On the 23rd day of the first month of 1457, the city of Beijing was overcast with dark clouds, and Yu Qian, a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, was escorted to a waiting place outside the Chongwen Gate to be beheaded.
On this day, the people on the street were crowded with the streets, but they did not come to see the excitement, but to see off Yu Qian.
There are people on the street who are paying homage with wine, some people are crying secretly, and more people cry bitterly.
Empress Dowager Sun, who learned the news, did not enter the water, and scolded Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen: "Faint Jun! Anyone can kill Yu Qian, but you can't! ”
Yingzong sighed and said, "Yu Qian is meritorious, but he must die. ”
Yu Qian was beheaded, and history records: The world was wronged.
Why did Yu Qian have to die without sin?
At that time, Yu Qian's conviction was "to welcome the foreign domain." "This is a major crime of conspiracy, it is to be slaughtered all over the house, has Yu Qian really committed such a big crime?
Zhu Qizhen is a very peculiar emperor, he has been an emperor twice in his life, and there is Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Qi Yu in the middle, what is the relationship with Yu Qian?
This starts with the famous "change of the civil fort".
The change of the Tumu Fort, the Daming Empire was stormy
In 1449, the Ming Dynasty received information that the Vara army was coming, and Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen, at the suggestion of the eunuch Wang Zhen, decided to drive his relatives to Vara on the initiative.
Zhu Qizhen admired the majesty of his ancestors, and Wang Zhen also wanted to become famous in a war.
So Zhu Qizhen ordered his younger brother Zhu Qiyu the Prince of Gong to oversee the country, and then brought 200,000 elite soldiers and 60 ministerial-level leaders to begin his personal conquest.
However, the reality is not so fun.
Zhu Qizhen did not have the military talents of his ancestors Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, and Wang Zhen was even more stupid.
Under a series of wrong decisions made by the two, 200,000 elite soldiers were defeated by the 20,000 Vara people led by Ye Xian, the main forces were killed one after another, and Zhu Qizhen was captured by the Vara people.
The news reached the palace, and the sky fell.
The empress dowager and empress of the harem cried together, and the Manchu dynasty of the previous dynasty was also in chaos.
The elite soldiers and strong generals have all died in battle, and only 100,000 old and weak soldiers left in the capital are already vulnerable, what should I do?
Zhu Qiyu of the prison country is also a son-in-law, and he has no experience, so he can only stare at these ministers. As a result, in the court, there was no one who spoke, and it was a large area that opened his mouth and cried.
Zhu Qiyu was even more helpless in the face of the mess suddenly thrown by his brother, how should he be good?
Just as he was in a hurry, suddenly a man named Xu Cheng spoke first: "I watched the sky at night and found that the destiny of heaven had gone, and only by moving south could I escape this calamity." (Remember this person)
There was silence in the court, and no one seemed to be able to refute him, but moving the capital meant giving away half of the country, and the Northern Song Dynasty was a good example.
In October of the first year of Jingkang, the Jin state launched a large-scale attack on the Northern Song Dynasty, and soon the army arrived at the capital Bianliang. At the time of crisis, Song Qinzong summoned the ministers to discuss the matter, and the timid ministers unanimously proposed to surrender the Jin state.
Emperor Qinzong of Song was helpless, and Jingkang announced his surrender in December of the first year, and the Northern Song Dynasty perished.
They thought that they would buy peace by choosing to surrender, but the result was that the country was invaded, the people were humiliated, and the two emperors were captured by the Jin people, and finally died in humiliation.
Does today's Daming also have to take this step?
At this time, a loud voice broke the silence in the court, and he said: "Those who advocate moving south should be killed!" ”
This firm voice immediately attracted everyone's attention at this moment, he was Yu Qian, the soldier of the army.
At this time, Yu Qian became the hope of the entire Daming.
Zhu Qiyu immediately promoted Yu Qian to Shangshu of the military department and became the highest military commander at that time.
But it's easy to say bold words, how to fight the battle? Yu Qian was just a weak scholar without any combat experience.
At present, there are two major problems, one is that the number of soldiers in the capital is too small, and they are all old, weak, sick and disabled, and their morale is low.
Second, the emperor was still hostage in the hands of the Varas, and if the Vara people pushed the emperor out as a shield in the war, the war could not be fought.
But since it has been decided to fight to the end, there are more solutions than difficulties.
Yu Qian ordered to mobilize the reserve army of Nanjing and Henan and the anti-Yan grain army to guard Beijing, although most of them were reserve and logistics troops, but they finally gathered more than 100,000 people.
The next thing to solve is the most troublesome problem, and Emperor Zhu Qizhen is still taking hostage first.
This is also easy to do, and another emperor is established, so that the identity of the emperor of Zhu Qizhen is invalid, and there is no use value.
So, Yu Qian found Empress Dowager Sun and said:
Crown Prince Fang You, Kou and Jiu, asked the Empress Dowager to establish himself as the king.
At Yu Qian's suggestion, Empress Dowager Sun successively issued two edicts: first, to establish Zhu Qi Yu as emperor; The second is to make Zhu Qizhen's son Zhu Jianshen the crown prince.
But Zhu Qiyu refused to live or die, he said: "The crown prince is still here, and Qing and other moves are chaotic Faye!" ”
At this time, Zhu Qiyu's resignation of the throne is not pretending, firstly, this emperor is not good, secondly, the identity is embarrassing, the emperor's brother is not dead, the son is still the prince, and it is really awkward to be caught in the middle.
In the end, it was Yu Qian's words that forced him to the throne. Yu Qian said:
"Ministers and other cities worry about the country, not for private purposes. May His Highness help the hardships to Anjongsha. ”
Yu Qian means that the ministers support you to ascend the throne for the sake of the country, not for their own selfish interests. And you, as the prince of Daming, should put Daming's safety first in times of crisis.
In line with the concept of "social weeds are important and kings are light", Yu Qian shoehorned Zhu Qiyu to the imperial throne, and set the date as Jingtai, which was for the Ming Dynasty Emperor and honored Zhu Qizhen as the Taishang Emperor.
This plan did put the life and death of Zhu Qizhen aside, but it also saved the Daming Dynasty. And the ones who really caused the killing were several people he had offended.
In the defense of Beijing, Yu Qianfu Building will fall
He did not know that the hostages in his hands had expired, so he took Zhu Qizhen to Xuanfu and Datong City, and asked Zhu Qizhen to shout for the defenders to open the city.
In order to save his life, Zhu Qizhen really gave an order to the general guarding the city to open the city gate, completely ignoring the safety of the Daming Jiangshan community and the people.
Fortunately, it was Yang Hong who guarded the city in Xuanfu, and he spread the word that it was late and he was not allowed to open the door according to the regulations. Zhu Qizhen ordered him to speak again, but the gatekeeper said that Yang Hong was not there.
He was also so angry that he had to pull Zhu Qizhen to Datong.
But the treatment is the same, turned away. Zhu Qizhen asked Guo Deng, who was guarding the city, to open the door, and Guo Deng remained unmoved.
Helplessly, Zhu Qizhen sent someone to spread the word: "I have a relationship with Guo Deng, why do you reject me so much?" ”
However, Guo Deng's reply was: "The minister was ordered to guard the city, and other things are unknown. ”
Such a result was also something that Zhu Qizhen never expected, and he also tried and failed repeatedly, but he failed again and again, pulling Zhu Qizhen everywhere, and finally got the result of being driven around and losing face.
In a fit of anger, he first took Zhu Qizhen hostage to attack Beijing, and easily broke through the Bauhinia Pass in only two days.
As soon as the Bauhinia Pass was broken, it shocked the capital.
On October 11, Yu Qian put on heavy armor and prepared to face the barbaric Mongol army with the determination to die.
He barely managed to gather 220,000 people to defend the city, but he had to guard nine gates, each of which averaged more than 20,000 people. And the combat effectiveness of these people is far weaker than that of the enemy army.
This battle was a very big test for Qian.
He immediately gave several death orders, which shocked everyone.
The first order: Anyone who finds that the armored warrior does not go out of the city to fight, shoot and kill!
The second order: Nine gate guards, if you lose it, kill them immediately!
The third order: Regardless of those who retreat first, behead their generals; The army ignores those who will retreat first, and the rear team will cut the front team!
The fourth order: Once the war starts, after the generals lead the army out of the city, immediately close the nine gates, and those who dare to enter the city without permission will be immediately killed!
In short, once the soldiers go out of the city, they can only survive if they win, and there is no turning back. Since this is the case, it can only fight the enemy to the end with all its strength, and the officers and men of the whole army will die together with the city of Beijing.
He did not put the Ming army in his eyes first, and he thought that this battle would be won undoubtedly, because he still had an emperor in his hands.
He first sent Zhu Qizhen to the front of the battle, and threatened the Ming army to take out 100 million taels of silver and return the emperor to them.
However, the reply he received was: thank God, thank the ancestors, our country already has a new emperor.
The spirit of the Heaven and Earth Sect, the state has a king. ——"Seven Revised Drafts"
The money did not arrive, and the hostages in their hands were completely useless, and they were also angry first, and they ordered the siege of the city with a livid face.
Yu Qian himself insisted on the most important Desheng Gate, and the first one he wanted to attack was the Desheng Gate.
Yu Qian used an ambush to lure the enemy deep, and used artillery to catch the enemy by surprise, and Yexian's army was defenseless, and was beaten to the ground by the Ming army, and his two younger brothers were killed by artillery fire on the spot.
Those who suffered losses also immediately turned their muzzles and pounced on the Andingmen.
The general who guarded the city at Andingmen was called Shi Heng, and Shi Heng played a great role in defending the city this time. But eight years later, it was he who died in Qian.
Shi Heng, who was defeated first, abandoned the army and fled, followed by the removal of officials, and was ridiculed by others, and he has been living in the eyes of others all these years.
This time Yu Qian gave him the opportunity to take revenge, and he was full of strength to shame.
When Yexian's army arrived at Andingmen, Shi Heng was extremely excited, and the opportunity for revenge finally came.
It turns out that hatred can make people strong, and the Vara army was beaten by Shi Heng and fled, and was also beaten very badly first.
But he didn't want to go back so disgracedly, so he packed up the remnants and came to Xizhimen.
Because Xizhimen did not attract attention, the soldiers defending the city were relatively weak in combat, and they finally found a breakthrough first, and he gathered all his forces to attack Xizhimen.
Sun Bor, who was guarding the city, was not greedy for life and feared death, he did his best, but he couldn't resist it, and he thought of escaping.
But the problem was that Yu Qian had already ordered the city gate to be closed, and no matter how hard Sun Wei begged, no one opened the door for him.
Cheng Xin, who was guarding the head of the city, said something very interesting to Sun Bor: "I can understand that you want to enter the city very much, as long as you repel the enemy, you can enter the city." ”
These words really made Sun Boring feel desperate, if I can repel the enemy, do I still need to enter the city?
But it is useless to say anything, the only way to survive is to fight the enemy. Sun Bo could only turn his horse's head and kill Yexian's army.
Fortunately, his insistence made him wait for Shi Heng and help him repel Yexian.
In this way, a group of veteran remnants of the general Yu Qian's suffocating military order, gritted his teeth and persevered, and held the city of Beijing.
This battle also decided the fate of the Daming dynasty.
Yu Qian can be said to have established extraordinary achievements, but he is only dedicated to the country, and he has no idea that he has offended many people.
The upright Yu Qian lived a lonely life
After the victory in the defense of Beijing, the first person Zhu Qiyu wanted to reward was Yu Qian, giving him the title of Shaobao, as well as his son, and preparing to give him a lot of rewards.
But Yu Qian said:
There are many bases in the suburbs, and the shame of Dr. Qing is also dare to invite merit and reward!
It means that letting the enemy hit the capital is a shame for the ministers, how dare they ask for credit?
Yu Qian only has the country in his heart, and does not have any private thoughts. However, most of the officials in the DPRK did not have such a noble integrity as him, and this remark made all the heroes present embarrassed and angry.
"What we seek with our lives is wealth, and you have high moral character and care for the world, but you make us look ugly."
Zhu Qiyu looked at the livid faces of the ministers and said, "Stubborn words, not allowed." ”
In the end, Yu Qian only retained Shaobao's false name, and did not want anything else.
Therefore, Shi Heng received the highest reward and was made a marquis.
Shi Heng felt very uncomfortable, so he wrote to protect Yu Qian's son Yu Mian as an official. Just when Shi Heng was satisfied with his actions, he was impeached by Yu Qian.
He said to Zhu Qiyu: "Shi Heng, as a general, has protected his private person and should be punished. ”
This offended Shi Heng, he could not understand Yu Qian's honest behavior, and in his eyes Yu Qian was a very unfriendly person.
At the same time, Yu Qian's scenery also made the officials who advocated the southward migration faction feel landless, and even could not mix with the DPRK.
At that time, Xu Cheng said: Only by moving south can we avoid this disaster.
But Yu Qian said: Those who advocate moving south should be killed!
Moreover, Yu Qian saved the empire with practical actions, and it was extremely glorious.
And Xu Cheng was reprimanded by the eunuch after speaking: Get out! Since then, he has been regarded as a greedy villain and afraid of death, and his political future has ended.
Xu Cheng, who really couldn't get mixed up, even changed his name to Xu Youzhen.
Xu Youzhen hated Yu Qian more than Shi Heng, and these two men were also a microcosm of many officials in the dynasty.
Yu Qian continued to devote himself to the country, but more and more people in the DPRK had opinions about him, and people continued to write to impeach him.
Yu Qian became the loneliest person in the Ming Dynasty.
In those years, thanks to Zhu Qiyu's endless trust in him and maintaining him everywhere, he was safe.
Unfortunately, Zhu Qiyu's political career was only 8 years, he fell, and Yu Qian became a victim of the power struggle between the two brothers.
The change of seizing the door, Yu Qian became a soul under the sword
It has to be said that the magic of imperial power is enormous. Zhu Qiyu originally had no interest in the throne, but once he sat on the throne, he never wanted to come down again.
He won the battle to defend Beijing, his reputation far exceeded that of his brother Zhu Qizhen, he enjoyed the admiration and worship of thousands of people, and he experienced an unprecedented sense of accomplishment.
This feeling of being high and mighty really fascinated him, and he never wanted his brother back.
The town of Zhuqi, far away in Mongolia, is miserable.
The family did not want him, and the Mongols lost interest in him, which could kill him at any moment.
Every day he would stand on the dirt slope and look south, he just wanted to go home, even if he went back to guard the tomb of his ancestors.
He also looked at Zhu Qizhen, who was useless except for eating, and finally moved to kill.
At this time, someone suggested that it was better to send him back to fight for the throne with his brother.
This is a good idea, but even if they first propose to return it for free, the Ming Dynasty has no idea of taking it back at all.
The ministers of the dynasty were very dissatisfied with Zhu Qiyu's behavior, and they all went up to take back the emperor.
Zhu Qiyu finally became popular, and he said:
Xueben did not want to ascend to the throne, and at that time, he saw the push, and he actually came out and so on.
It means that I didn't want to be this emperor in the first place, and you forced me to be.
Zhu Qiyu's idea is also very realistic, you forced me to be the emperor when I was in danger, and now it is peaceful, you want to welcome back my brother, where do you put me on hold?
It was Yu Qian who said something very weighty:
The heavenly position has been decided, and Ning Fu has it.
This means that your throne has been secured, and it is impossible for Emperor Taishang to become emperor again.
This sentence made Zhu Qiyu suddenly turn anger into joy and said, "It's up to you." ”
Therefore, it was precisely because of Yu Qian's words that Zhu Qizhen was able to go home.
Of course, Zhu Qizhen, who returned to the palace, was immediately put under house arrest by Zhu Qiyu.
A large lock firmly locked him in the remote Nangong, and also arranged for eunuchs and palace maids to monitor him every day, completely restricting his freedom, and eating and dressing was like going to prison.
These Zhu Qizhen can endure, after all, he still has hope, and his son Zhu Jianshen is still a prince.
But two years later, Zhu Jianshen was abolished as crown prince, and Zhu Qiyu made his son crown prince.
It seems that Zhu Qizhen is going to die in Nangong.
But God still favors him.
After Zhu Qiyu's only son became crown prince, he died soon after. In order to give birth to a son as soon as possible, he fought day by day in the harem, but he did not expect that his son was not born, but his body and bones collapsed.
Looking at the dying Zhu Qiyu, Yu Qian and a group of ministers wrote to demand the restoration of Zhu Jianshen as the prince.
However, Zhu Qiyu did not let go, and he would rather pass the son of the clan king as his successor than restore Zhu Jianshen.
At the time of the stalemate between the two sides, Shi Heng saw a new opportunity to make meritorious achievements.
On the eleventh night of the first month of the eighth year of Jingtai, Shi Heng and Xu Youzhen found two other conspirators, Cao Jixiang and Zhang Li, and launched a change to seize the gate.
Taking advantage of Zhu Qiyu's serious illness, several people secretly carried Zhu Qizhen out of Nangong late at night and restored him.
Zhu Qizhen is also very interesting, and after taking office, he has given rich rewards to the heroes.
The so-called one son of heaven and one courtier.
The ministers who supported Zhu Qiyu were all liquidated, and Yu Qian never took sides, but was listed as Zhu Qiyu's people by Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen, and others who were bent on getting rid of him.
Everything Yu Qian did was only for the country, but he never cared about Zhu Qizhen's life and death, and Zhu Qizhen's impression of Qian was not very good.
But he didn't want to make another big mistake.
Xu Youzhen said: "If you don't kill Yu Qian, this move is nameless."
In other words, if you don't kill Yu Qian, this change of seizing the door will have no legitimate name.
In fact, this change of seizure is meaningless, and if this coup is not carried out, the imperial throne is also Zhu Jianshen.
It's just that Zhu Qizhen has done enough to be the emperor and wants to be the emperor. Shi Heng and Xu Youzhen wanted to seek "meritorious service" and wanted to get rid of Yu Qian.
Only by giving Yu Qian the hat of "wanting to welcome a foreign domain as emperor" can Zhu Qizhen show the whole country that he was forced to seize the throne in this coup.
In the end, Yu Qian is just a victim of their quest for power.
Write at the end
On the 23rd day of the first month, Yu Qian was executed in front of the city he had fought so hard to defend.
After his death, it was customary to raid the house. What Jinyiwei never expected was that a big official from Yipin's family was actually so poor that he had nothing.
Apart from the necessities of life, no extra money was found.
The brocade guards wept, Yu Qian is a very remarkable person.
Yu Qian died, the empire's power declined, and Daming's qi was exhausted.
How unfair history is, eight years ago Yu Qian fought to the death to protect this imperial city; Eight years later, Yu Qian was killed under the imperial city.
How just history is, let heroes live for centuries and be admired for generations; Let the bad guys be left smelly for 10,000 years, and suffer the shame and scolding of posterity.