Lead: In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the situation was turbulent, and the Ming Dynasty was in internal and external troubles. Inside, there were waves of peasant uprisings led by Li Zicheng, and the Qing army occupied Liaodong. Emperor Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, ascended the throne amidst these turbulent winds and rains. At the beginning of his ascension, he worked hard and had the dream of regaining Liaodong. Not only was the Ming army unable to regain Liaodong, it was also repeatedly defeated in the war with the Qing army. The few isolated cities remaining outside the pass were also conquered by the Qing army. Emperor Chongzhen was anxiously anxious, but unexpectedly, the Qing army took the initiative to propose peace to the Ming Dynasty. Faced with the sudden peace, would Emperor Chongzhen accept it?
The Qing troops entered the Pass
The Qing troops took the initiative to seek peace, Chongzhen flatly refused to
Chongzhen 14 winter, heavy snowfall in Liaodong, heavy snow blocking the mountains, roads were all blocked. The Ming army in the city could still shrink and rest in the city, but the Qing army outside the city did not live so well. The road blockage caused the Qing army's food and salary supply to be insufficient, and the Qing army wanted to withdraw. However, he was afraid that the Ming army in the city would follow behind the ass when they withdrew their troops, so they conveyed the message of peace to the Ming Dynasty through the Mongols.
When the Ming army learned that the Qing army had an intention to make peace, a general named Shi Fengtai wrote to the Qing army commander to ask about the situation. After getting a positive answer, he reported the news to Emperor Chongzhen. The Ming and Qing armies had been deadlocked for a long time, and there was not much food left. The Qing army's proposal for peace was a good time to rest, but when the news reached the ears of Emperor Chongzhen, he was furious as soon as he heard it. The front-line generals even had correspondence with the enemy commander in private. One was suspected of having an affair, and the other was ashamed of the Ming Dynasty. In his anger, Chongzhen arrested Shi Fengtai and sent him to Beijing.
The Qing army took the initiative to negotiate a peace and took advantage of the negotiation. Unfortunately, Emperor Chongzhen insisted on going his own way and was determined to fight the Qing army and missed the opportunity. Perhaps it was precisely because the Qing army took the initiative to show weakness that gave Emperor Chongzhen an illusion. He thought that the Qing army had been beaten and could not hold on, and the Ming army might still win. In any case, the first peace proposal proposed by the Qing army was rejected by Emperor Chongzhen.
Liaodong situation map at the end of Ming Dynasty
Ming army was difficult to maintain, Chongzhen agreed to the peace talks
and failed, the two armies continued to stand in a stalemate, and their respective food and payment were also decreasing. The Minister of Korea and China kept receiving letters from front-line generals asking for food, but the Ming Dynasty encountered a disaster year at this time, the harvest was not good, and the peasants in the pass continued to revolt, how can there be food and payment to support the outside? The ministers understood that they couldn't go on like that anymore. Only by discussing peace could there be a ray of life, but not long after Shifengtai's lesson from the past, no one dared to raise this opinion to Emperor Chongzhen, for fear that the emperor would throw himself into jail. But the situation was tense, and the criticisms and disapprovals were combined, and it was decided that Chen Xinjia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, would try to convince the emperor.
Although Chen Xinjia took the job, he also understood that it was not so easy to open. He specially chose a happy day for Emperor Chongzhen, the first day of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen. Taking advantage of the festive atmosphere of the New Year, Chen Xinjia mentioned the war in Liaodong, but only said that the front line was tense and the people were tired. Emperor Chongzhen heard this and asked if there was no other way? Chen Xinjia stayed around for a long time and didn't dare to directly say the word "conference and peace". Emperor Chongzhen also understood: "The battle in Liaodong, if you can discuss the peace, you can deal with it. You can handle it."
Chen Xinjia asked the emperor to agree to the peace. After reaching his goal, he was not reprimanded or punished, so he sent a representative to Ningyuan City to contact the Qing army. But just a month ago, the Qing army’s proposal for peace was just rejected. Seeing that the representative of the Qing army was unavoidably suspicious, he asked the emperor of the Ming Dynasty to write a letter of credence, indicating that the emperor agreed to the peace, and let’s negotiate.
Ming and Qing troops are fighting
. The situation is not what it used to be. The peace talks are restarted. The news that
wants a national book spread to the DPRK. Emperor Chongzhen is in trouble. He doesn't know how to write this book or to whom. It turns out that although Huang Taiji claimed to be the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty did not recognize the legal status of the Qing Dynasty, and it was impossible to write the title of Emperor Taiji of the Qing Dynasty. If this is not the same as admitting that the Qing Dynasty and Liaodong lost their land. The reason for withdrawal? Emperor Chongzhen spent a few days in the palace, and finally thought of a way. He replaced the credential with an edict to convey orders to officials. The heading was written by Chen Xinjia, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and the content was agreed to discuss peace, etc., and the inscription was signed and stamped with the name of Emperor ChongzhenThe seal of the jade seal. This not only expressed the news that Emperor Chongzhen agreed to negotiate a peace, but did not need to acknowledge the status of Qing. It was already March that the edict of
was passed to Huang Taiji. The situation was completely different from when the mountain was blocked by heavy snow four months ago. The Qing army was not in a hurry to negotiate a peace. Huang Taiji was also suspicious of this edict. The two armies discussed and communicated the credential. How could they send a copy of the emperor to officials? Did the generals of the Ming Dynasty forge an edict for the peace talks? In order to distinguish the authenticity of the edict, Huang Taiji invited the Ming surrender Hong Chengchou. After being affirmed by Hong Chengchou, Huang Taiji decided to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty. The emperor Chongzhen scolded Chen Xinjia for trouble and became the emperor’s scapegoat
. The Qing army took the initiative on the battlefield. The same was true at the negotiation table. Huang Taiji set the conditions and the Ming Dynasty representatives bargained, and finally determined that the Ming Dynasty would give the Qing Dynasty every year. Ten thousand taels of gold, two million taels of silver, and determine the border between the two countries. The representative of
Yihe wrote a letter to Chen Xinjia about the negotiation process and results, and waited for Emperor Chongzhen’s nod and consent, the Ming Dynasty could also get a chance to breathe. But it was the last step that went wrong. After reading the letter, Chen Xinjia put it on the desk. The servant saw it and thought it was an ordinary document and sent it to someone to copy it. As a result, it was known to all the civil and military people of Manchu Dynasty. Negotiations were originally top-secret, and could only be announced after the emperor’s consent. Emperor Chongzhen had not seen it yet. The ministers of the central government knew about it first. After seeing it, the officials wrote to impeach Chen Xin Jiazhu and insult the country. Dignified Heaven, it was really disgraceful to negotiate with a barbarian in a remote place. This is the consensus of the Manchu and the civil and military. Emperor Chongzhen originally planned to secretly negotiate a peace agreement and secretly signed a peace agreement. Once the overall situation of the negotiation has been settled, the ministers have nothing to say, and secondly, they can free up their hands to deal with the peasant rebels. However, the news was missed. In the face of the menacing public opinion, the emperor dared not take any responsibility. He summoned Chen Xinjia to scold him, hoping that he would take the responsibility entirely. But Chen Xinjia didn't understand the meaning of Emperor Chongzhen. He returned home and explained the causes and consequences of the peace talks in detail. Shangshu defended himself, saying that the peace talks were approved by the emperor. This time the responsibility was passed on to Emperor Chongzhen, and Chongzhen sent Chen Xinjia to prison in a rage, and found an excuse to kill him to vent his anger.
The secret of the next Yihe was leaked, the officials of Yihe were killed, and the peace talks came to an abrupt end and ended without results.
Emperor Chongzhen himself hanged
Although Emperor Chongzhen saved his face in front of the ministers and passed the responsibility to Chen Xinjia, he did not know that it was precisely because of his backlash that he missed the opportunity to negotiate with the Qing army. Two years later, Beijing The city was breached, and Emperor Chongzhen could only hang himself to death.
