The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

While the capital was scrambling to raise money, Subutai, far away in the northern desert, led 30,000 iron cavalry and 8,000 blue bannermen to the sacred site of the Mongols, Langjuxu Mountain, which later became known as the Khentii Mountains.

Down the mountain, there were tents stretching as far as the eye could see, completely surrounding the southern side of Langjuxu Mountain.

In one of the largest tents, Subutai sat at the head of the table, gnawing on a lamb leg while drinking milk tea.

He was still wearing his earth-yellow cloth armor, but he had an extra layer of sable fur coat with a high collar, unlike usual.

This was a gift from Emperor Liu Mu, and Zhao Fengnian personally oversaw the design. The stitching was done with gold thread, and the sable fur added to its luxurious feel.

To Subutai's left sat three envoys from the three Khalkha Mongol tribes, all dressed in Mongolian robes. One of them, a burly man, drank a cup of mare's milk wine with a displeased expression.

"Subutai, my Chechen Khan wants to know, you Dzungars have already invaded the Han Chinese capital of Beijing, and now you're bringing a large army to the Mongolian steppe. What is the meaning of this?"

"Are you here to show off your power?"

The other two envoys nodded in agreement. They were all Mongols, and even if they weren't invited to visit the Central Plains, they should at least send some supplies to help them out.

Subutai was not good with words, so he continued drinking mare's milk wine. Wanyan Wu, who was standing next to him, acted as his mouth stand-in and went directly to the center of the tent, bowing towards the direction of Beijing.

"The three of you should not forget that my Emperor is not only the Emperor of the Central Plains, but also the Tengri Khan of the Mongols!"

"Now that our Tengri Khan has sent General Subutai, it is naturally to rule over all Mongols, including your three Khalkha tribes, who must also accept your rule!"

"Did you really think these tens of thousands of troops had marched thousands of miles just to drink mare's milk wine with you?"

Wanyan Wu has now completely let himself go, only wanting to be a loyal lackey. His words are full of respect for Liu Mu, but also show a hint of arrogance towards others.

These words drew angry stares from the three envoys, and the envoy of Tushetu Khan slammed his fist on the table.

"Galdan, he's nothing more than a slave from the Oirat tribes, while we, the three Khalkha tribes, are all of noble Golden Family blood. What right does he have to lead us?"

"This is utterly upside down, a complete reversal of the natural order! Humph!"

puff!

The envoy of Tushetu Khan had just snorted coldly and hadn't even had time to say what he was going to say when he was suddenly attacked by Wanyan Wu and his throat was slit with a single blow.

He died in disbelief, everyone was drinking mare's milk wine just moments before. Where is the integrity of the Mongols?

Wiping the blood from the blade, Wanyan Wu looked at the other two envoys with a playful smile.

"Our General Subutai has brought a large army to the Holy Mountain. Besides informing your three tribes, we also wish to offer sacrifices to Heaven on behalf of our Emperor. If you have nothing else to do, you may leave now; we will not stop you!"

"As for killing Tushetu Khan's envoy, this is the price he must pay for insulting my emperor!"

What? Galdan is going to perform a sacrificial ceremony on the holy mountain?

You're a Mongol, yet you want to imitate the Han Chinese's "Sealing the Wolf and Dwelling in the Mountain" ritual? Don't you have any principles at all?

The remaining two envoys were furious upon hearing this, but upon seeing the corpse of the Tushetu Khan's envoy, they ultimately chose to remain silent out of fear.

"Stop with the nonsense. My 40,000-strong army is waiting for you at the foot of this sacred mountain. You have ten days to choose: to submit or to become corpses. After ten days, whatever you choose, we will launch our attack!"

After Wanyan Wu finished speaking, he sheathed his long sword.

Subutai nodded upon hearing this, as this was exactly what he wanted to say. However, he was mostly taciturn and rarely spoke.

"Goodbye!"

Fearing that Wanyan Wu would kill again, the two envoys quickly left the tent after bowing, forgetting to take their brains with them.

"Let's set off to hold the grand ceremony to worship Heaven!"

Seeing the envoy leave, Subutai shook his sable fur coat and strode out of the tent.

As for whether they would come in ten days, Subutai was not worried at all. Accompanying him this time was the soon-to-be-established Jin Kingdom, which had more than 3,000 people and a large number of cattle and sheep.

They could easily roam and kill their way through the northern deserts.

This is different from other dynasties in the Central Plains.

Langjuxu Mountain is not particularly high; it's just a hill that rises up from the grassland. The path up the mountain isn't steep either; you can ride a horse to the middle section, and the highest part at the back can be reached by leading a horse.

When they reached the top, more than a hundred Han soldiers were already shirtless, piling up mud to form a circular altar two meters high, representing the concept of a round heaven and a square earth.

The surrounding area was filled with black dragon flags, marking the second time the Han Dynasty's black dragon flags had arrived since Huo Qubing.

As a burst of drumming and music sounded, three live cattle, sheep, and pigs were led to the front of the altar.

Then a jar of fine wine, a dragon-shaped plaque made of Hetian jade, a string of hastily made Hongwu Tongbao copper coins, and a stone tablet buried in the center of the altar were placed on the altar.

The inscription on the front reads: "General Who Conquers the West of the Great Han Dynasty, Subutai, on behalf of Emperor Hongwu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Mu, burns incense and offers sacrifices to Heaven at Langjuxu Mountain, praying for the prosperity of the Great Han Dynasty's military fortune!"

Small print: June 1st, 1876 (the first day of the sixth month) of the Great Han Dynasty!

The inscription on the back reads: "Great Han National Stele, Establishing the Northern Desert Province!"

"The sacrificial ceremony begins!"

As the drumming reached its climax, accompanied by Subutai's loud shout, three strongmen from the army, each with a sword, slew three livestock. The blood immediately seeped into the altar before finally severing their heads and placing them on a plate.

At the same time, a pile of dry firewood was lit, and Subutai immediately picked up an imperial edict and threw it forcefully into the fire.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty!"

"Long live Tengri Khan!"

……

As a plume of black smoke rose, the three thousand elite Han soldiers around them shouted with almost all their might.

At this moment, the sky suddenly changed and a strong wind arose, as if the heavens were responding to the people's sacrificial ceremony.

The ceremony held at Langjuxu Mountain was also partly due to Liu Mu's personal motives. Since he had come to this time and space, he had to do something.

These generals who conquered new territories would hold a ceremony to worship Heaven whenever they conquered a large territory, and at the same time erect a monument in the most famous place in the area.

After all, he couldn't guarantee that the Han Dynasty would always be strong. What if one day his descendants became puppets in the hands of others, and were controlled by others to command the feudal lords?

And this stone tablet is equivalent to a boundary marker!

Moreover, it will be written about in great detail in history books.

Until the next dynasty never forgets.

Just like Zheng Chenggong's recapture of Taiwan, there are rich historical records, and future generations must take it back.

After the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven ended, Subutai led his army down the mountain and began to drill in formation day and night.

……

Sure enough, in just eight days, the three Khalkha tribes had assembled a large army and arrived.

There were 40,000 able-bodied cavalrymen alone.

The other herders numbered nearly 60,000. For the Khalkha, whose total population was only around 300,000, this was almost equivalent to mobilizing all the men, that is, those over 60 or 12 years old, to come over.

Thirty-eight thousand pairs, nearly one hundred thousand.