Ch.157Gigantic Crown (8)

“Make me your king.”

“…Are you…suggesting treason right now?”

Kim Bo-dang looked at Belgutei with an expression of disbelief.

And for good reason—Belgutei’s words sounded to anyone like a plot for rebellion.

It seemed he was suggesting pushing aside the current puppet King of Goryeo and becoming king himself.

Kim Bo-dang could only stare at Belgutei with an incredulous expression.

“It’s true we installed a new king through a coup, but that doesn’t mean just anyone can become king.”

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

Belgutei waved his hands, saying it was a misunderstanding.

At this, Kim Bo-dang looked at him with an expression that suggested he was willing to hear him out.

“I’m asking you to appoint me as the King of Liaodong. A king with independent military, diplomatic, and administrative powers.”

“…What absurd nonsense is this?”

Liaodong was under Jin Dynasty control.

In such a situation, Belgutei suddenly asking to be appointed King of Liaodong made Kim Bo-dang tilt his head in confusion.

“Is it impossible?”

“Of course it is. Goryeo is not an imperial nation like the Jin Dynasty or Song Dynasty… Ah!”

Kim Bo-dang’s eyes widened.

Then he looked at Belgutei as if he suddenly understood what he meant.

“You understand now.”

“I do. The commander is… suggesting that Goryeo should break its vassal relationship with the Jin Dynasty and elevate itself to imperial status.”

“That’s right, Your Excellency.”

Only an emperor could appoint kings.

So for Belgutei to be appointed King of Liaodong, Goryeo would need to become an imperial nation.

It was a somewhat strange logical structure, but since the king already had imperial status within Goryeo through the “king externally, emperor internally” system, it wouldn’t be a major issue.

Of course, whether neighboring countries would recognize this was another matter.

But regardless of that recognition, if Goryeo itself became an imperial nation and made Belgutei the King of Liaodong, things would become simpler.

Though he would be a king in name only without territory to rule, Goryeo had a legitimate claim to the Balhae lands.

So as an imperial nation, placing a king there wouldn’t be a problem.

Once a king was appointed, he would naturally need to attack the Jin Dynasty to expand his influence and conquer territory.

In this process, Goryeo would appear to be attacking the Jin Dynasty at the request of its vassal state.

Goryeo would help the King of Liaodong drive out the Jin Dynasty and occupy Liaodong.

If the King of Liaodong then acknowledged Goryeo as his emperor, it would naturally create a country that recognized Goryeo as an imperial nation.

It was essentially a self-created drama.

A plan that could never succeed if attempted by someone else.

But Belgutei, son of Gurkhan, could make it happen.

After all, he was also a prince of the rising empire, the Ulus.

“Please appoint me as the King of Liaodong.”

Belgutei said this while looking at Kim Bo-dang.

After a moment of consideration, Kim Bo-dang nodded.

* * *

“…Therefore, the Great Nation of Goryeo hereby appoints Belgutei, husband of Princess Hwasun and Northern Commander, as the Prince of Liaodong.”

“Long live the Great Nation of Goryeo!”

“Long live the Emperor of Great Goryeo!”

“Ten thousand years to the Emperor of Goryeo!”

The officials raised their hands, praising the emperor.

Goryeo, which had been practicing the “king externally, emperor internally” system, was called emperor internally but king externally.

In this situation, with the creation of the vassal state of Liaodong and its prince, Goryeo naturally assumed the status of an imperial nation.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Belgutei said this as he accepted the imperial edict from the Emperor of Goryeo.

Then he bowed three times before rising.

“I, Prince of Liaodong, Wang Gotae, will follow the emperor’s will and attack the Jin Dynasty to reclaim Goryeo’s rightful territory!”

“Ten thousand years to the Prince of Liaodong!”

“Ten thousand years to His Highness the Prince!”

Gotae was the Korean phonetic rendering of Belgutei’s Chinese name, a shortened form of Byeolligotae in Goryeo style.

Additionally, by marrying Princess Hwasun, a member of the imperial family, he was granted the imperial surname Wang.

Thus, Belgutei came to be known by his Goryeo-style name, Wang Gotae.

The military officials cheered and called out his name.

And so, Goryeo’s first vassal prince was born.

After receiving the imperial edict, the King of Liaodong immediately convened the military department.

“Congratulations, Your Highness.”

Yi Uibang smiled as he congratulated his son-in-law, Wang Gotae.

Wang Gotae expressed his gratitude and asked Yi Uibang to reduce the excessive formality.

“Thank you for your congratulations, father-in-law. But too much formality makes me uncomfortable.”

“Haha! Not at all. You may be my son-in-law, but you are clearly the king who leads Liaodong. So my showing this respect is for Your Highness and the Queen.”

Yi Uibang said this while making light of the situation.

As he said, this behavior was not only for Belgutei but also for his daughter, Princess Hwasun.

General Yi Uibang, though a leader of the coup, was a military official of Goryeo and lacked the legitimacy to lead the country.

So even if he had ambitions to become king, he could never ascend to that position.

But his son-in-law was different.

He was a Mongol prince who had married Princess Hwasun—who, though the adopted daughter of the deposed king, was still a member of the Goryeo imperial family.

As such, he had more than enough legitimacy to become king.

Yi Uibang was simply happy with the situation.

After all, his son-in-law was fulfilling Yi Uibang’s dream on his behalf.

Noticing this, Wang Gotae nodded with an awkward smile.

And he expressed his gratitude to the general.

“Thank you, General.”

After expressing his gratitude, Wang Gotae looked at everyone.

Seated there were the main figures who had led the Gyeongin Coup with him.

They showed absolute trust in Wang Gotae, who was both the general’s son-in-law and their comrade in the coup.

“I am grateful that you all are helping me like this.”

“Not at all. It’s only natural that we help Your Highness.”

“Moreover, it’s for the honor of Great Goryeo.”

“That’s right. We will help you.”

The military commanders said this, wanting to lend strength to Wang Gotae.

As mentioned repeatedly, the reason they acted this way wasn’t solely because Wang Gotae was their comrade in the coup.

It was tied to their desire to attack the rear of the chaotic Jin Dynasty, gain territory, and expand the nation—in short, it was for national interest.

And such national interest was, naturally, a golden opportunity for military officials who wanted to earn merit and promotion.

In other words, it was an opportunity for advancement.

There was no reason to miss such an opportunity—one that would shine brighter than the merit earned from the coup and would bring glory to their families for generations.

“With all of you by my side, I feel no fear in facing the Jin Dynasty.”

After saying this, Wang Gotae looked at Jung Jung-bu, who was on his left.

Jung Jung-bu was set to participate in this battle against the Jin Dynasty as Wang Gotae’s adjutant.

There were complex reasons for him to follow Wang Gotae.

The position of Samguk Daejanggun was already held by Yi So-eung, and General Yi Uibang was designated to succeed him.

This meant that Jung Jung-bu, who wasn’t much younger than Yi Uibang, would only be able to sit in the position of Samguk Daejanggun in his old age, despite being a key figure in the Gyeongin Coup.

This was too long a wait, but he couldn’t overtake Yi Uibang in the order of succession.

For this reason, he chose to follow Wang Gotae.

Wang Gotae, aware of Jung Jung-bu’s ambition, had essentially designated him as his general.

“Thank you for saying so, Your Highness. If we greatly expand the territory of Liaodong in this war, it will be of great benefit to Goryeo.”

Wang Gotae nodded at this.

Then he looked at Yi Go, who was also set to participate as an adjutant.

“How are the instructions I gave earlier coming along, General?”

While Jung Jung-bu was designated as general, Yi Go was designated for the position of general, just below the rank of general.

Yi Go, for reasons similar to Jung Jung-bu’s, was leaving Goryeo to participate in the founding of Liaodong.

“We’ve already sent word to the Mongol army. A response should come soon.”

At Yi Go’s words, Wang Gotae nodded.

Then he murmured quietly to himself.

“I hope father will trust my message…”

* * *

Currently, the cavalry of the Ulus was crossing Juyong Pass, heading toward the Jin Dynasty’s capital, Zhongdu Daxingfu.

A week had passed since they captured Juyong Pass, but they still hadn’t reached Zhongdu.

The reason was simply that there had been a hitch in the plan to go straight to Zhongdu after capturing Juyong Pass.

“Even a rotten fish is still a fish. Clearly, it wasn’t just luck that brought down the Song Dynasty.”

I said this while clicking my tongue.

This was because most of the roads from Juyong Pass to Zhongdu had been destroyed.

This was, of course, done by Jin Dynasty soldiers.

They had destroyed the roads despite knowing full well they would suffer from it too.

The damage from destroying the roads could be repaired by deploying manpower, they reasoned.

I don’t know about other countries, but both the Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty could do this.

Both nations, which occupied the Central Plains, had an incredibly large population even by the standards of this era.

So naturally, they chose to destroy the roads, knowing they could quickly repair them by throwing people at the problem.

Anyway, because of this, we inevitably faced delays on our way to Zhongdu after capturing Juyong Pass.

So, since things had turned out this way, I set up camp here and ordered the tired soldiers to rest.

After all, rushing down broken roads wouldn’t be fast, and once we reached Zhongdu, we would have to fight continuously.

For these reasons, we were slowly making our way to Zhongdu, taking a week’s rest.

“Brother! Brother!”

“What is it, Munglig?”

Munglig approached me on horseback.

Wondering if perhaps the Jin Dynasty had offered peace terms, I looked at Munglig with a puzzled expression.

“An envoy has come from Goryeo.”

“From Goryeo?”

“Yes, brother. And they say Belgutei sent them.”

“…?”

At Munglig’s words, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.

Wait, my son who got married sent a letter?

And he sent someone from Goryeo, which looks down on Mongols as barbarians?

With nothing making sense from the start, my mind began to fall into confusion.