Jokes about Emperor Chongzhen

1644 was a disastrous year in the Ming dynasty. There were earthquakes in Fengyang and Nanjing, plagues spread, and "stars and moons" appeared in Beijing. Emperor Chongzhen was exhausted and his spirit completely collapsed. At this time, the state treasury is in deficit. In order to resist the attack of Li Zicheng Dashun Army, the emperor asked his ministers to donate some money, but they all called for poverty.

Chongzhen is desperate. On March 6, A.D. 1644/KLOC-0, Dashun Army arrived in Changping, which was the last natural barrier in Beijing. Two days later, the city of Beijing was breached. Realizing that there was nothing he could do, Chongzhen shouted, "The ministers at home and abroad have misjudged me! Misunderstood me! " Cry aloud. Chongzhen called his three sons to his side, found rags and told them to put them on. After explaining their affairs, he told the eunuch to drive them out of the palace. After the matter of entrusting orphans, Chongzhen said to Empress Zhou, "The tide is gone. As the mother of the queen, you should commit suicide. " Queen Zhou burst into tears and ran straight back to Kunning Palace to commit suicide. Chongzhen also gave the white silk to Yuan Guifei and the concubines in the West Palace, turned around and waved: "Kill yourself!" Then, Chongzhen thought of the princess again and went straight to Princess Changping's residence in Ningshou Palace with a sword. Knowing that her father was coming to kill her, the princess tore her heart out and cried for her to live. Chongzhen cried sadly, "Why did you have to be born in my house?" Then she cut off the princess's arm with a knife and stabbed her to death. Chongzhen at this time is already a cruel and careless tin man. Then, he went to the residence of his little daughter, Princess Akihito, and killed her.

At this point, Chongzhen's spirit completely collapsed, killing his own flesh and blood, concubines, looking at the bloody sword and skirt, he knew that he would die next. The next day, Emperor Chongzhen and eunuch Wang Chengen climbed to the top of Jingshan Park. Chongzhen at this time is already flustered. Chongzhen was very depressed and disheartened when he knew that Beijing had completely fallen. He took off his clothes and put them on the branches of a dead tree of your Excellency Shouhuang. He said to Wang Chengen, "When I die, I will cover my face to show that I have no face to see my ancestors." Then he hanged himself.

Why did Chongzhen kill his wife and daughter before hanging himself? According to Chronicle of the Ming Dynasty, after Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, he plundered women and gave them to soldiers, robbing countless women. It is not difficult to explain why Chongzhen killed his wife and daughter. In order to keep the concubines chaste, to prevent the princesses from being insulted, and to prevent the wives and daughters from falling into the hands of thieves, he killed them all to preserve the rituals of his ancestors.