The following day, Prince Zhi led several thousand soldiers to begin the operation to besiege Galdan. Baoyue, still disguised as a man, followed Prince Zhi, preventing Moergun and his men from killing her.
In order to hunt down Galdan, Prince Zhi led a force divided into three groups, each pursuing Galdan from several directions. Prince Zhi's group consisted of a thousand men, all of whom were from the Xianglan Banner and were his trusted confidants. They pursued Galdan from directly behind, all on horseback, and chased him all morning, finally discovering that Galdan was only ten miles ahead of them.
"Hurry up! Galdan is just ahead!" Prince Zhi reined in his horse and said to the generals and soldiers behind him, "Whoever captures Galdan will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold!"
With such specific encouragement, everyone spurred their horses on and raced after them!
As a prince, Prince Zhi naturally wouldn't let him charge into battle, so he always stayed in the middle of the army, with Bao Yue by his side at all times, giving Mo Ergun and the others no chance.
After a fierce chase, they finally caught up with the Gal people, and the two sides resumed hand-to-hand combat. People were constantly being cut down and felled to the ground, groaning in pain. Blood flowed continuously from their bodies, watering the grassland beneath them, and in no time, the stench of blood filled the grassland.
Galdan's small force began to scatter and flee. Galdan was disguised as an ordinary soldier, and for a moment it was impossible to tell which one was him. Moreover, since the people of the steppe all look quite similar, with thick hair covering their faces, it would not be easy to find Galdan immediately.
"Your Highness, what should we do? They've split up and are fleeing. If we chase them in the wrong direction, Galdan could easily escape! It will be much harder to catch him again," Morgun said to Prince Zhi.
"Their men have been killed so many times they're no match for us. Split up and chase them. We absolutely cannot let him escape!" At this moment, Prince Zhi was focused on capturing Galdan alive and presenting him to Emperor Kangxi. As for his promise to Baoyue to let him kill Galdan with his own hands, that was no longer so important.
And so, Prince Zhi divided his men into several groups, each chasing after Galdan's scattered followers. Baoyue followed closely behind Prince Zhi, not running around, for she too was captivated by the thrill of the carnage.
After Prince Zhi quickened his pace to chase after a grassland man, Bao Yue followed behind him. Mo Ergun and Da Hui exchanged a glance and then caught up with Bao Yue!
Prince Zhi was determined to capture Galdan himself. Looking at the fleeing horses ahead, he had a gut feeling that Galdan was among them.
His intuition was correct; Galdan was indeed among those people, frantically fleeing forward. He never imagined that he, the mighty Khan, would be in such a state. He also never expected that Kangxi would disregard the princess's pleas and insist on exterminating him.
But the reality is cruel. When he raised his butcher's knife and set fires all over the grassland, he never imagined that one day he would be the one being chased and forced to flee.
Suddenly, Prince Zhi pulled an arrow from his back, drew his bow, and shot it at a familiar-looking figure in front of him.
Meanwhile, Baoyue was gradually falling behind Prince Zhi. She became anxious because she wanted to kill her enemy with her own hands. So she focused all her attention on what was in front of her and didn't notice what was happening behind her!
She thought that by relying on her looks, her charming face and captivating smile, she could control Prince Zhi and use this man to get what she wanted.
However, she was too confident. First, she followed Emperor Kangxi, and then she threw herself into the arms of Prince Zhi, which was a major taboo for women of that era. Men would never tolerate a woman like her.
Just as Bao Rilongmei was still fantasizing about reclaiming her father's throne, a cold arrow flew from behind her and pierced straight into her heart! The owner of this arrow was a seasoned soldier who had killed countless people on the battlefield, so he wouldn't make a mistake. When the arrow accurately pierced Bao Yue's heart through her back, she knew she couldn't escape this fate!
Immediately, Baoyue coughed up blood, fell off her horse, and crashed heavily to the ground.
She lay on her side on the familiar grass, her military cap falling off her head and her fake mustache slipping down her face.
In an instant, she recalled the days when she was still being pampered in her father's and mother's arms, and the happy days when her brothers doted on her.
Is it Prince Zhi? You might as well kill me! A flash of resentment crossed Bao Yue's mind: You're so cruel!
Then, she could no longer hold any resentment and closed her beautiful eyes forever.
Meanwhile, Prince Zhi hadn't yet noticed that Bao Yue hadn't been following behind for quite some time. The arrow he had fired struck the left shoulder of the person in front of him, but it wasn't enough to stop them.
"Your Highness, watch closely!" Suddenly, Mo Ergun appeared from behind Prince Zhi and caught up. He was naturally strong, and he drew his bow and fired three arrows in quick succession, hitting the target every time.
Prince Zhi was overjoyed, and his men hurriedly gave chase. Those men were already doomed; soon after, due to their arrow wounds, they could no longer move quickly.
"Galdan, your end is near! Surrender now!" Prince Zhi, sword in hand, gave chase. There lay a steppe man, fallen from his horse, an arrow still lodged in his left arm—it was Galdan! He looked like a goat caught in a pack of wolves, his eyes filled with terror and the fear of imminent doom!
But he couldn't outrun a horse on foot, and his path was quickly blocked. Prince Zhi leaped off his horse and slashed at Galdan's back with his sword.
"The victor is king, the loser is villain! Take my life if you want!" Galdan, finally with nowhere to run, was extremely weak from blood loss, but the look in his eyes was still that of a former steppe warlord. Even surrounded by Prince Zhi and his men, he hadn't lost his composure. But knowing he had nowhere to escape, he suddenly looked up to the sky and roared a few words in Mongolian!
When Prince Zhi heard him say that he was cursing Emperor Kangxi and the Qing Dynasty, he was so angry that he immediately stabbed again with his sword, this time directly piercing Galdan's left atrium.
"You bastard, today I will take your dog's head and present it to Father Emperor!" Looking at Galdan lying on the ground, Prince Zhi suddenly raised the sword in his hand.
Thus ended the life of Galdan, the once mighty ruler of the grasslands. Even in death, he was filled with resentment at his swift defeat. His head was cut off by Prince Zhi and presented directly to Emperor Kangxi.
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