The atrocities carried out by the Tatars, such as the hair-cutting order, should obviously be a huge benefit to the Ming Dynasty's resistance and internal unity.
But the chain reaction it brought about eventually led to the Ming Dynasty getting into trouble in governance, which is really incredible. When Zhu Shuren heard the accusations from his subordinates for the first time, he was quite surprised.
…
The thing is this: about ten days after the order to shave heads was issued, and also the fifth day after the army regained Jurong County, time had already turned to the twelfth lunar month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen.
On the battlefield of Jinshan Temple, the officers and soldiers suddenly felt huge frontal pressure. Countless new Han soldiers helped the Tatars attack madly, filling up the only remaining waterway between Jinshanzhou and the south bank of the Yangtze River.
After so many days of hard work on the part of the Qing army, the natural waterway between Jinshan Island and the land south of the Yangtze River was finally completely blocked by dams. The Qing army was able to drive straight in by land and fight Zheng Chenggong in a positional battle. Zheng Chenggong had to completely retreat.
Jinshan Temple gave up all the plains and sandbanks on Jinshan Island and relied solely on the mountains for its final defense.
Zheng Chenggong can also roughly understand: The reason why the Qing army was able to recruit so many extra Han soldiers to act as cannon fodder to strengthen the offensive was obviously the result of the hair-cutting order.
After all, this was the purpose of Duduo's original order to shave his hair. If it was completely ineffective and could not help the Qing army lure more people into becoming thieves, wouldn't the order to be shaved off have been in vain? Wouldn't it have become a laughing stock that does more harm than good?
What?
It forced a large number of people in Changzhen to rebel against the Qing Dynasty, which was only the disadvantage of the hair-cutting order. It also attracted more traitors, which was the advantage of the hair-shaving order.
Forcing people to take sides will certainly lead to many people fleeing and resisting, but it will also make many relatively spineless people who were originally swaying to become thieves half-heartedly. The pros and cons of any policy must be viewed from both sides.
But what puzzled Zheng Chenggong was that he originally thought that even if Duduo got more cannon fodder with the hair-cutting order, these cannon fodder must not be determined to fight and would not sincerely work for the Tatars. After all, they are thieves because they are timid.
If someone is afraid of trouble and doesn't want to offend those in power, what kind of fighting spirit can he have?
However, the development of the facts surprised Zheng Chenggong, because during the actual attack and defense of Jinshan Temple, he witnessed many traitorous recruits who had just been shaved and coerced. They helped the Qing army charge, filled the waterway, and risked their arrows and bullets to the soldiers.
Transport troops and prepare the wounded.
This kind of behavior does not seem like someone who is cowardly and forced to go to the battlefield, but rather like someone who sincerely wants to be a traitor.
Driven by this confusion, Zheng Chenggong also kept a careful eye when directing defensive battles. Every time he repulsed the Qing army, he no longer required his soldiers to kill all the enemy's wounded soldiers first when cleaning the battlefield.
Instead, the soldiers were asked to screen out a few wounded soldiers who had been abandoned by the enemy. They looked like traitor recruits who had just had their heads shaved. They brought them back and treated them carefully, and then tortured them to interrogate the inside story. Only the old Tatars who looked like they had shaved their heads for many years were still comprehensive.
Kill them all with a last hit.
Zheng Chenggong's operation was indeed in vain. He rescued dozens of injured traitors who were ordinary young people in Chang Town last month. After being isolated and interrogated, he quickly obtained the information he wanted.
The staff responsible for the torture compiled the confessions and reported to Zheng Chenggong: "Major General, I have made it clear that these people were originally ordinary people in Changzhen. They were indeed disloyal to the emperor and patriotic. It did not matter whether they were ruled by the Ming Dynasty or the puppet Qing Dynasty.
,
When the Tatars asked them to shave their heads to avoid death, they did so obediently. At first, they really had no intention of really working for the Tatars, they just wanted to save their lives.
But just a few days ago, the Tatar general suddenly preached some threatening words to them, and also produced some personal and material evidence, warning them that they had to follow the Tatar army all the way to the dark side. They had already shaved their heads and could not go back.
Return to the Ming Dynasty.
He also said that our Ming Dynasty has issued a new decree. The army Duduo brought to the south of the Yangtze River must be resolutely and completely annihilated, and the thieves must also be annihilated.
The Tatar generals also threatened them that after Li Fuming and Li Junmen repelled the siege at the gates of Nanjing, when they were cleaning the battlefield, they killed all the wounded who had shaved their heads and had their hair braided, leaving no one alive!
After Cao Bianjiao Cao Junmen retook Jurong County, they also eliminated the remaining enemies in Jurong County. When they saw those who had their heads shaved, they treated them as Tatar soldiers and killed them without saying a word. So those who had their heads shaved had no way to survive! Return to the Ming Dynasty
People here will be taken seriously and killed by the Tatars, and the Nanjing court will not screen them at all! After hearing this, out of fear, they jumped over the wall and helped the Tatars fight to the death."
Zheng Chenggong was shocked after hearing this. He did not understand why the Nanjing court had such a policy, so he immediately asked the sentry ship responsible for communicating military information every day to bring the news and doubts back to Zhu Shuren.
Zhu Shuren was equally shocked after hearing this, and quickly convened a cabinet meeting in Nanjing.
…
"Who issued the decree that 'anyone who shaves his head must be treated as a real Tatar and killed'? How could I not know?" Zhu Shuren is not polite to those rotten scholars now. As soon as he arrives at Wenyuan Pavilion where the cabinet is discussing, he immediately throws it out
own doubts.
Of course, he was definitely not targeting his father and Shi Kefa, but everyone else except his father and Shi Kefa. After the Nanjing city defense battle and a bunch of civil servants surrendering to the enemy, and being implicated, the remaining Ge Lao and
The power of the ministry has gradually declined.
When Shi Kefa heard about this, he was a little angry. He knew the military well and fully understood how bad this kind of chaos would have a negative impact on the anti-Tatar situation.
After some hasty investigation, everyone confirmed that the Nanjing court had indeed never ordered such a random fate. Shi Kefa then analyzed it with Zhu Shuren in a deductive tone:
"My dear brother, don't be impatient. I guess this is a stratagem to alienate Dodo's subordinate officials and staff! They are probably spreading rumors internally and adding fuel to the flames, hoping to slander the imperial court and trick the common people who have already shaved their heads into following their path.
Go to the dark."
After the investigation just now, Zhu Shuren calmed down a bit and realized that the probability of this possibility was indeed quite high.
He rubbed his beard and thought to himself: "Based on Zheng Xiandi's confession from being tortured at the front line of Jinshan Temple, this possibility cannot be ruled out. The Tatars must have captured some evidence, and then added some exaggeration to interpret the individual actions of the frontline soldiers as
The iron rules of the Ming Dynasty force those who have shaved their heads to jump over the wall.
However, although we have not issued such a decree, the military discipline and conduct in the army, as well as the external propaganda of the Ministry of Rites, must keep pace with the times and be improved. They can no longer be so simple and crude.
I remember that before I removed the two lieutenants of Qian Qianyi, they tried to cater to their superiors and show favor to me, so as to draw a clear line between them and Qian Qianyi, and wrote some inappropriate words.
I remember that they criticized those who shaved their heads as those who had forgotten their ancestors, licked their faces and made enemies, and were traitors to the nation. Although this was good in principle, it was too one-size-fits-all. Many people were held hostage by butcher's knives and would be killed on the spot if they did not shave their heads.
How can we not give people a chance to make a new start when things are urgent?
Wu Butang, please hurry up on this matter. You must eliminate the poisonous official rhetoric that is black and white, but you cannot give people an excuse to be weak and surrender to the enemy. You can think of the specific standards of rhetoric yourself, I only want the results."
The last part of Zhu Shuren's words was to give instructions to Wu Meicun. Wu Meicun was once his teacher and his supervisor when he was the supervisor of the Imperial College. But now that he was promoted to the high position of Minister of Rites, Zhu Shuren was able to reciprocate the favor. When he explained the specific work, he
There is no need to worry about teacher-student etiquette anymore.
Wu Meicun also had a sense of proportion and cherished this opportunity to take charge of the propaganda war. He was not disgusted with Zhu Shuren's straightforward instructions and immediately said that he would do his best to do a good job.
Zhu Shuren thought about it again and felt that such a big issue of right and wrong was still suitable for giving the emperor a chance to express himself, so he suggested holding an extra court meeting on this matter, allowing the civil and military officials of the court to debate it in front of the emperor, and finally let the emperor express his position to give justice to the loyal and traitors.
Assess the next standard.
Zhu Changzi is weak and cowardly by nature, but he is not down to earth, but Zhu Shuren believes that as long as he teaches his father-in-law a few lines, his father-in-law will definitely understand them. Let him say them in public, which will also enhance the court's prestige and cohesion.
That's it.
…
Another day passed, early in the morning.
In the Fengtian Hall of the Forbidden City, which had just been repaired, an extra court meeting was convened - this day was not the normal date of the court meeting every five days, and it was completely temporary.
There is only one topic today, how to characterize those people of the former Ming Dynasty who had their heads shaved. Of course, the emperor definitely hopes that everyone will discuss it on a case-by-case basis and distinguish between voluntary head shaving and forced head shaving.
How to deal with each situation, what the future prisoner policy will be, and how to identify whether the Han people who have their heads shaved are active or passive, all need to be discussed in detail.
Don't underestimate this kind of united front work. This is a national issue, because if it is not handled well, it is very likely to force a large number of Han people to the side of the Qing Dynasty.
Nowadays, the south of the Yangtze River is pretty good. Only five counties have been invaded by the Tatars. However, the two counties in the north of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River have been occupied for several months. If the Tatars also promote the hair-cutting order there and push countless Han people to the opposite side, they will not be able to handle the situation well.
It's serious.
The chaotic deliberations among many civil servants were naturally somewhat fair and somewhat corrupt.
A few corrupt scholars still haven't seen the change in the direction of the situation. They insist on the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers, and still preach that "the one who shaves his head is a rebellious person"——
Not to mention, there are still quite a lot of die-hard civil servants who preached this way in history. For example, Huang Daozhou, the chief minister of the cabinet of Emperor Longwu and King Zhu Yujian of the Tang Dynasty in the original time and space, persisted in being so uncompromising, and in the end even Zhu Yujian couldn't see it.
I went down, knowing that being so stubborn and not changing would ruin things.
But now that Zhu Shuren has taken control of the government, he will certainly write down such civil servants who always stand on the moral high ground.
Traitors must be thoroughly attacked, and those who undermine unity cannot be attacked directly, but they can be transferred to unimportant positions, and they can also be raised with money, so that they can be moral models who are harmless to humans and animals, but do not give them the opportunity to kidnap government officials.
alright.
After these people finished speaking, Zhu Shuren gave his father a wink. Zhu Changzi also understood the importance and knew that this was an opportunity to gain a reputation as a benevolent king, so he expressed his desire for a holy ruling.
As soon as Zhu Changzi opened his mouth, the civil and military officials in the court finally became quiet and respectfully listened to the verdict.
Zhu Changzi then said the line copied by Zhu Shuren: "In this autumn of national crisis, the situation is undergoing major changes that have not happened in a century. Why should you, ministers, stick to the established laws and regulations, which is contrary to benevolence?
In my opinion, those who keep their hair long are righteous people, and those who shave their heads are refugees. It is my fault to turn the people into refugees. If I fail to protect my people, how can I bear harsh punishment? The righteous people deserve it.
Praise and promote, refugees should be screened and rescued, but traitors who sincerely flatter their enemies should be severely punished!"
As soon as Zhu Changzi said these words, naturally except for a moral pervert like Huang Daozhou, the other civil servants were truly impressed.
"Those who keep their hair are righteous people, and those who shave their heads are refugees... Your Majesty is truly a benevolent monarch through the ages. He can be summed up so appropriately. He has a commanding position and a clear vision for thousands of miles away. He makes people look up to the mountains and stop walking."
Zhu Shuren was beside him and was also very satisfied with the effect. There was only a slight flash of guilt in his heart: I'm sorry, I copied one of the most famous lines of Zhu Yujian, the Emperor Longwu of another time and space.
However, Zhu Yujian has no chance to express himself in this life. Only the emperor of Nanming is qualified to say this and set the tone. In order not to bury it, let Zhu Changzi say it.
If Ming Dynasty could always adhere to such a flexible united front strategy, why not win back the hearts and minds of those who sit on the fence?