Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 184 National Title: Heaven
The Qing Dynasty immediately disintegrated after Ma Ge's death.

Upon receiving the news, Yinzhi, along with Darhan King Lobzang Gunbu, led their troops north without hesitation...

According to the original plan, after Ma Ge arrived in Taiyuan, they should retreat to Shanxi along the same route, and then Yin Zhi should go south to garrison Taiyuan. The Mongol cavalry led by Lobsang Gunbu should be stationed in Daibei, with this main force as Ma Ge's backing, while guarding the northern front and preventing the Heavenly Army from crossing the Taihang Mountains.

But now this road is impassable.

So, relying on their superior cavalry force, they headed directly north, and then, amidst Yinreng's curses, bypassed the capital and exited through Juyong Pass...

The latter was hoping they could give him a hand!

But they left so resolutely that they didn't even look back at him.

Enraged, Yinreng decided to have his way with the situation and announced in the capital that Yinsi had murdered his father, plotted rebellion, and forged an imperial edict.

At this time, Yinzhi was still unaware of whether he was alive or dead.

So it's perfectly acceptable to pin the blame on him.

Ma Ge's body was discovered by the militia, dragged directly to Baoding, and then sent to Kaifeng, where it was exhibited along the way.

Although they all went bad later.

Even if it stinks, it still has to be exhibited in Yangzhou.

In short, he admitted that Ma Ge was dead, and although he had been deposed as crown prince, as the eldest son of the legitimate heir, he should inherit the throne in the absence of a crown prince. Then, amidst the advice of a group of ministers, he announced his ascension to the throne in the capital and held a coronation ceremony to proclaim it to all. This was considered to have finally fulfilled his lifelong wish. However, no one paid any attention to him, mainly because his imperial edict could not reach all corners of the country, and even where it could be reached, no one paid any attention to him.

After Yinzhi left Juyong Pass, he left troops to block it. Those loyal farmers heading north to seek refuge could pass, but no orders from the capital allowed them to pass.

Of course, Yinreng would be even more forbidden from doing so.

Since Ma Ge's plan is to make him a scapegoat in the capital to draw attention to his own death, then we shouldn't let Ma Ge die with regrets.

In short, you should honestly defend the capital and buy time for your brothers!
But Yinreng wasn't stupid. Staying in the capital would have meant certain death anyway. Besides, his men had already started deserting. For these scoundrels, it didn't matter which prince they followed, so why stay in the capital and wait to die? Whether they went out of Shanhaiguan to join the Fourth Prince or out of Juyongguan to join the Fourteenth Prince, it was better than staying in the capital with him. In short, the 10,000 troops left to him by Ma Ge were deserting at a rate of hundreds every day. Even closing the city gates was useless, since those guarding the gates would also flee. In the end, the newly enthroned Qing emperor issued an edict to retreat to the summer heat, and then left the capital with his last few thousand confidants, heading directly north to Chengde.

As for Yinzhi, he was escorted to Xi'an by troops sent by Yintai and ascended the throne there. As the famous Eighth Prince, he was still very popular among officials.

After all, he and Brother Ma are on the same path.

Corrupt officials?

They were all pillars of the Qing Dynasty. What's wrong with them making a little money?
They devoted themselves to the Qing Dynasty; shouldn't they be allowed to enjoy a better life?
In short, the second emperor of our Great Qing Dynasty was born.

Yinzhi acknowledged his imperial throne but refused to send troops south. Yinsi had no choice but to formally confer upon him the title of Prince, while he remained in charge of Shanxi as Grand General, effectively forming a regional military governor.

Yinzhi halted his counterattack on Luoyang. Yintai, who had become the pillar of the Qing Dynasty, led his troops back to Tongguan to defend the city. During the more than one month-long counterattack on Luoyang, more than 50,000 corpses were piled up outside the city. After retreating to Tongguan, he unhesitatingly shifted the blame for the failed attack onto the newly formed Eight Banners generals, killing more than 100 of them in one go, which ultimately triggered a mutiny among the newly formed Eight Banners.

But having been prepared, or rather, waiting for the mutiny, he commanded the Green Standard Army, which he had secretly mobilized, to carry out a bloody suppression.

Then they massacred more than 30,000 people.

Corpses floated on the Yellow River, blocking its flow.

At the same time, the Green Standard Army and the Eight Banners, as well as the Mongol cavalry, carried out the same bloody massacre of the families of the newly formed Eight Banners, just like the land grabbing in the north in the past, directly seizing their farmland as banner estates and capturing their old, weak, women and children as slaves.

After all, there were still quite a few loyal followers of Yinzhi.

Although 100,000 of the 400,000 loyal followers who went west with Ma Ge died in the mountains, this huge number still ensured that there were many survivors. In fact, 150,000 eventually reached Xi'an.

Moreover, most of them were relatively strong, since those who weren't strong would likely end up in their bellies. The loyal peasants who survived this calamity had, to some extent, regained the ferocity of their ancestors. Although they were indeed like frightened birds when facing the Heavenly Army, suppressing the newly formed Eight Banners was still quite easy for them. Just like their ancestors, they stormed into village after village, killing all the adult men, then seizing the women and children, turning them into their own slaves, and converting their land into their own banner estates.

My Great Qing Dynasty is alive again.

It feels just like those days!
Of course, the Mongol cavalry, who were with them, also reaped considerable rewards.

So everyone swept away the gloom of Brother Ma's death and suddenly felt like they were back in the joy of the massacre.

When Longkodo arrived in Shengjing, he accused Yinzhi of deliberately abandoning Ma Ge after Ma Ge was injured, leaving him to fend for himself at Wulonggou Fort. He also claimed that Yinzhi had blocked his request to escort Ma Ge north, placing the blame entirely on Yinzhi for Ma Ge's death. He further alleged that Ma Ge's injuries were only minor, and that Yinzhi's neglect had aggravated the wounds. He further accused Yinzhi of not only refusing to treat Ma Ge but also forbidding others from doing so, even prohibiting other princes from attending to Ma Ge – all blatant acts of disobedience and filial impiety. Therefore, the Fourth Prince refused to acknowledge Yinzhi's ascension to the throne in Shengjing. However, after much persuasion from Longkodo and others, he was ultimately forced to declare himself regent, not emperor. He also announced that if anyone were to eliminate the evil spirits and avenge Ma Ge, he would step down from his position as a subject.

Thus, the third Qing Dynasty emerged.

In fact, there is a fourth one.

No one knows how Yinti did it. He actually led a group of confidants through the chaos after Yinzhi withdrew his troops and before the imperial army had time to head north. They crossed Shuntian Prefecture and went all the way to Jidong. Then they took a boat at Canshakou and headed south. Although he didn't arrive in Ningbo for two months due to wind direction and other issues, the scholars of Jiangnan regarded it as a treasure.

He was then sent to Hangzhou, and with the support of the officials in Jiangnan, he refused to recognize the Xi'an court, using the excuse that Yinzhi had deliberately abandoned Ma Ge, which led to Ma Ge's death. He then ascended the throne in Hangzhou as the eldest son of the emperor.

Therefore, the fourth Qing Dynasty also appeared.

Moreover, the Qing Dynasty immediately gained recognition from Liangjiang, Huguang, Fujian and Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi, and even Yunnan and Guizhou, instantly becoming the largest in terms of territory.

The eldest prince!

It is reasonable for him to succeed to the throne since there is no crown prince.

Of course, everyone could ignore any such decrees from Xi'an.

Moreover, Yinti only brought about a thousand confidants south, and he basically had no real power. He was just like a puppet, which was also the favorite of the gentry in Jiangnan.

Ultimately, this led to the situation where four Qing dynasties coexisted.

However, the Heavenly Army had no time to deal with these messy affairs, because Yinzhi and Yinreng had both fled, and Shuntian and Yongping prefectures had been completely abandoned. The Heavenly Army still had to take over. In addition, during the time when the Celestial Venerable was stationed in Yangzhou, the Huaiyang area was also controlled by a large number of unruly people. They drove out local officials, purged the gentry, and with the help of the attendants sent by the Celestial Venerable, they had also completed the militia formation. In short, the entire north had effectively become Celestial territory. But because the expansion was too rapid, all sorts of messy things also appeared. After all, it was inevitable with Yang Feng's way of doing things. Therefore, all the places realized that they needed a real regime, a court that could take charge of the overall situation, or even a new emperor.

but……

"I will definitely not become emperor, and I will not stay for much longer, so you need to discuss how to govern the country as soon as possible."

If you want a new emperor, you should discuss and come up with a solution as soon as possible.

Upon returning to Kaifeng, the Immortal Venerable addressed the pilgrims from all over the country who had come to petition him to become emperor.

“This world was conquered by the Immortal Venerable. If the Immortal Venerable doesn’t become emperor, then who is worthy to be emperor?” said one of the worshippers.

Others echoed this sentiment.

"Actually, you have some misunderstandings about the emperor. Does the emperor have to be hereditary? Does the emperor have to be the only one who is supreme?"

Yang Feng said.

The worshippers looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Why can't the emperor be elected in turn? Why can't he be chosen by the people? Even drawing lots would be acceptable. The emperor doesn't necessarily have to hold absolute power. If a foolish emperor holds absolute power, he will only make a mess of the country. For example, Emperor Chongzhen. The Ming Dynasty's cabinet also governed the country. Although the governance was not good, it was because the people who made up the cabinet were incompetent."

They are all scholars, so of course they are not good at fighting; they are all from the gentry, so of course they should protect the gentry.

The composition of the cabinet can be redefined, including military officers, civil officials, merchants, artisans, and farmers. The imperial examinations should be conducted separately, and officials should be appointed through a system where those who perform well are respected by the people and can be elected as cabinet ministers. The emperor should also be elected, and this minister would be responsible for making major decisions, such as war, which require his approval. In emergencies, he can issue direct orders, and he can also adjudicate legal disputes. However, he wouldn't be needed for routine governance matters.

Yang Feng said.

Military cabinet...

"Then who gets military power?"

One of the worshippers raised the core question.

"The army is made up of heavenly soldiers, so of course they obey the will of heaven."

"I won't completely abandon you after I get back. Since the army is a divine force, they should listen to me. I'll leave them something to contact me; they can come to me if they need anything."

Yang Feng said.

This is how Her Majesty the Empress of the Ming Dynasty played.

She is currently enjoying a carefree life in the modern world while remotely controlling her empire. She is the supreme commander of the army, and when she is not around, the main generals of the army have means to contact her. The country is governed by the cabinet, and when the main generals of the army believe that there is a situation that requires her intervention, they can report to her, and then she can descend with a dragon. At that time, those who need to kill their entire family can line up and wait to kill their entire family.

This remote-controlled mode of rule allowed her to control the overall direction of the country.

As for Yang Feng, he could also set a timeframe for the military leadership, during which he would open a spatial rift to receive their reports.

The reporting process is also very simple: just leave them a computer with a solar panel, connect it to the network while opening the spatial rift, and then they can send him emails.

It's very easy to use.

This is a sacred relic of the Immortal Venerable.

The worshippers were relieved. As long as the immortal lord did not abandon the world, everything else would be fine.

"But how should this emperor be selected?"

Another question has been raised.

"Actually, I think the selection process is a bit complicated. It would be better to select candidates by county in different regions and set a few conditions. For example, they should be literate, but not necessarily in the way that scholars are literate. They just need to know the commonly used characters. They should also be of good character and talent. They should not be too young or too old, and they should be in good health. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome if they died of illness not long after being selected."

An emperor can't reign forever; he can only serve from thirty to sixty, and then abdicate after sixty.

The candidates selected from each county will then take an exam. I will set the exam questions and grade the papers. The top 100 will be interviewed, and then the top 10 will be drawn again. These top 10 will then draw lots, all of which will be presided over by me. The one who is drawn will become the emperor.

If he governs the country effectively during his reign, then after his death, I will personally escort his soul to the celestial realm.

Yang Feng said.

Drawing lots is the fairest method.

He can accept smoking once every thirty years.

This kind of local selection is actually very feasible, but no matter who they select, in the end they still have to take an exam and an interview, and finally decide by drawing lots.

It's called a lottery, but it's really no different from him designating the winners, since he decides how they're drawn.

That's it.

If governing the country satisfies him, he can ascend to the immortal realm!

Moreover, changing the emperor every thirty years can ensure stability. After all, thirty years is a long time, and many things will become established rules. It is not easy for a new emperor to change them, unless those rules have been proven to be unavoidable.

"What is the name of that country? Heaven?"

The worshipper asked again.

"That's fine, but we need to discuss this further before making a decision."

Yang Feng said.

Of course, the discussion was also very simple.

These worshippers were selected from various regions, but some hadn't arrived yet. Furthermore, the Heavenly Army had only conquered a limited area, so they needed to wait for more worshippers to join. Yang Feng's design had already solved their most pressing need. They didn't necessarily need an emperor or a court, but they at least needed to know a clear future. As long as they had that, they could simply wait and do what they needed to do, which was even more motivating than having a new court.

After all, ideals are always alluring.

But once it's achieved, you'll face all sorts of problems.

Dating is wonderful, but marriage means facing the realities of life.

Therefore, keeping them in the passion of their relationship is undoubtedly the best course of action.

Thus, the Heavenly Army's expansion came to an end. After all, conquering a third of the country in less than a year was too rapid, and there were simply too many problems to solve. It would be difficult to continue expanding outwards until these problems were resolved. As for the four Qing dynasties, none of them admitted that the one dragged to Yangzhou for exhibition was Ma Ge. Although their accounts differed, they all acknowledged Ma Ge's death, only that he was buried in different places. Ultimately, it was too shameful for one's own father to be paraded through the streets after his death, even after he had decomposed and was infested with maggots.

In the end, Ma Ge was ground to ashes on the banks of the Yangtze River and then thrown into the Yangtze River to disappear completely.

(End of this chapter)