Let’s take a look at the performance of Emperor Chongzhen and the Ming Dynasty!
At this time, it was the fifteenth year of Emperor Chongzhen's accession to the throne. But the situation in the world was already very bad, and it was worse than ever before.
The country's financial situation continued to deteriorate. The successive additional deployments could not offset the huge military expenditures for years. The national treasury was completely empty. By the end of the 14th year of Chongzhen, there was very little silver left at the direct disposal of the Ministry of Revenue.
However, the civil and military officials in the DPRK, central government, and local governments have not shown any intention of cheering up, reviving, and becoming stronger. Civil officials continue to take bribes, extract money, and collude with each other for their own interests, exclude each other, and bite each other. , turned the imperial court upside down; generals with heavy armies in various places regarded the army as their own private property, often fleeing from battle or simply not listening to orders in order to preserve their strength.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen had been the emperor for fifteen years, and during these fifteen years, he had really worked hard and worked hard day and night. Unexpectedly, he got such a result. So he felt sad and angry, Frustrated, even very aggrieved.
Emperor Chongzhen lamented his bad luck and hated the incompetence of his courtiers. However, as the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty, he had to shoulder the burden of saving the country from danger. So at the beginning of the new year, he once again made a decision to work hard. Determined to change destiny and the face of the empire through unremitting efforts.
Needless to say, Emperor Chongzhen's nerves were also strong enough.
In order to show the atmosphere of reform and innovation, Emperor Chongzhen specially summoned all members of the cabinet in Huangji Hall after accepting Chongzhen's fifteenth year of New Year's worship.
After Zhou Yanru, He Fengsheng, Zhang Sizhi, Wei Zhengcheng, Xie Sheng and Chen Yan kowtowed under the eaves of the palace, Emperor Chongzhen ordered them to line up on the west side of the palace. According to imperial rites, civil servants usually meet on the east side. , Zhou Yanru and others were a little confused about the emperor's meaning.
Later I learned that the emperor asked them to summon the couple in the west. This was in accordance with the folk custom of calling tutors "Xi Xi" to show respect for ministers. The form of this summons was indeed unprecedented. Where could the ministers meet? When the emperor bowed to his ministers, they were all flattered and moved to tears. They could only kneel down and kowtow.
Then late at night on the 11th day of the first lunar month, Emperor Chongzhen went to the Temple of Heaven in the south of the city to preside over a routine prayer ceremony for grains. On that day, it snowed heavily again. The proverb "Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest" was a good reason for the emperor to pray for a good harvest in person. Gu Li made a footnote. In the solemn sound of drums, everyone who attended the service felt a mysterious experience that was extremely close to the sacredness of the sky, and felt a sense of self-confidence.
As a result, the emperor, ministers, and even the people in the capital seemed to base their confidence in rebuilding a peaceful and prosperous age on the protection of God. They all believed that a prosperous dynasty with a history of more than 200 years should not be like this for no reason. If the earth weakens and even dies, a holy son of heaven who relies on heaven's support should not lose the favor of heaven for no reason.
The following Lantern Festival...
In the following February, Emperor Chongzhen personally participated in the farming ceremony held to revitalize agriculture in accordance with ancient rituals...
A series of worship activities, a series of rituals, but no specific measures to govern the country. To be honest, watching Emperor Chongzhen do all this, I always feel a little sad for him. However, people in the Ming Dynasty were still very superstitious. , they believed that the Ming Dynasty had been blessed by Haotian, so they all felt optimistic.
But then, cruel blows still followed one after another. First, there was still a severe drought, and God seemed to have abandoned the Ming Dynasty. Then, the 30,000-strong army led by Wang Qionian, the governor of Shaanxi Province, was almost completely wiped out by the coalition forces of Li and Luo. , Wang Qiaonian himself was captured alive and then killed.
In April, the Battle of Songjin finally came to an end. The four cities of Song, Jin, Ta, and Xing were all occupied by the Qing army. Although this was an expected result, Emperor Chongzhen still felt a sense of sadness when he first heard the news of the defeat. A shuddering shock.
When the news of the fall of Songshan first reached the capital, it was said that Hong Chengchou had died in the line of duty, which made Emperor Chongzhen deeply mourned. The military commanders he particularly valued, Yang Sichang, Lu Xiangsheng, and Hong Chengchou, all died. After leaving, who could support him in the dilapidated situation before him? He was so heartbroken that he ordered a large altar to be set up in the city to honor Hong Chengchou, Qiu Minyang and others, and decided to go to the altar in person to express his condolences.
But soon there was news that Hong Chengchou was not dead and had been taken to Shenyang by the Qing army. Later, there was information that Hong Chengchou had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty! This was another heavy blow to Emperor Chongzhen. He had always trusted the ministers he respected. Surprisingly surrendering to the enemy country was not only a shame for the country and the court, but also brought shame to him.
But at this time, Emperor Chongzhen was already suffering from mild schizophrenia, and his dual personality seemed to have developed to the extreme. He was often extremely violent and vicious at one moment, and abnormally gentle and gentle at the other.
Regarding the issue of Hong Chengchou, Emperor Chongzhen happened to show a gentle side. He only stopped the memorial activities, but did not follow the method proposed by the courtiers and arrest and severely punish all the family members of Hong Chengchou as usual. It seemed that he was a little bit worried about the mistake he made. Indifferent. Regarding this abnormal move, he later said with some self-mockery: "I want Hong Chengchou to be a Wang Meng-like figure!"
Wang Meng was the main adviser to Fu Jian of the former Qin Dynasty during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Because he was originally a subject of the Jin Dynasty, he once dissuaded Fu Jian from attacking the Jin Dynasty southward. Unfortunately, Hong Chengchou was not Wang Meng. Even if there was Wang Meng, in the war between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, What role can it play?
But after the officials of the Ministry of War were panicked, they absolutely did not dare to expect that they would be able to sit back and relax just because they had a "Wang Meng" who surrendered to the enemy. After moving down the four cities of Song and Jin, the main force of the Qing army returned to Shengjing and outside Shanhaiguan. The war situation temporarily calmed down. Chen Xinjia, Minister of War, immediately advocated using this intermission period of the war to continue negotiations with the Qing side, striving to exchange a certain degree of compromise for a period of peace, so as to make new adjustments to Liaodong's defense.
Although Emperor Chongzhen had the illusion of relying on "Wang Meng", he had to face the ruthless reality and had to agree to another attempt to negotiate.
So the Ma Shaoyu mission that had been staying in Ningyuan received a new order: to contact the Qing side immediately. After the Qing authorities achieved a huge victory on the battlefield, they were still unwilling to let go of the opportunity to gain benefits at the negotiation table, so they showed With a very high attitude, he agreed with Ma Shaoyu to come to Shengjing.
In May of this year, Ma Shaoyu and his entourage came to Shengjing of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing government received Ma Shaoyu in accordance with the etiquette for envoys from great powers. The kings, Baylor and major ministers hosted many banquets for him. Huang Taiji also received him in person and talked with him. Some principled issues regarding the negotiation of a peace treaty were discussed. On the surface, the Qing side was not opposed to reaching peace through peace talks, but it was not easy for the two sides to reach an agreement on the specific conditions for peace negotiations.
As a victorious nation, the Qing Dynasty required the Ming Dynasty to pay a high amount of annual coins and stop its hostile attitude towards the Qing Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty could reluctantly accept these conditions; but the Qing Dynasty also required the Ming Dynasty to recognize that the relationship between the two countries was one of two empires.
Although this request was reasonable and reasonable, it was extremely difficult for Emperor Chongzhen to accept it.
For a long time, the Ming Empire had always considered itself to be the celestial dynasty that was superior to all nations. The Ming emperor also considered himself to be the lord of all nations who ruled over the world. He never considered himself to be equal to the "barbarian states" outside the border.
What's more, the distinction between Yi and Xia is a basic Confucian rational principle. Talking about equality with the "Tatars" means losing the principle. Emperor Chongzhen was not straightforward and weak in negotiating with the Qing Dynasty. In such a situation concerning the dignity of the monarch and the
On the principled issue of national dignity, of course we dare not make arbitrary concessions.
What's more, the courtiers still heard some information, and they all attacked Chen Xinjia one after another, saying that "the imperial dynasty is so dignified, how can we talk about money?" When Emperor Chongzhen asked Zhou Yanru, the chief minister, about this issue, Zhou Yanru was afraid that the emperor would change his mind in the future.
He would blame himself, but he didn't say a word. The attitude of the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty was like this, and the success or failure of the peace talks can naturally be seen from this.
On the other hand, the Qing Dynasty did not have much sincerity in this negotiation. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty, headed by Huang Taiji, had already set the goal of entering the Pass to conquer the Ming Dynasty and finally seize the Central Plains.
This time, I was willing to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty because I didn't want to miss an opportunity to gain diplomatic benefits during the intermission period of the war. I didn't have much hope, so I didn't take it seriously.
Regarding the general strategy of replacing the Ming Dynasty, Huang Taiji once had a very vivid expression: "Taking Yanjing is like cutting down a big tree. You must first cut it from both sides, and the big tree will fall down on its own... Now the Ming Dynasty has exhausted all its elite soldiers.
, my army is surrounded by troops, and the country's power is declining day by day, and my army is getting stronger and stronger, and Yanjing can be conquered from now on." Since there is such a policy, the peace talks are only an expedient measure in any case, and they are just cutting the Ming Dynasty from both sides.
This big tree is just one of the means.
One side is coy because of the Chinese system, and the other side is careless because of its established goals. Of course, it is difficult for the peace talks between the two parties to achieve substantive results. Ma Shaoyu stayed in Shenyang for many days, reporting to Chen Xinjia on the progress of the negotiations one after another.
Chen Xinjia secretly reported to Emperor Chongzhen, who then issued instructions to Ma Shaoyu. The messages went back and forth dozens of times, but to no avail.
The marathon negotiations lasted until June. Because it was impossible to produce any results, Ma Shaoyu's mission had to withdraw to Ningyuan, but continued to maintain contact with the Qing side and reported the Qing side's intentions to the Ministry of War and the emperor himself from time to time.
For a period of time, the Ming and Qing Dynasties were in a stalemate of no war and no peace. It was not until July that an accidental event and a deliberate action broke this state. (To be continued, please search for Piaotian Literature and Novels.