Chapter 29 of Part One

  The newly risen forces of the Liberation Army gathered at Shaoguan, Guangdong, on the border with Hunan. They also gathered at the borders with Guizhou and Guangxi. The Liberation Army in Sichuan also had intentions to march into Guizhou. One after another, ominous messages arrived. Emperor Yongli, seated in the grand hall of the Governor's Office, became bewildered and helpless, bursting into loud sobs: "The great Ming dynasty has no hope left!" At this moment, in the eyes of Emperor Yongli, the magnificent Five-Hua Palace in front of him, the chaotic Kunming Prefecture, and even the entire Yunnan, Guizhou, and two Guang provinces seemed like a small boat drifting on the vast ocean, which would capsize and perish with just one wave. This anxious emperor, who had been so ambitious at the beginning, now felt that he was born in trouble and died in peace, verifying the wisdom of the ancients once again. At this moment, Emperor Yongli closed his lips tightly, his face turned iron-green, and his eyes, covered with bloodshot, stared fixedly at his feet. He seemed to vaguely sense his own fate and felt an inexplicable fear rising in his heart. Looking at the trembling candle flame beside the imperial desk, he suddenly had a thought: would he end up like this candle flame that was about to burn out? Thinking of this, he became restless and started pacing back and forth, casting his swaying shadow on the peeling golden walls...

  At this time, the eunuch standing outside the Grand Hall of the Ministry of Revenue walked in and said: "Your Majesty, King Li Dingguo of Jin requests an audience." At this moment, Emperor Yongli was like grasping a straw to save his life: "Quickly, quickly announce him."

  The eunuch walked out and said to Li Dingguo, "Your Highness, long live. Today I received a military report and my mood is not good, I hope you can persuade him." After finishing, he shouted loudly towards the outside, "Announce, Jin Wang Li Dingguo sees the emperor."

  Li Dingguo looked at the eunuch and didn't say anything, shaking his head as he walked in. Looking at Emperor Yongli's haggard face, he knelt down and said: "Your subject Li Dingguo pays homage to Your Majesty, may you live for ten thousand years!"

  The Yongle Emperor calmed down his emotions and said: "Li Qing, no need to be too polite. Come on in, let the King of Jin take a seat."

  Eunuch walked in and brought a chair for Li Dingguo, placing it on the steps. Li Dingguo composed himself and said: "Your Majesty, I heard that military news was urgent from Guizhou. What kind of military news is it?"

  Yongli looked at Li Dingguo and said, "My dear minister, you are not aware of this. The newly emerged 'Liberation Army' in the two Hu provinces is not only resisting the Qing army's advance but also mobilizing troops to attack our Great Ming. Look at this military intelligence report sent yesterday. The Liberation Army has gathered on all sides of my border, ready to attack our Great Ming at any time. My dear minister, what should I do?"

  Li Dingguo looked at the military intelligence report handed down by Emperor Yongli and thought to himself: "Their movements are so swift, it seems they are preparing for my persuasion not working and wanting to launch a strong attack on my Great Ming. After all, my Great Ming is a dagger in their back." Thinking of this, Li Dingguo adjusted his words and knelt down before Yongli, saying: "Please forgive your humble minister's crime of beheading first and reporting later."

  Yongli looked at Li Dingguo and said: "What crime does the minister have? I pardon you as innocent."

  Li Dingguo thanked Yongli and continued: "This Liberation Army, I have encountered them in Tongren, Guizhou. I found that their troops' weapons are things we've never seen before. Their firearms can fire continuously without stopping, and their cannons are more powerful than our red cannons. One shell can flatten a small hill. Moreover, they also have a large bird that people can sit on and fly hundreds of miles, the speed is so fast that it's the only strange thing I've ever seen in my life."

  Yongli heard Li Dingguo say this, his thoughts became even more chaotic: "Ai Qie, quickly tell me the details of their situation. I will rely on Ai Qie."

  Li Dingguo continued: "From my many years of military experience, this army's morale is extremely high. Every single one of them is a seasoned veteran. Their military discipline is strict and their martial law is powerful. The people's hearts are with them! When I was in the Miao ethnic minority area in Hunan, I saw that even the Miao people were very supportive of their troops. Let alone the Han people civilians. Moreover, the people's lives are extremely good. On the streets, you can't see a single beggar or poor person. Beggars and orphans all have a special place called a welfare institute to take care of them. And what they learn is also very different from us. I discovered something called a newspaper when I was there, unfortunately, I didn't buy it back. It only introduced that Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou were killed by their hands. Thinking about Wu Sangui's army, which was the elite force that could block the Qing army's entry into the pass in the Ming dynasty, couldn't withstand their army... In my humble opinion..."

  Yongli looked at Li Dingguo and said: "Love words straight. I forgive you for no crime."

  Li Dingguo looked at the pale face of Yongli and continued: "In my humble opinion, this good rivers and mountains will definitely be in the hands of these people in the future." After finishing, he looked at Yongli's slightly shaken expression and continued to say: "However, they told me one thing. According to their military leader, they are also descendants of the Ming Dynasty, and the leader is called Yan Wang Zhu Ao."

  Yong Li heard this and let out a long sigh, saying: "Then why did they want to attack my Ming Shi brothers? We are of the same root, after all."

  Li Dingguo revealed a difficult expression and said: "Your Majesty, although they are the descendants of my Ming Dynasty, however... however..."

  Yongli looked at Li Dingguo's expression, who wanted to say something but dared not, and said: "Jin Wang, rest assured, today you can speak freely, I grant you the privilege of speaking without any taboo."

  Li Dingguo looked at Yongli's serious expression and seemed to have made up his mind, saying: "However, they are the descendants of Zhu Yunwen, the crown prince who narrowly escaped after being usurped by your ancestor Yan Wang Zhu Di. This can be said to be a person with an irreconcilable feud with Your Majesty."

  Yongli looked at Li Dingguo and said: "Forget it, forget it. As long as you are still a disciple of my Mingzhu, what's the harm? Do you have any good strategy?"

  Li Dingguo also spoke up and said: "Your Majesty, when I was invited by them to inspect their troops, they proposed a compromise."

  Yongli gazed at Li Dingguo with an angry expression, saying: "Li Ai Qi, I have already pardoned you of your crimes, so speak freely and boldly. Don't try to deceive me anymore. Say everything."

  Li Dingguo continued: "This compromise is that we surrender the four provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, so as to avoid the suffering of war for the people of the four provinces, and Your Majesty also abdicate the throne. They will confer upon you the title of King Xiangyang. Our troops are still managed by me, your humble minister. They will give us territory together to restore the Ming dynasty's rivers and mountains."

  The Yongli Emperor gazed at the Grand Hall of the Ministry of War and sighed, "Retribution, retribution. I never thought that after so long, the descendants of Zhu Wen would still want to take back the throne." He looked at Li Dingguo with a profound gaze and said in a low tone, "Li, it seems you have already reached an agreement with them and are here to force me to abdicate." Without waiting for Li's response, he continued, "Alas, the trend of the times is like this. I don't blame you, Li. The suffering of the people is more important." With a resolute tone, he said, "Tomorrow, we will head north to Changsha to surrender. This emperor may not be worthy of the throne. If it weren't for them, I fear that our great Ming dynasty would have perished long ago. Now, they can save our great Ming, and in the future, I can report to our ancestors that I have handed over the throne to the descendants of Zhu Wen."

  Li Dingguo looked at the transformed Yongli Emperor with delight and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for understanding the sufferings of the people. I would like to thank you on behalf of the people of Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi. I will now take my leave to prepare for your northern expedition and the gathering of troops."

  Li Dingguo returned to his own mansion in Kunming, only to see a young girl running out and saying: "Father, why have you come back? Aren't you on the front lines of Guizhou?" Li Dingguo looked at his daughter and said: "Min'er, Father has come back because there are important matters to attend to. Don't bother Father anymore, go do your own things." Li Min pouted and said: "Hmph, unless you take me to the battlefield next time, I'll bother you until you can't get anything done." Li Dingguo looked at his precious daughter with annoyance and said: "The battlefield... The Southern Ming has already surrendered. Where would we go to fight?" Li Min looked at her father in surprise and said: "Surrender? Why surrender? We're doing fine here, the Qing army can't even break through our defenses up front. Who are we surrendering to?"

  Li Dingguo looked at her and asked a series of questions: "Do you think that just because the Qing army can't attack us, no one wants us to surrender? Father told you that the ones who want us to surrender are the people who resisted the Qing army in front of us." After finishing, he muttered to himself: "Their troops are really too scary. Such an army is completely capable of withstanding ten or even a hundred Qing armies."

  Li Min looked at Li Dingguo's contemplative expression and also walked out. In her heart, she thought: 'What kind of terrible army is this that can make Father so afraid? I must take a good look at the person who leads this army.'

  Li Dingguo then issued a series of orders, instructing the local troops to stand down and await his notification. In fact, these were all decisions made by Li Dingguo to prevent unnecessary sacrifices from occurring within his own motley army, as some people did not want to surrender but instead resist. At the same time, he ordered his trusted troops to hand over the city and defensive zones to the PLA soldiers, who were being monitored in the PLA's military camps awaiting further notification.

  On the ninth day, Emperor Yongli arrived in Changsha accompanied by Li Dingguo and other high-ranking officials. Zhu Ao met with Emperor Yongli in the reception hall of the government office in Changsha. When he saw that Zhu Ao was already in his seventies, Emperor Yongli hastily paid his respects as a junior. Zhu Ao was delighted to help Emperor Yongli up, saying: "Your Majesty, there is no need for such formalities; from now on, we will not use the ritual of bowing and scraping in our Liberation Army." In the following days, Zhu Ao issued an imperial edict conferring the title of King Xiangyou on Zhu Youlang and granting him a mansion in Changsha. He also decided to declare himself emperor on May 1, 1657, with the national title of Zhonghua, the era name Fuxing, and the unified calendar year of 1567 or 1658. The specific arrangements for officials would be made after the coronation. When this news was announced, all the ordinary people were overjoyed and worked even harder. As a result, the achievements in industry, commerce, and other sectors in each of the former occupied areas changed every day, filling everyone with confidence that they could drive out the Qing dynasty and give the people a happy life.

  In the following days, our PLA soldiers launched a four-pronged attack and took over the defensive areas of the Southern Ming army. All the Southern Ming troops were reorganized in Zunyi, Guizhou Province, with Wang Hu, deputy commander of the Second Army, and Wu Shuang, political commissar of the Third Army, as the main leaders of the reorganization. The cadres at all levels were selected from the fourth short-term students of the original Military Academy, while the original Southern Ming officers who were willing to stay were allowed to do so, and those who did not want to continue serving in the army were arranged by our local authorities to work in factories and mines or were given some living expenses to return home. Some of those who were willing to stay were assigned to work in the local police department. The rest were reorganized into the Ninth Field Army of the PLA. Li Dingguo was also directly appointed as the commander of the First Army. However, just as we were taking over Guangdong's coastal areas, a small problem arose.