Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In the Zhonglie Street and Wenbi Street area of ​​Guiyang, the imposing palace of Emperor Zhaowu of the Great Zhou Dynasty stands majestically. This palace has a remarkable history, having been built by the powerful warlord Sun Kewang. After Sun Kewang led his army to conquer Guiyang, believing himself to have made a great contribution, he proclaimed himself Prince of Qin and built his palace on this site. In the eighth year of the Yongli Emperor's reign, he simply declared himself Emperor of the Later Ming Dynasty and converted the Prince of Qin's palace into a royal palace. Later, when the Qing army entered Guizhou, the palace became the Imperial Examination Hall. After Wu Sangui retreated to Guiyang, the Imperial Examination Hall became Emperor Zhaowu's temporary palace.

Although the imperial palace remained majestic, the courtiers were in an uproar. After the defeat at Guni Pass, the ministers were divided. One faction, led by Liu Maoxia, advised abandoning Guizhou and concentrating forces to defend Yunnan, while the other, led by Fang Guangchen, advocated holding Guizhou as a shield for Yunnan. Now, with their retreat cut off and surrounded in Guizhou by the imperial guards, the ministers who opposed holding Guizhou dared not blame Emperor Zhaowu, but instead turned their anger towards Fang Guangchen, who advocated for holding Guizhou. Public opinion was boiling over, and the momentum was overwhelming. Fang Guangchen, who had once considered himself Wu Sangui's top strategist, now shrank back, his eyes red, and remained silent.

"Enough! Tingxian (Fang Guangchen's courtesy name) and the others advocated holding Guizhou, and their starting point was also for the good of the Great Zhou. Besides, it was I who made this decision. If there is any guilt, the guilt lies with me!" Wu Sangui shouted sharply, stopping the ministers' accusations and taking all the blame upon himself, moving Fang Guangchen and the others to tears. Seeing that everyone was silent, the experienced Emperor Zhaowu bowed to Liu Maoxia again, "Xuanchu (Liu Maoxia's courtesy name) has repeatedly given me good advice, but I have not listened to it, leading to this critical situation. Now, what should be done? I beg Xuanchu to teach me!"

Seeing that Wu Sangui, who was much older than him, treated him with the respect due to a teacher, Liu Maoxia couldn't help but sigh. His lord was indeed respectful of the virtuous and talented, but he always refused to listen to honest advice at crucial moments. Now that the situation was hopeless, he was asked to offer his own strategies. He wasn't a strategist with three heads and six arms; how could he possibly turn the tide? But as a strategist, he couldn't fail to be loyal to his lord. After much thought, he sighed and said, "I believe that with the Wei army surrounding us from all sides, Your Majesty's only chance to salvage the situation is to concentrate all your strength and break through one of the enemy's lines."

"Oh, Xuan Chu, which faction do you think I should deal with first?" Wu Sangui asked humbly.

“The other three sides are all bordered by the Wei Kingdom. Even if Your Majesty defeats the Wei army, you will still not be able to break free from the encirclement. Only by defeating the enemy in the west can you return to Yunnan. Moreover, the army in the west is led by the Emperor of Wei himself. As long as we defeat the Hu chieftain, the other Wei troops will surely lose their courage!” Liu Maoxia answered firmly.

"What! Attacking the false Khan?" "The false Khan has a large army, and our army only has some remnants left. How can we possibly defeat him?" "Yes, to attack the enemy's main force with a defeated army is like throwing an egg against a rock." ... After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but whisper among themselves and discuss among themselves.

Wu Sangui pondered for a long time, then suddenly raised his head and shouted, "Our army has reached a dead end. If we stubbornly defend ourselves, we will surely be defeated. Since ancient times, to capture the enemy, one must first capture their leader. If we can defeat the false Khan, we can definitely turn defeat into victory. Let us follow Xuan Chu's advice!"

After shouting, seeing few people respond, the old emperor laughed again, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. How can we lose our courage because of a temporary defeat? Even an old man like me has the courage to fight to the death with the enemy. You are younger than me, yet you are cowardly at the critical moment of life and death?"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to follow you and fight the barbarians to the death!" Upon hearing this, General Wang Pingfan, the Great General of the Fallen Kingdom, was filled with fervor and answered first.

"Your Majesty, I am also willing to follow you and shed my blood on the battlefield!" Guizhou Governor Li Benshen echoed excitedly.

"We swear to follow Your Majesty to the death!" "Your subject is willing to go!"... At the critical moment of life and death, the generals were stirred by the blood in their bones and expressed their willingness to follow Wu Sangui to fight the Wei army.

Seeing that the army's morale was high, Wu Sangui ordered General Yang Yingxuan to remain in Guiyang and assembled a hastily assembled army of 100,000 men, with Wang Pingfan and Li Benshen as the vanguard, to march towards Puan Prefecture. Upon reaching Zhenning Prefecture, they learned of the fall of An'nan City and the death of Ma Bao in battle. Overwhelmed with grief, they paid tribute to the fallen heroes and then ordered the entire army to cross the Baishui River.

"Look, all of you! This is a divinely ordained battlefield! Let us fight the Wei army right here!" After crossing the river, Wu Sangui raised his whip and roared, pointing to a large mountain on the west bank of the Baishui River. "Your Majesty is wise! This mountain is called Jigongbei (Chicken Back), located at a strategic point on the ancient Yunnan-Guizhou road. It is named for its ridgeline, which resembles a chicken's back. There is a Jigongbei Fortress built during the Ming Dynasty on the mountain. It is truly a formidable place where one man can hold off ten thousand!" Guizhou Governor Li Benshen, familiar with the province's geography, wholeheartedly agreed.

"I have heard that when the Qing army entered Yunnan from Guizhou, the Ming general Feng Shuangli planned to use this place to block the Qing army led by Doni. Unfortunately, although Jigongbei is dangerous, the mountain road is extremely difficult to travel. The soldiers had to carry the grain on their shoulders and in their hands. The speed of transporting the grain could not keep up with the speed of grain consumption. After a few days, the army was full of complaints due to lack of food and collapsed without a fight. The Qing army was able to enter Yunnan smoothly." Liu Maoxia talked about the past and secretly reminded Wu Sangui that he should not repeat Feng Shuangli's mistake.

"Xuan Chu is absolutely right! I originally intended to emulate Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, by smashing the pots and sinking the boats, and then fighting the Wei army to the death with our backs against the Baishui River. But this place is extremely dangerous. If we break the cauldrons and sink the boats, and then the army's food supplies run out and the soldiers go hungry, it will be no joke if they start a riot. Hahaha~" Wu Sangui joked after hearing this.

"Hahaha~hahaha~"

The surrounding soldiers burst into laughter. His Majesty the Emperor was the backbone of the entire army; if he wasn't afraid, what did the rest of us have to fear? Unconsciously, morale was greatly boosted.

Liu Maoxia suppressed a laugh and offered a suggestion: "Chicken Ridge is too steep, and it would be difficult to supply the army with provisions if too many troops were hidden there. However, it is still possible to hide 10,000 elite troops on the mountaintop. You can deploy the main force at the foot of the mountain, select a brave general to lead 10,000 troops to lie in ambush on the mountaintop, and when the two armies are in the midst of a fierce battle, attack from the mountain. The enemy will surely be thrown into chaos!"

"Excellent!" Wu Sangui exclaimed repeatedly, glancing around at his generals before finally fixing his gaze on Zhang Qilong, the General of the Imperial Guard. This man was a former general of the Pingxi Prince, skilled in wielding a broadsword and incredibly brave in battle, known as "the enemy of ten thousand men." He had previously followed Wang Pingfan in battles across Sichuan and Guizhou, repeatedly achieving meritorious service.

"Zhang Hanzi," the old emperor affectionately called Zhang Qilong by his nickname, and asked in a warm tone, "If I gave you ten thousand elite soldiers, could you successfully defeat the Imperial Guard?"

Zhang Qilong's heart warmed, and he shouted, "Your Majesty, I am not confident of defeating the Imperial Guard, but I am determined to sacrifice myself for my country!"

"Good! If everyone is determined to sacrifice themselves for their country, how can we not achieve victory!" Wu Sangui patted him on the shoulder and entrusted him with the important task of guarding the top of Jigongbei Mountain.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the Imperial Guards are bound to become arrogant and complacent after their successive victories. We should order the Left General (referring to Hu Guozhu, the Left General of the Imperial Guards) to lead the army to abandon the Beipan River line and retreat to Jigongbei. This would increase our forces for the decisive battle and lure the enemy deeper into our territory, thus fostering their arrogance," Liu Maoxia suggested.

"Xuan Chu truly lives up to his reputation as my Zhang Liang. If we win this battle, Xuan Chu will deserve the greatest credit!" Wu Sangui readily agreed, comparing himself to Liu Bang and Liu Maoxia to his own Zhang Liang. (End of Chapter)