Jinyiwei is an organization in the Ming Dynasty, responsible for bodyguards, arrests, prisons and other matters. Generally speaking, all members of Jinyiwei will be referred to as Jinyiwei for short. During important events such as the sunset, the royal guards would usually wear flying fish clothes and hold embroidered spring knives to accompany the emperor. For example, in " OUT OF THE POLICE INTO HT", next to the emperor, the majestic and majestic Jin Yiwei is carrying a embroidered spring knife.
In 1644 AD, Emperor Chongzhen felt that the end was lost when he learned that the inner city had been captured by Li Zicheng's army. In despair, he slowly walked towards Meishan and then hung himself on a branch of Meishan. With the death of Emperor Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty was completely destroyed. The once majestic Jin Yiwei gradually disappeared from people's sight. According to statistics, there were approximately 150,000 Jinyiwei in the late Ming Dynasty. After Li Zicheng captured the inner city, where did they go?
1. Despite the troubled times, the Jin Yiwei died loyally.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng attacked Beijing, and many people in the capital were panicked. Many palace maids and eunuchs ran away from Donghua Gate to save their lives. In order to appease the people, the royal guards were dispatched one after another to warn the people not to believe the rumors. The so-called news that the rebels had entered the capital was just lies to deceive the public.
In fact, the Jin Yiwei themselves knew that their warnings were all lies. Li Zicheng's rebel army was in the capital at this time. Even the tunnels and toilets in the capital were now full of rebels. However, facing the coming crisis, the Jin Yiwei did not complain, nor did they reveal their fears. After receiving the emperor's order, they still patrolled Baojia, hoping to capture a few more rebels and eliminate the upcoming chaos.
However, no matter how hard the Jin Yiwei tried, tragedy still happened. On top of the coal mountain, the emperor helplessly chose to commit suicide. Across the country, Jin Yiwei chose to resist the rebels in their own way. Facing the rebels who came to attack Chongwen Gate and Xuanwu Gate, Jinyiwei commander Li Ruolian and Qianhu Gao Wencai chose to continue to hold on. After the city was broken, Li Ruolian left a final message and decided to hang Bai Ling high and commit suicide. Gao Wencai was even more resolute. Seeing the incoming rebels, he led seventeen members of his family to commit suicide collectively.
According to statistics such as " Ming History " and other statistics, many Jinyi guards died after Li Zicheng captured Beijing. In addition to those who committed suicide, more of them died under the torture of the rebel soldiers. According to relevant historical records, under the torture of Liu Zongmin and others, most of the people above the command level and Jinyitang officials did not escape death. After Liang Qinghong of Zhenfusi was captured, Li Zicheng's rebels tortured him from morning to night. When the rebels decided not to torture him anymore, Liang Qinghong lost his life as soon as he put down the execution rack.
In addition to dying by suicide, torture and massacre, some Jinyiwei will also choose to die in battle. Facing the attack of the Qing army, Jin Yiwei Zheng Guangying was not afraid, but continued to fight for Nanming , and finally sacrificed his life for the Ming Dynasty.
2. Save your life and defect to the new Ming Dynasty
While many Jinyiwei died, another part of Jinyiwei chose to live. They were not killed by the war, nor did they choose to commit suicide. As Jin Yiwei, they have a clear understanding of their identity, that is: they are just executors. Emperor Chongzhen died and the Ming Dynasty also died, but there should still be an emperor. As long as there is an emperor, he will still have a job and make a living.
After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, the Manchus entered the customs , and some Jin Yiwei chose to defect to the Southern Ming Dynasty. In their view, the emperor of the small imperial court was also named Zhu, and if he wanted to continue to be a royal guard, he could defect to the imperial court. These ideas of Jin Yiwei are very realistic, because the Southern Ming emperors such as Hongguang and Yongli still followed the Ming Dynasty's Jin Yiwei system within their jurisdiction.
However, in most cases, these Jinyiwei who took refuge in Nanming often did not receive fair treatment.According to the records in " Ming Ji Nan Lue ", the small imperial court of Nanming was very strict in screening the Jinyiwei who surrendered. If you want to continue to be a Jinyiwei in Nanming, you must explain why and how you went from the north to Nanming. Very clear. In addition to being very strict in screening, sometimes the imperial guards also encounter attacks from ministers. According to relevant historical records of Nanming, Yuan Pengnian, the official of Nanming Li Ke, once advised Emperor Hongguang to cancel the factory guards in Nanming. Although Yuan Pengnian's advice was rejected by Emperor Hongguang, we can find that even in a small court, the Jinyi guards could not escape the struggle.
After Nan Ming completely perished, the Jin Yiwei who were once active in Nan Ming also lost their traces. Due to the incomplete information, the endings of many Jin Yiwei are missing. Maybe he lived in seclusion, maybe he shaved his head, maybe he died of illness, maybe he became an ordinary citizen. Of course, with Jin Yiwei's methods, it would be relatively easy for them to survive.
3, bow down and go to Manchu jobs
Faced with Li Zicheng's attack and the death of Emperor Chongzhen, some Jinyiwei died tragically, and some Jinyiwei chose Nanming. In addition to these Jin Yiwei, there are also some Jin Yiwei. They feel that since the emperor named Aisin Gioro controls the world, there is no need for them to insist on any moral integrity. After all, "good birds choose trees to roost in."
For example, when Emperor Chongzhen was still alive, Luo Yangxing was the leader of the Jinyiwei, and he commanded from official to . In the Jinyiwei organization, Luo Yangxing had a lot of power. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, Luo Yangxing gave up his integrity and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Under the appreciation of Dorgon , Luo Yangxing became the governor. However, Dorgon immediately became suspicious of Luo Yangxing because he welcomed Zuo Maodi and others to the Qing Dynasty without authorization. In 1649 AD, Luo Yangxing, who served as the chief seal officer in Zhejiang, died in worry. Many years after his death, the Qing Dynasty included him in the "The Legend of Erchen ".
Come to think of it, there are still many Jin Yiwei who followed Luo Yangxing and surrendered to serve in the Manchu and Qing court. . Because after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the system of the Ming Dynasty was also used to establish Jinyiwei. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty, who were inexperienced in governance, quickly established the Jinyiwei in the early years of Shunzhi, which was probably influenced by the surrender of the Ming Dynasty Jinyiwei.
There is no emperor who will never die, and there is no country that will never perish. After Li Zicheng captured Beijing, the 150,000 Jinyi guards in the late Ming Dynasty were smashed like plum bottles. Many of them went to death, either committing suicide in despair, dying of torture, dying in battle, or becoming targets of massacres. Many of them regard the job of Jinyiwei as their goal of survival. They watch silently as the new dynasty completely ends the Ming Dynasty, with others ostracizing or rewarding them. Then they hide themselves silently, not wanting anyone to know. Where did I go? The remaining Jin Yiwei regarded themselves as the most knowledgeable people. Without the Ming Dynasty, there would still be and the Qing , and they exchanged their status as second ministers for glory and wealth.
In this way, the once majestic Jinyiwei disappeared into history, like fireworks, shining for a moment and then fading into darkness.
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