Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Located in western India, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gujarat is the stronghold of Aurangzeb's third son, the current Emperor Azam Shah. Now, this emperor is in a very precarious situation! He had initially intended to raid Delhi with superior forces, but due to the poor training of his newly recruited troops and the treacherous intentions of powerful ministers like Zulfikar Khan, he was defeated by Zheng Guoyin, the governor of Guangxi.

Zheng Guoyin, with only 10,000 veteran soldiers from his Guangxi headquarters and 23,000 weak Mughal surrendered troops, easily won the Battle of Rajputana. Eager to gain merit and promotion, he pressed his advantage and captured the entire Rajputana Subba (province) and Sindh Subba, with his army heading straight for Gujarat Subba.

Azam Shah had been operating in Gujarat for many years, and after retreating there, the war reached a stalemate, with the Mughal army's offensive noticeably slowing down. On this day, he had just returned to the palace to rest after inspecting the city's defenses when his trusted general, Rajajasvant, requested an audience. Upon meeting him, Rajajasvant dropped a bombshell: "Your Majesty, that old traitor Zulfiqar Khan has colluded with the Mughal army to betray our Mughal Empire."

"What!" Azam Shah was startled and stood up from his throne. "Do you have any evidence to support your claim?"

"The old thief sent someone to write a letter of surrender to the commander of the guards today, but it was discovered by the patrol team I sent out of the city, and the person and the letter were intercepted." After saying this, Rajajasvant ordered his men to take the messenger into the palace.

After careful interrogation, Azam Shah discovered that the man was indeed a confidant of Zulfiqar Khan, and the contents of the letter were extremely horrifying: as long as the guards agreed to preserve the fiefdom of the Zulfiqar Khan family, the old man was willing to bind himself as a gift to the guards.

"In times of national crisis, loyalty and treachery are hard to discern! When I first ascended the throne, this traitor knelt before me and swore allegiance. Now that the war is going badly, he's eager to betray me to secure his wealth and power! Hmph~ Hmph~" Azam Shah sneered repeatedly in anger.

“That old thief holds considerable military power. If Your Majesty does not act decisively, you may face a great calamity!” Rajajasvant advised.

"Hmm, I will immediately order the old thief to come to the palace for a meeting. After he leaves the camp, you will immediately take your men to take over his troops," Azam Shah ordered with a cold smile.

Upon receiving the summons to the palace, Zulfiqar Khan did not suspect anything. In the Battle of Rajputana, he had been quick to retreat and preserved his strength, while Azam Shah's direct army had suffered heavy losses. He believed that the emperor's strength was inferior to his own and dared not make any rash moves! But the emperor did make a move anyway. As soon as he entered the palace, the guards who were already prepared hacked him to the ground.

Taking over the army was not smooth. Although there was no leader, Zulfiqar Khan's men were mostly arrogant and fierce. Rajajaswant led his troops to kill hundreds of people before he could calm the situation down.

Just when Azam Shah and his court believed they had finally averted disaster, a large number of the 20,000 troops originally under Zulfiqar Khan's command deserted. In just seven or eight days, half of them had fled, with many soldiers even joining the Imperial Guard. "General, the Mughals are in turmoil! Azam Shah has killed Zulfiqar Khan, and over 4,700 of his men have surrendered to our army. This is a divinely granted opportunity for you; you must not hesitate!" Vice Admiral Wang Guodong excitedly petitioned Zheng Guoyin for permission to lead the army.

“Brother Wang is absolutely right! Our day of great success has come!” Zheng Guoyin laughed heartily and immediately ordered Generals Wang Guodong and Yiben to lead three thousand veterans from Guangxi and more than ten thousand surrendered soldiers ahead, while he himself led twenty thousand troops to follow.

The Mughal army's offensive was fierce, and the infighting among the Mughal soldiers made them demoralized and unable to resist. Azam Shah led his army to fight the Mughal army seven times, but was defeated each time. Even the capital, Ahmedabad, was captured, and he was forced to flee to the coastal city of Surat, where he attempted to rely on the influence of the British, Dutch, and Portuguese merchants who were doing business there to resist the Mughal army.

“The Southern Song Dynasty was weak, yet it still had a famous general like Yue Fei. The Mughals were the same; they were on the verge of collapse, but then Ibrahim Khan emerged. Damn it, of all people, I had to run into him! Alas, it’s easier to shake a mountain than to shake Ibrahim Khan!” Gazing at the Mughal military camps standing atop the vast mountains of the Orissa Plateau, Batu Mengke, the Deputy General of the Southern Expedition and First-Class Earl of Jianchang, sighed.

He encountered a formidable opponent: Subadar (Governor) Ibrahim Khan of Orissa. This man was skilled in warfare and resourceful. He first defeated the army of the Arakan King Sindhodhamma, an ally of the Guards, and then divided his forces to guard various strategic points on the Orissa Plateau. While his main force held firm and did not venture out, he sent small detachments to harass the Guards from the mountains, causing them great suffering. They lost thousands of men but gained nothing. How could they not be anxious?
Seeing his anxiety, the Portuguese general Moor, who had surrendered, smiled slyly: "General, there is no need to worry. Even the strongest fortress cannot withstand a breakthrough from within."

"Oh? Speak plainly. I hate people who are good at arguing the most," Batu Mengke glanced at him with annoyance, not believing that this "Franklin man" could have any brilliant plan.

Despite being underestimated by his commander, Captain Moore wasn't angry. In his eyes, a good employer was one who was willing to pay. And Batu Mengke was clearly not a stingy person. He chuckled and said, "The Mughal general stationed in Buri is Mapila, a Christian from Ethiopia. I served as a mercenary with him in Ethiopia. Because we both believe in God, we have a good relationship. I've already persuaded Mapila to surrender to the commander, but he's asking for 100,000 taels of silver, not a tael less!"

"One hundred thousand taels!" Batu Mengke's eyelids twitched. Since being ordered to the south, although he had acquired a large amount of gold and silver treasures in Bengal, one hundred thousand taels was still a considerable sum. On second thought, "You can't catch a wolf without risking your shoes." One hundred thousand taels to help the guards break through the Orissa defense line was worth it! So he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Tell that kid that I agree. If he dares to cheat, I will take his head."

"Rest assured, General, once the silver is received, Mapila will surely submit," Moore chuckled, secretly pleased with himself. Mapila had only asked for 50,000 taels; once the money was transferred, 50,000 taels would be in his account—a good deal!
Mapila, the Ethiopian Christian garrison commander of Buri, was a man of his word. Upon receiving the silver from the guards, he immediately delivered the city as promised. On October 9th, 1677 (the 34th year of the Qian Yuan era), Batu Mengke led 20,000 elite guards aboard ships to land at Buri, a coastal city on the Bay of Bengal, appearing behind and to the rear of Khtaq, the capital of Orissa Suba. Mapila led his guards directly to Khtaq. The Muslim general Jahira, who was defending the city, was caught completely off guard by the enemy's rear and suffered a crushing defeat. He not only lost the city but was also killed in battle by the guards. On the 19th, the guards seized the opportunity to capture another important military town, Bhubaneswar. A huge gap appeared in the seemingly impregnable Orissa defenses.

Upon hearing the news of the fall of Mapilah, Khedak, and Bhubaneswar, Ibrahim Khan, who was commanding the Mughal army in Serabali, sighed deeply and immediately ordered his men to abandon Orissa and retreat to the Deccan region. (End of Chapter)