Whether it is a TV series or a written work of art, most of the creations about the change of dynasty focus on success stories, that is, the success of the next generation of emperors. And those characters who briefly appeared in history to overthrow the old dynasty are rarely presented in books and film and television dramas. Li Zicheng is such a character.
Li Zicheng was born during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and was the leader of the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty. It is well known that the Jurchen leader Nurhachi founded the Great Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty after the Ming Dynasty. So in this transitional stage from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, what happened to Li Zicheng? What happened to his wife?
01 Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty was established by Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, and lasted for 276 years. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, after the last emperor, Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen, hanged himself, the Ming Dynasty fell. At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, after the hard work of several emperors, the politics were clear and the national strength was strong. Especially when Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Ming Chengzu Zhu Di were in power, the former dynasty and harem were peaceful.
The decline of the Ming Dynasty was not entirely due to the faint monarch, and the "pot" could not be thrown to Zhu Youzhen. After Zhu Youzhen took over the throne from his elder brother Zhu Youxiao, he was diligent in government affairs, vigorously eradicated the eunuchs, rehabilitated unjust prisoners, and practiced frugality. However, the national capital of the Ming Dynasty has been continuously consumed over the years, and even if Zhu Youzhen is diligent, he is no longer able to return to the sky, and he cannot save the Ming Dynasty.
After the Ming Dynasty experienced the political clarity of the early Ming Dynasty, it changed from prosperity to decline through the change of Tumubao, and later revived through Hongzhi Zhongxing and Wanli Zhongxing. However, in the late Ming Dynasty, it was destroyed due to the political struggle between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party, as well as natural disasters and the Jurchen people.
The Ming Dynasty had three main intelligence agencies: Jinyiwei, Dongchang and Xichang. Whatever the purpose of the emperor's establishment of these three intelligence agencies, whether it was checks and balances, or surveillance, they all planted the seeds for the later collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
During the period of Emperor Chongzhen, the power of the eunuch party was already very strong, so Zhu Youzhen had to take some measures to extinguish the arrogance of the eunuch party. So, Zhu Youzhen pursued the eunuchs and appointed the Donglin party. Although the Donglin Party has a high moral standard and is not as obscene as the Eunuch Party, they are only talking on paper and have not found a solution to the predicament of the Ming Dynasty.
02 Li Zicheng and his wife.
Li Zicheng had a difficult life since childhood, lost his mother at a young age, and lost his father soon after. In order to make a living, Li Zicheng first went to the post station as a post soldier, and later moved to Gansu as a border soldier. Although the life of the border soldiers was very hard, the post station at the end of the Ming Dynasty also had many drawbacks, so Li Zicheng went to join the army with his nephew after returning home unemployed at the post station.
The beginning of Li Zicheng's uprising occurred in the second year of Chongzhen. At that time, Li Zicheng had been promoted to the general of the army, and the Jin army went south, and the Beijing division was in danger, and Li Zicheng's unit urgently started to support the Beijing division. However, during the march, the general of the kingdom withheld the soldiers' salaries, so when the army reached Yuzhong, the soldiers staged a mutiny, killing the kingdom and the local county commander.
After the uprising, Li Zicheng fought everywhere, first joining the peasant army, and later taking refuge in Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang. Gao Yingxiang is Li Zicheng's uncle, after his defeat, his remnants took refuge in Li Zicheng, and Li Zicheng was also pushed to the throne of the king, at this time it was already the ninth year of Chongzhen.
Two years later, the Qing army entered the customs, the Ming Dynasty was unable to resist the Qing army, Yang Sichang suggested that peace with the Qing army, but the military generals in the DPRK did not agree, and Chongzhen's side could not determine whether to fight or peace. However, Lu Xiangsheng, a military general of the Ming Dynasty and the commander-in-chief of the Qinwang soldiers, died on the battlefield, and Chongzhen sent Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting to guard against the Qing army. At this time, Li Zicheng, who was not only against the Ming Dynasty but also did not belong to the Qing army, had a chance to breathe.
Li Zicheng also married a wife and had children in this year, but Li Zicheng had a total of three wives. This is actually not surprising, whether it is war or peace, the heroes of all dynasties have rich emotional experiences, not to mention Li Zicheng, who once established a short dynasty in ancient times.
Li Zicheng and his first wife got married very early. At that time, Li Zicheng was still working for the Ming Dynasty, and he was at the post station, but his wife cheated on the creditor. In modern times, even male compatriots can't tolerate it, let alone in ancient times. So Li Zicheng killed his first wife and creditor in a fit of rage.
When Li Zicheng had a second wife, it was already after the incident, and he was a small leader of the rebels at that time. And the second wife actually cheated on her. Li Zicheng has a subordinate who is handsome and often reports to Li Zicheng on military information. After going back and forth, this subordinate got together with Li Zicheng's second wife. Of course, the ending was that Li Zicheng killed his second wife.
Li Zicheng's third wife is Gao Guiying. Whether it is from a poor background or a bumpy love road, Li Zicheng's life is very hard, but fortunately, the third wife, Gao Guiying, is a loving and righteous woman. After Li Zicheng's defeat, not only did she not betray, but also led the remnants to continue to fight against the Qing army, which can be described as a heroine among women.
03 The ending of Queen Gao.
In January of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Youzhen was still there, and the Ming Dynasty had not been completely destroyed. But at this time, Li Zicheng was already able to dominate one side, he proclaimed himself emperor in Xi'an and established the Dashun Dynasty. At this time, his wife Gao Guiying naturally became the queen of Dashun.
This high queen is not a simple woman, but a heroic woman who "does not let women shave their eyebrows". is the most reliable one among Li Zicheng's wives. She not only helped Li Zicheng when dealing with military affairs, but also formed a women's army, and rode horses and whips with her husband to gallop across the field. In life, she is also Li Zicheng's confidant. Li Zicheng naturally loves Gao Guiying.
After Chongzhen hanged himself, the Ming Dynasty was completely destroyed, and Li Zicheng lived in the Forbidden City. Perhaps the moment he stepped into the Forbidden City, he truly became the emperor. But the good times didn't last long, the Ming Dynasty was gone, the remnants were still there, and Wu Sangui was a difficult bone to gnaw.
Later, Wu Sangui surrendered to the regent of the Qing Dynasty, Dorgon, and joined forces with the Qing army to defeat Li Zicheng. Some records of Li Zicheng's fate are that he hanged himself on the way to escape, and some historical records record that he was killed on the way to resist.
After Li Zicheng's death, the remnants of the Dashun army Feng Li Zi became the first emperor, and his wife Gao Guiying became the empress dowager. At this time, the Empress Dowager Gao Guiying supported the burden of Dashun's revenge, and she took Li Guo and others to continue to fight against the Qing army, and repeatedly performed miraculous feats. Such a woman made the Qing army have to admire.
But the enemy is outnumbered, the remnants of the Dashun army led by the Empress Dowager Gao are difficult to defeat the strong Qing army after all, and finally the Qing army still broke through Maolu Mountain, Gao Guiying and others are powerless to resist, and they don't want to become prisoners, so they move their families.
04 Summary. Li Zicheng's life has been stumbling, but it is also wonderful enough. In the first half of his life, not only did his career suffer setbacks, but he never met a reliable boss, and even his wife cheated one after another. But fortunately, he met Gao Yingxiang later and married Gao Guiying.
Women like Gao Guiying were rare in ancient times. In the era when men are inferior to women, and women can only teach their husbands and children to learn from women, she can still have the ability to form a women's army, not lag behind men ideologically, and has the courage to persevere to the end and lead the army to fight back and the courage to finally **, she is a real heroine among women.