Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

The fall of the two cities of Luoyang and Xiangyang and the killing of the two vassals of King Fu and King Xiang also marked the complete failure of Yang Sichang's encirclement and suppression.It was after he hurried back to Huguang that he heard these two thunderous news one after another.By this time, he was completely hopeless.

Running through the army in Sichuan for several months had already exhausted Yang Sichang, and he was seriously ill when he left Sichuan.After returning to Huguang, he took a boat along the river to Jingzhou (now Jiangling) and lived in Shatou City (now Shashi) on the outskirts. He wanted to recuperate before planning to attack, but he immediately heard the bad news from Xiangyang.

Yang Sichang had served as Minister of the Ministry of War, and he knew very well what the loss of the feudal feudalism meant to him.What's more, the supervisor has been working hard for more than a year, and the bandits are rampant. This in itself is enough to kill any military commander.He was also saddened that he could not quell the civil strife and could not serve the emperor who had given him extremely special favors.

So Yang Sichang said in a letter to Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang, with deep sorrow and regret: "A disaster has fallen from the sky, and the Xiangfan in Zhongzhong suddenly fell. The servant vomited blood and was sad, and he was bound to die, he said." Everything is hoped, only the future He died to repay the emperor's favor.

But Yang Sichang, who was ashamed as death, heard the news from Luoyang again at this time, which was another huge blow to him.On the first day of March, he died in Xingyuan, Shatou City, at the age of 54.

Although Yang Sichang died, the courtiers who had always held prejudices against him still held on to him.Long before the news of his death reached the capital, Zhang Jinyan of the Bingkedu had attacked and impeached him for the crime of falling into the city and losing his vassal.Emperor Chongzhen was also very angry at his most trusted Yang Sichang, who broke such a major event, and issued an order "below the supervisor, inappropriate scheduling, clever words and deceit", and let the relevant yamen judge the crime according to law.

This time, the courtier got his chance.A group of civil servants headed by Li Rixuan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials, Wang Daozhi, Zuodu Yushi, etc., went to the shuffle to demand that Yang Sichang be dismissed from his post as supervisor and hold him accountable. Among them, the eunuchs were the most active.But until this time, Emperor Chongzhen's trust in Yang Sichang had not completely declined.Perhaps it was also because Yang Sichang was specially appointed by him to be the supervisor of the capital, and he also had to take his own face into account, so he was uncharacteristically, instead of punishing the accidental Yang Sichang, he greatly protected him.

For this matter, Emperor Chongzhen specially summoned officials from the Six Ministries, Jiuqing, and Ke Dao to enter the Palace of Qianqing, and said to the officials very unhappy: "Yang Sichang was appointed by Zhen Tejian, and the use of troops has not been effective. I will judge myself. What's more He still has meritorious talents. When you saw that I had the purpose of discussing crimes, you all fought together. If it was really out of loyalty and integrity, why didn't you bring it up before Zhang Jinyan's impeachment? I won't go into it this time. Everyone I'm staying here, I'll let you guys know." The courtier was embarrassed to say more.

soon.The news of Yang Sichang's death also came.And the news of this death also shocked and distressed Emperor Chongzhen.But the courtiers refused to give up.Another climax of attacks against Yang Sichang was launched, and chapters and articles were published. [

Emperor Chongzhen also seemed to feel that it seemed unfair that he still insisted on protecting the dead Yang Sichang after killing so many ministers in trouble.Once again, it was decided to convict the Jiuqing Ministerial Conference.The courtiers believed that Yang Sichang's proposal to send more troops caused the people of the world to run out of money and run around as thieves;Concealing crimes and pretending to be meritorious deeds should be executed according to the story of Qiu Luan in Jiajing, according to the "Law of the Lost City".

But at this time, Emperor Chongzhen hesitated again.After all, his feelings for Yang Sichang are different from ordinary ones. The loss of the only minister he could rely on and trust has brought him great sadness, and he cannot even erase this figure in his dreams.

Just when the courtiers were clamoring to punish Yang Sichang viciously after death, he dreamed of Yang Sichang kowtowing before the court to avenge himself.Yang Sichang said: "I have done my best, and I will die. But all the ministers were unfair and slandered, so I came back and appealed to the emperor." In his dream, Emperor Chongzhen also asked the courtiers about some specific issues about attacking Yang Sichang, and Yang Sichang also agreed One denied it.

The true meaning of this dream should also be analyzed by Duke Zhou or Freud.But no matter what, this dream is also a reflection of Emperor Chongzhen's psychological emotions.With the level of understanding at that time, Emperor Chongzhen's determination to no longer rule Yang Sichang was further strengthened.

So Emperor Chongzhen narrated the dream to the ministers, with a very gloomy expression on his face, and he announced at the same time: "The old assistant Yang Sichang was ordered to supervise the suppression, and he was responsible for guarding the city. It is not fair to blame the governor and assistants for violating the order and causing the city to fall. Moreover, Sichang has been on the front line for two years, and he has made many victories and died exhausted. , give an altar to sacrifice, and let his family be buried in Wuling, his hometown.

After Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, he and Yang Sichang's monarchs knew each other from the beginning to the end, reaching an absolute and blind level of trust.Compared with Emperor Chongzhen's harshness and indiscriminate killing of other ministers, such a monarch and minister Yimo is even more rare.

It should be said that Yang Sichang's talents, especially his military talents, are outstanding. If his strategy of "resisting foreign affairs must first secure the interior" and "stretching the net on ten sides" is effectively implemented, it will be able to prevent the decline of the Ming Dynasty. speed.And his idea of ​​negotiating peace with the Manchu Qing in order to buy time to restore national strength can also be called far-sighted.

It is a pity that because Emperor Chongzhen wanted to reduce expenses, he first appointed Xiong Wencan, who was greedy for money and could only appease, as the first strategic commander. In addition, the second entry of the Manchu Qing Dynasty completely defeated Yang Sichang's prestige. So much so that even after Yang Sichang became the prime minister of the five provinces, his orders were violated by all the generals of the Ming army, and his strategy could not be implemented at all.

In addition, Yang Sichang's personality is also very lacking. He is quite narrow-minded and has a strong desire for revenge.In his hands, he directly and indirectly lost outstanding military commanders such as Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, and Zheng Chongjian, so that in the end, the Ming court could not produce a supervisor who was capable of leading the world and encircling the peasant army.

Therefore, Yang Sichang is an excellent military staff officer, not an excellent military commander; he is an excellent adviser, but he does not have the mind of a prime minister at all.He is a tragic figure who chose the wrong leader and sat in the wrong position.

And for such a long time, what was Wu Shigong doing in Liaodong?He was just eating, drinking, having fun, and doing things, because Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, had been delaying sending troops again. (to be continued...)