Page 300
Page 300
The ministers replied: "Kneel to welcome the Son of Heaven."
"You are all thieves who have wronged the country. The Ming Dynasty has been corrupted to such an extent that it is all your fault. How dare you kneel down to welcome the new emperor?" Wang Dehua began to beat and kick all the ministers.
"Good fight!"
Dashun soldiers cheered and applauded, they all thought Wang Dehua was a good eunuch.
Li Zicheng issued an imperial edict on the way, which did not mention not paying grain, and also took the initiative to wash the land for Chongzhen.It is said that Chongzhen was not a faint emperor, but was deceived by his internal and external courtiers, and it was corrupt officials who made people's lives miserable.He also said that Chongzhen was not a faint king and would lose the world, which proved that Ming had lost his destiny, and he should be Li Zicheng to help the community.
The edict was issued for a full month, and this statement has become a consensus.Therefore, neither the soldiers nor the common people hated Chongzhen, thinking that corrupt officials were doing bad things.
Wang Dehua's actions, beating and scolding the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs, one is to show that he has drawn a clear line with the old dynasty, and the other is to support the content of the new emperor's edict.
Hundreds of civil and military ministers just knelt in front of the Meridian Gate, allowing a eunuch to beat and insult them.
Li Zicheng smiled and said to Liu Zongmin: "The Manchao Gongqing is so cowardly, no wonder Daming lost his country."
Liu Zongmin sneered and said: "Your Majesty, don't look at them in a panic at this moment. In the past, they searched for people's fat and people's anointing, but each one was more vicious than the other."
"That's right," Li Zicheng nodded solemnly, "They search for the people's fat and oil, so I'll come to search for their oil. This is called taking from the people and using it for the people!"
Song Xiance immediately echoed: "Your Majesty is wise!"
"Ugh!"
Niu Jinxing sighed secretly, let the eunuchs beat and scold the ministers, and did not train officials himself, who will manage the territory in the future, and how will he compete with Zhao Han in the future?
Regardless of Li Zicheng occupying so many territories, many cities are in a state of anarchy, and agricultural taxes and commercial taxes cannot be collected at all.
Wang Dehua had a grudge against Xue Guoguan, he beat Xue Guoguan severely, and asked, "You are the chief assistant, you are the leader of the country's thieves. Tell me quickly, where is the son of heaven?"
Xue Guoguan was resentful and angry in his heart, but he didn't dare to show the slightest expression.He wrote down this grudge, and kept it to repay it slowly in the future, and immediately bowed his head and replied, "The emperor of Ming Dynasty may be in the harem."
Wang Dehua stood straight and shouted: "Open the Meridian Gate!"
……
Chongzhen and his concubine ate wine in Xiyuan without any food to accompany the wine, because the cook had gone somewhere.
"All of you, let's go." With a little drunkenness, Chongzhen supervised the suicide of the empress and concubines.
He had been extremely strong all his life, and he couldn't afford to take refuge in Zhao Han, so the only way left was for the king to die for his country.
Since the king is dead, the concubines cannot live. To live is an insult to Daming, and maybe they will be raped and humiliated by the rebellious soldiers in turn.
Empress Zhou wept and said, "My husband cherishes it."
Several concubines also shed tears, and finally cried with their heads in their arms.
Chongzhen turned around and walked outside the door, staring blankly at the sky, as if life was just a dream.
Several white silks were hung up, and the sound of stools falling to the ground was heard one after another, each hitting Chongzhen's chest.
Chongzhen didn't want to stay here, so he asked Wang Chengen to row him to the other side of the lake.
Over there is Meishan, also called Longevity Mountain, which is the highest point in the entire Beijing city.
Climbing to the top of Longevity Mountain, Chongzhen overlooks the entire Beijing city.It's a pity that he didn't have a telescope, and he couldn't see very far with his naked eyes. He could only see the chaos in the Forbidden City.
"Should I really be the king of subjugation?" Chongzhen looked up to the sky.
If Zhao Han were here, he would definitely say: You really are.
Leaving aside this time and space, Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou were not responsible for the battle that determined the life and death of Ming Dynasty in history.Except for the two of them finally surrendering, the whole war was remarkable, and it can even be said that there was no mistake at all.
At that time, the military rations of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were seriously insufficient. As long as the Ming army did not make mistakes, they could win victories in dull battles.
One Chen Xinjia and one Zhang Ruoqi kept urging the army to advance quickly, and Hong Chengchou was almost emptied of command.
So he took the risk and rushed forward, the army ran far away, and the rations were still left behind.Huang Taiji, who was about to run out of rations, was like a vulture finding rotten meat, and seized the right time to occupy Daming's rations.
More than [-] Ming soldiers lost their food and grass.
At this time, Hong Chengchou was still able to remain calm, and no flaws could be found in all military orders.As a result, on the way to withdraw the troops, the general soldiers rushed to escape, and the retreat turned into a rout in an instant.
Not to mention Hong Chengchou's warlord, even if Han Xin is replaced as the coach, it is impossible to win such a foolish battle.
And the two chief culprits who led to the defeat—Chen Xinjia and Zhang Ruoqi, after the defeat, nothing happened, and they were still trusted by Emperor Chongzhen.
To be honest, as long as Chongzhen doesn't randomly send out supervisors and throw Zhang Ruoqi out to mess around, it will be really difficult for the Tartars to successfully enter the customs.
Looking down at his Beijing city for a moment, Chongzhen found a tree with a crooked neck.
Wang Chengen knelt down on the ground and watched Chongzhen hang himself.
"My country." Chongzhen took one last look at the city of Beijing, feeling infinite nostalgia and reluctance in his heart.
The city is noisy and chaotic, but Meishan is quiet and lonely.
When the spring breeze blew, the branches and leaves swayed, and the emperor's body also swayed.
A dynasty ends here.
Chapter 363 [Copy Salary]
Concubine Tian Gui did not die, she was not afraid of death, but reluctant to die.
The year before last, she lost a son; last year, she lost another son; this year, she gave birth to another son.
Historically, this son would also die young, so Concubine Tian Gui was overly sad, and Chongzhen died in 15 years.
Now that the youngest son is less than a hundred days old, how could Concubine Tian Gui commit suicide?
Although she kicked down the stool when she hanged herself, she grabbed Bai Ling with both hands and insisted on maintaining the position for a quarter of an hour, making sure that Chongzhen left before jumping to the ground.
Concubine Tian Guifei left the island in the middle of the lake by boat, and quickly ran to the elephant house, and brought out a strong royal horse.
"drive!"
Concubine Tian Gui got on her horse and rode her horse towards Miyagi very skillfully.
Because she was afraid of being recognized, she also changed her clothes and let her hair loose to cover her face.
Seeing a waist knife on the way, which guard threw it away, Concubine Tian Gui hurriedly dismounted and picked up the weapon.She galloped around in the palace city, wandering around for a quarter of an hour, and finally heard the cry of a baby.
Concubine Tian Gui came to the baby, gritted her teeth and said: "The people in the palace are really untrustworthy!"
Chongzhen also made arrangements for the youngest son, and asked his confidant eunuch and wet nurse to go out of the palace to take him to Tian Hongyu's house to feed him.
Tian Hongyu is the father of Concubine Tian Gui, the official to the left governor of the rear army, and the commander of Jin Yiwei.In the unofficial history, Tian Hongyu brought Chen Yuanyuan to the capital and tried to dedicate it to Chongzhen but failed, so there was a story about Wu Sangui and Chen Yuanyuan.
Obviously, both the eunuch and the wet nurse ran away and abandoned the prince in the palace, unwilling to abide by Chongzhen's will at all.
Concubine Tian Gui picked up her youngest son and returned to her bedroom. She wanted to find gold and silver for money.
As a result, the gold and silver jewelry disappeared without a trace, and most of them were taken away by the eunuch and maid.After looking around, she only found a piece of broken silver on the ground. Concubine Tian Guifei picked up her bamboo flute and left.
Holding the child in one hand and holding the rein in the other, Concubine Tian Gui rushed out of the Forbidden City and came to the foot of Meishan Mountain.
At this time, Chongzhen hadn't hanged himself, and Concubine Tian didn't know the situation, so she rode around Meishan and went straight to Xuanwu Gate.After leaving Xuanwu Gate, she didn't dare to ride a horse to show off anymore, and ran along the inner prison with her young son in her arms, and escaped from Bei'an Gate to the vicinity of Shichahai.
"Wow wow wow wow..."
The baby was crying, and Concubine Tian Gui was very anxious.
The streets and alleys were in chaos, and many city guards were fleeing back to their homes.
The soldiers of the Dashun Army also came in from Deshengmen and Andingmen, and were heading towards the imperial city.
Concubine Tian Gui hid in a remote place, made herself unkempt, and her clothes were stained with a lot of dust and mud, and then she opened her chest to breastfeed her child.
Since she has been breast-feeding all the time, Concubine Tian Gui has almost recovered her milk.
The baby sucked for a long time, but couldn't suck it out at all.
Concubine Tian Gui could only keep rubbing and stimulating herself, and the baby gnawed hard, which immediately hurt her to death.
……
Coal Mountain.
Standing in front of Chongzhen's corpse, Li Zicheng looked at the last bloody letter on the ground with an extremely wonderful expression.
For more than half a year, although Chongzhen lay down and died equally, he was full of resentment towards his ministers.
In other words, it was the absurd fundraising last year that made Chongzhen completely give up on officials.He left this suicide note purely to vent his anger through Li Zicheng's hand!
"It has been 14 years since I ascended to the throne...every time I caress myself, I am not the king of the subjugated country, and all the ministers are the subjugated ministers of the country. I died without a face and saw my second ancestor and my ancestors in the ground. Now I take off my clothes to cover my face with hair, Let the thieves split my corpse to repay the suffering of the common people in the world. If there are loyal and heroic men among the thieves, I will kill all the civilian officials and all the military commanders on my behalf, so as not to hurt any of my people."
Li Zicheng put away Chongzhen's suicide note, and ordered: "Give it a generous burial, and the martyred eunuch should also be buried generously."
After only one day of chaos, order was restored in the city of Beijing, and no large-scale looting occurred.
Niu Jinxing said again, hoping not to copy the salary, even if the money and food are not enough, the honorable officials can donate.
Li Zicheng thought about it, and felt that he was about to ascend the throne, and he really shouldn't do what he did before.So he put up notices all over the city, hoping that rich people can donate money and food, and then the miraculous scene happened again.
Xue Guoguan, the chief assistant of the cabinet, took the lead in donating 3000 taels.
Xue Guoguan felt that by donating so much, he could already show his loyalty. If he directly donated tens of thousands of taels, wouldn't it prove that he was a corrupt official?
With Shoufu as an example, nobles and civil servants donated money one after another, ranging from dozens of taels to 3000 taels.And there are also funny shows, listing houses for sale, setting up stalls on the street, selling calligraphy and paintings...all pretending to be poor there, it seems that after donating money, they can no longer afford to eat.
"Copy pay! Copy pay!"
Li Zicheng met a court lady in the palace, and when he learned that all the officials were ugly, he immediately became furious.
The soldiers of Dashun quickly dispatched to pick out the big houses inside and outside the city.They can't determine which family is an official, they can only judge by the size of the house, and many wealthy businessmen have also become targets of copying.
As the head of the state, Zhou Kui, a nobleman of this level, will be interrogated by Liu Zongmin.
"Your Majesty, I am wronged. The imperial court has not paid a salary for half a year, and the lower official's family really has no money!" Zhou Kui was still stubborn.
Liu Zongmin brought Queen Zhou's mother and Zhou Kui's wife under escort: "You hang yourself, and you can leave a whole body."
The old woman did not dare to disobey, and if she did not commit suicide, she would be hacked to death with random knives. At least she would die more decently by hanging herself.
In front of Zhou Kui and his son, he committed suicide very quickly.
The father and son still refused to make a confession, because the family had too much money, and they would surely die if they revealed Zang Yin's location, and there might be a way to survive if they carried it to death.
As a result, Zhou Kui's daughter-in-law was also forced to hang herself.
The father and son were trembling with fright, but still refused to let go.
"Very good, the mouth is very stiff, I don't know if the neck is so hard." Liu Zongmin drew his knife angrily, and hacked Zhou Kui's son to death.
Blood spattered, and Zhou Kui fainted from fright.
Liu Zongmin had no choice but to report the truth, and Li Zicheng decided to come to the trial himself.
Li Zicheng's ability to copy wages is very rough. After meeting, he said: "Beat him to death!"
The whip is not only dipped in water, but also in salt water.
Zhou Kui was beaten badly, and when he was about to die, he finally couldn't stand it anymore and begged, "I said, I said, don't beat me any more."
Zhou Kui has houses inside and outside the city, and Zang Yin's location is divided into several places.
Two days later, after the statistics were completed, Liu Zongmin came to report: "Zhou Kui's family has 50 taels of silver."
"It's not too much." Li Zicheng commented.
Of course it’s not much, because Xue Guoguan, the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty, was tortured for a total of 280 million taels!
Half a month later, tens of millions of taels were credited.
If divided by groups, the eunuchs had the most money, the nobles had the second most money, and the civil servants came next, while the wealthy businessmen ranked last.
This is logical, those big eunuchs are often sent to supervise the army, and there is even a director who supervises the soldiers and horses in the world!How much military spending is embezzled?
In addition, a few years before Chongzhen's ascension to the throne, eunuchs were sent to the localities as tax supervisors, and the financial rights of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Households were also handed over to the eunuchs.How much money is embezzled?
Xungui ranked second, purely the savings of past dynasties.
For more than 200 years, Xungui has made money from generation to generation, and the accumulation is a massive wealth.
Faced with more than 6000 million taels of silver, Li Zicheng sighed.
He found that the silver was indeed there, and it was more than enough, but where could he go to buy food?An army of tens of 10 people eat horse chews every day, how much food will be consumed!
Poor Li Zicheng was so poor that he only had money left.
If this continues, the Dashun army will have to run out of food in three to five months at most.
Confiscating the grain was of no avail. The grain stored in the grain merchants and households of big households could barely supply the people of Beijing.Once Li Zicheng used all of them as military rations, the people in the entire Beijing city would starve to death.
SFS