Ch.127Middle Path (2)

After that, Munglig continued to thoroughly inspect the interior of the Great Capital under the pretext of exercise.

Thanks to this, he was able to get a rough idea of why the Jin Dynasty couldn’t fully repair the north gate, and why the number of lower-class people had increased.

“…A flood?”

“Yes. I heard that the dam blocking the Yellow River burst.”

“The dam burst…”

I could roughly understand why the Jin Dynasty used diplomatic means rather than going to war with the Mongols.

It was because of flood damage.

For other countries, it would be hard to understand how a nation could be shaken by just one dam breaking.

But in the Central Plains, there existed the Yellow River, a river of tremendous length, and the damage was equally enormous.

The river stretched an incredible 5,464 km.

Its basin area alone was 752,443 km². Because of this, when a flood occurred, it was no exaggeration to say that the damage devastated the entire country.

“But why did the dam suddenly burst?”

“Well… it seems to be related to us.”

“To us?”

“Do you remember when we conquered Western Xia?”

“Ah…!”

I couldn’t help but slap my forehead.

After all, when we conquered Western Xia, we had used water attacks.

We had completely flooded Western Xia using those water attacks.

After conquering Western Xia, the water that had flooded it drained away along the river.

I thought everything was over… but it wasn’t.

Because this river was the source and upper stream of the Yellow River.

Like the saying that a butterfly’s small wing flap can create a storm, our actions had caused enormous damage to the Jin Dynasty.

“Are you saying that because of our water attack, the amount of water flowing into the Yellow River suddenly increased, causing the dam to burst and flood?”

“I’m not certain, but it seems that way.”

I wondered if this made sense.

After all, our conquest of Western Xia had happened quite a long time ago.

It seemed odd that the damage from the water attack we launched in Western Xia was suddenly transmitted to the Jin Dynasty while we were conquering Western Liao.

But from our position, this was a good situation regardless.

So whether it was true or not, I was just happy to accept it.

“If I had known this would happen, we shouldn’t have responded to Jin’s request for tribute and just fought them, brother.”

“I’ll say it again, we must wait until we have enough power to completely subdue the Jin Dynasty. Otherwise, predatory nations like the Song Dynasty and Goryeo will reap the benefits.”

Munglig nodded with a disgruntled expression.

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly, war with the Jin Dynasty would not benefit us at all.

It would only fatten Goryeo and the Song Dynasty.

So it was most reasonable to attack when we could completely subdue the Jin Dynasty.

While thinking about this, I suddenly remembered what Munglig had just said.

So I asked him a question.

“By the way, how did you get that information? The officials would have prevented people from approaching you.”

At this, Munglig smiled as if to say “you finally noticed” and answered with a triumphant expression.

“Hahaha! Brother, you underestimate me too much. I had my methods.”

“Methods? What methods could you possibly have?”

“There’s a method called communicating with the body.”

“…?”

I could only give a puzzled look at Munglig’s words.

At this, Munglig began to share his exploits.

* * *

“Everyone, take off your tops!”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

At Munglig’s command, all the Kheshig removed their upper garments.

Then the women around them began to cheer.

“Kyaaa!”

“So handsome!”

Although the Kheshig couldn’t understand the language of the Central Plains people, they immediately understood that women were looking at them and cheering.

The Kheshig shrugged their shoulders and proudly displayed their excellent physiques.

Every time they showed off their sturdy bodies, the women’s cheers continued.

The Kheshig shed tears of genuine joy.

“Yes… this is what I wanted.”

“Muscles are great…”

“I’ll never doubt muscles again…”

There was nothing more pleasing for a man than receiving cheers for muscles that displayed his masculinity.

That’s why the Kheshig felt great pride in becoming Kheshig.

Seeing this, Munglig smiled and encouraged them.

“You are the true elite warriors of the Ulus.”

All the Kheshig responded enthusiastically to Munglig’s words.

There was someone watching this sweaty scene with envious eyes.

It was the attendant who had come along to guide Munglig.

As a man, he too wanted to receive cheers from women like the Kheshig.

But because he was naturally skinny, it was difficult for him to appeal with physical charm.

As he resigned himself to this situation, seeing the muscles of Munglig and the Kheshig, he was gradually being influenced without realizing it.

Feeling his envious gaze, Munglig smiled and approached him.

“Envious?”

“N-no. Absolutely not.”

The attendant, who could speak Mongolian, immediately understood Munglig’s words and waved his hands in denial.

Though the attendant said this, his eyes were fixed on Munglig’s pectoral muscles.

And in his mind…

“You’re thinking, ‘If I had muscles like these, I could have all the women in the capital,’ right?”

“…Th-that’s… sigh… y-yes, that’s right. But… I… I can’t. I’ve always been skinny and can’t gain weight, so it’s hard for me to build a body like yours, sir.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Pardon…?”

At this, Munglig gestured to call over one of the Kheshig.

Then he asked the Kheshig a question.

“You, tell him what you were like before becoming a Kheshig.”

“Before? Well… I had exactly that kind of body.”

The attendant looked at the Kheshig with an expression that asked if it was really true.

The Kheshig nodded immediately at the attendant’s gaze, as if to say there wasn’t a shred of falsehood.

“You can become like that too.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. With Buroktan and Misgaragainer, plus appropriate strength training, you can do it too.”

At Munglig’s words, the attendant’s eyes widened.

Then he looked at Munglig and spoke with a desperate expression.

“I… I want to! Please make me like that too! I beg you…!”

“Good. But there’s a condition.”

“Wh-what is it?”

“Just answer the questions I want to ask.”

At this, the attendant fell into contemplation.

It was obvious what Munglig, who was clearly a barbarian, would ask about.

He would surely ask about things that could threaten the country.

The attendant knew this well, but his desire was greater.

With this thought, various excuses began to emerge in his mind.

To begin with, the information known to him, a mere attendant rather than an official, was information everyone knew.

So he thought that even if he gave information to Munglig, it wouldn’t cause any major problems.

With an almost perfect excuse in mind, he immediately nodded.

“I-I’ll do it. A-ask me anything. I’ll tell you everything.”

At this, Munglig smiled.

And patting the attendant’s shoulder, he murmured softly.

“Welcome to voluntary conf… no, voluntary strength training.”

* * *

Hearing Munglig’s exploits, I momentarily thought I had misheard.

So I spoke to Munglig again to confirm.

“Did I hear that correctly?”

“Yes, brother. I converted a Central Plains person with muscles. He has now become our important informant as a devout believer in strength training.”

“…”

I couldn’t tell which part of the sentence was wrong.

It just felt like the sentence was composed of words that couldn’t possibly form a coherent statement.

But the results were so clear that it was difficult to ignore Munglig’s words.

“Brother, I can see from your eyes that you still don’t believe me.”

“Of course I don’t. We’re talking about a Central Plains person, not someone else. Central Plains people look down on us, so how could such a person become our ally… no, be converted by muscles? Does that make any sense to you?”

“I thought you wouldn’t believe me, so I had him wait to show you directly.”

“What…”

Munglig suddenly clapped his hands at my words.

Then a man opened the door and entered.

Seeing him… I had to believe Munglig’s words were true.

“I greet the great Khagan.”

He was a Central Plains man with some muscle definition, though not as much as the Kheshig.

This Central Plains man was showing respect to me with a bow.

“Do you see now?”

“Can we really trust him?”

At this, the attendant performed a full kowtow to prove his loyalty.

“Great Khagan, I had been living a dark life far from muscles for a long time. Such a life was not only harsh but also gave me no direction in life. While barely surviving day by day, I directly met the great muscle preacher, Lord Munglig. Through his guidance, I found a new life. Muscles not only improve life but also show me what kind of life I should live. Muscles are truly the best, and I have become able to dedicate my whole life to muscles. This devotion only comes from muscles, and I have newly felt that the majesty of Gurkhan, who created this strength, is blessed by Tengri and God. This life change has transformed me, transformed my muscles, and…”

I could only blink at the attendant’s endless confession.

For a moment, I wondered if Munglig had some kind of hypnosis app.

After all, the attendant’s appearance was close to that of a fanatic.

“Do you see now?”

“Yes. But this seems a bit… excessive…”

“I plan to make all the other attendants enter the world of muscles through him as the core. Then we can obtain internal information about the Jin Dynasty more easily.”

I couldn’t say anything in response to Munglig’s words.

After all, the victim of Munglig’s scheme was right in front of me.

I don’t know what happened to him, but anyway, it was good for us.

Therefore, there was no reason to reject Munglig’s proposal.

But…

But… I couldn’t help but shudder involuntarily at the natural sense of rejection I felt.