[204] Kill the prairie

On the steppe in April, the sun is shining, the water and grass are abundant, and there has been no large-scale war on the Mongolian steppe for many years since Huang Taiji rectified the Mongolian steppe. The herdsmen got the opportunity to recuperate, and at this time, on the Horqin grassland, it can be said that the sky is blue, the wilderness is vast, and the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep.

Suddenly~~ A rapid sound of horses' hooves alarmed the moles in the grass, and I saw a group of Ming knights with the banner of the Ming Dynasty galloping by, and side by side with them was a group of Mongolian cavalry with the banner of Chahar. Their destination was a tribal gathering place in Chahar

When he arrived at the destination, a man who looked like a hundred Mongolian households said loudly in Mongolian to the tribesmen who were inexplicable."

I, Gacha Baihu, have commanded you to pack a man from each of your blankets, and bring your weapons, horses, and rations, and assemble them with me at once. The great Ezhe Great Khan, together with our friend the Ming army, will crusade against the Jiannu who killed Danbatur Khan and the Mongol traitors who are in cahoots with them~"

"Another war?" The Chahar herders were at a loss

"I have heard that the Mongols are martial, and each of them is a warrior, and the battlefield is an opportunity for warriors to win wealth and wealth." The cavalry officer of the Ming army said in Chinese: "Your Great Khan has formed an alliance with our Dudu, and if you enter the war, you will share the spoils with the Ming as an ally of the Ming Dynasty." Gachi Abaihu immediately translated

"What do we get? Except for cold sabers and arrowheads? A Chahar asked

"Cattle, sheep, horses, male and female slaves, even pastures and titles!" The Ming army officer said

"Seriously!" The Chahar asked

"We all governors have never broken our promises."

"Okay~!" Thirty-nine men from this gathering place were the Chahars, who had brought three days' rations, bows, arrows, and sabers, and went to Kulen with the Gachi Abaihu

Just ten days earlier, Dolgon and the Mongol Khans had been defeated in front of Xin'an Pass, and 130,000 soldiers and horses had disappeared in an instant. Dolgon advised the Khans, Bel, and Taiji not to scatter and join forces. But the Khans, Beylers, and Taiji were all worried that their camps would be attacked by the Ming army from behind, so where would they pay attention to Dorgon? So they dispersed, and the localities went back to their respective camps. This just gave Song Youliang the opportunity to break through

So a letter was first sent to the Chahar prince Ezhe, who was closer to Yizhou, and Song Youliang coerced and lured him in the letter, saying that if Ezhe was willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty, then he could guarantee that Ezhe would get one of the only three princes in the Mongolian steppe after a complete victory. If he continues to cooperate with Dolgon, then all that awaits him is the death of the human race. Finally, Song Youliang also wrote: Jiannu forced your father to death, took away your mother, and forced you to call him father. I don't know what the customs of your Mongols are, but in my eyes as a Han Chinese, this is a blood feud that is not shared by the sky. If you continue to help and abuse the tiger and fight for the tiger, what will you do to see your father and close comrade-in-arms Lin Dan Khan after death?

In fact, Ezhe has always been unwilling, and he was promoted to a member of the golden family, and the Mongolian Khan who shed the blood of Genghis Khan, how could he be willing to be a minister of Jiannu? At this time, Balmenggan also took advantage of the defeat of Oba to return to Ezhe, and he tried his best to persuade Ezhe to cooperate with Song Youliang. In the end, Ezhe chose to form an alliance with the Ming Dynasty and inherit his father's ruins, with the revitalization of Chahar as his own responsibility.

As a result, Song Youliang and Ezhe made a bloody alliance in Kulen and launched a fierce offensive against the Mongol khans. Song Youliang issued an ultimatum to the Mongolian tribes and tribes along the way as the Marquis of Pingbei of the Ming Dynasty: those who take the initiative to return to obedience are the allies of the Ming Dynasty, who can be given priority in the future canonization, and can share the spoils including grasslands, slaves, cattle and sheep; Those who surrendered when the army arrived could only share the spoils of war such as slaves, cattle and sheep. Of course, there is also a prerequisite, that is, the Jiannu in the clan, as well as the people who intermarry with the Jiannu, and even the offspring born after intermarriage, all of them are killed, and their heads are brought to enjoy such treatment. If the negative side resists, then there is only one result - extermination.

In order to play an exemplary role, Ezhe first killed his wife, the eldest princess of Gulun Wenzhuang, Makata, to show a complete break with Jiannu. Subsequently, Ezhe and his younger brother Abunai played the banner of reviving the prestige of Mongolia and eradicating the traitors, and began the western expedition with Song Youliang.

The Mongolian khans did not expect that Song Youliang would dare to kill on the grassland, and on the Horqin steppe, which bore the brunt of the attack, several small tribes closest to Chahar did not understand what was going on, and they were exterminated because they did not return in time. The Horqin Khans, who had just woken up from a dream, began to panic, and many small tribes were busy checking how many people in their tribes were related to Jiannu, and then hurriedly killed them, and came to Song Youliang and Ezhe with ox carts full of heads with money rat tails to confess, and asked the Ming Governor and the Mongol Great Khan to accept their surrender

For them, Song Youliang always said amiably: "The Ming Dynasty has a deep blood feud with Jiannu, but it is still friends with Mongolia." There is no need for the Mongols to burden themselves for the sake of Jiannu, and there is no need to accompany the monks who are trying to curry favor with Jiannu and beg for mercy. ”

The Mongol khans who surrendered were also "filled with righteous indignation", and accused those who were traitorous to be a disgrace to the Mongols, and the scum among the descendants of the blue wolf and the white deer, and it was not enough to be angry among the people if they were not killed

As a result, Song Youliang's army of the Western Expedition snowballed bigger and bigger, and the cavalry of the Ming and Chahar coalition forces rushed forward on the grassland, and the infantry followed, sweeping from east to west like a broom. Along the way, the Ming cavalry rode Mongolian horses most of the time, ate roast mutton, drank mare's milk wine, and slept with Mongolian women, in short, everything was taken from those Mongolian tribes who were too late or unwilling to join

And the most exciting, it is some small tribes who surrendered earlier, because as allies, they can get a larger share of the spoils. Therefore, the leaders and warriors of these small tribes are extremely brave when they fight. Sometimes they even deliberately exterminated small tribes that had already planned to surrender, in order to capture some booty

During the battle, the Ming army often shouted: "Kill Jiannu"

And the Mongol allied soldiers shouted: "Grab money, grab food, grab women"

Shouting and shouting, these two slogans became one, so "kill Jiannu, grab money, grab food, and grab women" became a propaganda slogan to encourage more Mongolian tribes to join the Ming-Mongolian coalition army

At the same time, Song Youliang ordered people to forge several ancient books, saying that their Mongol ancestors were actually a branch of the Han people in ancient times, but they lived in a different place and farmed, so they chose to graze, and later because the grazing Han people grabbed the Han people who farmed the fields, the farmers did not want to be robbed, and built the Great Wall, so they were divided into Mongols and Han people. Now that they are back, those who are willing to farm can still farm, and those who are not willing to farm can still graze after they are gone, but whether it is farming or grazing, everyone is a family and must coexist peacefully, and Jiannu is a barbarian who comes out of the forest, and he is a beast. Jiannu fighting the Mongols and fighting the Han people are all evil acts of birds and beasts eating people, and heaven is intolerable, so we must kill these beasts together and build a beautiful homeland

Because many Mongolians believe that the Xiongnu are their direct ancestors, and the Xiongnu are the descendants of the Xia Hou clan, and they are actually the same race as the Han people in the Central Plains, so these united front measures did play some role.

In the face of the offensive of Song Youliang and Ezhe, Ulut Khan Ming'an could not resist it, so he led his troops to flee to Oba's territory to seek help. Oba thought that you had come just in time, so he set up a Hongmen banquet, captured Ming An and his sons Dorji, Qiuerji, Namushengge, and Langsu alive in one fell swoop, and then tied them up personally and sent them to Song Youliang

"Oba~~ Ezhe, you two Mongol scum!" Ming An tied his hands behind his back and was pressed by two Mongolian soldiers to kneel in front of Song Youliang

Ezhe sneered: "The scum of the Mongols? You are the scum of the Mongols, and my father, Lin Dan Khan, was forced to death by you, the lackey of Jiannu, and your shameless master. You and those lowly savages of Jiannu killed the Great Khan of the Mongols, you traitors, traitors~! ”

Ming An laughed when he heard this, and he turned to Oba and said, "Then the daughter of your tribe of Zhai Sangbel marries the emperor of the Manchurians, Oba, then you are an even greater traitor." ”

Oba smiled disapplausively: "Ming'an, do you still want to sow discord when you are dying?" The whole family of Zhaisang has been executed by me, and you will soon be able to be with him on the Huangquan Road. ”

"Hmph~ Oba, Ezhe, this cunning Han is just using you, he wants the Mongols to fight the Mongols, and then he becomes the master of the grassland~" Ming An made a final effort

Song Youliang smiled: "You are wrong, the future Mongolian steppe is still Mongolian, but those Mongolians who are friends of the Ming Dynasty." On this grassland, the Ming Dynasty will canonize three Mongolian kings and some Taiji, and work with the Ming to maintain the stable life of the people of the grassland. When the time comes, tea, silk, grain, and cloth will come in an abundance, and the Mongols will no longer take risks for an iron pot. ”

Ming An laughed and said, "Oba, Ezhe, I'm waiting at the Immortal Heaven to see how you die!" ”

"Then I won't send it to my brother!" Oba sneered

Ezhe turned his back on his face and didn't look at Ming An's resentful eyes

Ming An suddenly said sadly: "Lord Song, I have a small wish!" ”

"Say~"

"I want you to spare my sons from dying, so that they can kill your enemies and atone for their fathers!" Ming An said in a pleading tone

"No, cutting the grass does not remove the roots, and the spring breeze blows and grows. Leave them down to kill me for me? It's revenge for you, right? Song Youliang sneered: "And I have a word in advance, those who resist will be exterminated, and my allies of the Ming Dynasty~" Song Youliang pointed to Oba and Ezhe, "They will share your clan with the Ming Dynasty." After saying that, Song Youliang waved his hand, and several soldiers rushed up and killed Ming'an and his son with knives.

"Two future Mongol princes, let's discuss how to distribute this spoils." Song Youliang walked back to the Golden Tent without looking back

The overjoyed Ezhe and Oba followed closely