Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

After receiving Yan Zhu's letter for help, Yang Laijia was terrified. If Zhongxiang was lost, the Ming army would soon reach Xiangyang along the Han River. The military order given to him by the King of Qi was to stop the Ming army from going north to Xiangyang. If Xiangyang was lost, no matter how many heads he had, they would not be enough for His Highness to chop off! He immediately led his army from the mouth of Zhanghe River to Xiangyang. Hu Maozhen was more determined than him. He insisted on receiving the military order before setting off and sent someone to report to the King of Qi on horseback.

"Li Laiheng is indeed worthy of being called the 'little tiger'. He really has the spirit of a tiger when fighting! This punch hit me in the vitals," Melas praised after receiving the news. He looked at Chen Hongzhu and asked, "Sir, how do you think I should respond?"

"Your Highness, you can order Hu Maozhen's troops to rush to Zhongxiang immediately. Generals Hu and Yang are both brave generals and will definitely be able to defend Zhongxiang," Chen Hongzhu paused and said, "Li Laiheng wants to attack Wei to save Zhao and mobilize our troops through this move. You must not be fooled by him and just implement the original strategy."

"Implement according to the original strategy?" Melas was stunned at first, then he laughed, "You are right, Li Laiheng wants to disrupt our army's combat plan by attacking Xiangyang. Humph! He fights his own battles, and I fight mine. Order Hu Maozhen to rush to Zhongxiang immediately, and order King Qin not to worry about the Ming army entering Chengtian Prefecture, and to capture Yuezhou as soon as possible. Well, write another letter to the Duke of Turpan, saying that I have captured Fang County and killed the pseudo-Ming regent King Han in battle."

After hearing this, Chen Hongzhu praised sincerely, "Your Highness, this is a great idea. Our Oirat Wolves value military merit as their life. If they know that you have won the merit of beheading the king, they will definitely speed up their march to Kuizhou in order to compete for the merit!"
-
The Ming army's attack on Xiangyang went smoothly at the beginning. After taking Xincheng Town, they quickly took Zhangshan, the southern gate of Zhongxiang, but encountered desperate resistance from the guards in Zhongxiang City. Although Hu Maozhen and Yang Laijia had only 22,000 troops, most of them were veterans who had experienced wars, had strong combat power and could defend the city. Even though Li Laiheng's troops had an advantage, they were unable to break the city after ten days of attack.

Little Tiger was anxious and ordered to attack the city at all costs. The morning sun was like blood, and he watched his army surge towards Zhongxiang City like a tide. Some soldiers followed the shield carts, some held shields, and some pushed the ladders forward. The iron sheet wrapped on the top of the ladder flashed coldly in the sunset, and the arrows shot on the shields, making a dull sound of impact.

"Brothers, King Jiangling is watching us, charge!" The trusted general and commander Zhang Piliang roared like a tiger and rushed to the city wall first, followed by two thousand carefully selected elites.

"Shoot!" Yang Laijia, the defender of Nancheng, gave the order with a sneer, and the gunners and archers around him fired kisses of death one after another, with arrows raining down. From time to time, someone was shot and fell, screaming as they were stepped on by their comrades behind them.

The catapults of the Kuidong Army made a dull roar behind the formation, and huge stones were thrown high up, drawing arcs and smashing towards the city wall. In order to capture Zhongxiang City as soon as possible, the Kuidong Army, which was poorly equipped and lacked cannons, had to use this killing weapon in large quantities to replace cannons. The stones hit the city wall, splashing a lot of dust, and some fell over the city wall into the city, causing exclamations and chaos. Finally, a ladder was set up on the city wall, and the agile soldiers climbed up, while the defenders stabbed down with long spears, poured boiling oil from the city wall, or ignited the ladder with kerosene.

"Ahhh~" Li Laiheng saw a soldier who was climbing up the ladder being drenched by hot oil, screaming miserably, falling from the ladder, and rolling on the ground, but there was no mercy in his eyes. On the battlefield, human life is not as good as a dog's, he has long been accustomed to it.

"Bang~bang~bang~" The Ming soldiers pushed the battering ram towards the city gate fiercely. They pulled the iron chain rhythmically to make the battering ram hit the city gate again and again. Every time it hit, the city gate seemed to be overwhelmed and made a creepy "creaking" sound, but the defenders had already used huge wooden beams and earth bags to support the city gate. No matter how hard it hit, the city gate still stood stubbornly.

Zhang Piliang climbed up the city wall, his two swords flying like flowers, instantly chopped down three defenders, and swung his sword fiercely, chopped down a fishing pole and fishing flag of the guards. The general was brave, and the soldiers behind him were deeply encouraged, and they rushed up to the city and occupied a foothold on the city wall.

"Gunners, line up and shoot!" Yang Laijia gave the order with a sneer. Fifty gunners quickly approached the Ming army, formed into five teams, and fired continuously.

"Bang~bang~bang~" Even though Zhang Pishang was as fierce as Zhang Fei, his flesh and blood body could not withstand the bullets. His body was like torn cotton and he fell down powerlessly.

The guards repelled the Ming army's attack once again, and they began to cheer. Lieutenant General Yan Zhu proudly took off his helmet and threw it high into the air.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~" The few cannons in the Ming army began to fire. It was Li Laiheng who ordered the cannons to fire in order to vent his anger after paying a heavy price but still failing to break the city.

A shell fell and exploded beside Yan Zhu, and fragments streaked across his neck. The cheering general's eyes lost their luster and he fell down dejectedly.
-
Upon hearing the news that two Ming armies were attacking Badong and Guizhou respectively, Asu Hussein Khan decisively ordered to abandon Badong, concentrate troops in Guizhou, and rely on the Yangtze River for defense.

Liu Tichun, Duke of Wan, Yuan Zongdi, Duke of Jingguo, and He Daoning, Marquis of Fuping, joined forces in Changning, with a force of 40,000 men, and a great momentum. But the danger of the Yangtze River was not for show. The Ming army crossed the river from the south bank to Niukou, Chitan, and Xintan many times, but was repelled by the guards. Saihan divided his 5,000 cavalry into 50 teams and scattered them on various river beaches. Once they found that the Ming army had successfully crossed the river, these cavalrymen would rush and kill the Ming army who had just landed and had no time to form a battle array.

Even the battle-hardened Liu Tichun and Yuan Zongyi were temporarily unable to do anything about the Wei Army's cavalry and were temporarily unable to cross the river to support Liu Rukui who was fighting hard in Maolushan.
-
The experienced Qi Wang Mai Lasi set up his general tent on Huanglong Mountain, south of Maolu Mountain. It was very close to Jiulianping, the former headquarters of Li Laiheng. Standing on the top of the mountain, he could clearly understand the situation on the battlefield. He divided his troops into three routes, and ordered Chahar Admiral Alinbao to lead more than 10,000 troops to attack from the north, the chief of the army Ada to lead more than 10,000 troops to attack from the west, and the general Zhong Jida to lead 10,000 troops to attack from the south. He himself led 5,000 personal guards to station at Huanglong Mountain. As for Xiangxi in the east, it was a deliberate escape route. However, if the Ming army really swam to escape from Xiangxi, the 3,000 cavalry led by the deputy chief of the army An Bahai would rush out from the woods behind Xiangxi.

"Tomorrow morning, divide the troops into three groups and attack the mountain bravely," someone ordered proudly. In his opinion, there were only 10,000 poorly equipped beggar-like Ming troops on the mountain, and they were isolated and helpless. Maolushan was already in his pocket.

The first battle was fought at Wangdianping, northwest of Maolu Mountain. On the top of Wangdianping stands a 4.88-meter-high "Stele of the Holy Emperor's Palace". This stele was erected by Li Laiheng. The inscription praises Guan Yu, Zhang Xun, Yue Fei and other loyal men of integrity, criticizes shameless traitors and treacherous officials, and calls on the military and civilians to carry forward the national integrity, strengthen the will of the "engraved barbarians and the people", and work together to fight against the barbarians.

The mighty general Liu Rukui stared at the stele silently for a long time without saying a word. The general Zhao Yun came to him and said, "General, the brothers are ready and are waiting for your order."

"Mee~Mee~" The sound of sheep came from not far away. It was General Liu who remembered Tian Dan's method of setting up a fire bull formation. He ordered people to find hundreds of goats and tie earth firecrackers to the tails of the goats, intending to set up a sheep-scare formation. Don't underestimate these goats. The sharp horns on their heads are more than one foot (30 cm). If they hit a person's vital parts, it can cause serious injuries or even death.

"Attack!" Liu Rukui waved his hand fiercely and ordered with his lips clenched. "Pop, pop, pop!" The Ming army lit the firecrackers behind the sheep's tails. The frightened sheep rushed madly towards the Wei army that was attacking the mountain, followed by the five hundred elite soldiers led by Zhao Yun.

The army attacking the mountain was a group of 1,000 soldiers led by Xue Qiang, a garrison under the command of Chahar Admiral Alinbao. They were caught off guard and suffered a great loss from the mad sheep. Some were knocked down by the sheep's horns, some had their intestines pierced, and some were so frightened by the sheep that they fled in panic. The battlefield was in chaos.

"Kill~ Kill~ Kill~" The morale of the Ming army was greatly boosted, and they charged towards the Wei army whose formation was in chaos.

"Don't panic, hold on~ hold on~" Xue Qiang held a big knife and tried his best to restrain his subordinates. However, he didn't expect Zhao Yun to leap in front of him, and the long spear in his hand shook and pierced his throat.

The first battle of the Maolushan Campaign ended with the victory of the Ming army. However, the success of a battle cannot determine the overall situation. After all, the Wei army was well-equipped and numerous, and gradually took the initiative, and the mountain strongholds were conquered one after another.

"General, the guards are approaching Jiulianping. If this continues, Maolushan will be in danger! I am willing to lead my soldiers to sneak down the mountain and fight to the death," Zhao Yun came to Liu Rukui and asked for a fight.

"The Wei army has many soldiers. If you kill them directly down the mountain, you will die." Liu Rukui thought for a while and said, "The mountain road is rugged, and the transportation of grain and grass mostly depends on porters. You lead your troops to disguise as guards and porters transporting grain and sneak into the Wei army camp to launch an attack. I will lead the army to support from the mountain, and we will definitely win." Maolu Mountain has a steep terrain, and most of the grain and grass military supplies rely on civilians to carry them up the mountain. The Wei army had to recruit tens of thousands of people from nearby counties and prefectures to transport grain for the army, so that the dead men piled up on the cliffs and valleys, which caused a great burden to the local people. However, because there were so many people transporting grain, Liu Rukui found out the flaw.

Zhao Yun followed the plan and led his soldiers to pretend to be soldiers and porters transporting grain, heading south to the direction of the general tent of the guards, and actually succeeded in sneaking into the camp of General Zhong Jida. Zhong Jida was only a deputy general when he first surrendered to the guards, but was promoted to general because of his repeated military exploits during the campaigns with the King of Qi. He was grateful and was eager to make great contributions to repay His Majesty the King of Qi. When people are in a hurry, they will inevitably relax their vigilance and be sneaked in by spies.

As soon as they entered the camp of the guards, Zhao Yun's troops immediately wrapped themselves in white turbans that they had prepared and started killing and setting fire everywhere. Hearing the noise, Liu Rukui also led his troops down from the mountain. The guards were caught off guard and suffered a great loss. They were killed and fled everywhere. Seeing the bad situation, the Qi King Melas on Huanglong Mountain personally led 5,000 elite troops from Huanglong Mountain to support them. They finally stabilized their position, but after counting the troops, they found that they had lost 2,000 people.

"I was careless for a moment and suffered such a great defeat. Please punish me, Your Highness!" Zhong Jida knelt in front of Melas, not daring to raise his head.

Melas heaved a sigh of relief, "You are not the only one who is careless. You are guilty, but I am more guilty! I did not expect the enemy in Maolushan to be so fierce! This is all my fault! I will cut off a lock of hair as a warning." After saying that, he drew his sword and cut off a lock of his hair to atone for the guilt of his subordinates' defeat.

"I feel ashamed of my life, Your Highness, and am willing to make meritorious contributions while serving my sentence!" Zhong Jida was so moved that he burst into tears and asked to fight again.

Chen Hongzhu, who was standing by, nodded secretly. The King of Qi was tolerant and wise! He smiled and said, "Your Highness, I have a plan to break this mountain."

"Oh, sir, please tell me quickly," Melas said with a gleam in his eyes.

"The terrain of Maolu Mountain is steep, and it is inconvenient to transport supplies. I heard from the surrendered generals that Li Laiheng did store some food and grass in the mountain stronghold before, but he no longer stored food after moving the headquarters to Jiangling. Liu Rukui also moved all the people of Xingshan to the mountain, and the cost of food for tens of thousands of people and horses was huge. As long as we surround this mountain and prevent the people on the mountain from obtaining food and grass from the outside world, it will become a dead mountain in no time," Chen Hongzhu said viciously.

"I have thought of this plan before. But Maolu Mountain is more than 150 miles in area. It is so vast, how can we surround it and kill it?" Melas shook his head.

"This mountain is full of forests, and it is very easy to get wood. Our army is much stronger than the Ming army and has tens of thousands of civilians. What we lack the most is manpower. We can divide the camps into stations, build a wooden city, dig trenches and piles, and surround it tightly." Chen Hongzhu did not back down and continued to suggest. The so-called piles are also called plum blossom piles, which refer to round logs with a circumference of one foot and a length of five feet. Half of them are buried in the soil, and the other half stand upright on the ground. The distance between each wooden stake is only five inches. "He meant to use these plum blossom piles to form a wooden city and surround the entire Jiulianping in the city. It was a vicious plan.

Melas was stunned for a moment after hearing this. After thinking for a long time, he finally nodded and said, "This plan seems feasible."

The Wei army dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians to cut down trees and plant stakes. It took only one month to build a siege around Jiulianping, and then dug trenches and built fortifications outside the stakes. Without the external food and grass supply, the soldiers and civilians on the mountain soon ran out of food. Liu Rukui had no choice but to lead his soldiers to attack twice on November 28th and December 1st. His subordinates held hooks, sickles, axes, and ladders, and dug trenches and cut stakes. In the decisive battle, the soldiers of the Kuidong Army all fought to the death. However, the battle-hardened King Qi would not give them a chance to break out. There were cannons, gunners, and archers behind the stakes, and the cannonballs, stones, and arrows were fired at the same time, as powerful as a storm.

During the fierce battle, Zhao Yun was shot in the throat by a stray arrow and died. Liu Rukui had no choice but to lead the remaining troops to flee back to the mountain stronghold. Faced with hunger, the morale of the defenders was depressed, and soldiers and civilians continued to come down the mountain to surrender to the guards.

"Stop, stop, stop. Things have come to this point and it is beyond human power to reverse. Who among you doesn't have a family? Don't die with me. Go down the mountain and surrender." In desperation, Liu Rukui evacuated his personal guards and set fire to the pile of wood that had been prepared around the general's tent.

In the blazing fire, someone heard the last words of this brave general: "Prince Jiangling, I will serve the Ming Dynasty~" (End of this chapter)