Draft:Zhou Yuji (Ming general)

• Comment: Vast majority of this draft is unsourced. YouTube is considered user-generated content and is not a reliable source. ~Liance^talk 12:37, 12 September 2024 (UTC)

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Zhou Yuji
戚繼光
Born	17th century Jinzhou
Died	1644 Ningwu Pass, Shanxi
Occupation	General

Zhou Yuji (Chinese: 周玉吉) was a loyal and brave general during the late Ming Dynasty. He is best remembered for his heroic defense against the rebel forces led by Li Zicheng, a leader of a peasant rebellion that contributed to the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

Life

He was a native of Jinzhou. He was brave and good at archery. After joining the army, he fought bravely to kill the enemy, rushing to the forefront in every battle.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), he was promoted to two levels in a row, and he was the rear general of the forward battalion. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638), he was made the tutor of the Crown Prince, and he was the governor of the left. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), he served as the chief military officer of Shanxi.

Battle of Ningwu Pass

In the winter of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen (1643), Li Zicheng captured Shaanxi and prepared to take Shanxi to head towards the capital. Zhou Yuji and Shanxi Governor Cai Maode set up river defenses respectively and asked the capital for help. As a result, Beijing only dispatched deputy general Xiong Tong to lead 2000 soldiers to help the battle. Zhou Yuji had to rush to Daizhou to establish a blocking defense line for Beijing. In the first month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), after Chen Shangzhi surrendered to Li Zicheng, the guard of Pingyang persuaded Xiong Tong to surrender and asked him to also persuade Zhou Yuji to surrender. Zhou Yuji beheaded Xiong Tong in anger and sent his head to Beijing, showing his determination to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty and swear to serve the country.

On February 7, Taiyuan fell, and the governor of Shanxi, Cai Maode, committed suicide. After Li Zicheng rested for eight days in Taiyuan, he sent troops again, took Xinzhou again, and then rushed to Daizhou. After Zhou Yuji held on for several days in Daizhou, he ran out of food to help him, and after leading his army to break through the siege, he retreated to Ningwu Pass. Ningwuguan (Ningwu Pass) is located in the central part of Shanxi. It was a major traffic road from Taiyuan to Datong in the north. Together with Pianguan and Yanmenguan, it has become one of the three passes in Shanxi to defend against the Tatars. Its strategic position was extremely important. Li Zicheng was determined to win, and Zhou Yuji vowed to resist, so a fierce battle was inevitable.

Li Zicheng surrounded Ningwu Pass with dozens of times his strength. During this period, Li Zicheng once sent soldiers to shout "Those who do not surrender will slaughter the city" for five consecutive days, but it failed. Li Zicheng became angry and used wheel tactics, and he did not hesitate to kill or die. The resistence went far beyond their expectations.

Finally, after several days of fierce fighting, Zhou Yuji ran out of ammunition and food, and Ningwuguan was broken. Zhou Yuji continued to command street fighting, and he continued to fight even after he fell off his horse, "jumping on foot, killing dozens of people with his hands. He was attacked like a hedgehog, but he was held by a thief, and he was scolded and unyielding". Li Zicheng saw that Zhou Yuji would not surrender , So "hanging on a high pole, clumps shot to kill it, and slaughtered its flesh", arrows pierced through the heart, and he was dismembered. With him, a generation of famous generals died out extremely tragically.

Aftermath

Immediately, Li Zicheng "slaughtered Ningwu, leaving infants and young children behind" to vent the hatred of resistance. In the battle of Ningwu, Li Zicheng also paid a heavy price. The battle took the heaviest toll on the Shun army in it's March towards Beijing. More than 10 000 soldiers were killed, (including Li Zicheng's four generals) and many more were injured. Li Zicheng was shocked. Zhou Yuji's family committed suicide. Li was astonished by their unwavering loyalty to the failing Ming Dynasty.

In order to reach the capital, he had to pass through Datong, Yanghe, Xuanfu, Juyong and other passes. These passes were heavily guarded, and the future was full of thorns. Li Zicheng was so frightened by Zhou Yuji's attack that he said, "If it is as good as Ningwu, my subordinates would rather be left alone!" If he encounters resistance like Zhou Yuji again, the insurgent army will be wiped out.

Not knowing where to go, Li Zicheng was in a dilemma. Just when Li Zicheng was about to return to Shaanxi, the guards at the gates surrendered one after another, and Li Zicheng drove straight in and approached the capital. After occupying the capital, the insurgents burned, killed, tortured and looted everywhere, but they still had lingering fears.

Legacy

Despite being vastly outnumbered and running out of resources, Zhou Yuji fought fiercely to defend the pass. Even after his defenses collapsed and he was severely injured, he refused to surrender to the rebel forces. His loyalty to the Ming Dynasty was so strong that he executed a fellow general who had suggested surrender, sending his head to Beijing as a sign of his unwavering loyalty.

In the end, Zhou Yuji met a tragic and heroic death. After Ningwu Pass fell, he continued to fight on foot, killing many enemies despite his injuries. When captured, he remained defiant, refusing to surrender. As a result, he was executed in a brutal manner by Li Zicheng's forces.

Zhou Yuji's sacrifice made him a symbol of loyalty and bravery, remembered as one of the great loyalists who stood firm in the face of overwhelming odds during the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. His actions exemplified the tragic heroism of the Ming generals who fought until the very end, despite the inevitability of the dynasty's fall.