What was the reason why Wu Sangui let the Qing troops enter the pass?

The War of Entry into Shanhaiguan was a series of wars that took place in China after Wu Sangui introduced the Qing army into Shanhaiguan in the 17th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty and the first year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty. The following are the reasons why Wu Sangui let the Qing troops enter the pass that I compiled for you. I hope it can help you.

The reason why Wu Sangui let the Qing troops enter the Pass

Historically, the entry of the Qing troops into the Pass was also called the War of Entry. In fact, it is ironic to call it a war. In 1644 AD Wu Sangui surrendered to the Manchus and lifted the defenses of Shanhaiguan. Under Wu Sangui's arrangement, the Manchurian army went south, entered Shanhaiguan, and occupied Beijing, becoming a major political power that spanned hundreds of years in Chinese history.

The origin of the opportunity for this war to enter the Pass is actually quite interesting. Since ancient times, beacon fire has been played on the princes, just to get a smile from the beauty. So Wu Sangui introduced the Qing soldiers to the Pass in order to repay Li Zicheng for taking his wife. The hatred, in other words, is that the beauty Chen Yuanyuan is a great opportunity for the Qing army to successfully enter the customs.

As a general of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Sangui had more than 100,000 troops. Was he still afraid that he would not be able to deal with Li Zicheng? In fact, Wu Sangui had his own little calculation in mind. The Manchu cavalry were watching eagerly. If Wu Sangui used all his troops to confront Li Zicheng, it would be a snipe and a clam fight, and the fisherman would gain. They can only temporarily surrender to the Qing troops and use their forces to annihilate Li Zicheng's forces in one fell swoop. According to the invasion route of the ethnic minorities outside the Pass, most of the Qing troops will enter the Central Plains and plunder it before returning to their own territory, leaving behind a panic in the hinterland of the Central Plains. By then Wu Sangui would be able to establish himself as king.

However, Wu Sangui miscalculated Dorgon's ambition. The Manchus lived far away from the customs. They not only coveted the abundant supplies in the Central Plains, but what he wanted was to occupy the magpie's nest. Become the rightful lord of the Central Plains and unify the world.

Wu Sangui lost everything due to one careless move. Originally, the tiger was at Shanhaiguan. No matter how bad the Ming Dynasty was, it would take several years for the Qing army to enter the pass. How could they so easily plunder the throat of North China and march straight in? . The Qing soldiers entered the customs and established a century-old foundation. It was so easy at the beginning. It was more like history played a joke on Wu Sangui and Dorgon.

The relationship between Wu Sangui and Yuan Chonghuan

Wu Sangui, named Changbo, was a native of Liaodong during the Ming Dynasty. His ancestral home was in Gaoyou, Jiangnan. His father Wu Xiang served as the general soldier of Jinzhou. During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Sangui held a large number of troops and served as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, guarding Shanhaiguan. Wu Sangui was extremely talented in martial arts. When Emperor Chongzhen first came to the throne, he started to obtain scholars. Wu Sangui was the first martial arts scholar at that time. Later, he inherited his father's legacy and served as the governor-general.

In his youth, Wu Sangui took command under the general Yuan Chonghuan. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan was well-known and in the limelight. During the period when he was guarding Shanhaiguan, the Jurchen tribe outside the pass did not dare to harass the border gates wantonly. Yuan Chonghuan was frightened by the news. Although he was a civil servant, he was very good at running the army. He managed military affairs in an orderly manner and had strict military discipline and rules. He was deeply loved by the local people. Wu Sangui had admired his name for a long time, and even admired him as a person when taking orders from his subordinates. However, Yuan Chonghuan's final fate made Wu Sangui extremely dissatisfied with the court. This was also an important reason why Wu Sangui chose to abandon the Ming Dynasty later.

Yuan Chonghuan was undoubtedly a heroic general, and he deserved to be the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, but he was deeply framed by traitors. Emperor Chongzhen was afraid of his statement, unjustly killed his loyal ministers, and executed him late for rebellion. Since ancient times, kings have been most afraid of ministers with high achievements. Yuan Chonghuan had outstanding military achievements and was loved by the people, which made him a close friend of this extremely suspicious emperor. The last generation of generals not only died unjustly, but also suffered a bad reputation. Seeing such a tragic end in Wu Sangui's eyes, it is no wonder that he did not shy away from being called a rebellious minister and traitor in the end, and insisted on saving the lives of 100,000 generals and surrendering to the Qing troops. It was so unreasonable. How could he be willing to be buried as a burial object in a court that did not distinguish between black and white?

Introduction to Wu Sangui’s descendants

Wu Sangui had only a few descendants. Except for his second son Wu Yingqi, the whole line remained anonymous. Wu Yingxiong's eldest son Wu Shifan inherited Wu Sangui's mantle and became the second emperor of Wu Zhou Dynasty. He struggled against the Qing court for three years and was only sixteen years old when the city was finally destroyed and he died.

In the seventeenth year of Kangxi's reign, Wu Sangui died of illness. Wu Shifan succeeded to the throne with the reign name of Honghua and retreated to Guiyang. Before Wu Shifan rushed to Yunnan to take the throne, Wu Sangui died of illness. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, his confidants did not announce the death secretly. He still ordered people to deliver three meals and a change of clothes on time. It was not until Wu Shifan came to take control of the overall situation that the news of Wu Sangui's death spread like wildfire. Since then, the strength of the Wu family's army has been greatly weakened, its morale has been shattered, and it has been struggling to survive in the confrontation with the Qing court.

In the twelfth year of Kangxi’s reign, Kangxi sent heavy troops to attack Yunnan from Shu, Qian and Guizhou. In a desperate situation, Wu Shifan ordered people to burn the jungle to prevent the Qing army from entering Yunnan. However, it still failed to stop its offensive, and the front line retreated. . The Qing army was approaching Kunming, the provincial capital. Wu Shifan sent troops back to support him and defended Mount Wuhua. He died of illness and resisted. The two armies were at a stalemate below the city walls of Kunming. This situation lasted for several months. The food and grass in the city were exhausted, and the generals in the city had no intention of fighting. They hoped that the war would be known soon, and the soldiers were willing to surrender. There was a gap in Wu Shifan's army to inform the Qing generals that the situation in the city was difficult to hold on to, so the Qing army went all out. , captured Kunming City. Wu Shifan committed suicide by hanging from a beam, and his wife, Queen Guo, also followed suit. The remaining more than 6,000 remaining troops surrendered to the Qing army, and the generals escorted Wu Shifan's head back to Beijing. Since then, the eight-year-old San Francisco Rebellion has officially ended.

Wu Sangui’s military life did not bring glory and wealth to his descendants. On the contrary, everyone was unable to protect themselves, and ended up with their family destroyed or their names hidden.