Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 25: Entering like a mountain peach bush, setting up a formation like a lake

Looking at the bonfires that were as numerous as stars at the foot of Kangherhan Mountain, Taiyanghan was panicked. The number of these people was several times greater than the troops he had gathered. How could he fight this battle?
In fact, he had no idea that this was a suggestion from a man named Duodai, Cheerbi, who was under Temujin's command: each Mongolian warrior would light five bonfires to show their large numbers and disrupt the morale of the Naimans.

Taiyang Khan fell for the trick, his arrogance turning into a sense of humility. He quickly issued a new decree: "Although the Mongol horses are weak, they are too numerous. We are probably no match for them. We should slowly withdraw and lure them to the foot of Mount Altai, where we can engage in a decisive battle. Our horses are strong and healthy, and they will digest their food on the way, making them fit for a gallop. By then, the Mongol horses will be exhausted. We should give them a head-on blow and achieve final victory."

In one day, the order was changed three times.

With such inconsistent orders changing every day, the Naiman soldiers no longer had any will to fight.

……

……

That night, the Naiman prince Qu Chulu left the camp.

"Zhamuha Xuechan, what do you think of your father Khan's decree?" Quchuli asked slowly with a sad face.

Xuechan is translated into Chinese as "wise man". Jamukha was famous for his wisdom on the grassland, and Xuechan was the respectful name people gave him.

Jamukha poured himself a glass of mare's milk, smiled, and said calmly, "Prince, why are you asking when you already know the answer? If you believe that Taiyang Khan's order is absolutely correct, you should have carried it out immediately. Why invite me, the general of a defeated army, to drink with you?"

Quchuli refilled Jamukha's glass, nodded slightly, and sighed, "Yes. Father Khan issued a decree, declaring our army victorious. And just half a day later, we're forced to temporarily avoid the Mongols. With such frequent changes in orders, even a blind man can see that Father Khan is not only unworthy of the throne, but also afraid of the Mongols. But as the crown prince of the Naiman people and Father Khan's son, what should I do?"

Pfft!
Qu Chuli suddenly knelt before Jamukha and said, "Jamukha Xuechan, you are the wisest person I have ever met in my life. Please teach me."

"In fact, Your Highness, you are one of the rare heroes I have ever seen in my life." Jamukha reached out and helped Qu Chulu up, then said two words in a clear and crisp voice: "Let's go!"

"Go? Where?"

"Go to Liao, go to Xia, or even Khwarezm! In short, don't stay here! Naimans, it's over!"

"What about you? Come with me too! I swear to treat you like a teacher, no, like a father."

"What a wonderful child! Seeing you is like seeing myself in my youth. But..." Jamukha sneered and shook his head, as if he was talking about a trivial matter, and said, "I am old, my legs and feet are not good, I can't run anymore, let alone kneel. Let me end my life on this grassland!"

"you……"

Qu Chulug wanted to persuade him again, but when he met Jamukha's eyes, which were aloof and as if nothing in the world had anything to do with him, he just shut up.

He understood that he and Jamukha were of the same kind.

My heart is as hard as iron, and once I make a decision, I will never change it.

"I can't leave tonight!" Qu Chulu took a deep breath and said, "If I leave tonight, someone might put the blame for the Naimans' defeat on me. In a foreign land, what I can rely on most is not only the few soldiers I brought with me, but also my reputation."

Jamukha didn't take it personally and said calmly, "It's up to you. There are advantages to leaving tonight, and there are advantages to not leaving. But no matter when you leave, the road ahead will be extremely difficult."

"I see."

Qu Chulug certainly understood that if he left Naiman and went to a foreign country, he would have to go through countless hardships and dangers, and endure countless humiliations that ordinary people could not endure, before he could make a comeback.

And his life didn't have to be so difficult!
If he were Naiman Khan now, instead of the Naiman Prince, he might not be without the strength to fight Temujin! If he could unite certain allies and make Temujin surrender, it wouldn't be impossible! It's all his father's fault!
Not only did he destroy the legacy left by his ancestors, but he also brought him to such a state!

"Someone is coming!"

Quchlü was furious and shouted, "I'm telling my father the Khan what I'm saying: He's a coward like a woman, saying such things. The total population of the eastern steppes is certain; how could there be so many Mongols? My father has never even walked so far as a pregnant woman's urination area, or even so far as a pasture for calves. What does he know? He's a coward, and the decree he's conveying is pure nonsense. He's not even as knowledgeable as a woman!"

Qu Chuli's words were harsh enough, but someone else's words were even more intense.

The Naiman general, Huolisubechi, also rejected Taiyang Khan's order and replied, "Your father, Yinanchi Khan, never let his enemy see his back when fighting an enemy of similar numbers. If I had known you were so cowardly, I would have let a woman like Gulbesu lead the army! You cowardly and incompetent Khan, I despise you!"

After hearing these reports, Taiyang Khan was almost furious and immediately issued a new decree: "Who said I was cowardly? I was simply choosing the most appropriate way to fight. Since the soldiers are unwilling to retreat, let us go and fight the Mongols tomorrow!"

So, the next day, Naiman Khan gave an order and the entire army left the stronghold of Kangherhan Mountain to fight a decisive battle with the Mongols.

Today, the way battles are fought on the grasslands is very different from that in other regions.

In Temujin's words, it is: advance like a bush of peach peels on the mountain, and arrange the formation like a lake.

"Mountain peach bark" refers to the sparse, low shrubs on the Mongolian grasslands, and symbolizes the dispersed and flexible approach of cavalrymen in groups of three or five. "Haizi" is the Mongolian name for lakes on the grasslands, describing the vastness of the troop formation as a vast lake with no end in sight.

This is the most suitable combat tactic developed by the grassland people after two hundred years of the Dark Ages.

"Khorisubechi, haven't you always been scolding me, saying I'm not even as good as a woman? Now, lead your troops and go fight the Mongols! Let's see what you, a steppe warrior, can do."

Since Huolisubechi dared to scold Taiyang Khan like that last night, he must have had some support. Among the many Naiman generals, Huolisubechi was the most valiant.

Taiyang Khan believed that sending Huolisube in the first battle was a manifestation of the great importance attached to this battle.

The Naiman army's morale will surely be boosted when they see Huolisubechi going into battle.

However, what he never expected was.

"Mongol warriors, follow this Khan!"

At this critical moment that determined the fate of the entire grassland, the first person to fight on the Mongolian side was Temujin himself.

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

"Follow the Khan!"

"With the blessing of Eternal Heaven, the unification of the grassland is just around the corner!"

……

Seeing that their Khan was fighting to the death, the Mongolian army shouted loudly and their morale was high!

(End of this chapter)