Chapter 678: Going South to Herd Horses
Altan Khan has always attached great importance to gathering news about the Ming Dynasty, especially after he learned that the Ming Dynasty had begun to purge and rebuild the Beijing Guards.
"If the Ming people discover our march southwards in advance, it will inevitably add a lot of variables. Most of the Ming caravans carry spies, and the Khan knows this. Therefore, isolating those caravans from the royal court is also a helpless move."
Altan was outside the king's tent, accompanied by his adopted son Tuotuo and nephew Jineng.
Tuotuo was in charge of the secret agents and said, "After Jiang Qingzhi expelled our merchants, the secret agents who stayed in the capital sent us the last message that the Emperor Ming had left the Western Garden."
"The Emperor Ming entered the capital as a vassal king. To be honest, if it were someone else, he would probably become a plaything or puppet of the palace or foreign officials."
Such examples are not uncommon on the grassland, such as the nominal Khan at that time.
"The Emperor Ming succeeded in his counterattack, but he also paid a price... He turned against his ministers and the literati." Altan narrowed his eyes, "In the grasslands, the nobles were the masters, but in the Ming Dynasty, it was a consensus to share the world with the literati. The Emperor Ming turned against the literati, and the country's power gradually declined. This is our chance."
Jineng said: "Great Khan, the Ming Dynasty is currently facing many internal conflicts and is unable to form a joint force. This is the best time to go south."
Altan nodded, "Zeng Xin coveted Hetao in the past. He wanted to follow the plan of Wang Anshi and Wang Shao of the former Song Dynasty. Seizing Hetao would not only reduce the number of enemies on the Ming side, but also help me."
Altan walked slowly, "Xia Yan is strong, but Zeng Xin is a bit naive. With the strength of the Ming army at that time, if a war really broke out, I was 80% sure that I could make them suffer. But in the end, the Ming Emperor executed Zeng Xin and captured Xia Yan, which made me regret it!"
This was Altan Khan's comment on the situation several years later.
Tuotuo said: "The Khan is wise."
"The wise one is the Emperor Ming!" Altan praised his opponent. "After Xia Yan fell, the Emperor Ming abandoned the plan to restore the throne, cleansed the Beijing Guards, and rebuilt the Beijing Guards. This is to lay the foundation. Strengthen the army first, then take action. This is the kingly way."
"I heard that Jiang Qingzhi played a key role in this." Tuotuo thought of the young man.
"Yes!" Altan nodded, "This man became famous by defeating my Khan's subordinates several times. The Emperor Ming used him with the intention of starting a new dynasty. Those people only saw the internal contradictions among the Ming people, but did not see that the Emperor Ming was reorganizing the situation."
"The Beijing Guards have been rebuilt, and the martial arts seem to have changed a lot. Also, I heard that the Ming people have built a pond, which can increase income by more than 10% every year. Khan, more than 10%... is enough for the Emperor to reorganize the army calmly." Tuotuo said: "If the Ming army of one million can be reorganized into a powerful force..."
Altan said calmly: "The only thing the Khan can do is to take you and run away as far as possible. Run as far as possible."
"The Khan has many cavalrymen under his command. Are you afraid of them?" Jineng said.
"I asked you to study more, but you preferred to go hunting." Altan shook his head, "Don't underestimate the Ming people. When Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, he immediately conquered all directions. At that time, the Yuan Dynasty fled to the grasslands, and its strength was still good. But under the attack of the Ming army... it was vulnerable."
Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu...
One name after another flashed through Altan's mind.
"After Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Jianwen was pedantic. It was a good time for the Yuan Dynasty to recover and find an opportunity to counterattack, but Zhu Di suddenly appeared. This man was so powerful that he moved the capital to Beiping and put the capital under the hooves of the grassland cavalry. He then went out of the border five times... and broke up the Yuan Dynasty, which had just accumulated a lot of strength. Otherwise..."
Altan sighed: "Otherwise, you and I should be in Peking right now, watching those Han people farming and making weapons for the Yuan Dynasty..."
"But it's not too late now." Tuotuo said: "Although the Emperor has rebuilt the Beijing Guards, they only have tens of thousands of people in total. If we go out in full force, 200,000 cavalrymen will be no problem."
"We can't send out all of our troops. Otherwise, as soon as I send out the troops, someone will cut off our retreat. Without food and grass supplies, the army will fall into chaos without fighting."
"The previous reports from secret agents said that Jiang Qingzhi usually went to the Tiger Guards Left Guard the most." Tuotuo said, "It can be seen that although the Beijing Guards have been rebuilt, there are not many elite soldiers."
"This is why I am so anxious to go south," said Altan. "The land there is vast and the population is huge. We cannot allow the Emperor to reform it leisurely."
"Great Khan," Jinen said, "Recently, several tribes have been secretly colluding."
"Hmm?" Altan glanced at his adopted son.
"I failed in my duty." Tuotuo, who was in charge of the secret agent, knelt down and apologized.
"This won't happen again." said Altan.
"Yes." Tuotuo stood up and glanced at Jineng with gentle eyes, but a sharp light flashed in the depths of his eyes.
Jineng, who had just stabbed Tuotuo, didn't care and said, "I am willing to lead the army to suppress it."
"Of course I trust you. But as the troops are about to be dispatched, I cannot do without you by my side." Altan said with a smile, and then called a general and ordered him to lead the troops to destroy those tribes.
Jineng returned to his tent, kicked the table over, and stood in the middle with a snort, "He just won't let me out of his control! Old dog!"
Ma Tianlu first stuck his head out to take a look, then turned back and said, "You are too anxious."
Jineng lowered his voice, his red eyes were quite scary, "If I don't control the army, if he wins a great victory in the south, I will never have a chance to turn things around. Not to mention taking back the foundation left by my father!"
Jineng's father inherited the tribe, but was eventually eaten away by Altan Khan step by step and eventually became the leader.
Ma Tianlu took another look outside, then turned back and walked in. “It’s too early to talk about going south now, but you stabbed Tuotuo before. Tuotuo is cunning and has a secret spy. If he wants to retaliate... we can’t defend ourselves!”
Jineng stamped his feet and said, "Forget it, send that woman that Tuotuo liked last time!"
Ma Tianlu nodded, "Okay."
Interests are eternal and unchanging, and this statement is true everywhere.
Just when Jineng and Tuotuo were 'reconciled', a cavalry arrived at the royal court.
This cavalry looked solemn and their officers and soldiers had cold eyes. They were obviously a well-trained force that had fought in many battles.
The leading general was of stocky build, with chubby cheeks and a determined gaze.
"Hu Weishan is back."
Hearing the noise outside, Altan walked out of the king's tent, looked at the general who dismounted and walked over, and couldn't help but smile and said, "My warrior has returned."
Hu Weishan saluted and said, "Greetings, Great Khan." "Stand up!" Altan patted his shoulder.
Hu Weishan stood up and said, "This time when I led the army north, I really encountered those barbarians who were preparing to attack us. I fought with them more than ten times and killed thousands of them. In the end, those barbarians fled."
"You have lived up to my trust." Altan said with satisfaction.
When Altan sent his men north, they encountered a group of barbarians and were beaten to a pulp. Before heading south, Altan was worried that the barbarians would take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, so he sent his general Hu Weishan to investigate.
"The Khan was wise." Hu Weishan described the battle. "...the barbarians were fierce, but there were not many of them."
"If there are not many people, then it won't be a big problem." Altan was relieved.
"You're back just in time." Altan said, "Take a break and then prepare to reorganize the army."
"Is the Khan preparing to march south?" Hu Weishan asked.
Altan nodded. "Yes. This year, the gods have blessed the grassland with good weather and good harvests, and the livestock are growing well. I am ready to send troops at the end of July or the beginning of August."
"It's earlier than usual, so we can catch the Ming army off guard!" Hu Weishan said, "In this case, I am willing to be the vanguard."
"You are my trusted general and you should be by my side." Altan Khan really trusted this general. He then ordered a banquet and invited the nobles to celebrate Hu Weishan's achievement.
Zhang Hui's employer was also able to attend, but he was patrolling the periphery with his men.
There is a strict class system on the grassland, and this little noble also has his own master, who is now in the king's tent.
During the banquet, Altan praised Hu Weishan's achievements and rewarded him with slaves and cattle and sheep.
When they were half drunk, Hu Weishan volunteered to go south.
Altan pretended to be hesitant.
Everyone stood up and once again begged Altan to go south.
"That's all. In early August!" Altan drank the wine in his cup. "The army will march south to herd horses and bring the Ming people to the capital!"
Everyone raised their glasses, "The herders are from the capital."
Amid the cheers, Jinen watched it all coldly.
The nobles' faces flushed and their eyes were filled with greed, as if they could ride their horses to the Ming capital at any moment to burn, kill and loot.
Altan was smiling, very satisfied with the reaction of his subordinates.
As the Khan, he must bring benefits to these people, otherwise he will be overthrown by them sooner or later.
This is an invisible contract.
The Mongols were able to grow from a small tribe to rule over most of the world thanks to this invisible contract.
You must lead them to fight continuously and gain benefits continuously before you can sit securely on the throne of the Khan.
If we slack off, all kinds of contradictions and conflicts will arise within the group that only relies on interests to maintain its relationship, and eventually everything will be ruined.
There was once a saying in the Central Plains that the Hu people would not have good luck for a hundred years. Altan scoffed at this and said: It is not that the Hu people would not have good luck for a hundred years, but that they are driven by interests.
The foreign tribes on the grassland, who are accustomed to constantly grabbing profits, will vent their inherent brutality on the people they rule once they stop.
There's no way such a rule can last long.
Ji Neng felt a gaze on him, he looked over slowly and saw Tuotuo raising his glass and smiling at him.
This poisonous snake!
Jinneng smiled and raised his glass.
After the banquet, the nobles went back excitedly.
Zhang Hui's employer was outside, and when he saw his master coming out, he went over to greet him enthusiastically.
The two of them whispered for a while, and Zhang Hui found that his employer was shaking his fist excitedly, and he knew that the date for sending troops was most likely set.
When is it
Zhang would wait outside his employer's tent, and when his employer came back happily, he would greet him warmly and brush off the non-existent dust on his body.
"Go south!"
The employer said happily.
Zhang Hui bowed his head and said, "I am willing to follow you south and lead your horse."
The employer took a look at him and patted his shoulder for the first time. "In another month, follow me to the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Hahaha! See those beauties, see those gold, silver and jewelry..."
One month!
It's the end of June now, so it's the end of July?
Zhang Hui was overjoyed.
But another worry came to my mind.
How to pass this message on.
(End of this chapter)
