In the three years of Chongzhen, the mountains and rivers of Daming were in trouble, and the crisis was everywhere. The Qing soldiers were ready to move, trying to enter the customs.
That summer, the city of Beijing was as hot as ever. The heat is steaming, impermeable, and full of suffocating heat, just like the Ming Dynasty will fall, and the sad song has risen. However, on this day, the Beijing West Market Execution Ground was very lively.
A man with a disheveled hair was taken to the execution ground.
Suddenly, the people were restless, and the voices of discussion were endless, but the man's eyes were like torches, and even if death was imminent, he was not afraid at all. He is the famous general in the late Ming Dynasty, Yuan Chonghuan.
Today is the day Yuan Chonghuan was executed, and he was finally burdened with grievances and Ling Chi was killed. And all this was seen by Yuan Chonghuan's personal guards, and the world didn't know that at the moment when Yuan Chonghuan was heroically righteous, the guard pointed to the sky as an alliance and swore a poisonous oath.
What is even more unexpected is that this oath, once implemented, will be 18 generations and more than 300 years.
Who is this guard? What kind of poisonous oath did he take? After more than 300 years of waiting, is it still going on?
Behind the hidden story, you might as well travel through time and space, starting with an incident in 2002.
In the winter of 2002, an ancient ancestral hall in Beijing was rejuvenated with new life and activity.
For She Youzhi, an elderly man in her sixties, November 29 will become a day that will be remembered by her for a lifetime. On this day, the restored Yuan Chonghuan Temple was officially opened to the public. And she is the unique grave keeper of this ancestral hall.
In She Youzhi's memory, she has made an unshakable contract with this tombstone from the very beginning of her life.
Born in 1939, She Youzhi has lived with her parents and uncle's family at No. 52 Xiejie, Donghuashi, Chongwen District, Beijing.
In the middle of their small courtyard, stands the tombstone of General Yuan Chonghuan. Her parents always told her about the hero's heroic past, like a seed planted in her heart, and one day it will break through the ground and grow into lush greenery.
Therefore, at a very young age, She Youzhi understood a truth: as a member of the She family, you must have the determination to guard the tomb of General Yuan Chonghuan.
According to the ancestral teachings of the She family, the tomb keeper of this generation should have been She Youzhi's cousin.
Unexpectedly, the world is unpredictable. In the turbulent years, not only Yuan Chonghuan's tomb was seriously damaged, but even his cousin, who was the tomb keeper, was overwhelmed, and in desperation, he chose to give up his identity as a tomb keeper for the sake of the family's livelihood. Before leaving, my cousin cried bitterly and tried to persuade his sister to leave with him.
Unexpectedly, She Youzhi categorically refused.
She looked at her brother and said that she was willing to share her fate in this life with this tombstone**. If you are born, you will be born with the cemetery, and if you die, you will also die with the cemetery.
In this way, She Youzhi shouldered the heavy responsibility of guarding the tomb with her weak shoulders.
When She Youzhi was twenty-four years old, she met her husband Jiao Lijiang in the factory. The two are very affectionate, Qin Se and Ming. But not long after She Youzhi decided to guard the tomb, the two almost divorced over this matter.
In order to be able to take care of the tombstone at all times, She Youzhi must live next to it. However, in the face of such difficult conditions, her husband Jiao Lijiang has deep worries.
She Youzhi and Jiao Lijiang).
At that time, behind She Youzhi's house was the boiler room and canteen of Beijing No. 59 Middle School. The chimney of the boiler room was in disrepair and rotting, and had fallen down twice. Once he broke the lintel, and on another occasion he couldn't even save the bed board at home.
The most terrifying thing is that ** gas canisters are only separated from them by a wall, and if **, their family will be burned out!
Looking at the young children, Jiao Lijiang decided to move.
Jiao Lijiang has found several good places to live, but she Youzhi firmly refused. At first, Jiao Lijiang couldn't understand his wife's actions, but as time went by, he slowly became his wife's most powerful backing.
Since 1978, in order to be able to repair Yuan Chonghuan's tomb, She Youzhi has been running around, accumulating hard work and falling ill. Everyone calls her "She Crazy", but few people understand her persistence.
Jiao Lijiang once said that he didn't know what an old lady was trying to do at first. But later, he listened to his wife tell many stories of Yuan Chonghuan and understood the traditions passed down from generation to generation of the She family, so he slowly changed from understanding to respecting this matter. Later, Jiao Lijiang, who had been strongly opposed, even joined She Youzhi's team, and also helped her write materials and give feedback to her superiors on the repair situation.
The people in She Youzhi's unit, after watching her run forward and backwards all day long, couldn't help but joke: "You are a big fool, you always run for Yuan Chonghuan, can Yuan Chonghuan give you a big color TV and pay you a salary?" Aren't you just a grave watcher? ”
In the face of such doubts, She Youzhi always smiled indifferently and did not argue.
Except for her, perhaps no one believed that the Yuan Chonghuan Temple could be restored. But as long as she has faith in her heart, no matter how big the difficulties are, she never gives up.
In order to restore the Yuan Chonghuan Temple, even on weekends, She Youzhi and her husband did not have time to accompany their children.
She recalls locking their two children in their home every day when they went out. Until they left, they didn't know the children in the neighborhood, and no one else knew them. Every time she mentions this, She Youzhi feels deeply guilty.
However, the hard work paid off, and She Youzhi's once "unattainable" dream came true step by step.
In 1992, when the time was ripe, the relevant departments of Beijing organized work and began to repair the Yuan Chonghuan Temple. Ten years later, the ancestral hall was renovated and officially opened to the public, becoming a cultural relics protection unit.
Looking at the rejuvenated tombstone of Yuan Chonghuan, She Youzhi burst into tears, and her heart was full of emotion. A long-cherished wish come true, and there are no regrets in this life. However, in the midst of joy, She Youzhi has a trace of melancholy that is not easy to be understood by outsiders.
Yuan Chonghuan Tomb) According to the cultural relics protection regulations, She Youzhi's family is about to move out of Yuan Chonghuan Ancestral Hall.
This small courtyard has accompanied the She family through nearly four hundred years of ups and downs, as long as their oath to Yuan Chonghuan. Looking at the familiar and unfamiliar courtyard, She Youzhi remembered the story her parents had told her when she was young.
——A hundred years ago, there was an ancestor of the She family who had no name and no surname, and solemnly swore to the sky and the earth.
Spanning time and going back to history, that is the beginning of the fate of the She family and Yuan Chonghuan.
Speaking of Yuan Chonghuan, perhaps many people will not feel unfamiliar. However, if you mention the righteous man surnamed She next to Yuan Chonghuan, most people will be a little at a loss.
In the two of them, there is the shining spirit and integrity of the Chinese nation, and they have never lost a single bit in a hundred years of wind and rain.
Yuan Chonghuan was born in 1584 and was a Jinshi in the forty-seventh year of Wanli. However, this young man with outstanding literary talents eventually grew up to become a famous general in the late Ming Dynasty. His life is both bumpy and legendary, like a touching heroic tragedy.
It was recorded in the History of the Ming Dynasty that Yuan Chonghuan was brave and resourceful, and his courage was amazing. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the society was in turmoil, and foreign people were eyeing each other. As a patriotic general, Yuan Chonghuan always kept the safety of the Ming Dynasty in mind.
Yuan Chonghuan) In the autumn of 1629, Yuan Chonghuan guarded Xingcheng and Shanhaiguan, and the city was stable and unbreakable. Seeing this, Huang Taiji found another way, prepared to avoid its edge, and led tens of thousands of Qing soldiers to detour through Mongolia, capture Zunhua, and approach Beijing.
But the magic is one foot high, the road is one foot high, Huang Taiji's conspiracy has long been seen through by Yuan Chonghuan, a few months ago, Yuan Chonghuan wrote to Chongzhen, asking him to strengthen his defense. However, Chongzhen was mediocre and incompetent, and he didn't pay attention to it.
The Qing army took this opportunity to attack all the way to the Desheng Gate in Beijing, and that night, as soon as Yuan Chonghuan received the news, he could no longer sit still. At the risk of killing his head, he left the garrison and led a group of men and horses back to Beijing to fight. The battle of Guangqumen was extremely dangerous, but Yuan Chonghuan had already put life and death aside and charged forward.
After eight hours of fierce fighting, he finally held Beijing and repelled Huang Taiji.
Huang Taiji) And this is not the most legendary experience in Yuan Chonghuan's life. He crisscrossed the battlefield, annihilated countless enemies, guarded the country, and made great military achievements. Among them, the shelling of Nurhachi is the highlight of Yuan Chonghuan's life.
At that time, Nurhachi led 300,000 elite soldiers to attack Xingcheng, Yuan Chonghuan was in danger, there was no reinforcement behind him, and there was a strong enemy in front of him. Xingcheng became a completely isolated city, but Yuan Chonghuan did not retreat.
His immediate boss Gao Di persuaded him to abandon the city and flee, but Yuan Chonghuan flatly refused, vowing to live and die with Xingcheng. And Nurhachi valued Yuan Chonghuan's talent, and offered rich conditions, wanting to recruit Yuan Chonghuan, but he also failed.
After the battle began, Yuan Chonghuan took the lead and became more and more courageous, but his bravery was by no means reckless, but brave with wisdom.
The day after the start of the war, Yuan Chonghuan thought of a good way to defeat the enemy.
It turned out that he used the red-coated cannon made by Portugal, and not only killed countless enemies, but also directly injured Nurhachi! As soon as Nurhachi was injured, the results of the battle were naturally clear, his undefeated myth was shattered, and Yuan Chonghuan ushered in his own era. Later generations called this hearty defense battle "Ningyuan Great Victory".
Half a year later, Nurhachi succumbed to his injuries. Before he died, what he remembered in his heart was still the shame of this defeat. Yuan Chonghuan's use of soldiers like a god can be seen.
However, such a hero ended up miserable.
After Nurhachi's death, Huang Taiji had the revenge of killing his father, and decided to resort to a counter-plot to kill Yuan Chonghuan. So, he arrested two eunuchs in the Forbidden City, and deliberately let the two of them hear the whispers between the Manchu generals, making them mistakenly think that Yuan Chonghuan had an appointment with the Manchus and wanted to be spies.
Then, Huang Taiji "inadvertently" released a eunuch back into the palace and reported to Emperor Chongzhen. All of a sudden, the remnants of the eunuch party within the Ming Dynasty were also ready to move, and they fell into the well and slandered Yuan Chonghuan together. Chongzhen believed it and arrested Yuan Chonghuan in the winter of 1629 and imprisoned him.
Emperor Chongzhen) During the six months he was imprisoned, Yuan Chonghuan always preferred to die and did not say a word against his will. His attitude greatly annoyed Emperor Chongzhen, coupled with the fact that there were traitors, distorted the facts, and imposed a series of trumped-up charges on Yuan Chonghuan. Emperor Chongzhen was furious and sentenced Yuan Chonghuan to death.
However, until the day of the execution, Yuan Chonghuan was still fearless and calmly went to death.
In the end, after Yuan Chonghuan was cut alive with more than 3,000 knives, he died heroically at the age of 47. At that time, the people were also deceived by **, thinking that Yuan Chonghuan was a thief, and they paid money to buy the meat cut off his body, which made people unbearable to look at directly.
And has been following inA righteous man surnamed She beside Yuan Chonghuan couldn't bear to see his master in distress, so he took advantage of the night to steal Yuan Chonghuan's head and bring it back for burial.
This She Yishi is the ancestor of the She family.
And Yuan Chonghuan's burial place is also the small courtyard of the She family.
Yuan Chonghuan) Since then, She Yishi has been incognito to protect Yuan Chonghuan's soul. And before he died, he made three poisonous oaths to leave to his descendants.
Among them, the most important one is that the She family must guard the tomb of General Yuan Chonghuan for generations, and they must never go south and return to their hometown in Guangdong.
She Yishi believes that Yuan Chonghuan died for the country, and since he has no direct descendants, then as a guard, he must let his descendants worship Yuan Chonghuan forever.
In addition, She Yishi also said that after he died, he also hoped to be buried by Yuan Chonghuan's side and always loyal to the general. He also warned future generations that the descendants of the She family will never be allowed to be officials, but they must read, because only by reading can they know history and be polite.
In this way, generation after generation of the She family has never forgotten the trust of their ancestors, and silently kept their oaths, which have been kept for nearly 400 years.
With the reconstruction of Yuan Chonghuan's tomb, the deeds of the She family have gradually become well-known. In such a time of rapid change, people are also full of curiosity about another question:Will the descendants of the She family continue to guard the tomb of Yuan Chonghuan? What will be the final outcome of this agreement, which has lasted for nearly 400 years?
In 2003, the She family received a new invitation.
This invitation is from Dongguan City, Guangdong Province**. In fact, as early as a few years ago, they had handed an olive branch to She Youzhi and his wife.
General Yuan Chonghuan's ancestral home is in Shuinan Village, Shijie Town, Dongguan, Guangdong, and Dongguan is ready to take this opportunity to build Yuan Chonghuan's memorial garden after rebuilding Yuan Chonghuan's former residence.
Therefore, after hearing about She Youzhi's deeds, they wanted to invite her to work in Dongguan.
However, She Youzhi always remembered the ancestral precept that she was not allowed to go south, and politely declined.
However, Dongguan did not give up. In 2003, they invited She Youzhi again. They proposed that if She Youzhi and his wife could not go, they wondered if their son Jiao Ping could inherit the business.
Faced with this proposal, She Youzhi and his wife hesitated.
At that time, Jiao Ping worked in a company in Suzhou, with good conditions and good salary. She Youzhi didn't know if Jiao Ping was willing to take on this responsibility.
Not only that, but the son is still young, and there is great room for improvement in both personality and ability. She Youzhi knows that this trip to Guangdong, Jiao Ping will not face a simple job. On his immature shoulders, what he has to carry is the fame and endless tradition of the entire She family.
The eighteenth generation of the She family has been passed down in this way.
Mrs. She Youzhi and their son).
But what She Youzhi didn't expect was that Jiao Ping readily agreed to this matter, and her heart was surprised, happy, and faintly worried.
As a mother, she also understands that once Jiao Ping is gone, she will leave Beijing forever.
However, in Jiao Ping's eyes, his fate with Yuan Chonghuan's tomb may have been formed when he was a child. He always remembered that he had accidentally found the remnants of the tomb keeper of the ancestors of the She family while playing, and wrote a small poem for him when he was 14 years old. Therefore, he made up his mind to inherit the mantle.
In the summer of 2004, during the SARS epidemic, Jiao Ping decided to go to Jilin, obtained the consent of his girlfriend's parents, and then went to Guangdong together. Unexpectedly, fate is always so impermanent, like a big joke.
——On the day when the World Health Organization announced that Beijing had lifted the epidemic, Jiao Ping died in a car accident on the way to Jilin.
She Youzhi and her husband were very sad after receiving the news, life is unpredictable, accidents and tomorrow, no one knows which one will come first.
In the end, Jiao Ping's ashes were placed in the small courtyard of the She family in Yuan Chonghuan's cemetery. Originally, this was a house reserved for Jiao Ping, but now, it has become his resting place. She Youzhi and his wife finally donated all the compensation they received to Dongguan, and they understood that this must also be their son's wish.
In another way, Jiao Ping forever guarded the tomb of General Yuan Chonghuan.
In 2020, She Youzhi died of illness in Beijing at the age of 81.
After She Youzhi died, her daughter Jiao Ying decided to inherit the career of her parents and do her best to protect Yuan Chonghuan's tomb. In the past, she also had moments of incomprehension, and she knew that she was not as persistent as her mother. However, as she grew older, Jiao Ying gradually understood the greatness of her mother and the spirit of the She family.
When talking about the future, Jiao Ying also said frankly that she had no way to abandon her family and business like her mother. As for whether her children will guard the grave, Jiao Ying hopes that this time she can respect the children's opinions.
However, everyone knows that regardless of whether the form of tomb guarding exists, the spirit of Yuan Chonghuan and the She family has been forever engraved on the monument of history.
Over the past 392 years, after ups and downs, it has never changed, from She Yishi to She Youzhi, this is the best interpretation of the word family style.