CCTV China General History Documentary Episode 87 (Commentary)

This is 16 10 year. At the end of the lunar calendar in Beijing, several days of sleet made this ancient palace a bit gloomy. At this time of the year, eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting are very busy, because in a few days, another New Year is coming. In the early morning of the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, there was a baby crying in the East Palace. Zhu Youjian, the eldest son of the emperor and the fifth son of Zhu Changluo, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, came to the world. Come into this world on a snowy morning and bid farewell to this world on a windy and rainy night. This ruined the king's life, and no day was sunny.

Zhu Youjian's biological mother died when he was five years old, and his father asked to choose Shi to raise him. At the age of eleven, he was raised by Li Dong Zhuang Fei. ZhuangFei was very generous and gave all the care to Zhu Xiao Youshuan. This huge and gloomy palace is full of gloom for Zhu Youshuan. Grandfather Wanli was addicted to alcohol and lust, and his father died suddenly after a month of succession. Only his elder brother Zhu Youxiao, who is several years older than him, is deeply attached to him. The emperor's brother doesn't seem interested in his work, or maybe he doesn't have the courage to carry this ruined country. In a word, the Ming emperor was better at carpentry, and his skill as a carpenter was much better than that of an emperor.

Zhu Youjian and his brother are very close. Once he asked his brother if I could be an official. Xizong said with a smile, yes, I will do it in a few years. Unexpectedly, one sentence became a prophecy. Xizong was only emperor for seven short years. An accident while playing made him seriously ill. On August 11th, the seventh year of the Apocalypse (A.D. 1627), Xizong summoned Zhu Youjian in the West Nuange of Gan Qing Palace to hand over the crumbling Daming Mountain to his younger brother 18. He encouraged his younger brother to boldly go into politics and revitalize his official position, and entrusted him with two tasks: one was to look after the palace, and the other was that Wei Zhongxian could be appointed.

In the seventh year of the apocalypse (A.D. 1627), Zhu Youjian entered the palace on August 22nd, the day after his brother died. Before entering the palace, his wife, Queen Zhang, repeatedly warned him not to eat palace food. When he entered the palace, he remembered to hide some wheat cakes in his sleeve, because Wei Zhongxian trusted by Xizong could harm him at any time. When Xizong was critically ill, Wei Zhongxian attempted to launch a palace coup, but was dissuaded by his close friend Cui Chengxiu. However, his support for Zhu Youjian at this time is purely against his will, and hidden dangers always exist. Zhu Youjian brought a sword brought by an patrolling eunuch, but he stayed up all night.

On August 24th of the lunar calendar in AD 1627, it was supposed to be a crisp autumn season, but it was still overcast. Zhu Youjian held a ceremony to ascend the throne in the palace, and decided to change the country name to Chongzhen the following year.

Shang Chuan: Sometimes when Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, it was the time when their (eunuchs) authority was the most rampant, because the Emperor Apocalypse was an emperor who completely ignored the political affairs, but was just a playful emperor. In fact, in the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were many such playful emperors. But these emperors, in the middle of their performance, all had people who worked for him, that is, the cabinet. The cabinet ministers, including these cabinet members, are all social elites. They are some cadres who stand out from the civil service examination system and are managed by them. But at this time, it was gone, and the cabinet became very weak and became a eunuch dictatorship. Like Wei Zhongxian, if he can't read, he can't read. These people are of extremely low quality and have a strong desire to seek personal interests. Therefore, it is not bad to use the word chaos to describe the whole national affairs.

However, the dangers and challenges faced by Emperor Chongzhen, who first ascended the throne, far exceeded the chaos of imperial eunuchs. In Liaodong area, which is only a few hundred kilometers away from the capital, the situation of imperial frontier defense is more severe.

In the forty-fourth year of Wanli (A.D. 16 16), Nurhachi established the post-Jin regime, set out to attack Ming, and captured Fushun two years later. The following year, the Ming government attacked Houjin in four ways with an army of 6.5438+0.8 million. The two armies fought a decisive battle in Salhu, and the Ming army was defeated, which hurt each other a lot. The rise of the post-Jin dynasty became a great threat to the northeast border of the Ming Dynasty.

The domestic situation is even less optimistic. Since Wanli, people's taxes have been increasing, bureaucrats and dignitaries have lived in luxury and wars have been frequent. All expenses come from the people. By the time of revelation, there were more names. The people fled everywhere without food and clothing, and finally rose up. In the second year of the Apocalypse (AD 1622), the Anbaili Uprising led by Xu Hongru broke out in Luji. In the seventh year of the Apocalypse (A.D. 1627), King Baishui of Shaanxi led two hungry people to kill the magistrate, which opened the prelude to the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty.

Eunuch autocracy, darkness of the imperial court, border crisis, depression of people's livelihood. The history of Emperor Chongzhen taking over as emperor. It turned out to be such a mess that he was amazed. Then, what will the young emperor choose as a breakthrough to end the chaos and realize his dream of rejuvenating the country?

To end the chaos, we must first eradicate eunuchs. On October 13th, the seventh year of the Apocalypse (AD 1727), Yang Weiyuan impeached Cui Chengxiu, the leader of the Five Tigers of the Eunuch Party. Seven days later, Emperor Chongzhen removed Cui Chengxiu from the post of Minister of War, and the curtain of the fall of Wei was opened.

1On October 26th, Gong Shengqian of Haiyan County announced the top ten crimes in Wei Zhongxian. Emperor Chongzhen asked the eunuch to read the letter in front of Wei Zhongxian. Hearing this, Wei Zhongxian was frightened and asked to resign the next day. A few days later, Emperor Chongzhen sent a letter to demote Wei Zhongxian to the ancestral grave of Fengyang in Zhongdu. However, Wei Zhongxian's arrogance has not diminished. When he left Beijing, he took more than 1000 guards, crowding round and parading the streets. Emperor Chongzhen was furious and ordered him to be arrested and returned to Beijing.

On the sixth day of November in the seventh year of the Apocalypse (AD 1727), Wei Zhongxian and his personal eunuch Li fled for their lives and lived in a small charity. At this time, Wei Zhongxian has thoroughly understood the determination of Emperor Chongzhen, knowing that he will die, sighing and sighing, and binge drinking relatively with the little eunuch.

In the middle of the night, someone next door sang a little song called "Guizhi Er". In this desperate moment, this little song sounds like a death warrant to Wei Zhongxian. In desperation, he took off his belt and hanged himself.

Under the close supervision of Emperor Chongzhen, the liquidation of eunuchs began. Emperor Chongzhen activated a group of officials who had been rejected by Wei Zhongxian and rehabilitated countless unjust cases. The clean attitude of these people pleased Emperor Chongzhen. He did not deliberately leave Mo Bao behind and praised the officials around him: "Being reasonable, understanding, rigorous in five rhymes, noble in eight methods, handling rules, surpassing everything, like a person, but if you stop at the pen, you can't do anything." At this time, Emperor Chongzhen's affection for me was beyond words, and Wei Zhongxian's castration was eradicated, which strengthened his confidence in reversing Gankun's revival of the Ming Dynasty.

On March 19th, the second year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1629), the eunuch party case, which lasted more than one year, was finally decided. There are 258 eunuchs appointed by the court. Eliminating eunuchs really made Emperor Chongzhen a lot more practical. On the one hand, he began to reform the internal affairs and revive the Chaogang, on the other hand, he began to think about how to solve the internal and external problems and turned his attention to Liaodong, which was also the second step for Emperor Chongzhen to revive Zhuge. This decision changed a person's fate. He is the famous Yuan Chonghuan who resigned and retired because of Wei Zhongxian's exclusion.

In the year when the Battle of Salhu broke out between Ming Dynasty and Later Jin Dynasty, Yuan Chonghuan was admitted to Jinshi. A few years later, he was ordered to go to Liaodong. In the sixth year of the Apocalypse (A.D. 1626), Yuan Chonghuan was stationed in Ningyuan alone and defeated Houjin with red artillery. Nurhachi was seriously injured and retired, and soon died in Shenyang. Yuan Chonghuan became famous in World War I, carefully laid out in Liaodong, and strengthened defense, which made the Ming government get an excellent turn in Liaodong war. In the view of Emperor Chongzhen, reopening Yuan Chonghuan is undoubtedly an important step to pacify Liaodong. Emperor Chongzhen promoted Yuan Chonghuan to the post of Minister of War, entrusted with the task of solving the foreign invasion of Liaodong. In a summons in the first year of Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan told Emperor Chongzhen emotionally that within five years, the foreign invasion of Liaodong could be leveled and the whole of Liaoning could be recovered. But when someone privately asked Yuan Chonghuan what his military strategy was, he was able to shrug off it, saying it lightly and chatting to comfort him.

Shangchuan: Of course, Yuan Chonghuan was a great strategist, but Yuan Chonghuan was not a great politician. At that time, Liaodong had grown up, not before the battle of Salhu. Because it was entirely someone else's late gold, in the late Qing dynasty, people took the offensive, and the Ming dynasty lost ground and took the defensive. In the end, the outer edge of Shanhaiguan was basically powerless and could only hold Shanhaiguan. Under such circumstances, saying such a big thing is nothing more than showing yourself.

A few short years later, Yuan Chonghuan paid the price of his life for Haikou, which he boasted about. After Yuan Chonghuan took office, he soon found that the situation in Liaodong was complicated, and it was not easy to raze it in five years. Mao, the general guarding PiDao, attracted the attention of Yuan Chonghuan. In June of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), Yuan Chonghuan acted after acting first and captured Mao with twelve crimes. Yuan Chonghuan swore that if I couldn't recover Liaodong, I would give up my teeth.

Shangchuan: Actually, in the late Ming Dynasty, the party struggle was fierce and various political factions were formed. In this case, after he killed Mao, many people were very opposed to him at that time, and wrote a literary work like Lonely Days to disclose this incident, which aroused everyone's concern about this incident. In fact, it buried the contradiction between him and considerable political forces.

Mao Peiqi: As a military general, you should establish prestige wherever you go. But killing the general casually is likely to bring about changes in the entire military structure. Mao Longwen's subordinates are all over the place. He is a tight defense net, a tight net. Then, once Mao is killed, the attitude and mentality of these people will change, and the security pattern of the entire northern border will also change.

Yuan Chonghuan made good use of Shangwen Dao to slay Liao generals in the town, which greatly failed the trust of Emperor Chongzhen. After Mao was killed, the rear's containment effect on the latter was lost. In October of the second year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1629), the army of the late Jin Dynasty marched south, which directly led to the arrival of the army of the late Jin Dynasty at the gates of Beijing, which was called "a change of its own" in history.

Huang taiji's 100,000-strong army, avoiding Ningyuan and Jinzhou, which were heavily defended, bypassed the Hala Mountain and soon broke through the Great Wall. /kloc-arrived at Zunhua, a military town, in late October. Zunhua city is only two or three hundred miles from Beijing. 1 1 On the first day of the month, the capital declared martial law. It stands to reason that Yuan Chonghuan should lead the troops in Shunyi, Jizhou and Sanhe to stop the 8 Jin Army, instead of retreating to Tongzhou and Changping. However, Yuan Chonghuan took the safety of the capital as his concern, led an army to drive directly to the capital, resisted the late Jin front, and was suddenly forced to Beijing at the gates. His subordinates advised him that soldiers from other towns should not rush into the capital without orders. Yuan Chonghuan said, "Your father is in a hurry, so why show sympathy to him? If you get help, you will die without regret. " . He immediately led 9,000 Guan Ning fighters to travel day and night, and arrived outside Guangqumen before Huang Taiji. The next day, news spread that Yuan Chonghuan's army had entered Beijing, and public opinion in one's hand and in another was in an uproar, saying that Yuan Chonghuan deliberately recruited the enemy. 1 1 On 20th, Yuan Chonghuan Army and Houjin Army fought a decisive battle in Guangqumen. Yuan Chonghuan took the lead, the Ming army won, and Huang Taiji withdrew. The next day, Huang Taiji deliberately let the captured eunuch go. The eunuch hurried back to the palace and brought back a news that shocked Emperor Chongzhen. The eunuch said that the night before, he personally heard Huang Taiji's men whisper, saying that today's withdrawal was secretly agreed by Huang Taiji and Yuan Chonghuan, and things would be settled soon. This is actually a double spy carefully laid by Huang Taiji. On the first day of December, Emperor Chongzhen summoned Yuan Chonghuan and immediately announced that he would be arrested and imprisoned. At the same time, he joined the company commanders of Datong, Man Gui, and led various Julian Waghann. Shortly after the nomads from the retreat, Emperor Chongzhen executed Yuan Chonghuan that year, and his death was terrible.

? Shangchuan: Even if he didn't die as a traitor, it would be hard for Yuan Chonghuan to live any longer. He is a valued minister of Emperor Chongzhen, not a trusted minister of Emperor Chongzhen. During Yuan Chonghuan's political career, he didn't notice at that time that various political forces were intertwined and these political factions were fighting with each other. Yuan Chonghuan's killing of Mao aroused many people's resentment against him, and they were determined to kill him as soon as possible. Well, now is the chance. We must lose this and let him die.

Yuan Chonghuan's charge of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country was not rehabilitated until Nanming. Of course, the double-agent scheme implemented by the late Jin Dynasty was one of the reasons for Yuan Chonghuan's death, and the late Qing regime was also willing to show off Huang Taiji's strategy. But his arbitrary decision-making and headstrong personality also led to Yuan Chonghuan's own tragedy. In any case, it is an indisputable fact that Yuan Chonghuan, a generation famous soldier, finally died tragically by the sword of loyal monarch and by the complicated political struggle of the imperial court. The Ming Dynasty destroyed the Great Wall. Foreign troubles have not subsided, and internal troubles are everywhere. From July to October in the first year of Chonghuan, in just three months, Shaanxi Dingyuan fugitives, Baishuiwang, Ansai, Qingjian Wangzuogua, and Hannan Wang Daliang (A.D. 16 16) raised flags and led their troops to revolt. In the second year of Chongzhen (AD 1629), Li Zicheng launched a mutiny in Yuzhong. In the third year of Chongzhen, Zhang Zaizhi revolted, and the peasant rebels spread from Shaanxi like a prairie fire. Who should undertake the task of destroying the peasant army? The position of governor of Shaanxi trilateral has been vacant for several months, and Yang He is in danger. He adopted a policy of appeasement, but it had little effect. The peasant army in the county was rebellious and willful, and was accused by the court minister. Yang He asked to resign, but Emperor Chongzhen refused. In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Yang He was finally imprisoned by the rebel army. In November of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou took over as the governor of Shaanxi Trilateral, and turned to extermination, and at that time he received miraculous effects. By the end of the following year, Shaanxi was basically razed to the ground. However, scattered peasant armed forces spread to neighboring provinces. Tens of thousands of peasant troops crossed the Yellow River and went deep into Henan, Huguang and Sichuan. The tie rod of the peasant army spread to Chen Qiyu. In the seventh year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1634), Chen Qiyu appointed the governors of Shaanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang and Sichuan provinces. Finally, I made a big mistake at the critical moment. In June of the seventh year of Chongzhen, Chen Qiyu besieged the defeated Li Zicheng peasant army in Chemaxia. Li Zicheng had no choice but to surrender, but Chen Qiyu agreed. Li Zicheng survived and later rebelled. Emperor Chongzhen was furious and imprisoned Chen Qiyu.

Shang Chuan: There are two kinds (the practice of Emperor Chongzhen). One is that in the middle of chaos, one person wins. Well, this is your responsibility. This is a kind of. There's another one that won't work. Send one person, send one person for two days, if you are defeated, you will leave, and the other person will go.

Mao Peiqi: You think of an official whose position is constantly changing. There is nothing he can do. In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, there were as many as fifty cabinet members. What do you think they can do?

Once again, the fire started a prairie fire, and the regenerative power of the peasant army exceeded the emperor's expectation. After the peasant army broke out, Liu Ji was in Henan, and then the soldiers were divided into four roads. The threat escalated rapidly, and before the Ming army's encirclement and suppression army could assemble, some peasant troops entered Fengyang House in Nanzhili from Henan. In the eighth year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1635), on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lantern Festival, Fengyang Mausoleum was destroyed. Under the arrangement of Emperor Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou supervised the northwest and Lu Xiangsheng supervised the southwest. Just as the peasant army in Lu Xiangsheng improved slightly, the border affairs between Hong Chengchou and Liaodong were once again in a hurry.

In April of the 9th year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1636), Manchuria, Mongolian Baylor, Marshal of the Han Army, General Company Commander and Minister of Civil and Military Affairs gathered in Shengjing Shenyang to hold a grand ceremony. The Qing Dynasty was formally established and Huang Taiji ascended the throne. He was Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty.

At the end of June in the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Qing army went south from xifengkou, and the capital was under martial law again. A few days later, Manchuria fighters attacked Tianshou Mountain, where the imperial tomb in Beijing is located, and arrived in Changping, and the striker arrived in Xishan. Emperor Chongzhen had to dispatch troops and troops to deal with it with all his strength. Lu Xiangsheng was transferred to Xuanda and joined the ranks of Wei, and the peasant army got a breathing space.

Mao Peiqi: Emperor Chongzhen was really hesitant to choose when he was faced with internal troubles and foreign invasion. In his political structure, this is actually a tightrope situation. Of course, the Ming Dynasty had several opportunities to completely quell the domestic peasant uprising, but Emperor Chongzhen underestimated the degree of corruption of the Ming Dynasty regime, that is, underestimated the peasants' hatred and dissatisfaction with the government and underestimated the regenerative ability of the peasant uprising.

Sure enough, the peasant army, which was given a respite, grew rapidly, and Li Zicheng, who was promoted to king, continued to fight in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi. In March of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Yang Sichang proposed to Emperor Chongzhen the strategy of "four sides, six corners and ten sides" to destroy the peasant army. This strategy first limited the mobility of the peasant army, and then gradually defeated it. Once implemented, it has achieved remarkable results. Zhang was defeated, and Li Zizai was ambushed by Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting in Weinan, taking 17 people to hide in Shangluo Mountain. Emperor Chongzhen was overjoyed at the victory. He specially sent a book to Yang Sichang to praise him. "Yanmei temporarily worked as a dry city, and the general was magnificent in Liu Ying. From then on, he swept away the atmosphere and returned to people's livelihood." This means that you, Yang Sichang, are a man of noble character. When the country is in trouble, you send troops to suppress the uprising rebels, thus stabilizing the country and enabling the people to recuperate. Getting this good minister in a crisis is tantamount to dropping a blackbird, and Emperor Chongzhen seems to see an opportunity again. However, just as Zhang was defeated and Li Zicheng returned to Shaanxi, the situation in Liaodong was once again in a hurry.

In the 11th year of Chongzhen (AD 1638), in September, the Qing army entered Qiangziling, and Wu Aheng, the governor of Jilin Province, died in battle, and the capital was under martial law. In an emergency, Emperor Chongzhen had to be transferred back to Hong Chengchou from the front line of peasant army operations. Under the protection of the elite troops sent by Chongzhen, Beijing is safe and sound. However, the fighters of the Qing army went deep into the mainland for 2,000 miles, broke through more than 70 cities, galloped freely, and returned to the north after being plundered in an all-round way.

Shangchuan: Because he is a minority after all, how many people does he have? He lacks confidence in managing such a big country and so many people. Therefore, from that Mongolia to the entry of the Qing army, he mainly harassed, not for the purpose of occupying your territory and expanding my territory.

Mao Peiqi: Why didn't Emperor Chongzhen concentrate on suppressing the peasant uprising? That's because there is interference in the north. As soon as he had the strength to fight back, he told Xiao Xinai to face the problems in the north. He never put the hostility of the Qing army in the first place, nor did he put Li Zicheng in the most important position. But unfortunately, at that time, domestic contradictions were like fire.

Regardless of whether Huang Taiji had the ambition to enter the Central Plains at that time, the invasion of the south actually made Emperor Chongzhen feel anxious, and the situation seemed to be difficult to reverse. His two confidants became powerful, and the bad news followed.

In the 13th year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1640), Li Zicheng led the main forces of Ming army to pursue Zhang in Sichuan and enter Henan, which coincided with the great disaster in Henan. Li Zicheng took in hungry people, opened warehouses and released grain, and put forward the slogan of tax exemption for all countries. For a time, the hungry people from far and near responded in hundreds of languages, singing the song of welcoming the king and not accepting food, and the lotus hoe went away. With the rapid growth of Li Zicheng, a peasant army was formed, which was the greatest threat to the Ming Dynasty.

In the 14th year of Chongzhen (A.D. 164 1), in February, Zhang captured Xiangyang, put him to death, and Guiyang became a frequent occurrence, and Yang Sichang Sifang Hexagon Plan went bankrupt completely. In the first month of the same year, Li Zibu was also popular, capturing Luoyang, crucifying Zhu, chopping his meat, and cooking it with venison, which was called the Fulu banquet.

In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (A.D. 164 1), in March, the Qing army attacked the city again, and the Hongcheng regiment was completely annihilated and finally defected. Songshan and Jinzhou successively fell, Tashan and Xingshan fell, and the Ming Dynasty lost a large territory north of Ningyuan.

In January of the 16th year of Chongzhen (AD 1643), Li Zicheng established political power in Xiangyang. April, Lei Zhen Fengxian Temple animal kiss. In May, the Daxi regime was established in Wuchang. In September, Fengyang earthquake. 1October 1 1 day, Li Zicheng occupied Xi 'an. There was also an epidemic in the city this year, and the deceased took a pillow.

Could it be that the sky is going to destroy me, the country is going to die and the country is going to die, so as a monarch, there is nothing I can do? Emperor Chongzhen remembered the past and thought about the present, and began to copy the poem of Cen Can, a poet in the Tang Dynasty: "The postal road in Xiyuan hangs at the head of the city, and the rain in Jiangting has not stopped. By the Fenshui River, the white clouds are still like the autumn of the Han Dynasty. " Emperor Chongzhen, who had a dream of rejuvenating the country, did not want the Ming Dynasty to be as powerful as the Han Dynasty. However, at this time, he has been unable to return to heaven.

At the end of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, every household in Beijing was busy saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. However, deep in the red wall of the Forbidden City, everything is so gloomy, gloomy and lifeless. In the New Year's bell, Li Zicheng's troops swept across the land of Qin Jin and quietly approached the capital.

In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (AD 1644), on the first day of the first month, the city of Beijing was overcast, the sun was dull, the wind suddenly blew, and sand and stones were flying everywhere. The bad news of the Fengyang earthquake in Nanjing also reached the palace. Witch divination, divination is a sign of catastrophe. The wind begins with dryness, mainly storms. Soldiers to the city to break, subjects can not be blessed. When the stars enter the moon, the country breaks the monarch and dies. On New Year's Day, Emperor Chongzhen, who came to the hall early, only saw the commander of the Royal Guards on duty. It was not until the bell kept ringing that the civil and military officials flocked.

On this day, Xi 'an is a different scene, with a clear sky and sunny Wan Li. Li Zicheng changed its name to Dashun, and the seventeenth year of Daming Chongzhen became the first year of Yongchang. On the eighth day of the first month, the main force of Dashun Army moved eastward, aiming at Beijing. Li Zicheng is under siege, and it's time for a decisive battle. Emperor Chongzhen urged all soldiers in the world to be diligent, but officials bargained with him over the issue of military pay. In the end, only 8,000 troops should enter the guard. Emperor Chongzhen realized at this time that Li Zicheng's threat was far beyond the Manchukuo army. The inheritance of the Ming dynasty for more than 200 years was destroyed in his own hands. Emperor Chongzhen decided to make one last attempt. He made up his mind and ordered Wu Sangui, who was guarding Ningyuan's front line, to rush to Beijing. However, Emperor Chongzhen did not expect that Wu Sangui was hesitant with 500,000 troops at the moment. I set out from Ningyuan in early March, only traveling 50 miles a day, and entered the customs on the 16th. On this day, Li Zicheng captured Changping, then invaded the Ming Tombs, burned temples, cut down pines and cypresses, and planed the ancestral graves. Emperor Chongzhen heard the news and wept bitterly.

In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1644), guns rumbled outside Gaobeitang and Xizhimen. Emperor Chongzhen insisted on the early dynasty, and his ministers wept bitterly. The next day, Beijing was shrouded in wind and rain, and many officials in the city had fled everywhere. An unknown small official wrote in his Diary of Yan Dou that, first of all, the weather was gloomy and the sun was dark for more than ten days. On that day, strong winds, showers, hail and lightning followed. It is also recorded that it was raining continuously in Beijing at that time, and it was raining all over the sky, which was terrible and stung people's hearts and spleen. The end of the Ming regime and Emperor Chongzhen came.

? In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1644), on the night of March 18th, the Ming Dynasty officers and men in Beijing opened their gates wide to meet the surrender. The gunfire stopped and the peasant army took control of the whole city. That night, the drizzle over Beijing was mixed with snowflakes and sprinkled on the earth in the form of fog. Emperor Chongzhen quietly boarded Jingshan Park with his confidant eunuch Wang Chengen, confirmed that the inner city had fallen, and decided to go down the mountain to arrange the aftermath. He let his three sons put on casual clothes and escape, leaving a glimmer of hope for the Ming Dynasty. Where you will go is full of emotion. Why did you three unfortunately give birth to my family? Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to recruit another one from Emperor Chongzhen. And Empress Zhou, one died by the sword of Emperor Chongzhen and the other hanged himself. Several other princesses and concubines also fell under the sword of Emperor Chongzhen, and even Emperor Zhang of Xizong chose to hang himself.

Shang Chuan: Emperor Chongzhen had no choice, that is, all officials had a way out. He can surrender. If he is a master, anyone can surrender. Only he has no way out, and he has no chance to surrender, either to be emperor or to be nothing.

Mao Peiqi: In fact, the trend of the demise of the Ming Dynasty was irreversible during the Chongzhen period. Hard as he is, though he tries to cheer up, it is useless. Therefore, individuals can't turn the tide and save a fallen summer by themselves.

On March 19th, Wang Chengen accompanied Emperor Chongzhen to Jingshan Park. Two people relative, silent. Finally, under a big tree next to Shouhuang Pavilion, both the master and the slave untied themselves and hanged themselves.

It is said that when Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, he left a bloody testament, "Teng ascended the throne for seventeen years and pleaded guilty three times, causing Lu to fall to the ground three times. The thief was like the capital, and the ministers blamed me wrongly." I'm ashamed to see the underground emperor, and my face will be covered. Let the thief split my body, and I can kill civil servants as much as possible. Don't destroy the mausoleum, and don't hurt my people. "

On the 19th, Dashun peasant rebels completely occupied Beijing and entered the inner city without committing crimes in autumn. At noon, Li Zicheng touched the hat of light green clothes and rode into the city from Desheng Six in the north of the city. Li Zicheng, a postman, became a grave digger in the Ming Dynasty.

Beijing did not fall into grief because of the death of Emperor Chongzhen. The citizens decorated lanterns, burned incense and put on record, and posted slogans everywhere to welcome the new owner.

Zhu Youjian acceded to the throne at the age of eighteen and died at the age of thirty-five. He ruled for seventeen years. He was diligent in political affairs and stayed up all night to revive the country, which was in sharp contrast with his grandfather and brothers. He once told the courtiers that I have been working day and night since I became emperor. In fact, at the beginning of his accession to the throne, he resumed his long-abandoned appeal, talked with tradition and Japan, and held a banquet. Soon, the ancestral system of seeing the DPRK every day was restored, and it was like a day for more than ten years. In the last two days of his life, he still insisted on going to court. It happened that he was so diligent that he became the king of national subjugation. Russian writer lev tolstoy said that the emperor is a slave to history. This time, the history of the Ming Dynasty chose Zhu Youjian as its slave and died for it.