out of food.
Obviously, for these millions of people to feed, money is the most important thing. In fact, Zuo Liangyu's family situation is not too good, and the reason why he can feed this team is nothing more than through "grabbing". In suppressing the peasant armies everywhere, he ignored his men and plundered them, so that the loot was enough to feed them.
Later, when the imperial court did not have military salaries, he even took his own hands to take charge of the grain grab. It can be said that their behavior at that time was more abhorrent than that of other rebel and rebel armies. And he also relied on these stolen things to feed his million army.
Therefore, if we want to say that Zuo Liangyu's evaluation is more appropriate, I am afraid that he is a reckless chaotic warrior and warlord.