Born in Dingbian, Shaanxi Province on September 18, the thirty-fourth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1606)
Portrait of Zhang Xianzhong
Liuqu Village, Haotan Township, County ( (known as Liushujian Fort in ancient times), "History of the Ming Dynasty" states that he was born in the same year as Li Zicheng. Zhang Xianzhong studied in his youth and joined the army as an adult. He once served as a police officer in Yan'an Prefecture, but was dismissed due to circumstances, so he went to Yansui Town to join the army. He should be executed for violating the law. The general Chen Hongfan noticed his strange appearance and interceded with the commander-in-chief Wang Wei for his mercy. He was struck with a hundred military sticks and removed from the army. From then on, he lived in the countryside.
In the third year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1630), Zhang Xianzhong actively responded to Wang Jiayin's anti-Ming call and launched an uprising in Mizhi. He named himself the Eight Great Kings and the other was the Eight Great Kings of Xiying. The following year, he joined the Wang Ziyong Allied Forces and became one of the thirty-six battalions. He was brave and good at fighting, and soon became the main leader of the 36th Battalion and became famous as the Eight Kings who were able to plan and fight. After Wang Jiayin's death, he and Li Zicheng and others joined Gao Yingxiang. Gao Yingxiang was named King of Chuang, and Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng were named generals of Chuang. In the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), he participated in the meeting of Xingyang and decided to make progress. Xianzhong, Gao Yingxiang and other soldiers conquered the east. Soon Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng began to split due to minor reasons. Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to attack the Yangtze River Basin, while Li Zicheng attacked the Yellow River Basin.
In the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), Zhang Xianzhong was attacked by Zuo Liangyu, the commander-in-chief of the Ming army. Zhang Xianzhong's uprising troops were seriously damaged, he was also injured, and he was politically shaken. In the first month of the following year, Zhang Xianzhong led his rebel army to Gucheng (now part of Gucheng County, Hubei Province) and was appointed deputy general by the court. The station in Wangjiahe was renamed Taiping Town to indicate the cessation of troops. After Zhang Xianzhong was recruited, he neither demobilized the rebels as originally arranged nor participated in the battle against Li Zicheng's rebels. Instead, he guarded the place to strengthen military training and maintain his autonomy.
In the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1639), Zhang Xianzhong was dissatisfied with the corrupt officials' endless demands for bribes, blackmail, making things difficult for him, and distrust. In addition, under the influence of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong adopted it on May 9th. The effective tactics of "avoiding the truth and destroying the fictitious" and "walking to address the enemy" once again raised the banner of anti-Ming. To control the enemy by walking, they moved to fight in Sichuan, which made the Ming army exhausted. In the fourteenth year, he defeated the Ming army in Huangling City, Kai County, drove out of Sichuan, defeated Xiangyang, killed the king of Xiang Zhu Yiming, and entered Guangzhou and other places. Yang Sichang, the governor of the Ming Dynasty, died in Shashi due to the failure of the pursuit, fear and relapse of his old illness.
In the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, he occupied Wuchang and was called the King of the West. Soon after conquering Changsha, he announced that he would be exempted from taxation of money and grain for three years, and more and more people followed him. On August 9, the 17th year of Chongzhen (1644), Chengdu was captured. Long Wenguang, the leader of the imperial guard, killed himself, and all the Shu king Zhu Zhishu and his concubines committed suicide. Other officials were taken as prisoners. The rebel army entered Chengdu with a force of 600,000, and soon controlled most of the states and counties in Sichuan. In Chengdu, Zhang Xianzhong was first known as the King of Qin, and then announced the establishment of the Daxi Kingdom and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Dashun. Established and improved the system, later proclaimed himself emperor, with Chengdu as the capital [1], and ascended the throne on August 16.
In the third year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1646), the situation became increasingly tense. When the troops arrived at Fenghuang Hillside at the junction of Xichong County and Yanting County in northern Sichuan, Emperor Zhang Xianzhong of the Great Western Kingdom met Prince Haoge of the Qing Dynasty. During the fierce battle between the two armies, Zhang Xianzhong was killed by an arrow.
Edit related events in this paragraph and hold high the flag of righteousness
Daxi Emperor Zhang Xianzhong
At the end of the Apocalypse, famine continued throughout Shaanxi. Severe drought and insect disasters occurred again in northern Shaanxi. The seedlings were withered and people died of starvation all over the fields. Due to the stimulation of overseas trade, large acres of land in the prosperous south of the Ming Dynasty were used for the cultivation of cash crops, resulting in a decline in grain output. A severe drought in the north led to greater food shortages, and grain prices began to rise. Correspondingly, However, the central finance of the Ming Dynasty had a corresponding reduction in tax revenue due to the famine years. As the finances became further constrained, relief became empty talk. Without relief, farmers could not survive, and in the end they had no choice but to take risks and rebel. Peasant riots first broke out in northern Shaanxi, and soon became a prairie fire. Initially, Wang Jiayin and Wang Ziyong from Youfu Valley rioted and occupied Huanglong Mountain. Then Yichuan Wang Zuogua, Anzhai Gao Yingxiang, Luochuan Zhang Cunmeng, Yanchuan Wang Monk, Hannan Wang Daliang and others responded one after another, and the flames of struggle spread throughout Shaanxi. Soon, Li Zicheng joined Gao Yingxiang's mob team after the Mizhi Uprising.
In the third year of Chongzhen (1630), Zhang Xianzhong gathered farmers from the Eighteen Villages in his hometown and organized a team to respond to Wang Jiayin and others' uprising. He calls himself "The Eight Kings". Because he was "long and thin, with a yellowish face, a height of one foot and six inches, and a strong and powerful figure, he was called the 'Yellow Tiger' in the army." This team was initially for the king's own use, but later became an army of its own.
Because he had read a little bit of books as a child and received military training, he was resourceful, courageous and courageous. He quickly showed his commanding ability, and his troops became the strongest among the thirty-six battalions with Wang Ziyong as the leader at that time. . From then on, Zhang Xianzhong followed the refugee team and fought in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan and other places, and made many military exploits. His team also grew from a few thousand to tens of thousands, becoming the most powerful force. Played a decisive role in the battle with the army.
In the winter of the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), most of the rebel army crossed the Yellow River and headed south. Zhang Xianzhong's army was one of the thirteen families with Gao Yingxiang as the leader.
In the seventh year of Chongzhen (1634), Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, captured Kuizhou (today's Fengjie, Chongqing), and besieged Taiping
The scope of Zhang Xianzhong's uprising spread
, Chongqing The female general Qin Liangyu arrived with troops. Xianzhong was frightened by the reputation of Qin Liangyu and his "white pole soldiers". Cang fled in panic. Qin Liangyu led the army to pursue him. He and his son Ma Xianglin, who happened to be returning to Sichuan, attacked Zhang Xianzhong from front to back and defeated Zhang Xianzhong, forcing him to retreat to Huguang. .
The currency of the Daxi regime
In the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), various rebel armies were besieged in Henan by the official army. In order to break out of the encirclement, the leaders of the thirteen rebel armies held a military meeting in Xingyang, Henan. As a result of the discussion, it was decided to divide the troops and attack to break the official army's encirclement and suppression plan. After the meeting, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, led by Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang, advanced eastward. The main force of this East Route Army is Zhang Xianzhong's troops. His troops fought bravely, defeating Gushi in Henan and Huoqiu in Anhui and other prefectures and counties, and reached Fengyang, the central capital of the Ming Dynasty.
As the vanguard of the Eastern Route Army, Zhang Xianzhong's troops surrounded Fengyang City in the foggy morning. In less than half a day, they completely wiped out the 20,000 officers and soldiers guarding Fengyang, killed guard Zhu Guozheng and others, captured Yan Rongxuan, the prefect of Fengyang, and sentenced him to death after listing his crimes in front of the people. Zhang Xianzhong distributed the victory prizes and the grain in the treasury to the local poor farmers. He also called on the farmers and people from all over the country to cut down hundreds of thousands of pines and cypresses in the imperial mausoleum. He also demolished the surrounding buildings and the Longxing Hall where Zhu Yuanzhang became a monk. Temple (also known as Huangjue Temple), and then dug up the emperor's ancestral graves, and at the same time killed all the wealthy families in Fengyang.
This incident shocked the court greatly. After Emperor Chongzhen heard the news, he immediately put on mourning clothes, ran to the Ancestral Temple, knelt under the ancestor's tablet and cried loudly; and ordered the court officials to eat plain clothes and eat vegetarian food. Conducting official business and expressing condolences. Emperor Chongzhen dismissed the minister of the Ministry of War, beheaded the governor of Fengyang and the censor, and also took out the governors of the five provinces who had been dismissed from their posts and were living idle and sentenced them to death. Despite this harshness, the officers and soldiers still could not stop the locust-like sweep of Zhang Xianzhong's troops.
After Zhang Xianzhong captured Fengyang, he sent his troops southward and successively conquered Luzhou (now Hefei, Anhui), Anqing, Hezhou, and Chuzhou, all the way along the Yangtze River to Yizheng in Jiangsu, and was invincible along the way. Later, he returned to the west, passed through Yingshan and Huoshan, and joined Ma Shouying's troops in Macheng, Hubei. Then, it entered Henan from Hubei, then entered Shaanxi, and fought back to Guanzhong from Shang Luo. Zhang Xianzhong fought thousands of miles, east and west, choosing the weak links of the army and the army, thus breaking the army's strategic plan to encircle and annihilate the rebels in the Central Plains. After Zhang Xianzhong returned to Guanzhong, he met Gao Yingxiang in Fengxiang. In Shaanxi, he fought several battles with the officers and soldiers led by Hong Chengchou, Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty. Hong Chengchou's generals, such as Ai Wannian, Cao Wenzhao and others, were all killed by the rebels, and the officers and soldiers suffered heavy losses. The rebel army then turned and marched straight into Henan.
Temporarily recruited
At the beginning of the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), the refugee army had grown to hundreds of thousands. When they met in Henan, they often camped hundreds of miles apart. Zhang Xianzhong's troops numbered more than 100,000. In September, Chuang King Gao Yingxiang was ambushed and captured, and was executed late by the Zhu Ming Dynasty. Most of Li Zicheng and other troops moved to fight in the area west of Tongguan, and Zhang Xianzhong's troops became the main target of attacks by the officers and soldiers in the area east of Tongguan. When Zhang Xianzhong's troops moved to Hubei, Henan, and Anhui, they defeated the government troops many times. "Enter Henan, attack Xuzhou, kill brother Zuo Liangyu", and obtain tens of thousands of supplies. In March, Ming general Pan Keda and others were killed in the battle at Anqingjiadian. However, due to the lack of unified deployment and coordinated actions among the various units of the refugee army, each unit fought independently. In the spring of the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638), all the refugee armies suffered successive setbacks. Especially in April of the 10th year of Chongzhen (1637), Yang Sichang, Minister of War and Cabinet Scholar of the Ming Dynasty, planned the encirclement and suppression strategy of "Four Righteousness", "Six Corners" and "Nets on Ten Sides". Li Zicheng was attacked several times in Shaanxi After the defeat, Liu Guoneng and others also surrendered to the imperial court in Henan, which brought huge difficulties to Zhang Xianzhong's team.
Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by Zuo Liangyu's army during the attack on Nanyang. He was also injured. Fortunately, he was rescued by his subordinate Sun Kewang, and he led his troops to retreat to Gucheng (now Hubei). In order to preserve their strength under the strong offensive of the government and army, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai in Yunyang accepted the "appeasement" of Xiong Wencan, the Minister of War, respectively. After being "recruited", Zhang Xianzhong refused to accept reorganization and deployment, did not accept official titles, and maintained his independence. He distributed his 40,000 troops in the suburbs of Gucheng, his headquarters, and divided them into four battalions, each led by a general. During the rest period, grass was gathered to store grain, weapons were built, troops were recruited, and soldiers were trained. Zhang Xianzhong often asked people to teach him "Sun Tzu's Art of War", combined with combat cases, summed up experience and lessons, and waited for the opportunity to make a comeback.
Resurgence
In May of the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1639), Zhang Xianzhong rebelled again in Gucheng. The mob quickly defeated the officers and soldiers guarding Gucheng, killed the county magistrate Ruan Zhidian and the patrol censor Lin Mingqiu, demolished the city walls, robbed Zhang Xianzhong's family temple
and imprisoned them in the treasury. Ming supervisor Zhang Dajing, Ma Tingbao, and Xu Qizuo were forced to surrender. When Zhang Xianzhong left Gucheng, he wrote in detail on the walls inside and outside the city the list, numbers and time of bribes demanded by officials from all over the government, so that the people could clearly see the corruption of Ming Dynasty politics.
When Zhang Xianzhong rose again, Luo Rucai and Ma Shouying also responded and went to Gucheng to meet Zhang Xianzhong. Li Zicheng, who was hiding in Shangluo Mountain, also regrouped and entered Henan via the Yun and Jun areas of Hubei. The flames of peasant uprising were once again burning across the land of the Central Plains.
When Xiong Wencan learned about the resurgence of the rebel army, he immediately mobilized Zuo Liangyu and Luo Dai to lead the pursuit. Zhang Xianzhong ambushed his army in Luohou Mountain to the west of Fang County. He set up a net and sent a team to pretend to attack and retreat. He lured the army into the mountain and ambushed the army. More than 10,000 officers and soldiers were defeated. Luo Dai was captured alive. Zuo Liang Jade threw away his helmet and armor, fell into his saddle and fled, even the military talisman and letter were lost. In anger, Emperor Chongzhen dismissed Xiong Wencan from his post and arrested and executed him. Zuo Liangyu was demoted to a third rank and served with the army despite the charges. Then, Yang Sichang, a bachelor and minister of the Ministry of War, was reassigned to supervise the division, and the governor and below were also under control, and once again launched a large-scale encirclement and suppression of the peasant army.
As soon as Yang Sichang arrived in Xiangyang, he launched the strategies of "Four Righteousness", "Six Corners", and "Opening a Net from Ten Sides" planned by him. Joined 100,000 troops, and called on the generals of various towns in Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Yunyang to seize key points. The main task was to encircle and suppress Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng with all their strength. At first, Zhang Xianzhong did not understand the situation, suffered successive defeats, and was very passive. Later, he found out the details of the government and army through intelligence. He persuaded Luo Rucai and the two armies joined forces to strengthen the rebel army. The rebels used tactics of "conquering the enemy with movement", "avoiding the real and attacking the weak", and appearing and disappearing to deal with the official army. At the same time, Zhang Xianzhong strengthened his intelligence work and sent many clever sergeants to disguise themselves as merchants and hawkers to gather information everywhere. The common people often informed the rebels about the movements of the officers and soldiers, and often served as guides for Zhang Xianzhong's team. Therefore, we can grasp the enemy's situation in time, take military action quickly, and catch the officers and soldiers by surprise. Then they moved quickly, making it difficult for the officers and soldiers to figure out where the rebels were going and to pursue them. The main force of the official army either rushed into the air or was ambushed and lost its troops. However, it is very disadvantageous for the rebels to be trapped in the encirclement of the official army, and they are in danger of being surrounded and annihilated at any time. For this reason, Zhang Xianzhong believed that it was necessary to completely smash the encirclement and suppression plan of the official army and jump out of the circle to fight in order to attack the official army more effectively.
Entering Sichuan
In the leap month of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by Zuo Liangyu at Gouping Pass and led his troops to break into Sichuan. On the way into Sichuan, they were attacked again by Zheng Chongjian and Zuo Liangyu at Manao Mountain in Taiping County, causing heavy casualties. Then they were pursued and intercepted by the Huguang Army, Sichuan Army and Shaanxi Army. The rebel army suffered heavy losses and retreated to the mountains of Guizhou, Xing'an. They were also surrounded by Zuo Liangyu and other troops, and the rebel army was in trouble. For this reason, Zhang Xianzhong took advantage of the conflict between Yang Sichang and Zuo Liangyu and sent someone with a heavy treasure to bribe Zuo Liangyu, saying: "Xianzhong is here, so the public is respected. Many people in the public office kill and plunder, but the government department guesses and specializes. No Xian "Zhong, that is, the Duke has been destroyed not long ago." Zuo Liangyu's fighting spirit slackened, and Zhang Xianzhong took the opportunity to gather the scattered people. With the help of the mountain people, he walked out of Xing'an and joined Luo Rucai and other troops. Zhang Xianzhong also took advantage of the contradiction between Sichuan Governor Shao Jiechun and Yang Sichang to concentrate his forces and stormed Xinning (today's Kaijiang, Sichuan) defended by Shao Jiechun. Shao Jiechun never expected that the rebel army would be so fast, and the official army would collapse at the first touch. After breaking through the Xinning defense line, the rebels successfully entered Sichuan. The rebel army's entry into Sichuan broke Yang Sichang's encirclement and suppression plan, and the military also shifted from defense to offense.
Yang Sichang was stubborn and thought that the army had surrounded Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and other troops in the border area of ??Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, and victory was within grasp. But in fact, "the governor's orders cannot be carried out by the general, and the general's orders cannot be carried out by the soldiers." Zhang Xianzhong tried his best to avoid positional battles with the officers and soldiers, and adopted the strategy of "conquering the enemy by walking". He could travel more than 300 miles a day and night, and moved quickly. He often made the officers and soldiers worry about one thing and not the other, and they were attacked from both sides and were exhausted from running for their lives.
In December of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Yang Sichang saw that he could not destroy the rebels, so he adopted the method of "appeasement" in an attempt to divide and disintegrate them. He announced that Luo Rucai would be pardoned and those who surrendered would be given official positions. However, Zhang Xianzhong would not be pardoned. Those who could capture Zhang Xianzhong would be rewarded with tens of thousands of gold and be granted the title of marquis. But the next day, a notice appeared on the wall of Yang Sichang's residence, "Anyone who can kill the governor will be rewarded with three coins of silver." The tit-for-tat counterattack by the rebels made Yang Sichang very frustrated and suspected that both the left and right were connected to the rebels.
In the first month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (1641), Zhang Xianzhong had been fighting in Sichuan for nearly half a year. At this time, the rebel army was pursued by the official Zuo Liangyu's troops in Huangling City, Kaixian County. The left commander Liu Shijie and the guerrilla Guo Kaili immediately went to fight. The rebels were waiting for work, and Zhang Xianzhong sent a group of elite troops to go around and attack behind the official army. Zuo Liangyu escaped, Liu Shijie and Guo Kaili were killed, more than half of the officers and soldiers were killed or injured, and the rebel army won a complete victory.
The troops pointed at the center of Hubei
Then Zhang Xianzhong led his troops out of Sichuan and marched rapidly all day and night, with the troops pointed directly at the center of Hubei. When the rebels arrived in Dangyang, the garrisoned officers and soldiers were still sleeping. Zhang Xianzhong also composed a ballad to mock the officers and soldiers: "In the past, there was Governor Shao (Shao Jiechun), who often came to dance in the group; in the back, there was Liao Canjun (Liao Daheng), who would follow me without fighting. What a good Yang Gebu (Yang Sichang), leave me Three days' journey!"
In February, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to conquer Xiangyang. Xiangyang was an important military town in the Ming Dynasty, and military supplies, wages, and money were all gathered in the city. Zhang Xianzhong used the money he received to distribute 100,000 taels to help the hungry people, and executed the king of Xiang, Zhu Yiming, and the king of Guiyang, Zhu Changfa. The rebels were supported by the people and cheered loudly. At this point, Zhang Xianzhong completely shattered Yang Sichang's "Four Positives and Six Corners" plan and completely destroyed his so-called "Ten-Sided Net". When Yang Sichang heard that Zhang Xianzhong was sending his troops out of Sichuan, he hurriedly fled back to Yichang. In Shashi, he learned that Li Zicheng had conquered Luoyang and killed King Fu. He knew that he would not be able to escape the death penalty, so he died of fear. Zuo Liangyu was demoted from his post and was charged with leading the army.
The rebels then crossed the Yangtze River to capture Fancheng, and joined forces with Luo Rucai to march north. In April, the attack on Yingshan was unable to move down, so he turned to attack Suizhou and defeated it. In June, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to attack Nanyang and attack Xinyang eastward. In July, Zhang Xianzhong fell into Yunxi again and reached Xinyang. After Yang Sichang's death, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Ding Qirui, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi Province, to take over as the governor and continue to encircle and suppress the rebels. Zuo Liangyu, who had been watching without fighting, also led his troops to pursue Zhang Xianzhong. In the eighth month of Autumn, Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by Zuo Liangyu's tribe in Xinyang. He left Shangcheng with injuries and walked towards Yingshan. He was defeated by Wang Yuncheng again. "All the soldiers were scattered and exhausted, and only dozens of soldiers stopped." Prior to this, Luo Rucai had a disagreement with Zhang Xianzhong and defected to Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang. After the defeat of Xinyang, Zhang Xianzhong also went to Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng "encountered him in a trivial manner, but refused to follow him and wanted to kill him." Only Luo Ru stopped him. Luo Rucai privately donated 500 horses to Zhang Xianzhong from Henan via Anhui. At this time, Li Zicheng's rebel army was besieging Kaifeng. Supervisors Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu and other main forces of the army went north to rescue Kaifeng. At the end of the year, Zhang Xianzhong took advantage of the opportunity to fall into Bozhou, entered Ying and Huoshan Districts, and met with the "Fifth Gezuo Camp". It was composed of five battalions of Liu Xiyao and Luandi Wang Lin. Since then, the rebel army has regained momentum.
In February of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), Zhang Xianzhong led the unified rebel army to capture Shucheng and Liu'an, entered Keluzhou, and killed the prefect Zheng Luxiang. They also sailed down Wuwei and Lujiang Rivers, and trained naval forces in Chaohu Lake. Then he defeated the officers and soldiers of the chief soldiers Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo. The victory of Zhang Xianzhong's rebel army caused "a great earthquake in the south of the Yangtze River". Fengyang Governor Gao Douguang and Anqing Governor Zheng Eryang were arrested and punished, and Ma Shiying was appointed to replace them. In October, Zhang Xianzhong's rebel army was defeated by Liu Liangzuo's troops, and Zhang Xianzhong led his troops westward to Danshui. Li Zicheng, the "Fifth Battalion of Gezuo" Beitou. In order to avoid Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu withdrew all his troops from Huguang and went eastward. Zhang Xianzhong took the opportunity to capture Huangmei.
In the first month of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen (1643), Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to capture Danzhou at night. In March, the rebel army attacked Danshui, Huangzhou and Macheng. In Macheng, Zhang Xianzhong recruited tens of thousands of people. In May, the rebel army marched westward to Hanyang, crossed the Yangtze River from Yadanzhou, and quickly captured Wuchang Fucheng. Wuchang is the seat of the palace of Chu King Zhu Huakui. The officials who were guarding the city fled after hearing the news. The soldiers recruited by the King of Chu responded internally and opened the city gate to welcome the rebels.
Zhang Xianzhong executed the Queen of Chu and shared her flesh with his subordinates. At the same time, he "took all the gold and silver from the palace, one million each, and the chariot could carry hundreds of cars." Distributed more than six million taels of silver and summoned refugees from all over the country.
Called "King of Daxi"
In Wuchang, Zhang Xianzhong called himself "King of Daxi" and established the peasant regime of Daxi. Set up the governor's office of the six ministries and the fifth army, and appoint local officials. "Wuchang was renamed Tianshou Prefecture, and Jiangxia was renamed Shangjiang County." They also opened courses to recruit scholars and recruited talents. Thirty Jinshi and 48 Linshan students were admitted, and they were all awarded state and county officials. At this time, Li Zicheng was also proclaimed king in Xiangyang and was very dissatisfied with Zhang Xianzhong's occupation of Wuchang. Li Zicheng sent people to congratulate him and said: "Lao Huihui has surrendered. Cao Ge and the left are all dead, and they can reach you." At this time, Zuo Liangyu's soldiers returned to the west, and many officials of the Daxi regime were captured and killed. "Show loyalty and fear, and seek to get rid of them." The two borders were connected, forming two major peasant army forces standing side by side. Zhang Xianzhong was weak and unable to fight against Li Zicheng. In August, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops south to Hunan and captured Yuezhou with 200,000 troops. Then they attacked Changsha, and Ming generals Yin Xianmin and He Yide surrendered.
After Zhang Xianzhong occupied Changsha, he announced that he would be exempted from taxes and grain for three years. Then, they captured Hengzhou and its affiliated prefectures and counties. Wherever they went, they were like locusts crossing the street, leaving nothing behind.
In September, the rebel army captured Yongzhou and was so powerful that the officers and soldiers in Nanxiong and Shaozhou counties in Guangdong "scurried away". Wang Sunlan, the deputy envoy who patrolled Nanshao in Mingfen, was so frightened that he hanged himself to death. In October, the rebels occupied Wuling County, Changde Prefecture, Yang Sichang's hometown, and liquidated the crimes of Yang Sichang, his son, and his family for taking advantage of their power. The order issued by Zhang Xianzhong said: "The Zhu (killed) thief Yang Mou, in the past, mobilized the soldiers and horses of the world to fight against the heavenly soldiers. Fortunately, he died early in my life. Passing Wuling now, there is his house and land. The grave is here. It is enough not to surrender. Why are the gentlemen and common people from the same town tied up and gangs everywhere to kill all the nine tribes, dig up all the graves, burn all the houses, seize the land, and arrest the people named Yang? A reward of ten taels of silver will be given; whoever catches his descendants and brothers will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold. "This shows the incomparable hatred of the rebels towards the bullies of the officials and gentry.
While the rebel army captured Wuling, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to attack Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province. He was trapped for ten thousand years and divided his troops into two groups to capture Yuanzhou. Yuanzhou is the gateway to Jiangyou. If Yuanzhou is lost, "the whole province of Jiangyou will be ruined, the throat of Guangdong and Guangxi will be cut off, and the fence of Jinling will be withdrawn"④. Under the counterattack of Zuo Liangyu's army, Yuanzhou was captured by the army again. Due to the brutality of Zuo Liangyu's soldiers, the Ming court was forced to withdraw its soldiers to recruit local soldiers for defense. Zhang Xianzhong took advantage of the opportunity of the exchange of officers and troops to raid Ji'an and captured Jishui, Yongxin, Anfu, Taihe and other counties. He assigned local officials to appease the people and recaptured Yuanzhou again. In December, under the counterattack led by Jiangxi Governor Lu Daqi, Ji'an and other counties fell one after another. After Zhang Xianzhong was blocked in Jiangxi, he immediately returned to his army and occupied Yuezhou. The Ming court urgently sent Zuo Liangyu to move to Wuchang, and divided his troops into two groups, one to attack Yuezhou and the other to attack Yuanzhou in Jiangxi Province. The two places were once again occupied by the army. For this reason, Zhang Xianzhong decided to go north, ambush troops along the river in Jiayu (now in Hubei), and defeated Zuo Liangyu's elite troops, causing "Liangyu's army to collapse." Zhang Xianzhong also collected and surrendered officers and soldiers along the way and organized them into new attached camps, with the military appearance more prosperous than before. At this time, Zhang Xianzhong controlled all of Hunan, as well as the vast areas of southern Hubei, Guangdong, and northern Guangxi. For future development, Zhang Xianzhong decided to enter Sichuan.
Enter Sichuan again
In the first month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (1644), Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to Sichuan. The rebel army conquered Kuizhou and "reached Wanxian County. When the water rose, they stayed in the camp for three months." Then, they even defeated Liangshan, Zhongzhou and Fuzhou, defeated the general Cao Ying, and broke through Fotuguan. The Ming Dynasty Sichuan general Qin Liangyu led his troops to fight, but was also defeated by the rebels. After the rebels captured Luzhou, they occupied Chongqing, an important town in northern Sichuan, on June 20. A group of Ming Dynasty clan members and bureaucrats, including King Zhu Changhao of Rui, Governor Chen Shiqi, Deputy Military Envoy Chen Hui, and Prefect Wang Xingjian, who escaped from Hanzhong, were captured and executed by the rebels. On the fourth day of July, Zhang Xianzhong ordered Liu Ting to guard Chongqing. He personally led the rebel army and advanced in three directions towards Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. In the prefectures and counties along the road, "the winds collapsed, the beacon fires continued for hundreds of miles, and there was a big earthquake in Chengdu." Long Wenguang, the governor of Sichuan, rushed to Chengdu from Shunqing and dispatched the general Liu Zhenfan and nearby local soldiers to defend the city. At that time, "four reinforcements gathered in Chengdu. They showed their loyalty and made them pretend to be reinforcements and sneaked into the city. Long Wenguang couldn't tell them apart." On the seventh day of August, the rebels attacked the city from all sides at the same time. They cooperated with each other from the inside and outside, and the city was destroyed in three days.
On August 9th, the peasant army captured Chengdu. Ming Dynasty Chengdu King Zhu Zhishu and Taiping King Zhu Zhilu committed suicide. Sichuan Governor Long Wenguang, Inspector Liu Zhibo, Deputy Inspector Zhang Jimeng and other major Ming Dynasty officials stationed in Sichuan were executed by the peasant army because they refused to surrender.
"At the beginning, Li Zicheng sent Ma Ke to Sichuan and captured Shunqing." In September, he ordered Ma Ke to defend Mianzhou. Zhang Xianzhong sent Ai Nengqi to attack the enemy but failed, and personally took command. Ma Ke was defeated and fled Hanzhong. In October, Li Dingguo captured Baoning; Sun Ke wanted to go to Long'an and sent Wang Xun to defend it, and then led his troops to attack Maozhou and defeat it. Then Ai Nengqi captured Yazhou. At this point, most of Sichuan was controlled by Zhang Xianzhong's peasant army.
Establishing the Daxi regime
On November 16, Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu. The founding name of the country was "Daxi", the name of the country was changed to "Dashun", and Chengdu was named Xijing. After the establishment of the Daxi regime, civil and military officials such as left and right prime ministers and six ministers were appointed. "Wang Zhaolin is appointed as the prime minister on the left, and Yan Xi is appointed as the prime minister on the right." With Wang Guolin, Jiang Dingzhen, Gong Wanjing and others as ministers. The Daxi regime promulgated the "Tongtian Calendar" and set up a money bureau to cast "Dashun Tongbao" for use. Open subjects to obtain scholars, select thirty people as Jinshi, and serve as officials in counties and counties. The Daxi regime announced that the people of all ethnic groups in the southwest would be "free from border rent and taxes for three years." Zhang Xianzhong's orders were strict, and he was not allowed to "recruit troops without authorization", "accept people's words without authorization", or "take local women as wives without authorization", which was against the law. Zhang Xianzhong named his four adopted sons kings, Sun Kewang as King Pingdong, Liu Wenxiu as King of Funan, Li Dingguo as King of Anxi, and Ai Nengqi as King of Dingbei.
Militarily, the Daxi regime established five military governors' offices: Wang Shangli for the central army, Wang Dingguo for the front army, Feng Shuangli for the rear army, Ma Yuanli for the left army, and Zhang Hualong for the right army. Divide the troops into one hundred and twenty battalions, with "Huwei, Leopard Tao, Longtao and Yingyang as the guards", and set up a capital to lead them. There are ten large camps and twelve small camps outside the city. The old camp is placed in the middle, which is called the imperial camp and dedicated to loyal people. Sun Kewang was also appointed as General Pingdong, supervising the 19th Battalion; Li Dingguo was General Anxi, supervising the 16th Battalion; Liu Wenxiu was General Funan, supervising the 15th Battalion; Ai Nengqi was General Dingbei, supervising the 20th Battalion. He divided his troops into four groups and "then occupied the whole of Shu."
Soon, Ming Dynasty generals Zeng Ying, Li Zhanchun, Yu Dahai, Wang Xiang, Yang Zhan, Cao Xun, etc. from various parts of Sichuan gathered their troops and attacked the Daxi peasant army, massacred local officials of the Daxi regime, and gave The Onishi regime is a great threat. In response, Zhang Xianzhong carried out severe suppression.
Zhang Xianzhong ordered Sun Kewang to take Hanzhong, but was defeated by Li Zicheng's general He Zhen. Zhang Xianzhong went to the rescue in person and passed by Qiqu Mountain in Zitong. "Looking up at the temple, he inscribed the surname Zhang on his forehead and said: 'This is my ancestor.' After catching up with the title, he said that he was the first ancestor, Emperor Gao." He was ordered to build a temple and carve stones to worship it. The general Liu Jinzhong entered Baoning Mansion, and the general Ma Yuanli defeated Shunqing to guard it. After the New Year's Day of the Yiyou year, Zhang Xianzhong said to his subordinates on the third day of the Lunar New Year: "Since the Three Kingdoms, Hanzhong originally belonged to Sichuan. Now I have established the capital in Sichuan. If I don't take Hanzhong, it is inevitable that others will go to Long to look for Shu? I heard that King Chuang sent horses to guard Hanzhong. If you don't get mediocre talents early, it will be difficult to find talented people in the future." In order to ensure the security of Sichuan, he sent two generals, Pingdong and Huwei, to pacify the Hannan area to the north. He also ordered the governor Zhang Guangcai to kill Zeng Ying early in order to open the way to the east. On the 16th, the peasant army's Qi Ming and Zhang Guangcai's armies attacked simultaneously. Unexpectedly, Li Zicheng replaced Ma Xu with He Zhen. As a result, the Daxi Army's 30,000 troops were defeated by He Zhen's tribe.
The struggle against the Qing Dynasty
In the summer of the second year of Dashun (the second year of Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, 1645), the separatist regime of Hongguang, King Fu of the Southern Ming Dynasty, perished. In November, the Qing Dynasty used a strategy of suppression and appeasement. On the one hand, He Luohui was appointed as the general of Dingxi to attack Sichuan. On the other hand, it sent people to issue an edict to induce Zhang Xianzhong to surrender and persuade him to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. The edict said: "Zhang Xianzhong's previous disturbances were all a matter of the Ming Dynasty" and expressed understanding. "Zhang Xianzhong, as if he had judged the time of heaven, led his people back, he should be promoted and promoted, and his descendants will enjoy wealth forever." He also threatened that "if we delay and wait and see, and do not surrender early, we will regret it when the army arrives." However, Zhang Xianzhong ignored it, which only strengthened his determination to resist the Qing Dynasty. At this time, the Qing army led by He Luohui was restrained by the rebels in Shaanxi, so they never entered Sichuan.
In addition to confronting the remaining Ming Dynasty troops in Sichuan, Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi regime and the peasant army also had to fight against the armed landlords in Sichuan. Fan Yiheng, the former governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, still held his original post. The Nanming regime also appointed Wang Yingxiong, the former scholar of the University of War, as the governor of Sichuan, Hu, Yunnan, and Guizhou military affairs. He also gave Shang Fang a sword to act in an expedient manner, stationed in Zunyi, and presided over the war against Zhang Xianzhong. In March of that year, Magan, the governor of Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty, sent his deputy general Zeng Ying to lead troops to capture Chongqing. Then, King Yingxiong of the cabinet gathered troops in Zunyi, and deputy generals Yang Zhan, Tu Long, Mo Zongwen, Jia Denglian and others asked to return to southern Sichuan. "Gan Liangchen was appointed as the president, with Hou Tianxi and Tu Long as his deputy, together with general Yang Zhan. The guerrillas Ma Yingshi and Yu Chaozong defeated the soldiers and gained 30,000 soldiers." In March, Xuzhou was captured, and the Daxi Peasant Army lost 1,000 people. The remaining people. At that time, deputy general Cao Ying, political advisor Liu Lin, and generals such as Dahai, Li Zhanchun, and Zhang Tianxian were all under Fan Yiheng's control and had more than 100,000 troops.
They continued to launch attacks on the peasant army in an attempt to regain lost ground.
When Zhang Xianzhong was stationed in Jinshanpu, he wanted to clear out those who were not strong in his new attachment. Liu Jinzhong admonished him: "You should not kill the living creatures rashly." Zhang Xianzhong did not accept it, and instead transferred Liu Jinzhong back to Jinshanpu to suppress it. Liu Jinzhong was suspicious, so he Go north and surrender to the Qing army.
At the beginning of the third year of Dashun, the Qing Dynasty reassigned Prince Su Hauge as General Jingyuan. He and Wu Sangui and others led the Manchu and Han armies and attacked the Daxi Peasant Army with all their strength. At that time, General Yang Zhan of the Ming Dynasty led his troops to recapture Prefecture County in southern Sichuan, led his troops to the north, and fought fiercely with Zhang Xianzhong's troops at the mouth of the river in Pengshan. Zhang Xianzhong was defeated and returned to Chengdu. Yang Zhan pushed towards Chengdu from the south. Wang Yingxiong also sent Zeng Ying as the commander-in-chief and Wang Xiang as the staff general to join forces to attack and block the peasant army from moving eastward. They carried out crazy attacks on the Daxi peasant army and seriously threatened the Daxi peasant power. In response, Zhang Xianzhong responded tit for tat and resolutely fought back. In May, Hauge led the Qing army to capture Hanzhong.
In July, in order to go north to Shaanxi to fight against the Qing army, Zhang Xianzhong decided to abandon Chengdu. He also "killed all his wives and concubines, including one young son, who was also killed." He said to Sun Kewang: "I am also a hero, and I cannot leave my young son to be captured by others. You will eventually become the heir apparent. The orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty for three hundred years may not be extinguished suddenly, but it is also God's will. If I die, you will return to the Ming Dynasty urgently. Do not do anything wrong. "Righteousness." showed Zhang Xianzhong's determination to unite with the Ming Dynasty to resist the Qing Dynasty. Then, he divided his troops into four and ordered four generals to march towards Shaanxi with more than 100,000 troops each. In September, Zhang Xianzhong led his troops to leave Chengdu and go north to meet the Qing army. In November, Zhang Xianzhong's army camped at Fenghuang Mountain in Xichong.
Edit this paragraph Death of Zhang Xianzhong
After Liu Jinzhong, the former general of the Daxi Army, rebelled, he first colluded with the Ming army Zeng Ying in Hezhou (now Hechuan District, Chongqing), and later bailed out He went to Ning (now Langzhong, Sichuan) and surrendered to Hauge, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army who was going south. The Qing army took Liu Jinzhong as its guide and led the Qing army into northern Sichuan. On November 26, the third year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1646), Hauge sent an army guard led by Ao Bai and other generals, and led the Eight Banners guard troops to advance lightly and unexpectedly, and launched a sudden attack on the peasant army. On the morning of the 27th, the Qing army met Zhang Xianzhong's peasant army across Taiyang River. Faced with this unexpected attack, Zhang Xianzhong responded to the emergency and commanded the peasant army, horse and infantry to fight against the Qing army on two sides. At this time, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army, Hauge, followed with a large army and sent the staff leader Gebuku and others to attack the right wing of the peasant army. They all ordered the tower to attack the left wing of the peasant army. The battle was very fierce. Qing general Gebuku and others were killed by the peasant army, and the peasant army also suffered heavy losses.
Zhang Xianzhong "was not prepared at first. When he heard the troops were coming, he thought he was a bandit. He was dressed in a python half-arm, with three arrows stuck in his waist. He pointed his teeth at the general and looked at it from the river." Liu Jinzhong gave instructions to the Qing generals and said: "This is The Eight Great Kings." The Qing general shot him with a hidden arrow, and Zhang Xianzhong was unfortunately hit by the arrow. He was only forty years old.
After Zhang Xianzhong died, his tribe "wrapped his body in brocade mattresses, buried it in a remote place, and escaped." The Qing army "beheaded them in order to gain advantage, and then captured their heads in Chengdu." According to reports from General Jingyuan of the Qing Dynasty and Prince Haoge of Shuosu and others: "On November 26th, my commander went to the south, detected the rebel Zhang Xianzhong, and set up camp in the west of the county. He ordered the guards to command Ao Bai and others led the Eight Banners Guard Army to advance forward at night, and arrived at Xichong at dawn the next day. ." But the conscientious young historian did not find the document that the Qing army reported Zhang Xianzhong's body.
After Zhang Xianzhong died, his generals Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, Ai Nengqi, Feng Shuangli and others led the peasant army southward. In Chongqing, they were blocked by the Ming army Zeng Ying. The peasant army killed the defender. After Zeng Ying, he continued to move towards Guizhou. Later, they joined forces with the Southern Ming Dynasty to fight against the Qing army. They fought in vast areas in the southwestern provinces and persisted for nearly twenty years until the early years of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty.