It is the season of autumn in Monan outside the Great Wall. Even the sky looks exceptionally blue and clear, without a trace of floating clouds. It seems that one can see through the sky and see into the nine heavens. The grassland has turned into the color of gold, boundless, only dotted with small yurts here and there. Occasionally, you can see herds of sheep and horses moving slowly on the slopes. The whole world seemed extremely peaceful and peaceful, as if it was independent of this chaotic world.
On the official road from Guihua, a famous city on the Monan grassland, to the east leading to the newly established Mulan (Manchu for deer hunting) paddock, there was a rather large team of carriages, horses and camels walking. Horse-drawn carts were packed with goods. The camels also carried large and small packages on their backs. On top of each cart were two cart drivers dressed as Mongolians. They are all quite muscular men, with Manchu braids on the back of their heads. One of them was carrying a matchlock gun that was imported from "Japan" or produced in the Qing Dynasty, and the other was carrying a bow and arrow. Looks quite capable. The person in charge of driving the camels was a dark-skinned, very thin Indian, wearing a turban and thick cotton clothes, shivering in the autumn wind.
In addition to these Mongolians and Indians driving carts and camels, there were also large groups of cavalry and infantry marching on the left and right sides of the convoys and camel teams. Among them, those walking on the left side of the convoy and camel caravan were half Mongolian and half officers and soldiers with white flags. Half of the officers and soldiers with white flags were on horseback and half were on foot. Neither the Mongols nor the people with white flags wore armor.
Those traveling on the right side of the convoy and camel convoy were all knights, and there were not many of them, so only one column was listed. These knights are all dressed in the Western Region or Persian style. They all wear chainmail armor with large pieces of iron. Judging from their appearance, they look like Western Region or Persian people. Their skin is very white, their noses are high, their eye sockets are Sunken, some people's eyes are still blue. These white-skinned, high-nosed, blue-eyed guys are the legendary "Indian Mongols". They followed Prince Aurangzeb, the top general of the Timurid Empire in Hindustan, to the north, escorting priceless tributes. The Mongolian headquarters met with Erzhasak Khan, the Great Khan of All Mongolia, who was the young emperor of Shunzhi.
This Prince Aurangzeb does not look "un-Mongolian" at all, and certainly "un-Indian". His skin is white, his nose is high and pointed, his beard is carefully trimmed, his eyes are sunken and large, and he looks very... Wisdom.
On the way from Tibet, he carefully observed the great Mongolia in front of him.
At this time, Shunzhi ruled a quite vast empire! The Indian Ocean can be seen to the southwest, the North Pacific can be seen to the northeast, and Siberia can be seen to the northwest and north. It's slightly worse in the south, occupying only half of the Central Plains.
This is of course territory on paper, something "since ancient times", not necessarily actual control. But the territory actually controlled is not small. Even on Sakhalin Island, there are Qing soldiers who are fighting against Japan...
But the vast territory is full of desolation. All we see along the way are plateau snowy areas, deserts and grasslands. We only saw a tiny shadow of prosperity in Guihua City. However, compared with India, which is full of oil and water, this great Mongolian country is really too poor.
However, as the most resourceful and military-savvy son of Shah Jahan, Prince Aurangzeb never believed that military power and wealth could be equated, otherwise his ancestor Babur would never have conquered northwest India. And it was impossible for him to be defeated in the expedition against the Uzbek Khanate.
In the eyes of Prince Aurangzeb, the resurgent Mongolian country in front of him is indeed very good at military affairs!
The country's army seems to be a good combination of nomadic armies and firearms armies, and a good combination of infantry and cavalry. If you encounter the Uzbeks' tactics, there will be only a dead end - if you want to use nomadic warfare, Mongolia is the ancestor! For a tough battle, the Mongolian infantry equipped with spears and matchlocks look very difficult to deal with, and the cavalry equipped with muskets also look very powerful... They may not be cavalry, but mounted musketeers. , because the muskets they carried were very large and should have been used by infantry. But they also carried lances and seemed to be able to be used as cavalry. However, their horses are a bit inferior, far inferior to Indian fold horses, Persian horses and Arabian horses.
Prince Aurangzeb was comparing the quality of his "Indian Mongolian Heavenly Soldiers" and "Mongolian Qing Heavenly Soldiers" along the way, and finally came to the conclusion that the "Mongolian Qing Heavenly Soldiers" seemed to be more powerful... .It’s hard to say whether to fight a grand formation, but it depends on whose cannon is more powerful? But to fight a protracted and comprehensive war, the "Mongolian Qing Heavenly Soldiers" should be a very difficult enemy to deal with!
The sound of rapid horse hoofbeats interrupted Prince Aurangzeb's thoughts. The prince looked up and saw Prince Azig of the Great Mongolia coming on horseback with several soldiers wearing white armor. They arrived at Aurangzeb. Prince Langzeb came forward and gently pulled the reins. The war horse under his crotch was very smart. He turned slightly sideways to resolve some of the inertia, and then stopped steadily.
The two war horses stood with their heads intersecting like this. Azig's horse was short, a Mongolian horse, while Prince Aurangzeb rode a slender Persian ocean horse, which was one taller than Azig's horse. There are horse heads! Moreover, Prince Aurangzeb himself is taller than Aziq. On one side, the man is taller and the horse is bigger, while on the other side, the man is dwarf, the horse is smaller... It doesn’t look harmonious no matter how you look at it!
Prince Aurangzeb looked down at the Mongolian prince, showed a gentle smile, and said in fluent Mongolian: "Uncle Khan, how far are we from the Khan's court?"
Azig raised his neck and looked at this "White Mongolian" who spoke Mongolian fluently, and then looked at his horse. Why are they all so big? What kind is this? Are they really the descendants of Genghis Khan?
He put away the questions in his heart and said to Prince Aurangzeb with a smile in Mongolian: "The Khan's court is 200 miles away, and there are still three days' journey... His Highness the Prince is arriving at the same place. By that time, if it were another month later, the Great Khan would have gone to Dadu to spend the winter, which was the Great Khan’s capital on the Han border.”
How can a Mongolian Khan live in Beijing all year round? You have to stay on the grassland for more than half a year and then return to Beijing in the winter, no, to Dadu.
No wonder the Mongolian army has the dual advantages of nomadism and firearms! Prince Aurangzeb thought: The Timurid Empire in Hindustan should also learn from the Great Mongolia and never abandon the Afghan plateau. The emperor should live in Kabul for several months every year in order to contact the support of the tribal leaders and gain support. Elite soldiers of Afghanistan!
Prince Aurangzeb, who had learned a little bit of the advanced experience of the Great Mongolia, smiled and said to Azig: "Uncle Khan, we should seize the time and try to see the great Eryezhasak Khan and the Great Khan as soon as possible. Father, you must be so smart."
Smart Khan is Dorgon. Isn’t he Prince Rui? Somehow it was translated as Smart Khan, and Huang Ama was translated as Father of the Great Khan.
"Okay," Azig smiled, "then let's hurry up and try to cover the 200 miles in two days!"
...
"Huang Ama, you have to take care of yourself..."
"Yeah, otherwise you'd better not go on any safari."
"Yes, just leave the hunting to Prince Ying."
When the news that Prince Aurangzeb of India and Mongolia was about to arrive at the Khan's court reached Dorgon's Khan tent, the "Father of the Great Khan" was having a fever and couldn't stop coughing - this was an old problem. , it happened once last year, but it made the little emperor Shunzhi so anxious that he didn’t have the heart to take French classes for many days... But he finally got over it.
But I didn't expect it to relapse again now. Maybe I worked too hard. Maybe the weather on the grassland is too cold and not as comfortable as in the palace in Beijing.
A group of Dorgon's confidants were worried about him when they saw his sick and crooked appearance. How could they still go on a safari with the prince of India and Mongolia? Don't fall off the horse... Duduo is still in Nurgan City in the lower reaches of Heilongjiang Province! If Dorgon is gone, who will be Shunzhi's amma?
