Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The Dabie Mountain area, located at the junction of Anhui, Hubei and Henan, has high mountains, undulating terrain, dense forests and abundant products. It has been a strategic location for hiding troops since ancient times. During the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, this area was always a place of turmoil and conflicts. The locals have been tempered by war for a long time, and have developed a spirit of calmness, determination, courage, tenacity and hard struggle, and all of them are brave and good at fighting.

As early as the Southern Song Dynasty, Duan Chaoli, a native of Sanwu Township, Luotian (now Yingshan County), built a fort at Yingshanjian and called on villagers to block the Mongolian army. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Mei Zhihuan, an official of the Ming Dynasty, called on people to build a fort to resist the peasant army, which marked the beginning of the construction of forts in Qihuang in the late Ming Dynasty. In the early Qing Dynasty, the arrogant Manchu nobles implemented the "keep the hair but not the head" shaving order, which aroused fierce resistance from the local Han people. In order to preserve their clothes and hats, they went into the mountains to build villages. In Huanggang, there are Baiyun Village, Xiaoqi Village, Majiatan Village, Daqi Village, Ma'an Village, and Taohuadong Village; in Macheng, there are Yunwu Village, Meihou Village, Tazi Village, and Baijiao Fort; in Huangan, there are Dasheng Fort, Mopan Village, Dafeng Village, Fengshui Village, and Tiantai Village; in Qishui, there are Doufang Village, Sanjiao Village, and Shimen Village; in Qizhou, there are Ce Village, Feiqi Village, Dafu Village, and Heishi Village; in Guangji, there are Siwang Village, Yanziyan Village, and Wushan Village; in Huangmei, there are Longtou Village, Shucheng Village, Efeng Village, and Dushan Village; in Luotian, there are Limangyan Village, Yunfeng Village, Daluo Village, Xiannvyan Village, Dulongjing Village, and Gaoming Village... They are known as the "Forty-eight Villages of Qihuang".

In order to fight against the Qing Dynasty, the various camps successively supported the Ming royal family, Fanshan King Zhu Yi, and Shicheng King Zhu Tongqi as leaders, and echoed with the rebels in Nanzhili, Henan and other places. Unfortunately, ten years ago, the anti-Qing activities here were bloodily suppressed by the Qing army and fell into a low ebb. Even so, the rebels of all sizes hid in the Dabie Mountain area, and from time to time they came out of the mountains to harass the Qing army, becoming a headache for the Qing army in Huguang, Nanzhili and Henan.

On July 1665, , a farmer wearing a short coat with a cross collar and a net scarf on his head was walking quickly on the mountain road leading to Caojiahe, Dongshan, Macheng County, Huangzhou Prefecture, Huguang. The area around Caojiahe belonged to Baigao Town. The most powerful family in the town was not the government, but the wealthy Liu Qizhen family. Liu Qizhen had a complicated background, and he was involved in both the black and white worlds. His adopted son Liu Qingli was also the local head of the village. He was a ruthless character who could shake the entire Baigao Town with just one stomp.

Yang Chuqiao, a resident of the village, was guarding the mountain road with several strong men carrying red tasseled spears. The village chief Liu Qingli ordered him to be on guard against spies during the war. Suddenly, he saw the figure of a farmer from another place. Yang Chuqiao made a gesture and ordered his men to stop the man. "Stop, what are you doing?"

"Are you Captain Liu's men?" Seeing how they were dressed, the farmer was not surprised but happy.

"Who are you? Why are you asking about the village chief?" Yang Chuqiao pointed the spear in her hand at his chest anxiously.

"I am an old friend of Liu Baochang. Here, give these to him and he will see me." The farmer took out a sword and a book from his backpack.

This guy is a little weird! Yang Chuqiao muttered to herself, and ran to the Liu family mansion.

In the mansion, Liu Qizhen and Liu Qingli were chatting. They were a little dazed when they saw the sword and book sent by Yang Chuqiao. After a long time, Liu Qingli said, "Father, it seems that Chief Huang is back." The Chief Huang he mentioned was named Huang Jinlong. He was a famous think tank in the Forty-Eight Villages. He claimed to understand Taoism and had obtained the Heavenly Book and Sword from God. He wanted to restore the Ming Dynasty and had great influence in the Forty-Eight Villages.

"Well, Chief Huang went to Henan a while ago. I believe he has good news. Please invite him in quickly," Liu Qizhen said slowly.

Huang Jinlong was brought before the Liu father and son. As soon as he saw them, he burst into laughter and said, "Brother Liu, I haven't seen you for a long time. I missed you so much."

Liu Qizhen also laughed, "I heard that my dear brother went to Henan, I wonder how the situation is?"

"Alas! It's hard to explain in a few words!" Huang Jinlong sighed, drank the tea in the cup, and said indignantly: "I wanted to take advantage of the Wei-Qing war to persuade Tan Yicong of Shangcheng to raise an army to restore the Ming Dynasty. I didn't expect that guy to have no loyalty. Seeing that the Wei army was so powerful and had taken over the whole of Henan, he actually accepted the Wei army's recruitment and became the garrison of Shangcheng. That's fine, everyone has their own aspirations and can't be forced. But he actually detained me and kept persuading me to surrender to the Wei country, saying that the Wei country allows all ethnic groups to retain their own clothes and costumes, and surrendering to the Wei country is equivalent to restoring the country. Humph! Selling out friends for glory!"

"So you rejected him and escaped back?" Liu Qingli asked. Huang Jinlong's old face turned red, and he took out an iron plate from his arms, "Tan Yicong brought me to meet Da Muding, the captain of the Wuyi Guard of Weiguo, and Liu Yaner, the captain of the Huguang Guard. These two admired my Taoist skills and begged me to join the Wuyi Guard as an official. I couldn't refuse, so I reluctantly accepted the position of captain."

"Puchi~" Liu Qingli was young after all, so he laughed out loud, thinking to himself, you always scold Tan Yicong for being disloyal, so how come you also became an official of Weiguo?

Liu Qizhen was older after all, so he calmed down and asked, "So, my dear brother has also surrendered to the Wei Kingdom?"

"Brother Liu, I have thought carefully about what Tan Yicong said, and I think it makes sense. We started the rebellion to restore the Ming Dynasty's clothing and customs. Since the Wei State allows the restoration of clothing and customs, surrendering to Wei is actually equivalent to restoring the country. The Wei State has strong soldiers and horses. In my opinion, it will soon be able to unify the world. Surrendering to Wei is also a good way out."

"Well, I wonder what rank the captain of the capital is?" Liu Qizhen asked with a smile, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings. He changed his name to "Qizhen", which implies "Tianqi Chongzhen", and his character "Junfu" also means "never forget the old emperor". Over the years, he has been committed to restoring the Ming Dynasty, but the situation is stronger than people. Now he just wants to live well and let the old Liu family flourish in his generation.

"According to the official system of Wei State, the captain of a hundred households is on the same level as the garrison commander, and both are of the fifth rank," Huang Jinlong's voice was slightly proud.

"Fifth rank?" Liu Qizhen's heart skipped a beat. This position was not low, much higher than that of a county magistrate. He asked slowly, "If our brothers surrender to the guards, what position will they get?"

Huang Jinlong felt tickled and took out a stack of papers from his bag like a magician. "These are all the titles that Damuding Du Qianhu asked for us from the imperial court. There are captain of a hundred households, deputy captain of a hundred households, captain of a hundred households, and deputy captain of a hundred households. With your prestige in the Forty-Eight Villages of Qihuang, you should naturally be a captain of a hundred households. As for your son, you can be a deputy captain of a hundred households."

After hearing this, Liu and his son were overjoyed. They immediately held a banquet at home to entertain Huang Jinlong. They also won over leaders such as Cheng Zhenbang, Bao Honggong, Chen Huihui, and Li Gongmao to prepare for an uprising.

Seeing that the matter in Macheng was almost settled, Huang Jinlong said goodbye to the Liu father and son, and said, "Brother Liu and nephew, please make preparations for the uprising in Macheng. When the time comes, Tan Yicong will send troops from Shangcheng to respond. I also have to rush to Huanggang to invite brothers such as Li Youshi, Fang Gongxiao, Zou Junsheng, Chen Dingye, He Shirong, and Bao Shirong to join the uprising."

"My dear brother, please be careful." Liu Qizhen knew that this trip was quite risky and reminded Huang Jinlong to be careful.

"It doesn't matter. I've already known the terrain of Qihuang's 48 villages by heart. It will be difficult for the Qing army to catch me." Huang Jinlong was full of confidence. (End of this chapter)