Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 279 The Remnants of the Ming Dynasty
Guiyang was captured in about half an hour.

Kunming, whose defending forces were ten times larger than those of Guiyang, did not hold out for long; the city fell in just over an hour.

In fact, most of the time it was not the Ming army that was attacking. The Ming army's actual attack time was only the initial ten minutes or so of artillery bombardment, followed by about two hours of pursuit.

Large numbers of Qing troops fled out of the city, and in their panic, they jumped into Dianchi Lake, trying to swim to the other side.

Chaos engulfed the entire city of Kunming.

In the afternoon, Zhu Di and his entourage entered Kunming and immediately began their work in an orderly manner.

This included placing a stone tablet at Wu Sangui's former residence in Kunming, sending people to write proclamations to reassure the people, and simultaneously gathering the remaining Qing soldiers hiding in the city, preparing to escort them out for beheading to intimidate the Qing army throughout the country.

The city's security was also being maintained. Ming soldiers patrolled the streets, ordering the people to go home and forbidding them from harboring Manchu Tartars. They also welcomed any reports of clues.

For a time, Kunming was under strict military control, and it was as quiet as a dead city.

a few days later.

Qing troops from various parts of Yunnan began to retreat in large numbers towards Sichuan.

In many places, Qing soldiers even killed officials and rebelled, took off their Qing uniforms, put on Han Chinese clothes, changed their flags, and expressed their willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty.

Furthermore, many chieftains in Yunnan who had already submitted to the Manchu Qing dynasty also sent people to Kunming to submit petitions, saying that they had always been loyal to the Ming dynasty and hoped that the Ming dynasty could accept them back.

This is understandable.

News of Zhu Di had already spread throughout Yunnan, and some chieftains who were dissatisfied with the Qing court had long expressed their willingness to submit to them.

However, most chieftains adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Those willing to revolt are ultimately a minority. For ordinary people and local chieftains, the principle of helping whoever wins is an age-old truth.

But it was precisely because of the Qing army's crushing defeat in Yunnan that the entire Yunnan region was thrown into turmoil, with the flags of different rulers changing hands and undercurrents surging everywhere.

Local chieftains, rebel armies, defeated Qing troops, and Southern Ming troops on the border were entangled in a chaotic mess.

The situation became chaotic and turbulent for a time.

Similarly, news of the Ming army's defeat of Wu Sangui and recapture of Kunming spread like wildfire.

In early July, Li Dingguo, who had rushed back to Pu'er Prefecture from Jingdong, recovered a large number of border cities with almost no effort. He even swept through the city with a force of only a few thousand men, capturing Ning'er County, the capital of Pu'er Prefecture.

It should be noted that at that time, Wu Sangui's focus was still on suppressing the Southern Ming. He deployed heavy troops to guard the borders of the three prefectures of Pu'er, Shun Ning, and Yongchang, and adopted a harsh suppression policy against the remnants of the Southern Ming.

In the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, the remaining forces of the Southern Ming totaled less than 20,000, with Bai Wenxuan having about 10,000 and Li Dingguo having only about 7,000 or 8,000 left.

However, Wu Sangui recklessly deployed nearly 100,000 troops in these three prefectures.

Furthermore, they continuously corrupted and won over the remnants of the Southern Ming forces, leading many of Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan's subordinates to defect to the enemy, such as Zhang Guoyong and Zhao Desheng. Ultimately, their numbers dwindled, and they were outnumbered, resulting in the downfall of the Southern Ming.

However, the heavily guarded borders were now extremely vulnerable, and the defending forces in various cities were almost non-existent, allowing Li Dingguo to move freely and launch large-scale attacks on cities and territories.

On July 8th, outside Ning'er City, Li Dingguo rode on horseback, looking at the city so close at hand, and was filled with emotion.

Once upon a time, he was driven to flee in all directions by the Qing army, suffering repeated defeats, and thought that one day he would die in a foreign land and be unable to return to the homeland of the Ming Dynasty.

Now, to everyone's surprise, he has returned one day, and without losing a single soldier, he has easily occupied Pu'er Prefecture, a major town in the southwest, and finally gained a foothold.

It all feels like a dream.

“Father, there really are no soldiers left in the city. They all say that the original troops were transferred to Kunming, and now Kunming has been captured.”

Li Dingguo's son, Li Sixing, rode out of the city in high spirits and excitedly said to Li Dingguo.

"Prince Jin, I told you that our army is attacking Kunming."

Wu Sansheng, who was standing next to him, also said with a smile.

"It is truly a blessing from heaven for our great Ming Dynasty. We have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel."

“Prince Jin, as long as we bring His Majesty back from Burma, we can launch a northern expedition against the Tartars and restore the Han Chinese land of our Great Ming.”

"It's a pity my father didn't live to see this day."

The few other generals, including Jin Tongwu, Ma Siliang, and Liu Zhen, also expressed their feelings.

By the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, Li Dingguo and even the entire Southern Ming dynasty had reached a dead end.

Most of his generals either surrendered or died in battle. His troops and supplies were increasingly depleted, and it was clear that the situation was beyond saving; there was no possibility of turning the tide.

Currently, he has only a few thousand soldiers and three or four main generals, all of whom rely on his personal prestige.

Historically, when Li Dingguo died of illness, his family's possessions crumbled instantly.

Apart from Wu Sansheng, who persisted in guerrilla warfare, the rest of them followed Li Dingguo's son, Li Sixing, to surrender to the Manchus.

They are not necessarily willing to act as lackeys of other races.

Rather, it was the shattering of faith that led to despair.

In this moment of despair, a glimmer of hope has risen, rekindling the flames of hope for Li Dingguo's generals.

Wasn't Li Dingguo the same?

However, he was able to remain patient. After taking Pu'er Prefecture and entering Ning'er City, he said, "Yunnan was able to be restored thanks to that large army. We must immediately send someone to contact them, including the three provinces."

"The end will be here."

Wu Sansheng responded.

"You shall immediately take people to Kunming to pay your respects. Remember, you must be courteous."

"Yes."

"Unify the military."

"The end will be here."

"Immediately contact the Prince of Gongchang to find His Majesty's whereabouts."

"Yes."

"Let's first station ourselves in Ning'er to rest and recuperate. The soldiers have been exhausted over the years, it's time for them to rest. Send out orders to distribute the captured Tartar grain and silver to the soldiers, and prohibit alcohol for three days."

"Ouch! Ouch!"

Cheers erupted around Li Dingguo, and everyone became excited.

A joyful mood permeated the entire Li Dingguo army.

Meanwhile, Bai Wenxuan's troops were stationed at the Mubang Pacification Commissioner's Office, which later became known as Kunlong Township in Myanmar.

Like Li Dingguo, he actually knew about Zhu Di's attack on Kunming long before Zhu Di's successive conquests of Tongren, Yuezhou, Guiyang, Anshun, Qujing and other places, which caused a great stir in the southwest.

Unlike Li Dingguo, Li Dingguo chose to head north immediately. After Zhu Di captured Kunming, he quickly occupied Pu'er Prefecture, which was already within Yunnan Province.

After much hesitation, Bai Wenxuan did not head north to Yongchang Prefecture or Shun Ning Prefecture, but instead remained in Burma.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go back, but that he knew about Emperor Yongli.

The treacherous officials Ma Jixiang and Li Guotai kidnapped Emperor Yongli and fled to Burma. Bai Wenxuan hoped they would return to Mong Bang, but Ma Jixiang refused to come, which angered Bai Wenxuan greatly.

However, he was unable to go south before because he had to stay in Mong Bang to prevent the Qing army from capturing the Yongli Emperor in Burma.

Now that the Qing army has gone back to defend Kunming, and the Qing troops in Yongchang and Shun Ning have retreated, Bai Wenxuan's pressure has been greatly reduced, so he began to plan the matter of bringing the Yongli Emperor back.

On July 9th, at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), Bai Wenxuan mustered his troops and prepared to depart for Ava City.

Compared to Li Dingguo, who was in dire straits, Bai Wenxuan was slightly better off, but only by a small margin. He had a little over 10,000 soldiers and five or six generals, including Zhang Guoyong, Zhao Desheng, and Su Siming.

The only advantage is that Mubang has a relatively good geographical location, and it is located at the junction of Yongchang and Shunning. The roads are relatively wide, making it relatively convenient to move around, unlike Li Dingguo who is tightly confined to the deep mountains and forests and has difficulty getting out.

Bai Wenxuan, 46 years old this year, has a clear and sharp face, a long beard, and slightly sunken eyes due to long-term war and travel. He is also rather thin, which shows how much psychological pressure he has been under over the years.

But he's been in a good mood these past few days.

After all, in this time of despair, hearing that the Ming army had actually recovered Yunnan was naturally a cause for celebration.

Although they still don't know the details of the Ming army, they've already reached this desperate point. The infighting and fighting among the troops are all gone, so they should be able to fight the Tartars together now.

Moreover, Bai Wenxuan still had the Yongli Emperor as a trump card in his hand.

Therefore, Bai Wenxuan was not worried.

It was morning, and the scenery outside Mubang Town was beautiful, with the Nujiang River flowing gently, irrigating the fertile farmland on both banks.

This road from Yunnan to Myanmar is the best road.

Because the Nu River has carved out some plains, the terrain on both sides of the Nu River is relatively flat, with wide roads and abundant farmland.

For example, Mengding Town in Lincang in later generations became a prosperous town on the border between China and Myanmar. Relying on the jewelry and jade trade, its scale was even larger than that of an average county town.

It was precisely because of the relatively fertile land that Bai Wenxuan was able to cultivate the land locally, and he was better off than Li Dingguo in terms of food supplies.

Historically, at the end of the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, Wu Sangui's army advanced into Mubang. After a series of disastrous defeats, Bai Wenxuan still had more than 3,000 cavalry, more than 10,000 people, and 12 war elephants, which shows that his family was still quite well-off.

At this moment, Bai Wenxuan was riding on horseback, with war elephants carrying a lot of supplies behind him. He pointed forward and said, "Soldiers, Yunnan has been recovered. As long as we bring His Majesty back, there is hope for the Ming Dynasty. If the Burmese King does not comply this time, we will slaughter Burma until not a single chicken or dog is left alive!"

"Bring His Majesty back! Bring His Majesty back!"

The soldiers behind him shouted loudly, their morale soaring because of the liberation of Yunnan.

"set off!"

Bai Wenxuan shouted.

The group then moved forward slowly.

Around noon, warhorses galloped up from behind, and a messenger called out, "Your Highness, urgent report from the rear!"

"what's up?"

Bai Wenxuan did not stop the procession from continuing, but instead reined in his horse and pulled it to the side of the road.

The scout reported, "Your Highness, a group of men has suddenly appeared from behind. They say..." "Say what?"

"They say they are subordinates of Emperor Taizong, who descended to earth to save the Ming Dynasty from disaster. They didn't attack Beijing directly, but came to Yunnan to rescue His Majesty."

"Bullshit."

Bai Wenxuan frowned and said, "It's one thing to use His Majesty's name and title, but how can you impersonate Emperor Taizong?"

Although Zhu Di was posthumously honored as Emperor Chengzu by the Jiajing Emperor, most people in the Ming Dynasty with a little knowledge knew that before being honored as Emperor Chengzu, Zhu Di's temple name was Emperor Taizong of Ming.

Therefore, it is obvious that the Emperor Taizong they were referring to was Zhu Di. Even though the Ming Dynasty had fallen, as remnants of the Southern Ming, they naturally had to uphold the dignity of the Ming Dynasty. Impersonating Zhu Di was a capital offense.

However, the scout said, "That's what they said."

"Asshole."

Bai Wenxuan was furious and was about to order the army to stop marching and turn their horses around to deal with those impersonating Zhu Di.

But his trusted general Zhang Guoyong quickly stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, there's no rush."

"Ok?"

Bai Wenxuan looked at him with a puzzled expression.

However, before Zhang Guoyong could speak, Bai Wenxuan suddenly realized something.

It wasn't that he didn't understand the reasoning; it's just that he was a prince of the Ming Dynasty, and his first thought was always to uphold the dignity of the royal family.

Zhang Guoyong stopped him, and then he understood the deeper meaning behind it.

Very simple.

The enemy had fought their way from Hunan to Yunnan, defeating at least 80,000 to 100,000 Qing troops along the way. Their fighting power was incredibly formidable, and these people were no match for them.

If you were to turn against the other party at this point, it would be tantamount to courting death.

Therefore, before Zhang Guoyong could speak, Bai Wenxuan asked, "I understand what you mean. So tell me, what should we do?"

"Let's meet them first."

Zhang Guoyong said, "The truth will be clear at a glance."

"Well"

Bai Wenxuan pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "Alright, order the three armies to rest on the spot. I'll go see them."

Having said that, he reined in his horse and rode off.

The procession of tens of thousands of people stretched for more than ten miles. It took Bai Wenxuan nearly twenty minutes to trot his warhorse to reach the rear.

At this moment, Chen Gui and Yang Heng were already waiting for them.

In July, Myanmar was hot and humid with scorching sun, forcing the group to seek shelter under the trees in the nearby woods.

Bai Wenxuan slowly rode over, protected by hundreds of guards, and soon approached the forest.

Upon seeing this, Chen Gui and Yang Heng walked over.

The two sides slowly approached, and Zhang Guoyong stepped forward first, shouting, "Who are you?"

"I am Chen Gui, a commander of a thousand households under the Prince of Yan."

"I am Yang Heng, a commander of a thousand households under the Prince of Yan."

The two announced their names.

Chen Gui stepped forward and said, "We are here on the orders of the Prince of Yan, the Prince of Wu, and the Duke of Wei to go south and welcome the Yongli Emperor. You must be from Bai Wenxuan's department?"

"Be bold!"

Before Bai Wenxuan could speak, Zhang Guoyong shouted, "How dare you impersonate His Majesty Emperor Taizong!"

Seeing these two was not surprising.

This kind of situation often occurred during the Chongzhen reign.

The two exchanged a glance, Chen Gui smiled, took out a grenade from his waist, turned on the fuse, and threw it into an empty open space thirty meters away.

Their behavior was strange, and Bai Wenxuan and the others looked at him warily, their eyes also drawn to the grenade in Chen Gui's hand.

The grenade flew through the air in an arc and landed on an open ground in the distance.

"boom!"

An explosion suddenly rang out, startling Bai Wenxuan and the others, who instinctively shrank back several steps.

"see it?"

Yang Heng said, "Killing you would be an easy task for us. You are the last loyal subjects of the Ming Dynasty. We do not want to be your enemies. We only hope to have a good talk with you. Do not do anything foolish."

The terrifying explosion caused a huge shock. Bai Wenxuan and the others looked at them with suspicion and uncertainty, while Chen Gui and Yang Heng's subordinates also raised their guns intentionally or unintentionally.

Seeing this, Chen Gui picked up a light machine gun and fired at the forest, punching a tree as thick as a bowl with many holes in it.

The bark splattered everywhere, and in no time at all, it was snapped in half, which was even more horrifying.

"See? I wasn't lying to you."

Chen Gui stopped firing and said to them, "One bullet from our guns can kill you. We have five hundred men here, more than enough to wipe out an army of one hundred thousand. Now, can we talk things over?"

"This"

Seeing the formidable martial prowess displayed by the other side, Bai Wenxuan, Zhang Guoyong, and the others calmed down.

Zhang Guoyong said to Bai Wenxuan in a low voice, "Your Highness, why don't we have a proper talk with them?"

"Forehead."

Bai Wenxuan remained doubtful, but still responded.

It's so scary.

No wonder the enemy was able to easily break through Kunming.

With this firepower, it's probably true, as the other side says, that they could easily take over Beijing.

"How...how do you want to talk?"

Bai Wenxuan hesitated for a moment before asking.

"You should speak to His Highness the Prince of Yan yourselves."

Yang Heng waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him brought over a shortwave radio.

They first contacted Zhu Di on the other side via radio.

Then, under Yang Heng's instruction, Bai Wenxuan hesitantly put on the headphones.

"Hey."

The voice from the other end startled Bai Wenxuan, who then cautiously replied, "Yes."

"Who are you?"

"Bai Wenxuan, Prince of Gongchang of the Ming Dynasty".

"Oh, I know you. Although you eventually surrendered to the Manchus, you had no choice but to do so under duress. Your father pardoned you."

"."

Bai Wenxuan remained silent and waited.

He didn't know what the other person meant, nor did he know what the other person was saying.

But he knew he had no right to turn against the other party.

Then Zhu Di continued, "I am Zhu Di. We have now captured Kunming and are building a teleportation array. My father will be here soon with tens of thousands of troops. I order you to bring the Yongli Emperor back from Burma and, while you're at it, kill the Burmese king and execute him by slow slicing. Can you do that?"

"This"

Bai Wenxuan was somewhat taken aback, but still asked in return, "Why execute the King of Burma?"

"That scoundrel will launch a sneak attack on Emperor Yongli in about ten days, killing a large number of Yongli's followers and officials. People like Ma Jixiang are not worth the death penalty, but the Burmese king dared to attack and kill my Great Ming emperor, which is a capital offense. When the time comes, cleanse the Burmese capital. This is an order!"

"Yes"

"The rest will be explained to you by Chen Gui and Yang Heng on the way. I am very busy and have no time to waste on you. From now on, you only need to follow orders, understand?"

"."

"Don't you understand?"

".yes."

Bai Wenxuan answered somewhat reluctantly.

Although the methods the other party displayed were indeed amazing, he claimed to be Zhu Di one moment and his father, the emperor, the next.

Who was Zhu Di's father?
That was Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang.

How could something so revolutionary as to overturn Bai Wenxuan's understanding not cause his brain to shut down, almost to the point of stopping his thinking?

However, Zhu Di's authoritative tone, which forbade questioning, still made him hesitate.

Moreover, the force displayed by the other side was indeed terrifying.

After he answered, the call ended, and a busy tone appeared. After asking a few questions without getting a reply, Bai Wenxuan couldn't help but look at Chen Gui and Yang Heng, his eyes full of confusion.

they.

Were they really people who came during the founding of the Ming Dynasty?
(End of this chapter)