Ch.121Journey (1)

The journey from Qara-Ordo to the Jin Dynasty was quite treacherous.

The main reason was the poor condition of the roads due to war.

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly, Western Liao was truly a vast country.

Without proper roads throughout such a large nation, it was difficult to obtain accurate information.

Additionally, the movement of supplies and troops was challenging.

Experiencing this firsthand made me appreciate once again what remarkable foresight my son, Temujin, had shown by focusing on road improvements immediately after becoming Khan of Western Liao.

“All roads lead to Rome… that saying comes to mind.”

“What did you say, brother?”

“I was just talking about Rome… I mean the Great Jin country.”

“Where is this Great Jin country located?”

“It’s a land beyond the vast steppes.”

I pointed in the direction opposite to where we were heading.

“A world beyond the steppes… I wonder what it’s like.”

Munglig said this while gazing in the direction I had indicated.

“Trees grow abundantly there, and mountains like Burkhan Khaldun are everywhere. And below them lies a vast sea, larger than Mother Lake.”

At this time, the Holy Roman Empire was at the height of its power in Europe.

The Holy Roman Empire before the Great Interregnum was incomparably stronger than the period commonly referred to on the internet as “just an empire in name only.”

Its territory had continuously expanded beyond the original Germanic lands, reaching as far as the Western Slavic territories.

From what I knew, this period marked the peak of the German Eastward Colonization movement.

The Teutonic Knights, known as war machines even in modern times, began their activities during this period of eastward colonization.

In any case, this was a time of expansion throughout Europe.

“Brother, you were born on the steppes and have lived here all your life. How do you know such things?”

At Munglig’s question, I realized my slip and cleared my throat before offering an excuse.

“Bandak told me.”

Bandak, a Nestorian monk and missionary, was a Sogdian.

Sogdians operated in regions of modern-day Iran, Syria, and the Anatolian peninsula, so they would have known something about Europe.

Therefore, claiming that Bandak had told me this information wouldn’t cause any problems.

“I see.”

Munglig nodded and then casually remarked:

“For a moment, I thought you might have been there yourself, since you spoke so vividly.”

“…”

I couldn’t help but feel caught.

In fact, I had visited Europe during my student days, before becoming a working adult in the modern world.

Back then, I had wanted to do something others hadn’t done.

So I took the Trans-Siberian Railway to Russia and traveled through Eastern Europe and Germany.

Looking back now, I wonder how I managed to endure those cramped compartments for eight days.

Of course, it was still much more comfortable than traveling on horseback like we were doing now.

While I was lost in these thoughts, Munglig addressed me again.

“Brother.”

“What is it?”

“That Great Jin country you mentioned. I’d like to visit it someday.”

“Why so suddenly?”

“Because I believe that you, as the lord of the four seas, will surely conquer even that far.”

In reality, the Mongols did reach the threshold of Eastern Europe.

During the time of Ogedei, Genghis Khan’s third son, they temporarily occupied Eastern Europe after victories at the Battles of Legnica and Mohi.

In the original history, the Mongol Empire was conquering the world at an incredible pace.

But in this world, perhaps because of my presence, the Mongol Empire was advancing even faster than in the original history.

The conquest of Western Xia and Western Liao was proof of this.

In fact, Western Xia, unlike in the original history, wasn’t merely made a vassal state but had been incorporated into our territory.

This meant that the growth of the Mongol Empire was even steeper than in the original history.

This suggested that there was a high possibility of advancing much further than the temporary occupation of Eastern Europe in the original history.

With some luck, we might conquer Western Europe during my lifetime, or when Temujin succeeded me as Khan of the steppes.

“Conquering the Great Jin…”

“When that time comes, I’ll be by your side to see if what you said is true.”

I smiled at Munglig’s playful remark.

“Are you saying you’ll follow me until then?”

“Of course, brother. Where you go, I must go too.”

I nodded at Munglig’s words.

Though it was a distant future, just sharing such conversations was both fun and happiness in itself.

* * *

“Hup!”

I tensed my abdominal muscles and struck a pose.

Seeing my stance, Munglig and the Kheshig began to applaud.

“This is the dignity of the Khan…!”

“Truly the ruler of the steppes!”

I gave an embarrassed expression at the Kheshig’s praise.

“See that? Gurkhan has an exceptional upper body!”

At Munglig’s words, the Kheshig nodded with excited expressions.

Their eyes held a look similar to fans gazing at their idol.

“Woooow!”

“Long live the Khan!”

I struck another pose at their fervent encouragement.

Anyone else watching would find this situation strange.

But the reason for this scene was simply because of Munglig.

Recently, I hadn’t been able to exercise at all.

This was because during the Western Liao war, as commander-in-chief, I had to review all information coming from various regions and issue orders.

For this reason, I had worked without rest and had no time for exercise during the war period.

Because of this, Munglig had been constantly urging me to exercise during our journey.

Thanks to Munglig’s persistence, I had regained my healthy body(?), and as proof, I was now striking bodybuilding poses in front of the Kheshig.

These poses must have seemed quite fascinating, as people began to gather around us.

“Is that Gurkhan?”

“Seems like it. I heard he received divine blessing… looking at that body, it seems true.”

“He truly is different, blessed by Tengri.”

I felt embarrassed at the people’s conversations.

I tried to stop posing and put my clothes back on.

“Brother! The muscle inspection isn’t over yet!”

Muscle inspection?

What kind of bizarre term was that?

I turned to look at Munglig.

“What are you talking about, Munglig?”

“You should show us the pose you displayed when opening the Kurultai!”

In the past Kurultai, when the Darughachi were confused, I had struck a side chest pose.

Somehow, the side chest had become the pose for opening the Kurultai.

Munglig was looking at me with sparkling eyes, asking me to show that pose.

“Why would I…”

“Please, brother.”

“Please! Gurkhan!”

“We really want to see it!”

“…”

Munglig and the Kheshig were giving me these pleading looks.

The people watching from around us were also looking at me with curious expressions, wondering what was happening.

The crowd was growing larger.

I couldn’t refuse.

“Hnngh!”

“Ohhh…!”

“This is the Khan’s magnificent physique!”

The Kheshig were moved by my side chest pose.

Then suddenly, Munglig took off his upper garment and struck a pose.

A pose with both arms raised.

Commonly known as the front double biceps, it was famous on the internet as the pose of a Black bodybuilder showing off his impressive muscles.

In a novel I read during my military service, it was described as a dragon-like pose.

When Munglig struck that pose, the Kheshig followed suit.

“Hup!”

“Hnngh!”

In an instant, Munglig and the Kheshig were striking poses around me.

As these men with massive bodies took these stances, the watching people suddenly began to applaud.

“Beautiful…”

“So this is what muscles are?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it looks cool.”

Hearing the people’s comments, I thought to myself:

“It’s goddamn cool.”

Of course, they probably didn’t mean it that way, but I couldn’t help thinking it.

Anyway, I had struck the pose Munglig wanted.

Not wanting to attract any more attention, I stopped posing and tried to put my clothes back on.

That’s when a desperate voice suddenly called out.

“W-wait a moment, please!”

With that voice, a man pushed through the crowd and stood before me.

Munglig and the Kheshig immediately stepped forward to block him.

“Halt! Who are you to approach Gurkhan?”

The man, belatedly realizing his rudeness, began to tremble.

Prostrating himself, he began to apologize to me.

“I apologize for my rudeness to Gurkhan.”

Judging by his appearance, he didn’t seem to be an assassin.

However, his appearance was distinctly different from the other people—he was Caucasian.

I raised my hand to stop Munglig.

“It’s alright. But who are you?”

“I-I am Liam, a sculptor from the Caucasus region.”

The Caucasus region would be where modern-day Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are located.

I was surprised that someone from such a distant place could speak Mongolian so fluently.

“You’ve come from far away. Why did you ask me to wait?”

“I-I apologize for that. Seeing a perfect physique suitable for sculpture, I-I couldn’t help myself…”

At Liam’s words, question marks appeared above the heads of myself, Munglig, and the Kheshig.

This wasn’t limited to just us; the surrounding people also wore similar expressions.

Unaware of our confusion, Liam continued speaking while bowing.

“I understand that you may take my life for my disrespectful behavior toward Gurkhan. B-but before that, I-I have an earnest request…!”

Liam was trembling with fear of death, yet still trying to speak his mind.

His fear was understandable, as my reputation was essentially stained with blood.

So it was natural for Liam to be terrified.

But this sculptor seemed to have something important enough to overcome his fear.

I found his behavior somewhat absurd.

But since he hadn’t harmed me, I had no intention of killing him.

So I decided to hear what he wanted to say.

“I have no intention of killing you. What is it you want from me?”

Liam looked at me with a surprised expression.

Seeming to confirm that I truly had no intention of killing him, he squeezed his eyes shut, gathered his courage, and answered in a loud voice:

“I want to p-preserve Gurkhan’s perfect body proportions in a s-sculpture!”