In Beijing, the Qing emperor sitting on the throne was Shunzhi, and this year marks the 16th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty.

Shunzhi looked down at a report about Yunnan. Recently, his imperial case was filled with memorials about the Kunming fire, most of which impeached Wu Sangui. Zhao Liangdong was incompetent, and officials asked the court to severely punish them. Originally, Hong Chengchou was also scolded very much, but later he heard that Hong Jingluo failed to escape the fire and was burned to death in Kunming. The officials stopped attacking Hong Chengchou. After all, he died for the court, and the crime he had committed during his lifetime should be erased.

As more losses were reported to Beijing, Shunzhi's anger towards Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong became almost uncontrollable. Although Sun Kewang, a big internal agent in the southwest, was plundered from the southeastern region. In order to prepare for this attack, Shunzhi not only risked the risk of chaos in several southeastern provinces to increase taxes, but also resisted the opposition and temporarily reduced the supply of bannermen. As a result, these materials plundered and transported to Yunnan were set on fire, along with the seizures in the southwest.

"Gunpowder, grain, cloth, cotton, silver, tents, military uniforms, armor..." Shunzhi sneered, counting Wu Sangui's request for emergency letter of help: "Is there anything he wants?"

"Wu Sangui is incompetent to harm the country. Zhao Liangdong misunderstands his belief in traitors. The servants think that they should be punished severely." Sony was speaking, he was one of the few confidant ministers who could accompany Shunzhi's study. This time, in order to expedition to the southwest, the quota for the bannermen was reduced so much. There were complaints among the Eight Banners. Sony was stabbed by others because of his decision to support Shunzhi. He was a traitor. After suffering such a great grievance, Wu Sangui made such a big leak. Sony was so angry that he wanted to step on him.

Shunzhi did not answer this, but just glanced at Sony coldly. He felt that in recent years, this old minister has become more and more like a slick Han surrender. His mind is getting smaller and smaller, unable to bear grievances, and unable to bear responsibilities. Even the tone of his usual speaking has changed. However, this is comparing Sony with Oboi, who is still full of vigor. Compared with other slaves, Sony's ability and sense of responsibility are still quite outstanding.

"Can't be punished!" As Shunzhi expected, Oboi, who was standing on the other side, immediately started to yell. Although he was repeatedly taught by Guan and etiquette, Oboi's voice became loud when he was anxious. He refused to change the crime of "the king's fault" after repeated teachings, but Shunzhi never had any questions with him.

"Is it still like Mopanshan?" Sony asked with some dissatisfaction.

In the Battle of Mopan Mountain, Wu Sangui brought the army into the ambush circle of Li Dingguo. If Lu Guisheng had not surrendered in time to report Li Dingguo's plan, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Afterwards, the Qing court severely punished those generals who had faults, including flag generals and flag soldiers. Many people were found guilty of "unfavorable investigation", "fear of the enemy", "ineffective killing of thieves", etc., those who were dismissed were dismissed and those who were fined silver, but only the commander of the army Wu Sangui did not punish him. As the biggest responsible person for bringing the entire army into a dangerous place, the Qing court even said nothing to him.

"How can you do him? Can you ask? Can you dismiss him?" Oboi shouted loudly. Wu Sangui abandoned Kunming this time, lost his strategy, lost tens of thousands of troops, and lost all the army's storage. If you really pursue it, your mind will definitely not be able to be saved. However, Oboi and Sony are very clear. Not to mention the execution, whether Wu Sangui's power can be seized slightly requires repeated consideration. The feasible punishment is at most a reduction of title, a fine of silver, and a few ruthless words.

"Since that's the case, it's better not to punish at all, and not even mention the meritorious service." Seeing that Sony was speechless, Obai expressed his attitude. Believing in rewards would be punished to scare Xiaoyu and Xiaoxiao. To Wu Sangui's heavyweight general surrender is a completely different game rule. The Qing court would take an attitude of not caring about anything, so that everyone in the world would see clearly: as long as he made a contribution to Wu Sangui's level, no matter what mistake he made, he would not be comparable to his merits.

Sony was still opposing. He understood that Oboi was right, but now there are countless Eight Banners in Beijing waiting to see Wu Sangui's joke. Not only did Wu Sangui's western expedition reduce their food rations, but it was also because of the unfair rewards and punishments in Mopanshan not long ago: all the bannermen were punished, and a bannermen were defeated by Li Dingguo and even locked back to Beijing to be imprisoned. The army was defeated and punished for serious crimes. No one said anything, but why did Wu Sangui, the culprit who had no idea in advance, did nothing? This time, the news from Kunming came, and there were many gloating voices among the bannermen. If Sony did not object, it would probably be that everyone's resentment towards Wu Sangui would be transferred to him again.

Shunzhi knew the psychology of this slave. Sony's attitude was a bit ambiguous about the aftermath of the Battle of Mopanshan. The consequences of Kunming were even more serious. He naturally had to express his attitude of being punished. Shunzhi also knew the dissatisfaction of the bannermen, so he needed a scapegoat. Fortunately, not every slave was like Sony and refused to share his worries for his master: "Just as Aobai said."

Shunzhi set a tone for the case handling and felt that the matter was almost over, but Oboi still had some information.

"Your Majesty, I remember that before the expedition, the emperor promised to hand over Yungui to Wu Sangui."

"Yes," Shunzhi was stunned, and then he became angry: "Do you still want me to reward Wu Sangui?"

Oboi immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Emperor, Wu Sangui fought with Li Dingguo for his life, not because he was so loyal to the court, but because he was greedy for the vassal states of the two provinces. Now he was suddenly defeated, Wu Sangui retreated to Guizhou, and he kept complaining in the memorial that he needed to replenish troops and food. He must be worried that the emperor would be angry and would not give him any more words to Yungui. As long as he did not lose this doubt, how could Wu Sangui continue to fight to the death? The emperor, a bannerman like a slave, can reward some silver if he has made contributions.

If you don’t reward me, you will be happy if you encourage me. If the slave makes a mistake, the emperor will just whip hard. But Wu Sangui, Geng Jimao, and Shang Kexi are not good. They are all Han soldiers. If they are rewarded poorly, they will think that the emperor is mean because they are Han soldiers. If they are punished heavily, they will think that the emperor is strict because they are Han soldiers. And the Han soldiers in the world think that they are the heroes of hard work and great contributions. The emperor is not good enough to them, but they are in a heartfelt way to fight against the Han army."

"I won't punish Kunming for this. Isn't it good enough to treat them?" Shunzhi understood that Oboi was right, but if Wu Sangui caused such a big disaster, Shunzhi felt that he would lose face if he rewarded him.

"Your Majesty, think twice." Obai had finished his theory, and he also understood that Shunzhi was just unable to get over the face, so he kept kowtowing on the ground.

Shunzhi looked at Oboi in front of him. This was the old minister of his father Huang Taiji. Bai Jia, who became Huang Taiji's personal guard at the age of 16. I don't know how many military achievements he made. When Huang Taiji died, Shunzhi was still young. At that time, Dorgon was strong and many people were competing for the situation to support Dorgon, and even Dai Shan and other veterans were vague. At that time, Oboi pulled out his waist knife from the tent of the matter and walked to Dorgon with a bright steel knife, saying that if he did not establish Huang Taiji's son, he would not have the life. Oboi's move greatly boosted the morale of Zhenghuang Banner. He followed Oboi's appearance and expressed his desire to fight with those who stole Huang Taiji's inheritance, forcing Dorgon to express on the spot that he established Fulin, the son of Concubine Zhuang, that is, Emperor Shunzhi himself.

"What about your opinion?" Shunzhi asked Aobai. He knew that this move would definitely be an uproar again, so he needed someone to play the role of this treacherous person.

"I think that Wu Sangui should be praised for his merits in evaluating Guizhou. Although the king's army was setback, the bandits in Huguang, Guangxi and Guizhou were all cleared by Wu Sangui. This is a great merit. The emperor can tell Wu Sangui that he originally wanted to wait for him to completely pacify Yunnan and Guizhou, and hand over Yunnan and Guizhou to him together after he offered the pseudo-Emperor Yongli and Li Dingguo to capture the capital. Now that we cannot fight quickly, we cannot delay the reward and let the heroes feel disappointed. The emperor rewards Guizhou to Wu Sangui first, and when he will pacify Yunnan, he will officially hand it over to him. The emperor will also transport food and grass from the southeast to allow him to play a triumphant song."

Oboi believed that the Han resistance forces should be completely eliminated as soon as possible. Although the Yongli court was in a cramped corner, there were many dreams at night. Oboi remembered that when Nurhaci raised an army in Liaoshen, there were only a few tens of thousands of people, who would have thought that the situation would be today? And they were still alien races. Yongli was more appealing than Nurhaci at the time: "Hong Chengchou knew that people were unknown, and he made friends with bandits, resulting in the defeat of Kunming and death. The male family should be killed, and the female family was sent to Ningguta and sent to the armored people as slaves."

"Just as you said." Shunzhi ordered the order according to Oboi's intention. If Hong Chengchou is not punished according to the reports of Wu Sangui and Zhao Liangdong, then the case is unresolved. There is no need to make the general holding military power uneasy for a dead person. As for whether anyone thinks that doing so is harsh on Hong Chengchou... Anyway, this is Oboi's idea, right?

After looking at this loyal minister again, Shunzhi said to him in his heart: "So keep working for me like this, don't worry about other people's resentment, I will keep you."

After deciding the principle of handling "Wu Sangui was granted vassals, Zhao Liangdong punished silver, and Hong Chengchou was executed all over the family", Shunzhi talked about the protagonist of the Kunming fire: "Who is that Deng Ming? Eighteen people turned Yunnan upside down. They were a good talent. I wonder if they could be recruited?"

"Li Guoying said he might be the royal family of Zhu Ming." Oboi replied. This was the memorial of the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi sent today. It had not been time to send it to Shunzhi for a review. Oboi thought Li Guoying's judgment was ridiculous. He told it to his master and colleague Sony as a joke.

As Oboi expected, Shunzhi and Sony were both stunned at first after hearing this sentence, and then burst into laughter.

"What did Li Guoying say?" Shunzhi laughed and scolded, "How dare he write a memorial after drinking?"

When he first heard the rumors about Deng Ming's identity, Li Guoying did not believe it, so he did not report it. However, the rumors became more and more popular, and Li Guoying could no longer ignore it. After the Kunming fire this time, Beijing and Guiyang once again urged him to report Deng Ming's life experience as soon as possible, but Li Guoying searched and found Deng Ming's past records and was forced to make an end. Li Guoying reported it regardless of the rumors about Deng Ming, the battle between Deng Ming and Tan Hong and Tan Yi.

Oboi briefly introduced the content of Li Guoying's memorial. Sony didn't need to spend more energy to read such a ridiculous memorial and directly rejected it. But after hearing Oboi's speech, he also read it. After reading it, he laughed again: "Even Deng Ming himself did not admit that he was a certain royal family of Zhu Ming. Li Guoying was impatient to identify the other party. Even if Li Guoying wanted to get a credit for capturing the royal family, he had to catch the person first and then promote it. Besides, is this his final say? Isn't it necessary to offer prisoners to the capital and leave it to the court for questioning?"

"Li Guoying is also incompetent." Shunzhi could clearly hear the throne. The two confidant servants' judgments were consistent and very reasonable. He had no need to pay attention to this absurd report anymore. He directly ordered it to be rejected, and at the same time scolded Li Guoying for being in trouble. Li Guoying had not yet found Deng Ming's identity for so long, and he had not even found any clues. Beijing was quite dissatisfied with this.

However, Li Guoying also provided Tan Yi's report, Tan Hong's report, and Wang Mingde's evidence. After reading these battle situation reports, the monarchs and ministers of Shunzhi paid more attention to Deng Ming.

"You can write and write, and you know how to paint. You must be a scholar's child. You seem to have seen the world. Such a person must have not fallen from the sky. How could you not find out the calendar?" Shunzhi calculated in his heart, and was even more dissatisfied with Li Guoying's incompetence. He shook his head and said, "I have never heard of Yongli's subordinates, and there are no other subordinates of Zhu Ming's pseudo-king."

"The thieves in Sichuan should be wiped out quickly and take advantage of their fear of fear and launch a large army to fight against each other." Oboi said.

At present, the military expenditure in the southwest is huge. Oboi did not advocate a large-scale attack on the Sichuan battlefield. He also suggested that Li Guoying focus on recruiting and admiration and military attack as the supplement. However, after seeing Deng Ming's successive performance, Oboi believed that this might develop into a problem. Although this person has not yet posed too much threat and is far from comparable to Li Dingguo, in time, it is hard to say that this person will not occupy the territory and gain a higher reputation.

Shunzhi and Sony certainly agreed to eliminate Sichuan's resistance, but where did military expenditure and food come from?

Oboi advocated sending a flag army into Sichuan: "No need to have too many soldiers, three thousand people are enough. Now Chengdu, Jianchang is terrified and repeatedly surrendered to the generals. The slave is willing to go to Sichuan in person. Hearing that the slave brought the emperor's three thousand personal troops, these people are mostly scared. Moreover, with the slave and the emperor's flag soldiers as vanguards, Li Guoying's Sichuan and Shaanxi soldiers must not dare to be lazy. Not only will they not be lazy, but they also think that showing their faces in front of the slave is to show their faces in front of the emperor and they will work hard. In this way, even if they give less money and food, they will not complain if they have hope."

...

Yunnan.

Ma Bao, who had made meritorious service, sent him back to the report from the front. He had killed the few left-behind soldiers of the Qing army and saw the Kunming city wall again.

Since Ma Bao anyway, Bai Wenxuan has also taken the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the Qing army that was in trouble in the border area, and fought back from the Yunnan-Burma border back to the Nujiang River. The Qing army they encountered was either dead or surrendered. At this time, the Qing army in Yunnan was constantly retreating eastward, and most of them had withdrawn from Yunnan and returned to Guizhou, leaving only a few left behind around Kunming. After these troops were eliminated by Ma Bao, the Yongli officers and soldiers could no longer see more enemies in front of them.

"Quickly report the victory to Tengchong and report it to King Jin to find out." Bai Wenxuan, who had crossed the Nujiang River, hurriedly asked his subordinates to report the good news to Li Dingguo headquarters who was returning to Tengchong.

Soon Li Dingguo received a report from Bai Wenxuan. Kunming was restored and the Ming army re-entered the central Yunnan region with abundant resources. Although in this disaster, Yunnan's production must have been severely damaged, but seeing Kunming was hopeful. Only by asking for land could it be possible to gather people to resume production and recruit soldiers to supplement the army. Now Li Dingzhong is full of joy. Since he came out of the border mountainous areas and embarked on the way back home, the morale of the generals with different minds were already sluggish and all the generals who were different in their minds were regaining their spirits and shouting to fight with Wu Sangui again.

"Come on the court and ask the emperor to return to the palace." Li Dingguo did not delay for a moment, and immediately wrote the memorial to restore Yunnan and handed it to a confidant, asking him to take it to Myanmar with rushing.

As the situation of the Ming army became worse and worse, Myanmar's attitude towards the Ming army became worse and worse, and he had openly prevented Li Dingguo and Yongli from communicating. However, after the news of the Kunming fire was confirmed, Myanmar's attitude relaxed overnight, and he soon sent two eunuchs around the Emperor Yongli to bring them news of peace to the court. When Ma Bao was anyway, the Ming army launched a counterattack and broke through the Nujiang River, Myanmar's original tough stance completely softened, and the envoys between the court and Li Dingguo continued to exchange, and Myanmar no longer interfered with it.

Although Li Dingguo was very happy to re-enter the central Yunnan region, he still never forgets the plan to go north to Sichuan, the plains in western Sichuan and the legacy of Liu Wenxiu, as well as the 100,000 old troops in the Three Gorges area. These are the capitals for Li Dingguo to continue the war. However, if he wants to integrate the strength of the Ming army in Sichuan and make Fengjie Wen Anzhi and the generals in the east obey orders, Li Dingguo must take the emperor to Sichuan.

I don’t know how many times have you ever known that Li Dingguo once again guaranteed the security of Yunnan to the Yongli court. There is no danger at present, and the emperor can return to China with confidence. Now Li Dingguo no longer mentions "go to Sichuan, then go down the river through the Three Gorges, and go behind the main force led by Wu Sangui, and cross the Central Plains and Jiangnan." This plan - he is afraid that this strategy of moving to the enemy's territory will scare the emperor. Now Li Dingguo just blindly asks Yongli to return to China quickly. As for the subsequent strategy, it is not too late to persuade him slowly after the emperor comes back.

"There is also Deng Ming, undoubtedly a great contributor to this battle." Li Dingguo already knew some rumors about Deng Ming, but it was not very detailed, far less vivid than Jianchang's side: "He should be loyal to the court, right? But why haven't he seen the memorial he sent to the court yet? What about Wen Anzhi's? It seems that he didn't see it. Even if the journey is difficult, you can send an envoy to put on makeup and send it here."
Chapter completed!