Early the next morning, the Ming soldiers packed up Dolgon's already cold body, loaded it into a carriage and sent it to the Horqin grassland in Mongolia together with the body of Concubine Zhuang Da Yuer. Dolgon's suicide also marked the withdrawal of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, a behemoth that once swept the world, from the historical stage of the struggle for hegemony.

Watching the more than ten entourages of the two carriages slowly disappear into the vast wilderness outside the north gate of Shanhaiguan, Zhu Ping'an's heart swelled with an inexplicable feeling.

The Qing Dynasty ended like this, with great ambitions, completely disappeared from the stage of dominating the world, at this moment, Zhu Ping'an clearly had a lonely feeling of being in a high place.

In the past ten years, Zhu Ping'an has changed from a concubine in the Tang Mansion in Nanyang to a hero who is now in charge of the world, and the joy, sadness, sorrow and excitement that come step by step are like a tide, constantly washing his soul.

After the death of Emperor Chongzhen, the Yixing Revolution and the Hongguang Rebellion allowed Zhu Ping'an to smoothly purge the opposition forces above the Ming Dynasty, and the sudden rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty also made the Fujian Zheng family collapse, and to this day, no one can stop him from ascending to the supreme position.

Before arriving at Shanhaiguan, many subordinates had directly or indirectly talked about inheriting the throne in front of Zhu Ping'an, including many officers from Wutang, and even Xiao Yuanteng also sent two letters in a row, although he did not say it explicitly, but Zhu Ping'an knew at a glance that there was more or less Li Dingguo's instruction.

Of course, Li Dingguo was not the only one who expressed this will, just when Zhu Ping'an marched into Shanhaiguan and the Shanshan War was coming to an end, Yang Tinglin also sent Li Laiheng to rush to the army in the starry night, and the meaning expressed was much the same as Li Dingguo. "Today, only His Highness can make a decision!" It is indeed not easy for such a sentence to come out of Yang Tinglin's mouth. Others, such as Yue Jinfeng, Qiu Ze, Hong Dahai and other old subordinates, expressed themselves more directly.

Since Zheng Zhilong coerced the imperial family to retreat to Fujian, the influence of Emperor Zhu Yujian of Longwu has plummeted, and his connivance and concession to the Zheng family have almost destroyed the Longwu court. During this period. Some of Zhu Yujian's henchmen were killed and captured, leaving only a few people of Fang Yuegong and Huang Daozhou, and now, Fang Yuegong has been attached to Zhu Ping'an and stayed in Fujian to preside over the overall situation, and the influence of the remaining Confucian civil officials such as Huang Daozhou is almost negligible.

Although Zhu Linyuan, the king of Qin, has gradually grown up, and the queen Zeng has spared no effort to shout for her son behind her back, attracting some officials who want to speculate, most people's eyes are clear. This Ming world is already under Zhu Ping'an's control.

The dispute between the concubines has long been meaningless, and Zhu Ping'an's identity has been confirmed by Chongzhen's edict and Empress Yi'an Zhang Yan, and no one has the courage to say such a thing as the distinction between concubines and concubines. But there is no shortage of people in the world who are unwilling to live under people, and there will always be some outlaws lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to change their fate.

Yin Shigang and Zou Jing stayed in Nanjing to welcome Zhu Yujian back to the court, and the news sent by the two of them also proved this from different angles. Zheng Sen, who narrowly escaped but lost his old nest in Fujian, now fully supports Zhu Linyuan, the king of Qin, and the rest of the old ministers Huang Daozhou, Huang Mingjun and Su Guansheng are also on his side. These days. Zheng Sen gathered many old subordinates and was named Loyal and Filial Uncle. The soldiers and horses in his hands have also recovered some vitality, although there is a world of difference compared with Zhu Ping'an, but it is still not to be underestimated.

There were not many people in the room, but they were all confidants sent by the supervisors of all parties, Li Laiheng represented Yang Tinglin, and Li Dingguo and Xiao Yuanteng personally participated in the discussion. The other Cao Bianjiao, Zhou Chang, and Shen Ke are close subordinates who have been following Zhu Ping'an's side, and there is another one, Huaide from Nanjing.

After listening to everyone's discussions, Zhu Ping'an waved his hand, "These are just scabies." There is no need to worry, Zheng Sen left Fujian, and the Zheng family is destined to wither, even if he gathers more manpower, without financial support, it is still rootless water, and it is difficult to achieve great things! ”

Zhu Ping'an pointed to the map on the table, "The war in Liaodong is over, and the rest of the sweeping matters will be handled by Li Dingguo." There are many ambitious people in North Korea and Mongolia, and how to operate it can be contacted by the Military Intelligence Service. The Eight Banners were defeated, and among the Manchurian disciples we captured, there are still some that can be used, such as Suo Etu, Leng Seng Ji, Ban Bushan and others, such as these people will be handed over to Xiao Yuanteng, no one can compare to you in brainwashing, let these people completely integrate into us, and there will be no trace of the Eight Banners from now on, and they will drive the entire Jurchen tribe in Liaodong to become a member of my Ming Army in the future. There are also those people in Gari and Dejiha, you might as well give more benefits, and you can come in handy in governing Liaodong in the future! ”

Li Dingguo and Xiao Yuanteng bowed down and agreed.

Zhu Ping'an stood up and patted the location of Sichuan on the map with his palm, "Hong Chengchou, Li Guohan, and Bayan still have more than 100,000 troops, and they are entrenched in Shuzhong, and I still don't have a clue about his disposal, what good way do you have?" ”

"Our army has just pacified Jiangnan, and the soldiers and horses of all departments urgently need to rest and reorganize, and the Shu Road is difficult, if you are in a hurry to enter the army at this time, I am afraid it will be ......!" Li Dingguo said.

Two months ago, Zhang Xianzhong was under the attack of the coalition army composed of Hong Chengchou and Zeng Ying, the Sichuan general soldier of the Ming Yixing Dynasty, Fan Yixuan, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and Wang Yingxiong, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. If it weren't for the Qing army and the Ming army fighting again, I'm afraid Zhang Xianzhong would have been dead for a long time at this time.

Zhu Ping'an glanced at Li Dingguo, Li Dingguo hurriedly lowered his head, and his thoughts were clearly seen by Zhu Ping'an. After all, Li Dingguo and Zhang Xianzhong have a father-son relationship, and in the Great Western Army, Zhang Xianzhong's favorite for his four righteous sons was Li Dingguo. After Li Dingguo stayed in Shandong, Zhang Xianzhong also sent people around to inquire about his whereabouts, but later, when Li Dingguo's fame shocked the world, Zhang Xianzhong never moved again. Obviously, they don't want to make Li Dingguo embarrassed on both sides because of their positions.

And Li Dingguo also remembered this relationship, and did not stay in the pass to fight, but went directly to Liaodong to compete with the Qing army, and over the years, he has always been careful to avoid any intersection with Zhang Xianzhong. Zhu Ping'an knows all this.

Li Dingguo's words just now just subconsciously said it, from the bottom of his heart, if the general trend is set today, he really doesn't want to see his father-in-law in a desperate situation.

"Your Highness's forgiveness!" Li Dingguo knelt straight in front of Zhu Ping'an, and before he could speak, his eyes were already slightly red.

Zhu Ping'an leaned down to help him up, and at the same time handed a secret report to his eyes, "This is the news I just received, although it has not been confirmed, it should not be wrong!" ”

Li Dingguo was stunned for a moment, and then took the secret report with trembling hands, there were not many small words on it, but the content reflected made him thunder.

"September 17, the Western Army Zhang Cheng Xianzhong led the army north, in the Xichong Phoenix Mountain to meet Hong Chengchou's department, when the war was in full swing, the Qing army was wounded by a secret arrow, was killed in the army at night, the Western Army retreated to Chengdu to guard, with Sun Kewang, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu in charge of the army."

"Father-in-law!" Li Dingguo suddenly burst into tears and choked up.

Wang Yingxiong, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, also sent a letter to Nanjing, although he did not determine Zhang Xianzhong's matter, but said that when Zhang Xianzhong led his army to the north, he had secretly passed a message with him, vaguely expressing his desire to return to the imperial court again. He also knew that for so many years, Yu Jiangshan Sheji and the people had been harmed, and he might not end well if he took refuge in the imperial court again. Therefore, this northern expedition has already reported the determination to die. Before leaving, he killed his wife, concubines and children, and once said to your righteous brother Sun Kewang: 'I am also a hero, and I must not leave my young son to be captured.' The three hundred years of orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty may not be extinct, and it is also the will of heaven. When I die, I will return to the light in a hurry, and I will not be unjust! ’”

Zhang Xianzhong's words and Zhu Ping'an's words all reveal that the Great Western Army in Sichuan has reached the end of the road, and they have to move closer to the Ming Dynasty again. Although Wang Yingxiong, Fan Yixing, and Zeng Ying were all courtiers of the Yixing Dynasty, they had already returned to the Longwu court, in other words, they had all served Zhu Ping'an. Sun Kewang, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu and others stuck to Chengdu and suffered from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it was time to have to make a choice.

"You should immediately write a letter to your brother-in-law Sun Kewang, and Nanjing will also send a messenger to Sichuan, as long as he can return to the imperial court, I will definitely not be stingy with rewards." Soon, Zhang Mingzhen's army will also advance into Guangxi, Yunnan-Guizhou and Sichuan, and assist the imperial court in calming the situation in the southwest as soon as possible, and the imperial court and I will never forget their merits! ”

"Thank you for your grace!" Li Dingguo fell to his knees again. Zhu Ping'an's words were very clear. Since Zhang Xianzhong is dead, the court and he will never hold Sun Kewang and others accountable. As long as the rest of the Great Western Army can help the official army eliminate Hong Chengchou entrenched in Sichuan as soon as possible, then Sun Kewang and others can exchange for a foothold in the Ming Dynasty and the army. This is the grace that Zhu Ping'an gave them, and it is also out of trust in Li Dingguo.

"However, the army of Inspector Zhang is still in Guangdong and Fujian, after Wu Sangui defeated Yuan Jixian, he has already entered Guangxi, where there are still rebellious Zhu Youlang and others, in addition to the army of Shanxi can go south into Sichuan, I am afraid that for a while, the soldiers and horses of Fujian and Guangdong will not be able to support the war in Sichuan!" Cao Bianjiao interjected.

Zhu Ping'an smiled, "Wu Sangui is a master of judging the situation, now at this time, I'm afraid he has understood my intention to force it into Jiangxi and Guangxi, you wait and see, within a month, there will be good news over there!" (To be continued......)