Kong Youde

Kong Youde (Chinese: ; died August 7, 1652) was an adventurer and Ming dynasty military officer who served under the warlord Mao Wenlong until Mao's death in 1629. Subsequently he worked for Sun Yuanhua, governor of Shandong, along with fellow Mao subordinate Geng Zhongming. When ordered by Sun to reinforce Zu Dashou at the Battle of Dalinghe in 1631, Kong and Geng mutinied, pillaging the countryside, sacking Dengzhou, and subsequently defecting to Manchu invaders—soon to declare themselves China's Qing Dynasty—in 1633. They were joined in 1634 by another former officer under Mao, Shang Kexi. Together, the three were known as the "Three Miners from Shandong" and participated in many campaigns under the Qing dynasty, hastening the demise of the Ming.

Kong Youde was a follower of the semi-independent warlord Mao Wenlong, who operated in Liaodong under nominal Ming supervision. In an effort to unify Ming forces on the northern frontier under a single command structure, general Yuan Chonghuan trapped and executed Mao Wenlong in 1629. Although Yuan had hoped to recruit Mao's followers into the regular Ming army, some refused to join him. Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming left instead for Dengzhou to work for Sun Yuanhua. While serving in Dengzhou, Kong and Geng were among the officers who learned to use the new European cannons Sun had obtained from Macau.

In September 1631, the Later Jin dynasty of the Manchu people laid siege to the northern fortress of Dalinghe. Sun ordered Kong Youde to reinforce Ming general Zu Dashou, who was trapped at Dalinghe. Rather than join the battle, Kong decided to loot the surrounding countryside instead. In February 1632, Kong Youde attacked Sun's garrison at Dengzhou, where Geng Zhongming was stationed. Geng turned on Sun Yuanhua, and Dengzhou fell to Kong Youde's assault. Among the casualties of the battle were several of the Portuguese artillery specialists from Macau who had been training the Ming troops. Kong and Geng took the Western cannons. Sun was allowed to leave unharmed, but was subsequently executed for desertion after arriving at the Ming capital of Beijing.

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