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

Chapter 198 Sun Kewang surrendered, and Xiao Jiang's secret could no longer be kept.
After the war ended, peace and prosperity returned.

The gentry of Changsha presented the general with all sorts of precious medicinal herbs to nourish his body. Of course, they also offered some beautiful women.

Good things don't go out, bad things pass thousands of miles.

Jiang, the Imperial Censor, was known to everyone for his lecherous and domineering nature.

Another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Wu Sangui revealed his ferocious nature.

He dispatched a small elite force to feign an attack on Guizhou, and then suddenly launched a major offensive against Yunnan.

2 ragtag Green Standard Army soldiers, lightly armed, crossed the Ancient Tea Horse Road and within a month took control of the sparsely defended Yunnan province. They also established a defensive line in eastern Yunnan to prevent Li Dingguo from returning west.

Judging from the map, Li Dingguo was caught in a three-front war! Shang Kexi's troops in Guangdong, Jiang Qingyun's troops in Hunan, and Wu Sangui's troops in Yunnan were forming a pincer movement against Li Dingguo.

Fortunately, the main force of the Qing army in Hunan did not launch an attack, which made him realize once again that Jiang Qingyun was indeed an amateur.

Li Dingguo gained valuable time to form a new military and political team to replace Sun Kewang's old administration in Guangxi.

……

Kunming city.

All the civil and military officials shouted, "Congratulations, Prince Pingxi!"

Wu Sangui was smug and triumphant:
"Kunming has been captured. I will report the victory to the court today and request that the meritorious soldiers be rewarded. Yunnan and Sichuan were both conquered by us, so we brothers should be given priority in the rewards."

"That's what the prince said."

Everyone was beaming with joy.

But as soon as Wu Sangui left, they started arguing because of the unequal distribution of spoils; everyone wanted to get more official positions.

Wu Sangui's forces were mainly divided into three factions: the Liaodong faction, the Western faction, and the Shaanxi-Gansu faction.

These three groups had significant conflicts with each other, and Wu Sangui's personal prestige was the only means to suppress them.

The Liaodong faction consisted of veterans of the Guan-Ning Army, and due to the depletion of their numbers over the years of warfare, they were the fewest in number.

The Western faction consisted of surrendered officials from the Great Western Army, the Great Shun Army, and the Southern Ming.

The Shaanxi-Gansu faction was represented by the Four Generals of Hexi.

In the end, Wu Sangui had to personally intervene and appease the people before the list of those to be recommended for merit was finally approved.

……

With the arrival of early summer, Changsha is experiencing unbearable heat.

Sun Kewang traveled hastily through several provinces before finally kneeling before Jiang Qingyun.

"The Ming Dynasty's fate is sealed; the emperor is incompetent and the ministers are corrupt. It is destined to perish. The Great General is wise and mighty, overpowering Li Dingguo and intimidating the southwest. I want to serve the Qing Dynasty and the Great General."

"Effect? ​​How many people do you have under your command?"

"five hundred!"

After saying that, Sun Kewang blushed.

Jiang Qingyun burst into laughter, making no attempt to hide his genuine contempt.

"Sun Kewang, what are you barking about, you mere five hundred defeated soldiers?"

“General, but my mind is filled with the mountains and rivers, passes and fortifications of Guizhou. I know where the mountains are, where the roads are, where the soldiers are, and where the fields are. No one knows Guizhou better than me. If you are to conquer Guizhou, I am willing to be the vanguard of the army. With me here, we will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

"Hmm, it sounds like you still have some value."

Jiang Qingyun spoke so casually, and a huge weight was lifted from Sun Kewang's heart.

"General, I actually possess another major secret."

"Oh?"

"This matter is highly confidential. Please dismiss everyone else, General."

Sun Kewang crawled forward on his knees and whispered:
“Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi, secretly colluded with the Ming court and provided confidential intelligence for a long time. Otherwise, Li Dingguo could not have killed three princes, Kong Youde, Geng Jimao, and Nikan, and our Qing army would not have suffered such heavy casualties.”

"Such a horrifying thing has happened?"

"It's true."

"Is there any evidence?"

"This is a map of the troop deployment in Guangxi sent by Wu Sangui. I have made a copy of it."

"Alright, the Ministry of War has the draft; a quick check will reveal the truth."

"General, you should send troops immediately. You will surely be able to take over the entire Guizhou region within three months."

Jiang Qingyun's expression gradually turned cold.

“Sun Kewang, I do not trust you. You are Zhang Xianzhong’s adopted son, the ruler of the Great Western Kingdom, and Yongli bestowed upon you the title of Prince. Li Dingguo honored you as his elder brother. How can such a high-ranking official like you grovel before me? Could it be that you have already set up an ambush to trick my Eight Banners soldiers into entering Guizhou?” Sun Kewang’s face turned ashen.

"No, absolutely not. General, I built the Great Western Kingdom from scratch, but Li Dingguo and Yongli colluded and usurped my position. They even tried to kill me. I really have nowhere else to turn."

"Having nowhere else to turn, you came to seek refuge with the imperial court?"

"General, please believe in my loyalty. I hate Li Dingguo to the bone. I only want revenge. I want to destroy Li Dingguo and those ungrateful people."

Sun Kewang's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth.

……

Jiang Qingyun temporarily placed Sun Kewang under house arrest and then sent someone to summon Hu Guozhu.

"Guerrilla Commander Hu, there's a secret you should let your prince know."

"Please give your instructions, General."

"Sun Kewang has surrendered, and he has denounced your Prince Tongming to this official. To be honest, this matter is very troublesome."

"General, we..."

"Be bold!"

Jiang Qingyun angrily rebuked.

“This is a matter of great importance. How dare you, a mere guerrilla general, interrupt? Go back and tell your prince that I’ve taken care of Sun Kewang for ten thousand taels of gold.”

"Also, when your prince was enfeoffed, I spoke on his behalf before the emperor. He has to repay this heavy favor."

"Understood, sir. I will take care of it immediately."

"Hurry. I imagine your prince wouldn't want the Emperor to know about his erudition, would he?"

After saying that, Jiang Qingyun picked up the teacup.

Hu Guozhu took two steps back, knelt on one knee, and hurriedly left the headquarters. He cursed all the way, saying that all the civil officials were no good, and that Little Jiang was pretending to be Bao Zheng (a famous upright official).

The abdominal slander is the abdominal slander.

He immediately dispatched two trusted men, each with three horses, to return as quickly as possible to consult Wu Sangui.

……

Changsha.

Jiang Qingyun was indulging in the gentle embrace of the women from Hunan all day long, but the Eight Banners officers under his command couldn't resist and petitioned one after another.

Beller Bashar:
"General, we request permission to fight."

"What kind of war are you requesting?"

"The situation is excellent. Sun Kewang has volunteered to join us, and Wu Sangui is launching a fierce attack on Yunnan. The Ming army will surely be preoccupied with other matters at this time, which is the perfect opportunity for our army to march south and destroy the Ming in one fell swoop. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Please give the order, General."

The crowd behind him echoed in unison.

Jiang Qingyun shoved the woman in his arms away, strode up to Bashar, and pointed at him, cursing.

“Basha, you are a noble prince, and by all accounts, I should not insult you in public like this. But I am now the General of Dingyuan, and I have the right to call you a coward to your face.”

"What do you know about fighter jets? If you really knew how to fight, you wouldn't have been defeated so badly by Li Dingguo last year. The Xiang River was full of the corpses of our Eight Banners soldiers, and our commander-in-chief was beheaded and stripped of his armor and displayed to the public. What kind of lousy battle did you fight? You're just a lousy, good-for-nothing."

"Your Majesty!"

Bashar thought of Tunqi, and his knees buckled, and he knelt down with a thud.

Jiang Qingyun continued to hurl insults at the crowd:

“Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei, the three provinces you lost with your own hands, I have taken back with my own hands.”

"You bastards dare to teach me how to fight? My art of command is unparalleled and beyond comprehension; how could you semi-literate bumpkins possibly understand it?"

"Kneel down, everyone!"

Under the weight of his authority, everyone knelt on the ground.

Jiang Qingyun turned and left, then went into the inner room to listen to a lively folk song, drank a bowl of medicine, and then came out.

Seeing that everyone was still kneeling.

He suddenly changed to a kind and approachable tone:

"Get up."

"I understand your desire to strike at the heart of the enemy, but the problem is that you have not grasped my strategic intentions at all."

"How about this, let's have dinner together. If you have any opinions or questions, please feel free to ask, and I will answer them one by one so that you can understand my good intentions."

(End of this chapter)