Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

Chapter 638: The Western Expedition Army Returns, Zhang Yong Drinks with Old Friends

The emergence of Zhang Yong brought unimaginable benefits to the Mongol Empire and to Genghis Khan, and even saved Genghis Khan's life many times.

When he was in the Delhi Sultanate, he brought unimaginable results to the Mongol Empire and even saved Tolui's life.

After that, Zhang Yong always followed Ogedei and was loyal to him. He even made great contributions during the second Western Expedition.

Batu did not refute this. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

If any prince from other dynasties were sitting here at this time, he would definitely curse Zhang Yong for treason, which is a crime of treason, but the Mongols did not have such a saying.

"During the Second Western Expedition, you also followed me. I conquered Hungary, I conquered the Southern Rus region, I conquered the Bulgarian Khanate, and I destroyed the Latin Empire.

Ask yourself, my achievements are only a little bit less than yours and Mongke's. Great Khan Ogedei has granted khanates to all of you one after another.

I did not ask for any territory in the West, I just wanted a reason to continue expanding. After Ogedei shouted death, I immediately returned to the East.

I started to preside over Mongolia's internal affairs, helped Guyuk successfully ascend the throne of the Great Khan, and stabilized the entire Eastern Mongolian regime. If it weren't for me, I don't know how many people in the world would have called themselves Khans!" Zhang Yong said with great righteousness.

To be honest, Guiyou's death was a complete accident. I had already told Guiyou to be careful in all aspects. If he could follow my instructions, then living to the age of fifty or sixty should not be a problem.

And given the relationship between the two, Guyu will rule the entire West by then. The entire Kipchak Steppe, Siberia, and vast tracts of land, even lands larger than the Central Plains, will all belong to Guyu.

Sometimes I find everything unpredictable. Guyuk died unexpectedly during the Western Expedition, while Zhu Zigui, a member of the Ogedei family, ascended to the supreme throne step by step and became the emperor of the Central Plains and the Great Khan of Mongolia.

Looking back on the past, my life can be called a legend.

"But you did not return the throne of the Great Khan of Mongolia to the family of Ogedei, but occupied the throne yourself." Batu said.

It is indeed as Zhang Yong said. If it were not for him, Zhang Yong, the family of Ogedei and some other Mongolian princes would basically have successively proclaimed themselves Khans and established their own Khanates.

The disintegration of the Mongol Empire can be said to be an inevitable result.

But he refused to accept the poison. Why? You are not a descendant of Genghis Khan at all!

"Under my administration, life on the Mongolian grasslands has become countless times better than before, and herders can graze their cattle and sheep as they please.

The entire Mongolian grassland has developed very well, and the grassland has even expanded many times compared to before." Zhang Yong said.

This is not an exaggeration at all. These are all my own achievements. I have protected the grassland and managed the environment of the entire desert. I have done all these things myself.

This is also the reason why the Mongolian civilians are so loyal and loving to me now, because I provide them with enough food, clothing and water, it's that simple.

"I also want to talk about you, Batu. You secretly established the Golden Horde, completely disregarding the interests of the Golden Family, and forcibly split the entire Mongol Empire.

The division of the entire Mongol Empire and even the independence of the Chakhotai Khanate were all because of you, because you were the first to take the lead, and because you took the lead, others followed suit. "Zhang Yong said.

In history, it was you who took the lead in establishing the Golden Horde and started the division of the Mongol Empire.

"That's what I deserve."

"Yes, you deserve it. All of Genghis Khan's descendants think so. Everyone wants to establish their own Khanate.

But the Khanates you established are each weaker than the last.

Have you, the Golden Horde, had an easy time these years since trade between the East and the West was cut off?
Ask yourself, what would have happened to your Golden Horde without the support of the East?" Zhang Yong said.

As soon as this was said, Batu was speechless. What was the end of the Khanate? It can be said that the weapons and equipment were completely backward to the time when Genghis Khan just started his army.

It had regressed by several decades instead of making progress. When facing the attack from Zhang Yong's son, his army was extremely weak and could not fight a frontal battle at all.

“If you had been willing to listen to me from the beginning instead of standing on the side of the Tuolei family, there wouldn’t have been so many problems today.

It was you who gave Mongke hope, and it was you who gave Mongke the opportunity to rebel. If you had not given him this opportunity, he would not have dared to act rashly in the East, he would not have rebelled, and he would not have died here.

On the contrary, if you had listened to my advice and weakened the YSL sect and vigorously supported the local shaman sect, your Golden Horde would not have ended up like this today." Zhang Yong said.

When the two men first met, they got along very well, and Batu also performed very bravely in the war of the Delhi Sultanate.

Zhang Yong still had a very high opinion of him. Even when they just started the Western Expedition, the two had a good relationship. It was not until the appearance of Mongke that the cracks in their relationship became increasingly severe.

"Great Khan Ogedei, when he was in the Delhi Sultanate, did he treat you well? After my father's death, when Great Khan Ogedei came to power, did he treat you Jochi well?
After conquering the Jin Dynasty, Ogedei Khan immediately started the Western Expedition. If hundreds of thousands of Western Expedition troops were deployed to the southern battlefield, the Southern Song Dynasty would not be able to stop them at all, and it can be said that they would be destroyed several years in advance. "Rhodes said.

At that time, it was only a part of the army in Hebei, plus some grassland troops and troops from the Central Plains.

The Southern Song Dynasty launched an attack and initially fought quite well with unstoppable force, but who knew that Ogedei's heir apparent would unexpectedly die.

Thinking back to the past, Zhang Yong felt a little scared. What if he had not participated in the Western Expedition and stayed in the Central Plains?

If Ogedei's son dies, it might be me who will be blamed.

Moreover, Zhang Yong also learned from Fatima that when Genghis Khan died, he also left a will to Ogedei, asking Xizhen to kill him after his return.

But thanks to Fatima's help and the assassination troops he trained, Zhang Yong successfully avoided all the killing moves.

Tokiya! Life!
"I have been defeated by you. I have nothing to say. If you want to kill me, just do it." Batu said.

Since he couldn't win the argument with Zhang Yong, Batu simply stopped talking.

“Then I will send your entire family to the Mongolian grasslands and give you a piece of land.

All males in your family are not allowed to leave there. You must live there for generations and watch how my empire develops." Zhang Yong said.

Just like the way he dealt with Kublai Khan, Batu Zhang Yong had no intention of killing them. Anyway, they could no longer cause any trouble.

"Hmph! Okay! I want to see if all the people on the Mongolian grasslands support you." Batu said.

"Don't be in a hurry. Before you go to your fiefdom, you have to stay in Dadu first. I will let you leave after the two western expeditions are over." Zhang Yong said.

In the next few months, war reports from the West continued to come in, and they were all reports of great victories. Zhang Yong's eldest son successfully pacified Hungary and some rebellions in Europe, consolidating his friends.

Zhang Yong's second son, Zhang Dingxia, also led an unstoppable war that reached the capital of the Western Regions, Baghdad.

The battle reports from the front were all good news, with news of victory coming in continuously. Batu was also arranged by Zhang Yong to be taken care of by a special person. He traveled on the Mongolian grasslands for two months and then returned to Dadu.

The changes in the Mongolian grassland shocked Batu. He was only a teenager when he left the Mongolian grassland and followed his father to live in the West. He has not returned to his homeland of the Mongolian grassland for decades.

When he first saw the extremely fertile grasslands of the Kipchak steppe during the Western Expedition, Batu exclaimed that he had never seen such fertile grasslands.

But when you turn around and take a look at the Mongolian grassland, you will see that it is already covered with lush green, with white cattle, sheep and horses everywhere.

The herdsmen were driven in groups to graze. The herdsmen here were not like the Mongolians of the past. They were short and thin, but fierce and desperate. Their faces, expressions, and eyes were full of hope.

At this moment, Batu finally understood that this land in the east, whether it was the territory of the Han people or the territory of the Mongols, had been completely controlled by Zhang Yong.

He didn't even need to look at the Han people's territory. After all, that was the place where Zhang Yong had been operating for decades, and it must have developed very well.

After returning to Dadu again, Badu shook his head helplessly when he saw Kublai Khan.

Thinking back to the present, Badu's face was full of emotion, Zhang Yong's eldest son was about to come back.

"The lives of you and me are just a matter of his thoughts.

It would be more beneficial for him to keep us alive, so he didn't kill you and me. Otherwise, you and I would have died in his hands long ago."

Kublai Khan smiled self-deprecatingly, picked up the wine on the table and took a sip and said.

It has been almost three years since he was captured and brought back to Dadu! In these three years, he has seen more clearly than Batu. Zhang Yong! Zhang Yong! You have won completely! I, Kublai Khan, have nothing to say.

"Are we just going to accept his arrangement? Is our Golden Family really going to be ruined?" Batu asked.

"Hahaha! Who told you that the Golden Family will decline? It's only your Warlock Family that will decline." Kublai Khan said meaningfully.

The reason why Zhang Yong can hold his current position is because Genghis Khan gave him the identity of the Golden Family, and Zhengyong will never lose this identity.

His eldest son is the grandson of Genghis Khan. Although he is a grandson-in-law, his status is the same as mine and yours. In the future, his eldest son will definitely inherit the right to rule this land.

Therefore, the Golden Family will not only not decline, but will become more prosperous. And most importantly, the daughter of their Tolui family married Zhang Yong's son.

As long as his two younger brothers, Hulagu and Ariq Boke, did not foolishly rebel, but stayed quietly in their own tombs.

If they do as they are instructed, there will be basically no danger to their lives, and their Tolui family will continue to develop on the grassland.

Even a hundred years later, his grandchildren or even great-grandchildren might have a chance to regain their freedom, provided that the Tolui family and his two younger brothers do not cause any more trouble.

It was really fate that I proposed to resolve the grievances with Zhang Yong, but unfortunately my mother and elder brother Mengge were still alive at that time.

The two were determined to get rid of Zhang Yong, so he had no choice but to join in. But in the end, the result was still tragic. The eldest brother died and his mother committed suicide.

However, they still have a chance to drag down their families, unlike you Batu, your entire family was wiped out.

Therefore, the only ones who were hurt from beginning to end were your Jochi family. You, Batu, were determined to rebel against Zhang Yong. Even the fact that Batu was forgiven by Zhang Yong and survived was very miraculous in Kublai Khan's eyes.

While the two were talking for a while, Zhang Yong came in front of them wearing a dragon robe.

"You two are finally chatting. How are you? Are you used to the life in Dadu recently?" Zhang Yong asked.

"Thanks to you, Your Majesty, we are living a good life." Kublai Khan said.

"In two months, my eldest son will be back. Based on his military achievements this time, I will let him participate in political affairs." Zhang Yong said.

Hearing this, Kublai Khan looked at Zhang Yong in a strange way. Zhang Yong's words seemed to mean that he wanted to pass the throne to his eldest son. Although he speculated that this eldest son might succeed to the throne,

But age is a problem. Although Zhang Yong is now in his early fifties, he is still in good health and looks like he is just over 40 years old.

According to Kublai Khan's estimation, Zhang Yong would have to sit on the throne until he was at least in his seventies. By then, even if his son succeeded him, he would be in his forties.

"Your Majesty, are you planning to abdicate early and become the emperor?" Kublai Khan rolled his eyes and spoke.

Zhang Yong’s ideas are always different from others. Other emperors would not give up the power in their hands, but if it were Zhang Yong, that might not be the case.

"Hahaha! I will stipulate one thing: the legal retirement age in the future will be sixty. After the age of sixty, no matter if you are a court official or the emperor, you must resign from your own affairs and return home to retire.

After all, when you are old, you may get confused sometimes. It is better to leave some things to young people. It is not a good thing to cling to power. "Zhang Yong said.

If he hands over power, he will have no problem living to at least 80 years old. By then, his son will have enough time to reorganize the entire country and complete the transfer of power.

Unlike the beginning of each dynasty, when a certain prince or general became powerful, it led to great turmoil in the early days of the dynasty.

Therefore, whether it is the emperor or all the civil and military officials in the court, they all retire at the age of 60, and the emperor will serve as the emperor emeritus and complete the power transfer with the new emperor.

"It's a good idea! Retire at the age of 60. Haha, if all the civil and military officials in the court do the same, then there will be no fools." Kublai Khan highly praised this and nodded in agreement.

This will help the country even more! It can prevent the emergence of powerful officials with great power, and the old emperor will abdicate and give the throne to the new emperor. With the pressure of the old emperor, others will not dare to act rashly.

"I would also like to announce one thing. The heir to my family's throne must be over 25 years old. I cannot allow a young emperor to appear." Zhang Yong said.

Sometimes the greatest disaster for a dynasty is a young emperor. When a little kid is pushed to the pinnacle of politics, he will definitely become a puppet of others.

“Your Majesty, sometimes things may not go as you wish. For example, if you pass your bloodline to your eldest son, only your eldest son’s lineage will be royal.

The others are just clans. If there is any great turmoil in the court, some things are unavoidable. "Kublai said.

"Hahaha! If it is unavoidable, then it means that the dynasty I established will also come to an end. If people do not want my family to be emperor and think that my emperor is immoral, then they can just overthrow him.

My children and grandchildren will have their own happiness, so why should I worry about what will happen hundreds or thousands of years later? I am not like Qin Shihuang, who dreamed of eternal life. "Zhang Yong said.

The rise and fall of dynasties cannot be stopped by human power. We can only delay it as much as possible.

Anyway, these things will happen hundreds of years after his death. What he has done is enough, and he can't care about other things.

"Hahaha! Zhang Yong! Zhang Yong, you are so free and easy. I, Kublai Khan, admire you." Kublai Khan stood up, bowed to Zhang Yong and spoke.

It is rare for a founding monarch to be so free and easy. They all really underestimated Zhang Yong!
Even Batu, who was sitting next to him, looked at Zhang Yong with admiration. When he established the Golden Horde, he wanted to pass this country down to future generations.

"Sometimes a generation can only prepare for its descendants, and the legal system that is applicable now may not be applicable in the future," Kublai Khan said.

"If you fall behind you will be beaten, and progress requires a price, that's the fact." Zhang Yong picked up the wine, drank a glass with the two Mongolian men in front of him and said.

The three of them talked a lot that night, just like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

Two months later, Zhang Dingguan returned to the capital of Daxing Prefecture with tens of thousands of troops, and Zhang Yong ordered civil and military officials to come to the city gate to greet them and led his son into the palace.

"Your son greets you, father!" Zhang Dingguan knelt on the ground respectfully, bowed to Zhang Yong, and spoke.

"Well! You did a good job this time. I am very satisfied with your careful performance this time." Zhang Yong nodded to his eldest son and said with a smile. (End of this chapter)

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