Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In the section of Hulunbuir grassland near the upper reaches of Nenjiang River, there are many huts (wooden houses inhabited by the Ewenki people). In the distance, horses are grazing leisurely. These are the horses of the "Horse-Envoying Tribe". The Ewenki Horse-Envoying Tribe likes to choose places with more grassland for grazing. They often drive the horses to an island in the river until the river freezes. The horses wander leisurely on the island and find rich fodder on the high-covered grassland. They quickly grow fat and recover the physical strength exhausted by driving in winter. The horses they raise are called Suolun horses. They have short necks, moderate-sized heads, wide foreheads and small ears, short and fluffy manes, straight backs that gradually reach the neck, broad chests and full abdomens, long and dense tails, quite strong legs, and appropriate-sized hooves. Because they often stay outdoors day and night, the horses' hair is thicker and more resistant to severe cold. They are known for their great strength and extraordinary endurance. The horse-loving Ewenki people often put some salt on their palms and call their beloved horses "Mohe~Mohe", and the horses will obediently gather around to lick the salt. In the winter when feed is scarce, they even feed the horses some wild animal meat.

The Ewenki people of this era were divided into three parts: the largest group was the Solon tribe in the area from the Shilka River to the Jingqi River, including the Dular, Aola, Merdile, Bramu, Tukedun, Nahata and other clans. But when the great leader of this tribe, Bomu Boguer, failed in his rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, the tribe members were killed, abducted or forcibly relocated, and the population decreased a lot. The part that migrated to the upper reaches of the Nenjiang River, led by Tukedun Zuoling Dular, surrendered to the Daur leader Kenzhe Ule; the second was the "Shilu Tribe" distributed west of Lake Baikal, in the area of ​​the Vilu River and the Vitim River, tributaries of the Lena River. Under the invasion of Tsarist Russia, some of the twelve clans of this tribe were forced to become subjects of the Tsar, and some left their homes and moved elsewhere; the third was the "Shima Tribe", which had fifteen clans and originally lived in the Nerchinsk area. Unable to bear the harassment from Tsarist Russia, they migrated to the Hulunbuir grassland under the leadership of their leader Gentemur and others, and were incorporated into the Eight Banners by the Qing government.

The singing of the herdsmen drifted from afar into the tent of Gentemur, the chief of the Baiyir clan of the Shima tribe. Gentemur, who was as burly as a giant, was not moved by the cheerful singing. On the contrary, his brows were gloomy, and he could not hide his anger despite his best efforts. "Is the news reliable? Kenzhewul, Dular, Samakir and others, as well as the leaders of the Barhu and Buryat tribes, have all gone to Hetuala to pay homage to Lotus Khan?"

"It is absolutely true. My people saw the pilgrims. There were thousands of them. Even the arrogant Timur went there," replied his good friend, Maokadai Khan of the Kurtiyil clan.

As soon as these words came out, the leaders of the Old Namiyar, the New Namiyar, the Tokongwoer and other clans could not help but whisper to each other.

"Alas! It's all my damn son's fault for being instigated by his wife, saying that the Qing was strong and the Wei was weak, and he refused to surrender to the Wei. I was confused for a while and was deceived by the fool. When Kenzhe Ule invited me, I claimed to be sick and didn't go. Now, all the surrounding tribes have surrendered to the Wei, and our Shima tribe is isolated and helpless!" Gentemur sighed heavily. When the Shima tribe migrated from Nerchinsk to Hulunbuir, they were organized into five Niulu by the Qing Dynasty. He was granted the position of Niulu Zhangjing and thought he could be reused by the Qing court. However, although the Manchu Qing Dynasty incorporated the sixteen Suolun Niulu in the Nenjiang River Basin into the Eight Banners, they were always worried about them. Not only did they not pay them food and wages (the Eight Banners had banner wages), they also asked them to pay a large number of sable furs as taxes every year. This was not enough, and officials were sent to supervise them. In addition to receiving a lot of rewards when they first surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, there was almost no profit afterwards. Despite this, the chief still hoped to improve the life of the tribe by making military achievements. He led his army to participate in the siege of Huma Castle and helped the Qing army attack the Tsarist Stepanov gang entrenched in the Huma area. However, the casualties of the tribe were completely disproportionate to the rewards received from the Qing court, and he could not help but feel dissatisfied. Perhaps he sensed the dissatisfaction of the Shima tribe, or perhaps he wanted to consolidate the relationship between the Solon tribe and the Qing Dynasty, so the Qing court granted a marriage and gave a Manchu noblewoman to his eldest son Katanai as his wife.

Although the woman was not from the Aixinjueluo family, she was also a Manchu noblewoman. She married with ten households of bondservants and was honored by the tribe as Wenlun Gege. Since the marriage with the Manchus, the life of the Shima tribe has been better. Although the Qing court did not pay the Solon Niulu, they were allowed to trade in designated villages and obtain the materials needed for life. These materials were dispatched by the government. Because of Wenlun Gege, the Manchu officials always exchanged more materials with the Shima tribe than normal. At first, Gentemur was very happy, but gradually felt something was wrong. Those officials only recognized Wenlun Gege and asked Wenlun and his husband to be responsible for the exchange of materials. The daughter-in-law soon mastered the distribution rights of important materials such as salt and tea, which was the power of the patriarch. That's not all. I don't know what kind of magic the woman used to make the eldest son Katanai obey her and tried to snatch power from him many times. Although the Shima tribe adheres to the eldest son inheritance system, he is not dead yet! Besides, I have nine wives and thirty sons. If you are not filial, why should I let you inherit? Gentemur would think angrily whenever he was angry with his daughter-in-law.

This time, the Daurde Dule tribe in the upper reaches of the Nenjiang River killed the chief of the Butha Yamen and forced the eight Solon Niulu to surrender to the Wei Dynasty. The leader, Kenzhe Ule, came to his territory in person and asked him to take the leaders of the Shima tribe with him. He was already dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty and wanted to go with them. Unexpectedly, his daughter-in-law instigated his son to say that the Qing Dynasty was strong and the Wei Dynasty was weak, and the Eight Banners Army would sooner or later fight back to Hulunbuir. If he was disloyal to the Qing Dynasty, he would not have a good end in the future. His son had some power in the tribe and had the help of his daughter-in-law. More importantly, he and Kenzhe Ule had a conflict over the pasture before. He wanted to see the situation again, so he pretended to be sick and did not go. Unexpectedly, the situation changed too quickly. Not only did half of the Solon Niulu in the Nenjiang River Basin submit to David, but even the Barhu tribe in Hulunbuir and the Buryat tribe in Barguzin became David's subjects. Those leaders were supported by David, and their power would surely increase greatly after returning. The Shima tribe who still did not express their intention to surrender would be isolated. After hearing what Maokadai Khan said, Gentemur couldn't help but blame his son and daughter-in-law.

"If others can surrender, so can we. Why don't we send people to Hetuala as well?" said Guden, the patriarch of the Tokongwoer clan.

Gentemur shook his head painfully, "The baby who cries first gets more milk. Kenzheyul and his men went to pay homage first and killed the chief steward of the Qing Dynasty, so they naturally made a better impression on Lianhua Khan. Even if we flirt with Lianhua Khan, the official positions we get are not as good as Kenzheyul and his men. We were all Niulu Zhangjing originally, and if our official positions are lower than those of the Daur people after surrendering to Wei, I will be deeply ashamed. Fortunately, Wei and Qing are still at war, and Lianhua Khan cannot send troops to Hulunbuir for the time being. There is no need to be too anxious about this matter, just wait and see." (End of this chapter)