Just when the Tiannan Army placed all its hopes on the Lin family, its former enemy, the Northwest Army, which was already ready to attack, never gave the Tiannan Army any time or chance. On the night of May 28, 698 in the Gregorian calendar, 100,000 soldiers from the northwest divided into two groups and marched to the south with overwhelming force. The eastern front was led by 20,000 Mott cavalry, followed closely by the First Division of the Northwest Army. With the full assistance of the secret service of the intelligence department, they quickly broke through several lines of defense and entered the northern part of Zhujiang Prefecture; on the west front, the third division of the Northwest Army and the first and second guards divisions were the main forces. The Shahe tribe in Dandong Prefecture provided a large amount of intelligence support and logistical assistance to the Northwest Army. The Gaoyue tribe in the foothills of the Hengduan Mountains in the west had also been notified long ago and devoted themselves with great enthusiasm to support the Northwest Army's march southward.
On May 30, the armies on both the east and west fronts had entered the hinterlands of Zhujiang and Dandong, and defeated the defense line of the Tiannan Second Army, which had extremely weak resistance. The Tiannan Second Army, which had almost no combat effectiveness, was fighting against the Northwest Army. After a small-scale confrontation, they quickly retreated to two Fucheng defense points.
On June 1, armies from the east and west fronts arrived at the gates of Zhujiang and Dandong. The Northwest Army sent proclamations to the two prefectures and the entire Tiannan County Jiedushi Mansion, urging the Tiannan Army to accept the peace proposal. On the same day, Li Wufeng gave a speech to the Northwest Star in Bashan Mansion, asking the military and civilians of Tiannan to give up their illusions and accept the peace proposal. He also asked Lang Yongquan, the Military and Political Envoy of Tiannan and the Governor of Myanmar, and his major military and political officials to step down voluntarily. Northwest will ensure the safety of their lives and property and that of their families.
On the same day, 30,000 nomadic cavalry recruited from the Tengger Grassland in accordance with the order arrived at the foot of Bashan City. These 30,000 cavalry were the secretariat of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who rushed from Mote and Tubu as quickly as possible after receiving the order from Li Wufeng. The 30,000 cavalry were mobilized from the ground, and these 30,000 cavalry traveled thousands of miles to help. After arriving at Bashan, they went south at starry night without stopping for any rest, and joined the Tiannan battlefield. The 20,000 barbarian warriors that Li Wufeng borrowed from the Boyin barbarians in his own name also strode southward along the eastern border of the Tengger Grassland. The leading troops had arrived at Mangye Town, Qingyang Prefecture, and 2,000 military transport vehicles were already at the war readiness station. Arrangements were made to arrive at Mangye Town and wait for loading. Once the Baiin soldiers arrived, they would load the trucks and go south day and night.
Zhujiang Prefecture is an important place in the northeast of Tiannan County. It is not only adjacent to the Lujiang River in Bashan, but also adjacent to Sanjiang County to the east. Zhujiang Prefecture is also the flattest prefecture in Tiannan County. It has fertile land, abundant water and heat, and developed irrigation. It is also a key grain-producing area in Tiannan County and plays a decisive role in the entire Tiannan County. Qi Feng is also an old man from Tiannan County. From an ordinary official to the deputy director to the director, and then to the position of city guard, he has worked for the Lang family for nearly twenty years. The struggle for hegemony began and he witnessed the rise and fall of the Lang family, but he had never been so desperate.
There was a gloomy atmosphere in the city guard's mansion. Qi Feng, who had a dull look on his face, sat in a daze in the lobby of the city guard's mansion. The two officers beside him also looked pale and listless. There were several government officials sitting at the bottom. They were all hunched in their chairs and did not dare to speak. Everyone in the city knew how bad the situation was. No one knew how long Zhujiang Fucheng could hold on.
"You two, if you have any plans, please tell me. Now we are all grasshoppers tied to a rope. If you can't run away, you can't run away from me. If you have any good ideas, we can discuss them." The depressing atmosphere made the atmosphere Everyone present looked very depressed. Facing the northwest army approaching the city, to be honest, no one had any better way. After a long stalemate, only Qi Feng, the city guard, mentioned the topic.
"Master Qi, what do you want the two of us to say? We are not outsiders, and we don't want to hide anything. Although nominally we have two divisions under our command, these two divisions are not the same as the previous Second Army. And, if it were the two divisions of the previous Second Army, even if the Northwest Army doubled, we would not be afraid, but now, alas, most of the soldiers in our two divisions are new additions. They didn't even have much formal training, let alone such a large-scale battle. Look at their previous performance, they collapsed at the first touch, and we have no confidence." One of the officers sighed and exchanged words with his companions. After a glance, he said sadly.
"Yes, Mr. Qi, the Northwest Army is very powerful, and they are definitely not just targeting our Zhujiang Prefecture. I think Dandong Prefecture will probably be within the attack range. If we want to stop the Northwest Army, with our current strength, no matter it is Pearl River or Dandong, it is too difficult." Another officer also agreed.
"Then according to your opinion, our Pearl River Mansion has no ability to resist?" Qi Feng asked, staring closely into the eyes of the other two. He had already heard the implication of the other two's words. In the announcement issued by Li Wufeng Stating that he will protect and ensure the safety of life and property of officials who voluntarily surrender or step down and their relatives, especially in front of the public to prove his sincerity, such conditions are quite tempting to many people, especially now The situation in Tiannan is at stake.
"Master Qi, we are not venting everyone's anger. With our current strength, it may not be a big problem to resist for three or two days, but it will definitely not exceed five days. The morale of our soldiers is very low now. The defeated soldiers fled back two days ago. , which has a greater impact on the morale of the soldiers. In addition, the Northwest Army has become the nemesis of our Tiannan Army in the Battle of Kansai. In this way, these new recruits must directly face the experienced Northwest Army. , we have no chance of winning at all." The officer who answered first had a serious look on his face, and it was obvious that he was not telling lies.
"Sir, what the two generals said makes sense. Although we have asked Nanfeng Mansion for help, everyone knows that the suppression of the Wen Na rebels in Burma has drawn all the main forces of our Tiannan Army to Burma. Now Nanfeng is the same There are not many mobile troops. If Dandong suffers the same attack as us, I am afraid that Nanfeng will not send reinforcements at all. They may have made up their minds to abandon our Zhujiang Prefecture and Dandong Prefecture and trade space for time. Let us hold off the Northwest Army to buy them time." Naturally, the person who could speak like this in this situation was Qi Feng's confidant, the Director of Internal Affairs.
"How could Sir Lang do such a thing?!" Qi Feng suddenly changed his color and angrily scolded his subordinates.
"Master Qi, I don't think we need to taboo anything. In fact, you and I both understand that now that Tiannan has reached this point, I'm afraid there is not much hope anymore. It's not that we are not loyal to Master Lang, but that the current situation forces us to The earlier we make the choice, the longer we delay, the worse it will be for us. I believe everyone here understands this." It was the same officer, with the corner of his mouth slightly raised, looking sideways at the city guard with a half-smile.
Qi Feng fell into deep thought again. The situation in Nanfeng was just as those people said just now. The Jiedushi Mansion was in chaos, and there were no effective defensive measures and methods at all. If he wanted to get through this matter safely at the moment, he was the only one. Rely on yourself. Fortunately, I still have some savings. Even if I don't stop guarding this city, it would be nice to become a rich man in peace and comfort.
On June 2 in the Gregorian calendar of the mainland, Qi Feng, the defender of Zhujiang Prefecture in Tiannan County, and the two commanders of the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the Tiannan Second Army took the lead in opening the city to welcome the Northwest Army into the city, and announced that they would step down and transfer all military and political management rights of Zhujiang Prefecture. Military Control Commission of the Northwest Army Garrison in Zhujiang Prefecture. On June 3, the Shahe people in Dandong City launched a riot together with some Tang people, demanding that Dandong accept the Northwest Order and open the city to welcome the northwest army into the city. This soon turned into a huge rebellion. The Tiannan tribe stationed in Dandong City The two divisions of the Second Army were disorganized and had weak command. They were unable to control the social security situation in the city. The security forces coordinated with the rioters and created chaos everywhere in the city. Soon the situation in Dandong City was out of control. In desperation, After discussing with the acting commander of the Tiannan Second Army, MacPherson, the Dandong City garrison, went out of the city on the night of June 4 to invite the Northwest Army into the city. On the morning of June 5, he met the "Northwest Star" who came with the army at the Dandong City garrison News reporter announced his resignation, and at the same time announced that he would hand over the management of Dandong Prefecture to the Northwest Military Control Commission.
On June 4, Lang Yongquan, the Military and Political Envoy of Tiannan and the Governor of Northern Luzon, immediately convened a meeting after learning that the Lin family refused to send troops to help because the Machikhans threatened Sanjiang County and the situation in Zhujiang and Dandong. A countywide emergency meeting was held. The meeting continued into the evening.
After the meeting, Lang Yongquan resigned from his posts as military and political envoy to Tiannan and governor of Burma and ordered the entire empire to step down. Before leaving the field, Lang Yongquan issued the last order in the name of Tiannan Military and Political Envoy and Governor of Burma, that is, ordering the troops stationed in various places, including the Tiannan First and Third Army Corps fighting in Burma, to cease fire and wait for reorganization. Before taking power, it will continue to exercise normal functions and powers until the northwest military administrators accept management rights. At the same time, on June 5, Win Na, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar National Independence Army, also announced a ceasefire and canceled the previous request for Myanmar’s independence, stating that Myanmar would always and absolutely obey the Tanghe Empire and the Western Xinjiang Capital. At this time, almost no one knew that the Western Xinjiang Protectorate still had not been approved and recognized by the central government of the empire.
On June 12, Li Wufeng, the military governor of the two counties of Guanxi in the northwest of the Tanghe Empire and the governor of Northern Luzon, arrived at Nanfeng Mansion, the capital of Tiannan County, and had a historic meeting with Lang Yongquan, the military and political governor of Tiannan and the governor of Burma, who had announced his resignation. meeting. The entire meeting lasted for six hours without anyone else attending, and the two men did not mention the meeting to anyone afterwards. It was not until decades later that people could learn some scattered details from the words of historians.