Pacifying the Qing, 1652

There was no problem with Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu obeying Sun Kewang; the problem was that they only controlled half of the Southern Ming territory. Leaving aside the distant future, let's look at the most pressing issue at hand: Li Dingguo wants to go to Guangdong to fight Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao, but he doesn't have a single Guangdong man under his command.

Sun Kewang dared not say that he could become a peerless hero like the Ming Taizu, who would bring peace to the world and rebuild China, but it seemed very possible that he could become a powerful and ruthless figure like Liu Yu or Chen Baxian.

Sun Guozhu is a man with excellent domestic administration skills, but lacks political and military abilities. He is most suitable to be a Grand Secretary. Many peasant army leaders failed to grasp the essence of Zhu Yuanzhang's strategy of delaying the proclamation of kingship. It's easy to say, but hard to do.

To be honest, it's a bit strange that the protagonist insists on finding a red-haired craftsman to make a musket. While firearms weren't exactly ubiquitous during the late Ming Dynasty, they were certainly not rare either. Landlords and wealthy people had them made in various ways to protect their homes, and there was no shortage of craftsmen making firearms throughout the country.

Whether it was the Southern Ming, the remnant Ming, or the later Three Feudatories, all were destroyed by internal strife. Did the Southern Ming have no chance to turn the tide? Yes. Did the Ming Dynasty not have any remnants? Perhaps not, but it could still manage to survive.

I burst out laughing when I saw the author say that Li Dingguo broke with Sun Kewang because he was loyal to the Ming Dynasty; Brother, these guys followed their father, Lao Zhang, in rebellions, burning, killing, and looting all the way to the top, how could they be loyal to the Ming Dynasty? You could say that Li Dingguo worshipped Yongli because he was dissatisfied with Sun Kewang, which is more reliable than any loyalty!

The Ming Dynasty was truly rotten to the core. Why did the Qing Dynasty win? Because the Qing Dynasty had its own base of support, and this base was relatively new. Therefore, it was more competitive. To defeat the Qing Dynasty, the only option was to rebuild that base. The gentry class was no longer viable. The rise of the Qing depended on military men.

Let me write down my thoughts. Judging from the choice of main characters and the narration, this is a typical realistic novel, not the kind of fast-paced historical harem novel. This was the biggest surprise for me after clicking in. Judging from the text and plot, the author clearly put a lot of effort into historical details, with some resemblance to novels like *Shao Song*.

The hearts of the people are not dead; who does not yearn for the Han? Your virtuous deeds are extraordinary, setting an example for the world. The entire world eagerly awaits your arrival, day and night!

This book is great. I initially thought it was too old to read because I saw someone comment that the protagonist was 50. But after seeing recommendations for it several times, I clicked to read it and found that the protagonist is only in his late thirties, almost forty. The age is perfect, the writing is enjoyable, and the style is nice. I've decided to follow it. Keep up the good work, author!