Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2313 Fengshan (Ten) Mongolia’s rebirth?

At that time, Burihatu stood on the high ground outside Bukhara and gazed at the ancient city. The city walls looked particularly strong under the setting sun, but in his eyes, the city was already an isolated city. His army had surrounded Bukhara and cut off all contact with the outside world.

At this time, he learned that the Kazakh Khanate had sent troops to aid the Bukhara Khanate. At this point, it is necessary to briefly introduce the Kazakh Khanate and its current Khan.

The Kazakh Khanate was a dynasty founded by the Kazakhs in 1456, the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Jingtai of the Ming Dynasty. It was founded by the Jochi sultans Kerey Khan and Janibek Khan, and was also known as the Balandukhe Khanate.

It had a predecessor, the White Horde. In the 15th century, the White Horde had internal strife, splitting into the Nogai Khanate and the Uzbek (Yujibe) Khanate.

In 1456, Kerey Khan (also translated as Krai Khan), the son of Balakr, the last Khan of the White Horde, took advantage of the defeat of Uzbek Khan Abulhair at the hands of the Oirat, and together with Janibek Khan (Abu Sayyid, son of Balakr), led some nomadic tribes to migrate eastwards into the territory of Yilibali (Eastern Chagatai Khanate), the descendants of Chagatai, south of Lake Balkhash, and established the Kazakh Khanate on the vast land of Chu River and Talas River.

In the same year, they officially broke away from the Golden Horde and migrated to Moghulistan, Chuhe and Talas. Yesenbuka II and Yunus of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate designated Kuchibash, a place in Moghulistan, for them to live in.

In 1465-1466, a large number of nomadic tribes broke away from Abu Haier, and he himself died in battle that year. As a result, Abu Haier's land was taken over by the Kazakh Khanate.

Omitting some unnecessary and unclear history, in 1538, after Khazmu Khan's son Khaknazar became Khan, he spent 42 years quelling civil strife, restoring friendly relations with neighboring countries, and strengthening the alliance between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This can be regarded as the period of the Khanate's revival.

After Qigai and Taul Khan, Aisim ascended the throne in 1598. In the original history, he signed a peace treaty with the rulers of Bukhara and Samarkand, stipulating that Tashkent and its surrounding areas would be under the jurisdiction of the Kazakh Khanate for 240 years, and established trade relations with some other countries in Central Asia. He also used force to suppress the rebellion of Tashkent ruler Tursun Muhammad, and reunited the Kazakh Khanate.

However, these things happened in the middle and late period of his reign, and at this moment, he was just like Bukhara Khan Abd Mumin, who had been on the throne for only two or three years. Although he had firmly established the Khan position, there was no solidarity within the country.

In other words, he needs to prove that he is capable of leading the Kazakh Khanate forward. And now the Kazakh Khanate is probably like this: the country was once divided into the Great Juz, the Middle Juz, and the Small Juz, and Aisim Khan actually controls the Middle Juz region with the strongest national power.

According to his actions in the original history, he had a strong interest in the wealthy Samarkand, Andijan and other places in the south. Before he succeeded to the throne, he had followed the previous Khan to the south to occupy this area. He also led 20,000 troops in Samarkand to defend the country for a period of time.

  [Note: The situation in Central Asia during this period was very chaotic, and the situation in many areas was like changing the king's flag on the city wall. I won't go into details here. However, it was precisely because this situation lasted for a long time that it was a favorable condition for outsiders like Burihatu to establish their rule, because the locals were used to the situation that "whoever attacks is the Khan."]

The new Khan had just ascended the throne and his position was not stable yet. The neighbors were fighting each other and it seemed that the fight was going on. At this time, Aisim Khan certainly had a strong desire to be the one who benefited. This was the reason why the Kazakhs sent troops.

The Kazakh Khanate had a large territory and was quite powerful. During the reign of the previous Great Khan Tawukel Khan, 100,000 troops were sent southward to enter Transoxiana, occupying cities such as Akhsik, Andijan, Tashkent, and Samarkand, and 20,000 troops were left to Aisim Khan to guard Samarkand. Therefore, the army that Aisim Khan led southward this time was not small, with a total of 60,000 troops, which was almost the same as the Ming Dynasty's Western Expedition Army.

When the news reached Burihatu, the Chahar tribe was quite shocked, and many people even showed a certain degree of fear. This was not surprising, as Bukhara Khan Mumin still had 20,000 to 30,000 troops defending Bukhara City, and although the Chahar tribe had moved west with their entire clan, the main force that could be used for combat was only about 60,000 people after the two battles of Andijan and Samarkand.

According to the general assumption, if the strength of the three armies is not much different, then it is basically 60,000 against 90,000, and the two enemy armies may launch an internal and external attack. In this case, the situation of the Chahar tribe is obviously very dangerous. And don't forget that the Chahar tribe now only has Samarkand, which it has just captured, and the so-called "basic base" can be almost ignored.

"I have asked you to read the Central Plains war history many times before, but I wonder if you have listened to it. Don't you think that the situation we are facing now is very similar to when Li Shimin attacked Luoyang?" Facing the nervousness of the generals, Burihatu asked expressionlessly.

Without waiting for anyone to answer, Burihatu said in a firm and powerful voice, with every word full of determination: "We must surround the enemy and attack the reinforcements like Li Shimin did. We must first defeat the Kazakhs who come to help with our elite troops, and then use the defeat of the Kazakhs to shock the Bukhara people and make them surrender voluntarily!

Remember, the key now is that our army must defeat the Kazakh reinforcements that the Bukhara people rely on as a lifeline on the field battlefield. Only in this way can we psychologically crush them! "

The generals suddenly understood and nodded in agreement. They had no doubt about Burihatu's tactics. Burihatu was not only their Grand Master, but also their last hope and reliance. His wisdom and courage made them willing to follow him, even if it meant going through fire and water. If it weren't for him, the Chahar tribe would have been destroyed at least twice.

"Although the Kazakhs have sent troops, it will take some time for them to arrive. During this period, our first step is to surround the city without attacking." Buzhihatu continued: "We must make the defenders in the city feel desperate and let them know that reinforcements will not come. Their only choice is surrender."

The generals nodded one after another, and they began to act according to Burihatu's orders. The soldiers dug trenches outside the city and built strong camps to ensure that the defenders inside the city could not break out. At the same time, they also made noise at night to disturb the defenders' rest.

Mu Ming in the city felt unprecedented pressure. He stood on the city wall, looking at the dense enemy troops outside the city, his heart full of worries.

He knew that Burihatu would not let go of Bukhara City easily, but he would not give up either. After all, as long as he could hold on until Aisimu Khan's army arrived, he would have the advantage and could completely defeat - or at least repel - the Chaharmon army outside the city.

As for whether the Bukhara Khanate will be forced to submit to the Kazakhs at that time... we will talk about it later. In any case, it is better than being defeated by the Chahar tribe. The Chahar tribe abandoned Yarkand and fled. They have no territory of their own, so they can only completely conquer Bukhara and will never allow Bukhara to submit to them.

"We must hold on. As long as reinforcements arrive, we will have a chance to turn the tide of the battle." Mu Ming said to the generals around him. Although his voice was firm, his eyes could not hide his worry, and the generals under his command were the same. In fact, all the generals were silent after hearing this.

As night fell, Burihatu's army began to move. They made noise outside the city to disturb the defenders' rest. Soldiers beat their shields, sang loudly, and some even deliberately talked loudly under the city wall.

"Listen, the defenders in the city must be scared." Buzhihatu stood outside the tent, looking at the fire on the city wall, with a sneer on his lips.

"Grand Master, should we launch some attacks at night to make this harassment tactic more effective?" asked a general.

Burihatu shook his head and said, "No, it's not the right time yet. We just want to make the defenders in the city feel desperate and let them know that reinforcements will not come. However, we don't have a surplus of troops, and we can't waste a single soldier or horse at the current Bukhara city... I'm waiting for that Aisimu."

At the same time, Mu Ming was also patrolling on the city wall. He heard the noise outside the city and became more anxious. He knew that this was Buzhihatu's psychological tactics, but he also knew that he had to stay calm.

"Soldiers, don't be afraid." Mumin said loudly: "Kazakhstan's Aisimu Khan has called up 100,000 reinforcements, and they will arrive soon. As long as we hold on, we will surely win."

This is indeed the truth, but the soldiers in the city still felt uneasy. They heard the noise outside the city, saw the enemy's fire, and were filled with fear - in fact, it was not these things that made them afraid, but the rapid fall of Andijan and Samarkand, which made them realize that this Mongolian army coming from the east had many unknown means.

No one knew whether the Grand Master Bu Rihatu outside the city had more conspiracies and intrigues, and the most terrifying thing for humans was often the unknown. Although Mu Ming's words encouraged them, their morale was still gradually declining.

Two days later, the scouts sent by Burihatu finally found the location of the Kazakh reinforcements. After studying the terrain, Burihatu decided to personally lead a group of elite troops to the north to meet the reinforcements. His goal was to quickly and thoroughly defeat the reinforcements, thereby weakening the psychological defenses of the defenders in Bukhara.

"We must act quickly. We cannot let the reinforcements get too close to Bukhara, and we cannot choose a battlefield too far away. If the battlefield is too far away, we will be too tired after the raid, which is not conducive to a decisive battle. It will also make it difficult for the Bukharans to find out the outcome of the battle... I want them to know clearly that the Kazakh reinforcements have failed." Buzhihatu said coldly to the generals: "Once the reinforcements are defeated, the defenders in the city will lose hope and collapse."

The generals nodded in agreement, believing in Burihatu's tactics. This time, Burihatu rejected the requests of Lindan Batur and Tashhai, and asked them to lead the main siege outside Bukhara, while he led his elite troops to the north quickly, which was rare.

Before he ascended the throne, Aisim Khan had experience in commanding troops. It can even be said that he had been very successful in military affairs during his youth. This can be said to be a display of his ability, but it also led him to underestimate the enemy.

In Asim Khan's view, the strength of his support army was equal to that of the Chahar Mongols. The enemy army had fled thousands of miles to the west, and had suffered heavy losses in the battles of Andijan and Samarkand, and continued to attack Bukhara without any rest, and finally stopped at the fortified city.

Normally, the enemy's fighting power was almost gone, just like a broken house, which would collapse completely if he kicked it lightly. Not only that, Aisim Khan also thought that he had adopted an extremely smart tactic. He did not go directly to rescue Bukhara, but went south from Tashkent, intending to pass through Samarkand and then turn west.

The advantage of doing this is that when he approaches Samarkand, the Chahar people who have occupied Samarkand will certainly inform their main force fighting in the west, which will inevitably cause panic on the front line. In this way, when he advances westward to the outskirts of Bukhara, he only needs to face an army that is already in fear, with low morale and no desire to fight. He can easily defeat them, and then use the power of victory and rescue to force the Bukhara people to surrender.

It's perfect.

The only problem was that Buzhihatu had long known that he had led his troops south, and even knew his location clearly.

To the west of Samarkand and east of Serdihen, there is a mountain valley, which was the battlefield chosen by Burihatu and the only way for Esmuhan to go to Bukhara after he bypassed Samarkand and intimidated the Chahar defenders.

In order to avoid being discovered in advance by Aisimukhan's scouts, Buzhihatu also carefully planned the time to enter both sides of the canyon - arriving only two hours before Aisimukhan passed by, and completing the ambush within one hour.

Everything went as Burihatu had expected, except that a group of seven or eight Kazakh scouts almost escaped after discovering them. However, due to Burihatu's caution, they were discovered, hunted down, and killed by the Chahar tribe.

In the dim evening, the 60,000-strong army of Aisim Khan, who was eager to pass through the canyon and enter the delta of the Zeravshan River where the city of Bukhara was located, finally appeared in the sight of the 5,000 elite cavalry of Chahar Tai Shi's headquarters.

The five thousand elite cavalry had already been waiting for the Grand Master's order. Burihatu held the Ming Dynasty monocular telescope that he regarded as a treasure, stared closely at the army of Aisimukhan, and calculated in his mind the right time to launch an attack.

Suddenly, Buzhihatu slowly raised his right hand. Everyone around him took a deep breath and stared at the Grand Tutor's raised hand.

In just two or three breaths, the Grand Master's right hand suddenly slashed forward, and a loud shout rang out: "The time has come, follow me to kill the enemy!"

  "Kill!--" Almost at the same time, shouts of killing rang out from the sparsely forested mountains. The galloping war horses kicked down, launching a fatal blow with earth-shaking momentum!

Burihatu, the "Grand Master of All Mongolia", who had not been on the front line for a long time, showed his nine-flag white banner and led his elite troops to launch a surprise attack. They took advantage of the terrain and the night to quickly defeat the main force of the reinforcements. The Kazakh reinforcements were caught off guard, their formation was in chaos, and they were finally completely defeated.

The only regret is that Aisim Khan himself was not captured - according to the interrogation of prisoners after the war, the Kazakh Khan fled with less than a hundred Khan's personal guards, who urgently changed into the clothes of ordinary soldiers.

Burihatu was very sorry that he could not replicate Li Shimin's glory. But he did not regret it for too long, after all, Li Shimin did not defeat Dou Jiande at night, and Burihatu knew that he did not have the black armor elite cavalry, and he really could not fight this battle in the daytime - victory was the key, and the Chahar tribe did not have the capital to take risks.

When the news reached Bukhara, the morale of the defenders was greatly dampened. Mumin stood on the city wall, looking at the tens of thousands of dejected Kazakh captives escorted by the Chahar Army outside the city, and his heart was filled with despair.

"The reinforcements have failed." Mu Ming's voice was very low and bitter, he said: "We must make final preparations to meet Buzhihatu's general attack." The generals following him all looked pale, and it was not known whether they heard him or not.

Burihatu returned to the outskirts of Bukhara, thinking that the Bukharans would surrender quickly, but unexpectedly, Mumin held on. Burihatu felt regretful again - if he had taken Aisimukhan to the city like Li Shimin had captured Dou Jiande, then even if Mumin himself refused to surrender, others in the city would have abandoned him and surrendered on their own.

But now that things have come to this, Buzhihatu did not hesitate - it is useless if you do not surrender, no one can save you now. So Buzhihatu continued to strengthen the siege, he ordered the soldiers to continue to make noise to disrupt the rest of the defenders, and at the same time increased the intensity of psychological warfare in the city.

"Pretend that our army is about to launch a general attack." Bu Rihatu said to the generals, "We must make those stubborn people in the city believe that we are going to break through the city in one fell swoop and end this battle."

The generals nodded one after another, and began to prepare siege equipment in a big way, and also started cooking in a big way, as if they were going to launch a general attack after a big meal.

At the same time, Mu Ming was also patrolling on the city wall. Just as Burihatu expected, he also felt that Burihatu's general attack was coming, and he had to make final preparations.

"Soldiers, although the reinforcements have failed, we cannot give up." Mu Ming said loudly, "The enemy has come from afar and will not be able to hold out for long! As long as we hold on, we will surely win!"

However, it was useless to say these words now, as the soldiers in the city had completely lost the courage to fight. They looked at each other, and what they saw in their comrades' eyes was clearly despair.

Yes, the 60,000-strong army of the Kazakh Khan was wiped out in one battle, so what kind of trouble could these 20,000 or 30,000 remaining soldiers in Bukhara stir up? There was no point in continuing, no point at all.

After the Chahar army had their meal, Buzhihatu did not launch a general attack, but instead sent messengers into the city again to persuade Mumin to surrender. He promised that as long as Mumin surrendered, he would guarantee the safety of the residents of Bukhara and give them preferential treatment.

"Bukhara Khan, our Grand Master said that you are a brave warrior." The messenger said to Mumin, "He respects your bravery, but he also wants to tell you that continued resistance will only cause your people to suffer more. Surrender, Grand Master Burihatu's words are as good as gold. He said he will guarantee your safety, so you don't have to worry about your safety at all."

Moomin was silent for a moment, then he spoke slowly, “I believe he is a true hero, and a hero will never break his promise.”

The messenger said: "Then..."

Mu Ming took a deep breath and said as if he had exhausted all his strength: "Open the city gate."

Everyone - whether it was Burihatu's envoy or the generals in the city, all breathed a sigh of relief, as if the huge stone hanging in their hearts had fallen to the ground.

Half an hour later, Burihatu stood on the wall of Bukhara, looking at this once strong city, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He knew that this victory was just the beginning, and there was still a long way to go. He had to keep moving forward for the future of Mongolia...

The former Bukhara Khan, Abd Mumin, was standing beside Burihatu with a complicated expression, not saying a word.

"You are a brave warrior, Mumin." Burihatu said seriously: "I will give you a chance to join us and build a more powerful Khanate together."

Mu Ming was silent for a moment, then he slowly knelt down and kissed the back of Burihatu's foot: "I, Mu Ming, am willing to be loyal to the Grand Tutor."

Burihatu heaved a sigh of relief, stretched out his hand to help the young man in front of him up, and said: "To be honest, there is no place for Mongolia to stand in the East, but here, and even in the wider world, Mongolia can still sweep everything away like it did three hundred years ago!"

"I am willing to follow the Grand Master and witness this scene with my own eyes." Mu Ming replied in a tone as calm as possible.

"You will see." Buzhihatu said softly.

  His tone was very strange, making people wonder who he was talking to.
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PS: The plot of the Western Regions is basically completed, and the main perspective will shift back to the Ming Dynasty in the next chapter.