Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 14 Shao Wu
In a remote courtyard, Li Mingzhong was holding a long knife with a ferocious look on his face.
"The Ming dynasty has run out of luck. The Qing dynasty has received the mandate of heaven and is destined to rule the world. Your Highness, go with peace of mind."

"No, I'm not Zhu Youlang, you've arrested the wrong person, it has nothing to do with me, let me go"

Zhu Lang looked terrified, struggling and shouting, but he could not move his whole body. He could only watch as the long sword in Li Mingzhong's hand chopped down
The knife flashed, and a stream of blood spilled onto the ground. Suddenly, the ground bulged, and a stone tablet suddenly broke out of the ground. The stone tablet grew taller and taller, and in a blink of an eye, it was as tall as a person.
There are several large characters engraved on the gray stone tablet: the place where Emperor Yongli was martyred

"Do not"

Zhu Lang cried out in surprise, suddenly woke up, sat up from the bed, and his forehead was covered with dense cold sweat.
"What's wrong, sir?"

There was a clang at the door, and Li Guoyong, who was dozing off by the door, fell to the ground. Then he got up and walked into the room with a panicked look.

"Nothing, just a dream"

Zhu Lang looked at Li Guoyong, who had a panicked expression on his face, and said softly, and wiped his forehead with his hand, which was covered with sweat.
Zhu Lang looked out the window and saw that it was already dawn. He estimated that it should be around five or six o'clock.
"Let someone fetch some water, prepare to wash up, don't sleep anymore"

Li Guoyong left, and the room returned to silence. Zhu Lang sat on the bed in a daze, with a dazed look on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking about. Suddenly, he cursed at the air.

"Emperor, damn emperor"

Soon, several maids came into the room carrying copper basins and trays.
On the tray was a pig bristle toothbrush with a wooden handle and a small round box made of blue and white porcelain next to it, which contained white powder.
A maid walked up behind Zhu Lang and combed his hair. Zhu Lang took the toothbrush on the tray, dipped it in the tooth powder in the box and began to brush his teeth. The maid holding the tray could only stand by with a resentful look on her face.

This maid not only prepared Zhu Lang's toiletries, but also brushed his teeth, but Zhu Lang took over her job.

Yes, as a prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Lang even had someone to brush his teeth for him. The eunuchs from the front yard called this "washing the dragon ditch".
However, as a person from the later generations, Zhu Lang was not used to this kind of service. Not only brushing teeth, but also other things that he could do by himself, Zhu Lang tried his best to do it himself.
This is not because Zhu Lang does not enjoy himself. Being served every day without even moving his hands is of course very good, but Zhu Lang has always deliberately avoided indulging in this kind of enjoyment.

The Ming Dynasty was in turmoil, and the Qing army could not tell when it would attack. He, the regent emperor, did not know when he would have to flee and live in exile. If he indulged in pleasure at this time, he would simply be courting death.
After washing up, the maid helped Zhu Lang put on the complicated dragon robe. Li Guoyong had already got breakfast and was waiting outside the door.

Breakfast was simple, a bowl of meat porridge, a plate of pickled vegetables, a few mutton patties, and two eggs.
Zhu Lang took the meat pie from the tray and gave it to Li Guoyong. Li Guoyong seemed to be used to it. He took the bowl, took the meat pie and ate it standing aside.

After breakfast, it was already bright. Zhu Lang told Li Guoyong to stay outside the door and then went into the study.

Zhu Lang entered the study and took out a wooden box from behind the bookshelf with ease. There was a copper lock on the box.

Zhu Lang took out the key from his sleeve and opened the wooden box, revealing a thick sheet of paper.
Zhu Lang took out the two pieces of letter paper at the top of the wooden box.

The first piece of letter paper was filled with names. The one at the top was Qu Shisi, and below that were Jiao Lian, Du Yinxi, Hu Yiqing, Chen Bangyan, and more than a dozen other names.

The second piece of letter paper was filled with handwriting: Yongli ascended the throne, Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan...

Each event is neatly listed on paper.
This is a list of characters and events that Zhu Lang compiled based on his memory. He had started to organize this information since the day he traveled back in time. Once he remembered a certain character, he would immediately add the corresponding content to it. Before he knew it, he had accumulated a thick stack of information.

This box of stationery is Zhu Lang's biggest reliance now.
Zhu Lang took the letter paper that recorded various events. The first line of the paper was written about Yongli's accession to the throne, and the second line was written about Shaowu's struggle for the throne.
Zhu Lang's eyes fell on the words "Shao Wu Zheng Li" and he sat at the table in deep thought.

The so-called Shaowu Dynasty was the court established by the brother of Emperor Longwu, who took the succession of Emperor Longwu as the legal basis, hence the name Shaowu.

In the previous life, after Yongli ascended the throne and became regent, news came that the Qing army was about to attack Guangdong. Yongli's court officials were immediately in chaos. They ignored Qu Shisi's persuasion and fled to Guangxi without even seeing the shadow of the Qing army.
The people of Guangdong Province found that the Qing army had not arrived, but the imperial court had already fled. They were immediately disappointed. At this time, the brother of Emperor Longwu, Prince Tang, came across the sea from Fujian Province under the escort of General Lin Cha. Then, with the support of Su Guansheng, the former Grand Secretary of Longwu in Guangzhou, Prince Tang officially proclaimed himself emperor and issued edicts to all directions. This was the beginning of the Shaowu Dynasty.

When the news of Shaowu's enthronement came, the regents Yongli and Ding Kuichu, who had fled to Guangxi Province, were furious, so they returned to Zhaoqing from Guangxi Province and officially proclaimed themselves emperor in Zhaoqing.
After Yongli officially proclaimed himself emperor, he sent people to Guangzhou to order Emperor Shaowu to give up his title. However, Emperor Shaowu had already proclaimed himself emperor and established his own system. There was no way out at this time, so he killed the envoy sent by Yongli.

The people of Yongli Dynasty were furious, and both sides gathered tens of thousands of troops and fought in Sanshui, Guangdong Province. This was the Yongli Shaowu struggle for the throne.
This was also the second internal struggle for the Southern Ming Dynasty after the struggle between Tang and Lu.
Yes, before the Qing Dynasty came, the Ming Dynasty officials began to kill each other. At this time, Guangdong Province was the only fertile land left in the Southern Ming Dynasty. However, the war between Yongli and Shaowu consumed the remaining military and national strength of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

The two armies confronted each other in Sanshui, Guangdong Province. Shaowu Dynasty transferred all its troops to the front line, but the Qing army received intelligence at this time and marched quickly, and captured Guangzhou City, which had almost no defense, without bloodshed.

After the Qing army captured Guangzhou, Emperor Shaowu died of starvation, Su Guansheng hanged himself and died for his country, and the Shaowu Dynasty, which had been established for two months, came to an end.
When the Yongli emperor and his ministers in Zhaoqing discovered the Qing army in Guangzhou, all the heroic spirit they had during the internal struggle disappeared instantly. Without waiting for the Qing army to send troops, they immediately fled again and fled to Guangxi Province. The entire Guangdong Province fell. It was simply the biggest joke in the world.
The establishment of the Shaowu Dynasty had almost no significance except to split the Ming Dynasty and consume the remaining manpower and material resources of the Ming Dynasty.

"We must find a way to resolve the Shaowu Dynasty in advance."

Zhu Lang narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the information he had obtained in his previous life.

When Emperor Shaowu crossed the sea to come, he only had the title of King of Tang, and had no foundation in Guangdong Province. The reason why the Shaowu Dynasty was established was almost entirely due to the former Longwu University Scholar Su Guansheng.
Since Yongli's legal lineage was the most legitimate, and Zhaoqing and Guangzhou were only a hundred miles apart, why didn't Su Guansheng support Yongli, but instead wanted to establish an extremely reluctant Emperor Shaowu?
Because Qu Shisi, Ding Kuichu, and Lu Daqi, who supported Yongli, all looked down on Su Guansheng.

Su Guansheng was originally a student of the Imperial Academy. During the Chongzhen Dynasty, he was only a minor official of the seventh or eighth rank. After the fall of the Chongzhen Dynasty, Su Guansheng fled to Nanjing. It happened that the Hongguang Dynasty was established, and he caught up with the new dynasty's great enfeoffment, so he also became a fifth-rank official.
However, the Hongguang Dynasty lasted less than half a year before it was conquered by the Qing Dynasty. Su Guansheng then continued to flee southwards and met the Longwu Emperor, who was still the King of Tang at the time.

Su Guansheng then contacted Zheng Zhilong's brother Zheng Hongkui and together they persuaded Zheng Zhilong to support Emperor Longwu.

After receiving support from Zheng, Emperor Longwu ascended the throne in Fujian Province. Su Guansheng, because of his merit in following the emperor, also jumped from a minor official of the seventh or eighth rank a few years ago to a cabinet minister of the Longwu Dynasty.
Such a rapid promotion would naturally cause dissatisfaction among the officials in the court.

When Su Guansheng heard in Guangzhou that Qu Shisi, Ding Kuichu, Lu Daqi and others supported Yongli, he also submitted a petition to persuade them to ascend the throne, but the three of them did not comment on Su Guansheng's petition.

As the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ding Kuichu held the largest military power and money in Guangdong Province. Su Guansheng was entrenched in Guangzhou, which was already rich, and Su Guansheng had a newly recruited army of about 3,000 people under his command.
Once Su Guansheng entered Zhaoqing, another minister from Guangdong Province with troops and food would appear in the court, which would seriously threaten Ding Kuichu's position. Ding Kuichu would naturally not agree to Su Guansheng's entry into the court.
Lü Daqi and Su Guansheng were both Grand Secretaries of the Longwu Dynasty, but Lü Daqi was a legitimate imperial scholar, having passed the imperial examination twice. He always regarded Su Guansheng, who was born in a mixed family and rose to a high position by virtue of his support, as a treacherous and treacherous minister.
During the Longwu Dynasty, the two had never had any contact with each other. At this time, the court was full of upright people, so naturally, it was impossible for them to agree to let a treacherous villain like Su Guansheng enter the court.
Qu Shisi had no grudge against Su Guansheng, but he was also a student of the imperial examination system, and he had no good feelings towards Su Guansheng, a university scholar who was a student of the Imperial Academy, so he also ignored Su Guansheng's memorial.

According to records, Su Guansheng submitted a petition to persuade the emperor to ascend the throne, but after the petition was sent to Zhaoqing, it was ignored without any response. The letter Zhaoqing sent to Su Guansheng only ordered him to guard Guangzhou, and did not even mention whether he recognized his status as a university scholar.

Su Guansheng was a Grand Secretary of the Longwu Dynasty, and his official position was also granted by the court. However, these three people ordered him around like a petty official. Su Guansheng was of course very angry.

It happened that Emperor Shaowu, who was still the King of Tang, crossed the sea to come, so Su Guansheng simply started a new government, supported the King of Tang, and established the Shaowu Dynasty.
If we examine the entire process of the establishment of the Shaowu Dynasty, we can find that the so-called Shaowu-Yongli struggle was actually still a struggle for power and internal struggle among the ministers of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

"The establishment of the Shaowu Dynasty was entirely due to Su Guansheng. If Su Guansheng is solved, the Shaowu Dynasty will be solved."

Zhu Lang wrote the three words "Su Guansheng" on the paper and drew a circle around them.
It was actually very simple to deal with Su Guansheng. Su Guansheng was angry and established his own regime. The ultimate reason was that he was not recognized by the Yongli Dynasty.
As long as he was summoned to the court and given a corresponding position, Su Guansheng would naturally stop messing with the Shaowu Dynasty.
Moreover, Su Guansheng had another advantage in entering the court. Su Guansheng was at odds with the three parties in Zhaoqing City, and he came from a mixed family, so he could hardly find any allies in the court.

For Su Guansheng, this is of course a huge disadvantage, but for Zhu Lang, this is precisely Su Guansheng's greatest advantage.
"It seems that we have to let Su Guansheng enter the court."

Zhu Lang whispered to himself, a plan quickly took shape in his mind, and Zhu Lang's eyes became brighter and brighter.
Thinking of this, Zhu Lang no longer hesitated, stood up and locked the wooden box, and then called Wu Jisi

Although he had decided to summon Su Guansheng to the court, he had to look at his specific situation before he could figure out whether he could be used by him.

(End of this chapter)