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

Chapter 257: Disguise
As soon as Wang Jinwu finished speaking, others also expressed the same attitude, especially Hu Lin, who had been holding a grudge in his heart for a long time during the escape.

However, Lao Jin and Ma Shizhou did not speak, and they seemed to be thinking about something.

Zhu Shenzhui raised his hand and signaled everyone not to get excited. A shocking change had occurred in the tribe. His father-in-law and brother-in-law were both gone, and even his wife and children almost died in the hunt.

In addition, during the escape, in order to protect Tana and her son, the caravan's brothers and Mongolian guards lost one-third of their lives. How could such a blood feud not be avenged? Zhu Shenzhui had never been easy to deal with, so how could he swallow this bitter breath?

However, compared to the furious Wang Jinwu, Zhu Shenzhui was much more rational. Although this encounter was won easily, half of the victory was due to luck.

Firstly, the pursuing Mongolian cavalry had been fighting for days and were already exhausted, while Zhu Shenzui's side was well rested and ready to attack.

Secondly, there was a big gap in weapons and equipment between the two sides. Although Zhu Shenzui's side had few people, they had powerful firearms such as the Portuguese arquebus and the bird gun, and everyone was wearing armor and well-equipped. On the other hand, on the Mongolian cavalry side, except for the leader and the chieftain, there were only a few Mongolians wearing armor, and the weapons in their hands were nothing more than a saber and a bow and arrow.

As for the third point, the enemy was chasing them all the way, and Tana and her group were fleeing all the way. These Mongolian cavalrymen had long become arrogant. In their eyes, catching up with Tana and her group and killing them all was a foregone conclusion. And Zhu Shenzui who suddenly appeared was even more like a chicken and a pottery dog. They subconsciously thought that with the huge advantage of their cavalry over the infantry, they didn't have to worry at all and could just rush over and beat Zhu Shenzui to a pulp.

This is the so-called "arrogant soldiers will be defeated", but these Mongolian cavalrymen never thought that Zhu Shenzhui and his men were not soft persimmons that could be easily picked up, but a piece of hard rock. After they ran into them head-on, they were hit head-on by the battle array that was ready for battle. When the Portuguese artillery fired, these Mongolians were instantly stunned, and then they made the wrong choice based on their experience, which led to their complete defeat.

If the other side had been prepared, although this battle could be won, it would definitely not be completely annihilated, and the casualties on our side would definitely be much greater. So it was just luck that we won this battle easily. It would be a big mistake to only use this battle as a comparison of the true strength of the two sides.

The population of Ashetemur's tribe is not small, it is a large tribe of tens of thousands of people. Now Ashetemur and Hadanbaatar, father and son, are gone, and Xurigan also died at the hands of Galiba. Galiba should have controlled the tribe, and the power he can mobilize is much stronger than Zhu Shenzui.

Hadanbaatar's 2,000 elite cavalry were the tribe's most powerful force, but they had been lost in Mobei. Apart from the cavalry chasing Tana, Galiba still had a lot of people to call upon. Even if these forces were not as elite as Hadanbaatar's elite cavalry, they were not something Zhu Shenzhu and his people could contend with.

For a moment, Zhu Shenzhui thought about it in his mind. There were two paths before him.

One way is to immediately lead his men back to Ming Dynasty, ensure the safety of his wife and children first, and then find a way to get them back later.

This option seems to be the safest, but the consequences are also serious. After getting rid of the pursuers, it will take at least several days for Galiba to get the news. This time gap is enough for Zhu Shenzhui and his men to retreat safely back to Ming Dynasty.

However, with this withdrawal, the revenge of Ashi Temur and others could not be taken, and as time went by, after Galiba completely took control of the tribe, it would become even more difficult to take revenge.

In addition, with this withdrawal, the foundation that Zhu Shencui had worked so hard to build on the grassland has been destroyed. It will be impossible to continue trading as before in the future, unless Zhu Shencui seeks cooperation with other tribes, but this will take time and come at a greater cost.

Another way is to do as Wang Jinwu and others said, revenge should not be delayed overnight, and the army should go straight back to kill that bastard Galiba.

There are also risks in doing so. Once Galiba has completely controlled the tribe and is prepared, if they move towards the tribe, they may be like sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. By then, Galiba will gather the strength of the tribe, and considering the gap in strength between the two sides, Zhu Shenzhui will not have much chance of winning.

But after careful consideration, Zhu Shenzui chose the latter.

He considered the pros and cons and finally made this decision. The Ashitemur tribe must not lose anything, and must not let Galiba succeed so easily. Once the relationship between the tribes is broken, and Galiba becomes the new leader of the tribe, then his trade in the grassland will be completely over.

Even if Zhu Shenzhui seeks cooperation with other tribes in the future, let alone whether these tribes are as trustworthy as the Ashi Timur tribe, it will take time to contact these tribes and obtain trade cooperation. This time will take at least a year and a half or even longer, and the losses will be huge. Zhu Shenzhui is now in need of money everywhere, and most of his funds come from trade with the grassland. The interruption of trade will directly lead to the interruption of funds, which is an extremely serious consequence.

In addition, because of Galiba, even if you trade with other tribes in the future, can you guarantee that Galiba, this venomous snake, will not do anything else? Since he was able to instigate Xu Rigan to kill his father, and then killed Xu Rigan to take the throne, he even spared his own sister Tana, not to mention dealing with Zhu Shenzhui.

Astemur's tribe is a large tribe with considerable influence in this grassland. If Galiba spreads the news on the grassland, it is conceivable that Zhu Shencui will have difficulty cooperating with other tribes. Besides, with such an enemy around, both sides will not feel at ease. As the old saying goes, there is always a truth that there is no way to guard against thieves for a thousand miles. If the problem of Galiba is not solved, Zhu Shencui will have a hard time in the grassland.

Although it is risky to fight back now, there is still a chance.

The tribe was shocked. No matter how fast Galiba was, he was only controlling the tribe on the surface. Even if he killed several tribal elders and leaders who were present at the meeting, it was impossible to completely block the news in the Mongolian tribe. Even if the people in the tribe bowed and recognized Galiba's rule, the foundation of his rule was not solid.

Because of Astimur and others, it would take time for Galiba to completely control the tribe. The longer he was given, the greater his control over the tribe would be. When Galiba eliminated all the potential opponents in the tribe one by one and his people controlled everything, the tribe would be completely his, and it would be difficult to shake Galiba's rule over the tribe.

From the perspective of time and tribal foundation, it is still advantageous for Zhu Shenzhui now. If they suddenly counterattack the tribe at this time, they will only face Galiba's people instead of the resistance of the entire tribe. If he completely controls the tribe, it will be different. He will have to face the power of a large tribe. Not to mention the people Zhu Shenzhui has now, even if he has several times more people, he may not be able to do it.

In addition, the pursuers have been completely eliminated, and it is impossible for Galiba to know this now. At the moment when he sent out the pursuers to hunt down Tana, in Galiba's view, Tana and others had already died under his knife, it was just a matter of sooner or later.

Galiba would never have thought that the pursuers he sent out would be wiped out at the hands of Zhu Shencui. Before the news leaked out, he would turn around and attack Galiba by surprise.

Zhu Shenzhui made a decision quickly. When he announced the decision, Wang Jinwu and others were instantly overjoyed and shouted that they wanted to teach Galiba a lesson.

However, Ma Shizhou pointed out that although there is a possibility of winning if we counterattack now, the risk is also very high. It may not be appropriate to just go back in such a brazen manner. We have to think of other ways.

This suggestion was recognized by everyone, and after discussion, everyone came up with a plan. The plan was to disguise themselves as Galiba's cavalry and return to the tribe. As long as they did not attract the attention of the tribe and sneaked into the tribe, then they would be half successful.

This plan looks good and is in line with the art of war. In order to win a war, people have always used all means, and they have used every possible means. Disguising as an enemy to let the opponent relax their vigilance and attack them when they are not prepared is a very common method in war.

Although it is common, the effect is not bad once used properly, and judging from the current situation, this method is the most appropriate.

They started to act immediately and everyone started discussing it. Soon, the matter was decided after some comments. Then they began to prepare overnight. After a night, on the next morning, Zhu Shenzui, dressed in Mongolian clothes, led the army personally, and took Wang Jinwu and others, who were dressed as Mongolian cavalry, and headed straight towards the tribe.

Because they were traveling in disguise, the team was divided into two teams. The caravan guards who escaped with Tana and Tana and her son stayed behind, and they followed the caravan heading north to the grassland.

The new army traveled with Zhu Shenzui, in addition to several Mongolian guards from Tana and Hu Lin and others. There were only about a hundred of them in total, all dressed in Mongolian costumes, riding Mongolian war horses, holding Mongolian sabers and bows and arrows in their hands. As for other weapons, they were carried by the empty war horses and could not be seen without careful observation due to the slight concealment.

As for firearms, the Portuguese lance was too heavy to carry, so they carried muskets and other weapons with them. In addition to them, they also selected a few people from the Mongolian cavalry captives to accompany them. The purpose of bringing these people was naturally to confuse the enemy. After all, they were Galiba's subordinates. Once they approached the tribe, someone would come to check them out, and they would be useful at that time.

The place where the encounter took place was not far from the tribe, and it was only about two days' ride on fast horses. However, although most of the new army knew how to ride horses, it was impossible for them to be as skilled as the Mongols. In order to take care of these people, Zhu Shenzhui and his party slowed down their pace. It took them three days to get close to the tribe. When they arrived near the tribe, it was already evening and the sun was about to set.

(End of this chapter)