In 1644, the rebels led by Li Zicheng overthrew the Ming Dynasty. As the last emperor of the Ming, Chongzhen Emperor, reigning from 1627-1644, he eventually chose to commit suicide.
Before the Ming Dynasty was destroyed, Chongzhen was an industrious emperor. He tried to turn himself into a workaholic to save the empire. However, Chongzhen’s actions were ineffective, and he had to accept the cruel reality.
For example, to save this shaky empire, Chongzhen Emperor often worked until early in the morning before going to bed. Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty still disintegrated.
As the demise of the empire gradually approached, the Chongzhen Emperor had realized what would happen in the future. So he did something very terrifying before the rebels officially entered the palace.
To protect the reputation of the empire and prevent his spouses from being captured by the rebels, the emperor asked them to commit suicide. There were three people in total. To make matters worse, Chongzhen even demanded that his daughter do the same thing as her mother.
To our surprise, Chongzhen asked the guards to send his sons out of the palace, hoping that his posterities could rebuild the Ming Dynasty in the future.
After doing these things, Chongzhen and eunuch Wang Chengen came to Jingshan, Beijing, and they chose to hang themselves.
