Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Kill~ Kill~ Kill~" Deafening shouts of killing could be heard everywhere on the battlefield, and the smell of death was everywhere. Gao Mingzhong's men were very different from Zhu Zhixi's troops. Most of them had fought in battles, so they were quite elite, and their number was more than twice that of the guards. At the beginning, the guards were able to hold on with their solid military formation, but as time went on, the Qing army's superiority in manpower began to emerge, and one team after another rushed towards the guards and finally broke into the formation.

"Brothers, it's time to be rewarded for your meritorious service. Follow me to kill the enemy!" Xu Dengdi, the lieutenant general of the Dubiao Camp, roared and led 500 carefully selected elite soldiers to penetrate the Wei army. He rushed left and right, killing many people. He was a tiger general in the Qing army and had made great contributions in Zheng Chenggong's expedition to Nanjing. Seeing his bravery, the morale of the Qing army was greatly boosted. Gao Mingzhong saw this and led the follow-up troops to kill together with Zhang Guojun, the deputy general of the Jinshan Camp. Wang Dacheng, the guerrilla of the right camp of the navy, also ordered the warships to fire at the Wei army. Although it was far away and could not be shot, it was still a kind of support.

"General, the Qing army is large in number and good at fighting. Why don't we withdraw to Tianjin and try again?" He Yuankui asked Niu Wancai. Although this guerrilla was belligerent, he was not stupid. On the contrary, he had rich combat experience and realized that he would not gain any advantage in today's battle, so he decided to retreat.

"If we retreat now, our army will suffer a crushing defeat. We should hold out for another half a day and wait until dark before retreating. This way, our brothers will not be defeated," Niu Wancai explained to his subordinates.

He Yuankui thought about it and thought that this was the reason, so he ordered his men to form a battle formation to resist, hoping to delay until dark so that they could escape. Unexpectedly, this Qing army was extremely brave and soon disrupted the Wei army's battle formation. In the fierce battle, He Yuankui was shot and died. Although Niu Wancai fought desperately, he still could not save the situation and was tightly surrounded and the encirclement was shrinking.

"I underestimated the Qing army. It seems that today is the day to bury my bones!" Niu Wancai was inexplicably sad and angry, and ordered his subordinates to prepare for the final resistance. Just when he was in despair, he suddenly heard shouts of killing from the flank of the Qing army. It was Zhou Youde, the governor of Shandong, and Seter, the deputy general of the Tianjin Navy Camp, who led 4,000 infantry and 3,000 sailors to kill. Zhou Youde led 4,000 surrendered troops to Tongzhou on the order of the Great Khan Lianhua. After receiving the military order, Seter, the deputy general of the Tianjin Navy Camp, immediately gathered the soldiers and ships of the water camp to escort Zhou Youde's troops to Qing County. These two generals were both experienced veterans on the battlefield. They landed quietly when they were about to reach Qing County and appeared on the battlefield at the most critical moment. The divine soldiers descended from the sky, like a sharp blade piercing the enemy's flank, cutting the Qing army in half. Niu Wancai's troops, which had already shown a declining trend, turned from defense to offense when they saw the reinforcements coming.

Zhang Guojun, deputy general of Jinshan Battalion of Qing army, encountered young general Seter of the Guard Army. During the battle, he was exposed by the skilled opponent and was chopped down by a sword. Gao Mingzhong, admiral of Jiangnan, and Xu Dengdi, lieutenant general of Dubiao Battalion, were surrounded by the Guard Army and could not break out no matter how hard they tried. Gao Mingzhong was eventually killed in the chaos, and Xu Dengdi was captured alive after being injured. Wang Dacheng, guerrilla of the right battalion of the navy, was lucky. Seeing the bad situation, he immediately ordered the warship to turn around and flee back to Shandong along the canal. Seeing this, Seter hurriedly ordered his subordinates to board the ship to pursue, but it was too late.

"Thank you very much to Fuyuan Zhou and Deputy General Seter for the rescue, otherwise my Tianjin Town would have been wiped out today!" At the celebration banquet, Niu Wancai kept thanking Zhou Youde and Seter.

"This is the Khan's holy order. If anyone wants to thank someone, it should be the Khan." Setel spoke before Zhou Youde, regardless of the fact that his official position was lower than that of Zhou Youde and Niu Wancai. Zhou and Niu were not annoyed, but felt that it was natural. After all, they were surrendered generals, while Setel was a son of a Mongolian noble family, so it was reasonable for him to speak first.

"Yes, this victory was made possible by the great Khan's strategic planning and the soldiers' efforts," Zhou Youde agreed with Setel's point of view with a smile, and then asked, "Did General Niu find out the truth about Shandong after defeating Zhu Zhixi, the pseudo-Governor of Qinghedao?"

"To be honest with you, some time ago I fought two battles in a row with Zhu Zhixi, the governor of the pseudo-Qing River Channel. I won the battle without much effort and almost wiped out the enemy. I learned from the captives that Yang Jie, the pseudo-Qing general of the Jiangnan Left Route who was formerly stationed in Dezhou, was afraid of the power of our army and had fled from Dezhou to Anyang."

"Yang Jie escaped and Zhu Zhixi's troops were wiped out. This means there are not many troops left in Shandong. It is a good time to pacify Shandong!" Zhou Youde stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Before I came here, Your Majesty told me that if we lose, we will defend Tianjin, and if we win, we will use the power of the great victory to pacify Shandong. Now is the perfect time to go south to take over Qi and Lu."

"What the governor said is true, but my army has been fighting continuously and needs to return to Tianjin for garrison, so I can't accompany you to pacify Shandong," Niu Wancai said of the difficulties of his army. "Yes, Tongzhou is an important place and must not be lost. I also have to return to Tongzhou for garrison, and I can't join the governor in seizing Shandong," Setel also said that he could not help.

"It doesn't matter. There are not many troops stationed in Shandong now. I used to be the governor of Shandong in the Qing Dynasty. The areas of Qi and Lu can be conquered by issuing an edict," Zhou Youde laughed.

"In this case, I wish the governor success in his mission soon." Upon hearing this, the two men hurriedly reported the good news to Zhou Youde.

"Thank you both for your kind words, but I have something else I would like to ask Mr. Niu for help with," Zhou Youde said with a smile.

"Please tell me what you want to say. I will do whatever you want," Niu Wancai drank a few more glasses and patted his chest to express his opinion.

"I heard that General Niu captured many Qing prisoners in the previous two battles. Your Majesty only gave me 4,000 soldiers and horses for this southward expedition to Shandong. The manpower seems insufficient. Can you allocate 3,000 prisoners to me? Thank you very much!" After saying this, Zhou Youde's old face blushed. After all, for the surrendered army, prisoners of war are the best soldiers and can quickly replenish the losses. Isn't it too many to ask for 3,000 people at once? I guess the other party may not agree, and even if they agree, they may not be willing to give enough."

Unexpectedly, Niu Wancai agreed immediately and said cheerfully: "You may not know, but in the previous two battles with Zhu Zhixi, I captured a large number of prisoners. I estimated that there were more than 10,000 people."

"Oh, you are really a timely help!" Zhou Youde was overjoyed, and suddenly remembered the Qing army lieutenant general Xu Dengdi who was captured in the battle just now. If he wanted to pacify Shandong, he might as well start with pacifying this man. He ordered his men to bring him into the big tent.

"Xu Canrong, the Manchus are brutal and have abolished our Han clothing. You and I are both Han people. Why should we serve the Manchus and be ashamed to see our ancestors after we die? Emperor David is kind and allows people of all ethnic groups to dress as they please. Why don't you come with me and return to Wei?" Zhou Youde asked Xu Dengdi gently.

Seeing that even the Shandong Governor Zhou Youde of the Qing Dynasty advised him to surrender, Xu Dengdi was somewhat tempted. After thinking for a long time, he said with a bitter face: "Your family members are all in the north, so you can naturally surrender. But my family members are in the south. If I surrender, I am afraid that my family members will be implicated!"

"I see," Zhou Youde laughed, "It's okay. I can keep the news of the general's return to the capital secret for now, so as not to implicate the general's family. Okay?" (End of this chapter)