Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Please, General Zuo, gather all the troops in Quanzhou and fight the Hu barbarians to the death!" Veteran general Tao Jizhi was the first to react.

Gao Dejie nodded slowly, "As long as we concentrate our forces to hold the entire prefecture, His Majesty's reinforcements will surely arrive within twenty days!"

The Guangxi governor Ma Xiong's troops, stationed in Xiyan City, were close to Quanzhou and arrived quickly; Zhao Yu, the general of Nanning, also led his defeated troops back from the south bank of the Xun River. After Gao Dejie gathered these two troops, he had more than 65,000 soldiers and felt somewhat relieved. Then he anxiously awaited the arrival of the other troops.

It is no easy task to gather together the various groups of people who are scattered in different places!

Upon receiving the news, Jin Guangzu, the Guangxi governor stationed in Guanyang, east of Guilin, consulted with General Xie Juefu of Dinghai and Deputy General Wang Fuhan of Youjiang. They decided to gather all available ships, with Jin himself and Xie Juefu leading 20,000 men and provisions northward along the Guanjiang waterway to Quanzhou. Wang Fuhan, however, led over 10,000 cavalry and infantry, too many to fit on the ships, along the Guanjiang River by land. Halfway there, they suddenly saw a large number of sunken ships blocking the waterway. Behind the sunken ships were over a hundred garrison warships, flying flags bearing the characters "Hu" and "Li." These were Hu Tongchun and Li Yi, the second general who had captured Xing'an County and sent men to block the Guanjiang waterway. For the two local strongmen, this was a piece of cake, but it severely hampered the Wu army's attempt to escape back to Quanzhou.

"If those two traitors fall into my hands, I will skin them alive!" Jin Guangzu roared, his beard bristling with rage as he pointed at the enemy ship and cursed.

"Your Excellency, the waterway is blocked. We must go ashore and walk as soon as possible!" Xie Juefu hurriedly advised.

With enemy forces blocking their way by water, the land route was unlikely to be smooth sailing either! Jin Guangzu sighed inwardly, but staying put would be even more dangerous if the Imperial Guards caught up. Gritting his teeth, he ordered his men to abandon their baggage and take only dry rations and essential weapons ashore. After joining up with Wang Fuhan's troops, the more than 30,000 Wu soldiers lined up on the riverbank, a chaotic mess, like a swarm of headless flies.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Countless shells rained down on the enemy lines, causing Wu's soldiers to fall and their horses to tumble.

The cannon fire had barely subsided when the thunderous sound of horses' hooves filled the air. Sumur, the younger brother of the Great Khan of Lotus, led 40,000 cavalry in, followed by nearly 50,000 infantry under the command of Admiral Xuan Youcai, General Zhang Wei, Liu Chaofu, Hu Tongchun, and Li Yidi. Sumur, ordered to lead 70,000 cavalry and infantry to follow Hu Tongchun and Li Yidi, heard that the two generals had blocked the Guanjiang River. He then led his troops to join them, ambushing the Wu army on the riverbank not far from the sunken ship, catching them completely off guard.

With another blow, Xie Juefu cleaved the head of a guard with his broadsword. He cautiously surveyed his surroundings, searching for his next target. Originally a pirate, he had first joined the forces of Prince Pingnan, Shang Kexi, hoping to make a name for himself. However, Shang Kexi was narrow-minded and extremely wary of a former bandit general like himself. Shang Kexi not only withheld money, provisions, and weapons but also tried every means to interfere in the personnel matters within his army. Enraged, Xie Juefu switched allegiance to Emperor Zhaowu of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Wu Sangui, on the other hand, was far more magnanimous than Shang Kexi. Upon his surrender, Wu Sangui immediately appointed Xie Juefu as General Dinghai, providing him with ample provisions and allowing him to manage all personnel matters in the army according to his own wishes. Even more touching was the fact that Wu Sangui would frequently send gifts—food, brocade robes, and so on. Although these gifts were not particularly valuable, the sentiment was priceless. Grateful for this, Xie Juefu willingly became a subject of the Zhou Dynasty.

"Whoosh!" The longsword flashed, and another guardsman fell from his horse. "Twenty-nine," Xie Juefu growled, announcing the number of enemies killed that day. He wiped his sweat and prepared to continue the fight.

"Bang!" Just as Xie Juefu put down his hand to wipe his sweat, a huge, dark figure appeared in front of him. It was Lamadash, the chieftain of the Torgut tribe in Qinghai, who swung his axe and took Xie Juefu's life with a single blow while Xie Juefu was distracted by wiping his sweat.

"Thirty-one!" Ramadash shouted in Mongolian, announcing the number of enemies killed that day, before roaring as he charged toward another target.

Wu Jun suffered a crushing defeat! Over ten thousand men were killed, over ten thousand were captured, and several thousand more were forced into the Guanjiang River and drowned. Only a few thousand escaped, while the Wei army suffered only about two thousand casualties. The Guangxi governor, Jin Guangzu, and the Right River deputy general, Wang Fuhan, were unable to escape and were taken prisoner by the Wei army. The Great Khan ordered their execution and sent Jin Guangzu's head to Quanzhou to persuade them to surrender. To boost morale, he also issued an edict promoting Zheng Guoyin, the deputy commander-in-chief of Datong, to Guangxi governor, and Zhang Wei, the deputy commander-in-chief of Tongzhou, to Jiangxi governor.

"Governor Jin loved the people like his own children and was highly respected throughout the country, but unexpectedly he has come to this end! Alas!" Upon seeing Jin Guangzu's head, Ma Xiong, the Governor of Guangxi, couldn't help but grieve. During his tenure as Governor of Guangxi, Jin Guangzu focused on the people's livelihood and promoted many honest officials such as Yu Chenglong. As a result, he had a good reputation in Guangxi and was very popular with the people. Ma Xiong had known Jin Guangzu for many years, and seeing his tragic state, he felt a sense of shared sorrow.

"The Imperial Guard is brutal, they don't even spare prisoners! If we fall into their hands, how can we expect to have a good end? We should hold Quanzhou and fight to the death. His Majesty's reinforcements will arrive soon, and turning defeat into victory is not impossible. What do you say?" Gao Dejie seized the opportunity to inspire the generals' fighting spirit.

"This humble general is willing to follow General Zuo to the death!" Tao Jizhi, Han Daren, Lin Xingzhu, Zhao Yu and other generals all answered with great enthusiasm.

Seeing that the army was in good spirits, Gao Dejie ordered Ma Xiong and Zhao Yu to lead 25,000 troops to garrison Xiangshan, while he himself led 40,000 troops to guard Quanzhou City.

On April 6, 1671, the 28th year of the Qianyuan era, the Great Khan Lianhua led an army of more than 300,000 to Quanzhou. At this time, this warlord was unaware that his actions of killing captured enemy generals such as Jin Guangzu and Wang Fuhan had not only failed to frighten the Quanzhou garrison, but had instead aroused their hatred of the enemy. He naively believed that once the army arrived, the beleaguered enemy would surely surrender at the mere sight of him.

On this day, while awaiting news from the envoy sent to persuade them to surrender, the First Prince of Turpan, Xirimo, stormed into the tent in a rage and presented a letter: "Great Khan, that scoundrel Gao Dejie is arrogant! He actually beheaded our envoy and even wrote a letter to provoke us!"

"Hmm?" Sultan was taken aback upon hearing this. He opened the letter and read it. The letter was very short, with only one line: "Although I am not talented, I know the principle that the Han and the Hu cannot coexist. I will borrow your head to show my intentions!"

"You audacious scoundrel! After the city falls, I will surely exterminate your entire clan!" The Great Khan was enraged and immediately ordered an attack on the city, but he did not expect that what stood in his way was an impregnable wall.

On April 7, the troops under Wei Jun Hu Tongchun and Li Yidi launched three probing attacks on Xiangshan, all of which were repelled by the defending troops. After the third attack was repelled, Ma Xiong led his troops down the mountain to counterattack, killing more than 300 Wei Jun soldiers.

Seeing the formidable terrain of Xiangshan, the Great Khan decided to bypass it and attack the south gate of Quanzhou. The Imperial Guard concentrated its artillery fire on the south gate for three days, launching the attack on April 11th. Following tradition, over 26,000 Wu army prisoners of war were forced by the supervisory team to participate in the first wave of the siege. In the eyes of the battle-hardened Great Khan, these prisoners were not considered human beings, but merely expendable resources to deplete the city's defenses.

Even consumables were being used up far too quickly! Under the relentless barrage of cannon fire, stones, and arrows from the Wu army, only 6,000 of the 26,000 prisoners remained in just two days. Witnessing the city's formidable defenses, Sultan, unwilling to risk his soldiers' lives in a direct confrontation, ordered a siege instead of an attack. (End of Chapter)