When the Chongzhen Emperor ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty had not yet reached the end of the mountains and rivers. It is even said that it can be maintained by bare efforts, as long as it is not tossed, it is okay. The Emperor of the Apocalypse was very wise and said to the Chongzhen Emperor, "My brother should be Yao Shun." Unfortunately, Chongzhen had to work hard to govern himself and wanted to make himself the first emperor of Qin. Just as giving a strong dose of medicine to an already weak patient, the Ming Dynasty was finished under the toss of the Chongzhen Emperor.
First, the objective environment formed by natural disasters -- although he is injured, the enemy is not happy
The author has always believed that the Chongzhen Emperor was the most unlucky emperor in Chinese history, and the biggest reason for not being one was that he caught up with a large-scale natural disaster that had never occurred in China. From the beginning of the great drought in Shaanxi in Chongzhen's year, to the large-scale plague that swept the whole country in the last year of Chongzhen, coupled with the locust plague, snow disaster, and earthquake in the middle, in addition to the Kaifeng flood as a man-made disaster, the natural disasters that can almost be said to be true, the Chongzhen Dynasty has all experienced it, and the time is as long as seventeen years! Even if we look at the entire history of mankind, such a large-scale natural disaster is unique. Frequent natural disasters plunged the Ming Dynasty's finances, which were already devastated by war and corruption, into an even greater crisis.
Natural disasters have plunged Daming into crisis, and they have also made the surrounding opponents unhappy. At that time, Houjin, Nurhaci had just been killed by Yuan Chonghuan under Ningyuan City, and they were also facing very big trouble. First of all, on the question of who would inherit the Khan's throne, although Emperor Taiji won the victory, but the power had to be shared with Daishan, Amin, Mang gultu and several other Baylors, it was difficult to achieve centralized power; at the same time, in the cold Liaodong land, the cold current and snow disaster were more serious than the Ming Dynasty; and as a lack of medical treatment and medicine, the fear of infectious diseases was more serious than that of the Ming Dynasty, even to the point that they did not dare to go south and plunder. Therefore, a serious natural disaster is a test for both sides, and whoever survives to the end is the victor. Moreover, since the Later Jin was on the offensive side, the Ming Dynasty still had an advantage.
Second, the economic situation of the Ming Dynasty has not yet reached the point of being dragged down
People's impression of the Ming Dynasty during the apocalypse has always been that eunuchs are in charge and the people are not happy. But in fact, in the era of the apocalypse, the wind and rain were smooth, the country's handicraft industry, industry and commerce were developed, the industrial structure was reasonable, and money was not worried about spending. In fact, after the Longqing switch, overseas commerce in the Ming Dynasty developed rapidly. During the Wanli dynasty, the emperor's slackness allowed the economy of southern China to develop rapidly without interference. In the era of the Apocalypse, although the party within the imperial court was different, Wei Zhongxian put his vision of making money on the merchants, levied heavy taxes, and accumulated a lot of wealth for the country. At least at that time, the Ming Dynasty did not have a large-scale civil uprising, nor did it have a mutiny caused by the army's lack of pay.
Third, the border troubles of the Ming Dynasty did not reach the brink of crisis
What was the biggest reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty? It's economical! So, where was the root cause of the economic collapse of the Ming Dynasty? In the three pay! And which is the core of the three salaries? It must be Liao! And Liao's salary means border troubles, side troubles from Houjin. It can be said that since the death of the Ming Dynasty general Li Chengliang, there has never been a figure in the land of Liaodong who can hold the scene. From the forty-sixth year of the Wanli calendar, after Nurhaci confessed to heaven with seven great hatreds, the border troubles can be said to be getting worse and worse every year. However, in the sixth year of the Apocalypse, nurhaci, who was the most enterprising, was seriously injured by Yuan Chonghuan's shell and soon left for the west. At this time, Mao Wenlong, the commander-in-chief of Phi Dao in the Ming Dynasty, and Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Liaodong Province, could form a restraint on the Later Jin court if they could cooperate. Coupled with the contradictions and natural disasters in the Later Jin court, the life of the Later Jin will not be better. At this time, if some kind of compromise is reached, the possibility of both sides recuperating and surviving the natural crisis is very large.
Fourth, the large-scale civil unrest of the Ming Dynasty has not yet taken place
In the end, it was actually three forces that brought down the Ming Dynasty: the border troubles led by Later Jin, the people's rebellion led by Li Zicheng, and the mutiny led by Zhang Xianzhong. In fact, as long as some means are used to stabilize the border troubles, civil mutinies and mutinies are not too big a problem. Because once the situation of border troubles has improved, the Ming Dynasty's vital three salaries can be appropriately alleviated, the soldiers and the people will not be forced to rebel, then the Ming Dynasty's economy will not collapse, and the country will not perish.
V. Although there were many contradictions among the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, it was not without the possibility of unity
The party and government of the Ming Dynasty began in the Wanli Calendar and reached its peak in the Two Dynasties of Heavenly Revelation and Chongzhen. At the time of the apocalypse, Wei Zhongxian's party fought against differences, deceived the emperor, and single-handedly covered the sky in the court, even to the point where rewards or not did not look at merit, but only at factions. Chongzhen had just come to power, and he took over Wei Zhongxian with thunderous means, which in fact could not be regarded as a mistake in any way, after all, Wei Zhongxian was the core of the country's corruption and unauthorized power, if he was not taken down, not to mention daming Jiangshan, that is, the Chongzhen Emperor himself, I am afraid that he would not live to hang himself. However, Chongzhen had no idea what to do after getting rid of Wei Zhongxian. As long as he himself could see clearly, have a restriction on the dictatorship of Zhou Yanru and Yuan Chonghuan in the future, have a tolerance for other ministers, have a responsibility for the world, and did not listen to the irresponsible incitement of those so-called upright gentlemen, the original imperial court was not unsustainable.
The Chongzhen Emperor kept making mistakes
From the above rough analysis, it can be seen that although the situation of the Ming Dynasty at that time was not good, it was indeed not exhaustive. The strategy is properly arranged, and it can even come back to life. In some personal opinions, the Chongzhen Emperor at this time should do the most important thing to make peace with Houjin first, and reduce the money and grain lost on the border to the minimum; at the same time, above the border, listen to the advice of Yuan Chonghuan's "main guard", do not try to restore anything, let him and Mao Wenlong echo each other, and contain Houjin; in this way, you can save a lot of financial resources, try to improve people's livelihood, and destroy the basic disk of the people's uprising. Even if civil mutinies and mutinies are really difficult to avoid, we can concentrate on waging a war of aggression and suppression at home without fighting on two fronts. However, when the war at home and abroad has stabilized, the court has done some more art, and the use of power to slowly digest the remnants of the Donglin Party and the castration party, or even just to maintain the status quo ante, can avoid the overthrow of the world. In this way, the contradictions between the border, the court, and the world are minimal. As long as you carry through the surging natural disasters and then solve the problems one by one, there is still something to be done in the world. If the so-called big country is cooked with small freshness, everything cannot be too anxious.
However, the Chongzhen Emperor was a doer who worked hard to govern, not a strategist who was good at using strategy. His governing style was fierce and fierce, not to mention that the Ming Dynasty at that time was already relatively weak, that is, it was still strong, and I am afraid that it could not withstand his toss.
The first mistake he made was that after killing Wei Zhongxian, he did not recognize the situation and allowed the upright gentlemen of the Donglin Party to harm the country. In fact, the Donglin Party's party was the same, and no matter how fierce it was, it could not be more fierce than Wei Zhongxian, who held the Jinyi Guard. However, these people are good at occupying the moral high ground. In their mouths, the Ming Dynasty could not compromise with any difficulties, even if the natural disasters were cruel and the people did not have a good life, they could not damage the "face" of the big country in exchange for a chance to breathe. The Chongzhen Emperor did not dare to assume historical responsibility, and eventually had to bow to these Daoist scholars. This also caused the entire situation in Liaodong to get out of control in disguise.
Liaodong situation
In fact, as a leader on the border, Yuan Chonghuan's original strategy was correct. When visiting Xiong Tingbi in the capital, the two had a deep conversation, xiong Tingbi asked Yuan Chonghuan about the strategy of the border, Yuan Chonghuan said: "The main defense and then the battle." At this point, the two Liaodong coaches before and after reached a consensus. Moreover, Yuan Chonghuan also took the initiative to make peace with Hou Jin. As long as the status quo of Liaodong can be maintained, and like the Song Dynasty, some money can be used to stabilize Houjin, then Mao Wenlong's leading role can be brought into play, and Yuan Chonghuan may not have to embarrass Mao Wenlong.
When Chongzhen talked to Yuan Chonghuan, he asked how long it would take to "restore Liao". This policy of his and Yuan Chonghuan is fundamentally contrary to each other. But unfortunately, Yuan Chonghuan softened and did not explain his true Liaodong strategy and the emperor. As for the reason, it is very stifling: Yuan Chonghuan is even not an eunuch party, but also a marginal figure of the castration party, and he once gave Wei Zhongxian a shrine is ironclad evidence! If he and the emperor said, make peace with the Later Jin people, first ensure the situation on the border, Xu Tu recovered, do not say that the emperor did not listen, that is, the saliva of the Donglin party could drown him. Therefore, he had to follow the emperor's meaning and say "five years to restore the Liao" . This goal, in fact, he himself knows that it cannot be achieved.
However, the Chongzhen Emperor took it seriously, gave Yuan Chonghuan all the materials he wanted, and gave him a Shangfang sword. Yuan Chonghuan knew that he could not fool around, so he went to negotiate with Mao Wenlong to join forces. Mao Wenlong was always unwilling to live under Yuan Chonghuan, and the result was naturally a conflict between the two, and Yuan Chonghuan, who had greater power, killed Mao Wenlong and committed an official taboo. Therefore, later, after the Jin army entered the customs from Xifengkou, Yuan Chonghuan rescued Beijing but was unjustly killed in prison, and liaodong no longer had anyone who could support the overall situation. The loss of control of the situation in Liaodong was also pushed to the situation in the Chongzhen Dynasty.
The internal situation
To fight a war is to burn money. Since the emperor was bent on "restoring the Liao", it was inevitable to strengthen the armament on the border. In the case of drought in China and no harvest in the northwest, Chongzhen could only tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and did everything possible to open up and reduce expenditure. Therefore, the salaries of the border guards in the northwest were withheld, and the people were also added a heavy "three salaries", and life could not continue. As a result, Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng set off a people's coup, Zhang Xianzhong set off a mutiny, and the next day was in chaos.
The disadvantages of the Ming Dynasty having to fight on two fronts soon became apparent: in the face of the peasant army, which was not strong in combat effectiveness, the Chongzhen Emperor also mobilized heavy troops to encircle and suppress it, and the minister Yang Sichang also proposed the strategy of "four squares and six corners, ten sides and a net", which once beat the peasant army to only a few dozen people. However, due to Houjin's frequent entry and looting, the bandit army often had to defend Houjin halfway through. The subsequent situation was that the peasant army could not fight cleanly, but the army was getting more and more tired, and the country was getting poorer and poorer. When the Chongzhen Emperor was completely unable to pay the soldiers' salaries, the country also came to an end.
Many people say that the Ming Dynasty is the toughest dynasty in Chinese history, with no peace and kinship, no land cut reparations, the son of heaven guarding the country's gate, and the king dying. But in fact, what the Ming Dynasty did, if placed in the current society, will only be called "green skin". Yes, green skin, in the face of external harm, those who have the strength to resist are called hard qi, and those who do not have the strength to be the mouth can only be called green skin. In fact, the Ming Dynasty was the best time for the Chinese Han Dynasty to rise, and the Ming Dynasty, which had already recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, would not have died so ugly as long as it talked about a little strategy. And as long as the Ming Dynasty survives, the modern history of China's humiliation is likely not to appear! Just as the so-called big husband can bend and stretch, blindly fierce, sometimes there is no point at all.