The "History of Ming" compiled by the Qing Dynasty said that Zhang Xianzhong killed people like grass, and also specially erected a monument to Ming Zhi, which read: "All things are born and people, people have no one thing and heaven, kill and kill kill However, archaeologists have different opinions on whether the Seven Killing Tablets really exist.
Zhang Xianzhong, a famous leader of the peasant revolt at the end of the Ming Dynasty, came from the grassroots and founded the Daxi regime in Chengdu. But what kind of story is it that such a brave man who exposed the uprising was also the perpetrator of the massacre of innocent people? Two missionaries from Italy and Portugal gave specific descriptions in their Records of the Descent of the Holy Religion.
The italian missionaries Les Andes and the Portuguese missionary Anvince entered the river in 1640 and 1642, respectively. After Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi regime was established in Chengdu, the two of them were introduced to Zhang Xianzhong as advisors. When they first met Zhang Xianzhong, the two foreign priests told him a lot of fresh and novel foreign knowledge, which made Zhang Xianzhong very happy, and treated the two of them as guests, and they were named "Heavenly Learning Guoshi", which was issued by the imperial court.
In this way, the two have been following Zhang Xianzhong, personally experiencing his bloody and brutal slaughter of the city, and at the same time, witnessing the whole process of Zhang Xianzhong's death, and recording these in the "Sacred Sect into the River". In the beginning, the two missionaries still had a high evaluation of Zhang Xianzhong, such as: describing him as courageous, courageous, fierce, decisive, and virtuous, but later, with close contact and in-depth understanding, Zhang Xianzhong's cruel and unkind, bloodthirsty nature was gradually exposed.
It can be said that the real Zhang Xianzhong exposed makes them feel chilled.
Regarding Zhang Xianzhong's cruel disposition, there are detailed descriptions in their books: Zhang Xianzhong has a cruel temperament, a penchant for killing, in order to satisfy his bloodthirsty nature, he has to kill an average of one or two hundred people a day to give up, and this terrible rule lasted for one year and five months, that is, Zhang Xianzhong killed more than 100,000 people. In addition, Zhang Xianzhong did not like monks, so he began to massacre the monks, and more than 2,000 monks in Chengdu were brutally killed, and none of them were spared.
In the book, it is also recounted that when Zhang Xianzhong first established the government, there were about a thousand officials above the court, and there were more than 700 people when he left Sichuan, but before Zhang Xianzhong's death, there were only 25 people left. These people were all brutally killed by Zhang Xianzhong, some were directly hacked to death, some were whipped to death, and some were tortured and tortured to death, for example, removing the scalp, scraping the flesh of Ling Chi, and so on, in short, it was very cruel.
In the winter of 1645, Zhang Xianzhong issued a particularly cruel order: except for the officials and families of the Daxi regime, all the residents of Chengdu should be killed. The two foreign missionaries were present and witnessed the entire course of the massacre. An Wensi gave this description in the book: In the winter of 1645, Zhang Xianzhong sent people to walk among the soldiers to lie and deceive people's minds. They said that if a large enemy force wanted to come and attack the city, they must immediately train their soldiers and horses, make strategic preparations, and meet the enemy at any time.
The next day, all the soldiers gathered as if they were about to conquer the battlefield. Zhang Xianzhong asked his subordinates to secretly inform the generals of each department to prepare for the slaughter of the city, and ordered that all of them should be killed and no one should be left. He also falsely claimed: "The people in the city have secretly communicated with the enemy army, attracting the enemy army into the Shu land and rebelling, so it is necessary to massacre the entire residents of the city." All generals and soldiers are not allowed to pass on military aircraft or leave military aircraft. "All the officers and soldiers, when they received the order, were ready for the massacre the next day.
Also, after killing the inhabitants, cross the river to meet the enemy. Soon, the massacre in Chengdu began. The two Western missionaries were arranged to be viewed from the upper floors of the East Gate. Shortly thereafter, Zhang Xianzhong led his soldiers to slaughter the city from the east and south of the city, and more than 200,000 innocent people in Chengdu were brutally killed.
In the book, the scene of the massacre is also described: these soldiers kill people when they see them, whether men, women or children, the city is full of wailing, tragic and bloody. Many people were arrested and gathered at the Shaba Bridge at the South Gate, and after Zhang Xianzhong came, the people knelt down and begged for forgiveness, shouting innocence, why did the king want to kill us people? Wait a minute. However, the people's pleading and wailing did not exchange Zhang Xianzhong's half-hearted pity, and even the two missionaries knelt on the ground to intercede, and did not make Zhang Xianzhong stop killing.
In this way, innocent people were killed under Zhang Xianzhong's knife and horseshoe.
After a massacre, the city was dead silent, the corpses were piled up, and the river was stained red with blood, and the scene was very cruel and unbearable. Zhang Xianzhong, who had killed all the people in the city, ordered the city to be set on fire when he left Chengdu. In Chengdu, it became a sea of fire, a large number of Ming Dynasty buildings were burned, and people and animals were also reduced to ashes.
When Zhang Xianzhong left Sichuan, he felt that there were too many female dependents in the palace, dragging down the speed of the army's advance, so he ordered that the women in the camp be led to the outside of the palace and slaughtered. There were more than three hundred concubines in Zhang Xianzhong's palace, and in addition to leaving more than twenty people to serve, the remaining more than two hundred and eighty women were killed, and the scene was tragic.
On that day, Zhang Xianzhong killed as many as 400,000 women. After killing people, Zhang Xianzhong was still extremely excited, and said to the hundred officials: After killing these women, our soldiers will move forward unimpeded and without drag, and they will definitely be able to win victory and seize the world.
As for Zhang Xianzhong's death, these two preachers also witnessed it with their own eyes.
In 1647, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly received a secret report that the enemy army had assembled on the mountain opposite the camp. After Zhang Xianzhong listened, he did not ask any questions, so he mounted his horse and came to the small post with a short knife and a few small soldiers, a eunuch. Just as he was visiting, an arrow flew in, right above Zhang Xianzhong's shoulder, and pierced the heart, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly fell to the ground, in pain, bleeding non-stop, and finally died.
After Zhang Xianzhong's death, his men "wrapped their bodies in brocade and buried them in a secluded place." The Qing army "begged for hair and beheaded it, and took its head to Chengdu." According to another report from the Qingjing Yuan general and the Prince of Shuosu, Hauge, and others: "From November 26 to the south, the commandery of the imperial army detected the rebel Zhang Xianzhong, camped in Xichong County, and ordered the escort army to command Ao Bai and so on, and led the Eight Banners To protect the army first. The army of the subjects marched in the night and arrived in Xichong at dawn the next day. Xian Zhongzhong led the horse infantry thieves to resist the division, and Ao Bai and others fought hard to break it and cut it to the front. ”
Soon, Qing officials came to Chengdu to take over the affairs, and found that there was no suitable place for office in the city, so they could only temporarily set up a government in Baoning, and it was not until the sixteenth year of Shunzhi that the provincial capital was moved back to Chengdu.