After the death of the Chongzhen Emperor, the whereabouts of the four princes became a mystery, and an old man in modern Guizhou told the secret of the year
For the royal family of the previous dynasty, the change of dynasty is often a tragedy, and many royal families are sinking deeper and deeper in an instant, and even their descendants have not been able to survive a few. Many princes and nobles in history have disappeared in the continuous killing, and their thoughts and deeds have disappeared into the old paper pile of history, so some people will say that the Chinese nation has no nobility.
At the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties, many princes and nobles of the Ming Dynasty suffered such a fate, and the local princes surnamed Zhu were slaughtered by peasant entrepreneurs led by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. After Li Zicheng entered the city of Beijing, the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide with his concubines and sons and daughters. However, when they fled, these princes were still captured by Li Zicheng. However, Li Zi became a bribe to people's hearts, and instead of killing them, he sealed the prince.
Unfortunately, Wu Sangui was furious and let the Qing army enter the customs, and in front of the iron hooves of the Manchu Qing, the peasant army naturally could not resist and soon escaped from the city of Beijing. And chongzhen's princes were in this greater catastrophe, and their bones were gone.
First of all, the crown prince Zhu Cixi, because his grandfather was afraid of being killed, he drove him out of the house, and was soon captured by the Qing army and then killed. The third prince, Zhu Cijiong, became a monk, but was later used as a banner to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, and was caught and killed by the Qing government. Finally, there is the fourth prince, Zhu Cizhao, who is not recorded much in history, and many people feel that the youngest of him should have died in the years of war and chaos. However, a few years ago, in Guizhou, there was an old man named Zou Dailin, who claimed to be a descendant of Zhu Cizhao, and also took out the relevant genealogy and some letters, which were verified by experts to confirm that the old man's statement was true. Since then, the whereabouts of the fourth prince, Zhu Cizhao, have been clear.
It turned out that Zhu Cizhao followed a general named Zou Zhifeng all the way to Guizhou, randomly hiding his name, Zou Zhifeng let Zhu Cizhao follow his surname, and finally survived safely under the secret protection of the local people and Zou Zhifeng, and spread leaves in Guizhou, and the fourth prince Zhu Cizhao, who had been missing for more than 400 years, finally saw the light of day. And this period of history has also become the eternal secret in the heart of the old man Zou Dailin, if it were not for the situation of coincidence, he might still have to keep this secret.
In fact, for the current old man Zou Dailin, it does not matter whether he is the Zhu family royal family, after all, it is a matter of hundreds of years, but the genealogy and related letters and materials he provided have become important historical materials for studying the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, helping scholars to solve one mystery after another.
Perhaps with the passage of time, the princes of the Zhu surname and the descendants of the local Princes surnamed Zhu will also be gradually discovered, which will have positive significance for understanding the history of the entire Ming Dynasty, interpreting the special cultural phenomena of that era, and helping people to re-understand the Ming Dynasty. After the death of the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the whereabouts of his four princes became a mystery, in modern times, an old man in Guizhou told the secret of the year, it turned out that Chongzhen did not have an end, such news must be able to comfort the spirit of the Chongzhen Emperor in heaven, everyone said yes?
References: Draft History of the Qing Dynasty, History of the Ming Dynasty, etc