Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 138 Farewell
A few months ago, Zhu Shenzhui and Zhou Anmin had discussed this matter privately, and neither of them was optimistic about Yuan Yingtai succeeding Xiong Tingbi. However, they did not have the final say on important matters in the court, so they just discussed it privately.

However, less than half a year after Xiong Tingbi left office, a war suddenly broke out in Liaodong. And according to Hadan Bater, this war was the largest since the one in Sarhu. Both the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty mobilized their elite troops and exerted their utmost efforts.

Ashi Temur and Hadan Bater did not know much about the current war situation in Liaodong. After all, this was a war between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty. They were just Mongolians and had only heard a few things from the envoys sent by Ligdan Khan.

"Has the Khan decided to attack Khorchin?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

Ashitemur nodded, his face full of worry.

I don't know what Lin Danhan was thinking when he sent troops this time. If he took advantage of the fighting between the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty, and the Mongolians joined forces with the Ming Dynasty to attack the Inner Khalkha tribe, and then directly attack Nurhaci from the east and west, then it would be correct from a tactical point of view.

But this time, Lin Danhan did not attack Chaohua, but Korchin, which is really speechless.

As a Mongolian, Ashi Temur Jinong was not an ordinary Mongolian. Not to mention him, even Hadan Bater could see this.

Lin Danhan's calculations were working very well. Logically speaking, this was indeed a good opportunity to send troops. Moreover, in order to win over Mongolia to join forces against the Later Jin, the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia had formed an alliance over the years.

Now that war suddenly broke out in Liaodong, Lin Danhan, as an ally, led his troops to attack the Inner Khalkha tribe, and then attacked from west to east to attack the Later Jin. In this way, as long as the Later Jin was defeated, both the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia could get rid of a major threat.

But who would have thought that Lin Danhan did not do so. Instead of fighting the Inner Khalkha Tribe and the Later Jin, he watched the war between the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty, intending to take advantage of this opportunity to reap the benefits.

There are no fools in the world. Even Hadan Bater can see that there is something wrong with this operation. How could Ashil Temur and Zhu Shenzhui not understand it?

"Shouldn't we unite with the Ming Dynasty to fight the Later Jin first? Why is no one trying to persuade the Khan?" Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but say.

Ashe Temur shook his head and sighed: "The Khan's decision cannot be violated..."

"Shit!" Zhu Shenzhui almost cursed. How can you sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight? Is Lin Danhan's mind full of rice fields? He is the Khan of Mongolia! The dignified leader of Mongolia! He can't understand such a truth?
Why is he gathering his troops to attack Khorchin now, instead of helping his allies fight the Later Jin? What on earth is Lin Danhan thinking?

However, Zhu Shenzui did not curse in front of Ashe Temur and others. After all, Lindan Khan was still their Khan, and Ashe Temur was Jinong of Mongolia and a subordinate of Lindan Khan.

Ashi Temur called Zhu Shenzhui and the others to tell them about this. The tribe was about to send troops, and this time the troops were similar to the last time, with Hadan Bater still leading the army as the thousand households.

Therefore, the tribe immediately had to mobilize personnel to prepare for the expedition. The Mongols fought differently from the Ming Dynasty. Except for the Khan's personal troops, the rest of the Mongolian army were from various tribes. The tribe not only had to provide manpower, but also had to bear the materials and consumption of the war, which was a heavy burden for the tribe.

Last year, they had just fought a battle with Chaohua. In that battle, Lindan Khan did not gain any benefits, but suffered a lot. But in fact, most of these losses were borne by the tribe. This time, Lindan Khan gathered troops again. Although Ashi Timur could not disobey the Khan's order, he was reluctant in his heart.

The reason is very simple. Just as Zhu Shenzhui thought, the target of Lindan Khan's troops this time was still Khorchin rather than Later Jin. This was very puzzling. Moreover, attacking his own Mongolian tribe without solving the problem of Later Jin also made Mongols like Astemur feel uncomfortable.

As the tribe is going to send troops next, it needs a large amount of supplies, which is difficult to solve on its own based on its current situation.

"The tribe needs food, iron and other things."

Asitmur directly said to Zhu Shenzhu, he knew in his heart that this battle would not be easy to fight. If he joined forces with the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty to start a war, he might have some confidence. But now Lin Danhan wanted to fight against Khorchin. How strong is Khorchin? Asitmur didn't know it. This is a hard bone, not so easy to chew.

There are no outsiders here. Zhu Shencui is now one of us, and the tribe’s supplies will require Zhu Shencui’s help in solving the problem.

After listening to Ashitemur's words, Zhu Shencui nodded in agreement after a moment's silence. He told his father-in-law that he would find a way to transport food, equipment and other supplies, but it would be impossible to do so before the troops were sent out, as both fundraising and transportation would take time.

"I know this. These are not for sending troops, but for the needs of the tribe after the troops are sent." Ashi Timur replied. "That's no problem!" Zhu Shenzhui agreed immediately, and then discussed the specific details of the materials with Ashi Timur and Hadan Bater, including the key issue of price in addition to quantity. Although he is now married to Tana and they have become a family, business is business, and some things must be discussed in advance. Ashi Timur was not surprised by this.

Tana listened quietly, showing an expression of trying to remember and think. Because she would stay in the grassland and be responsible for the trade between Zhu Shenzhui and the tribe, and this was the reason why Tana was called here today. It was her first time to do such a thing. Although Zhu Shenzhui had taught her before, she had never actually operated it. For Tana, this was a job that made her excited and looked forward to.

The two sides chatted for a long time and discussed a lot. In addition to the trade of materials, they also discussed in detail some matters related to the next military dispatch. They only ended after everything was settled.

After bidding farewell to Ashe Temur and Hadan Bater, Zhu Shenzhui took Tana back to his yurt.

"What's wrong with you? Are you worried about the war in Liaodong?" Seeing Zhu Shenzhui sitting down without saying a word, with a frown on his face and a worried look, Tana sat next to him, holding his hand and asked softly.

"I'm afraid the battle in Liaodong will be difficult to fight!" Zhu Shenzhui sighed. Seeing Tana looking at him, he forced a smile and patted the back of her hand with his left hand: "It's okay. Even if I'm worried, I can't do anything. Let's think about what we should do next."

Tana gave Zhu Shencui a smile. Although she was a Mongolian, she was now Zhu Shencui's wife. Since she married Zhu Shencui, she was also a member of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, Zhu Shencui was a member of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. It was normal for her husband to be worried when he heard about the war in Liaodong.

As a wife, it was natural for her to comfort her husband, but as Zhu Shenzhui said, the war in Liaodong was not something they could influence, and they could not do anything about it.

He shook his head and put the matter of Liaodong aside for the time being. Although the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty worried Zhu Shenzhui, he could do nothing and was powerless.

The key thing now is his own business. He has just discussed with Ashi Timur that he will return to Daming as soon as possible to collect food and other supplies for the tribe. No matter what the result of Lin Danhan's attack on Khorchin is this time, these supplies are very important to the tribe, and the quantity this time is also quite large.

Zhu Shenzui cheered up and talked to Tana in detail, telling her what needed to be done in the tribe next, and that he would collect supplies and transport them to the grassland as soon as possible after returning to Ming Dynasty. Once the supplies arrived at the grassland, Tana would be responsible for handling the receipt of the goods and the subsequent trading environment on the grassland.

Tana listened carefully and kept everything Zhu Shenzhui said in mind. They talked until late at night. Zhu Shenzhui finished speaking and Tana wrote it down one by one.

Due to the sudden outbreak of war, Zhu Shencui had to return to Ming Dynasty as soon as possible, not only to help the tribe raise supplies, but also because Zhu Shencui was particularly concerned about the war in Liaodong and could not wait to learn about the situation there.

In Mongolia, the transmission of news was not so convenient, and the tribe would follow Lin Danhan to fight against Khorchin. In contrast, the news of the Ming Dynasty was much more convenient, not to mention that Zhou Anmin was now the actual person in charge of the Jinyiwei Qianhu Suo, and the Jinyiwei had spies all over the world. If you want to know the first-hand news of the Liaodong war, the fastest way is to go through the Jinyiwei.

Zhu Shenzui has decided that he will bring people back to Daming tomorrow to do these things. That means the good life of these days will come to an end. He is about to say goodbye to Tana temporarily. Tana will stay in the grassland, while he will return to Daming.

Tana said nothing about this, because she knew Zhu Shenzhui had to go back immediately, and as his wife, she also knew what Zhu Shenzhui was worried about. She did not ask Zhu Shenzhui to stay, because she was not a Ming woman, but a Mongolian woman. Mongolian women always smile when their husbands leave home, and they will not show a sad expression even if they are worried.

Although she didn't say it, Tana showed Zhu Shenzhui her reluctance and concern with her actions that night. They spent a long time in the yurt, and fell asleep in the middle of the night. When the sun rose again the next day, Tana had put on her most beautiful clothes and helped her husband prepare to leave home with a smile.

After noon, the prepared caravan was about to leave the tribe. Tana said goodbye to Zhu Shencui reluctantly, holding her husband's hand. There was anticipation in Tana's eyes. Looking at her face, Zhu Shencui was also very emotional.

"I will be back as soon as possible. Take good care of yourself in the tribe! Remember what I said!" Zhu Shenzui hugged Tana and said his final goodbye to his wife, whispering in her ear.

"Go! An eagle can only soar in the sky. My man, I will wait for you to come back!" Tana smiled. She reached out and gently pushed Zhu Shenzhui. She watched her lover leave her side, got on the horse, waved to her again, then turned the horse's head and followed the caravan away.

When Zhu Shenzhui's figure was getting farther and farther away and gradually disappeared, Tana finally shed tears. She raised her hand to wipe away the tears, and when she put down her arm, Tana touched the musket in her arms. This was a gift from Zhu Shenzhui and it was also left for her to use for self-defense. She hid it close to her body, as if Zhu Shenzhui was still by her side.

She looked down and when she looked up again, the tears on Tana's face had disappeared, replaced by a flower-like smile.

(End of this chapter)