There is a coincidence between the unyielding Su Wu and Zuo, the hero to be introduced to you next. It is Su Wu who inspired Zuo in the magnificent history, leaving the most colorful stroke in his life and the stubbornness of Zuo, leaving the spiritual fire of "the most beautiful retrograde" for today's China people.
Chinese civilization, criticism!
1March 644, Li Zicheng went to Beijing, and Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide. On April 29th, Li Zicheng was defeated by the allied forces of Wu Sangui and Manchu and fled Beijing. On May 3rd, Regent Dourgen of Qing Dynasty entered Beijing, and the northern territory was controlled by Manchu.
Although the north has perished, the Ming Dynasty has not. Nanjing officials learned that after the death of Emperor Chongzhen, with the support of Shi Kefa, Ma Shiying, Ruan Dacheng and others, Zhu Yousong, the little axe king, ascended the throne in Nanjing, with the title of Hong Guang, known as Nanming in history.
Who is this little axe king Zhu Yousong?
His father is the favorite youngest son of Emperor Wanli. Finally, after the fall of Luoyang City, it was chopped into pieces by Li Zicheng, cooked with venison and eaten by peasant troops. The old axe king Zhu died miserably.
Before introducing the protagonist Zuo, it is necessary to briefly introduce the situation of Nanming at that time.
At this time, Nanming was not weaker than Manchu in terms of land area, population size and fiscal revenue, but the court was a mess from top to bottom, just like a fat man with cerebral palsy, decadent and powerless.
First of all, you see, Emperor Zhu Yousong came to Nanjing as a refugee. He came like a beggar, hungry and borrowing money to eat. Just because of the close blood relationship, a big pie fell from the sky, hit him on the head and was pushed out to be the emperor.
In addition, although he was born as a monarch, he actually didn't have much culture and no strategy for governing the country. This throne is just like picking it up, and he doesn't care. When he became emperor, he did one thing, that is, went to the opera, and the affairs of the court were handed over to Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng.
Both of them are included in the history book "The Treacherous Court Official Biography". After Ma Shiying came to power, he only did one thing, that is, he used his power to make money crazily. Whoever gave money was allowed to be an official, and whoever gave more money was allowed to be a big official.
In addition to making money crazily, Ruan Dacheng tried his best to exclude dissidents and framed political opponents and officials with political ambitions, all of whom were excluded or framed by him. Even Shi Kefa was pushed from the core of Nanjing's power to the front line of Jiangbei.
In short, in the court of Nanming at that time, no one, whether the emperor or the minister in power, wanted to revive morale and restore the Central Plains. They are all too busy enjoying themselves and making money to mention the most basic clearance strategy.
However, Nanjing's monarch and subjects are enjoying themselves, while Beijing's Regent Dourgen is eyeing up and ready to attack Nanming. But before launching an armed attack, Manchu gave Nanming a big gift in front of the enemy.
At the beginning of June, the Qing Dynasty sent a small group of cavalry to cross the Yellow River and sent a letter to the people in the south of the Yangtze River.
The imperial edict has three meanings. First, blow your own horn, saying that Emperor Chongzhen's revenge was reported by the Qing newspaper. Secondly, they released their hypocritical goodwill and proposed a joint encirclement and suppression of Li Zicheng. But these words are superficial, and the real purpose is to disintegrate the psychology of officials and people in Nanming, paving the way for the Qing soldiers to go south and completely destroy Ming.
How should Nanming court deal with this diplomatic incident?
On June 23rd, at the urging of Shi Kefa, Zhu Yousong, Emperor of Hong Guang who ascended the throne in Nanjing, discussed countermeasures with cabinet ministers. The final result of the discussion is: hurry to prepare gold and silver, set up a mission, go to Beijing for peace talks with Manchu, and set out within one month.
What a person wants to believe, he will believe. Nanming monarch and ministers, who just wanted to have fun, had high hopes for the peace talks, but the departure date of the mission was delayed because the ambassador was not selected.
Why not choose? The messenger's game script hit the nail on the head: "No one dares to go."
You see, weak countries have no diplomacy. At this time, the small court of Nanming, from the army to the civilian, was completely corrupt and was no match for the Eight Banners of Manchu Dynasty. All wise people know that "peace" is dangerous and difficult.
In addition, the war in the north is constant, thieves are rampant, and northerners are heading south. Whether they can arrive in Beijing safely at this time is still unknown, so it must be a narrow escape.
This mission waited until Zuo volunteered.
Zuo, a native of Laiyang, Shandong Province, was born in the 29th year of Wanli (160 1 year) and was a scholar in the 7th year of Chongzhen (1634). At this time, he is the right advisor and concurrently the governor of Yingtian Anhui, which is equivalent to the senior prosecutor in the Supreme People's Procuratorate today.
Judging from his resume, he is an official who is proficient in justice but has no diplomatic experience. Why did he volunteer to be a diplomatic ambassador who could die at any time?
Zuo said in his memorial: "My life belongs to the country. Last July, I was ordered by Emperor Chongzhen to inspect Jiangnan. Before leaving, my mother Chen said to me: You are a scholar, and the court appreciates you. Now the court needs you, so do it quickly and leave me alone.
I was very sad, but I was afraid to cry in front of my mother. Now a year has passed, the country is in trouble, my first emperor was martyred, my mother died, I was unfaithful and unfilial, and I had to die. If you can report your merits in front of the coffin of the late emperor, you will die without regret. "
Emperor Chongzhen is dead. What should I report? Zuo is not talking nonsense, but expressing his loyalty to his duties and keeping his promises in this way, which is of course a necessary quality for a diplomatic ambassador.
Did you notice that Zuo mentioned his mother Chen in the newspaper?
When he left last summer, he didn't dare to cry in front of his adoptive mother, which shows how firm and strong this great mother is. She not only gave Zuo life, but also gave Zuo a spiritual world with a sense of justice. Later, she even finished her son's last discipline with her own life.
1643, Zuo said goodbye to his mother in Beijing, but it became a farewell. When Li Zicheng captured Beijing, Chen was alone in Beijing, and Zuo was thousands of miles away. At this time, the Manchu civil servants in Beijing were afraid of death and surrendered in succession, including Zuo's cousin Zuo Maotai. (Look in detail: What happened to the people who knelt down and surrendered when Li Zicheng entered Beijing? "Very miserable")
When Li Zicheng fled Beijing in a mess, many people fled Beijing at this time before Manchu took over Beijing. Chen also asked Zuo Maotai to send her back to her hometown in Laiyang, Shandong Province, and everything was normal. However, when he arrived in Baigou, Hebei Province, Chen suddenly committed suicide.
What happened then? Why did Chen commit suicide?
Wang Shizhen recorded what he heard with his own ears from Song Lian, a scholar in Laiyang, in I Talk in Chibei. It turned out that Chen had already made up his mind to die, and the reason why he didn't commit suicide in Beijing was for a special reason: waiting for the white ditch.
Why did you kill yourself in Baigou?
Baigou was the border between Song and Jin Dynasties in the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhang Shuye, a famous minister in the Northern Song Dynasty, courted Timely Rain and Sung River. After being humiliated by Jing Kang, he refused to set foot on the ruler's land, so he committed suicide in Baigou.
It turns out that Chen is imitating the story. She must have thought twice before choosing this final destination for herself. Before he died, he called his nephew Zuo Maotai to criticize him for surrendering to Li Zicheng, and then left his son a last word for Zuo Maotai to tell Zuo.
As a mother, Chen used her life to warn her son not to be weak-willed and drag out an ignoble existence. With such a mother, how dare Zuo disgrace her mother's teachings?
Besides his mother, there was another person who gave him spiritual enlightenment when he went abroad, and that was the aforementioned Su Wu.
Chongzhen nine years, left as Shaanxi Hancheng magistrate of a county. When the local squire asked for the restoration of the ancestral temple in Su Wu, Zuo immediately expressed his support. A year later, after the renovation was completed, Zuo wrote a letter specially for To Tu Thanh's tomb. He said, "Every inch of earth and stone has its touching loyalty."
In his mind, Sima Xiangru, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, famous figures in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, were brilliant, but they could not be compared with Su Wu at all. It is hard to deny that the spirit of Su Wu's mission to Xiongnu did not bury the fire of serving the country in Zuo's heart.
Finally, Hong Guang Emperor Zhu Yousong approved Zuo's request, knowing that it would be extremely difficult and dangerous to go there.
On July 5, the mission was formally established, with Zuo as the head, Chen Hongfan as the left commander and Ma as the deputy, and presented to the Qing Dynasty with 102,000 silver, 1,200 gold and 100,000 silks and satins as gifts.
Besides the negotiation, Zuo has several things to do: mourn the emperor and Empress Chongzhen, find out the whereabouts of the Prince, chase after Wu Sangui and reward him.
Before he left, Zuo especially suggested to Zhu Yousong, "Don't take this as a minister's behavior; This is successful, so don't rely on it. " Obviously, Zuo is sober and not optimistic about the prospects of peace talks, so he asked Zhu Yousong not to rely too much on peace talks and to be prepared.
On July 18, the left led his troops north, and the road was really dangerous.
This task is very heavy. First, it was transported across the Yangtze River. It was originally arranged for the garrison on the other side to meet. When I arrived, I found that no one was in charge. In Huai 'an, it is not enough to buy horses from the market as transportation capacity. Helpless, we can only divide the soldiers into two ways, bulk silks and satins, and take the waterway instead. In short, the mission is a mess.
The pain of transportation is second, and the more bitter is yet to come.
When they crossed the Yellow River, due to the war, many places were actually in anarchy, the villages were withered and deserted, and the missionary group could not find a place to stay, so it had to camp.
In addition, the mission has been hijacked by bandits many times. On September 1 day, they met more than a dozen bandits and hijacked cavalry, and the accompanying guards chased more than a dozen people, keeping the trench of the task.
At that time, due to the limited conditions, the delegation did not communicate with the Manchu authorities before leaving, so when they met the city guarded by Manchu officials, the city guards simply refused to let them enter the city or even shot.
In this way, the mission struggled in hostility all the way. However, what makes the delegation even more uneasy is that they don't know the attitude of the Manchu authorities in Beijing towards the peace talks.
Until August of 1 year, envoys Chen Hongfan and Ma Cai wrote a letter to Wu Sangui in their personal capacity, and the content of the letter was, of course, to woo Wu Sangui. But it backfired. Wu Sangui didn't dare to open the letter and gave it directly to Regent Dourgen, who was furious after reading it.
It is said that according to Dourgen's original intention, he didn't have to entertain the Nanjing delegation at all and went home directly. Later, after discussion, in order to show more civilization, the delegation was allowed to come to Beijing, but the number was greatly reduced.
But at this time, the mission thousands of miles away still knows nothing about it.
Sure enough, on September 18, the delegation arrived in Dezhou, and the governor of Shandong rudely told the delegation that only three ambassadors were allowed to lead 100 people to Beijing, and everyone else had to stay in Jinghai, Tianjin.
The closer it is to Beijing, the more isolated and exclusive the mission will feel.
Martial law and strict interrogation began inside and outside Beijing. As long as someone sends a letter to the mission, they will be arrested and questioned. The former ministers of the Ming Dynasty who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty drew a clear line with the mission. They either stayed at home and dared not receive it, or shouted that they would kill the envoy and send troops to Nanjing to show their loyalty to the new leader.
For example, the delegation sent people to see Hong Chengchou, but Hong Chengchou was silent; Send someone to see Wu Sangui. Wu Sangui refused to meet him for fear of being suspected because of the strict laws of the Qing Dynasty. The worst attitude was Quanfeng, a university student and minister of rites. He began to scold: "How dare you come to see me without the permission of the Regent?"
On October 3rd, 65438/KLOC-0, the mission led by Zuo finally ended its long journey lasting two and a half months and landed in Zhangjiawan, Tongzhou, Beijing. But as soon as they landed, they stayed in Tongzhou for more than ten days because they had to compete with the Qing Dynasty for "courtesy".
Rituals are rules. On the diplomatic battlefield, a detailed arrangement may make a country condescending in diplomatic occasions.
In the Qing dynasty, what specifications are you going to receive the mission?
They will arrange the task in Siyige, which is the place to receive the country. In other words, the Qing government treated this matter as a sovereign state, which was equivalent to treating Nanming as its own country.
This incident caused serious differences within the mission. Chen Hongfan, the deputy envoy, thought it was acceptable, and Zuo resolutely resisted. The two sides were deadlocked until Zuo produced two important documents the next day.
The document is the basic policy drafted by Ma Shiying, which requires "not bending your knees, not humiliating your life, and respecting Chinese style". This is the basic action guide and bottom line of the task, which is confidential, but Zuo has no choice but to take it out to calm the argument.
Later, the mission and the Qing dynasty took pains to argue on this issue, and Zuo never let go and insisted on being equal to the Qing dynasty.
Don't think Zuo is stubborn, just because he is tough. At this time, he also did a lot of work in other aspects, including sending people to contact former officials and writing letters to Dourgen to promote subtle changes in the situation. These are all in order to strive for favorable results.
Zhang's expedition to the ceremony was the first battle of the missionary group against the Qing Dynasty. Because of the indestructibility of Left, he adopted active and flexible tactics, and at the same time, he did not forget to bluff, let out malicious words, and did not hesitate to fight bloody battles. Finally, the Qing Dynasty was accepted by the Xihong Temple, which basically gave Nanming equal national status.
1October 12, the Qing dynasty sent commissioners to welcome the delegation into the city with a formal and complete ceremony. When Zuo entered the city, he wore mourning clothes and entered the imperial city from Zhengyangmen. The ceremony was solemn and the band was singing. This is enough dignity. Compared with the strength of Manchu and Nanming at that time, it can be said that it was a total victory.
A diplomatic contest may happen at any time. Sure enough, on the day of entering the city, the Qing Dynasty created new difficulties for the mission.
Similarly, according to the principle of reciprocity, the diplomatic ambassador must submit the credentials to the head of state, but the left-wing officials who submitted the credentials did not hand them out.
It turned out that the Qing dynasty wanted the Ministry of Rites to accept credentials, which was equivalent to treating the mission as its own minister again. The official who handed the credentials knew that it was of great significance and took them back to crack hon temple.
You may think it is meaningless to haggle over every ounce, but in diplomatic situations, these details are related to the dignity of the country. The Qing people took advantage of the loophole, but they didn't expect the mission to stand guard.
Early the next morning, four Manchu officials rushed to crack hon temple to ask for credentials. Zuo flatly refused, but the people who came still persisted, and Zuo angrily reprimanded them, which made the four officials fail.
The task has won again, but the competition is not over yet.
This afternoon, a Manchu official came to crack hon temple. This man is Gang Lin, a native of Zhenghuangqi. He is proficient in Chinese and passed the imperial examination. He was one of the earliest prime ministers in the Qing Dynasty.
Gang Lin had no choice but to come to crack hon temple after the failure of officials of does. He brought several guards with knives, no doubt trying to overwhelm the mission in momentum. When arranging the seats, he let the left sit on the right, which is another trick.
The left side is expensive, and sitting on the right side is not as good as the other side. Zuo, of course, won't be fooled. Ask someone to bring a chair and sit down face to face with Lin. This is called equivalence. Then the two sides were furious and talked about all kinds of threats, but Zuo did not show weakness and stood up and defended.
Gang Lin is always taciturn, while his younger brother is always talkative. This guy is always threatening to send troops. Zuo Yu said, "Jiangnan is still big, and there are many horses and horses. Don't underestimate it. " Hearing this, the other party flew into a rage and said, "Jiangnan is not small. Whose words are these? " Zuo Mao Di said, "I said, what's the matter?"
Agreement Chen Hongfan also nasty said at this time, "the task is good, how easily threatened by force? I'm not afraid of you if I want to fight, let alone the water town in the south of the Yangtze River. Your Eight Banners cavalry may not win. "
The argument was fierce, the two sides refused to give way to each other, and finally broke up in discord.
Left's toughness is not for showing patriotism in Beijing, but for the country's efforts to achieve its diplomatic goals. Only when it comes to the national system will he refuse to give in.
At the same time, from beginning to end, the Manchu side showed no sincerity and interest in the peace talks. They have made up their minds to send troops south and seize the whole of China. The reason why they met the mission was to see the Ming mission give in to them.
This is a doomed diplomacy. No matter how hard Zuo tries, how to win a proud victory in the contest again and again is insignificant. In the end, he is a loser.
In the end, none of the mission undertaken by the mission was completed, and the letter to Emperor Chongzhen was flatly rejected. Brought in 100 thousand taels of silver, 100 thousand taels of gold and 100 thousand taels of satin, together with the reward for Wu Sangui, were forced to leave.
You want to talk to each other, but the other person is a robber and doesn't want to talk at all. The failure of this diplomacy cannot be attributed to the Left. He did his best, mainly because the Hong Guang regime was weak.
10 issue 15, after the property brought by the mission was taken away, the mission became redundant in Beijing. Dourgen called ministers to discuss how to deal with the mission.
Some people say that they killed the mission, but Dourgen disagrees. Quan Feng mentioned earlier said that he would shave the hair of the mission and detain people in Beijing. Dourgen did not respond. Finally, Hong Chengchou came out and said that the two countries were fighting for power and profit, and they would let it go without cutting it. Then Dourgen said, "Lao Hong is right." So I'm going to put it back on the mission.
However, for this mission, the road home is not smooth, and for Zuo, it will be a road that never looks back.
On October 27th, 65438/KLOC-0, the mission left the country under the escort of more than 300 Qing soldiers. It is not so much a chaperone as a chaperone. Everyone is under surveillance along the way, and they are not allowed to talk to each other, just like prisoners. 1October 4th 165438+ arrived in Cangzhou, and everything was normal.
However, just after leaving Cangzhou, there was another storm. From this moment on, Zuo will usher in the most colorful scene in his life.
Gang Lin's younger brother caught up with him, leaving Chen Hongfan alone, and the others in the mission were also detained. Zuo still doesn't know that all this is because of the defection of Deputy Ambassador Chen Hongfan.
Chen Hongfan's mutiny is a turning point in the whole story. In a sense, it was Chen Hongfan who made Zuo a hero admired by the world. From this moment on, Zuo will finally accomplish his great mission of "Su Wu".
Great changes have taken place in Cangzhou. Zuo knew it was a disaster, so he wanted to dissolve the mission and save hundreds of soldiers accompanying him from disaster. As the leader of the mission, he wants to face danger and even death alone. However, no matter how hard Zuo tried, only one third of the people left and most of them stayed. They could have left, but they were inspired by a force and chose to persist, be imprisoned and even die.
Finally, some members of the delegation were left in Cangzhou, hoping to see the coach again one day. Several people were escorted to Beijing with Zuo, and they were placed in a hospital, which was like detention.
Seven months later, Nanjing was attacked by the Qing army, and Hong Guang's regime perished. At this time, the Qing dynasty began to tear off the disguise and forcibly issue orders, and the mission detained in Beijing was no exception.
Ma gave in, surrendered to the Qing court and ordered his men to accept a haircut order. At this time, only Zuo and his Ministry will never give in. In the meantime, a shaved deputy surrendered in the future. Zuo was furious and asked the soldiers to kill the man with a stick.
After the incident, the Qing court arrested Zuo for murder. Zuo said loudly, "He shaved his hair to lure us to defect. I can't wait to cut off his head by military means. I'm enforcing my own military law. It's none of your business. I killed someone. Come and kill me. "
Dourgen respected Zuo very much, so he decided to call courtiers, meet Zuo and persuade him to surrender. This day is the most brilliant day in Zuo's life.
When Hong Chengchou came to surrender, Zuo said, "It's a ghost. The Hong Chengchou I know has been martyred. " . Hong Chengchou already guilty, was left speechless with irony.
Next, Chen Mingxia, assistant minister of the official department, angrily denounced Zuo and said, You are a member of the Great Ming Dynasty. How dare you talk to me today? Chen Mingxia was speechless.
Another man said to Zuo: Don't you know what wealth is? Zuo immediately retorted, Don't you know what shame is?
At this time, the Han officials present were afraid to speak. Dourgen had to speak in person and said, "Since you are a courtier of Daming, how can you still eat my grain for half a year in the Qing Dynasty?"
Zuo immediately hit back and said, "You ate Daming's food. How can you say that I ate your food now? " This sentence made Dourgen's face change greatly. In a rage, let people drag Zuo out and behead him.
Zuo walked to the execution ground at Caishikou with his head held high, bowed to the south, and then sat on the ground and said, "Better be a ghost in the south than a king in the north." The executioner in charge of execution was moved by him. He knelt in front of the left and wept bitterly, then put him to death with tears in his eyes. At this time, the wind suddenly blew, and people in Beijing cried and told each other, and countless people bid farewell. At this time, it was only one year since Zuo's mother died.
You may think that the Ming Dynasty died and the Qing Dynasty flourished. At this time, it is no problem to choose to abandon the darkness and save your life. For Zuo, it is meaningless to remain loyal to the Ming Dynasty at this time.
No, Zuo is not only loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but also to his inner commitment to his duties and to the retrograde and unyielding spiritual core of Chinese civilization.
On the left, we not only saw Su Wu, but also saw Wen Tianxiang who would rather die than surrender. In troubled times, it is understandable for everyone to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, but Zuo is willing to prove with his life that the indomitable retrograde spirit of the Chinese nation will never die out.
It is the inheritance of this spirit that led to countless heroes in angels in white saving the United States when the COVID-19 epidemic broke out.
It is the inheritance of this spirit that achieved the feat of a family letter traveling thousands of miles back to China when the flood ravaged the south of the Yangtze River.
It is the inheritance of this spirit that leads to the most beautiful retrogression of ordinary people's responsibilities when the Chinese nation is in danger.