Zhu Youxiao drew conclusions based on the behavior of most people when the Ming Dynasty fell. Zhu Zhiyu, who fled to Japan after the Ming Dynasty fell, also wrote about the real reasons in his book as a witness to history.
"During the last years of the Chongzhen reign, the gentry were guilty of rampant crimes, and the people were deeply distressed. Everyone felt the thought, 'When will I die? I will die with you.' Therefore, when the rebels arrived, both inside and outside responded, and when the rebels entered, they were met with overwhelming force."
To put it bluntly, people no longer have much nostalgia for the late Ming regime. They just have the mentality of "whoever rules, no matter how bad it is, so what?"
The biggest driving force behind the fall of the Ming Dynasty was its own corruption. Natural and man-made disasters had put the people between life and death, but the court did not provide any relief and even imposed three additional taxes on Liaodong.
Li Zicheng was not particularly strategic or wise, but the imperial court kept pushing the hungry people to his side.
Just by saying "equal distribution of land and exemption of taxes" and "no taxes will be collected when the King of Rebellion comes", they had the capital to rise again and again after repeated failures and gained more and more followers.
If we look at the issue from this perspective, Chongzhen is pitiful, but even more so, hateful. He had lost the support of the people, and the only person who accompanied him in hanging himself was a eunuch, Wang Chengen.
Don't assume the common people are easy to bully or weak. They are driven by greed and revenge, and their inaction in the face of a court that disregards their lives, or even their willingness to step forward and add fuel to the fire, is an outburst of their pent-up resentment.
As the saying goes, "Once their hearts change, rivers burst and mountains collapse." If they are looked down upon and treated harshly, the final result will be that the mountains and rivers change color and the Central Plains will fall into a bloody mess.
Zhu Youxiao did not think much of the greed for profit, which was also human nature. He also did not place his hopes on patriotism or passionate propaganda slogans.
It is not difficult to build a court that the people are grateful for and an emperor that the people love and praise. This is because the people of the Ming Dynasty do not have high expectations and will not rise up if they can just be a "peace dog".
The pacification of Liao was not only the business of the imperial court, but also concerned the common people. This goal might be achieved through the issuance of "Ping Liao Bonds".
Zhu Youxiao had made up his mind, picked up a pen and paper, and quickly wrote a secret letter to Bi Ziyan and Wu Dazhang. How could the leaders of the two major banks be left idle while issuing the "Ping Liao Bond"?
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