Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"I, a guilty minister, Shang Kexi, respectfully present this to Your Excellency, the Grand Marshal of the World: I am a Ming minister, and I have received great favor from the late Emperor. I wanted to be loyal to him, but I was harmed by traitors and had no choice but to rely on the Manchus. You are a man of great talent, and you have always thought about reviving the Ming Dynasty. Your civil and military officials are in harmony with the country; your soldiers in armor weep before their weapons; your loyal soldiers are willing to die for the country. People's hearts are with the Ming Dynasty, and who doesn't miss the Han Dynasty? Who else can rebuild the country but you? Now the righteous flag is raised high, and the world is following. Although I am not talented, I am willing to follow your footsteps. This is clear, and I hope you can truly understand it!"

When Wu Sangui saw the letter of surrender written by Shang Kexi, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Old Shang, old Shang! You are so proud of your strong military force, but what about you now? Aren't you still surrendering to me?" And when he saw the words "you have no choice but to rely on Manchuria", he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

Shang Kexi surrendered to the Qing Dynasty because he was persecuted by Shen Shikui, the general of Dongjiang in the Ming Dynasty. Wasn't it also a last resort for me to surrender to the Qing Dynasty? When Beijing was captured, I originally planned to submit to Li Zicheng, but the rebels arrested Ming officials in the capital, extorted money, and even spared my family! I had no choice but to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Alas! People call us Ming officials who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty traitors, but as Han people, who would be willing to surrender to a foreign race unless it was really necessary? Apart from anything else, keeping this golden rat tail is shameful to see our ancestors! Fortunately, today I finally raised my head and cut off the pigtail behind my head, and restored the tall hat and wide belt of the Ming Dynasty. If I can really drive out the barbarians and rebuild the mountains and rivers of the Han Dynasty, the glorious history will regard me as a great hero who slept on straw and tasted gall. Who else would call themselves traitors?
Wu Sangui was getting more and more proud as he thought about it. He suddenly remembered that there was still Huguang in the area controlled by the former Qing Dynasty that had not surrendered. The governor of Huguang, Hong Shiming, was the son of Hong Chengchou and was a family friend of his. Unfortunately, he was just a governor without any troops and could not mobilize a single soldier. The military power of Huguang was in the hands of Aixinjueluo Tunqi, the prince of Qingyang. This man was a veteran Manchurian general who entered the pass from the emperor and had great prestige in the army. He wrote letters to recruit him many times, saying that as long as he was willing to follow him, he would promote him to a prince, but he was rejected every time. Instead, he advised himself to be grateful for the kindness of the Qing Dynasty and not to forget his principles for the sake of profit.

The kindness of the Qing Dynasty? Pah! The cunning Wu Sangui could not help but look down on him. The so-called kindness is nothing more than using the Han people to rule the Han people and deceiving our Han generals to work for the Manchus! Although he despised him, facing the battle-hardened Tunqi, he still did not dare to neglect him and summoned his trusted ministers to discuss the matter.

"Right now, all the southern provinces are settled, except Huguang. I want to take Huguang from Guizhou to the east, but Tunqi is a good general of the time, and this battle may not be easy to fight. If the stalemate continues, I am afraid that the Wei army will march south and take advantage of the situation. Moreover, there are still remnants of the Wei army hiding in the mountains in Guizhou, and it is inevitable that they will revive after my army leaves. What can I do?" Wu Sangui asked with a little anxiety.

"Huguang produces a lot of rice every year and has a large population. It can be the basis for hegemony. We should take it quickly while the Wei army returns to Beijing. As for the remaining Wei troops in Guizhou, you might as well leave them alone for now," Liu Maoxia spoke first.

"I think what Mr. Liu said is very good," said Xia Guoxiang. Hu Guozhu and others also expressed their agreement.

Wu Sangui stroked his long beard and remained silent after hearing this. He had just occupied most of Guizhou and several prefectures in Sichuan, and was afraid that sending troops to Huguang would lead to changes in the newly occupied areas. But if he did not send troops, he felt that the opportunity was rare.

Upon seeing this, the chief strategist Fang Guangchen smiled and said, "The Wei Army has just fought big battles in Kuidong, Shaanxi and Sichuan. The soldiers are exhausted. The main force has returned to Beijing from Shaanxi to rest. Now is the weakest time and has no ability to interfere in Huguang. If you are worried, you can order the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou Zhao Tingchen and the Admiral of Guizhou Li Benshen to lead the army to wipe out the remnants of the Ming army in Guizhou, and then choose an experienced and steady general to guard Zunyi, the northern gateway of Guizhou."

Wu Sangui understood what he meant immediately after they had known each other for many years. Ma Bao was a fierce general, but he was best at charging into battle and fighting tough battles, not at defending. He nodded and asked, "Who do you think can defend Zunyi?"

"Sichuan Governor Zheng Jiaolin is a former general from Liaodong. He is loyal, reliable and has a calm personality. He can take on this task," Fang Guangchen proposed a candidate.

Wu Sangui remained silent upon hearing this. He could neither say anything nor say anything.

"Admiral Zheng is good at defense but not aggressive enough. In times of great contention, if you don't advance, you will retreat. General Wang Pingfan is brave and resourceful, capable of both attack and defense. He can be put in charge of Sichuan's military affairs, and Zheng Jiaolin can assist him." Liu Maoxia also proposed a candidate.

"Well, this is a very good idea!" Wu Sangui finally nodded. He immediately appointed Wang Pingfan as the "General Poshuo" to lead Sichuan military affairs, with Zheng Jiaolin and Wu Zhimao as his assistants. Considering that a great war was imminent and a powerful general was needed, he ordered his second son Wu Yingqi to be recalled from Jianchang, and ordered Wu Zhimao to replace Wu Yingqi in commanding the army in Jianchang.

"Not all the soldiers and generals in Huguang obey Tunqi. Your Highness can work on the Han generals in Huguang. There are 20,000 troops under Shang Kexi's son Shang Zhixin in Changsha City. You can order Shang Kexi to persuade his son to surrender to show his sincerity." Liu Maoxia came up with another idea. "Xuanchu's words make sense! Although Tunqi has a large number of soldiers and horses, most of them are Han people. As long as you are willing to work on the Han generals, it will be effective!" Wu Sangui laughed.

The King of Pingxi has always been decisive in his actions. Once he had decided on the plan to take Huguang in the east, he immediately went to Guiyang to appoint generals, recruit soldiers and prepare for the expedition.

More than a hundred generals were appointed at one go, namely: General Wu Guogui at the Front of the Imperial Guards, General Wu Yingqi at the Rear of the Imperial Guards, General Hu Guozhu at the Left of the Imperial Guards, General Xia Guoxiang at the Right of the Imperial Guards, General Gao Dejie at the Left Wing of the Imperial Cavalry, General Ke Duo at the Right Wing of the Imperial Cavalry, General Wang Pingfan at the Left Wing of the Imperial Guards, General Wei Pu at the Right Wing of the Imperial Guards, General Xian Weiming at the Front of the Imperial Cavalry, General He Jizu at the Rear of the Imperial Guards, General Liao Jinzhong at the Left of the Imperial Guards, General Fan Qihan at the Right of the Imperial Guards, General Ma Bao at the Front of the Imperial Cavalry, General Du Hui at the Rear of the Imperial Guards, General Gao Qilong at the Left of the Imperial Guards, General Wang Hui at the Right Wing of the Imperial Guards, General Li Rubi at the Front of the Imperial Cavalry, and General Li Jun Liu Hanzhang, the Rear General of the Cavalry, Zhang Zufa, the Left General of the Cavalry, Tao Jizhi, the Right General of the Cavalry, Zhou Zhen, the Left General of the Navy, Lin Xingzhu, the Right General of the Navy, Wang Xu, the General of Fenwei, Wang Gongliang, the General of Renwei, Dong Chongmin, the General of Xuanwei, Wang Hongxun, the General of Zhenwei, Yang Fengxian, the General of Jianwu, Ba Yangyuan, the General of Zhaowu, Zhang Qilong, the General of Fenwu, Wang Wenyuan, the General of Jinwu, Wu Youjiao; Zhang Guozhu, the General of Dingyuan who stayed in charge of Yunnan Road, Zheng Jiaolin, the General of Dingbei, Yang Youlu, the General of Heli, Hai Chaolong, the General of Dinghai, Xie Juefu, etc.

The military system of Wu's army was divided into the personal army and local forces directly under the command of Wu Sangui. The personal army was headed by the four generals of Jinwu, followed by the generals of the left and right wings, the generals of the left and right wings, the generals of the front and back cavalry, the generals of the front and back cavalry, the generals of the front and back cavalry, the generals of the left and right cavalry, the generals of the left and right cavalry, the generals of the left and right wing of the navy, and then the generals of Fenwei, Renwei, Qinwei, Jianwei, Longwei, Suiyuan, Huaiyuan, Guangwu, and Yonglue; the local forces were headed by the general managers of various routes and added the titles of generals such as Zhengshuo, Taoshuo, Fushuo, Mieshuo, Tianshuo, Poshuo, Pingshuo, and Jingshuo, as well as generals of various miscellaneous titles.

The Prince of Pingxi was a nostalgic person. As long as the warriors had made contributions to the Pingxi Clan or their ancestors had made contributions to the Pingxi Clan, no matter what their background or age, they would be appointed generals.

For example, Tao Jizhi was the oldest general under the Pingxi vassal state, experienced in hundreds of battles, and his soldiers were known as "the best among all armies." Although he is now old, he is still named the Right General of the Cavalry.

Another example is Ba Yangyuan, who was not very old and had no great military achievements, but his father was Ba Keyong, a former member of the Liaodong branch of the Pingxi vassal state, who had fought for the Wu family. When the Pingxi king conferred titles on generals, he naturally would not forget his meritorious officials, and conferred him the title of "Zhaowu General of the Imperial Army", under the command of Wu Yingqi.

Another example is Wang Gongliang, who was originally a vegetable vendor in Liaodong, and later joined Wu Sangui's army. Although he was not good at fighting, he was very good at logistics support. He was responsible for supplying food and fodder to the army, and there was never a shortage of food. Wu Sangui thought he was a talent and awarded him the title of General Renwei in his personal army.

Another example is Xie Juefu, who was born in Guangdong and whose status could not be lower. Hearing that Guangxi Governor Ma Xiong was planning to respond to the King of Pingxi's revival of the Ming Dynasty in Guangxi, he led hundreds of boatmen to surrender and recruited Zhao Tianyuan, the deputy general of the Guangdong Navy under Shang Kexi, to Wu Sangui. Wu Sangui thought that this man had made great contributions and did not care about his status, so he awarded him the title of "General Dinghai" and the commander-in-chief of Shunde Navy.

There was also Dong Chongmin, who was originally Wu Sangui's personal guard. He saved the life of the King of Pingxi on the battlefield and was named General Xuanwei of the Imperial Army. Wang Xu was born in Pingxi, a vassal of the vassal state. He was brave in battle and handsome. He was "beautiful and graceful, with long hair hanging down to the ground. He was as gentle and elegant as a scholar, but when he shouted and fought, his 10-foot-long snake spear circled like flying, and everyone was frightened." He was named General Fenwei of the Imperial Army. Zhou Zhen was originally a former subordinate of Zheng Chenggong. He was named General Zuo of the Imperial Army's Navy. Hai Chaolong was a Mongolian who surrendered to Wu in his early years. He was named General Heli.
In short, the King of Pingxi not only values ​​friendship and loyalty when employing people, but also does not stick to any particular pattern. When the decree of reward was issued, all the generals were excited and wanted to die for the King of Pingxi.

Seeing that the army was ready, Wu Sangui ordered all his troops to gather in Pingxiwei, Sizhou Prefecture, Guizhou, with General Ma Bao as the vanguard, leading 1668 troops to attack Huguang in the east. On September , the th year of Qianyuan (), the well-prepared Wu army advanced along the water to attack Yuanzhou.

As the Wu army launched its military operations, the previous anti-Hu manifesto also spread throughout the country. "The former commander-in-chief guarding Shanhaiguan, now commanded by the imperial order, the commander of the world's land and sea forces, the great general Wu who revived the Ming Dynasty and fought against the invaders, declares to all the civil and military officials, soldiers and civilians in the world: This town looks up and down, and it is the right time to fight against violence and save the people, in accordance with the will of heaven and people. Therefore, I lead the civil and military officials to join the righteous cause to support the third prince, offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and respectfully ascend the throne to mobilize 3.6 million land and sea officers and soldiers, directly attack Yanshan, drive straight to Lushui, and produce bronze camels in thorns and jade in golden soup. Once the righteous flag is raised, it will be responded to by thousands of directions. It will greatly please the hearts of the subjects, and will avenge the anger of heaven and man, boost our divine power, and cleanse the foul atmosphere."

Wu Sangui used the banner of the Ming Dynasty in his manifesto, claiming that the two royal relatives Zhou and Tian and the eunuch Wang Fengbao entrusted him with the support of the third prince of Emperor Chongzhen, and that he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty only to endure humiliation. Now that the time is ripe, he will follow the third prince of the previous emperor as the leader and revive the Ming Dynasty. He also called himself "the commander-in-chief of the land and sea forces, the general who will restore the Ming Dynasty and defeat the invaders", and that he commanded 3.6 million troops. Regardless of whether the number was true or not, he was definitely impressive. He really attracted many Han people who were eager to restore the Ming Dynasty to come and surrender. (End of this chapter)