Borrowing troops for revenge

 

Borrowing troops for revenge

 

Fang Shidi chatted with Agudengba and the coachman Azhuo about the Dashun Dynasty, and continued to talk about Li Zicheng, Wu Sangui, and Dorgon.

Li Zicheng became corrupted in just 42 days in Beijing, and so did his chief civil servant Liu Zongmin. After hearing about the beauty of Wu Sangui's concubine Chen Yuanyuan, Liu Zongmin immediately robbed Chen Yuanyuan and arrested Wu Sangui's entire family without stopping. They were beaten and tortured for money.

Before Li Zicheng's army came to Beijing, the Ming court ordered Wu Sangui to abandon Ningyuan and return to the capital to aid the capital. Wu Sangui arrived at Shanhaiguan on March 16. When we arrived in Fengrun on March 20, we heard that the peasant army had captured Beijing the day before.

Li Zicheng sent someone to appease him, saying that after Wu Sangui returned to Dashun, he would "not lose his status as a prince". Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, who was in Beijing, was worried about the lives of his family and wrote a letter to persuade him with "serious words and thoughtful words".

While hesitating, Wu Sangui learned about the Dashun army's torture of Ming Dynasty officials in Beijing to recover stolen goods, and was greatly disappointed. Soon, when he learned that his father had also been detained, he was extremely angry and decided not to go to Beijing again, fearing that his father and son would be killed if he surrendered.

Wu Sangui learned that his father had been tortured and broke up with Li Zicheng. Instead of immediately surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, he "borrowed troops to revenge" from the Qing court as an isolated minister of the Ming Dynasty.

Dorgon was overjoyed when he received Wu Sangui's secret letter and immediately went straight to Shanhaiguan. At the same time, he wrote to Wu Sangui, promising to "crack the earth and seal the king", asking the other party to surrender instead of "borrowing troops".

In mid-April, when he heard that Wu Sangui in Shanhaiguan was "rebelling", Li Zicheng couldn't sit still. He wanted Liu Zongmin and Li Jin to lead the army to the expedition, but the two generals were indulged in the pleasures in the capital and shook their heads. Reluctantly, Li Zicheng had no choice but to "conquer personally."

At that time, Wu Sangui led the Shanhaiguan troops with Guan Ning cavalry as the backbone, and they were already on their way to Beijing. The so-called "rushing to the top and becoming a beauty with anger" is nonsense. The position of commander-in-chief is equivalent to the commander-in-chief of a military region. What woman has not been seen? Pass.

What Wu Sangui thought of was:

If Li Zicheng wanted to surrender, why did he abuse my family members? This would only happen if Li Zicheng didn't want to use me. Then the consequences of my going to Beijing would be "death". So Wu Sangui, who understood, turned his horse around and reoccupied Shanhaiguan and prepared for battle. At the same time, he wrote a letter and sent it to Dorgon asking for reinforcements. Sure enough, Li Zicheng didn't even say a word of explanation, and immediately gathered the army and brought them with him. The hostages used to threaten Wu Sangui: Prince Zhu Cixiang and Wu Sangui's father Wu Xiang, went straight to Shanhaiguan to start a war.

The war started on April 21st. After a day and night of fierce fighting, with the disparity in military strength, Wu Sangui directly contacted Dorgon, who was already in place and ready to provide assistance. Dorgon, however, sat down and raised his price. Can you, Wu Sangui, lend me Qing soldiers to support the Ming Dynasty Crown Prince Zhu Cixiang? No, you can only surrender in your current situation. All high-ranking officers will change their minds immediately, otherwise you will bear the consequences.

At this time, Dorgon and his subordinates had doubts. Firstly, they were afraid that Wu Sangui would deceive others. Secondly, the Qing army had never dealt with Li Zicheng, so they felt unsure. Therefore, the Qing army first started training with Tang Tong's army, and first defeated this small group of former "official army" and peasant army troops at Yiyishi.

In panic, in the early morning of April 22, Wu Sangui personally left the customs and rushed to Huanxi Ridge to meet Dorgon.

Dorgon took Wu Sangui's hand and said: "You have avenged your old master, which is commendable. I will lead the troops into the pass this time and strictly order the army to obey the rules. I hope you will tell the people in the pass not to panic."

Wu Sangui was "moved" and hurriedly made an oath with Dorgon to sacrifice horses and cattle to heaven and earth, saying that whoever breaks the contract will not have a good death.

Dorgon was still worried and asked Wu Sangui to shave his hair. Wu Sangui and several senior officers under his command had to immediately shave their heads and declare themselves ministers. There was no time for all the 40,000 to 50,000 Ming troops to shave their heads, so Dorgon asked them to wrap white cloth strips around their bodies as a mark. There was not enough white cloth, so the Ming soldiers used foot-binding cloths to tear off as marks. Therefore, during the melee, when the Qing army saw the Han people wrapped in white cloth, they knew they were "allies" and did not kill them.

Wu Sangui mourned his troops and acted as the vanguard. The peasant army has its "lord" personally marching, and every one of them takes the lead. The fight lasted until noon. After all, the peasant army had the upper hand. Wu Sangui was already defeated. More than half of the Ming army was killed, and he could barely hold on.

Dorgon had the ability to blast through Shanhaiguan directly, because Portugal's latest red cannon and the Qing Army's Eight Banners Portuguese Firearms Unit, which had been trained by foreigners for a year, had

Fighting for many years. Now they are halfway through the journey. The terrifying number of artillery and the professional quality of the army exceed that of any artillery unit in the Ming Dynasty. This was originally the property of Chongzhen, but it was all contributed to the Qing Dynasty by Kong Youde's company and equipment leaders.

For the sake of Zu Dashou and to stabilize the situation after entering the customs and win people's support, Dorgon still hoped that Zu Dashou's nephew Wu Sangui could surrender. At that time, Wu Sangui wanted to escape Li Zicheng's troops and escape to the mainland. If you flee the customs, you will directly encounter Dorgon's Manchu cavalry. In desperation, Wu Sangui ordered the Shanhaiguan gate to be opened. The Qing army did not waste a single soldier, and the Ming soldiers themselves opened the dangerous pass that millions of soldiers could not overcome.

At the critical moment, the Qing army's horn sounded, and 20,000 to 30,000 Qing army cavalry wearing bamboo hats and long braids suddenly rushed towards them with shouts and killing intent. As a result, Li Zicheng was beaten away by Azig and Dodo in just one meal, which took about 15-20 minutes.

Li Zicheng was so frightened that he almost fell off his horse. He shouted "The Tatars are coming", turned around and ran away. The "lord" ran away, and everyone lost their minds and immediately turned around and ran away. The army was defeated like a mountain. The Ming army and the Qing army jointly attacked and chased them all the way. Within twenty or thirty miles, the bodies of tens of thousands of killed peasant soldiers were soon filled with corpses. It is said that the corpses of the dead peasants could not be cleared away even after three years.

With only a few thousand remaining soldiers, Li Zicheng was defeated and retreated to Yongping. To vent his anger, he ordered Wu Sangui and his father Wu Xiang to be beheaded and his head hung on a high pole. After a short breath, he hurried back to Beijing.

At that time, Li Zicheng offended everyone, no matter officials, businessmen, gentry, or common people, no one was left behind. In the end, Wu Sangui was forced to surrender to Dorgon, and Dorgon originally wanted to take a detour through Miyun to invade the Central Plains. Now, it was better to come directly from Shanhaiguan and go straight to Beijing, Shenyang → Liaoxi Corridor → Shanhaiguan → Capital, forming a passage.

On April 26, Li Zicheng led his remaining soldiers to escape back to Beijing. After these defeated soldiers entered the city, they all knew that the end was coming. They completely lost their discipline and began to burn, kill, rape and loot in the city of Beijing with extremely cruel preparations. After Li Zicheng entered the city, the first thing he did was to send people to kill all 34 members of Wu Sangui's family.

Early the next morning, Li Zicheng held a formal "enthronement ceremony" at Wuying Hall, wearing a crown and receiving congratulations from "hundred officials". He hurriedly left Beijing early the next morning and fled westward. When Li Zicheng's troops were fleeing for their lives, almost all of the soldiers took women with them, with the most taking six women, all of whom were snatched away.

After Li Zicheng burned the Forbidden City on the 30th, he quickly fled to Xi'an. From entering the city to leaving Beijing, the "Dashun" regime only existed for 42 days.

Fang Shidi sang a song called "The Song of the Foolish King's Subjugation of the Country":

 

China has five thousand years of civilization,

Since Xia Qi first created the hereditary system,

After eighty-three kingdoms,

There were five hundred and fifty-nine emperors in total.

 

Speaking of the faint kings in the history of Chinese emperors,

I am afraid that Xia Jie and Shang Zhou are none other than Xia Jie and Shang Zhou.

Tyrants kill people at every turn;

For example, Qin Shihuang and Qin II.

Joking about the Spring and Autumn Period, Ji Yan and Jin Jinggong,

Instruct the baker to cook new wheat porridge.

Suddenly the abdomen swells and I need to have a bowel movement.

He got up to go to the toilet and fell into the cesspit.

Let’s talk about Qian Yuanguan, Shizong of Wuyue.

Died of shock due to the fire in the capital,

The most stupid among the cowardly emperors.

 

How many good emperors can the Han Dynasty have?

Emperor Liu Shi of the Han Yuan Dynasty trusted the eunuchs,

The imperial power declined and entered decline.

Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Liu Ao, was unscrupulous.

Spending time in wine and sex allows relatives to govern,

It laid the foundation for Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Liu Hu of the Han Dynasty suffered from disasters for many years.

The eunuch group gained power again,

Continuous wars damaged the vitality of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The cowardly Han Emperor Cheng Yougong Li Qi,

He was deposed as the Duke of Qiongdu County and hanged himself.

The first emperor to hang himself.

 

The stupid emperor Jin Hui, Sima Zhong,

His IQ is even lower than Liu Adou’s.

The ugly wife, stupid husband and useless man were poisoned to death.

Gao Zhan, Emperor Wucheng of the Northern Qi Dynasty, reigned.

Favoring and trusting traitors and lewd men in the court,

He killed the clan members and ministers arbitrarily.

The northern and southern dynasties dominate the high latitudes of the Northern Qi Dynasty,

He was dissolute and immoral and harmed the Northern Qi army.

The Northern Zhou Dynasty came to attack and was severely defeated.

Chen Shubao ignored the government affairs while he was in office.

Indulging in female sex and making music about the country’s subjugation,

The Chen Dynasty collapsed and hid in Rouge Well.

Let’s talk about Sima Yao, Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty.

The couple quarreled and offended Zhang Guiren.

The palace maid covered Emperor Meng with a quilt to death.

The implementation of Sinicization should be thanked by Emperor Xiaowen.

Poor Northern Wei Emperor Tuoba Hong,

But he was angry to death because the queen cheated on her.

 

Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guanghao, was very pleased with his achievements.

Expeditions south and north to build the Grand Canal,

Arrogant, extravagant and lewd, he traveled around Jiangdu,

Boasting that the country's wealth and strength gathered in Luoyang,

Nearly 30,000 geishas were employed,

Later he was hanged by his subordinates in Jiangdu.

Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Heng, rebelled and ascended the throne.

Favoring eunuchs also leaves a legacy of disaster

Mawei rebelled and forced Concubine Yang to be killed.

The most outstanding emperor was Tang Zhongzong.

My parents, my nephew, and I were all emperors.

Commonly known as three women in one play,

Li Xian lives among his mother, daughter and wife;

Facing three powerful and aggressive women,

The queen gave him a cuckold.

 

Zhao Jizun, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, believed in Taoism.

He claimed to be the leader of the religion and built a large number of palaces and temples.

Bribing public institutions and selling officials to win titles,

Infatuated with the sensual brothel and singing house tour,

The Jin soldiers went south and the emperor was taken prisoner.

Emperor Yuan Shun welcomed Tie Mu'er.

In the early stage of his reign, he was controlled by powerful ministers.

In the later period, he neglected government and indulged in pleasure.

Internal strife continues, and external civil unrest arises.

As soon as the Ming army came and fled Beijing,

This ended the Yuan Dynasty's rule.

 

Emperor Wanli of Ming Shenzong lived in a deep palace.

Wasted political affairs, obsessed with wealth,

In the later twenty-eight years, he did not go to court.

Send eunuchs to serve as mine supervisors and tax envoys,

Exploiting mines and plundering wildly.

Zhu Youjian, Emperor Sizong of the Ming Dynasty, was not lewd.

Unable to save the declining Ming Dynasty,

Instead, they intensified their efforts to collect taxes.

This led to the outbreak of a peasant uprising.

In desperation, he hanged himself and the Ming Dynasty perished.

 

Emperor Xianfeng took the throne and was diligent in political affairs.

He opened his mouth widely and issued edicts to seek talents.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty was faced with internal and external troubles.

Ignoring the rise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom,

Still not paying attention to the sound of wind and rain outside the window,

After the British and French forces invaded Beijing,

When Xianfeng fled to Rehe to avoid disaster,

If you are addicted to drinking, you will get angry every time you get drunk.

Smoking opium is just for excitement.

 

From the Qin Dynasty to the fall of the Qing Dynasty for two thousand years,

There were more than 400 emperors in total,

Why are there so many foolish kings in the history of the country?

Just because the emperor implemented a lifelong system,

You can be licentious, violent, and neglect government affairs.

The risk is transferred to the entire empire,

No emperor cares about the people.

All the subjects under the emperor's feet are slaves.