Chapter 18 [Beijing imperial spirit sadly closed]-2
From the autumn of the eleventh year of Chongzhen to the autumn of the thirteenth year, Li Zicheng had only one hundred and ten people wandering around as bandits in the deep mountains and old forests of Henan. The government believed that he was either dead or injured, and basically ignored his movements.
At that time, Zhang Xianzhong, the peasant armies of "Chuangtatian (Liu Guoneng)" and "Guotianxing" were powerful, and they were gradually exhausted under the vigorous encirclement and suppression by the government and army.Frightened, they offered to surrender.If you encounter people like Hong Chengchou or Sun Chuanting, you will definitely not accept this trick. The peasant army did not make false surrenders once or twice.
Coincidentally, the "Prime Minister" Xiong Wencan, who has always been accustomed to the sweetness of "appeasement", is very anxious when he sees that the soldiers and civilians in the Beijing camp have won many battles, but he has not made any achievements.As soon as he arrived in Anqing, he sent people to recruit Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Guoneng who were active in Macheng, Hubei.Liu Guoneng was the first to surrender, and the thief who was born in Itching was persuaded by his mother, but he still surrendered.
Zhang Xianzhong refused to give up and fled around. He was almost beaten to death by Zuo Liangyu himself.Frustrated, he had no choice but to express his surrender, and gave Xiong Wencan a large sum of rare treasures "filial piety".
When Yang Sichang in the court heard about this, he was afraid that Zhang Xianzhong would feign surrender, so he advocated taking the opportunity to kill him.At the critical moment, Emperor Chongzhen made his own claim and issued an imperial edict.Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong, the leader of the bandit, built hundreds of houses outside Gucheng, bought land, planted and sold it, and traded with the people.
From the 11th year of Chongzhen to May of the 12th year, due to the "demonstration effect" of Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Guoneng, the leader of the Peasant Army Luo Rucai, "Zheng Shiwan", "Ten Anti-King", "Tuo Tianwang" and others expressed their surrender to Xiong Wencan .
After getting the consent, these people were not dismissed immediately, but were stationed in the local camp "to be dealt with".In other words, during the period of "appeasement", the peasant army got the most precious opportunity for respite and rest.In particular, Zhang Xianzhong was the most cunning. While the lion was asking the Ming government for food and salary, the people in the headquarters were on high alert and never left their swords.
Under the mediation of Xiong Wencan, Yang Sichang and others, Zhang Xianzhong got the land, the official, and the defense.Luo Rucai (nicknamed "Cao Cao") was in Fang County and did not ask for salary, but his unit has always maintained a wartime establishment, but it does not fight officers and soldiers or plunder people's wealth for the time being.
Yang Sichang, who has been murderously engaged in "ten sides and three nets" to kill the peasant army, saw the face of his master, Emperor Chongzhen, and also echoed Xiong Wencan's request to surrender.
At that time, there were also sober local officials, such as Yunyang Fuzhi Dai Dongbing, who made a secret performance, hoping that the imperial court would order these bandits to disarm, and then seize the opportunity to kill them, so as to avoid future troubles.
For this suggestion, the Ming court did not want to.But the border police suddenly rose, and Huang Taiji's Manchurian soldiers came screaming, and the Ming court couldn't take care of these silent wolves for a while.
In the autumn and August of the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638), Huang Taiji, who was very good at using troops, led an army to make a large-scale offensive in the area of the Daling River, involving many Ming troops near him.At the same time, the main force of the real invasion of the Qing army, led by Hauge, Yue Tuo and Dorgon, was divided into several teams to attack the interior of the Ming Dynasty.
Yue Tuo's army went straight to Miyun and broke through the side wall.According to theory, the Qiangziling Great Wall pass in Miyun is very steep, but Wu Guojun, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty who guards here, is celebrating the birthday of Deng Gonggong, who was sent to serve as the "political commissar" in the army. Drink birthday wine.When the Qing soldiers attacked, the Ming defenders were caught off guard, so they allowed the braided soldiers to rush into the Great Wall.Dorgon's troops were also progressing smoothly, breaking through the wall at Qingshan Pass.The two Qing armies joined forces in Tongzhou, abandoned Beijing and refused to attack. After arriving in Zhuozhou, they were divided into several divisions from north to south, and indulged in ravaging the North China Plain.
Emperor Chongzhen hurriedly ordered martial law in the capital, and ordered people from all over the country to come to serve the king.The Manchu Qing's visit this time is already the fourth time they have invaded and plundered.The important task of this defensive operation fell on Lu Xiangsheng, Governor of Xuanda.
Lu Xiangsheng, a native of Yixing, Jiangsu, was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi.Although he was born as a scribe, this fair and tall handsome man is good at riding and shooting, good at general strategy, and capable of running an army. He is a true all-rounder in civil and military affairs.Since the sixth year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng, as an inspector, hunted down thieves in Shanxi and other places.When the Qing army entered, Lu Xiangsheng was worrying about Ding's father, and when he heard about it, he ordered him to wear filial uniforms and supervise the teachers.
Hearing that Yang Sichang and the eunuch Gao Qiqian secretly presided over the peace talks with the Manchu Qing, Lu Xiangsheng was heartbroken and went to Beijing to see Emperor Chongzhen generously lead the battle.Hearing this, the bottomless young emperor was overwhelmed by it, and rewarded the army with ten thousand gold from within to support him in a direct battle with the Manchu Qing army.Most of Lu Xiangsheng's military plans could not be realized because of Yang Sichang, Minister of War of Zhuhe, and Gao Qiqian, the eunuch.At that time, he was the governor-general of the "Reinforcement of the World" in name, but in fact he only had more than 10,000 soldiers in his hands.Since soon Chen Xinjia (the former governor of the Xuanfu, who was also regarded as "duoqing". It was fun at this time, and the three important ministers Yang Sichang, Lu Xiangsheng, and Chen Xinjia were all in filial piety, the omen was ominous) came to Changping again, and Lu Xiangsheng had to divide his troops again. Horses and him, which makes their military strength weaker.
In the face of the menacing Qing army, Lu Xiangsheng advocated gathering several reinforcements and attacking the Qing army together, but Emperor Chongzhen refused.
With no help and no pay, Lu Xiangsheng had only a few thousand exhausted soldiers stationed near Julu.Hearing the words, the elders of the three counties in Jinan begged him to call up the militia to rest and fight again.Lu Xiangsheng cried with emotion: "Since I fought against the bandits, I have not lost in dozens of battles. Today, only five thousand soldiers are exhausted. The enemy is rushing to the west, and the reinforcements are separated from the east. The matter is controlled by the middle. In addition, the food is poor, and he will die soon! If you die, you will die, for the sake of the country and the people, I don’t want to involve the people in the army.” Hearing this, the villagers in the countryside burst into tears and donated the only rations left at home to serve as military rations for Lu Xiangsheng.
On December 11 of the lunar calendar, Lu Xiang ascended to Jiazhuang.At that time, the eunuch Gao Qi was stalking Guanning's heavy cavalry in Jize (place name) fifty miles away. Lu Xiangsheng sent someone to ask for help, but Eunuch Gao was timid and refused.
Lu Xiang ascended to Haoshui Bridge, and suddenly encountered a large group of Qing soldiers, and the two sides fought.From midnight to dawn, the Qing army had tens of thousands of cavalry, and Lu Xiangsheng was surrounded by thousands of Ming troops on three floors inside and outside.Lu Xiangsheng commanded the soldiers and fought desperately. "From the morning to the end (six hours), the guns were exhausted." In the end, all the soldiers of the Ming army died in battle, but Lu Xiangsheng was left with several wounds in his body. He still carried the three-foot sword and killed dozens of Qing soldiers with his own hands.Under the knife, arrow and spear, Lu Xiangsheng died heroically.
Such a martyr of the Ming Dynasty who died on the battlefield, after Gao Qiqian fled back to the city, he actually covered up his heroic death in battle.Yang Sichang, a villain, also wanted to report his "whereabouts are unknown" to instruct Lu Xiangsheng to "run away".In the end, when the local elders found the body of the great hero, Yang Sichang actually detained him for more than 80 days in a row.
Lu Xiangsheng was only thirty-nine years old when he died.Later, more than 100 people in his family died in national disasters, which can be described as a loyal family.Lu Xiangsheng's poems are all very good. His "Qiandiao" is strong and intense, and has the legacy of Yue Wumu: "Scratch your head and ask Tianmo Juque. When will it snow when there is hatred in your life. Tianzhu is lonely and suspicious. Empty There is a tongue. Sorrow comes alone and blood is spilled. The world cracks when the horn is drawn. The bear and the fox are stunned. Jueying Jiaocong looks and chases. It is really quick. The general should take Yan Ran."
After the Qing army plundered Hebei, they rushed to Shandong, slaughtered and looted everywhere, and captured Jinan, the fortified city, and captured Zhu Youshu, the clan king of the Ming Dynasty.Not to mention, the Qing army launched a massacre in Jinan, nearly 160,000 people were killed, and the entire city was robbed.
At this time, there were more than one hundred thousand Ming Dynasty King Qin troops in various places, led by academicians Liu Yuliang and Chen Xinjia.
Although there were many people, they timidly followed the Qing army all the way, not daring to attack at all.In February of the next year, Dorgon and others took countless gold and silver belongings and hundreds of thousands of captive Han people and livestock from Tianjin to the northeast.The Ming generals all watched from a distance, and none of them dared to attack when the Qing army was halfway across the canal, and watched the Qing army leave with full load.
In this Jilu invasion, the Qing army conquered more than 70 cities, killed more than 100 officials and generals, captured three members of the clan including King De alive, and killed more than 200,000 civilians.The Qing army also besieged Gaoyang when they entered this time. At that time, Sun Chengzong, the former cabinet minister and Minister of the Ministry of War, who had retired at home, was still over seventy years old, and he still stood up and led the people in the city to resist.Two days after the bloody battle, the old master was captured by the Qing army.He kowtowed in the direction of Beijing, and when the guards were unprepared, he committed suicide by throwing himself.His sons, nephews and grandchildren of nearly 20 family members died fighting the Qing soldiers.
Afterwards, in the late autumn of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the Qing army raided Shandong once again after the Songjin War, killing Lu Wang Zhu Yipai (captured and committed suicide).The Qing army fought for more than eight months, captured nearly 400,000 Han people, looted countless property, and returned full of looting.
This fifth entrance raid was also the last large-scale invasion before the Manchu Qing entered the customs.
Since Yang Sichang came to power, he lost his master and lost his land. For this reason, the official was impeached. Emperor Chongzhen thought it was himself who promoted Yang Sichang himself.At the same time, he continued to favor this scholar and courtier, and made him responsible for appraising the "crime of accidents committed by civil and military officials" and tracking down the responsibilities of guarding officials in various places since the entry of the Qing soldiers.Yang Sichang worked very hard and listed the five crimes in detail: losing opportunity while defending the border, ruining the city, losing the feudal feudal title, losing the commander, allowing the enemy to leave the fortress, and then arresting people according to the crime, Daxing prison, and killing the governor, general soldier, There are thirty-six officials including the director, and he, the most important commander in the court, has no responsibility.For a while, there was an uproar between the government and the opposition.
The Qing army plundered away, and the Ming court was slightly relieved.Yang Sichang was not idle, and at the beginning of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, he came up with an idea to train elite soldiers from the border soldiers of various towns. After "precise" calculations, the number could reach more than 700,000.Emperor Chongzhen was very satisfied with this number, and felt that if he really had more than 700,000 tiger and wolf soldiers in his hands, he should be confident enough to suppress thieves and captives.However, it is easy to talk but extremely difficult to act.There are 700,000 troops for training, where will the military salary come from?In the tenth year of Chongzhen's tenth year, the "Suppression of Salary" tax was increased.
Yang Sichang naturally has a way: send more "practice salaries".Soon more than seven million taels of silver were collected.Most of the hard-earned money of these people was wasted. Generals and officials from all over the country risked their lives to falsely report the number of soldiers.When the consequences were even worse, excessive expropriation and extortion made the hungry people worse, and they abandoned their fields and fled.Therefore, the seemingly unprecedented "natural disaster" in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen was actually a man-made disaster caused by the "Great Leap Forward" by sending additional "training salaries" to collect taxes.In this way, the elite soldiers were not trained, more farmers fled, and many people joined the bandit army. The Ming government actually lost more than it gained.
After the pressure of the Qing army's invasion weakened, the Ming court naturally turned its attention to Zhang Xianzhong and other peasant troops who were "appreciating" near Gucheng, and secretly dispatched troops and generals, preparing to eliminate this group of people once and for all.
Zhang Xianzhong is a treacherous and treacherous person with many eyes and ears in the government army. He came to pre-emptively rebelled in the summer and May of the twelfth year of Chongzhen and captured Gucheng County.After hearing the news, Luo Rucai and other peasant troops joined forces and captured Fang County.The only fortunate thing is that Wang Guangen and other five leaders who surrendered to the army in Junzhou were ashamed of repeating themselves.
Xiong Wencan, the "Prime Minister" who received Zhang Xianzhong's countless gold and silver treasures, heard that the bandit army had rebelled, and was struck by thunder, so he hurriedly sent Zuo Liangyu's troops from Xiangyang to fight against Fang County.
The food supply of the Ming army was scarce, and they had to pick wild fruits to satisfy their hunger besides killing horses along the way.The Ming army marched hard for ten days and arrived in Fangxian County. They fell into Zhang Xianzhong's ambush at Boji Village, and more than 10,000 people were killed.Zuo Liangyu was so desperate that he escaped with only a thousand people.Part of the peasant army who "surrendered" earlier in Junzhou heard the news of the defeat of the army, and except for Wang Guangen, all of them defected.
Emperor Chongzhen was so angry that he went crazy, immediately cut off Xiong Wencan's official position, and arrested him and sent him to prison.Sitting in prison, the old bear almost regretted dying, hit the wall and slapped himself, regretting that he had spoken big words in front of the eunuch.Otherwise, he is now enjoying prosperity and wealth in Guangdong and Guangxi.Yang Sichang is a fine man, so of course he will not protect him (of course, when Yang Sichang also said that Xiong Wencan "worked hard and made great achievements", he was actually protecting the old bear privately to show that he was innocent).Xiong Wencan was imprisoned for more than a year, convicted of a capital crime, and sent to Xishi to beheaded during the autumn judgment.
After thinking about it, I felt that it was too nerve-wracking for the thieves to make a prairie fire all over the place, and there was really no suitable talent among the courtiers, so Emperor Chongzhen directly instructed the "darling baby" Yang Sichang to serve as a cabinet minister (his post as Minister of the Ministry of War) At that time, Fu Zonglong, the former governor of Sichuan, served as the governor of the dynasty and served as the "front-line commander-in-chief" of the bandit suppression.
He has been "Zhuge Liang" in the court for several years, and the emperor did not pursue many major mistakes. Now he assigns himself to do things, Yang Sichang is really bad and can't excuse himself.He hurried to the palace, made an ugly display of his loyalty and bravery, and said:
"The king's words don't stay at home, the courtiers are ordered, and they set off in the evening!"
Emperor Chongzhen was delighted when he heard the words: "If you can do this, why should I worry about it?"
The two monarchs and ministers staged a "moving" show.
The next day, Chongzhen issued an edict to reward Yang Sichang with a large sum of gold, silver and silk satin. He also gave Yang Sichang a banquet to see him off. From then on, it will be peaceful, and the period of return will be education and people's livelihood." Yanmei is an indispensable thing in life. It is compared to the prime minister (the cabinet scholar), which means that Lao Yang is a general with the respect of the prime minister, and he can establish Zhou Yafu (his battalion) in the Han Dynasty. I hope that he will succeed in one fell swoop, and that he will still assist the emperor to educate and support the people's livelihood after returning to the court.It was the first time that Emperor Chongzhen opened up the world by pouring wine and giving poems to see off his ministers.Yang Sichang was so moved that he bowed and wept, vowing to succeed.After parting, he was given a meal by the emperor.
Therefore, Yang Sichang was majestic and murderous, and led his army to hold high the flag of "General Yanmei", and set off from Beijing to Xiangyang City in a mighty way.On the twenty-ninth day of the eighth lunar month, Yang Sichang built his base camp in Xiangyang.On the first day of October, the three armies swore an oath. Huguang Governor Fang Kongzhao, General Soldier Zuo Liangyu, Chen Hongfan and others came to see and obey orders.
Because of Zuo Liangyu's generosity and eloquence, Yang Sichang admired this martial artist very much. Emperor Chongzhen of Shangshu planned to let him hang the "general seal of suppressing thieves" as an honor. Playing favors made Zuo Liangyu work for him in the future.
Zuo Liangyu received the seal of "General Ping the Thieves" issued by Emperor Chongzhen from Da Nei, and it was like a shot in the arm. Yudu went straight to Sichuan and defeated Zhang Xianzhong at Taiping Manao Mountain (in today's Wanyuan County, Sichuan).
Seven members of Lao Zhang's own family were also captured alive by the officers and soldiers.
Zhang Xianzhong was defeated again and again. One month later, he was intercepted and killed by the He Renlong Department of the Shaanxi government army on the way to escape, and more than 2,000 people from his left and right battalions surrendered.In panic, Zhang Xianzhong could only flee into the deep mountains and old forests, where he lived by picking wild fruits like a gorilla, with only hundreds of disabled people around him.
When Yang Sichang heard the news, he also became energetic, and urged Zuo Liangyu to "pursue the remaining brave men" and let him wipe out Zhang Xianzhong's remnants in one fell swoop.Zuo Liangyu, a mighty general, thinks he is intelligent and meritorious, he doesn't listen to orders at all, he sleeps high in the camp, and he refuses to send troops to search the mountains, forests and dense valleys.
Yang Sichang, a narrow-minded man, immediately wrote to Chen Xinjia, then Minister of the Ministry of War in the court, suggesting that Shaanxi General He Renlong replace Zuo Liangyu to hang the seal of "General Ping Zei".This seal is very powerful, whoever hangs this seal can "presidential department", and the generals of the same level must obey the command of the seal.Emperor Chongzhen obeyed Yang Sichang's words and issued an imperial edict to comply.But Yang Sichang had no bones in his chest, and felt that it would be a taboo in war to change his mind before the battle, so he changed his mind and reported to the court to ask for his order to be withdrawn.This way, he offended both of them: Zuo Liangyu hated him for wanting to seize the seal, and He Renlong hated him for talking too much.After this, the soldiers and the commander-in-chief were of one mind, and no one was responsible for the conquest. The big thief Zhang Xianzhong finally escaped with his life and fled to hide in the Hubei area.
In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Luo Rucai (Cao Cao), who had been defeated repeatedly, joined Zhang Xianzhong's remnant soldiers. After discussion, the two reached an agreement that the only way out was to flee to Sichuan because of the gathering of officials and troops in Hubei.
When Yang Sichang got the news, he immediately issued an article asking the officers and soldiers of the Fang Guoan Ministry of Sichuan to "strike head-on" against the two groups of peasant troops, which numbered only three or four thousand.However, the peasant army was quick and crossed the Changjiang River before Fang Guoan's subordinates.At that time, there were as many as 5,000 Sichuan troops in Shoujing Fort, all of them huddled on the top of the mountain, avoiding the enemy without fighting, and the troops of Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai were able to enter Sichuan calmly.
Originally, Yang Sichang's original plan was to drive the enemy into Sichuan. He thought that the mountains and valleys in the land of Shu would trap the enemy after the bandits were forced in.Unexpectedly, after entering Sichuan, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others were like ducks in water, and became more powerful (for details, please refer to the book "Bringing Luohui back with only a golden weapon").
Sichuan fell everywhere, and bandits were rampant. Shao Jiechun, governor of Sichuan, and Zheng Chongjian, governor of Shaanxi, acted as scapegoats. One was beheaded and the other was dismissed.
Zhang Xianzhong and other peasant troops who had been burning, killing and looting in Sichuan for less than half a year had high morale. At the end of the 14th year of Chongzhen, they dragged several officers and troops around for a long time, and then prepared to turn around and enter Huguang again.Ming generals chased Zhang Xianzhong fiercely like a tiger in Huanghou City, Kaixian County.As a result, the army was defeated, and the fierce tiger nephews were all trapped in the battle.
Because Zuo Liangyu deeply hated Yang Sichang, he didn't obey orders at all. Originally, he was supposed to go out of Yunyang, Hubei and enter Sichuan to block the bandit army, but instead he commanded the troops under his command to march towards Xing'an, Shaanxi, deliberately avoiding Zhang Xianzhong.Taking advantage of the victory, the peasant army went out of Kuimen and returned to Hubei via Wushan.
After Zhang Xianzhong's peasant army rushed to Xiangyang, he learned that the number of defenders in Xiangyang was very small, so he selected 20 cavalry to dress up as officers and soldiers, and entered Xiangyang with the letter of talisman handed over from the Ming army.On the night of the fourth day of the second month of the lunar calendar, these 20 people first slashed and killed the guarding soldiers with knives in the city, and then shouted to kill.There was great chaos in the city, and a large army of bandits outside the city poured in through the open and unguarded city gate. Yang Sichang painstakingly managed the fortified city, known as the fortified city, which was owned by Zhang Xianzhong overnight.During this period, military reserves piled up like a mountain, and all of them have become Zhang Xianzhong's spoils of war.Thousands of defenders were caught off guard and disarmed and surrendered at once.
Zhang Xianzhong sat down in the majestic and majestic Xiangyang Palace, and called someone to take Zhu Yiming, the King of Xiangyang, who had been paralyzed from fright, to the hall. I hate you, and I don't want to kill you. I just want to kill Yang Sichang. This man is far away in Shu, so I can't kill him right now. I can only use your head. My lord, let's go, please drink this wine."
The King of Xiangyang took the wine glass tremblingly, just as he lowered his head to drink, Zhang Xianzhong drew out the steel knife, swung it fiercely, and the prince's head was in a different place.Then, Zhang Xianzhong took the torch from the soldier and threw it back into the curtain. A big fire burned the Xiangyang palace to nothing.At the same time, he ordered to kill Guiyang King Zhu Changfa and all the male and female family members in the Xiangyang mansion, and plundered the court ladies as camp prostitutes for the brothers to rape day and night, and killed and ate them all before leaving.
In order to show his "benevolence and righteousness", Zhang Xianzhong opened the treasury before leaving and released 150,000 taels of silver to help the hungry people.
A month before this, Li Zicheng had just killed Fu Wang Zhu Changxun in Henan.
Henan was originally a rich town, but years of disasters, and the seven vassals of the Ming court enfeoffed here, the land was highly concentrated, and the poor people either died or fled.When Li Zicheng entered Henan, he had only about 1,000 soldiers under his command, so he was weak.Due to the imposition of taxes by the government of the Ming Dynasty, the local people could not bear the oppression of the government and rebelled one after another. It grew to tens of thousands of people in a few months. The peasant army conquered Yiyang, Yongning, Yanshi, Lingbao, Baofeng and other places in one fell swoop, killing the Ming dynasty Shi Wanan Wang and hundreds of officials from various counties.It was also at this time that two "intellectuals", Song Xiance and Zhu Jinxing, joined Li Zicheng's peasant army.Zhu Jinxing is a "juren" who broke the law and was demoted, and Song Xiance is a warlock, and the two are highly valued.In particular, Song Xiance first presented the prophecy of "Eighteen Sons of God", which made Li Zicheng very happy: "The one surnamed Li should be the emperor!" "Real Person", compiled only from contradictory records in historical notes.
The peasant army attacked and plundered in Henan, and the biggest target was naturally Zhu Changxun, the king of Fu in Luoyang.This person is the third son of Ming Shenzong, born to the favorite concubine Zheng Guifei, he almost took away the crown prince of Ming Guangzong at that time."Three cases" in the late Ming Dynasty
, Tracing back to the source, they all have a lot to do with this person and his mother.In the twenty-ninth year of Wanli, Ming Shenzong named his beloved son the King of Fortune, and the wedding fee amounted to 300,000 gold. The magnificent palace was built in Luoyang, which was ten times more expensive than the usual royal system.Hundreds of millions of money were all encircled by King Fu, and Emperor Shenzong granted more than 40,000 hectares of land at one time.After he came to the country, King Fu expropriated and extorted money, invaded the small people, tried every means to search, and never did bad things.After Chongzhen came to the throne, because the Fu Wang was a member of the imperial family, he was very respectful to him.
This fat prince who weighed three hundred catties closed his pavilion all day long, drank fine wine, prostituted himself with prostitutes, spent his days and nights, so he could be regarded as hiding his strength and biding his time.When bandits were rampant in Shaanxi, and locusts were plagued by drought year after year in Henan, the people ate each other, King Fu ignored them, and still collected taxes, and didn't even show basic relief.The conscripts from all directions passed through Luoyang, and the soldiers said angrily: "Luoyang is rich in the imperial palace, and Shenzong spent all the wealth in the world to enrich the king, but let us go to war on an empty stomach and kill the thieves, how unfair!" Lu Weiqi, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, went to the palace many times to persuade King Fu, advising him that even if it was only for himself, he should open the treasury and provide some money to help the people.King Fu, like his father Ming Shenzong, was addicted to money and refused to listen.
On the 19th day of the first lunar month in the 14th year of Chongzhen (1641), Li Zicheng led his army to attack Luoyang with cannons (catapults).
After all, Luoyang City is extremely strong, and the peasant army can't attack it for a whole day.In the evening, there were hundreds of Ming soldiers galloping on the city wall, and the peasant army below the city responded.Therefore, because of resentment, the defenders of the Ming Dynasty suddenly tied Wang Yinchang, who was in command of the defenders, to the city, ready to surrender the city.
After hearing the news, Wang Shaoyu, the commander-in-chief, rushed to give an explanation.The mutiny soldiers shouted: "The rebel army is already under the city, what can you do to us, Mr. Wang!" For a while, the rebel soldiers killed several Ming soldiers defending the city, and many fell into the city because of shock.
Seeing this, the peasant army outside the city took advantage of the chaos and climbed up the city. The rebellious Ming army stretched out their hands to lead the ladder, and Luoyang fell immediately.Seeing that the situation was not good, Wang Yinchang turned his horse and ran away (Emperor Chongzhen arrested him, Ling Chi was late in the city).
The fat King Fu and his family hid in the secluded Ying'en Temple in the outskirts, still trying to survive.His eldest son, Zhu Yousong, fled from Suocheng with quick feet, and was later welcomed by Ming officials to Nanjing, namely the "Hongguang Regime".
Others escaped, but King Fu did not have this blessing.Soon, he was arrested by the peasant army and escorted back to the city.
On the way, I met LV Weiqi, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, who was being executed.Lu Shangshu encouraged: "The name is very important, the prince must not humiliate himself!" After speaking, Lu Shangshu scolded the thief for being unyielding and died bravely.Fu Wang bears a bun. When he saw Li Zicheng, he immediately lay down on the ground, kowtowed like garlic, knocked his head black and purple, and begged for mercy.
Li Zicheng also laughed. Seeing the three-hundred-jin fat prince kneeling in the hall and crying for mercy, he had an idea and asked his men to tie him up, strip him and wash him, and then he took a few deer from the back garden and slaughtered them. They are cooked together in a huge pot, called "Fu Lu Banquet", and shared with soldiers.There are all kinds of experts in all walks of life in the peasant army. A few soldiers who were former chefs were enthusiastic when they heard the news. They stepped forward with knives and shaved lightly. After cleaning the feces inside and out, put him into a big pot to simmer slowly like a hairy crab, and watch him roll up and down in the white soup seasoning with a smile. A good meal.
Afterwards, Li Zicheng's subordinates transported the gold, silver, treasures and food in the Fuwang's mansion. Thousands of people pulled the carts for several days, and all of them were transported away by air.
Luoyang and Xiangyang fell together, and the two kings were killed. Yang Sichang, who was in the army governor in Shashi, Hubei, was terrified and committed suicide by taking poison in fear of crime. He was fifty-four years old. "History of the Ming Dynasty" records that he "died without eating", and there are notes that he died of a serious illness, both of which are inaccurate.Fallen into the two domains, he knew that he had no way out and could only die.In fact, Yang Sichang was not industrious, but he was an official and a young talent. His actions were too complicated.During the few years he was in charge of the army, Lu Xiang was promoted to death, suppressed Sun Chuanting, ran on Hong Chengchou, raised wages for the disabled, and actually cut off the Ming Dynasty.
It was heard that the court, in order to cover up his mistakes in employing people, Emperor Chongzhen did not pursue his crimes, and even bestowed him with the title of Prince and Taifu for "suppressing thieves".In the early Qing Dynasty, his son Yang Shansong was not a fuel-efficient lamp, and wrote "The Orphan Calls to Heaven", trying his best to cover up, saying that his father died of a normal illness and did not commit suicide in fear of crime.Fortunately, "the ministers of the museum were not misled (guided)" by him, and Yang Sichang was not described as a loyal minister who "worked without fault".Later, when Zhang Xianzhong captured Wuling, he dug up the tombs of the seventh generation of Yang Sichang, smashed the bones and discarded them, and sent soldiers to dismember the corpses of Yang Sichang and his wife into eight pieces with big knives, and then burned them in coffins.
Occupy Xiangyang, a surprise attack is a fluke.After Zhang Xianzhong had a good time, he was afraid that the Ming army of Zuo Liangyu in the Yunyang area would come to attack, so after looting and burning, he crossed the Han River and went east. After taking down Guangzhou (Huangchuan, Henan), he turned into Kesuizhou, Hubei.Then, he led his troops to flee to Xinyang area.
Zuo Liangyu led his army into Henan to pursue and suppress them, and Zhang Xianzhong took the opportunity to kill them as far as Yunyang.However, Luo Rucai's troops did not move in Henan, and joined forces with Li Zicheng to change their courts.Zhang Xianzhong lost a powerful arm, and his army was greatly reduced. Soon he encountered his old rival Zuo Liangyu's tribe in Xinyang, and was defeated in the fight, almost annihilating his entire army.
Zhang Xianzhong did not dare to vote for Li Zicheng because he had a feud with Li Zicheng at the Xingyang General Assembly, so he went to Anhui to plunder and join hands with the "Geliyan" and other ministries.After capturing Luzhou and Wuwei Prefecture, "Ge Liyan" and others moved to Henan to defect to Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong had to prepare to re-enter Hubei.But in the Battle of Qianshan, he was defeated by the famous general Huang Degong, and he shrank in place for a while, not daring to move.
Because Li Zicheng suddenly defeated the official army in Xiaogan, Hanyang and other places in Hubei, Zuo Liangyu fled to Chizhou (Guichi, Anhui), which gave Zhang Xianzhong a good opportunity.He immediately led his army from Qianshan, marched westward, even conquered Huangmei and Qizhou, and killed dozens of Xiong Wencan's family members who lived there after breaking through Qishui.
Old Zhang is really black-hearted. When he pretended to surrender, he entered Xiong Wencan's camp. As long as Old Xiong gave an order, his head would move.Today, he avenged his kindness and killed the old Xiong's family who had advocated appeasing him before, leaving no one left.
In the summer of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong captured Chongchang Wuchang in one fell swoop and killed the vassal king of Chu.Zhu Huakui, king of Chu, is also a money fanatic. The palace has millions of gold and silver, and he is reluctant to spend a single penny to recruit soldiers and pay.As a result, after the fall of Wuchang, Zhang Xianzhong saw so much gold and silver in the Chu Palace, and sighed: "This old man Zhu is really stupid. He is reluctant to spend so much money on recruiting soldiers and buying horses, and put it here to be robbed!" So he ordered people to spend it on Zhu Huakui. Stuffed several pieces of silver ingots, threw the bearded old prince into the water and drowned.
In Wuchang, Zhang Xianzhong selected all young and strong men over the age of 15 and under the age of 20 as soldiers, picked out beautiful young women and sent them to the barracks for gang rape, and then massacred them in the city of Wuchang.Because there were too many people, the bandit soldiers' arms were swollen from killing, so they came up with a plan to open the Hanyang Gate and pretend to release them.The people thought that they could escape their lives, so they rushed out of the gate one after another. Zhang Xianzhong's bandit soldiers forced tens of thousands of people into the river and drowned them. , people are thick and fat." Hundreds of thousands of Wuchang people were killed by the bandit army.
After occupying Wuchang, Zhang Xianzhong established the "Daxi" puppet regime.Since Li Zicheng's army already occupied Hanyang, Zhang Xianzhong knew that he could not defeat Lao Li, so he soon led the main force to attack Hunan, take all of Hunan, and develop to Jiangxi.
The Chongzhen Emperor made a big mistake in the Wusong Brocade War and wrongly commanded the Qing army to enter several times, looting wantonly, taking money and murdering many people, but basically did not get a piece of land, and retreated outside the pass when the weather was hot.For this reason, "the emperor is not in a hurry to eunuchs", Huang Taiji and the large group of Manchu nobles are not in a hurry, but his subordinates such as Zu Kefa and Zhang Cunren are worried about the demotion of the Han people. In this way, these "traitors and traitors" can also become the founding heroes of the new dynasty.
Around 1640 (the thirteenth year of Chongzhen), Zhang Cunren, the "Government Procuratorate" of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, offered "three strategies" to attack Ming: the best strategy is to go straight to Beijing and separate Hebei; the middle strategy is to go straight to Shanhaiguan and cut off Beijing and Ningjin The "throat" between them; the worst strategy is to station troops in Guangning and steadily seize the land of Ningjin.
At this time, since Lin Dan Khan of Chahar, Mongolia was also defeated by the Qing army, Monan Mongolia belonged to himself, and Huang Taiji had no worries.
After thinking about it, Huang Taiji finally decided to adopt Zhang Cunren's last strategy: to capture Ning Jin.For this reason, the traitors Zu Kefa and Zhang Cunren immediately got busy, first building a city in Yizhou, using it as an outpost, training troops in the field, and ensuring a solid logistical support for the future war.Yizhou is between Guangning and Jinzhou (only ninety miles away from Jinzhou).
Therefore, in the summer of 1640, Huang Taiji himself went to Yizhou to observe the terrain, and led his troops to Jinzhou, bombarding the Ming army in the city with red cannons.While the Ming army was guarding behind closed doors and dared not go out, the Qing army cut off all the food around the city and transported it back to Yizhou as a military food reserve.
Yizhou, an important strategic location, Fang Yizao, the governor of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, proposed to the court three years ago to rebuild it, and no one cared about it.So far, it has become the foothold of the Qing army's attack.
Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing heard that Huang Taiji was moving again, and ordered Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, to leave for Jinzhou as soon as possible.Originally, Hong Chengchou had been fighting bandits in Shaanxi and other places. Because of his great strategy, Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, cooperated with him and won many battles and victories in the eleventh year of Chongzhen.However, due to being squeezed out by Yang Sichang, he was dispatched as governor of Jiliao in the 12th year of Chongzhen. The opponent in the war changed from the peasant army to the Manchu army.
Hong Chengchou was indeed one of the rare civil servants in the Ming Dynasty who truly had general strategy.After he went to Shanhaiguan for inspection, he immediately trained soldiers and placed elite soldiers in the former guards and the middle and rear offices outside Shanhaiguan, in order to make Wu Sangui the commander-in-chief. Xingshan, Tashan, Ningyuan, Qiantunwei, Zhonghousuo, Zhongqiansuo and other eight cities have nearly 80,000 elite soldiers, greatly strengthening the strength of the Ningjin defense line.
Facing the menacing Huang Taiji Manchu Qing army, Hong Chengchou judged the situation. After learning that Wu Sangui and other 10,000 Ming troops were dispatched to Songshan and Xingshan for help, he ordered the commander-in-chief Cao Bianjiao, Ma Ke and others to lead 20,000 troops. After leaving customs, we arrived in Ningyuan on May 16.
Wu Sangui, who arrived at Xingshan first, was very brave and led his army to fight against the Qing army. Unfortunately, he won first and then lost. He was almost lost in the battle, and thousands of Ming soldiers were killed.
The Qing army was very patient in besieging Ningjin this time. They were already prepared for a "protracted war" and regularly rotated soldiers for three months to ensure morale and offensive capabilities.At the same time, the Qing army gradually cleared the Ming army fortress outside Jinzhou City step by step.
The Ming army in Jinzhou City did not show weakness, and they went out of the city to fight against the Qing army many times.
The Qing army and the Ming army continued to transport grain and attack tools to Ningjin, fighting a war of attrition.
While encircling Jinzhou, the Qing army still made many omissions. During the battle, nearly 20,000 shi of grain was transported into the city by the Ming army, which greatly boosted the morale of the Ming army.
In July, Hong Chengchou himself led Cao Bianjiao, Ma Ke, Wu Sangui, and Liu Zhaoji to lead 40,000 troops to Xingshan to fight the Qing army. Wu Sangui won alone, and the Qing army retreated.As a result, the Qing army's attempt to concentrate on besieging Jinzhou was frustrated, and the Ming and Qing armies formed a strategic stalemate between Songshan, Xingshan and Jinzhou.
Hong Chengchou was very confident after the first battle in Xingshan, and hurriedly went to the court, requesting to send 150,000 troops and deliver food and grass that could last for a year, so that he could finally win the war.At the same time, he mobilized flexibly. In order to save food, he only left a group of more than 10,000 troops from Wu Sangui in the Song and Xing areas to hold back the Qing army, and the rest of the troops returned to the pass immediately to recuperate.He also ordered the Xuanfu, Datong, and Miyun generals to go out of the customs, preparing to wait until the next year when all the armies are assembled and complete their achievements in one battle, and fight the Qing army decisively.
The traitor Zhang Cunren had good intentions for his Manchu master.He found that there were many gaps in the Qing army's encirclement of Jinzhou, and immediately persuaded Huang Taiji to severely punish the lax Qing generals, strengthen the siege, dig deep trenches outside Jinzhou City, build more battle platforms, and take Songshan, Xingshan and Tashan first. three cities.
Huang Taiji "corrected if he knew the crime", and ordered to strictly prevent the Ming army from transporting grain and grass from outside Jinzhou into the city, and surrounded the city so that the pool was impassable.
Because Na Muqi, the leader of the Mongolian army who was guarding the outer city of Jinzhou by the Ming army, was lured to surrender, six or seven thousand members of the two battalions of Mongolian soldiers and their families surrendered to the Qing soldiers. The outer city of Jinzhou was once captured by the Qing army.Thanks to Zu Dashou led his troops to fight to the death, and finally regained the outer city.However, many city walls in the outer city were damaged, and Jinzhou's defense ability was greatly reduced. Basically, the Ming army could only rely on the inner city to defend.
During the stalemate, in the first month of the 14th year of Chongzhen (1641), the Ming soldiers who were transferred from Xuanfu, Datong and other places mutinied and fled, and it took a long time for the chaos to be resolved.
Knowing that Jinzhou had been completely isolated by the Qing army, Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing was very anxious, fearing that this strategic location would be lost, he urged Hong Chengchou to march in immediately.无奈之下，洪承畴只能力催各道兵加紧出关，最终于四月中旬齐集于宁远城，共计为大同总兵王朴、山海关总兵马科、东协总兵曹变蛟、中协总兵白广恩、阳和总兵杨国柱以及王廷臣和吴三桂七个总兵官，共十二万多人。
四月二十五日，明军与清军在锦州以南十五里开外开战，虽然是在地势上以低攻高，明军英勇，清军虽顽强，仍然伤亡惨重。
六月间，洪承畴挥兵六万攻清军于松山，夺其三营，杀伤清兵甚众。从当时情况讲，明军已经取得战争主动权，围困锦州的清军开始动摇。
关键时刻，皇太极手下的汉族将领石延柱献上“妙策”，竭力劝说主子皇太极不要为小败而产生沮丧情绪，把“围城打援”当成作战原则，坚持下去肯定胜利。
洪承畴此时很清醒，他上奏朝廷，决定应该在保持战场优势的情况下，在松、杏一带与清军相持。多年与女真人交手的祖大寿在锦州城内也向京城送信，嘱诫明军切勿轻易与清军野战，即使交战，也应用车阵逼之，使其骑兵不得驰击。
同时，他还表示锦州城内粮食充足，大可支持半年。
战地统帅洪承畴与锦州守卫主将祖大寿如此表示，朝内的兵部尚书陈新甲却坚持速战。这个吏选入朝当尚书的无谋浅视之人被小胜冲昏头脑，力劝崇祯帝下诏催诸将速战速决。崇祯帝偏听偏信，经不住陈新甲激劝，立刻下旨让洪承畴马上进兵解锦州之围。陈新甲为了大张其事，还派出亲信往军中监视，死催出兵。
松山之地，位于锦州与杏山之间，实是宁锦防线的咽喉要地。洪承畴得到御旨，不敢不遵，只得下决心在松山与清军展开决战。
由于清兵在锦州南的乳峰山东结营，洪承畴就下令曹变蛟率军屯于乳峰山西，以斗其势。明军数万大军，在松山与乳峰之间连扎七座大营，遍掘长壕，密排火器，列马布阵，旗甲鲜明。
进围锦州的清军见明军如此势盛，不少人内心十分惶恐。
锦州城内祖大寿敢战，他于八月二日首先开城自城内杀出，与围外入内的明军联手，予以包围锦州的清兵严重杀伤，但宣府总兵杨国柱也在战中阵亡，明军损失不小。
双方大战七、八天，各自损兵折将，基本持平。
身在沈阳的多尔衮坐不住，他不顾自己严重的鼻出血，用大棉花团子塞住鼻子，自率三千精骑，“御驾亲征”，飞驰六天六夜赶到松山前线，亲自指挥战斗。
清军不惜血本，后备军预备队一齐上，总共十二、三万人马。与之相较，连同守城明军算在内，松山一带的明军大概也是这个数，双方军力差不多，都无明显优势。
双军相较，就看精神头了。
皇太极在松山结阵。他登高察望，仔细观察许久，与左右满汉将领切磋半天，终于找出明军漏洞：洪承畴明军过于集中，前锋兵甚锐，后守薄弱。于是，皇太极立刻布署，决定断绝明军粮道，下令清军在松山与杏山之间多处立营，挖壕筑台，围困明军。
如此一来，清军由被动变为主动，整盘皆活。
如果此时撤兵，洪承畴可能不会损失太大。但崇祯帝不表态，洪承畴只能死扛。当时，大同监军张斗看出些清军端倪，建议分出一只兵马在长岭山驻守，以防止清军包抄明军后路。洪承畴没有采纳。即使如此，他此时趁清军新来援兵立足未稳赌一把大的，果断命令明军即刻出击，兴许还能出奇制胜。但他没有，呆等“战机”。“战机”不来，清军却把杏山、松山切割开来，明军后路被堵。由此，自宁远经塔山运抵杏山的粮道也就塞掉。
明军上下得知此事，军心立刻动摇。
洪承畴不愧是谋划老帅，他本来安排诸将在城内稍事休整后，转天白天倾锐一战。由于马上要绝粮，这就等于“背水一战”，士兵只要有必死之心，在兵力相当情况下，兴许能杀败清兵。
恰恰就在这时，朝廷兵部尚书陈新甲派出的心腹监军张若麒在宁远发来一封急信，让洪承畴率诸将先回宁远就食，吃饱后整兵回战。先前他一直死催洪承畴出战，这节骨眼他又要洪承畴撤军回宁远，完全是瞎指挥。最要命的是，他这一封信，大大动摇了松山城内的各位明军将领，不少人不想冒险，要求率部先回宁远休整持粮，再回来解锦州之围。
洪寿畴坚持已见，诸将议论纷纷。洪承畴无奈，只得自己守松山，听任诸将分道突围。
大同总兵王朴先逃，各总兵趁黑胡乱出城遁走。结果，严阵以待的清军在半路迎头截杀，杀死全无斗志的明军无数。由于夜深看不见道路，不少明军在海边逃走时正遇涨潮，淹死许多。明将曹变蛟英勇，转天深夜，他率所部自乳峰山而下，荡清营数次，有一次还奔入皇太极御营，几乎要了这位清帝性命。可惜夜见昏黑，曹变蛟本人中箭，只得带伤逃回松山城中。
松山、杏山一带，到处都是明军的尸体。明军约六万人被杀，只有三万残兵逃回关内。可称的是，清兵随后三日搜杀，明军残兵大多视死如归，基本无投降者。据被皇太极当作人质带在自己身边的朝鲜世子回忆：“汉人视死如归，鲜有乞和者。（他们）拥荷其将，立于海中，伸臂翼蔽，俾（将领）不中箭，不失礼敬，死而后已……汉兵（明兵）初势极壮，用兵亦奇，乃以无粮分兵出送，取此丧败，气挫势穷”。
大胜之后，清军在进围杏山的同时，把松山围成铁桶一般。
明廷虽下令范志完代洪承畴为蓟辽总督，逃出的吴三桂又在宁远一带招集败亡残兵，但一直没能再有力量组织一只有力援军，明廷听凭松山、锦州被围。
松山城内，此时还有万余精兵。洪承畴与曹变蛟、王廷臣以及辽东巡抚丘民仰一共守城。坚持数月，一直到转年正月（崇祯十五年），城内食尽，并无任何明朝援军到来的消息。结果，二月十八日，守城的松山副将夏承德暗中降清，忽然率兵把洪承畴等人活捉，然后开门献城。
当时，皇太极已回沈阳。闻胜讯后，他即刻下令，将洪承畴押解沈阳，其余明将，包括曹变蛟、王廷臣以及明军守城官校及兵卒，近一万二千余人，全部就地处决，平毁松山城。
别人不讲，曹变蛟乃明朝大将曹文诏的侄子，骁勇绝人，在陕西等地曾经大破贼军上百次，农民军对之闻名丧胆。特别是南原一战，曹变蛟率军攻杀，农民军尸骸相叠，李自成仅与七骑走免，余众皆降。正是由于他的英勇，洪承畴出任蓟辽总督时特意带他出关。至此，竟然被奸贼所执，遭满人杀害，明廷又失一栋梁。
曹变蛟、王廷臣两人乃明朝总兵，其实还有求生机会，清将要二人剃头易服，归降清朝。二人表示“头可断，发不可剃！”于是相继被杀。
松山大战中，丧亡的将士皆是明朝边地百姓精兵，可称是最厚的老底军队，均在此役中赔光。
松山一失，锦州再也无望。三月八日，祖大寿率守城兵将七千人出降。这一次，他是真降，即刻被送入沈阳。皇太极善待之，并未翻脸杀他。但是，锦州守兵没那么好运，除祖大寿亲信部将数十人以外，几千明军士卒皆被处决。同时被杀的，还有一直忠于明朝的两千多蒙古士兵。这些蒙古人力大，满清兵骗去他们的兵器，以招宴为名，在城外以铁骑逼之，箭射刀砍。蒙古兵再勇武，赤手空拳，打不过刀枪箭矢，皆格斗而死。
继锦州后，塔山、杏山两城，相继落入清军之手。明朝山海关以外的八座坚城，如今已失其半。
祖大寿入沈阳后，在大清门外下跪请罪，向皇太极表示罪该万死。有汉人降将进言，说祖大寿反复，应该杀掉。皇太极认为可以用祖大寿在日后招降他的外甥吴三桂，不听，仍然待之以礼，让他日后“竭力事大清”。日后，祖大寿一系兄弟子侄皆成为满清鹰犬，为之前驱效力，立功不少。直至顺治十三年，祖大寿才病死，清朝葬以一品官员礼。值得一提的是，最早他作为人质留在清营的儿子祖可法（有称为其义子），翻蹄亮掌为满清忙乎多年，也在祖大寿病死的同一年病死，当时的爵位是子爵。这两父子，也是明清之间的一个奇观。
至于洪承畴，刚刚被俘时确实大骂不屈，只求速死。所以，明廷在北京还为他立祠纪念，以为他已经壮烈殉国。到沈阳后，不知为什么，这位崇祯皇帝的信臣腰一软，决定降了，剃发后穿满服跪于崇祯殿外向皇太极乞罪：“臣将兵由松山援锦州，曾与天兵数战，大犯天威。圣驾一至，众兵败没。臣坐困松山，粮绝兵疲，城破被擒，分当受死。蒙皇上矜怜不杀，臣知罪大，不敢入殿。”
皇太极谕之曰：“彼时尔与我军交战，各为其主，朕岂介意！朕之大胜，实乃天意。朕恩养于你，上合天道，望你尽心图报即可。”
洪承畴叩头不止。他随即被编入镶黄旗汉军。但终皇太极之世，洪承畴与祖大寿均未被重用，形同软禁。
当时，由于皇太极最宠爱的关睢宫宸妃病死，使这位女真爷们如丧考妣。先前他在松山大胜后匆匆回沈阳，也是为见她最后一面。所以，接见洪承畴和祖大寿等一批降臣降将时，皇太极还沉浸于悲痛中不能自拔。这位宸妃为皇太极生过一个儿子（皇八子），可惜二岁而殇。崇德六年九月十二日，皇太极在松锦前线正加紧指挥对明军的战斗。宸妃病重消息传来，这位皇帝转天即上路，催马挥鞭往沈阳赶。十七日，刚刚驻马喘口气，听闻宸妃病危，皇太极夜间赶路，纵马奔驰。入沈阳后，得知宸妃已经咽气。大刺激之下，皇太极数日水米不进，神经病一样，二十三日痛哭，一口气喘不上来，竟然昏死过去，差点“殉情”。此后，皇太极每每触景生情，大哭不止。这位宸妃，她的妹妹是电视剧《康熙皇帝》中的“孝庄”孝庄文皇后（即顺治帝生母，康熙帝祖母，死后谥“孝庄”），当时，这位“孝庄”是皇太极的“庄妃”。这姐俩与姑姑博尔济吉特氏均为科尔沁蒙古人，皆为皇太极的“夫人”。不过，姑姑是皇太极“大福晋”，即日后的“孝端文皇后”。科尔沁蒙古与后金结姻，原本目的是为了一起抗击察哈尔蒙古（此部曾与明朝结盟）。
皇太极还真是个情种，这么野蛮的一个满清皇帝，因思成病，竟然病入膏肓，转年11月撒手西归，死了。
《清史稿》中讲，皇太极亲自入洪承畴囚室，解自己身上貂裘为他披上，耐心温言劝降，其实子虚乌有，乃《清史稿》写作者抄袭昭梿的笔记《啸亭杂录》
的内容。直于说皇太极派庄妃色诱洪承畴，完全是《清史演义》等小说中的“瞎编”，没有任何历史根据。洪承畴本人在皇太极活着那段时间，连个正式的官职都没有，更甭提替清帝出谋划策了。他的作用，是日后多尔衮信用他，才日益显出这位降臣走狗的重要性。
皇太极病死前数月，还有件重要事情可表：崇德七年阴历十月，西藏的达赖五世派使者迢迢赶至，奉满清为“正朔”。这件事让皇太极又意外又惊喜，本来他不信佛教，如今他一反常态，一个一口阿弥陀佛，向达赖五世的使者表示自己崇信佛教，并遣使奉大批珍宝回访藏地，向达赖及班禅示好。
崇祯帝的大错之六犹豫不决的和议皇太极松锦大战一举击破明军十多万，依当代人的心态，他该问鼎中原，策马直驱。其实不然，满清虽然大胜，皇太极仍旧非常想与明朝讲和。
明清（后金）之间，长久一来，对和议最积极的，一直是后者。努尔哈赤时代不讲，小酋长刚刚得志，得地掳人日多，很想过过安稳日子与大明交好，只要中原王朝从经济上给自己好处，偃戈息兵绝非天方夜谭。自皇太极登位后，亦抱如是观点。
松锦大胜后，明廷派人来接触，皇太极在给朝鲜国王的信中就这样讲：“朕想今日我之藩服不为不多，疆域不为不广。彼（明朝）既请和，朕意欲成和事，共享太平之福。诸王、贝勒或谓明朝时势已衰，正宜乘此机会，攻取北京，安用和为。但念征战不已，死伤必重，固有所不忍。纵蒙天眷，得或一统，世岂有长生之人，子子孙孙宁有世守不绝之理！昔大金曾亦一统，今安在哉！”这些话，无一不实。清入中原后无不增饰描绘清太祖、清太宗“梦一中原”的雄才大略，皆是事后诸葛亮的锦上添花。1642年刚刚歼灭十余万明朝精兵的皇太极，绝无入据中原一统天下之意，于他而言，沈阳东辽之地的取得，原非世有，拥有如此一片广阔大地足可为国。而他的那句“大金亦曾一统，今安在哉！”才是真正的雄才大略。如入中原，女真人历史和传统，必定会全然消泯。凡事福祸相倚，日后满清问鼎中原，虽吸收金、辽灭亡的不少历史经验，在汉化同时稳守“传统”，不过是延长国祚而已，事实上的女真民族（满）基本上成为历史的陈迹。
从明朝方面讲，天朝上国，自大观念极其严重。特别是朱明王朝是推翻蒙元异族政权而定国，民族意识一直是教育中最基本的原则。长期以来，朝野中所有大儒、正人，皆竭力反对与“犬羊”的蛮夷讲和，因为这让他们想起靖康耻，想起南宋求和的屈辱。即使是袁崇焕出于权谋与后金假装讲和，他被杀时这一点也是一大罪柄：和款误国。所以，明廷上下谈和色变，和议绝对是一个最为忌讳的话题。谁讲“和议”，谁就是卖国贼。
松辽大战失败后，明王朝内地形势更是一天紧过一天。那一年初，洛阳、襄阳被农民军攻克，福王、襄王被杀，辅臣杨嗣昌自杀，前兵部尚书傅宗龙（时任三边总督）又死。年底，开封被流贼包围，中原势如鼎沸，一切的一切，均让崇祯帝焦心似火。
但是，作为皇帝本人，崇祯帝是个自尊心、虚荣心极强、极好面子的人，他很想与满清议和，攘外必先安内，谁都清楚，这样才能腾出手来一一剪除内部流寇。最终，趁兵败之际，一直有意议和的兵部尚书陈新甲主动作出表示，并让大学士谢升出面告知皇帝。
崇祯帝大松一口气，有“大学士”级别的阁臣出面提出此事，自己既可不负责任，无论和谈成败，均可找出退身进步的借口。于是，他就让陈新甲安排，派职方郎中马绍愉等人出关与皇太极议和。
这一使团，是明朝官方第一次也是惟一一次正式的议和使团。当然，明廷架子还是摆得挺大，敕书中仍旧以天朝自居，目满清为属夷。皇太极见书不满，明使周旋，又回京换敕书，来来往往。纠缠其间，松山、锦州、塔山、杏山坚城均落入清国之手，明朝在谈判桌上越来越被动。所以，待马绍愉一行到沈阳时，已经是崇祯十五年阴历五月十四日。那时候，洪承畴、祖大寿作为清人“阶下囚”
，也在沈阳。
对于明廷的主动议和，皇太极和不少满清贵族认同而重视，而上窜下跳反对最欢的当属汉人降官张存仁和祖可法等人，他们认定明朝是以和议为缓兵之计，劝阻皇太