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

Chapter 351 The war is coming
Zhu Shenzhui's judgment was correct, Bu Shitu's men soon appeared.

As the army advanced, Bu Shitu finally could not sit still anymore. As the nominal leader of the Tumed, how could he explain to his people if he continued to hide in Guihua City like a coward and allowed the tribe that depended on him to be attacked?

Soon Zhu Shenzui's army ran into Bu Shitu's cavalry. With the appearance of Bu Shitu's troops, everyone became nervous, and even those leaders who had previously shown off their power in the small tribes could not help but be alert.

In the following days, the cavalry of both sides fought several times, but the battles were not large in scale and each won and lost.

At this point in the war, the Tengger tribe has officially started fighting with Bushitu. Although the current fighting is only on a limited scale, everyone knows that this is just the beginning, and the next war is the real battle to be faced.

At this time, Lindan Khan's subordinates also arrived nearby to cooperate with the Tenger tribe in the battle against Bushitu. Zhu Shenzui also sent several letters to Lindan Khan in succession, requesting the Khan to send troops as soon as possible to cut off Bushitu's retreat in order to cooperate with the battle.

But who would have thought that Lin Dan Khan's army would drag their feet and stay far away from the battlefield after several days of fighting with the vanguard of the Tenger tribe and Bu Shitu. It seemed that Lin Dan Khan was not in a hurry at all. His army was not here to fight but to have a picnic. Not only that, Lin Dan Khan sent people to inform the Tenger tribe that they must contain Bu Shitu and unite with other tribes that had arrived to repel the vanguard of Bu Shitu. As long as they could do this, it would be a great achievement and Lin Dan Khan would definitely reward them.

When the news came, Zhu Shenzhui was speechless. He had expected that it would not be so easy for Lindan Khan to keep his promise, but he did not expect that Lindan Khan would not even provide cover and directly and blatantly expressed this attitude.

Although there were other tribes that came as friendly forces, it was still very difficult for the Tengger tribe to compete with the Bu Shitu tribe. What's more, the overall strength of the Bu Shitu tribe was much stronger than that of the Tengger tribe. At present, the two sides seemed to have not suffered any losses in several battles, but in fact they were under great pressure.

"Lord Zhaluhuchi, Lord Burigude requests to see you."

In Zhu Shenzui's tent, Zhu Shenzui was concentrating on thinking about something when the guard outside suddenly came to report.

Upon hearing that Burigude wanted to see him, Zhu Shenzui immediately nodded to let him in, and in the blink of an eye, Burigude strode into the tent.

"Zalukhuchi!" When seeing Zhu Shencui, Burigude first saluted. Now it was wartime, so he did not use the usual way to address Zhu Shencui as brother, but directly addressed him by his position.

"You're here at the right time." When Zhu Shenzui saw him, he waved and asked Burigude to come to his side. After he sat down, Zhu Shenzui handed him a letter.

"This is……?"

"The Khan has just sent it here."

Burigude took it and his expression turned extremely ugly after reading a few lines.

This was indeed a letter sent by Ligdan Khan, or to be more precise, an order.

Lin Danhan asked the Tenger tribe to go north as quickly as possible, join forces with the other two troops that had arrived, and quickly defeat Bushitu's vanguard troops to prepare for the next attack on Guihua City.

This order looked ordinary, but anyone could see the real intention of Lin Danhan. Now Bu Shitu's troops had almost assembled. In terms of military strength, Bu Shitu's vanguard alone was no less than that of the Tengger tribe. If the troops that arrived later were added, its military strength would be stronger than that of the Tengger tribe.

Even though the Tenger tribe had the assistance of the other two tribes, its overall military strength could not match that of Bu Shitu's troops, not to mention that Bu Shitu had the Kharchin and Yongshebu tribes behind him. These two tribes were equally powerful. Judging from the time, the reinforcements of the two tribes would almost arrive at Guihua City.

In this situation, the safest tactic for the Tenger tribe was to wait for the arrival of Ligdan Khan's army. As long as Ligdan Khan's main force arrived at the battlefield, he would send a part of his troops to cut off the road leading to Mobei north of Guihua City. The main force and the Tenger tribe would join forces to completely suppress Bushitu.

By then, they would have a strategic advantage by attacking from both the north and the south. As long as they could defeat Bu Shitu's vanguard troops in one battle, the balance of victory would tilt towards their side.

But Lindan Khan did not do so. Instead, he sent a letter urging him to go to war. Burigude was not stupid, so how could he not understand Lindan Khan's thoughts?

"Great Khan, this..." Burigude frowned and looked extremely ugly. He came to Zhu Shenzhui today because the battle situation was unclear and wanted to ask Zhu Shenzhui about the next arrangements. Unexpectedly, he saw the order from Ligdan Khan to urge the war on Zhu Shenzhui's side.

Zhu Shenzhui sighed, shook his head and said, "The previous small fight was just the beginning. Fortunately, we were cautious and did not advance rashly. Otherwise, we would have directly collided with Bu Shitu's main force. Now Bu Shitu has not yet fully dealt with us. This old guy is not stupid. He only sent a part of his army to deal with us, and most of his energy is focused on the east, guarding against the Khan's army."

"Or, how about sending someone to write a letter to the Khan, asking him to advance quickly?" Burigude couldn't help but suggest.

"Haha, do you think the Khan will listen to you?" Zhu Shenzhui asked back. This sentence made Burigude speechless. Burigude had followed Lindan Khan in battles for many years. Although his position was not high, he knew the Khan better than anyone else. In several wars, Lindan Khan had made various tricks. He was a man who only wanted to take advantage but was unwilling to suffer any loss.

Burigude looked very unhappy. Although the Tenger tribe was not weak, he had no confidence in fighting such a battle. Burigude was not like the leaders of the tribe. He was an old fighter and his mind was much clearer than that of ordinary Mongolians.

"With our own strength, we are not sure we can defeat Bu Shitu's vanguard, even with the help of the other two divisions. This is not a small-scale cavalry battle, but a battle involving thousands of cavalry. If we lose, the losses will be unbearable. Also, don't forget that Bu Shitu's main force is still behind us. If the Khan still stands by and watches, his main force and the vanguard will join forces, and it will be even more difficult for us to deal with it. If we are not careful, there will be big problems."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Shenzhui asked back.

Burigude pondered for a moment and said, "I think it's better to avoid the enemy for the sake of safety. We can go east, bypass the Gray River and move closer to the Khan's troops. Since the Khan's main force is slow to move, we might as well take the initiative to move closer. In this way, Bu Shitu will definitely not act rashly..."

"No!" Before Burigude could finish his words, Zhu Shenzhui asked, "Such an action not only violates the Khan's order, but also directly blocks the way to the south. Let me ask you, what will we do if the Khan blames us? What if Bu Shitu's vanguard ignores everything and directly sends troops south?"

"Besides, Bu Shitu's follow-up main force has not yet moved, and the same is true for the reinforcements from Kalaqin and Yongxiebu. Just now, you also said that Bu Shitu is worried that the Khan's main force will attack from the east to the west, or even go directly north to cut off his retreat. But once we take the initiative to approach, can you guarantee that Bu Shitu will not react? By then, not only will the situation not be alleviated, we will even be in a dilemma."

Zhu Shenzhui's words left Burigude unable to answer. This possibility was not impossible, and it was not small.

As the King of Shunyi and the nominal leader of the Tumed, Bu Shitu is no ordinary person. He is the most powerful among the Tumed tribes.

Now Bu Shitu has not used all his strength to deal with the Tenger tribe because he is on guard against Ligdan Khan. However, once the Tenger tribe changes its direction of advance as Burigude suggested just now and takes the initiative to move closer to Ligdan Khan in the east, Bu Shitu will definitely react immediately to what is going on.

Bu Shitu has fought with Ligdan Khan for many years and knows him very well. Once Bu Shitu understands Ligdan Khan's true intentions, he will definitely adjust his tactics, and the Tenger tribe will be put on the passive side.

In addition, doing so would also arouse the wrath of Ligdan Khan. Ligdan Khan had clearly ordered the Tenger tribe and the other two tribes to continue to move north, delaying the vanguard of Bu Shitu and even defeating the enemy army. But what does it mean that the Tenger tribe avoided fighting? Could it be that they did not take the Khan's order seriously? Based on this alone, it would be reasonable for Ligdan Khan to chop off their heads directly. Wouldn't it be courting death if they went up to them?

Cold sweat dripped from Burigude's forehead. For a moment, he was in a state of panic and didn't know what to do.

"We don't have many choices now. Since the Khan has given the order, we can only do this." Zhu Shenzhui said with a wry smile, patting Burigude's shoulder.

"But...are you sure?"

"The battle hasn't even started yet, how can you be so sure?" Zhu Shenzhui shook his head and said, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate. The situation is stronger than people. What else can you do but do this?"

"But what if we lose?" Burigude asked worriedly.

Zhu Shenzhui hesitated for a moment, looked towards the big tent door, then lowered his voice and said a few words in Burigude's ear.

After listening to Zhu Shenzui's words, Burigude was stunned at first, then he was surprised, and then he became very nervous.

"This is no small matter. Once the Khan blames us..."

"Blame? What can you blame?" Zhu Shenzhui asked back, "We tried our best and reminded the Khan many times beforehand, but the Khan didn't take our request to heart at all."

"It was the Khan's request that we continue to advance northwards, and we are following the Khan's orders. War is no joke, and the outcome is unpredictable. Besides, we are no match for Bu Shitu with our strength, so it's a stretch to be able to do this."

After a pause, Zhu Shenzhui continued, "And this is just a precautionary measure, or it may not be used at all. If we can really defeat Bu Shitu's vanguard, won't everyone be happy? If we can't do that, we have to arrange a retreat, right? Do you want to watch the elite of the tribe being consumed in vain in this battle? Without the army, won't the tribe become cattle and sheep to be slaughtered at will?"

Burigude's face was gloomy and he was conflicted for a moment. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet to agree to Zhu Shenzhui's suggestion. He immediately calmed down and discussed the next arrangements in detail with Zhu Shenzhui.

(End of this chapter)