A Study On The Issues Of Urban Defense In Henan Province At The End Of Ming Dynasty

The city is the gathering place of Chinese ancient social elites and social wealth.It is inevitab ly the main target of both sides in ancient and modern wars.In the late Ming dynasty,the peasant a rmy led by Li Zicheng galloped across the Central Plains,and the city was their main target for att ack.Officials and residents living in the city have joined forces to organize necessary urban defens e activities.In urban defensive activities,the city’s officials and citizens have both cooperation an d disagreement.The formation and resolution of these cooperation and the settlement of difference s were the collective response of the city’s grassroots social relations,public mentality,and social order in the final stage of the Ming Dynasty.At the same time,defensive activities have had a far-r eaching impact on the social functioning after entering the Qing Dynasty.Through field investigati on,the author obtained some folk literature such as genealogies and inscriptions.Based on the ana lysis and analysis of these documents and the recollections,local records,genealogy,and other lite rature of the participants involved in urban defense activities,the article discusses three levels of u rban defensive activities in Xiangcheng Country city,Guidefu City,and kaifeng Prefecture city.In the five years of Chongzhen,in order to prevent local small-scale rebel forces from attacki ng the city gentry of Xiangcheng country only led the children and family members to defend the city but also provided necessary money,food,and equipment for defense activities.In the next nearly ten years the defensive activities successfully resisted the local "Toxic" attack many times.however,when faced with a strong Li Zicheng peasant army,the city’s gentry had disagreement before sticking to the decision or to surrender the defensive activities successfully resisted the local " Toxic" attack,many the defensive activities successfully resisted the local"Toxic" many However,when faced with a strong Li Zicheng peasant army,the city’s gentry had disagreement before sticking to the decision or to surrender,and finally the county commander Cao Sizheng led the majority of the gentry out of the city to meet the peasant army.In the early years of Kangxi,Cao Sizheng was attached to the temple of Wang Zhonglie to enjoy the sacrifices.and finally the county commander Cao Sizheng led the majority of the gentry out of the city to meet the peasant army.In the early years of Kangxi,Cao Sizheng was attached to the temple of Wang Zhonglie to enjoy the sacrifices,and he was subsequently removed by his successor.In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen,the bureaucrats and gentry in Guidefu City jointly organized the defensive activities of the F city.Afterwards,a gentry of Song Quan was absent from his duty "the bureaucratic enmity incident".In the end,Guidefu City was attacked by the peasant army,and the city’s officials and civilians suffered a frenzied massacre.From the end of the 14th year of the Chongzhen to the next September,Henan provincial governors Gao Mingheng and army general Chen Yongfu used the money and grain provided by Zhou Wangfu to organize the soldiers and citizens living in Kaifeng City to resist the three times of the Li Zicheng peasant army.Gao,Chen,and other senior bureaucrats played an overall role in the entire defense process.They have extremely high authority in the city.In the middle and early stages of the defensive activities,officials in order to obtain the support of the people,and actively stabilize the food prices in the city and save the victims,but in the late defensive activities,the city officials condone the soldiers to looting the people,and search for private food to support the soldiers.In the end,Kaifeng City was flooded by floods after the Yellow River broking the embankment.After the defensive activities in Kaifeng City,the Chongzhen court,the Qing court,the local government,and the civilians all evaluated the officials and the people involved in defensive activities from different opinions.Through research,it can be known that the defensive activities of different levels of cities hav e their own characteristics.The county is generally the first to attack the peasant army,followed b y the provincial and provincial capitals.Although there are a few bureaucrats participating in defe nsive activities to be loyal to the court,more gentry’s participation in defense activities is to prate ct the lives and property of individuals.bureaucracies,gentries,and other groups play different rol es in different levels of urban defense activities.The end of the defensive activities of the officials and the people of the Ming and Qing Dynasties on the defensive activities was also affected by ma ny factors.