Ch.195Anatolia (6)

The old Sultan, Kilij Arslan II, could only sigh at the proposal presented by the nobles and Ghiyath al-Din.

It was understandable, as the proposal involved not only handing over the entire navy to the Ulus but also surrendering the port city of Mersin.

“This is a decision for the sake of our country.”

“We implore you to make the right choice, Your Majesty.”

“Hah…”

The Sultan could only let out a sigh of despair.

The nobles had already sided with the Ulus.

In short, the Sultan trembled with rage at this act of betrayal.

Yet he couldn’t exercise his right to refuse.

He knew the Ulus stood behind the nobles.

If he rejected their proposal, the Ulus might actually demand territorial concessions.

As payment for suppressing the rebellion.

Of course, this was an excessive demand.

Despite being excessive, he had no choice but to accept it.

The world’s strongest army, which had conquered Iran in just two weeks and suppressed the Aksaray rebellion in a single day, was now stationed in Aksaray.

If he refused their demands, Konya and Kayseri would immediately burn under Mongol attack.

Should that happen, the Sultanate of Rum would never rise again.

It meant he couldn’t do what he had done in his youth—building strength and taking revenge after suffering humiliation from the Byzantine Empire.

Kilij Arslan II had no choice.

He was old and didn’t have much time left.

But his son, Ghiyath al-Din, was different.

He still had plenty of time, and the Sultan had observed firsthand that Ghiyath could become an excellent commander and ruler.

In this situation, he couldn’t risk destroying the entire country by refusing the Ulus’s demands.

Humiliating as it was, he had to accept the proposal.

“I… accept the proposal.”

When Kilij Arslan surrendered, the nobles bowed.

They praised the Sultan for making a wise decision.

With each word of praise, Kilij Arslan’s heart burned with anguish.

* * *

Stationing troops in Aksaray had been a brilliant move.

Thanks to this, I was able to manipulate the nobles and swallow up the port city of Mersin and the entire navy of the Sultanate of Rum without any bloodshed.

“Of course there were expenses, but this was money I couldn’t take with me anyway.”

As I’ve mentioned before, the money I paid didn’t come from my own pocket. The source of these funds was the treasures we had plundered from cities on our way here.

In other words, it was essentially like taking credit using someone else’s money, so there was no major issue.

“Anyway, we now have a navy.”

I smiled with satisfaction.

This was a historic moment—the first navy for the Mongol Empire, the supreme power on land.

I couldn’t help but feel pleased.

Of course, it wasn’t that the Mongols had no naval forces at all.

Currently, the Mongol Pirates, or Mongol-gu, were operating from Tamra Island, which had been leased from Goryeo.

However, bringing them all the way here was impossible.

So it was much more efficient to supplement the navy locally.

“Munglig.”

“What is it, brother?”

“Select some soldiers from the Ulus and have them board the ships.”

“These men have spent their entire lives riding horses across the steppes. Is that even possible?”

Munglig’s words were true.

It was unthinkable to suddenly send men who had never been on a ship out to sea.

But we couldn’t continue to rely solely on the Sultanate of Rum’s navy.

Above all, we needed to use these ships to attack the Golden Horn, so we had to start practicing boarding and disembarking now.

“They need to start training now. Otherwise, how will we deal with those Byzantine bastards?”

“You’re right, brother. I’ll start by having them practice boarding and disembarking slowly.”

After receiving my orders, Munglig headed straight to the soldiers.

Watching him, I fell into brief contemplation.

“I wonder if Munglig is the right person for this task.”

Munglig was already forcing the men through marine-style training.

In this state, adding actual ship training might turn them into real marines.

“How should I handle this…”

At that moment, a brilliant solution came to mind.

“I should assign Chilaun as his adjutant.”

Munglig needed to stay by my side as the commander of the Kheshig anyway.

And since Muqali was running the local intelligence unit, Chilaun was the only commander under me without an assigned role.

“I’ll groom Chilaun to become a naval admiral.”

With the Ulus having consumed the Central Plains, war with the Song Dynasty was inevitable.

Of course, the remnants of the Jin Dynasty in the center were creating a buffer zone, but it was uncertain how long this would last.

Therefore, we needed to develop a navy, which was why we created the Mongol-gu to train naval forces.

But this alone wasn’t enough.

We needed a naval admiral to lead them.

We could recruit commanders from the Song Dynasty or from conquered territories, but there were still many obstacles to promoting them to high positions.

Although the Ulus appointed people based on ability regardless of background or religion, those from regions outside Mongolia faced language barriers.

For this reason, we needed a naval commander from the steppes for now.

Having reached this conclusion, I gestured for an attendant.

The attendant approached, bowed, and prepared to receive orders.

“Go and summon Chilaun.”

“I will obey your command.”

Not long after the attendant left, Chilaun arrived.

He bowed and looked at me.

“You called for me, Gurkhan?”

“Yes. Do you have any fear of boarding ships?”

“Ships… you say?”

Surprised by my sudden question, Chilaun tilted his head.

But since it was a question from me, the Gurkhan, he answered promptly.

“I’ve never been on a ship before, but if it’s your order, Gurkhan, I’ll gladly board one.”

This was the answer I was waiting for.

I smiled and patted Chilaun’s shoulder.

“I was waiting for that answer.”

“What do you mean…?”

“You know that we’ve leased Mersin from the Sultanate of Rum.”

Chilaun nodded at my words.

I continued.

“Additionally, we’ve been granted command of the Sultanate of Rum’s navy.”

“Surely not…”

“You will be in charge of the Ulus’s navy from now on.”

Chilaun stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

For someone who had lived his entire life on horseback, this was like a bolt from the blue.

However, he couldn’t refuse because this was clearly my order.

Moreover, this was essentially a promotion.

This was because Chilaun’s current position was merely that of an ordinary commander of a hundred.

Although I had been utilizing him extensively in this expedition, effectively leading a thousand men, his official position was still commander of a hundred.

From that position, he was now being promoted to lead the entire Mongol navy, essentially equivalent to a Darughachi.

In modern military terms, it was like promoting an army captain to a navy colonel.

It was a promotion of three ranks, so it could be considered a great opportunity for him.

“Work hard.”

“Th-thank you, Khagan.”

I said this while patting Chilaun’s shoulder.

Chilaun nodded with a troubled expression.

* * *

“Is this… the right way to do it?”

Chilaun asked this while looking at the interpreter.

The interpreter nodded.

“That’s how it’s done, he says.”

“I see…”

Chilaun looked at the ship with a complicated expression.

This was understandable, as he had never seen the sea in his life.

He had only seen vast plains, steppes, and horses running—the sea with its swimming fish was unfamiliar territory.

“You look troubled.”

At Munglig’s words, Chilaun quickly shook his head.

From Chilaun’s perspective, Munglig was a high-ranking official he couldn’t even dare to look at directly.

So he answered with strict military discipline.

“N-no, not at all!”

“It’s understandable. Haha. I was also worried about how to board that ship at first.”

He patted Chilaun’s shoulder.

His behavior gave off the impression that he was relieved he wouldn’t have to go through such an experience thanks to Chilaun’s arrival.

“I’m counting on you.”

“Ha-ha-ha! I-I’ll do my best!”

Munglig nodded at those words.

Then he looked at the soldiers who would be boarding with Chilaun.

“You will become the key personnel of the first navy created by the order of our great Gurkhan. So give it your all!”

The soldiers responded with worried expressions.

And naturally, they looked at Chilaun.

Seeing this, Chilaun took a deep breath.

From now on, he would have to train on the ship. He needed to prepare himself thoroughly.

“Everyone board the ship!”

“Boarding!”

“Let’s board!”

The soldiers began to board the ship.

After confirming everyone was on board, Chilaun boarded last.

Once everyone was aboard, the soldiers from the Sultanate of Rum naturally began to raise the anchor.

“I understand this training involves sailing around this area once. Is that correct?”

The interpreter nodded at Chilaun’s question.

“That’s right, Commander. You don’t need to worry too much. It’s quite peaceful, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes, it is.”

Chilaun nodded at the interpreter’s words.

The feeling of being on a ship was strange, but contrary to his worries, it was relatively peaceful.

So he was breathing a sigh of relief.

He was optimistically thinking that if they just sailed around once, he could endure it well enough.

But this was entirely his misconception.

“!@(*!$()!*$!”

“!#@*$”

“$*#(!”

The soldiers from the Sultanate of Rum shouted something.

Then the sails unfurled, and something protruded from below.

Seeing this, Chilaun tilted his head.

“What did they say?”

“They said ‘full speed ahead.’ And the crew responded to that.”

“Full speed ahead…?”

At that moment, the ship’s speed suddenly increased.

This threw all the Mongol soldiers on board into confusion.

More precisely, they began to feel nauseous.

“Urgh!”

“S-save me.”

“Wh-what is this…!”

The salty smell of the sea and the irregular waves combined to confuse them.

As a result, all the soldiers could only wear expressions that suggested they were on the verge of death.

Even Chilaun, who was leading them, was no exception.

“Urgh… urgh.”

He desperately tried to hold back his vomit.

But it was futile.

“Blegh…!”

In the end, Chilaun, like the other soldiers, had to cling to the ship’s railing and vomit.

After vomiting, another wave of nausea hit him.

After about 10 minutes of this short voyage, they returned to the port.

Upon returning, the soldiers looked at Chilaun with expressions that suggested they wanted to disembark immediately.

Chilaun, too, was preparing to disembark, thinking he needed to rest right away.

At that moment.

Munglig appeared before them.

“Judging by your expressions, it seems you can still endure more.”

“…”

“…”

“Then let’s go around once more.”

It was an order from a superior.

Moreover, it was an order from the guard captain who served directly beside the Gurkhan.

So Chilaun had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.

Thus, Chilaun ended up spending three days and nights on the ship.

Only after repeating the cycle of eating, sleeping, and vomiting for three days was he finally able to adapt to the ship.