Zhu Youjian

Zhu Youjian

Zhu Youjian (from February 6, 1611 to April 25, 1644), male, Han nationality, was the 16th emperor of the Ming Dynasty (from October 2, 1627 to April 25, 1644). He was also the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was the fifth son of Zhu Changluo, Emperor Guangzong of the Ming Dynasty, and his mother was empress Xiaochun Liu.

Wanli 39 years (1611), was born in Ciqing palace, Tianqi 2 years (1622), was granted the letter king. Tianqi seven years (1627) is the emperor, the year Chongzhen. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he vigorously eradicated the eunuch party, worked hard in politics, practiced frugality and vindicated unjust imprisonment. During the reign of the emperor, there were endless disputes between the imperial court and the civil society, which led to the outbreak of the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty, and the rise of the post Jin regime outside the Guan Dynasty.

In 1644, when Li Zicheng conquered Beijing, Zhu Youjian hanged himself in Meishan. He was 34 years old. After the Qing army entered the pass, it was buried in the Ming Tombs in Siling with rites. The temple was named Huaizong (later cancelled), and its posthumous title was qintian Shoudao min, Yidun Jianhong, Wenxiang, Wuti Ren to Emperor liemin of Xiaozhuang. Hongguang emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty was named shaotian Yidao. Wenfenwu, Kejian premier of the Ming Dynasty, was named emperor dunrenmao, Emperor Xiaolie. The temple name was changed to Yizong after it was named Sizong. Emperor Longwu changed the temple name to Weizong.

(the general picture shows Chongzhen's portrait restored by cartoonist Hu Zhou)

Life of the characters

Early experience

Zhu Youjian was not happy when he was young because his father mingguangzong was the prince whom the emperor's grandfather mingshenzong disliked, and his mother was the maid and concubine whom the prince despised. At the age of five, his mother Liu offended and was ordered to be killed by his father. Zhu Youjian was brought up by his common mother Xi Li. A few years later, Xili gave birth to a daughter, but she couldn't take care of her. Instead, she was raised by another common mother, Dongli. In 1622, he was canonized as king of letters by his brother Zhu Youxue.

Succeeding to the throne

Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty collapsed on August 11, the seventh year of Tianqi (September 19, 1627). Because he had no offspring, Zhu Youjian was ordered to succeed to the throne by Ding Si (October 2, 1627) on the 24th of the same month at the age of 17.

On the first day of the first month of the next year, Guihai (February 5, 1628) was renamed Chongzhen.

Eliminate the eunuch party

After emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, he was diligent in government affairs. At the same time, we should vigorously eliminate the eunuch party. He removed Wei Zhongxian's wings and left him in a helpless situation.

On the first day of November in the seventh year of Tianqi (December 18, 1627), Jiazi demoted Wei Zhongxian to guard Fengyang mausoleum and ordered him to be arrested.

Wei Zhongxian hanged himself on the fifth day of November in the seventh year of Tianqi (December 22, 1627). Emperor Chongzhen ordered his corpse to be found in Hejian.

After that, more than 260 eunuchs were executed, garrisoned or imprisoned for life, which dealt a fatal blow to the arrogant eunuchs. Rehabilitate the unjust prison and reactivate the officials who were deposed during the Tianqi period. Yuan Chonghuan was appointed as Minister of the Ministry of war, and he was entrusted with the task of recovering the whole Liao Dynasty.

The drought continued

See:

The little ice age of Ming Dynasty

Since the first year of Chongzhen (1628), there has been a severe drought in northern China, with thousands of miles of red land and no grass growing. "In the first year of Chongzhen, the sky of Shaanxi was as red as blood," according to the annals of Xujun in South China. Five years of famine, six years of flood, seven years of autumn locusts and hunger, eight years of September drought in Xixiang, Lueyang flood, no houses. Nine years of drought locusts, ten years of autumn crops, eleven years of summer locusts cover the sky 13 years of drought Fourteen years of drought. Since the Chongzhen Dynasty, there has been a severe drought in Shaanxi every year, and most of the people have been displaced.

In May of the second year of Chongzhen, it was officially discussed to lay off the post station in Northern Shaanxi, and Li Zicheng, a soldier of the post station, was unemployed.

In 1630, the third year of Chongzhen (1630), there was a great famine in Shaanxi Province. Ma maocai, the governor of Shaanxi Province, said in his book Bei Chen Da hungshu that the common people competed to eat the pengcao in the mountains. After eating the pengcao, they peeled the bark and ate it. After eating the bark, they could only eat guanyintu. Finally, they died of abdominal distension,

In the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), "more than half of the people died in the area of Yaozhou and Chengcheng counties in Shaanxi Province.".

In 1634, Lu weiqi, the former Minister of the Ministry of war, who lived in Henan Province, wrote to the imperial court: "in the past few years, every year, every year, every year, every month, every day, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year, every year. In the third year of Chongzhen, there was a drought in Gengwu, Xinwei and Renshen. There is no grass in the wild There is no barking dog in the village, but it still knocks on the door of the expedition; there is a cuckoo in the tree, which sprinkles the blood of the whip. Huang'e's red land is almost deserted, and the white bones and green phosphors seem to cry at night. If you want to keep the poor people from becoming thieves, you can't get them. The drought also caused locust plague, which made the disaster more serious. In the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th years of Chongzhen period, there was a drought of locusts in Henan Province. "People ate each other, plants were exhausted, and local invaders came together." most of the hungry people came from Li Zicheng, the "king of Chuang". In the 13th and 14th years of Chongzhen, "both the north and the South were in great famine If the dead abandon their children, the river will fill the road

Pestilential Blast

In 1640, Shunde Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture and Daming prefecture were plagued with severe infectious diseases.

In 1641, the epidemic situation further developed. In Daming Prefecture, "there is no rain in spring, locusts eat all wheat, pestilence is rampant, five or six of ten people die, and the age is very fierce.". The death rate is quite high. There are many similar records in Guangping, Shunde and Zhending. Zuo Mao's second governor urged the water transportation, and he said: "when I arrived at Linqing from Jinghai, I saw three people starving, three pestilence, and four thieves. Twenty four taels of rice, stone and silver were eaten when people died. "But I will remember you At this time, the epidemic began again in all provinces of North China. "In one night, the people fled and the city was empty.".

In July 1641, the disease spread from Hebei Province to Beijing. The disease was called "pimple disease" and "summer and autumn epidemic". When a human was born, a lump of flesh swelled up and died several times, it was called "pimple plague". In the spring, there were hematemesis, or several people in a family died together. " "Pimple" is the name for lymphadenopathy in patients with bubonic plague.

Bubonic plague occurred in summer and autumn in 1643, and transformed into pulmonary plague in spring in 1644. The mortality rate in Beijing is about 40% or more. The epidemic situation in the suburbs of Beijing is also very serious. In Tongzhou, "there was a great epidemic in July of the 16th year of Chongzhen, which was called gangrene. It was more infectious than the house. Some families died, but there was no convergence.". In Changping Prefecture, it is called "gangrene" in the records, and "if you see it, you will die, even if you destroy it". Hejian Prefecture Jingxian "Chongzhen 16 years of epidemic, the patient vomiting blood such as watermelon water stand dead."

In August of 1643, the plague broke out in Tianjin: "from August to September 15, the plague spread to the peak.". There are those who died on the first or second day, those who died on the second day, and those who died on the third day. Every day, there are not less than a few hundred people. Many people whose families are all dead and do not leave one person behind. They go door to door without any security. "

In 1644, Luo Yangxing, the governor of Tianjin military affairs, said, "last year, there was a great plague in the capital, and there was no one to stop."

In the autumn of 1644, the plague spread to Lu'an Prefecture in the south. Although relatives and friends do not dare to ask about the funeral, there is no one who closes the door and dies.

Shanxi plague also spread to the surrounding provinces. During the seven or eight years of Chongzhen reign, the people of Xingxian County escaped from the plague, which might spread the plague to neighboring areas. From Xingxian County across the Yellow River, it is Yan'an Prefecture and Yulin Prefecture in Shaanxi Province. From the ninth year to the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, major epidemics occurred in Yulin Prefecture and Yan'an Prefecture counties one after another Mizhi City, the dead pillow, 13 years, summer and epidemic, 15 years Great plague, 16 years, Ren, July county city plague masterpiece.

In 1640, there was flood in Jiangnan. In 1641, there was drought and locust disaster. In 1641, drought and epidemic continued to occur. The local society is in a very fragile state, where bandits and refugees coexist, and civil commotion breaks out constantly.

According to incomplete statistics of historians, in the two plague epidemics in Wanli and Chongzhen years of the Ming Dynasty, the death toll in Shaanxi, Shanxi and Hebei provinces in North China was at least 10 million. It is reasonable that the plague, drought, locust and war came one after another, which made the Ming Dynasty unable to resist the southward movement of Qing soldiers. Surprisingly, the plague that had spread for many years disappeared after 1644, and the social economy began to recover.

domestic trouble and foreign invasion

See:

Peasant war in the late Ming Dynasty

In order to suppress the bandits, Emperor Chongzhen first used Yang He as the master, then Hong Chengchou, then Cao Wenzhao, then Chen Qiyu, then Hong Chengchou, then Lu Xiangsheng, then Yang Sichang, then Xiong Wencan, and then Yang Sichang. In the past 13 years, he frequently changed the generals of the encircling and invading army. In addition to Xiong Wencan, others have shown outstanding talents. However, there are doubts about the use of personnel, and even the responsibility is ineffective. Li Zicheng survived several times, and later gathered people in Henan.

At this time, Huangtaiji in the North continued to harass and invade. The Ming government suffered from two lines of war. The annual military expenditure of "three rates" was more than 20 million Liang. The national finance had already been unable to make ends meet. The lack of rates was common, which often led to riots and mutinies within the Ming army. Emperor Chongzhen was eager to seek governance. According to Chunming Mengyu Lu, "in November of the second year of Chongzhen, Shen Liang, the eunuch of rites, lived in the nine gates and the imperial city gate, and Li Fengxiang, the eunuch of rites, lived in the Zhongyong camp of governor"; later Jin rebelled and killed yuan Chonghuan.

As the situation became more and more serious, Emperor Chongzhen's indiscriminate killing became more and more serious. Seven of the governors were killed and 11 of the governors were killed. Zhu Youjian also knew that he could not fight on both sides, and privately agreed to negotiate peace. However, in view of the lessons of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty scholar bureaucrats all thought it a shame to negotiate peace with the Manchu people. Therefore, it is highly praised

Chinese PinYin : Zhu You Jian