stubborn thief

The reinforcements from Mobei came in two groups.

The first group was the troops of Jasaktu Khan Subadi.

Suba's seventh son only left the old and the young to guard the stove, and the other six sons each took 500 cavalrymen. In addition, each family of the right wing Nayan sent out 100 cavalrymen to fight, forming an army of more than 7,000 cavalrymen, with nearly 20,000 horses, and rushed through Guihua City and went straight to Yuanshangdu.

At first, when Liu Shizi received the news, he ordered his men to let them go. He felt it was a bit strange. Subadi said he would send 10,000 cavalry to help in the battle, but only 7,000 came.

Of course this is a good thing. Liu Chengzong definitely does not complain about the small number of soldiers sent by others.

He is not short of troops at the moment, and there is actually no need to send troops from Mobei. It is enough to just come over as a formality.

After all, the journey was long, and he didn't even need to send troops to his formal vassal states, U-Tsang Huolochi and Tianshan Oirad, let alone nominal allies like Mobei.

The purpose of sending troops to Mobei this time is nothing more than to formally solidify the alliance, avoid misunderstandings and strengthen friendship.

There is no need for them to fight the Eight Banners with real swords and guns.

The noble of the Zasaktu Khanate who came this time was Ombu Erdeni Huntaiji, the most important vassal of Subadi in the Marshal's Office.

The leader of the Hetohuit tribe was the most powerful nobleman after the three khans of Mobei.

It was obvious that Erdeni did not come here to join the war. The other Nayans brought at least a hundred cavalrymen, but he brought a bunch of Zaisan officials, carrying gift maps, and even a small flag officer of the Taimeng Guard.

Erdeni is embarrassed.

While Subadi was mobilizing his troops, he was actively preparing for war, ready to lend a helping hand to the Rakshasa Kingdom once the swamp thawed, and send troops to attack Tai Mengwei.

This is determined by geography and history.

To the southwest of the Tohuit tribe was the Oirats Alliance, to the northwest was the Rakshasa tribe, and to the northeast and southeast were the three Mobei tribes.

The reason for the existence of this tribe is that when the Tatars were powerful, they embarked on the mission of conquering the Oirat. Abadai, a descendant of Dayan Khan, conquered Oirat and sent his son Shibugudai as the ruler of Oirat.

After Abadai's death, the Oirats took advantage of the situation to rebel, killed Shibugudai and regained their freedom for a short time. Then Subhadi's father conquered the Oirats again and appointed his cousin Shuolei Ubash as Hun Taiji as a frontier for the Khalkha to control the Oirats.

Thus the Ho-Tohuit tribe was born.

But as the Oirats grew stronger over the past decade, the Russians also built fortresses outside their tribal borders.

Not only was the Hetohuit tribe unable to control the Oirats, its own safety also became a problem. Even the people living in the forest were often sent to take away their tribute.

Under this situation, Erdeni chose to make friends with Russia, exchanging supplies for guns and support to balance the increasingly powerful Oirats.

After all, they are more afraid of the rise of the Oirats than anyone else. Once the Oirats gain power, they will definitely kill them first.

The balancing strategy was useful during these years, until the Tianshan Army defeated the Russians on the right bank of the Tom River, captured the city of Tomsk, and spread the glorious victory throughout the basin over the next six months.

Things have changed in Siberia.

There was no need to steal the tribute from the people in the forest. A Taimeng flag soldier wearing red armor, with two Kyrgyz soldiers carrying flags and drums, rode into the village in the forest on horseback, fired a three-barreled gun, and the hostage came out with the tribute.

There was no way. Through the mouth of Taben, the leader of the Kyrgyz tribe who participated in the Battle of Tomsk, people already knew that Taimengwei was controlled by the distant Central Plains Grand Master.

General Zhou Riqiang was a real official. He was the head of the tribe and was granted the title of 100 households and received a salary. If any of his soldiers died in the battles he led, he would be given a pension.

Those who sent tribute were not protons, but people who went to Taimengwei to study.

Among them, those with talent in literature or martial arts would be reported to the Grand Tutor by General Zhou, and would be granted the title of student or martial artist, given satin robes and waist swords, and presented with Tai Meng-made three-barreled guns.

My God, when have the people in the forest ever been treated like this?

It’s the same tribute, the same life, so it doesn’t matter who you give it to.

I choose the Grand Tutor!

The distorted word "Taishi" actually means "Grand Marshal".

The root of the problem lies with Chu Hur.

That boy is uneducated and doesn't know the word "Dashuai", but he thinks he knows a lot and is always arguing with others.

But just to the north of the Tianshan Mountains, from Lake Balkhash to the Sayan Mountains, the Dzungarian Chu Hurna was notoriously poor in quality, and no one dared to refute him.

He called out like that, and others called out like that, too, and Zhou Ri couldn't stop trying to force himself to do so.

The key point is that Chu Huer also went to Xi'an, and he already knew that the Marshal missed him.

But it is impossible for this person to admit his mistakes.

Besides, Liu Chengzong and his subordinates are all close to him.

Cao Yao, Zhang Tianlin, Luo Rucai and their gang saw him and thought they were seeing someone similar. They sat there, and as long as there was a table in the middle, it would be like an international robbery industry summit.

The Khan had beaten him personally, and he was extremely favored by the Emperor.

When Chu Huer returned to Tianshan after the Chinese New Year, he acted as if he had gone to school. He acted as if he had already been to school and could point to the word "Marshal" in the official document and pronounce "Grand Tutor" in front of Zhou Riqiang.

I used to be ready to draw my knife when I heard the rebuttal, but now I am not in a hurry.

He was able to wear the mink collar and arrow sleeves leather robe bestowed by the Khan, calmly adjust the non-existent large sleeves, and said confidently, pointing his hand and saying: "I am not wrong, General Zhou is just a military man, you can't understand these cultural matters, so I won't waste my breath.

Wait, my brother Zhang from the Li Ya, the head of the civil service, will send a message to you later and tell you how to pronounce these two words - north of Tianshan Mountain, it is pronounced as Taishi."

Zhou Riqiang's blood pressure is higher than the Ural Mountains.

I am a juren, a fourth-rank prefect, and have served as an examiner for the provincial examination. How could you let that illiterate Zhang Xianzhong teach me how to read?

There is really no other way. If this happened in Central China, the old man would have dragged Chu Hur down and given him fifty lashes.

But in Taimengwei, Chu Huer said that he should just call him Grand Tutor, and General Zhou accepted it with a pinch of his nose.

Now the four tribes of the Oirats are called Dashuai in Chinese characters and are also pronounced as Dashuai.

But in Chu Hur's tribe, as well as the forest tribes further north whom he sent people to recruit, and those nobles who feared his temperament and power, they all called him "Taishu" in Chinese.

In other words, Chu Huer single-handedly created a Taimeng dialect within the most complex Oirat language system in the Marshal's Office culture.

Apart from anything else, Chu Huer is not the only one who is familiar with the Grand Tutor. All the tribes in the forests north of the Tianshan Mountains are familiar with this term.

It was precisely for this reason that Tai Mengwei was able to pacify the various tribes in the forest very successfully.

As soon as the Tatar iron from the forest blacksmith was delivered to Taimeng Guard, the military craftsman from Qing Fan rolled up the three-layer iron pipe and knocked it, and cast a small iron piece, and the three-barreled gun and ammunition came out.

There were seven or eight Kyrgyz centurions in a village. Under Zhou Riqiang's guidance, they built a small village with wood. Suddenly, they were transformed from vulnerable people in the forest to a tough nut to crack like the stronghold of the Rakshasa expedition team.

There are only so many subjects in the forest, and their productivity is limited. If they all follow Taimengwei, what will happen to the Tohuit tribe?

What to eat, what to use, and what to exchange for firearms with Rakshasa?

Contradictions then arise.

Erdeni and the Rakshasa envoy hit it off on the issue of Taimengwei, and they were both determined to eliminate this enemy that was blocking their cause.

They knew that Taimengwei not only had the galloping Dzungar cavalry under Chu Huer, but also had a large number of guns and artillery, so they decided to attack Taimengwei by land and sea when the ice thawed.

At that time, a large number of newly recruited forest centurions of the Taimeng Guard lacked horses and could not provide quick support. As long as they could quickly capture the city of Tomsk, they could settle the matter once and for all.

As the ice was thawing, the armies of the Hetuhuit tribe had already set out for the expedition. Then a message from Subati arrived, saying that Taimengwei was a subordinate of the Khitan Khan and asking him to withdraw his troops. Who was the Khitan Khan?

Erdeni had never heard of this person!

After some explanation, it was revealed that the Han marshal, the Grand Master of the Oirats, and the Khan of the southern desert, whose surname was not Borjigin, was attacking the Central Plains and his army had pushed to Uriankhai.

A light bulb lit up next to Erdeni’s head: Yesen!

But even if he crawls out of his grave and seizes my people, there must be an explanation, right?

Erdeni originally wanted to fight for it, but Subadi said that Liu Chengzong had tens of thousands of cavalry stationed in the south of the desert. Why don’t you call the army back first and go to the south of the desert with me to take a look, and then make plans after coming back.

In fact, he changed his mind about confrontation before he even met Liu Chengzong.

Because on the way, Erdeni saw the second group of people from the northern desert to the southern desert - the Tushetu Khanate, who were nomadic.

Gunbu Khan personally led the team, with more than a dozen Nayan nobles, more than a thousand cavalrymen, and more than a thousand herdsmen, driving tens of thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses, as well as thousands of carts, felt tents, skins, furs, and medicinal materials, they marched across the grassland all the way south, eating up all the grass along the way.

The most outrageous thing is that Erdeni saw Babtai, the son of Chechen Khan Shuolei, inside.

He felt like a hibernating bear, and when he woke up the world outside had changed.

Logically speaking, when several thousand cavalrymen from the Zasaktu Khanate were marching towards the south of the desert with murderous intent, and two thousand people from the Tushetu Khanate were traveling with goods, if they met them on the road, Gunbu would have to send someone to ask them what they were doing.

No.

Gunbu and Babu's destination was similar to theirs, they both wanted to go to the south of the desert.

The difference is that Subati's Zasaktu Khanate, at least the nobles told the soldiers that they were going to go to the Greater Khingan Range to participate in the war. They planned to take all the extra horses to the border of Shaanxi and sell them after the war.

However, Gunbu's Tushetu Khanate was not prepared to go to war. Instead, they obtained a transit permit from Guihua City, migrated to the border of Shanxi, and traded in the Ming Dynasty's markets.

Gunbu Khan and Babu Taiji did not need to participate in such trivial matters as leading the trade team. Their purpose was actually the same as Erdeni's, which was to go to the Greater Khingan Range to meet Liu Chengzong.

At this time, the Greater Khingan Range was extremely lively.

Envoys from the Ming Dynasty also came.

It was still the old acquaintance Cao Huachun, who accompanied the Grand Secretary of the Dongke and the Minister of Rites Qian Shisheng, carrying the imperial edict of Emperor Chongzhen and the questioning of the Ming Dynasty about the letter intercepted by Huang Taiji and Liu Chengzong regarding the alliance to attack the Ming Dynasty.

In the central army camp at the foot of Mazong Mountain, Qian Shisheng was very tough.

He wanted to read the imperial edict and waited for Liu Chengzong and the guards to salute, but the people in the Marshal's Mansion remained unmoved.

Qian Shisheng simply stood there holding the imperial edict, glaring at Liu Chengzong with his chin raised and his nose up.

Cao Huachun was afraid of this on his way here, and he hid in the back without daring to breathe. Seeing that he was in a stalemate and had no other choice, he stepped forward and said, "Marshal Liu, it's our man, Cao Huachun, an acquaintance."

"Hey, Eunuch Cao is here. Why are you hiding in the back? I didn't even see you."

Liu Chengzong still had a good impression of Cao Huachun and was deeply impressed by him.

This eunuch from the palace had a special ability. He didn't need a chair. He just stood to the right of the yamen lobby and blended in perfectly.

Liu Shizi also wanted to give Qian Shisheng, who was full of arrogance, a cold shoulder, a cold shoulder, and waved to Cao Huachun warmly, "Don't be polite when we are family. Come and find a seat."

Cao Huachun was sweating all over and his heart was almost chilled.

He knew that Marshal Liu would say something bad when he opened his mouth. Behind him were a bunch of officials and military officers from Beijing. If you talk like this when we meet, will I go back to Beijing?

But Cao Huachun also knew that Liu Chengzong might not be sincere in what he said.

After all, this was the third time he was sent to Liu Chengzong.

Given the territory of the Marshal's Office, Liu Chengzong might not have even met some of his generals more than once.

"Marshal, I am just a servant, so I just need to stand. This is the first time that Lord Qian has been on a diplomatic mission, so please bear with me."

After Cao Huachun finished speaking nice words, he said, "Grand Marshal, please be magnanimous. Will you accept the imperial edict first?"

"No hurry, is he a university scholar?"

Liu Chengzong looked at Qian Shisheng with suspicion and looked at Cao Huachun with suspicion.

He wondered why Chongzhen sent this Grand Secretary here.

Could it be that this guy pissed off Chongzhen and he couldn't do anything about him, so he sent him here to kill someone with a borrowed knife?

After all, no matter how big the matter is, Cao Huachun can handle it alone. There is no need to send a grand secretary over. It would only make things worse if he fails to get things done.

Liu Shizi said, "Since you are a university scholar, I will not argue with you. If you don't want to announce the imperial edict, go downstairs and eat and drink well. Wait for my Minister of Rites to come and let him talk to you."

Qian Shisheng didn't want to leave, but this was Liu Chengzong's territory, and his words were golden.

Zhang Yong had just brought a chair over because he let Cao Huachun sit anywhere he wanted, but when he heard that Qian Shisheng was asked to leave, he immediately called two Tiger Guards on duty and dragged Qian Shisheng away.

After Qian Shisheng was dragged away, Liu Chengzong waved to Cao Huachun again, asked him to sit closer, and asked: "Tell me, how did this man make the emperor angry? Is he going to let him die here, or not let him go back?"

Cao Huachun was shocked. What kind of understanding did Liu Chengzong have? He didn't dare to touch on this topic. He said quickly: "Marshal Liu, I dare not say that. Elder Qian is the pillar of the country..."

"Oh, the pillar of the country."

Liu Shizi almost burst out laughing, and couldn't help saying: "The emperor sent the pillar of the country to me? One of you and the emperor must be crazy... If you don't want to talk about it, then don't talk about him for now."

Liu Chengzong sat up straight and said solemnly, "Inland, have the food and supplies I requested been sent? Was Ajige killed in the battle against the more than 10,000 Eight Banners troops who entered the border?"

Cao Huachun thought to himself, has Ajige been killed? When he went out to the border, Changping City had just been captured, important places in the capital such as Liangxiang were all ravaged, and battles were going on in Zhuozhou, Gu'an and other places. The central government of the court didn't know where Ajige was, so where could they go to kill him?

Liu Shizi didn't even need him to answer. Just by looking at his expression, he understood the war situation clearly, and also knew that the Ming court's food and grass were probably in short supply.

This made him frown and said with disdain: "My troops went out of Shaanxi, passed through Guihua City, and attacked eastward to the outside of Xing'an Mountains. The two wings of Khorchin were almost destroyed. Ajige's way out of the border was blocked inside, and Huang Taiji's main force outside the pass was tied. Such a big court can't even deal with more than 10,000 enemy troops in its belly?"

Cao Huachun was disgraced by what he said, and he looked around and said something else: "Guan Shang intercepted a letter from Hong Tai, which was written to Marshal Liu. The letter said that we should cooperate to attack the court and so on..."

Liu Chengzong was in a state of wanting to say something but stopping himself.

He is very disappointed with his friend.

"Whatever he says! Even if I really intend to join hands with the Eastern Tartars, the imperial court should send more troops to the Miyun defense line, but shouldn't we also kill Ajige's troops first?"

"If I want to fight, I will go to Shanxi and Henan. Why would I go outside the capital? Even if I lead the troops to take down Beijing and seize the Guanning line, do I have to fight against the Eastern Tartars?"

"Your Majesty can't figure out such a simple truth... Never mind."

Liu Chengzong waved his hand, pointed westward and said, "Xing'an Mountains, you can go and see later that the people who are building the city there are all captives captured from the eastern part of the mountains. Go back and tell the emperor and the cabinet ministers that I don't expect them to do anything. Eliminate Ajige as soon as possible to save the people in the capital from destruction."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. Guanning Army, take advantage of Shenyang's emptiness and attack it if you can. Shandong Army, hurry up and cross the sea to Korea to assist in the defense."

"If you do nothing, you'll just have to fend for yourself after this period of time. When the Eastern Tartars rebel, your vassal state will definitely not be able to be saved." (End of this chapter)