Today, with the increasing cultural literacy of the people, more and more people have begun to have a strong interest in history. Which dynasty is the most popular in Chinese history?
The answer is undoubtedly the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the mixed evaluation of the Ming Dynasty in the past, people now have a new understanding of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty was an era full of historical significance, which witnessed the revival of Han culture, the expansion of territory, and the peak of culture. Emperor Hongwu, Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Chongzhen, three completely different emperors, with their unique life experience, have created a magnificent historical picture for us.
After the Ming Dynasty, it was the Qing Dynasty, but many people don't know that it was actually the Ming Dynasty that was destroyed by the peasant rebel army Li Zicheng.
Although Li Zicheng overthrew the Ming Dynasty and established his own power, he failed to consolidate his rule like other dynasties in history, and instead allowed the country to fall into the hands of the Manchu people.
This was attributed to three of Lee's blunders, each of which foreshadowed the inability of his reign to last. The fall of the Ming Dynasty made people regret it. The Ming Dynasty was a dynasty full of backbone, it did not succumb to external pressure, did not compromise with other countries, and always insisted on its own iron bones, standing on top of the world.
The last years of the Ming Dynasty were an era full of miracles. The progress of science and technology and the opening of the Great Voyage made China and Europe have in-depth exchanges for the first time, and even war broke out.
At the same time, this period was also full of new ideas and literature, and many literary masterpieces were born here, giving us a glimpse of the wonders of history. Compared with the ruthlessness of the royal children, the Ming royal family is closer to the people, and their lives are full of family affection and joy.
Flipping through the history books, you will find that the royal children of the Ming Dynasty lived in harmony and happiness, as if living in heaven.
Behind the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty is hidden many crises, corruption within the court, partisan disputes, the magnates in the palace, arrogant and domineering, frequent civil famines, and the earth seems to have entered a cold period, all of which indicates the ruthlessness of fate to the Ming Dynasty.
However, in northeastern China, a mysterious force has quietly emerged: the Manchurian tribes. The ancestors of the Manchurians lived in Siberia and later migrated to the Liaodong region of China, where they settled down.
The originally weak Manchurian nation gradually grew stronger under the acceptance of the Ming Dynasty and the abundance of land resources, and established a political power in the northeast, claiming to be the descendants of the Wanyan clan of the Jin State, and the country name was "Hou Jin".
However, as Tanchun said in "Dream of Red Mansions", "the big family cannot be killed from the outside", and although the power of Manchuria was strong, it still seemed insignificant in the face of the huge Ming Dynasty.
And the biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty was the rebel ranks who were unable to feed due to successive natural disasters.
Against the backdrop of frequent disasters in many places, a frenzy of peasant uprisings was set off in various parts of China, among which Li Zicheng's army was the most prominent. Li Zicheng and his "Chuang Army" declared that after ascending the throne, they would implement the policy of "exempting all fields from taxation and not paying grain," and won the support of a large number of people.
For the people at that time, the achievement of King Li Zicheng was their hope for a new life. And the Chuang army also marched all the way, all the way to the north, and finally arrived at the city of Beijing.
Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen was not the last emperor of mediocrity, but a diligent monarch for the people. However, he did not recover the decline of the Ming Dynasty, after breaking through the army to break through the city of Beijing, he chose to die for the country, leaving behind the last words of "let the thief ** destroy the corpse, do not hurt the people".
Although he was sitting on a large part of the country, Li Zicheng made the mistake of thinking that he was the emperor of the new dynasty, so he soon called the emperor and established the "Great Shun". In the end, the Ming Dynasty, which lasted nearly 300 years, withdrew from the stage of history.
Li Zicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang are quite similar in origin, they are both ordinary people, and they joined the rebel army because they were oppressed by the powerful to seek food and clothing. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was able to stand out among the many leaders of the rebel army and was known as the "Hongwu Emperor", which stemmed from his natural imperial wisdom and mind.
After the establishment of Dashun, the situation was the same as at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the foundation of political power was weak, and the civil uprising team was still strong. Zhu Yuanzhang chose to appease the people and postpone his accession to the throne in order to make a smooth transition.
Zhu Yuanzhang adopted a policy of tolerance towards the people and did not allow the army to harass the people. For the former Mengyuan general "Wang Baobao" and others, he adopted a policy of recruiting security, and even married Wang Baobao's sister to his son's wife.
However, the general Lan Yu was finally severely punished by Zhu Yuanzhang for violating the princess of the Yuan Dynasty and allowing his subordinates to insult women.
Li Zicheng's short-sightedness and impulsiveness led to his defeat. He did not maintain patience, not only indulged his subordinates in plundering in Beijing, but also forcibly married women from the Ming Dynasty, which directly lost the trust and support of the people.
His subordinates realized the seriousness of this behavior and tried to admonish him by writing to him, but he turned a deaf ear and even intensified it. If he can listen to the advice and stop the precipice in time, there may be a glimmer of opportunity.
However, his actions caused some powerful people to lose trust in him, and they took refuge in Manchuria, which also laid the foundation for the Qing army to enter the customs.
Many people admire Wu Sangui's "rushing to the crown and being angry for a red face" and regard it as a heroic and romantic act. However, behind this incident is the tragedy of hundreds of people being cried blood by ****.
Wu Sangui was originally a general of the Ming Dynasty, but because of an act by Li Zicheng, he betrayed the Ming Dynasty, which led to the demise of Dashun and even threatened the survival of the entire Han culture.
Wu Sangui, the guardian of Shanhaiguan, his mission is to defend against the Qing army. Li Zicheng, as the new emperor, was supposed to take advantage of this and form an alliance with him. However, this is not the case.
Li Zicheng not only had a vague attitude towards Wu Sangui, but even allowed his subordinates to snatch away Wu Sangui's confidante Chen Yuanyuan. Li Zicheng, who was afraid of Wu Sangui's revenge, decided to unite with the Qing army outside Shanhaiguan to deal with Wu Sangui together.
In a desperate situation, in order to save his life, Wu Sangui finally chose to open the gate of Shanhaiguan and surrender to the Manchu Qing. In this way, the Manchu Qing, who had no hope of seizing power, suddenly received a blessing from heaven and became the master of the world.
The Manchu Qing Dynasty not only implemented inhumane policies such as "shaving hair and making it easy to obey" and "enclosing land", but even more, in order to stabilize its own political power, it implemented the policy of "closing the country to the outside world", so that China lagged behind others and lost its status as a world power during the period of rapid development of all countries in the world.
It can be said that the entry of the Qing army into the customs is a great disaster for the Chinese nation and a huge loss to the Han culture. Thanks to the unremitting efforts of the communist pioneers, China was able to get back on its feet and move forward on the road to rejuvenation.
Li Zicheng's life began with an uprising and finally an uprising, he was a representative of breaking class oppression, but Li Zicheng, as the "emperor", became a defender of the feudal atmosphere.
In life, we can't just focus on the small interests in front of us, otherwise we will only hurt ourselves in the end. Only by being vigilant and thinking in the long term can you become a real big shot.