Chapter 403 Li Mingzhong’s Diplomatic Mission to Wu Sangui
At the end of October, the Prince of Pingxi’s Palace in Chengdu, Sichuan, had been completed. The red and yellow tiles, snow-white window paper, straight beams and pillars, as well as the strange stones, antiques, famous flowers and exotic plants collected from all over the country, all showed the style and grandeur of the palace.

Wu Sangui disliked the strong smell of paint in the palace, so he usually lived in the general’s camp. Today, the palace was to be unveiled, and a banquet was to be held in the palace to entertain trusted generals, staff, and Sichuan gentry, so Wu Sangui had to be there in person.

“Sichuan has been ravaged by the Western bandits for a long time. Your Majesty has pacified the Western bandits, settled Sichuan, relocated refugees, reclaimed wasteland, and comforted the people. His merits are immeasurable…

“Your Majesty is a man of great talent and strategy. In less than a year, Sichuan has become self-sufficient in grain, the army and the people are happy, and the people do not lock their doors at night…”

Amid the flattery and toasts from the crowd, Wu Sangui’s face was red and he was full of confidence: Although most of the words were flattering, he recruited refugees, organized military farming, and the autumn harvest was good, and the army was able to be self-sufficient. The Sichuan Plain, which had been devastated for a long time, gradually recovered its vitality. Who can deny his contribution? Looking at the entire Qing Dynasty, who can compare with him?

While they were toasting each other, the aide Fang Guangchen came quietly and tugged at Wu Sangui’s sleeve.

Wu Sangui understood and said to the general Xia Guoxiang beside him: “Guoxiang, please help me greet them first.”

Xia Guoxiang was the son-in-law of Wu Sangui, whose son was held hostage in the capital by the Qing emperor. Xia Guoxiang was trusted by Wu Sangui and could be regarded as the second most important person in Wu Sangui’s group. He was “frivolous and shallow”, but very good at socializing, which was suitable for handling such occasions.

As for Fang Guangchen, he is the son of Fang Yizao, the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty, and is currently serving as an advisor to Wu Sangui. When Fang Yizao was the governor of Liaodong, Wu Sangui was good at scheming, so he worshipped Fang Yizao as his teacher and formed an alliance with Fang Guangchen to become close friends.

After Wu Sangui became rich, Fang Guangchen joined Wu Sangui’s government. After Sangui surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Fang Guangchen returned to his hometown in Nanzhili and regarded himself as a Ming survivor. In recent years, the Qing government was in financial shortage and increased the tax collection from Nanzhili, which affected Fang Guangchen.

In a fit of rage, Fang Guangchen went all the way west to join Wu Sangui. He was quite talented and had a good vision, so he was trusted by Wu Sangui. However, Fang Guangchen was straightforward and spoke out directly about people’s mistakes, which made him hated by Wu Sangui’s generals.

When Wu Sangui arrived at the wing room, he was already slightly drunk and asked half-jokingly, “Why did Tingxian disturb my mood?”

Fang Guangchen glanced around to make sure there were no idle people around before he lowered his voice and said, “Cen Danchu sent a secret envoy to request an audience with the prince?”

“Oh?” Wu Sangui was startled, and then he sobered up a lot. He dismissed his personal guards and asked, “Do you have a book as proof?”

“It is said that there is a wax letter, but the messenger said that he would not take it out until he saw the prince.” Fang Guangchen went on to say: “The messenger is an old acquaintance, Li Mingzhong, who used to serve under Mao Wenlong.”

Li Mingzhong, Li Mingzhong, Wu Sangui kept repeating himself, and seemed to recall Li Mingzhong’s appearance. He said to himself, “It seems that Wu Guogui is familiar with him.”

Wu Sangui had many powerful generals under his command, but few had strategic vision, and even fewer could discuss major plans with him. Wu Guogui was Sangui’s nephew. He was a powerful general, had strategic vision, and was familiar with Li Mingzhong, so he should be involved in the major plan.

“Li Mingzhong disguised himself as a Taoist priest and was placed in Xiyun Temple outside the palace by me.”

Wu Sangui said without hesitation: “Don’t make it public. Wait until the banquet is over and take Li Mingzhong through the corner gate into the palace at night.”

“promise.”

At the second watch, the guests dispersed and the lights in the palace went out one after another. Under the guidance of Fang Guochen, Li Mingzhong came to the third courtyard of the palace.

Wu Sangui had been waiting for a long time. He stood up to greet him and said, “Mr. Xun, it has been twenty years since we parted at Shanhaiguan.”

“Mr. Su, how are you?” Li Mingzhong bowed and sighed, “In the past twenty years, the mountains and rivers have changed, and the Hu people have become monkeys in human form. You and I are so far apart that I never thought we would have to be secretive even when we meet.” “Haha!” Wu Sangui laughed and asked, “I heard that Mr. Su brought a letter?”

Li Mingzhong quickly took out a wax letter from his belt, opened it and handed it to Wu Sangui respectfully.

There were two letters inside, both very short, two pages each.

One letter was from Hong Chengchou, emphasizing that Heaven never dislikes the Bright, and persuading Wu Sangui to rebel. There was a faint smell of stench in the manuscript paper, and it was undoubtedly written by Hong Chengchou.

Another letter from Cen Danchu emphasized that the Qing dynasty had no chance of succession and that the key to the current situation was Wu Sangui. If Wu Sangui could lead his troops south to Yunnan and Guizhou, he would surely defeat Xiying in one fell swoop. By then, Wu Sangui could unite Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou and go north to fight for the world.

Li Mingzhong carefully observed Wu Sangui’s expression. Through the candlelight, the expression on Wu Sangui’s face flickered. Sometimes he was excited, sometimes hesitant, sometimes moved, sometimes sad, sometimes cruel, and sometimes weak, just like his current situation.

He couldn’t help but think of everyone’s conclusion about Wu Sangui: Wu Sangui was unlearned and ignorant of justice. He seemed to be a hero, but in fact he only knew how to preserve his wealth and was at best just a rich man. For his own selfish interests, he successively worshipped the eunuch Gao Qiqian, the Grand Secretary Fang Yizao, and the General Manager Hong Chengchou as his teachers. Such a fickle person is definitely not a good leader.

At this moment, Wu Sangui finished reading the letter and passed it to Wu Guogui and Fang Guangchen. He turned his back on Li Mingzhong, looked out the window at the moonlight, held two peach pits as big as eggs in his hands, and silently considered the possibility of going south to Yunnan and Guizhou.

On the contrary, Fang Guangchen and Wu Guogui were quite decisive. Although they did not express their opinions, their faces were quite excited and bright, and they obviously agreed with the Red Army’s proposal.

After Fang Guangchen and Wu Guogui had read the letter, Li Mingzhong called out softly, “Mr. Su, what do you think? Let’s start a rebellion!”

Wu Sangui turned around, his expression became sinister and deep, and said: “Xun Weng, tell me first, what exactly is Cen Danchu’s plan?”

It has been written very clearly in the book, but the wax ball is limited in size and the letter is very short.

Li Mingzhong hesitated for a moment and said, “Su Weng is already a prince of the Tartars, a high position among the ministers. Everyone flatters you and curries favor with you on the surface, but how do they see you behind your back? How will the Spring and Autumn Annals write about you in the future? We are all Han men, why should we be humiliated by the Tartars, wear these barbarian clothes and keep these pigtails? With Su Weng’s current strength and status, and with the current situation in the world, if Su Weng returns to the Ming Dynasty, it will be a personal avenge and the people will be at peace with him.”

When Wu Sangui asked Dorgon for troops, he used the excuse of restoring the Ming Dynasty. However, Dorgon took advantage of the situation and Wu Sangui was determined to preserve his wealth and status, so he ended up being a running dog of the Qing Dynasty.

Now he led troops to guard Sichuan, and was promoted to Prince of Pingxi, just like a local lord, and he also had the idea of ​​rebelling against the Qing Dynasty and joining the Ming Dynasty. However, Wu Sangui looked down on Emperor Yongli and felt that Cen Danchu controlled the government. Even if he joined the Ming Dynasty, he would not get any benefits.

“Mr. Xun, please continue.” Wu Sangui said calmly.

Seeing that Wu Sangui was not fooled, Li Mingzhong continued, “Although Sichuan is a land of abundance, it has been devastated for a long time and has a sparse population. Unlike Yunnan and Guizhou, although they are remote provinces in the southwest, they have been managed by the western bandits for a long time, and they have opened up fields and water conservancy projects, making it a paradise.

“Sun Kewang overestimated his own strength and raised troops to spy on Guangdong and Yunnan, leaving Yunnan and Guizhou empty. If you don’t take the gift from heaven, you will surely suffer the consequences. Su Weng took advantage of the opportunity to march south to Yunnan and Guizhou, and attack from the east and west with our Red Army. We will surely defeat the western bandits in one battle.

“After that, Su Weng left Bashu, occupied Hanzhong, and fortified the pass of Xiaohan. The Red Army went to Wuchang, seized Xiangyang, and looked north to the Central Plains. Ci Xing followed the Yangtze River, seized Nanjing, and cut off the north-south passage. In this way, the world changed drastically, and the Central Plains was no longer owned by the Qing Dynasty.”

(End of this chapter)