The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 488 Infernal Affairs

After signing a secret agreement with Vytautas and agreeing on a general plan of action, Shahru quietly left and contacted Khugluk again.

Hugrut was also surprised to see Shaharu and asked quickly:

"But something happened to the Khan?"

Shaharu nodded and said, "Something unexpected happened, so the plan has changed."

"The Ming Dynasty sent Jin Wang Zhu Gang to attack Chagatai and has already occupied Turpan and other places."

Hugrut was also a man of outstanding intelligence. He immediately realized the seriousness of the matter and said with a serious expression:

"What is the Khan's plan?"

Shahru did not give a direct answer, but said first:
"There is a rift between Vytautas and Tokhtamysh. The Khan ordered me to see Vytautas to see if I can drive a wedge between them."

Hugrut frowned and asked with concern: "You go to see him in person? It's too dangerous."

Shaharu was touched and said, "Thank you for your concern. I am back safe and sound, right?"

Hugrut was surprised and asked: "You... have already negotiated with Vytautas?"

Shaharu couldn't help but feel a little proud and said with a smile:

"Yes, I came to the Golden Horde and went directly to see Vytautas, and successfully persuaded him to form an alliance with us."

There was a flash of displeasure in Hugrut's eyes. Why didn't you tell me about such a big thing in advance?

Shahru, who was immersed in joy, did not notice his abnormality and continued to happily narrate what had happened.

Hugrut was just a little unhappy and didn't have any other thoughts.

Besides, now that things have come to this, what else is there to say? We can't destroy the alliance.

Once the Ming Dynasty conquers the Chagatai Khanate, the next to be in trouble will inevitably be the Timurid Khanate and the Golden Horde.

In the past ten years, the Golden Horde has accepted many tribes that fled here from the steppes and deserts.

They all escaped after being defeated by the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, he was well aware of the power of the Ming Dynasty and naturally did not want to have a direct conflict with it.

In order to preserve the Chagatai Khanate, the natural barrier of the desert in the Western Regions was used to block the Ming Dynasty in the Hexi Corridor.

It's the best thing for them.

In order to free up troops to protect the Chagatai Khanate, Toqtomishi must be eliminated.

The best solution was to persuade Vytautas to rebel.

Thinking of this, Hugrut couldn't help but admire Timur in his heart.

As expected, he is worthy of being the king. He thought of the best way to break the deadlock in such a short time.

The unhappiness in my heart just now also completely disappeared.

He was happy to hear Shahru speak, and slowly he began to agree with him.

But the more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong, and he couldn't help asking:
"Vytautas is a greedy man. I wonder what conditions the Khan agreed to for him to agree to an alliance."

Shah Rukh said casually: "Allow the Lithuanian army to enter the southern steppes of the Golden Horde."

This is the only way from Lithuania to Ansi, and Vytautas has always coveted this place.

Hugrut's expression suddenly turned ugly:
"Cede the southern steppes of the Khanate?"

Shaharu quickly comforted him, "We only gave him a few hundred miles of land, all of which are uninhabited areas with harsh environments."

"I did this to divert the trouble to the east, so that Vytautas could send troops to attack Qin. I hope you can understand."

"The Khan also knows that this is unfair to you."

"But for the sake of the overall situation, I hope you can be more understanding."

"Once this crisis is over, the Khan will give you sufficient compensation elsewhere and will never let you suffer any loss."

Hugrut's expression kept changing, and finally he forced a smile and said:

"I naturally understand the Khan's intentions. The Golden Horde will remain loyal to the Khan as always."

Shah Rukh breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The Khan will be very happy."

Afterwards, the two discussed how to implement the plan, and when everything was almost discussed, they dispersed.

As soon as they turned around, the smiles on their faces suddenly disappeared.

Shaharu looked at Huglut's back with mixed feelings.

He knew that this plan had deeply hurt the other party.

But there is really no other way now, so I can only resort to this last resort.

He did not tell the whole truth, either to Vytautas or to Khugurut, and intentionally omitted certain key information.

For example, when he talked with Vytautas, he only mentioned the threats from Qin and Ming, and did not mention Yan.

Because mentioning the State of Yan would let Vytautas know that the Timurid Khanate was in a desperate situation.

He will definitely ask for a high price.

By then, it will not be as easy as ceding the southern steppes of the Golden Horde.

Not to mention the State of Yan, the Timurid Khanate just encountered some troubles, which were not unsolvable.

When talking with Hugrut, he deliberately downplayed the existence of Qin and Yan, and focused on Zhu Gang's attack on the Chagatai Khanate.

The reason is the same. We must not let our allies know that the enemy is too strong, otherwise they will be easily scared.

Therefore, Khugrut did not know how great the danger the Timurid Khanate was facing.

But no matter what the reason, it was extremely excessive to cross the Khugrut and cede the land of the Golden Horde.

I just hope he can understand the Khan’s difficulties, otherwise... it would be a shame to kill such a capable and loyal dog.

On the other hand, anger also appeared in Hugrut's eyes because he ceded the Khanate's land to the enemy without his permission.

The key point is that such a big thing was not discussed with me in advance.

Instead, they came to cooperate with me only after the deal was reached.

What does Timur think of me?

This is what I get for my loyalty to you?

What made him even more frustrated was that he had no way to deal with this injustice.

Because facing the Ming Dynasty, this is indeed the only solution.

Although he was very dissatisfied, he had to cooperate with Shah Rukh's plan.

But... I could never swallow that feeling of injustice.
-
In the next few days, Hugrut became particularly active, occasionally launching surprise attacks on the tribes that had surrendered to Toghto and Misty.

Vytautas led the army to launch a sniper attack, and after several failed attempts, he was finally caught red-handed.

After a fierce battle, Hugrut was defeated and retreated.

While escaping, he was shot in the back by an arrow.

This scene was seen by many people.

Soon after, news came that Hugrut was hit by a stray arrow and seriously injured.

Immediately afterwards, his men began a full retreat.

Now no one doubted the truth of this matter anymore. Everyone in Tutuomishi's group was very happy and immediately sent the news to the front line.

Tokhtamysh was very happy and wrote a letter asking Vytautas to come to the front line to help.

He did this not because he could not withstand Timur's attack, but because he did not want Vytautas to stay in his base camp.

If he stays there any longer, I'm afraid all his subordinates will be won over by him.

Vytautas was extremely reluctant and dragged his feet for more than a month before rushing to the front line to meet up with Tokhtamysh.

At this moment, Timur launched a fierce attack regardless of casualties.

This made Tuotuo Mishi very confused. What on earth had happened?
How could Timur launch an attack regardless of casualties?
Just at this time, information came that the Ming Dynasty sent troops to the Chagatai Khanate.

All questions have answers.

Timur wanted to end the war as soon as possible in order to come to the aid of the Chagatai Khanate. Tokhtamysh was overjoyed and immediately decided to hold on to the camp to delay time.

As for what to do after the Ming Dynasty entered the Western Regions.

Tuotuo Mishi said it didn't matter, they would talk about it when the time came, at worst he would just kneel down and be his younger brother.

But I just want Timur to die.

After attacking for several days, Timur's army suffered heavy losses but achieved no results, and finally lost their morale.

He didn't play for two consecutive days.

This also made the exhausted Tuotuo Mishi army relax.

At this time, Vytautas took the initiative to step forward and offered to take on part of the defense task so that Tokhtamysh's army could have a good rest.

Under normal circumstances, Tuotuo would definitely not want to get lost.

But at this time he had more trust in Vytautas, and the army really needed rest.

And he also didn't think that Timur would not continue his attack.

Therefore, the task of defending one side of the camp was handed over to Vytautas' army.

Needless to say, you can guess what happens next.

At dawn that day, Vytautas opened the gate of the camp and Timur's army swarmed in.

The 200,000-strong army of the Golden Horde was completely defeated, and Tokhtamysh himself was captured.

Timur also hated this enemy so much that he killed Toghtomir on the spot.

He also ordered his men to divide his flesh and eat it.

It’s not that they like to eat people, but they want to express their hatred for their enemies in this way.

It is also a deterrent to other enemies.

This custom is common throughout history, both in China and abroad, and Timur is not the only one who does this.

Moreover, not everyone is qualified to eat it. Only those who have made great contributions or are deeply trusted by the monarch can eat it.

Therefore, sharing the enemy's flesh is also an opportunity to win over subordinates.

That was not all. Timur and Khugrut quickly put down the rebellion within the Golden Horde.

All of Tuotuo Mishi's loyal followers were eliminated, and his subordinates were demoted to slaves and given to those who had made contributions.

The fact that Vytautas had stabbed Tokhtamysh in the back gradually became known to everyone.

It turned out that it was Shahru who persuaded him.

The injury of Khugurut was also fake, just to create an opportunity for Vytautas to return to the front line.

The terms of the alliance between Timur and Vytautas also became known to everyone.

Cede the southern steppes of the Golden Horde.

This move naturally made many nobles of the Golden Horde dissatisfied, but the situation was stronger than people.

They did not dare to disobey Timur's wishes and could only accept it.

Having just pacified the Golden Horde, Timur ordered the recruitment of 150,000 troops to accompany him in his expedition against the Qin State.

"Qin is the nail that the Ming Dynasty has driven into Anxi. We must remove it first."

"Otherwise, he will harass us from behind while we are supporting Chagatai."

"As for the Chagatai Khanate... the Ming Dynasty needs time to digest Turpan and other places, and is unable to start another war this year."

"We should take advantage of this time to defeat Qin first, and then turn back to fight Zhu Gang."
-
Qin State.

Looking at the information about this battle in his hand, Zhu Chong couldn't help but sigh:

"You underestimated Timur."

Li Fang's face became more serious, and he asked, "What is Timur's next move?"

Liu Yunniang replied: "Yes, he is recruiting troops from the Golden Horde, and the next step is to use military force against us."

Zhu Chong had anticipated this a long time ago, so no one found it strange.

But the mood still became heavier.

Zhu Chong put down the intelligence and asked, "The Golden Horde has been in chaos for so many years. It shouldn't be easy for Timur to forcibly recruit young and strong food and fodder, right?"

Liu Yunniang said: "Your Majesty is wise. The people of the Golden Horde are full of complaints, but they dare not disobey Timur's wishes."

Zhu Chong nodded and said, "So, what we really have to face are only Timur's 200,000 troops and Vytautas' 40,000 troops."

"We have 40,000 infantry and cavalry, and we recently recruited 20,000 young and strong men."

"As the saying goes, one Han is equal to five barbarians. Six to twenty-four. The advantage is on our side."

Li Fang: "..."

Are you too confident?
"Timur's army has won a great victory and their morale is high. I'm afraid they will be difficult to deal with."

Liu Yunniang was very supportive and said seriously:
"It is true that their morale is high, but the soldiers are exhausted after so many battles."

"Now they have to travel thousands of miles to conquer us. Their morale, no matter how high it was, has been worn down by the journey."

"We are well-rested and have a great advantage."

Xu Yingxu also agreed: "We have no way to retreat. The soldiers are determined to fight to the death."

"As one gains, the other loses, so it's not impossible to defeat five with one."

Li Fang shook his head and said, "Of course I hope that the soldiers can fight five to one, but this battle is of great importance and we must not take it lightly."

Zhu Chong nodded and said, "What Li Xiangguo reminded me is that even a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit, not to mention that we are using the weak to defeat the strong."

Xu Yingxu also nodded. He naturally knew that it was okay to have confidence, but one should not be blind.

No matter what, Timur had an army of 400,000 strong.

The Qin State had no tolerance for error, and if it was defeated it would mean the destruction of the country.

Seeing them like this, Li Fang felt relieved a little.

It's not that he has to play the devil's advocate, but sometimes someone has to play the devil's advocate, and now he is playing that role.

And he was only singing a different tune in private. When he stepped out and faced the public, he was still full of confidence.

He is just a mere Timur, he can be destroyed in a snap.

Zhu Chong asked again: "What are the reactions of the Persians and Arabs?"

Liu Yunniang replied: "After the Arab tribes received the news, they immediately formed a coalition to cooperate with us in the battle."

"There are divisions among the Persians again. It is still the remnants of the Safavid sect that are causing trouble."

“Azasa is taking this opportunity to purge the opposition.”

Li Fang said dissatisfiedly: "Last time, I let him take the opportunity to kill all those people, but he was indecisive and disagreed. Now he is suffering from the chaos again."

Liu Yunniang understood the situation better and explained for Azasa:

"Persia has been divided for hundreds of years and there are many internal factions. Azasa cannot do whatever he wants."

"As for the centralization of power, we can only do it slowly."

"After these major incidents, he also successfully suppressed the biggest opposition factions."

"I believe that after this, he will become a true Persian monarch."

"Given his goodwill towards the Ming Dynasty, there is no need to worry about Persia's rebellion."

Li Fang snorted coldly and said, "I hope so."

Liu Yunniang just smiled and said nothing more.

Zhu Chong pretended not to see anything and said:

"Yunniang, you continue to collect intelligence, not just about Timur, but also about all the surrounding forces."

"By the way, I asked you to keep an eye on Hugrut before. Have you established contact with him?"

(End of this chapter)