Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

On the night of April 15th, 1673 (the 29th year of the Qianyuan era), a strong sea breeze swept across the sea. Shi Mingliang, the deputy commander of Kinmen, was unable to sleep. He led over a hundred trusted men, fully armored and swords drawn, to Guan'ao Port in Kinmen. He gazed at the dark sea stretching eastward towards Fuquan Port, seemingly oblivious to the wind ruffling his robes. Suddenly, points of light appeared on the surface, growing increasingly clear, like rows of sea serpents moving about. His heart skipped a beat, and he ordered his men to light three piles of firewood that had been prepared beforehand. Upon seeing the signal, the "sea serpents" sped up, gradually revealing the outline of the fleet.

It was the Imperial Guard! As Zheng Jing's confidant, Shi Mingliang had no reason to betray him. However, wise birds choose wise trees; the Great Wei Kingdom had already unified the world, yet the Prince of Yanping failed to see this trend and insisted on fighting a losing battle. Unwilling to be buried alive with his enemies, he secretly sent someone to contact Liu Maoxia, the governor of Fujian, becoming a pawn planted by Liu Maoxia within Zheng's army. Now, this pawn was finally about to play its role.

"Order each unit to dock in turn, drop off the brothers from the land forces, and return to the sea to maintain combat readiness," General Zhou Biao, who commanded the naval forces of the Imperial Guard, calmly gave the order. This time, he and his deputy Xu Shangchao were ordered to lead 5,000 naval troops to escort 11,000 cavalry and infantry to land on Kinmen. Because they had previously served under Geng Fan and had fought against Zheng's army many times, they knew the enemy's strength and dared not be careless.

Fleets of warships sailed into the Guan'ao Port, unloading wave after wave of cavalry and infantry. The Imperial Guards, under the command of Generals Sun Kaizong and Wu Jinzhong, stared arrogantly at the fawning Shi Mingliang as they directed their troops into battle. They had once served as Generals of the Left and Right Wings under Shang Kexi, and as newly surrendered generals, their status in the Great Wei Kingdom was not high. Yet, facing the Zheng family generals who were even less experienced than themselves, they were arrogant and overbearing.

"So you are Shi Mingliang?" Sun Kaizong asked slowly.

"I am indeed a guilty general," Shi Mingliang said with a forced smile, bending down even further.

"Hmm," seemingly satisfied with his compliant attitude, Sun Kaizong hummed in agreement and slowly asked, "Where is Zheng Kuan, the garrison commander of Kinmen, now?"

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, Zheng Kuan is currently stationed in Suocheng. Please rest assured, I have already arranged for an inside agent. Once the army arrives, the city gates will surely open," Shi Mingliang said obsequiously.

As a valiant general who had fought countless battles, Sun Kaizong immediately seized the opportunity in those words and chuckled, "In that case, you lead the way. If you can capture Zheng Kuan, I will personally speak on your behalf before the governor!"

"Yes!" Shi Mingliang's eyes lit up, and he gladly accepted the order.

As expected, things unfolded as predicted. Zheng Kuan, the garrison commander of Jinmen, was Zheng Jing's sixth brother. He was highly skilled in martial arts, but his young age meant he lacked prestige within the army. The junior officer guarding the gate had already been bribed and quietly opened the city gate. The guards swarmed in, rushing straight to Zheng Kuan's tent. The screams of his personal guards roused Zheng Kuan. The young general remained calm, drawing his horse-slaying saber and wielding it with both hands, charging towards the enemy. The horse-slaying saber was renowned for its sharpness and resilience; its long blade could easily sever a horse's leg and had defeated the Eight Banners cavalry in the Battle of Yinshan. In Zheng Kuan's hands, it was as if he were possessed by a demon god; despite the enemy's numbers, none could withstand a single blow.

"Shoot! Shoot this little brat to death!" Sun Kaizong seemed to see Zheng Guoxing from back then. In his astonishment, he ordered his men to fire. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" After a series of gunshots, little Guoxing fell into a pool of blood.
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"Lord Wuping, Chen Hui and Wei Ming are attacking from Zhangpu; Song Guofu and Li Famei are attacking from Zhenhai; and Kinmen has fallen again. What should we do?" General Lin Wanhou asked Liu Guoxuan anxiously.

After capturing Haicheng County, Liu Guoxuan received a decree of reward from Zheng Jing, the Prince of Yanping, appointing him as Earl of Wuping and General Who Conquers the North, Wu Shu as Earl of Dingxi and General Who Pacifies the North, He You as General of the Left Guard, Lin Sheng as General of the Right Guard, and Jiang Sheng as General of the Left Tiger Guard, all with the title of Left Grand Commandant. This should have been a joyous occasion, but the current situation made the newly appointed Earl of Wuping far from happy. After successively capturing Zhongzuosuo (Xiamen) and Haicheng, he intended to continue his attack on Longxi, the capital of Zhangzhou Prefecture, but received successive news of the fall of Zhangpu County, Zhenhaiwei, and Tongshansuo, and the defeat of Zheng Jing's army at Lingyuan Mountain. His subordinates all advised him to withdraw his troops back to Kinmen, but he believed that the more critical the situation, the less he should retreat. He should take advantage of his army's large number of ships and flexible deployment, shuttling between various prefectures and counties, constantly harassing the guards, and covering the retreat of the prince's army. He then ordered Wu Shu, the Earl of Dingxi, to defend Zhongzuosuo, while resolutely abandoning the newly captured Haicheng County. He assembled his troops, boarded ships, landed at the end of the island, seized Dawu Mountain, and threatened Zhenhaiwei. Although he adopted an offensive strategy, he only had 8,000 troops at his disposal, which was already a small force. Just after occupying Dawu Mountain, news came that Kinmen had fallen, and that the garrison troops of Chen Hui and Wei Ming were attacking from Zhangpu, while Song Guofu and Li Famei's troops were attacking from Zhenhai.

Ordinary people would have fled upon hearing such terrible news, but Liu Guoxuan was no ordinary man. After hearing the slight fear in Lin Wanhou's voice, he smiled and looked at his generals, calmly analyzing the situation. "Zhangpu is quite far from here, and it will take three or four days to get there; although Kinmen has fallen, Zhongzuo Garrison is still in our hands, which is enough to keep them occupied; as for the Zhenhai garrison, although they outnumber our troops, our army has already occupied Dawu Mountain, which is a high vantage point, so what is there to fear? The key to this battle is to defeat the Zhenhai garrison as soon as possible!" Seeing their commander so calm, his subordinates were immediately reassured and quickly deployed their troops according to orders.

Upon hearing that Zheng Jun had occupied Dawu Mountain, General Song Guofu and Li Famei of the Imperial Guard led nearly ten thousand troops to attack. The battle began in the early morning of April 19th, 1673. Zheng Jun defended the mountain, and his fierce artillery fire repelled wave after wave of Imperial Guard troops. During the fierce battle, Wu Hao, the deputy general of the Imperial Guard, was killed in action. By noon, Zheng Guoxuan ordered his generals Wang Yiji and Huang Qiu to land fifty small boats on the eastern beach of Dawu Mountain to attack the flank of the Imperial Guard. Seeing the critical situation, Song Guofu ordered his deputy general Ke Jun to lead troops to block the attack. Because he charged too far forward, Wang Yiji was shot and killed. Lieutenant General Gao Qiu took over command and continued to lead Zheng Jun in a valiant charge. Ke Jun could not stop him and was killed by Gao Qiu. Gao Qiu then led his troops straight to the enemy's main banner. The Imperial Guard was thus routed, and Song Guofu and Li Famei abandoned Zhenhaiwei in disarray and fled to Zhangpu.

After capturing Zhenhaiwei, Liu Guoxuan looted the treasury and grain, then led his army to seize Kinmen. He knew very well that Kinmen faced Tongan Bay, and if it was not recaptured, it would pose a great threat to his main force. Although the island was garrisoned by General Zhou Biao, Sun Kaizong, Wu Jinzhong, and Deputy General Xu Shangchao, with 15,000 troops, far exceeding the number of his own men, this Earl of Wuping was not afraid at all. He first ordered Wu Shu, the garrison commander of Zhongzuo, to launch a feigned attack on Kinmen from Zhongzuo to attract the attention of the garrison, while he himself led nearly 8,000 soldiers to land on the eastern part of Kinmen Island.

On the morning of April 21st, Zheng Jun, relying on his familiarity with the terrain, successfully landed, killed the guard general Li Maozhu, and marched straight towards the walls of Kinmen. Seeing that Zheng's army was outnumbered, the guard generals Sun Kaizong and Wu Jinzhong led 10,000 men in a counterattack, attempting to drive the enemy off the beach. The guard's adjutant, Yu Mingjie, was extremely brave, leading 500 cavalry in a charge at the forefront, briefly disrupting Zheng's vanguard and killing Zheng's general Huang Qiu. In this critical moment, Zheng's adjutant, Jiang Zhen, led 600 elite soldiers, wielding sabers specifically to cut the horses' legs. With horses neighing and men filled with fear, the guard's offensive faltered.

"Restore China! Behold this battle!" Liu Guoxuan shouted to his men, brandishing his broadsword as he charged towards the enemy. His men, inspired and fearless, charged forward, slaughtering countless Wei soldiers. By noon, Zheng's fierce general Gao Kui charged into the Wei ranks, directly attacking Wu Jinzhong's horse and beheading him with a single stroke. He then swung his sword and severed the "Wu" banner. Sun Kaizong, terrified, led his men in a hasty retreat into the water fortress, attempting to escape by boat. The Zheng army pursued and slaughtered them, leaving countless dead. Wei's naval commander, Zhou Biao, had no choice but to lead his fleet to sail away from Kinmen. In this battle, the Zheng army suffered 1,000 casualties but annihilated over 5,000 Wei soldiers, a resounding victory.

After recaptured Kinmen, Liu Guoxuan had barely had time to rest when he suddenly saw a forest of masts on the sea, with countless warships surging in from the direction of Tong'an Bay. A large banner proclaiming "Grand General of the Expedition" revealed the identity of the newcomers: Zheng Jing, the Prince of Yanping. Although Zheng Jing had been defeated, he still commanded 33,000 men and over 600 warships, a formidable force. Upon hearing the news of Kinmen's fall, the prince dared not remain in Tong'an to fight Liu Maoxia to the death, and led his army back to retake Kinmen. He expected a fierce battle, but to his surprise, the island was recaptured by his own army. Overjoyed, he patted Liu Guoxuan on the back and said, "With a tiger general like Guanguang (Liu Guoxuan's courtesy name), how can I worry about the decline of China!"

"Your subject has captured the traitor Shi Mingliang. I request Your Majesty to decide his fate," Liu Guoxuan presented him with another great gift.

Upon hearing the name "Shi Mingliang," Zheng Jing's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said with a sinister smile, "Slice that traitor who has forgotten his ancestors and willingly becomes a slave to the barbarians, and behead him to warn the entire army!" (End of this chapter)