The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

The process of persuading them to surrender was even more bizarre?

Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zhu Ziming with curiosity, waiting for him to continue.

Zhu Ziming said: "According to unofficial folk history, after being captured, Hong Chengchou was determined to die, while Huang Taiji wanted to recruit him. No matter who tried to persuade him, Hong Chengchou had no intention of surrendering. He lay on the bare bed and went on a hunger strike, determined to die."

"At this moment, Consort Zhuang arrived."

"Consort Zhuang looked at Hong Chengchou lying on the bare bed and said, 'I heard that General Hong has an elderly mother who is over sixty years old. If you leave, who will take care of her? I also heard that General Hong has his wife in his boudoir and a beautiful concubine in his side room. Are you willing to leave them alone in their empty rooms?'"

Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou was suddenly overcome with sorrow and remained silent.

"Consort Zhuang felt the time was right, so she quickly took out a jade pot and two wine cups from the bamboo basket she had brought, filled them, and said, 'General Hong has already decided to die, and I dare not let him tarnish his reputation. This is a farewell drink; please drink it, General.'"

Hong Chengchou remained silent for a long time before finally drinking it down in one gulp. But as soon as the "wine" entered his mouth, Hong Chengchou realized that it was not wine, but ginseng soup.

"Taking the opportunity, Consort Zhuang said, 'General Hong has not eaten for several days and is weak. Please have a few more drinks!' As she spoke, she placed her hands on Hong Chengchou's shoulders, and Hong Chengchou held Consort Zhuang's hands tightly."

Consort Zhuang deliberately spoke in a coquettish voice, "General Hong, do you have anything else to say?"

"Consort Zhuang's words and actions awakened Hong Chengchou's longing for women and his attachment to life. He resolved not to die again, so he surrendered to the Qing and became a powerful assistant in the Manchu unification of China."

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen wore an incredulous expression, as if several question marks had appeared on his forehead.

This sounds so strange.

Chongzhen couldn't quite put his finger on what was strange about it.

correct!

ambiguous!

Why does this surrender process sound so ambiguous?

One hand pressed down on Hong Chengchou's shoulders, while the other held Zhuang Fei's hand tightly.

What is this going to do?

Is this an offer of surrender or...?

The scene was something Emperor Chongzhen could hardly imagine.

"good!"

Zhu Ziming said, "According to unofficial history, Huang Taiji may have used Consort Zhuang to lure Hong Chengchou into surrendering. Doesn't that sound absurd? But when you consider Huang Taiji, who was determined to conquer the world, it's not so absurd."

Why do you say that?

"Because Huang Taiji twice bestowed his concubines upon his subordinates. Once it was the Crown Prince's consort, Borjigit, who was given to his cousin Nanchu by Huang Taiji. The second time it was the secondary consort, Yehenara, who was given to the Grand Minister Zhantushetu."

"Therefore, in order to subdue the mainstay of the Ming Dynasty, it was not impossible for Huang Taiji to give up a concubine."

"As for Consort Zhuang, it's not impossible for her to persuade Hong Chengchou to surrender."

"First, there was Huang Taiji's order. As the most authoritative figure in the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji's word was law. Once he made a decision, Consort Zhuang... Second, there was the barbarian women's admiration for Central Plains men. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was a celestial empire, a land of propriety, and most barbarians longed for it, let alone barbarian women. Moreover, that man was the famous Jiliao Grand Commander Hong Chengchou of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Therefore, Consort Zhuang is also willing."

"Huang Taiji and Consort Zhuang were a perfect match."

"As for Hong Chengchou, he never expected that Huang Taiji would use such a drastic remedy. He must have been shaken to his core. In addition, Consort Zhuang did have her own methods, otherwise there wouldn't be so many secret histories in later generations. The two of them were like dry wood meeting a raging fire, and they hit it off immediately. Moreover, this time they really hit it off immediately."

Emperor Chongzhen was completely dumbfounded.

Can you do this?

For the emperors of the Central Plains, this would be a complete destruction of their values, because the Central Plains valued the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, the Three Chastities and Nine Martyrs, and had a very strong sense of morality, especially for women, who were firmly bound by this sense of morality.

The situation was different for the nomadic peoples of the north.

They are more uninhibited in their relationships with men and women, and at the same time, they don't have such a strong sense of ethics and morality.

This is why the Central Plains called itself a land of propriety and etiquette, while referring to the nomadic peoples of the north as barbarians.

The most famous of these is the debate between the Chinese and the barbarians.

"Barbarians are like beasts; they are not worthy of joy when spoken kindly, nor are they worthy of anger when spoken ill of."

"The reason why China is different from the barbarians, and why human beings are different from beasts, is because they have manners."

"Barbarians cannot be governed by the methods of China; they are like beasts."

Whenever the Central Plains were invaded by barbarians, the wise men of the Central Plains would lament the collapse of the social order and music, and this was the reason for it.

After a long moment of shock, Chongzhen still spoke with some disbelief: "In other words, Huang Taiji used his own concubine to lure Hong Chengchou into surrendering, and Hong Chengchou was seduced by her beauty and ultimately served the Manchus."

"good!"

Zhu Ziming nodded: "However, Huang Taiji actually got what he deserved. He used a concubine to gain Hong Chengchou's loyalty, and later Hong Chengchou helped the Manchus pacify Jiangnan and manage the southwest, which was equivalent to gaining most of the country in return."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded silently.

Huang Taiji was indeed a man of great ambition. For the sake of conquering the world, he was willing to wear a green hat, and the person who cuckolded him was his own subject.

He knew he couldn't do it.

Seeing that Chongzhen had taken it to heart, Zhu Ziming couldn't help but remind him, "Of course, these are all unofficial histories. Just listen to them and don't let them take to heart, otherwise, you'll find it strange when you read official history."

"but……"

Zhu Ziming hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Emperor Chongzhen said urgently, "Sir, please speak freely!"

Zhu Ziming nodded: "However, the records of Hong Chengchou's surrender to the Qing in official history are indeed strange and quite suspicious."

"According to official history, after being captured, Hong Chengchou refused to surrender to the Qing. When Fan Wencheng tried to persuade him, he was scolded instead. But later, when Huang Taiji came, he did nothing but take off his own fur coat and put it on Hong Chengchou. Hong Chengchou stared at it for a long time and exclaimed, 'He is truly a ruler destined for the times!' He then kowtowed and surrendered."

"I remember that during the Jisi Incident, after Yuan Chonghuan made a series of mistakes, Chongzhen still took off his clothes and draped them over Yuan Chonghuan to show his trust. Yuan Chonghuan even went further, wanting to lead his troops into the city to rest. So this doesn't mean anything. But Hong Chengchou, who was also the governor of Jiliao and had seen many storms, was so easily conquered by Huang Taiji just by taking off his clothes?"

"This surrender process seems completely illogical, doesn't it?"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded in deep agreement.

Zhu Ziming continued, "It is precisely because of the ambiguity of official history that unofficial history has become so widely circulated."

"If we're really going to go by unofficial historical accounts, the later parts are even more outrageous!"

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen's gossipy nature could no longer be contained. He even forgot his initial purpose for coming to the bookstore and eagerly exclaimed, "Tell me quickly, sir!"