「松錦之役」，清人又稱之為「松山大捷」，是明朝與清朝在遼西走廊所做的最後決戰。這場戰役的結果卻是清朝徵召了全國可以動用的兵力。明朝的援軍則是最善戰的遼軍和西軍等邊防軍所組成，特別是西軍抽調後，流寇所造成的內亂越來越嚴重，再加上即將崩潰的財政，類似這樣大規模的精銳軍隊終明之世都未能再重新組建或集結。 決戰的結果是明朝戰敗，喪失了這支精銳軍隊及關外四城，僅能以退守寧遠及山海關自保。時人及後世史家評論這段歷史時，多以崇禎皇帝、兵部尚書陳新甲及監軍張若麒改變薊遼總督洪承疇的持重戰略所致。從史料來看，洪承疇率領主力大軍進駐松山城作戰時卻接連犯了好幾個致命的錯誤，這對一生謹慎的洪承疇而言，似乎有些格格不入。從廣義的軍事技術觀點來看，明朝在松錦戰敗之因，史家有很多方面並未討論。只根據史書和時人記載，很難對當時的情況有全面的了解。特別是牽涉到大規模軍事行動時，沒有以軍事學的角度來探討，有些現象是難以理解的。 從洪承疇所著的兵書《古今平定略》內容中，可以看到洪承疇訓練軍隊及其對關外作戰方式的初步構想。本文擬以軍事學的角度，探討洪承疇所著兵書《古今平定略》及現存的明清之際的檔案、史料，來理解洪承疇在松錦之戰前的軍隊整備及最後戰敗的原因。 The Sungchin Battle, also called the Sungshan Victory by the Ching, was the final battle between the two forces of Ching and Ming at Liaochi Tsoulang. At the end, Ching had mustered all the troops it could mobilize while Ming’s reinforcements consisted of the fiercest border security armies, such as the Liao troops and the Chi troops. The enlisting of the Chi troops and national financial collapse made the civil rebellion caused by the stray bandits become more and more serious. This was the last time the Ming Dynasty could assemble an elite army on a grand scale. The Ming Dynasty finally lost the battle together with its elite army and the four towns outside Sanhaiguan. As a result, it can only retreat back to Ningyuan and stay at Sanhaiguan to avoid being crushed. When reviewing this history, both the contemporary and later historians tend to believe the defeat was caused by Chungchen Emperor, the then Defense Minister Chen, Hsin-Chia and Superintendent Chang, Ruo-Chi, who changed the strategy to rely upon Chiliao Governor Hong Cheng-Chou. According to historic writing, the main force led by Hong Cheng-Chou made several lethal mistakes at the end when entering Sungshan girding for the battle. To the normally careful Hong, this seemed unusual. Why the Ming Dynasty suffered defeat at the Sungchin Battle? In many respects, the historians didn’t give us answers in terms of military strategies. So, it would be hard to understand the complete picture of the time if all we know was from history books and writings at the time. As far as large-scale military action was concerned, people will have difficulty to comprehend the complete picture if it is not examined from military perspective. From “Conquering Strategies from Past to Present”, the military book written by Hong Cheng-Chou, we can see Hong’s ideas as to how to train troops and how to fight outside Sanhaiguan. The study aims to examine “Conquering Strategies from Past to Present” and other now-existing files and historic writings left from the Ming Dynasty and Ching Dynasty for understanding of the preparation made by Hong Cheng-Chou prior to The Sungchin Battle and the cause of the defeat he suffered.
