The Surrendered Troops Of The Four Defense Commands In The Battles In Jiangnan In The Early Qing Dynasty

After the Hongguang Regime of the Southern Ming was established, it gave knighthood to four generals:Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing and Huang Degong. The four generals were ordered to station in the north of the Yangtze River, to defend Nanjing. They were called "Four defense commands" of the Hongguang Regime. In 1645 AD, the Qing troops went south and attack the Hongguang Regime violently. The troops of the four defense commands didn't have the will to fight, they surrendered to Qing Dynasty immediately. The subordinates of Gao Jie, such as Li Benshen, Yang Chengzu, Li Chengdong, Hu Maozhen, led their troops to surrender to Qing Dynasty in the area near Yangzhou and Guazhou. Then, Liu Liangzuo led his troop to surrender to Qing Dynasty in the area near Nanjing. Huang Degong died in the fierce battle with the Qing Army in Wuhu. His two subordinates:Tian Xiong and Ma Degong, led their troops to surrender to Qing Dynasty after his dead. Liu Zeqing, who had been stationed in Huai'an, escaped into the sea by boats before the arrival of the Qing Troop. Finally he surrendered to Qing Dynasty because of desperation. Most part of the troops of the four defense commands were ordered to join the Qing Troop's operational sequence, and took part in the Qing Dynasty's war of conquest. Li Chengdong and the military forces led by him participated in the battle of Yangzhou City and Yangtze River. Liu Liangzuo and the military forces led by him followed the Eight-Banners Troop to pursue and attack Hongguang Emperor in Wuhu.After the Qing Troop occupied Nanjing, Duoduo began to simplify the number of the surrendered troops of Southern Ming, and weeded out the soldiers whose combat capability was poor. Then, the number of the military forces led by the surrendered generals of the four defense commands was greatly reduced. Their threat to the Qing Dynasty was gradually weakened.In June of 1645, the Qing government issued the edict of hair-cutting. Then the Large-scale Anti-Qing resistance broke out in the region of Jiangnan. Because the number of the Eight-Banners Troop was limited, it's difficult for them to participate fully in the battles in Jiangnan. Therefore, the surrendered troops of the four defense commands became the main force used by the Qing government to repress the revolt. Liu Liangzuo's troops routed the Anti-Qing armies in Danyang and Jintan, and attacked the fortress of Jiangyin. But the defense of the rebels in Jiangyin was strict. The attack to Jiangyin launched by Liu Liangzuo's troops lasted more than one month, but they still made no progress. Until the Eight-Banners Troop with cannons came to reinforce, Jiangyin was captured finally. Li Benshen's troops exterminated some Anti-Qing forces in small group in Liyang. During the large-scale battles in Jiangnan in 1645, Li Chengdong's troops made the largest contribution to the Qing Dynasty and got the most victories in all the surrendered armies. They repressed the revolts in Jiading, Jinshan, Shanghai and Chuansha lonely, and captured the City of Songjiang in cooperation with part of the Eight-Banners Troop. Overall, compared with the Eight-Banners Troop, the combat capability of the surrendered troops of the four defense commands was weaker. The Qing Dynasty won a victory in the battles in Jiangnan. The forces which played a decisive role in the battles were not the surrendered troops of the Southern Ming, but the Eight-Banners Troop.After the Large-scale Anti-Qing resistances were repressed by the Qing Troop, the situation in Jiangnan gradually became stabilized. The Qing government had the surrendered troops of the four defense commands on large-scale mobilization and organization. Part of the surrendered troops was transferred from Jiangnan. In September 1645, some surrendered generals of the four defense commands, such as Liu Liangzuo, Li Benshen went to Beijing with Duoduo, and were controlled by the Qing government strictly. Later, some surrendered troops of the four defense commands were send to Zhejiang, Huizhou, Jiangxi and other areas to combat. In November, Li Chengdong and his troops, who stayed in Jiangnan, attacked the Chongming Island which was occupied by the Southern Ming forces. Then they captured the important Anti-Qing stronghold.From the end of 1645, the Qing government began to establish the Green-flag system. The Green-flag troop stationed in Jiangnan, and stabilized the order of ruling. The majority of the Green-flag troop was the surrendered troops of the four defense commands, which was also the most powerful force of the Green-flag troop in Jiangnan. After 1645, the small-scale Anti-Qing resistances in Jiangnan were gradually disappeared. In this background, Li Chengdong and his troop, the most powerful army in the surrendered troops of the four defense commands, was send to Fujian and other areas to fight. Then, there were still a few surrendered troops of the four defense commands stayed in Jiangnan. However, after the major generals were transferred or dismissed, and the original preparation of military was disrupted, the surrendered troops in Jiangnan were not longer the military forces which were organized and independent.