21 Facts About Mao Wenlong

Mao Wenlong, courtesy name Zhennan, was a Chinese military general of the Ming dynasty, best known for commanding an independent detachment based in Dongjiang, a strategically important island in the Yellow Sea that defended the coastal corridor into the Ming vassal state Joseon, where he engaged harassing naval and amphibious battles against the Manchu-led Later Jin.

Mao Wenlong was known for excelling in artillery warfare and successfully incorporating Western-style tactics into the Chinese military.

Mao Wenlong was born into a merchant family in Hangzhou and reported worked as a fortuneteller in his youth.

Mao Wenlong joined the Ming military and participated in a military selection exam in late 1605, in which he ranked sixth among the recruits.

Mao Wenlong did not gain any further promotion for over a decade, prompting him to even consider discharge from military service.

In summer of 1623, after receiving reports that Nurhaci was planning on attacking the Ming dynasty, Mao Wenlong sent four divisions to attack the Later Jin from four different fronts, which forced the Jurchens to abandon their campaign.

Mao Wenlong's divisions managed gain a foothold on the southern Liaodong Peninsula, recruiting over 4,000 militiamen from the refugees and successfully recapturing the towns of Jinzhou and Lushun and large quantities of Later Jin weaponries.

Mao Wenlong's troops managed to withstand the siege and defeated the attacks using an ambush.

Nurhaci then sent an emissary to discuss peace deal, but Mao Wenlong arrested the messenger and handed him to the Ming court.

Mao Wenlong responded by sending troops to cut off the Later Jin supply line, causing the enemy to retreat and recapturing the lost towns.

Mao Wenlong argued for regarrison and gained the support of the Minister of Defense Wang Zaijin and other officials, who praised Mao Wenlong's garrisons in Dongjiang as an "offshore Great Wall ".

However, Yuan soon decided that Mao Wenlong, who held a sword of state granted by the late Tianqi Emperor, was becoming a problem for him.

Mao Wenlong was already impeached by other government ministers as his garrisons in Dongjiang were getting too costly for the Treasury, and there were accusations of insubordination and corruption against his officers.

Yuan then trying to convince Mao Wenlong to retire, who rejected the offer citing that he was more experienced to deal with the affairs of Liaodong and Joseon.

When Mao Wenlong protested, Yuan presented his own sword of state and announced that Mao Wenlong had "twelve crimes", and then had him summarily executed in front of the whole camp.

The matter of the Mao Wenlong affair was however brought up again months later after the humiliating Jisi Incident, and became a major factor for Yuan's own impeachment, prosecution and execution by a thousand cuts the following year.

Mao Wenlong is sometimes blamed for the Later Jin invasion of Joseon.

Mao Wenlong was known for operating against the Later Jin dynasty from bases within the Joseon dynasty, a Ming ally at that time.

Mao Wenlong never dared to drag major Later Jin cities into war even when there was a strategic advantage in doing so.

Mao Wenlong engaged in widespread smuggling using the Ming marine corps, contributing heavily to the booming economy of northern China.

Mao Wenlong was eventually caught for smuggling and executed by Yuan Chonghuan, a fellow military commander who had been conferred the imperial sword of absolute authority by the last Ming emperor.