Chapter 73 Changes in the Grassland
Chapter 73 Changes in the Grassland
After hearing what Burigude said, it was impossible for Zhu Shenzhui to refuse.
When he heard the good news, he thanked Burigude for the arrangement and agreed readily.
Seeing that Zhu Shenzui agreed, Burigude was very happy and the atmosphere suddenly became harmonious.
Burigude's people temporarily settled down in the Erisi tribe. As the host, Erisi asked his tribesmen to slaughter cattle and sheep to entertain Burigude and his party.
Although Burigud was here to gather troops, his arrival also meant that the young and strong men in the tribe, including his sons and grandsons, would soon leave him and head for the battlefield where their lives and deaths were unknown. But the Khan's gathering of troops was something Ershi could not refuse, and Burigud was only an executor, while the real decision maker was Ligdan Khan.
Entertaining Burigude and his party was also something that Erris had to do. Even though he was filled with worry about his relatives going to the battlefield, he still forced himself to do these things on the surface.
Firstly, according to Mongolian customs, the people of the tribe were recruited by Burigude, and there is a great possibility that these people will be under Burigude's command in the future. In this case, treating Burigude well is also treating one's own people well. It is hoped that they will be taken care of on the battlefield in the future for this reason.
Secondly, this was probably the last sumptuous dinner for the tribesmen who were about to go to war. When the sun rose again tomorrow, they would leave the tribe and embark on an unknown journey. War meant death, and no matter who they were fighting against, the lower the status of the Mongols, the higher the chance of death.
Ersi was a veteran who had fought in wars, so he certainly understood this truth. Therefore, entertaining Burigude was also a chance for his people to reunite with their families for the last time, so that they could have a good meal, say goodbye to their families, and then embark on their journey without any worries.
As the sky gradually darkened, a bonfire was lit in the camp, and delicious roasted whole lambs and large pieces of boiled meat were brought up one by one. Everyone sat around, cut the meat with their knives, and ate and drank it happily with salt and kumis.
Zhu Shenzhui and his men were treated the same way, but compared to the others, Zhu Shenzhui's treatment was much higher. He went to the other side with Ersi and Burigude. Ma Shizhou and other guys went to the other side. Such an arrangement was considered a high level of courtesy on the Mongolian side, and Zhu Shenzhui was a little terrified by this.
Perhaps because of the flattery he had received before, Burigude had a very good impression of Zhu Shenzhui. Although Ershi seemed a little sad because his son and grandson were about to leave, he still managed to cheer himself up and warmly entertained the two guests.
While eating and drinking, Zhu Shenzui couldn't help but ask indirectly the reason why the Khan was gathering troops this time. After all, the war between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia had never stopped. Although the two sides had been much more peaceful in the past two years, who could guarantee that this time Lindan Khan was not gathering troops to target the Ming Dynasty?
"Hahaha, don't worry. This time the Khan's gathering of troops has nothing to do with your Ming Dynasty." Burigude laughed. He understood the concern in Zhu Shencui's question. After all, Zhu Shencui was a Ming Dynasty person.
He cut off a piece of meat with a knife, dipped it in salt and threw it into his mouth. He chewed it a few times and swallowed it with mare's milk. Wiping his mouth, Burigude smiled and said, "The east has been in turmoil in recent years. After the wild boar skin from Jianzhou fought a war with your Ming Dynasty, it is now jumping around and is very active. The Khan is very dissatisfied with this old guy..."
"So, the Khan is gathering troops to attack Jianzhou this time?" Zhu Shenzhui was slightly stunned, but at the same time he felt a little happy. Last year, the Ming Dynasty was defeated in Sarhu, and now the situation in Liaodong has finally stabilized after Xiong Tingbi took office.
Xiong Tingbi was an able minister and a great man. After arriving in Liaodong, he stabilized his position with the support of the emperor. Relying on the Ming Dynasty's far stronger national strength than the Later Jin Dynasty and appropriate response measures, he gradually reversed the bad situation after the defeat.
Xiong Tingbi's steady and cautious advance in Liaodong left Nurhaci with nowhere to start and he was helpless. After several small-scale clashes, the Ming army actually gained a slight advantage.
Now, the situation in Liaodong is much better than before. Although the huge losses after the Battle of Sarhu are still there and the strength of the Ming army in Liaodong is not as good as before, even so, Xiong Tingbi still completed the initial tasks assigned to him by the emperor, making the overall situation gradually improve, while secretly accumulating strength to prepare for the future counterattack.
Under such circumstances, it would be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty if Lin Danhan sent troops to Liaodong.
In recent years, the relationship between Mongolia and Ming Dynasty has been quite relaxed, and the two sides have even resumed the horse market trade that had been interrupted for a long time. The reason for this is the sudden rise of the Later Jin Dynasty. After the rise of Nurhaci's Later Jin Dynasty, it began to unify the Jurchen tribes. Its power developed very rapidly, posing a threat to Ming Dynasty and Mongolia.
Especially in the Battle of Sarhu, the Later Jin defeated the Ming army, which caused a huge shock. It is no exaggeration to say that the whole world was shocked by this battle. Since Lin Danhan ascended the throne, he has always taken Genghis Khan as an example, intending to restore the heyday of the old Mongolian Empire.
In recent years, Lin Dan Khan has been working to unify the various Mongolian tribes, strengthen himself, and regain the glory of his ancestors. The rise of the Later Jin made Lin Dan Khan very uncomfortable, and since he ascended the throne, in the several wars between the Mongols and the Later Jin, Lin Dan Khan did not gain any advantage, and even suffered considerable losses.
Just last year, Lin Dan Khan sent a letter to Nurhaci, in which he called himself "the Lord of 400,000 Mongols" and called Nurhaci "the Lord of 30,000 people on the waterfront." His arrogance and contempt for the Later Jin were obvious.
After Nurhaci won the Battle of Sarhu, the strength of the Later Jin suddenly increased a lot. Under such circumstances, it was normal for Lin Danhan to regard the Later Jin as a threat and form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty to launch an attack on the Later Jin. So when Zhu Shenzhu heard Burigude mention Jianzhou, his spirits suddenly lifted. If Lin Danhan and the Ming Dynasty joined forces to fight the Later Jin in Liaodong at this time, with Xiong Tingbi's vision and talent, even if he could not completely reverse the disadvantage after the Battle of Sarhu, he could at least take this opportunity to inflict heavy damage on the Later Jin.
"Attack Jianzhou? No, no, no, the Khan doesn't want to attack Jianzhou, he wants to attack that old man Chaohua."
"Chaohua?" Zhu Shenzhui was stunned. Just now they were talking about Lindan Khan being dissatisfied with Nurhaci, but how come they were suddenly attacking Chaohua instead of Later Jin?
Zhu Shenzhu knew Chaohua. Before going to the grassland, he had carefully inquired about the grassland. Although the information was not complete, he still knew the general situation of the forces on the grassland. In addition to what Ma Shizhou told him, Zhu Shenzhu also knew about the major forces on the grassland, including Chaohua.
Chaohua was the leader of Inner Khalkha. Khalkha was divided into two parts. One part was Outer Khalkha, located to the north of Ligdan Khan's Chahar headquarters, and the other was to its east, at the intersection of the Later Jin sphere of influence of Chahar, Khorchin and Liaodong, to the north of the Ming Dynasty.
The Inner Khalkha tribe was not strong before, and only gradually grew stronger from the beginning of the Wanli period. Its initial leader was Subahai, who was later killed by Li Chengliang for invading Liaodong. After Subahai's death, Chaohua took over his brother's power and became the leader of the Inner Khalkha tribe.
Like Ligdan Khan, Chaohua was a member of the Borjigin clan and a descendant of the Golden Family.
However, after Chaohua became the leader of Inner Khalkha, his relationship with Ligdan Khan was not good, and the two sides had frictions from time to time. In recent years, as the Later Jin Dynasty grew stronger, the Inner Khalkha tribe, which was adjacent to the Later Jin Dynasty, fought with the Later Jin Dynasty many times, but won less and lost more. Because of this, in order to preserve his power, Chaohua chose the same way as Ligdan Khan and began to befriend the Ming Dynasty. The relationship between the two sides gradually eased, and he borrowed the power of the Ming Dynasty to fight against the Later Jin Dynasty.
But last year, Nurhaci defeated the Ming army in Sarhu. As a result of this battle, the strength of the Later Jin Dynasty increased greatly. Nurhaci, who had suddenly become stronger, took advantage of the fact that the Ming army's strength was severely damaged in Liaodong and attacked everywhere, seizing a lot of territory.
Not long after, Nurhaci personally led his troops to attack the Inner Khalkha tribe. As an old slave who had read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms carefully and was well-educated, he understood the principle that one should not allow others to snore beside his bed.
Without the support of the Ming Dynasty, the Inner Khalkha tribe was no match for him. Nurhaci suddenly launched an attack, won a great victory in one battle, and directly chopped off the head of Zaisai, his nephew of Chaohua.
Zaisai was not only Chaohua's great-nephew, but also one of the five chieftains of the Inner Khalkha tribe. The entire Inner Khalkha tribe was divided into five tribes, also known as the Inner Khalkha Five Camps.
These five camps were the core military force of the Inner Khalkha tribe, and also the basis for Chaohua to become the leader of the tribe. Zaisai, as one of the five lords, held the important and excellent Mongolian cavalry of the Inner Khalkha tribe, but who would have thought that he would not only be defeated by Nurhaci's Later Jin army in one battle, but also Zaisai himself became a ghost under the sword.
The Zasai tribe was badly defeated and the Inner Khalkha army suffered heavy losses. Nurhaci continued his advance taking advantage of the victory. After several battles, the enemy was unable to resist and cried out in pain.
Chaohua hurriedly asked Ligdan Khan for help, hoping that Ligdan Khan would lend a hand to his brother because they were both members of the Golden Family. However, Ligdan Khan ignored the request for help and continued to play music and dance in the golden tent, with no intention of sending troops at all.
After waiting for more than a month, there was no sign of reinforcements from Lindan Khan. The Later Jin became more and more aggressive. Seeing that he would lose all his capital if he continued to fight, Chaohua, who was desperate, gritted his teeth and directly asked to surrender to the Later Jin.
Although they had gained an absolute advantage on the battlefield, the Inner Khalkha's territory was not small, and this was a Mongolian area. Although the Later Jin was powerful, the Jurchens had a small population and it was impossible for them to swallow up such a large territory directly.
Taking these factors into consideration, Nurhaci did not intend to destroy Inner Khalkha in one battle. His purpose in launching this war was to gain some advantage from Inner Khalkha, and by the way, to use war to promote peace when Inner Khalkha lost the support of the Ming army after the Battle of Sarhu, and to completely deal with this restless old neighbor.
Seeing Chaohua was defeated and surrendered, Nurhaci was overjoyed and generously agreed. However, he also made a request, that the Inner Khalkha tribe must form an alliance with the Later Jin in the future, and the two sides should join forces to deal with the Ming Dynasty.
The situation was far stronger than the person. In the past, Chaohua could still fight against the Later Jin with the support of the Ming Dynasty, but now the Ming Dynasty was defeated in Liaodong, and this big brother was no longer reliable. Even the Chahar headquarters of his own people did not rescue him. The dog Lin Danhan gloated over his misfortune and watched him fight to the death with Nurhaci. If this continued, the Inner Khalkha tribe would be completely finished.
Chaohua agreed to Nurhaci's request without hesitation, and sent his grandson as a hostage to the Later Jin. In this way, the war between Inner Khalkha and Later Jin was settled. Nurhaci conquered the Inner Khalkha tribe with military force and won an important ally.
(End of this chapter)