Chapter 3 Chapter 1 The Entanglement Between Chongzhen and Li Zicheng

Since the courtiers were all regarded as incompetent by the emperor, naturally no one would do their best in a critical moment, which is why no one was willing to ring the bell.Every time Emperor Chongzhen issued an imperial edict to sin against himself, none of the people who heard it were moved;This is really his sorrow, and it is also the most worthy of his reflection.From the perspective of ordinary people, Chongzhen issued an imperial edict to blame himself, but it was just a show, but how could the emperor himself be responsible?Chongzhen is also a person who is used to shirking responsibility; he summoned all over the country to go to Beijing to serve the king. Who would dare to risk his life with the example of Yuan Chonghuan who returned to Jingqin and was killed?Even in the contest between Chongzhen and Li Zicheng when they were growing up, the Ming Dynasty once had an advantage, but Chongzhen's self-destructive general gave Li Zicheng a chance to breathe. Chongzhen himself is responsible for today's situation of national ruin and family destruction. So a person at the time wrote: "If there is a king, there is a minister, but if you say that I am not the king of subjugation, no one in the world will believe it." (See Zhao Zongfu's "A Brief History of Li Zicheng's Rebellion") In all fairness, Chongzhen is a ruler who is more serious and responsible for state affairs than any emperor in the Ming Dynasty. Since he ascended the throne, he has hardly had a good night's sleep, but his sense of responsibility to govern the world cannot make up for his lack of experience , Suspicious and self-willed - these character traits are directly related to the arrival of 1644.In any case, Chongzhen was never regarded as a good emperor in Chinese history, and his death left only a tragic fact. Forty-nine days before Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, Li Zicheng, Emperor Chongzhen's sworn enemy, proclaimed himself king in Xi'an, and his country name was Dashun, which was changed to Yongchang.Li Zicheng himself also changed his name to Li Zi "Sheng" (meaning bright and prosperous), and took the Qin Palace in Xi'an in the Ming Dynasty as the Xinshun Palace, and mobilized a large number of civilians to renovate Chang'an City, heighten and thicken the city walls, and deepen the trenches. Widened and even more magnificent than the original.According to the military records, Li Zicheng, King of Dashun at this time, had 400,000 infantry and 600,000 cavalry. Li Zicheng participated in the so-called "rogue bandits" anti-Ming forces in 1630 (the third year of Chongzhen).After fourteen years, when he returned to his hometown of Mizhi, he was already the King of Dashun who was fighting against the Ming Dynasty.The ancients once said: Wealth and honor do not return, like brocade clothes walking at night.Li Zicheng was also unavoidable, saying that the queen immediately returned to the Mizhi tomb, but he had deeper feelings. Two years ago (1642), Emperor Chongzhen sent people to dig up Li Zicheng's ancestral tomb, because it was said that the ancestral tomb of the Li family was buried on the "dragon vein" and would replace the Daming Dynasty in the future.Li Zicheng himself was surprised that such a legend could exist. In March of the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng defeated Fengyang.Fengyang is the hometown of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. After the death of Ming Taizu, it became the central capital of Ming Dynasty.The imperial mausoleum in Zhongdu is the mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang's parents.The mausoleum of the imperial mausoleum is magnificent in scale, and there are a large number of exquisite steles and stone carvings in the garden. Its momentum is no less than that of the Ming Tomb and the Ming Tombs.It is a pity that the buildings in the cemetery were wiped out at the feet of the peasant uprising army.Li Zicheng also burned Huangjue Temple where Zhu Yuanzhang had been a monk.This incident shocked the court of the Ming Dynasty. When Chongzhen heard the news, he was anxious and angry. He had nowhere to vent his anger, so he ordered the governor of Fengyang to be executed. Li Zicheng thought that Chongzhen was just trying to destroy his ancestral tomb, but when he heard Chongzhen's reasons, he was very happy that his ancestral tomb was destroyed, because Chongzhen's scruples fully showed that he was born with dragon spirit. In the era when the destiny was highly valued, this greatly enhanced Li Zicheng's prestige and status.From this point of view, Li Zicheng is very grateful to Chongzhen for creating the momentum of "destiny returns" for him.After all, he is a figure who grew up in the struggle, and he is much smarter than Chongzhen in terms of "borrowing momentum". Looking at the destroyed ancestral tomb, Li Zicheng smiled imperceptibly, and he said proudly in his heart: "Chongzhen, thank you. I believe we will meet soon." Li Zicheng convened local elders to discuss the restoration of the ancestral tombs, selected laborers, and completely followed the original terrain, landforms, and ridges, and even slopes and trees. Everything must be restored to its original state without any mistakes.After the completion of the cemetery, a grand ceremony was held before returning to Yan'an, and changing Yan'an to Tianbao Mansion and Mizhi to Tianbao County. Li Zicheng also expanded the Zhenwu Patriarch Temple on the mountain in his hometown into a palace, and named the mountain Panlong Mountain, the main hall of the palace was Qixiang Hall, and the back hall was Zhaoqing Palace. (Note: After the failure of Li Zicheng's uprising, in order to protect this group of buildings, the local people rebuilt the statue of Zhenwu Patriarch inside, and the palace became a temple again) After officially proclaiming himself queen, Li Zicheng marched to Beijing, preaching along the way "three years of exemption from taxation, no killing of one person", and "equal buying and equal selling".People from all over the country warmly welcomed the Peasant Army, and the Dashun Army swept across Shanxi and Hebei. On March 18, 1644, the forward of the Dashun Army broke through the outer city of the capital.On March 21st, Li Zicheng entered Beijing through Desheng Gate, riding a tall horse in felt hats and wearing clothes.The people in the city warmly welcomed the peasant army, and the words "Long Live Emperor Dashun Yongchang" were written in front of many street gates.If Emperor Chongzhen saw this scene, he would probably die with peace in his eyes. Li Zicheng came to the Chengtian Gate (today's Anmen) in the Forbidden City, and immediately looked up, filled with emotion. The origin of the name Chengtianmen comes from the opening words of the imperial decree initiated by the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty: "Fengtian Chengyun", which shows that all his actions are carried out according to the heaven, and his dynasty is to inherit the fortune of Fang Xing.This is what we often see in film and television dramas. When the emperor sends someone to issue an imperial decree, he always starts by saying: "Follow the heavens, and the emperor's edict says."This set actually originated from Zhu Yuanzhang.Chengtianmen is also the place where the imperial decree was released from the palace in the Ming Dynasty. When the imperial decree was promulgated, the imperial decree should be packed in a box. The box was hung with a rope and slowly lowered from the Chengtianmen. Someone kneeling below caught the box, which means "Chengtian". the meaning of. To some extent, Chengtian Gate is a symbol of imperial power.From Shaanxi to Beijing, from an ordinary postman under Chongzhen to King Dashun, and now to the Forbidden City to "inherit heaven", fourteen years have passed.At this moment, the thirty-eight-year-old Li Zicheng was almost at a loss, how could he not be excited! On New Year's Day in the early years of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng drank in the mountains with a few poor friends.The brothers pushed Li Zicheng to be the leader of the rebellion, and said, "I don't know whether to become the emperor." Li Zicheng said, "You should ask the sky." The snow matches the arrows; if not, then not!" As a result, the sky was covered with snow, and the arrow feathers were covered in snow.Li Zicheng was overjoyed, so he got up. Today is the time to ask the sky again, so Li Zicheng pointed to the gate plaque of Chengtian Gate and said to the prime minister Niu Jinxing and the military adviser Song Xiance: "If I hit the word "Tian", I will rule the world." Below the word Tian.Niu Jinxing was good at flattering, so he hurriedly explained: "This arrow is shot under the sky, and it will definitely divide the world." Li Zicheng's thoughts were still at the elementary stage of simplicity. temple. So far, the contest between Emperor Chongzhen and Li Zicheng for more than ten years finally ended in the complete failure of Emperor Chongzhen. The first thing Li Zicheng did after entering the palace was to send people to search for Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou.When Li Zicheng learned that Emperor Chongzhen had hanged himself, he felt very regretful, because he could no longer show off his achievements to his opponents in person.Chinese emperors liked the ceremony of presenting and accepting captives the most, because they could fully enjoy the great pleasure brought about by the contrast between the glory of the winner and the shame of the loser. In the fourteenth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty, Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao rebelled and was captured by the imperial envoy Wang Shouren.Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao rushed to Nanjing to be captured.First, a square was set up outside the city, and the banner of the mighty general (Zhu Houzhao named himself a general) was erected. Zhu Houzhao himself and his favorite minister Jiang Bin changed their military uniforms and appeared; first deliberately released Zhu Chenhao again, and then Zhu Houzhao Capture him personally, and then throw a celebration banquet to celebrate the victory of the counter-insurgency.According to Jiang Bin's original intention, he wanted Zhu Houzhao to capture King Ning in a simulated battle at Poyang Lake.It's a bit like the monkey tricks I saw when I was a child. When a person dies, the body is always there, right?So Li Zicheng ordered Chongzhen's body to be carried to Donghua Gate, wanting to see what the emperor who had been fighting with him for more than ten years looked like.I saw Emperor Chongzhen with disheveled hair, wearing a blue robe, with his left foot bare and a red shoe on his right foot. At this moment, Li Zicheng seemed to really feel sad.After fighting for more than ten years, this big enemy who was younger than himself finally died, but this was not the ending he was looking forward to.Now the throne of the Ninth Five-Year Emperor is empty in front of his eyes. This is the symbol of power that so many people in the world dream of.But Li Zicheng was not relaxed or excited, he just felt lost, and he even felt guilty about Chongzhen's death. So Li Zicheng sighed and said: "I have come to share the country with you, how can I find this short-sightedness?" (Zhao Zongfu's "A Brief History of Li Zicheng's Rebellion") The body of Empress Zhou was also carried to Donghua Gate, and the empress looked as if she was alive.Li Zicheng saw that Empress Zhou's body was tightly stitched with thread, and immediately guessed that she was trying to avoid being humiliated after death. After sighing, he ordered Chongzhen and Empress Zhou to be put into willow coffins and carried to Changping. Because Chongzhen didn't have time to build a mausoleum for himself when he was in power, the people of Changping raised their own money to bury the willow coffin with Chongzhen's favored concubine Tian Gui.After the Qing army entered the customs, they ordered the construction of Siling Mausoleum for Chongzhen according to the emperor's system.Yan Youxi, a native of the Qing Dynasty, recorded in "Shuhua Essays": "Emperor Min (referring to Emperor Chongzhen) has been replaced by the country, and thieves have spread. He has been in power for seventeen years, and he has not had a camp or a mausoleum. Li Zicheng was arrested and invaded the capital, and the king was killed. The righteousness, generosity and suicide, buried the concubine in the garden, and the bad soil only covered it, which was extremely pitiful. My ancestor, Emperor Zhang (referring to the Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty), was caressed by the heavens and the world. Desolate, ordered to repair it, and set up a monument." But Li Zicheng was not at ease. For two thousand years, China has replaced the legal system with morality.More than 2,000 years of traditional education and traditional concepts require the common people and civil servants and military generals to unconditionally serve the emperor.Therefore, in traditional Chinese politics, regicides have to bear enormous psychological pressure and burden. This is probably the essential reason why historical usurpers seldom stay in power for a long time.Li Zicheng is also a Han nationality and a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. It's just that he couldn't survive the great famine and was laid off by Chongzhen, so he raised the flag.At this moment, in his heart, he has already involuntarily placed himself in the position of a regicide and usurper, and he believes that he has an inescapable responsibility for Chongzhen's death.This kind of mental pressure was so great that he couldn't breathe.The most frightening thing was that he couldn't tell anyone about it; because like Chongzhen, he was a self-willed person, and he couldn't show his officials that he would feel guilty for Chongzhen's death.From the beginning of the uprising, the Peasant Army has been promoting the overthrow of Chongzhen's tyranny. How can he sympathize with this political enemy?So Li Zicheng ordered that only simple thin coffins be given to Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou. This can fully explain why Li Zicheng did not proclaim himself emperor as soon as he entered the Forbidden City, but would rather keep the title of Dashun King and leave the golden throne in the Forbidden City empty.Li Zicheng waited until he was defeated by the coalition forces of Wu Sangui and Dorgon at Shanhaiguan, seeing that the good times were numbered, and on April 29, 1644, he hurriedly proclaimed himself emperor in the Wuying Hall.The next day, Li Zicheng abandoned Beijing and fled to his hometown in Shaanxi.To be precise, Li Zicheng only sat on the throne of the Golden Luan Hall in the Forbidden City for one day, and became a veritable emperor for one day. (For the deeds of Li Zicheng, see "History of the Ming Dynasty Volume 309 Biography of the Thieves") From the perspective of our latecomers, Li Zicheng and Chongzhen, the mortal enemies, actually have many similarities. The fate of Chongzhen's failure soon fell to Li Zicheng. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, once issued an edict: "The cultivator will test his strength and give it according to the mu. The poor will have capital, and the rich will not be able to merge. Those who merge will take up more land as their own business, and then transfer the poor to tenant farming. those who commit crimes."In addition, the princes and ministers were ordered to "mainly grant their mountain farms, water, land and fields according to the original regulations, and they are not allowed to occupy excessively as their own property."Zhu Yuanzhang also made an iron list of nine admonitions to the princes, strictly prohibiting the meritorious officials and the families of the princes from taking advantage of their power to seize the land of officials and people. Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a poor background, had already realized that the annexation of land would cause farmers to become refugees, which would lead to serious social problems.He also had great sympathy for the farmers' situation. He often said: "Among the four peoples, the farmers are the hardest and the hardest. In the spring, they get up as soon as the rooster crows, and drive the cattle to the fields to cultivate. After planting seedlings, weeding and fertilization are necessary. It’s not looking good in the sun, and it’s hard work all day long. It’s hard to wait until the harvest is over, and there’s not much left after paying taxes. In case of floods, droughts, insects and locusts, the whole family can only worry, and there is nothing to do.” ("Ming Taizu Records" "Volume 22) In order to allow farmers to farm with peace of mind, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the "Road Guide System".The road guide is equivalent to a pass, which needs to be applied to the magistrate.Without road guides, you can't leave the land casually, which limits the movement of farmers within a hundred miles. In the descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang, the land system gradually changed. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Huangzhuang (grange directly under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family) appeared, which was directly managed by eunuchs and collected taxes. This led to large-scale land seizures. During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, there were four Huangzhuangs, with less than 2,000 hectares of official land; later, there were five Huangzhuangs, covering an area of ​​12,800 hectares.By the time of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, the number of Huangzhuang had increased to thirty-six, covering an area of ​​more than 53,000 hectares. The royal family opened up Huangzhuang, and other royal relatives followed suit.According to the "Ming Hui Yao", in the 26th year of Hongwu, the total number of fields was more than 8.5 million hectares, and in the 15th year of Hongzhi, it was reduced to 4.22 million hectares.Half of this reduction is because it was annexed by the royal relatives, so it is not in the official book. In this way, countless farmers have no land to grow, and thus become displaced.And because of the Ming Dynasty's guide system, these peasants who fled to other places were hunted down by the government, and they naturally became the so-called "refugees".With less land, the court's taxes increased instead.Peasants with land to grow had to bear heavier taxes and miscellaneous taxes, so farmers with land also began to abandon their fields and fled on a large scale, joining the ranks of "refugees".By the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to land annexation, exorbitant taxes and a series of natural disasters, the Ming Dynasty had become the largest "immigrant empire" in history. Generally speaking, Chinese farmers are quite industrious, but they are timid and fearful, and have great endurance. If they are not at the end of the mountain and have nowhere to go, they will definitely not take risks. Li Zicheng is from Mizhi, Shaanxi.Shaanxi has been the focus of social contradictions for a long time.The land here is barren, the production is backward, the taxation and corvee are serious, and the famine has occurred in successive years. The life of the peasants is more difficult than in other areas, and the class contradictions are sharp.This area is also an area where Mongolian, Han, and Hui people live together, and it is a place of fierce ethnic struggle. People of all ethnic groups have deep conflicts with the rulers of the Ming Dynasty.Therefore, Shaanxi became the first area where peasant uprisings were brewed and broke out. In March of the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), there was a severe drought in Shaanxi, and the crops failed.Zhang Douyao, magistrate of Chengcheng County, regardless of the life and death of the hungry people, still pressed for taxes and squeezed the farmers hard.Wang Er, a farmer in Baishui County, gathered hundreds of farmers who could not survive. He asked everyone loudly: "Who dares to kill the county magistrate?" Everyone said in unison: "I dare to kill." The death of Zhang Douyao opened the prelude to the uprising of the peasant army in the late Ming Dynasty. The most ridiculous thing is that Wei Zhongxian's cronies, Qiao Yingjia, governor of northern Shaanxi, and Zhu Tongmeng, governor of Yansui, were afraid of being blamed by the court after receiving the report. They turned a deaf ear to it and pretended not to know.The uprising team took the opportunity to expand rapidly. After Wang Er took the lead in the uprising, hungry people from all over the country responded one after another.In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), Jiayin, the king of Fugu in Shaanxi, led the uprising of the hungry people; Gao Yingxiang, a native of Ansai, known as the "king of Chuang", also rose up and raised the banner of anti-Ming. At this time, the sixteen-year-old Chongzhen had just become emperor, and he had to face not only the powerful threat from the Manchus outside the pass, but also the "traitors" everywhere.For this young man surnamed Zhu, is the throne that everyone dreams of being fortunate or unfortunate? In the third year of Chongzhen (1630), Zhang Xianzhong revolted according to the Eighteen Villages in Yan'an, Shaanxi, and claimed to be the Eight Great Kings.According to history books, Zhang Xianzhong "has a yellow face, a long body and a tiger's jaw, and his nickname is Huang Hu".He has a big body, slightly elongated face, yellowish complexion, short chin beard, straight eyebrows, and a tall, thin man with a thunderous voice. Zhang Xianzhong used to arrest Kuaishou in Yan'an Mansion (now part of Shaanxi), and later served as an army in "Yansui Town, Changli". He was a professional soldier.Seeing his strange appearance, the chief general Chen Hongfan became interested in talents, stopped the executioner, and offered to intercede for him in front of the general officer Wang Wei.But before Chen Hongfan could open his mouth, Zhang Xianzhong outside had already seized the opportunity to escape.This shows the rebelliousness of this person's character and the disorganized way of doing things. In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Zhang Xianzhong was attacked by Zuo Liangyu and Chen Hongfan, the general soldiers, and suffered a crushing defeat.Zhang Xianzhong himself was shot by an arrow in the forehead, and his face was covered with blood, unable to continue fighting, he had to run away. Zhang Xianzhong's general Chuang Tatian (real name Liu Guoneng) had always been at odds with Zhang Xianzhong. Seeing that Zhang Xianzhong's army was defeated, he took advantage of the situation and surrendered to Xiong Wencan.Zhang Xianzhong was terrified when he heard about it. He was worried that Chuang Tatsu Tianshen knew his details and would lead the officers and soldiers to come to his disadvantage. After weighing the pros and cons, he immediately sent someone to contact Chen Hongfan and said he was willing to surrender.Because of his old relationship with Zhang Xianzhong, Chen Hongfan spoke well for him in front of Xiong Wencan.So Xiong Wencan accepted Zhang Xianzhong's surrender, not only that, but also ordered him to lead the old troops and station in Gucheng. In order to show his sincerity, Zhang Xianzhong took the initiative to recruit Luo Rucai for the Ming Dynasty.Luo Rucai, nicknamed Cao Cao, was also an outstanding figure in the Peasant Army. Later, he was jealous of Li Zicheng and was assassinated. Ten years ago, Xiong Wencan was the governor of Fujian. Because he persuaded the pirate leader Zheng Zhilong (Zheng Chenggong's father) to surrender and be used by the Ming Dynasty, Xiong Wencan became famous.He believed that appeasement would help to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai were well-known in the peasant army. He believed that the two thieves surrendered and the remaining thieves seized their strength, so he asked Chongzhen to pardon Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, and Chongzhen actually approved it.Soon after, Zhang Xianzhong rebelled, Chongzhen became angry and executed Xiong Wencan. Zhang Xianzhong captured Wuchang in May of the 16th year of Chongzhen (1643), put the king of Chu in a cage and threw him into the river.Immediately, men from Wuchang who were over 15 years old and under 20 years old were forced to enlist in the army, and all others, regardless of gender, age or age, were killed.From Yingwu Island to Taoist Fu, floating corpses cover the river.Zhang Xianzhong then proclaimed Daxi King in Wuchang and initially established a political power.The following year, Zhang Xianzhong led troops into Sichuan.The city walls of Chengdu were strong and could not be attacked for a long time at first.Later, Zhang Xianzhong sent people to dig holes and tunnels in secret places outside the city, dig out the roots of the city walls, and bury gunpowder.The bamboo joints are pierced with bamboo poles, the poles are connected, and a long fuse is installed inside, which is quietly ignited.Seeing that Zhang Xianzhong's army had completely retreated, the city guards were about to cheer, when suddenly an explosion shook the sky and the city wall collapsed. After the capture of Chengdu, Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu on October 16, 1644, changed Yuan to Dashun, established the Daxi regime, and called himself Lao Longsui. After Zhang Xianzhong became emperor, he immediately joined the Taoist institute to enshrine Zhang Yazi, the emperor of Zitong, that is, he said that he was a descendant of Zhang Yazi, so as to raise his status. Zhang Yazi was born in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and lived in Qiqu Mountain for a long time. He knew poems and books and was skilled in medicine.In the Tang Dynasty, he was granted the title of King Yingxian, and in the Yuan Dynasty he was called Emperor Wenchang.Wenchang temples were built all over the country in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Because Emperor Wenchang was born in Zitong, it is also called Emperor Zitong.During the reign of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong led his teacher to pass through Zitong several times. Hearing Zhang Yazi's story, he said: If I win, I will rebuild the temple. After Zhang Xianzhong occupied Chengdu, he immediately issued 50,000 taels of silver and thousands of servants to build a magnificent temple, which was entitled "Tiansheng Shrine".Zhang Xianzhong personally wrote a poem: "A thread of intestines travels to heaven, where there will be no worries for all eternity; gods and immortals are gods, and they are passed down from generation to generation and rest with heaven."Another song: "There are green pines in the mountains, and yellow peanuts in the valley; once the hail falls, the yellow flowers are not as good as the pine."It can be called a typical crooked poem.At the same time, Zhang Xianzhong respected Wenchang as the great ancestor, Emperor Gao, and took Wenchang Temple as Zhang Xianzhong's family temple. Although Zhang Xianzhong, the old man, was also called the leader of the uprising of the Peasant Army in history, there is no doubt that this rebel who also claimed to follow the law of heaven brought huge damage to society and the people.Zhang Xianzhong's temperament was fierce and cruel, and the generals and soldiers judged their merits by the number of murders, and the killings were not clear about the army and civilians. "If you don't kill people for a day, you will never be happy."After Zhang Xianzhong was stationed in Sichuan, he steamed and ate children when he saw them, and brought them back to the military camp when he saw women, and let his troops take turns to rape them; he also cut off the little feet of these women, gathered them into a large pile, and called them Lianfeng; then set fire to them The little feet are called Candles to the Sky. It is said that Zhang Xianzhong also "likes human flesh, and every time he stands in front of him, he cuts and burns them, and kills them with one stroke. When Huangzhou was destroyed, the city was demolished, and the women were slaves. All nails fell off, blood flowed horizontally, and they were still crushed after demolition. ". (Li Qing's "Sanyuan Notes") The strangest thing is that Zhang Xianzhong spent a lot of manpower to build a high embankment on the Jinjiang River, but it was not to control the flood; he dug a large pit several feet deep in the sand downstream of the embankment, and then snatched him Hundreds of millions of gold and silver treasures were buried in the pit, and then the embankment was broken again to release water, submerging the big pit where the treasure was buried, which is called water storage. In terms of murder, Zhang Xianzhong also came up with many new tricks.For example, he sent his subordinates to attack in all directions in various prefectures and counties, killing people when they met, which is called "grass killing".He also raised dozens of Tibetan mastiffs in the mansion. Every day when his subordinates gathered for court meetings, he released Tibetan mastiffs to sniff those former Ming officials who surrendered to him. Those who were smelled by Tibetan mastiffs were immediately pulled out and beheaded.Zhang Xianzhong never tires of it, calling it "Heavenly Killing".He himself didn't study, and he hated scholars very much. He thought that scholars were treacherous and hypocritical, so he announced the opening of the imperial examination, lured thousands of Sichuan students to Qingyang Palace, killed them all, and piled up their corpses.Only a scholar surnamed Zhang remained, who was so talented that Zhang Xianzhong doted on him very much.One day, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly became depressed, and said to his left and right: "I don't know why, I love this champion very much, and I can't bear him for a moment. It's better to kill him, so as not to keep thinking about it." So he ordered Zhang Zhuangyuan to be beheaded. (For the deeds of Zhang Xianzhong, see "History of the Ming Dynasty Volume 309 Biography of the Thieves") In the third year of Shunzhi (1646), Hauge and Wu Sangui, princes of Manchu Qingsu, led the Qing army from southern Shaanxi to Sichuan to attack Zhang Xianzhong's Great Western Army.In July of the fourth year of Shunzhi (1647), Zhang Xianzhong withdrew from Chengdu and went north to fight against the Qing army.Before leaving, he ordered the massacre of the city and set fire to the whole city.Shen Xunwei's "Shu Difficult Narrative" records: "The number of palaces in the palace cannot be burned, and they will be burnt if they are poured with grease. The two stone pillars of the Panlong, which were also objects in Meng and Shu, were wrapped in dozens of layers of yarn, soaked in oil for three days, and burned in one fire. Column fold".In November of the same year, the Daxi Army was surrounded by the Qing Army.At that time, Zhang Xianzhong was busy massacring the city in Xichong, and hurried out of the city to fight, but was shot dead by Qing general Yabulan in Fenghuang Mountain (north of Nanxi County, Sichuan today).A man who enjoyed killing so much was finally killed. Twelve years after Zhang Xianzhong's death (1659), the household registration in Wenjiang County, Sichuan Province was checked. There were only 32 households in the county, with 31 males and 23 females.This is all the result of Zhang Xianzhong's massacre (see "Wenjiang County Chronicle" in the Republic of China).It is said that Zhang Xianzhong did not intend to slander the leaders of the peasant army when he slaughtered Sichuan, which is true.Even Mr. Lu Xun once criticized Zhang Xianzhong for "specializing in 'killing for the sake of killing'".The folk proverb at that time said: "When the year is Jia, B and C, the blood here is red", "There are thieves, and the thieves are here, and the upper world sends him to behead. If there is one person who can't be beheaded, the plague messenger will follow."Over the past hundred years, many historians have found to their surprise that no Sichuanese were born and bred, and almost all of them immigrated from other provinces.According to the local language family and related county annals, most of the aborigines in the upper five counties called by Sichuan folks: Xinjin, Dayi, Chongqing, Pixian, and Dujiangyan came from "Huguang filling Sichuan".Because Zhang Xianzhong suppressed Sichuan and killed all the people, there was a large immigration of "Huguang filling Sichuan" in the early Qing Dynasty. After Zhang Xianzhong's death, officials of the Qing Dynasty came to Chengdu to take over the administration, but there was no house in the city for the office, so the Sichuan Provincial Government had to be relocated to Baoning Mansion (now Langzhong County).It was not until the 16th year of Shunzhi (1659) that Sichuan Province was moved back to Chengdu.At that time, the population of Sichuan was about 80,000, and there was no human habitation for ten miles.There are only dozens of households in the whole city of Chengdu (not counting scattered population), there are no roads and alleys, the old streets are hard to recognize, and there are jungles everywhere, where rabbits and pheasants are flying.Someone stood on the city wall of the south gate, and saw thirteen tigers walking across the Jinjiang River one after another within a day.The catastrophe is like this, whose fault is it? (see "History of the Qing Dynasty") There is an old saying in China: "The world is in chaos before Shu is in chaos, and the world has been ruled before Shu is ruled."Historically, the Zhongchuan people of the Han nationality were more rebellious, so they were always slaughtered most brutally.There have been three massacres in Sichuan history. The first time was at the turn of the Western Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Jin Dynasty.事起于公元301年，蜀西氐族豪强李特，纠合流民二万馀，自称镇北大将军，在绵竹（今德阳市黄许镇）扯旗造反，陷广汉，围成都，入城大屠杀。李特战死后，其子李雄称成都王，后又称帝。政权无文化，杀人作恶不自知，播乱长达五十年。 第二次在宋元之交。公元1279年，元朝灭南宋，两度陷成都，先后大屠杀。“城中骸骨一百四十万，城外者不计”（引元代贺清泉《成都录》），“蜀民就死，率五十人为一聚，以刀悉刺之，乃积其尸。至暮，疑不死，复刺之”（引《三卯录》）。野蛮民族打江山，同样鄙俚无文化，而作恶又胜过李特父子。元朝八十馀年，成都残破，终无起色。 第三次就是“张献忠剿四川，鸡犬不留”，这次最为残酷，远胜过前两次，空前绝后。2002年成都附近某县基建，挖掘出近万具白骨，据考证也是张献忠所为。 张献忠还在成都立了一块“七杀碑”，上面刻着他杀人如麻的理由：“天生万物以养人，人无一德以报天，杀杀杀杀杀杀杀！”对他来说，好杀人并不是他的责任，蜀人是自作孽不可活，他是在替天行道。1644甲申年十一月十日，大西军驱赶百姓到成都东门外九眼桥屠杀。当刽子手将要举刀时，迅雷炸响三声。张献忠怒斥苍天道：“你放我到人间来杀人，今天为什么用雷来吓我？”命令士兵驾起大炮，对天空连放三炮。这一天，被杀者无算，尸首塞满了河道，九眼桥也因此而折断。 就是这位张献忠，竟然对西方科学技术有兴趣，聘请了意大利传教士利类思、葡萄牙传教士安文思为天学国师，询问西方各国政事、天文、数学等方面的知识。二人曾为献忠制作天球仪、地球仪和日晷等。这两位传教士在《圣教入川记》忠真实地记录了张献忠的大杀月小杀，认为他是政策杀人，并非一味颟顸快意杀人，盖以杀人求政权之巩固耳。 跟张献忠比起来，李自成虽然也杀人如麻，但后来能采纳李岩等人的建议，开始收敛形迹，笼络人心，在农民军领袖中确实是出类拔萃的。 李自成1606年出生在陕西米脂县一个贫苦农民家庭。当时天灾人祸不断发生，连续多年闹灾荒，千百万农民身上无衣，口中无食。李自成自幼家贫，还曾经出家当过小和尚，俗名黄来僧。曾经有人附会说，李自成这个名字跟“皇来僧”近音，暗示着他日后能当皇帝。后来李自成因欠债被迫给姓艾的地主牧羊。21岁那年，他因为失手打伤了地主，不得不逃到银川，当一名驿卒（相当现在的邮递员）。驿卒的工作似乎比较轻松，因为李自成的骑射技术就是在当驿卒的时候苦练而成的。 崇祯二年（1629年），崇祯皇帝开始大规模裁减驿站（相当现在的邮电局兼地方招待所）。崇祯三年（1630年），李自成不幸被列入裁员的名单内，失业下岗。此时正值风起云涌，全国到处都有农民起义爆发。二十四岁的李自成也心痒难耐，于是杀死驿站的上司，出了被裁员的恶气。李自成就这样造了反，投到了他舅舅高迎祥领导的农民军中，当了一名八队闯将。 这一时期最有影响的是王嘉胤义军，他们曾经一度占领府谷，称王设官。但是从整体上来说，农民军都是各自为战，没有统一指挥，而且成份相当复杂。农民军在这样恶劣的情况之所以能生存下来，最主要的原因是崇祯忙于应付来自满清的强大威胁。外番一直是明朝最大的威胁，从朱元璋开始，终明一朝也未能彻底解决。 就在崇祯皇帝疲于应付东北满清的时候，陕西的流民四起。明朝政府口中的所谓流寇，是没有一定的根据地，流窜到那里，就裹胁到那里。中国因为疆域广大，天灾人祸很难影响到全国，局部的动乱也很难牵动全国。只有当社会极度不安、内外交困时，才会酿成如火燎原之势。崇祯皇帝不幸正当其时。 李自成等流民起于陕西，很快流入山西，接着又流入河北，蔓延在四川、湖广之境，大有“星星之火，可以燎原”之势。崇祯皇帝这才着了慌。他早知道陕西大旱，甚至发生了易子而食的惨剧，但他总以为这些流民闹不起大事来，顶多也就是抢抢粮食罢了。孟德斯鸠名著《论法的精神》中说：“当一个政府不能很好解决民众的基本生活问题时，是不禁止民众小的违法行为的。”孟德斯鸠的这句话给崇祯皇帝开始并不重视农民军的力量以及后来普遍采用招安政策提供了很好的注解。 流民还没有演变成起义军时，兵部郎中李继贞向崇祯建议说：“这些流民饥饿不堪，将来恐怕都要沦为盗匪，请以帑金十万来救济他们。”当时崇祯没有听，反而派人围剿。 这个时候的流民没有专门的统帅，一旦与明军官兵相遇，流民各自为斗，如果能取胜则人人争先往前冲，一旦打败就立即窜入山谷躲起来。因为流民太多，官军遇贼追杀，根本就不知道他们打的是哪方的流寇。流民或分或合，东西奔突，势力日益强大起来。明军官兵东西奔击，疲于奔命，流寇始终无法剿灭。 既然流寇是生活不下去了才要造反，那我就给你们基本生活的保障，你们总该不反了吧。于是崇祯想到了利用剿抚兼施的策略尽快平息农民起义。三边总督杨鹤执行“以抚为主，以剿为辅”的绥靖政策，意图瓦解农民军。在明军剿抚兼施进攻下，陕西农民军中确实有不少首领都接受了朝廷招安。但这些受招安的人是在利益的诱惑下才投降，一旦发现明朝政府无力兑现时，立即又重新造反，所以呈现出时降时叛的复杂局面。 出现这样流寇越剿越多的状况，总得有人来承担责任吧？这自然不是皇帝的错，于是杨鹤于崇祯四年（1631年）十月被逮捕下狱。 在这个过程中，李自成开始名声鹊起。崇祯六年（1633年），农民军首领王自用病卒后，李自成收其遗部2万余人，与张献忠等合兵，在河南林县（今林州）击败明总兵邓玘，杀其部将杨遇春。 随后，高迎祥领导下的农民军与明军展开了激烈博斗，损失较大。为保存实力，农民军从山西转入河南。崇祯六年（1633年）冬，高迎祥、张献忠、罗汝才、李自成等经渑池县突破黄河防线，转移到豫西。 明朝政府再次逐渐控制了局势。崇祯七年（1634年）初，崇祯任命曾在陕西北部大胜农民军的陈奇瑜（1616年进士，1648年去世）总督河南、山西、陕西、四川、湖广五省军务，专办“流贼”。陈奇瑜不辱使命，不出数月，他在河南西部靠近陕西边界的车厢峡诱歼了数千名农民军。但陈奇瑜很快自己断送了前程。他接受了农民军中名气最大的李自成的投降，还派人将李自成和他的部下遣送回陕北。但李自成随即杀掉护送的明军，突袭了驻扎在渭水的明军。不久后，陈奇瑜被逮捕下狱。 农民军突围后，在豫楚川陕交界山区流动作战，与明军周旋，明军不得不分兵把守要隘，穷于追剿，陷入战线过长、兵力分散的困境。 崇祯八年（1635年），洪承畴继任三边总督，为改变明军被动局面，开始集中力量围剿农民军。洪承畴出陕西，朱大典出山东，两面夹攻农民军，以重兵包围起义中心地区，实施重点进攻。洪承畴高迎祥义军接连败于确山、朱仙镇（今河南开封市西南）等地，连连受挫，被迫转入西部山区。 在形势的逼迫下，农民军开始联合起来。崇祯八年（1635年），在李自成的提议下，各路农民军会师于河南荥阳，共13家，72营，在一起共商对敌之策。李自成首先提出联合作战、分兵出击的方案，受到大家的支持。但很可惜的是，尽管农民军首领们已经意识到联合的重要性，开了这次荥阳会议，但农民军并没有真正形成组织和指挥上的统一，一旦遇上洪承畴这样的用兵高手，很快就被明军各个击破。 崇祯九年（1636年）夏，农民军被围困在丛山之中长达三个月。高迎祥率部从陕西汉中突围，遭到陕西巡抚孙传庭埋伏，被俘而死。高迎祥死后，农民军逐渐形成为两支劲旅，一支由张献忠领导，活动在湖北、安徽、河南一带；另一支由李自成领导，活动在甘肃、宁夏、陕西一带。 高迎祥死后，农民军把“闯王”这个称号推让给屡建战功、声望很高的李自成。从此，李自成作了“闯王”。 李自成继任“闯王”，手下有刘宗敏、田见秀、郝摇旗等战将。李自成虽号称“农民起义领袖”，但并非救民于水火，他攻城掠地，每遇顽抗，都要大肆杀戮，对方坚守一两天，城破以后要杀十之三四；坚守三日以上，城破以后即要屠城，杀人数万，聚尸为燎，叫作打亮。每破一城他就弃之不顾，继续向前进攻。他曾三度围攻开封城不下，最后决黄河大堤，淹死兵民数十万人。可以说，李自成十多年的大起义，也是对中国十多年的大破坏！后来他的队伍中加进了河南杞县举人李岩，及夫人红娘子；举人牛金星、算命先生宋献策等作谋士，情况才稍好一点。崇祯皇帝面对这位大肆破坏、杀人如麻的“闯王”，能有什么办法？ ! 明末清初诗人李雯有《道出盱眙见贼所烧残处》一诗记录说：