I, Kangxi, am here to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!

After reading the imperial edict to execute Emperor Yongli, Zhu Youlang, Hong Xiguan immediately dismissed everyone except his trusted confidant, Cao Yin.

"Quickly! Go see Wan Yunlong right now! Tell him that Emperor Yongli, Zhu Youlang, has been captured by that scoundrel Wu Sangui! He's currently imprisoned in Kunming, Yunnan!"

Damn it! Even though I know history can't be reversed, I still have to try!

I am now the emperor, and I cannot openly oppose the court's decisions, but I can... leak secrets!

I will spread this message through the Heaven and Earth Society!

Hong Xiguan grabbed Cao Yin's shoulder, his eyes flashing with unprecedented anxiety.

"You also need to tell Wan Yunlong that the imperial court has issued a secret decree ordering Wu Sangui to execute the Yongli Emperor on the spot in Kunming! Tell him... tell him to immediately notify the Heaven and Earth Society headquarters! Go and save him at all costs!"

Although Wu Sangui held considerable power in Yunnan, the Heaven and Earth Society's branches were spread throughout the southwest! If they could get advance notice and mobilize heroes from all walks of life, even if it was just to break prisoners or create chaos, perhaps... perhaps they could secure a glimmer of hope for the Yongli Emperor!

Even if it's just to let him live a few more days, that would be good!

Cao Yin looked at the young emperor's anxious expression, and although he was filled with confusion, he still nodded heavily.

Your Majesty...why would you save a former Ming emperor?

Could this be... a scheme? Is it to use Emperor Yongli to restrain Wu Sangui?

I don't understand, but the Emperor's order must be obeyed!

Soon, Cao Yin, again in his capacity as "Crown Prince," secretly met with Wan Yunlong.

When Wan Yunlong learned from him the shocking news that Emperor Yongli had been captured and was about to be executed, this tough man broke down on the spot!

"What?! His Majesty... His Majesty, he..."

Wan Yunlong's eyes were bloodshot. He slammed his fist hard against the wall, smashing himself until he was covered in blood and gore, but he was completely unaware of it.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty, was actually going to be killed by Wu Sangui, that traitor who served three masters?!

What a humiliation this is!

Suppressing his grief, Wan Yunlong kowtowed deeply to Cao Yin: "Please rest assured, Your Highness! I will risk my life to deliver this message back to headquarters!"

As a high-ranking member of the Heaven and Earth Society, he had his own methods for transmitting messages.

Even within the heavily guarded imperial city, Wan Yunlong could still use various inconspicuous channels.

For example, a servant who went out of the palace to make purchases, or a cook responsible for dumping swill, would pass on the encrypted code from station to station.

After doing all this, Hong Xiguan and Wan Yunlong were both filled with anxious waiting.

They are waiting for a miracle.

However, the wheels of history are ultimately cold and merciless.

Two months later.

An urgent report from Yunnan was once again placed on Hong Xiguan's desk.

The report was still written in the handwriting of Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi.

Every word above was like a poisoned knife, stabbing deeply into Hong Xiguan's heart.

"...Your subject Wu Sangui, by imperial decree of His Majesty and Empress Dowager, has verified the identities of the false Ming Yongli Emperor Zhu Youlang and his son Zhu Cixuan at Jinchan Temple in Bizipo, Kunming, and executed them by strangulation with a bowstring..."

In the end... he was still murdered.

Hong Xiguan felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and the report in his hand fluttered to the ground.

He slumped helplessly onto the dragon throne, overwhelmed by an unprecedented sense of defeat and anger.

I clearly notified them in advance!

Why?! Why couldn't it be stopped?!

Was Wu Sangui acting too quickly? Or was the Heaven and Earth Society ultimately too weak?

Faced with the absolute machinery of state violence, are so-called chivalrous heroes and secret societies ultimately just futile attempts to stop a chariot?

Hong Xiguan recalled the heroes in the movies who shouted "Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming".

It reminded me of those chivalrous heroes in novels who could leap across rooftops and do anything.

But reality is so cold and so cruel.

Meanwhile, in the simple stable outside the South Study.

When Wan Yunlong learned of Emperor Yongli's death from Cao Yin...

This tough man, who had never uttered a sound even when facing torture in the Ministry of Justice prison, could no longer hold back and burst into tears while hugging the manger.

The cries were suppressed, sorrowful, and filled with despair.

He was not just crying over the death of an emperor, but over the complete end of an era and the annihilation of the last vestige of the Han dynasty's rule!

On the square in front of the Qianqing Palace.

The seemingly ordinary third-class guard who had been silently standing guard suddenly turned white with his knuckles when he heard the news of the death from inside the palace.

A trace of indescribable grief flashed across his face.

However, the emotion was fleeting, and he quickly returned to his calm and composed state.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

……

March 12th, the first year of the Kangxi reign.

After confirming that the Yongli Emperor was dead and the Southern Ming regime had been completely destroyed, the Qing court finally announced the matter to the world.

The whole country was in a state of jubilation.

To highlight this "unparalleled achievement," Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and the four regents decided that the new emperor, Kangxi, should personally go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices to the ancestors and formally incorporate this matter into the national sacrificial rites.

Offering sacrifice?

Let my soul, that of a Han Chinese, go to you, these ruthless bandit leaders, to report that you have killed yet another Han emperor.

And you expect me to feel "honored" about it?

Fuck you!

This is the biggest irony in the world!

Hong Xiguan felt a thousand reasons not to, and a thousand curses were running through his mind.

But he went anyway.

We can't not go.

Dressed in solemn sacrificial robes, surrounded by civil and military officials, he walked step by step into the Imperial Ancestral Temple, where the ancestral tablets of the Qing Dynasty were enshrined.

Inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the atmosphere was solemn and dignified, filled with the aroma of incense.

Hong Xiguan knelt on the cold prayer mat, listening to the master of ceremonies read the eulogy, which was full of praise and whitewashed the peace, in a melodious tone.

His gaze passed over the memorial tablets and landed on the several huge portraits hanging on the wall.

In the very center is Taizu Nurhaci, an old thief in the portrait with sinister eyes, a face full of scars, and the air of a bandit hero.

"Old man! It was you who ignited this century-long war in the Hetu Ala Na mountains!"

"Just you wait, your good-for-nothing descendants will squander your empire in no time! I'll make a fuss about it!"

Hong Xiguan cursed inwardly, then turned his gaze to the yellow chicken on his left.

The yellow-feathered chicken in the portrait has a cruel look in its eyes and a bloated body, weighing at least 300 pounds.

"Huang Taiji! You fat pig! You cuckold! Your wife belongs to someone else, and your empire belongs to someone else! The Qing Dynasty you've always dreamed of now belongs to the Hong family! Surprised? Unexpected?!"

Finally, Hong Xiguan's gaze fell on the latest portrait on the right, that of the Shunzhi Emperor, Fulin.

The Shunzhi Emperor in the portrait is young and handsome, with a hint of melancholy that is inconsistent with his age.

"You damn fool! You died a truly unjust death! But who told you to disobey your own mother? Now look what's happened, your remains are gone, and even the history books will have to give you a 'monk' ending!"

"But don't worry, brother, it won't be long before I make your remaining sons... disappear from this world by accident! I will make sure your Aisin Gioro family is completely wiped out!"

Hong Xiguan knelt on the ground, outwardly comforting his ancestors, but inwardly cursing each and every person on the wall with the most venomous voice.

From that moment on, he was no longer playing the role of "Kangxi" merely to survive.

What he wanted to do was to become the real "Kangxi" and then use the power of "Kangxi" to overthrow the dynasty and change this history!

You all just wait!