Ch.212Syria (4)

“Are you serious about telling me to become a king?”

Temujin nodded at Jamukha’s question.

“Yes. You will become a king.”

“Huh.”

Jamukha clicked his tongue in disbelief.

Then he asked again.

“I’ll really become a king?”

“That’s the third time you’ve asked that question. You’d better not ask again, Jamukha.”

At Temujin’s words, Jamukha shrugged and replied.

“I can’t believe it. Me becoming a king.”

Jamukha couldn’t help but be excited.

The fact that he, of all people, would become a king made him feel like he could fly to the sky with joy.

Of course, Jamukha was more than qualified to be king.

This was because he was married to Temujin’s younger sister, Temulun.

As the son-in-law of the Borjigin clan, he was more than qualified to be king.

Additionally, he had accomplished great feats during the Crusade when they conquered Hamadan.

Thanks to this, no one would criticize him if he became king.

“You deserve it, anda.”

At Temujin’s words, Jamukha showed a deeply moved expression.

“Thank you, Temujin. But…”

“But?”

“You haven’t told me yet which land I’ll be ruling.”

Temujin pointed ahead as if telling him not to worry.

“That place will be the land you rule.”

“…”

At Temujin’s words, Jamukha looked at him with an expression that asked if he was serious.

This was because the land Temujin pointed to was none other than the land ruled by the Ayyubids.

“Are you trying to break the secret agreement with the Ayyubids?”

“Of course not.”

“Then how can you give me that land?”

“That land is both under Ayyubid rule and home to the remnants of the Nizari Ismaili state that Gurkhan ordered to disappear immediately.”

As Temujin kindly explained, Jamukha’s eyes began to gleam.

“So what you’re saying is…”

“Yes, I plan to station troops there for the purpose of eliminating the assassins, and make that place our territory.”

“Salah al-Din won’t just sit still.”

“Let him be.”

Temujin smiled faintly.

The reason he was so confident was because that land actually belonged to the Abbasid Caliphate, not the Ayyubids.

The Abbasid Caliphate was a state ruled by the Islamic Caliph and could be considered the leading state of the entire Islamic empire.

However, its influence wasn’t what it used to be. The country was in turmoil due to the rule of the Seljuk Turks.

Nevertheless, the country was gradually stabilizing thanks to the good governance of the current Caliph, Al-Mustadi.

Naturally, Al-Mustadi’s son, An-Nasir, was dreaming of restoring the Abbasid Caliphate.

Due to this background, relations between the Ayyubid dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate were somewhat awkward.

Temujin intended to exploit this gap.

“After occupying that place, establish a new kingdom and recruit troops.”

At Temujin’s words, Jamukha couldn’t hide his excitement.

Establishing a dynasty was like a dream come true for him.

So he looked eager to leave for that place right away.

“I’ll have a lot to prepare. May I leave for a while, anda?”

“Go ahead.”

With Temujin’s permission, Jamukha immediately left the ger.

As soon as he left, Jelme approached Temujin with a worried look.

“I’m concerned that you’re being too generous to him.”

Temujin shook his head at Jelme’s words.

“It’s fine. Jamukha will continue to suffer anyway.”

Temujin replied, raising one corner of his mouth.

Jelme looked puzzled at this.

“What do you mean by that…”

“As I said earlier, that land belongs to the Abbasid Caliphate. But it’s officially part of the Ayyubid dynasty… and because of that, the Crusaders are also eyeing it.”

Temujin looked at the map.

It showed the Anatolian Peninsula, the Mashriq region, and the Iranian region.

These lands were connected to each other, but the connections were loose due to the presence of the Abbasid Caliphate, the Ayyubid dynasty, and the Crusader states in between.

Such loose connections could weaken the cohesion of the empire.

Therefore, Yesugei, in preparation for any contingency, planned to cross the Caucasus Mountains with Munglig to conquer the land of the Cumans and connect each region through the steppe route.

Understanding his father’s intentions, Temujin began to make his own plans.

“A kingdom there will help us prepare for any contingency.”

The place Temujin pointed to was the southern part of Syria.

It was the area later known as Jordan, a country right next to Israel.

He sent Jamukha there. And he granted him everything he wanted.

He gave him land and soldiers to establish a dynasty.

In return, Jamukha was expected to serve as a buffer zone as a Mongol state located between the Ayyubids, the Abbasids, and the Crusader states.

“But when Gurkhan conquers the Cumans and connects this place with the Great Capital using the steppe route, a major offensive will follow. Then the state led by Jamukha will greatly expand with that help…”

The expansion of the Mongols would also greatly benefit Jamukha.

Once the steppe route was connected, the Mongols could receive military power and supplies stably through that route.

By continuing the offensive with these supplied troops, Jamukha could naturally expand his territory.

However, this would result in Jamukha’s power becoming excessively large.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Temujin waved his hand dismissively at Jelme’s concern.

“Jamukha is my anda and married to my younger sister. Therefore, according to the law created by Gurkhan, he will naturally return to his original position.”

Gurkhan did not welcome the emergence of multiple royal families.

So while he allowed his sons other than Temujin to have royal families, the titles held by their descendants would gradually diminish, eventually forcing them to be incorporated into the main house led by Temujin.

This also applied to Jamukha, who was married to Temulun.

“Indeed, Gurkhan is remarkable. To prepare for such aspects in advance.”

Temujin nodded at this.

He also felt that his father always acted as if he knew the future.

So he couldn’t help but express his respect and awe for Yesugei.

“Father is truly chosen by God. I will follow him, learn many things, and conquer the world.”

Temujin clenched his fist.

He was determined to achieve even greater dreams than his father, Yesugei.

* * *

“I’m worried about leaving Constantinople.”

“We have no choice, brother.”

Munglig and I had to move to connect the steppe route.

So we had to leave Constantinople, or Ruber Velikos, which we had just conquered.

“We’ve dealt with all of Andronikos’s henchmen and removed all his minions, so it will be difficult for Alexios II to do anything.”

I nodded at Munglig’s explanation.

Currently, those protecting Alexios were all Kheshig.

This meant we could monitor his every move.

Additionally, we had dealt with all those who could help him lead a coup, making it difficult for Alexios II to do anything on his own.

“We’ve also secured cooperation from the Sultanate of Rum, so we can deploy them in case of emergency.”

The Sultanate of Rum and the Byzantine Empire were competitors.

Although the Sultanate of Rum sometimes bowed to circumstances, their relationship could generally be described as antagonistic.

So I assigned the Sultanate of Rum the role of keeping the Byzantine Empire in check.

In return, I had handed over control of some villages in the strategic coastal area of Smyrna to the Sultanate of Rum.

Of course, I hadn’t handed over the entire territory, just military passage rights.

However, considering the times, having military passage rights meant they could occupy that territory whenever they wanted.

The ostensible reason for this favor was to show gratitude for helping us restore order in the Byzantine Empire.

But in reality, it was to prepare for any potential rebellion in the Byzantine Empire.

“I hope the divide-and-rule strategy works well.”

It was essentially the same divide-and-rule strategy that the Jin Dynasty used on various tribes within Mongolia.

Although the Jin Dynasty eventually suffered a major defeat and lost hegemony over Central Plains to us, it couldn’t be said that their strategy was completely wrong.

Besides, we didn’t have any other options anyway.

“Are the soldiers all prepared?”

“Yes, brother.”

“Good. Then we head for the Caucasus Mountains.”

Munglig nodded at my words.

Then he took out a flute attached to his waist and blew it loudly.

Pwooooo.

At that sound, the soldiers began to move.

“Hahaha! Isn’t it magnificent, brother?”

“Yes, it’s magnificent.”

I agreed with Munglig.

This was because most of the troops that would join us in the conquest of the Cumans were recruited locally.

As mentioned earlier, most of the elite Mongol cavalry, which could be considered elite troops, had been assigned under Temujin’s command.

As a result, the number of Mongol cavalry I could utilize was limited.

The method used to fill this shortage was none other than local procurement.

Thus, a multinational cavalry was created, mixing Byzantine cavalry, Sultanate of Rum cavalry, Turkish cavalry, and even Iranian cavalry.

“With these troops, we’ll have more than enough to conquer the Cumans.”

Of course, since they hadn’t received Mongol-style training, additional training was needed to develop tactics according to my command.

But fortunately, there were suitable opponents near the Caucasus Mountains for such tactical training.

“Gurkhan!”

In the distance, Muqali was approaching on horseback.

I raised my hand to greet him.

“Have you collected all the information about the Kingdom of Georgia?”

“Yes, Gurkhan.”

With these words, Muqali handed me the information he had gathered.

Receiving this, I cross-checked whether the information I knew matched the current situation.

“God is helping me.”

Fortunately, the history of Georgia hadn’t changed much.

As in the original history, Georgia was now ruled by its first queen, Tamar.