Emperor Wanli and Emperor Chongzhen were also basically enlightened emperors, receptive to new ideas and revered new technologies.

These objective conditions determine that no matter how weak the Ming Dynasty is, the Manchu Qing Dynasty will not be the same as the Ming Dynasty's comprehensive strength. The cold plain ice domain, millions of Tartars, hundreds of thousands of strong bandits ride, at best, are just rogue and strong neighbors. And Li Zicheng's million-dollar mob is a rabble who rob homes and houses, and they are not qualified to be compared at all.

The reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty is that too many people believe in the "strength" of the Eight Banners, which was monopolized by the Manchu Dynasty for 300 years, and too many people misunderstand the fierceness of King Li Chuang's thieves. But they ignore the root of the matter. The victory over the Ming Dynasty was not a rebellious peasant army, let alone the Manchu Qing, but a natural disaster, a plague!

The plague, so that the Ming Dynasty, unable to return to the sky, can no longer bear it. So, this is how it began.

The most unfortunate thing in all dynasties is natural and man-made disasters. Our last emperor of the Pangu Dynasty, Chongzhen, is all on the table. The heavens didn't open their eyes, but in the most critical moment of the Ming Dynasty, they made it worse and used Tianwei again. The plague, the terrible plague, ruthlessly descended on the Ming Dynasty and on the heads of the people of northern China at that time.

Plague, people today may not be very familiar. This is a kind of acute population infectious disease, the panic of "SARS" in Beijing in 2004, if compared with the plague, "SARS" is really a drop in the bucket, and it is a big deal. Plague is one of the most terrible infectious diseases that has accompanied mankind for a long time. And the plague plague country is by no means an isolated case.

The earliest documented outbreak of plague was 2,400 years ago. After the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC. The deaths were so terrible that even the famous Athenian leader Pericles and his two sons were killed by the plague.

A.D. 164. The time of the triumph of the ancient Roman Empire in Syria. He also brought the plague back to the city of Rome along with the spoils of war; Where the armies passed. The plague spread throughout the country. Known in history as the Anthony Plague. Emperor Marco? Aurello himself died of infection. In 250 A.D., the Roman Empire struck again, known as the Cyprian Plague. Some 25 million people have died from this horrific and vicious epidemic, one of the deadliest in history.

The plague was worldwide, and at that time China was in the Eastern Han Dynasty, according to historical records, the plague was abusive and the people were miserable. One of the fundamental factors of the Yellow Turban Revolt was the fear of plague in society at the time.

In 541 AD, a plague broke out throughout the Eastern Roman Empire. Spread extremely fast. More than 50 per cent of the inhabitants have died, and hills of corpses have been piled up on the beach or thrown into the sea. Even Emperor Justinian did not escape the plague.

In the fourteenth century, there was a global outbreak of plague. The Black Death lasted 300 years in Europe, killing 30% of the population. In China, the fall of the Ming Dynasty was a consequence of this plague attack.

According to historical records, the records of abnormal activities of rodents during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty increased suddenly, such as "Ancient and Modern Books Collection? The "Ministry of Employment" volume 389 "Kaifeng Fubu" records: "The summer epidemic, cannibalism. Rats crossed the river in groups and went south. ”。

Shunzhi's "Yuncheng County Chronicles" Volume 8 also has a similar record: "In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, there were countless rats, and they walked in the fields. Almost into the path, even with cats. Guangxu's "Shuntianfu Chronicles" volume 69 recorded: "In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, there were many rats in the inner temple to steal food, and people were not afraid to touch each other. But then the mouse flickered. ”

Jiaqing's "Luzhou Mansion Chronicles" volume 49 "Xiangyi" has a clearer record: "Chongzhen's fourteenth year of the epidemic, the county belongs to the drought locust, a group of rats crossed the river to the north, to do nothing, a few days to die. “

The phenomenon of abnormal rodent activity in the late Ming Dynasty, combined with the abnormal activity of rodents in the process of plague epidemic among rats in modern times, indicates the occurrence of plague. In the literature, "tumor kills", "big-headed plague", "pimple plague" and other records make the clinical symptoms of plague clearer. At first, the patient suddenly develops a high fever, some of them babble, their behavior is out of control, or they wake up from their sleep; Then swelling occurs in the groin, armpits, legs, and some people are in a prolonged coma or delirium. Most of them end up in death, and what is even more terrible is that sometimes people are talking in the street or at home, and suddenly one person starts shaking and falls to the ground to die. Without warning, people collapsed in droves, and no one paid attention to the fact that the streets, the streets, and the houses were littered with dead bodies that had no one to bury, their abdomen swollen, their eyes red, and pus flowing from their gaping mouths. Under the medical conditions of the time, doctors all over the world were unable to recover.

Today's medical research confirms. Plague is caused by germs carried by rodents or fleas, mainly rodents. Generally, it is transmitted by rodents first, and infected after human and animal contact, and the mortality rate is as high as six or seven out of ten, and the onset of illness to death can be within one day. There are generally two types of plagues: buccic plague, which is contagious, and pulmonary plague, which is infectious, which is respiratory.

In 1644, the plague that could occur in Beijing was judged to be a mixture of bubonic plague and then pulmonary plague. The year 1644 was the end of the coldest decades in nearly 10,000 years (1580-1644). The Tropic of Cancer has moved southward, and North China is located at 40 north latitude. region, the average temperature drops by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius, and the climate is cold. As a result, the grassland vegetation moved south, and a large number of rodents followed southward to compete for living space with the original farming Ming people. For the Chinese Ming Dynasty, this is a battle with a tragic ending. The plague brought by rodents eventually wiped out millions of people in the Ming Dynasty.

What is even more tragic is that the plague occurred mainly in northern China, which is the center of China's military and political culture. The outbreak of the plague directly caused a sharp decline in the population of northern China and a huge loss of non-combat personnel in the army. The source of reservists is not enough.

Historical records: On the eve of the fall of Beijing, the Ming army was short of troops defending the city. The few defenders who were able to climb the city walls were also weakened by illness. Officers, "one whip up, one back to lie down as before". Although the city of Beijing was the strongest military fortress in the world at that time, the city was strong and the ditch was deep, but it was helpless to resist the enemy's soldiers.

The impact of this plague on Beijing is unprecedented, and it is unprecedented. The dead rat carcasses contaminated the war grain warehouses and also polluted the water sources, and the army and the people ate them, causing the plague to spread more widely; The loss of labor caused by the disease has made the emergency war readiness production plan null and void. Under the cover of the plague, everyone in Beijing was in danger and had no time to take care of it, and the panicked officials and people of the capital could only resign themselves to the approaching rebel army. (To be continued......)