Tang He edit
Tang He(1326ad-1395ad), courtesy name Dingchen, was a significant character in the rebellion that ended the Yuan dynasty and was one of the founding generals of Ming dynasty. He came from the same village as Zhu Yuanzhang and joined Guo Zixing’s rebellion named Red Turbans, a millenarian sect related to the White Lotus Society, at the time of its original uprising(March,1352).[1][2] Tang was promoted quickly in rank as Guo’s army grew. After conquering Jiqing(present-day Nanjing) City, Zhenjiang City under the command of Zhu Yuanzhang, he was promoted to Yuan Shuai(wing commander), and after conquering Changzhou (April, 1357), Tang was placed in command there with the rank of deputy assistant chief of the commission of military affairs.[3][2] Later in year 1367, he was sent south to defeat Fang Guozhen ’s and Chen Youdin’s army, along with invading Shanxi province, Gansu province ,and Ningxia province under the command of Xu-Da, and was granted as Xinguo Gong.[3] Tang He died in August 1395, and he was one of the few founding generals of Ming dynasty that die a natural death.
Early life edit
Tang was born into a desperately poor farmer family in Zhongli Village, which is in present-day Fengyang, Anhui Province. He and Zhu Yuangzhang were friends in childhood, and Tang later became one of the closest associates and principal general of Zhu.[4][2] Tang had shown his ambition and talent as a militarist since childhood. He would like to be a leader amount partners, and preferred practicing riding and arching at very young age. After growing up, Tang became a calm, strong, confident, and well-spoken man that could be an outstanding militarist.[3]
Military Career edit
Early Career edit
In year 1352, because of the natural disaster and Yuan dynasty’s incompetent govern, a rebellion named Red Turbans upraised, signaled the beginning of the end for Mongol rule over China.[1] Tang joined the rebellion with several other ambitious young man, and invited Zhu Yuanzhang, who became a novice monk at the Huangjue Temple, to the Red Turbans.[5] Zhu accepted this invitation and after that, he was soon granted a position higher than Tang for his contribution. Early in 1354 Tang was selected by Zhu Yuangzhang, then Guo’s protege, to be one of twenty-four men to serve as the core of his personal command and after Zhu’s capture of Chu Zhou City in April, he received the rank of battalion commander.[2] Tang served under Zhu in the invasion of Dahongshan in year 1353, they together conquered Chuzhou City and Hezhou City, and Tang was the only one who strongly supported Zhu when Zhu’s authority was contested by the other generals at He Zhou City in 1355.[3] Later in the same year, Tang together with other generals conquered Lishui City and Jurong City under the command of Zhu. In the storming of Tai Ping City against Cheng Yexian, Tang was wounded by an arrow on the left leg. Though he was seriously injured, Tang persisted in the battle and finally caught Cheng alive.[3] In year 1356, serving under Xu Da, Tang took part in the conquering of Jiqing(present-day Nanjing), which became the base of Zhu’s operation and the capital of Ming dynasty. Soon after, Tang and Xu da conquered Zhengjiang City and Changzhou City. Following these successes, Tang was promoted to Yuan Shuai(wing commander), and he was placed in Changzhou with the rank of deputy assistant chief of Shumiyuan (Commission of Military Affairs).[3][2]
Defend the city edit
Changhzhou was the most important of several cities controlled by Zhu Yuanzhang which constituted the line of defense against the kingdom of Zhang Shicheng, who declared himself as King of Wu and was Zhu’s enemy.[3]Tang He and his large garrison had to defend city and act as a mobile reserve to help other cities when they were threatened. Zhang sent spies rapidly to get informations, but their all failed attributes to Tang’s effective commands. Zhang also invaded the city several times, while Tang beat off one attack in February, 1358, and in May, 1359, Tang captured over one thousand men and forty ships by ambushing.[3][2] Tang did not participate in the battle against Chen Yuliang, because he was ordered to act occasional counterattacks against Zhang Shicheng’s territories. In February, 1363, he was promoted to junior administrator of the secretariat and then in April, 1364, became chief administrator.[2]
War over Zhang Shicheng edit
Finally, Zhu’s main army returned to Nanjing after defeating Chen, and Tang’s troops were permitted to go other areas. Tang was soon granted as left censoring-chief for defeating Zhang’s army utterly in the invasion of Wuxi City, and was granted as PinZhangZhenShi(a prestigious title) after victory over Zhang’s navy in the area of Huangyang Mountain.[3] Later in December 1364, Tang relieved Changxing from Zhang shixin’s (Zhang Shicheng's brother) siege, and captured eight thousand soldiers alive in the hard-fought battle.[2] In October 1365, Tang joined the final battle against Zhang Shicheng under the command of Xu Da. Tang quickly destroyed Zhang’s navy in Lake Tai and Wujiang, and rejoined the main army that besieged Suzhou.[2] In the fight in Chang Men(part of Suzhou), Tang was once more wounded. He returned to Nanjing to convalesce, but was back soon for the invasion of Suzhou in October, 1367. Tang was granted a great reward by Zhu after battle, and was given the nominal title of instructor to the heir apparent in February of the following year.[2][3]
Conquer Fujian region edit
In year 1365, Zhu declared himself as King of Wu.[4] After the collapse of their last great enemy Zhang, Tang was put in charge of the southern expedition with Wu zhen as his deputy, and ordered to lead the former garrisons of Jiangzhou, Jiangxing, and Jiangyin to suppress Fang Guozhen.[3] Tang conquered Yuyao City, Shangyu City, and Qinyuan City successfully at the end of November, but Fang escaped over the sea, with the lose of only few units. Zhu yuanzhang then ordered Liao yuanzhong to support Tang with his own ships. The combined force pursued Fang’s navy. At the end of December, Fang surrendered his four hundred ships and twenty-four thousand men.[3] At the same time that Xu Da conquered north of China, Zhu’s army was invading Fujian overland from west. In support, Tang He and Liao Yuanzhong sailed to Fuzhou in January. Tang occupied the port after a short siege, and this led the coastal cities, including Xinhua, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, to surrender soon afterward.[3] The expeditionary force then pushed up along the river, capturing pro-Yuan warlord Chen Yuting alive.[3] This completed the campaign in Fujian, and would be Tang’s greatest military achievement. In March 1366, Tang returned to Ningbo to transport grain by sea to the North with Fang Guozhen’s former staff, and put Liao in command of the fleet.[3]
Conquer North of China edit
Tang accompanied the emperor to Kaifeng in August, 1368. There he was assigned a mission of conquering cities in north Henan and south Shanxi. After completing his mission, Tang joined Zhu’s main army under Xu Da, and together they entered Shanxi in year 1369.[3] The battle ended in September, and soon after both Tang He and Xu Da were recalled to Nanjing to receive rewards from emperor. However, because Tang has offended emperor once in Changzhou after drinking, he received less reward than the principals[3]. A few weeks later Tang became Xu Da’s deputy for the north conquest, and was present in the great victory over Köke Temür(also known as Wang Baobao) at Gansu; afterwards Tang was detached from the main army and sent north.[3]
later years edit
Evaluation edit
References edit
- ^ a b "History of Ming, Volume 126 Biographies 14: Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu, Tang He, Mu Ying". Chinese Notes. 2018-10-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "ChinaKnowledge,Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)". 2018-10-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Goodrich, L. Carrington; Fang, Chaoying (1976). Dictionary of Ming Biogtaphy 1368-1644, vol2. Newyork, London: Columbia University Press. pp. 1248–1251. ISBN 0-231-03833-X.
- ^ a b Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (1996). The Cambridge Illustrated History Of China. The Pitt Building, Trumping Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY10011-4211,USA: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. pp. 190–195. ISBN 0-521-43519-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Kallie, Szczepanski (2017-03-08). "The Red Turban Rebellion in China, 1351-1368".
Further reading edit
Sources that are useful for fully understanding the character.