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The History of China

#251 - Ming 36: The Final Showdown

·34 min·3 clips
The Ming Empire's last major campaign against the Manchus begins with a controversial commander and a desperate financial scramble.
The episode opens by framing the Liaodong Campaign as a final showdown between the ailing Ming Empire and the rising Manchu Qing force. It revisits the Battle of Sarhu from a Ming perspective, noting the Wanli Emperor's initial inaction and eventual reluctant response to Manchu demands. The Ming assembled a large, poorly financed army, with the emperor contributing only 100,000 taels from his vast personal treasury, forcing new land taxes. Commander-in-Chief Yang Hao divided his force into four columns, a fatal error that allowed Manchu leader Nurhaci to defeat each separately. General Du Song's column of 25,000 men was ambushed and annihilated after he abandoned his artillery and crossed the Hun River. Post-battle, Du Song was scapegoated based on a flawed report from just four soldiers. The episode notes the ineffectiveness of Chinese firearms against Manchu cavalry. Following these defeats, Yang Hao was arrested and later executed. After the Wanli Emperor's death in 1620, his successor, the Taichang Emperor, immediately released two million taels for border defense and reversed unpopular taxes. However, he fell ill and died mysteriously after taking 'red pills' from a minor official, an event known as the Red Pill Case. A power struggle ensued between Donglin faction officials and Consort Li over control of the underage heir, Zhu Yujiao. The episode ends by previewing the reign of the Tianqi Emperor. Throughout, it weaves in cultural context, like Jesuit presence and Wanli's tomb excavation in 1956.

As heard by us

A Ming-side account of Songhai that finds the battle inside a broken chain of command.

Episode 251, The Last Showdown, revisits the Liaodong Campaign of 1619-1620 and reconsiders the Battle of Songhai from a Ming perspective, with Wanli Emperor's long refusal to attend court still shadowing the chain of command.

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Why you'd press play

When a battle turns on who heard the order first.

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