Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Commanding a Mighty Army to Enter Western Guangxi

In the Battle of Gu Ni, Wu and Zhou were defeated.

The imperial aura of the southwest has faded away.

The overlord possessed immense strength,
Important military and national affairs require careful planning.

Fang Yue viewed the scenery of the Five Ridges.
He returned to Guixi to perform the Wu hook dance.

The journey is difficult, not because of mountains and rivers.
Human relationships are fickle, even ghosts and gods are troubled.

This poem was written by the Great Khan of the Kingdom of David, Lotus, as he departed from Guni Pass for western Guangxi. He planned to bypass Guangxi, capture Puan Prefecture, sever the connection between Guizhou and Yunnan, and annihilate Wu Sangui and his remaining troops in Guizhou. The first two lines express his confidence that the defeat of the Wu-Zhou dynasty was inevitable after the Battle of Guni Pass; the third and fourth lines state that military prowess alone is insufficient for victory, and strategy is crucial; the fifth and sixth lines lament that he had just led his army across the Five Ridges in a campaign, and now he was to wield his sword again in western Guangxi; the last two lines are thought-provoking. The roads in Guangxi are difficult, but his concern is not about the arduous journey of climbing mountains and wading through rivers, but rather the unpredictable nature of human hearts. Human hearts, fickle and capricious, are the most worrisome thing!
What kind of thoughts could trouble a great Khan like himself? Later historians unanimously agree that the Great Khan, on his march into western Guangxi, was constantly considering how to deal with the Guangxi chieftain forces, led by the Cen clan of Sicheng and the Huang clan of Siming. Don't underestimate these local officials; they had ruled their territories for generations, some families for seven or eight hundred years, making them veritable local tyrants. The Guangxi soldiers were renowned throughout the land; although their equipment was inferior to that of regular troops, they were famously fierce and fearless. Moreover, powerful families like the Cen and Huang clans likely had soldiers whose equipment was not much worse than that of regular soldiers. Furthermore, their system of "tingmu" (a system of military officials) allowed them to conscript the entire populace of their territories at any time, resulting in a vast, densely packed army, like a boundless ocean. Most frighteningly, the local people only knew their chieftains, not the Great Khan. Without cultivating good relations with them, it would be difficult to advance even an inch!
What truly troubled Sultan were these chieftains. There can't be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in a country. How could the great Khan allow the existence of separatist forces within the Great David Kingdom he had personally founded? Especially powerful chieftains like the Cen and Huang families, whose influence was immense—the greater their power, the greater the threat to the imperial authority. Therefore, they had to be eliminated. However, the Cen and Huang families had already outwardly submitted to the Great David Kingdom. To arbitrarily convert them from chieftains to officials would easily instill fear among the southwestern chieftains, which would not be conducive to the current unification effort. How to handle this situation properly was truly a difficult problem!

Before the army set off from Guni Pass, he summoned Xirimo, a veteran of the Imperial Guard and the First-Class Duke of Turpan, and asked with a smile, "You were once the General Who Conquers the South and led troops south, so you are familiar with the situation in the southwest. Now that the army is entering western Guangxi, how can we save time and effort? Please tell me."

"This servant believes that the mountainous terrain of Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan makes the transport of provisions and supplies difficult. It would be advisable to utilize the rivers to load the provisions and supplies onto ships, allowing the cavalry and infantry to travel light. I request that Your Majesty lead the army down the Xiang River, into the Rong River, then onto the Long River to Hechi Prefecture, then cross the Phoenix Mountain, and follow the Hongshui River through Donglan Prefecture and Nandan Prefecture to the north of Sicheng. From there, we can enter the Nanpan River waterway via the Hongshui River, pass Anlongsi, and head straight for Puan Prefecture. This would save a considerable amount of time," Xirimo replied after a moment's thought.

“Yes, your thoughts are similar to mine. However, I have heard that the Cen family of Sicheng is the head of all the local officials in Guangxi. I would like to go to their prefecture city, Gukan Cave, to appease them. After entering Donglan Prefecture, the army may take the land route westward, pass Gukan Cave, and then turn towards Nanpan River to attack Puan Prefecture,” Suletan said with a smile.

“The Great Khan rules over all, he is the ruler of the world, why bother going to see those local chieftains? They are fickle and untrustworthy, I believe it would be pointless and a waste of time,” Xirimo had suffered at the hands of the Cen family of Sicheng and harbored no goodwill towards the chieftains of Guangxi, so he resolutely opposed the suggestion. “My mind is made up, you need not say more,” the Great Khan, who was usually compliant, refused this time, then said with a smile, “You are familiar with the terrain of the southwest, you can lead 50,000 troops as the vanguard!”

"Yes! This servant will not fail in his mission!" Upon hearing that he was to be the vanguard, Xirimo was overjoyed and no longer bothered with the matter of appeasing the chieftain. He left happily.

"When Xirimo was the previous General Who Conquers the South, he led his army south and fought against the armies of the Cen clan of Sicheng and the Huang clan of Siming, and there is some animosity between them. If Your Majesty wants to appease the Cen clan of Sicheng, it would be best to change the vanguard. Otherwise, I am worried that the Cen clan will feel uneasy, which will affect the effectiveness of the appeasement." Upon hearing that the Great Khan had appointed Xirimo as the vanguard, Hu Lianqi, the Minister of Revenue, hurriedly entered the main tent to advise him.

The Great Khan, who had always regarded Hu Lianqi as his strategist and listened to his advice, suddenly became as if he had taken the wrong medicine and resolutely opposed changing the person. "Xi Rimo is familiar with the terrain of the southwest. There is no one more suitable than him. You need not say more."

Seeing that the Great Khan was determined, Hu Lianqi had no choice but to seek out Grand Secretary Liu Haogu. "Grand Secretary," he said, "His Majesty wishes to appease Guixi, but when the Duke of Turpan (referring to Xirimo) served as the General Who Conquers the South, he fought a bloody battle with the local chieftains of Guixi and has a grudge against them. If the Duke of Turpan is made the vanguard, I fear that appeasement will not succeed but will turn into enmity. I have tried to persuade His Majesty, but he will not listen. I beg you, Grand Secretary, to persuade him."

After listening, Liu Haogu pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "The Emperor's heart is as deep as an abyss, beyond the comprehension of us subjects. It is best to let nature take its course!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Lianqi seemed to be deep in thought.
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The 210,000-strong army marched on, its banners obscuring the sun, a vast and mighty force that swept through the mountain roads of Guangxi. Most of the people along the way were afraid and gave way at the sight of this mighty army, and the few who were brave only dared to watch from afar. This route started from Guni Pass, passed through the Xiang River waterway, then turned to the Rong River waterway to Liucheng, and then turned to the Long River waterway to leave Liuzhou Prefecture and arrive at Yishan, the seat of Qingyuan Prefecture.

After several rounds of reforms to replace chieftains with centrally appointed officials, Liuzhou Prefecture no longer had any powerful chieftains. Only the Huang and Wei families, branches of the Taiping Huang and Qingyuan Wei families, existed in the Qianjiang Tuntian Thousand-Household Office area. They held low-ranking official positions and were weak, so the Great Khan didn't bother with them at all. Only when he was about to reach Yishan did he issue an imperial edict to Prefect Cui Jun, instructing him to prepare for the arrival of the chieftains. At the same time, he ordered the larger chieftains in Qingyuan Prefecture, such as the Donglan Wei family, the Nandan Mo family, the Nadi Luo family, the Xincheng Mo family, the Yongding Wei family, the Yongshun Deng family, and the Yong'an Peng family, to come to Yishan to be pacified.

At this time, among the various chieftains of Qingyuan, only Mo Shiying, the chieftain of Nandan, and Mo Jin, the chieftain of Xincheng, obeyed the orders of the Cen clan of Sicheng. Others, such as Luo Dezhong, the chieftain of Nadi, Wei Shixing, the chieftain of Yongding, Deng Tianzhu, the chieftain of Yongshun, and Peng Tinggan, the chieftain of Yong'an, all submitted to Wei Zhaobi, the chieftain of Donglan. Prefect Cui Jun truly controlled only the prefecture of Hechi and the four counties of Yishan, Si'en, Tianhe, and Lipo. Upon receiving the imperial edict, Prefect Cui dared not delay. He immediately ordered Liu Anguo, the prefect of Hechi, Bao Fuxiang, the magistrate of Si'en, Huang E, the magistrate of Tianhe, and Fu Hongye, the magistrate of Lipo, to bring personnel and provisions to Yishan to prepare for the emperor's arrival. He also sent messengers to Wei Zhaobi, the chieftain of Donglan, and Mo Shiying, the chieftain of Nandan, informing them that His Majesty wished to summon them—a tremendous honor—and urging them to quickly bring their subordinates, who were allied with the Wei and Mo clans, to Yishan for an audience. (End of Chapter)