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Chapter 674 Strategic Layout 2
"...Your Majesty..." When these words came out, no matter they were eunuchs or military officers, no matter they came from the Imperial Palace or the Sea House Division, they were all shocked and no one responded.

"Is it possible? You are a real man, but you are so scared when making a bet... Papapapa...dudududu...dudududu..."

Just when Hong Tao was about to mentally whip these people and force them to agree to the bet, gunshots rang out almost simultaneously from both the east and west sides, becoming more and more frequent, followed by continuous trumpet sounds.

"Your Majesty, I will take my leave!" Ding Shun was the first to wander off. He was probably singing praises for the enemy in his heart. He arrived just in time. Compared with being doomed to fail, the possibility of winning the battle was infinitely greater.

"I will stop by the southern defense line to check it out. Although the enemy is coming from the east and west, we cannot take it lightly."

Du Wenhuan had been in the army for some time after all, so he had some understanding of some of the emperor's peculiar qualities. He knew that he could not stay here for long, so he found a good-sounding reason and ran away.

"Warriors of the Imperial Horse Guard, deploy your formation and raise your shields!"

Zhang Ran looked at it and thought, "What? You two are running away. Doesn't that mean I have to double my bet?" No, I have to think of a way, so the 200 shield-holding imperial horse guard warriors were implicated for nothing.

"I have always stood on the side of His Majesty..." Wang Chengen could neither run nor had any defensive tasks, so the advantage of being shameless was reflected at this time. As a gambler, he would definitely lose, so if he stood on the side of the dealer, he would definitely win!

"Hmph, you can't escape the fifteenth if you try. Let's wait and see!" Seeing that the gambling game that was about to kill everyone was ruined so easily by the Mongolian cavalry, Hong Tao was very angry. He raised his head to look at the starry sky in the north, and a solemn look appeared on his face.

In fact, if the four of them had carefully looked at the position of the emperor's finger on the map, they would not have fled in such a hurry. It sounded like the city the emperor was talking about should be the dilapidated Xinghe City, but in fact he was referring to Guihua City in the northwest.

It is just over 300 li from Datong to Guihua City, and only 200 li from Shahukou Pass, which is in line with the emperor's defense layout. This city is not only the core area of ​​the Tumed and Ordos tribes, but also the center of the entire Right Wing of Mongolia, with abundant water and grass, fertile farmland, and a large population.

If the Ming army controlled this place, it would be like stabbing a knife in the waist of the heartland south of the desert. Not only could they rely on the strong city and rich land for defense, but they could also use it as a base to continue expanding to the surrounding areas, making the entire right wing of Mongolia uneasy.

Can they successfully capture Guihua City? Hong Tao thinks the probability is very high, because the local Mongolian elite are besieging him at this time. As long as these people are defeated or annihilated, Guihua City will be equivalent to an empty city, and it will be too late to gather the army.

Why did the two Mongolian armies of Ordos and Tumed suddenly appear in Xinghe City and launch an attack on the Ming Emperor without asking why? Hong Tao was not very clear, but he could guess the general outline from the clues.

This time, he led the army vanguard to inspect the border alone, and had to go out of the border to meet with the Mongolian leader. Most of it was a trick to provoke an attack. The purpose was to lure out the opposition within the Ming Dynasty, especially the military generals.

Leading a small number of troops and taking the northern route was a great opportunity for them. As long as someone had evil intentions and wanted to fight to the death, Xinghe City would definitely be the best ambush location.

Even if there were no traitors in the Ming Dynasty, they would take this opportunity to find a very reasonable excuse to send troops to Guihua City. According to the infiltration and investigation of the Mongolian tribes by the Statistics Department and the Jinyiwei in recent years by taking advantage of the border trade, there are deep rifts in the Kharchin and Tumed. It is not that someone deliberately destroyed it, but the historical legacy of the two tribes.

Kharchin and Tumed are just general terms. In fact, they are divided into many tribes with different origins and no blood relationship.

Under such circumstances, neither the Shunyi King nor the Baihong Taiji could monopolize power. Especially the Shunyi King, after the death of the Third Lady, his biological son, Sunang Taiji, clearly wanted to succeed him, and there were many supporters in the clan. The situation between the two sides had been tense for a long time.

In order to consolidate their rule, King Shunyi and his supporters gradually began to move closer to their neighboring Kharchin tribe, trying to obtain more goods from the Ming Dynasty through this route and strengthen their strength.

Su Nang Taiji was unwilling to sit and wait for death, so the easiest way was to move closer to his neighbor on the other side, which happened to be the Ordos tribe. As for why the Ordos tribe wanted to wade into this muddy water, there is no definite news yet.

But they probably couldn't do anything fancy. In the struggle for power, the northern nomads were more direct and straightforward than the Han people, and the tribes often annexed each other. Taking advantage of your illness to kill you is not only not criticized, but also a manifestation of ability and a virtue praised by future generations.

This is how Genghis Khan unified Mongolia. Nurhaci did the same thing. The ambitious Ligdan Khan was also busy, but he seemed not as capable as the previous two, so the progress was a bit slow.

In fact, Hong Tao also thought so. What's the point of being friends for generations and being brothers forever? The attribute of peace is not human nature at all, greed is. Even if I can restrain my nature and abide by the agreement, can others do it? As long as one party cannot, any contract is equal to a blank piece of paper.

As the ancients said, the first to strike is the strongest, the last to strike will suffer. Since we cannot ensure peaceful coexistence, we must take the initiative when we have the upper hand and seize the opportunity.

Now is a very good opportunity. The Tumed and Ordos tribes sent troops to attack the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Without mentioning anything else, this reason alone is enough to start a national war.

Framed? I'm so sorry, the leaders of the Tumed and Kharchin tribes were also attacked. Even if the Ming emperor didn't want to retaliate against them, he would not let it go.

At this time, it is not easy for other Mongolian tribes to intervene. It is the custom of nomadic people to take revenge for hatred and grievances. It is best to leave overnight. There is no such thing as ten years is not too late. It is a private grudge. If you insist on intervening, it will be unreasonable and difficult to gain the support of the Taijis of your own tribe.

After Guihua City was occupied, King Shunyi and Da Taiji Baihong not only could not turn against each other, but also had to thank the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for helping them deal with the instability in their clan, and then continue to ally with the Ming Dynasty to jointly deal with potential threats from the surrounding areas.

For example, the Ordos tribe, which had suffered heavy losses, had a lot of grasslands vacated, which were all very popular. As long as the Shunyi King and the Baihong Taiji did not strongly oppose it, they could have a share. This is the unity of interests, which is more solid and easier to predict than any feelings or agreements.

(End of this chapter)