Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In Nanweizhou, the two armies confronted each other. Peng Ding led 6,000 Baojing local soldiers and just arrived in Nanweizhou when they were blocked by the local governor Peng Linggao's troops.

"What's your intention, envoy? You have invaded our border without any reason." Peng Linggao drew his sword and shouted at Peng Ding. He was not afraid even though the other side had more people than him.

Don't look at Peng Ding's 6,000 soldiers, he was very afraid of Peng Linggao who only had 1,000 men. There was no other reason, Nanwei Prefecture was famous for its warriors. When Zuo Liangyu's defeated army, Wang Yongcheng, Ma Jinzhong and more than 100,000 troops invaded Yongshun, Peng Linggao's father, then Nanwei Tuzhou Peng Yingqi, led thousands of troops to fight the bandits, braved arrows and rushed into several battles, beheaded more than a hundred people, fought to death, and his body was shot by sharp arrows like hedgehog hair, and became famous in western Hubei. Peng Linggao inherited his father's bravery and was a person that no one dared to provoke among the chieftains of Yongshun. Although the Baojing local army was famous for its fierceness, facing the person in front of him, Peng Ding still didn't want to use force easily. He rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Peng Zhizhou doesn't know that the Kuidong bandits were defeated by the Wei army and are coming to Yongshun. These bandits will inevitably burn, kill and plunder, and hurt the people. Baojing and Yongshun are of the same blood, so I will lead my troops to help."

Hearing him mention the Kuidong bandits, Peng Linggao's expression became better. Back then, Wang Yongcheng and Ma Jinzhong had caused trouble in Yongshun and then entered Baojing. They were defeated by Peng Ding's father, the former Baojing Xuanwei Envoy Peng Chaozhu, who commanded the troops. This was also revenge for his father. No matter what, they all had the surname Peng, and the righteousness of the same clan should still be respected. Upon hearing this, Yu immediately clasped his fists and said, "Without the military order of the Yongshun Xuanwei Envoy, I dare not let you enter. Please camp outside the city for the time being and wait for me to report to the Xuanwei Envoy. It is my duty to defend the land, please don't blame me!"

Seeing Peng Linggao's strict army formation, Peng Ding thought for a moment and said, "No need to go to Yongshun. I will only take one flag and 400 people to Yongshun. Please let me go, Governor Peng." At this time, the chieftains in eastern Sichuan and western Hubei fought in flags, with dozens to hundreds of people in each flag. For example, the chieftains of Yongshun had 58 flags, and each flag had about 200 soldiers after mobilization. The chieftains of Baojing had 16 flags, and each flag had about 400 soldiers after mobilization. This time, Peng Ding led 6,000 elite soldiers to the expedition, which was considered to be all the elite soldiers under his command.

Hearing that he would only bring 400 people to Baojing, Peng Linggao felt relieved and nodded slowly, saying: "In this case, please pass slowly. I will immediately send a fast horse to inform the envoy."

Peng Zhaoxiang was surprised to hear that Peng Ding was coming. Although Yongshun had more bannermen than Baojing, he was very afraid of Peng Ding. First, he had relied on Baojing's help to keep his position as a envoy and owed him a favor. Second, Baojing's soldiers were always brave and not easy to mess with. So he discussed with his great-uncle Peng Tingchun and Shi Rongtu's prefect Tian Maonian.

"If Baojing had any ill intentions, Peng Ding would never dare to enter the city with only 400 people. You might as well deploy your troops and prepare secretly, and then make your decision after he explains the situation," suggested the mature and prudent Peng Tingchun.

When Peng Zhaoxiang saw Mao Shoudeng beside Peng Ding, he immediately guessed Peng Ding's intention. As expected, as soon as they met, Peng Ding asked Yongshun and Baojing to ambush the defeated Kuidong bandits together.

"It's not that I don't want to, but I dare not comply. The Kuidong army is fierce and has many soldiers and powerful forces. Even if Yongshun and Baojing join forces, they are still inferior to us. I dare not act rashly," Peng Zhaoxiang said in embarrassment.

"If the Kuidong bandits attack Baojing, will Yongshun be willing to help?" Peng Ding stared at him and asked.

"Yongshun and Baojing are of the same blood. When I was in trouble in the past, I was grateful to my brother-in-law for sending troops to help. If my brother-in-law is in trouble, I will never sit idly by!" Peng Zhaoxiang answered very straightforwardly.

"Okay! You should know that Baojing and Kuidong have a grudge. The Kuidong bandits originally intended to attack Baojing, but thanks to the Wei army's attack on Ming, they stopped. If we wait for the bandits to recover, Baojing will sooner or later suffer a war disaster. That's why I decided to lead the army to attack the bandits and eliminate the hidden worries. I wonder if you are willing to go with me?" Peng Ding asked Peng Chaoxiang again. This time, his hand clenched the handle of the knife, and the veins on the back of his hand were exposed.

There was silence in the air. Finally, Peng Zhaoxiang exhaled heavily and said slowly: "In this case, I am willing to advance and retreat with my brother-in-law!"

"Okay! In that case, let's set up an ambush near Baiya Cave!" Peng Ding tapped the map with his finger.
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Yidu Hou Ta Tianbao led 5,000 elite Ming troops into the territory of Maogang Pacifier Tan Yingchang. As a vanguard, one must be brave. As a veteran of the Chuang army, he has always been brave enough to fight.

Suddenly, I saw smoke billowing. It turned out to be the guards setting off smoke signals to warn people. The Tusi had a very strict control over the locals under their command. There were soldiers guarding the important checkpoints on the border of their jurisdiction. If the locals wanted to leave the country, they had to hold a "receipt" signed by the Tusi's office. Those without the receipt were not allowed to leave the country. If there was an invasion, the soldiers would set off smoke signals to warn people. This way, they could quickly gather local soldiers to resist the enemy.

Soon after the signal smoke was released, hundreds of local soldiers came to greet them, led by the pacification envoy Tan Yingchang. As a small chieftain, Tan Yingchang did not have the courage to challenge the Kuidong Army, so he not only welcomed them warmly but also prepared sufficient supplies for the army.

Li Laiheng was very grateful and left after resting in Maogang for a night. When he left, he bowed to Tan Yingchang and said, "I appreciate your noble character, envoy. If Maogang is in trouble someday, I will definitely help you."

"Thank you, King Jiangling!" Tan Yingchang bowed in return, secretly happy in his heart. After all, he gave some food in exchange for a powerful ally, this deal was not a loss.

However, after entering the territory of the Sangzhi Tusi, the situation was completely different. There were still billowing smoke, but under the smoke were gathered 3,000 armed soldiers in battle formation. The Sangzhi Tusi had 14 banners, much stronger than the Maogang with only one banner. Xiang Ding, Xiang Changgeng, Xiang Delu, and Xiang Kui each led their own troops, with fierce eyes.

"Who are you? Why are you invading our territory?" Xiang Ding, the pacification envoy of Sangzhi, asked knowingly.

"I am Ta Tianbao, Marquis of Yidu of the Ming Dynasty. I am serving as a vanguard under the order of King Jiangling and passing through Sangzhi. The defenders, please make way for me immediately, otherwise I will kill you without a single piece of armor left!" Ta Tianbao had never been so angry before. He roared like a tiger and waited for the other side to reply that they would not give way before he started to kill. He clenched his sword tightly, and stared coldly at Xiang Ding's head with his ferocious leopard eyes. Glancing at the cold light in Ta Tianbao's eyes, Xiang Ding suddenly shuddered and said in panic: "I have no grudge against Kuidong. If Marquis of Yidu does not invade the people of Sangzhi, it is okay to make way for me. Pass the order down, make way for me."

The soldiers heard the order and made way. Xiang Changgeng asked in confusion: "Since father has surrendered to David, why didn't he stop the defeated army of Kuidong and ask for credit from His Royal Highness the King of Qi?"

"Do you really think that with our three thousand men we can defeat that guy Ta Tianbao? Even if we can, there is Li Laiheng's army behind us. The Han people often say 'a lean camel is bigger than a horse'. It is important to make meritorious deeds, but it is more important to protect our family's foundation. We can choose not to lend food and grass to Kuidong, but we cannot offend them to death. Let them go", Xiang Ding sighed leisurely.

"Hmph! Bah~" Ta Tianbao snorted contemptuously, spat fiercely on the ground, and led his troops to ignore the Sangzhi local army and march away.
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"Envoy, this mountain is called Wulong Mountain, and the valley in the mountain is the only way for the Kuidong bandits to return to Shizhouwei," Zhang Sijiao said to Peng Zhaoxiang, the envoy of Yongshun, bowing his head. This place has always been occupied by the Zhang chieftains. To the local people, Zhang Sijiao, the chief of Baiyadong Chieftainship, is like an emperor, but in the eyes of the dignified envoy, he is just a small earthen house.

"Yes," Peng Zhaoxiang nodded slightly, and ignored him, only discussing the ambush with Peng Ding, the envoy of Baojing, "Brother-in-law, please look, this place is high in the mountains and dense in the forests, it is a good place to set up an ambush." ​​After agreeing to ambush the Kuidong army together with Baojing, he led 7,000 local soldiers and 6,000 local soldiers under Peng Ding to this dangerous place to set up an ambush.

"It's a good place indeed. Haha, if we fight well, maybe we can let Li Laiheng have a taste of poison arrows," Peng Ding sneered. Although his soldiers were fewer than Peng Zhaoxiang's, they were all carefully selected warriors. When recruiting soldiers, he first gathered the able-bodied men from each village to hold a ceremony to worship the sky, then killed a white bull, placed the bull's head and silver on the table, "If there are those who dare to charge to death, we will collect this silver and eat this bull's head. The brave ones will sign up, collect it, and eat it after swearing an oath." The young and strong men of the Tu and Miao ethnic groups all wanted to join the army, mainly for the salary of the local soldiers. "Each soldier received 23 taels and 6 coins of silver for work and food, and 3 dou and 6 liters of rice, all from the people," which was absolutely tempting for the local people who had difficulties in life. After the selected warriors were organized into 16 flags, the 16 flags were organized into five camps: front, back, center, left, and right. The eldest son Peng Zeqiu led the center camp, and the vassal Peng Yangrui, Peng Xiangzhen, Peng Lun, and Qiu Shangren each led a camp. They fought in battle array, no worse than the regular government troops. Suddenly, smoke and dust billowed in the canyon, and Yidu Hou Ta Tianbao arrived with 5,000 Ming army vanguards. "Order to search the mountain", upon seeing the terrain here, the battle-hardened Ta Tianbao immediately ordered his men to scout and search the mountain. The Ming army was divided into small teams, struggling to climb the mountains on both sides of the canyon, searching for any lurking enemies.

"Pass on my military order. All units should stay in hiding. Anyone who reveals our whereabouts will be executed!" Peng Ding frowned and gave the order in a deep voice.

The cliff caves were surrounded by mountains. Hundreds of scouts were like a drop in the ocean. The soldiers were familiar with the local terrain and hid in caves or deep in the forest. How could they be easily seen? The scouts searched for more than half an hour but found nothing. Ta Tianbao was relieved and led his men through the canyon.

"Inform all units not to act rashly." Peng Ding was not interested in Ta Tianbao's troops who were in front. His target was Li Laiheng's central army.

Li Laiheng's central army entered the canyon. In addition to 25,000 soldiers, there were also more than 30,000 soldiers' families. At the end were the 10,000 rear troops led by Xinhua Earl Feng Qifeng. They were continuous and looked like a giant python.

"Attack!" Seeing Li Laiheng's royal flag, Peng Ding howled excitedly.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~"

"Bah~bah~bah~"

"Whoosh~whoosh~whoosh~"

At once, cannons, guns, and arrows were fired, especially those poisoned arrows, which caused heavy casualties to the Ming army. Min Yiqi, the general of the Ming army, was not careful and was hit by a poisoned arrow in the chest. He died of the poison a moment later.

"Kill~ Kill~ Kill~" The local soldiers shouted and rushed down the mountain. Their long machetes were more suitable for fighting in the mountains. They chopped down the panicked Ming army soldiers one by one.

"Blow the horn and form a battle array!" As soon as the cannon sounded, Li Laiheng knew that he had been ambushed. As someone who had seen life and death before, how could he be afraid? He calmly ordered the horn to be blown to gather the troops. Upon hearing the horn sound, the veterans of the Kuidong Army gathered around the flag of King Jiangling and formed a battle array under the command of generals and officers at all levels.

"My men, kill!" Zhang Sijiao, the commander of Baiyadong, wanted to show off in front of Peng Zhaoxiang, so he led 500 soldiers and rushed towards Li Laiheng's royal flag.

"'A tiger in a lowly plain is bullied by a dog'. I never expected that the little chieftain of Yongshun would dare to ambush our army!" After seeing the enemy's flag, Li Laiheng flew into a rage and said to the general Wu Zhiqi: "Cut off the head of this chieftain for me!"

"Yes!" Wu Zhiqi heard the order and led 300 guards to rush towards Zhang Sijiao's troops. In a short time, they killed all the soldiers. Zhang Sijiao wanted to retreat when he saw the situation was not good, but it was too late. Wu Zhiqi swung his sword and the head flew out, and blood splattered five feet.

Hearing the shouts and screams in the valley, Ta Tianbao led the front army into the canyon to rescue, but was blocked by Baojing Bashe Peng Yangrui's troops. Baojing soldiers were well-trained and fierce in combat, and they were assisted by Yongshun Bashe Peng Zongguo's troops, so they could not get in for a while.

"Your families are all in the central army, how can you not fight to the death?" Li Laiheng said to the soldiers around him. After that, he personally led the army to rush to the valley entrance. His subordinates were inspired by him, thinking of their families behind them, and fought desperately. The Ming army was like a trapped beast forced into a desperate situation, bursting out with extremely strong fighting power. Peng Yangrui and Peng Zongguo could no longer resist and were forced to fight their way out.

Peng Yangrui saw Li Laiheng and quietly took out the poison arrow. As soon as the arrow was shot, it was seen by the brave general Liu Yingchang of the Ming army, who chopped the brains of Li Laiheng with an axe. Peng Zongguo was shocked and led his men to flee to the mountain.

"Swoosh~" The poisonous arrow passed by Li Laiheng's cheek.

"How dare you, you rat!" The little tiger was extremely angry. Suddenly he saw Peng Zongguo climbing the mountain. Knowing that he was an enemy general, he took out the longbow behind him and shot an arrow right at his vest, shooting the local general off the cliff.

"Your Highness, the terrain here is complicated and we cannot continue fighting," Wu Zhiqi rushed to Li Laiheng and advised.

"Order all troops to leave the valley immediately. I will lead the troops to guard the rear." In the critical moment, Li Laiheng burst out with his might and insisted on guarding the rear himself. One team after another of the Ming army and their families quickly left the valley, braving the arrows of the local soldiers on the mountain. Hearing that King Jiangling was personally guarding the rear, his subordinates immediately felt reassured and left the dangerous place one after another. Li Laiheng was willing to leave only when the rear army led by Feng Qifeng also left the valley.

"My men, chase them!" Upon hearing that the Kuidong bandits had broken through the encirclement, Peng Ding became furious and joined forces with Peng Zhao to chase after them.

"How dare a mere local chieftain bully me!" Seeing the flags of the Yongshun and Baojing envoys, Li Laiheng was furious and led 3,000 guards to attack Peng Zhaoxiang's flag. Zhang Yingdou, the commander of the army, led his troops to stop him, but he was knocked off his horse by a swing of his sword. Seeing that the Kuidong bandits were so fierce, Peng Zhaoxiang, who was weak by nature, was frightened and retreated to the rear by an arrow's distance. When he retreated his flag, the Yongshun local soldiers were in disarray and retreated one after another, disrupting the Baojing local soldiers beside him. Peng Ding tried his best to restrain them but failed, so he had to retreat with the chaotic army.

Li Laiheng saw that the terrain was complicated and he was unwilling to fight. He killed the local soldiers and then led his army away. When he retreated to the border of Shizhouwei and Yongshunsi to count the troops, he found that he had lost 5,000 soldiers and nearly 10,000 families. He could not help but feel ashamed and angry, and swore to the sky: "If I don't avenge this, I will not be a human being!" (End of this chapter)