Ch.124Journey (4)

After creating the stone statue, I stopped briefly at the Oirat tribe.

When Muqali and I arrived, everyone from the Mongol steppe came out to welcome me.

“The Gurkhan has arrived!”

“Let’s hold a festival!”

Seeing the joy on people’s faces, I gladly accepted their welcome.

Among those welcoming me was the darughachi of the Oirat.

“I can only apologize for not being able to join in the Gurkhan’s great work.”

“It’s fine. How is the steppe now?”

“Since the young men have followed the Gurkhan, only the elderly and women remain on the steppe.”

I nodded at the darughachi’s words.

As he said, the Mongol steppe was essentially empty now.

This was because all men who could bear arms had been mobilized for war.

After the war ended, instead of returning to the steppe, they stayed in the conquered territories of Western Xia and Western Liao, and began bringing their families from the steppe to live with them.

As a result, only the elderly who couldn’t participate in war and unmarried women or widows who had lost their husbands remained on the steppe.

It was unfortunate from my position as the Gurkhan who ruled the steppe, but there was nothing I could do.

It was impossible to call the warriors back to the steppe right away.

The Ulus needed warriors to continue its conquest activities.

Additionally, they were needed to secure order in the occupied territories.

Beyond these military reasons, there were domestic issues that made it difficult to recall the warriors.

The Mongolian steppe was a region difficult to develop even in modern times.

Not only was it a plateau, but it was also difficult to obtain materials for construction.

In other words, it was difficult to build cities that could become the center of the nation.

Anyway, for these and various other reasons, the number of people living on the Mongolian steppe itself had decreased.

This aspect was similar to the regions we had passed through earlier.

“Do you wish for them to return?”

To this, the darughachi shook his head.

Then he looked at me and spoke calmly.

“My son is also serving under Dei-Sechen Khan.”

“I remember your son. He achieved great merit in the recent Western Liao conquest.”

“I am grateful that the Gurkhan remembers my son.”

The darughachi nodded and continued.

“Since he was young, he wanted to see the wider world. If my son had stayed on the steppe with me, he wouldn’t have seen that wider world.”

“…”

“As a parent, I’m happy just seeing my son achieve his dream. I think this is the feeling shared by everyone who remains on this steppe.”

After saying this, the darughachi suddenly stood up.

Then he bowed to me and expressed his gratitude.

“I would like to thank the Gurkhan for helping my son achieve his dream.”

“I appreciate you saying that.”

To this, the darughachi nodded humbly and poured me a drink.

I drank the fermented mare’s milk he poured and continued our conversation.

By the time night fell, the festival had ended, and I returned to my ger with Muqali’s escort.

“Brother.”

“What is it?”

“They say there are no people left on the steppe.”

“I heard. The darughachi of the Oirat told me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

A moment of silence passed.

Then Muqali spoke again.

“Usually when there are so few people left, one would expect expressions of regret, but everyone seems pleased about it.”

“Indeed.”

Of course, they might have said this because they were in front of me, the Gurkhan.

So I could only let out a long sigh.

“Do you regret it?”

“No. For the Ulus to survive, we must continue these conquests. Otherwise, we would wither and die.”

Mongolia is a landlocked country.

It had few people and not much to sell.

In modern times, enormous amounts of underground minerals would be discovered, but in this era, there was no technology to extract such minerals.

So the Ulus had to expand to survive.

“You’re right, brother. If the Ulus had remained on the steppe, we would have been at the mercy of the Jin Dynasty or other Central Plains countries.”

“That’s right.”

“I think that’s why the people who remain here, though they feel some regret, are still pleased.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“…You’re being silly.”

With these words, I closed my eyes.

The Jin Dynasty’s capital, Zhongdu Daxingfu, was not far away.

* * *

I looked at the bustling crowd.

When our eyes met, they all showed surprised expressions and began to whisper.

“What an enormous build…”

“I know. I thought he was a giant for a moment.”

“Judging by all the guards behind him, could he be some kind of tribal chief from the steppe?”

The people of the Central Plains looked at me with surprise and awe.

This was understandable not only because I was on horseback, but also because I had been exercising consistently throughout this journey.

As a result, my body, which had temporarily shrunk during the conquest wars, had not only recovered but grown even larger.

As I’ve mentioned before, I never expected my body to grow this much.

It felt as if I had been injected with some kind of enhancement drug.

But since such things didn’t exist in this era, this was entirely thanks to Yesugei’s genes.

Anyway, feeling the gaze of these Central Plains people, or more precisely, the Northern Chinese people subjugated by Jin, I moved forward.

“That must be it.”

Before my eyes, a massive wall revealed its majestic appearance.

Juyong Pass.

It was such a formidable fortress that it was said even ordinary people could defend the gate if stationed there.

That’s why it was commonly known as the “Greatest Fortress Under Heaven.”

This fortress with its tremendous reputation was located at the passage connecting the Mongolian steppe and the North China Plain.

The reason such an excellent, impregnable fortress was located here was that it was only about 65 km from the capital, Zhongdu Daxingfu.

Because of this, the Jin Dynasty had no choice but to consider this place of utmost importance.

In the original history, Genghis Khan, well aware of this, led his soldiers to attack this place.

And with 30,000 soldiers, he defeated all of Wanyan Shengyou’s 400,000 troops.

That battle was the famous Battle of Yehuling.

The Jin Dynasty, suffering a major defeat in this battle, retreated with the remnants of their army to Huaihe, but Genghis Khan’s forces pursued them there and annihilated the Jin forces.

As a result, the Jin Dynasty lost all 150,000 of their heavy cavalry troops.

Additionally, they lost influence over the North China Plain, making it difficult to replenish their heavy cavalry forces on their own.

Seeing Juyong Pass in person, with such a history, gave me a special feeling.

“It’s an incredible fortress, brother.”

“Yes. But it’s not an impregnable one.”

Although Juyong Pass had excellent defensive capabilities, it had many weaknesses at this time.

The biggest weakness was the thin wall thickness.

At this time, before Sarta’s reconstruction in the 14th century, the wall was only wide enough for two soldiers to stand side by side.

Additionally, there was no central fortress (Guancheng) that served as the entrance to the gate and had the highest defensive capability between the two gate towers.

The central fortress was positioned slightly forward of the other fortifications, making it easier to counter enemy siege weapons.

However, at this time, there was no central fortress in front of Juyong Pass. The simple reason was that most invaders were nomads from the Mongolian steppe.

Nomads generally lacked siege technology, so they would only plunder the villages outside Juyong Pass and then leave.

Therefore, the countries that possessed Juyong Pass didn’t even consider building additional defensive structures to counter siege weapons.

In the original history, the Mongols didn’t possess siege technology at this time.

Unlike those Mongols, the current Mongols had siege technology, so they could conduct siege warfare against Juyong Pass and bring it down.

Of course, instead of using this method, we could also use the method from the original history: deploying a separate force to intercept the enemy.

While I was thinking about this, the gate of Juyong Pass opened, and a man appeared.

Judging by his elaborate official robes, he was clearly someone of significant position.

An interpreter standing next to the man in official robes immediately translated his words.

“I greet the Khan of Mongolia. I am Zhang Hao, the Chancellor of the Great Jin Empire, serving His Imperial Majesty. However…”

Zhang Hao showed a greatly surprised expression as he looked at my body.

However, given his position, he didn’t outwardly show these feelings.

Anyway, unlike Zhang Hao, my mind was busy working.

The Chancellor was equivalent to the prime minister of the Jin Dynasty.

It was surprising that someone of such rank had come to greet me personally.

“I didn’t expect the Chancellor himself to come greet me.”

“His Majesty is that sincere about dialogue with Mongolia.”

Though his words sounded plausible, I still couldn’t discern his true intentions.

So I simply nodded for now.

“Then I will escort you this way.”

At his words, I followed Zhang Hao.

As I mentioned before, the distance from Juyong Pass to the capital Zhongdu Daxingfu was about 65 km.

Normally, if a horse moves at a slightly fast walk, it can travel 13.2 km per hour.

Additionally, the road leading from Juyong Pass to the capital was a well-maintained road.

On such a road, we could travel even faster.

So by rough calculation, we could reach Zhongdu Daxingfu in about 3 hours at the fastest.

Anyway, as I moved under Zhang Hao’s guidance, I observed my surroundings.

Perhaps sensing my observation, Zhang Hao casually spoke to me.

“You must be tired from your long journey, Khan.”

“Not at all. Rather, I’m curious why you came all this way to escort me.”

At my words, a gleam appeared in Zhang Hao’s eyes.

“As I mentioned earlier, it’s for the friendship between our two countries.”

“For friendship, you say. But the Jin Dynasty’s military actions and current behavior don’t match that claim.”

“…”

“On the surface, you request dialogue while stationing soldiers at the border. Isn’t this meant to pressure us militarily?”

To this, Zhang Hao silently looked at me.

Then he suddenly changed the subject.

“How did you find Juyong Pass?”

“I’ve heard much about Juyong Pass’s reputation. It indeed has the majesty worthy of being called the ‘Greatest Fortress Under Heaven.'”

“That’s right.”

Zhang Hao nodded and agreed with my words.

“And no foreign tribe has ever crossed that pass.”

Zhang Hao’s statement was actually incorrect.

During the Sixteen Kingdoms period alone, countless foreign tribes crossed this gate and settled in the Central Plains.

So objectively speaking, Zhang Hao’s statement could be considered wrong.

But the importance of what he said wasn’t whether it was factually correct or not.

He was simply answering what I had said earlier through these words.

That the Jin Dynasty was indeed pressuring Mongolia militarily.

Of course, saying this directly could lead to diplomatic breakdown between the two countries.

So Zhang Hao had no choice but to answer my question indirectly.

“I’ll take note of that.”

At my words, Zhang Hao smiled and responded.

Afterward, Zhang Hao and I didn’t engage in any conversation until we reached the Jin Dynasty’s capital.