Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The Great Khan Lianhua was a man of swift action. Having decided on a two-front war strategy, he immediately ordered the Prince of Qi, Mailas, Asuhusaihan, and the Admiral of Chahar, Alinbao, to lead 50,000 cavalry and infantry to Xiangyang, while he himself arranged the attack on Shaanxi with peace of mind. The original 230,000 troops suffered 20,000 casualties in the war, and the Prince of Qi took away 50,000, leaving only 160,000. He ordered Duke of Lu Erke to lead 30,000 troops to cross the Fen River as soon as possible to capture Puxian, Fenxi and other places to join him; he also selected 7,000 elite soldiers from the prisoners captured in the Battle of Taiyuan and incorporated them into the army of Li Haoxian, the surrendered general and general of Taiyuan Town, and ordered Li Haoxian to lead 13,000 surrendered soldiers as the vanguard, while he led 130,000 elite soldiers to follow Li Haoxian's troops and march towards Linxian; to ensure the stability of the rear, he ordered Li Shiying, the governor of Shanxi, and Ji Jike, the admiral of Shanxi, to move to Taiyuan.

In order to prevent the Wei army from entering Shaanxi from Shanxi to threaten Yan'an and Yulin, Emperor Zhenwu Jidu had previously ordered Gaozong, the general of Fengxiang, to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Linxian, but he still felt that it was not enough. When he returned to Xi'an, he ordered Xu Tengjiao, the provincial governor of Shaanxi, to lead 10,000 troops from Qingyang to reinforce Linxian. The Qing court used the three months spent by the Wei army in attacking Taiyuan to frantically expand the army and prepare for war. In order to complete the order to expand the army, some places did not even ask whether the people were willing or not. They dragged young and strong men to the military camp when they saw them, and soon expanded to a "50,000-strong army."

Ji Du, who had experienced many battles, naturally knew that these hastily organized battalions would not play a big role in actual combat, but now that the Wei army was approaching, it would be good to use them to strengthen the momentum. He knew in his heart that the only ones that the whole Shaanxi could really rely on now were the more than 10,000 troops he brought back from the battlefield and the tens of thousands of elite troops under the command of Prince Zhong Huilan and Angbang Zhangjing Fu Kachan. Seeing that the enemy was about to enter Shaanxi from Shanxi, a general had to be sent to guard Yan'an to ensure safety. He intended to send his fifth brother, Prince Zhong Huilan, to lead the army, but Huilan was fighting fiercely with the Tuoli Department of the Wei Army in Qingyang. If this elite force was withdrawn, what would happen if Qingyang was lost? Just when he was in a dilemma, reinforcements suddenly arrived: Admiral Shen Yongxing, Gushan Ezhen Wang Guoguang, General Du Yonghe, Canling Yatali, Guerrilla Zhao Ju and other generals led 30,000 troops from Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces to Xi'an via Kuidong. This was truly a timely help, not only making up for the shortage of our own troops, but also greatly boosting the morale of the army.

The military situation was urgent, and Emperor Zhenwu immediately ordered Huilan to lead 20,000 elite troops from Shaanxi, 30,000 reinforcements from other provinces, and 50,000 newly formed battalions to form an "army of 100,000" to rush to Yan'an Prefecture for reinforcement; he also ordered Shaanxi Governor Zhang Zide and Angbang Zhangjing Fu Kachan to lead 40,000 troops to defend Qingyang to the death, while he himself stayed in Xi'an to appease the people's hearts.
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Lin County, located on the west side of Luliang Mountain and in the middle of the Yellow River Gorge in Shanxi and Shaanxi, has the Qiushui River as a support and the Mopan Mountain as a barrier. It has been an important place for entering Shaanxi from Shanxi since ancient times. After consultation between Gaozong, the general of Fengxiang in the Qing Dynasty, and Xu Tengjiao, the provincial governor, it was decided that Xu Tengjiao would lead 10,000 troops to station at Mopan Mountain and Gaozong would lead 20,000 troops to defend along the Qiushui River, in order to support each other. It was already May and the river had thawed, so Gao and Xu prepared more boats so that they could cross the river at any time.

Li Haoxian, the general of Taiyuan Town of the Dawei Kingdom, led 13,000 surrendered soldiers across the Beichuan River and entered Linxian County. The Great Khan Lianhua led the army across the Luliang Mountains and stationed troops in the Guji Mountain near the Dongchuan River. Eager to make achievements, Li Haoxian did not want to leave the Great Khan with the impression of being a coward, so he marched very fast. He thought he knew the geography well, so he deliberately avoided Mopan Mountain and led his troops to cross the river from the lower reaches of the Qishui River, which had a relatively flat terrain. Unexpectedly, when the Wei army finally tied up the raft to cross the river, they encountered a stubborn resistance from the Qing army near the Black Dragon Temple. When the battle was fierce, the Qing general Gaozong even fought with a knife himself.

"Emperor Gaozong is stupid. Why would a Han Chinese risk his life for the Manchus?" Just as Li Haoxian was secretly cursing Emperor Gaozong for not knowing the will of heaven, he suddenly heard shouts of killing from behind. It was Xu Tengjiao who led his army to attack his flank from Mopan Mountain. Caught off guard, the Wei army was defeated and had to flee back to Guji Mountain in a panic.

"I have insulted the military dignity. Please punish me, Your Majesty." Li Haoxian knelt in front of the Great Khan, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

"Hmph~ I have never been defeated since I led the army to the west. How dare you destroy my military prestige? Drag him out and behead him!" The Great Khan actually had no good feelings towards Li Haoxian. This guy was a Han Chinese but was willing to be a Manchu minion. When he was stationed in Shanxi, he killed and injured countless soldiers. His favorite general, the head of the Wanhu Guard, was killed in Shanxi. Although he died at the hands of Beile Shangshan, he also participated in the war and made great contributions. Since he was defeated today, he was simply killed to warn the three armies.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life. I have a plan to capture Lin County. I am willing to make meritorious contributions while serving my sentence." Hearing the word "behead", Li Haoxian screamed in horror.

"Oh, what's your plan? Tell me," Sultan said in a slow tone. Although he despised Li Haoxian's behavior, the God of War always paid attention to practicality. If he was useful, he would not kill him.

"Although the water of Qiushui River is fast-flowing, it is not very long. Going up along Beichuan River and bypassing Mopan Mountain, you will reach Chijian Ridge. Lin County belongs to Taiyuan Prefecture. As the general of Taiyuan, I am familiar with the geography. I know that there is a small path in the ridge that leads to Huangjian Mountain. By crossing Huangjian Mountain, we can bypass Qiushui River and reach the foot of Lin County directly."

"Hehe~ Since you knew there was this path, why didn't you take it before?" The Great Khan was a veteran and was not easy to be fooled, so he asked suspiciously.

"It takes a long time to take the small road. I was impatient and didn't take this road, which led to a big mistake!" Li Haoxian regretted it deeply. He wanted to quickly capture Lin County and show his face in front of the Great Khan, but he was defeated and regretted it.

Seeing that he did not seem to be faking it, Sultan slowed down his tone and said, "In this case, you lead the way. I order Teguschaoktu and Bayar to lead 20,000 troops to follow you. If you can perform meritorious service, you will not only be acquitted, but also be rewarded handsomely." The Supreme Lord was well versed in the art of ruling his subordinates. As expected, when he heard the word "handsome reward", Li Haoxian showed a look of delight and was eager to try.

In order to confuse the Qing army, the Great Khan deliberately led his army to cut wood and build boats on the east bank of the Qiu River, pretending to be preparing to force a crossing, and sent cavalry to patrol the south end of Mopan Mountain to prevent the Qing army on the mountain from harassing them. Gaozong and Xu Tengjiao really fell into the trap, and while mobilizing heavy troops to guard the west bank of the Qiu River, they kept sending fast horses to Xi'an for help.

Li Haoxian led 8,000 remnants and sneaked to the foot of Chijianling. The Kazakh leader Tegus Chaoktu and Samarkand general Bayar followed him with 20,000 infantry, keeping a distance of three miles.

The two thousand troops of Lin Jinzhu, the garrison commander of the Qing army, guarded Chijian Ridge. Lin had been through many battles, and his subordinates were considered strong in the Qing army. Unfortunately, they were too few in number and did not prepare for the guards to come along the small road. They were caught off guard and allowed the guards to attack the mountain. Li Haoxian was a man who had done meritorious service for his crime. He was particularly crazy to save his life. As soon as he got to the mountain, he rushed directly to Lin Jinzhu's flag and cut off Lin, who had not yet reacted. After capturing Chijian Ridge, Li Haoxian refused to stop and rest. He crossed Huangjian Mountain in one go, bypassed Qiushui and went straight to the city of Linxian. At this time, the main force of the Qing army was on the west bank of Qiushui and in Mopan Mountain. There were only a few hundred troops in the county, and the city was soon captured by the guards.

After hearing the news that Linxian had fallen and their retreat was cut off, Gaozong and Xu Tengjiao panicked and hurriedly tried to lead their men to take a boat along the Qiushui River to Suide Prefecture to escape. There were too many soldiers and too few boats, and the situation became chaotic. How could Sultan, who claimed to be a god of war, let this opportunity go? He ordered his men to cross the river to chase and kill them. Tegus Chaoktu, Bayar, and Li Haoxian also led their troops from Linxian to kill them. The Qing army was defeated, and countless people fell into the water and died, and the Qiushui River was dyed red with blood.

In the chaos, Xu Tengjiao's boat was intercepted by Li Haoxian's boat. The two knew each other, and Xu Tengjiao bowed to Li Haoxian and said, "I am willing to surrender. Please say something good for me for our past friendship."

"Past friendship? Haha, when you led your army to attack me from Mopan Mountain, did you ever think about the past friendship? If I hadn't known the path through Chijian Mountain, I would have died under military law. I won't spare you today!" Li Haoxian sneered and ordered his men to shoot arrows. Poor Xu Tengjiao thought he could save his life, but he died at the hands of his old friend.

Gaozong led the remnants of his army to flee to Suide Prefecture. The original 30,000 troops were reduced to only 10,000. It was only when Prince Zhong Huilan led an army of 100,000 to come to the rescue that the situation was stabilized.
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Lianhua Khan always paid attention to the word "fast" in his military operations. After taking Linxian, he immediately attacked Mengmen Pass and Wubao. In Wubao, he successfully joined forces with the Erke tribe of Duke Lu.

After receiving the order from the Great Khan, Erke ordered his general, Naiman Boahan, to lead 3,000 elite soldiers in small boats to row along the river into Pingshui, a tributary of Fenshui, and appeared behind the Qing army. The Pingyang garrison commander, Melezhang Jing Dardu, and the deputy commander of Yan'an Camp, Gao Bichang, did not expect this move and were defeated by the guards. They had to abandon Xiangling, Puxian, and Fenxi counties and flee to Yanchang. Duke Lu was always cautious in using troops. He did not pursue the enemy alone into Shaanxi, but went north to Wubao to join the Great Khan.

"Great! You are worthy of being a veteran who has experienced hundreds of battles. You completed my military order to seize the west bank of Fenshui River so quickly!" Sultan was overjoyed. He ordered a banquet to be held in Wubao to reward the three armies. He also rewarded Erke, Li Haoxian and other generals heavily. For a time, the army was very happy.

"Military report - Military report from General Toli, the Great Northern Expedition Commander!" There was jubilation in the camp when suddenly a military report came in.

"Oh?" Suletan was surprised when he heard this, and opened the letter to read it. Suddenly he laughed, "Toli captured Anhua City, and the pseudo-Qing Shaanxi Governor Zhang Zide and Angbang Zhangjing Fu Kachan led the remnants to retreat to Ningzhou."

Toli, the general of the Northern Expedition of the David Kingdom, who was known as the Eagle of Oirat, was a fierce general. However, he was not successful after leading his army into Shaanxi. He failed to capture Xi'an and was forced to retreat to Guyuan Prefecture by the Qing army. This time, he was ordered to counterattack, and together with the deputy general of the Northern Expedition, Alatan Cang, he rushed and fought hard. First, he captured Qingping Pass, Huanxian, Zhenyuan and many other places, and then fought fiercely with the Qing army led by Huilan, the Prince of Qingzhong, and Fu Kachan, the Angbang Zhangjing, near Zhianhua, Qingyang Prefecture.

Originally, the two sides were evenly matched, but after Jidu dispatched Huilan's troops to help Yan'an, the situation changed. The Green Camp troops under Shaanxi Governor Zhang Zide were far inferior to Huilan's troops in terms of combat power. The Eagle of Oirat immediately seized the opportunity and first conquered Heshui County east of Anhua, preparing to cut off the waterway from Ningzhou to Anhua.

Zhang Zide and Fu Kachan were shocked and mobilized 40,000 soldiers to fight the Wei army. This was exactly what Tuoli wanted, so he led 60,000 soldiers to fight the Qing army on the bank of Heshui River. After a day of fierce fighting, the Wei army won a great victory, annihilated more than 10,000 enemies, and killed 17 Qing guerrilla generals. During the battle, Ji Jiao, the general of the Wei army, led 30 cavalrymen to rush into Zhang Zide's central army. Although he died in the siege due to the small number of soldiers, he disrupted the Qing army's position and made the first contribution to the victory. Zhang Zide and Fu Kachan had to lead the remaining troops to retreat to Ningzhou.

"Great! As soon as we entered Shaanxi, we received frequent news. It seems that the Pseudo-Qing Dynasty has come to an end. It is time to hunt and defend the country!" Lotus Khan laughed after reading the battle report.

"I think that after the Qing army in Qingyang retreated to Ningzhou, the Qing army in Yan'an and Yulin became isolated. Your Majesty should order the General Zhengbei to immediately capture Fuzhou and Yichuan, first annihilate the army of the pseudo-loyal king and then go south to Xi'an," Hu Lianqi, a trusted adviser, suggested. (End of this chapter)