Chen Yuanyuan's original surname is Xing, his name is Yuan, the word Wanfen, his mother died early, from his adoptive mother Chen's surname, Wujin in Changzhou, Jiangnan; Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info mentioned Chen Yuanyuan, it is impossible not to mention a few key words: Wu Sangui, Liu Zongmin, Li Zicheng, "Chong Guan is angry for the red face", Manchurian soldiers, Dolgon, and the unlucky emperor Chongzhen.

The last years of the Ming Dynasty were really bad times.

Internal corruption was unbearable, and Manchuria rose in the northeast, and almost every year was drought and locust plague. In the second year of Chongzhen, there was a great drought in Shaanxi, and there was no rain in Yan'an Mansion for a year, and the grass and trees were scorched. In August and September, the villagers compete to collect the grass in the mountains for food, and its grains are like chaff and have a bitter taste, and when the grass is dug up, they peel the bark to eat. The bark was used up, and there was nothing to satisfy hunger, so I had to dig up the Guanyin soil in the mountain to eat, the white soil was cold and hard and smelly, and a little bit could fill it. A few days later, he died because of indigestion, his stomach was swollen and painful.

"The most pitiful of all, such as the place of 'Jicheng' in the west of Ansai, every day one or two babies must abandon it: the babies wail and cry, call their parents, crawl and pick up the feces, and by the next morning, the abandoned children are no longer alive, but there are people who keep abandoning the babies!

"What's even more strange is that children or lone pedestrians often disappear for no reason as soon as they leave the city? Later, when I saw a homeless man outside the city, burning wood with human bones, and boiling large pieces of human flesh in a pot, I realized that the people who had been lost before had been eaten by them. And the cannibals, after a few days, died of red and swollen faces and heat inside. The stench of the dead was so strong that several deep pits were dug outside the county, each of which could accommodate hundreds of people, to cover up their remains. When I came, the three pits were full, and there were no more than enough to bury them within a few miles, I don't know how many ......" (Ma Maocai's "Preparation for Chen's Great Hunger")

It's creepy to read. In this case, they were not willing to starve to death, but only took risks, so one or two hungry people began to gather together to steal, loot property, and cause trouble. Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, both from Yan'an Mansion, rose from the unveiling of the rod......

National affairs are in turmoil, and wars are frequent.

The world of the Ming Dynasty was stormy.

Emperor Chongzhen was worried day and night, restless in sleep. Tian Guifei's elder brother Tian Hongyu, in order to please the emperor and relieve his worries, went down to the south of the Yangtze River to search around, found Chen Yuanyuan, Yang Wan, Gu Qin, and other beautiful women, and drove them back to Beijing to present to the emperor. But Emperor Chongzhen was dizzy all day long, and he was not in the mood to be happy at all, Chen Yuanyuan and others had been in the palace for a few months, but they were never appreciated and accepted, so they had to return to Tianfu.

And the opponent of the imperial court, Li Zicheng, who started the rebellion, after more than ten years of struggle, has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, encircling Kaifeng, going down Luoyang, breaking Tongguan, and more talents such as Li Yan, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Liu Zongmin, Gu Junen and other talents from all walks of life have joined. In the northeast, the Manchurian soldiers were constantly harassing and ready to move, which could be described as full of devastation and internal and external troubles! The imperial court issued an edict ordering Wu Sangui, the chief soldier, to lead the army to guard the Shanhaiguan.

Wu Sangui is the son of Wu Xiang, the former general soldier of Jinzhou, who can ride and shoot well, and has been in martial arts. At the beginning of Chongzhen, when he was guarding Ningyuan, he was demoted three levels due to the loss of his jurisdiction; Wu was determined to lose his pain, and intensified the training of military horses to make his troops a strong force. At the time of the national crisis, there was an urgent need for generals, so the imperial court not only promoted him to the general army and guarded the country, but even his father was entrusted with the post of commander of the Beijing camp. When Wu Sangui left Beijing to take office, the noble emperor of the capital met Tian Hongyu and set up a banquet for him in his own mansion.

Chen Yuanyuan sang and danced in front of the banquet. Delicious food and wine, she gently escaped from the curtain, lightly touched her red lips, lightly swept her moth eyebrows, dressed in a white dance dress, and her long sleeves were light, like a light and comfortable cloud. Wu Sangui looked at Chen Yuanyuan obsessively, holding the wine glass in his hand, forgetting to drink, and never came back to his senses until she left. Tian Hongyu was worried and asked, "Kou Zhi, what will happen?" Wu Sangui said: "If you are given a round gift, I will try to protect you and be safe?" Tian Hongyu agreed. immediately prepared a sumptuous dowry and sent Chen Yuanyuan to the Wu family.

In February 1644, Li Zicheng led the "Dashun Army" to Shanxi, through Datong and Xuanfu, and reached the city of Beijing in less than two months. On the night of March 17, the Northern Route Army captured the outer city and captured the imperial city on the 19th. Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide in the coal mountain.

After Li Zicheng conquered Beijing, he lived in the imperial palace. Under his influence, many generals of the "Great Shun Army" also began to chase pleasure on a large scale and plunder the people's daughters. In particular, Liu Zongmin, the military giant general, occupied the mansion of the emperor's prince Tian Hongyu first, plundered dozens of young and beautiful women in the mansion, and immersed himself in spending all day long. Niu Jinxing, who is in the position of prime minister, is busy with ascending to the great ceremony, recruiting protégés, and opening elections. The great enemy outside the Guan, who was close to the elbow and armpit, and the huge and complex military force of the remnants of the Southern Ming Dynasty, everyone was stunned and turned a blind eye, thinking that the world was too peaceful.

Li Zicheng set up the "Compensation and Punishment Division" to implement the "Salary Assistance", focusing on recovering the gold and silver treasures in the hands of government officials and relics at all levels in the Ming Dynasty. The prescribed amount is: 100,000 for Zhongtang and university scholars, 70,000 or 50,000 or 30,000 for ministries and courtyards, Jingtang and Jinyi officials, 50,000 and 30,000 for Taoist officials, 30,000, 20,000 and 10,000 for Hanlin, and thousands of subordinates. As for the royal family's family, "there is no definite number, and both people and wealth are exhausted." ("Jiashen Verification True Record")

Liu Zongmin, the cadre of the king, became the commander-in-chief of the pursuit movement. He ordered each of them to draw up a large booklet, register their names, and in groups of 100 people, and escort eight cavalrymen to the barracks and intern. "Anyone can be tortured, and everywhere can be tortured", and the soldiers of each battalion can torture and plunder at will. From morning to night, they were severely tortured with sticks, and "the sound of injustice was incessant", and many people were tortured to death. Including Zhou Kui, the national abbot who "persuaded in" (supported Li Chuang as emperor), paid 500,000 taels of gold and still couldn't escape a knife.

From March 27 to April 1, the campaign to collect money became bigger and bigger, from the original royal family, eunuchs, and dignitaries, to the ordinary landlords, scholars, doctors, merchants, and even ordinary people. "The city was full of ghosts crying and howling. Liu Zongmin's mansion has three courtyards, and there are more than 100 people who have been punished in each courtyard, and only a small part of these people are rich, most of them are low-level officials and petty officials, and there are some businessmen, who are tortured, wailing and crying, and their condition is unbearable...... And a few days have passed, but few of these hundreds have survived. The city of Beijing was plunged into the White Terror.

Hundreds of thousands of Dashun troops were stationed in the city, running on the streets every day, arresting people when they saw them, robbing them when they saw money, raping women, ransacking shops, and corrupting military discipline from time to time. Even at night, "the soldiers cut through the doors, plundered the gold and silver slaves, and the people began to suffer." During this period, although a military order was issued to stop the soldiers from plundering the people's property, "no platinum shall be hidden, no room shall be allowed to pass through the city, no wife shall take his wife with him, and a single cloth curtain shall be used for sleep." Even heavy punishments were used, "killing people for no day," but in the frenzy of chasing money and snatching beautiful women, the ever-expanding desire dominated everything! After the great sack, the Dashun soldiers in the city were full of red light, and everyone rejoiced, "Those who have more than 1,000 gold in their waists, and those who have less than 3,400 gold, everyone has the heart to return to their hometown with wealth, and they have no courage to go to war." ("Ming Ji Beiluo")

More than a month ago, the common people of the capital helped the old and the young, sang "eat his mother, wear his mother, open the door to meet the king, and when the king comes, he will not accept food", and he will eat pot pulp, and what he ushered in turned out to be a division of tigers and wolves......

Liu Zongmin, the general of Yipinquan, continued to expand the results of the war: he sent someone to tie up Wu Sangui's father and ask about the whereabouts of Sangui's beloved Ji Chen Yuanyuan. ("Luqiao Chronicles") Lao Wu couldn't bear the torture, so he had to give in, obediently scraped together 5,000 taels of ransom silver, and informed Chen Yuanyuan's whereabouts.

There is another theory about this public case: Chen Yuanyuan was bought by the emperor's relative Tian Hongyu from Suzhou and brought to Beijing, and soon after, Tian died, and Wu Sangui "heard that Chen Yuanyuan was famous, and sent someone to Beijing with Wu Xiang, bought her from Tianfu, and sent her to Ningyuan." After she arrived in Ningyuan, she was in a depressed mood, and she was not used to living outside the border, and soon died of illness. "So," when the Dashun army entered Beijing, she had died early in Ningyuan. The story about her being obtained by Li Zicheng or Liu Zongmin, and Liu Zongmin's torture of Wu Xiang in order to ask her for her, is all nonsense. (Yao Xueyin, "On the Round Song")

This conclusion is very different from many accounts of the early Qing Dynasty.

According to Yang Wan, a famous prostitute who entered Beijing with Chen Yuanyuan, "Seeing Liu Zongmin with (Chen) Yuan was tied to Liu Zongmin, and since Yuan was taken by Zongmin, I don't know where to go." Even if Chen Yuanyuan is pulled away from Liu Zongmin's side, it seems that the situation may not get any better: "On that day, in front of Zongmin's house, I saw a young woman, beautiful and glamorous, and dozens of women followed, and she was the daughter-in-law of the country's family. What is the beautiful and arrogant daughter-in-law of the Duke of the Kingdom doing? Answering the call girl! Sleeping with the dignified General Liu. As an important military leader of the Dashun Army, Liu Zongmin must have gained great pleasure and stimulation from the subversive upheaval and corruption and degeneration: Look, the poor stick and the stinky iron who no one looks down on have reversed the situation, called for wind and rain, and stood high on the ground, knocking those high-ranking officials to the ground, and then stepping on 10,000 feet! The revolutionary fruits that Ah Q imagined to enjoy became a reality here in Liu Zongmin.

Li Yan, who was born in Qixian County and was officially named the "general", after the city was broken, he and his brother Li Mu restrained the troops, and his subordinates were stationed outside the city, only bringing thirty or forty family members to follow, and did not make trouble outside. In view of the expanded "posthumous salary" campaign, the serious loss of control of the soldiers, the harassment of the people, and the surrender of Wu Sangui, he wrote to Li Zicheng and stated his views in detail. ("A Little History of Suppression") because he told the truth, he didn't touch his hair, and he was uncomfortable listening to it, "I didn't like it, and I didn't know it, but I didn't implement it." ”

Wu Sangui, the chief soldier, originally had the heart of obedience. However, the Dashun army conquered the capital, was busy with pleasure, and only sent a few thousand soldiers to guard the Shanhaiguan, and it was Tang Tong, a general who did not enter the stream, who contacted and persuaded him to surrender for more than a month. Wu Sangui hesitated. He sent someone into Beijing to inquire about the news of his family, and knew that Chen Yuanyuan was occupied, and his father Wu Xiang was arrested by the Dashun army, severely tortured, and sentenced to death, and had collected 5,000 taels of silver and handed it in...... I can't help but feel a tight scalp. He sighed to himself: "The eldest husband can't protect his own room, how can he be born?" Surrender must always be subject to conditions, and who will surrender if there are no conditions? Needless to say, the high-ranking official Houlu did not even have the least policy of softness -- Wu Sangui weighed the pros and cons, and finally turned his head and fell into the arms of Dolgon, the prince of Rui, and surrendered to Manchuria.

On April 19, 1644, Li Zicheng held a military meeting in Wuyingdian and planned to send the general Liu Zongmin to Shanhaiguan. Liu Zongmin was not tamed, and said: Everyone is a thief, why do you have fun in the capital and let me go to the front line to fight for my life? Li Zicheng had no choice but to lead a team to fight in person. On April 25, 200,000 Dashun troops attacked Shanhaiguan, and the two armies fought fiercely in a stone, because Wu Sangui led the Houjin army into the pass and fought side by side, resulting in the defeat of Li Zicheng's troops and the blood spilled on the battlefield.

In a fit of rage, Li Zicheng killed Wu Sangui's father and 38 members of the Wu family, took the gold, silver and jewelry they had collected, and evacuated Beijing on April 29. It is said that before leaving, he wanted to take Chen Yuanyuan away, but Chen Yuanyuan advised: "The concubine is traveling west with the king, but I am afraid that General Wu will not follow, why not leave the concubine in Beijing, or it can be used as a strategy to delay the army?" Li Zicheng fled in a hurry, and Wu Sangui pursued closely behind, and was defeated in Dingzhou and then in Zhending, losing his troops and losing his generals, and Li himself was wounded by arrows.

Chen Yuanyuan's fate is a mystery. The general wild history notes all mention that since Li Chuang's defeat and retreat, she returned to Wu Sangui and went to Yunnan with her, as the princess of Pingxi, "the harem of the favored crown", and "the palace called 'Chen Niangniang'". The poet Wu Meicun's "Round Song" describes, "There is news that the river is full of people, and the black tree is red and frosted for ten degrees. The teacher is still there, and the female companion of the yarn is reminiscing. The old nest is a mud swallow, flying on the branch and becoming a phoenix. Chang Xiang respects the former sad boss, and there are husbands and sons-in-law who are good at marquis kings. It is said that after ten years, Yuanyuan's female companion finally learned of her experience and the news of becoming the second concubine of Pingxi Wang, and they envied Chen Yuanyuan's "good luck" at the same time, but also lamented their bleak life experience of old age and decay.

Chen Yuanyuan is good at poetry, and has a collection of words "Dance Words". Its "Ugly Slave Order": "The green spring of the river is about to go, the horses are stepping on the star sand, the rain is hitting the pear blossoms, and there is a fragrant breeze through the blue yarn." The sound of the Qiang flute blowing willows, the moon reflecting the official street, lazy plum blossoms, and the people in the curtain learn to call tea. "It's different from the usual "boudoir words". "Yuanyuan Biography" said: Before the year of Renzi, there were officers who escorted the salary to southern Yunnan, and the official Wu was a native of Wu, "Niangniang summoned the palace and asked Wu Zhong if he was okay, and he was a good friend in the past." Gai still has not forgotten his feelings. ”

Wu Sangui sat in Yunnan, with heavy troops in hand, he rebuilt the Yongli Palace in Wuhua Mountain and built the Pingxi Palace. He was full of ambition and became the emperor of the territory.

The king of Pingxi did not marry, the concubine was jealous, Chen Yuanyuan was disheartened, took off his fancy clothes, and lived alone in another courtyard.

In Jin Yong's "The Legend of Deer and Ding", a middle-aged beauty in plain clothes appeared on the stage, holding the pipa in her arms, "the singing voice wants to be broken from the strings, and the dancing sleeves can be long to listen to the praise of the guests", which deeply fell over Wei Xiaobao Wei Jue.

In 1673, the Qing Shengzu cut the domain, Wu Sangui united with Geng Jingzhong, the king of Jingnan, and Shang Zhixin, the king of Pingnan, to raise troops to rebel, and Emperor Kangxi sent troops to conscript. In the autumn of 1677, Yuanyuan had been eating fasting and reciting Buddha for five years, and Sangui was proclaimed emperor in Hengzhou, and soon died of illness. In 1678, Chen Yuanyuan committed suicide by throwing himself into the lotus pond in the hometown of the Mu family at the age of 46. (To be continued.) )