alternatehistory.com

While most people know that the Manchus conquered the Ming Dynasty as it collapsed, few people know that in addition to the Ming and the Latter Jin/Qing, there were two other dynasties lying around during this time, the Shun and the (infamous) Daxi, which respecitvely held most of Northern China and Sichuan before the Manchus conquered them. Your challenge, with a POD after 1630 (when according to folklore, Li Zicheng began his revolt), is to have a relatively stable "Four Kingdoms" period (lasting at least 50 years) after the Ming Collapse with the Shun controlling most of Northern China, the Qing controlling Manchuria, Daxi controlling Sichuan, and the (Southern) Ming controlling most of Southern China. Bonus points if said division of China lasts over a century.
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