Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2661 The Changes on the Grasslands, Tuoba Suffers Another Defeat

At the end of last year, Tuoba Tao passed away. As the Tuoba Wei regime entered a period of transition, both the Yuan Mongols and the Manchus chose to take action against it.

The Tuoba Wei dynasty suffered a faster defeat than anyone had imagined, due to its two-front war.

After Emperor Tuoba Gui personally led the expedition, he briefly managed to hold off Muqali.

Unfortunately, Tuoba Shiyijian betrayed Tuoba Gui's trust and failed to stop the Manchus. He not only lost a large number of troops, but he himself also perished in the rear.

From this point on, the Tuoba Wei dynasty was practically beyond saving.

After Tuoba Shiyijian was killed, the Tuoba Wei dynasty could no longer spare enough troops to resist the Manchus. Not to mention, Tuoba Gui could only temporarily hold off Muqali.

He only had 100,000 troops, but the Yuan and Mongol armies combined numbered 300,000. How long they could hold out was still an unknown.

Of course, the situation on the grasslands is different from that in the Central Plains.

On the grasslands, women and the elderly can ride horses and fight if they want to, and that is indeed the case.

But if it really comes to this, it means that this grassland tribe has reached a dead end.

However, even if the Tuoba Wei conscripted a large number of herdsmen, including elderly herdsmen, how long could such a low-quality army hold out?
Therefore, within just three months, the Tuoba Wei suffered several major defeats at the hands of the Manchus. Members of the imperial clan, such as Yuan Qi, Yuan Che, and Yuan Buji, as well as Tuoba Wei nobles such as Ruo Hui and Yi Feng, were all defeated and killed in battle while conscripting their tribes' herders.

Another noble tribe of the Tuoba Wei, the Erzhu tribe, surrendered to the Qing under the leadership of Erzhu Rong after being defeated in battle against the Manchus.

The Erzhu tribe, within the Tuoba Wei state, was a top-tier nobility of the grasslands.

By summer, Xuan Ye's army had advanced so far that it was already closing in on the royal court of Tuoba Wei.

The disastrous defeat on the eastern front directly caused the morale of Tuoba Gui's forces, which had been high due to his personal command of the army, to decline again. Under the combined attack of Muqali and Shi Tianze, Tuoba Gui suffered a major defeat at the end of July.

Of the 100,000 troops, 40,000 were lost. Tuoba Wei generals She Dichang, Zhang Yue, and Kong Chang were killed in battle, and early fierce generals Tuo Jinlong and Huya were captured.

Even Tuoba Gui himself almost died on the battlefield, nearly killed by Yang Yan.

Tuoba Gui was ultimately able to escape this battle only because the Wanyan clan, who harbored extreme hatred for the Yuan Mongols, stepped forward.

Wanyan Xiang, along with Wanyan Xieye, Wanyan Chenheshang, Jinhua Gudu, Yinhua Gudu, Tonghua Gudu, Tiehua Gudu, and others, led a portion of the Loyal and Filial Army in a desperate rescue attempt. In the end, only Wanyan Chenheshang managed to escort Tuoba Gui out of the encirclement.

The rest either fell to Yang Yan or to other Yuan-Mongol generals.

It was thanks to the desperate rescue efforts of these people that he was able to escape with his injuries and return to the royal court to recuperate.

This defeat triggered a series of chain reactions that backfired on the Tuoba Wei dynasty.

Shi Le, another powerful nobleman of the Tuoba Wei dynasty, led his 20,000 troops, along with his tribesmen and pastures, to formally submit to the Yuan Mongols.

Helian Bobo, who had already been captured, finally decided to submit to the Yuan Mongols after Tuoba Gui's defeat, helping Muqali persuade the tribes under his control to surrender. After this defeat, Tuoba Gui lost almost all his resources.

Three-quarters of the grasslands fell into the hands of the Yuan Mongols and the Manchus in just about six months.

Kublai Khan's strategy toward the Yuan Mongols was always a combination of political and military approaches, rather than an isolated one.

As the war at the front continued to advance, in the rear, Mongol envoys were constantly lobbying the nobles of Tuoba Wei, including even members of the Tuoba Wei royal family.

If Tuoba Wei were willing to surrender, Kublai Khan could indeed promise them a Tuoba Khanate. However, the ruler of this Khanate would not necessarily be Tuoba Gui. If other members of the Tuoba clan had the ability to create sufficient value, Kublai Khan could naturally put them in the position of ruler of the Khanate.

Therefore, the first to be affected was naturally Tuoba Hong, who had previously also been a contender for the throne of the Tuoba Wei dynasty.

However, although Tuoba Hong missed out on the throne, he was definitely not the kind of person who would betray his country.

He was merely keeping the Yuan Mongols on tenterhooks. On one hand, he was using this line of inquiry to investigate which members of the Tuoba Wei were having illicit dealings with the Yuan Mongols. On the other hand, he was also using this line of inquiry to give the Tuoba family a chance to preserve their bloodline.

Therefore, even though he hadn't considered agreeing, he didn't directly refuse either.

In fact, however, he had already reported this matter to Tuoba Gui.

However, Tuoba Gui's reaction to this matter was completely different from that of Tuoba Hong.

Although Tuoba Gui was the second-generation ruler in this life, he was the founding emperor in the previous life.

Even though he was the second-generation ruler in this life, he also made great contributions to the Tuoba Wei dynasty's rise to power. A considerable portion of the Tuoba Wei territory was conquered by his own hands.

Can the ways of thinking of the founding emperor and those who succeeded him be equated?

Those who were able to establish a nation did so by fighting their way up step by step in chaotic times.

Those who dare to take this path are prepared to risk their lives from the very beginning, ready to die or lose everything if they fail.

If you don't even have the courage to gamble with your offspring, family, and clan's legacy, how dare you try to contend for the world in this chaotic era?
Without this kind of courage, even if you embark on this path, you'll just be a clown!
The path to becoming a king or emperor is fraught with countless thorns! Every one of those who has successfully traversed this path has walked it with unwavering resolve, blindfolded and relentless, treating life and death as mere trifles.

Wanting both, wanting to take this path, yet wanting to leave oneself a way out—how can there be so many good things in this world?
Therefore, Tuoba Gui did not think too much about it from the beginning. He either conquered the Tuoba Empire or fought to the last moment until he died.

As for the future of the Tuoba family, if he wins, he will naturally have a glorious future. But if he loses, what does it have to do with him?
Therefore, after learning about this matter from Tuoba Hong, Tuoba Gui never considered compromising, nor did he think about the matter according to Tuoba Hong's ideas.

Immediately, he ordered the imprisonment of Yuan Zan, Yuan Xin, and others who had connections with the Yuan Mongols, showing no leniency to either members of the imperial family or other nobles.

He even planned to make an example of these people to deter others from harboring any selfish motives towards the Yuan Dynasty.

For Tuoba Gui, even if it meant pushing Tuoba Wei to the brink of ruin, he would fight to the very last moment.