In mid-February of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng broke through Luoyang.

The news of the killing of King Fu reached Beijing. The reason why the news was late was because there were no local officials in Luoyang to fly to the imperial court, but after Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan who lived in Kaifeng, got the news, he sent 100,000 urgent Tang newspapers and recitals to Beijing. In the past few days, there have been some rumors about the Luoyang incident in Beijing, but no one wants to believe it, thinking that it is impossible. Before Li Zicheng broke Luoyang, there was only one Zhang Xianzhong in the hearts of people living in Beijing, and very few people knew Li Zicheng's name, and those who knew him almost forgot him. If it was only the county seat of Yongning, it would not attract the attention of the government and the opposition in Beijing. For more than ten years, the loss of inland states and county towns has become a common thing, and it is indeed no important news in Beijing. Li Zicheng's men killed a Wan'an king in Yongning, which made this matter newsworthy. But after all, King Wan'an is an unimportant county king, and he is not a close family with the current emperor, so this matter cannot become a sensational news in Beijing. Almost no one cares about where and when Li Zicheng arrived in Henan, how many people there were, and how he behaved. It wasn't until the news of breaking Luoyang and killing the Fu King was officially reported to Beijing that it was really like a bolt from the blue, which shocked everyone. From then on, in the next ten days, whether it was in the big or small yamen, the king. The mansions of Hou and noble relatives, teahouses and wine shops, and small people in the streets and alleys, Luoyang has become the central topic.

Chongzhen got the flying performance when it was about to break out at lunchtime. His face changed drastically, his mind was clouded, he could hardly support it, he stomped his feet again and again, and only said, "Hey! Hi! Hi! Then he burst into tears. He had never cried like this in the Qianqing Palace, which made the eunuchs and palace maids of the Qianqing Palace very panicked, and those with heads and faces knelt on the ground to persuade them, and those without heads stood with bated breath outside the curtain and under the eaves. An old eunuch standing under the eaves, who once served Wanli and Tianqi, has never cared much about things outside the palace, and always thinks that although there are wars and natural disasters, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty is as solid as iron and copper. He looked forward to seeing the national fortune with his own eyes day and night, and suddenly knew the news of Luoyang at this moment, and saw the emperor crying so bitterly, he couldn't help choking up and crying, he couldn't bear to listen to it anymore, staggered to a secluded place, sighed softly, and said unconsciously: "Alas, heavens, but it's going to fall!" ”

Chongzhen cried for a while, one because the eunuch Wang Dehua, the eunuch of the master of ceremonies, also heard the letter and ran to persuade him, and the other thought that he had to tell the ancestral gods about Luoyang, and also deal with the aftermath of Luoyang, so he stopped crying, waved everyone away, and sat alone on the imperial couch of the Xinuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace and pondered.

At lunchtime, the usual music was removed, and dozens of dishes were reduced to more than a dozen, which was called "withdrawal of music and reduced meals", indicating that the country was in misfortune and the emperor was sad and sorrowful. Chongzhen was eating, and suddenly remembered the matter of Luoyang, sadness came from it, tears flowed, and he rose up. I originally wanted to rest for a while after lunch, and then went to tell the ancestral gods, but now it is really difficult to wait, and he does not take the ride, walks to the Fengxian Temple, and kneels in front of the gods of Wanli and cries.

When Zhou Hou heard the news, he passed on Zhitian and Yuan Erfei, and the crown prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding hurriedly came to Kunning Palace and led them to Fengxian Palace. Because they were not allowed to enter without the edict, they knelt outside the palace gate together and persuaded the emperor to go back to the palace for dinner, not to be too sad and damage the "holy body". Where was Chongzhen willing to listen, but he cried more painfully, and the queen and others persuaded and persuaded him, and they cried together. Because the emperor, the empress, the imperial concubine, the concubine, the crown prince and the two little kings all cried, and many of the eunuchs and palace maids who accompanied them all wept. From inside the temple to outside the temple, there was a cry, as if the country was about to die.

In the afternoon of this day, the Ministry of Industry sent the newly built Great Seal of the Broken General, a finely crafted mountain armor and an equally finely carved Longquan sword to Chongzhen

"What is this?" Chongzhen's eyes became red and swollen from crying

"This is the big seal, armor and sword specially made by His Majesty's decree for Song Youliang, the chief soldier of Dengzhou." The Ministry of Works official replied cautiously

"Yes~~ There is really Song Youliang!" Chongzhen cheered up and "changed~"

"Change?" The Ministry of Industry officials couldn't understand what Chongzhen was saying

"Changed to the Seal of the Thief General." Chongzhen took out the Jinpa and gently wiped the corners of his eyes, "Let the Ministry of War issue a document to seal Song Youliang as the thief general, and lead the troops to Henan to strangle the thieves." ”

"Obey the order~" The officials of the Ministry of Industry secretly complained in their hearts, and now they have to rush to work day and night

Before Chongzhen's words fell, he saw Wang Chengen running from outside the hall in a hurry, and the officials of the Ministry of Industry hurriedly took the opportunity to leave

Wang Chengen said: "Your Majesty, Song Youliang is on the table to ask for battle. ”

"Please? Is he going to sail to Liaodong again? Chongzhen said weakly

"No, he heard that the thieves were ravaging Henan and messing with my famous henchmen, so he said that he must first settle down in Henan, and volunteered to fight in Henan." Wang Chengen replied

"Okay~~" As soon as Chongzhen heard this, he immediately cheered up like a deflated balloon that had been beaten enough, "The soldiers and generals everywhere are afraid of thieves like tigers, and they are all yang and yin when they receive orders." It is rare that Song Youliang still wants to serve the country with loyalty and get rid of thieves for the country. ”

"But~" Wang Chengen said in a very low voice: "Song Youliang said that he was young and vigorous, and he was not qualified enough, so he asked His Majesty to send a few respectable and calm and experienced ministers and local officials who are familiar with local affairs and capable of handling affairs to help coordinate the overall situation." ”

"He's modest" Chongzhen smiled, and then hurriedly asked: "Who did he say he wanted to go with?" ”

"Sun Chuanting and Fang Kongzhi!" Wang Chengen replied cautiously

"Sun Chuanting and Fang Kongzhi?" As soon as Chongzhen heard the names of the two, his brows immediately furrowed

Sun Chuanting, whose name is Boya, is a native of Wuwei, Daizhou Town (now Dai County, Shanxi). Born in the 21st year of Wanli of Mingshenzong, the 47th year of Wanli (1619 AD) Jinshi. In the autumn of the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), he was appointed as the inspector of Langzhong, and later he was promoted to the governor of Shuntianfu (now Beijing).

In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), it was promoted to the imperial history of the right capital. At this time, the peasant rebel army led by King Qi Zhengxiong occupied the land of Shangluo (now Shangzhou City, Luonan County, Shaanxi), seriously threatening the rule of the Ming Dynasty in Shaanxi, Shaanxi governor Gan Xuekuo repeatedly suppressed the defeat, Shaanxi Shi Dafu recommended Sun Chuanting to supervise Qin, and Sun Chuanting then inspected Shaanxi in March of the ninth year of Chongzhen. After Sun Chuanting arrived, he ordered the deputy general Luo Shangwen to lead the Ming army to attack the rebel army in Shangluodi and kill the king of Qi. Soon after, the peasant rebel army fought in the Guanzhong area, and Sun Chuanting suppressed the most powerful Gao Yingxiang in the rebel army in the Battle of Heishuiyu in Zhouzhi, Shaanxi, and captured and killed Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang. When the rebel army in Shaanxi suffered repeated setbacks, 17 rebel troops active in Henan, including Ma Jinzhong and Liu Guoneng, marched into Weinan. Sun Chuanting hurriedly contacted the Henan Ming army to encircle and intercept the rebel army.

At the beginning of the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), Ma Jinzhong and other troops crossed the west and folded into Shaanxi, attacking Shangzhou, Luonan, Lantian and other places. Sun Chuanting led his troops and the Ming armies from all walks of life to attack the rebel army Shengshiwang, Guabei Wang, Yiyingfei, Zhentianwang and other troops one after another with superior forces, so that the area south of Guanzhong tended to be pacified. When the rebel army of Guotianxing and Chaotianxing passed from Hui (now Huixian County, Gansu) and Qin (now Tianshui City, Gansu) to Chengcheng through Fengxiang, Sun Chuanting commanded part of his five ways to attack the rebel army in the area of Yangjialing and Huanglongshan, killing more than 2,000 people, and then used the tactics of dividing troops to intercept and mobile ambush in the deep ditch canyon of 3 or 400 miles west of (now Fuxian County, Shaanxi) and east of Heshui, and defeated the rebel army again, and repelled the Wan and Luo troops led by Ma Jinzhong and Ma Guangyu, who rushed to the aid of the Shaanxi rebel army. He and Hong Chengchou ambushed with heavy troops in the south of Tongguan, so that Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, was almost wiped out, and Li Zicheng only broke through with 18 cavalry. At this point, the rebel army in Shaanxi was almost suppressed.

After that, Sun Chuanting was retaliated against by Yang Sichang for disagreeing with Yang Sichang on the "ambush on all sides" and the strategy of defending Beijing, and was imprisoned in the twelfth year of Chongzhen.

Fang Kongzhi (1590-1655), a native of Tongcheng, Anhui Province (now Fengyili, Tongcheng District). The word Qianfu, the number Renzhi. In the forty-fourth year of Wanli (1616) of Mingshenzong, he was awarded the governor of Jiading Prefecture. Painter, philosopher, and scientist in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Fang Yizhi's father. The governor of Huguang won eight battles and eight victories in the suppression of bandits, and made great achievements. In the first month of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, his generals Yang Shien and Luo Anbang were dispatched to meet Hechuan and Yuan soldiers to suppress the Zhushan Righteous Army. The two generals led their troops deep into Xiangyouping and were defeated, Yang Sichang not only used Kong Zhi to disagree with himself, but also avoided his words, so he impeached Fang Kong Zhi, and arrested him on the 13th of the same month. Son Fang Yizhi wrote a blood letter to avenge his father's grievances, and Fang Kongzhi had to reduce his death in Shaoxing.

These two people were imprisoned and assigned because they didn't agree with Yang Sichang, and at this moment Yang Sichang was presiding over the suppression of bandits in the southwest, if he enabled these two people, what would Yang Sichang think? Chongzhen had to think about it. Chongzhen was anxious inside and outside, in pain, and couldn't help crying: "The ancestors have never had such a tragic change in the three hundred years of the country. Since I have been in the extreme, I have respected the heavens and ancestors, been diligent in government and loved the people, and have not lost morality. Unexpectedly, the thieves were so rampant and difficult to control, and the disaster became more and more intense, so that Luoyang was lost and King Fu was killed. For the first time in three hundred years, the prince died as a thief. How can I be worthy of the Emperor of the Divine Sect! After saying that, he began to cry again.

In order to increase the intensity of self-reflection to the heavens, he not only "withdrew pleasure and reduced food", but also stopped eating meat. Although he was not full of meat on weekdays and was not used to a complete vegetarian diet, he resolutely made up his mind and told the imperial dining room not to prepare meat dishes for him within 100 days. Three days later, the queen was afraid of damaging his body, so she led Tian and Yuan Erfei to the Qianqing Palace to persuade him to stop vegetarianism. He shook his head and refused to persuade, sighed with tears in his eyes and said: "I have been fighting thieves every year, every day, and I have obtained such a result!" I am not a weak king, I am always working hard for the country and making great efforts, but unfortunately God does not bless me, and I bow down to punishment. I don't eat meat, I don't drink alcohol, I just want to feel the heavens and save the heavens. You don't know anything, you don't understand my suffering! ”

For King Fu's son Zhu Yousong and Princess Fu fled to northern Henan, there were other clans that escaped in urgent need of relief, and the treasury was very empty, Chongzhen had to raise funds in the palace. He took out 10,000 taels of silver for himself, 4,000 taels for the queen, 3,000 for Concubine Tian, 2,000 for Concubine Yuan, 10,000 for the crown prince, 1,000 for Empress Yi'an of Ciqing Palace, plus 500 for Concubine Xuanyi Huikang Zhao and Concubine Wen Dingyi of Cining Palace, a total of 31,000 taels of silver, and ordered Wang Yumin, the eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch, to go to northern Henan to comfort the princess and the prince, and to help the fleeing clans. He also ordered the old concubine Ma Ran Xing to go to the temple on his behalf to pay tribute to the gods of the two ancestors.

A few days later, Li Zicheng's attack on Kaifeng arrived in Beijing. Chongzhen scolded Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan, for being killed, and ordered him to be strictly responsible, ordering him to quickly return to Kaifeng and make meritorious atonements. He also ordered Wang Shaoyu, the chief soldier guarding Luoyang, to arrest Beijing and behead him. He was very worried about the fall of Kaifeng, and the overall situation of the Central Plains was out of control from then on, crying in the Qianqing Palace, and he couldn't stop beating his chest and feet, looking up to the sky and crying out: "Sky! Firmament! You shouldn't have given birth to both a thief and a thief! ”