Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

On the morning of July 20th, 1676 (the 33rd year of the Qianyuan era), the scouts of both sides met. After each side suffered dozens of casualties, they both figured out the other's location.

In the morning, King Naravane of Burma led his army to a point five miles from the hill where the guards were encamped, only to find the guards already arrayed at the foot of the hill. Just as he was about to order an attack, he was dissuaded by the artillery commander, Nikolai U, who said, “Your Excellency, the guards are arrayed at the foot of the hill, intending to attack us from a superior position. If I am not mistaken, they must have already carried their cannons to the top. If we charge now, the intense artillery fire will cause us heavy casualties.”

Nicola Oo was not Burmese, but a Portuguese instructor hired by Narovara at great expense. At that time, Portuguese influence had deeply penetrated Burma; not only the Toungoo Dynasty, but also the Arakan Dynasty to its southwest, favored hiring Portuguese instructors and mercenaries to enhance their military strength. Narovara was an enlightened ruler; having witnessed the effectiveness of Portuguese firearms, he not only hired a large number of Portuguese instructors to help train his army, but also employed a Portuguese mercenary force of over two hundred men. Nicola Oo was one of the best Portuguese instructors, skilled in the use of artillery, and other Portuguese generals such as Cesar, Azevedo, and Rodriguez were all excellent officers proficient in the use of firearms.

Upon hearing Nikolai's words, Narovaro nodded repeatedly, "You're absolutely right. Pass down the order: the entire army must hold their positions and wait for the enemy to attack!"

Upon receiving orders, the Burmese army immediately switched to a defensive posture, awaiting the Wei army's initiative to attack.

Seeing the enemy remain motionless outside the range of their cannons, even a seasoned commander like Alatan Cang frowned and said to his generals, "The Burmese are cunning, and all my arrangements have been rendered useless!" To increase the range, he had ordered the light cannons to be carried up the mountain and cavalry to be hidden on both sides of the foot of the mountain, waiting for the enemy to attack so that the cannons and arrows could be fired simultaneously and the cavalry could attack the enemy's flanks. Unexpectedly, the enemy did not take the initiative to attack, rendering his careful arrangements useless, as if he had punched cotton, feeling very frustrated.

“Governor, the Burmese king is a seasoned warrior and has likely already discerned our army’s intentions. In that case, we should engage him in a fair and square battle,” suggested Fang Yuxuan, the Governor of Yunnan.

Alatan Cang nodded and ordered in a deep voice: "Unload the cannons from the mountain and load them onto the wagons. The cavalry on both sides should withdraw and re-form their ranks."

Upon receiving the order, the guards carried the cannons down the mountain, loaded them onto the gun carriages, and re-formed their ranks. Fortunately, the hill was not high, and the heavy cannons were not moved up the mountain. Only light cannons were deployed on the hill. Several guards carried a cannon, and they quickly transported it down the mountain and loaded it onto the gun carriage. The guards' cavalry on both sides of the foot of the mountain also slowly emerged from the forest and re-formed their ranks on both sides of the infantry square.

Seeing this, Naravarahi secretly rejoiced that he hadn't taken the initiative to attack, otherwise he would have suffered a great loss! Because he was worried that the enemy might have other schemes and tricks, he dared not make any rash moves.

Seeing that the Burmese army dared not move, Alatan Cang sneered. He ordered the cavalry to dismount and rest, and the infantry to sit on the ground to conserve their strength. He also ordered the artillery battalion to load the cannons onto the vehicles as soon as possible and prepare to move forward.

Seeing that the guards were actually resting in front of the battle lines, Narovara became even more suspicious and ordered Mianji (cavalry commander) Mengbindra to lead two thousand cavalrymen to launch a probing attack on the center of the enemy lines.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter," the horses' hooves thundered, and in a moment they approached the guards.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The forty heavy cannons of the Imperial Guard began to roar. These cannons, being too heavy, had not been carried up the mountain but had been positioned behind the lines long ago. Whether it was a warhorse or a man, anyone hit by a cannon shot would be instantly reduced to dust.

As a renowned fierce general in the Burmese army, Meng Bindra was not deterred by the heavy artillery. He crouched low, steered his warhorse, and commanded his men to accelerate forward, hoping to use the speed of the cavalry to break through the enemy lines.

As the enemy approached, the guards waved their command flags, and the infantry, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up and reformed their ranks, raising their muskets and pointing them at the Burmese army. "Fire!" At the command of Yunnan Governor Ma Zhilin, five thousand muskets unleashed a continuous barrage of fire.

"Shoot!" The deputy commander of the guard, Lama Dashi, also commanded the archers in his formation to hurl arrows at the Burmese army.

"Bang~ Bang~ Bang~"

"Whoosh~whoosh~whoosh~"

Gunshots and arrows rained down on the Burmese army like snowflakes, and one Burmese rider after another fell to the ground. Those who occasionally charged into the guard formation were also killed by the spears in front of them.

"Awooo!" Meng Binde unleashed his ferocity, leaping from his horse into the ranks of the guards. His Burmese knife flashed, beheading a guard musketeer, then slicing open the intestines of a guard spearman with a swift backhand. Just as he was gaining momentum, a bullet pierced his body with a "bang," causing him to shudder and collapse helplessly to the ground. In a battle between armies, individual martial prowess is actually of little use.

The two thousand cavalry sent to probe the enemy had suffered heavy casualties in no time. Narovara gasped and ordered the horns to be sounded to withdraw the cavalry, becoming even more hesitant to launch an attack.

Seeing that the Burmese army was intimidated and dared not launch an attack, Alatan Cang laughed heartily. He said to Yu Xuan, "I originally thought that Luo Falu was a good man, but I didn't expect him to be so cowardly. If you're going to charge, you should take advantage of our army's change of formation and fight back with all your might. What's the use of sending such a small number of people to test the waters? Now they neither advance nor retreat, only damaging morale!"

Fang Yuxuan chuckled, “Narovara is cautious by nature, preferring to plan carefully before acting. He dares not take a gamble without absolute certainty. Little does he know that battlefield situations are ever-changing, and opportunities are fleeting. How can one possibly calculate every situation? This is a case of being too clever for one’s own good. Governor-General, you should order the artillery battalion to quickly mount the cannons on the gun carriages and advance with the main army. Once they reach firing range, unleash a barrage of cannon fire, followed by an infantry and cavalry charge. That will surely defeat the enemy!”

"Yes, I have ordered Han Tianfu to speed up the loading of the cannons. In another hour, we will be able to give that brat Luovaro a surprise," Alatan Cang said smugly. As a veteran of countless battles, he had already seen the dawn of victory from the enemy's slow reaction.

"Speed ​​up! Faster! Faster still! After this battle, I'll treat everyone to drinks!" General Han Tianfu of Wuding loudly urged and encouraged his subordinates, but he felt extremely frustrated.

Yesterday evening, the guards marched to this location and set up camp. In the early hours of the morning, while other units were still resting, his artillery battalion received orders to transport light artillery up the mountain. After much effort, the Burmese troops remained far away, refusing to come within firing range. Just as they were getting frustrated, they received another order: to carry the artillery up the mountain back down, load it onto gun carriages, and advance with the army. The governor's intention was clear: to use artillery to disrupt the enemy's formation while they were on the move. But who could understand the hardships endured by the artillery battalion brothers?
"Give it your all! Hey, Mr. Han is here to drink! Hey, hey!" Several old brothers joked with Han Tianfu as they lifted the cannon onto the oxcart with all their might.

Once the jokes started, the atmosphere at the artillery battalion where they were loading cannons became lighthearted, with shouts of "Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" echoing everywhere. (End of Chapter)