"Our Czar appreciates you, Khara Khula taishi, and the people of your ulus, and wishes to bestow imperial favor and protection upon you. We will give you salaries and pensions. At the same time, the generals in Siberia are ordered to protect you from enemy invasion."
Looking at this so-called imperial decree from the tsar accepting his Russian nationality, Khara Khula couldn't help but laugh.
This Great Emperor of Oros is truly arrogant; he didn't even ask if I agreed before writing this letter.
Having received the unanimous support of other Oirat tribes at the Churgan Conference, Khara Khula's courage grew significantly; of course, he had always been known for his boldness and fearlessness.
With a scornful smile, he tore the so-called imperial decree from the tsar to pieces.
Turning around, he instructed the Dzungar generals, including Mergen Nuoyan, Sahalletu, Jievunigai, and Xie'ge'er: "Gather all the people of the Aimak and Otok.
Tell them that from today onwards, we Dzungar will no longer accept the servitude of the Khalkha, and will no longer pay taxes to the Khalkha tax collectors."
In 1606, pressured by military force, the Oirat once signed a peace treaty with the Khalkha, recognizing the nominal title of "Weilat Khan" held by solei ubashi khuntaiji of the Khoshut Tribe, and agreeing to allow him to send tax collectors to each tribe, "collecting two hundred camels and one thousand horses from each taishi annually" as tribute.
The tribute was not high, but it was symbolic, and it brought peace between the two sides for over a decade.
However, in recent years, the ambitious solei ubashi khuntaiji conquered the Kyrgyz living upstream of the Yenisei River, controlling an increasingly vast territory and expanding his influence.
He was not content with merely holding the nominal title of "Weilat Khan" but wanted to be the true master of the Oirat.
And so, he came, leading an army of eighty thousand.
The Dzungar, being closest to the Khoshut Tribe, bore the brunt of the attack, not only losing many pastures but also suffering the massacre of a large number of herders.
Since you won't give us a way to live, we will fight you to the death!
Khara Khula Khuntaiji was never one to have a good temper; when he was young, he dared to charge into the Khalkha army alone.
Like ginger and cinnamon, he became spicier with age; in short, he was someone who could only take advantage and not suffer losses.
After gaining the support of the various Oirat tribes, he was determined to counterattack Shulei Ubashi and drive the Khalkha back to the east of the Altai Mountains.
He assembled over twenty thousand Dzungar soldiers, vowing to resist the Khalkha.
This "prince hero" had always been bold; without waiting for the armies of other tribes to arrive, he launched an attack on the Khoshut Tribe.
The war between the Oirat Mongol and the Khalkha Mongol officially broke out.
"Useless! A mere Dzungar unit defeated you completely, you've completely disgraced me," Shulei Ubashi, Huntaiji of the Khoshut Tribe, was scolding his third son, Gunbu Yiledeng.
Not long ago, Gunbu Yiledeng's three thousand subordinates were utterly defeated by the Dzungar Army and fled back in disarray.
The more he cursed, the angrier Shulei Ubashi became, his beard bristling, his dark face unusually flushed.
Every nation has its heroes; if Khara Khula was the brave man of the Oirat, Shulei Ubashi was the god of war for the Khalkha.
In recent years, he had not only led large armies to campaign against the Oirat multiple times but had also conquered the Kyrgyz living upstream of the Yenisei River and made the Oros to the north dare not invade.
Such a formidable hero naturally could not tolerate anyone offending his military might.
"E Qi Ge, it's better to listen to third brother explain the course of the battle.
Knowing yourself and your enemy is the only way to win a hundred battles without defeat," advised the eldest son, Emu Bu'erde Ni.
Shulei Ubashi calmed down, felt his eldest son's words were very reasonable, and ordered: "You, explain the details of the battle."
"Yes, E Qi Ge.
The Dzungar Army actually had many arquebusiers.
They were in teams of a dozen or so, each team having two arquebusiers, four to five archers, and a number of pikemen and swordsmen with shields.
During battle, they would first shoot with muskets, then use bows and arrows, and finally stab with spears.
Your son didn't expect them to have so many firearms and suffered losses as soon as we engaged, causing our formation to become somewhat disordered.
As a result, that madman Khara Khula, disregarding his status as a Huntaiji, personally led several hundred elite cavalry to charge the formation.
Your son was momentarily unaware and had his formation scattered, suffering a great loss," Gunbu Yiledeng explained, his face full of shame.
In the era transitioning from cold weapons to hot weapons, firearms developed rapidly.
For the Mongols, not only could they obtain firearms from the Oros people to the north, but the firearm craftsmen in Samarkand and Bukhara in Central Asia could also manufacture matchlock guns and light cannons, and cities like Andijan and Tashkent were also famous centers for firearm smuggling.
Therefore, both the Oirat Mongol and the Khalkha Mongol could obtain a large quantity of firearms.
Shulei Ubashi nodded.
It seemed he had underestimated Khara Khula, always thinking he was just a brave but reckless man.
He didn't expect this person to attach such importance to the use of firearms, training his soldiers well and employing new tactics.
However, this person didn't seem to concentrate the use of firearms, and it also seemed there were no cannons in his army.
The Khalkha army naturally also had firearms.
Shulei Ubashi, drawing lessons from the Oros people's musket tactics, organized a musket unit of over six hundred men who would fire in four alternating ranks during battle; in addition, there were six light cannons transported by camels during battle and using swivel gun mounts that allowed for rotational firing.
Having experienced countless battles, he keenly grasped the weakness of the Dzungar Army and ordered the assembly of all available troops to immediately engage the Dzungar.
After crossing the Altai Mountains, he had acquired a large amount of pastureland and slaves, and his army of eighty thousand was scattered everywhere plundering.
He didn't expect the Dzungar to dare counterattack, and thus could only hastily assemble over thirty thousand men.
However, this did not shake his resolve to engage the Dzungar in battle.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle east of Zhaisan Lake.
Shulei Ubashi hid his cannons and muskets in the central army, allowing the Dzungar Army's muskets and bows and arrows to unleash their power.
Just as Khara Khula personally led his warriors, attempting a central breakthrough, the cannons and muskets suddenly appeared.
The dense hail of bullets inflicted heavy casualties on the Dzungar Army, killing hundreds of warriors in less than an hour.
The morale of the Dzungar Army collapsed, and Khara Khula had no choice but to retreat.
They were then pursued by the cavalry of the Khoshut Tribe and suffered a complete rout.
The united army of the Dörbet and Torghut appeared on the west bank of Zhaisan Lake.
They were ordered to reinforce the Dzungar.
"Respected Dalai Taishi, I guess when that kid Khara Khula sees my army, he will be extremely grateful," He Erleke said with a smile.
He and Khara Khula had a strained relationship, and he would seize any opportunity to make fun of him.
Dalai Taishi smiled slightly, "He Erleke taishi, the great enemy is upon us.
Let's forget the past grievances for now and talk about them after defeating the Khalkha."
These two people, one with exceptionally fair skin and the other with exceptionally dark skin, gathered together talking, looked like a pair of black and white figures from a distance.
"Report!
An army has appeared ahead," the scout reported.
Both were greatly alarmed and quickly organized their subordinates to form ranks to meet the enemy.
Unexpectedly, it was Khara Khula's defeated army that arrived.
Dalai Taishi was greatly surprised, "Khara Khula Khuntaiji, why are you in such a sorry state?"
"Alas!
Don't mention it, I fell into the trap of that treacherous villain Shulei Ubashi," Khara Khula recounted the details of the defeat dejectedly.
"Oh, so our Oirat's 'prince hero' can also suffer a defeat?"
This was the disadvantage of not being popular.
taishi like He Erleke and Mergen Temuna from the torgut tribe mocked him one after another.
Khara Khula was both ashamed and indignant, and suddenly roared: "The enemy has just won a great victory and must be unprepared.
If you give me four thousand elite cavalry to launch a surprise attack, we will surely win!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was silence in the large tent.
After a while, Dalai Taishi's second son, chu, stood up, "I am willing to lead two thousand cavalry to launch a surprise attack with Khara Khula."
"I am also willing to lead two thousand cavalry to go," He Erleke's eldest son, Shukuer Daiqing, also volunteered.
Dalai Taishi and He Erleke exchanged glances and agreed to the request to fight from the two young generals.
Khara Khula carefully selected several hundred Dzungar warriors and four thousand elite Dörbet and Torghut soldiers.
Under the cover of night, they launched a surprise attack on the main camp of the Khoshut Tribe.
There was a scene of revelry in the main camp; the Khalkha were celebrating their victory and had no idea that the enemy would return.
Under the sudden attack, they scattered and fled.
The next day, Shulei Ubashi gathered his defeated soldiers; casualties were heavy.
While he was feeling vexed, his second son, Hangtu Dai, arrived with ten thousand troops.
Shulei Ubashi was overjoyed and immediately ordered Hangtu Dai to circle around to the rear of the Oirat army and attack, while he led his army in a frontal assault.
A dramatic scene unfolded.
The Oirat army, which had just returned to the main camp victorious, was again attacked from both front and rear by the Khalkha and suffered a crushing defeat.
In this battle, Dzungar taishi Jievunigai and Xie'ge'er were killed, and Khara Khula's wives, concubines, and young son were captured.
The Oirat had no choice but to retreat to the upper reaches of the Ertix River.
The Khalkha pursued them to the upper reaches of the Ertix River.
Having no other option, they had to retreat again to the mouth of the Tyumen River, a tributary of the Ob River, and build fortifications to resist the Khalkha; another group retreated to graze between the ishim river and the Tobol River.
Two years later, Shulei Ubashi again captured the pastures near Lake Yamysh, Dalai Taishi's base camp.
In desperation, Dalai Taishi, He Erleke, Khara Khula, and Chu Hu'er Wubashi united to fight Shulei Ubashi desperately, but were again utterly defeated.
Regarding the tragic state of the Oirat, officials in tyumen, russia, made the following record: "A small group of Oirat once grazed outside tyumen," "All the Kalmyks are now grazing along the Kamyshlov River, because the people of Altan Khan forced them to retreat"; officials in Tobolsk, russia, also wrote: "Currently, many taishi have led the Kalmyks to migrate near various cities in Siberia, and are now grazing in the area between the upper reaches of the ishim river and the Tobol River."
After one defeat, another defeat, and a third defeat, the dark clouds of failure hung over the Oirat Mongol.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Urumqi to the southeast, which was the grazing land of the Khoshut.
Now, only the Khoshut still retained some strength, and the alliance leader, Baibagas Khan, still commanded a large army.
Everyone, with the feeling of anticipating a savior, looked forward to the arrival of the alliance leader, Baibagas Khan.
