AD 1644, the seventeenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty.
In this year, Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang who was a rogue bandit, captured Xi'an and proclaimed himself emperor in Xi'an. His country was named "Dashun".
On the eighth day of the first lunar month of the same year, Li Zicheng sent his troops to march eastward. The Dashun army was so powerful that it directed its troops towards the capital. All officers and soldiers in Shanxi Province surrendered.
Every time he went to a place, he only killed the clan members and robbed the wealthy households, claiming to recover the spoils and provide them with wages, while the common people would share their land and be exempted from taxes for three years.
In this way, the poor farmers and common people lined the street to welcome and worship, during which nursery rhymes were sung:
Seeking promotion in the morning and harmony in the evening, it is difficult for poor people to survive these days. Open the door early to pay homage to King Chuang, and all the disciplines will be happy.
They killed cattle and sheep, prepared wine and liquor, and opened the city gate to welcome King Chuang. When King Chuang came, he refused to pay for food. He ate his mother and his mother. If there was not enough food, King Chuang came.
Don't do bad work, don't pay for food, everyone has a happy time.
This peasant anger swept towards the capital like a prairie fire, and was sure to smash and burn the decaying Zhu Ming Dynasty.
On March 18, the Ming Dynasty entered its final countdown. At this time, outside the capital of the Ming Dynasty, there was a large formation of invading troops. Inside the city, people were miserable. There were showers of ice and lightning in the sky, and thunder and lightning. The weather was favorable, the place was right, and the three talents were
All lost, filled with a strong sense of death.
Chongzhen stood outside the Zhaoren Hall with a long sword in his hand. He had just cut his own daughter, Princess Changping, in the hall, and the blood on the sword was still dripping slowly.
Chongzhen pretended to be expressionless, waved his hand to call a young eunuch from a distance, and said: "Go and tell Queen Yi'an, don't take any chances, and keep some chastity and loyalty to yourself." The young eunuch was trembling and hurried after hearing this.
Turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute."
Chongzhen handed the long sword to the young eunuch and said: "If she doesn't respond, stab her to death and go quickly!" The young eunuch obeyed and ran quickly to the imperial concubine's palace with his sword in hand.
Seeing him gone, Chongzhen seemed to remember something, turned around and walked towards Kunning Palace.
When Chongzhen arrived at Kunning Palace, he saw that the queen had hanged herself in the palace and died. Chongzhen couldn't help but look sad, but he nodded gently and said: "It's a good death, a good death."
After saying that, he stopped looking at the queen's body and walked straight into the palace to find a place to sit down. He picked up the wine bottle and poured himself wine. At this time, outside the palace, a middle-aged eunuch wearing a red python robe walked gently with a parcel in his hand.
He came in and knelt down next to Chongzhen. This person was Wang Chengen, the eunuch Bingbi who was the ceremonial supervisor inside and outside the capital and was Chongzhen's most trusted confidant.
After Chongzhen finished drinking the glass of wine, Wang Chengen said: "I have already completed all the matters that the Lord Long Live has entrusted to me."
After hearing this, Chongzhen didn't respond. He picked up the jug he had just put down, poured two glasses of wine, and then said: "Cheng'en, get up. Come, have a drink with me."
Wang Chengen fell to the ground, trembling but did not get up, as if he had not heard.
Chongzhen glanced sideways at Wang Chengen who was lying on the ground, and did not blame him for "resisting the decree". It was ridiculous to think about it. Who kind of emperor was he now? This imperial decree would make the Forbidden City as useless as toilet paper.
Well, if you don’t want to listen, just don’t listen! He shook his head helplessly and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.
Wang Chengen's body trembled more and more frequently, and finally he seemed to have mustered up enough courage, and shouted in a tearful voice, "Long live my lord, I have something to say." As he spoke, he choked and twitched.
"You can say whatever you want, why are you crying?!"
Wang Chengen obeyed, paused for a moment, and tried his best to control his emotions. After he calmed down a little, he said: "I entered the palace during the Wanli period. I have been serving the Lord Wansui since he was born. I have watched you grow from the King Xin back then to what you are today.
Your Majesty, I am incompetent and I deserve to die, but I hate you and I can’t figure it out!” The more Wang Chengen spoke, the more incoherent he became, and his emotions spilled out like a flood that had been loosened.
"Your Majesty, long live my lord, you are only 3 years old and you are already full of hair! Every time you comb my hair, my servants are holding back tears! My long live lord's dragon robe is broken and I don't want to change it! I have to let the clothes bureau sew and mend it.
Just make up for it. Since you ascended the throne, you have been worried about state affairs, staying up late at night, eating and drinking! You only sleep for two hours a day, but even your gibbering in your dreams is to discuss matters in Liaodong!
All these civil and military officials cannot see it, and those unruly people and traitors cannot see it, but I can see it! My heart aches when I see it!"
Having said this, Wang Cheng'en couldn't help but stand up and beat his chest, feeling very uncomfortable.
"Although my slave has a mutilated body and a small heart, he cannot pretend to be the whole world, but he still pretends to be a king and a father! He knows who is the master and who is the slave! That time-sharing dog thief deserves to die, forcing Long Live Lord to be his so-called king and subject.
Die! And the slave girl just learned from the servants that when the intruders arrived outside the city, he...he...he was already planning to open the city and surrender! And that Cao..."
"Enough!"
Wang Chengen immediately fell to his knees and stopped talking.
When Chongzhen heard the words "Guangshixiang", he felt a chill. As early as the third day of the first lunar month, when Li Zicheng entered Shanxi and soldiers could threaten the capital at any time, Zuo Zhongyun Li Mingrui once again mentioned the matter of moving south to him.
Since the Yongle Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to the north. The original palace of Yingtian Mansion and the six-ministry system have been retained. It is precisely in consideration of the problems that future generations may face that a set of emergency teams have been retained. And the world's taxes are half paid.
Jiangnan, objectively speaking, the choice to move the capital to Nanjing at this time is indeed the safest.
In his heart, Chongzhen also preferred to move the capital. However, once the matter was proposed, there were many difficulties. The officials made a fuss. Coupled with some bad experiences in the previous dynasty, Chongzhen was concerned about his face and had to end the proposal with the death of the king.
It's a pity that the current situation is worse than the Tumubao Incident, but there is no one in the court who is as humble as Shaobao.
Among this group of civil servants who prevented the southward migration, the first person was Guang Shixiang. So when Chongzhen heard his name, he stopped Wang Chengen. He did not want to hear about this man again. As for whether he had rebelled and joined the bandits, although
Angry but unable to deal with him.
"Let's go, follow me to Long Live Mountain (Meishan)."
Chongzhen stood up and walked out, patted Wang Chengen who was kneeling, and motioned to follow him.
Wansui Mountain is located directly north of the Forbidden City and overlooks the entire capital city. It is said that in the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court piled coal on this mountain to prevent fuel shortages caused by the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty besieging the capital, so it was also called "Coal Mountain".
The two of them walked to the east foot of Long Live Mountain, and there were still palace people waiting to follow them on the way. Chongzhen, thinking of his loyalty, ordered everyone to disperse and go their separate ways.
Next to the Shouhuang Pavilion, under an old locust tree, Chongzhen stood looking at the capital in the distance, lost in thought.
"My brother should be Yao and Shun." Chongzhen thought of these words that Emperor Tianqi said to himself before his death. The words contained Emperor Tianqi's infinite expectations and emotions for himself. However, the country will eventually perish, or it will perish at my hands! Chongzhen
The more he thought about it, the more ashamed he became, and the composure he had endured was on the verge of collapse. As an emperor, he did not want to subjugate his country, and as a person, he did not want to die like this!
But there is no emperor in the Zhu family who fled south. Anyone can have a choice, but not him.
Feeling so ashamed, he cut off his robe and belt, bit off his fingertips, used his fingers as a pen, and used blood as ink, and wrote the sixty-six words of the blood-clothed edict:
It has been seventeen years since I ascended the throne.
Three invitations to heavenly sin caused the captives to fall into the ground three times, and the rebels approached the capital.
The ministers have misunderstood me, and I have no face to see the late emperor lying underground.
I will cover my face with my hair and let the thieves split my corpse, and kill all the civil servants.
Don't damage the tomb, don't hurt any of my people.
After writing the edict, he threw it heavily on the ground, stood up on tiptoes and struggled to grab the white silk hanging on the locust tree, and put it around his neck.
With tears streaming down his face, Wang Chengen firmly raised the parcel in his hand and shouted: "Best farewell to the Ming Emperor, great success!"
At this time, a gust of wind suddenly arose from the ground, making the twigs on the old locust tree rustle and sway like a human being.
The old Sophora japonica is a plant, and although it cannot speak, it can see the scene in front of it. It has also watched the hundreds of years of changes in the Zhu family dynasty.
Later generations have a saying: the emperor is the slave of history, but this time, the Ming Dynasty chose Chongzhen to be its slave and let him be buried as a sacrifice.
"The Ming Dynasty fell in my hands, and I am the sinner of the Zhu family."
Chongzhen went to death with guilt.
At this moment, time froze and the old locust tree "awoke".
When Chongzhen was dying, his mind was taken away by the old locust tree, stretched infinitely, and flashed for thousands of years. He seemed to have spent his whole life in another world. He was no longer an emperor, but an ordinary person. He took the college entrance examination and went to university.
Work, get married, have children, and die peacefully in your old age.
"Bang!" With a sound, the locust tree branch broke and Chongzhen fell to the ground.
Wang Chengen shouted "Long live the Lord!" He hurriedly stepped forward to help Chongzhen up. Chongzhen had a splitting headache and couldn't remember who he was for a moment.
"Your Majesty, this is God's will. It's God who won't let you die!"
After hearing this, Chongzhen raised his head with difficulty and looked at the old locust tree. After a while, his mind became much clearer. He thought of many things and himself in another world. He couldn't help but say to the old locust tree:
"Thank you..."
At this time, the branches of the old locust tree were broken and lifeless.
Sigh, who said vegetation is ruthless? This chapter has been completed!
