Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In March, the city of Jiangning should have been full of flowers, but now it was full of tension. With the fall of Yangzhou, the entire Jiangbei area fell into the hands of the barbarians. The stories of the Ten Days of Yangzhou and the Three Massacres of Jiading were not far away. Some timid people fled with their families, but most people were still reluctant to leave their homeland. Fortunately, another news came: after the Wei army captured Yangzhou, they only killed a few officials who organized resistance, and did not embarrass the people, and the people were at peace.

Things seemed to be going in a good direction. Reinforcements arrived in Jiangning City: Governor Lang's relative, King Jingnan Geng Jimao, sent his son Geng Jingzhong to lead 20,000 naval and land forces to rush to Jiangning from Chongming via the Yangtze River. Some curious people saw that the warships of Jingnan were very large, covering the sky and blocking the sun, and were very majestic. Since ancient times, southern ships have been used by northern horses, and most northern soldiers are landlubbers and may not be able to cross the river.

With the arrival of reinforcements, the people's hearts became more stable. However, Lang Tingzuo, the governor of Jiangnan and Jiangxi, was not happy. He sat on the armchair with a heavy heart and thought about his own affairs. In addition to Fujian, he actually sent envoys to Jiangxi, Zhejiang and General Liu Zhiyuan stationed in Zhenjiang to ask for help. Now only one of the four reinforcements has arrived, how can he be happy? But they all have reasons not to come: Jiang Guozhu, the governor of Zhejiang, replied that the navy of Zheng family in Taiwan had just entered Hangzhou Bay to harass not long ago, and it was really impossible to withdraw troops for reinforcement; Jiangxi was facing the front of Weiguo and Weiguo was deploying troops on the other side of Tianjia Town west of Jiujiang, with the momentum of forcing Jiujiang, and he was too busy to take care of himself; General Liu Zhiyuan of Zhenhai also confided that a large number of Weijun warships appeared in Guazhou, and the enemy was very likely to land in Zhenjiang, and he really didn't dare to leave.

Lang Tingzuo, who had lived in Jiangnan for a long time, knew that although the water of the Wanli River was surging, in fact, the river was not wide and the water was gentle in many places. Tianjia Town and Guazhou were two weak points. If the Wei army really crossed the river from these two places, Nanjing would be safe for the time being. But what if the Wei army was just pretending to attack Tianjia Town and Guazhou, and the real target was Jiangning? Alas! The Wanli River is so vast! If you want to set up defenses everywhere, where will you get so many troops?
“‘Where is my hometown at dusk? The misty river makes me sad.’ Ah~” Governor Lang sighed and suddenly missed his hometown Guangning (now Beizhen, Liaoning).

There are many places suitable for landing on the Yangtze River, not just Tianjia Town and Guazhou. The river surfaces at Caishiji, Dangtu County, Taiping Prefecture, and Banziji, Digang, Fanchang County, Taiping Prefecture are both very narrow. It doesn't take long for a ship to reach the other side from the other side, so they are particularly suitable for landing.

As early as during the siege of Yangzhou, Qin Wang Chuo Siji ordered the Grain Transport Governor Qu Jinmei and Henan Admiral Cai Lu to secretly collect and build ships in Luzhou Prefecture and investigate suitable landing sites. At the same time, he actively made preparations for the war and selected 10,000 prisoners captured in the Battle of Yangzhou to serve as casualties.

"Your Highness, Qu Jinmei and Cai Lu reported that Caishiji is very dangerous. Relatively speaking, Banziji is more suitable for our army to land." Just three days after the capture of Yangzhou, the Deputy General of the Eastern Expedition Xi Rimo reported the investigation situation sent by Qu Jinmei.

Indeed, Caishiji was formerly known as Niuzhuji. It has a steep cliff overlooking the river, with turbulent water and strange rocks. Although the river is narrow, it is very steep. Banziji, "the first of the 24 reefs on the Yangtze River", not only has a narrower river than Caishiji, but also has a less dangerous terrain than Caishiji. It was here that the Qing army crossed the river and destroyed the Hongguang regime of the Southern Ming Dynasty. In later battles to cross the river, this place was also an important military breakthrough point. Because of its special terrain, it was called the "Wu Chu Pass".

Seeing the old general eager to try, Chuo Siji was amused and said leisurely: "If we want to cross the Yangtze River, we still need to rely on your reputation as the Wolf of Oirat. Please bluff with Nagat in Guazhou and Tongzhou, and pretend to force a crossing of Zhenjiang and Suzhou to contain Liu Zhiyuan and Liang Huafeng. Haha, among the Wu troops in Nanzhili, only these two troops can be taken seriously by me, and the rest of the Wu troops are just chickens and dog ears!"

"Your Highness, please do not be careless. The Wuyi Guards sent a message: The pseudo-Jingnan King Geng Jimao sent his eldest son Geng Jingzhong to lead 20,000 troops to Jiangning. Half of Geng Jingzhong's subordinates are former generals of the Zheng family in Taiwan who have been recruited. They are not only skilled in naval battles, but also fierce and cannot be underestimated!" Seeing that he was a little careless and frivolous, the old marshal Xi Rimo quickly reminded him.

"Former generals of Zheng?" Chuo Siji was stunned, then smiled and said, "Find out the names of those former generals of Zheng, and order Cai Lu and Yang Laijia to write a letter to surrender!" "Yes," the Wolf of Oirats took the order and left.

Young people value the word "speed" when doing things. His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, who had experienced the test of war, was even more swift. After drawing up a battle plan, he immediately ordered Tucheng Prince Nagat to lead 20,000 troops to pretend to cross the river in Tongzhou, so as to contain the troops of Liang Huafeng, the admiral of the Wu army in Jiangnan stationed in Suzhou and Songjiang prefectures; Deputy General Xi Rimo to lead 20,000 troops to pretend to cross the river in Guazhou, so as to contain the troops of Liu Zhiyuan, the general of the Wu army in Zhenjiang; Liu Chaofu, the general of Xuzhou, to lead 20,000 navy to force a crossing to Jiangning from Jiangpu, so as to contain the Wu troops in Jiangning City; Deputy Admiral and General of Xiangyang Yang Laijia to lead 40,000 troops to force a crossing to Caishiji from Hezhou; and he and Admiral of Henan Cai Lu to lead 80,000 troops to force a crossing to Banziji from Wuwei Prefecture.

Caishiji and Banziji were the best landing sites, and also where the main force of the Wei Army was located. The generals in charge, Cai Lu and Yang Laijia, were both fierce generals in the Wei Army who were good at fighting water battles.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin chose the first quarter of the morning on March 1670, the th year of the Qianyuan reign () as the time for crossing the river. Determined to succeed, he agreed with Yang Laijia to meet in Wuhu after landing.

In order to achieve the suddenness of the battle of crossing the river, Chuo Siji ordered Qu Jinmei and Cai Lu to collect and build a large number of ships in Hezhou and Wuweizhou, and to store a large amount of food and grass. He also ordered his subordinates to bypass the city and travel quickly on remote roads. Finally, they concealed the eyes and ears of the Wu army and arrived at Wuweizhou, Luzhou Prefecture on March 18th.

"Pass on my order. The whole army should hide in the mountains. They can only cook in the early morning when the fog rises. At other times, they can only eat dry food. Many sentries should be set up to block the news. Anyone who dares to disclose the whereabouts of the army will be killed!" Chuo Siji issued the order. At this time, there were still three days before the crossing of the river, and the order must be kept secret.

"Ah~" After issuing the military order, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin rubbed his sore eyes and felt tired. How could he not be tired after traveling for days and busy with military affairs?

"Your Highness, there is a royal decree from the Great Khan." Just as he was about to take off his boots and lie down, the commander of the central army, Tegus Chaoketu, brought a letter from the Great Khan of Lotus.

"Ah~" Chuo Siji stretched his body and opened the letter to read. It said: "Chuo Siji, my child, your father is fighting bloody battles with the enemy in Huguang, and your brother has fought to Yunnan but is constrained by the mountains. The key to mobilizing the enemy lies in you. Can you stop after taking Lianghuai? Fight across the Yangtze River for me, threaten Huguang from the side, kick Wu Sangui hard in the waist, and tie up those pseudo-Zhou officials in the south who disobey me." (End of this chapter)