Ch.170Crusader (3)

# The Danger of Consecutive Wars

After a war, launching another one immediately was risky.

However, having occupied most of Jin Dynasty territory with minimal losses, there was military capacity to spare.

Additionally, with the Song Dynasty clinging to the Jin Dynasty in hopes of destroying them, the Jin would find it difficult to make hasty moves to reclaim their territory.

So now was the perfect time.

It was time to make the Ulus even more powerful.

For this reason, I decided to meet with the priest who I suspected had come from Rome.

He could provide me with justification.

The justification to conquer the world.

With this mindset, I sat on the throne.

This throne had originally belonged to the Jin Emperor.

Now I was using it.

From here, I looked at the priest standing before me.

“Who are you?”

The priest bowed and introduced himself.

The Sogdian beside me translated.

“It is an honor to meet the great Prester John. I am Priest Androun, who has come here following the will of the Father.”

I tilted my head at his introduction.

Because I could understand what he was saying.

That was because this man was introducing himself in Latin.

I knew how to speak Latin.

If you asked how I knew it, the reason was a bit embarrassing.

Because it looked cool.

In my childhood, when I was deep in my middle school phase, I was seized by the desire to learn Latin.

So I memorized Latin phrases, wrote letters in Latin, and read books in Latin.

Sometimes people would ask if Latin was Spanish, Italian, or French.

Latin wasn’t any of those languages.

It was a language used in the ancient Latium region, considered a dead language in modern times.

As such, the Catholic Church preserved this Latin language as an element to maintain church law tradition.

Therefore, Latin was not Spanish, Italian, or French.

It was closer to a language used for academic purposes.

It even had the characteristic of clearly dividing relationships and spacing between words with particles, similar to our country’s language.

Perhaps because of this unexpected similarity between Korean and Latin, I was able to learn it easily.

Anyway, through this advantage, I could immediately understand Androun’s words.

So, curious if my Latin would be understood by him, I asked him a question in Latin.

“How is your Father doing?”

“…Could it be… do you speak Latin?”

“I do.”

At my words, tears welled up in Androun’s eyes.

Then, with his hands tightly clenched, he cried out to the heavens.

“Almighty God! Punish me for doubting that Your grace has reached this place!”

His emotional outburst was understandable in a way.

A king in a distant land was suddenly speaking their language.

To make a comparison, it would be like a Korean person falling into some unknown remote region, only to find that the king or chief there could speak Korean.

Moreover, this was an era without the internet, so the fact that I knew Latin in this distant place couldn’t help but be surprising.

So even if he exaggerated by saying it was God’s grace, it was believable.

Therefore, I decided to completely deceive him while I was at it.

“Yesterday I received God’s grace. His apostle whispered to me that an envoy would arrive here.”

“Ah… so…”

“That’s how I came to know Latin.”

“So that’s how it happened. God… I didn’t know God’s arrangement would be like this.”

Androun repeatedly made the sign of the cross.

Then he looked at me and bowed.

“Great Prester John, please forgive me for not having any tribute to offer you.”

“It’s fine. I understand your hardship. Rather, what does the Father wish to ask of me?”

At this, Androun adjusted his posture.

Then, with a devout attitude, he began to plead with me.

“The Christian world is in danger. O wise ruler of the East, please raise your army to punish the infidels and save the Christian world.”

At this, I inwardly rejoiced.

This was because, as I had expected, the Pope was asking me to send a crusade.

With this justification, I would have no problem attacking the Ghaznavid Dynasty or Seljuk Dynasty in the Transoxiana region.

Because they believed in Islam.

So for me, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

As I keep mentioning, war needed justification.

Wars without justification quickly faced opposition.

In that respect, the justification provided by religion was nearly invincible.

It allowed one to wage war even when no one wanted it.

Of course, there were more drawbacks, but in my current position, that wasn’t important.

What mattered was that the Pope had given me an invincible justification to beat up the infidels.

“Save the Christian world?”

“Yes.”

“Then have you brought the Father’s decree? Without it, I cannot participate in this unjust war.”

I needed the Pope’s decree.

That way, if something went wrong later, I could blame the Pope and retreat.

So I looked at Androun with an expectant expression.

He bowed and then took out a small parchment from his breast.

And presented it to me.

When I unfolded it, letters embossed with gold leaf were clearly written.

-To Prester John in the East.

The Catholic spokesperson who fulfills the power of God the Father on this earth wishes to ask you.

The Christian world is now in great danger.

Infidels called Muslims are threatening the Holy Land.

Because of this, many Christians are suffering and groaning under the persecution of infidels every day.

O strong king of the East.

O devout Christian.

Answer my call.

Prove that you are a faithful servant who follows God’s will.

Liberate the Christians oppressed by the power of the infidels.

With your strong power, with your firm sword, cut down injustice.

If you appear, the infidels will be frightened and disappear.

If you swing your sword, the devil-like infidels will be annihilated.

If your soldiers shout and thrust their spears, the infidels will vanish without a trace.

If you do so, you will be the first to ascend to the land of heaven ruled by God.

And I swear in the name of God that you will be forever praised as a hero of the Christian world.

O Christian King.

O Prester John.

I sincerely hope you will answer God’s call.

Your friend and one who sincerely worries about the Christian world, Gregory VIII.

After reading this letter, I smiled.

This was because along with the letter written in Gregory VIII’s own hand, his seal was affixed.

A seal made with the Fisherman’s Ring after melting wax.

With this seal, I could lead an army to kill infidels on behalf of the Pope at any time.

Of course, the infidels mentioned here were not those who had submitted to the Ulus.

It meant infidels who resisted me.

Whether they were Muslims, Buddhists, or Christians didn’t matter.

By my standards, if they didn’t accept the rule of the Ulus, they were all infidels.

One might call this sophistry, but with this decree, this sophistry was valid.

After all, Europeans at this time had no interest in matters outside the Mediterranean.

And they had no leisure to turn their eyes to this place.

So I planned to use this decree to conquer the four seas.

And I intended to shift all the blame and resentment that would arise to the Pope.

This is not my will.

It is God’s will.

And the Pope’s will.

With this in mind, I smiled at Androun.

And looking at him with my arms spread, I recited a Latin phrase.

“For the greater glory of God (Ad majorem Dei gloriam)”

At my words, Androun made the sign of the cross with a moved expression.

And as if responding to my words, he shouted loudly.

“Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (Amen. Veni, Domine Jesu!)”

* * *

After Androun’s arrival, a proclamation for a holy war fell across the entire Ulus.

The Mongol warriors who saw this proclamation were greatly pleased.

“They say we’re attacking Persia?”

“Yes. I heard that place overflows with gold and treasures, so I’m looking forward to it.”

The warriors had greatly profited from the war with the Jin Dynasty.

The “great profit” here undoubtedly referred to the wealth obtained from occupied territories.

While occupying the Jin Dynasty, they received expensive items from Central Plains as rewards.

Because of this, Mongol warriors could instantly rise to the wealthy class.

Anyway, with such experiences, they couldn’t help but be fixated on the enormous wealth they could obtain when occupying Persia.

Persia, or Fars, was a country that had existed since ancient times and was known to have a cultural level similar to that of Central Plains.

As such, various rumors and legends about the place were mixed together, stimulating the warriors’ hearts.

So they couldn’t help but be excited.

Like these Mongol warriors, Sogdians and Hui people from that region also began to get excited.

“Does this mean we can return to our homeland?”

“If those who were persecuted there return, it could be called returning home in glory.”

Most of the Hui people and Sogdians were those who had been driven from their original homes.

To be precise, they were people who had been forced to leave due to continuous wars.

As a result, they had a deep longing for their homeland.

In this state, when they heard they would attack the place by the order of Gurkhan, they couldn’t help but be happy at the thought of returning home.

Of course, not everyone felt that way.

“Won’t we end up killing our own people?”

“Yes. That’s what worries me.”

At this, another man approached them and reassured them.

“Don’t worry. The Ulus is generous. If they surrender without resistance, they will be allowed to preserve their lives, families, and property.”

In reality, the Ulus did not attack further if the occupied territory surrendered.

Having seen this while serving in the army, the Hui people and Sogdians couldn’t help but nod.

“I suppose we should tell them not to resist.”

“Right. I need to persuade my people.”

They began to make plans to persuade their people while saying such things.

Anyway, the Ulus once again prepared for war.

As a crusade gathered at the Pope’s request.

However, there was something the Pope overlooked.

The fact that the Ulus’s crusade included believers of Christianity, Tengri, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and even Islam.