The time is fixed in 1642, and the stormy Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty have just fought a decisive battle. The battle of Songjin, when he was the governor of Jiliao, the minister of Emperor Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou, led 130,000 Ming troops to Chengren (only later to know the Qing Dynasty), Zu Dashou surrendered to the Qing, Lu Xiangsheng died in battle, Sun Chengzong was martyred, the huge Liaodong, Songshan was lost, Jinzhou was lost, the only one left was Ningyuan City, and the only generals available in the Ming Dynasty were Sun Chuanting and Wu Sangui.
At this time, within the Ming Dynasty, the uprising of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong had become a climate, shaking the foundation of the Ming Dynasty in the northwest and the Central Plains. Emperor Chongzhen realized that only "only in the interior can the outside be the outside", stabilized the situation in Liaodong, and used the main forces to exterminate the increasingly powerful Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, and then Xu Tu made a big event, recuperated, and fought in Liaodong again. So, Chongzhen took this step and agreed to make peace with Qing. At that time, the representative of the imperial court lord and faction was Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, and was supported by Xie Sheng, a cabinet scholar. Emperor Chongzhen "searched for the new armor secret map, but the outer court did not know it". What does it mean, that is, Chen Xinjia secretly negotiated peace with Qing on behalf of Chongzhen, and he couldn't let other foreign court ministers know.
In March of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), the Ming Dynasty sent Ma Shaoyu as an envoy to Shenyang to negotiate peace with the Qing Dynasty.
However, Huang Taiji was angry after reading the edict brought by the envoy, since he came to negotiate peace, the edict was not directly given to the Qing Dynasty, and this edict was given to the name of the new armor. It's really a foolish thing, Huang Taiji thinks, "Since it is with the mainland book, He Yun has no intention of making peace." However, Huang Taiji still agreed to negotiate peace, and put forward the conditions for peace, and asked Ma Shaoyu to bring the letter back to Beijing and hand it over to Chongzhen for decision-making.
So what are the specific conditions proposed by Huang Taiji?
First, the Ming Dynasty wanted to recognize the existence of the Qing Dynasty, and the exchanges between the two countries on an equal footing were state-to-state exchanges, and they were no longer subject to each other.
Second, the Ming Dynasty gave the Qing Dynasty 10,000 taels of gold and 1 million taels of platinum every year. And the Qing Dynasty had to feed back a thousand catties of ginseng and a thousand pieces of mink to the Ming Dynasty. This is also considered equal trade. It's just that the cost of the Ming Dynasty is relatively high.
Third, the agreed border, with the middle of Ningyuan Shuangshu Fort Tuling as the Ming Dynasty national boundary, and Tashan as the Qing Dynasty national boundary, open market trade. To be honest, it can be seen from here that Huang Taiji did not annex the heart of the Ming Dynasty. Right now, he also needs to recuperate. The demarcated border is where the two sides fought for it.
Fourth, escort each other to escape. Equivalent to an extradition treaty.
Objectively speaking, according to the situation of the Ming Dynasty at that time, this peace condition was not too harsh, if the Ming Dynasty could judge the situation and seize such an opportunity, first pacify or suppress the situation of the domestic uprising, and then make great efforts, it would not be so quickly destroyed.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw the peace conditions of the Qing Dynasty, why did he flatly reject it?
First, Emperor Chongzhen did not want to recognize the existence of the Qing Dynasty.
From Chongzhen's edict to Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, this meaning shows that Chen Xinjia did not want to recognize the status of the Qing Dynasty, not the peace between countries, it was the secretary of the Ministry of War to appease Huang Taiji, Chen Xinjia and Huang Taiji are hierarchical relations, and Chongzhen is still high, and Huang Taiji and Chongzhen are still in a subordinate relationship. Emperor Chongzhen is dying to save face and suffer crimes.
And Huang Taiji's first condition was for Chongzhen to admit the existence of the Qing Dynasty, which made Chongzhen unable to accept it from his heart.
Second, because of the leakage of the matter, he was criticized by the government and the opposition.
After reading the secret letter sent back by the envoy Ma Shaoyu, Chen Xinjia, the head of the military department, actually put it on the table, and handed it to Chongzhen the next morning as a general note. Then the secret report was copied on the Tang Bao (equivalent to the current official media) (there is also a record that Chen's servant accidentally leaked it), and the information was quickly distributed in bulk. As soon as the news came out, the Manchu Dynasty was in an uproar, and many Ming Dynasty officials began to play a twist, opposing peace with the Qing Dynasty, saying that Chen Xinjia was "defecting to the enemy and betraying the country", and if Chongzhen inherited and continued to negotiate peace with Huang Taiji, they would die. Emperor Chongzhen was very helpless, the Ming Dynasty was very political, Chongzhen could only kill Chen Xinjia to appease the officials. It can be said that the negotiating mission has not yet returned, and the result of the negotiations has been stillborn.
Why did Chen Xinjia report the news group to send out, it is estimated that he just wanted to evade responsibility, because he saw the conditions proposed by Huang Taiji, there is little hope for this peace talks, even if the peace talks are completed, he will become a sinner in the Ming Dynasty through the ages, he can't think of becoming the scapegoat of Emperor Chongzhen, he wants to inform the world of the news, let those officials stop Chongzhen from discussing peace, I didn't expect Chongzhen to kill him directly, to get out for himself.
Third, the shackles of the ancestral system.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was no such thing as negotiating with foreign peoples, and the dispute between the Ming Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty did not accept any peace talks from the Yuan Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty was driven out of the Central Plains. Zhu Yuanzhang taught his children and grandchildren not to be cowardly like Zhao Song, and to dare to say "no" loudly in the face of strong enemies. His successor, Yongle the Great, personally went to Mongolia and took the initiative to attack the Northern Yuan. The Ming Dynasty also left behind the ancestral training policy of "the Ming Dynasty does not claim to be a minister, does not pay tribute, does not make peace, does not cut land, does not compensate, the Son of Heaven guards the country, and the king dies in the community", and it has been well preserved.
Emperor Chongzhen's peace talks with Huang Taiji, no matter what the conditions are, are against the ancestral system. Once the ancestral system is violated, the belief that he adheres to will be lost, so what is the meaning of the existence of the Ming Dynasty. As early as more than ten years ago, Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Jiliao, secretly negotiated peace with the newly appointed Emperor Taiji in order to delay the army, and let Emperor Chongzhen think that Yuan Chonghuan was anti-minded and killed Yuan Chonghuan.
So how can I go down this path again?
You must know that the biggest characteristic of Emperor Chongzhen's character is that he is suspicious and repetitive. For example, in order to suppress the Liukou, Emperor Chongzhen first used Yang He, then Hong Chengchou, then Cao Wenzhao, then Chen Qiyu, reused Hong Chengchou, then used Lu Xiangsheng, then used Yang Sichang, then used Xiong Wencan, and then used Yang Sichang.
Emperor Chongzhen knew that he could not fight on both sides, and privately wanted to agree to negotiate peace with the Qing Dynasty, but many scholars and doctors in the Ming Dynasty opposed that peace could not violate the ancestral system. With the execution of Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the military department, the opportunity for the final peace with the Qing Dynasty was also shattered.
In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), the Ming Dynasty was facing a catastrophe, and when Emperor Chongzhen summoned his ministers, he lamented: "I am not the king of the country, you are all the ministers of the country." "Chongzhen is still complaining about his ministers when he is dying, why don't you find the reason in yourself.
The king of a country, so fickle and suspicious, conformist, how can he revive the dynasty.