What was the plague that appeared in Chongzhen of Ming Dynasty?

The abnormal activities of rodents in the late Ming Dynasty, combined with the abnormal activities of rodents in the epidemic process of modern rodents, predicted the occurrence of plague. Literature records such as "cancer killing", "big head plague" and "pimple plague" make the clinical symptoms of plague more clear. At first, the patient suddenly had a high fever, some were talking nonsense, lost control of emotions, or woke up from sleep; Then the groin, armpits and legs swell, and some people are in a coma or insanity for a long time. Most of them ended in death. What is even more frightening is that sometimes people are talking in the street or at home, and a person suddenly starts shaking and suddenly falls to the ground and dies. People fell in droves without warning, and no one paid attention to them ... There were dead bodies everywhere in the streets, downtown areas and houses. The bodies' bellies were swollen, their eyes were red, and pus kept flowing out of their wide mouths. Under the medical conditions at that time, doctors all over the world were powerless.

Today's medical research confirms this. Plague is caused by germs carried by rodents or fleas (mainly rodents). Generally, it spreads in mice first, and people become infected after contact with animals. The mortality rate is as high as 67%, from onset to death within one day. Plague is generally divided into two types: bubonic plague caused by contact and pneumonic plague caused by breathing.

1644 The plague that occurred in Beijing was judged as a mixture of bubonic plague and pneumonic plague.

The second chapter, Dongmen-Ming temperature, introduces that 1644 is the end of the coldest decades in recent ten thousand years (1580- 1644). The Tropic of Cancer moves south, and North China is located at 40 degrees north latitude. The regional average temperature drops by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius, and the climate is cold. As a result, grassland vegetation moved south, and a large number of rodents also moved south, competing with primitive agriculture Daming people for living space. It was a hard struggle for the people of China and Ming Dynasty. Yersinia pestis brought by rodents eventually wiped out millions of people in the Ming Dynasty.

Even more tragic, the plague mainly occurred in northern China, which is the military, political and cultural center of China. The plague directly caused a sharp drop in the population in northern China and a large number of non-combatants in the army. There is a serious shortage of reserve troops.

According to historical records, on the eve of the fall of Beijing, the garrison of the Ming army was seriously inadequate. The only defender who can climb the city wall is also weak because of illness. Officer, "one person whips, one person lies down as before." Although Beijing was the strongest military fortress in the world at that time, the city was solid and deep, but it could do nothing to defend the enemy.

The impact of this plague on Beijing is unprecedented and terrible. The bodies of dead mice polluted the war grain depot and water source, and the plague spread more widely after being eaten by soldiers and civilians. The labor loss caused by the disease made the emergency combat readiness production plan go up in smoke. In the shadow of the plague, everyone in Beijing is in danger and has no time to care. Panicked Beijing officials and people can only let the insurgents approach step by step.

The plague not only killed the soldiers and civilians guarding the memorial archway, but also directly destroyed the military defense in the north. But also had a fatal impact on the rescue of Beijing by the Nanjun government in the Ming Dynasty. The news of the plague in the north spread to the south, which virtually caused great psychological panic to the people. In China, in ancient times, virulent infectious diseases were not recognized, but were collectively referred to as "plagues". When the plague struck, people could not resist, so they had to resign themselves to fate. So I'm afraid of the scourge. Beijing's rescue documents and the emperor's imperial edict failed to overcome the fear of disease among the soldiers and civilians in the south. Although the officials of Nanzhoufu were loyal to the king, there were no soldiers to follow them. They could only watch Li Zicheng's military forces advance step by step to Beijing where the son of heaven lived. Nothing you can do can stop it.

According to historical records, thieves attacked Beijing on the morning of March 1644. In the afternoon 18 fell!

As a result, this thousand-year-old city, this important town in the north and the heart of China were won by farmer Li Zicheng in a relaxed way in the shortest time.