Ch.129Middle Path (4)

“Is that really true?”

“Of course it is.”

At my words, Munglig looked at the carriages with an expression of amazement.

He seemed unable to believe that each of these carriages was packed full of gold, silver, and treasures.

“This isn’t all of it.”

“Surely there isn’t more?”

“Yes. They promised the same amount of carriages as gifts later.”

Munglig’s expression showed great surprise at this.

Even though it was already a lot, to hear more was coming… If I were in Munglig’s position, I might have thought my words were lies.

“If I had known this, I would have brought more.”

“Too much of a good thing is not good.”

“Pardon?”

“Right now, they’re paying this price because of face, but if our greed had been greater, the Emperor might have imprisoned us and risked war with the Ulus.”

Even though the Jin Dynasty was giving gifts to save face, there were clear limits to their generosity.

If they were forced to pay tribute to the point where the foundations of their nation were shaken, the Jin would not have been able to afford it and might have tried to kill us by fabricating some false pretext.

Such incidents were commonplace throughout Chinese history.

So we needed to avoid being too greedy and ruining everything.

“And do you remember that while they promised the same amount of gifts as we received today, they never specified when they would give them?”

“Ah…!”

They had said they would give the same amount again, but there was no mention of exactly when.

This essentially meant there would be no next time.

“So for now, we should be satisfied with this and return to the Ulus.”

I said this while looking at the carriages filled with treasures.

This was enough to consider our purpose for visiting the Jin Dynasty fulfilled.

“When Sejong dies, the Jin Dynasty won’t last long.”

I gazed at Zhongdu Daxingfu.

After Sejong’s death, when Zhangjong took power, the golden age of the Jin Dynasty would come to an end.

To be precise, it wasn’t because Zhangjong was incompetent.

Rather, during Zhangjong’s reign, the dikes would burst three times in succession, causing massive floods that would severely impact the entire country.

Additionally, Zhangjong would also continue the trend of prioritizing civil officials, leading to the mistreatment of military officials.

I thought about this as I looked up at the sky.

I knew the future.

The advantage this gave me was greater than one might think.

“By the way, are all preparations for departure complete?”

“As you instructed, we’ve finished all preparations. We could leave right away, but…”

Munglig said this while pointing at the sky.

The sun was already setting.

“The Emperor’s mind could change. Even if the Emperor doesn’t change his mind, we don’t know what his subordinates might do.”

The current financial state of the Jin Dynasty was poor.

They couldn’t even attack the growing Mongols due to flood damage.

In such a situation, it was natural for them to regret the gifts they had given us.

Of course, they wouldn’t harm us.

However, there was a possibility they might try to recover the gifts and then make the absurd claim that they would give them back later along with additional gifts.

The human heart is treacherous.

Therefore, it was important to leave immediately.

“We’ll leave Zhongdu tonight.”

We had finished what we came to do.

We had taken what we could, and now it was time to return.

* * *

“Are you really going to just let them leave?”

At the Grand Chancellor’s words, the Jin Emperor nodded.

Seeing this, Wanyan Liang began to offer advice with a worried expression.

“Yesugei was such an exceptional individual that one could say he was chosen by the gods. Such a person will become a great threat to the Jin Dynasty.”

“Do you think killing him would stop the Mongols?”

“…”

“Yesugei came here knowing he might die. That means he must have something to rely on.”

The Emperor said this while looking outside.

There stood his grandson, Wanyan Madalgal.

Wanyan Madalgal was set to inherit the throne as the Crown Prince after his father, Wanyan Yungong, died of illness.

“If only my grandson had grown a little more…”

The Emperor said this, holding back further words.

After all, no amount of regret would bring back his son Wanyan Yungong.

“Regret is futile. I must eliminate the Mongols before I grow any older.”

In fact, if the Yellow River hadn’t flooded and caused massive damage throughout the Jin Dynasty, the Emperor would have attacked the Mongols immediately.

But as if heaven truly had chosen the Mongols, a series of bad news had recently reached the Jin Dynasty.

Goryeo was rebelling against Jin rule.

The Song Dynasty was seeking to recover their ancestral lands north of the Yangtze River.

And the number of Han people harboring resentment against Jin rule was growing.

These three factors were holding back the Jin Dynasty.

While the Jin were thus constrained, the Mongols had not only conquered Western Xia but also Western Liao.

Though there was a significant difference in national power, in terms of scale alone, the Mongols were approaching the level of the Jin Dynasty.

This made the Emperor think that his initial lukewarm stance toward checking the Mongols’ growth had been a mistake.

But regret came too late.

The Mongols had grown, and the price of neglecting them was tightening around the Jin Dynasty’s neck with each passing moment.

“So there will be no more regrets.”

Even if the gods had chosen the Mongols, he had no intention of standing idle.

Sejong planned to invade Mongolia as soon as the flood damage was repaired.

While he was thinking this, the Minister of Rites Zhang Hao opened the door and entered.

After paying respects to the Emperor, he began his report.

“Your Majesty. We have a serious problem.”

“What is it?”

“The payment for the Mongols’ tribute… it will delay the recovery efforts even further.”

“…”

The Emperor was speechless.

He almost regretted not refusing the tribute and killing Yesugei on the spot.

“It’s not too late, Your Majesty. Even if it’s difficult to kill Yesugei, we must recover the gifts we gave them.”

At Wanyan Liang’s words, Zhang Hao, who managed the finances, agreed.

“That’s right, Your Majesty. If we recover the gifts and tell them we’ll send them later along with future gifts, the Jin Dynasty’s face won’t be damaged.”

At Zhang Hao’s words, the Emperor had no choice but to nod.

The current financial state of the Jin Dynasty was that poor.

After hearing the two officials, the Emperor made a decision in his heart.

He turned and called for the attendant who had been serving them.

“Tell them I invite them to dinner.”

At the Emperor’s words, the attendant didn’t know what to do.

Seeing the attendant’s hesitation, the Emperor gave him a look of disbelief.

“What is the matter that you don’t answer!”

At Wanyan Liang’s angry shout, the attendant trembled.

Then, with his head bowed, he carefully spoke.

“As soon as they arrived, they packed their things and le-left… Zhongdu. By n-now, they would have cr-crossed the Yaho Pass.”

Mongol horses had extraordinary strength.

Even pulling carriages loaded with treasures, their speed likely hadn’t decreased much.

It took about 3 hours on horseback from Juyong Pass to Zhongdu.

But it had been over 6 hours since Yesugei had left his audience with the Emperor, so they might have already reached the edge of the Mongolian steppe beyond Juyong Pass.

This meant the gifts had already left the Emperor’s hands.

Yesugei had fled as soon as he received the gifts, as if he had been expecting this.

As if he knew the Emperor would act this way.

“…Son of a…”

At this shocking news, a curse was about to escape from the lips of the benevolent Emperor.

* * *

As soon as we reached the edge of the Mongolian steppe, Munglig took out an oil-soaked club from his saddle.

Using his boot as flint, he lit a fire on some straw.

He put the burning straw to the club, which immediately caught fire.

When he waved the burning club high, there was a response from far away.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud

With a sound that shook the earth, a group of cavalry arrived before us.

“I have come at the Khagan’s call.”

The man who appeared through the darkness was none other than Jadaran Elunka.

And behind him stood the Tamma, another elite unit of the Ulus.

“You could have come a bit faster.”

“Haha! Seeing Lord Munglig complain like this, there must be a lot in those carriages.”

Saying this, Elunka looked at the carriages behind us.

The carriages were damaged here and there, which was inevitable since we had ridden non-stop from Zhongdu to here.

If we had stayed longer in Zhongdu, we would certainly have lost the gifts.

So from our perspective, we had to reach the Mongolian steppe at all costs, even if the carriages were damaged.

Fortunately, we were able to reach the Mongolian steppe before the Jin pursuit arrived.

“This is no time for jokes. We don’t know when the Jin might come.”

“Understood.”

At Munglig’s words, Elunka nodded and gave orders to the Tamma.

The Tamma then brought forward carriages they had prepared in advance and began transferring the treasures from the damaged carriages.

“This is an enormous amount.”

“Isn’t it cheap for the price of our lives?”

At Munglig’s retort, Elunka nodded.

Considering it was the price for the lives of me, the leader of the Ulus, and Munglig, the head of the royal guard, it was indeed cheap.

“Anyway, I’m glad you returned safely, Khagan. And Lord Munglig.”

At Elunka’s words, I nodded.

Then I turned my head to look at the path I had come from.

Juyong Pass.

I gazed at the place with the gate that I would see again before long.

While I was thinking this, Elunka approached me.

“I have something urgent to report to Gur Khagan.”

“Did some major problem arise in the Ulus while I was away?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s a minor issue, but… it’s somewhat delicate because it’s related to Gur Khagan.”

“A delicate issue…?”

“Yes. Recently, there have been reports that statues resembling Gur Khagan are being erected within the Ulus.”

At the word “statue,” a headache surged in my head.

Liam.

This crazy artist seemed to have devoted himself to artistic activities like a madman while I was in Zhongdu.

“According to the artist who made these statues, Gur Khagan gave permission to make them… but since you were in the Jin capital, we couldn’t confirm this.”

Then Elunka looked at me as if asking if this was true.

In response, I silently looked at Munglig.

Munglig then spoke to Elunka with a sorrowful expression.

“Was there no statue of me next to Gur Khagan’s statue?”