Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Is this the Dadu River? I heard that this river stretches for more than 2,000 miles, with big waves and fast-flowing water. It's really magnificent!" General Zhengxi, Prince of Jin Ergalang pointed at the surging river with his horsewhip and said to Asumu, the governor of Sichuan.

"Your Highness, you don't know that this is just the lower reaches of the Dadu River. Although the waves are big and the wind is strong, compared with the middle and upper reaches, the mountains are gradually gentler, the river valleys are gradually wider, and the water is much calmer. This river originates from the Goluo Mountain in Qinghai. It has many tributaries and gullies. The total drop from the source to the river mouth is more than a thousand feet (more than 3600 meters), especially in the middle and upper reaches. There are many mountains and ridges. Every spring, the ice and snow on the mountains melt and flow into the river, rushing and rushing. The momentum is really like "turning rivers and seas upside down and rolling up huge waves", Asumu, who has been stationed in Sichuan for a long time and is familiar with the terrain of Shuzhong, explained with a smile.

"Oh, it seems to me that even in the lower reaches where the water flow is relatively slow, there are still many mountains," Ergalang said with a smile.

"You are right. Even in the lower reaches, it flows through many mountains such as Daliang Mountain and Emei Mountain. It is really a dangerous river. The section of the river where we cross is close to Daliang Mountain. Fortunately, the Shajing Pass, Haitang Pass and Daxue Mountain on the south bank of the river are still in our hands, and the Wu army cannot rely on this natural barrier. Admiral Jiancun Jiangqu and Palibegsang are already waiting for Your Highness at Shajing Pass. A few days ago, the imperial army was in Shaanxi, and the Wu bandits took the opportunity to attack. It was really not easy for the two generals to hold off the Wu army with a small number of troops relying on the terrain!" Asumu sighed, as if remembering the hardships of the past few days.

"I request to cross the river first!" U-Tsang Admiral Batumengke had fought side by side with Sichuan Admiral Jiancun Jiangqu many times and they had a deep friendship. He was anxious to see his old friend and requested to serve as the vanguard.

"Right!" Ergalang laughed and said in a high voice: "The tide has turned. Now it's our turn to attack while the Wu army defends!"
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Asumu had ordered his men to prepare enough boats and rafts, and the crossing of the river by the guards was very smooth. In just two days, all 50,000 troops crossed the Dadu River and entered the Shajing Pass. Outside the pass, the two guards successfully joined forces. Unlike Ergalang's 50,000 troops with bright armor and complete weapons, the uniforms and weapons of Jiancun Jiangqu and Gesang's troops were mostly torn, and they had obviously experienced fierce fighting.

"The governor of Sichuan, Jiancun Jiangqu, led his generals, the second-class Paribergsang, the local commander of Jianchang Guard, An Taining, the envoy of Qiongbu, Ling Fengqi, the envoy of Liangshan, An Weiwei, the local thousand-householder of Lizhou, An Meng, the chief of Adu, Ajiaziku... to see Your Highness," Jiancun Jiangqu introduced the generals behind him to the King of Jin one by one.

His subordinates were not regular soldiers of the David court, but local guards and native soldiers composed of Tibetans, Tujia, (Yi), Baiyi (Dai), Mosuo (Naxi) and other ethnic groups. However, it was this diverse army that blocked the attack of tens of thousands of Wu's elite soldiers in Daliang Mountain. Ergalang showed respect on his face and said warmly: "Generals, you have defended the country and made great contributions. Please stand up quickly!"

"I have already set up a banquet inside the pass to welcome Your Highness and the soldiers. Please come in!" Jiancun Jiangqu invited enthusiastically.

"Please!" Ergalang affectionately took Jiancun Jiangqu's sleeve and walked into the city gate together.
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From Jiancun Jiangqu, Ergalang learned that Jianchang's Wu army had about 20,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 local guards. In addition, there were more than 10,000 local soldiers under the command of the chieftains who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, including Zhang Zhaoyuan, the governor of Weilong Prefecture, La Shuzu, the chieftain of Yanjing Weisuo, Bajizong, the chieftain of Yousuo, La Mafei, the chieftain of Zuosuo, and Lu Age, the chieftain of Zhebao. Among these chieftains, Zhang Zhaoyuan surrendered to Zhou voluntarily, while the others were forced to surrender after being defeated.

"The defenders of Dagu Mountain are unaware of the arrival of your highness's army. We should attack them when they are unprepared," Jiancun Jiangqu gave his suggestion to King Jin.

"Well, I wonder which general would like to run a trip for me?" Ergalang looked at his generals with a smile. It is better to recommend oneself than to be sent out. This prince is well aware of the changes in people's hearts.

"I am willing to go!" The general in the tent responded the fastest and answered first. He was the son of the first-class Xining Earl Qi Tingjian and the deputy admiral Qi Xingzhou. The Qi family was once a famous chieftain and the local emperor of Xining. After Qi Tingjian surrendered to the Wei Dynasty, the Great Khan Lianhua appointed him as the Earl of Xining. At the same time, in order to curb the power of the chieftains, the chieftains were changed to officials in Xining. Qi Xingzhou surrendered to the Wei Dynasty with his father very early. He made many military exploits in the early days of David's founding, but he has been guarding the Western Frontier for many years and has not been able to fight and make military exploits. This time, he was transferred to fight under the command of King Jin, and he was very excited. His mind was full of the idea of ​​making more military exploits to win a title for his wife and children.

Seeing him, Ergalang nodded secretly. Sichuan and Guizhou have always been mountainous, and Xining is also surrounded by mountains. The 3,000 Tuzu (a branch of Tuyuhun) troops under Qi Xingzhou are very good at mountain warfare, so he is a good candidate. Although he had acquiesced in his heart, he pretended to be embarrassed and said, "This battle is the first battle of our army. We can only win and not lose. Although the general is brave, he does not know the local terrain. It is safer to find someone who is familiar with the terrain." "If I can't take down Dagu Mountain, I am willing to follow the military law!" When he heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin did not agree, Qi Xingzhou was so anxious that he wrote a military order.

Seeing him like this, Ergalang knew that the time had come and said with a smile: "If the general insists on going, he must find a good guide."

"I am familiar with the terrain and am willing to go with General Qi," Adu commander Ajiaziku loudly requested to fight.

"In this case, I have nothing to worry about!" Ergalang was overjoyed, and immediately ordered Qi Xingzhou and Ajiaziku to lead 3,000 Tu people and 1,500 tribal warriors to Dagu Mountain.

The two generals were about to accept the order and leave, when Ling Fengqi, the envoy of Qiong tribe, spoke up and said, "The chief of the Yanjing Right Local Commandery stationed at Dagu Mountain is an old friend of mine. He has always been a coward. When the Wu army massacred Daliang Mountain, Yuzhu, the pacification envoy of Guabie, Lang Junwei, the chief of the Gubaishu Local Commandery, and Ge Zhongchen, the chief of the Bijulu Local Commandery, were killed. He surrendered only when he saw the might of the Wu army, and his intentions may not be sincere. Now that our army is strong, I would like to write a letter to persuade him to surrender. If we can take Dagu Mountain without fighting, wouldn't it be better?"

Hearing this, Ergalang nodded slightly at first, then shook his head fiercely, "The key to using troops is to surprise the enemy. At this moment, the enemy does not know that our army has arrived. If we send people to persuade them to surrender, it's fine if they are willing to surrender, but if they are unwilling to surrender, wouldn't it be alarming the enemy? Moreover, according to what you said, Bajizong is a two-faced person, who will surrender to whichever side is more powerful. Even if he accepts our dynasty's surrender today, he may rebel again in the future. I hate such cowardly people who forget their principles for the sake of profit the most, so I'd better get rid of them to prevent future troubles. Don't say more, send troops to Dagu Mountain immediately, and even if Bajizong surrenders, he will be beheaded!"

When the generals heard this, they couldn't help but feel cold on their necks. His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin looked kind, but he was so cruel to the rebel generals. Under his command, you must never have second thoughts!——
The mountains at the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan and the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are a branch of the Hengduan Mountains - the Great Snow Mountain. Because of the high mountains and cold weather, it is called Liangshan. With Huangmaogeng in Meigu County as the boundary, the east is Xiaoliangshan and the west is Daliangshan. Although the scenery is extremely beautiful, the high altitude makes life inconvenient, and later generations called it one of the "poorest corners of China."

There are countless mountains here, one peak after another, and Dagu Mountain is one of them. Several villages hidden in the clouds and isolated from the world are embedded in the mountains, all of which are the villages of the chieftain Bajizong. Although this chieftain is not a high-ranking official and his territory is not large, he is the local emperor of this mountain, and all the (Yi) people in the village are his subjects.

That night, Bajizong suddenly felt uneasy, and felt that something was going to happen. But now the Wei army was forced by the Wu army to flee to the northern part of Daliang Mountain, Jianchang was already the world of the Great Zhou, and he had already surrendered to the Great Zhou's commander-in-chief Wu Zhimao, so what was there to worry about?

He smiled, thinking that he was worrying too much, and in order to help him sleep, he ordered the most beautiful and fair-skinned slave girl in the village to sleep with him. But he still felt a little uneasy, so he ordered his son Baxi to come and lead people to patrol the mountain.

Seeing Ada (father) enjoying himself with a female slave while letting himself patrol the mountains in the snow, Baxi was furious, but he dared not say anything and just took the order and left in dismay.

The wind is blowing, and it is chilly on Dagu Mountain! (End of this chapter)