Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Sending Hu Tongchun and Li Yidi as vanguards to attack Lingui, the capital of Guilin Prefecture, was merely a way to get them to pledge their allegiance. The ambitious and shrewd Great Khan Lianhua would not limit his sights to a mere city like Lingui. His ambitions were far greater; he wanted to swallow the main force of the Guangxi Wu army in one fell swoop. While personally leading his army along the Gui and Li Rivers towards Guilin, he simultaneously ordered Prince Qi, Melas, to lead 100,000 troops across the Taihe River to capture Yongfu, Yongning, Huaiyuan, and Guni Pass, cutting off the Wu army's escape route westward to Yunnan and Guizhou.

Melas knew that the key to annihilating the enemy lay in his ability to quickly block the Guilin garrison's escape route to the west. Therefore, immediately after crossing the Taihe River, he carefully selected 40,000 elite cavalry, each with two horses, and personally led the vanguard at breakneck speed. He ordered Chahar Admiral Alinbao and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Ada to lead 60,000 infantrymen to follow behind. The operation proceeded extremely smoothly. Near the north bank of the Taihe River, there were only a few hundred enemy garrison troops. The garrison quickly captured Lanma Town, Tongmu Town, Fenghuangzhai, and other places. Yongfu County and Yongning Prefecture surrendered without a fight.

After resting for only two hours in Yongning Prefecture, His Highness Prince Qi assembled his troops to continue the attack. To boost morale, he roared at his men: "Warriors, I know you are exhausted, but to annihilate the enemy, you must keep running. Do you think the descendants of the blue wolves and white deer are afraid of being jostled? I command you, for victory, to keep advancing!"

"Haorui~Haorui~Haorui~"

Thunderous cheers erupted all around. Encouraged by the victory, the Wei army, disregarding their fatigue, continued their northward advance along the Rong River, capturing Baojiang Town and Huaiyuan County in succession.

"Your Highness, this humble general has discovered that the Wu army has set up camp on the south bank of the Xun River. I am willing to lead troops to attack them," General Hilgen volunteered to fight as soon as he entered Huaiyuan County. He was a Manchu general who had surrendered and was eager to make a name for himself in the new dynasty.

“We are exhausted from marching for days. Why not wait until dawn tomorrow to set off?” Although Melas admired his bravery, he was worried that his men would be tired from the long battle.

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. If we wait until tomorrow, the enemy may get the news," Hilgen replied stiffly.

“Very well, you lead your troops ahead and rest for an hour. I will then lead the main army to meet you,” Melas thought for a moment and finally agreed.

Having received orders, Hilgen and his deputy, Ghent, led 3,700 Manchu cavalry out of the city towards the Wu army camp on the south bank of the Xun River. At this time, Zhao Yu, the Wu army commander-in-chief, and Li Maozhu, the deputy commander guarding the Xun River, had already received news that the Wei army had occupied Huaiyuan County. Their own army's supplies and provisions were all inside Huaiyuan City, and they had no choice but to rescue them. The two generals then steeled themselves and mustered 15,000 men to recapture Huaiyuan. Halfway there, they encountered Hilgen's 3,700 cavalry. Eager to achieve merit, Hilgen personally fired arrows at the Wu army, with his deputy Ghent following closely behind, wielding a spiked club. The Wei army's morale soared, and they charged forward with great courage. The immense force of the cavalry quickly disrupted the advancing Wu army formation. Seeing the situation was dire, Wu deputy commander Li Maozhu attempted to order his men to regroup, but Hilgen cleaved him in two with a single stroke. Seeing the ferocity of the enemy and witnessing the billowing dust, Zhao Yu lost the will to continue fighting and ordered a retreat to Guilin. This retreat left their backs to the enemy, and the Wei army pursued them, killing over five thousand Wu soldiers with only a hundred or so casualties.

Upon hearing the news, Melas was overjoyed and recorded it as a great achievement. The next day, he led his army across the Xun River and captured Guni Pass. Guni Pass originally had more than 10,000 troops under Wu Liuqing's deputy general Shen Wei. Seeing that Huaiyuan County had been lost and Zhao Yu's troops, who were across the river from him, had also been defeated, Shen Wei felt that he was unable to defend the pass and abandoned it, fleeing to Liping Prefecture in Guizhou.
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Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Hu Tongchun and Li Yidi, under the orders of the Great Khan of Lotus, served as the vanguard. Familiar with the local customs, they acquired a large number of boats and led an army of 20,000 men up the Gui River by boat. With boats from the south and horses from the north, the surrendered soldiers were highly skilled at navigating the waters, sailing at great speed. They quickly captured Yangshuo City, turned onto the Li River, and headed straight for Lingui, the capital of Guilin Prefecture.

Upon hearing that an army had arrived at the city, Yang Kaiyun, the garrison commander of Lingui, hurriedly led ten thousand Wu soldiers out of the city to form a battle array to meet the enemy. However, he found that the group numbered only about five thousand, scattered in twos and threes, without any formation. The soldiers' battle robes were tattered, and their banners lay fallen, bearing the prominent character "Zhou." Just as he was wondering what was going on, a general with a bandage wrapped around his head emerged from the enemy ranks. Upon closer inspection, he recognized him: Hu Tongchun, the deputy commander of Wuzhou.

"Why is Deputy Commander Hu here?" Yang Kaiyun asked curiously.

"The false Khan led the main force of the Guards to bypass and attack Pingle. Li Furong and I fought desperately, but our forces were too large. Pingle was lost, Li Furong was killed in action, and we had no choice but to retreat here," Hu Tongchun replied, panting heavily.

"Pingluo is lost?" Yang Kaiyun was shocked. If the garrison army marched north from Pingluo along the waterway, they could reach Lingui in a few days. As if hearing his thoughts, Hu Tongchun continued, "Please, General Yang, quickly prepare for the city's defenses. The garrison army will be here soon!"

"Well, I will now request reinforcements from General Zuo, Admiral Ma, and Governor Jin. Vice Commander Hu will accompany me into the city to prepare for defense," Yang Kaiyun said, coming to his senses. At this time, most of Guilin's elite troops had been transferred elsewhere by Gao Dejie, Ma Xiong, and Jin Guangzu, leaving only about ten thousand soldiers in the city. The several thousand defeated soldiers brought by Hu Tongchun were a considerable help and should be treated carefully.

"Thank you, General Yang," Hu Tongchun said, bowing from his horse. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he spurred his horse forward, spear in hand, and plunged the spear into Yang Kaiyun's chest, killing him instantly.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Li Yidi, who had been lying in ambush in the woods outside the city, led 15,000 soldiers out to fight.

Without their commander, Wu's army was thrown into chaos and was quickly routed. Generals Hu and Li seized the opportunity to attack the city, and the defending army was routed, easily capturing Lingui. The two generals, eager for the second-class marquis title promised by the Great Khan, led their troops up the Li River again, capturing Lingchuan and Xing'an counties, and sent messengers to report their victory.

The Great Khan was a man of principle, always keeping his word. Upon hearing the report, he immediately fulfilled his promise, issuing an edict promoting Hu Tongchun to Second-Class Marquis of Wuzhou and Li Yidi to Second-Class Marquis of Pingle. He ordered the two to hold Guilin firmly, while he himself led a large army to accelerate northward.
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"I have good news for you all: His Majesty has led an army of 300,000 to reinforce Guangxi. Five days ago, the army arrived at Leigong Mountain in Kaili. Judging from the journey, it will arrive in Guilin in less than 20 days," Gao Dejie, the Left Wing General of the Iron Cavalry, excitedly told Tao Jizhi, the Right Wing General of the Flying Cavalry, Han Daren, the General of the Army, and Lin Xingzhu, the Right Wing General of the Navy, in the Wu army's main tent in Quanzhou City.

Upon hearing that Wu Sangui was personally leading a large army to provide reinforcements, the generals' confidence was greatly boosted.

"The most important thing right now is to strengthen the defenses..." Gao Dejie was well-versed in the art of boosting morale and took the opportunity to arrange defensive matters.

"General Zuo, military report! Military report from Lingui!" A guard rushed in, panting, to report.

Gao Dejie's heart sank. He opened the military report and read it, his face turning ashen.

"General Zuo, what has happened?" the generals asked hurriedly.

Those present were all Wu Sangui's trusted generals. Gao Dejie made no attempt to conceal the truth, looking up to the sky and sighing, "Lingui City has fallen!" He then relayed the report to everyone. (End of Chapter)