The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 768: Beheading the King and Killing the Driver

Strictly speaking, the Gurkhas are not an ethnic group, but a class.

Moreover, in Nepal at that time, most people could not be called Gurkha warriors, because the word Gurkha itself represented an identity.

Since Hinduism is generally practiced in this ethnic group and the caste system is implemented internally, Gurkha specifically refers to the military nobles with Kshatriya status in the ethnic group. Only they can be called Gurkhas or Gurkha warriors.

These Gurkha warriors are qualified to wear turbans similar to those of the Sikhs and have typical Gurkha mustaches. They are not the same as the dark-skinned Indians they rule, or other Tibeto-Burmese peoples such as the Sherpas and Rongpas who speak Tibetan and look bitter and resentful.

In other words, the Gurkhas are actually a class, a class that practices Hinduism and is deeply influenced by the culture of the Ganges River Basin, especially the Sikhs. Many of them are even a highland military class formed by the Sikhs who went up the mountains, rather than a nation.

This is also the reason why, in later generations, although the Gurkhas became famous, the country was still named Nepal and the main ethnic group called themselves the Nepalese.

Yangbu (Kathmandu), Hanuman Dhoka Palace, Gorkha King Rana Bahadur Shah seemed a little flustered.

In Hanuman Dhoka’s palace, a fierce quarrel was going on.

King Rana Bahadur Shah advocated accepting Luo Siju's conditions, sending close relatives of the royal family to Resa to apologize, and returning the Tibetans and a small number of Han people who had been captured in Yangbu or exiled to various noble estates in Nepal as serfs in recent years.

Of course, the most important thing is to return all the gold, silver and treasures that were stolen from the White Palace (Potala Palace), where the Great Perfection Wisdom Master resides, the Tashilhunpo Monastery, where the Treasure Master resides, and all the major temples in Qiangtang during these eight years.

The first two are fine, but the third one is going to kill all the Gurkha nobles in Nepal.

It is hard to give up good fortune. Few people are willing to give away their own hard-earned money, especially when the amount is huge.

"Shah Shah, this is pure blackmail. Governor Luo's position in Aurora is not high. He has no authority to make such a decision. If he did, there should be an imperial edict from the Emperor of Aurora to confirm it."

"I agree with the Prime Minister's opinion. What the people of Zhendan like most, or what the Great Emperor of Zhendan likes most, is to turn other neighboring countries into vassal states. Then the Great Emperor of Zhendan can ride on the heads of all other kings and act as their father.

Yet, this notice from Resa doesn't mention anything about vassalage or enthronement; it's truly bizarre."

Hearing someone agreeing with him, the regent, prime minister, and uncle of King Rana Bahadur Shah, Bam Bahadur Shah, became more confident. He looked at his nephew, who was only 20 years old this year, and said with certainty:

"It's not easy to reach the snowy plateau. The Mughal Empire, the Maharaja of Kashmir, the Sikhs, etc., all of them wanted to annex us, but in the end they all failed.

The same goes for the great emperor of Zhendan. We have Mount Sumeru as a natural barrier, and we only have three and a half months a year to pass through it. If we attack from Qiangtang, including fighting and retreat, it will only take three and a half months at most.

In other words, even if the Zhendan army arrived in Qiangtang, even if they were really preparing to come to Yangbu, their fighting time would be at most one month.

I don't believe it. I don't believe a city like Yangbu, and I don't believe our 20,000 elite soldiers can't hold out for even a month!"

"Well said!" As soon as Prime Minister Bam Bahadur Shah finished his analysis, the general of the imperial guards and the governor of Kumaon Province, Amar Singh Tapa, immediately came out and praised loudly. For a while, there were quite a lot of people who responded.

Finance Minister Damodar Pande also took the opportunity to speak out, "We've already given away much of the treasures we obtained from Zhendan. A large portion has also been used to build palaces and other expenses. Even if we want to return them, I'm afraid we won't be able to do so in the short term."

At this time, the politics within the Gorkha Shah dynasty of Nepal were also a bit strange.

Although King Rana Bahadur Shah had been king for eighteen years, he had almost no political foundation.

Because he was only two years old when he ascended the throne, and he was held in the arms of his mother Rajendra Lakshmi.

A two-year-old was naturally unable to handle state affairs, so all power was in the hands of the Queen Mother, Rajendra Lakshmi, the mother of Rana Bahadur Shah.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with this. The mother is in power for her son, and at most she is a little strict. Rajendra Lakshmi has no other sons, so Rana Bahadur Shah's position is very stable.

Unfortunately, when King Rana Bahadur Shah was eight years old, twelve years ago in 1785, his mother Rajendra Lakshmi died of a mysterious illness at the age of twenty-five.

The one who succeeded the Queen Mother in power was the king's youngest uncle, the current regent, Bam Bahadur Shah.

After twelve years of control, officials and nobles of all ranks within the Shah dynasty had basically become accomplices of Bam Bahadur Shah, the regent uncle and prime minister.

Damodar Pande and Amar Singh Thapa were particularly effective.

The former is the assistant to the regent uncle Bam in domestic affairs. He is very good at making money and helping Bam fight political enemies.

The latter was Bam's right-hand man in military affairs. The conquest of large tracts of territory in the western part of the Kingdom of Sikkim and the invasion of Changtang were all the masterpieces of Amar Singh Thapa.

So when King Rana Bahadur Shah saw that both of them had spoken, he knew that it was useless for him to say anything.

After being slapped in the face in public, Rana Bahadur Shah's face suddenly turned a layer of hot red, commonly known as red fever.

However, eighteen years of puppetry had tempered Rana Bahadur Shah, so although he was hot-tempered, he was able to control his emotions.

"Everything Uncle Wang said is based on impossibility, but what if the Zhendan punitive army really comes and captures Yangbu City in less than a month?
Are we then going to become spoils of war for the Emperor of Aurora simply for the gold and silver we plundered?"

Although King Rana Bahadur Shah felt that his question was mild enough, after all, he had just been accused of bullying by a group of people.

But the regent uncle Bam Bahadur Shah had developed a temper that would not tolerate anyone contradicting his opinions, even the king, during his twelve years of holding power.

Even Bam Bahadur Shah did not regard Rana Bahadur Shah as a king, but as an offending nephew.

Immediately, the regent uncle Bam looked at the king's nephew with a sullen face and said, "If Shah Shah is worried, he can go to Rajbilad's palace.

We are in urgent need of English weapons, and if Shah Shah could come and negotiate in person, we would surely be able to obtain very favorable terms."

When he was young, Regent Bam received Western education in the territory of British India and had some ties with the people of Kolkata. The weapons in the hands of the Gurkha dynasty were basically supplied by the English.

However, after hearing this proposal, King Rana Bahadur Shah looked at his uncle angrily. This was not asking him to negotiate the supply of arms with the English, but mocking him for hiding at the border if he was afraid.

No, this is to drive him out of the capital and drive him to the border!

Historically, the regent Shubam used Fu Kangan's army to scare King Rana Bahadur Shah and successfully drove the king to a border city.

However, the Regent Shubam had no idea that Fu Kangan and his Jiarong soldiers were so powerful that they almost destroyed the Shah dynasty, and his reputation was greatly damaged.

The regent of this time and space, Shubam, did not use threats, but instead demanded that the king go away.

Because of this time and space, Rana Bahadur Shah was actually planning to ask the nobles below to hand over the treasures they had obtained, which greatly violated the power of the nobles at all levels below.

As expected, as soon as Regent Shubam finished speaking, the ministers below erupted in clamor. None of them took this king, who had never held power for a single day, seriously. Rana Bahadur Shah knew he could no longer stay. He stood up and glanced at the ministers, as if about to yell at them, to order their heads chopped off. But in the end, under countless cold stares, he sat down.

Although it is called the Gurkhas' kingdom, it has not actually broken away from the rut of tribal politics. The so-called king is just a better-sounding title than a tribal leader like a chief.

The ministers below, including the regent Shubam, all had their own territories and private armies, and Rana Bahadur Shah was unable to punish them.

"I will leave, but you must also pray that the army of the Great Emperor of Zhendan will not reach Yangbu!" Rana Bahadur Shah issued a final warning, or curse.

But no one paid any attention to him. In the territory of Nepal, a king without any power is not a king. Once the troubles in Zhendan are solved, the regent Shubam may ascend the throne.

The sun was slanting, the sky was dark, and the warm wind blowing from the Indian Ocean seemed cold when it reached here, mixed with a little cold air coming from the northern foothills of Mount Xumi, making this afternoon even colder.

Rana Bahadur Shah left Yangbu City with his concubines, two sons, and the king's flag, escorted by more than a hundred court attendants and five hundred elite cavalry.

And the best outcome of this trip would probably be exile in British India, just as it happened in history.

No, it should be said that it is completely incomparable with history.

Historically, Rana Bahadur Shah received the news at the border that Yangbu was almost captured and the country suffered heavy losses. He immediately returned to the capital and, with the support of the nobles who resented the regent Shubam for provoking the Achaemenid army, killed the regent who had been in power for twelve years.

But at this time and space, Rana Bahadur Shah had just walked out of Yangbu City for more than 30 miles when he ran headfirst into Luo Siju who was running wildly from Resoma City.

The battle started in a very short time. Those so-called elite cavalrymen who were guarding the king were just for show, so no one sent out scouts in the howling cold wind. As a result, when Luo Siju's troops appeared, they had already run into them.

Luo Siju certainly had scouts, so he knew very well what was ahead. Under his command, Fu Kang'an personally led the most elite Black Flag Army and headed straight for the carriage that was suspected to be that of some great noble.

The Gurkha cavalry sent out 200 cavalry to block the enemy, and the other 300 cavalry tried to protect the carriage and escape.

However, because they were too relaxed, many cavalrymen did not even reload their carbines, and they did not even distribute gunpowder and lead bullets. The only thing they could rely on was the carbines in their hands, which were more ceremonial in nature.

Therefore, they were dispersed by the Black Flag Army at the first encounter. Then Fu Kang'an and others rushed to the side of the carriage, and more than 500 cavalrymen drew their bows and shot arrows together.

In an instant, arrows rained down, shooting the Gurkha cavalry who were trying to protect the carriage like hedgehogs. Many cavalrymen had little loyalty to the king to begin with, and after being shot by arrows, they immediately ran away by almost 30%.

The rest, not wearing heavy armor, could not withstand the continuous barrage of arrows from six or seven Douma bows and soon fell to the ground in large numbers.

"No. No. I am the king of Nepal!" Arrows like locusts suddenly pierced through the brocade curtain of the carriage and flew in. The king's queen and two princes were taken away in an instant.

Rana Bahadur Shah, who was extremely frightened, lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped down. He opened his hands and roared loudly in Tibetan, trying to express that he did not want to fight against the Cathay Empire, that he was still useful to the Emperor of Cathay, etc.

But what greeted him was not a warm reception, but the saber of a young Black Flag Army soldier.

Luo Siju only found out that there was a great noble traveling ahead. After all, he was conducting reconnaissance from a distance and it was impossible for him to actually run up to the front to find out. Therefore, Luo Siju and the Pingkuo army did not know that this person was the king of Nepal.

With a "puff", Rana Bahadur Shah's head flew into the air. He was still staggering and had not fallen to the ground. Blood was still spurting up from his headless neck.

The fierce battle, or rather the one-sided killing, lasted only about an hour. Of the 500 cavalry guards, only a few dozen managed to escape, and almost no one escaped, including the royal servants who had no war horses.

It was not until Singh, the defender of Resoma City who cooperated with the Pingkuo army, arrived and saw the royal flag and ceremonial guards chopped to the ground, and the head hanging on the waist of the Black Flag Army soldier, that he burst into tears in fear.

"Damn your ancestors! You're such a lucky bastard!" Luo Siju was extremely surprised and blurted out his hometown dialect. He looked at the Black Flag Army soldier and laughed, "You killed the Gurkha King with one blow. You're going to be very successful!"

"What a pity! If we could capture this man alive, he might be of great use!" Fu Kang'an said with regret.

"He's just a foreign king, so we can just kill him. Besides, we won't rely on the Gurkhas to defend Nepal. Let's have our brothers put on Nepali armor and go knock on the gate with the royal flag!"

Luo Siju laughed heartily, not feeling sorry at all. Since the Gurkha warriors dared to invade Qiangtang, they would definitely be purged on a large scale. Even if they had to choose collaborators, there wouldn't be too many to choose from. There was nothing to regret. On the contrary, the dead king was still of some use.

At dusk, the commander of the Yangbusi Gate suddenly saw a group of eight or nine hundred people coming. Upon closer inspection, he found that it was the king who had been away for more than two hours and had returned.

The guards were very alert, because everyone knew that the king was driven out by his uncle the regent. Why did he come back now? Did he not want to leave anymore? This was not acceptable!
It was already past the time and the city gates were completely closed. Of course, people could not enter through the main gate, but a small gate could still be opened. Whether people could enter or not was under the control of the guards.

After a while, someone came downstairs to deliver a message and presented a pair of fist-sized gold ingots, which were obviously the precious treasures of China that were stolen from Tashilhunpo Monastery.

"A pair of these gold ingots will only require thirty men to enter the city to find some precious herbs for the sick eldest prince."

The man disguised as a royal servant was a member of General Singh's clan and had even worked in Hanuman Dhoka Palace, so there were almost no flaws.

Nepal is deeply influenced by the Qiangtang culture, and Tibetan medicine is widely spread here. Therefore, there are indeed herbal medicine shops in the city, and many precious herbs can be found there.

The guard was a little nervous, but he couldn't resist the temptation of a pair of Zhendan gold ingots, which was almost equivalent to his three years' income.

"Alright then, thirty people come in, and no weapons allowed!"

Haha, as long as the west gate is opened, the rest will be easy. You won’t have time to check at all.

Outside the west gate, the general of Songpan Town, the fierce general Wang Lian, and his warriors Zhang Zhankui and others had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Yang Bu opened a small door at the west gate, they immediately rushed in.

Wang Lian was wearing heavy armor under his Tibetan robe. He ignored the swords and knives that were stabbing at him. Instead, he held a steel knife and knocked over the Gurkha soldier who was opening the door. Then he waved the knife and killed people indiscriminately. Zhang Zhankui and others also rushed in.

In order to make as little noise as possible, they only used cold weapons, but even so, they still killed the Gurkhas and left them with almost no ability to resist.

When rushing in, Wang Lian did not capture the thief first but captured the guarding general, because there was no need. He and Zhang Zhankui and others carried a large amount of explosives and did not need to control the guarding general.

With a loud bang, a violent explosion blew a big hole in the entire Yangbusi Gate, and even the city gate began to collapse.

This ancient city, built 1,200 years ago, is far more fragile than Luo Siju imagined, and than the Gurkhas themselves thought.

After hundreds or thousands of years of natural erosion and constant repairs, these plateau earth walls could not withstand the blasting of large amounts of explosives.

The violent explosion caused chaos in the city. The regent Shubam and others who were holding a dinner in Hanuman Dhoka Palace to celebrate the victory were so angry that their eyes almost popped out. It took them half an hour to react and gather people.

At the same time, when Luo Siju saw the violent explosion, he knew that Wang Lian and his men had succeeded. More than 5,000 soldiers immediately rushed towards Yangbu City from 20 miles away.

Everyone only brought a bag of honey glutinous rice balls, and the rest all carried weapons. It was a fight for life and death, and it was at this moment!
(End of this chapter)