Throughout the twelfth lunar month, Chongzhen was helpless as Hou Jinhuang Taiji was about to proclaim himself emperor.
It is difficult for Houjin to have any secrets about the Ming Dynasty, especially for major events such as the change of imperial title to the Yuan Dynasty, which require long-term preparations. Information has already been detected by the Ming court through various channels.
But I knew it was useless and couldn't stop it. Now that Huang Taiji became the emperor, even Huang Taiji himself couldn't stop it.
The current predicament that the post-Golden Huang Taiji is in is actually similar to that of Liu Chengzong in the Marshal's Office. They have accumulated too much war pressure for a long time and are in urgent need of an outlet.
In particular, Liu Chengzong was relatively relaxed, with relatively high internal pressure, and was eager to appoint officials to his generals; while Huang Taiji faced a situation where external pressure was high.
Because before he proclaimed himself emperor, Huang Taiji was actually the leader of the alliance and had no strict affiliation with those allies.
For example, the Khan of Horqin and the king of North Korea, Huang Taiji, was also a Khan. How to rule them?
Originally, it would be okay to slow down the matter a bit. Just like Liu Chengzong, Lin Dan Khan is buried in Bajiao City, Heshuote Khan lives in Xining City, Ordos Jinong is raised in Monan, and Uszang still has three Taiwanese.
Ji dare not sweat.
After all, everything is about strength. As long as the strength is great, the marshal can also be crowned the emperor.
However, the recent two Western expeditions of the Hou Jin Dynasty were frustrated, which damaged Huang Taiji's prestige. It was necessary to take advantage of the opposition nobles of various allies before they raised their heads, so that the leaders of various circles could apply for the title of emperor, and determine the status of master and subordinate.
Although the Monan Governor's Mansion was too naughty and the Ming armies of Xuanda and Liaodong were not easy to fight, it was easy for Huang Taiji to deal with North Korea, Horqin and other old nobles from the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
Proclaiming himself emperor is not the purpose, the purpose is to better unify the Manchu forces through proclaiming himself emperor.
But for Chongzhen, it was really helpless.
This era is so bizarre.
He was caught up in all the outrageous things that his ancestor had never seen in his lifetime.
A veteran of the frontier army in the west became a warlike Han Khan and ran out to inherit the Mongolian rule.
A Jianzhou Jurchen in the east wants to be the Tiancong Khan of the country of warriors and the emperor of Chongde.
In fact, Chongzhen was very troubled by Huang Taiji's proclaiming emperor, but he was not too angry.
After all, the war between Ming and Jin has long been normalized, and the two families have long been mortal enemies.
What's more, for Chongzhen, there are some things in this world that he simply won't consider.
For example, if you lose your country, the Ming Dynasty will be finished.
This is conceivable and has a small probability of happening.
Then the eunuch Cao Huachun usurped the throne and became emperor.
This also has a much slimmer chance of happening.
He would not even imagine that Hou Jin would enter the Pass and rule the world.
How is this possible?
Impossible. Anyone who has never dreamed of doing this is at best a Jin country.
But Huang Taiji still accurately stepped on Chongzhen's tail, and the year number.
Chongzhen means supreme auspiciousness.
Chongde means the highest morality.
Are you saying that I am immoral?
It's just that he was angry, and Chongzhen was still a little happy in his heart.
Fortunately, when Huang Taiji chose the year name, he did not use Shunde, Chongshun or anything like that, but he fulfilled the prophecy of stopping when things go well.
This stuff had been circulating for a long time.
Comparatively speaking, he was actually more worried about Liu Chengzong being provoked by Huang Taiji and proclaiming himself emperor.
That is the guy who seriously shakes up the rule of Ming Dynasty.
What Chongzhen didn't trust were the civil and military officers and ministers he could see, but he had always been very confident in the strength of the grassroots soldiers of the Ming army in the north whom he could not see.
Huang Taiji's Eight Banners Army was indeed a strong army, with strong combat capabilities and strong cohesion, but the Ming Army in the north of the Ming Dynasty was also hard-working and good at fighting. Although the battle was more frustrating, it always maintained a strategic confrontation with a three-headed and six-armed attitude.
Such a confrontation can be maintained because, firstly, in Liaodong, the Xuan Ming army is not vulnerable; secondly, Huang Taiji is unpopular inside the Ming Dynasty. Even if he breaks into the border defense, he will be attacked from both sides and cannot stand.
During his expeditions, he often destroyed one or two parts of the city and then retreated in a hurry.
But Liu Chengzong's Marshal's Army was different. His army may not be much stronger than the Eight Banners Army or the Ming Army in the north, but there were many supporters in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, and the front line was often pushed into two battles.
Attack the main army first, then the local militia, and then the local authorities will recognize it, refuse to fight with him, and simply accept the rule.
He really made Chongzhen's confidence in the Ming army in the north fall to the bottom... This guy is the Ming army in the north, and the Ming army thinks that he is one of their own.
The most obvious example is Yu Chongxiao, the commander-in-chief who is currently being held down by Liu Chengzong in Yansui Town and does not dare to move.
This man's last official position was the deputy general of Jizhen. He led the troops with a small number to hold back the masses, faced Huang Taiji's troops and repulsed them. Only then was he promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief of Yansui.
You cannot say that he is disloyal or incompetent.
However, in Yansui, the morale of the army was riddled with holes, and Yu Chongxiao did not dare to lead his troops out of the town at all.
Chongzhen is no longer like a few months ago, when he had a dark eye on the situation in Shaanxi.
He knows a lot about the movements of the Marshal's Mansion.
Because Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the DPRK.
This is a perfect match with Wen Tiren and Chongzhen.
They are all selfish people who protect themselves wisely. Chongzhen is the king of throwing pots, and Wen Tiren is the non-stick pan.
This guy was a second-class Jinshi in the 26th year of Wanli. He was only 24 years old that year, and he was a genius.
This genius did not participate in the party struggle and felt that the situation was chaotic, so he found a way to become an official in Nanjing.
He does not seek wealth, does not seek profit, and does not form any clique. He has been working as a model of conscientious and honest government for thirty years.
Wen Tiren is very capable, has a clear mind, and is good at punishment, fame, money and food. He can understand at a glance the messy data that makes other cabinet ministers frown, and is extremely astute and skillful.
But it’s the same as Chongzhen.
Wen Tiren also bowed his head and remained silent when he encountered a problem that needed to be solved.
When it's time to deal with someone, his eyes light up.
He and Chongzhen used people as mirrors to see another self in the world. The king and his ministers knew each other as they knew themselves. They were a lifelong friendship created by heaven and earth.
Wen Tiren knew that Chongzhen was interested in Shaanxi affairs, so he found a younger brother, Xue Guoguan, who was Taichang Shaoqing.
Xue Guoguan was from Hancheng, the same Hancheng where Zuomaodi was the magistrate.
At present, the entire Shaanxi Province is the only county that has neither surrendered to the Marshal's Mansion nor started a war with the Marshal's Mansion.
Xue Guoguan mobilized his tribe to spy on surrounding news and collected a lot of confidential information and latest trends about the Marshal's Mansion.
This information was put on the desk of Emperor Chongzhen through the first minister Wen Tiren, and Xue Guoguan was promoted to Minister of Rites.
Anyway, Zuo Maodi made a lot of money. Liu Chengzong gave him a distinguished official title, and Chongzhen also gave him a distinguished official title. Both sides certified him as an outstanding official at the same time.
Zhang Xianzhong called Zuo Maodi to come to the Li Yamen for dinner, but Zuo Maodi didn't respond at all. However, a letter came from Xue Guoguan, the newly appointed minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Zuo Maodi went to Beijing to report on his work.
Others are still on the way, and Chongzhen's originally full of expectations fell to the bottom because of the Chaotingtang newspaper.
Huang Taiji's proclaimed emperor seriously affected the grassland situation. A small group of Mongolian nobles in Monan moved eastward to attach themselves to Guaqing Gulun. At the same time, there were also Mongolian soldiers in the east running west to join the Monan Governor's Mansion.
Because there were poor people on both sides, before reaching the target, in order to raise travel expenses, they would cut open the border wall in the Xuanyun area of the Ming Dynasty and rob the importers.
As a result, dozens of heads of Hao Zhongzhong, a guerrilla from Wandu Division, were given away.
If this news was good, then the information from the south made Chongzhen's heart tighten in his throat.
The third day of the twelfth lunar month.
Zhang Yichuan, the puppet commander-in-chief of Henan who was defeated by Zhang Renxue, the commander-in-chief of Henan, appeared outside Yingzhou City.
The governor of the state, Yin Meng'ao, and the general judge Zhao Shikuan were about to go to Fengyang to see the chief. After hearing the inquiry, they rushed back to the city and led the people to defend the city.
The city wall was broken, and Yin Meng'ao personally guarded the gap with a sword. All seven of his brothers, nephews, and nephews died. Yin Meng'ao also threw himself into the water with his official seal.
Zhao Shikuan led his troops in a street battle and died from exhaustion. His wife, Li, took their three daughters to the building and set themselves on fire.
The student Liu Tingfu was the nephew of Yunnan Chief Minister Liu Jiuguang and died in the battle; Liu Jiuguang's son Liu Tingshi was guarding Xicheng and died of a knife.
In addition, Zhang Heming, the official minister, his son Zhang Datong, and his younger brother Zhang Heteng, who participated in politics in Yunnan, were killed.
Tian Zhiying, a member of Zhongshushe, Li Shengbai, the chief official of Guanglu Temple, Li Yuanbai, the chief minister, Liu Daoyuan, the magistrate of Huangyan County, and Yang Nan, the magistrate of Huining County, died together in the city.
The Yingzhou Guards were also surrounded, and the commanders Li Congshi, Wang Tingjun, Qianhu Sunsheng, Tian Sanzhen, Baihu Luo Yuanqing, Tian Demin, Wang Zhilin, Wang Tan and others died in the battle on the city.
A total of 103 other officials, gentry and common people were killed, and 27 women in the city were martyred.
Within one day, the two cities were destroyed.
On the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, there was an emergency in Huoqiu County on the south bank of the Huaihe River, sixty miles away from Yingchuan.
At that time, Huang Rifang, the magistrate of Huoqiu County, had expired and was waiting for new arrangements. Seeing the critical situation, he fled Fengyang that day and reported to his superiors that he would hand over the task of defending the city to the eunuch Ni Keda.
However, the eunuch Ni Keda did not know about this, and did not wait for the notice from Fengyang Mansion asking him to defend the city.
He only saw Zhang Yichuan uniting with tens of thousands of Taoist disciples from Yingzhou, Huoqiu and other places, holding high the banner of the ancient Yuan Zhenlong Emperor and besieging Huoqiu.
Before the crisis, Ni Keda was elected by the gentry in the county. He took out the county magistrate's seal and organized more than a thousand people from among the people in the city to guard the four gates.
He personally guarded the north gate. At the beginning of the battle, he opened the city gate and pretended to surrender. He put three hundred of Zhang Yichuan's river crossing pioneers into the city and shot them all to boost the morale of the defenders.
Then Huo Qiu was used to withstand a day and night attack in a small county.
But Huoqiu was a small county after all. There were no reinforcements from outside and no heavy artillery inside. After the initial battle, they were exhausted. The soldiers and civilians could only use firecrackers to throw firecrackers at the peasant army outside the city at night.
The key is that Fengyang Mansion is a very complicated place. During Zhang Yichuan's attack, the behavior of the people can be described as distinct.
The natives of Fengyang Prefecture have an extremely determined will to defend the city. Even if the city is defeated, they will die for their country, which reflects the tenacity of the land of Longxing in the Ming Dynasty.
The outsiders in Fengyang Prefecture were determined to attack the city and welcomed Zhang Yichuan very much. They responded in groups almost everywhere they went.
This is because as the land of Longxing, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty built his hometown and used manpower to build the small Zhongli County of Linhao Prefecture into Fengyang Prefecture, the world's leading metropolis.
In this process, local residents benefited from tax exemptions, and the 20 neighboring households became worry-free households for generations to come. At the same time, 300,000 people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang also moved here.
Emperor Taizu forcibly raised Fengyang Mansion to a location that did not belong to it, so it naturally prospered and declined.
The sudden large population opened up land everywhere in Fengyang Prefecture. Fengyang Prefecture, which originally had only 130,000 people, reclaimed 400,000 hectares of land.
Therefore, after the mid-Ming Dynasty, Fengyang mountains and forests were bare, rivers were in chaos, and the Yellow River was causing trouble, and disasters became commonplace.
The first people here to bear the brunt are the descendants of immigrants from the early Ming Dynasty. They move around begging and naturally become the targets of various Taoist sects.
This also divided the people of Fengyang into two distinct factions, either extremely supportive of the Ming Dynasty, or extremely anti-Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Yichuan had just experienced the collapse of tens of thousands of troops. Now he commanded these stragglers like an arm and a finger. He could easily see the city's defenses on the mountain. He then ordered several cannons from his generals to move to the lightly defended south gate and bombard the city battlements.
The person responsible for guarding the south gate was named Shi Shilin, who filled Ni Keda's teaching position. He lost his fighting spirit under Zhang Yichuan's fierce attack and took advantage of the night to escape from the city. The south wall that lost his command was immediately broken.
County magistrate Zhang Youjun, tutor He Bingruo, township officials Dai Tingdui, Tian Jiting, Juren Wang Yuzhen and Zhang Canheng died in the battle while defending the city.
Ni Keda did not surrender after the city was broken, and continued to fight in the streets at the north gate. In the end, all the people around him were killed or injured, and he was captured by the angry peasant army and taken to the Yuandi Palace, which is dedicated to Emperor Zhenwu, to be executed.
When Dai Shi, Ni Keda's wife, learned of the bad news, she cried loudly toward the Yuan Emperor's palace, paid homage, and then hanged herself to death.
When some peasant soldiers saw that she couldn't take off her bracelet, they chopped off her hand with a knife.
The youngest son, Ni Benyi, was fine hiding in the manger. Seeing this scene, he was extremely sad and angry. He jumped out and yelled at the thief. He used his own body to protect his mother's body. He was stabbed more than thirty times and fell in a pool of blood. He was revived after the war.
, covered with scars.
Ni Keda's daughter Ni Gu, who was only twelve years old, saw her parents die tragically and was also killed in the Huoqiu official residence.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Ni Biao, a servant of the Ni family, also committed suicide after the defeat.
Ni Keda's family was full of loyal men, and only four sons survived.
The sixth day of the twelfth lunar month.
Zhang Yichuan led his army to attack Shouzhou, but failed, so he immediately went down the river and headed straight for Lu'an Prefecture.
In just a few days, Fengyang Mansion was completely ignited by Zhang Yichuan. Suddenly, local bandits arose all over Luzhou and Anqing in the south, and Sizhou and Huai'an in the east.
People held high the banners of various generals and generals under Emperor Zhenlong of the ancient Yuan Dynasty, attacked cities and plundered counties, burned passes and destroyed villages.
At the same time, there was chaos in the south, as well as in the Henan and Shanxi areas in the north. The local bandits and thieves from Yancheng, Fenzhou, Linxian, Zhangde, and Lin counties would gather more than ten thousand people and burn, kill and loot everywhere.
The situation is gradually getting out of control.
At this juncture, the imperial court could not care less about Huang Taiji proclaiming himself emperor, so they sent letters one after another and mobilized troops to encircle and suppress Zhang Yichuan.
At that time, You Shiwei, Zhang Waijia's cavalry outside the Pass, Xu Laichao's Tianjin soldiers, Tan Daxiao's white pole soldiers, Ni Chong's Beijing camp soldiers, Yang Yufan's Shandong soldiers, and Liu Zeqing's cannon defense troops gathered together with orders.
The northern troops moved southward in disorder, and the southern troops rushed northward, with the intention of encircling and killing the emperor Zhang Yichuan in southern Zhili.
It was against this background that Zuo Maodi, who was tired of his career, entered the Forbidden City and was summoned by Emperor Chongzhen to the platform to perform a duel.
Chongzhen originally hoped that Zuo Maodi could bring him some hope.
But he was speechless and asked: "What has Liu Chengzong been doing these past two months?"
Zuo Maodi said: "Your Majesty, in the past ten months, the generals and governors of the Marshal's Mansion have been coming and going to Xi'an, and there must be big moves. I am afraid that Liu Chengzong is preparing to arrogantly claim the title of king."
Chongzhen, who had just calmed down a little, immediately broke his guard and roared: "You think I don't have enough things to do, so he also calls himself the king to add chaos?"
It made Zuo Maodi confused.
He felt that the person Chongzhen hated the most was Liu Chengzong. Why did his words not only sound less hateful, but also vaguely blaming?