Ch.15Tartar (3)

“Is this really okay? As your anda?”

Toghrul’s question.

I immediately nodded in response.

“It’s truly fine. Without your help in this war, I couldn’t have achieved my revenge.”

“But wasn’t it you who captured Megujin-se’uldu, not me?”

“Don’t worry. I only need the slaves.”

Toghrul turned his head to look beside him.

There were captured Tatar cavalry and Tatar slave soldiers who had arrived late.

I had agreed to hand over custody of all these prisoners.

In exchange, I gave Megujin-se’uldu to Toghrul, who had supported this battle.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“But are you really satisfied with just the Tatar Khan?”

“Megujin-se’uldu’s custody is enough. If I offer this Tatar to the Jin Dynasty, I can obtain land, treasures, and a royal title as they promised.”

Then Toghrul paused and looked at me.

With an apologetic expression, he continued speaking.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to speak well to the Jin Khagan and secure a reward for your efforts.”

Toghrul firmly grasped my hand.

Looking at him, I shook my head.

“Don’t worry about my share. Even if I don’t receive a royal title and treasures from the Jin Khagan, it’s fine.”

“…”

“This war was for the revenge of the Khamag Mongol and myself, not for seeking rewards.”

Hearing my words, Toghrul silently looked at me. Then he nodded and spoke.

“I owe you a debt.”

“A debt? You and I are anda who made the pact of Karatun. Is there any need for brothers to carry burdens in their hearts?”

“No. I will surely repay this debt. No, for my entire life, I would gladly do even menial tasks at the request of my anda Yesugei.”

Toghrul placed his hand on his chest.

Looking at him, I also placed my hand on my chest.

“I, Toghrul, Khan of the Keraites, swear in God’s name that I will treat my anda Yesugei like family and consider his pain as my own.”

“I, Yesugei, Khan of the Khamag Mongol, gladly accept the oath of my only anda and the sole leader of the Keraites, Toghrul Khan.”

After the oath, Toghrul mounted his horse.

He led his Keraite soldiers toward the Jin Dynasty.

Megujin-se’uldu was being dragged behind the horses led by Keraite soldiers, in a miserable state.

With fierce eyes, he glared at me, grinding his teeth.

* * *

“The Tatar tribe truly has many things to plunder!”

“Song Dynasty silk! Porcelain! Goryeo ginseng! Persian perfume!”

The Khamag Mongol soldiers were genuinely delighted.

After achieving a great victory over the Tatars, the Mongol soldiers couldn’t hide their excitement about the numerous items taken from the Tatars’ stronghold.

To reiterate, the Tatar tribe had been plundering the Khamag Mongol for a long time.

Additionally, having invaded various regions under the Jin Dynasty’s orders, their storehouses were piled high with precious treasures from different countries.

“Everyone, calm down!”

“All treasures taken from the Tatar tribe will be gathered in one place and distributed fairly! Anyone who privately takes goods will have their wrists cut off!”

On the Mongolian steppe, cutting off the wrist was the law for theft.

At the sharp voices of the officers, the soldiers began to focus on moving the treasures.

“There are truly many treasures, my Khan.”

Bulqa Khan’s remark.

I nodded at his words.

“You’ve accomplished great things at the vanguard, Bulqa Khan.”

“You flatter me.”

“You and the Jurkin tribe you lead fought bravely in battle. In recognition of your achievements, I give you the right to choose from the spoils first.”

Bulqa was greatly surprised by this.

He looked at me as if asking if I was serious.

This was understandable because although I had said with my own mouth that goods would be fairly distributed according to merit, typically when dividing spoils, the highest-ranking person would take the best loot.

“Are… are you serious?”

“As the Khan of the Khamag Mongol, I made this promise in front of everyone. Therefore, I will keep it.”

At my firm statement, Bulqa silently looked at me.

After a moment of contemplation, he knelt before me and shouted loudly.

“I wish to serve the Gurkhan for life. Please accept this.”

Bulqa’s oath of loyalty. Although I had already received it once at the Kurultai, this pledge was different from then as it was Bulqa’s personal oath.

It meant that he would follow me for life as an individual Mongol, not as a khan leading a tribe.

“I will accept your loyalty.”

“Thank you, Gurkhan.”

Then he turned his head to look at where his Jurkin tribe was.

He spread his arms wide and shouted loudly.

“The Gurkhan has highly valued the Jurkin’s achievements and granted our tribe the right to take spoils!”

“Gurkhan! Gurkhan!”

“My Khan! Thank you!”

The Jurkin tribe was in a festive mood.

They began loading valuable items plundered from the Tatar tribe onto their horses.

As the Jurkin soldiers gathered their share, other tribes looked on enviously, eagerly waiting for their turn.

* * *

After all the spoils had been distributed.

When the distribution was complete, my sons, who had been watching everything from behind, approached me.

“You gave away all the spoils… aren’t you disappointed?”

Bekhter’s words were dripping with regret.

I could fully understand why he said this, given that the mountain of spoils that had been there until just now had completely disappeared.

“We’ve secured the share for our Borjigin Kiyat, so there’s no need to worry.”

I had set aside goods for the Kiyat warriors.

As they were essentially my loyal followers, it was necessary to reward them adequately.

“But there’s no share for you, Father?”

“I don’t need my share. Your shares are most important.”

At my words, Bekhter blushed.

Leaving Bekhter behind, I headed toward the tent where Megujin-se’uldu had been.

Temujin and Khasar were examining the inside.

Thinking there might be information related to the Jin Dynasty, I had asked my two sons to search.

“Have you found anything?”

“Nothing. But… there seems to be a letter…”

My son handed me a paper with his head bowed in embarrassment.

This was because he didn’t know what was written in the letter.

Temujin was illiterate, as recorded in the Secret History of the Mongols.

In the original history, after his father Yesugei was poisoned, the Kiyat completely collapsed, so he had no opportunity to learn letters.

“Don’t be ashamed. If there’s something you don’t know, you can learn it. I’ll find someone to teach you letters later.”

“…I… I understand, Father.”

At my words, Temujin nodded.

Leaving my son behind, I slowly read through the letter.

The letter was written in Khitan language.

I couldn’t understand the entire content, but the Song Dynasty and Solongos were mentioned. From this, I could roughly infer that Megujin-se’uldu, the Song Dynasty, and Goryeo were plotting something against the Jin Dynasty.

However, it was difficult to determine the relationship between the three based on just one letter.

According to original history, the relationship between the Song Dynasty and Goryeo had once broken down during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Song.

Therefore, I needed definitive information to support this conjecture.

“I’ll search more.”

With those words, Temujin left the tent.

This naturally left Khasar and me alone in the tent.

Khasar was fidgeting while looking at me.

Seeing my son’s expression that suggested he had something to say, I stopped looking at the letter and turned to Temujin’s brother, Khasar.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, Father.”

“It’s fine. And now that the battle is over, you can speak comfortably.”

“…I… I understand, Father.”

After taking a deep breath, Khasar.

He looked at me and carefully asked a question.

“I want to ask about your decision not to take any spoils for yourself. Is it related to what you told us before the battle, that war is an extension of politics?”

In the original history, Khasar grew to become an excellent commander who led the Battle of Chakirmaut to victory.

His achievements were so outstanding that his brother Temujin became wary of Khasar.

As someone who would grow into such an excellent commander, Khasar was deeper in thought and more contemplative than the other sons from childhood.

“That’s a good question, Khasar.”

“Thank you, F-Father.”

But Khasar still hadn’t shed his youthful demeanor.

I stroked the head of my adorable son. And to meet my son’s eye level, I knelt down and looked into his eyes.

“Do you think I’ve suffered a loss by not taking spoils?”

“Honestly, yes.”

“While your mother and your stepmother would be happy if I took spoils, that would only be a small gain.”

“What do you mean…”

“With the goods obtained from the Tatars, or more precisely, taken from Megujin-se’uldu’s pocket, I’ve gained the hearts of others.”

“Are hearts important?”

Khasar’s question.

To his question, I shook my head.

“I expressed it as hearts, but in reality, it would be more correct to think of it as the cost of handling things I cannot manage.”

“Is there something you cannot manage in the Yeke Mongol Ulus, Father?”

“Yes. Since I subdued the Tayichiud clan and the Jalayir clan by force in bokh, there are those who harbor resentment against me.”

“Juchi Khan of the Jalayir pointed a poisoned knife at you, Father!”

“Punishing those who violated the law was a just punishment. But not everyone thinks the same way.”

The Jalayir and Tayichiud, who had been incorporated into the Kiyat, were clearly grinding their teeth at me.

“…”

“Therefore, as the Khan of the Khamag Mongol leading the first foreign expedition, I needed to show leniency.”

Leniency.

To be precise, it was a temporary measure to suppress the discontent of those who had even a slight resentment toward me.

“Even considering that, I think giving Megujin-se’uldu’s custody to Toghrul Khan was excessive. Defeating Megujin-se’uldu was entirely your achievement, Father. If you had personally handed him over to the Jin Khagan, you would have received treasures incomparably greater than those obtained from the Tatar tribe.”

“Thank you for saying so. However, this would be like drinking from a poisoned chalice… no, like falling into a trap set by the Jin Dynasty.”

“A trap set by the Jin Dynasty? Could you explain what you mean?”

“The Jin Emperor has long used the Tatars to create chaos in the Yeke Mongol Ulus.”

Khasar nodded at this.

Since he was aware of the current situation on the Mongolian steppe, it was easy to explain.

“Now that the Tatars have been eliminated by our hands, they would certainly try to interfere again to prevent the unification of Mongolia.”

“Could it be…”

“Yes. If I had been blinded by greed and personally offered Megujin-se’uldu to the Khagan, the Jin Khagan would have given me a royal title to drive a wedge between Toghrul and me, while delaying the royal title for Toghrul.”

In such a situation, no matter how close Toghrul was to me, he would inevitably resent me. People tend to express the greatest anger when they feel something they considered theirs has been taken away.

As a modern person, I had experienced such emotions during my working life.

It’s embarrassing to recall, but when a colleague who joined the company at the same time as me got promoted ahead of me, I felt envy rather than congratulations.

Divide and rule.

There was no better tactic to drive a wedge between Toghrul and me.

Additionally, divide and rule was a tactic well-used by the Jin Dynasty.

While I was conversing with Khasar, the tent opened.

In Temujin’s hand was a frail-looking man he had captured.

“Father, I’ve captured a suspicious person.”

“P-please spare me! I-I’m a person from Goryeo. I’m definitely not suspicious!”

A man wearing attire that looked familiar.

The man dangling from Temujin’s hand looked at me with an expression pleading for his life.