From ancient times, to pacify the outside, one must first pacify the inside. After Tulubaihu stabilized the internal situation, he wanted to achieve military success and establish prestige.
His first target was the rebels. After five years of civil war, the rebels had long been weakened. After Gunbu Yiledeng and Ursang of the Torghut returned to their pastures, the armies controlled by rebel leaders such as Kundulun Ubashi, Mergen Temuna, and Nuoerwei Zheng Chukur were less than twenty thousand, making victory relatively easy. Furthermore, Baibagas Khan died at the hands of the rebels, so fighting under the banner of avenging the former Khan would make it easier to win the hearts of the tribesmen. A sorrowful army is bound to win.
"Great Khan, shall we ask other tribes to send troops to assist in the war in the name of the Weilate Khan?" At the military council preparing for the expedition, Hanak Tushitu proposed the suggestion of borrowing troops.
"No need," Tulubaihu waved his hand, "The reason why our Khoshut can lead the various tribes is by relying on the soldiers fighting with their lives and everyone striving bravely. Do the Khoshut not know how to fight if other tribes don't help? This battle, this Khan will take responsibility for!"
Hearing these inspiring words, generals such as Hanak Tushitu, Sereng Khatan Batur, Buyan Hatan Batur, Dayan Ochir, and Sainser Tengji all straightened their backs.
"Don't worry," Tulubaihu suddenly smiled, "The former Khan has just been buried, and the rebels will never expect us to return so quickly."
The twenty thousand Khoshut army set off, led by the vanguard Sainser Tengji and deputy vanguard Dayan Ochir with four thousand soldiers.
As the eldest son of Guoshi Khan, Dayan Ochir considered his status noble and was not convinced by Sainser Tengji, even though he was a famous general who had defeated Shulei Ubashi with his spear and had outstanding military achievements.
The main army approached the Talas River, where the rebel Mergen Temuna's tribe was grazing. As a renowned Great Taiji of the Torghut, although Mergen Temuna suffered huge losses in the war, he still had thirty thousand subjects and eight thousand soldiers.
"Issue the order, bit the horses' bits, wrap the horses' hooves with cloth, and approach the enemy camp by detour. When marching, the elite squad will first eliminate the enemy scouts ahead, and then the main force will proceed," Sainser Tengji issued the military order.
Dayan Ochir asked, "Vanguard, our army has just arrived, and our morale is high. Why not advance rapidly instead of detour?"
For this expedition, Sainser Tengji did not expect Guoshi Khan to appoint him as the vanguard. He was a former official of Baibagas Khan, not a direct descendant of the great Khan, so he was prepared to be marginalized. Unexpectedly, he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility. The great Khan's mind is truly wider than the sky!
Moved, he was very kind in his attitude towards Dayan Ochir and patiently explained, "Mergen Temuna is a veteran general of the Torghut, capable of fighting. If he detects our movements, this battle will be difficult. It's better to detour and sneak in, catching them off guard."
Hearing that he spoke reasonably, Dayan Ochir did not say much but patiently detour and sneaked forward.
Along the way, they annihilated several enemy scout groups and quietly approached the enemy's main camp without anyone knowing.
When the earth-shattering shouts of killing sounded, Mergen Temuna was still sleeping soundly in his large tent. Hearing the alarm, he couldn't bother to organize a resistance and fled with his followers in a panic.
In this battle, Sainser Tengji achieved a great victory at the cost of two hundred casualties, beheading over a thousand and capturing ten thousand subjects.
While admiring him, Dayan Ochir was still not convinced. What Sainser Tengji could do, he could also do.
"Vanguard, I am willing to lead the army to the Syr Darya River and sweep away the rebels," he roared loudly.
"No, there are ten thousand soldiers of Kundulun Ubashi and over a thousand people of Nuoerwei Zheng Chukur in the Syr Darya River area, plus the defeated army of Mergen Temuna, the number exceeds sixteen thousand. Especially Kundulun Ubashi, who is cunning and wise. It's better to wait until the great Khan's main army arrives before attacking," Sainser Tengji earnestly advised.
"Hmph, I often hear my uncle talk about how powerful my third uncle is. I must meet him. I am willing to lead my two thousand elite cavalry to attack. If I don't win, I will accept military law."
Dayan Ochir did not listen to the advice and insisted on leading his own troops to attack. Sainser Tengji could not stop him and could only follow behind to provide support while quickly sending a messenger to Tulubaihu.
The Syr Darya River, called Yaosha Water in Chinese historical records, is also known as Ye River, meaning "pearl." The "New Book of Tang - Western Regions" records: Shiguo "has Yaosha Water to the southwest, which is called Zhenzhu River or Zhi River when it enters China." As the mother river of Central Asian civilization, this river flows through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan, has embraced the Northern Xiongnu who fled west, nurtured ethnic groups such as the Turkic, Karluk, and Sogdian, and carried the glory and shame, brilliance and decline of these ethnic groups.
Now, on the banks of this most legendary river, two armies were fiercely fighting.
Although Dayan Ochir's army was small, its momentum was sharp, and as soon as the battle began, it directly attacked Kundulun Ubashi's central army.
"Haha, it's been a long time, and my Nephew has become quite capable," Kundulun Ubashi smiled slightly and ordered the central army to form a formation, only defending and not attacking, while the two wings enveloped them.
After an hour of fierce fighting, Dayan Ochir's army's momentum was exhausted, but they were unable to break through and were surrounded.
They charged left and right but could not break out.
Sainser Tengji arrived with nearly two thousand soldiers. Seeing that the enemy army was small, Kundulun Ubashi ordered a passage to be cleared to let the enemy enter and annihilate them within the encirclement.
Seeing the rebels voluntarily clear a passage, Sainser Tengji sighed deeply. Dayan Ochir was the eldest son of Guoshi Khan, how could he stand by and watch him die? Even knowing it was a dragon's pool and a tiger's den, he had to jump in, otherwise how could he repay Guoshi Khan's kindness of recognizing his talent.
A brave man, he stepped forward to fight fiercely, with mountains of swords and forests of arrows close at hand. He rode to Dayan Ochir's side and shouted, "Please Taiji, form a formation with me and defend. The great army of Guoshi Khan will arrive soon."
This was just to boost morale, but unexpectedly, after only two hours of holding out, Tulubaihu arrived with sixteen thousand cavalry. He was worried that the vanguard would suffer losses due to their small numbers, so he ordered his subordinates to only carry seven days' dry rations and travel day and night, arriving at the battlefield in time.
Kundulun Ubashi did not expect the enemy's main force to arrive so quickly. In a state of confusion, he was utterly defeated and fled in one breath to the lower reaches of the Volga River, defecting to the Torghut.
In this battle, with a slight loss of over five hundred men, four thousand enemy soldiers were annihilated.
The five-year-long war ended with the rebels fleeing to the Volga River. Tulubaihu not only won the war but also captured thirty thousand subjects, greatly increasing his strength.
The fate of the rebel leaders who fled to the Volga River varied. Mergen Temuna died of old age and illness, and most of his followers defected to other Torghut Taiji. Nuoerwei Zheng Chukur originally had only five thousand subjects and over a thousand soldiers left, but after the war, he suffered heavy losses and was no longer qualified to appear in historical records, losing all trace. Kundulun Ubashi still retained a certain strength. After the war, he appeared in historical records many times, such as refusing to obey the order of Huntaiji Batur of the Dzungar to conquer the Kazakh, leading to armed conflict between the two sides, and so on.
History is the most snobbish thing. If you have strength, it will write about you at length; if you lose your strength, it won't even bother to mention you.
