Yuan Chonghuan - Later Military Career and Death

Later Military Career and Death

In 1628, under the new government, Yuan Chonghuan was reinstated as field marshal of all the forces of the Northeast. He embarked on an ambitious five-year plan for the complete recovery of Liaodong. The Chongzhen Emperor had taken the reign in 1627 at the age of 16, and in 1629 (at the age of 18) he appointed Yuan Chonghuan. In 1629 Yuan was granted the title of "Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent". The Chongzhen Emperor gave him his Imperial Sword and stated that he would fully support Yuan's decisions.

This time Yuan had to face again a larger Manchu force of over 200,000 troops under Huang Taiji. The Manchus had incorporated more men in their army, including the newly surrendered Mongols, Ming rebels, conquered Korea, and various small tribes of the North. However, the Manchus were reluctant to attack Jinzhou or Ningyuan and never did so again.

The Manchus changed their strategy. Bypassing Jinzhou, Ningyuan and Shanhai Pass, they broke through the Great Wall west of Shanhai Pass and reached north of Beijing in the winter of 1629. Yuan rushed back with an elite army from Ningyuan to defend the capital. He reached Beijing just days before the Manchus. Outside the city wall of Beijing, he defeated the Manchurian "Eight Banners" which numbered around 100,000 men, but failed to destroy the Manchu army. The Manchus' surprise attack on Beijing was foiled. Despite the fact that Yuan prevented the Manchus from even reaching the city wall, Yuan was heavily criticized when he arrived in Beijing, and some eunuchs even accused Yuan of collaborating with the enemy. In fact, they were actually tricked by Huang Taiji into thinking that Yuan had betrayed them.

The Chongzhen Emperor ordered Yuan's arrest during an audience with the Emperor on 13 January 1630. Despite little evidence, he was accused of collusion with the enemy and condemned to death by "slow slicing" at Ganshiqiao (甘石橋) in Beijing. When Yuan was asked for last words before his execution, he produced the poem: "A life's work always ends up in vain; half of my career seems to be in dreams. I do not worry about lacking brave warriors after my death, for my loyal spirit will continue to guard Liaodong." (一生事業總成空，半世功名在夢中。死後不愁無將勇，忠魂依舊保遼東！)

Yuan was mourned throughout most of the country outside Beijing and even in Joseon Korea. After his death, many regarded the Ming and their allies as extremely vulnerable to Manchu invasion.

It was said that upon hearing of his apparent "betrayal", many Beijing residents hated him so much that they rushed to buy his body parts so they could eat them. He was left there after the torture, shouting for half a day before stopping. His head, the only recognizable part after the torture, was taken outside the Inner City Wall by a city guard, whose surname is She, and buried near Guanqu Men. The guard's family have guarded it for generations since. His tomb was recently renovated to become the Yuan Chonghuan Memorial.

Huang Taiji publicly stated that he would never be able to beat Yuan in a fair game, thus having the Chongzhen Emperor kill him was the only method to get rid of him. Just as the message of Yuan's death reach Huang Taiji's ears, he changed his dynasty's name from Jin to Qing and proclaimed himself Emperor Qing Taizong. Historical records state that Huang Taiji feared Yuan's last words that his soul would always guard Liaodong Peninsula. Some say to overcome Yuan Chonghuan, whose name means "Undying Flames" (which contains the element of Fire), he had his dynasty name changed to Qing, meaning "to cleanse", which contains the Chinese element of "Water".