Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Lüliang Mountain borders Shaanxi in the west and Fen River in the east. It has a vast area with majestic mountains such as Luya, Yunzhong, Guandi, Zijing and Longmen. After the Wei army invaded Shanxi, they seized the land from Piantou Pass to Lan County. I'm afraid it's not that easy to fight," Shang Shan glanced at Bai Rumei and spoke slowly.

Bai Rumei blushed, knowing that she had failed to support Li Haoxian's suggestion to attack Ningwu Pass from Shuozhou last time, and the prince no longer believed in her. She made up her mind and said loudly: "I have previously ordered the Red Banner Manchu Meilezhangjing Chahatai, the Lu'an Camp Lieutenant General Liu Jingshan, and the Zezhou Camp Commander Huang Shaojing to lead 12,000 elite troops to attack the bandits in Qingyuan, Jiaocheng, and Wenshui, and defeated them repeatedly. This time, I am willing to lead the Fu Biao to the south, and Chahatai will attack the Luliang bandits from the north and south. If we fail, I will apologize to the court myself." Once these words came out, it was like issuing a military order.

Shang Shan nodded slightly and said, "In that case, I will allocate 10,000 elite troops to Bai Fuyuan to march south." He also said to Li Haoxian, the general of Taiyuan Town, and other generals, "General Li will lead 10,000 troops to surround Ningwu Pass. The rest of the troops will ambush in the north of Ningwu Pass. If the guards of Shuozhou dare to rescue Ningwu, they will be surrounded and annihilated."

"Yes~" The generals accepted the order.

Shangshan divided the remaining 37,000 Qing troops after the brutal siege into three groups. 10,000 went south to attack the Luliang bandits, 10,000 surrounded Ningwu Pass, and the most elite 17,000 troops were ambushed in the north of Ningwu Pass to attack the reinforcements. The reason why he judged that the guards of Shuozhou would rescue Dingwu Pass was because he heard that the commander of Dingwu Pass was the son of the pseudo-Liao king Su Muer, and he estimated that the pseudo-king would not fail to save his son.
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Kelan Mountain is one of the mountains in Luliang. The vegetation is lush and red, yellow and orange fallen leaves are spread on the mountain road. Under the sunlight of autumn, they are like colorful carpets. Ten thousand soldiers of Shanxi Green Camp marched on this colorful carpet. To boost morale, Shanxi Governor Bai Rumei personally walked at the front of the queue.

"Your Excellency, although the Luliang bandits are not strong in combat, they are numerous and scattered among the mountains. Our army has only 10,000 soldiers. It may not be easy to wipe out the Luliang bandits," said Gao Guosheng, the trusted lieutenant general of the Fu Biao Camp, with some concern.

"It doesn't matter. When shooting a person, shoot the horse first. When capturing a thief, capture the leader first. As long as we defeat that gourd king, the bandits will be frightened and it will be easy to defeat them," Bai Rumei smiled as he stroked his beard while riding on his horse.

"But Fuyuan, Luliang Mountain is very vast. If Gourd King sees that the situation is not good and leads his troops to escape into the mountains, I am afraid we may not be able to catch him."

"Haha, you worry too much. Old Gourd is reluctant to leave his one and a half acres of land. In all these years, when have you ever seen him leave Jiaocheng?" Bai Rumei laughed.

"The Gourd King" refers to Ren Liang, a big bandit who was rampant in the eastern foothills of the Luliang Mountains. Because he used the three cliffs of Donghuluchuan as his main camp, he got the nickname: "The Gourd King". This man was very senior in the rebel army in the late Ming Dynasty. As early as the sixth year of Tianqi, he went to the mountains to become a bandit. In another time and space, he persisted until October of the tenth year of Kangxi before he was wiped out by the Qing army. Unlike other rebel leaders who wanted to be emperors, he had no ambitions and just wanted to rule his hometown Jiaocheng and become a local tyrant. At that time, he joined forces with Wang Gang, He Zonghan, Wang Zhichen and others to set up a big camp in the "Three Cliffs" in the northwest mountainous area of ​​Jiaocheng, and led local bandits Wang Jinying, Guo Yan, Wang Quan, Bashanhu etc., making a big noise. Because he was a local, familiar with the terrain, and deeply loved by the people, he was able to defeat the Ming army's encirclement and suppression many times and took root in Jiaocheng. After Li Zicheng was defeated by the Qing army and retreated to Shaanxi, most of the Sanzuoya rebels followed Li Zicheng to retreat, but he was reluctant to leave his hometown and stayed to continue to be a local tyrant. After the Qing army came, he was afraid of its front and accepted the amnesty and was transferred to Shandong to encircle and suppress the peasant uprising army. But the Qing court did not trust the surrendered army. After hearing that the anti-Qing uprising broke out in Jiaocheng, his hometown, he felt deeply aggrieved and simply abandoned his official position and fled back to Jiaocheng to participate in the anti-Qing uprising. With his prestige and qualifications in the rebel army, he became the leader of the anti-Qing rebel army in Jiaocheng.

"What the governor said is true. That old gourd is indeed reluctant to leave his lair. I have been worrying too much," Gao Guosheng nodded in agreement.
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Soon, the Qing army crossed the Kelan Mountain and reached Kelan Prefecture. The governor of Kelan was a surrendered official of the Qing Dynasty. When the Wei army attacked, he surrendered to the Wei army because he saw the strong force of the Wei army. Now that the Qing army attacked again, he surrendered to the Qing without saying a word.

After taking Kelan Prefecture without a single soldier, Bai Rumei gained confidence and immediately led his army over Lujingling and headed straight for Lan County. Lan County was the territory of Hui Chongde, the leader of the rebel army. Hui Chongde led the main force to Ningwu Pass, leaving only hundreds of old and weak soldiers to guard the city, which was soon broken; the Qing army attacked Jingle County again. The situation in Jingle was the same as that in Lan County. Li Zongsheng, the leader of the rebel army, also took the main force to Ningwu. The old, weak, women and children left behind were no match for the Qing army and were conquered; after recovering the two counties, the Qing army fought with the rebel army in Loufan Town, Mopan Mountain, and Guji Mountain, beheaded the leader of the rebel army Guo Yan, and defeated Wang Quan and Bashanhu of the rebel army. In order to boost morale, Governor Bai tacitly allowed his subordinates to rob and massacre the rebel camps in Loufan Town, Mopan Mountain, Guji Mountain and other places, turning the local rebel camps into no-man's land.

Then, Bai Rumei's troops arrived in the north of Jiaocheng and joined forces with the Manchu Melezhangjing Chahatai troops of the Qing Red Banner in the south of Jiaocheng, with a force of more than 20,000. Upon hearing the news, the big bandit leader Hulu Wang Ren Liang, who was rampant in Luliang Mountain, did not dare to confront him head-on, and led his troops to abandon Jiaocheng County and retreat to Donghuluchuan.

Bai Rumei ordered Liu Jingshan, the lieutenant general of Lu'an Camp, and Song Jiaxuan, the lieutenant general of Taiyuan City Defense Camp, to lead their respective troops to contain the two rebel armies of Zhong Dou and Shen You that were active in Wenshui and Qingyuan counties. He and Meilezhang Jing Chahatai, Gao Guosheng, the lieutenant general of Fubiao Camp, and Huang Shaojing, the commander of Zezhou Camp, surrounded Ren Liang's troops at Sanda Cliff.
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"Tell me, what should we do now?" On the Three Cliffs, the mighty Gourd King Ren Liang looked at everyone in the tent with a sharp gaze and asked. His two sons Ren Guoxuan and Ren Guozhen, his three nephews Ren Guobi, Ren Guohai, and Ren Guofu, and the leaders of the rebels Wang Quan and Bashanhu who had fled to the Three Cliffs were oppressed by his gaze and did not dare to raise their heads.

"Father, I think we should break out immediately and move deep into Luliang Mountains," the eldest son Ren Guoxuan finally couldn't help but speak.

"Break out? The families of our brothers are all in Jiaocheng. If we stay, we can still be united. If we break out and flee far away, it is inevitable that some people will escape or even surrender to the enemy because they can't bear to leave their families behind. If people's hearts are scattered, our foundation will be over," Ren Liang flatly refused.

"Father, we have been running the main stronghold of Three Cliffs for many years. The fine food stored here is enough for our brothers to eat for a year. The terrain is also steep, and the Qing army will definitely not be able to attack us. Besides, we have already defected to the David Kingdom. As long as we hold out for a year or so, when the Wei army marches south in large numbers, the siege of Three Cliffs will be lifted," said the second son Ren Guozhen.

"Good! My son, what you said makes sense. We have the David Kingdom as our backer, so what do we have to fear? As long as we hold on for a year or two, there will be a turning point!" Ren Liang shouted in high spirits. He had already made up his mind and would never leave Jiaocheng. As long as he was alive, the sky of Huluchuan would be the sky of the old Ren family, and the land of Huluchuan would be the land of the old Ren family. It was just a meeting to get everyone to agree to hold on.
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"Before I left, I signed a military order with the prince. If I fail to annihilate the Luliang bandits, the prince will not forgive me. Three days, I will give you three days. If you fail to take the three cliffs after three days, I will kill you first and then kill myself to repay the emperor's kindness." Under the three cliffs, Bai Rumei, wearing armor, drew the sword from his waist and glared at the generals. Under his cold eyes, the Meilezhang Jing Chahatai, the Lu'an Camp Lieutenant General Liu Jingshan, and the Zezhou Camp Commander Huang Shaojing all felt a chill on the back of their necks.

The battle began when thick fog rose in the early morning, and the Qing army took advantage of the fog to climb the mountain.

"Enemy attack~Enemy attack~" When they reached the middle of the mountain, a sharp-eyed defender finally saw it and shouted for help. Stones, rolling logs, bullets, and arrows rained down from the top of the mountain, taking lives one after another. The Qing army's swordsmen and gunners were in front, and the archers were behind them, throwing upwards to cover. Behind the archers was the supervision team sent by Governor Bai. When they found someone retreating, they stood in front of the battle and beheaded him. Death was on both sides. Under the supervision of generals at all levels, the Qing army climbed up without fear of casualties. Soon they broke into the first mountain gate and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the defenders. The three nephews of Gourd King Ren Liang, Ren Guobi, Ren Guohai, and Ren Guofu, and Huang Shaojing, the commander of the Qing army's Zezhou Camp, were killed. Both sides left a total of 5,000 corpses at the first mountain gate, and the Qing army finally captured the mountain gate.

The defeated rebels retreated to the second mountain gate. Seeing that it was getting dark, Ren Liang ordered Wang Quan and Bashanhu to lead 3,000 soldiers to guard the mountain, while he led his exhausted men back to the top of the mountain to rest. Unexpectedly, the Qing army attacked the mountain at night and broke into the second mountain gate.

Seeing the critical situation, Bashanhu swung his famous axe and led more than ten guards to rush towards the Qing army. This man was born with supernatural power. The axe weighed 70 kilograms and killed anyone who was hit. In the blink of an eye, he killed more than 20 Qing soldiers. Seeing his bravery, the Qing army's offensive was discouraged.

"Hmph~" Chahatai snorted and quietly took off the strong bow from his back. The Eight Banners were the best archers in the world, and he was very confident in his archery skills. "Swoosh~" The arrow shot like a meteor and pierced into the throat of the Bashanhu. The iron man fell to the ground without a sound and did not move.

"Brother Ba~" Wang Quan was greatly saddened upon seeing this and rushed towards Chahatai with his knife in hand.

Chahatai said nothing, and shot another arrow, which was cut down by Wang Quan. But Chahatai's speed of changing arrows was very fast. Not long after the second arrow was shot, the third arrow came. This time Wang Quan had no way to avoid it, and the armor-piercing arrow pierced his chest.

In just one day and one night, the Qing army broke through two mountain gates. Gourd King Ren Liang was shocked and personally led the army to defend the third mountain gate. He had no place to retreat.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~" The tiger squat cannon carried by the Qing army began to show its power. Although this kind of cannon was not powerful, it was lightweight. Dozens of them fired at the same time, blowing the mountain gate and the village wall into pieces in an instant.

"Kill~kill~kill~" The Qing army rushed upwards with a roar.

"No retreat, anyone who retreats without order will be killed!" Ren Liang's hair and beard stood up, and he swung his sword to knock down a retreating soldier, but he still couldn't stop the fleeing army.

"The mountain gate is no longer defensible. Please ask father to retreat to the top of the cliff," the eldest son Ren Guoxuan ran over to persuade him.

"Alas! If I had listened to your advice and retreated to the depths of Luliang Mountain in time, this would not have happened!" Ren Liang said to his eldest son in shame.

"Now is not the time to regret. Please ask father to retreat to the top of the cliff quickly," Ren Guoxuan was extremely anxious.

In desperation, Ren Liang took Ren Guoxuan, Ren Guozhen and more than 2,000 remnants of his troops and retreated to the top of the three cliffs.

"Mr. Fu, our army has surrounded that old gourd on the top of the cliff. This time he can't escape even if he has wings!" Chahatai said proudly to Bai Rumei.

Bai Rumei stroked his beard and smiled, "A strong attack may endanger the lives of the soldiers, so let's set fire to the mountain."

"Set fire to the mountain?" Chahatai was stunned, and then he was overjoyed, "This is a good idea from the governor. In this way, we can wipe out the bandits without losing a single soldier."

The fire was burning towards the top of the cliff, with a rage that was soaring into the sky, vowing to burn the old gourd into ashes. After the fire was extinguished, the Ren flag was still there. It turned out that Ren Liang had ordered his men to cut a barrier on the top of the cliff to prevent the fire from spreading further upwards.

"Hmph! Pass the order, you are allowed to advance and not retreat. Violators will be punished by military law!" Bai Rumei was furious and ordered another attack.

Team after team of Qing troops rushed to the top of the cliff. After a whole day of fierce fighting, the sound of fighting finally calmed down. Ren Liang's body was found next to a big pine tree on the top of the cliff, with more than ten wounds on his body; the bodies of the brothers Ren Guoxuan and Ren Guozhen were not found. In order to find the bodies alive or dead, Governor Bai ordered a search of the mountain, and finally found the bodies of the two brothers at the bottom of the cliff. However, they did not want to be captured and humiliated, so they jumped off the cliff and committed suicide.

"Your Excellency, our army captured more than 3,000 bandits in this battle. How should we deal with them?" Gao Guosheng, the lieutenant general of the Fu Biao Battalion, asked.

"Those are all old thieves. Kill them all to avoid future troubles." What a good Governor Bai was! With just one sentence, he sentenced the lives of more than 3,000 people.

The smell of blood lingered in the Three Cliffs for a long time, and the Qing army immediately attacked the Zhong Dou army active in Wenshui County. Zhong Banqing knew he was no match for the enemy, so he led his troops to retreat to Jinyin Mountain, but encountered pursuers on the way and his entire army was wiped out. His head was also used as a military achievement of the Qing army.

Seeing the situation was not good, the leader of the Qingyuan County rebel army, Shen You, dared not resist any more and surrendered with 3,000 soldiers. This time, Bai Rumei did not kill them indiscriminately. Instead, she recommended Shen You as the Qingyuan guerrilla and ordered him to write letters to recruit the rebels scattered in the mountains. Thousands of them surrendered one after another, and the Luliang bandits who had been rampant for many years were finally pacified. (End of this chapter)