Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

After Anqing, the situation in Jiangbei was completely changed. General Zhengdong and Prince of Qin Chuo Siji did not rest and led the army to Luzhou. The main force of the Luzhou garrison had been taken to Anqing by Lieutenant General Zhang Bi, and most of them were consumed in the tragic siege. After the fall of Anqing, the prefect Wang Tingbin surrendered to the Kingdom of David. Because he had a close relationship with the prefect of Luzhou, Jia Zhuang, he volunteered to write a letter to persuade him to surrender. After receiving the letter from Prefect Wang, Prefect Jia readily agreed to surrender, but he only had some yamen runners and garrison troops in his hands, and the defense of Luzhou was mainly in the hands of the guest army from Fengyang. Fengyang Deputy General Xie Chen was ordered to rescue Anqing. After he led 8,000 troops to Hefei, the capital of Luzhou Prefecture, he refused to leave and took over the city defense of Hefei. Prefect Jia tried to feel Xie Chen's bottom, but Deputy General Xie was a loach, not only did he not leak a word, but he also tried to test his attitude.

Jia Zhuang did not dare to act rashly, fearing that he would be killed, but he was also anxious to surrender to the new dynasty. After much thought, he came up with a plan. He ordered people to spread rumors in Hefei: "300,000 Weiguo troops are approaching Hefei, less than a hundred miles away from the city." If Xie Chen really had a bloody fighting spirit, he would not have stopped his troops in Hefei. Hearing that there were 300,000 enemies approaching Hefei, he was so frightened that he was at a loss. After recovering from his shock, he immediately returned to Fengyang with 8,000 direct troops. Before entering the city, he sent people to ask for help from Liu Chaofu, the general of Xuzhou.

After the fall of Anqing, there were not many soldiers and horses in Jiangbei, and the elite troops of Lianghuai were concentrated in the hands of Liu Chaofu, the general of Xuzhou. As the front line of guarding against the guards, Liu Chaofu had more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, far more than the Caobiao and Fengyang, Luzhou, Hezhou, Chuzhou and other places under the command of Qu Jinmei, the governor of the grain transport, stationed in Huai'an, and the combat power was far superior. After receiving the order to mobilize troops from Lang Tingzuo, the governor of Jiangnan and Jiangxi, Liu prepared to take 20,000 elite troops to the south, but there were too many people and horses and it took too much time to travel by land, so he asked Qu Jinmei, the governor of the grain transport, to send some grain ships, intending to put the military equipment and supplies on the ships and enter Anqing through the Yellow River and Huaihe River system. In his reply, Governor Qu agreed and asked General Liu to wait patiently. Unexpectedly, Liu did not come, and he sent someone to urge him, but the messenger had no news.

Did they get robbed on the road? Or was there something else going on? Liu Chaofu was suspicious, and at this moment, he received a letter from Fengyang's deputy general Xie Chen asking for help. The Huai River passed through Fengyang Prefecture, and if Fengyang was lost, it would be like giving up the natural barrier of the Huai River. After thinking it over again and again, he felt that it was still possible to save it. Liu Zongzhen gritted his teeth and stopped waiting for the fleet sent by Governor Qu. He ordered Deputy General Yang Sanyuan to lead more than 10,000 troops to stay in Fengyang, and he and Lieutenant General Tian Shao led 20,000 elite troops to rush to Fengyang. Unexpectedly, as soon as the army arrived in Suzhou, they received news that Fengyang was lost.

It turned out that after the Wei army captured Luzhou, Qin Wang Chuo Siji ordered his troops to split into two groups: he led 100,000 troops down the Yangtze River to capture Hezhou and Chuzhou, while Xi Rimo led 50,000 troops from Hefei to the north to capture Fengyang, Huai'an and Xuzhou. The two groups progressed very smoothly. The elite troops of Hezhou and Chuzhou had already been transferred to Anqing. The group led by Qin Wang himself captured the entire territory of Hezhou and Chuzhou without bloodshed, and also took advantage of the situation to attack Yingtian Prefecture and captured Jiangpu and Liuhe counties opposite Jiangning (Nanjing) City; the group led by the old general Xi Rimo did not encounter fierce resistance and easily captured Huoqiu, Shouzhou, Dingyuan and other counties. The young prince was very good at choosing the timing. While commanding the battle, he wrote to Qu Jinmei, the governor of Wu Caoyun, who had secretly surrendered to Wei, "Since you have surrendered, if you don't move now, when will you move?"

During this period, Qu Jinmei had been secretly preparing for an uprising. He ordered his subordinates to open the Changying Warehouse in Huai'an to recruit soldiers and expand his Caobiao from 3,400 to 15,000. After receiving the handwritten letter from the King of Qin, he immediately ordered that grain and rice should no longer be distributed to the areas controlled by the Wu army, especially in the direction of Xuzhou. He strictly ordered his subordinates patrolling the river to immediately intercept and confiscate any grain ships sailing to Xuzhou via the canal. That was not all. He also ordered Jin Zhi, the general of the Dubiao, to lead 5,000 troops to unexpectedly capture Sizhou and Xuyi via Hongze Lake to support the Wei army heading north.

Although the mighty Huai River has many tributaries, it is already the twelfth lunar month, when the weather is cold. Not to mention the tributaries, even the Huai River has begun to freeze. Xie Chen, deputy general of Fengyang, has abandoned Fengyang and Linhuai on the south bank of the Huai River and retreated to Wuhe and Huaiyuan on the north bank of the Huai River, intending to rely on the danger of the Huai River for defense. Unexpectedly, God was blind and the Huai River actually froze. The Wei army crossed the river as if it were flat ground. How could they resist? While they were complaining, they received news: the governor of the grain transport, Qu Jinmei, had Huai'an Prefecture surrender to the Wei, and also sent the general Jin Zhi to seize Sizhou and Xuyi in the lower reaches of the Huai River to support the Wei army heading north. This was even more impossible to resist!
"Report! The guards have arrived in Fengyang and are heading to Linhuai", another piece of thunderbolt came from his subordinates. Hearing this news, Xie Chen could no longer remain calm, and gritted his teeth and sent his confidants to the guard camp to discuss surrender. Yes, surrender is not an easy thing, and conditions must be discussed. Deputy General Xie knew that if he chose to surrender at this time, the initiative was not in his hands, so he did not expect to be promoted, but he could not lose his position as a deputy general, this was his bottom line.

"Your general plans to surrender to the Kingdom of David? What are the conditions?" The Wolf of Oirat asked the messenger fiercely. He had fought in wars for most of his life, so he naturally knew that the other side would not surrender unconditionally.

"My general has long heard of your great reputation and is willing to take Fengyang back to Wei. He just hopes that you can retain his position as deputy general..." The envoy was very humble and full of flattery.

"It's just a deputy general. Go back and tell your general that I agree." Xi Rimo laughed. As a senior official of the David Kingdom, it was easy to recommend a deputy general.

Hearing that the other party agreed to his request, Xie Chen was overjoyed. He immediately agreed on a date and led 8,000 Fengyang troops to cross the Huai River and surrender at the place designated by the Wei army. Xi Rimo was very happy to get 8,000 subordinates without fighting, but there was something even happier. Hearing that the Wei army had arrived in Fengyang, the governor of the grain transport, Qu Jinmei, and the general Jin Zhi also came with 15,000 subordinates and a large amount of food and supplies to meet. Overjoyed, he ordered a wine feast to entertain the generals. During the banquet, the surrendered generals flattered and made the Wolf of Oirat very satisfied. Under the influence of alcohol, he said to Qu Jinmei, Jin Zhi, and Xie Chen: "I, David, established my country with military force. You gentlemen have just surrendered, so you must make more military achievements!"

"We are willing to obey the commander-in-chief's orders~" The surrendered officials expressed their loyalty one after another.

"In that case, please ask Governor Qu to dispatch food and grass for the army, and General Jin and Deputy Commander Xie to help me capture Xuzhou," Xi Rimo opened his wolf eyes and gave a cold order.
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"Damn it! They surrendered to the Wei without even saying hello. It's obvious that they are selling out our Xuzhou for fame!" After hearing the news that Qu Jinmei, Jin Zhi, and Xie Chen had all surrendered to the Wei, Liu Chaofu, who was stationed in Suzhou, was shocked and angry. After thinking for a moment, he felt that the Wei army was powerful and it would be futile to resist, so he also wanted to follow in the footsteps of others and surrender to the Wei.

"If the commander surrenders to Wei at this time, it will only make Wei underestimate our Xuzhou town. It is better to win a battle first and then surrender!" Lieutenant General Tian Shao suggested. "Win a battle? How to win?" Liu Chaofu became interested.

"We deliberately abandon food and supplies and pretend to retreat northward in panic, and set up an ambush at Fuli Bridge in the north of Suzhou. The Wei army has won battles in succession and will not be suspicious. When the ambushers are all out, we can win," Tian Shao offered a plan.

Liu Chaofu pondered for a long time and felt that the plan was feasible. He ordered his subordinates to abandon all food and supplies along the way, and he and Tian Shao each led 10,000 people to ambush in the reeds on the left and right sides of Fuli Bridge.

Jin Zhi and Xie Chen led 23,000 surrendered soldiers from Fengyang to the north. They encountered no resistance along the way and chased to Suzhou, where they learned that Liu Chaofu had fled back to Xuzhou. The two were eager to make a contribution and urged their subordinates to chase them. Along the way, they kept discovering food and supplies abandoned by the Wu army.

"Pass on the order of this town. The whole army is not allowed to stop to pick up the enemy's abandoned baggage. Those who violate the order will be killed immediately!" Jin Zhi was afraid that his subordinates would miss the opportunity to fight because of the spoils, so he decisively gave the order and chased forward without stopping. Seeing this, Xie Chen was unwilling to be outdone and also accelerated with his troops to catch up.

When they reached Fuli Bridge, they suddenly heard cannon fire and shouts of killing. Liu Chaofu and Tian Shao attacked from two directions. Unprepared, Jin Zhi, who was at the front, was chopped down by Liu Chaofu. The Wei army was defeated, and Xie Chen had to lead the remnants to retreat. After the battle, they counted the troops and found that 10,000 people had been killed.

Liu Chaofu was unwilling to fight, so he led his army to retreat to Yonggu Mountain in the south of Xuzhou to set up defenses. When the news reached the Wei army camp, the old commander Xi Rimo was furious and led the main force to Yonggu Mountain. Just as they were about to fight, Liu Chaofu sent an envoy to surrender. This confused the Wolf of Oirat, and he sneered and asked the envoy: "Are you saying that Liu Chaofu wants to surrender? If he wants to surrender, why did he ambush our army?"

"Nothing. I'm just afraid that the Marshal underestimates our Xuzhou army. It would be more decent if we win first and then surrender!" The general answered calmly without any fear.

Xi Rimo was somewhat surprised and asked, "Who are you?"

"Tian Shao, a lieutenant general under General Xu," the man's voice was loud and it didn't sound like he was asking for surrender but rather for a fight.

The Oirat wolf was stunned for a moment, then suddenly howled, "Hahaha~ Good job, I like heroes like this! Go back and tell Liu Chaofu that your official position will remain unchanged after you surrender, and if you make military achievements in the future, the court will not hesitate to reward you!" (End of this chapter)