Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Your Majesty, in the siege, our army suffered over 15,000 casualties, beheaded over 30,000, captured over 30,000, and seized over 500 members of the Cen and Huang families, as well as other chieftains' sons. What should be done with them? Please give your instructions," said Halahuli, Minister of War, respectfully.

"Ah~" The Great Khan of Lotus stretched lazily, devoid of any imperial majesty. He hadn't slept well these past few days commanding the battles, but thankfully, in just over ten days, he had utterly crushed the Cen and Huang tribes, who had dominated western Guangxi for centuries. In high spirits, he naturally felt a pang of compassion and lazily said, "Heaven cherishes life, and I don't want to kill too many people, lest I violate Heaven's virtue. Release them all."

“No! Cen and Huang have been ruling over western Guangxi for hundreds of years. Even a centipede with a hundred legs will not die easily. If we do not eliminate them at the root, there will be future troubles. I request that all the sons and daughters of the local chieftains be slaughtered to prevent future troubles,” Grand Secretary Liu Haogu advised.

After a moment's contemplation, Sultan smiled and said, "While Master Liu's words are reasonable, I have always ruled with benevolence and righteousness, and cannot bear to kill too many people. How about this: confiscate the wealth of the rebellious chieftains, and exile all their sons and brothers to Ningguta. At such a distance of thousands of miles, I doubt they can cause any trouble." On the surface, this appeared to be a display of imperial benevolence, but in reality, it was an order to abolish the chieftain system in Guangxi and bring it under direct imperial control. This was only natural; the power of the Guangxi chieftains was too great. If not now, during the suppression of the rebellion, to bring their controlled lands and people back under the court's control?

"Your Majesty is wise. However, although there are many rebellious chieftains, they are all coerced by the Cen and Huang clans. If all of them are confiscated and exiled, the impact will be too widespread and may incite other unrest, affecting the grand plan to conquer Wu Zhou. It would be better to punish only the Cen and Huang clans and pardon the other chieftains," Grand Secretary Bo Bei suggested.

Sultan understood his meaning. The most important thing at present was to eliminate the dying Wu-Zhou regime. There were many chieftains in Guangxi, and most of them obeyed the orders of the Cen and Huang families. If the rebellion spread too far and incited new uprisings, it would probably prolong the time it took for the garrison to enter Guizhou, giving Wu Sangui time to recuperate. After listening, he slowly nodded, "Then we will do as you say, confiscate the wealth of the Cen and Huang families, and exile the entire clan to Ningguta. As for the other chieftains who have rebelled, they will all be pardoned. All the other captured chieftain soldiers will be released."

"Your Majesty's grace is boundless, and this humble servant is deeply grateful!" Upon hearing this, Bo Bei, the number one sycophant of the Qian Yuan Dynasty, quickly expressed his inexplicably excited feelings, flattering the emperor until the emperor waved his hand in embarrassment before finally stopping.

"Your Majesty," Liu Haogu suggested, "I have heard that the Cen and Huang clans control as many as 100,000 slaves. Why not release these people from slavery? This would not only demonstrate the Emperor's boundless grace but also increase the population of the court."

Sultan understood that Master Liu was trying to undermine their cause. The Cen and Huang tribes could easily muster over 100,000 soldiers, whose soldiers came not only from the local populace but also from privately owned slaves. Freeing these people from slavery would make it much more difficult for any remaining Cen and Huang youths to rebel, and would also earn him a reputation for tolerance and benevolence. He grinned and said, "This is an excellent proposal; I approve it."

Although the other chieftains involved in the rebellion were spared, and the policy of replacing local chieftains with centrally appointed officials was only implemented in the territories of the Cen and Huang families, the Cen and Huang families had controlled western Guangxi for over seven hundred years, and their territories were vast! Besides the four prefectures of Sicheng, Zhen'an, Siming, and Taiping, and the four prefectures of Tianzhou, Guishunzhou, Fengyizhou, and Xiangwuzhou, as well as the two chieftainships of Anlong and Shanglin, the two families also had branches in Nanning, Si'en, Liuzhou, Xunzhou, and even more than a dozen villages controlled by the Cen family within Guizhou. It remained a daunting task; if handled poorly, the newly pacified Guangxi would once again be engulfed in war.

The Great Khan, a believer in military might, decided to leave 15,000 troops under the command of Zheng Guoyin, the Governor of Guangxi, and Zhong Jida, the General, to garrison western Guangxi, while he himself led an army of 180,000 to continue towards Puan Prefecture in Guizhou. As wise and powerful as he was, he naturally knew that for long-term stability, military force alone was insufficient; extensive civil administration was also necessary. He appointed Li Wei, who had repeatedly distinguished himself in campaigns alongside the Prince of Qi, as the Governor of Guangxi, and entrusted the position of Provincial Treasurer to Cui Jun, the Prefect of Qingyuan.

He vividly remembered how, when he summoned the local chieftains in Qingyuan, Mo Shiying, the prefect of Nandan, had feigned illness and failed to appear on the orders of the Cen clan of Sicheng. When he launched an attack on Gukan Cave, he ordered Cui Jun to eliminate the Mo clan of Nandan. Unexpectedly, Cui Jun submitted a memorial advising against this, arguing that if the Mo clan's power was eliminated, only the Wei clan would remain dominant in Qingyuan Prefecture, potentially leading to a repeat of the Cen-Huang incident. He suggested ordering Mo Shiying to return the two villages under the jurisdiction of the prefect Luo Dezhong, whom he had seized, as a form of punishment. This would maintain the dignity of the court, create a balance of power between the Wei and Mo clans, and even win the gratitude of the Luo clan. This lowly prefect dared to contradict the infamous Khan! Even more remarkably, the Khan, upon seeing the memorial, not only showed no anger but also repeatedly praised Cui Jun's ability and talent. Considering the candidates for governing Guangxi, he immediately promoted Cui Jun to the high position of Provincial Treasurer.

The decrees that only punished Cen Huang, spared others, and released prisoners of war quickly spread throughout Guangxi. Those minor chieftains who had participated in the rebellion and thought they were doomed, such as Feng Taiyi, the chieftain of Dukang Prefecture; Zhao Hongji, the chieftain of Guohua Prefecture; Xu Shaowu, the chieftain of Xialei Prefecture; Xu Hongzuo, the chieftain of Shangying Prefecture; Li Kaijin, the chieftain of Taiping Prefecture; Li Ziyan, the chieftain of Anping Prefecture; and Zhao Guailong, the chieftain of Shangxiadong Prefecture, all offered large quantities of grain and supplies to reward the army. Among them, Nong Tingfeng, the chieftain of Dujie Prefecture, donated the most. Nong Tingfeng and his son Nong Yinglun, after being captured by the imperial guards, thought they were doomed, but unexpectedly, they were not only spared but also released. Overwhelmed with gratitude, they spent lavishly. Seeing their "loyalty," Suletan was delighted and, with a stroke of his pen, issued an imperial edict praising them.

Most of the decrees governing Guangxi were actually issued during the march. Three days after capturing Gukan Cave, on October 10th of the 28th year of Qianyuan (1671), the Great Khan left the troops of Guangxi Governor Zheng Guoyin and General Zhong Jida to garrison western Guangxi, and then led his army away from Sicheng to continue marching towards Guizhou.

The army of 180,000 men marched forward in a mighty procession, crossed the Buliu River, arrived in Anlongsi territory, and then followed the Nanpan River waterway to the border between Guizhou and Guangxi provinces.

Scouts reported that Wu Sangui had not left Guizhou and was still in Guiyang recruiting soldiers. Upon hearing this, the Great Khan was overjoyed and ordered, "Order Tegus Chaoketu and Babai to capture Huangcaoba Camp and Anlongsuo within one day."

No sooner had the military order been issued than another urgent message arrived: Shang Kexi from Guangdong and Geng Jimao from Fujian jointly submitted a petition urging him to surrender, expressing their willingness to abandon Zhou and return to Wei.

"These two opportunistic foxes, hearing that Wu's army suffered a crushing defeat at Guni Pass, think Wu Sangui is finished and are now trying to curry favor with me. Hmph! They truly have no loyalty!" Sultan sneered upon hearing the news.

"The destruction of Zhou has reached a critical moment. I urge Your Majesty to appoint Shang Geng as a king to appease the two of them," Hu Lianqi advised.

Sultan laughed heartily, "I naturally understand this principle, therefore I hereby appoint Shang Kexi as the King of Yue and Geng Jimao as the King of Min." (End of Chapter)