In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was already in decline, and internal and external troubles continued. At this moment of crisis, Li Zicheng, a peasant from a humble background, took advantage of the prestige of the peasant rebel army to attack the capital and seize the emperor's throne in one fell swoop. The people thought that a new savior had come, that everything was restored, and that everything was waiting to be rebuilt. However, Li Zicheng only served as emperor for 42 days before he personally sent himself to a dead end. What was the reason for this former "hero" to degenerate to this? What did he do in his short 42 days to turn himself from the king of a country to a rogue that everyone shouted at?
Li Zicheng's origin and beginnings
Li Zicheng was born in a peasant family in Henan, and his family was poor since he was a child, and he had to work in the fields to survive when he was young. He was gifted, diligent and studious, and although he did not receive much formal education, he was self-taught and had a good understanding of the classics. Young and heroic, he has practiced a good martial arts.
During the Chongzhen period, due to years of war and natural and man-made disasters, heavy taxes, and corruption of officials, the peasants in Henan lived in hardship and complained. Seeing this, Li Zicheng was filled with righteous indignation, so he gathered a crowd in his hometown of Guangshan, Henan Province to uncover the pole, and soon became the backbone of the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty.
At first, Li Zicheng was just a reckless hero, leading an army of no more than a few thousand rebels. But he was brave enough to surpass others, and he did many miraculous feats, and soon became famous in Henan. His men are like clouds, brave and elite, and Li Zicheng is personally commanded, commanding well and invincible.
As the momentum grew, Li Zicheng's rebel army quickly grew from a few thousand to tens of thousands, becoming the largest peasant rebel army in the late Ming Dynasty. They waved their troops southward, swept across the Yellow River Valley, and captured Xuzhou, Kaifeng and other important towns.
In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng took advantage of the victory to pursue and approached the Beijing Division. Emperor Chongzhen was shocked when he heard the news and personally supervised the attack, but in the end, he was outnumbered and was defeated and forced to retreat to Beijing. Seeing that the time had come, Li Zicheng personally led a large army to the capital, and after several months of difficult battles, he finally captured Beijing and seized the emperor's throne in one fell swoop. In this way, a reckless person, with his iron will and extraordinary courage, created a miracle through the ages and became a generation of Ming Jun.
Li Zicheng made four major mistakes after becoming emperor
After Li Zicheng captured Beijing and seized the emperor's throne in one fell swoop, he should have set out to rectify the rule of officials and stabilize the power of the new dynasty. Who knew that he was greedy for the beauty of Chongzhen's harem, immersed in the gentle countryside all day long, arrogant and lascivious, and completely forgot his original ambition and mission.
In the harem of Emperor Chongzhen, there are the most stunning beauties in the world. When Li Zicheng first entered the Forbidden City, when he saw these peerless beauties, he was immediately overwhelmed and could no longer extricate himself. He not only monopolized the beauties of Chongzhen's harem, but also ordered the whole country to search for beauties to enrich the harem.
Li Zicheng drinks and has fun with beauties every day, and he is lascivious, which is simply the reincarnation of the mediocre and incompetent Zhaojun. He has no understanding of the government, only knows how to indulge in alcohol and live a carefree life. The true character of the iron man and the heroic and fearless spirit of the year have long been exhausted in this gentle township.
Although Li Zicheng was greedy for beauty, he still had some royal demeanor at first, and ordered his subordinates not to harm the people of the capital. However, this order was quickly ignored by his own troops.
Li Zicheng appeased the discontent of his subordinates and allowed them to plunder the property of the dignitaries. After receiving the order, his army immediately intensified, not only robbing the children of the family of money, but also raping their wives and daughters, and even deliberately humiliating them, and the behavior was extremely rampant.
In just three days, the capital suffered countless casualties, and there were cries and screams everywhere. Li Zicheng's subordinates were simply a group of vicious rogues who not only plundered the family, but also turned their targets to the unarmed common people.
As long as they had money and food in their homes, they plundered them all. If there are wives and daughters in the house, they are taken captive and played. If there is nothing left, they will kill the whole family without mercy. The capital was soon plunged into boundless misery, and the people wailed and lost their lives.
After Li Zicheng entered Beijing and became emperor, he should have recruited Wu Sangui, a former Ming general, to consolidate the foundation of the new dynasty. However, in a fit of rage, he included Wu Sangui's concubine Chen Yuanyuan in his harem, and even killed Wu Sangui's family, completely losing this important ally.
At that time, Wu Sangui was guarding the Shanhaiguan, and after knowing that the capital was lost, he wanted to take refuge in Li Zicheng. Who knew that Li Zicheng's subordinates actually occupied Wu Sangui's concubine Chen Yuanyuan and dedicated it to Li Zicheng. Chen Yuanyuan is the first beauty in the world, Li Zicheng is very fond of her, and in order to threaten Wu Sangui, he killed his family.
Wu Sangui was heartbroken, turned to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, opened the Shanhai Pass, and asked Dolgon to lead the Qing army into the customs. When Li Zicheng learned of this, he was furious and personally led a large army to crusade against Wu Sangui, but unexpectedly the army was defeated and was forced to flee all the way west.
In the battle of Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng's main force suffered heavy losses and was forced to flee west. At this time, it was a good time to adjust the morale of the army and counterattack, but Li Zicheng was arrogant and shallow in his knowledge, so he failed to grasp this opportunity and continued to flee.
Li Zicheng fled to Shaanxi with the remnants, and the Qing army then arrived in Shaanxi. Li Zicheng could adjust the morale of the army in Shaanxi and regroup, but he continued to flee south, and eventually retreated all the way to the bank of the Yangtze River. The Dashun army of that year was scattered and fragmented.
If Li Zicheng can stabilize his position in Shaanxi and rectify the morale of the army, there may still be a glimmer of life. But his recklessness, coupled with ignorance and ignorance, finally made the Dashun army collapse and fall apart, and finally even his corpse was nowhere to be found.
Li Zicheng's tragic end
In the battle of Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng's vitality was greatly damaged, and the main force suffered heavy losses. He could have adjusted the morale of the army and regrouped at this time, but he was conceited and missed the opportunity, and fled all the way west.
Although the Qing army Dolgon did not go straight to Beijing, he divided the 200,000 troops into four routes, and incorporated the former Ming soldiers along the way, which was huge for a while. Seeing this, Li Zicheng also scattered the Dashun army to deal with it, but after all, he was outnumbered and defeated.
Li Zicheng fled to Shaanxi with the remnants, and could have stopped his troops here for rectification, but he was reckless and arrogant and failed to seize the opportunity. After the Qing army arrived in Shaanxi, Li Zicheng was once again defeated and retreated. Hebei, Xiangyang, and Guanzhong were lost one after another, and he had to flee south with the remnants.
The Dashun army of that year is now divided and collapsed. When Li Zicheng fled to the bank of the Yangtze River with the remnants, he was already exhausted. The Qing army was full of strength, and the Dashun army was defeated and retreated, and finally scattered and fled.
Li Zicheng fled with the remnants and was pursued by the Qing army along the way. They were destitute and had nowhere to hide, and were eventually found and killed by the villagers in a small remote village. In this way, a generation of "heroes" finally had nowhere to bury their corpses, and their miserable lives came to an end.
At that time, the Dashun army was the backbone of the peasant uprising, and captured important towns such as Xuzhou and Kaifeng, which were like bamboos. Li Zicheng even captured Beijing in one fell swoop and seized the emperor's throne. Who would have thought that after only 42 days as emperor, he would personally send himself to a dead end.
Li Zicheng's failure certainly had his personal reasons, such as arrogance, indulgence, recklessness, and ignorance. But more importantly, he had no experience in governing the country at all, and failed to rectify military discipline, which led to the collapse of the army's morale. He missed a good opportunity to adjust the morale of the army, and finally made a big mistake, and he could not escape death.
Analysis of the root cause of Li Zicheng's failure
Although Li Zicheng was in the limelight for a while, with his extraordinary courage and will, he created a miracle for the ages of capturing Beijing. But in the end, he personally sent himself to a dead end, because of his personal arrogance, recklessness and ignorance, but more importantly, he had no experience in governing the country.
First of all, Li Zicheng came from a reckless background and his thinking was limited. He was only a leader of the peasant uprising, and although he had prestige in the army, he did not know anything about how to consolidate power and win the hearts and minds of the people. He only knew how to command the soldiers in the battle array, but he did not know how to use benevolence to win the support of the people.
Second, Li Zicheng failed to rectify military discipline, which led to the collapse of the army's morale. He ordered his army not to harm the people, but this order was quickly ignored by his men. His army ran rampant in the capital, plundering and plundering, and the people suffered. Li Ziyuan himself was addicted to beauty, and he had no time to pay attention to military affairs, which eventually led to a big mistake of discouragement in the army.
Moreover, Li Zicheng missed a good opportunity to adjust the morale of the military. After the Battle of Shanhaiguan, he could have adjusted the morale of the army in Shaanxi and regrouped. But he was conceited and failed to grasp the opportunity, but continued to flee, causing the Dashun army to be torn apart and collapsed.
In the end, Li Zicheng lacked foresight. Although he occupied Beijing for a while, he failed to see the general trend clearly. He failed to recruit Wu Sangui, a former Ming minister, to join him, but instead killed his family in a fit of rage, losing this important ally. He failed to foresee the cleverness of Dorgon's troops, and was eventually defeated by them.
In general, the root cause of Li Zicheng's ultimate failure was that he was outdated, ignorant and shallow. He was just a peasant hero, and although he had great courage, he had no experience in governing the country after all. His failure to rectify military discipline and win the hearts of the people, coupled with his lack of foresight, eventually led to a big mistake and sent himself to a dead end.
Summarize and reflect
Li Zicheng's life can be called "dramatic". He came from a humble background and was originally a reckless hero, but with extraordinary courage and will, he created a miracle for the ages of the capture of Beijing, and he was in the limelight for a while.
However, within 42 days of his ascension to the throne and proclamation as emperor, he personally sent himself to a dead end. From the king of a country to a rogue who everyone shouts and beats, the reason is thought-provoking.
First of all, Li Zicheng's thinking is outdated and he lacks experience in governing the country. He only knew how to command the battle, but he didn't know how to use benevolence to win the support of the people. He was arrogant and indulgent, indulging in wine, and completely forgetting his original ambition and mission.
Second, Li Zicheng failed to rectify military discipline, which led to the collapse of the army's morale. He ordered his army not to harm the people, but this order was quickly ignored by his men. His army ran rampant in the capital, plundering and plundering, and the people suffered.
Moreover, Li Zicheng missed a good opportunity to adjust the morale of the military. After the Battle of Shanhaiguan, he could have adjusted the morale of the army in Shaanxi and regrouped. But he was conceited and failed to grasp the opportunity, but continued to flee, causing the Dashun army to be torn apart and collapsed.
In the end, Li Zicheng lacked foresight. He failed to recruit Wu Sangui, a former Ming minister, to join him, but instead killed his family in a fit of rage, losing this important ally. He failed to foresee the cleverness of Dorgon's troops, and was eventually defeated by them.
In general, the root cause of Li Zicheng's ultimate failure was that he was outdated, ignorant and shallow. He was just a peasant hero, and although he had great courage, he had no experience in governing the country after all. His failure to rectify military discipline and win the hearts of the people, coupled with his lack of foresight, eventually led to a big mistake and sent himself to a dead end.
end
Li Zicheng's life has left a profound inspiration and warning for future generations. Heroes need to be rational in order to achieve great things. Blindly relying on personal spirit is destined to be difficult for long-term stability. Only by upholding benevolence and using wisdom to rectify the rule of officials and win the hearts of the people can we truly establish a dynasty with long-term peace and stability.