Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dies of Smallpox

Emperor Kangxi was quite lucky in that at the age of 7 he survived a terrible bout of smallpox which killed his own father and many people in China. He would go on to rule as the most famous and longest ruled of the Qing Emperors and is credited with expanding China to its largest territorial extent!

Now, what if Kangxi had died of smallpox and the line of the Qing Emperors had been broken? Would the Manchu Nobility have selected a new leader or devolved into infighting which could see the emergence of the Southern Ming or a new Dynasty?
 
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