The Wonderful Story of the Fall of Zaifu Ma Shiying in Ming Dynasty

After Ma Shiying took power alone, the first thing he did was to recommend his close friend Ruan Dayue. At the beginning of the establishment of the regime, Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang and other famous ministers recruited wise men everywhere in an attempt to revive the national prestige and make a comeback. Ma Shiying is also snaring "talents" everywhere, and the most important thing is to snare Ruan Dayue in his own name.

Ma Shiying knows very well that Ruan Dayou, as a eunuch, has a bad reputation. If you want to recommend him, you have to be famous. Fortunately, Ruan Dazhao still has something in his stomach. He has read some art books since he was a child and knows a little about the art of war. Ma Shiying seized this point, praised Ruan Dayou's knowledge of fighting and good fighting skills, and proposed that he be the assistant minister of the Ministry of War.

Ma Shiying in the mind is also very clear, the biggest obstacle to recommend Ruan Daguang is the party and government officials in Lindong. Sure enough, when Ma Shiying raised this issue, he was immediately strongly opposed by many ministers.

The first person who stood up against it was Zhang, and you Du Yu Shi. He said that although Ruan Dayou is familiar with the art of war, he has never had actual combat experience. Putting him in an important position in the Ministry of War may lead to the same consequences as Zhao Kuo, who is an armchair strategist. I heard that, Ma Shiying hate to gnash her teeth. Because Zhang is not as famous as Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, Jiang and others, he just caught the weak link of the party alliance. He joined forces with Liu Kongzhao, Tang Guozhuo and others to besiege Zhang. They revisited the old case of party disputes, forcibly linked it with the so-called "Shun case" (Shun is the name of Li Zicheng's immigrant military regime), distorted the facts, and made Zhang unable to justify himself with various charges, so he was forced to leave.

At the same time, Ma Shiying instructed Ruan Dayue to go out to lobby, create public opinion and actively cooperate. Ruan Dayou boasted among the dignitaries he met in those years, trying to exaggerate the so-called "misdeeds" of Lindong party officials who hurt Zheng Guifei and the axe king in those years, and in turn rehabilitated the eunuchs. Those imperial eunuchs who have been under the pressure of public criticism and find it difficult to get ahead, when they see someone speaking for themselves, suddenly regard Ruan Dacheng as a god and praise his ability and morality, which should be entrusted with a heavy responsibility. These people haunt the emperor all day, and their influence on the emperor can be imagined.

Jiang, Lu Daqi, Liu and other party leaders resolutely responded to the rampant attacks of Ma and Ruan, and unanimously recognized Ruan Dayou as the "leader of reversing his conviction" and could not be appointed. Zuodu Shi Yu's opposition is particularly fierce. He said: "Ruan Dayou was the main messenger who killed Wei Dazhong. Even if his talents are available, his intentions are not right, and I am afraid it will endanger state affairs. Ruan Dazhao's advance and retreat is really related to the rise and fall of Jiangzuo. Please don't use Ruan Dazhao. " He took off the crown and held it in his hand, saying that if he used a cymbal, he would resign and go home.

Ma Shiying didn't expect Lindong Party officials to be so tough and resolutely opposed, and he didn't know what to do at the moment. The two sides are deadlocked. It's bad for Ma Shiying to put things off for too long. He suddenly remembered high ambitions. Gao Hongtu once slandered Lindong Party for disagreeing with Lindong Party. Ma Shiying went to visit with a lot of money and property, trying to win him over. Ma Shiying hypocritically said: "Now the country is in trouble, precisely because of interpersonal relationships, we can't bury talents because of minor problems." Before Ma Shiying finished, Gao Hongtu poured a pot of cold water: "The case was decided by the first emperor, and no one can change it without authorization."

Ma Shiying is at his wit's end, so he is desperate. Behind the emperor, he wrote an imperial edict privately, giving Ruan Dacheng a "crown". In this way, Ruan Dacheng can see the emperor in person. He threw out a set of so-called "Jiang Shou Tactics" which had already been concocted, and put forward a set of offensive and defensive strategies such as contact, control, attack and response, which was undoubtedly very attractive to the precarious Hong Guang regime. Therefore, from the beginning, it aroused the strong interest of Emperor Hong Guang. Then Ruan Dayue encouraged his golden tongue, Chen Sanyao, Liang He and Shi Siqi. Although it is a scholar's opinion, it is eloquent and eloquent, which is quite to the emperor's taste. Emperor Hong Guang clapped his hands for joy, immediately ordered people to draft an imperial edict, awarded Ruan Dayou as Minister of National Defense, and soon promoted him as Assistant Minister of National Defense.

Ruan Dayou's appointment as assistant minister of the Ministry of War is like a stone stirring up a thousand waves, which makes the DPRK feel quite embarrassed. Many officials excused themselves. Lu Daqi and Jiang resigned and went home. Ma Shiying took advantage of this opportunity to put in a confidant to fill the vacancy. He listened to Ruan Dayou's plan, and all the officials who overturned the case were used, even giving gifts to the deceased. In this way, the eunuch forces gained power again, making the state affairs more corrupt and dark.

After the Ruan Dacheng incident, the party lost its vitality and its activities gradually fell silent. Ma Shiying and Ruan Dayue colluded and were planning a bigger plot.

In the winter of the first year of Hong Guang (A.D. 1645), a bizarre tragic case happened in Nanjing. Dabei surnamed Zhu, from Huaining, Anhui Province, became a monk. After he came to Nanjing, he spread sensational obscene remarks everywhere. At one moment, he claimed to be the prince, and at the other he said that the firm was going to make way for the emperor, which caused an uproar in Nanjing. It is obviously a very sensitive political case to discuss Zhu Dabei's case. Ma and Ruan made a big fuss about this case, "I will punish those who disagree", in an attempt to wipe out the party and all other clean people. They fabricated the so-called eighteen arhats and fifty-three entries, and compared them with the blacklist of so-called locust pupa records (that is, the party called "locust" and the complex society called "pupa"), and wrote the names of Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, Jiang and others. Because the trap was too explicit, it failed. But his wolf heart is already obvious.

Ma Shiying, like all adulterers in history, has a strong desire not only for power but also for money. He used all kinds of despicable means to collect money to enrich himself.

From the Three Kingdoms to the Ming Dynasty, Jiangnan area has developed into an economic center with fertile land and rich products, and has become the main tax supply area in the Ming Dynasty. As early as the Song Dynasty, the great poet Liu. Extremely admire the prosperity of Jiangnan. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the tranquil and picturesque Jiangnan was plundered by Ma Shiying and his gang, which turned it into a depressed and desolate hell on earth.

The land and water transportation in Jiangnan is very developed. Ma Shiying turned his greedy eyes to the water transport industry in the south of the Yangtze River. He set up checkpoints all over the Yangtze River, and eunuchs personally sat in the seat, imposing heavy taxes on passing ships. The tax levied on each ship is as high as 200 to 300 taels of silver.

At that time, the people in the south of the Yangtze River hoped that the imperial court would get ready, regroup and recover the capital. Ma Shiying took advantage of people's general mood, and searched for money everywhere under the banner of "rejuvenating the country" and "helping the soldiers". He not only searched under various excuses, but also raised taxes on necessities such as salt and wine by a large margin, so that a penny was charged for selling a catty of old wine. The money was not used for military pay at all. On the contrary, it keeps flowing into Ma Shiying's pocket. fish begins to stink at the head, his subordinate, is even better than Ma Shiying. Take Peng Yukai's suggestion, for example. After Li Zicheng captured Beijing, he fled to the south and belonged to Ma Shiying. He was sent by Ma Shiying. When he first took office in Hangzhou, he openly robbed the citizens of money with thugs in broad daylight. There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. Hangzhou was the richest and most prosperous place in Jiangnan at that time. Peng Yukai's robber behavior made Hangzhou residents behind closed doors, afraid to trade easily, and the market showed a depressed scene.

Peng Yukai recruited an army of 654.38+10,000 people himself, but such a huge team never received any military expenses from the imperial court. A governor was surprised and asked him where his salary came from. Peng Yukai said brazenly, "You can organize by collecting people's wealth." The Governor was surprised, and it was a long time before he came to his senses, so he reported it to Ma Shiying. Ma Shiying smiled: "It seems that you are oversensitive. Now is an extraordinary period, and there must be extreme measures that can be handled flexibly according to the situation. " Instead of punishing him, he thought Peng Yukai had the ability to control the border and sent him to Huaiyang as governor.

The economy in the south of the Yangtze River, which suffered from wars, floods and droughts, is even more depressed after repeated tossing. In order to survive, ordinary people had to leave their homes and wander around, and there was a bleak scene of "hating Taiwan and thousands of wells, thousands of miles of bare land, and chickens and dogs were silent". But the person who has the right to rape Ma Shiying only considers his own self-interest. How can he care about the lives of ordinary people? Soon, Ma Shiying came up with a unique skill to make money. He told the emperor that the treasury was empty and financial resources were exhausted. In order to raise funds, he asked for exemption from the examination of the state and county students, and decided the ranking of the students by how much money they paid.

Ma Shiying then formulated detailed regulations: those who pay more money can obtain the qualification of health worker without passing the exam. At the same time, it is stipulated that the last family must pay six taels of silver, the middle family four taels, and the next family three taels, and send them directly to the academy for inspection. At that time, all over the country jumped into a hubbub and the number of students increased sharply.

This fashion of paying for exams soon spread, making the business of selling officials and titles more and more fierce, and even court officials could buy them with money. Ma Shiying has set prices for many official positions. For example, Wu Yingtang's book received 920 taels of silver, Wenhua's book received 65438 taels of silver +0500 taels, the cabinet's book received 2000 taels of silver, and there are still 3000 taels of silver to be handed in. As a result, many powerful gentry swarmed in, which was once a mess, and state affairs were extremely corrupt and dark. As a folk song satirizes: Chinese books are everywhere, and princes walk the streets; There are many disciplines, and employees are as cheap as dogs; Yin from the dust of the year, tribute first; Sweep all the money in Jiangnan and fill in Majiakou.

From the very beginning, the Hong Guang regime in Nanming faced the dual military threats of the Qing army and the peasant army. It can be said that the Hong Guang regime is sitting on an ice cube. Once the ice melts, it is in danger of falling at any time.

But Ma Shiying turned a deaf ear. He tried his best to cater to Emperor Hong Guang, sending people to make wine all day, choosing women, and seducing the emperor to indulge in debauchery. As for all military affairs, the emperor was banned.

In order to whitewash the peace and stabilize people's hearts, Ma Shiying often boasted in front of his men how strong and indestructible the Yangtze River defense line was, and let them drink, gamble and go shopping. This kind of self-deception is nothing more than seeking psychological comfort. Of course, Ma Shiying had misgivings, and the Qing army was eyeing up outside the Commissioner. This is a fact that everyone can see, but Ma Shiying's solution is to kneel down and make peace with the Qing army.

In June of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (AD 1644), Governor Zuo of Yingtian (now Nanjing) was appointed as the chief envoy, and Ma and Chen Hongfan were appointed as the deputy envoys to go to Beijing to negotiate with him. His negotiation and conditions are: (1) cede the land outside Shanhaiguan to the Qing army; (2) Pay 65438+ twelve thousand silver to the Qing court every year; (3) North-South exchanges and peaceful exchanges. In order to survive, Ma Shiying tried to cede territory and pay tribute in exchange for soldiers who stopped fighting in Qing Dynasty.

On the surface, the Qing army accepted the terms of peace talks, but secretly took advantage of this opportunity to step up military deployment and wait for an opportunity to attack. Contrary to Ma Shiying, Shi Kefa clearly saw through the plot of the Qing army. He actively advocated the war of resistance, emphasizing that the Qing army and Dashun army should take the initiative to attack and recover their homes in the north. Ma Shiying not only refused to support it, but also used his authority to lobby everywhere. Alex Gao, the company commander stationed on the north bank of the Yangtze River at that time, was also actively preparing for the Northern Expedition. Alex Gao was the most powerful company commander at that time. He was a battle-hardened warrior. He plans to take Henan to Germany and Kaifeng first, and then go west to Luoyang and Tongguan. In order to get enough military supplies, he submitted a letter to the court requesting food aid. But Ma Shiying detained the newspaper, fearing that Alex Gao and Shi Kefa would cooperate and pose a threat to him.

After the failure of the Northern Expedition in the Southern Ming Dynasty, the fighters of the Qing army began to March southward on a large scale. In the winter of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (AD 1644), the Qing army braved the cold and went south in two ways, all the way to Bozhou and all the way to Xuzhou. All parts of the front line rushed to Nanjing. Ma Shiying's dream of peace talks went bankrupt. At this grim moment, Ma Shiying still doesn't believe that the Qing army has launched an attack. Pretending to be calm, he plausibly said to his ministers, "Although the Qing army is stationed by the Yellow River, the thieves in the north are still very powerful. Do they dare to cross the river and attack us at the risk of being attacked between Scylla and Charybdis? " Then he cheered his men up and said, "When Battle of Red Cliffs was in China, Sun Quan and Liu Bei had only 30,000 troops; In the battle of Surabaya, Xie An and Xie Shi had fewer troops, only 8,000 men, but they both defeated each other in World War I and pacified Jiangnan. "Speaking of this, his mood was even higher:" Besides, we are now strong in national strength, and our strength is several times that of Sun Liu and Schell. Take the secluded swallow straight and drink Huanglong just around the corner. " Ma Shiying's lip service and blind self-confidence are ridiculous.

Wherever the Qing army went, it was like a bamboo, and soon it reached the Yangtze River, occupied Suqian and surrounded Zhengzhou. In the first year of Hong Guang (AD 1645), the Qing army approached Xuzhou again. Chen Hongfan told me urgently that Chen's situation was very urgent. The Qing army is about to invade Nanjing, demanding that Nanjing garrison troops be mobilized immediately to strengthen the frontline defense forces. Ma Shiying interrupted Chen Hongfan impatiently: "There are four town generals defending, what is there to worry about?" Just then, a spy came in and reported, "The enemy has woven a raft and is coming along the river." Ma Shiying jumped up, pointed to the detective's nose and swore, You slave, how dare you lie about your military situation? Somebody pull it down and whip it forty times. On the contrary, Yang sent someone to falsely report the meritorious military service, but he was rewarded. Since then, no one dared to call the police, leaving Ma Shiying completely blind and completely unaware of the situation.

At this critical juncture of life and death, Hongguang exploded into a serious civil strife. In March of the first year, Zuo Liangyu, Hou of Ningnan, led a great army down the river in Wuchang under the name of "Jun Qing Border" and attacked Nanjing on a large scale.

Why did Zuo Liangyu launch a mutiny at this time, neither too early nor too late? This has to start with Zuo Liangyu himself. He joined the army as a soldier since childhood and was promoted by Lindong party member in his early years. He rose from an ordinary soldier to a general. Later, he was named Hou of Ningguo and guarded Wuchang for his meritorious service in suppressing the peasant uprising. He is a man with a strong army. This undoubtedly poses a threat to Ma Shiying, which is unacceptable. In addition, many Lindong party member who opposed Ma Shiying were sheltered in the Zuo Liangyu army, which was even more hated by Ma Shiying. But he dared not openly turn against Zuo Liangyu, but later he often embezzled Zuo Jun's grain and military supplies, and set up an ambush in Los Angeles. Zuo Liangyu was very dissatisfied with this, so he rebelled. At this time, the case of the pseudo-prince occurred in North Korea. So Zuo Liangyu disguised himself as a soldier and rose to attack Ma Shiying.

As it happens, while Ma Shiying was busy dealing with Zuo Liangyu, Zuo Liangyu suddenly vomited blood and died. Zuo Jun then stopped and "Jun Qing" walked away. Shi Kefa quickly led the army to Yangzhou for protection, but it was too late. The Qing army surrounded Yangzhou. Shi Kefa led the soldiers and civilians in the city to fight to the death. Due to the disparity in strength, Yangzhou was quickly captured and Shi Kefa died.

Yangzhou is broken and Nanjing is dangerous. On May 19, the Qing army invaded Nanjing. The Hong Guang Dynasty, which only existed for one year and four days, was erased forever in the history of China.

It was in chaos long before Nanjing was about to fall. Rich families and dignitaries rolled up their gold and silver and fled in a hurry. At dawn on May 11th, I arrived at the mansion in a sedan chair, ready to discuss guarding the city. However, it was a busy and flustered scene to see the Ma family's head moving. Soon, Ma Shiying came out of the room. I saw his little hat and shoes. He wore them casually. "Want to run away, coward!" Qian cursed in his heart and was about to strike up a conversation. He took the money and said, "Shame on you, shame on you. I have an old mother at home, so it seems that I can't die with you. " Later, surrounded by more than 400 family soldiers, he fled with his mother and ten cars of gold, silver and belongings.

Because Ma Shiying is always evil, he is reviled and looked down upon by people wherever he goes.

Passers-by are like plague. After fleeing to the countryside, every household quickly closed the door and stayed indoors. Ma Shiying can't even drink a glass of water, let alone eat. He fled to Guangde County (now Anhui Province), and the county magistrate Zhao Jingru resolutely refused to let Ma Shiying enter the city. Ma Shiying begged, but to no avail, so he had to order the guards to break through the city gate before he could enter the city.

After being left out in the cold everywhere, Ma Shiying wanted to see Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, but his ministers unanimously opposed him. So he turned to the Longwu regime, another small court in Nanming, and was entrenched in Fujian, but it was also rejected.

Ma Shiying hit a wall everywhere and ended his sinful life in despair. There are different accounts about Ma Shiying's death in history books. One said that he was defeated by Fang Guoan's army, and after being beheaded in Yanping (now Nanping, Fujian), he surrendered to the Qing army with Ruan Dacheng; It is said that he fled to Taizhou (now Linhai, Zhejiang), hid in Siming Mountain, cut his hair and became a monk, and was finally captured by the Qing army. The Qing army skinned him, put grass on him and stood on the side of the road for passers-by to condemn and abuse. Anyway, one thing is certain, that is, Ma Shiying will come to no good end.