Nurhachi: The Rise of the Iron-Blooded Founder
Nurhaci, the founder of the Qing Dynasty, raised an army with thirteen pieces of armor and opened a gap in the rise of Liaodong in the melee in the late Ming Dynasty. When he was twenty-five years old, his grandfather and father were accidentally killed by the Ming army. He endured and lay dormant, using the title of "Commander of the Left Guards of Jianzhou" in the Ming Dynasty to accumulate strength and unify the Jurchens in Jianzhou within five years.
He created the Eight Banners system, twisted the military, politics, and economy into a unified rope, and transformed loose tribes into an iron-blooded army; he pledged his allegiance to the "Seven Hatreds" and started a war against the Ming Dynasty.
He moved the capital twice, from Hetuala to Liaoyang, and then to Shenyang, taking control of Liaodong step by step. Although they defeated Ningyuan in their later years, they laid a solid foundation for the Later Jin Dynasty (Qing Dynasty). Their iron-blooded skills and strategic vision allowed the Jurchens to move from tribal disputes to unification, and finally paved the way for the Qing Dynasty to take over the Central Plains.
