On March 18, 1644, Li Zicheng's rebel army captured Beijing with little resistance. In this way, the Forbidden City is like a thin wing, fluttering in the wind and rain.
Faced with the situation at hand, Emperor Chongzhen stood on the Fengtian Palace and looked up to the sky and sighed, regretting it beyond measure. But for the dignity of the empire, he knew it was time to tell the truth to the harem.
At this time, it was less than 24 hours before the empire was destroyed.
As usual, Empress Zhou of Chongzhen washed her face with a handful of water, applied a little makeup, and then took out the thin shirt that was pressed at the bottom of the box again.
This thin shirt is her favorite. It is soft, white and flawless. When she wears it, she looks as graceful as a fairy in the morning light.
Every time Emperor Chongzhen saw her dressed like this, he would give her a look of intoxication, which made Empress Zhou's heart flutter. After that, Concubine Tian Guifei, Concubine Yuan and others visited her one after another, and it became a "fashion" unconsciously. At this time, Queen Zhou would put her thin robe high in the cabinet again, and everyone would restrain themselves, not daring to overstep their bounds.
Just because she knew that her husband was busy with affairs of the family, country, and the world, and the harem should abide by her duties and not let him get distracted and worry.
Queen Zhou had her own reasons for taking out her thin shirt today - although she was very close, her husband had not been to Kunning Palace for nearly half a decade; , or because of the annoying war and the smoke everywhere.
Not long ago, the Zhou family came to report that the "Li Bandit" had occupied Shaanxi and Gansu, proclaimed himself king, and became the Emperor of Dashun. It is said that they even crossed the Yellow River, and their troops headed towards Beijing.
During this period, she personally prepared lotus seed soup and brought it to Fengtian Palace, but was declined by the guards; later she learned that Concubine Tian cooked midnight snacks and went to ask for permission, but was loudly scolded by her husband. It is obvious that the situation of our country and our country is dangerous and irreversible.
Therefore, she wanted to put on her thin shirt again and visit Fengtian Temple.
However, it was too late.
Not long after, horses neighed outside the city, cannons roared, flames splashed over Zhengyang Gate, and the sound of killing shook the sky. Did the traitor army come to Beijing so quickly? Queen Zhou felt deeply ominous.
Sure enough, someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came to report that the rebels had broken through the city, and the army poured in and continued to burn, kill and loot in the city. All that was left of the empire was the Forbidden City, a fig leaf.
Empress Zhou stood there, tears streaming down her face, her face was horribly pale, and then she took off her thin shirt. She still wanted to go to the Fengtian Palace to ask her husband what happened to the empire.
When she saw her husband for the first time, she couldn't believe her eyes. She saw that he was haggard, with a shaggy beard, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was far from his former beauty; in just a few seconds One day, white hair suddenly covered her temples, as if she had aged ten years. Without a doubt, this is the answer. Queen Zhou felt sad and her eyes were wet.
Is this still the high-spirited King Xin back then?
Eighteen years ago, the palace issued an imperial edict for her husband to go to Fengtian Palace to succeed the throne. The emperor's sister-in-law Zhang Yan warned her repeatedly: beware of guests and Wei cronies who may frame the new emperor.
So Queen Zhou got up in the middle of the night, mixed the wheat noodles by herself, added a little brown sugar, and steamed them one by one. She was worried that the wheat cakes would get stained, so she burned them over low heat, and then used a small Wrap it in a cloth bag and hide it in your husband's sleeve, just to avoid being poisoned by the eunuchs.
In the faint morning light, when the husband boarded the chariot, he cast an affectionate glance. His gaze was so warm, and his heroic spirit was completely different from today.
Looking at each other, Queen Zhou understood her husband's vicissitudes, the current situation, and the broken mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty.
She still complained a little. Because her husband was headstrong and moody, he killed many loyal ministers and generals wantonly.
She did not dare to dissuade her because the strict edict "No interference in politics in the harem" was hung on the palace wall; because her husband prided himself on working hard for the country and the family, leading the empire to ruin. Not the slightest deviation. But why are the civil servants and military generals trembling with fear and everyone in danger?
In fact, as a bystander, Queen Zhou saw clearly. In order not to offend Long Lin, she made many insinuations in the hope of awakening her husband's confusion.
Once she said: "I still have a home in the south." The intention was to point out that when Chongzhen was at the end of his rope, he could move the capital to Nanjing to temporarily avoid the rebel forces, and then he could regain his strength and restore the country in the future.
Will Chongzhen listen? Obviously not. Even before the end of the line, he could not let go of his dignity. Just because of the ancestral motto that "the emperor guards the country, the king dies in the country", even if he evades temporarily, it is not enough. Queen Zhou's suggestion will naturally be shouted down.
But today, she clearly saw the word "regret" written on her husband's face.
The eunuchs in the inner palace went out to fight in the city. Some died, some fled, some became birds and beasts, and there was no one left around them. The so-called disaster is approaching, and there is nothing wrong with everyone dividing their things.
And she is still the queen of the Zhu family today. Since her mother respects the world, she has to do her part.
She ordered Wanqiu to inform the servants of the palace to come to Kunning Palace, and she would take the initiative to say goodbye to them. For a time, people from Jingren Palace, Yongshou Palace, Cining Palace, Yonghe Palace, etc. gathered in Kunning Palace.
At this time, she put away her tears and told them the truth about her home country.
She took out her last savings, distributed them little by little, and told them to escape alive: men should try their best to avoid the swords of the bandits, and women should be more careful. Once captured, they must not lose their dignity.
After escaping, try to go south as there is no war there yet; try to hide your identity, set up a piece of thin land, or build a beam shed, it is important to save your life.
Sobbing broke out in front of Kunning Palace, and the people in the palace fell to the ground and knelt down one after another. A palace maid burst into tears and put pieces of silver on the stone steps. She said that she had lost her home in the world, and the queen was her only support. She decided to stay with her to the death.
When Queen Zhou was about to take off the hairpin from her head, Wanqiu blocked her hand. She had already thought about it, no matter life or death, no matter whether the road ahead was bright or dark, she would stick to the queen's side and never leave her.
…
It’s time to prepare dinner.
No matter what happens after tomorrow, we must prepare for this last family dinner.
Time flies so fast. When dinner is ready, candles are lit in the side hall of Fengtian, and darkness has quietly come. Queen Zhou was full of thoughts. In fact, she would rather freeze time and stay in the royal dining room forever, preparing dishes for her husband and children, watching the family gather around the banquet table, and listening to the stories between them.
Three sons have arrived. They are Prince Zhu Cihong, Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong, and Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao. All of them were wearing python robes and jade belts, and they were all well-dressed and planned to salute their father.
They clearly knew something, maybe it was the artillery fire outside the city, maybe it was a difficult dilemma. But they still sit back and relax, believing that there is nothing in the world that their father cannot solve.
But today is really different. For the first time, Chongzhen asked them to cancel the complicated etiquette and cast affectionate eyes on the three children. Finally, his hand rested on Zhu Cixi's shoulder.
"How long has it been and you are still dressed like this... When you go out of the palace from now on, you must be careful. When you see an old man, you must call him an old man. Just call him uncle or uncle like me... ...You are used to living in fine clothes and fine food, and you don't know the dangers outside the palace, so don't make it known that you are descendants of the Zhu family, otherwise you will be killed... Do you hear me?"
Home? The banquet seemed to be in vain, but in the end it turned into a sad farewell.
Empress Zhou hugged Zhu Cixiang and stroked his cheek. After speaking, she hugged Zhu Cijiong again. Mother and son hugged each other tightly, with tears filling their clothes.
That night, the three children were sent out of the palace and went to the homes of Zhou Kui and Tian Hongyu respectively, where they began their own sufferings.
It was late at night in the Forbidden City, and Emperor Chongzhen was holding a sword.
The first one to target was naturally Empress Zhou, whose mother honored the world. However, he did not use a sword, but said to her: "You are the mother of the country, and you deserve to die for the country. You have to do it to show to the world." , I don’t need to take action!”
Empress Zhou was calm and composed, putting life and death aside for a long time, and had been waiting for this moment to arrive after a day of careful preparation. But when she was leaving, she had a few words that she had to say to her husband, and she didn't say them out loud: "I have served your Majesty for eighteen years. I have warned him over the years, but your majesty didn't listen. It’s only today!”
After saying that, he wiped away his tears and hung himself from the beam with the silk ribbon he had prepared.
Seeing his beloved hang himself on the spot, Emperor Chongzhen burst into tears, but still did not let go of his poor self-esteem and began a crazy massacre.
Next, Concubine Yuan committed suicide by hanging from a beam. The silk ribbon broke. Chongzhen stabbed her with a sword and fell into a pool of blood. The other concubines died and fled, and the Fengtian Palace was filled with blood.
Princess Changping was so frightened that she subconsciously blocked the sword with her hand. Chongzhen stabbed her left shoulder, and then stabbed her right shoulder wildly. Princess Changping fainted and died on the spot, and Chongzhen burst into tears. , said to her: "Son! Why were you born in an emperor's family?".
Princess Zhaoren, who was only 6 years old, was stabbed in the heart by Chongzhen with a sword and lost her breath.
…Human tragedy, heaven and earth whimper, the country is ruined and the family is destroyed, how can there be peace!
On March 19, 1644, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself from the crooked-neck tree in Meishan, and the Ming Dynasty came to an end.
On March 21, the rebel army dug three feet into the ground and finally found his body. They also moved the coffin of Queen Zhou out of the palace and displayed it to the public outside Donghua Gate. In November of the 16th year of Shunzhi, the Qing government changed the posthumous name of Emperor Zhuang Liemin to the posthumous title of Emperor Zhuang Liemin of Chongzhen on the grounds that "the posthumous title of the previous emperor was not commemorated by etiquette and ancestry by number". queen.
In this year, Queen Zhou was thirty-four years old (1611-1644).
Reference materials: "History of Ming Dynasty". Fan Shuzhi's "Biography of Chongzhen"