Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Boom~" No matter how strong the city wall was, it could not withstand the continuous bombardment of cannons. A section of the city wall near Dong'anmen was finally collapsed.

"Kill~ Kill~ Kill~" Zhenjiang deputy general Zhang Yuanxun led 6,000 surrendered soldiers to charge in through the gap. The Khan ordered that "the first to climb will be promoted three levels and rewarded with 1,000 taels of silver." I didn't expect that I would be the first today. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but show joy. However, it was too early to be happy. Under the command of veteran Sony, the Qing army had already planted fences in the imperial city and deployed knife carts near various city gates. Seeing the collapse of the city wall, the commander of the guards, Biliketu, immediately led his troops to stand behind the fence and shoot to stop the guards from pouring in. The dense arrows and bullets effectively slowed down the speed of the guards' attack. Shu Xilan, the commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner, took the opportunity to lead the death squad to kill the guards pouring into the city while pushing the knife carts to block the gap. The Qing army on the city wall who reacted also threw the sandbags they had prepared long ago at the gap from a high position. Soon, the city wall that had finally collapsed was blocked again by knife carts and sandbags.

Seeing no chance, Biligendalai, the king of Zhao who was in charge of the attack on Donghua Gate, had to order the surrendered troops to retreat. The guards retreated like a tide, just as they surged in.

"Report! The guards broke in through a gap at the edge of the Dong'anmen city wall, but were driven out by our army. Now the collapsed city wall has been blocked," the guards inside Taihemen (Fengtianmen) delivered news from the front.

"Your servant congratulates the emperor for once again repelling the attack of the guards~" "Your servant congratulates the emperor~" The ministers congratulated Emperor Shunzhi one after another, as if they had won a great victory.

"Well, congratulations~" Emperor Shunzhi said congratulations, but his face was terribly gloomy. It was definitely not a good thing for the city wall to be destroyed by the cannons of the guards. It meant that the city wall was becoming less and less solid, and more and more collapses would occur later. But as the backbone of the ministers, he had to show that he was sure of victory and said congratulations.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. As long as we hold on, reinforcements will surely arrive," the old minister Fan Wencheng saw what he was thinking and whispered to him from behind.

"Mr. Fan, do you think there will be reinforcements?" Emperor Shunzhi asked hopefully. He knew that since the main force of the Eight Banners led by Doni was defeated and retreated to Xuanfu, there were not many elite troops from all over the country to rescue him. Even if there were, they would probably be some weak troops. The reason he asked this was actually to encourage himself.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. There are so many territories in the world, so there must be one or two loyal ministers. Reinforcements will definitely come~" Fan Wencheng straightened his chest and tried his best to give the young emperor confidence. In fact, the university scholar did not believe that there would be any reinforcements that would dare to enter the capital. He was betting that the guards could not bear the losses of years of war and would withdraw to recuperate after a long period of unsuccessful attacks.

However, what Mr. Fan did not expect was that reinforcements really arrived.
-
In the office of the governor of the river in Jining Prefecture, Shandong, Zhu Zhixi, a capable minister of river management and governor of the river in the Qing Dynasty, was discussing with Fang Zhao, the governor of Jining, about entering the capital to defend the capital. They had risked their lives to block the breach of the Yellow River together, and they were considered to be close friends.

"General, our river office is said to have 24 battalions and more than 20,000 soldiers. In fact, those soldiers are more like civilians than soldiers. Among them, there are only 3,903 soldiers on the south bank and 3,374 soldiers on the north bank who can barely form a battle line. Together with the reed camp and standard soldiers, there are no more than 9,000 soldiers. These soldiers usually do river patrols for a living and seldom train. Almost few of them have ever been on the battlefield. To defend the capital is like hitting a rock with an egg!" Fang Zhao said anxiously to his old friend.

"I know what you said, my dear brother. But as a subject, how can I not help my king and father when they are in trouble?" Zhu Zhixi said seriously, "I have made up my mind about this matter. If you feel it is dangerous, you can go alone."

"What do you think of me, Mr. He? Since you have made up your mind, I will immediately organize the Jining Road officials to go with you." Fang Zhao was furious and generously expressed his willingness to go with you. "Great! With your help, we will be even more powerful! I will immediately order the camps on the river to gather in Jining. Together with the local officials, there are estimated to be more than 20,000 people. If everyone is united, we may be able to fight." Zhu Zhixi is a capable minister in river management, but he is a civil servant. He only looks at numbers in war. He thinks that he has more than 20,000 soldiers and horses to fight against the guards, but he doesn't know that fighting a war depends on numbers alone. Or maybe he is not unaware, but he can't forget the word "loyalty" and deliberately ignores the difference in combat effectiveness. This is the pedantry of scholars.

Fang Zhao was aware of the difference in strength between the two sides. After thinking for a while, he said, "Zonghe, we actually still have an army available."

"There is another troop? Which one?" Zhu Zhixi was stunned.

"Have you forgotten? Didn't Yang Jie, the general of the left wing of Jiangnan and the prince's guardian, retreat to Dezhou after his defeat some time ago? I heard that he has been recruiting soldiers in Dezhou these days. Most of his subordinates are veterans who have fought in the battlefield for a long time. If they are willing to join us in defending the capital, we will have a group of elite troops," Fang Zhao smiled.

"Oh, how could I forget about Yang Shaobao. He is an important minister of the Qing Dynasty, and he must be willing to join us in serving the king." Zhu Zhixi was overjoyed. On the one hand, he ordered Fang Zhao and his generals Cao Xiao, Wen Hui, and Tan Zhi to organize the soldiers and civilians under the Hedao Yamen to gather in Jining. On the other hand, he wrote a letter and sent it to the secretary Tan Pu to Dezhou, asking Yang Jie to send troops to help.

Zhu Zhixi was born in Yiwu, Zhejiang, and Tan Pu was born in Haining, Zhejiang. They were from the same hometown. Tan Pu's father Tan Qian had also worked as Zhu Zhixi's secretary. Zhu Zonghe admired Tan Pu, who was knowledgeable and eloquent, and sent him to the meeting. Tan Pu did not dare to neglect the matter and rode a horse carriage to Dezhou.

After reading Zhu Zhixi's letter and listening to Tan Pu's explanation of his purpose, Yang Jie, the general of the left wing of Jiangnan in the Qing Dynasty and the prince's guardian, could not help but frown. After his defeat in Dezhou, he only had 3,000 troops left. After recruiting troops during this period, he had just recovered to 7,000. The new recruits were not yet proficient in the battle formation. More importantly, after experiencing the benefits and disadvantages of the guards, the general suffered from "guardian phobia". How could he dare to touch the tiger beard of the Great Khan Lianhua? However, as a general and the prince's guardian of a town, it seemed unreasonable to turn a deaf ear to the emperor and father's difficulties. Yang Shaobao rolled his eyes and said, "Please reply to Zonghe, as a minister, it is my duty to rescue the emperor, and this town is willing to go with you."

"Thank you, Mr. Yang. I will return to Jining now. Please make preparations. Zonghe will lead his troops to Dezhou to meet us soon." Tan Pu was overjoyed. He did not expect that the matter of defending the capital would go so smoothly. Yang Jie actually agreed without hesitation. He was indeed a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty!
"Don't worry, I will order the soldiers to prepare now," Yang Jie said generously.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Tan Pu said no more and rode back in a carriage at lightning speed. As soon as he left, a relative asked Yang Jie, "Does Shao Bao really intend to follow them to defend the capital?"

"Enter the capital? How can we, with our few defeated soldiers, be a match for the guards?" Yang Jie laughed, "Of the thirty-six strategies, running away is the best strategy. Let's leave immediately and go to Anyang, Henan, away from this troubled place." (End of this chapter)