How did the Eight Heavenly Kings rebel?

Zhang, a native of Yan 'an, Shaanxi, was born in poverty. When I was young, I used to be a Aauto Quicker catcher and a border guard, which was quite heroic. But once he and another 17 people committed the crime of "sexual plunder" and were to be beheaded. But the headquarters at that time saw that he was young, burly and strong, and wanted to be reused, so he gave him a hundred lashes and saved his life. Seventeen others were beheaded. In the third year of Chongzhen (1630), Zhang, who fled home, led the poor peasants in Mizhi County to raise the banner of righteousness, calling himself the "Eight Kings".

In the fourth year of Chongzhen (163 1), Wang Zi, the leader of the peasant army, joined forces with the 36th battalion of the Rebel Army, among which eight heavenly kings, including Zhang and Li Zicheng, became leading figures. He fought bravely and always took the lead. In the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), he traveled all over Shanxi, and successively conquered Yuci and Pingding counties, posing a serious threat to Taiyuan. Later, Li Zicheng and others were besieged by the Ming army at the junction of Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces, and there was no food supply. Several leaders negotiated a fake surrender and accepted the invitation of the court. In November, after the materials of the rebel army were fully prepared, one day, they suddenly went south from the frozen Yellow River and broke through the encirclement of the Ming army. Zhang's troops came to Sichuan from Henan and fought there for half a year.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), the leaders of the 13th Route of the Rebel Army met in Xingyang, Henan Province to discuss the future strategy. Xingyang Congress adopted Li Zicheng's plan, and various rebel armies divided their forces to cooperate, support each other and expand their territory. After the meeting, Zhang, together with Li Zicheng, led a great army to attack Anhui. In the Ming Dynasty, they captured Fengyang, burned the imperial tomb and dug the ancestral grave of Zhu Ming, which made Emperor Chongzhen suffer a great mental blow.

In the tenth year of Chongzhen, Yang Sichang, the minister of the Ministry of War, was in Xiangyang, commanding hundreds of troops. He adopted the strategy of "pulling the net from all sides" in an attempt to destroy the peasant army. Zhang was defeated by Zuo Liangyu in Nanyang, Henan, and was injured by an arrow in his forehead. At this time, the peasant army entered a low tide, and several teams surrendered to the loyalist. In order to preserve his strength, Zhang also surrendered to Xiong Wencan, an official of the Ming Dynasty. Knowing that Xiong Wencan was greedy for money, Zhang sent someone to send him two pieces of jasper and two huge pearls, which were more than a foot long. Xiong Wencan was very happy and immediately petitioned the emperor. With the approval of Emperor Chongzhen, Zhang was stationed in Gucheng, Hubei Province. However, Zhang did not really obey Xiong Wencan's orders, did not accept the adaptation of the Ming army, and did not accept the orders to suppress other peasant insurgents. Take advantage of the opportunity of being stationed in the army to study the art of war, create the policy of regiment battalion, and master the tactics of battalion; While stepping up training, we expanded the Blue-and-White-Dragon Flat Bottle Team, and the number of troops surged from 20,000 to100,000 in a short time. In addition, he also made weapons and made new weapons such as three-eye guns, hammers and ambush crossbows; Transfer some troops to farm fields; Set up checkpoints, collect taxes, actively prepare salaries and save energy.

After a year and a half of rest, Zhang's troops are strong and morale is high. In May of the 12th year of Chongzhen (1639), Zhang raised the banner of righteousness again in Gucheng, killing the magistrate of Gucheng, burning down the county government and knocking down the city wall. Since then, several peasant armies that were recruited have also revolted again, which set off the climax of another uprising in the late Ming Dynasty. In July, Zhang and Luo Rucai ambushed in fangshan county's Luohou Mountain, defeating Zuo Liangyu and Zuo Liangyu, the main forces of the Ming army. They were beaten and lost all their seals, and fled in haste, taking revenge with one arrow, and the Ming army was wiped out by tens of thousands of people. When the news reached Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen was furious, Xiong Wencan was executed and Zuo Liangyu was dismissed.

In the 13th year of Chongzhen (1640), Zhang led his troops into Sichuan. Yang Sichang followed closely and was stationed in Chongqing. He ordered generals from all walks of life to go to Shu to pursue the enemy, bent on destroying Zhang, and announced the list: "Anyone who captures Zhang alive will be rewarded with 12 thousand gold and sealed." However, the next day, someone told him that there was a sign on the Yuanmen, "If you cut off your head, I will reward you with money!" " Yang Sichang was very angry. He smoked. Zhang's army started from Guangyuan in the north, Luzhou in the south, Chengdu in the west and Wushan and Jingmen in the east, and moved around Sichuan, attacking county towns and killing corrupt officials. The insurgents adopted guerrilla tactics and moved from east to west, and the Ming army was at a loss. A large number of loyal ministers came, and they moved, almost dragging down the loyal ministers who followed.

In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (164 1), on his way to Dangyang, Zhang heard that Xiangyang City was poorly defended, so he made a surprise attack on Xiangyang. He personally led the light cavalry to gallop three hundred miles a day and night, reaching Xiangyang at the gates. First sent Li Dingguo and twenty cavalry disguised as loyalists, with the captured soldiers' certificates into the city. In the middle of the night, the rebels lying in ambush in the city suddenly set fire everywhere, and the city was in chaos. They took the opportunity to open the city gate again, and a large number of peasant troops immediately rushed into the city and captured Xiangyang. King Xiang was captured alive and knelt in the lobby of the palace. Zhang asked someone to let him go, poured him another glass of wine and said, "You'd better finish this glass of wine. I want to borrow your head and let Yang Sichang die because he didn't protect the captaincy. " King Xiang was frightened and begged for mercy again and again, saying that he would give all the gold and silver in the palace. Zhang said with a smile: "I have your palace, and I need you to give it!" " So Wang Xiang was executed on the spot and his warehouse was opened. Five hundred and two thousand pieces of silver were distributed to the poor, and the rest became the spoils of the peasant army. Hearing the news that Xiang Wang was killed, I was scared out of my wits. Because, less than a month ago, Li Zicheng breached Luoyang and executed Zhu. Two princes were killed. He thought he was born to die, so he committed suicide in JOE Garden in Shashi, Hubei.

In May, Zhang captured Wuchang again, arrested Zhu Huakui, put him in a cage and threw him into the Yangtze River. Zhang established the Daxi regime in Wuchang and changed Wuchang House to Tianfu. In the spring of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), Li Zicheng's army went to Beijing, and Zhang Xijin invaded Sichuan again, conquered Chongqing, and captured the Swiss king Zhu Changhao and the governor of Sichuan alive. Zhang held a public trial and executed them. During the execution of King Rui, it suddenly began to rain heavily, with lightning and thunder. Some people say that this is a warning from God that King Rui cannot be put to death. Zhang said angrily, "What does it have to do with God that I want to kill people?"

In August, Zhang captured Chengdu and occupied Sichuan. In Chengdu, he proclaimed himself emperor, with the title of Daxi and Jianyuan Dashun. He ordered his subjects to call him "Long live the old man". No matter how rich or poor, every family should put up a sign in front of the door that said "Long live the Emperor Xidi" and lay flowers around the sign.

After the establishment of the Daxi regime, Ming officials and landlords hidden in Shan Ye armed against the Daxi regime. In order to suppress them, Zhang beheaded all the tens of thousands of Ming Zongfan who could be caught in Sichuan. Later, in the name of holding a "special course", all the counties were ordered to send all the students who participated in scientific research to Chengdu, and then they found an excuse to kill more than 5,000 people. Zhang's action undoubtedly went too far, thus pushing the whole scholar to the enemy.

In the second year of Shunzhi (1645), the Qing government sent an imperial edict to Zhang, hoping that he would surrender, but Zhang flatly refused. In the third year of Shunzhi (1646), the Qing court ordered Wang Wei to pacify General Zhang Weijingyuan. In August, Zhang set fire to Chengdu and dispatched troops. In November, I met the Qing army at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. Zhang was shot in the left chest by an arrow in the battle and died immediately, ending his life in a bloody battlefield. Later, the rest of the Great Western Army joined forces with the Nanming regime to fight against the Qing Dynasty. His adopted son, Li Dingguo, inherited his last wish and led the army of the Western Expedition to fight to the death with the Qing Dynasty. He fought bloody battles again 16 years until Marco was buried.