The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 251: Defeat of the Franco-Austrian coalition, the beginning of the Mongolian civil strife

Looking far into the distance, on the boundless grassland, there were tents one after another, thousands of war horses galloping and neighing, thousands of long spears shining in the sun, and the momentum was overwhelming. Among these thousands of gray tents, there stood a yellow silk tent, the top of the tent was made of gold, and a nine-flag banner was hung high in front of the tent.

This is Genghis Khan's Golden Tent.

Guo Jing stood on the sand hill on his horse, looking at the envoys from various countries rushing in from afar. Perhaps it was the same scene when all nations came to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty in the past. A flame gradually rose in his heart.

Since the Great Zhou unified the world, his biggest goal has been to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and Hetao and leave a stable country for future generations. But today, he saw the shadow of the Han people in these people of the Western Regions.

The Central Plains court had been losing for too long. Since the establishment of the Song Dynasty, it had gradually lost its confidence in facing foreign races and no longer had the pride of the Han people. As a monarch, what he had to do was to restore the confidence of the Han people, restore the confidence that all nations had in the Tang Dynasty, and let the Han people stand tall on this land again.

In later generations, Zhu Yuanzhang expelled the Tartars and restored the Central Plains. It reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di, and the tribute system was completed. There was a hint of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The Great Zhou was established on the ruins of the Jin Dynasty, but it would not be able to raise its head again in a short period of time.

There is still a long way to go in reshaping the national spirit.

The strength of Mongolia does not lie only in its military power, but in the identity among them. Their high morale and pioneering spirit are rarely seen in the Central Plains. The language, writing and clothing of the people here are different from those in the Central Plains, but they can only crawl under the Mongolian cavalry.

With the complete destruction of Khwarezm with the Second Western Expedition, the Golden Horde dominated the desert and ruled the continent.

Suddenly, an order came from the golden tent, and fast horses came one after another, carrying the order to the prince and generals thousands of miles away. Then, after a moment's delay, ten trumpeters rushed out of the golden tent, standing in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest, and started to blow the trumpet.

Guo Jing knew that this was the most urgent order from Genghis Khan to summon all the generals. Even if he was the prince's favorite general, if he did not come even if the Khan bent ten fingers, he would be beheaded immediately and would not be pardoned.

Since following the Mongol expedition to the west, what impressed him most was the Mongolian cavalry's strong execution ability and strict discipline, which even the Han cavalry under his command could not do.

He drove his horse down the hillside and galloped towards the golden tent. All he could hear was the sound of horses' hooves coming from all directions.

When Guo Jing ran into the tent, Genghis Khan was sitting on the throne with a silent expression. Just when he bent his third finger, many generals came into the golden tent. When he bent his eighth finger, all the princes and generals were present.

"Khwarazm was destroyed, and the Mulayi Kingdom refused to submit to us, refused to pay tribute, and even drove our envoys back. What do you think?"

Genghis Khan's eldest son, Jochi, immediately said, "Father Khan, I am willing to lead an army to destroy them and bring back their king's head for you."

"Father Khan, I am also willing to lead the troops."

As Subuchi spoke, Chagatai and others also spoke one after another. Guo Jing stood aside without saying a word. The location of the Murai Kingdom was too far away and close to the sea. It would take at least a year to go back and forth.

Genghis Khan's eyes were long and he said in a deep voice, "Don't argue anymore. This time, we will go together. If we want to fight, we will fight farther away. I don't know if there are other countries at the end of the ocean. I want to go to the end of this continent."

Subuchi and others were a little surprised, but they had no choice but to obey and did not dare to disobey his orders.

After leaving the Golden Tent, Guo Jing was stopped by Tolui, "Guo Jing, your horses are no good and cannot keep up with our expedition team. We don't have such a large logistics base."

Guo Jing frowned. Most of their horses were bought from horse farms in Western Xia. They were all blue horses with strong bones and tall stature, suitable for charging, but their endurance was far inferior to that of Mongolian horses.

It's been tens of thousands of miles from Karakorum to here, and they suffered heavy losses in their war horses. If they followed them on the westward expedition, I'm afraid not many horses would be able to return.

"Do you have a solution?"

Tuo Lei nodded and said, "Guo Jing, let your men exchange horses. Leave all your war horses behind and send them back to the grassland. We can exchange them for you now that we are close to the Khanate. If we go further, there will be nothing but desert everywhere and we won't be able to exchange them even if we want to."

Guo Jing thought about their journey, not only did the soldiers suffer from acclimatization, but the number of war horses also decreased in large numbers. In contrast, the Mongolian horses adapted very well. These horses had great endurance and were not picky about the environment and food. Whether in the high and cold desert or on the plains, Mongolian horses could find food at any time and were very suitable for survival in the wild.

On the other hand, their horses were tall and strong, suitable for charging into battle, but they were also very expensive and far less easy to raise than Mongolian horses. Thinking of this, he nodded, "Okay, let's change!"

Tuolei nodded and said, "I will have people take these horses back to the Khanate and return them to you. There are many horses raised in the pastures of my Khanate."

"Thanks."

That day, Tolui went to the Golden Horde and asked to stay for a while to change horses. Genghis Khan also knew the situation of Guo Jing's troops and agreed. The two waited here for more than a month, and finally all the 20,000 troops were equipped with Mongolian war horses.

After that, Tolui and his men traveled day and night, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating almost all the time on horseback, and it took them a month to catch up with the Western Expedition Army. After changing horses and abandoning a large amount of baggage, they marched much faster than before.

Guo Jing then realized how the Mongols were able to carry out long-distance raids. If it were their war horses, they would have died suddenly. However, the Mongolian horses merely lost weight.

On the grassland, beacon fires filled the sky, arrows flew like locusts, long swords flashed, and iron hooves galloped in the smoke and dust. Suddenly, a group of cavalry came to greet them from the dust. Tolui and Guo Jing entered the Golden Tent to meet the Khan, but they saw that all the kings and generals had gathered in the tent and lined up on both sides. Genghis Khan was very happy to see them coming.

Subuchi and Chagatai reported the military situation and in another month, they would reach the ocean and launch an attack.

Genghis Khan ordered the tribes to rest for a few days before continuing their journey. A month later, they arrived at the Murai Kingdom on the Caspian Sea.

The Mongolian cavalry defeated the enemy's army effortlessly. Under the powerful force of the catapults, their fortress was quickly breached, their wealth and food were looted, and the king of the Mulayi Kingdom was beheaded by Jochi.

Faced with such a powerful army, they had no choice but to surrender to Genghis Khan.

Two years later, the news reached Europe, and all major countries were extremely shocked. They did not expect that the enemies in the East had even reached the Caspian Sea.

During these two years, the Principality of Kievan Rus also confronted the Mongols. The coalition forces of the Rus and other ethnic groups confronted the Mongols on the banks of the Kalka River. The coalition forces were defeated and hundreds of Kiev princes were killed. After that, the Russians also surrendered to the Mongol cavalry.

Later, during the war, Genghis Khan obtained a map of Europe. Seeing such a vast land in the distance, he was filled with fighting spirit and led the Mongolian cavalry to fight against Hungary.

The two sides fought a decisive battle at the Sayo River in Hungary, with 80,000 Mongolian cavalrymen fighting against more than 100,000 Hungarian coalition forces. During the war, Genghis Khan, the commander of the Mongolian army, first took the strategy of luring the enemy deep into the territory, and Guo Jing led 20,000 Han cavalrymen to form rafts and sneak across the lower reaches of the Sayo River, bypassing the Hungarian army and launching a surprise attack from the rear.

In this battle, the Mongolian cavalry directly wiped out more than 70,000 Hungarian troops, with less than 10,000 survivors. King Bela IV of Hungary escaped alone under the desperate protection of his guards. After the war, the Mongolian cavalry controlled the entire Eastern Europe. King Louis IX of France and Austria were anxiously waiting on the west bank of the Danube. At this time, Genghis Khan led his army to confront Louis IX, but Guo Jing led more than 10,000 Han cavalry on a long-distance raid, crossing the Danube to attack the heartland of France.

The war spread in France and Austria. Guo Jing moved back and forth in this war, and even transformed his cavalry into infantry, rushing thousands of miles to attack Paris. After several years of fighting, the cavalry under Guo Jing's command had completed its transformation and was no longer the Han cavalry of the past.

The Zhou army, which combined infantry and cavalry, was far more powerful than any other European army, and no one could match them wherever they went.

The morale of the Franco-Austrian coalition forces on the Danube River was shaken, and the French army even deserted at one point, so they were forced to launch a decisive battle.

In this battle, Genghis Khan and Muhuali personally led their armies to fight against the Franco-Austrian coalition. The high mobility of the Mongolian cavalry made it difficult for the European heavy cavalry to survive, and they were ultimately defeated.

However, at this time, the Mongols withdrew their troops, and Guo Jing, who was launching a massive attack inside France and Austria, also received an order to withdraw his troops by a detour. After the Mongols left, there was wailing all over Europe, and only Britain, which was far away on an island, escaped.

Guo Jing and his Han cavalry were even given the name of Satan's Ghost Riders.

……

On the banks of the Danube, the Mongols cut off the heads of the Franco-Austrian coalition soldiers and cast them into Jingguan.

Genghis Khan offered sacrifices to heaven and earth, then withdrew his army.

After the withdrawal, Genghis Khan fell ill because he was seriously injured on the battlefield. Mu Huali, who went on the expedition with him, was hit by a stray arrow and died unfortunately. The Mongolian army had reached its limit after a series of battles.

In the royal tent, Genghis Khan lay on the bed and said to the kings and generals: "Stones have no skin, and human life is finite. Jebe is dead, Muqali is also dead, and it will be my turn soon. I want to appoint a successor to hold high my great banner after my death."

The Mongolian generals had followed Genghis Khan in his campaigns and by this time they had been through hundreds of battles and were all gray-haired. When they heard that the Khan suddenly wanted to establish a queen, they could not help but be surprised and happy. They all looked at his face, waiting for him to name the successor.

Genghis Khan leaned on the bed, his face was gray, his hair and beard were all white, but his eyes were still powerful and intimidating. He stared at Jochi and said, "Jochi, you are my eldest son, who do you think I should make the heir?"

Jochi's heart skipped a beat. He was smart and capable, had made the most contributions, and was the eldest son. He had always thought that he would naturally succeed his father after his death. At this time, the Khan suddenly asked him, but he didn't know how to answer. Chagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan, was fiery and had always been at odds with his elder brother. When he heard his father asking him, he shouted, "Why do we want Jochi to speak? Can we let this Merkit bastard rule?"

It turned out that when Genghis Khan first rose to power, his army was weak and his wife was abducted by their enemy, the Merkits. When she was recaptured several years later, she had already given birth to Jochi. However, Genghis Khan did not take this as a dislike and always treated Jochi as his own son.

When Jochi heard his brother's insults, he got angry. He rushed forward, grabbed Chagatai's clothes, and shouted: "Father does not treat me as an outsider, but you insult me ​​like this! How can you be better than me? Let's go out and compete. If I lose to you in archery, I will cut off my thumb. If I lose to you in martial arts, I will return to the embrace of Changshengtian!"

After saying this, he turned to Genghis Khan and said, "Father Khan, please issue an order!"

The two brothers grabbed each other's collars and were about to fight. The generals came forward to persuade them. Borshu held Jochi's hand, and Tolui held Chagatai's hand. Genghis Khan remembered that when he was young, he was often embarrassed by his enemies and even his wife could not be saved, which led to the dispute today. He could not help but remain silent.

Soon, the two were separated, but Jochi still stared at Chagatai with fire in his eyes.

Genghis Khan coughed twice and said in a hoarse voice, "All of you let go. Jochi is my eldest son. I have always loved him and cherished him. No one is allowed to say anything again."

When Chagatai heard this, he knew he couldn't provoke him any further, so he said, "Jochi is very capable, everyone knows that. But he is not as kind as my third brother Ogedei. I recommend Ogedei."

When Ogedei, who was standing at the corner of the bed, heard this, his expression remained normal. He just listened quietly without being humble. Humility was not the style of the people of the grassland.

"What do you say, Jochi?"

Jochi looked at Ogedei and saw Genghis Khan's stern expression. He knew that he had no hope of becoming Khan. He had always been on good terms with his third brother and knew that Genghis Khan was a kind person. He would not be purged in the future. So he said, "Very good. I also recommend Ogedei."

Tolui had known his own shortcomings for a long time and also recommended Ogedei.

At this time, Ogedei said, "Father Khan, I am too weak to lead Mongolia. Only you are the Great Khan of Mongolia and can lead us to defeat the distant enemies."

Genghis Khan looked at him expressionlessly and said, "You don't have to give in. You are not as good as your elder and second brothers in fighting, but you are kind to others. When you become the Khan in the future, the kings and generals will not fight and kill each other. As long as we Mongols do not fight among ourselves, we will be invincible in the world. What else do we have to worry about?"

Witnessed by many generals and leaders, Ogedei was confirmed as the next Great Khan of Mongolia.

After the meeting, Guo Jing noticed that Subuchi and Chagatai were hostile to each other, and he was very dissatisfied.

On that day, Genghis Khan held a banquet for all the generals to celebrate the appointment of the new crown prince. The generals and soldiers drank until late at night. When Guo Jing returned to the camp, he was already a little drunk. Just as he was about to undress and go to bed, a personal soldier beside Genghis Khan suddenly rushed into the tent and said, "My Lord, it's bad. The eldest and second princes are drunk and have led their soldiers to fight."

Guo Jing was a little surprised, but not surprised. He just felt something was a little strange and said calmly, "Let them report to the Khan."

The guard replied, "The Khan is drunk and cannot be awakened."

"Where is Tolui? Let him come out."

"The fourth prince is also drunk and can't be called."

Guo Jing felt even more strange, "Where are Borshu and the others? Are they drunk too?"

The guard looked anxious, "My Lord, the Fourth Prince and General Borshu got drunk together. We ran everywhere but couldn't find them."

"Let's not rush the internal fight. We are all drunk tonight. The Khan is critically ill. The most urgent task now is to quickly protect the Khan. Jochi and his men will not go too far."

"Gather the troops as soon as possible to protect the Khan. Call Tolui, Ogedei and the others over. It must be quick!"

(End of this chapter)