Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The massacre in Wuzhou Prefecture made Guangxi's civil and military officials realize that speculation could come at a heavy price. With dozens of bloody heads chopped off, the trend of surrendering to the enemy in Guangxi was immediately reversed. At least publicly, no one dared to discuss surrender; everyone rallied under the command of Gao Dejie, the Left Wing General of the Iron Cavalry sent by Wu Sangui to oversee the situation in Guangxi, actively resisting. Emperor Zhaowu of the Great Zhou Dynasty was also a ruthless and powerful ruler. Besides massacring the entire families of surrendered officials as a deterrent, he also heavily rewarded Gao Dejie, Ma Xiong, Jin Guangzu, Tao Jizhi, Hu Tongchun, Li Yidi, and others who had contributed to suppressing the rebellion. With a combination of firmness and leniency, the situation in Guangxi quickly stabilized. The seasoned general Gao Dejie continued to oversee the defense of Guangxi, ordering his personal guard, General Tao Jizhi, to lead 20,000 troops to defend Quanzhou, the gateway to Guilin; Governor of Guangxi Ma Xiong to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Xiyan (Dabu) city in western Quanzhou, forming a defensive triangle with Quanzhou; Governor of Guangxi Jin Guangzu to lead 20,000 troops to garrison Guanyang in eastern Guilin; Deputy General Shen Wei to lead 15,000 troops to garrison Guni Pass in Liuzhou Prefecture; and Deputy General Hu Tongchun of Wuzhou and Deputy General Li Yidi of Pingluo to lead 20,000 troops to defend along the Zhuling Mountains in Pingluo Prefecture. Gao Dejie himself led his troops to garrison Guilin.

Feeling his forces were insufficient, Gao Dejie dispatched a fast horse to Kunming to jointly petition Wu Sangui with Ma Xiong and Jin Guangzu, requesting further reinforcements. Wu Sangui's reply was straightforward: he planned to recruit 200,000 new soldiers in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, and had already recruited 100,000, but they lacked training and could not be immediately deployed. However, his existing troops were almost fully rested and replenished, and could be re-entered the battlefield in another month. Considering the time required for marching, he urged them to hold out for another two months. Upon seeing the Emperor's reply, Gao Dejie felt relieved. It was now winter, the weather was freezing, food transport was difficult, and the garrison had just fought a fierce battle in Ganzhou, so they would likely need some rest and wouldn't attack Guangxi so soon. Holding out for two months was still very promising. Despite this, the experienced military commander Gao continued to send urgent messages to Kunming, because the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Gao Dashuai was initially in a good mood, but the following news displeased him. The two local warlords of Guangxi, Cen Jilu, the prefect of Sicheng, and Huang Daiqian, the prefect of Siming, both refused the order from Guangxi Governor Jin Guangzu to conscript wolf soldiers for the war, only providing a token amount of provisions. Their reasons were almost identical: there was a rebellion of displaced people. Hmph, for hundreds of years, these local officials had valued their territories and people more than their own lives. Without travel permits, their people couldn't leave their homes, so where would the displaced people come from? However, the reputation of "Sizhou, Bozhou, Tian, ​​Yang; Liangguang, Cen, Huang" had been established for centuries, and it wasn't for nothing. Although the Yang family of Bozhou and the Tian family of Sinan had declined, the "Liangguang, Cen, Huang" had taken advantage of the Qingwei and Wuwei wars to continuously expand their power. Now, these two families commanded an army of 100,000. If they surrendered to the Wei, they could immediately change the situation in Guangxi, and they absolutely couldn't afford to offend them. What's even more infuriating is that most of the other chieftains in Guangxi obeyed the orders of the Cen and Huang families. Since the two families refused to send troops, they also refused to send troops. Governor Jin's plan to use the wolf soldiers for his own purposes had actually failed.

"Hmph! You short-sighted traitors! Do you really think that after the barbarians conquer Guangxi, they'll allow you to continue ruling as local tyrants?" Gao Dejie cursed inwardly. Little did he know that Cen Jilu and Huang Daiqian were like reeds, swaying whichever way the wind blew. Back when the Qing were strong and the Ming were weak, they sided with the Qing and helped the Qing army fight the Ming army; then, when the Oirat wolves led their army south, they swore a blood oath with David; later, when the Oirat army was defeated at Bulong City, they thought the Mongols were no longer capable and returned to the Qing's embrace, leading their army to fight against David; when David destroyed the Qing, Wu Sangui seized the opportunity to establish the Great Zhou, and they sided with the Great Zhou; now, David has repeatedly defeated the Great Zhou and seized several provinces, and they have once again turned to David, sending envoys to the army of the Great Khan of Lotus to express their surrender. The Great Khan, who had held the reins of the horse for over forty years, was extremely adept at politics. Instead of reprimanding the fickle opportunists, he offered gentle words of comfort, richly rewarded the envoys, and bestowed upon Cen and Huang the official seals of local prefects. Having received the official seals of the Great Wei Kingdom, Cen and Huang believed they had preserved their ancestors' centuries-old legacy. How could they dare send wolf soldiers to aid the Great Zhou and offend the Great Wei Kingdom?

Gao Dejie assumed that the freezing weather would prevent the Wei army from attacking Guangxi due to logistical constraints. However, since Sultan was known as the "God of War of the Oirat," he could not be judged by ordinary standards. Long before marching on Ganzhou, he had ordered his men to stockpile large quantities of grain, supplies, and weapons in Lingling, the capital of Yongzhou Prefecture in Huguang. Although it was winter and indeed cold, the Guangdong and Guangxi regions were much warmer than the north. The rivers in Guangxi usually did not freeze, so it was entirely possible to attack Quanzhou and Xing'an from Lingling along the Xiang River, then attack Lingchuan via the Ling Canal, and then directly take Guilin, Pingle, and Wuzhou along the Li River and Gui River. In addition, there were many other rivers such as the Xun River, Qian River, Yu River, Zuo River, You River, and Nanpan River that could be used. These rivers were all interconnected, so in the Great Khan's view, transportation was not a problem at all.

So, he made his move! On February 9th, 1671 (the 28th year of the Qianyuan era), the Great Khan left a portion of his troops to guard Huguang (Hubei and Hunan), and personally led an army of 410,000 men from Lingling into Guangxi. The army loaded its supplies onto ships and advanced along the Xiang River by both land and water, their advance aimed directly at Guilin, the capital of Guangxi province. The land force stretched for over thirty li (approximately 15 kilometers), and the navy's ships stretched for over forty li (approximately 20 kilometers) in a continuous line, creating an extremely imposing sight. Cui Shilu, the general of Yuanzhou, and Ke Sheng, the deputy general of Fuzhou, led 20,000 troops at the forefront. Having only recently surrendered to the Wei Kingdom, they were naturally assigned to lead the vanguard according to the traditions of the Great Wei Kingdom.

In the past few days, the heavens favored the Wei army, and there was no rain or snow. The Wei army advanced at an extremely fast pace, quickly reaching Huangsha Pass (Huangshahe Town) within Quanzhou along the Xiang River. Huangsha Pass was not large, but it was located in the middle of the Xiang-Gui Corridor, serving as the throat for the Central Plains to enter the heart of Guangxi, and was known as the "First Town of Guangxi" and the "Northern Gateway of Guangxi." Such a military stronghold was naturally garrisoned by elite troops. The Quanzhou garrison commander, Tao Jizhi, the Right General of the Imperial Guard of the Great Zhou, deployed 5,000 troops under his most powerful personal naval force, led by General Lin Xingzhu, at Huangsha Pass. Although Lin Xingzhu's official title was Right General of the Naval Force, he actually only had seventy or eighty warships. However, his 5,000 soldiers were skilled in using a type of rattan shield. This shield was made from old rattan from the mountains, making it difficult to be injured by arrows and providing strong protection against firearms. It would not sink when placed in the river, and soldiers could cross the river on the shield. It was effective in both land and water battles, and he was appointed Right Wing General of the Navy, a well-deserved honor.

Hearing that a force of about 20,000 men was approaching, Lin Xingzhu was not afraid and led his troops to form ranks to meet them. Seeing that a mere 5,000 men dared to block his 20,000-strong army, Cui Shilu laughed and said to Ke Sheng, "Heaven is helping us to achieve merit! When the war drums sound in a moment, you and I will attack them from both sides." Ke Sheng accepted the order and left.

"Dong~ Dong~ Dong~" The marching drums sounded, and Generals Cui and Ke led their respective troops, charging towards the Wu army from the left and right.

"Boom~ Boom~ Boom~" The marching drums also sounded from within the Wu army's ranks. What a Lin Xingzhu! He actually used a smaller force to attack Cui Shilu's troops, only sending a portion of his men to hold off Ke Sheng's offensive. (End of Chapter)