Li Zicheng has been in power for decades, and his troops are the most powerful among all the bandits. Even if they suffer losses, they are not without the ability to fight back. And the generals under his command. Why did these battle-hardened generals no longer perform well after they withdrew from Beijing? Why is the whole army so different? In contrast, Zhang Xianzhong's troops were defeated in one battle, and later Li Dingguo killed famous kings in succession. Why were Li Zicheng's men such idiots?
Before entering Beijing, I also visited cities such as Luoyang and Xi'an. These are big cities. Why did they become completely corrupted when I entered Beijing? After withdrawing from Beijing, even Xi'an could not be defended in the end. Li Zicheng was killed and he became a monk. In the end, it was not that everyone rebelled and separated, but that there was a large army that could not fight despite the large number of people.
What Li Zicheng brought to Beijing was not a mob, and what he left behind was not a decoration. His good performance in the confrontation between Shanhaiguan and Guan Ning Cavalry also shows that the theory of corruption is incorrect. At least in front of Shanhaiguan, Chuangbu can fight, why can it only fight in one battle?
Let’s look at Wu Sangui, who played an important role at this time. He received the order on March 7th, abandoned Ningyuan on March 10th, and arrived at Shanhaiguan on March 16th. For a group of 200,000 soldiers and civilians, , this speed should not be deliberately delayed. Wu Sangui could leave the people and rush to Beijing, but Li Zicheng had not arrived in Beijing at that time, so there was no need to rush. On March 18, Wu Sangui, who had not yet settled the officers, soldiers, their families and the people of Liaodong, sent troops to rescue the capital. However, the capital had already fallen on this day. At this time, it shows that Wu Sangui is wholeheartedly saving the driver.
On March 23, after receiving news of Chongzhen's death, Wu Sangui returned to Dashun. On March 27, Wu Sangui arrived at Yutian, about 260 miles away from Beijing, and learned that the Dashun army had committed rape and plunder in Beijing. They tortured the civil and military nobles for gold and silver, and the Wu family was also implicated in the disaster. That night, "weeping at the six armies for their lack of self-esteem, and turning their heads and anger into beauty", they turned around and attacked Shanhaiguan. What happened during these four days?
After Wu Sangui rebelled, Li Zicheng personally went to war, which showed that in his eyes Wu Sangui was a strong enemy, otherwise he would have just sent Liu Zongmin and others. Why could such an important person not wait for several days and insist on going to Wu's house to ask for gold, silver and Chen Yuanyuan? Many officials in the Ming Dynasty surrendered. Li Zicheng always treated the generals who supported the army favorably. Why was he so harsh on Wu Sangui? It shows that the torture of Wu Xiang and even the extortion of Chen Yuanyuan are all false. Even if this happened, Wu Sangui would be so angry as to be a beauty, but his sergeants might not be willing to do so. At that time, various places were surrendering one after another. Why was it that the Wu army was the only one who was united? If he wanted to surrender, he would surrender, and if he wanted to rebel, he would be punished? Revenge for the Ming Dynasty is unjustifiable, because Wu surrendered first and then rebelled. Why did he do it in the first place if he had known this?
Wu Sangui is the representative of the Liaodong Military Group. He is not a reckless warrior. Everything he does must be based on the interests of the Liaodong Military Group, otherwise his subordinates will not obey absolutely. The decisive battle with Li Zicheng at the back of the pass was extremely risky. Even if the Manchu and Qing Dynasties came to help, it was difficult to predict the outcome with Li Zicheng's power in the Central Plains. In the 17th year of Chongzhen, when people's hearts were unstable, why were Wu Sangui's troops so united?
In the battle of Shanhaiguan, the Wu tribe suffered heavy casualties, but they were able to pursue Li Zicheng and win consecutive battles. This was completely different from the evenly matched situation in front of Shanhaiguan. But why did he suddenly stop pursuing him? Just because Li Zicheng released Chen Yuanyuan? If Wu Sangui values ??sex over hatred of family and country, how could anyone work hard for him? The Manchu Qing Dynasty would not let him become the king of the southwest.
The last is the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. Only two flags were used in the battle of Shanhaiguan. It can be said that compared with other northern nomads, it was easiest for the Manchu and Qing Dynasties to capture North China. The main force is intact and it is time to deploy troops in spring and summer. But why did he not go to the south of the Yangtze River except to pursue Li Zicheng in the west this year, but let the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty be established? The talented Dorgon and Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou should know that the most dangerous thing is not the rogue bandits, but the Ming Zhengshuo. As a result, Li Dingguo and Zheng Chenggong held high the banner of restoring the Ming Dynasty, but they fell short of success. There are also those Manchu and Qing nobles who are aiming for robbery. They should know that the northwest is ruined and the south of the Yangtze River is the rich land. Why was Man Qing wasted this year in vain? Without Zuo Liangyu, the Qing emperor would have had difficulty crossing the river, and the story of the Song and Jin Dynasties would have happened again.
What affected history in Beijing between March and April 1644?
In the eyes of later generations, history is regular and inevitable, while in the eyes of people at that time, history is disordered and accidental.
Accidents, large and small, cause history, at least partially, to be unpredictable. These accidents are often ignored by historians because they regard them as fait accompli. It is impossible to assume history, but the contingency in history or things ignored by people at the time and even modern people are often the real driving force of history.
On this planet, humans are the masters, but in addition to humans, there are also animals, plants and the natural environment. These non-artificial things can also create history, because history does not only belong to humans, history is this The Diary of the Planet. In Beijing in 1644, history was determined not by any one person or group of people, but by the ubiquitous bacteria invisible to the naked eye.
In 1644, no one knew what bacteria were, even though they were much older than humans. In Chinese historical records, epidemics often represent epidemics of infectious diseases caused by bacteria. In the precarious late Ming Dynasty, great epidemics spread in the north many times. Starting from the Wanli period, plague began to appear in Shanxi. In the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign, an epidemic occurred in Shanxi. In the tenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the epidemic spread throughout Shanxi, with the peak in the sixteenth and seventeenth years. Henan and Jiangsu also experienced severe epidemics many times between the 13th and 17th years of Chongzhen. Near Beijing, in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, there was a serious epidemic in Shunde Prefecture and Hejian Prefecture. In the 16th year of Chongzhen, there was a major epidemic in Tongzhou, Changping Prefecture, and Baoding Prefecture, and it was introduced to Beijing. The Ming History says: "The epidemic in the capital lasted from February to September." Just like the situation in Shanxi, in the second period of the first epidemic In 2011, the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the epidemic in Beijing reached its peak, and the peak period was between March and April.
What exactly is this epidemic that is rampant in North China? "A rat dies in the east and a rat dies in the west. When a person sees a dead rat, he feels like he sees a tiger." This is the most important serious infectious disease in human history: plague. At that time, people did not know the route of transmission, because it was seen every time there was an epidemic. 250 years later, the Japanese Kitasato Shibasaburo and the Frenchman Yersin isolated a bacillus from plague patients in Hong Kong and proved that this bacillus was the source of the plague. Only then did people begin to understand the plague and find ways to prevent it. But in 1644, facing the plague, people could only wait and die.
The most famous plague epidemic in history was the Black Death, which wiped out nearly half of the European population in the fourteenth century. The Black Death was spread between rats and between rats and humans through the bites of fleas. Its onset is rapid and its mortality rate is extremely high. But the disease first occurs in places with high temperatures and humidity, like Italy on the Mediterranean. At the same time, sanitary conditions are very poor, and fleas and mice are everywhere. Although the sanitary environment in North China was not very good during the Ming Dynasty, the climate was dry and wintery, which was not suitable for large-scale fleas to breed. Why was the plague also prevalent? Unlike the Black Death, the plague prevalent in North China has a long incubation period, a lower mortality rate, no black spots on the body, and often bleeding. So far, some people still think it is not plague.
The answer to this question was found by the famous doctor Wu Liande during the plague epidemic in Northeast China in the early 20th century, and he proved that there are two types of plague. The cause of the Black Death was bubonic plague, which was spread by fleas. Pneumonic plague is prevalent in northern China and is spread through the respiratory tract. The most effective way to prevent it is to wear a mask. Masks, masks, how did people know what a mask was in 1644? It was not until 359 springs that Beijing implemented masks throughout the city. This time it was SARS, which is also a severe infectious disease spread through the respiratory tract. The peak incidence period is also in spring.
This also proves that the dry climate in Beijing in spring is suitable for the survival of respiratory tract-borne pathogens, allowing them to survive for a period of time after leaving the human body. This is true for influenza, true for SARS, and true for plague. When Li Zicheng came to the city, the plague in Beijing happened to be a critical moment for a sudden outbreak. Think of the panic situation when SARS was in Beijing. If there were enemies, how could it be defended? Three battlements and one soldier. How many battlements does Beijing have? No matter how empty the three camps are, they will still have one-tenth. "One person rises with the whip, and another person lies down as before." Is this a sign that people's hearts are distracted? Wouldn't it be enough to kill one policeman? Li Zicheng's troops have always been brutal. Are we all willing to die? This is because the plague is prevalent, and after infection, the body is weak and unable to do anything.
Beijing was overcrowded, which was conducive to the epidemic of plague. The plague was prevalent among common people and soldiers living in poor living conditions, and bureaucratic families were rarely affected. Therefore, Chongzhen in the palace did not know about it, and Li Zicheng outside the city did not know about it. This is the story of the peace negotiation. When Li Zicheng wanted to attack the city in a punitive manner, before he could start, the defenders offered their services one after another. This is because everyone knows that it cannot be defended.
If there is no plague, no matter how hard it is, relying on cannons and strong city defenses, we can still hold on for a few days, right?
Li Zicheng entered Beijing so easily that even he couldn't believe it. At the same time, even he couldn't believe it and found that the bustling capital in his dream was now like a ghost land.
Regardless of whether it is a ghost town or not, no one who enters Beijing is willing to leave. Li Zicheng had already established a country in Xi'an, so why did he enter Beijing so easily and not ascend the throne? So Dashun's elite soldiers and generals settled in Beijing, either in barracks or residential buildings, and their soldiers were also recruited into the army, giving them countless opportunities for close contact. The plague began to spread among these outsiders. The rapid loss of combat effectiveness on the 41st was not the flowery world of Beijing, but the cough and cough bacteria all over the city.
Now that the capital has been taken, why are you so eager to recover from the officials? Don’t you know the importance of stabilizing people’s hearts? But Li Zicheng had no choice. The palace was empty, the people were poor and sick, and only the officials had money. If one day the plague could no longer be contained, he would have to lift his feet quickly. In fact, this was not the fault of Li Zicheng's family. Rebels have always burned, killed, raped, and plundered when they entered the city. Judging from the vilified historical records, Li Zicheng was considered civilized. He didn't listen to the many times that princes and nobles were massacred. He said that he lost the capital so quickly.
There is a lot of controversy over the number of people involved in Li Zicheng's crusade against Wu Sangui. It was because of the epidemic of plague, which resulted in serious attrition. But why did Li Zicheng become a pair in front of Shanhaiguan? Let’s also talk about pneumonic plague. The incubation period of this type of plague can be as long as more than 20 days, that is, it takes more than 20 days of infection to develop symptoms. This severe infectious disease with a long incubation period is widespread because it can continue to infect others just like normal people before it becomes ill. The troops Li Zicheng brought to Shanhaiguan were the remaining ones who had not yet become ill and whose combat effectiveness was still there. Some of this group of people died in the battle at Shanhaiguan, and those who escaped also fell ill one after another. Therefore, Li Zicheng's men were all plague patients. Even those who recovered were very weak, so it would be good if they could escape. This is why Li Zicheng came down from Shanhaiguan and was unable to defend Beijing. He also lost consecutive battles after leaving Beijing. Retreat all the way to eliminate the plague. "Every place where thieves pass by will be plagued by plague, and those who don't pass by will not be plagued by plague." The troops left behind in various places were also infected with the plague, so they abandoned Shanxi and Xi'an and were finally defeated at Jiugong Mountain. That invincible army was wiped out by the plague, and when they united with the Southern Ming Dynasty, they were already a rabble.
In history, there are many records of plague killing almost 10% of the army. When marching and fighting, plague is the most feared thing. Li Hongzhang had a deep understanding. The biggest emotion he felt when he inspected the Western military was that Western troops focused on medical officers, so he opened the Beiyang Medical School to train military doctors. Under the sanitary conditions and medical standards of ancient times, once a plague appeared in the military camp, the entire army would collapse without a fight. Many times, the victory was taken away by the plague. The same was true for Li Zicheng, but it was a pity that he lost it. It is so sad that future generations will ignore the role of the plague.
When leaving Xi'an, Li Zicheng had two paths in front of him. One was to manage Henan and Hubei and seize Jianghuai. The other was to invade Beijing. In the end, he adopted Gu Junen's strategy of advancing directly from the middle. From the perspective of capturing Beijing, it is a good strategy. However, the invisible hand of the plague caused Li Zicheng, who was not secure on the throne, to suffer a rapid defeat. If we adopt a steady and steady strategy, first stabilizing the occupied territory and then seizing Beijing, the outcome will be completely different. The Ming Dynasty will fall sooner or later. In the north, except for the Manchus, there are no other rebels to fight against it. Why not wait one more year? This is what is called death reminder.
Persisting in the crusade against Wu Sangui is also a bad move. Wu Sangui would not take the initiative to attack Beijing, nor would he surrender to the Manchu Qing. The army's pressure on the territory could only push Wu Sangui to the Manchus. If Wu Sangui is eliminated immediately after occupying Beijing, the army will still be in good condition and he can force surrender by fighting. This is Li Zicheng's only chance. The ancients were superstitious and often attributed great epidemics to God's will. This great epidemic cost Chongzhen his life and also caused Li Zicheng's subordinates to become alienated and left no one to serve him.
Later generations analyzed Li Chuang's defeat and there were endless strange theories, but this issue of timing was ignored. Li Zicheng took Song Xiance as his military adviser and observed the sky and divination, but unfortunately he could not read through a microscope. Li Chuang's defeat can only be blamed on the timing.
Between March 23rd and March 27th, Wu Sangui surrendered and rebelled again. The reason was not because he knew that his family was being abused, but because he knew the reality of the capital and the plague of the Dashun Army. Only when it became popular did he dare to fight against the enemy.
The Liaodong soldiers under his command, like him, saw the hope of dominance in the plague, so they followed him back to Shanhaiguan without hesitation.
Wu Sangui’s calculation was that Li Zicheng would not fight him during the epidemic. After a few months, the plague would torture him to death, and Beijing would belong to Wu Sangui. At that time, either a new king will be supported and the emperor will be used to control the princes, or North China will be separatist. Wu Sangui, who lives in Liaodong, because his family is in Beijing, he is very aware of the epidemic situation in Beijing and expected that the epidemic would spread until autumn, so he dared to get angry.
It is said that Wu Sangui led the Qing soldiers into the pass in order to use the Qing soldiers to destroy the rogue bandits, and then use gold and silver treasures to coax the Qing soldiers back. Wu Sangui has been an enemy of the Qing soldiers since he was a child, so he would be so naive. What's more, there was also Fan Wen, Cheng Hong and Chengchou in the Manchu Dynasty. How could he hide this trick? Wu Sangui would not fail to consider luring Qing soldiers into the pass. At the most, he would be a sinner through the ages, and at the least, he would be Shi Jingtang. In history, has this kind of person who lured a wolf into the house ever returned so easily?
Wu Sangui is well-educated and will not risk this crime. His real idea was to introduce the Manchu Qing into the epidemic area and let the plague help him eliminate his two formidable enemies. After arriving in Beijing, Wu Sangui did not stay in the epidemic area and led his army to pursue Li Zicheng. He knew that now was the best time. Although his men suffered heavy casualties, Li Zicheng had no power to fight back, and he could not stay in Beijing and let his men lose combat effectiveness. He stopped chasing after half the time because his subordinates also started to get sick.
In front of Shanhaiguan, "the bones are in the wild, and they have not been harvested in three years." After the Manchus entered the customs, Chongzhen was buried. Why didn't they order local officials to collect the body, instead of letting it be exposed in the wilderness? This doesn't look like a new dynasty. The reason is still the plague. Who dares to collect the sick corpses? After the Qing army entered the customs, some of them followed Wu Sangui to pursue Li Zicheng. In addition, a large number of troops were stationed in Beijing with nothing to do. Except when Shunzhi ascended the throne, they had no plans to go south. Seeing that the establishment of a small imperial court in Nanjing gradually became a trend, other The reason was also that he contracted the plague after entering Beijing. Wu Sangui's plan to wipe out his family almost succeeded, but unfortunately, it was the right time. It was because of the weather that the Manchus entered the Pass, and it was still because of the weather that they settled down.
According to historical records, the plague was indeed prevalent in Beijing and North China until September 1644. However, the Manchus and Han people were divided into Since bacteria cannot easily survive outside the human body, the plague did not spread among the Manchus on a large scale like the Dashun Army did. Even so, it was still popular to a certain extent, which made the Manchus unable to move southward.
But just like the situation in Shanxi, after being popular for two consecutive years, it stopped being popular in the third year. Even today, scientists can only say that there are some so far unexplainable natural laws in the epidemic process of severe infectious diseases that are caused by God's will. Not only was it not popular in 1645, it was only popular on a small scale in the following years. Why? In the second year of Shunzhi, the weather began to improve and the weather was no longer dry, so the large-scale plague disappeared. Wu Sangui's clever plan was ultimately no match for the timing.
The plague, the hand in the dark, caused an overestimation of the Manchu and Qing combat power at that time and in later generations. Because even Li Zicheng, who was crisscrossing the Central Plains, was defeated in one battle, people generally believed that the Manchu and Qing troops were very weak in battle. powerful. In fact, judging from the later achievements of Zheng Chenggong and Li Dingguo, the troops led by those who were not considered a great army could almost sweep the south. The Manchu troops were not that powerful because there were not many people who entered the pass, and they all surrendered and joined later. Got in. The saying that three generations of Eight Banners disciples cannot fight cannot be said to be wrong, but it is not so absolute.
The Manchu Qing conquered the world with 100,000 people, and the plague helped a lot. People today praise Dorgon, but when northern peoples invaded the Central Plains, there were many leaders whose abilities were comparable to Dorgon. Except for Mongolia, none of those peoples did what they wanted because there was no good time for the plague.
Seven
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in order to promote Liu and suppress Cao, there was a famous saying: The weather is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the people. Since ancient times, those who occupy a favorable position have been on the defensive. Conquering the world relies on competition in the Central Plains. Those who rely on favorable geographical conditions are at best on the side of security. Harmony among people is out of the question. People's hearts are like iron, and official laws are like furnaces. When dynasties change, when is there not a murderous person and a river of blood? The so-called popular support is just because the people are tired of war and support the stronger side.
Therefore, the most important thing is the weather. When the Three Kingdoms returned to Jin, wouldn't the geographical advantages, people and time be lost to the weather?
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Romance! The so-called weather refers to the general trend and opportunities of the world, as well as the influence of the natural environment, including the prevalence of diseases. In the battle between Liang and Jin at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Liang army had the upper hand at the beginning. They besieged Taiyuan several times, but they all stopped because of the epidemic and lost more than half of their soldiers. In the end, they lost to the Jin army. There are many similar examples, and this unpredictability is the intrinsic reason that makes history colorful.
Why did misfortunes never come singly in the Ming Dynasty? There is also plague among the rogue northern captives. It can be said that the sky wants to destroy the Ming Dynasty. But let’s explore carefully, what exactly led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty? Taking a step back, why did the weather in Beijing change three times a year in 1644? Putting aside the issue of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, rogue bandits and plague actually have the same origin, both because of land annexation.
People have lost their land and have two options. One is to become homeless and hungry people, and finally they have no choice but to join the bandits. The second is to open up wasteland. A large number of farmers who have lost their land go to the grasslands to reclaim wasteland through Shanxi. The grassland was originally the land of wild rats? It was because of the plague among the wild rats. Since the Wanli Year, plague has frequently been prevalent in Shanxi, precisely because the grasslands were gradually being eroded.
Why was Li Zicheng so unlucky? This starts with the spread of the epidemic. Getting sick is not like being poisoned. If you sprinkle rat poison into a well, the whole village will become sick after eating. Infectious diseases are transmitted from animals to humans, or from humans to humans, in the form of one-to-one or one-to-a-few transmissions. At first, it is a point, then it is a small-scale area, and finally it is a large-scale and overwhelming epidemic. There is a critical point from point and surface to overwhelming, which is the appropriate environmental climate and sufficient sources of infection.
As far as the situation in Beijing is concerned, infectious diseases are most likely to be prevalent in March and April in spring. The situation in Shanxi during the Chongzhen period also proves that the peak incidence of this plague is during these two months. It is the accumulation stage before and then. Because the heat is gradually decreasing. It was precisely these two months that Li Zicheng was stationed in Beijing.
Another factor in the epidemic of infectious diseases is the need for large numbers of people. The plague has never stopped on the grasslands, but it has not spread because there are not too many people. The epidemic of plague in Beijing was due to the dense population in the capital. This year was originally the peak period of the plague. At the peak, hundreds of thousands of outsiders suddenly poured in, and they suddenly became the heirs of Yersinia pestis. After years of plague, some Beijing residents are resistant to it. Newcomers have never experienced it, so it would be strange if it didn't spread quickly.
As a result, the epidemic of plague was transferred from the citizens of Beijing and the soldiers of the Three Battalions to the Dashun army, and Li Zicheng's army became the main plague area. Li Zicheng withdrew from Beijing, and most of the current plague patients and infected people left Beijing. After the Qing troops entered Beijing, the weather started to get hot. It was also due to the fact that there were not many current plague patients and infected people in Beijing. People who contracted the plague either recovered or died. At most, they were scattered, which was not enough. base for large-scale dissemination.
The Ming Dynasty did not die from the plague, but because the people were in dire straits. It was Li Chuang who died from the plague, and the restoration of the world was also due to the rat and the little bacteria on it. Sometimes history is visible to the naked eye, and sometimes it is invisible. The history of Beijing in the spring of 1644 is not visible to the naked eye. It is this kind of history invisible to the naked eye that is the "country" ignored by historians. There is a time for rise and fall."
In the spring of 1644, many people in Beijing were coughing. In the sound of coughs, things invisible to the naked eye change history, and the city top changes into the king's flag.