Wu Sangui was born into a military family in the Ming province of Liaodong, in what was today's Liaoning province in southern Manchuria. His father, Wu Xiang, had been an army general. Following in his footsteps, Wu Sangui took the junshi exams and got enrolled as an officer in the Ming frontier army. Rose thru the ranks, and was considered one of the more talented generals in the late Ming army, perhaps the most brilliant.
Wu Sangui participated in the Ming attempt to raise the seige of Jinzhou, the first fortress guarding the route into China from Manchuria, in 1643. He was one of subordinated generals to Hong Chengchou, who was leading a 130000-strong Ming army to relieve Jinzhou, which was being beseiged by the Manchus. The Ming army was crushed in a series of ambushes; Wu Sangui managed to escape back to China, being of the rearguard. Manchuria was abandoned.
He was now given command of Ningyuan, the next fortress on the route in fr Manchuria, and its 40000-strong garrison. The Manchus would need to seize this fortress, as well as Shanhaiguan - the next one in line, to control a direct route to Beijing and the heart of the Chinese Empire. Otherwise they would need to make a long detour thru the Mongol steppes and attack fr the other side, going thru tough lands unsuitable for sustained campaigning. The fortresses and passes were formidable obstacles - it had taken the Manchus decades to take Jinzhou and Nurhaci, the founder of the Manchus as an organized entity had died in the attempt years ago.
But the Manchus got lucky. The Ming Empire had been beset by internal rebellions. The most significant of which was led by Li Zicheng, who had defeated several large Ming armies sent to attack him. In 1644, Li led his army and attacked Beijing, the capital. The reigning Chongzhen emperor hanged himself on a tree. The Ming Empire had just collapsed around its center. After looting the capital, Li Zicheng set off to deal with Wu Sangui and his garrison.
At the same time, a Manchu force approached fr the other direction, under the command of the Prince Regent Dorgon. Wu Sangui was entrenched at Shanhaiguan, having marched to attempt to save the capital but stopped upon hearing news of the death of the emperor. He and the Ming army was trapped between the two enemy forces...
Wu Sangui had three choices. He could join Li Zicheng, but would be villified by generations of Chinese, for allying with the killer of the last emperor of the Ming. He could join the Manchus, and together destroy Li and his rebels. Or he could just sit tight, and await destruction if the two coorperated...
The hour of decision was at hand...
Wu Sangui made his choice and allowed the Manchus to enter into China and joined forces with them to deal with Li and his rebel army. Li Zicheng was estimated to have anything between 60000 and 100000 harderned troops but morale was low as the soldiers were far from their home in the western parts of China, and Li had taken harsh disciplinary actions against his troops for military indiscipline. On the other hand, Wu Sangui had his 40000 Ming army, plus anything between 20000 and 50000 local militiamen hastily raised. The Manchus supplied another estimated 60000 men.
The Manchus joined up with the ranks of the Ming troops, and dealed a devastating defeat on the rebel forces. Wu was ordered to pursue the fleeing Li into China. And so, the Manchu invasion of China had begun, led by ex-Ming armies...
Aftermath
After the Manchus had conquered China with Wu Sangui and the other Chinese generals doing most of the fighting in S and SW China, including pursuing the last legitimate Ming claimant all the way into Burma and executing him there, they rewarded Wu and the Chinese generals with near total control of the region. Wu Sangui received Yunnan as his personal fief, and settled there with his followers and army of 50000 battle-hardened troops.
Wu had been ennobled as a Prince and was granted the title of Pingxi Wang (Pacifier of the West) soon after the Battle of Shanhaiguan. He settled down to develop Yunnan into a prosperous province and led the way for further assimilation of it into the Chinese fold.
In 1662, the Kangxi emperor came to the throne. After spending years doing away with his regents and settling his own house in order, he resolved to remove the dangerous anomaly of the Three Feudatories, as Wu and the other two Chinese generals rewarded with near-total control of the southernmost provinces were known as. In Dec 1673, Wu Sangui finally rebelled, fearing the loss of his powerbase as the Kangxi emperor had been attempting to remove the Feudatories fr their domains.
Geng Jimao joined him in the rebellion, but Shang Kexi refused to and was imprisoned by his own son, who rebelled on his behalf. These were the other two Feudatories. Wu declared it his mission to drive the Manchus out of China, and was very successful for awhile, at one time controlling all of S China. He had even declared himself as Emperor of a new Later Zhou dynasty. Many Chinese joined him.
But the Qing persevered, and the tide turned. The Three Feudatories never really got their act together and the Qing forces were able to deal with them one by one. Then in 1678, Wu Sangui passed away. His son fought on for another 3 years before being captured eventually. In the aftermath, the Manchus executed most of Wu's followers and the rebellion was finally and fully crushed...
Wu Sangui participated in the Ming attempt to raise the seige of Jinzhou, the first fortress guarding the route into China from Manchuria, in 1643. He was one of subordinated generals to Hong Chengchou, who was leading a 130000-strong Ming army to relieve Jinzhou, which was being beseiged by the Manchus. The Ming army was crushed in a series of ambushes; Wu Sangui managed to escape back to China, being of the rearguard. Manchuria was abandoned.
He was now given command of Ningyuan, the next fortress on the route in fr Manchuria, and its 40000-strong garrison. The Manchus would need to seize this fortress, as well as Shanhaiguan - the next one in line, to control a direct route to Beijing and the heart of the Chinese Empire. Otherwise they would need to make a long detour thru the Mongol steppes and attack fr the other side, going thru tough lands unsuitable for sustained campaigning. The fortresses and passes were formidable obstacles - it had taken the Manchus decades to take Jinzhou and Nurhaci, the founder of the Manchus as an organized entity had died in the attempt years ago.
But the Manchus got lucky. The Ming Empire had been beset by internal rebellions. The most significant of which was led by Li Zicheng, who had defeated several large Ming armies sent to attack him. In 1644, Li led his army and attacked Beijing, the capital. The reigning Chongzhen emperor hanged himself on a tree. The Ming Empire had just collapsed around its center. After looting the capital, Li Zicheng set off to deal with Wu Sangui and his garrison.
At the same time, a Manchu force approached fr the other direction, under the command of the Prince Regent Dorgon. Wu Sangui was entrenched at Shanhaiguan, having marched to attempt to save the capital but stopped upon hearing news of the death of the emperor. He and the Ming army was trapped between the two enemy forces...
Wu Sangui had three choices. He could join Li Zicheng, but would be villified by generations of Chinese, for allying with the killer of the last emperor of the Ming. He could join the Manchus, and together destroy Li and his rebels. Or he could just sit tight, and await destruction if the two coorperated...
The hour of decision was at hand...
Wu Sangui made his choice and allowed the Manchus to enter into China and joined forces with them to deal with Li and his rebel army. Li Zicheng was estimated to have anything between 60000 and 100000 harderned troops but morale was low as the soldiers were far from their home in the western parts of China, and Li had taken harsh disciplinary actions against his troops for military indiscipline. On the other hand, Wu Sangui had his 40000 Ming army, plus anything between 20000 and 50000 local militiamen hastily raised. The Manchus supplied another estimated 60000 men.
The Manchus joined up with the ranks of the Ming troops, and dealed a devastating defeat on the rebel forces. Wu was ordered to pursue the fleeing Li into China. And so, the Manchu invasion of China had begun, led by ex-Ming armies...
Aftermath
After the Manchus had conquered China with Wu Sangui and the other Chinese generals doing most of the fighting in S and SW China, including pursuing the last legitimate Ming claimant all the way into Burma and executing him there, they rewarded Wu and the Chinese generals with near total control of the region. Wu Sangui received Yunnan as his personal fief, and settled there with his followers and army of 50000 battle-hardened troops.
Wu had been ennobled as a Prince and was granted the title of Pingxi Wang (Pacifier of the West) soon after the Battle of Shanhaiguan. He settled down to develop Yunnan into a prosperous province and led the way for further assimilation of it into the Chinese fold.
In 1662, the Kangxi emperor came to the throne. After spending years doing away with his regents and settling his own house in order, he resolved to remove the dangerous anomaly of the Three Feudatories, as Wu and the other two Chinese generals rewarded with near-total control of the southernmost provinces were known as. In Dec 1673, Wu Sangui finally rebelled, fearing the loss of his powerbase as the Kangxi emperor had been attempting to remove the Feudatories fr their domains.
Geng Jimao joined him in the rebellion, but Shang Kexi refused to and was imprisoned by his own son, who rebelled on his behalf. These were the other two Feudatories. Wu declared it his mission to drive the Manchus out of China, and was very successful for awhile, at one time controlling all of S China. He had even declared himself as Emperor of a new Later Zhou dynasty. Many Chinese joined him.
But the Qing persevered, and the tide turned. The Three Feudatories never really got their act together and the Qing forces were able to deal with them one by one. Then in 1678, Wu Sangui passed away. His son fought on for another 3 years before being captured eventually. In the aftermath, the Manchus executed most of Wu's followers and the rebellion was finally and fully crushed...
