Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The Lugou Bridge is named after the Lugou River (Yongding River) it crosses. It is a stone arch bridge that is 266.5 zhang (7.5 meters) long and more than zhang ( meters) wide. The bridge decks on both sides are shaped like trumpets. In his travel notes, Marco Polo highly praised this bridge, saying that it is "unique in the world" and especially admired the lions carved on the bridge railings, saying that they "together constitute a beautiful spectacle." Indeed, there are columns on each side of the bridge, and there are stone lions carved on the capitals. Each lion has a different look.

Clear water flows under the bridge, stone lions play on the bridge. Such a beautiful scene is ruined by someone who wants to blow up the bridge. Zamusu, the left captain of Aohan, ordered by Biligendalai, the king of Zhao, to load explosives on the bridge piers, hoping to blow up this important traffic route connecting the east and west banks of the Lugou River. Once the bridge is destroyed, the Qing army on the other side of the river can only rely on boats and rafts to cross the river.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~Boom~" Continuous explosions were heard, and several large holes appeared on the piers and the bridge deck, but the bridge was not blown apart. After all, it was a stone bridge, and its strength was incomparable to that of a wooden bridge.

"Useless! Explode again!" Zhamusu scolded his subordinates. They hurriedly reloaded the gunpowder, but it was too late. The green flag of the Qing army's Green Camp appeared across the river.

The troops that came were Shang Haoren, the general of Wenzhou Town in Zhejiang Province, and Yang Xuegao, the general, left governor and the prince's guardian under the command of Geng Jimao, the King of Jingnan. Shang Haoren surrendered to the Qing Dynasty early and was one of the people that the Qing court trusted; Yang Xuegao was Zheng Chenggong's vanguard general, the famous Zhenwu General and left governor. After Zheng Chenggong's death, he was at odds with Zheng Jing and surrendered to Jingnan Fan with his 3,000 elite soldiers and more than 30,000 family members. This time, various provinces were drawing troops to defend the capital, and Geng Jimao was reluctant to send his own troops, so he sent this surrendered army. Although Yang's army had only 3,000 people, Yang Xuegao was selected as the vanguard of the Zheng family, so he was naturally capable of fighting, and his men were very elite. Tong Yangliang saw that the troops led by Liu Zuoyuan, the governor of Baoding, suffered heavy casualties in the battle to attack Xishan, so he ordered the troops of Shang Haoren, the general of Zhejiang Town, who had fewer casualties, to be the vanguard of crossing the river, and sent Yang Xuegao to assist Shang Haoren.

"The Qing army is coming so fast!" On the other side of the river, Biligendalai frowned when he saw the Qing army's flag and ordered coldly: "Tell Jamusu not to blow up the bridge, and quickly form a battle array to defend the bridgehead; the Chuyi tribe will line up behind Jamusu to shoot arrows; Mandulatu and Urgendalai will each lead their own troops to deploy along the river bank to prevent the Qing army from crossing the river by boat; the Ahan tribe will be kept as a reserve force." In the battle of Xishan, his 30,000 troops suffered 10,000 casualties. Although there were only 20,000 left, they could only grit their teeth and defend the bridge. They dared not let the Qing army enter Dadu to destroy their father Khan's strategy of conquering Dadu.

"I have long heard that Commander Yang is a fierce general, so please show your prowess," Shang Haoren knew that Yang Xuegao was good at fighting, so he encouraged him with words.

Yang Xuegao hesitated a little. Although he was a high-ranking official in the Qing court, he only had 3,000 soldiers. To a surrendered general, the army was his lifeblood and he was reluctant to lose it easily.

"Don't worry, Mr. Yang. I will lead the Wenzhou town to support you," Shang Haoren said when he saw him hesitate.

"In this case, I am willing to be the pioneer," Yang Xuegao nodded and agreed, calling his deputy general Yang Qiao, "You lead a thousand soldiers to seize Lugou Bridge and open the way for General Shang, and I will lead the army to cross the river on rattan shields." Most of Yang's troops came from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian. There is an extremely tough mountain rattan in the area, which can be used to make rattan armor and hats for soldiers, and can also be woven into rattan shields. This rattan shield is soaked in tung oil for several months, and then exposed to the sun for several months, and repeated more than ten times before it can be made. Not only is it light and does not get wet in water, it can also block arrows and knives and reduce the lethality of gun bullets. It can be used as a shield in land battles and as a boat in water battles. It is extremely powerful.

"I will obey your orders," Yang Qiao happily accepted the order and led 200 soldiers holding double-layered rattan shields and 800 soldiers holding single-layered rattan shields to slowly walk towards Lugou Bridge, followed by the Wenzhou Town under Shang Haoren. Double-layered rattan shields are more protective against bullets than single-layered rattan shields, but they are much heavier and can only be used by strong men. Not many of Yang's troops use double-layered rattan shields, and all of them are carefully selected warriors.

"Shoot!" Seeing that the Qing army wanted to seize the bridge, Chu Yi ordered his Alukorchin archers to shoot arrows. Arrows rained down. Most of the arrows were blocked by rattan shields. Even if some arrows hit the Qing army, they could not penetrate their helmets and rattan armor. Except for a few unlucky ones who were shot in the face and exposed parts, few people were injured.

"Huh? Fire!" Zhamusu was furious and ordered his men to fetch the three-barreled muskets used by the cavalry, line up and fire, with the sound of "bang bang" continuing. "Roll!" Yang Qiao shouted, and his men rolled forward on the ground holding rattan shields. Although rattan shields have good protection against bullets, they cannot completely block the shooting of muskets. By rolling forward in this way, the exposed parts of the body can be reduced, and it is better to avoid bullets.

"Bah! There's something weird!" Zhamusu's eyes widened and he led his warriors to form a battle line and fight against the Qing army.

What a great guy Yang Qiao was! He rushed to the front holding a double-layer rattan shield and a sword in his hands. He leaped forward bravely and retreated flexibly. He was as agile as a monkey and killed seven or eight guards in a blink of an eye.

"Damn it!" Zhamusu raised his sword and chopped at Yang Qiao, but Yang Qiao rolled around on the ground, very agile, and actually killed this fierce general in a panic, forcing him to retreat step by step.

Seeing these rattan shield soldiers rushing to the bridgehead so quickly, Shang Haoren was overjoyed and hurriedly ordered his guerrillas Ni Xiang, Chen Ruqi, and Zheng Biao to lead their troops to follow closely. Like Yang Xuegao, these three generals were also surrendered soldiers of the Zheng family and were under the jurisdiction of Chen Wenda, a brave general of the Zheng family and general Zhaomin. Later, Chen Wenda and the general Luo Yongde led their troops to Taizhou to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. The Qing court gave them high positions but no longer let them lead the army. The old and weak of their subordinates were given land to return to their hometowns, and the strong and strong were reorganized. The three generals were assigned to the command of Shang Haoren, the general of Wenzhou. For such a dangerous matter as attacking the bridge, it is natural to use the surrendered troops first. General Shang sent the three generals to go in the front, and he led the army behind.

"Huh?" This scene was seen clearly by Zhao Wang Biligendalai who was holding a telescope. Seeing that the Qing army reached the bridgehead so quickly, he became anxious and shouted angrily: "Quick! Fire cannons to block the bridge."

"Boom~Boom~Boom~" The guards' small cannons began firing. The dense artillery fire quickly blocked the bridge, making it impossible for the Qing army behind to pass.

Yang Qiao was killing vigorously when he suddenly found that the rear team had not caught up and he was surrounded by the guards. "Ah~" he roared like a tiger and fought bravely, but was hit on the head by a hammer from a guard, causing his brain to burst.

On the Lugou River, Yang Xuegao led 2,000 rattan shield soldiers to row their shields with oars made from felled trees toward the other side of the river. No matter how hard the guards fired arrows, they were still getting closer and closer to the river bank.

"Come on!" Mandulatu yelled, waving his mace wildly, and led his men to kill the Qing army that had landed. After all, the rattan shield soldiers were few in number, and they were quickly driven back into the river by the guards as soon as they landed.

As the sky gradually darkened, both sides finally called off the battle, and Lugou Bridge returned to peace. (End of this chapter)