opportunity, and delivered a violent attack, with which he seemed to be
making some progress, until at length artillery was brought into play.
The havoc caused by the guns at close quarters was terrific, and
the Manchus fled. This defeat was a blow from which Nurhachu never
recovered; his chagrin brought on a serious illness, and he died in
1626, aged sixty-eight. Later on, when his descendants were sitting upon
the throne of China, he was canonised as T`ai Tsu, the Great Ancestor,
the representatives of the four preceding generations of his family
being canonised as Princes.

Nurhachu was succeeded by his fourth son, Abkhai, then thirty-four
years of age, and a tried warrior. His reign began with a correspondence
between himself and the governor who had been the successful defender of
Ning-yüan, in which some attempt was made to conclude a treaty of peace.
The Chinese on their side demanded the return of all captured cities and
territory; while the Manchus, who refused to consider any such terms,
suggested that China should pay them a huge subsidy in money, silk,
etc., in return for which they offered but a moderate supply of furs,
and something over half a ton of ginseng (_Panax repens_), the famous
forked root said to resemble the human body, and much valued by the
Chinese as a strengthening medicine. This, of course, was a case of
"giving too little and asking too much," and the negotiations came to
nothing. In 1629, Abkhai, who by this time was master of Korea, marched
upon Peking, at the head of a large army, and encamped within a few
miles from its walls; but he was unable to capture the city, and had
finally to retire. The next few years were devoted by the Manchus, who
now began to possess artillery of their own casting, to the conquest of
Mongolia, in the hope of thus securing an easy passage for their armies
into China. An offer of peace was now made by the Chinese Emperor, for
reasons shortly to be stated; but the Manchu terms were too severe, and