Chapter 6, Wu Sangui, do you intend to rebel

However, it is still rather inappropriate to say this in front of Wang Fuchen, although Wang Fuchen is also a professional rebel, his position is ultimately within the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The resume of Wang Fucheng, who was sent by Shunzhi to collaborate with Wu Sangui, is even more remarkable than that of Ma Bao! ... He was involved with the Great Shun, the Great Ming, the Great Qing, and the Southern Ming ...! ... Furthermore, regarding the Great Qing, he not only participated in the "Four Rebellions and Five Ministers" but also led three major rebellions against the Ming (Southern Ming) and served as a minister of the Great Qing twice!

This is truly a matter of conscience! Although Wu Sangui does not appear to be a loyal minister in any way, he never intended to rebel. He merely wished to maintain the strength to rebel at any time, while being at ease as a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty

Among these vassals and the Green Camp soldiers, aside from a small number who were former subordinates of Wu Sangui, the rest had all mingled in the Chuangying and Xiying. These individuals not only possessed a strong spirit of rebellion, but also held little respect for the Qing Dynasty—many of them had fought against the Qing alongside Li Dingguo, and in their view, the so-called Eight Banner Heavenly Soldiers were not invincible.

Nevertheless, this task of obtaining silver has become increasingly difficult. The court is unwilling to grant it readily, and the hearts of the court officials are growing darker!

Today, when Wang Fuchen and his son Wang Jizhen ascended Wuhua Mountain, Wu Sangui was in the Yinan Hall on Wuhua Mountain, discussing with a group of professional rebels how to pledge loyalty to the Qing Dynasty

This strong man is Wu Yingqi, the second son of Wu Sangui, and the sharp-eyed Wu Shicong is his son. Although Wu Sangui's son has a bit of a big mouth, people with big mouths usually speak the truth. The population under Wu Sangui's fief, as well as the households of the Green Camp soldiers, has indeed grown rapidly. Many are getting married and having children, and quite a few are taking more than one wife, so how could the number of children be small?

Therefore, Wu Sangui has not visited Beijing to pay homage to the Qing Emperor for many years, and he tightly holds onto the military power in his hands...! ... Since he cannot maintain the bandits to elevate his own status, he might as well embrace military power to elevate his own status!

How could a prince, hiding in Yunnan and refusing to enter the court, with tens of thousands of elite soldiers in hand and a large group of professional rebels under his command, not desire to rebel

Of course, once this silver arrives, it will not be monopolized by the Pingxi Fanzhen; the prominent figures of the Qing court will also share in the profits. Otherwise, the people of Wu Sangui will not receive any silver.

Let us observe how the Prince of Pingnan, Shang Kexi, served as a loyal minister. He held the rebel Qiu Hui from Chaozhou in high regard; this pirate even established the banner of "Daming Chaozhou Prefecture." Shang Kexi was reluctant to send troops to eliminate him, instead allowing him to control the mouth of the Hao River and permitting him to monopolize the private salt trade in Guangdong. Furthermore, the port of Dahao, under the control of the rebel Qiu, became one of the three major legal smuggling ports along the coast of the Qing Dynasty, on par with Macau and Xiamen.

If the Qing court were to reduce their silver, forcing them to live in hardship, they might truly rebel

"Your Highness, isn't this letter from Master Ao meant to reduce the salaries of our troops in Yunnan and Guizhou?" Wang Fucheng sighed and said, "This Master Ao is not easy to deal with; I think Your Highness will have to cut the military expenses a bit."

This matter is indeed not easy! ... Wu Sangui and the group of rebels beneath him have ample experience in rebellion, this is what loyal subjects ...! ... cannot be!

Well, no one can guarantee that Wu Sangui is entirely devoid of ambition, after all, this old fellow has quite a peculiar hobby—collecting rebels

The nickname of Lü Bu for this feat is certainly not given without reason

As for Geng Jimao from Fujian, he has become even more of a loyal minister. In earlier years, due to internal strife within the Zheng regime, Xiamen Island fell into the hands of the Qing Dynasty, and after implementing maritime prohibitions, it was lost again in victory, allowing the Zheng faction to reclaim it. Now, Xiamen has become a base for legitimate smuggling trade between the Zheng regime and the Qing along the coastal regions—one fears that Zheng Jing's side might starve or become impoverished!

At this moment, upon seeing Wang Fuchen, who had come to pay his respects, the loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, Wu Sangui, whose mind was filled with thoughts on how to acquire silver, began discussing the matter of silver with this "loyal minister who oscillates back and forth" with whom he felt a strong rapport

However, the "Anti-Dynasty, Serving Three Masters" was merely the starting price for Wu Sangui's "Rebel Group"; their experience in rebellion is not particularly extensive. During the process of assisting the Qing Dynasty in fighting against Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and the Southern Ming, Wu Sangui gathered a group of individuals with even more impressive backgrounds, known as the "Three Rebels and Four Ministers" or "Four Rebels and Five Ministers." Many of them had previously rebelled against the Ming, the Shun (Great West), and the Southern Ming dynasties, and some even switched allegiances among various factions, both rebelling as "turncoat rebels" and serving as "turncoat ministers" without any shame. Each of them is a master of rebellion with abundant experience, qualifying them as experts in insurrection.

Moreover, although Yunnan and Guizhou are quite impoverished today, the cost of living is low, raising children is affordable, and there is sufficient land to allocate to those children, thus the subjects of Wu Sangui's fief and the soldiers of the Green Camp can vigorously procreate

"Ying Qi, stop talking!" Wu Sangui suddenly spoke up, interrupting the outspoken middle-aged man.

In fact, Wu Sangui himself is a rebel, and a double rebel at that. He first rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and joined the Shun Dynasty, and then he rebelled against the Shun Dynasty and allied with the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, those who followed him, at least the core members of the Guan-Ning faction, are all "second rebels and third ministers"—loyal subjects who have rebelled against two dynasties and served three masters, truly loyal beyond words

Furthermore, ever since the disloyal Wu Sangui caused the death of Emperor Yongli, the Qing court has increasingly viewed Wu Sangui and his associates with disdain. How could someone like Wu Sangui, who does not even understand the importance of nurturing the troops and maintaining dignity, possibly be considered a loyal minister

As for getting a promotion and advancing further in one's career, this old traitor probably... may, perhaps, likely truly has no such intention

"We cannot reduce it!" A robust middle-aged man, around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, who somewhat resembled Wu Sangui and Wu Shicong, immediately jumped up and exclaimed upon hearing about the pay cut, "The population in the fief is increasing, and most of the green camp soldiers have families now, so expenses are rising! Although we have allocated land to the people in the fief and the green camp soldiers in Yunnan and Guizhou, the land there is still too barren, and we can only provide a slight subsidy. If the salaries are cut too much, I fear it won't be enough for food and drink. These are all men who have fought hard all their lives; it's fine as long as they are well-fed and well-watered, otherwise... Although we have allocated land to the people in the fief and the green camp soldiers in Yunnan and Guizhou, the land there is still too barren, and we can only provide a slight subsidy. If the salaries are cut too much, I fear it won't be enough for food and drink. These are all men who have fought hard all their lives; it's fine as long as they are well-fed and well-watered, otherwise..."

Wang Fuchen laughed and said, "Young people, a little fight is nothing... By the way, who won?"

As soon as Wu Shicong finished speaking, Wu Sangui looked at Wang Fuchen with a curious expression and said, "Fuchen, your son, who is both loyal and filial, is going to compete in martial arts with my grandson Shijue again"

Wu Sangui gathered so many experts in rebellion under his command, making it truly difficult for the young Emperor Kangxi in Beijing to believe that he is a loyal subject of the Qing Dynasty! What are you people doing every day when you come together? Are you exchanging experiences in rebellion and refining your techniques for insurrection?

"Dear Minister, you have arrived just in time. Please help me consider this matter. Recently, Master Ao wrote to me again, lamenting about his financial difficulties. He wants to reduce the salaries of the troops in Yunnan and Guizhou, demands that I cut down on the number of soldiers, and insists that I disperse the surplus laborers in the fief to cultivate the land... Is it still possible for the military expenses of the eighth year of Kangxi to reach three million taels?"

However, the old scoundrel Wu Sangui does not discriminate against those who have switched sides; as long as one has the ability and is willing to follow him, he welcomes them and provides benefits. For instance, his subordinate, the Right Deputy Commander and General of the Central Camp, Ma Bao, had previously served under Li Zicheng, defected to the Southern Ming Dynasty, and fought alongside Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo in the Southern Ming camp, before ultimately shaving his head and surrendering to the Qing, joining Wu Sangui.

Wu Sangui, this old traitor whose hands are stained with the blood of the people, has now built a magnificent and splendid royal palace here, living a life of ease and comfort in his old age

Thus, the more Wu Sangui nurtured his troops and maintained his dignity in Yunnan and Guizhou, the more the court in Beijing suspected that he intended to rebel. The more the court believed he was plotting a rebellion, the more they sought to weaken him. As the court increasingly undermined Wu Sangui, he felt increasingly insecure.

Wu Sangui was just about to inquire whether Wang Fucheng had any connections in the palace that could be leveraged, or if it was possible to request the Empress Dowager to intervene on his behalf, when his eldest grandson, Wu Shicong, rushed in, panting heavily. In a flash, he reached Wu Sangui's side and leaned in to whisper something in his ear

The renowned Wuhua Mountain is actually a small hill located within the city of Kunming, adjacent to Cuihu Lake and Yuantong Mountain. It covers a modest area of approximately 2,500 to 2,600 acres, making it a pleasant destination within Kunming.

Let us take another look at Wu Sangui...! A person cannot be brought back to life; no matter how much the traitor Wu yearns for it, Emperor Yongli will never return. Therefore, he can only concoct some sort of Miao rebellion to bolster his own authority. However, the problem is that these Miao chieftains cannot be compared to Yongli at all. At best, they are merely a group of local tyrants, and they could never seize the Qing dynasty's throne. It would be better for the Qing to let Wu Sangui manage the Miao rather than allowing those chieftains to carve out their own territories, as that seems to pose a smaller threat.

Therefore, although he is unwilling to enter the court, he will still send his important ministers from the vassal state to Beijing year after year to request funds from the court for maintaining the troops. This year's task of going to Beijing to request funds has fallen to Wu Guogui.

Wu Sangui shook his head and asked with a smile, "The competition hasn't even started yet; it will be tomorrow. Moreover, your son has also declared that this time he intends to use the unique skills you employed to deal with the Manchu White Armored Soldiers in Datong against Shi Jue! Minister, what exactly is this unique skill of yours? Could you share it with us?"