Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The person he wanted to wait for the most never came. Looking at the three hundred weak soldiers and two hundred carts of food sent by Tian Ganlin, King Jiangling sighed in his heart. He didn't have much time left. Yang Xun, the general of the Ming Dynasty who was sent to reinforce Fengjie, reported that the Xi Rimo troops of the Wei army bombarded Fengjie with heavy artillery every day. The rumbling sound of the artillery could be heard several miles away. They also blocked the road from Jiannan to Fengjie with heavy troops. He had few soldiers and generals and could not break through the enemy's blockade to rescue. He must send troops to relieve Fengjie as soon as possible!

"How dare Tian Ganlin fool His Highness with his weak soldiers? Please let me lead the army to capture him!" Jingguogong Wang Guangxing angrily asked Li Laiheng. The chieftains of Shizhouwei have always been obedient, and even Tian Ganlin never dared to disobey the king's orders before, but now he has disobeyed the king's orders twice in a row, which made him suspect that Rongmei had the intention of rebelling against Ming and surrendering to Wei.

"No, Tian Ganlin is still waiting and watching. This will force him to the side of the guards. Convey my will, commend Tian Ganlin, order him to lead the army to defend the land, and do not let the guards enter Rongmei," Li Laiheng ordered calmly. Since it is impossible to control the Rongmei chieftain, we can only hope that they will remain neutral.

"Report! General Deng's army reports: The pseudo-King of Qi has led the guards into Yongshun, and the two thieves Peng Zhaoxiang and Peng Ding have gathered a large number of local soldiers to welcome them, and they seem to be planning to go north to Shizhou." While they were discussing the matter of the Rongmei chieftain, news came from the enemy.

Li Laiheng frowned and said to Wang Guangxing, "I originally wanted to join forces with the Duke of Jing to defeat the old villain Xi Rimon first, but I didn't expect the fake king's pursuers to arrive so quickly. If we all go north, Shizhou will definitely be in danger. How about I lead the army north alone, and you stay to stop the fake king?"

Unlike Li Laiheng and other generals who were born in Shaanxi, Wang Guangxing was originally from Huguang. After entering Shizhouwei, he had already regarded this place as his own territory. Hearing this, he was secretly delighted and patted his chest to express his attitude: "Your Highness, rest assured, I swear to defend Shizhou to the death!"

"Okay! You only have 25,000 soldiers and horses. In order to prevent insufficient manpower, all the local soldiers I have summoned will be transferred to your command. The local officials of Shizhou each have their own soldiers and horses. If you want to defend Shizhou, you must make good use of their strength!" Li Laiheng warned worriedly.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I have been guarding Shizhou for some time, and those local officials have not dared to disobey my orders," Wang Guangxing said proudly.
-
"Your humble servants Peng Zhaoxiang and Peng Ding lead the officers at all levels of the Yongshun and Baojing offices to welcome His Majesty the King of Qi!" Yongshun Xuanwei Envoy Peng Zhaoxiang and Baojing Xuanwei Envoy Peng Ding led all the local officials under their jurisdiction to kneel before King of Qi Mailasma.

A folk proverb in western Hubei says: "There are nine streams and eighteen caves, and each cave has its own local king." This is not an exaggeration. Behind Yongshun Tusi Peng Zhaoxiang alone, there were kneeling grandfather Peng Tingchun, uncle Peng Honghai, grandson Peng Yunzhi, Nanwei Tuzhou Peng Linggao, Shirong Tuzhou Tian Maonian, Shangxi Tuzhou Zhang Hanqing, Laredong chief Tian Shichao, Tianjiadong chief Tian Youcheng, Luchidong chief Xiang Bo, Maizhuhuangdong chief Huang Zhengqian, Baiyadong chief Zhang Zonglue, Shirongdong chief Wang Hu, and dozens of other local officials and local houses. On the other side, there were also dozens of people kneeling behind Baojing Tusi Peng Ding.

"The two envoys and generals, please stand up quickly!" Before coming to Yongshun, the trusted adviser Chen Hongzhu had suggested that the King of Qi needed to rely on the help of the Tusi if he wanted to pacify Shizhou. His Highness agreed with him and was extremely polite to the Tusi officials who surrendered to him. Even to the small Tusi officials, he called them "General So-and-so", which made these outspoken Tujia and Miao men very happy.

"I have prepared wine and food in the palace. Your Highness and the generals, please come into the city." As the landlord, Peng Zhaoxiang invited them warmly.

"No hurry, Peng Ding and Peng Zhao will be sealed," Mylas said solemnly with a sudden look on his face.

The second chieftain hurriedly ordered his men to set up an incense table and kneel down to receive the imperial edict.
-
Bong

Tiancheng Yun

The emperor issued an order, saying: You, Baojing native official Peng Ding, and Yongshun native official Peng Zhaoxiang, are both far-sighted and knowledgeable, with pure aspirations and sincere conduct. You have taken charge of military affairs to protect the peace of the region and defeated the bandits in Yongshun. I am very pleased, and hereby promote you, Peng Ding, to the first-class Baojing Earl and the hereditary Baojing Xuanwei Envoy, and you, Peng Zhaoxiang, to the first-class Yongshun Earl and the hereditary Yongshun Xuanwei Envoy, and grant them imperial decrees. You should remember that you should fulfill your duties as a minister and strictly follow the rules; you should feel the emperor's grace and not change your sincerity. Officials are in Mingyang, and they still need to be selected and promoted; they are talented and capable of great use, so they should improve themselves and not change their original intentions. You should obey my instructions and make the best use of my orders. Respect you!
Guangyun
May 3, the 24th year of Qianyuan
treasure

Although the Great Khan Lianhua had given his son some blank imperial edicts for official titles before the expedition, they were limited to civil officials of the sixth rank and below and military officials of the guerrilla general and below, as well as some higher-rank but empty positions without real power. He had no right to confer awards on the nobles such as the first-class baron and the third-rank envoys. In order to win over the hearts of the chieftains in western Hubei, the King of Qi, Mai La, specially sent a messenger with three horses and eight hundred miles to urgently submit a petition to the Great Khan to ask for this order from his old father. It really worked wonders. Hearing that he was conferred the title of the first-class baron and the hereditary envoy, Er Peng's attitude became more submissive. Mai La, who knew how to behave, asked the two to report the list of personnel who had made contributions in the attack on the Kuidong Army, saying that he would report to the court for reward, which made the local officials in Yongshun and Baojing happy.

It was late at night and when Mailas was about to take a rest, he was informed that his trusted and beloved general, Chahar Admiral Alinbao, wanted to see him.

"The local officials in western Hubei are fickle. How can Your Highness confer upon them high titles to help their prestige? If they betray the court in the future, won't it be difficult to control them?" As soon as they met, Alinbao asked indignantly.

Melas understood his thoughts instantly. Alinbao and his confidants had followed him in battles for many years, but their titles were not as high as those of the two native officials. It was inevitable that they felt unfair. "Haha," the young prince chuckled and patted Alinbao on the shoulder. "You have followed me for many years. How can your status in my heart be compared with those of the native officials? Don't worry, I have already drawn up a list of people who will be awarded titles according to their merits, and I will submit it to the court after we pacify Kuidong."

"I am not jealous that the local officials have higher titles than me, but I am worried that they are wild and difficult to tame, and their power is too strong to be controlled," Alinbao defended with a blushing face.

"Conferring titles on the two Pengs is only a temporary measure. These local officials are separatist and disregard the imperial court's orders. How can I sit back and watch? Humph! After we pacify the Kuidong bandits, we will eliminate their forces one by one." When he said this, Melas' eyes suddenly showed a fierce light.

Alinbao suddenly felt a chill on his back and said in a low voice, "Your Highness is wise!"
-
On May 1667, , the th year of the Qianyuan reign, the King of Qi, Mailas, ordered Peng Zhaoxiang, the envoy of Yongshun, and Peng Ding, the envoy of Baojing, to be the chief and deputy vanguards, and marched northward along the Lishui River through the western part of Yuezhou Prefecture to Shizhouwei. After the two armies of Hu Maozhen and Yang Laijia were assembled, the strength of the guard army reached , and with the addition of local soldiers from Yongshun and Baojing, the total strength reached , which was said to be , like a torrent, mighty and mighty.

First, they went to Maogang Anfusi. The ancestors of Maogang Anfusi, Tan Yingchang, were once one of the four chieftains in western Hubei, but now his power has greatly declined and he is just a small chieftain with 700 to 800 soldiers. Hearing that the Weiguo army was approaching, Tan Yingchang did not dare to resist, and sent someone to deliver a surrender letter, and prepared to surrender with his son Tan Hongzhi and others.

"This man once entertained Li Laiheng's defeated army. Your Highness can capture this man and behead him when accepting the surrender, and send his head to various departments as a deterrent," Li Xuan said to Mailas. He was originally a university scholar in the Hongwen Academy of the Qing court. After surrendering to the Wei Dynasty, he was given an idle position and was not reused. Unwilling to be lonely, he took the initiative to apply to the Great Khan to join the Qi Wang army as a military advisor.

"It is normal that Maogang has few soldiers and generals and dares not resist the Kuidong army. Now our army is heading north, and Tan Yingchang has submitted a letter of surrender without firing a single arrow. He is innocent. Why is he killed? Wouldn't this make me bear the name of 'brutal'?" Melas asked unhappily.

"I also know that Tan Yingchang is innocent, but the chieftains in western Hubei have always been fierce and difficult to control. If we don't kill people to establish our authority, I'm afraid they may not be willing to obey the court's orders. Although Maogang has declined, he is still a dignified pacification envoy, and his power is weak and there is no need to worry about backlash. He is a perfect target for establishing authority. Those who want to accomplish great things must never be soft-hearted! Your Highness, please think about it," Li Xun insisted with confidence.

Melas glanced at Li Xuan meaningfully, then looked at his trusted adviser Chen Hongzhu. Seeing Chen Hongzhu nodded slightly, he made up his mind, "Since this is the case, let's take action when we accept the surrender!" (End of this chapter)