Ch.174Unstoppable Momentum (2)

“I am Gur Kagan, Yesugei, ruler of the Ulus and lord of the four seas. Who are you?”

Yesugei posed this question to Tekish while mounted on his horse.

The soldier responsible for interpretation relayed the Gur Kagan’s words exactly.

“I am Tekish, ruler of Khwarezm and Allah’s chosen Sultan. I wish to inquire about the terms of Ulus’s surrender.”

“Very well.”

“If we surrender, can you guarantee the safety of myself, my family, and the people of Khwarezm?”

“Yes. We will not touch your property nor cause you any harm. However, you must fulfill your responsibilities and obligations as part of the Ulus.”

“What are these responsibilities and obligations?”

“You must provide soldiers needed for Ulus expeditions, along with weapons and armor to equip them. You must also provide the necessary supplies.”

In other words, they would become a vassal state and have to provide troops.

Moreover, they would have to provide supplies, which would inevitably drain Khorasan’s finances.

But the fist of Ulus was already at their doorstep.

Resistance at this point would be futile.

Therefore, Tekish proposed a deal to Yesugei.

“We will provide soldiers and supplies. We understand this as our responsibility and obligation as a vassal state. However, if we have such responsibilities and obligations, we believe compensation is also necessary.”

“What do you desire?”

“Grant us dominion over the land of Iran.”

Tekish was openly requesting recognition of his rule over Iran, or rather, the Persian lands.

Yesugei pondered this request for a moment.

“That is impossible. This land belongs to my son.”

“Then I will serve your son as king. In return, I ask that you recognize our natural rights to Khwarezm and its surrounding territories.”

The “natural rights” mentioned here was essentially a request for no interference from Ulus in the region.

In other words, though a vassal state, they wanted to maintain administrative independence like the tributary states of East Asia.

“Very well. I accept your proposal. However, you must become my son’s vassal and fulfill your obligations accordingly.”

“I swear this to Allah.”

Tekish looked up to the sky and offered a prayer.

He recited a prayer to Allah.

Seeing this, Yesugei nodded.

“I will trust your promise. However, the great army of Ulus intends to pass through here to Persian lands. Therefore, you must come before me and show us the way to Persia.”

With these words, Yesugei reminded him of his duties as a vassal state.

Tekish nodded in response.

“I will obey, my lord. Khorasan will follow you, and as this is done in Allah’s name, it will remain unchanged forever.”

* * *

I had secured Tekish’s surrender.

I recognized his natural rights to his territory, or rather his dominion, while also accepting his additional territorial demands.

“Better than getting stuck here.”

I accepted their surrender because it was far better than wasting time on war.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, with this approach, even if we controlled the entire Transoxiana region, as long as Khwarezm remained in the Khorasan region, Ulus’s dominance would remain firmly established unless the entire country was overthrown.

In actual history, Ulus had collapsed after the death of its first Kagans.

More precisely, it was divided by those claiming legitimacy, and during this time, the Persian region was classified as the Ilkhanate region and broke away from the empire.

With this division, Ulus lost its influence over the Transoxiana region.

Simultaneously, it lost all influence over the Middle East.

“I need to eliminate such a future and arrange for the separation of actual power holders and throne claimants so that the Middle East region won’t be divided even after Temujin and I are gone.”

With Tekish in place, Khorasan would have to support Ulus in maintaining its influence over the Transoxiana region to preserve their own territory.

Otherwise, Khorasan would either fall back under Seljuk influence or have to occupy Transoxiana.

It was absurd to think that Khorasan, having experienced Ulus’s formidable power, would militarily occupy Transoxiana and stand against Ulus.

Therefore, they would likely prefer to strengthen their influence by relying on Ulus’s vast territory.

“Of course, this is just my speculation, but it seems most plausible.”

The Tekish I met was well-versed in international politics.

If he had been someone driven by pride or ambition, he might have risked all-out war with Ulus.

But after just one engagement, he quickly analyzed Ulus’s military strength.

More accurately, I made him perceive it that way.

Anyway, Khwarezm, led by Tekish, agreed to accept Ulus’s rule.

Moreover, since they surrendered before being forcibly conquered, they were able to negotiate with me.

Having secured the promised reward, Tekish had no reason to betray Ulus.

“Anyway, having conquered the Khorasan region in just one day, if we maintain this pace, we could conquer the entire Iranian region within a month.”

Currently, the regional hegemons in Persia, or Iran as the locals called it, were Khorasan and the Ghaznavid Dynasty.

Having conquered both Ghaznavid Dynasty and Khorasan, only the Seljuk Turks remained.

At this time, the Seljuks were very weak, as their rule was being shaken from its roots.

First, the Seljuks had been defeated in the Battle of Qatwan due to Western Liao’s invasion, and subsequently, the Oghuz people betrayed the Seljuks.

As a result, the monarch’s authority was severely weakened, and seeing this, the Atabegs were effectively ruling the fragmented Seljuk Empire.

In other words, the Seljuks at this time were paper tigers.

So with Khwarezm and the Ghaznavid Dynasty conquered, and with guides who knew the Persian region well, conquering this area was just a matter of time.

“Ulus must be the greatest to have broken through Afghanistan and Persia, known as the graveyard of empires, so quickly and easily.”

I felt proud inside.

We had conquered the eastern part of this region in just a week, a region that even great powers like Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States in the original world couldn’t conquer.

Of course, we had secured their surrender, but conquering this place so quickly was still something worthy of historical record.

“And we’ve preserved all our cavalry forces too.”

I had originally expected massive cavalry losses in the Persian region.

But mocking my prediction, Ulus had suffered no casualties in the battles fought so far.

This meant that no one could stop Ulus’s crusade.

Because once we left the Persian region, we would encounter plains that were a paradise for cavalry.

“With this level of cavalry strength, the Abbasid Islamic Empire is essentially finished.”

The modern Iraq region had more plains than mountainous areas.

And below that stretched vast deserts.

These were ideal conditions for cavalry tactics.

With these cavalry tactics, we could easily devour Islamic lands like cake.

The thought alone was thrilling.

After conquering the Middle East and advancing upward, we could reach the Balkan Peninsula through Anatolia.

Beyond the Balkan Peninsula lay Eastern Europe and Southern Europe.

Alternatively, beyond Anatolia, crossing the Caucasus Mountains, there were Russian states still battling the Cumans.

We could subjugate them as in the original history.

“Or it’s also possible to conquer the fertile Egyptian region and bring the entire Mediterranean under my control.”

Egypt was fertile farmland that continued into modern times.

The vast amount of wheat produced there could make enough bread to feed the entire Ulus and more.

Moreover, with the south wind blowing, we could simply build ships, unfurl the sails, and invade any part of Europe through the Mediterranean without exerting much effort.

Of course, we would have to cross one huge mountain first.

“Salah al-Din is concerning… but I’m sure Frederick Barbarossa or Richard the Lionheart will take care of him.”

We weren’t allies with them.

But as crusaders moving under God’s name, they might help us.

After all, we were also reducing their burden by conquering pagan states in the Persian region.

Moreover, if we maintained this momentum, Salah al-Din might have to face both European crusaders and Ulus crusaders simultaneously.

This would be nothing short of hell from his perspective.

No matter how exceptional a hero Salah al-Din was in this era, it would be impossible for him to prevent this.

While I was thinking about this, the door of the ger opened.

And Munglig began to report to me with a smile.

“We’ve received supplies from the Khorasan region. If we follow the Sultan of Khwarezm, Tekish, we should be able to reach the Seljuk capital, Hamadan, in a short time.”

“How long will it take?”

“If Tekish is correct, it should take about a week.”

A week seemed like enough time to meet Temujin there.

My son Temujin was also rushing here after destroying the Ghaznavid Dynasty.

“Fortunately, there’s a possibility I’ll arrive before my son.”

Munglig nodded at my words.

And he pointed to where Hamadan was located.

“You can arrive there first and wait for Temujin.”

“Good.”

I nodded and got up.

Then I left the ger.

Tens of thousands of cavalry soldiers who had been waiting looked at me.

Thanks to the food provided by Khwarezm, they had quickly recovered their strength.

Perhaps because of this, their morale was sky-high.

“Did everyone rest well?”

“Yes, Kagan.”

“We feel like we can tear apart anyone who obstructs Ulus’s advance.”

“Everyone’s morale is very high. Good. We head to the Seljuk capital, Hamadan.”

I said this and drew my sword.

The cavalry soldiers all mounted their horses.

“For the glory of God!”

“For Gur Kagan!”

“For victory!”

“For the glory of Ulus!”

The warriors of Ulus responded.

Now we will head to the heart of Persia.