The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

After the Green Standard Army soldiers were dealt with, more than 300 people came leading horses. Among them, a burly man with a face full of tumors stepped forward and saluted Kangxi.

"Your Majesty, your servant Ah Hai is late in coming to your rescue!"

Kangxi was still in shock, but he forced himself to keep a straight face and not let himself show any cowardice. He knew that apart from Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, no one would respect a spineless emperor.

"It's alright, it's alright, we've come at just the right time."

"Where is Prince An now? How many troops does he have? I ordered an immediate march, why has he only arrived today?"

Right now, Kangxi only wants to gain military power and then find a place to recuperate. These past few days have felt like walking on thin ice; he needs a sense of security.

"Prince An has stationed troops in Baoding Prefecture. He now has 20,000 Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners cavalry and 10,000 Green Standard Army soldiers equipped with cannons and muskets. After receiving news of the Emperor's disappearance, he sent a commander who knew the Emperor to protect him."

After understanding the situation, Kangxi was also worried about Galdan's army pursuing him, so he immediately rushed to Baoding Prefecture.

Hebei is mostly plains, and they were all cavalry; they arrived at Baoding city by noon the next day.

Seeing the large army outside the city, Kangxi felt much more at ease. However, he couldn't be happy at all, because along the way were counties where officials had abandoned their posts, and the people were cheering as if they had been reborn.

He knew that the people near Hebei already regarded the Qing Dynasty as an enemy, and that the north could no longer be tolerated.

It didn't react before.

It was just that a large army was suppressing it.

Inside the government office, Prince An, nearly fifty years old, with crooked eyebrows, slanted eyes, and a face full of wrinkles, was Nurhaci's grandson and considered the most capable commander in the Qing Dynasty.

However, Prince An did not give Kangxi a friendly look at this moment, and simply bowed.

"Yue Dong greets Your Majesty!"

He already knew the situation in Beijing. Almost all the families of the Eight Banners nobles had been wiped out, including his wife and children. How could he not blame Kangxi?

However, after Huang Taiji and Shunzhi became emperors, the originally undisciplined Eight Banners gradually took the imperial power as their spiritual pillar, so they naturally had to be saved, otherwise Yue Dong would not be able to stabilize people's hearts.

"Prince An, how is the battle going?"

Kangxi suppressed his anger. He knew that Prince An usually referred to himself as a servant and treated him with utmost respect. He never expected him to turn on him so quickly.

Kangxi was too young, and his acting skills were nothing compared to those of a seasoned veteran. But Prince An didn't think so; having troops in his hands was the only real advantage.

"Now Wu Sangui has occupied Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Hunan, and is now eyeing Hubei, Jingzhou and Guangxi. His military advance is becoming increasingly uncontrollable."

"As for Geng Jingzhong, he occupies most of Fujian and is launching a fierce attack on southern Zhejiang, while Shang Kexi is holding out to the death in Guangdong!"

"However, now that the capital has been lost, the Qing Dynasty cannot function without a capital for coordination. I still suggest that Your Majesty retreat to Guanzhong and block the passes!"

The way Prince An addressed himself as "this prince" was a way of testing Kangxi's bottom line. After all, who would want to remain a prince forever if they could become a regent or even the emperor?

After all, they were all Nurhaci's offspring.

Whoever takes the position, it doesn't matter.

Kangxi stared intently at Prince An, his hands clenched tightly behind his back.

Absolutely do not go to Guanzhong. Not only will the economy there be cut off, but it will also be easy to fall into the pincer attack of Galdan and Wu Sangui. Moreover, the people there are all Prince An's men. If there is no one to restrain his power, you will be a puppet emperor.

Besides, he now calls himself "the king".

I'm afraid he won't even be able to be a puppet emperor!

Thinking of this, Kangxi suddenly turned around and looked at the commanders of the Bordered Yellow, Plain Yellow and Plain White Banners. His expression was very serious, and he was showing his true feelings.

"And you? Are you also going to Guanzhong?"

"Don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

These three banners belong to the Upper Three Banners, which belong to the Qing Emperor and are a guarantee of Kangxi's power. But now, he dares not guarantee that he can persuade them.

However, Kangxi had no choice. He would rather die than be a puppet emperor for Prince An!

In the end, Kangxi's gamble paid off. He promoted all three commanders. Although they were won over by Prince An, they didn't have the audacity or guts to defy the emperor's orders to his face.

"We swear to follow the Emperor to the death!"

Kangxi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Fortunately, after removing Oboi, since there were no generals available, I personally promoted three commanders from the Niru Ejen. Now, it's an unexpected stroke of luck."

With the three banners of Suixin defecting, all the other Manchu and Mongol Eight Banner generals bowed their heads. Seeing this, Kangxi decisively cut through the mess and turned to look at Prince An.

"I intend to gather all the troops in the southwest and concentrate them in the southeast, with Nanjing as the capital, to firmly grasp the four provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi!"

After Kangxi finished speaking, he looked at the commanders of the other banners.

"We will obey His Majesty!"

Prince An also promptly backed down. He hadn't expected that these commanders, who acted like lapdogs when it came to receiving money for drinking and feasting, would turn around and slack off at the crucial moment.

Prince An bowed his head in submission. With military power in his hands, Kangxi even had a slight urge to head north. However, thinking of being pursued by Galdan, Kangxi instantly calmed down.

"Send messengers to convey my decree: from the moment this decree is received, all Eight Banners troops must assemble in Nanjing!"

"At the same time, an imperial edict was sent to Prince Kang, Jieshu, ordering him to defend Zhejiang at all costs, and that reinforcements would arrive within a month!"

Following Emperor Kangxi's order, messengers were dispatched in all directions.

The entire land of China is once again undergoing unpredictable changes.

……

The Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City.

Because Emperor Kangxi was still young, he did not move in.

In addition, this place was where the Jiajing Emperor practiced Taoism and cultivated immortality, so it was relatively remote. Even when the Eight Banners troops set fire to it, they didn't burn it down.

Furthermore, it retains many items from the Jiajing period, such as the alchemy furnace. The overall decorative style leans towards Taoism, spacious and elegant, making it a very comfortable place to live.

Galdan had been staying here for five days, dealing with various political and military affairs, but mainly the appointment of officials and the promotion of military officers.

The civil officials are selected from the six Han officials who remain in Beijing. Due to the large number of officials, priority is now given to those from Hebei, followed by those from Shanxi and Shandong.

The reason for having so many officials was that, in order to maintain a stable rule, the Manchu Qing dynasty entrusted all positions with real power or lucrative rewards to members of the Eight Banners.

This resulted in a large number of officials who passed the imperial examinations, but they mostly did manual labor, such as clerks in the Six Ministries. Li Guangdi, for example, used to be idle in the Hanlin Academy, spending his days either copying books or compiling the History of Ming.

That's right, they've already started revising the History of Ming, and it started in the second year of the Shunzhi reign. However, the revisions are all about the actions of the Ming army in Liaodong.

For example, Huang Taiji was forced to rebel against the Ming Dynasty!

Closer to home.

When Galdan summoned these officials and expressed his desire for Han officials with clean records to serve as local prefects and magistrates, they were all eager to offer their hearts and souls.

Studying and learning is only for the sake of officialdom; traveling thousands of miles is only for the sake of wealth.

After studying for so many years, they found themselves merely servants under the Qing dynasty, having passed numerous imperial examinations, with no real power whatsoever. How could they be content with that?

After these low-ranking officials from the six ministries were sent to the areas surrounding the capital, the local areas were stabilized within just four or five days.