Time flies, the story begins in Mandalay, the capital of Myanmar in 1885

Don't report my death,

Or mourn for my death,

Don't bury me in a cemetery for sacrifices,

There is no need for the priest to ring the death knell,

Don't want anyone to see my body,

Don't attend my funeral, either.

Don't plant flowers and grass on my grave,

My lifelong wish,

It is to let the world forget me.

--Thomas Hardy

It was a dry evening. Mandalay (Myanmar's second largest city, located in the north-central part of Myanmar, the former capital of several ancient dynasties) had no stars in the sky, not even a trace of moonlight, only the subtropical dry and hot air, just like invisible sand wrapped the Burmese soldiers in incompatible Khaki uniforms, turning the moisture in their bodies into sweat, and then sucking the sweat dry. The low clouds almost pressed on the top of the trees on the banks of the Irrawaddy River, but the waiting soldiers prayed that the clouds would stay longer so that their actions would not be discovered by the guard sentries guarding the royal palace hundreds of meters away.

Duncan arched his back and carefully passed through the Burmese soldiers to count their numbers. These short and dark-skinned soldiers looked at the burly white man with their slanted eyes, and couldn't help but look in fear. Duncan noticed the soldiers' cringe and timidity, which made him feel a little frustrated.

"God, these are the "tigers" sent by the prince? I hope that now I am a group of good guys from Scotland, even if there are only one-tenth of the people here!" Duncan complained in a low voice. He was holding a Mauser automatic pistol in his hand. Although as a second lieutenant of the Scottish Musket Battalion, he should be more accustomed to using his own Weberley revolver, he chose the automatic pistol in his hand tonight. After all, compared to Weberley's pitiful range and firepower, this German cousin's Mauser automatic pistol is much more suitable in the operation tonight.

Soon, Duncan counted the number of Burmese soldiers under his command, and after confirming it, he returned to the front of the team and began to wait for the scheduled signal. As time passed, the scheduled signal did not appear. The hot weather made Duncan's sweat come out layer by layer. He had to take off his hat. It felt cooler. The sweat soaked his red hair, making it stick to his forehead in the east and west, and it looked like it was injured. At this time, a muffled thunder came from the clouds on the top of Mandalay Mountain in the distance. This was the signal that the dry season was about to end and the rainy season was about to come. The delayed signal and thunder made the Burmese soldiers become turbulent. These superstitious guys began to suspect that their upcoming actions aroused the anger of gods and Buddhas, and the thunder was proved.

Duncan turned around angrily. "These cowardly dogs!" he cursed in his heart, but years of experience in colonial operations told him that he had to be calm at this time, otherwise these cowardly natives would not have enough respect for their officers like good Scottish boys. Duncan gritted his teeth. Just as he was thinking about how to say something in the Burmese language he knew, a fire suddenly flashed across the corner of his eyes. He quickly turned around and saw a fire light drifting in a circle not far from the direction of the palace - a signal that had been waiting for a long time.

"Young men, get bayonets, and advance in two columns, target, the east gate of the palace!" Duncan instinctively used his most familiar language - English gave orders to the Burmese soldiers under his command. Fortunately, several Burmese church school students who served as officers knew some English. They hurriedly relayed Duncan's orders to the soldiers in Burmese. Soon, the Burmese soldiers bayonetized their Lee Enfield rifles and rushed towards the east gate of the palace. Duncan himself landed at the end and walked towards the east gate.

The gate of the palace was wide open. In the gate, Duncan smelled a strong smell of blood in the air. Two corpses were lying horizontally on the ground. Judging from the bright red blood on the ground, their death was just a few minutes ago. With the help of the flames, Duncan could see one of them had a slender bamboo stick on his neck, and the tail of the bamboo stick had fluff that kept flying balance. He recognized that this was a blowing weapon - a common weapon used by native people in Southeast Asia. I guess this person was raided and killed.

"Sir, this man is the inner man. He said that the king was in the palace, and his three sons and two daughters." A student from a church school reported to Duncan in a very strange tone. Behind him was a dark-skinned man in the uniform of the guards, looking at Duncan with a very expectant look. The man held a long bamboo pole in his right hand, probably this was the tool he had just used to fire and blow the arrow.

"Very good!" Duncan looked at the man who had just betrayed his king and companions for money with contempt, and whispered: "Tell him that only after catching the king can he get the remaining half of the bounty!"

Upon hearing the officer's translation, the traitor opened his eyes wide in anger and sprayed a series of intense words out of his mouth. Without waiting for his subordinates to translate, Duncan walked to the traitor and said in unskilled Burmese language: "Either go or not!"

The traitor quickly lowered his head helplessly and began to complain in a low voice, but Duncan had turned around and began to command the soldiers who had entered the palace to occupy the remaining gates. At this time, the soldiers' original fear had been driven away by the generous promise in advance and the large amount of gold and silver embedded in the surrounding buildings. Driven by the officers, he rushed to the palace in the distance fiercely.

The Burmese King Tin Pao suddenly woke up from his dream. He stretched out his right hand and wanted to find a cloth to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. His fingertips touched his smooth skin - this was his 25th, and the youngest and most beautiful wife Sova. The girl, who was only sixteen years old, spoke in a dream and turned over and fell asleep. Tin Pao smiled slightly and was about to get out of bed to wash it, when a gunshot suddenly came from outside the house.

Tin robe immediately sat up. Before he could get out of bed, several gunshots came from outside the house. Now he could be sure that this was not the gunshots accidentally released by the guards who were vigilant. He quickly pushed his wife to the sleeping wife, jumped out of bed, and while putting on his clothes, he shouted loudly to the guards who were vigilant outside: "Bang Aoke, Bang Aoke! What's going on outside?"

Soon, there was a reaction outside. A middle-aged man with a embarrassed expression rushed in and rushed in. Sova, who had not yet put on his clothes, screamed in surprise and instinctively grabbed the blanket on the bed to cover his body. Maumaoke hurriedly saluted to the Burmese King Tin Rou. Tin Rou waved impatiently and said, "Tell me quickly, what's going on?"

"Your Majesty, it is Meng Ji who has rebelled. The rebels have already entered the palace and are rushing towards this side!"

"What, Meng Ji? It's him!" Xi Pao's face suddenly changed. It turned out that Meng Ji was the brother of the former Burmese King. She was still the uncle of Xi Pao. She usually hid in her palace to enjoy herself and even had fewer doors. Unexpectedly, she suddenly launched a rebellion. At this time, a dense gunfire came from outside, and almost no one could hear it. It was obvious that the Imperial Guard and the Rebels had a fire.

"I ordered the Imperial Guards to persevere until dawn. As soon as dawn, the number of rebels will not be large. As soon as dawn, the troops outside the city will be eliminated as soon as they enter the city!" Tin-robe ordered firmly that as a king, he did not lack courage and talent, otherwise he would not stand out in the fierce battle for the throne.

"Yes, your honorable majesty!" The guard Maumaoke knelt down respectfully and was about to leave the door when a violent explosion suddenly came from outside. Sova, who was on the side, screamed and crawled under the bed.

"Is it a cannon?" Tin robe's face suddenly turned pale. If it was reasonable to say that the rebels had a small number of rifles, but even the cannons were there, there were too many things behind it. Thinking of this, the Burmese King's legs became weak and he sat on the ground.

"Let it go!" Duncan pulled the fuse violently, and the muzzle of a six-pound cannon on the side jumped back, and a ball of fire ejected from the muzzle. Almost at the same time, a violent explosion occurred in a Buddhist temple more than 100 meters away. Dozens of guard soldiers were hiding in this temple, using it as a barrier to repel several attacks of the rebels. Of course, their resistance ended here. Under the bombardment of incendiary bombs and grenades, a building with wood and bamboo as the main materials would soon become the tomb of the guards. Duncan prepared secret martial arts for this operation at night.

The instrument - a six-pound cannon commonly used by the navy. This is a little guy nicknamed "Bulfighter" by naval soldiers. The total weight is less than 400 kilograms. Just two mules are needed to take away the cannons that were dismantled into parts. Four people can pull the cannons to run away. They can use solid bullets, grenades and incendiary bombs to bombard any target within 1,500 meters. As soon as Duncan entered the palace, he chose the tower at the east gate as his cannon firing position. The view here is very good, and the entire palace is within the range of his cannons.

The Buddhist temple was burning violently. The yellow phosphorus in the incendiary bomb ignited flammable building materials and decoration items. Several unlucky guys on fire rushed out of the house and rolled on the ground in vain, trying to extinguish the flames on their bodies. Even Duncan, who was on the city tower more than a hundred meters away, could hear clearly. The rebel soldiers shouted and chased after them, ended their pain with bayonets, and then cut off the head of the deceased with a short knife at his waist as a certificate of reward.
Chapter completed!