Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The so-called 20,000 captives are of great use, which naturally refers to the consumables used in siege. The compassionate Lotus Khan actually did not care about the lives of the surrendered soldiers. It was just that Xuan Youcai, Zhang Wei, and Zhou Youde had suffered too many casualties to fight again, so it was just right to use these prisoners to make up for the losses, so that the surrendered soldiers would have the strength to continue to attack the city. He picked out 10,000 of the strongest from the 20,000 captives to make up for the losses of the three surrendered generals. He ordered Xuan Youcai, the general of Jizhou, to lead 8,000 surrendered soldiers and 10,000 prisoners of war to continue to attack Zhengyang Gate; Zhang Wei, the general of Tongzhou, led 7,000 surrendered soldiers to continue to attack Anding Gate; Zhou Youde, the governor of Shandong, led 6,000 surrendered soldiers to continue to attack Chaoyang Gate; and Nagat, Babai, Shilabu, Okchotbu, Buhealtu, and Bobush each led 5,000 soldiers to attack Chongwen Gate, Dongzhi Gate, Desheng Gate, Xizhi Gate, Fucheng Gate, and Xuanwu Gate respectively.

There was news from the Crown Prince Zhuo Ligetu. Although he and Liang Guogong Barsi tried their best to delay the time for the Qing army in Datong to return to Beijing, the Qing general Anyuan Jingkou and Prince Xin Doni, who was eager to save their master, ordered Beile Shangshan to lead some troops to stay in Shanxi, and he led 200,000 troops to return to the capital. It was estimated that in ten days, the vanguard of the Qing army in Datong would be able to reach the vicinity of Beijing. This was the news that the Great Khan was most reluctant to hear. After thinking it over, he decided to send Zhao Wang Biligendalai, Huite Wanhu Chief Mandulatu, and Junggar Wanhu Chief Urigenda to lead 30,000 elite troops to block the western part of Beijing. To stop 200,000 elite Qing troops with only 30,000 soldiers was a heavy burden on the young Prince Zhao. Sultan knew that his son was under great pressure, so before he left, he patted his son's shoulder and encouraged him, "You must hold on for ten days no matter what. Whether our family can rule the world or occupy a corner depends on you! Try your best!" ("The Records of Wei Taizu": "When the Qing army returned to Datong, Taizu patted the Prince of Zhao's shoulder and said, 'You must hold on for ten days. Whether the world or a corner depends on you! Try your best!'")
Time was running out, so the Great Khan gave his generals a death order that the city must be broken within ten days. Although the surrendered troops of Xuan Youcai, Zhang Wei, and Zhou Youde were still the main siege force to attack the three gates of Zhengyang, Anding, and Chaoyang, the guards of other gates also had to launch offensives to assist. He still regarded Zhengyang Gate as the top priority of the attack, and deployed his own 30,000-strong central army behind Xuan Youcai's troops who were attacking Zhengyang Gate.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~" "Boom~Boom~Boom~Boom~" Continuous artillery sounds rang out around the city walls near Zhengyang Gate. From time to time, artillery shells hit the city walls, leaving huge craters, and buckshot exploded on the top of the city walls, killing the defenders.

"Bah! David State is really generous, don't they have to pay for the shells?" Xuan Youcai, the general of Jizhou of David State, cursed and spat. According to experience, once the cannons stopped, the central army would raise the flag of attack, and he would have to lead his brothers to attack the city again. Too miserable! In the past month, half of the 8,000 men were killed or injured. If they hadn't rested for ten days and replenished with 4,000 prisoners, they would have been unable to fight any more. Even so, he still felt resentful in his heart. He didn't dare to blame the Great Khan Lianhua directly, so he could only vent his anger by mocking the artillery camp of the guards.

"General, if we continue fighting like this, all our brothers will die. You have to think of a way," the trusted lieutenant general Ding Kui said in a low voice.

"Don't worry, I know what's going on," Xuan Youcai laughed, glanced around and saw that there was no one around, and whispered, "When the cannon fire stops, let the man surnamed Xu go first." The so-called "man surnamed Xu" refers to Xu Wenhuan, a deputy general under the Qing Jingnan Fan. On the day when Niu Wancai and Chen Shikai rebelled against the Qing and killed Che Ke, he was surrounded by the rebels on a small earth slope. He was reluctant to die and led more than a hundred troops to surrender to the rebels. Later, he was appointed as the deputy general of Jizhou by the "talent-loving" Lotus Khan. Of the 20,000 prisoners of war brought back by King Zhao, in addition to selecting the strongest 10,000 to supplement the losses of various troops, the remaining 10,000 were all assigned by the Khan to the command of Deputy General Xu and the control of Xuan Youcai, the general of Jizhou. Although his 10,000 subordinates were all prisoners of war, a deputy general directly commanded more troops than himself, the general. Xuan Youcai felt uncomfortable anyway. The surrendered army was actually divided into levels. Those who surrendered first naturally had a higher status than those who surrendered later. Since cannon fodder was needed for the siege, let the newly surrendered people go.

"The general is wise, but I'm afraid Mr. Xu won't agree," Ding Kui whispered to instigate.

“Hmph! You must immediately form a group of sword and shield soldiers to supervise the battle. If that Xu dares to retreat without orders, he will be killed immediately!” Xuan Youcai snorted coldly.
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The artillery bombardment of the guards finally ended, and the central army raised the flag of siege again. Xuan Youcai sneered and ordered Xu Wenhuan's troops to attack. Xu Wenhuan, who had just surrendered to David, did not dare to neglect it, and ordered his subordinates to push the shield carts and ladder carts forward. Most of his subordinates were Green Camp soldiers captured by the guards. They were forced to cut off their braids and put on the guards' battle robes to fight. If they dared not to obey, they would be stabbed immediately. In order to survive, the captives had to obey. After all, they had been soldiers of the Qing Dynasty, and their combat power was much higher than that of ordinary people. They knew to hide behind the shield carts, get close to the city wall, and then appear to climb the city.

"Fire!" The old Manchu general Ming Andali, who was ordered to guard Zhengyang Gate, issued the order. Even though he was suppressed by the artillery of the guards, he still tried to hide some artillery on the top of the city to be used when the guards attacked.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~" The sudden artillery fire caused great casualties to the attacking surrendered troops.

Xu Wenhuan clearly saw a shield cart being hit and split, and several soldiers behind it were shot all over the place by the fragments. He gritted his teeth and ordered his men to speed up. In order to survive, the captives quickened their pace and entered the range of the bows and arrows.

"Swoosh~Swoosh~Swoosh~" Arrows rained down from the top of the city wall, and many people were shot to the ground.

Some soldiers could not bear it and fled backwards, but were discovered by a supervising soldier, who swung the knife in his hand and, with a "whoosh~" quickly and fiercely, took the deserter's life with just one blow.

Seeing that retreat would lead to death, the captives could only muster up the courage to move forward. Finally, someone climbed up the city wall using the ladder and started a fierce battle with the defenders. "Don't kill me, I am from Raoping Town, Guangdong. After being defeated and captured, they forced me to attack the city. We are one of them~one of them", a captive explained to the Qing soldiers in front of him, wanting to turn against them in the battle. But with a "puff", the Qing soldier who was listening to his explanation raised his gun and fiercely stabbed him, sending him to the dead. When two armies are fighting, it is not easy to turn against one's side in the battle!
Ming Andali cut down another surrendered soldier. He was over sixty years old but still as brave as ever. He looked sideways and found that the guard commander Hang Qi was fighting three guards alone. Not only was he not at a disadvantage, but he made the other side panic. In a short while, he killed three people in a row. He couldn't help but sigh, "I thought these Jueluo (royal family) were used to a life of luxury, but I didn't expect their martial arts to be so amazing!"

Hang Qi was an idle Jueluo of the Bordered White Banner, and had just been promoted to the position of the actual commander of the guard. As if sensing that Ming Andali was looking at him, he smiled at the old general and continued to swing his sword to kill the enemy.

The casualties were too tragic! In just two days, Xu Wenhuan's 10,000 troops suffered 4,000 casualties. He wanted to withdraw to rest, but Xuan Youcai refused.

"Humph! The Khan ordered us to capture the city within ten days. Not to mention that you still have 6,000 capable warriors, even if all of them are killed, you alone must fill in for our town!" Xuan Zongzhen's voice was cold and ruthless, making Xu Wenhuan feel cold from head to toe, and he dared not say a word of objection. (End of this chapter)