"How should the Khan defend himself against a pack of wolves and a tiger at the same time?" Arutai looked at Benjamin with a twinkle in his eyes and asked slowly.

Hearing this, Benjamin's heart couldn't help but move, and he couldn't help asking: "What does the national teacher mean that we Tatars will stay out of the matter and let Timur and Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty fight you to the death?" ”

Arutai nodded, and continued in a deep voice: "Although Song Sheng, the Marquis of Xiliang in the Ming Dynasty, has tens of thousands of troops, it is difficult to resist the blow of Timur's army. It's best for us to find a way to let Zhu Di know what Timur's army is coming, so that they can fight in the dark in the Western Regions. ”

"No, no, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di is my descendant of Genghis Khan, the life and death enemy of the descendants of the Golden Family, how can I report to the Ming Dynasty." Benjamin heard Arutai's deranged words, and couldn't help but wave his hands and stand up, his mouth roaring angrily. The Yuan Dynasty was destroyed by Zhu Yuanzhang, how could he, a descendant of the golden family, report to Zhu Di? What's even more hateful is the Oirat tribe Mahamu, Tuhuan's father and son accepted the canonization of the Ming Dynasty, established the country called Wara, relying on the benefits of trade with the Ming Dynasty, constantly subdued the large and small tribes on the grassland, expanded their strength, and repeatedly fought with the Tatars, how could they submit to Zhu Di?

Arutai silently looked at the very angry Benjamin, and couldn't help but secretly laugh in his heart, and secretly thought to himself: If it weren't for the fact that Lan Yu destroyed the Golden Horde in the Battle of the Fishing Sea, and the father and son of Togus Timur died, how could you have the opportunity to claim to be the descendant of the Golden Family and lead the Tatars? It's ridiculous. After coldly watching the other party roar a few times, he let out a long sigh and asked seriously: "Timur was originally a Turkic descendant, and his tribe believed in Allah Allah, and the large and small tribes on this steppe, from the princes and nobles to the herdsmen, are all the children of the immortal world, if the Timurid army comes, will we abandon the immortal heaven and believe in their Allah?" ” ”“

A few words were like a basin of cold water on the head, which suddenly extinguished the anger ignited by Benjamin's bitter hatred for Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di in the Ming Dynasty. I saw him sit down with an extremely ugly face, and after his lips trembled slightly, he still didn't say anything after all. It turns out that in this vast grassland, the large and small nomadic tribes collectively known as Mongolia are innumerable, but most of them believe in the shamanism of the world. Recalling what he had seen and heard when he sent envoys to the country of Timur, the army of Timur had adopted the means of destroying the country and slaughtering the city and killing all the conquered countries without exception of different religions.

Seeing that the other party was gradually calming down, Arutai immediately said: "As a descendant of Genghis Khan, the Khan will naturally not bow to Zhu Di, but there is no shortage of people who go to the place where Song Sheng is stationed in the Western Regions to trade with the Han people, maybe they will inform Song Sheng of what the Timurid army is about to commit." ”

Benjamin was slightly silent when he heard this, and he already understood that Arutai's meaning was to submit to him, but he quietly sent people from the tribes who did business with Han merchants in the Western Regions to report to the Ming Dynasty to avoid embarrassment.

"Khan, the big trouble for our Tatar henchmen is still Mahamu, the father and son. It is better to prepare those large and small tribes to migrate, so as not to be driven by Timur to attack the Ming Dynasty, and cheapen this Turkic cripple for nothing. The stakes are very high, and Arutai can't care about leaning on the old man in front of Benjamin at this time, so he stood up solemnly and said.

Recalling that in the past, after the Ming warrior Lan Yu, who terrified the tribes of the steppe, wiped out the Golden Horde army on the side of the fishing sea, he did not slaughter all the subjects under the command of Togus Timur, and where Timur's army passed, it can be said that there were no chickens and dogs. The lesser of two evils, the Tatar Khan Benjamin lost his heart, although he still hated the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't help but sigh a long time, bowed his head slightly, and signaled to agree with Arutai's advice. At present, the Ming Dynasty with Zhu Di as the emperor is not a good one, and he doesn't want his loyal generals to become the pawns of the Turkic cripple, and they are confused about why the so-called anti-Ming restoration cause gave away their lives.

Since the former military department driver Chen Cheng was ordered by the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang to send an envoy to the Western Regions Sali Wuer (now Qaidam Basin, Xinjiang) to appease the tribes of all sizes, and Song Sheng, the Marquis of Xiliang, was ordered to lead the army into the Andingwei, Qu Xianwei, and Aduanwei that had been set up successively, and after the three guards, the tribes of all sizes were deterred by Song Sheng's army, and gradually accepted Zhu Yuanzhang's canonized command envoy and commanded Tongzhi and other official positions. In recent years, the Tatars attacked and killed each other on the steppe and Warat, and they were temporarily unable to invade the south, and the land of the Western Regions gradually stabilized, and from time to time there were Hu merchants from Timur, Turkey and other large and small countries who were sold to the land of Asia by the Ming Dynasty silk porcelain and other goods to obtain the temptation of huge profits, along the ancient Silk Road to the south, and the Han merchants who also went north for wealth.

Since the hundreds of thousands of Timur's army embarked on the journey, the Hu merchants of Sari Uygur were almost extinct, Xining Hou Song Sheng couldn't help but be suspicious when he saw this, and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to investigate in detail, and learned from some nomadic tribes who came to trade that this swept through the countries of Asia, destroyed the country and slaughtered the city, and Timur, who claimed to be a descendant of Temujin, held the so-called anti-Ming restoration conference in his capital, and gathered a tribal army with the Timurid Empire as the main army, supplemented by the Eastern and Western Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde. On the one hand, the army was reorganized for war, and on the other hand, the military information was transmitted to the imperial court in Nanjing with fast horses.

When this completely unexpected news reached the ears of the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty, it was like a stone that stirred up a thousand layers. Many civil officials were shocked in their hearts, and they really couldn't believe that Timur, the barbarian who had sent tribute and bowed to Emperor Hongwu in the past, said that he would turn his face and turn his face, and he would rush at the Ming Dynasty without declaring war?

Zhu Quan, the king of Ning, had a relationship with the envoy from the Timurid country in the past, and always maintained a trace of vigilance for this distant Timurid country in his heart. Although the Turkic cripples claimed to be descendants of Temujin, the millions of people were afraid that they were just bluffing. Even in terms of the population under our great vision, it is difficult to gather a million troops, and it is difficult to come from an expedition of thousands of miles?

When the civil officials heard Zhu Quan's words, they couldn't help but feel a little relieved when they looked at each other. Even though they didn't know anything about military affairs, they also knew that the great battles described in the history books since ancient times had exaggerated the strength of both sides.

Yongle Emperor Zhu Di stood up with a calm face, his eyes swept over the hundreds of civil and military officials, and said coldly: "Wei Zheng, a famous minister in the Tang Dynasty, once said: Fu Rongdi has a human face and a beast's heart, if it is weak, please obey, and if it is strong, it will rebel, and it will be solidified. When this Turkic cripple looked around at the strong enemy in the past, he was deceitful and submissive, and submitted to the former emperor, but now he has sharp teeth and claws, and raised troops to attack my Ming Dynasty, and I ordered the army to fight with it to the end. Although he had been on the throne for a long time, he had also commanded a large army in the past years, and he could be said to have experienced a hundred battles, and when he heard that Timur was coming violently, he did not have the slightest fear in his heart, but there seemed to be a flame rising in his chest.

Zhu Di immediately asked the officials of the Ministry of War, such as Shangshu and Shilang, the garrisons of the Western Regions, and the garrisons of the key cities, and passed down the decree that the officials of the Ministry of War were ready to transport grain, grass and baggage to meet the needs of the army that was about to go north.

In the afternoon, Zhu Quan, Zhu Neng, and Qiu Fusu, the Duke of Qi, were in the imperial study, scanning the topographic map of the Western Regions hanging not far in front of them, and couldn't help frowning slightly when they looked closely.

It turned out that although Zhu Di had no intention of letting Zhu Quan lead the troops to fight, he knew that he had also led the army alone to defend Daning in the past, and he was also accustomed to fighting in the midst of his own martyrdom, so he summoned him and his minister, Zhu Neng Qiu Fu, to discuss the upcoming battle. This map was drawn by Song Chen, Marquis of Xining, who guarded the Western Regions and set up a guard post, and sent people to carefully investigate the terrain around Sari Uygur, and sent it to Nanjing with the military intelligence report.

Seeing the map drawn, the surrounding terrain of the three guards stationed in the Western Regions of the Ming Dynasty sent by Song Chen, Marquis of Xining, there are many deserts and Gobi places, and the geographical conditions are sinister and abnormal, Zhu Di, Zhu Quan, Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu and others can't help but feel very heavy, and he naturally knows that although the army of Timur is not a million, I am afraid that it is not less than six or seven hundred thousand, and such a strong force is attacking, and it is definitely not the 80,000 army in the hands of Xining Hou Song Sheng. Even if the imperial army gathers in the north, and the grain and grass are raised and transferred, it will be difficult to complete it in a few months, and what is even more worrying is that although the country of Timur is thousands of miles away in the Western Regions, he does not know when they will set off? Where is the march now?

Zhu Di said in a deep voice: "According to Song Sheng's measurements, the incident committed by Timur's army this time is probably a secret report from the Tatars on the steppe. ”

Zhu Quan thought for a moment and then bowed down and said: "Although Timur was born in Turkic, he falsely claimed to be a descendant of the barbarian Temujin, and the Tatar barbarian chief Benyasuri claimed to be a descendant of the Golden Family. Thinking that the Tatars took the leader of the Asut tribe Arutai as the national teacher, this person has always been cunning and cunning, and he will not be willing to be driven by Timur and lose his own tribe, but hope that our Ming Dynasty will have a big battle with Timur in the Western Regions, so as to collect the merit of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, so he privately informed the Marquis of Xining. In case my Ming King is frustrated in the Western Regions, they will be able to fish in troubled waters. Speaking of this, after walking two steps, he pointed to the vicinity of Sari Uygur on the map and said in a deep voice: "The Timurid State can sweep several countries in foreign lands, and conquer the Chagatai Khanate, the Golden Horde, and the Turkish State one after another. Relying on artillery to conquer the Turkish capital Bursa, it has strong combat power in the field. Even if our Ming Wang's division was urgently transferred north, it was definitely not the best strategy to hastily fight a decisive battle in a terrain like Sari Uygur, where there were no fortified cities and no mountains, which was completely favorable to the cavalry. When he said this, he couldn't help but secretly think to himself: A fanatical believer armed by extreme religion, a large number of fierce cavalry in the field, coupled with the power of artillery, today's Ming Dynasty, the Chinese people have to face more enemies than the barbarian Kublai Khan's army that destroyed the Song Dynasty.

Zhu Di and others had gone out to fight with the cavalry of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in the past, and knew that although the nine-sided towns of the Ming Dynasty also had elite cavalry, even if they were all assembled, they were afraid that the troops were far inferior to the enemy. What's more, the decisive battle of cavalry, which uses cavalry as its combat force, is the strong point of the nomadic tribes. In the past, the reason why Lan Yu, the Duke of Liangguo, and Wang Bi, the Marquis of Dingyuan, were able to destroy the Northern Yuan Golden Horde army in one fell swoop in the Fishing Sea at a very small cost was because the other party's monarch and ministers were quietly approached by Lan Yu in a faint manner, and they were caught off guard. Timur is a person who has experienced a hundred battles and has not tasted defeat, and he is definitely not comparable to the former Northern Yuan monarchs and ministers, and when he heard Zhu Quan's words, he frowned deeply and bowed slightly.

"If you were to lead the army north, where would you meet it?" Zhu Di turned his head to look at Zhu Neng and asked. Since Zhang Yu's death, Zhu Neng, who followed him in his early years and was loyal to Chengguo, naturally became the preferred commander of the imperial army to lead the army against Timur this time.

Wearing a red military attache costume, thick eyebrows and big eyes, the tall Zhu Neng has been looking at the map carefully, and at this time he heard the emperor ask, and immediately bowed down and played: "Weichen thinks that the land of Sari Uygur is more than the Gobi and the desert, and there is no danger to hold on, and the tribes live together, and there are many people who believe in the religion of Timur, and the land of the Western Regions is cold, I am afraid that it is not the place where the army of our court will fight a decisive battle with the barbarians." Speaking of which, stepping forward, pointing to the Great Wall, the Suzhou Guard, the Shaanxi Xingdu Division, the Xining Guard, and then down to the Xining Guardhouse down the Qilian Mountain Range, the voice is like a bell and said: "Since it is a war in the Western Regions, it is difficult for the imperial army to occupy the sky, and the geographical situation is favorable, it is better to let the Marquis of Xining lead the army to retreat, and the soldiers and horses of Weichen strictly guard the Qilian Mountains, go down according to the mountain situation, and rely on the condescending geographical advantage to severely damage the barbarian cavalry." He followed Zhu Di for a long time, and knew that His Majesty the Emperor had experienced a hundred battles, so he had the audacity to give up the land of the Western Regions and retreat temporarily.

Qiu Fu, the Duke of Qi Guo, who was already slightly fat, had the intention to compete for the position of commander, and when he heard Zhu Neng's retreat like this, he couldn't help but bow to Zhu Di and said: "Chengguo Gong's words are also wrong, the three guards in the land of Sari Uygur were established by the decree of His Majesty Emperor Taizu in the past, and the Marquis of Xining has been guarding for a long time. ”

Zhu Quan heard Qiu Fu's words, and hurriedly interjected: "Weichen thinks that the strategy of Chengguo Gong is the best policy, and the cavalry fights a decisive battle on the ground, but it is based on its own shortcomings, attacking the enemy's strengths, and then going down according to the mountain and fighting to the death according to the city is the best strategy for our army to defeat the enemy." Speaking of this, his eyes swept over the land of Sari Uygur, which was definitely not conducive to the battle of foot soldiers on the map, gritted his teeth, and after making up his mind, he continued in a deep voice: "The land of Sari Uygur is desert, the Gobi is vertical and horizontal, and there are many barren lands. In addition, thousands to 10,000 cavalry from the important towns of the nine borders, led by wise and brave generals, avoided the main force of Timur's army, detoured to its rear, and constantly attacked and killed his brigade transporting grain, grass and livestock. In order to form a protracted war, and build warships, echo with the land and water army, and hit it hard in the Yellow River Valley. After carefully looking at the map, he had already found that there were Qilian Mountains in the Western Regions, Kunlun Mountains under it, and within a radius of hundreds of miles of Sari Uygur, most of them were barren and barren land.