Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

“That old man Aurangzeb has certainly spawned a bunch of wolf cubs! Bahish’s army of over 110,000 is stationed at Agra Fort in the south, only about 300 li from Delhi; Mu’azam’s army of over 40,000 is stationed at the Multan section of the Indus River in the west, the closest point of which is over 700 li from Delhi. According to Li Famei, the general stationed at Panipat, a small group of Mughal troops has crossed the Indus River and appeared on the Panipat plain, only 180 li from Delhi; Azam Shah’s army of 40,000 left Tata a few days ago and arrived at Rajputana (now Rajasthan, India, meaning: Land of the Rajput Kings). Although they are still a thousand li apart, they are moving towards Delhi. Your Highness, please advise on how to fight this battle?” General Alatan Cang respectfully briefed Prince Chen Suhebalu on the situation and requested instructions on the battle strategy.

"I'm new here and unfamiliar with the situation. Let the General handle the command of the battle," Sukhbaatar said with a smile, though young, he had grown up in the treacherous court and was adept at navigating social situations. He instructed Alatan Cang to arrange military affairs, meaning that, at least superficially, the old marshal still held command. If the battle was won, he, as a prince, would receive considerable credit; if it was lost, it would be the old marshal's fault. He was giving the old marshal face while protecting himself.

“In that case, I will present a strategy for Your Highness to decide,” Alatan Cang said, pleased that the young prince respected him so much. He raised his voice and said, “Bahish has more than 110,000 troops and is closest to Delhi, but he has been stationed in Agra Fort for nearly a month without daring to advance a single step. His morale has been lost, so we can attack him. Muazam’s army is smaller than Bahish’s, but he is quite bold. He even dared to send a small force to infiltrate the Panibat Plain. If we ignore it, he will surely launch a surprise attack when our army is fighting Bahish. We must use elite troops to contain him. Azam Shah’s army is far away and has been advancing hesitantly. He is not a threat. We only need to send a detachment to keep an eye on him.”

Seeing His Highness Prince Chen nod, Alatan Cang continued, "After Ma Zhilin arrived with over 20,000 soldiers, our army in Delhi now numbers 110,000. We have also selected 23,000 strong men from the 30,000 prisoners captured in Delhi and Allahabad to serve as surrendered troops, bringing our total strength to over 130,000. The route from Delhi to Agra Fort is entirely flat, ideal for cavalry maneuvering. I intend to concentrate our most elite 60,000 cavalry to Agra Fort to defeat Bahish first. To prevent Mu'azam from attacking Delhi while our army is advancing south, Xin Sizhong can lead 20,000 Guizhou troops to keep an eye on Mu'azam; and Zheng Guoyin can lead 10,000 Guangxi soldiers and 23,000 surrendered troops to monitor Azam Shah. What does Your Highness think?"

“The General’s words are very wise. I have only one request: I must be the vanguard in the Battle of Agra Fort!” Prince Sukhbaatar volunteered for the battle.

“Your Highness is of noble birth, a son of a noble family, and should not sit under a dangerous roof. How can you take such a risk? Please reconsider,” Alatan Cang said, startled. As everyone knows, Prince Chen was born to Consort Zhuang, the Khan’s favorite concubine. She only had this one son and cherished him dearly. If anything were to happen to him, how could he bear the responsibility?
This time, Sukhbaatar did not back down. He glared at the eagle eyes that were characteristic of the Ikminyan clan and said angrily, "Which man of our Ikminyan clan did not go to the battlefield in his teens? My father Khan led the army into battle at the age of thirteen. Although I am not as brave as my father Khan, I am already fourteen years old. How can I not go to the battlefield? Does the Great General look down on me?"

Upon hearing this, Alatan Cang dared not offer any further advice and could only lament his misfortune inwardly.

The Guards were a battle-hardened army. Once the order was given, the three armies immediately set off for different battlefields.
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On June 28th, 1677 (the 34th year of the Qianyuan era), General Alatan Cang and Prince Suhbalu of Chen led 60,000 elite cavalry from Delhi to Agra Fort. They loaded cannons, provisions, and supplies onto wagons and traveled at great speed. On July 1st, Suhbalu led 20,000 elite cavalry to the foot of Agra Fort.

"The Mughals, seeing our army is outnumbered, will surely come out of the city to fight in the open. Your Highness need not engage them in battle. Simply use your strong bows to shoot as you retreat, and when the enemy is exhausted, turn around and strike. Victory is assured!" Just as they had set up camp, Chu Yi, a valiant general of the Imperial Guard and Marquis of Arukorchin, advised Prince Chen. This man was a renowned archer in the Imperial Guard, and his four thousand Arukorchin soldiers were famous for their skill with powerful bows.

Sukhbaatar nodded slowly. The next day, he used the Chuyi tribe as a spearhead to advance towards the city walls, while he himself led his army to form ranks five miles from the city. Upon hearing of the approaching garrison, Shaysta Khan dared not be negligent and went up to the city walls to investigate the enemy's situation. Seeing that the enemy's total strength was no more than 20,000, and that a mere few thousand cavalry dared to flaunt their power beneath the city walls, he was furious: "How dare such a small force be so arrogant? Do they think the Mughals have no one to rely on?"

“The Guards dare to do this because their warhorses are faster than our war elephants. If we win in open battle, fine, but if we lose, they will turn their horses and run away, and our army will not be able to catch up,” said Amir Khan, who had many experiences fighting the Guards.

"Hmph~ The guards are truly foolish. Do we Mughals not have warhorses? If it were fifty or sixty thousand cavalry, that would be one thing, but what is there to fear from a mere twenty thousand? Send down the order to gather all the warhorses in the army and annihilate the enemy beneath the city!" Shaysta Khan coldly gave the order, quickly assembling thirty thousand cavalry and commanding Amir Khan, Quli, and Mir to lead them out of the city to attack the enemy.

Seeing the enemy emerge from the city, Chu Yi remained calm and ordered his men to dismount and fire arrows from their powerful bows. Their arrows were all armor-piercing, each whistling through the air. The arrows rained down, felling the enemy in droves. Amir Khan gritted his teeth and led his men forward through the arrow storm. They finally closed in on their own horse archers, only to see the enemy mount their horses, turn tail, and flee, simultaneously switching to their own horse archers and firing arrows back at their troops. The Wei army's mounted archery skills far surpassed those of the Mughal army, resulting in far fewer casualties. Fortunately, the Mughal army outnumbered them and quickly closed in on Chen Wang's main force.

"Retreat!" Seeing the enemy approaching, Sukhbaatar gave the order to retreat. Thirty thousand Mughal soldiers chased after twenty thousand Imperial Guards, seemingly gaining the upper hand, but they were constantly being shot down by the enemy's volleys of arrows, rarely managing to hit their targets. They tried desperately to catch up and fight, but the Imperial Guards' cavalry, raised on horseback from childhood, not only rode the finest steeds but were also highly skilled riders, maintaining a mere arrow's distance from the Mughal army, and simply couldn't catch up.

"Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up!" The Mughal general Quli, who thought himself a master horseman, rode after them.

Chu Yi calmly drew her bow and nocked an arrow on her warhorse. With a sharp "whoosh," the arrow pierced straight into Quili's throat.

Having pursued the enemy for forty miles, suffering heavy casualties while inflicting negligible damage, Amir Khan knew he was not gaining any advantage and ordered a retreat to the city. The Mughal army turned their horses around and retreated in formation.

Seeing the enemy retreat, Sukhbaatar ordered a pursuit. This time, the Mughal army ran ahead, with the Imperial Guards chasing behind. The Imperial Guards were far more skilled horsemen than the Mughals, using their feet to control their horses and their hands to draw their bows, shooting down the Mughals who lagged behind. The closer they got, the more enemies they killed. After receiving the order to retreat, the Mughal army lost all courage to fight and only cared about running desperately into the city, leaving their backs as targets. Those who were slow and unhit were caught by the Imperial Guards and became victims of lances and scimitars.

In this battle, the Imperial Guard suffered only seven hundred casualties, yet annihilated over ten thousand Mughal cavalry, striking fear into the hearts of everyone within the city and deterring them from ever venturing out to fight again. (End of Chapter)