Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 192 The Gray Times
Jiaohe Ancient City.

Princess Niohuru of the Fourth Prince's residence, carrying the son she bore for him, knelt beside a section of ruined wall, aiming a matchlock musket at the enemy below...

The dog on her back was, of course, the perfect old dog.

However, he is only two years old now.

Even though his mother had given birth to him, she was still only a concubine, or more accurately, a princess. After all, the fourth prince's wife was from the Ulanara clan, and his actual eldest son was Honghui, who died at the age of eight.

When they traveled west from the capital, they were of course traveling together as a family. However, the Fourth Prince secretly went north. In order to avoid Ma Ge discovering it in advance, he did not tell his family. Later, including Ulanara, the family members still followed Ma Ge. They were then trapped in the mountains. When Longkodo went north, due to the chaotic situation, he only took Ulanara with him.

After all, this was the real Fujin (principal wife). It was already a miracle that the Fujin was taken away in the chaos of war; how could they possibly care about the concubines?

Ultimately, all these concubines were abandoned in the mountains.

After that, these women struggled to survive on their own, enduring many hardships. In order to get food, they could only exchange it for playthings with the marauding soldiers.

Even Hongli, who was just an infant at the time, was almost roasted by the mutinous soldiers. Fortunately, his concubine, Lady Nian, who had no children yet, was the sister of Nian Gengyao. As the governor of Sichuan, Nian Gengyao was already a powerful figure in the Qing Dynasty. Even if the mutinous soldiers escaped from the mountains, they would eventually have to go to Shaanxi. Naturally, they had to take Nian Gengyao into consideration. In the end, thanks to Lady Nian's protection, Hongli was spared from being roasted. Later, it was also because of Lady Nian that he received some care and managed to struggle out of the mountains and be sent to Xi'an.

They also learned that the Fourth Prince had declared himself regent in Shengjing.

Although the Fourth Prince was now considered a traitor by Yinzhi, the Eighth Prince was not so cruel as to make things difficult for the women.

What's more, Nian Gengyao's sister was among them.

In short, they enjoyed a brief period of peace in Xi'an, but soon had to continue their westward escape. Fortunately, Nian Gengyao led the Qing army from Sichuan to join them and became the second most powerful figure in the Qing military after Yin Tai. Thus, Nian's status naturally rose. With her protection, Niohuru and Hongli were well taken care of during the long escape, and Hongli was able to survive. It should be noted that at least half of the children died on the road for various reasons during the escape.

Various diseases went untreated, and there was malnutrition. After all, with so many people, it was impossible for everyone to be well-fed. There were also many hardships and dangers along the way. Even the mortality rate for adults was not low, let alone for children.

They continued walking like this until they reached the Western Regions and arrived here.

And now they are facing a life-or-death situation once again.

Fortunately, this is not the last time. Back then, they went from living in luxury to falling into hell, and could only struggle and cry to survive. They had to fawn over the soldiers for a bite to eat. But now, they are much stronger and even have the ability to take up arms to protect themselves.

"Stop crying, it's all because your damned father abandoned us!"

Empress Xiaoshengxian of the Qing Dynasty in history shouted angrily amidst the cries of Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty in history.

Hongli was so frightened that he quickly shut his mouth.

At the same moment, his mother's matchlock gun spewed flames, and the whistling bullets shot downwards, hitting an enemy who was trying to climb up.

The latter, with a knife in his mouth, screamed and rolled downwards.

It even knocked down the two people behind it who were also climbing.

Meanwhile, countless Qing soldiers, including women like Niohuru, were firing downwards. They perched atop cliffs tens of meters high, relying on the ruins left by the Han army more than a thousand years ago to block the enemies trying to climb up. Although the cliffs were steep, they were not city walls and could still be climbed.

Behind these enemies, on both banks of the river, were countless more, firing muskets, small cannons, and bows and arrows at them.

This is a coalition of forces from various cities in southern Xinjiang.

Niohuru calmly turned around, took out a horn-shaped flask to load a matchlock gun, and at the same time, a bullet struck the ruins behind her. However, the rammed earth, which had stood for over a thousand years, was as hard as stone, and the bullet only kicked up a speck of dust. More bullets whistled through the sky, and even more arrows fell with sharp whistling sounds. Not far away, the historical Empress Dowager Geng, who was also aiming, was struck in the back by an arrow and immediately fell with a scream.

Niohuru rushed over, grabbed the still-smoking matchlock gun, and fired a bullet at an enemy who had just peeked out.

The latter immediately fell backward and disappeared from her sight.

Only then did she drag Geng Shi behind the ruins.

Although everyone used to fight in the palace every day around the Fourth Prince, there's no need for that now. They're all struggling to survive together, and they're practically sisters.

She looked at the location of the arrow wound, which had clearly pierced her lung, and shook her head helplessly at Madam Geng.

"I never imagined I would die here. That heartless man, I wonder who he's with now. I'll haunt them even as a ghost."

Geng cursed the Fourth Prince with venomous resentment.

To be honest, the Fourth Prince was indeed unkind. He fled north, fearing the news would be exposed, and kept it from his women. These women, having suffered so much, had long since imagined him living a carefree life, and were naturally filled with resentment. However, Lady Geng's son, Hongzhou, was born in the 52nd year of Ma Ge's reign, so she was now free of any ties. Of course, Lady Niohuru couldn't care less about her. Now, the terrace, crowded with ironclad crops, was surrounded by attacking enemies. These allied forces from various cities in southern Xinjiang did not follow Tsewang Arabtan's request to march north to Urumqi for a decisive battle, but instead directly attacked the ancient city of Jiaohe.

They certainly won't go. The Qing army is indeed the enemy, but so is the Dzungar Khanate. It would be better to let the two enemies fight each other.

This place is full of the elderly, women, and children. Once we conquer it, the joy will be unimaginable.

If Tsewang Arabtan loses, they can take their spoils back to defend the Iron Gate Pass. Even if the Qing army wins, they will certainly suffer heavy losses and be unable to attack the Iron Gate Pass.

Even though Tsewang Arabtan won, he also suffered heavy losses. Theoretically, they had also joined the war. Since Tsewang Arabtan dared to cause them trouble, it would be a good opportunity to have a decisive battle with him and perhaps get rid of this tyrant completely.

What a great opportunity to reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Before Niohuru could finish loading her ammunition, two more enemies climbed up. They looked at her gleefully and charged straight at her. Niohuru frantically reloaded, finally finishing before they reached her. Without hesitation, she fired at one of them, the bullet striking him squarely in the chest. The man screamed and fell. But the other one was already in front of her. She didn't have time to draw her sword, so she swung her matchlock musket at him, but it was deflected by his curved sword. She quickly turned and fled.

The latter caught up immediately and grabbed her back, but instead grabbed Hongli. He pulled Hongli by the neck and yanked him backward, causing Niohuru and her son to fall backward at the same time. The enemy stepped on them, but at that moment, Geng, who had somehow crawled over, grabbed his other leg and pulled him backward. The enemy screamed and did a split the instant he stepped on Niohuru's chest. His scimitar landed right in front of Niohuru. She grabbed the scimitar with both hands, endured the excruciating pain, and thrust it upward. The tip of the blade struck the enemy's neck and pierced it instantly, spraying blood all over her face.

But at that moment, countless cheers suddenly rang out. She turned her head in astonishment and saw an endless horde of cavalry swarming in from the north.

At the very front was Nian Gengyao's banner. She and Madam Geng exchanged a glance, and both collapsed to the ground.

However, she regained her senses the next moment, panicked and turned over, then untied Hongli, but it was too late. The neck of the Qing Emperor Gaozong was twisted strangely, looking like a little monster in a horror movie. Niohuru silently stood up, holding her son, and together with Geng, who was struggling to get up and vomiting blood, watched the enemy's terror and collapse below.

The Qing army, advancing south from the north, brought with them dust storms that quickly engulfed the enemies who hadn't even had time to mount their horses.

In the thud of the galloping warhorses, they were knocked flying and trampled over.

Meanwhile, the enemies who were originally climbing the cliff face panicked and tumbled down one by one, only to be trampled over as well.

The southward-bound Qing army seemed endless, and the dust they stirred up obscured the entire north.

Their vanguard swiftly split at the northern end of the terraced plateau of Jiaohe Ancient City, like a flood bypassing rocks, continuing to engulf the Southern Xinjiang Allied Army, trampling all enemies in their path under their hooves, even those kneeling and begging for mercy were directly trampled over. Moreover, their ranks were not only composed of the Eight Banners in cloth armor, but also an almost equal number of Dzungar cavalry clad in chainmail or plate armor. The latter, just as fiercely as the Eight Banners, charged forward, trampling the fleeing Southern Xinjiang Allied Army…

"His name is Hongli, right?"

A voice suddenly rang out beside Niohuru.

She turned her head in confusion, looking at the man who had appeared beside her at some point, and this man was clearly not from the Eight Banners.

However, she was no longer interested in thinking about these things.

She nodded silently.

"He is dead."

the man said.

Niohuru calmly threw her son off the cliff.

"Yes."

she says.

Then, as if relieved, she went over and helped Geng up. The latter was still spitting blood and looking at the man with a puzzled expression.

The latter grabbed the arrow from her back and pulled it out. Geng screamed in agony, but the man's hand remained on her back. With a flash of white light, the arrowhead, still embedded in her skin, slowly emerged from the wound as his hand was lifted. The white light vanished, and Geng collapsed weakly to the ground. She and Niohuru stared at the man in astonishment. He tossed them a small bottle, then, with his hands behind his back, walked straight towards the cliff like a legendary immortal, even seemingly disappearing into the void.

Then, they vanished into the void as streaks of white light, like fragments of space shattering.

The outcome of the battle between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate was simple: under the gaze of a Buddha who suddenly appeared from the Tian Shan Mountains, and after receiving the promise that killing Tsewang Arabtan would make him the new Great Khan, his son Galdan Tsering decisively stabbed Tsewang Arabtan in the back, killing him...

This kind of thing shouldn't be allowed to go to outsiders.

Tsewang Arabtan was finished; he had lost the trust of all the Dzungar soldiers.

But his sons could not be buried with him, and his family could not lose their position as Khan. He himself probably knew this was the best outcome. In short, Galdan Tsering personally killed his father, who he claimed was possessed by demons, and then led the Dzungar tribe to plead guilty before the Qing Emperor. Yinzhi, of course, quickly helped him up and expressed his grief over Tsewang Arabtan's demonic possession. However, since he was already dead, the demons were also killed. Therefore, Galdan Tsering did not kill his father, but rather freed his soul from the demons' control.

Otherwise, he would have been condemned to the eighteenth level of hell forever, but now he can be reincarnated. So Galdan Tsering is extremely filial!
Then, in front of both armies, Yinzhi announced that he had become sworn brothers with Galdan Tsering and had enfeoffed Galdan Tsering as the Khan of the Dzungars, a prince of the Qing Dynasty, whose territory extended from the Ili River Valley and north of the Tianshan Mountains to the south of the Altai Mountains, the land of the Seven Rivers, and west to the Caspian Sea.

Hereditary succession.

His subordinates, the great and small Tsering Dundubu, were all granted the title of Prince.

And so, right beside Tsewang Arabtan, whose body was barely cold, his son and key generals were already shouting "Long live the Emperor!" to Yinzhi.

Of course, he also received the Emperor's forgiveness. After all, he was possessed by a demon; otherwise, how could he be disrespectful to Buddha? He was devout to Buddha, but he was possessed by a demon. After all, demons were causing chaos throughout the world, and it was reasonable that if there were demons in the Central Plains, there would be demons in the Western Regions as well. Moreover, a master accompanying him even found the source of the demon: a golden statue presented to him by the Southern Frontier. This golden statue had been enchanted, which was why he was possessed.

It was all done by those bad people in southern Xinjiang. They deliberately used sorcery to harm the Great Khan and used demons to control him, trying to lead the Dzungar Khanate and the Qing Dynasty to a mutually destructive conflict.

Now that we know who the real culprit is, the rest is easy.

The Qing army and the Dzungar cavalry, seeking revenge for the Great Khan, turned around and charged towards the true culprit who had killed the Great Khan.

Galdan Tsering personally avenged his father...

He held up the knife he had just used to kill his father, seeking revenge.

Although the style is abstract, it's a happy ending for everyone. After all, their family retained their position as Khan, the Dzungar soldiers didn't have to die in battle, but instead could reap rich rewards through burning, killing, and looting. Yinzhi and the Qing army also didn't have to risk tens of thousands of precious soldiers to establish a foothold in the Western Regions. They were confident of victory, but with 70,000 troops, they couldn't win without at least 20,000 casualties. Even if they won, they would be severely weakened, unable to advance in the short term, and might even suffer a defeat in southern Xinjiang.

But now, he not only avoids losing 20,000 soldiers, but also gains 40,000 allied troops.

The 110,000-strong Qing-Dzungar allied army marched south and arrived at the ancient city of Jiaohe. The Southern Frontier allied army, which was still hoping for a mutually destructive outcome, had no choice but to face their joint slaughter.

The poor Southern Xinjiang Allied Forces couldn't defeat any of them!

Now, however, they face a two-way attack.

Ultimately, the 50,000-strong Southern Xinjiang Allied Army at Jiaohe Ancient City collapsed in one battle, with corpses scattered for hundreds of miles amidst the trampling of the Qing-Zhun Allied Army. Less than 20,000 eventually escaped back to Tiemenguan.

But the Qing-Dzungar allied forces, which were pursuing them, soon arrived at the Iron Gate Pass.

(End of this chapter)