Biography

After obtaining his juren degree in 1621, he served in various posts. In the winter of 1643, he was appointed governor of Hubei and Hunan. When Zhu Yousong was proclaimed emperor in Nanjing, he was made junior vice-president of the Board of War in 1644 and was made governor-general of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi in 1645. In early 1645, he was forced to join Zuo Liangyu as he advanced on the Ming court in Nanjing. However, he escaped in Wuchang and fled to Changsha. Two months later Zhu Yujian was proclaimed emperor in Fuzhou and He was appointed president of the Board of War and Grand Secretary of the Dongge (東閣) with the hereditary rank of Earl of Dingxing (定興伯). Meanwhile the remaining forces of Li Zicheng declared their allegiance to He who established the so-called "Thirteen Military Centers" (十三鎮) in Hunan. He requested Zhu to move the court to Ganzhou, Jiangxi, but Zhu was captured in October 1646 in Tingzhou, Fujian, near the Jiangxi border. In November 1646, Zhu Youlang was proclaimed emperor in Zhaoqing, Guangdong and He was made president of the Board of War and Grand Secretary of the Wuyingdian (武英殿). When the Manchus advanced to Hunan, the "Thirteen Military Centers" were defeated and He fled to Wugang, Hunan. When Wugang fell to the Manchus, He joined Qu Shisi (瞿式耜) to defend Guilin and Guangxi while Zhu Youlang fled to Jingzhou, Hunan. He was raised in rank to Marquis of Dingxing (定興侯) after defeating the Manchus at Quanzhou, Guangxi.

The rebellion of Jin Shenghuan (金聲桓) against the Manchus in Jiangxi in June 1648 shifted the center of Manchu attack allowing He to recover a number of cities in Hunan. The following year, the Manchus attacked the Ming forces in Hunan. On March 3, Xiangtan, Hunan fell and He was captured. When he was captured, he went on a hunger strike for seven days. In the same month, He hanged himself, dying at the age of 58. The Ming court gave him the posthumous title of Prince of Zhongxiang (中湘王) and the posthumous name Wenlie (文烈). In 1776, the Qianlong Emperor canonized him as Zhongcheng (忠誠).

生平

天啟崇禎年間

騰蛟出身書香門第，祖父何志清，明嘉靖貢生，父訓課極嚴，有一天問書不解，父怒舉石硯擊騰蛟頭，罵說：「子不受教，擊死無悔。」

明天啟元年（1621年），中辛酉科舉人。崇禎年間，被授與南陽知縣，吏治精敏。後被拔擢為大興知縣，精敏如治南陽，遷郎署，擢鞏昌兵備副使。以善撫兵將，為秦督洪承疇所推薦。

崇禎十五年（1642年）春，奉命出任湖北鄖陽兵備道。崇禎十六年（1643年），張獻忠攻陷武昌，楚撫王聚奎、王揚基以失機論治，廷臣視楚為戒途，無敢赴者。三月，由史可法力薦，任右僉都御史，巡撫湖廣。

弘光隆武年間

弘光元年（1645年、順治二年）明將左良玉從武昌起兵反叛南明進攻南京，何騰蛟拒絕加入，進入湖南，聚集過去手下的僚屬堵胤錫、傅上瑞、嚴起恆、章曠、周大啟、吳晉錫等，招兵買馬。六月，清軍進入南京，弘光朝覆滅。

五月李自成戰死後，大順軍餘部四散。在清軍兩路追擊下，遂投何騰蛟，聯合抗清。大順軍另一支李赤心（李過）、高一功部入荊南。何騰蛟陸續招募左良玉餘部馬進忠、張先璧、黃朝宣等將。授黃朝宣、張先璧、劉承先、李赤心（李過）、郝搖旗(永忠)、袁宗第、王進才、董英、馬進忠、馬士秀、曹志建、王允成、盧鼎等為總兵，開鎮湖南，時稱「十三鎮」。後鄭芝龍、鄭鴻奎、黃道周等奉唐王監國繼而稱帝，年號隆武，是為紹宗襄皇帝。紹宗襄皇帝初為唐王，奉藩南陽，時何騰蛟為南陽知縣，是以騰蛟常謂人曰：「新上為南陽故人，魚水之合，吾輩皆有緣也」。

隆武二年（1646年）春，清兵勒克德渾進攻江西，騰蛟領軍由長沙出發。四月十四日清兵攻贛州，楊廷麟死守半年，何騰蛟坐視不救，僅派遣南安伯郝永忠帶兵馬一萬余名經郴州入龍泉（今江西遂川縣），郝永忠從長沙出發，經過衡州，九月初二日至郴州，即觀望不前。另一支部隊張先璧部也在行至同江西接境的攸縣後就「屯師不進」。十月初三日，清軍大舉攻城，至四日深夜，清軍登城拆垛，蜂擁入城，城陴和巷戰死者如麻，楊廷麟投清水塘自盡，至黎明，清軍佔領贛州城。

後郝搖旗部敗清軍於岳州、藤溪，抵住清軍。

永曆年間

永曆元年（1647年）初，孔有德、尚可喜、耿仲明率清軍進攻湖南，三月陷岳州、湘陰，直指長沙。抗清陣線發生分裂。湖南總督何騰蛟、總兵王進才撤退。

永曆二年（順治五年、1648年）永曆帝在桂林，加封騰蛟為太師、進爵為侯，子孫世襲。閏三月，明降將金聲桓、李成棟等在江西、廣東倒戈反清，清軍撤出湖南鞏固武昌，抗清局面復振。何騰蛟趁勢反攻，取全州、永州、衡州。大順軍餘部忠貞營在堵胤錫的領導下占領湖南大量州縣，圍困長沙。何騰蛟命堵胤錫率忠貞營離開，準備自己進攻長沙，然而久攻不下。內部紛爭又起。馬進忠西走武岡，常德失防，湖南大亂，不可收拾。

永曆三年（1649年）各鎮各懷二心，局勢惡化，一月，騰蛟往長沙見忠貞營李赤心（李過），以少數兵力入守湘潭。二月，清兵破湘潭，俘騰蛟，騰蛟絕食七日，從容吟絕命詩：「天乎人事苦難留，眉鎖湘江水不流。煉石有心嗟一木，凌雲無計慰三洲。河山赤地風悲角，社稷懷人雨溢秋。盡瘁未能時已逝，年年鵑血染宗周。」同月，騰蛟自縊於流水大埠橋邊，終年58歲。永曆帝聞訊，三軍縞素痛哭，諡文烈。

歸處另說

二說，接《明史》「（李）勇，騰蛟舊部將也，率其卒羅拜，勸騰蛟降。騰蛟大叱，勇遂擁之去。絕食七日，乃殺之。」騰蛟實未死，部份舊部同其歸隱四川順慶府（張獻忠戰死遺址一帶），死後葬于靈龜山，有實墳，封號「龜山之人」。

評價

史家顧誠則認為隆武之亡，不能只歸咎於鄭芝龍，何騰蛟本人實難辭其咎。隆武帝知道鄭芝龍跋扈難制，希望何騰蛟派精兵迎駕，移蹕江西，「清軍進攻贛州，隆武帝進退維谷的時候。何騰蛟為了保住自己的權勢，竟然置大局于不顧，一連幾個月不派使者向隆武帝報告情況」，「隆武帝被清軍俘殺，閩、贛、粵相繼失陷，何騰蛟在湖南的處境也越來越困難。」

注釋

參考書目

• 王夫之《永歷實錄》卷七《何騰蛟傳》

• 顧誠：《南明史》第六節清軍占領贛南