Podcasts about Shenyang

In Beijing's historic Qianmen area, a marriage registration office opened on Saturday in the bustling Dashilan shopping area, amid a cluster of photo studios and shops offering wedding-related services.在北京历史悠久的前门地区，一家婚姻登记处上周六在大栅栏商业街区正式启用，周边聚集着众多摄影工作室和婚庆服务机构。On the same day, a revised version of marriage registration rules started to take effect in China, historically leaving out the former requirement that both the bride and groom need to present their hukou, or the certificate of household registration status, which had been in place since the 1980s.与此同时，新修订的《婚姻登记条例》于当日在全国正式施行，具有历史意义地取消了自上世纪80年代起实施的新娘和新郎都需持户口簿办理登记的要求。Foreseeing that the policy revision—mainly to make marriage registrations and related services more convenient—would bring a surging number of registrants, the civil affairs authority set up the new registry to better serve couples.为应对此次以提升婚姻登记便民服务水平为核心的政策调整可能带来的登记量激增，民政部门特别增设了这处全新登记场所，以更好地为夫妻提供服务。"Previously, the newlyweds needed to go to the places of their household registration and take the hukou booklets for marriage registration. From now on, they just need to show their ID cards to tie the knot at marriage registration offices anywhere in the country," said Bian Zhihui, a registrar at the new office in downtown Beijing.工作人员边志辉（Bian Zhihui）介绍：“以往新人必须返回户籍所在地，并携带户口簿才能办理结婚登记。新政实施后，全国范围内任一婚姻登记处只需查验身份证即可为新人办理结婚登记。”From checking ID cards and photos of the newlyweds and guiding them to fill in the forms, to verifying the information through a nationalized computer network, the whole registration process takes about only 10 minutes.从核验新人身份证件及合影照片、指导填写申请表，到通过全国联网的信息系统进行数据比对，整个过程仅需约十分钟即可完成。Bian said the new rule is among a slew of pro-marriage and childbearing policies promulgated by the Chinese government to streamline procedures and give incentives for people aiming to start families.边志辉（Bian Zhihui）表示，这项新规是中国政府为简化行政流程、提升婚育激励而推出的系列政策之一，旨在通过制度优化鼓励适婚人群组建家庭。China recorded 1.81 million marriage registrations in the first quarter of this year, marking an 8 percent drop from the same period in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.民政部数据显示，今年第一季度全国结婚登记量为181万对，较去年同期下降8%。After nine consecutive years of decline, China's marriage registration numbers saw a brief rebound in 2023. However, the downward trend resumed last year, with registrations falling to their lowest level since 1980.在经历连续九年下滑后，我国结婚登记量曾在2023年出现短暂回升，但去年这一下降趋势再度延续，登记人数已降至1980年以来历史新低。The new marriage registration office is located in a traditional courtyard building and boasts a one-stop service, allowing couples to choose wedding dresses and suits, take wedding photos or purchase marriage souvenirs.新设立的婚姻登记处坐落于传统四合院建筑群中，提供从婚纱礼服挑选、结婚照拍摄到婚庆纪念品购置的一站式服务。A 15-minute walk from the office is the marriage registration service center of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Beijing's Xicheng district. The center has registered more marriages than anywhere else in the capital.该登记处与西城区民政局婚姻登记服务中心仅相距15分钟步程，是北京市婚姻登记量最大的服务机构。Xu Zongyi said the center, of which he is a deputy director, recorded nearly 20,000 marriage registrations last year.其副主任徐宗义（Xu Zongyi）透露，2023年该中心办理结婚登记近2万对。Xu expects the latest rule change to boost marriage registration by 20 to 30 percent.徐主任预计，此次政策调整将使辖区婚姻登记量实现20%至30%的增幅。On Saturday, there were approximately 1,700 marriage registrations recorded in Beijing, among which about 900 pairs were not permanent residents of the capital. Various Chinese provinces and cities have done more than just cut red tape to boost marriage and fertility rates.上周六，北京市共办理约1700对结婚登记，其中约900对新人非本市户籍居民。中国各地政府为提升结婚率和生育率，已推出一系列超越简化行政程序的创新举措。In March this year, the provincial government of Zhejiang issued a notice calling local authorities to improve marriage and fertility support policies, with recommended incentives including the distribution of cash in the form of "wedding red envelopes" or consumption vouchers to newlyweds.今年3月，浙江省政府发布通知，要求各级地方政府完善婚姻及生育支持政策，鼓励采取多种激励措施，其中包括向新婚夫妇发放“婚庆红包”或消费券等。Yan Yan from the Civil Affairs Bureau of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, told Xinhua News Agency that a government-sponsored group wedding for 52 couples is slated for May 22, with the ceremony to be held in the historic Shenyang Palace Museum.辽宁省会沈阳市民政局婚姻登记处负责人闫岩（Yan Yan）向新华社透露，一场由政府主导的集体婚礼盛典定于5月22日在沈阳故宫博物院举行，届时将有52对新人参与这场文化底蕴深厚的仪式。"Through the group wedding, we advocate new ways of getting married by infusing traditional customs with the new trend of thrifty practices," Yan said.“通过将传统婚俗与新时代节俭风尚有机融合，我们旨在通过集体婚礼形式倡导文明简约的婚庆新风尚。”闫岩（Yan Yan）在接受采访时强调。Liu Qing and Yao Wenjiu, both working in Shenyang away from their home cities, plan to get married this month.在沈工作的异地青年刘清（Liu Qing）与姚文久（Yao Wenjiu）计划本月完成婚姻登记。"The new rule allows us to do it more conveniently in the city where we work—you don't have to go back home to 'steal' hukou booklets from parents," Liu said.刘清（Liu Qing）表示：“新规实施后在工作地就能办理婚姻登记，再也不用像过去那样专程回老家找父母'借'户口簿了。”While marriage is legally determined and executed autonomously by the parties involved, parental approval and endorsement remain culturally paramount in Chinese marital traditions. For young adults whose household registration remains jointly registered with their parents—even if they live and work elsewhere—previous regulations required them to obtain the family's hukou booklet to complete marriage registration. This effectively meant that registering a marriage first necessitated parental awareness and consent.在中国传统婚姻文化中，尽管婚姻关系的缔结在法律层面由当事人自主决定，但父母的认可与祝福仍具有至关重要的文化意义。值得注意的是，对于户籍仍与父母共同登记（即便其本人在异地工作生活）的适婚青年群体，既往政策要求婚姻登记必须提交家庭户口簿，这实际上意味着需要父母知情且同意后才能登记结婚。Wang Jun, a marriage and family counselor, said marriage registration reform eliminates the mandatory household registration booklet requirement, granting individuals full autonomy in marital decisions.资深婚姻家庭咨询师王君（Wang Jun）表示，此次婚姻登记制度改革废除了户籍簿的硬性规定，切实保障了公民在婚姻决策中的充分自主权。With more than 10 years of experience, Wang volunteers as a counselor at the Xicheng district marriage registration service center.拥有十余年从业经验的王君（Wang Jun）目前在西城区婚姻登记服务中心担任志愿咨询师。"Parents' opinions are traditionally deemed authoritative to help their children choose the 'right' spouses and avoid risks in future marriage. Nowadays, many young people are more inclined to seek help through counseling," Wang said.她分析道：“传统观念认为父母的意见具有权威性，能帮助子女甄选'合适'的婚配对象，规避未来婚姻风险。但如今更多年轻人倾向于通过专业咨询寻求婚恋指导。”However, she warned that under the rule, there might be a higher possibility of impulsive "flash marriages" and divorces, especially among young people who lack experience in intimate relationships and family issues.不过她特别指出，新规实施后冲动型“闪婚”及后续离婚现象可能增多，尤其在缺乏亲密关系经营能力和家庭矛盾处理经验的青年群体当中。marriage registration office婚姻登记处take effect生效household registration户籍;户口登记newlyweds/'nju:lɪˌwed/n. 新婚夫妇; 新婚的人flash marriages闪婚

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Last time we spoke about Operation Jinzhou and the defense of Harbin. In the tumultuous landscape of early 1930s China, Chiang Kai-shek hesitated to engage in combat, fearing internal factions and the looming threat of the CCP. Zhang Xueliang, commanding a substantial force, felt pressure from both the Japanese and his own government. As tensions escalated, the Kwantung Army launched a brutal campaign against Jinzhou, leading to its fall. Amidst chaos, resistance leaders like Ma Zhanshan and Ding Chao emerged, rallying against Japanese aggression, determined to protect their homeland despite limited support. In November, the Jilin Provincial Anti-Japanese Government formed under Cheng Yun, rallying over 3,000 troops led by Feng Zhanhai against Japanese forces. After several battles, including the retaking of Shulan, they faced fierce resistance but ultimately had to retreat. As the Japanese advanced, the Jilin Self-Defense Army was established, but after intense fighting, Harbin fell to the Japanese on February 6. Despite earlier victories, the Chinese resistance crumbled, leading to the establishment of Manchukuo and the end of organized resistance in Manchuria.   #145 What was Manchukuo? Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   To start off this episode I want to turn back to our old friend Ishiwara Kanji. Ishiwara's ambition to dominate Manchuria was primarily a means to an end: to secure resources and a strategic position against America. After gaining control of Manchuria, Ishiwara shifted his focus toward another objective: fostering racial cooperation among Asian peoples. His vision for Manchukuo, or rather his interpretation of it, served as a launching pad for his idea of an East-Asian league, rooted firmly in his Final War theory. During his time in Manchuria in 1932, this Pan-Asian concept of Manchukuo distinguished him from many of his colleagues in the Kwantung Army and marked him as unconventional within the Imperial Japanese Army .   As many of you may know, Manchukuo was a fraudulent puppet state designed to legitimize Japan's takeover of Manchuria. The Japanese high command aimed to disguise their invasion of this part of China as an indigenous independence movement. To achieve this, they installed Puyi, the last Qing emperor, as the figurehead of Manchukuo while promoting ideals of racial harmony. This facade was necessary, as controlling a population that harbored resentment towards them required some effort to win their favor. Fortunately for the Japanese, there were factions in Manchuria that actually desired independence. This region was the heartland of Nurhaci's Manchu people—yes that guy we spoke about all the way back in the beginning of this podcast. The Japanese had considerable leverage, framing their actions as a noble revival of the Qing dynasty or a restoration of power to the Manchu. Additionally, there was a significant Mongolian presence, and Inner Mongolia would soon play a role in these events. Manchuria was reluctantly drawn into the nationalist movement, and it shared Japan's apprehension towards the USSR, having faced its own struggles against it for a long time. Moreover, a large population of Japanese settlers in Manchuria welcomed the takeover, as the Zhang Xueliang regime had not been particularly accommodating to them, implementing various discriminatory measures. Zhang Xueliang's alliance with the Nationalists effectively sealed the fate of the Japanese settlers, who anticipated expulsion.   As military operations progressed, Ishiwara and Itagaki convened with other prominent Kwantung officers to strategize control over Manchuria. They met with Officer Katakura, Chief of Staff Miyake, and Dohihara Kenji from the Mukden special service, reviewing a prior plan by Colonel Dohihara for a multi-ethnic autonomous nation in Manchuria. This entity was to be led by Puyi, possessing complete autonomy in internal matters, while defense and foreign relations would be managed by Japan. Ishiwara drafted the plans by September 22nd, which were sent to Tokyo on October 2nd. Although Tokyo's high command disapproved of the objectives, they collaborated with the Kwantung Army for five months to establish a new state based on two main principles: the purported indigenous movement for Manchurian independence and the administrative framework for Kwantung Army control.   The Kwantung Army proceeded to utilize Manchuria's traditional structure of local self-governing bodies. Throughout 1931, they bribed, persuaded, and threatened local leaders to foster a movement for autonomy against the Kuomintang hardliners. One of their first initiatives was the establishment of the "Jichi Shidobu Self-Government Guidance Board," responsible for coordinating regional independence movements in collaboration with the Kwantung Army to, as Miyake put it, "guide Manchuria to self-government." The board was headed by Yu Ch'ung-han, a Mukden elder statesman educated in Japan and a former advisor to Zhang Zuolin. It comprised 20 Japanese and 10 Manchurian members. Such organizations attracted Japanese civilians in Manchuria, who supported the so-called multiracial political structure, as they could exploit it for their own interests. The Kwantung Army heavily promoted slogans like “racial harmony, racial equality, and the righteous way.” Their control over Manchuria was solidified by placing Japanese advisors in all governmental bodies with ultimate veto power, ensuring that everything was effectively under Japanese control. While it seemed that Ishiwara's vision was unfolding as planned, by 1933, he became a fierce critic of the very system he had helped establish.   It's quite ironic that the man who played a key role in initiating the conquest of Manchuria would be unable to exert his influence in shaping Manchukuo. While Ishiwara Kanji served as the operations officer officially responsible for planning and executing military operations to capture Manchuria, the political arrangements for the new state fell outside his control. Nevertheless, Ishiwara was very vocal about his views on the development of Manchukuo, strongly advocating for racial harmony. He persistently urged his colleagues that the economic growth of Manchukuo should embody the spirit of racial cooperation. Ishiwara believed that the economic interests of Manchukuo would naturally align with those of the Kwantung Army, as both aimed for the unity of Asia against the West. He was gravely mistaken. Ishiwara was driven by his theory of a final war, and everything he did was aimed at preparing for it; thus, his fixation on racial harmony was part of this broader strategy.   In March 1932, the self-government guidance board was dissolved, transferring its functions and regional organizations to newly established bureaus within the Manchukuo government. In April, an organization called the Kyowakai (Concordia Association) was formed, led by Yamaguchi Juji and Ozawa Kaisaku, with the goal of promoting racial harmony. This initiative received support from members of the Kwantung Army, including Ishiwara, Itagaki, and Katakura. The Kwantung Army invested heavily in the organization, which quickly gained traction—at least among the Japanese. General Honjo expressed concerns about the organization's potential political influence in Manchukuo; he preferred it to remain an educational entity rather than evolve into an official political party. By "educational role," he meant it should serve as a propaganda tool for the Kwantung Army, allowing them to exert influence over Manchukuo without significant commitment.   But to Ishiwara the Concordia Association was the logical means to unify the new nation, guiding its political destiny, to be blunt Ishiwara really saw it should have much more authority than his colleagues believed it should. Ishiwara complained in August of 1932, that Manchuria was a conglomerate of conflicting power centers such as the Kwantung army, the new Manchukuo government, the Kwantung government, the Mantetsu, consular office and so on. Under so many hats he believed Manchukuo would never become a truly unified modern state, and of course he was one of the few people that actually wanted it to be so. He began arguing the Kwantung army should turn over its political authority as soon as possible so “Japanese of high resolve should hasten to the great work of the Manchurian Concordia Association, for I am sure that we Japanese will be its leaders. In this way Manchukuo will not depend on political control from Japan, but will be an independent state, based on Japanese Manchurian cooperation. Guided by Japanese, it will be a mode of Sino-Japanese friendship, an indicator of the present trends of world civilization” Needless to say the Concordia Association made little headway with the Chinese and it began to annoy Japanese leaders. The association gradually was bent into a spiritless propaganda and intelligence arm of the IJA, staffed largely by elite Japanese working in the Manchukuo government.  Ishiwara started utilizing the Concordia Association to advocate for various causes, including the return of leased territories like the Railway zone, the abolition of extraterritoriality, and equal pay for different races working in Manchukuo—efforts aimed at fostering racial harmony. However, this advocacy clashed significantly with the Japanese military's interests, damaging Ishiwara's reputation. As a result, the staff of the Kwantung Army began to shift dramatically, leaving Ishiwara increasingly isolated, except for Itagaki and a few loyal supporters. The higher-ups had grown weary of the disruptive Concordia Association and gradually took control, ensuring that discussions about concessions were halted. In August 1932, Ishiwara received a new assignment, and he appeared eager to leave Manchuria. Now that finishes off our story of Ishiwara, he will return later on in future episodes. Again if you want a full sort of biography on him, check out my youtube channel or Echoes of War podcast where I have a 4 part series on him.    Now I want to get more into the specifics of what exactly was this new state known as Manchukuo? During the mayhem that was the invasion of Manchuria, by October 6th of 1931, the Japanese cabinet had finally relented and decided to no longer interfere with the establishment of a new regime in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. The remaining disagreement between the Japanese government, Tokyo General HQ and the Kwantung army was not whether or not to establish a new regime, but whether or not to promote the establishment of a new regime. Japan obviously did not want to break the Washington system established by the treaty of Versailles. Yet they of course wanted to expand Japanese interest in Manchuria. So it was to be a delicate game of chess balancing their interests in coordination with the western powers. This was specifically why Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijiro had opposed direct participation of Japanese soldiers in the establishment of a new regime, because clearly it would open Japan to condemnation from the west.    Over the course of the invasion, Japan managed to occupy the 3 northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang by establishing pro-japanese regimes within each under Zhang Shiyi, Xi Qia and Ma Zhanshan respectively. On September 20, 1931, Jianchuan proposed the establishment of a Japanese-backed regime led by Puyi during a meeting with Honjo Shigeru, the commander of the Kwantung Army. Obviously Jianchuan was in league and under the influence of our old friend Doihara. Two days later, on September 22, the Kwantung Army General Staff developed the "Solution to the Manchuria-Mongolia Issue," based on Doihara's suggestion to create a Five-Nation Republic in Manchuria and Mongolia, with Japan as the "leader." The plan outlined the establishment of a new regime under Puyi, supported by Japan, to govern the 3 northeastern provinces and Mongolia. The new regime would entrust Japan with national defense and diplomacy, as well as the management of key transportation and communication infrastructure. It also proposed appointing Xi Qia, Zhang Haipeng, Tang Yulin, Yu Zhishan, and Zhang Jinghui to oversee garrisons in locations such as Jilin, Taonan, Rehe, Dongbiandao, and Harbin. To execute this plan, the Japanese Kwantung Army, led by Chief of Staff Itagaki, utilized local intelligence agencies and some mainland ronin to initiate a so-called strategic operation. To facilitate the plan's implementation, the Kwantung Army informed the commander of the Japanese Army in Tianjin that afternoon, requesting immediate "protection" for Emperor Xuantong.   After the Kwantung Army took control of Jinzhou, it believed the moment was right to establish the hastily assembled puppet regime. To secure the full backing of the Japanese government and the military leadership, the Kwantung Army decided to send Itagaki back to Tokyo for negotiations. At that time, Itagaki had a fairly detailed plan to present. The proposed "Manchuria-Mongolia Central Government" aimed to create a centralized power structure that would be distinct from mainland China, effectively becoming a truly "independent" nation. They intended to appoint local collaborators as officials at all levels and were prepared to fabricate "public opinion" to obscure global perceptions of Japan's scheme to establish this regime. This of course was highly influenced by the announcement from the League of Nations that they would be investigating the entire incident in what would become known as the Lytton Commission.  Thus they believed it was essential to set up the regime before the League of Nations investigation team arrived in Manchuria. They understood that if these actions were "carried out directly by Japan," they would violate both the Nine-Power Treaty and the League of Nations. However, they reasoned that if the Chinese initiated the separation themselves, it would not contradict the principles of those treaties.   The Kwantung Army established puppet organizations using collaborators, starting with the "Liaoning Provincial Local Maintenance Association," which was formed on September 25, 1931. The association's chairman, Yuan Jinkai, represented the civil governance faction of the Fengtian clique. After the First Zhili-Fengtian War, he was appointed governor of Fengtian Province by the Zhili government, which led to his unpopularity with Zhang Zuolin. At the time of the incident, he was already retired. The association's vice chairman, Kan Chaoxi, had previously served as the governor of Rehe and commander of the Third Division. He fell out of favor with Zhang Zuolin due to his involvement with Guo Songling and subsequently retired. A common characteristic of the puppet organizations created by the Kwantung Army is that they always included Japanese advisors, regardless of their level. The "Liaoning Provincial Local Maintenance Association" was no exception, hiring Kanai Shoji, head of the health section of the local department of the Manchurian Railway and chairman of the Manchurian Youth League, as its top advisor. In the Japanese-occupied Fengtian, this highest advisor effectively became the leader of the maintenance association. While the association was ostensibly responsible for maintaining local order, it actually functioned as a tool for Japan to establish a puppet regime. Recruiting discontented officials and creating puppet institutions was just a minor part of the Kwantung Army's strategy to set up a puppet regime. The crucial factor in this endeavor was gaining the support of influential local warlords. To achieve this, the Japanese Kwantung Army, along with various intelligence agencies, employed a mix of soft and hard tactics, including coercion and incentives. As a result, they successfully pressured figures such as Yu Zhishan, Zhang Haipeng, Zhang Jinghui, Xi Qia, Zang Shiyi, and Ma Zhanshan to defect to the Japanese forces.   Following the Mukden Incident, former Qing nobles who had hoped to restore the Qing Dynasty believed the moment had arrived. Xi Qia, a member of the former Qing royal family and the Chief of Staff of the Jilin Provincial Army at the time, took advantage of the Jilin governor's absence due to his mother's funeral to open the gates of Jilin and surrender to Japan. This made Xi Qia the first Chinese official to collaborate with the Japanese invaders since their invasion of China. He sent a secret letter to the abdicated Qing emperor Puyi, urging him to return to "the birthplace of the ancestors, restore the Qing Dynasty, and rescue the people from their suffering," with the backing of "friendly nations". Xi Qia and the former Manchu nobles, who had elevated him to acting governor of Jilin Province, proposed to the Japanese to invite Puyi to the Northeast to establish a monarchy. The Japanese Kwantung Army had already identified Puyi as a suitable puppet leader. After the 15 year war had concluded, under interrogation, Shirono Hiroshi confessed that the reason why the Japanese chose Puyi was: First, Puyi had “no connection with the Kuomintang in mainland China”; Secondly, "some old classes in the Northeast and Mongolia still have traditional yearnings for the Qing Dynasty"; Third, “the peasants in general… seemed to welcome the kingly political system implemented by the Aisin-Gioro family.”   On November 8th, 1931, Doihara orchestrated the "Tianjin Incident" and covertly removed Puyi from his home in the Japanese Concession in Tianjin. They traveled through Dagukou, Yingkou, and Lushun before arriving in Fushun. By February 5th, 1932, the Japanese army had taken control of Harbin, stabilizing the situation in North Manchuria. Afterwards the Kwantung Army Headquarters organized a series of "National Construction Staff Meetings" to plan for a "National Construction Conference" involving collaborators. On February 16th, leaders from the Northeast provinces, including Zhang Jinghui, Xi Qia, Ma Zhanshan, Zang Shiyi, Xie Jieshi, Yu Chonghan, Zhao Xinbo, and Yuan Jinkai, gathered for the "Northeast Political Affairs Conference" at the Yamato Hotel in Shenyang. The meeting was led by Honjo Shigeru, the commander of the Kwantung Army. They decided to invite Puyi to rule the puppet state of "Manchukuo" and assigned government positions to the attendees. Notably, Itagaki Seishirō was appointed as the head of the Fengtian Special Agency and the chief advisor to the Military and Political Department of Manchukuo.    On February 18th, the "Northeast Administrative Committee" issued a "Declaration of Independence," stating: "From now on, we declare that the regions of Manchuria and Mongolia will be separated from the Chinese central government. Based on the free choice and appeal of the residents of Manchuria and Mongolia, these regions will achieve complete independence and establish a fully independent government." On February 23rd, Itagaki met with Puyi in Fushun to inform him that he would be the "ruler" of Manchukuo. Although Puyi had hoped to reclaim the throne, he was disappointed with the "ruler" designation but felt compelled to accept it. On the 29th, the "All-Manchuria National Construction Promotion Movement Conference" passed a resolution urging Puyi to take on the role of ruler. In February, the Japanese army began its offensive against Rehe. Meanwhile, the League of Nations declared that it would not recognize Manchukuo.   On March 1st, Japan orchestrated the establishment of "Manchukuo," appointing Puyi as its "ruler" under the reign title "Datong." China firmly rejected the notion of Manchukuo's "independence" and lodged a strong protest against Japan on the same day. On March 8th, Puyi officially declared his inauguration as the "ruler of Manchukuo" in Xinjing. Concurrently, officials were appointed to various "offices," "ministerial positions," and "ministries," leading to the formal establishment of Manchukuo. The following day, Puyi conducted an inauguration ceremony, and on March 10th, a secret agreement was signed with Japan. Japanese Ambassador to Manchuria, Nobuyoshi Mutō, and "Prime Minister" Zheng Xiaoxu signed the Japan-Manchuria Agreement in Changchun, with the Japanese government issuing a statement recognizing "Manchukuo."   In October of 1932, the League of Nations Assembly released the Lytton Commission Report.  Alarmed by the Mukden incident, the League of Nations had dispatched a group of investigators, led by British statesman Lord Lytton, to uncover the truth of what was going on. The commission traveled to Manchuria, gathering testimonies and examining evidence. Their task was daunting: Japan insisted its actions were defensive, protecting its economic interests and citizens. Meanwhile, China accused Japan of orchestrating the railway incident as an excuse for invasion. Months later, the Lytton Report emerged, painting a balanced yet damning picture.    On February 24, the commission concluded that the "Mukden Incident" was staged by Japanese troops. It condemned Japan's actions as a violation of Chinese sovereignty, rejecting their claims of self-defense. Moreover, the report did not recognize the puppet state of Manchukuo, established by Japan in Manchuria. Instead, it called for Manchuria's return to Chinese control under an arrangement respecting regional autonomy. Though praised for its fairness, the report lacked teeth. Later on the League urged Japan to withdraw, but Japan walked out of the League instead, solidifying its grip on Manchuria.    Manchukuo's territory would span the former provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang, excluding the Kwantung Leased Territory. It would also gradually incorporate eastern parts of Inner Mongolia, Chengde City and Rehe Province. The 1932 "Japan-Manchuria Protocol" established that the sovereignty of the Kwantung Leased Territory belonged to "Manchukuo." This entity acknowledged the Qing Dynasty's agreement to lease the Guandong Territory, which includes Lushun and Dalian, to Japan. As a result, the Guandong Territory remained under direct Japanese control and was not included in the "administrative division of Manchukuo." By 1934 Manchukuo was divided into 14 provinces, 2 special cities and 1 special district: Andong Province , " Fengtian Province ", Jinzhou Province , Jilin Province , Rehe Province , Jiandao Province , Heihe Province , Sanjiang Province , Longjiang Province , Binjiang Province, Xing'an East Province , Xing'an West Province , Xing'an South Province , Xing'an North Province , Xinjing Special City , Harbin Special City , and North Manchuria Special District. By 1939 this would increase to 19 provinces and 1 special city.   Politically, Puyi served as the nominal head of state for "Manchukuo." He took on the role of ruler on March 8, 1932, adopting the reign title "Datong." On March 1, 1934, Puyi conducted a "coronation ceremony" in Xinghua Village, located south of "Xinjing," and renamed "Manchukuo" to the "Great Manchurian Empire." In this capacity, Puyi was designated as the "emperor," with the reign title "Kangde." "Manchukuo's administrative structure was led by the 'State Council,' headed by the 'Premier.' This pseudo 'State Council' included the 'Ministry of Foreign Affairs,' 'Ministry of Civil Affairs,' 'Ministry of Finance,' 'Ministry of Justice,' 'Ministry of Industry,' 'Ministry of Transportation,' 'Ministry of Culture and Education,' and 'Ministry of Military Affairs.' The 'Ministry of Finance' was later renamed the 'Ministry of Economy,' while the 'Ministry of Military Affairs' retained its name. The 'Ministry of Industry' was split into the 'Ministry of Agriculture' and the 'Ministry of Labor,' and additional departments like the 'Ministry of Health and Welfare' were established. Each ministry was led by a 'minister,' but real power rested with the Japanese vice ministers. The head of the 'General Affairs Department of the State Council,' who was also Japanese, effectively served as the 'Premier.' This role was first held by Komai Tokuzo, followed by Hoshino Naoki and Takebe Rokuzo. Every Tuesday, the Japanese vice ministers convened to discuss and make decisions on 'national' policies and various specific matters in a meeting known as the 'Fire Tuesday Meeting.'"   The legislative assembly of "Manchukuo" was known as the "Legislative Yuan," with Zhao Xinbo serving as its first "President." However, true legislative authority rested with the Kwantung Army. Manchukuo operated without a formal constitution, instead relying on a series of special laws. The advisory group was referred to as the "Senate," led by a "Speaker," with Zang Shiyi being the inaugural holder of that position. The highest judicial authority in puppet Manchukuo was the "Supreme Court," with Lin Qi as the first "Supreme Justice" and Li Pan serving as the "Supreme Prosecutor General." The judicial agency was the "Imperial Household Agency," headed by Xi Qia.   Following the September 18th Incident, Zhang Xueliang maintained a policy of "non-resistance." Most of the former Northeastern Army was "ordered" to retreat south of Shanhaiguan without engaging in combat. Those who could not withdraw were split into two factions: one group, motivated by national integrity and a shared animosity toward the enemy, rose to fight against Japan and became a significant part of the renowned Northeast Volunteer Army. The other faction consisted of traitors who surrendered, acknowledged the enemy as their leader, and acted as the enforcers and thugs for the Japanese invaders. These collaborators and the forces they commanded formed the backbone of the puppet Manchukuo army. Simultaneously, they recruited defectors and traitors, as well as bandits and social miscreants, thereby bolstering the ranks of the puppet Manchukuo military. They were under the influence of the highest advisors from the puppet Manchukuo Military and Political Department, which was made up of Japanese military officials. Directly controlled by the Kwantung Army, they served as vassals and accomplices of Japanese imperialism.   "The State Council of Manchukuo" served as the governing body of the puppet state. It functioned as the highest political authority in the region. Structurally, it operated under the direct control of the head of state, Puyi. However, in practice, the State Council was heavily influenced by the Japanese Kwantung Army, with many key positions occupied by Japanese officials. The breakdown of power is as follows: "Head of State": "Emperor" ( before the transition to the imperial system , the ruler) "Emperor's direct agencies": Imperial Household Agency - Shangshufu - Senate - Military Attaché Office - Military Advisory Council - Sacrifice Office "Yuan": State Council - Courts - Legislative Yuan - Control Yuan "National Army": Royal Guards - River Defense Fleet - Flying Squadron - Xing'an Army - Jiandao Special Forces "Police": Maritime Police Force - Security Bureau Other "agencies": General Affairs Department (not official) External Group: Concord Society   To fulfill its goal of annexing Northeast China, Japan initiated a "national policy immigration" campaign under the guise of development, intending to relocate 1 million households and 5 million Japanese citizens from Japan to Northeast China over two decades. Additionally, around 2 million Koreans were moved to the region as political immigrants. In April 1936, the Japanese Kwantung Army convened an "immigration" meeting in Changchun, where they developed the "Manchuria Agricultural Immigration Million Households Migration Plan." By September 1944, there were 1,662,234 Japanese immigrants (including early settlers) residing in various areas of Northeast China. Following 1945, most Japanese immigrants were repatriated, notably during the large-scale repatriation in Huludao, although the issue of Japanese orphans also arose.   After the September 18th Incident, in response to the invasion by Japanese fascists, people from all nationalities and professions in China resisted fiercely. The Japanese fascists employed military forces, police, and special repressive agencies to brutally suppress the anti-Japanese movement, inflicting significant suffering on the Chinese populace. In addition to collaborating with the Kwantung Army for extensive military encirclement and suppression, the Kwantung Military Police Force oversaw other repressive agencies during peacetime and became the primary force behind the implementation of white terror.   As for its economy, Manchuria is rich in natural resources. By 1936 its coal reserves were about 3 billion tons, iron reserves roughly 4 billion and had other minerals including Gold, Magnesite, Bauxite, Oil shale, Diamonds. Its forestry and fishery industry was quit rich as well. During the Zhang Zuolin era, Manchuria's industrial base was already well-developed, and Japan required a robust military industry to support its aggressive war efforts. Steel production was primarily located in Anshan and Benxi, while the chemical industry was centered in Liaoyang. The coal industry was concentrated in Fushun, Benxi, and Fuxin. Oil shale and synthetic fuel production were mainly found in Fushun and Jilin. Magnesite mining took place in Haicheng and Dashiqiao, and hydropower generation was focused in Jilin and along the Yalu River. Fengtian (now Shenyang) served as the hub for machinery, arms, and aircraft industries, whereas light industries, including textiles and food production, were concentrated in cities like Dalian, Dandong, Harbin, and Qiqihar.   The industrial sector of the puppet state was largely controlled by the South Manchuria Railway Company. Following the establishment of the puppet state, investments from various Japanese conglomerates rapidly flowed into Northeast China. After 1937, the puppet state implemented an economic control policy for the industrial sector, adhering to the principle of "one industry, one company," which led to the creation of monopoly companies for each industry. Under this framework, the South Manchuria Railway transferred its industrial operations and reorganized them into a massive conglomerate called the "Manchuria Heavy Industry Development Corporation ," which monopolized all steel, coal, chemical, and electric power industries in the region. Additionally, over 40 specialized companies were established, including the "Manchuria Electric (Telephone and Telegraph) Company," "Manchuria Machinery Manufacturing Company," "Manchuria Mining Company," "Manchuria Airlines," "Manchuria Artificial Oil Company," "Manchuria Textile Company," "Manchuria Wool Textile Company," "Manchuria Chemical Industry Company," "Manchuria Forestry Company," "Manchuria Gold Mining Company," "Manchuria Livestock Company," "Manchuria Fisheries Company," "Manchuria Tobacco Company," "Manchuria Agricultural Commune," and "Manchuria Development Commune." These companies were jointly established by Japanese investors and the "Manchukuo" government, with profits shared according to their respective investments. In case of losses, the Manchukuo government guaranteed 10% of the profits for Japanese investments.   To transform Manchuria into a base for its aggressive expansion against China and the Pacific War, Japan imposed strict control and extensive exploitation of the region's economy and resources. The primary focus of this control and exploitation was on mineral resources such as coal, iron, and oil, as well as essential industries. Under the intense plundering and strict oversight of Japanese imperialism, Northeast China's economy rapidly became colonial, leading to severe hardships for its people. Due to Japan's stringent economic control policies and large-scale colonial exploitation, the local industry and mining sectors suffered, national industries declined, and the rural economy collapsed, resulting in a swift transformation of Northeast China into a colony. To maximize the extraction of colonial resources, the Japanese invaders minimized the consumption levels of the local population. Since 1935, they implemented comprehensive distribution controls on vital strategic materials and everyday necessities. This distribution control policy plunged the people of Northeast China into extreme poverty and suffering.   The 1936 resource survey report from the State Council of the puppet Manchukuo indicated that the region had an arable land area of 40 million hectares (equivalent to 4 billion mu), with 25 million hectares classified as cultivated land. Additionally, the forested area covered 170 million hectares. The annual production figures included 2.5 million tons of soybeans, 2 million tons of wheat, 700,000 tons of rice, 1 million tons of millet, 8 million tons of sorghum, 5 million tons of corn, 600,000 tons of other grains and beans (excluding soybeans), 300,000 tons of cotton, and 160,000 tons of tobacco. The livestock population consisted of 4 million horses, 3 million cattle, 30 million sheep, and 40 million pigs. The total annual grain output in the puppet Manchukuo was approximately 20 million tons. Of this, around 7.5 million tons were consumable grains for local farmers throughout the year, while 4 million tons were designated as seed grains. Furthermore, the region was responsible for supplying rations to Japanese and Korean immigrants. In compliance with the demands of the Kwantung Army, the puppet Manchukuo was obligated to deliver over 1 million tons of grain to Japan annually. The grain collection process commenced in mid-August and concluded at the end of November, imposing a significant burden on farmers. Japanese colonists were exempt from agricultural taxes and received monthly rations.   The puppet state of Manchukuo had a “military force” known as the “Manchukuo Army.” It was divided into three components: "rear security" and "law and order maintenance," all under the control of the Japanese Kwantung Army. Initially, its military capabilities were limited, with the Kwantung Army handling most combat operations. However, as the main forces of the Kwantung Army shifted south and manpower became scarce, the anti-Japanese armed groups in Northeast China were suppressed and weakened. Consequently, the puppet Manchukuo began to assume more military responsibilities on its own, with many of its soldiers being Korean Japanese recruited from the Korean Peninsula. The entire Northeast was segmented into eleven military control zones, each led by an individual known as a commander. The military authority of the puppet state of Manchukuo was under the control of the Japanese Kwantung Army. Any troop movements, training exercises, equipment modifications, or personnel changes required approval from the Kwantung Army Headquarters. The puppet Manchukuo Army had nine ranks: general, colonel, and lieutenant. Upon graduating from the military academy, individuals were promoted to second lieutenant. After two years, they advanced to first lieutenant, and then to captain after another three years. Following that, a captain would be promoted to major after three years, then to lieutenant colonel after another three years. After four years, a lieutenant colonel would become a colonel, who would then be promoted to major general after four years. After three additional years, a major general could rise to the rank of lieutenant general, and finally, after four years, a lieutenant general could achieve the rank of general. The highest military rank was general, which was a lifetime appointment. Above the rank of general was an honorary title modeled after the Japanese marshal. Individuals such as Zhang Jinghui, Zhang Haipeng, Yu Zhishan, and Ji Xing were conferred the title of general. Thus was born a puppet state that would contribute to the 15 year war in Asia.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Yes perhaps this episode was a bit on the boring side of things, but its important to take a critical look at what exactly Manchukuo was. The new puppet state would be used for various means during the 15 year war and would ultimately be the crown jewel in a long list of conquered territories by the Japanese Empire.

Last time we spoke about the Jinzhou Operation and Defense of Harbin. After the Mukden Incident, Zhang Xueliang, despite commanding a large army, was pressured into non-resistance against Japan. As tensions escalated, the Japanese bombed Jinzhou to intimidate Zhang Xueliang and the Kwantung Army prepared to invade. By January 1, 1932, Zhang's forces retreated, marking a significant loss for China. Meanwhile, Ma Zhanshan emerged as a resistance hero, navigating complex alliances against Japanese aggression. In the face of Japanese aggression, Ding Chao rallied forces in Harbin, a crucial city in Northeast China. Together with Ma Zhanshan and other generals, they formed the Kirin self-defense army to resist the Japanese advance. Despite fierce battles, including victories at Shuiqu and Shulan, the Japanese ultimately launched a full-scale assault. After intense fighting, Harbin fell on February 5, 1932. The resistance crumbled, leading to Ma Zhanshan's defection and the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo.   #143 The January 28th Incident Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the words of Ron Burgundy, “phew, Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast”. Ishiwara Kanji unleashed the Mukden Incident, beginning a series of military conflicts. The Kwantung army invaded all three provinces of Manchuria, Ma Zhanshan tried to fight back at Heilongjiang, Ding Chao at Harbin and Zhang Xueliang at Jinhouz. All of this culminated in the conquest of Manchuria and the establishment of the new puppet state of Manchukuo. Yet another significant conflict also broke out in Shanghai of all places.  Now before we start this one I want to point out there are a lot of bias issues with how this incident began. It is known as the January 28th Incident or the First Battle of Shanghai. There are a few arguments as to how exactly it began, but the two main narratives are as such. During the invasion of Manchuria, anti-Japanese demonstrations broke out across China, particularly in large cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou. In most Japanese sources, these demonstrations got out of hand, requiring military action to defend Japanese citizens and property in Shanghai. Now as for Chinese sources, and I will say it here, I place a lot more credibility on the Chinese side on this one, during the Invasion of Manchuria, the League of Nations passed resolutions to get the Japanese to withdraw their troops and many of the members expressed support for China. Although the United States was not a member of the League, Secretary of State Stimson issued a "non-recognition" note in response to Japan's occupation of Jinzhou, aiming to pressure Japan. This isolation in the international arena heightened anxiety within the Japanese government and military, prompting them to seek conflicts in other regions of China to divert attention from their invasion of Manchuria.  Now a lot of trouble had been stirred up in Shanghai ever since the Mukden Incident broke out. Shanghai's business community initiated a boycott of Japanese trade, significantly impacting Japan's coastal and Yangtze River shipping industries. To give one example the "Nissin Steamship Company" halted all operations since the incident. Between July 1931 and the end of March 1932, Japanese merchants in Shanghai reportedly suffered losses amounting to 41,204,000 yen . To give you an idea, in 1930, Japanese goods accounted for 29% of Shanghai's average monthly imports, but by December 1931, this figure had plummeted to 3%. On October 5, 1931, the Japanese government convened a cabinet meeting, resolving that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would issue a stern warning to the National Government, with the Foreign Minister and Navy Minister overseeing the issue of ship deployment. Shanghai was the key hub for Western powers in China. It was here they made significant investments and maintained strong commercial interests in the region. The political and economic dynamics among these powers were intricate. Shanghai held the largest amount of foreign settlements and concessions. Any outbreak of war in Shanghai would inevitably capture international attention and prompt intervention from nations with vested interests, such as Britain, the United States, and France.  On October 1, Tanaka Takayoshi, the assistant military attaché at the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai and head of the Shanghai Secret Service, was summoned to Shenyang by Colonel Seishirō Itagaki who told him "Our next move is to occupy Harbin and make Manchuria independent. We have sent Colonel Doihara to pick up Puyi. If we succeed, the League of Nations will have a big fight and the Tokyo government will have a headache. I want you to do something in Shanghai to divert the attention of other countries. When you cause a commotion, we will take Manchuria." Tanaka promised to complete the task and said that he was "training an excellent spy who can bribe Chinese troublemakers in Shanghai to start this fake war".  Itagaki then withdrew 20,000 yen from the Kwantung Army's secret service funds and provided it to Tanaka for operational purposes. Now here it gets wild. Tanaka took the funds and paid a Japanese female spy named Kawashima Yoshiko, known also as Jin Bihui, but whose birthname was Aisin Giori Xianyu with the courtesy name of Dongzhen, meaning “eastern jewel”. Yes Manchu royalty, to be more precise the 14th daughter of Shanqi a Manchu prince of the Aisin Gioro clan of the former Qing Dynasty. Shanqi was a descendant of Hooge, the eldest son of Hong Taiji, it all comes full circle sometimes. After the Xinhai revolution, Xianyu was given up for adoption in 1915 to her fathers friend Naniwa Kawashima, a Japanese spy and adventurer. Thus here she took the name Yoshiko Kawashima. She was raised in Tokyo and excelled at judo and fencing. In 1922 he biological father Shanqi died and as Manchu royal tradition dictated, her biological mother committed suicide to join her husband in death. On November 22nd of 1925, Yoshiko stated the she “decided to cease being a woman forever”. Henceforth she stopped wearing a kimono, undid her traditional female hair style and took a final photo to commemorate “my farewell to life as a woman”. That same evening she went to a barbershop and got a crew cut and from there went to a men's clothing store. A photo of this dramatic transformation appeared 5 days later in the Asahi Shimbun under the headline "Kawashima Yoshiko's Beautiful Black Hair Completely Cut Off - Because of Unfounded 'Rumors,' Makes Firm Decision to Become a Man - Touching Secret Tale of Her Shooting Herself". This title was in reference to a prior scandal where she allegedly shot herself in the chest with a pistol given to her by Iwata Ainosuke. Historians believe it is much more likely she chose to become a man because of the death of her parents, failed romances or possibly sexual abuse from her foster father. Kawashima would go on to explain to a new reporter two days later "I was born with what the doctors call a tendency toward the third sex, and so I cannot pursue an ordinary woman's goals in life... Since I was young I've been dying to do the things that boys do. My impossible dream is to work hard like a man for China, for Asia." She was in fact something of a tomboy in her youth, despite being quite beautiful.  Now obviously the times being the times, those close to her were, lets just say not very receptive to this dramatic change. Thus in November of 1927, at the age of 20, her brother and adoptive father arranged her marriage in Port Arthur to one Ganjuurjab, the son of the Inner Mongolian Army General Babojab, who had led the Mongolian-Manchurian Independence Movement in 1911. The marriage lasted only three years, ending in divorce. Following this, she left Mongolia and began touring coastal cities of China before adopting a bohemian lifestyle back in Tokyo, where she had relationships with both men and women. She then moved to Shanghai's foreign concession, where she met the Japanese military attaché and intelligence officer Ryukichi Tanaka. This takes us back to our story at hand.  On the afternoon of January 18th, 1932, Yoshiko Kawashima orchestrated an incident by enlisting two Japanese Nichiren monks and three other Japanese supporters to stir up trouble at the Sanyou Industrial Company headquarters on Mayushan Road, located near the East District of the Shanghai International Settlement. The group of five Japanese individuals watched the worker volunteer army training outside the factory and threw stones to provoke a confrontation, intentionally sparking a conflict. Prior to this, Yoshiko Kawashima had also hired thugs disguised as workers to blend in with the crowd. During the altercation, the five Japanese individuals were attacked by unknown assailants. The Japanese Consulate General later reported that one of the Japanese individuals had died and another was seriously injured. However, the police were unable to apprehend the culprits, prompting Japan to accuse the Chinese factory patrol team of being behind the attack. This event became known as the "Japanese monk incident."   At 2:40 am on January 20, following orders from  Yoshiko, the military police captain Chiharu Shigeto led 32 members of the Shanghai "Japanese Youth Comrades Association in China" to sneak into the Sanyou Industrial Company factory. They brought guns, bayonets, and other weapons, along with flammable materials such as saltpeter and kerosene. Dozens of members of the Japanese Youth Association set fire to the Sanyou Industrial Society at night , and hacked to death and injured two Chinese policemen from the Municipal Council who came to organize firefighting. That afternoon, Tanaka Takayoshi instigated 1,200 Japanese expatriates to gather at the Japanese Residents' Association on Wenjianshi Road, and marched along Beichuan Road to the Japanese Marine Corps Headquarters at the north end of the road, demanding that the Japanese Marine Corps intervene. When they reached Qiujiang Road, they started rioting and attacked Chinese shops. In response, Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng formally protested to Japan. Japan in return demanding a formal apology from the mayor and the apprehension of the person responsible for the death of the Japanese monk. Japan also insisted that China pay compensation for medical and funeral expenses, handle the anti-Japanese protests, and immediately disband any groups hostile to Japan. China had the option to firmly reject these unreasonable demands. On the morning of January 21, Japanese Consul General Murai Kuramatsu met with Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng to express regret for the Japanese arson and the killing of Chinese police officers. He promised to arrest the Japanese ronin responsible for the fire. At the same time, he presented a formal protest regarding the "Japanese monk incident" and outlined four demands: (1) The mayor must issue an apology to the Consul General; (2) The authorities should swiftly and effectively search for, arrest, and punish the perpetrators; (3) The five victims should receive medical compensation and consolation money; (4) All illegal actions against Japan should be prohibited, with the Shanghai Anti-Japanese National Salvation Association and other anti-Japanese groups disbanded promptly.  Starting on January 22, Admiral Shiozawa of the Japanese Navy and Consul General Murai demanded that Shanghai Mayor Wu dissolve anti-Japanese groups and halt any boycott activities. Representatives of Japanese business conglomerates also filed complaints with the Shanghai International Settlement's Municipal Council, calling for an official apology from China for the offensive report and attacks on monks, and demanding that the attackers be punished. As tensions rose, the Japanese Residents Association urged Japanese naval forces in Shanghai to take measures to protect their safety. That same day Yukichi Shiozawa, Commander of the 1st Japanese Expeditionary Fleet in Shanghai, made a threatening declaration, stating that if the mayor of Shanghai failed to respond adequately to the four demands presented by Matsui, the Japanese Navy would take "appropriate action." Even before this the Japanese Navy had deployed troops and sent additional warships to Shanghai under the pretext of protecting its citizens In addition to the warships that arrived in Shanghai after the Mukden incident, the Japanese Navy sent the cruiser Oi and the 15th Destroyer Squadron (comprising four destroyers) from the mainland Wu Port on January 21. They carried over 450 personnel from the 1st Special Marine Corps along with a large supply of arms and arrived in Shanghai on January 23. The following day, the Notoro special service ship (an aircraft carrier of 14,000 tons, carrying six aircraft) anchored in Port Arthur, also arrived in Shanghai. On January 22, the Japanese government convened a meeting and decided to take appropriate measures, with Navy Minister Osumi Tsuneo handling the situation as deemed necessary. By January 25, the heads of the Japanese Navy Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a joint session, where they agreed that if the Chinese side failed to demonstrate sincerity or meet Japan's demands, force would be used to ensure compliance. They also agreed on specific “emergency actions." On January 26, the Navy Ministry met again and resolved to demonstrate Japan's military strength within the next day or two. The proposed measures were as follows: (1) If the Shanghai garrison was insufficient, the Second Fleet would be deployed; (2) Japanese citizens in Shanghai would be directly protected; (3) The Japanese Navy would secure the route from Wusong to Shanghai; (4) All Chinese vessels would be detained outside Wusongkou; (5) Additional warships would be sent to ports in Nanjing, Hankou, Guangzhou, Shantou, Xiamen, and other locations, with civil unrest in those areas also being addressed. Emperor Hirohito authorized the Japanese Navy's military actions. On the 26th, Hirohito's military meeting, led by Chief of Staff Prince Kan'in (Prince Zaihito), ordered Yukichi Shiozawa in Shanghai to "exercise the right of self-defense." That same day, the Japanese Navy Ministry urgently deployed the 1st Torpedo Squadron (flagship "Yubari" cruiser, accompanied by the 22nd, 23rd, and 30th Destroyer Squadrons, totaling 12 destroyers), with over 460 personnel from the 2nd Special Marine Corps, which arrived in Shanghai on the afternoon of January 28. By this time, the Japanese military had gathered 24 warships, over 40 aircraft, more than 1,830 marines, and between 3,000 to 4,000 armed personnel in Shanghai, stationed across the Japanese concession and along the Huangpu River. On January 28, the Japanese Navy Ministry instructed the deployment of the aircraft carriers Kaga and Hosho, the cruisers Naka, Yura, and Abukuma, and four mine carriers from the mainland to Shanghai. Back on the 24th, 1932, Japanese intelligence agents set fire to the residence of the Japanese Ambassador to China, Shigemitsu Mamoru, in Shanghai, falsely accusing the Chinese of the act. On the 27th, Murai issued an ultimatum to the Shanghai authorities, demanding a satisfactory response to four conditions by 18:00 on the 28th, threatening necessary actions if the deadline was not met. Meanwhile, with threats and rumors of a Japanese naval landing circulating in Shanghai, the nearby 19th route army units moved closer to the International Settlement's Little Tokyo. The 19th Route Army of the Guangdong Army was in charge of defending Shanghai at the time, with Jiang Guangnai serving as the commander-in-chief and Cai Tingkai as the commander. Chen Mingshu, the leader of the 19th Route Army and commander of the Beijing-Shanghai garrison, was a strong proponent of responding to the Japanese army's provocations. The Chinese public, along with critics of the Nanjing government, called for punishment of the Manchurian warlord forces who had failed to halt the Kwantung Army's blitzkrieg, which encouraged officers of the 19th Route army to take a firm stance. As the Nanjing government had not enacted any policies, General Cai Tingkai and his colleagues convened an emergency meeting on January 23, pledging to resist any potential Japanese naval invasion of Shanghai at all costs. Now the Nanjing government response to this crisis was quite chaotic as you can imagine. There was still a anti communist campaign going on, Manchuria was being taken over and Chiang Kai-Shek fully understood they could ill afford an all out war with Japan. There was a general feeling things were getting out of hand, the league of nations were failing to do anything. Thus Chiang Kai-Shek retained his passive stance. On January 23rd after extensive consultations with Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek, newly appointed Executive Yuan President Sun Ke urgently telegraphed Shanghai Mayor Wu Tiecheng. "Our priority should be the preservation of Shanghai as the economic center, adopting a moderate stance towards Japan's demands. We must immediately gather all sectors to diplomatically explain our position and avoid conflict to prevent Shanghai from being seized by force." That same day, Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin also sent a telegram to Wu Tiecheng, emphasizing, "Shanghai is our economic hub, and we must continue peaceful negotiations and avoid conflict." On that same day He Yingqin instructed the 19th Route Army to withdraw from Shanghai and relocate west of Nanxiang within five days. Zhang Jingjiang then invited Cai Tingkai to Du Yuesheng's home, where he convinced the 19th Route Army to "withdraw to the Nanxiang area to avoid confrontation with the Japanese." Upon learning of the Nationalist government's position, both Chiang Kai-shek and Cai Ying-ying were disappointed, but they expressed willingness to follow military orders and withdraw from Shanghai. As Chiang Guangnai put it, "We must simply obey the government's orders." On the afternoon of January 27, Chief of Staff Zhu Peide and Minister of Military Affairs He Yingqin deployed the 6th Military Police Regiment to assume responsibility for defending the 19th Route Army's positions in the Zhabei area of Shanghai. The regiment departed Nanjing Station at 8 pm on January 27, reaching Zhenru by noon on the 28th. The first battalion arrived at Shanghai North Station that afternoon, preparing to take over defense from the 6th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 78th Division of the 19th Route Army in Zhabei at dawn on January 29. Back on the 27th, after Murai issued an ultimatum to the Chinese authorities in Shanghai, Mayor Wu Tiecheng, responding to a request from both the Nanjing National Government and various sectors of Shanghai, sent a letter on the 28th at 13:45 accepting all the unreasonable demands made by the Japanese. Later, at 11:05 pm the Shanghai Public Security Bureau received a response from Murai, which was directed to both Mayor Wu Tiecheng and the head of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. In the letter, Murai expressed "satisfaction" with Shanghai's acceptance of Japan's four demands, but also insisted on the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Zhabei, citing the need to protect overseas Chinese. Wu Tiecheng received this response at 11:25 pm At 11:30 pm, without waiting for a reply from the Chinese side, the Japanese military launched an attack on the Chinese garrison in Zhabei. In response, Weng Zhaoyuan's troops from the 156th Brigade of the 78th Division of the 19th Route Army, along with part of the 6th Regiment of the Military Police that had been sent to reinforce the defense, fought back.  During the January 28 Incident, the 19th Route Army, stationed in the Beijing-Shanghai area, was the Chinese military force involved. Following the September 18 Incident, Chiang Kai-shek entered into negotiations with the Guangdong faction. As part of these discussions between Nanjing and Guangdong, the Guangdong side proposed that Chen Mingshu, a Cantonese leader, be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Beijing-Shanghai garrison. On September 30, 1931, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to this proposal. Consequently, the 19th Route Army, under Chen Mingshu's command, was transferred from Ganzhou, Jiangxi, where it had been stationed after the September 18 Incident (following Chiang's decision to halt "suppressing the Communists"), to defend the Beijing-Shanghai area. By November, the army was fully deployed along the Beijing-Shanghai line. The military leadership included Jiang Guangnai as commander-in-chief, Cai Tingkai as army commander, and Dai Ji as the garrison commander. The army was composed of the 60th Division, led by Shen Guanghan, stationed in Suzhou and Changzhou; the 61st Division, led by Mao Weishou, stationed in Nanjing and Zhenjiang; and the 78th Division, led by Qu Shounian, stationed in Shanghai, Wusong, Kunshan, and Jiading. The total strength of the army was over 33,000 soldiers. By early November, after the 19th Route Army had secured the Beijing and Shanghai areas, the military leadership, influenced by the Shanghai populace's strong anti-Japanese sentiment, resolved to resist the impending Japanese invasion. On January 15th the 19th Route Army assessed intelligence indicating an inevitable Japanese attack and began preparing for defense, less than two weeks before the invasion. On th 19th Jiang Guangnai convened a meeting of the 19th Route Army officers in Shanghai. During the meeting, several strategic policies were decided, as recalled by Cai Tingkai. These included. Maintaining an invisible state of alert in response to potential enemy harassment. Ensuring that frontline units were adequately reinforced, with Qu Shounian's division tasked with holding for at least five days. Rapidly constructing fortifications in each defense zone, while rear units pre-select lines of resistance. Ensuring that the 60th and 61st divisions could reinforce Shanghai within five days of the start of hostilities. Establishing a stance on the Shanghai Concession. Issuing an order that, starting January 20, no officers or soldiers were to remain in the concession unless on official duty. On January 23, 1932, under mounting pressure from Japan, Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and others issued a "Letter to All Officers and Soldiers of the 19th Route Army," urging a great spirit of sacrifice. On the same day, the army issued a secret combat order, stating that they must be fully prepared for war to defend the nation. If the Japanese attacked, all efforts should be focused on repelling them. The 19th Route Army was poised to resist the Japanese invasion in the Songhu area.   On January 24, 1932, Cai Tingkai and his colleagues arrived in Suzhou and held an emergency meeting with senior garrison commanders, including Shen Guanghan, to communicate the secret order issued on January 23. The generals unanimously supported the directive. However, under pressure from the National Government to avoid war, Chiang, Cai, and others reluctantly agreed to comply with an order to withdraw from Shanghai. They ordered the Zhabei garrison to exchange duties with the 6th Military Police Regiment on the morning of January 29. Due to the tense situation, the commander of the 156th Brigade of the 78th Division instructed the 6th Regiment at Zhabei to remain on high alert. At 11:00 PM on January 28, Dai Ji also ordered strict vigilance to prevent the Japanese army from occupying Zhabei during the guard change, instructing all units to take their positions and be on high alert. At 11:30 pm on January 28, 1932, Major General Shiozawa and the Japanese Marine Corps unexpectedly attacked the Chinese garrison located on the west side of North Sichuan Road. In response, the 6th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 19th Route Army, commanded by Zhang Junsong, promptly initiated a strong counteroffensive. At that moment, the Japanese forces, spearheaded by over 20 armored vehicles, split into five groups and launched assaults from different intersections in Zhabei. Upon receiving news of the Japanese attack, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, and Dai Ji hurried to Zhenru Station on foot during the night, established a temporary command center, and instructed the rear troops to advance swiftly to Shanghai as per the original plan. At dawn on the 29th, the Japanese forces launched a series of intense assaults, supported by armored vehicles. Aircraft from the carrier "Notoro" bombed the Zhabei and Nanshi districts, leading to rapid escalation of the conflict. The 156th Brigade of the defending forces fiercely resisted the Japanese advances, using cluster grenades against the enemy's armored units and organizing stealth squads to sabotage enemy vehicles. They held their positions and counterattacked at opportune moments under artillery cover, successfully repelling the relentless Japanese assaults. According to Japanese accounts, the battle was described as "extremely fierce, with fires raging everywhere, flames filling the sky, and the battlefield in a state of devastation." At around 10 am, Japanese aircraft dropped bombs, causing the Commercial Press and the Oriental Library to catch fire, resulting in the destruction of over 300,000 books, including many rare ancient texts. More than a thousand Japanese soldiers, shielded by heavy artillery and armored vehicles, launched a vigorous attack at the intersection of Baoshan Road and Qiujiang Road, aiming to seize the Shanghai North Railway Station. This station was a crucial land transport hub, and its control was vital for the safety of the entire Zhabei area. At 2 pm on the 29th, taking advantage of the chaos at the North Station, the Japanese forces mounted a fierce assault. A company from our military police engaged in combat with the Japanese for an hour before withdrawing from the station. By 5 pm on the 29th, the main force of the 156th Brigade entered the fray and launched a counteroffensive, reclaiming both the North Station and Tiantong'an Station. They pressed their advantage and captured the Japanese Shanghai Marine Corps Headquarters, forcing the Japanese troops to retreat east of North Sichuan Road and south of Target Road. The initial Japanese offensive ended in defeat. Following the setback, British and American consuls intervened to mediate in the afternoon of the 29th (the Shanghai government stated it was at the request of the Japanese consuls, while the League of Nations report indicated it was initiated by the mayor of Shanghai). The Chinese and Japanese forces agreed to cease hostilities at 8 pm that night. Although the 19th Route Army recognized this as a delaying tactic, they consented to the ceasefire to allow for troop redeployment. Concurrently, the 19th Route Army strengthened their positions, urgently ordering the 60th Division from east of Zhenjiang to move into Nanxiang and Zhenru, while transferring the 61st Division to Shanghai. The 78th Division, stationed in Shanghai, was fully mobilized to the front lines to bolster defenses and prepare for further combat. Following the ceasefire, the Japanese army made significant efforts to bolster its forces. The Japanese Navy Ministry promptly dispatched four destroyers from the Sasebo 26th Squadron, under the command of the cruiser "Tatsuta," to reach Shanghai on January 30 and dock at Huangpu Wharf. Accompanying the vessels were 474 soldiers from the Sasebo 3rd Special Marine Corps, along with a substantial supply of ammunition. On the morning of January 31, the Japanese aircraft carriers Kaga and Hosho reached Shanghai, bringing approximately 30 aircraft from the First Air Fleet. They anchored off the coast of the Ma'an Islands, about 130 kilometers east of Shanghai. By 4 pm, three cruisers Naka , Yura , and Abukuma along with four torpedo boats arrived in Shanghai, transporting over 2,000 marines who disembarked in groups. On February 1, the Japanese cruise ship "Terukoku Maru," carrying the Yokosuka 1st Special Marine Corps 525 men, docked at Shanghai Huishan Wharf. On the 2nd, the Japanese Navy Central Headquarters established the Third Fleet with ships from the First Overseas Fleet in the Yangtze River area, with the Izumo serving as the flagship (the Izumo arrived in Shanghai on February 6) under the command of Vice Admiral Yoshisaburo Nomura, to execute coordinated military operations. Following the reinforcement of Japanese forces, they resumed attacks on Chinese defenders in Zhabei, Baziqiao, and other locations on February 3 but were still repelled. On February 4, the Japanese launched their first major offensive, expanding the conflict to Jiangwan and Wusong. After a day of intense fighting, the Wusong open-air artillery fort suffered destruction from enemy bombardment, yet the Chinese defenders successfully prevented a Japanese landing. The anti-aircraft artillery unit from the 88th Division, assigned to the 4th Regiment of the 156th Brigade of the 19th Route Army, shot down a Japanese aircraft. Following the failure of the general offensive, Yukiichi Shiozawa was relieved of his command and sent back to Japan. Vice Admiral Yoshisaburo Nomura, the newly appointed commander of the Third Fleet, took over Shiozawa's position. Upon his appointment, the Japanese military began to bolster its forces. Even before the situation in Shanghai escalated, Japan had planned to deploy ground troops, but this was initially rejected by the navy. However, as the situation deteriorated, the navy had to request assistance from the army. On February 2, the Japanese cabinet officially decided to deploy ground forces. Due to the urgent circumstances in Shanghai, they resolved to send the Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade, led by Major General Shimomoto Kuma and the 9th Division, led by Lieutenant General Ueda Kenkichi, with the Shanghai Dispatch Mixed Brigade and the Second Independent Tank Squadron being transported first. Concurrently, the Japanese Navy dispatched the Yokosuka 2nd Special Marine Corps to Shanghai. The 24th Mixed Brigade landed in Wusong on the afternoon of February 7.  Now within the backdrop of all of this Nanjing was certainly freaking out. What had started as a small incident, had escalated into a full blown battle. The Japanese were continuously sending reinforcements, and now so was China. Chiang Kai-Shek had recently resigned and came back as Generalissimo ushering in the slogan "first internal pacification, then external resistance." With that he had led a massive campaign against the Jiangxi Soviet, while avoiding a frontal war against Japan. Obviously this led to wide scale protest in China, which in turn contributed to this new incident in Shanghai. The Shanghai incident was certainly disrupting Chiang Kai-Shek's offensives against the communists, allowing those like Hu Hanmin's Guangdong based 19th Route Army to deal with the Japanese at Shanghai. Yet how long could Chiang Kai-Shek keep this up? Should he divert all attention to the Japanese? Will he step down again in shame for not facing the encroaching foreign empire?  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The January 28th Incident was yet another powder keg like moment for the very vulnerable and still fractured Chinese nation. Chiang Kai-Shek had internal enemies left-right and center and now the Empire of Japan was pressing its luck to keep seizing more and more from his nation. What was the Generalissimo to do in the face of these insurmountable odds?   

Last time we spoke about the first Tientsin Incident. In September 1931, as tensions rose between China and Japan, Commander Zhang Xueliang enjoyed an opera in Beiping, unaware of the impending Mukden Incident. With senior commanders absent, Japanese forces quickly gained local support. Chiang Kai-shek ordered non-resistance, fearing conflict would ruin Northeast China. Meanwhile, Japanese officials plotted to install Puyi as a puppet emperor. Covert riots erupted in Tianjin, orchestrated by the Japanese, leaving the city in chaos as Zhang's forces struggled to maintain order against the well-armed attackers. In a tense standoff at Haiguang Temple, the Japanese military issued an ultimatum to Chinese security forces, citing threats to overseas Chinese. Wang Shuchang ordered a strategic withdrawal, but the Japanese escalated with artillery fire. Despite fierce resistance, the plainclothes attackers regrouped, leading to ongoing skirmishes. Amidst the chaos, Puyi was covertly extracted by Japanese forces, paving the way for the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo. Ultimately, Japan's aggression continued, deepening tensions in China.   #142 the Jinzhou Operation  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. When the Mukden Incident occurred, Zhang Xueliang was in Beiping serving in his capacity as the commander of the North China garrison. On the night of September 18, he was at the opera enjoying a performance by the famous singer Mei Lanfang. His deputies were also away from Shenyang: Wan Fulin was in Beiping, and Zhang Zuoxiang was attending his father's funeral in Jinzhou. With the absence of the senior provincial commanders during the Incident, the Japanese quickly gained cooperation from the acting commanders. In Shenyang, Yu Zhishan, the commander of the Eastern Borders Garrison, and in Changchun, acting provincial forces commander Xi Xia, both swiftly aligned themselves with the Japanese. Although the Northeastern Army had approximately 130,000 troops in the region compared to a Japanese force of 40,000 to 50,000, Chiang Kai-shek urgently issued a non-resistance order to the Northeastern troops, which Zhang Xueliang confirmed. It was actually his stance prior to September 18th, as there had been other incidents such as the Wanbaoshan Incident whereupon Zhang Xueliang sent a secret telegram to his subordinates starting on July 6, "If we go to war with Japan at this time, we will surely be defeated. If we lose, Japan will demand that we cede territory and pay compensation, and Northeast China will be ruined. We should avoid conflict as soon as possible and deal with it in the name of justice." A month after this Chiang Kai-Shek sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang on August 16th "No matter how the Japanese army seeks trouble in Northeast China in the future, we should not resist and avoid conflict. My brother, please do not act out of anger and disregard the country and the nation. I hope you will follow my instructions." As the tensions between China and Japan increased on September 6th Zhang Xueliang sent this telegram to his subordinates "It has been found that the Japanese diplomatic situation is becoming increasingly tense. We must deal with everything and strive for stability. No matter how the Japanese try to cause trouble, we must be tolerant and not resist them to avoid causing trouble. I hope you will send a secret telegram to all your subordinates to pay close attention to this matter." Thus the Manchurian commanders were already well versed in what their stance would be. Chiang Kai-shek's hesitation to engage in combat is understandable; he was concerned about factions opposing him in South China, the potential reformation of the alliance between Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan in North China, and the threat posed by the CCP in Jiangxi, leaving him unable to confront another adversary. Zhang Xueliang's situation was also not as advantageous as it might seem. Although he commanded nearly 250,000 men, only 100,000 to 130,000 were stationed in the Northeast, with the remainder in Hebei. Both Chiang Kai-Shek and Zhang Xueliang most likely believed the League of Nations or the Wakatsuki government in Tokyo would restrain the occupiers eventually, so they were biding their time. According to Nelson Johnson, the American Minister in China, Counselor Yano of the Japanese Legation in Beiping had informal discussions with Zhang, suggesting that Jinzhou would inevitably succumb to the Japanese and that “the Tokyo Foreign Office would gain prestige and be better able to shape events to China's advantage if the Chinese avoided a clash by withdrawing voluntarily.” It was also implied that some of Zhang's supporters might be reinstated in official roles in the new government in Shenyang. Johnson concluded, “Chang is believed to have been led to his present decision by these inducements, along with the bitter hostility toward him at Nanking and the lack of support from that quarter.” In essence, Zhang was effectively coerced into non-resistance by both sides. Certainly, in December 1931, with no hope for international intervention and the Nanjing government in turmoil following Chiang Kai-shek's temporary resignation, Zhang's options were severely limited. The Kwantung Army received clear instructions not to move beyond the South Manchurian railway zone, which hindered the plans of Lt. Colonel Ishiwara Kanji, the architect of the Manchurian invasion. After securing the region around the South Manchurian railway, Ishiwara focused his attention on Jinzhou. Following the fall of Mukden, Jinzhou became the administrative headquarters and civil government of Zhang Xueliang, making it a focal point for Chinese forces. Jinzhou is the southernmost part of Liaoning province, directly enroute to Shanhaiguan, the critical pass that separates Manchuria from China proper. It was the furthest point Zhang Xueliang could establish an HQ while still holding foot within Manchuria and thus became the defacto “last stand” or “guanwai” outside the Shanhaiguan pass for Zhang Xueliangs Northeastern army. Japanese sources indicate that Zhang Xueliang began covertly instructing local governments in Manchuria to comply with and pay taxes to Jinzhou. He also dispatched spies to Japanese-occupied territories and was conspiring to assassinate Japanese officials and those opposed to Chiang Kai-shek. Obviously Jinzhou had to be seized to control Liaoning and thus all of Manchuria. The Japanese first tried to bully Jinzhou into submission by bombing it. On October 8th, Ishiwara commanded five captured Chinese aircraft from the 10th Independent Air Squadron, flying from Mukden to conduct a raid on Jinzhou, claiming it was merely a reconnaissance mission. They flew over Jinzhou at approximately 1:40 PM and dropped 75 bombs weighing 25 kg each, targeting the barracks of the 28th Division, government buildings, and Zhang Xueliang's residence. Additionally, they took photographs of the Chinese defensive positions. The attack served two main purposes: to intimidate Zhang Xueliang and to send a message to Tokyo HQ. The bombing of Jinzhou caused an uproar in Tokyo and shocked the League of Nations, which had previously been indifferent to the situation. Consequently, Tokyo HQ felt compelled to retroactively approve the Kwantung attacks while simultaneously demanding an end to further actions. Rumors began to circulate that Ishiwara and his associate Itagaki aimed to establish an independent Manchuria as a base for a coup d'état against the Japanese government, intending to initiate a Showa Restoration. On October 18th, War Minister Minami Jiro sent a telegram to the Kwantung Army, ordering them to halt offensives in Manchuria and dispatched Colonel Imamura Hitoshi to ensure Ishiwara and Itagaki ceased their reckless operations. However, when Hitoshi met with the two men at a restaurant in Mukden, they dismissed him. In reality, Ishiwara and Itagaki's plans were in jeopardy, but in early November, they found a pretext for action after Ma Zhanshan's forces damaged the Nenjiang railway bridge. This hostility provided them with justification to invade Heilongjiang alongside their allies, led by General Zhang Haipeng. Following the occupation of the north, a new opportunity arose in the southwest. The "first Tientsin incident" erupted on November 9th, initiated by Colonel Doihara Kenji with assistance from some Anti-Chiang Kai-shek Chinese. A small contingent launched an attack on the peace preservation corps in Tientsin. Doihara devised this plan with the intention of creating chaos to kidnap the former Manchu emperor Puyi, allowing the Kwantung army to later install him as the ruler of a new Manchurian state. Although Doihara sought reinforcements from Tokyo HQ, his request was denied, prompting him to turn to the Kwantung army for support. They agreed to coordinate an attack on Tientsin but insisted that a pretext be established first. To execute this plan, they would need to capture Jinzhou initially. A second Tientsin incident occurred on November 26th, when Chinese soldiers attacked the Japanese barracks in Tientsin at 8:20 PM, marking another false flag operation orchestrated by Doihara. Upon hearing the news, General Honjo Shigeru chose to support the Tientsin army, which they believed was in peril. The 4th Mixed Brigade and the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Division, comprising 10,000 troops, advanced toward 13 armored vehicles stationed along the Peiping-Mukden railway. The Kwantung Army also requested assistance from the Korean Army, and Commander Hayashi organized a mixed brigade to cross the border. Of course in order to provide assistance at Tientsin meant heading through the Shanhaiguan pass and this meant going through Jinzhou. Tokyo General HQ was yet again thrown into consternation by the latest aggravation of the Manchurian crisis. Incensed by the Kwantung Army's “lack of sincerity in submitting to the discipline of Tokyo”. The force got within 30km of Jinzhou when War Minister General Jiro Minami ordered them to immediately withdraw to a line east of the Liao river. Ironically what actually made the Kwantung Army comply was not so much Tokyo's authority but rather the refusal or foot dragging of the Korea Army, who sent a message that they were unwilling to attack Jinzhou. The Kwantung army continued on getting into some skirmishes with Chinese defenders around the Taling River and Takushan as Tokyo HQ sent countless furious messages demanding they withdraw from the Jinzhou area and by the 28th they finally did. Facing the real possibility that the Jinzhou operation might devolve into a fiasco without reinforcements, Ishiwara relented, remarking at the time “Tokyo has collapsed before Jinzhou”. There was another factor at play as well. Some have speculated Ishiwara tossed his hand on the field initiative because he was playing for time, expecting the Japanese government to fall and the substitution of a new team at central army HQ, one perhaps more compliant to the aggressive Kwantung Army.    While the Japanese forces pulled back into the SMR zone, Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijiro began negotiations with Chiang Kai-Shek's Nanjing government, through the League of Nations, suggesting the Jinzhou area be declared a neutral area. The Chinese initially refused, and while the Kwantung Army declared they would not attack, they still sent aircraft to circle Jinzhou. The Chinese, British, American, and French governments were willing to withdraw their troops from Jinzhou to Shanhaiguan if the Manchurian incident was resolved and Japan committed to not infringing upon the area.    Consequently, Tokyo's headquarters supported this approach and instructed the Kwantung Army to withdraw. Although Zhang Xueliang had assured that his forces would leave Jinzhou by December 7th, this did not occur. As a result, the Japanese began discussions to establish Jinzhou as a neutral zone. The Kwantung army intercepted two Chinese telegrams indicating Zhang Xueliang was strengthening the defenses at Jinzhou and that Nanjing was requesting he not pull his men out. The telegrams were sent to Tokyo HQ who agreed the Chinese were acting in a treacherous manner. The Japanese ambassador then told US Secretary Henry Stimson  “it would be very difficult to withhold the army from advancing again.” Stimson replied “ such actions would convince the American public that Japan's excuse for her incursions, namely that she was combating bandit attacks, was a ruse to destroy the last fragment of Chinese authority in Manchuria. It would be extremely difficult to ask China to withdraw her army from her own territory.” Thus began the Jinzhou Crisis.   On the same day the Japanese ambassador was meeting Stimson in Washington, the Nationalist minister of finance, T.V Soong sent a telegram to Zhang Xueliang advising “any Japanese attack on Jinzhou should be offered utmost resistance.” Also the American Minister in China, Nelson Johnson publicly expressed the view that Zhang Xueliang would resist at Jinzhou if attacked “if only to reassure the students and public in general, some of whom clamor for military action, despite the attitude of his old generals of the Fengtian clique who desire his resignation to enable them to sell out to the Japanese”.   It had become clear to all observers that the Japanese were intent on capturing Jinzhou, whether they were justified to do so or not. Their tactics of intimidation became even bolder as they began dropping air torpedoes on disused sections of railway track on December 10th, disrupting traffic along the Beiping-Shenyang rail route and hinting that the nearby populated areas might be next. Ishiwara's hopes came true on December 13th, whence Prime Minister Wakatsuki resigned on December 11th, having failed to control the Kwantung Army. A new cabinet was formed under Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, whom resumed negotiations with Nanjing, but then on December 15th, Chiang Kai-Shek resigned as chairman of the Nanjing government, leading Sun Ke to lead a weak interim government. Preoccupied with its own survival, the Nanjing government had no time to deal with the Jinzhou crisis.   Meanwhile War Minister Minami and Chief of staff Kanaya who had tried to moderate the Kwantung Army's aggressive initiatives had been replaced by Araki Sadao, a significantly more aggressive leader who happened to be the leading figure of the Kodoha faction. His counterpart was Prince Kan'in. With these new appointments, the atmosphere in Tokyo general HQ had changed dramatically. The new team elected to change the framing of the situation, they were not performing offensives against Chinese forces, but rather “suppressing bandits”. On December 15th, Tokyo HQ telegraphed Mukden instructing the Kwantung Army to “synchronize an assault on Jinzhou with an attack upon bandits”. Tokyo HQ even agreed to send some reinforcements from Korea and Japan. The 20th IJA division, the 38th mixed brigade of the 19th division crossed the border from Korea and the 8th mixed brigade, 10th division came over from Japan. With this the Kwantung army had been bolstered to around 60,450men.    On December 17th, the Japanese launched attacks on what they referred to as "soldier bandits" in Fak'u and Ch'angtuhsien, which was actually a precursor to their assault on Jinzhou. The following day, December 18th, Japanese aircraft bombed Daonglio, resulting in the deaths of three Chinese civilians and causing widespread panic in the city. The Japanese actions were all the more effective when concentrated with the absolute paralysis that had gripped China. Sun Ke was too preoccupied with the survival of his own government and had neither the time nor resources to spare for Manchuria. In addition, Stimson's strong words in private to the Japanese ambassador belied the State Department's public attitude toward interference in the conflict. On December 21st Hawkling Yen, the Chinese charge in Washington met with Stanley Hornback, the chief of the department of Far Eastern Affairs. Yen told Hornback that a Japanese attack on Jinzhou was imminent and asked the US to “protest in anticipate of it”. Hornbeck refused, stating the State Department was “already publicly on record with regard to the matter”. No other Western power was ready to advocate any strong measures against the Japanese either.   On the 22nd, the Japanese HQ at Shenyang announced they would soon begin an anti-bandit advance west of the Liao River and would remove any who interfered with said operation. They also added that if any Chinese forces at Jinzhou withdrew they would be left unmolested. By December 26th, all preparations for the assault on Jinzhou were finalized. On December 28th, Honjo initiated an "anti-bandit" campaign west of the Liao River. While Honjo publicly claimed they were merely "clearing the country of bandits,”. As the Japanese forces and their collaborationist allies spread across the South Manchurian railway area to eliminate remaining pockets of resistance, the 12th Division, led by Lt. General Jiro Tamon advanced from Mukden toward Jinzhou, supported by numerous bomber squadrons. Japanese intelligence estimated that Zhang Xueliang had 84,000 troops defending the city, along with 58 artillery pieces and two distinct defensive lines. The first line, located 20 miles north of Jinzhou, consisted of trenches designed to impede the Japanese advance at the Taling River Bridge on the Peiping-Mukden Railway. The second line was a series of earthworks and fortifications completely surrounding Jinzhou. The temperature was -30 degrees, and the Imperial Japanese Army troops were dressed in white winter camouflage uniforms. IJA reconnaissance aircraft reported approximately 3,000 Honghuzi were waiting to ambush them in Panshan County. Tamon's forces quickly overcame the alleged Honghuzi in a series of small skirmishes and continued their march toward Goubangzi, 50 km north of Jinzhou. It should be noted, many question whether the Honghuzi were real or simply local Chinese the Japanese coerced into action to justify their advance. By December 31, the Japanese vanguard had reached within 15 km of Jinzhou, along the banks of the Talin River. Tamon paused to allow the rest of the 2nd Division to catch up. Subsequently, Tamon's troops began setting up an intricate system of microphones to broadcast the sounds of the impending battle to Tokyo. This tactic appeared to be an attempt to demoralize the defenders, which proved effective as Zhang Xueliang's forces began to withdraw. On December 30, Zhang Xueliang had issued the order to retreat from Jinzhou. Two days later, the American Minister in China, Nelson Johnson, reported the following scene: “Jinzhou Railway station resembles beehive, every possible car being pressed into service and loaded with troops, animals, baggage, to last inch space.” The last Chinese troop train departed Jingzhou at 11 am on January 1st carrying away the final remnants of Zhang Xueliang's authority in Manchuria. The assault on Jinzhou occurred at a particularly inopportune moment for China. Chiang Kai-shek was temporarily out of office, lacking the full support of the Nanjing government and many generals. It is likely that Chiang Kai-shek understood that Zhang Xueliang's forces in Jinzhou would be significantly outmatched and could be annihilated. His priority was to prevent the situation from escalating into an official war, allowing him to strengthen China's military capabilities for a counteroffensive. Following the fall of Jinzhou, the northern China army retreated south of the Great Wall into Hebei Province. The Japanese then occupied Shanhaiguan, securing complete control over southern Manchuria. Despite the fall of Jinzhou there was still one last holdout in Manchuria. After Ma Zhanshan was driven out of Qiqihar by the Japanese, he led his troops northeast to establish a new HQ in Hailun where he was still technically ruling Heilongjiang province. Ma Zhanshan had gained international recognition as a resistance hero following his ill-fated battle at Qiqihar. The Kwantung Army took note of his fame and adjusted their strategies accordingly. Komai Tokuzo, the head of the Kwantung Board of Control, suggested that bringing Ma Zhanshan into their ranks would provide a significant propaganda advantage. To persuade him to negotiate with the Kwantung Army, they sent a local factory owner, Han Yunje. On December 7th, Colonel Itagaki Seishiro met with Ma Zhanshan in Hailun. Itagaki expressed that the Japanese aimed for two objectives: peace in East Asia and full cooperation between the Chinese and Japanese. He also mentioned that the officers of the Kwantung Army were impressed by Ma's remarkable bravery and were willing to grant him military command over Heilongjiang, provided they reached an agreement. In response, Ma Zhanshan stated that his forces had acted solely in self-defense and that he was bound by the orders of the Nanjing government. Itagaki then suggested Ma Zhanshan might be appointed military commander of the province under the provincial governor in Qiqihar, Zhang Jinghui. To this Ma Zhanshan replied “as Hailun is not very far from Harbin, he could consult with General Zhang Jinghui over the telephone or pay a call on the latter in person, and that a second trip to Hailun by the Japanese representative would not be necessary.” Despite Ma's position, Itagaki felt satisfied with the meeting, believing that Ma Zhanshan might align with them. However, he was constrained by anti-Japanese colleagues like his chief of staff Xie Ke and battalion commander Tang Fengjia. The situation shifted significantly for Ma Zhanshan when Zhang Xueliang withdrew his forces from Jinzhou. On December 7th, Itagaki and Ma met once more, during which Ma expressed his desire to serve as both the military leader and governor of Heilongjiang. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, Ma Zhanshan was secretly in discussions with another resistance leader, General Ding Chao. When Ma Zhanshan initiated his resistance against the Japanese, Ding Chao decided to take similar action in the northern city of Harbin. Harbin serves as the gateway to Northeast China and is the political, economic, and cultural hub of North Manchuria. It functions not only as the center of the Sino-Soviet co-managed Middle East Railway but also as an international marketplace where Chinese and foreigners coexist. The city houses the Special Administrative Region of the Three Eastern Provinces (with Daoli under this region and Daowai belonging to Jilin Province). Following the Mukden Incident, the Japanese army considered attacking Harbin; however, concerns about potential Soviet interference led to the plan being halted by Army Minister Minami Jiro. Harbin had largely remained peaceful, and the Japanese maintained control by appointing the puppet General Xi Qia as the governor of Kirin province. Together with Li Du, Xing Zhangqing, Zhao Yi, and Feng Zhanhai, Ding Chao formed the Kirin self-defense army to thwart the takeover of Harbin and Kirin province. Ma Zhanshan supported Ding Chao, and both generals kept in touch with Zhang Xueliang and Chiang Kai-shek, who could only offer limited support. In November of the same year, the Jilin Provincial Anti-Japanese Government, chaired by Cheng Yun, was established in Bin County. Feng Zhanhai, the head of the guard regiment at the Northeast Frontier Defense Army's deputy commander-in-chief office in Jilin, refused to surrender to the Japanese forces. He rallied over 3,000 members of his regiment to resist the Japanese and rebel forces. They marched from Yongji County in Jilin Province to Shulan County, where they joined forces with the national salvation armies led by Gong Changhai and Yao Bingqian, which were based on green forest armed groups, to create the Jilin Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army, with Feng as the commander. On November 12, the Jilin Provincial Provisional Government was established in Bin County . Feng Zhanhai was appointed as the garrison commander and commander of the 1st Brigade. The units led by Gong and Yao were reorganized into cavalry brigades under Feng's command. This series of anti-Japanese actions significantly boosted the fighting spirit of the people in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. To launch an attack on Harbin, the Japanese Kwantung Army first needed to "punish" the anti-Japanese armed forces by force. To eliminate Feng's anti-Japanese forces, the Japanese puppet authorities dispatched Yu Shencheng, the commander of the Jilin "bandit suppression" unit, to lead the puppet army in an offensive aimed at seizing Harbin as a base to control the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. Feng Zhanhai's troops strategically abandoned Shulan City to lure the enemy deeper into the area. The puppet army fell into a trap and launched a major assault on Yao Bingqian's brigade stationed in Shuiquliu, which fiercely resisted the attack. On the same day, Gong Changhai's brigade maneuvered around to the rear of the puppet army for a surprise attack, while Yao's brigade counterattacked from the front. The puppet army's Ma Xilin brigade retreated, unable to be halted by the Japanese supervisory team. At this point, Feng Zhanhai led another brigade into the fray, pursuing Ma's brigade. After another seven hours of intense fighting, Shulan was retaken. In this battle, the garrison inflicted nearly 1,000 casualties on Japanese and puppet troops, captured hundreds, and saw many puppet soldiers defect. The battles of Shuiqu and Shulan were thus victorious. On the 16th, Yu Shencheng's puppet forces were defeated by the 25th Brigade of the Northeast Army in Yushu. Due to the precarious situation in Shulan, Feng Zhanhai had no choice but to abandon Shulan City and retreat his troops north of Wuchang. On the 19th, seeking urgently needed funds for his troops, Feng Zhanhai led a battalion from Acheng to Lalinkang, where they were surrounded by a significant number of Japanese and puppet troops. The following day, with the help of reinforcements, they managed to repel the Japanese and puppet forces. However, the troops suffered over 200 casualties and were compelled to leave Lalinkang and return to Acheng. On the 25th, Feng and Li moved their forces to the eastern suburbs of Harbin, with the 22nd, 26th, and 28th Brigades announcing their support in succession.On the morning of the 26th, Feng and Li entered the city from four directions, forcibly disarming five police brigades and seizing more than 3,000 firearms along with a number of heavy weapons. They stationed the 26th and 28th Brigades and one regiment in the Shanghao area, while Feng Zhanhai's four brigades and two detachments were positioned in the Sankeshu and Nangang areas. The 22nd Brigade was assigned to Shuangchengbao, preparing to defend against a Japanese assault.  Meanwhile the Japanese were still trying to win over Ma Zhanshan. This prompted our old friend Doihara to ask Xi Qia to advance his new “Jilin Army” to Harbin and then to Hailun. However in their way was the Jilin Self-Defense force of General Ding Chao and General Li Du had deployed his forces between Xi Qia and Harbin. On the 24th, representatives from Li Du and Ding Chao participated in a meeting with Ma Zhanshan's officers, convincing them to attempt to retake Qiqihar and defend Harbin for the resistance. When Xiqia's "New Jilin Army" finally advanced to Shuangcheng on the 25th, Zhang Xueliang instructed Ma Zhanshan and Ding Chao to abandon negotiations and begin fighting on the morning of the 26th. Kenji Doihara ultimately failed to intimidate the Chinese further, as his ally Xicha's troops encountered stiff resistance from Ding Chao's troops. Later that afternoon, Japanese aircraft dropped leaflets over Harbin, openly demanding that the anti-Japanese forces withdraw from the city immediately. The Japanese Consulate in Harbin also issued a notice to various foreign consulates, stating that the Japanese army would enter Harbin at 3:00 PM on the 28th. As the New Jilin army advanced towards Shuangcheng, this signaled to the Chinese resistance fighters that an attack was imminent. Zhang Xueliang instructed Generals Ma Zhanshan and Ding Chao to halt negotiations and prepare to make a stand. By late January, the Kirin Self-Defense Corps had grown to 30,000 members, organized into six brigades. Ding Chao fortified defensive positions between General Xi Qia's advancing troops and Harbin. Xi Qia was caught off guard by the well-organized resistance forces, resulting in heavy losses for his army, which was unable to break through. In desperation, Xi Qia sought assistance from the Kwantung Army, but they needed a justification to intervene. Once again, Colonel Doihara Kenji orchestrated a false flag operation. He incited a riot in Harbin that resulted in the deaths of one Japanese individual and three Koreans. Using the pretext that Japanese citizens were in danger, the 2nd Division under Lt. General Jiro Tamon began its advance toward Harbin from Jinzhou on the 28th. However, severe winter weather delayed their transportation. To complicate matters further, the Soviets denied Japanese trains access to Harbin via their section of the Chinese Eastern Railway, citing a breach of neutrality. The entire Manchurian incident had escalated tensions between the USSR and Japan. When they invaded Heilongjiang, there were genuine concerns about potential Soviet intervention, especially with their presence in Harbin. However, at the last moment, the Soviets agreed to allow transit on January 30th. Back on the 26, 1932, Feng Zhanhai and Li Du, the commander of the Yilan garrison, entered Harbin. Early on the 27th, Yu Shencheng, the commander of the puppet Jilin "bandit suppression," ordered two brigades to attack the Shanghao, Sankeshu, and Nangang areas. Japanese aircraft bombed the Sankeshu and Nangang regions. The two brigades tasked with defending the area fought valiantly, resulting in intense combat. Soon after, Feng Zhanhai and his reserve team joined the fray, launching a political offensive alongside their fierce attacks. The puppet army struggled to hold its ground and retreated to Lalincang. The defending troops in Shanghao fought tenaciously, inflicting heavy casualties on both Japanese and puppet forces, shooting down one plane, and attempting to persuade puppet army commander Tian Desheng to lead a revolt. By evening, the puppet army had been driven back. On the morning of the 28th, the anti-Japanese forces advanced to the Jile Temple and Confucian Temple, capturing advantageous positions near Xinfatun with artillery support. The cavalry brigade flanked the puppet army and launched a vigorous assault, leading to the collapse and retreat of the puppet forces towards Acheng. Gong Changhai led the cavalry in pursuit for 15 kilometers, capturing a significant number of puppet troops. After two days of fierce fighting on the 27th and 28th, the initial invasion of Harbin by Japanese and puppet troops was successfully repelled. Due to the defeat of Yu Shencheng and other puppet forces, the Japanese Kwantung Army launched a direct assault on Harbin on the morning of the28th, under the pretext of "protecting overseas Chinese." They ordered Hasebe, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Kwantung Army, to lead the 4th Regiment, an artillery battalion, and two tanks on a train from Changchun to Harbin for combat. On the29th, another combat order was issued: the 2nd Division was to assemble in Changchun and then be transported to Harbin by truck. Part of the 4th Mixed Brigade was also moved from Qiqihar to Anda and Zhaodong by truck to support the 2nd Division from the north of Harbin. The 1st, 3rd, 8th, and 9th Squadrons of the Kwantung Army Flying Team were tasked with covering the assembly, advance, and attack of the 2nd Division. Hasebe's 4th Regiment departed from Changchun by train, but due to extensive damage to the railway caused by the Northeast Army, their train was attacked by the Northeast Army at dawn on the 29th as it reached the Laoshaogou area on the south bank of the Songhua River. The Japanese forces quickly shifted to an offensive strategy and, despite ongoing resistance, managed to reach Shitouchengzi Village north of the Sancha River that night. On the night of January 29, Zhao Yi's brigade received word of the Japanese assault on Harbin and immediately prepared for battle. At dawn on January 30, Brigade Commander Zhao Yi led six battalions in a light advance, launching a surprise attack on Shilipu, where they decisively defeated the puppet army's Liu Baolin Brigade, capturing over 700 soldiers and seizing more than 600 weapons. They then returned to Shuangchengbao to prepare for the annihilation of the advancing Japanese forces. Around 8:00 PM, the 3rd Brigade of the Japanese Army, along with the Changgu Detachment and two military vehicles, arrived at Shuangcheng Station, intending to camp there and attack Harbin the following day. Zhao Yi's troops set up an ambush in the area. As the Japanese forces disembarked and assembled to plan their attack on Harbin, the ambushing troops took advantage of their unpreparedness, launching a surprise attack from three sides. They unleashed heavy firepower, forcing the enemy back onto the platform before engaging in close combat with bayonets and grenades. The Japanese were caught off guard and suffered significant casualties. The next day, the Japanese dispatched reinforcements from Changchun, supported by aircraft, artillery, and tanks, to assault Shuangchengbao. Brigade Zhao found himself trapped in the isolated city, suffering over 600 casualties, including the regiment commander, and was ultimately forced to abandon Shuangchengbao and retreat to Harbin. With Shuangcheng captured, Harbin was left vulnerable. The Self-Defense Army stationed the majority of its troops in the southern, southeastern, and southwestern regions of Harbin, including Guxiangyuetun, Bingyuan Street, Old Harbin City, and Lalatun. On the same day, several commanders convened: Li Du, the garrison commander of Yilan and leader of the 24th Brigade; Feng Zhanhai, commander of the Jilin Provincial Security Army; Xing Zhanqing, commander of the 26th Brigade; Zhao Yi, commander of the 22nd Brigade; Ding Chao, acting commander of the Railway Protection Army and leader of the 28th Brigade; and Wang Zhiyou, director of the Jilin Police Department. They agreed to establish the Jilin Provincial Self-Defense Army, appointing Li Du as commander, Feng Zhanhai as deputy commander, and Wang Zhiyou as the commander-in-chief of the front line. They decided to utilize the 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 28th Brigades for the defense of Harbin, while Feng Zhanhai would lead the 1st Brigade and other units in a flanking maneuver against Jilin and Changchun to thwart the Japanese advance. On February 3, 1932, various units of the Japanese 2nd Division arrived in the Weitanggou River area. Under the command of Duomen, the division initiated an assault on the Self-Defense Army's outposts located outside Harbin. The 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Division, alongside Yu Shencheng, the commander of the pseudo-Jilin "bandit suppression" forces, led an attack with five brigades as the right flank against Chinese defenders in the Qinjiagang, Nangang, and Shanghao regions. Meanwhile, the 15th Infantry Brigade of the Japanese Army formed the left flank, targeting Guxiangtun via Balibao along the Songhua River. Following the conflict, all outposts of the Self-Defense Army were lost, forcing them to retreat to their primary positions. On the morning of February 4th, the Japanese forces launched a full-scale attack, engaging the Self-Defense Army in battle. By afternoon, the Japanese had positioned themselves on both sides of the railway, south of Guxiang Yuetun, Yongfatun, and Yangmajia. The 3rd Brigade was stationed east of the railway, while the 15th Brigade took position to the west. After a preparatory artillery barrage, the Japanese forces commenced their assault. The Jilin Self-Defense Army defended tenaciously, utilizing fortifications and village structures, and concentrated their artillery fire on the advancing enemy, inflicting significant casualties.   Despite their efforts, the Japanese attack was initially repelled, prompting them to adopt a defensive stance. By 16:00, the area from Yangmajia to Yongfatun had fallen to the Japanese. The Self-Defense Army continued to resist fiercely, but the Japanese intensified their assaults. The left flank launched a vigorous attack on Guxiangtun. The 28th Brigade of the Self-Defense Army, defending this area, utilized civilian structures and walls for their defense. However, brigade commander Wang Ruihua fled under pressure, leading to a loss of command and forcing the troops to abandon their positions and retreat into the city. Simultaneously, the Japanese right flank aggressively targeted the defense of the 26th Brigade of the Self-Defense Army. Despite the desperate efforts of brigade commander Xing Zhanqing and his troops, they were ultimately compelled to retreat to the river dam at Shiliudao Street due to inferior equipment. Around this time, the western and southern defense lines under Wang Zhiyou's command began to fall one after another. In this critical situation, Commander-in-Chief Li Du personally went to the front lines to organize the troops and establish a third defensive line on the city's edge. They fought until nightfall, successfully halting the Japanese advance. At dawn on February 5th the Self-Defense Army initiated a counteroffensive. The artillery first conducted preparatory fire, targeting the positions of the Japanese 3rd Brigade located east of the railway. Following this, the infantry launched their attack. The Japanese troops on the front lines found themselves in a precarious situation. In response, Jiro Tamon, the commander of the 2nd Division, urgently ordered artillery to intercept the Self-Defense Army's counterattack and deployed the tank and reserve units to assist. Four squadrons from the air force took off from a temporary forward airfield in Shuangcheng, alternating between bombing and strafing to support the ground troops. The battle was intensely fierce, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Lacking air support and facing significant threats from Japanese aircraft, the Self-Defense Army retreated to the area east of Harbin by the afternoon of the 5th. The Japanese forces then entered Harbin, leading to its immediate capture. On the 6th, the remaining self-defense forces learned of Harbin's fall and decided to abandon their original plan for a surprise attack against the Japanese army. Instead, they returned to Binxian and Fangzheng. During their retreat, they gathered some stragglers who had fled from Harbin and proceeded to Fangzheng County to regroup with Li Du. General Ding Chao's forces were compelled to retreat northeast along the Sungari River, while Japanese aircraft attacked them from above. After a grueling 17-hour battle, Ding Chao's army ultimately faced defeat. Following this loss, Ma Zhanshan made the decision to defect. On February 16, General Honjo held a conference for the Northeast Political Affairs Committee in Mukden, attended by senior Chinese officials of the new regime, including Zhang Jinghui, Ma Zhanshan, Zang Shiyi, Xi Qia, and others. The conference aimed to assign delegates to roles in the soon-to-be-established “Manchukuo.” On February 14, Ma Zhanshan was appointed governor of Heilongjiang province and received gold worth one million dollars. On February 27th, Ding Chao proposed a ceasefire, marking the official end of Chinese resistance in Manchuria. On March 1st, Puyi would be installed as the ruler of the new state of Manchukuo. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. With the fall of Jinzhou, Zhang Xueliang had effectively been kicked out of Manchuria. With the loss of Harbin, came the loss of any significant resistance to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan had conquered the northeast and now would enthrone the last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty forming the puppet state of Manchukuo. 

Last time we spoke about the Jiangqiao Campaign and resistance of Ma Zhanshan. Ma Zhanshan, born in poverty in 1885, rose to prominence through his exceptional skills and military service. Appointed acting governor of Heilongjiang during the 1931 Mukden Incident, he defied orders to surrender to Japanese forces. Leading a spirited defense of the Nenjiang Bridge, Ma's troops repelled repeated Japanese assaults despite heavy casualties. His resistance inspired national pride and drew global attention. Ultimately outnumbered, Ma's forces retreated, but his bravery became a symbol of Chinese resistance to invasion. On December 7, Japanese and puppet troops attacked Sanjianfang, but Chinese forces, led by Ma Zhanshan, mounted a fierce counterattack, inflicting heavy casualties. Despite being outnumbered and lacking resources, the defenders showcased remarkable bravery, even shooting down an enemy aircraft. After intense fighting, Ma's troops withdrew to avoid further losses, facing starvation and exhaustion. Though Qiqihar fell to the Japanese, Ma's resistance inspired national pride and calls for unity against the invaders, drawing support from across China.   #141 The First Tientsin Incident Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. This episode is going to be dealing with an old friend of ours, Mr Colonel Kenji Doihara. Now I don't think I dabbled much in the early history of Doihara, so where better to start. Doihara was born in Okayama City of Okayama prefecture in 1883. He attended military preparatory schools in his youth and would graduate 16th of his class at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1904. His first assignment was to an infantry regiment as a junior officer, before he returned to school where he graduated 24th in his class at the Army Staff College in 1912. During his military and academic years he learnt how to speak Mandarin fluently, alongside picking up some other Chinese language dialects. Because of his language skills he was chosen for military intelligence, specifically targeting China. During the early 1920's he took up various postings in Northern China. During 1921-1922 he took part in the Siberian Intervention. In 1926 he was attached to the 2nd IJA regiment, the next year the 3rd IJA regiment. In 1928 he took an official tour of China attached to the 1st IJA Division. It was that same year he was made a military adviser to Zhang Zuolin, whose death he most certainly had a heavy hand in. In 1929 he received a promotion to Colonel and was given command of the IJA 30th regiment. In 1931 he was made head of the special service section of the Kwantung Army stationed in Mukden.  As we are quite now familiar with, Doihara was part of the team that engineered the Mukden incident. It was he who ordered Lt Suemori Komoto to place and detonate the bomb on the tracks. Doihara would become a key agent during the conquest of Manchuria, being one of those specialists who helped facilitate cooperation between the Manchurian officials such as Zhang Haipeng, Zhang Jinghui and Xi Qia. However Doihara also performed covert operations during this time period, quite bold in scale. Believe it or not one of these rather insane operations would be to try and restore the Qing Dynasty. Shocking I know, who would want that old corrupt thing restored? You would be surprised how many old Manchu loyalists were still kicking around and how many youth saw China to be such a pit of despair, they would rather turn the clock back to a time they assumed was better for China.  The Japanese had sunk their teeth into two provinces of Manchuria and only needed to seize the last one for total conquest of China's northeast. On September 22nd a secret meeting was held in the Kwantung Army chief of staff office. There Doihara presented a new plan to ensure the establishment of a new puppet state in Manchuria and possibly inner Mongolia. The plan was to kidnap the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Puyi. After the Xinhai revolution, Puyi continued to live in the forbidden city, however in 1924 he was expelled by Feng Yuxiang and took refuge in the Japanese concession in Tientsin. Puyi had met with many Japanese military and civilian leaders during his stay in Tientsin. He had a distant relative and occasional house guest named Yoshiko Kawashima who just happened to be a close confidant of Doihara. Doihara and his like minded colleagues presented Puyi with a scheme, they would seize Manchuria and restore the Qing throne over it, forming a new state with Puyi as its emperor. For Puyi it seemed like a stepping stone to restoring Qing rule over all of China, but he certainly feared becoming a puppet to the Japanese. Doihara planned to kidnap Puyi, but he had a tight timetable as it was going to be necessary to depart from the port of Yingkou, which was soon to freeze over. Therefore his operation needed to be concluded prior to November 16th. Doihara was a meticulous man in his work, but his plan was leaked. The Japanese foreign Minister Kijuro Shidehara had learnt of his scheme to kidnap Puyi and instructed the Japanese consul general at Tientsin to oppose Doihara. On November the 1st, the Consul-General contacted Doihara, but Doihara responded that if the Emperor was willing to risk his life by returning to Manchuria, it would be easy to make the entire affair seem as if it was instigated by Qing restorationists. He further added that he would talk to Puyi and if he was unwilling, he would dispatch a telegram to the military authorities at Mukden to call the entire operation off. The next day, Doihara visited Puyi and told him the time was ripe and there would never be an opportunity like such again. He stated Japan would recognize him as the Emperor of an independent Manchu state and form a military alliance with said state against China proper if they attacked. Puyi dragged his foot on the issue without giving a concrete answer. Meanwhile the consul-general continued to dissuade Doihara, and a Chinese newspaper in Tientsin called Yishie reported on November 3rd, that Doihara had secretly come to the city and was taking a residence in Tokiwa Hotel. The next day the same newspaper confirmed that Doihara had come to the city for a few days. Under stress, Doihara resorted to a very Doihara scheme. He sent Puyi a bomb in a basket of fruit with a threatening letter allegedly from the Iron Blood Group. He also planned a riot. Doihara hunted down 2000 Chinese, bandits, triads, soldiers, hooligans, drug addicts and such. He used the foreign concession as a HQ and began issuing the men weapons procured from Itagaki. They were going to be unleashed on November 8th and they would attack targets such as the Hebei Provincial Government building, the Public Security Bureau and a police station near the Jingang Bridge. Allegedly each man was paid 40 Mexican dollars by their Japanese agents. The rioters would be colloquially known as the plainclothes members, as they were dressed in civilian attire. One of their members, a man named Ma Longting who was later captured by Chinese authorities, under interrogation stated they had received arms from the “International Apartments” ie: Japanese officials at the concession and likewise received training from the Japanese. "My detachment was located at No. 5 Yuqingli in the Japanese Concession. The detachments were stationed in the International Apartments and Huazhong Apartments. We received guns from the International Apartments. The first detachment received 20 pistols; the second detachment received 25 pistols; the third and fourth detachments each received 20 pistols. Each gun had 100 bullets. The meal allowance for each person was 1 yuan, 60 cents, or 40 cents a day. I received a total of 5,000 yuan (the currency at the time). After receiving the guns, the detachments were divided into Zhongyuan Company, Weishengchi, Laojiuzhang, and Luzhuangzi to deploy defenses in order to attack the Chinese area. The Japanese followed with guns to supervise us. When we reached the Sino-Japanese border, the Japanese retreated and put up an electric fence. We were caught in a dilemma and were captured." Another captured plainclothes member, named Zhang Jinhai gave his life story and involvement during interrogations. He had lived in a small house at Taikoo Wharf in Tanggu. He made a living unloading cargo from ships, earning roughly 20 cents a day. A man had approached him to asking if he would take up a job as a plainclothes. He agreed and went through intense training under Japanese officers every day and was paid 20 cents per day. At 1pm one day, he alongside 7 other members each carrying a pistol, boarded a train for Tientsin. There they were to assemble at QianDezhuang for further information. However before he could do so he was captured at East Station near the East floating bridge. The riots were done by two separate plainclothes teams who were manipulated and supported by Japan. The first rioted from the evening of November 8th to noon of the 20th, the second from the 26th to the 30th.  On the night of the 8th, the Japanese garrison HQ ordered a large number of plainclothes to depart the Japanese concession to suddenly and violently attack the Chinese government offices. This was intentionally done during a time period in which there was meeting with the League of Nations on the 12th. Therefore obviously the Japanese were eager to make it seem Chinese hooligans, such as the notorious Green or Red Gangs were creating havoc in Tientsin prior to said meeting. The Japanese hoped this would provide an excuse for not having to withdraw their troops in Manchuria as the Kwantung army at this time was attacking the Jinxi area. Many Japanese officers believed the Manchurian army would not resist and simply retreat once the riots broke out. It would mean Tientsin was within their reach and would dramatically alter the North China situation.  Wang Shuchang, the chairman of Hebei's provincial government and Zhang Xueming the Mayor of Tientsin and director of its security bureau were informed 3 days prior to the riots from the a Special Agent team of the Public security Bureau that "the Japanese military and consulate stationed in Tianjin have instigated our frustrated military personnel Zhang Bi, Li Jichun , some leaders of the Tianjin Green and Red Gang, and famous bandit leaders Cao Huayang, Xiao Yunfeng, Gao Pengjiu, etc. to organize plainclothes teams to carry out riots." After receiving said report, Wang Shuchang convened a joint meeting of provincial and municipal military, political and security officials to come up with countermeasures. He divided the security police teams into groups and placed them all on high alert, issuing out guns and ammunition. He proclaimed during the meeting "I am a soldier and have the responsibility to defend my territory. If there are riots and disturbances in Tianjin, we must adapt to the circumstances, use a combination of firmness and flexibility, think carefully, and make appropriate plans to resolve them. But I will never be like Zang Shiyi (Zang was the chairman of the Liaoning Provincial Government when Japan attacked Shenyang), a national sinner, and let the elders and brothers of Tianjin scold me for being incompetent." He then slammed the table and adjourned the meeting. Some gangsters and bandits gathered by the Japanese were familiar with the special forces of the Public Security Bureau. They reported that the uprising was initially planned for the evening of the 7th. However, due to the heightened alert and concerns for the young emperor Puyi, the Japanese military camp temporarily informed them to postpone the attack to the evening of November 8th. At that time, the alarm bell at the Japanese military camp in Haiguang Temple rang, signaling the plainclothes team to mobilize. Using Datong Apartment to the west of Zhongyuan Company in the Japanese Concession and Wanguo Apartment on Furong Street as their bases, they advanced toward Machang Road, Caochang Temple, and the fish market area, opening fire on us. Simultaneously, the Japanese Concession had arranged for security at various key intersections, with the Japanese garrison and military police also deploying together. That night, over a thousand volunteers organized by Japanese expatriates in the concession were armed and stationed at important roads. The Japanese military police, believing that the plainclothes team they had organized was merely a mob incapable of fighting, actually fired weapons in the Japanese Concession to rally them. The sounds of gunfire echoed throughout the night. Two hours prior to the plainclothes team's assault, the security team and the Public Security Bureau implemented the strategy devised by Chairman Wang. To manage the ensuing chaos, a temporary curfew was imposed, and all traffic at intersections near the Japanese concession was completely halted. The security teams set up their defenses in accordance with Chairman Wang's directives. He also instructed all officers and soldiers of the Tenth Army to prepare for the defense of Tianjin at a standard readiness level and to brace for a large-scale invasion by Japanese forces landing in Tanggu. Around 10:30, a plainclothes team of approximately 2,000 individuals emerged from the vicinity of Haiguang Temple in the Japanese Concession, following their prearranged plan. The Japanese provided cover and oversight from behind, firing into the Chinese territory. They successfully seized control of six stations in the first district of the Public Security Bureau in Nanshi, close to the Japanese Concession, as well as six stations in the second district at Haiguang Temple, while separately harassing the south gate of Dongmalu. The first captain of the security battalion, Bai Lunbi, and the third captain, Li Yinpo, led the security team and police in a courageous effort to block and repel the attackers step by step. By around noon, the six stations in the first district were reclaimed. However, the plainclothes team continued their assaults on various locations. That night, over ten rioters from the plainclothes team and numerous firearms were captured. Upon inspection, most of the weapons were Japanese-made Type 38 rifles and new guns produced by the Shenyang Arsenal in Northeast China, which had not yet been delivered to us. The riot orchestrated by the plainclothes team, under the guidance and manipulation of the Japanese garrison, transformed the once-thriving Tianjin into a ghost town overnight. Even Asahi Street, typically bustling with activity, was left deserted. Around 1:00 a.m. on November 9, plainclothes teams launched coordinated attacks from various intersections. One group targeted the Public Security Bureau from the northern gate but was unsuccessful due to heightened security. Meanwhile, another plainclothes unit disrupted the South City and assaulted the Second District Six Office, leading to a retreat of the police forces. The Japanese soldiers then took control of the office and raised their flag. In the southeast corner of the city, at Caochang Temple, a fierce battle ensued, ultimately resulting in the defeat of the plainclothes attackers. the Public Security Bureau cavalry and security team sustained some casualties. By 5:00 a.m., despite a night of disturbances and looting, the plainclothes team ultimately failed in their efforts. The Japanese military at Haiguang Temple then resorted to diplomatic tactics, issuing a verbal warning to Wang Shuchang. They claimed that the Chinese security team had attacked the plainclothes group, resulting in injuries and fatalities among Japanese soldiers due to stray bullets, which they argued endangered the lives of overseas Chinese in the Japanese concession. They demanded that the Chinese security team and police withdraw 300 meters by 6 am, threatening to take action otherwise. This unreasonable demand clearly had ulterior motives. Observing that the plainclothes team, supported and directed by the Japanese army at Haiguang Temple, lacked combat capability and that the Japanese army was not directly involved, Wang decided to avoid escalating the situation. He ordered a withdrawal of 300 meters from the blocked entrance to the Japanese concession while maintaining close surveillance. This order was issued and executed at 5:30 am on the 9th. However, the Japanese army violated their promise and fired over 30 cannon rounds at 6:40 am One shell struck an earthen shed of a store about 100 meters east of the Public Security Bureau, while another exploded at the intersection of Sanma Road in Special District 2. Fortunately, due to the cold weather in late autumn, most people were indoors, and the streets were empty, resulting in no casualties. At that moment, the plainclothes team, supported by Japanese artillery, regrouped near the gate area and launched a significant attack against us. However, due to the security team being on high alert and defending valiantly, the plainclothes team ultimately failed. By noon, the gunfire had diminished, but the Chinese area remained deserted, with no pedestrians in the Japanese concession, except for a few Japanese soldiers and residents. At 5 pm, the plainclothes team initiated another harassment operation in the Wandezhuang area outside the South Gate, leading to continued gunfire. After a fierce battle, the attackers retreated. As the evening progressed, the gunfire became less frequent. According to intelligence reports, "The plainclothes team is preparing for a general assault in Tianjin. Wang Shuchang and Mayor Zhang have visited various locations to enforce strict precautions and have also telegraphed General Zhang Xueliang in Beiping." However, it remained calm until late at night on the 9th. On the 9th, 61 plainclothes rioters were apprehended. Ten were shot at the scene, all of whom were leaders involved in looting, arson, and pillaging; 37 were sent to Beiping, and three were killed by the security team. The remaining individuals were taken to the Second Army Headquarters for strict interrogation and subsequently handed over to the military court for prosecution. It was discovered that the headquarters of the plainclothes riot were located in Datong Apartment, Wanguo Apartment, Taipingli, and other sites within the Japanese Concession. Before dawn on the 10th, the plainclothes team hurried from the Japanese concession and Haiguang Temple into the Chinese territory. The most intense fighting erupted around the first district, the six schools, and Nankai Middle School. The sounds of cannon fire and heavy gunfire echoed back and forth. Nankai and the Nanshi area were suddenly shrouded in darkness. Two fully armed Japanese tanks patrolled along the riverbank, instilling fear among the citizens of Tianjin. Early on the 10th, the security team bravely searched for gangsters in the conflict zone. By around 7 am, they had recovered five rifles and 50 rounds of ammunition near Nankai. At 7:45, 26 members of the plainclothes team, along with seven rifles, numerous gray military uniforms, and three flags, were captured in Shengcai Village. Concurrently, five rifles and over 30 bullets were found in a public restroom at the South Gate. Subsequently, the plainclothes team attempted several attacks throughout Tianjin but was thwarted by the security team each time until the 20th. After the Chinese and Japanese sides reached an agreement on restoring Tianjin's status before November 8, the defensive structures in the Chinese area were gradually dismantled, leading to a steady improvement in the situation. Around 3 pm on November 22, Mayor Zhang dispatched representatives Ning Xiangnan, Shen Dijia, Jie Ruchuan, Jia Guofu, along with Japanese leader Goto, staff officer Miura, and translator Yoshida, to conduct a follow-up inspection at Dongmalu after the defenses were removed. The order in the area was commendable, and the defensive installations in the Japanese concession had also been taken down. Both parties expressed satisfaction with the outcome, and all shops in the Japanese concession were open for business. However, at 8:00 pm on November 26, gunfire erupted once more, accompanied by the sounds of machine guns and artillery. Sudden gunshots rang out from Xiguangkai and the White Bone Tower, which appeared to be a covert signal. Machine gun fire was reported in the southeast corner of the city, near the Kawasaki Foreign Company in the Japanese concession, as well as at the gate, Nanguan Xiatou, Haiguang Temple, and other locations. Simultaneously, the booming of mortars echoed throughout the city, plunging it into a state of panic. Japanese officers took direct command of the operations, targeting the Dongfuqiao Public Security Bureau and the Jingangqiao Provincial Government. The artillery was aimed toward Haiguang Temple at the gate. Fortunately, both locations were unoccupied, and the shells fired did not cause any damage. By around 7:00 pm the Japanese had repositioned the electric fences in the Japanese concession, stacked sandbags, and heightened their alertness. Additional infantry police were deployed at key intersections, and the Japanese-organized volunteer army was also mobilized. The gate was in close proximity to the Public Security Bureau at Dongfu Bridge, making the situation particularly tense. The plainclothes team gathered on the main street near the gate, while the Japanese army strictly prohibited pedestrians from passing through. The Mitsui & Co. building, which was tall and faced the Haihe River, allowed access to the Public Security Bureau along the river. The Japanese had also prepared command flags in advance to direct the plainclothes team in an assault on the gate. The situation was quite critical at the southern end of Nanguan Street, particularly at the intersection of Nanshi and China, as well as at the southeast corner of the city. Key locations within the Japanese concession, including Jinshan Pharmacy, Xinming Grand Theater, Zhongyuan Company, the Japanese Public Hospital, Laojiuzhang Silk Shop, Taichang Pawnshop, and Shengdeli Building, were also under tight security. Consequently, this second plainclothes riot was a coordinated effort by the Japanese to undermine public security in Tianjin, aligning with developments in the Northeast, with the ultimate goal of further occupying and seizing Tianjin. On the 27th, a plainclothes unit operating under Japanese command launched a fierce assault on the gate around 1 a.m., retreating only after facing a counterattack from the forces. Beginning on the 28th, the Japanese military significantly increased its troop presence, creating a tense atmosphere that compelled the Tianjin authorities to withdraw their security team back to Hebei and dismantle all fortifications. This allowed the Japanese army to bolster its military presence in Tianjin, although they were unable to gain control of the city. While the plainclothes riots were being planned, Doihara was talking with Puyi. On November 3rd, Doihara met with him at the Jingyuan Garden in Tientsin. In his memoirs Puyi stated Doihara was a Japanese soldier who had made his entire career by invading China. He was 48 years old when they were speaking and the muscles around his eyes showed signs of relaxation. He had a small mustache and his face was always gentle and he acted very respectfully. His smile always gave the impression that everything he said was unreliable however. "He asked about my health and then got down to business. He first explained that the Japanese army's actions were only aimed at Zhang Xueliang, saying that Zhang Xueliang "made Manchuria miserable, and the rights, lives and property of the Japanese could not be guaranteed, so Japan had no choice but to send troops. He said that the Kwantung Army had no territorial ambitions for Manchuria, but only "sincerely wanted to help the Manchurian people and build their own new country. He hoped that I would not miss this opportunity and return to the birthplace of my ancestors soon to lead this country in person; Japan would sign an offensive and defensive alliance with this country, and its sovereign territory would be fully protected by Japan; as the head of this country, I could do everything on my own.” Puyi was extremely weary of the entire thing. Here is a transcript of some of their conversation as told to us through the memories of Puyi: I still had a very important question in my mind, so I asked: “What kind of country is this new country?” "I have already said that it is independent and autonomous, and the Emperor Xuantong has the final say." "That's not what I'm asking. I want to know whether this country is a republic or a monarchy? Is it an empire?" "These problems can be solved in Shenyang." "No," I insisted, "if it is a restoration, I will go, otherwise I will not go." He smiled and said in the same tone: "Of course it is the Empire, there is no problem with that." "If it's the Empire, I can go!" I expressed my satisfaction. "Then please ask the Emperor Xuantong to leave as soon as possible, and arrive in Manchuria before the 16th. We will discuss the details when we arrive in Shenyang. Yoshida will arrange the departure."  Afterwards Doihara congratulated Puyi on his safe journey, bowing respectfully to him. After Doihara left, Puyi met with Jin Liang who had come with Doihara. He brought further news from Manchurian veterans led by Yuan Jinkai, stating they could call upon the old Northeast Army to surrender. After enduring various forms of coercion, inducement, threats, and intimidation, Puyi was concealed in the trunk of a two-seater saloon car on the evening of November 10, just three days following the Tientsin Incident. As planned, he was driven out of Jingyuan. With the covert protection of the Japanese secret service, he changed into Japanese military attire and then took a vehicle from the Japanese military headquarters. He reached the British Concession Pier without any obstacles and boarded a small, unlit motorboat. Subsequently, he quickly fled to Dagukou under the escort of more than ten Japanese soldiers. He was then promptly transferred to the Japanese merchant ship "Awaji Maru," arriving at the Manchurian Railway Pier in Yingkou City on the 13th. On November 18, the Kwantung Army moved Puyi to the Dahe Hotel in Lushun, where he was closely "protected." Later on March 1, 1932, under the direction of the Kwantung Army, the puppet state of Manchukuo was officially declared "established." Puyi assumed the role of "ruler" of this puppet regime on March 9th. Two years later, his title was changed to "emperor." At this point, the Japanese invaders had successfully achieved their objective of holding Puyi hostage and establishing the puppet Manchukuo regime. Despite the Chinese army's efforts to quell the plainclothes riot, Japan seized upon the pretext of "endangering the lives of Japanese expatriates in the Japanese concession" to insist that the Chinese security forces withdraw 300 meters from the border of the concession. They threatened to take unilateral action if their demands were not met. On the 15th, during negotiations, the Northeast Army authorities conceded to Japan's unreasonable requests. Nevertheless, Japan proceeded to bombard the Hebei Provincial and Municipal Government buildings and the police station with artillery. Following the suppression of the second plainclothes riot, the Japanese, feeling humiliated by their foiled plans, sought new excuses and made further unreasonable demands. They insisted that the Chinese army withdraw from Tientsin and that the local populace refrain from anti-Japanese activities. Concurrently, they deployed additional troops to Tientsin, using intimidation tactics against the Chinese. The Nationalist government ultimately acquiesced to Japan's demands, ordering the security team, primarily made up of the Northeast Army, to retreat to what is now the Hebei District on November 29th. As the soldiers withdrew from their positions, tears were shed, and onlookers mourned their departure. Beginning December 1st, streets in the Japanese concession were illuminated, and Japanese merchants displayed flags to celebrate their perceived victory. They even coerced Chinese residents into hanging Japanese flags under threat of imprisonment. The contrast was stark between the Tientsin Security Team's defeat, which felt like a loss without actual defeat, and the Japanese invaders' hollow victory. Several Chinese soldiers who distinguished themselves in the fight against the invasion were reassigned from Tientsin. Despite failing in the riot, the Japanese successfully executed their plan to secretly extract Puyi from Tianjin and compelled the Chinese army to withdraw. This paved the way for a series of conspiratorial events, including the "Chadong Incident," "Hebei Incident," and "Zhangbei Incident." Ultimately, these actions led to their proposals for "North China Autonomy" and the "July 7 Marco Polo Bridge Incident," marking a gradual realization of their ambitions to invade China. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. And thus our dear old friend Doihara performed yet another scheme to push forward with the Japanese invasion of China. Its sad to say it won't be his last. The invasion of Manchuria was coming to a swift end and soon a new puppet state would take hold, but would Japan stop with the northeast? 

Last time we spoke about Gokokujo and Collaborators. In September 1931, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters aimed to contain the Mukden Incident but faced resistance from the Kwantung Command. Led by General Honjo, Japanese forces quickly overwhelmed Chinese troops, seizing key cities in Manchuria. Despite Tokyo's disapproval, military leaders acted independently, invoking the Emperor's authority. Amidst the chaos, local Chinese leaders cooperated with the invaders, leading to a swift Japanese victory. As the military expanded its power, the civilian government struggled to regain control, illustrating the complexities of Japan's political landscape. In 1931, the Kwantung Army's officers, led by Ishiwara and Itegaki, aimed for a military occupation of Manchuria, initially allowing local officials autonomy. However, Tokyo's rejection of annexation forced them to claim Manchurian independence. Amidst confusion and infighting, Komai Tokuzo emerged as a key figure, manipulating local elites to establish control. The Japanese employed violence and persuasion, swiftly occupying cities while puppet leaders maintained a facade of governance. As resistance brewed, Zhang Xueliang and others sought to reclaim their homeland from Japanese dominance.   #140 The Jiangqiao Campaign: The Resistance of Ma Zhanshan Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. For quite some time we have spoken about countless variables involved with the conquest of Manchuria. More or less we broke down three sorts of players in this invasion: those Chinese who chose to collaborate with the Japanese, those who tried to act neutral and sit upon the fence and then there were those who resisted. The resistance against the Japanese was not unified, often it was pockets of groups trying to hold out as long as possible. The resistance took on various forms for various reasons. One of the resistance stories I always found more interesting than the rest was the story of Ma Zhanshan. Ma Zhanshan was born in 1885 in Gongzhuling of Jilin province to a poor shepherding family. Ma was of Manchu heritage as stated by his grandson Ma Zhiwei who became a member of the Chinese Peoples' political consultative conference. At a very young age, Ma joined a bandit group in Heihushan. This bandit group gradually was incorporated into some troops of Huaide county yamen. During the Russo-Japanese War, Ma was one of the many local soldiers who served under the Japanese. At the age of 20, as a result of his exceptional marksmanship and equestrianism, Ma was promoted to Guard Monitor of the 4th security Guard Battalion under Wu Junsheng. Wu Junsheng commanded the Tianhou Road Patrol and defense battalion for Mukden in 1908. In 1913 Ma was appointed as Major and Company commander over the 3rd company, 3rd regiment, 2nd Brigade of the Central Cavalry Army of Republic China. By 1920 he was promoted to Colonel and followed his superior Wu Junsheng who became a warlord. He gradually found himself serving Zhang Zuolin's Northeastern Army, serving as a brigade commander of the 5th cavalry brigade, 17th cavalry division. By 1927 he was transferred to Heilongjiang where he became a garrison commander at Heihe, along the Soviet border. After Zhang Zuolins death in 1928 Ma was nominated as Heilongjiang's Provincial Bandit Suppression Commander and the provincial cavalry commander in chief. During the Mukden Incident of September 18th, 1931, General Xie Ke, the deputy commander in chief of Qiqihar took a series of strategic measures to block the Japanese and their Chinese collaborationist troops from invading their territory. Xie Ke dispatched two battalions of infantry and an artillery regiment to defend Qiqihar under Park Bingshan; a regiment led by Zhu Fengyang from Xiaohaozi station to Tailai to guard in the direction of Taonan; the first cavalry brigade of Wu Shongli from Baiquan to Qiqihar; a guard regiment under Xu Baozhen, with a battalion of artillery, a company of engineers and a company of baggage, roughly 2000 people to take up a position north of Jiangqiao where they began building fortifications, laid minefields south of the critical Nenjiang bridge there and mounted 100 Czech made light machine guns to the front lines.  Now when the Mukden Incident broke out, the Governor of Heilongjiang province, Wan Fulin was in Beiping leaving no one of real authority in the province to take charge of its defenses against the Japanese. Meanwhile Liaoning and Jilin were basically trampled upon without much incident. From Beiping Zhang Xueliang telegraphed the Nanjing government to ask for instructions as what he should do, but in the meantime he appointed Ma Zhanshan as acting Governor and Military commander in chief of Heilongjiang Province on October 10th, 1931. Now a full General, Ma Zhanshan arrived at the capital Qiqihar on the 19th and began personally inspecting the troops and defensive positions. By this point Chiang Kai-Shek had made it known the stance of Nanjing was one of passiveness, to wait for negotiations to unfold to settle the matter. Zhang Xueliang loyally followed said commands, but multiple parties within Manchuria sought to either surrender, openly collaborate or resist the Japanese. Under the circumstances, Ma Zhanshan told his troops “I am appointed as Chairman of the Province, and I have the responsibility to defend the Province and I will never be a surrendering general". Thus Ma Zhanshan chose to disobey the Kuomintang's orders not to resist the Japanese. Meanwhile also during the month of October, General Zhang Haipeng of the 2nd Provincial Defense Brigade at Taonan had just been approached by the Japanese seeking collaboration. Zhang Haipeng had been a Honghuzi irregular cavalry commander during the first sino-japanese war. He later became a mercenary during the Russo-Japanese War and went on to study at the Northeast Military academy. After the Xinhai revolution he was assigned command of an infantry regiment, but was one of the morons who supported Zhang Xun's attempt to restore the Qing Dynasty in 1917. After that debacle he went to work for Zhang Zuolin and in 1923 was appointed a commissioner of the Chinese Eastern Railway. When the Japanese asked him to collaborate, Zhang Haipeng immediately seized command of the local forces including the Xing'an Reclamation Army to declare the district independent from China. He did this in return for a shipment of military supplies from the IJA. Upon taking charge on October 23, Zhang Haipeng dispatched 3 regiments from Baichengzi to attack Jiangqiao led by General Xu Jinglong. Xu Jinglong's advance guard with an engineering company was attacked by forces led by General Dou Lianfang defending the north bank around the Nenjiang Bridge. During the battle, Ma Zhanshan had his forces use dynamite to damage the Nenjiang railroad bridge. The Japanese began to repeatedly demand Ma Zhanshan allow them to repair the bridge, but he continuously refused and had his forces defend the area near Daxing preventing Zhang Haipengs men from proceeding north. By October the 15th, the Japanese provided some fighter-bomber support, but Zhang Haipengs forces suffered heavy casualties and were counterattacked until they retreated. At this time Ma Zhanshan was traveling from Heihe to Qiqihar. By the 20th Ma officially took office as the acting chairman of Heilongjiang and went to the front lines to encourage the men. He issued a reward for the head of Zhang Haipeng and announced the establishment of the Heilongjiang Army Provincial HQ. Xi Ke became his chief of staff and deputy commander. On October 22nd, Ma Zhanshan issued a declaration in response to the Japanese massing forces along the border of Heilongjiang. "In this difficult time for the country, two of the three provinces have been lost. Those who have a little conscience will all sleep on straw and taste gall, and swear to survive. Although our Heilongjiang is still a clean piece of land... From now on, anyone who invades our province will fight to the death." Ma Zhanshan then went to work, grabbing reports from his generals such as Xie Ke about the state of their defenses. He immediately began adjusting the deployment of forces: He appointed Pu Bingshan as the commander of the provincial capital garrison to enhance the defense of the area. Wang Nanping was designated as the commander of the Heihe garrison, taking over from Ma Zhanshan. Additionally, he organized three infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery battalion from the Northeast Reclamation Army into the 1st Infantry Brigade, positioning them south of Daxing. The cavalry unit was deployed to the west of Fulaerji to secure the Jingxing direction. By October 29, 1931, the establishment of three defensive positions, extending approximately 40 kilometers in depth and 10 kilometers in width from Jiangqiao to Yushutun and Ang'angxi, was largely completed, with the railway serving as the central axis. Liu Wankui, the former head of the Ning'an Public Security Bureau, led over 1,000 troops to be reorganized west of Ning'an on the 15th, forming the 5th Independent Regiment of the Self-Defense Army. Following the defeat of Zhang Haipeng's rebels, the Kwantung Army was prepared to deploy troops directly. They viewed the destruction of the Nenjiang Bridge by the Chinese army as a prime justification for action. Consequently, they decided to establish the Nenjiang Detachment, consisting of one infantry battalion, one artillery battalion, and an engineering squadron from the 16th Regiment of the 2nd Division, supported by the 8th Independent Flying Squadron. Their plan was to use military force to secure the bridge repair, incite trouble, and launch an attack. However, the Japanese Army Ministry and General Staff Headquarters were still wary of the Soviet Union at that time and did not endorse the Kwantung Army's offensive. Kanaya Nobumitsu sent a telegram to the Kwantung Army stating, "You may proceed to repair the river bridge. However, you are not permitted to deploy troops to North Manchuria, far from the Nenjiang River, without my approval, regardless of the circumstances." However, when Hirota Koki, the Japanese ambassador to the Soviet Union, learned from Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Kajiekan on October 29 that the Soviet Union would not support either side in the conflict and would maintain a "strict non-interference policy," the stance of the Japanese Army Ministry shifted, leading them to back the Kwantung Army. On November 2, 1931, Honjo Shigeru instructed Hayashi Yoshihide, the head of the Qiqihar Japanese secret service, to deliver an ultimatum to Ma Zhanshan. The ultimatum demanded that Ma Zhanshan's troops withdraw to a location at least 10 kilometers from the Nenjiang Iron Bridge by noon on the 3rd, and refrain from entering the area until the Japanese army had completed repairs on the bridge. If these conditions were not met, the Japanese army would resort to force.  On November 4th Ma Zhanshan sent subordinates to accompany Major Hayashi Yoshihide “so that the Japanese might begin work, and so that I could order my army to start to retreat”. Ma Zhanshan gave assurances the Japanese repairing operation would not be interfered with, meanwhile teelgraming his subordinates “paint all Manchuria red with the blood of Japanese troops”. A force of 800 Japanese led by Major General Shogo Hasebe with repair crews came to the area to find Daxing a warzone. Shogo found Ma Zhanshans subordinate on the ground, Xu Baozhen and demanded the fighting cease so they could repair the bridge. Xu Baozhen said he never received any orders to cease fighting. The Japanese claim the nearby 2500 Chinese forces of Ma Zhanshan began opening fire upon them using rifles and machine guns. The Japanese retaliated likewise and Japanese aircraft began strafing the Chinese forcing them to retreat towards Qiqihar. The Chinese suffered 120 casualties, the Japanese 15. That day the Japanese Nenjiang Detachment's advance squadron moved northward from Jiangqiao Station, supported by aircraft. After crossing the Nenjiang Bridge, they launched an assault on the Chinese army positions south of Daxing Station. At that time, Xu Baozhen's and Zhang Jingdu's troops from Ma Zhanshan's Guard Regiment, totaling 2,700 soldiers, rose to confront the enemy and successfully repelled them. In the afternoon, the Japanese forces, now numbering around 4,000 and led by Colonel Hamamoto, attacked Jiangqiao with the support of aircraft, tanks, and heavy artillery. They initially penetrated the left flank of Jiangqiao before launching a fierce assault on the main Daxing Line position in front of the town. Despite the Chinese defenders' resistance, the Japanese managed to breach their positions, leading to intense hand-to-hand combat. Despite this the Japanese forces were forced to retreat to the riverbank, where they were ambushed by Chinese troops concealed in the reeds. As reinforcements for the Japanese arrived, they were quickly flanked by the defending cavalry, forcing them to retreat once more. By 20:00, the Japanese forces had completely pulled out, leaving behind over 400 casualties. That night, following a sustained artillery bombardment, the Japanese attempted a surprise boat attack. As their boats neared the northern bank, the Chinese troops hidden in the reeds opened fire, resulting in many Japanese soldiers falling into the water, either killed or wounded, while the remainder retreated. On that day, the Chinese army suffered over 300 casualties, while the Japanese and their puppet forces incurred more than 1,000 losses. Despite concentrating their forces and launching continuous attacks with air and artillery support, the Japanese were ultimately repelled by the defenders. Lieutenant Shinichiro Ojin, a Japanese pilot flying low and dropping bombs, was also injured during the conflict. The Japanese sent word to Ma Zhanshan, demanding he make true on his promise, but Ma Zhanshan responded that of his 15,000 troops he could only nominally control a third. Ma Zhanshan then sent a telegram to the League of Nations reading this “I am helpless. I have exhausted all attempts to preserve peace. I have strictly instructed my commanders to act only on the defensive, and that they must not attack. But Major Hayashi has seen this behavior by the Japanese military, and not only has not stopped it but, on the contrary, wants our army to withdraw from Heilongjiang province, so that they can carve up the whole lot... Since the 4th, the Japanese army has started to attack our army . . . They are coordinating land and air attacks, carrying out utterly horrible bombings!”  On the morning of the 5th, the Japanese army focused all its efforts on launching another assault. At 6 am., the Japanese forces bombarded the defenders' positions with numerous cannons. By 7 am, over 8,000 Japanese and puppet troops crossed the river via the central route, while additional puppet forces advanced from the left and right, shielded by artillery and aircraft. As the boats reached the midpoint of the river, the Chinese army mounted a vigorous counterattack. Despite suffering significant casualties, the Japanese and puppet troops persisted in their attempt to cross. By 10 am, the Japanese army had taken the frontline positions on the riverbank, forcing the defenders to retreat to the flanks. The Japanese then launched an assault on the second line of defense at Daxing, where they faced staunch resistance from the defenders. At noon, Ma Zhanshan arrived at the front lines to direct Wu Delin's and Xu Baozhen's regiments in a counteroffensive, urgently sending the Sabli Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Brigade to encircle the Japanese forces from both sides. The brutal fighting continued from 3pm until dusk. The Japanese acknowledged, "The Chinese army executed an encirclement counterattack using infantry and cavalry. The Japanese army suffered heavy losses and was compelled to retreat" . The Japanese forces were forced to shift from an offensive to a defensive stance, with many of their support units annihilated by our cavalry. In this engagement, the Chinese army incurred over 200 casualties, while the Japanese army lost 167 soldiers and sustained more than 600 injuries. That night, a battalion from the 29th Regiment of the Japanese Army arrived as reinforcements. Upon their arrival, they immediately launched an attack but were quickly surrounded by Ma Zhanshan's forces. In response, Honjo Shigeru urgently dispatched an infantry battalion and three artillery squadrons from the 16th Regiment to assist. On the morning of the 6th, Japanese reinforcements arrived and launched a vigorous assault, supported by aircraft that conducted strafing and bombing runs in an attempt to rescue the encircled Japanese forces. On that day, Ma Zhanshan personally visited the front lines to oversee the battle. Both sides incurred significant casualties. Despite the fierce resistance from Ma Zhanshan's troops, the Japanese offensive struggled to gain ground. In response, Honjo Shigeru ordered Tamon Jiro of the 2nd Division to lead the 29th Regiment, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment, the Temporary Field Heavy Artillery Battalion, the Engineer Squadron, and a battalion from the 39th Mixed Brigade in the Shenyang area to rush to the vicinity of Kaijiang Bridge. Their objective was to reinforce their forces, attack the defenders, and capture the key position at Daxing. The Chinese army fought desperately, with the sounds of hand-to-hand combat echoing loudly as they repeatedly recaptured lost positions. That day, the Chinese forces suffered over 1,850 casualties, while inflicting more than 2,000 deaths on Japanese and puppet troops and shooting down one aircraft. The Japanese Hamamoto Detachment was nearly annihilated, and the Gaobo Cavalry Team sustained almost total losses. After three days and two nights of continuous fighting without reinforcements, the soldiers were extremely fatigued, and the Daxing position had been heavily damaged. General Ma Zhanshan then ordered the main forces to withdraw to the secondary position at Sanjianfang, located 18 kilometers from Daxing Station, to reorganize defenses alongside the 1st Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Infantry Brigade. On the morning of the 7th, a significant force of Japanese and puppet troops, supported by ten aircraft, launched an attack on the Nantangchi area of Sanjianfang. In response, a combined regiment from Zhang Dianjiu's Brigade and Su Bingwen's Brigade quickly mobilized to counterattack, successfully repelling the enemy by the afternoon. The Chinese forces incurred over 300 casualties, while the Japanese suffered more than 600 casualties, along with over 1,000 from the puppet troops. Notably, and take this one with a heavy grain of I am using a PRC source grain of salt quote “despite ongoing enemy air assaults and the lack of anti-aircraft artillery, the courageous soldiers displayed remarkable ingenuity by lying on the ground in groups of 20 and firing their rifles upward, ultimately managing to shoot down an enemy aircraft”. Upon inspection, the wreckage revealed 26 bullet holes in both wings, marking the first enemy plane downed in China's war against Japan. As a result, Japanese aircraft became hesitant to fly at low altitudes in subsequent battles. Observing the heavy losses inflicted on his forces, Honjo Shigeru ordered Duomen Jiro to halt their advance and return to their original positions. To conceal the reality of their defeat, the Japanese army circulated rumors claiming that the Soviet Union supplied ammunition to the defenders in Heilongjiang. They also propagated various falsehoods to downplay the number of Japanese casualties, worried that anti-war sentiments in Japan would gain momentum. In response, Ma Zhanshan sent a telegram to counter the Japanese army's claims. The Japanese army experienced significant losses during the initial phase of the battle. To resolve the stalemate quickly, they deployed additional troops and made every effort to prepare for a renewed attack. Simultaneously, they issued an ultimatum to Ma Zhanshan, pressuring him to resign, relinquish power, and withdraw Chinese forces from Qiqihar, but Ma Zhanshan firmly refused. The Kwantung Army recommended that the Japanese Army Central Department expedite the deployment of an extra division. In response, Honjo Shigeru ordered the "2nd Division to gather in Daxing with full force." By the 11th, the Japanese army had assembled the Hase Brigade Headquarters, the 16th Infantry Regiment, the 4th Regiment , the 1st Battalion of the 29th Regiment, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and the 2nd Squadron of the 28th Regiment, along with the 2nd Field Artillery Regiment and the 2nd Engineer Squadron on the north bank of the Nenjiang River. On the south bank, they had the 3rd Battalion of the 26th Field Artillery Regiment and a Temporary Field Heavy Artillery Battalion, totaling over 30,000 troops. In response to the Japanese army's troop deployment, Ma Zhanshan convened a military meeting on the evening of the 7th to discuss strategies for countering the enemy and to reorganize troop placements, establishing three lines of defense. The first line of defense was located in Tangchi, Wunotou, and Xinlitun, with front-line positions at Houyiriba, Qianguandi, and Houguandi, defended by two regiments from Wu Songlin's 1st Cavalry Brigade. After the 14th, Lu Zhiyuan's 2nd Cavalry Brigade was fully deployed to engage in combat in Tangchi and surrounding areas. The second line of defense was situated in Yinglaofen, Sanjianfang, Daxingtun, Xiaoxingtun, and Huotuoqi, serving as the primary position for the black army's frontal defense. This line was manned by four regiments from Yuan Chonggu's 1st Brigade, Wu Delin's 2nd Infantry Brigade, Li Qingshan's 3rd Infantry Brigade, Wang Kezhen's 1st Cavalry Brigade, as well as Park Bingshan's artillery regiment and various engineering and support units. Following the 14th, Sun Hongyu's 1st Infantry Brigade and 2,000 personnel from the Suihua Security Battalion joined the frontal defense efforts. The third line of defense was established in Zhujiakan, Fulaerji, Ang'angxi, and Yushutun, defended by two regiments from Zhang Dianjiu's 1st Infantry Brigade, the entire 2nd Cavalry Brigade, and the Guard Regiment, totaling over 13,000 troops. Sanjianfang is a station located on the railway line from Taonan to Ang'angxi, situated 70 li north of Qiqihar and 60 li south of Nenjiang Bridge. It served as a crucial defensive site for the Chinese army in protecting the capital of Heilongjiang Province. For the Japanese army to take control of Heilongjiang Province, capturing Sanjianfang was essential for a direct route to Qiqihar. Consequently, the struggle for Sanjianfang became a central point in the second phase of the Battle of Jiangqiao. On the morning of the 12th, a vanguard of 500 Japanese infantry and cavalry launched an assault on Ma Zhanshan's frontier positions at Qianguandi, Houguandi, and Zhanghuayuan. The defending forces under Wu Songlin mounted a counterattack. By 1:00 pm, the Japanese army had taken control of the positions, forcing over 600 defenders to retreat to the front lines. At 5:00 am on the 13th more than 500 Japanese soldiers, supported by two aircraft, attacked Xinlitun, but they faced a strong counteroffensive from the defenders. By 10:00 am, the defenders had successfully repelled the attack. At noon that day, the damaged Nenjiang Bridge was repaired, creating advantageous conditions for a large-scale Japanese offensive. At this time, Kwantung Army commander Honjo Shigeru issued a third reinforcement order: "Deploy the remaining troops of the 2nd Division, along with three infantry battalions from the 39th Mixed Brigade and the rescue squad, to the vicinity of Daxing." He also instructed Lieutenant General Duomen, the commander of the 2nd Division, to lead the Nenjiang Detachment. In response, the Japanese headquarters hastily dispatched three air squadrons to Heilongjiang Province and redirected the 4th Mixed Brigade, initially set to land in Dalian, to Busan, Korea, for a swift deployment to Heilongjiang. In the afternoon, over 3,000 Japanese infantry and cavalry, supported by artillery, launched a vigorous attack on Tangchi, Unotou, and Xinlitun. The defenders fought back fiercely until midnight, when the Japanese finally occupied Unotou. On the morning of the 14th, the Japanese army launched an attack on the Tangchi position, supported by two aircraft and heavy artillery, but they were repelled by the forces of Ma Zhanshan. Around 10 a.m., over 2,000 Japanese troops, led by Hase, split into two units—infantry and cavalry—and employed a strategy of large encirclement to assault Tangchi from both the left and right flanks. The cavalry engaged in combat but eventually retreated. The intense fighting continued until the morning of the 15th, when the Japanese army targeted Shuanma. By this time, Ma Zhanshan had already dispatched two cavalry regiments to quietly encircle the enemy's flanks. At his command, the front guard regiment charged into the Japanese positions first, while the cavalry regiments surged from both sides, forcing the Japanese to retreat hastily. Ma Zhanshan's forces captured two artillery pieces and 70 horses, killed 300 Japanese soldiers, and took 200 prisoners, while the puppet army suffered over 2,000 casualties and fled with their weapons. To bolster their defensive capabilities, the defenders organized the 2,000 members of the Suihua Security Battalion into an independent regiment and integrated them into the frontline. On the 15th, following orders from Japanese Army Minister Minami Jiro, Honjo Shigeru presented three demands to Ma Zhanshan: that Ma's troops withdraw from south of the Chinese Eastern Railway, that the area be administered by the Taomao Bureau, and that Ma refrain from interference. However, Ma Zhanshan rejected these demands. At 7:30 a.m. on the 15th, Lieutenant General Tamon, the commander of the Japanese 2nd Division, led the main contingent of his division to the Daxing front. By 11:00 am on the 16th, with the backing of 10 aircraft, heavy artillery, and tanks, 4,000 Japanese infantry and cavalry launched a vigorous assault on positions including Xinlitun and Sanjiazi. The defenders fought valiantly and managed to repel the Japanese forces by 3:00 pm, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. At 10:10 a.m. on the 17th, Honjo Shigeru received orders from the Chief of Army General Staff to "advance north of Qiqihar and attempt to destabilize the enemy with bold maneuvers, and have the 2nd Division  capture Qiqihar in one decisive strike." He also instructed the 39th Mixed Brigade to "mobilize all remaining troops in Daxing, except for one infantry company and an engineering company, placing them under the command of the 2nd Division leader." At 1:00 p.m., Division Commander Duomen ordered the Japanese troops stationed at the Houyiriba train to launch a full-scale assault on the Black Army, particularly targeting Sanjianfang. By 10:00 pm on the 17th the Japanese forces, having received supplies and reinforcements, split into three groups and mounted a fierce attack on the Mabu position. Under Amano's command, the right-wing troops advanced from Wunotou to assault the left-wing positions in the Xinlitun area. Despite the Wu Songlin Brigade being exhausted from several days of fighting, they fiercely resisted the numerically superior enemy, repelling more than ten Japanese attacks. However, by early morning, most of the defenders' trenches had been destroyed, and their positions were compromised in numerous locations, forcing a retreat to the second line in the Daxingtun area. At 10:40 pm on the 17th, the left-wing Japanese forces, commanded by Hase, attacked the right-wing positions in the Tangchi area, where the Cheng Zhiyuan Brigade fought tenaciously. By 2:00 am the following day, the Japanese intensified their assault, deploying 8 tanks and over 30 artillery pieces. Unable to sustain their defense, the defenders retreated to the main position at Sanjianfang. At 3 am on the 18th, the Japanese army mobilized various units and moved to the designated staging area as planned. By 6:30, aircraft and artillery began a one-hour bombardment of the front-line positions at Sanjianfang, to which the defenders responded with their own artillery fire. The booming of the cannons echoed across the entire Shuobei wilderness. At that time, Japanese heavy artillery had a range of 30 kilometers, while the Ma army's heavy artillery could only reach 15 kilometers, resulting in significant losses. Around 8 o'clock, the Japanese forces launched a full-scale attack, supported by tanks. Despite the fierce fighting from the defenders, the Japanese advance was initially repelled. At 9:20, Duomen ordered reinforcements from the reserves and initiated another aggressive assault. By 10 o'clock, although the defenders on the right flank fought valiantly, they were unable to hold their ground and retreated to Mao Mao Creek. At 10:30, the left flank position at Xiaoxingtun fell, forcing the troops to fight their way back to Hongqiyingzi and Yushutun. At this point, Hase directed the infantry and cavalry to assault the main position at Sanjianfang with support from aircraft and tanks. The defending troops, including the Yuan Chonggu Brigade and Zhang Dianjiu Brigade, put up a fierce resistance. By 14:00, the Japanese 39th Mixed Brigade, followed by a regiment from Sanjiazi to the west of Sanjianfang, joined the fight. Together with the Hase Brigade launching a direct assault, they executed a coordinated pincer movement. After 15:00, the Japanese forces added 12 aircraft, 12 tanks, and over 30 artillery pieces, bombarding the trenches with intense fire. Due to insufficient reinforcements, the Japanese army captured Qiqihar on the 19th. Ma Zhanshan's army was on the brink of starvation after Japanese planes bombed their food storage facilities. The Chinese defenders, battling fiercely despite their empty stomachs, were undeterred by their enemy's overwhelming numbers. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat, fighting to the death, their battle cries echoing through the ground. Fighting in the Sanjianfang area continued throughout the night. Although the Chinese troops shared a common hatred and displayed "extraordinary bravery," many had gone several days without sleep due to relentless fighting, and their food supplies had been cut off, leaving them without reinforcements. The ammunition available at that time was part of a long-term stockpile from the Heilongjiang defenders, with much of it rendered unusable due to mold. Meanwhile, the invading forces were continuously bolstered by fresh supplies and reinforcements, creating a dire imbalance between the strong enemy and the weakened defenders. Furthermore, the position had been heavily damaged and was "truly unable to sustain" the fight. On the afternoon of the 18th, Ma Zhanshan was forced to make the difficult decision to order a withdrawal. By the 19th, over 5,000 Japanese troops had taken control of Qiqihar, marking the end of the Battle of Jiangqiao. The civilian population had pushed Ma Zhanshan to pull out, a long held Chinese tradition that did not mean losing face, but rather living to fight another day. On November the 18th, Ma Zhanshans forces evacuated Qiqihar and by the 19th he led them east to defend Baiquan and Hailun. His army suffered tremendous casualties, possibly up to 3000, with the Japanese claiming 300 casualties for themselves. Ma Zhanshans forces then retired to the Nonni river valley and eventually over the Soviet Border. The Japanese began an occupation of Qiqihar, thus securing the control of all three Manchurian provincial capitals. They quickly established a collaborist government under General Zhang Jinghui and secured control over the central section of the Chinese eastern railway. However the eastern section of the railway was still under the control of General Ting Chao operating in Harbin. Ting Chao would follow Ma Zhanshans example, inspiring local Chinese to aid and enlist in the resistance efforts.  Ma Zhanshan drew international attention through a series of telegrams he sent describing his campaign of resistance against the Japanese in Heilongjiang. His stand along the Nonni river near Qiqihar lionized him amongst the Chinese nationalists who sought to use his public image to shame Chiang Kai-shek into action against the Japanese.  During the Battle of Jiangqiao, Ma Zhanshan fought independently without any assistance from the Northeast Army based in Jinzhou. Although Zhang Xueliang instructed Ma to hold his position, the troops in Jinzhou were "not ready for combat." Following the battle, Zhang Xueliang faced significant public backlash. The Shanghai National Salvation Federation stated that "Ma's forces in Heilongjiang Province fought valiantly against the Japanese and demonstrated loyalty on the battlefield, while Zhang Xueliang failed to provide support." The Citizens' Federation sent a telegram to the National Government, accusing Zhang of "neglecting his responsibilities while allowing the Japanese invaders to attack the Northeast, leading to national humiliation and territorial loss." Additionally, the National Student Anti-Japanese National Salvation Federation sent a telegram urging the government to "severely punish Zhang Xueliang and deploy troops immediately." Chiang Kai-shek sent multiple telegrams to praise Ma Zhanshan for his brave resistance and instructed Zhang Xueliang to quickly provide reinforcements. For instance, on November 12th,, Chiang Kai-shek sent a message to Ma Zhanshan stating: "Japan has once again invaded Heilongjiang Province under the pretext of repairing the Jiangqiao Bridge. Our defensive actions were justified. Fortunately, due to your careful leadership and the bravery of the soldiers, we managed to defeat the relentless enemy and protect our territory. I was furious upon receiving the telegram. You and your comrades have brought honor to the party and the nation, fighting for our survival. The entire Chinese populace is inspired. The people's spirit remains unbroken, justice prevails, and the future is hopeful. We pledge to unite in our efforts. I shed tears in the wind and snow, unable to express all my thoughts. Chiang Kai-shek." Additionally, on the 19th, Chiang Kai-shek wrote to Ma Zhanshan: "I have read your telegram and am filled with sorrow and anger that words cannot capture. Our army has fought valiantly for days, bringing glory to our nation. Our reputation has spread widely, earning admiration both domestically and internationally, which is truly commendable. I have urged Deputy Commander Zhang to send troops to assist you. I miss you dearly as I write this message. Chiang Kai-shek." All major domestic newspapers covered the Jiangqiao Anti-Japanese War prominently, and various sectors of society conveyed their condolences to the frontline soldiers in numerous ways. Life Weekly, backed by Zou Taofen, remarked, "This spirit of defending the nation and refusing to surrender even in death is crucial for the future of the Chinese people. It demonstrates to the world that our soldiers are not entirely dishonorable and have restored significant pride for the nation." The Shanghai Fuchang Tobacco Company even created "General Ma Zhanshan Cigarettes," promoting the slogan, "May everyone emulate General Ma." On November 17th,, the Binjiang Times published an editorial stating, "The Chinese soldiers in Heilongjiang fought valiantly against the brutality of the Japanese army. The blood shed along the Nenjiang River is the legacy of our brave men. The Chinese army in Heilongjiang represents the true warriors defending the nation. After the September 18th Incident, we began to doubt how many Chinese soldiers could confront the enemy, and we were deeply disappointed. Fifty days after losing Liaoning and Jilin provinces, we realized that Ma Zhanshan in Heilongjiang truly deserves the title of Chinese soldier." People across the country spontaneously formed groups for condolences and support, donating money and supplies to aid Heilongjiang's resistance efforts. Many young students set aside their studies to join the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Thus ended the Jiangqiao Campaign. General Ma Zhanshan proved himself quite a formidable rebel leader in the face of pretty overwhelming odds. His name was propagandized heavily by the Chinese press to boost morale and try to awaken the Chinese that a fight for their very existence was at hand, but China simply did not have the means yet to face such an enemy. 

Last time we spoke about how Zhang Xueliang lost Manchuria. In September 1931, the Mukden Incident ignited conflict in Manchuria as Japan executed a false flag attack, prompting a swift assault on Peitaying Barracks. Zhang Xueliang, urged by Chiang Kai-shek, chose not to resist, fearing a full-scale war. The Japanese invasion revealed deep political divisions in Manchuria, with some officials defecting, others sabotaging, and a few fighting back. Amidst chaos, Zhang sought to unify his forces, but rivalries and external threats complicated his efforts, setting the stage for prolonged conflict. In post-1929 Manchuria, nationalist activists joined the KMT, including Yan Baohang and his friends, who attended a 1931 conference in Nanjing. They aimed to resist Japanese influence while navigating local elite tensions and economic struggles. As Zhang Xueliang rose to power, he sought reform but faced distrust and challenges, including high military spending and a devastating depression. By 1931, Japanese aggression loomed, culminating in a coup that threatened the fragile nationalist aspirations in the region.   #139 Gokokujo and Collaborators  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters had hoped to localize the Mukden Incident and communicated their orders to Kwantung Command. However as we had seen, the Kwantung Command in chief General Shigeru Honjo, had his wrist twisted somewhat by certain culprits in the form of Ishiwara Kanji and Itageki Seishiro. Honjo thus ordered the forces to proceed with expanding operations along the South Manchuria Railway zone. On September the 19th, the 29th infantry regiment stormed Mukden, easily overwhelming the Chinese forces within the inner walled city. Simultaneously the 2nd battalion occupied Pei Ta Ying, where they were met with some fierce resistance before storming Tung Ta Ying. Afterwards the 2nd Division drove out the remaining Chinese resistance from the eastern area of Mukden. Meanwhile the 1st Battalion fought Chinese forces at Kuan Cheng Tze near Changchun. By this point Honjo's request for assistance from the Korea Army was confirmed. General Senjuro Hayashi ordered the 20th infantry division to divide itself, forming the 39th mixed brigade who marched into Manchuria, without any authorization from Tokyo nor the Emperor to do so. By the end of the 19th, the Japanese had seized Liaoyang, Shenyang, Yingkou, Dandong, Fushun, Changchun and Jilin.  On the 20th, Wan Shu Cheng, the commander of the Chinese 2nd army ordered a withdrawal of the 44th and 643rd regiments stationed at Taching to head for Tiantsin. On the 21st the Japanese took Jilin city, by the 23rd they captured Jiaohe and Dunhua, both within Jilin. On the 26th, the Governor of Jilin, Zhang Zuoxiang who was not there at the time, was overthrown by a newly formed provisional provincial government with Xi Xia as its chairman. By October 1st Zhang Haiping would surrender the area of Taonan, later in October Ji Xing surrendered the Yanbian Korean Autonomous prefecture area and on the 17th Yu Zhishan surrendered Eastern Liaoning. General HQ in Tokyo were flabbergasted at the news all of this was being done without their orders, in fact in most cases it was directly against their orders. The civilian government of Japan was in absolute disarray over what was an act of Gekokujo. Gekokujo directly translated meaning "the low overcomes the high",was when someone of a lesser position in the military or politics overthrew someone in a higher position to seize power. The term goes all the way back to the Sui Dynasty of China, for Japan during the Kamakura period, but its most prominently known for being used during the Sengoku period. It was through the chaotic political climate of the Sengoku period that Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose to power. During the Showa period, Gekokujo would occur often. Those of the Kodoha faction used it as a means to an end during the 1920s and 1930s, assassinating political opponents as they tried to press for a Showa restoration. Back to Manchuria, as Gokokujo ran rampant, with reports coming in after each quick victory and city taken by Japanese forces, Tokyo General HQ felt utterly powerless to stop it. There is also another facet to this, the role of Emperor Hirohito. Many of you might only have a vague idea of how much “actual power” Emperor Hirohito had during the Showa Era. The Meiji Constitution of Japan going back to 1889 remained in force until 1947. It was enacted after the Meiji restoration in 1868 and provided a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy. Thus in theory the Emperor governed the empire upon the advice of his ministers. In practice this meant while the Emperor was head of state, it was still the Prime Minister who was actually heading the government. Now this was all fine and dandy, however the constitution also stated the Emperor had direct control over the military. Imagine this scenario, you work for a company and take orders from the boss of the company. The father of the boss used to run the company and is seen as the face of it, but retired long ago and has no real authority. So you do the orders your boss gives you, but what about if that father figure suddenly shows up and gives orders? Many in the company would go ahead and do what the father says, feeling this obligatory need to. Now in the case of Showa Era Japan, the entire population of Japan saw the Emperor as a divine being, maybe you can call him the spiritual leader of Japan. He wasn't expected to intervene in political or military matters, but if he did, you but your ass people would follow his orders. Now since the Japanese navy and army knew the Emperor could directly control them, they actually used this as a tool. On many occasions in order to secure further funding or specific policy adjustment, military leaders would appeal to the Emperor or do things in the name of the Emperor, completely superseding the civilian government. Basically the military used the Meiji Constitution to earn a large degree of autonomy, case and point being the Mukden Incident. As long as they made it seem like they were doing everything they believed the Emperor wanted them to do, they believed they could get away with it. If the Civilian government came after them for their actions, they could appeal to the emperor, but how did Hirohito feel about all this? Rumors had emerged even before the Mukden Incident, to which Hirohito demanded the army be reigned in. Attempts were made, but the Mukden Incident went off on September 18th. The next day the imperial palace were given a report and Hirohito was advised by chief aide de camp Nara Takeji “this incident would not spread and if the Emperor was to convene an imperial conference to take control of the situation, the virtue of his majesty might be soiled if the decisions of such a conference should prove impossible to implement”.  As the Mukden incident was getting worse, the Kwantung officers began to demand reinforcements be sent from the Korea army. The current Wakatsuki cabinet met on the issue and decided the Mukden incident had to remain an incident, they needed to avoid a declaration of war. The official orders were for no reinforcements of the Korea army to mobilize, however the field commander took it upon his own authority and mobilized them. The army chief of staff Kanaya reported to Hirohito the Korea army was marching into Manchuria against orders. At 31 years of age Hirohito now had an excellent opportunity to back the current cabinet, to control the military and stop the incident from getting worse. At this time the military was greatly divided on the issue, politically still weak compared to what they would become in a few years, if Hirohito wanted to rule as a constitutional monarch instead of an autocratic monarch, well this was his chance. Hirohito said to Kanaya at 4:20pm on September 22nd “although this time it couldn't be helped, [the army] had to be more careful in the future”. Thus Hirohito accepted the situation as fait accompli, he was not seriously opposed to seeing his army expand his empire. If it involved a brief usurpation of his authority so bit, as long as the operation was successful.    It actually a lot more complicated, but to general sum it up, Emperor Hirohito cared about only one thing, the Kokutai. The Kokutai was the national essence of Japan. It was all aspects of Japanese polity, derived from history, tradition and customs all focused around the cult of the Emperor. The government run by politicians was secondary, at any given time the kokutai was the belief the Emperor could come in and directly rule. If you are confused, dont worry, its confusing. The Meiji constitution was extremely ambiguous. It dictated a form of constitutional monarchy with the kokutai sovereign emperor and the “seitai” that being the actual government. Basically on paper the government runs things, but the feeling of the Japanese people was that the wishes of the emperor should be followed. Thus the kokutai was like an extra-judicial structure built into the constitution without real legal framework, its a nightmare I know.    Emperor Hirohito was indoctrinated from a young age that the most important aspect of his reign was to defend the Kokutai. This is actually why Hirohito took so long to finally intervene during WW2 and call for Japan's surrender. I have taken far too long going down the rabbit hole of Showa Era Japan and Hirohito, if you are interested on the subject, over only my Youtube Membership or Patreon I did a two part exclusive podcast specifically on Hirohito's responsibility for the war.  The weeks following the Mukden Incident were marked by wide scale cooperation between the local Chinese leaders and Japanese invaders. In many places there was of course valiant resistance by Chinese forces, but it was not centrally coordinated and honestly amounted to little. The Kwantung army despite being vastly outnumbered was highly trained and highly mechanized in comparison to the Chinese. The Kwantung army had very few troops to conquer over 350,000 square miles, populated by over 30 million Chinese. Prior to 1931 the Kwantung Army numbered under 10,000, by late 1931 this would increase to 65,000 and by 1933 140,000. Yet during the initial invasion the army's behavior was heavily affected by the actions of the Chinese, or in many cases their inability to act. The only way Japan was going to do what they wanted to do was to encourage co-optation amongst the Chinese elites of Manchuria, typically at the provincial and local levels. This meant showering them with extravagant new positions in the new regime, promoting a policy of nonresistance and targeting prominent members of Zhang Xueliang's regime who were expected to oppose Kwantung rule.  When the Mukden Incident broke out, Zhang Xueliang was in Beiping acting in his new capacity as the North China Garrison commander. On the night of September 18th, Zhang Xuliang was enjoying an opera performance by the famous singer Mei Lanfang. His deputies also all happened to be away from Shenyang. Wan Fulin was in Beiping and Zhang Zuoxiang was attending his fathers funeral in Jinzhou. Within their absence the most senior provincial commanders were quickly pounced upon by Kwantung operatives who secured their cooperation. Within Shenyang the Eastern Borders Garrison commander Yu Zhishan and Xi Xia the acting provincial forces commander of Changchun both immediately defected to the Japanese. Although the Northeastern Army had roughly 130,000 troops within Manchuria, compared to the Kwantung and Korea army troops who together were roughly 50,000, Chiang Kai-Shek hastily issued a nonresistance order that was confirmed by Zhang Xueliang. The troops were to not fight back and instead await a negotiated settlement. While they waited, the Japanese secured high level provincial elite cooperation within a few weeks time. On November 10th, Zhang Zuolin's former civil affairs minister, Yuan Jinkai was made chairman of the committee in charge of Japanese controlled Liaoning. On December 16th, the formerly existing post of governor was re-established and a previous holder of this post under Zhang Xueliang, Zang Shiyi was appointed. Thus Yuan Jinkai's post as chairman was redundant. Meanwhile Xi Xia was made governor of Jilin.  Some of you might be wondering, why in the hell would Chiang Kai-Shek relay orders to not resist an invasion? Let us not forget the timeline here, during this exact time period, Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan formed an alliance in North China against the NRA; the Soviet of Jiangxi was running rampant and in the south the Old Guangxi clique was running amok. Even though Zhang Xueliang had 250,000 men on paper, only 100-130,000 of them were in Manchuria while the rest were scattered around Hebei. Chiang Kai-Shek had an expert understanding of the Japanese numbers, their training and equipment. To put it frankly, if the quote en quote “incident” escalated into a full-scale war, China would most likely lose. There was also another aspect to this, the role of the League of Nations and the current Wakatsuki government in Tokyo. Either of these bodies could potentially restrain what appeared to be renegade Japanese forces on the asia mainland.  Going a bit forward in time, the last redoubt during the invasion would be at Jinzhou where Zhang Xueliang would establish his HQ. When it was about to finally fall, Zhang Xueliang ultimately decided to withdraw his forces from Manchuria. According to the US minister to CHina, Nelson Johnson, Counselor Yano of the Japanese legation tam at Beiping had conducted informal discussions with the Young Marshal, in which he stated Jinzhou would inevitably fall to the Japanese and quote “the Tokyo Foreign Office would gain prestige and be better able to shape events to the advantage of China if the Chinese avoid[ed] a clash by withdrawing voluntarily.” He also advised Zhang Xueliang, that some of his followers might be reappointed to official positions within the newly emerging government in Shenyang. Nelson tells us “Chang is believed to have been led to his present decision by these inducements, along with the bitter hostility toward him at Nanking and the lack of support from that quarter.” Thus Zhang Xueliang was being blackmailed by both sides into nonresistance. By late December of 1931 it also seemed certain international intervention was not going to happen and Chiang Kai-Shek's resignation over Nanjing did not provide the Young Marshal with many options.  Now what about the Japanese government during all of this. When the Mukden Incident boke out, the government in Tokyo, headed by premier Wakatsuki Reijiro were appalled to hear the news of what was essentially a mutiny. The Kwantung officers disagreed with Tokyo's policies and kept Tokyo's consul in Shenyang under lock and key during the night of September 18th. If there had been more significant resistance to the invasion, Tokyo probably would have ordered the Kwantung army to withdraw. Without the co-optation of many Chinese elites, the Kwantung Army would have most likely not succeeded in taking all of Manchuria. The co-optation policy the Japanese took was also very much not an ad hoc measure. There had been elements within the IJA who had been working overtime to persuade cooperation with local power holders as part of their strategy. The Kwantung officers who launched the Mukden Incident, mostly working under Ishiwara and Itegaki had initially aimed to enact a simply military occupation in which “local Chinese officials would be granted a considerable degree of autonomy in exchange for their cooperation.” However, Tokyo HQ outright rejected annexation out of fear of Soviet reprisals and this led the mutiny leaders to  “the subterfuge of Manchurian independence.” The improvised nature of the original plan led to arguments between the different sections of those Japanese forces in Manchuria. Historian Akira Iriye noted “What emerges . . . is an almost total absence of ideology as a driving force behind military action.” While this sounds clearly dysfunctional, it actually aided the occupiers, because many areas of life in Manchuria were not immediately affected by the occupation and thus were more likely to cooperate.  The actual coordination of the occupation was placed in the hands of the Kwantung Army Special Affairs Unit “Tokumubu”, operating via the General Affairs Board of the Council of State under Komai Tokuzo. Komai Tokuzo had been born near Kyoto and from an early age was consumed with a desire to see China. He was trained as an agriculturalist, before he joined the SMR and worked for a company during the reign of Zhang Zuolin. He became acquainted with the Old Tiger and debated with him and other prominent leaders on questions such as Mongol land rights and the Guo Songling rebellion. During this time he befriended Yu Chonghan and Zhang Jinghui. After the Mukden Incident, he was appointed as a financial adviser to the Kwantung Army, a very senior post with direct access to Honjo Shigeru, the commander of the Northeast. As Akira Iriye also notes “in fact, [Komai] was a top-level adviser to the army on politics and economics in Manchuria.”Komai would become responsible for the strategies of co-opting local elite, and thus was essential to the power structure of the Kwantung Army going forward.  The Japanese utilized a lethal combination of violence and persuasion to take over. Many power brokers refused to cooperate and were forced into exile in North China. However, plenty of collaborators were found to quickly set up structures and controls within the new regime. The bulk of the Japanese forces moved into the principal cities of the SMR region first. Robert E Lewis, the adviser to the foreign affairs ministry in Nanjing sent a telegram declaring the Japanese had sent a large number of troops into Manchuria just prior to the 18th of September “On Friday night September eighteenth the Japanese Army sent from Korea into Manchuria through Antung seven army railway trains fully loaded with soldiers. On Saturday night September ninteenth [sic] Japanese army sent four additional trains loaded with soldiers in to [sic] Manchuria at the same point . . . Japanese occupied every Chinese public office in Antung excepting the customs house which has Europeans in it, also placed guard over Chinese customs superintendent to prevent his free action. [The Japanese] arrested superintendent of schools and forbad [sic] teaching of Dr Sun Yatsen's principles. Japanese army occupied Kirin seventy nine miles east of the south Manchuria railway zone on September ninteenth [sic] they seized and held the telegraph office telephone office wireless station provincial arsenal waterworks plant Bank of China Kirin Provincial Bank police headquarters and subdivisions Kuo Ming Tang [sic] Party headquarters and all other public offices. Search and seizure was conducted of non-military population. Troops and military cadets were disarmed when captured and the arms and munitions of the Chinese arsenal were removed by Japanese including modern rifles field guns heavy guns military motor trucks.”. The capture of Shenyang only took a single day. The Japanese military, their Chinese military collaborators and the local media all coordinated efforts to persuade the people to continue life as normal. Many businesses closed down temporarily within the first few days, worried about a breakdown of the social order or Japanese attacks. But a week after the initial occupation, reports came to the Chambers of Agriculture and Commerce in Shenyang that businesses were all operating normally again, public order was restored. On the second day of the occupation the Kwantung installed Colonel Doihara Kenji as the new mayor of Shenyang, yes that psychopath a mayor. However by October 20th, the mayorship would be handed over to Zhao Xinbo, who by that point became a legal adviser to the Kwantung Army.  The capture of Changchun took a bit longer than Shenyang. On September 23rd the Japanese demanded of the Jilin based forces their surrender. Their acting commander Xi Xia agreed to the demands so that in his words “the province fortunately to escape the horrors of war.” However there were some troops looking to resist. In some ensuing clashes, 200 Chinese soldiers and around 10 civilians were killed in combat. An eye witness reported “At 4 P.M. on the 23rd, the Japanese army made strong use of their armaments, causing Xi Xia concern. So that afternoon, he met [Japanese] commander Tamon, and said that the present situation was serious[;] . . . only he himself could take responsibility for removing the Jilin army's weapons . . . As a result, at 2 P.M. [the next day], they handed over 1,200 rifles, 11 machine-guns and 6 mortars.” Afterwards the city police were given permission to maintain public order, though they clearly were working under the Japanese. On September 24th, Xi Xia announced to the provincial assembly that the Chamber of Commerce of the old government was dissolved and that he would be leading the new Jilin governor's office. He also added that there would be no maintenance committees and that he would exercise complete control. Of course that was bullshit, he was nothing more than a Japanese puppet taking direct orders from Kwantung officers. Despite all of this, Jilin would not be fully dominated, for several months, northern Jilin was in control of rebel forces, based out of Bin county.  The Japanese occupation led to the removal of the Northeastern Governmental Affairs Council, the structure Zhang Xueliang used to nominally control the region. The Japanese did not seek to create a new cross-provincial authority until it seemed there existed popular demand for an independent state. While in the interim, the policy was to establish provincial authorities headed by prominent Chinese figures, secretly under Japanese control. Within Fengtian, the authority was originally only there to maintain public order, but by December it was declared to be a full provincial government. Within Jilin, Xi Xia declared an independent provincial government from the very start. Within the special Zone, Zhang Jinghui declared autonomy, but still stayed in contact with Zhang Xueliang for several months, fence sitting as it were.  At the provincial level, Zhang Xueliang had never really controlled Manchuria, it was honestly in the hands of his subordinates, many of whom already had close ties to the Japanese. For example, Yu Chonghan, a former foreign minister under Zhang Zuolin had for many years received a regular retainer as an “adviser” to the Japanese. He was retired in Liaoyuan when the Mukden Incident occurred and by November was persuaded to return to Shenyang to form a pro-Japanese statement. As far as Yu Chonghan was concerned “Zhang Xueliang squandered the regional assets on expanding their armies in a futile quest for national supremacy through military conquest”. The Japanese also made it apparent to various interest groups that cooperation with them would be advantageous. Take for example the imperial restorationists, yes they still existed. One was Zheng Xiaoxu, who would become the first Manchukuo prime minister. People such as him were persuaded by the prospect of restoring the Qing Dynasty, as batshit crazy as that sounds. There was also White Russians in Harbin persuaded they would be protected from KMT hooligans who had been assaulting them as of late.  In general a huge motivation for regional military leaders to collaborate was to minimize the effect that the Japanese occupation would impose on their spheres of influence. I mean lets be honest, if your choice was to collaborate and maintain some autonomy over your own little slice of Manchuria, or go into exile in North China, what would you choose? Many who opted to collaborate retained the same roles they had before the Mukden Incident. Zhang Shiyi who was acting governor of Liaoning prior became governor of Fengtian province. Zhang Jinghui was the commander of the Harbin Special Zone and this went unchanged. Xi Xia was deputy governor of Jilin, and since his superior Zhang Zuoxiang was exiled to Jinzhou, he simply succeeded his post. Through the initial cooperation, southern manchuria was taken over without wide-scale bloodshed, though there was of course some savage bombing of certain cities.  On September 24th, a Liaoning public order maintenance committee was set up and a Jilin provincial government followed on the 26th. Liaoning did not have a provincial government spring up immediately because the prominent elites such as Yuan Jinkai and Zang Shiyi at first had some qualms about turning against Zhang Xueliang. They of course believed it was possible Zhang Xueling could rally the Northeastern Army and recapture the occupied areas. Yet they chose immediately to maintain public order in a quasi neutral stance. To coordinate all of the newly formed collaborative bodies, the Kwantung Army set up a Control Bureau “Tochibu” with Komai Tokuzo in charge. He was given sole control over it  “so that if it were successful, then it would be the Kwantung Army's success, but if by some chance it should fail, then Komai alone could take the responsibility.” By far and large the Japanese wanted a cross-provincial administrative structure to appear organically created by the Manchurian lites. Therefore during the initial phase of the occupation the Japanese exercised control through the medium of public order maintenance committees, which had long been tradition in Manchuria to form organizations to deal with local social issues such as policing, fire fighting and so forth. Yuan Jinkai, the former chief secretary for military and civil affairs and governor of Fengtian, was now appointed by the Kwantung Army to lead their newly established public order maintenance committee. The committee's stated purpose was "to uphold local order and ensure that finance and businesses operate normally, as well as to establish police and militia forces responsible for maintaining public order." Additionally, other prominent local figures were recruited to various similar committees, including a Liaoning United People's Provisional Committee and a Northeastern Gentry and People's Committee for Discussing Solutions to the Current Situation. On September 28, both the Liaoning Committee and Xi Xia's Jilin administration issued a "declaration of independence" and created new government departments staffed by Chinese officials. It quickly became evident to the Japanese that Yuan Jinkai was not suited for the role of chairman. A contemporary Japanese commentator remarked that “his attitude appeared half-formed and confusing to those outside the provincial capital.” Specifically, Yuan was still reluctant to officially establish a Liaoning provincial government. Consequently, the Kwantung Army turned to the other remaining member of the triad of elders from Zhang Zuolin's administration, Yu Chonghan. From the early days following the Manchurian Incident, there had been indications that Yu was “moving toward participation.” Yu had a long history of collaboration with the Japanese, dating back to the Russo-Japanese War, during which he served as a spy for them. He would have been an obvious choice for the council from the outset if not for his recovery from a serious illness at his home in Liaoyuan. As it became apparent that local leaders had lost faith in Yuan Jinkai's judgment, consultations were held among the provincial heads, who recommended that Yu Chonghan be brought out of retirement to join the committee, provided his health permitted. On November 1, Morita Fukumatsu from the Fengtian Japanese Residents' Association visited Yu's home to assess his health. After Morita briefed Yu on the Committee's situation, they discussed a policy aimed at unifying the Northeast and the adoption of the Kingly Way (Wangdao) as a guiding principle for the new state. Yu agreed to come out of retirement, and on November 3, he traveled to Shenyang for a meeting with Honjo. During this meeting, Yu presented eight points he believed would foster a “paradise” of Sino-Japanese cooperation, which included reforms in local policing, tax and salary systems, and a commitment to non militarism. Subsequently, Yu was appointed head of the committee, with Yuan reporting to him. By the end of 1931, committee members who had previously hesitated to declare an autonomous government due to concerns that Zhang Xueliang might launch an attack to reclaim the Northeast were convinced to support the idea of separating from Nanjing's authority. Well Zhang Xueliang would try to face the Japanese with his northeastern Army. It would not only be him, other figures would emerge to lead resistance efforts against the Japanese, trying to claw back Manchuria from the Empire of the Rising Sun.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Yes thus far the episodes have been awfully heavy on the politics, schemes and dynamics of how Manchuria was invaded. Some of you must be clamoring for the battles, and for the next few episodes that's exactly what we will jump into. For the fight for Manchuria has only just begun.

Last time we spoke about the Mukden Incident. In the early 1930s, Ishiwara and Itagaki of the Kwantung Army believed Japan must seize Manchuria to secure its interests against China and the USSR. Frustrated by delays from Tokyo, they orchestrated a surprise attack, framing it as retaliation for the mysterious death of a fellow officer. On September 18, 1931, they bombed railway tracks, claiming a Chinese atrocity, and swiftly attacked, overwhelming Chinese forces despite being outnumbered. Their decisive actions sparked Japan's occupation of Manchuria, defying orders from high command. In a bid to expand Japan's influence, Ishiwara and Itagaki incited chaos in Manchuria, leading to the Mukden Incident. They manipulated local unrest to justify military action, swiftly capturing Kirin without resistance. Despite Tokyo's orders against expansion, they continued their aggressive tactics, pushing for Manchuria's independence. Ishiwara's defiance of command led to significant military successes but also sowed seeds of indiscipline within the army. Ultimately, their actions set Japan on a path toward conflict with China and the West, forever changing the region's fate.   #138 How Zhang Xueliang lost Manchuria Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Little disclaimer this is not a quote en quote regular episode. In this one we are going to look more so into the reasons the Japanese had an easy time conquering Manchuria. Its honestly a very complicated subject involving numerous variables, but I thought it be important to talk about this before we get into the campaign itself.  So last we left off are good friend Ishiwara Kanji had unleashed the Mukden Incident, initiating an unofficial war with China. On September 18, 1931, the Japanese executed a false flag operation by detonating explosives along the South Manchurian Railway near Mukden. This action was followed by an assault from 500 Kwantung soldiers on the Peitaying Barracks, which were defended by 7,000 troops under Zhang Xueliang. At the time, Zhang was in Beiping serving as the North China garrison commander. Those around him, including Chiang Kai-shek, urged him to instruct his men not to resist, to conceal their weapons, and to retreat westward if possible. Chiang Kai-shek recognized that the Japanese were attempting to provoke a full-scale war with China, a conflict they were not prepared to win at that moment. China needed additional time to organize and train its forces to confront such an adversary. Zhang Xueliang understood the weakness of his own forces and aimed to preserve a significant army, making these orders advantageous for him. Both men also believed that the League of Nations or the Wakatsuki cabinet might intervene to halt the illegal occupation. During the confrontation at the Peitaying Barracks, approximately 500 Chinese soldiers were killed, many surrendered, and others fled as the Japanese forces destroyed the barracks and the small air force stationed there. Now what is known as the invasion of Manchuria, is actually an extremely complicated story. For those interested over on the Pacific War Channel I have a full documentary covering it with a lot of combat footage and Chinese Drama Series footage which is always absolutely hilarious. To overly summarize, the officials in charge of various regions of Manchuria did one or more of three options when faced with Japanese aggression. 1) Most defected in return for monetary gain and new positions under the emerging puppet government. 2) They attempted to sabotage and thwart the Japanese while portraying themselves to be complicit. And 3) they actively fought back. So before we begin this story lets talk about Manchuria during this time period. After the death of his father Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Xueliang inherited an extremely chaotic Manchurian dynasty one could call it. The problems were political, social and economic and while the Young Marshal was tackling these issues, 3 years into his new reign, on September 18th of 1931 the Japanese commenced an invasion. The Japanese had been greatly concerned at Zhang Xueliang' moves to assume control over the regional industries and railways, whose income was incredibly important to Japan after the Great Depression had hit in 1929. What ultimately happened to Zhang Xueliang echoed the fate of Yuan Shikai during his tenure of 1912-1916. Yuan Shikai had made moves to centralize China while simultaneously alienating its populace by abolishing its provincial assemblies and trying to make the militarists dissolve their armies. Both men faced enormous external threats while trying to transition their regimes. Nonetheless, Zhang Xueliang did oversee a lot of real change in manchuria in terms of political awareness, education, greater availability of foreign goods and increased the populations feeling they were part of China proper. This increased awareness alongside a sense of international crisis caused by the clashes with the USSR and Japan, spur a new sense of nationalism that would persist for the 15 year war.  So lets talk about the regions of Manchuria shall we. There are 3 provinces in Manchuria, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang, altogether they encompass 380,000 square miles. The central third of Manchuria consists of plains, with the Xing'an range extending around the border areas from the west to northeast and the Changbaishan mountains following the border from east to southeast. To the west of the Xing'an Mountains lies a region that is geographically part of Mongolia and is characterized by steppe terrain. The most fertile regions include the alluvial plain extending from the Gulf of Liaodong to Changchun, as well as the areas near the Sungari and Nonni Rivers in northern Jilin and Heilongjiang. This area experiences significant seasonal climate variations, with average temperatures in July reaching approximately 24 degrees Celsius, while winter averages drop to around –12 degrees Celsius in southern Manchuria and –24 degrees Celsius in the far north. By 1931, there had been no official census conducted in the area, but the Research Bureau of the South Manchurian Railway estimated the population in 1930 to be approximately 34.4 million people. This included 15.2 million in Liaoning, 9.1 million in Jilin, and 5.3 million in Heilongjiang. Population density varied, with Liaoning having 212 people per square mile, Jilin with 89, and Heilongjiang with 23. By 1931, over 90 percent of the population was Han Chinese, while Manchus accounted for about 3 percent, Mongols around 6 percent, and the remaining population comprised Koreans, Russians, and Japanese. During the Japanese occupation, the economy of Manchuria was primarily agricultural, with soybean products accounting for 60 percent of the region's total exports in 1930. In contrast, industrial development was limited in 1931, mainly concentrated in the Japanese-controlled cities of Dairen and Harbin, as well as in areas managed by the South Manchuria Railway and the Chinese Eastern Railway. However, since the early 1920s, a military-industrial complex had begun to emerge, driven by Zhang Zuolin's demand for modern weaponry. The Shenyang arsenal, established in 1919, manufactured rifles and ammunition, employing 20,000 skilled workers who operated at full capacity during the Zhili-Fengtian wars, producing up to 400,000 rounds daily at its peak in 1924-25.The population of Manchuria was overwhelmingly rural and the rivers and roads remained their principal means of transportation. The Amur, Nonni and Sungari rivers were the lifeline of trade, while the roads were in quite a terrible state of repair by 1931. There were 3 key groups of people who met the Japanese invasion, military power brokers, nationalists and civilians who were largely alienated from Zhang Xueliang's regime. Amongst all of them was a large level of interprovincial rivalries.  Local militarism in Manchuria was heavily factionalied with each clique retaining both civilian and military followers. The old comrades of Zhang Zuolin were categorized by the Japanese as “the old faction”, such men as Zhang Zuoxiang and Zhang Jinghui who had risen up alongside the Tiger of Manchuria during the 1920s. They had amassed large fortunes and although they had been subordinate to Zhang Zuolin, they were also power brokers in their own right with private armies and economic bases under their control. Some like Zhang Zuoxiang and Wan Fulin stayed loyal to the Young Marshal once he assumed power. They were often aided by the Japanese who were not keen at all with Zhang Xueliang's enthusiasm for Chinese nationalism. Zhang Zuoxiang would become one of Zhang Xueliangs most important associates. He was born in Jinzhou and at the age of 16 fled his village to escape a family feud and became a bricklayer in Shenyang. However in 1901 he got involved in an incident ending with him stabbing another man, prompting him to flee for Xinmin where he joined forces under Zhang Zuolin. He quickly rose within the military and attended the Fengtian Military Academy. During the 1920s he remained a close ally to Zhang Zuolin, serving as a military governor of Jilin. When Zhang Zuolin was assassinated, Zhang Zuoxiang used his authority to preserve power for Zhang Xueliang who was stationed outside Manchuria at the time and needed time to return to Manchuria.  Wan Fulin would become Zhang Xueliang's other second in command. He was born in 1880 in Changling county of Jilin. Born to a poor farming family, he joined a local militia of around 50 men. His militia was gradually incorporated into the local militarist Wu Junshengs troops in 1900 and from then on Wan rose through the ranks. After Zhang Zuolin's death Wan Fulin was appointed as the military affairs supervisor or “duban” for HEilongjiang. He then took a newly created position of provincial chairman “Zhuxi” in 1929 and held said position during the Mukden Incident.  Now after the Old Tiger had died, one of his old associates Zhang Zongchang, whom I think we all know very well, proved to Zhang Xueliang he could not rely on his fathers old guard. Zhang Zongchang and Chu Yupu tossed their lot in with the Japanese and attacked from Tangshan with 60,000 troops trying to overthrow the new KMT led government. That little venture only lasted from August 2-8th, ending in a hilarious defeat for the so called rebels, but the experience taught Zhang Xueliang that his Fengtian army needed to be reformed, even though it was against the wishes of many of its senior officers.  The most significant opposition to Zhang Xuliang came from his fathers former chief of staff Yang Yuting and his associate Chang Yinhuai. Yang Yuting had been born in Hebei, but his family moved to Faku county in Fengtian when he was young. He was an adept student, rising through the system and by 1909 joined the Japanese military academy “Shikkan gakko”. During the republic days, he joined the Old Tiger and slowly became a trusted ally. In 1925 as General Guo Songling rebelled, in a large part because of Yang Yuting's advocacy of continued militarism even after the failure of the Fengtian army during the second Fengtian-Zhili War. Yang Yuting was chosen by Zhang Zuolin to lead the unsuccessful counterebellion and then became his chief of staff. By 1927 Yang Yuting began negotiations with the Japanese, some of whom thought he would make a much better replacement to the Old Tiger. Yang Yuting saw Zhang Zuolins death as an opportunity to development himself, however in 1928 he began negotiations with Nanjing as well. This led him to change his mind about Japan and adopted unification measures with Nanjing. He hoped to snuggle up to Chiang Kai-Shek, but likewise retained close connections with the Japanese. Dishing out appointments was something Yang Yuting was quite keen upon. When Zhang Xueliang sought to appoint one of his supporters as the new governor of the Eastern Special Zone, this was an area around Harbin that had been made autonomous in its role as a hub for the Chinese Eastern Railway, well Yang Yuting made Zhang Jinghui the de facto governor instead. Yet Yang Yuting's spiderlike nature would become his downfall. One of his closest friends was Chang Yinhuai, who was appointed governor of Heilongjiang by Zhang Xueliang in 1928. Chang Yinhuai's contempt for the Young Marshal became more and more open, until it reached the point where he would money to Yang Yuting for ordnance expenses but not the Young Marshal, oh and he was building his own private army. On the 10th of January of 1929 Chang and Yang went to meet Zhang Xueliang, demanding he create a new post of Northeastern Railway Supervisor for Chang. They both argued they wanted to take control over the Chinese Eastern Railway, currently under Soviet-Chinese dual control, but Zhang Xueliang dragged his feet during the meeting. When the two men left, Zhang Xueliang instructed his police chief Gao Jiyi to arrest and shoot them, which he did. M.S Myers, the American consul in Shenyang cabled his superiors about the execution, noting, “the elimination of the two most powerful and probably able members of the Fengtien Party[,]... although strengthening the position of the existing head of this territory for the time being, may later result in the breakup of that party through internal and external agencies.” Well Mr. Myers was quite right. Although Zhang Xueliang's actions had the effect of stopping Yang Yutings overreach, it ultimately was more of a sign of his weakness, rather than strength. Some like Zhang Jinghui were saved by the fact they were old associates with Zhang Zuolin and had built their own power bases. However other like Zang Shiyi for example, who were close associates of Yang Yuting had to wait for Zhang Xueliang to move to Beiping to take up his position as deputy commander of the Nationalist forces before gaining office as chairman of Liaoning. Zhao Xinbo only managed to grab the office of mayor over Shenyang after the Japanese took over. Overall Zhang Xueliang did not exercise strong enough control over his local militarists any more than his father did. When Guo Songling had rebelled in 1925, Zhang Zuolin's support had bled considerably, it was only Japanese intervention that saved him. His son would find out his rule was more tolerated rather than supported. There was also a lot of friction between those supporting the KMT vs those supporting the CCP in Manchuria. Qian Gonglai was a professor at the Shendao school in SHenyang and was arrested as a Bolshevist agitator in march of 1927. He had developed a large following amongst his students and the local intelligentsia. Qian had been involved with multiple organization such as the local YMCA and within the Shendao school, which were breeding grounds for young activities. These youthful types were inspired by the May Fourth and May Thirtieth movements, most being from Fengtian. Once Zhang Xueliang and his close followers set up a base of operations in Beiping after 1931, these types of intellectuals would become the founders and key movers of the Northeast National Salvation Society or “NNSS”, the most important propaganda organization to favor the military recapture of Manchuria in defiance of Chiang Kai-Shek's nonaggression strategy. One of their members, Yan Baohang was born in a village within Haicheng county of Fengtian. He came from a poor family, but managed to attend the village school and performed well enough to encourage a local elite to pay for his primary schooling. He went on to study at the teacher training college in Shenyang where he came under the influence of Christianity, but also nationalist ideas promoted by the May fourth movement. He attended the Shenyang YMCA and went to college where he met other young activities such as Wang Zhuoran, Du Zhongyuan and Gao Chongmin. After graduating Yan attempted his new teaching methods at various Fengtian schools, before setting up a free school in Shenyang for poor children. This school was supported by the YMCA and funds from Guo Songling's wife. The school was widely admired, and Zhang Xueliang gave it his full support. Yan became quite famous and was sent to Beijing for further training. By 1925 Yan received a scholarship to go to Edinburgh University where he earned a certificate in Social Studies. While in Europe he traveled widely, visiting places like Denmark and Moscow. He came back to Shenyang in 1929 and alongside Lu Guangji, Gao Chongmin, Wang Huayi and Che Xiangchen formed the Liaoning Provincial Nationalist Foreign Affairs association. This organization, whose core members formed the NNSS, was supported by Zhang Xueliang. Their aim was to seek China's freedom and equal status, which obviously stood against the Japanese. By 1931 it had 46 branches and Yan also set up within the YMCA a Liaoning anti-opium association and a Liaoning Provincial Nationalist Education Advancement Association. By 1930 the Educational Advancement Association's speakers went out on 14 occasions to talk about “exposing various crimes and secret plans the Japanese had for invading the Northeast”. Yan would become one of the heads of the NNSS's propaganda section after 1931. The adoption of the KMT in Manchuria post 1929 meant the nationalist activists all became party members. Yan Baohang and his friends Lu Guangji, Che Xiangchen, Du Zhongyuan,Wang Huayi, Zhao Yushi, and Wang Zhuoran were among thirteen delegates sent to Nanjing for the KMT national conference in May 1931. Lu Guanji had a similar career to that of Yan. Born in 1894 in Haicheng county, he came to Shenyang at the age of 15 and graduated from the teacher training college in 1918. He taught in a SMR-zone Chinese school. In 1922 he attended a national YMCA meeting in Shenyang and soon after was dismissed from teaching for supporting student protests. After this he went to Shenyang to see if his friend Yan Baohang could use his influence with Zhang Xueliang to obtain him a job as a schools inspector. By 1926 he left education for business, becoming a manager over a local printing firm. By 1929, he was elected deputy head of the Fengtian Chamber of Commerce where he frequently met with Zhang Xueliang who liked to make use of the chamber to organize anti-Japanese protests that would not be officially linked to himself.  Chen Xianzhou was born in Huanren county to a family who were handicraft manufacturers, but they went bankrupt during the First Sino-Japanese War. Chen moved in with other relatives who paid for his education. He entered the Huanren Teacher training college in 1915, where he also learned Japanese. In 1919 he won a scholarship to Sendai Industrial College where he studied electrical engineering and became active in overseas chinese student groups protesting for the return of Port Arthur and Dairen. After graduating in 1924 he was employed by the Shenyang municipal administration to negotiate with the Japanese on the building of a new tram line. Through his efforts it was built in a year for less than 2 million yuan and for this in 1927, he was asked to do the same service for Harbin. Under Zhang Xueliang's administration, Chen was given permission to restructure the Northeasts telecommunications and broadcasting network. He added 12 new transmitters linking Shenyang, Harbin, Qiqihar, Yingkou and Changchun. After the Mukden Incident, Chen became a committee member of the NNSS in Beiping, advising resistance armies on how to operate field radios.  Du Zhongyuan was born in Huaide county, once located in Fengtian, now in Jilin. He came from a poor village family, but local elites helped pay for his education, allowing him to study at the Fengtian Provincial teacher training college. He also studied english and japanese. He first became a english teacher, but then developed an interest in the porcelain industry, which was heavily dominated by the Japanese in Manchuria. He thought he could break into their market, so he went to Tokyo Industrial college from 1917-1923, before returning to set up a porcelain manufacturing firm in Shenyang. In 1929, Zhang Xueliang authorized a 120,000 yuan loan to support his factory. Du rose into a prominent figure and was elected deputy chairmen of the Liaoning Chamber of Commerce in 1927, then chairman in 1929. His time in Japanese had been spent mostly as a student, but he was also an activist. He had led a group of 29 Chinese students to protest Zhang Zuolin's government for continuing to allow the Japanese to control the Kwantung leased territory. He had a flair for publicity and found himself in a good position to head the NNSS. He befriended Yan Baohang and Lu Guangji along his journey. Che Xiangchen was born in Faku county to a local elite family. He attended Beijing University extension school in 1918 and was quickly caught up in political activities, taking part in the May fourth movement. After graduating he studied at Zhangguo University then after that joined the Shenyang YMCA befriending Yan Baohang. Encouraged by Yan Baohang, he established schools for delinquent and disadvantaged children. The exact field I work in outside of Youtube and Podcasts. By July 1929 he sponsored 41 schools within ities and over 200 rural schools. Alongside Yan Baohang, and Zhang Xiluan he organized the Liaoning Associate for the Encouragement of Nationalist Education. Wang Huayi was born in Liaozhong county to a poor farmer family. He managed to get funding for his education at the Fengtian Teacher training college in 1916. During his studies he befriend Yan Baohang who introduced him to the YMCA and involved him in its activities. He also became friendly with Zhang Xueliang and this paid off after 1928 when he was made deputy head of the Liaoning Education Department. Wang Zhuoran was born in Fushun county to a farmer family. He attended teacher colleges in Beijing and Shenyang where he befriended Yan, Du, Lu and Wang Huayi and other activists at the YMCA. From 1923-1928 he studied at Columbia University in New York and traveled to England often before returning to Shenyang in 1928. He became the tutor to Zhang Xueliang's children and was active in the Northeastern Nationalist Foreign affairs association. All of these figures dominated Liaoning, specifically the area of Shenyang and this meant the core of nationalist activism was also found here. Here the Japanese would manage to co opt local elites, but many of said elites would fight to see Manchuria recaptured by China. Now that covered the educated, nationalistic and politically aligned to Zhang Xueliang types, but the elites of Manchuria at the county level were anything but aligned with the Young Marshal. In fact most of the provincial elites were actually prejudiced against Zhang Xueliang. As a result of the Warlord Era wars, an enormous amount of Manchuria's spending went to the military. To give a more specific idea. Between 1922 and 1924, Zhang participated in the Fengtian-Zhili Wars. Thanks to the careful financial management of his finance minister, Wang Yongjiang, the budget was able to accommodate these expenses even in 1923, despite approximately 50 percent of revenue being allocated to military spending. Fengtian's revenue amounted to 26.8 million yuan, with expenditures totaling 18.2 million yuan; of this, 13.9 million yuan—around 76 percent—was directed towards the military, while only 3 percent was spent on education. However, by 1925, Fengtian's income had decreased to 23 million yuan, while military expenditures surged to 51 million yuan. In an attempt to address this issue, Zhang Zuolin resorted to printing money, which led to rampant inflation. On March 1, 1927, the exchange rate was 6.71 Fengtian dollars for one Japanese gold yen, but by February 1928, it had plummeted to 40 dollars per yen. As Ronald Suleski observes, “Zhang Zuolin drained the provincial economy in order to pay his troops fighting in China proper.” Local elites became very resentful of the increased military spending and rising inflation and this was furthermore met by Zhang Zuolin silencing their complaints by neutralizing their provincial assemblies. The military spending kept growing, alongside the inflation causing high unemployment. By February of 2918 the Shenyang Chamber of Commerce reported , “5,089 businesses were forced to close, among them 456 sundry goods shops, 416 restaurants, 165 factories, 157 machine shops, 142 rice shops, 116 foreign goods stores, and 83 general stores.” When the Young Marshal assumed power he promised major changes including “the development of industry and commerce, the pursuit of education, and utmost efforts to maintain peace.” Yet his fathers pattern of spending did not change. In 1930, total regional expenditure reached 144.2 million yuan, with 98.6 million yuan allocated to the military (68.3%), compared to just 4.7 million yuan for education (3.26%) and 0.34 million yuan for construction projects (0.24%). Regional revenue from taxes and other government sources, including fines, amounted to 122 million yuan, resulting in a deficit of 22 million yuan. Of this revenue, only 8.3 million yuan (6.8%) came from direct taxation, primarily land tax, while the salt gabelle was the most profitable source, generating 45.9 million yuan (37.3%). Following their occupation, the Japanese observed that “if such a large sum were not spent on military purposes, the finances of the Three Eastern Provinces would show a significant surplus.” Many of the civilians who served in Zhang Zuolin's government became quickly disillusioned with the rule of militarists and felt very uneasy about Zhang Xueliangs alliance with Nanjing, as to most in Manchuria, Chiang Kai-Shek was just another warlord. Many of the elites saw Japan as a more rational alternative for an alliance. Yu Chonghan who had been the foreign minister to Zhang Zuolin until he resigned in 1927 had a long lasting relationship with the Japanese. During the Russo-Japanese War he had been a spy for Japan and always kept close contact with Tokyo. Chen Xinbo, the advisor to Yang Yuting was a former legal adviser to Zhang Zuolin. However he also had long standing connections to Japan, working as a school teacher in Dairen, before studying at Meiji University for law. Yuan Jinkai, the former minister of civil affairs for Zhang Zuolin was “a mentor figure to the civilian clique in the 1920s”. He was born in Liaoyang in the 1870s and was a scholar who became head of the conservative faction in the joint provincial assembly. But when Zhang Xueliang came to power, in the words of a Japanese reporter “demoted by the ‘new faction' and completely lost his power. He was exalted to being a member of the Northeastern Governmental Affairs Committee [Dongbei zhengwu weiyuanhui: the highest political body in the Northeast after 1928] and a committee member in the Nanjing Government's Control Yuan, but from the start he was treated as a relic of the past [kotto].” Understandably he became disillusioned with Zhang Xueliang. Yuan was just one of many prominent disenfranchised elites who sought an opportunity to regain what they had lost to the Young Marshal and the Japanese occupation proved a great opportunity.  The South Manchurian Railway was a major factor that contributed to the co-option of the Chinese towards Japanese occupation. It ran 700 miles, over 5 lines and had land rights attached to it encompassing 105 cities, towns and villages. Not only did it provide railway services but also administration and social services. By 1924 the SMR had expanded its workforce to nearly 40,000 with ¾'s being local chinese. It provided expensive facilities, such as hospitals in Mukden, Tieling, Changchun and Dairen. The growth in Chinese nationalism against the Japanese grew amongst the intelligentsia, but the average blue collar types more or less enjoyed the benefits the Japanese were providing. Historian Chong-Sik Lee noted “The living conditions among the Chinese population in the Kwantung Leased Territory were much better than those in China proper, and this was true throughout the region” A combination of improved conditions compared to those in intramural China and the appeal of Japanese-sponsored jobs in industry and mining, he argues, resulted in a significant influx of immigrants to the area. The Japanese capitalized on this newly available labor force by implementing a development strategy that necessitated the hiring of large numbers of unskilled Chinese workers, even with the use of modern equipment. This approach was largely motivated by a desire to avoid widespread unemployment, as these workers also served as consumers of Japanese products. Furthermore, although the working conditions for manual laborers employed by the Japanese were poor by contemporary standards, they were not necessarily worse—and may have even been better—than those faced by factory workers in Japan, such as women aged twelve to thirty-five employed in Nagano's silk factories, where the mortality rate due to lung disease was 23 per 1,000, compared to the typical rate of 7 per 1,000 for that age group.The Japanese had also set up the Manchurian Youth League “Manshu Seinen renmei” in 1928 to specifically deal with the threat of the growing Chinese nationalism, by advocating for a separate state in Manchuria. Both the Japanese army and civilian settlers aspired to set up a Japanese controlled Manchuria that could make use of the existing Chinese local government structures.  There was also the issue of currency. Coins, ingots and notes were all in circulation, but their value differed from region to region. There were competing currencies, Chinese, Japanese and Soviet. Zhang Zuolin had set up three eastern provincial banks aiming to issue a unified currency to supersede the foreign currencies, backed by silver reserves, but it never worked out. Politically when Manchuria joined the new Nanjing system, it meant the KMT would begin a process of elections and appointments, but in the interim it fell upon Zhang Xueliang, who simply reverted to his fathers old way of relying on regional figureheads. Basically only Liaoning saw any real political reform. Militarily Zhang Xueliang inherited his fathers Fengtian military. He wished to reduce the spending of it, but found himself unable to deal with the high unemployment that would result from mass demobilization. Zhang Xueliang also feared reducing his military strength to the point he might become vulnerable to any of his given rivals. On the economic front, it was really Japan who benefited the most from Manchuria's economic activities. 70% of Manchurian imports came from Japan as were 75% of its exports. Zhang Xueliang was determined to reverse the Japanese economic dominance, but the great depression greatly hampered any efforts.  Ultimately, Zhang Xueliang had grand plans when he rose to power in 1928. He intended to align the Northeast with the Nanjing government and diminish Japanese influence in the region. Additionally, he sought to enhance local infrastructure in Manchuria and regain the trust of provincial elites who had been alienated by his father. Although some progress was made toward these objectives, the outcomes fell short of the efforts invested. His alliance with Chiang Kai-shek was marked by mutual suspicion. The economic depression devastated the agricultural exports that had fueled Manchuria's remarkable growth, undermining the financial resources needed for Zhang's initiatives. Both civilian and military leaders in the area struggled to trust Zhang, as incidents like the assassination of Yang Yuting and the outbreak of civil war in 1930 led them to believe that, despite his claims, he was much like his father. Most importantly, the Japanese grew increasingly concerned about the possibility of a nationalist regime threatening their “special position.” By 1931, they recognized a risk to their dominance, while Zhang's reforms remained incomplete and unpopular. Concurrently, the sentiment in Japan was shifting toward aggression against China, which was being partially blamed for exacerbating Japan's economic difficulties. These combined factors led to the coup on September 18, 1931. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Zhang Xueliang sure inherited one hot potato so to say. Much could be blamed upon his father Zhang Zuolin, but likewise the Young Marshal failed to meet the demands of his new reign. Many Chinese would ultimately throw their lot in with the Japanese, rather than what appeared to be a failing warlord. 

For Luo Dingjun, traveling between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland has become second nature. Born and raised in Taipei, the 37-year-old has built a life in Shenyang, a vibrant city in northeast China's Liaoning Province. As the founder of the WeChat Official Account "Cross-Strait Youths," Luo has spent over a decade fostering connections and understanding between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Ubicada en el frío noreste del país, la provincia de Liaoning preserva el recuerdo de la última dinastía feudal china. El imperio Qing, que sucedió al Ming y duró hasta la instauración de la república en 1912, tuvo su origen aquí, en las estribaciones de Manchuria, histórica región que termina en las aguas del mar Amarillo. Nuestro recorrido parte de Shenyang, capital de Liaoning, donde la comunicadora Ángela Qi (Zihan Qi) guía nuestros pasos a partir de la bulliciosa plaza Zhongshan y la peatonal calle Taiyuan. Dos residentes –Amanda García y su marido, Sun Xiao Hang– nos invitan a descubrir el gigantesco parque Bei Ling, donde se ubica el mausoleo Zhaoling, donde reposan los restos de los primeros emperadores Qing. Antes de abandonar Shenyang nos acercamos a las orillas del majestuoso río Hun, a la colina Qipanshan y al paraje de Guaipo, cuya principal atracción es la desconcertante Pendiente Extraña, donde la ley de la gravedad parece funcionar al revés. La ruta continúa hacia el sureste para conocer, en la margen derecha del río que hace frontera entre China y Corea del Norte, la ciudad de Dandong. El responsable de comunicación de la Oficina Nacional de Turismo de China, Valentín Cao (Yuan Cao), recomienda visitar el Puente de la Amistad Sinocoreana; el paralelo puente antiguo, semiderruido en la guerra; el parque de la montaña Jingjiang; y la muralla Hushan, uno de los extremos de la Gran Muralla China. Nuestro periplo concluye al borde del mar en Dalian, ciudad que conserva algunas huellas rusas y japonesas en un desarrollo urbano cuyos máximos exponentes son las plazas de Zhongshan y Xinghai. La directora de proyectos del Centro Cultural de China, Shihua He, nos ayuda a describir esta gran localidad y la cercana población vacacional de Jinshi Tan. Además, el viajero Daniel Vinuesa, autor del blog ViajesParaTorpes.com, propone una ruta por el costado más natural y playero de Dalian.Escuchar audio

Andy Wang, a young office employee working in Shanghai, recently booked flights from Shanghai to South Korea's Jeju island for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday. The round-trip airfare cost him a little over 2,000 yuan ($274), half the price for round-trip flights from Shanghai to popular domestic destinations such as Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.在上海工作的年轻人王安迪最近预订了春节期间从上海飞往韩国济州岛的往返机票，票价为2000多元人民币（约合274美元），这一价格仅为上海飞往国内热门城市如东北黑龙江省哈尔滨市等地往返机票价格的一半。Going on a trip to celebrate the holiday, which starts in late January, has become a new trend among Chinese consumers, and many like Wang have found that some overseas destinations offer better value for money compared with domestic ones. For example, it is cheaper to book flights to Bangkok, Thailand, than to Sanya, Hainan province, during the break.春节期间外出旅行已成为中国消费者的新潮流，许多像王先生这样的消费者发现，与国内旅游相比，一些海外旅游目的地更具性价比。例如，春节期间飞往泰国曼谷的机票比飞往中国海南省三亚市的机票更便宜。Spring Festival bookings for outbound flights and international hotels this year have already more than doubled compared with the same period last year, according to Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency.据总部位于北京的在线旅游机构去哪儿网的数据显示，今年春节期间出境航班和国际酒店的预订量较去年同期已翻了两倍以上。International airfares for the eight-day holiday have on average dropped 12 percent year-on-year, while airfares for some popular destinations such as Tokyo in Japan, Cairo in Egypt and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam have on average dropped 20 percent year-on-year, data from Qunar showed.去哪儿网数据还显示，在春节八天假期期间，国际机票价格同比平均下降了12%，而前往日本东京、埃及开罗和越南胡志明市等热门目的地的机票价格同比平均下降了20%。For some niche destinations in countries such as India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Argentina, hotel rates for the Spring Festival holiday have on average plummeted by over 40 percent year-on-year, the online travel agency found.该在线旅游机构还发现，春节期间，印度、南非、沙特阿拉伯、墨西哥和阿根廷等小众旅游目的地的酒店价格同比平均下降了40%以上。"Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival in China, and Chinese people tend to go home for family reunions or take short trips within the country. Therefore, major domestic destinations, especially those popular for winter tourism, witness a surge in prices during the holiday," said Cai Muzi, a researcher for Qunar.去哪儿网研究员蔡木子表示：“春节是中国最重要的传统节日，中国人更倾向于选择回家团圆、国内短途游。因此，国内各大旅游城市、尤其是适合冬季旅游的城市，在春节假期会出现不同程度的涨价。”As most foreign countries neither have the tradition of celebrating Spring Festival, nor do they have public holiday during the time, the travel rush is relatively low, Cai said.蔡木子说，由于国外并没有过春节的传统，也不处于假期，因此旅游高峰期相对平缓。"With fewer number of tourists, the price fluctuations are not significant overseas, which makes outbound travel to some places cheaper than domestic tourism," she added.“由于国外游客数量减少，海外价格波动不大，会出现一些出境游比国内游更便宜的现象。”她补充道。According to Qunar, Chinese users of the online platform have booked flights to more than 1,300 cities in 96 countries for the Spring Festival break.据去哪儿网称，今年该平台的中国用户春节预订遍布96个国家的1300多个城市。Some overseas destinations that have recorded higher growth in terms of flight booking volume include Siem Reap in Cambodia, Nagoya and Sapporo in Japan, Budapest in Hungary and Hanoi in Vietnam. Flight bookings to these places have more than tripled year-on-year, Qunar said.去哪儿网表示，航班预订量增长较高的出境游城市包括柬埔寨暹粒、日本名古屋、匈牙利布达佩斯、越南河内、日本札幌等，增幅均在2倍以上。To cash in on this holiday travel trend, a number of domestic carriers have increased their capacities on multiple international routes.为了抓住这一假日旅行热潮，多家国内航空公司增加了多条国际航线的运力。In mid-December, China Southern Airlines increased the frequency of its flight between Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and Phuket, Thailand, raising the number from seven round-trips per week to 14. The carrier has also increased the frequency of its flights connecting Guangzhou to Chiang Mai in Thailand and Sabah in Malaysia.12月中旬，中国南方航空将广东省广州市与泰国普吉岛之间的往返航线从每周7个增加至14个。同时，该航空公司还增加了广州与泰国清迈、广州与马来西亚沙巴的航线。China Southern has announced that starting in January, it will resume its flights from Zhengzhou, Henan province, to Bangkok; from Shenyang, Liaoning province, to Bangkok; and from Changsha, Hunan province, to Singapore.中国南方航空还宣布，从1月起，将恢复郑州至曼谷、沈阳至曼谷和长沙至新加坡的航班。A recent trend report by Singapore-based budget carrier Scoot said that Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have become popular destinations for Chinese travelers, partly due to their visa-free entry policies and proximity to China, with many people buying tickets just one week in advance.新加坡廉航公司酷航最近的一份趋势报告显示，新加坡、马来西亚和泰国已成为中国游客的热门目的地，部分原因在于这些国家与中国相邻且对中国游客免签，许多中国游客会提前一周购买机票。plummetv.暴跌，急剧下降

With Christmas and year-end sales approaching in many Western countries, Chinese manufacturers are ramping up shipments to these markets via both air cargo and maritime container services, while experiencing a surge in sales on cross-border e-commerce platforms.随着许多西方国家圣诞节和年终促销季的临近，中国制造商正通过航空货运和海运集装箱服务，加大对这些市场的发货力度。同时，跨境电商平台的销售额也迎来激增。December and January are peak shopping seasons in Europe and the United States, and China's cross-border e-commerce exports to these markets—especially Christmas-themed products and small electronic products—have shown strong growth in recent weeks.12月和1月是欧美地区的购物高峰期。最近几周，中国对这些市场的跨境电商出口，尤其是圣诞主题产品和小型电子产品的出口，呈现出强劲增长态势。Christmas-themed products encompass a wide range of festive items that are popular during the holiday season. These include Christmas decorations like artificial trees, ornaments and lights, as well as figurines of Santa, reindeer and snowmen. They also cover gifts, Christmas cards, specialty food items and holiday-themed apparel such as sweaters and Santa hats.圣诞主题产品包括一系列节日期间广受欢迎的节庆用品，包括人造圣诞树、装饰品、灯具等圣诞装饰，以及圣诞老人、驯鹿和雪人等雕像。此外，还有礼物、圣诞贺卡、特色食品和节日主题服饰，如毛衣和圣诞帽等。To meet the soaring demand from Chinese exporters shipping Christmas-themed goods and other high-value items ordered through cross-border e-commerce platforms to global markets, Nanjing Lukou International Airport, located in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, boosted its freighter routes by adding 48 extra flights between November and December.为满足中国出口商通过跨境电商平台向全球市场运输圣诞主题商品和其他高价值商品的激增需求，南京禄口国际机场（位于中国东部江苏省省会南京）在11月至12月间增加了48个航班，以扩大其货运航线。Customs authorities at the airport supervised foreign trade cargo volume of 67,200 metric tons during the January-November period, a year-on-year increase of 29.3 percent. Among this, exports of cross-border e-commerce goods amounted to 18,000 tons, jumping 51.8 percent on a yearly basis, statistics from Nanjing Customs show.据南京海关统计，今年1月至11月，京禄口机场海关监管进出口货运量6.72万吨，同比增长29.3%。其中，出口跨境电商商品1.8万吨，同比增长51.80%。Jiangsu Changxin Weaving Co Ltd, a Changzhou, Jiangsu province-based textile manufacturer, has been shipping about 10 containers abroad daily via containerships over the past two weeks.江苏常信纺织有限公司（位于江苏省常州市）在过去两周里每天通过集装箱船向国外运送约10个集装箱的货物。In addition to exporting Christmas-themed products, such as pillows, socks, blankets and carpets, the Chinese company has introduced Christmas tree sets with innovative designs this year to enhance the competitiveness of its products in overseas markets.除了出口圣诞主题的枕头、袜子、毯子和地毯等产品外，这家中国公司今年还推出了充满创意设计的圣诞树套装，以提升其产品在海外市场的竞争力。"In the past, our exported Christmas products were relatively simple and had low added value. However, this year, we established a dedicated design team for Christmas items. From traditional Santa Claus and reindeer designs to modern cartoon styles, we now offer a diverse range of products that are popular in many countries," said Chen Lin, head of the export unit at the company.“过去，我们出口的圣诞产品相对简单且附加值低。但今年，我们为圣诞商品成立了一个专门的设计团队。从传统的圣诞老人和驯鹿设计到现代的卡通风格，我们现在提供多种产品，并在多个国家广受欢迎，”该公司出口部门负责人陈林表示。Liaoning Creative Arts and Crafts Co Ltd, a handicrafts manufacturer in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, secured over 4 million yuan ($549,018) worth of export orders to the US this year, mainly for various handicrafts made from bamboo, wood and grass weaving.手工艺品制造商辽宁创意工艺品有限公司（位于中国东北部辽宁省省会沈阳）今年获得了超过400万元人民币（549,018美元）的美国出口订单，主要涉及竹、木和草编的各种手工艺品。Demand for Christmas and other holiday decorations has been strong in the second half of this year, said Xie Pengfei, the company's general manager.公司总经理谢鹏飞表示，今年下半年，圣诞和其他节日装饰的需求一直很强劲。Shenyang Customs has supervised the export of Christmas-themed products, primarily made of bamboo, wood, rattan and grass weaving within its Customs territory in the first 11 months of this year, amounting to 350 million yuan, with exports covering 50 countries, including the US, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Australia.据沈阳海关统计，今年前11个月，该海关监管出口的圣诞主题产品主要以竹、木、藤和草编材料制成，货值达3.5亿元人民币，出口至包括美国、墨西哥、英国和澳大利亚在内的50个国家。"Instead of sea and air transportation, some Christmas goods bound for Europe can be exported via China-Europe freight train services," Xie said.“除了海运和空运，一些运往欧洲的圣诞商品还可以通过中欧班列服务出口，”谢鹏飞表示。containern.集装箱;货箱

Li Tie, former head coach of the Chinese national men's soccer team, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in Hubei province on Friday for bribery-related crimes.2024年12月13日，湖北省一法院对中国国家男子足球队原主教练李铁以贿赂相关罪行判处有期徒刑二十年。The Xianning Intermediate People's Court in Hubei announced Li's convictions and sentence in a statement through its WeChat account.湖北省咸宁市中级人民法院通过其微信公众号发布声明，宣布了对李铁的定罪和判决。Li, 47, a native of Shenyang, Liaoning province, was a former professional soccer player who transitioned to coaching after retiring in 2012.李铁，47岁，辽宁省沈阳市人，前中国职业足球运动员，2012年退役后转为教练。He has received widespread attention from the public since late 2022 when he was placed under investigation for suspected serious violations of the law.2022年末，李铁因涉嫌严重违法接受调查，受到了公众的广泛关注。In March this year, he pleaded guilty to the bribery offenses at the Xianning court.今年3月，他在咸宁市中级人民法院对贿赂指控表示认罪。Evidence provided by prosecutors not only showed how Li offered bribes to those who helped him become head of the national men's soccer team and head of the selection panel but also proved how he accepted bribes after using the positions to benefit others, as well as engaging in bribe-taking and bribe-giving by using football clubs to cooperate in match-fixing.检察机关提供的证据显示，李铁不仅通过行贿请托他人提供帮助以当选男足国家队主教练和选拔队主教练，还利用这些职务收受贿赂、为他人谋取利益，并利用足球俱乐部合作操纵比赛、参与行贿和受贿。China has strengthened the fight against corruption in the soccer field over the past few years, with several former officials facing prison terms and fines.过去几年，中国加强了足球领域的反腐斗争，多名前官员被判入狱和罚款。For instance, Liu Yi, former secretary-general of the Chinese Football Association, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after he was convicted of bribery. In addition to his sentence, he was also fined 3.6 million yuan ($495,000).如中国足协原秘书长刘奕因受贿罪被判刑11年，并处罚金360万元人民币（49.5万美元）。prosecutorn.检察官;公诉人

This episode we go back to the continent for a bit to see how things are going.  Hint:  not well.  While Yamato was building its new bureaucratic state, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla were battling it out while the Tang empire and their ambitions loomed over them all.  Yamato is about to get pulled into the conflicts, but before that, let's look at what was happening from the point of view of the various penninsular polities. This episode goes back over some of the information in Episodes 107 and 109, but mainly to place it in context of what was happening in Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla as opposed to simply viewing it from the rise of the Tang Empire or the occasional mentions in the Nihon Shoki.  Much of it relies on what we have in the Samguk Sagi, the Korean annals of the Three Kingdoms. For more, check out our blogpost: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-115 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Episode 115: Red Banquets, Fashion Disasters, and Other Continental Adventures It was the year 642, and the hall was decked out in the finest, with banners hung and tables set.  The scene was awash in gold and silk and silver.  The guests were no less opulently adorned: The crème de la crème of Burana, aka Pyongyang, capital of the state of Goguryeo.  The tables were piled high with food, and there was a low murmur as the assembled guests talked quietly as they waited for their host. These guests were among the highest nobles in the land.  180 members of the most powerful families.  As they mingled, they talked.  Much of it was gossip, the currency of court politicians everywhere. They discussed who was up and down in the constant fight for favor.  Who had made a misstep, or was seen talking to the wrong person?  Or how about that time that someone wore the wrong clothes, or misspoke in court? Other conversations focused outward, on the threats from beyond the border.  But the majority of conversation had to do with their host, a striking individual. The murmurs continued as they waited for him to arrive..  Yeon Gaesomun was a hard-liner, pushing his agenda for stronger defenses against Tang encroachment.  That might be understandable for someone stationed out east, as he had been, but the King himself and his supporters felt that relations needed a more diplomatic touch.  Now that Gaesomun was back in the capital of Pyongyang, would he change his approach? The conversation continued apace as people ate and drank.  The whole time they remained blissfully unaware of what was happening just outside.  Drowned out by the sound of the banquet, troops were quietly assembling just outside, girding themselves for what would soon be an irrevocable step forward.  As orders came down the line, they drew their weapons, and then they burst through the doors… Last episode we talked through much of the Hakuchi era, from 650 to 654.  This episode I want to finish out the era, in order to do so we're once again going to touch on what was happening over on the continent. Some of these events we've talked about already: Last time we did a deep dive into this subject, back in Episode 104, we focused primarily on the Tang dynasty and its rise.  We also talked somewhat about Yamato's conflicts with Tang, Goguryeo, and others in Episode 107.  But at this point it's useful to go back and put that Continental narrative together a little bit more clearly, to set the stage for what will be happening in Yamato in the next reign after Karu. This episode we are going to go back over some of that info, but I want to center the narrative a bit more on the peninsula, rather than on the Tang dynasty. As you may recall, the Tang dynasty started in approximately 618, taking over from the Sui.  By 628, the Tang had defeated the Gökturks, and they continued to expand.  They conquered Turpan and Gaochang, in the Western Regions, and their control over the Silk Road was substantial, opening up tremendous trade routes that brought in wealth and more.  The capital of Chang'an became a true center of learning, and the government instituted a national university that was attended by elites from both in and outside the empire. This episode, though, we are going to focus more on the area of the Korean and Liaodong peninsulas, where the countries of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla contended with each other.  Goguryeo was the largest and perhaps even the most powerful of the three, but it was also on the border with the Tang empire, who were nothing to sneeze at given their own string of military victories.  So Goguryeo was beset from all sides, and needed a sizeable force on their western border.  Everything was in a tenuous balance, of sorts. When it came to the Tang empire, Goguryeo walked a delicate line.  On the one hand, they wanted access to the trade goods and the knowledge that was accumulating in the Tang empire and making it the envy of most other nations in the region.  On the other hand, they had to be constantly on the lookout for a possible invasion, and so needed to show their strength.  This wasn't without some confidence.  After all, Goguryeo had defeated attempts by the Sui dynasty to invade, and so they had proved up to the challenge—at least so far. In 619, on the eve of the Tang dynasty's founding, King Yeongnyu of Goguryeo, whose personal name was Geonmu, sent a tribute mission to the Tang, to encourage good relations.  By 622, Goguryeo was responding to the Tang dynasty's request to return soldiers captured during the attempted invasions by the Sui.  They kept sending missions on an annual basis, playing the part of a friendly tributary. Further on the peninsula, Baekje and Silla were likewise reaching out to the Tang dynasty, similarly hungry for the trade goods available in the markets of Chang'an.  Baekje, sitting on the coast of the Bohai sea, had direct routes to the mainland; to both the Yellow river and Yangzi river deltas.  They may not have had an overland border, but the sea was open to them. Silla, on the other hand, was not so quite so fortunate.  They were mainly situated on the east side of the peninsula, and though they had some access through the Han river, near modern Seoul, their access was constantly threatened by both Baekje and Goguryeo.  In 626, a Silla mission to the Tang complained about this very thing, claiming that Goguryeo was attacking them.  In response, the Tang requested peace, and Goguryeo apologized and backed down.  That said, it is unclear if the Tang would have taken much action.  They were, at that point, more focused on the Gökturks and others.  That military action ended with the defeat of the Gökturks in 628, however, a victory for which Goguryeo sent congratulations.  One has to imagine, however, that the congratulations were a bit mixed.  After all, without the Gökturks to hold their attention, what was to keep the Tang dynasty from looking at further conquest? The question of how to react to the Tang Empire seems to be one that split the Goguryeo court.  Some members of the court wanted to appease the giant on their doorstep, with offers of tribute and nominal submission, with the goal of making it clear that they were not a threat and that military conquest was unnecessary.  They could all live in harmony, one with the other.  To that end, they would not want to be too blatant about building up their forces or defenses in an act that could be seen as a prelude to military action.  On the other side were the hard-liners: members of the court that felt that they had to maintain a strong military defense against the likely possibility of a Tang offensive.  To these hawks, military strength was the deterrent, as power only truly respected power.  To be seen as weak and submissive would be to seem vulnerable, and an easy target. Still, there seems to have been relative, if uneasy, peace for a time.  Goguryeo continued to build their relation as a tributary state, and most of the action seems to have actually been taking place in the peninsula.  For Silla, 632 was a banner year, as Queen Seondeok came to the throne.  She was the eldest daughter of her father, who had no sons to inherit, and so she came to the throne.  She is said to have been quite intelligent, and the Samguk Sagi gives various accounts of her Holmsian powers of deduction.  For example, upon seeing a picture of flowers, she immediately concluded that, though they were beautiful, they had no fragrance.  She noted the lack of bees and butterflies around the flowers, and based on that observation she deduced that the flowers must have no scent to attract them. Queen Seondeok would oversee Silla in a time when they were growing closer to the Tang and also seeing increased pressure from Baekje and Goguryeo.  We mentioned how, in 626, Goguryeo had blocked Silla's mission to the Tang court.  Then, in 636, a Baekje general led 500 troops to Mt. Doksan, to attack the Silla position there.  Two years later, Silla defeated Goguryeo troops outside Jiljung Fortress. This wasn't constant warfare, but it did mean that the armies had to be on a constant wartime footing.  You never knew when your neighbor might sense a moment of weakness and try to take advantage of it.  Of course, as the old adage goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.  Baekje and Goguryeo were more directly on the Tang Empire's borders.  And so we see Silla cultivating a special relationship with the Tang. This is nothing new, by the way.  Various dynasties in the Yellow River basin had used similar tactics for generations.  Immediate border countries were often treated more severely, with threats of punitive expeditions if they did not fall in line or give themselves over completely to become a direct vassal of the empire.  Countries just beyond the border were often treated with a lighter touch, luring them into complacency and even friendship with access to elite trade goods, and more.  As borders shifted, so too did the relationship between the empire and those on its borders. Goguryeo and Baekje fell into the former category, while Silla seems to have been in the latter—at least for now.  And yet all three were still trying to get what they could.   In 640, Seondeok sent her sons to enroll in the Guoxue, or National University, that Tang Taizong had set up in Chang'an.  This university had gathered Confucian scholars from all corners of the world.  The school is described as having some 1200 bays, with 3,260 students.  Besides Silla, Goguryeo and Baekje also sent their princes, who mingled with elites from Gaochang, Turpan, and elsewhere.  It was opportunities like this that made Chang'an so attractive: a place where the elites of Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje, could mingle with the members of the Tang Court and the western regions, beyond, sharing ideas and learning about the wider world. The following year, in 641, there are two items of note.  One is the inspection by Chen Dade of the Tang-Goguryeo border.  We talked about this back in episode XXX.  Under the pretense of a diplomatic mission, Dade arrived at the border with numerous gifts of silk, presenting them to the various fortress commanders and then asking to be shown around.  The Commanders were more than happy to show Dade their impressive fortifications, and they were exceedingly polite, but little did they know that Dade's true purpose was to scout for weaknesses in Goguryeo's defensive line.  His report back to Tang Taizong would be critical in what was to come. Also in this year, King Uija of Baekje came to the throne.  We talked about how Uija had sent his son, Prince Pung, to Yamato, and we've touched on him a few times here and there.  Uija was clearly a proponent of the alliance with Yamato, and, as we'll see, he was no friend to Silla.  The following year, in 642, Ujia's forces attacked Silla, capturing 40 strongholds, and pushing Silla's expanding borders back to the Nakdong river, retaking much of the area that had been under the control of the various Kara, or Gaya, confederacy.  This likely included places like Nimna and Ara, though we can't know for certain.  We do know that Baekje forces took Taeya fortress in the south of the peninsula, which gives us an idea of the extent of Baekje's victories. In response to Baekje's brazen attacks, Silla went  to a seemingly unlikely ally.  They reached out to Goguryeo.  In fact, they sent none other than Kim Ch'unch'u. Kim Ch'unch'u was the grandson of the 25th king of Silla, King Jinji.  Though his father, Kim Yonsu, had lost any claim to the throne when King Jinji was overthrown, he was still of “seonggol”, or “Sacred” bone rank, a concept somewhat similar to the kabane of Yamato, though in this case the “Sacred bone rank” indicated nobles specifically descended from the royal family.  These would have likely been the various Royal Princes and their families in the Yamato hierarchy.  Kim Ch'unch'u, in particular, seems to have been well regarded by the Silla court of his day, and since his own daughter had been killed by Baekje, he had a personal stake in the matter.  And so he led the embassy to Goguryeo's capital at Pyongyang to request that they send troops to aid Silla. There was only one problem.  Goguryeo was still fuming about territory that they had lost to Silla many years ago.  They agreed to send troops, but only if Silla would agree to a little quid pro quo.  Silla would need to return the Chungnyung pass and cede everything northwest of it back to Goguryeo.  This would return much of Goguryeo's territory north of the Han river and modern Seoul. Kim Ch'unch'u  rebuked their offer, calling it a threat against Silla.  This angered King Yeongnyu, and Kim Ch'unch'u was jailed for his disrespect.  Ch'unch'u was able to get word out of his imprisonment, however, and Queen Seondeok sent what the Samguk Sagi calls a “Death Squad” of 10,000 soldiers with the aim of breaking him out of prison.  As soon as Goguryeo heard that these troops were on the move, they decided that holding onto Ch'unch'u wouldn't be worth it, and they released him rather than fight.  Kim Ch'unch'u was returned safely, but without the support that he wanted. That said, there may have been other things going on in Goguryeo. The pro-appeasement camp and the hard-liners were fuming, and things in the court were coming to a head.  The two sides pulled against each other in the way that they shaped policy.  For the most part, King Yeongnyu was pro-appeasement, but there were powerful figures in the hard-liner camp, such as Yeon Gaesomun.  At 46 years old, he was a descendant of at least two previous “Magniji” court officials—a title roughly equivalent to that of a Prime Minister, and one of the most powerful roles a non-royal court noble could aspire to.  Gaesomun himself was the Western Governor, directly responsible for the fortresses that defended the border with the territory of the Tang Empire.  As such, it is little wonder that he may have been a bit more focused on the threat that they posed, and he likely held the loyalty of not a few troops. And perhaps this is why King Yeongnyu started to suspect him of being a problem, and why he plotted to have him killed.  Word of the King's plot reached Gaesomun, however, and he decided to take matters into his own hands. Returning to Pyongyang in 642, Gaesomun let it be known that he was throwing a lavish banquet to celebrate his rise to the position of Eastern governor.  He invited over one hundred of the opposing court nobles under this pretence.  But that is all it was. When the nobles had gathered at the banquet site, Gaesomun struck.  He had loyal forces rush in and kill all of his opponents, and then, before an alarm could sound, he rushed his troops over to the palace and murdered King Yeongnyu.  It was the Goguryeo's own Red Wedding, and it would hold a particular place of infamy in Korean history, which said  that the troops dismembered the corpse and discarded it without ceremony. In place of King Yeongnyu, Gaesomun propped up Yeongnyu's nephew, King Bojang.  Gaesomun then appointed himself the Dae Magniji, the Great Prime Minister, or perhaps more fittingly “Generalissimo”.  Though King Bojang sat upon the throne there was no question that it was Gaesomun who now ruled Goguryeo. Gaesomun's legacy is complicated.  Under the Confucian values of the time, many early historians vilified him for murdering the king, and blamed him and his harsh policies for the eventual downfall of the kingdom.  He is portrayed as a man lusting after power. We are given examples of his harsh demeanor, and the Annals state that when he got off of his horse he had high ranking nobles and military officials lie on the ground so that he could step on them, rather than touching the ground.  Of course, some of this we should likely take with a grain of salt, given the Chroniclers' generally dim view of him in general.   On the other hand, some modern histories believe that he wanted Goguryeo to take a tougher stance against the Tang.  Early Korean nationalists rehabilitated him, exalting him for taking such a hard stance against the Tang, or, in their eyes, China.  I suspect that he was a little of both.  A tyrant and a despot—as many rulers of the time were—but also dedicated to the defense of his nation. We mentioned this briefly back in Episode 107, but I wanted to touch on it here in more detail as it really leads to where we want to discuss.  A very brief mention of this lies in the Nihon Shoki, where it says that “Irikasumi” the “Prime Minister” of Goguryeo slew the king and over 180 others.  For the most part it tracks, though it does say that it happened in 641, which may easily just be a simple scribal error. The general narrative from here is that the Tang dynasty used Gaesomun's usurpation as a pretext for war against Goguryeo, but the narrative seems a bit more complex, and when we are reading we should keep in mind that none of the players in this drama knew the outcome beforehand.  And so, as is often the case, things are quite as straightforward as they may seem when we zoom out and take a look at the macro level of historical events, where we've already decide what events we believe to be important and which were less so, often based on knowing the outcomes.  Of course, the Chroniclers would have had similar narratives, but they were still trying to catalogue the events of each year as best they could. And that brings us to the year 643.  In this year, Silla went to the Tang dynasty to ask them for assistance against both Baekje and Goguryeo, who were planning to cut off Silla's access to the Tang court.  Tang Taizong agreed to help, but only if Silla would accept a Tang official who would come and oversee Silla.  Taizong's reasoning is given, which follows a typically misogynistic logic:  “Because your country has a woman as a ruler, neighboring states belittle it.  As you have lost the authority of the ruler, thus inviting the enemy to attack, no year will enjoy peace.”  He basically said that Silla needed a big strong man to help out, and he was willing to send someone—along with troops—to do just that.  Of course, I think we can all see how that was likely to end up, and any thoughts Silla had of being an equal partner in such an arrangement were nothing more than fantasies.  Tang Taizong was agreeing to assist, if Silla became a protectorate of the Tang court. The Silla envoy, for his part, took a very political stance.  No doubt knowing just how bad this was for Silla, but not wanting to disrespect the Tang emperor, whose assistance they still needed, he acknowledged the emperor's words without accepting the terms, returning without the promised help, but also without completely subordinating his country to the Tang empire. Although the troops were not forthcoming, the envoy's mission still had a positive impact.  Having heard that the envoy was traveling to the Tang court, King Uija of Baekje proactively withdrew the troops he had that were planning to attack with Goguryeo and cut off Silla's access to Chang'an.  Thus, Silla's corridor was maintained. Goguryeo, for their part, continued to attack Silla's border, but even though Gaesomun was one of the hard-liners when it came to Goguryeo-Tang relations, his initial envoys to the Tang court took a conciliatory stance towards the Tang empire.  Gaesomun promoted Daoism over Buddhism, and had his emissaries request and bring back 8 Daoist sages from the Tang court. Many historians feel that this was actually something of a show.  Sure, they would get knowledge and learning from the sages, but more importantly was to put the Tang at ease and hopefully allow Goguryeo a chance to annex Silla before the Tang war machine got up and running.  For their part, the Tang were already considering their next moves against Goguryeo, with some suggesting that they use proxies, like the Khitan and the Malgal, to make an attack.  Emperor Taizong's advisors suggested that the best course of action would be to lull Goguryeo into a false sense of security prior to a massive assault.  And so there were no major attacks that year. In 644, however, the Tang sent a message to Baekje and Goguryeo that they would need to stop invading Silla, and that if they didn't do so, the Tang would attack.  Gaesomun was actually leading troops in an attack on Silla when news of the messenger arrived at Goguryeo's court in Pyongyang.  Gaesomun's response was that he was simply trying to reclaim the territory that Silla had previously stolen from them many years earlier.  Along with their excuses, they sent along gold and 50 hostages from the Goguryeo court, but they were refused by the Tang.  It was probably pretty clear at this point that things were coming to a head—and diplomatic relations finally broke down in 645. That year the Tang dynasty—in conjunction with Silla, the Samguk Sagi tells us—launched a massive invasion of Goguryeo.  The pretext of which was, as I mentioned, Gaesomun's usurpation of the throne, but let's not kid ourselves:  The Tang dynasty were not shy about pushing out their borders. The Tang troops, who had been preparing for the past year, invaded in a two prong attack.  An overland attack struck at Gaemo—modern Shenyang—while naval forces landed on the Liaodong peninsula.  These forces initially swept through the border fortresses along the Liaodong penninsula with seeming ease.  Remember Chen Dade and his little factfinding mission?  No doubt all of his work came in quite handy.   Things were going well, and Tang Taizong himself joined the campaign. Still, each fortress took time, so that even though the invasion started in April, they reached Ansi by June. We are told that Goguryeo had amassed over 150,000 forces at Mt. Jipul, near Ansi, a walled fortress town with an estimated population of around 100,000.  Those numbers may be exaggerations, but the context is clear:  This was not just a small fortress and Goguryeo sent a lot of troops to reinforce the area. On the other side, Goguryeo was facing odds that were probably more like 3 to 1, with a massive Tang invasion force, which, since they had split, were attacking from two different directions.  Sure enough, the Tang were able to catch the defenders out of position, with the troops that had crossed the sea assaulting from the front while the overland forces attacked Goguryeo's rear.  It is estimated that over 50,000 Goguryeo troops were killed or captured in the battle. And that left only the fortress of Ansi, with a garrison of maybe 5,000 troops, to face the Tang, who had otherwise swept through previous defenses in relatively short order.  It would have been understandable had they capitulated.  There were still other fortresses between the Tang armies and the capital of Goguryeo at Pyongyang, not to mention the extremely mountainous terrain between the Liaodong and Korean peninsulas.  And yet, the Ansi garrison refused to give in.  The Tang forces, for their part, knew they could not leave an enemy to their rear, and so rather than continuing on, they set a siege to the fortress town. Although we are told that the Tang forces brought siege engines with them, the garrison at Ansi held out.  In fact, they held out for three months, and fall was beginning to turn to winter.  Winter in northeast Asia would bring snow and mud.  Furthermore, the Tang supply lines themselves were fairly long at this point.  Eventually, the defenders won out, and the Tang forces turned back.  On the march back towards Chang'an, Tang Taizong and his troops were caught in an early winter blizzard, which killed more of the soldiers.  Emperor Taizong founded Minzhong Temple—known today as Fayuan Temple, in modern Beijing—to commemorate his fallen soldiers. Although the Tang forces retreated, it is hard to say that Goguryeo was truly victorious in the outcome of the war.  Many Gogouryeo troops perished in the fighting, while Tang could now regroup.  Goguryeo was unlikely to be a major and immediate threat to Silla, as they would need to continue to maintain troops and rebuild the fortresses taken by the Tang, but that didn't mean that Silla was off the hook, either. Through this all, Baekje had taken the opportunity to harass Silla's western border.  They sent wave after wave against Silla, whose forces in that area were under the command of general Kim Yusin.  The Samguk Sagi mentions that his forces would turn back one attack, and he'd be almost back home, when another attack would come and he would have to go back out.  In one particularly poignant moment, he even got so close as to see his house, but he could not stop, and so he marched straight past the gates as he prepared to repel yet another invasion from Baekje. Winter brought a pause to the fighting, and in 646, things seem to have been relatively calm, if still quite tense, as all sides recovered from the events of the previous year.  Nonetheless, this is seen as the start of what is known as the Goguyreo-Tang war, a series of conflicts that would continue for approximately the next 20 years.  Goguryeo, for their part, attempted to normalize relations with the Tang, even sending two women—specifically the Annals state that they were two beautiful women—as a peace offering.  Tang Taizong politely refused them, however, claiming he wouldn't dare to separate them from their families.  In reality, he was rebuilding his forces, preparing for another assault, but that would take time.  In the meantime, diplomatic channels remained open, which really demonstrates the political situation in general, at the time.  Even if two sides were attacking one another, diplomatic envoys were still being exchanged.  Furthermore, though the trade routes may have been slightly less stable, trade continued, regardless.  The following year, 647, Emperor Taizong launched fresh assaults against Goguryeo.  This time, rather than a larger army, he instead had them focus on small-scale attacks that would weaken the kingdom of Goguryeo, forcing them to constantly be on guard and to pour resources into supporting their borders.  At the same time, Silla suffered tragedy as Queen Seondeok died, and Queen Chindeok took the throne.  Later in that year, Baekje troops attacked three Silla fortresses.  They were pushed back, but the Silla troops took heavy casualties.  As we can see, the fighting continued throughout the peninsula. Meanwhile, over on the Japanese archipelago, they were busy incorporating the new reforms.  Envoys from Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo would continue to travel to the Yamato court, which one imagines made for some rather tense State dinners. The year after that, in 648, while Tang forces continued to harass Goguryeo, Baekje attacked and took ten Silla fortresses.  Upon hearing this, Silla general Kim Yusin rallied the troops, counterattacked, and destroyed the invading forces.  Silla's Prince Ch'unch'u himself, the one who had previously gone to Goguryeo to ask for support against Baekje, traveled to the Tang court in Chang'an.  There he requested assistance against Baekje's continual harassment of Silla's borders. It is unclear how firmly Baekje and Goguryeo were allied together and coordinating attacks, but  it does seem clear that they were aligned in their goals.  Baekje may not have been in direct conflict with the Tang, but their attacks on Silla likely kept Silla from further harassing Goguryeo, who was actively involved in defending against Tang attacks.  So whether there were formal treaties or not, lines were drawn, but these were still independent states with their own goals and aspirations. And so, when Ch'unch'u's ship was returning from Chang'an and ran into a Goguryeo patrol, one can understand their apprehension.  Ch'unch'u was known to Goguryeo, and if we was captured it is unlikely that he would live long enough to be rescued by an elite Silla death squad once again.  And so, his men devised a plan, and a man named On Kunhae put on the clothes of a high official—possibly Ch'unch'u's own.  When the Goguryeo patrol captured the ship, they killed him, believing he was a Silla noble or at least an important envoy.  Unbeknownst to them, Ch'unch'u himself had been transferred to a smaller, less assuming ship, which quietly made its way past the patrol and back to Silla controlled territory. And so, once again, we see us how dangerous things were getting at this point.  Travel was risky at the best of times, but now, with the possibility of being intercepted by a hostile country's forces, who knew what might happen. Hostilities continued until 649.  That year, Tang Taizong passed away, and shortly before he did, he pulled back the troops.  His death only brought a brief pause, however, as his son and heir, Tang Gaozong, took the throne and would launch his own series of wars against both Goguryeo and Baekje.  In 650, Gaozong received Prince Kim Ch'unch'u once again as an ambassador from Silla, this time with a poem penned by Queen Chindeok herself.  In the form of poetic verse, she asked for help against Baekje, who had continued their attacks.  Throughout the previous year attacks had continued back and forth.  Silla general Kim Yusin again managed to push back and defeat the Baekje forces, but one can only imagine the toll this was taking on Silla's ability to defend itself over time.  This was the content of the note.  Prior to this, Silla really had gone all in on strengthening their ties with the Tang dynasty, going so far as to institute Tang court dress—both in their robes and caps.  This point had been specifically negotiated by Prince Ch'unch'u with the previous emperor, Tang Taizong.  It sounds as if Silla was trying to have the Tang court recognize their own court nobles and put themselves in a place to receive Tang court rank, though how, exactly, they received said rank is unclear—did it come from the Tang or was it granted by the Queen of Silla. Either way, it was clearly seen by other nations—or at least Yamato—as an unwelcome statement.  In 651, Silla envoys arrived at Tsukushi—modern day Kyushu—wearing their new Tang style clothing and they were turned away.  Specifically the Dazaifu sent them back claiming that they weren't dressed as envoys from Silla should be.  On top of this, we are told that Kose no Omi then suggested that *rather than go to war* over this, they should just make a show of force when the envoys came back.  And let me reiterate that: according to the Nihon Shoki this was such an affront that Yamato was considering whether they should launch a punitive military strike against Silla for sporting the wrong fit.  Talk about a fashion disaster! In the end, they took Kose no Omi's advice, which was that the next time Silla arrived they would have ships lined up all along the Seto Inland Sea as the envoys made their way to Yamato so that there was no doubt in the envoys' minds about just what Yamato could do. This is a great demonstration of how something we might consider innocuous was clearly a Big Deal for the people at the time.  I suspect that there were at least two possible reasons for why this was, besides just considering themselves the arbiters of fashion.  For one, remember that Yamato considered Silla to be subordinate to them, at least in their worldview.  Just like they had been concerned about at least maintaining the fiction that Nimna was still an active and independent entity, this broke the illusion that Silla was a tributary of Yamato. At the same time, it may have just been that they were putting on airs and it was seen as impersonating and even speaking for the Tang court.  After all, if a Tang envoy showed up, I doubt that Yamato would turn them away. In either instance, we can see the lines being drawn, with Silla taking a clear stance in connecting themselves with the Tang court while Goguryeo, Baekje, and even Yamato were still in contact with them, but from a more independent capacity.  In 652, for instance, we know that Goguryeo again sent tribute to the Tang court, no doubt in an attempt to normalize relations.  Still, the alliances were firming up. In 653 we have two items of interest:  one from the Samguk Sagi and one from the Nihon Shoki.  In the Samguk Sagi it explicitly mentions that Baekje and Wa formed an alliance.  This is significant in that the Samguk Sagi really doesn't mention Wa nearly as often as we would expect it to, while the Nihon Shoki is constantly discussing Baekje and Yamato relations.  I imagine that there must have been a significant escalation of Wa involvement around this time for the Samguk Sagi to mention it. On the other hand, the Nihon Shoki doesn't really mention it.  Sure, there are annual tributes mentioned from Baekje and Silla—and occasionally Goguryeo—but they were more focused on another event: an embassy that the Yamato court sent to the Tang dynasty.  This was the first embassy to be sent in some time—at least according to the Nihon Shoki—but it was quite the affair.  Two ships were prepared.  The first ship was led by Kishi no Nagani and his assistant, Kishi no Koma, along with the envoy, Nunobara no Mita.  They were accompanied by numerous students and student priesets, all sons of court nobility, including Jou'e, the son of none other than Nakatomi no Kamatari the “Naidaijin” or central prime minister.  In total, there were 121 people on board the ship. The other ship was led by Takada no Nemaro and his assistant, Kamori no Womaro, as well as their accompanying envoy, Hashi no Yatsute.  Along with various students, they had 120 on board the ship.  Two ships, each with an individual in charge of the particular embassy, meant that even if they met with an accident along the way, they would have someone to carry on the mission.  And that foresight proved unfortunately necessary when the ship carrying Takada no Nemaro sank in the straits of Takashima off the coast of Satsuma.  The ship went down and only five men survived, largely by lashing themselves to a plank and drifting ashore at Takashima island.  There, one of the survivors, Kadobe no Kogane, gathered bamboo and made a raft, by which they made it to Shitojishima.  They surived six days and nights without any food, but they made it.  When he heard about it, the sovereign congratulated Kogane and rewarded him with rank and various presents for his work to bring people back home. Another mission, launched the following year, shows that being lost at sea wasn't the only danger for international travelers back in the day.  In the 2nd month of 654, Takamuku no Kuromaro led another embassy to the Tang court.  He was the Controlling Envoy, though the Chief Ambassador was Kahabe no Maro, assisted by Yenichi no Kusushi, a name that Aston suggests translates to something like “Doctor Yenishi”.  A list of other names are given as well of those who were also on the mission.  More sobering is the outcome of the mission, where we are told what happened to everyone.  Though they reached the Tang court, not everyone would make it back.  According to the author Yuki no Hakatoko—an interesting tidbit in that they seem to be giving us the author of one of the accounts that they used in the compilation of the Nihon Shoki, and we'll come back to him in a later episode—according to Hakatoko, the student priest Enmyou died in Tang, while the student priests Chisou and Chikoku both died at sea.  Another person named Chisou, but using different characters, returned in a Silla ship in 690.  Gakusho died in Tang and Gitsu died at sea.  Joye returned in 665 in the ship of Liu Tekao.  And then others—about 12 total—along with two individuals who were considered Japanese born abroad, came back in 654 with returning envoys.  We are even told that Takamuku no Kuromaro, one of the figures who helped set up the government and played a major role in diplomatic relations with the continent, passed away on this mission as well. So going on one of these missions may have given you some awesome opportunities to see the world like nobody else, but they were anything but guaranteed.  For many people, it was a one way ticket, and we should keep that in mind when we hear about the people going on them. There were other intricacies to deal with as well—including navigating the pathways to the Tang court.  You may remember that Yamato was allied with Baekje in some way.  And yet the 654 mission we are told went by way of Silla and then anchored in Laichou, on the Shandong peninsula.  Later that same year, the previous mission, with Kishi no Nagani and others, returned to Yamato escoted by envoys from both Silla and Baekje.  While the narrative largely focuses on what they obtained, one imagines there were probably some tensions in all of that.  After all, just a year before we are told that Baekje and allied with Wa—which is to say Yamato—against Silla.  So had Silla not yet heard about the alliance?  Or was that just considered par for the course at the time? The year 654 would have more direct considerations for all concerned, however.  In that year, Queen Chindeok of Silla died, as did Karu of Yamato.  In Silla, the new King was none other than Prince Kim Ch'unch'u, known to history as King Muyeol.  As we touched on, earlier, Ch'unch'u was intimately familiar with the Tang court and had spoken directly with the Tang emperor, so this likely only further cemented ties between the Tang and Silla.  Meanwhile, in Yamato, Queen Takara Hime, aka Kyougyoku Tennou -slash- Saimei Tennou, was re-ascending the throne, rather than making way for Prince Naka no Oe, a truly interesting state of affairs. Moving forward, the alliances would continue to solidify, though diplomatic missions would continue to travel between the various countries.  After all, they didn't exactly have many other means of communicating with each other—no email or telephones back then. Tang Gaozong would continue to attack and harass Goguryeo, though Yeon Gaesomun would continue to fend off attacks, while Baekje and Silla would continue their struggles as well.  Both Goguryeo and Baekje would ally against Silla, who in turn would call upon the might of the Tang empire.  All in all, it was a time of great conflict, generally known as the Tang-Goguryeo War, and it was a long-term conflict punctuated with times of peace in betwetween the various offensives.   Yamato was less directly involved, but still affected.  After all, they were closely aligned with Baekje, and they had to wonder what would happen if Silla came out victorious.  Would they be cut off from the continent entirely?  Or would they be forced into a new state of having to send tribute to Silla as an inferior country if they wanted access to continental goods and knowledge?  While we know how it played out, today, at the time the outcomes were far from certain. All of that will continue to provide a backdrop for the second reign of Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tennou.  A part of me wonders if this wasn't also part of the reason to move the capital back into Asuka, in the Nara Basin.  I imagine that a capital sitting on the edge of the water, relatively speaking, while good for trade and foreign relations, also felt rather exposed if anyone were to sail a fleet down the Seto Inland Sea.  Or it may have just been a return to the more familiar lands of Asuka. As conflict on the continent continued to escalate, Yamato would not be able to stay unaffected.  The question is whether or not they would be ready when and if anything came their way.  It was a tense period, certainly. And we'll get more into that as we move forward in the next episode with the second reign of Takara-hime, aka Saimei Tennou. Until then thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.   Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

Last time we spoke about the Zhejiang-Fengtian War, part of the Anti-Fengtian War. Sun Chuanfang had rising through the ranks and quickly seized himself a powerbase in southeast China. Zhang Zuolin and his Fengtian commanders meanwhile became quite arrogant and began bullying and seizing as much territory as they could. This led the Fengtian forces to begin encroaching in Sun Chuanfang newfound territory of Zhejiang. Assuming Sun Chuanfang like the rest would not resist them, they were certainly surprised when he did. Sun Chuanfang formed a coalition with the warlords that controlled Jiangasu, Fujian, Jiangxi, Anhui and his own Zhejiang to fight off the Fengtian menace. Sun Chuanfang went straight onto the offensive, surprising the Fengtian who were in a passive phase and ultimately defeating them, pushing them further north to Shandong. Sun Chuandfang's victory in the Zhejiang-Fengtian War marked the peak of his career, but peaks tend to fall.   #109 The Anti-Fengtian War Part 2: The Guominjun-Fengtian War Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the previous episode we spoke about the Zhejiang-Fengtian War. It was part of a larger war known loosely as the anti-fengtian war or third Zhili-fengtian war. To be blunt, if you look up the anti-fengtian war, they barely take notice of the Zhejiang-Fengtian War. Most of the focus is directed north, particularly with the conflict between the Guominjun and Fengtian. Certainly the Guominjun took the spotlight during this war as Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin were clearly fighting for dominance over Beijing. However Zhang Zuolin was simply too powerful and began to bully his way across China. Through Duan Qirui and the Beiyang government, Zhang Zuolin secured vital positions for his subordinates. The 5th Fengtian army commander Kan Chaoxi was ordered to take two Fengtian Mixed Brigades and occupy Rehe province as its governor. Li Jinglin the commander of the Fengtian 2nd army and a Hubei native, became the military inspector of Hubei. Zhang Zongchang was given the title of commander in chief of suppressing banditry in Jiangsu, Shandong and Anhui which further led him to become the governor of Shandong. Yang Yuting was made governor over Jiangsu and Jiang Dengxuan over Anhui.. By 1925 the Fengtian military was 370,000 men strong across land, sea and air. By January of 1925, Fengtian forces began occupying Shanghai, threatening Sun Chuanfang who unleashed the Zhejiang-Fengtian War in retaliation As for Feng Yuxiang, he was unable to exert any real control in Beijing. He had received the title of inspector general over the northwest, effectively a military governorship. This saw him gain direct control over Rehe, Chahar and Suiyuan. In early 1925 he moved his headquarters to Kalgan. Through his subordinates and allies he also exerted control in Hunan, Shanxi and Gansu. Because of his recent acquisition of Soviet aid, his armies were growing in size, though declining in quality. He had gradually distanced himself from Zhang Zuolin. In January of 1925 Feng Yuxiang was being excluded by Duan Qirui and Zhang Zuolin. At this point Feng Yuxiang met Li Dazhao as Soviet military advisors were coming to help train his forces. In the late spring and summer Feng Yuxiang dispatch young officers to study in the Soviet Union. After a very strict examination period, presided over by Feng Yuxiang, 24 out of 300 students were enlisted into the Soviet Officer training corps. Another 24 were sent to Japan. When the May 13th incident broke out, Feng Yuxiang alongside some subordinates sent a telegram to Duan Qirui asking the Beiyang government to "take the external situation seriously and not to worry about it, and expressed his willingness to go to the front for the country". Feng Yuxiang then began supporting student demonstrations and on June 13th had his troops all wear black armbands to mourn the Shanghai martyrs. Feng Yuxiang pushed his men to donate to the Shanghai strike workers and personally donated 10,000 yuan. Feng Yuxiang watched costly the events unfold in the southeast. Upon discovering Sun Chuanfang was gaining the upper hand, Feng Yuxiang finally made his move. He began secretly extending his hand to just about anyone who would join with him to fight the Fengtian forces. Obviously Sun Chuanfang was immediately receptive. Feng Yuxiang then reached out within the Fengtian clique to see if any disgruntled commanders would defect. He flirted with Li Jinglin, the current governor over Hubei province. It seemed Li Jinglin was completely on board for the time being as another Fengtian commander welcomed the invitation. Guo Songling, holding the courtesy name Maochen, was born on December 25th of 1883 in Yuqiaozhai village of Dongling district in Liaoning province. In 1903 Guo Songling began studying under Mr. Dong Hanru in Changwangzhai. However he was soon forced to pull out of school because of the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. In Autumn of 1905, General Zhao Erxun established the Fengtian Army Primary School at Dabeiguan in Fengtian. Guo Songling immediately joined up. The next year he met Fang Shengtao, a member of the Tongmenghui where he became exposed to revolutionary ideology. In 1907 Guo Songling graduated with honors and soon served as a sentry to the Shengjiang General's office. He was soon taken under the wing of commander Zhu Qinglan.  In 1909 Guo Songling was transferred to Chengdu, Sichuan alongside Zhu Qinglan. The next year Guo Songling joined the nationalist army of the Tongmenghui, joining the Tongmenghui as well. In 1911 the Sichuan Railway protection movement broke out and Guo Songling joined the uprising. By this point he was promoted to commander of the 2nd battalion of the 68th regiment, responsible for the defense of northern Chengdu. He persuaded the masses to lift the siege without bloodshed. The governor of Sichuan, Zhao Erfeng dismissed Guo Songlong, suspecting him to be colluding with bandits, but later restored him to his original post at the request of Zhu Qinglan. After the Wuchang uprising, various regions of Sichuan declared independence one after another. In Chengdu a new government formed with Zhu Qinglan as deputy governor. However sichuan generals soon instigated local troops to launch a mutiny, forcing Zhu Qinglan and many Hakka Generals to flee Sichuan. Guo Songling then decided to return to Fengtian province.  Back in Fengtian he joined another uprising movement led by Zhang Rong, but he was quickly arrested by the Qing government and beheaded. At this point one Han Shuxiu risked her life trying to stop the carriage carrying Zhang Rong to his execution. She was caught, but before they seized her, she told the police she was the fiance of Guo Songling, and this led them to let her go. She married Guo Songling shortly after. In 1912 Guo Songling entered the Beijing Officers institute and the next year he entered the army university. After graduating he served as a Beijing military academy instructor. In 1917 after Sun Yat-Sen established his military government in Guangzhou, Guo Songling joined up as the chief of staff to the Guangdong-Jiangxi-Hunan Border defense and became the battalion commander of the Guangdong provincial army. After Sun Yat-Sen saw some major defeats, Guo Songling departed Guangzhou, yet again returning to Fengtian where he took up a position as a tactical instructor for the military academy of Manchuria. It was here he met Zhang Xueliang. Zhang Xueliang soon recommended him to his dad who made him chief of staff and head of the 2nd regiment. By 1921 he was the head of the 8th Brigade.  During the first Zhili-Fengtian war of 1922, the eastern route force led by Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling shattered Wu Peifu's plan to break through Shanhaiguan. During the second Zhili-Fengtian war of 1924, Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling were serving as commander and deputy commander of the 3rd army. Alongside Jiang Dengxuan and Han Linchun commanding the 1st army, they soundly defeated the Zhili forces winning the war. Zhang Zuolin then appointed his son as commander of the BEijing-Yulin garrison with Guo Songling as his deputy commander. As Zhang Zuolin dispatched Fengtian commanders into China proper to occupy southern provinces. Guo Songling believed Zhang Zuolin and many of his commanders were becoming war mongers, and proposed a different strategy, emphasizing pulling back forces into China's interior to try and win over rural populations. Other commanders worked to politically exclude Guo Songling from Zhang Zuolin's ear, such as Yang Yuting, thus Guo Songling's proposal was rejected.  In 1925 Guo Songling took his wife to Japan to study military affairs. While in Japan Guo Songling learnt Zhang Zuolin was dispatched his troops south drawing Sun Chuanfang into a war. He also learned the extent of Zhang Zuolin's dealings with the Japanese and became disgusted with how he was seemingly selling out China. Now Guo Songling's wife Han Shuxiu was a graduate of Yenching University and a classmate of Feng Yuxiang's wife, Li Dequan. They had a good relationship and were close contacts. Han Shuxiu learned about Feng Yuxiang's dealings with the Soviets and told Guo Songling who became quite excited. Guo Songling had acquired quite a few grievances under Zhang Zuolin and wanted to overthrow him. Therefore he began to secretly negotiate with Feng Yuxiang. In November Guo Songling was recalled to China for the war effort. Instead of aiding the war effort, On November 22nd, Guo Songling raised an army in Luanzhou and sent a telegram stating he was rebelling against Zhang Zuolin. He called his force the “Northeast National Army”. Jiang Dengxuan rushed over to Luanzhou station to try and reason with Guo Songling, but was arrested upon entering the city. Guo Songling tried to persuade Jiang Dengxuan to join him to oppose Zhang Zuolin, but Jiang simply scolded him. Guo Songling then had him shot on November 26th. Guo Songling raised 70,000 troops who quickly captured Shanhaiguan. In the face of the onslaught, Zhang Zuolin only had 40,000 troops in the vicinity, as he had dispatched the vast majority of his forces into China proper to expand the Fengtian empire. Pretty ironic, the guy who told him to pull back his forces into the interior was now attacking his interior. Guo Songling's forces brushed aside the Fengtian armies, seizing Suizhong, Xingcheng and Jinzhou. The Fengtian forces were taken completely off guard and were quickly pushed towards the east bank of the Liaohe River. Guo Songling's main target was Mukden, which he soon erected a siege against. Guo Songling since November 22nd began repeatedly sending telegrams to Zhang Zuolin demanding he step down and allow his son Zhang Xueliang to take over. If Zhang Zuolin would simply do so, he promised to stop his rebellion. Zhang Zuolin panicked and began frantically placing a bounty over Guo Songling's head, up to 800,000 yuan. With no one to turn to, Zhang Zuolin ran with his tail between his legs to the Japanese asking if their Kwantung Army could stop Guo Songling. Zhang Zuolin knew very well the kind of man Guo Songling was. He knew the mans personality and vigor was a huge threat politically, allegedly Zhang Zuolin began the process of forming his resignation and peace talks. Zhang Zuolin was seen packing 29 cars with furniture and his valuables heading over to Dalian to flee, most likely for Japan. It is also said he had a ton of firewood and gasoline positioned around his mansion, so it could be burned down if Guo Songling got to it. Countless Fengtian civilian and military officials also began fleeing with their families, it was pure chaos. The Japanese were certainly not pleased with the situation. The Kwantung Army certainly did not want Guo Songling to gain power, it most certainly spelt doom over their dominance over Manchuria. Guo Songling was in league with Feng Yuxiang and to the Japanese this meant in one way or another, he was a communist sympathizer. The Japanese view of Guo Songling was “Guo's intention was to expel Zhang himself, clearly implement the Three Principles of the Kuomintang , involve the three northeastern provinces in war, attract Soviet forces into Manchuria, and induce a situation that Japan's national defense and Manchuria-Mongolia policy could not forgive." The president of the Manchuria railway company, Yasuhiro Banichiro believed “if Guo's rebellion was successful, the three northeastern provinces would be ravaged by the communist movement, and there might be a "free zone" without the Manchurian Railway and Kwantung Leased Territory." Consul General Yoshida Shigeru in Tianjin reported that if Guo Songling took over Manchuria, it was sure the Kuomintang would move in and the threat of communism with them. Thus the Japanese believed that Zhang Zuolin needed to stay in power. The Japanese began mediating a peace deal, highlighting how they wished both sides would recognize their empire's rights in Manchuria and Mongolia. They also added, if these demands were not respected they would go to war with either of them. Guo Songling slammed the table to this and shouted "How can this be! This is China's internal affairs! I don't understand what Japan's special rights are!" Then Zhang Zuolin made a secret agreement with the Japanese, caving into all their demands if the Kwantung army would send troops.  On december 8th, the Kwantung Army issued a warning to Guo Songling to stay 20 miles away from the south manchurian railway concession or they would get involved. The Kwantung army was taken measures to halt Guo Songling's advance and give Zhang Zuolin time to get his forces over. On the 9th the Japanese 10th divisional HQ moved from Liaoyang to Fengtian. The 63rd regiment,  1st artillery battalion and 1st Cavalry battalion of Gongzhuling alongside garrison units all converged upon Fengtian trying to intercept Guo Songling. On the 12th Guo Songling's vanguard arrived near Baiqibao. His right wing prepared an assault against Yingkou. On the 14th as they tried to enter Yingkou they were suddenly blocked by Japanese forces and issued another warning to back off. Guo Songling's men were thus banned from the urban area, forced to take the fighting along the Liaohe river. This was a huge obstacle between them at Fengtian, they would have to go 30 km's around the south manchuria railway to get to it. On the 15th the Japanese decided to withdraw part of the IJA 24th division from Korea and part of the 12th Division from Kurume to form a Manchuria expeditionary army that would be deployed in Fengtian to stop Guo Songling. On the 17th the main bulk of Guo Songling's army entered Baiqibao. On the 20th Guo Songling captured Xinmin and his vanguard was now arriving to the west bank of the Juliu river, due southwest of Mukden. Guo Songlings men could see the lights of Fengtian cities as they awaited the rest of the army to ford the river. The next day the main force arrived in Xinmen setting up a new HQ. The Fengtian defenses were led by Zhang Xueliang who deployed along the east bank of the Juliu river from Damintun to Gongzhutun. Wu Junsheng's 6th army, consisting mostly of cavalry were rushing south from Heilongjiang to take up a position on the Fengtian left wing while Zhang Zuoiangs 5th army was coming over from Jilin for the right wing. Zhang Xueliang personally led the 3rd army within the middle. Guo Songling set up his men along the west bank of the Juliu river, arranging them from north to south in the order of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th armies. On the 22nd Guo Songling gave the order for a general attack to take place the next day. The net day his army launched their attack against Zhang Xueliang's middle position, finding he was utilizing heavy Japanese weaponry. Zhang Zuoxiang attack with his right wing, quickly occupying Beigaotaizi, before hooking around to cut off Guo Songlings line of retreat. Then Wu Junsheng's left wing seized Liuhegou and assaulted Baiqibao where he burned Guo Songlings ammunition dumps, weaponry and provisions. Now Guo Songling's supply line was compromised and his rear was threatened. At this point Zhang Xueliang went out of his way to dispatch air forces to drop letters trying to get his friend to stop the rebellion. Without any response from Guo Songling, Zhang Xueliang took his force and began surrounding his army. That night Guo Songling held a meeting where his generals Zou Zuohua and Gao Jiyi advocated for a ceasefire and to go to the peace talks. Other generals such as Liu Wei and Fan Pujiang advocated to keep on fighting. In the end Guo Songling elected to keep the war going and decided to engage in a decisive battle on the 24th.  On the 24th, Guo Songling personally led the battle, launching three fierce attacks against the Fengtian forces. However Zuo Zuohua, his chief of staff defected, withdrawing an artillery brigade as he did so, greatly hampering the war effort. Guo Songling's army was defeated, he gave permission for his subordinates, even his personal guards to try and escape if they could during the night. Guo Songling and his wife Han Shuxiu were both captured by Wang Yongqing, the brigade commander of Wu Junshengs army. They were to be taken to Mukden for trial. On December 25th Wang Yongqing was escorting them when he received orders issued by Yang Yuting, Guo Songling's political rival. The orders were simply to shoot them on the spot. Now depending who you hear this story from, many claim it was actually Zhang Zuolin who sent the order. Historians believe Yang Yuting was worried Zhang Xueliang would rescue Guo Songling so he advised Zhang Zuolin it was best to simply kill him so the ordeal would not be repeated. At 10am Guo Songling and his wife were shot near Laodafang in Liaozhong county. Their bodies were transported to Mukden, which I should be calling Shenyang, I apologize the names change back and forth. Their bodies were left exposed in the Xiaoheyan stadium for three days. Thus ended the month long rebellion of Guo Songling. Now while all of that was breaking out in Manchuria, Feng Yuxiang had unleashed his war as well. In early december Feng Yuxiang led the Guominjun forces east launching a massive attack into Rehe province. Now if you recall, Feng Yuxiang had brokered a deal with Li Jinglin, and these parts of Rehe were his territory. Thus Li Jinglin saw this as a betrayal. He sent a telegram denouncing Feng Yuiang "He fooled his subordinates and used the heresy of communism to destroy the great defense and morality.I carry the sword for the country, not for party disputes or for profit, but only for this humanitarianism, in order to destroy the public enemy of the world and save our morality from the decline of five thousand years.It doesn't matter whether we are enemies or not, but only whether we are red or not.” Li Jinglin fought tenaciously against the Guominjun, however by December 23rd, Feng Yuxiang had seized Tianjin. Meanwhile alongside Sun Chuanfang, Wu Peifu had also joined the Zhili fight against the Fengtian forces, thus he was loosely allied to Feng Yuxiang. When Guo Songling's rebellion crumbled, it seemed clear to all, Feng Yuxiang was about to face the full brunt of Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian armies, who had withdrawn into the interior to meet his threat. While Feng Yuxiang dominated the Beijing area, it was only a matter of time before the Fengtian swarmed him. Wu Peifu had been quietly building up his powerbase in Hunan. While he appeared to be a good ally to the anti-Fengtian cause, he was anything but. The only person, Wu Peifu hated more than Zhang Zuolin, was of course Feng Yuxiang, the man who stabbed him in the back and ruined his Zhili dominated China dream. If Wu Peifu were to join Zhang Zuolin they would effectively surround and isolate Feng Yuxiangs pocket in the north. Wu Peifu knew if he wanted to rejoin the big boys club, he would have to kowtow to Zhang Zuolin and take up a subordinate position. If lets say Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin dominated Beijing again, they would be able to squeeze any funding away from Feng Yuxiang, shoving him back into the northwest, whence they could gradually beat him up. Thus Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin settled their differences and formed an alliance against the treacherous Feng Yuxiang. Its kind of funny but Feng Yuxiang had betrayed both men at some point so it was sort of the binding glue to their new found relationship. The Zhili and Fengtian cliques had united once again, this time calling themselves the Anti-Red coalition. Their objective was quite simple, they would surround and strangle Feng Yuxiang's army. On January 20th Feng Yuxiang had launched a battle against their new coalition at Shanhaiguan, Shandong and Henan simultaneously. Zhang Xueliang led his army to occupy Luanzhou before advancing towards Tianjin. Zhang Zongchang, whose army had withdrawn into Shandong after Sun Chuanfang had defeated them now attacked from the south. Zhang Zuolin dispatched a special envoy to officially form a alliance with Wu Peifu, asking him to attack Feng Yuxiang from his position and if possible see if Yan Xishan could be lured into the scuffle as well. Wu Peifu took his rather meager forces and marched north from Hubei into Hunan. His relatively weak army was assisted by the Red Spear Society. These were a rural self-defense movement that sprang up in Hebei, Henan and Shandong in the 1920s. They were local small land owners and tenant farmers trying to defend their lands or villages from roaming bandits, warlords, tax collectors and later on in history communists and Japanese. In many ways they were the spiritual successor to the Big Swords Society. This particular group of them had been abused by the Guominjun commander Yueh Weichun who presided over Hunan.  Back in the north, an incident broke out at the Taku forts. Feng Yuxiang having taken control of Tianjin and the Taku forts, seized some minor warships and began mining the seas. This was in violation of the Boxer Protocol and the IJN retaliated by bombarding his ships and even fired upon Feng Yuxiang's forces along the coast. Feng Yuxiang had his artillery fire back upon the IJN warships. In the face of the escalating situation, other foreign powers notified China they must stop what Feng Yuxiang was doing as it threatened to breach the Boxer Protocol. An ultimatum was given, prompting Duan Qirui to persuade Feng Yuxiangs forces to stop mining the waters. Then on March 18th, 1926, KMT and CCP members such as Xu Qian, Li Dazhao, Zhao Shiyan and others initiated a "National Congress against the Eight-Power Ultimatum" in front of Tiananmen, with Xu Qian served as the chairman of the presidium of the Congress. Mass demonstrations broke out in Tiananmen Square. They opposed the foreign ultimatum and called for an end to the unequal treaties, for foreign warships to depart their waters and for Feng Yuxiang to fight their imperial aggression. Li Dazhao took to the stage shouting "Don't be afraid, they dare not do anything to us!" Li Dazhao then led many to rush towards the state council. Duan Qirui panicked and ordered Beijing guards to fire upon them. A reporter at the scene stated stated that the marchers "the demonstrators attacked the State Council, poured oil, threw bombs, and attacked the military and police with pistols and sticks. The military and police were killed and injured in their legitimate defense." 47 demonstrators were killed, 150 more were wounded. Duan Qirui then ordered the arrest of the ring leaders, such as Li Dazho and Xu Qian who all fled. Back in the war for the north the Guominjun commander Lu Zhunglin now faced an offensive from Li Jinglin and Zhang Zongchang from Shandong and the main Fengtian forces coming from Manchuria. Li Jinglin began his advance in February of 1926, fighting Lu Zhunglin for several weeks. Feng Yuxiang realized they would lose the war at this rate and ordered the forces to pull out of Hubei and Henan into the Beijing area. Lu Zhunglin was forced to evacuate 100,000 man army by March 21st. Feng Yuxiang's took positions in the Beijing area where they would fight off the enemy for over a month, the enemy now including Wu Peifu who had advanced north from Hunan. Feng Yuxiang meanwhile arrested Duan Qirui and released Cao Kun on April 9th, trying to sow dissent between Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin. His idea was to declare he was once again willing to serve under Cao Kun, and sent word to Wu Peifu that they should join forces to destroy the Fengtian clique. Wu Peifu simply ignored this request. Lu Zhunglin leading the forces from the front knew he could not hope to hold back the onslaught any longer so on April 15th he evacuated the army to the Nankou Pass, roughly 30 miles northwest of Beijing. In the meantime the coalition led by armies under Zhang Zongchang, Zhang Xueliang, Li Jinglin and Wu Peifu occupied Beijing. They installed Yan Huiqing as a temporary figurehead as Duan Qirui was exiled to Tianjin under orders from Zhang Zuolin. The forces also sacked Beijing, so badly it would not recover until 1928. Now at the Nankou Pass, 90,000 Guominjun troops resisted the onslaught of over 450,000 of the enemy until August 16th. The Guominjun looking for another escape route dispatched a force led by Shi Yousan and Han Fuju into Shanxi. They were attacked near Datong by Yan Xishan's army. Despite being sympathetic to the Guominjun, as Yan Xishan was loosely associated with the KMT, his policy of neutrality had to be enforced, it was after all one of the ways he managed to survive this long. Feng Yuxiang's forces were quickly dislodged from Shanxi. Meanwhile Chahar fell to Zhang Xueliang's men as they advanced from Beijing and Suiyuan fell to Yan Xishan as his men advanced from Shanxi. The Guominjun put up a spartan-like resistance, but the Fengtian brought Japanese heavy artillery to the Nankou Pass where they blew away possibly 10,000 Guominjun. The Guominjun were forced to retreat into Gansu by August 15th.  Gansu at this time was being held by a bunch of lesser warlords whose domains were affected by religious divisions. Feng Yuxiang now took this time to go on a trip to the Soviet Union, announcing his resignation. Yet it was not actually a resignation, once in the USSR he began regaining control over his Guominjun army, winning back the favor of two of his best generals who had defected, Han Fuchu and Xu Yusan. Both these men had tossed their lot in with Yan Xishan temporarily. Feng Yuxiangs next goal was to recover his position in Shaanxi, where his forces had been under siege since April of 1926 by Liu Chenhua the previous warlord of Shaanxi. Liu Chenhua had been bolstered by Red Spear units from Hunan. Now Feng Yuxiang had basically united all the northern warlords in their hatred for him, so he pretty much had no one else to look to, except for of course, the Kuomintang.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Feng Yuxiang unleashed his Guominjun after securing many sneaky deals with those like Guo Songling, Sun Chuanfang, Li Jinglin and even Wu Peifu sort of. His plans all came to naught as he gradually lost the anti-fengtian war and now Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin were back in Beijing together, talk about Deja Vu.      

Last time we spoke about the first Jiangsu-Zhejiang War. Wu Peifu and Zhang Zuolin became swift rivals after the first Zhili-Fengtian War. The Zhili clique remained in control of Beijing and began bullying everyone into submission, trying to unify China under their thumb. Zhang Zuolin went to work reorganizing and retraining his army, for another war was looming over the horizon. Then in the southeast of China, conflict emerged between Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The Zhili backed Qi Xieyuan wanted to control Shanghai, which was under the control of Lu Yungxiang of the Anhui clique. The Anhui clique were on the death bed, Zhejiang was the last province under their control, thus he elected to fight for it. Lu Yungxiang sought help from anyone who possibly could help him, such as Zhang Zuolin and Dr Sun Yat-Sen, but little did he know but he was contributing to a much larger war.    #105 the Second Zhili-Fengtian War Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Hello again, so after the first Zhili-Fengtian war of 1922, the Zhili warlords seized control over Beijing. Cao Kun bribed his way into the presidency as Zhang Zuolin licked his wounds and went back to Manchuria where he rebuilt his entire army. Zhang Zuolin appointed Yang Yuting as inspector general of the Mukden arsenal and Wang Yintai as director of the department of materials. He began purchasing more Renault FT tanks, increased his military production, now seeing 150 artillery pieces, 1000 machine guns, 60,000 rifles, 100,000 artillery shells and 600,000 rifle rounds pumping out of factories annually. He increased his navy and airforce, naming his son Zhang Xueliang as director of the aviation office. He purchased German and Italian aircraft, nearing 300 planes within 4 groups. Air bases and fields were built alongside naval headquarters and training schools in places like Harbin. To improve communications, additional water and coal supply stations were built in Suizhong, Xingcheng and Dayaogou so he could rapidly deploy troops via rail. Roads were further developed to increase transportation in areas without rail, each army was given wire communications such as telegraph or telephone lines, linking them to their general HQ's. Radio communication units were also developed, radio stations were built in Shenyang, Harbin and Jin county. The Fengtian military was reformed. Commanders like Bao Deshan and Xu Changyou who were blamed for losing the first zhili-fengtian war were court-martialed and executed in the spring of 1923. The rising star, Dogmeat General Zhang Zongchang aided Zhang Zuolin by massively recruiting White Russians who brought over all sorts of expertise and skills. The White Russians were commanded by Konstantin Petrovich Nechaev, alongside them Zhang also hired Japanese units. The Fengtian army expanded to 27 brigades from its original 25, organized into 3 armies of 3 divisions. Each division had three brigades. The cavalry was expanded from three to four divisions, with three brigades forming a division and the rest attached to infantry divisions as cavalry companies. The artillery regiments expanded from 4 to 10. Each division consisted of three brigades with either an infantry brigade or a combined brigade, and every division had an engineering battalion and a transportation battalion attached. Combined brigades were bolstered with an engineering company and a transportation company. All said an done the strength of the Fengtian army totaled more than 250,000 troops, and its performance was significantly improved. The best troops were found in the 2nd Brigade, commanded by Zhang Xueliang, and the 6th Brigade, commanded by Guo Songling, and they were viewed as the model units of the Fengtian army. The catalyst for what would be known as the second Zhili-Fengtian War, occurred on September 3rd of 1924, the first Jiangsu-Zhejiang War. When Lu Yungxiang of Zhejiang refused to cede administration of Shanghai to Qi Xieyuan, both Zhang Zuolin and Dr. Sun Yat-sen pledged to defend the neutrality of Zhejiang and end pulling everyone into a larger war. On September 4th, Dr Sun Yat-Sen held a meeting at his mansion in Guangzhou. There he announced he would assist Zhejiang to preserve Guangdong, thus he was enacting the Northern Expedition. His plan for the northern expedition was to first attack Jiangxi, after it was conquered next was Anhui. From there his KMT forces would link up with the Zhejiang forces, near the Jinpu road where they could march north to take Beijing. On September the 5th Dr Sun Yat-Sen publicly denounced Cao Kun and Wu Peifu and asked the people of Guangdong to work harder than they ever have so they could eliminate the warlords and China could be ruled by her people again. On September the 4th, in response to the war in the southeast, Zhang Zuolin declared war on the Zhili clique on the grounds of being in an alliance with Zhejiang and Dr Sun Yat-Sen. He also denounced Cao Kun, bringing up his bribery scheme. Zhang Zuolin's statement, and forgive me its poorly translated went something like this. "Curse Cao Kun with Power who bribed congressmen, raising teeth and claws, and stole power. Cao Kun harms the people. Now I Zhang Zuolin in charge of Manchuria and her people, and who is loyal to the people, and  is duty-bound will lead the three armies to wipe out the thieves." On September the 9th, Duan Qirui added his voice in a telegram against Cao Kun accusing him "of not knowing who the country and the people are, what ethics, justice and integrity are and unleashing four provinces to attack Zhejiang, excluding dissidents, hurting innocent people, and greedy for his own dignity. You have committed a heinous sin, and you have gone too far. How can you survive? The virtuous and powerful people in the world, who have great responsibilities for a while, will definitely be able to do their duty and act bravely when they see justice." On the 15th of September, Zhang Zuolin issued another telegram to Cao Kun, in the form of an ultimatum "This year natural disasters are prevalent and hungry people are everywhere. I have tried to say that attacking Zhejiang is wrong, and I have the strength to respond in favor of peace. However, the ink has not yet dried. Yet at the same time, the Zhili marched into Fengtian, detained Shanhaiguan trains, and blocked traffic. What was the purpose of this? In recent years, Cao Kun has been a puppet of Wu Peifu, which has caused public resentment. The impossibility of a military expedition is evident from the successive defeats of the Zhili army. We planned to send another envoy, but the train traffic has been cut off and we cannot enter Beijing. Therefore, we wait for the final answer." Indeed on September the 13th suddenly all the trains running along the Beijing-Fengtian railway stopped on Zhili orders. The war in Zhejiang had provided Wu Peifu with the occasion to force a showdown with Zhang Zuolin. Wu Peifu felt confident he would win. Wu Peifu had mobilized over a quarter of a million troops, divided into 3 armies. Wu Peifu trusted his military abilities and felt his subordinates were loyal to him, he was highly mistaken in that last part.  It would turn out, the christian general, Feng Yuxiang had major grievances. If you remember from the last episode, when ordered to attack Lu Yungxiang, Feng Yuxiang had refused. Instead Feng Yuxiang weaved a web, he pulled Wang Huaiqing to his side, the Beijing garrison commander Sun Yueh and Hu Qingyi. He complained to them about his army being slighted in the distribution of munition and supplies and he would move his troops very slowly out of Beijing when the war began. As it turned out, secret negotiations had been made. Zhang Zuolin's son Zhang Xueliang in the spring of 1923 had sent a letter to Feng Yuxiang and then his most trusted lt, Fu Xingpei to Beijing to secretly meet with him. Fu Xingpei met with Feng Yuxiang and his chief of staff Liu Ji at a secluded location in Nanyuan. The first meeting was brief, but fruitful as follow up meetings were made, now mediated through Duan Qiriu. Duan Qiriu brought the parties over to his residence in the Japanese quarter of Tientsin. There Feng Yuxiang was given a bribe between 1-2.5 million Japanese Yen. This bribe came from Zhang Zuolin's Japanese supplied war chest. Zhang Zuolin afterwards had every reason to believe Feng Yuxiang was in his pocket so he concentrated most of his forces around Shanhaiguan. The Zhili Cliques forces would come from the provinces of Henan, Shandong, Rehe (knowns as Jehol today), Chahar and Suiyuan. Meanwhile the Fengtian would have troops from Jilin, Heilongjiang and Fengtian. The 2nd war certainly exceed the first by a large margin and it would also involve battles over land, sea and air. The Zhili held an edge in numbers, but alienated generals would ultimately lose them the war. There was also an enormous technological gap between the Zhili and Fengtian armies. As I had mentioned the Fengtian had purchased a lot of western and Japanese weaponry and equipment. The Zhili clique also purchased western materials, but they were far behind the Fengtian army. Furthermore the Zhili clique had just experienced a series of small wars in Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Their troops were exhausted, lacked pay, and thus morale was not high. Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian army faced 4 major objectives to see the Zhili clique defeated. Ultimately they needed to capture Beijing and Tianjin. Yet to do so they first had to retake Shanhaiguan so their forces could enter Xujialing. Thus Zhang Zuolin would need to gather his forces near Shanhaiguan to capture it. This task fell to his 1st and 2nd army led by Jiang Dengxuan and Zhang Xueliang. If Shanhaiguan could not be taken, at least two brigades would be needed in the Qiansuo region, where a railroad station was roughly 20 kms east of Shanhaiguan. Once that region was secured, the main force could redeploy around Suizhong county for a second attempt against Shanhaiguan. Next the 2nd army would advance into Rehe, Yi County and Dayaogou. They would then take Chaoyang, Jianping, Chengde and Lingyuan. Most of this responsibility fell onto Zhang Zongchang's 3rd Combined Brigade and Li Jinglin's 1st Division. After they completed this they would enter the Lengkou pass and take Luanzhou. A Fengtian cavalry group would attack Rehe with the objective of taking Chifeng. The cavalry group would also cover the flank of other Fengtian forces and mop up the enemy left behind. If the situation arose, the Cavalry group could also attack along the Great Wall via the Xifengkou or Gubeikou pass. The Fengtian reserve forces would be deployed between Xingcheng and Suizhong to guard Jinzhou. The Fengtian air forces headquartered at Shenyang would mobilize 3 groups for the war effort under the direct command of the 1st and 2nd Armies known as the Combined Corps. Other air units would be deployed to Yi county under the command of Zhang Xueliang. Wu Peifu took the title of commander in chief and set up his headquarters in Sizhaotang. Wu Peifu made special arrangements for the battle; his 1st army led by Peng Shouxin would take an eastern route advancing along the Beijing-Fengcheng line to attack Liaoshen from Shanhaiguan; the 2nd army of Wang Huaiqing would advance along the middle route from Xikou to attack Rechao; and the third army of Feng Yuxiang would take the western route from Gubeikou to attack Kailu. Wu Peifu also had set up a commander in chief of maritime defense Zheng Shiqi stationed at Shandong and a naval commander in chief Du Xiui. His air force was organized into 4 groups stationed in Beidaihe, Luanxian, Chaoyang and the Zhili aviation department, over 70 aircraft in total.  On September the 14th, Zhang Zuolin as commander in chief of the Fengtian army led them down the border area. Likewise Wu Peifu did the same from Luoyang. On the 15th the 23rd Brigade of Li Shuangkai, part of Li Jinglin's 2nd army engaged the Zhili 4th battalion of Yijun Zhenbiao around Yizhou, Jiuguan and Taimen. This effectively kicked off the war. From there the war front would run from Chaoyang to Jidong, with major battles taking place in Rehe, Shanhaiguan, Chaoyang, Chifeng, Jiumenmen and Shimenzhai.  The Fengtian forces planned to unleash their offensive against Shanhaiguan once the initiative was won in Rehe. Therefore Zhang Zuolin personally led the battle in Rehe. The 1st Fengtian army divided into a north and south group. The southern group attacked from Beizhen, passing through Chaoyang and Lingyuang to enter Xifengkou with Wu Junsheng's cavalry as the main force. The north group ran from Tongliao to Kailu, then headed south to Chengde via Chifeng, then would launch an attack at the western part of Xifengkou.  The southern attack went pretty smooth as the Zhili army did not put up serious resistance. On the 16th the Fengtian forces seized Yizhou and Fuxin. After this they concentrated their attacks against Chaoyang. Liu Fufu defended Chaoyang with the Zhili 26th brigade of the 12th division, but he only put up a symbolic defense, quickly abandoning the city. On the 23rd Chaoyang was occupied by Fengtian forces who scoured the county. Meanwhile the northern group attacked Jianping, Lingyuan and Chifeng. During the battle for Lingyuan, the Fengtian encountered determined resistance from Zhili forces led by Wang Huaiqing and Dong Zhengguo. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Fengtian managed to take the city. Simultaneously the 2nd Fengtian army forces led by Xu Lanzhou and Wu Guangxin attacked Chifeng. The battle for the city raged for a few days seeing Fengtian air forces bomb the city until October 8th when it was captured. The fall of Chifeng marked a decisive moment in the battle for Rehe, the Fengtian had taken the initiative. Now the leading Fengtian troops began a rapid advance towards Lengkou at the foot of the Great Wall. Both sides knew the entire battle depended on Shanhaiguan. The Zhili had heavily fortified it and following the loss of Rehe they continued to strengthen it. Wu Peifu dispatched Peng Shouxin to setup the defenses of Shanhaiguan. Zhang Zuolin had Jiang Dengxuan and Zhang Xueliang form a new headquarters near Shanhaiguan as Guo Songling led the 2nd and 6th Brigades to frontally attack it. As Guo Songling did so, Jiang Dengxuan  and his deputy commander Han Linchun led the 4th and 16th brigades to face the Zhili forces north of Jiumenmen. Small scale battles broke out on the 17th that gradually escalated. On the 29th and 30th, the Fengtian began unleashing artillery and aerial bombardment upon the Zhili positions between Shanhaiguan and Changli. During that process the Fengtian forces seized Wanjiatun, Longwang Temple, Yaojiazhuang and other towns. By October 4th the Fentgian army approached the position of the Zhili 15th division. On the 7th Zhang Zuolin issued a general attack order, sending Fengtian forces across the board. The first line of Zhili troops relied on the solid fortifications and fired back upon the advancing enemy. The Fengtian gradually turned their attention to the Jiumenmen Gate located at the northwest part of the Shanhaiguan pass. On the 8th Jiang Dengxuan personally led the 19th Brigade to attack the Haungtu Ridge on the northside of Jiumenmen. His forces quickly encircled Jiumenmen before the 2nd and 6th brigades stormed and occupied it. The fall of Jiumenmen severed demoralized the Zhili defenders whose lines began to waiver. The Fengtian began breaching lines, capturing Liyu, Waiyu, Xiangmayu and now outflanked Shanhaiguan. At this point a brigade was sent to attack Shimenzhai along the north side of Jiumentou. Shimenzhai is roughly 25 kms away from Shanhaiguan, if captured the Fengtian could use it as a springboard to attack Qinhuangdao, cutting off the Zhili armies line of retreat. In order to protect the line of retreat, Peng Shouxin organized a force to reinforce Shimenzhai. On the 11th, Wu Peifu came over to Shanhaiguan, while also inspecting Shimenzhai, Zhaojiayu, Shahezhai and other significant Zhili positions. Seeing Jiumenmen had fallen, Wu Peifu ordered forces to recapture it on the 14th. The Fengtian defenders there were put into a desperate battle to hold onto it. On the 15th, a Fengtian regiment led by Sun Xuchang broke through the Zhili defensive line. On the 16th the Fengtian forces surged through the breach and stormed Shimenzhai. The Zhili forces routed in the area allowing the Fengtian forces to quickly seize Liujiang. On the 17th Zheng Xizhen led the Zhili 6th brigade to reinforce the battlefield emerging north of Qinhuangdao. Now we need to take a step away from the battle, because a lot of things were happening all over the place, that would have a deep impact on the war. While all of this was going on in the far north, in the south, Dr Sun Yat-Sen personally led the KMT forces north to try and prevent Zhili commander Sun Chuanfang from reinforcing his Zhili comrades in the north. Yet like again, in a fashion that just kept recurring, an issue came about. The Guangzhou merchants corps and forces led loyal to Chen Jiongming began an uprising in Guangzhou. Sun Yat Sen was forced to turn his army back to quell the rebellion. As Sun Yat-Sen pulled back, Sun Chuanfang had brought his forces into Zhejiang and Shanghai.  Meanwhile another ploy on the part of Zhang Zuolin paid off big time. The christian general Feng Yuxiang who was commanding the Zhili 3rd army began making some trouble. When the Zhili 2nd army suffered its initial defeat, Wang Huaiqing sent word asking for help from Feng Yuxiang. Instead he ordered his 3rd army to stay put at the Gubeikou pass.  Now back in the battle Wu Peifu had come to the front lines and was taking charge of operations. Zhili reinforcements arrived from Henan and Shanxi led by Zhang Fulai and began helping a counter attack against Shimenzhai. The Fengtian defenders also reinforced their lines, with Jiang Dengxuan taking command of the front lines personally. Despite the reinforcements, the Fengtian defenses were beginning to crumble, their casualties mounting. At the same time the main Fengtian forces were fighting at Shanhaiguan, failing to make progress. Then the Fengtian army received unconfirmed intelligence from the Japanese, that the Zhili clique had enlisted the Zhengji shipping company to use 13 transports to move 4 divisions directly into the rear of the Fengtian forces via the Taku Forts. The Japanese intelligence did not indicate where the landings would be made however. The Fengtian commanders believed it was possibly Yingkou or Huludao, perhaps both. Many Fengtian commanders called for deploying the general reserve as a rear guard, but the deputy chief of the general staff, Fu Xingpei opposed the idea, claiming the Jiumenkou sector required them. Yang Yuting the chief of the general staff worried the terrain of Jiumenkou was far too narrow and restrictive to deploy such large number of troops. Finally Zhang Zuolin ended the debate by ordering the General Reserve, under the command of Zhang Zuoxiang to rush to Jiumenkou. Despite committing the General reserve, things did not improve. In fact some interpersonal problems emerged. Zhang Xueliang and Guo Songling had secretly redeployed 8 infantry regiments and two artillery brigades from Shanhaiguan to the Jiumenkou sector. These units were to be led by Guo Songling, but the artillery battalion commander, Yan Zongzhou, a classmate of Guo Songling was removed from command by the artillery regiment commander Chen Chen. Upon hearing the news from Yan Zongzhou, enraged Guo Songling removed Chen Chen of command and gave it back to Yan Zongzhou. However Jiang Dengxuan and Han Linchun had given approval to Chen Chen when he asked to remove Yan Zongzhou, so now they were embarrassed. They then complained to Zhang Zuolin about Guo Songling's actions. Zhang Zuolin ordered both Chen Chen and Yan Zongzhou to go back to their original commands, and this only pissed off Guo Songling more. Like a kindergarten aged child Guo Songling took his 8th infantry regiment out of the battlefield and retreated to the rear. Zhang Xueliang then hunted him down and smooth-talked him to come back and engage the enemy. This entire stupid situation could have very well cost them the battle, fortunately it happened at night and the Zhili army none the wiser did not exploit the situation.  Back over in the Rehe front, Zhang Zongchang stormed the Lengkou pass against 4 Zhili divisions; the 9th led by Dong Zhengguo, the 20th led by Yan Zhitang, the 1st Shaanxi division led by Hu Jingyi and the 23rd led by Wang Chengbin. Unfortunately Wang Chengbin and Hu Jingyi had formed a pact with Feng Yuxiang and literally stepped aside during Zhang Zongchangs attack. To add insult to injury, Yan Zhitang and Dong Zhengguo hated each other and each held back to preserve their own strength. Again in the warlord era, petty warlords would pull this kind of shit all the time. As Zheng Zongchangs forces attacked, basically everyone fled Lengkou. Seizing the opportunity Zhang Zongchang pushed even deeper into the enemy lines. It was around this time, word spread that the First Jiangsu-Zhejiang War had concluded in a Zhili victory, thus it seemed if Shanhaiguan was not taken swiftly, the Zhili would win the war.  Yet the dark horse that was General Feng Yuxiang struck. On October 22nd, Feng Yuxiang betrayed the Zhili Clique. Feng Yuxiang formed a truce with the Fengtian commander Li Jingling on the night of October 20th. He then suddenly withdrew 8000 troops of Wu Peifu's 3rd and 26th Divisions, leaving only 4000 men at their defensive lines. He took said troops and secretly stormed Beijing where he performed a coup against President Cao Kun. At midnight on October 23rd the commander of the Beijing guards, Sun Yueh admitted Feng Yuxiang and his men into Beijing. Together they seized control over  key government buildings and gates. Feng Yuxiang then forced Cao Kun to dismiss Wu Peifu from his military positions. stripped him of the presidency and placed him under house arrest. Afterwards Feng Yuxiang issued a public statement denouncing the civil war and urged the warlords to settle their differences via negotiations. Feng Yuxiangs subordinates then took control of the railway line between Tientsin and Shanhaiguan and the railway line at Changhsintian south of Beijing. Meanwhile Yan Xishan dispatched a force from Shanxi to seize the railway junction at Shihchiachuang, blocking any movement from Hunan along the Peking-Hankou railway. Thus Qi Xieyuan and Sun Chuanfang could no longer advance north to aid Wu Peifu. Back at the battle, Zhang Zongchang saw the thinning of the defensive lines when Feng Yuxiang pulled men out and stormed it alongside Li Jinglin. Their forces broke through and advanced south along the Luan River towards Luanzhou, then in the direction of Tianjin. They seized the train station at Luanzhou as Sun Xuchang's 10th Brigade captured Jiumenkou. The Fengtian cavalry then stormed the Xifengkou pass and pushed forward. By this point the Zhili morale had all but disappeared as news of Feng Yuxiang's coup in Beijing was spreading along the lines. Even cry baby Guo Songling, hearing the news, grabbed his force and performed an all out charge into the Zhili lines breaking through and advanced eastwards. Now cut off between Qinhuangdao and Shanhaiguan, on the 31st of October, many high ranking Zhili officers began fleeing via ships at Qinhuangdao. Countless Zhili forces were surrounded and began mass surrendering. Wu Peifu meanwhile fled first to Tianjin where he began frantically telegraphing Zhili armies in Jiangsu, Henan, Hubei and Zhejiang for help. Things got even worse, more railway lines were cut by Anhui clique members such as Zheng Shiqi in Shandong, Cangzhou and Machang. Likewise Zheng Shishangs cut lines of the Jinpu railway at Hanzhuang and even Yan Xishan came out of his turtle shell to cut the Jinghan railway line at Shijiazhuang. The Fengtian army overran Tangshan and Lutai asFeng Yuxiang's forces stormed Yangcun and Beicang, forcing Wu Peifu to flee to Junliangcheng. Then Duan Qiriu sent a message to Wu Peifu advising he should depart by sea. Completely surrounded with no allies, Wu Peifu fled with 2000 troops on the transport Huajia on November 3rd. He went to Tanggu where Sun Chuanfang defended him.  It had been the most impressive war of the warlord period to that point. Nearly 450,000 troops had been involved in a month-long war along the Great Wall area from Shanhaiguan to Beijing. The casualties are tough to estimate, perhaps 20-30,000 perished. After taking Beijing, Feng Yuxiang reorganized his forces in the 1st Guominjun army, hiring his co-conspirators such as Sun Yueh and Hu Chingyi who would eventually lead the 2nd and 3rd armies. On November 5th, Zhang Zuolin removed Emperor Puyi from the Forbidden City. Puyi went into exile in Tianjin where the Japanese would keep a close eye upon.  Zhang Zuolin, Feng Yuxiang and Duan Qiriu then met in Tianjin where they agreed to form a provisional government with Duan Qiriu as its figurehead. The choice of Duan Qiriu seemed to be palatable to everyone, including the remaining Zhili warlords in the Yangtze region. On December 9th, Duan Qiriu's government was recognized. Dr Sun Yat-Sen of course refused to recognize the new Beiyang government and would begin to flirt more with the CCP and their larger backer, the Soviet Union.  For now the Beiyang government, for whatever it was actually worth, remained in the hands of three players. Duan Qiriu who no longer possessed a strong army, Feng Yuxiang who had just shown himself to be quite a treacherous man and did not wield a very strong army and lastly Zhang Zuolin who now wielded the largest army in China, was backed by Japan and controlled vast sums of territory.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. So the First Jiangsu-Zhejiang and Second Zhili-Fengtian Wars were now over. It seems Zhang Zuolin had just become king of the hill, but what did that mean for China? Would Zhang Zuolin pursue a policy of reunifying China? Would he expand south? Or would the chaos continue, what do you think?  

Unser heutiger Gast hat zunächst sein Vordiplom in BWL an der Universität Mannheim absolviert und dann an die Technische Universität München (kurz TUM) gewechselt, um Architektur zu studieren. Beide Studien schloss er mit einem Diplom ab, den betriebswirtschaftlichen Teil an der Fern-Universität Hagen. Er war fast 10 Jahre bei dem internationalen Architekturbüro Henn beschäftigt. Darunter waren Stationen als Project Director und Office Manager in Shanghai, als Project Director und Team Lead Automotive in Shenyang und zuletzt als Team Lead Programming und Innovation. Seit 2016 forsche er an der TUM zu den Themen Architectural Entrepreneurship, Innovation und Zukunft der Arbeit. Seit 2020 leitet er an der TUM als Manging Director das TUM Venture Lab Built Environment. Im Jahr 2023 wurde unser heutiger Gast für seine herausragende Dissertation und sein langjähriges Engagement im Zusammenwirken der Disziplinen Architektur und Management, sowie seine proaktive Förderung der Entrepreneurship-Kultur an der TUM School of Engineering and Design mit dem Franz-Berberich-Preis 2023 ausgezeichnet. Seit mehr als 7 Jahren haben wir uns in nun schon 436 Folgen mit weit mehr als 500 Menschen darüber unterhalten, was sich für sie beim Thema Arbeit geändert hat und was sich weiter ändern muss. Wir sind uns ganz sicher, dass es gerade jetzt wichtig ist. Denn die Idee von “New Work” wurde während einer echten Krise entwickelt. Welche Rolle spielt das Thema Architektur für eine neue Art des Arbeitens? Und was können wir aus der Denk- und Arbeitsweise von Architekten über Innovations- und Arbeitsprozesse in Unternehmen lernen? Wir suchen nach Methoden, Vorbildern, Erfahrungen, Tools und Ideen, die uns dem Kern von New Work näher bringen! Darüber hinaus beschäftigt uns von Anfang an die Frage, ob wirklich alle Menschen das finden und leben können, was sie im Innersten wirklich, wirklich wollen. Ihr seid bei "On the Way to New Work" - heute mit Dr. Christos Chantzaras. #NewWork #onthewaytonewwork #blackboat #newworkmasterskills #TUM

Leland Lazarus joins Juliet to talk about Chinese and Taiwanese engagement in Latin America and the Caribbean, from official diplomatic activities to BRI projects to transnational organized crime. Leland Lazarus is the Associate Director of National Security at Florida International University's Jack D. Gordon Institute of Public Policy. He is an expert on China's relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, and manages a team of researchers and interns that collect data and analysis on U.S. national security and governance in the region. Fluent in both Mandarin and Spanish, he holds an M.A. in U.S.-China Foreign Policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a B.A. in International Relations at Brown University. His past experience includes work in the U.S. Embassy for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, the U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang, China, and former work as an Associate Producer at China Central Television and as a Fulbright Scholar in Panama. Recommendations:Leland:Earth League International's work, particularly that of Andrea Crosta, founder, executive director, and board memberChinese Activities in LAC Dashboard (soon to release 2.0)FIU flagship conference: Hemispheric Security Conference on May 9 and 10Juliet:China in Global Capitalism: Building International Solidarity Against Imperial Rivalry by Eli Friedman, Kevin Lin, Rosa Liu, Ashley Smith (coming June 2024)

We meet artist Li Hei Di on the eve of their debut UK solo exhibition 700 Nights of Winter at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London.In new paintings, Li explores primal, sexual urges with their signature fluid application of paint. Balanced on a knife edge between abstraction and representation, paintings feature figures that swim in and out of view beneath diaphanous veils of paint; each layer offers a different world, or a portal to an altered oneiric space, guided by desire and emotion. Multiple perspectives collide and overlap, creating dynamic compositions that offer manifold realities within a single work. Luminescent orbs appear as though submerged in deep water, giving the compositions a nebulous quality.Li's multidisciplinary practice is concerned with repressed desire, rooted in personal experiences of navigating hetero-normative environments that obstruct open expressions of queerness. Their work eschews rigid sexual codes and gender categories in favour of a liberated approach to fantasy and beauty, which exists apart from hierarchical and dominant social structures. For Li, the dichotomous relationship between sexual arousal and repression finds a parallel in the covert ways in which erotic love flourishes on cold winter nights, as bodies become entangled in pursuit of warmth, lost but for the other. The existential threat posed to romantic love by the culture of narcissism engendered under globalised capitalism sets the stage in Li's work for the negation of the self, in the radical recognition of another, as espoused in the writings of cultural theorist Byung-Chul Han.This commingling of two entities is found not only in humankind but in the natural world too, and Li's work explores the role animal pollinators play in the reproductive lives of plants. Such co-evolved relationships encapsulate the exuberance of life in connection with erotic activity and, therefore, death.In this new body of work Li also investigates the ways in which desire manifests and, notably, declines under the ‘pharmacopornographic regime', a term coined by philosopher Paul B. Preciado to describe the intersection of the pharmaceutical and pornographic industries. Li Hei Di (b. 1997, Shenyang, China) lives and works in London and received her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art and a BA (Hons) from Chelsea College of Arts and the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 2024, Li will have a solo exhibition at Pond Society, Shanghai and will be part of a group exhibition at Le Consortium, Dijon. Recent exhibitions include Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2023); X Museum Triennial, Beijing (2023); Marguo, Paris (2023); Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas (2023), TX; CICA Vancouver (2023); Gagosian, Hong Kong (2023), and Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (2023), amongst others.Li Hei Di's new solo exhibition runs from 15th March - until 20th April 2024. Free entry.Follow @Plum_Black_Field and @PippyHouldsworthGalleryVisit: https://www.houldsworth.co.uk/exhibitions/146-li-hei-di-700-nights-of-winter/press_release_text/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We interview South African YouTube influencer: Nadine in China. Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning Province and the largest city in Northeast China. Nadine considers herself a member of the city. We disscuss her 11 years in China and what makes her to stay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This winter, ice and snow tourism has emerged as a "phenomenon-level internet sensation" in China. From Harbin to Changbai Mountain, Shenyang to Hulun Buir, a significant influx of Chinese tourists is heading to the north, enthusiastically exploring the enchanting winter landscapes. What has led to the sudden popularity of ice and snow tourism in China? Can this internet sensation transform into an enduring trend? Host Ge Anna is joined by Prof. Qu Qiang, Research Fellow, Beijing Foreign Studies University; Mario Cavolo, Founder and CEO of M Communications Group and Senior Fellow, Center for China & Globalization; Mike Bastin, China Observer and Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton in the UK.

For review:1. US Strikes Terror Leader in Iraq (self-defense strike).2. Analysis of assassination strike of Hamas Deputy in Beirut by Zoran Kusovac (Al Jazeera).3. Israel Defense Minister Post-War Gaza Plan. Four "pillars": 1. Israel will coordinate and plan oversight in civil governance; 2. Multi-national task force will run civil affairs and economic rehabilitation; 3. Egypt (and Israel) will be responsible for civilian border crossing into Gaza; & 4. Administrative governing mechanisms will be maintained by Palestinians.  4. Indian Navy repsonds to pirate hijacking of commercial vessel in the Arabian Sea (off Somali coast).5. B1 Bomber Crashes during attempted landing at Ellsworth Air Force Base (South Dakota): Crew Ejects Safely.6. BAE Systems to Restart M777 155mm Artillery (Towed) Production. There are 1,250 M777 in service with: US, Canada, Australia, India, and Ukraine. (Interesting that UK Army does not employ the M777)7. Pakistan Air Force to procure Chinese FC-31 Gyrfalcon fighters (Shenyang).8. Finland to procure 40 (additional) Patria 6 x 6 armored vehicles- as option to previous contract.9. New South Korean light-armed helicopter program (Korean Aerospace Industries) will feature GPS/communications anti-jamming solution. 

China's major railway ticket booking platform 12306 showed that, as of 15:00 on Dec 17, tickets for a number of trains are sold out, including those departing from Beijing to Wuhan, Nanjing to Hefei, Hangzhou, Chengdu to Chongqing, and Xi'an, as train tickets officially went on sale on Dec 16, the first day available to book trains for the 2024 New Year's Day holiday, China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.据《中国证券报》12月19日报道，中国铁路大型售票平台12306数据显示，截至12月17日15时，从北京出发前往武汉，南京出发前往合肥、杭州，以及成都出发前往重庆、西安等城市的多趟列车车次已显示“售罄”。12月16日，2024年元旦假期首日火车票正式开售。Data from Chinese travel agency Tongcheng Travel showed on the first day of the New Year's Day holiday (Dec 30), tickets for short-distance travel in urban areas such as Beijing to Tianjin, Shanghai to Nanjing, Shenzhen, Guangdong province to Guangzhou, and Chongqing to Chengdu are in high demand. The travel demand is mainly to visit relatives.国内旅行机构同程旅行数据显示，元旦假期首日（12月30日），核心城市群的短途线路车票较为紧俏，比较热门的线路主要有：北京至天津、上海至南京、深圳至广州、重庆至成都等，出行需求主要以探亲为主。According to research institute of Tongcheng Travel, travelers who are visiting relatives and ice-snow tourism will heat up destinations such as Harbin, Shenyang, Urumqi and Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia autonomous region in Northeast and Northwest China, as well as Zhangjiakou in North China.同程研究院认为，元旦假期探亲与旅游客流叠加，同时受冬季冰雪旅游热的带动，预计哈尔滨、沈阳、乌鲁木齐、呼伦贝尔以及张家口等冰雪游目的地人气将大幅上升。In terms of hotel booking, home stays and hotel rooms for New Year's Eve are popular choices for tourists. As of now, orders for 2024 New Year holiday home stays in popular cities on Tujia, a home stay online platform, increased nearly four times year-on-year. Data from travel portal Qunar also showed hotel rooms for Dec 31 - Jan 1 in Harbin, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shanghai and Beijing, especially those in luxury hotels, have higher bookings. Tickets for Universal Beijing Resort, Disneyland in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai Guangdong province and Harbin Ice and Snow World are rapidly booking out in advance.从酒店预订情况来看，特色民宿和跨年夜酒店是游客的热门选择。截至目前，途家民宿平台上热门城市2024年元旦假期民宿的订单同比增长近4倍。旅游门户网去哪儿数据显示，哈尔滨、南京、武汉、上海和北京的跨年夜（12月31日-1月1日）酒店，特别是豪华型酒店预订量较高。北京环球度假区、上海迪士尼乐园、香港迪士尼乐园、珠海长隆海洋王国、哈尔滨冰雪大世界等景区的门票提前预订量较高。In addition, Tongcheng Travel's data also showed that the popularity of domestic islands travel on its platform for the New Year's Day holiday increased by 72 percent year-on-year, and the popularity of Southeast Asian islands travel increased by three times year-on-year.同城旅行数据还显示，平台上元旦假期国内海岛游热度同比上升72%，东南亚海岛游热度同比上升了3倍。Luxury hotelsn. 豪华型酒店

The remains of 25 Chinese soldiers who died during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-53) were brought back to their motherland on Thursday and are scheduled to be buried at a martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, on Friday.The remains of and articles belonging to the fallen fighters were carried back from Incheon in the Republic of Korea by a Y-20 strategic transport plane of the People's Liberation Army Air Force to Shenyang on Thursday morning.As soon as the Y-20 entered Chinese airspace, two J-20 stealth fighter jets formed an escort to honor the fallen warriors.After the transport aircraft landed at Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, PLA soldiers carried the caskets, covered by China's national flag, out of the plane and placed them in front of hundreds of government officials, military personnel and representatives of the public for a brief remembrance ritual.After the ceremony, the caskets were transported by PLA trucks and escorted by a police motorcade to the Chinese People's Volunteer Army Martyrs' Cemetery in Shenyang. A large number of Shenyang residents stood along the route, holding flowers and national flags to show respect.The whole event was broadcast live by China Central Television.A burial ceremony is scheduled to take place on Friday morning in the cemetery.After watching the broadcast on television, Li Weibo, a 92-year-old veteran who fought in the war, said: "Today, 25 soldiers came back home. Though it has been more than 70 years since their passing, the motherland and the people have never forgotten them and have finally brought them back home with respect and honor."The veteran said he was glad that his fallen comrades were accorded a grand ceremony by the country and they could "see the prosperity of the motherland today"."The best way of remembering them is to uphold their fighting spirit and keep moving forward against difficulties and challenges," Li said.Zhang Jingtao, an official at Dadong district's justice bureau and a voluntary lecturer of national defense knowledge, said he will share the heroic stories of the fallen soldiers with more people to encourage them to better serve the country in their line of work.Earlier on Thursday morning, a handover ceremony for the remains was held at Incheon International Airport in the Republic of Korea.Chang Zhengguo, China's vice-minister of veterans affairs, said at the airport that China is grateful to related authorities and workers in the ROK for their efforts in recovering and handing over the remains. China will further deepen its cooperation and communication with the ROK to bring the remains of other Chinese soldiers back home, he added.Reporter: Wu Yong, Zhao Lei

A four-day truce between Israel and Hamas begins Friday with the release of some Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. At least 60 people are killed and thousands displaced across Kenya from heavy rain and floods spawned by El Nino. China honors the remains of martyrs who fought in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea with a ceremony in Shenyang.

Anna is a Sexual Intimacy Coach, operating from China where her focus lies in guiding women to have a more fulfilled sexual & intimate relationship with themselves and their partner, through her success proven GET YOUR ORGASM BACK coaching program. She has helped over 250 clients shifting their mindset from self-sabotaging to self-empowering by integrating coaching approaches, psychological theories and NLP in all of her coaching. Additionally to coaching and educating on sexual intimacy she has established herself as an international speaker and the #1 Mental Health Specialist for expats in Shenyang. You can find out more about her GET YOUR ORGASM BACK PROGRAM at Https://annathellmann.com. You can get in touch with her via email and you'll find her on LinkedIn and Facebook. anna@annathellmann.com LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/annathellmanncoaching FB Anna Thellmann https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068025781657 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sweetestlittlelife/message

Anna is a Sexual Intimacy Coach, operating from China where her focus lies in guiding women to have a more fulfilled sexual & intimate relationship with themselves and their partner, through her success proven GET YOUR ORGASM BACK coaching program. She has helped over 250 clients shifting their mindset from self-sabotaging to self-empowering by integrating coaching approaches, psychological theories and NLP in all of her coaching. Additionally to coaching and educating on sexual intimacy she has established herself as an international speaker and the #1 Mental Health Specialist for expats in Shenyang. Please provide any links you want us to share in the show notes You can find out more about her GET YOUR ORGASM BACK PROGRAM at Https://annathellmann.com. You can get in touch with her via email and you'll find her on LinkedIn and Facebook. anna@annathellmann.com LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/annathellmanncoaching FB Anna Thellmann https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068025781657 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sweetestlittlelife/message

In this one, Ian and Liv talk about a disaster in which public transportation in Shenyang, China, electrocuted passengers to death. Also, Liv's guessing game is stellar. Ian unlocks a new achievement in soup.

The Mukden Incident — when explosives detonated along the route of the South Manchurian Railway near Shenyang — was a pretext for Japanese aggression in Asia. Click here to read the article by James Carter.Narrated by Kaiser Kuo.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As international competition increases for cutting-edge technologies and talented people, and particularly amid some countries' attempts in recent years to suppress China's development, the Chinese leadership has emphasized building the country into a leader in education, which in turn will contribute to a stronger nation.President Xi Jinping, who attaches great importance to the country's progress in the sectors of education, science and technology, and human resources development, has pointed out that making the nation a leader in education will serve as a strategic precursor to building a great modern socialist country in all respects."Building a leading country in education is an important support for achieving greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, an effective approach to promoting common prosperity for all, and a fundamental project to advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization," he said.Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on May 29.The speech that Xi gave at the group study session was published on Saturday in the 18th issue of Qiushi Journal, the flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee.Xi's remarks on education came as the world is undergoing a new round of technological evolution and industrial transformation. Against such a backdrop, China is facing increasing challenges arising from geopolitical competition and attempts by United States-led Western countries to suppress and blockade its economic and technological progress.On many occasions, including his inspection tours nationwide, Xi has highlighted the importance of seeking scientific and technological independence and strength in advancing the nation's modernization drive in all respects.In a reply letter sent on Friday to the faculty and students at Northeastern University in Shenyang, Liaoning province, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on Saturday, Xi expressed the hope that the university could cultivate more high-caliber talent based on the country's strategic needs, expand its leading edge in strong disciplines, and continue to produce high-level scientific research results.In the speech published on Saturday by Qiushi Journal, Xi explained how China will make itself a leader in education. "Only when basic education enjoys sound development, can we make steady progress in building up our country's strength in education and sustaining its momentum," Xi said.He emphasized that higher education is the key to China's becoming a leading nation in the field of education. "Priority must be given to the building of world-class universities and superior disciplines, and the development of basic, emerging and interdisciplinary subjects must be strengthened.""Education in science and technology and engineering should be furthered. Greater efforts should be made to nurture China's top-notch and innovative talent on our own to provide support for achieving breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields," Xi said.Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has considered education to be of great significance to the future of the country and the Party. It also has made important decisions to accelerate the modernization of education and develop the country as a leader in this regard.The CPC Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet, released an education modernization plan in February 2019, outlining blueprints for the sector's modernization and development by 2035, the year by which the country is determined to basically achieve socialist modernization and become an education powerhouse.Yu Yongyue, a professor at Wuhan University's School of Marxism, said that to accelerate the development of China as a leading country in education, the focus should be fixed on the process of the nation's modernization drive."We need to comprehensively consider the challenges and opportunities brought by the world's major development, transformation and adjustment to the nation's modernization in the education sector, while aligning with national strategies of building a technology powerhouse, developing a quality workforce in the new era and promoting rural vitalization," Yu said.China has established the largest education system in the world and joined the ranks of upper- to middle-level countries in terms of the overall level of modernization in education. China ranks 23rd in a global education index, up 26 spots from 2012, with the fastest progress in the world.Advancement英/əd'vɑːnsm(ə)nt/美/əd'vænsmənt/n.进步Marxism英/ˈmɑ:kˌsɪzəm/美/ˈmɑrkˌsɪzəm/n.马克思主义

The latest vision set out by President Xi Jinping on revitalizing China's northeastern region has pointed the way for the area to become a pillar of national strategies and better respond to challenges including population outflows, according to analysts.Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, outlined the vision for the region's revitalization while convening a symposium in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, on Thursday.He listened to briefings at the symposium from the Party chiefs of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilolngjiang provinces and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, as well as from Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission.Xi presided over a similar symposium in Shenyang, Liaoning province, five years ago. He also chaired a high-level meeting last year in Shenyang on the revitalization of the northeastern region, one of China's grain production bases and a traditional manufacturing powerhouse that has undergone economic slowdown and seen an outflow of population.Noting that northeastern China boasts rich resources, solid industrial foundations, favorable geological locations and significant development potential, Xi said that the region now faces great new opportunities.It is important for the region to promote industrial innovation via scientific and technological innovation and accelerate the modernization of its distinctive industrial system, Xi said.Advancing the Chinese path to modernization will also require the region to step up its role as a strategic pillar, he said.In striving for the full revitalization of northeastern China, the real economy is the foundation, sci-tech innovation is the key and industrial upgrading is the direction, he added.Xi also called on the region to accelerate the digital, online and smart transformation of the traditional manufacturing sector and proactively develop emerging sectors such as new energy, new materials, advanced manufacturing and electronics.Zhang Fei, vice-president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, said that Xi emphasized the development of industries at the latest symposium because the upgrading and transformation of the manufacturing sector in northeastern China is not only monumental for the region, but also for the whole nation.“Over the past four decades, the northeastern region has seen an increasingly diminishing share in the total GDP of the nation. However, the region still boasts a fairly large number of top universities and a sound industrial structure, giving the region vast potential for future growth,” Zhang said.President Xi has again stressed the region's role in ensuring China's food security, saying that the primary responsibility of the region is serving as the “ballast” for stable grain production and supply.The region should always prioritize the ensuring of China's food security, accelerate steps to modernize agriculture and rural areas, and bolster the capacity for grain production across the board, Xi added.Zhang said the grain production volume of China's northeastern provinces accounted for more than 20 percent of the national total in 2022, and the region's role has become even more prominent, as the Ukraine crisis led to the worsening of global food security.Xi has underlined the region's role in China's food security during each of his inspection trips to the region over the past decade, calling for the region to beef up the protection of the fertile black soil.On Thursday, he expressed expectations that the region will make greater strides in opening-up, saying that the region must steadily expand opening-up in rules, regulations, management and standards, and improve capacity in customs clearance.He called for retaining and attracting talent to the region, reducing the burden of families on raising children, and maintaining a proper level of birth ratio and population scale.According to statistics released by authorities of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces, the three provinces all registered negative growth in population in 2022, with the three seeing the number of their permanent residents down by a total of 860,000.Zhang Keyun, a regional economics professor at Renmin University of China, said that the efforts by the region to promote industrial upgrading and cope with an aging society could have implications at the national level.“If the region can come up with effective solutions to the challenges, it could well pioneer the solutions at the national level and continue serving as the pillar for the nation's high-quality growth.”Reporter: Xu WeiEdit: Zhou ChanRevitalization英/ˌri:ˌvaɪtəlaɪ'zeɪʃn/美/ˌriˌvaɪtəlaɪ'zeɪʃn/n.复兴；新生Symposium英/sɪmˈpəʊziəm/美/sɪmˈpoʊziəm/n.座谈会，研讨会

It's EV News Briefly for Wednesday 9th August. I'll be back as usual at 5pm UK time, that's Midday Eastern, for the full podcast.  Patreon supporters get the episodes as soon as they're ready AND ad free. You can be like them by clicking here. Lucid Motors Q2 2023: A Mixed Bag Lucid Motors' Q2 2023 financial results fell short of expectations with revenue at $150.9 million, missing the predicted $176.63 million. The net loss soared to $764 million, and the company confirmed the Gravity SUV unveiling in November 2023. Lucid's liquidity reached $6.25 billion, and vehicle deliveries were lower than expected. Strategic partnerships, price cuts, and expansion into the Chinese market are part of Lucid's future plans. Tesla's New Permanent Tent at Fremont Factory Tesla is building a new permanent tent at its Fremont factory, costing $750,000. The project could be part of Tesla's manufacturing expansion to meet increased demand. In Q2 2023, Tesla produced a record number of vehicles, and the new tent might be linked to the Model 3 Highland. MG4 Extended Range EV: More Power, More Range The new MG4 Extended Range Hatchback breaks the 300-mile barrier with 323 miles of WLTP range. Powered by a 77kWh battery, it offers 20% more range and charges 10-80% in just 39 minutes. With enhanced performance and design features, it's priced competitively at £36,495. Volkswagen Edges Past Tesla in German EV Sales Volkswagen narrowly overtook Tesla in electric car sales in Germany in the first seven months of 2023. With 41,475 first registrations of fully electric cars, VW leads Tesla's 40,289. German manufacturers dominate the top positions, and overall EV sales continue to grow. GM's Vehicle-to-Home Bidirectional Charging Plans General Motors (GM) plans to equip all Ultium-based electric vehicles with vehicle-to-home (V2H) bidirectional charging capabilities by 2026. This technology will enable EVs to transfer energy to homes, turning them into backup generators. GM's vision revolves around the EV playing a pivotal role within a broader ecosystem, providing alternative energy sources and potential profits from energy sales back to the grid. BMW's Customized i5 Electric Sedan for China BMW unveils a unique version of the 5 Series Sedan and the all-electric i5, tailored for the Chinese market. With a longer wheelbase, gold accents, and specific charging technology, the China i5 is set to be produced at BMW Brilliance Automotive's Dadong plant in Shenyang. The launch is eagerly awaited in October. UK's Used EV Sales Soar in Q2 The UK's used car market grew by 4.1% in Q2, with used battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales skyrocketing by 81.8% to 30,645 units. The growth in EV sales puts the focus on the importance of accessible charging infrastructure and affordable green energy to meet the growing demand. Motiv's Argo: Medium-Duty EV Truck Unveiled Motiv announces the Argo, a new medium-duty electric truck with efficient motors and LFP batteries. Designed from the ground up, the Argo features a modern cab design and integrated power electronics. It's set to hit the road by late next year. Hyundai and Kia Boost EV Plans in India Hyundai Motor Group aims to expand its presence in India's EV market, with Hyundai introducing five EV models by 2032 and Kia producing small EVs from 2025. The group's sales in India were record-breaking last year, and they plan to significantly increase EV sales through local production. E.On's Dynamic Pricing Pilot at EV Charging Stations in Denmark E.On initiates a dynamic pricing pilot at public charging stations in Copenhagen, allowing EV drivers to charge at half the price during certain hours. The pricing model depends on factors like time of day and grid capacity, and it could lead to discounts of up to 50%. UK Infrastructure Bank Invests £24m in Cornish Lithium Production The UK Infrastructure Bank and others invest almost £24m in Cornish Lithium, boosting the company's total initial investment to over £53m. The funding will help commercialize lithium production, essential for EV battery production in the UK's net-zero transition. Brisbane's Classic City Cat Ferries to Go Electric for 2032 Olympics Norman R. Wright and Sons partner with New Zealand's EV Maritime to develop all-electric ferries for Brisbane by the 2032 Olympic Games. The companies plan to convert Brisbane's City Cat fleet to fully electric, battery-powered ferries, offering a zero-emissions ride. McMurtry's Electric Fan Car: A Viable Street-Legal Challenge The McMurtry Speirling, an all-electric single-seater prototype, explores the possibility of a road-legal variant. With a 1,000-horsepower electric powertrain and unique fan system, the Speirling has proven its speed. The road-legal version faces regulatory challenges but remains a viable concept Lucid Motors' Finances, SUV Announcement, Partnerships, and Future Plans https://evne.ws/47nCe81 Tesla Plans New Permanent Tent at Fremont Factory https://evne.ws/45pXqsp Extended Range MG4 EV with 323 Miles Range and Enhanced Power https://evne.ws/3qo8Ca2 Volkswagen Narrowly Surpasses Tesla in German EV Sales Race https://evne.ws/3s76pjJ GM's Ambitious Vehicle-to-Home Bidirectional Charging Plans for Ultium EVs by 2026 https://evne.ws/3s0SBqR BMW Introduces Customized i5 Electric Sedan for China https://evne.ws/3qrqSPS UK's Used EV Sales Hit Record High in Second Quarter https://evne.ws/45pXlF7 Motiv's Argo: A New Medium-Duty EV Truck https://evne.ws/44353Uc Hyundai and Kia Amp Up Electric Vehicle Plans in India https://evne.ws/3ONckDw E.On Launches Pilot Project for Dynamic Pricing https://evne.ws/45kvohJ UK Infrastructure Bank Invests £24m in Cornish Lithium Production https://evne.ws/3KtXKhK Brisbane's Classic City Cat Ferries Set to Go Electric for 2032 Olympics https://evne.ws/47mWfM2 McMurtry's Electric Fan Car: A Street-Legal Challenge That's Still Viable https://evne.ws/45pXlVD

TRACKLIST : Gaga & Mateo! - Traction Zafer Atabey - Compassion Ben Teufel - Twisted reality Eats Everything & Felix Da Housecat - Voicenote (Marco Faraone remix) Jay Lumen - Motherland Margaryan & Murk Tenet - Agent untitled (Monococ remix) Marco Miranda Sirmeloo - Rilis Milani Deeper - Control DJ Dee - Don't stop now Berto - Blunt bush Kreisel - Sleepless (Monococ remix) Antônio Farhy - Ciclos

Mary Lamont the Queen of Long Island Country & How to tackle the Music IndustryJoin host Steve Yusko as he goes on a roller coaster ride of an interview with Mary Lamont.  We run the gamut from her connections to Alice Cooper to Anne Murray. .  Mary Lamont has had a fantastic ride through the music industry as there's much to glean from her experiences. "THE QUEEN OF LONG ISLAND COUNTRY...MARY LAMONT WILL KNOCK YOU OFF YOUR BARSTOOL." - NEWSDAYConnect with The Long Island Sound Podcast  Intro/Outro song in this episode: “Fading out Fast” from Mike Nugent's album, Mike Nugent and the Blue Moon Band . Opening Narration by Faith YuskoAll songs in this podcast episode have been used with prior permission by the artists. Remember to Rate & Review the show!  Remember to Rate & Review the show! Help us keep the conversation going with your donation. Please Subscribe Here: Https://linktr.ee/thelongislandsoundpodcast Born and raised in rural Ontario, Mary is honored as an ASCAP Audio Portrait on ASCAP's website. Mary and her band completed a groundbreaking tour of Mainland China, headlining in Shenyang, Dalian, Guiyang, Xiamen, Beijing and Nanjing as the first American country band to tour there.**Click here for more info and photos from the China tour**NYCB Theatre at Westbury booked Mary as an opening act for Delbert McClinton, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Charlie Daniels Band. The band has appeared at numerous fairs, festivals, country association dances as well as radio promotional events. She was honored to be part of the IMAC Theater “Long Island's Own” series, featuring “artists deserving greater recognition" hosted by WFUV's John Platt.Mary's third and newest release, Not Far From Here, features original tunes and the debut of an alt-country song "What Was Right for You" penned by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dennis Dunaway original bassist and co-founder of the Alice Cooper group.Mary is host of the long-running radio show “Down Home Country” alternate Sundays on WUSB 90.1FM Radio, streaming live on WUSB's website at wusb "dot" fmClick here for a list of venues where Mary Lamont Band has performed. For booking/info contact via Mary's website: MaryLamont.comCall the Listener Line (631) 800-3579 and leave your comments for our host and guests.Please Subscribe Here: Https://linktr.ee/thelongislandsoundpodcast Call the Listener Line and leave us your impressions (631) 800-3579Support the showConnect with us here: Https://linktr.ee/thelongislandsoundpodcast If you like what you hear,click the link below to support us with a secure donation. https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=lg4LOxiWjgFS8z75NJpziIIRYXvpvtm6oZ2VlYE5eedpGDcJ-YD1ybtpJZiAWaSa1HKHDPX7IFp9uisz

Li Tie, the former head coach of China's national football team, is under investigation for serious violations. Last week, Chinese media reported that his deposit in a bank in Shenyang was 100 million yuan. This has shocked fans who have been dissatisfied with the performance of Chinese men's football.Join other motivated learners on your Chinese learning journey with maayot. Receive a daily Chinese reading in Mandarin Chinese in your inbox. Full text in Chinese, daily quiz to test your understanding, one-click dictionary, new words, etc.Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at contact[at]maayot.com

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Andy Wang, who shares the following recording and notes:Notes: Radio Taipei International was the old name of Taiwan's internation radio service. Its name changed to Radio Taiwan International on 2003. There are many online services which can transcribe voice to text, but with mistakes. I don't understand Russian, could not correct the mistakes. Shenyang is located near the Russian Far East region. I could clearly hear the Russian language broadcast.Broadcaster: Radio Taipei InternationalDate of recording: 1/22/2002Starting time: 11:00Frequency: 9.490Recption location: ShenYang ChinaReceiver and antenna: MeiDuo Radio Receiver and Casette Recorder CP6941 with antenna on it.

Sirens sounded and a bell tolled in the Chinese city of Shenyang on Sunday to mark the September 18 Incident from 91 years ago when Japan started its invasion of China.

A burial ceremony has been held for 88 Chinese soldiers who were killed in the War to Resist US aggression and Aid Korea from 1950 to 1953.

A Y-20 military transport aircraft carrying the remains of 88 Chinese People's Volunteers killed in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea has landed in Shenyang in northeastern China.

Brian Nishii gives Shuan Xuetao's three novellas a vivid, unforgettable performance. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile's Alan Minskoff discuss how these stories give insights to life in Shenyang, China, written in spare revelatory prose. Nishii illuminates the harsh existences of the characters but there's wit and whimsy, too. Shuang Xuetao is among China's most honored young writers; ROUGE STREET is his first work to be translated into English. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile's website. Published by Recorded Books. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from Graphic Audio, A Movie in Your Mind. Dramatized adaptations produced with a full cast, cinematic music and sound effects. Action packed audiobooks like you never heard before. Save up to 40% Off this month! Try samples of 1,600 titles now at GraphicAudio.net Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last time we spoke, Yang Sichang had enacted his “ten-sided net” plan and won a multitude of victories over rebels. However this plan proved to be a disaster overall and cost the Ming Dynasty more than it did any good. Now Li Zicheng had established himself as the de facto largest rebel leader amongst others who now held entire armies at their command. The Ming dynasty was rotting from within and its actions to prevent the rot simply delayed or sometimes even made it worse. With the allocation of so many resources to the northwest and center of China to deal with the rebels, the Ming northeastern frontier was weaker than ever. Seeing the absolute turmoil from within, the Qing soon realized they could allow the rebels to do much of the heavy lifting for them for now it was time for the Qing to overthrow one of the greatest dynasties in history.   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   This episode is the fall of the Ming Dynasty   As things only worsened within the Ming dynasty, soon the Qing would make their move in one of the most decisive engagements fought between the 2 empires. Given the Ming's recent ability to withstand the Qing raids over the past few years, the Ming Court remained a bit more optimistic that the northeast could hold out. Hong Chengchou continuously argued they should remain defensive despite many in the Ming court pushing for offensive operations. Despite this, the Qing were making massive efforts at digging trenches for some upcoming sieges. By some estimates some trenches were 8 feet deep and 6 feet wide, dug in several rows. The siege efforts represented an evolution in Qing warfare, many differing groups were being employed and specialization was being seen. For example Koreans were manning many of the firearms and Mongols were used more for mobile warfare. At Jinzhou some Ming relief forces began to advance and upon hearing the firing of their guns, the defenders burst out of the south gate. The Ming engaged the Qing who had sent 7000 cavalry to hit them. A fierce battle was fought, but the Qing were able to move their cannons and used them to devastate the Ming. The defenders were badly hurt, having 738 dead and 793 wounded, but the Qing eventually turned away by nightfall. Despite this being a slight victory for the Ming, they had only months worth of supplies and were advised by Zu Dashou not to enter any battles lightly. But the Ming Court kept demanding more offensive operations, pushing Hong Chengchou to go forth with a force of 60,000 in July of 1641 to hit the Qing. The Qing forces were around Mount Rufeng, due south of Jinzhou. When Dorgon heard the report of 60,000 Ming incoming he urgently sent a message to Hung for aid. Hung told Dorgon to stand firm and sent him 3000 cavalry immediately to help out. Estimates vary, but its possible the Qing had up to 100,000 men in many elevated positions amongst all the siege works. When Hung arrived to the scene he stated “They say Hong Chengchou knows how to use troops. I can see that those aren't empty claims. My generals should be concerned”. Some of Hong's commanders advised a retreat, stating their supply was short, but Hong stated “now today we have this opportunity and although our food supplies are growing short, you should listen to the order of your officers. If you defend, you may die, but if you don't fight, then you'll still die, but only in battle do you have any hope of a favorable outcome”. Thus Hong led the attack personally against Hung's forces. This is getting a big confusing eh with the Hung and Hong? Hong's left and right flanks advanced haphazardly and were quickly routed by the Qing. The next day the Ming left flank panicked and fled, trampling into another and abandoning many weapons and supplies while falling victim to more Qing ambushes along the way. Over 50,000 Ming troops were lost, literally being driven into the sea. Of the left flank it is said barely 200 men survived, being ambushed all the way to Ningyuan. The left flank commander, Wang Pu would be executed for this terrible conduct. Hong Chengchou and the right flank made a fighting retreat all the way to Songshan with only 10,000 troops. Hong vowed to hold Songshan to the death with these forces, but now Jinzhou was more isolated and thus in grave danger. As the Ming dug in further, Hung told his forces all they had to do was sever the Ming supply lines and defend the coast, because the Ming were short on food and soon would fall apart. Hung returned to Shenyang and left the siege in the hands of his commanders, Dodo, Jirgalang an Abatai. Upon hearing the news, Chongzhen ordered Hong to fight to the death if necessary to protect Songshan. As the siege continued the defenders pleaded with the court to send supplies while they had only a single bowl of rice per day to survive on. Things did not fare much better for the besiegers who were also low on food supplies. It would actually be Songshan that turned itself over to the Qing before Jinzhou, in march of 1642. At Jinzhou the defenders eventually resorted to cannibalism and this finally prompted Zu Dashou to surrender the city to the Qing. Next Tashan fell with 7000 of its defenders being massacred. Xingshan fell afterwards peacefully. Many of the Ming commanders were brought to Shenyang. Eventually Hong Chengchou after refusing to eat for several days agreed to defect to the Qing, becoming the newest most prominent Ming to do so. Hong Chengchou joined the Yellow banner, working under Dorgon.    These victories, now called the battle of Song-Jin allowed the Qing to acquire a ton of war equipment. They got their hands on 3683 cannons and 1515 various guns. Now it seemed the Qing had the necessary technological tools capable of toppling the Ming Dynasty. Hong Chongzhen just before the fall of Songshan and Jinzhou proposed opening up peace talks with the Qing. But knowing the emperor's temper, Hong had sent 2 envoys secretly and by the time they reached the Qing Songshan and Jinzhou had already fallen. Nonetheless the talks occurred and the Qing in a great position demanded territorial concessions, 1 million taels of silver per year in tribute and would pull their troops back away from Ningyuan as a gesture of good faith. The 2 states would be made equals and exchange ministers to conclude the agreements. All of this was relayed to Chongzhen who assembled his court who were deeply divided over the matter. On one hand agreeing to this would stabilize the frontier and allow the Ming to devote all their resources to deal with the rebels. But on the other hand, it was dangerous to publicly announce that the Ming dynasty was now treating with the Qing. The court decided not to go through with it and the envoys left Shenyang, thus from that point onwards no real peace talks would occur again between the 2 dynasties.    The Qing brushed this off, because now they understood how strong their position was. The conquest of the Ming dynasty was now a reality if they so desired it. Hung held a conference with his advisers who all came to the conclusion that peasant rebellion within the Ming Dynasty they had all had reports of could do much of the heavy lifting. Hung would continue his raids to plunder more supplies and booty, but he also ordered his men not to rape or plunder indiscriminately. In september of 1642, the Qing sent 50,000 troops hitting Ming defenses along the Great wall, winning a series of minor battles. Then they assaulted Dongchang but were repulsed by its defenders led by Liu Zeing. Despite the minor setback, they would eventually capture Dongchang 3 months later. It turned out the defenses of places in Shandong were oriented towards the sea and the defenders were equipped and trained to counter attacks from that direction, thus they were not as prepared for cavalry attacks. The Qing then attacked Jining, where Prince Lu courageously led the defense, but the city soon fell and Prince Lu commited suicide. Ming Grand secretary Zhou Yanru then told the emperor he would lead relief troops himself. He did, and they routed quickly and were defeated, though he would send reports back to Beijing stating he had won a great victory. Zhou also had not been in the actual battlefield, but rather dining at banquets with friends while simultaneously sending a stream of victory reports to the Ming court. He was not alone in this, many other Ming officials were lying or over exaggerating their war efforts, not wanting to face the wrath of the Emperor's temper.   During the raids into Nan Zhili, Shandong and Henan in 1642-1643 the Ming records estimated the Qing had attacked 3 superior prefectures, 18 regular prefectures, 67 counties and 88 towns. They had captured almost 400,000 people, 321,000 livestock, 12,000 taels of gold and 2.2 million taels of silver, a colossal sum. Alongside all of this they of course got their hands on more firearms. Matters were even worse than the plundering however, as the Qing raided more and more starving refugees fled into Shandong and Liaodong burdening local officials. Just about nothing the Ming did could hinder the Qing, until one thing put a dent in the Qing attacks, Hung Taiji died in August of 1643. Historians think it was a stroke that killed the great ruler.   On the rebel front, in October of 1642, the great city of Kaifeng in Henan, once a former capital of China was completely destroyed by a man-made flood. The flood submerged the city and its estimated 80% of its population died, over 370,000 people. This would be a setback not only for the Ming, but also for Li Zicheng who had hoped to use its capture as a springboard for his ultimate goal, a thrust at Beijing. After the capture of Luoyang, Li had grown more aware of the necessity for a strategic base of operations so he could hit the capital. Kaifeng was not just a strategic place it also was a symbolic one, as mentioned it was a previous capital.  Li Zichengs forces had actually assaulted Kaifeng a few times between 1641-1642, but each time they were repulsed and decided to attack other cities and return. By mid july of 1642, famine was spreading with Kaifeng and Li's forces had returned to try again. They expanded defensive moats around the city to siege and wait them out. Then they got the bright idea of utilizing the Yellow River to flood out the defenders. On july 29th, an impatient Li Zicheng killed a subordinate who proposed the idea of using the river, as his efforts to do so had not yet worked. The moats had only filled up with 5 inches of water. Then on August the 10th, the defenders of the city burst out to try and make a decisive victory against the rebels. The battle was ferocious and Li Zicheng fought in the very thick of it pushing the defenders back into the city. Kaifengs walls were beginning to crumble, food was scarce and no relief armies were able to come to its aid. The usual reports of people resorting to cannibalism began, thus things were quite dire. This got the defenders to think of anyway to escape this plight, one idea was to use the river. Water levels had risen to around 4 feet deep and heavy rains were adding to this. The defenders hoped that by diverting the river, it might provide them with fish and other food sources. The commander of kaifeng in desperation sent 3000 of his best troops out in the middle of the night to cut the dikes, but his men were caught and turned back. Then in the middle of the night on october 7th, the defenders were awakened by a great roar and the river suddenly came crashing right into the city. The rebels pulled back and watched the enormous power of the river doing all the work for them. Historians are not 100% sure if the rebels had ultimately cut down the dikes or perhaps heavy rains simply collapsed them. But in any case, the river smashed through the Cao gate in the north, sweeping everything before it and rushed out the south gate. People desperately climbed towers to avoid the raging waters or made rafts. The commander of the city built some 20 boats to evacuate, Prince Zhou and other high officials, as most commoners were forced to cling to tree branches and debris praying for rescue.By dawn of october 10th, the city was fully submerged. The rebels looted what was left of the city, but it was in such a sorry state there was no point trying to occupy it as a base of operations. Thus a disappointed Li Zicheng turned further south. It was a catastrophe for the Ming, Kaifeng was a base of operations used to coordinate defensive efforts for all of Henan and specifically to protect the southern approach to Beijing. Now as Li Zichengs forces moved south, also in august of 1642, Zhang Xianzhong was embarking on a new venture. His force had been camped in Lake Chao not too far from Luzhou where he began to recruit and train a naval force. Zhang planned to attack Nanjing via the Yangtze river. For Li Zicheng, he was turning his attention towards Nanyang where Sun Chuanting was leading Ming troops. Li and Sun's forces clashed a few times, but Li was able to bait, ambush and eventually force Sun's forces to retreat towards Shaanxi and the Tong Pass. This allowed Li to hit the last position of Ming strength left in Henan, Runing.    Runing was defended by commander Yang Wenyue with only 3000 troops. Yang also happened to be an old rival of Li's who had fought him a few times outside Kaifeng. As soon as the rebels approached the city, the defenders began to break and fled. Apparently the defenders threw corpses over their walls into the moat in desperation. When Li Zicheng entered the city he faced the captured Yang and said to him “Master is an important official of the dynasty who will not submit to us. But now that we've caught you, what is your wish?”  Yang replied “I myself, without any soldiers, only want to kill you. So today I'll die at you hands. What else can I say?”.Yang was then executed in front of the Sanyi temple. Li Zicheng followed this all up by taking Xiangyang, De'an and Chentian in early 1643. At Xiangyang, Li took new steps to building up his new order. He took the residence of Prince Xiang and made the prince and his siblings earls. Prince Xiangyang was renamed Xiangjing and Li took the title of “Long Accumulated Worshiping Heaven Leading-in-Righteousness Generalissimo”, and thank god he decided to shorten that all down to commander in chief. His secondhand man, Luo Rucai took the title “generalissimo whose virtue and awe pacifies the people on behalf of heaven”, what is with these guys and these ridiculously long titles? At this point Li Zichengs force began taking all men they captured between the ages of 15-40 and enrolled them in the army, and soon they were a goliath 600,000 man strong force. A few months later, Li Zicheng adopted the title of Prince of Xinshun and began procedures for taking future cities. Now if defenders resisted for 1 day, 30% of them would be killed, if resistance lasted 2 days, 70% would be killed and if after 3 days all would die. When Chongzhen heard reports about this he was utterly disgusted. Zhang Xianzhong also upted his anty by renaming and reclassifying captured towns and prefectures in Central China even when he did even not hold them. To add to the Ming's misery, some of Zuo Lingyu's subordinates attempted a mutiny to take Nanjing, raising a ton of tension. Zuo was eventually able to quell the mutiny, but it distracted him and his forces from Zhang's operations.    At the beginning of 1643, Zhang remained the only rebel leader not directly subordinate to Li Zicheng. Zhang knew the danger posed by this and started to consolidate and legitimize his own power lest he be swallowed up by Li. Thus Zhang decided to attack Nanjing and as we mentioned he built some naval power to do so. In may Zhang's force moved into eastern Huguang capturing several cities and he soon renamed himself Prince of Xin Shun. Then Zhang targeted the capital of Huguang, Wuchang. Many of Wuchangs forces were former mutineers under Zuo Lingyu's. The city's defenses did not fare too well to say the least and fell by July the 15th. In the chaos of its capture, thousands were massacred by Zhang's men and thousands more drowning in the local river. Prince of Chu himself was drowned in a bamboo cage by Zhang's orders. The river was allegedly so full of corpses that the fish were unfit for consumption months after. Zhang took all the captured men between 15-20 enrolled them as soldiers and killed the rest in quite a grisly manner. He renamed the city Tianshoufu meaning “received from heaven” and the capital of his new Western Kingdom. Zhang then elevated the late Prince Chu's younger brother to a position of nobility within his new order. Zhang went on to make all these proclamations and promises of restructuring so much, but he only really ended up occupying the city for barely a month before being chased off by Zuo Liangyu. As he withdrew he torched the city, I guess so long for all that? When Li Zicheng got report of all these ongoings he decided to place 1000 taels for Zhang's head, demonstrating the emerging rivalry. Zhang moved on to occupy Yezhou then used his boats to strike at Changsha. Like the poor souls of Wuchang, the defenders of Changsha did not take notice of the incoming rebel force and did not make any strong defensive points along the city's northern approach. When Zhang approached the city's gates he demanded their surrender and a brief effort was made by the defenders to repel them. Knowing it was fruitless, the commander of Changsha asked if he could give his life in return for the sparing of the people. Zhang accepted this, it is said the commander's eyes remained clear and bright and he did not cry out as he was cut to pieces. The Ming Court was feeling helpless towards the declining situation, now both the frontier and interior were in utter chaos. Officials were being impeached left right and center and some executed. More and more officials poured into the imperial palace as the Emperor demanded solutions.    In spring of 1643, Li Zicheng began to consolidate his movement by eliminating rival subordinates. The first to go was Ge Guoyan after he secretly met with Luo Rucai which prompted suspicion from Li. Li then invited Ge to a banquet, got him very drunk and killed him, thus taking all of Ge's forces as his own. Subordinates Zuo Jinwang and He Yilong were dispersed, in a similar fashion. And even Luo Rucai would face elimination, it seems he had grown to popular despite the fact, unlike Zhang he never expanded his political goals and prefered the life of a wandering bandit. There is some evidence to suggest Li took out Luo because rumor had it the Ming were trying to get Luo to kill Li and defect. Luo did not fall for the banquet affair, but later would be killed by a death squad sent by Li whom caught Luo asleep with his forces in camp. Luo's forces would be taken by Li who continued his purge, which prompted some subordinates to defect to the Ming. The great purging did not go unnoticed prompting Zhang to send Li gifts, probably hoping to get on his good side, but Li sent nothing in return.    In autumn of 1643, the Ming made a large offensive against Li Zicheng. The emperor ordered Sun Chuanting to conduct an operation in Henan towards the east to crush Li once and for all. The problem for a long time though was most military strength was in the northeast thwarting off the Qing, but now it seems the court decided to divert considerable resources from the northeast in the hopes of destroying Li Zicheng in Henan. Sun Chuanting was not loved by the local gentry in Shaanxi because he raised many taxes to pay for local defenses, despite them being successful. These gentry thought if they allowed Sun to lead Ming armies away from his defensive positions, he would no longer bother them with more taxation, so they supported the idea. Sun opposed the operation for many reasons, firstmost he thought his defensive plans were bearing fruit in Shaanxi. If Li's army swelled, their supply lines would become problematic and with winter on everyone's heels, Sun figured Li's army's morale would eventually break and they would have to go west, falling upon Sun's defenses. Sun was also concerned with supplying his force in the event of an offensive operation as in the past this proved to be fatal. He advised waiting until the following spring, but was completely ignored as all the gentry were now pushing for the operation. Sun eventually had to bow to local gentry and court pressures to lead the offensive, remarking “this is the path to ruin” as he did so. Sun marched down the yellow river valley gathering Ming remnant forces in Luoyang. Sun then ordered Zuo Liangyu to take a force and advance from Jiangxi and strike south upon Runing, hoping they could perform a pincer attack. However Zuo's force was still recovering from being smashed the year earlier and had to refuse this order, something increasingly being done by commanders in the field. So Sun had to advance alone and managed to smash a rebel force at Ruzhou to the utter delight of the Ming court. They were all jubilant, except for the Vice minister of War, Zhng Fengyi who reminded them the rebels might be feinting an illusion of weakness to lure Sun into a trap. Well Sun soon won victories at Baofeng and Jia pushing the rebels further towards Xiangcheng. Despite the victories, Sun was facing the very problems he had foreseen. His troops were running low on supplies, and years upon years of scorched earth tactics had devastated the agriculture of Henan. Thus Sun's troops were at the mercy of neighboring provinces for food supplies but the officials in those regions were either unable or unwilling to send the provisions. At that point Sun's 2 subordinate commanders argued if they should go back on the defensive or continue with the offense. Sun had a spy within Li Zichengs camp telling him that Li force was on the ropes, thus Sun decided they would continue. As November hit, things got really bad, supplies worsened and Sun troops began to raid local towns or eat their own horses. The rearguard of his army then got cut off by forces under Li who spread rumors to them that Ming relief forces were not coming to their aid. This all panicked the men and the rear began to rout. Upon seeing the chaos, Sun ordered a general retreat and told his subordinates Gao Jie to protect their rear and for Bai Guang'en to lay ambushes to cover the retreat. Bai took his forces and simply bolted for the Tong Pass. Unfortunately for his almost complete infantry force, do remember they began eating all their horses afterall, well Li's cavalry found them and smashed them to pieces. Sun's army was soon routed losing 40,000 men and abandoning an incredible amount of weaponry to the rebels. Sun tried to make a stand at the Tong Pass but his forces crumbled to the rebels. Bai Guang'en not only got his force smashed, but he ended up defecting to Li and became a commander for him. Sun proceeded to retreat up the Weir River valley where he would fight a final battle at Weinan and he would die with his men. Gao Jie took his remaining forces and fled north, leaving Beijing completely open to attack. All of this convinced Li that the time was ripe to declare his intent to overthrow the Ming dynasty and formally establish his own regime which would be at Xi'an.    While that was going down, Zuo Liangyu was fighting Zhang Xianzhong's forces further south. Although Zuo's men managed to recapture Xiangyang and Nanyang, Zhang as we mentioned had taken Changsha and now fortified it. The fighting between Zuo and Zhang would continue and before long Zhang found himself setting up in Sichuan where he established his Great Kingdom of the West. It was there as I mentioned that he took Yang Sichang's corpse and desecrated it. Back in Beijing, the court now made Yu Yingui supreme commander of Shaanxi. And Yu was very skeptical about any effort to turn the tide at this point, well no duh.    With Sun Chuanting dead, Li Zicheng had several options laid bare to him. One of his subordinates advised him to take Hebei's capital next, another said they should loop around Jinling to get supplies and hit Beijing, others suggested taking a position in Henan and capturing further cities to draw more troops then go across Shanxi to hit Beijing. In the end Li liked the last plan which was advised by his subordinate Gu Junen. Yet before Li would set out to do all of this he wanted to create his own administration in Xi'an. He also decided the attack on Beijing would be done from 2 directions. Li and his subordinate Liu Zongmin would advance on Beijing from the northwest, first heading from Xi'an and seizing Ming garrisons along the way through Shaanxi and the Great Wall at Juyong pass. His other subordinate Liu Fanglian would advance from the south, crossing through Henan to hit Beijing.    Xi'an was protected by some of the largest walls in all of China and would fall without a single fight as one of its leading officials was working with the rebels. At Xi'an Li made the Prince of Qin an administrator and renamed the city Chang'an, recalling its Tang dynasty name. Li followed this up by adopting many Tang Dynasty names for office positions and cities to add legitimacy to his own name and movement. Li also began wearing dragon robes and began to distribute wealth to the people. Li's armies fanned out and conquered numerous places renaming them. One place they took was his hometown of Mizhi which he renamed Tianbao “protected by Heaven” and he began to construct a palace there. On New Years day of 1644, Li Zicheng declared his rival Shun Dynasty within the city of Xi'an, now called Chang'an. Li took the reign title, Yongchang meaning “eternal prosperity”. Li then attacked the last remaining Ming stronghold in Shaanxi, that of Yulin. The fighting was fierce, but Li's cannons broke its walls. Next to fall was Ningxia, and Qingyang where Liu Zongmin suffered an astounding 30,000 casualties but took the city. Guyuan was handed over to Bai Guang'en without a fight and soon the rebels were marching towards Gansu. Meanwhile Beijing was in full panic, some even advising a retreat to the second capital of Nanjing. In response to Li's march, the court dispatched commanders to various routes going to the capital to hinder Li. Li Mingrui the Hanlin Academy lecturer advised the emperor in front of the court that he should have a quote “southern tour to Nanjing wherein by virtue of the monarch leaving the capital like a dragon rising or a tiger leaping the masses would spontaneously rise to quell the rebels”.  Emperor Chongzhen made no note of this at court, but in private told Li he agreed but feared what would befall the Ming subjects if they learnt the Emperor was fleeing to Nanjing. They then secretly went over the logistics of how to get the Emperor to Nanjing safely. Li suggested taking men from the 8 prefectures around the capital rather than any from the northeast which would look like they are abandoning territory to the Qing. In the midst of these plans another advisor came forward, Grand Secretary Li Jiantai who argued they should raise 1 million taels of silver to recruit and fund an army to take Shanxi back. The Emperor pressed him on this and Li stated he would work with the scholar Shi Long to gather supporters from all over the northwest. The Emperor in absolute desperation liked this plan and gave the go, giving Li the double edged sword of authority. It is claimed the force that was sent out was 100,000 strong. The problem was all these men was that they were in the words of a modern scholar “dandies, spoiled rich kids, space fillers and incompetents”. Around half the force deserted after marching only 30 miles and returned to Beijing. Before any serious fighting ever occurred most of the force simply scattered. Just 3 days after the army left Beijing, the Emperor asked his Minister of War about Li's whereabouts and the official had no idea prompting Chongzhen to exclaim “how can my Minister of War not know this?”. At this point the Emperor sat down with an official to look at the numbers. The officials told him the rebels claimed to have a 1 million man strong army, but reassured him it was probably around 100,000. Then he gave the emperor a sobering account that the Ming forces around Beijing were around 80,000 strong, but only around 30,000 of them could be somewhat trusted and of that only 3000 really trusted. It was at this point the emperor revisited the southern tour idea in private while putting on a face in public that he would not leave Beijing.   News from the front indicated Shun forces had just captured Taiyuan and Datong where they killed another Ming prince. Then the Shun took Xuanfu whose defenders simply turned the city over and the populace welcomed the Shun with cheers and burning incense. Then Changping fell in March without much of a fight. When the Emperor received news of Changping's capture he got up during a court meeting and simply walked out. It is alleged he paced around the forbidden city screaming out “my minister have failed me! Failed me!”. Li Zicheng sent envoys to Beijing asking for the city to be handed over without a fight and offering a deal with the emperor whereby he would be recognized as a prince and together they would face the Qing. This offer would mean that Li would be formally be made a Prince of Shun and all territory in the northwest would be his. Second the Shun would receive a tribute of 1 million taels. Third the Shun would not take orders from Chongzhen, but would help fight the Qing and assist in quelling other rebels. Emperor Chongzhen did not accept the proposal. Chongzhen ordered many of his children to flee south and issued a directive for all his civil officials to kill themselves since they had failed to save the dynasty.    When the rebels began to attack the gates of Beijing, the defenders fired powder shots as they had all reached an agreement with rebel agents. Li Zicheng made great efforts to break the will of the defenders at Beijing before his approach. On the afternoon of April the 24th, one of Emperor Chongzhen's eunuchs gave the orders to open the city gates. Li promised the people of Beijing amnesty to all those who surrendered. Emperor Chongzhen appointed Liu Wenbing in charge of rallying the populace to defend the city to which Liu replied “If your majesty cannot do it, then how can I?”. The Emperor then went to the Qianqing palace in the forbidden city and told the empress “All is lost. As you are the Mother of All Under Heaven, you should die” she replied “I have followed your highness for 18 years and I will die without a word; today we die together with the altars of state and we will have no more regrets”.  The emperor ordered the royal family remaining in Beijing to commit suicide and for the younger ones to try and escape. The empress and many other members were able to commit suicide, but Chongzhens youngest daughter Zhaowang he had to kill himself with a sword. Allegedly, Chongzhen by this point was so utterly drunk, he accidentally cut Zhaowang's arm off in the process and left her to die in a pool of her own blood. It is also furthermore rumored she would survive the wound and would live out the rest of her life as a buddhist nun. Chongzhen and his faithful eunuch servant, Wang Cheng'en went to the base of Coal Hill and hung themselves from a tree. The Emperor left a suicide note reading in part “My inadequate virtues and weak flesh have invited punishment from Heaven. Now the treacherous rebels are invading the capital. My officials have caused all this! I must die but I am ashamed to face my ancestors. Therefore I take off my crown and cover my face with my hair. Rebels! You can dismember my body, but do not harm the common people!”.    As the Emperor lay dead, several eunuchs of the Ming Court, alongside the Minister of War, Zhang Jinyan welcomed Li Zicheng into the city. Li Zicheng initially prohibited his men from plundering Beijing, but it was not too long until the populace was subjected to rape and looting. Afterall how could Li Zicheng stop his men from the ultimate prize that was Beijing.  The Shun Dynasty was beginning to be established, but unfortunately for Li Zicheng there loomed a rather large problem at hand. That problem was in the form of the Qing empires forces at the doorstep of the now dead Ming dynasty.    Li Zicheng had a major problem, the Qing had bided their time waiting for a moment to strike and it was coming any minute now. Li Zicheng's only hope to hold them off would be to try and rush to the northeast and win over as many of the Ming defenders in the area as possible and bolster them up. In May Li Zicheng had to set forth from Beijing to meet the enemy in the northeast, leaving his subordinate Niu Jinxing in command of Beijing. Over in Shanhaiguan was commander Wu Sangui who was very unsure what to do. Then Wu learnt that the forces of Li Zicheng had abused members of his family back home and decided he would defect to the Qing. Li Zicheng heard reports of Wu's resolve and begrudgingly sent a small force quickly to attack Wu who engaged that said force around Yongping. Wu smashed the force to pieces and fled back to Shanhaiguan. Now enraged, Li and Liu went forth with an army of around 100,000 to crush Wu. Now Wu realized the Qing military were most likely better off than the rebels and after some lengthy negotiations with Prince Dorgon, Wu arranged to allow the Qing to enter China proper through Shanhaiguan unmolested in exchange for their assistance in defeating the treacherous Li Zicheng. It seems Wu believed he might be able to score himself as the next ruler of the Ming state or atleast become a Prince under the Qing. Dorgon was quite suspicious of Wu however. The offer suited the Qing of course, it would allow them to look like they were avenging the Ming Dynasty against the rebels. Before Wu had come forward, Dorgon had been planning an attack on Beijing by coming through inner mongolia, but now the alliance solved that problem entirely.    A Qing force of 140,000 came to Shanhaiguan and joined forces with Wu's. Dorgon ordered Wu to take his army as a vanguard for their combined force. Dorgon's thinking was by doing so Wu's men would take the brunt of the hard fighting and this would ensure after their victory that his forces would not be strong enough to stand up to them if he had a change of heart. Li Zicheng had set out with 100,000 men, but many of his commanders were recent turncoats such as Tang Tong and Bai Guang'en. Also for many of the rebels, the ultimate goal had been achieved, they looted Beijing, many did not have the mind to continue fighting. Li Zicheng's ultimate mistake however was not that he was engaging in combat with Wu or the Qing, but that it never occurred to him that they would join forces.   In late May the Wu/Qing and Shun forces would do battle on a field just outside Shanhaiguan. Shanhaiguan had 3 outlying castles guarding the interior approach and Wu had prepared his main defensive line at the west bank of Shihe. 40,000 Shun troops crashed into Wu's main defensive line and Wu motioned his forces back into the main castle while simultaneously sending 20,000 men to the north and west to cut off the Shun's escape routes. In the initial clashes the battle was fairly even, with both Wu and the Shun losing considerable amounts of men. Wu grew concerned that the Qing were merely going to allow his force to be smashed to pieces and then sweep in afterwards, and he had every right to think this, they most likely were doing just that. Despite the odds, Wu's force seemed to be turning the tide somewhat and this prompted Dorgon to send 2 waves of 20,000 cavalry to envelop the Shun. The next day, Wu led a charge against the Shun formation but they repulsed him right back into the castle pass. Then the Qing cavalry of the White banner led by Ajige and Dodo smashed into the Shun. Wu's men saw the Shun morale crumble and charged upon them again, bursting out of the castle. Li Zicheng was directing the battle from a high tower position and upon seeing the cavalry, he simply assumed them to be Wu's forces. dust clouds made by the charging cavalry made it very hard to see what was going on, but as the battle heated up more, Li began to see swarms of arrows raining down on his men and he realized these were Manchu people, he screamed out “the tartars have come!”. The Shun force collapsed, many were driven towards the sea and drowned. The Shun force retreated scattered, with many running back to Beijing. Li and his forces then fled as fast as they could for Beijing where they staged a very quick enthronement ceremony for Li where as he declared himself emperor. Then Li and his army plundered Beijing and most of the rebel left the city the day after, carrying off their loot.   Prince Dorgon, serving as a regent for the child Emperor of the Qing, Shunzhi, entered Beijing in May of 1644 seeing all the rebel armies flee before his men. He announced to the populace they were now under Qing rule as Li Zicheng fled west to Xi'an. Over the next 6 months, Li's authority would disintegrate throughout all the territories he had conquered. Ming loyalists, some semi-independent warlords and the Qing swallowed up everything in sight. Eventually Li found himself in the summer of 1645 being pursued by the Qing prince Ajige to the vicinity of Mount Jiugong. How Li died is not exactly known, some say he hung himself after being surrounded by some angry peasants. Others say peasants beat him to death looking for food. What is known is that his corpse was badly mutilated when it was found. Li Zichengs body was sent south to Ming authorities who decaptitied it. Our old friend Zhang Xianzhong was in Sichuan and would hold out until 1647. Ming loyalists in the south would hold out on the mainland until 1662, ironically many of Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates would be their commanders. Some Ming loyalists famously would hold out in Taiwan until 1683 still trying to reclaim the dragon throne for the Ming.   History marks the fall of the Ming dynasty to be in 1644 with the death of Emperor Chongzhen. Many historians argue various reasons for why the Ming Dynasty ultimately fell. One history stated quote “could no longer manage its resources, utilize its strengths, and maintain its focus.”. And indeed the Ming Dynasty fell as a result of gradual political, strategic and tactical errors that simply grew so large they could not be overcome. Given proper leadership,  delegation of authority and allocation of resources, the Ming Dynasty most likely could have survived. The fall of the Ming dynasty has captivated people for centuries, for it was one of the wealthiest, most powerful and prosperous empire in the world, yet it fell to peasant rebels and some unified tribal peoples of the steppe, how? As is seen with most of China's history, the fall of the Ming is seen in terms of a dynastic cycle, whereby a dynasty eventually becomes so corrupt it simply collapses upon itself and another more diligent government thats over. It is of course not as so simple as that as any of you who lasted this long can already imagine. There are various reasons for its downfall. Take for example the unbelievable factionalism of the Ming bureaucracy which in turn politicized just about every aspect of the government. By the end of its rule it certainly seemed the politics were trumping the military when it came to defending themselves. Then these problems were only made worse when more and more competent officials were jailed or executed and more and more incompetent officials were the only ones left to fill roles. The last emperor Chongzhen certainly did not make things any easier, such as when he forced Sun Chuanting to go out into the field against Li Zicheng. Also the issue of climate was striking, during the 17th century the world was witnessing what we call the last of the little ice ages. The era was marked by less solar activity and tons of volcanic eruptions that shot into the atmosphere darkened the skies. The global temperatures got cooler by around 1.-2 degrees right around 1640 in the midst of many violent upheavals. Hell remember that story about the island of Juehua being attacked because the waters had frozen allowing Nurhaci's men to cross them? It was much to the shock of the defenders and for good reason, sometimes climate can have an incredible effect on such events. The amount of natural disasters and droughts which led to wide scale famines had an enormous effect on producing the sort of situation that allowed such a large rebellion to take place. Personally having studied quite a bit about the Taiping Rebellion that will occur in the 19th century, its all quite fascinatingly similar. And trust me the fall of the Ming dynasty is quite foreshadowing.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  So at long last the Ming dynasty has fallen and now we have the Qing dynasty taking its seat upon the dragon throne. I thought it to be very important to explain how the Ming fell, because in many ways it will mirror how the next dynasty will fall. Stating that the Qing dynasty certainly took note of what befell the Ming and made their primary endeavor to root out corruption. But ironically it would be just that which would destroy them as well.  

Last time we spoke, the death of Nurhaci led to the rise of his grandson Hung Taiji. The Sea King Mao Wenlong was finally caught lying about his military achievements and even secretly negotiating with the Jin. Mao's rival Yuan Chonghuan took little time to get rid of Mao, thus riding himself of the man stealing his limelight. Unfortunately it was not long when Yuan would fall victim to a sneaky ploy of Hung Taiji and was executed under the false pretense that he was a turncoat like Mao. Hung managed to gain some very valuable Ming defectors and upgraded his military with new cannons and naval units. Then Hung proclaimed his people to be the Manchu under a brand new Qing dynasty as he conquered all of Korea. With the Koreans now giving him tribute, he soon turned his gaze towards the Ming, with some new toys in hand.   Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. This episode is The Rebellion of Li Zicheng In early 1634, one man, Chen Qiyu, was instilled with an incredible amount of power. He was made Supreme commander of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang and Sichuan. The Ming Court had realized the required authority necessary to coordinate operations against the wandering bandit menace. Droughts, famine, even cannibalism was seen all over, driving peasants to swell the ranks of bandits who soon became rebel armies. So many officials in numerous provinces complained they lacked the resources necessary to feed their troops, distribute relief or quell rebellions. In turn when they would fail, they would be dismissed, leading to a further shortage of competent men to manage the terrible situation. In the area between Shaanxi and Henan, over 200,000 rebels began taking smaller towns and killing local officials. The rebels would routinely attack smaller towns, usually in groups of 10,000 and perform atrocities against officials. They would avoid any open battles with Ming forces, always on the move. Then all the prominent rebel leaders got together for a meeting, which would be a rather dramatic turning point. The overarching leader amongst them was Li Zicheng who would make many key decisions for them all. They decided to divide their forces and strike out simultaneously in all directions. The most successful of these groups would be the Rebel leaders Zhang Xianzhong and Gao Yingxiang who hit Nan Zhili. Enroute to their target, their troops carried around banners declaring themselves followers of the True Primal Dragon Emperor and thus they were identifying themselves as something more than just mere bandits. They marched through Henan on their way into Nan Zhili, looting the town of Fengyang. There they killed over 4000 Ming officials and civilians performing some heinous atrocities, some stating they even ripped fetuses out of pregnant women. They razed everything to the ground and looted the place for days. Once they were done, Gao headed west and Zhang went east to attack Luzhou. Defending Luzhou was commander Wu Dapo who deployed peasants and troops to defend the town. He set up cannons atop walls and stockpiled large logs to be thrown at the rebels. Then as the bandits got close, his forces opened fire killing around a 1000 of them.Yet such local competent commanders were increasingly becoming rare and the Emperor continuously resorted to dispatching eunuchs wherever he could to resolve matters. These eunuchs of course were not military men and many had ulterior motives. The bandits were moving further south freaking out the Ming Court and Emperor. Drastic measures were enforced such as rushing 43,000 troops from other theaters, such as from the northeast where the Qing could strike at any moment. In the wake of the absolute disaster at Fengyang, Hong Chengchou was given the task to crush the rebels within 6 months time and the emperor followed this up by pledging almost 1 million taels worth of supplies for the task. Despite all these major efforts, Hong had far too few troops, too much ground to cover and far little time.    The rebels roamed freely, prompting one official in Henan to state “the villages are bereft of people, white bones fill the wilderness and at night the crying of ghosts can be heard everywhere”. Rice inflation was so high, it is alleged people were buying human flesh of the deceased in markets. The rebel groups were demonstrating more and more tactical awareness. They began burning crops in certain areas to deny food supplies to pursuing Ming forces. Gao Yinxiang besieged Guangzhou with a force of possibly 70,000 and used many heavy cannons. Gao followed this up by attacking Taozhou, dangerously close to the secondary capital of the Ming, Nanjing. His forces would crush a Ming army in Song and Henan before he returned to Shaanxi in 1636. The rebels and Ming officials would go back and forth with countless battles and one Ming official realized the rebellions now needed to be quelled as a first priority. The Minister of War Yang Sichang stated the rebels were a “disease of the heart” and that the capital region must be protected from the spreading poison of the rebels. The frontier war with the Manchu he deemed to be like the arms of a person, not necessary for survival, but the heart was. Yang saw the greatest danger being in Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang and Jiangbei. He thought the empire required a bold new strategy to restore state control of the central plains. Once this was achieved, then they could turn their attention towards the Manchu threat. Yang's plan was to become known as “shi ian zhi wang” the Ten-sided net. Like most grand proposals during this time, it looked amazing on paper and would be a catastrophic failure.   By 1637 the scope of the rebellions had expanded greatly and the center of its activity was shifting from south and east closer to the capital and the agricultural heartland of the Ming dynasty. Thus Yang proscribed the construction of more defenses along the frontier, hoping to bolster everything aside from troops. He wanted to keep around just 50,000 troops outside the Great Wall, thinking it would be a sufficient deterrent against the Manchu. The idea was, if the 50,000 were attacked by Manchu invaders, they could buy enough time for reinforcements to come. In the meantime they could even open up peace talks with the Manchu simply to buy more time for what he really wanted to do, quell the rebellions once and force all. There was quite an uproar in the Ming Court over the idea of opening peace talks with the Manchu, but it would begrudgingly be done. Some others in the court advised opening up trade markets with their Mongol allies to procure horses, hoping to drive a wedge between the Manchu and their Mongol allies. Ming intelligence at the time suggested the Mongolia frontier situation was a hot spot not just between the Ming and Manchu, but also between the Manchu and certain Mongol groups. The idea as stated by one official was “to use barbarians to control barbarians”.   Yang believed given adequate supplies, how many times have I stated that one at this point, given adequate supplies the soldiers could be fed and would fight, and in turn would be able to depend on the populace accordingly. Once the populace felt safe, they would direct their allegiance to the Ming government and be less inclined to join rebel groups. Then with the populace, they could form militias and finally cut off, isolate and stave out the rebel groups. Yang then prescribed punishment and even execution for Ming officials who were derelict in their duties. This was the “ten-sided net” strategy. Yang said Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang and Jiangbei would have 4 lines of defense, each with a pacification commissioner assigned. At Yansui, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangnan, Jiangxi and Sichuan would be 6 auxiliary lines of defense, each also assigned pacification commissioners. Those commissioners would be directing both defensive and offensive operations. Through their efforts they would gradually close in around rebel positions until all were trapped, then killed or captured. Defense was the primary function of it all. Once the net closed in on the rebels, the Ming would employ “clearing the fields and strengthening the walls” as a general strategy. Thus with heavily defended cities and no supplies available to them, the rebels would eventually be forced to surrender. 2 supreme commanders, the Zongli and Zongdu would smash the enemy wherever possible, while the rest of the officials would act more locally. The Zongli and Zongdu's troops would be elite troops with better mobility. Yang estimated they would need 10,000 troops in key defensive posts and around 30,000 for each supreme commander. In total they would require 120,000 troops, of which 36,000 would be mounted. Overall, the problem should be resolved in a matter of just 6 months, sure. Now to equip and supply all these troops it was estimated to cost 2.8 million taels. How were they going to pay for all this, taxes taxes taxes. Yang argued they could increase the land tax by about 12 ounces of grain to bring in an extra 1.9 million taels and get another 400,000 via special taxes on surplus lands. 200,000 from postal revenues and the rest perhaps by raising the sales tax a bit. There was a ton of debate in the Court over all this, but Yang got his way. The plan was a go though it certainly had its critics. One major critic against Yang and his plan was Sun Chuanting, the Grand coordinator of Shaanxi. Sun argued countless problems with the ten-sided net plan. First he argued the funds and manpower for it were highly unrealistic “how can the state raise an extra 2.8 million tales when they've already spent more than 1 million taels in extra revenues”. Sun re-iterated this argument asking where the troops would even come from and how the hell would he manage to do all this in just 6 months. Sun also stated the seasons when this would take place were not the same seasons the bandits usually were at large. There was also the issue of terrain, the rebels could still flee to mountains and forests, which large Ming armies would lose them in. Sun said many more troops would actually be required for this plan and those officials appointed needed to not only be competent, but also very knowledgeable at the local levels. Sun characterized the plan to be more of an “empty net strategy”. But like most critics, hell the majority of our politicians today to boot, Sun had no alternative plan. I am sure any of you in the audience can already see one of the largest issues with this plan, that of taxation. The peasants are rebelling because there is no food or funds in their regions, so the plan is to further tax them to stop them from rebelling? This issue did not go unnoticed, the Emperor stated himself “leadership and money needs to come from the gentry, not the masses. Suppressing the bandits requires a big campaign which requires lots of troops. The money can't come from the people, but should come from the treasury, but the treasury is empty”.  Xiong Wencan, a man who gained a reputation for quelling rebels was appointed as one of the supreme commanders, alongside Hong Chengchou. Out in the field, Xiong and Hong managed to achieve many victories against the rebels,  Hong even managed to defeat Li Zicheng, one of the biggest rebel leaders at large. But these victories did not amount to peace for the populace. Many of the pacifications armies would loot and rape as they drove the rebels into the mountains. As is expected, Ming commanders would not venture deep into mountains, fearing rebel ambushes. Ming forces won numerous battles, claiming the lives of thousands of rebels, but were never able to eliminate the enemy entirely from any given region. At one point, the rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong was defeated in battle and had to surrender. This prompted some Ming officials to discuss the idea of using Zhang Xianzhong to kill other rebel leaders. Most officials deemed the idea completely insane and it was soon disregarded. While the discussions were going on  however, Xiong Wencan allegedly gave Zhang 20,000 men to help maintain local order. This eye opening moment prompted Yang Sichang to become more more personally involved in the campaign, not liking how his subordinates were simply doing things on their own and some not even following direct orders. Yang also vowed to the emperor it would all be done by the winter of 1638. Yang then berated field commanders to obey the authority of the Ming officials. Winter of 1638 came with no significant results, and Yang asked the emperor to replace him, but was refused. This prompted Yang to make a list of officials who he deemed deserved punishment for lack of action during the campaign, one of the most notable was Hong Chengchou who seemed to be making no ground. Many officials were punished, except for Hong who the emperor personally liked and protected.    There were many unforeseen problems, such as local officials hiding resources and bribing the tax agents who came looking for funds. Natural disasters plagued China as well. Locust plagues hit and caused more famines in Henan, Suzhou and Shandong forcing more and more peasants to scrounge for food and many Earthquakes hit Sichuan. More and more the strong joined the rebels and the weak starved to death. Yang himself seemed to not even be following the ten-sided net strategy anymore by 1638. Yang began to prioritize certain regions over others, rather than keeping the net closing overall and when the Emperor questioned him, Yang would argue it was too difficult to coordinate the officials. As I mentioned many of the sub commanders and other officials were beginning to not heed orders and it was becoming a noticeable problem. And of course Yang gave the old, lack of troops, lack of supplies speech. All in all, rebels were certainly being killed or captured and many of their leaders were falling, its not like the Ming were not making headway. Yang was even beginning to feel some confidence that the plan was working and proposed grabbing another million taels for the plan and famine relief. Then disaster would strike.   As I previously mentioned, part of the plan was to open up peace talks with the Qing, to bide more time to finish off the rebels. In 1638, the Ming were not looking so good and the Manchu's were coming off multiple war victories making them not too willing to talk about peace. Some in the Ming Court thought they should negotiate making Hung Tiaji a tributary prince, Yang Sichang pushed for this heavily. Yuan Chongzhen held a meeting with many officials over the state of the frontier defenses. They lacked firepower and many competent commanders were busy with the rebels. In the end as a result of the circumstances the Emperor ruled in favor of offering to make Hung Taiji a tributary prince. Meanwhile Qing nobles such as Dorgon, Kong, Geng and Shang began raiding Ming territroy outside the great wall. Then Dorgon had a lucky encounter at a large redoubt near the Great Wall and annihilated the force in it and proceeded across the border and approached the Yellow River. Zu Dashou alerted the capital and demanded relief forces to rush over. The Ming Court debated on what action to take, Yang Sichang advocated for negotiations, while others urged for battle. One commander Lu Xiangsheng argued with Yang “If you discard war but talk of negotiations,you nourish disaster and bring disgrace to the country. Who doesn't know this? What's the point of my receiving the double-edged sword from the emperor if I don't exert myself in battle”. Yang's rebuttal to this was to sneakily transfer troops from Lu Xiangsheng to another commander named Gao Qiqian, leaving Lu with only 20,000 men. The Emperor for his part was outraged by the Qing threat to his capital yet again and yelled at Yang in front of the Court. It seemed the Emperor was most angry about the idea that those around him thought he personally believed peace talks were the best choice of action, as he did not think they were. The Emperor then ordered Lu Xiangsheng to pursue the enemy and for Gao Qiqian to defend Shanhaiguan. The Emperor sent 40,000 taels to Lu as a reward and stated “Peace talks were the idea of the outer court officials. The Emperor personally favors wars”.    The Qing attacked Gaoyang, where the now 76 year old and retired Sun Chenzong was. He, alongside his whole family participated in the defense of the city. The city fell after 3 days, poor Chenzong and 19 of his family members perished. Lu Xiangsheng pushed for a counter attack, but Gao Qiqian argued they would be better to take up defensive positions. Lu's forces were fighting the enemy at Baoding, but had no rations left. Lu pleaded with his men to continue fighting “you and I have all received the blessings of the state. In this calamity we may not avoid death, but there is no calamity in which we might not attain life!”. His men resolved to fight on to delay the enemy, praying for relief forces to come. Gao's forces were only 15 miles away when they received a plea from Lu to come help, Gao did not reply. Lu's force was surrounded near the Gaoshui bridge outside Jiazhuang, they then engaged the enemy. The battle lasted 6 hours with cannons, guns and arrows flying off. Lu's sub commanders pleaded to try and break out of the encirclement, but Lu demanded they all make a last stand. Lu would die from 4 arrows and 3 sword blows, allegedly after taking 10 men with him. The Qing took Changping, Jizhou, Pinggu and reached the outskirts of Jinan by January of 1639. Jinan city would fall and be razed to the ground, and the Ming Prince Zhang Bingwen would die from arrow fire in street fighting as the defenders fled. Dorgon then raided some territory around Tianjin before heading back east. By the time any significant Ming relief forces came to bear down on the Qing they were already making a withdrawal. The Qing raids had lasted 5 months, they hit 53 cities of which they captured 8. They fought 57 battles defeating 33 Ming divisions and captured an incredible 473,000 Ming, 4000 taels of gold and nearly a million taels of silver. Over 100 Ming officers were killed and sadly 150,000 civilians. The Ming Court responded first with the execution of 32 officials deemed to have allowed the situation to get out of hand. Yang Sichang was impeached, but managed to avoid execution. Competent commanders who were quelling the rebels were transferred to the northeast to prepare new defenses against future Qing attacks leaving the northwest to fester with more rebellions.    A little while back I mentioned the talk of using the surrendered rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong to help kill other rebel leaders. Well this whole time he was in Gucheng training a so-called militia and making promises to the Ming that he would help pacify all of Huguang. He had erected customs houses on the Han river to collect transit taxes, under the guise they were to help defend Gucheng. He was also bribing officials and local administrators left right and center, effectively having them firmly in his hands. Meanwhile Xiong Wencan was still performing offensive operations against the rebels, while the Ming Court in late 1638 falsely believed the rebels were largely quelled. Then Zhang Xinazhong, to the surprise of no one, began rebelling with that so-called militia group he had been training. It should come to no surprise, Zhang's efforts the whole time were in preparation for future rebelling. He had  extorted money through the transit tax schemes and used the funds to reinforce the walls of the town where he settled his garrison. On top of bribing so many officials to turn an blind eye to his actions, upon re-commencing with the rebellion, he sent a release of records of all the corrupt officials who dealt with him and made it public, leading to more and more executions. Zhang's force joined up with another rebel leader's force namd Luo Rucai and they soon began to attack Fangxian which fought them for over a week before its gates were opened. The rebels plundered Fangxian and then casually moved into the mountains near the Shaanxi border. The man who had captured Zhang in the first place, Xiong Wencan was berated for all of this of course. Xiong sent Zuo Liangyu to pursue the rebels, but Zuo's force would be ambushed in the mountains, taking 10,000 casualties and having to retreat. It was one of the greatest rebel victories, they had not only killed a large number of Ming soldiers, his force also got their hands on a ton of war supplies and Zuo's official seals of authority.    The disgraced and severely deranked Yang Sichang demanded to be allowed to deal with the problem and was reappointed minister of war, Grand secretary, Supreme Commander of Bandit pacification and bestowed the double edged sword of authority in 1639, wow talk about the kitchen sink of appointments. The Emperor agreed to give Yang 5 million taels to wipe the rebels out once and for all and pretty much gave Yang carte blanche for how to operate. Apparently the Emperor even personally served Yang wine at a later banquet and gave him a handwritten poem, what a fall and rise moment. Xiong was impeached of course for his incompetence and even being accused of taking bribes from Zhang Xianzhong. Yang had a 6 step plan now to stop the spread of the rebels. First, taxes would be used to raise local troops with military farms established to feed them. Second, town walls would be improved, Third mercenaries would be hired to help train local militias. Fourth all cities would have firearms mounted on their walls. Fifth the government needed to improve famine relief efforts. And sixth they needed river forces to stop rebel boats and advocated for bringing troops from neighboring regions to help encircle the rebels. As you can imagine, the funding for all of this came from what else, new taxes. Surprisingly, Zuo Liangyu was appointed Bandit Pacifying General despite his enormous defeat to Zhang. Zuo from the offset would also believe he was being held back by Yang, who kept him in a defensive position and denying him any opportunity to get revenge upon Zhang.    Despite the efforts, the rebels remained on the rise, now Luo Rucai and Zhang Xianzhong commanded a force of 100,000 by the fall of 1639. Yang decided to surround Zhang's stronghold of Gucheng, as Chongzhen berated him demanding to know how long this would all take. Throughout 1639-1640 the Ming seemed to be piling up victories over the rebels and even Zhang Xianzhong had fled into Sichuan being pursued by a very angry Zuo Liangyu. Yang ordered Zuo to stop pursuing him, but Zuo ignored the order and managed to encircle Zhang near Mount Manao. There he made a major victory, inflicting 3500 casualties, captured several commanders and also Zhang's wives and concubines. Zuo seemingly exonerated himself, but Zhang managed to escape further west into Sichuan, not to mention Yang was not too happy he disobeyed orders. Yang, as was typical of Ming officials, sought to limit those he saw as a rising rival such as Zuo. So Yang recommended another general, He Renlong to be invested with Zuo's title, which would prove to be a serious mistake. Yang's recommendation fell dead, and now he had alienated both Zuo and He. Zuo then turned to pursue Zhang who was beginning a rampage throughout Sichuan. Many Ming soldiers began deserting at this time, prompting Yang to more desperate acts, such as recruiting Shaolin monks at the Temple in Henan. Soon all of Sichuan was in trouble as tons of cities were taken by rebels or simply abandoned. Famines forced peasants to cannibalism and thus many joined the rebels, soon Yang yet again asked to be relieved of his post, but the emperor responded by sending 200,000 taels for famine relief instead.    Because of Yang's strategy to coordinate regional defenses, many local communities were left largely to fend for themselves against the wandering rebels. Zhang and Luo's combined forces struck several cities in Sichuan. Yang was pushed to relocate his HQ to Chongqing where he could be closer to the fighting. He then began to place a bounty on Zhang's head and announced clemency for other rebels if they brought him Zhang's head. To make matters worse, the Ming court increasingly became frustrated with Yang's inability to achieve results with his numerous disputes with his subordinates whom all were rallying against him, stating he was incompetent and should be replaced. To all of this Zhng Xianzhong wrote a poem mocking Yang “Before we had coordinator Shao Who often came forth and danced with me Then came the armies who would not fight But followed me around But now we have good commander Yang Who graciously leaves me a three day road!”. The rebels took Luzhou in December of 1640 and fled at the first sight of Ming troops trying to encircle them. Yang was desperate and ordered all his commanders to assemble at Yunyang and to mount one more campaign to crush the rebels once and for all. Yet by this point many of the commanders were simply ignoring Yang's orders. For example Zuo Liangyu headed east trying to stop rebels from escaping into Shaanxi and He Renglong had gone west doing a similar operation. Yang was lashing out at the commanders arguing with so much terrain to cover it was now better to go on the offense than defense, but all the commanders ignored him. Then Yang's fears were realized when Zhang Xianzhong managed to capture Ming Prince Xiang at Xiangyang. Zhang's men had plundered some seals of office from Ming forces and used them to get into the town. Now Zhang occupied the prince's seat in his palace. Zhang allegedly poured the prince some wine at the palace and demanded of  Xiang “I wish to have the head of Yang Sichang, but he is far away in Laikou, so now I'll have to borrow the prince's head in his stead. This will cause Sichang to suffer the full penalty of the law for having lost his princely fief. Now the prince should use all his strength to finish his wine”. Zhang then tied prince Xiang to the palace wall and lit him and his concubines on fire. Zhang then distributed some 150,000 taels from the prince's treasury to the people, but it should be noted his men also performed horrible atrocities upon the people as well. They cut several hands, feet, ears and noses from random civilians when they captured towns in the area. Now the rebel army moved east taking even more towns, even Guangzhou.    Upon hearing the news Yang was livid with the commanders, who all defended themselves stating they were guarding against raids from Li Zicheng's rebel army from the north. To add insult to injury, Li Zichengs forces did strike from the north hitting Luoyang and managed to capture the extraordinary fat Prince Fu and his grandson. By contemporary accounts, its estimated Prine Fu may have been over 400 pounds and was quite reviled by the local populace. Prince Fu kowtowed before Li, begging for his life. Li of course killed him and then distributed a lot of his wealth to the people of Luoyang stating to them “the prince and the wealthy stripped away the flesh of the people and had no regard for the life or death of the common folk. I've killed him on your behalf”. Allegedly, Li and his sub commanders then stripped flesh from Prince Fu and consumed it with wine as a cruel pun. For taking Luoyang, Li became the foremost rebel leader and the term “dashing Prince” began to be associated with him. Luo Rucai similarly held the title “generalissimo chosen by heaven to pacify the people”.    Yang fell into despair believing all was lost, now he sent a letter to the emperor asking for his own execution. Yang eventually stopped eating and died in march of 1641. Zhang Xianzhong would later capture Yang's ancestral home of Wuling and dig up his grave and desecrate Yang's corpse. Yang's demise truly illustrates the many problems of the late Ming politics and Military situation. All too often, sweeping authority was bestowed on civil officials who lacked military experience. The ten-sided net strategy was doomed from the beginning. The main problem with it was that of resource allocation. If perhaps the Manchu threat had been contained in the northeast, then maybe Yang ould have mustered the forces and resources necessary to beat the rebels. But the entire time there was a fight over resources between the Manchu problem or the Rebel problem, and many in the Court did not know which one was the largest threat. The numerous natural disasters that led to wide scale famines did not help at all and were only made worse by Yang's lack of military experience. While the Ming forces pretty much always bested the Rebels during battle, the rebels enjoyed superior mobility and easily disappeared when needed.   For the remainder of 1641 the Ming tried to fight off the rebels in central China. Ding Qirui replaced Yang Sichang and Fu Zonglong was appointed Vice Minister of War and Supreme commander of Shaanxi. Li Zicheng had risen to be the most powerful rebel leader with Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai beneath him, but all held significant reputations and status. As a result of all the battles to destroy the rebels, now the rebels had earned significant battle experience, technological expertise and a ton of weapons. The Ming were losing their technological edge in war against the rebels.   After the Qing raid into Shandong, the Qing launched a probe attack on Songshan in March of 1639. A Qing force of 30,000 approached Songshan and were met with 37 heavy cannon fire which repulsed the invaders quite quickly. Hung realized the Ming were not yet ready to abandon their defenses outside the Great Wall so easily. Plans for defending the Liaodong region continued, but at this point Ming officials feared to advance any plan for war in fear of failing and being punished for it. It goes without saying the Emperor's temper was pretty high at this point and one was likely to be executed or atleast lose significant status for such ventures if they did not pan out. As the war against the rebels intensified in western and central China, the Qing began to make more noise in Liaodong. Ningyuan remained a thorn in Hung Taiji's side, alongside Songshan and Jinzhou for over a decade now. Since early 1640, the Qing began setting up military farms in preparation for future attacks on Ming territory. The Joseon dynasty was now also helping the war effort by sending food supplies by ship to Xiaolinghe and Dalinghe. Many war plans were brought to Hung by his commanders, and eventually one would be approved. The plan was to capture Songshan and Jinzhou which were thought to be the key to take Shanhaiguan. The war planners argued that previous raids had failed against Shonghan and Jinzhou because the Ming held Shanhai-son jin corridor, but if that was severed, the Qing could consolidate all Liaodong and then hit China proper. Now the Ming were not sitting by idle, they saw the Qing build up and knew a massive invasion was incoming. The Ming also rightfully deduced an attack would be made on Songshan and Jinzhou so both were heavily fortified and prepared for sieges.   The Qing first made their attack on Jinzhou in may of 1640. The Qing began to dig trenches around the city preparing for a very long siege. By March of 1641, Zu Dashous sent a messenger outside the walls of Jinzhou stating to the Qing forces “we've got enough food to last 2-3 years. It will be a long siege; will you be able to hold out that long to outlast us?”. The Qing replied “we aren't lifting the siege, whether it lasts 2-3 or even 4-5 years. How are you going to keep getting food?”. The back and forth talk seemed to unsettle the Ming's Mongol allies at Jinzhou who began to negotiate with the Qing separately. This drove Zu to panic somewhat and go out and strike up a battle with the Qing, but was beaten back into the city. The Qing began to hack their way through the first layers of the city defenses as the Ming continuously sent relief forces from Xingshan, but all were being ambushed and defeated. Then in April of 1641, the Qing assaulted the outpost of Chayeshan. The Qing bombarded it with large cannons and arquebuses. The soldiers and a small force of monks there fought back as best they could using spears, boulders and incendiaries. Soon the Qing overwhelmed the outpost with firepower and razed it to the ground. Then in May of 1641 the Ming engaged a Qing force just outside Xingshan led by Wu Sangui. Wu's force was outmaneuvered despite having a lot of cavalry and encircled by the Qing commanders Dodo and Jirgalang. The Ming lost a few thousand men and several commanders fled, only to then get caught up in another engagement around Liangmashan just a few miles from Jinzhou. At Liangmashan the Ming dug in and tried to bait a force of 3000 Qing into a fight, but the Qing did not take the bait. More fighting occurred outside various outposts and the Ming kept driving off Qing raiders who in turn would just wait until night time to hit walls with siege ladders. Songshan resisted a 37 day long siege under heavy Qing fire, until a Ming relief force arrived. The Qing were camped a few miles due east of Songshan and had to fend off multiple Ming strikes against them. It seemed all the outposts and major walled cities were managing to hold off the Qing. The Qing strategy of bombarding them and trying to draw them out into decisive battles in the field was not working. It seemed the Ming still enjoyed the edge when it came to firepower, but Ming scouts were sending concerning reports that the Qing were busy building a ton of weapon carts and ships at Shenyang. It was clear that a purely defensive war would not be enough. The Ming commanders began to analyze the situation and they discussed the importance of trying to force a decisive battle that might allow them to retake Liaodong. They believed if they could dictate the place and style of combat then they might stand a chance. The Ming also began to get reports that Korean ships were transporting Qing soldiers in the Bohai Gulf which raised the concern the Qing might sever their sea supply lines. This all accumulated into a major war planning session in april of 1641. The Ming commanders held a conference at Ningyuan and decided they needed to break the Qing encirclement of Songshan and Jinzhou. Wu Sangui would lead an initial attack followed up by Zu Dashou from Jinzhou. They ended up clashing with a Qing cavalry force of about 8000, sending the Qing fleeing with their superior cannons. The battle was embarrassing for the Qing, and the commander of the force, Jirgalang was replaced by Hung's brother Dorgon from that point on. It was also around this time the rebels armies had captured and killed the 2 Ming princes and Yang Sichang suicide. All the northeast outposts and cities were demanding further relief forces and supplies, but the Ming court decided to focus on the increasing rebel problem and thus the northeast would just have to rely on what had on hand.   In the summer of 1641, Hung renewed the efforts against Jinzhou and Songshan. The Qing erected their siege weapons, dug moats and trenches around the cities to thwart any relief or supply efforts and dispatched mobile forces to hit anyone outside walls. Chongzhen did not want to send any significant force against the Qing, believing by autumn the Qing would become weakened through attrition. The Emperor did not agree with this plan however and sent the Minister of War Chen Xinjia and Zhang Ruoqi to goad Chongzhen into action. Chen began attacking Chongzhen for what he argued was his lack of faith in the Ming forces. The same factionalism that had plagued the Ming for decades was soon going to force a catastrophe.    Meanwhile, since the death of Yang Sichang, the rebel leader Li Zicheng's ambitions were growing each day. He was now recognized as a charismatic leader and quite the military genius. The way in which he dealt with Prince Fu had gained him a lot of notoriety with the populace since he was handing out money and food. Li then gained the attention of some gentry, one notable one was named Li Yan. Li Yan joined Li and advised him “you must take capturing the hearts of all the people under heaven as the root. If you don't kill people, then you'll win their hearts”. This seems to have had a profound effect on Li as he began to do just that. Li also began a program of making popular slogans for his rebel movement, one went like this “Kill your oxen and sheep. And prepare your wine and spirits.Open your gates and welcome the Dashing Prince. When the Dashing Prince comes. You won't be paying taxes”. A man after my own heart and wallet, if I must say. Shortly after Li Zicheng began changing how his force rebelled, more gentry joined him such as Niu Jinxing and a midget sorcerer named Song Xiance. Yes a Midget sorcerer. Song Xiance was a native of Guide in Henan. He walked with a limp because of a bad right foot and was known by locals as Son the Child. His reputation as a sorcerer came from the fact he went around telling fortunes and casting divinations, which was something seen throughout Chinese history for midgets. Well one of these fortunes he told was that of Li Zicheng who he predicted would have his 18th grandson assuming the imperial throne and that his name would also be Li. So as Li Zicheng enjoyed popular support and expanded his movement, other rebel leaders continued to rampage throughout western and central China. Widespread famine and more people resorting to cannibalism swelled the rebel armies ranks. The situation dramatically changed in august of 1641 when Luo Rucai broke off from Zhang Xianzhong and joined up with Li Zicheng in Henan. Alongside Luo other smaller rebel leaders also joined Li and Li took this newfound force to attack Xincai along the Henan - Nan Zhili border. The commander at Xincai was Fu Zonlong who managed to beat back the rebels with cannons, but the rebel hoards kept coming. Fu then sent word to He Renlong and Li Quoqi asking the 2 commanders for help, but both complained it was not possible to cut through the rebel lines to get to Xincai. Li began to step up the siege and Fu's defenders were soon running low on food. It is alleged, Fu's forces were forced to eat the corpses of slain rebels. When the gunpowder ran out Fu had no other choice but to attack the rebels. Fu led 6000 men out at night to attack the rebels and managed to kill an estimated 1000 rebels before breaking out of the encirclement. They fled for their lives being chased by rebel forces and Fu was eventually captured. The rebels then tried to use Fu to open the gates of Xincai. When he was marched in front of the gate he screamed out “I am the commander of Shaanxi and though I have fallen into rebel hands and there are rebels on all sides of me, I will never serve you. I am a high official. If you wish to kill me, then kill me. How can I not sacrifice my life rather than help you bandits deceive those in the city?”. With all of that said, the rebels beat him to the ground, cut off his nose and Fu would die from his wounds, Xincai would soon after.   Zuo Liangyu would attack Li and Luo's force, driving them in the direction of Henan. From there the rebels would target Nanyang in November of 1641. Nanyang was defended by Meng Ruhu who died trying to defend the city. When Nanyang fell, Li burnt down the residence of Prince Tang furthering his personal war against the Ming monarchy. After this Li began to occupy towns in southwestern Henan much to the dismay of the Ming Court. The Ming Court appointed Sun Chuanting straight out of jail, to be the new Supreme Commander of the 3 Frontiers. By the way I have not made much mention of it, but so many officials were jailed for failing their jobs, only to later be reappointed to that same job or another job and taken out of jail, it really was chaotic.    At this time the Ming official Wang Qiaonian decided to attack Xiangcheng in central Henan which had recently fallen to rebels. Wang led 10,000 well trained troops to take the city and found it relatively undefended, little did he know the rebels had moved on early. Unfortunately, once the rebels heard of Wang taking Xiangcheng they soon returned and surrounded the city. Wang along with many of his men would be killed in street fighting over the city. Zhang Xianzhong made an assault on Shucheng in southwestern Nan Zhili in march of 1642 which fell quite easily after a 3 day siege. Zhang changed the city's name to Desheng meaning “attained victory”. Over the next few months, Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai continued to raise hell in Henan, he rebel forces were rotting the Ming Dynasty to its core.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  The Ming dynasty was like a roast beef rotting from the inside while being carved up from the outside. Droughts, famines and terrible administration led so many starving and wartorn peasants to join rebel groups and now Li Zicheng emerged the largest rebel leader amongst others who now held entire armies at their command. Yang Sichang began the disastrous “ten sided net plan” which resulted in many victories over the rebels, but at terrible costs. The more the Ming allocated resources towards quelling the rebels in the northwest and center of China, the weaker their northeastern frontier became, ripe for the plucking for Hung Taiji. Now Hung focused his attention on long term sieges of major Ming held fortresses outside the Great Walls, but once those fell he could attack China proper.   

Last time we spoke, Xiong Tingbi had created a grand defensive strategy that paved the way for the defeat of the Jin invaders. However he was soon impeached and executed, a victim to his rivals in the Ming Court. Despite this his defensive strategy would live on with the appointment of Sun Chengzong. We also talked about the rise of the Sea King Mao Wenlong and how his crazy antics impressed the Ming Court. Yet something was not right about Mao Wenlong's victories, they simply did not add up. Then at the last hour when all hope seemed to be lost for the lonesome commander, Yuan Chonghuan at the fortress of Ningyuan a miracle happened. The cannon expert managed to not only defeat the Jin invaders at Ningyuan, he also managed to kill the great Khan Nurhaci. With the death of Nurhaci, what will the Jin empire do next? Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. This episode is Wrath of Hung    In the wake of Nurhaci's death, his son Hung Taiji became the new Khan of the Jin Empire. Hung faced many rivals amongst his own relatives when he took power. Interestingly enough Hung began his Khanhood by flirting with some peace talks with the Ming. Hung laid out 2 conditions for peace, the first that the Ming should send tribute to the Jin, the second that a border be fixed at Shanhaiguan. In return the Jin would also send the Ming tributary gifts, thus the Jin would be below the Ming Emperor, but above the Ming officials, honestly a fair arrangement. Emperor Tianqi warned his officials not to enter peace talks lightly, but did seem to heed to offers. Now historians think Hung was perhaps doing all of this merely to raise his own authority in the grander scheme of things. To talk the way he was to the Ming Dynasty really elevated the status of the Jin. Another major reason historians argue as to why Hung began these peace talks was to buy time for a new operation. Somewhat as a result of the Sea King Mao's ventures, raiding on the Bohai coast drew attention to the unfortunate land due south east of it, Korea. Hung chose to invade Korea to secure his flank for anticipated attacks on the western Ming front. The Ming held an overwhelming advantage in resources and some of those resources such as food came from Korea. By defeating Korea, Hung could extract tribute, such as much needed food supplies from the koreas and stop it from getting into the Ming's hands. The Korean's for their part were aiding and abetting the sea king Mao by shielding many of his raiders within Korea. Though they did this begrudgingly might I add as they did not trust Mao.   The Jin sent 30,000 troops over the Korean border in 1627 easily overrunning the border towns. When they advanced on Uiji, Mao fled into the Bohai gulf with some of his forces. Soon the Jin captured Anju, Pyongyang and were quickly crossing the Taedong River. The battle for Anju was very intense and when the defenders knew they were going to be beaten they allegedly blew themselves up with gunpowder. As soon as the word got out of the invasion, the Ming dispatched a relief force to help the Koreans. Meanwhile the royal family of Korea fled to Kanghwa island and tried desperately to bribe the Jin to stop. Hung was amenable to this and left only 1000 Jurchen and 200 Mongols at Uiji and 300 Jurchen and 1000 Mongos at the Fortress of Zhenjiang, allegedly to guard against raids by Mao. After this point, the Joseon Dynasty now had a tributary relationship under the Jin state. The relationship was that of an older brother and younger brother unlike the Ming-Joseon tributary relationship which was more like that of a father and son. Hung also pressed the king of Korea to stop trade with the Ming. Meanwhile Yuan Chonghuan was impeached at once because many in the Ming Court perceived him to have been duped by the Jin when entering into peace talks, while the Jin were simply biding time to invade Korea.    Hung next struck out at Jinzhou not too far away from the island of Juehua. Hung led 40,000 troops against the city which held 30,000 defenders under the commander Zhao Shuaijiao. Emperor Tianqi immediately ordered a relief force of 30,000 to rush to its aid as Hung's army began their siege. The Jin scaled the walls of Jinzhou with siege ladders as the defenders rained arrows, rocks and cannonfire upon them. The battle raged for over 12 hours until the Jin pulled back to their camp. Zhao allegedly shouted out over the walls “You can keep attacking the city but we're not coming out!”. Enraged, Hung would continue the attacks upon the city for several days, but it did not fall. Hung in frustration took some of his forces back to probe nearby Ningyuan where there was an advancing Ming column out in the open field. The Ming column attacked the Jin as the wall cannons of Ningyuan aided them, forcing the Jin to flee back to their camp beside Jinzhou. Despite this the Ming did not come over to his camp, thus Hung resumed the attack on Jinzhou despite the advice to not do so by some of his sub commanders and for his efforts the Jin received thousands of casualties. Hung in frustration simply continued to attack Jinzhou, now from a different side of the walls. The Jin corpses began to pile up and finally Hung gave the orders to retreat after losing 2-3 thousand men. The battle became known as the Great Ming victory of Ning-jin. Hung learnt a painful but valuable lesson from all of this.   Taking a look back at the situation in Korea, the Korean were very leery of the Jin, but also of Mao Wenlong whose adventurism got them into the terrible situation they were in. The Joseon Court was divided as to how best to deal with the Jin-Ming situation. Some thought Korea had no place in the Jin-Ming war, others argued the very preservation of the Joseon Dynasty was owed to the Ming. The Ming eventually installed a new King named Injo in Korea and began to twist his wrist to their side. They wanted Korea to cut off ties with the Jin and to adopt a more pro-Ming policy. This of course meant working with Mao Wenlong who they deeply distrusted. The Koreans continued to report that Mao was exaggerating his claimed fights against the Jin and was actually spending most of his time hiding on islands. They also lamented over Mao's army consuming a ton of Korean food rations while achieving little in return. Yet whenever they made these statements to the Ming court, Mao would also come along with some Jin heads to showcase his achievements. Still there were those in the Ming Court growing wary of Mao, theorizing he might be actually working with the Jin and planning to rebel against the Ming. Mao continued to demand more and more supplies from the Koreans to feed refugees fleeing from the Jin state, a process that had begun when Nurhaci died, quite a few inside the Jin territory fled. The Koreans acquiesced, handing over provisions, but Mao stated it was not enough. Mao then began to open up markets on his islands and offered to protect merchants willing to trade there. Then he attempted to produce his very own coinage with metals extracted from Korea. THENNN he asked the Joseon Court to make fewer tributary missions to the Ming and instead help build up his trade monopoly in the gulf. Well the Ming began to see the illicit trading going on. Then in 1627, Emperor Tianqi died and was succeeded by his younger brother, Zhu Youjian, becoming Emperor Chongzhen. When Chongzhen took the throne he felt he had 2 major problems: 1 the court needed a cleansing of the enormous power of the eunuchs and their supporters, 2 Liaodong needed to be pacified. His first act as emperor was to recall the Eunuch military inspectors from the frontiers. This led one of the Eunuchs favorite supportive commanders, Wei Zhongxian to believe he was soon going to be arrested soon and thus he hung himself. I have not stated it too much at this point, but a large issue that was growing was the dispatching of Eunuchs as military inspectors all around China. The Eunuchs began to be quite meddlesome and their authority kept growing. Then the emperor set about micromanaging everything and demanded his officials bring him all reports. It seemed from the offset, unlike his predecessor, this Emperor was going to be a very active ruler. But this would have an adverse affect. In his efforts to stop factionalism with the dynasty, the new Emperor who tried to control everything made it much harder for any policies to be implemented. In turn this actually contributed to making it more factional, as every sign of possible failure was pounced upon by enemy factions on another. The emperor also would have a bad tendency to execute competent officials for minor setbacks.    With the new emperor came the reappointment of Yuan Chonghuan as Censor in chief of the right. He was also given supreme command of military affairs in the northeast. Yuan proclaimed to the emperor that he could recover all of Liaodong in just 5 years time if they implemented his defensive strategy that he had been using before being impeached. He advocated that the people in the Jin state were starving and now fleeing as a result, the best course of action was to “use the people of Liaodong to defend Liaodong and the land of Liaodong to nourish the people”. While the Emperor fully endorsed his plans, Yuan would unfortunately only receive around 40% of the funding he asked for. Reduced funding was a problem everywhere in the frontier, many places faced multiple mutinies.   Upon his appointment Yuan first turned his attention to the sea king Mao, he wanted to evaluate the troops strength of Bohai so they could better coordinate their operations. Mao told him that he had 28,000 serviceable men, but not enough food supplies to support them. Now while Mao was telling Yuan this, Yuan was receiving reports from an informant with the Jin that Mao was secretly negotiating with them. Thus Yuan resolved to act decisively. Yuan began to funnel supplies through his own bases, curtailing Pidao, the stronghold of Mao. Now it is theorized Mao had been in secret talks with the Jin as early as 1622, but Nurhaci had died before any concrete agreements were made. Hung Taiji did not trust Mao and broke talks off when he launched his invasion into Korea. But after his setback in 1627 at Ningyuan, Hung Taiji realized he lacked the strength to fully engage the Ming and the Jin were also very low on food supplies, leading to many refugees fleeing to none other than Mao. So this led Hung to open up talks again with Mao, and by 1628 Mao was pretty fearful his charade with the Ming was in jeopardy. And he was certainly right about that, as Yuan finally resolved to pay Mao a personal visit bringing with him a significant contingent of loyal troops. Yuan met with Mao and asked him to relocate to a base closer to China proper rather than Korea and to coordinate operations with him. Mao protested against this stating it was important he kept near Korea to keep them in the fold, which was the very opposite of what he was actually doing. Now for a few days, Yuan would keep persisting to try and meet with Mao and ask him to come closer into the fold with him and other Ming officials, and Mao would continuously find reasons not to do so. Each day, Yuan would hand out gifts and rewards to Mao's soldiers. Then one day Yuan began asking Mao's officers their surnames and they kept answering “Mao”, which Yuan found very curious. He then asked them how they could complain about rations when they had been sent ample supplies from Ningyuan. He proceeded to ask where had all the supplies gone to, to which the men began to weep and bow before Yuan. Yuan then  berated Mao for squandering funds without overseeing all he had been entrusted with concluding “where has all the money we sent you from Ningyuan gone?”. Mao protested upon which Yuan said “You can till look me in the eye, but how can you resist the imposition of national law as imposed by the sagacious son of heaven as derived from heaven with brave martiality. “You were given the authority of a general. But now you, Mao Wenlong, have treacherously raised yourself to the level of a lord, amassed soldiers, siphoned off rations, slaughtered the refugees of Liaodong, despoiled Korea, harassed Denglai, carried out illicit commerce, looted and plundered commoners' boats, changed people's names, and violated the people's sons and daughters. These are the crimes for which you will be put to death.”. Mao pleaded for his life and Yuan turned to his commanders and asked them if they disagreed with the charges adding “if you don't think I should kill him, then you may come forward and kill me”. No man budged at this, and Yuan took up a double edged sword and decapitated Mao in front of them all stating “The punishment was only for Mao Wenlong. The rest of you have committed no crimes”. Then Yuan presided over a funeral for Mao stating “ “Yesterday I killed you by the order of the emperor; this was in accordance with the Court's law, but today I offer you oblations and this is in accordance with my own personal feelings.”. Thus ended the great sea king Mao Wenlong, who might I add was stealing all the limelight from Yuan's great achievement at Ningyuan. Yuan divided the 28,000 former troops of Mao into 4 wings, with 1 wing given to a son of Mao named Mao Chenglu. He disbursed money to all the soldiers making sure they were properly organized and paid. Yuan then set out to Korea to report to them his execution of Mao. While the Koreans shed no tears for the death of Mao, the man who had caused them some much trouble, many were concerned with what his death would mean for Korea.    Another problem loomed for the Ming dynasty was occurring in the northwest. Since 1627 a widespread drought had hit Shaanxi. Food prices skyrocketed, people began to starve and many fell into banditry. For the past 60 years or so, not a single year went by without at least 1 natural disaster occuring. To add insult to injury, because the Ming were so preoccupied with the Jin in the northeast, most funding and supplies also went there. Peasant rebellions began rising up, one under Wang Jiayin who assembled a large force of starving peasants to raid parts of the Great Wall. Soon army deserters joined the ranks and before long all of Shaanxi was falling into chaos. Wang Jiayin held some 5-6 thousand followers, one of them being Zhang Xianzhong, someone who would deeply impact the future. The Ming sent forces to quell the rebellion, but the rebels would simply flee into the mountains, and re-emerge later to raid more. The Ming eventually appointed Yang He as supreme commander of the 3 border regions of Shaanxi. He identified the key problems in the northwest to be 1) supply issues, 2) constant threat of Mongol raids and 3) dereliction of duty by local officials. His answer was to improve the administration and to try and pacify the rebels by encouraging them to surrender in exchange for food or agricultural opportunities. Meanwhile officials in other areas were simply employing Mongol allies to help smash rebel forces which did a lot to dissuade rebels from surrendering overall. Seeing the looming problem, the Emperor ordered famine relief to be sent to Shaanxi, but this would not stop the rebellions from springing up more and more. Eventually Yang He was impeached for his apparent too light of a touch approach and was replaced by Hong Chengchou.   Back to the warfront, in 1629 the Jin began an invasion of Da'ankou and Zunhua, bolstered by their Mongol allies. The Jin forces first captured Jizhou with the aid of Ming fifth columnists. The commander of Jizhou had his own men turn on him, trying to force him to surrender, he refused and his men soon were routed and he alongside them fell to the rain of arrows. Sun Chengzong was appointed Minister of War and given command of the armies at Tongzhou as Man Gui prepared a force of 5000 to face the Jin at Shunyi. Man's force were soon driven back towards Deshengmen. Hou Shilu's force was nearby and was routed, leaving Man on his own. Man enjoyed a lot of artillery support from the walls, but his forces were ironically hit by friendly fire and had to pull back within the cities walls losing over 40% of his troops, yikes. Now the Jin were a threat to Deshengmen, so Yuan Chonghuan turned his focus northeast, taking tons of forces from garrisons all over to drive the Jin away. Yuan's efforts won out and they did push the Jin back and now Yuan began to strengthen the defenses at the city. At Deshengmen the Jin re-commenced their attacks, managing to kill Man Gui and routed Zu Dashou's army who fled east. More Ming forces tried to push the Jin back around the Marco Polo Bridge but it was a disaster, the men routed yet again and many Ming commanders were captured. As more and more troops were plucked from the west to meet the invaders, a general panic began to emerge in the capital. Ming officials were being executed left right and center and many of the relief forces being sent to the northeast were looting Ming cities enroute to Beijing. Yongping fell to the Jin in 1930 and the Jin just kept coming. There were quite a few setbacks at this point, many fortresses managed to fight off the Jin. Hung Taiji sent some letters to Yuan Chongzhen trying to come to some terms, but received no replies. Hung eventually decided to take his forces back to Shenyang leaving behind some of his commanders to occupy the newly conquered cities. Now the Ming attempted to gather forces near Luanzhou and Yongping to launch a counter attack.   Yuan Chonghuan then was impeached, because it was believed by some in the Ming Court that he was secretly working with the Jin. Turns out Hung Taiji had leaked false information to Ming Court officials about him working with Yuan. It did not help Yuan's cause that he had recently executed the sea king, who was still loved by many officials. Also that friendly fire that hit the forces of Man Gui, was done by Yuan's forces, and they happened to also be rivals, so there was an air of conspiracy going around. Thus Yuan was tossed into jail while his forces were actually doing quite well by this point, driving the Jin back past the Great Wall. Eventually the Ming forces reached the fortress of Luanzhou in mid 1630 as the Jin tried to slow them down via diplomacy. The Ming forces brought with them heavy artillery and now it was the Jin desperately trying to hold onto a fortress while being besieged. The Jin utilized all the tactics they had seen the Ming use: tossing burning pots of oil, rocks and logs, using cannons, amongst other defenses. The Ming's artillery however was so fierce, the Jin knew they had to try something else. Thus a Jin forces came rushing out of the eastern gate trying to attack a force led by Zu Dashou, but they were met with intense crossbow fire and had to flee back into the city. The Jin were so low on ammunition, that allegedly they began to use severed heads as projectiles, eeek. Eventually it was incendiaries being lobbed over and fire arrows that smoked the Jin out of the city, who had to flee. In turn 4 more large walled cities and 12 fortresses were taken back by the Ming in 1630, with over 3300 Jin troops captured.   But by no means was the Jin excursion in any way a failure, they had plundered a considerable amount and the raiding had exposed many weaknesses in the Ming's ability to wage wage. For one thing, Hung Taiji's sneaky ploy against Yuan that got him impeached simply by sending false information, proved the Ming were quite incompetent and perhaps more efficient commanders could be taken off the board using similar tactics. In the wake of the invasion, for the Ming a debate began to brew as to how best to defend the capital if it came to that. One idea was to employ more Portuguese cannons, and in 1930 they would get their hands on 30 new ones from Goncalbo Teixeria Correa. However some in the Court were suspicious of the westerners and thought they might be working for the Jin. Regardless, a few Portuguese would end up training Ming forces in gunnery and how to create the cannons. One major supporter of utilizing the Portuguese knowledge and weaponry was Xu Guangqi who further proposed a new style brigade; outfitted with new wheeled wagons pulling cannons alongside a considerable specialized infantry gunnery force. The Ming also began to put pressure on the Bohai coast by putting to use their naval units to link up with their Korean allies. Their idea was to open up a new front by using coastal defenses, perhaps by mustering troops from Lushun and the many islands in the gulf.   Meanwhile the poor imprisoned Yuan Chonghuan was executed via dismemberment in the marketplace, and many saw him as a “fall guy” for the Jin excursions of 1630. As for the man he executed, Mao Wenlong had a long lasting effect on the Bohai region even after his death. It seemed now the gulf had become the focal point for Sino-Korea relations and joint military operations. The Jin took notice of this and realized the best way to prevent the two dynasties from cooperation would be to sever their communication/transport network. The Jin required legitimization of their state and a major component of that was to exact tribute from other places like Korea. Mao for his part brought so much bad attention to the Jin Korea border and after his death, his former forces continued to be a problem for the Ming. They continued to beg for supplies while doing little militarily in return. Then in late 1630, a revolt occurred on Pidao island led by Liu Xingzhi, to which the Ming tried to appease him and his forces by sending supplies, but the Jin were able to stop them from getting out of Lushun. Eventually the Ming did manage to get supplies to Liu Xingzhi and talked him down, but the underlying problem still loomed.    With the competent Yuan Chonghuan taken out of the picture and the Korean flank secured, Hung Tiaji now decided to hit the important fortress of Dalinghe. Dalinghe was the most forward Ming base in Liaodong and the largest threat to the Jin capital of Shenyang, yeah did I ever mention the capital was back at Shenyang? The Jin capital moves around a  lot hard to keep track of. Dalinghe had been heavily fortified, with 13, 800 troops as a garrison and many more on the way. Hung Taiji had intel, that the Ming were undergoing a massive construction project at Dalinghe to reinforce it even more and was eager to hit it before it became too well defended. Another large worry was that if Dalinghe was made impenetrable, it might entice the Ming-Joseon to consolidate more trade and resources into the region thus kicking the Jin out. In preparation for the attack, Hung created his first ever, entirely Han divisions, whom would eventually become the Han banners. Leading them was Tong Yangxing who was tasked with overseeing the construction of 40 Western style cannons. By 1631, Tong's efforts were greatly rewarded as he was given command over all Han under the Jin state. In July of 1631, Hung's army of 80,000 reached Dalinghe and began to construct a large network of siege weapons. Hung took to heart how his father Nurhaci had died at Ningyuan, knowing suicidal frontal assaults were no longer the way to go about things. Hung's siege weapons were soon set upon the Ming defensive towers. Tong's oversaw the red cannons: Ie: western style cannons, as they would smash Dalinghe's most vulnerable posts. Meanwhile Hung took some forces to Jinzhou to guard against Ming relief forces. The Jin siege weapons devastated the outlying defense towers in under a week. One of the commanders of Dalinghe, Zu Dashou led a couple of sorties, inflicting considerable casualties but being forced back into the city each time. When some Ming relief forces showed up, Tong's red cannon force defeated 2 small armies at Songshan and Jinzhou. Hung also defeated a relief army later on at Jinzhou. Now Hung needed to try something to get the Dalinghe defenders to come out, so he began circulating false reports of Ming relief forces being on the way and requiring their assistance. Zu Dashou fell for this ploy and came out, and was immediately ambushed but managed to crawl back into the city. Another relief force of 40,000 tried to help the city in August, but were easily turned back at Changshan.    The siege would enter a new phase when Hung began sending letters to Zu Dashou trying to get him to defect. In one letter Hung said “Who does not desire peace but rather wished for war? Now that our peace talks have been severed, I want to strengthen my state, to extend happiness and prosperity; this is my wish. If the general believes I am sincere, please send a reply”. Well Zu Dashou replied he would die in defense of Dalinghe, buuuuut that he also feared for the safety of his family should the city fall. This prompted Hung to pledge he would not kill anyone stating “the slaughter of people in Liaodong happened during Nurhaci's reign but we are different. In my state we make use of soldiers. Those who should be punished are punished. Those who can be of use are employed. As some can tell you, my kindness is great. For those who submit you can rest assured that my kines will be extended”. Rations in Dalinghe were running out, so much aso that people began to eat horses and then if its to be believed resorted to cannibalism as well. Meanwhile Beijing was wondering what was happening, while those in Dalinghe wondered why no relief forces were showing up. The situation was hopeless and Zu Dashou surrendered.   The people within Dalinghe had suffered 80 days of starvation, it is estimated 11,632 people were left alive when it was captured. In exchange for his life and his families, Zu pledged allegiance to Hung and would assist him in taking Jinzhou and Songshan. Zu Dashou was showered with gifts and even shared wine with Hung as they planned their attack on Jinzhou. Zu Dashou's plan was that he alongside 350 men would go on ahead pretending to be refugees to get inside Jinzhou and open the gates for Hung. As you might have guessed,  instead Zu Dashou rejoined the Ming and requested a dismissal from his post for failing at Dalinghe. So he pulled a fast one on Hung to save his family and men from death. Despite that, Hung had acquired a lot of firearms at Dalinghe which accelerated their growing firearms program. Hung told Tong to manufacture as many new cannons as possible, stating “even 1 hundred cannon were not too many and even 100,000 catties of gunpowder was still too little”. The Jin cannon industry secretly began to flourish under the oversight of Tong, though he would die in 1632 and be succeeded by Shi Tingzhu, another Ming defector.    With the firearms program being built, Hung also began to develop his army structure more. He organized a left and right wing led by Ming defectors, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming. The story of how both these Ming defected will be told shortly as they are key players. Both these men had convinced Hung to create Han banners to augment his army and thus these forces they commanded became artillery wings, expanded into 4 units which eventually evolved to become the Han banner of the 8 banner army.    Meanwhile the Ming Court was quite dismayed by the loss of Dalinghe. Yuan Chongzhen advised constructing more defenses and reinforcing the northeast to prevent further Jin incursions. But a problem was brewing from within yet again. A rebellion had emerged under the leadership of a man named Luo Rucai in the northwest and a subordinate of the late Mao Wenlong named Kong Youde was performing a mutiny.    As I mentioned previously, the revolt on Pidao under Liu Xingzhi was somewhat quelled, but not extinguished. When Mao was executed, all of his former men began to factionalize, despite the efforts of Ming officials to wrangle them into the fold. Many of Mao's subordinate officers were given command of the forces, but none of them panned out. All the former commanders under Mao fought to take control of the force while simultaneously struggling to get supplies from the Ming/Joseon/ or even Jin. The Ming tried to transfer many of these commanders around to thwart the mutinies, one man they moved to Shandong was Kong Youde. Kong ended up commanding one of the relief forces sent to help Dalinghe. The force he was given was undersupplied and not at all happy about. Thus enroute to Dalinghe, they looted Ming towns and soon a mutiny had sprung up. The mutineers turned their attention to the port of Dengzhou and Laizhou in January of 1632. Kong's small force of men enjoyed some success as they had a good amount of firearms, thus they were able to plunder parts of Shandong. Soon the mutineers were a full on rebel group fighting off Ming forces and were working with Mao Chenglu, a son of the sea king who had forces on some islands in Bohai. Kong began to siege Dengzhou and Laizhou while his force of 15,000 rebels simultaneously fanned out to plunder Shandong. The Ming dispatched commanders to stamp out Kong's rebellion, but Kong had access to the sea which allowed his forces to fight off quite a lot of Ming armies. Kong eventually managed to take Dengzhou and deceived the commander of Laizhou to come out and negotiate with him, where he promptly assassinated him. This prompted Yuan Chongzhen to enact a policy of extermination against Kong's rebellion. Relief armies rallied up at Changyi and advanced on the rebels at Dengzhou smashing an army that was outside the city there. Parts of the relief army then marched on the rebels besieging Laizhou, prompting Kong to lead 3000 men out of Dengzhou to try and save them. Kong's force was then caught between the defending forces at Laizhou and the relief army, forces to abandon a lot of their weapons and retreat back to Dengzhou. Kong's forces tried to fight in the field again, but a decisive battle was won by the Ming at Baima where they killed 13,000 rebels. Now the Ming surrounded and besieged Dengzhou, but Dengzhou was also a port and the Ming had trouble naval blockading it, as Kong had friends helping him in the Bohai gulf. Regardless, Kong's forces held out for 4 months and resorted to cannibalism. Kong planned a breakout, but was caught in an ambush and forced back to Dengzhou in December. This prompted Kong to try and flee via the sea in February of 1633. The Ming pressed on trying to capture islands in the gulf and capture Kong, but he kept evading them. Eventually Kong and one of his fellow commanders Geng Zhongming defected to the Jin. Kong was made a marshal and Geng a commander. Yuan Chongzhen hailed all of this to be a major victory for the Ming, they had quelled a rebellion successfully, however the other side of the coin was that Kong and Geng would be vital to the expanding of the Jin. Hung Taiji took his 2 new allies and had them help him retake the port city of Lushun. Kong and Geng advised Hung that he should attack Lushun with a joint land-sea operation, which would be a first for the Jin. Thus in 1634, the Jin hit Lushun from the land, being repulsed by Lushun formidable cannons, but soon the Ming defenders ran low on ammunition. Then attacks came from the sea and with the simultaneous fronts battering the city, Lushun fell. Now the Jin held a strategic port and could use it to root out Ming power in the Bohai gulf. Hung followed this up by sending a letter to Pidao trying to get its commander to defect.   Meanwhile in the northwest, the successor to Yang He, Hong Chengchou set to work thwarting growing rebellions. Hong proved to have a much firmer hand than He and scored repeated victories over bandits in the early years of his appointment. Hong dished out bonuses to soldiers based on the number of bandits killed which as you would imagine resulted in the slaughter of many bandits as well as commoners. Despite Hong's efforts, by late 1631 there were an estimated 200,000 bandits still at large, then the following year it would grow to be 300,000 in Shanxi alone. 3 rebellion leaders would emerge here who would play major roles for the next 15 years, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and Lao Huihui. In 1632, the Ming Court dispatched the censor, Wu Sheng to investigate the situation in Shaanxi. Wu reported the problem to be starvation and privation. Many commanders were reduced to eating grass and bandit leaders were strolling around with official Ming seals of authority to which he referred to them as “official bandits”. Basically it was bandits who were pacified by the late Yang He who were continuing banditry but under the guise they were changed men. Wu advised the emperor to enact a campaign of extermination and that's just what he did. 200, 000 taels were allocated to help agriculture and sooth the starvation and edits were made that all rebels would be henceforth exterminated. A major issue for the Ming was that the bandits were increasingly enlisting in the Ming military as soon as they had nowhere to plunder. Then after a while in the army, they would desert and return to banditry. This turned into a vicious cycle where the bandits would take advantage of the military troop transfers, to find new regions to plunder, particularly the Liaodong frontier. To make matters so much worse, most of these bandits knew another and were able to form larger rebellions all over the place. Rebels began to hit major cities, and when Ming armies came after them they would simply flee into the countryside. In turn pursuing the rebels left more cities vulnerable to attack.    In mid 1634, Hung Taiji resumed his invasion of China. This time his forces went through Mongolia with his Mongol allies by his side. They advanced in 4 wings towards Shouzhou, Xuanfu, Datong and the Yellow River. The primary purpose of the assaults was to test Ming readiness and continue to chip away at the morale of the local populaces, exposing the Ming's inability to protect its subjects. Over the course of 50 days, dozens of Ming fortresses and towns were attacked with various degrees of success. While they performed these operations they sent word to the Ming that they were simply trying to earn recognition as an equal neighboring state, but received no replies. Some officials did reply to the Jin however and this led the Emperor to fall into a state of paranoia that his dynasty was full of traitors. Thus more officials were exiled or executed by the end of 1634. A lot of the time it was Ming officials simplifying trying to opt out rivals that led to this. As bad as things were getting for the Ming, they did manage to grab a few victories and this led them to believe if properly outfitted and led, they could stand up to the Jin threat, especially if it was them dictating the circumstances of battles. But the Ming were hampered by lack of troops, lack of training and lack of supplies, the usual.    Beginning in 1635, Hung Taiji began the practice of designating the Jurchen peoples as the Manchu, forbidding the term Jurchen. The origin of the term “Manchu” is still argued to this day. Some believe the term arose from the word for “river”, others say it is linked to efforts made by Hung to venerate his father, who claimed to be the reincarnation of the bodhisattva Manjusri. That one in effect may have been an effort by Hung to establish himself as a multi ethnic ruler. Regardless, calling themselves Manchu imbued a sense of unity and significantly departed from the past. It also provided a sort of mythos, or ancient identity befitting a state. Hung  purged Daisan, who he saw as a rival amongst the Jurchen nobles. Hung then had a major victory over the Great Khan Ligdan, leader of the Chahar Mongols, making himself the heir to the Chinggisid line. While he consolidated his inner circle, Hung saw his peace talks with the Ming not coming to fruition and resolved yet again, to invade the Ming. But what was different now, was Hung was now in a position to challenge the Ming on a whole new level, he was about to adopt a dynastic name. He chose the term Qing, meaning “pure” and sent the message to the King of Korea, Injo in early 1636, requesting recognition of the new state. The Joseon dynasty refused to meet with the Qing envoy's. On top of this the Joseon dynasty was supplying the Ming with rice and other supplies, despite previous agreements with the Jin to not do so. Hung was furious and mobilized an invasion force. But instead of attacking Korea outright, he instead sent investigators to find out why they would not recognize his state and in the meantime set out to attack the Ming. The attack was led by Hung's brother Ajige and this time they hit Shanxi, razing towns west of its capital. There was a ton of back and forth, but by August, the Manchu's were driven back east, by a commander named Lu Xiangsheng. Lu was promoted to supreme commander of both Xuanda and Shaanxi and soon recovered many lost towns to the Manchu. Still the Manchu forces got as close as the Marco Polo Bridge and began probing attacks on Shanhaiguan, but were repulsed. The Emperor freaked out, demanding to know from his officials how the Manchu had got so close to Beijing. For the Qing, it was like any other raid they had made countless times over the years. They acquired plentiful booty and further weakened their rival. Now Hung could turn his attention to the pesky koreans.    The second invasion of Korea would be much bloodier than the first. To prevent the Ming from sending aid, Ajige and other Qing commanders were sent a month ahead to secure the coastal approaches to Korea. In december of 1636 the invasion commenced and Hung went to Zhenjiang to personally direct operations. The Qing commanders, Dorgon, a brother to Hung and Haoge led Mongol wings that swept in towards Seoul. The invasion was quick and overwhelmed the guards of the Joseon capital. Dorgon's wing defeated 15,000 troops sending other Korean armies to flee. Kong Youde who was now made Prince Gongshun since the creation of the Qing struck out by sea against Kanghwa island and Pidao. The Qing now boasted 70 ships commanded by countless Ming and Joseon defectors hitting the islands with cannon barrages. The Ming lost an estimated 10,000 men trying to defend Pidao. The Joseon King fled to the mountain fortress of Namhan, trying to order his armies into battle as the Qing ransacked Seoul. More and more Korean armies tried to repel the invaders, but to no avail. Soon the Qing forces were setting up a siege of Namhan, when the King began to make peace talks. In the meantime Dorgon had captured the Kings concubines and children from Kanghwa island and displayed them before the army. The Qing used this to threaten the King to capitulate if he wished to save his family. King Injo relented and sent a minister to surrender at the Han River. King Injo sent a son to the Qing as a hostage and turned over his Ming seals of investiture. Hung stated to the Koreans, henceforth their relationship would be that of elder and younger brothers. The Koreans were ordered to now submit tribute as they had done for the Ming, but now to the Qing. They were also ordered to provide boats for the Qing war effort, which was to be a real game changer. In turn the Qing would not harm or loot the subjects of the Joseon dynasty. Now the Ming had lost this important vassal and the Qing had secured their flank and acquired a much needed new source of war supplies. The Qing dynasty was emerging with a real bang.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  With Nurhaci's death at the legendary battle of Ningyuan, now Hung Taiji was the great Khan. The pesky Sea King Mao Wenlong proved to be faking much of his famed achievements and may have been a turn coat to boot. Yuan Chonghuan got his chance to take out Mao and take his turn in the sunlight unmolested by his rival anymore,  but would ironically fall victim to being called a turn coat himself and be executed. As the Ming lost more and more competent commanders, a new problem emerged and it was internal rather than external. Peasant bandits were spreading in Shaanxi and full on rebellions were soon emerging. Hung Taiji got his hands on some very useful Ming defectors and the military underwent numerous upgrades. Hung Taiji proclaimed his people to be the Manchu under the new Qing dynasty as he defeated all of Korea forcing their tribute to go to the Qing rather than the Ming. Now Hung set his eyes on trying out his new toys upon the Ming.   

Last time we spoke, the Yuan Dynasty lost their hold over China as a result of famines and a rebellion led by Zhu Yuanzhang that eventually toppled them. Now the Ming Dynasty stood as a marvel to the world achieving great wonders, but how long would it prosper? The Ming Dynasty's first Emperors began their reign hampered by paranoia, leading to bloodshed. Eventually it seemed all was going well for the new Dynasty, but then an external threat came to the door in the form of Japan. The Imjin War of 1592-1598 saw the Ming Dynasty quelling the Japanese challenge at their status as the supreme military power in East Asia, but it also weakened them, opened the door for the Jurchen Chieftain Nurhaci to establish a new state and wage war upon them. Now Nurhaci had won a great victory over 4 Ming armies, what would he do next and how would the Ming stop him? Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   This episode is the Ming strike back  After Nurhaci had shocked the Ming Court by defeating the 4 armies they sent to destroy him, they now realized they required bigger actions. The Ming Court appointed Xiong Tingbi as “Jinglue” the Military Affairs Commissioner of Liaodong. Xiong was a veteran, a very skilled commander, an intelligent negotiator and interestingly an ambidextrous archer. He was one of the very few Ming officials who had both civil and military skills. Xiong began his work by taking an account of his forces and the enemy. There was supposed to be roughly 180,000 Ming soldiers in the region, but Xiong's personal inspectors found only 90,000 and of which many were unfit for war. Xiong estimated Nurhaci to have around 100,000 men, so this prompted him to request 1.2 million taels of silver from the Ministry Revenue to pump up the Liaodong defense. This soon escalated into a back and forth situation, prompting Xiong to argue that the bureaucrats were not investing enough funds to actually put up a real defense of Liaodong. In the end the Ministers of War and Revenue coughed up around half what he asked for. This would be a recurring theme until the end of the Ming dynasty.    Xiong's strategy was to establish extremely stout defenses instead of sending large forces out in the field to face the Jin. He also sought to “sooth the hearts and minds of the people”, emphasizing a psychological aspect of the war. What was meant by this was that Xiong was displaying to the Emperor that they needed the people of Liao to know they were valued subjects, because too many were becoming unhappy and as a result defected to the Jin. Xiong also realized having failed to secure enough funds he needed to find his own and thus they would “use the people of Liao to defend Liao and by using the resources of Liao to support Liao”.   Xiong realized the only real avantage the Ming held over the Jin, was that of firepower. Thus Xiong wanted to formulate his defensive plans based around taking advantage of that. He quickly began using the funds to build up the moats and walls for the fortresses, build cannons and firearms and paid for the relocation of over 180,000 additional troops from other regions to defend a southern line between Fushun and Fort Zhenjiang. He also built up a system of beacons and watch towers which provided communication and coordination for the defensive efforts, cant help but visualize the beacons of Gondor haha.   Xiong's defensive strategy was to not meet the Jin in the open field and allow them to fall upon his fortifications. Thus he would not ride out to meet the invaders, but bide time and gradually recover lost territory through attrition. This would all start from Fushun and Qinghe, he also hoped to eventually gain some assistance from Mongols in the north and Koreans from the east thereby forcing the Jin into a multi front war. Xiong perceived Shenyang to have land too open and thus too difficult to defend so he argued against fortifying it much. This gave fuel to other rival officials to criticize him for this, stating he was simply abandoning it. Unsurprisingly given the Ming political climate, Xiong's plans were attacked by many officials. One of the largest critics was Yang Sichang who said it was too difficult to fund and transport many of the troops Xiong wanted and that this would lead to heavy tax hikes and burdens for the commoners. Then as more territory fell to the Jin, Yang criticized Xiong's strategy stating “who even dares to stand up to the enemy. If good rewards are bestowed, then certainly there will be bravery”. It seemed unlike many of his colleagues, Xiong understood the Ming could win a defensive war by not trying to meet the enemy on the field. In fact once he began his defensive campaign, the Jin attacks decreased somewhat.   Xiong would end up serving around a year with the full backing of Emperor Wanli who personally liked him, until he died on August 18th of 1620. At the end of his life, Emperor Wanli blamed the civil and military officials' inability to cooperate for the debacle in Liaodong. With the passing of Emperor Wanli, very little moments of military glory would befall the Ming's future.  Emperor Wanli was succeeded by Emperor Taichang who died barely a month into his term of possibly dysentery and was succeeded by Emperor Tianqi. As the transition process between the emperors was carrying on, many officials who had grievances against Xiong began to make their moves. They began to berate the high costs of his defenses, slandered his accomplishments and accused Xiong of losing territory and being a coward. An impeachment process began against Xiong and he did not want to face even worse scrutiny that could possibly lead to dire consequences so he quit his job. The position of Military Affairs Commissioner for Liaodong fell to Yang Sichang, one of the main officials slandering him; this also would become a recurring theme. A man named Yuan Yingtai was made Minister of War and Commissioner of Liao affairs. When Emperor Tianqi taking the throne and with Xiong out of the picture, suddenly the decision to reinforce Shenyang was made. As you might remember, Xiong thought it was not a good place to establish defenses. Yuan Yingtai was confident he could take more aggressive actions unlike his predecessor. He also sought to bolster the Ming strength with Mongol allies whom he personally trusted more than the inhabitants of Liaodong. You see, as a result Han defectors because of the Jin attacks, and just because of general history, the people of Liaodong were perceived by many to be somewhat untrustworthy. Thus he began promising several Mongol chieftains monetary rewards in exchange for their aid. Some of Yuan's colleagues feared what would happen with all the Mongols after they defeated the Jin stating “it was like opening the chicken coop to welcome the wolf and the tiger”. Despite all the worry Yuan persuaded the new Emperor to give 3 million taels to begin hiring Mongols, though much like in all aspects of the Ming dynasty at this point, the logistics of that money being dispursed properly by local officials was going to have issues.   Nurhaci's forces invaded the Liaodong region in the February of 1621 commencing with a siege against the fortress of Fengjibao due east of Shenyang. The forts defenses were commanded by General Li Bingchen and the cannons along its walls proved to be quite deadly, so Nurhaci took the easy route and simply surrounded the fortress at a safe distance waiting to starve them out. Eventually Li Bingchen alongside 200 soldiers came out and engaged the nearest Jin force managing to inflict some casualties, then they ran for their lives back to the fort as the Jin forces chased after them. During the chase, 1 Jin officer was killed by cannon fire, so Nurhaci pulled back the men to safety. The next day, Li Bingchen came out, but this time with 2000 men trying to engage the Jin. This time they were absolutely broken by the Jin and scattered in defeat, Li Bingchen himself was forced to flee away,  and so the fortress was taken. Now the path to Shenyang was wide open. It is somewhat ironic to note, the removal of the defensive Xiong Tingbi and the appointment of the more aggressive Yuan Yingtai was what really facilitated Nurhaci's attacks on Liaoyang and soon Shenyang. If you recall, Xiong did not want to defend Shenyang, deeming it indefensible. Yuan Yingtai did not share this view.   After taking Fengjibao, Nurhacis army continued its march towards Shenyang, but he wanted to hit the city before winter had broken. Nurhaci's scouts reported to him that Shenyang was quite heavily fortified with many cannons and firearms. Not wanting to needlessly sacrifice men, Nurhaci opted to establish a base camp on the banks of the Hun River and ordered his men to conduct raids and pillage the surrounding area to push the Shenyang defenders to sortie against them in the open field. There were 2 major commanders at Shenyang, He Shixian and You Shigong. Well Nurhaci's raiding proved to be successful, as He Shixian, suddenly came rushing out with 1000 soldiers to attack a smaller Jin raiding party and allegedly he was quite drunk as well.    They were quickly surrounded and forced to try and fight their way back to the west gate of Shenyang. Many of He Shixian's men desperately urged him to flee to Liaoyang and to this he apparently said “How can I as the General not remain to defend the City?”. You Shigong saw He Shixian's plight as he and his forces tried desperately to reach the west gate. Thus You Shigong tried to come out with his own force to save him, but He Shixian by that point had taken 4 arrows into his back and died. You Shigong's forces were then surrounded and completely annihilated. Nurhaci's men then scaled the walls of the city using siege ladders. As they were scaling the walls however a Ming relief column commanded by Chen Ce was spotted around the Hun River, so Nurhaci personally led some Banner men to attack them. Chen Ce's heavy armored Pike infantry tried to make a solid formation against the Jin cavalry, but were outflanked and pushed right into the Hun River, many drowning in their heavy armor. Another relief column showed up behind them and engaged a force of 200 Jin which were quickly pulled back. Nurhaci then rallied them alongside his son Daisan and killed possibly 3000 of the Ming forces as they chased them out of the area.   Shenyang's morale broke upon seeing their presumed rescuers all fail and soon the Jin captured the city. After hearing that Shenyang had fallen, a Ming army of 50,000 was set to besiege and recapture the city. Scouts brought news of this to Nurhaci who stated that they must keep the momentum going, so he grabbed his bannerman and rushed out to confront the Ming force on the open field before they could set up their entrenchments around Shenyang. The Ming army was taken by surprise and only able to position their guns and fire a few times before the Jin cavalry was upon them. Nurhaci's men made a pincer attack forcing the Ming to rout. Nurhaci would  further this up, by simultaneously attacking and defeating yet another relief force dispatched from Liaoyang. The battle was quite significant as it marked the first time that Nurhaci had captured a significant walled city. All the previous victories were smaller fortresses and market towns. Capturing Shenyang was a huge achievement not by its lonesome, it also meant the Jin had a springboard to capture Liaoyang and perhaps control the whole region now. Liaoyang at this point was considered the lynchpin of Ming defenses, it had been heavily fortified with heavy firearms on its walls and an abundant garrison. Nurhaci was also given word that Yuan Yingtai's headquarters were located at Liaoyang.   Thus Nurhaci's force immediately began to march upon Liaoyang and camped a couple miles outside the walled city. They began their siege of the city by cutting off its main water supply, sapping the eastern wall of the city and constructing siege weapons. Nurhaci also suspected relief armies would soon embark to assist Liaoyang, so he tasked 4 banners to intercept any that might try. Once the Ming defenders saw the siege weapons being constructed, this prompted them to send out a force of 30,000 troops who quickly set up their own lines and fired guns and catapults upon the invaders. The Ming defector and now commander, Li Yongfang utilized his own cannons upon the Ming force drawing their attention while a smaller Jin force snuck around them. That Jin force then made a desperate attack upon the bridge leading into the walled city under heavy Ming cannonfire. They were able to take the Wujing Gate and cut down the bridge severing the 30,000 strong Ming force outside. The Ming desperately tried to flee back into the city realizing they had been cut off, but now the invaders were charging on their heels pushing them into the cities moat, the very moat that was supposed to protect them! It is said quote “the defenders corpses eventually piled up so much within the moat that the water turned crimson red”. The Jin forces then began to employ floating bridges across the moat. A relief corps from Shandong arrived to the scene, but the 4 Banner's dispatched just for the possibility were able to turn them back. Meanwhile the wall defenders rained fire arrows and pots full of fiery substances, but it would be to no avail as 2 walls soon crumbled. As the walls fell, the defenders began to panic and tried to flee only to come face to face with more Jin attackers and be pushed back to die within the moats. From the first day of the siege, Yuan Yingtai personally led the troops. To his despair, a Jin cannon had managed to hit the Ming Powder stores, which took out a vast amount of their supply. To add insult to injury, the Mongol allies they had within the city were plundering it instead of aiding in the defense. Yuan Yingtai was standing in a tower watching the destruction fall before him. Once he say the banner troops breach the walls he lit his watch tower on fire committing suicide. It is alleged before he did this, he welcomed the invaders waving some burned incense shouting “wansui” Long Life before he lit himself on fire.    The Jin followed up the taking of Liaoyang by occupying all the defenses east of the Liao River, over 70 fortified towns and garrisons. It is estimated 70,000 Ming soldiers perished and the Ming relief forces from the south had only taken perhaps 2 to 3 thousand Jin forces down trying to save the region. A lot of the fortified cities would do well initially in battles, but they all seemed to run out of ammunition or gunpowder and eventually would fall as a result. Adding to this, with every city taken by the Jin, more and more of the Ming's Mongol allies defected to the Jin cause.   The situation prompted Nurhaci to send a letter to the King of the Joseon Dynasty pressing him to renounce his allegiance to the Ming and to turn over all the Ming refugees who fled into Korea. Nurhaci began to restore many Ming officials to their former ranks and titles, but now under service to the Jin state. As was becoming more standard practice, Nurhaci also gave orders to his forces to leave the Ming commoners unmolested. And yet again, Nurhaci moved his capital now to Liaoyang and held a victory feast 3 months later in the new capital.    It was at this point Nurhaci began to do more state building and put on hold the further invasion of Ming territory. He wanted to draw more subjects over to his side from the Ming and he did this by initiating new laws, taxes and practices designed to protect all peoples, specifically Han chinese. Meanwhile the Ming Court were scratching their heads trying to figure out why Shenyang and Liaoyang fell. A lot of reasons were given such as: Yuan Yingtai lacking practical military experience, the Ming officials were all uncoordinated,  the Ming soldiers abandoned the fortresses too fast sometimes before there was even a breach in any wall and perhaps there was just a general lack of discipline in the military ranks. Thus the Ming Court made motions to improve the military training and searched for more capable commanders. Xue Guoyong was appointed Vice Minister of War and the Jinglue of Liaodong. Wang Huazhen was appointed Xunfu, the vice censor in chief of the right and touring pacification commissioner of Guangning, wow what a long title. Oh and its not just a long title, there was a real issue beginning to brew with the Ming Court appointing too many responsibilities onto single officials. Indeed the Ming bureaucracy was ripe with incompetence as it was with corruption. Often Ming officials would compete for resources or formulate countervailing strategies in the field. In the absence of a strong overseer, gridlocks formed often. While the Tianqi Emperor secluded himself and did not put his foot down enough on the Ming officials, Nurhaci was always in the field holding direct command of his forces. This would prove to be a distinct advantage leading to the Ming downfall. This would also end up the case with Xue Guoyong, who began his job…by really not advocating any particular policy. Though on the plus side, this led to a more defensive strategy.   Now Wang Huazhen however favored an aggressive policy using both land and sea operations against the Jin. The Ming Court then tried to figure out the best place to hold the line, most thought the best would be the west bank of the Liao River. Thus the city of Guangning was going to be heavily fortified and Xiong Tingbi was recalled to service. Xiong immediately recommensed with his original defense strategy using Guangning as the focal point. He fortified positions along the Sancha River and made sure Denglai and Tianjin would be able to launch both land and naval relief operations. Xiong asked for 300,000 men to execute the new defensive plan but would only receive around 260,000. To make matters worse, Wang Huazhen began dispersing these forces to garrison multiple sites rather than concentrate the bulk at Guanging as Xiong planned. As I said countervailing strategies in the field.   To add to the chaos that was the Ming Court there was a rather famous upcoming star named Mao Wenlong. Mao had established a base of operations on the island of Pidao near the mouth of the Yalu River and he made a series of raids into Jin territory, sometimes aided by Korean units. This would push the Jin to make expeditions within Korea to try and capture Mao and also had the double effect of influencing the Ming Court. As I have mentioned, the overall strategy was now defensive, but these daring raids by Mao were pushing those in the Court to adopt more and more aggressive policies. Mao became something of a lynchpin for the aggressive camp in the ourt, despite the fact Mao was only leading around 200 men with 4 boats. Mao did manage to strike at the fortress of Zhenjiang showcasing how much of a pest he could be to the Jin. Meanwhile Xiong and Wang argued against each other over their defense vs offense strategies and now Wang had fuel for his side of the argument, that of Mao. Thus the Court eventually gave way to Wang who unleashed Mao upon the Jin. The Ming Court agreed to allow upto 50,000 men to be sent by sea to Liaodong to capture Zhenjiang and once it was secured their Korean allies might augment it as well. Xiong argued it was too early for such ventures but that was not headed as Wang rebutted by stating he had over 400,000 Mongol allies ready to act. Thus Mao disembarked under the cover of darkness to attack Zhenjiang. Mao had secured some 5th columnists inside who opened the gates for his Ming forces and the Jin garrison was forced to flee. Mao held the fortress with his men and even repulsed a Jin counter attack of some thousand troops. Then attack after attack after attack came, and Mao feared being surrounded and was forced to cast off back to Pidao island. As soon as Mao left, Nurhaci ordered his forces to raze Zhenjiang to the ground, not ever wanting to deal with the pesky situation again.     Now while this was a major victory for Mao it also held dire consequences. First it had dislocated a lot of people from Korea and Liaodong and they would most likely defect to the Jin. Second it began the rise of semi-independent military figures in the Bohai gulf region. Third, it shook the confidence of the Jin and pushed them to continue the invasion sooner. Mao's achievements also did little to anything in regards to retaking territory. The Ming Court however were now more than ever bolstered towards Wang's aggressive strategy and were now poised to launch an operation into Liaodong. Mao was appointed “zongbing guan” Commander of Dongjiang and ordered to coordinate an attack on the Jin rear alongside the Korean allies, so the Ming forces from the west would not have all attention put on them. Mao immediately demanded 50,000 troops and to make a deadly pincer attack. It also seems everything had really gone to Mao's head as he began referring to himself as an independent “hai wang” (sea king) in the Bohai region. Mao began to boast that with only 40,000 men he could recapture all of Liaodong and those threats did not go unnoticed by Nurhaci. Nurhaci would begin a long process of courting Mao try to strike a deal with him secretly.   Now while the Jin invasions were definitely a primary threat to the Ming Dynasty, problems from within the empire would also contribute to its downfall. One major one would be known as the She-An Rebellion of 1621.    To finance the war efforts in Liaodong, provinces like Guizhou and Sichuan were required to send troops, war supplies, grain and a hell of a lot of money. This led to a lot of discontent and some disastrous situations. A aboriginal chieftain named She Chongming had agreed to send grain and 20,000 troops to Liaodong for the war effort. Well She showed up to the provincial capital, Chongqing with the grain and the 20,000 troops including all their families, making the total number over 80,000. The local governor informed them that the Ming only required the warriors and ordered the families to return home while simultaneously refusing to provide them food rations for the trip back. And so She killed the governor, many other officials and assaulted Chongqing. Well apparently this was all part of the plan and She quickly proclaimed the formation of the Kingdom of Shu, that being in reference to the ancient people of Sichuan.    Soon 100,000 locals defected to the cause of conquering Sichuan. The rebellion spread like wildfire from Sichuan, Guizhou, Zunyi and eventually petered out at Chengdu which was unsuccessfully besieged for over 102 days. In the meantime the Ming forces were able to reclaim Chongqing after a month of fighting. Then following in She's footsteps, another aboriginal chieftain named An Bangyan tried to get out of paying some taxes by asking to send troops instead to Liaodong. The Ming official rejected the request and An joined the rebellion stating it was “in order to reclaim his ancestors glory”. She and An combined their forces and marched on the city of Guiyang in Guizhou with an army estimated to be up to 300,000 strong. Guiyang city only had 5000 soldiers, but the indigenous army was unable to penetrate the city's wall defenses, it turns out they went about their attack only one gate at a time. The siege lasted 296 days and barely 200 of the city's defenders survived. Many of the cities inhabitants were forced to resort to cannibalism, some even went atop the city gates to show the attackers the acts of cannibalism to show their resolve.  In 1623 a Ming relief force was sent to quell the rebellion and were ambushed resulting in the death of a possible 40,000 troops. The commander on scene then pleaded for an additional 200,000 troops and 3 million taels worth of war supplies to stop the rebellion. The government periodically would send forces to fight the rebels over the course of many years, but the rebellion persisted. Then in 1629 both She and An would be killed on the battlefield and the Ming finally managed to quell the rebellion. In all the rebellion required possibly a million Ming troops and cost up to 35 million taels of silver, over 12,000 per day. The fact the rebellion lasted so long showcases the enormous dissatisfaction the common people felt about the Ming rule in the South West. Now it goes without saying this was an enormous cost on both human life and for the finances of the ailing dynasty, but lets not forget all the people and money spent in the south west of China was also not being spent in the North East against the Jin raiders.   Taking our focus back to the northeast, Ming forces at the fortress in Xiping had managed to repulse a Jin assault. The commander of Fortress Xiping was Luo Yiquan, who prefered sticking inside the fortress rather than open field combat. Luo's forces defended the city fiercely, his cannons inflicted heavy  casualties upon the Jin forces, so much so that when Li Yongfang asked him to surrender, Luo simply cursed him out as a traitor. It is said quote “that so many of Jin's corpses piled up that it reached the top of the walls and that Luo himself could not wield his bow at one point as a result of so much blood streaming into his eyes”. Yet like so many other Ming fortresses, there was a finite amount of gunpowder and ammunition. When Luo ran out he apparently turned in the direction of Beijing, bowed and said “Your minister has exhausted himself” before slitting his throat. Luo's remaining garrison of 3000 were slaughtered when Nurhaci's men took the fortress. Xiong was furious at Wang's inability to hold Xiping, stating “where has all your big talk of peacetime gone?”. Well it turns out Wang had indeed sent a relief force of 30,000 men, but they arrived late and were ambushed by the Jin perhaps losing a third in battle.    Now when the reports began to pour in that Luo's forces were giving the Jin hell at fortress Xiping, this seemed to have emboldened Wang Huazhen who appointed Sun Degong to follow up the successful repulse and take the fight to the Jin on the field. Sun Degong began this mission by cutting a deal with Nurhaci promising to help turn over Guangning. When Xiping fell, Sun ran to Guangning and began telling everyone impending doom was on the way. This prompted Wang's Mongol allies to begin plundering everywhere. Thus the city was emptied and Sun was able to turn it over neatly to Nurhaci. Wang had originally been at Guangning, but quickly fled to the outskirts of Dalinghe where he ran into none other than Xiong Tingbi who berated him “You said you could completely pacify Liao with 60,000 troops so what happened?”. Wang now agreed that Xiong's defensive strategy was the best option and both men told their forces to begin a scorched earth policy as they retreated in shame towards Shanhaiguan.    As for Sun Degong he earned a place in Nurhaci's army as a mobile corps commander attached to the White Banner. Sun helped Nurhaci's sons Daisan and Hung Taiji furthermore to take Yizhou, killing a garrison of 3000 there. With the loss of Guangning the Ming had lost a central staging point to recover territory in Liaodong. Both Xiong and Wang were impeached and each executed, Xiong in 1625, Wang in 1632. Xiong seems to be quite the victim in all of this and many felt he should not have been executed. But Xiong had made quite a few enemies over the years and lacked enough powerful friends to save him. His loss would be one of many terrible losses for the ailing dynasty. With the loss of Guangning, many in the court were now convinced of the necessity to create a second front to distract Nurhaci. Thus the sea king, Mao Wenlong was appointed commander in charge of pacifying Liao and instructed to cooperate with the new jinglue, Sun Chengzong. Sun Chengzong enjoyed a good relationship with the emperor and managed to convince him to appoint several men, 2 important ones being Sun Yuanhua and Yuan Chonghuan. Sun began his job by fortifying the Ming defense perimeter. Similar to Xiong, Sun favored a defensive approach. Sun made an effort to caution the Ming court not to overemphasize minor defeats or victories, but rather to always keep up a stout defense and win this war by outlasting. To Sun, the major issue at hand was that many in the court who held most of the power had no knowledge of military matters. Sun gave Yuan Chonghuan the job of Inspector of the Army at Shanhaiguan, so that he could train and establish defensive preparations.    Sun dispatched many Ming officials to inspect the state of defenses. Their findings indicated that Ningyuan, located due southwest of Guangning was the best place for an advance base and that the walls could be extended as far out as Shanhaiguan. Sun also recognized that since the beginning of the conflict, the Ming were at an extreme disadvantage in the open field, something new needed to be done. Ming rulers had long understood the importance of firearms for war, they had proved crucial in the 3 great campaigns of the Wanli Emperor in the 1590's afterall. Thus Sun called for 130,000 additional troops to face the Jin and directed the Ministry of Works to construct 300 “caitiff exterminating cannons”, 1000 100character cannons and 7000 niao chongs, sometimes denoted as arquebuses. The Jin had defeated the Ming countless times because of the superior mobility of their large amount of cavalry, allowing them to lure the Ming into killing fields and terrain that best suited them. Now the Ming were turning to outside sources to aid their war effort.    The Portuguese colony on Macau was consulted to aid in the training of gunnery and soon experts were made such as Sun Yuanhua who would claim to have trained 8000 men in firearms in under 3 months time. As one Jesuit stated at the time “These guns were highly esteemed and carried to the frontiers against the Tartars; who were not knowing of this new invention, and coming on many together in a close body received such a slaughter from an iron piece that they were not only put to flight at that time, but went on ever after with more caution”. Sun called for the adopting of western methods for the casting and deployment of cannonry and urged the building of cannon platforms and other wall defense structures to complement them. Sun Yuanhua was appointed the rank of jishi and would train countless in gunnery. Now at this time in history some of these western made cannons are theorized to have a range of around 2-3 miles. A 7000 lb gun which could fire a 32 lb shot would have an effective range of about 2000 feet but could max out at 7000. It is estimated that the Ministry of Works manufactured around 25,000 cannons of various sorts, 6500 muskets, 8000 or so smaller guns and around 4000 Culverines from 1618-1622. Alongside the swords, spears, arrows and such this all is estimated to have cost the Ming Dynasty 21 million taels. That's a staggering amount, greatly showing the extent of the Ming Dynasties resources when push came to shove. The Ming would also receive 26 additional cannons from the Portuguese between 1623-1625 of which 11 were placed in Shanhaiguan.    The sea king, Mao Wenlong continued to press for funds and the assistance of Korea as he waged war on the Jin. Mao made another daring night attack, his time on Jinzhou where he managed to steal 1014 cannons and guns, a ton of gunpowder and other war supplies for the use of his ships. To the Ming, taking such supplies from the Jin was a great war effort, so they kept supporting Mao. Over the next few years, Mao would lead small units against isolated Jin fortresses, raiding from the coast. The entire time he made these ventures, he would continuously complain about needing further funds, but the Koreans, some of whom were assisting him warned the court that he was exaggerating a lot of his victories. The Koreans even warned the Ming court that Mao might be holding secret talks with Nurhaci.   Sun did not favor a withdrawal of Ming forces all the way to Shanhaiguan,which many commanders were advocating for, instead he argued that they use Ningyuan as a staging point of defense and for the future springboard to take territory back. He also wanted to stress the problems he saw looming in the Ming Court, so he made this statement to them “The frontier situation is dire. Troops have been amassed, but not trained and military supplies have not arrived. You need generals to lead the troops but civil officials to coordinate training. Generals must oversee ranks, but a civil offi cial must determine their use. You must use military offi cials to defend the frontiers but every day they should consult with civil officials in their tent. So the frontier should be entrusted to a xunfu and a jinglue and the decision to attack or defend should emanate from the court.”.   Sun further argued that raising troops was not enough and that they would need more adequate funds much to the lamentations of the court who cried there was no money to spend due to the She-An rebellion. The Emperor eventually handed over 30,000 taels, which was not very much. Now the new strategy was to hold Ningyuan and the islands of Bohai to force the Jin to divide their strength. They would use Mao Wenlong as a vanguard who could perform land or sea operations. Alongside this many in the court were also in favor of hiring more Mongols, because in their words Mongols might be “more cost effective than paying, feeding, training, and supplying soldiers recruited from the interior”. Well to this Sun unveiled his trump card, a bold new plan, in his words to quote “use the people of Liao to defend Liao and the soil of Liao to support the troops of Liao”. His plan was to establish military farms in the rich soil of Liao which could be garrisoned by 100,000 local Liao people. They would become regular full time soldiers who could defend major fortresses in Liao. The idea was quite good on paper, by doing everything local, the defenders of Liao were less likely to plunder their own neighbors and would be more likely to fight off invaders for what they now had. Sun's plan was given the greenlight and in 1622 he began implementing training programs in the use of firearms with the aid of Yuan Chonghuan. Liao locals were enlisted for building projects and military jobs. Brigades were organized and the land cultivation expanded all across liao. Sun recommended they build 5 new walled cities and 13 forts for protecting the people of Liao. All of this work in turn helped revive the great Ming project called tuntian, which was a agricultural farm system designed to feed all the troops in the empire, but it had been waning over the centuries. By 1623 Sun was given additional honorific titles and 100,000 taels as reward for his efforts to restore discipline and order within the region of Liao. After 4 years in office, Sun had recaptured 9 major cities, 45 fortresses, trained 110,000 new troops and a massive amount of arms production.Yet despite his great success, Sun was also acquiring jealous enemies within the Ming court such as the eunuch Wei Zhongxian. Wei Zhongxian had been incriminated by some officials that were friends to Sun and he held a grievance towards them all. Alongside this the Jin had begun raids south of the Great Wall and recaptured the city of Lushun in 1625. Sun's successes made his rivals quite jealous and his enemies did not stop at just attacking him, they went after his proteges also. Eventually Wei Zhongxian and his allies managed to pressure Sun to retire and he was replaced by Gao Di in late 1625.    In the meantime, there had been problems in Korea and the Sea King Mao was arguing they needed to do more to support their Korean allies stating “although weak, Korea is still on our border and can be useful in helping us resist the Jin. Therefore we cannot simply abandon Korea. Every person who returns to being a Ming subject is one less potential Jin soldier”. The idea of Korea falling into the orbit of the Jin frightened the court and Wei Zhongxian argued they should support Mao. At the same time, former predecessor and successor to Sun, Yuan Chonghuan was growing increasingly frustrated by Mao's antics.    After the blunders at the battle of Sarhu and Guangning, Yuan Chonghuan was tasked with the defense of Shanhaiguan in 1622. Before he went to the frontlines he actually visited the imprisoned Xiong Tingbi before his execution. Xiong asked Yuan what his strategy would be, to which Yuan stated “first defend, then fight”. Xiong was pleased at the similar mindset and advised him for the rest of the day. By 1624 Yuan was helping build the new defensive lines around Songshan, Xingshan, Dalinghe and Jinzhou. Then some of the Ming Court began to argue that the Ming forces should be pulled further back to which Yuan protested “In the art of war you advance, not retreat. Three cities have already been recovered; we can't lightly cast them away! If these places are disturbed, everything will fall apart and we won't be able to hold the passes. Now if we select a capable general to guard them, certainly we won't need to deliberate further”. When Sun was replaced, Gao Di did not agree with Yuan on the issue and made orders to abandon the cities. Despite the orders however, Yuan refused to withdraw stating “I have been entrusted with the defense of the Ningyuan region. Should I need to, I'll die for it, but I certainly won't abandon it!”. Thus Yuan began to prepare Ningyuan for an onslaught all by his lonesome.   Nurhaci noticed the Ming pulling back forces and saw that Ningyuan was becoming isolated, so what better place to attack? Now throughout the conflict, though Nurhaci's forces were winning victory after victory, Ming cannons proved to inflict quite a toll upon them. Nurhaci wanted to create a new strategy to help against the cannons. So his forces would now stretch animal hides over military carts and send them first in to draw fire, then follow this up with infantry and cavalry strikes to goad out defenders from the forts. In early 1626 Nurhaci's forces arrived at Ningyuan where he tried to convince them to surrender. He sent the message to Yuan Chonghuan stating he would overrun his city with a force of over 200,000. Yuan replied that he knew the great Khan only had 130,000 troops and that he and his fellow commanders were prepared to die to the last man defending Ningyuan. He also left the ancient maxim quote “Those who seek life will die, but those who welcome death will live”.    As we mentioned, Ningyuan's walls had quite a few western made cannons and Yuan had ordered the torching of all the nearby buildings around the city to not offer anything to the invaders. Well trained Fujianese gunners were put on cannon detail and the word was sent out to Shanhaiguan calling for reinforcements. Yuan had a total garrison of 20,000 men with sub commanders assigned specific roles. Man Gui was in charge of wall defenses, Zu Dashou the south gate, Zhu Mei the north gate and Zuo fufen the west gate. The night before the battle Yuan conducted a blood pact, the defenders would defend the city to the death, any who fled would be executed. The Jin setup came northwest of the city, testing the range of the Ming cannons. Nurhaci's scouts reported the southwest corner of the city to be the weakest point. Nurhaci personally led the charge and brandished his sword in the air. Yuan ordered his men to hold fire until the enemy was within a close range. Nurhaci's reinforced military carts rolled forward, but his forces reverted to their original way of fighting and pushed forward of the carts. It seems the Jin hoped to use the same tactics they usually did, run past the cannon fire while goading the defenders out. The Ming did not come out however, they pelted the cavalry with cannonfire and incendiary bombs and poison bombs were lobed over the walls. The Jin forces then tried to attack another corner of the city, but were hit with a ton of burning oil and more incendiary bombs which destroyed a lot of their seige equipment. One strategist on the wall had even come up with the idea of tossing bed sheets covered in gunpowder and oil over the attackers and hitting it with fire arrows. This eventually caused a sea of fire to erupt around the walled city engulfing the Jin's frontal infantry. By the evening the battle was still raging on and parts of the walls were on fire. Around 10pm Nurhaci ordered the men to pull back, finally sending an angry message to his commander Li Yongfang “You said this city would be easy to take. How can it be this difficult to attack?”. The next day the Jin launched similar attacks and got similar results, something obviously needed to change. There was a nearby island called Juehua which held the major granary for Ningyuan. The defenses on the island were a bit more relaxed because the Ming assumed the invaders had no boats, unfortunately the water had frozen enough for men to cross. Nurhaci dispatched a force who crossed the river and massacred thousands while destroying the granary. Estimates place the dead defenders of Juehua to be up to 16,000.   Then Nurhaci yet again brandished his sword and personally led an attack upon the walls, and then disaster struck. One of the Portuguese-made cannons struck near Nurhaci giving him over 30 wounds. Nurhaci was soon taken out of the combat zone and Yuan sent a letter asking the well-being of the Khan, something traditionally done by Ming commanders. Nurhaci reportedly replied back with insults calling Yuan a treacherous man. Now there are a few different stories, but one states Nurhaci died 2 days later of the wounds on September 30th, some others state it to be later on. Regardless at the age of 67 he died, wow, think about that guy at 67 waving a sword around on a horse in battle? This was the first major defeat for Nurhaci, though later Qing records would state he only lost something like 500 men. The Ming reports stated that it was in the figure of a few thousand and Yuan sent 269 heads back to Beijing. The Ming court was overwhelmed with joy by this moment, the Emperor himself exclaimed “that 10 years of defeat had been erased in a single day”. In the meantime, the sea king Mao was still receiving a lot of press coverage for his raids in the Bohai coast and this seems to have frustrated Yuan or atleast made him jealous of the spotlight not only being on him. Yuan began advocating for a mixed strategy of offense and defense, to gradually retake territory from Ningyuan to Lushun. Yuan urged the Ming Court that his way of war would work best and that Mao's wreckless adventures were only provoking the Jin to strike elsewhere where they could do more damage. Needless to say, the tiger that was Nurhaci was dead, so now what would the Jin do?   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  Xiong Tingbi created a defensive strategy to defeat the Jin menace and despite his impeachment and execution, his legacy carried on with certain Ming commanders. The rise of the sea king Mao Wenlong seems to have the court gushing like fan girls over the countless victories he has won, but reports from others are suggesting he might be exaggerating his victories, or perhaps making them up? Sun Chengzong proved to be a very gifted commander initiating new military strategies that bore fruit despite being forced into retirement by his court enemies. Then at the last hour when all hope was lost and all on his lonesome, Yuan Chonghuan the cannon expert managed to turn the tides at Ningyuan by dealing a death blow to Nurhaci's army and Nurhaci himself. The Jin are leaderless, who will take the throne and what comes next?

Long Intro   China is one of the world's four ancient civilizations, alongside Mesopotamia, the Indus valley and Egypt. It has a written history dating as far back as the Shang Dynasty, that's around 1600 BC, over 3000 years ago! Now as you can also imagine  you are not getting the full rundown of the entire history of China, it's simply too immense for the overall story we are getting into. The story I want to tell has been termed by scholars, “the century of humiliation” dating 1839 until 1949. During this period China or better called the Qing Dynasty and later Republic of China faced terrible and humiliating subjugation by Western powers and the Empire of Japan.The story we are going to begin today is one of pain and hardship, but it is also a tale of endurance and resilience that created the China we see today.    This is the Fall and Rise of China Podcast I am going to let you in on a little secret, I myself am quite new to the vast history of China. As some of you listeners might already know, I am the writer and narrator of the Pacific War Podcast week by week. I specialize in the Pacific War and Japanese history and I ventured into a journey to explain everything that is the Pacific War of 1937-1945 when I began my personal Channel called the Pacific War Channel on Youtube. Yet when I sat down to begin writing about the history of Tokugawa Japan and how Japan would find itself on a path towards virtual oblivion, I thought to myself, well what about China? This is when I fell down a rabbit hole that is 19th century China. I immediately fell in love with it. I am a westerner, a Canadian, this was knowledge not usually told on my side of the world. So I thought, what are the most important events that made the China we see emerging during the Pacific War, or to be more accurate the Second Sino-Japanese War? I fell upon the first opium war, by the time I read a few books on that, it was the second opium war, then the Taiping Rebellion, the Nian Rebellion, the Boxer rebellion, the list goes on and on. 19th Century China is one of the most fascinating albeit traumatic episodes of human history and has everything to do with the formation of the China we see today. The term a century of humiliation or 100 years of humiliation is how many Chinese historians describe the time period between the First Opium War and the end of the Chinese Civil War. I do not speak the language nor have a full understanding of the culture, I am a lifelong learner and continue to educate myself on the history of one of the most ancient peoples of our world. This will be a long and honestly difficult story to tell, but I welcome you to join me on this journey.   Stating all that I want to begin our journey explaining how the Ming Dynasty fell and the Qing Dynasty rose up.  This episode is the rise of Nurhaci Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   The Ming-Qing transition is a story filled with drama and corruption, heroes and villains, traitors and martyrs. Peasant rebellions, corrupt politicians and terrifying invaders would eventually collapse what was the Ming dynasty.   The Ming Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China between 1368 and 1644. It would be the last dynasty to be ruled by Han Chinese. They had overthrown the Mongol led Yuan dynasty of 1271-1368 which fell for a plethora of reasons such as class conflict caused by heavy taxation and ethnic conflicts. During the entire history of China, there is always room for rebellions, and quite a number of Han revolts would occur such as the Red Turban rebellion beginning in 1351. Now amongst these many rebellions taking place there was Zhu Yuanzhang a man born into a impoverished peasant family in Zhongli county, present day Fengyang of Anhui Province. He had 7 older siblings, of which several were sold off by his parents because there was not enough food to go around. When he was 16, a severe drought ruined his family's harvest and this was accompanied by a plague that took the lives of both his parents and all his siblings, save for one brother.  Around this time the Yellow River dykes had flooded causing a widespread famine. More than 7 million people would starve as a result of the drought and famine in central and northern China. The now orphan Zhu would then dedicate his life to become a buddhist monk at the Huangjue Monastery near Fenyang to avoid starvation, which was a common practice of the poor. Then the monastery where he lived was destroyed by an army suppressing a rebellion. I would say enough had been enough for Zhu because this prompted him in 1352 to join a local rebel group associated with the White Lotus Society against the Yuan Dynasty. So he began to live a life as a bandit, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor as it's said. The leader of the rebel group was a man named Guo Zixing who led an attack to capture Haozhou. Zuo became his second in command and took on the name Zhu Yuanzhang. Guo quickly began to see the rising star that was Zhu as a rival, but would eventually die in 1355, leaving Zhu to take leadership of the rebel army. Zhu attacked and captured towns and cities in eastern China and as Zhu did this he also found scholars who could educate him. This allowed Zhu to learn the principles of good governance and soon his abilities were beginning to show. This local rebel group in turn eventually joined the larger Red Turban Army rebels against the Yuan Dynasty. Eventually young Zhu rose through the ranks and would emerge the leader of the rebellion. Zhu early on ordered the scholars in his ranks to portray him as a national leader against the Mongols rathan that just a popular rebel.  In 1356 Zhu's forces captured the strategic city of Nanjing which would become the future capital of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu would then emerge as the national leader against the Mongols, though he had rivals such as Chen Youliang based in Wuchang and Zhang Shicheng based in Pingjiang. Both rivals declared themselves leaders of new dynasties, Chen as emperor of the Han dynasty, Zhang as a prince of the Zhou dynasty. Zhu managed to defeat Chen's naval forces at Lake Poyang in 1363 and Chen would die with the destruction of that fleet. With the conquest of Chen's holdings at Wuhang, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi, Zhu soon proclaimed himself a Prince of Wu. Then Zhu was able to capture Zhang Shicheng who committed suicide, after this many rebel groups fell into submission. After continuing the fight against the Yuan and other warlords until 1368 when he then proclaimed himself emperor of the Ming Dynasty adopting the name Hongwu meaning “vastly martial”, though he is more correctly referred to as the Taizu emperor.    Emperor Hongwu sent out his armies to conquer the north while provinces in China submitted to his rule. The northwest was first to fall, followed by the southwest and by 1382 unification would be complete. Under his rule, the Mongol bureaucracy that had dominated the Yuan dynasty were replaced with Han Chinese officials. He re-instituted the imperial Examination, something that had roots going as far back as the Three Kingdoms period. He began major projects such as a long city wall around Nanjing. Now Hongwu was a very paranoid, cruel and even irrational ruler and this would increase as he aged. Upon taking power he immediately transformed the palace guards into a quasi secret police force and began a massive campaign to root out anyone who might threaten his authority. Hongwu set his secret police to work which resulted in a 14 year campaign of terror. In 1380, the prime minister Hu Weiyong was found to be plotting a coup to take the throne, he would be executed alongside 30,000 or so officials. Hongwu would abolish the prime minister and chancellor roles in government. Yet this did not satisfy him and 2 subsequent campaigns would occur resulting in the killing of 70,000 other people ranging from government officials all the way down to servants, your typical new emperor stuff.    Emperor Hongwu began a process of stationing members of his royal family all across the empire. He did after all have 26 sons, wow, and those who survived long enough became princes and were assigned a territory and military to rule. This system he built up would have some dire consequences down the road. Now just because Hongwu had overthrown the Mongol led Yuan dynasty and drove them up north, but this did not mean they were gone. Zhu envisioned early into his reign a border policy where mobile armies along the northern frontier would guard against the Mongol threat. Adding to this he wanted 8 outer garrisons near the steppe and a system of forts and other defensive structures. The inner line of this defense would end up being the  Ming Great Wall, part of the Great Wall of China. Manchuria and parts of outer mongolia remained under the control of Mongols and they held what is called the Northern Yuan dynasty. They too would be conquered by Hongwu's forces and after the emperor's death would be “complacent”, though they would claim to still be the legitimate heirs to the throne. Speaking of heirs to the throne, Hongwu would eventually die and he was succeeded by his 15 year old grandson Zhu Yunwen who would take up the title Jianwen Emperor in 1398.    Now Hongwu had chosen Zhu Yunwen to succeed him, but as is common throughout history, there would be someone else who would vie for the position. Now following somewhat in his grandfather's footsteps, the Jianwen Emperor began his emperorship by trying to limit the power of those who could threaten him, IE: his family. One of the first edicts he would make was for his uncles to remain in their respective territories, while he simultaneously began to effectively reduce their military capabilities. The first uncle he threw proposals at held the largest territory and most powerful military, he was Zhu Di the Prince of Yan and he simply refused the proposals. Then Jianwen arrested one uncle on treason charges, stripped his family of their royal status and exiled them. Jianwen followed this up by doing the same thing to 4 more uncles. Well as you can imagine a rift began to emerge between the families being targeted and that of Jianwen, so the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di who was the eldest surviving uncle and had the most formidable military assumed leadership amongst the targeted families. This prompted Jianwan to appoint several officials to go to current day Beijing where Zhu Di was stationed to stop his uncle from allegedly planning a coup. Zhu Di feinted being ill to illude the officials, but they reported back to the Emperor they thought a coup was about to occur. Thus the emperor gave the order to arrest his uncle at court, but a official at court leaked this information to Zhu Di.   Zhu Di soon began a rebellion against his nephew which led to a 3 year civil war (also known as the Jingnan Rebellion). This all cultivated in the end with Zhu Di personally leading his forces to take the imperial palace in Nanjing. Allegedly, Emperor Jianwen set the imperial palace on fire in his own despair. His body was never located and it is alleged he may have made an escape and went into exile. Zhu Di regardless held a imperial funeral for his nephew and was crowned the new Yongle Emperor which means “perpetual happiness”.    The Reign of Yongle is considered a second founding of the Ming Dynasty because of the enormous amount of achievements made. Nanjing was demoted to a secondary capital and now Beijing was made the main one. Yongle began the construction of the Imperial City and Forbidden City employing hundreds of thousands of workers. He decided to build a treasure fleet in 1403 and from 1405 to 1433 there were 7 maritime expeditions undertaken by the Ming treasure fleet. The ambitious project resulted in the construction of upto almost 3000 ships and expanded the Chinese tributary system to other countries as far as India, the Persian Gulf and east coast of Africa. An entire podcast could be dedicated to the Ming treasure voyages alone.   Yongle would stage 5 giant campaigns against the Mongols and Oirats north of the Great Wall which in turn would lead to more building up of the Great Wall of China throughout the 15th to 16th century. Indeed Emperor Yongle's efforts allowed the empire to be stable and prosperous for a century before it began to weaken. After Yongle the 6th & 8th Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhengtong and yes you heard that right 6th and 8th allow me to explain. Emperor Zhengtong was encouraged by an influential court eunuch named Wang Zhen to lead a force personally to face off against the Oirats of the Northern Yuan dynasty leaving his half-brother Zhu Qiyu in charge temporarily. The Oirats had begun a 3 pronged invasion of the Ming dynasty At the age of 21, Emperor Zhengtong personally led the battle of Tumu Fortress against the Oirat leader, Esen Taishi. He lost one of the most humiliating battles in Chinese history, some rather ridiculous sources state half a million Ming forces fell to a Oirat cavalry force of just 20,000. Zhengtong was captured by Esen Taishi and held for ransom leading to what is called the Tumu Crisis. In the meantime his brother took the throne as the Jingtai Emperor. Zhengtong would eventually be released in the year of 1450 and return home, only to be put under immediate house arrest by the Jingtai Emperor for 7 years. Jingtai would be succeeded by Zhengtons son as the Chenghua Emperor, but Jingtai stripped him of his royal title and installed his own son as heir. That son died and the Jingtai Emperor would follow soon as the former Zhengtong Emperor led a palace coup against him. The Zhengtong emperor seized the throne and changed his regnal name to Tianshun meaning “obedience to Heaven”, then he demoted Jingtai to the status of a Prince and ruled for around 7 years. So yeah that's how you become Emperor twice apparently.    The Ming Dynasty was a very impressive empire and would be one of the most stable and longest ruling periods in Chinese history. Many enormous achievements were made by the Ming, as I mentioned they built up a large part of the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City and led 7 massive voyages with the treasure fleet, but there was much much more. They created woodblock color printing and China's first metal movable type printing created by the Ming scholar Hua Sui in 1490. The first book printed using the technique was Zhu Chen Zou Yi. Alongside that the most comprehensible medical book ever written by Li Shizhen in 1578 about traditional Chinese Medicine, Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu). Another book was published during the Ming period and was called “Journey to the West” in 1592 by Wu Cheng'en and is considered one of the 4 great classical novels of Chinese literature. It built upon the accounts of the pilgrimage of the Tang Dynasty's Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent searching for sutras.   The economy of the Ming Dynasty was the largest in the world, following in the steps of the Han and Song periods to become known as one of China's 3 golden ages. With a massive agricultural surplus, porcelain goods and silk led to silver pouring into China. Speaking of porcelain it was one of the most loved exports of the Ming as they had perfected the technique built up during the Tang Dynasty. The blue and white porcelain became extremely popular in Europe. Speaking of Europe, while the Ming made such incredible achievements, one department they did less well in seems to be in terms of scientific discovery. The Ming Dynasty was characterized to be generally conservative and very inward looking, hard to blame them though when they were basically one of if not the pillars of the world. The west and east were not as isolated as one would think and the Ming by no means opened any relatively new relations with the west. For example there is evidence to support that Roman merchants during the reign of Marcus Aurelius had ventured as far as the Han capital city of Luoyang. Yet it would only be much later in history when one particular group made some waves in Ming China and that would be the Portuguese in the 16th century. The first to land on Lintin Island in May of 1513 was the Portuguese explorer Jorge Alvares which was the first time Europeans made contact with China via the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope. Then in 1516, the cousin of the famous Christopher Columbus, Rafael Perestrello became the first known European explorer to land by sea and trade in Guangzhou. The Portuguese would follow this up by attempting an inland delegation in the name of Manuel 1st of Portugal to the court of the Zhengde Emperor. Unfortunately for them the Zhengde Emperor would die in 1521 as they awaited an audience and they ended up being quasi blamed for the Emperor's death and would all be imprisoned for life. Rather hilariously one Simao de Andrade, the brother to the ambassador sent as a delegation, began to rile up the Chinese belief that the Portuguese were trying to kidnap Chinese children, allegedly to cook and eat them. There has been speculations this was all based on the idea Simao was purchasing and or kidnapping chinese children to take them as slaves. Well one thing led to another and the Ming Dynasty found itself enveloped in a small naval battle with the Portuguese naval force of Diogo Calvoin 1521. The Naval battle of Tunmen was the result of the Portuguese sailing up the river to Guangzhou without permission. Allegedly the Portuguese gave a cannon salute when they reached Guangzhou and this friendly gesture was quite alarming to the locals. Well while things were pretty cool for a bit, but then the delegation situation had gone sour at roughly and an edict was made to evict the Portuguese too which the Portuguese refused to comply with. The Portuguese cannons had superior range, but they were easily surrounded by a hoard of ships and the 5 Caravels were forced to use some bad weather to their advantage to flee the scene. By the way the slave purchasing / child kidnapper Simao continued for decades to do business in Xiamen and Ningbo. Eventually he ran into some trouble when he did what he did best, steal children and the locals banded together to slaughter him and those working with him.   Despite this, let's call it minor setback, the Portuguese continued to do limited trade along the Fujian coastline with the help of some rather corrupt local Ming merchants. By 1529 the Portuguese were sending annual trade missions to Shangchuan Island and by the 1550's the Portuguese established firmer feat in Macau where they established a trade colony. The Portuguese even began to help the Chinese fight off the hundreds of pirate ships running havok in the area. They then followed this up by fighting off the Dutch later in the 17th century. This of course would not stop the great Dutch maritime empire from eventually taking over, though the Portuguese found a very lucrative business in becoming middle men when the Japanese were banned from trade with China. The Portuguese would take Chinese silk, hock it for Japanese silver and presto, quite a good hussle.    Things were looking good for the Ming dynasty, but troubles loomed around every corner. One of those corners we hinted to just a bit, that being the Japanese. Japan had stopped sending tribute missions to China in 838 when it was the Tang Dynasty. 6 centuries later, between 1403-1547 the Ming Dynasty was quite powerful and the Japanese shogunate was relatively weak. The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang demanded Japan resume its tributary relationship with China if Japan wanted to trade with China. Japan agreed to recommence the tributary relationship with China believing that the trade would be beneficial and that China's recognition of the shogun as a partner would help to strengthen the shogunate. Thus the tributary relationship continued as of 1403 and it would be almost a century until Japan abandoned it again.   Speaking of Japan, by 1590, Japan's Warring states struggles came to an end when Toyotomi Hideoyosih emerged victorious and unified the nation. Yet soon the ailing leader of Japan, for a platitude of reasons decided to try and invade the Ming Dynasty, but to do so he would need to go through Korea. Historians argue one of the main reasons for the invasion of Korea was so Hideyoshi could keep his troops occupied as he may have feared them returning home would result in another domestic conflict. Hideyoshi did not study his enemy nor the territory his forces would be fighting upon. It really seemed Hideyoshi was in afit of egomania after unifying Japan and became convinced he would be able to conquer China. Now I cannot go into what is collectively known as the Imjin War of 1592-1598, but if you are interested you can check out King's and Generals over at Youtube where they have a few episodes on the event including: Imjin War: Beginning of the Japanese invasion of Korea / Imjin War: Rise of admiral Yi Sun-sin / Noryang Straits 1598.    What you need to know is that Hideyoshi asked, or rather ordered the Joseon Dynasty to allow his forces safe passage to go and invade their allies and protector, the Ming Dynasty. The Koreans gave a prompt no and did not stop Hideyoshi from transporting around 160,000 warriors to Pusan with the intention of marching them through Korea, then Manchuria and straight towards Beijing. This all would see Japan invading and fighting against the Joseon and Ming forces in 2 separate campaigns. Now initially the war went quite well for the Japanese, the Koreans were not prepared and the few thousand Chinese troops dispatched to help them, got stomped around the Yalu river. Well the Ming Emperor Wanli, surprised by the failure of his forces, decided to toss a much larger number of men, very much to the shock of the Japanese. The combined forces of the Ming and Joseon dynasty managed to push the Japanese out of the Korean peninsula. A cool fact of this war by the way was how the Koreans designed these armored warships known as turtle ships which held a ton of firepower. The turtle ships under the command of Admiral Yi Sun-sin out maneuvered the Japanese ships and decimated them, thus thwarting the Japanese from sending anymore troopships over to Korea. In the end the Ming Dynasty had quelled the Japanese challenge at their status as the supreme military power in East Asia and also affirmed that the Ming were willing to protect their tributary states like the Joseon Dynasty.  The Japanese by some estimates lost ⅓ their troops during the first year of the war. The cost of the war came at a steep price, it is estimated around 250-300 thousand died, perhaps 100,000 Japanese, 185,000 Koreans and 29,000 Chinese. And while that is truly horrible, the monetary costs were also quite steep, estimates put it in the range of up to 26,000,000 ounces of silver for the Ming Dynasty. Overall the war was a lose-lose situation for Japan, China and Korea. Yet it seems this war had a side effect that would prove to be one of the many nails that would be smashed into what was to become the Ming Dynasty's coffin. For while this venture played out down south in Korea, its effects rippled back all the way up to the Ming Dynasty's northern realm.   During this time period there were 3 major Jurchen tribes, the Wild Jurchens who lived in the most northern part of Manchuria. The Haixi Jurchens, who lived along the Haixi river and the Jianzhou Jurchen, who lives along the Mudan River in the region of Changbaishan. Jerchen by the way is something like a collective name for these people, their ancestors went by another name, the Manchu. They were semi-nomadic people and  heavily influenced by their neighboring Mongols. A Jianzhou Jurchen named Nurhaci had lost both his father Taksi and grandfather Giocangga, when a rival Jurchen chieftain named Nikan Wailan attacked them at Gure in 1582. Nurhaci demanded that the Ming hand over Nikan Wailan to him for execution, but they refused and went as far as considering to declare Nikan Wailan as new Khan of all the Jurchens, believing this would keep them all divided. It goes without saying Nikan Wailan forces were supported by the Ming. The Ming were utilizing the same strategy that had been done since the ancient times to deal with the peoples of the steppe, foster rivalries amongst the tribes and keep them disunified.    It is said that Nurhaci was a gifted mounted archer from youth, could speak multiple languages, and loved to read Chinese literature such as Shuihu Zhuan “water margin” and Sanguo Yanyi “romance of the 3 kingdoms”.  At the age of 25 Nurhaci avenged his father and grandfather's deaths by defeating Nikan Wailan in battle in 1587 sending him fleeing to the Ming for protection. The Ming would eventually execute him years later, but this would not satisfy Nurhaci. In 1589 the Ming Dynasty appointed Nurhaci as the Paramount Chieftain of the Yalu Region. It seems the Ming Dynasty believed that Nurhaci's tribe was too weak to unify the other tribes and become a threat to them, thus fulfilling their strategy of keeping them disunified.  Then Nurhaci managed to defeat a coalition of over 9 rival tribes, one of which was the Yehe tribe during the battle of Gure. In 1591, Nurhaci had consolidated a large swathe of territory stretching from Fushun to the Yalu River and this provoked the Yehe tribes who sent a force of over 30,000 against him. Nurhaci's men were able to turn back the Yehe menace and while Nurhaci continued to rally tribes under his command,  the Imjin War began.   As the Japanese were invading Korea, the rising Jurchen leader had some limited engagements against the Japanese along the border of Korea and Manchuria. This led Nurhaci to offer assistance to the Ming and Joseon dynasties for the Imjin War effort. But both the Ming and Joseon dynasty's would refuse his offer however, especially the Joseon who stated “to accept such assistance from northern barbarians would be disgraceful”. Now the Imjin War indirectly weakened the Ming Dynasty's position in Manchuria and gave the now rather insulted Jurchen leader Nurhaci an opportunity to expand his influence and territory. Nurhaci began to conquer and consolidate the unrelated tribes surrounding Manchuria. In 1599 Nurhaci had his trusted scholar Erdeni create a system of writing using the traditional Mongolian alphabet that laid out the foundation of what would become the Manchu alphabet. The Manchu as a people by the way are hard to really define and have been referred to as simply Jurchens, Tatars given who is speaking about them and what time period it is. In reality the Manchu is a rather broad umbrella for a few different groups of people in the large area of Manchuria and the term Manchu was chosen specially to create a sort of legitimate ancestry by those who eventually would bear its name.   In 1601 Nurhaci began to develop the Manchu military which became the banner system later on seen in the Qing dynasty. The banners derived from the niru “arrow” , a designation for a small Jurchen hunting band. This led to the organization of cavalry and infantry companies of around 300 men with subdivisions of 75. These units eventually evolved into differing banners, yellow, white, red and blue at first, then this increased to a total of 8 later on. If you have never seen the 8 banner army uniforms from the late Qing Dynasty, I highly recommend googling it. Absolutely awesome to see, unique colors for the armor and everything. Now the banner system was not purely military, it also became the established social hierarchy of what was to be a new state. Its important to note during his unifying efforts, Nurhaci also acquired a vast amount of Han Chinese defectors and with them Ming knowledge and technology such as firearms. A lot of these Han Chinese  would be married to Manchu women to form marriage alliances.The idea behind it was to take the tribe system and use it as building blocks for a military bureaucracy. This in turn also acted as a method of creating an administrative structure of the future Manchu people. Nurhaci built up his new empire's economy via mining and trade and managed to accumulate a lot of silver from tributary missions to the Ming Dynasty.    In 1607 Nurhaci declared himself the Kundulun Khan over what he proclaimed to be the Jin State, named after the former Jurchen led Great Jin Dynasty. Now this was also done to assert divine lineage to the Jin Dynasty of the 12th century and in some ways was an implied challenge towards the Ming Dynasty. Indeed, Nurhaci even began to publicly refer to the Ming Dynasty as merely the “Southern Dynasty”, implying equality with his new state. So it seems the Ming Dynasty had greatly miscalculated Nurhaci and now they had quite a threat bearing down upon them. In 1610 Nurhaci broke relations with the Ming imperial court and in 1618 he demanded they pay him tribute and sent them what is legendary known as the “seven grievances”. This was a list of 7 terrible acts the Ming Dynasty had performed against Nurhaci personally and that of the Manchu people, basically a highlight reel of everything they did to try and stop the tribes from unifying. Smack dab as number 1 by the way was supporting the man who killed Nurhaci's father and grandfather. The seven grievances also acted as a formal declaration of war against the Ming Dynasty. To think one day your financing the murder of some small tribal leaders, next thing you know their offspring has raised a new national peoples to take you out?    A confederacy of Jurchen tribes referred to as the Hulun tribes gradually began to recognize Nurhaci's authority, but some took more convincing so to say. The Jurchen tribes of the Hada, Hoifa, Ula were all defeated and assimilated by 1613, but then there remained one last Jurchen tribe that would not submit and it was one of the most formidable, the Yehe. In 1618 the Yehe leader Gintaisi united with the Ming Dynasty to combat the newly emerged threat that was Nurhaci.    As it would turn out, the flashpoint for the conflict that would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty would occur at a frontier town in the northeast. The town held one of the 18 key fortresses established by the founder of the Ming, Emperor Hongwu. The first official battle with the Ming Dynasty would occur in Fushun. Fushun was located on the Hun River just east of Shenyang. Nurhaci sent a letter to the Yehe at Fushun stating “If there is a battle then the arrows shot by our soldiers will strike all in sight. If you are hit, you will surely die. Your strength cannot withstand. Even though you die in battle, there is no profit. If you come out and surrender, our soldiers will not enter the city. The soldiers attached to you will be given complete protection. But suppose our soldiers do attack and enter. The old and young inside the city will surely be in jeopardy, your official salaries will be taken away and your ranks will soon be reduced [for losing the battle]... If you submit without fighting I will not change your great doro (guiding principles; Ch., li yi) at all. I will let you live just as you did before. I will promote not only the people with great knowledge and foresight but also many other people, give them daughters in marriage and care for them. I will give you a higher position than you have and treat you like one of my officials of the first degree”.    In addition to being the first official military challenge to the Ming Authority, Fushun was connected to Nurhaci's strategy of assimilating the remaining rival Jurchen tribes such as the Haixi. Fushun also happened to be quite isolated and not as well-protected as the other great fortress cities. Commanding the defenses of Fushun was Li Yong Fang who had around 1200 men under him. Nurhaci would throw 20,000 at the city, but before he did this he sent around 50 men disguised as horse traders into the city. These 50 infiltrators opened the gates to Nurhaci's men who soon poured in. Li Yongfangs was horrified by the scene as several of his subordinates rushed to give their lives facing the invaders. Li Yongfang was captured and brought before Nurhaci who said to him “I know you are a man of many talents and have had many experiences and my state is in search of talent, as we are lacking in capable officials and are looking to employ capable generals. What purpose will your death serve? But if you surrender, you and all you soldiers will be safe”. Li Yong fang agreed to surrender if the people would be spared. Nurhaci honored this promise, in the end around 590 Ming soldiers died during the attack. Li Yongfang soon became a general under Nurhaci and even married one of his granddaughters. Li Yongfang became the first prominent Ming commander to defect and this would set a precedent for many many more. A large reason Ming officials like Li Yongfang defected was because they were not going to be forced to give up their own culture and customs.   After capturing the Fortress of Fushun, Nurhaci left 4000 men to guard it and now turned his attention to another fortress in Qinghecheng or known simply as Qinghe. The outraged Ming Court did not waste any time sending a counter attack to take back Fushun. The Ming dispatched commander Zhang Chengyin with 10,000 men to recapture the city. Zhang led the men and besieged the city, digging trenches and raining hell upon its walls using cannon and firearms. Nurhaci's sons Hung Taiji and Daisan took the force of 4000 men outside the city and to the shock of the besiegers charged directly upon them. It is estimated only 20% of the Ming force survived this devastating attack, and the rest fled or were captured.   The Ming Court was stunned by the loss of Fushun and knew it was not the only Fortress that would be attacked. Thus they dispatched an expeditionary force of 5000 men with 2 commanders, Li Rubai, the commander of Liaodong and Yang Hao the Military affairs commissioner to support the region, beginning with Qinghe. Both men were personally liked by Emperor Wanli, but both also had undergone scandals during the Imjin War when they messed up during a siege battle. With the new reinforcements brought over by the 2 commanders, Qinghe now had a garrison 6400 strong. Before leaving to help other areas, Yang Hao advised the commander of the Qinghe fortress, Zou Chuxian that he should lay an ambush out for the invaders, perhaps in the mountain pass nearby where they could take advantage of Ming firearms. Zou did not heed this and opted instead to remain within the fortress.   The reinforcing of the Qinghe fortress would prove to be fruitless. The defenders fired their cannons, hurled large boulders and logs and tossed hot oil all inflicting heavy casualties upon Nurhaci's men, but despite all of this the besiegers were able to take a corner wall as the defenders were busy loading their cannons. The siege quickly turned into bloody street to street fighting and with it the complete slaughter of the city's forces. Zou and his subordinates perished alongside most within the city. This prompted the Ming court to place a price over Nurhaci's head, 10,000 taels of silver. It is apparent, the Ming were not prepared to face the challenge pressed upon them by someone like Nurhaci. They had failed to anticipate Nurhaci's state-building efforts and now the fruits of his work were bearing witness.   With the fall of Qinghe and the surrounding towns, the Ming Court now dispatched a large force of 100,000 men to attack Nurhaci's forces. Yang Hao formulated the strategy for the grand operation, they would divide into 4 groups of around 30,000 men each and approach Nurhaci's stronghold of Hetu Ala from 4 different directions and surround it. Ma Lin would lead the northern group coming from Kaiyuan. Du Song from the west coming from Fushun. Li Rubo would come from southwest through the Yau Pass. Last, Liu Ting (also known as Big Sword Liu) would come from the Southeast from Kuandian supported by a 13,000 strong Joseon Dynasty Expeditionary force commanded by Gang Hong-rip. Despite all the planning, Yang Hao did not believe their forces had adequate training nor the supplies for the venture.    It is estimated that Nurhaci had around 60,000 men at this time. Nurhaci also had amazing scouts that provided him with great intelligence of the Ming plans and he decided the best course of action was to concentrate all of his forces together and pick off each Ming group one by one. Thus he sent small detachments of around 500 men each to intercept Liu Tin, Ma Lin and Li Rubo to misdirect them, while he would take the main force and smash Du Song, whom he deemed the greatest threat out of the 4 groups. To beat Du Song, Nurhaci snuck 15,000 of his men in the forested mountains near Sarhu for an ambush.   Du Song's force of around 30,000 set forth from Fushun which they had recently recaptured with ease as it was left undefended. Du Song was frustrated by this and wanted to face the enemy and finally found them when he came across the Hun River and saw a Jin force on the other side.    Du Song took 10,000 of his men to cross the river and attack, so that a beachhead could be formed and thus providing adequate room for a safe transfer of the rest of his forces and equipment. So he left behind the other 20,000 men with the war equipment who would follow them once the Jin force were pushed back. When Du Song's men were halfway across the river, Nurhaci sprung a trap. It turns out Nurhaci had ordered his forces to prepare the breaking of dams, and at the moment Du Song's 10,000 men got half way in, well they broke them. The Ming forces in disarray had to flee back from the raging water, abandoning a ton of their equipment. Now Du Song's force had to go from offense to defense, erecting 2 camps on the opposite side of the river frantically.  Those troops Nurhaci snuck in the forested mountains then came down upon the camp that held Du Song  and Nurhaci himself personally led 6 banners to attack the camp as well.   Nurhaci's forces much like that of Ghenghis Khan's, came in with horse backed archers to pelt the defenders. The Ming Musketeers divided themselves into 2-3 rows, taking turns to fire their guns and reload, known as “repeated fire”, basically a more rustic version of what you see during something like the revolutionary wars of America. Some of theses guns by the way are known as Zhuifeng Qiang “windchasing” guns. They are around 5 feet long and shoot fairly large lead bullets. With one of these you can probably hit something within 40 feet away effectively. So you must be thinking, well the Ming Musketeers must have shot the Jin cavalry up like a turkey shoot, but you would be wrong. Interesting little side note here, the bow and arrow historically has trumped firearms honestly until the invention of the repeating rifle and revolver. If you know something about the Aboriginal wars in the America's, it was this innovation that finally allowed militaries to defeat peoples like the Comanche. Until those were invented, horseback archers would be able to get off far too many shots by the time people using firearms could shoot and reload. And thats basically what happened, Nurhaci's horseback archers pelted the Ming Musketeers and began flanking them, until they began to break formation and soon fled. After this Nurhaci besieged the other camp at Jilin Cliff. Soon the Jin's had surrounded the force there and Du Song alongside 2 other generals were killed during the slaughter. It was said that “corpses piled up like a mountain and the fields were drenched in blood”.   Upon hearing that Nurhaci had annihilated the force under Du Song, the inbound force led by Ma Lin coming from a northern position chose to be much more cautious. Ma Lin's 30,000 men soon found the fleeing remnants of Du Song's force and quickly incorporated them into his own force. He then formed 3 camps at Xiangjiayan and fortified them with trenches and cannons. Nurhaci's sent a 1000 men to prod the defenses of the main camp that held Ma Lin's command and also to draw its attention. The 1000 men dismounted and moved forward cautiously, drawing the Ming gunfire their way.   Once Nurhaci had a good idea of the layout of their defenses, he sent in a joint infantry-cavalry assault to make a swift attack upon a weakest point on Ma Lin's camp. The Ming Musketeers could barely get off more than a single volley before the Jin horse riding warriors descended upon them. The front lines were being cut to pieces and soon the entire army's morale broke and several men were routed. Commander Ma Lin barely escaped with his life and many of his officers died in a nearby river turning it quote “crimson with their blood”.  The other 2 camps fell in a similar fashion. Thus Nurhaci had just annihilated 2 out of the 4 incoming armies and took some 4000 of his forces to Hetu Ala to recuperate their strength.    Yang Hao saw the absolute mayhem occurring and ordered the remaining forces to retreat and regroup, but the force coming in from the east led by Big Sword Liu Ting never got the orders. Now unlike his colleagues, Liu Ting was actually having some success against some Jin expeditionary parties. The 13,000 Joseon Expeditionary force was with Liu Ting consisting of 10,000 Musketeers and 3000 archers were proving themselves very capable warriors. He managed to capture a few fortresses, killed 2 Jin generals and inflicted a few thousand casualties. Nurhaci then decided to do something rather cunning: he slipped some saboteurs into Liu Ting's army. These saboteurs pretended to be messengers from Du Song, stating his force was already besieging Hetu Ala and desperately needed assistance for the final victory. Liu Ting proceeded to respond by increasing his army's speed to rush to Hetu Ala. Because of the increased speed they were going, Liu Ting's force became very stretched out and now there were practically 2 divided groups. Around 18 miles from Hetu Ala, Liu Ting's frontal force was ambushed in the Abudali Pass. This allowed 2 of Nurhaci's son's Daisan and Hong Taiji to both make cavalry charges one after the other into the front of Liu Ting's force. These back to back charges inflicted heavy casualties, and they soon managed to surround the Ming force, exacting an estimated 10,000 casualties upon them. It also claimed the life of Liu Ting who was said to go down killing several Jin with him, must have been waving around a pretty big sword. By the way I tried quite hard to find out how the nickname came about and failed to find anything concrete, if anyone knows let me know perhaps by commenting on one of my Youtube episodes!   The Korean Musketeers performed quite well, but the archers, it is alleged, fired without arrowheads, because the Joseon Dynasty intended to keep a neutrality with the newly emerged Jin people. The Joseon Musketeers were eventually overwhelmed by the Jin cavalry, because they lacked spearmen in their formations to thwart off the charges, something they would improve upon later down the road.  Gang Hong-rip ended up surrendering the remaining 4500 of his forces. Those who survived later captivity were eventually allowed to return to their homeland. Gang Hong-rip was proficient in the Jurchen language and was held hostage. Interestingly, once the battle was won and done, Nurhaci went back to Hetu Ala to celebrate and one of the first things he did afterwards was send a message to the King of the Joseon Dynasty asking why they sent an expeditionary force to aid the Mings. The king tried to play it cool and sent a letter of congratulations for the victory, but made sure not to write anything that recognized the Jin state. It seemed the Joseon dynasty was now stuck between the Ming-Jin conflict and this would hold dire consequences later.    Li Rubo had received the message to retreat from Yang Hao, so he was able to avoid disaster, losing around 1000 troops before getting out to safety. Overall it is estimated that the Ming lost some 45,000 troops, 28,000 horses and a ton of war equipment. The Jin claimed to have only lost 200 men, but better estimations put them at losing around 5000. The Ming Court was rocked by this loss and ordered the arrest of Yang Hao, sending the Embroidered Uniform Guard after him; those are essentially the Emperor's secret police. Li Rubo was impeached, because there were rumors he had only survived because he had a personal relationship with Nurhaci. Li Rubo would commit suicide before his trial and Yang Hao would rot in prison for almost a decade before being executed.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  Nurhaci did not stop after defeating the 4 armies, he continued to raise hell by capturing Kaiyuan, Tieling and Xicheng without breaking much of a sweat. Hell Nurhaci was said to have braved a hail of arrows when he personally led the assault on the east wall of Xicheng. Over in Chahar, some of Nurhaci's subjects were defeated at Guangning and this would lead to ongoing troubles between the Jin and Chahar mongols for 15 years. Now Xicheng was the last bastion of Nurhaci's Yehe Jurchen rivals, so now he looked towards more empire building activities. Alongside his advisors they began to plan the conquest of Shenyang and perhaps to establish a new Jin Capital in its place. 

Joseph E. McDevitt (Owner/President and CEO) of Black & White Roofing has lived in the Lake of the Ozark Area his entire life (31 years) and plans on being a lifelong resident. Joseph has been married now for 6 years to his wife Zhengjia C. McDevitt (Owner/Vice President and CFO) who came here from Shenyang, China as an International College student and is now a naturalized citizen of the United States. Joseph and Zhengjia have two children together, a 5 year old son Eli K. McDevitt and a 3 year old daughter Iris M. McDevitt. Joseph Graduated from Eldon High School in 2005 and received a B.S. Degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 2011. He is a 10 year Missouri Army National Guard Veteran and former Apache Attack Helicopter Pilot/Gunner. It has always been his dream to own his own business and to offer his fellow Veterans a good career path. Being an entrepreneur is in his blood and his pursuit of success is always growing. Joseph believes his skill sets are proving to transition perfectly into the business world, especially the roofing industry. Currently these skills the Vets possess have put the company a stride ahead of every one of their competitors and due to their strong work ethic and ability to win, and never give up attitude, Black & White Roofing will be tough to beat. Wes Grant is from Lake of the Ozarks Missouri. He started out in the industry as an insurance adjuster and has been a licensed adjuster for 5 years. Wes has worked all kinds of claims from small water leaks to total loss. He is also a certified appraiser and umpire. Wes brought his skills to the roofing industry when he met Joe, who he found was one of the only honest roofers in the area with integrity and who has the homeowners best interest at heart. Wes brings his skills and helps train all of the staff what is and is not damage and how to help homeowners navigate the insurance side of things. On this episode we talk about leveraging your brand to generate leads. Links: https://www.blackandwhiteroof.com/ https://www.facebook.com/BlackWhiteRoofing/ https://twitter.com/search?q=%40blackwhiteroof https://www.instagram.com/blackwhiteroofing/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-white-roofing/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClgAqtOxDIAmKziHU0-j5YQ https://www.tiktok.com/@blackandwhiteroofing_tv Check out the Pitch Pro Movement: https://www.pitchpromovement.com/jim Give us your feedback! https://ask.roofermarketers.com For Tips, Strategies, and Free Downloads visit our website and join the Roofing Success Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/1940365569408073/ https://roofermarketers.com The Roofing Success Podcast Text Jim @ (612) 512-1812 – Say Hi! I would love to hear your feedback, pros & cons! Please leave us a review!

On the podcast today: ·       Germany's Plugin EV Share Up To 24.3% ·       Toyota Says BZ4X Won't Fast Charge When Cold ·       Spain: Plug-In Car Sales Maintain 10% Share ·       12.5% of New Light-Duty Vehicle Registrations in California were Plug-in Vehicles ·       China set to remain world's largest NEV market, says BMW CFO ·       Toyota to Invest $624 Million to Make EV Parts in India ·       Ford is selling 8 million Rivian shares ·       Ford Might Have Very Bad News for Rivian ·       BMW's Neue Klasse Platform Will Debut On 3 Series-Sized EV In 2025 ·       CarGurus Study Finds Rising Consumer Interest in Electric Vehicles as Gas Prices Spike ·       Bentley Continental GT PHEV spied, shows new step in brand's electrification ·       Cords cut at Tesla charging station in Cincinnati, second time in a week ·       Which New Electric Vehicles Come With Free Charging? Show #1460 Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of EV information. It's Monday 9th May, it's Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to. GERMANY'S PLUGIN EV SHARE UP TO 24.3% Germany, Europe's largest auto market, saw plugin electric vehicles take 24.3% share in April 2022, up from 22.1% YoY. Overall auto volume was down, by over 21% YoY, and over 40% compared to pre-pandemic seasonal norms. April's combined plugin result comprised 12.3% battery electrics (BEVs), and 12.0% plugin hybrids (PHEVs).  Combustion-only powertrains faired worst in terms of volume drop, with diesel sales down almost 30% YoY, and petrol down almost 28%. With current BEV market leader Tesla not having any large scheduled deliveries in April, other marques and models had a chance to shine, with the Fiat 500e coming out on top. The Mercedes EQB stepped up in registered volume by some 5× over the period, seeing a healthy 1,405 units over the February to April period, from 295 previously. The BMW i4 increased 2.7× to 755 units. April BEVs: Fiat 500e, BMW i3, Hyundai Kona, Enyaq, E-Tron, Smart Fortwo, Opel Corsa, ID.4, Zoe, E-208, Merc EQB, Kia Niro EV, Dacia Spring, VW e-Up!, Polestar 2, ID.3, Renault Twingo, Audi Q4 e-tron, IONIQ5 and Kia EV6 Original Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2022/05/06/germanys-plugin-ev-share-up-to-24-3-economic-pressures-mounting/ TOYOTA SAYS BZ4X WON'T FAST CHARGE WHEN COLD From Kyle Conner @ Out of Spec:  "Charging times are estimated based on ideal charging conditions. As temperatures decrease below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, charging time will increase significantly. Drive battery level and condition, charger specifications and DC charging more than twice per day also can negatively affect charging time. DC charging may not work on AWD bz4x when the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit." That's 5 degrees celsius. Original Source: https://pressroom.toyota.com/five-things-to-know-about-the-all-electric-toyota-bz4x/ SPAIN: PLUG-IN CAR SALES MAINTAIN 10% SHARE - plug-in electric car sales in Spain continue to expand at a fast rate. In April, some 6,365 new plug-in cars were registered (up 41% year-over-year), which is 9% of the total. - The average market share of plug-ins in the recent six months stays above 10%, which is a good foundation for the future. With outstanding conditions for solar electricity generation and unleashed production of BEVs (supported by new battery gigafactory investments in the pipeline), Spain has very high potential for electrification. - Stats for the month:  BEVs: 1,991 (up 36%, at 2.8% market share) PHEVs: 4,374 (up 43%, at 6.2% market share) Total: 6,365 (up 41%, at 9.0% market share) Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/584466/spain-plugin-car-sales-april-2022/ 12.5% OF NEW LIGHT-DUTY VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS IN CALIFORNIA WERE PLUG-IN VEHICLES - In California, 12.5% of new light-duty vehicle registrations were plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) in 2021, according to the data released by the Department of Energy (DOE) - Next highest were the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon, which each had PEV registrations accounting for more than 7% of new registrations. - Additionally, Californians bought roughly 15,000 more EVs during this quarter than last quarter and Q1 of 2022 EV sales are up by 37%, relative to EV sales at this time last year.The market share of electric vehicles in California jumped to 16.32%. Original Source : https://electriccarsreport.com/2022/05/in-2021-12-5-of-new-light-duty-vehicle-registrations-in-california-were-plug-in-vehicles/ CHINA SET TO REMAIN WORLD'S LARGEST NEV MARKET, SAYS BMW CFO - China will continue to be the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) market for years to come, said Nicolas Peter, chief financial officer (CFO) and member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua. - In 2021, NEV sales in China increased by about 170 percent year-on-year. This momentum continued in the first quarter of 2022, when -- despite all the challenges -- the Chinese NEV market posted a 140 percent year-on-year growth. - On Thursday, the company launched the production of BMW i3, tailormade for the Chinese market, at its new plant, dubbed Lydia, in Shenyang, northeast China. Last month, the company also held the world premiere for its all-electric BMW i7 luxury sedan. Original Source : http://www.china.org.cn/business/2022-05/07/content_78204925.htm FORD IS SELLING 8 MILLION RIVIAN SHARES - Ford Motor is selling 8 million of its Rivian Automotive shares, with the insider lockup for the stock of the once high-flying electric vehicle maker set to expire on Sunday, sources told CNBC's David Faber. - The automaker currently owns 102 million shares of Rivian. Ford will be selling the shares through Goldman Sachs, sources said. - Shares of the EV manufacturer have plummeted by more than 50% in the first three months of 2022, reversing course from the fourth quarter, when the company held its stock market debut and saw its value skyrocket. Original Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/08/ford-is-selling-8-million-rivian-shares-sources-say.html FORD MIGHT HAVE VERY BAD NEWS FOR RIVIAN - Amazon owned 17.74% of Rivian as of Dec. 31 and Ford owned 11.42%, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. - Ford, for its part, posted a net loss of $3.1 billion from January to March. "A net loss of $3.1 billion was primarily attributable to a mark-to-market loss of $5.4 billion on the company's investment in Rivian. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were $2.3 billion," Ford said. - Rivian shares have slumped 72.2% this year. The market capitalization at Rivian has shrunk by $66.1 billion, to $25.43 billion from Dec. 31 to May 6. - The R1T is one of the main rivals of the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of the F-150 pickup. Original Source : https://www.thestreet.com/technology/ford-might-have-very-bad-news-for-rivian BMW'S NEUE KLASSE PLATFORM WILL DEBUT ON 3 SERIES-SIZED EV IN 2025 Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/584413/bmw-neue-klasse-platform-will-debut-3-series-sized-ev-2025/ CARGURUS STUDY FINDS RISING CONSUMER INTEREST IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES AS GAS PRICES SPIKE Original Source : https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cargurus-study-finds-rising-consumer-130000267.html BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT PHEV SPIED, SHOWS NEW STEP IN BRAND'S ELECTRIFICATION Original Source : https://uk.motor1.com/news/584356/bentley-continental-phev-spy-photos/ CORDS CUT AT TESLA CHARGING STATION IN CINCINNATI, SECOND TIME IN A WEEK Original Source : https://www.fox19.com/2022/05/07/cords-cut-tesla-charging-station-cincinnati-second-time-week/ WHICH NEW ELECTRIC VEHICLES COME WITH FREE CHARGING? 2022 Audi E-Tron GT 2022 Audi E-Tron and Q4 E-Tron 2022 BMW i4 Gran Coupe and iX 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV 2021-22 Ford Mustang Mach-E and 2022 F-150 Lightning 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric and 2021 Ioniq Electric 2022 Kia EV6 2022 Lucid Air 2022 Mazda MX-30 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS, 2022 EQB and 2023 EQE   2023 Nissan Ariya 2022 Nissan Leaf 2021-22 Polestar 2 2022 Porsche Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo 2022 Rivian R1T and R1S 2023 Toyota bZ4X 2022 Volkswagen ID.4         2022 Volvo C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge · Original Source : https://www.cars.com/articles/which-new-electric-vehicles-come-with-free-charging-449786/ QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM What would you like to see improved in EV charge station design? Email me any feedback to: hello@evnewsdaily.com It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast. PREMIUM PARTNERS PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE BRAD CROSBY PORSCHE OF THE VILLAGE CINCINNATI AUDI CINCINNATI EAST VOLVO CARS CINCINNATI EAST NATIONAL CAR CHARGING ON THE US MAINLAND AND ALOHA CHARGE IN HAWAII DEREK REILLY FROM THE EV REVIEW IRELAND YOUTUBE CHANNEL RICHARD AT RSEV.CO.UK – FOR BUYING AND SELLING EVS IN THE UK EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM/ OCTOPUS ELECTRIC JUICE - MAKING PUBLIC CHARGING SIMPLE WITH ONE CARD, ONE MAP AND ONE APP MILLBROOKCOTTAGES.CO.UK – 5* LUXURY COTTAGES IN DEVON, JUMP IN THE HOT TUB WHILST YOUR EV CHARGES

In this ‘listener's guide' to one of opera's favorite comedies, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean investigates Mozart's use of some eighteenth-century musical idioms in THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. Musical examples from Seattle Opera Marriage of Figaro productions in 1997 (conducted by Antonello Allemandi, starring Mary Mills); 2009 (conducted by Dean Williamson, starring Marius Kwiecien, Twyla Robinson, Christine Brandes, Arthur Woodley, and Oren Gradus); and 2016, (conducted by Gary Thor Wedow, starring Morgan Smith, Karin Mushegain,  Shenyang, Nuccia Focile, Bernarda Bobro).

TPP team had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Ching-Wen Hsiao and Dr. Konstantinos Valianatos—Concert Pianists, Valianatos-Hsiao Piano Duo, & Faculty Members at the Tianjin Juilliard School—for Season 2 Episode 10!During the interview session which took place a few days before Chine New Year 2022, we got to hear:Ching-Wen and Konstantinos' exciting careers as solo and duo pianists.The time when they were students at the Juilliard School in the U.S.The inside scoop of The Tianjin Juilliard SchoolWhat's like to live in China during/after the pandemic