May 27, 1644 · Great Wall (modern Hebei/Liaoning border) Theater
May 27, 1644
The most consequential betrayal in Chinese history. Wu Sangui, the Ming general commanding the fortress at Shanhai Pass — the eastern anchor of the Great Wall — faced a terrible choice after Li Zicheng seized Beijing and reportedly abducted his concubine Chen Yuanyuan. Rather than submit to the rebels, Wu opened the gates to Dorgon's Manchu army. When Li Zicheng marched north with 60,000 troops, the combined Manchu-Wu Sangui force caught his army in a sandstorm and routed it completely. Li fled back to Beijing and retreated west, never to recover.
Commanders