Late Ming Dynasty: From the Start, Cao Bianjiao Hunts Me Down

When the heavens are tired of chaos, they will drive away the tyrants; when the people want peace of mind, they will drive away the tyrants. Heaven decrees virtue, and Heaven punishes sin. If God's will has not passed, why do disasters continue so frequently? If your virtue is not compromised, why are there so many troubles in all directions? My great ancestor, Emperor Gao, expelled Hu Yuan and restored China. The sun and the moon shined brightly, and my merits are eternal. It spread to Chongzhen, where he became comatose, violent and surly, cutting himself off from heaven and the people. The abandonment of the Ming Dynasty by Heaven was already evident as early as the beginning of Chongzhen's practice of Zuo. In the first year of Chongzhen, there was a severe drought in Shaanxi. In the second year, there was a famine in Shanxi. In three years, the land of Henan has spread thousands of miles. Four years later, there was a flood in Beizhili. For five or six years, there was a continuous drought in Shaanxi, Shanshan and Henan, and people ate each other. In seven years, eight years, and nine years, there was a great famine in the Central Plains. The bark of grass roots and trees was dug up, and the hungry people broke their bones to cook. For ten, eleven, and twelve years, there was no rain in Henan, the Luo River was exhausted, the Yellow River dried up, and locusts covered the sky and covered the red earth. In the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth year, there was a severe drought in central Henan and eastern Henan. All wells and springs dried up, there was no harvest of summer wheat, and all autumn crops died. For sixteen years, there were disasters everywhere in the world. Qin, Jin, Henan and Lu were everywhere without hunger and weeping. In the seventeen years of Chongzhen's reign, there was not a single year without disaster and no place that was not deserted. Drought in the first year, floods in the second year, locusts in the third year, plague in the fourth year, famine in the fifth year, drought and locust in the sixth year, famine in the seventh year, flood in the eighth year, plague in the ninth year, drought in the tenth year, locust drought in the eleventh year, famine in the twelfth year, people in Henan cannibalize in the thirteenth year, famine in the world in the fourteenth year, plague in the fifteenth year, and death everywhere in the sixteenth year. Disasters come and go every year, and every year there is severe famine. Before one disaster is over, another one occurs again. Without relief, the whole land becomes desolate. What kind of scene is this? This is not a disaster for one province, but for the whole world. It was not a drought for one year, but a drought for seventeen years. There was a drought in Shaanxi. The post horses collapsed and the post soldiers lost their jobs due to the drought. I was among them. There is a drought in Shanxi, and the villages are smokeless and mothers and children cannibalize each other. There is a drought in Henan. The drought is such that "people eat each other, the dead move along the road, and some households are empty." There is a locust attack in Shandong. When the locusts arrive, they "fly to cover the sky, and the grass and trees are completely empty." Northern Zhili was flooded, and "the fields and huts disappeared, and the people all settled in their nests". An epidemic broke out in Jiangnan, reaching the point where "seventy-eight out of ten people in a village died." This is God's warning. Yao had nine years of floods, and Tang had seven years of drought. The ancient sage kings were afraid of disasters, cultivated virtues and considered themselves, and shared the sufferings of the people, so they were able to turn disasters into blessings. And what happens when Chongzhen encounters a disaster? Drought means "natural disasters prevail", water means "yin and yang imbalance", locust means "small disasters are not harmful", and hunger means "local officials are not doing their jobs". Never reflect on yourself, never sin against yourself. If the rain fails, the Taoist priest will be scolded; if disaster relief fails, the governor will be replaced. The disasters are getting worse every day, and the extra dispatches are getting heavier every day; the hunger and diseases are more and more, and the dispatches are getting more urgent every day. Heaven sent disasters with warning, and Chongzhen responded with tyranny. Heaven wants it to change, but it will not change; Heaven wants it to save, but it will not save. The sky is angry above and rains down locusts, while the people are resentful below and rise up. This is not because God abandoned the Ming Dynasty, but because Chongzhen turned a deaf ear to every warning from God! The disaster in Henan was particularly tragic. The heart of the Central Plains of Yuzhou, the land of the Four Wars, is a land of thousands of miles of fertile fields and corn. Starting from the seventh year of Chongzhen, drought and locust attacks occurred one after another, and reached their peak in the thirteenth year. In the spring of the fourteenth year, there was a great famine in Henan. People ate each other, including fathers eating their sons and husbands eating their wives. There were tens of thousands of hungry people in Luoyang City, but Zhu Changxun, the King of Fortune, had accumulated tens of thousands of stones of grain and millions of money and closed his warehouse. The hungry people knock on the door and ask for help. The dogs and horses of the royal palace eat rice and meat, while the people starve to death in the ravines. When Li Zicheng defeated Luoyang, all the treasuries were opened, the hungry people fought for food, King Fu was captured, and everyone in Henan applauded. Natural disasters are already like this, and man-made disasters are even worse. Three rates are added to the system, the Liao rate is suppressed and the Liao rate is refined, layer by layer is exploited, the bones are knocked and the marrow is sucked out. In the year of drought and locusts, no crops are harvested, and rents and taxes are still collected; when people eat each other, they still ask for money. Officials and subordinates went to the countryside with their tickets, locked up to catch the hungry people, and were forced to sell their sons and daughters to pay for their official career. The rich lose money and are exempted from labor, while the poor die without a burial. The world is poor but the expropriation continues, the people's hearts are scattered but the suspicion is getting deeper. I, a commoner, started in Qinsai, witnessed the suffering of the people, and heard the cries at the border. There was a drought in Shaanxi, and I lost my post horses and food rations, so I had no choice but to leave; there was a famine in Henan, and I saw the hungry people tearing their bones apart for cooking, so I had no choice but to cry out. Knowing that destiny is over, knowing that destiny is in benevolence. Heaven warned of disasters for seventeen years, and Chongzhen responded with cruelty for seventeen years. God's will is like this, why should I wait for my words? The chief minister of the cabinet and the pillar of the country. During the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, Yi Shoufu was like changing clothes - there were more than fifty people in total, and they changed clothes three times a year on average. Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren, Xue Guoguan, Chen Yan, Wei Zaode... Are in the cabinet today, and will be demoted tomorrow; they will be given a banquet in the first month and imprisoned in the month after. Zhou Yanru first dismissed and then summoned, summoned and then dismissed, and sentenced him to death. Wen Tiren was monopolistic and flattering, and excluded dissenters. He stayed there for seven years, and died as soon as he fell. Xue Guoguan was defeated by corruption, Chen Yan ended in mediocrity, and Wei Zaode's city was destroyed and begged to surrender. Yang He was responsible for pacifying Shaanxi, but failed to do so, and was sentenced to death; Hong Chengchou was the first to pacify the latter, and he was transferred to Liaodong to die; Xiong Wencan was transferred to Liaodong to die; Zuo Liangyu had 800,000 troops and sat back and watched Wuchang rot without saving it. He asked for pay and land like a proud son. Chongzhen did not dare to sin, change or cut. If Zuo Liangyu wants food, give it; if he wants land, give it; if he wants an official, give it. After giving it away, we still don't fight, we still send troops to plunder, we still wait and see for changes. Each of them supported his own private soldiers, and they went to Qin and late Chu, and they acted against each other When Chongzhen was in power, he repeatedly issued edicts against himself. The words are sincere, with tears streaming down my face, and I seem to feel regret when I read it. However, after the edict was issued, the old state returned. If you sin today, your wages will be increased tomorrow; if you reduce your meals today, you will increase your wages tomorrow. Sinji issued an edict six times, and each time it was the same script: issue an edict, cry a little, reduce meals for a few days, dismiss a few minor officials, and then - everything is as usual. People in the world believe it at first, then doubt it, laugh at it at the third time, and spit at it at the fourth time. Later, when the guilty party issued an edict, the people laughed: "Here we go again." The ministers in the court knew exactly who should be killed after the emperor cried, who should be killed, who should be paid more, and who should be urged to fight. Sinner's edict became Chongzhen's self-comfort - I cried, so I was right. What happened in Liaodong is particularly heartbreaking. The Jianzhou Jurchen, I belong to the barbarians, begging for a living. If Xiong Tingbi's strategic plan had been used earlier and Sun Chengzong's defense against Guan Jin had been achieved earlier, how could the Donglu have gained power? It was Chongzhen who destroyed the Great Wall and ended up here. Yuan Chonghuan built the Ningjin defense line so that the captives did not dare to cross the border. Chongzhen believed in slander and punished the people for collaborating with the enemy, which chilled the whole world. The Liaodong frontier army has no ambition to fight to the death again. As for the battle of Wakamatsu Nishiki, it will be the laughingstock of the ages and the pain of the ages. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou supervised Ji Liao, commanded eight generals and 130,000 elite soldiers, and gathered in Ningyuan and Jinzhou. This is the last elite of the Ming Dynasty, and all the best soldiers from the nine sides are gathered here. However, Chongzhen repeatedly issued strict orders to urge war and war again, forcing Hong Chengchou to lightly enter the wave battle. Songshan City was broken, the 130,000-strong army collapsed in one fell swoop, all the elite soldiers were lost, all the armored battles were lost, four cities outside the pass were captured, and Jinzhou was lost. The land outside the Ming Dynasty passes, eighty-nine times out of ten. Hong Chengchou was imprisoned, and Chu Yan would die. Chongzhen believed it and stayed away from the court for three days, and offered sacrifices to sixteen altars. It was the gift of a prince, and he was prepared to mourn and honor him. The altar is not yet cold, but the altar has been delivered. Hong Chengchou shaved his head and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. He entered the regent's palace, made plans for the prisoners, and lured wolves into the house. The majestic Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was tricked by a surrendered general until he left the court in mourning and became a laughing stock in the world. How will Chongzhen treat those who truly fight to the death and remain unyielding? Lu Xiangsheng's loyalty and bravery topped the three armies, and he was ordered to supervise the division, hoping to fight to the death with the Qing soldiers. Chongzhen was confused by Yang Sichang's peace plan, reduced his military power, cut off his food and grass, and pitted his 5,000 remaining soldiers against tens of thousands of cavalry. He was exhausted and died in Julu. When he died, he had four arrows and three blades in his body. He said, "I have joined the army since I joined the army. I ran before the battle." Then he died. The blood of loyal ministers was spilled on the battlefield, but the emperor was still negotiating for peace. He did not give him a gift after his death, because he was suspected of fleeing in fear of crime. Sun Chuanting prepared troops for Tongguan and repeatedly defeated the rogue bandits, relying on which the Shaanxi Bureau relied on rough security. He was forced to leave the border for a decisive battle. The troops were not gathered but the battle was urged. The division was sent out before the food supplies arrived. Chuan Ting cried and said, "How can I use this tired soldier as a bandit leader?" He refused to listen. As a result, the entire army was wiped out in Ruzhou, and it was reported that he was dead in the court, and Tongguan was destroyed. The last available army of the Ming Dynasty was lost to Chongzhen's urging. On one side, the surrendered generals are enjoying the sacrifice of the princes, and on the other side, the die-hard loyalists have been seized and suspected of death. Rewards and punishments are reversed, this is it! Employing people becomes a wonder in the world. Lu Xiangsheng died, Sun Chuanting died, Yuan Chonghuan died, Yang Sichang committed suicide in fear of crime, Hong Chengchou surrendered, and Zu Dashou rebelled. Those who can fight will be killed, those who are forced to death will be forced to death, and those who surrender will surrender. In the end, Chongzhen looked around the court and saw mediocrity. No one was worthy of being a general. What to do? Find it from jail. Sun Chuanting was imprisoned for three years. He was released and pushed directly onto the battlefield - the soldiers were not trained, the generals were not attached, and the food was not collected. This is not about employing people, it is about drawing lots from the prison, and whoever is drawn will die. The majestic Emperor of Ming Dynasty killed all the good generals in seventeen years, but in the end he could only recruit people from prison to fill the gap. It would be even more heinous if the Manchu Qing invaded the pass and plundered it. In the Chongzhen year, Qing soldiers entered the pass five times, broke through the border gates, trapped Jinan, captured King De, captured hundreds of thousands of people, and plundered millions of gold and silver. Every time they entered the pass, it was because Chongzhen mobilized border generals to bring in reinforcements, withdrew the defensive lines, and commanded randomly. Every time he returned after being plundered, it was because Chongzhen was afraid of war, negotiated for peace, and closed the city to defend himself. If the general wants to fight, he will seize his military power; if he wants to follow the rules, he will urge him to fight. If you fight you will die, if you defend you will die, if you do not fight you will die if you do not defend. Chongzhen fed the tigers of Liaodong with the blood of loyal ministers, and paved the way for the Qing Dynasty to enter the pass with the bones of the border troops. Natural disasters have been going on for seventeen years, and man-made disasters have been going on for seventeen years. The loyal ministers and good generals were pushed up to the big millstone one after another and crushed, and the Manchu and Qing cavalry retreated and retreated again and again. Three more people were sent to break the bones and suck out the marrow. Starving people everywhere went to heaven to warn of disasters. Chongzhen responded with tyranny. I, a commoner, started in Qinsai, witnessed the suffering of the people, and heard the cries at the border. Knowing that destiny is over, knowing that destiny is in benevolence. Therefore, we raised the flag of righteousness and called it Dashun, and marched to heaven to fight against it. We crossed the big river, broke through Tongguan, captured Taiyuan, and went to Zhending. Wherever he went, he opened warehouses to provide relief to the hungry, equalized the land and exempted him from taxes, punished corrupt officials and made the people alive. On the day when the message arrives, you, civil and military officials, will decide the appropriate time: In the first year of Yongchang in Dashun, the righteous army marched eastward and announced to the world, and the Xian envoys heard about it.

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