Page:Eminent Chinese Of The Ch’ing Period - Hummel - 1943 - Vol. 2.pdf/352

 集 Chao Po-yen chi (1922–24); Reid, John Gilbert, The Manchu Abdication and the Powers, 1908–1912 (1935).]

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 YÜAN Ch'ung-huan 袁崇煥, June 6, 1584–1630, Sept. 22, was a native of Tung-kuan, Kwangtung. He received the degree of chin-shih in 1619 at the age of thirty-five and was appointed magistrate of Shao-wu, Fukien. It was in this year that the Chinese armies in Liaotung under the command of met crushing defeat at the hands of the Manchus, losing the cities of K'ai-yüan and T'ieh-ling. Further losses in 1621 (see under ) forced the Chinese to withdraw west of the Liao river, while the defeat of at Kuang-ning in March 1622 created a panic in which all the Chinese forces retreated to Shanhaikuan, abandoning the whole Liao territory to the enemy (see under ). Yüan Ch'ung-huan, who was in Peking at the time, went alone into the war area on a tour of investigation and on his return announced his readiness, if provided with the necessary troops and funds, to guarantee the safety of the passes. He was appointed a second-class secretary in the Board of War, promoted almost immediately to secretary, and supplied with funds for enlisting troops. After conferring with, then a prisoner, he set out for Shanhaikuan where he took command of one of the three army divisions. The territory north of the pass had been occupied, since the Chinese withdrawal, by Karacin Mongols with whom, successor to Hsiung T'ing-pi, now made a treaty. In July Yüan received orders to move forward for the reoccupation of Chung-ch'ien-so and later to proceed to Ch'ien-t'un for the purpose of relieving the destitute natives of Liaotung. His own bolder plans for building the first line of defense still farther north at Ning-Yüan, or even Chin-chou, received no support until September when Wang was replaced as commander-in-chief by. For the next three years Yüan and his superior, Sun, worked together harmoniously, aided by the generalship of. Despite the prevailing pessimism of the time, they pushed the frontiers steadily northward, fortified Ningyuan in 1623, and by the summer of 1625 were ready to occupy Chin-chou, more than one hundred miles beyond the pass. On November 6, 1625, Sun Ch'êng-tsung, who had come into conflict with the all-powerful eunuch, was relieved of his post. His successor, Kao Ti 高第, decided on the abandonment of all defenses and ordered a general retreat to Shanhaikuan, but Yüan flatly refused to leave Ning-yüan.

Early in 1626 the Manchus, led by, again crossed the Liao river and on February 19 appeared at Ning-yüan. Yüan made a compact with Man Kuei and to hold the city at all costs. They were successful in beating off the enemy, largely as a result of the havoc wrought by the newly mounted "foreign guns" (see under ) which were fired off under the direction of Yüan's Fukienese cook. Pleased by this success—the only one in a long series of disasters at the hands of the Manchus—the Court revived the post of governor of Liaotung and on February 27, 1626, appointed yüan to it with full authority to handle all forces outside the pass. He now set himself to recover the gains surrendered by his predecessor and to this end took advantage of the death of Nurhaci, on September 30, 1626, to negotiate a truce with who succeeded Nurhaci. Abahai took advantage of the truce to give his undivided attention to Korea where was proving a source of danger. Yüan was able to re-occupy Chin-chou and other points west of the Liao river, but Mao, left without assistance, was driven from Korea in March 1627. In June the Manchus re-appeared to take Chin-chou; failing in this, they attacked Ning-yüan on July 10 and engaged in an indecisive battle with Man Kuei and Tsu Ta-shou. Although the Manchus made no important gains, the campaign gave opportunity for criticism of Yüan by partisans of the eunuch Wei, in consequence of which he retired.

In 1628, under a new government, Yüan was reinstated as field marshal of all the forces in the northeast and was promised unqualified support. Arriving at the front again in September, he stationed three generals at Chin-chou, Ning-yüan. and Shanhaikuan respectively, and announced a five-year plan for the complete recovery of Liaotung. In 1629 he was granted the title of Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Having now reached the height of his power he is thought by some to have become a prey to jealousy. Already, in 1626, he had broken with the talented general Man Kuei. For reasons that have been the subject of much discussion, he visited Mao Wên-lung in his island fortress and had him 954