Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"In this battle, Xuan Qing persuaded the defending general to surrender, and his contribution was very great. He can be appointed as the general of Jizhou," Sultan said to Xuan Youcai with a smile, and generously promoted him to another level.

"I thank my lord for his great grace!" Xuan Youcai was ecstatic. He had endured many years in the Qing Dynasty and finally became a lieutenant general. Less than a month after he surrendered to the Wei Dynasty, he became a general. The Great Khan Lianhua really had a good eye for talent!

Seeing his look, Sultan was secretly happy. I just want to reward the surrendered generals generously to attract more Qing army generals to surrender. Besides, where can I find so many useful and loyal cannon fodder?
"Mr. Zhang can remain as the deputy general of Jizhou, and you will be promoted after you make military achievements," the Great Khan said with a smile to Zhang Wei, who surrendered by offering Jizhou.

"I thank Your Majesty for not killing me," Zhang Wei responded hurriedly.

"Well," Sultan nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Let's take a rest tonight, and tomorrow morning the whole army will capture Tongzhou. I want to see the bravery of the two ministers." Wanting to see the bravery of the two generals was just a polite remark. To put it bluntly, he wanted to use the surrendered troops as consumables for siege.

But to Generals Xuan Youcai and Zhang Wei, this was a signal that they were being valued, and they hurriedly expressed their willingness to die for the Kingdom of David.
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"One is Beijing, the second is Tianjin, and the third is Tongzhou." Tongzhou, located on the canal, has always been a major transportation route and a major storage center for grain transport in Jingdong. It is a must-go place for entering Beijing by land and water, which has promoted the prosperity of Tongzhou's economy. Even in wartime, merchant ships can still be seen coming and going.

"General, I have ordered people to transport all the grain on the grain ships at the dock into the city, and strive to requisition all the ships on the canal so that the guards cannot use them," Zhang Suozhi, the military governor of Tongji, reported to Tong Zhuangnian, the general of the Han army of the Zhenglan Banner. Zhang Suozhi, who was born in the Zhenghuang Banner of the Han army, had some background. He was originally a supervisory censor and asked someone to arrange this job. However, Tong Zhuangnian had a bigger background than him, and was a distant branch of the "Tong Banchao" family.

"Well, you've worked hard, but there are so many ships traveling on the canal that it's difficult to make the guards have no ships to cross! I just hope the court will send reinforcements soon," Tong Zhuangnian sighed. After learning about the invasion of the guards, the commander-in-chief was worried. He only had 10,000 soldiers under his command. In addition to defending Tongzhou, he also had to guard Sanhe, Baodi, and Wuqing counties. He had no choice but to abandon the three counties and concentrate the troops in Tongzhou. As soon as the guards of the three counties arrived, news came that the vanguard of the guards had arrived on the other side of the canal. Although the grain on the grain ship at the dock had been transported to the state capital, it was not easy to control all the ships on the canal!
The Wei army's vanguard Xuan Youcai and deputy vanguard Zhang Wei led 12,000 surrendered soldiers to arrive at the other side of the canal first. As they were surrendered generals familiar with the local customs, they quickly collected boats for the army to cross the river.

"Brother Zhang, you and I have just joined David, so we must make military achievements!" Xuan Youcai said to Zhang Wei.

"Thank you for your advice, my dear brother. Today we will just fight to the death!" Zhang Wei expressed his opinion generously.

The two generals personally led the surrendered troops on more than 300 boats and rowed towards the other side.

"Fire~" Tong Guojiu, the deputy commander of the Han army of the Zhenglan Banner, who was in charge of coastal defense, shouted the order. As the son of Tong Tulai, a third-class Jingqinihafan, he was a core member of the old Tong family and had a deeper background than Tong Zhuangnian.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~" The rumbling sound of cannons marked the beginning of the Battle of Tongzhou.

Although the cannons were roaring, they could not stop the large number of ships. Xuan Youcai and Zhang Wei landed without hesitation and led their troops to attack the Qing army. In order to show their face in front of their new master, these surrendered soldiers fought very tenaciously, and one group fell after another, quickly disrupting the formation of Tong Guojiu's army.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Tong Guojiu was shocked and turned his horse to retreat.

"Hmph~" Zhang Wei sneered and looked at the enemy general's back, then took out his longbow. He had strong arms and was a good archer.

"Swoosh~" Tong Guojiu was riding his horse at full speed, but unexpectedly an armor-piercing arrow pierced into him from behind, killing him instantly.

"What! Deputy Commander Tong was killed in battle, and only half of the 4,000 soldiers escaped!" Tong Zhuangnian's eyes almost went dark when he heard the news of Tong Guojiu's death. After all, they both had the surname Tong and they had a very good relationship. After calming down, he ordered, "Quickly prepare stones, rolling logs, gold soup, cloth curtains and other things, the guards will attack the city soon!"

The army of the Great Khan Lianhua arrived in Tongzhou. Together with the surrendered troops, the army had more than 110,000 soldiers, with flags flying, and the army was vast and boundless. On the city wall, the commander of the Zhenglan Banner Han Army Tong Zhuangnian, the Zhenglan Banner Han Army Jiala Zhangjing Zhang Chaozhen, and the Xianghong Banner Han Army Jiala Zhangjing Zhao Lian saw this scene and were terrified.

"General, I have mobilized 8,000 young and strong men in the city to go up to the city," Zhang Suozhi said to Tong Zhuangnian with trembling voice.

"You have worked hard, Mr. Zhang. If you can hold Tongzhou, you will have made a great contribution," Tong Zhuangnian said to Zhang Suozhi, trying to remain calm. At that moment, there were still 8,000 Han army flag soldiers in the city. With these 8,000 young and strong men, the total force defending the city was 16,000, so they might be able to fight.

The Great Khan Lianhua did not immediately order the surrendered troops to attack the city, but instead ordered the artillery battalion to open fire. Eighty heavy guns and three hundred cannons fired at Tongzhou City wantonly, and the dense rain of bullets suppressed the artillery on the city.

Three days later, a large number of craters appeared on the Tongzhou city wall, but fortunately the wall foundation was solid and did not collapse. Sultan sneered and waved his hand and ordered, "Attack the city!"

Toroshihu, Buhealtu and Shilabu each led 3,000 soldiers to attack the east, west and south gates, but they were all feint attacks and they only shot arrows at the top of the city from a distance. The real main attack direction was the north city commanded by Xuan Youcai and Zhang Wei.

Xuan Youcai was reluctant to send out his own troops, so he forced the 900 Qing prisoners captured by the canal to attack the city first. The muskets and arrows on the city wall fired at the same time, and within an hour, the 900 prisoners were almost wiped out.

"Brothers, follow me to kill the enemies!" Xuan Youcai roared and made a charging motion, but his body did not move too much.

"Ah~Ah~Ah~" Zhang Wei next to him was a down-to-earth man. He charged at the front with a rattan shield on his head and a big knife in his hand, climbing up the ladder as agile as a monkey.

"Hold on! Hold on! Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed!" Zhao Lian, the commander of the Han army with the Red Banner, shouted to his subordinates. He had 2,000 Han army flags and 2,000 young men under his command. Under his leadership, the defenders threw kerosene on the ladders and fired arrows at the city.

"Puff~Puff~Puff~" Zhang Wei was not only good at archery, but also good at swordsmanship. He killed one person with almost one step. In a moment, he killed the enemy in front of him and attacked Zhao Lian again. Zhao Lian took out his ancestral horse lance to fight. After three rounds, Zhang Wei showed a flaw and cut off Zhao Lian's head with one sword. When Zhao Lian's general flag fell, the defenders of the north gate were immediately in chaos.

"Great! I didn't expect Zhang Wei to be so brave!" On the high platform outside the city, the Great Khan Lianhua excitedly put down his telescope and ordered the deputy chief of the capital, Galdama, to lead 3,000 elite guards to reinforce the north city. Galdama was the second son of Eqirtu Khan, the son-in-law of Sultan. Because his elder brother Erdeni died in Beijing to cover the army, Sultan was very kind to this "grandson". This time he ordered him to fight in the hope that he would make more military achievements and be promoted.

Although the number of Galdama's troops was small, they were all elite guards. Their joining and the death of the defending general Zhao Lian caused chaos in the defense of the North City.

"Send the order, the Han army of the Zhenglan Banner, Jiala Zhangjing Zhang Chaozhen, is leading his troops to reinforce the North City!" On the corner tower, Tong Zhuangnian put down his telescope and shouted. Zhang Chaozhen's 2,000 soldiers had been resting as a reserve force, and now it was finally time to use them.

Seeing someone dare to challenge his power, Galdama was furious and rushed to kill Zhang Chaozhen with a knife. He was fast, but there was someone faster than him. The surrendered general Zhang Wei quickly ran in front of Zhang Chaozhen and stabbed him to death.

The guards surrounded the corner tower, and all of Tong Zhuangnian's personal guards were killed in the battle. In despair, he wanted to kill himself with a knife, but he didn't have the courage. Seeing the enemy getting closer and closer, he sighed, threw away his weapon, and became a prisoner. Zhang Suozhi, the military governor of Tongji, was also captured on the same day.

"The Chronicle of Wei Taizu": "Taizu took Tongzhou and the city fell in four days." (End of this chapter)