Lu Xiangsheng

Lu Xiangsheng

Lu Xiangsheng (from April 16, 1600 to January 15, 1639) was born in Yixing County, Changzhou prefecture (now Yixing County, Jiangsu Province) in southern Zhili. He was a famous general in the late Ming Dynasty.

Tianqi two years (1622) Jinshi. Since the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), he participated in the suppression of Li Zicheng and other peasant troops. He was promoted to the right deputy capital censor, Prime Minister of Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Huguang and Sichuan military affairs, and concurrently governor of Huguang. Later, he was promoted to the army minister, and then moved to the left army minister, governor Xuanfu, Datong and Shanxi military affairs. In 1634, the peasant army of Zhang Xianzhong was defeated. In 1635, he defeated Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng. In the 11th year of Chongzhen (1638), he served as the Minister of the Ministry of war. He fought against the Qing Dynasty and defended the capital. He won a series of victories. Instead, he was framed by eunuch Gao Qiqian and was removed from his post as a minister.

In December of the 11th year of Chongzhen reign (January 1639), the troops were surrounded by the Qing army in Julu Jiazhuang. They rose to the ground to support the troops and did not save them. At the end of the war, they died in the battlefield because of the destruction of their guns. They were only 39 years old. They were presented to the crown prince, Taishi and Minister of the Ministry of war. During the reign of Fuwang in the Southern Ming Dynasty, he was named "Zhonglie" after his posthumous title. In the Qing Dynasty, his posthumous title was Zhongsu, and his works included Lu Zhongsu's collection and Lu Xiangsheng's Shudu.

(photo source: chronicle of Duke Lu of Sima in Ming Dynasty

Life of the characters

Early years

On March 4, the 28th year of Wanli (April 16, 1600), Lu Xiangsheng was born in Zhangzhu Town, Yixing County, Changzhou Prefecture. He was white and thin. He had a big bone on his arm and was very strong.

In the second year of Tianqi (1622), he was a Jinshi in the entrance examination. At the beginning, he was appointed head of the household department, and was promoted to yuanwailang. He was later promoted to the magistrate of Daming.

Show your head

In October of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), Huang Taiji led the army to avoid the Ningjin (Ningyuan Jinzhou) defense line held by yuan Chonghuan, and through Inner Mongolia, he burst into the pass from xifengkou. The capital was under martial law, which is known as "the change of self". Lu Xiangsheng recruited 10000 troops to Beijing to assist in defense.

In the third year of Chongzhen period (1630), Lu Xiangsheng was promoted to the post of right deputy envoy to participate in politics. He went out to rectify the military equipment of Daming, Guangping and Shunde, known as "Tianxiong army".

In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), because of his outstanding political achievements and conduct, he was promoted to the post of commander in chief and managed the army as usual. In September, the peasant uprising army was unable to gain a foothold in Shaanxi and Shanxi, and fled to the southern part of the capital and the northern part of Henan (roughly between Shunde and Zhending), which was repulsed by Lu Xiang.

The governor put an end to the chaos

In the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), the bandit soldiers of Shanxi swarmed into the suburbs of the capital and occupied the western mountain near the city. Lu Xiangsheng beat back their attack and defeated the bandits with Liang Fu and Kou Conghua. The bandits fled back to Xishan and besieged Dong Weikun in Lengshui village. Lu Xiangsheng laid an ambush in the south of Shicheng and defeated the bandits. He also won in qinglonggang and Wu'an successively. He successively killed 11 bandits, wiped out their party members, and surrendered and repatriated 20000 men and women. As a result, the people of the three prefectures in the suburbs of Beijing were able to live and work in peace and contentment for several years. Every time Xiangsheng goes to the battlefield, he always takes the lead. When he fights with the bandit, he ignores the fact that the blade of the bandit cuts his saddle. When the horse dies, he will fight on foot. Once he was chasing after the bandits on the precipitous cliff. A bandit shot an arrow at Xiangsheng's forehead from the top of the mountain. Another arrow came. Xiangsheng's servant died under the horse. Xiangsheng fought bravely with his sword. The bandits ran away in fright and told each other, "Lu Lian, the one who bumps into and dies, can't touch him." As a result, Xiangsheng gained a great reputation for his military skills. Afraid, the bandits fled south across the Yellow River. According to Peng Sunyi's "records of vagrant bandits" after the war, the rebel army called Lu Xiang "the king of Lu Yan" and avoided him as soon as they met him.

In 1634, the bandits entered Hubei Province and captured six counties of Yunyang Prefecture. The imperial court ordered Lu Xiangsheng to replace Jiang Yunyi as the censor of youjindu to govern Yunyang. At that time, the bandits from Sichuan returned to Hubei and stationed at Huanglongtan in Yunyang. Lu Xiangsheng and Governor Chen Qiyu attacked each other separately. They won a series of battles in wulingguan, nijiagou, shiquanba, kangningping, Shizishan, TAIPINGHE, zhumubian, Qingkou and other places, killing more than 5600 enemies. The bandits in Hannan were almost eliminated. Then Lu Xiangsheng applied to the imperial court for increasing the number of troops stationed in Yunyang City, reducing taxes, repairing the city walls, borrowing rice from neighboring governments, and recruiting merchants to collect copper and cast money. Thus Yunyang settled down.

In May of the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), Lu Xiangsheng was promoted to the right deputy capital censor, succeeding Tang Hui to patrol Huguang. In August, the imperial court asked him to be Prime Minister of the military affairs of Jiangbei, Henan, Shandong, Huguang and Sichuan, and concurrently governor of Huguang. Governor Hong Chengchou is responsible for punishing the bandits in the northwest, while Lu Xiangsheng is responsible for the southeast. Soon after, Lu Xiangsheng was relieved from the post of governor and promoted to minister of the Ministry of war. He increased the management of Shanxi and Shaanxi military affairs. The Emperor gave him the sword of Shangfang, which made it convenient for him to do things. Ruzhou, Luoyang alarm, Lu Xiangsheng day and night, flying into Ruzhou. The number of bandit soldiers is more than 300000, and the company is hundreds of miles away. Lu Xiangsheng led his deputy generals Li Chongzhen and Lei Shisheng to attack Gao Yingxiang in the west of Ruzhou City, killing more than 1000 bandits with a strong crossbow. Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng left and captured Guangzhou. Lu Xiangsheng defeated them in Queshan. Before that, the generals Cao Wenzhao and AI Wannian were killed, and you Shiwei was defeated. Therefore, many of the officers and soldiers were afraid of the bandits. Lu Xiangsheng is often impassioned and tearful to encourage everyone to serve the country. His troops once refused to pay for three days, and Lu Xiangsheng himself didn't drink a mouthful of water. Therefore, he won the support of the soldiers and made contributions in every battle.

Xuanda and Kangqing

In the first month of the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Lu Xiangsheng held a meeting of generals in Fengyang, and then wrote: "after the bandits were rampant, the imperial court would dispatch troops again, and the bandits would send more troops for a long time. It can only be said that they could not keep up with the times. When the troops go to the battlefield, they will discuss the supply of military pay. When the troops meet, they will apply for food and pay again. This can only be said to be playing with their lives. What's more, if the pay is not enough, the soldiers will follow the bandits to rob. In this way, all the troops they have summoned in the past eight years have become accomplices with the bandits, and the military pay they have eaten is no different from that of the bandits. " "The governor and the prime minister should have special troops and special provisions," he added. The troops of Xianning, Gansu and Guyuan will be transferred to the governor, and the troops of Jizhou, Liaoyang, Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan will be under the command of the premier. " He also said: "the governors and ministers of the provinces directly under the central government all have important responsibilities in the border areas. Don't ask for reinforcements and troop deployment as soon as there are thieves and policemen. If you don't respond to him, you should have been in the same boat and go around to meet him. How can you keep up with them?" He added: "the ministers of Taiwan admonishment, regardless of the difficulty of things and the life or death of the officers and men, are there to preach and criticize. Even if others have great ability, how can they show it? The governor and his ministers and I only talked about the suppression method, not the blocking method, but how to fight, not how to defend. " These words are all to the point.

At this time, Gao Yingxiang came to besiege Luzhou. Instead of fighting, he fought Hanshan and Hezhou separately, and then entered Chuzhou. Lu Xiangsheng LED general zukuan and guerrilla Luo Dai to rescue Chuzhou. He fought at Wuliqiao in the east of Chuzhou City, killed the thief and captured his horse. The company and camp of the bandits were defeated. Lu Xiangsheng drove the defeated bandits fifty miles away. From zhulongqiao to Guanshan, the dead bodies of the bandits filled the ravines, so the chushui could not flow. Only then did the bandits move northward to Fengyang, besieged Shouzhou, broke through Yingshang, Huoshan, Xiaoxian, Dangshan, Lingbi and Hongxian, and peeped at Caoxian and Shanxian. Liu Zeqing, commander in chief, was stationed on the Bank of the Yellow River. The bandits captured kaocheng and Yifeng and then went west. One of the bandits who invaded Bozhou turned to guide. Yongning general officer Zu Dale intercepted and attacked, so the bandits went north to Kaifeng. When Chen Yongfu defeated them in Zhuxian Town, the bandits fled to Dengfeng to join other bandits. Then, it will be divided into Yuzhou and Nanyang. Lu Xiangsheng, together with the troops of zukuan, zudale and Luodai, defeated the bandits in Qiding mountain and almost wiped out Li Zicheng's elite cavalry. After that, Lu Xiangsheng stationed in Nanyang and asked Zu Dale to defend runing and Zu Kuan to defend Dengzhou. He personally led all kinds of officers and soldiers to attack the bandits. At the same time, he sent envoys to inform Wang Mengyin, governor of Yunyang, and song zushun, governor of Yunyang, "the bandits are exhausted now. We are now attacking them from the East and the West. There is Hanjiang River in front of them. As long as you stand up, the officers and soldiers can wipe them out at one stroke. ”The two of them couldn't prevent it well. The bandits sneaked across the Hanjiang River from Guanghua and entered Yunyang. Lu Xiangsheng sent General Qin Yiming and deputy general Lei Shisheng to attack the thieves from Nanzhang and Gucheng. Zukuan's cavalry was not conducive to fighting in dangerous areas. Wang Jinzhong's subordinates mutinied. Many of Luo Dai's and Liu Zhaoji's soldiers fled and sent people to chase them. They bent their bows and shot back. Lu Xiangsheng had to send local soldiers from Sichuan and Tuozi to search for the bandits in Junzhou. At that time, the bandit soldiers from Hubei and Henan, Gao Yingxiang and others were hiding in the mountains at the junction of Shaanxi, Hubei and Sichuan. Lu Xiangsheng went to Xiangyang from Nanyang to fight. At that time, there were more bandits and fewer officers and soldiers, and there was a famine in Henan Province. The officers and soldiers were short of pay, and the border guards were even more worried. Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng thought that the terrain in Guanzhong was flat and broad, which was conducive to cavalry, so they let the troops of zukuan and the important town into Shaanxi. Xiangyang, Junzhou, Yicheng, Gucheng, Shangjin and Nanzhang are full of bandits. In July, Lu Xiangsheng passed through the Xihe River, and in September, he pursued the bandits and arrived in the western region of Yunyang. Through Xuanfu and Datong, the Qing army invaded again and plundered the capital area. After martial law in the capital, the imperial court issued an imperial edict

Chinese PinYin : Lu Xiang Sheng