Chapter 8 Chapter 2 The Controversy Between King Tang and King Lu

After Ma Shiying and Emperor Hongguang were separated in Lishui, he escorted Zhu Yousong's mother, Empress Dowager Zou, to Zhejiang.When passing through Guangde Prefecture, Ma Shiying wanted to go to the city to rest. Zhizhou Zhao Jinghe saw that the group was in a state of disarray. They looked like they were going to escort the Queen Mother to Hangzhou. Suspecting fraud, they closed the city gates to prevent them from entering the city.Ma Shiying was furious, broke through the city, beheaded Zhao Jinghe, and left after looting wantonly. On May 22, 1645, Ma Shiying arrived in Hangzhou in honor of Empress Dowager Zou, and "the martial arts are boiling" (Qing·Xu Fanglie·"A Brief History of Eastern Zhejiang").Lu Wang, Zhu Changhao, and officials in Hangzhou all came to see him.Hangzhou was once the capital of China in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Soon, news came that Huang Degong was defeated and committed suicide, and Emperor Hongguang was captured.The civil and military officials in Hangzhou asked King Lu to supervise the country.However, the situation at this time was very different from that when Nanjing was founded in 1644. Zhu Changhao, who had competed with Emperor Hongguang for the emperor, refused to accept it, fearing that being the supervisor would become the main target of the Qing.After the Empress Dowager Hongguang repeatedly persuaded with tears, he reluctantly agreed. After Zhu Changhao became the supervisor of the country, the real power was still in the hands of Ma Shiying and his group.Huang Daozhou believed that the people's hearts were available, and advocated the recruitment of volunteers.However, Zhu Changhao was an idiot who couldn't help himself. On the second day of the prison, according to Ma Shiying's opinion, he sent Chen Hongfan to make peace with the Qing army on the condition that he ceded the four counties in the south of the Yangtze River.

Chen Hongfan went to Beijing with Zuo Maodi to make good friends when he was in the Hongguang court. He secretly surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and was sent back to the south of the Yangtze River to act as a traitor.After he returned to the south of the Yangtze River, he wrote an article called "Journal of the Northern Envoy" and shamelessly declared his allegiance to the Ming court. ".This time, under the auspices of Ma Shiying, as the representative of King Lu of Jianguo, he took a ship flying the flag of "envoy to the Qing Dynasty" and went to secretly negotiate with the Qing side on traitorous matters.

On the tenth day of the lunar new year, Zhu Changhao ordered Huang Daozhou to work for the university scholar to enter the cabinet; Ma Shiying feared that Huang Daozhou's entry into the cabinet would affect his seizing power, so he handed back the decree of supervising the country and did not announce it. Just when Zhu Changhao and Ma Shiying were still dreaming of living in peace, the Qing army quickly advanced towards Hangzhou. After Chen Hongfan negotiated with the Qing army, he returned to Hangzhou and persuaded Zhu Changhao to surrender.Zhu Changhao was greedy for life and afraid of death, so he decided to submit to Qing Dynasty.Fang Guoan, the commander-in-chief, and his nephew Fang Yuanke originally planned to lead soldiers and horses to escort Emperor Hongguang to Wuhu. After Zhu Yousong was captured, they came to Hangzhou again. There were still about 10,000 soldiers and horses in their troops, and they planned to support King Lu. Defend Hangzhou.Unexpectedly, Zhu Changhao had decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. When the Fang army and the Qing army were fighting at the gate of Yongjin, Zhu Changhao frantically "paid the soldiers from the city with wine and food".Fang Guoan and others were extremely indignant, crossed the Qiantang River eastward, and later joined the ranks of supporting the establishment of Lu Jianguo.Ma Shiying was kidnapped by Fang Guoan's army in the chaos.

On June 14, the Qing army occupied Hangzhou without any effort. In July 1645, Dorgon received the surrender of Lu Wang Zhu Changhao and others, and after the success of Jiangsu and Zhejiang without a fight, he believed that the use of troops in the south had basically ended, and the Manchurian soldiers from the north of the Great Wall could not bear the heat in the south of the Yangtze River, so he ordered Prince Yu Duoduo and other class teachers returned to the court, and at the same time appointed Hong Chengchou, a scholar of the Inner Academy, as "recruiting the local governors of Jiangnan provinces and managing food and pay" to take over all parts of Jiangnan.

Duoduo, Prince of Yu, returned to the north with a full load, not to mention the gold, silver and silk. At the same time, he also brought a captive Jiangnan woman named Liu Sanji. Liu Sanji is the stepwife of Huang Lianggong in Yuyi.Before the Qing army went south, Huang Lianggong died of illness, and Liu Sanji stayed at home with his widow. Later, he was captured by the Qing army and dedicated to Duoduo.Seeing that she is naturally beautiful and extraordinary, Doduo wants to force her to sleep with her.Unexpectedly, Liu Sanji was a strong-tempered person, desperate to refuse, and in a hurry to bang his head against the pillar, fortunately he was stopped by other maids, so he did not become a blood-stained beauty.It was said that Liu Sanji had jet-black, glossy, shiny hair, and when he cried and made a fuss, his hair was disheveled, which made him look even more pitiful.It was the first time that Duoduo saw such a charming woman since he went south, and he admired Liu Sanji a little more, and he was moved a little more sincerely, and he didn't dare to force him anymore, so he only asked the maidservant to serve him carefully.

After Liu Sanji was brought back to Beijing by Duduo, she lived in a mansion, was treated with luxury and delicacies, but she still refused to follow her, and always spoke coldly to Duduo.Doduo is quite familiar with the art of war, so he naturally knows the principle of attacking the heart. He found out that Liu Sanji and his late husband Huang Lianggong had a daughter named Huang Zhen'er who was lost in the south of the Yangtze River during the war, so he sent people to Jiangnan to find Huang Zhen'er and arranged to meet Liu Sanji.When Liu Sanji saw his beloved daughter, he was surprised and delighted, and sure enough, his attitude towards Duoduo changed greatly.

Coincidentally, Doduo's Zhengfu Jin suddenly died of illness, so Doduo sent a eloquent maid to persuade Liu Sanji, promising to let her be Zhengfu Jin.Duo Duo is the younger brother of Dorgon, who was the second most powerful figure in the Manchu Qing Dynasty at that time, and he can be called the most sought-after "Diamond King Lao Wu" in the world.After all, Liu Sanji has a woman's heart, and when things got to such a point, she couldn't help but turn her hard work into soft fingers, and since then she has become a widow in Yiyi, and she has become a top-notch wife.This is the story of the famous widow's adventure in history.

Back to the topic of Jiangnan Nanming regime.From the eighth day of June to the fourteenth day of June, Lu Wang Zhu Changhao's supervision of the country was only six days in total. The time was extremely short and he did nothing. It became a ridiculous episode in the history of Nanming. Lu Wang, Fu Wang and others who surrendered were later taken to Beijing by Duoduo, and Lu Wang and others fully demonstrated all kinds of shameless flattery and ugliness.However, in 1646, in order to prevent future troubles, the Qing government ordered all the surrendered or captured Ming dynasty vassals to be executed on the pretext that the kings of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing colluded with ministers of the Ming Dynasty from other places to deliberately rebel.

The unfortunate fate of these people, no matter how many reasons there are, is the microclimate of the tragedy of the times, and they are all to blame. After the fall of the Hongguang Dynasty in the Nanming Dynasty, Qian Qianyi, an official of the Nanming Dynasty who surrendered, persuaded Prince Yu Duoduo, the commander of the Qing army, to say: "The folk customs in Wu are weak, and they can be fixed, so there is no need to bother with large-scale troops." Qian Qianyi's words are not watery too big.Except for the Taicang serfs rebelling several times in order to snatch their previous masters, there was really no major harassment of the Qing army for a while.In order to protect themselves, the gentry from all over the country wrote the word "Shunmin" on the city wall one after another.Qian Qianyi also stated in the letters between the local gentry that the Qing Dynasty was "righteous and sound, and heaven and man belong together."Especially the fear of the Yangzhou massacre, the people in the south of the Yangtze River, who have always lived comfortably, were indeed greatly shocked psychologically, and began to think seriously about the consequences of the destruction after tenacious resistance.

It is extremely shocking that the results of Nanjing and Yangzhou are clearly visible - "Yangzhou Ten Days" killed 800,000 people; after the Hongguang Run in Nanjing, Zhao Zhilong, Qian Qianyi and others held the Mingjing atlas and the people's household registration He surrendered four times to King Duoduo of the Qing Dynasty, and more than 200,000 soldiers and horses surrendered.The soldiers of the Qing army did not kill blood, and indeed they did not commit mass killings-these two completely different experiences did leave a deep psychological mark on the gentry and people in the south of the Yangtze River. Just at this time, the Qing court suddenly issued a "hair shaving order".Originally, in June 1645, Qingyu King Duoduo also issued an order: "Shaving the head is a common practice in the country. Today, when the soldiers arrive, they will shave their soldiers but not their papers, and their soldiers will not shave their people. You will not get it." If you don’t follow the law, you can shave yourself. There were shameless officials who shaved first to see you, and this country has already scolded you. Special notice.” But just over a month later, Dorgon ordered that all Han people must shave their hair, “Leave your head but not hair, Keep your hair but your head." And this sudden order, which caused millions of heads to fall, came from Sun Zhixie, a surrendered official of the Han nationality. Sun Zhixie, a native of Zichuan, Shandong, was a Jinshi during the Tianqi period of the Ming Dynasty.Because of his low character and capriciousness, this person has been depressed and frustrated.After the Qing army entered the customs, Sun Zhixie was eager to seek officials. He was the first batch of Han officials to beg for surrender, and became the Minister of Rites.In order to repay the favor of the new master for his promotion, Sun Zhixie couldn't think of any plan to settle down for a while, so Sun Zhixie took a "sideways" and took the initiative to shave his hair.Sun Zhixie's forehead was bare in the front, with a big braid in the back, and he was wearing a full suit of four different clothes. Shi Shiran came here, hoping to win the crowd when he went to court.But at that time, the Han officials were still wearing big crowns and big sleeves, and they were dressed in Han clothes. Seeing such a nondescript old dog, they all felt ridiculous and contemptible, and raised their sleeves to push him out of the class.The Manchu officials, who believed that they ruled and conquered the nation, kicked him out of the class one after another, laughing and scolding him.Angry and furious, Sun Zhixie immediately kept a memorial after he came down from court, and suggested to Qing Shizu that the Han people should be shaved throughout the territory. There are a few words in it that scratched the heart of the Qing Emperor (that is, Dorgon) : "Your Majesty pacified the Central Plains, everything is reformed, and the system of clothing and hair is unique to the old Han Dynasty. This is His Majesty's obedience to China, not China's Obedience to His Majesty!" Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty was only seven years old at the time, and all major matters were decided by the regent Dorgon alone.Dorgon and the others were originally warriors from the north, but Sun Zhixie felt that his words were very reasonable.Moreover, long before Dorgon entered the customs in 1644, the Manchu scholar Xifu had presented the historical materials of the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties written in Manchu to the imperial court in Shengjing, hoping to make these past "foreign races" come into power. The historical experience of the Central Plains is that "good enough is the law, and evil enough is the warning." The most important warning is to prevent the "sinicization" of the upper class.Especially in the Liao and Jin dynasties, "Sinicization" eventually led to the depression and cowardice of the royal family.Sun Zhixie's suggestion just aroused Dorgon's vigilance, and he wanted to eliminate the potential danger of "Sinicization" from the form first—good!I will act first, and give all Han Chinese a "Manhua" first, and force their hair to be shaved! China has a vast land and a large population.Most of the Chinese people, whose source is Confucianism of the family lineage, regard the rise and fall of dynasties as the cycle of heaven and the Ming and Qing dynasties.Especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties, China was still in a feudal agricultural society, and farmers, who accounted for the vast majority of the population, and a considerable number of officials, gentry and landlords lived in the countryside.These people generally have very little relationship with the local government, and have no direct relationship with the central government, so it is difficult to stimulate the feelings of the people in the usual sense.In other words, once the emperor and the courtiers, it doesn't matter to these people who is the emperor.Clothes decoration may seem insignificant, but the tradition of thousands of years is itself a symbol of culture.Foreign races like the Manchus who invaded by force forced the original Han people to give up their original costumes and imitate themselves, which would destroy their culture, and forcibly add a sign of submission, which is an insult to human dignity.If there were still differences between scholar-bureaucrats and ordinary people in terms of culture, property, class, etc., almost all Han people showed amazing consistency in this standpoint of defending their own spirit and customs. "Body, hair and skin, received by parents, must not be damaged."Neither the officials nor the common people could accept their image as a barbaric "barbarian".The areas that had already been surrendered resisted one after another, and the entire land of China fell into a bloody storm. Even the Han scholars who sincerely belonged to the Qing Dynasty also recorded in their notes: "I entered China at the beginning of the (Qing) Dynasty, and the clothes were still made in the Han Dynasty. Daxiu is divided into two classes, Manchu and Han. There is Sun Zhixie, a Jinshi from Shandong, who, for the sake of yin, shaves his head to welcome the surrender, hoping to win favor alone. If he belongs to the Manchu class, Man thinks he is a Han, and he will not accept it. Return to the Han class Then the Han Dynasty regarded it as a full decoration, and it was not tolerated. So (Sun Zhixie) wrote a letter in shame and indignation... Then he issued an order, and all the people in China were thinking of praying and refusing to fight, and there were swarms everywhere, and millions of souls in the south of the Yangtze River were full of weeds , all (Sun) Zhixie’s words provoked it. Originally, his heart started from greed for wealth and honor, and a shameless thought caused endless disasters!" ("Miscellaneous Notes of Yantang Experience") However, Sun Zhixie's later fate was not good.More than three years later, Sun Zhixie was impeached for selling his official position with money from others, and was dismissed from his post and sent back to his hometown of Zichuan.Just in time for the Shandong Xie Qian and others to revolt and invade Zichuan City, Sun Zhixie's family, men, women, old and young were all killed by the angry people, "all prepared to die in extreme prostitution."Sun Zhixie himself was tied up with five flowers for more than ten days, and the five poisons were prepared. His scalp was full of fine holes. Closely stitched together, dismembered and cut to death. "Hey, a villain is a villain in vain. When his whole family dies together, the whole family will die, and it may not be a mistake to gather iron castings in sixteen states!" This kind of fate, even the Han scholars and officials who served in the Qing Dynasty could not help but gloat. . After Dorgon issued the order to shave his hair, righteous people in Taicang, Xiushui, Kunshan, Suzhou, Changshu, Wujiang, Jiading and other vast areas rose up, killing local officials arranged by the Qing army one after another, and began the resistance movement against the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.But the people have been disorganized for a long time, how can a temporary assembly be able to defeat the army that has been fighting for a long time?Therefore, most of the righteous soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River were defeated soon. After the Qing army occupied Nanjing, they immediately sent envoys to appease the prefectures and counties in Southern Zhili.Most of the places were frightened by the military power of the Qing Dynasty, and Natu surrendered.Only Yang Wencong (that is, the talented man who painted the peach blossom fan) led an army into Suzhou and beheaded Huang Jiading and others who were sent by the Qing Dynasty to appease the Susong area.However, Yang Wencong did not organize the local gentry to defend the city, but retreated to Zhejiang before the arrival of the Qing army. At this time, the Qing army had basically controlled Jiangnan, and even Dorgon arrogantly thought that the world was settled, and ordered Duoduo and others to return to Beijing.However, it was Manchu's hair-shaving order that led to the long-term political instability and the loss of life. This was Dorgon's major mistake. After Dorgon received the news of the capture of Nanjing, he immediately sent an envoy to Duoduo, Prince of Yu, ordering "everywhere, civil and military soldiers and civilians are ordered to shave their hair, and if they don't follow suit, they will do it according to military law."At the critical juncture of the nation, Han gentry and people from all over the south of the Yangtze River were forced to shave their hair, and they were so excited that they spontaneously raised troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty.One of these places is Jiangyin, a beautiful water town between Shanghai and Nanjing.It resisted the Qing army for eighty days.When it fell, more than 70,000 people died in the bloody massacre ordered by the generals of the Qing army. After Fang Heng, the county magistrate appointed by the Manchu Qing, came to Jiangyin to take office, he posted a notice in accordance with the Qing court's decree ordering the people to shave their hair.Fang Heng asked the clerk to write the government documents into notices and post them, including the words "keep your hair but not your hair, keep your hair but not your head". Forget it!" The news quickly spread throughout the city, and everyone was furious. Fang Heng saw that the soldiers and the people were not in compliance, and secretly reported to the Changzhou government to ask his superiors to send troops to "kill more to build prestige".This secret letter was seized by righteous people when it was sent out of the city, and the righteous people spontaneously arrested Fang Heng. Chen Mingyu, the history of deduction, took the banner of "Daming Zhongxing" as the leader, and called himself Jiangyin righteous people to officially rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Chen Mingyu felt that he lacked military organizational skills. On his recommendation, Jiangyin scholars and civilians welcomed Yan Yingyuan, the former Dianshi of Xiangju (he was promoted to the head of Yingde County, Guangdong, but did not take up the post) into the city to take on the important task of defending the city. Yan Yingyuan is famous in history because of Jiangyin's resistance to the Qing Dynasty. He was not well-known before.We can see later that no matter from which aspect, he is a very outstanding talent, and his military talent is far superior to Shi Kefa.But such a talent was actually only a small canon in the Ming Dynasty!It can also be seen that Chen Mingyu has an extraordinary vision for this person. Immediately after Yan Yingyuan entered the city, he made a detailed investigation of the household registrations in the whole city, young and old, and selected young and strong men to form a militia. More than 200,000 rural soldiers were gathered to go to the city in teams of ten on each battlement, and shifts were changed on time.Wang Gonglue, a martial artist, guarded the east gate, Wang Bazong guarded the south gate, Chen Mingyu guarded the west gate, and Ying Yuan himself guarded the north gate.He and Chen Mingyu are also responsible for patrolling the four gates day and night.Strictly cross-examine passers-by in the city and eliminate traitors.In order to solve the supply of military supplies, food and salaries, after discussing with the gentry and the people, Yan Yingyuan appointed people who are good at financial management to be responsible for the classified collection of public and private materials in the city, and unified distribution and use.Under the leadership of Yan Yingyuan, he quickly made the best use of his talents and resources, and all aspects of work were done in an orderly manner. After the Qing soldiers heard the news, they only sent 300 people to suppress it.It can be seen that Duoduo, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, did not pay attention to the small city of Jiangyin at all.But then all 300 Qing troops were wiped out by the righteous people of Jiangyin at the foot of Qinwang Mountain. Duoduo was furious and sent general Liu Liangzuo to lead tens of thousands of troops to attack.Liu Liangzuo was one of the four towns in Jiangbei at the beginning, and was named Guangchang Bo by Emperor Hongguang. As a result, when the Qing army went south, it surrendered without a fight. After Liu Liangzuo led his army to surround Jiangyin County, he repeatedly failed to attack. He repeatedly sent envoys to the city to shoot letters with bows and arrows into the city to ask for surrender, and even came to the city in person to speak out and ask Yan Yingyuan to surrender.Yan Yingyuan had a headache in the city and denounced Liu Liangzuo's betrayal of the Ming Dynasty, saying: "There are generals who surrendered, but there is no history of surrender!" Liu Liangzuo had nothing to say. Duduo first sent Kong Youde, the king of obedience, to "lead his troops to assist in the attack", and then sent Belle Bolo and Belle Nikan to lead the Manchu soldiers to attack the city with red cannons.These red cannons are all from the Ming Dynasty.When Bo Luo came to Jiangyin City, he thought that Liu Liangzuo had been the earl of the Ming Dynasty and had a heavy army in his hands, but he couldn't even take down a Jiangyin county. He must have not done his best, so he ordered him to be beaten.Liu Liangzuo felt ashamed and urged his subordinates to attack the city desperately. Yan Yingyuan and Chen Mingyu, who guarded the city, also encouraged the urban and rural volunteers to guard the dangerous city bravely, and sent Huizhou merchant Cheng Bi and others out of the city to contact volunteers from all over the city to help, but they never received rescue from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.After persisting for 80 days, the Qing army concentrated its artillery to bombard the northeast corner of the city. The city wall collapsed, and the Qing army swarmed up, and Jiangyin fell.Chen Ming died in a street fight, and Yan Yingyuan threw himself into a lake after being wounded, but was dragged out of the water by the Qing army in time, and was killed because he refused to surrender. Two days after the massacre of the city by the Qing army, it was only "out of the list to calm the people".People at that time wrote a couplet to praise the heroic sacrifice of the people in Jiangyin: "On the 80th day, Dai Fa was loyal to the people of the 17th dynasty of the Taizu; 60,000 people died with one heart and one heart, and saved the Ming Dynasty for three hundred miles." The author of "Jiangyin City Shouhou Ji" concluded: "In the season of Ming Dynasty, scholars have no shame or hatred. Those who occupy high positions and enjoy high names are proud of begging for surrender with their faces masked; and the commanders of the frontier are all rebellious and introverted. Du Chen The history of Yan Erdian and Yan Erdian is to see righteousness in one city. If the envoy guards Jingkou, the south of the Yangtze River will not be handed over.” Emperor Longwu, who succeeded to the throne in Fuzhou, was deeply moved when he heard that the people in Jing County and Jiangyin were unyielding and unyielding. Said: "When my descendants meet people from these two counties, even a three-foot boy should pity and respect him." , actually faced a strong enemy, was not afraid of danger, and persisted for nearly three months, which is really a glorious page in the history of Nanming. At the same time as the people of Jiangyin fought against the Qing Dynasty, the people of Jiading County also raised troops because of the forced shaving of the Qing government.After the county magistrate appointed by the Manchu Qing issued an order to shave their hair, the people in Jiading were outraged and refused to obey the order.Some people consulted the opinion of the famous squire Hou Dongzeng (a Jinshi in the fifth year of Tianqi, and Hongguang was the Zuo Tongzheng envoy of the Tongzheng Secretary at that time).He resolutely replied: "Why don't you stand up for righteousness when you hear that Xu Taishi protects his hair and cuts himself off? It is not too late to do anything, but it is with the survival of the city." That is to say, he opposed the passive resistance of Liu Zongzhou and Xu Qian who only cared about their own reputations, Actively raised troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty. So Hou Tong led his two sons Hou Xuanyan and Hou Xuanjie, Jinshi Huang Chunyao and his younger brother Huang Yuanyao into the city to advocate against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty.After meeting with the local gentry, they decided to lead the common people to go to the city to draw land and defend it, and set up a white flag on the city, which read "Jiading restores and suppresses the volunteers". After the gentry and people in Jiading revolted against the Qing Dynasty, Li Chengdong, the commander-in-chief of Wusong in the Qing Dynasty, immediately led 5,000 troops to attack. Li Chengdong was originally a general of Gao Jie's department and once served as the general of Xuzhou in the Ming Dynasty.This person is an extremely complex character, his life course is difficult to determine with loyalty or traitor, and it is even more difficult to describe him personally with good or bad. The "Jiading Three Massacres" was a tragedy caused entirely by him raising his butcher knife and giving orders. Later, he was also the first general who killed Zhu Yujian, one of the emperors of the Southern Ming Dynasty, and captured Emperor Shaowu alive. Zhu Yuyue's non-replacement hero was also the number one hero in the Qing Dynasty's attack on Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong and Guangxi in the Southern Ming Dynasty.But the most inconceivable thing is that, just suddenly, this man's conscience found out that he transformed himself and became the unswerving loyal minister of Emperor Yongli of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Together with Jin Shengheng and Wang Deren in southern China, he became the "loyal minister" of the Ming Dynasty again. Righteous man", and he will not care about death until he dies.The reason that prompted Li Chengdong to go anyway was exactly the same as Wu Sangui's introduction of the Qing army into the customs.This half-hearted general who used to kill without batting an eyelid was able to put his safety at risk in the end, chased the enemy in turbulence, and died in the water. He was posthumously given the word "Zhonglie" by Nan Mingzi himself, and presented it to the Tai Tuo and the King of Ningxia.He has repeated ups and downs in his life, which is even worse than Wu Sangui.History is originally a mysterious workshop.About Li Chengdong, we will have a special article in the following chapters. Under the leadership of Huang Chunyao, Jiading City re-fortified the city wall with earth and rocks, and sent a secret envoy to Wu Zhikui, a member of the restoration of the Ming Dynasty who was active in Suzhou and Songjiang, to request immediate reinforcements.Eight days later, Wu Zhikui's long-awaited reinforcements finally arrived.However, the team led by Cai Qiao only had 300 people and was extremely poorly equipped. It was intercepted and defeated by Li Chengdong's troops in a blink of an eye.The people in Jiading City now realize that they can only rely entirely on themselves. Hou Dongzeng, Huang Chunyao and others originally wanted to use the rural soldiers outside the city to stop the Qing soldiers.However, the township soldiers in the four townships were all temporarily organized peasants with no combat experience at all. Although there were a large number of them, they were actually in a state of disorder and without leadership, making it difficult to fight against the regular Qing army.As soon as the two sides confronted each other, the township soldiers collapsed without fighting. However, the township soldiers were often able to wipe out some small groups of Qing soldiers. Li Chengdong's younger brother was killed in an ambush by the township soldiers.Li Chengdong became furious and personally led all his troops to attack Loutang Bridge in the north of the city. Most of the township soldiers gathered here, so tens of thousands of farmers were killed here. At dawn three days later, amidst the rumble of cannons in red, Li Chengdong ordered to attack the city.The next day when the city was broken, Hou Tong threw himself into the pool, but was dragged out by the Qing soldiers and beheaded. His sons Hou Xuanyan and Hou Xuanjie were killed at the same time.Huang Chunyao hid in a temple, wrote a tragic speech on the wall, and hanged himself. Out of savage revenge, Li Chengdong ordered the massacre of the city. The Qing army "went from house to house, searched all the small streets and alleys, and disturbed the grass from the thorns with long spears", determined to kill everyone.The tragic scene at that time was witnessed by Zhu Zisu's "Jiading City Massacre" as a testimony: "Among the citizens, those who hang the beams, those who throw themselves into wells, those who throw themselves into rivers, those with blood on their faces, those with amputated limbs, those who are still alive after being chopped down, Flesh and blood," a living map of hell on earth. As in the case of Yangzhou, the women were brutally raped.In case of resistance, these former Nanming troops nailed the hands of the resisting women to the door with long nails, and then raped them wantonly.After the massacre, Li Chengdong's subordinates looted property everywhere again, shouting "Barbarians offer treasures" when they saw people, and they did not kill them with a single knife. Those who don't have much silver will be cut three times, either deep or shallow, and the knife will see the bone.At that time, "the sound of knives was so sudden that it spread far and near. The sound of begging for life was as noisy as a city."The massacre continued for a day, until the bodies clogged the river, and more than 30,000 people were killed.This is the notorious Jiading massacre in history.In the end, the 5,000 Chinese Qing troops with big braids robbed the property of 300 large ships, and all of them were transported away from Jiading under the command of Li Chengdong. But the catastrophe of Jiading City is still not over.Three or four days after Li Chengdong's massacre, the survivors of Jiading who narrowly escaped began to slip back into the city.Chinese people generally have a strong hometown complex.The aborigines by the Yellow River would rather sit and wait for death than move to another place; even if the government forces them to relocate, they will return soon, no matter how poor or miserable the place is.The same is true for the gentry and civilians in Jiading. After they returned to the city, they saw such a tragic situation, and immediately regrouped under the leadership of a righteous man named Zhu Ying, with a total of more than 2,000 people.Zhu Ying led the survivors to launch an anti-genocide campaign in this dilapidated city, executing the traitors who surrendered to the Qing army and officials appointed by the Qing army. At the same time, outside Jiading City, a team of scattered township soldiers gathered in Gelong and Waigang. Once they found those who had shaved their hair, they executed them on the spot.A small detachment of Li Chengdong was also annihilated by this group of township soldiers.In a rage, Li Chengdong sent a large army into Gelong and Waigang, massacring all the residents.Both towns were also razed to the ground. Puzhang, the new county magistrate appointed by Li Chengdong, served as a tent for the tiger, and led Li Chengdong's sergeant straight into the city, killing many residents who were still sleeping, piled up their corpses into mounds, and then set them on fire.Puzhang not only killed several former friends Lou Fuwen and the whole family, but also said to Li Chengdong: "If you don't kill them, there will be future troubles!"It is said that after the "Second Massacre", there was no distinction between the rich and the poor in Jiading. More than 20 days later, it turned out that a Nanming general named Wu Zhifan led his remaining troops to storm Jiading City, and the surrounding people also responded one after another. Suddenly, the Qing soldiers in the city were defeated and fled.Soon, Li Chengdong's entire army counterattacked. Most of the soldiers and people led by Wu Zhifan had not received combat training, and they were soon defeated. General Wu himself went to Chen with a gun and died.Li Chengdong's army attacked the city for the third time, not only killing hundreds of general Wu's soldiers, but also massacring nearly 20,000 people who had just arrived in Jiading to escape the chaos. The "Three Massacres" left the city with complete destruction and the few survivors who didn't know what morality was. In any case, the anti-Qing movement in the lower Yangtze region slowed down the momentum of the Qing army's advance, thus buying time for the organization and preparation of Ming resistance forces in other parts of the south.However, it is difficult to say that this will be a turning point for the Ming Dynasty. On June 11, 1645, three days before Hangzhou fell into the hands of the Qing army, Tang Wang Zhu Yujian saw that Lu Wang Zhu Changhao had decided to surrender. He was very indignant, and with the support of a group of civilian and military generals, he left Hangzhou for Fuzhou to prepare for the supervision of the country. After Zhu Changhao surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the situation was very chaotic, and only the emperor's appeal could lift his spirits and reorganize his forces.But the inheritance of the throne in the feudal era, the closeness of blood is an important condition.Tang Wang Zhu Yujian is the eighth-generation grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang's 22nd son An Wang Zhu Ying. He is far away from Emperor Chongzhen in genealogy, and he is usually out of turn.But at this time Zhu Youjian's uncle and brother were only King Gui (later Emperor Yongli) in Guangxi. At that time, the political center of Nanming was in the southeast, and the gentry in the southeast were anxious to solve the problem of succession, so they had to choose from the nearest Shufan. . Although Zhu Yujian himself is a royal grandson, he has suffered from hardships since he was a child.He is the ninth grandson of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.Zhu Yujian's grandfather, King Tang Duan, suspected that his son (the father of Zhu Yujian, who was later posthumously named King Yu) had a big tumor on his mouth and tongue, and loved the son born to his concubine, so he imprisoned King Yu in the inner government house all year round.After Zhu Yujian was born, at the age of eight, his great-grandmother asked his master to teach him to read and write, "only to read sentences".When he was twelve years old, his great-grandmother died of illness, Zhu Yujian lost his last protection and was locked up with his father.Tang Duan Wang also secretly ordered people not to deliver food to Zhu Yujian and his son, and wanted to starve them to death. Fortunately, someone secretly helped deliver the food, and the father and son spent sixteen years in the prison cell.In February of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), King Yu was killed by his younger brother Jiu who was eager to take over the throne of King Tang.In the same year, King Duan of Tang Dynasty died of illness.Zhu Yujian finally got the best of his hardships, and took the title of Nanyang as the eldest son and grandson. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Tang Wang Zhu Yujian killed the uncle who killed his father.But his misery began again this year. Because of the Qing army's persecution, Chongzhen ordered all the kings to work hard.After Tang Wang Zhu Yujian received the edict, he immediately went north to rush to Qin Wang. As soon as he arrived in Yuzhou, he received the imperial edict of Chongzhen, saying that he left the land without authorization and had ulterior motives, and ordered him to return it.Zhu Yujian couldn't figure it out, so he had to follow the order and return to the south.Later, the Ministry proposed to increase the crime, and Zhu Yujian was abolished as a commoner, and he was imprisoned in the high wall of Fengyang.It was not until Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide in 1644 that Zhu Yujian was released by the order of Emperor Hongguang Zhu Yousong of the Nanming Dynasty, but he has been imprisoned for more than eight years.It was really unlucky for this golden branch and jade leaf to live to the age of forty-three and spend twenty-four years in prison. From this, we can know that Zhu Yujian’s experience is very different from other vassal kings. In the forty-three years after his birth, except for the seven years of serving as a feudal vassal from the second year of Chongzhen to the ninth year of Chongzhen, the rest of the years were in adversity. spent.The experience of many disasters made him tempered and gained a lot of experience that other vassal kings did not have. It is an advantage to be the supreme ruler when the country is in crisis, so he was strongly recommended by Huang Daozhou and others. Therefore, Zhu Yujian announced in Quzhou the decision to take over the throne immediately, and then the group continued southward, crossing Xianxia Ridge, and headed for Fuzhou. On the sixth day of June, 1645, Zhu Yujian was welcomed into Fuzhou by Nan'an Bo Zheng Zhilong and others.The next day, he officially took office as supervisor of the country.Twenty days later, with the support of his ministers, he became the emperor on June 27th, with Fuzhou as the temporary capital, the government named Tianxing Mansion, and the former Fujian Chief Envoy as the palace.This is the second regime in the history of Nanming, generally known as "Longwu regime". On the day of the enthronement ceremony, "a strong wind and fog blew up trees and blown sand", official Shangxi's mount was frightened, and the jade seal fell and damaged a corner.Although the omens are ominous, the monarchs and ministers are still very determined to calm the world and are determined to recover.Due to his rough life experience, Emperor Longwu was very different from Emperor Hongguang. He was good at comforting his officials and was willing to accept advice. He even agreed to recruit the rest of the "Dashun Army" (Li Zicheng Army) to jointly resist the Qing army.At the same time, he also stopped the killing of civilians with shaved hair by the Southern Ming Army: "Wherever soldiers go, don't kill them indiscriminately. Those who have hair are obedient citizens, and those who have no hair are refugees." This decree made ordinary people cheer and encourage, and they came to vote. . Zhu Yujian proclaimed himself emperor as a distant relative of the clan of the Ming Dynasty, which was really due to the current situation.But a year ago, he was still the criminal in the high wall. He lacked his own team and he didn't have enough reputation. Although he wanted to do something to rebuild the Ming Dynasty, his inherent weakness made him have to rely on Fujian Brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui, powerful figures.After he ascended the throne, Zhu Yujian made Zheng Zhilong the Marquis of Pinglu and Zheng Hongkui the Marquis of Dinglu for his meritorious service.In order to win people's hearts, Zhu Yujian appointed more than 20 people including Huang Daozhou as bachelors. The number of people who joined the cabinet was unprecedented in the history of the Ming Dynasty. After the establishment of the Longwu court, it issued edicts to various places, which were recognized by the remnant regimes in Guangdong, Guangxi, southern Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. In June of 1645 (the second year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty), King Lu surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, was occupied by the Qing army.However, after the Qing Dynasty promulgated the order to shave their hair, "people protect their hair, and the road is fierce."Under such circumstances, the pain of subjugation quickly ignited a raging fire against the Qing Dynasty with the forced shaving of the head as a trigger, and all parts of eastern Zhejiang raised troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty. After the Ningbo Mansion rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, Xie Sanbin, the former minister of Taipusi, sent people to Dinghai with a letter in his own handwriting to ask Wang Zhiren to send troops to suppress it in order to save his family and life.At the same time, Qian Sule (former member of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs Wailang) who occupied Ningbo also sent Ni Maoxi as an envoy to Dinghai to campaign against Wang Zhiren.The two envoys with completely opposite missions arrived at Dinghai almost at the same time. At that time, Wang Zhiren, the Zhejiang anti-Japanese general who was stationed in Dinghai, had already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Belle Boluo ordered him to continue his original post.After Ni Maoxi arrived in Dinghai, he heard that a scholar surnamed Chen had written to Wang Zhiren the day before, reprimanding him for surrendering to the Qing Dynasty.As soon as they met, Wang Zhiren said: "Your Majesty is very bold here." Ni Maoxi talked about the truth of a man's heart, and Wang Zhiren stopped him from talking, and asked his son to accompany him to the East Pavilion for dinner. Then Wang Zhiren received Xie Sanbin's envoy and promised to send troops to Ningbo in a few days.A few days later, Wang Zhiren led his troops to Yin County and called a gathering of elders from all villages in the martial arts arena.Xie Sanbin happily went to the meeting, thinking that Qian Sule and others must be bleeding before their eyes.Unexpectedly, after sitting down, Wang Zhiren took out Xie Sanbin's secret letter from his boots and read it aloud in public.Xie Sanbin was shocked and rushed forward desperately to get back the original letter.Wang Zhiren ordered his soldiers to take Xie Sanbin down, and said to Qian Sule: "Should I kill him to sacrifice the flag?" Xie Sanbin "wailed and knelt down on the steps, please lose ten thousand gold for payment. It is Shizhi."Wang Zhiren had a large number of soldiers. After participating in the rebellion, the anti-Qing situation in Ningbo quickly stabilized. After the rise of the anti-Qing movement in eastern Zhejiang, Zhang Guowei, who was originally in charge of the Ministry of Military Affairs and Military Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, discussed with the bureaucrats Chen Hanhui, Song Zhipu, and Ke Xiaqing. Zhu Yujian had established the Longwu regime in Fuzhou.At that time, among the relatives and county kings of the Ming Dynasty in Zhejiang, only Lu Wang Zhu Yihai who was in Taizhou did not surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Naturally, he became the only candidate supported by the Zhejiang Fuming forces.On June 18th, Zhang Guowei and others received a letter to welcome Zhu Yihai as the supervisor of the country.After Zhu Yihai arrived in Shaoxing, he took office as supervisor on July 18th. Zhu Tan, the first king of Lu in the Ming Dynasty, was the tenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. He was enshrined in Yanzhou, Shandong. Zhu Yuanzhang was very unhappy because he was blinded by taking elixirs. After his death, Zhu Yuanzhang gave him the posthumous title of "Huang".朱檀的九世孙朱以派嗣封鲁王，1642年（崇祯十五年），清兵南下山东，攻破兖州，朱以派被杀。其弟朱以海死里逃生后，于1644年（崇祯十七年）二月袭封鲁王；同年三月，大顺军攻克北京，进兵山东，朱以海南逃，寓居浙江台州。 1644年国变前，朱以海就已经亲身经历了国破家亡，颠沛流离的患难生活，所以他对清廷的仇恨远胜其他藩王。但是，此人过惯了腐朽荒淫的贵族生活，既缺乏治国之才，又不肯放弃小朝廷的荣华富贵，一任监国后就大搞腐败，一幅太平天子要及时行乐的样子。李寄有《西施山戏占》诗描绘了朱以海监国时的状况：“鲁国君臣燕雀娱，共言尝胆事全无。越王自爱看歌舞，不信西施肯献吴。”据说鲁王朱以海与守江诸将置酒唱戏，吹拉弹唱的声音声连百余里。 鲁监国政权的腐败还表现在任用皇亲国戚上面。鲁王元妃张氏的哥哥张国俊招权纳贿，任用匪人。著名的例子如谢三宾这样鲜廉寡耻的小人，被迫参加鲁监国政权后，竟然走国舅的后门出任大学士。其用人行政由此可见。 张岱对朱以海的评论是：“从来求贤若渴，纳谏如流，是帝王美德。若我鲁王，则反受此二者之病。鲁王见一人，则倚为心膂；闻一言，则信若蓍龟，实意虚心，人人向用。乃其转盼则又不然，见后人则前人弃若弁毛，闻后言则前言视为冰炭。及至后来，有多人而卒不得一人之用。附疏满廷，终成孤寡，乘桴一去，散若浮萍；无柁之舟，随风飘荡，无所终薄矣。鲁王之智，不若一舟师，可与共图大事哉！”大意是纳谏如流在一般帝王是美德，倒了鲁王这里就成了祸病，他听了后面人的话，就认为前面人说的话不对，是个典型的软耳朵，没有判断力，智商还不及普通的船夫。 不久后，随着情况的明朗化，拥立鲁王的官绅知道唐王朱聿键已经在福州继统，他们立即处于进退两难的境地。鲁王和唐王一样，都是崇祯最远的堂族，但唐王在时间上占了优势，而且已经由监国称帝。另外，隆武政权得到了除浙东以外各地南明地方政权的承认，鲁监国政权只局促于浙东一隅之地。 唐鲁并立是在消息不灵的混乱状态下出现的一国二主局面。按道理说，在国难当头的时候，朱以海应该退位，使南明政权至少在名义上实现统一；然而朱以海黄袍加身容易，要退位则有些不甘心了。这正是弘光以来的普遍现象——无论是皇族还是官僚，都热衷于乱中窃权。唐、鲁之争无疑使南明业已经呈现的劣势进一步恶化了。 福建和浙江的人口稠密地区之间，绵亘着几座大山，阻塞了直接的交往，即使在最好的时期，福州与绍兴之间也不可能有迅速的交通。 直到1645年十月，隆武政权才知道在浙江建立了另一个政权。隆武帝立即派遣兵科给事中刘中藻为使者，前往绍兴颁诏，宣布两家无分彼此，鲁监国委任的朝臣可以到隆武朝廷中担任同等官职。 刘中藻的到来在鲁监国的大臣中引起了分裂，赞成开读诏书和反对开读的大约各占一半，甚至还有人出“凭江数十万众，何难回戈相向”的话，不惜动武争夺帝位。 鲁监国性格比较软弱，见朝臣中有不少人主张尊奉隆武帝，有些愤愤不平，宣布退归藩位，支持他在福建的“皇叔父”，并立即返回了台州。鲁监国离开后，主张承认隆武朝廷为正统的大臣开读了诏书。然而，大学士兼兵部尚书张国维坚持认为，说福州“鞭长莫及”；如果监国退位，浙东脆弱的抵抗运动就会瓦解；在这个时候改换朝廷，将使君臣之间失去信任。于是终于决定拒绝接受隆武政权诏书，重新迎回了鲁监国。 1646年正月，隆武帝命都御史陆清源携带白银十万两前往浙东犒师，却被鲁监国部将杀害。鲁监国上书福州，称皇叔父，不称陛下，隆武帝大怒，杀其使者陈谦。唐、鲁争立从此愈演愈烈，两个同姓朱的政权之间的关系变成了“水火不相容”。 由于鲁监国政权中许多文官武将向隆武朝廷上疏效忠，隆武帝也加意笼络，给他们进官封爵。鲁监国针锋相对采取挖墙脚措施，派人到福州封郑芝龙兄弟为以公爵。隆武帝闻讯大怒，将来使囚禁。不久，又杀了鲁监国所遣使者总兵陈谦，但却引起了郑芝龙的不满。 郑芝龙二十岁不到就因为勾引后妈被父亲驱逐出家门为盗，数十年横行福建、广东、浙江一带沿海，兼商兼盗，是远近闻名的大海盗头子。崇祯初年，郑芝龙接受明朝招安后，趁天下大乱之际一直忙于扩大地盘，充实实力。郑芝龙之推举唐王登基称帝，其实也是看上了隆武帝的“奇货可居”，朝中一切实权都掌握在郑家手里。 隆武帝为了笼络郑芝龙，以无子为名，将郑芝龙的长子郑森过继为自己的儿子。郑森的母亲为日本女子田川氏，又称翁氏。隆武帝第一次见到郑森，见他风度翩翩，一表人材，对答如流，非常赏识，深憾自己没有女儿嫁给他，于是收为自己的儿子，赐姓朱，取名成功，号称“国姓爷”，命为御林军都督，仪同驸马都尉，不久又被封为“忠孝伯”。隆武帝和这位“国姓爷”（即中国历史上著名的郑成功）的关系，后来对南明事业产生了深远的影响。 唐、鲁争立不仅是两个南明政权的对立，而且在两个政权内部也引起了严重纷争。朱以海既自外于隆武朝廷，不惜以高官厚爵收买支持者，流风所及，官职紊滥。在这样大量内耗的情况下，两个政权都不是变得更强，而是更弱了。 这个时候，因为清朝再次宣布薙发令，江南一带掀起了反薙发的抗清斗争，清军后方发生动乱，一时无力继续南进。尤其多铎主力北返之后，江南留守兵力相当单薄。但鲁、唐二王政权不但没有利用这种有利形势，发展抗清斗争，反而在自己人之间为争正统地位而形同水火，所以才使清方得以有限兵力集中使用，达到各个击破的效果。 黄道周是福建人。圣贤的传统道路，是治国平天下。但如果我们翻开黄道周的履历表，就会发现他这条路走得极为艰难，以闽人固有的固执身处大厦将倾的末世，毫无成功的可能。自从黄道周天启二年中了进士以后，因为几次上疏奏事为倒霉的大臣求情，自己也跟着倒霉，屡调屡降，其中有几年还被斥为民。 崇祯十一年，黄道周因为弹劾大学士杨嗣昌，当面顶撞崇祯皇帝，被连贬六级赶出京城，到江西按察司当小小的照磨。过了两年，江西巡抚解学龙在评价所部官员时，偏偏对黄道周推崇备至。崇祯皇帝闻言大怒，说他们两个以党邪乱政，削了解学龙的学籍，把黄道周逮进刑部要求处死。如果黄道周就这么死了，不过是崇祯皇帝所随意屠戮的无数大臣中毫不起眼的一个，至多留下个忠谏的声名。幸好刑部尚书敢于抗旨，争辩说只有封疆或贪酷大臣才能以党邪乱政论死，以言论得罪，最多只能判处充军。审了两年，最后是判处黄道周永戍广西。还没走到广西，圣旨又下来了，皇恩浩荡，赦免复官。但是黄道周已不再做治国平天下的梦了，一获赦免，便告老还乡，在龙海邺侯山背山临江盖了一座邺山讲堂开坛讲学。这时候，他已是公认的儒林领袖、一代宗师，被时人推崇为“字画为馆阁第一，文章为国朝第一，人品为海内第一，其学问直接周、孔，为古今第一”（徐霞客语），全国各地来听讲的人络绎不绝，门前的九龙江，号称因为有黄道周才千帆相竞。重返家乡这一年，他已五十八岁了，他的打算，就是以传道授业了此残生了。 然而大明的气数已经玩完。崇祯十七年（1664年），崇祯吊死在煤山，吴三桂打开山海关放进清兵，大明的国土很快只剩下了半壁江山，国难当头，黄道周的官运却忽然好了起来。福王（即弘光帝）在南京即位后，马上下了诏书，命黄道周赴南京担任吏部左侍郎。 弘光帝的任命下来，黄道周本来不打算去赴任，但当政的马士英派人逼迫：“先生德高望重，不出来作官，是打算跟随史可法拥立潞王吗？”软硬兼施之下，他也就只好上南京去了。 到了南京，黄道周就被升为礼部尚书，地位不可谓不崇高，却仍然是摆设。弘光小朝廷，只在醉生梦死中残存了一年，当多铎的铁骑杀到南京来的时候，如果黄道周人在朝廷，绝无可能跟从钱谦益冒着大雨跪在城门口恭迎清兵，自然只有一死殉国，那样也不过是南京陷落时自杀的大臣中的一个。但上苍却不愿这么快就把他赶下悲壮的历史舞台，南京陷落的时候他恰好被派到浙江祭奠禹陵，无意中又躲过了一劫。 弘光小朝廷一倒，黄道周平天下之心却更炽了。先是准备去杭州跟随潞王，不料潞王才监国六天，就向清兵投降。然后是唐王监国，立即跑往福州投奔郑芝龙、郑鸿逵兄弟。黄道周深知福建的地势易防守难出击，一进了福建，最多是关起门来当小朝廷，万难恢复故土。而且当时的福建乃是郑家的天下，去了那里，就是去当傀儡了。他写了一封信劝阻唐王入闽，可是信还没寄到，唐王已过了仙霞岭进了福建了。黄道周只好也回了福建，打算走小路回漳浦老家去，在半道上被唐王派人截了下来，迎到福州。唐王也在福州正式登基，即隆武帝。 隆武帝见到黄道周，大喜说：“得此商彝周鼎，当为廊庙羽仪。”于是封黄道周为武英殿大学士兼吏、兵二部的尚书，黄道周转眼成了宰相了。但战时的宰相并不值钱，郑芝龙拥兵自重，挟制朝廷，无意进取。隆武帝与黄道周君臣相见，对此只有相对而泣。 这时候清廷已下了剃发令，为此在江南制造了一系列惨绝人寰的屠城惨案。江南人民一面奋起反抗，一面向隆武朝廷求援。但郑芝龙却不准备发一兵一卒。郑芝龙原先是海盗，受明政府招抚后，在崇祯年间曾奉命镇压福建、江西、广东的“山寇”和“海寇”，由参将逐步升到总兵官。弘光时加封南安伯。他的人生哲学很简单，明廷招降了他，给他高官厚禄，以后清兵来了，再投降就是了，还会有高官厚禄的。黄道周名为兵部尚书，却调动不了一兵一卒，只能到家乡发动子弟兵了。 隆武帝无法给黄道周一件武器，一分军饷，一担军粮，他给黄道周的，只有几百张空白文书。黄道周就带着这几百张空白文书上了路，每到一地，就用它来写奖状，谁参了军，就送一张亲笔书写的奖状，最后竟然也给他拉起了一支几千人的队伍，筹到了一个月的兵粮。 1645年九月十九日，这支以锄头扁担为武器的“扁担兵”，这支只有不到十匹马、只带了一月兵粮的乌合之众，这支完全靠忠义之气纠结起来的家乡子弟兵，在一位毫无作战经验的文人率领下，浩浩荡荡开出了仙霞关，永别了家乡，去跟凶残的征服者做最后的决战。 当黄道周的妻子蔡夫人在老家听到丈夫出关的消息，长叹一声：“哪有将在内相在外而能成大事的？道周死得其所了！” 施郎（后改名施琅，即后来领清兵攻陷台湾郑氏的那位咤叱风云的人物）当时充当偏裨，随同黄道周出征，他自称“十七岁作贼”，凭军事眼光看出依靠这样一支队伍同清朝正规军作战必败无疑。因此，他向黄道周建议，遣散队伍，只带少数经过挑选的人由小路直接进入赣州，以首席大学士督师的名义节制和调遣南赣、湖广、广东、广西等地总督、巡抚、总兵，会师进取。黄道周为人迂执，不达权变，以为自己有这么一支松松垮垮的军队总比没有好，又把自己的声望估计过高，认为所到之处必将群起响应；何况在他心目中施郎不过一介卑微末将，哪能有什么奇谋良策。施郎见黄道周不采纳自己的意见，不愿陪着他送死，径自返回福建。 黄道周出关后，又一路招募新兵，江西的义师也都赶来汇合，加起来有上万人。十月初抵达广信（今上饶），一进了广信就开坛讲学，借机募捐，又筹到了三个月的兵粮。几天之后，分兵三路，向清兵发起了进攻，一路向西攻抚州（今临川），另外两路北上分别攻婺源和休宁。 这是一场在军事史上没有留下任何影响的决战。《明史》的编撰者甚至不承认这是一场决战，对整场战役的叙述只有十九个字：“由广信出衢州，十二月进至婺源，遇大清兵，战败。”仿佛是稀里糊涂在路上碰上了清兵而被收拾了的。 这是一场任何军事分析家都会嗤之以鼻的决战。黄道周所面对的，并不是八旗子弟，而是洪承畴的队伍。这支以前大明最精锐的部队，掉转刀口杀向自己的族人时，一点也不比八旗子弟逊色。一方是没有受过任何军事训练的乌合之众，一方是身经百战、横扫大半个中国的劲旅，其结果如何，还没开战就已决定了。 但是我们还能指望有更精彩的对垒吗？几个月前几十万南京守军不战而降，现在又有几十万正规军龟缩在关内准备几个月后不战而降，保家卫国的责任被推卸到了平民百姓肩上，这与其说是患得患失的两军交战，不如说是义无反顾的垂死反抗。 婺源离得最近，这一路首先战败，随后休宁、抚州之师也被击溃，这么一来，连广信也守不住了。向朝廷求援吧，请兵不至，请饷不给，黄道周召集诸将计议：与其坐而待毙，不如倾巢而出做一决战，不能让清兵笑中国无人！婺源县令本是黄道周的门人，这时捎来一信说愿意弃暗投明当内应，不管是真是假，就再打一次婺源吧。 十二月六日，黄道周亲率部队向婺源进发，走到了童家坊，闻报说前面的乐平已陷落了，下一个就该轮到广信了。广信的士民要求回去保卫家乡，黄道周就让他们回去，自己带着门人们和乐平、德兴两县的乡勇千余人，继续前进。二十四日，抵达明堂里，深入谷中，遭遇到了埋伏在那里的清兵。参将高万容不受节度，率兵往山上逃去，全军崩溃。黄道周把招征印交给中书陈骏，命他突围逃回，自己留下继续督战，直到兵尽矢穷，被俘。被俘之前他曾想自刎，被门人、兵部主事赵士超所制止：“这里离南京不远，不如等一下死在太祖高皇帝身旁！” 这一等，就意味着要到狱中去遭受更重大的痛苦和更严酷的考验。 黄道周落到了徽州守将张天禄的手里。张天禄如获至宝，他知道，擒获一名以忠义闻名的人，要比攻下数十州郡更能博得洪承畴的欢心。大概在洪承畴看来，如果能够劝得忠义之人投降，就可以减轻自己叛国投敌的耻辱吧。 顺治三年（1646）二月初二日，黄道周被客客气气送到了南京。狱中的生活似乎和平时也没有什么两样，继续著书立说，跟门人讲习吟咏如常。每天来探望他的人非常多，有的是来求教的，他就在狱中开了讲堂，有的是来求字的，他也是有求必应。 黄道周是明末首屈一指的大书法家，与倪云璐、王铎并称晚明三大家。三个人的结局却完全不同：倪云璐在李自成攻陷京师时自缢而死，王铎则投靠清廷，官至礼部尚书。黄道周的书法，“他的真书如断崖峭壁，土花斑驳；他的草书，如急湍下流，被咽危石”（沙孟海《近三百年的书学》），其行草大字，更以“险怪”而为世所重。此时南京士人都知道他来日无多，争相向他索书，得到了就当成宝贝收藏起来。 清廷对黄道周如此客气，固然是敬重其儒林一代宗师的身份，更重要的，是抱着感化、劝降的用心。洪承畴亲自出马劝降，黄道周先是装聋作哑，根本不认这位同乡的