Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

"Your Majesty, I have ordered people to organize prisoners from various provinces into an army with a number of about 10,000. According to your order, they have been secretly sent to the secret camp on the east bank of the Daling River," Minister of Justice Mi Guozhen respectfully reported to the Great Khan Lianhua in the Qianyuan Hall in Shenyang (the main hall of the Shenyang Imperial Palace).

"Minister Mi did a good job," Great Khan Lianhua nodded slightly to him to express his approval, and then asked Minister of War Harahuli, "How is the matter of recruiting soldiers from the tribes outside the Great Wall and civilians from Liaodong going?"

"In reply to the Khan, I have recruited 10,000 brave warriors from the Daur, Oroqen, Ewenki, Hezhe, Huerha and other tribes. However, the population of Liaodong is insufficient, so only 15,000 civilians have been recruited so far. They have also been secretly sent to the secret camp on the east bank of the Daling River," Harahul answered cautiously.

"Well, ten thousand prisoners, ten thousand warriors, and fifteen thousand civilians together make thirty-five thousand. If we add more horses and mules, we can pretend to have an army of one hundred thousand," Sultan whispered to himself, and said to Halahuri and Mi Guozhen, "This matter must be kept secret. Send more troops to guard the outskirts of the jungle and do not let the news leak out."

"Yes," they both answered in unison.

"I am a little tired, please leave now," Sultan ordered them to leave. Not long after they left, Hada, the leader of the Wuyi Guard and the first-class Kizilhou, came to see them.

"Your Majesty, I have already found out clearly that the group of people is about a hundred people, distributed throughout Shenyang, including car dealerships, restaurants, silk shops, rice shops, etc., in all walks of life. The two leaders are none other than the two leaders of the Thirteen Yamen of the Pseudo-Qing Dynasty who poisoned Jinzhou garrison commander Jin Weifan and Liaonan Town Zuoying guerrilla Yang Hui at Shuangying Tower in Jinzhou. We will catch them all at once as long as you give the order," Hada respectfully saluted and reported as soon as they met.

"There is no rush to close the net. Can a mere hundred people cause a great upheaval? The important thing is to pass the message to the Qing court through them." Sultan sneered and asked, "Can Biltahar and Lawson be trusted?"

Hada thought for a moment and replied: "Biltahar and Laosen are the brothers of Concubine Zhuang. Besides, their families have all moved to Shenyang. I think they can be trusted." After the Wei army conquered the Horqin grassland, the fate of the Horqin nobles such as Wu Keshan's third son Biltahar and seventh son Laosen who had married into the Qing Dynasty was worrying. However, after Concubine Zhuang Erdene Bumba and Concubine Ning Odunmuqier, who were both from the Horqin tribe, entered the palace and became concubines of the Great Khan Lianhua, their lives became much better. Seeing that Concubines Zhuang and Ning were quite favored, Hada also consciously spoke well of the two royal relatives, thinking that they could be trusted.

"Okay, you go and arrange it. Tell Biltahar and Lawson that if this succeeds, I will appoint them as the chief and deputy chief of a thousand households," Sultan said leisurely after hearing what his confidant said.
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"Boss, the new rice has arrived. Would you like to check it?" In a rice shop near Xiaonanmen in Shenyang, the supervisor was bending over to ask the shopkeeper for instructions.

"Well, I am still confident in your work. However, according to the rules of our shop, you still need to order a little." The shopkeeper checked one by one, and after making sure the quantity was correct, he smiled at the supervisor and said, "You have worked hard. Come to my room and have a couple of drinks."

"Thank you, sir, for your kindness," the supervisor followed the shopkeeper into the house, and several waiters stood outside intentionally or unintentionally.

"Brother, I have met with Biltahar and Lawson. They said that the Wei army was powerful at the time and they had no choice but to surrender to the Wei army. The Khorchin tribe was a marriage alliance with the Qing Dynasty. They wanted to serve the emperor all the time and were willing to make meritorious contributions while serving their crimes," the supervisor said in a low voice. This person was Yehenara Nalan Mingzhu, a doctor in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Qing Dynasty, and the shopkeeper was Zu Zepu, the Minister of the Military Preparations Institute. At the beginning, they were ordered by Wu Liangfu to lead a group of people from the Thirteen Yamen to poison Jin Weifan, the garrison commander of Jinzhou, and Yang Hui, the guerrilla commander of the left camp of Liaonan Town, and to persuade Gu Si, the garrison commander of Fuzhou, to successfully support the landing of the Qing army in Liaonan, making great contributions. Later, the Wei army recaptured Liaonan, and the two disappeared without a trace, but unexpectedly appeared in Shenyang. The more dangerous the place, the safer it is. Moreover, Shenyang is the capital of the Wei country, and it is easier to get information at the feet of the emperor.

"Humph! Although the Khorchin tribe is a relative of the Qing dynasty, they surrendered to the Wei army and formed an alliance with the pseudo-Khan. People surrender once and can surrender again. How can we trust people who surrender?" Zu Zepu sneered. "The Khorchin tribe did offer two beauties to the pseudo-Khan, but they were only concubines. It's not like us, where the empress dowager and the queen are all from the Khorchin tribe," Nalan Mingzhu explained. Seeing that Zu Zepu didn't say anything, he added, "Old Prince Wu Keshan died on the battlefield fighting against the Wei army. They also have a grudge against the Wei army for killing their fathers, so they should be trustworthy."

"Hmm," Zu Zepu hummed, and then asked slowly, "Do they know what the pseudo-Khan is going to do next?"

Nalan Mingzhu showed a proud look on his face, "According to Biltahar, when they met Concubine Zhuang, Concubine Zhuang said that the pseudo-Khan was about to leave Shenyang to go hunting in Shanhaiguan. The pseudo-Khan liked Concubine Zhuang very much and ordered her to dress as a man to follow him on the expedition. Her words should be reliable."

"Is that woman willing to be the Qing Dynasty's accomplice?" Zu Zepu asked again.

Nalan Mingzhu shook his head and said, "According to Biltahar and Lawson, the pseudo-Khan treated Concubine Zhuang very well. That woman had a grudge against the emperor because of the dethronement of the empress, and she was unwilling to be an accomplice of the Qing Dynasty."

"This is such a pity," Zu Zepu thought for a moment and said, "Brother Mingzhu, we can't limit our access to information to just one woman. Have you made any progress in the military intelligence I asked you to organize?"

"I have sent people to inquire. The soldiers we sent to Ningyuan brought back news that the guards are storing a large amount of grain on the Ningjin line. It seems that they are going to invade from Shanhaiguan. This coincides with the news that Concubine Zhuang said that the pseudo-Khan is about to leave Shenyang to go hunting in Shanhaiguan," replied Nalan Mingzhu.

"Well, in that case, we must immediately send a slave to report to the emperor, asking him to prepare for the imperial guards to invade Shanhaiguan," Zu Zepu ordered.

"Brother, now that we have figured out the main attack direction of the guards, we have fulfilled the emperor's order. Now we are seriously short of manpower. I am worried that the implementation of the 'Burning Lotus Strategy' will not only fail, but will also expose the identities of the guards too early, which will be detrimental to gathering information. Why not postpone its implementation?" Nalan Mingzhu asked again.

"No, we have to carry it out even though we are short of manpower. If the Burning Lotus Strategy can succeed, the entire Wei State will be in chaos, and we won't have to worry about the Wei army invading Shanhaiguan anymore~" Zu Zepu said firmly.

"In that case, I will immediately order people to prepare more kerosene, saltpeter and other flammable items. However, it is difficult to transport military equipment into the city, and we may not have enough manpower and weapons if a real fight breaks out." Seeing his insistence, although Nalan Mingzhu disagreed in his heart, he still nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't matter. Just do your best and leave the rest to fate. Once the Lotus Burning Strategy is activated, regardless of whether it succeeds or not, immediately lead the brothers to retreat." Zu Zepu laughed. (End of this chapter)