A Study On Sichang Yang's Military Strategies

Sichang Yang is a main determining person in many important military and politics activities in the last days of the Ming Dynasty. Yang had done many on the military strategies. Facing the Manchu's invasion aside the board, he not only recommended of Liao Tax, Jiao Tax, Lian Tax in the Court, but also visited many frontiers such as Bazhou, Shanhai Guan. As to the peasants' rebels in the late Ming, he applied many methods to the Court as "Si Zheng Liu Yu, Shi Mian Zhang Wang", and further went to the frontier himself, until his death. The whole life of Yang is a picture of the Ming Dynasty which is suffering from peasants'rebels and enemies invasions. Although he was not able to turn back those things, nor to save the Ming Dynasty, what he did was still shining with his military sparks. Especially as an important person in the Court at that time, facing Manchu's invasions and peasants'rebels inside and outside his country, he was so important at that time with his military strategies. Looking through all his military life, he was neither strong nor vulnerable. Zicheng Li took the crown just three years after his death. From this result, one could say that it's the main reason which Yang's military strategies did not eliminate all the enemies in-and out-sides which lead Ming to an end. This article is based on studies of Yang's letters and poems and other relative historical papers, and is done with the author's own points of view on the background of many historical materials and by a series of scientific methods. The first chapter gives a brief description on Yang's life. The second chapter discusses Yang's military strategies on Manchu, Mongolia, Korea and other relationships. The third chapter discusses Yang's military strategies on peasant's rebels and other Chinese ethnic minorities. Chapter four is about Yang's strategies on the administrations. It's very meaningful to study Sichang Yang because there's few studies on him and he is very important in the Ming's military and other social relative issues.