In November 1649, the Qing army successively occupied Guilin and Guangzhou, and after the Yongli Emperor Zhu Youluo heard the news, the emperor fled to Nanning, at this time the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty was on the verge of collapse. However, at this time, Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son stood up and actively supported the Yongli Emperor, so that the Southern Ming regime could be restored. However, no one thought that it was this person who destroyed the Southern Ming regime! So who is this complex historical figure?
1. The sovereign power of the State
This person is Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son! It turned out that zhang Xianzhong's subordinates had several fierce generals who were adopted by him as adopted sons, namely Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi. After Zhang Xianzhong's death, the four of them led the remnants of the Great Western Army to various places, from Guizhou into Yunnan, where they established a new regime. Because Sun Kewang was the eldest, he became the leader and was revered as the lord of the country, known in history as the "lord of the country".
Sun Kewang used Yunnan as his base to build political power here, realizing a practical and feasible tax policy on the one hand, and on the other hand, developing various resources in Yunnan to supplement military supplies. At the same time, Sun Kewang also actively reorganized the army, "supporting more than 300,000 soldiers and doubling his family's mouth." After a period of construction, Sun Kewang gained a firm foothold in the southwest. In addition, Sun Kewang also played "After jointly supporting the Ming, restore the Jiangshan" and expressed his willingness to accept the jurisdiction of the Southern Ming.
Second, the main force of anti-Qing
When the Southern Ming regime was in turmoil, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo sent people to contact the Southern Ming. In the end, the Southern Ming court decided to make Sun Kewang the Duke of Jingguo and give him the name Chaozong. Although Sun Kewang was very disappointed in the title, he still decided to send troops to resist the Qing. In 1650, Sun Kewang sent troops into Guizhou and Sichuan, and soon occupied most of the area. In April of the following year, Sun Kewang marched from Guizhou to Hunan, and Li Dingguo successively captured most of the prefectures and counties in Hunan.
After that, Li Dingguo marched south into Guangxi and recovered Liuzhou and Guilin, and Kong Youde, the king of Dingnan in the Qing Dynasty, was forced to commit suicide. After the Qing Dynasty heard the news, it hurriedly sent Prince Jingjin Nikan as the general of Dingyuan and led the Eight Banners to the south. Li Dingguo set up an ambush in Hengzhou, Hunan, killed the Qing general Nikan in one fell swoop, and won the victory of Hengzhou. With the help of Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, and Liu Wenxiu, Nanming recovered most of the southwest.
Third, the brothers are in the wall
Although Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were brothers, their relationship gradually deteriorated, mainly because Sun Kewang had ambitions, he wanted to depose the Emperor of Southern Ming, and then add his own yellow robes, while Li Dingguo was loyal to Southern Ming. In 1657, the civil war in the Southern Ming dynasty broke out. Sun Kewang felt that he had a large number of soldiers in his hands, and did not take Li Dingguo seriously at all, but he did not expect that his subordinates would turn against him one after another, and he only had five hundred remnants of soldiers left. In order to take revenge, Sun Kewang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
Don't look at Sun Kewang's lack of troops, but he knows the situation in Nanming very well. At this time, the Qing Dynasty was at a loss, so it attached great importance to Sun Kewang and immediately crowned him as the Righteous King. Sun Kewang presented a map of Dianqian, and also co-opted the old ministry and desperately served the Qing Dynasty. With the help of Sun Kewang, the Qing army successfully entered Yungui and destroyed Nanming. If Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo had joined forces, Nanming would still have been able to persist in fighting and would not have been destroyed so quickly.
References: 1. History of the Southern Ming Dynasty; 2. Records of the Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty; 3. Archives of the Ming and Qing Dynasties