You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 84 The loyal soldiers of the Plain Blue Banner finally get to see the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty

The fourth year of the Yongli reign was a crucial turning point for the Southern Ming Yongli regime.

February.

The internal factional struggle reached a climax.

The new cabinet members and the former cabinet members impeached each other, more than ten officials were killed, and dozens of officials were dismissed.

June.

The 5000-strong Loyal Battalion that came to the aid of the emperor suffered a sudden attack by the Ming army and lost heavy losses. Disheartened, they then broke away from the Southern Ming.

July.

The situation became even more critical, with the temporary capital, Wuzhou in Guangxi, on the verge of collapse.

Many of the generals and officials under the Yongli Emperor left without saying goodbye, some becoming bandits in the mountains, others returning home to farm. A pessimistic atmosphere enveloped the southwest, and the Ming Dynasty was losing its last few organized armed forces.

……

The temporary palace within Wuzhou city.

"Your Majesty, great joy, great joy!"

"Where does joy come from?"

“Wuerte, the Manchu commander of the Plain Blue Banner under Shang Kexi, led 1500 elite troops to surrender.”

"Minister Yan, I know you mean well and want to comfort me, but... alas, you'd better not report such ridiculous auspicious omens."

"Your Majesty, I am serious."

In his haste, Grand Secretary Yan Qiheng disregarded the proper etiquette between emperor and subject, grabbing Emperor Yongli's sleeve and pulling him outside.

At the same time~
The garrison of Wuzhou was also amazed.

Outside the city, a strange Qing army appeared.

"Your Majesty, look!"

"The Jianzhou Left Guard of the Great Ming Dynasty? My esteemed ministers, can any of you tell me what this means?"

……

Uert and Korkun exchanged a glance, dismounted, removed their weapons and helmets, and slowly walked toward Wuzhou City carrying the banner of the Jianzhou Left Guard of the Ming Dynasty.

Behind me~
The 1500 Qing soldiers followed suit, discarding their weapons and marching on foot toward the city gate.

As they approached the suspension bridge, the two shouted:

"Urte, Commander-in-Chief of the Plain Blue Banner, and Korkun, Deputy Commander-in-Chief, pay their respects to the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty. Long live the Great Ming Dynasty!"

Everyone was stunned.

The usually timid Emperor Yongli showed a rare display of courage, and he hurriedly descended the city wall.

"Open the city gates, I will personally greet you."

"Your Majesty, no! What if it's a trap? We should go first!"

"I said, open the door!"

……

Emperor Yongli straightened his clothes and stepped toward the city gate. The humiliation of years of fleeing had transformed into courage at this moment.

His pace quickened.

The suspension bridge is right in front of us.

"My two loyal ministers, please rise quickly!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Ming Dynasty!"

Uert and Korkun cried uncontrollably, their sadness and grievances finding complete release in that moment.

Emperor Yongli looked at the officials kneeling at his feet and at the more than a thousand Qing soldiers not far away, his heart surging with emotion.

He suddenly raised his hands and shouted to the sky.

"Long live the Ming Dynasty!"

The Wuzhou garrison and the Qing troops outside the city joined in the shouting.

Upon hearing the news, the civil officials who rushed to the scene were all moved to tears. The Ming Dynasty was saved! It was saved!

Uert raised his head and wiped away his tears:
"Your Majesty, we soldiers of the Plain Blue Banner voluntarily abandon darkness and embrace light, and hope Your Majesty will accept us."

"My dear minister, let us enter the city together."

Emperor Yongli, holding the hand of Uerte in one hand and Korkun in the other, walked hand in hand into Wuzhou City.

Everyone wept uncontrollably. These officials had never seen the Yongli Emperor so heroic; it was as if the spirit of the Chengzu Emperor had possessed him.

The shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" rose and fell like waves.

……

That night, the city of Wuzhou was filled with revelry.

A grand welcoming banquet was held inside the temporary palace.

At the banquet,

Grand Secretary Yan Qiheng deliberately asked:

"May I ask you two righteous men, how did you come to the idea of ​​joining the righteous cause?" "Your Majesty, I once saw Your Majesty's heroic figure from several miles away on the battlefield in Hunan. At that time, Your Majesty commanded the army with composure and showed the demeanor of a true ruler. In contrast, the young emperor in the Forbidden City is stubborn, self-willed, cruel, and despicable."

Yan Qiheng sensed something was wrong.

He immediately asked:

"Would you two like to discuss this further?"

So, the person in charge, Korkun, recounted the February 226th Mutiny. Everyone was stunned, including the Yongli Emperor. Why did this story sound so familiar?

The Ming and Qing dynasties were of the same lineage.

……

Yan Qiheng was extremely embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

Emperor Yongli rose and raised his cup:
"My beloved ministers, I have prepared for three years of preparation and five years of northern expedition to restore the Ming Dynasty."

Wu'er was very excited and tugged at his little braid.

"Your Majesty, your subject and the soldiers under your command request to cut off our queues tomorrow."

"Wait a minute~"

Minister of War Yang Dinghe suddenly stopped him.

"I have a plan. We can postpone cutting off the queues for now, and when the war is at a stalemate, send two generals to lead their queue-wearing troops in a surprise attack to catch them off guard."

……

Early August.

Prince Kong Youde of Dingnan led his army to attack Guangxi.

During the fierce battle between the two armies~
A cavalry unit of the Plain Blue Banner charged out from the flank, shouting "Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!" The men and horses were like dragons and serpents. Kong Youde's Tianyou Army was so frightened that their formation collapsed, and they lost more than 2000 soldiers in the battle.

The Ming army was roused and pursued the enemy for over a hundred li, recovering two prefectures and seven counties.

Mid-August.

Sun Kewang, the ruler of the Great Western Kingdom, sent an envoy to Wuzhou Prefecture, presenting a large amount of gold, requesting to be granted the title of Prince of Qin, and agreeing to accept Yongli's nominal command, with both sides joining forces to resist the Qing.

However, Emperor Yongli, blinded by victory, resolutely refused, accusing Sun Kewang of not being sincere in his submission, and only willing to appoint him as a general, but never as a king.

The news reached Yunnan and Guizhou.

Enraged, Sun Kewang mobilized his most elite vanguard troops to attack the Ming army, hoping to use war to force peace.

……

Zhu Youlang hadn't enjoyed two good days before receiving news that his territory had fallen to the Great Western Army.

The Ming army was fighting on two fronts and was in a state of chaos.

September.

Prince Zheng, Jirhalang, gathered intelligence on the battlefield through various scouts and determined that the opportunity was too good to miss. He then decisively ordered a full-scale attack.

All Qing troops were deployed, with no reserves left.

Guanyang, Gongcheng, Hexian, Quanzhou... fell one after another.

Not long after, the important city of Guangzhou also fell. Enraged by the collective rebellion of the Plain Blue Banner, Prince Pingnan Shang Kexi ordered a massacre of the city.

Sharks have been gathering in the Pearl River Estuary of Guangzhou, devouring carcasses, and have not left for months.

The Ming army stationed in Guilin surrendered, and Prince Kong Youde of Dingnan entered Guilin without losing a single soldier, and also captured Qu Shisi and Zhang Tongchang, important officials of the Southern Ming.

Upon hearing the news, Emperor Yongli abandoned Wuzhou and fled towards Yunnan and Guizhou.

At this point, the Yongli regime lost all its organized troops, but 1000 remnants of the Plain Blue Banner, who had nowhere else to turn, chose to follow it to the death.

……

The Forbidden City and the Imperial Garden, thousands of miles away.

“Imperial Censor Jiang, the Emperor is over there. Please go there yourself.”

"Thank you, father-in-law."

Jiang Qingyun quietly handed him a small piece of gold leaf.
The third eunuch skillfully slipped the money into his sleeve. Although he was now a high-ranking eunuch of the eighth rank, he didn't have many opportunities to make extra money, so he had a particularly good impression of Jiang Qingyun.

The mouth that eats people is soft, and the hands that take people are short.

……

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

"My dear minister, no need for formalities, please sit. A great victory in the south! Zhu Youlang has fled! Guangdong, Hunan, and Guangxi are now connected! Hahahaha~ By the way, this is the latest military report delivered by Prince Zheng via express courier!"

Jiang Qingyun took it and quickly glanced at it.

In the military report, he saw two very familiar names.

"Your Majesty, the Urt and Khorkun have actually sided with Zhu Youlang?"

"Yeah~"

The story of Emperor Shunzhi is also complicated.

"My dear minister, do you remember when Dorgon had just died, the Secretariat collectively consulted local officials and Manchu bannermen in the capital on 'How to properly handle the affairs after the death of the Regent Prince?'"

(End of this chapter)