Interests are the core of all struggles. This sentence is a famous saying summarized by a great man in later generations for political struggles. This truth also applies to the end of the Ming Dynasty more than 300 years ago.

The reason why these ministers of the Yongli court made the people and the country was actually fighting for the interests of themselves or the parties they represented. Now the court is divided into the Chu party, dominated by Lu Daqi, Qu Shixi, Zhang Tongchang, He Tengjiao, and the Wu party, dominated by Ding Kuichu, Du Yinxi, Chen Bangfu, Wang Huacheng and Zhu Tianlin. The intensity of the struggle between these two factions is no less than that of the Huguang faction and the Guangdong faction in Guangdong.

Take Sun Kewang and the Western Army surrendered as an example. This was obviously a good thing that would definitely benefit the Yongli court, but when it came to Ding Kuichu, Lu Daqi, and Qu Shisi, it completely changed its taste.

Lu Daqi's side was because the person who advocated subdueing Li Jin and other troops of the Dashun Army was Yin Duxi. He was not the Donglin Party at all. Now he is still with Ding Kuichu, and the Dashun Army cannot obey the command of the Donglin Party. In order to compete with Ding Kuichu for the interests of the court, he had to find foreign aid. At this time, Sun Kewang, who came to the door, was a good pillow. Sun Kewang was the Daxi Army. He did not force Chongzhen to death and was the best candidate to win over.

Ding Kuichu disagreed with accepting the Western Army because He Tengjiao was already leading troops outside the Donglin Party, and it would be fine if the Western Army was added. What's more, he had already blocked Xila's relationship with Yin, so he did not lack foreign aid on his side, and the Western Army became dispensable, so he absolutely did not agree to accept the Western Army.

Zhu Youlang looked at the quarrels of the cabinet below, and felt helpless. Zhu Youlang was very weak and had no means of his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang. If it were Zhu Yuanzhang, all the ministers who quarreled on both sides would have been killed, and he would have been as hesitant as Zhu Youlang.

After thinking about it, Zhu Youlang decided to do what Ding Kuichu said. After all, Sun Kewang was a bit too far to ask for Prince. The situation in the north is getting better now, and Sun Kewang's more than 200,000 people are not needed.

After making a decision, Zhu Youlang said, "Sir, I have decided, so I will do as the Chief Auxiliary Mr. Ding said. It is indeed a bit too much to be named Prince. Let's do this. Sun Kewang is named Duke, Li Dingguo, and Liu Wenxiu is named Marquis!"

The emperor's words were imperial edicts. Seeing that the things he hoped failed, Lu Daqi and others couldn't help but feel disappointed, but Ding Kuichu's methods were not over yet.

Ding Kuichu was overjoyed when he saw the emperor accepting his suggestions. He felt that today might as well take this opportunity to solve the problem of Lu Daqi and others in one fell swoop.

Ding Kuichu stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Lord He's military newspaper said that Jiangxi and Fujian were surrendered to the King of Chu in Guangdong. Jin Shenghuan from Jiangxi has always been unclear with the Donglin Party members. This time, it was also the operation of Donglin Party member Qian Qianyi in the future. Qian Qianyi and Lord Lu are close friends, and Master Qu are masters and apprentices. Therefore, I suspect that these two people have collusion with Qian Qianyi, so I ask Your Majesty to issue an order to imprison these two people!"

Lu Daqi and Qu Shizi were shocked when they heard this. Ding Kuichu was so good at playing, and he was not satisfied with the shackles behind his back. He started to do it with his real sword and gun.

Lu Qu and the others quickly stood up to defend themselves, "Your Majesty, I have cut off relations with Qian Qianyi. When the King of Chu turned against the will of heaven and became emperor last year, I have handed the letters of contact with Qian Qianyi to Your Majesty. Please give your Majesty a clear guide!"

Although Zhu Youlang was weak, he was not confused. He knew that he could never fight in the nest now, not to mention that keeping Lu Qu and the others was a restraint on the Wu party such as Ding Kuichu.

"Of course I believe you, sirs! Mr. Ding, don't mention the past matters!"

Seeing the emperor letting Lu Qu and the others go, Ding Kuichu thought to himself that it was a pity that today's good opportunity did not kill them, and I don't know when I will have the opportunity in the future.

Lu Qu and the others were frightened by this incident and had no intention of competing with Ding Kuichu, so today's court meeting ended hastily.

That night, Lu Daqi came to Qu Shishiyu to discuss how to deal with Ding Kuichu.

"Brother Qitian, today Ding's old man wants to kill us. What do you think we should do?"

Qu Shishi sighed and said, "My brother Dongchuan, now the court is controlled by a treacherous minister like Ding Kuichu. You and my brother really have no place to use their skills!"

Lu Daqi thought for a while and asked in a low voice: "Brother Qitian, do you still have any contact with Lord Qian?"

When Qu Shili heard Lu Daqi ask this, he was shocked. Lu Daqi was thinking about it. It was not good to fall into Ding Kuichu's hands.

"Dongchuan, don't even think about this kind of idea. Why didn't you and I join the King of Chu back then? Isn't it just to be careful to abide by the laws of our ancestors! Your Majesty is indeed much more legal than the Huguang royal family."

Lu Daqi smiled bitterly in his heart. He thought so himself back then. The King of Chu was extremely smart and was still a mortal enemy with Donglin boss Qian Qianyi. If he went to vote, he would still have good results, so he chose Zhu Youlang, Yongli. But he didn't expect that Qian Qianyi could actually vote for his mortal enemy. This really made Lu Daqi unexpected.

Seeing that Qu Shixi made such a decisive decision, Lu Daqi had no choice but to take one step at a time.

Seeing Lu Daqi say goodbye and leave, Qu Shishi sighed. He and Qian Qianyi are both teachers and friends, and they have a good relationship. However, after Qian Qianyi joined King Zhu Hongsan last year, Qu Shishi completely broke off relations with Qian Qianyi.

After Qian Qianyi arrived in Guangdong, he did send a letter to Qu Shisi, hoping that his disciples would come to help him. In the letter, he explained that the three heroes of King Zhu Hong of Chu were the best choice for the revival of the Ming Dynasty. However, Qu Shisi was already loyal to Zhu Youlang, so he could betray his beliefs and become a slave of the three surnames? So Qu Shisi secretly burned Qian Qianyi's letter.

The Qing army in Huguang retreated to Wuchang under the leadership of Tan Tai. The news spread to Sichuan anyway. The remnants of the Ming Dynasty, who were still fighting hard with the Qing Dynasty Jingyuan General Haoge, was revitalized. At this time, Haoge had eliminated Zhang Xianzhong, accounting for most of the entire Sichuan, and appointed Wang Zuntan, a surrendered general of the Ming Dynasty, as the governor of Sichuan.

At that time, Ma Qian, the governor of Sichuan in Nanming, guarded Neijiang, Haoge ordered Wang Zuntan to surrender him. Ma Qian replied: "I am a minister and has no right to surrender. The ancients said that ministers who have bound their borders should die and encircle the borders, which is the time when I finish my life." In February of the first year of Shenwu, Neijiang was occupied by the Qing army, and Ma Qian died unyieldingly. Within the same month, Haoge advanced to Zunyi (a member of Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty), and the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty's commander Wang Yingxiong fled to Chishuiwei. The general of Sichuan in Ming, Jia Denglian, and deputy general Tan Desheng surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Haoge took the two generals and the office in the name of holding a banquet to reward the army.

The commander and soldiers were killed. Due to years of war in Sichuan, social production was almost completely stopped and the supply of food and wages could not be solved. In addition, news came from the south that the new army affiliated to Jiangxi and Fujian rebelled, and Tan Tai had retreated to Wuchang and gave up the entire south of the Yangtze River. Seeing this situation in the country, Haoge had no energy to continue to fight, he had to stop and lead the Manchu and Han troops back to Beijing via Shaanxi. Haoge did not know that he was immediately imprisoned by Dorgon when he returned to Beijing this time, and was secretly executed by secretly a few days later.

After Haoge left, Wang Zuntan, Li Guoying and other surrendered generals of the Ming Dynasty were stationed in Sichuan, with very weak troops. The generals who were guarding various places were unable to stand up because of the lack of food and salary and the counterattack of the Southern Ming generals, they were forced to retreat to northern Sichuan.

After the transfer of the main force of the Daxi Army and the Qing army, most areas of Sichuan and Guizhou were actually in a state of division and separatism. Although the Southern Ming Dynasty appointed senior officials such as cabinet departments, governors, and governors since the Hongguang court, they mostly only had false names and real powers were in the hands of warlords entrenched in various places. Many of them only knew how to fight for power and profit, and could not form a unified team, taking advantage of the opportunity of the Qing army's weak power to recover the entire Sichuan.

At this time, the news that the southern provinces returned to the Ming Dynasty rule reached the warlords of Sichuan. They could not tell the difference between Emperor Shenwu and Emperor Yongli, but they had to find a boss. The warlords were collectively loyal to Emperor Yongli in conjunction with the Grand Secretary of the Supervisor Wang Yingxiong. After all, are they close to him?

With the loyalty of the Sichuan generals and the surrender of Sun Kewang of the Great Western Army, Emperor Yongli became the most powerful force in southern China for a time. If we included the Shenwu regime in Guangdong, the entire south of the Yangtze River, except for Nanzhili and Zhejiang, plus Wuchang Prefecture located south of the Yangtze River, the Southern Ming Dynasty had recovered half of China, which was a bit like the Qing Dynasty's rule.

It was not peaceful in northern China. After the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, it occupied a large number of land and forced the Han people to invest. The Han people who became serfs were not only cruelly exploited, engaged in heavy labor, but also had no personal freedom, which caused a large number of escapes. In order to safeguard the interests of the Manchu nobles, the Qing court further formulated an extremely cruel law of fugitives. The strict implementation of the law of fugitives caused fierce debate within the Manchu and Han ruling classes. Some Han officials opposed the criminal law of severe punishment of the owners and demanded the amendment of the law of fugitives. In order to safeguard the interests of the princes and nobles of the Manchus, the Qing rulers were stubborn and insisted on the law of fugitives.

In Northern Zhili and Shanxi, where the Qing Dynasty enclosure movement was the most serious, a large number of farmers fled. Most of these peasants joined the local rebel army. These rebel troops had many secret channels to get elite weapons from the south and won and lost each other in the battle with the Qing Dynasty's crusade army. In history, after occupying Jiangnan, the Qing Dynasty relied on the money and food of Jiangnan to suppress the resistance bit by bit. But now the news about Jiangxi and Fujian has spread to the north. At the same time, under the ignorance of the Jinyiwei led by Qian Lide, the northern provinces immediately set off a new climax of the rebellion and counterattacking the Qing Dynasty's movement.

At this moment, Jiang Guan, another slave of four surnames, raised the banner of justice in Shanxi in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Jiang Yan was also a controversial figure in history. He was originally a military household in Shaanxi and was promoted to general in succession of wars. However, the generals were rampant in the late Ming Dynasty, and Jiang Yan was really not a big shot. Next, after Li Zicheng captured Shanxi, Jiang Yan surrendered to Li Zicheng without fighting in a battle.

If you surrender to Li Zicheng at this time, you can still talk about the great principle of good ministers choosing trees to live in, and what Jiang Guan did next would be a traitor.
Chapter completed!