Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 24 Send troops to launch a surprise attack on Naiman!
If Taiyang Khan was a very smart man, then the envoy he sent to the Wanggu tribe, Toerbitashi, was a complete unlucky guy.

Toerbitashi rode at full speed for half a month before reaching the Wanggu tribe. However, as soon as he explained his purpose, the Wanggu Khan Alawusi ordered his men to abduct him and send him to Temujin as a gift.

There's no need to keep it secret this time.

From the Jin Dynasty's perspective, as long as fighting continued within the grasslands, it was in the Jin Dynasty's interests. The Jin Dynasty did not care which side the Wanggu tribe stood on.

Therefore, Temujin directly summoned all the generals to the royal court to discuss matters.

As soon as Toerbitashi finished telling Taiyang Khan all his plans, a fierce quarrel broke out in the royal court.

"There's nothing much to say. The Naimans want to fight us, and we want to fight them too! Big brother, give the order! Gather the entire army and march out to attack the Naimans!"

The person who said this was Temujin's younger brother, Temuge. Having guarded the royal court for a long time, he was full of passion and wanted to make great achievements on the battlefield.

However, a Mongolian nobleman named Masile immediately objected, saying, "No! Spring arrives earlier on the western steppes than on our eastern steppes. Our war horses are still weak after a winter of wear and tear, while the Naiman's horses have already regained their strength. Sending troops to the Naiman now would be using our weakness to attack their strength. This is not a wise move."

Someone immediately chimed in, "Yes, if we mobilize the people to fight now, who knows how many animals will die of exhaustion. It's better for us to hold our troops in place and wait for the Naimans to attack. By the time they arrive, our horses will have been mostly depleted."

Temuge was furious: "What are you talking about? How come our horses are so thin? The war horses under my command are all fat and strong!"

Ma Sile refused to give in. "Temuge, aren't you lying? Livestock are weakest in early spring and fattest in autumn. This is a well-known fact on the grasslands! We should wait for the Naimans to attack. What's wrong with that? Do we have to act recklessly?"

"I..." Temuge was speechless for a moment.

However, his third brother Beilegutai stood up.

Beilegutai said, "This isn't recklessness, but the dignity of being a grassland warrior. The Naimans claiming to have taken our bows and arrows is a provocation to our dignity! As grassland warriors, let alone in life, even in death, our bones must be buried with our quivers and bows and arrows! Can we tolerate such provocation from the Naimans?"

Ma Sile argued, "It's not a question of whether we can bear it or not, it's a question of whether it's worth it! Besides, the idea of ​​seizing our bows and arrows was something the Naiman envoy said to the Wanggu people, and it doesn't count as a direct provocation to us."

Bie Le Gutai pointed at Ma Sile's nose and said, "Stop making excuses. I think you are afraid of the Naimans. You are a coward!"

Soon, the voice of another Mongol nobleman named Dolibuhe rang out, saying, "When we discuss matters before the Great Khan, we must stick to the facts. Is it not appropriate for you, Beilegutai, to question Masile's courage?"

……

Soon, two factions split within the tent. One advocated sending troops immediately to attack the Naiman and let them know what kind of enemy they had provoked. The other advocated waiting for the Naiman to attack, then taking advantage of the situation and counterattacking.

Temujin's eyes seemed half closed, as if he was listening attentively to the quarrel of the Mongolian nobles, but also as if he was turning a deaf ear to them and his mind was wandering.

In fact, Temujin had already made up his mind.

Fight! Why not fight?
Since becoming the lord of the eastern grassland, his ambition has expanded rapidly, and he can't wait to defeat the Naiman people and unify the grassland!
Moreover, he had already discussed this with the six Cheerbi led by Hu Nan. Although Mongolia was currently at a disadvantage, the Naiman warriors were not strong, so Mongolia's chances of winning were still quite high!
However, Temujin was a man of great talent and strategy, and was unwilling to waste his prestige to suppress different opinions.

It is better to reach a consensus.

"Father Khan, I think we should send troops immediately to attack the Naiman!"

Suddenly, Zhao Shuo's voice reached his ears. Temujin suddenly opened his eyes and said with interest, "Why? Ah Shuo, tell me in detail."

"Because the Naimans would never have thought that we would send troops at this time!"

Temujin had never thought about Zhao Shuo's perspective on the issue.

However, he was a natural born military strategist and politician, and understood it instantly. He said, "In war, the most important thing is to attack the enemy by surprise. Initially, it was Wang Han who caught them by surprise and shattered us. Later, we caught them by surprise again, defeated the strong with our weak advantage, and killed Wang Han. Now, the Naimans despise us Mongols, and it's spring, the time when we are least willing to send troops. Our army is taking the initiative to attack the Naimans now, which is completely beyond their expectations and will surely lead to victory!"

"Yes, send troops! Send troops immediately!"

"We took away the Naimans' bows and arrows and destroyed their hearths!"

"Let Taiyang Khan become the next Wang Han!"

"The grassland is unified! I, the Great Khan of Mongolia, am the only Great Khan on the grassland!"

……

Everyone is path dependent.

The successful example of the surprise attack on Wang Han caused the Mongolian nobles who had originally opposed sending troops immediately to quickly change their positions and call for war.

Soon, the eastern steppes mobilized.

Of course, mobilizing the entire nation was out of the question. The Jin needed to be guarded against, the Wanggu tribe wasn't 100% trustworthy, and there were still "forest dwellers" on the edge of the grasslands who hadn't yet surrendered, all of whom needed to be defended. Furthermore, if the mobilization was too drastic, livestock losses would indeed be a major problem.

Therefore, Temujin sent out 20,000 troops and swore an oath to go to war on April 16th.

The Mongolian army went up the Kerulen River and arrived at the Saari grassland ten days later.

When Taiyang Khan heard the news, he panicked and quickly set up camp at the foot of Kangherhan Mountain and ordered the Naimans to assemble a large army.

Just after gathering less than 30,000 people, the vanguards of both sides met.

Small-scale battles continued to occur among the vanguard cavalry, and soon a skinny white horse was led in front of Taiyang Khan.

Upon seeing this, Taiyang Khan's panic-stricken mood suddenly calmed down. He said, "Propagate this Khan's message to the entire army: The Mongolian war horses are so weak, how can they be a match for the Naimans? This Khan will definitely win this battle!"

However, the peace only lasted less than half a day.

Incompetent people are like this, their emotions are extremely unstable and they are easily influenced by the outside world. At the slightest sign of trouble, their mood changes rapidly and their face changes color like turning the pages of a book.

That night, Taiyang Khan stood on Mount Kangherhan and looked down. He was so frightened that his legs went weak. He said, "Didn't they say the Mongols have fewer soldiers than us? How come the fires they lit are more numerous than the stars in the sky?"

(End of this chapter)