In 1279 AD, the Mongolian army approached the city, and the Southern Song army had no way to retreat. Even though the Southern Song Dynasty did not want to lose, neither the infantry nor the maritime army of the Southern Song Dynasty had any hope of a decisive battle with the Mongolian army galloping across Eurasia. The Mongolian army was approaching each other step by step, and the general Lu Xiufu and the young emperor broke out. However, in front of them were the Mongols who were looking at them with eager eyes, and in the rear were the cliffs. It was a situation of being besieged on all sides.
The end of the Southern Song Dynasty had come, and there was no hope of breaking out. Lu Xiufu couldn't bear the young emperor to face the situation of the two emperors of Huiqin again, so he jumped into the sea and committed suicide, saving the dynasty's last face.
The young emperor jumped into the sea, announcing the official collapse of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although there are only one emperor and one courtier in one dynasty, those who possess treasures will definitely be entrusted with important responsibilities by the next dynasty. However, what is unexpected is that one hundred thousand ministers and people died for the country to make their aspirations clear. The most typical representative among them is It's Wen Tianxiang.
Wen Tianxiang’s integrity is a model for the past dynasties. Although Kublai Khan was born into a nomadic tribe, he also had a good understanding of the politics of the Central Plains. The direction of the people's hearts was the foundation for the stability of the dynasty. And Wen Tianxiang has a very high reputation in the Central Plains. Conquering Wen Tianxiang will have no harm to the people of the Central Plains in the future.
But after Wen Tianxiang was captured, four years in prison could not shake his patriotism. He even expressed his patriotism in prison, "Who has never died in life since ancient times? Leave a loyal heart to illuminate history!"
But the country was also destroyed. When the rebel Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen rang the bell of Jingyang Palace, which almost ignited a beacon fire. However, King You of Zhou was fatuous, but there were still princes who came to rescue him. , and Emperor Chongzhen was alone and could only hang himself on Meishan with his confidant eunuch Meishan.
To describe the inner activities of the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty at that time, I am afraid it can only be described as calm. There may be a little excitement in the hearts of some ministers. After the death of Emperor Chongzhen, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty had no backbone, and many defected to the enemy. The situation at that time was about which force was strong and which side surrendered. People such as Li Zicheng, Dorgon and even Shang Kexi were chosen by the Ming Dynasty.
After experiencing the separatist rule of vassal towns in the Tang Dynasty, later dynasties naturally understood the importance of military power. Therefore, both the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty carried out a major purge of military power, bringing it back to the central government and under the control of the emperor. As a result, military generals were neglected, and civilian officials were naturally given preferential treatment, but why was there such a big difference between the two?
After Zhao Kuangyin regained military power, he left his ancestral precepts: "Scholar-officials are not allowed to be killed, and those who write to the world are not guilty." This is a very great favor to literati. The Song Dynasty was no different from the Tang Dynasty in its openness to civilized people. Although the Tang Dynasty valued generals, many literati also emerged during this period. The poems of Li Bai and Du Fu were brilliant throughout the Tang Dynasty.
The reason why such a situation occurred in the Tang Dynasty was firstly because of the imperial examination, and secondly because of the emperor's respect for the literati when he governed the world. As the saying goes, a scholar dies for a confidant, and the Song Dynasty did exactly this. In the future, all monarchs will follow the ancestral precepts, and the status of literati is unimaginably high. In this way, the reason why Song Renzong once again pushed Chinese literature to its peak.
But the Ming Dynasty obviously ran counter to Zhu Yuanzhang's original ideas. The Ming Dynasty's disrespect for literati was evident from the time of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was born as a local ruffian. Although he later put on a yellow robe and gained the temperament of a strategist, he still had a certain petty attitude in handling political affairs.
In the Ming Dynasty, even those in high positions were still servants to the emperor and could be disposed of at will. Zhu Yuanzhang despised the literati in his heart, and it was Zhu Yuanzhang who started the imperial staff. However, Zhu Yuanzhang's methods still gave the literati face. The person who was punished would be wrapped in a layer of felt to prevent his skin from being torn.
At the time of Zhu Di, although he used the slogan of "literary remonstrance and military death fighting", he did not remember his own banner at all when he actually did things. He was just a scholar Fang Xiaoru, and he was destroyed. The family’s punishment!
It is said that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Scholars value their reputation more than their lives. However, during the Wuzong period of the Ming Dynasty, the court staff was no longer the "little fight" of Zhu Yuanzhang's time, but the trousers were taken off and the skin was torn in public.
For literati, this is no different from the "crotch humiliation" of Han Xin in those days. Ordinary people are ashamed of it, let alone literati who consider themselves noble. This is equivalent to directly killing them. . The highest number of people punished by the imperial rod in the Ming Dynasty was 168, of whom 15 died on the spot. For the literati of the Ming Dynasty, whether they were full of knowledge or made meritorious deeds for the country, as long as they violated the power of God, they would all suffer the same fate!
Although the ancient class system was clear, the king was the king and the ministers were ministers. But throughout the period of political clarity, the emperors showed a certain degree of respect to their ministers. However, in the period of political darkness, the emperors were actually stupid and their ministers were unable to bring justice to the world.
Although it is said that once the emperor and his ministers are in the same court, they will eat the emperor's salary and worry about the emperor, but if the emperor does not take his ministers seriously, he cannot blame the ministers for finding a way out for them before the country is destroyed!