Ch.251The Central Plains (1)

I initially informed them that I would send the daughter of the Goryeo Emperor on the way to the Great Capital to prevent any potential substitution.

I could only nod in agreement.

“Then I’ll trust you, my in-law. But… which of my sons do you intend for her to marry?”

“From what I understand, Prince Khasar, one of Your Majesty’s sons, is still unmarried.”

A marriage between Khasar and the Goryeo royal family.

This would essentially make Ulus and Goryeo double in-laws.

It wasn’t a bad arrangement from my perspective, but there were some considerations.

“I wonder if Goryeo is revealing its ambitions for the Japanese archipelago through this marriage.”

This made sense because Khasar was widely seen as the designated ruler of the archipelago.

So Goryeo’s approach to Khasar could only be interpreted as revealing their ambitions for the islands.

“Absolutely not.”

“That’s right. We’re not trying to gain advantage through Prince Khasar.”

They might say this, but they could be harboring other thoughts.

So I mentioned the right of succession right there.

“Khasar is set to become the Tenno of the archipelago, but his title is rightfully the eldest son of the Golden Clan. If Goryeo attempts to divide Ulus through this, I will not forgive it.”

Upon my warning, Yi Uibang and Kim Bo-dang immediately waved their hands in denial.

“We absolutely have no such ambitions.”

“Then is an alliance truly all that Goryeo wants?”

To my question, Kim Bo-dang immediately continued.

“Through this alliance, Goryeo simply wishes to prove its strong friendship with Ulus.”

“Diplomatic rhetoric is unnecessary here. Tell me exactly what Goryeo wants.”

At my words, Kim Bo-dang looked at Yi Uibang.

Then, as if resolved, Kim Bo-dang carefully spoke.

“Actually… we want to acquire land from Southern Song.”

“I cannot give away Southern Song territory. Additionally, since we haven’t yet brought Song to ruin, I consider this excessive greed from Goryeo.”

I drew the line with these words.

This was because if Goryeo gained land in China, they might harbor other intentions.

A modern person might ask why we couldn’t give them a small piece of land for an alliance.

However, these small favors often became entitlements, so caution was necessary.

While Yi Uibang and Kim Bo-dang were currently in power, those dissatisfied with their governance might plot a coup and change the regime.

If that happened, the existing policy would certainly change completely.

Therefore, ceding Song territory was out of the question.

“I see…”

Kim Bo-dang expressed his disappointment.

To appease Goryeo, I made one proposal.

“Instead, I will allow Goryeo free movement through our territorial waters and future secured maritime passages.”

In modern terms, this would be equivalent to the right of innocent passage.

The right of innocent passage allows foreign vessels to freely navigate through another country’s territorial waters within certain limits, as long as they don’t violate the coastal state’s rights or negatively impact peace, order, and safety.

Modern people might question why this matters.

This is because the seas of this era are thought to be places where one could roam freely.

In reality, coastal rights have existed since ancient times.

Even during the Tang Dynasty, there were specific departments that inspected and regulated Silla’s trading vessels approaching the coast.

Anyway, I offered them these maritime passage rights.

However, this alone seemed insufficient, as they still expressed disappointment.

“Thank you for granting us maritime passage rights. However, we need a base to properly utilize these rights.”

“Don’t you have Tsushima Island as a base?”

“Tsushima is a small island between Goryeo and Japan. It’s difficult to profit from trade with countries south of Song using this island as a base.”

Kim Bo-dang’s point was valid.

To benefit from innocent passage rights, they needed to trade, but with current navigation technology, trading with Indochinese countries was difficult.

Therefore, they needed a base.

While all this made sense, they overlooked one thing.

They hadn’t given any concrete assurance about how they would help us.

So I leaned back and looked at Kim Bo-dang.

“Goryeo claims to be an ally but is unilaterally demanding that Ulus share its interests.”

“…”

“That… that is…”

“If Goryeo truly wants to be an ally, shouldn’t you first discuss how our countries can join forces to bring down Song, and how many troops Goryeo can send, rather than talking about sharing benefits?”

At my words, Kim Bo-dang and Yi Uibang apologized in embarrassment.

“We apologize, Gurkhan.”

“We were too forward.”

“I believe our countries are allies, but we’re not yet in sync to fight against a common enemy.”

“We were too eager…”

“Enough.”

I raised my hand.

Then, looking at the two men, I murmured softly.

“I will return to the Great Capital. And the princess is not needed.”

With these words, I stood up.

The Ulus generals who had been enjoying the banquet also rose from their seats.

“What’s happening?”

“Why suddenly leave when we were having a good time…?”

The Goryeo officials who didn’t understand the situation blinked in confusion.

Naturally, all eyes turned to where Kim Bo-dang, Yi Uibang, and I were standing.

The atmosphere was unpleasant.

Reading this, they showed embarrassed expressions and reluctance.

In the awkward atmosphere, even the Goryeo Emperor approached me.

“Is the banquet uncomfortable for you?”

“It seems I haven’t fully recovered from travel fatigue. I wish to return and rest now, so please understand.”

With that, the Mongol generals and I left the banquet hall.

The remaining Goryeo officials could only watch Yi Uibang and Kim Bo-dang nervously.

* * *

After hearing the full story, Jadaran Elunka and Munglig frowned.

“Even though Goryeo is an ally, they’ve been disrespectful to the Gurkhan.”

“That’s right, brother. And sending the Goryeo Emperor’s daughter? Shouldn’t they have asked Khasar’s opinion before offering this?”

Elunka and Munglig were even angrier than I was.

The reason for their anger was, of course, disappointment in Goryeo’s actions.

It’s true that without Goryeo’s supplies during the war, the eastern expedition might have failed.

Accordingly, Ulus acknowledged Goryeo’s contribution by ceding Tsushima Island, so we had paid our dues.

But perhaps Goryeo had developed a taste for territorial expansion through Tsushima, as they violated diplomatic protocol and committed a diplomatic offense against an ally.

And they did it directly to me, of all people.

“While it’s disappointing, both Ulus and Goryeo need each other in the current situation.”

“Surely you don’t understand their disregard for proper procedure…”

At Elunka’s words, I shook my head.

“Of course not. But if Goryeo makes a poor choice, we’ll have to take action.”

Just because I came from modern Korea doesn’t mean I needed to show favoritism to Goryeo.

The reason Ulus has worked with Goryeo until now was entirely because they were militarily, politically, and diplomatically necessary.

When facing Jin, we needed a force to attack from the rear.

When conquering Japan, we needed a force to support our supplies.

The Song conquest was the same.

When attacking the vast territory of Song, we needed an ally to share the front lines.

But now that Goryeo had become blinded by profit and disrupted the proper order of things, I felt we needed to redefine this relationship.

“Goryeo is not indispensable for the conquest of Song.”

Munglig and Elunka nodded at my words.

It might seem contradictory that I just said Goryeo was necessary but now said they weren’t indispensable.

However, in reality, Ulus had the capacity to devour Song on its own.

We only needed Goryeo as a partner to minimize the various disharmonies that arise in the process—the loss of manpower, reduction in national capacity, recovery from war damage, and so on.

Therefore, while Goryeo was useful to Ulus, they weren’t essential.

“Besides, now that the archipelago is in our hands through the eastern expedition…”

I let my words trail off.

The reason was simple: if Goryeo harbored other intentions, I planned to target the peninsula first.

“It wouldn’t be difficult to have Belgutei of Liaodong lead troops southward and establish a new puppet government.”

The current Goryeo was a coalition government lacking legitimacy.

Unlike that government, Belgutei was married to Yi Uibang’s daughter, who had been adopted by Goryeo’s King Uijong.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be difficult for Belgutei to lead troops down, conquer the peninsula, and establish a new government.

This would essentially reduce Goryeo to a vassal state of Ulus.

“While Goryeo has certainly proven its value as an ally, it’s also true that they’re not essential. So that seems like a good option as well.”

Elunka nodded, agreeing with my opinion.

From Ulus’s perspective, it might be better to preemptively block Goryeo from becoming a variable.

To be frank, Ulus and Goryeo were never allies of equal standing.

Goryeo failed to recognize that this alliance was maintained through Ulus’s goodwill.

So if they made the wrong choice, we had no reason to continue showing them favor.

Anyway, in the middle of this discussion, a Kheshig suddenly approached.

“Khagan, Goryeo’s Grand General, the Chief State Councilor, and General Irin have arrived.”

At this, Munglig looked at me.

“It seems they’ve come to apologize for what happened at the banquet, brother.”

“I certainly hope so.”

A redefinition of our relationship with Goryeo was necessary.

However, I didn’t want bloodshed in the process.

There was no need to expand the front before fighting Song.

As I’ve repeatedly mentioned, war was a last resort.

It was the final means of imposing my will on others.

So if Goryeo was now ready to apologize and accept our will, there was no reason to refuse.