Wu Shifan finally became the emperor!
Li Zhongshan thought to himself: It seems that he is still the right one! I wonder if becoming emperor this time will lead to an unexpected death?
"Old Taishan," Li Zhongshan asked again, "How is Wu Yingqi? Has he been..."
Wu Guogui shook his head, then took out an envelope and placed it in front of Li Zhongshan, saying: "Shikai, this is a personal letter to you from my second brother. He is now the Prime Minister of the Zhou Kingdom, the Minister of Records, the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu. I will be in charge of the military affairs at home and abroad during the holidays."
"What?" Li Zhongshan was stunned and said to himself: This Wu Yingqi is imitating me!
Thinking of this, he quickly opened the envelope, took out the letter paper inside, unfolded it and read it. After looking at it for a while, his brows wrinkled slightly.
"Shikai, what did my second uncle write in the letter?" Wu Xiaotuo saw her husband frowning and was a little worried about another war between the two sides, so he asked.
"The second master Wu said in the letter that now the whole country of the Great Zhou Kingdom is united, internally and externally, to follow the example of the Shu Han and establish a virtual king. From now on, Shihuan will be the virtual king of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he will learn from Zhuge Wuhou and become the king of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The truth. He also hopes to form a 'Wu-Han Alliance' with us to fight against the Northern Qing Dynasty and expel the Tartars together." As he spoke, Li Zhongshan looked at his old Taishan Wu Guogui again, "Old Taishan, what do you think? "
Wu Guogui said: "Since Wu Zhou raised his army in the southwest, the three of us brothers have assisted the late lord. Now that Emperor Xiaozhuang (edited a bit) has passed away, I have joined the Ming Dynasty, and he is the only one left among the three brothers. . And he has always been the strongest, and in this war, he suffered the smallest losses. If he is willing to follow the example of Marquis Wu, take real power in the name of prime minister, and give Shifan a false king, Gao Gao If he pays tribute, I am afraid that his loyalty will be praised both inside and outside Wuzhou."
Obviously he refused to take the blame, but the effect was that he was praised both internally and externally, and everyone was united!
Li Zhongshan nodded and said: "I have known for a long time that King Qin is loyal. It seems that Wu Zhou has King Qin as regent and implements the system of virtual king and real king. They will be able to unite as one. Without ten years of hard fighting, we, the Ming Dynasty, would not be able to defeat them." Devoured."
What he said was not unfounded. Historically, Wu Yingqi did not become emperor after Wu Sangui's death. At that time, he controlled Wu Zhou's Yuezhou army - which was the main force blocking the Qing army's attack. And his son Wu Shicong controlled Wu Zhou's Guangxi army-Wu Zhou's situation in Guangxi was created by Wu Shicong himself!
Wu Shifan has always stayed in Yunnan and has never participated in the war between Wu Zhou and the Qing Dynasty, so it is impossible to control much military power.
Under such circumstances, if Wu Yingqi insists on competing with Wu Shifan for the throne, his chances of successfully coming to power are still high. But Wu Zhou, who was already in a precarious state, may die even faster after such a hard time.
In history, Wu Zhou persisted for another three years after Wu Sangui's death. Doesn't this have something to do with Wu Yingqi's loyalty?
Nowadays, although Wu Zhou is still in turmoil, this regime still controls Shaanxi and Gansu, a source of high-quality and low-cost troops and war horses. Fighting in the water towns south of the Yangtze River, the power of the cavalry is severely compromised. Because there are rivers everywhere that can prevent the cavalry from maneuvering, Wu Zhou's cavalry has no other use except rushing on the cramped battlefield.
If the battlefield is moved to the Central Plains, Wu Yingqi's cavalry regiment can not only be used to rush into battle, but also conduct large-scale battle maneuvers, battlefield shielding, and attack the enemy's logistics line. This will cause great difficulties to the battle organization and logistics support of Ming Dynasty!
Therefore, if Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition wants to achieve a great victory, it must establish an equally powerful cavalry regiment!
In addition, Wu Zhou was not the only opponent of the Ming Dynasty to dominate the world. The Qing Dynasty still occupied half of the Central Plains, Northeast China, and Mongolia!
Wu Guogui also mentioned the Qing Dynasty at this time, and he said to Li Zhongshan: "Shikai, don't forget that there is a Northern Qing Dynasty in the north that is eyeing you!
Kangxi was no ordinary person. He would not just watch as the Ming Dynasty spent ten years annexing Wu and Zhou... The world today is a tripartite one after all!
Moreover, in the past two years, taking advantage of the opportunity of the Ming Dynasty and Wu Zhou to attack each other, the Northern Qing Dynasty also recovered. Kangxi still had some tricks up his sleeve. He relied on the meetings of kings and ministers to discuss government affairs, the enfeoffment of feudal states, and the official system of the north and south, and he was able to unite people's hearts again. We can’t think that the Northern Qing Dynasty is the Northern Yuan Dynasty! "
Li Zhongshan seemed to have been convinced by Wu Guogui, and he nodded immediately and said: "Old Taishan, you are right, now is not the time to annex Wu Zhou in one fell swoop. In fact, the internal integration of our Ming Dynasty has not been completed! Now we can really put the republic into practice Only some areas in Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Anhui have figured it out, and we are far from finished in cultivating moral governance!"
Wu Guogui nodded repeatedly: "Yes, the Ming Dynasty has taken over too much territory, including Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, and maybe more..."
He was probing Li Zhongshan's background.
Zhejiang and Jiangxi have been completely captured, and less than half of Hunan has been captured, but there is nothing to say about the remaining half. It will definitely be captured. As for other territories, it depends on the outcome of the peace talks between the two parties.
"There are also Hubei and Guangxi!" Li Zhongshan said, "As long as Wu Zhou's military government withdraws from Hunan and Hubei, and then Sun Jiqing's remnant troops withdraw from Guangxi, a three-legged alliance will be established!"
Wu Guogui tentatively said: "Shikai, then Shijue and I."
Li Zhongshan said: "Old Taishan, you can be the governor of Hunan, and Shuangyu can be the admiral of Hunan. According to the official system of the Ming Dynasty, a governor and an admiral both serve five years. You and your son must serve in Ming Dynasty within these five years. Under the guidance of the General's Office and the Ministry of Secretariat, Hunan's transformation into Chinese people will be completed. Five years later, you will have to join the court as officials.
Lao Taishan, you can accomplish a lot in five years. Now Hunan is like a blank piece of paper, you and Shuangyu can do whatever you want! If you perform well, Hunan's political officials will look up to you and Shuangyu in the next few decades. "
Of course, Li Yat-sen's Republic of the People also involved a considerable degree of compromise. If we look into it more deeply, it was actually about transforming warlords into aristocratic families, and at the same time promoting a group of national warriors and citizens to serve as the backbone of the republic. In the end, a republic of aristocratic families, national scholars, and countrymen was formed. It also opened up two upward paths for the lower classes, namely, "serving as a soldier and going to university." In the 17th and 18th centuries, if one could achieve this step, it would be a quite progressive regime.
Wu Guogui and Wu Shijue, the father and son, have been in charge of Hunan for five years, which opened a convenient door for them to change their status. The two father and sons originally had many military households who had been allocated land, and of course there were also a group of Hunanese who worked for them. Scholars, if we can change these people into national scholars and nationals, and then promote a group of Hunan talented and brave men who have the ability and willingness to serve the Ming Dynasty. Then in the future, the Wu family father and son will be disciples and former officials throughout Hunan!
The same approach will also be implemented in Guangdong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Hubei, Guangxi, etc. If all goes well, in five or ten years, the Republic of Ming Dynasty will have three Lis (Li Zhongshan, Li Fuchen , Li Laishun) plus Wu, Zheng, Liu, Chen, and Lu, a total of eight aristocratic families. If Yang Qilong can return, then the nine aristocratic families will control the top of the Republic of Ming Dynasty.
Of course, Li Zhongshan's "Li Yingwang" family must be at the top of the list. At least until General Li Zhongshan passed away, no one could replace him!
Beijing, the Temple of Heaven Hall where kings and ministers discuss government affairs.
A political meeting of the "United States" of the Qing Dynasty is in progress.
The Qing Dynasty is still very progressive. It has progressed to the point where "Kangliang" would shed tears when he saw it, and Cixi would want to make a coup when he saw it!
But it’s okay if we don’t make progress!
Now the winner of the "Three Emperors' Battle against the Ming Dynasty" has been decided, and the "Empire" has lost to the "Republic"! Geng Jingzhong, who insisted on the imperial system, was the first to be defeated. I don’t know where he died? However, Wu Zhou, which had a relatively high imperial composition and a relatively low republican composition, suddenly lost a pair of emperors - Emperor Shenwu Gao of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Wu Sangui, and Emperor Xiaozhuang of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Wu Yingxiong. , Wu Yingqi became prime minister and led the republic.
Look, if this doesn’t make progress, it will perish!
Not even a chance to serve as a semi-colony for the foreign devils!
What can Kangxi do? We must continue to adhere to the path of united constitution, otherwise the Qing Dynasty will really die!
"Your Majesty, a slave" Prince Kang Jieshu, who had just fled thousands of miles from the south of the Yangtze River and returned to Beijing, was still a little uncomfortable with it, so he called himself a "slave" as soon as he opened his mouth.
"No, no, uncle, don't call me a slave. Our Qing Dynasty is now united to establish a country," Kangxi quickly corrected, "Don't be a slave anymore!"
"Ah, the slaves are all gone?" Jieshu looked at the decoration in the Temple of Heaven Great Hall. It really didn't look like a scene where the master and the slaves were discussing politics. Everybody sit down! And they are still sitting in a circle, and it is impossible to tell who is the master and who is the slave?
"Yes, you can't be a slave anymore. You must be united!" Kangxi was also a little helpless, "If we are the master's slave anymore, our Qing Dynasty will die! If we die, then we can't be a slave, right?"
"Your Majesty, the Holy Ming." As soon as Jie Shu said this, he made a habit of kowtowing to Kangxi.
"Don't kneel, don't kneel. Our Qing Dynasty is now a union of monarchs and ministers. The etiquette of kowtow and kneel has been almost eliminated. When holding political meetings, there is no such rule of kneeling and kowtow."
Not being treated as a slave, not even kowtow. I’m not used to it!
Jieshu had no choice but to stand there, looked around, and found that everyone was sitting leisurely and discussing politics!
"Uncle, how is the fight in the south? Do we still have a chance?" Kangxi looked at this "very slave" Prince Kang, and suddenly felt cordial in his heart, so he did not invite him to sit down, but asked directly War in the South.
"I can't beat you." Jie Shu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, slave."
If you don’t let the self-proclaimed slaves stop talking!
"I am a minister," Kangxi wrote to Jie.
"My soldiers killed the men named Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen!" Jieshu said with tears streaming down his face, "I almost died. Wuwu."
Crying!
Although his life was saved, it was almost only his body that survived, and even the concubines and children he had in Jiangxi were lost.
"Uncle, don't be too sad," Kangxi quickly comforted him, "Victory and defeat are common for military strategists. You have persisted in Jiangxi for so many years, and you are already proud of your defeat!"
Jieshu is now the number one general in the Qing Dynasty!
Although he always lost the battle, under the attack of Li Zicheng, Li Fuchen, and Li Zhongshan, he persisted in Jiangxi for so many years. This is indeed the only one in the Qing Dynasty!
Moreover, competing with high-level opponents is the best way to improve your skills.
Kangxi saw that Jieshu was crying better and asked again: "Uncle, how can we defeat the Ming army in the Northern Expedition and keep three parts of the Qing Dynasty?"
After hearing this, Jieshu took out a bag and handed it to Nalan Xingde, who was in charge of the political meeting. The latter immediately sent the bag to Kangxi.
Kangxi opened his pocket and looked inside, which seemed to be some lead bullets. He felt a little strange, reached out and took out a lead bullet, and immediately realized something was wrong. This is not a whole lead bullet, but a half-pulled lead bullet, and it has some hollows in the butt.
"Why did you cut corners on this gun?" Kangxi asked.
"Your Majesty, this is not a gun that has cut corners, but a gun used by the Ming army's muskets." Jieshu said, "I don't know why, but this kind of gun that is half-drawn and hollowed out can go far when put into the chamber." Accurate! The reason why the Ming army defeated Jiang Chen and Wu Sangui was, first, to rely on flintlock guns, especially rifled flintlock guns! The second reason was to rely on this kind of bullet. If we want to withstand the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition, we must use the Ming Dynasty as our weapon. division, reform the military, and equip a large number of flintlock muskets and these jerry-rigged bullets.”
Kangxi nodded. It seems that it makes sense to discuss politics with the public. This method of strengthening the army was discussed!
He then asked: "Uncle, how is the situation in Wu and Zhou? Can you still persist? I want to send troops to Henan, do you think it is feasible?"
"Your Majesty, Wu Zhou will definitely be able to persevere!" Jie Shu said, "Wu Yingqi has the character of Zhuge's reincarnation, and he will definitely be able to twist Wu Zhou into a rope! Moreover, Wu Zhou will definitely also learn the tricks I learned from Ming Dynasty. We can learn. As for sending troops, who does the emperor want to fight?"
Kangxi smiled: "I don't want to hit anyone!"
Jingzhou, Shashikou.
When Wu Guogui brought Li Zhongshan's reply letter and met Wu Yingqi in the name of the "condolence envoy" of the Ming Dynasty, the prime minister of the Zhou Dynasty, Lu Shangshushi, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Kaifu, Jiajie, and commander-in-chief of all Chinese and foreign military affairs, The coffins of Wu Sangui, Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shifan, Emperor Honghua of the Great Zhou Dynasty, had already arrived at Shashikou on the north bank of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou Prefecture.
This retreat to the north is still very rapid!
Wu Guogui first followed Wu Yingqi to burn incense in the Zi Palace of Wu Sangui and Wu Yingxiong - these were two huge coffins, carried by two carts pulled by eight horses, and they were parked in a temporary place. Inside the shack sheltered from the wind and snow. Surrounded by veterans in white clothes and armor, it was still snowing, and the sky and the earth were completely white, which was still a bit sad and desolate.
Wu Guogui first cried in front of the two large coffins, and then hugged Wu Yingqi and cried. After crying, he was invited to "eat a banquet". Let's chat while eating!
"Lao San, I will hand over your Hunan general manager to Shi Jue." Wu Yingqi said to Wu Guogui at the banquet. "The Zhechong Mansion that you and Shi Jue are in charge of have also stayed in Hunan. There are always 30,000 households. Is it enough?”
"It's enough for me," said Wu Guogui, who was dressed in filial piety, "but Li Shikai thinks it's not enough and wants Guangxi and Hubei!"
"Guangxi can return it to him," Wu Yingqi thought for a while, "As for Hubei, I will not occupy Li Zicheng's territory anymore, but Xiangyang, Yunyang, Yichang, and Shinan prefectures block Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Guizhou. I will not Maybe let it go.”
Wu Guogui said: "Does that mean Jingzhou Prefecture and Jingmen Prefecture can give way?"
Wu Yingqi nodded: "At most, Jingzhou Prefecture and Jingmen Prefecture will be ceded. In this battle, Li Zhongshan has already won the three provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Hunan, and also won Jingzhou and Jingmen, which are rich in rice. If he is not satisfied anymore, then the Prime Minister will We can only unite with Beiqing and fight him to the end!"
"Unite with the Beiqing?" Wu Guogui asked, "Wu Xuanye didn't turn his back on anyone?"
Wu Yingqi smiled coldly: "Third brother, do you think I'm afraid that he'll fall out? Although my strength is severely damaged, I, Dazhou, are still among the elites of Gansu and Shaanxi. If he wants to fall out, I'll stay with him until the end!"
Wu Guogui smiled: "Can Luoyang and Nanyang be defended? I heard that the army led by Kangxi has arrived in Kaifeng Mansion!"
Kangxi's Northern Qing Dynasty had sent troops to confront the Ming Dynasty before, but the front positions of the two sides were relatively far apart. The Ming Dynasty's northern line was in Xuzhou, while the Qing Dynasty's southern line was in Yanzhou, and they were facing each other far away.
After learning that Wu Yingqi and Wu Sangui were defeated one after another, Wu and Zhou's army abandoned Jiangxi and retreated north from Hunan. Kangxi became more energetic and the imperial commander personally marched to Kaifeng Mansion. However, it was not announced who he would fight with!
"He is not here to fight with my family," Wu Yingqi said calmly, "he is here to help my family fight against the Ming Dynasty!"
(End of chapter)
