At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the world was in decline, the Liao territory was completely defeated, the Ming army was defeated repeatedly in battles, and the Hou Jin cavalry roamed outside the pass, and no one dared to challenge it. Yuan Chonghuan, as a civil servant, led thousands of disabled soldiers to defend Ningyuan alone, resisting tens of thousands of Nurhachi's elites. With a strong city and cannons, he defeated the enemy in one battle, shattering the myth of the invincibility of the Later Jin Dynasty, and making a generation of great chieftains die in anger.
This book begins with the bloody battle of Ningyuan, and then traces the beginning and end of his life. It is written that he grew up in the grassland and became an official, with the heart of serving the country and his upright character; it is written that he went to the border alone, rectified the defense, governed the army with strict laws, and defended the city with death; it was written that he pacified Liaodong, repeatedly defeated powerful enemies, and supported the crisis in the north, but he was deeply involved in party disputes and treacherous plots in the court.
A person who is loyal and brave all his life and a soldier for half his life can defend an isolated city, but he cannot withstand the evil of people's hearts. He can hold up a country but cannot prevent it from collapsing in the last days.
This book describes Yuan Chonghuan's life from a scholar to a famous general, from his achievements that shocked the world to his death due to injustice. Looking at the iron blood of the lonely ministers in the north, he also saw the tragedy of the Ming Dynasty.
