Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In the first month of the year, the weather in the north was very cold. Li Peizheng, Deputy Censor of Jiangsu and Military Governor of Yangzhou, ordered his servants to bring dozens of carts to the Deputy General's Mansion in Yangzhou. He said to Deputy General Wang Xun and Lieutenant General Lu Tai of the Navy Camp with great concern: "Deputy General Wang, Lieutenant General Lu, the three million taels of military pay have been collected. The Wei State has gathered a large army in Shanyang. There are not many defenders in Baoying and Gaoyou. I am afraid it will be difficult to resist!"

Upon hearing that the requested military pay had been delivered, Wang Xun and Lu Tai looked at each other and said with a smile: "Mr. Li, you don't know that the Wei army is powerful and our army is small. The only way to defend Yangzhou is to transfer all the garrisons from various places to Jiangdu and concentrate our forces."

"Do you want to abandon the outer counties and concentrate your forces to guard the city?" Li Peizheng asked.

"That's right. Now the army we have gathered in Jiangdu, together with the conscripted young and strong men and servants of various powerful families, has reached more than 45,000 people. It should not be a problem for us to hold out for two or three months. By then, the reinforcements of Lang Duxian will surely arrive!" Wang Xun seemed full of confidence.

"I am just a scholar and don't understand military affairs. I'll leave the matter of defending Yangzhou to you two!" Li Peizheng bowed deeply to Wang Xun and Lu Tai and left slowly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li. We will try our best!" the two responded solemnly.

After he left, Lu Taidu asked Wang Xun with a smile: "Brother Wang, how should we divide the silver?"

"Yangzhou is a wealthy place, it seems that we will have less money~" Wang Xun sighed and said: "You and I will each keep one million taels, and take out one million taels to make the people under us work hard for us!"

After making enough money, the two generals were able to fulfill their duties and led their men to build strong defenses outside Jiangdu City, cut down trees, demolish houses, and move people into the city to prevent them from being used by the guards. Amid the weeping of the people, they made a lot of money.

Huai'an Prefecture's capital Shanyang has now become the base camp of the Wei army. In addition to the more than 140,000 direct troops under the command of Qin Wang Chuo Siji, there are more than 40,000 surrendered troops, totaling up to 190,000. It can be said that there are many soldiers and generals. The mobilization of such a large army is a big problem for food and supplies.

Originally, this was not a difficult task. Qu Jinmei, the governor of the canal transport, opened the Changying Warehouse in Huai'an, provided sufficient food and fodder to the Wei army, and prepared more than a thousand canal ships to transport food and fodder. However, this winter was particularly cold, and the canal in the Huai'an-Yangzhou section was frozen. The original plan to use the Grand Canal to transport logistical materials could no longer be implemented.

"General, I have built enough sleds for 50,000 people. We can set out along the canal," Nagat, the Prince of Tucheng, loudly asked Qin Prince Chuo Siji for a fight. Although the canal was frozen and ships could not sail, sleds could be used for sliding. Sleds were not rare. The Xiongnu people had already widely used them during the Han Dynasty. "Historical Records: Biography of the Xiongnu" records that the Xiongnu people "used sleds in winter and traveled on ice." Among the 20,000 Mongolian cavalrymen in Chuo Siji's army, there were many warriors from the northern tribes who were good at making sleds, so he ordered Nagat to select 5,000 to make sleds for the army. Nagat lived up to expectations and soon built sleds for 50,000 people.

"The troops of Jizhou General Xuan Youcai and Tongzhou General Zhang Wei have lived in the north for a long time. You can lead the two generals' troops to take Yangzhou lightly. I will lead the main army to follow," Chuo Siji ordered.

"I obey your command!" Nagat was overjoyed when he heard that he was chosen as the vanguard.

"Father Khan wrote to me a few days ago, specifically mentioning Yangzhou and Lianghuai Salt Industry." Chuo Siji paused, and seeing that his cousin was listening seriously, he slowly said, "Father Khan said, 'Lianghuai Salt Industry is related to the lifeline of the country. When we enter Yangzhou this time, we must win the hearts of the people and not allow the soldiers to plunder. If we kill this goose that lays golden eggs, we will have no golden eggs in the future.' My cousin has always acted steadily. I order you to lead the troops to take Yangzhou. Please be sure to restrain your subordinates and maintain the stability of Yangzhou!"

"Don't worry, General. I will definitely live up to your mission!" Nagat accepted the order with pleasure.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the twenty-seventh year of the Qianyuan reign (1670), Nagat, Prince of Tucheng, led five thousand Mongolian soldiers and forty-five thousand Han troops on sleds from Shanyang along the canal to the south. In order to speed up the march, he ordered the heavy weapons to be left behind, and each person only brought one month's dry food, and placed the armor and weapons on the sleds.

"Pass on my military order. Anyone who robs people's property will be beheaded!" Nagat respected his uncle, the Great Khan Lotus, the most. After hearing his younger brother's uncle's intention, he immediately conveyed it to the entire army in the form of a military order.

The war went unusually smoothly. Wang Xun and Lu Tai had already transferred the garrisons of other counties in Yangzhou Prefecture to Jiangdu, which resulted in almost no garrisons in other counties except the prefecture capital Jiangdu. The army followed the canal and first arrived at Baoying County. Before they could attack the city, the magistrate of Baoying led the people of the city to welcome the king's army respectfully. Then they arrived at Gaoyou Prefecture. Fearing the might of the guards, the magistrate of Gaoyou fled. The local elders were afraid of being killed by the war, so they organized several respected elders to welcome the king's army with food and drink.

"Bang~" Xuan Youcai, the general of Jizhou, kicked the north gate of Shaobo Town angrily. This place was very close to Jiangdu City, but unexpectedly there was still no soldier defending it. How could he not be angry when he was eager to behead people and win merit?

Arriving at the gates of Jiangdu, a battle finally broke out! Wang Xun wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Wei army was not yet firmly established, so he led 10,000 elite soldiers out of the city at night. Unexpectedly, the Nagat had been on the battlefield for a long time, and there were sentries everywhere around the camp. The Wu army was discovered as soon as they approached the Wei army camp. The sneak attack turned into a battle, and the fierce battle lasted until the early morning of the next day. Not only did Wang Xun not gain an advantage, but he also lost more than a thousand people. He had no choice but to retreat back to the city.

Even more frustrating was that because the canal was frozen, the ships could not sail normally, so Lu Taidu had to hide the warships of the Navy Camp in the vast reeds not far from the east dock of the city. He thought he had hidden them secretly, but somehow they were discovered by the guards, who killed the remaining soldiers and took away the warships. Lu Taidu was furious that his warships had become the enemy's, and he said, "There must be enemy spies in the city! Otherwise, how could those landlubbers find our ships~"

They were not the only ones who were depressed. Nagat was also depressed. In just ten days, he reached Jiangdu City. He wanted to take the city in one fell swoop, but he came lightly without siege equipment. He had no choice but to order his subordinates to cut down trees and build fortifications. However, the damned defenders had cut down all the trees within a radius of more than ten miles, and even demolished the houses. If they wanted to cut down trees, they had to travel a long way, which invisibly slowed down the siege. He had no choice but to besiege the city while waiting for Chuo Siji's army.

The Qin King's army is coming! More than 100,000 troops came with the momentum to destroy everything. Chuo Siji was well aware of the way to defeat the enemy without fighting. He ordered his subordinates to set up camps with a million men, and then sent people to persuade Jiangdu and surrounding cities to surrender. There were not many defenders around Jiangdu. Under the pressure of the Wei army, Xinghua, Taizhou, Rugao, Yizhen and other cities surrendered one after another, but the Jiangdu defenders refused to surrender. Hearing that the Wei envoy entered the city to persuade him to surrender, Li Peizheng, the deputy envoy of Jiangsu and the military governor of Yangzhou, suddenly rushed to the Wei envoy and killed him with his trusted soldiers. After killing the envoy and cutting off the retreat of the generals, the Taotai and the prefect Lei Yingyuan once again distributed 2 million taels of silver to the rich families in the city to reward the army. With rewards and no way out, the morale of the defenders was greatly boosted.

After a month of brutal siege, the Wei army suffered more than 10,000 casualties and still failed to break the city. Chuo Siji became anxious and said to all the generals: "Whoever enters Yangzhou first, I will submit a petition to the court to recommend him as the third-class Yangzhou Earl, and reward him with 1,000 taels of gold, 10,000 taels of silver, 100 horses, and 10 camels."

A big reward will always attract brave men! The gold, silver, horses and camels were fine, but the title of the third-class baron made the generals, especially those who had recently surrendered and did not have a title, excited. General Yang Laijia of Xiangyang, General Xuan Youcai of Jizhou, General Zhang Wei of Tongzhou, General Deng Junbi of Anqing, Deputy General Xie Chen of Fengyang, and Guerrilla Gao Zhan of Chuzhou all urged their subordinates to fight hard to attack the city.

Liu Chaofu, the general of Xuzhou, was more eager to make achievements than other generals. He did not urge his subordinates to attack the city, but personally climbed the city wall in full armor and braved the arrows and stones. In addition to fame and wealth, he also had a belief in his heart: we must not let anyone underestimate our Xuzhou town!

"Brother, be careful!" Deputy General Yang Sanyuan stood in front of Liu Chaofu with a rattan shield in his hand. The two had been together for many years and had a deep friendship, better than real brothers. Pushing his brother aside, Yang Sanyuan climbed up the ladder with the shield in his left hand and the knife in his right hand. He jumped onto the city wall in a few steps, and his knife skills were as fast as the wind, forcing the defenders to retreat step by step.

"Bang!" With a gunshot, the murderous general was also killed. He covered his chest with his hands and fell off the city wall.

"Brother Yang!" Liu Chaofu's eyes were bloodshot, and he climbed the ladder to the city without hesitation. Arrows rained down, but they couldn't stop the mad tiger. Liu Chaofu quickly jumped onto the city wall and chopped a gunner to the ground with a wild knife.

"Puff~" A spear pierced his right side, but he swung his sword to cut off the tip of the spear as if nothing had happened, and then split the stunned spearman into two halves.

In a blink of an eye, more than 20 people were killed. Seeing this, the morale of the subordinates was greatly boosted. They followed the commander to rush up the city wall, and then rushed down the steps, killing the guards at the city gate and opening the east gate.

"Haorui~Haorui~Haorui~" the guards rushed in shouting.

The city of Yangzhou was broken, the deputy general of the Wu army, Wang Xun, was killed in the battle, the lieutenant general Lu Tai was captured alive by the Wei army, the military governor Li Peizheng hanged himself, and the prefect Lei Yingyuan led the people to surrender.

The battle was extremely brutal, with 20,000 casualties among the guards. Although most of them were surrendered soldiers and generals, it still angered His Royal Highness the King of Qin. He ordered the beheading of Lu Taidu and Lei Yingyuan, and confiscated the property of Wang Xun, Lu Taidu, Li Peizheng, and Lei Yingyuan. Unexpectedly, the wealth obtained from the three families of Wang, Lu, and Lei was as high as 5 million taels of silver, while only 150 taels of silver were seized from Li Peizheng's family. Chuo Siji was deeply moved when he heard the news, and ordered a grand funeral for Li Peizheng and pardoned his family members. He also wrote a memorial to the Great Khan to recommend Liu Chaofu as the third-class Yangzhou Earl.

Killing the officials who resisted was not just to vent anger, but also to establish authority. However, the lifeline of the Lianghuai salt industry was not in the hands of these officials, so His Royal Highness the King of Qin ordered people to invite all the powerful salt merchants in Yangzhou City to the camp. Even though these people had seen big scenes, they couldn't help but turn pale when they entered the murderous military camp.

"Are you General Shang Jiang Yan?" Chuo Siji glanced at Jiang Yan, "I heard that you often tell people that the Qing Wei are all barbarians, and Wu Sangui's fake Zhou is the real Han court. Is this true?"

"I am terrified. I am guilty." Hearing this, Jiang Yan was frightened out of his wits and kept kowtowing and asking for forgiveness.

"You are indeed guilty! My mother is the daughter of the Ming royal family, but in your eyes she is a barbarian! Wu Sanfeng murdered the Yongli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but in your eyes you are the legitimate heir. You keep saying that you are the remnant of the Ming Dynasty, but do you have the emperor and father in your heart? Behead this man and confiscate his property," Chuo Siji sneered and ordered his men to take Jiang Yan out and behead him.

Seeing the end of the general merchant, the salt merchants were terrified. Chuo Siji acted as if he had not seen anything, and said to Cheng Zhiying and Ma Chengyun: "Jiang Yan has brought this upon himself, so the position of general merchant will be shared by the two of you."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The two did not expect this to be a blessing in disguise, and they thanked him repeatedly.

"I heard that you all sent out your servants to help the Pseudo Zhou defend the city?" Chuo Siji spoke again in a gloomy voice, causing the two men's hearts, which had just relaxed, to tighten again.

"I think you have no choice. Let's forget about the past. From now on, you must manage the salt business for the court. David is not like the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the laws are strict." Chuo Siji's tone softened again. After a few words of encouragement, he let everyone go home.

Seizing the fertile land of Yangzhou greatly eased the financial pressure of the Kingdom of David. According to historical records, by confiscating the assets of Wang Xun, Lu Taidu, Lei Yingyuan, and Jiang Yan, and accepting tributes from salt merchants, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin obtained a full 13 million taels of military funds for the Great Khan of Lotus, which made his old father sigh repeatedly, "Little Six is ​​really good at doing things!"

(End of this chapter)