Ch.150Gigantic Crown (1)

As the showdown between the Ulus and Jin Dynasty cavalry was in full swing, Elunka was leading the Tamma forces over Yaho Pass.

“Move quickly! If we don’t cross Yaho Pass immediately, our forces will suffer heavy casualties!”

At Elunka’s command, the Tamma soldiers moved diligently.

Since the Tamma were also Ulus soldiers, they were mostly cavalry. This made it impossible to climb on horseback over Yaho Pass, which was part of the Great Wall.

Of course, they could force their horses to cross the pass while mounted. But treating the horses so harshly would prevent them from achieving proper mobility afterward.

For this reason, the Tamma had dismounted and were climbing the mountain on foot.

“Hoo-whup… hah!”

“Keep going! Don’t waste those leg muscles we’ve been building for moments like this!”

Unlike the Kheshig, the Tamma were elite soldiers who had developed their leg muscles. This allowed them to easily climb steep mountains that were unfamiliar to people of the steppe.

“Huff… huff…”

Behind these Tamma soldiers, Muqali followed, breathing heavily. Seeing Muqali falling behind, Elunka encouraged them.

“The summit isn’t far!”

Muqali couldn’t respond to this. That was because Elunka had been repeating that the summit wasn’t far since they began.

He had said the summit wasn’t far when they reached the middle of the mountain, and he said the same thing when they climbed high enough to see the winding ridge in the distance.

Because of this, it was hard to believe Elunka’s words.

“I swear… when this war is over… haah… I’m focusing on leg workouts!”

Muqali gritted his teeth and muttered to himself.

Unlike the dying Muqali, the Tamma led by Elunka arrived at their destination one after another. To be precise, it wasn’t the very top of Yaho Pass, but a gentle ridge suitable for carrying out their operation.

The slope here was gentle enough that horses wouldn’t stumble when ridden downhill.

“We finally made it!”

“Woohoo!”

“The Tamma have won!”

The delighted Tamma immediately assumed their position. It was a stance with one leg forward, tensing the muscles to make the quadriceps stand out.

“Hnngh!”

“Haap!”

It was the Baikal stance, comparable to the Kheshig’s Burkhan Khaldun stance. If one wondered why it was called Baikal, it was because it resembled the cracking ice of Lake Baikal in winter.

That’s why the Tamma called it the Baikal stance.

“…”

Muqali shook his head as he looked at the Tamma.

“Everyone did well. We’ll rest here and then intercept the enemy’s rear.”

Elunka said this while pointing down the hill. There, Jin Dynasty soldiers were gathered in clusters.

They were only looking forward, unaware that Ulus soldiers were behind them. As Elunka said, if they charged on horseback and struck the enemy’s rear, they could wipe them out completely.

Suddenly, Muqali raised his hand. Elunka looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Do you have something to say, deputy?”

“Yes, Darughachi.”

Elunka adjusted his posture and looked at Muqali expectantly.

“I understand that the army led by Gur Khagan is currently attacking the front of the Jin forces spread across Yaho Pass.”

“That’s right.”

“So we’ve crossed Yaho Pass and arrived here to target the enemy’s rear.”

Everyone knew this. Elunka looked at Muqali with an expression that said to get to the point.

“This location is suitable for striking the enemy’s rear, but it’s also suitable for heading toward Juyong Pass.”

“Are you suggesting we attack Juyong Pass now?”

Muqali nodded at those words. Then he pointed toward Juyong Pass.

“As you know, Darughachi, Bulqa Darughachi used trebuchets to lure out the cavalry remaining at Juyong Pass. So now Juyong Pass is practically undefended.”

Muqali’s observation was accurate. If Bulqa’s trap had worked properly, it meant that there were minimal forces at Juyong Pass now.

So even with a small force, it wouldn’t be difficult to capture Juyong Pass if they were deployed to its rear.

Of course, this strategy had one condition. That was the premise that the enemy had fallen for Bulqa’s trap.

“If cavalry forces remain inside Juyong Pass, we will suffer great losses. Are you aware of that?”

“Yes, Darughachi.”

“Then why do you want to take this gamble?”

“Because the potential gain from this gamble is very great.”

Elunka said nothing. Because Muqali’s words were true.

If they captured Juyong Pass now, even if the enemy army was three times larger than the Ulus at 350,000 troops, they would become a disorganized rabble.

Right now, most of the 350,000 troops were at Yaho Pass. And if Bulqa’s trap had worked properly, the main cavalry force would be outside Juyong Pass.

So in reality, the Jin Dynasty’s 350,000-strong army was nothing more than a disorganized rabble split into groups of 30,000 or 50,000.

In such a situation, if they lost Juyong Pass and their command center, the Jin army of 350,000 would be completely annihilated.

If such a large force evaporated, the Jin Dynasty would inevitably fall into chaos. If the Ulus pressed forward, the Jin Dynasty could collapse instantly.

“…But if the gamble fails, our forces might have to let the enemy before us escape.”

Being a gamble, they had to consider the possibility of failure. If there were enemy cavalry at Juyong Pass, some of the Tamma forces that had climbed Yaho Pass would be lost.

That meant missing a golden opportunity to completely defeat the enemy forces spread across Yaho Pass.

Then the enemy would escape, and the Ulus would have to chase them.

This would delay the war. The longer it was delayed, the more the Ulus, who had led an expedition all the way to the Jin Dynasty, would suffer.

“Your Excellency is right. But even if we fail, our forces can still defeat the enemy. It will take more time, but we can achieve our strategic goal.”

“Do you consider the Tamma expendable?”

Elunka’s expression turned cold. Muqali shook his head.

Then he pressed his head to the ground and continued.

“Please entrust this role to me.”

“You would head into danger yourself?”

“Yes. It’s my strategy, so it’s right that I take responsibility.”

“Don’t you value your life?”

“Not if capturing Juyong Pass can reduce casualties among the Ulus warriors.”

Then he raised his head and looked at Elunka. Seeing Muqali’s resolute expression, Elunka nodded.

“Very well. I’ll entrust the Tamma unit to you.”

At Elunka’s words, the Tamma immediately bowed. Then they looked at Muqali and paid their respects.

Seeing this, Muqali bowed his head to them in gratitude. Then he mounted his horse and drew his sword.

“I, Muqali of the Jalayir, swear by God, Tengri, and our ancestors that I will take Juyong Pass!”

Inspired by his resolute will, the Tamma responded.

“Muqali! Muqali!”

“Let’s capture Juyong Pass!”

“Let’s cut off the Jin Dynasty’s lifeline!”

With morale high, Muqali pointed his sword toward Juyong Pass. Then he gave the order.

“Move out!”

Many Tamma followed Muqali. Those who didn’t follow prayed for Muqali’s safety and made the sign of the cross.

After Muqali had gone, Elunka looked at everyone and shouted loudly.

“Can we just sit here while Muqali accomplishes the great feat of capturing Juyong Pass?”

“No!”

“We cannot!”

“Who are we?”

“The elite soldiers of the Ulus!”

“Gur Khagan’s hidden blade!”

“Mount your horses!”

At Elunka’s command, the Tamma mounted their horses. After confirming that everyone was mounted, Elunka drew his sword.

A crescent-shaped sword with flowing wave patterns gleamed in the sunlight.

“Draw your swords, brothers!”

The Tamma all drew their swords. They were ready to charge the moment the order was given.

“Chaaaaarge!”

“Uwaaaah!”

“Charge! Charge!”

“For the Ulus!”

And so the Tamma began to gallop along the ridge. Creating clouds of dust as they descended the steep ridge, they were essentially harbingers of death for the Jin Dynasty.

* * *

The resistance of the Jin Dynasty soldiers was formidable. That was because they were an army of 350,000.

Of course, these troops weren’t gathered in one place but were spread widely across Yaho Pass. So the main Ulus force was facing approximately 50,000 to 60,000 Jin soldiers.

With 90,000 cavalry facing these Jin soldiers, despite the Ulus having the advantage, casualties were inevitable due to the enemy’s resistance.

“Argh!”

“Guhk!”

Ulus cavalry fell with groans. Thanks to the sturdy armor made in the armory, they didn’t die instantly, but their wounds would keep them out of battle for a while.

“Elunka needs to appear quickly.”

Yesugei grew anxious. At that moment, a familiar flag caught his eye in the distance.

“Brother!”

Munglig must have spotted it too, as he pointed to Elunka’s flag. At this, Gur Khagan clenched his fist.

“Reinforcements have arrived!”

At the Khagan’s words, the Ulus soldiers began to cheer. While the Ulus was encouraged by the arrival of allies, the Jin soldiers fell into despair.

“The… the enemy has appeared behind us!”

“Qu-quickly, let’s request reinforcements too! Hurry!”

“We’ve been requesting them, but they’re not coming!”

In fact, the Jin army had requested reinforcements as soon as they were attacked. But because the terrain of Yaho Pass was so rugged, communication with other nearby units wasn’t smooth.

So only nearby units occasionally came to support, while support from other distant units wasn’t coming at all.

In such a situation, with Ulus reinforcements appearing at their rear, they couldn’t help but fall into fear.

“N-no. I’m… I’m running away.”

“Me too…! I don’t want to die here!”

Deserters began to appear. Seeing this, the deputies beheaded those trying to desert as an example to prevent the unit from falling apart.

“Don’t run away! Those who flee will die by my sword!”

Despite the deputy’s shout, the Jin unit began to disintegrate rapidly. That was because there were more soldiers than deputies.

The Ulus wasn’t going to just watch as the Jin soldiers fled.