Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

Chapter 571: The Throne, South Ross Joins the War, and the Kalka River Meets

A month later, Zhang Dingxia, who was resting in Samarkand, also received a reply from his father.

"I never expected that! That man is actually my uncle!"

In the letter, Zhang Yong told his son that he did not kill Kublai Khan, and that the man who came to recognize him as his relative was indeed his uncle.

He also rewarded the other party with the city of Otrar, and after he had lived in the East for a period of time, he would allow him to return to his country to assist him.

"That's a good thing. This way, you'll have a companion here." Zhang Dingguan said, looking at his younger brother.

What he was most worried about was his second brother. After the Western Expedition was over, all the brothers would return to the East, but he would stay in this land.

The land of Western Liao will become the direct territory of the Daqian Empire (equivalent to a slightly larger area of ​​Xinjiang).
The territory of Khwarezm, as well as the territories of the Abbasid Caliphate, the Ayyubid Caliphate, and Egypt that will be conquered in the future, will be used as the place where his brother will establish his country.

It would take a year just to travel this distance back and forth, and even using the fastest code to transmit messages would take several months.

As for the monarch, he cannot leave his country at will, so unless the magic weapon that his father mentioned can be made, he probably won't be able to meet him again in this life.

He was still worried about his brother being alone on this land. Now that an uncle has come, he is relieved. At least his brother has a relative.

"Brother! Now that I have made the decision, I will not change it. Isn't it time for you to set off too?" Zhang Dingxia said with a smile.

Three months ago, they captured Samarkand, and it took another two months to recover all the troops and people in various places.

Now that they have officially established a border with the Golden Horde, the Golden Horde is also actively preparing for war. According to the original plan, his brother should have led the army to attack the Golden Horde a month ago.

But because he had to wait for a reply from his father and wanted to spend more time with him, my eldest brother postponed the date of the army's departure.

The reason was to prepare sufficient food and fodder, and a new compressed biscuit factory was built in the city of Samarkand to produce compressed biscuits.

The wheat yield in this land is still very high, and the locals like to eat a kind of flatbread very much. The collected wheat and the military rations stored by Kublai Khan can all be made into compressed biscuits and given to his eldest brother to take away.

"Are you so anxious for your brother to leave? I'm just trying to help you stabilize the situation." Zhang Dingguan said as he punched his brother with a smile.

You bastard, don't you know that this is a farewell? Or wait until I destroy the Golden Horde! I will come to support you.

This is feasible, but he must destroy the Golden Horde within a year and then directly hand over the land to the family of Ogedei and other Mongolian groups that migrated from the East.

"I am reluctant to leave you, brother. You have several other brothers, but I know you must leave so as not to delay our father's expedition to the west. If you stay here for one more month, you will return one month later.

"Brother, you are the eldest son of our father. You have fought in the battlefields for many years and have made great contributions. But now our father has ascended the throne and become the emperor. You have to consider the throne. When you have time, read more books and learn from the Han masters." Zhang Dingxia said.

Although the two brothers were not born of the same mother, they had a very good relationship since childhood, after all, they were the only two of them of the same age.

He didn't care about the throne because he would become the emperor of another country in the future.

But my eldest brother is different. My father has high expectations for him and has been cultivating him in all aspects.

But to be honest, in terms of military affairs, the eldest brother crushed all his brothers and was far ahead. He could be said to be a general-level figure.

But he seems to be somewhat lacking in politics and governance, which is his eldest brother's weakness.

Before parting, Zhang Dingxia decided to tell his elder brother some of his true feelings.

"I know what you want to say. To be honest, my dear brother, I am a general. If the emperor wants me to sit in this position, then I will sit in it. I will learn to govern the country, but my eldest brother is already 25 years old this year.

My father is still in his prime and can still serve for at least another twenty years. Will I really be fit to sit on the throne by then? And how long can I stay in office?
Father has many children, maybe we can slowly choose one from them." Zhang Dingguan shook his head and said.

Snapped!Snapped!
Zhang Dingxia slapped his elder brother twice without saying a word, with a very angry expression.

"Second brother, you, you, what do you mean by this?" Zhang Dingguan was a little stunned. He didn't understand why the usually gentle second brother would suddenly hit him!

The relationship between the two brothers was very good. The second brother was extremely respectful to him and had always been relatively gentle since he was a child. He didn't understand why the second brother suddenly hit him this time.

"Brother, I'm going to wake you up! Listen to what you're saying, what stupid things are you saying?
You are the eldest son in the family. From childhood to adulthood, you have always been a good brother in our hearts.

If you sit in this position, then your brothers are blessed and no one will jump up to fight for it. But if you don't sit in this position, then you are giving all your brothers a reason.

A reason to fight for the throne! Since ancient times! How fierce and cruel the fight for the throne is, don't you understand?

My father also told us privately that he would retire when he was 60 years old, become the emperor emeritus, have a good time, and would never work overtime for a single day.

My father wants to be the emperor emeritus, and that will pave the way for you. While my father is alive, he will pave the way for you. After you succeed to the throne, our country will also be stable.

If you don't take the throne, the other brothers will become interested and start a bloody fight. Do you want to watch the other brothers kill each other?" Zhang Dingxia said.

With the pressure from their eldest brother, the other brothers naturally wouldn't think too much, but if the eldest brother himself made it clear that he didn't want the throne, then things would be bad.

All the brothers will set their sights on this position and start fighting with each other in the early stages of the establishment of a dynasty.

His father had told him that the early days of every dynasty were a period of turmoil. Why did the Qin Empire established by the First Emperor perish in the second generation?

The Han Dynasty founded by Liu Bang also experienced the Rebellion of Empress Lu in its early days. To take a more recent example, when the Song Dynasty was established, there was also an early period of unrest.

Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin finally passed his throne to his brother, thus saving his kingdom.

A young emperor is the best puppet for ministers, and if their eldest brother can hone his skills for more than ten years and succeed to the throne when he is in his forties, then that would be the best choice.

Moreover, the eldest brother has another important identity, the grandson of Genghis Khan. This identity is crucial. The reason why the Mongolian grasslands are subservient to his father is also because of the identity of the Golden Family, and the identity of his eldest brother is more convincing.

In addition, the Mongols attached great importance to military achievements, and his eldest brother's military achievements were unparalleled.

"Second brother, I! I!" Zhang Dingguan looked unhappy when he heard these words! If it was really as his second brother said, then all this would really happen.

"Brother! If you don't want this position, then everyone will fight and no one will submit to anyone else. Have you ever thought about what the consequences will be?

Brother, remember this! This position is yours, no one can take it away from you, you must hold it firmly in your hands, you are the eldest son in the family.

You are the eldest son of your father and the grandson of Genghis Khan. If you sit on this throne, the Mongols will support you and the Han people will obey you.

But if it is other brothers, the situation is different." Zhang Dingxia said.

"I am not the only grandson of Genghis Khan. How many sons does my mother have?" Zhang Dingguan said.

“But you are the eldest son, a unique status, and your father will definitely do so while he is still alive.

You are allowed to completely control the power of the country, you must do what you should do, you are the eldest son of this family, you must shoulder your responsibilities. "Zhang Dingxia said.

Hearing this, Zhang Dingguan nodded heavily. His second son was right. He saw things more clearly than he, the older brother.

In fact, when it comes to being the emperor, the second son might be more suitable than himself, but his background and appearance destined him to not inherit everything.

That's why the second brother chose to leave and come to the West to develop, because it's good for both himself and his father. "I understand, second brother, I will not give up this position. If I give up, my brothers will all fight for it.

Our family will start a bloody war like other royal families." Zhang Dingguan nodded and said.

"Brother, you are excellent in every aspect, and you are always growing. The reason why you don't understand all this is because those who are involved are confused, while those who are on the sidelines can see things more clearly.

I look at the problem from another perspective. Don't forget that it was you who saw through Kublai Khan's plan on the Mongolian grasslands.

Otherwise, Batu's son would not have been deceived into coming to the East, and Batu might have brought a large army to attack Karakorum at that time.

If we join forces with the army of the Tolui family, the outcome is still unknown!" Zhang Dingxia said.

Among all the brothers, only I can enlighten my eldest brother, because the throne has nothing to do with him.

When the eldest brother was alive, the other brothers dared not have any ideas at all, because the eldest brother could suppress all the brothers.

But except for the eldest brother, the brothers seem to be in harmony, but in fact they are not convinced of each other. So my dear brother, whether for the family or for yourself, this position is yours.

After the two brothers had a heart-to-heart talk, their relationship indeed became much closer. For the first time, Zhang Dingguan understood some things and also understood why his father asked him to march west and make such great contributions.

A few days later, Zhang Dingguan assembled an army of 150,000, of which 50,000 were from the family of Ogedei, and the remaining 100,000 were composed of Mongolian and Han troops recruited by Zhang Yong.

After the armies gathered, Zhang Dingguan said goodbye to his remaining brothers and the second oldest Zhang Dingxia, and set out on the journey to attack the Golden Horde.

This time, they will set out from near the Caspian Sea and directly attack the heartland of the Golden Horde.

"Take care, bro!"

"Well! Don't worry, by the time you are ready to march into the Western Regions, I may have already led the army back." Zhang Dingguan patted his second brother's shoulder and said with a smile.

Killing their way into the Golden Horde from the vicinity of the Caspian Sea could be said to be a direct attack on the enemy's lair, and was much easier than killing their way in from the Mongolian steppes.

And more importantly, by launching an attack near the Caspian Sea, we can also unite with the army of Southern Russia.

During the three months of rest and recuperation, they were not idle. They had been collecting intelligence on the Golden Horde and contacting western forces.

Not long ago, envoys were sent to the Southern Rus region and successfully contacted several grand dukes in the Southern Rus region, especially the Grand Duke of Kievan Rus.

Upon learning that Zhang Yong had sent a huge army to the west to attack the Golden Horde, the grand dukes in Southern Russia were overjoyed.

Soon, the grand dukes of the Southern Rus region gathered in the city of Kievan Rus to discuss sending troops.

“Hahaha! I knew that the great King John would not abandon us. Although he has returned to the East, he has been missing his subjects in the West.” A leader of the Ross region who was personally canonized by Zhang Yong said publicly.

"Yes! The Golden Horde has been oppressing us over the years, invading our land many times and oppressing the people in the Northern Russia region. We must liberate those people from the hands of the lords in the Northern Russia region and let them return to the embrace of Orthodoxy." Lord Ryazan said openly.

Isn't it? If they surrendered to King John, they could still believe in Orthodoxy and build Orthodox churches, but in the Northern Rus region.

They actually began to force the people to believe in Allah, which was something the Russians absolutely could not tolerate.

The civilians of Northern Russia tend to favor Southern Russia because all Russian people have believed in Eastern Orthodoxy for hundreds of years.

To hastily force them to change their faith and demolish their churches is absolutely unforgivable in the eyes of these believers.

"This time, King John's army has returned, and it is said that his eldest son is leading the army. We must join this battle." A Ross minister spoke out.

"That's right! My brothers, let's start this war together, destroy the Golden Horde together, and eliminate the heretics in the Northern Rus region."

"I will destroy the Principality of Novgorod, and I will take all the men of our principality with me."

"I will also bring men from my own country."

"Hahaha! I also want us to teach these pagans a lesson."

"Okay! Since everyone has decided to go to war, let's send a message to King John's eldest son! We will mobilize a large army to support you in a month." The Grand Duke of Kievan Rus nodded and said.

Soon, the grand dukes of Kievan Rus sent messengers back with a reply letter, informing Zhang Dingguan that they would come to the Caspian Sea on time and meet them near the Kalka River.

Thirty years ago, it was Subutai and Jebe who led an army of 20,000 and attacked the riverside, defeated the 80,000-strong Russian army, and captured seven Russian grand dukes and hundreds of nobles.

And now, they are going to join the Western Expedition Army from the East here to attack the pagans together.

According to the original plan, Zhang Dingguan wanted Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and the Byzantine Empire to attack the Golden Horde together.

However, this idea was opposed by the Ogedei family and some other Mongolian generals.

“Grand Prince! You are the eldest son of the Khan. Logically, we should all listen to you, but this is a war between our Golden Family, and you are the grandson of Genghis Khan.

Batu is also the grandson of Genghis Khan. You should compete on equal terms instead of asking outsiders for help.

People from the Southern Rus region can come if they want, they are our vassal states after all, but it is better for others not to come." A prince of the Ogedei family said.

This war is an internal war within their Golden Family, and outside forces cannot intervene.

Reinforcements from the Ross region can be called in, because South Ross and North Ross are already fighting fiercely.

Moreover, these two regions were subject to Mongolia, but these countries were not subject to Mongolia. Although they would pay taxes to Mongolia on the surface, these countries no longer paid attention to the Golden Horde since the rebellion of the Golden Horde.

If these countries followed the Mongolian army, they would definitely cause huge damage to the grassland and even divide up the grassland territory, which was something the Ogedei family did not want to see.

After all, after conquering this territory, Zhang Yong's army will not stay here, but will hand it over to the Ogedei family, so the Ogedei family must consider some things.

After hearing this, Zhang Dingguan nodded, indicating that he understood.

"You are right, this is a fight within the Golden Family. I summoned the troops from the Southern Ross region to help because they are our vassal state.

My father appointed him, so he is one of us. But other countries are just allies with us, so I will not summon them. "Zhang Dingguan said.

After some discussion, it was finally decided that this time the army on the Western Expedition would only summon reinforcements from the Southern Rus region, and the two sides agreed to attack the Golden Horde together.

If the Northern Ross region sends reinforcements, then the people of Southern Ross will be responsible for containing the Northern Ross region.

The frontal army of the Golden Horde was dealt with by the main force of their Western Expedition Army. After a month of marching, the Western Expedition Army led by Zhang Dingguan arrived at the agreed location, the Kalka River.

On the other side of the river, the Southern Russian army of more than 50,000 people also began to gather, and the two armies faced each other across the river.

Then he quickly sent an envoy to confirm the other party's identity and meet up with them.

(End of this chapter)