You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 154 Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but unite against external threats.

Five days later.

Sun Kewang from Guiyang was shocked when he learned of the news.

Five days later.

Li Dingguo from Nanning was equally shocked when he learned of the news.

Five days later.

A checkpoint outside Guiyang city.

The soldiers guarding the checkpoint saw a group of cavalrymen in bright armor and immediately drew their bows and nocked arrows.

"Stop, who are you?"

The burly Li Dingguo spurred his horse forward and removed his helmet.

"I am Li Dingguo."

"Lead the way, we're going to Guiyang."

The captain guarding the checkpoint was nearly scared to death. He sent someone back to inform them while simultaneously opening the checkpoint. The Qin and Jin states had always been at odds, to the point that they each established their own independent regimes, seized their own territories, and resisted the Qing. What had happened today?
……

Guiyang City.

Sun Kewang could hardly believe his ears.

"Li Dingguo is here? How many soldiers and how many cannons did he bring?"

"The guards numbered less than a hundred, and there was not a single cannon."

"real or fake?"

"It's true."

"Summon the Imperial Guards and have them ready to obey orders at any time. Send another detachment to welcome the Prince of Jin, and tell him that I am waiting for him in Guiyang."

Sun Kewang's expression was uncertain; he wasn't sure of Li Dingguo's intentions, so he had prepared for both possibilities. Was this a trap or a reconciliation? It depended on the situation.

In short, the current situation is very critical.

Half an hour later.

The moment the two men's eyes met when the weary Li Dingguo entered the city.

Li Dingguo unexpectedly knelt on one knee.

"Brother~"

This shout seemed to pull Sun Kewang back to the days more than a decade ago when the two of them were under the command of their adoptive father, Zhang Xianzhong. Those were truly bitter times, but also days of true youth.

"Brother, get up."

"Brother, at this critical juncture for the survival of our Great Western Army, please give the order, and I will go to drive out the Qing army."

"But the enemy's situation is currently unclear."

"Brother! If Yunnan is lost, hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters in the Great Western Army will die without a burial place. In Guangxi, Kong Youde is eyeing us covetously, and my troops dare not move in Nanning. Brother, give me half of the Imperial Guard and let me go to Yunnan."

"Let's go and discuss it together."

The two walked hand in hand into the palace.

……

Two days later, Emperor Yongli, Zhu Youlang, who was far away in Anlong Prefecture, also sent people over.

Just as Jiang Qingyun had predicted, at this critical juncture, the various factions of the Southern Ming finally managed to unite, albeit reluctantly, and temporarily set aside their conflicts.

As the saying goes, it's all about timing and fate.

The trend is irresistible.

If a person wants to accomplish something, they can only take advantage of the existing situation, not go against it.

This was still 1651, so there was still something to discuss.

If by 1657, the various factions of the Southern Ming would rather give up resisting the Qing army and first use force to annihilate them.

……

Time passes day by day.

Pu'er City.

General Wang Jinbao, who had been advancing unimpeded, sensed danger and decisively led his troops to retreat north on the 13th day.

"Brothers, discard everything except weapons and provisions."

Some people are reluctant to throw away their gold and silver.

He then publicly swore:

"Returning alive is a victory, and the future of us loyal subjects is bright. I guarantee that Your Highness will make up for your losses upon our return."

The crowd fell silent, discarding their gold and silver treasures and leaving without incident. The reason was simple: the Guan Ning Army was adept at maneuvering, an instinct ingrained in their very bones.

East Road.

Before Zu Zerun's army arrived in Kunming, Duke Mu Tianbo of Qian mistakenly believed that the Eight Banners elite troops had arrived and fled the city in panic. With him taking the lead, half of the already small garrison force ran away.

The city gates swung open. Once again, the scene of the gentry joyfully welcoming the heavenly army unfolded.

Zu Zerun entered Kunming without firing a single shot, beaming with joy.

That night~
The soldiers under his command were like rats that had fallen into a rice jar, indulging in drinking, eating meat, and playing with women—a long-standing problem for the Guan Ning Army.

……

on the street.

A crying woman ran ahead, and a shirtless captain chased after her.

I happened to run into Zu Zerun.

"Bastard thing."

"General, please calm down. I am exhausted from the battle and lost my composure for a moment."

"At noon tomorrow, the entire army will retreat. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

"Whoo."

Despite their indulgence, the veterans still obediently assembled at the drill ground in the morning.

Under the watchful eyes of the Kunming gentry, Zu Zerun's army miraculously withdrew from Kunming again, claiming before leaving that he was going to raise funds and would return soon.

On the walls of Kunming, several Qing army triangular flags fluttered in the wind, yet no one dared to pull them down.

3 days later~
Li Dingguo led his troops to the scene and took over the empty city.

The severed Qing flag fell to the ground, along with dozens of heads of men who had just had their heads shaved.

"Prince Jin, what should we do?"

“Pursue! I believe that the force that raided Yunnan was probably just a very small Qing scout.”

Li Dingguo abandoned his infantry and personally led his cavalry in pursuit along the hoofprints left by the Qing army. Five days later, they caught up with Zu Zerun's troops who were preparing to cross a small river.

Both sides were greatly shocked.

Li Dingguo was shocked to learn that the Qing army numbered over a thousand.

Zu Zerun was shocked that there were actually Ming soldiers who dared to pursue them.

……

The vanguard army consisted of elite veterans under Sun Kewang, and the Wu army was also composed of elite veterans. In short, today it was a battle of elites against elites, a fight to the death.

In the heat of battle~
Li Dingguo spurred his horse straight at the enemy general, and in full view of everyone, he beheaded Zu Zerun with a single stroke.

By sunset, only about 300 Wu cavalrymen had escaped in panic, while the remaining 1100 or so had been killed in battle.

"Long live the Prince of Jin."

"Long live the Ming Dynasty!"

The soldiers cheered excitedly as they cleaned up the battlefield.

Zu Dashou's adopted son, Zu Zerun, a first-class viscount, died in Yunnan. His head was sent to Kunming, Guiyang, and Anlong Prefecture for exhibition to inspire people.

Li Dingguo and Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qian, rebuilt the defense line and blocked the Tea Horse Road.

King Liu Wenxiu of Shu was forced to abandon some of his strongholds in southern Sichuan and lead his army to retreat, but that's another story.

……

July 14th, late at night.

Upon receiving the news of the victory at the front, the Ministry of War dared not delay and sent it to the Forbidden City overnight.

Emperor Shunzhi was so excited that he couldn't sleep at night.

"Your subject Wu Sangui kowtows. My troops, disregarding the summer heat and fearless of death, led small elite forces to infiltrate Yunnan, capturing multiple prefectures and counties, killing 12000 Ming soldiers, burning 8000 shi of Ming army provisions, and even briefly breaching Kunming. Afterwards, they successfully drove out Liu Wenxiu's troops in southern Sichuan. However, Li Dingguo's troops withdrew tens of thousands of elite soldiers from Guangxi to defend the region. My troops retreated north, temporarily abandoning Yunnan. Zu Zerun volunteered to cover the rear, but unfortunately, he fell ill due to the summer heat and could not recover despite treatment. He was surrounded by Li Dingguo's large army, and in the ensuing fierce battle, Zu Zerun unfortunately died in battle."

“The Prince of Pingxi is truly a valiant general.”

While praising him, Shunzhi couldn't help but wonder if Jiang Qingyun had suggested "informing the Manchu army in advance that they were about to march south, thus urging the four princes at the front to launch a full-scale attack."

The next day.

early morning.

Emperor Shunzhi announced the good news to the public, posthumously conferred upon Zu Zerun the title of Marquis, with his original title to be inherited by his son, and awarded him 1000 taels of silver for funeral expenses, as well as encouragement to his family.

The ministers shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

"May Heaven bless the Qing Dynasty, may Heaven bless the Emperor."

"The unification of the country is just around the corner."

Emperor Shunzhi was overjoyed:
"Military matters are urgent; make preparations immediately. Reinforcements will march south in fifteen days."

……

at the same time.

Guangxi direction!

Prince Dingnan, Kong Youde, led his army from Guilin Prefecture, while Prince Pingnan, Shang Kexi, set out from Wuzhou Prefecture, launching a fierce attack on the defenses surrounding Nanning City.

(End of this chapter)