Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"What! My brother actually wants me to give up Taiyuan!" After receiving the imperial edict from Dadu, King Sumur of Liao felt incredible. Taiyuan is not a small city, but the heart of Shanxi, with abundant resources and prosperous business. It would be a pity to give it up like this! These days, he and Shanxi Admiral Ji Jike, Chahar Admiral Alinbao, Shandong Admiral Yang Jie and other generals led 80,000 guards to confront the Qing army in Taiyuan. Although Emperor Zhenwu Jidu had more troops than the guards after joining forces with Li Haraku, the general of Yansui Town, Bai Rumei, the governor of Shanxi, and Li Haoxian, the general of Taiyuan Town, the guards had a strong city to rely on and did not show signs of defeat. In addition, the guards also deployed 20,000 troops in Yanmen and Ningwuguan. Sumur felt that he would be able to hold on until the reinforcements from the court arrived, but what he waited for was an order from the Great Khan of Lotus to abandon Taiyuan and lure the enemy deep into the city. In desperation, he summoned all the generals to discuss.

"Your Highness, the soldiers fought hard to capture Taiyuan, we cannot retreat!" "Yes, Your Highness, a mere 100,000 Qing troops can never shake the city of Taiyuan", "Your Highness, please submit a petition to the Khan to change the combat strategy. We are willing to defend Taiyuan to the death"... When the generals first heard the military order, their reactions were similar to Su Mur's. They were incredulous and unwilling to accept it, and they all opposed it.

"Shut up! How can we disobey the Khan's order? Do you want to disobey his order?" Su Mur suddenly became furious. The word "disobey his order" was very serious, and the generals were so scared that they dared not say anything more.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered us to abandon Taiyuan and lure the enemy deep into our territory. When are we going to withdraw?" Shanxi Admiral Ji Ji Ke asked respectfully.

"Alas! Military orders are hard to disobey!" Su Mur sighed and gave an order lightly, "Wait a little longer. In the past few days, we have defended the city very steadily and have not shown any signs of defeat. Ji Du is not easy to fool. If we retreat now, he will surely be suspicious. After a few days, we will pretend to be exhausted and then retreat. Only then will the Qing army believe it."

Ji Jike sincerely admired, "Your Majesty is wise! I admire you!"

The King of Liao said no more and quickly arranged for the retreat.
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"Alas! God does not bless the Qing Dynasty, and another loyal minister has abandoned me!" When the Liao king was planning the retreat, Emperor Zhenwu Jidu received the news of Hong Chengchou's death. In order to save face for the old governor, Tunqi said in a memorial that Hong Chengchou died because he felt that he had failed the emperor's grace and was too excited and angry after hearing that the Ming army had broken the alliance and attacked Jingyue, causing the plan to recover Huguang to fail.

"Hong Chengchou, Hong Chengchou! I still need to rely on you in many ways. But why don't you take care of your body? You got so angry that you hurt yourself and died. Where can I find someone like you?" Ji Du sighed after reading the military order sent by Tunqi. At this time, he really regarded Hong Chengchou as a loyal minister who could help him restore the Qing Dynasty, and he kept talking to himself.

"Mr. Hong died for the country and people of the Qing Dynasty. The emperor must give him a grand grace," suggested Shanxi Governor Bai Rumei.

"Of course. Issue an imperial decree to posthumously confer the title of King of Baling on Hong Chengchou, and promote his son Hong Shiming as Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Governor of Huguang," Ji Du said seriously after hearing this.

"Your Majesty, Hong Jinglie died of anger, not battle. Is it too much of a reward to confer the title of king upon him posthumously?" Cherbu, the commander-in-chief of the Mongolian Bordered Red Banner, was dissatisfied.

"Is the reward too great?" Ji Du glared, "Hong Chengchou worked hard for the Qing Dynasty, how can it be considered a great honor to be awarded the title of king after his death?"

After these words were spoken, Cherbu dared not say anything more, and all the generals shouted "The emperor's grace is great".

"Your Majesty is considerate of his subjects. How dare we not repay him with our lives? We are willing to fight bravely and conquer Taiyuan!" Li Haraku, the general of Yansui Town, was a man with a keen eye and shouted loudly. Although he was originally loyal to Emperor Xihe, after Doni's death, he changed his support to Emperor Zhenwu and gradually regained Jidu's trust. "Fight bravely and conquer Taiyuan~Fight bravely and conquer Taiyuan~Fight bravely and conquer Taiyuan~" All the generals were inspired and asked to fight enthusiastically.

"Good! With such a loyal minister, there is hope for the restoration of the Qing Dynasty! Tomorrow, I will personally go to the battlefield to see your bravery!" Ji Du was very happy and expressed his willingness to personally supervise the battle. It has been three months since he led his army into Shanxi, and the results were brilliant. He captured the three states of Fen, Qin, and Liao, as well as a large area in the north of Lu'an Prefecture and the south of Taiyuan Prefecture. Now he has already reached the city of Yangqu, the seat of Taiyuan Prefecture. Shanxi has always been rich, with not only many merchants but also a developed textile industry, which made it easy for the army to obtain sufficient food and wages. But he knew that the reason why he was able to do so smoothly was because the main force of the Wei army returned to Beijing. If the main force of the Wei army returned to Shanxi after resting, the battle would be difficult to fight. Therefore, he was always worried, fearing that the main force of the enemy army would return. Sure enough, soon there was news that the pseudo-Khan sent Chahar Admiral Alinbao, Shandong Admiral Yang Jie and others to lead 50,000 Manchu and Han troops to reinforce Shanxi. Although these troops were surrendered troops and not the main force of the Wei army, it showed that the pseudo-Khan had paid attention to Shanxi. If we don't fight quickly while the main force of the Wei Army is still recuperating, it will be difficult to capture Taiyuan!

Ji Du actually did not have high expectations for this Eastern Expedition. He just wanted to recapture Taiyuan. Taiyuan and the southern prefectures were rich and could support troops. They could also better protect the safety of the eastern part of Shaanxi. More importantly, they could show the world their determination to restore the Qing Dynasty. The Wei army had already sent the pseudo-king of Qin to lead the army south. Recapturing Taiyuan could also share the pressure from Huguang. Now that Taiyuan was in sight, how could they not fight hard?
Under Ji Du's personal supervision, the Qing army burst out with powerful fighting power. They attacked for five consecutive days, climbed the city wall dozens of times, and almost broke the city several times. Although they were finally repelled by the defenders, it showed that the enemy in Taiyuan was already at the end of its strength.

In the early morning of the sixth day, the guards suddenly took the initiative to open the east gate and break out. The Qing general Melezhangjing Dardu, who was in charge of attacking the east gate, led his troops to stop them, but failed. Finally, the guards broke through the blockade and retreated to Jingxing.

"Congratulations to the Emperor on capturing Taiyuan~" Finally taking the long-desired Taiyuan, all the generals congratulated Ji Du.

"This is all the result of the soldiers' dedication. Pass on my order to reward the three armies tonight!" After Ji Du issued the order to reward the three armies, he hesitated about whether to stop to consolidate the occupied areas or continue the attack, so he summoned all the generals to discuss.

"I think we should march south to occupy Lu'an and Zezhou, which are rich and can support a large army," suggested Bai Rumei, the governor of Shanxi. This idea was supported by some generals, and there was a lot of discussion for a while.

"The Wei army retreated to Jingxing, which has a steep terrain. If we don't seize it while the Wei army is defeated, it will be difficult to seize it again in the future! The Wei court has just entered the Central Plains, and the people are unstable. If we can attack Zhili and shake the capital, it will greatly shake its rule. Don't you want to fight back to the capital?" Cheerbu, the commander of the Red Banner Mongolian Army, shouted. As soon as this was said, everyone looked at Jidu.

Fight back to the capital and shake the foundation of the Wei court? Ji Du's eyes turned red when he heard this. This scene had appeared in his dreams countless times. Is it really going to happen now? However, he is not a reckless man after all. He stroked his beard and asked, "The Wei army is stronger than ours. If they really attack the capital, what should we do if the enemy counterattacks?"

"It doesn't matter. We just need to attack the capital and get some food and supplies. If the Wei army arrives, we will retreat to Shanxi," Cherbu replied with a smile.

"Great!" Ji Du's eyes lit up and he ordered his troops to continue advancing eastward and attack Zhili.

After the defeat, the Wei army was really unable to fight. After only two days of defense, Jingxing was captured again. Liao Wang Su Muer led the "remnant army" to retreat to Zhending and deployed defenses along the Hutuo River. Ji Du ordered his men to cross the river. Perhaps because they were too close to the capital, this time the Wei army did not retreat. Under the command of the Liao Wang, they fought desperately. The two armies then stalemated at the Hutuo River. (End of this chapter)