Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The cold winter finally passed, and the ancient city of Xi'an showed signs of spring. In Prince Jian's mansion, Ji Du was discussing state affairs with a group of important civil and military officials from Shaanxi, and just received news: the Wei army broke through Xuanfu, and Emperor Xihe Doni died.

"The emperor is dead, what can the world do?" Jidu's expression was solemn and sad. He was really sad, not pretending. Although he was not convinced that Doni was the emperor, after all, they all had the surname Aisin-Gioro. There is a saying that when a rabbit dies, the fox mourns. This is exactly what it means.

"The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Your Highness, please ascend the throne immediately to rally the people's hearts!" Shaanxi Governor Zhang Zide was the first to speak.

"What Mr. Zhang said is very true. Please ascend the throne immediately," said Fu Kachan, the Zhangjing of Angbang, in support.

The Grand Secretary Dasu, Gushan Ezhen Suohong, the Guard Commander Lai Da, the First-Class Guard Suo Etu, the Left Provincial Governor Zhou Tianyi, the Right Provincial Governor Xiao Shiyan, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Xu Tengjiao, the Jiala Zhangjing Dumin, Aiyin Dali, Badala, the Deputy General Fan Chaochen, and Emperor Gaozong all expressed their support. This means that all the civil and military officials in the entire Xi'an area support Prince Jian's enthronement.

Ji Du was secretly happy, but if he wanted to become emperor, it was not enough to rely on the support of officials in Xi'an. He also had to see the attitudes of other provinces. Thinking of this, he slowly said, "I am not blessed enough to take on such a big responsibility. I sent envoys to Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian to ask for troops. How did it go?" On the surface, this seemed to be a change of subject, but in fact, he wanted to know the attitudes of the powerful factions in Pingxi, Jingnan, and Pingnan.

As a confidant, Zhang Zide knew what he meant and said slowly: "The King of Pingxi ordered General Wang An to lead 5,000 troops, the King of Pingnan ordered Guerrilla Du Chaoxiang to lead 3,000 troops, the King of Jingnan ordered Guerrilla Wei Yilong to lead 3,000 troops, and Guangxi Admiral Ma Xiong ordered Li Yidi to lead 3,000 troops. They have already arrived in Shaanxi." On the surface, this was a response to Prince Jian's words, but in fact it was telling Ji Du that these local powerful people were willing to send troops to rescue and support you with practical actions.

"Hmm," Ji Du nodded slightly after listening, but still did not comment.

"Your Highness, please look, these are the petitions of persuasion from Hong Chengchou, the Governor-General of Five Provinces, Zhao Butai, the General of the Southern Expedition, Tunqi, the Duke of Zhenguo, Zhao Tingchen, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, Lang Tingzuo, the Governor-General of Jiangnan and Jiangxi, Li Ratetai, the Governor-General of Fujian, and Lu Xingzu, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi." Zhang Zide smiled and held out a pile of petitions, and analyzed calmly, "Zhao Butai and Tunqi are both Manchurian generals. Zhao Tingchen, Lang Tingzuo, Li Ratetai, and Lu Xingzu represent the attitudes of local governors and governors-general. Hong Chengchou has always been on good terms with the King of Pingxi, and his attitude actually represents the attitude of the King of Pingxi. The Three Feudatories have always responded to each other. Now that they are willing to send troops to aid Shaanxi, I believe that petitions of persuasion will be sent to us soon."

Hearing this, Jidu was finally moved, but still asked worriedly: "Did Li Duxian and Li Halaku, the general, send any documents?" He thought back to when he wanted to become emperor, but the Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor Li Guoying and the Yansui Town General Li Halaku, who were nearby, actually opposed and insisted on supporting Doni, which made his plan to become emperor in Shaanxi fail. He felt a shadow in his heart, so he asked this question.

"The pseudo-Guardian General Xirimo is attacking Hanzhong, and the pseudo-King of Liao is also harassing Linxian. Li Duxian and Li Halaku, the general, have written letters asking for help, and expressed their intention to ask you to ascend the throne as soon as possible to correct people's hearts," Zhang Zide took out two more letters asking for help.

Ji Du saw that in addition to requesting reinforcements from himself, the letter also contained some vague sentences such as "One call from a high place will be responded to by the whole world" and "To restore the Qing Dynasty, who else but the king can do it?", which hinted that he should inherit the throne. He could not help but feel delighted and praised them repeatedly: "You two are both loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty. You persuaded Prince Xin to ascend the throne last time, and now you persuade me to ascend the throne, all for the sake of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Your Highness, please ascend the throne immediately to appease the people!" Seeing that he was about to agree, Zhang Zide suddenly raised his arms and shouted. "Your Highness, please ascend the throne immediately~ Please ascend the throne immediately~ Please ascend the throne immediately~" The cheers of the civil and military officials in the hall reached the sky.

Seeing this, Ji Du finally revealed the ambition that had been hidden in his heart for a long time, and said in a loud voice: "It's not that I'm coveting the throne, but the Qing Dynasty is in a precarious time, and the country cannot be without a monarch for a day, so I have no choice but to take on this heavy responsibility first."
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After discussion, the emperor and his ministers decided to ascend the throne three days later and set the reign title as "Zhenwu". "Zhenwu" means to revive the military and recover lost territory, and it was the reign title Ji Du personally proposed. The emperor, who was only 32 years old, was full of ambition and vowed to prepare his troops and fight to the death with Weiguo.

In order to rally the people, the first thing the new emperor did upon ascending the throne was to confer titles and honors on officials who supported him. He conferred titles on Huilan as Prince Zhong, Tunqi as Prince of Qingyang, Zhao Butai as Duke of Ansai, Dasu as Duke of Xiyang, Hong Chengchou as Duke of Chongxin, Li Guoying as Duke of Nanzheng, Lang Tingzuo as Duke of Jiangning, Li Rutai as Duke of Dehua, Lu Xingzu as Duke of Guangning, Zhao Tingchen as Duke of Anding, Zhang Zide as Duke of Xihe, Suo Hong as Marquis of Longzhou, Lai Da as Marquis of Bingzhou, Fu Kachan as Marquis of Yanchang, Li Haraku as Marquis of Tai'an, Suo Etu as Earl of Chengcheng, Zhou Tianyi as Earl of Jingzhou, Xiao Shiyan as Earl of Shangzhou, and Xu Tengjiao as Earl of Luonan; he promoted Du Min, Aiyindali, and Badala as commanders-in-chief, and Fan Chaochen and Gaozong as generals, and all other generals were rewarded. He also sent people to various places to commend the powerful local factions who had not yet formally submitted petitions to persuade him to ascend the throne. For a moment, all the officials who persuaded the emperor to ascend the throne were happy, and the atmosphere in the new Zhenwu court became warm.

"I heard that the main force of the Wei Army has left Xuanfu and returned to Beijing for rest. The Battle of Xuanfu was extremely brutal. I believe that the Wei Army will not have any major military actions in the short term. I intend to take advantage of the opportunity of the Wei Army's rest to launch an offensive to demonstrate the power of our army and boost the morale of the army and the people. What do you think?" The new king has to do something when he ascends the throne. Ji Du sought the opinions of his ministers.

"I wonder where the emperor plans to attack?" asked Fu Kachan, who had just been granted the title of Marquis of Yanchang.

"The pseudo-Wei's General Tuoli was defeated by me a few days ago and retreated to Pingliang and Qingyang to confront our army. I intend to continue to fight him and capture Pingliang and Qingyang," Ji Du said confidently. He had driven Tuoli out of Xi'an and Fengxiang and thought he had the upper hand. Now that 14,000 reinforcements from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces have arrived, he is naturally confident.

"I think it is inappropriate," the newly appointed Duke of Xihe Zhang Zide objected loudly.

"Oh, why did Mr. Zhang say that it was inappropriate?" Ji Du knew that this was an upright minister, so he did not get angry but asked seriously.

"The Tuoli troops of the Wei army occupy the dangerous terrain around Liupan Mountain, which may not be easy to defeat. Even if we take it, we will only gain some barren areas, which will not have much impact on the overall situation. Shanxi has fertile land and developed commerce, and is a fertile land. If we seize it, we can have sufficient food and money to support the troops. Moreover, Shanxi is close to the capital, and attacking Shanxi will let the people of the world know your determination to restore the Qing Dynasty," Zhang Zide said confidently.

Ji Du's face was gloomy and after thinking for a long time, he said: "Zhang Qing is right. It is better to attack Shanxi."

On April 1, the first year of Zhenwu, Ji Du ordered Shaanxi Governor Zhang Zide and Angbang Zhang Jing Fu Kachan to stay in Xi'an, and personally led an army of 100,000 to leave Xi'an and attack Shanxi. (End of this chapter)