Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

“The two Songs detained Zhang Dedi, neither saying they would surrender nor not. What exactly are they planning?” Seeing that his envoys had been detained by Song Hongji and Song Zhiyin, Prince Ergalang of Jin couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“They are nothing but a bunch of chieftains. Since they don’t know what’s good for them, in my opinion, we should just go and kill them,” Zhao Wang Biligendalai shouted, eager for the chieftains to refuse to surrender so he could have a good slaughter.

“My two nephews, there’s no need to rush. The two Songs have always been attached to Wu Sangui. In my opinion, they still have illusions about Wu Sangui in Guiyang and want to wait and see for a while. No rush, let’s wait a bit longer,” said King Sumur of Liao, who was in no hurry and happily took a sip of the fragrant Sutai cheese (Mongolian milk tea).

“The newly added Song clan and the Longli Song clan were both insignificant minor chieftains before they rose to prominence after submitting to Wu Sangui. In recent years, they have helped Wu Sangui fight against our Dawei and suppress other disobedient chieftains, committing numerous atrocities. They must be afraid, fearing retaliation after surrendering, and dare not surrender immediately. Yet they haven't sent our envoy to Guiyang to hand over to Wu Sangui, indicating they also understand that Wu Sangui's power is waning. This inner conflict has created the current awkward situation of neither surrendering nor not surrendering,” said Leng Mengjun, the Governor of Guizhou. He was originally the Provincial Treasurer of Guizhou, but after the heroic death of Governor Ren Zhuan, he escaped and was appointed Governor of Guizhou. Because he was familiar with the people of Guizhou, he offered his opinion.

“That’s absolutely right. What do you think should be done?” Su Mu’er nodded slightly and looked at Leng Mengjun as he asked.

“I am willing to personally go to Xintiansi to express to the two Songs that David will not pursue past crimes. Back when the two Songs were under Wu Sangui’s command and besieging the Guizhou Wei Army, they sent troops to hunt me down. Seeing that I have put aside my hatred and come to persuade you to surrender, they will surely believe in David’s sincerity,” Leng Mengjun suggested.

"Good! It's just that Leng Fuyuan will have to suffer!" Seeing that he dared to take the risk of going to the enemy's camp to persuade him to surrender, Sumur was very impressed.

"While I am persuading them to surrender, I also request that Your Highnesses send troops to capture Leping County as a deterrent. Combining civil and military measures will give us a better chance of success," Leng Mengqian suggested.

"Granted!" Sumur loudly agreed, immediately ordering the Khorchin Prince Dushihuoer and the Ongniud Prince Biligundala to lead four thousand cavalry to attack Leping Commandery, to teach the Song clan chieftains a lesson. Leping Commandery was under the jurisdiction of the newly established Pacification Commissioner's Office, and its commander, Song Liangyong, was quite powerful among the Song clan chieftains and had always been close to Wu Zhou, commanding two thousand elite soldiers. Since the purpose was to intimidate, they would start with this man.

"Use your sabers to show those chieftains what's what. The purpose of this campaign is to intimidate the enemy. No military judges will be assigned to the army," Sumur said to Dushhor and Biligundala to boost morale. Both generals were tribal leaders from southern Mongolia. Upon hearing that no military judges would be assigned, they immediately understood and cheered as they departed.

Four thousand cavalrymen from the southern Mongolia swiftly routed Song Liangyong's two thousand local soldiers, even beheading their commander, Song Liangyong himself. They then began their massacre and looting. His Highness the Liao King, being benevolent, had refrained from sending a garrison, which conveniently allowed them to act with impunity. To fail to capitalize on this opportunity would be to betray His Highness's good intentions. Under the relentless onslaught of their iron cavalry, the people were reduced to fish on the chopping block. In just one day, Leping became a ghost town. After slaughtering and looting, the two Mongol princes triumphantly led their armies back.

Upon learning of the massacre of Leping Division by the Wei army, Song Hongji and Song Zhiyin were terrified. When their "enemy" Leng Mengjun came to persuade them to surrender despite past grievances and guaranteed that the Wei army would not retaliate, they immediately expressed their willingness to lead their troops to surrender and hosted a banquet for Zhang Dedi and Leng Mengjun.

After successfully persuading the surrounding areas of Duyun to surrender, Liao King Sumur, together with Jin King Ergalang and Zhao King Biligendalai, led a large army to attack the city. The shrewd and calculating Sumur appointed Wang Kejiu, the deputy general of Pianqiao, Song Hongji, the commander, and 27,000 surrendered troops under Song Zhiyin as the main attacking force. After seven days of continuous attacks, the surrendered troops suffered more than half their casualties and were unable to fight any longer, at which point other troops were replaced. The battle was unprecedentedly fierce; Wei Jianchang, the commander of the Wei Tu, An Taining, the Zhebao Tu centurion Lu Age, and Wu Duyun's assistant general Long Lu, among others, died in the fighting.

After nearly a month of fierce fighting, corpses littered the city and its outskirts, and the defenders suffered increasing casualties, their morale steadily declining. Seeing that Wang Kejiu, Song Hongji, and Song Zhiyin had all surrendered to the Wei, General Wu harbored different thoughts. He wrote a letter requesting surrender and opened the gates of Duyun. The Wei army swarmed in, and although Wu Guogui and Wang Hui fought desperately, they were ultimately outnumbered and overwhelmed by the overwhelming tide of the Wei forces.
-
Inside the Weijun camp at the northern foot of Phoenix Mountain in Qingyuan Prefecture, Guangxi, Prince Qi, Melas, stared intently at Mo Ziqian, the local prefect of Nandan, and Mo Jin, the local magistrate of Xincheng, his gaze sharp as lightning. "You say you can persuade Mo Zhilian to surrender? Are you confident?" This prince, ordered by his father, the Khan, had moved to Qingyuan. After joining forces with the Guangxi Governor Zheng Guoyin and General Zhong Jida, he only had 65,000 troops, the smallest among the various Weijun armies besieging Guizhou. The Khan's orders to him were merely to guard against the Wu army's breakout into Guangxi and to launch an attack on southern Guizhou when the opportunity arose. The phrase "when the opportunity arose" reflects the conflicted psychology of the Oirat war god: on the one hand, he knew his son's forces were small, and he only required him to guard against the Wu army's escape from the south; on the other hand, he hoped his son would not only adopt a defensive posture, but would preferably use his limited forces to find opportunities to launch several offensives, which would be more conducive to annihilating the main force of the Wu army.

No one knows a father better than his son. Upon receiving the military order, Melas was immediately filled with ambition and determined to launch a large-scale offensive in southern Guizhou, so that his father, the Khan, could see his military prowess. However, the shrewd and calculating Wu Sangui had already made arrangements in southern Guizhou, transferring more than 30,000 of his troops, including those of Luo Huijin, the governor of Guizhou, and He Jizu, the general of his personal iron cavalry, to southern Guizhou. Combined with approximately 40,000 local soldiers under the various chieftains of southern Guizhou who were allied with Wu Zhou, their forces exceeded those of the imperial guards. How to launch the attack required careful consideration.

As they were pondering this, Mo Ziqian, the local prefect of Nandan, and Mo Jin, the local magistrate of Xincheng, came to see them together. Ever since Mo Ziqian had obeyed the orders of the Cen family of Sicheng and failed to personally go to Yishan to pay homage to the Great Khan Lianhua, Mo's situation had become precarious. Although the Great Khan was magnanimous and only punished Mo by ordering him to return the two villages he had forcibly occupied from the Luo family, Mo still felt as if a sword was hanging over his head, not knowing when it would fall. Upon hearing that His Highness Prince Qi intended to lead his troops north, Mo Ziqian and Mo Jin hurriedly volunteered to see Mailas, saying that they could persuade Mo Zhilian, the local official of Danping who had submitted to Wu Sangui, to abandon his secret allegiance and join the righteous cause.

"Your Highness, rest assured, Mo Zhilian is of the same clan as us and has long desired to join the Guard. If it weren't for Luo Huijin sending his adjutant Liu Kui to garrison Danping, he would have already come to surrender," Mo Zigan said with a fawning smile. "In that case, I will give you a chance to make a name for yourselves. You two will lead your troops as the vanguard, and I will have Zheng Guoyin and Zhong Jida lead troops to provide support," Mairas coldly ordered.

"Your Highness, rest assured, your humble servants will swear to serve the country to the death!" Overjoyed to have been appointed as the vanguard, Mo Zigan and Mo Jin believed that if they could help Prince Qi achieve his goal of conquering the north, the Mo family would be free from worry! They then mustered 1,800 local soldiers and marched over mountains and valleys.

Upon hearing that the imperial guards were marching north, Mo Zhilian, the prefect of Danping, led his men to open the city gates. Liu Kui, the garrison commander of Danping, was a valiant and experienced general, but unfortunately, a traitor had lured him in. Caught off guard, he was approached by Mo Zigan's troops and beheaded. A dignified general, killed at the hands of a minor chieftain—how tragic!

Without much effort, Danping was easily captured. While sending people to inform the Great Khan, the Prince of Liao, and the Prince of Jin of the battle situation, the Danping Division turned northwest and attacked into the southern part of Guiyang's Bafan territory.

Upon hearing of the arrival of the imperial guards, Long Lei, the chieftain of Xiaolongfan, gathered over a thousand soldiers in response. Among the eight tribes, the Long clan chieftain had always been loyal to Wei Da, initially following the Guizhou governor Ren Zhuan in resisting Wu Sangui, only surrendering after Ren Zhuan was killed and they had nowhere else to turn. To eliminate future troubles, Wu Sangui ordered the execution of Long Yitu, the chieftain of Wolongfan, and Long Feihan, the chieftain of Dalongfan, who had surrendered, and also abolished the Long clan's territory by replacing local chieftains with appointed officials. Long Lei wandered among the common people, hiding his identity, and finally found an opportunity to rise up in rebellion.

The addition of chieftains such as Mo Zigan, Mo Jin, Mo Zhilian, and Long Lei, along with the defeat of Liu Kui's Wu army, increased the number of the Imperial Guard to 70,000, while reducing the number of Wu troops to below 70,000. Three major battles were fought between the two sides at Jinshifan, Lushan, and Weifan, with the Imperial Guard emerging victorious in all three. They killed Weifan Chieftain Wei Zhang and his son Wei Junzhao, Hongfan Chieftain Hong Guozhao, and captured Lufan Chieftain Lu Dayong and his son Lu Jun. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Wu Zhou's Guizhou Governor Luo Huijin and General He Jizu of the Imperial Guard were forced to retreat to Shangmaqiao.

On November 16, 1671 (the 28th year of the Qianyuan era), the Great Khan Lianhua led an army of 167,000 from Puan Prefecture to Annan Weicheng. Wu's personal guard, General Ma Bao, gathered all the garrison troops around Puan Weicheng into the city, along with his 5,000 defeated soldiers, making a force of over 10,000, who then defended the city.

"This Ma Bao is a true hero! Even in defeat, he still dares to fight!" Seeing Ma Bao leading his remaining troops in a desperate battle, Suletan praised him highly. Out of respect for the warrior, he did not underestimate the enemy because of their smaller numbers. Instead, he went all out, ordering the veteran general Xirimo to lead 50,000 troops to defend the south bank of the Beipan River and block Wu reinforcements, while he himself led the main force to launch a fierce attack on the Annan garrison city.

Wu Sangui indeed ordered Hu Guozhu, the Left General of the Golden Guard, and Liu Zhifu, the General of Dading, to lead 30,000 troops to the rescue, but they were blocked by the Beipan River and could not cross it.

On November 23, the Wei army breached the city of Puan. Ma Bao's second son, Ma Ziyuan, was killed in battle, and his third son, Ma Yingxian, protected Ma Bao as they retreated into the city to continue fighting the Wei army in the streets. After three more days of fierce fighting, all of Ma Bao's personal guards were killed, leaving only the father and son.

"Is my son afraid?" Ma Bao asked Ma Yingxian.

“If the father is not afraid, the son is not afraid either,” Ma Yingxian replied, leaning on his sword.

"Good! My true son! Let's have a contest and see who kills more barbarians!" Ma Bao took out his whip-wielding spear, laughing as he charged towards the surrounding guards. He killed over a hundred men before collapsing from exhaustion. Ma Yingxian also killed over thirty men before dying from an arrow wound.

"I wish I had a brave general like Ma Bao!" Upon hearing of Ma Bao's bravery, Sultan sighed repeatedly and ordered a grand funeral for him.

(End of this chapter)