Zuo Zongtang walked cautiously on the mossy old tree trunk, and there was a bottomless abyss under his feet. The two straight ropes always sink as they exert their strength, as if they can't exert their strength. He didn't dare to look down, and the cold sweat on his forehead was blown cold by the mountain wind, which made Zuo Zongtang's heart cold. None of the officers and soldiers who were blocked behind expected that the commander of this march was actually afraid of heights, and seeing that precious time was lost little by little, Xiao Jin, the commander of the sixth town, decisively ordered a ropeway to be erected nearby. One by one, the hooks were thrown by the soldiers across the opposite bank, and the officers and soldiers who had already crossed the cliff fixed several hooks and cables to the trunk of the tree, and soon several cableways connected the two sides of the cliff. The soldiers crawled to the opposite bank in an orderly manner, and the ropeways fluttered and hung between the valleys, and the soldiers who climbed on the ropeways crawled with their hands and feet as fast as they could. Seeing the soldiers crawling on the ropes, Zuo Zongtang gritted his teeth and sped up a bit. After walking a few steps in a row, Zuo Zongtang seemed to find a feeling, his body was no longer so stiff, his waist adjusted the balance of his whole body, and the moss under his feet was what Zuo Zongtang should pay attention to, and he put his feet sideways on the brown rough bark of the trunk. Just as he was paying attention to his feet, a soft cry was heard next to him. Zuo Zongtang didn't dare to turn his head rashly, he held on to the rope to stabilize his body and slowly twisted his head.

Zuo Zongtang only saw a ropeway swaying violently next to him, and there was no one on it, looking down at the cliff, the fog below was vast, and there was no trace in the deep valley.

A wave of anger rose from the bottom of Zuo Zongtang's heart, and Zuo Zongtang, who had prided himself on Zhuge and Guan Zhong since he was a child, was angry that he was actually frightened by a cliff. Zuo Zongtang suddenly changed his fear and strode towards the opposite side, as if the ground under his feet was not a tree trunk but a broad avenue.

When Zuo Zongtang stepped on the rock as if fleeing with his last foot, Zuo Zongtang felt that his back was completely soaked, and he looked at the officers and soldiers next to him, they had all crossed the cliff. Several of the leading officers surrounded him. Waiting for Zuo Zongtang's order.

Zuo Zongtang asked the officers with some pain: "Who was the person who fell off the cliff just now?" ”

"It's a battalion commander of the 76th Division under him, named Fan Dezhao."

In order to avoid revealing the whereabouts of our troops, this man did not shout when he fell off the cliff. It is admirable and respectable, this matter is a great achievement, and the bones must be found no matter what I turn around, so that Fan Dezhao can return to his hometown. After Zuo Zongtang finished speaking, he took off his military hat and bowed to the cliff.

Putting on his military hat again, Zuo Zongtang asked Xiao Jin, "Is the scout back?" ”

"I've come back, and this hill is where the main Gurkha forces are, and about ten of their cannons are placed on this hill. A group of Gurkha patrols approached just now. It has been taken down by the brothers on the perimeter guard. ”

Zuo Zongtang straightened his wrinkled military uniform, and said in a deep voice with a wave of his left hand: "Get out immediately." ”

The clanging of broadswords and scimitars colliding on the battlefield is a real war that you can never see in a movie. In order to survive, the warrior had to kill the enemy, and the blade that slashed into the muscles was pulled out with a rain of blood, and the fear of the early days of the war had completely disappeared, and the mechanical dodging and slashing became the only movements that the soldiers needed in the melee, and the slightest slowness could fall here forever.

The Gurkha ground fierceness is fully manifested in this hand-to-hand combat. The soldiers of the 79th Division were seriously attritional during the fighting. Wang Dayong* personally pressed the formation behind the 79th Division with his upper body, and the soldiers in the back did not draw their sabers, they held their rifles and looked at the holes and fired cold guns. The 99th Division had begun to move forward to fill in, and the new soldiers stepped on the slippery ground. It was the blood that flowed from the front line that wet the ground.

At this difficult moment, the Gurkha offensive weakened. Wang Dayong grabbed the fighter plane and roared, and personally rushed forward with the main force. At this time, the battlefield suddenly shouted to kill, and when I looked from a high place, I saw that the green tide was rolling towards the gray tide that was gradually receding. The Gurkhas, who could not be replenished by follow-up troops, retreated faster and faster, and finally they gave up resistance and turned to run wildly.

The artillery on the hillside did not know when the bombardment had stopped, and there was chaos there, and the dense gunfire could be heard clearly even down the hill.

A communications soldier rushed to the front quickly, and he panted to Wang Dayong's side, stood upright, and after giving a military salute, he reported: "General." There was an urgent call from headquarters. Ordered our department to cooperate with the chief of staff of the left to take the 325 heights. ”

Wang Dayong stuck the bloody saber in his hand into the ground, looked up at the fierce battle on the mountain and said, "Good job." Zuo Zongtang, this kid has already won 325, and our ** army can only go and drink soup. After all, Wang Dayong pulled out his saber and inserted it into the scabbard with a "choking", looked at the mountain and shouted: "The 77th Division is cleaning up the battlefield, and the 79th and 99th Divisions are ready to come out." ”

The squadron that was killed from the mountains hit Bahadur. Rana was caught off guard, and the loud sound of gunfire sounded like thunder in the reflection of the mountains. Bahadur. The small number of troops that Rana had placed in the rear was quickly swept away by the well-equipped squadrons. With the fall of the artillery positions, Bahadur. Rana was like a frightened bird, striashing his horse and galloping towards Kathmandu.

A well-prepared ambush failed, and Bahadur. Rana did not expect that the squadron was already much better prepared than it was half a century ago. Even in Bahadur. Lana thought deep down that the equipment of the British was not as advanced as that of the Chinese. He was already desperate, unless it was the British who came out in person, but he knew that even the British had been defeated by the hands of China, so the British could no longer give him substantial help, and Kathmandu in Nepal could not stay.

Bahadur. Rana fled to Kathmandu with his own guards.

After a short rest, the Imperial Expeditionary Force split up and led by Shao Wen eastward to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, a hill city located on the slopes of the left bank of the Tista River, at an altitude of about 1,700 meters. Although it is on the high mountain, the waterwheel sits on the way into the city, surrounded by terraces. From time to time, the working serfs could be seen doing farm work under the watchful eye of the prison site, and when the king and a group of strangers arrived, they watched from time to time and continued to work in the fields under the supervision of the whip. Entering the city is almost the same as arriving in Lhasa, the narrow streets are paved with bluestone, the streets are lined with Tibetan houses, and from time to time you can see devout believers swinging wheels to the temples on the top of the mountain. Occasionally, you can also see the believers who throw themselves to the ground step by step, kowtow to the Pure Land on that side.

Not long after entering the city, Shao Wen now has more shops. There were even Chinese with long braids, these people had already given way to the sides of the street, they were carrying goods on horses, the Chinese military attachés in the king's ranks, the merchants of the horse team smiled and waved, and Shao Wen and his party also turned their heads and smiled at these merchants. Zuo Zongtang waved his hand to the Chinese merchants and said to Shao Wen: "This city is the main transportation route and trade center on the trade route to India, and it is also the customary passage for Central Asian pilgrims to go to the holy land of the Ganges River and the Brahmaputra River. It's very prosperous. Its strategic position should not be underestimated. ”

Shao Wen nodded and said: "Yes, behind Sikkim is the ** region, even if it is Gurkha to the west, Bhutan to the east, and to the south is the Kingdom of Bengal, a vassal state of the empire. This can be said to be a gateway to southern Tibet in China, and with the situation in Gurkha and Bhutan stabilized here, we can say that we can attack and retreat on the South Asian subcontinent. ”

The two of them were talking and unconsciously arrived in the palace. King Chugpud was very respectful to the officials of the imperial court. After offering Hada to the people, he himself set up a banquet for the people.

Shao Wen was a great drinker, a bold man, and very speculative with King Zugpud during the banquet. After the two drank, Chugpud insisted on pulling Shao Wen to worship as a brother. The banquet made the guests and hosts disperse happily, and after the banquet, everyone insisted on returning to the army. Only Shao Wen, as a prince, was left to stay in the palace.

The next day, the parties held talks. In a friendly atmosphere, Shao Wen proposed that Sikkim join China as a province of China. However, the throne of Sikkim retains the title of King Chugpud, and the government is only responsible for sending officials to handle government affairs, and Chugpud can keep a guard of 500 people, and in the future, Sikkim's defense and foreign affairs will be handled by the Chinese government. After putting forward the conditions, Shao Wen took out a powerful weapon, and the 11th Kaizhu Gyatso called on Sikkim to join China in a handwritten letter.

Chugpud did not immediately agree, he immediately convened a discussion within Sikkim, and then Zugpud visited Jupo Dapo of Nche Monastery. Garbao Lama. ZHU Bo Daobo. Lama Garbao had already received another letter from Kaizhu Gyatso. His attitude is very firmly on the side of China.

On the third day, Zugpud agreed to the Chinese demands. Subsequently, the 99th Infantry Division of the ** Military Region was stationed in Sikkim.

The third stop of the Chinese expeditionary force was Bhutan, and the leader of the Tibetan Buddhist Zhupa Kagyu sect was in power, and upon hearing of the arrival of the ministers of the Heavenly Kingdom, a welcoming ceremony was held in the city of Thimphu, where a treaty was proposed to be the same as that of Sikkim, and the leader of the Tibetan Buddhist Zhupa Kagyu sect also agreed to join China after consideration.

On March 20, 1845, an expeditionary force led by Wang Dayong arrived in Kathmandu, Bahadur. Rana had fled to Delhi on the 15th with a large amount of goods, and on the 22nd Shao Wen's troops occupied Kathmandu without blood.

On April 30, 1845, the king of Gurkha presented the Natu Letter, and in May Lin Hong accepted the Natu Script, and was awarded the title of Prativir. Narayan. Shah is the Prince of Nepal.

On 15 May, the Gorkha region established Gorkha Province, Sikkim and Bhutan provinces respectively established Sikkim and Bhutan, and the three provinces were transferred to the Tibet-India Military Region