Ch.257Caucasus (3)

“I see.”

The man read through the letter in a calm voice.

After finishing it, he naturally handed the letter to the man on his right.

“Is it for Muqali?”

“Yes.”

“He seems quite busy too.”

Jamukha said this as he put the letter in his pocket.

Seeing this, the two men looked at Jamukha.

“Aren’t you going to show it to us?”

“I’m hurt, General.”

At Jelme and Jebe’s comments, Jamukha made an embarrassed expression and handed over the letter.

“Sorry, sorry. I forgot.”

“There are other things you should forget.”

Jelme said this as he took the letter from Jamukha’s hand.

Seeing this, Jamukha made a disgruntled expression and complained to the man who had handed him the letter.

“Now they’re trying to be my equals, aren’t they?”

“I captured five more of Ayyubid’s generals than you did. Shouldn’t you be calling me ‘older brother’?”

“Temujin, you too? I’ll have you know I’m your sister’s husband and also…”

“It’s because you’re my sister’s husband that I’m letting you off easy, Jamukha.”

The man answered curtly, cutting him off.

“Ever since you’ve been through a few battles, you’ve become so sharp.”

Jamukha said this while looking at Temujin.

With his intense gaze and the aura of a conqueror emanating from his entire body.

Anyone could see that Temujin was no longer a young wolf, but had become a full-fledged wolf.

“I think he’s giving off a stronger presence than Gurkhan.”

“I still have a long way to go to catch up to Father.”

Temujin said this while containing his aura.

Then he turned his head to look at Jebe.

“Where’s Chilaun?”

“He seems to be coordinating with Barbarossa.”

“I wish that old man would go peacefully.”

Temujin nodded at Jamukha’s words.

This time, Jamukha’s words were right.

Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire.

The brave Barbarossa was a Crusader king full of vigor who always led from the front in battles against the Ayyubid Dynasty.

And because of that, he was causing problems at every turn.

“At this rate, he’ll not only push back Jerusalem but advance all the way to Egypt.”

Jamukha spoke with a worried expression.

Judging by the current momentum, the Holy Roman Empire forces led by Barbarossa had enough strength to occupy Egypt and more.

This was not at all welcome news from the perspective of the Eastern Expedition, that is, the Mongols.

The Mongols wanted Egypt.

They needed to conquer Egypt to enable their future conquest of Europe.

But if Frederick occupied Egyptian territory, things would get complicated.

“Fighting among fellow Christians isn’t ideal, but showing discord when the Pope is still alive isn’t a good look either.”

Temujin didn’t readily answer Jamukha’s comment.

He raised his hand to calm the talkative Jamukha.

“There he goes again.”

“Our lord needs time to think.”

“That’s right. So wait patiently, Jamukha.”

“Tch. Once again I’m playing the role of the insensitive one.”

Jamukha clicked his tongue as he said this.

But in Jamukha’s eyes as he looked at Temujin, there was expectation.

After Gurkhan’s Byzantine campaign, Temujin had become the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Crusaders.

At that time, many people expressed concerns about Temujin, who wasn’t extremely young but still lacked experience, leading such a large force.

But Temujin had proven these concerns wrong by demonstrating his valor.

The Siege of Tripoli, the Annihilation of Beirut, and the Battle of Damascus.

He had claimed victory in many of the fiercest battles of the Crusades.

Chinggis Khan.

The soldiers had already acknowledged Temujin as Gurkhan’s successor and the lord of the four seas.

Additionally, Temujin had proven this ability in front of Western monarchs.

As a result, he had received the glorious title of Crusader King from the King of France, the King of England, and the Holy Roman Emperor.

“…Bring Bo’orchu.”

Having organized his thoughts, Temujin called for Bo’orchu in a calm voice.

Jebe bowed and went to fetch Bo’orchu.

“You called for me, my lord?”

Bo’orchu greeted him with proper etiquette.

Temujin acknowledged the greeting with his hand, just as Yesugei would have done, and then spoke.

“Do you know how many cooking utensils there are in the English and French camps?”

At Temujin’s question, Jebe, Jelme, and Jamukha, who were listening, showed surprised expressions.

Bo’orchu was in charge of supplies.

So he knew something about the enemy’s utensils, but knowing in detail would be difficult.

Knowing this well, Jamukha couldn’t help but speak to his anda.

“Why are you asking something only Tengri or God would know…”

“About 350 pieces, sir.”

“…”

“…”

There was a moment of silence at Bo’orchu’s answer.

Unlike the atmosphere around him, Temujin nodded with satisfaction.

“Not far from the number I predicted. Good. Approach the English and French forces and borrow their utensils.”

“Borrow… do you really mean borrow, sir?”

Temujin nodded at this.

“Yes. Borrow them.”

At Temujin’s confident answer, Jamukha made an incredulous expression.

“Does that even make sense? They won’t lend their utensils unless they’ve gone mad.”

“They’ll lend them if we pay.”

Temujin answered confidently.

To this, Jamukha immediately asked a question.

“Why do you need utensils? What are you planning to do with them? And if you’re going to use them, wouldn’t it be better to make new ones?”

Jebe and Jelme nodded in agreement with Jamukha’s words.

While everyone else seemed confused, only Temujin and Bo’orchu seemed to understand, their eyes gleaming.

“Borrowing with money is possible. But if we borrow on such a large scale, the Holy Roman Emperor might become suspicious.”

“Suspicious… then it would be better to steal them secretly.”

At Temujin’s casual suggestion to steal them, Jamukha immediately questioned.

“Are you crazy? Why steal those?”

“I have a use for them.”

“Where?”

“To deceive the enemy.”

“Why would stealing utensils deceive the… oh!”

Jamukha’s eyes lit up as if he understood something.

Temujin then asked with an expression that said “I knew you’d get it.”

“I’ve always told you to see the core of things.”

“Well, when you cut out all context and just say ‘let’s borrow utensils,’ it’s confusing!”

“Then what about Bo’orchu who understood me perfectly?”

“I don’t know about that. Who would think of stealing utensils?”

“That’s the key.”

Temujin smiled as he looked at his anda.

The Mongol army steals utensils.

Then the English and French forces would naturally have to make new ones.

In the process, many soldiers would inevitably miss meals due to the lack of eating utensils.

However, the core of this strategy wasn’t about the few soldiers who couldn’t eat.

The core was…

“Making the Holy Roman Emperor think that the reduced number of utensils means a reduced number of soldiers.”

Fewer soldiers.

If Frederick I saw this, he could only think one thing.

“The most reasonable inference would be that they’re returning home due to problems in their homeland.”

Everyone nodded at Temujin’s words.

“But will Barbarossa really be fooled by something like that? He’s an experienced general and politician.”

“True. That’s why we need to add another layer.”

Temujin said this and turned his head.

There stood a man wearing a mask.

“Pretend to assassinate the Lion-Hearted King.”

“By ‘pretend to assassinate,’ you mean…”

“I mean fail.”

The masked man showed a considerably surprised expression at this.

“This is the first time I’ve received such an order as an assassin. Not to succeed in assassination, but to fail…”

“When this mission is over, you will be free.”

“…I will obey.”

The masked man bowed and left.

As he disappeared, Jamukha frowned with a disgusted expression.

“I can never get used to those guys.”

“They did try to assassinate us.”

Temujin replied calmly.

The one he had given orders to was none other than a Nizari Ismaili assassin.

These assassins had tried to kill Gurkhan and other key figures on orders from Iranian nobles.

However, Gurkhan sensed their presence and subdued them, resolving the situation.

Afterward, he sent soldiers to completely destroy their base.

Because of this, the Iranian branch disappeared, leaving only Masyaf in Syria.

The assassins of Masyaf tried to escape the persistent pursuit of Mongol soldiers, but it was impossible to completely repel cavalry that were faster than assassins.

For this reason, they eventually apologized to Gurkhan,

and the rulers of the Ulus forgave them but ordered them to serve the Ulus.

With this background, Temujin, who led the Ulus Crusaders, was using them.

“By the way, do you really intend to let them go when this is over?”

At Jamukha’s question, Temujin nodded.

“It’s natural for a ruler to keep his promises.”

“For someone saying that, you have quite an evil smile on your face.”

“Does it look that way?”

Temujin said this with a smirk.

Seeing this, Jamukha looked at Temujin with disgust.

“Sometimes I think it’s fortunate that I’m your anda.”

“Afraid I would have killed you if you weren’t?”

“No, you would have let me go. And then made sure I died in the most miserable way.”

At Jamukha’s words, Temujin shrugged.

Then he turned his head and spoke to Bo’orchu.

“Send someone to Richard.”

“How should I send the message?”

To Bo’orchu’s question, Temujin immediately replied.

“Tell him a guest will visit at night, so be careful. That should be appropriate.”