Ch.130Relay Station (1)

I returned safely to Qara-Ordo after extracting tribute—I mean, imperial gifts—from the Jin Dynasty.

The reason for returning here was because Qara-Ordo currently served as the capital of the Ulus.

As I’ve mentioned before, the concept of cities was foreign to nomadic peoples.

Because of this, the very concept of a capital city common in centralized states was quite vague.

For this reason, the Mongols had little resistance to designating conquered cities as new capitals.

This made sense because any current capital would change again once they conquered another nation.

Therefore, the current capital of Qara-Ordo would eventually become just an ordinary city as the Mongol conquests continued.

Of course, until then, it would fulfill its role as the capital of the Ulus.

“Hahaha! Thank goodness! I thought that Semu artist had left out my statue! Haha!”

Munglig wore an expression of genuine joy.

And for good reason—his statue stood right next to mine, the one created by that artist Liam.

Upon confirming this, Munglig was rejoicing as if he owned the world.

In contrast, Elunka was glaring at Munglig with a disgruntled expression.

“If I had known this would happen, I should have gone instead of Lord Munglig.”

“Haha! Jealous, are you?”

“A-ahem… n-no, not at all.”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything as I watched their conversation.

This was because Elunka’s eyes were filled with unmistakable envy and jealousy.

Though usually calm, Elunka strangely lost his composure when it came to matters of muscle.

Of course, I completely understood his position.

Even I, while not showing it outwardly, was secretly pleased.

My incredible physique would soon be admired by the people of the Ulus with reverent gazes.

However, I felt this sentiment was somewhat childish, so I kept it to myself.

Anyway, these statues were similar to what modern people would call body profiles.

So I couldn’t help but feel pleased inside.

While I was thinking this, Elunka suddenly knelt before me.

Then, with a sincere expression, he began to plead with me.

“Gurkhan, in my humble opinion, these statues could unite the people of the Ulus and establish the legitimacy of your rule. Would it not be wise to place these statues throughout our territories, emphasizing to the conquered Western Xia and Western Liao that they too are people of the Ulus?”

Seeing Elunka’s tongue grow longer… it seemed he also wanted a statue erected.

This was understandable, as it wasn’t just anyone’s statue next to mine, but that of Munglik, the head of the Kheshig and Tamma’s rival.

“Your tongue is getting longer—are you jealous of me? Haha!”

“Ha! I am not jealous. I merely offered this counsel as your loyal servant, to further glorify the Gurkhan.”

“Then you wouldn’t need your own statue.”

“…A-ahem. Wouldn’t a body be more aesthetically pleasing with both upper and lower parts in harmony?”

“So you admit you’re jealous. Pahahahaha!”

Elunka couldn’t respond to this.

He avoided the topic, refusing to engage with Munglik’s provocation.

“Enough. Let’s discuss statues later. First, I need to check how the country has been running during my absence.”

“A wise decision.”

“We will follow the Gurkhan’s will.”

Munglik and Elunka stopped their banter and bowed.

I raised my hand to dismiss their formality and left the ger.

“You’ve returned, my husband?”

“We’ve been waiting for you to come out…♡”

“We’ve all been waiting here.”

“…”

Without even time to rest from my journey, my wives were standing in front of the ger.

They seemed ready to collect on all the marital duties I had been postponing, all at once.

I immediately tried to make an excuse.

“Ha…haha. I-I haven’t finished discussing state affairs with Elunka and Munglik…”

At this, Ho’elun smiled at Munglik.

Then, in a chilling voice, she whispered:

“Munglik?”

“B-brother. I’ll… I’ll visit you again later.”

“You traitor…”

I almost blurted out the word “traitor” in front of my wives.

After Munglik left, I looked at Elunka, my last lifeline.

Elunka stepped forward confidently, as if telling me to trust only him.

“The Gurkhan needs to discuss the statue project with me.”

“What statue project?”

At Sochigel’s question, who stood beside Ho’elun, Elunka began spewing lies without even wetting his lips.

“We’re creating statues to commemorate the Gurkhan’s achievements. Through these statues, we want to show the people of Western Liao and Western Xia that the Ulus’s rule protects them. This will unite the country, and a united country…”

I could only applaud Elunka’s skillful tongue internally.

This seemed convincing enough to deceive my wives.

Judging by the faces of Sochigel and Abd Chechek, they were already half convinced.

The only one left was Ho’elun…

But she showed no signs of being easily persuaded as she addressed Elunka.

“That sounds like a good project.”

“As expected of Ho’elun Khatun. Your wisdom befits the mother of the Ulus.”

“Thank you for the compliment. But is it really necessary to discuss the installation of these statues right now?”

“Of course. These statues must be made immediately for maximum effect…”

At this, Ho’elun smiled as if she had caught him.

“If it’s so urgent, I suppose I have no choice. I’ll lend you my husband for a while.”

Then Ho’elun looked at me with a meaningful smile.

“But since it’s about erecting a statue of my husband, I’d like to participate in that meeting.”

“That…”

“Uh…”

The phrase “I’m screwed” began circling in my head.

This was because the statue project was just a pretext, and I had planned to sneak away as soon as the meeting ended.

But Ho’elun seemed to have seen through my plan and expressed her intention to monitor me to prevent my escape.

“Is that alright?”

Ho’elun looked straight into my eyes and whispered softly.

My mind wanted to resist, but my body, gripped by fear, surrendered completely to Ho’elun’s gaze.

“Haha…ha…o-of course.”

Upon my permission, Ho’elun, Sochigel, and Abd Chechek smiled coquettishly.

Seeing this, Elunka made the sign of the cross, praying for my safety.

* * *

In the palace of Qara-Ordo.

All the powerful officials of the Ulus had gathered.

I sat at the top, with Temujin, the Han Chinese from Western Liao, sitting beside me.

Next to him stood Toghrul Khan and Dei-Sechen Khan, Temujin’s father-in-law, and beside them was Khasar.

Below them sat Munglig, Elunka, Bulqa Khan, Chalukhab, and Hulitu, each occupying a seat—all who had helped me unify Mongolia.

The reason for this gathering was partly to celebrate my safe return from the clutches of the Jin Dynasty, but there was another reason as well.

“Congratulations, Gurkhan.”

“What joyous news, right after escaping the Jin Dynasty’s clutches! We celebrate with you.”

All the officials cheered with happy expressions.

I wanted to respond to their congratulations, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.

So I could only wave my hand in acknowledgment.

Then Toghrul Khan, who had been standing next to Temujin, approached me with sincere congratulations.

“Haha. Anda! Your virility shows no signs of diminishing! I’m truly envious!”

At Toghrul’s words, I wanted to retort internally.

This was because he had even more wives than I did.

As a result, the number of children under Toghrul’s care exceeded 50.

Receiving such praise from Toghrul felt rather strange.

“Did you say it’s a daughter? She’ll be a great beauty, taking after you and Abd Chechek Khatun. Hahaha!”

At Toghrul’s words, I nodded instead of answering.

And I recalled the defensive battle I had fought that day.

As soon as I returned from the Jin Dynasty, I was ambushed by my three wives.

I tried to escape with Elunka’s help, but due to my wives’ excellent strategy, I was tied up in the ger and tormented for three days and nights.

After enduring this defensive battle day and night, good news came between Abd Chechek and me.

She was pregnant with a daughter.

Of course, given the era, it was difficult to know about pregnancy immediately.

Nevertheless, there was a way to determine that Abd Chechek was pregnant.

It was through divination by Nestorian monks and Tengri shamans.

From a modern perspective, this might seem dubious, but after somewhat systematic(?) verification, we learned that Abd Chechek was indeed pregnant.

“This is a joyous occasion for the Borjigin clan.”

Following Toghrul, Temujin stepped forward.

As the one who would lead the family if I died, he was always looking for ways to expand the clan.

The method to expand the Borjigin clan was simple.

It was just a matter of increasing the number of people bearing the Borjigin surname.

However, if a male child was born, there could be inheritance issues.

In the case of the Borjigin family, since the internal hierarchy had already been established through my mediation, there wouldn’t be major problems even if additional male children were born.

Therefore, Temujin was genuinely happy about the birth of a new golden clan member.

Everyone was sincerely happy that such a joyous event occurred right after my return from the Jin Dynasty.

Everyone except me.

Putting these thoughts aside, I addressed everyone:

“I thank you all for your congratulations. As the ruler of the Ulus, I couldn’t be happier about this great news.”

Then I got straight to the point.

“While celebrating this joyous occasion is important, developing the Ulus is equally important. I want to hear how the Ulus has progressed during my absence.”

At my words, the officials adjusted their posture and bowed.

As the atmosphere settled, Temujin stepped forward.