Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

“Admiral, Zhongzuo Fortress is very fortified. Zheng Geng and Yang Yingxuan have six thousand men. If they defend the city, our army lacks artillery, so it may not be easy to conquer it.” Looking at the tall walls of Zhongzuo Fortress, Admiral Wu Shu showed a troubled expression.

"Zheng Geng has repeatedly provoked us in the past, and I have always ordered him to retreat, which has made him underestimate us. Today, I will only take ten small boats and twenty fast boats. He will think that my ships are small and my soldiers are few, and seeing that I have retreated many times in the past, he will surely come out to sea to fight. After luring him away, we will annihilate him in one fell swoop, and the city will be easy to fall." Liu Guoxuan was confident and only took thirty small boats and a thousand sailors to fight, ordering Wu Shu to lead the main army to hide in the waters near Bird Tail.

When Zheng's army, which had been harassed by their own forces and dared not retaliate, suddenly attacked, Zheng Geng, Yang Yingxuan, Liu Xuezheng and other generals were initially worried. However, when they saw that the enemy was flying the banner of "the defeated general" Liu Guoxuan and only had thirty small boats, Zheng Geng smiled contemptuously and said, "The enemy has come to their deaths, so this town will grant them their wish." After saying that, he was about to lead his troops out to sea to meet the enemy.

"General Zheng, wait a minute. The enemy has been avoiding battle for some time now. Their sudden attack could be a trap," Yang Yingxuan hurriedly advised.

“Yes, Commander-in-Chief, the enemy is known for its naval prowess. Why would they only send these small boats? Could it be a trap?” Liu Xuezheng also had some doubts.

"Gentlemen, you don't understand Liu Guoxuan. This man's fighting style is all about speed. He loves to ride his 'wave-riding boats' (also known as bird boats or fast boats) back and forth along the coast to plunder. It's a pity that although these small boats are fast, their cannons are not powerful enough, far inferior to the cannons of our warships. It's laughable that this man was praised to the skies by Zheng Jing just because he made some contributions in the campaign against a few barbarian tribes on the island. This time, we must capture and kill this man and teach Zheng Jing a lesson!" Mentioning his nephew Zheng Jing, Zheng Geng's face flashed with a fierce look. He wouldn't listen to anyone's advice and led more than eighty warships and three thousand naval troops out to sea to meet the enemy.

His fleet not only outnumbered Liu Guoxuan's fleet, but also included many large Fujian ships, as well as patrol boats, winter ships, bird ships, fast ships, boats, fishing boats, and the like. As soon as the battle began, the fierce cannon fire firmly suppressed Zheng's fleet, causing several of the enemy's warships to be hit by cannon fire and catch fire.

"Turn the rudder! Retreat!" Liu Guoxuan roared, swiftly ordering his men to turn and retreat. The small boat made it easy to maneuver, and Zheng's army quickly turned and fled.

"Raise the sails high! Speed ​​up and catch up!" Zheng Geng was not about to let his prey escape, so he ordered his men to give chase. When they reached the waters near Bird's Tail, suddenly cannons roared, and Wu Shu led more than a hundred warships out from behind the deserted island, cutting off the Wei army's retreat.

"Not good! Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Seeing the ambush, Zheng Geng realized he had been tricked and hurriedly ordered a retreat. Suddenly, a small boat rushed towards them, its "Liu" flag on the bow particularly conspicuous. As it approached, the boat suddenly turned its cabin, the two boats joined side by side, the deck was lowered, and a burly, dark-skinned man leaped aboard, his waist knife flashing left and right, cutting down the guards. Who else could it be but Liu Guoxuan?

"General, it's been a long time since we last met," Liu Guoxuan sneered, referring to Zheng Geng's former official position in Zheng's army. "Today I'll send you to see your brother (referring to the deceased Earl of Tong'an, Zheng Mingjun)." With that, a swift stroke of his sword rang out, so fast that Zheng Geng had no time to react before his head fell to the ground.

After annihilating Zheng Geng's naval forces, Liu Guoxuan led his army to attack Zhongzuosuo City. The morale of the defending troops plummeted after Zheng Geng's death, and the city fell quickly. Yang Yingxuan and Liu Xuezheng hastily fled by boat; both were surrendered generals of Wu Zhou, skilled in land warfare but mediocre at boatmanship, and were soon captured by Zheng's army. Liu Guoxuan ordered the rear admiral Wu Shu to remain to defend Zhongzuosuo City and built Xunwei Village on the Xunjiang River, forming a defensive triangle with Gaoqi Village to protect the city. He then led his army to seize Haicheng County. The garrison commander Song Guofu, originally stationed in Haicheng, had already led his main force, along with Commander Li Famei, to capture Zhenhaiwei. The city's garrison was small and quickly fell.

After capturing two cities, Liu Guoxuan was not satisfied and prepared to send troops to attack the garrison besieging Zhenhaiwei. However, he received a series of bad news.

First, Zhenhai City fell. The garrison commander of Zhenhai, Liu Yinglin, was originally a surrendered general of the Geng family, but he defected to the Zheng family because of his belief that Han and non-Han peoples could not coexist. However, he only had a little over two thousand soldiers under his command, while the attacking generals Song Guofu of Wei Yongning and Li Famei of Heli had ten thousand elite troops. Although they fought desperately, they were ultimately outnumbered and their entire army was wiped out; Liu Yinglin himself was killed in battle.

Then Zhangpu County also fell. The generals Chen Hui and Wei Ming, who attacked Zhangpu, were originally subordinates of Lin Tianqing, the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian appointed by Wu Sangui, and surrendered to the Wei Kingdom along with Lin Tianqing. Although their force numbered about ten thousand, it was not elite. However, Su Kan, the Zheng army's garrison commander in Zhangpu, fearing the Wei Kingdom's military might, surrendered without firing a single arrow.

The fall of Zhangpu County and Zhenhaiwei left the garrison at Tongshan isolated. General Zheng Zheshun, a confidant of Zheng Jing's favorite minister Feng Xifan, naturally refused to surrender and led his four thousand defenders in a desperate fight. The attacking generals, Han Tianfu of Wuding and Li Yubin of Lin'an, were former Wu Zhou generals eager to gain merit and secure their positions. Their attack was exceptionally fierce, but despite the defenders' relentless resistance and the loss of over a thousand lives, they gained nothing. However, upon learning of the fall of Zhangpu, Zheng Zheshun lost the will to continue and retreated to Penghu with over eighty ships.

His luck ran out; during his retreat, he encountered the Guangdong navy, led by the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Mandulatu, which was attacking Penghu. Seeing Zheng's fleet ahead, Mandulatu assumed his movements had been discovered by the Penghu navy and ordered an attack. Zhang Guoxun, the Chaozhou general in actual command of the Guangdong navy, fully utilized his superior numbers, ordering Haifeng Lieutenant General Gao Liangfu and Jieshi Lieutenant General Gao Liangzhen to each lead their fleets to flank Zheng's army from both sides. Despite being surrounded, Zheng Zheshun showed no fear and led his men in a desperate breakout. The fierce naval battle lasted for three days. Zheng's army attempted to break out several times, only to be overtaken each time. Ultimately, Zheng Zheshun was killed by cannon fire, and only seven fast ships escaped, but the battle inflicted heavy casualties on the Wei army. Jieshi Lieutenant General Gao Liangzhen's ship sank and he died, and the navy suffered two thousand casualties, with thirty-seven warships sunk. More importantly, the battle delayed the Guangdong navy's arrival in Penghu, disrupting the Wei army's plan to attack Penghu from two directions.

The successive falls of Zhangpu County, Zhenhaiwei, and Tongshan Garrison meant that Zheng's army was no longer present within Zhangzhou Prefecture. However, for Liu Guoxuan, this was not the worst news. What truly shocked him was that the army of Yanping Prince Zheng Jing had actually been defeated!

At noon on April 9, 1673, in the 29th year of the Qianyuan era, on the largest warship of Zheng Jun's navy in Tongan Bay, the banners of "General Who Pacifies and Subdue" and "King of Yanping" were clearly visible. Zheng Jing calmly observed the estuary of Shuangxikou in Tongan County with a telescope, seemingly lost in thought.

"My lord, I have sent men to investigate and found out that the garrison besieging Tong'an only numbers 15,000. We are outnumbered and can defeat them quickly," said Feng Xifan, a favored minister, rushing over excitedly. He was the son of Feng Chengshi, a senior member of the Zheng family and former Minister of Works, and was extremely loyal to Zheng Jing.

"Don't panic," Zheng Jing put down his telescope, pointed to Bingzhou Island at the southeastern estuary of Tong'an, and smiled, "A wise strategist thinks of retreat before advancing. If we build an earthen city here, our army will have nothing to worry about!" (End of Chapter)