Ch.173Unstoppable Momentum (1)

“Indeed, that’s my son.”

At my words, Munglig frowned and looked at me as if I were someone completely absorbed in bragging about his child.

“Am I not allowed to boast about this much?”

To this, Munglig nodded.

“It certainly is worthy of praise.”

He had destroyed the Ghaznavid Dynasty in just one week.

This was truly an unprecedented achievement.

Even though the Ghaznavid Dynasty had been weakened by the Seljuk Turks, it was once a nation that ruled over Persian lands.

Conquering such a country in just one week was a remarkable accomplishment.

Of course, from a modern perspective, Temujin used somewhat excessive methods by burning Lahore, the capital of the Ghaznavid Dynasty.

However, since this expedition needed to focus on advancing westward, making an example of Lahore proved to be very effective.

Besides, as I’ve mentioned repeatedly, this era was not a world where noble values like equality, fraternity, and freedom existed.

Therefore, I couldn’t condemn Temujin for choosing the lesser evil of using violent means to reduce additional casualties.

I never intended to criticize my son anyway.

Rather, I wanted to praise his actions.

I am a being living in the medieval era.

So for me, my son’s military achievements were something to be rightfully celebrated.

“What are you thinking about, brother?”

“Nothing special.”

“Come on. It seems like you’re thinking about how to match the achievements Temujin has made.”

“Ahem…”

Munglig keeps asking for trouble.

But he’s right.

So I couldn’t really scold him.

As Munglig said, I was planning to enter Persia from a different direction than Temujin.

Specifically, through the Transoxiana region.

By entering through this area, we would immediately face the Seljuk Empire.

Someone knowledgeable about history might question why it’s the Seljuk and not Khwarezm.

My answer would be that Khwarezm had not yet risen to prominence.

To be more specific, Khwarezm was still a country under the influence of the Seljuk Empire.

Of course, unlike other countries, it was essentially in a semi-independent state as an autonomous power.

Anyway, apart from this, there was a reason why we were trying to enter Persia through the Transoxiana region instead of moving with Temujin.

It was because the Transoxiana region was a strategic transportation hub.

It bordered the Aral Sea to the west,

The Khorasan region to the southwest,

The Fergana Valley and Pamir Plateau to the east,

The Hindu Kush mountains to the southeast,

And the steppe region leading directly to Western Liao to the north.

Therefore, to secure a continuous supply line and attack route necessary for the expedition, we absolutely had to secure the Transoxiana land.

Coincidentally, this area was both Khwarezm’s territory and under Seljuk influence.

“The lord who rules this place is a man called Tekish.”

As far as I knew, Sultan Shah was the ruler of Khwarezm who had been driven out by Tekish, who received military support from Western Liao, and had taken refuge with the Ghurid Dynasty.

But in this world, since Ulus had quickly conquered Western Liao, the timeline had become distorted.

Without Sultan Shah’s restraint, Tekish was able to quickly project his influence over Khwarezm despite Sultan Shah not being dead.

For this reason, the Khwarezm forces blocking our path were stronger than expected.

“I’ve heard that Tekish is not an easy opponent.”

“As expected of you, brother. But where did you get such information?”

I didn’t answer Munglig’s question.

Instead, I gazed at the distant mountains and murmured.

“It is heaven’s will.”

“You were speaking strange languages before, and now have you truly received divine revelation since you drank that poison?”

“You could say it’s something like that.”

I couldn’t deny it.

From Munglig’s perspective, it made no sense that I, who had never left Ulus, could speak Latin.

Moreover, the reason I converted to Christianity was because I met Bandak, a Sogdian monk, and received salvation, so I had no choice but to go along with it.

Therefore, I had to explain these inexplicable things as divine revelations.

And that excuse worked well.

“I thought so. Brother is indeed someone who has received divine revelation. Isn’t that why the priest’s name for God is similar to your name?”

“…”

The priest called out to God and Jesus in Latin.

It seemed that to Munglig’s ears, “Jesus” sounded like “Yesus.”

Coincidentally, my name in medieval Mongolian was Yesus.

In modern Mongolian, Jesus is called Yesus, but while the symbols are similar, the characters are different.

However, now due to my influence, Khitan and Ulus languages had merged to artificially create medieval Mongolian.

So ironically, in medieval Mongolian, my name was exactly Yesusgei, and the first part, Yesus, had the same pronunciation as Jesus in Latin.

“So brother must surely be the son of God.”

Son of God.

If my name were called the Son of God, I would surely die from divine punishment.

And I would probably roll in hell forever for blasphemy.

Of course, in this era, there was no exact word for homosexuality.

It was just commonly referred to as male love.

Therefore, the word “gay,” which refers to relationships between men, did not exist.

So I was just a being with a name similar to God’s name, not committing blasphemy.

The reason I’m explaining this so elaborately is simple.

Because I was planning to punish those heathens with the same name as Jesus, the Son of God.

“Trebuchets forward.”

Muqali drew his sword.

Then the sound of leather flutes filled the air.

Pwooooo.

With that sound, the trebuchets moved forward.

“All preparations are complete, Gur Khagan.”

At Muqali’s call, I nodded.

And I smiled as I looked at the fragile walls of Khwarezm.

“Fire.”

“The Khagan’s order has been given! Fire!”

At the artillery commander Muqali’s shout, the trebuchet projectiles began to fly toward the enemy all at once.

The numerous stones decorating the sky created beautiful arcs before beginning to break down the walls of Khwarezm.

* * *

“Aaaaargh!”

“Gack!”

The castle walls were built of stone.

However, due to the sudden catapult attack from the enemy, Khwarezm fell into chaos as if a beehive had been disturbed.

“Everyone, get a hold of yourselves!”

Despite the commander’s shout, the soldiers could not easily calm down.

“Run away!”

“The stones are trying to kill me!”

“Take up your bows! Don’t let the enemy’s siege engines destroy our walls!”

The soldiers shot their arrows diligently, but the enemy’s siege engines were still approaching.

Because of this, Khwarezm couldn’t help but fall into crisis.

At that moment, the attack suddenly stopped.

“Amir! The enemies have stopped their attack!”

“What’s happening?”

“And a soldier carrying a white flag is approaching!”

“Just in case, have everyone keep arrows nocked. I will speak with the enemy messenger myself.”

With that, the commander stepped forward.

And he spoke to the messenger who approached with a white flag.

“Who are you to rain attacks on Khwarezm territory without a declaration of war?”

“We are crusaders who have come to punish the infidels at the call of our Father.”

“Crusaders…?”

When the word “crusaders” came out, the Amir’s expression became subtle.

This was because crusaders were often Christians who were in conflict with Islam.

But since those called Ulus came from the east, it was hard to believe that they were Christians.

“Crusaders are those who come across the Mediterranean. How dare you claim to be the army of infidels?”

“Look at this flag.”

The flag had a cross drawn on it.

Seeing this, the Amir of Khorasan turned pale.

He had actually noticed the flag earlier, but seeing it up close gave him an odd feeling.

“So you are crusaders.”

“That’s right. The Gur Khagan who rules Ulus is merciful. He said that if you surrender now, your lives will be spared.”

The Amir couldn’t help but click his tongue at their sudden invasion followed by a seemingly generous offer of surrender.

However, since their siege engines were not ordinary ones, the Amir had to consider that they could suffer great damage if they fought against them.

“This is not a decision I can make. I will inform the Sultan about this.”

“I’ll give you one day. If there is no answer within a day, Ulus will raze this place to the ground.”

“Such rudeness…”

But the messenger had already left.

With no choice, the commander sought an audience with his lord, Sultan Tekish.

“What did the enemies say?”

“Great Sultan, the contemptible enemy is forcing us to surrender.”

“Surrender…”

Tekish let out a sigh.

And Tekish began to calculate what would benefit him.

“What do you think are our chances of defeating the enemy?”

“Not even thirty percent.”

“Then what are the chances of Seljuk falling to the enemy?”

“The enemies have excellent siege engines. And although not accurately assessed, the enemy army seems to have cavalry forces exceeding 200,000.”

“I see.”

The Khorasan region was adjacent to plains but unsuitable for raising cavalry.

So there weren’t enough cavalry to engage in cavalry versus cavalry battles.

This meant they would have to engage in siege warfare, but in that case, they would continue to be pounded by the enemy’s siege engines and eventually fall.

If this happened, it was clear that Khorasan would perish.

“I will go myself.”

“You mean you, Sultan?”

“Yes. I will see with my own eyes whether these enemies are chosen by Allah or not.”

Saying this, Tekish left the palace.

And he strode up to the wall.

“I am Tekish, ruler of Khwarezm. To anyone who hears and understands my words! Tell your lord! I wish to discuss terms of surrender!”

At Tekish’s shout, the Mongol cavalry began to move.

And a man of enormous size approached, leading what appeared to be elite cavalry.