Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Shi Kefa's loss of power led a group of officials who were good at profiting and speculating to take charge of the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty. The character and morality of such people can be imagined, not to mention that they certainly would not put all their minds on governing .In particular, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo and others took the credit for "determining strategies", and the ministers in the court recruited these generals one after another to form Austrian aid. He cares.

Especially at this moment of national crisis, if Nanming wants to make a difference, he must maintain internal stability.Throughout the entire history of the Ming Dynasty, no matter whether it was civil servants, generals, or eunuchs, whichever side gained power, the prestige of the court was always supreme.Especially the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, they always held the imperial power firmly in their own hands.

From the point of view of generals, until the last years of Chongzhen, except for Wu Shigong, Zuo Liangyu, Wu Sangui and a few others, the tradition of being noble and humble was hard to get back.But when the generals of Nanming found that they had turned over, they sang "the high singing voice of turned serfs" very loudly.

Because Shi Kefa was hesitant to make a policy, Zhu Yousong begged for help from generals.As soon as Hongguang was about to come, those generals took the lead in "determining a strategy".And those military generals regarded the emperor as a puppet, and the court also had a false name, and a situation in which the warlords controlled the court had formed.

As a result, within the small court of Nanming, four warlord forces gradually formed.They are all divided into one side, completely ignoring the imperial order, flying domineering, only thinking about protecting their own strength, fish and meat.To this.Shi Kefa and others, who are known to have made a big mistake, are still thinking about trying their best to restore this situation.But those warlords are already too big to lose.

As soon as the Hongguang Dynasty was established, Zhu Yousong summoned Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, Jiang Yueguang and others.Let them quickly agree on the matters of employing people, guarding the river, setting up troops, and paying.So Shi Kefa wrote the memorandum, in addition to reaffirming the establishment of four towns, he also talked about the issue of supervisors. He said: "There are four towns, and there must be supervisors. They should be stationed in Yangzhou and dispatched in moderation." Live those generals.

The Hongguang court decided to grant Gaojie the title of Bo Xingping, guarding the Xuzhou and Sizhou areas; Liu Liangzuo was named Guangchang Bo.Guarding Fengyang and Shouzhou areas; Bohuang Degong of Jingnan was granted the title of Marquis and guarding Chuzhou and Hezhou.Zuo Liangyu was enfeoffed as Marquis of Ningnan to guard the Anqing area.And divide a part of the troops to guard Huai'an and Yangzhou areas.

Judging from the deployment of troops, Shi Kefa's proposed four towns and the so-called base of progress are all in the territory of Nanzhili, while the governor's station is closer to Yangzhou, which is a short distance to the north of the Yangtze River.So some people at that time.Everyone has already seen that Shi Kefa has no future plans.It's just to keep Jiangnan.

At that time, the main force of the Runing army had all gone north to the capital, and the Lu army in Shandong was severely injured by the Qing army who had just entered and captured, and it was unclear whether it would return to the Southern Ming Dynasty or the Daping Dynasty. You can contact Liu Zeqing's troops to surrender or even attack, and seize Shandong.The Huguang area occupied by the Runing Army is even more empty.However, the Nanming army did not dare to attack Shandong, Henan, Wuchang, Xiangyang and other Huguang places at all, but retreated to the defense line of the Yangtze River.He only wants to maintain the current situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Of course, people like Shi Kefa may not be unable to see this.But they made such a decision for nothing more than the following reasons:

First of all, because Wu Shigong was a son of a former Ming nobleman, and he was also a former minister of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, he was still classified as a general of the Donglin Party, so he was inextricably linked with many nobles and officials of the Southern Ming Dynasty. relation.

Therefore, Hongguang Junchen believed that Wu Shigong could be "fighted for".They even had their brains wide open, thinking that Wu Shigong's proclaiming himself emperor might just be an "expedient measure".It may be like Zhang Bangchang when the Northern Song Dynasty fell, and he will eventually submit to the Hongguang Dynasty.

Just to take a step back, if the two countries can draw the river and rule, Hongguang Jun and his ministers can also accept it.Therefore, they even sent envoys to Beijing to explore the possibility of "dismissing troops and discussing peace", hoping that they can stay safe.

Secondly, because the former Ming Dynasty was destroyed by the peasant army and the Qing army, Hongguang's monarchs and ministers hated the peasant army and the Qing army deeply, and were afraid of them like tigers and wolves.So they imagined that Wu Shigong's Daping Dynasty could resist the joint attack of the peasant army and the Qing army and build a barrier for Nanming.It's best for all three parties to suffer losses in the end, so that Nanming can pick a peach.

Third, due to the fact that Ruan Dacheng and other officials who were pro-Runing army entered the Hongguang court, and officials funded by the Yangzhou business group and the Jiangnan business group were used as mouthpieces, many officials in the Hongguang court did not advocate actively attacking Wu Shigong's Daping Dynasty .

If it is said that those officials did not know much about the policies of the Runing Army before, but now they have a thorough understanding of the national policies of the Daping Dynasty.After all, even if the Daping Dynasty attacked, as long as those officials "anyway" in time, they would still be high-ranking officials and their wealth would be protected.Just like what Zhou Yu said to Sun Quan back then: All officials can surrender.

As for the Zhu family dynasty, who can control so much?On the contrary, if he concentrates on the main battle now and is too ruthless, if he offends Ru Ning's Mr. Wu, then everything will be over.Being an official has to be the same as being a human being, and there is still a way out!

Fourth, the Runing Army was still on the front line with Nanming, stationing a certain amount of troops. Hongguang Jun and his ministers were not sure of defeating them in one fell swoop, so they dared not act rashly.

Now in Huguang, Henan, and Shandong, there are nearly 7000 Xiongchui towns and local troops led by Zhou Xun and Zhang Biao; There are 5000 recruits, [-] soldiers from the Internal Affairs Department, and more than [-] militiamen from the Workshop Department, totaling more than [-] people; There were more than [-] Lu troops who came down, a total of [-] people.This kind of strength is actually not weaker than the troops controlled by Nanming.

Fifth, although Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Gao Jie, Zuo Liangyu and others still have many troops in their hands, they are all newly defeated generals, and they are also defeated repeatedly.Coupled with the fact that there are a large number of soldiers captured by their troops, their combat effectiveness is actually not worth mentioning.

Moreover, these military generals also knew that the former Runing Army's powerful combat power, so they were unwilling to take the initiative to provoke, so as not to become the first attack target of the Daping Army.

Therefore, although the armies of these generals are intertwined with the Daping Army in Fengyang Mansion, Huguang area, and Jiangbei area, there is a tacit "sitting war" between the two armies, and no one is willing to open fire first. An eerie state of truce.

In the end, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Zuo Liangyu and others have been favored by Emperor Hongguang because of their meritorious service in "determining the strategy". Days, and can threaten the court nearby.Otherwise, once the Northern Expedition moved away from the center of the court, how could they control the government?No one is willing to do that. Yue Wumu, who was recovered by thirteen gold medals, died unjustly in the Fengbo Pavilion.

Moreover, when Shi Kefa became the supervisor, he was already a man who had lost power and compassion, so he couldn't command the "four towns" at all, so he had to run around and mediate between the four towns, like a proud son, helpless.

These military officers are knighted for their deeds, and they all regard themselves as "students of the son of heaven", and their daily actions are rebellious.For example, when Shi Kefa, a master of the supervisor, often quoted the "imperial decree" in his speeches, Gao Jie didn't take it seriously when he heard it, and confronted him face to face: "Decree, decree, what decree! I once saw someone walking in the palace of Huangji!"

But Huang Degong once knelt down and listened to the envoy read the imperial edict. He felt that it was not in line with his own wishes. Before he finished reading, he got up and laid the case in his hands. He shouted: "Go! Go quickly! I don't know what edict it is!"

These military generals have the same attitude towards Emperor Hongguang, so how can they obey the restraint of those civil officials?And once they are dissatisfied with the courtiers, they will go to Shuyun to "beg for the army to rectify the law."

When Liu Liangzuo met Emperor Hongguang, he once said brazenly: "The ancestors in the world are ruined by white flour scholars. This Cao should put it in the high cabinet. After the minister kills the thief, take it and wipe it, so that he can enjoy it." Also! Please don’t make things easier for us today.”

Shi Kefa, who was at a loss what to do, also wrote a letter to Gao Hongtu, a senior scholar in the army, saying, "Suppressing the front is evil, and I would like to avoid it!".The arrogance of the military generals was so arrogant that the emperor and courtiers had no choice but to do anything. Although the cabinet ministers also made friends with the foreign vassals as Austrian aid, he was also under the control of those generals, so he did nothing.

Gao Jie was originally ordered to settle his family outside the city of Yangzhou, and then lead the army to march north.However, Gao Jie was greedy for Yangzhou's prosperity and asked to resettle his family in the city.Seeing that Gao Jie's soldiers were looting and burning the nearby villages, the people of Yangzhou went on strike one after another to prevent Gao's troops from entering the city.So Gao Jie became angry and ordered to attack the city.

Zheng Yuanxun, a Yangzhou Jinshi, intervened and discussed with Gao Jie that only the families of officers and soldiers should be settled in the city, and no troops should be stationed in the city.Unexpectedly, the people of Yangzhou were outraged and killed Zheng Yuanxun on the spot.Shi Kefa, a bachelor of the supervisor, came to Gaojie's barracks outside Yangzhou City in person, persuaded him tactfully, and blindly tolerated him.After repeated consultations, it was finally decided to use Guazhou near Yangzhou as the place for Gao Jun to settle down.

However, Zuo Liangyu, Marquis of Southern Ning, was already too big to lose during the Chongzhen period, and acted on his own.When the edict of Hongguang Jianguo and his accession to the throne was issued in Wuchang, he refused to read it for a while, but he reluctantly opened it to complete the ceremony under the persuasion of He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, and Lu Ding, the deputy commander of the supervisory discipline under his command.

Follow the example, other Nanming generals such as Zheng Zhilong, Fang Guoan, etc. saw the generals like this, and they each calculated their own interests and did not care about state affairs. (To be continued..)