The southern alliance, led by the White Lotus Sect and the Beggar Gang, had chosen a new leader and launched a northern expedition. The commotion was too great to keep hidden for long.
Spies from various factions lurking in the south soon spread the news across the land, bringing it to the ears of every major power.
Before long, the southern allied army marched north and encountered the leaderless Qing Army.
With their commander Chen Jialuo dead and their vanguard general, Commander of the Nine Gates E'erdou, having defected, the Qing Army had long since lost its morale and descended into a boiling mess.
Even Zheng Keshuang, Prince of Yanping Commandery, could not bring them under control.
Upon hearing that the southern alliance was advancing north, Zheng Keshuang knew perfectly well that the army, in its current state, could not possibly withstand these anti-Qing allies. Staying would mean waiting for death.
Thus, Zheng Keshuang simply abandoned his position as commander and secretly fled with a few trusted followers.
The outcome was easy to imagine when a leaderless, battered army met a powerful allied force backed by two Heavenly Being experts, the Five Elements Ancestor and Xu Hongru.
The alliance's main force did not even deploy. Under the temporary command of several surrendered Qing generals, they routed the Qing Army in a single battle, sending its soldiers fleeing in every direction.
The Qing Army tasked with holding back the southern anti-Qing alliance was thus destroyed.
The allied army then advanced north in force, and every region along its route fell.
The government offices and garrisons established by the Qing Army in the south were all broken up. The officials either died or fled, while the common people rejoiced as though they had been liberated. Many places even opened their gates in