Chapter 921 Raising tigers brings trouble
Inside the king's tent, Altan was drinking.
Several women were dancing tremblingly in the front. They were the wives and daughters of the tribal leader a while ago. After the tribe rebelled, it was conquered by Altan Khan's men. All the men taller than the wheels were killed, and the women became trophies.
The emperors of the Central Plains liked to make their enemy leaders dance for fun, but the Khans on the grasslands were different. They preferred to see the heads of their opponents.
The emperors of the Central Plains showed off their majesty and martial arts by making their opponents dance, and humiliated them at the same time. The grassland kings bullied their opponents’ wives and daughters to show their supremacy.
The people in the Central Plains therefore despised these so-called Khans, saying they were crude and uncivilized.
"In Ben Khan's view, means are just means. As long as the goal can be achieved, there is no distinction between high and low."
Altan took a sip of the milk wine. Since his defeat, he had sealed up all the fine wine from the Ming Dynasty.
Tuotuo said: "Great Khan, there are complaints everywhere now..."
"It's hatred!" Altan said calmly, "I have fought countless battles in my life, how could I not know what those people are thinking? This time we went south and gained nothing, and suffered heavy casualties, just like losing money in business... Those people have no patience, so they want to change the Khan and take them south again..."
Jineng has been quite active since returning to the grassland. He said, "Great Khan, the Ming army's firearms are very powerful. Unless we can find a way to restrain them, we will march south again..."
Tuotuo secretly despised his worried look, but he agreed with this view, "Great Khan, the decisive battle on that day is still like a nightmare, hanging over everyone's head. Recently, many generals have been frightened when they mentioned this incident. They said that it was a method only gods could use."
"A lot of firearms were used during the Yuan Dynasty. Those people talk about the means of the gods, but in fact they are frightened by Jiang Qingzhi." Altan ate a piece of mutton and chewed it slowly.
After returning to the grassland, his face lost its former confident and calm smile and became increasingly gloomy.
"Keep an eye on those people. If you find anyone secretly communicating, arrest them."
"Yes." Tuotuo lowered his head, "Great Khan, people are in a panic now, and they are all worried that the Ming people will take advantage of the situation and go north."
"Yes!" Jineng said, "After the spring, if the grassland situation is still not stable, I bet that Jiang Qingzhi will lead his troops out of the border... How can we resist the Ming people's firearms? We can only go north..."
"That's a dead end!" Altan said coldly, "Back then, the Xiongnu fled north, but now they have been assimilated on the other side and have long since turned to ashes. Remember, our roots are in the grassland, in the south!"
Tuotuo knew what Altan was thinking. "Use the grassland as the foundation and the Central Plains as the pasture, and continue to gather strength. Then expand to the surrounding areas."
"That's the road that Da Yuan took back then!"
There was a gleam of light in Altan's eyes, but it soon dimmed.
He took a gulp of the milk wine and sighed, "What a waste of such a great opportunity."
Jineng was puzzled. "The great opportunity that the Khan mentioned is..."
"The firearms of the Ming people are powerful, but there are only 10,000 people, which shows that it is not easy to make firearms. At that time, this Khan was shocked, and he also had some ideas about how to deal with it. Unfortunately, he was caught off guard and had no time to respond.
If we could find a way to restrain them at that time, I would have left Jiang Qingzhi and the Ming people's guards on the grassland even if it meant sacrificing all my men."
There was pain in Altan's eyes. "That was the best opportunity... After the defeat, the grassland situation was unstable and they could not send out troops again. The Ming people would definitely take the opportunity to build firearms. When I was ready to go south again, it would be several years later. After several years, how many firearms would the Ming people have?"
He looked at his adopted son and nephew, "30,000? 50,000... The Ming army has a million troops, and they only need to equip 50,000 firearms. This Khan..."
This was the first time that Altan showed signs of weakness and frustration.
Even though he was defeated, he still used his confidence and ruthlessness to tell the outside world that Altan Khan was still the same Altan Khan.
"Uncle!" Jinen didn't care about going south. What he cared about was whether he could take back everything that once belonged to him. With a flickering look in his eyes, Jinen sighed and said, "The most important thing right now is how to suppress those people."
"Great Khan, Zhao Quan requests to see you."
Someone came in to report, and Altan woke up from his depression, "Have Zhao Quan and others been restless recently?"
Tuotuo said: "The White Lotus sect has been gathering frequently recently. My spies cannot get close to them, and I don't know what they are talking about."
"It's nothing more than ambition." Ji Neng sold out his ally Zhao Quan without hesitation. As for the consequences... Altan was unable to take care of himself at the moment, how could he suppress Zhao Quan?
You have to know that once those crazy people in the White Lotus Sect are mobilized, they will be a force that cannot be underestimated.
Jineng had seen the madness of the White Lotus followers... they were so brave and fearless that even the bravest warriors on the grassland could not compare to them.
Zhao Quan's greatest asset is the army of thousands of crazy believers in his hands.
In the process of conquering various tribes, this group of people gradually transformed into an elite force.
Tuotuo suddenly thought of something, "During this suppression campaign, Zhao Quan's subordinates made great efforts and gained a lot..."
Altan shook his head violently, "I was negligent, negligent!"
A fierce look flashed in his eyes, "This is raising a tiger to cause trouble!"
Jineng sighed inwardly, knowing that his provocation had succeeded.
Let’s do it!
Kill Zhao Quan and force those crazy people of the White Lotus Sect to rebel.
I will encourage those tribes to take action... and let you, and the entire grassland, become a mess.
The messier the better!
Jinen lowered his head, hatred burning in his eyes.
He wished that the grassland would be flooded with blood and that Altan Khan would be in great pain.
Give back to me everything you have taken from me!
I will get it all back with interest!
Jineng lowered his head, the hatred in his eyes suddenly flared up, then dissipated. When he looked up again, he was already concerned, "Khan, I once heard a Ming Dynasty person say that those who are not of my race must have different hearts. Zhao Quan and the White Lotus Sect are wolf cubs that can never be tamed, and we must not neglect them!"
"I know what to do." Altan squinted his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking about.
Ji Neng immediately stood up and took his leave. When he left the king's tent, he saw Zhao Quan who was stopped outside. He smiled, walked over and said, "The Khan is drinking, I'm afraid I won't be able to see you until later."
Altan Khan's elite troops suffered heavy casualties in the campaign to the south, and seemed unable to cope with the task of suppressing the tribes. Therefore, Zhao Quan and his men were given important positions for the first time.
Jineng watched coldly, watching Zhao Quan take advantage of this opportunity to send his followers to fight one after another. Whenever he broke through the tribe, he would rescue the Ming slaves. That was fine, anyone would do the same.
But every time Zhao Quan saw the miserable plight of those Ming slaves, he cried and even blamed himself, saying that he came too late.
What does this mean?
This is the attitude of a wise leader!
Zhao Quan was too impatient, which was why Ji Neng put this ally aside for the time being.
As for the consequences, Altan would not create any complications at this moment... His main enemies were the internal noble generals and tribes, not Zhao Quan and the White Lotus.
In the eyes of Altan and Jineng, Zhao Quan and the White Lotus Sect were just a group of lonely ghosts who depended on Altan for survival. Without Altan, the cold wind of the grassland would blow them into real lonely ghosts.
Zhao Quan watched Ji Neng go away with a smile.
Jineng returned to his tent. Ma Tianlu was also drinking tea, holding a book in his hand and reading it very attentively. He looked up when he heard the voice, "How is it?"
"Hey!" Jineng sat down, "The Khan is a little depressed."
"It's as expected." Ma Tianlu said: "Once the firearms appeared, the Khan knew it would be very difficult to go south again. He couldn't go south to plunder, he couldn't take revenge... How could those nobles and generals obey him? He also had to be wary of the Ming army going out of the border. He would definitely be unable to sleep or eat well under internal and external troubles. In fact, this is a rare opportunity."
"I know." Jinen poured himself a cup of milk tea and took a sip slowly. "Those tribes seemed frightened by his slaughter, but he forgot that the greatest ability of those who can survive on the grassland is not horse riding and archery, but... forgetfulness."
Ma Tianlu nodded. "In the past thousand years, the killing on the grassland has never stopped. Those who do not forget are destined to die in hatred."
"Before finding a way to control firearms, the only thing the Khan can do is to clean up the internal situation. Zhao Quan just left." Ji Neng sneered, "This leader has been jumping around a lot lately. He is quite active. He has some of the characteristics of what you call being good at dancing with long sleeves."
"The Khan's elite troops suffered heavy casualties, so he had no choice but to recruit those lunatics. Zhao Quan saw an opportunity, so how could he not take advantage of it?" Ma Tianlu smiled and said, "However, the truth that those who are not of our race must have different hearts is not only known by the people of the Central Plains."
"Ok!"
Ma Tianlu stood up and said, "Let's go down and see what's going on."
"Alright."
Walking out of the tent, Ma Tianlu took a deep breath and said softly: "I am also an alien, and you are also an alien!"
Inside the tent, Jineng looked at the curtain that was still swaying gently and said coldly: "You, Ma Tianlu, are also an alien!"
Zhao Quan waited for half an hour, his whole body stiffened by the cold wind, before he was summoned in.
Altan was still drinking. In winter, the only pastime for the nobles on the grassland was drinking. They could drink from the time they opened their eyes until they closed their eyes at night.
There was a lot more fat on Altan's face, making him look a little fierce.
"Meet the Khan."
Zhao Quan saluted.
"What have you been busy with recently?" Altan asked, taking a knife to cut a piece of mutton and slowly putting it into his mouth to chew.
"We are preparing for next year's spring ploughing."
The troops under Zhao Quan's command were all Ming people. They grazed and farmed at the same time, as if they could not survive without farming.
“The situation has been unstable lately.”
"Yes." Zhao Quan looked loyal, "My subordinates are on standby at any time, waiting for the Khan's orders."
Unstable, that's right.
Those nobles and generals were detained in the royal court, and their subordinates were afraid to act rashly, but Altan was also in a dilemma.
Letting these people go back would be digging a hole for yourself.
If we don't let go, it will be a stalemate.
The loyalty on the grassland will not last long, and those tribes will elect new leaders...and then Altan will definitely have even more headaches.
"How should we deal with those nobles and generals...Do you have any suggestions?" Altan asked casually.
"Khan, we must make a prompt decision!" Zhao Quan responded vaguely.
"You are absolutely right."
Altan nodded and put down the knife. "Go there and bring your people with you..."
"Just give your orders, Khan." Zhao Quan didn't know what Altan asked him to do, but from his attitude, he knew that he wanted to use him in an important position.
"Kill all those people!"
Altan stared at Zhao Quan, his eyes suddenly became sharp, as if the former Khan had returned.
"Take your men and kill all those nobles and generals in front of everyone!"
Then I will definitely become the public enemy of those tribes... Zhao Quan looked up in disbelief, "Great Khan!"
Altan picked up the knife and said, "Hmm!"
A murderous intent enveloped Zhao Quan. He saw the murderous intent in the eyes of the two guards behind Altan.
I underestimated Altan!
Zhao Quan bowed his head. "Yes, sir!"
(End of this chapter)
