Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
The sky is full of wind and snow.
This snow has been falling intermittently for more than ten days. It has been snowing sparsely since the beginning of the year. It was particularly heavy on New Year's Eve. After one night, the country was covered with snow, and the snow was knee-deep, and then it stopped.
As the old saying goes, auspicious snow heralds a good year. This heavy snowfall for more than ten consecutive days can alleviate the drought after the beginning of spring, but it will cause great troubles to people's livelihood. Many people and animals will die as a result, such as freezing to death.
Cold, surprisingly cold this year.
Although it is so cold every year, people still feel that it is colder this year. Some people conclude that more people will freeze to death this year because there were not so many refugees in the capital in previous years.
However, in fact, proportionally speaking, there was no large-scale freeze to death in the capital. The imperial court prepared the refugees for the winter before the severe cold came.
Previously, due to Li Zicheng's Eastern Expedition and the entry of the Tatars, tens of thousands of refugees poured into Beijing. At that time, the entire imperial capital was so crowded that there was water and urine everywhere, which worsened the epidemic, and hundreds of people died every day.
Later, the imperial court adopted Chang Yu's suggestion and quarantined him!
Refugees were prohibited from entering the inner city, and people who had been exposed to plague patients were quarantined in the manor in the west of the city. Afterwards, the whole city was cleaned and disinfected, public toilets, garbage stations, etc. were built. With the coming of winter, the momentum of the plague outbreak was finally brought under control.
However, these stranded refugees became a top priority for the imperial court. Soon, the Ordnance Factory in the west of the city, the military hospital, and the Royal Academy began to divert troops to resettle some of the refugees. Later, Tongzhou Farm and Immigration, and Octopus Recruitment diverted some of the refugees. , and excluding some who returned to their hometowns, there were only thousands of old, weak, sick and disabled people left in the capital.
And the court did not leave these people to fend for themselves. To be precise, the royal family, Chang Yu, and a few conscientious officials and gentry tried their best to lend a helping hand. Even during the period of the Great Famine, they still helped them through the cracks of their teeth. They squeezed out some grain and rice to set up a porridge shop, so that they could drink porridge one night every day and avoid starving to death. In the end, most people were able to survive until the potatoes and sweet potatoes were ripe, plus a steady stream of relief supplies from the south. Although the food still does not guarantee enough food every day, the possibility of starving to death is not high.
However, as soon as the stomach problem was solved, the severe cold came.
How cold was the winter at this time? Let’s take a look at expert data. We all know that the late Ming Dynasty was in the Little Ice Age, but many people don’t know how long the Little Ice Age lasted.
To be precise, the period from the Yuan Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty belonged to the Little Ice Age. However, the period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, that is, 1580-1644, was the most prosperous and coldest period. It was the coldest in a thousand years and the second in a year. In a million years, 6-7 is the coldest period in the history of human civilization.
This was the period in which the unlucky Emperor Chongzhen lived.
In this cold winter, many poor people freeze to death every year. It is not surprising that beggars and refugees wandering on the streets freeze to death. However, although the weather seems to be colder this year, it is not a problem for refugees. In fact, the conditions are better.
During the few months they were stranded in the capital, the refugees formed several gathering places in the open spaces outside or inside the city, which are so-called refugee camps. These refugees built temporary homes using wood and debris to build tents, and then in the winter In the past, the imperial court also built more than ten large straw sheds in these places. They were long and wide and looked like vegetable sheds in later generations. Each one could accommodate more than a hundred people.
Then several stoves were set up in these huts to burn charcoal for heating and water for cooking. They also provided shelter from the wind and snow when winter came.
These heating coals come from the coal mines of King Jin of Shanxi and King Dai of Datong. Of course, they are not provided to the refugees for free, but are special funds allocated by the imperial court. It is unimaginable to take such care of the refugees. Of course, Chang Yu was behind this with gritted teeth.
These were unthinkable in previous years. In previous years, these refugees stranded in the capital would most likely have died of starvation or freezing.
However, just when the imperial court was at its weakest this year, it must be said that it was a miracle that countless refugees and poor people in the capital did not freeze to death as ordinary people expected.
However, this is only the capital city.
At this time, the imperial court's ability can only maintain the three-thirds of an acre of land under the emperor's feet. What about other places?
Not to mention other things, let’s just say that in the Gyeonggi area other than the capital, in the cold winter under famine, you can imagine how many people will freeze to death or starve to death. However, although the court had intentions, it was really powerless.
The latest year has ushered in the severe cold.
The New Year is a big event. No matter how hard or difficult this year is, whether the people are poor or rich, they still have to decorate the New Year with joy and look forward to the next good year.
The people are like this, and the royal family has to make grand arrangements. However, another surprising moment is that this year, the royal family is keeping everything simple, refusing to be extravagant and wasteful, and refusing to hold special events. Even the size of the sacrifice to Sheji is much smaller than in previous years.
The royal family's move is understandable to the common people and officials. Nowadays, the national treasury is empty and unable to carry out the kind of whitewashing of peace and prosperity. In addition, Emperor Chongzhen is also frugal by nature. If he really did that, it is conceivable that the whole court will be scolded.
For Emperor Chongzhen, this year was very meaningful.
Survival!
He knew clearly that if Feiyu was born out of the blue, if not for the prince's divine dream, if not for his hysterical final madness, his Zhu family's Ming Dynasty would have perished early last year.
So I am very lucky to be able to celebrate this new year, and I also cherish it very much.
The feeling of surviving a calamity is difficult to express. Although the palace was decorated with lights and colorful decorations on New Year's Eve, and the maids and eunuchs were bustling with excitement, there was only a simple table in the Qianqing Palace. I had a New Year’s Eve dinner out of gratitude.
They all have a very grateful person in their hearts, but no one says it out loud.
That person is still running around for his Zhu family, even on this New Year's Eve.
It's all about celebrating the New Year, the rich are celebrating, the poor are happy, the emperor's family is living a normal life, and the lights of thousands of houses in the capital are full of joy and sadness. Of course, most of the people who are happy are the rich and noble families, but not necessarily the officials.
Because none of the courtiers felt at ease this year and they were extremely embarrassed, even a little disgusting, as if they had eaten a fly.
I was disgusted by myself.
In other words, he was hurt by Emperor Chongzhen's words.
Let’s start from years ago. After the Yunnan rebellion spread to the capital, Emperor Chongzhen and Chang Yu studied the military situation and speculated on a dangerous consequence. Then Chang Yu secretly went to Yunnan. Here, Emperor Chongzhen discussed this with the cabinet bosses again. Then he took it to the court to argue.
The water above the court is murky and deep, and it is never of the same mind.
Everyone knows the seriousness of the situation, but they are still arguing, such as who to send?
No one wants to go. Not to mention the hardships of traveling through mountains and rivers, getting there may not solve the problem but will also put your life in danger. If you don’t succeed, the faction behind you will be affected, so they all grit their teeth and fight to get the enemy. People go.
From how to gently resolve the rebellion in Yunnan without aggravating the situation to who to send, this matter has been at odds for more than a month!
Emperor Chongzhen did not rush him, and after going to court every day to ask a routine question, he saw that the topic shifted to other issues. This made the ministers secretly breathe a sigh of relief and continue to fight. In the end, several factions reached an agreement and each sent one person to go. Yunnan supervises counter-insurgency matters.
When the men who were sent out had not crossed the river for ten days, an urgent report was sent to the capital from 800 miles away. Emperor Chongzhen read it and asked Wang Chenen to read it in front of all the officials during the morning court. The officials were shocked and ashamed.
The great eunuch of Dongchang, who had not been seen for more than a month, had actually gone to Yunnan, fought fiercely to relieve the siege of Kunming City, and divided his forces to defeat Sha Dingzhou and Wu Bikui one by one! Moreover, the previous emergency report from Yunnan was only about the Wubikui rebellion, so how could Shadingzhou...
Everything was within the eunuch’s speculation and expectation!
And they were all under his control, and he put down the two chieftain rebellions in just over 20 days!
Then look at what he and others did in the court...
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty and said bluntly, he was full of ugliness and shamelessness.
The disdainful look in his eyes was still fresh in the memory of all the officials after more than half a month. It is said that after retiring from the court, Li Banghua, who was recovered from the cabinet, hid his face in Wenyuan Pavilion and shouted: "It's so shameful!"
When he went to court later, Emperor Chongzhen's expression always showed a vague look of disdain and disgust, which made all the officials feel heartbroken and embarrassed, and this year was no longer enjoyable.
The slap between the emperor and Dongchang was too harsh and humiliating!
And soon the news that the chief eunuch of Dongchang led his troops to go south and traveled thousands of miles away to Yunnan to quell rebellion and put out fires spread throughout the capital. Dongchang, which had been gradually whitewashed, became even more popular and praised by everyone!
You must know that Dongchang has been notorious for hundreds of years. There is no one in the government or the public who is not afraid of them, scolds them, or hates them, because they not only punish officials but also bully the people. But since Chang Yu took charge of Dongchang, the atmosphere has changed drastically. Cleaning up the noble officials, but not disturbing the common people. Throughout the ages, the common people have had a hatred of the rich. Seeing Dongchang cleaning up those corrupt officials and powerful officials, they felt very happy, so they gradually gained a reputation among the common people, and later came Chang Yu. With great military exploits, Dongchang became whiter and whiter day by day.
