Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"The Si River flows, the Bian River flows, flowing to the ancient ferry of Guazhou." Guazhou Ferry is an ancient ferry with a history of thousands of years. The Tang Dynasty monk Jianzhen set sail from here to Japan. The folk legend of Du Shiniang angrily sinking her treasure chest took place here. Many poets and writers have left behind popular poems here. Now, it has attracted the world's attention because of a great battle.

David's Deputy General of the Eastern Expedition, First-Class Duke of Turpan, Xirimo, led 20,000 troops across the Yangtze River from Guazhou, heading straight for Zhenjiang. His Highness the Prince of Qin ordered him to feign an attack on Zhenjiang to distract General Liu Zhiyuan's army. But how could the proud and arrogant Oirat wolf be willing to be outdone? He ordered a real attack, arranging his 20,000 troops in an arrowhead formation. The arrowhead consisted of 50 ships under Li Genji, a guerrilla commander skilled in naval warfare, while the second line consisted of 100 ships under the command of guerrilla commanders Tan Yicong and Zou Junsheng. He himself, along with Deputy General Xie Chen and Assistant General Shan Yinzhi, led the remaining 200-odd ships in the third line.

The Oirat Wolf had gained some experience in naval warfare while conquering Sichuan, but unfortunately, he faced Liu Zhiyuan, an equally battle-hardened general renowned for his skill in naval warfare and artillery. General Liu was a Manchu bondservant who commanded the Red-Clad Artillery Battalion and participated in a series of major battles before and after the Qing army entered the pass. Due to his outstanding military achievements, he was awarded the title of Zhenhai General and stationed in Zhenjiang. Later, he wisely submitted to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

When renowned generals clash, the sparks that fly are naturally extraordinary. After a round of artillery duel, Wei Jun's guerrilla commander Li Genji charged straight at the vanguard of Wu Jun's army, led by General Luo Yongde. Luo Yongde was a former general of the Zheng family in Taiwan, recruited by Liu Zhiyuan, and had once been a formidable seaman. However, he encountered the fearless Li Genji! Li Genji, newly surrendered to the Wei Kingdom, was eager to establish himself in the new dynasty and led his troops to charge into Luo Yongde's army. He fought with large ships boarding the enemy and used small boats to burn enemy ships. Although Luo Yongde was skilled in naval warfare, he was thrown into chaos.

"Order Luo Yongde to hold firm!" Liu Zhiyuan coldly ordered, looking at the precarious situation of the forwards.

Seeing that his vanguard had disrupted the Wu army's formation, the old commander Xi Rimo was overjoyed and ordered Tan Yicong, Zou Junsheng, Xie Chen, Shan Yinzhi, and others to wedge their troops into the Wu army's ranks. Liu Zhiyuan, seeing this, was not alarmed but delighted, and led General Chen Wenda and Deputy General Zhou Jixin to provide support. The two armies fought fiercely from dawn until noon, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

At this moment, the Wei army, with the wind at their backs, used its momentum to penetrate the Wu army's fleet, inflicting heavy losses on them. Under Liu Zhiyuan's command, the Wu army struggled to hold on, waiting for the enemy to break through their lines before slowly turning their rudders and forming another battle. Xi Rimo also commanded the Wei army to turn their rudders and form another battle line. At this point, the two sides exchanged positions, and the wind direction became favorable to the Wu army, but they also suffered heavy casualties; the river was littered with the wreckage of ships and floating corpses.

"All troops, charge!" The Oirat Wolves, undeterred by the headwinds, were determined to capitalize on their initial victory and crush the Wu army in one fell swoop.

Just as the two armies were about to engage in battle again, another fleet of ships suddenly appeared on the river. Wu's deputy general Liu Bangzhu and adjutant general Niyaha led more than two hundred ships and eight thousand naval troops to attack. Liu Bangzhu was Liu Zhiyuan's second son, and Niyaha was Liu Zhiyuan's third son. Back when the Manchus established their state, many Han generals gave their sons Manchu names to show their loyalty. General Liu was no exception and gave his third son a Manchu name.

"Not good! We've fallen for Liu's treacherous trap!" Seeing that the enemy had hidden a fleet behind their lines, the Oirat Wolf realized they'd been tricked. He immediately ordered Xie Chen and Shan Yinzhi's troops to intercept the enemy that had suddenly appeared from the flank and rear, while Li Genji and Tan Yicong's troops intercepted Liu Zhiyuan. The entire army fought and retreated back to Guazhou. But changing formation so soon after the Oirat army had formed their ranks was no easy task.

Xie Chen and Shan Yinzhi were frantically directing their warships to turn and engage the enemy. Liu Bangzhu and Niyaha had already led their fleet in a column and charged into the Wei army's ranks. In the fierce battle, Xie Chen was killed by cannon fire, and Shan Yinzhi's warship was sunk, causing him to fall into the water and die.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhiyuan led his fleet into the enemy's fleet, taking the lead. The enemy guerrilla commander Tan Yicong led his fleet to intercept them, but Wu's valiant general Zhou Jixin boarded the ships and seized them. Tan Yicong was then killed by Zhou Jixin and thrown into the river.

Wu Jun's general Luo Yongde saw the general's flag flying on the ship of Wei Jun Wangjiang Guerrilla Li Genji, and led his fleet to surround it. He had just been fiercely attacked by Li Genji and lost many men and ships, so he wanted to avenge his previous defeat.

"Go in a zigzag pattern—ram it into me!" Seeing that he was surrounded by enemy ships, Li Genji knew he could not escape. He gritted his teeth and charged against the wind toward Luo Yongde's ship, intending to perish together with the enemy.

"Turn the rudder! Turn the rudder quickly!" Luo Yongde shouted in terror, his previous arrogance vanishing without a trace. "Bang! Bang! Bang! Crack!" A huge collision sound mixed with the eerie sound of ships breaking apart. Both ships had huge holes in them, and after struggling for a short while, they both sank.

The Wei army's navy suffered a major defeat. Under the desperate protection of guerrilla commander Zou Junsheng, Xi Rimo escaped back to Guazhou. After taking stock of his troops, he found that only a little over 7,000 of his 20,000 soldiers remained, along with only a hundred warships. He dared not cross the river again and could only defend along the riverbank. Just after returning to Guazhou, he received an order from the King of Qin, instructing him to hand over his troops to his subordinates and rush to Banziji to command the cavalry.

Fierce fighting also broke out on the waterway between Jiangning City and Dasheng Pass. Liu Chaofu, the general of Xuzhou, led 20,000 naval troops to cross the Yangtze River from Jiangpu to Jiangning, and Geng Jingzhong, the heir of the Jingnan Prince, led 20,000 naval troops to meet them.

Seeing the large size of the Fujian navy's warships, Liu Chaofu, following the advice of his adjutant Tian Shao, prepared many small boats for a fire attack. Caught off guard, Geng Jingzhong lost over twenty of his warships to fire. Enraged, he led his men in a desperate battle against the Wu army.

The battle raged on when Lang Tingzuo, the Governor-General of Jiangnan and Jiangxi, dispatched Hui Zhanchun, the General of Jiangning, with over two hundred warships and more than ten thousand officers and soldiers to reinforce the enemy. Seeing the overwhelming strength of the enemy, Liu Chaofu dared not linger and led his troops back to Jiangpu Port.

With the northern troops preparing to march south, tensions were high along the south bank of the Yangtze River, and Ge Yuanfu, the magistrate of Dangtu County in Taiping Prefecture, Anhui Province, had really run into trouble.

Dangtu County was the seat of Taiping Prefecture, where the Taichi Military Commissioner and the Taiping Prefect were both stationed. To strengthen defenses along the river, Governor-General Lang recently promoted Deputy General Baitalazhi to Commander-in-Chief of Huiningchi, replacing Zhou Gui who died in battle at Anqing. He also appointed Deputy Commander Liu Chengyin as Commander-in-Chief of Taiping Town, responsible for the river defense along the Taiping Prefecture line. This Commander-in-Chief Liu was a formidable figure; years ago, when the rebels attacked Jiangning, he, a mere guerrilla commander, dared to lead five hundred soldiers in a surprise attack on the rebel camp, achieving great merit. Hearing of Commander-in-Chief Liu's arrival, the people of Taiping Prefecture felt somewhat reassured.

Since receiving Governor Lang's order to strengthen the river defenses, officials such as Chen Xuan, the military commissioner of Taichi, and Hu Jiying, the prefect of Taiping, have been busy. One ordered Ge Yuanfu to conscript laborers, another to raise funds and grain, and yet another to repair the city walls and reinforce the river defenses. Commissioner Chen, knowledgeable in military affairs, ordered Ge Yuanfu to organize laborers to carry twelve cannons up Cuiluo Mountain at Caishiji. Carrying cannons up the mountain was hard work, and after much effort, they finally completed the task assigned by their superiors. But then, General Liu arrived!

Upon arriving in Dangtu, the valiant general Liu Chengyin immediately inspected the river defenses along the Taiping Prefecture. He demanded that the city walls of Dangtu, Wuhu, and Fanchang counties be raised by three feet, the moats along the river be widened and deepened, and more caltrops be laid. Not content with this, he also complained that the number of cannons on the Cuiluo Mountain fortress was too small, and strictly ordered that the number be increased from twelve to thirty-six. Poor Ge Yuanfu exerted tremendous effort to fulfill General Liu's orders. However, General Liu then set his sights on the Zhexian Tower on Cuiluo Mountain, ordering it to be his command post. A group of soldiers immediately began constructing fortifications near the Zhexian Tower.

When the news spread, Ge Yuanfu was heartbroken! He loved poetry and held the greatest respect for the poet Li Bai. Li Bai died in Dangtu and was buried at the foot of Cuiluo Mountain. The people of Dangtu revered this poet and arranged a romantic death for him: Li Bai, while boating on the river drinking and composing poetry, jumped into the water in a drunken stupor to try and catch the moon's reflection, and died. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Chen, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, ordered the construction of the Zhexian Tower on Cuiluo Mountain in Caishi, with a portrait of Li Bai placed there. In the spring of the fourteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, the Zhexian Tower was destroyed by fire. After becoming the magistrate of Dangtu, Ge Yuanfu petitioned Hu Jiying, the prefect of Taiping, to rebuild the Zhexian Tower. This was always considered Ge Yuanfu's greatest achievement. Now, General Liu had placed his central military tent on the Zhexian Tower; if it were destroyed in the war, wouldn't all his hard work be in vain?
No! Zhexian Tower is a sacred place for the people of Dangtu, and it must not be desecrated by a mere warrior! Ge Yuanfu wanted to speak to Liu Chengyin about the people's sentiments, but he was driven away by the soldiers guarding the camp before he could even see General Liu. It was truly a case of a county magistrate encountering soldiers—reason was useless! Helpless, he had no choice but to go to the prefectural government office to ask Prefect Hu Jiying of Taiping to intercede on his behalf.

The guard at the gate was an acquaintance. Upon seeing him, he greeted him with a smile, "Do you wish to see the Prefect? ​​Unfortunately, the Prefect is not in the yamen."

"Please tell me where Your Excellency has gone?" Ge Yuanfu asked anxiously.

"Prefect Chen wished to discuss river defense matters with General Liu, and the Prefect accompanied Prefect Chen to the Cuiluo Mountain camp." (End of Chapter)