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

The world mourned the death of Emperor Yongli.

But for the Qing court, it was like the New Year. Soon, imperial edicts were issued from the Forbidden City and flew to the vast southwest.

Wu Sangui, the Prince of Pingxi, was stationed in Yunnan to oversee the province's military and political affairs, control civil and military officials, and establish his own government, effectively becoming the ruler of the southwest.

Wu Sangui used a bowl of Han emperor's blood to exchange for a "local emperor" throne for himself.

Those Southern Ming officials and remnants who followed Emperor Yongli into exile were either dismissed and sent back to their hometowns or reorganized into the army by the Qing court under the guise of "benevolence," and were quickly divided and disintegrated, never to cause any more trouble.

At this moment, the eighteen-year-long struggle of the Southern Ming against the Qing seemed to have come to a bloody end.

The Qing Dynasty finally achieved true "unification" of this vast land.

The imperial court was filled with singing and dancing, a scene of peace and prosperity.

Ao Bai, Sony, and others were beaming, as if they could already see the magnificent scene of all nations paying tribute.

However, Hong Xiguan sat on the dragon throne, his heart filled with coldness.

He knew this wasn't over yet.

What breaks an era is never the last straw, but a series of successive tragedies.

Just a few months later, another report came from the south that shook the entire Qing court.

The eighth day of the fifth month of the first year of the Kangxi reign.

Zheng Chenggong, the Prince of Yanping who occupied Taiwan, died in Chengtian Prefecture at the young age of thirty-nine!

! ! ! ! !

When Hong Xiguan saw the memorial presented by Prince Jingnan, Geng Jimao, in the Southern Study, he was completely stunned.

Zheng Chenggong...is dead?!

That national hero, who not long ago led 25,000 soldiers to drive out the Dutch and recover Taiwan, just like that... died?

The memorial stated that news came from Taiwan that after Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan, he fell ill due to long-term warfare, overwork, and acclimatization problems. He also heard about the family scandal of his father Zheng Zhilong being executed by the Qing court and his son Zheng Jing having an affair with his wet nurse in Xiamen. Beset by internal and external troubles, he was exhausted and suddenly fell seriously ill.

It is said that before his death, he was still beating his chest and stamping his feet on his bed, shouting loudly, "I have no face to meet the late emperor in the underworld!"

The end of a hero's life...

How tragic!

Holding the memorial, Hong Xiguan felt a lump in his throat and an indescribable sorrow welled up in his heart.

Zheng Chenggong!

This was the last great general of the Ariake era!

He organized several Northern Expeditions. At the height of his military power, his navy reached the gates of Nanjing and besieged Jiangning, which shocked the entire Qing court and even made Emperor Shunzhi so frightened that he wanted to move the capital back to his hometown outside the Great Wall!

Zheng Chenggong single-handedly supported the anti-Qing situation along the entire southeastern coast, becoming the most powerful naval force of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

Furthermore, they reclaimed Taiwan from the Dutch colonists after it had been occupied for thirty-eight years, established a base there, continued the cultural flame of China, and laid a solid foundation for the formal incorporation of Taiwan into China's territory in later generations!

Such a peerless hero, such a towering figure who should have achieved even greater things, actually... died so young?!

Pity!

What a pity!

If you and I were to join forces... no, even if it were just to let you live for another ten years, the landscape of this world might be completely different!

The memorial also mentioned that after Zheng Chenggong's death, a power vacuum immediately fell into the Zheng family group. His son Zheng Jing and his younger brother Zheng Xi had begun to openly fight for the title of "Prince of Yanping".

That's it. This most powerful naval force of the Southern Ming Dynasty is about to be completely destroyed by internal strife.

Hong Xiguan slumped down, feeling utterly lost.

He felt like a powerless bystander, forced to watch helplessly as the heroes he once admired in history books tragically exited the stage, one after another, according to the script of history.

After all, I am too young and it is not yet time for me to take power, even if I have to wait a few more years!

However, the bad news was not over yet.

Just one month later.

June 27th, the first year of the Kangxi reign.

A military report from Yunnan once again shook the entire imperial court.

The last pillar of the Southern Ming Dynasty, Prince Jin, Li Dingguo, died of illness in Mengla, Yunnan, at the young age of forty-two!

If Zheng Chenggong was the "Sea King" of the Southern Ming Dynasty, then Li Dingguo was undoubtedly the "God of Land Warfare"!

Li Dingguo was originally Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son and a fierce general of the Great Western Army. Later, he surrendered to the Southern Ming and became the last pillar supporting the Yongli Dynasty and fighting the Qing army head-on on the mainland!

He once achieved the glorious record of "two victories against the King of Fighters"!

In the great victory at Guilin, Li Dingguo killed Kong Youde, the Prince of Dingnan of the Qing army, in battle, forcing this traitorous prince to commit suicide by self-immolation!

In the great victory at Hengyang, Li Dingguo also killed Prince Jingjin Nikan of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, who was the highest-ranking member of the imperial family to die in battle since the Qing army entered the pass!

These two great victories greatly boosted the morale of the anti-Qing forces across the country, and even made the arrogant and domineering Qing court consider "dividing the country along the river" with the Southern Ming!

It can be said that Li Dingguo, single-handedly, extended the life of the Southern Ming regime by several years!

However, even heroes cannot defy fate.

According to the military report, Li Dingguo was devastated and fell seriously ill after hearing the tragic news in April of the first year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign that the Yongli Emperor had been strangled by Wu Sangui.

He passed away just two months later.

It is said that before his death, Li Dingguo held his son's hand and instructed his followers: "Better to die in the wilderness than surrender to the Qing!"

Better to die in the wilderness than surrender to the Qing...

What a fine Li Dingguo! What a true and unyielding Han man!

Unfortunately, after Li Dingguo's death, his elite troops, who had fought countless battles, were leaderless and eventually disintegrated, unable to form an organized resistance against the Qing Dynasty.

……

Zheng Chenggong is dead.

Li Dingguo also died.

The last two war gods of the Ming Dynasty have fallen.

The Zheng family group in Southeast China has fallen into internal strife and crippled itself.

The remaining forces of Li Dingguo in the southwest, leaderless, vanished without a trace.

The Qing court could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Their last and greatest threat has been completely eliminated.

After that, although sporadic resistance and uprisings continued, there was no longer unified command, no longer any organized military units, and no longer any substantial threat to the Qing Dynasty's rule.

The entire land of China will inevitably gradually enter a "stable period" under the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

The first year of the Kangxi reign...

For me, this imposter, it was just the beginning.

But for all Han Chinese who cherish their homeland, it was the darkest and most tragic year.

The Yongli Emperor died.

Zheng Chenggong is dead.

Li Dingguo also died.

The three supporting pillars collapsed one after another within just six months.

The banner of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming has fallen.

One can imagine that at this very moment, in a restaurant in Jiangnan, in a fishing village in Fujian, or in a mountain village in Yunnan... how many patriots are beating their chests, weeping bitterly, feeling unprecedented confusion and despair.

The flag bearer is gone.

Who can lead them to expel the Tartars and restore China?

Hong Xiguan sat in the South Study, looking at the deep night outside the window, when a flame he had never felt before suddenly ignited in his heart.

Is there no one left to lead the anti-Qing cause?

it is good!

"Since no one else is going to carry it... then I will carry it myself!"

Hong Xiguan slammed his hand on the table and stood up. He walked to the desk and poured three cups of wine from the wine pot.

The first cup is poured southward, onto the island where Zheng Chenggong's loyal bones are buried.

"Farewell, Lord Koxinga. I will complete your unfinished work!"

The second cup was poured towards the southwest, towards the forest where Li Dingguo's soul finally returned.

"Prince Jin, farewell. I will remember your unwavering spirit of 'rather die than surrender'!"

The third cup was poured onto the cold ground beneath my feet.

"Emperor Yongli, farewell! Your humiliating death will be repaid by me with the blood of the Aisin Gioro family!"

The three cups of wine were finished.

There was no longer a trace of confusion in Hong Xiguan's eyes.

All that remained was a calm and resolute demeanor, as cold as ice that had stood for millennia!

Originally, it was expected that he would not be able to assume power for another five years, but Hong Xiguan decided that he would not wait any longer and must take back power from Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Oboi as soon as possible!