Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

News of the Kuchibihar army's massacre of Kochebihar spread rapidly, which, while damaging to its image, effectively deterred the surrounding towns. The main force of the Kuchibihar army was concentrated in Kochebihar, and other cities had few remaining defenders. Seeing their heavily fortified capital easily breached and fearing that resistance would lead to a massacre, they surrendered one after another to the Kuchibihar army, offering large sums of money and provisions.

Alatan Cang ordered his men to incorporate the surrendered troops, obtaining three thousand "misfits." He left a small force to guard the rear and continued leading his 120,000-strong army along the Ganges towards Delhi. When they reached the heavily fortified city of Gogra, they expected a fierce battle, but instead found it deserted. The Mughal garrison had fled completely, taking all the supplies from the treasury and leaving the guards not a single grain of food.

"Everyone says Ram Singh is a famous Mughal general, but first he hid in Gogra and refused to come to the aid of Kochebihar, and now that my army is attacking, he has abandoned Gogra and fled. Where is the demeanor of a great general? What a coward! I hope he doesn't run away again when we get to Allahabad. If he does, my precious sword will never be able to be used! Hahaha~" Upon hearing that the enemy had fled, Alatan Tsang laughed heartily.

"Hahaha~ Hahaha~" Upon hearing this, all the generals burst into laughter.

"My lord, you may not know this, but this Ram Singh, though somewhat famous, is truly a fool! Back then, when he led his army to invade Assam, relying on his large army and numerous generals, he didn't bother to properly survey the terrain. He fell into our ambush at Saraiqat and was utterly routed. He truly lives up to his reputation," King Chakdewa Singh of Assam recounted the Mughal army's dismal performance in the Battle of Saraiqat, shamelessly attributing the great victory to his own command.

“In that case, which general will take Ram Singh’s head for me?” Alatanchan asked with a smile.

"I will go there with my life, and I will cut off the old thief's head and present it to the commander!" Chakdeva said with great confidence.

“Go, I await Your Highness’s good news,” Alatancang laughed heartily, immediately appointing Chakdeva as the vanguard and leading a large army to follow, heading to Alabahard Fortress.

The Assamese army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kochebihar. More than half of the 8,000 guards killed or wounded were Assamese warriors. By now, only 20,000 of the original 28,000-strong army remained. However, this did not dampen Chakdwa's eagerness to achieve merit. Although the casualties were heavy, the gains were also enormous; the kingdom received vast territories as rewards for military achievements. In the king's view, with enough land, the population would grow, and there would be no shortage of warriors. He had to seize this opportunity to gain as much territory as possible.

Struggling forward, they saw Mughal army supplies everywhere, from helmets to swords and spears. This caused King Chakdwa concern: what if the old traitor abandoned Alabahhad and fled? He had promised to cut off the old traitor's head and present it to the commander-in-chief.

His subordinate, Udayaditya, guessed what he was thinking and suggested, "Why doesn't Your Highness gather all the horses in the army and lead the cavalry ahead?"

“You’re right, we must speed things up, otherwise that old thief might really disappear without a trace,” Chakdeva agreed wholeheartedly. He immediately assembled two thousand cavalrymen to go first, and ordered his son Godata to lead the infantry to follow.

"Boom~boom~boom~"

"Bang~ Bang~ Bang~"

When they reached the riverbank fifty miles from Alabahad Fort, suddenly gunfire erupted, and countless Mughal troops emerged from the reeds. The commander of this ambush was none other than the "cowardly" Ram Singh.

"Not good! An ambush! Your Highness, please break through with me!" In this critical moment, the veteran general Udayaditya displayed extraordinary bravery, wielding his broadsword to slash and cut a bloody path through the enemy lines.

"You treacherous old scoundrel! I will avenge you one day!" Chakdeva gritted his teeth in hatred as he finally broke free of the encirclement. "Bang!" A cold gun shot from who-knows-where turned Udayaditya beside him into a bloody mess.

Chakdeva gritted his teeth, crouched low, and spurred his horse to gallop, finally escaping into his own infantry. A headcount revealed that only two hundred of his two thousand cavalrymen remained. Although the casualties weren't high, cavalrymen were far more valuable than infantry, and most importantly, morale had been shattered. He dared not advance further, instead setting up camp and offering his apologies to Alatan Cang.

"This humble general is incompetent and has fallen into the enemy's trap," Chakdeva knelt before his commander, feeling both ashamed and agitated.

“This is not Your Highness’s fault. If it were me, I would probably have fallen for the trap too,” Alatan Cang said without anger. Instead, he helped Chakdeva up and comforted him gently. After all, the other party was not his subordinate, but an ally, and had made many contributions along the way, so it was not appropriate to be harsh on him.

"It seems that Alabahad Castle is not as easy to conquer as I thought!" The General of the Southern Expedition sighed and began to take his opponent seriously.

"Although Ram Singh is not easy to deal with, his forces are far fewer than ours. General, you might as well proceed step by step and crush him with overwhelming force," suggested Leng Mengjun, the governor of Guizhou.

“Yes, Leng Fuyuan is absolutely right. Our army has more soldiers than the enemy's. As long as we fight steadily, how can we not win?” Alatan Cang agreed wholeheartedly.

“Our army’s supplies and provisions rely on the Ganges River for transport. Ram Singh is a veteran of many battles, and we must guard against him looting and burning our supplies along the river,” suggested Fang Yuxuan, the governor of Yunnan.

"Fang Fuyuan and I have the same idea. Don't worry, I have already made arrangements. If the enemy doesn't come by water, fine. But if they do, I will make sure they don't return," Alatan Cang said with a cold laugh.

On January 2, 1677 (the 34th year of the Qianyuan era), Ram Singh, the Mughal governor of Allahabad, dispatched his general Ajay with over a hundred warships down the Ganges River, intending to set fire to the Wei army's provisions and thus encircle them. Wei Yongning's general, Song Guofu, led a hundred warships through the enemy lines and, together with General Li Famei's hundred warships, launched a pincer attack, killing Ajay, annihilating over 1,500 Mughal soldiers, and sinking over 70 enemy ships.

On land, the guards advanced cautiously towards Allahabad Fortress, defeating the enemy forces multiple times. On January 6th, Xin Sizhong, the Guizhou governor, killed Ram Singh's most valiant general, Ramanujam.

"Send out the order to withdraw all troops from the outer perimeter and concentrate forces to defend Fort Alabahad," Ram Singh issued the order after witnessing the strength of the Guards.

“Father, if we withdraw all the troops from the outer perimeter, wouldn’t the Guards be able to reach the walls of Allahabad very quickly?” Bishon asked, puzzled.

"What do you know? The enemy has a lot of heavy artillery. The walls of Allahabad Fortress were built with solid stone at the behest of Akbar the Great, so they are not afraid of artillery fire," Ram explained irritably.

As expected, after surrounding Allahabad Fortress, the guards concentrated eighty heavy cannons and over a hundred other artillery pieces to bombard the fortress walls. They bombarded them for ten days without inflicting significant damage on the sturdy walls. Alatanchan launched several probing attacks, all of which were repelled by the defenders. Left with no other option, he had to first surround the entire city. (End of Chapter)