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

Chapter 184 Sun Kewang Turns Against Me
Late at night.

Sun Kewang was filled with regret.

During the banquet, he could tell from the words and actions of those six soldiers that the hundreds of thousands of troops fighting abroad had become Li Dingguo's loyal followers.

His heart was bleeding; a large portion of those troops were armies he had personally funded and equipped.

slap~
He even slapped himself hard.

At first~
How could I have been so bewitched as to believe Li Dingguo's nonsense about "brothers fighting amongst themselves to unite against external threats"? In this world, there is clearly only one truth—the victor is king, the loser is villain!

Sun Kewang tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

In his dream, hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Great Western Army shouted "Long live the Prince of Jin" with fervor. Li Dingguo, dressed in golden armor, stood on that high place, radiating brilliance, like a god.

A young soldier walked over and angrily rebuked him: "Sun Kewang, kneel down now! That is His Highness Prince Jin, who defeated three famous princes and restored the Ming Dynasty!"

Everyone around him snarled in unison, their voices filled with malice: "Old Sun, kneel down."

When he woke up, Sun Kewang was drenched in sweat. He knew that the day Li Dingguo returned in triumph would be the day he fell from power.

……

Good news kept coming from the front lines, and the soldiers and civilians of Guiyang were overjoyed.

A trusted informant planted in Yuezhou Prefecture sent back a secret letter:
Court official Ma Jixiang suddenly arrived in Yuezhou for a secret meeting with Li Dingguo. The two talked for an hour, but the content of their conversation is unknown. Afterwards, Li Dingguo was in low spirits and remained silent.

Ma Jixiang was a confidant of the Yongli Emperor.

This suggests that Emperor Yongli and Li Dingguo are likely to join forces against him.

"Foolish, foolish indeed."

At first glance, one might think Sun Kewang was criticizing Emperor Yongli and Li Dingguo.

But in reality, he was criticizing himself. He had unwittingly contributed to Li Jinwang's unparalleled achievements.

Centuries later, people only know the war god Li Dingguo. Who will remember Sun Kewang, who quietly raised funds and supplies?
Under no circumstances should Li Dingguo be allowed to win.

next day~
He wrote a heartfelt letter to Li Dingguo, praising his military achievements and agreeing to a joint attack on Jingzhou by both armies.

Afterwards, he ordered his trusted confidants to send letters to his trusted generals fighting on the front lines, such as Feng Shuangli and Ma Jinzhong.

……

Yuezhou City.

Li Dingguo took charge of both military and political affairs, appointing local officials, overseeing training, raising funds and supplies, predicting future battle situations, and assembling troops.

Inside the command post, all the generals were gathered.

"Brothers, since the late Emperor Chongzhen died for his country, the court's anti-Qing cause has never been as glorious as it is today. Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi have been connected into one."

"Two months ago, I sent envoys to visit Liu Tichun, Li Laiheng, and Zheng Sen, hoping that they would also send troops to join forces in resisting the Qing."

"Soon afterward, His Highness the Prince of Qin led his elite vanguard army to Dongting Lake by waterway."

A young Yao general couldn't help but ask:
"Your Highness, if this means there are no troops in Yunnan and Guizhou, what will happen to Wu Sangui, who has troops stationed in southern Sichuan?"

Li Dingguo thought about it and decided that there was no need to keep it a secret anymore, so he simply spoke out.

“Wu Sangui also had the intention to rebel against the Qing. After destroying Nikan, I sent an envoy to Jiading (Leshan) in southern Sichuan. He verbally promised that if we could annihilate the Qing army in Hubei, he would lead his troops north to attack Shaanxi and Gansu. The two sides fought their own battles and did not interfere with each other.”

The crowd was in an uproar, never expecting the Prince of Pingxi to be so treacherous.

……

A cautious general asked:

"Your Highness, can the words of a traitor who has served three masters be trusted?"

"I've thought it over. If he takes Shaanxi and Gansu, he can replenish his troops and population, and also seize the strategic high ground in the north. From a military point of view, it's reasonable. By the way, he provided the troop deployment map for the last surprise attack on the Qing army in Guangxi."

Everyone nodded silently.

The migration from Shaanxi and Gansu to Sichuan served two purposes: firstly, it provided land for cultivation; secondly, it replenished the army; and thirdly, there was a basis for cooperation between the two sides. From this perspective, Wu Sangui indeed had no motive to launch a surprise attack on Yunnan and Guizhou.

The key point is that there is no safer solution at the moment.

Without the elite Imperial Guard, built with the resources of Guizhou, the current forces might not be able to defeat the Eight Banners troops in Jingzhou.

Li Dingguo raised his right hand:
"Quiet, quiet."

"Gentlemen, my strategic plan is to concentrate all our forces to annihilate the Qing army in Jingzhou, sweep through Hubei, then build warships on the spot, and send the army down the Yangtze River to take over the fertile land of Jiangnan. Then we will turn around and attack Guangdong. In this way, our great cause can be accomplished."

Wow~
The room erupted in jubilation. Someone led the chant of "Long live the Prince of Jin!"

Immediately, shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" resounded throughout the house.

"Brothers, long live the Ming Dynasty, long live the Emperor. What happened today must not be repeated, otherwise, we shall be like this table corner."

Li Dingguo drew his sword and cleanly chopped off the corner of the table.

The young officers fell silent and bowed.

"As ordered."

……

Guiyang.

"Your Highness, the Qing court has sent envoys to sue for peace, agreeing to cede the four provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guangxi, recognize Li Dingguo as the sole ruler of the southwest, and bestow upon him 10 taels of gold, 5000 fine horses, and two princesses for marriage alliances."

"What did you say?"

"It's absolutely true. The Qing envoy has already gone to Yuezhou with the imperial seal and a letter of credence. This cannot be false."

"The results of it?"

"The envoy was driven away by the King of Jin."

"Not a single mention of me?"

"No."

"What about Yongli?"

"nor."

Sun Kewang laughed in anger.

"Gentlemen, you are all close advisors of the Prince of Qin. Now that things have come to this, I believe you have all seen that the Prince of Jin is a villain. He is trying to win over the army and take my place. The soldiers only know the Prince of Jin, not me."

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

"Come here."

Sun Kewang revealed his long-planned scheme. Although everyone was frightened, they had no better choice because it concerned their own future.

……

time flies.

March is halfway over, the grass is growing and the birds are singing, spring is in full bloom.

Jingzhou City.

"Report! 5000 Guan Ning cavalry have been ordered to reinforce the city. The main force has just arrived at Jingmen, and the vanguard is already outside the city."

Ao Bai sneered repeatedly.

"Brother Qingyun, isn't that laughable?"

“It’s utterly ridiculous. He was acting on Nikan’s orders from last year.”

"Wu Sangui is a cunning old fox."

"General, what I'm worried about is whether these 5000 Guan Ning soldiers are trustworthy."

"Whether it's credible or not, I'll issue a military order to station these 5000 men at Songzi on the other side of the river. I'll provide them with food and supplies, and they'll be sent to harass Li Dingguo's scouts."

"The general is wise."

……

Two quarters of an hour later~
A young general walked into the yamen, looking travel-worn.

"Hu Guozhu, the general under the command of the Prince of Pingxi, pays his respects to the General of Dingyuan."

Ao Bai remained silent, but Jiang Qingyun spoke first.

"When did your unit set off, and which marching route did you choose?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, our unit, following the orders of General Dingyuan, set out last July. We originally intended to enter western Hunan via Luzhou and Chongqing, but Hunan has fallen. We had no choice but to detour, first leaving Sichuan, passing through Hanzhong and Xi'an, and then through Shanzhou..."

What an exhilarating march!
Jiang Qingyun wasn't surprised. Wu Sangui was always indecisive, hesitant, and a loser, always wanting to play a game he was guaranteed to win. Sooner or later, he would die because of his own weaknesses.

(End of this chapter)