Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

However, no matter how high-sounding it is on the surface and what kind of specific arrangements it makes, it means that Beijing and the vast northern region will be finally abandoned. The next step is probably to settle in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River.

In that case, although it is not considered a subjugation of the country, it will lead to a unified world and become half of the country, but it is also a bit like Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty and Huizong of the Song Dynasty in history.

Emperor Chongzhen, who thought he was a sage king and valued his face very much, had always been extremely cautious on this issue.He hoped that it would be best if a prestigious minister came forward to advocate the southward move, but he finally did it "as a last resort" under the strong persuasion of the ministers.At least a little face can be saved.

On this issue, Emperor Chongzhen's mentality is somewhat similar to the mentality of the Qing Dynasty's reconciliation. .

The most unlucky people are often those who have participated in the secrecy. Once the slightest leak is made, they will be regarded as victims of embarrassment and venting anger.Back then, Chen Xinjia was killed for divulging the secrets of He Qian, and there was a reason why Emperor Chongzhen wanted to cover it up.

Out of this kind of psychology, at the beginning of the 16th year of Chongzhen, the discussion about moving to the south was also carried out extremely secretly.On the third day of the first lunar month, when the palace and the city were still busy celebrating the New Year, Emperor Chongzhen quietly summoned Zhan Shifu Zuo Zhongyun Li Mingrui into the palace and secretly summoned him in the Dezheng Hall.

Li Mingrui is just an inconspicuous servant of literature, and he was specially summoned this time because he has always advocated "moving to the south to survive".He had raised this issue in the school years ago, because people speak lightly.There was no strong reaction.

When Emperor Chongzhen summoned Li Mingrui, he completely dismissed the left and right people, and looked around for no one.Only then did they inquire carefully about the idea of ​​moving south.And said to him: "I have long wanted to move south, but no one has supported me, so it has been delayed until today. Your opinion is the same as mine, and I have made up my mind. But all the ministers disagree, what should I do? You want to move now? Keep it a secret."

Emperor Chongzhen talked with Li Mingrui for a long time.In the middle, there was a banquet and tea in Wenzhao Pavilion. After the tea and dinner, they were summoned to talk again. They discussed in detail the specific route of the southward migration, guards along the way, payment, and staying behind. Li Mingrui was not allowed to leave the palace until dark.

From this extremely unusual summons, it can be seen that Emperor Chongzhen had indeed decided in his heart to move his dynasty to the south, but out of consideration for his reputation and face, he had not brought this issue to the table for a long time. The group of ministers discussed, and the situation that he hoped that the cabinet ministers would first propose the southward relocation never happened.So dragged on and on,

The so-called migration to the south has finally come to naught.At this time, Emperor Chongzhen no longer wanted to find a minister like Yang Sichang and Chen Xinjia who could speak his mind.Because the other ministers knew that even if the southward migration was successful, he had the "first merit", but Emperor Chongzhen would definitely settle the score later in the autumn and use his own head to save his face.So who dares to do something that must die?

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen was not the only one preparing for moving south.If you find it difficult to abandon the city and escape, you can only do your best to strengthen the defense of the capital.

And the standing garrison of the capital is the so-called "Beijing camp", which is an extremely corrupt force.In peacetime, there are troubles caused by wages, but in wartime, they are vulnerable.Over the past few years, the Qing soldiers have threatened the capital several times, and the real defense force mainly relies on the troops of Qinwang from all walks of life.

But this time, the Dashun Army may be approaching the city soon, and the transfer of troops to the guard should of course be arranged early.But outside the capital, the soldiers from all walks of life in the north had to resist the Dashun army along the way, and it was impossible to retreat to the feet of the emperor in advance, and the troops in the south were too far away to quench their thirst.The only thing Emperor Chongzhen could think of was Wu Sangui, the commander of Ningyuan outside Shanhaiguan (at that time, the imperial court also included the Langxiao Town led by Yu Ji in Wu Sangui's Guanning cavalry force).

And Wu Sangui was born in the general family. His father Wu Xiang and uncle Zu Dashou were all famous generals outside the pass. He joined the army as the son of a general.The 30 elite soldiers he led performed outstandingly in the previous battles against the Qing outside the pass. Although they had a disgraceful escape history in the Songjin Battle, they were still unanimously regarded as the most effective force in the pass.

When the capital was in critical condition, transferring Wu Sangui's troops to the guard might not be able to stop the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Dashun Army, but it could give the fragile imperial court a little confidence.The problem is that if Wu Sangui's army is transferred to Beijing, the only remaining Ningyuan City and Zhenyuan City outside the customs must be abandoned, and the defense of Shanhaiguan will be greatly empty. Once the Qing army takes advantage of the gap, the consequences will be disastrous.This method of tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall also put Emperor Chongzhen and his courtiers in a dilemma.

In order to relieve the immediate emergency, Emperor Chongzhen first raised the issue of transferring Wu Sangui's army into the customs during a call in March.But this time, as in the past, he still didn't want to bear the responsibility of abandoning the land outside the pass and causing the emptiness of the closed gate, so he just proposed that Wu Sangui take five thousand elite soldiers to Shanxi to help in the suppression. destroy.At the same time, he said to the cabinet ministers: "Whether such a major military plan should be implemented or not should be presided over by the gentlemen, and there is no excuse to delay the delay." The ministers still have to take responsibility.

However, the ministers have already known from historical experience that once they took the initiative to undertake the plan of transferring border troops into the customs, and in the future, the responsibility for abandoning the land outside the customs and the ruins of Shanhaiguan would be pursued. disaster.Therefore, everyone insisted that they did not agree, and let the emperor make his own decisions.

University scholar Chen Yan said on behalf of the ministers: The emperor wants to transfer Wu Sangui's elite soldiers into the pass, which is indeed a good strategy for destroying the bandits.However, Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan are close to the capital, and the relationship is very important. Because of the Wu army, the Qing soldiers cannot go straight in. If they are transferred, other places may not be able to support them.In the event of a mistake, it is not enough for the minister to take responsibility even if he dies.This matter has a lot to do with safety and danger, and the ministers and others have been discussing secretly for a long time, and they dare not easily try to seal off the border, begging the emperor to be judged.

Zhang Yanjin, Minister of the Ministry of War, even pointed out clearly that whether to adjust Wu Sangui is actually a question of whether to abandon Ningyuan.

Emperor Chongzhen could not shirk responsibility to his courtiers, so he had to explain repeatedly to his courtiers: "Abandoning Ningyuan and retreating to Shanhaiguan is a bad policy, but it is really a last resort."

However, in order to be prudent, Chen Yan and other ministers actually wanted to completely shirk their responsibilities. They still proposed that the matter was too big to be discussed at the Jiuqing Science and Dao Conference, and later they proposed to consult the opinions of the governors of various places. It is necessary to properly arrange the defense of Shanhaiguan and the resettlement of soldiers and civilians outside the pass after the withdrawal of troops from Ningyuan.Therefore, the matter of mobilizing Wu Sangui's department has also been delayed again and again, until now it has not been officially finalized.