In 1402, in Ankara, Timur captured the Ottoman king Bayezid I and then sent 450,000 troops to prepare for the Ming Dynasty. On the banks of the Syr Darya River, Timur died of illness at the age of 70, which was also a blessing for him. During the expedition to the Ming Dynasty, Timur would be captured alive by Zhu Di and add a stroke to Ming Chengzu's merit book.
Timur, the male lord of the western region during the Ming Dynasty, Central Asia, West Asia, Eastern Europe, Khorasan, and the Two Rivers Valley were all his territories, establishing a huge "Timurid Empire". In 1362, Timur raised an army in the river and fought against the Western Chagatai Khanate and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and repeatedly lost and lost many battles.
After several defeats, Timur became the son-in-law of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and joined forces with his allies Kushin to gradually defeat various opponents. In 1387, Timur began to fight against the disengagement of the Khanate of Chincha, and after a series of large-scale battles, Timur won and became the winner.
In 1395, Timur led an expedition of 70,000 soldiers and horses, starting from the river, marching into the two river valleys, crossing the Caucasus Mountains, and making a major detour. Detachment and loss could only cope with the battle, leading 100,000 soldiers and horses to fight Timur, the result was a defeat, the capital city of Salai was captured by Timur, and he fled to the Volga River.
Lost, the Khanate of Chincha led an army into Moscow, and Grand Duke Dmitry fled into the wilderness. After defeating the detachment and the lost, Persia, Khorasan, the Two Rivers Valley, the Delhi Sultan, and other places were also easily handled, and Timur's prestige soared, becoming the lord of the western region. At this point, Tamerlane was satisfied and ready for the next battle.
Bayezid I, the ottoman ruler and emperor of Li Shimin, was known as the "Lightning Bolt". Bayezid I was resourceful and adept at using soldiers. In 1396, Bayezid I led 30,000 soldiers and horses to defeat 100,000 allied troops in Europe and win the Battle of Nico Fort, and his prestige soared.
In order to relieve the worries of the Ming Dynasty, Timur led an army of 150,000 to the west. Undaunted, Bayezid I led 70,000 elite soldiers to the battle, deploying in the forest to block the attack of the Mongol cavalry. The Ottoman soldiers were in a tight position, but Timur did not give Bayezid I a chance to attack the Ottoman army.
Taking advantage of the mobility of the Mongol cavalry, Timur pulled out camp overnight, carried out a major detour, and directly attacked Ankara, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Hearing that the Mongol cavalry had suddenly attacked Ankara, Bayezid I was terrified and could only lead his army back quickly and fight the Mongol cavalry on the outskirts of Ankara.
Tamerlane won the initiative on the battlefield, and his opponent Bayezid I could only fight on the plains, which was the advantage of the Mongol cavalry. With 150,000 soldiers and horses fighting 70,000, Timur's superiority in troops was very obvious. After a fight, the Ottoman soldiers were overwhelmed, the Anatolian cavalry turned against each other, and the battle situation was one-sided.
The Mongol cavalry charged and attacked directly to the Ottoman camp, Bayezid I became a prisoner, and 70,000 elite troops were destroyed. After the battle, Timur divided the Ottomans into four parts, administered by bayezid I's four sons, and then led his troops back to Central Asia to prepare for the Eastern Expedition to the Ming Dynasty.
According to the "Timur Martial Arts Record", in 1405, Timur personally led 200,000 cavalry and 250,000 infantry, known as 800,000 troops, from the river to prepare for the conquest of the Ming Dynasty. In order to ensure victory, Timur also sent millions of people to carry out tuntian in various places along the way, and sent millions of cattle, camels, sheep, etc. to the western region to prepare for a protracted war.
Timur's every move could not escape Zhu Di's eyes, and Timur, who had submitted to the Ming Dynasty, was now challenging the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Di did not flinch. Zhu Di, the emperor of great talent, was known as a world-class emperor, and his martial arts were very strong, so how could he easily concede defeat?
Zhu Di ordered the Western Regions defender Song Sheng to strengthen his guard and strengthen the city. Zhu Di himself reorganized his soldiers and horses, prepared for the imperial conquest, personally went to the western region to direct the battle, and would meet Timur. In addition, Zheng He's huge fleet was ready to set out to encircle Timur's back road from the sea and join hands with West Asia and other countries to clean up Timur.
The two brilliant emperors, Timur and Zhu Di, prepared for a duel, and the great war was about to break out. Fortunately, when Timur arrived on the banks of the Syr Darya River, his condition worsened and he drove the crane west at the age of 70. Subsequently, Timur's sons and nephews attacked each other in order to compete for the throne; Central Asia, West Asia, Persia, delhi sultans and other places also revolted.
Tamerlane died of illness, there was no fighting between the two sides, and Zhu Di stopped his conquest. Judging from the comparison of strength at that time, if Timur arrived in the western region and engaged the Ming army, it was more likely that he would be captured. First of all, the cohesion of the Timurid Empire was not good, and the local lords were not willing to fail, and they were just scattered.
Moreover, Timur's so-called 450,000 troops, most of which have logisticians, can put less than half into battle. Timur's cavalry, with its heavy armored cavalry and light cavalry, liked to charge repeatedly with spears, the Battle of the Terek River, the Battle of Ankara, all of which were the same. In front of the Ming army's "Divine Machine Battalion", these cavalry were targets, and as a result, like the 30,000-walled heavy cavalry that suddenly lost their temperature in Kulan, they were beaten to the ground and fled.
From the perspective of internal cohesion, logistics, weapons and equipment, Timur was not Zhu Di's opponent. In addition, Timur was 70 years old and in poor health, and if he suddenly died during the battle, the 450,000 troops who had expeditioned to the Ming Dynasty would become prisoners. It can be said that he was not able to expedition to the Ming Dynasty and was not captured alive by Zhu Di, and Timur was lucky, and he saved his name.
In 1409, Timur's son Shaharu defeated various rivals and seized the position of "sultan". Then, Shaharu sent emissaries to the Ming Dynasty to meet Zhu Di and continue to pay tribute to Chenna.
Bibliography: Tamerlane Martial Arts