Chapter 763: A Filial Son of India, a Loving Father of the Great Qing

Beyond the Great Wall in the southern Gobi, it was the season when autumn skies are high and the air is crisp. Even the sky seemed especially azure and clear, without a wisp of cloud, as if one could see through the firmament and gaze far into the ninth heaven. The grassland had already turned the color of gold, boundless and endless, dotted here and there with small Mongol yurts. Occasionally one could see flocks of sheep and herds of horses moving slowly across the slopes. The whole world between heaven and earth seemed extraordinarily tranquil and serene, as if standing apart from this chaotic world.

On the official road running east from Guihua, the famous city of the southern Gobi, all the way to the newly established Mulan (Manchu for "deer-hunting") hunting reserve, a rather large caravan of carts, horses, and camels was traveling. One after another, horse-drawn carts were loaded to the brim with goods. On the backs of the camels, too, were bundles large and small. On every cart sat two drivers dressed as Mongols. They were all sturdy, vigorous men, with Manchu queues left on the backs of their heads. One of them carried over his shoulder a matchlock that might have been imported from "Japan" or produced by the Great Qing itself, while the other carried a bow and arrows. They looked quite fierce and capable. Those driving the camels, however, were dark-skinned, very thin Indians, wearing turbans and thick padded coats, shivering in the autumn wind.

Besides these Mongol and Indian carters and camel drivers, a large body of cavalry and infantry marched on both flanks of the wagon train and camel caravan. Those on the left flank were half Mongols and half officers and men of the Bordered White Banner; of the Bordered White Banner troops, half rode horses and half marched on foot. Neither the Mongols nor the Bordered White Banner men wore armor.

On the right flank of the wagon train and camel caravan, all those marching were horsemen, not many in number, so they formed only a single column. These riders were all dressed in the manner of the Western Regions or Persia, all wearing chain mail reinforced with large iron plates. Judging by their features, they looked like men of the Western Regions or Persia: very fair-skinned, with high-bridged noses and deep-set eyes, and some of them even had blue eyes. These white-skinned, high-nosed, blue-eyed fellows were the legendary "Indian Mongols." They had come north with Prince Aurangzeb, the foremost general of the Timurid Empire of Hindustan, escorting priceless tribute to the Mongol heartland to pay homage to the Great Khan of All the Mongols, Eyer Jasag Khan — that is, the little Shunzhi Emperor.

This Prince Aurangzeb himself did not look "Mongol" in the least, nor "Indian" either. His skin was fair, his nose high and sharp, his full beard carefully trimmed, and his eyes deep-set and large, giving him a very wise appearance.

All the way from Tibet, he had been carefully observing this Great Mongol State before him.

At this moment, Shunzhi ruled a truly vast empire! To the southwest it could be reckoned as far as the Indian Ocean, to the northeast one could glimpse the North Pacific, and to the northwest and north it reached all the way to Siberia. Only the south was a little lacking, holding merely half of the Central Plain.

This was, of course, territory on paper — things that had belonged to it "since ancient times" were not necessarily under actual control. But the territory actually controlled was not small either; even on Sakhalin Island there were Great Qing heavenly soldiers resisting Japan.

Yet this vast territory was desolate everywhere. All along the way he had seen nothing but highland snowfields, deserts, and grasslands; only at Guihua City had he caught a faint glimpse of prosperity and flourishing. But compared with India, which was dripping with profit, this Great Mongol State was simply too poor.

However, as Shah Jahan's most resourceful and militarily accomplished son, Prince Aurangzeb had never believed that military strength and wealth could be equated. Otherwise his ancestor Babur could never have conquered northwestern India. And he himself could not have been defeated in his campaign against the Uzbek Khanate.

And in Prince Aurangzeb's view, this revived Great Mongol State before him was indeed quite formidable in military affairs!

This country's army seemed to have combined nomadic forces and firearms forces very well, and combined infantry and cavalry very well. If the Uzbeks' methods ever met them, there would be only one road: death. If one wanted to play at nomadic warfare, the Great Mongol State was the ancestor of it! If one wanted to fight a hard battle, those Mongol infantrymen equipped with long spears and matchlocks looked very difficult to deal with, and those cavalrymen equipped with firearms also looked quite formidable. Perhaps they were not cavalry at all, but mounted musketeers, because the guns slung on their backs were very large and should have been infantry weapons. But at the same time they also carried lances, so it seemed they could also be used as cavalry. Their horses, however, were a little inferior, far below Indian Marwari horses, Persian horses, and Arabian horses.

All along the way, Prince Aurangzeb had been comparing his "Indian Mongol heavenly soldiers" with the "Mongol Great Qing heavenly soldiers," and the conclusion he finally reached was that the "Mongol Great Qing heavenly soldiers" seemed rather more formidable. In a pitched battle it was hard to say — that would depend on whose cannons were stronger. But in a protracted and all-out war, the "Mongol Great Qing heavenly soldiers" would be an extremely difficult adversary!

A burst of rapid hoofbeats rang out, interrupting Prince Aurangzeb's thoughts. The Prince looked up and saw Prince Ajige of the Great Mongol State galloping toward him with several personal guards in white armor. Only when he reached Prince Aurangzeb did he gently tug the reins; his warhorse was extremely intelligent, turning slightly to the side to absorb some of the momentum, then came to a steady stop.

The two warhorses stood there with their heads crossed. Ajige's horse was short, a fine Mongol steed, while Prince Aurangzeb rode a lean, tall Persian ocean horse that stood a full head taller than Ajige's mount! Moreover, Prince Aurangzeb himself was taller and bigger than Ajige. On one side, man tall and horse big; on the other, man short and horse small — no matter how one looked at it, it was incongruous!

Prince Aurangzeb looked down at this Mongol prince, showed a gentle smile, and said in fluent Mongolian: "Uncle Khan, how much farther is it to the Great Khan's court?"

Ajige craned his neck to look up at this "White Mongol" who spoke Mongolian so fluently, then looked at the man's horse. How did they all grow so big? What breed was this? Were they really descendants of Genghis Khan?

He put away his inward doubts and said with a smile to Prince Aurangzeb, also in Mongolian: "The Great Khan's court is two hundred li away, three days' journey. Your Highness the Prince has arrived at just the right time. Had you come a month later, the Great Khan would have gone to Dadu for the winter. That is the Khan's capital on Han territory."

A Mongol Great Khan, after all, could not live in Beijing city all year round! He had to spend the greater part of the year on the steppe, and only return to Beijing in winter — no, return to Dadu.

No wonder the Great Mongol State's army possessed the dual advantages of nomadic and firearms warfare! Prince Aurangzeb thought to himself: the Timurid Empire of Hindustan should also learn from the Great Mongol State. It must never abandon the Afghan highlands. The Emperor should reside in Kabul for several months every year, so as to maintain the allegiance of the tribal chieftains and obtain Afghanistan's finest soldiers!

Having learned a bit of the Great Mongol State's advanced experience, Prince Aurangzeb said with a smile to Ajige: "Uncle Khan, let us make haste and strive to see the great Eyer Jasag Khan and the Great Khan's father, the Wise Khan, a little sooner."

The Wise Khan was Dorgon. Was he not Prince Rui? Somehow that had been translated as "Wise Khan," while "Imperial Ama" had been translated as "the Great Khan's father."

"Very well," Ajige said with a laugh. "Then let us make haste and strive to cover these two hundred li in two days!"

"Imperial Ama, you must take care of yourself..."

"Yes, perhaps you had better not take part in this hunt."

"Right, let Prince Ying handle the hunting."

When word that Prince Aurangzeb of the Indian Mongol State was about to arrive at the Khan's court reached Dorgon's great tent, this "Great Khan's father" was running a fever and coughing without cease — an old ailment of his. It had flared up badly the previous year, and had greatly alarmed the little Shunzhi Emperor, who for many days in a row had had no mind for his French lessons. In the end, however, he had pulled through.

But who could have expected it to recur now? Perhaps he had overworked himself, or perhaps the weather on the steppe was too cold, not as comfortable as the imperial palace in Beijing.

Dorgon's trusted followers, seeing him sickly and unsteady, were all anxious on his behalf. Could he still go hunting with the Prince of the Indian Mongols in this condition? What if he fell from his horse? Dodo was still at Nurgan City on the lower reaches of the Heilong River! If anything happened to Dorgon, who would be Ama to Shunzhi?

(End of Chapter)