Chapter 1689: Khutuktu Khan — Tiger or Rabbit?

In the fourth month of the first year of Chongzhen, at Kuku Khoton.

This famous frontier city, built by Altan Khan — the leader of the Tumed Tumen who had proclaimed himself khan — had now fallen into the hands of the true Northern Yuan successor, the Khutuktu Khan.

Seizing Kuku Khoton, the "capital" of the Right Wing Mongols, had been the dream of the Khutuktu Khan, Ligdan Baghatur, for many years. From the moment he had set his grand ambition of unifying the Mongols, he had kept his eyes on Kuku Khoton and the fertile, rich Tumed Plain around it, a land suited to both farming and herding.

But do not assume that Mongols only follow water and grass, that they cannot farm and cannot settle. In fact, Mongols do farm, and they do build cities — Mongols farm, just not very much. Because the grasslands and desert lands they occupy have almost no fertile places suited to permanent settlement, they have no choice but to roam the steppe as nomads.

And the Tumed Plain, lying between the Yellow River and the Daqing Mountains, is one of the few places on the land the Mongols now control that is suited to cultivation. The soil is fertile, the terrain flat, and irrigation convenient.

Back in the day, Altan Khan, the leader of the Tumed Tumen who had roared across the steppe and the desert, chose the Tumed Plain as the foundation of his "great khan's enterprise." He not only built the city of Kuku Khoton, but also brought in many farmers from Han territory who followed the White Lotus faith, and set them to clearing and cultivating the land around Kuku Khoton. Step by step, he developed Kuku Khoton and the Tumed Plain into a flourishing, wealthy paradise on the frontier, and at the same time turned it into a capital of the Right Wing Mongols fully capable of standing against the Mongol khan's court.

The one who divided the Mongol homeland into left and right wings and six tumens was the Khutuktu Khan's ancestor, the Northern Yuan restorer Dayan Khan. Dayan Khan did this to consolidate the power of the Golden Family in the Mongol homeland — in Dayan Khan's time, five of the six tumens of the left and right wings were under the control of his sons, and the Chahar Tumen that he personally led (Chahar is a Persian word meaning "court") was the strongest of the six tumens.

In Dayan Khan's design, the legitimate Mongol succession would henceforth come from the central Chahar Tumen, and the khan's court, through the strength of the Chahar Tumen, would firmly control the other two tumens of the Left Wing, the Khalkha Tumen and the Uriankhai Tumen. And the three tumens of the Right Wing Mongols, also under the leadership of Dayan Khan's descendants, would be responsible for holding back the Oirats to the west and defending the Mongol khan's court. It all looked perfect.

But the rise of Altan Khan (who was also a descendant of Dayan Khan) and the Tumed Tumen he led completely shattered the power structure Dayan Khan had designed.

He not only made the Tumed Tumen master of the three Right Wing tumens, but also sent troops to conquer the Uriankhai Tumen, which belonged to the Left Wing. He achieved control of two of the three parts of Mongolia (meaning the Mongol homeland), and went further still, seeking the khan's title itself. First he obtained from the Chahar Bodi Khan the title of Altan as Sodo Khan (Lesser Khan), and later simply cast aside the khan's court and flattered each other with the great lama of Tibet, having the great lama bestow upon him the title "Chakravarti Sechen Khan." This was openly proclaiming himself great khan, challenging the Chahar khan's court, and seeking to split the great Mongol nation.

However, the thing that did the greatest harm to the unity of the Mongol homeland was not Altan Khan's self-proclamation as khan, but rather the ceaseless building of Kuku Khoton and development of the Tumed Plain that he carried out together with his young wife, Sanniangzi. Through their efforts, from the Tumed Plain all the way to Zhangjiakou, one could see everywhere villages of Han migrants or sinicized Mongol farmers, and the wheat fields they had opened up.

And the development of agriculture on the Tumed Plain not only made Kuku Khoton more prosperous, turning it into the largest and wealthiest city on the southern steppe, but also gave the Tumed Tumen formidable economic strength. Compared with the wealthy Tumed Tumen, the Chahar Tumen that guarded the Mongol central khan's court was a shabby, penniless tumen. And compared with the Boshigtu Khan, Dayan Khan was a rustic, poor beggar khan. Without defeating the Boshigtu Khan and seizing Kuku Khoton and the Tumed Plain, the Khutuktu Khan's dream of unifying the Mongols could only ever be a golden millet dream.

But the Khutuktu Khan, Ligdan Baghatur, who had now taken the Tumed Plain and Kuku Khoton, sat in the glazed-tile golden throne hall left behind by Altan Khan, and felt not the slightest joy of victory.

Because he knew he was not the true victor. He had seized the Tumed Plain and Kuku Khoton, and gained a rich base. But at the very same time that he was seizing the Tumed Tumen's foundation, the utterly ruthless Jianzhou Jurchen were sweeping through the Chahar Tumen's base on the Liao River bend steppe, and were completely subjugating the thirty-six Karachin tribes and the five Inner Khalkha tribes!

And the warriors of the Dolot camp he had left to guard the Liao River bend steppe, facing Jianzhou elite troops fewer in number than themselves, had not even the strength to resist.

After this battle, all the tribes of the Mongol steppe would likely come to recognize one fact — the strongest power on the steppe was not the Chahar Tumen at all, but the Jianzhou Jurchen!

Although they were not Mongols at all, they possessed the military force to conquer the Mongols. The Mongols have always worshipped the strong!

And what he had even less expected was that the Ming dynasty to the south, which had been so frightened by the Jianzhou Jurchen that it had single-mindedly thrown money at buying him off, had now changed its face.

It had actually refused his demand that the market rewards enjoyed by the Prince of Shunyi's household be transferred to him, and had also refused to pay the market rewards originally owed to the Chahar tribe.

The two market rewards together came to nearly 300,000 taels!

For the Khutuktu Khan, who had just lost his homeland, this silver could be used to keep him alive!

Moreover, the Ming dynasty's refusal to issue the market rewards also dealt a major blow to the Khutuktu Khan's prestige. It showed that even the Ming dynasty did not approve of his behavior of taking out his anger on his own people when he could not defeat the Jianzhou.

Such behavior does not look like that of a hero! It is bullying the weak and fearing the strong — fierce as a tiger when facing the Boshigtu Khan, who is weaker than himself, but running faster than a rabbit when encountering the Jianzhou Jurchen!

This Khutuktu Khan certainly knows when to be a tiger and when to be a rabbit!

And now, faced with the Great Ming court's refusal to transfer and issue the market rewards, this tiger-bullying, strong-fearing Khutuktu Khan was somewhat unsure whether he should be a tiger or a rabbit.

Because he had already received definite news from his brother-in-law, who was also a key minister and great general, Guiyingqia — known as the foremost of the Ten Sumu of the Iron Lance Khonot — that the man now in charge of the defense of Datong was the fierce Ming general Man Gui, transferred from Liaodong!

It turned out that not long before, Guiyingqia had been sent by him to Datong to demand the market rewards, and there in Datong city he had seen the newly arrived Man Gui, and had also seen the iron-cavalry household retainers Man Gui had brought back from Liaodong!

This was the Man Gui who had fought a bloody battle with the Later Jin troops outside Jinzhou, and had even forced the Later Jin troops to retreat!

Would the Khutuktu Khan dare to fight the Later Jin troops like that? Would he not flee at the first sight of them?

So after learning that Man Gui had become Regional Commander of Datong, the Khutuktu Khan, who had originally intended to lead troops to force the passes, became somewhat afraid. Losing to the Later Jin was one thing, but if he were also defeated by the Ming, how could he continue as khan?

But the problem was that the key ministers and great generals under him did not know his troubles, and now one after another they were begging for war in the glazed-tile golden throne hall!

"Great Khan, give me ten thousand elite troops, and I will smash open the Datong border wall and fight all the way to the walls of Datong Prefecture!"

"Great Khan, give me five thousand troops and I can break the Datong border wall!"

"Great Khan, let me go instead. I will make the southerners know the might of our Great Yuan soldiers!"

"Great Khan, send the troops!"

"Great Khan..."

The Khutuktu Khan knew that these generals under him had not yet plundered their fill on the Tumed Plain, and all wanted to burst through the Datong border wall and loot fiercely!

But the problem was that Man Gui was not easy to deal with! And besides, the Later Jin were still sharpening their blades — who knew when they would come charging into the Tumed Plain!

If he also opened war with the Ming, could the Great Yuan state (which was really just a single Chahar tribe) hold out?

At this thought, the Khutuktu Khan cleared his throat with an "ahem," and everyone instantly fell silent. He then turned his gaze to his most trusted general, Guiyingqia.

Guiyingqia was a Mongol man in his thirties, sturdy and solid, his face full of coarse flesh. He was the head of the so-called Ten Sumu of the Iron Lance Khonot. The Ten Sumu of the Iron Lance Khonot was a force of iron-armored cavalry, divided into ten sumu, each commanded by one of the ten great generals the Khutuktu Khan trusted most. It was the Khutuktu Khan's core military force.

Guiyingqia frowned, and said thoughtfully: "Great Khan... breaking the Datong border wall is no great matter; we can always loot something. The problem is whether the little Ming emperor is willing to make peace with us. If he refuses to restore the market rewards and wants to keep fighting us, then that will be trouble."

Indeed, if the fighting continued, that would be trouble!

Just as the Khutuktu Khan was hesitating, one of his trusted men hurried in from outside and presented a letter with both hands. The Khutuktu Khan took the envelope and saw that it had been sent by his younger brother, the Shatu Taiji, who was stationed near the Datong border wall.

He hastily tore open the seal, took out the letter inside, and read it. Suddenly he burst out laughing: "The little southern emperor has sent an envoy, and he has already come out past the Datong border wall! It seems he still does not dare to break with us!"

(End of Chapter)