“Great Taiji, ahead are the Otoks of Taijis Noyan Ubashen and Buyanbu'erhan. Should we go around or set up camp? Please give your instructions,” Kutuqi Naer (an official in charge of setting up the Ulus leader's camp) Tuoli bowed and asked Nomudalai for guidance.
“Hehe, as the Great Taiji of the glorious Huit Tribe, must I detour within the territory of my own tribe? Tuoli, your father gave you this name hoping you would become a soaring eagle in the sky, not a sparrow that flees at the sight of people.” Although the Huit Tribe had become a vassal of the Dörbet, Nomudalai was still the Great Taiji of all Huit people. He did not want to show weakness to his younger brothers.
After the Oirat Mongol migrated west, they gained a large amount of pastureland and a relatively stable environment. Their population and livestock numbers grew rapidly. However, with Russia to the north, Khalkha Mongol to the east, Kazakh Khanate to the west, and East Chagatai Khanate to the south, further territorial expansion was extremely difficult. On one hand, the population and herds increased, and on the other, the development of their territory was restricted. Inevitably, various internal conflicts arose. The biggest conflict was over the division of property. Even with the Churgan Conference mediating, examples of relatives turning into enemies due to unfair division were still everywhere.
The matter of dividing property seems simple, just divide it equally among all sons. But in practice, old fathers often gave more to their favored sons and less to the sons they disliked. For example, Dalai Taishi, the Great Taiji of the Durbet, liked his fourth son Daiqing and Shokhi, but disliked his two older sons. He gave Daiqing and Shokhi the most, the two older sons the least, and the other sons a portion each. Nomudalai's old father Eselebeise Yin Ka was particularly fond of his eldest son Nomudalai, giving Nomudalai's Omuqi which was the sum of what his two younger brothers received. This uneven division sowed the seeds of discord between the brothers.
There is no harm without comparison. Khoshut Taiji Kundulun Ubashi was the most fair. He had sixteen sons and divided the Omuqi equally among all of them. Noyan Ubashen and Buyanbu'erhan secretly resented their father's unfairness. They dared not cause trouble while their father was alive, but as soon as their father died, they began to openly and secretly contend with their elder brother.
“Great Taiji, we only have a thousand soldiers, of which only three hundred are elite, and the rest are old and weak. What should we do if they have ill intentions?” Tuoli asked. As a trusted general of the Great Taiji, he naturally knew that the relationship between the brothers was not harmonious.
“Hmph! Openly rebelling, my two younger brothers don't have that much courage. Furthermore, I am going to the conference at the command of the Dörbet Great Taiji. Attacking me is equivalent to offending the Dörbet,” Nomudalai thought for a moment and said, “Send someone to Noyan Ubashen and Buyanbu'erhan with a message, telling them to come to the great tent to pay their respects to me.”
“Yes! Your servant will arrange it now.”
While Tuoli sent someone to deliver the message to the two Taijis, he ordered his subordinates to set up camp carefully, digging deep trenches and building high ramparts, using methods completely suited for wartime.
At the same time, Buyanbu'erhan came to Noyan Ubashen's great tent. “Aha (Brother), the Great Taiji only brought a thousand soldiers. What a great opportunity this is! Why are you hesitating?”
“Du (Brother), he is the Great Taiji of the Huit Tribe after all. If he dies in our territory, others will say we are rebelling against our superior. Moreover, he is attending the conference at the command of the Durbet Great Taiji. Attacking him might provoke retaliation from the Dörbet. If we are going to act, we must wait until after he returns from the conference.”
Buyanbu'erhan was furious. “Then are we going to do nothing now?”
“No, we will go together to see Big Brother now,” Noyan Ubashen sneered.
Hearing that his two younger brothers had arrived, Nomudalai was very happy. This meant that at least on the surface, his two younger brothers still dared not oppose him. He praised his younger brothers a few times and ordered sheep to be cooked and wine to be served in the camp, to entertain his relatives.
The host and guests enjoyed themselves and dispersed. The next day, Nomudalai broke camp and left.
“Alas! Second Brother, you missed a good opportunity!” Hearing that his elder brother had led the army away, Buyanbu'erhan said regretfully to Noyan Ubashen.
“Hehe, don't worry. We will attack him after Big Brother returns from the conference, and the Dörbet will not blame us,” Noyan Ubashen's eyes darted around. “Third Brother, let's go. Come with me to Big Brother's main camp for a visit.”
“Second Brother, do you mean...?” Buyanbu'erhan seemed to understand a little.
“Big Brother went north, leaving the main camp leaderless and inevitably empty. There are many horse bandits on the Yule Duosi grassland, and it is common for them to be robbed by horse bandits,” Noyan Ubashen's voice was leisurely, carrying a hint of compassion for the world.
“Second Brother, that's a good idea. Back then, E Qi Ge (Ancient Mongolian: Father) was biased. You and I are just taking back what is ours,” Buyanbu'erhan shouted excitedly.
The two immediately gathered more than two thousand of their followers, disguised themselves as horse bandits, and headed towards the Huit main camp.
Along the way, they did not see many herders. With great difficulty, they found a Heyton consisting of five tents. Heyton is a common nomadic method of the Oirat Mongol, where a large family, including great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and sons, graze together, with the oldest person acting as the elder.
Noyan Ubashen ordered his subordinates to capture the elder of the Heyton and bring him to the great tent, and asked, “Old man, why haven't I seen many people along the way?”
Unexpectedly, as soon as the old man saw him, he immediately knelt down with a thud: “To answer the Taiji, when the Great Taiji went north, he issued an order that all Ayyiles, Heytons, and Aimaks must gather at the main camp to prevent unforeseen circumstances.”
Noyan Ubashen was stunned. “You recognize me?”
“Your servant was originally an Qitate (slave) of the old lord. Because I was good at raising horses, I was granted freedom by the old lord's grace, so I recognize you, Taiji.”
Noyan Ubashen understood. It turned out that this person had been his old father's slave. No wonder he could identify him even though he was dressed as a horse bandit.
“According to custom, you are an elder of E Qi Ge, and should be treated well. Alas! But who made you recognize my identity?” Noyan Ubashen muttered to himself, seeming somewhat regretful. Suddenly, he drew his saber and swung it, and the old man's head fell to the ground.
“Kill all the men, women, and children in this Heyton. Do not let any news leak out,” a cruel order ended more than twenty vibrant lives.
Noyan Ubashen's ruthlessness made Buyanbu'erhan's heart tremble. He had always thought his second brother was gentle, but unexpectedly, he killed people without batting an eye. He no longer dared to underestimate him and bowed his head in obedience.
The “horse bandits” approached the main camp, but saw joy everywhere. Upon inquiring, they learned that their elder sister-in-law had given birth to a Nephew.
The two men led their troops closer to the camp, but saw that the camp had built earth walls, with fences outside, and even a moat dug outside the fences. Rows of soldiers patrolled the earth walls.
The main camp's scouts discovered the “horse bandits” outside the camp. After a few skirmishes, various alarm sounds rang out from the camp walls.
Buyanbu'erhan asked anxiously, “Second Brother, the main camp is prepared. What should we do?”
Noyan Ubashen hardened his heart. “Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. Attack the camp!”
“Whoosh ~ Whoosh ~ Whoosh ~”
The desolate sound of the horn blew, and the “horse bandits” began to fill the moat and set up long ladders to attack the camp.
On the camp wall, Tiemuer asked Batu and Tan worriedly, “Zalguqi, there are quite a few of these horse bandits.”
Batu and Tan, however, joked easily, “It's alright. General Ba'er Si is a fierce tiger. With a fierce tiger guarding, the Biji and the little master will surely be safe.”
They were civil officials. The military generals guarding the camp were mainly Zahaqin (border official) Ba'er Si and others. Ba'er Si means “tiger” in Mongolian. Mongols take pride in their bravery and like to use names of fierce animals. Many are named after various tigers, bulls, and the like. For example, Haraba'er Si (Black Tiger), Pulaba'er Si (Yellow Tiger), Ulanba'er Si (Red Tiger), Ebai Ba'er Si (Male Tiger), Tiemuer Buhua (Iron Ox), An Nan Buhua (Gold Ox), Chahan Buhua (White Ox), and so on.
Although it was a joke, as a trusted confidant left behind by Nomudalai, Ba'er Si was considered battle-hardened. Seeing the horse bandits outside the camp, he calmly dispatched soldiers to defend the camp wall and shoot arrows, and also set up armored soldiers behind the camp wall to kill the invading enemies.
“Zahaqin, can we order the men to fire the guns?” Baoqi Naer Xi Rimo, who was in charge of the military camp and firearms, asked. He had thirty muskets, which Nomudalai had commissioned someone to buy from Samarkand in the Bukhara Khanate. This city was the largest firearms trading center in Central Asia at that time, and also a prosperous economic center. Because they were close, after migrating west, the Oirat Mongol tribes had improved their firearms significantly. If it weren't for the lack of money, Nomudalai would have wanted to buy more. After going north for the conference, he specifically left this group of musketeers behind to guard the home.
“No hurry. Your subordinates are the trump card of our army and should be used at the most crucial moment,” Ba'er Si said with a smile.
After a long attack without success, Noyan Ubashen lost patience and called his trusted fierce general Maobasi, “You go up and seize the city wall for me.”
Maobasi, Mongolian: Evil Tiger. When two tigers fight, one will surely be injured! At the command of his lord, he personally led a hundred strong and brave warriors, holding swords and shields, and climbed up the ladders. Below the camp wall, teams of archers shot upwards at the camp wall, covering the ascent.
What an evil tiger! Others used swords, but he held an axe. Holding a shield in his left hand to protect himself, his feet did not stop, moving extremely fast. Like a whirlwind, he quickly rushed onto the camp wall, swinging his large axe and continuously cutting down several defenders. With him as a pivot, the “horse bandits” behind him successively climbed onto the camp, forming a foothold on the camp wall.
“Oh my, Second Brother, I didn't expect you to be so hidden. You actually have such a fierce general under your command,” Buyanbu'erhan said to Noyan Ubashen with an envious look when he saw the situation.
“Hehe, Third Brother, if you want to achieve great things, you can't do without some jackals, wolves, and tigers under your command,” Noyan Ubashen smiled smugly, as if he had already seen the scene after breaking the camp.
On the camp wall, Ba'er Si saw another group of fierce bandits coming up, nodded, and said to Xi Rimo, “It's time for your musketeers to act.”
“Just watch,” Xi Rimo was overjoyed and led thirty musketeers towards Maobasi. They lined up in three rows, raised their muskets, and fired.
The sounds of “bang bang” were incessant, and the horse bandits who had climbed onto the city fell one after another. On the crowded camp wall, the muskets were extremely lethal.
Maobasi was furious. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The arrow was as fast as a meteor, and a musketeer fell down clutching his throat.
Although his archery was good, he only had one bow and could not match thirty muskets.
Another round of gunfire, and Maobasi looked at the large hole in his chest in disbelief, his eyes slowly losing their luster.
With the death of the evil tiger, the “horse bandits” lost their will to fight and retreated like a tide.
“Second Brother, our men have suffered significant casualties. What should we do?” Buyanbu'erhan asked Noyan Ubashen anxiously.
Noyan Ubashen clenched his fists red, gritting his teeth and roaring in a low voice, “Let's withdraw. Go back to our Otok, and clean up the battlefield. Don't leave any traces.”
The “horse bandits” retreated, leaving behind nearly two hundred corpses. There was a burst of cheers inside the camp. Everyone said that the newborn little master was a blessed person. As soon as he was born, he turned misfortune into fortune and drove away the horse bandits.
Only the little master Sule Teng was very depressed: Heavens! Even if I transmigrated, I should have transmigrated into a large tribe like the Dzungar, not an unknown small tribe? How am I supposed to live in the future?
There were many things he didn't know: In this year, there was a man named Nurhaci in Eastern Liaoning who proclaimed himself Khan in Heitu Ala and established the “Later Jin” state. Two years later, he would launch a war of revenge against the Great Ming using the “Seven Great Grievances”; In Mobei, a man named Lindan Khan was in the process of unifying the Mongol tribes; As for the Great Ming Dynasty, the great Wanli Emperor had entered the last few years of his life.