Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"What! Xi Rimo detained Cen Zhaoxi and even helped the Wei family recapture three mountain strongholds in Fengshan?" Upon hearing the report from the fleeing soldiers, Cen Jilu, the local chieftain of Sicheng, trembled with rage, even the horsehair hat on his head shook involuntarily. He was truly furious! The Cen family had dominated Guangxi for hundreds of years, and their every move could shake the entire region. When had they ever suffered such a loss? He cursed, "You old scoundrel! Issue my military order: Cen Qidai will lead ten jia of soldiers to guard Gukan Cave, and the rest will follow me out of the city to intercept the Wei army!"

The Cen clan of Sicheng practiced a unique system of "tingmu" (亭目), which divided "ting" into "jia" (甲), with "jia" governing "ting" and "ting" governing "zhai" (寨). The "zhai" was the most basic unit, headed by a "zhai lao" (寨老) or "xiang yue" (乡约). A "ting" (亭) was established for every two or three "zhai" or a dozen "zhai," and was responsible for commanding troops, collecting taxes, maintaining order, and protecting the people; its head was called "ting mu" (亭目) or "bing mu" (兵目). A "jia" (甲) was a combined military and political organization, headed by a "jia mu" (甲目). Above the jia mu were the Sicheng native prefect (土知府, native chieftain) and various heads, generally direct relatives of the chieftain. This feudal lord system, combining politics and economics from the native prefect (土知府, native chieftain) to the heads, jia mu, ting mu, and zhai lao, was called the "tingmu system."

This system has a long history, dating back to 1328 when the Yuan court appointed Cen Numuhan as the Pacification Commissioner of the Eastern Circuit and General of Martial Virtue. Relying on this system of combined military and political power, the Cen clan continuously conquered and annexed surrounding areas, even instigating rebellions. By the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, Sicheng's territory stretched 300 li east to the border of Donglanzhou, 120 li west to the border of Shanglin Changguan Prefecture, 180 li south to the border of Tianzhou, and 1000 li north to the border of Anning Prefecture in Guizhou, earning it the title of "the most respected prefecture in the Baiyue region and the superior prefecture of the two rivers." After the Qing army marched south, Cen Jilu actively surrendered to the Qing court, sending troops to assist the Qing in fighting the Ming. The Cen clan's territory further expanded, and Sicheng was upgraded from a prefecture to a county, extending its influence to Guizhou and Yunnan. As their power grew, the Cen clan increasingly disregarded the imperial court, prompting Guangxi officials to lament: "The local chieftains are arrogant, and the constitution is crumbling; this has been going on for a long time." In short, in Guangxi, it was always the Cen clan who bullied others; they were never the ones being bullied. This is truly the last straw!

"Please, Lord Cen, first send troops to block the road, then send someone to demand the person from the Imperial Guard. In my opinion, this is Xi Ri Mo's attempt to avenge the grudge from years ago, and may not be His Majesty's intention. We can send someone to see His Majesty to complain about this matter!" Huang Daiqian, the local prefect of Siming, offered his suggestion.

"Hmm," Cen Jilu nodded slightly, and was about to personally lead the army to block the Wei army's way into Sicheng.

"Your Excellency, Chief Zhao Xi has been released by the Imperial Guards." Just as the army was about to set off, news came that Cen Zhao Xi and more than a thousand of his men had been released by the Imperial Guards.

"Hmm? Let him come see me!" Cen Jilu ordered with a cold smile.

"Old man Xi Rimo is so rude! Please, Your Excellency, do justice for the young men!" Upon seeing them, Cen Zhaoxi burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Useless trash! Stop crying!" Cen Jilu shouted sternly, his face grim. "Tell me in detail why Xirimo detained you and what happened."

“Yes,” Cen Zhaoxi wiped away his tears and said softly, “You asked me to prepare for the arrival of the Wei army, and I dared not neglect it. I prepared three hundred cattle, two thousand sheep, and a hundred carts of grain. But that old man complained that what we sent was too little. I told him that the Prefect had already prepared ample supplies for the army in the ancient cave, and that these things were just for the advance. The old man then flew into a rage, saying that our Cen family did not have the sincerity to submit to Wei Dawei, and ordered his men to arrest us. He also instructed Wei Zhaopi to lead his army to attack and capture our three strongholds in Fengshan…”

After listening to him finish speaking, Cen Jilu's horribly gloomy face gradually returned to calm, and he waved his hand with disgust, "Get out of here."

“Yes,” Cen Zhaoxi replied, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, and hurriedly withdrew. “Lord Cen, in my opinion, this must be Xi Rimo taking advantage of his position as vanguard to deliberately make things difficult for us. After tying up the people, he was afraid that we would complain to His Majesty, so he released Cen Zhaoxi and the others,” Huang Daiqian said, offering his opinion.

“Even so, we must not let this humiliation go unresolved! Please, my worthy brother, lead your troops with me to the earthen hill northeast of the ancient cave to set up defenses,” Cen Jilu requested.

“I dare not disobey!” Huang Daiqian readily agreed.

Cen Jilu ordered his son, Cen Qidai, to lead 10,000 Cen clan soldiers to garrison the ancient Kan Cave, while he himself, along with Huang Daiqian and other chieftains, led troops to the Tushan Mountains in the northeast. The title "Cen and Huang of Guangdong and Guangxi" was not to be underestimated. Besides the Cen clan's 60,000 wolf soldiers and the Huang clan's 50,000 wolf soldiers, there were also Qin Dinghan, the chieftain of Si'en Prefecture; Wang Xusheng, the chief inspector of Nama; Su Li, the chief inspector of Dingluo; Huang Meng, the chief inspector of Jiucheng; Xu Hongzuo, the chief prefect of Shangying Prefecture in Zhen'an Prefecture; Bi Chengen, the chief prefect of Xiashixi Prefecture in Siming Prefecture; Feng Tingzong, the chief prefect of Jielun Prefecture in Taiping Prefecture; Zhang Tianzuo, the chief prefect of Jie'an Prefecture; Nong Tingfeng, the chief prefect of Dujie Prefecture; Li Zuanding, the chief prefect of Mingying Prefecture; and the chief prefect of Wancheng Prefecture. Xu Hongji, Zhao Zhengang (local prefect of Longying Prefecture), Li Kaijin (local prefect of Taiping Prefecture), Li Ziyan (local prefect of Anping Prefecture), Zhao Guailong (local prefect of Shangxia Dong Prefecture), Zhao Hongji (local prefect of Guohua Prefecture in Nanning Prefecture), Zhao Guoliang (local prefect of Long Prefecture), Li Youpei (local prefect of Pingxiang Prefecture), Feng Taiyi (local prefect of Dukang Prefecture), Wei Rongyao (local prefect of Siling Prefecture), and Xu Shaowu (local prefect of Xia Lei Prefecture (Xia Lei Dong)) and their troops, totaling more than 30,000 wolf soldiers and over 140,000 troops, defended the earthen hill, blocking the path of the Weiguo army from their high vantage point.
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"What did you say? The two traitors, Cen and Huang, have led their troops to occupy Tushan and block our army's path?" Upon hearing the news, Xi Rimo, the vanguard of the Great Wei Kingdom and the First-Class Duke of Turpan, was overjoyed, but deliberately put on a worried face and said to Wei Zhaopi, the prefect of Donglan, "You begged me to help you reclaim the three villages belonging to your Wei family. Now you have angered the Cen and Huang families and caused this mess. The Khan will surely blame you when he finds out. What should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhaopi knelt down with a thud. "General, you are wise! The Cen family of Sicheng and the Huang family of Siming have been bullying and oppressing people in western Guangxi for many years. They have been raising soldiers, stockpiling grain, seizing land, and bullying the weak. As a result, people in western Guangxi and even the whole of Guangxi only know about the Cen and Huang families and not about the imperial court. This time, when the Great Khan led his army to the capital, they not only did not prepare to welcome him, but also led their troops to occupy strategic locations to block our army. They clearly have rebellious intentions!"

"Hehe, you say they are plotting a rebellion, do you have any evidence?" Xi Rimo spoke slowly, his eyes full of encouragement.

Wei Zhaopi understood and said loudly, "The other day when our army arrived at Fengshan, Cen Jilu ordered his chieftain Cen Zhaoxi to pretend to reward the troops but instead set up an ambush at Fengshan. The commander-in-chief saw through the deception and captured him. Later, the commander-in-chief, not wanting to cause trouble, released Cen Zhaoxi and his men. They felt the court's goodwill and should have changed their ways, but instead they repaid kindness with enmity and led a large army to block our army's path. This proves that the plot to rebel is true!"

This brat is twisting the truth! It was clearly I who provoked Cen first, but he claims it was Cen who tried to ambush me and was captured instead, even accusing Cen of treason. It seems the skin of this Guixi scoundrel is thicker than mine, a real wolf! Xi Rimo, hearing this, was taken aback, staring admiringly at Wei Zhaopi, then slowly spoke again: "It's common for armies to clash with chieftains when they enter Gui. To think that the Great Khan will believe Cen Huang intends to rebel is probably not going to be easy!"

Wei Zhaobi, however, remained calm and composed. "I request that the Commander-in-Chief persuade His Majesty to summon Cen Jilu and Huang Daiqian to the camp to explain the conflict. I predict that these two will not dare to come. If they do not appear when summoned, then the plot to rebel will be confirmed!" (End of Chapter)