The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 232 The Red-Clad Tribe Seizes Grain

"No need for so much talk. I'm sure you know very well why I'm here. Quickly return my grain. It's the life-saving treasure of my tribe. If you don't return it, I'll personally lead my troops to take it!"

Tuohuochi felt a pang of conflict. He had worked so hard to obtain this grain, and much of it had already been eaten. How could he possibly return it? With that thought, he gritted his teeth, sighed, and said, "I'll give it back... I'll give it back, okay?"

The generals standing nearby were extremely anxious upon hearing this news.

"That's grain in our hands. Our tribe hasn't had any grain for a long time. With these things, we can get through this winter safely. We absolutely can't give it to them!"

After obtaining this batch of grain, Tuohuochi transported most of it back to his own warehouse, and distributed the rest to his subordinate generals.

Therefore, each of them had received considerable benefits, and asking them to return these benefits at this point would be tantamount to cutting flesh from their bodies.

Hearing his subordinate say this, Tuohuo Chi felt a surge of anger.

“Tell me what you can do. Isn’t it all because of you useless people? If even one of you could handle this Kökö Temür, would I have suffered such humiliation? If you can guarantee me that you can defeat Kökö Temür with your troops, I won’t mind giving you a chance!”

"I'll give him 60% of all the grain we get!"

Upon hearing this, the generals gasped for breath. That was 60% of the grain supplies; with that, they could probably eat for several years. Unfortunately, they didn't have the courage to confront Kökö Temür.

Kökö Temür was a notorious ruthless man in their Mongol tribe. Fighting him was tantamount to courting death. Seeing the silence and unease among the crowd, Chi Leng snorted and gathered all the grain together. His face was extremely grim, as he had already lost more than 20% to nearly 30% of the grain he had.

If we want to make up for these losses, we can only use the food from their own tribe. We can let them take advantage of us, even if it means they suffer a loss. We absolutely cannot let them.

With this in mind, he had no choice but to hand over the grain to Kökö Temür.

After counting the grain, they found that it was 20-30% short. Kökö Temür's face turned extremely ugly. This grain could save countless people in the tribe, and this guy dared to shortchange him.

Seeing that Kökö Temür was angry, Tuohuoqi said anxiously, "Brother, this matter is really not my fault. Those people from the Ming Dynasty are really hateful. They actually shortchanged us on grain. I'm sure you have also suffered as a result. We must not underestimate the wolfish ambitions of these guys!"

Kökö Temür took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to kill, and said with a smile.

"Indeed, the Ming Dynasty is our common enemy. Some time ago, they even tried to sow discord against me. I am loyal to His Majesty the Emperor and will definitely break through the border in the future, march directly into the interior, and wipe out the entire Zhu family!"

Hearing this, Tuohuochi was startled. What a ruthless person! If he remembered correctly, his sister Minmin Temur had already married the Prince of Qin of the Ming Dynasty.

This means that their two families are now related by marriage. Given that they already have this relationship, it's obvious that I should stay away from him in the future. When someone like that gets angry, he's capable of anything.

Tuohuoqi didn't believe this excuse, but when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. He could only smile and see Koko Temur off. The general beside him was extremely unwilling: "Chief, are we just going to give up this grain? I'm really unwilling!" Tuohuoqi suddenly became angry for no reason: "You're unwilling? Do you think I'm willing? But what can we do? The gap between our strength and his is not small!"

"However, having suffered such a great loss, we should find a way to get revenge. So, immediately send someone to spread the word that there is a connection between the Ming Dynasty and Kökö Temür's tribe. The Ming Dynasty in the south has sent them a lot of grain so that they can conserve their strength and take action against the tribes on the grasslands!"

"They even looted all the food from the Tuohuochi tribe, intending to starve the surrounding tribes so they could present it as a gift to the Ming Dynasty!"

On the way back, Kökö Temür's men were also very unwilling, because those were all grains.

"If we save this grain, how many lives can we save?" "Your Highness, these people from the Ming Dynasty are truly untrustworthy. They embezzled the agreed-upon amount of grain. Next time, I must find those people and demand an explanation!"

Kökö Temür sneered, "You really think it's the people of the Ming Dynasty who are untrustworthy? We've done business with them like this several times, and when have you ever seen them shortchange us?"

"Although Zhu Xiong Ying is young, he is indeed a formidable opponent. He naturally knows how to maximize his own interests. Do you think everyone is like that despicable Tuo Huo Chi?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, as if they had just realized what had happened: "Your Highness means that the grain was not withheld by the people of the Ming Dynasty, but rather by the people of the Tuohuo Chi tribe!"

"Damn it, how dare he do this! We're all sons of the grasslands, why must we kill each other like this? I'm going to settle the score with him right now!"

Kökö Temür shook his head.

"Forget it, let's not think about it too much. Even if you go, he will never admit to these things!"

"Originally, we could have wiped out the Tuohuochi tribe to get our food back, but it would have been inappropriate to do so for such a small amount. We are at a sensitive time and cannot afford to be careless!"

This rumor quickly spread to various tribes on the grasslands, becoming increasingly outlandish. Some even believed that the Ming Dynasty and Kökö Temür had orchestrated this scheme to lure the Tuohuoqi tribe into a trap for their eventual annihilation.

Although this statement was absurd, many people on the grasslands believed it because their fear of the Ming Dynasty was simply too great.

Furthermore, Kökö Temür's actions this time were truly incomprehensible to them.

Kökö Temür explained in great anxiety, but no one listened to him at all.

Kökö Temür was extremely troubled. Not long ago, news came that the tribes closest to him were now retreating in other directions, and even the Tuohuo Chi tribe, which was closest to them, had left.

(End of this chapter)