Batu's full name was Batu, and he was the son of Genghis Khan's eldest son, Shuchi. After his father's death, as the second eldest, he inherited his father's fiefdom, which shows that his ability was recognized by the family very early.
Batu once led an army to the west, invincible and invincible, and its reputation spread throughout Europe. And he is not only very strong in military ability, but also good at people, very honest with people, and very generous to his subordinates.
It can be said that in Genghis Khan's grandchildren, Ba du is one of the best. So why didn't Battus become the Great Khan of the Mongols?
Batu's father, Shuchi, was the eldest son at the time, but he seemed to have a problem with his origins, and it is said that he was not the son of Genghis Khan, so his relationship with other brothers was always bad.
After the death of Genghis Khan, he was succeeded by his third son, Wokoutai. Wokoutai did not reign for a long time, and his death was very sudden, leaving no will. Wokoutai was very fond of the third son, Kuozumi, and even if Kuozu died, he planned to establish kuochi's eldest son, Fu Liemen, as his heir. But Wokoutai died before he could make a will.
As a result, the succession to the Mongol Khanate was in question. At that time, Empress Naimazhen wanted to make her son Guiyu Khan, but Xiangguo Yelü Chucai disagreed, believing that the Liemen should be established according to the wishes of the former emperor, but the child was still young, which was indeed a problem.
So Namajin called it herself, which was actually a delaying tactic, and she was creating opportunities for her son Guiyu, during which time she attracted many nobles and ministers, so she convened the Kuriletai.
In fact, at that time, Battu's prestige was very high, but he was at odds with Guiyu, dissatisfied in his heart, excused himself to be ill, refused to attend the meeting, and sent his brother to attend. In fact, this time was an opportunity for Battus, but the congress was already controlled by Namajin, and the election was just a formality, so he did not go.
As for Guiyu, he knew that he must be the Great Khan and was still holding the momentum there, in fact, he meant to ask the Khan to choose his descendants after that, because Guiyu had always refused to ascend the throne, so the participants had to agree.
However, Guiyu's life was not good, and his mother laid the foundation for him for five years, but he died of illness less than two years after reigning. After Guiyu's death, his wife requested batu, the strongest of the Mongol clans, and Tuolei to let her be regent first, and then the assembly was convened to elect the Great Khan.
And when the Kuriletai was held, in fact, Battus also had the opportunity. Some people also promoted him, but he was opposed by Battus, of course, the Wokoutai lineage and the Chagatai clan that supported them were all opposed.
Batu not only opposed himself, but elected Möngke, who had been elected as the Great Khan. Many people are surprised, why did Battus do this? In fact, the reason is very simple, Battus's strength at that time was not enough to confront the two systems of Wokoutai and Chagatai. If it is based on elections, his supporters will not be enough, and they can only take the kind of armed confrontation that Kublai Khan later did, which is not a small risk for Battus.
He supported Möngke and tied himself to the Tuolei system, and eventually after Möngke ascended the throne, Batu gained greater power because of his meritorious service.