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

Chapter 348: Before fighting against the outside world, one must first make peace with the inside
After dealing with Wang Hai, Zhu Shenzhui swept his cold eyes over everyone. For a moment, no one dared to look at him and lowered their heads slightly.

"Since the Khan has issued an order, my tribe and Bu Shitu will have a battle sooner or later. This battle is inevitable. Let's fight! Pass on my order and assemble all the tribes to prepare for war..."

After saying that, Zhu Shenzui began to call out names and make arrangements one by one. Not only Burigude, but also several other leaders present were given the authority to lead the troops. They were asked to gather their troops as soon as possible and make preparations. Since Wang Hai had committed a crime and was punished, the strongest cavalry of the tribe was led directly by Zhu Shenzui himself. The same went for Lu Yishen, Li You and others. They were asked to be ready to go with the army and set off in three days without delay.

After making the arrangements, Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand to announce the end of the meeting. Everyone stood up and responded loudly, bowed and left the tent. Several leaders were very happy, with a smug look on their faces. They didn't expect that Wang Hai, whom they had always disliked, would be dealt with by Zhu Shenzhui, and Zhu Shenzhui also gave them military power because of the war.

After everyone left, Tana couldn't help but persuade them: "Although Wang Hai said the wrong thing, he meant well, and what he said was not entirely unreasonable. Wang Hai has followed you and me for many years and has always been loyal. It is really too much to punish him so severely today..."

Seeing Tana's reluctant look, Zhu Shenzhui held her hand and nodded, "What Wang Hai said is actually correct. What he said is also what I am worried about. I have my own arrangements for this matter. You can rest assured for now."

Tana was stunned for a moment, and looked carefully at Zhu Shenzhui's expression, only to find that Zhu Shenzhui's previous anger had long disappeared, replaced by a calm look.

"If that's the case, why are you..." As soon as she said this, Tana suddenly thought of something and stared at Zhu Shenzhui with wide eyes, looking surprised: "Could it be that your punishment of Wang Hai was fake?"

"Haha, it's definitely not fake. The whip hit him hard. But we can't not do this. As I just expressed my agreement with what Wang Hai said, how do you think the people in the tribe will react?" Zhu Shenzhui asked back.

Tana seemed to understand a little bit, and she asked hesitantly: "Do you suspect that someone in the tribe is in conflict with the Khan...?"

Zhu Shenzhu nodded and told Tana that this was not a suspicion but a certainty. Several leaders of the tribe had more or less connections with Ligdan Khan, and some of them had even secretly defected to Ligdan Khan.

In the era of Ashe Temur, the control of the tribe was still relatively strong. Both Ashe Temur himself and his successor Hadan Bater could hold the power of the tribe firmly in their hands. But after Galiba cleansed the tribe, after Ashe Temur and Hadan Bater's men were all killed by Galiba, the few tribal leaders left were all marginal figures in the original tribe. To put it bluntly, the reason they were able to save their lives was entirely because they changed their minds and joined Galiba in the end.

These spineless people were frightened when Galiba raised his butcher knife, and they expressed their support and support, which saved themselves. Later, Zhu Shenzhui led his men back to fight, sneaked into the camp in disguise and suddenly attacked, and Wang Hai was credited with killing Galiba, which enabled the tribe to quell the civil strife and deal with the culprit.

After the civil strife was quelled, Zhu Shenzhui suppressed Galiba's followers by force, and supported Tana and his son Tenger to ascend to the positions of Aliyah and Taiji of the tribe. From a legal point of view, although Tenger's position as Taiji was somewhat reluctant, it was also justifiable because all of Astemur's sons were gone, and Tana was the surviving bloodline, so Tenger was qualified to be Taiji.

After supporting his wife and children to take the position, Zhu Shencui released several leaders who were forced by Galiba in order to stabilize the tribe, and promoted several people who were not from Galiba's line to become the middle level of the tribe. The effect of this was also obvious. It was because of this that the tribe quickly returned to normal from the civil strife. Then Zhu Shencui decisively used force and sent troops to strike at the tribes that were eyeing the tribe, thus stabilizing the tribe from internal and external troubles.

Everyone knows what happened next. With a series of subsequent operations by Zhu Shenzui, the tribe developed rapidly after resolving the civil strife. Later, it was canonized by Ligdan Khan and the Ming Dynasty, which made Tengger's position begin to consolidate.

The bilateral trade over the past year has greatly benefited the tribe. Now the entire tribe is thriving and has become stronger.

But no matter what, no matter what Zhu Shencui did, in the eyes of the Mongolian nobles of the tribe, Zhu Shencui was ultimately an outsider.

As the hidden dangers of the tribe were eliminated, the nobles of the tribe gradually became dissatisfied with Zhu Shencui from their initial fear, because they felt that the tribe should not be ruled by a Ming person, and the Mongolian tribe should be ruled by Mongolians. Even though Tenger, who was a taiji, had Ming blood in him, they believed that he could not be considered a real Mongolian.

This idea was just a few thoughts at the beginning. In addition, Zhu Shenzhui valued Wang Hai and others, and felt that they, as tribal nobles and leaders, did not get the corresponding status and rights. This dissatisfaction gradually increased over time. When Burigude returned to the tribe, there were more private criticisms. In the words of these Mongolian nobles, Burigude was more suitable to be the Taiji than Tengger, because Burigude was the nephew of the old Taiji Ashi Timur and the cousin of the original heir Hadan Bater. He was a real Mongolian and a native of the tribe. He had no choice because of Galiba before, but now that he is back, everything is different.

Over the past six months, similar rumors have been circulating within the tribe. Zhu Shenzui had naturally heard of them and had naturally been vigilant.

However, Burigude's attitude was very clear. He had said long ago that he would not covet the position of Taiji, and he and Zhu Shencui were originally friends, and later they had the relationship with Tana and Tenger. They were all family members. Burigude clearly understood his own abilities. He knew that if he competed for the position of Taiji, let alone whether he could succeed, even if he succeeded, he would never have the ability of Zhu Shencui to lead the tribe to glory when he sat on the position of Taiji.

Burigude was sober, and Zhu Shenzui did not treat him unfairly. He not only gave him the status and identity he deserved, but also handed over Zhenlu Fort to him.

But just because Burigude doesn't have this idea doesn't mean that others don't have it. What's more, no one can be sure what the people around Burigude are thinking.

When Lindan Khan planned to attack Bushitu this time and wanted to launch a war with the Tenger tribe as the vanguard, Zhu Shenzui failed to take these hidden dangers into consideration.

As the saying goes, one must first stabilize the country before resisting foreign aggression. If the internal problems are not resolved, the consequences of this war will be unpredictable. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui did not want to fight this war in the first place, because once the war started, no one could predict what the outcome of the Tengger tribe would be.

But the facts made Zhu Shencui embarrassed. Once he disobeyed Lindan Khan's order, the tribe would directly stand on the opposite side of Lindan Khan. Not to mention Lindan Khan's reaction, Bu Shitu would never accept the Tenger tribe. And even if Bu Shitu was willing to do so, Zhu Shencui would not make such a choice. It was obvious that the two sides had a grudge, and Lindan Khan's power was far stronger than Bu Shitu's. Zhu Shencui would do such a thing unless he was crazy.

Furthermore, the Tenger tribe had always been a descendant of Ligdan Khan, and many people in the tribe supported Ligdan Khan. If Ligdan Khan was rejected, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction within the tribe. If the tribe became chaotic, it would be in danger without going to war.

After much deliberation, Zhu Shenzhui could only adopt this strategy. No matter how much he opposed it in his heart, he had to tell everyone on the surface that he supported Lin Danhan in declaring war on Bu Shitu. In addition, because of the Mongolian nobles in the tribe, Zhu Shenzhui had to send out this signal to stabilize people's hearts and take a good look at everyone's attitude. What happened in today's meeting also proved Zhu Shenzhui's guess.

"These traitorous bastards!" Tana's face was as cold as frost and she couldn't help cursing. If it weren't for them, how could the leaders who had just clamored to go to war with Bu Shitu have lived to this day? At the beginning, Galiba almost chopped off their heads, and they saved their lives by groveling. But can Galiba really let them go? Based on Tana's understanding of Galiba, her brother is a venomous snake. After cleaning up the tribe, he will definitely attack them. Sooner or later, they will die in Galiba's hands.

From this point of view, it was Zhu Shenzui who saved their lives and, despite past grudges, gave them the status of tribal leaders. Even though they had lost some of their military power, they still had everything they deserved, and their lives were much better than before.

But how did these people repay them? It would be fine if they were jealous of Wang Hai, but they also planned to replace Tenger with Burigude and secretly colluded with Ligdan Khan. If they succeeded, given the cruelty of the Mongolian power struggle, how could Tana and her son survive?
"It's going to rain if it does, and my mother is going to get married. It's their own choice. Let them do what they want. There's no need to worry." Zhu Shenzhui put his arm around Tana's shoulders and felt her body trembling with anger, and he comforted her softly.

"What are you going to do?" Tana took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She whispered, "Should we find a chance to take down Burigude first?"

"No need." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile: "Bu Rigude is not stupid, and I have already taken precautions. As long as he doesn't do something, it is better to keep him than to arrest him."

"What about the others? Are we really going to let them lead the troops?"

"As for the others, don't worry about them. Let them be happy for a few days first. They will naturally cry when the time comes..." When he said this, Zhu Shenzhui sneered and his expression became sharp. Looking at her husband, Tana's heart calmed down and she also smiled.

(End of this chapter)