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Fo Guang Shan is located in the upper reaches of the Mohanadi River, surrounded by dark green mountains and clear streams, and it is lush and green.
It is said that Buddha's light often appears on the mountain in the morning and evening, hence the name.
On the west side of the mountain is a relatively spacious plain. There used to be many residents nearby, but now they have all fled, leaving only some simple thatched houses.
After crossing a two-meter-wide river, the road began to slope upward, becoming steep and narrow, with dense jungles on both sides.
When you reach the top of the mountain, the view suddenly opens up. There is a Galan Temple built on the top of the mountain. The pagoda forest and monks' quarters are hidden among the flowers and trees, making it like a paradise.
More than a hundred monks in the temple were driven to the back garden, and the front hall was requisitioned by Hai Rufeng as a temporary combat command center.
Although he had only 200 marines under his command, he was the commander-in-chief of the Five-Nation Allied Forces. This was a power granted to him by the kings of Otsa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Otsa's chief general Brunan, Chhattisgarh's chief general Lasse, Jharkhand's chief general Dibaik, and West Bengal's chief general Huth all had to obey Hai Rufeng's orders.
The total strength of the five-nation coalition forces was 9,800 men, of which Otsa had the largest number of troops, accounting for half of the total.
At this moment, Hai Rufeng was holding a telescope, standing on the steps in front of the Kalasha Palace, looking towards the plain to the west. Tens of thousands of Mughal troops, like a torrent gushing out of the mountains, quickly covered the plains below the mountain, with flags flying everywhere, swords and spears like a forest. The huge war elephants were particularly conspicuous. Hai Rufeng clearly saw that some of the war elephants were pulling cannons behind them.
The Mughal Empire is currently in its heyday, and its tens of thousands of troops are in neat uniforms and appear to be well-trained.
On the mountain road, the coalition forces of the five countries set up five defensive fortifications. Due to the rush of time, the five fortifications were temporarily built with stones. They were not strong, but they controlled the narrow mountain road and formed a dangerous pass.
The Mughal army's commander, Aurangzeb, also hurried to the river to observe the fortifications on the mountain.
His general Dini looked at the situation at Fo Guang Shan and secretly complained, saying, "Your Highness, this mountain road is steep and narrow, and the artillery firing angle is not enough. If we attack by force, I'm afraid we will suffer heavy casualties."
The mountain wind blew, and the long white feather on Aurangzeb's turban swayed gently. He saw a large flag with the Chinese character "Qin" on it on the mountain. His eyes turned cold and he could not help but snorted.
Dini thought that Aurangzeb was dissatisfied with his words, and he was so scared that he quickly apologized.
Aurangzeb, who was always cold and arrogant, did not explain. He turned to his counselor Haque and asked, "What plan do you have to attack the mountain?"
Hake quickly replied, "Your Highness, General Dini is right. This mountain road is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. In addition, there is a river at the foot of the mountain. Our army must cross the river before we can attack the mountain. If the attack on the mountain is not successful and the enemy counterattacks, this small river, although not wide, can become a terrible obstacle and destroy the lives of many of our soldiers. Therefore, I also think it is not suitable to attack by force.
Your Highness, please look at the two paths on the opposite mountain. The forest is dense and covers the entire mountain. Why don’t we wait until night and send people across the river to set fire at the foot of the mountain. Once the fire starts, it will be difficult to put out, and the enemy will have no choice but to abandon this dangerous pass.”
Aurangzeb's expression relaxed after hearing Haque's words. He nodded and said, "Then let's do it this way. When it gets dark, Dini, you send someone to set the fire."
"As you command, Your Highness."
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After nightfall, Centurion Kahani was sent with a hundred soldiers to cross the stream and head towards the western foot of Fo Guang Mountain. The moon in the sky was cold and the stars were dim.
The night wind gradually grew stronger, and the grass and trees rustled. Kahani and his hundred men were very nervous, and they cautiously moved towards the foot of the mountain step by step.
Suddenly, a large fire lit up at the foot of the mountain, and thousands of Otsa soldiers holding bows and arrows emerged from the grass. The bowstrings sounded, and gusts of arrows rained down on their heads.
Kahani and his hundred men were so scared that they turned around and ran away, screaming loudly. Arrows whizzed past them, making the sound of arrows entering flesh. Soldiers around Kahani kept falling to the ground after being shot by arrows, and their shrill screams pierced the night sky.
Kahani was running for his life, when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his buttocks. He subconsciously reached back and touched an arrow shaft.
Seeing that the soldiers around him were still falling to the ground, he could only grit his teeth and continue to run away while facing the arrows.
Aurangzeb on the west bank turned a blind eye to what happened to Kahani. He had long expected that things would not be that simple and the enemy would not be unprepared.
The hundred men of Kahani were actually just used to attract the enemy's attention. Someone else was actually responsible for setting the fire.
Sure enough, just as thousands of enemies on the east bank were desperately chasing Kahani, blazing flames appeared one mile north and south of where Kahani crossed the river, and quickly ignited the forest. It was the clear and crisp autumn season, and the grass and trees were very flammable. As the night wind blew, the flames grew higher and higher, and soon there was billowing black smoke and blazing flames all over the sky.
Seeing this scene, a rare smile appeared on Aurangzeb's stern face.
The counselor Hak beside him flattered him without losing time: "Your Highness is indeed a master planner. Once the enemy's attention is drawn to Kahani, other places will be full of loopholes."
Generals such as Dini also praised him and flattered him loudly. Just when Aurangzeb was feeling a little elated, a fire started on the top of Fo Guang Mountain, and the fire was even more intense. The blazing flames illuminated the night sky, and it was extremely fierce.
"Hey, what's going on?"
"Yeah, why is the mountain on fire?"
No one can answer this question. It is true that the fire at the foot of the mountain is spreading up the mountain, but it will take some time to burn to the top of the mountain. This is a bit strange. Could it be that the enemy on the top of the mountain accidentally started the fire
Still no one could answer. That night, the Buddha's light from Fo Guang Shan was shining brightly, and the raging fire was accompanied by thick smoke that swirled in the wind, making the Mughal army at the foot of the mountain cough continuously. They were forced to retreat several miles before they felt a little better.
The fire burned all night long. Every two days, the entire Fo Guang Shan was burned bare. The Galan Temple on the mountain was also burned down. The fire was finally put out, leaving only lingering smoke.
The sky began to lighten up as a fish belly white, and then the brilliant morning glow quickly dyed the eastern sky red, like thousands of Buddha's lights. Among the tens of thousands of Mughal troops, many had red and swollen eyes due to the smoke, but it was worth it.
After all, now everyone’s eyes are just swollen from the smoke. If there hadn’t been this fire, who knows how many people would have died if they had stormed Fo Guang Shan.
"Quick, go up and occupy Fo Guang Shan first..."
General Dini stopped shouting halfway because in the curling smoke, he suddenly saw a black flag flying on the top of Fo Guang Mountain, right at the same place as yesterday, as if the fire that night had not burned it.
This is of course impossible, but it is still there. Dini couldn't help but rub his eyes and look again. Yes, it was a black flag with a golden Chinese character in the middle reflecting the morning glow and the dazzling golden light.
Aurangzeb, who thought he had a good plan, suddenly felt like he had been tricked after seeing the flag and became very angry.
How could I not be angry? The trees on the mountain were burned, but the mountain was still there, and the enemies were still there, as if they had never left.
And I came from afar, with tens of thousands of troops, and wasted a day in vain. How much food and grass would be consumed in a day
What's more, this would always be a big blow to the morale of the tens of thousands of troops under his command.
On the top of the mountain, the wind blew her shaman dress and white silk scarf, making her graceful figure even more attractive. She looked at Hai Rufeng who was looking down the mountain with a telescope and exclaimed: "Admiral Hai is amazing. How did you predict that Aurangzeb would use fire attack?"
Because you make me very angry, Hai Rufeng smiled faintly. As the commander-in-chief of the army, he certainly would not answer so rashly, but it did not prevent him from thinking about it in his heart.
"Your Highness, Aurangzeb once threatened to capture you and make you his concubine. Is this true?"
Samantha couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed, but luckily she was covered by a veil so others couldn't see the changes in her expression.
She quickly deflected the question and said, "Admiral Hai, what do you think Aurangzeb will do next?"
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.(To be continued..)
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