On the afternoon of the eleventh day of the eighth lunar month in 1626, Nurhaci, the lord of the Later Jin Dynasty, took a boat to The Chicken Fort, only forty miles from Shenyang City, but his life path ended here, at the age of sixty-eight. Although Nurhaci died, there are many opinions about the cause of his death, and one of the theories is widely circulated, that is, he was seriously injured and killed by Ming artillery fire at the Battle of Ningyuan. So what exactly is the cause of Nurhaci's death in history?
First, let's analyze it in terms of time. Nurhaci launched the Battle of Ningyuan in 1626 on the first lunar month of the lunar calendar, but was defeated by Yuan Chonghuan. Whether it is the official ming dynasty or the records of the Qing dynasty, there is no claim that Nurhaci was injured. After this, Nurhaci did not sit idle, but did a lot of things, and in April of the same year, he led a large army to attack the Mongolian Khalkha department, and did not return to Shenyang until early May.
At the end of May, the leader of the Mongolian Horqin tribe came, and Nurhaci went out of the city for ten miles to greet him. Nurhaci fell ill at the end of July, so he went to Qinghe Hot Spring for recuperation. In early August, Nurhaci fell seriously ill, so he planned to return to Shenyang by boat, but died halfway through. If Nurhaci had been seriously injured under Ningyuan City, with the medical conditions at that time, he would not have survived August at all, not to mention that during this period, Nurhaci also participated in many activities.
Next, let's look at the theory of being seriously wounded by Ming artillery fire and dying. In fact, this statement does not come from China, but from the historical data of the Dprk side. Lee Sung-ling of North Korea wrote a book called "Chunpotang Sun and Moon Record", in which he quoted the experience of Han Yu, a translator of the North Korean mission. The article said that Han Yu witnessed the Battle of Ningyuan, and also said that "Nurhaci was seriously wounded first" and "died of anger" after retreating.
Even the Korean emissaries knew that Nurhaci was hit by Ming artillery fire and then died of serious injuries, so why didn't the Ming Dynasty see any records? Neither Yuan Chonghuan nor The Soldier Shangshu Wang Yongguang mentioned seriously injuring Nurhaci in his recital to the emperor, "thousands of wounded people before and after, including several leaders and one chieftain." Although Gaudy said in the recital, "Shoot a big leader, wrap it in red cloth, lift the clouds from the thief, and cry loudly", he did not say that it was Nurhaci.
So how did Nurhaci die? In fact, the Ming Dynasty and the Dprk have already left us with definite reasons. After Nurhaci's death, Yuan Chonghuan received the news and immediately went to the imperial court, "The four townships were full of clouds, and the slave chieftain was ashamed of ning yuan's defeat, so he died of gangrene." That is to say, Nurhaci died of gangrene. The North Korean side also left many such records, "The slave chieftain fell ill with botulism in July, bathed in the hot springs of Liaodong Province, and the illness gradually became serious, and when he returned to Shenyang, he died in the middle of the road."
In addition, the Ming Dynasty Imperial History Wang Ruoji also said in the recital: "Slave flames are greatly frustrated, once the gangrene is on, and the heavens are cursed." Shen Guoyuan, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, wrote a book based on the official Ming Dynasty gonggong at that time, called "Letters from the Two Dynasties". In this book, it is written, "On the tenth day of the new year, the old slave chieftain died of gangrene." The "old slave chief" refers to Nurhaci, but the Ming Dynasty officials at that time all believed that Nurhaci died of gangrene.
The so-called "gangrene" is a poisonous sore, and many celebrities in history have died because of it. For example, Cao Xiu in the Three Kingdoms period, after the Battle of Shiting, "was so frightened that he became sick and went to Luoyang, and died of gangrene." Another example is the famous Northern Song Dynasty general Di Qing, "gangrene hair, pawn". In ancient times, this disease was difficult to cure, and Nurhaci also suffered from this disease, and eventually died.
References: 1. Records of the Qing Dynasty Taizu, 2. Records of emperor Ming Xizong, 3. Records of the Two Dynasties from the Letter