Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide (what would happen if Chongzhen did not commit suicide)

In the 17th year of the Chongzhen reign (1644), Li Zicheng led the Dashun army into Beijing. Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian, tragically hanged himself on Coal Mountain, ending his own life and the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Many people are puzzled by this, why did Emperor Chongzhen not flee but instead commit suicide in despair?
In fact, there is nothing shameful about running away. During the Tang Dynasty, the capital Chang’an was breached several times, and the emperor repeatedly fled, which had no impact.
It will take some time for Li Zicheng to advance from Xi’an to Beijing. Even if the Ming army abandons their helmets and armor all the way, the Dashun army cannot reach Beijing very quickly. It can be said that there is still time left for Chongzhen.
During this period, the court did have plans to abandon Beijing and relocate its capital to Nanjing. After all, from the bottom of their hearts, no one wants to accept this reality, but it must be said that the Ming army has almost been exhausted, and the remaining few troops are all resisting the stronger Eight Banners Iron Cavalry in the north.
But this discussion of capital relocation is very limited, and Chongzhen dare not even openly ask in court. But on the other hand, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was not besieged for the first time, and Yu Qian also won the defense of Beijing against public opinion.
But Chongzhen’s ideas were still objective, but those Donglin Party members who were full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality did not even think about whether the situation back then was the same as the current situation. They were blindly optimistic about themselves.
Chongzhen also had a small chance at the time, thinking that Beijing would not be breached so quickly.
And they also have their own little 99s in their hearts. Those who bring their families with them are all in Beijing, and any minister who is not a big family and has a great career and leaves and runs to Nanjing like this obviously loses their interests.
Even Chongzhen was not willing to let his son, the Crown Prince, run to Nanjing early. This was also his intention. If the Crown Prince formed a climate in Nanjing, he would be in trouble.
It is precisely when the country is facing a major crisis that the ruling level overly considers their own family and personal interests, resulting in opportunities being lost time and time again.
So it’s not that Chongzhen didn’t run, it’s just that if he ran away without the consent of his courtiers, even if he succeeded, it would be a big problem for his future governance.
Another objective factor is mainly because Chongzhen has nowhere else to run. If Chongzhen wants to leave, the best choice is Nanjing. Going north is obviously like a wolf entering a tiger’s mouth, and so is going west. However, heading east is clearly not feasible and can only be done towards the south.
But at that time, Li Zicheng’s power was huge, and the Central Plains region was gradually being controlled. The passage for Chongzhen to run had already been blocked.
So Chongzhen committed suicide, it was really hopeless, he couldn’t see any hope anymore.