Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The defeat was swift and devastating! Cen Jilu fled back to the mountains to recount his troops; only a little over 60,000 remained. "Quickly send someone to Guiyang to request reinforcements from Emperor Zhaowu! The entire army must hold firm and not engage in reckless battle," he ordered after regaining his composure, hoping to defend the terrain. Fortunately, western Guangxi was surrounded by mountains; despite the crushing defeat, the terrain offered a strategic advantage. The Wei army's primary objective was Wu Sangui, not themselves; a stalemate could potentially drag on until the Wei army left western Guangxi.

However, in all matters of state, the most crucial element is "momentum"! Once the momentum is lost, all is lost! After fleeing back to Tushan, desertions continued. Many of the smaller chieftains who had previously allied with the Cen family, seeing the Cen family's crushing defeat, refused to be buried alive with them. Feng Taiyi, the chieftain of Dukang Prefecture, Zhao Hongji, the chieftain of Guohua Prefecture, Xu Shaowu, the chieftain of Xialei Prefecture, and Xu Hongzuo, the chieftain of Shangying Prefecture, among others, led their troops in succession, causing Cen and Huang's army to lose nearly four thousand men. Even though Cen Jilu sent Cen Maoren, the chieftain of Tian Prefecture, to patrol and immediately behead any deserters found, it still couldn't stop the soldiers from fleeing.

On the night of September 28, 1671, Cen Jilu, exhausted from a day's work, was about to go to bed when Cen Jixiang, the prefect of Zhen'an, rushed into his tent in a panic. "Your Excellency, something terrible has happened! The Wei-Wei army has taken several hills nearby along a small path and is moving towards our rear, seemingly trying to cut off our retreat!"

"What!" Cen Jilu's heart skipped a beat. After careful questioning, he learned that the mountains occupied by the Wei army were all in low-lying areas, and the paths they took were extremely well-hidden, making them virtually unknown to anyone who wasn't a local. He howled in grief and indignation, "This must be the path that the Wei family led the Wei army to! I'll skin Wei Zhaopi alive!" Despite his hatred, he had no choice but to flee for his life. He immediately ordered the entire army to abandon their baggage and return to Sicheng.

The escape was fraught with peril. The armies of the Cen and Huang clans received the news early and fled first, leaving the other chieftains who stayed behind to suffer. Li Zuanding, the chieftain of Mingying Prefecture, Zhao Zhengang, the chieftain of Longying Prefecture, and Bi Chengen, the chieftain of Xiashixi Prefecture, all perished during their escape. Nong Tingfeng and his son Nong Yinglun, the chieftains of Dujie Prefecture, surrendered after being surrounded by the imperial guards. Those chieftains who managed to escape, such as Li Kaijin, the chieftain of Taiping Prefecture, Li Ziyan, the chieftain of Anping Prefecture, and Zhao Guailong, the chieftain of Shangxiadong Prefecture, refused to serve the Cen clan any longer. They fled back to their own territories in disarray with their remaining troops. Upon returning to Sicheng, Cen Jilu counted his forces and found only 50,000 men remaining. Adding the 10,000 troops of his eldest son, Cen Qidai, who remained to guard Sicheng, the total was only 60,000. He was filled with despair.

“Lord Cen, our army’s morale is low. We should abandon Sicheng and head to Zhen’an and Tianzhou to temporarily avoid the Wei army’s advance,” Huang Daiqian advised Cen Jilu helplessly.

Cen Jilu sighed inwardly. Without Sicheng, would the Cen family of Sicheng still be the Cen family of Sicheng? Forcing a smile, he said, "Brother, you may not know this, but Sicheng is a place of great martial prowess. If we conscript all the men in the city aged fourteen to sixty, we can still increase our forces by more than ten thousand. Moreover, the city has ample provisions, and the city walls, repaired and maintained by generations of the Cen family, are incredibly sturdy. There are two moats in front of the government office alone. The imperial guards will not be able to break in anytime soon. I have already requested reinforcements from His Majesty Emperor Zhaowu. If we can hold out for two or three months, reinforcements will surely arrive!"

"Sigh~" Huang Daiqian sighed. He was also a chieftain and knew the importance of the ancestral land to the chieftain family. Helplessly, he offered another suggestion, "Since you want to defend Gukan Cave, why not transfer all the troops stationed in various places to Gukan Cave and concentrate all your efforts on defending the city?"

“My brother and I are of the same mind! I have already sent messengers to mobilize troops stationed in various places to come to Gukou to explore the cave,” Cen Jilu said happily.

"Report! The Imperial Guard has launched a surprise attack on Cenwanglaoshan and captured Lizhou. Leaders Cen Zhaowu and Cen Jiying have been killed in battle." The two were discussing their grand plan when this bad news arrived.

"Cenwanglaoshan is lost! How could this be?" Cen Jilu's expression changed drastically. Cenwanglaoshan, nearly 700 zhang (2062 meters) high, is the main peak of Qinglong Mountain where the ancient exploration cave is located. It is also the highest peak in western Guangxi and the fourth highest peak in Guangxi, and the place where the Cen family started their fortunes. He stationed 8,000 wolves there, defending the strategic location. How could it have been lost so quickly?

"While the Wei army was engaged in fierce fighting with our forces, the Wei commander sent Zheng Guoyin, the governor of Guangxi, and Li Yingming, the assistant garrison commander of the road, with more than 10,000 troops. Under the guidance of Wei Shixing, the Yongding magistrate who had defected to the Wei state, they sneaked up to the mountaintop via a side road. Cen Zhaowu, the leader, was caught off guard and was killed by the Wei army. Later, Zheng Guoyin took advantage of the victory to attack Lizhou. There were only 2,000 defenders in Lizhou. Cen Jiying, the leader, fought bravely and died."

After hearing the report from his attendants, Cen Jilu was dumbfounded.

"Oh no! Lizhou has fallen, and Gukan Cave is surrounded on three sides. If we lose Tianzhou to the south as well, it will become an isolated city!" Huang Daiqian exclaimed in alarm. As if to confirm his suspicions, news soon arrived that the garrison had captured Tianzhou and that the defending general Cen Maoyi had been killed in action.

Faced with imminent disaster, Cen Jilu displayed his true colors as a ruthless leader, inspiring his subordinates: "Our ancestors' seven-hundred-year legacy rests entirely in Sicheng. If we cannot protect our ancestral land, I will not live a life of dishonor!" After saying this, he bit his finger and wrote the four blood-written characters: "I swear to protect our ancestral land."

The Chinese people cherish their ancestors above all else. Inspired by the desire to defend their ancestral land, the hyenas united as one and regained their fighting spirit.

On October 2nd, the Wei army first bombarded the city with cannons. The ancient fortress, built on the mountainside, had walls constructed of sturdy mountain stone that could not be breached. Left with no other option, the Wei forces resorted to a surprise attack. After three days of fierce fighting, the city walls and surrounding areas were littered with corpses and rivers of blood. Wei general Liu Chaofu, along with his deputies Sun Jiayin, Shen Wei, and Fang Zhiqi, perished in the siege. On the Tujia side, leaders such as Cen Maoren, the Tujia prefect of Tianzhou, Cen Zhaoxian, the chief official of Shanglin, Huang Yuzhong, the Tujia prefect of Siming, and Huang Daohui, son of Huang Yuji, the Tujia prefect of Xiangwuzhou, also fought valiantly to their deaths.

Seeing that the fierce attack had failed to break through after three days, the Great Khan of Lotus grew impatient. "My sword is aimed only at the Wu traitors. How can we linger here for too long? Attack for another three days. If we fail to break through in three days, all the commanders of the armies shall be executed and replaced by their deputy commanders!"

This harsh military order drove the generals of the Kingdom of David to the brink of despair. They chose to die for their country rather than face the law, and each led their troops in a desperate attack on the city. Xu Xueyi, the general of Songpan, Han Daren, the general of Quanzhou, and Zhao Guoliang, the local prefect of Longzhou, all fell on the city walls.

Seeing the dire situation, Huang Bi, the local prefect of Guide Prefecture in Nanning, surrendered to the imperial guards to save his life and secretly opened the city gates. The imperial guards swarmed into the city, slaughtering everyone in sight. Names like Huang Daiqian, Huang Zi, Cen Jixiang, Huang Guangsheng, and Huang Longji, once prominent figures in western Guangxi, all became history. Only Cen Jilu and his son Cen Qidai were missing.

The area around the Tufu (local chieftain's) mansion was already piled high with firewood and straw. Looking at the guards closing in from all sides, Cen Jilu sighed to the heavens, "Seven hundred years of ancestral property destroyed by my own hands! I, Cen Jilu, am a sinner of the Cen family!"

“Bo (same as 卜, father), you are a great hero of our Sicheng, not a criminal!” the eldest son, Cen Qidai, shouted.

"I am old! It's just a pity for my son!" Cen Jilu said with tears streaming down his face, and lit the pile of firewood.

Amidst the raging flames, the seven-hundred-year-old Cen family business came to an end, replaced by a brand new Guixi! (End of Chapter)