In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, domestic turmoil broke out, with Li Zicheng's rebellious army inside and Manchu Qing iron horses outside. At the time of internal and external troubles, the introduction of advanced technology, upgrading the firearms equipment of the Ming Dynasty, and strengthening the military strength became an important means for the Ming Dynasty to resist the enemy army. However, at this critical moment, a Ming Dynasty official, Who later martyred the country, made a mistake in this matter, resulting in the Ming Dynasty's weapons and equipment not being updated in time. Let's take a look at what's going on.
This official's name was Liu Zongzhou, and he was the left capital of the Ming Dynasty, a Erpin official of the imperial court, and a high-ranking and powerful official. He was a master of Confucianism, one of the masters of Song Ming's science, and was a very honest and dignified official, and after the Qing Dynasty attacked Nanjing, Liu Zongzhou died of hunger strike, which is admirable.
But for the Ming Dynasty at that time, only incorruptibility and integrity were not enough, what was important was how to save the country. In dealing with the advanced technology of the West, Liu Zongzhou showed an arrogant and arrogant side, which was exactly the same as the "Heavenly Dynasty and The Kingdom of Heaven" of the later Qing Dynasty.
The Chongzhen Emperor wanted to use the advanced weapons of the West to equip the Ming army, and also hired the "expert" Tang Ruowang to develop weapons and reverse the unfavorable situation in the Qing Dynasty, but Liu Zongzhou dissuaded the Chongzhen Emperor from this practice, according to the "History of Ming" and the "Ming Ji Beiluo" records, Liu Zongzhou repeatedly advocated that Tangtang China should not use Western "small skills" so as not to provoke people to laugh, which was a big loss of face!
Not only that, Liu Zongzhou also advocated that "curing the heart" at this time is the fundamental way to save Daming, "today does not treat people and bully weapons, so the national prestige is more and more", and resolutely opposes innovative weapons. He also regarded Tang Ruowang, an expert in foreign weapons, as a heretic, and asked the Chongzhen Emperor to "release his country to never extinguish the roots of heresy", and vigorously obstructed the chongzhen emperor's weapon reform.
Liu Zongzhou's students were all over the world, and many officials of the imperial court were his students, so this idea naturally received support from many people. In the eyes of these Confucians, fighting wars depends on benevolence and morality, firearms development is only a small skill of carving insects, it is the "end", benevolence and morality are fundamental, and the end of the ming dynasty should not be the work of the Ming Dynasty.
Due to the obstruction of the literati, the Chongzhen Emperor did not have enough courage, so the weapons reform was eventually discontinued, and many newly studied weapons and equipment were only put in the warehouse to sleep, not to mention equipping the Ming army. In the end, these weapons and equipment were obtained by the Qing army, and even the Qing army lamented the advanced weapons of the Ming Dynasty, but how many people knew that these weapons and equipment did not come in much use at all?
Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty did not have the idea of "shame" of the Ming Dynasty at that time. After occupying Liaodong and discovering the firearms of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty army persistently studied these firearms and invested a lot of money in equipment, so that the Original Qing Dynasty, which had just been founded, had more advanced firearms and equipment than the Ming Dynasty, which had been founded for more than two hundred years. Later, the Ming Dynasty generals themselves said, "Casting cannons and making medicines is ten times greater than my artifacts." The Qing army itself is strong in combat, coupled with advanced firearms and equipment, can the Ming army be undefeated?
It is not unreasonable for Shusheng to mislead the country, Liu Zongzhou's benevolence and morality did not save the fate of the Ming Dynasty after all, and pride and arrogance were exchanged only for the fierce attack of the Qing army's artillery. No wonder the Chongzhen Emperor left behind his last words when he committed suicide, "Mistaking the words of civilian officials and causing the loss of the world". However, only a hundred years later, the diehards of the Qing Dynasty once again disregarded the advanced technology and system of the West, cut themselves off from the development of the world, and finally ended up with the same fate as the Ming Dynasty.
How similar is history, readers, how do you see this? Welcome to leave a message to teach!