Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Let's talk about random events first:

In July of this year, Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, received a secret report from Ma Shaoyu about the negotiations with the Qing Dynasty, and accidentally put it on the table for a while.The servants of his family thought it was a Tang newspaper from the frontier, so they sent it to the Secretary of the General Administration to copy and distribute it to each yamen.

However, the courtiers have been concerned about the peace talks with the Qing Dynasty without knowing the inside story. When they suddenly saw this "secret report" issued by Ming, they were shocked and excited.The speech officials began to speak generously, arguing that it was unfeasible to fight for the money and reconciliation, and at the same time slammed Chen Xinjia for claiming that the money was wrong for the country.

This big reveal of the blunders put Emperor Chongzhen in a very embarrassing situation.The officials knew that the emperor was behind the peace talks, but they focused all their firepower on Chen Xinjia, using harsh and sharp terms, and their attitude towards the emperor was self-evident.

However, Emperor Chongzhen had never dared to be straightforward on the issue of peace talks, because he was afraid that his courtiers would underestimate him, but this time Chen Xinjia's carelessness made him a target of public criticism, and he was put in a position where he would be criticized by thousands of people.It was conceivable that he was extremely angry, but he had almost no way to vent it, so he could only pour all his hatred on Chen Xinjia's head.

Obviously, Chen Xinjia kept this matter a secret, but then, he touched Nilin because he didn't understand Emperor Chongzhen's character.

When Emperor Chongzhen approved the official memorial to attack Chen Xinjia, he asked Chen Xinjia to play back from Chen.However, Chen Xinjia thought that the emperor presided over the major peace talks, and he had no responsibility. Therefore, he was very aggrieved to give credit for himself in the replay, saying something, "People think it is a great achievement, but it is a great crime for the minister", There are as many as ten items listed in a row.

This unwillingness to take responsibility for the emperor made Emperor Chongzhen even more angry, at the end of the month.Chen Xinjia was finally arrested and imprisoned on vague and vague charges.This is actually a case that cannot be tried, but Xu Shiqi, a member of the Donglin party, who is in charge of the criminal department, happens to be a staunch opponent of peace talks. He has always hated Chen Xinjia, so he was charged with a felony.

And Emperor Chongzhen was also furious, and needed a scapegoat to take the blame for himself, so he was also motivated to kill.The first assistant Zhou Yanru and others rescued him many times, citing the law saying: "According to the law of the country, if the enemy soldiers do not come to the capital, it is improper to kill Da Sima (Shangshu of the Ministry of War)." Emperor Chongzhen replied: "Not to mention, Chen Xinjia was in the Ministry of War. As many as seven clan princes and county kings were slaughtered by bandits, isn't it more than the enemy soldiers coming to the city?"

The fall of Luoyang, Xiangyang and other places, and the deaths of King Fu, King Xiang and other relatives were all a year ago. If you think that the Minister of the Ministry of War is responsible.It should have been dealt with a long time ago, why wait until the situation of the peace talks is exposed?Even the most foolish people cannot believe this excuse of Emperor Chongzhen.But the courtiers rallied against the peace talks.The emperor was determined to kill to vent his anger.Chen Xinjia was still sentenced to death and executed in September.

Ma Shaoyu, the staff secretary who served as the negotiator, was also stripped of his membership soon after.After the Chen Xinjia incident, peace talks with the Qing side were completely suspended, and no one dared to bring up negotiations with the Qing side.

Then there is deliberate action:

After the Runing Army led by Yu Ji established a firm foothold in Zhenyuan City, it began a series of military operations against the Manchu and Mongolian tribes, so that it offended everyone in Liaodong, including the generals of the Ming Army.

In such a situation where there are enemies on all sides.Yu Ji fully revealed his "hedgehog" qualities, and even upgraded to a "porcupine", which made everyone in Liaodong feel quite troublesome.

The specific deeds of the Runing Army led by Yu Ji will be described later.But his actions completely destroyed the Ming and Qing peace talks.

at first.Man Qing was still somewhat disapproving of the city that appeared on the edge of Ningyuan City.Even because Zhenyuan City was too close to Ningyuan City and Shanhaiguan, they gave up attacking this newly built city.

Unexpectedly, it was this city that brought trouble to the Qing Dynasty, and the Runing Army had always been very aggressive. It was not like other Ming troops who would just hide behind the city wall and spend their days in vain.

But at this time, the Qing army was already resting after the Songjin War, and could not send out a large army immediately.In addition, the location of Zhenyuan City was indeed not conducive to the actions of the Qing army, so Huang Taiji wanted to gain benefits in the negotiations.

At the beginning, the Manchu Qing proposed to the Ming Dynasty to destroy Zhenyuan City.Obviously, not to mention the Runing Army, even the Ming court would not agree to this request.Then, Man Qing took a step back and proposed to stop military operations in Zhenyuan City.

This made the Ming Dynasty agree. The negotiator Ma Shaoyu, who was eager for the success of the peace talks, even personally ordered the Zhenyuan City to order the Runing Army to stop all military operations in order to create a good negotiating environment for the peace talks.

But would Yu Ji and the others heed Ma Shaoyu's order?Birds are not birds.I still do my own thing, still hunting in Liaodong.And in this way, it also made the negotiation more difficult.Until the unexpected incident of Chen Xinjia breaking secrets.

However, the peace negotiations between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which had no hope of success, ended up aborted because of a small technical accident and the lack of support for the bold and reckless local army.This speaks to the fragile foundations of the negotiations themselves.But the cessation of peace talks and contact, for the current Ming Dynasty, not only means losing the last chance for temporary peace through political means, but also losing the only channel to understand the enemy's situation through contact.

In addition to peace talks, of course Emperor Chongzhen and the court also had to resolve military issues.The first consideration is the military commander.

After Shaanxi Governor Wang Qiaonian was captured and died in Xiangcheng, the Northwest Army, which had been one of the main forces in the encirclement and suppression of the peasant army, lost its commander.After careful consideration of possible candidates, Emperor Chongzhen decided to re-appoint Sun Chuanting, the former governor of Shaanxi.

Since Sun Chuanting became the governor of Shaanxi in the ninth year of Chongzhen, he began to preside over one side's encirclement and suppression, and showed unusual talents.However, this capable commander was extremely arrogant and conceited, and he was also one of the few ministers who dared to resist Emperor Chongzhen's self-assertion, so he did not like Emperor Chongzhen very much.For this reason, Sun Chuanting also paid the price. In the 12th year of Chongzhen, he was first dismissed, then arrested, and locked in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment for more than two years.

Until the end of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Zhou Yanru, the chief assistant, mentioned several times that Sun Chuanting was a rare talent, and hoped that the emperor would pardon Sun Chuanting and entrust him with important tasks.Emperor Chongzhen also felt that several military talents who could be appointed, such as Yang Sichang, Hong Chengchou, Fu Zonglong, etc., died, and those trapped in the isolated city really needed people like Sun Chuanting, so he was released and appointed as the Ministry of War. waiter.

It's ridiculous that the imperial prison has now become a reserve for the military commanders of the Ming Dynasty. (To be continued..)