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24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

Text | Glorious historical figures

Edit | Glorious historical figures

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

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The last 36 hours of Emperor Chongzhen: a "surrender" and an empty city

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

History is always full of drama and contingency, just like the screenwriter's carefully arranged script, in the climactic plot, hidden fate foreshadowing, in 1644 AD, the ancient palace of the Ming Dynasty, ushered in its last 36 hours in the storm, and in this final countdown, Emperor Chongzhen, the last monarch who was diligent but powerless to return to the sky, experienced unimaginable despair and struggle for ordinary people

Imagine how you would feel when the rebels were approaching the city and dying for life, and the enemy, who was supposed to resist desperately, suddenly handed over a "letter of peace", which was not a begging to surrender, but offered to "share the world equally" with you? Surprise? Smell a rat? Or fear?

Emperor Chongzhen, the emperor who reigned for 17 years and witnessed the Ming Dynasty from prosperity to decline, faced with Li Zicheng's sudden "goodwill", his heart must have mixed feelings

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

1. The stormy end of the dynasty: Emperor Chongzhen's "mess"

To understand Emperor Chongzhen's situation at that time, we might as well turn back the time to 1627, when the 17-year-old Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne and inherited a mess full of holes

At this time, the Ming Dynasty was like an old machine, with aging parts, frequent failures, internal and eunuch dictatorship, fierce party strife, rampant corruption, and inefficient operation of the entire state machine; Externally, the rise of the Later Jin Dynasty, the constant encroachment on the territory of the Ming Dynasty, coupled with the continuous natural disasters for many years, the people are not able to make a living, and the peasant uprisings in various places have come and gone, and the rule of the Ming Dynasty has been in jeopardy

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

Emperor Chongzhen is not a mediocre and incompetent person, he is diligent and thrifty, hard work, trying to turn the tide, reviving the Ming Dynasty, he eradicated Wei Zhongxian, rectified the rule of officials, tried to restore the dynasty, but unfortunately it is difficult to return, his efforts are like struggling in quicksand, with little success

Second, Li Zicheng's "yang conspiracy": retreat as advance, and go straight to Huanglong

In 1644, the peasant rebel army led by Li Zicheng captured Xi'an, established the Dashun regime, and marched eastward to the city of Beijing

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

At this time, the city of Beijing, the people were panicked, the defenders in the city were insufficient, and the army of King Qin had not arrived for a long time, and Emperor Chongzhen was like a lonely hero who guarded the empty city alone, waiting for the judgment of fate

At this critical moment, Li Zicheng made an unexpected move - he sent someone to propose "peace" to Emperor Chongzhen

Li Zicheng's conditions seemed generous: he was willing to cede the northwest to the Ming Dynasty and promised to help the Ming Dynasty resist the invasion of the Later Jin, with the only condition that Emperor Chongzhen recognize his "legal status" and give him a sufficient "reward"

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

This seems to be a "win-win" deal, but in fact it is a "conspiracy" carefully planned by Li Zicheng

3. Emperor Chongzhen's choice: is it a compromise or a desperate gamble?

Faced with Li Zicheng's "olive branch", Emperor Chongzhen fell into a dilemma

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

He knew that Li Zicheng was powerful, and the city of Beijing was in danger, and if he refused to negotiate peace, it was likely that the city would be ruined, and he would become the king of the country; He was unwilling to bow to the "rebellious ministers and thieves", and he was even more unwilling to give up the Ming Dynasty to others

Emperor Chongzhen convened the ministers to discuss countermeasures, but above the court, there was silence, some of the ministers advocated peace, some advocated resistance, but no one could come up with a feasible plan

In the end, Emperor Chongzhen chose to reject Li Zicheng's "good intentions", and he decided to make a desperate bet and live and die with the city of Beijing

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

Fourth, the empty city plan: Emperor Chongzhen's last struggle

Emperor Chongzhen's refusal completely angered Li Zicheng, and he ordered a general attack on the city of Beijing

On April 25, 1644, Li Zicheng's army broke through the city of Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in a coal mountain in despair, ending his tragic life and drawing an end to the Ming Dynasty

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

What is puzzling is that before Li Zicheng broke through the city of Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen was not without a chance to escape

He had repeatedly ordered the troops from all over the country to rush into King Jingqin, but in the end only one army arrived, and this army left angrily after learning that Emperor Chongzhen was suspicious of them

Why did Emperor Chongzhen end up so betrayed and left his relatives?

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

5. The price of suspicion: Emperor Chongzhen's Achilles' heel

Emperor Chongzhen's life was more than diligent, but he lacked a sense of security, he was suspicious and suspicious, and lacked trust in his ministers and generals, which led to his inability to unite his courtiers and gain the sincere support of the army

He had changed cabinet ministers many times, killed meritorious heroes, and even the only army that rushed to King Qin left angrily because of his suspicions

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

At the last moment, he was like a loner, facing the judgment of fate alone

6. Reflection on History: The tragedy of Emperor Chongzhen, whose fault is it?

The tragedy of Emperor Chongzhen is a personal tragedy and a tragedy of the times

24 hours before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, two strange things happened, which still make people feel very weird

The picture comes from the Internet

He was diligent in government and loved the people, and worked hard to govern the country, but he was unable to return to heaven, and finally became the king of the dead country, which was not only his personal character flaws, but also the social contradictions that accumulated in the last years of the Ming Dynasty

His tragedy also sounded the alarm for future generations:

Those who are in power should learn from history, be prepared for danger in times of peace, guard against minor problems, and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past

We must trust our subordinates and unite all the forces that can be united, so that we can overcome the difficulties together

Only by putting the people first and caring for the people's weal and woe can we win the hearts and minds of the people and consolidate our rule

The last 36 hours of Emperor Chongzhen is an embarrassing history, which allows us to see the helplessness and struggle of the last emperor, and also allows us to think more deeply about history

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