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

Chapter 543 Opportunity?

After reading the letter, Zhu Shenzui frowned and understood why Tana wrote such a letter to him.

As the common leader of Mongolia, no matter what the attitude of the various tribes towards Ligdan Khan was at that time, it did not affect Ligdan Khan's status.

The title of the Great Khan of Mongolia has always been firmly on the head of Ligdan Khan. Even though he was forced to leave Chahar and flee to Qinghai, his position as Khan has never been shaken. Even his enemies acknowledged this.

Today's Mongolia is no longer the Mongolia of the past. Ever since the Yuan Dynasty lost the Central Plains and fled back to the grassland, it has lost its name and became the "Northern Yuan Dynasty".

After the Battle of Buir Lake, the lingering small Northern Yuan Dynasty was completely destroyed. From then on, the Golden Family no longer had the crown of "Emperor" and fell from the high throne, no longer having the former glory.

After that, the Golden Family went from being an emperor to a "Great Khan" and never set foot in the Central Plains again. Even though there was a brief period of prosperity, such as during the reign of Altan Khan, the Mongolian army not only conquered the entire Qinghai, but also incorporated western Sichuan and Kang region into the territory of Mongolia, and even affected the entire Tibetan area.

But even so, the glory of the Mongolians was gone forever. After the death of Altan Khan, the Mongolian tribes became scattered again. Although Sanniangzi tried hard and did a lot in the Tumed Grassland, the general trend of the times made the end of the Mongolians an irreversible outcome of history.

By the time of Ligdan Khan, the nominal Great Khan and leader of Mongolia could only control Chahar, and his influence on other grassland tribes was much less than before. In addition, the rise of Nurhaci in Liaodong further weakened the status of the Mongols. In addition, there were religious reasons, which was why Ligdan Khan had been trying to conquer the tribes by force for decades in an attempt to unify Mongolia again.

Unfortunately, Lin Dan Khan was ambitious but incompetent and failed to succeed. He was even defeated by Huang Taiji and other Mongolian tribes and fled in disgrace. After Lin Dan Khan was forced to leave Chahar and flee to Qinghai, his status as the Khan was no longer worthy of his name.

However, the Khanate is still the Khanate after all, and the Mongols themselves acknowledge this. But recognizing Lindan Khan and recognizing Lindan Khan's successor are two completely different things. In other words, when the news of Lindan Khan's death spread, the position of the Great Khan of Mongolia was actually gone.

From this point of view, even if one of the two sons of Lindan Khan eventually inherited the position of Khan, this Khan position would be useless. Firstly, the position of Mongolian Khan has never been inherited by the son after the father's death, but recommended by the various tribes of the Golden Family. Secondly, the Mongolian Khan often has the strongest military power and political influence among the Mongolian tribes, and can convince the Mongolian tribes. Now these two premises do not exist. Before Lindan Khan's death, the whole of Mongolia had been torn apart, and no tribe was willing to obey each other. The influence of the Golden Family has been reduced to the lowest. From the perspective of the Mongolians themselves, many tribes do not want another Khan like Lindan Khan to appear on the Mongolian grasslands.

It must be said that Namu Zhong had a good plan, intending to use this method to win over Zhu Shenzhui and support her son Abunai to win the position of Mongolian Khan. This woman is very smart. She knows that the tribe is no longer as strong as it was during the heyday of Ligdan Khan. In fact, after Ligdan Khan went west to Qinghai, the strength of the tribe had fallen to the bottom. Even if Ligdan Khan was not dead, he could not call on the Mongolian tribes with the power in his hands.

Looking at the grassland as a whole, Chahar, Khorchin, Inner Khalkha and Outer Khalkha were all enemies. These tribes had a deep hatred for Ligdan Khan, especially the former, who were in collusion with Huang Taiji. If it were not for them, Ligdan Khan would not have been forced to leave Chahar.

Apart from these tribes, the only ones that could be won over were a few tribes in Qinghai and the Tumed tribes. Although Lin Danhan had fought with Bushitu before and had thought of occupying Tumed to regroup, this plan ultimately failed, and from this point of view, his relationship with Tumed was not good.

But then again, Tumed had more than just Bushitu's tribe. Bushitu was dead, and his tribe was also annexed. Now the real master of Tumed had become the Tenger tribe. As the leader of the Tenger tribe, Tenger not only replaced Bushitu and got the title of Shunyi King, but also called himself Jurhan, becoming the actual master of Tumed.

Although she was far away in Qinghai, Namu Zhong was aware of the changes in Tumed, and she also knew who was the real master of the Tenger tribe. Therefore, Namu Zhong set her sights on the Tenger tribe, especially Zhu Shenzhui, the real master of the Tenger tribe, and extended an olive branch to Zhu Shenzhui.

Namu Zhong was also very confident in herself. In terms of age, Namu Zhong was not old, two years younger than Tana. In terms of appearance, a woman who was favored by Lin Dan Khan must be good-looking. In addition, Namu Zhong had the support of the Abaga tribe behind her. Most importantly, she had a son who could inherit the throne of the Mongolian Khan. If they could join forces, it would be a good thing for both sides.

If he married Namu Zhong and supported Abunai to win the Khanship, then the legacy left by Lin Dan Khan would be in his pocket. Not only could he recover the remaining troops of Lin Dan Khan and gain control of Qinghai, but he could also obtain the title of Mongolian Khan after Lin Dan Khan's death. As for Abunai, even if he ascended the throne of Mongolian Khan, what would happen? What was there to be afraid of a baby who was only two or three years old? Wasn't everything under his control? Moreover, Namu Zhong offered excellent conditions. Not only was she willing to marry Zhu Shenzhui, she also proposed the idea of ​​letting Zhu Shenzhui serve as regent for Mongolian Khan. To be honest, it was impossible for Zhu Shenzhui not to be tempted, as the conditions were too generous. The price paid was not high, but the gains were not small. If it were someone else, they would have agreed to such a good thing long ago. Even Tana revealed a similar meaning in the letter, otherwise Tana would not have written such a letter to Zhu Shenzhui. As a Mongolian, Tana knew very well the influence of the title of "Great Khan of Mongolia" on the entire Mongolia. Even if this title could not fall on the Tengger brothers, just accepting Lindan Khan's legacy and obtaining the position of regent would be enough to be of great attraction.

As for Namu Zhong's request, it was nothing in Tana's eyes. It was nothing more than marrying a woman.

Mongolians do not take matters between men and women seriously. It is common for a man to marry several women, and it is normal for a woman to remarry after her husband dies. It is even normal to marry a step-son or step-grandson according to local customs. Just like Sanniangzi, who first married Aldan Khan, and after Aldan Khan's death, she remarried his eldest son Huang Taiji. After Huang Taiji's death, she remarried Huang Taiji's eldest son Chelike. After Chelike's death, she remarried Huang Taiji's grandson Bu Shitu for the last time at the age of 61.

Even Sanniangzi could remarry three times, a total of four times in her life, let alone other women? This situation would be unbelievable in the Ming Dynasty, but it was very normal in Mongolia, and each time Sanniangzi remarried was mixed with political factors. Tana, who had idolized Sanniangzi since childhood, certainly understood this, so she could also understand Namu Zhong's thoughts.

Namu Zhong's choice was the best one. Not only could she win over the Tenger tribe as a strong backing and support her son to ascend the throne of the Great Khan, but she could also find a strong enough military and political support for her and her son.

Even if she gave the power of regent to Zhu Shencui, what would happen? Anyway, her son was still young and could not exercise the power of the Khan. Handing over power would not only preserve her son's position, but also ensure her own position and future. As for what would happen in the future, Namu Zhong did not care to think about it, because the power struggle among the Mongols was often very cruel. If she could not win the victory of the Khan's position, then the final outcome for Namu Zhong and her son might be a silent death.

No matter from which perspective, Namu Zhong's choice is correct. The key now is whether Zhu Shenzhu is willing to accept the other party's conditions.

Zhu Shenzhui was not a pedantic person, he certainly could see the pros and cons, but this was not a trivial matter after all, he had to consider it carefully. Moreover, he was in Ming Dynasty now, even if he rushed back to the grassland immediately, it would take time, so after thinking about it, he decided to complete the marriage of Wang Hai and Qiao'er first, and then return to the grassland after the marriage was completed, and make a decision after understanding the situation.

Putting this matter aside for the time being, Zhu Shenzhui focused on preparing for the wedding of Wang Hai and Qiao'er.

The general preparations for the marriage had been arranged long before Wang Hai returned to Daming, and what followed was just a matter of procedure.

After letting Wang Hai rest in Pingyang for two days, Zhu Shenzhu took Wang Hai to Luzhouwei. After arriving at Luzhouwei, Zhu Shenzhu took Wang Hai to a courtyard. This place was specially arranged by Zhu Shenzhu. After all, Qiao'er was getting married, and Wang Hai himself did not have his own house in Daming. Since he had to have a place to live after getting married, he could not just get married casually, right? Besides, after the two of them got married, even if they lived and naturalized in Daming permanently in the future, they still had to have a home in Daming. This house was a gift Zhu Shenzhu gave them in advance.

Then everything went smoothly. After the engagement process, the wedding was held soon. Due to Wang Hai and Qiao'er's status, the wedding was not a big deal, in order to avoid some trouble. Zhu Shenzhu smiled and told them that the wedding in Daming was a bit simple, which was unfair to them, but after returning to Guihua City, he would let Tana help them to do it again in the Mongolian way, and it must be lively and lively, so that they would not have any regrets.

Naturally, neither Wang Hai nor Qiao'er would object to Zhu Shenzhui's arrangement. They knew very well why Zhu Shenzhui did so.

It was indeed inconvenient to hold a grand wedding for a Mongolian and a princess in the Ming Dynasty, but it was no problem on the grassland. Moreover, Zhu Shencui let the two lovers finally get married, which was enough for them, not to mention that Zhu Shencui also gave them a generous dowry and betrothal gift, which made them even happier.

After the wedding, Wang Hai and Qiao'er will stay in Luzhouwei for a while. On the one hand, they have just got married, and Zhu Shenzhu hopes that they can spend a good time as newlyweds. On the other hand, considering that Qiao'er will follow Wang Hai to Guihua City, she may not be able to come back for several years. With Qiao'er's departure, sister-in-law Zhang will inevitably miss her, so let Qiao'er and his wife accompany Zhang for some time.

(End of this chapter)