Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The endless army moved slowly, numbering over ten thousand men and horses, seemingly boundless. How much more so would the three hundred thousand? Like a giant serpent, it seemed poised to devour its prey. The sixty-four-year-old Emperor Zhaowu of the Great Zhou Dynasty sat upright on his white horse, his sword-like eyebrows gleaming, exuding authority without anger, silently gazing at the advancing army.

Assembling this army was no easy feat! Upon returning to Yunnan, he had only 190,000 veteran soldiers left, with the remaining 110,000 being new recruits from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. Fortunately, the people of Yunnan and Guizhou were known for their martial spirit, and half of the new recruits were warriors from deep in the mountains, known for their bravery and fearlessness in battle; what they lacked was training in battle formations. These days, Wu Jun had been intensifying the training of the new recruits, and they were beginning to form a fighting force.

Wu Sangui originally intended to continue training for another two or three months before venturing out of Yunnan to confront the Wei army. However, the situation was urgent; the Great Khan of the Hu people had unexpectedly invaded Guangxi during the winter, braving wind and snow. Every three to five days, he received urgent reports from Guangxi. Unable to bear it any longer, he had no choice but to lead a large army, mixed with many new recruits, from Kunming through Qujing and Guizhou into Yunnan. This route was not only shorter but also avoided the territories of the two-faced chieftains in western Guangxi. The provisions and supplies for 300,000 soldiers were no small amount. It took a great deal of effort to gather the necessary provisions, supplies, and weapons for the army before marching eastward into Liping Prefecture, Guizhou.

"Your Majesty, Deputy General Liu Qing, Shen Wei, requests an audience," General Wu Guogui of the Imperial Guard suddenly reported, interrupting Wu Sangui's reverie.

"Why is Deputy General Liu Qing in Liping? Has Liuzhou Prefecture been lost?" Wu Sangui was shocked.

"According to Shen Wei, Hu Tongchun and Li Yidi betrayed the Great Zhou and surrendered Pingluo to the Wei. The pseudo-Khan took the opportunity to lead his army from Pingluo into Guilin and Liuzhou. Lingui fell, Jin Fuyuan died for his country, and the Left General and Admiral Ma were besieged in Quanzhou. He fought with all his might, but he could not hold Liuzhou, so he retreated to Liping." Wu Guogui had some acquaintance with Shen Wei and made excuses for him.

Why would a powerful warlord like Wu Sangui care whether a mere deputy general had fulfilled his duties? His concern was that the situation in Guangxi had collapsed, how long Quanzhou could hold out, and whether to retreat to Yunnan and Guizhou or reinforce Guangxi. He summoned Shen Wei to inquire about the situation in detail. Only after learning that most of Guangxi's elite troops were in Quanzhou, and that there were at least 60,000 to 70,000 elite soldiers still in the city, did he feel relieved. It seemed that Quanzhou wouldn't fall anytime soon, and there was still a possibility of salvaging the situation in Guangxi!

Having made up his mind to go to Guangxi to fight the Wei army to the death, Wu Sangui calmed down and stared coldly at Shen Wei, asking, "How many men do you have left?"

"I still have thirteen thousand men under my command," Shen Wei replied respectfully.

"I remember that after the expansion, Liuzhou and Qingyuan prefectures together had 15,000 soldiers, is that right?" When it came to military system, Wu Sangui was very familiar with it and could talk about it at will.

"Your Majesty is wise indeed," Shen Wei said with sincere admiration.

"Hmph! You previously said that you were defeated in a bloody battle and then retreated from Liuzhou to Liping. But if you really fought a bloody battle, why did you only lose two thousand men? Could it be that you abandoned the city and fled to Liping out of fear of battle?" Wu Sangui suddenly shouted.

The ruthless and ruthless Da Niao Xiong was filled with fierce killing intent when he got angry. Even Shen Wei, a general who had fought his way through piles of corpses, was so frightened that his face turned pale and he kowtowed repeatedly, crying, "It is not that I am afraid of war, but the Wei army attacking Liuzhou numbered more than 100,000, while I only had more than 10,000 soldiers. I had no choice but to abandon Guni Pass and retreat to Liping."

"As a military general, it is your duty to defend the territory! What use is there in keeping such a cowardly person who fears the enemy like a tiger? Drag him away and execute him!" Wu Sangui sneered and ordered his men to kill him.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! The Imperial Guard is overwhelming, and my troops are few, so I had no choice but to retreat; moreover, this man has a history of meritorious service, and with the enemy at hand, we need capable men. Please allow him to atone for his crimes through meritorious service!" Wu Guogui pleaded hastily upon seeing this. Wu Sangui waved his hand, ordering his men to release Shen Wei, "Since the former general has pleaded for you, you shall be made vanguard to atone for your crimes through meritorious service. If there is any further delay, you will be executed without mercy!"

Having narrowly escaped death, Shen Wei, overwhelmed with gratitude, pledged his loyalty, saying, "Your subject will fight to the death to avenge this humiliation!"

After joining forces with Shen Wei's troops, Wu's army numbered over 310,000 and marched in a mighty force from Guizhou towards Guangxi, entering Huaiyuan County of Liuzhou Prefecture. Upon hearing the news, the Liuzhou garrison commander, Prince Qi, Mailas, deployed defenses along the Xunjiang and Rongjiang rivers while ordering six generals—Zhong Jida, Ma Tengyun, Cao Chunzhong, Liu Hanchen, Xu Xueyi, and Yang Bingyin—to lead 30,000 troops to guard Guni Pass.

After several battles, the Wu army, relying on its superior numbers, gained the upper hand. Left with no other option, Melas ordered his troops to hold their ground and sent messengers to Quanzhou to request reinforcements from his elderly father.

"Quanzhou City is a tough nut to crack. We are at a critical moment in the siege, and that old villain Wu Sangui has come again. It is said that he has more than 300,000 troops and has already reached Liuzhou. He is attacking Guni Pass. Tell me, what should we do next?" Upon receiving his son's urgent letter, the Great Khan of Lotus summoned his important ministers for advice.

"Great Khan, we have already surrounded and trapped Quanzhou and Xiangshan, and it looks like we will be able to take them soon. The Prince of Qi has an army of 100,000, which is enough to hold out for one or two months. We will definitely be able to take Quanzhou within a month. I think we should take Quanzhou first, and then go west to meet Wu Sangui with all our might," suggested Hoboksarihou Ebodui Wulanghai.

He was the maternal uncle of Crown Prince Zhuoligetu. His suggestion, ostensibly out of loyalty to the country, was actually fraught with ulterior motives. The Crown Prince, residing in Beijing as regent, found it difficult to achieve military merit, while his younger brothers repeatedly distinguished themselves and gained increasing prestige within the army. In particular, Prince Qi, Mailas, not only possessed remarkable military achievements but was also the son of the Mongol Khan, Khatun Namuzhong, posing the greatest threat to the heir apparent. If he could be brought down, all the better!

"Although the King of Qi has 100,000 soldiers, he has to guard a vast area along the Xunjiang and Rongjiang rivers, and he is facing Wu Sangui's army of more than 300,000. I'm afraid he can't hold out for long," the Great Khan slowly shook his head.

"I believe the reason why the enemy in Quanzhou is so stubborn is because we can rely on Wu Sangui's large army. We should defeat Wu Sangui first. Once we defeat the enemy's reinforcements, Quanzhou will surely collapse without a fight," suggested Hu Lianqi, Minister of Revenue.

"Hmm, Hu Qing's words are exactly what I wanted," the Great Khan glanced coldly at Obo Dui Wulanghai, and decisively ordered, "King Sumur of Liao will lead 60,000 troops to monitor the entire prefecture, and the rest of the troops will follow me to Liuzhou to fight the Wu traitor to the death!"

"After the main army leaves Quanzhou, we must guard against Gao Dejie's counterattack. We can transfer the troops of Sangge, the commander of the Huguang Army, to Quanzhou for reinforcement," suggested the Minister of War, Halahuli. Sangge's troops numbered only 20,000, and most of them were newly recruited soldiers. They were ordered to stay in Huguang, and with their forces stretched thin, he thought of this force.

"Granted! Commander Sangge of the Huguang Army is to immediately lead his troops south from Huguang to reinforce Quanzhou." Even knowing that Sangge's force only had 5,000 veterans capable of fighting, while the remaining 15,000 were newly enlisted soldiers, Sultan still agreed. After thinking for a moment, he issued another decree: "Order the Prince of Jin to launch several large-scale offensives along the Jinsha River while Wu Sangui's main force is away from Yunnan, in order to disrupt the morale of Wu's army." (End of Chapter)