Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 122 New entry: "Heavenly Khan"

Zhu Youjian paused, the bloodstains from Daishan's head rolling down to the hem of his dragon robe.

He really didn't know about this part beforehand, and he didn't expect Abunai to pull such a stunt.

But to be fair, this title was indeed a way of flattering Zhu Youjian.

"What does the Grand Secretary think?" she asked with a smile, looking at Ni Yuanlu.

The latter's ivory tablet struck the incense burner, and the splattered incense ash blinded the Minister of Rites in his right eye.

"The Heavenly Khan is the former title of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty." Ni Yuanlu's Adam's apple bobbed twice as she glanced at Huang Degong wiping the brains off his knife. "However, His Majesty's power extends throughout the four seas, and his virtue reaches the eight directions; it is fitting."

Before he could finish speaking, he was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

Suddenly, the Beijing garrison struck their shields with swords in unison, and the roar of 30,000 men shook the stone statues, causing dust to fall. "Heavenly Khan! Heavenly Khan!"

At that moment, the system also issued a notification sound.

[Gain your personal exclusive entry "Heavenly Khan"]

[Heavenly Khan (Red): Host-exclusive attribute. Increases deterrence against nomadic peoples by 200%, assimilation efficiency of nomadic peoples by 80%, integration efficiency of nomadic peoples by 80%, Mongol army rebellion rate by 100%, and when leading troops in non-agricultural areas, increases strategy by 100%, tactics by 300%, action efficiency by 100%, and marching speed by 50%. Gains the highest political prestige in Mongolia, gains a strong claim to Mongolia, and increases personal prestige by 50.]

[First time obtaining a non-system-related red affix, reward: Kheshig Army x1 (Temujin era)]

Zhu Youjian stared at the text in the system, stunned.

What the hell is this?! It's now a red tag!?!
In reality, he only ever came across a few red-themed entries.

They've spent 30 million taels of silver to finally get a single personal entry.

Now he actually got an entry just because someone gave him an honorific title?!
You can still play like this! ?

Moreover, the entry for "Heavenly Khan" seems significantly more useful than the entry for "Tyrant".

It is highly likely that the Mongol people will be directly integrated into the Chinese territory, thus completely resolving the border troubles.

And that buff when fighting in non-agricultural areas, Zhu Youjian even suspected that the system was trying to create another Huo Qubing!

He didn't understand the system reward. He didn't know much about history outside of the early Ming Dynasty, and he was only familiar with the Kheshig army, thinking it was just an ordinary army.

However, since it's a bonus for a red-label item, it shouldn't be too bad.

Coming to his senses, Zhu Youjian looked at Abunai kneeling on the ground and the many Mongol tribal leaders, and felt great.

"I have sensed the heart of the King of Chahar."

"However, the title of Heavenly Khan is truly difficult to accept."

"Now that the Jurchens are in the north, hundreds of thousands of Mongolians are living in misery. How can I face the title of Heavenly Khan!"

This was a normal practice of the emperor declining and requesting three times, to demonstrate his humility.

This would have been a perfectly normal thing in the eyes of any Ming Dynasty official.

But Abunai was a true Mongolian!

They had never known what "three refusals and three requests" meant since they were young, and they thought that Zhu Youjian really didn't want to accept the title of Heavenly Khan.

Abunai was so frightened that he panicked on the spot.

"Your Majesty the Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, do you not want us, your Mongol subjects?"

Now that the Ming Dynasty has just won a great victory, and it seems that the great empire that has existed for thousands of years is about to rise again and eat some snacks from its neighbors, if you don't choose the right side at this time, aren't you just waiting to become food?

Fortunately, there were quite a few officials around, and Ni Yuanlu could tell at a glance that Abunai did not understand the reasoning behind it.

He had no choice but to quickly step forward and take over the conversation.

"Your Majesty, I also agree with the request of the Chahar King. Your Majesty's virtue extends to the four seas and your achievements surpass those of the Five Emperors. Wherever rivers, lakes, and seas reach, and wherever the sun, moon, and stars shine, all is enlightened land. The Mongol people are also enlightened subjects. As the ruler of all people, Your Majesty protects the people of the world. The title of Heavenly Khan is truly well-deserved."

Ni Yuanlu's words finally put Abu Nai at ease.

"No, no, I haven't..." Zhu Youjian feigned refusal again.

Ni Yuanlu then used classical allusions to petition the emperor, proving that Zhu Youjian was capable and should accept the title of Heavenly Khan.

Moreover, on his last petition, he was accompanied by thousands of officials, and this time Zhu Youjian willingly accepted the title of Heavenly Khan.

It obtained claims of sovereignty over the tribes in southern Mongolia.

Don't think that doing this is meaningless; if Zhu Youjian directly accepted Abunai's request...

That was originally a good thing, but it will also be seen as Zhu Youjian being arrogant, easily manipulated by villains, and lacking in shrewdness, etc.

It could even sow the seeds for future court infighting, essentially leaving the emperor's weaknesses to his ministers.

But three refusals and three requests are different.

This was a position the emperor was unwilling to take, but was forced to accept for the sake of his subjects.

It's to give face to the minister.

The title of Heavenly Khan was well-deserved; otherwise, why would a thousand officials have jointly requested the honorific title?

No one can find the loophole.

When Zhu Youjian first traveled through time, he wouldn't have thought about all this!

It's all because Chongzhen left him with such a huge mess. After more than two months of intense governance, anyone who wasn't stupid would have developed some political acumen.

The addition of the "tyrant" label further enhanced his image, which ultimately shaped Zhu Youjian into the Zhu family we know today.

In the presence of the Thirteen Tombs, tens of thousands of Beijing garrison troops, thousands of Beijing officials, and hundreds of Mongol nobles, Zhu Youjian proclaimed to the world that he was the Heavenly Khan and would protect the Mongols.

Then the ancestral worship ceremony continued.

From the Ming Tombs, we moved to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and finally to the Temple of Heaven.

It started at four in the morning and lasted until four in the afternoon before it finally ended.

Because now the court needs to reform its policies, the north is in dire need of reconstruction, Li Zicheng is still harassing the western border, Zhang Shize and Zheng Chenggong are still pursuing Dorgon, corruption is still being investigated in the south, and Shandong is still settling accounts with officials and compliant people who surrendered when the Jurchens occupied the area.

The Ministry of War needs to establish a new Chahar Circuit, the Ministry of Works needs to organize the four armies in Liaodong, the Ministry of Industry needs to accelerate the production of weapons and armor, the Ministry of Revenue needs to raise grain and fodder, the Ministry of Personnel needs to select officials for vacant positions in Chahar Circuit and Beizhili, the Ministry of Rites needs to negotiate with foreign countries such as Mongolia, Korea, and Japan on matters of submission, tribute, and opening up the sea, and needs to determine the rewards for this great victory. The Ministry of Justice alone has enough to keep them busy in Jiangnan.

Officials still in the capital wished they could be in two places at once; if the ancestral worship ceremony was delayed for a day, they would have to work overtime until midnight.

Thousands of officials hurriedly left immediately after the ceremony ended.

Otherwise, according to custom, Zhu Youjian would have had to host an imperial banquet.

Looking at the empty Forbidden City, Zhu Youjian let out a long sigh.

After receiving the system reward outside the Meridian Gate, you can go back and get a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow will only bring more and more complicated events.

After changing out of his imperial robes and into his everyday clothes, Zhu Youjian left the Forbidden City without any entourage, only having Wang Chengen accompany him, and rode out of the Forbidden City on his white horse.

……

Upon arriving outside the Meridian Gate, Zhu Youjian was completely dumbfounded.

The size and elite status of the Kheshig army far exceeded his expectations!
In his mind, the Kheshig army was probably just a relatively well-known ordinary army in Chinese history.

In reality, the Kheshig army was not ordinary at all; it wasn't even a Chinese army.

This belongs to a great ruler, the true king of Caocao, the sweeper of Eurasia, the personal guard of Genghis Khan!

The entire army was composed of Mongol nobles or sons of military commanders, and was extremely well-equipped and formidable in combat. Their primary responsibility was to protect the Great Khan's safety and carry out special military missions; moreover, these individuals held extremely high positions within the army.

Even ordinary generals had to bow to them when they met.

All of this brought the Kheshig army's arrogance to its peak.

In their eyes, there is only death in battle; the concept of defeat is not allowed in their world.

Zhu Youjian reined in the horse, the dust kicked up by the white dragon horse's forelegs had not yet settled.

Eight thousand armored figures gleamed with a bloody light under the setting sun.

“This is…” Wang Chengen’s whisk fell to the ground in the snow.

A fan-shaped formation of cavalry covered the entire Chengtianmen Square.

Each warhorse was two hands taller than the largest Hequ horse in the Beijing garrison. Beneath its pure black coat, its muscles were as hard as iron. Its mask was carved with Taotie patterns, and a string of wolf teeth hung from the scarlet necklace.

The riders on horseback were on average over seven feet tall, and were covered in three layers of composite armor. The inner layer was soft armor made of Tibetan yak hide, the middle layer was covered with willow-leaf scales made of Persian steel, and the outermost layer was a whole breastplate forged from fine iron, with Phagspa script engraved on the breastplate.

The eight thousand iron cavalry were eerily silent; not even the slightest metallic scraping could be heard.

They wore helmets that covered their faces, revealing only two slits of eyes that gleamed with a bluish light; deep in their pupils was only bloodlust and a thirst for killing.

Zhu Youjian dismounted and walked up to the Kheshig army.

When his fingertips touched the warhorse of the cavalry in the front row, he could clearly feel the horse's muscles instantly tense up like iron.

The massive body was trembling slightly, not from fear, but from some kind of suppressed, bloodthirsty urge.

These mounts are all crossbred and improved varieties of Akhal-Teke horses and Mongolian horses.

According to Zhu Youjian's observation, the warhorse's shoulder height was about 1.8 meters, and it could still run long distances while carrying a load of 600 jin.

His main weapons are a composite bow, a Damascus steel scimitar, a five-meter lance, and an armor-piercing axe.

Secondary weapons include caltrop maces, lassos, and throwing stones.

All personnel are equipped with three layers of composite armor, with special protection for vital areas.

Zhu Youjian's Adam's apple bobbed.

This equipment is even stronger than that of the Xuanjia Army.

But thinking about it, it seems normal.

After all, the Kheshig army was an army from the Song Dynasty, and forging technology had made great progress by then.

He also noticed that each cavalryman had three bows hanging on the right side of his saddle: a short bow with a gyrfalcon carved on its tip, a long bow with human sinew wrapped around its bow tip, and a giant bow that was entirely black.

Seven types of arrows were inserted into the leather pouch on the left side. The arrowheads of the armor-piercing arrows had spiral patterns, the whistling arrows had skull-shaped whistle holes, and the most terrifying one was a triangular arrow with dark brown marks remaining in the groove.

"Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen suddenly screamed.

The old eunuch pointed to the rear of the cavalry formation, where nine banners made of pure black yak tails stood, fluttering in the north wind.

Each flag was guarded by a squad of infantry.

Zhu Youjian became increasingly curious about the fighting capabilities of this unit.

He immediately opened the system and started looking at the entries.

However, the Kheshig army has no entry, only one characteristic.

[Kheshig Army Traits: All members are affected by the "Curse of the Eternal Heaven," reducing pain perception by 55%, increasing stamina recovery speed by 300%, and night combat ability by 300%. Special Skill "Wolf Pack Tactics": When triggered, overall attack and defense attributes increase with casualty rate. When the unit's casualties drop below 10%, "The Last Hunt" is activated, increasing all attributes by 500%.]

Zhu Youjian's fingertips dug deeply into his palm.

He suddenly understood why he felt uneasy.

These knights from the 13th century exuded not a murderous aura, but a more primal, suffocating sense of oppression, almost like the power of heaven and earth.

The cavalry in the front row began to paw the ground with their horses' hooves, each time the large iron hooves landed, the blue bricks cracked like a spider web.

When Zhu Youjian stood at the appointed time, all the cavalrymen suddenly looked up at the same time.

Suddenly, a bugle call sounded.

The sound was extremely strange.

The temperature in the entire square plummeted the moment eight thousand scimitars were drawn simultaneously.

Wang Chengen had already stood in front of Zhu Youjian.

Despite seeing the lances three steps away, he still managed not to back down.

In the last rays of dawn, Zhu Youjian could make out the different tribal totems embroidered on the nine banners: the double-headed eagle of the Kereit tribe, the blood moon of the Tatar tribe, and the three-eyed wolf of the Naiman tribe.
As Zhu Youjian was observing, the commander of the Kheshig army in the front row suddenly rode out of the ranks.

This giant was half a head taller than his companions, and his breastplate was inlaid with seven gems made from the eye sockets of his enemies. Six different types of short swords hung on each side of his saddle.

He lifted his mask, revealing half of his face covered in crisscrossing scars, while the other half was smooth as jade—clearly the keratin layer formed by countless battles where the enemy's blood had repeatedly poured over it.

"By the Eternal Heaven above," the commander's voice was like sandpaper rubbing against iron, "I kneel before the Heavenly Khan!"

Suddenly, all the cavalrymen let out a low growl in unison. The sound was not like that of humans, but rather like the howl of thousands of lone wolves to the moon.

Eight thousand heavily armored soldiers simultaneously emitted a metallic creaking sound as the cavalrymen dismounted in perfect unison, sending dust flying three feet into the air.

Then, with a low growl, they all knelt on one knee, their hands covering their chests.

Zhu Youjian was a man who had seen a lot, so he was unlikely to lose his composure.

He gently raised his hand, allowing Dajun to stand up.

"Rise, all of you. Let's get ready first, and I'll have someone take you to your camp shortly."

"By the Eternal Heaven!" The commander bowed his head again and then roared.

"rise!"

Eight thousand people stood up as one.

Their elite status was absolutely no less than that of the Xuanjia Cavalry, and their numbers were two and a half times that of the Xuanjia Cavalry.

If this army had been present when dealing with Li Zicheng, the war could have ended much faster.

Zhu Youjian no longer lacked troops.

He already had a plan in mind regarding this elite force.

Come back to your senses.

They saw eight thousand Kheshig soldiers silently adjusting their bowstrings, their fingers brushing over the arrows with a gentle touch, like caressing a lover's hair.

"Issue the decree." Zhu Youjian mounted his horse and gripped the reins tightly. "Order Li Guozhen to send men to prepare the encampment of the first three thousand battalions and have the Mongol heavy cavalry move there."

"Order the Beijing Garrison's Firearms Bureau to allocate 30,000 catties of gunpowder overnight."

"Notify Shi Kefa's troops to enter Beijing immediately."

His gaze swept over the Kheshig soldiers who were applying poison to their arrows. "Order Huang Degong, Qi Yuan, and Wang Jiayan to enter the palace to see me at 9:00 PM."

"Also, send a message to Li Zicheng."

“Tell him that the crops in the capital are almost ready and that I have asked him to come and harvest the wheat this year. If he doesn’t come, he shouldn’t come at all.”

(End of this chapter)