Chapter 1461: The Ming Dynasty's Good Uncle

Zhu San Crown Prince genuinely wanted to help Zhu A'nu. If he didn't build her up, how could the Zunghar Kingdom possibly fall apart in the future?

Besides, Anu Khatun was a formidable figure, and the two Zunghar royal tumens under her command were extremely tough—nothing like the weaklings of the Khoshut tribe in Ü-Tsang.

But in the eyes of a great military expert like Zhu San Crown Prince, Anu Khatun's two Zunghar royal tumens were merely military-household troops at their strongest. Formidable, yes, but still far inferior to the professional Ming army. And to raise the fighting power of Princess Anu's two "trash tumens" in the short term, relying on the traditional nomadic militia system was hopeless. Moreover, Princess Anu was, after all, an outsider—a Han khatun—so it was fundamentally impossible for her to carry out effective reorganization of two Mongol tumens.

Even if she had the abilities of Mandukhai Khatun (the ruler who revived the Northern Yuan), what of it? Didn't Dayan Khan's army lose to the Ming forces commanded by the Zhengde Emperor at the Battle of Yingzhou? And they lost quite badly—Dayan Khan himself was wounded and died of his injuries that same year at the age of forty-four. Oh, this isn't history fabricated by Ruan Dacheng, but something Zhu Cijiong heard from his fathers-in-law in the Chahar Khanate, so it should be reliable.

If even the central Chahar Tumen at its peak was only at this level, how could anyone expect Princess Anu to make something spectacular out of two Khoshut tumens from Ü-Tsang?

So if Princess Anu wanted to seize some useful military force, her only option was to select soldiers from the two Khoshut tumens, form a mercenary army, have it strictly trained by professional officers sent by the Ming court, and equip it with weapons provided by the Ming. As long as she could train six thousand elite troops, Princess Anu's position within the Zunghar royal court would be extremely secure.

Princess Anu listened attentively, but her brow furrowed more and more, because she realized she simply couldn't reorganize the two Khoshut tumens Galdan was about to hand over to her. Training personal guards was actually easier—she could just write to her Imperial Father Zhu Cilang for help.

But when it came to reorganizing the Mongol tumens and chiliarchies, even Zhu Cilang probably had no solution. Zhu Cilang didn't have eight Mongol consorts!

It seemed this matter still required asking Zhu San Crown Prince, the Ming dynasty's good uncle, for help!

"Imperial Uncle," Princess Anu cast a pleading look at Zhu San Crown Prince and said softly, "your niece only knows how to serve Imperial Father; she doesn't know how to reorganize Mongol tribes. Imperial Uncle must help your niece!"

Zhu San Crown Prince looked at this cheaply acquired niece's delicate and charming appearance and thought to himself: How could the eldest bear to throw such a thoughtful girl out to the Western Regions to benefit Galdan?

What a pity!

Zhu San Crown Prince sighed lightly and began giving Zhu A'nu advice. "A'nu, since you call me Imperial Uncle, I cannot refuse to help you. My eight great consorts were all personally trained by me—they can command troops on horseback and govern the people on foot. Moreover, they are of the Golden Family lineage from Chahar and Tumed, far nobler than the Khoshut tribe of Eastern Mongol origin. Having them take charge of reorganizing your tribe and recruiting warriors will certainly not go wrong.

Of course, reorganizing tribes and recruiting warriors both cost money! My eldest brother dotes on you so much—surely he hasn't shortchanged you in finances?"

"Imperial Uncle, your niece still has some savings," Zhu A'nu said pitifully. "A'nu has been frugal all these years and saved up over a million taels, all brought to the Western Regions. I wonder if it's enough?"

Saved over a million? You're quite the money-grubber! Most of Zhu San Crown Prince's good impression of Zhu A'nu instantly evaporated. But he still nodded and said, "You won't need that much. People here in the Western Regions are poor, and the Khoshut Mongols of Ü-Tsang are even poorer—they've never seen the world. Two hundred thousand taels will be more than enough!"

Zhu A'nu nodded. "Mm, two hundred thousand—this slave still has that."

A'nu knew that after leaving her post as "imperial attendant," she would have no place to collect money. Although Zhu Cilang would still subsidize her, she couldn't be too loose with her hands.

Otherwise, once the money was spent, the hard days would be hard to endure!

Just as Zhu A'nu was about to ask her good uncle Zhu San Crown Prince for more advice, the sound of hoofbeats came from outside the great tent, followed by a Mingzhu lama shouting outside.

"My lord, my lord! The Chu River Tumen has come—the Chu River Tumen has come for the bridal escort!"

Zhu San Crown Prince glanced at Zhu A'nu and said with a smile, "A'nu, Galdan is here. Go dress up quickly and let Galdan have a good look—see which A'nu is prettier!"

Galdan had also dressed himself up carefully, trimming his beard and queue, donning armor meticulously crafted by skilled artisans of Yingtian, and riding a particularly handsome Turkmen horse. With eight hundred plate-armored cavalrymen, he came in grand procession toward Zhu San Crown Prince's yellow tent.

It had to be said, Choros Galdan was still a very hardworking double gigolo! Although his sister-in-law Anu Khatun doted on him and had already arranged everything for him, Galdan himself still worked very hard. One look at the eight hundred iron cavalrymen he brought for the bridal escort made that clear.

These were eight hundred plate-armored cavalrymen, all mounted on fine Persian or Turkmen horses, and every man carried a long, slender cavalry lance on his back!

Mongol cavalry being able to shoot from horseback was nothing special. What was truly impressive was being able to form charging formations of dozens or hundreds of riders and execute couched-lance charges—that was the mark of extraordinary elite troops.

Galdan's eight hundred iron cavalrymen were his trump card—a plate-armored cavalry force capable of massed charges!

On the Middle Jüz battlefields, this ironclad cavalry had more than once routed Kazakh cavalry far outnumbering them, and had long since earned a fearsome reputation.

In addition, Galdan also possessed a model Ming infantry regiment, the Chu River Infantry Regiment, likewise composed of Mongol conscripts selected from the Chu River Tumen. It numbered as many as sixteen hundred men, trained for him by his beloved general Hu Zhongyong (son of Hu Dawei, and also a Ming army officer).

And Galdan himself, thanks to these eight hundred iron cavalrymen and sixteen hundred infantrymen, had become the foremost warrior of the Zunghar Kingdom.

But compared to his sister-in-law Anu Khatun, Galdan's ability to train troops and fight battles was still somewhat lacking. Anu Khatun also had an identical ironclad cavalry force, but larger in number—reaching twelve hundred!

Furthermore, Anu Khatun also had a mounted infantry force equipped with artillery and capable of rapid maneuver, numbering as many as fifty-three hundred.

Anu Khatun's fifty-three hundred mounted infantry and twelve hundred ironclad cavalry had not only displayed their might on the Fergana battlefield, ultimately driving Anusha Khan to his death, but had also, under Anu Khatun's leadership, marched north multiple times to face the elite troops of the Middle Jüz and Russia in battle, winning more than losing.

It was precisely because of these sixty-five hundred elite troops that Anu Khatun held the power to select the next Zunghar king—whoever she married would be the king of the Zunghar!

If not for Princess Anu's appearance, Galdan would only have needed to deliver himself to his sister-in-law's tent, and everything would have been his...

"My Lord, the Prince of Dai has come out to greet us! And beside him there are one, two, three, four... seven or eight women—which one is the Snow Mountain Princess?"

Hu Zhongyong's loud exclamation interrupted Galdan's thoughts. He quickly looked up and saw the Prince of Dai, Zhu Cijiong, appearing within the camp gate, surrounded by eight female generals in plate armor.

"Tiger," Galdan called Hu Zhongyong by his nickname, "those are the Prince of Dai's eight great consorts... all princesses and county ladies brought from the Chahar Khanate and Tumed Khanate. Each one commands a chiliarchy, and each has two or three hundred cavalrymen capable of charging into battle—they can charge and break formations in the Prince's place!"

Hu Zhongyong laughed. "Only the Prince of Dai could think of such a thing..."

As Galdan and Hu Zhongyong spoke, the two had already ridden through the camp gate. About a dozen paces from Zhu San Crown Prince, they both dismounted, then stepped forward and bowed to Zhu San Crown Prince with clasped hands.

Zhu San Crown Prince laughed heartily and beckoned behind him. "A'nu, your husband has come to fetch you... Don't be shy now, come over here!"

Then Galdan heard a voice as pleasant as silver bells: "Uncle, this slave is coming now."

The words had barely faded when a graceful, beautiful young girl appeared before the eyes of Galdan, whose heart had room only for his sister-in-law...

(End of Chapter)