Chapter 7 Chapter One: The Hongguang Regime Born in Worry and Died in Peace

At the beginning of 1644, the peasant army rampaged through Shanxi, Beizhili and Shandong, and the traffic between the north and the south was severely damaged.Refugees from the North brought to the South plagues, panics, spies, and all sorts of dreadful rumors about the situation in the North, but no one knew the veracity of these reports. At the beginning of March 1644, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to King Qin of the world.However, 21 days after Li Zicheng captured Beijing, Shi Kefa, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, still had no troops. In view of Shi Kefa's failure to obey the edict to enter King Qinqin, let's first tell the story of Qin Liangyu.We chose to tell the story of Qin Liangyu in this article, hoping to add a touch of light to the embarrassing sighs in this article.

Zhang Xianzhong killed people like hemp, even Li Zicheng didn't pay attention to him, and he was only afraid of Qin Liangyu all his life.This Qin Liangyu, who makes Zhang Xianzhong, who is not afraid of even the sky, is the only female general in Chinese history who has been officially included in the national establishment.Unlike the legendary heroine Hua Mulan who served in the army for her father, Qin Liangyu's deeds are true. Qin Liangyu, from Zhongzhou.The Qin family has lived for generations on the bank of Mingyu River on the outskirts of Letian Town in the west of Zhongzhou City, Sichuan. Surrounded by mountains and water, the terrain is majestic and the scenery is magnificent.Qin Liangyu's father, Qin Kui, was well-read in poetry and books, and was well-informed. "In troubled times, he likes to talk about soldiers."Qin Liangyu has three brothers, Liangyu lives in the third, with older brothers Bangping and Banghan, and younger brothers Minping.Her father especially loves her, and thinks that even though she is a girl, she should practice self-defense so as not to "just be a bandit" in a war.Therefore, Qin Liangyu was able to practice martial arts with his father with his brothers in addition to studying chapters and sentences and studying classics and history since he was a child.Not only did she learn the extraordinary martial arts of cavalry, shooting and stabbing, but also she was familiar with military history and was proficient in strategy, showing extraordinary military talents.

Qin Kui once said with emotion: "It's a pity that you are not as good as your ears, and your brothers are not as good as you." But Qin Liangyu does not feel inferior because she is a daughter. For herself, she said boldly: "The emissary is in charge of the army, but the Lady City and the Detachment of Women are insignificant." In the 20th year of Emperor Shenzong Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, Qin Liangyu, who had just turned 20 years old, married Ma Qiancheng, the envoy of Xuanfu Shi Jie, as his wife.Ma Qiancheng was the descendant of General Fubo, a famous general in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was handsome and strict.His ancestral home is Fufeng, Shaanxi. Because of his ancestors' military exploits, he was named Shijie Xuanfu envoy, and his official position was passed down from generation to generation, and finally passed on to Ma Qiancheng.

Ma Qiancheng admired and respected Qin Liangyu very much, and the husband and wife respected each other as guests, and they often talked with each other about the use of troops in frontier administration.Shijie belongs to Zhongzhou, which is located in a remote area inhabited by ethnic minorities. It was not an important place for military use, but Qin Liangyu proposed to her husband, "A man should be a man of honor, and he should sit and watch?" Based on her great vision of serving the country, Assist her husband in elaborating and concise soldiers.In a few years, she helped her husband train a team of brave and skilled "white soldiers".

This kind of white pole spear is a weapon created by Qin Liangyu according to the local terrain characteristics. It is made of strong white wood as a long pole, with a bladed hook on the top and a hard iron ring on the bottom.In combat, the hook can be cut and pulled, and the ring can be used as a hammering weapon; when necessary, dozens of spears can be used as a tool for climbing over mountains and walls, and cliffs can be climbed instantly, which is very suitable for mountain warfare .Ma Qiancheng relied on this white-armed army of thousands of horses to preside over the surrounding areas, so that the area around Shijie was peaceful for many years.

It is recorded in the history of the Ming Dynasty: "Liangyu is a man of courage and wisdom, good at riding and shooting, and also proficient in Ci, with elegant manners. But the command is strict, and every time an order is issued, the army is awe-inspiring. The white-armed soldiers of the department are feared by far and near .” In the twenty-sixth year of Wanli (1598), Xuanfu envoy Yang Yinglong of Bozhou (now in Zunyi, Guizhou Province) and nine local tribes raised their flags to rebel.The Ming court dispatched Governor-General Li Hualong to the local troops in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Huguang to join forces to suppress the rebels. Ma Qiancheng and Qin Liangyu led 3,000 white soldiers among them.In the anti-insurgency war, Qin Liangyu showed his sharpness for the first time, "consecutively broke the seven fortresses built with gold, and took the Sangmu Pass, and became the number one military exploit on Nanchuan Road."Qin Liangyu participated in the war for the first time and made great contributions. In addition to being rewarded, the reputation of "female general" began to spread far and wide.

In the forty-first year of Wanli (1613), Ma Qiancheng contracted the summer epidemic, and because of his disrespectful reception, he offended Qiu Chengyun, the eunuch sent by the Ming Dynasty to supervise the army, and was framed by Qiu Chengyun and thrown into prison.Without treatment and recuperation in prison, Ma Qiancheng died of a serious illness. After Ma Qiancheng's death, the court felt that he had not committed any major crimes, so he still retained the hereditary position of his family's Shi Jie Xuanfu Shi.At this time, Ma Xianglin, Ma Qiancheng's second team, was still young, and Chao Yan appointed Qin Liangyu to succeed her husband in view of his meritorious service in combat and his proficiency in both civil and military affairs.From then on, Qin Liangyu removed her skirt hairpin and changed her crown belt.The maids and guards are all in military uniforms, fighting from south to north, and their reputation is far-reaching.

The day Qin Liangyu got the military handle coincided with the rise of the Jurchens in the Northeast, posing a serious threat to the Ming court.At this time, the Manchus rose between the white mountains and the black waters in the northeast, and with Nurhachi as their emperor, they openly provoked the border of Ming Dynasty.In the forty-seventh year of Wanli (1619), the Ming army was defeated by Sarhu, and the whole court was shocked. The officers and soldiers of Liaodong "heard the alarm, and they were all frightened", and "playing dead, refusing to fight."The court urgently dispatched Yongshun, Baojing, Shijie, Youyang and other chieftain soldiers to Liao for rescue.Qin Liangyu is now forty-six years old, and still personally leads 3,000 white soldiers, together with his elder brother, younger brother, and son, on his way north to Weibian.

In the first year of Tianqi (1621), Baigan soldiers and Youyang chieftain cooperated with the Ming army and crossed the Hun River to fight bloody battles with the Qing soldiers.Although the battle was outnumbered and Qin Liangyu's eldest brother Bangping died in battle, he failed to win, but he killed thousands of enemies under extremely difficult conditions and severely damaged the Qing army.Zhang Heming, Minister of the Ministry of War at that time, once commented on this battle: "The bloody battle of Hunhe River, the first meritorious service is thousands of dollars, and the second chieftain of Shi Shijie and Youyang made meritorious service."

After the bloody battle at the Hunhe River, Qin Liangyu immediately sent envoys to the capital to rush to make 1,500 winter clothes to support the soldiers and reorganize the rest. He himself led 3,000 elite soldiers to Shanhaiguan.Shanhaiguan is the main throat that Qing soldiers must pass through when occupying Liaoyang to gain a glimpse of the Central Plains.Qin Liangyu sits in Shanhaiguan Pass, on the one hand, relieves the hungry people inside and outside the pass, and stabilizes the hearts of the people;Under the auspices of Qin Liangyu, the defense of Shanhaiguan was impenetrable and became an insurmountable barrier for the Qing soldiers.The Qing army repeatedly sent heavy troops to challenge the pass. Qin Liangyu was not moved, but ordered his subordinates to strengthen the defense, which finally prevented the Qing soldiers from succeeding.

Once, Qin Liangyu's son Ma Xianglin was shot by the enemy's stray arrows when he was leading troops to patrol the customs. He reluctantly pulled out the arrow cluster, and shot at the enemy in the distance with his bow and arrow. He shot three arrows in a row and killed three enemies , the Qing general was terrified, and never dared to come to Shanhaiguan to provoke again. Brother died and his son was injured, Qin Liangyu was filled with grief and anger, so he wrote to the emperor, stating the situation of his own army's battles and casualties. Jiazong was deeply moved, and issued an imperial edict to bestow Qin Liangyu with a second-rank official uniform, and made him his wife, and appointed his son Ma Xianglin as the commander As an official, Qin Bangping was posthumously appointed as the governor of Qinshi, Minping was granted the post of Jinshi, and he also rewarded all the white-armed soldiers. Not long after, Qin Liangyu was ordered to return to Sichuan to expand his troops to aid Liao. It was only one day after arriving in Shijie that Yongning Xuanfu envoy She Chongming rebelled.She Chongming entered Chongqing under the pretext of leading 20,000 troops to aid Liao under the imperial edict, and stayed in Chongqing for a long time.Qin Liangyu sent his troops to the west to rescue.She Chongming was awed by the prestige of the white-armed soldiers. Hearing that Qin Liangyu had returned to Shijie with his troops, he immediately sent someone to contact her with rich gifts of gold and silver, and wanted to invite her to raise troops together. Qin Liangyu said angrily: "I have received great kindness from the court, and I am thinking of serving the country. How can I join the rebels!"Immediately afterwards, she led her troops to Chengdu, drove away the Shechongming tribe who had besieged Chengdu, successively captured several large villages such as Hongyadun, Guanyin Temple, and Qingshandun, and completely destroyed the rebel forces. After Chaoyan heard the news, he granted Qin Liangyu the title of governor, and worshiped her as commander-in-chief of Shi Jie, in recognition of her bloody battle achievements. A few years later, in the Shuixi area of ​​Guizhou, there was a bandit leader named An Bangyan, who established himself as the king of Luodian, recruited troops, and occupied the land thousands of miles west of Guiyang.The imperial court also ordered Qin Liangyu to lead the white-armed soldiers to quell the rebellion. Qin Liangyu steadfastly quelled the rebellion, killed An Bangyan, but also cost the life of his younger brother Qin Minping. In December of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), the Qing soldiers detoured through Xifengkou, captured Zunhua, and went straight to the city of Beijing.The next year, they went east to capture the three cities of Yongping, Luanzhou, and Qian'an, and the situation was extremely dangerous.Emperor Chongzhen hastily issued an edict to recruit soldiers and horses from all over the world, and ordered the ministers to take out their own money as military pay, and also used the horses of Beijing's civil and military officials as military supplies.When Qin Liangyu heard the news, he quickly "became a monk to pay for his salary", and led his white soldiers twice to the north. At that time, more than 100,000 officers and troops from all over the country were stationed in the Jinji area of ​​Jimen, watching each other and shrinking.Duqin Liangyu's troops took the lead in attacking bravely. With the cooperation of friendly forces, they fought hard to regain Yongping, Zunhua and other four cities, and relieved the threat of Qing soldiers to Beijing. When the Qing army approached the city, many male and female generals were greedy for life and afraid of death, and when they waited and waited, the one who could turn the tide was a female general who was invited to work hard for the king.Emperor Chongzhen was overwhelmed with emotion, and after the siege of the capital was rescued, he specially summoned the legendary female general Qin Liangyu on the platform.After seeing the female general, Emperor Chongzhen was filled with emotions, and wrote four poems praising her achievements, and copied them with his own pen, and bestowed them on Qin Liangyu: According to historical records, after Qin Liangyu led his troops to Beijing, "the army was strictly controlled, and there was no crime in autumn."Everyone wants to see this legendary female general, "everyone hears that white soldiers are coming, and there are so many spectators that the horses can't move forward."Today, the East of Caishikou in Xuanwumen, Beijing is the place where Qin Liangyu stationed his troops back then. Place names such as "Sichuan Ying Hutong" and "Mianmian Hutong" (Qin Liangyu organized female soldiers to spin and weave cloth during the war) still remain, expressing the This national heroine is deeply missed. A few years later, Zhang Xianzhong entered the Sichuan area.Qin Liangyu, who is over sixty years old, went into battle again, with the same style as before.She led the white-armed soldiers, won consecutive battles, lifted the siege of Taiping, killed Luo Rucai in Wushan, killed Dongshan tiger in Tanjiaping, and caused Zhang Xianzhong's army to suffer a lot in Sichuan.However, due to repeated military disasters in Sichuan, the government treasury was empty, food and pay were in short supply, and the lost troops could not be replenished; and the peasant army was powerful and flooded into Sichuan and Shu like a tide.In the entire battle situation, it is difficult for officers and soldiers to win. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), Shao Jiechun, governor of Sichuan, "didn't know how to fight soldiers" and didn't listen to Qin Liangyu's plan. .In the spring of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), Qin led his troops to help Kui, but was "outnumbered and collapsed", and "the whole of Shu fell." After Zhang Xianzhong captured Chu, Qin Liangyu analyzed the situation in Sichuan to Chen Shiqi, then governor of Sichuan, and asked for more troops to guard the thirteen passes, but Chen Shiqi did not accept it.Qin Liangyu went to patrol Liu Zhibo again. Although Liu Zhibo agreed with Qin Liangyu's suggestion, he had no soldiers to fight.Qin Yuliang had no choice but to withdraw the protection of Shijie, and ordered his troops to say: "If there are thieves, the family will not be forgiven!" ("Ming History Volume 270 Qin Liangyu Biography") divided troops to guard the four areas.After Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan again, "he recruited chieftains everywhere, but no one dared to go to Shijie". At this time, the capital had been captured by the rebel army led by Li Zicheng. Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Meishan Mountain. The Ming Dynasty finally collapsed in the precarious wind and rain.Zhang Xianzhong fought in the east and west, covering almost the whole of Shu, but he had nothing to do with Shi Jie's tiny land.The sixty-eight-year-old Qin Liangyu led her white soldiers who had experienced hundreds of battles, defying violence and resisting to the death.Until Zhang Xianzhong's defeat, the peasant army failed to take half a step into Shijie. At that time, there were many wars in the Sichuan area, thousands of miles of barren land, desolate and ruined, and tens of thousands of people from nearby counties went to Shijie to take refuge.When Qin Liangyu died in 1648, there were still a large amount of grain and grass in the Wanshou Mountain fifty miles southeast of Shijie City. In August of the third year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1646), the Longwu regime in the Southern Ming Dynasty bestowed on Qin Liangyu the crown prince Taibao Jue, titled "Marquis of Loyalty", and dispatched Shi Jie soldiers to fight against the Qing Dynasty. At the age of 73, Qin Liangyu resolutely accepted the bronze seal of "Prince Taibao General Town Guanfang" , Fengzhao took command of the expedition.However, due to the sudden rebellion of Zheng Zhilong (the father of Zheng Chenggong), the Longwu regime was immediately defeated, and the trip failed. After the Duanyang Festival in the fifth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1648), the 75-year-old Qin Liangyu had just stepped off the peach blossom horse after inspecting the white-armed soldiers. His body suddenly tilted, and he passed away suddenly, ending her war. The heroic career of trance and galloping on the battlefield. It is said that Qin Liangyu's former residence and the weapons she used are still preserved in Shijie County, Sichuan.The stories of Qin Liangyu mentioned by the local people are still very precious, and they are all proud of such a heroine in their hometown. Sichuan people once built the Sichuan Guild Hall at the site of Qin Liangyu's garrison.In the ancestral hall, there is a portrait of Chunliangyu in military uniform. The couplet in front of the shrine says: "Three hundred years have passed since the victory of the country, and it was destroyed by fire. The cloud is bleak, and two lines of tears should be added, and weep at the end of the world at the same time." "Don't say that women are not heroic things, they sing on the walls of Longquan every night", the Jianhu heroine Qiu Jin admired most in her life is Qin Liangyu. The conquest of Beijing by the Dashun Army and the suicide of Emperor Chongzhen marked the end of the Ming Dynasty.However, most of the areas south of the Huaihe River were still under the jurisdiction of the Ming government.When the Dashun Army marched towards Beijing, some officials in the south knew that the capital would be difficult to protect, and had already made preparations to welcome Prince Zhu Cihong to Nanjing to supervise the country by sea.After Fushe tycoon Chen Zilong (there will be a special chapter about his sensational love affair with the famous prostitute Liu Rushi later) was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, he immediately persuaded Zheng Xuan, the governor of the south of the Yangtze River, to secretly write a letter to Beijing, proposing to send the crown prince to Nanjing plan to prepare for the establishment of the Nanming regime.Others, under the command of Qi Biaojia, began to build a navy along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, preparing to defend the south of the Yangtze River. However, as the Dashun army approached the city of Beijing, all government orders from the imperial court could not be issued, and the news from the north and the south was interrupted. On April 1, 1644, Shi Kefa led the publication of the Southern Metropolis Public Call for "calling on the subjects of the world to revolt and work hard for the king to donate money for urgent matters".On April 7th, Shi Kefa led his troops across the river to go north to "King Qin".A few days later, news came from the north that Zhu Youjian committed suicide in Meishan on March 19. This news was not confirmed until April 17 by Wei Zongcheng, a former academician who had escaped from Beijing.This news not only shocked the ministers in Nanjing (since Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved his capital to Beijing, Nanjing, as the accompanying capital, has an independent six-ministration and five-army superintendent agency. The purpose of the system of two capitals in the north and the south is to control the wealth of the south with Nanjing and the north with Beijing. Frontier defense), and soon spread throughout the South, setting off a newer and higher wave in the turbulent restlessness. At this time, Nanjing, as the accompanying capital, naturally became the political center of half of the Ming Dynasty.The first thing to consider was the successor to the Chongzhen Emperor, at the time no one knew what happened to the Crown Prince Zhu Cihong or his two surviving younger brothers.Li Zicheng once brought the three princes to Shanhaiguan, but since the defeat of the Dashun army at Shanhaiguan, people from all walks of life probably couldn't figure out the whereabouts of the three sons of Emperor Chongzhen. At that time, several Ming dynasty vassals who escaped from the fiefdoms of Henan and Shandong had already arrived in the Huaihe area.The most important of these are Fu Wang Zhu Yousong and Lu Wang Zhu Changhao (Lu Wang is the grandson of Emperor Longqing and a famous painter and calligrapher. When the peasant army attacked the northwestern part of Henan where his fief was located, he personally supervised the army to defend against the enemy) . Among the contenders for the succession to the throne, Lu Wang Zhu Changhao was considered the wisest and most prudent. He was supported by Lu Daqi, Minister of the Ministry of War of the Donglin Party, Qian Qianyi, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Jiang Yueguang, Zhan Shi of the Imperial Academy.But King Lu is only the nephew of the emperor's collateral line, while King Fu is the grandson of Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun and the eldest son of King Fu Zhu Changxun.In terms of succession qualifications to the throne, King Lu is inferior to King Fu.Therefore, although King Fu has the reputation of "ignorance, greed, alcoholism, cruelty, domineering, lustful, and unfilial", he is the closest to the royal family among the existing kings.Therefore, on the issue of deciding who should inherit the throne, the faction that chooses people based on "virtuous" and the faction that chooses people based on "pro" conflicts. Supporting Fu Wang Zhu Yousong was Fengyang Governor Ma Shiying (a Jinshi in 1619). In 1632, when Ma Shiying served as the governor of the Xuanfu in the north, he was exiled to the border for bribery. Later, after Ruan Dacheng interceded in the same year, he was exempted from exile. The struggle for succession is actually a continuation of the party struggle in the late Ming Dynasty.Judging from the situation at the time, Fu Wang was the most in line with the order of rotation.At that time, people of insight all advocated that Zhu Yousong, the king of Fu, should succeed him. For example, Lu Zhenfei of Huai Fu "had left his posthumous letter to Nanjing Ministry of War Shangshu Shi Kefa, saying that the order of ethics should be in the king of Fu, and it is advisable to determine the ruler of the country as soon as possible."However, some Donglin party members strongly opposed the succession of Fufan from narrow self-interest. The reason was that Zhu Yousong's grandmother was Zheng Guifei, who was favored by Shenzong. Concubine Zheng was involved in such sensational cases as "Book", "Strike", and "Moving the Palace". Moreover, it was because of the efforts of the Donglin party members that Shenzong and Concubine Zheng hoped that Zhu Changxun, the king of Lifu (that is, Zhu Yousong's father) The plot for the prince came to naught.Therefore, they worried that once Zhu Yousong ascended the throne and reopened the old case, they would lose political power. Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites, was regarded as the leader of the Donglin Party at that time. He rushed from his hometown Changshu to Nanjing twice, and in the name of "Lixian", he lobbied everywhere and proposed to welcome Lu Wang Zhu Changxiao.Qian Qianyi was supported by Lu Daqi, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, and most of the civilian ministers of the Nanjing government. Shi Kefa, the Shangshu of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, who has a pivotal position, is in a dilemma.Shi Kefa is the favorite student of Zuo Guangdou, a member of the Donglin Party. Naturally, he has scruples about supporting King Fu. He once wrote to Ma Shiying, saying that Zhu Yousong was "greedy, promiscuous, alcoholic, unfilial, abusive, not studying, and interfering with the officials." "Seven unreasonable reasons (this letter later became a powerful magic weapon for Ma Shiying to force Shi Kefa to leave the court); but at that time, Shi Kefa, as the chief minister of Nanjing, was more concerned about the stability of the political situation. If Ma Shiying wants to realize his plan to support King Fu without bloodshed, he needs strong military strength.Ma Shiying himself did not have enough troops to manipulate the matter, but he lobbied carefully and won the support of the town generals in the Huaihe River Basin. Gao Jie, Huang Degong, and Liu Liangzuo, who were heavily armed, all quickly expressed their support for King Fu.Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Shandong, once supported the backbone of Donglin to support King Lu. When he learned of the movements of Gao Jie, Huang Degong, and Liu Liangzuo, he knew that his troops were outnumbered, so he immediately turned to join the ranks of supporting King Fu.At the end of April, Fu Wang Jitong was a foregone conclusion. To put it bluntly, King Fu's victory in this competition between "virtuous" and "pro" can almost be regarded as a military coup. "History of the Ming Dynasty" also describes this event from this perspective: "(Nanjing) courtiers gathered for a meeting, and the official department gave Li Zhan the inspector Shiying a finger in the matter, and folded a big weapon. Shiying also came from Lu and Fengyong. The soldiers greeted King Fu to the river. All the ministers dared not say anything. When the king is established, the soldiers are also powerful." Shi Kefa was at Pukou, across the Yangtze River, when the Nanjing ministers decided to support King Fu to stabilize the situation.His acquiescence to this matter declared the end of this crisis of succession to the throne.On the third day of May in the seventeenth year of Ming Chongzhen (the first year of Qing Shunzhi, 1644), Ma Shiying and others supported Mingfu King Zhu Yousong to supervise the country in Nanjing.When King Fu arrived in Nanjing, the courtiers had already repaired the Wuying Hall for him to live in.On May 15th, Zhu Yousong ascended the throne, with the year name Hongguang, known as Emperor Hongguang in history. When Emperor Hongguang announced the change of Yuan, all officials were promoted to the first rank.The new emperor personally toasted every minister over the age of 60 who served in the six ministries and the cabinet, wishing them a long and healthy life; and pardoned officials who were impeached and dismissed; Opened a course to obtain a scholar; announced amnesty to the world; abolished the heavy training rate that had been levied since 1629; Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi were exempted from taxes for 5 years; Shandong and Henan were exempted from taxes for three years; 30% tax reduction in Sichuan Province and parts of Jiangxi Province looted by the Peasant Army.However, none of the above-mentioned areas could be completely controlled by the Nanming regime. (Gu Yanwu's "The Benji of Sheng'an") This Emperor Hongguang was as addicted to wine and sex as his father Fu Wang. "The emperor lived in the forbidden house, but fished young girls, drank big wine, and entertained jugglers and officials for entertainment", which was called "dark and weak" by later historians.After ascending the throne in Nanjing, Emperor Hongguang decided to get married at the urging of his adoptive mother (it is said that the adoptive mother was only a few years older than him, and the relationship between the two may have exceeded the boundary between mother and child).He insisted on only Hangzhou girls known for their beauty.The imperial envoy who was ordered to go to the beauty pageant in that beautiful city took the opportunity to abduct the girl.When the imperial envoys failed to satisfy their masters, the people of Suzhou, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing were also ordered to present the most beautiful maidens for the emperor to choose.It is said that Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng also bought some virgins who were going to be prostitutes from the old bustard in Nanjing and presented them to King Fu.There is a historical record that Emperor Hongguang ravaged these people recklessly, and two people died overnight due to King Fu's drunken indulgence.Emperor Hongguang also sent people to catch toads and peel off toads to make aphrodisiacs.The internal officials openly urged the people to catch them under the banner of "catch the toad by order", so the people called Hongguang "the son of toad". The Hongguang regime is a typical product of factional struggles among bureaucrats and warlords.Ma Shiying and others began to control the government because of their meritorious support, and confronted Gao Hongtu and other Donglin party members tit-for-tat.In the eyes of the common people, it is "there are as many officials as sheep, and the petty officials are as cheap as dogs... It is a pity that all the money in the south of the Yangtze River has entered the hands of the Ma family." The issue of supporting the establishment had a great impact on the political situation of the Hongguang Dynasty (in Jin Yong's famous works, we can also see patriots fighting constantly for the orthodoxy of the succession to the throne they supported).From the later facts, it can be seen that the Lu Wang Zhu Changhao supported by the Donglin party members was not much more "virtuous" than the Fu Wang, which proved that the real intention of the Donglin party members was to exclude Fu Wang, so as to ensure that the Donglin-Fushe party members were in the Chongzhen period. The right to manipulate politics; especially if King Lu is welcomed as a distant clan, Qian Qianyi and others will definitely be able to make a fortune if they have "determined strategies".This extreme selfishness did not end with the enthronement of Emperor Hongguang, and the Nanming regime fell into endless party struggles. Later, three major cases appeared one after another, all of which were the result of party struggles.Internal friction is intense, so of course there is no time for other people to care about, and it is impossible to talk about restoring the country that was occupied by the Manchu Qing. And Shi Kefa's character of "continuing to stop, but not to be disturbed" can also be seen from this incident.He lacks great talent and general strategy, and always wants to deal with it everywhere, but in the end things backfire.Shi Kefa did not resolutely decide to support the King of Fu, which caused the King of Fu, Zhu Yousong and Ma Shiying, to seek help from the town generals, resulting in a situation where the military generals were knighted for no merit and domineering.Since then, Shi Kefa has also lost power, which is what he reaped. On May 16, 1644, Ma Shiying entered the cabinet to preside over government affairs and concurrently served as Minister of the Ministry of War.Four days later, Shi Kefa crossed the river to Huaiyang to supervise the division.Although throughout the Hongguang period, Shi Kefa's rank was slightly higher than that of Ma Shiying, but one day after Emperor Hongguang ascended the throne, Shi Kefa was excluded from the outside, and he changed from a court assistant to a foreign supervisor, which is enough to explain his loss of power. Lu Wei, a student of Wu County, led all the students of Taixue to write a letter, trying his best to say that history can be legal but not published. He also said: "Qin Hui is inside, Li Gang is outside, and Song Dynasty is at the end of Beiyuan." Famous "Yiyou Yangzhou City Shou Ji Lue").Unfortunately it was too late. Before leaving, Shi Kefa told people with tears that he went north to repay the late Chongzhen Emperor's kindness.Some people praised him and said: "Shi Gong is like Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms era, with both civil and military skills." Shi Kefa replied: "I'm afraid I don't have Zhuge Liang's talent, but I really want to imitate his spirit of'dedicate yourself to death and die later'!" To be honest, Shi Kefa is indeed just a literati, lacking the military talent like Zhuge Liang. According to "Ming History", Shi Kefa was forced to leave Nanjing by Ma Shiying.Ma Shiying threatened Shi Kefa that he would hand over his letter detailing the misdeeds of King Fu to King Fu (that is, the "seven incomprehensible" letters mentioned above).Shi Kefa may have been deeply skeptical about the matter, fearing being accused of gross impiety.For his own safety, he decided to leave the court. Shi Kefa was also worried that his conflict with Ma Shiying would cause party disputes, so before he left for Yangzhou, he specially sent a letter to Emperor Hongguang, who praised Ma Shiying and specifically mentioned Ma Shiying's important role in the process of Emperor Hongguang's ascension to the throne .Naturally, this memorial is just for everyone to see, showing that he has no conflict with Ma Shiying. When the Hongguang regime was established, the area controlled by Nanming stretched from the south of the lower reaches of the Yellow River in the east to the south of the Yangtze River in Wuchang in the west.At that time, Nanming set up four towns in Jiangbei, Gao Jie was stationed in Xuzhou, Liu Liangzuo was stationed in Shouzhou, Liu Zeqing was stationed in Huai'an, and Huang Degong was stationed in Luzhou, with a total of 300,000 soldiers. Gao Jie, courtesy name Yingwu, was born in Mizhi, Shaanxi, and was from the same hometown as Li Zicheng.He was originally Li Zicheng's capable general, nicknamed Fanshan Harrier.Li Zicheng's earliest wife, Han Shi, was originally a prostitute. Later, Han Shi had an affair with the county official Gai Junlu and was killed by Li Zicheng.Soon after, Li Zicheng plundered Xing as his stepwife.The Xing family is not only beautiful, but also "brave and wise, and also in charge of military resources". In October of the seventh year of Chongzhen (AD 1634), Ming general He Renlong surrounded Li Zicheng in Longzhou.In desperation, Li Zicheng sent Gao Jie to pretend to surrender to He Renlong.Soon, He Renlong's military envoy had close contacts with Gao Jie, and it seemed that the fake show came true. All this made Li Zicheng suspicious.At the same time, Gao Jie accidentally went to the military warehouse to collect grain and rice. He was overwhelmed by Xing's beauty and fell in love at first sight.Xing was originally a girl from a good family, but she was snatched into the army by Li Zicheng, and she didn't really return her heart. She also fell in love with the tall and burly Gao Jie. Under the persuasion of the Xing family, and because he was worried that Li Zicheng would be killed if he knew about it, Gao Jie led the Xing family and a group of soldiers to surrender the Ming general He Renlong in the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635). Zhi fellow), was awarded the post of guerrilla. Gao Jie later participated in the pursuit and suppression of the peasant army many times, and was promoted to the commander-in-chief after many efforts. At the beginning of 1644, the Dashun army marched across the river east, and a large number of generals of the Ming Dynasty joined them. Gao Jie believed that he had "hatred for taking his wife" towards Li Zicheng and dared not surrender, so he led his troops to flee from Shaanxi to Shandong via Shanxi and Huaiqing in Henan.When Gao Bu entered Shandong, he saw that the local people had lost confidence in the Ming court and were looking forward to the early arrival of the Dashun Army. During the Kangxi period, Shen Yuan, the magistrate of Jinxiang County, recorded a local anecdote: "I still remember the old man who heard that when Chongzhen Jiashen had a kite in March, he was a general under Gao Jie's command. Thousands of deserters took the pseudonym 'Chuang Wang Anmin' ', the soldiers are thin on the city of Jinxiang. At that time, bandits and bandits were flooding the city, and the officials and people of Jinxiang guarded the city, and the city gate was closed day and night. When they saw the thieves' words, they were happy to comfort the people. The thieves made an edict, saying, "Captives are forbidden, killings are forbidden, and those who dare to violate them will be punished without pardon." The sergeant then ran wildly, the turmoil was unstoppable, and the defenders doubted it." When Gao Jie was running wildly, he sent envoys to Shouzhou to contact Fengyang Governor Ma Shiying.When Ma Shiying learned that his subordinates had 30,000 soldiers and 9,000 horse mules, he immediately wrote back to solicit: "The general promised the country with his body, and he should lead it together." At the same time, he asked Gao Jie's troops to station in Xuzhou and obey his own restraint.Gao Jie went to Shouzhou to meet Ma Shiying and then returned to Xuzhou. Soon after, he became a hero of "Ding Ce" because of the go-betweens of eunuch Lu Jiude. Huang Degong, courtesy name Hushan, was born in Liaoning and was born in the army.He joined the army in Liaoyang since he was a child, and was promoted continuously because of his military exploits.During the reign of Chongzhen, he fought with Zhang Xianzhong, Gezuo Fifth Battalion and other rebels in Jiangbei and Henan in Nanzhili for a long time, and was promoted to the general army of Luzhou.On the eve of the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he accompanied Ma Shiying to pacify Liu Chao, the rebel general in Yongcheng, Henan, and was granted the title of Bo Jingnan for his meritorious service. Liu Liangzuo, courtesy name Mingfu, was born in Beizhili. Because he often rode a variegated horse, he was known as the flower horse Liu.During the reign of Chongzhen, he commanded troops to fight against the rebels in Susong, Luzhou, and Lu'an, and was promoted to the chief officer.When the northern capital fell, the army he led was stationed in the Zhengyang area of ​​Henan Province. In April, Jiashen led his troops into Nanzhili at the invitation of Fengyang governor Ma Shiying. Anger, attack it, don't let it go."Ma Shiying asked him to move to Shou County.There is one point about Liu Liangzuo that needs special attention. His younger brother Liu Liangchen served as a guerrilla in the Dalinghe Battle as early as 1631 (the fourth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty), and he had surrendered to the Qing court with the commander-in-chief Zu Dashou.Later, when the Qing army went south, his surrender without a fight must have something to do with it. Liu Zeqing, courtesy name Hezhou, was born in Caoxian County, Shandong Province.When the Dashun army was approaching Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to lead his troops into the Wei capital quickly. He lied that he was injured by falling from a horse and refused to obey the order.Soon the Dashun Army entered Shandong, and he led the main force to flee south to Huai'an.On the question of establishing a king among the ministers in Nanjing, he initially catered to Donglin party members Qian Qianyi and Lu Daqi to support Lu Wang Zhu Changhao, but later learned that Huang Degong, Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo and Ma Shiying had decided to support Fu Wang Zhu Yousong , Knowing that he was outnumbered, he immediately transformed himself and joined the ranks of blessings. Among the four towns, Gao Jie and Huang Degong have the strongest troops.Among them, Gao Jie is fierce and brave, and is most highly regarded by Shi Kefa.Shi Kefa believes that although Gao Jie's troops are indisciplined, they are the most effective army among the armies in Jiangbei. Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing were defeated generals who fled in hopelessness and should have been punished by the court; Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo had no "achievements" to record during the Jiashen period in 1644, but because of their military backing, Zhu Yousong was able to ascend the throne of the emperor as he wished. Therefore, they all became the heroes of the policy.After Emperor Hongguang ascended the throne, Huang Degong was enfeoffed as Marquis of Jingnan, Gao Jie as Uncle Xingping, Uncle Liu Zeqing Dongping, Uncle Liu Liangzuo Guangchang. 200,000, and he was also granted the title of Marquis of Ningnan. The four towns have independent financial and military power.The towns have the right to collect taxes on their own, and the income they earn does not have to be handed over to Nanjing. They also have the right to open up wasteland, mine and collect commercial taxes.If each town can recover the lost land from the peasant army, it will also be placed under the jurisdiction of the town and enjoy the same financial and military privileges.Once the world is reunified, the commanders of the four towns will all be ennobled as dukes, and will be hereditary from descendants.In this way, the generals of the four towns became the actual separatist forces.Some of the general soldiers of the four towns immediately began to operate the salt industry by controlling the salt merchants.They also set up checkpoints and imposed duties on goods that passed through. The enfeoffment of the four towns was severely criticized at the time.Ming soldiers, especially those who had fought at the front, complained that the former rebels were rewarded for killing and looting, but they got nothing.Civilian officials also protested.Liu Zongzhou, the censor of Zuodu, went to the imperial court from Hangzhou, and asked to suppress the vassal screen: "A heavy vassal screen. Liu Zeqing and Gao Jie have a saying that they sent their families to the south of the Yangtze River, so why should they be punished? But if it is sealed, who will not be sealed?" But at this time, the military dictatorship was a foregone conclusion, and Emperor Hongguang sighed and said: "It has been done, what can we do?" The reason why the Southern Ming Dynasty was not like the Southern Song Dynasty and could remain peaceful for more than a hundred years is all due to this.The Hongguang regime made its debut in internal strife at the beginning, and collapsed in internal strife a year later. Because of the uneven production and income of the four towns, the local confrontation between the generals was intensified, and there were many contradictions among the four towns.The common people generally despise the Nanming army, while Huang Degong's army despises other troops, thinking that Gao Jie and others are bandits who eat the emperor's grain. Gao Jie, who guarded Xuzhou, had always coveted the wealth of Yangzhou and demanded that his subordinates be placed in the city.Seeing that Gao Jie's soldiers were looting and burning the nearby villages, "fireworks covered the sun" and "zombies were everywhere", the people of Yangzhou stopped the city and boarded the city one after another to prevent Gao's army from entering the city.Gao Jie became furious and ordered to attack the city on the seventh day of June.At the same time, he also sent troops to rob women everywhere outside the city, raped and robbed, and committed all kinds of evil, making "the people benefit from the evil". Zheng Yuanxun, a Jinshi in Yangzhou, mediated in the middle, went out of the city to discuss with Gao Jie, and agreed to let only the families of officers and soldiers be resettled in the city, but not to garrison troops in the city.Unexpectedly, as soon as Zheng Yuanxun returned to the city, the people of Yangzhou were outraged and killed Zheng Yuanxun on the spot.Huang Jiarui, governor of Yangzhou, saw that the situation was not good, so he also fled. Gao Jie was furious and stepped up to attack the city.At the same time, the Yangzhou gentry urgently asked for help from the Southern Ming court.They accused Gao Jie's army of "killing people will pile up corpses, and prostitution will humiliate young girls." If Gao Jie acted like this, if it was normal, before the censor could impeach him, someone from the court would have come here with orders. Gao Jie's crime of attacking the city and looting the people alone would kill him a hundred heads.But at that time, Nanming was troubled internally and externally, and the imperial court was relying heavily on generals, so there was nothing they could do about him. Shi Kefa, a bachelor of the supervisor, came to Gaojie's barracks outside Yangzhou City in person, persuaded him tactfully, and blindly tolerated him. "On the trip to the cabinet, three hundred soldiers from Sichuan followed by themselves. If you are suspicious, you can divide them into two hundred people. However, if you are suspicious, the law is very strict. All the changes in and out of the text will be outstanding. Da Kefa... Kefa stayed in the Jie camp for more than a month, but he couldn't get the point."史可法还一度遭到了高杰的软禁。 刚好有个叫德宗的和尚在高杰军中。这个和尚因为“谈祸福奇中”，高杰也折节称弟子。德宗很佩服史可法的忠义，劝高杰说：“居士起扰攘，今归朝为大将，为通侯，此不足为居士重。惟率从史居士，儒家所称圣人，我法所称菩萨，居士与之一心并志，可谓得所归矣。”高杰听了，若有所思。 高杰的妻子邢夫人机智有谋，当年李自成也曾经让她管理后勤调度。高杰经常对人说：“邢有将略，吾得以自助，非贪其色也。”意思是说他老婆有大将之风，才智还在容貌之上。邢夫人见史可法至诚，厚为调护，劝高杰归心。高杰这个人虽然桀骜不驯，对邢夫人却是言听计从，于是开始礼敬史可法。高杰在江北四镇中最强也最难驾驭，史可法大喜说：“吾诚得高而驯扰之，大事集矣。”为了表示感谢，史可法还将自己的府邸让给了邢夫人居住。 经过反复磋商，高杰同意不再坚持进驻扬州，史可法最后决定把扬州附近的瓜州作为高军安顿之地。 然而，史可法收服了高杰，局势并未完全稳定。1644年夏天，黄得功率军由庐州北上。高杰怀疑朝廷劝他撤离扬州是为了将此城交给黄得功。为了阻止黄得功向扬州推进，他在南京东南的土桥对黄得功发起了突然袭击。在这场冲突中，黄得功险些丧命，部下死亡300余人。黄得功愤怒至极，认为这是一种彻头彻尾的叛乱，准备与高杰决一死战。史可法竭力劝解，据说他拿出自己的钱作为赔偿（虽然形式上是由高杰偿付的），以平息黄得功的怒气。由于史可法苦口婆心地充当了和事佬、老媒婆的角色，这些镇守通往南京之要冲的将领们表面上暂归于好。 江北四镇是这样跋扈自雄，世镇武昌的宁南侯左良玉在崇祯年间就已尾大不掉，自行其是。弘光监国和即位的诏书颁到武昌，他一度拒绝开读，在湖广巡抚何腾蛟、部下监纪副总兵卢鼎等人的劝说下，才勉强开读成礼。南明其他将领如郑芝龙、方国安等人见大将如此，也各自盘算自身利益，不以国事为念。 围绕南京的四镇布防基本上是针对农民军的。直到这时，南明仍然将李自成为首的农民军视为不共戴天的死敌，并未意识到满清才是最大的敌人。而满清的多尔衮则清醒地认识到农民军是满清的首敌，所以先派兵追击李自成。果然如多尔衮所料，南明并未乘机北上，但南明按兵不动的根本原因却是忙于内讧。 史可法离开南京亲临扬州，暂时缓和了四镇之间的矛盾，但他过早离开朝廷却加速了党争的到来。明后期的党争是统治集团内部矛盾激化的表现，它贯串于万历以后整个政治生活中，一直延续到南明。 满清这个时候，原只望占据北京，并不敢想全吞中国；在吴三桂的接引下，占领了北京和畿辅地区已属意外。所以多尔衮入京后一日，就下令强迫百姓剃发，到二十四日，即又将此令取消。And when it was passed on to the south, it also said that "the Ming Dynasty has no legacy, and it is used to move to the Qing Dynasty, and the house is in the north. ". 多尔衮初期的意图是勾结南明，共平“流寇”，实现南北分治。这对于南明弘光政权具有很大的吸引力，他们鉴于自身的腐败无能，苟且偷安，因而对清方代平“流寇”表现出极大的兴趣；以为此策既行，自己坐享江南财赋充盈之地，依然可以过着纸醉金迷的太平日子。因此“联虏平寇”就成了弘光朝廷一厢情愿的上策。 然而，满清的政策很快发生了变化。根本原因在于随着中国社会的发展，南方的经济地位不断上升，宋代以前出现过的南北分治的经济相对平衡的基础已经不复存在，北方对南方有经济上的依赖性。从元代以来，以北京为中心的北方地区都仰赖于南方漕运的粮食和其他物资。 1644年五月，大顺军西撤以后，山东、河北等地的大顺地方政权被明朝官绅颠覆；清军占领了北京附近地区，由于强制推行剃头等政策，京师附近的居民惶惧不宁，许多地方揭竿而起反对清朝的统治。三河县、昌平州、良乡、宛平、大兴、霸州、东安、武清、漷县、天津等地“盗贼”“千百成群”，以至“辇毂近地，几同化外”，连京师所用的西山煤炭也因为道路阻隔无法运入城内。京师内外百姓流言四起，盛传清军将有屠民之举。多尔衮一再辟谣，安定民心，同时派兵遣将进行扫荡，“辇毂之下，盗贼窃发，及至捕获，少长尽置于法”，连“老稚不能弯弓操刃者”也滥加屠戮。在这种情况下，清廷需要一段稳定自己在京畿地区的统治和养兵蓄锐的时间。何况大顺军尚扼守山西，清廷有所顾忌，不敢轻易以主力南下。因此，畿南、山东和豫东地区在两三个月里处于近似权力真空的局面。 但弘光朝廷的按兵不动，给了满清廷以可乘之机。早在五月十二日，清都察院参政祖可法、张存仁就上言：“山东乃粮运之道，山西乃商贾之途，急宜招抚。若二省兵民归我版图，则财赋有出，国用不匮矣。”同月二十五日，清廷派明降臣方大猷为监军副使招抚山东。六月初四日，又派明降臣王鳌永以户、工二部侍郎名义招抚山东、河南。同月初十日，多尔衮派固山额真觉罗巴哈纳、石廷柱统兵收取山东，十四日派固山额真叶臣领兵收取山西。觉罗巴哈纳、石廷柱先声夺人发出檄文说：“奉摄政王令旨，各调兵马前往山东等处。所过地方官民出郭迎接，违者以抗师治罪。”同时又以平西王吴三桂名义大张文告，云为安抚残黎事称“摄政王简选虎贲数十万南下，牌仰山东等处速速投降”。二十一日，巴哈纳等带领的清军进抵德州。德州知州张有芳惟恐贻祸地方，拜表归顺清廷。畿南、山东大批州县就这样拱手让给了清朝。从此以后，多尔衮等满清决策人认定没有必要承认南明弘光朝廷，干脆以清代明，走统一全国之路。 而这个时候，南明朝庭中正纷争不休。史可法此时已离开朝廷，东林党和复社成员们便将希望寄托在侯方域（即著名的中风流才子侯朝宗）身上，因为侯方域之父侯恂与左良玉的关系十分密切（侯恂曾是东林党成员，魏忠贤专权期间辞官还乡。他曾为左良玉被劾贪污军饷一事辩护，因而被认为能驾驭这位不识字的粗鲁将军），而左良玉是这些人可能得到的唯一的军事援助者。 但左良玉满足于留在湖广，而无心干预朝中政事。在这样的情况下，东林党和复社别无选择，只好使出他们最拿手的政治手段：通过对官吏的铨选和品评来控制文官。这样，当时最优秀的名士们几乎都毫无例外地卷入了朝政中的勾心斗角。 马士英自然不甘示弱，他利用手中的大权，开始对东林党人试图占据政府重要职位的努力进行反击，第一步就是推荐阮大铖为兵部侍郎。阮大铖是复社名士们的死对头，但同时也是马士英的旧交。 东林党和复社对马士英的提议群起攻之。但另一位东林巨子钱谦益的表现更具特色，为了换取马士英让其继续任礼部尚书，他公开支持对阮大铖的任命。关于钱谦益为何会如此，我们将在谈及钱谦益与柳如是的一篇中详细论述。 阮大铖，字集之，号圆海，又号石巢、百子山樵，怀宁（今安徽安庆）人。万历四十四年（1616年）与马士英同时得中会试。天启年间任职给事中，因丁忧辞官回乡。天启四年吏科都给事中职位空缺，阮大铖欲倚重于颇有声望的同乡左光斗，觊觎吏科都给事中这个颇有实权的人事监察岗位。负责考察官吏的赵南星、高攀龙、杨涟以为阮大铖“轻跺”，不可担任如此要职，打算另用魏人中。阮大铖暗中买通太监，要他扣押推用魏人中的奏疏，致使吏部不得已而推用阮大铖。 经过此番曲折，阮大铖痛恨赵南星、高攀龙、杨涟等人。为了和东林党人作对，他依附于魏忠贤，与“阉党”骨干分子霍维华、杨维垣、倪文焕结成“死友”，编写攻击东林人士的《百官图》，通过倪文焕之手送到魏忠贤的案头。 阮大铖为人阴险，城府很深。他害怕遭到东林人士报复，《百官图》事件后还不到一个月，急忙辞官而归。不久，杨涟左光斗诸君子被“阉党”迫害致死，阮大铖诩诩自矜。之后他被起用为太常少卿，向魏忠贤极尽献媚之能事，又怕政局有变，魏忠贤不足以长久依靠，每次觐见之后，就重贿魏府门房，收回名刺，以免留下痕迹。几个月以后，工于心计的阮大铖还是辞职离开了官场这个是非之地。 这个阮大铖，《明史》说他“机敏猾贼，有才藻”，对他的刻划是入木三分的。他依附魏忠贤而升官，既要献媚义要不露痕迹，稍有风吹草动立即从官场抽身以求自保，都是“机敏猾贼”的表现。 崇祯帝上台之后，虽以“逆案”为名铲除阉党，然而，阮大铖“见风使舵”，逃过此劫。当左光斗在朝廷中炙手可热之时，阮大铖便又攀附于左光斗。后来，左光斗因在党争中失利死于监狱。阮大铖却在这场权力的角逐中，“幸免于难”，只是处徒刑三年，准许纳赎为民，但永不叙用。正如黄宗羲所言：“先帝（崇祯）初立，左魏颂怨，皆操戈于阮大铖。” 崇祯八年（1635年），李自成的农民军进入安徽，阮大铖避居南京，开始招纳游侠，谈兵说剑，图谋以“边才”的身份而被起用。这个并不懂军事的文人显然很想在乱世中施展一下身手，以摆脱“永不叙用”的尴尬境地。 为了冲淡“逆案中人”的印象，扫除“永不叙用”的障碍，他在南京极力讨好东林党与复社名士，企图改变自己的政治形象。阮大铖的政治野心被复社人士所察觉，担心阮大铖成为魏忠贤第二，决定联手予以迎头痛击。陈贞慧起草了声讨阮大铖的檄文，以顾杲、陈贞慧等人名义，密函分寄各处，征求陈子龙、方以智、杨廷枢等复社名士的支持。 崇祯十二年（1639年），复社人士趁南京乡试的机会，在淮清桥桃叶渡的冒襄寓所，召开复社金陵大会，复社名士与天启年间遭“阉党”迫害致死的东林遗孤，纷纷声讨“逆案中人”阮大铖，并正式发表《留都防乱公揭》。这是一篇声讨阮大铖罪状的檄文，文中揭露阮大铖“献策魏珰，倾残善类”、“阴险叵测，猖狂无忌”，并指出如果阮大铖得志，“杲亦请以一身当之，以存此一段公论，以寒天下乱臣贼子之胆”。 在《留都防乱公揭》上签名的有一百四十二人，领衔的是东林弟子代表顾杲和黄宗羲。 《留都防乱公揭》发表后，“大铖惧，乃闭门谢客，独与士英深相结”。因为这件事，阮大铖与东林复社党人结下深仇大恨。 后来，阮大铖还曾经不惜重金，撮合复社四公子之一的侯方域与秦淮名妓李香君的婚事，后来为侯方域觉察，设法筹集资金，将钱退还给了阮大铖。阮大铖为此深深忌恨侯方域。 阮大铖人品虽恶，却颇有才华，诗文俱佳，尤善词曲。他所作传奇戏曲情节曲折离奇，关目布置和曲辞科白都很下功夫，艺术上有相当功力。钱钟书先生曾在《谈艺录》中说，对于阮大铖“固不宜因人而斥其文，亦只可因文而惜其人”。阮家的戏班在南京很有名声，阮大铖自己也能亲自执板唱曲。（附阮大铖诗碑图） 如同他本人擅写的传奇，阮大铖的死亦颇有传奇性。顺治二年（1645年）南京为清兵所破，阮大铖逃至浙江方国安军中。次年，投降满清，并领清兵破金华，从攻仙霞岭。仙霞岭是从浙江进入福建的天险，当时杨文骢在那里设伏。 杨文骢字龙友，明末大画家董其昌的弟子，也是当时知名的画家。杨文骢是马士英的亲戚，但他与复社人士来往甚密，是夏允彝等人的好友，还是几社的创办人之一。杨文骢曾经出钱帮助复社四公子之一的侯方域为秦淮名妓李香君梳拢（杨文骢与阮大铖是旧交，当初梳拢李香君的钱就是阮大铖假托杨文骢的名义出的，目的是为了拉拢侯方域），但他一生中最出名的事却是——将李香君鲜血染红的白绢扇画成了灼灼动人的桃花图。 在仙霞岭，戏剧性的一幕发生了，正当阮大铖与杨文骢远远相对、相互怒目而视的时候，阮大铖突然中风，头面肿胀，倒在石上而死。 但仙霞岭一役，清军大胜，杨文骢重伤被俘，不屈而死。 中的这两位穿针引线的人物就这样死在了同一地点，同一时间，同一事件。 重新回到南明党争的话题。弘光皇帝朱由崧酗酒好色，追欢逐乐，不以国事为念。他总说：“天下事，有老马在”，把军国重事委托给马士英，自己则同一班佞倖干着昏天黑地的勾当。在这样的状况下，马士英大权在握，这场党争最终以东林党和复社的失败而告终，也是不足为奇的。兵部侍郎吕大器、大学士高弘图、姜曰广、吏部尚书张慎言等人相继被排挤出朝；阮大铖被起用为兵部右侍郎，不久又兼兵部尚书、右副都御史等职。 阮大铖走马上任后，据李清著《南渡记》载：“大铖自受事以来，凡察处降补各员，贿足则用。”阮大铖惟利是图的德行可见一斑，当时的民谣唱道：“职方贱如狗，都督满街走。” 阮大铖机敏狡猾，自然也忘不了要报复那些曾经打击过他的东林党和复社名士们，他对马士英说：“孔门弟子三千，而复社聚徒至今，不反何待？” 机会果然来了，阮大铖突然留意到有一些北京的东林党人投降过李自成，于是他很容易地将江南士民的激愤引向那些曾经投降过李自成的东林党人，比如我们在前面的篇章中提到过的陈名夏。于是那些从北方逃来的投降过大顺政权的前明官员被禁止进入南京。 史可法当时正在扬州抚慰高杰，他在扬州城外的大营中得知这些变故后十分震惊，立即致疏朝廷，表示不赞成拒绝北方官员南下的作法。他建议：“诸臣原籍北土者，宜令投呈吏、兵二部，注名录用，否则绝其南归之心。” 但此时在马士英和阮大铖的怂恿下，吴地缙绅却群情激愤，坚决反对宽恕那些叛臣。南明政府随即颁布了杨汝成、项煜、陈名夏、徐汧等“北都从贼诸臣罪状”，杨汝成等人的住宅立即受到以生员为主的暴徒们的袭击。这种状况迫使那些孤立无援的从贼官员又纷纷逃回北方，加入了满清政府。 阮大铖抓住机会，开始对复社成员进行打击报复，对此有如下描写：