Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Report to Your Highness immediately: Zheng Jing has encountered our army while pursuing the Fujian navy. Our troops are already engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. Please send troops to encircle and annihilate them as soon as possible." Jiangsu Admiral Yang Laijia, with his sharp eyes, spotted Zheng Jing's "General Who Pacifies and Subdues the Enemy" flag and Fujian Admiral Li Yingming's "Li" flag through his telescope. He immediately judged the battlefield situation, led his fleet to meet Li Yingming, and engaged in a fierce battle with Zheng's navy. At the same time, he sent a fast ship to report to Prince Qin, Zhuosiji.

Lacking naval experience, Prince Qin, Chosiji, ordered his deputy admiral, General Seter of the Tianjin Naval Battalion, to board his flagship and take command in his place. Upon hearing the report, Seter was overjoyed and said to Chosiji, "The Zheng army has marched a long way without rest and is exhausted. Moreover, their weapons and supplies have been greatly depleted and have not been replenished. This is a divine intervention to help Your Highness succeed! Admiral Yang has already engaged the Zheng army. Now we should send troops to provide support and at the same time dispatch fast ships to cut off their retreat, surrounding them from all sides!"

"Good!" Chosiji said in approval. He ordered Hong Chongpu, the military governor of Pyongan Province of Korea and the governor of Ningbian, Deng Junbi, the general of Anqing, Li Rong, the general of Wenzhou, and Ma Yinyang, the deputy general of Ningbo, to lead their naval forces to meet Yang Laijia. He also ordered A Yuqi, the general of the Jinzhou naval camp, and Pei Sansheng, the general of the Korean Han army, to lead their fast ships to cut off Zheng's naval retreat. He himself, along with Seter and others, commanded the various fleets to surround Zheng's army from all sides.

After leaving Liu Guoxuan and Zheng Ming's 5,000 naval troops and 100 warships to guard Ganju Island, Zheng Jing's navy still had 35,000 men and about 600 ships of various sizes. They faced the Qin King's more than 60,000 guards and 1,100 warships, as well as Li Yingming's 6,000 defeated troops and nearly 100 warships.

"Boom~Boom~Boom~"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The cannons of both sides began to roar. Zheng's army, with its greater experience in naval warfare and more accurate firing, immediately put Yang Laijia and Li Yingming's forces on the defensive. In the fierce battle, Jiang Sheng's fleet, the Left Tiger Guard of Zheng's army, hit Li Yingming's flagship and set it on fire, forcing Li Yingming to change ships. Zheng's deputy general, Gao Kui, fought Gao Liangfu, the military commander of Weihaifeng, at bay, and killed Gao Liangfu with a single blow, sending him overboard.

"Charge! Disrupt their formation!" Yang Laijia roared, leading his fleet into the Zheng army's fleet, disrupting their formation while simultaneously trapping himself within their encirclement. His boldness stemmed from his knowledge of the Qin Prince's powerful army behind him. Sure enough, it wasn't long before the naval forces of Hong Chongpu, Deng Junbi, Li Rong, and Ma Yinyang arrived to reinforce them, and the Qin Prince Zhuosiji's flagship also appeared within the ranks. As the number of guards increased, the two sides gradually reached a stalemate.

"Damn it! We haven't expected to encounter the pseudo-Qin King's navy here!" Zheng Jing lamented inwardly. On the surface, his side wasn't at a disadvantage, but after days of continuous fighting, their supplies—ammunition, arrows, and other provisions—were depleted and unreplenished, making a sustained battle unsustainable. In fact, upon first encountering the main force of the Wei navy, he had considered ordering a retreat, but turning around would take time, and the Wei vanguard was advancing rapidly, tightly entangled him, and a chaotic melee ensued. In the midst of such chaos, ordering a retreat often resulted in a complete rout. He could only hold out until nightfall and retreat under cover of darkness!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Suddenly a loud noise came. Zuo Wuwei He You's ship was hit in the ammunition compartment, making a deafening noise, and quickly sank to the bottom of the sea.

Seeing this, Zheng Jing's eyes widened in fury, but he gritted his teeth and persisted. Casualties on both sides grew increasingly heavy. Right Guard Lin Sheng led eight fast ships to encircle the Korean navy, sinking several pan-ouk ships. Hong Chongpu, the military governor of Ping'an Province and concurrently the protectorate general of Ningbian, was deeply ashamed and personally led thirty warships to attack Lin Sheng's fleet. They quickly sank seven ships, leaving only Lin Sheng's flagship.

"Damn it! In twenty years, we'll be heroes again!" Lin Sheng cursed, personally taking the helm, hoisting the sails, and charging towards Hong Chongpu's warship. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" A chilling impact and creaking sounds rang out as both ships sank simultaneously. Seeing the situation was dire, Hong Chongpu jumped ship to escape, but was swept away by the whirlpool.

Zheng Jun's deputy general, Gao Kui, spotted the warship of Wei Jun's deputy general, Ma Yinyang. With a swift turn of the rudder, more than twenty cannons on the broadside opened fire simultaneously, instantly setting Ma Yinyang's ship ablaze. A strong wind arose on the sea, intensifying the fire, and soon the ship was immobilized. Poor Ma Yinyang, who had been stationed in Ningbo for many years and thought himself an expert in naval warfare, had no choice but to abandon ship and flee for his life as soon as he entered battle. Though his luck was bad, he at least survived.

General Li Rong of Wenzhou was even less fortunate. He had just led his fleet to annihilate the fleet of Zheng's deputy general Jiang Zhen, and was basking in his victory when Wu Shu, the valiant general of Zheng and Earl of Dingxi, spotted him and led over thirty warships to attack. They sank eleven of Li Rong's ships, completely surrounding him. "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The cannon fire was incessant, and in less than half an hour, Li Rong's large Fujian-style ship was sunk to the bottom of the sea.

After more than three hours of fierce fighting, it was already afternoon. "Turn the rudder and head back to Citrus Isle!" Zheng Jing ordered, panting heavily. Turning back now would make it difficult for the lead ships to escape, but with darkness approaching, the majority of the ships should be able to survive under the cover of night.

Upon receiving the order to retreat, the morale of Zheng's army plummeted. The twenty warships of Lin Wanhou, the deputy general in the vanguard, were surrounded by the guards and were completely annihilated.

Zheng Jing disregarded the small fleet, only wanting to return to Ganju Island as quickly as possible to rendezvous with Liu Guoxuan and Zheng Ming to replenish ammunition. Just as they turned to form ranks, another fleet of Imperial Guard ships appeared. General A Yuqi of the Jinzhou Naval Battalion and General Pei Sansheng of the Korean Han Army, ordered to lead over 260 fast ships to cut off Zheng's naval retreat, arrived just in time and charged into the disorganized Zheng fleet to engage in battle. The appearance of this surprise force completely disrupted Zheng's formation. The Imperial Guards under Yang Laijia, A Yuqi, Deng Junbi, and Li Rong surrounded them from all sides, sending Zheng's warships to the bottom of the sea one after another.

Zheng Jun was defeated, utterly defeated! The Earl of Dingxi, Wu Shu, was killed by cannon fire; Xu Yao, the Right Tiger Guard, whose ship was surrounded by the Imperial Guards, watched as they surged to board, unwilling to be captured and humiliated, and committed suicide; the usually valiant Deputy General, Fang Qi, in despair, actually raised the surrender flag.
To cover Zheng Jing's flagship's breakout, Jiang Sheng, the Left Tiger Guard, led ten scout ships and twenty Haicang ships in a desperate breakout attempt. Zheng Xianjia, the deputy commander of the Korean Han Army, intercepted them with fifty Banwu ships, but was defeated by Zheng's army and killed by cannon fire. Taking advantage of the opening created by Jiang Sheng's forces, Zheng Jing broke through the encirclement. Jiang Sheng's troops fought desperately, holding off the guards until the entire army was annihilated in the vast ocean.

The next morning, looking at the dozen or so ships that remained around him, Zheng Jing was overcome with grief and wanted to jump into the sea. "Heavens! How can I face the elders of Dongning now!"

Seeing this, those around him hurriedly tried to dissuade him. Having finally managed to dissuade the lord from his suicidal thoughts, fate played a cruel joke on him: General Ayuqi, commander of the Jinzhou naval camp of the Kingdom of David, arrived with over eighty fast ships. Upon learning of Zheng Jing's breakout, King Zhuosiji of Qin ordered Ayuqi to lead the fastest warships in his army to continue the pursuit through the night, vowing to take the head of the Prince of Yanping. Ayuqi's force originally consisted of one hundred and ten fast ships, but traveling at night, many lost their way, and when they caught up with Zheng's army, only eighty-odd ships remained, still far outnumbering Zheng's forces.

"All men must die! To die for the restoration of the Han dynasty is a worthy death!" In his final moments, Zheng Jing displayed the demeanor of a king, laughing as he commanded his men to fight until the last ship sank in the howling sea wind. (End of Chapter)