Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Gong'an County was originally named Chanling. Because General Liu Bei (also known as Zuo Gong) stationed troops at Youjiangkou, the name was changed to Gong'an, which means "Zuo Gong's camp". This place is flat, with lakes and rivers, which is good for boats but not for cavalry. King Jiangling chose to disembark and retreat to Shizhouwei by land, which shows that he was familiar with geography. Shizhouwei still had nearly 30,000 troops under the command of Duke of Jing Wang Guangxing, General Deng Bingzhi, and Yang Xun. If they joined forces, they might be able to fight. Li Laiheng, who was good at strategy, ordered a few of his subordinates to continue sailing along the river to Shishou County with empty boats, creating the illusion of going to Shishou. He led 30,000 soldiers and more than 30,000 family members to turn around Gong'an and head to Lizhou.

Min Yiqi, the general stationed in Lizhou, had received the news in advance and evacuated 10,000 of his men from Huarong, Anxiang and other places and concentrated them in Lizhou. With this fresh force to support him, Li Laiheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, are our troops going to leave Jingyue?" Min Yiqi asked unwillingly when he saw the Queen of Jiangling. Jingzhou and Yuezhou were both wealthy, and the lives of the Kuidong Army improved a lot after they occupied the two places. Now that they heard that they were going to give up, they were really reluctant.

"Haha," Li Laiheng smiled slightly, "The enemy is strong and we are weak, we cannot fight them with force. We can only give up Jingyue and go to the mountains to deal with the guards. Don't worry, as long as the army is still there, we will fight back sooner or later."

"I am willing to obey your orders, Your Highness." After hearing what King Jiangling said, Min Yiqi felt a lot more at ease for some reason.

"A few days ago, I sent people to contact the local officials in Maogang, Yongshun, Sangzhi, Zhongjian, Rongmei and other places, asking them to prepare food and grass to welcome us. Have you received a reply?" Li Laiheng turned to Xinhua Earl Feng Qifeng and asked. In order to prevent the Wei army from intercepting him, he did not take the shortest road to Shizhouwei, but deliberately took a detour along the Lishui River to enter Shizhouwei. The two sides of the Lishui River were close to Changde Prefecture controlled by the Qing army, so he could use the power of the Qing army to interfere with the pursuit of the Wei army, and it was also convenient to transport family members and supplies by water. Tens of thousands of troops, including their families, food and horses, required a lot of food and grass. He wanted to ask for food and grass from the local chieftains who had surrendered to him along the way, and test their attitudes by the way.

"The Maogang Pacifier Tan Yingchang and Zhongjian Pacifier Tian Yangmin replied that they have arranged the reception and are just waiting for you to arrive; Rongmei Pacifier Tian Ganlin and Yongshun Pacifier Peng Zhaoxiang have not replied yet; Sangzhi Pacifier Xiang Ding said that Sangzhi suffered a famine and had no food to help. Xiang Ding's son Xiang Changgeng was very hateful. He actually said that the Xiang family was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, not Kuidong. Now that the Ming Dynasty's regent, King Han, is dead, the Xiang family has no obligation to borrow food from Kuidong," said Xinhua Earl Feng Qifeng indignantly. No wonder he was angry. When Kuidong was powerful, these chieftains all bowed their bodies and wanted to lick the boots of His Royal Highness King Jiangling. But once they learned that His Royal Highness was defeated, they changed their faces faster than the weather changed!
Li Laiheng's face changed several times. He was not worried about the attitude of Xiang Ding, the pacification envoy of Sangzhi. The pacification envoy of Sangzhi was only a medium-sized chieftain in charge of the two chiefs of Shangdong and Xiadong. Although it had some power, he did not take it seriously. What he was really concerned about were the two people who had not expressed their opinions, Tian Ganlin, the pacification envoy of Rongmei, and Peng Zhaoxiang, the pacification envoy of Yongshun.

Rongmei Xuanfushisi is the largest Tusi in western Hubei. It has been 1310 years since the establishment of Huangshazhai Qianhu in the third year of the Yuan Dynasty (). It governs Jiaoshan Manju Chieftainship, Wufeng Shibao Chieftainship, Shiliang Xiadong Chieftainship and Shuijinyuan Tongtaping Chieftainship. It is vast and rich in resources and has great influence among the Tusi in Huguang. Rongmei Tian family was originally a military family. Since Tian Jiuling, the son of the eleventh Tusi Tian Shijue, it has transformed into a literary family. Today's Tusi Tian Ganlin and Tian Ganlin's brothers Tian Peilin, Tian Jilin, and Tian Shanglin are all great poets, proficient in poetry, songs, classics, history, and collections. It is precisely because of the flourishing literary style and loyalty that they were favored by the Ming Dynasty and dominated western Hubei.

Yongshun Xuanweishisi and its clan Baojing Xuanweishisi were known for their "strong military". Back then, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang fought on Poyang Lake. Zhu's army was in a disadvantageous situation. Suddenly, seven small boats with hidden gunpowder sailed from the reeds towards Chen Youliang's warships. In an instant, Poyang Lake was in flames, and Zhu's army turned defeat into victory. The local troops of Baojing and Yongshun were driving these seven small boats. During the Ming Dynasty, they were almost present in both fighting against Japanese pirates and suppressing rebellions. Especially in the Battle of Hunhe, the entire Peng family died in the battle, and leaders such as Peng Xiangzhou, Peng Gun, and Peng Tianyou died in the battle. They were the most righteous and brave among all the local chieftains.

The fact that these two chieftains did not express their views was not a good sign for the Ming army, which had just suffered a great defeat! Li Laiheng gritted his teeth and continued to ask, "Has the Duke of Jing received any letter? Are the other chieftains in Shizhou still honest?"

"The day before yesterday, a letter arrived from the Duke of Jing, saying that he had ordered 5,000 troops from General Deng's garrison and 5,000 local troops from the four chieftains of Shinan, Sanmao, Dongxiang and Zhongxiao to meet us at Zhongdongsi. Since these chieftains are willing to send troops to help, there is no need to worry."

"Well, since the Maogang Pacifier Tan Yingchang is willing to provide food and fodder, our army will go to Maogang to rest," Li Laiheng nodded slightly and ordered Yidu Hou Ta Tianbao: "Yidu Hou, take 5,000 elite soldiers as the vanguard. In times of changing circumstances, you must be extremely careful. If the local soldiers have bad intentions, you can attack them immediately."

"Your Highness, don't worry. With me here, I don't think those local chiefs will be able to cause any big trouble!" Ta Tianbao curled his lips in disapproval, obviously not taking those local soldiers seriously.
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The two chieftains of Rongmei and Yongshun did not express their views because there were distinguished guests in their territories. Seeing that the situation of the Kuidong army was hopeless, the Governor of Huguang, Mao Shoudeng, surrendered to the Wei with his followers in despair. Since he surrendered to the Wei, he had to give a gift, so he suggested to the King of Qi, Mai Lasi: "The Kuidong bandits are fierce. If they win, they will cause trouble to the people. If they lose, they will hide in the mountains and forests and are not easy to suppress. The Tu and Miao tribes in western Hubei are known for their bravery. If you recruit them, they will definitely help you defeat the bandits." Mai Lasi agreed with what he said, and ordered Mao Shoudeng to persuade the chieftains of western Yuezhou, Yongshun, and Baojing to surrender, and the Huguang Governor Jiang Shangying, who surrendered to the Wei a few days ago, to persuade the chieftains of Shizhou Wei to surrender.

In the guest hall of the Rongmei Tusi's mansion, looking at Jiang Shangying who came to persuade him to surrender, Rongmei Xuanfu Envoy Tian Ganlin sighed, took out a long scroll of poems and handed it to Jiang Shangying to read.

Seeing that the guest was a little confused, he explained: "These are the ten poems of 'Jiashen New Year's Eve Feelings' written by my father (referring to Tian Xuan) when he heard that Emperor Lie died for his country. Later, he ordered my three brothers to 'follow the rhyme' and compiled a total of 40 poems into a collection. Later, my father saw the decline of the Ming Dynasty and died of grief and anger. My family has been Ming officials for generations. After all, King Jiangling is the legitimate heir of the Ming Dynasty, and I really can't bear to harm him!"

Jiang Shangying was also a Ming official. When he saw the lines in the poetry collection such as "The sound of a fallen country chokes us all, and the roads to a home are doubly divergent", "I listen with sorrow to the blood of Emperor Wang, and feel the sorrow of Mount Xian", he could not help but sigh and said, "The envoy is indeed noble, but if he angers the Wei country, I am afraid disaster will come immediately."

"Although I can't bear to harm King Jiangling, I also don't want to help King Jiangling become an enemy of the Wei Army. Some time ago, King Jiangling asked me to borrow food, but I declined on the pretext of being seriously ill and did not reply," Tian Ganlin said bitterly.

Tian is really a scholar. Does he still want to remain neutral at this point? Looking at Tian Ganlin, who looked like a scholar, Jiang Shangying sighed in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he said, "In this case, I will report the good intentions of the envoy to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. Don't worry, I will speak well of you in front of His Royal Highness." (End of this chapter)