Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Your Highness, General Xuan is leading his army to attack Juyong Pass. The military report says that the progress is smooth and they have captured many passes in succession," Junior Secretary Ma La reported the battle situation to the Crown Prince. During this northern expedition, the Great Khan secretly told his son to let the surrendered troops serve as the vanguard during the battle, and the Mongolian army should be placed behind the surrendered troops to supervise the battle, and not be sent to fight unless necessary. Zhuoligetu remembered this and ordered Xuan Youcai, the general of Jizhou, and Ke Yongzhen, the deputy general of Gunzhou, to lead 20,000 surrendered troops to serve as the vanguard.

I thought there would be a tough battle, but unexpectedly, the Yanqing Guard General Jiala Zhang Jing Boduo Hengao retreated to Juyongguan after a short resistance, and later even gave up Juyongguan and retreated all the way to Yanqing Prefecture City. Together with the Yanqing Prefecture Guard General Dutong Jieyin, Meile Zhang Jing Nemosun and others, they defended along the Guishui River.

It was not that he did not want to defend Juyong Pass, but his subordinates only had 1,800 bannermen and 2,000 green camps, which made it difficult to fight. The reason why he did not deploy heavy troops along the Badaling and Juyong Pass line was that although the terrain was steep and there were many passes in this area, it was mainly for defense against foreign enemies. The fortifications were built outwards, and it was difficult to attack from outside the pass to inside the pass, but it was easy to attack from inside the pass to outside the pass. Seeing the attack of the Wei army, he simply abandoned Juyong Pass and defended the Guishui River. At this time, it was the flood season, and defending according to the water flow was better than defending the pass.

Jie Yin was originally a first-class guard of Emperor Shunzhi. He was brave and resourceful, and was appointed as the commander-in-chief by Emperor Xihe Doni. Nemesun was the eldest son of Heshuo Beile Dulan. He was brave enough to fight against thousands of men, and his 20,000 soldiers were all elite troops of the Qing army.

Xuan Youcai and Ke Yongzhen had just surrendered to David and were eager to gain merit. They attacked for several days but could not succeed. When the army of Crown Prince Zhuoligetu arrived at the bank of the Guishui River, the two generals had no choice but to plead guilty, "I am incompetent and failed to cross the river. Please punish me, Your Highness."

Zhuo Ligetu blinked his eyes, the words his mother taught him before he left were still ringing in his ears, "My son is leading a hundred thousand troops to the west, and there are countless eyes watching you both inside and outside the court. You must be careful and cautious, and win over the hearts of the people for your own use. You must not be arrogant and lose the hearts of the soldiers." Thinking of this, he lowered himself and personally stepped forward to help the two men up, saying warmly: "The two generals captured Juyongguan for David, and now they are fighting at Guishui, with both sides winning and losing. Not only are you innocent, but you have made contributions. Please stand up quickly."

Seeing that the crown prince was so courteous to the wise and humble, Xuan Youcai and Ke Yongzhen were grateful and kept thanking him.

"Pass the order down, build more boats and rafts, and prepare to cross the river," Zhuo Ligetu ordered loudly.

"Why is your majesty worried?" In the town of Xuanfu, Xuanda Governor Tong Yangliang asked the worried-looking Xihe Emperor Doni.

"The enemy is strong and we are weak, I'm afraid we can't hold Yanqing Prefecture for too long. If Yanqing is lost, the enemy will march to Xuanfu," Donny said slowly.

"Haven't you already sent Dulan Beile, Aljin and Bashan to lead the troops to reinforce? It should be fine," Tong Yangliang comforted him.

"The enemy is strong and we are weak, and the situation is critical!" Donny sighed. After being defeated and returning to Xuanfu, he recruited tens of thousands of new soldiers from Xuanfu and Shanxi, and transferred some troops from other provinces. He barely assembled a "hundred thousand troops" in Xuanfu, but their combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the Wei army.

"Your Majesty, please hold on for a while longer. Prince Jian will definitely send troops to help," Tong Yangliang encouraged him. Upon learning that the Wei army was coming, Emperor Xihe immediately sent people to ask for help from Prince Jian Jidu who was far away in Xi'an, but the mountains were high and the roads were long, and there was no news so far.

"I'm afraid King Jian will just mind his own business!" Donnie sighed.

"Prince Jian is a man of insight. He should know the principle of the lips and teeth being in danger." Tong Yangliang is very confident in Ji Du.

In the Prince Jian's mansion in Xi'an, Ji Du was discussing military affairs with Zhang Zide, the governor of Shaanxi. Although he did not directly control many areas, the area near Xi'an was his stronghold, and all civil and military officials obeyed his orders. Zhang Zide, the governor of Shaanxi, was his top think tank.

"Yuan Gong (Zhang Zide's courtesy name), what do you think of the emperor's letter for help?" Ji Du asked. "I think the lips and teeth are in danger, and we must help them."

"Well, I also know the principle that the lips and teeth are interdependent. The Qing Dynasty has reached this point and must work together to resist the enemy. The approach of 'everyone cleans up the snow in front of their own door and does not care about the frost on other people's tiles' is no longer feasible," Ji Du sighed.

"But who to send is important," Zhang Zide smiled happily.

"Oh, what does Yuan Gong mean?" Ji Du thought.

"When the late emperor passed away, among the high officials of Shaanxi, only the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi Li Guoying and the General of Yansui Town Li Halaku did not submit a petition to you to persuade him to ascend the throne. Why not send Li Halaku to rescue Xuanfu? As soon as he left Yulin, you ordered the troops to occupy Yansui. This way, you can eliminate dissidents, expand your influence, and rescue Xuanfu. It can be said that you kill three birds with one stone," Zhang Zide said contentedly.

"Kill three birds with one stone! Wonderful! Wonderful!" Ji Du muttered to himself, showing a happy expression, and asked: "Who do you think can lead the troops to Yansui to control the situation?"

"Your fifth brother Huilan is the commander-in-chief and a member of the royal family. With the support of elite troops, he is capable of taking control of Yansui," Zhang Zide named a candidate.

Ji Du nodded repeatedly. Huilan was not only able to handle the situation, but he was also his own brother. His loyalty was absolutely no problem. He was indeed the most suitable candidate. After nodding in agreement, he suddenly sighed, "I originally planned to attack the various prefectures in Fengxiang to drive the guards out of Shaanxi, but now I have one less elite soldier. This will be difficult to accomplish!"

Indeed, unlike other regions, the Qing army in Shaanxi had an advantage in manpower and was more proactive militarily, especially when the 20,000 elite Manchu and Mongolian cavalry led by the Minister of Internal Affairs Dasu, Gushan Ezhen Suohong, the commander of the guards Lai Da, and the first-class guard Suo Etu arrived and turned defense into offense, and once drove the commander of the Weiguo Central Army, Toli, out of Xi'an. During this period, Jidu had been recruiting troops to expand his strength, thinking that he had the ability to drive the Wei army out of Shaanxi, and was planning to do something big, but the situation suddenly changed, and he lost a group of elite soldiers before the battle.

"Why don't you borrow troops from the Three Feudatories?" Zhang Zide came up with an idea that confused Ji Du. The Three Feudatories were Wu Sangui, the King of Pingxi, Shang Kexi, the King of Pingnan, and Geng Jimao, the King of Jingnan.

"The Three Feudatories? These people are more cunning than loaches. They still refuse to acknowledge Emperor Xihe and are still using the Shunzhi reign title to elevate their own status. How could they be willing to send troops to help?" Ji Du shook his head repeatedly.

"I heard that the King of Pingxi has been placing his confidants in various places in Yunnan and Guizhou, and sent troops into Shu two years ago. His ambition is not small, and his ambition to become the king of the southwest and divide the land is obvious," Zhang Zide said slowly.

"But what does this have to do with the Three Feudatories sending troops to help me?" Ji Du asked puzzledly.

Zhang Zide chuckled, "Since ancient times, if the South wants to secede, the North must be divided. Now the trend of Wei State unifying the North is complete. If King Pingxi wants to dominate the southwestern provinces, he must let the North continue to be in chaos. The new emperor has been established, and the Three Feudatories have not come to pay homage. It is clear that they have formed an alliance. If King Pingxi can be persuaded to send troops to help, the other two feudatories will also send troops."

Seeing that he was full of confidence, Ji Du had no choice but to try his luck and said with a smile: "In this case, please ask Mr. Yuan to write a letter for me and send someone who is eloquent to Kunming." (End of this chapter)