Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Chapter 745: Shocked by the Emperor’s audacity to abandon the country

In Yongchang City, a tall middle-aged man was pacing back and forth anxiously. This life has a good appearance, the face is like the full moon, must be longer than the navel, looks forward to one's own glory, and has the appearance of an emperor. He is indeed the Son of Heaven, as was the Emperor Yongli of the Ming Dynasty.

After giving up his plan to retreat north to Sichuan and fleeing to Yongchang, the emperor immediately ordered people to draft an "Edict on Sin" and "A Confession to God", scolding himself for trusting powerful traitors, bribing public officials, and losing people's hearts. Upon seeing this, Li Dingguo, who was in charge of the government, took the blame and blamed himself. He petitioned to return Huang Yue, cut off his official position, and put him on trial. Emperor Yongli only gave him a nominal punishment of being demoted three levels, and most of the other officials were demoted to administrative positions. All are aimed at restoring the lax morale of the military and the people. However, the ministers and the people were not stupid. Instead of going to Sichuan, they stayed in Yongchang, which is close to Myanmar. How could people not worry that the emperor had plans to flee overseas. General Anyuan Jingkou of the Qing Dynasty, King Doni of Xin County and King Luo Keduo of Tongping County, Beile Shangshan, and Dulan, the Duke of Zhenguo Tunqi, Gushan Ezhen Yilde, Alzin, Bashan, and Zhuoluo After leading the main force of the Eight Banners and a large number of elite green battalions to the south, the Qing army in Yunnan and Guizhou had exceeded 200,000 troops. Even His Highness King Li Jin was defeated again and again. He lost Guizhou first and then Kunming, which made people even more panic-stricken. Ministers and soldiers kept fleeing.

"Is there any news about King Gongchang?" Emperor Yongli finally couldn't hold it in any longer and asked Ma Jixiang, the commander of the Jinyi Guards.

"Don't worry, your majesty. I have ordered people to go to Yulong Pass and report to your majesty as soon as I have any news." Ma Jixiang is also good-looking, with a white face and long beard, elegant and elegant, and he speaks calmly, neither arrogant nor impetuous, and has the air of a prime minister!
When the Yongli emperor and his ministers retreated to Yongchang, Bai Wenxuan, the king of Gongchang, was left to guard Yulong Pass. A few days ago, Qing troops Wu Sangui and Zhao Butai pursued them to Zhennan Prefecture. They heard that Emperor Yongli was in Yongchang and sent forwards to lead the attack by Baierhetu and others. After hearing the news, Emperor Yongli was in panic all day long, and ordered people to inquire about Yulong Pass every day.

While the monarch and his ministers were talking, Ma Jixiang's younger brother Ma Xiongfei hurried over. After paying a hasty salute to the emperor, he said with a mournful face: "Your Majesty, I just got the news that King Gongchang has been defeated."

Bai Wenxuan was indeed defeated. He was defeated miserably. He even lost the golden seal of King Gongchang and killed his commander Lu Sangui in the battle. He had to flee to Yongping County. The Qing army was in hot pursuit, but he could not escape by setting fire to the Iron Lock Bridge on the Lancang River. Upon hearing the news, Emperor Yongli, who had never been very courageous, turned pale.

"Your Majesty, please move away immediately, otherwise something may change later." Ma Jixiang had an idea and encouraged the emperor to continue running west. Fortunately, Li Dingguo ordered Pingyang Marquis Jin Tongwu to lead his troops to escort him, so the emperor and his ministers felt at ease. Withdrawing again and again, we are getting closer and closer to Myanmar, but it also makes people feel more and more chilled. University scholar Fugang, Minister of Household Affairs Gong Yi, Minister of Rites Zheng Fengyuan, Military Affairs Officer Hu Xian, Yushi Chen Qixiang, and Director of the Department of Literary Affairs Jiang Zhilian all abandoned the emperor and fled. Wang Yinglong, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was old and said to his son: "I am a humble person, but I have been favored and appointed, and my official position has reached the level of Sikong. I couldn't help the country first, and now I can't obey the emperor in times of adversity. How can I still be shy and ask for a living?" After saying this, he hanged himself. Martyrdom for the country. The son cried and said: "My father died for the country, and my son became loyal to my father." Then he also hanged himself. The father and son died to show their loyalty to the court, but they also made the precarious little court of Nanming even more miserable.

The bad news didn't end there. The Qing army launched a large-scale attack on Guizhou and Yunnan. The imperial court sent people to contact the Kuidong Thirteen families to quickly send troops westward to attack Chongqing, in order to contain the Qing army from going south. Wen Anzhi, the governor of the Ming Dynasty, immediately organized a total of ten troops including Fuhou Tanwen, Renshouhou Tanyi, Xinjinhou Tan and the remaining troops of the former Dashun army stationed in Wushan and Xingshan, including Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun, Li Laiheng, Ma Tengyun and Ta Tianbao. Six battalions took boats upstream to counterattack Chongqing. The mission went smoothly at first, but Gao Minzhan, the governor of Sichuan in the Qing Dynasty, was so frightened that he abandoned the city and fled. As a result, the Ming army suddenly experienced internal changes. Tan Yi assassinated Tan Wen and led his troops to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. This resulted in a reversal of the overall situation of the battle and the Ming army was defeated and retreated.

When the Yongli court abandoned Kunming, King Feng Shuangli of Qingyang in the Ming Dynasty and others led his troops into Jianchang, Sichuan, hoping to create a new situation with the Thirteen Families of Kuidong. Because Li Dingguo listened to Ma Jixiang and led the main force to withdraw westward, Feng Shuangli was alone and unable to make a difference. Seeing the failure of the Kuidong Thirteen Clan's troops to counterattack Chongqing, Feng Shuangli's general Di Sanpin lost confidence, and together with Feng Wanbao, Zhang Mingzhi and others, induced Feng Shuangli to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. As soon as he took the lead, the people who came to the Qing Dynasty kept coming. Yanchang Bo Zhu Yang'en, the commander-in-chief Long Haiyang, and the deputy general Wu Zongxiu who guarded Jiading Prefecture; the commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief Du Zixiang of Xuzhou (Yibin) and Mahu (in the west of Yibin City); The prefect An Chongsheng, the prefect Tao Dou of Jingdong Prefecture in Yunnan (now Jingdong, Yunnan) and others successively surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The surrender of these people to the Qing Dynasty caused most of Sichuan to fall into the hands of the Qing army, and Sichuan's affairs were no longer possible.

The god of war, King Li Jin, was still fighting hard. He chose a good battlefield for the Qing army: Mopan Mountain. This mountain is located in the southern section of Gaoligong Mountain. It is a dome on the west bank of the Nujiang River. It is extremely steep and "the bird path is winding and winding, and can only be accessed by one horse." Li Dingguo felt that Wu Sangui and others must have been careless and underestimated the enemy after winning consecutive battles, and was determined to set up an ambush here to annihilate the Qing army. However, because Wu Sangui had already crossed the Nu River and was approaching Tengyue Prefecture, and was very close to Emperor Yongli's march, in order to prevent the emperor from falling into the hands of the Qing army, he asked Emperor Yongli not to stay and continue to retreat outside the border. He wanted to stop the Qing army here and wash away his shame. First, mines were laid in the valley, and then a triple ambush was set up in the bushes beside Mopan Goatchang Trail. Tai'an Bo Dou Fang was the first ambush, Guangchang Marquis Gao Wengui was the second ambush, and Wujing Marquis Wang Guoxi was the third ambush. They agreed with the generals : "When the enemy is all in, the first ambush will strike; however, the mines will strike in the second and third ambush; hit them from head to tail and the enemy will be gone." As expected, Wu Sangui and others were careless and gradually entered the ambush site. At the critical moment, another minister appeared. Lu Guisheng, the young minister of Mingguanglu Temple, rebelled and surrendered to the enemy, and reported the secret of Li Dingguo's ambush to Wu Sangui. Although Li Dingguo finally repelled the Qing army and dealt them a heavy blow, he ultimately failed.

After the Qing army suffered heavy losses, they returned to Kunming to rest and recuperate. At this time, there were still many remnants of the Ming army, including Li Dingguo, Bai Wenxuan, Qi Sansheng, Mu Tianbo, Gao Wengui, Jin Tongwu, Yang Wu, Liang Jie, Wu Zisheng, Wu Sansheng, Guo Shangxian, Wang Guoxun, etc. in the west of Yi; He Jiuyi, Li Chengjue, Lei Chaosheng, Huang Yuancai, Wang Sancai, Zhang Guoyong, Zhao Desheng, Yang Cheng, Peng Yingbo, He Qilong, Yan Weilong and others are in Yuanjiang Prefecture; Zou Zigui, Ma Deming and others are in Shunning Prefecture; Li Rubi and others are in Yunlong Prefecture; Liao Yu and others are in Lancang Outside the border; Ma Bao, Ma Weixing, Liu Zhenguo, Gao Qilong and others were outside the Lijiang River. Although there were many soldiers, they fell into chaos because they could not find the emperor and Li Dingguo.

At this time, the Yongli court, under the protection of Pingyang Marquis Jin Tongwu, retreated from Yongchang Mansion (today's Baoshan City, Yunnan Province) to Buling, the territory of Zhanda Chieftain, which was located on the border between China and Myanmar. The emperor, who was indecisive by nature, ordered his people to stop and refused to leave. After all, it was not a glorious thing for the emperor to abandon his country. No one wanted to flee abroad unless it was absolutely necessary.

Ma Jixiang believed that he could still become a rich man in Myanmar. If he stayed, he would inevitably be held accountable for the crime of bewitching the emperor to abandon the country. Then he secretly discussed with his brother Ma Xiongfei and son-in-law Yang Zai to create panic and force the emperor to enter Myanmar. He had always been on good terms with Jin Tongwu's general Sun Chongya, and encouraged Sun Chongya to kidnap the emperor and his ministers. He said that the general had done a good job in protecting the emperor, but the court was reluctant to reward him with money. You might as well take it yourself. Sun Chongya was desperate at this time. Instigated by Ma Jixiang, he set off troops to plunder at night. Even the emperor was not spared. He could not climb the mountain with bare feet. It was not until Tianwei Battalion and other soldiers arrived that they rushed to Tongtieguan (Tongtieguan) late at night. Biguan and Tiebiguan).

After this intimidation, the Yongli court accelerated the process of entering Myanmar. On the 1659th of the first month of the th year of Shunzhi (), they arrived at the Yaben River, ten miles away from Myanmar Pass. Mu Tianbo, Duke of Guizhou, first sent people to inform the Burmese soldiers guarding the pass. Lao Mu's family was in Yunnan. The Burmese people were very polite to him, and the Burmese soldiers guarding the pass dismounted and treated him politely. However, when they learned that there were nearly civil and military troops who had fled to Burma with Emperor Yongli, they demanded that "all the armored troops must be released before they are allowed to enter the pass." Emperor Yongli agreed, "For a while, the guards and middle officers all took off their bows, swords and armor, and all the weapons and equipment were piled up in front of the pass, and they all followed him with bare hands."

The emperor's refuge in a foreign country signified that the flag was half-down, which cast a deep psychological shadow on the people who were reviving the Ming Dynasty everywhere. It also made Li Dingguo, Bai Wenxuan and others have to continue to fight against the Qing army while worrying about their future in Burma. The emperor's safety was concerned about one thing and not the other, and he was exhausted both mentally and physically. At this point, the power of the Ming Dynasty was no longer controllable.

(End of this chapter)