Ch.21Kurultai (5)

# Suddenly Becoming Andas with Temujin and Jamukha

They unexpectedly became andas, Temujin and Jamukha.

What’s more, they ended up in the same arban, living together.

Mongol society was like a massive military camp.

Being in the same arban was equivalent to being bunkmates in the same barracks in our country.

Munglig was the prime example of someone who stuck to me like a shadow.

During official activities, he treated me as his khan, but when we were alone or at the Borjigin Kiyan camp, he treated me like a senior or older brother.

In many ways, he was like family.

“Do you have any complaints?”

Temujin shook his head at my words.

But judging by my son’s sullen face, he wasn’t happy that Bekhter, Belgutei, and Khasar, who had participated in the incident with him, went unpunished.

“I heard you were the one who led this endeavor.”

“Y-yes, Father.”

“That’s what leadership is. Not someone who takes all the benefits when successful, but someone who can take responsibility for everything when things fail.”

“…”

“Be grateful that this punishment is all you’re receiving, my son.”

Temujin nodded at this.

Perhaps because he had mature thoughts despite his young age, he quickly got over his mood and acknowledged his mistake.

“As the eldest son of the family, I did wrong. Thank you for making me realize my mistake.”

“That’s my son.”

I stroked the head of my son who had admitted his mistake.

Then I turned my head to look at my other sons following behind.

“Bekhter, Belgutei, and Khasar.”

“Y-yes! Father.”

“W-what is it?”

“Although Temujin took the punishment in your place, you are also at fault for not stopping him when he made the wrong decision.”

The children looked aggrieved.

Having been born as the youngest before possessing Yesugei’s body, I knew how unfair this felt.

But as a father, I had to treat them equally.

So I had no choice but to punish the children for their wrongdoing.

“Munglig.”

“Yes, brother. Please speak.”

“How much further to the Borjigin Kiyan camp from here?”

“We should arrive in about two shichen.”

“How long would it take on foot?”

“About half a day…I suppose?”

Munglig wore a worried expression at my words.

Having been by my side for a long time, he immediately realized what I was planning.

“From here, we’ll go on foot.”

“…”

“F-Father, are you serious?”

“Yes. That’s what you need to do to reflect on your mistakes.”

The children dismounted with resigned expressions at my words.

I watched them and got off my horse as well.

“B-brother, why are you getting off too?”

“How could I comfortably ride on horseback when my children have done wrong? I should go with them.”

“…”

Munglig glanced around nervously.

He instinctively knew that since I had dismounted, he would have to walk with us whether he wanted to or not.

“Don’t worry. You may go ahead. I will return with the children, so you and Temujin should return to the tribe first.”

At this, Temujin and Munglig fidgeted uncomfortably, as if sitting on pins and needles.

In the end, they had no choice but to dismount and follow me.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“…I am r.e.a.l.l.y fine, brother.”

“I will join my b.r.o.t.h.e.r.s for their sake, Father.”

Munglig and Temujin answered through gritted teeth.

I nodded with a satisfied smile.

* * *

“Got a good cardio workout in.”

I sat on a boulder in front of the house, taking a break while drinking a beverage made from cow’s milk.

A drink I created.

It was a beverage I developed to explosively build muscle before participating in bokh wrestling.

It was uncomfortable to drink at first.

The texture was too thick, like vanilla protein powder with three scoops mixed in milk.

But I got used to it over time, and now I drank it whenever I had the chance.

Anyway, I looked out at the steppe while drinking my concoction.

From the Jadaran tribe to the Borjigin Kiyan.

We had just arrived after walking for half a day.

On the way, we encountered wolves that tried to attack us,

but they were all subdued by my excellent muscles and turned into pelts.

Yesugei’s body was truly remarkable the more I observed it.

Despite only doing strength training, I was able to accomplish feats that even MMA fighters might not be able to achieve.

“It’s ridiculous that someone with a body like this stupidly died of poisoning.”

Then I felt a headache again.

I retorted to Yesugei’s presence:

“It’s the truth.”

I said this while emptying the drink made from mare’s milk.

Then I got up and finished my dumbbell workout.

“If hundreds of men like Yesugei charged on horseback, it would be terror incarnate…”

I began to imagine Mongols with bodies like this slaughtering enemies on the battlefield.

Boulders cutting through the sky.

Beneath them, valiant Mongol cavalry charging with swords and reins in hand.

In my imagination, the enemies were stubbornly resisting, using walls as shields.

The Mongol forces were in a crisis. At the critical moment, large Mongol elite soldiers appeared to resolve everything.

“That would be awesome.”

It was an absurd fantasy, but quite plausible.

With these thoughts, I turned my head. There was the muscular Munglig, cutting wolf meat.

“If he builds up a bit more and refines his physique, he could be useful on the battlefield.”

Some might question why flashy muscles would be needed on a battlefield where lives are at stake.

But momentum was crucial in battle, and the mere appearance of large soldiers—especially those who were both agile and imposing—could intimidate the enemy.

“Wait a minute…”

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

What if I bulked up all my Kheshig bodyguards?

Of course, it would be great if the entire Mongol army became muscle-bound, but this was practically impossible.

Moreover, for cavalry, the lighter the rider, the greater the mobility.

For the Mongol army, which focused on mobility-centered tactics, having all soldiers become muscle-bound would inevitably weaken their fighting power.

In other words, turning the entire Mongol army into muscle-obsessed men would not only be disadvantageous but practically impossible.

“But wouldn’t it be fine to bulk up just my Kheshig guards, like Frederick II’s Marksmen Guards or Napoleon’s Giant Guards…?”

It seemed like a good idea.

I thought I should put this into action right away.

“Would you like some wolf meat, brother?”

Having lived his entire life on the steppe, Munglig had butchered the animal without spilling a drop of blood. Unaware of my inner thoughts, he smiled and offered this to me.

“Would you like to drink some of this?”

“You mean that buroktan? I don’t know how those Central Plains people drink it… it has no taste.”

Buroktan.

A name I created using Chinese characters meaning “muscles attached like stones that burst through clothes.”

In other words, it meant that muscles would grow like stones and burst through clothes.

It was a name I cobbled together using characters that sounded as close as possible to “protein.”

If people from the Central Plains saw it, they would surely be dumbfounded by such nonsensical character combinations.

But there were no Central Plains people on the steppe.

So using such absurd characters wasn’t a problem at all.

The reason I used Central Plains characters instead of steppe-style names was to exploit the psychology of steppe people who considered anything from the Central Plains to be good.

That way, they would eat it without complaint, thinking “so this is what Central Plains people eat.”

Of course, with the exception of someone like Munglig.

“It’s a precious drink from the Central Plains. Drink it without complaint.”

“I think airag would be better…”

“Tsk.”

“I-I’ll drink it.”

So Munglig drank the buroktan.

He frowned and handed the water container back to me.

“Ugh… disgusting…”

“A man shouldn’t show weakness. Anyway, I have a task for you.”

“What is it? Please don’t make me do something strange like walking across the steppe with you again, brother.”

Sharp-witted Munglig.

I couldn’t help but feel caught.

“…Don’t tell me it’s something similar?”

“It’s similar, but… it’s good for you too.”

“I don’t recall many good experiences from following your suggestions…”

“It’s really good, trust me. If you do as I say, your wives will be happy too.”

Munglig was known to be devoted to his wives.

Perhaps because of this, he brightened up at my words and asked:

“…What is it?”

“Let’s exercise together.”

With those words, I pointed to the barbell beside me.

Munglig looked back and forth between me and the barbell loaded with three 20kg plates, giving me a look that asked if I was serious.

* * *

“One more!”

“Arghhhh! B-brother! N-no! I can’t! I can’t lift it!”

“Don’t show weakness! You can do one more!”

“I can’t! I can’t do it!”

“Instead of talking, just lift!”

“Nnnnnngggghhh!”

Munglig gritted his teeth and persevered.

Then he straightened his back.

“See! You did it! Well done, Munglig!”

“Argh!”

Munglig didn’t even reply and immediately threw down the barbell.

About two months had passed since I started working out with Munglig.

Being naturally strong, Munglig’s body was becoming more defined, and now he showed the impressive feat of deadlifting 180kg.

180kg lifted with pure strength, without straps or a belt.

Anyone who had done weightlifting would know what an achievement this was without being told.

“N-never… haa… make me do this again, brother…”

“Don’t show weakness. Next time, we’ll add one more plate on each side.”

“…”

Munglig’s expression asked if I was serious.

I smiled and nodded at his expression.

Working out together definitely felt more effective.

I almost regretted not making Munglig my workout partner earlier.

“Come on. Thirty seconds of rest and then we continue with back exercises.”

“I can’t do it! I really can’t, brother!”

“You can do it! Munglig! I didn’t raise you to be so weak!”

At this, Munglig stopped responding and just collapsed.

I thought I should rest a bit too and sat down on a rock.

Just as I was about to catch my breath,

someone approached me from the distance.

“Gurkhan.”

“What is it?”

“Ong Khan of the Keraites has requested your help.”

Toghrul, who had received a royal title from the Jin Dynasty.

Because of this, he came to be called Ong Khan, derived from the Chinese character for “king.”

Toghrul knew that the Khamag Mongol would soon invade the Naiman and Merkit.

So I couldn’t help but wonder why Toghrul would ask for my help in this situation with war imminent.

“Help?”

“Yes. The son of Gurkhan, who once coveted the Khan position of the Keraites, is planning to invade with help from the Naiman and Merkit!”

Gurkhan had once rebelled, coveting Ong Khan’s position.

At that time, Yesugei had helped Toghrul kill Gurkhan and all his sons, as far as I knew. But it seemed another son had escaped and survived.

“I understand. I’ll prepare right away.”

The war had been moved up from the original schedule.

I had no choice but to postpone working out with Munglig for a while.

At this, Munglig looked pleased.

I looked at him and muttered quietly:

“We’ll continue even during the war, so don’t be too happy, Munglig.”

At my words, Munglig’s face crumpled again.