Keen Lung Had Not Sent Troops To Put A Stop To
The Raids Committed On The Frontier By The Goorkhas;
But when he heard
that a portion of his dominions was invaded, and that the predominance of
his country in
The holy land of Buddhism was in danger, he at once ordered
his generals to collect all the forces they could and to march without
delay to expel the foreign invader. He may have been urged to increased
activity by the knowledge that the Tibetans had also appealed for aid to
the British, and by his being ignorant what steps the Indian Government
would take. Within a very short time of the receipt of the appeal for
assistance a Chinese army of 70,000 men was dispatched into Tibet, and the
Goorkhas, awed by this much larger force, began their retreat to their own
country. Their march was delayed by the magnitude of their spoil, and
before they had reached the passes through the Himalaya the Chinese army
had caught them up. In the hope of securing a safe retreat for his baggage
and booty, the Goorkha commander drew up his force in battle array on the
plain of Tengri Maidan, outside the northern entrance of the Kirong Pass,
and the Chinese general, Sund Fo, made his dispositions to attack the
Goorkhas; but before delivering his attack he sent a letter reciting the
outrages committed, and the terms on which his imperial master would grant
peace. Among these were the restitution of the plunder and the surrender
of the renegade lama, whose tales were said to have whetted the cupidity
of the Goorkhas.
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