WI: 1648- The Second Three Kingdoms Period- China split into three Dynasties

What if, in the 1640s, instead the Qing steamrolling over all of China, what if instead, the Qing were unable to conquer the rest of China, with a more stable and competent Southern Ming, and more powerful Shun Dynasty, which defeats Zhang Xianzhong, and conquers Sichuan and Tibet. By the End, China is split into three dynasties, which is locked in a stalemate between these three.

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How would this situation effect history?
(Note: I may add this to the list of timelines I want to write in the future)
 
It is just steppe land and Tibet, as far as I'm aware. It could play a role, but not powerful enough to be a third Kingdom, I believe.
 

Kaze

Banned
It would be an interesting affair. But I fear that the split will not last. There would be at least one leader among the three with the mindset of "all under heaven."
 
I think of this with the split being the Daxi dynasty centred around Sichuan. and the Qing to the north. The Qing get guns from the Russians; the Ming (with Koxinga) from the Europeans, and a Chinese industrial revolution begins....
 
It would be an interesting affair. But I fear that the split will not last. There would be at least one leader among the three with the mindset of "all under heaven."
Might not last but neither did the original 3 kingdoms, it could still take a while, although I think on the southern ming would be the only one that could overcome the qing and even then it seems they need help from Europe
 
It could be a balance between them, when one of the others is getting dominant over the other, Shun throws its weight behind the loser to stay independent, until it goes the way of Poland.
It's almost certainly going to be the first to fall. Either the Qing or Ming will invade it first, and the other will do the same rather than risk invasion of the other serious competitor since, I assume, securing the Shun territory won't require much in the way of resources.

Interesting scenario. If the Ming and Qing found themselves at a stalemate, would either look for expansion elsewhere? Korea seems the obvious choice for the Qing, and India or Indochina for Ming, or would uniting China come first and foremost.
 
IMO if the Shun don't succeed in stopping the Qing at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, they are going to collapse. I think you would be much better off having Li Zicheng succeed outside Beijing, with him securing control of northern China but failing to take the south - if what you are aiming for is a split China.

The Manchu at the time were in a rather desperate situation given that their food supply was unable to sustain their population, so if Shanhai Pass turns into a major victory for the Shun then they are going to be in deep shit. They might turn back to Korea for a Third Manchu Invasion, but Shanhai Pass was a pretty all-or-nothing bet at the time so they would probably struggle even then. With the Qing out of the game for the time being you have far more time for the various factions of Han Chinese to consolidate their positions.

The division in the map is unsustainable given that the Shun possess the weakest and poorest territories, lack any sort of legitimacy w/o securing Beijing and are completely exposed to Qing invasion. If the Qing control the northern plains of China, then they are going to secure the rest of northern China as happened IOTL. Further, the Ming were in collapse in the south as well, and the Southern Ming were hardly viewed as having a firm grasp on the Mandate of Heaven - hell, the last Ming Emperor in the north butchered most of his family before hanging himself so it isn't like they are screaming "We are the Son of Heaven!" to the general populace.

If the Qing are stopped by the Shun, the Shun should be able to consolidate the north if given time while the Southern Ming are likely to face rebel claimants who could set up challengers to the mandate of heaven. A Manchu recovery would put pressure on the northern border of the Shun and would thereby limit their ability to march south - setting up for your wished-for divided China.
 
I think this is closer to what Zulfurium had in mind, the Shun holding the Manchu north of Beijing and the Great Wall. The Manchu suffer a bit from losing at Shanhai, but after a bit they've become a serious threat to Zhili province again.

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Ehh... if the Shun can't beat the Manchus nor the Mings I don't see they evicting the Khoshuds or the Dzungars from Tibet
 
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