In the past ten years of Yongli, for the Ming army in the southeast battlefield, it was a continuous extension of the offensive and defensive situation, but it was due to the destruction of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, which led to the fact that this momentum did not progress as rapidly as the great counteroffensive in the eighth year of Yongli. If you want to continue to attack, you are obviously still accumulating strength, and Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai have been working hard to do this during this time.

In the southeast, the Ming army in the southwest is a completely different situation. Li Dingguo went to Anlong to meet him, and then led his troops into Yunnan, and Yunnan was quickly controlled by Li Dingguo's army under the internal and external cooperation of Liu Wenxiu and Mu Tianbo. However, Sun Kewang, the king of Qin, who originally controlled the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, was naturally unwilling as the only one who lost his interests, so the southwestern Ming army entered a state of confrontation along the border of the two provinces.

During this period, as a weak party, the Yongli court in Yunnan made many concessions to the Qin Wangfu in Guizhou, and added officials to the Qin Wangfu for the Qin King Sun Kewang's cronies and sent them back to the old department, and sent people to Guiyang several times to say that even Sun Kewang's wife and children also sent people back, and it was also the city personally sent by Li Dingguo, who had entered the king of Jin.

How many times have I said the words of forbearance for the country, and how many times have I done things that are compromised. It's just that the Qin Wangfu is still doing its own thing. In this way, the Ming armies of the southwest of these two factions have always restrained each other, such as counteroffensive and enterprising, and other relatively positive, and the words that have gradually become the mainstream in the southeast have disappeared, completely cutting off the momentum since the great counteroffensive in the sixth year of Yongli.

"Now that the emperor is in Yunnan, the country is supplemented, and the people's hearts gradually belong to him. The ministers will invite the lord of the country to be honest and pay homage to the Lord of Wenwu, and the people's hearts will be determined. ”

In the palace of the King of Qin in Guiyang, there has never been a shortage of discussions about Yunnan. Here, Yu Xuan, the editor who had been actively planning for Sun Kewang's usurpation earlier, talked eloquently in the main hall and analyzed the current situation in detail, especially pointing out the disadvantages to Sun Kewang in terms of righteousness. In his opinion, if he does not make an attitude as soon as possible to calm the army's heart, then sooner or later the civil and military personnel in Guizhou will be blinded and confused by the two golden characters of "emperor".

It was another persuasion, but Sun Kewang seemed a little hesitant. At the end of the meeting, Ren Yan, the secretary of the military department, and Fan Ying, the secretary of the ministry, were left behind, and finally poured out the thoughts in their hearts.

"Fang is too anxious, Lone is not unintentional to be the emperor, but he lacks the process of Zen concession, and he can't convince the people of the world."

In the past change of dynasty, in general, there is no need for such means to be overthrown from outside the system, but if it is from within the system, that is to say, the person who seized the supreme throne is the high-ranking officials and dignitaries of the previous dynasty, and the world has received the "emperor's grace", then it is necessary to set up a meditation platform to let the emperor of the previous dynasty cede the throne to him, so as to be justifiable. This was the case in the previous dynasties, and it was nothing more than that sometimes the formalities of receiving the meditation platform were omitted, but often it had to be replaced by other situations.

This is also true in the Hereafter. Taking the Xinhai Revolution as an example, under the circumstance that the Manchu Qing Dynasty was inevitably out, the nationalist Nanjing side of the country was overthrown from the outside of the system to the inside, and it did not matter whether the Qing Emperor abdicated or not, as long as the Northern Expedition could be successful, it was enough; Yuan Shikai's Beiyang was originally a part of the Qing court, and Yuan Shikai was in an important position as a high-ranking official, and he wanted to replace it, which was nothing more than to block Nanjing with the army to prevent the success of its Northern Expedition and overthrow the Manchu Qing, and at the same time use Nanjing to oppress the Qing court and force it to abdicate, so that he could become a hero who overthrew the Manchu Qing. And the abdication edict, which also specifically pointed out that Yuan Shikai was required to form a government, can be understood as a concession to another situation.

At present, the Great Western Army was originally an outward attack on the system, at least during the Zhang Xianzhong period. However, with the change of the situation, the Manchu Qing became the number one enemy, and the Great Western Army Group turned to the Ming court and raised the banner of the Ming Dynasty, and Sun Kewang was even more prominent as the king of Qin. Theoretically speaking, at this time, Sun Kewang wanted to change the dynasty again, and he was indeed missing a formality of Zen concessions.

Fan Ying and Ren Yan are both human spirits, so they don't understand this truth. In addition, they know better that Sun Kewang's dedication to the Zen position is not only on the side of the Manchu Dynasty, he needs to inherit the orthodox status of the Ming Dynasty, it is really that the Zheng group in the southeast is a little too swelling, even if there is such a procedure, they are unlikely to be able to convince Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai, the pair of southeast pairs, but it is better than nothing.

"The lord of the country, in the opinion of the micro-ministers, Chan Rang really needs the emperor to appear, which cannot be done for the time being. However, it is better to act as the imperial power in the name of the Qing monarch and the rebellious ministers, and to do the matter of adding officials to the knighthood first, than to let the imperial court buy people's hearts in Yunnan. ”

When Ren Yan said this, Sun Kewang couldn't help but think about it. While pondering whether it was feasible, he looked at Fan Ying again, and the latter also replied in the affirmative.

"It can't be delayed any longer, Fang Bianxiu is in a hurry, but he thinks that he has a sentence that is right, that is, the more it drags on, the more it will be unfavorable to our Qin Wangfu."

With that up to his mind, Sun Kewang began to plan for the next deployment. After discussing for a long time, it was not until late at night that the two said goodbye and left, and Sun Kewang returned to his "imperial study", wanting to continue to consider the titles of the generals under his command, but saw a letter sent from Yunnan, and remembered that in fact, before the meeting began, he was actually still reading this letter.

"Yongli Xiao'er, as well as Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu, the two traitors, they know that I have a hard time riding a tiger, and they are still acting here, which is really hateful!"

He grabbed the letter and tore it to pieces in just three or two strokes. Anger is inevitable. From the heart, Sun Kewang has never had even the slightest loyalty to the Ming court, and he subjectively has the ambition to usurp the throne, so there is nothing unusual about the previous erection of the Yongli court, and even the overstepping again and again, and even trying to perform the Zen ceremony. This is just from his personal standpoint, as for the national righteousness or something, he rarely does that anyway.

Things have developed to this day, and he has done too many deviant things, and he has no chance to turn back, because once he hands over his authority, no one will believe that he can have a good result. What's more, there is such a thing as power, which is addictive, compared to methamphetamine and heroin.

"It's all a bunch of brainless fools, Li Dingguo is a fool, Liu Wenxiu is a fool, and even those remnants of the army are all fools. They don't want to think that the world is caused by us rogues. Now the situation is stronger than people, and the Zhu family wants to rely on us to regain the world, but once the Ming Dynasty turns over, we can still have a good one, and my Sun character is written upside down! ”

From a practical point of view, Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu have made great contributions to saving the driver, and they were both promoted to the title of prince, which is also the "blessing" of Sun Kewang, otherwise there would be no such opportunity. is those who were born in the Dashun army, and they are not of the same grade as Sun Kewang - the rest of the Dashun army has fought for the Ming court for many years, and the merit and hard work are never less.

As for the matter of Jiashen, Yuan Zongdi and his ilk did not participate in it, and even if they entered Beijing City, most of the official positions were not the top. The black cauldron can naturally be carried by the dead and the Qing guys like Li Zicheng, Prime Minister Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, the military advisor, and the generals Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu, especially with a chaotic minister and thief like Sun Kewang as the background board, they are even more loyal.

After venting, Sun Kewang regained his mood and threw himself into the work he still planned to do before he saw the letter.

In fact, the reason why there is such a letter is, in the final analysis, that something went wrong with Huguang. In October last year, the Qing court's Ningnan Jingkou general Zhenglan Banner Gushan Ezhen Ilgen Jueluo * Arzin led his troops to capture Chenzhou, feeling the pressure of the Huguang Qing army, and inevitably suffered from the enemy, Sun Kewang once had an intersection with the Yunnan side.

During the intersection, Sun Kewang actively mobilized troops and tried to counterattack Chenzhou, including Feng Shuangli, Chen Guoneng and a large number of troops sent to Chenzhou. However, as Arzin was recalled by the Qing court to the Beijing Division, Hong Chengchou abandoned this newly occupied land on the grounds that the military rations were not enough, and after the Qin Wangfu re-established the defensive line, the two sides gradually drifted apart.

Soon, in February of the 11th year of Yongli, Sun Kewang exercised imperial power in the Qin Palace, Guiyang, and canonized his generals Ma Jinzhong as the king of Jiading, Feng Shuangli as the king of Xing'an, and Zhang Hu as the marquis of Dongchang. Subsequently, the armies of Guizhou and southern Huguang began to move towards Guiyang.

Yunnan and Guizhou provinces were the base camps of the Ming army in the southwest, and when subdivided, Yunnan was more like a logistics base, while Guizhou was a barracks. Since the Great Western Army left Yunnan, it occupied Guizhou, and at the same time developed in the three directions of Sichuan, Huguang, and Guangxi, in order to further turn Yunnan and Guizhou into a hinterland. There are not many troops left behind in Yunnan, it is nothing more than Wang Shangli, Wang Ziqi, He Jiuyi and other troops, otherwise it will be difficult for Li Dingguo to take them down in one fell swoop. And in Guizhou, which is connected to the southern region of Huguang where the confrontation between the Ming and Qing dynasties is the heaviest, the main force of the Great Western Army of the Qin Wangfu system is here, and if you do the math, there are nearly 200,000 troops over there!

In comparison, even if it was the great victory in Guangzhou in the eighth year of Yongli, Li Dingguo's headquarters was only 40,000 or 50,000 soldiers. Coupled with the troops of the Shu Wangfu, as well as some of the troops attached to the two kings of Jin and Shu since entering Yunnan, there are only seventy or eighty thousand people. It is naturally a lot more than in history, but compared to Sun Kewang's Qin Palace, it is still not a contour line.

Now he still needs to worry about the Qing army on the Huguang side, because once he transfers all the troops to fight the civil war, the defense of the Huguang side will inevitably be empty. Inevitably falling behind a praying mantis catching cicadas and yellow finch, Sun Kewang had to figure out what was going on on Hong Chengchou's side.

In February, he canonized his generals, but Sun Kewang mobilized his troops in an orderly manner, even very slowly. On the other hand, Sun Kewang's meticulous work quickly infiltrated the southern part of Huguang, especially against Changsha, at all costs. In the past few months, the news came one after another, but Sun Kewang couldn't help laughing.

"The transfer of Arzin to the capital was a complaint from Hong Chengchou's house, and the reason was that Alzin sent troops to Chenzhou without Hong Chengchou's consent. This old dog is really lonely with laughter. ”

In the face of his cronies, the worries of the past few months disappeared, and Sun Kewang laughed without any scruples. According to the intelligence, it is indeed as Sun Kewang said, and it is also said that Hong Chengchou's Changsha shogunate has accumulated a lot of wealth in the south of Huguang and wantonly embezzled grain and grass, so that a large number of Arzin's military supplies have been "drifted" and "stranded".

"Hong Chengchou is still trying his best to protect his relative Huang Zhixuan, but he doesn't know that the most ruthless person who embezzles food and salary is this Huguang Zuobu political envoy."

After laughing, Sun Kewang finally put his mind at ease, because after the arrival of the clan Aixin Jueluo *Ra, who took over the position of Arzin, he was also an immobile mountain without Arzin's enterprising heart, and obviously learned the lesson of the former.

In the following days, the army accelerated the mobilization, and on the first day of the eighth month of the eleventh year of Yongli, Sun Kewang swore in Guiyang, and appointed Bai Wen, who was once suspected by him and re-trusted under the persuasion of many cronies, was selected as the general of the rebellion, and Feng Shuangli stayed in Guiyang, and he personally commanded the 140,000 army to march to Yunnan.

"Let the craftsmen below build 300 pairs of twist locks, and wait until the day of breaking Dian to imprison Yongli and Dingguo, Wenxiu Zhuwen and Wu Jie."

The arrogant Sun Kewang led his troops across the Panjiang River on 17 August, and the court and people in Kunming were immediately shaken. Many wealthy families have fled to other prefectures and counties, and above the court, from the Son of Heaven to the officials, they are also in fear all day long - the difference in strength between the two sides is so huge, and with the fall of Wuzhou, the support of Guangdong and Fujian has long been cut off. This time, there will be no more Chen Kai's thousands of miles to help, and the only people they can rely on are Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu.

"Your Majesty, the two of them have discussed and decided that the two of us will personally lead the main force to fight a decisive battle with the traitor Sun Kewang."

Li Dingguo shouted loudly, and there was a sense of confidence rising in the hearts of others. The two famous kings of Yongli in the sixth year, Yongli and Chen Kai joined forces in the eighth year to kill Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao, the first general of the dynasty, deservedly the name, and it is also the greatest hope of today's Yongli court.

"Now that the King of Jin and the King of Shu have already discussed it, I am relieved."

The decree was issued, and the king of Tetrajin had to make a special expedition, give Shang Fang a sword, act cheaply, and hang a sign to ask for a seal; The king of Shu is a deputy and has full command responsibility. Subsequently, Li Dingguo left Jin Tongwu to lead the troops and horses of his headquarters and Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qianguo, who commanded the Praetorian Guard, to stay in Kunming City, and led the army to go out with Liu Wenxiu.

The army arrived at Jiaoshui in Qujing on September 15, where it encountered Sun Kewang's army. The two sides did not start a confrontation at the first time, but were ten miles away from each other. In the distance, Sun Kewang's army has thirty-six joint camps, stretching endlessly. And Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu's side, even if their strength is far better than in history, they only have 60,000 troops and six camps.

Holding the monocular given by Chen Kai, Li Dingguo looked into the distance, his face was pale. is not only angry that Sun Kewang has taken out so many troops to fight the civil war, but also because the Ming army under his command is mostly afraid. This battle, before it was fought, had already lost the upper hand.