I defeated Emperor Chongzhen at the beginning!

Chapter 41 Introduction to Emperor Chongzhen (you can skip reading)
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Introduction to Emperor Chongzhen:
Ming Sizong Zhu Youjian (February 1611, 2-April 6, 1644), Han nationality, the No. 4 emperor of Ming Dynasty, and the last emperor of Ming Dynasty as a unified national regime.Ming Guangzong's fifth son, Mingxi Zong's half-brother, mother is lady Liu.

In the second year of Tianqi (1622), he was canonized as King Xin, ascended the throne in the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), and changed to Yuan Chongzhen (1628-1644), later known as Emperor Chongzhen.

After Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, he vigorously eradicated eunuchs, was diligent in political affairs, lived frugally, and issued six edicts for sins against himself. He was a young and promising emperor.It is a pity that he was suspicious by nature and could not save the declining Ming Dynasty.During his reign, a peasant uprising broke out, and the Houjin regime was eyeing him outside the country. He was already in a situation of internal and external troubles. In 1644, when Li Zicheng's army captured Beijing, he hanged himself at the age of 34 and reigned for 17 years.

After the death of Emperor Chongzhen, the officials who committed suicide were Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Fan Jingwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Li Banghua, the censor of Zuo Du, Shi Bangyao, the censor of Zuo Fudu, Ling Yiqu, the minister of Dali Temple, Wu Linzheng, the minister of Taichang Temple, Liu Lishun, the minister of Zuo Zhongyun, and the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment. Meng Zhaoxiang and others, Prince Consort Gong Yonggu's family committed suicide, hundreds of eunuchs committed suicide, and more than a thousand people died in battle.More than 700 palace maids committed suicide.More than [-] members of the gentry and students committed suicide in their families.On April [-], Changping Prefecture official Zhao Yigui and others buried Emperor Chongzhen and the Empress in the tomb of Concubine Tian in Changping County. The Qing Dynasty "reburied the emperor's body, ordered the subjects to mourn for three days, and buried them in the Siling Tombs of the Ming Tombs." .

After the death of Emperor Chongzhen, the temple name was Huaizong, which was later changed to Yizong and Sizong.In the Qing Dynasty, the posthumous title was Shoudao Jingjian Kuan Wenxiang Wuti Renzhi Xiaozhuang Liemin Emperor, and Nanming Hongguang Emperor's posthumous title Shaotian Yi Dao Gangming Kejian Kuei Wenfen Wu Dunren Mao Xiaolie Emperor.

Is Emperor Chongzhen a foolish emperor?
Historical evaluation
Emperor Chongzhen was a diligent emperor. According to historical records, his hair was already white in his 20s, and his eyes had crow's feet.According to Shi Zhi, "the rooster crows, sleepless at night, often sick from overwork, and there is never any feast in the palace."

During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, for the Later Jin Dynasty, the officials were divided into two factions: the main war faction and the main and peace faction.In terms of employment, Emperor Chongzhen appointed Yuan Chonghuan, the main combatant.The civil official group made the generals in the army only focus on their family background, and several large-scale military activities against Houjin suffered disastrous defeats, weakening the military power of the Ming Dynasty, and finally being unable to suppress the uprising of the peasant army, which indirectly accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

The once powerful Ming Dynasty was already in turmoil, and the two parties were fighting against each other, but it was difficult to find anyone who could be used, and it was indeed difficult to find someone who could be used.At the beginning of Emperor Chongzhen's ascension to the throne, with the help of the civil official group, Wei Zhongxian's eunuch party was eliminated, but it indirectly promoted the expansion of the civil official group's power.

The relationship between Emperor Chongzhen and his courtiers may be said to be the most embarrassing and weird period in history-mutual hatred, mutual dependence, and mutual utilization.During the 17 years of Chongzhen's reign, in addition to suppressing the peasant army and resisting Houjin, he devoted more effort to weakening the power of the civil official group, and achieved certain results.

Although Emperor Chongzhen had lofty aspirations, made great efforts to govern, took care of his clothes and food, and did everything by himself, he had no strategy for governing the country, nor the art of appointing others. In addition, he was strict, jealous, and suspicious, and he frequently reprimanded, questioned, and blamed his ministers. Compared with Wei Zhongxian, the cruelty and cruelty of beheading and Ling Chi are even worse.Because he didn't believe in civil and military officials, Emperor Chongzhen frequently adjusted officials. In 17 years, he actually changed 17 ministers of the Ministry of punishment and 50 cabinet scholars.As a result, there is a shortage of talents in the country, and people with lofty ideals who are willing to serve the country are neither willing nor dare to ask for help.In desperation, Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to cultivate his personal power and re-appoint a large number of eunuchs.At the same time, although Emperor Chongzhen repeatedly issued his own imperial edicts, exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes emerged one after another, and the people were in dire straits. The numerous peasant uprisings in the late Ming Dynasty were also the most serious consequence of his greedy and tyrannical government.In addition, when the Liaodong war was repeatedly defeated, the last chance was lost because of the remonstrance of Queen Zhou to move the capital; and from the perspective of the regimes of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the appeal of the Zhu Ming royal family under the background of the Qing Dynasty should not be underestimated.Therefore, although Emperor Chongzhen was diligent in his administration, he made many mistakes. Not only was it impossible to rejuvenate the Ming Empire, but its subjugation was almost inevitable.

Emperor Chongzhen was an emperor who was generally sympathized with. Li Zicheng's "Dengji Zhao" also said that "the emperor is not very dark (Emperor Chongzhen is not too bad), isolated but Yangzao Hengduo (even if he is isolated, he can do a lot for the people's country. There are many good things to fight against corrupt officials); ministers do their best to act privately, and they are less loyal than the party and the public.”

Emperor Chongzhen's personality was quite complicated. When Wei Zhongxian was eliminated, Emperor Chongzhen was extremely witty. "History of the Ming Dynasty" said that he: "Besides, he is suspicious and Rencha is very rigid and arrogant. Rencha is harsh and ungrateful, and Shangqi is hasty. At a loss." Compared with the previous emperors Shenzong, Xizong, and even most emperors in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen had a much stronger sense of responsibility and ambition to govern the country and save the country, so historians generally sympathized with Emperor Chongzhen, thinking that Emperor Chongzhen's life was indeed a "It is not the tragedy of subjugation of the king of subjugation".

Due to successive years of famine, peasant rebellions burned the entire land of China like wildfire, and Hou Jin continued to intrude on the frontiers, resulting in a continuous increase in military expenditures, but tax revenues could not keep up. The result of all this was that tax increases continued during Chongzhen's reign, and the people called him " "Reconquer" to replace "Chongzhen".

Although Emperor Chongzhen hoped that the Ming Dynasty could usher in "Zhongxing" in his hands, but the accumulation of previous dynasties was hard to recover. The emperor was eager to seek governance, suspicious by nature, and self-willed, so he repeatedly made big mistakes in the government: he eradicated the authoritarian eunuchs in the early stage, and reused eunuchs in the later stage; The big talk of "Liao" built a Ningjin line of defense with all the power of the country. As a result, the later Jin came around from Mongolia, and the Ming Dynasty was facing a catastrophe.

Trust eunuchs, lay out important places, act improperly, and set up good parties.It's not because of luck that Zuo's fortune has changed, and his body has suffered a catastrophe.When the fate comes back, the demon atmosphere will be wiped out, and the emperor will be given a posthumous posthumous title and a mausoleum will be built, with generous ceremonies.It is the virtue of the holy pilgrimage, and through the ages, you can also know the emperor's suffering without humiliating him, which is the righteousness of the subjugation of the country.

"History of the Ming Dynasty: Legend of the Thieves": Zhuang Lie's succession, the party bureau of officials and bureaucrats has been established, the material resources of the grass and fields have been exhausted, the laws and regulations of the country have been broken, and the scramble on the frontier has become extreme.Although Zhuang Lie was determined to innovate and check the reputation and reality of the government, he could not clearly see the merits of talents, the rights and wrongs of discussions, the gains and losses of political affairs, and the success or failure of military aircraft.He is also suspicious and observant by nature, loves to be firm but values ​​​​qi.If he is chastened, he will be harsh and ungrateful; if he is arrogant, he will be anxious and confused.When husbands and thieves are all over the mountain, there is a lot of turmoil in all directions, and those who appoint political power are either mediocre or sycophant, suppressing both ends, there is nothing to calculate.The internal and external ministers have saved but not given, people have the heart of profit and self-sufficiency.Those who speak bluntly and hit the right point will be destroyed.He is appointed as the commander-in-chief, and the power is in the middle of the system, and the merits and demerits cannot be compensated.A defeated party will kill a general, and a city will kill an official. The rewards and punishments are too clear to be punished, and the control is too strict to be controlled.In addition, natural disasters are prevalent, famine and famine are increasing, politics is heavy and taxation is heavy, external strife and internal rebellion.For example, if a person's body is weakened, gangrene and poisons are present, and the syncope is extremely dangerous, but the medicine is good and wrong, and the medicine mixes cold and heat, and the disease is terminal, and there is no way to save it, why not die? This is why it is known that death is death. For the thieves, the root of their death is not the thieves.Alas! Zhuang Lie is not the king of a subjugated country, and when the country is destined to be subjugated, he lacks the skills to save the country. It can only be seen that he is anxious and chaotic, and has been alone for the past ten or seven years.But Wei Wei didn't hear about Liang and Ping's schemes, and he didn't see Li and Guo's generals in the line, so he died and caused the clan society to be overthrown, and he died with his own body.
The place where Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself

In the first month of the 16th year of Chongzhen (1643), Li Zicheng's department conquered Xiangyang, Jingzhou, De'an, Chengtian and other prefectures, Zhang Xianzhong's department fell into Qizhou, and Ming general Zuo Liangyu fled to Chizhou, Anhui.In the 17th year of Chongzhen (1644), on March [-]st, Datong fell, and Beijing was in crisis. On the fourth day of the first day, Emperor Chongzhen appointed Wu Sangui as Ping Xibo, flew Sangui into the Wei capital, and appointed Wu Xiang as the admiral of the capital.On the [-]th, Li Zicheng fell into the Xuanfu, and the eunuch Du Xun surrendered. On the [-]th, Li Jiantai, a scholar, surrendered. Li Zicheng's troops began to surround Beijing, and the Ming Dynasty was facing annihilation.The eunuch Cao Huachun said: "If there is loyalty and virtuousness, the current affairs will not come to this." In the two-front battles with the peasant uprising army and the Qing army, the Ming army suffered repeated defeats and completely lost its combat effectiveness.

(End of this chapter)