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

Chapter 189 Inheritance
The tribe has a limited population. Once it is divided up and Tenger is given the actual position of a hundred households, it will inevitably affect the rights of other people in the tribe.

Xurigan and Galiba were both sons of Ashi Temur. According to Mongolian customs, the youngest son was in charge of the stove, which meant that the youngest son was the real heir.

However, the Mongolia of today is no longer the same as the original Mongolia. Since Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols' traditions have changed due to the influence of sinicization. Although they later lost the Central Plains and returned to the grasslands, many traditions have gradually returned to their original state and most of the sinicized parts are no longer mentioned. But after all, they have experienced this period. Even if they have forgotten it, the Mongols who have been sinicized have still been affected over the years.

This included the change in the way of inheritance. In fact, this custom had been broken during the Mongol Empire, and after that, no one followed the original strict practice of the youngest son guarding the stove. Just like the Mongolian tribes today, most of them adopt the eldest son or the legitimate son as inheritance, which is not much different from the Ming Dynasty.

But even so, this inheritance system was not strictly enforced. The old traditional customs of the Mongols were still there. Coupled with the Mongols' inherent arrogance and other reasons, there were often many problems in the inheritance not only of the tribes but even of the Mongol Khan.

In order to fight for the position of heir, anything will happen between fathers and sons, brothers, uncles and nephews. Every change of power is mostly accompanied by swords and blood.

This happened frequently in Mongolia, and Ashil Temur could not have been unaware of it, so he had established the eldest son succession in the tribe early on, that is, Hadan Bater was his successor. Once he was summoned by the Eternal Heaven that day, Hadan Bater would be the next leader of the tribe.

In order to train his eldest son, Hadanbaatar was the highest-ranking person in the tribe except Ashitemur, and the only one who was a thousand households.

When Ashi Temur followed Ligdan Khan on several expeditions, he always sent Hadan Bater to lead the troops. His purpose was to allow his eldest son to establish prestige in the tribe in this way, so as to firmly control the power of the tribe.

Burigude was the nephew of Ashe Temur and also one of the tribesmen who supported Hadan Bater. In addition to Burigude, there were other people in the tribe. From these, it can be seen that Hadan Bater's position as the heir of the tribe was still very solid.

But everyone has selfish desires, just like the two brothers Xurigan and Galiba. Although they also know that their eldest brother's position as heir is stable and it is unlikely that they will compete with their eldest brother for the heir, no matter what, even if Hadanbaatar really becomes the leader and the next Taiji, as long as they hold power in their hands, their status and identity in the tribe can still be maintained.

In other words, my father, Ashi Timur, is in good health now, and he may live for another ten years, but ten years is too long. People are subject to misfortunes at any time, and who can predict many things? If something unexpected happens to my father and eldest brother, as long as I have the power in my hands, maybe the opportunity will fall on me.

No one knows his son better than his father. Ashitemür knew the personalities of his two sons very well. His eyes moved away from Xurigan and then fell on Galiba. Galiba smiled shyly and lowered his head slightly without saying anything. Ashitemür sighed in his heart and retracted his gaze.

"What do you think?" Without paying any more attention to his two sons, Ashil Timur turned to the tribal elders sitting on his left and right and asked.

The tribal elders said in unison that although Taiji's arrangement had no precedent, it did not actually violate the tribal regulations. After all, Tenger was a citizen of the tribe and the grandson of Taiji. As Taiji, Ashi Timur had every right to make such a decision. As long as Tenger was a member of the tribe and did not separate from the tribe, they all agreed.

After the tribal elders finished speaking, Ashe Temur smiled with satisfaction. He immediately told everyone that the matter was settled. In the next few days, he would allocate herdsmen and people in the tribe to Tenger. Before Tenger came of age, these hundred households would be handed over to his mother Tana. This was not only his idea, but also the unanimous decision of the tribal elders, and everyone had to abide by it.

At the following banquet, some people were still in high spirits, but some were depressed, some felt lost, and some seemed to be thinking about something.

When the banquet was almost over, everyone left one by one. Just when Zhu Shenzhu was about to get up and say goodbye, Ashil Temur asked him to stay.

"Sit down." Pointing to the seat next to him, Ashe Temur smiled and asked Zhu Shenzhui to sit closer.

Zhu Shenzhui sat down next to him openly. Asitmur picked up the teapot in front of him and poured two cups of tea. He handed one of the cups to Zhu Shenzhui: "This is the tea you brought. Don't you Ming people say that drinking tea can help you sober up? You've drunk so much, have a sip of tea."

"Thank you, Abu." Zhu Shenzui took it, put it to his lips and took small sips. The tea was not a good one. Rich people in the Ming Dynasty would never drink this kind of tea, but it was a rare thing on the grassland.

Mongolians eat meat and lack vegetables, so they need to drink more tea to supplement various vitamins and help digestion. Mongolians cannot afford good tea. Tea, like salt, is a necessity on the grassland. Most ordinary herdsmen, including Mongolian nobles, can only drink ordinary tea.

In addition, the transportation and storage of tea were also problems due to the long distance. In order to solve these problems, black tea or tea bricks were generally shipped to Mongolia. This kind of tea was easy to transport and could be stored for a long time. The price was acceptable to the Mongolians. Tea accounted for a large part of the trade with the grasslands, which not only brought huge profits to Zhu Shenzhui, but also allowed the tribe to make a lot of profits in trade with other tribes.

Ashitimur also took a sip from the teacup. He looked at Zhu Shenzhui with sharp eyes and said, "I thought you would persuade me just now."

"Advise you?"

"Yes!" Ashe Temur said with a smile, "It's about the Tenger Hundred Households."

"Haha." Zhu Shenzhui also laughed and asked, "Isn't this a good thing? Why do you think I would persuade you?"

"Aren't all you Ming people like this? You want something in your heart, but you have to be polite. Besides, you heard what Xurigan and Galiba said just now. You are Tenger's Abu and Tana's man. This matter is related to you. Who would have thought that you didn't say a word in the end? This surprised me!"

"Nothing surprising." Zhu Shenzhui took the teapot, added tea to his cup and said with a smile: "Although I am Tengger's Abu and Tana's man, I am not from your tribe after all. I am only a Ming person, and I am an outsider to this tribe after all."

"Since this is the tribe's arrangement, how can an outsider like me speak up? Abu, what do you think?"

“Hahahaha...!” Ashil Timur laughed loudly and shook his head. He did not expect Zhu Shenzui to answer like this.

Zhu Shenzhui waited for his laughter to subside, and then continued, "In fact, for me, whether Tengger is a centurion or a thousand-householder, I don't care at all. Tengger is my son, and this is a fact that no one can change. One day, I will take Tana and the children back to Daming, because Daming is their real home."

"Others may not know, but you, Abu, know that I am a member of the Ming royal family. My status is no less noble than that of a Mongolian noble. For a member of the Ming royal family, do I still need to worry about my descendants? Although the status of a centurion in the tribe is not low, it is easy for me to get such a low-level position in the Ming Dynasty, not to mention a formal royal family title."

"Abu, you don't think I can't do this, right? If I want to, let alone saying that Tenger is my son, even if he is not my son, it wouldn't be too difficult to find an ordinary Mongolian to help him find a good future in Ming Dynasty."

"I know, I know..." Ashe Temur sighed, he reached out and patted Zhu Shenzhui on the shoulder, and said with great emotion: "It is precisely because I know these that I made this decision. I think you have guessed why I made this decision, right?"

"I am the Taiji of the tribe, the leader of the entire tribe. For the sake of the tribe, there are some things I have to do. In recent years, whether it is the grassland, Liaodong, or your Ming Dynasty, the world has become increasingly unstable. At this time, the survival of the tribe is the only thing that matters."

"Tana is your woman, and Tenger is your son. With them in the tribe, you can truly regard the tribe as your second home besides the Ming Dynasty. Once the tribe has problems, as long as they are here, you will never stand idly by. What do you think?"

"Abu really had a good plan. A mere centurion of the tribe tied me, my son, and my wife to the tribe."

"Haha, you can't say that. In fact, the tribe needs you, and you also need the tribe, right?" Ashe Temur said meaningfully. He played with the teacup in his hand and said, "I am old. I was injured on the battlefield when I was young. I didn't feel anything when I was strong and healthy, but the old injury has been tormenting my body over the years. People get old, and one day they will return to Changshengtian. Maybe I will have to leave soon. Once I leave, the next Taiji of the tribe will be Hadan Bater."

"Hadanbaatar is a good kid and a trustworthy partner. He is brave and kind, but he lacks the eyes to see through the future. This is what I am worried about. If I am here, everything will be fine in the tribe. Once I am gone, I am worried whether Hadanbaatar can control the tribe and keep it prosperous."

As he spoke, Ashe Temur cast his eyes towards Zhu Shenzhui: "But I believe that as long as you are here, Hadan Bater will have the best helper. If you brothers join hands, the tribe will not decline. And doing so will also be good for you. Maybe one day, when you need the tribe, the tribe will be able to help you."

Zhu Shencui looked back at Ashil Timur. There was something behind the old fox's last words. However, Zhu Shencui did not ask him what he meant, and Ashil Timur did not say it directly. But when their eyes met, everything was clear.

(End of this chapter)