During the Chongzhen period, it was nothing new for major epidemics to occur in various places. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, a major epidemic occurred in Yan'an; in the twelfth year, which was the year when Li Zicheng lurked in Shangluo, Shaanxi suffered from a locust plague, and starvation and zombies were everywhere.
It spread and caused a major epidemic; in the fourteenth year, a major epidemic occurred in the capital and Henan, killing countless people.
However, the epidemic in Zhili this year was particularly serious. Not only did it last for a long time, it spread widely, there were many deaths, and many bizarre things happened.
These things spread rapidly throughout the capital, adding to the atmosphere of terror throughout the city.
The epidemic began in the autumn.
Legend has it that one night, Baoding night patrolmen suddenly met an old man on the street. The old man warned them: "In the middle of the night, a woman dressed in plain clothes and crying will walk eastward from here. You must stop her. If she is allowed to
In the past, there would be disasters. As long as you wait until the rooster crows, it will be over. I am the land god here, so I am here to tell you."
In the middle of the night, as expected, such a woman was walking from west to east. The night patrol immediately stopped her. After the fifth watch, the patrol soldiers occasionally fell asleep, and the woman took the opportunity to walk eastward and returned immediately. She kicked a soldier awake with her feet.
He said: "I am the god of mourning. God ordered me to punish this place. How could you listen to the old man and stop me? The disaster will start from you!" After saying that, the man disappeared. The soldier was scared and ran home to tell his family what he had said.
Before he could finish speaking, he fell to the ground and died, and the Great Plague in Beizhili began that day.
The epidemic lasted for several months and became extremely serious by the end of October, with the cumulative number of deaths reaching more than 200,000. Because many patients had pimples on their bodies, the epidemic was also called pimple disease. At this time, there were more rumors, and some things
It has a name and a surname.
For example, a young Beijing official named Cao Liangzhi was serving tea to guests at home when he suddenly fell down and died. Wu Yansheng, a Yixing native who had just been awarded the title of general magistrate of Wenzhou, had a servant in his family die and another servant went to buy a coffin.
Died in a coffin shop. There are more unknown rumors. For example, there are two thieves, one broke into the house, and the other climbed on the roof to collect the stolen goods. The person below had just put the stolen baggage up, and the person above had just picked up
Suddenly, both of them died at the same time, while their belongings were still hanging in the air.
It is also said that a newlywed couple died together in bed on their wedding night.
What's even weirder is that there are ghosts traveling during the day, and the money they use is made of paper. As soon as this rumor spread, many shops quickly placed water basins in their stores, and after receiving the money, they threw it into the basin. The difference was determined by the ups and downs of the money.
People and ghosts can tell what is true and what is false.
Of course, there is another theory. Because the outbreak and spread of the great plague almost coincided with the Qing army's marching time and route. So of course it was spread that this was the shaman who accompanied the Qing army, using
Witchcraft was destroying the vitality of the Ming Dynasty. Some officers and soldiers saw with their own eyes that the Manchus buried charms and wooden stakes with images of gods and ghosts under the Temple of the City God.
This statement seems to be nonsense, but it is actually quite well-founded. Because the march route of the Qing army was a killing route, with corpses everywhere along the way, it could easily become the source of the plague. And there were many in the Qing army.
The Mongolians may also have brought virus-carrying rats and fleas from the grasslands, becoming the spreaders of pathogens.
The great plague also had a great impact on the Ming Dynasty and the Qing army that was operating in the North Zhili area. Abatai had already gone north to the Hejian Prefecture area. And Turge, who had been staying in the Yellow River Basin, although he kept saying
He claimed to go south to avenge the invaders, but in fact he was afraid of the invaders' strength, and finally prepared to withdraw outside the customs under the pretext of the arrival of the great plague.
The epidemic was most severe in the capital, which was the most densely populated, and along the Yellow River, where the Qing army stayed the longest. Therefore, both Abatai and Turg devised a route to bypass the capital and retreat outside the customs.
The great epidemic changed the direction of the Qing army's march, but its impact on the Ming Dynasty was obviously greater.
The epidemic made Chongzhen very worried, especially since people are accustomed to explaining natural disasters from the perspective of retribution and blame. A severe epidemic is naturally regarded as an ominous sign. Although no one dared to mention the word "subjugation" in front of Chongzhen.
, but Chongzhen himself had had the worst associations more than once.
He kept going to the Fengxian Palace to pray for the blessings of his ancestors. When someone in the Forbidden City was infected with the plague, he brought Zhang Tianshi into the palace to write talismans, spray curses, and pray for explanations from scriptures. However, there was no relief until October.
sign.
To his slight relief, although the omen was so ominous, Sun Chuanting performed extremely well and sent one letter after another reporting on his victory, which made Chongzhen feel at ease and encouraged.
In particular, Chongzhen received the victory report from Sun Chuanting from Lingbao. When he read that the army had achieved great victories in Ruzhou and Xin'an and killed countless traitors and generals, he couldn't help but take pictures of the imperial court and said: "Good!
good!"
Then he read another passage: "I swear to sweep away all the thieves and bandits in Henan, and I will not dare to leave a single thief behind to cause trouble to the country and relieve the worries of the king and father." He was so excited that he read it several times and shed tears of excitement.
tears.
"Go!" he said to the eunuch standing by, "instruct the cabinet ministers and the officials in the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Works to go to the platform immediately and wait for the summons!"
After that, he first went to Kunning Palace to tell Queen Zhou the news of the great victory ahead, and then took a chariot with Queen Zhou to Fengxian Hall to thank his ancestors for appearing in the spirit and making the "suppression of bandits" military go so smoothly. He also prayed to his ancestors.
Continue to bless and let Sun Chuanting continue his efforts to clear up the world. From now on, the sea, rivers and rivers will be clear, and the country will last forever...
When he came to the platform, the cabinet ministers and the ministers and ministers of the three ministries were all present. The ministers were not completely clear about the reason for the sudden order to enter the palace. They guessed that it might be related to the war ahead, but they did not understand why.
We should also summon officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Works.
Chongzhen sat down on the dragon chair. The officials who were summoned performed the usual court salutes to him in turn and stood on both sides. With uncontrollable excitement, Chongzhen introduced to everyone Sun Chuanting's great victory after leaving the customs.
As he said that, he picked up Sun Chuanting's report of victory from the imperial case and circulated it to everyone. A eunuch hurriedly bent forward, took the memorial, and handed it to Zhou Yanru, the chief minister who was standing at the front. Soon, the assistant ministers from the cabinet
When he went to each minister's office, the minister read it through it. When the ministers circulated it, Chongzhen watched everyone's reaction carefully, hoping to see the same excited expression as his own.
After the eunuch bowed and put the report back on the imperial desk, Chongzhen looked around at his ministers again and said:
"Sun Chuanting lived up to my expectations. He has been victorious in consecutive battles since he left Tongguan for a month. Wherever he went, the bandits were invincible. It seems that the bandits will be destroyed in a matter of seconds. What do you think?"
Zhou Yanru was not as convinced as Chongzhen about the war situation reported by Sun Chuanting, but he immediately expressed his congratulations to Chongzhen with a happy expression, echoed Chongzhen's tone and made an optimistic prediction about the war situation, and also mentioned that the Ministry of Household Affairs should supervise the order
The various prefectures in Hebei and Shanxi sent food and grass to the army without delay, so as to "receive all the achievements." Other ministers also followed the tone of Chongzhen and Zhou Yanru and said similar words.
After hearing this, Chongzhen nodded and smiled. He then said: "Today we have summoned the officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Works because Sun Chuanting repeatedly reported victory in Henan. The prefectures and counties that were originally occupied by bandits have been restored one after another, and many villages have been restored.
To recruit security, in addition to each town should organize a brigade to cross the river, county magistrates from various states should also go to their posts as quickly as possible, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs should strictly supervise and urge them. Anyone who avoids the former must participate in the impeachment and serious governance. In some places where the city needs to be repaired and the people need to be resettled, the Ministry of Works
There is no shirking the responsibility.”
Then he talked about the rewards and promotions for the meritorious soldiers in this battle, saying that those who have made great contributions should not be stingy with rewards. "The rewards of Tonghou will not be too small."
Chongzhen was talking confidently when he suddenly noticed that Feng Yuanbiao and Zhang Fengxiang, the ministers of the Ministry of War, had not said a word since they read the newspaper and had a look of infinite worry on their faces. He thought, this time on the issue of leaving the customs, Feng Yuanbiao and Zhang Fengxiang had not said a word since they read the newspaper.
Yuan Biao disapproved from the beginning and kept saying "be cautious, be cautious". Now that Sun Chuanting has won consecutive victories, they are still looking sad. It is really unreasonable!
He looked at Feng Yuanbiao angrily, then at Zhang Fengxiang, and said, "You two don't think so?"
Feng Yuanbiao said: "The intelligence reports received by the Ministry of War all indicate that the Liuliu bandits are far more capable than before. Now they met Sun Chuanting's army, but they almost collapsed at the first touch. This is contrary to common sense. In fact, he used weak troops to lure the enemy, but Sun Chuanting did not notice it and rashly
If you advance lightly, I can't help but feel deeply worried."
Zhang Fengxiang continued: "The bandits are cunning and will show their weakness by deceiving defeat. There are rumors in the Central Plains that the bandits defeated the Eastern captives numerous times. How can such a powerful enemy be defeated in one day? Your Majesty, please convey the order quickly and warn Sun Chuanting to fight steadily. Don't do it."
Langzhan. Since all the troops under his command are good generals and powerful forces, they must leave this property for the emperor!"
Chongzhen was in high spirits. After hearing what they said, it was like a ladle of cold water being poured on his head. He was speechless for a moment and his face was very ugly.
When Chen Xinjia saw this, he quickly stood up and said:
"What you two said is certainly reasonable. However, Sun Chuanting has been on the battlefield for a long time and has dealt with bandits for more than a day. He must also have a clear understanding of the situation of both sides. How can he fall into the enemy's tricks casually?"
Several other ministers also echoed Chen Xinjia's words, and Chongzhen's mood slowly eased and he said: "Please wait."
In the next few days, Chongzhen was all intoxicated with the victory documents sent by Sun Chuanting. Whenever he met with the courtiers every day, he would show these victory reports to everyone and have all the ministers circulate them.
He thought confidently that the plague would definitely pass! Sun Chuanting would definitely win! The national affairs would definitely turn around!
Just as he was immersed in his beautiful reverie, the eunuch sent Sun Chuanting's new memorial.
He couldn't wait to unpack the memorial and walked back. He returned to the warm pavilion and sat down. He read the memorial with the newly lit candles. Unconsciously, there was a "buzzing" in his head, as if he had been hit by a sap, and stars appeared in front of his eyes.
Sun Chuanting described the specific process of the disastrous defeat of the army in the Battle of Xin'an, and imprisoned himself. Unfortunately, what Feng Yuanbiao and Zhang Fengxiang were worried about came true!
Chongzhen fell into deep pain and kept cursing in his heart: "Sun Chuanting is so stupid! It's so useless! He has been suppressing the bandits for many years, but he can't even see through the thieves' tricks!"
In anger, he wanted to arrest Sun Chuanting immediately, bring him to Beijing, and send him to prison. But after calming down a little, he realized the seriousness of the current situation and remembered Zhang Fengxiang's words, "This property must be left for the emperor."
He thought that if Sun Chuanting could not be captured for the time being, it would be over once he captured the Qin army. Now the Qin army was the last mobile force of the imperial court. Once something happened to the Qin army, not only Shaanxi would fall into the hands of thieves, but also a Qing army in Turge
The troops are still staying in the territory of Beizhili, which may threaten the capital, and are in urgent need of reinforcements from King Qin's troops.
Chongzhen was angry and annoyed, especially when he thought that he could not deal with Sun Chuanting now for the sake of the overall situation, he felt even more angry and sad to the point of being beyond words.
He always regarded Sun Chuanting's recent good news as a trick to deceive him. Especially when Chongzhen thought that he had all the ministers circulate the good news every day, he felt even more embarrassed. He wished he could cut Sun Chuanting in half so that he could get rid of the shame he had lost in front of the courtiers.
resentment.
He had no appetite that night. After the table full of dishes was served, he only drank a small bowl of vegetable soup made from bird's nest and shark fin, and ate nothing else.
Until there was a rooster crow from the horizon, the eunuch sent a new memorial. When Chongzhen saw that it was actually sent by Sun Chuanting, he wanted to smash the document to the ground, but he endured it again and again, and finally endured the nausea and swept away the document.
Take a look.
But things are often so wonderful. The strategy of suppressing thieves written by Sun Chuanting in the memorial really made Chongzhen arouse his ambition. Suddenly, the expression of his whole face changed. From the disgusting look of eating unclean things,
He became incredibly happy and excited.
"Jiang Boyue! Jiang Boyue! Sun Chuanting is my Jiang Wei! Such a plan to save the world, even if Guo Ziyi is reincarnated, it cannot be compared!"