Tongcheng lies between the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Tongcheng is famous all over the world in history, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and humanities are very important to the world. Tongcheng people dare to face difficulties and cope with war and famine, which is also praised by the world. The phrase "Tongcheng made of iron", which is still talked about by Tongcheng people, is enough to show that Tongcheng, a small town between Jianghuai and Jianghuai, was still intact in the chaos of broken mountains and rivers in the late Ming Dynasty, saving the people from suffering and displacement. It's really worth writing by historians. After reading the historical materials of the peasant war in the late Ming Dynasty and the accounts of the rural sages in the early Qing Dynasty, I have a general understanding of the famine and famine in Tongcheng in the late Ming Dynasty. This paper introduces this history, but does not judge it, so that readers can appreciate it carefully.
"King, change defenders"
According to historical records, in the more than 200 years before and after the Ming Dynasty, the Tong people "thought about cultivating mulberry, but the people didn't know the soldiers". Tongcheng has outstanding humanities and prosperous style, which began in Song and Yuan Dynasties and flourished in Ming Dynasty. Since the third year of Chongzhen, there have been signs of chaos in township cities, and many images of disasters and differences have spread. In the seventh year of Chongzhen (A.D. 1634), the government forced the people to revolt, and the result was a "change": Wang Shifu and Huang (the Yi people wrote about Jiang Guohua and Ding in Historical Records, but Shi Fuhe were two characters? ) and Zhang Yu, coveting the rich gentry and tycoons, gathered hundreds of followers and set fire to the city on the night of August 23. Soon after, they gathered people to raise flags and called for "the emperor to enforce the law" and set up a village in Wangzhuang outside the north gate. Village head Huang rode a horse with a knife and told them to take revenge. The huge rooms in the city were looted and burned, and the officials and gentry were helpless. At that time, Lang Kongfang was a member of the Ministry of War and lived in a difficult family. Three years later, coinciding with the "civil rebellion", Kong Ying was ordered to stay behind the children to help guard the town. Everyone in the village knew that he was a good man. Kong Ying asked Wang and Huang to discuss countermeasures. Wang and Huang believed it and were arrested. In August, Wang Bi, the garrison commander of Anchi, led Pan Keda's troops to stop the "quiet chaos" and "civil chaos" with the standard of 300 people. After the circle, the leader of the peasant army, Lao Hui and others, led the army to attack Dong, and the speaker's theory changed, which really led to the end.
The peasant army surrounded Dong first.
From the second half of the seventh year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1634—— 1635), Hezhang's peasant army occupied the whole territory of Henan, and by the end of the year, Shaanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong and Anhui were on alert. "The leaders of the peasant army, Lao Shouying, Ge Liyan, He Yilong, Zuo Hejin, Wang and Wang, formed a five-battalion alliance, which was called' Ge and Zuo Wu Battalion' and was based in Dabie Mountain and fought in the border areas of Anhui, Henan and Hubei provinces" (quoted from Zi Cheng in History of Peasant Wars in the Late Ming Dynasty). Anqing, located in the southwest of Anhui Province, is the main channel for the peasant army to enter Hubei, Jiangxi and then Sichuan from eastern Henan. Anqing Prefecture is located in Nanjing, Tongcheng, Qianshan, Taihu Lake and Yingshan and Huoshan counties in neighboring counties, which is a strategic place for the Hubei-Henan peasant army to advance and retreat. Tongcheng was already a famous city in Jianghuai at that time, with a large family and rich family. Of course, it is coveted by the peasant army. Yang Erming, the county magistrate of Tongcheng at that time, was from Sichuan. "He is a young man with extraordinary talent and courage. He is ruthless and looks at suffering" (quoted from Wang Qing Wen Yao's "Quan Tong Lue"). Yang Erming, together with Pan Keda, the banner guarding East Road, invited squires Fang Kongying, Sun Yi, Yao and others to discuss the method of guarding the city, and made careful preparations: "Ten stacks of high lights were erected on the city, and twenty stacks of fire blankets were hung. There are two or three guns for every fifty stacks, one gun for every hundred stacks and one gun for each tower. " (Quoted from "City Brief Introduction, Tertiary")
At the end of Yihai (1635) in the eighth year of Chongzhen, the leader of the peasant army led his troops to Tongcheng after going through the flames, going back and forth, crossing Tianxing, Xing Hongniang and Yicong. Pan Ke led the Ming army to the periphery of the East Gate, but he was defeated in the first battle, and more than half of his troops were killed or injured. The next day, the peasant army fought hard to attack the city: "Use the butcher's meat case, wrap every five pieces into one piece, and the grass is wet with water and covered on it." Thieves' (sometimes referred to as peasant troops, the same below) hid beside them, pushed them to the edge of the city, and cut down city bricks with Italian axes. From the east to Xiangyang Gate, all the meat cases were hacked, but Shi Jian couldn't get in and was injured by the rolling oil of the big stones in the city. Because of the cannon Shi Qi, the houses near the city were set on fire, and the smoke was rolling. Those who were guarding the crib could not be nearsighted. They wanted to set fire, and the city shot the gun of the ancient philosophers with drugs, hitting from the side and shooting from a distance, and many people were injured ... "("San Ji ").
At that time, Yang Erming, the county magistrate, braved the cold to get up and defend the city with the Ming army, the squire and the students. "A Brief History" describes it like this: "Thieves will not attack for three days and extort silver ingots. Dozens of wooden silver sheaths were put down in the city, which were carried by many thieves and exploded. Killed thieves many times, and gunpowder and iron bullets were hidden in the cover. " The people in the city also gave full support, and the rich people rewarded the troops with salary, oil, grain and wine. The soldiers guarding the city are getting braver and braver, and the city is impeccable. A few days later, the peasant army attacking the city headed for the buried hill.
Peasant troops attacked Tongcheng for the first time. Although the city guards, gentry and soldiers went to war generously, the city was not broken, but the confrontation between the two sides led to the massacre of residents near the city. The situation is shocking: "When thousands of residents near the city are killed or injured, or the whole family dies, or houses are burned down, or houses are unoccupied, or pots and pans are used, the hands, feet, heads, eyes and hands of men and women are hidden.
Peasant army attacked Tongcheng again.
After the peasant army marched westward, the county magistrate Yang Erming immediately called the military and civilians to discuss the next guarding city measures. There are ten measures, namely, repairing city gates, increasing nest shops, repairing cribs, inviting reinforcements, preparing soldiers' salaries, strictly checking, stationing troops for a long time, checking documents, questioning and sending more troops. In order to cut off the passage of peasant troops from Henan to Hubei, the Ming government adjusted the strategic deployment of southwest Anhui. In May of the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), Anchi Road was changed to Anlu Junwei Road, and Shi Kefa was appointed as Junwei, stationed in Luzhou, and unified the army against "thieves"; Although Pan Keda lost his teacher, he fought bloody battles and made contributions to Baotong. Be promoted to Anqing camp garrison.
In August of the eighth year of Chongzhen, Hui Hui, the leader of the peasant army, led more than 10,000 people to support Fengyang from southern Henan, and Yingzhou and Bozhou were in an emergency. In order to prevent the peasant army from entering the southwest of Anhui, Shi Kefa, commander-in-chief of Xu Ziqiang and Shu Chi, led 5,000 troops to Tongcheng, and Shi Kefa personally led 3,000 officers and men to intercept them from Shucheng to Lujiang. The peasant army was clever, crossed Yingshan and Huoshan, and went out of Shucheng into Tongcheng. Shi led the troops back to Tongjing Beixiaguan, ready to "anti-thief" with Xu Duguan. Seeing the situation, the old man dared not enter Tung, from Britain and Horsey to Jute.
Ding Chou (1637) In May of the tenth year of Chongzhen, the leader of the peasant army actually set out from Lu 'an to Anqing, and then moved to the four townships of Tongcheng. Knowing that guarding the city was well prepared, it was difficult to take it, so he harassed the villagers in the four townships and plundered a lot: "The villagers avoided thieves, but there were few thieves, and they all fought with knives. Most of them were killed by thieves, and then there were many thieves. During the day, thieves camped in four places, and at night, they burned Zhu Tian. They fled everywhere and were all cut down. If the child cries, he will suffocate immediately. Anyone who enters the hole will be smoked out, except those who are near the water boat. " (The Seventh Age)
Villagers rebelled: The courageous people, looking from the top of the mountain, knew that dozens of "horse thieves" had plundered Lushan Mountain, occupied several places, led many people to set nets, cut off the way for the thieves, and forged knives and flasks with crossbows, such as chasing deer, making a famous purse string, trapping dozens of "horse thieves" to ride and behead, and heading for the city.
As early as April of the tenth year of Chongzhen, 7,000 Huai troops were stationed in Tongcheng, and Tongbiao Camp was established in May. Shi Kefa, with Jangdo as the general manager and Guan Tongbiao as the lieutenant, raised 300 yuan for Xiang Yong. In August, the leaders of the peasant army, Zi, Zuo and Lao Xing, entered the buried hill from Macheng into Tongcheng, and Ganzong died in Xiangjiahe. Shi Kefa sent officials to ask Huang Degong for help. When Huang led the troops to the east gate of Tongcheng, the peasant army abandoned the siege and the city was dissolved. This is the beginning of Huang Degong's solution to Tongwei.
In the eleventh year of Chongzhen in Wuyin (1638), Yang Erming, the county magistrate, organized the construction of a horse-blocking wall, which was a huge project and surrounded the whole city. The general trend in Ji lue is as follows: "It starts from the banks of the Tongxi River in the north, goes around the banks of the East Gate and Xiangyang Gate, turns from Jiaojia Lane in the South Gate, crosses Wuyin Temple, goes up to Ximen Street, reaches the foot of Xishan Old Town, bypasses Taixia Palace and reaches Yuping Mountain.
In March, Wang Quanshi, the leader of the peasant army, mixed with Tianxing and Jinglianzi to break through the pass and was planning to attack the city. As it happens, Zhang Baoshan, the governor of Jiangxi Province, was stationed and took more than 100 Sichuan soldiers to Shi Kefa, Luzhou. When the peasant army attacked the city, it killed the mixed star group. Shi Kefa then supplemented Tongcheng Standard Camp with Baoshan. At the beginning of April, Zijinliang, Xingguan team and Wang set fire to the buried hill and Taochong Sanwan in Tongjing. Shi Kefa asked Fengyang Town to invite Mou Wenshou to join the Huai Army with more than 10,000 soldiers, and fought fiercely with the peasant army on the Qimian River in the western suburbs. When the Ming army was once caught in a food dilemma, Yang Erming, the county magistrate, called on the villagers to collect about 100 stone of cooked cakes and pasta for the Huai army. Yang county magistrate also ordered the brave in the city to shout out from the dog hole on the cheap door with torches, golden drums and spears, which was bravely resisted by the Ming army. The peasant army suspected that the Ming army reinforcements had arrived, so it cleared the way and retreated, and the city was saved again.
In August and September, the peasant army went to the children twice. "First, we burned and plundered the four townships, saying that the countryside was empty, and it could be broken in the drum." None of them attacked the city.
Zhang led the siege.
After the Spring Festival in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), Zhang personally led the peasant army to Tongcheng, moved to Xiaguan in the north, and sent troops to attack the city in the middle of the night. In autumn, from doing nothing to re-entering Tonglu, Zhang was plundering all the way. Zhang held a banquet in Tianlinzhuang to celebrate his birthday, which was also described in "Brief Introduction": "(Zhang) went to Zifu Temple in Tianlinzhuang to celebrate his birthday, and after the banquet, he went to live around the city. Shouts shook the ground and shots were fired all over the sky. Claiming to be a famous city of Yuchu, everything is unbreakable. Why is there a big lonely city? Life' thief' breaks through. " At that time, Yang Er, the former county magistrate of Tongcheng, was promoted to Li Tong, and Zhang Limin, the new county magistrate, was an official of Fujian Hou. Wanli eight years Jinshi. People in the city say that he is generous and honest. At present, there are very few Ming troops guarding Tongcheng, and the peasant army is strong, and there is only a crisis in the city. At the end of September, Huang Degong arrived in Tong, and then rushed to Shahe and Buried Hill, killing thousands of enemies. Huang Degong shot another arrow, and Zhang rode away, and the city was solved again.
"After winter, one day at dawn, Lvzhang went to Tongcheng, lined up around the city, visited the top of the mountain, and robbed the original camp of the Ming army. Then, send refugees to cut down trees and take high piers: build high piers from the foot of the mountain and gradually approach the city, and it will become a road connected with the city. It takes less than half a day to build a dike of dozens of feet, and it is equal to the city in about three days. "("The 28th Century ") The peasant army went through a deep hole on the hillside near the ditch and the edge of the city, in order to reach the foot of the city wall and pass through the security guns in the city, and it was blown up and broken. Knowing this plan, the Ming army built a small town at the foot of the dug city. When the peasant army dug through the foot of the city, it bombarded it with artillery. Later, the Ming army also recruited the Warriors' Death Squad to scout the city, only to find that the city had not been dug.
At this point, the Ming army stationed in Ganjia Academy (Qian Shang Academy? ), Zhang camped for rain, and the two armies confronted each other, and the battle was on the verge. Luo Jiuwu, commander-in-chief of the Ming army, led his troops to put a cannon named "Invincible General" on the top of the academy, which was right in the middle of Li Hunjiang, the deputy commander of Zhang. Zhang transferred his troops to the cat and dog cave in Ximenshan, and also fired at the city, but he hit his own military forces. The peasant army was in a hurry to attack the city, and the Ming army requested reinforcements. Zhang Limin, the county magistrate, discussed with Luo Jiuwu, the gentry and the students: If the soldiers don't arrive as scheduled, the local officials can close the door and kill themselves, and the soldiers and civilians will let them escape. Knowing that Tongcheng was in a hurry, Huang Degong set out from Fengyang on1/month 2 1 day, traveled more than 600 miles day and night, and arrived in Tongcheng on the third day. The Ming army and Zhang department fought in the first battle in Beixiaguan. Huang Degong's army was invincible, and Zhang Lingbing returned to Tongxi Shahe. Another fierce battle: "The Eight Thieves (nicknamed Zhang) shouted:' What is Huang Chuanger's mortal enemy with us? Let's win you a duke. "Why are you so desperate?" Huang Gong said, "As long as I cut you off, I don't care what your official title is. Raise a knife to cut the thief array. Eight thieves shouted,' Good soldier, hurry up.' In all directions, each strives for the first place, and Huang Gong leads the crowd to cut around, and there are more than a thousand men and women on the ground. "("Ji Lue San Ji ")
The battle of Shahe was won by the Ming army and ended in Zhang Xi. Captured refugees and women crowded the roads, crying, and thousands of farmers were killed or injured. Tongcheng survived again.
The Ming army made trouble.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the army went to Qiu Lai and did nothing. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, politics was dark, domestic troubles and foreign invasion, the economy was depressed, and the army was unrestrained and invaded the people at will. From the seventh year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty to the second year of Shunzhi, the Ming army guarding the children resisted the peasant army, but it also harassed the local people, and even the military disaster was far better than the "rebellion". In November of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Zuo Liangyu, the governor of the town, led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to cross Tung, and stationed around Simen (the street outside the city). Left-wing military discipline is lax, arbitrary and intrusive. According to the Introduction, when Zuo Jun was stationed in Dong, he once said: "Recently, Mi Dou has ordered 2,000 stones, and the cost of food and supplies should not be underestimated. Residents inside and outside the pass eat wine, meat, rice and noodles during the day and have whatever they want. At night, they listened to the fever, and they were a little unhappy. The back of the knife was messy and the smoke was majestic. Those who survived were forced to rape their ears. " In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, Zuo Liangyu led the troops to Anqing, where he bought Ping first, then bought it, then took it away from the city, and then committed adultery nearby.
After the war, the people of Tongcheng, "soldiers are hungry and epidemic, and dozens of miles are unique." In this rural city of Shan Ye, thorns are blocked, wolves are carrying roads, and tigers are in groups. " Coupled with the Ming army disturbing the people, it can be said that the "Kou" chaos has not been removed, and the soldiers will come and disturb. The fields in the west, south and north of the county are barren and the people are in dire straits. Rich people in the city left their homes and settled in Jiangnan. The registered permanent residence in the city withered, and Dai Mingshi's Legacy Record described the scene of the chaos in Tongcheng at that time: "Since Yihai, the army of Jianghuai flourished, and then drought, locust plague and epidemic diseases resumed. Tongcheng has 39% farmland and 17% shortage of people. " In Shen Jia (in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, AD 1644), the Ming Dynasty buildings were about to collapse, and the government was unable to take care of the local garrison. In Tongcheng, "Kou" went to the army, and the salary of Anhui battalion was not enough. The Ming army framed the people with nine evils: "One soldier does not contribute, and the people go to the fields;" Second, the harm is not given to you, plundering the people's diet, thinking that it is used for farming; Three evils rob people to plant young crops valley; Four pests encroach on waterways; Cutting rice and wheat with five poisons; Six evils leave the ground to plow, and rape thieves in the dead of night; Seven evils occupy cattle; Eight harmful villagers avoid and dare not open up wasteland; Nine evils rob and kill dealers, and the road is blocked "("Fortieth Century ").
In March of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng entered Beijing, calling it "the change of the country". In May, Hong Guang's Fujian regime was still marked by Chongzhen. The two battalions stationed in Sun Tongdesheng and Luo Jiuwu were actually awarded deputy titles by the generals who participated in the war. At this time, the camp was plagued by internal and external troubles. "There is an eagle eye on it and it can't be controlled." In the second year of Shunzhi (the first year, A.D. 1645), "Zuo Liangyu, the southern Hou who was guarding Wuchang, raised the banner of" one side "and claimed to crusade against Ruan Dacheng" (Gu Cheng's History of Farmers' War in the Late Ming Dynasty), defeated Anqing, and the two battalions stationed in Tong were looted. On the ninth day of April, Luo Jiuwu ordered five departments and ten departments to take the opportunity to make trouble: "Advanced county government, squeeze into the government gate. Yuan Ling (ice leaf ornaments) and his wife were arrested for climbing over the wall. All gold and silver vessels, jewelry and clothes, coins, silk, money and food were looted. Second is left, second is Confucianism, third is looting in the city, torture and bullying, men, women and so on. I cried all the way, and there was nowhere to escape. I waited for three days ... "("Forty-fourth Century ")
After three years of Shunzhi (1646), the foundation of the Qing regime was unstable and the situation was chaotic. Only a corner of Anqing, "Huai (Ning) Qing, Tong (City) Ming". Before the two battalions stationed in the Ninth Five-Year Plan and Sun Desheng changed their flags, they seized the opportunity to be captured, and the property in the city was ransacked, so they had to go into the mountains to encircle the village, and finally failed. At that time, Tongcheng county magistrate was Yuan Bingye, and Yuan Ling consulted with the gentry and sent people to Nanjing to invite soldiers to suppress it. Luo and Sun "learned the news of the conscription and knew that the suppression of soldiers would arrive in a few days. So the Fifth Division and the Tenth Division told the soldiers to pack up the trench, and about six or seven thousand men and women, who had been taken captive in the countryside, dressed as soldiers and waited for their departure. And tied bamboo chairs and wooden chairs into small sedan chairs, got up in the morning and killed all the officials and gentry. Those who were strong chose women to enter the mountain camp from Yiminmen, and the houses in the city were all burned down (Ji Lu Si Forty-sixth Ji).
After the deployment of Luo and Sun was decided, they invited Yuan county magistrate, second from left, scholars, gentry and diners to meet in Minglun Hall in the county, and forced thousands of residents in all lanes of the city to stand outside the Confucian gate. Luo Jiuwu ordered thousands of soldiers from the New Third Battalion and Nana Ogawa Battalion to be stationed outside the East Gate, so that the soldiers of this battalion could surround the local officials and gentry in Tongcheng with knives in front of Confucianism. The six gates are closed, and there is a tendency to kill the city. Luo Jiuwu forced Yuan county magistrate to promise to swear: Can the Qing soldiers properly arrange two battalions when they arrive in Tong? Everyone knows good or bad, and it's hard to promise. Wang and other students assessed the situation, reached an agreement for everyone on the spot, and drafted the alliance document. The situation seems to have subsided. However, Luo Jiuwu had already seen that local officials and gentry wanted to get rid of the two battalions, and it was only a stopgap measure to write an alliance document to end the two battalions. Suddenly, Luo Shoujian's cock threw it at the hall and blood spilled all over the floor. All the soldiers drew their swords and went to court, hoping to dye bright blood. Governor Wang is in trouble. He spoke loudly, quoted history, understood interests, and finally reconciled with the enemy. He also sent back thousands of local women captured by two battalions. After that, "the Qing soldiers sent troops to Tongcheng, captured the Ninth Five-Year Plan, dispersed their soldiers, and all the sons they plundered were released" ("Legacy Record").
According to the records of rural sages, during the twelve years from the seventh year of Chongzhen to the second year of Shunzhi (A.D. 1634 to 1645) in the Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty, soldiers and bandits invaded each other, suffered from famine year after year, occupied the city slightly in the war, defended the city, injured innocent people and died more than ten times. Countless people have been displaced and their wives and daughters bullied. This tragic history has long been lost in the dust of history. Today, the Qinghai River is peaceful, the people live in peace, and they are warm and carefree. Every time I talk about the past of Tongcheng, who would think of those tragic old events that happened in this famous Jianghuai city more than 300 years ago? (Deleted when editing this article)