Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"You are going to Jilin Ula?" Bahai frowned and pondered. Although the Songhua River defense line is very important, he still left 5,000 elite soldiers in Ningguta, mainly because of the detachment of the guards that blocked the Heilongjiang River. Military reports kept coming in, and the enemy's detachment was unstoppable and had almost occupied all the coastal areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River. Although he had ordered Guolun Dakuliha of the Geikele tribe, Halada Manzhuna of the Ulaha tribe, and Halada Achuhun of the Tokoro tribe to gather the troops of various tribes to defend on the south bank of the Songhua River and the west bank of the Ussuri River to prevent this guard from going south to Ningguta. But although these tribal troops are numerous, their combat effectiveness does not make him feel at ease. Just in case, he still left 5,000 elite soldiers in Ningguta. Now Sabsu wants to take another batch of troops to reinforce Jilin Ula, Ningguta will be empty. What should he do if something unexpected happens?

"Marshal, the northern guard detachment is limited by the pressure of winter grain and fodder transportation, so the number of people is not large. I think the guard led by the pseudo-Khan is the real enemy. Only by defending the Songhua River can we defend Ningguta. If you are worried, I will only take 500 people with you," Sabsu requested again when he saw that he hesitated.

Bahai pondered over his words for a long time, and suddenly shouted: "Five hundred people? What's the use if they are not salty or vinegar is not sour? You are right, only by defending the Songhua River can we defend Ningguta. I order Niulu Zhangjing Zhuerkengge to go with you. You take two thousand Solon soldiers and rush to Jilin Ula immediately. If you cannot defend Jilin Ula, come to me with your head."

"Yes!" Sabusu took the order and left.
-
A majestic fleet was sailing on the surging Songhua River. On the largest warship, six Portuguese cannons were majestically lined up. Although their power could not be compared with that of heavy artillery weighing thousands of pounds, they were already a formidable weapon in the Northern Navy Camp.

The deputy governor of Ningguta, Nihari, with gray mane, stood on the bow wearing a battle robe and holding the hilt of a sword, staring at the enemy camps on the opposite bank with his eyes. The army of the pseudo-Khan arrived three days ago. At first, there were only 10,000 people, but later they came in larger and larger numbers. Judging from the camps they set up, there were 200,000 people. As a veteran who had experienced many battles, Nihari naturally knew that this was a trick of the pseudo-Khan to bluff the enemy. The enemy on the opposite bank was estimated to be only tens of thousands. However, in terms of the number of troops, it was still far higher than his own. Fortunately, the Mongols were not good at naval battles, and his navy had been trained for a long time and had practical experience. He did not believe that he could not defeat these landlubbers.

There was a reason for his self-confidence. Like most Manchu men before the founding of the country, this veteran joined the army at a young age and had made great achievements in battle, especially in the battles he fought against the Russians with his predecessor, Sharhuda, the Angbang Zhangjing of Ningguta. They had a great time! Back then, the Russian leader Stepanov invaded the Songhua River with his sharp guns and cannons. He and Sharhuda led 45 warships up the Songhua River and defeated the Russian army at the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Songhua rivers. Not only did they kill Stepanov, but they also recaptured the Kamarsk Fort occupied by the Russian army. Humph! So what if there are many guards? If you dare to cross the river, you will be like a Russian ghost and never return!

"Deputy commander, I heard that the Mongols can't swim. The Songhua River is so wide, can they grow wings and fly over here?" An Zhuhu, a Manchu Jiala Zhangjing of the Plain Yellow Banner, suddenly spoke up, disrupting the old general's reverie. This Jiala Zhangjing was not very old, but he had a great background. He was born into the Guarjia clan, a famous Manchu family. His father was a Niulu Zhangjing who died in the battle against Li Zicheng. After he succeeded his father, he made many military achievements, including the attack on Zhoushan and the fight against the Laizhou bandit Yuqi. He was promoted to Jiala Ezhen and concurrently a doctor of the Ministry of Justice for his merits, and was also awarded the third-class Adahahafan title.

"Shut up! How can you underestimate the enemy in a battle? You must open your eyes wide. If you let an enemy ship land, I will skin you alive!" Nihari glared at him viciously.

Although Anjuhu came from a prominent family and had made many military achievements, he was more obedient than a cat in front of the veteran Nihari. After being scolded, he did not dare to argue, but smiled with a drooling face and said: "The deputy commander is teaching me that I have forgotten my temper. Please rest assured that I will eat and live on the boat these days, and sleep with my eyes open. If you let an enemy ship land, please chop off my head."

"Hmph!" Nihari snorted heavily and stopped talking.

"The old man is too cautious! I have been patrolling the river every day these days, but have never seen an enemy ship? The guards don't even have a boat, how can they cross the river?" An Zhuhu didn't dare to refute out loud and could only complain in his heart.
-
There were actually boats on the other side of the river. How could the Great Lotus Khan, known as the God of War of the Oirat, waste an entire winter doing nothing? In fact, he had already ordered the Yarkand General Toroshihu and the Western Region General Buhe Altu to lead 10,000 troops to build warships on the west bank of the Songhua River. In order not to alert the enemy, these boats were hidden in the reeds on the other side of the river. In addition, he also ordered his subordinates to make a large number of sheepskin rafts according to the Mongolian method of crossing the river, which were also hidden in the reeds.

Nihari's judgment was correct. Although there were many camps on the other side of the river, most of them were empty. In fact, there were only 60,000 guards on the west bank of the Songhua River. The Great Khan had more than 80,000 troops when he attacked Jianzhou. Thousands were lost in the war, and thousands were stationed in various places. 7,000 troops of the Babai tribe stayed in southern Liaoning, and 6,000 troops of the Orros tribe went north along the Heilongjiang River to cut off the retreat of the Qing army. The area near Hetuala was the ancestral land of the Jianzhou Jurchens, and most of the local people were on the side of the Qing Dynasty, so it was difficult to get reinforcements, so there were only 60,000 troops available for crossing the river.

Despite this, Sultan was still confident of victory. He had 60,000 troops, while the Qing army along the entire Songhua River did not exceed 20,000; his logistics were guaranteed, while the Qing army could hardly even pay their salaries; most importantly, he had won battle after battle and his morale was high, while the Qing army had been defeated repeatedly and their morale was low. They were exhausted and we were full, so we could defeat them. How could we not win this battle?
In fact, when the Songhua River was frozen, many generals in the army advised him to take the opportunity to cross the river or at least establish a stronghold on the other side of the river, so as to get rid of the weakness of the Wei army's poor water warfare. However, this ambitious Tianjiao refused. What he wanted was to eat up the entire Ningguta Qing army in one go and end the war outside the Great Wall as soon as possible, so that he could lead his army into the Great Wall and establish his rule over the world. If he crossed the river too early, the Qing army would be alarmed to flee north, and the battle outside the Great Wall would have to be fought. So the time for crossing the river was delayed again and again, until the end of May, when it was estimated that Orros had cut off the enemy's retreat, and then he led his army to the Songhua River.

As for the generals' concerns about the guards' poor water combat skills, Sultan didn't care at all. It's not like Mongolia doesn't have big rivers, so why aren't we good at water combat skills? Not to mention that I have ordered people to build two hundred small boats. Even if there are no boats, we can still cross the river with sheepskin rafts or wooden rafts. It's just a small Songhua River, not a vast ocean. I have to fill it with human lives! Even if 10,000 people die, as long as the crossing is successful, it's a victory. The ideas of the heroes are different from those of the common people. In the eyes of the common people, human lives are the most important things, but in the eyes of the heroes, human lives are like grass. As long as he can unify the world, it's worth it no matter how many people die, even if these people are his most loyal and brave subordinates.

"Great Khan, our army is ready, we request to cross the river." Suhe, the chief of the Khoshut army, and Mandulatu, the chief of the Huite army, asked the Great Khan for battle, and they were appointed as the vanguards of crossing the river.

"Don't worry, take a rest for a day, and wait until the fog rises tomorrow morning to cross the river. Our army's losses will be much smaller," Sultan smiled and gave the order calmly. (End of this chapter)