Yu Qian died unjustly, Jinyi was sad, and the Queen Mother went on a hunger strike
Although we are familiar with the end of history in the Ming Dynasty after Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, this was only the lowest moment of the Ming Dynasty. However, in the fourteenth year of orthodoxy (1449), 195 years before Emperor Chongzhen's hanging, the Ming Dynasty once fell into a crisis of almost annihilation, and the then emperor Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen even fell into the hands of the enemy.
The continuation of the Ming Dynasty depends on one person, and he is Yu Qian, who was praised by later generations as "the first loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty". When the battle report came, the 200,000-strong army was annihilated, the emperor was captured, and the civil and military officials in the Forbidden City collapsed one after another after hearing it.
Some people looked sluggish, some people were scared and their legs were weak, and some people cried bitterly, because there were their best friends in the expedition. The most difficult question is - where will the Ming Dynasty go?
About a month ago, the Ming court decided to launch an attack on the Mongol tribe of Warat in the north. At the instigation of the eunuch Wang Zhen, Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen chose to drive the expedition in person. Although many ministers advised Yingzong not to take risks, Yingzong was young and vigorous, and he was so happy that he insisted on going out with the army.
Wang Zhen was the first authoritarian eunuch in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
In the battle of the Northern Expedition to Wara, the Ming army did not complete the water source survey, but Wang Zhen ordered to dig a trench and build fortifications, and as a result, he fell into Wara"Surround but not fight"tactics.
The Ming army is in this one"Battle of Fort Tumu"Zhongwas defeated and retreated by Wara until it was destroyed, and Wang Zhen was escorted by the general"Kill the thief"was executed, and the Ming Emperor Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen was also captured in the chaos.
In this battle, only Yu Qian, the left servant of the military department, held his position, swore to defend the Beijing division to the death, and was determined not to cross south, so as not to repeat the tragedy of the Song Dynasty. Yu Qian, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, has admired him since he was a child"Since ancient times, no one has died, leaving Dan to take care of his sweat"Wen Tianxiang, whose portrait is placed in the house, was deeply influenced by his noble qualities.
After embarking on his official career, Yu Qian has always taken Wen Tianxiang as a model and role model, and strives to carry forward his righteous spirit"Don't be afraid of broken bones, you have to leave your innocence in the world"。
During his tenure as governor of Henan and Shanxi, Yu Qian had a rigorous and responsible work attitude, went deep into the people, understood the people's conditions, and personally inspected various affairs. His qualities were highly recognized by the people.
One of the best examples of his quality is the idiom of "two sleeves with a clear breeze". After the death of Sanyang Xianchen, Wang Zhen took power. He was of bad character, short-sighted, only concerned about his own property, and rejected upright people like Yu Qian.
Someone proposed to Yu Qian to give a gift to Wang Zhen, but Yu Qian refused, he said: "I only have a breeze on my sleeves, so I give a breeze!" This shows Yu Qian's incorruptible qualities and spirit of not giving in to power.
Yu Qian hid two breezes in his sleeve, but he never expected that these two breezes would almost kill him. The eunuch Wang Zhen was malicious because Yu Qian did not give him a gift, and secretly commanded his subordinate Yu Qian, which led to him being sentenced to death.
The incident caused a sensation, but fortunately, the people of Henan and Shanxi came forward to intercede for him, and Yu Qian was released. Despite this, he was demoted and imprisoned in Shanxi.
Later, the people of Shanxi and Henan wrote again, and Yu Qian finally resumed his post as governor. It wasn't until his parents died that he left Shanxi and returned to Hangzhou to take care of the funeral.
In the thirteenth year of orthodoxy (1448), Yu Qian was recalled to Beijing and served as the left attendant of the military department. When the Ming Dynasty was in danger, Yu Qian stepped forward and took responsibility, which is undoubtedly admirable.
However, there were still people who questioned and opposed him at the time, and they advocated moving south, but in fact they wanted to escape the predicament. With his powerful aura, Yu Qian rebuked them sternly and told them that moving south would lead to unimaginable consequences.
Yu Qian's courage and courage won the approval and firm belief of the ministers of the Ming Court, and insisted on the "main battle". His influence and prestige were recognized by Zhu Zhanji of Ming Xuanzong in a previous period of time.
At that time, Zhu Gaoxu rebelled, and Zhu Zhanji personally went out to fight, especially bringing Yu Qian, who was the imperial historian. His words were solemn and majestic, so that Zhu Gaoxu had no power to refute, and could only kneel and tremble.
This past seems to indicate that Yu Qian will become an important figure in defending the Ming Dynasty in the face of a national crisis. At the critical moment, Empress Dowager Sun chose to trust Yu Qian, appointed him as the secretary of the military department, and entrusted him with the important task of defending the Beijing Division.
Yu Qian lived up to his trust, and through accurate scheduling, he gathered 200,000 soldiers and horses to prepare for the defense of Beijing. However, Emperor Yingzong was still being held captive by the Warats, who could take advantage of this and force the Ming army to open the gates of Beijing, and Yu Qian's efforts would be in vain.
Yu Qian was well aware of this crucial point, so at the request of Empress Dowager Sun, Empress Dowager Sun, agreed to establish Yingzong's younger brother Zhu Qiyu as emperor in order to appease the army. This move seems reasonable on the surface, but in the era of the supremacy of monarchy, supporting Zhu Qiyu undoubtedly requires huge political risks, and may even bear huge responsibilities as a result.
But Yu Qian stood at the critical juncture of the country's survival, and had no time to care about personal gains and losses, so he swore to defend Beijing to the death. At the pre-war meeting, Yu Qian, as the commander-in-chief, discussed with the generals how to defeat the enemy.
General Shi Heng proposed a seemingly safe defensive tactic, advocating relying on the tall walls of the city of Beijing, stubbornly defending and fighting a war of attrition with Wara. As long as the opponent is unable to break through the city, it can exhaust its food, grass and fighting spirit, so that Warat has no choice but to leave.
The generals present listened to Shi Heng's views and felt that there was no other way for the time being, so they all agreed, but Yu Qian disagreed. He believes that with the current war situation, it is not the best policy to strictly guard against it.
Yu Qian said: "In the battle of civil engineering, Wara wiped out 200,000 heroes of my Ming Dynasty. Now they are a good opportunity to take advantage of the victory to pursue, if the Ming army does not dare to go out of the city to meet the battle, the fighting spirit of the Wara army will be more high, the combat power will be fully displayed, then our Ming army will fall into a state of no return, the end of the road. ”
Yu Qian calmly analyzed the battle situation, although there were 200,000 recruits, they were inexperienced, and the morale was even more fragile after the defeat of Tumu. He firmly proposed a strategy to go out of the city to meet the enemy, so as to arouse the courage of his soldiers.
The generals were infected by his courage and expressed their willingness to go out of the city for a decisive battle. Yu Qian then deployed specific duties, dividing the nine gates of the capital into nine combat areas, and assigning a chief general to each gate.
For Deshengmen, everyone speculated that the experienced General Shi Heng would take on the heavy responsibility. However, Yu Qian announced that he would personally guard Deshengmen, a decision that showed his fearless courage.
Yu Qian immediately issued a military order, and everyone was shocked by his determination and courage.
The first military order: the drums of war are beating, and every soldier must stand up and be fearless. Regardless of rank, anyone who is afraid of death will be severely punished.
The second military order: the overseers and brocade guards will patrol the city, and any soldier who refuses to go out of the city to fight will be punished mercilessly. Hearing these military orders, people were full of respect for Qian, because he saved the Ming Dynasty with his courage and wisdom.
In the real battle to defend Beijing, Yu Qian's two decisions played a key role. First, he set up an ambush on the outskirts of the capital and succeeded in luring the Warat army.
Second, he urgently rebuilt the "Shenji Battalion", a musket unit that did not fight the Warat army in the Battle of Tumubao, so Warat did not know the power of the muskets and muskets.
This time, however, they faced a real challenge. Of course, the Warats were not so easy to deal with, and their commanders also realized that the main force of the Ming army was in Deshengmen, so they turned to storm Xizhimen.
Fortunately, the Ming soldiers at Xizhimen resisted desperately and held the city gate. At this time, Shi Heng's cavalry commando, together with Yu Qian, attacked Warat from the rear, and they also saw this first, unable to continue the attack, so they could only withdraw and leave.
Many people can't accept such an outcome, and they can't understand why Yu Qian was able to hold Beijing with just a group of recruits. The answer is actually very simple, because the faith and strength of these soldiers come from four majestic characters - to protect the family and defend the country!
It is this belief in the security of the country and the dignity of the nation that makes them show endless courage and wisdom on the battlefield of life and death, and jointly defend this glorious capital!
Since ancient times, the heroes have been desolate, and the people of Warat know in their hearts that the dream of dominating the Central Plains can no longer be realized, so they have no choice but to release Emperor Yingzong as a condition for peaceful coexistence between the two sides in the future.
When Zhu Qizhen returned to the Ming Dynasty, an embarrassing situation arose: there were two emperors in name, namely Zhu Qizhen and Zhu Qiyu. Zhu Qiyu was forced to ascend the throne with extreme reluctance, because he knew that his status was just like Zhao Huan of Song Qinzong in the Jingkang Change, just a shield.
However, after successfully defending Beijing and repelling the Warat army, Zhu Qiyu is no longer willing to give up the throne to Zhu Qizhen, which is understandable, after all, the power is huge.
As a result, Zhu Qizhen, who was only 24 years old, became the "Emperor". In order to ensure the stability of his throne, Zhu Qiyu also put his brother under house arrest in Nangong.
In seven years, an illness changed the lives of many. Zhu Qiyu unfortunately fell ill, and some people began to make their own calculations, hoping that Zhu Qizhen could be reset and become their confidant minister.
However, after Zhu Qizhen was reinstated, they immediately began their own plan, and even ordered the arrest of Yu Qian and Wang Wen, claiming that they tried to support the foreign vassal king as the emperor, and the crime should be punished with death.
This is a trumped-up charge. So, who are these ministers who want to bring down Yu Qian? One is named Xu Youzhen, who once advocated moving south, but was angrily reprimanded by Yu Qian for being cowardly as a mouse, so he had to live south on his own; the other is Wang Zhen's Yu Dang, who was severely punished by Yu Qian because of ** before; The third is Shi Heng, who is the second most important contributor to the defense of Beijing and used to have a close relationship with Yu Qian.
However, once Shi Heng recommended Yu Qian's son to Zhu Qiyu, but was reprimanded by Yu Qian in public, saying that he was playing favoritism. Before the "Nangong Restoration", these three people told Zhu Qizhen that Zhu Qiyu had not died of illness at this time, and if he was reinstated at this time, it would be a nominal rebellion.
If Zhu Qizhen will rule Yu Qian"Seek to establish a foreign domain"sin, then he can rely on the act of quelling Yu Qian's rebellion and saving the Ming Dynasty, and ascend to the throne again without controversy.
However, heroes in history often end in tragedy. Yu Qian was escorted to Chongwen Gate, where he died unjustly at the age of 60 in the city of Beijing, which he had once desperately defended. He is known as Yue Fei and Zhang Huangyan"Three Heroes of West Lake"。
It is said that on the day of Yu Qian's execution, the wind was raging, the sky was overcast, and the earth seemed to lament the grievances of this brave and loyal servant. The people of the capital who sent Yu Qian on his last journey wept bitterly and felt indignant at what happened to this hero.
However, Xu Youzhen not only wants Yu Qian's life, but also wants to ruin his reputation. He sent Jinyi Wei to raid Yu Qian's home, trying to find some treasures to slander him. It's a pity that Jin Yiwei found that although Yu Qian is the secretary of the military department, his home is like ordinary people, and the most valuable things in the family are the python robe and sword that Zhu Qiyu gave him before.
Seeing this situation, Jin Yiwei was also ashamed of his behavior, and when he thought of Yu Qian's tragic ending, he couldn't help but shed tears. From Yu Qian** to being killed, the whole process was very hasty, so much so that when Empress Dowager Sun in the deep palace learned about it, Yu Qian had already been executed.
Empress Dowager Sun was in pain, and those old years are still vivid. At that time, the capital was in danger and the Ming Dynasty was about to fall, but it was Yu Qian who stepped forward, shouldered a heavy responsibility, and led everyone to successfully defend Beijing and continue the fate of the Ming Dynasty.
She is well aware of Yu Qian's character, he is worthy of being a loyal warrior of the Ming Dynasty, and will never betray him. Therefore, she was so sad and indignant that she did not eat or drink for several days, and blamed her son Zhu Qizhen for doing such a thing.
Of course, for Empress Dowager Sun, what she understands best is that everything is irretrievable, and Yu Qian finally became a political victim of her son's re-ascension to the throne.
Although history gave Yu Qian a tragic end, his loyalty and bravery were still praised by later generations and became a model of loyalty and goodness for a generation. His name has left a deep imprint on Chinese history, and later generations have evaluated him as "the first loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty".