Chapter 58 preamble

On the north side of the Forbidden City, there is a small mound.In the Yuan Dynasty, this mound was much smaller and was called Qingshan, where the royal garden was located.During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Chengzu Zhudi built the city of Beijing and piled up the soil excavated from the excavation of the moat on the green mountain, which became what it is today. The mountain was also changed to an auspicious name, called "Long Live Mountain". On the top of Longevity Mountain, looking south, you can have a panoramic view of the entire Forbidden City.At that time, it was a place for royal parade outings, and it was also a place for the emperor to inspect the army or hold grand celebrations.During the reign of Chongzhen, the emperor visited here several times a year to review the military drills in the Wanshou Pavilion on the mountain.

In the blink of an eye, it was 1644 AD, which was the seventeenth year of Emperor Chongzhen's ascension to the throne.In the early morning of March 19th, in the cold wind of late spring in northern China, there were piercing sounds of gunfire, shouts of killing, and moans of the wounded dying.When dawn was approaching, the deep and messy wailing of the Jingyang Bell could be heard from the distant Huangji Palace, and the sound of the bell also conveyed the mood of the person who struck the bell—sadness, depression and last hope... he Although I haven't given up yet, it won't last long.After a while, the hysterical bells finally stopped, leaving only the thick reverberation, echoing endlessly on the four walls of the Forbidden City.

After a while, two people hurriedly climbed up Longevity Mountain from the east. These two people were probably used to being pampered. This little journey made them very tired, so they had to sit on a locust tree halfway up the mountain. Breathing by the tree... Three days later, someone passed by here by chance and found two corpses hanging on the tree, one of which had disheveled hair and covered the entire face, which seemed to have some meaning.No one knows what kind of dialogues and sighs these two haggard passers-by had before they died. Judging from the circumstances, it can only be inferred that they hanged themselves.

A few months later, Emperor Chongzhen's cousin Xiaofu Wang Yousong ascended the throne in the far south, and the spare capital city that had been abandoned since Emperor Yongle finally came in handy.The posthumous title given by the new emperor to the deceased Emperor Chongzhen was "Si", which is a bad word in posthumous law, "Thinking before repenting".Although in the hands of Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty perished, but the emperor died in Sheji, he at least stuck to his post. Compared with the old Fu Wang who was captured in Luoyang and begged for mercy, the little Fu Wang who escaped was more or less brave.Therefore, in the eyes of the elders of the former dynasty, the posthumous title of "Si" is quite abominable.

This bad posthumous title is probably the outbreak of long-standing grievances. "Thinking" Zong Chongzhen's father, Guangzong, and Xiaofu's father, Old Fuwang, were originally half-brothers.Their father, Emperor Shenzong Wanli, favored his younger son and always wanted to change the crown prince, but was opposed by ministers and workers. For decades, the court had been arguing endlessly about this.Many people who supported the prince were spanked, but then more defenders came forward.In the end, Shenzong had to give up his deviant idea, Guangzong won the victory, and Lao Fuwang was driven to the fief Luoyang by his grandmother.The relationship between the two brothers was thus forged. At this time, the country changed hands, and Xiaofu Wang was happy to take the opportunity to take revenge.

In Xiao Fuwang's eyes, this country was originally picked up, and it is really "the country is so big that it doesn't cost a penny", so it is reasonable to do it the wrong way.This little Fu Wang was changed to Yuan Hongguang the next year. He is one of the most unlikable emperors in Chinese history. This year, the world was not peaceful, and you can see how chaotic it is just by looking at the year names: the seventeenth year of Ming Chongzhen, the first year of Qing Shunzhi, the first year of Dashun Yongchang, the first year of Daxi Dashun, and a supervisor of Nanming Fuwang country.