Ch.158Alliance (1)

After hearing the explanation from the Goryeo envoy, I tilted my head in confusion, wondering what he was talking about.

The Goryeo envoy, who could speak Mongolian, thought I was angry and kept bowing while apologizing.

“Please withdraw your anger, Khagan.”

The Goryeo envoy didn’t address me with the Chinese term “Han,” nor did he look down on me as the leader of the barbaric Mongols.

That made it even more strange.

No, it was so odd that I wondered if our ancestors, who were so good at backstabbing, had collectively eaten something wrong.

So I couldn’t help but remain suspicious of the envoy’s words.

“I cannot believe that you’re not speaking falsehoods.”

“The Khagan’s words are correct. However, I swear by heaven and earth that this is a true story without any lies.”

“Hmph.”

I looked at the envoy while saying this.

What made it even more suspicious was that everything the envoy said seemed to fit perfectly for the benefit of the ulus.

First of all, it was surprising that my son Belgutei had married the daughter of Yi Uibang instead of Princess Hwasun, the daughter of the Goryeo king.

In original history, Yi Uibang’s daughter was the wife of Crown Prince Hyoryeong, who ascended to the throne after King Uijong was deposed. But in this twisted history, Uijong, not wanting to marry his daughter to Belgutei, had adopted Yi Uibang’s daughter into the royal family and married her to my son.

Looking at it this way, the Goryeo king had deceived me, so I would have been justified in tearing him apart immediately.

However, Uijong, who deserved to be torn apart, had already been deposed by the Military Rebellion and exiled to Geoje Island. He was even given the title of Duke Anguk, typically used for princes rather than kings, essentially erasing his record as a king.

So it was awkward to summon him for retribution.

If I were to call for him, Goryeo might gladly send the exiled Uijong, as they could use my hands to kill someone they couldn’t kill themselves.

Anyway, Uijong was ousted in the Military Rebellion.

But this Military Rebellion was also unusual.

“To think Yi Uibang and Kim Bo-dang would join hands.”

“Excuse me, Khagan, I don’t understand what you’re saying…”

“It’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Having been Korean in my modern life, I vaguely remembered Korean history from my school days.

Kim Bo-dang was a figure who tried to restore the deposed Uijong to overthrow the military regime led by Jeong Jung-bu. He even staged a rebellion named after himself—Kim Bo-dang’s Rebellion.

Of course, this failed, and Yi Uimin, under Yi Uibang’s orders, personally visited Uijong and ended the sinful king’s life in the most miserable way.

Given this, Yi Uibang and Kim Bo-dang should have been like oil and water. But in this world, for whatever reason, the two had joined hands to oust Uijong.

Thanks to this, unlike in the original history, there was no massacre of civil officials by military officials. From my perspective, knowing Korean history, this was the most shocking part.

While I was in shock, the envoy, who had been watching me carefully, cautiously spoke.

“I humbly request that the Gurkhan allow his son, the Prince of Liaodong, to earn merit in the war against the Jin Dynasty.”

The final shock was that my son Belgutei had become the Prince of Liaodong.

Belgutei had performed great deeds in this Military Rebellion, or what was called the Gyeongin Restoration in this era, including tearing apart the ruffian Han Noe. With these achievements, he quickly rose to a high position in Goryeo and gained absolute support from both civil and military officials.

Of course, being the son-in-law of Yi Uibang, the de facto military power holder, played a significant role.

Anyway, having gained everyone’s recognition, Belgutei received a proposal from Kim Bo-dang. It was to attack the chaotic Jin Dynasty and expand Goryeo’s territory.

Belgutei was chosen for this proposal because he was my son.

If Goryeo were to intervene in the war between the Jin Dynasty and the ulus, they would inevitably face diplomatic condemnation. This was a serious action that would result in physical consequences, even for a shameless country like Goryeo.

Nevertheless, Goryeo didn’t want to miss this golden opportunity to expand its territory. They realized that if not now, they wouldn’t be able to expand beyond the Korean Peninsula, as in the original history.

Knowing this, Goryeo chose to use my son as a shield.

If Goryeo had truly handled things in such a manner, I might have immediately destroyed Goryeo and turned it into pastureland.

But my clever son reversed Kim Bo-dang’s proposal to his advantage. He suggested making Goryeo an imperial nation and giving himself the title of King of Liaodong.

This way, Belgutei could become an independent force under Goryeo’s influence.

This wasn’t a bad proposal from Goryeo’s perspective either. Although they couldn’t effectively govern it, a new buffer zone called the Liaodong Kingdom would be created between Goryeo, the Jin Dynasty, and Mongolia.

Moreover, since the King of Liaodong would be appointed by the Goryeo king, Goryeo could escape the military pressure from the Jin Dynasty.

With these interests aligning, Goryeo became an imperial nation. And my son, with only the nominal claim to Liaodong land handed over by Balhae refugees centuries ago, became the King of Liaodong without any actual territory.

So now Goryeo was asking me to help my son.

Looking at this alone, Goryeo seemed like the ultimate scoundrel. But since my son had sent a letter with his personal seal, it seemed his will was somewhat involved.

Indeed, it wouldn’t make sense for him to become king without Belgutei’s own will.

“So you want me to help my son, the Prince of Liaodong?”

“Yes. It’s fine even if military support is difficult. We would be grateful just for you to recognize the rights to the land that the King of Liaodong acquires in the war against the Jin Dynasty.”

In reality, sending troops to help my son was impossible. This was because Yeosu, the passage connecting the Central Plains and Liaodong, was famously narrow.

So it was essentially a different land. Moreover, it was impossible to dispatch troops there when we hadn’t even properly conquered Zhongdu.

The Goryeo envoy, seeming to know this, was merely asking me to recognize the rights to the land conquered by Goryeo, or rather, the King of Liaodong.

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t a bad proposal from our perspective either. Simply put, Goryeo would deploy troops to attack the Jin Dynasty from the rear.

Of course, Goryeo would gain the significant benefit of Liaodong. But this benefit wasn’t exclusively for Goryeo; it would be shared between my son Belgutei and Goryeo, so it wasn’t a bad proposal.

A modern person might think this deal was unfair. Modern people, knowing the vast resources in Manchuria, might think it was a huge loss for Mongolia.

But this was the medieval era. Medieval Manchuria, or Liaodong, was a very difficult place to live.

Moreover, the current Mongolia didn’t have the technology to extract underground resources. So it was hard to find much appeal in Liaodong.

One might think we could just conquer the land and leave it, but Liaodong was where the Jurchen people rose. This meant that without stationing troops, there would be continuous rebellions.

And even if we tried to manage it using the “divide and rule” strategy like the Jin Dynasty did to Mongolia, it would be nearly impossible to completely control them, just as the Manchu people later rose to establish the Later Jin and then the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, it was better to entrust it to Goryeo. More precisely, it was better for Belgutei to stay there as the King of Liaodong and govern.

After governing like that, I could integrate the title of King of Liaodong into the ulus through the primogeniture law I had created.

Goryeo might resist, of course. But it didn’t matter. By then, I could simply suppress them with force.

With these calculations complete, I nodded to the Goryeo envoy.

“Good. I accept Goryeo’s proposal. But I have conditions.”

“Conditions… you say?”

“Yes.”

I looked at the Goryeo envoy as I said this.

As I keep saying, Goryeo’s diplomacy during this period was nothing short of thuggish.

So I thought I’d try some diplomatic thuggery like them.

* * *

Upon hearing Gurkhan’s conditions, Yi Uibang and Kim Bo-dang wore perplexed expressions.

This was because, in exchange for recognizing Goryeo’s rights to Liaodong—or more precisely, the King of Liaodong’s rights—he demanded that Goryeo transfer shipbuilding and navigation technologies.

Additionally, there was a request to lease Tamra Island for 100 years.

“Compared to Liaodong, Tamra is a small land.”

“That’s right. He’s not even asking us to cede Tamra, just to lease it.”

In response to the civil officials’ words, Kim Bo-dang wore an even more suspicious expression.

“Isn’t that even stranger?”

At those words, everyone, regardless of whether they were military or civil officials, looked at Kim Bo-dang.

“Tamra is a large island, but it’s just a land full of stones. To lease such a land and also demand shipbuilding and navigation technologies… it’s as if…”

Kim Bo-dang couldn’t continue his words.

This was because it felt as if they were planning to use Tamra as a forward base for invading the Japanese archipelago.

Tamra Island was close to the archipelago in terms of distance.

Moreover, unlike the East Sea with its strong currents, stable currents flowed around Tamra, allowing safe passage to the Japanese archipelago.

So Tamra was an ideal place to establish a military base.

“Do you think the Mongols are planning to conquer the archipelago, Chief State Councilor?”

In response to General Yi Uibang’s question, Kim Bo-dang nodded.

“Even if that’s the case, it doesn’t seem like we need to worry too much. It will take a long time for the Mongols to learn shipbuilding and navigation technologies, and conquering Japan is almost like an expedition.”

At Yi Uibang’s words, Kim Bo-dang reluctantly nodded.

It was absurd to think that people who had lived on the steppes all their lives would suddenly embark on a large-scale expedition by ship.

Therefore, it was clear that it would take at least several decades for the Mongols to invade Japan.

By then, the 100-year lease period would be almost over, so Goryeo could simply take back Tamra Island.

Given this, it seemed much more beneficial to lend Tamra Island, which would eventually be returned, and conquer Liaodong.

“I understand. I will follow the General’s opinion.”

With this, Kim Bo-dang accepted Yi Uibang’s suggestion and agreed to Gurkhan’s proposal.

And so, the Mongols acquired Tamra Island.

Kim Bo-dang, Yi Uibang, and the Goryeo officials who made this decision had no idea that Tamra Island would become the base for the Mongol Pirates, or Mongolgu. Nor did they know that the entire Goryeo would suffer from Japanese pirates due to the Mongolgu’s abduction of women.