A fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken

 

A fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken

 

On March 19, the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's army entered the capital, and Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide. However, the mantis stalked the cicada and the oriole was behind, Wu Sangui joined forces with the Qing army, and the Qing army outside the pass surged southward. Li Zicheng was routed thousands of miles away and was defeated.

The Qing Dynasty became the final winner of this three-party game. However, the remnant forces of the Ming Dynasty and various anti-Qing and restoration forces did not withdraw from the stage of history. Instead, they crossed the Yangtze River and went south to Jiangnan, Lingnan, and the southeastern coastal areas.

In August of the third year of Shunzhi (1646), Zhu Yujian, Emperor Longwu of the Southern Ming Dynasty, passed away. At this time, Ding Kuichu, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Qu Shishu, governor of Guangxi, and Wang Huacheng, governor of Guangxi, reached a consensus and elected Zhu Youlang to supervise the country. In November of that year, the 24-year-old Yongming King Zhu Youlang ascended the throne as emperor in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, and changed the next year to the first year of Yongli. It is called Nanming in history. With the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty as the core, it continued to persist in the struggle against the Qing Dynasty.

The Southern Ming Dynasty originally dreamed of following the example of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, dividing the river from the Qing Dynasty and forming a Southern and Northern Dynasties. But how could anyone sleep soundly next to the Qing Dynasty's couch? The Qing soldiers repeatedly sent heavy troops across the Yangtze River to encircle and suppress anti-Qing armed forces from all walks of life. However, the battle situation was very stalemate at first. The Qing army made slow progress in the face of Nan Ming's stubborn resistance. Nan Ming's anti-Qing struggle was carried out vigorously.

In the ninth year of Shunzhi, Li Dingguo, a general of the Southern Ming Dynasty, successively won great victories in Guilin and Hengzhou, killing Kong Youde, King of Dingnan, and Nikan, Prince Jingjin of the Qing Dynasty. It is known in history as "the two defeats of a famous king shocked the world." In the 15th year of Shunzhi, Zheng Chenggong successfully launched the Yangtze River Campaign. Tens of thousands of Nanming Navy elites once penetrated the Yangtze River, broke through Zhenjiang, and surrounded Nanjing. The southeastern half of the city was almost no longer owned by the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Shunzhi was so worried that he even had the idea of "abandoning the seven provinces of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou and making peace with the Ming Dynasty." The situation against the Qing Dynasty was very good for a time.

The small dynasty of the Southern Ming Dynasty united with Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi Army to fight against the Qing Dynasty. They could have created a world, but there was internal fighting within the Daxi Army.

Due to the complex factions and conflicts between the various anti-Qing forces in the Southern Ming Dynasty, the remnants of the Ming Dynasty army, the old Daxi Army, the old Dashun Army, Zheng Chenggong, etc. failed to unite sincerely and fought independently. There was even mutual exclusion and strife, serious internal strife, "people's hearts were distracted, and suspicions were increasing." They were finally defeated by the Qing army one by one, and the fall of Nanming was inevitable.

Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang, the two generals whom Emperor Yongli relied on, had internal conflicts. After Sun Kewang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he led Wu Sangui to attack Nanming. In February of the 16th year of Shunzhi, King Wu Sangui of Pingxi of the Qing Dynasty, General Aixing'a of Dingxi, and others led the army to a battle with Li Dingguo's Nanming Army in Tengchong, Yunnan. In the end, Li Dingguo's side suffered heavy casualties and fled in defeat. The last elite force of Nanming was in ruins.

In December, the Qing army captured Guangzhou. Zhu Youlang was so frightened that he immediately fled to Wuzhou. Soon, Zhaoqing fell, and Zhu Youlang fled to Guilin. Everyone knows that if the nest is overturned, the eggs will not be intact, so Zhu Youlang had no choice but to flee in all directions. In the fifteenth year of Shunzhi (1658, the twelfth year of Yongli in the Southern Ming Dynasty), the Qing army attacked Yunnan. Zhu Youlang, who was desperate, fled to Myanmar under the protection of Li Dingguo.

When Zhu Youlang fled to northern Myanmar in 1659, the ministers of the Southern Ming Dynasty fought over the ferry, and even the boat for the Empress Dowager was snatched away. The Burmese army blocked the people and ministers of Nanming who were following behind. The men were killed and the women were kidnapped.

King Burmese was separated from Emperor Yongli by a river, but he never met Emperor Yongli. Zhu Youlang was only provided with a few thatched houses as a palace. As for the minister, he didn't even have a place to live. Soon, the meager food provided by the Burmese king was not enough. The ministers clamored to ask Emperor Yongli to take money to buy grain. There were too many monks and too little rice. Emperor Yongli could not afford so much money. In a rage, he threw down the jade seal and said, "You can use it to exchange money to buy food." Some ministers knelt down to plead guilty, and some actually chiseled the jade seal into pieces in exchange for food.

Zhu Youlang himself has no ambitions, let alone reviving his ancestral business. What surprised him was that Burmese King Mangda respected him extremely. In addition, when Zhu Youlang fled to Myanmar, he also took many concubines, civil and military ministers, and nearly 10,000 soldiers with him, and Mangda had to provide food, drink and expenses. Originally, these soldiers were a ragtag group. After entering Myanmar, they had conflicts with the local people due to military ration issues. But when Mangda was alive, these were not problems.

Zhu Youlang, who has no ambitions, thinks that everything will be fine if he escapes to Myanmar. After Nanming gradually settled down, the monarchs and ministers no longer had the determination to rebel against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Yongli, who was hiding in Burma, was indecisive and completely gave up the idea of restoring the country, just hoping to survive the rest of his life. The ministers of Nanming lived in drunkenness and dreamed of death, contented with enjoying themselves. I met a beautiful Burmese girl, moved my hands and feet, and had fun as I pleased. They also gathered people outside the thatched cottage where Emperor Yongli lived to gamble wildly, shouting and drinking without any scruples.

But at this time, in order to show his loyalty to his master, Wu Sangui pursued him relentlessly and would not give up until he caught Yongli Emperor. In the 17th year of Shunzhi, Wu Sangui wrote to the Qing court, "There are three problems and two difficulties if the canal is not guarded": "If we don't take advantage of the great power of the sky, we will invade Burma in large numbers to wipe out the roots. If this generation establishes its foothold, it will be completely defeated and destroyed." The crowd, peeping at our border defense, tried hard to succeed. By the time the soldiers arrived, they had already retreated, and the soldiers retreated, causing endless harassment. "Police, if you are evil-minded, your trouble lies in the outside world." He strongly demanded that troops be sent to Burma to capture Yongli, without any regard for the fact that he was also a minister of the Ming Dynasty. Instead, he took the lead in hunting down his old master for the sake of fame and wealth. However, the Qing army will definitely eradicate the problem, and the Manchu rulers even offered sky-high rewards.

When Wu Sangui led his troops to attack the border, everything changed. The worst thing is that Mangbai, the younger brother of King Mangda of Myanmar, took the opportunity to launch a coup.

In 1661, Mangbai, the younger brother of King Mangda of Burma, took the opportunity to kill his brother and then succeeded to the throne. King Xin Mian wanted to see Emperor Yongli and receive his congratulations. Emperor Yongli still had some backbone and refused to congratulate the usurper. Soon, King Xin Myanmar invited Emperor Yongli to discuss matters again. Emperor Yongli sent ministers there, but they were all killed.

At that time, Myanmar was just a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty and even the Qing Dynasty, but a phoenix with fallen feathers was not as good as a chicken. During the New Year and festivals, the ministers of the Southern Ming Dynasty had to take off their official uniforms and go barefoot to salute the king of Myanmar. This is simply a huge disrespect and ridicule to the sovereign country.

At night, the Burmese army would also enter the palace of Emperor Yongli. He bullied the ministers' female relatives at will, and even the maids around Emperor Yongli were not spared. The two concubines of Emperor Yongli and many female relatives of princes and nobles committed suicide together to avoid being bullied by the Burmese army.

Emperor Yongli stamped his feet and beat his chest. He wanted to commit suicide together with the queen, but was persuaded by his ministers. The minister said with tears: You have been disloyal by losing your country, and now you are abandoning your mother, which is unfilial. How can you face your ancestors?

In January 1662, Wu Sangui and Chen troops marched on the Sino-Burmese border, aggressively forcing Burma to hand over Emperor Yongli.

Zhu Youlang has reached the most critical moment. Burmese king Mangbai did not want to get into trouble for taking in Emperor Yongli. After Wu Sangui led his army into Myanmar, Mangbai betrayed Zhu Youlang. In this way, Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang and his family were sent back to Kunming, Yunnan by Mang Bai, and handed over to Wu Sangui for handling. Emperor Kangxi was just 8 years old at that time.

More than 300 years ago, Emperor Yongli of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hid in the east and west under the pursuit of the Qing army. He was in panic all day long. As the southern region was completely occupied by the Qing army, Emperor Yongli was forced to flee to Myanmar for more than two years. Such a humiliating life.

At this point, the Qing Dynasty has completely completed its unification, the anti-Qing armed forces in the territory have been wiped out, and the Southern Ming Dynasty exists in name only. The game between Ming and Qing Dynasties has completely ended.

One day in April 1662, Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang and his son were carried in a sedan chair to Gizipo outside Yunnan City. Wu Sangui advocated beheading, but the Manchu ministers interceded. After all, it was the emperor who had to keep his body intact. In the end, Wu Sangui chose to strangle Emperor Yongli to death with a bowstring. After that, Gizipo was renamed as Bisipo.

Emperor Yongli never dreamed that it was not the Qing Dynasty that put him in dire straits, but Wu Sangui, an old minister of the Ming Dynasty. Shortly after Yongli was captured, he was executed by Wu Sangui. Before being executed, the angry and desperate Emperor Yongli wrote a personal letter to Wu Sangui. In the letter, he mercilessly mocked and rebuked Wu Sangui for his rebellion against the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty and the unjust act of chasing and killing the old master, "the general is a distinguished minister of this dynasty, and the hero of the new dynasty", "the fierce emperor (Chongzhen) was very kind to the general", but Wu Sangui "forgot the greatness of his emperor and father" Virtue, for his great achievements, he led the army into Yunnan and invaded our heavenly palace, so that no inch of southern Yunnan was left alone. The general's merits are great, how can the general's heart be tolerated?"

At the end of the letter, Emperor Yongli issued another stern curse to Wu Sangui: "Thousands of years have passed, history has been passed down, and books have been recorded. Why should a general behave like this!"

Yong Li's words came true, and this curse has now become a living reality. Wu Sangui's misdeeds of betraying his master and seeking glory have been recorded in history books. He has become a rebellious official and traitor hated by thousands of people. He will always be cast aside by the world, and he deserves it.

There is no doubt that Wu Sangui's move completely blocked his escape route. The survivors of the Ming Dynasty hated this family slave with three surnames. No one in future generations will sing his praises.

A phoenix that sheds its feathers is not as good as a chicken. This is the fate of Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang, and the fate of Wu Sangui.

Fang Shidi sang a Sichuan ballad "A Phoenix with fallen feathers is worse than a chicken":

 

Longyou was played by shrimps in shallow water,

When a tiger falls in Pingyang and is bullied by a dog,

A successful cat is more powerful than a tiger,

A fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken.