Ch.145Expedition (2)

Under the burdensome gazes of the darughachis, I ultimately surrendered once again.

So I had no choice but to assume the position for opening a Kurultai… not a side chest pose.

The darughachis looked at me with expressions of reverence.

They were sharing their opinions about how large my muscles were and how one could build such muscles.

At this point, it was hard to tell whether this gathering was meant to discuss attacking the Jin Dynasty or if it was a bodybuilding competition.

“As expected of my brother.”

“Gurkhan’s majesty grows greater and more magnificent with each passing day.”

“…”

Munglig and Elunka stared at me with the eyes of fanatics.

Yes, these two were the problem.

Of course, I didn’t express this thought outwardly.

Instead, I deliberately ignored it and got straight to the point.

“Thank you for answering my call and participating in this Kurultai. The reason I’ve gathered you today is to inform you that the Jin Dynasty’s tyranny has gone too far.”

At my words, the darughachis adjusted their postures and looked at me.

My statement essentially meant that we would attack the Jin Dynasty.

“The Jin Dynasty, as the sovereign state of our ulus, has refused to permit trade with our nation. This tramples on the dignity of our ulus, which has paid tribute and shown proper respect.”

When I went to Zhongdu Daxingfu as a diplomatic envoy previously, I received lavish gifts from the Jin Dynasty.

Among those was the right to trade.

Of course, the Jin Emperor never directly authorized trade.

But trading with tributary states was the general custom.

This was precisely why Mongolia had paid tribute to the Song Dynasty.

Thanks to our ulus paying tribute to the Song Dynasty, we were able to trade with them.

Anyway, the Jin Dynasty didn’t follow this implicit custom.

It might seem excessive to wage war just because they didn’t follow diplomatic customs.

However, in the position of our ulus needing justification to attack the Jin Dynasty immediately, we needed a pretext.

“Furthermore, the Jin Dynasty is the enemy state that killed Ambaghai Khan, my ancestor and the Khan of the Khamag Mongol.”

Though this was already a past event, I mentioned it specifically to strengthen our justification.

As I’ve mentioned before, Ambaghai Khan and I were from the same clan but were distant relatives.

However, since we needed justification to attack the Jin Dynasty now, I had no choice but to bring up this past incident.

I couldn’t deny it if someone accused me of selective anger management.

But what could I do? Even though it wasn’t the current Jin Emperor who did it, it was a fact that the Hailing Wang of Jin had killed Ambaghai Khan.

Using such facts to one’s advantage was what diplomacy was all about.

“Despite this, because we love peace, we have respected and shown proper courtesy to the Jin Dynasty as the Khan of the steppe.”

Mongols are people who love peace.

The fact that not a single person denied this was proof of it.

Of course, one could criticize the ulus as a violent nation.

However, since such people disappeared without a trace, it could be said that the ulus was indeed a peace-loving people.

“But the Jin Dynasty has utterly ignored our respect. Respecting the Jin Dynasty as a sovereign state when they disregard the courtesy of tributary states is like denying the truth of the world.”

Not a single word of what I said was true.

To be honest, I was essentially saying that now that our power had grown stronger, we would no longer be intimidated by the Jin Dynasty.

No one present was unaware of this.

That’s why everyone agreed and responded positively to my words.

“Gurkhan’s words are correct.”

“The Jin Dynasty has been dividing the steppe by using the Tatars. They must face the divine hammer.”

“Moreover, they believe in a wicked religion. This is an act that denies God, Tengri, and our ancestors.”

The Jin Dynasty had no state religion.

But the nobles believed in a corrupt religion that denied the doctrines of Nestorianism.

Of course, I didn’t know if the Jin nobles really believed in such heresy.

And there was no way to know if such a religion actually existed.

Yet the reason such claims emerged was simple.

Justification.

Just as Christianity provided justification for the Crusades in medieval Europe, religion often provided justification that made nonsensical actions seem reasonable.

“We must bring down God’s hammer.”

“Indeed. We must educate these heretics who reject the teachings of Nestorianism.”

“All religions of the ulus deserve respect. But the Jin Dynasty’s wicked religion considers only their own religion special and oppresses others.”

I felt strange watching the darughachis speak with veins bulging in their necks.

They looked like Christian fanatics calling for a holy war.

“Only war!”

“Nothing but war!”

Seeing the darughachis’ behavior, I raised my hand to calm them down.

Then I turned my head to look at Elunka.

“Send an envoy to the Jin Dynasty. Tell them we’re ending our tributary relationship.”

“I will obey Gurkhan’s command.”

Elunka bowed before leaving the ger.

The prelude to another conquest war had begun.

* * *

Bang!

The enraged emperor threw down the letter from the ulus.

“Those Mongol beasts…!”

The ministers were also outraged by Mongolia’s betrayal.

“We showed them mercy, but in the end, a wolf is just a wolf.”

“We tried to civilize these barbarians, but they couldn’t escape their nature.”

“We must raise an army immediately and slaughter all the Mongols.”

The emperor nodded at his ministers’ anger.

“Minister of State Affairs.”

“I await your command, Your Majesty.”

“Issue a conscription order throughout the nation immediately. And deploy all Mengan and Mouke troops toward Mongolia.”

At the emperor’s words, Zhang Hao hesitated.

Seeing his hesitation, the emperor scolded him angrily.

“Answer me! Minister of State Affairs!”

“Your anger is our anger and the anger of the Jin Dynasty. However, it seems difficult to mobilize the army right away.”

“Why is that!”

“As Your Majesty knows… the damage from the floods has not yet been repaired. Since we deployed the army to repair this…”

At this, the emperor had to close his mouth.

It was entirely the emperor’s fault that the army had been deployed for flood recovery.

The Jin Dynasty had demanded that Mongolia pay tribute.

In response, Mongolia’s ruler Yesugei personally visited and paid homage to the emperor, offering tribute.

Since he came not on his own initiative but at the Jin Dynasty’s summons, the emperor had no choice but to bestow gifts.

These gifts had put a strain on the Jin Dynasty’s finances.

As a result, flood recovery was delayed, and to address this, the emperor decided to deploy the army to the disaster recovery sites.

Because of this, the Jin Dynasty’s soldiers were already exhausted without having fought a war.

To summarize, the generous gifts given to Mongolia, which came to pay tribute for the sake of appearances, had come back to haunt them.

While this was partly due to the evil schemes of the Mongols, the emperor who permitted all this also bore responsibility.

Zhang Hao couldn’t mention this directly, so he was expressing it euphemistically by saying they couldn’t mobilize the army immediately.

“…Ahem. Then what forces are available right now?”

At the emperor’s question, Deputy Prime Minister Wanyan Liang stepped forward.

He bowed before answering the emperor’s question.

“We can mobilize approximately 350,000 troops.”

Although the Jin Dynasty was struggling due to floods, it was undeniably a powerful nation that had defeated the Song Dynasty.

Being such a military power, the available forces they could mobilize overwhelmed other nations.

The maximum number of troops the Jin Dynasty could mobilize was roughly up to one million.

However, due to flood damage recovery, deploying all forces was impossible.

Nevertheless, the Jin Dynasty could mobilize 350,000 troops.

These were units that had not been deployed for disaster recovery work in case of emergencies.

Thanks to this, they had preserved their combat power.

“Deploy the 350,000 troops to Juyong Pass.”

Juyong Pass was located at the gateway connecting the Mongolian steppe and Central Plains.

As a natural fortress, even a small force stationed there could defend against attacks from tens of thousands of cavalry.

Therefore, the emperor’s military insight could be considered excellent.

“Who do you think is suitable to lead the army?”

“I recommend Bureau Director Wanyan Husha.”

Wanyan Liang recommended a fifth-rank official to the emperor.

The fifth rank was a very low position, making it unsuitable for leading an army.

But Wanyan Husha, whom Wanyan Liang recommended, was different.

After his appointment, he had served in various positions in the Ministry of Justice and was gaining attention as a promising figure in the military.

He had achieved remarkable feats, such as leading soldiers to suppress bandits since his time as a judicial commissioner.

And during the battle with Goryeo, he had assisted the military governor as a deputy military supervisor.

In other words, it was fair to say he already had the experience to lead an army of 350,000.

Additionally, he was a Jurchen nobleman who shared the same surname as Wanyan Liang.

Therefore, the Deputy Prime Minister wanted to give him an opportunity to achieve military merit.

Recognizing this, Zhang Hao also supported Wanyan Liang.

“The Bureau Director has achieved military merits in the war against Goryeo, such as defeating Goryeo’s right flank.”

At Zhang Hao’s words, the emperor nodded.

Then he examined the expressions of his ministers.

After confirming that no one objected to Wanyan Husha leading the 350,000-strong army, he continued.

“Very well. I appoint the Bureau Director as the Military Governor of Shanxi and Commander-in-Chief.”

Juyong Pass was located in Shanxi Province.

Therefore, he appointed him as the military governor of that area and simultaneously as the Commander-in-Chief to lead the 350,000-strong army.

As Commander-in-Chief, he could independently operate other military facilities in Shanxi Province, such as the Five Battalions and the Muslim Trebuchet, without reporting to the central government.

When the emperor’s order was issued, Wanyan Husha immediately responded to the emperor’s call.

Having become the Military Governor of Shanxi and Commander-in-Chief, Wanyan Husha issued an order for the entire army to gather at Juyong Pass.

At the order of the Military Governor of Shanxi, the Jin Dynasty’s heavy cavalry began to gather.

Seeing their magnificent appearance, the people of the Jin Dynasty believed that Mongolia would be defeated.

The Jin Dynasty’s heavy cavalry was an invincible force that had defeated even the Song Dynasty’s soldiers.

The idea that such cavalry could be defeated was inconceivable to them.