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

Chapter 427 Falling Sick

Winter on the grassland is very hard to endure.

It was the first time for Zhu Shenzui to spend the winter on the grassland in so many years. With the fall of several heavy snowfalls, the entire grassland turned into a vast expanse of white. Everywhere you looked, there was white. The cattle and sheep could no longer be grazed like before and had to be kept together in pens.

The grass on the grasslands could no longer be supplied to the cattle and sheep, and it was difficult for the cattle and sheep to dig snow and find grass roots. In addition, after the cold winter came, the cattle and sheep also needed to be kept warm, otherwise countless cattle and sheep would be frozen to death overnight, which would be a devastating blow to the tribe.

Many small tribes often cannot survive such a winter and disappear on the grasslands in the spring of the following year. Nomadic peoples have been living like this for thousands of years. For them, such situations are common. I am afraid it is the will of Changshengtian.

The situation of the Tengger tribe was naturally much better than that of other tribes. Due to the abundance of supplies and sufficient preparations over the years, the Tengger tribe not only did not suffer any losses, but continued to grow stronger.

Just like now, the herdsmen and cattle are eating hay that has been prepared long ago, and the herdsmen no longer migrate. The camps composed of large and small yurts take care of each other, allowing everyone to spend the winter safely.

In Zhu Shenzhui's tent, it was snowing outside, but it was warm inside. Dry cow dung was burning in the fire pit in the middle, and a silver kettle was hung above it. The water in the pot was bubbling and making gurgling sounds. On the thick blanket, two little guys were playing and fighting.

The older one is Zhu Shenzhui's eldest son Tengger, and the younger one is Agudamu. The little guys grow up very fast and strong. Last year Agudamu couldn't even walk properly, but now he can walk and run, and he will also show his teeth and claws to try to snatch things from his brother Tengger.

The little guy was very naughty, he had no interest in the toys given to him, and he always stared at what his brother Tengger was holding. At first, Tengger gave his brother some points, but he got impatient after a while, and every time his brother came to grab his things, Tengger got angry and dodged and refused to give them to him, which aroused Agudamu's interest. He kept shouting and screaming, and would not stop until his brother got them.

Not far from the two children, Tana was also busy. She was Taiji's mother, the tribe's Alia. Zhu Shencui had always tried to let Tana manage the tribe herself. After all, her status was different from Zhu Shencui's, and Zhu Shencui couldn't stay on the grassland forever. The tribe was theirs after all. What if she was not there? She had to learn how to deal with some things.

Tana is very smart and understands this better. After a few years, Tana has also trained herself. Just like when Zhu Shenzhui led the troops out before, Tana was in charge of everything in the tribe. The whole tribe was in good order under her management, which made Zhu Shenzhui quite pleased.

Zhu Shenzhui had a rare chance to relax. He half-lay beside Tana, supporting the back of his neck with one hand, and watched with a smile the two children fighting and playing not far away.

Such relaxing and comfortable days are rare, this is real life!
I don’t know how long it had been, but suddenly Wang Hai’s voice came from outside. Zhu Shenzhui sat up straight and said to the person outside the tent, “Come in.”

Wang Hai lifted the thick curtain and entered the big tent. He was covered in snow, and his eyebrows were covered with snowflakes. After entering, he first saluted Zhu Shenzui, Tana, Tenger, and Agudamu.

"Okay, there's no need for outsiders to do this here. Come and warm yourself by the fire. Look at all the snow on you." Zhu Shenzui waved at him with a smile.

Wang Hai grinned and nodded, took off his outer coat, stomped his feet to shake off the snow on his body, then walked to the fire and sat cross-legged.

At this time, Tengger, who had already grown up, didn't bother to continue playing with his brother. He directly stuffed the gadget in his hand into his brother's hand, helped Tana make a bowl of hot tea, and then personally handed it to Wang Hai.

"Master, please have some tea."

"Thank you, young master..." Wang Hai hurriedly thanked him and took the hot tea given to him by Tengger with a respectful attitude.

He took a sip and his body instantly warmed up as the hot tea entered his mouth. Wang Hai was not pretentious and finished the tea in a few gulps. Then he refused Tengger's request to pour more tea, put the silver bowl aside, and then reported his purpose to Zhu Shenzhui and Tana.

"Master, Mistress, I just received news from Guihua that Bu Shitu is seriously ill."

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Shenzhui and Tana couldn't help but look at each other, both of them showing surprised expressions.

"Is this true?"

"Master, rest assured, it is absolutely true!" Wang Hai said firmly, and then he told Zhu Shenzhui and his wife that this news was brought by his people from Guihua City, and according to the messenger, Bu Shitu had fallen ill half a month ago, and his condition has become increasingly serious these days, and his condition is very bad. Previously, Lin Danhan and Bu Shitu fought in Guihua City, but because of the change in weather and the threat posed by Zhu Shenzhui's troops, Lin Danhan failed to break through Guihua City and had no choice but to continue to move west to Qinghai.

After defending Guihua City, Bu Shitu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Danhan went west and Tumed was saved. But not long after that, Bu Shitu fell ill. Perhaps the previous series of battles had caused Bu Shitu's health problems. Because of the war, Bu Shitu had been holding his breath and holding on. After the war, as his heart settled, he relaxed and his body collapsed.

Zhu Shenzhu had been paying attention to Guihua City, and he entrusted the matter to Wang Hai, whom he trusted the most. After the war, Wang Hai quietly sent a few trusted people to sneak into Guihua City as ordinary herdsmen and settled down in the city.

And now this news came from Guihua City. After Wang Hai learned about it, he immediately went to see Zhu Shenzhui and told him about it.

Zhu Shenzhui was very surprised by Bu Shitu's sudden serious illness, and from the information reported by Wang Hai, Bu Shitu's illness was very severe and he might not live long.

Speaking of Bu Shitu, he is not young anymore. He is ten years older than Ligdan Khan and is now nearly fifty years old.

Unlike the people of the Ming Dynasty, the Mongolians had a harsh climate and poor living conditions. In addition, many Mongolians liked to drink alcohol for various reasons, and Bu Shitu, as the King of Shunyi and the Lord of Tumed, was even more so. In fact, this bad habit also existed in Ligdan Khan, and it was even a common problem in the Golden Family. Many Mongolian Khans died of diseases caused by alcoholism, the most famous of which was the Great Khan Ogedei.

Like his ancestors, Bu Shitu was not only an alcoholic but also a womanizer, and his body had been hollowed out over the years. This time, when Ligdan Khan led his army into Tumed, Bu Shitu fought a great battle with Ligdan Khan to defend his foundation. Although he eventually forced Ligdan Khan to give up attacking Guihua City and go west with the blessing of Changshengtian, the long war and mental exhaustion also completely broke Bu Shitu's body.

So soon after the war, Bu Shitu fell ill and is now dying. If nothing unexpected happens, his life has already entered the countdown. Once Bu Shitu dies, his power will collapse, which is a rare opportunity for Zhu Shenzhui.

Logically speaking, Bu Shitu, as the King of Shunyi and the Lord of Tumed, was not without a son. He had a son named Omubu.

However, the Mongolian inheritance is different from that of the Han regime. As early as thousands of years ago, the Han dynasty including the aristocratic families had established a complete inheritance system, which is the primogeniture system.

When the father dies, the son inherits the throne. The eldest son is the first heir. If there is no eldest son, the legitimate son will be chosen. If there is no legitimate son, the eldest son will be chosen. If the eldest son is not good enough, the other sons will be chosen as the most capable. If there are no sons, then the throne will be passed to the younger brother, just like Emperor Chongzhen.

This system lasted for thousands of years, and became an ironclad system in the Ming Dynasty because of Zhu Yuanzhang. The benefits of this system are obvious. It can avoid the turbulence of power transfer and enable the heirs to take over the power and status of the former, thus allowing the regime to continue.

But it is different for the Mongols. Since Genghis Khan, the Mongol Khan has been elected by recommendation. Genghis Khan himself was elected to the throne after the unification of Mongolia through the kurultai assembly held on the banks of the Onon River.

After Genghis Khan was given this title, he became the real Khan of the Mongols. Later, his successors implemented the feudal system and made his sons and generals kings. After Genghis Khan's death, Ogedei was promoted to the throne. The same was true for the Khans after Ogedei. It was not until Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty that the Yuan Dynasty adopted the Han Chinese inheritance system. However, after the demise of the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor fled back to Mongolia, and the previous inheritance system soon returned to its original form.

Bu Shitu was the King of Shunyi and the Lord of Tumed, but he did not become the King of Shunyi and control Tumed through inheritance. He relied on his own strength and won over Sanniangzi, and even forced Sanniangzi to marry him before he got the golden seal of the King of Shunyi.

Therefore, once Bu Shitu died, even if he had a son, it would be impossible for him to directly inherit his title as King of Shunyi, let alone replace him as the nominal master of Tumed.

More importantly, Bu Shitu's golden seal of the King of Shunyi had been lost long ago. When he first opposed Ligdan Khan and fought against the enemy, Bu Shitu was beaten by Ligdan Khan and fled away in panic. In his miserable state, the golden seal fell into Ligdan Khan's hands.

Without the golden seal, he was no longer worthy of the title of King of Shunyi, and was just barely in that position. Once he died, Omubu had no reason to inherit Bushitu's legacy, and all he could get was his own tribe and part of the territory.

The result was obvious, Zhu Shenzhui thought of it instantly, and Tana on the side also thought of it, and the two of them couldn't help but become excited.

The couple already had a tacit understanding and saw the same look in each other's eyes.

Restraining his inner excitement, Zhu Shenzhui asked Wang Hai about the situation in Guihua City. At this time, Wang Hai was not clear about Zhu Shenzhui's true thoughts, so he just told Zhu Shenzhui everything he knew. After listening to Wang Hai's story, Zhu Shenzhui asked Wang Hai to contact Guihua City as soon as possible and to get all the information about Guihua City as soon as possible. After giving the instructions, Wang Hai saluted and hurried out to make arrangements. After Wang Hai left, Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help laughing, and Tana on the side was also very happy.

(End of this chapter)