The news from Guangdong was so mindless that Zhou Shixiang didn't understand what happened at all. It was Zhou Shixiang's idea to ask Xu Yingyuan, Guo Shao and others to return to Guangdong from Annan, and this idea was proposed by Gui Yongzhi, the former Guangdong Governor of the Qing Dynasty, the former staff member of the Guangdong Governor Li Shutai, who is now a six-official officer of the Military Commander's Office and the Ministry of Personnel.

Gui Yongzhi proposed to let the two teams who went to Yunnan to report the victory back from Annan, mainly because the Taiping Army had not entered Guangxi at that time, so the teams who came to report the victory back from Guangxi could not go directly back from Guangxi. For security reasons, going to Annan to return to Guangdong was the best way.

When Gui Yongzhi proposed to go to Annan to borrow the road, Zhou Shixiang specifically asked about Annan. He knew that Annan was Vietnam in later generations, and Annan in history had belonged to China for a long time and was hostile to China for a long time. During the early Ming Dynasty, Chengzu and Xuanzong, they used troops to Annan. In the eyes of Zhou Shixiang, who was a man of two lives, Annan was undoubtedly a capricious villain, and it was the most appropriate to call it the white-eyed wolf. Like Japan, which also inherited the Han national culture, Annan, a small country, was full of ambitions for China.

There was a famous saying in later generations that if the country is difficult, it will be in chaos. This is what it means to be in China. If China is in trouble abroad, Japan in the east and Annan in the south will also be one of the people who will be in chaos in China.

Gui Yongzhi proposed to go back to China by Annan because Annan recognized the orthodox and legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty regime since Hongguang. Therefore, he believed that there was no problem with the team who received the victory from Annan, a vassal state, back to Guangdong, and it was closer to each other.

Gui Yongzhi searched the relevant files of the Qing Dynasty and retrieved some archived Southern Ming archives, and told Zhou Shixiang that in the second year of Longwu, the Li Dynasty, the Later Annan Dynasty, sent the envoy Ruan Renzheng, deputy envoy Fan Yongjin, and others to sail to Fujian with the Ming Dynasty governor Lin Chan to seek the enthronement of the Longwu regime. At that time, the Qing army captured Fujian, and some Annan envoys were captured to Beijing. After the establishment of the Yongli regime, the envoy Ruan Renzheng went to Guangxi to pay homage to the newly ascended Emperor Yongli. Yongli sent

Hanlin Pan Qi brought an imperial edict and imperial edict with the Annan envoy, and went to Annan to enthrone the Supreme Emperor of the Houli regime as King Annan. In May of the first year of Yongli, Pan Qi went to Zhennan Pass, and the Houli Dynasty sent the Minister of Rites Ruan Yi and the Minister of Revenue Ruan Shouchun and others to receive it to Shenglong, and the Ming envoys held the title ceremony. In the second year of Yongli, Yongli stationed in Nanning, and Annan went to Nanning to pay tribute. In the fifth year of Yongli, Yongli envoys went to Zhennan again to enthrone the Houli Shiquan and sent Zheng Jian as the deputy king of Annan.

All these show that Annan is willing to get close to the Yongli regime and recognizes his identity as the sect leader of Annan. However, Gui Yongzhi's judgment was limited to the surface and did not fully conform to Annan's current attitude towards the Ming Dynasty, and even misjudged the impact of the Ming and Qing wars on Annan, a Chinese vassal state.

Since the Annan Mo Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has always been suppressing the Annan regime. The Li Dynasty was revived and had the name of restoration. The Ming Dynasty did not improve its treatment because of this. It ordered him to apology for Nanguan, and devote himself to the Jin people and appointed King Li as the commander-in-chief of Annan. Although the Li Dynasty later was very dissatisfied with this, in order to gain the recognition of the Ming Dynasty, he could only compromise. After that, Annan was not allowed to seek title to be a king, and he continued to challenge the authority of the Ming Dynasty in terms of tribute.

Until the Qing army went south, in order to obtain the support of Annan and other vassal states, Yongli issued an edict to officially promote the title of King Annan. However, Annan now knew very well that the situation of the Ming Dynasty was now different from the past. The Yongli regime, which had lost most of its territory, could no longer get Annan's respect and fear. Yongli's show of kindness could only make Annan think that the Ming Dynasty was weak, and his former disrespectful mentality became more and more intense. After Yongli moved to Kunming, the disrespectful faction in Annan completely gained the upper hand.

In addition, after the Annan envoy who went to Fujian to seek the enthronement of the Ming Dynasty was captured by the Qing army and sent to Beijing, Annan actually had some contact with the Qing Dynasty. At first, Annan was still afraid of the Ming Dynasty and believed that the outcome of the Ming and Qing war was difficult to judge, so he sent envoys to the Yongli court to pay tribute many times. However, with the continuous failure of the Ming Dynasty, from the eighth year of Yongli, Annan no longer sent tribute to rebel, and did not send troops to help the Ming army resist the Qing army according to the Yongli edict.

Because there was no conflict or conflict between Annan and the Qing Dynasty without helping the Ming Dynasty to resist the Qing army, Annan had no conflicts or contradictions. As the Qing army gradually advanced southward, Annan began to change his attitude towards the Southern Ming Dynasty. After the Qing army entered Guangxi and Yunnan, Annan had already begun to establish a vassal relationship with the Qing Dynasty. In order to gain recognition from the Qing Dynasty, some radical pro-Qing factions in Annan were even prepared to assist the Qing army in encirclement and suppression of the Ming army on the border.

Compared with Annan, another Ming vassal state, North Korea, always serves Ming like a king and father. Emperor Taizu decided that North Korea would be a country that would not be conquered. During the Wanli period, the Ming Dynasty sent a large army to help North Korea resist Japan's invasion. The two sides cooperated many times to fight the expansion of the Later Jin Dynasty and formed a deep friendship in the common battle. Although there were certain contradictions, such as the incident of Ding Yingtai's impeachment of North Korea, these contradictions were far inferior to the "recreation of the Japanese army" against North Korea. Therefore, North Korea's friendly attitude towards the Ming Dynasty was very sincere and he responded to the Ming Dynasty. Even now, North Korea is still trying to launch a war against the Qing Dynasty to save the Ming Dynasty's ruler.

Annan turned completely to the Qing Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty, including the Taiping Army, knew nothing. At this time, he was still in the dark and thought that Annan was a vassal of the Ming Dynasty and was close to the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the Taiping Army, who had no problem with the passage, got into the bag of the Annan people as if they were arrested.

After a fire broke out in Kunming, Xu Yingyuan, Guo Shao and Liang Shuangxi went to grab Princess Changle, but on the way they became the Yongli Dynasty officials' hostage team, including Sun Shun, Minister of War, Cheng Yuan, Minister of Rites, Wanniance, Minister of Revenue, Liu Mi, Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Qian Bang, and other Yongli Dynasty officials, and 74 local officials in Yunnan, and more than 2,000 including their families.

Such a huge army of officials and their families could not be protected by the two or three hundred Taiping troops under Xu Yingyuan and Guo Shao alone, let alone bring them across mountains and rivers to the border of Annan. Fortunately, Guangping Bo Chen Jian timely gathered more than a thousand old subordinates of the former Shu King, which made the escort team stronger, and the chieftains who went south all the way did not dare to plunder lightly.

When in southeastern Yunnan, the team met with several other important officials of the Yongli court, including the Grand Secretary Fu Gang, the Minister of Revenue Gong Yi, the Minister of Rites Zheng Fengyuan, the Minister of Rites Zheng Xian, the Military Affairs Officer Hu Xian and others. From Fu Gang, Xu Yingyuan, Chen Jian and others knew that the emperor had already been instigated by Ma Jixiang and was about to leave Myanmar and abandon the country.

After Xu Yingyuan's persuasion, the Grand Secretary Fu Gang resolutely agreed to go to Guangdong. Because Fu Gang was the second assistant to the cabinet and had prestige, he decided to go to Guangdong. Gong Yi and others had no objection. They were already desperate about state affairs and even more desperate about their own future. At present, except for southwestern Yunnan, other parts of Yunnan are in the hands of the Qing army, and it is difficult for them to go back to their hometown. In addition, the eldest princess Changle was also in the team, so they had no reason to refuse.

Along the way, this team that was temporarily pieced together by Xu Yingyuan was united. Whether it was the Yongli Dynasty officials or the old subordinates of Shu Kings, they knew that their only way out now was to Guangdong, so they were united. The Qing army was far away and the target was the emperor, so they were not worried about chasing them. The only trouble was the food and drink of thousands of people. Along the way, Fu Gang went to several Tuzhais as a Grand Secretary to seek food assistance, but the income was small, and most of the local officials were not friendly to this team that was more like a difficult one. As a result, Liang Shuanghu was so angry that he led his troops to break a village, killed all the local people in the village, and robbed enough food for everyone to eat for three days. Since then, every time he arrived at a village, Xu Yingyuan would send the Yongli Dynasty officials to negotiate with the chieftains. If the negotiation failed, the Shu King soldiers under the command of Guangping Bo Chen Jian would attack the village. In this way, he broke countless villages and finally arrived at the border of Annan.

Because Annan was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Secretary Fu Gang went to discuss the matter of borrowing the road with the officials stationed in Annan. Annan agreed very readily and sent food for the Ming army to take advantage of the situation on the same day. This move made Fu Gang and others relieved. Xu Yingyuan did not think much about it. According to the Annan people's request, the Ming army and his party escorted Princess Changle into the border of Annan, but were placed in three places. The reason for Annan officials was that the place was too small, and Princess Changle and the troops came too suddenly, so they could not free up enough houses to accommodate the princess and their party.
Chapter completed!