Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

After getting rid of the local troops in Yongshun and Baojing, Li Laiheng led the remnants into the territory of Zhongdong Anfu Division under the jurisdiction of Zhongjian Xuanfu Division of Shizhou Wei. At this time, he still had 35,000 soldiers and more than 20,000 family members, and his army was mighty and powerful.

As soon as they entered Zhongdong, Deng Bingzhi, the general of the Ming Dynasty, led dozens of local chieftains, including Tan Hongdao, the envoy of Shinan, Tan Xunlin, the envoy of Sanmao, and Tian Yangmin, the envoy of Zhongjian, as well as more than 10,000 soldiers from the Han, Tu, and Miao ethnic groups to greet them. When they arrived at their own territory, King Jiangling breathed a sigh of relief and asked Deng Bingzhi, "Where is the Duke of Jing?"

"The pseudo-Wei general Xi Rimo was attacking Fengjie. The Duke of Jing ordered Yang Zongzhen to lead 5,000 soldiers and 3,500 local soldiers from Longtan, Tangya, Muce and Jindong to support them, while he himself stayed in Weicheng to prevent the Wei army from moving south."

Li Laiheng was shocked to hear Deng Bingzhi's words. The Southern Guards had already fought to Fengjie and appeared in the north of Shizhou Guard (later known as Enshi), while the Northern Guards went south and appeared in the south of Shizhou Guard. The north and south had reversed their directions and were about to completely encircle Shizhou Guard. Should he abandon Shizhou Guard and go north to join Liu Tichun, Yuan Zongdi, He Daoning, Ma Tengyun, and Dang Shousu before the Guards completed the encirclement?

After all, he was a great hero, so he quickly gave up this idea. After joining forces with Wang Guangxing, he had more than 60,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of local soldiers. If he fled without a fight, wouldn’t he be laughed at by the world? Moreover, without Shizhou Wei, more than 100,000 troops shrank in the four counties of Wushan, Fengjie, Dachang, and Daning. Where would the food and grass come from? The reason why the chieftains of Shizhou supported the Ming Dynasty was because of the army in his hands. If he fled, they would certainly surrender to Wei because they were afraid of the Wei army, which was tantamount to handing over tens of thousands of allied troops to others! Thinking of this, he calmly ordered: "I will lead the army to Weicheng to meet with the Duke of Jing. General Deng will be stationed in Zhongjiansi to guard against the Wei army. All the officers will return to their respective departments to recruit young and strong men to Weicheng for use. I will concentrate all my strength to fight the Hu Lu again!"

"Yes~" All the generals accepted the order in unison.

When the golden maple and jade dew meet, it is better than countless things in the world! In Shizhouwei City, Jingguogong Wang Guangxing hosted a banquet to entertain Jianglingwang Li Laiheng and his generals. These two powerful generals had not seen each other for more than a year, and they were filled with mixed feelings when they talked about the past.

"Your Highness, are you summoning the local chieftains to Shizhouwei in order to fight a big battle with the guards? Which guards are you going to fight?" Wang Guangxing asked with a little excitement. Unlike Li Laiheng, who had been defeated in successive battles, his army had a military advantage in Shizhouwei, not only intimidating the local chieftains but also expanding to the surrounding Yongshun and Baojing, so he was very confident.

"I plan to defeat the Xirimo unit of the northern guard first. This guard has fewer soldiers than the pseudo-King of Qi's subordinates. If we defeat them, we can restore transportation with Shaanxi and get help from the Qing army in Shaanxi in times of crisis," Li Laiheng said calmly.

Indeed, because of the need to guard against the army of Li Guoying, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Xi Rimo had to detach 30,000 troops to guard the rear, and after another battle, he only had 40,000 troops left, which was not as strong as Qi Wang Meilas. Moreover, he blocked the road from Sichuan to Shaanxi, and if he was not defeated, he could not restore the connection with Shaanxi. Although King Jiangling had always regarded Manchuria as barbarians, he could only regard the Qing army in Shaanxi as friendly forces due to the situation.

"Your Highness thinks the same as I do. We have a large army and a powerful force. After we go north and join forces with Duke Wan and Duke Jing, it will be a piece of cake to defeat that 'Wolf of Oirat'," Wang Guangxing said excitedly.

"In fact, I mobilized the Tusi soldiers to enter Shizhou just for one person," Li Laiheng changed the subject with a cold look in his eyes.

"For one person? Who has such a great reputation to be worthy of your attention?" Wang Guangxing was stunned.

"Tian Ganlin is the envoy of Rongmei. I sent people to borrow food from him some time ago, but he didn't reply for a long time, which clearly shows that he has rebellious intentions. It is a good opportunity to lure him into Shizhou and capture him, so that Rongmei will not be used by the barbarians." Li Laiheng's tone was cold, thinking of Peng Zhaoxiang, the envoy of Yongshun who had betrayed him not long ago, and secretly made up his mind: Rongmei must not follow in Yongshun's footsteps!
As a visionary general, he would not only consider politics and military affairs, but also economic factors: the territory of Rongmei Tusi borders Jingchu in the east, Bashu in the west, Dongting Lake in the south through the Lingshui and Lishui rivers, and the economically developed Jianghan Plain in the north. Although the area under its jurisdiction is only 7,000 square kilometers, it is very rich. "Among the Tusi of Chu and Shu, Rongmei is the richest and most powerful." If this precious land is controlled, the army will have no worries about food and wages!

"Will this arouse suspicion among other native officials?" After all, Tian Ganlin, the envoy of Rongmei, was an influential chieftain in western Hubei, so Wang Guangxing was a little worried. "I will not kill Tian Ganlin, but will detain him in the army as a military advisor. Other chieftains should not be suspicious," Li Laiheng said, stroking his beard.

"I understand. Let's send someone to prepare," Wang Guangxing said slowly.

A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. When the King of Jiangling gives an order, who dares not obey? Shi Nan's envoy Tan Hongdao led Dongxiang Wulu's pacification envoy Tan Shengwu, Zhongxiao's pacification envoy Tian Jing, Zhonglu's pacification envoy Tan Chengguo, Sanmao's envoy Tan Xunlin led Dawang's pacification envoy Tian Yongjue, Labi's chief officer Tian Qi, Dongliu's chief officer Tian Xing, Zhongjian's envoy Tian Yangmin led Gaolu's pacification envoy Tian Jing, Zhongdong's pacification envoy Tian Chuzhen, and gathered more than 20,000 local soldiers to Shizhou to obey Li Laiheng's dispatch.

When the news reached Rongmei, Rongmei Xuanfu Envoy Tian Ganlin quickly summoned his younger brother Tian Shanglin, the chief of Jiaoshan Agate Chieftainship Liu Yuelong, the chief of Wufeng Shibao Chieftainship Zhang Liuqian, the chief of Shiliangxiadong Chieftainship Tang Juren, and the chief of Shuijinyuantongtaping Chieftainship Tang Zhenbang to discuss the matter.

"King Jiangling ordered me to lead the young men of Rongmei to Shizhou Weicheng. Do you think it is a good idea to go? Or not to go?" Tian Ganlin asked with a sad face.

“As Ming ministers, how can we not serve the Ming? The day before yesterday, Prince Jiangling asked my brother to borrow grain, but my brother was reluctant to agree, which is a betrayal of his loyalty. If we disobey his orders again and anger Prince Jiangling, there might be a disaster of war.” The fourth brother Tian Shanglin has always been pro-Ming and advocated going.

"It is precisely because the envoy did not borrow grain from King Jiangling the day before yesterday that he cannot go this time. What if King Jiangling retaliates?" Liu Yuelong, the chief of the Jiaoshan Agate Chieftainship, was a sensible man and spoke out in opposition.

A group of local officials were talking at once, which made Tian Ganlin, who had no opinion of his own, feel dizzy and even more undecided.

"You must not go!" Suddenly there was a thunderous roar, and it was from the young and energetic Tang Juren, the chief of Shiliangxiadong Chieftainship.

"Oh? What's that?" Seeing that it was a young boy, Tian Ganlin asked unhappily.

"Rongmei is a powerful place. If you don't go, it's like a tiger in the mountains. The Ming army is fighting with the Wei army, how dare they provoke you? If you go, you will be a tiger in plain water. Your life or death will all depend on the will of King Jiangling!"

These words immediately woke up Tian Ganlin. He was stunned for a while and said, "But if you disobey King Jiangling again, it may not be a blessing for Rongmei."

"This is easy! Sending three hundred weak soldiers and two hundred carts of food is enough," Tang Juren said calmly. (End of this chapter)