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

Chapter 311 Active Cooperation
Bu Shitu had always been at odds with Ligdan Khan. As a member of the Golden Family, Bu Shitu was originally qualified to compete for the position of the Great Khan of Mongolia based on his bloodline. However, the throne eventually fell into the hands of Ligdan Khan, which made Bu Shitu dissatisfied.

In addition, since his accession to the throne, Lindan Khan has been trying to unify Mongolia by force and restore the former glory of the Mongol Empire, but Bu Shitu has expressed strong opposition. Coupled with the differences in beliefs and serious conflicts of mutual interests, the relationship between the two has become increasingly tense. Before, Bu Shitu had united with other tribes to resist Lindan Khan, but unfortunately the battle was lost and he was beaten by Lindan Khan and fled away, almost unable to recover.

Although Lindan Khan did not kill them all in the end for the sake of their brotherhood, Bu Shitu still held a grudge against him. Who in the entire grassland did not know about the hostility between the two?

Ashi Temur was one of the right wing Wanhu and a direct subordinate of Ligdan Khan. As a member of the Tumed grassland tribe, Bushitu, who was at odds with Ligdan Khan, certainly looked down on Ashi Temur's tribe and sometimes even made small moves to provoke disputes.

After the death of Ashe Temur, the tribe experienced civil strife. When Tengger was supported to become Taiji, Bu Shitu laughed loudly when he heard the news. He felt that with the death of Ashe Temur, the Tengger tribe was no longer a threat to him. How could a little kid become a Taiji of the tribe? Not to mention Tana, a mere woman.

While Bu Shitu was happy, he never expected that the Tenger tribe suddenly launched a sneak attack on the Dilibortaiji tribe. After one battle, the Dilibortaiji tribe, which had some strength, completely collapsed.

While Delibor Taiji managed to escape, his successor died in the battle and all his family members were captured and sent to Ligdan Khan, where they were also eventually executed by him.

The Delibortaiji tribe is now in name only. Nearly half of the tribe's herdsmen, including cattle and sheep, have been transferred to the Tengger tribe, and the remaining part has been taken over by the original tribal elders and leaders who defected to the Tengger tribe, and has split into several small tribes.

The sudden demise of the Dilibortaiji tribe shocked Bu Shitu and made him furious. You know, this tribe was close to Bu Shitu and was considered his sphere of influence. Now that the tribe was gone, his power was weakened again. How could Bu Shitu not be angry?

But the following changes made Bu Shitu even more dazzled, because Lindan Khan soon officially conferred the title of Wanhu on Tenger and gave him the title of Jinong. This meant that Tenger's position as the tribal taiji had been consolidated. If other tribes wanted to take action against the Tenger tribe, it would be tantamount to directly slapping Lindan Khan in the face and offending the Mongol Khan.

That's not all. If it was just Ligdan Khan, Bu Shitu would not be afraid. He dared to confront Ligdan Khan himself, not to mention Ligdan Khan's subordinate tribes. However, the next Ming Dynasty's canonization came, and no one expected that this time the Ming Dynasty would canonize Tengger as the Dragon and Tiger General. The title of Dragon and Tiger General is not low, second only to Bu Shitu's Shunyi King. Before Bu Shitu was canonized as Shunyi King, he also had the title of Dragon and Tiger General.

Not only did he confer the title on Tenger, he also gave the title of Hao Ming to Lady Tana Zhongshun, which made Bu Shitu even more stunned when he heard the news.

You should know that on the grassland, the last woman named Mrs. Zhongshun Haoming was the famous Sanniangzi. This Haoming is not only noble, but also represents another meaning, that is, the Ming Dynasty expressed its support for the Tengger tribe.

With the dual enthronement of Ligdan Khan and the Ming Dynasty, the Tenger tribe suddenly became an important tribe among the twelve Tumed tribes in terms of political status. Although its military strength was not as good as that of Bu Shitu, its influence was not bad. In addition, with the support of Ligdan Khan and the Ming Dynasty, Bu Shitu had to think twice before targeting the Tenger tribe. Once he angered Ligdan Khan and the Ming Dynasty, the two would join forces to ask for an explanation from him, and Bu Shitu would not be able to bear it.

Since the canonization of Lindan Khan and the Ming Dynasty, the undercurrents of the Tumed tribe gradually subsided, and Bu Shitu's side also became much quieter. However, Zhu Shenzhui never placed his safety on others, because he knew very well the survival characteristics of the Mongolians. The rise and fall of the grassland tribes were always accompanied by wars. In any case, Bu Shitu would not attack the Tenger tribe now, but it did not mean that he would not do so in the future.

There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. As the former leader of Tumed, Bu Shitu will never watch the Tenger tribe grow stronger. One day in the future, there will definitely be competition and conflict between the two sides, and in the end it will be either you die or I die, and the outcome is unpredictable.

"Strange..." When Zhu Shenzhui heard Wang Hai say that the purpose of Elbegji Taiji's coming to the tribe was for trade, he couldn't help but feel puzzled. Logically speaking, as part of the Bushitu camp, Elbegji Taiji's tribe should not get along with the Tengger tribe. Even if there was no conflict between the two sides before, they were in different camps and did not have much friendship.

But now, Elbegji Taiji came to the tribe, under the pretext of escorting Master Sangge, to participate in the trade between the tribe and the Ming Dynasty. What was going on? Zhu Shenzhui couldn't figure it out for a moment, but since the people had come, he couldn't just turn a blind eye, right? Although the other tribe was not as big as the Tenger tribe, it was also one of the twelve Tumed tribes, and since Taiji came in person, he still had to follow the proper etiquette.

"Wang Hai!"

"I'm here!" "Go and invite Elbegji Taiji and tell him I'm inviting him to drink."

Wang Hai quickly agreed, bowed and turned to leave the tent. After Wang Hai left, Tana reminded Zhu Shenzhui not to be careless. Elbegji Taiji had no friendship with his tribe in the past, and the tribe was from the Bushitu camp. It was strange that he suddenly came to the tribe with the intention of trading. It was better to be careful.

Zhu Shenzhui nodded to indicate that he knew what Tana reminded him, and smiled and said that he was just entertaining the other party. Why should he be afraid of this old guy in his own tribe? Besides, whether it was force or anything else, he was not afraid of the other party at all. The visitor was a guest, and he came with Master Sangge, so he still had to follow the proper etiquette. He should have a drink first to test his intentions.

That night, Zhu Shenzhui invited Elbegji Taiji to a banquet. Tana did not show up, after all, she was a woman, and Tenger was too young to attend. In addition to Zhu Shenzhui, there were Wang Hai and Wang Jinwu. Wang Hai was originally a Mongolian, and he was the chief of the tribe, so he was not low in status and was naturally qualified to attend. As for Wang Jinwu, he was just a guest to drink. This guy had a good alcohol tolerance and good skills, so I felt more at ease if he came along.

There were also three people on Elbegji Taiji's side, one was his cousin and the other was a centurion of his tribe.

At the banquet, there were fine wines and delicious food, as well as fragrant roasted whole lamb. In order to entertain the other party, Zhu Shenzui also arranged singing and dancing, which made Elbegji Taiji very happy. Elbegji Taiji was extremely generous. This old guy had a good alcohol tolerance. After drinking several glasses of wine, he was not drunk at all, but was in high spirits.

After three rounds of drinks, the two sides had a good chat. Seeing that the time was almost right, Zhu Shenzhui directly asked the other party about his purpose.

Elbegji Taiji was quite straightforward. He told Zhu Shenzhui directly that he came here not only to escort Master Sangge, but also to meet Zhu Shenzhui. His purpose at the moment was simple. He just wanted to ask if he could ask the Tenger tribe for help and help their tribe to trade with the Ming Dynasty so as to obtain supplies from the Ming Dynasty.

"Taiji, why do you suddenly have this idea?"

"Hahaha, the news that your tribe wants to trade with the Ming Dynasty has spread all over the grassland. I heard some time ago that your tribe was looking for cooperation with other tribes. After hearing this news, I have been looking forward to your people coming to visit me." Elbeg Ji Taiji said with a smile, "But after waiting for a long time, your people have not come. I am a little anxious. I think it may be because the journey is too far. It happens that Master Sangge is a guest in my tribe. The master will continue to travel east these days, so I will take the opportunity to escort the master and go there myself. Please don't mind if you come uninvited."

"Haha, how could that be? You're here because you think highly of our tribe. It's a blessing you can't even ask for." Zhu Shenzhui replied with a smile, but he secretly complained in his heart, this old guy still said such things, doesn't he know why I didn't send anyone to contact him?
But such words could not be said openly. Zhu Shenzhui raised his hand to add wine to the other party's glass, and asked him whether he had sought Bu Shitu's opinion on this trip. After all, the other party was from Bu Shitu's camp and contacted him privately to participate in the trade. It would be bad if Bu Shitu held the account for this to the Tengger tribe.

"Brother, to be honest, this was a decision made by the tribe." Elbegji Taiji sighed and said in a low voice, "The tribes on the grassland have had a hard time in recent years. Our tribe is not like you. Not only do we have abundant water and grass, but we also have connections with the Ming Dynasty. Relying on trade with the Ming Dynasty, our lives are much better than ours."

"The tribe has suffered a lot from the continuous heavy snow in the past two winters. Now that spring has just begun, the tribe has not recovered yet. If the weather this year is the same as last year, and there is another blizzard at the end of the year, the tribe will not know how to survive."

"It's difficult for me to be Taiji. If the tribe continues like this, let alone being Taiji, the entire tribe will collapse. I have no choice but to ask you for help. Don't worry, don't worry about Bu Shitu. I will explain this. As for your conditions, I have asked people about it. Our tribe doesn't have much other things, but we can still give away some cattle, sheep, horses, etc., and we also have a lot of furs accumulated over the years. In addition, there is this..."

As he spoke, Elbegji Taiji took out a leather bag from his bosom and stuffed it directly into Zhu Shenzhui's hand. The bag suddenly felt heavy in his hand, and when he opened it, he saw a glittering precious light. Inside were two gold nuggets the size of a child's fist, and some red, green and yellow gems, shining alluringly under the light.

“What is this…?” Zhu Shenzhui asked knowingly.

Elbeg Jitaiji winked at him and said, "It's just a small token of my appreciation. Don't worry, it's just a small gift. As long as it can help our tribe get supplies from Ming Dynasty, I have plenty of such things."

(End of this chapter)