Chapter 69: The Army Arrives

  When Yuetuo's more than 10,000 cavalrymen appeared on the plain, Ormub swallowed a mouthful of saliva in tension, while Guluoke beside him showed a faint smile.

  The city of Guihua is empty and desolate, with cow and horse dung and debris everywhere. At a glance, it can be seen that Chahar left in a hurry.

  Yue Tuo ignored the waiting Tumet tribe in the distance and directly led his troops to station in Guihua City, which was the pride of the conqueror.

  "This is the banner of Yuetuo, the vanguard of the Jurchen Left Route, and as it happens, we Tumote Department also have a blood relationship with them." Guluoke explained to Ewenke.

  Kuruke was originally the head of the Yehe tribe in eastern Liaodong, which had been conquered by the Tumed Mongols a long time ago and whose leaders had Tumed Mongolian ancestry. Later, the Yehe were defeated in their war with Haixi for dominance over eastern Liaodong, and Kuruke fled back to southern Mongolia more than twenty years ago and surrendered to the western Tumed. After the Yehe were destroyed by Jianzhou Jurchen, Haixi's descendants married many Yehe women; Yue Tao's mother was a member of the Yehe tribe, and according to generational rank he was still Kuruke's nephew.

  "Are you familiar with him?" Oumu asked, and as soon as he said this, he felt very foolish. Gulu'er hadn't returned to Liaodong for decades, how could he be familiar with Yue Tuo?

  "No, but I know him!" replied Gollum.

  "You go first and substitute for me to pay respects to Yuetuo, I'll wait until Huang Taiji arrives before making an appearance!"

  Ombi was after all the Great Khan of Tumed, if he had shown courtesy to the Jurchen ruler Huang Taiji it would have been understandable, but now Yoto who arrived first was only a minor Beile.

  "Yes, sir!" Guluke was excited for a moment. This was what he had been expecting. Twenty years ago, his heart was filled with hatred towards the Jurchen people, but now he only felt enthusiasm for them. After all, one must always look forward.

  Guihua City is the largest city on the grasslands, but it can only hold a population of several hundred thousand people. The walls surrounding the city are mostly made of earth and stone, with a height of about three zhang (a unit of measurement). Although they are not particularly sturdy, for the Mongols who lack strong siege capabilities, this is already considered a strong fortress.

  Gu Lu Ke arrived at the outskirts of Guihua City with a dozen or so attendants and, after reporting to the Jurchen soldiers guarding the city, was allowed to enter and meet with Yue Tuo.

  In the city, Yue Tuo had been waiting for the arrival of the Tumet people. He now urgently needed to understand the situation in Mergen Mongolia and the whereabouts of the Chahar people.

  Gu Luoke smiled and greeted Yue Tuo, before he could speak, Gu introduced his background clearly and established a relationship with Yue as relatives. This was the first time he met Yue Tuo, but since the rise of Jin Dynasty, he had never relaxed his attention to Liaodong.

  Yue Tuo's appearance was much weaker than he had imagined, and he somewhat resembled Ombu Dahan. The internal struggle of the Jurchen people was cruel, and after Harchi's death, only four Beile remained, but they had already lost their power. Yue Tuo, as the son of Daishan, unexpectedly gained the trust of Huang Taiji and took charge of the Jurchen army department. Gulu Ge naturally did not dare to underestimate this young man in his heart.

  "In that case, you're still my elder!" Yue Tuo's face was filled with a warm smile, his gentleness surprising Gulu Ge.

  "I don't dare! I don't dare!" Guluoke was extremely humble.

  "Have all the Chahar people escaped to the west of the desert?" Yue Tuo asked.

  "Four days ago, the Chahar tribe crossed the Yellow River and fled to the west of the desert, but two days ago there were still Chahar cavalry active in Hohhot, apparently besieging a bandit's stronghold!"

  "Oh!" Yue Tuo was somewhat surprised.

  Gurragci told Yue Tuo about the battle where he and the Han bandits joined forces with the D?rbet people to launch a surprise attack on the Chahar people at the Junzi River crossing, of course without mentioning that he himself did not participate in this battle.

  Yue Tuo listened very carefully and asked again: "How many cavalrymen are there among the Tumet people? How many Han people?"

  "Tümür now has ten thousand cavalrymen, and the Han people's horse thieves should be around a thousand!"

  Yue Tuo nodded, he had to report these messages to Da Han as soon as possible, which directly related to the decision of Huang Taiji.

  "I understand, you go back and tell Ombu De Khan that Tiancong Khan will arrive in Guihua tomorrow, come to see him then!" Yue Tuo gave the order to drive away the guest, he wanted to report the military situation to Huang Taiji as soon as possible, to determine whether to continue pursuing the Chahar people.

  Gurulkan bowed again and said in a low voice: "The Yehe tribe has now merged with Jianzhou, and I, Gurulkan, am willing to serve Tiancong Khan wholeheartedly!"

  Yue Tuo felt slightly surprised, looked at him deeply, and nodded slightly.

  One day later, Huang Taiji's army arrived at Guihua City in a majestic manner, with the Tumu River banners fluttering and the horses and men boiling over.

  Di Zhe hid among the cavalry of Che Feng, as the Tumed people quietly observed the Jurchen troops.

  The Jurchen Eight Banners cavalry, with their neat formation and chilling aura, had been galloping across the grasslands for months, yet their sharpness remained unabated. If the Chahar cavalry that attacked the Han camp the day before were like a pack of wolves, then the Jurchens were like a pride of tigers. Tigers are solitary animals, but these tall and robust Jurchen warriors looked ferocious, clad in heavy armor, each one resembling a fierce tiger. What would happen if tigers became a pack?

  The Tatars did not dare to sing again, like a startled rabbit, they were intimidated by the sharp aura of the Jurchen people. Even Zhai Zhe, who was secretly peeking, had his heart trembling, only veterans who had experienced many battles could have such a killing aura, and only continuous victories could accumulate such momentum, no wonder even the most elite troops of the Ming dynasty, the Guanning Iron Cavalry, were unable to match this army.

  Orumbay followed the Jurchen envoy, step by step, to pay his respects to Huang Taiji. Before meeting him, he had made up his mind not to show any fear, but when he truly arrived at Huang Taiji's tent, his body began to tremble slightly beyond control.

  Hong Taiji's body was slightly chubby, and he didn't look particularly ferocious. This man would decide the fate of the Tumet people, whether they were forced to migrate to Liaodong or continue to stay in the south of the desert, all depending on the words of the superior.

  The officials on both sides stood, and Huang Taiji saw Ejei Khan come in, extremely enthusiastic, inviting him to sit down beside him, saying: "Ejei Khan, please take a seat. My Jurchen warriors have been chasing Lin Dan Khan for several months without getting close to his tail, but unexpectedly it was you Tumed people who gave them a heavy blow at Junzi River!"

  Ombu humbly said: "It's all thanks to the wise and powerful Khan, the Chahar people have become like a family of dogs, only then could we achieve this one victory."

  "Lindan Khan is cruel and tyrannical, and has bullied many Mongolian tribes. Our Great Jin responded to the requests of various Mongolian tribes and sent troops to punish him. You Tumet people are also victims. Now he has fled across the Yellow River to the west of the desert, but in the end, he will still be a hidden threat to the southern Mongols."

  Ou Mu nodded silently.

  Emperor Taizong ordered: "Dorgon and Yuetuo, each lead the cavalry of their respective divisions into the Yellow River loop to pursue Lin Danhan, and make sure to thoroughly eliminate the Chahar people from the grasslands of the Yellow River loop."

  The officers under his command emerged in a line, their footsteps heavy, the clanking of their armor echoing.

  Orumbaghan didn't dare to glance sideways, how could the days of relying on others guarantee the dignity of Tumu Khan? Unless he was willing to tie himself to the chariot of the Jurchen people like the Mongolian tribes in the eastern desert. The Khorchin tribe in the eastern desert had already become a reliable ally of the Jurchen people through intermarriage, did he want to do the same?

  Yue Tuo and Dorgon each led their own cavalry, more than 30,000 men, crossing the Junzi River ferry to enter the Hetao grasslands.

  Gentlemen, at the ferry crossing, six or seven days ago, the Tumed people launched a surprise attack on the Chahar people, leaving behind a large number of corpses. In the summer heat, many bodies have rotted, emitting a foul odor and infested with maggots.

  The Hetao grassland was already empty, and the Jurchen cavalry searched for two days without finding anything. The scouts reported that the Chahar people had left the Hetao grassland, crossed the Tengger Desert, and headed in the direction of Qinghai Dachaidan.

  At this time, the Jurchen army had left Liaodong for more than two and a half months. The terrain of the Tengger Desert was treacherous, and supplies could no longer support the Jurchen army's continued pursuit of Lin Danhan. Huang Taiji finally gave the order to retreat.

  After this campaign, Chahar's reputation was ruined among the various Mongolian tribes on the grasslands. During their retreat, nearly 10,000 herders were left behind and all became captives of the Jurchen people.

  What was even more cruel was that the Chahar people had already lost a large number of livestock in the drought of the previous year, and then they were pursued by the Jurchen for two months on the grasslands, with countless livestock dying from starvation. Tens of thousands of people finally erupted into a huge crisis when crossing the Gobi Desert.

  The Tengger Desert was dry and waterless, and the few livestock that survived were constantly dying along the way. Many herdsmen who had lost their livestock and could no longer survive began to plunder other people's livestock. Under the survival crisis, the suppressed emotions of the Chahar people finally erupted, and even Lin Danhan could not stop this madness. Countless Chahar people died in the process of competing for livestock.

  Under duress, Lin Dan led the cavalry to attack the Ningxia Garrison of the Ming Dynasty, hoping to alleviate this survival crisis by plundering the Ming Dynasty. However, at this time, the Chahar cavalry was no longer brave and was continuously defeated by the defending soldiers of Ningxia Town, fleeing in disarray to the Qinghai grasslands.

  Chahar's elite did not die in the battle with the Jurchen people, but suffered heavy losses in internal consumption. Lin Danhan was furious and attacked by heart disease, falling ill on the Qinghai grassland.