Chapter 14 3. Gate of Zhengyang

To the south of Daming Gate is the main gate of the inner city——Zhengyang Gate (called Lizheng Gate at first, commonly known as Qianmen).When Yongle built Beijing, Zhengyangmen was the south gate of the capital.In order to defend against Mongolian invasion, Zhengyangmen built a complete defense system including city towers, urns and archery towers.The Zhengyang Gate Tower and Archery Tower were destroyed when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing.There are records: when the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu returned to Beijing from Xi'an, they made colorful archways on the city platform for a spectacular view.Later, it was rebuilt and reconstructed, with Western architectural features.The tower of Zhengyangmen is located in the north, and the tower is as tall as Chengtianmen. It has two floors, and the whole tower is 42 meters high.There are 1.2-meter-high female walls along the north and south sides of the city platform, which are used to protect the soldiers defending the city.There is only one door in the middle of the city platform, and there is a thousand-jin gate inside the door, which is difficult to break into from the outside.The city tower is two stories high, seven rooms wide, and three rooms deep; the roof is a double-eaved Xieshan top, with gray tiles and green glazed edges.The Zhengyangmen Archery Tower is located in the south and was added during the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty.The archery tower is slightly shorter than the city tower, and there is also only one door, and the door has two layers: the front is the Qianjin gate (you can still see the remains of the gate), which opens and closes up and down; the back is the iron leaf gate, which opens left and right.The archery tower itself is a brick fortress, which is divided into four floors. There are shooting windows on the east, south and west sides. There are 52 shooting windows on the front and 21 on the sides. There are 94 shooting windows in total.The city tower and the arrow tower are connected by the urn city.Once the enemy soldiers break through the gates of the archery tower, the defenders can close the gates of the archery tower and the gate tower, making it impossible for the enemy soldiers to advance or retreat, as if falling into an urn;

In short, the design of Zhengyangmen is always focused on military defense.The fate of Zhengyangmen is always closely related to military affairs.Here we mainly talk about the historical events of Li Jiantai's expedition at Zhengyangmen during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty. Li Jiantai, a native of Quwo, Shanxi Province, was an official to Dongge University Bachelor.In the first month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), Li Zicheng's army invaded Shanxi.Emperor Chongzhen sighed and said: "I am not a king of a subjugated country. Everything is a sign of a subjugated country. My ancestors (zhi) are in the world of wind and rain. Once I lose it, what will I see in the underground! I hope that the supervisor will fight a decisive battle. , there is nothing to hate when you die on the battlefield, but you will not die with peace!" ("Ming History·Li Jiantai Biography" Volume 253) and wept bitterly after speaking.Upon seeing this, Li Jiantai said with emotion: "The minister's family, Quwo, is willing to use his family property as military salary, instead of paying money from the official family, and asks to lead troops to the west!" Shang Fang's sword, promised to act cheaply, and sent subordinates according to his wishes.

On the twenty-sixth day of the same month, the general dispatch ceremony was held at Zhengyangmen, which was the farewell ceremony for the expedition.Near noon, Emperor Chongzhen ascended the tower of Zhengyangmen.The guards lined up from east to west, from the Meridian Gate to the outside of the Zhengyang Gate. Although it was very spectacular, it was a bluff.The emperor gave a farewell banquet, relatives and nobles and ministers of civil and military affairs all sat in attendance, Honglu Temple sent people to praise, the imperial censor was in charge of rectifying the ceremony, and the generals of the Han Dynasty guarded it, which can be described as extremely grand.Emperor Chongzhen personally poured three glasses of wine for Li Jiantai with a golden jug, and also gave him a handbook, writing "conquer on behalf of me".The eunuch put red hairpin flowers on him.After the banquet was over and the expedition was over, Emperor Chongzhen watched him off for a long time before returning to the palace.The fate of the Ming Dynasty and the hopes of Emperor Chongzhen rested on Li Jiantai's army.

However, Li Jiantai had a bad start, and after walking a few miles, the sedan chair pole he was sitting on suddenly broke, and everyone thought it was an ominous omen.It was a strong wind blowing sand, and the divination hexagrams said "it is not good for the master".What kind of "master of the king" is this?Although Li Jiantai transferred his proud subordinates, and even Tang Ruowang, a Westerner, went out with the army to take charge of the fire and water battle, but when they marched to Zhuozhou in the south of Beijing, more than 3,000 people fled.Soon, "soldiers and food were scarce, and only 500 people were brought with them."At that time, Li Jiantai's army was shocked to hear that his hometown Quwo had fallen, his family's property was gone, and the expected food and salary were in vain.He fell ill when he was in a hurry, and his movements suddenly slowed down. He only walked thirty miles a day, and his soldiers also fled.When they walked to Guangzong, the city magistrate forbade Li Jiantai to enter the city for three days in a row, and asked Li Jiantai——

Question: If the army does not face the enemy, why does it enter the city? Answer: The army has no food, and they need food and silver when they enter the city! Question: There is no food and silver in the city! Answer: If you don't open the door, I will attack the city! Li Jiantai became furious and ordered the officers and soldiers to attack the city.After the city was broken, the squire was killed and the magistrate was whipped.Li Jiantai, a dignified prime minister and supervisor, attacked his own county for the first battle in Beijing, slaughtered the common people of the Celestial Dynasty, and flogged his county magistrate, which completely violated the original intention of leaving the army!

Later, Li Jiantai led his army to Baoding Mansion. There were only a few hundred soldiers left, and he asked to enter the city.The fellow magistrate Shao Zongyuan and others who guarded the city refused to agree, so Li Jiantai showed him the seal of award.Shao Zongyuan said: "You have received the kindness of the emperor. The emperor once climbed the Zhengyang gate, gave you the upper sword, and poured wine for you to bid farewell to you. Now you don't go west on behalf of the emperor, but you have to knock on the pass to avoid it." Are you a thief?" His words hit Li Jiantai's sore spot, he loudly reprimanded Shao Zongyuan, and threatened him with Shang Fang's sword.The majestic Shangfang sword, when it was unsheathed, was pointed at a loyal minister and good general!Fortunately, someone in the city knew Li Jiantai, so he was let in, otherwise Li Jiantai was afraid of repeating the farce of attacking Guangzong.

Not long after Baoding City was destroyed, some people said that Li Jiantai attempted to commit suicide with his sword and was captured.It was Li Jiantai's first rebellion - Daming.Later, Li Zicheng left, and Li Jiantai transformed into a scholar of the Imperial Academy of Hongwen Academy in the Qing Dynasty.It was because of Li Jiantai's second rebellion - Dashun.Three years later, Li Jiantai was dismissed from office and returned home due to "stealing".Later, when Jiang Guan, the general of Datong in the Ming Dynasty, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and then rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, Li Jiantai echoed him in his hometown of Quwo.It was Li Jiantai's third rebellion—the Qing Dynasty.In the seventh year of Shunzhi (1650), Li Jiantai was defeated and captured.This time the Qing court did not tolerate Li Jiantai, but ordered Li Jiantai to be killed. ("Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty" Volume 47)

Emperor Chongzhen never thought of it before his death: he gave the "three bestowments" to Li Jiantai, a scholar on the tower of Zhengyangmen Gate. Two, the golden pot gave wine, and he was a farewell party, but Li Jiantai violated his original intention and surrendered to survive; third, he gave Shang Fang a sword and encouraged him to kill the enemy, but Li Jiantai became a scholar of the Qing Dynasty!What Emperor Chongzhen dreamed of was to help the building to collapse and save the country from danger; unexpectedly, Li Jiantai performed scenes of farce and sang songs of lament.On the tower of Zhengyangmen, the historical smoke has dissipated.Li Jiantai's "Three Rebellions" can be learned by future generations.

In short, before the Imperial Palace in Ming and Qing Dynasties, through Chengtianmen (Tiananmen), Damingmen (Daqingmen) and Zhengyangmen (Qianmen), we can see the atmosphere and pattern of the palace city.Beijing is indeed a place of prosperity, a place of great danger, a place in the middle, and the capital of emperors. There is indeed a central axis, the meridian, that runs through the palace city, the imperial city, the inner city and the outer city.On the central axis, Miyagi has "three protrusions in the front and three leans in the back", which runs through the concept of "Zhongzheng Peace" and embodies the soul of traditional Chinese culture.

People boarded the main gate of the palace city - the Meridian Gate, looking to the south, Duanmen is open, Tiananmen is peaceful, Daming Gate is advocating national unity, Zhengyangmen is upright; looking north, Taihe Gate is open, and Qianqing Gate is guarded. Qingzheng, Xuanwu Gate emphasizes military preparations, and Bei'an Gate needs to be stable—the central axis is the nine gates on the meridian line. These nine gates have important functions and extraordinary significance. "Nine Gates of the Son of Heaven", with the Meridian Gate in the middle - what historical stories happened at the Meridian Gate?

The Meridian Gate is a witness of history: China's upright scholar-bureaucrats have a noble spirit, which is righteousness, which is what Mencius called "awe-inspiring spirit"!This kind of awe-inspiring righteousness is: insist on integrity, dare to speak directly, and not be afraid of court staff; insist on righteousness, dare to speak the truth, and not be afraid of humiliation; uphold justice, dare to do practical things, and not be afraid of evil; Prestige——Strong character, bold and courageous, three memorials, three court sticks, although the man dies, his righteousness will last forever, just as Wen Tianxiang said: "No one in life has died since ancient times, and keep the loyalty to reflect the history!"