In the tent of the Aguba in the enemy camp, Lieutenant Colonel Bigg took a breath, took a sip of water, and continued his analysis of the current situation:

"Thirdly, we should consider finding agents within the Turghut tribes, or other Mongol tribes, who can be in our hands to act as the leaders of the Turghut tribes...... The next step to attack Ili, the 300-kilometer passage of the Turghut tribe is a place we can't get around...... When will the fiefdom of Turghut be taken, and when will the exact time be determined for the implementation of the 'Heart-Digging Plan' to attack Ili. In other words, to completely conquer the whole territory of Xinjiang, the Turghat tribe is the most direct obstacle for us at present......"

Kdaqor shouted, "Then hurry up and find a way to get rid of this King of Buryan Khan, so as to prevent future troubles!" Let the entire Turghut group be leaderless. Without thoughts, we really have a chance to solve them once and for all! ”

Kubli, Achimuhan, and Saeed all nodded vigorously.

Through Bigg's analysis and deduction, the tense and awkward atmosphere has been alleviated. Aguba's anger seemed to have subsided a little, and he asked Big:

"Lieutenant Colonel Bigg, is there any definite news about King Turghut Khan's return to Xinjiang from Beijing?"

Bigg replied, "Not yet!" It seems that the king of Turghut Khan is still in the city of Beijing. But we are closely watching the movements of the Mongol Khan. The supreme administrative yamen of the Great Qing Dynasty that specializes in Mongolian, Tibetan, and Xinjiang affairs is called the 'Li Fan Yuan', and our people have been installed in this yamen.

If the Mongol Khan leaves Beijing, we will receive a telegram from Sir Aliguo, the British Empire's minister to the Qing Dynasty...... The exact itinerary of King Buyan Khan can be confirmed by the churches along the Chahar, Suiyuan, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu regions, which are our dioceses and complete intelligence corridors......"

Aguba asked Said: "Have you decided who will be responsible for carrying out the assassination of King Turgat Khan?" ”

"I have already chosen, and I am now training in the special training class of Lieutenant Colonel Big. Mr. Bigg has a high opinion of Arya as a candidate. Said replied.

"The candidate this time is very ideal, the main character Arya is not only very good at military literacy, but also has a 'disagreeable' hatred with this King of Buryan Khan! This hatred of killing our own brother can never be dissolved, and we can make the most of it. Bigg added.

Seeing that Aquba was a little puzzled, Saeed hurriedly explained further: "Shaman himself and his advance party died at the hands of this Buryan Khan; The one who plans to be the main killer this time is Shaman's sister Arya. ”

Aguba came to his senses and nodded, expressing his satisfaction with the plan. Then he showed a fierce face, and said to Said hatefully:

"Since this Mongol female khan refuses to submit, let her think about it for the last night. When the sun rises tomorrow, she has only two choices: either she will submit to my 'Hongfu Khanate' and hand over the war horses and military supplies we need within a time limit, or hand over the soldiers and families of the Great Qing Kingdom who have fled to their tribe; Or, put them all to death at once! …… Remember, you can't leave anything behind! We can prop up an obedient man, or simply assign our own man to be the leader of the Turghat Mongol tribes. ”

Said replied loudly: "Yes! Your Majesty! ”

It's past noon. On the road leading from Qixing to Korla City, Sanji Meiren led four young sergeants and disguised themselves as farmers from Qixing Huerdong Village to farm the land, and was driving two horse-drawn carts loaded with grain in the direction of Korla.

The team came to the Hamangou Pass in the Hora Mountains, less than thirty kilometers from the city of Korla, and entered a large area of reeds.

This large field of reeds is more than a man high, and it is impossible to see the edge. From a distance, the lush green brush is very eye-catching; But into the depths of this reed, it is a little eerie and creepy! As soon as the southeast wind blew, the whole reeds hula-la-swayed left and right desperately, just like countless demons and monsters twisting their waists and dancing wildly here, which was very terrifying! …… This is also a place where bandits are often seen.

Sanji Meiren asked everyone to pay attention and observe and move forward carefully.

About the center of the reeds, Sanji Meren felt something unusual and waved his hand to stop......

Several gun-wielding Kokand enemy troops scurried out of the reeds and blocked their way.

An enemy soldier who looked like a leader shouted, "Stand there and don't move!" With that, he came over with five or six enemy soldiers with guns.

The leader of the enemy army glanced at Sanji Meren, looked at the two carriages, and asked, "What are you doing?" ”

"We are all farmers farming in Qixinghuerdong Village." Sanji Meren replied.

"Where?"

"Go to Korla."

"What's in the car?"

"It's food!"

The leader of the enemy army tossed the sack full of grain, squinted his eyes and asked, "Are you in business?" ”

"It's not! We are delivering rations to General Kdakkel. Sanji Meiren hurriedly replied.

The leader of the enemy army was suddenly surprised, and asked suspiciously: "Army-food?" ”

Sanji Meiren quickly nodded and said, "Yes! It was General Kedakor who sent someone to inform our village chief the day before yesterday and asked him to send it quickly. ”

The leader of the enemy army saw that these men did not carry knives and guns, and they were going to Korla from the main road to deliver food, and General Kdakor did ask people to notify the nearby villages to send food, and felt that these people did not look like people who were against them.

He believes that at this time, even if there are people who dare to oppose them, they will never dare to take the big road to act in broad daylight. He pondered for a while, stared at the sly eyes and asked:

"Do you have anything of value on you?"

Sanji Meiren shook his head and replied without thinking, "No!" ”

The leader of the enemy army was suddenly a little annoyed, glared at Sanji Meiren, and muttered, "Huh? ……”

Sanji Meren suddenly understood the meaning of the enemy leader, and hurriedly said, "Oh! …… Got it! Then he turned to his own men and shouted, "Look at what you have on you, and take them out." ”

All four of them rummaged through their pockets...... He spread his hands and shook his head.

When Sanji Meren saw that the leader of the enemy army had his eyes on the ring on the hand of a sergeant, he immediately understood, beckoned to the sergeant, and said:

"Rings!"

The sergeant took the ring off and handed it to Sanji Meren. Another sergeant said, "I have one too." He also took off the ring and gave it to Sanji Meren.

Taking these two silver rings, Sanji Meren took out a few more silver coins from his pocket, and said to the leader of the enemy army:

"I still have a few pieces of Tiangang silver coins here, and I'll give them to you together!"

The leader of the enemy army accepted the ring and the silver coin, weighed it in his hand, shook his head at his soldiers, and ordered: "Search them!" ”

Two enemy soldiers put away their guns and walked over. They searched the five Sanji Meiren up and down carefully...... They didn't find what they were looking for.

The leader of the enemy army waved his hand and motioned for Sanji Mejen to leave quickly.

Sanchimeren saluted the leader of the enemy army, and continued his way through the reeds with his wagon......

This group of enemy troops was a search party of the invading army of Kokand. Among the invading troops of Kokand, Aqimuhan, the chief of the quartermasters, heard from somewhere that the Hamangou in the Hora Mountains was rich in coal and gold, and that the people here were very rich, and every family had gold; This search team was specially sent to Hamangou Village to search for gold, valuable things, and grain.

When the leader of the enemy saw Sanji Meren disappear at the end of the reeds and went away, he turned and commanded his soldiers:

"The ravine on the other side is Hamangou. Our task today is to search for all the gold and food of every family here! Search one by one, those who don't want to hand over and dare to resist, don't hesitate to kill! ……”

Hamangou Village, at the foot of the Hora Mountains, is actually a small village consisting of dozens of scattered families living in a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral household, and the people here live a life that is not well-off. Many years ago, people did pass through the mountains to mine gold, but that was in the depths of the Hora Mountains, a few dozen kilometers away from this ravine; Whether or not someone actually mined the gold, no one knows.

Near the eastern end of the village is a farmhouse with two old adobe houses in a dilapidated yard. This is the home of the Mongolian Uzhtu.

Uritu went up the mountain to chop firewood and did not return. His 14-year-old daughter, Sanglan, and 13-year-old son, Niman, were in the yard bundling the hay they had just brought back to feed the sheep. Uritu's wife, Mandu, came and was in the yard preparing to put away the quilt that had been drying for a long time.

Suddenly, Mandu, who was packing up the quilts, saw through the courtyard wall that smoke was rising from two houses not far away, and the smoke and dust were getting bigger and bigger, and the fire under the smoke and dust was gradually clearly discerning. I'm amazed! Suddenly, I found five or six Kokand soldiers, riding horses and carrying guns, walking from one side of the two houses in the direction of their homes. This is not a small surprise!

Mandulai hurriedly turned around and pulled his son Niman and daughter Sanglan into the house. She shoved her son and daughter into a corner not far from the window and covered them with bundles of budding poles......

After a while, there was a slamming of the door.

Mandu came to the two children and said, "No matter what happens outside? Don't make a sound! Niman and Sunlan nodded submissively......

Mandu came and opened the courtyard door. The enemy search party entered the courtyard.

The leader of the search team looked around the courtyard and asked, "Is this your family alone?" ”

Mandu replied tremblingly, "Yes, Master Jun! ”

The two enemy forces began to rummage around to check.

The leader of the enemy army then asked: "How much food is there at home?" ”

"There is no food left, so there are only these bud grain sticks hanging at the door to fill the stomach." Mandu replied.

"Don't you Mongols have gold and silver in your house?"

"We really don't have it in our family, and I don't know about other people's families."

"If we can't get anything of value and no food, then we're going to take these goats...... However, we had to burn down these two houses. ”

When Mandu heard that the house was going to be burned, he suddenly became anxious! Hurriedly begged the leader of the enemy army and said, "Our family lives on this dilapidated house, please don't burn the house!" ”

The leader of the enemy army glared at Mandu viciously and asked in a loud voice, "Are you sure that there is no gold in your house?" ”

Mandulai shook his head in confusion and said, "There has never been gold in our family, and I have never heard of gold in my parents' generation. Not only our family, I don't think there will be any of the dozens of families here; If I had, I wouldn't be living here......"

One of the enemy soldiers glanced at the enemy leader, who nodded. The enemy soldier lit the torch he had brought with him.

Mandu came to his knees with a thud, and continued to plead: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's okay!" Take the sheep away, don't burn the house, I'll kneel for you!" ……”

The enemy leader glared and shouted, "I'll ask you one last time!" Is there any gold? ”

Mandulai knelt on the ground, shook his head helplessly in pain and said, "I didn't lie to you, I really didn't ......"

The enemy soldier with the torch shouted: "Get out!" "Kick Mandu down, ready to come forward and set fire.

Mandulai struggled to get up from the ground, and desperately rushed in front of the enemy soldiers with torches, and at the same time drew the kitchen knife hidden behind him, and shouted hoarsely:

"This is the only thing we have, if you have to burn down the house, I will fight with you! ……”

Another enemy soldier drew his saber and swung it at Mandu...... Mandulai was cut to the ground, and the kitchen knife fell to the side.

"Eji! ......" Sang Lan and Niman ran out of the room desperately, hugged Eji, who was lying on the ground and covered in blood, and cried out loudly......

Several enemy soldiers were taken aback at first! …… When it was discovered that one of the two children was a very beautiful girl, and at the same time they both laughed wickedly.

The leader of the enemy army glanced at the two enemy soldiers, and the two enemy soldiers stepped forward to capture Sanglan.

Niman was furious when he saw these wicked men kill his own Eji, and now they are coming to harm his sister! He picked up the kitchen knife on the ground and slashed at the enemy soldiers with a roar...... A kitchen knife slashes an enemy soldier's arm, only to be smashed to the ground by another enemy soldier picking up the butt of his gun......

At this time, Wu Ritu carried two bundles of firewood down the mountain and returned to the vicinity of his yard. Suddenly, I heard a heart-rending cry from the yard and was shocked! He realized that something must have happened at home, so he hurriedly threw off the firewood, took the flat pole and the axe, and rushed to his yard quickly......

On a not too wide mountain road opposite Hamangou, Batel, Meng He and a hundred cavalry were marching in the direction of Nanshan in Korla. This is to bypass the Iron Gate Pass on the north side of Korla City and the Devil's Mountain on the east side, go to the north foot of Nanshan Mountain before, and then climb the South Mountain; From the south, where the Kokand army was relatively lightly fortified, it reached the Peacock River and approached the city of Korla......

A dull gunshot was suddenly heard from the ravine on the right, and the team immediately stopped.

Meng He glanced at the direction of the gunshot, pointed to Hamangou not far away, and said to Battle: "There is Hamangou, and the place where the gun was fired seems to be at the east end of the village, which is Uncle Wuritu's home!" ”

When everyone looked across the mountain beam in the direction of Meng He's finger, they found that there was still smoke and dust above the Hamangou that had not yet dissipated. The smoke and dust were associated with the gunshot, and everyone seemed to have some foreboding.

Meng He was a little impatient, and hurriedly asked Battle: "It seems that the Kokand people have arrived in Hamangou, and it is estimated that they are here to grab grain." What to do? ”

Battle looked up at the sun in the sky, and it was already in the west. He estimated the time and felt that he would go to Hamangou first to disturb and drive away the enemy troops entering the village! If you go on the road again, you will have time to ......

In the courtyard of the Uzhtu family. After being shot in the chest, Uzhitu struggled to lean against the railing of the sheepfold in the courtyard, blood spitting out of his mouth and an axe in his hand. Like a mortally wounded lion, he glared at the enemy and shouted:

"You bunch...... Brute! Immortal ...... No...... Leave you alone! ”

An enemy soldier came with a saber and slashed at Uzhitu with his sword......

Sang Lan desperately broke free from the entanglement of the two enemy soldiers, struggled to run over and hugged Uritu and cried loudly: "Abba! ……”

The two enemy soldiers stood their British rifles against the wall, walked over with a lewd smile, dragged Sang Lan and moved towards the door of the broken house.

Sang Lan struggled desperately, cried, and scolded......

The two enemy soldiers dragged Sang Lan to the door of the house, and was just about to enter the house, only to hear "Whoosh! Sou! "Two arrows rang out, one enemy was shot through the back of the chest by a flying arrow, and the other was shot through the neck...... The two enemy soldiers instantly spread their hands and fell to the door of the house.

Meng He and several other sergeants jumped into the courtyard from the courtyard wall.

The three enemy troops on the inside of the courtyard gate were taken aback! didn't care about the bullet being loaded, so he directly held the bayonet and rushed over to stab Meng and these people with a shout...... But as soon as he rushed out a few steps, he was immediately knocked to the ground by several sharp arrows shot from the courtyard wall.

The leader of the enemy army sees that the situation is not good! Hurriedly turned around and opened the courtyard door, pulled out his legs and fled...... As soon as I stepped out of the door, I looked up and was stunned! …… Battle, with a large group of cavalry, stood in front of him majestically.

The leader of the enemy army hurriedly pulled out his gun from his waist, and as he pulled it out, "Whoosh, swish, swish!" Three sharp arrows pierced his chest at the same time......

Sang Lan was still crying hoarsely in the courtyard: "Eji! Abba! ……”

Battle went into the courtyard to check on it, and saw that Uzhitu and his wife had been brutally murdered by the enemy, and he felt very uncomfortable.

Meng He hugged Niman, who had been knocked unconscious by the enemy soldiers and had not yet woken up, and said to Battle with some excitement:

"This little guy has a big life! Still alive! ”

Battle nodded, and ordered: "Badumu and Benbai stay, deal with this place, and then send the two children back to the camp......"

After leaving the two behind, the cavalry team immediately mounted their horses and galloped towards the northern foot of the southern mountain of Korla......