Her graceful form swayed like a flying phoenix,
Her elegant sleeves and jade-like posture.
She danced to the tune of the Rear Palace,
Dancing away the rivers and mountains, yet the lord knew not.
Since ancient times, beautiful women have been seen as harbingers of disaster; how many heroes have been harmed by the singing and dancing of beauties!
The Oirat Alliance Leader and the great khan of Khoshut, Baibagas, didn't care about such things; he was famously lecherous and fond of drink, caring only for the pleasure of tonight and not the consequences of tomorrow.
Furthermore, the beautiful and captivating dancers tonight were performing the celestial demon dance, each with their skirts half-undone, their jade bodies exposed, enough to entice men to death!
His drunken eyes stared intently at the beautiful women and could no longer look away.
"great khan, the situation is critical now; envoys seeking aid from Dzungar, Torghut, and Dörbet have arrived one after another.
Please quickly reorganize your troops and lead us to the erqisi river," Hanak Tushitu knelt and pleaded.
He was the half-brother of Baibagas; being born of a concubine, his status in the tribe was not high.
Baibagas Khan was quite respectful towards this brother and said courteously, "brother, I understand what you mean.
However, it will take some time for the army to set out.
Once preparations are complete, I will depart."
"great khan, what are you still waiting for?
If you don't send troops to reinforce soon, I fear the Oirat will be finished!" Sereng Khatan Batur and Buyan Hatan Batur shouted anxiously.
They were Baibagas's full brothers, listed among the Five tigers.
Baibagas was not as polite to them as he was to his brother, scolding angrily, "Military and state affairs are for this khan to decide; why do you need to make noise!"
When the great khan got angry, the Generals dared not say more, anxiously looking at Tulubaihu with their eyes.
This "Guoshi Khan" held extremely high prestige in the tribe, second only to Baibagas Khan.
Tulubaihu raised his wine cup and said with a smile, "great khan makes decisions independently; why do we need to say more.
A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold; do not let the golden goblet face the moon empty.
Come, I'll toast the great khan."
"You!"
The Generals felt a surge of bitterness and left in a huff, shaking their sleeves.
Only Baibagas, Tulubaihu, and a group of stunning beauties remained in the great tent.
Baibagas smiled and nodded, "Only fourth brother understands me.
I knew I couldn't hide it from fourth brother."
As the great khan of Oirat, Baibagas was lecherous, fond of drink, and loved wealth, but he wasn't foolish.
The reason he had been hesitant to rescue the tribes struggling under the Khalkha iron hooves was twofold: first, the more critical the situation, the greater the favor bestowed upon others, and rescuing them too early might lead to them not appreciating it; second, in recent years, the power of the Durbet and Dzungar tribes had grown, giving them the strength to challenge the Khoshut Tribe, which aroused his apprehension.
If he could use the Khalkha people to weaken them, it might not be a bad thing for the Khoshut Tribe.
Baibagas Khan thought this way not because his relationship with Dalai Taishi of the Durbet tribe and Khara Khula of the Dzungar tribe was bad; on the contrary, as leaders of the older generation, he and these two old brothers had forged a deep friendship in the war against the Khalkha Mongol, were related by marriage, and called each other Anda when they met.
However, as a ruler, one must prepare for the unexpected, otherwise the throne would be unstable.
Tulubaihu suddenly smiled and said, "great khan has strategies in his heart, but in my humble opinion, the Dörbet and Dzungar people might truly be unable to hold on much longer."
"Yes, fourth brother is right," Baibagas hiccuped from drinking and extended three fingers, laughing heartily, "Three days.
Let this khan enjoy himself for three more days, then I will go and have a decisive battle with that Shulei Ubashi!"
After speaking, he suddenly left his seat and leaped up, embracing the most voluptuous dancer.
Ignoring her soft cries and startled screams, he strode towards the rear tent.
Three days later, Baibagas moved.
Leading his sixteen thousand weiting army, he appeared upstream of the Ertix River with lightning speed.
Although the reinforcements were few, only sixteen thousand men, they were the elite of the Khoshut Tribe, and more importantly, the commander was the legendary Oirat hero Baibagas.
The leaders of various tribes, including Dalai Taishi, Khara Khula, and oerleke, were greatly encouraged and brought the remaining soldiers and defeated Generals of the Durbet, Dzungar, and Torghut to converge.
Soon, Baibagas had gathered over forty thousand cavalry under his command.
Scouts brought news from the Khoshut Tribe.
The arrogant Shulei Ubashi had just plundered the pasturelands of the Dörbet people near Lake Yamysh.
The enemy seemed to be immersed in the joy of continuous victories and showed no intention of retreating or resting.
"This Shulei Ubashi is truly arrogant!
He has been campaigning for over two years, his army is weary, and more importantly, his subordinates have plundered enough gold and silver treasures.
Once Mongol soldiers have looted enough, they will cherish their lives, not want to fight anymore, and miss their families at home.
This man has commanded troops for many years; it's impossible for him not to know this, yet he still refuses to withdraw his army and return home.
It seems he doesn't regard our Oirat army highly!"
Baibagas muttered to himself, "Very well, since you are so arrogant, I will fight a battle with you.
Either you die, or I perish!"
Wave after wave of Oirat scouts were sent out and quickly ascertained the enemy's situation: Shulei Ubashi had not concentrated all his forces but had allowed them to plunder everywhere.
He currently had only forty thousand cavalry by his side, a number similar to their own.
Should this battle be fought or not?
Baibagas pondered for a moment and made a decision: Fight!
In Oirat, he was always known for daring to fight tough battles.
"If the Khoshut Tribe army is a tiger, I will pull off its head, sever its tail, and dig out its heart," Baibagas swung his arms and loudly issued military orders and boosted morale, "Dalai Taishi and oerleke, you two will lead fourteen thousand men to attack the Khoshut Tribe's vanguard; Khara Khula, you will lead ten thousand men to attack their rear; I will lead my sixteen thousand weiting to directly assault their center.
We will not retreat until Shulei Ubashi's dog head is cut off!"
"We are willing to fight to the death with the great khan!"
Inside the great tent, the fighting spirit was high.
"The most important thing in this battle is to quickly break through the enemy's center.
Who among you is willing to be the vanguard of my center?" Baibagas asked the Khoshut Generals.
"This General is willing," Tulubaihu, Sereng Khatan Batur, Buyan Hatan Batur, Hanak Tushitu, Nuoerwei Zheng Chukur, and other Generals all requested to fight.
Baibagas remained silent, smiling as he looked at a young General with a refined appearance, "In this khan's opinion, the vanguard of the center can only be Sainser Tengji."
"great khan, Sainser Tengji's martial skill is mediocre; he always loses when sparring with me.
How can he be the vanguard?" Sereng Khatan Batur shouted in disagreement.
"Yes, he is also a defeated opponent of mine; he cannot be the vanguard," Buyan Hatan Batur also said disdainfully.
It turned out that this Sainser Tengji was a General from a commoner background and always lost when sparring with these princes and nobles, so everyone was unconvinced.
"Silence!
Do you really think Sainser Tengji's martial skill is inferior to yours?
He merely knows when to advance and retreat, letting you win," Baibagas was furious, "My decision is made.
Sainser Tengji will be the vanguard.
In this battle, there is only advance, no retreat.
Those who disobey the order will be executed!"
After receiving the military order, Sainser Tengji said nothing, silently bowed to Baibagas Khan, and turned to leave.
The Ertix River was beautiful, with sparkling waves and lush green grass.
Shulei Ubashi reined in his horse by the river, admiring the beautiful scenery.
Suddenly, a warning sign flashed in his heart; a General who had survived numerous battles often developed an intuition for danger.
"Not good!
Quickly return to camp, the enemy is here!"
He shouted, turned his horse, and galloped towards the great camp.
Behind him, the desolate sound of the horn echoed.