As for how to regain control of the great cause of conquering Timur, Yao Guangxiao gave a very simple method: announcing that Timur was willing to seek peace from the Ming Dynasty and was willing to pay tribute and become a vassal was a delaying tactic. Timur himself was dead, and the envoy who came to deliver the message was a careerist trying to cover up the news of Timur's death and confuse the public.
Then, he released Mahima and Khalil, who had the right to inherit the Sudan, to help them eliminate the rebels, surrounded Samarkand, isolated the inside and outside, and surrounded Timur himself in the city of Samarkand.
Mahema and Khalil, as the heirs of the Sultan, went around the empire to appease the princes, gather troops and horses, and accepted the command of the Ming Dynasty to attack Samarkand with the Ming army...
In front of the front army formation, Fei Ju and Yao Guangxiao complemented each other in civil and military affairs, and were responsible for mobilizing troops and horses to surround Samarkand to prevent the news that Timur was in the city from spreading to the outside world. The two of them met Ma Heima and Khalil who came out of the Chinese army's tent, and assigned them three thousand Mongolian soldiers and horses to contact the princes, so as to teach the princes of the Timurid Empire not to Rescue the city of Samarkand.
Fei Ju watched the two people leaving and felt quite wary. He asked Yao Guangxiao, "Monk Dao Yan, is this really not going to cause trouble?"
"Even if the city is surrounded, how long can we keep the news that the thieves chief is alive? Let the two thieves chief's grandsons go now. What if he recruits troops and comes back to rescue Timmu? Son of a thief, doesn’t it mean that we have lifted a stone and shot ourselves in the foot?”
"Haha, you don't have to worry, Lord Marquis." Yao Guangxiao smiled slightly. "Do you really think that the entire Tamerlane empire is peaceful, with fathers and sons being filial and filial?"
"Don't say that they now think that the Thief Chief is dead... Even if the Thief Chief is not dead, these two people may not be willing to help our Ming Dynasty. Now, the one who most wishes that the Thief Chief would be killed by our Ming army might be These are the two of them."
"Why?" Fei Ju was surprised. "Isn't the Thief Chief their biological grandfather? How is that possible..."
"That country is ignorant of education and etiquette. When there is a dispute for power, there will be no discussion of family ties." Yao Guang said filial piety. "The Steppe Khanate believes in the law of the jungle, and the battle for the throne has been extremely cruel over the years... After the death of Genghis Khan in the past, there has been a battle for the throne for several generations. Brothers, uncles and nephews were beaten to a bloody head, without any trace of family affection. .Although this Timurid Empire is called Sudan, it generally inherited the system of the Steppe Khanate, so how can it be exempt from the custom?"
"It would have been fine if Timur was powerful. If he had supported his successor well during his lifetime, there might have been less trouble... But now that Timur has been swallowed up half of the country by the Ming Dynasty, I can only close the city and defend myself. , in the eyes of Mahima and Khalil, how can there be any power at all?”
"At this time, they both know who is strong and weak. If they rely on the Ming Dynasty, they may compete for the position of Sultan... As for Timur's death, it is just an excuse to let them fight with peace of mind."
"As long as we hide it from them for a few days and wait until they lead the princes to join our Ming army and participate in the siege, even if the news that Timur is still alive spreads, they will have no choice but to follow me wholeheartedly. It’s getting dark…”
"There is no other reason. If you help me, the Ming Dynasty, to defeat Samarkand, Timur will definitely be furious. Is it possible to give up the position of sultan to them? ... It would be better to help me, the Ming Dynasty, except for their grandfather, the position of sultan." It could be theirs..."
Fei Ju heard Yao Guangxiao's calm words, but felt chills standing on end. Yao Guangxiao's strategy seems simple, but it takes advantage of the weakest weakness of the grassland people: the struggle for the throne. You must know that such power-related struggles within the grassland peoples are often like wildfires on the grasslands. Once ignited, they will inevitably sweep across all directions and cannot be extinguished until all the pastures in all directions are burned.
With this kind of momentum, even Timur would be hard-pressed to deal with the aftermath.
The Ming Dynasty spread the rumor that Timur was dead just to set the first fire in this pasture...
"But why do we have to release both of them?" Fei Ju thought about it and was a little confused. "If that's the case, wouldn't it be enough to just let one person go? If we let two people go, wouldn't the risk double..."
"Amitabha." Yao Guangxiao said with his hands clasped together. "If you let one person go, after they win over the princes, they will inevitably want to dominate the family. They may want to raise the price, come up with some unreasonable ideas, and even take advantage of me, the Ming Dynasty, to fight with Tamerlane.
When the back is weak, counterattack and reap the benefits..."
"It's different if we let them go... When two tigers are fighting, we can find room to balance."
"That's it!" Fei Ju suddenly realized, looking at Yao Guangxiao with a hint of fear in his eyes. Yao Guangxiao's official position was not high, and Fei Ju had not taken him seriously before, but now he felt that he could not offend this monk, who was full of bad tempers and could not be offended. "Master Daoyan, if we keep surrounding the city like this, won't the thieves chief in the city become suspicious?"
"You can't just surround us like this, right? The spies have already discovered that there is abundant food and grass in Kangju City... Even if you surround them for three to five years, they may not be able to surround the thieves to death."
"Can't we just destroy the city?"
"We are going to break the city." Yao Guangxiao arrived. "Changes can happen over time. We are taking the land of Timur's empire with a strategy of attacking the heart. But if it is delayed for a long time, there will definitely be other changes."
"According to what His Highness the Fifth Prince said, we only need to hold the siege line. After one month, he will have his own way to break the city... But how to break the city, the poor monk doesn't know."
"Such a big city, your highness can destroy it within a month?" Fei Ju looked disbelieving, but now that the matter was over, he could only obey orders. "I just hope I can bluff the Thief Chief for a longer time... If the Thief Chief is determined to break out, we may not be able to stop him..."
Although they set up many banners and made a huge noise, in fact they only had 50,000 people. We have to surround them on all four sides to ensure that no news in the city leaks out... The garrison strength on each side is quite stretched.
There is absolutely no way to attack the city... But if you don't attack the city, the thief chief may discover the flaw...
On the city, Timur had been on guard against the Ming army's attack. However, the Ming army only sent people to publicize the ridiculous "news of Timur's death" every day and had no intention of attacking the city.
At first, he thought that the Ming army wanted to attack people's hearts first, so they just surrounded the city and prepared to encircle the points for reinforcements. But it was obvious that the city was always at peace, and the "death news" obviously had no effect. However, the Ming army still sent people to preach and shoot letters in the city every day, but there was still no movement in the attack on the city. .
This made Timur's doubts grow day by day.
