Chapter 586: Ambition

After receiving the news that his sister was coming back, Wukeshan was clearly still in a daze.

He truly had not expected that both of his sisters would be able to return tonight, especially at such a late hour. In his heart, he could not help but admire the Emperor of the Great Ming.

Remarkable. If this had been any normal man, there was no way he would have let two women who were already within his grasp go back to their own home tonight. Yet this Emperor of the Great Ming could actually do it—could endure what was unendurable. That was what made him remarkable.

After Wukeshan brought his two sisters inside, his expression turned serious.

At this moment, Bumbutai's face looked rather grim.

She had never imagined that what she had discussed with her brother last time would be reversed so quickly. She had originally thought that she had already done more than enough, and that the Emperor of the Great Ming should have accepted it gladly.

Establishing the academy, changing their surname, accepting the Great Ming's enfeoffment—things had indeed gone as she had predicted. The Great Ming side had agreed very readily, and had even been very pleased, going so far as to say they would accept her elder sister.

And now? Now this had to happen?

This was simply an insatiable greed that could never be filled!

Bumbutai knew that this time, things probably could not be settled peacefully.

Glancing at her brother, Bumbutai looked somewhat embarrassed.

She had not expected things to turn out this way either. The Emperor of the Great Ming was pulling her step by step toward the abyss, until in the end she would not even be able to climb back out.

"Brother, have you already heard?" Bumbutai looked at Wukeshan and asked, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, Wukeshan nodded and asked in a low voice, "I thought you two wouldn't be able to come back today. How did you end up returning? Did something happen during the meeting? You didn't offend the Emperor of the Great Ming over this matter, did you?"

In Wukeshan's view, although this matter was very thorny, it was not worth breaking ties with the Great Ming over it.

Especially since things had been progressing so well on his sister's side, and this matter had already demonstrated sufficient value. If his sister fell out with the Emperor of the Great Ming, then their side would likely become the target of everyone's arrows.

"No." Bumbutai shook her head and said, "The Emperor of the Great Ming is the one who let us return. He probably wanted me to tell you some things, Brother."

"What things?" Wukeshan asked hurriedly.

Right now, no matter what the matter was, it was extremely important. Even the slightest bit of news could affect the entire situation. Wukeshan was very clear on this point. So when Bumbutai said there was news, he became excited.

Glancing at her brother, Bumbutai did not hide anything. She told Wukeshan everything that had happened.

"Fools!" Wukeshan cursed, but the expression on his face relaxed.

This was something Bumbutai had not expected.

She looked at her brother and said hesitantly, "Brother, who are you talking about? Could it be the Emperor of the Great Ming?"

"Do you think the Emperor of the Great Ming is a fool?" Wukeshan said helplessly. "I'm talking about those people from Ordos. If they weren't so stupid, this matter would actually have been harder to handle."

"Clearly, their squabbling made the Emperor start to be wary of us and the Inner Khalkha. He wanted to support Ordos, to give Ordos a kingship. Then he would have them unite those small tribes into a new force. That way, there would be a new power on the grassland, and those small tribes would neither be swallowed up by us nor allow us to grow stronger."

"But those people from Ordos are stupid, and that Qasar is even more gutless. At this moment, if he had readily agreed and listened to the Great Ming Emperor's words, then this matter would have become troublesome for us—we wouldn't have had an easy time of it. Qasar didn't agree, and that's why the Great Ming Emperor came looking for me."

"Brother, you want to agree?" Hailanzhu, who was off to the side, raised her head and looked at Wukeshan, asking hesitantly.

"What difference does it make?" Wukeshan said matter-of-factly. "Do you think Ligdan Khan can fight his way back? Do you think he's a match for the Great Ming? Or do you think he can swallow us up?"

When he said this, Wukeshan was extremely confident.

Ever since swallowing up the Doyan Three Guards, Khorchin's strength had grown enormously, to the point that it was already stronger than the Inner Khalkha. Under such circumstances, Wukeshan had nothing to fear. He was not afraid of Ligdan Khan either.

Even back when he himself was very weak and Nurhaci was very strong, did Ligdan Khan dare to attack?

He only dared to go to the west. Even when he cooperated with the Great Ming, he was not sincere. Did he dare to bare his teeth at Nurhaci?

When their people were being dealt with by Nurhaci, where was Ligdan Khan?

A coward as timid as a mouse!

Wukeshan did not care at all. He glanced at Hailanzhu and said, "That piece of trash can't do anything."

Hearing their brother say this, Bumbutai and Hailanzhu both said nothing, because they agreed with his assessment.

Although Ligdan Khan was the Great Khan in name, his actual strength was nowhere near that formidable, and he had no way to unify the entire grassland.

Ligdan Khan dreamed big, but he wasn't destined for it. Under such circumstances, Khorchin indeed had no fear of him. Even if he formed an alliance with the Great Ming, so what?

Ligdan Khan couldn't do anything to them. The only infamy the Khorchin tribe would have to bear was nothing more than betraying the Golden Khan clan.

What was that, anyway? How many years had it been since Genghis Khan died? Did your Golden clan get to call the shots generation after generation?

Glancing at Bumbutai and Hailanzhu, Wukeshan said, "The Han have a saying that I think makes a great deal of sense: 'Are kings and generals born to their station?'"

"If we form an alliance with the Great Ming and Ligdan Khan attacks, we can take the opportunity to destroy him. At that point, once we've swallowed up Ligdan Khan, is there anyone left on the grassland who can contend with our Khorchin? The Ordos? Or the Inner Khalkha?"

"This time, as long as we agree, we can make a move on Ordos as soon as we get back." Wukeshan said with some excitement on his face. "By then, we will be the strongest on the grassland."

"But what if the Great Ming wants us to fight Ligdan Khan like the snipe and the clam?" Bumbutai said hesitantly. "If that happens, our losses will be very heavy, and we'll have let the Great Ming people pick up an easy profit for nothing."

"How would they pick up a profit?" Wukeshan said with disdain on his face. "By coming to the grassland? Are they going to come farm on the grassland? Or are they going to come herd livestock on the grassland?"

Wukeshan was very dismissive, and the expression on his face even carried a trace of contempt. He then added, "Has the Great Ming ever beaten the grassland until it hurt?"

"They've hurt it before—and more than once. So what? The grassland is still the grassland, and we are still us."

"As long as they don't want to fall out with us, they can't do anything to us. As for that piece of trash Ligdan Khan—trash is trash. And if it came to that, we could even take the opportunity to swallow up the Inner Khalkha."

In fact, Wukeshan had long harbored such thoughts in his heart. If it weren't for the Great Ming people being here, he would want to go back right now and take care of Ordos first.

After swallowing up those small tribes, he would turn around and deal with the Inner Khalkha. As long as he swallowed up those small tribes and the Inner Khalkha, then he would be the king of the eastern grassland.

At that point, he could go west to attack Ligdan Khan, and east to attack the Great Ming's Liaodong.

But having seen the strength of the Ming army, Wukeshan knew that this particular goal was unattainable.

But he could unify the grassland himself! This was an opportunity. Ambition belonged in the hands of those who held power.

Bumbutai raised her head and looked at her brother, somewhat stunned. She truly had not expected that her brother had such a side to him.

For a long time now, Bumbutai had felt that her brother had changed—that he had become like a merchant of the Great Ming. She had felt that her brother was like someone who solved every problem with profit, and that he had forgotten the ambition and valor of the grassland.

But at this moment, Bumbutai discovered that was not the case at all. Her brother had never forgotten the valor of the grassland. He had merely used another method to conceal it—and he had concealed it even more deeply, and his ambition had grown even greater.

A smile appeared on Bumbutai's face. This was a good thing.

She smiled and asked, "Then, Eldest Brother, what do you plan to do?"

"It's fine. Tomorrow I'll go see the Emperor of the Great Ming again. I'll directly state Ligdan Khan's crimes, and also say that since we have already pledged ourselves to the Great Ming, we should form an alliance with the Great Ming to jointly attack Ligdan Khan."

After thinking it over, Wukeshan added, "No, we can't call it an alliance. We should go request an imperial edict, asking permission to attack Ligdan Khan. We are now subjects of the Great Ming, and subjects should behave like subjects. Sister, don't you agree?"

Upon hearing this, Bumbutai smiled.

"Brother has thought this through very thoroughly. Once our family does this, only the Inner Khalkha will be left."

"As for the Ordos and the others, if they don't find a way to get the Great Ming Dynasty to protect them, then going back will only mean being swallowed up. There's no second option."

"Once our family steps forward, the Inner Khalkha will be forced into a dead end. If the Ordos don't follow along, then we strike them first. Traitors and rebels—everyone has the right to execute them."

Bumbutai said with a smile: "Brother speaks very well. These matters should indeed be handled this way."

Wukeshan immediately broke into a grin, looking at his two younger sisters with a hint of pride and vigor as he said: "You two go back and sleep first. Don't overthink things, rest early. Tomorrow we still have to go see the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty."

Bumbutai understood her brother's meaning and merely nodded.

The two sisters rose from their seats and walked out together.

When they reached the doorway, Bumbutai glanced at Hailanzhu, blinked her big eyes, and asked playfully: "Sister, do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Hailanzhu was taken aback for a moment, and in an instant, a blush spread from the tips of her ears all the way down to her neck.

Normally, the two sisters sleeping together was nothing to make a fuss about, but after meeting the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty today, Hailanzhu realized what was going on, and she couldn't help but feel shy inside.