Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Chapter 509: Thousands of Miles of Yellow River Flowing (Part )
Ma Xiao, who was guarding Gulang, was a local. He was well-informed in the local area as he was born in the Hui tribe. This morning, he heard that a troop of soldiers had jumped over the Great Wall and arrived at Huangyang River. Many sections of the Great Wall in the late Ming Dynasty were in disrepair and had no troops stationed there. It was not surprising to cross the Great Wall. What was strange was that the team consisted of soldiers and civilians, and they were in ragged clothes. They looked more like refugees than an army. Very strange, where did the refugees come from in the vast Gobi Desert? While he was doubting, the other party sent a messenger.

"Are you saying that you are subordinates of Prince Zhangwu? But I heard that Prince Zhangwu is only five years old. Who are you commanding? And the Qing army has captured Ningxia Zhongwei, how did you come to Gulang? ?" Ma Xiao asked.

"Although Prince Wang is still young, he has his first assistant, Xiningbo Qi Tingjian, to take charge of the overall situation. Under the leadership of Xiningbo, we crossed the Tengger Desert and came here." The envoy was a smart man, and he said " "Xining Bo" shouted. Xiningbo was a title given to Qi Tingjian by Emperor Qianyuan of the Kingdom of David. He was very effective in the area ruled by David. Qi Tingjian once again ruled Xining and became famous around Xining.

Sure enough, Ma Xiao was in awe when he heard it was Xining Bo. He was from the branch of Ma family in Xining, so he had naturally heard of Qi Tingjian.

"Please tell Uncle Xining that I am waiting for him at Gulang. In addition, how many of you are there? I can also arrange food and accommodation." When he learned that there were about 10,000 remaining Ming army soldiers and more than 10,000 civilians, Ma Xiao grimaced, but still gritted his teeth and prepared.

The news spread quickly to Ganzhou. Alatancang, the governor of Gansu Province, had gone west with Emperor Qianyuan. Sabir, the chief military officer of Gansu Province, Xu Zili, the chief envoy, and Li Yuanze, the inspector general, discussed for a while. They arranged the tens of thousands of people brought by Qi Tingjian to farm in Liangzhou and reviewed the situation. Pegasus reported to Xining.

After hearing the news that the Qing army had captured Ningxia, Tuoli, the governor of Gansu and Qinghai, immediately reported to Emperor Qianyuan who was on an expedition to Kazakhstan and reported to the Ministry of War. He appointed Ji Jiao as the commander-in-chief of Yongchang and Wang Yongzhen as the commander-in-chief of Shandan. Liu Hongcai, Liu Denggou, and Xie Rude were all deputy generals. They led more than 10,000 remaining soldiers to Jinglu Guards and guarded the Yellow River defense line with Xi Rimo.

The Yellow River comes from the west to conquer Kunlun, roars thousands of miles and touches the Dragon Gate. Looking at the nine-curved Yellow River, few people can't help but feel passionate.

"How majestic it is to drink from a horse in the Yellow River!" On the bank of the Yellow River, a man holding a riding whip said with emotion. It was General Xi of the Qing Dynasty who was stationed at Tunqi.

"Drinking horses from the Yellow River is certainly spectacular. If we cross the river to the west and defeat the Wei Kingdom, it will be even more majestic!" Han Dai, the auxiliary Duke, responded.

"If we can really pacify the Wei Kingdom, we will definitely leave a name in history. I am afraid that if we fail to defeat the tiger, we will be injured by the tiger. When we came, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor discussed the matter. This time, the purpose was to pacify the small court of Zhangwu. Now our merits Perfection, it seems that there should be no extraneous branches," Tun Qi said thoughtfully.

"I think what Duke Fu said is reasonable. Now that the three kings Kong, Shang, and Geng are sweeping across the south, Can Ming is no longer a concern. On the other hand, the Wei Kingdom in the west should not be underestimated. The leader of the Wei Dynasty unified Oirat in Qianyuan and attacked Ye'er. The Qiang have taken over Uzbekistan, occupied Qinghai, Gansu, and encroached on Shaanxi. Now they have the intention of swallowing up the three khanates of Bukhara, Khiva, and Kazakhstan. Those three countries have a large population and a vast territory. If the Wei Kingdom is allowed to go, Qianyuan The increase in power will definitely be a trouble for our Qing Dynasty. It is better to take advantage of the opportunity of its main force to march westward to attack it. Even if it cannot defeat the Wei State, it can interfere with its steps of annexing Kazakhstan and prevent it from becoming powerful." Meng Qiaofang, governor of Shaanxi Province, agreed with Han this time Dai's opinion.

"Well, what Governor Xian said is also what we are worried about. If there is really a flaw in the defense of the country, we will definitely cross the Yellow River west and plant the flag of the Eight Banners on the top of the city of Xining. It's just that you guys are looking at the guard camp." Qi pointed to the other side with the riding crop in his hand, "The ditch is deep and the base is high. The fortifications are all in place. It's invulnerable!"

Everyone looked in the direction the riding whip pointed. Sure enough, Xi Rimo was a veteran and important minister of the Wei Kingdom. He had been a soldier all his life, and his camp was very organized. Where to store food, where to gather troops, where to move horses, and where to store water, they were all arranged in a tight and orderly manner. He was good at using firearms. He built dozens of forts on the bank of the Yellow River and set up 200 large and small artillery pieces. He also set up horse pits and iron caltrops all over the river beach, dug six trenches, and planted fences and fortifications behind the last trench. Raise earthen walls. Everyone is a veteran on the battlefield, and they all feel fear after seeing it. The Yellow River is naturally dangerous, and the guards are so tight, it is difficult to fight!

"It's because I was careless in my humble duty. I didn't expect that the guards on the west bank of the Yellow River would be so tight, which almost put the general in danger. In this case, we will go to the court with you to report the victory, and we will return to the court at a later date," Meng Qiaofang apologized.

"We still have to fight." Tun Qi suddenly changed the topic and pointed at the forts on the other side with his riding whip and said to Meng Qiaofang: "You are right. Within a few years of the founding of Weiguo, there were already so many Artillery has become our powerful enemy of the Qing Dynasty. If they are allowed to annex Kazakhstan again, it will definitely be difficult to control. Therefore, a battle must be fought. Even if the Yellow River is difficult to cross and there is no bargain, it would be better to force the main force of the Guards to return from Kazakhstan for rescue."

"How does the general plan to fight this battle?" Han Dai asked happily when seeing that his idea was adopted.

"Don't be impatient, build warships and bamboo rafts first, and then wait for the messenger sent by my commander to the other side to come back."

"General, the art of war is all about surprise. Why did you take the initiative to tell them?" Han Dai was puzzled.

"I have nearly 90,000 troops gathered here, how can I not see any movement on the other side? It would be better to send envoys generously." Tun Qi smiled, "The troops must be famous, otherwise the emperor will blame us for provoking a provocation. Affecting the plan to destroy Ming Dynasty."

"We admire the general's thoughtfulness," the generals praised in unison, and returned to camp to prepare for crossing the river.

In fact, Tunqi wanted to cross the Yellow River to the west to attack Weiguo, and it also meant to protect itself by performing meritorious services. As the grandnephew of Nurhaci and the grandson of Shuerhaqi, he was particularly powerful in military ability among the third generation of the Aixinjueluo family. He went to the battlefield at the age of twelve, became Huang Taiji's confidant and imperial bodyguard, and participated in the Battle of Jinzhou. , the battle of entering the Pass, and the pacification of the northwest and south of the Yangtze River, etc., and made great military achievements. But you should never, absolutely should not, seeing that Dorgon was so powerful, you should not switch to Dorgon's sect.

Then again, when Dorgon was in great power, who would dare not to fawn over the regent? Tunqi was just like the others, doing Shunfengcao. But Emperor Shunzhi didn't care so much, and the important ministers who flattered Dorgon were liquidated one after another. How could he not be worried? My family knew about their own affairs. At that time, Dorgon was seriously ill and planned to return power to Emperor Shunzhi. However, he knew well that it was difficult for powerful ministers to die well, so he asked him for advice. He was so excited that he suggested that Dorgon move the two white flags to Yongping, which is close to Beijing. This was originally a self-protection strategy without any intention of rebellion, but it violated the little emperor's taboo.

It happened that at this time, Dorgon died, and Tun Qi had no backer. Every time he saw the little emperor looking at him with that sinister look, he felt chills on his back. Therefore, he wanted to make meritorious deeds and make great achievements to protect himself.

(End of this chapter)