In the long history of our country, the Ming Dynasty has existed for 276 years. It began with Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and ended with the Chongzhen Emperor Ming Sizong Zhu Youjian. The Ming Dynasty also experienced large and small rises and falls, and what deserves our attention in the entire Ming Dynasty is the history of the Ming Dynasty towards its demise.
Li Zicheng was a peasant leader at the end of the Ming Dynasty, brave and full of talent. The Chongzhen Emperor was forced to die by Li Zicheng, and there was another figure who played a key role in this matter at that time. This person was Wu Sangui, a political and military figure in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and after Li Zicheng forced the death of the Chongzhen Emperor, he had three choices, but he chose the worst one. After the death of the Chongzhen Emperor, a person like Wu Sangui must have several paths to choose from, and he had these three choices:
1. Surrender to Li Zicheng
The specific thing is that Li Zicheng led an uprising at the end of the Ming Dynasty and forced the Chongzhen Emperor to hang himself. Before the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide, he issued an edict to Wu Sangui. However, because the Chongzhen Emperor had been hesitating when issuing the edict, and Wu Sangui was far away from the Chongzhen Emperor.
In the presence of a variety of factors, this led to the current history, that is, the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself. If Wu Sangui had arrived in time with troops, he would have reversed the entire history, allowed the Ming Dynasty to continue, and become a great hero of the Ming Dynasty. However, it was too late to say anything now, and Wu Sangui was indeed late at that time.
Wu Sangui, a historical figure, was actually very powerful, Wu Sangui had courage and strategy, and the Chongzhen Emperor used him very much at that time. Moreover, Li Zicheng also wanted Wu Sangui to join his army many times and give him the high-ranking official Houlu.
Surrender, this thing may sound a little cowardly, but at that time, in the change of generations, surrender was a very normal thing. First of all, after the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty, many of the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty devoted themselves to Li Zicheng. Moreover, Li Zicheng himself was very optimistic about Wu Sangui and had long wanted to reuse him.
If Wu Sangui surrendered to Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng would definitely reuse him and give him the high-ranking official Houlu. With Wu Sangui's extraordinary courage, resourcefulness and strategy, and Li Zicheng's attention to him, Wu Sangui's future development must be no worse than that of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Wu Sangui's choice is actually a great advantage.
Second, reorganize the scattered army of the Ming Dynasty
Under the circumstances at that time, the Ming Dynasty also had some relatively scattered armies. Although the army is relatively scattered and the distribution area is relatively scattered, if these armies are reorganized, it is also a big team. After the Chongzhen Emperor was forced to die, this choice was also worth trying for Wu Sangui.
As mentioned just now, judging from the situation at that time, surrendering to Li Zicheng was not a sign of cowardice, but rather normal. However, if Li Zicheng can reorganize his army and defeat Li Zicheng greatly, he will become the real hero of the Ming Dynasty. Not only to make his reputation immortal, but also to continue the history of the entire Ming Dynasty.
However, the situation at that time was not optimistic, and Li Zicheng's army was large and powerful. Dorgon and the Qing Dynasty behind Wu Sangui were also on the verge of reorganizing a Ming army, which would take a lot of time to pacify and integrate soldiers, as well as compete with other forces. Therefore, this choice can only be used as a reference, and the risk is huge and it is not worth fighting for it.
Surrender to Dorgon
Ai Xin Jue Luo Dolgun was an outstanding military and politician of the Qing Dynasty, who fought with Emperor Taiji and made great military achievements. As the Ming Dynasty was coming to an end, surrendering to Dolgun was also an option. But the risk of this choice is actually greater, mainly because the Ming and Qing dynasties have always been hostile.
The Qing Dynasty always wanted to replace or overthrow the Ming Dynasty, and Dorgon always wanted Wu Sangui to join the Qing army. Wu Sangui has considered a variety of factors and has always ignored this behavior of Dorgon, almost refusing. If you surrender to Dolgun at this time, the risk is indeed not small.
And if Wu Sangui surrendered to Dolgun, it would be equivalent to assisting the Qing Dynasty and assisting the Qing Dynasty in overthrowing the Ming Dynasty. In this way, Wu Sangui is equivalent to a traitor to the Ming Dynasty and has become a sinner of the Ming Dynasty in history. Therefore, as far as Wu Sangui's own reputation is concerned, this choice is not dominant.
However, at that time, if it was only to save his life, he could use Shanhaiguan as a chip to surrender to Dolgun. In this way, Wu Sangui can not only save his own life, but also may have the possibility of turning over. In any case, when the Chongzhen Emperor died, using Shanhaiguan as a chip to devote himself to the path of Dolgun and Huang Taiji was also something that Wu Sangui could choose.
The time left for Wu Sangui to choose is very small, and they all play a key role. Comparatively speaking, the first choice had more advantages than the other two options, and Wu Sangui, who had a clever talent, also chose to surrender to Li Zicheng at that time. If he had insisted on this choice at that time, not only would there have been a high-ranking official Houlu, but it would also be possible to establish a more prosperous dynasty.
However, Wu Sangui chose the third option soon after, that is, to surrender to Ai Xinjue Luo Dolgun. Many people do not understand Wu Sangui's approach, and there is actually no definite evidence and information on why Wu Sangui did this at that time. But many people say that Wu Sangui chose this way because "rushing to the crown and becoming angry and red-faced", such a statement is still relatively much. Of course, there are other theories, but today all the reasons cannot be considered.
Originally, Wu Sangui surrendered to Li Zicheng and could have a good future, but he changed his choice halfway and surrendered to Ai Xinjue Luo Dolgun. Now hundreds of years have passed, and when Wu Sangui is mentioned, everyone believes that Wu Sangui is an ancient sinner of the Ming Dynasty, and it is Wu Sangui who helped the Qing Dynasty overthrow the Ming Dynasty, and is a real big sinner.
summary
Wu Sangui possessed extraordinary courage and ingenuity, and not only did he use him extremely heavily by the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but even Li Zicheng and Dolgun wanted to appoint him. At the moment when the Chongzhen Emperor was forced by Li Zicheng to hang himself and commit suicide, that is, the ming dynasty was heading for extinction, Wu Sangui had three paths to choose. However, Wu Sangui chose the worst path, what is your view of this period of history?