Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The Taiji Budali of the Left Rear Banner of Horqin led the remnants to flee to the grazing area of ​​the Left Middle Banner on the north bank of the Liao River (West Liao River), and brought the news that the guards had entered the Horqin grassland. The ruling king of the Left Middle Banner, Prince Manzhu Xili of Heshuo Darhan Baturu, hurriedly summoned Prince Wu Keshan of Zhuoliketu, Prince Erdeni of Duoluo, and Duoluo Beile Ozier to discuss the matter.

"The guards are here with bad intentions. The Left Front Banner and Left Rear Banner were attacked. They will probably come to us soon. Please give me some advice, brother," Manzhu Xili respectfully asked Wu Keshan. Although he is the Minister of the Khorchin Tribe, this position was given to him by his brother Wu Keshan. Wu Keshan was in poor health, so he let his younger brother take over the affairs of the Khorchin Tribe. Although Manzhu Xili was the ruling king, he still respectfully asked his brother for advice on major issues.

"There is nothing much to say. My Khorchin tribe has been married to the Qing Dynasty for generations. Now we can only fight to the end with the guards," Wu Keshan said with a heavy heart, his old eyes wide open. When he mentioned the word "marriage", his heart ached. Eight years ago, his most beloved daughter, the Queen of the Qing Dynasty, Erdeni Bumba, was deposed by his nephew and son-in-law, Emperor Shunzhi, and demoted to Concubine Jing. His sister, Empress Dowager Zhaosheng, refused to listen to her advice, so she could only re-select the queen from the Left Wing Middle Banner of the Khorchin tribe. She chose the eldest daughter of Zhenguogong Chuoerji (son of Chahan, the second brother of Empress Dowager Zhaosheng), the 14-year-old Altan Qiqige, as the successor. At the same time, Chuoerji's second daughter (Shuhui Concubine) and the daughter of Heshuo Darhan Prince Manzhu Xili (Mourning Concubine) also entered the harem of Emperor Shunzhi as concubines. The Khorchin tribe was finally appeased, but as a father, Wu Keshan's scars in his heart could not be healed no matter what. He fell seriously ill and angrily sent someone to take his daughter back to the tribe. It was not until a few years ago when his daughter married a warrior in the tribe and gave birth to a son that he felt better. But whenever he thought of the pearl of the Horqin grassland who could only secretly marry a commoner, he could not get rid of the depression in his heart.

"Brother is right. I have ordered Prince Shajin of the Right Central Banner and Heshuo Tushetu, Prince Ochir of the Right Front Banner and Duke Seling of the Right Rear Banner to lead all the men aged between 14 and 70 from each banner to come to our meeting. We will gather all the strength of Khorchin and fight to the death with the guards!" Manzhu Xili shouted.

"It's not enough. You also need to send people to Xila Wenduer Mountain to ask for help from the Al Horchin, Ongniud, Balin, and Zalut tribes. After the fall of Shengjing, they should obey the orders of our Horchin tribe. In addition, you need to ask for help from Ningguta Angbang Zhangjing Bahai. Even if he can't send reinforcements, you can ask the Zhalantun, Durbert, and Gorlos tribes to send troops," Wu Keshan said after thinking for a while.

According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, the Khorchin, Alukhorchin, Ongniud, Balin and Zarut tribes were under the control of Shengjing Angbang Zhangjing; the Zalait, Dörburt and Gorlos tribes were under the control of Ningguta Angbang Zhangjing. After the death of Shengjing Angbang Zhangjing Wukuli in battle, the Khorchin tribe, which had the closest relationship with the Qing Dynasty and the highest title, became the leader of the Alukhorchin, Ongniud, Balin and Zarut tribes, so Wu Keshan said that these tribes should obey the orders of the Khorchin tribe.

"Brother is right. I will send someone to contact him right away," Manzhu Xili understood what he meant.

Among the six banners of the Khorchin tribe, the Left Wing Middle Banner had the closest relationship with the Qing Dynasty, so it was also the strongest. It had 40,000 troops. After all of them were mobilized, they actually gathered 10,000 troops. Soon, 5,000 soldiers of the Right Wing Middle Banner, 4,000 soldiers of the Right Wing Front Banner, and 4,000 soldiers of the Right Wing Back Banner came to join, and quickly assembled 23,000 Khorchin troops. This was all the troops that the Khorchin tribe could muster, and many of them were old men and teenagers. What surprised Manzhu Xili, Wu Keshan, Erdeni and others was that the 4,000 soldiers of the Right Wing Back Banner were actually wearing white mourning clothes. Zhenguogong Se Leng did not come, but Se Leng's son Du Shihuoer came. After asking, it was learned that the old Zhenguogong died of illness not long ago, and before his death, he passed the horse whip to Du Shihuoer. Manzhu Xili hurriedly comforted Du Shihuoer as a minister and ordered a wine party to entertain the warriors of the same tribe.

Then, in order to avoid the front of the guards, the Alukhorchin tribe's Dorobeile Zhulezagan, who huddled together for warmth in the Xila Wenduer Mountain on the eastern foot of the Greater Khingan Range, the right-wing banner Doroduleng Prince Boduohe of the Ongniud tribe, the left-wing Dorodarhan Beile Souse, the right-wing banner prince of the Balin tribe, the left-wing banner Gushan Beizi Manzhu Xili, the right-wing banner Dorodarhan Beile Sanggar of the Zarut tribe, and the left-wing banner Dorobeile Sangjiabu led the Alukhorchin, Ongniud, Balin, and Zarut four tribes and seven banners with 15,000 soldiers and horses to come. Among these troops, Manzhu Xili was most satisfied with the 4,000 Alukhorchin warriors. "Aru" means the north of the mountain, "Korchin" means archers, and "Alukhorchin" means archers from the north of the mountain. This tribe was originally a branch of the Korchin tribe and was famous for its archery skills. Their arrival brought the number of Qing troops in the left-wing middle banner to 38,000. Manzhu Xili, Wu Keshan and others secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They were worried that the Wei army would attack when they were short of troops, and they had already prepared to retreat immediately once the Wei army crossed the Liao River (Xi Liao River). Unexpectedly, Lianhua Khan's arrogant concubine actually ordered her subordinates to stay in the left wing rear flag to rest, giving the Khorchin tribe time to gather troops. Now that their army has assembled, what is there to fear?

Changshengtian seemed to want to make them feel more at ease. Ten thousand troops from the three tribes of Zhalai, Durbet and Gorlos also came from the north. The powerful Lianhua Khan had caused fear among the Mongolian tribes in the south of the desert. Everyone worked together and vowed to fight the Oirats to the death. They elected Manzhu Xili, the prince of Khoshuo Darhan Baturu of the Khorchin tribe, as the commander. Manzhu Xili was not polite either. He led 48,000 troops to camp and line up at the Liaohe River (Xiliaohe River) to wait for the guards. After the scouts investigated these days, the number of guards was only more than 30,000. Even though they were stronger, they had the advantage in manpower. He firmly believed that he could stop the guards on the north bank of the Liaohe River. However, when he was confidently preparing for a big battle with the guards, his eldest son Heta came in stealthily, "Eqige, I heard that Dushihuoer was once captured by the pseudo-Khan and released. My son is worried that he has secretly surrendered to the pseudo-Khan."

"What!" Manzhu Xili was startled, but then calmed down, "Don't make this public, it might be a plot by the pseudo-Khan to sow discord." After dismissing his son, the commander quickly called his brother Wu Keshan to discuss the matter.

After hearing the whole story, Wu Keshan frowned and said nothing, then slowly asked, "Have you verified it?"

"It has been verified. According to Dushuhuoer, the pseudo-Khan released all the Khorchin prisoners of war just to prove to the tribes south of the desert that the Wei Army was a benevolent and righteous army and did not force them to surrender."

"Humph," Wu Keshan snorted coldly, "There are two possibilities in this matter. One is that Dushihuoer really surrendered to Wei; the other is that this is a plot of the pseudo-Khan to sow discord. No matter what, we must be prepared to deal with it."

"What do you think we should do?" asked Manzhu Xili.

"In battle, the Right Rear Banner will be placed in the front. In addition, Selen, the Gushan Beizi of the Durbert Banner, is Dushhuoer's father-in-law. In recent years, he has repeatedly complained that the Qing Dynasty has collected too many war horses from them and given too little compensation to the fallen warriors. He is also unreliable and should be placed in the first formation. My son Biltahar and Doroberel Zhulezagan of the Al Horqin tribe are both brave generals. You can order them to lead the army in the second formation, monitoring the Right Rear Banner and the Durbert Banner respectively. If there is any unusual movement, annihilate them on the spot, and there will be no problem," said Wu Keshan.

"Brother, this is a very good idea. Let's do it," Manzhu Xili nodded repeatedly. (End of this chapter)