Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Inside Jiangning City, the Lang brothers bid each other a reluctant farewell.

"Third brother, the journey to Fuzhou is long, so please be careful in everything you do," Lang Tingzuo carefully instructed Lang Tingxiang. Lang Tingxiang had been criticized for his ineffective suppression of bandits and was considered mediocre and incompetent. However, Governor Lang knew that his younger brother was insightful, just a little timid.

"Second brother, with the fall of Lianghuai, Jiangning will fall sooner or later. Why don't you come to Fuzhou with me?" Lang Tingxiang earnestly advised.

“I have been managing Southern Zhili for a long time, and I have long regarded Jiangning as my own home. How could I leave unless absolutely necessary?” Lang Tingzuo sighed, and suddenly said with emotion, “If anything happens to me, you must take good care of your sister-in-law for me!”

"Second brother, rest assured, I will take good care of my sister-in-law and the others. But—" Lang Tingxiang hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "I heard that Qu Jinmei was still appointed as the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner after his surrender to the imperial guards. Why don't you follow suit?"

Lang Tingzu smiled bitterly, “Qu Jinmei surrendered to the Wei army early and contributed grain and ships, so he was able to retain his original position. But I have already lost half of Southern Zhili, and if I surrender, I will probably be looked down upon by the Wei army. Moreover, the Wei lord has already appointed that Oirat wolf as the governor of Jiangnan and Jiangxi. If I surrender to the Wei, can I still be the governor?”

Lang Tingxiang finally understood that his elder brother was unwilling to surrender to the Wei because he was reluctant to give up his position as Governor-General of Jiangnan and Jiangxi. He sighed and took his leave.

Just as rice feeds a hundred kinds of people, so too do "loyal ministers" and "treacherous ministers." Governor Lang refused to surrender, but Governor Han did. Governor Han Shiqi of Jiangsu had a close relationship with Qu Jinmei. Seeing the strength of the Wei army and hearing that Qu Jinmei had been retained after surrendering, he secretly sent someone to meet with Prince Qin, Zhuo Siji, expressing his willingness to act as an inside agent to help the Wei army capture Suzhou if they arrived. At this time, Prince Qin had already drafted a plan to cross the river and knew that Governor Han only had four thousand troops under his command. Military power in Suzhou was mostly in the hands of Zhang Dazhi, the naval commander of the Suzhou-Songjiang garrison. Furthermore, the naval forces of Liang Huafeng, the Jiangnan admiral of the Wu army, were stationed on Chongming Island not far away. Landing there was not a guarantee of success, so he only ordered Prince Nagart of Tucheng to lead 20,000 troops in a feigned attack on Suzhou, not as the main objective of the crossing.

At the beginning of the third month of the twenty-first year of the Qianyuan era (1670), at the hour of Mao (5:00 AM), the garrison troops of Tongzhou, Guazhou, Jiangpu, Hezhou, and Wuwei Prefecture simultaneously launched a river-crossing operation. Although, according to the military orders of the General Who Conquers the East, Prince Qin, Zhuosiji, some places were feigned attacks, some were auxiliary attacks, and some were the main attacks, the Great Wei Kingdom had only been established for a short time and was like the rising sun. The generals were all ambitious and no one wanted to play a supporting role. As soon as the time came, they led their troops to bravely cross the river. Even though it was a feigned attack, they showed the momentum of a main attack.

On the largest warship at the Tongzhou (Nantong) wharf in Yangzhou Prefecture, Prince Nagart of Tucheng stood tall, his eyes fixed on the south bank of the Yangtze River, saying nothing.

The surrendered general Deng Junbi, the commander-in-chief of Anqing, guessed the commander's intentions and flattered him, saying, "Tongzhou is located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the sea. From here, one can pass through the three Wu regions, inquire about the two Yue regions, or go out to the East China Sea, and move towards Yan and Qi. It is also the throat of the north and south. Although Your Highness is feigning an attack, starting from here, you have never failed to cross the Yangtze River."

“Well said!” Nagat loudly promised, “I have never fought in a naval battle, so you will take command in my place. If we can cross the Yangtze River and capture Suzhou, I will credit you with the greatest merit!” Although he was eager to claim credit, he knew that he was not good at naval warfare, while Deng Junbi had been stationed on the riverbank for a long time and was an expert in naval warfare, so he simply let him take command.

He was merely a surrendered general, yet he had unexpectedly been entrusted with the responsibility of commanding troops. If he could achieve the greatest merit in crossing the river for the prince, he would surely gain the prince's trust and have no worries about his future advancement. Deng Junbi was overjoyed and excitedly pledged his loyalty, "Your Highness, rest assured, this humble general will swear to serve the country to the death!"

This general was truly a master at water battles. As flags were hoisted, the guards' warships slowly raised their sails, forming squadrons of eight or ten ships.

Seeing that his own army had formed a battle formation, Deng Junbi raised the signal flag to "attack," and five hundred ships of various sizes carrying twenty thousand guards sailed towards the opposite bank. He was not the only one eager to make a name for himself; Gao Zhan, the guerrilla commander of Chuzhou, led ten fast boats at the forefront, moving like arrows.

Wu Jun's general Zhang Dazhi, the commander of the Suzhou-Songjiang naval forces, stationed his troops at Fushan Port in Suzhou. Upon seeing the Wei army crossing the river, he led more than 300 warships and 15,000 naval troops out of the port to intercept them.

"Fire!" The two generals roared this order almost simultaneously. "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The booming of cannons continued, and the two sides' warships soon clashed and engaged in fierce boarding combat. The Wei army had more warships, but the Wu army's navy was more elite.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Gao Zhan, the guerrilla commander of the Wei Army in Chuzhou, spotted Zhang Dazhi's flagship. He excitedly shouted, "Get closer! Get closer to me!" He commanded his warship to press against the enemy ship, lower the deck, and then, wielding two swords, leaped up, leading dozens of his men onto the enemy ship. They set fire to the ship and fought fiercely with the Wu army.

Guerrilla Gao wanted to kill and burn the boat, but General Zhang was not afraid at all. He snorted coldly and grabbed his famous short axe, ready to fight back. The river wind howled and the boat rocked, but the two men, who had been rolling on the water for many years, were extremely stable and wielded their axes as freely as if they were on flat ground. In the end, General Zhang's water skills were superior. He seized an opening and cleaved Guerrilla Gao off the boat with one blow.

After scattering Gao Zhan's men, Zhang Dazhi breathed a sigh of relief. But then he discovered his flagship was on fire, the flames growing out of control.

"Bah! You dog!" he cursed angrily, then had no choice but to board the small boat and head to the nearest of his own warships to hoist the commander's flag and continue giving orders.

The change of flagship caused Wu's fleet to temporarily lose command, and Deng Junbi seized the opportunity to lead his men in a fierce attack. Just as they were gradually gaining the upper hand, another fleet appeared on the distant river. It was Liang Huafeng, the Jiangnan Admiral of Wu, who had come from Chongming Island to reinforce them after receiving the alarm.

"Not good! Turn the rudder and return to base!" Deng Junbi quickly gave the order.

"Our army is in the lead, why turn back?" Nagat asked, his face pale. He was seasick and had to fight off vomiting, as he couldn't swim. Even so, this stubborn prince still did not want to retreat.

"Your Highness is unaware of the situation. The one who has come is Liang Huafeng, the Jiangnan Admiral of the puppet Zhou dynasty. This man once defeated Zhu Chenggong, the former Ming emperor who dominated the seas for many years, and commands a highly elite navy of over 20,000 men. We are outnumbered, and if he were to join forces with Zhang Dazhi, our army would be in grave danger. Now that our army has gained the upper hand, we have accomplished the feigned attack mission assigned by the General, so it would be better to withdraw while we are ahead," Deng Junbi explained anxiously.

Nagat carefully observed the enemy fleet in the distance. He saw numerous large ships, their formation orderly, exuding a chilling aura. Although not an expert in naval warfare, he was a seasoned veteran of countless battles and immediately sensed a powerful army approaching. He decisively ordered, "Retreat!"

Deng Junbi breathed a sigh of relief and ordered his troops to return to port. Upon seeing the signal flag, the garrison warships turned around and headed back to Tongzhou.

"Chase them! Slaughter all those damned Tartars!" Zhang Dazhi roared, having just suffered a minor loss, and led the Su-Song naval forces in hot pursuit, sinking more than ten of the lagging Wei army warships, thus turning the tide of the battle. (End of Chapter)