The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 487: Combine vertically and horizontally
Timur led his army to the northern border and engaged in a fierce battle with Toghtomir.

The two sides fought back and forth for dozens of rounds without a clear winner.

Just when both sides were in a stalemate, the situation changed.

Hugrut returned to the Golden Horde, gathered his old subordinates and started a rebellion.

Toghto Mishi had also taken precautions and reserved an army to suppress the rebellion.

However, the general he left behind was far less capable than Hugrut and was defeated.

When the news reached the front line, the army was in panic.

Affected by this, the subsequent battles with Timur's army began to suffer continuous defeats.

Fortunately, Vytautas led his elite troops and repelled Timur's army several times, thus stabilizing the situation.

Faced with a fire in his backyard, Tokhtamysh finally chose to bow to Vytautas and agreed to become a vassal state of Lithuania.

In exchange for more support from Vytautas.

However, in order to prevent opposition from domestic nobles, this agreement was kept secret for the time being and would not be announced until Timur was defeated.

In fact, this was the reason why Vytautas supported Tokhtamysh, to control the entire Golden Horde.

This can not only enhance one's own strength, but also open the door to the Eastern world.

But how could Tuotuo Mishi be willing to be inferior to others, so he never agreed to his request.

Vytautas was naturally very happy that his goal was finally achieved this time.

Afterwards, he led his elite troops and traveled day and night back to the Golden Horde to suppress Khugrut.

As for Toghtomir, he continued to command the army and stayed at the front line to fight Timur.

Vytautas could be said to be very proud of himself. In his view, Hoglund was just a defeated general.

When he was still the Great Khan, he was defeated by Toghto Mishi, whom he supported.

Now he is just a stray dog, how can he be my opponent?

He was no longer thinking about defeating Khugrut, but how to use this opportunity to seize more power in the Golden Horde.

However, soon after he returned to the Golden Horde, Khugrut taught him a lesson.

It was a rainy night, and Vytautas and his men found a higher place to set up camp to avoid the rain.

Because of the heavy rain, no one thought that the enemy would launch an attack at this time.

So their defense was very lax.

Then, Hugrut led an elite cavalry of more than a thousand people and charged out in the rainy night.

Vytautas and his personal guards tried to fight back, but the entire camp was in chaos and they could only barely protect themselves.

Fortunately, Hugrut did not bring many people with him, and after fighting for a while, they did not dare to fight and retreated.

Even so, when the head count was done the next day, there were more than 6,000 casualties.

Including those who were lost, only about 41,000 people were left out of the 50,000-strong army.

Vytautas's face turned pale. He had not expected that he would be defeated so miserably.

However, this defeat also made him stop underestimating his enemies.

They quickly joined forces with the army left behind by Toghtomishi, and the two sides fought against Hugrut together.

After all, there are few people in Huglut, so it is difficult to make any progress for a while.

As a result, the entire battle situation fell into a stalemate again.

However, at this moment, a secret report was delivered to Timur Khan's tent.

After reading the contents of the secret report, his expression suddenly became extremely solemn.

Shaharu asked quickly: "Father, what happened?"

Timur said: "The King of Jin of the Ming Dynasty sent troops to Chagatai and captured Turpan and other places without bloodshed."

It turns out that it was the Ming Dynasty that fought against the Chagatai Khanate, so that's not a problem...

No, Shaharu rushed to the map.

Qin and Yan. If Zhu Gang conquers the Chagatai Khanate, the Timurid Khanate will be caught in a pincer attack from three sides.

Timur walked up to him and said, "You noticed it too, didn't you?"

Shaharu took a deep breath and drew a semicircle on the map with his hand:
"We are being attacked from three sides... If we add the Golden Horde in the north, our country will be surrounded on all sides."

“It’s such a big chess game.”

Timur looked gloomy and said, "First, order Zhu Gang to take over the land west of the Yellow River."

"They should have been ready to attack Chagatai at that time."

"It's just that the power of the Han people in the Western Regions is too weak. They need time to accumulate strength, so they didn't take action."

"Instead, let Zhu Gang take charge of Hexi and wait for the right opportunity."

"I suspect they have been plotting against me since then."

"First, they took advantage of the fact that I was too busy fighting with Tuotuo Mishi to take care of other things, and sent Qin Wang Chong to Anxi to establish a kingdom in the name of exile."

"When I defeat Tuotomishi, my exhausted troops will be unable to do anything to him, and I will let him gain a foothold here."

"Later, in the name of enfeoffment, the State of Yan was enfeoffed in the southernmost part of Sindhu."

"It is far away from us, separated by the entire Sindhu. Even if we knew about it, we would not take it to heart."

Who would have thought that the Sindhu states were so vulnerable? It took the State of Yan only two years to take over most of their land.

At this point, the situation is actually not too bad.

The Chagatai Khanate was his vassal state, and the Black Sheep Kingdom could also be won over, as well as the Golden Horde.

He, Timur, still had the upper hand.

However, the restoration of Toghto Mishi changed everything.

Timur had to focus all his attention on dealing with this powerful enemy and was unable to take care of other things.

They could only watch Qin annex the Black Sheep Kingdom and Prince of Jin Zhu Gang erode the Chagatai Khanate.

Once Qin, Jin and Yan complete their strategic layout, plus Tuotuo Mishi in the north.

No matter how powerful the Timurid Khanate was, it would end up dead.

Shah Rukh said: "The Qin State should have contributed to Tokhtamysh's revival."

Timur thought for a moment and said, "Qin must have made some contributions secretly, but it was very limited."

Shaharu asked in confusion: "Why?"

Timur said: "Vytautas has evil intentions. If he knew that Qin was involved in this matter, he would never help Tokhtamysh like this."

Shahru suddenly realized: "Father is wise."

Timur shook his head and said, "It took me so long to realize the plot. How can I still call myself wise?"

Shaharu recalled the whole arrangement and shuddered. He said:

"Who on earth planned this big situation?"

Timur said affirmatively: "Chen Jingke is the only one in the world who has such a long-term vision."

Shaharu also agreed: "He is the only one... I really want to ask him for advice in person."

Seeing his son praising the enemy like this, Timur snorted, but did not blame him.

He had heard about Chen Jingke a long time ago. He initially did not believe him, then became skeptical, and finally admired him.

He had thought more than once, why was such a great talent not under his command?

I have also thought that if I conquer the Ming Dynasty, I must subdue it and use it for my own purposes.

However, I was just thinking about it, I didn't expect that others had started planning against me seven or eight years ago.

This look and this scheming are truly terrifying.

Shahru just sighed, and then he asked a key question:
"How do we break this situation?"

Timur looked at the map for a long time before he said:
"The key to breaking the impasse lies in Vytautas."

Shahru was puzzled at first, but he quickly guessed what he was thinking and said:
"You want to drive a wedge between him and Tuotuo Mishi?"

Timur said admiringly: "Yes, there must be a rift between Tokhtamysh and Vytautas. We must find a way to widen this rift."

Shahru asked, "What is the gap between them?"

Timur said: "Vytautas must have a purpose when he sent troops. It is not difficult to guess what he wants. How can Tokhtamysh be willing to be inferior to others?"

"Both sides should understand each other's intentions, but they are just tacitly aware of each other's intentions due to the situation." "But if we tell Vytautas that Tokhtamysh is colluding with Qin and Ming, he will definitely be suspicious."

"Then here comes our chance."

Shaharu could not help but admire and said: "Father is wise. In this way, Toghto Mishi will definitely not be our opponent."

"Defeat Toghtomishi before Zhu Gang can conquer the Western Regions and Qin has yet to gain a firm foothold on the plateau."

"We will first send troops to defeat the Qin State, then concentrate our forces to defeat Zhu Gang, and finally go south to destroy the Yan State..."

Timur nodded and said, "This is called defeating them one by one."

"But in order to realize this plan, we need someone with outstanding abilities to go and lobby Vytautas."

Having said that, he looked at Shaharu.

Shaharu naturally knew what he meant and said solemnly:

"I am your son, so it will be easier for me to gain Vytautas's trust."

"This matter belongs to me, please allow me, father."

Timur was even more pleased, patted his shoulder and said:
"Shahru, you make me proud."

"I have decided that if I lose this battle, it's fine. If I win, I will make you my heir."

Shahru was shocked and said, "Father, how can this be possible?"

"Ma Heima, the son of my eldest brother, is your heir. Besides, we have my third brother..."

"How can it be my turn to inherit the Khanate?"

Timur said seriously: "I really like your elder brother, and that's why I prefer Mahemah."

"However, what has happened in the past few years has also made me realize that the country needs an outstanding successor."

"Ma Heima is mediocre in ability, how can he take on such a big responsibility?"

"Your third brother is disabled, so he has a cruel temper. He can lead troops in battles, but he is a king who will destroy the country if he governs it."

"You are the only one who has outstanding abilities and is loved by everyone."

"Only you can lead the family to resist the powerful enemy of Ming Dynasty."

Shah Rukh was also tempted, but he was not sure whether his father really wanted to make him the crown prince.

Or is he deliberately deceiving himself in order to make himself willing to go on the mission?

So I still refused.

Timur's face changed and he shouted sternly: "The country is in danger and needs the king to take the initiative to take responsibility. Why are you hesitating?"

"If you want the position of crown prince, you must fight for it. If you don't want it, just give up your power now and find a place to live in disgrace."

Shahru was shocked and immediately knelt down and said, "Father, please calm down. I will not let you down."

Timur then smiled and helped him up, saying, "Isn't this right?"

"But your concerns are reasonable. Ma Heima has been the crown prince for so many years, and your third brother is still alive."

"If we directly appoint you as the crown prince, we will definitely not be able to convince the people."

"If you make great contributions, it will be different. I can legitimately establish you as the crown prince."

"This negotiation with Vytautas is the best opportunity to make a contribution. We must seize it."

Shaharu said seriously: "Yes, I will definitely not let my father down."

Afterwards, Shah Rukh took a few close associates and entered the Golden Horde in disguise.

For fear of the news leaking out, he did not even contact Huglut, but used other connections to contact Vytautas.

Vytautas thought he was in a safe position, but in fact he met Shah Rukh with a cat playing with mouse mentality.

However, Shahru's words ruined his plan:

"Toghtomishi has secretly formed an alliance with the Qin State. Do you know about this?"

Vytautas was shocked, but he remained calm and said:

"You think I would believe this despicable plot to sow discord?"

Shaharu sighed, "You may not know yet, but the Ming Empire in the east is extending its influence deep into Anxi."

"If it were you, would you choose to cooperate with Ming or Lithuania?"

"Let me put it bluntly. Do you want to be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty or a vassal of Lithuania?"

Vytautas's face darkened and he no longer had the confidence he had just now.

He naturally knew about the power, wealth and civilization of the Ming Dynasty.

In recent years, everything about the Ming Dynasty, including culture, luxury goods, etc., has become popular throughout the Western world.

His ears are callused from listening so much.

Although he had a high opinion of himself, he was not so arrogant as to think he could be compared with the Ming Dynasty.

If you want to find a father, you naturally have to find the strongest one.

If it were in the past, he would have thought that Ming Dynasty and Lithuania were thousands of miles apart.

No matter how powerful the Ming Dynasty is, what can it do to me?
However, the whirlwind brought by the Mongol cavalry had only just passed, and the entire Western world still remembered it vividly.

Who can guarantee that the Ming Dynasty cannot do it?
Moreover, the Ming Dynasty had already established a Qin State in Anxi and defeated Timur head-on with a smaller force.

This kind of strength is no weaker than the Mongolian cavalry at that time.

Shaharu was delighted and continued:
"The Ming Dynasty has long coveted the land of the West, but has always been blocked by our country."

"If our country is gone, are you ready to resist?"

"Besides, even if there is no Ming Dynasty, do you think Tuotuo Mishi would be willing to become your puppet?"

"He made an alliance with Qin but kept it a secret from you. With your wisdom, you must have figured out the reason."

"There is a saying in the Ming Dynasty: after the rabbit dies, the dog is cooked."

"The day our country is defeated will be the day you die."

At this point, Shaharu changed his previous modesty and said arrogantly:
"Besides, do you think you can be a match for my father?"

"My father was reluctant to take action because he didn't want the Ming Dynasty and Qin to take advantage of him."

Vytautas fell into deep thought.

Just as Timur thought, there was no trust between him and Toghtomish.

He himself became the King of Lithuania through repeated transitions.

Naturally, I don't believe in loyalty.

Tutu Mishi submitted to him only because he was forced by the situation.

Once Timur is defeated, there is a very high possibility that Toghtomir will turn against him.

Therefore, Vytautas had no doubt that he had connections with the Qin State.

In this case, you need to reconsider whether you should abide by the agreement and continue to help Tuotuo get lost.

Of course, the reason why he hesitated.

The fundamental reason is that Timur is too strong, much stronger than imagined.

On the front battlefield, Timur always took the initiative.

Khugrut's abilities also exceeded original expectations, causing chaos in the Golden Horde.

It can be said that Timur did not need to rush into a decisive battle. As long as it was dragged on, Toghtomir would inevitably fail.

Vytautas was persuaded only because he realized this.

However, it is not so easy for him to give up Tuotuo Mishi so easily.

After all, he had been planning this move for a long time, and it was related to his subsequent major plans.

At this moment, Shahru gave the most fatal reason:
"The Ming Dynasty listed Christianity as a cult. Although the Qin State did not do so, it has always suppressed Christianity."

“If they gain a foothold in Anxi, I’m afraid there won’t be another Christian in this land.”

Hearing this, Vytautas' eyes flickered for a moment, and finally he became firm.

He looked up at Shaharu and asked in a deep voice:

"What can you give me?"

(End of this chapter)