On the sixteenth day of the first month, the New Year's holiday officially ended, and Yun Xi returned to his never-ending work.

Because the signs that Timur would send troops after the beginning of spring were getting bigger and bigger, Yunxi devoted the rest of his time to handling the affairs of sending troops to the northwest in addition to the normal time for answering and relieving. The Ming court also revolved more around sending troops. Everything seems to be going according to plan.

But what Yun Xi didn't expect was that the development of things was out of his control again.

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August 4, 806 Rabiul, Samarkand.

The snow-covered city of Samarkand looks particularly enchanting, the houses are dressed in white plain clothing, and the branches of the trees have turned into silver bars. The heavy snow dressed the branches of the poplar trees like beautiful corals and strange antlers. The wheat field was covered with a thick quilt. Heaven to earth, earth to sky, snow is boundless, the whole earth has become a world of jade and silver carvings. Even pedestrians who go out early in the morning can't bear to destroy this fantastic world, and walk cautiously on the road.

But a "da-da" sound spoils this beautiful picture. I saw a group of more than ten riders from far and near, and the horses' hooves kept rising and falling, trampling the crystal clear snow beyond recognition, causing pedestrians on both sides of the road to raise their heads and glare at the dozen riders angrily.

But when they saw the signs on the dozen or so people, the expressions on their faces quickly turned to admiration.

"What does that epaulette on their shoulder represent?" A big cannibal who had just come to Samarkand from the Great Food Eater to beg for a living asked.

"That is the mark of the Great and Invincible Great Khan's Guard!" The man next to him replied.

Hearing this, the great cannibal immediately exclaimed: "It's the Great Khan's guard!" ”

"Yes, the Great Khan commanded them to fight in the south and in the north, and they were invincible!"

"They are in such a hurry, what happened to the Great Khan to deal with it personally? Could it be that the Golden Horde was lucky enough to avoid the Great Khan's army in the first half of this year, and sent people to harass the Great Khan's people after the Great Khan returned with his troops? Or did the Delhi Sultan of India disobey the orders of the Great Khan again? ”

"Who knows? But even if something like this does happen, don't worry. The Great Khan's Guards will defeat them all again, as they have done before. ”

The group of pedestrians who were on their way didn't know that two pedestrians were talking about why they had entered the city in such a hurry, but they wouldn't have cared if they did. They just kept urging the horses under their seats to move faster with their whips. They had been riding horses for more than ten miles, and the horses were already a little unbearable, and the corners of their mouths were foaming at the mouth.

A young man raised his head to look at the towering palace in the center of the city, turned his head to the old man beside him who was wearing a general's costume and said to him: "Father, you have entered the city, so you don't need to be too anxious, and the horses are about to die of exhaustion, so let's slow down." ”

"No! Be sure to get to the palace as fast as you can! The old general said in a deep voice: "The Great Khan is in such a hurry to send someone to call me back, there must be something important to order, and I must rush back as soon as possible!" ”

"And your father and I are in a high position, I don't know how many people are jealous, if I wait until the Great Khan enters the Great Khan, the meeting has already begun, these jealous people do not know what they will say in front of the Great Khan."

"The Great Khan is too wise to believe these slanders." His youngest son said again.

The old general opened his mouth, but in the end did not speak. Of course, the Great Khan was wise, but if he was not wise, how could he be invincible?

But after all, the Great Khan is already old, born in 736 (Hijri) is seventy years old this year (according to the Western and Han calendars, it is sixty-eight years old), although he is not old and confused, but he is not as wise as when he was young, and he is more paranoid, if he delays the very important things in his mind, it is not impossible for him to lose some of the power he has now.

But you can't say this to others, even your own children and grandchildren. Even his children and grandchildren adored the Great Khan so much that if he quarreled with himself for others to hear, even if the Great Khan himself did not mind, he would be attacked by many and lose everything he had gained.

"If you want to talk about the thing that the Great Khan is most concerned about in the past two years, that is, the country called the Ming State in the Eastern Expedition, I hurriedly called my father this time, and I should talk about it." His youngest son said again.

"Probably so. But why are you in such a hurry to call me back? It's not the best time to send troops. The old general replied with some confusion.

Although the specific strategy of the Eastern Expedition to the Ming Kingdom has not yet been completely determined, it is not the most suitable time to send troops now. According to the weather of previous years, it took about another month for the thaw to begin to thaw, and after another month for the weather to warm up and be suitable for marching.

Of course, his youngest son can't answer this question. The father and son then stopped talking, but hurried to the palace in the middle of the city, which was getting closer and closer.

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In the main hall of the palace, the tallest palace in the city, there was already a lot of people at this time, and countless people in brocade robes, coats, and white hats sat on both sides, talking loudly to the people beside them.

"What is the reason why the Great Khan suddenly asked me to bring my troops back? I was in Tashkent. "Don't say you're in Tashkent, I've come from Ashgabat, not much farther than you?" There are also those who have come back from Kabul. "The Great Khan has called us generals who have been sent to other places back, where are you going to fight?"

While the crowd was clamoring, the old general, who had rushed back with his youngest son, walked in and sat down in the very front position. At first, everyone didn't pay much attention to another person walking in, but when everyone saw who this person was, they all came over.

"General Jesbu, the Great Khan suddenly called us all over today, what is it for?" "Yes, Jesbu, what is the matter with the Great Khan?" They asked aloud.

Jesbu shook his head. Although he had some guesses, it was better not to say anything before the Great Khan spoke.

Of course, the crowd did not want to let him go. Yesb was a close confidant of Timur Khan and must have known something.

But they had barely finished asking a few words, when a high-pitched eunuch came running in and shouted, "The Great Khan has arrived!" ”

When they heard this, they did not dare to ask any more questions, but hurriedly returned to their original seats, and straightened up.

Immediately a very ordinary-looking but extraordinary man walked in, stood in front of his seat on the high platform, turned to face these people, raised his right hand slightly, and said: "My dear generals and ministers, may Allah give you peace." ”

"May Allah grant peace to the Great Khan!" Everyone stood up and saluted.

This man, of course, is now Timur, the Great Khan of the Timurid Khanate. He waited for all the ministers and generals to salute, sat down in his seat, glanced around, coughed twice, and said, "I have called you today because I have something to say to you. ”

"For more than a year, I have been preparing for the Eastern Expedition to the Ming Kingdom. It was intended to wait until the weather warmed up in late September and early October before sending troops, spending about three months to travel to Beshbali, crushing the armies of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and occupying the city of Beshbali and the rich Gurbantunggut basin to the north. ”

"Then wait for the hottest two months to pass, send troops to the east to attack Hami, and then discuss the next decision after capturing Hami."

"But recently there was new news from Beshai Bali City, and I had to bring the schedule forward. Yes," looking at the slightly commotionous crowd in front of him, Timur increased his voice and said: "I have decided to give all the generals another ten days to gather their own troops, and in ten days they will send troops to attack the Ming Kingdom!" ”

Hearing this, someone suddenly couldn't bear it, stood up and asked, "Great Khan, ten days are a little nervous. My troops have just returned from Kabul, and there are still some troops on the road that have not yet reached Samarkand, and it will take at least seven or eight days to assemble. After that, I had to prepare the items that I needed to carry for the expedition, and I was afraid that it would be difficult to complete the orders of the Great Khan. ”

Although Timur was a little paranoid when he was old, he was still very tolerant when discussing not 'what should be done', but 'what should be done', and was willing to listen to the opinions of his subordinates. So at this time, he didn't get angry when he heard the general's words, and Wen Yan said: "Balma, the soldiers under your command, no, not only the soldiers under your command, but all the soldiers under the generals here, do not need to prepare their own food and daily necessities for the expedition. ”

"I have already consulted with several tribes not far from Samarkand City, and they will send 200,000 men with thousands of carts to follow you with hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep to provide food for you and your soldiers."

"I have also sent to the tribes north of Syr Darya as far as the south bank of Lake Balkhash, and told them to prepare the population and cattle and sheep. They will provide at least 100,000 people and 100,000 cattle and sheep, and you don't have to worry about running out of food. ”

"There will also be many traders who will follow the army eastward, selling groceries to the soldiers and buying the spoils of war that the soldiers have taken. Of course, they won't buy things that are not easy to carry. Remember to tell your soldiers not to rob these vendors when the time comes. If I find out, I will be severely punished! ”

"All the way to the southern shore of Lake Balkhash? The Great Khan, so to speak, the route of the march was to bypass the entire Tien Shan Mountains and enter the Eastern Chagatai Khanate from the Alashan Pass? Jesbu said.

"Yes. I originally planned to cross the Pamirs into the lands of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, but after thinking about it, I bypassed the Tien Shan Mountains and entered through the Alashan Pass. Timur replied.