Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 295 The Qing Dynasty Collapses Overnight
In late November of the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, while the Jiangnan region was in turmoil, Beijing was also in chaos.

Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Ao Bai in early November.

Apart from Wu Sangui, there were hardly any survivors. In less than twenty days, the news should not have spread so quickly.

But the Yangtze River waterway travels too quickly from Sichuan all the way to Jiangnan.

After defeating Ao Bai, Zhu Yuanzhang stayed in Chongqing for a few days, waiting for cannons to be transported from Yunnan. He also had to allocate ships, which delayed things for several days.

Within just a few days, someone took a boat to Hubei and spread the news to the Huguang region.

As a result, the incident spread like a plague, originating from the Yangtze River waterway and rapidly spreading to both banks of the river.

By late November, the news had spread to both sides of the Yangtze River, causing turmoil in the Jiangnan region.

As for Beijing, it benefited from the post station system that the Qing government had built over the past ten years.

Wu Sangui fled north, wrote a memorial overnight, and then ordered the post station in Baoning Prefecture in northern Sichuan to send a message to Beijing at the fastest speed possible.

Baoning Prefecture is the area of ​​Bazhong in later times. It is 1,200 kilometers away from Beijing in a straight line, and the actual distance is about 1,500 kilometers. Under normal circumstances, even if you walk 50 kilometers a day, it would take a month.

However, the highly efficient post station system had a post station every thirty li, and each post station was equipped with horses. Horses were changed along the way, but the riders were not changed. If the journey was too difficult, the riders and horses would be changed.

Basically, they traveled at a speed of 20 to 30 kilometers per hour, covering 300 to 400 kilometers a day, to the point that they exhausted both the people and the horses along the way, and finally arrived in Beijing after six days.

It was late November when a light snow began to fall in Beijing. The snowflakes landed on the ground without freezing, but a thin layer formed on the roof of the Forbidden City.

The Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty died at the beginning of the year, and the new emperor, Kangxi, was only eight years old when he ascended the throne. Therefore, he was raised by his wet nurse, Lady Sun, and his grandmother, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, while the affairs of state were decided by the four regents.

In fact, even Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang did not interfere in politics. At most, the regents such as Sony and Aobai would listen to her opinions, and whether or not they were implemented depended entirely on Sony and his colleagues' own willingness.

This also ensured political stability during the late Shunzhi and early Kangxi periods.

Otherwise, if the empress dowager interfered in politics, the power struggle between the outer court and the empress dowager would inevitably exacerbate political turmoil, thus creating problems for the already unstable Qing dynasty.

However, that was under the condition that there were no unexpected events.

At Chenshi (7-9 AM) today, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and the eight-year-old Emperor Kangxi made a rare appearance at the Hall of Preserving Harmony for discussing state affairs.

Inside the hall, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, who was forty-eight years old, sat high above. Beside her sat an eight-year-old child with many pockmarks on his face, who was curiously looking around.

Below, Manchu regents such as Sony, Suksaha, Ebilun, Bahana, Cheke, Marsai, and Esehe, as well as scholars from the Three Academies, stood, and there were even some Han Chinese among them.

Among them were Jiang Hede, Cheng Kegong, Jin Zhijun, Hu Shian, Dang Chongya, Wei Zhouzuo, and Feng Quan.

Among them was an old man around seventy years old, with cloudy, lifeless eyes and a slightly pale face, sitting to the side with a blank expression.

His name was Hong Chengchou, and he was a Grand Secretary of the Yingwu Hall and a Third-Class Adahaha Fan of the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, Hong Chengchou had already retired and was riddled with illnesses, and his eyesight was almost gone, which is why Aobai did not take him on his expedition.

But no one expected that Ao Bai would lose, and lose so badly.

Left with no other choice, the Qing court had to drag him out of his home and put him in this hall.

A little above him, in a position second only to several regents, was another elderly Han Chinese man in his sixties.

This man is Fan Wencheng, a former Minister of State Affairs, who retired with the position of Second-Class Jingqinihafan and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.

There were many elderly people in their sixties and seventies in the court.

There was a slight silence in the room.

They were brought to the meeting at the last minute and did not know exactly what had happened. They only saw that the three regents were ashen-faced and that Sony's eyes were red, as if he had been crying.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang above looked completely stunned, as if she had learned something terrifying that made them afraid to ask.

But everyone here is a shrewd person; even a fool could figure something out.

After all, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang never interfered in court affairs, and Emperor Kangxi usually did not attend such court meetings, instead receiving various forms of education in the inner palace.

Furthermore, the presence of these retired individuals also displeased Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Sony, among others.

So what kind of major event would alarm Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and warrant inviting these retired old men out of retirement?
There is only one possibility—that the army that led to the expedition against Ao Bai, the so-called Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, suffered a defeat and a major problem has arisen in the southwest!
Therefore, everyone fell silent, and no one dared to ask any questions for fear of offending them.

After a while, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang spoke in a heavy tone: "Gentlemen, many of you have retired, but we still have to invite you all to this court meeting because our Great Qing Dynasty is on the verge of life and death."

Some of the people who were on good terms with each other exchanged glances, their faces showing serious expressions.

It's probably related to Ao Bai.

Fan Wencheng was a veteran official who served four emperors, including Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, and Shunzhi. Now, during the Kangxi era, he still held a very prestigious position, and both Shunzhi and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang respected him greatly.

He began by asking, "Your Majesty, may I inquire whether it pertains to the southwest?"

"Yes."

"Ao Bai has been defeated?"

"Failed."

"."

Fan Wencheng pondered for a moment, then said, "It must be because the court is pressing too hard, causing Ao Bai to underestimate the enemy and advance recklessly. If the rebels only gain Sichuan, the court's army can still retreat to Hubei. Sichuan is already devastated, and the Ming rebels can at most gain the assistance of the thirteen families of Kuidong. Even if they rely on the southwestern Yunnan and Guizhou regions, they will not be able to gain more soldiers and supplies. Moreover, since they have moved north to western Sichuan, Guizhou in the east will certainly not be well-defended. Li Qifeng should be able to achieve something. Please, Your Majesty, do not worry. Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. Faced with the resurgence of the rebels, we should proceed slowly to slow down the pace of the attack. Then the Ming rebels' offensive will inevitably be thwarted, and that will be the best time for us to wipe them out."

These were his words of comfort to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

Or rather, it wasn't exactly a consolation, but rather the worst possible outcome he could have foreseen.

The Three Gorges area is treacherous, and the imperial court is pressing Ao Bai for action. Based on his understanding of Ao Bai over the years, he is certain that Ao Bai will choose a swift attack strategy.

This choice wasn't a big deal in itself.

The Qing army had always been able to crush the remnants of the Ming dynasty with overwhelming force; this was how they had always fought before.

But now that the remnants of the Ming Dynasty have the ability to take advantage of Ao Bai's underestimation and recklessness to defeat him, they naturally have to think about how to deal with the situation next.

In Fan Wencheng's opinion, Ao Bai would at most lose 100,000 troops, and his main force would simply have to retreat to Hubei.

With the Qing Dynasty now possessing the entire country, the only missing piece is the impoverished southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Moreover, Sichuan has already been decimated and is almost uninhabited. We can wear down the enemy through attrition.

However, this was the worst-case scenario Fan Wencheng could imagine, but he didn't know that the situation was more than ten times worse than he imagined.

Upon hearing his words, Xiaozhuang, Sony, and the others looked extremely grim. Sony, Suksaha, and Ebilun exchanged glances, their mouths moved, but they ultimately remained silent.

Finally, seeing that something was wrong with them, Fan Wencheng hesitated and asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything I said that is incorrect?"

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang could only say in a slightly hoarse voice, "Ao Bai... Ao Bai's entire army has been wiped out."

After she finished speaking, there was a deathly silence in the hall.

Apart from the three regents and Bahana, the Grand Secretary of the Secretariat who had previously been responsible for delivering the urgent documents, everyone else, including Cheke, the Grand Secretary of the National History Academy, and Esehe, the Grand Secretary of the Hongwen Academy, all looked horrified.

Then came a thunderous explosion.

The twenty or thirty Manchu and Han officials in the hall were immediately thrown into a panic.

"How. How is it possible?"

"More than 200,000 troops, completely wiped out?"

"How could Ming Nie possibly have such strength? Could it be that Ao Bai only sent ships into Sichuan, only to encounter a flood?"

The crowd looked on in astonishment, exchanging glances and starting to whisper amongst themselves. They quickly deduced what had happened.

That is, in order to transport troops and supplies into Sichuan as quickly as possible, Ao Bai chose to travel entirely by water.

Although the Yangtze River basin experiences the heaviest and most frequent rainfall around June, August, September, and October each year also have a rainy season, which is not much less than that of June.

If Ao Bai had traveled entirely by water and avoided land routes, it's possible that with so many ships encountering the rainy season and floods, the entire fleet would have been wiped out.

That would be incredibly stupid.

Because marching along the Yangtze River basin, it is necessary to find locals who are familiar with hydrology and geography. There are probably hundreds of guides.

Furthermore, the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, where it enters Sichuan, have rapid currents and do not require guides. Ao Bai should have realized upon seeing this that such a waterway was not suitable for such a large-scale military march.

At most, a portion of the supplies were transported by water, while the majority of the infantry and cavalry troops traveled by land.

But that was the only explanation they could think of.

Otherwise, could it be that the Ming army in the southwest really possessed the strength to annihilate Ao Bai's hundreds of thousands of troops?
That's just too far-fetched.

Even if Liu Xiu were to be resurrected, he couldn't do it.

After all, even Liu Xiu could at most summon meteorites to throw Wang Mang's 420,000-strong army into chaos, allowing them to take advantage of the situation to attack and defeat Wang Mang's army, but they could not annihilate it completely.

Therefore, everyone said, "If that's the case, Ao Bai has ruined the country."

“That fool Ao Bai has ruined the court! I’ve said it before, what kind of regent can a military man like him do?”

"What? Are you saying that the late emperor was bad at judging people?"

"I didn't mean that. I just think the late emperor must have been deceived by that treacherous Ao Bai."

"Alright, stop arguing. The most important thing right now is to think of a solution."

They said.

Some people have even started to hurl insults at Ao Bai.

However, those who could criticize Ao Bai were mostly Manchu nobles, and there was even one whose surname was Aisin Gioro.

Otherwise, even if Aobai did something foolish, the Han Chinese officials wouldn't dare to criticize him.

After the Manchu nobles finished their grumbling, Fan Wencheng, who was still the head of the Han Chinese ministers, finally spoke up: "Empress Dowager, the complete annihilation of these 200,000-plus troops would indeed be a fundamental blow, but..."

"It's not more than 200,000."

Before he could finish speaking, Sony interrupted, "It's four hundred thousand!"

"Four hundred thousand?"

Fan Wencheng was greatly alarmed.

The others were also shocked.

Even Hong Chengchou, whose eyes were almost blind, who was riddled with age-related illnesses, and whose face was covered with age spots, turned his head and looked over with astonishment in his cloudy eyes.

"Ao Bai didn't encounter a flood. It was his more than 200,000 troops who entered Sichuan and, together with the forces of Li Guoying, Wang Yizheng, Zhang Changgeng, and others, a total of 400,000 men, who besieged Chongqing Prefecture. They were defeated and annihilated by the Ming forces in a direct confrontation!"

Sony said with a somber expression, "Only Wu Sangui escaped because the roads were impassable due to the torrential rain and he was unable to reunite with Ao Bai. However, he was also pursued by the Ming rebels and only tens of thousands of cavalrymen escaped back to Shaanxi. It can now be said that the situation in the southwest has completely collapsed."

This is what Wu Sangui mentioned in his memorial to the throne.

Of course, he wasn't prevented from joining Ao Bai by some torrential rain; that was just an excuse he made for not going to besiege Chongqing.

Wu Sangui's current situation can be described as extremely awkward.

He wanted to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty would not accept it and had already announced that they were prepared to skin him alive.

There's nowhere to run.

They couldn't possibly lead tens of thousands of Guan Ning cavalry to the grasslands to become the Xiongnu.

Therefore, he had no choice but to continue clinging to the Qing government.

They have now retreated to Shaanxi, and have described the situation in their memorial to the emperor, while also hoping that the imperial court will send reinforcements.

But where are the reinforcements from Beijing?
Suksaha said bitterly, "It seems that Li Qifeng's army has been completely wiped out as well. The Ming forces are attacking Guangdong and Guangxi. I don't know if Shang Kexi can hold out."

The expressions on everyone's faces were quite varied, ranging from shock and grief to sadness, while some people's eyes darted around, seemingly lost in thought.

It took Fan Wencheng a long time to recover from the shock.

He had already anticipated the worst possible outcome.

Who knew there would be an even worse outcome than Ao Bai's defeat and the loss of over 100,000 troops?

It was really unexpected.

However, as expected of the strategist valued by three generations of Manchu leaders—Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, and Shunzhi—he slowly spoke after his initial shock: "If I'm not mistaken, the Ming dynasty probably doesn't intend to go north. They are probably planning to go south along the river."

"It is not known at the moment."

Sony nodded: "However, they did not pursue Wu Sangui into Shaanxi, but are still in Chongqing Prefecture. It seems they intend to go east along the Yangtze River. Jiangnan is a major source of tax revenue for our Great Qing. If it falls into the hands of the Ming rebels, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"And Zheng Chenggong is also on the southeast coast. The Ming dynasty must have gone to find them."

Hong Chengchou couldn't help but say something.

"So we only have two options left."

Fan Wencheng sighed and said, "One option is to immediately reinforce Jiangnan and engage the Ming rebels in a decisive battle there. The other is to hold the capital and abandon Jiangnan, but what if we do that?"

Everyone fell into silence.

Actually, there's one more thing Fan Wencheng didn't mention.

That means retreating to the area outside the pass.

But he couldn't say it.

Therefore, these are the two options they face.

After all, they still had a large amount of food and supplies, and the problem of manpower was also simple.

Immediately contact the Mongol tribes and have them send troops south.

Then, by conscripting a large number of soldiers in the north, it wouldn't be difficult to raise hundreds of thousands of people in a short period of time.

However, while conscripting men is easy, untrained soldiers are no different from a rabble.

With hundreds of thousands of elite troops gone, how can Ao Bai rely on these temporarily recruited laborers?
Even if they were sent out, they would probably end up like Ao Bai.

Everyone thought to themselves.

For a time, the entire court of Manchu Tartars and Han lackeys were filled with sorrow.

Who could have imagined that the Qing Dynasty, which had previously built a vast empire, would collapse overnight?

(End of this chapter)