Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

News of the northern battles was rapidly relayed to the West Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace in Dadu (Beijing) via fast horses and carrier pigeons. Although the Wei army only mobilized 13,000 men in the Battle of Yaksa, in the frigid northern frontier where logistics were difficult, this was the largest force the Wei army could mobilize in that area.

The Great Khan of Lotus took this war on the northwestern frontier very seriously and ordered the Ministry of War to send any military reports received from the front lines directly to the Qianqing Palace where he resided.

At this moment, the Great Khan was squinting and staring intently at the "Imperial Guardian Map of the World". The map was specially commissioned by him to be drawn by officials of the Ministry of War. It included not only the territory currently controlled by the Great Khanate, but also all the countries currently known, such as Japan, Korea, Rus', Ottoman Turkey, India, Western European countries, and so on.

An old steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles; a hero, though old, still cherishes lofty ambitions. Despite being fifty-seven years old, this man's spirit remains young at heart. He suddenly pointed his riding crop at the location of Yaksa on the map and muttered to himself, "I wonder how Little Sanzi's battle is going?"

Uneasy, he ordered paper and pen to be brought, and issued another imperial edict to King Baoyin of Chu: "The weather in Yaksa will grow increasingly cold. You must plan everything carefully. How is our army's trench defense? How will the ships be hidden after the freezing winter? How will the horses be fed? How will we encircle and annihilate enemy reinforcements? All these matters must be reported to me in detail and in secret. Recently, Tsarist Russia sent envoys to contact us for negotiations. You need not concern yourself with them; just focus on fighting bravely against the enemy."

As the old father was writing, his trusted eunuch Maraqin came in with a military report, "Your Majesty, His Highness the King of Chu has sent an urgent report: Our army has captured Yaksa and is continuing its advance towards Nerchinsk."

"You mean Baoyin has captured Yaksa?" Sultan was startled upon hearing this. He took the military report from the third prince, Baoyin, and examined it closely. Sure enough, it read: "The Cossack garrison surrendered to you on July 11th. To deceive the enemy, you treated the surrendered Russians with some leniency and released ten Russians to Nerchinsk to persuade them to surrender. However, the Russian governor, Vlasov, remained obstinate and expelled our envoy. After a short rest, you continued your westward advance on July 21st."

"Excellent! They captured Yaksa in just over a month, and now they're heading towards Nerchinsk! My true son! My true son!" Sultan was overjoyed, and suddenly inspired, he composed a poem to encourage him:

"Observing the Map and Encouraging Precious Sounds"

A lone tooth relic stands amidst a vast expanse of frozen ice.
A warrior who has fought a hundred battles is called a true hero.

The Rakshasa are rampant, so we must not tolerate them.
The jackals ravaged the land; kill them without hesitation.

Who says that one must be filial to one's parents?

One should learn from the general who neglected his family.

When the flames of war are gone from our borders,
Still, fallen heroes sound their battle cries. After writing a poem to encourage his son, the battle-hardened Oirat warrior realized that Tsarist Russia, having managed Siberia for many years, had established several strongholds in the East. The Russian army in Nerchinsk, having suffered such a heavy loss, would not give up easily and would certainly seek aid from other Russian forces. Not long ago, the Kazakh governorate's campaign to retake Omsk had successfully tied down Russian troops in Tobolsk and Tomsk. Currently, only the governorates of Yeniseysk, Yakutsk, and Irkutsk had the strength to reinforce Nerchinsk. Yeniseysk was relatively far from Nerchinsk; the most urgent task was to find ways to tie down the garrisons of Yakutsk and Irkutsk.

Thinking of this, he immediately issued an edict to Governor-General Orros of Nuningi and Commander-in-Chief Saihan of the Northern Desert, ordering them to send troops to harass Yakutsk and Irkutsk respectively, so that the local Russian troops would be unable to come to their aid.

Imperial edicts are paramount! Saihan, the head of the Northern Mohe Myriarchy, had previously discussed with Tumen Ananda Gushi that Ananda Gushi would remain in Kulun to procure military supplies, while Saihan would station troops on the northern border to threaten the Russian-held areas of Chukuberxing and Erkou (Irkutsk). Upon receiving the edict, Saihan immediately ordered a coalition of Buryat Mongol tribes—including Huasai, Hugdude, Huodai, and Shalaide—who had been forced to migrate south to the Northern Mohe Myriarchy due to persecution by the Russians, to harass Chukuberxing Fortress. Saihan himself led three thousand cavalry north along the border to harass Erkou (Irkutsk).

Upon receiving the order to harass Chukuberxing Fortress, the Buryat Huasai chieftain, Huasaijirigela, was overjoyed, having long awaited the opportunity to reclaim his homeland! He gathered two thousand Buryat warriors and fifteen hundred Barga warriors, who shared the same language and ethnicity as the Buryats, and stormed into the Chukuberxing region. They killed all the Rus' people they encountered along the way, burned their camps, and looted their wealth. The Chukuberxing garrison was so terrified that they dared not leave the fortress.

Saihan, the commander of the northern desert, was a veteran general who had fought many battles. He first led three thousand cavalrymen to pretend to attack Ust-Brova Fortress west of Chukuberchenburg, tricking the Irkutsk garrison into sending reinforcements. Then he suddenly turned around and headed straight for Irkutsk. The Irkutsk governor, Kislensky, panicked and quickly called for Russian troops from Balagansk, Oxinsk, Verkhovsk and other places to come to Irkutsk to reinforce the city.

"The Great Khan has agreed to our raid on the Russians. The time has come for you all to show your skills!" Inside the garrison tent on the south bank of the Wudi River, Governor-General Orros of Nuningji said with a grin to Mengkutmur, the commander of Nurgan's ten thousand households, Jambi, the commander of Ningguta's ten thousand households, and Ekechotebu, the general of Jilin. Through continuous troop deployments, his army had grown to ten thousand strong and well-equipped, and was naturally eager to make its move.

"This humble general is willing to follow the Governor-General and sacrifice himself for the country!" Upon hearing this, all the generals shouted excitedly. David established the country through military force, and for military officers, war meant promotion, titles, and the privilege of having their wives and children rewarded. How could they not be excited?
Seeing everyone's eagerness, Orros smiled knowingly, "I have already found out that there are only two hundred Russian soldiers in Udi Fort on the other side of the Udi River, so let's start with that fort!"

Andrei Amosov, the governor of Udiburg, was a ruthless man. He not only levied fur taxes on the Kyriak (Fiyaka) and Natki tribes near Udiburg, but also arbitrarily robbed their property, killing anyone who resisted. Upon hearing that the garrison was approaching, the local Kyriak and Natki tribes gathered over three hundred warriors and voluntarily cooperated with the garrison, burning down the Cossack winter camp outside the city.

With few soldiers and generals, and lacking popular support, Udiburg fell swiftly. The ruthless Amosov fell into the hands of the equally ruthless Aqqas. They sewed him into a fish-skin bag, tied it with stones, and sank him to the bottom of the Udi River.

After capturing Udiburg, Orros continued his northward march and besieged Tugurburg. Tugurburg's commander, Pyotr Aksentyev, urgently requested reinforcements from Vasily Pushkin, the military governor of Yakutsk. Pushkin was alarmed and immediately dispatched his commander, Petrushka Karpov, with three hundred Cossacks and five hundred native soldiers to reinforce the city.

Orros's orders were to harass rather than launch a major offensive. Taking Udiburg was the end of the mission. Seeing that enemy reinforcements had arrived, he stopped pursuing them and returned to Udiburg to recuperate.

The Great Khan of Lotus was shrewd and his plan hit the nail on the head. Upon hearing news that the Guards had captured Albazin and were advancing towards Nerchinsk, the Nerchinsk governor, Vlasov, indeed simultaneously sent letters requesting reinforcements to the governors of Irkutsk, Leonti Kislensky; Yakutsk, Vasily Pushkin; and Yeniseysk, Prince Konstantin Shcherbatov. However, he was unaware that, except for Yeniseysk, reinforcements from the other two locations were already impossible to arrive. (End of Chapter)