Black Flag Army

Wu Chunfeng walked into the crowd of prisoners, questioned a prisoner, then walked up to Ma Hongkui, kicked him to the ground, and kicked him several times, causing Ma Hongkui to scream like a pig being slaughtered. Wu Chunfeng cursed, "Why are you not so arrogant now? You caused our intelligence team to suffer from the wind and sand for more than two months. You bastard, you even killed prisoners and merchants' assistants. You are worse than an animal!"

Ma Yuanqing and Ma Hu tried to come over to stop them, but were blocked by a row of gun muzzles.

Di Xiong came over and stopped Wu Chunfeng, saying, "Don't beat him to death. We are still hoping to exchange him for 300,000 yuan."

Ma Yuanqing asked, "Sir! Wasn't the cargo worth 150,000 dollars? How did it become 300,000?"

Wu Chunfeng shouted, "I've kept 150,000 dollars in your place for three months. Don't you want interest? So many people were killed and injured. Don't you want compensation? And today's battle. Don't you want military expenses? Our boss said 300,000, so that's 300,000. Not a penny less."

Di Xiong took out a letter from his bosom and said, "Except for Ma Hongkui, several other officers will draw lots, and those who are drawn will be sent back to deliver the letter, asking Ma Fuxiang to pay 300,000 yuan to redeem the person."

Ma Hu won the lottery, was untied, given a horse and a bag of dry food, and asked to go back to deliver the letter.

Di Xiong said: "The Otog Banner still has two cavalry regiments. Hurry up and clean up the battlefield and leave."

Three days later, when Di Xiong just returned to Baotou, he saw intelligence agent Hu Canglang waiting outside the office door. Hu Canglang had messy hair, a dark and thin face, and tattered clothes. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot in Outer Mongolia.

After entering the office, Hu Canglang handed a letter to Di Xiong and said, "Di Juzi! The Erdenet Intelligence Group has fulfilled its mission. Erdenet Prince Huter wrote a letter in his own handwriting, inviting Beihai Group to invest and build a factory in Erdenet."

Di Xiong was surprised and asked, "Huter not only inherited his father's position, but was also promoted from a county prince to a prince? Are all the members of your intelligence team okay?"

Hu Canglang lowered his head and said, "There are only three people left. Guo Jincai and Yuan Xiaobao have unfortunately died."

Di Xiong seemed even more surprised, and then said slowly: "They both died? What happened during this period of time?"

Hu Canglang found a chair and sat down, then replied: "A lot of things have happened in the past few months, and our life has been quite rough. Let me explain slowly." As he spoke, his thoughts seemed to go back to last winter.

One day in December 1913, Erdenet had reached a very cold period. The temperature had dropped to more than ten degrees below zero. The land here had cracked in many places. There was no trace of green on the grassland. The grass had turned yellow and many weeds were left with roots, waiting for the arrival of spring alone. The cold wind whistled through the wilderness, bringing a biting chill. The icy air made it difficult to breathe, but it also made the local people feel the majesty of nature.

On such a cold afternoon, the old prince of Erdenet was seriously ill. He was lying on the bed in the bedroom of the prince's mansion in Erdenet City, unconscious. Several shamans were dancing beside him. According to them, the old prince's soul was taken away by the winter monster, and they needed to summon his soul back. They were dancing and chanting, and the scene was very strange. Beside the old prince's bed, several of his princesses were crying, and their voices were very heartbreaking, but it was unknown whether their crying was for their husbands or for themselves.

Erdenet City is equivalent to a prefecture-level city in the inland, but its population is far less than that of the inland cities of the same level, with only a few thousand people. Under the governance of the old prince, the city is dilapidated, dirty and messy, and the streets are full of feces and excrement of cattle, horses and sheep, and the stench is overwhelming. Only the area around the Prince's Mansion with three courtyards is cleaner. The Prince's Mansion covers an area of ​​less than ten acres and has a two-story building. It is also dilapidated, but it is already the best house in Erdenet City.

By the stove in the living room of the Prince's Mansion, Zagalov and several other Russian advisers were eating barbecue while pointing at the scene. In the eyes of the Russians, the behavior of these shamans was like a joke, and these guys in colorful clothes were like clowns. Of course, these advisers didn't care about the life or death of Prince Erdenet. In fact, there were doctors in the Russian advisory group, and they brought a lot of medicines for treatment, but the Russians looked down on the Mongols and felt that this inferior nation was not worthy of treatment. What's more, the other side's medical culture was quite backward. When the old prince first fell ill, he didn't ask them for help. Since the prince himself believed in the wizards so much, the Russians didn't say anything.

In the yurt in the northeast corner of the city, Hatu, the eldest prince and head of the security team of Erdenet, was sitting restlessly. Hatu had a yellow face with a dark complexion and a big beard. He had learned about his father's serious illness through his confidants who were placed in the old prince's position. However, he was more concerned about the successor, but there was no news, which made him very anxious. After a while, one of Hatu's confidants, the security battalion commander Alibuhua, returned to the big tent. Hatu hurriedly asked: "How is my Abu (father)? Did he say who the prince's position would be passed to?"

Alibuhua waved his hand and said, "Your Highness, don't mention it. It's almost dark, and your Abu is still unconscious and can't utter a word. If he dies like this, it will be hard to say what will be the position of the next prince. After all, your brothers are all eyeing the throne. I've asked Chichar to keep an eye on it. Let's wait a little longer. I hope there won't be any bad news."

Hatu became even more uneasy after hearing this. Although he was the eldest prince in Erdenet and the throne should be his, the succession to the throne in Mongolia at that time was quite complicated. First of all, Ezhen Khan, who had the highest status in Mongolia, was a puppet emperor. The ones who actually held the military power were the princes and generals under him. They didn't care about the succession of a county king, so the senior officials there would not care about them. Secondly, Mongolia, whether from the Khan to the marquis, did not have the practice of the eldest son inheritance system. According to many Mongolians, those who can ride horses and shoot eagles are true heroes. In addition, Hatu's third brother Balang was also loved by the old county king. He once competed with Balang in fighting and was defeated by Balang. After the defeat, he saw his Abu give Balang a piece of fine white fox fur. In addition, Hatu's mother was old and had lost her favor for many years. Today, she had no chance to visit her. Therefore, Hatu was always full of doubts about whether he could inherit the throne. For this reason, he had sent Ali Buhua and Chichar, two of his confidants, to inquire about the news.

About an incense stick of time passed, and the sky gradually darkened. Chichar, another trusted guard captain of Hatu, ran into the tent in a panic and said to Hatu with a nervous look: "Oh no, Your Highness, the prince has woken up, but he is still very weak. He coughed up blood several times, but kept calling Your Highness Balang's name. I'm afraid he will pass the throne to the third prince."

Ali Buhua said: "Are you sure you didn't hear it wrong? This is a major matter concerning our future, we must not get it wrong."

Chichar raised one hand and said, "I swear to the Eternal Heaven. Nothing I said is false. When I came out, I saw Tiemudie, the confidant of the Third Prince, had already walked into the tent of the Prince. Maybe Balang will sit on the throne of the Prince tomorrow. I heard that you have offended the Third Prince. If he comes to power, I am afraid that all of us will become prisoners."

Upon hearing this, Hatu was so shocked that he knelt on the ground. After a while, he clenched his fists, his face gradually turned red, and he looked very angry. Hatu did have some conflicts with Balang. The most serious one was that he had forcibly taken away one of Balang's favorite concubines, and the two had a fight over this. In the end, because of someone's complaint, his personal guards were reduced by 50 people. Hatu was very annoyed at this time. He couldn't help but look up to the sky and cursed: "Eternal Heaven, how could you do this to me! Old man, what's so good about that bald brother? You are so confused that you actually want to pass the throne to him. I am the eldest son, and I will never allow such a thing to happen!"

Then Hatu said to his trusted confidant Ali Buhua: "Now listen to my orders. Immediately inform Baizhu and his three captains to lead their troops to attack the prince's tent. Kill everyone they see there. Chichar also summons our guards to set off."

The Erdenet family controlled a total of more than 1,500 soldiers, including a security regiment of 1,200 people and a palace guard of more than 300 people. Although the palace guard was small in number, they were well-trained and well-equipped. Although Hatu was the head of the regiment, he could only control the first battalion of Alibuhua and a squadron of more than 100 people of the palace guard. The commander of the second battalion was Hassan, a close confidant of the third prince. The commander of the third battalion, Timur, remained neutral.

Alibuhua quickly advised: "Your Highness, calm down, maybe things can turn around, your Abu may..." Before he finished speaking, Hatu's fist hit him on the nose, and Alibuha immediately fell to the ground in pain. Then, Hatu drew his waist knife and yelled at Alibuhua: "You also want to surrender to the third brother? If you don't send an order, I will chop off your head now!" Alibuhua was so scared that he quickly begged for mercy, and then hurried to the station of the three company commanders. Soon, Hatu also walked out of the tent fully armed, and Chichar summoned the first squadron of the royal guard directly under Hatu.

At this time, not far from Hatu's tent, two figures were watching. They were Hu Canglang and Tang Qianhu. Everything that happened here was actually in their plan. Hatu would never have thought that his confidant Chichar was spreading false information. The old prince has not woken up until now. In the past month, Tang Qianhu has successfully bribed Chichar. He gave him dozens of silver dollars and treated him to several sumptuous meals made by Guo Jincai. This guy who had never seen the world was immediately bribed and passed on false information according to Tang Qianhu's instructions today to provoke the prince to rebel.

Seeing that the other side had already called up the army, Hu Canglang and Tang Qianhu immediately went to Huter's station to prepare for the next step of the plan. At the same time, Tiemudi, the trusted adviser of the third prince Balang, also nervously ran to the tent of his own prince. This person was also bribed by the intelligence team, but the intelligence team now wanted him to convey the real information. Tiemudi ran to Balang's side breathlessly and said, "Your Highness, Hatu has rebelled. His three trusted company commanders led the cavalry to attack the mansion of the prince. Please send people to rescue them quickly."

Balang seemed a little skeptical, and he said to one of his company commanders, Suhe, "Go with him to the king's mansion to find out if it's true." However, Balang was still a little scared, and after the two left, he began to gather the troops loyal to him, calling the battalion commander Hassan and two company commanders, and ordered them to protect their tents.

On the other side, more than 400 cavalrymen of Hatu had attacked the residence of the old prince. Although the two squadrons of the guards were elite, they were caught off guard and were beaten by surprise. The captain of the guard was hit in the chest by a stray bullet before he could get on his horse. He fell to the ground and died. The entire garrison camp fell into chaos. Hatu's troops chopped the old prince's guards with sabers. The scene was almost a one-sided massacre. Interestingly, Zagalov and several other Russian advisers reacted quickly. From the first gunshot, they immediately drew their pistols and ran out of the hall. They quickly shot and killed several cavalrymen who asked or blocked them, and then found their horses and rode away. In less than half an hour, the battle was over. The old prince's guards were wiped out, and only a few escaped from the battlefield. Hatu rushed into the old prince's bedroom with a few personal soldiers. Several wizards and concubines screamed in fear. Before they could react, they were killed in the blink of an eye. Hatu looked at his father in anger. He dragged the unconscious old prince to the bedside and chopped off his head with a knife. The blood spurted out and splashed Hatu's face red.

A few dozen miles away from Erdenet, there is a small town called Bulgan, with a population of only more than 500. It is a poor and backward place. This is the residence of the second prince. When he went to Beijing Mengjiang College to study abroad, it was supposed to be the eldest prince Hatu who went, but Hatu was used to living in Erdenet and was unwilling to leave his hometown to go to Beijing. He forced the timid Huter to go. Huter refused and was beaten by Hatu. He was almost beaten to death and had to agree to go to Beijing. During the three years that Huter went to Beijing, a piece of land with abundant grass and water that originally belonged to him was forcibly divided by the eldest prince and the third prince. Huter's mother could not compete with them and was driven to this small town of Bulgan, which is almost a desert. After Huter came back, he could only live in Bulgan with his mother.

Despite this, Hatu was very jealous of Huter's beautiful Han wife. Although Hatu's concubines were also pretty, they were not as beautiful as Huter's wife. He said to his confidants: "If I had gone to Beijing to study, this woman would have been mine. Huter is a cowardly guy, how could he enjoy such a beautiful woman? We must snatch her away."

After occupying the camp of the Prince's Mansion, Hatu proclaimed himself the Prince of Erdenet. He ordered his troops to split into two groups. Alibuhua led the first cavalry battalion to attack the northern town of Selenge, where the third prince was stationed. He ordered Alibuhua to kill the third prince. He personally led the first squadron of the palace guards to Bulgan. He believed that since he was already the Prince of Erdenet, only a beautiful woman like Xian Yuji was worthy of being his princess, so he went to Bulgan to snatch Xian Yuji away.