On the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year, the snowstorm that had raged for three days and four nights finally stopped. The rising sun is dazzling.

At the foot of Erbin Mountain, the majestic central Tianshan Mountains, the base camp of the Halmodun Turhut Mongol tribe is bustling with activity inside and outside the city on the bank of the Kaidu River.

In front of the yurt group outside the camp, people are busy shoveling snow and clearing the circle; Groups of children began to build snowmen, have snowball fights, and have fun.

Because of the need to guard against the possible invasion of the Kokand invading army, the tribal camp and the yamen of the alliance chief's office, the ordnance office, the material station, and the Mongolian medical office were moved here half a year ago from the old palace, which was surrounded by water and had no danger to defend.

To the east of the camp is the Yanqi Plain, a grassland in front of the mountain that is tens of kilometers longitudinal and horizontal; Behind the camp and on both wings is the Erbin Mountains, which stretch for hundreds of kilometers. Two hundred kilometers into the mountains along the canyons on both sides of the Erbin Mountain, is the largest alpine grassland in our country - Bayinbrook, which is adjacent to Ili. Comparatively speaking, this is indeed the best position to "advance and retreat", the strongest camp of the tribe, and the most ideal pasture for rest and recuperation.

According to the rules formed in the past century, every time after the snow disaster, the leaders of each banner must gather at the yamen of the league office to report the damage to the people and animals of their banners. The distribution of grain and grass among the various flags within the tribe and the disaster relief action plan also need to be discussed and determined here before being implemented. The duration of this snowstorm is rare in history, and the loss of livestock in each flag is also relatively serious.

There are 4 flags in the Southern Road League of the Turghut tribe, including the Khan Banner, the Left Banner, the Middle Banner and the Right Banner, of which the Khan Banner is directly under the jurisdiction of the Knight Banner and has 5 flags under the direct jurisdiction of the Kret, Chaten, Barun, Zabsur and Xiaminer. In this way, the Southern Road League of the Turghut tribe is actually 8 banners and 54 sumu.

Taiji, Zhangjing, the official banner, and some Sumu Zuoling, who suffered serious losses, all came to the tribal camp one after another at this time.

In the big tent, everyone is complaining about this almost unprecedented snowstorm.

Khan Qi's deputy Zhang Jing Sanji Meiren said in frustration: "In the past, it was said that heavy snow around the Spring Festival was a 'Ruixue Mega Year', which is a good thing, and the pasture will definitely be better than in previous years." But this year's snow is so big that I have never seen it, and more than 300 ewes and lambs from our 'Winter Nest' in Qiguang Yashan have frozen to death......"

Manji Dorzi, the leader of the right banner, said: "Our banner is the same, and many ewes have frozen to death. However, the forage we prepared was still enough, and it would be no problem to support it for two months......"

Lama Mucheng, the grand tribal lama, said: "A large area of southern Xinjiang is falling, more than 100,000 people are being killed, and millions are homeless. Now, we have another catastrophe that has not been seen in decades. What a disaster, Amitabha! ……”

The head of the tribal alliance and the captain of the guard of the king of Zhuoliktu Khan Buyan Khan, Bayinqing, entered the big tent and told everyone:

"The Khan King has arrived......"

Everyone hurriedly got up and went out of the big tent to greet the Khan King.

The young King of Buryan Khan was the head of the Turghut tribe and the ninth generation of Zhuoliktu Khan, who was burly and heroic. In the more than ten years since he attacked the Khan, he has led his troops to fight in several counterinsurgency wars and made many miraculous achievements, and was deeply appreciated by the imperial court and supported by the tribal people.

The king of Khan entered the big tent and beckoned everyone to take their seats and greeted them.

Without waiting for the leaders of the banners to complain, the king of Khan told everyone with some eagerness: "This snow disaster has made our Spring Festival a little unenjoyable, and the losses of each banner are not small...... From now on, the grain depot and forage yard of the League Chief's Office will be open to all banners, and those who need disaster relief can directly register and receive them. If there is frostbite in each banner, they can be sent directly to the Mongolian Medical Department of the PCPD for treatment......"

Before everyone had time to report the loss of this banner, and before they could put forward any specific needs, the Khan King solved all the problems, and they were all overjoyed and shouted in unison:

"Thank you, King Khan, for your grace! ……”

King Khan continued: "We must do our best to deal with the snow disaster, and we must not relax our guard against the attack of the Kokands...... The ancients said, 'Blessings are incomparable, and disasters are not singular'. According to the report of the Yanqi Military Government, the Kokand people had already broken through almost all the military towns in southern Xinjiang, and Aksu and Kuqa had also been lost. The iron hooves of the Kokand people are not far from us...... Therefore, all banners and sumu should step up military training and reserve military supplies to prevent accidents...... Zabudaiji and Batel, who had gone to Ili to procure weapons and food, had already arrived in Barentai yesterday and could return to the camp today. In addition to food and medicine, the main items they brought back this time were new muskets, bullets, crossbow machines, and sabers. As soon as the equipment arrived, it was distributed to the flags. Our soldiers and villagers should step up their training and become familiar with the use of these new weapons as soon as possible......"

All the chiefs listened carefully to every word of the Khan.

"Chiefs! We haven't smelled the smell of war in many years of peace, and we are all used to putting knives and guns in storage. I didn't expect that foreign invaders would sweep away the military towns that the imperial court had operated for many years at such an unbelievable speed. Judging from the military government's report and the information we have, the size and equipment level of the Kokand army are beyond our imagination. With a total strength of 60,000 or 70,000 troops, complete cavalry, infantry, and artillery, all British equipment, and the coercion training and command of British mercenaries, the combat strength should not be underestimated...... If we extrapolate according to the appetite of Agubai, the 'butcher of Central Asia', their goal is likely to be to finally occupy the entire territory of Xinjiang. In this case, within half a year, Korla and Yanqi City will be overwhelmed by large troops. The imperial court is now in a time of internal and external troubles, and it is impossible for heavy troops to come to the rescue, and our cavalry can only support the city for a while......" The Khan King paused for a moment and solemnly admonished everyone: "Therefore, we must be prepared to deal with the Kokand after the fall of Korla and Yanqi. We can't fight them head-on, but we can use our strengths to engage in mountain warfare, jungle warfare, and war of attrition based on favorable terrain, as well as attack and harass their supply lines. Generally speaking, it is impossible to completely defeat the Kokand people with our strength, but through our efforts, we can delay their pace as much as possible, delay them, and buy a certain amount of time for the arrival of the imperial army in the future. ”

Manji Dorji said: "King Khan! We also knew a little about the Kokand people, but we had no clue. Listening to King Khan's detailed statement today, my horizons have indeed broadened a lot. The Kokand army was outnumbered, well-equipped, and menacing! But if they dare to attack our homeland, we will lure these wolf cubs into the mountains and mountains to repair them slowly, and drag them to death! ”

Sanji Meren remembered the relocation of the tribal camp and the chief's office to Halmodun in the summer and autumn of last year. This incident now made Sanji Meren admire the wise decision of the king of Khan from the bottom of his heart, and rejoiced that the tribe had taken the first move, and said:

"It was indeed prescient for the Khan to move the tribal camp and the chief's office, the yamen, and the ordnance station to Halmodun last year. If not, it would be very passive to wait until something happened and then transfer. ”

At this time, Lama Mu Cheng also suddenly remembered the prophecy left by Master Huiyong, a traveling monk when he left the tribe two years ago, and seemed to be a little worried, and said:

"When Master Huiyong left the tribe two years ago, he left behind the prophecy that 'the blessing will come from the east in the long run, and the disaster will come from the west'. This year is the Year of the Rabbit. Judging from what you just said, our tribe will have a catastrophe in the year of Ding Mao...... Buddha bless our tribe. Amitabha! ”

King Khan said, "The relocation of our tribal camp and the official office to Halmodun is also part of the method left by Master Huiyong. Please pay close attention to the prophecy and the way to solve the problem left by the master, and use it at any time. ”

Lama Mu Cheng hurriedly replied: "Yes! King Khan. ”

King Khan was a little touched by the scene, and his longing for Master Huiyong actually never let go. In the past, Master Huiyong opened an altar on the grassland for many years to give lectures, teach martial arts, and explore the scene of medical Taoism. I'm afraid no one can say clearly this kind of emotion in my heart, maybe this is the "fate" that both the Buddha world and the world want. King Khan whispered affectionately:

"I wonder if Master Huiyong has returned to Shaolin? Are you okay? ”

Lama Mucheng replied, "A few years ago, there were two Qinghai monks who passed by our tribe. He said that when he participated in the prayer ceremony of Famen Temple, he saw Master Huiyong giving a lecture at Famen Temple......"

The King of Khan was refreshed when he heard this! said: "Next month, we will go to Beijing to meet the emperor and the queen mother, and we can go to Famen Temple to visit Master Huiyong." ”

In fact, Lama Mu Cheng also very much wanted to see Huiyong, a fellow practitioner who was also a teacher and friend, and was a little overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly replied:

"Yes! King Khan......"

Outside the tent came the shouting of the heralds.

Bayinqing walked to the door of the big tent and shouted, "Come in!" ”

The herald entered the Great Tent and hurriedly reported: "Report to the Khan!" Zabudegi and Captain Battle's team has returned to the camp! ……”

Everyone was overjoyed!

The king of Khan ordered the heralds to inform Zabtaiji and Batel to enter the account as soon as possible to answer, and the heralds were ordered to go out of the tent.

Zabtaiji, the chief steward of the tribe, and Batel, the captain of the tribal cavalry, entered the big tent with great interest and saluted the king of the Khan and the leaders.

King Khan said excitedly: "Zabtaiji and Captain Battle have been out for more than a month, and it is very hard for Kurama to work hard, and they are on the road on Chinese New Year's Eve. It stands to reason that you should go home first and raise it for a few days, but everyone is looking forward to your good news, so hurry up and tell us about your harvest this time......

Zabudaiji was full of joy and introduced the situation to everyone, saying: "King Khan! This trip to Ili was indeed an eye-opener. Ili has a lot of arable land, a small population, and sufficient grain reserves, plus Russian grain coming in, and there is grain in the market. But there are no decent arms factories in Ili...... When we arrived at Huiyuan City and explained the situation to General Ili's palace, General Rong Quan agreed to buy arms on the Russian border. We followed a few new Russian arms dealers to Almaty and saw the Russian weaponry, especially the cavalry. Their weapons and equipment are indeed much more advanced than those of our country, and the Chasik saber and the Bodan rifle are very good...... In addition to sufficient food and medicine, we brought back 300 Bodan rifles, 50,000 rounds of ammunition, 300 Chasik sabers, and 3,000 catties of gunpowder. There are also some spurs, armor, crossbow machines, and binoculars, which are all good things......"

Battle also added with great interest: "Compared with the Mongolian scimitar that we are accustomed to, the Chasik saber of the Russian cavalry is lightweight, tough, flexible and lethal. The Bodan rifle has a long range, high accuracy, and good damage effect. The equipment is so much better than the guys we have in our hands......"

The King of Khan said to everyone with great interest: "Go! Let's take a look at the real thing and see if it is as amazing as the two of you say? ”

Everyone got out of the big tent and came to the material dumping place not far away.

At this time, Battle's cavalry attendant, Meng He, was holding a Chasik saber and proudly wielding various slashing moves. A group of sergeants, old people, and children watched......

Meng Hejuan rose up, swung his knife and slashed at a horse-tethered stake with a thick bowl mouth next to him, and the stake was immediately cut off. Everyone applauded in amazement......

Seeing that the King of Khan was coming with all the leaders, Meng He hurriedly put away his sword and saluted the King Khan with everyone.

Battle asks Meng He to show everyone the power of the Bodan rifle.

Meng He opened a box containing a gun, took out a Bodan rifle, and loaded the bullet. He glanced around, pointed to a large elm tree a hundred meters away, and said:

"There was a dead branch on the top of the big elm tree that had no snow on it. Everybody look, I'm going to shoot it off now. ”

As he spoke, he raised his gun and aimed at ...... Just listen to "Boom! A gunshot rang out, and the dead branches were shot off and flew out, and a lot of snow fell from the trees.

Everyone was amazed by the accuracy and power of this gun! Praise in unison: "Good gun!" ”

Just as the gun rang out, not far from the direction of the big elm tree, a red horse carrying a man lying on horseback walked slowly towards the camp. The sudden sound of gunfire startled the horse, and the red horse neighed and jumped high on its front hooves, and turned its head sharply and galloped away in the direction it came! The man on horseback was thrown off, but he fell to the ground without any reaction.

Everyone was looking in this direction with great interest to see the effect of the test gun, and they didn't expect such a surprising scene to happen next. Everyone was stunned......

Battle was also taken aback! Hurriedly shouted: "Meng He! Take someone to see it. ”

Meng He ran over with a few sergeants......

When Meng He came to him with the fallen man on his back, the Khan King and all the leaders were surprised when they saw it: "Ahshan Kundu? ……”

The leather jacket on Ashan Kundu's left chest was stained red with blood, and he had passed out.

The king of Khan immediately ordered: "Quickly carry it into the big tent and tell the Mongolian doctor to hurry up and treat it!" ……”

In the big tent, Ashankun has not woken up yet. The king of the Khan and all the chieftains were anxiously waiting.

The two Mongolian doctors finished scrubbing Ashankun's wounds, bandaged them with gold sore medicine, and covered them with quilts...... Doctor Meng's assistant and Meng He were constantly rubbing Ahsan Kundu's back, palms and soles.

King Khan inquired about the injuries. The Mongolian doctor replied, "He suffered a gunshot wound, two days ago." However, it did not hurt the vital point, and the bullet only injured the flesh of the left breast. Now the coma is caused by the pain of the wound, the cold weather, and the exertion of the journey. It would be nice to slow down for a while......"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Lama Mu Cheng folded his hands and said, "Thank you Bodhisattva for your blessing!" Amitabha! ”

Zabutaiji sighed and said, "The Sharga Sumu of the Heavenly Wolf Valley is the farthest away from the camp, and it takes at least a day and a night to return to the camp, I don't know what happened to Sharga?" Can you hurt Ashankun like this......"

The king of the Khan instructed the chiefs, saying, "The Mongolian doctor and Batel and Meng He will stay here to take care of Ashan Kundu, and the others will go with Zabtaiji to receive relief supplies as they have just said." Come back to the big tent before sunset in the afternoon, see what Ashankundu will say after waking up, and find out what happened to Xia Erga Sumu? ”

The leaders responded: "Yes! ”

The king of Khan instructed Zabtaiji to say: "Zabudaiji, leave some of the arms and firearms you have brought back to the ordnance institute for research and imitation, and the rest will be distributed today together with the disaster relief materials, so that the flags can be trained as soon as possible." ”

Zabudai responded: "Yes! King Khan......"