Ch.25The Yeke Mongol Ulus (4)

Awakened by the commotion outside, Tayang Khan rose from his seat.

He called for his aide to assess the situation.

“It’s… it’s terrible, my Khan. We’re under… under attack!”

“Under attack? What were the sentries doing!”

“Well, that…”

The aide couldn’t bring himself to say that his soldiers had briefly deserted their posts to hunt for food because they couldn’t bear their hunger.

If he admitted this, Tayang Khan’s fury would fall squarely on him.

“Never mind. Prepare weapons and armor instead. We must respond to the enemy’s surprise attack.”

Tayang Khan knew well that scolding his aide in such a chaotic situation wouldn’t be right.

So he temporarily overlooked the aide’s fault and moved to assess the situation.

“I’ll… I’ll prepare them right away, my Khan.”

When Tayang Khan stepped outside wearing his armor and sword, he was shocked to see flames rapidly spreading throughout the gers.

“F-fire attack! Those Khamag Mongol bastards are using fire!”

The steppe was a region lacking water.

As such, this perpetually dry land provided optimal conditions for fire to spread quickly once ignited.

In short, it was terrain perfectly suited for attacking enemies with fire.

Yet such fire attacks were rarely used in battle, mainly because steppe warfare typically ended in brief engagements.

Fire attacks were ineffective against mounted enemies, making them uncommon in steppe warfare.

Consequently, the steppe region lacked the technique of strategically setting fires at the right place and time to ambush enemies.

One might think it’s as simple as setting fires, but directing the flames toward enemy forces required careful calculation.

In any case, such techniques were rare on the Mongolian steppe.

Since fire attacks were seldom used, Tayang Khan was completely caught off guard by this assault.

“Throw dirt on the flames to extinguish them!”

Confused by the unexpected fire attack, the soldiers failed to hear Tayang Khan’s orders and began to panic.

“F-fire!”

“The horses won’t listen!”

It wasn’t just the soldiers who were in chaos—their horses were equally disturbed.

Unaccustomed to fire, the horses kicked and tried to flee from the sudden flames.

With the situation spiraling out of control, Tayang Khan gritted his teeth and issued orders to his aide.

“Take the fastest horse and ride to where the Merkit tribe is located.”

“By the Merkit tribe, you mean…”

“Yes. Inform them we’re under attack and request their assistance.”

“I will carry out your orders, Khan.”

After dispatching his aide, Tayang Khan turned to rally his confused soldiers.

Thanks to Tayang Khan’s active leadership, the soldiers gradually recovered from their confusion.

However, since the horses were still too agitated to ride, he organized the men into infantry units to prepare for the enemy’s attack.

“You, defend the west. The rest, follow me to the left…”

Clippity-clop, clippity-clop.

A chilling sound sent shivers down Tayang Khan’s spine.

He stopped giving orders and turned to look west.

There, with the wind at his back, was a man in a red cloak charging toward Tayang Khan with his sword drawn.

“Y-Yesugei…!”

“You wolf cubs! Heaven’s punishment has arrived on this land!”

At Yesugei’s thunderous cry, Tayang Khan couldn’t help but tremble.

After all, the sight of Yesugei charging at him with a sword resembled…

“Daichi Tengri…”

“I-impossible… D-Daichi Tengri is angry!”

“The heavenly god is furious and has sent Daichi Tengri to earth!”

The soldiers cried out in terror.

Even Tayang, their leader, began to share the same thought.

Divine punishment.

It felt as though the steppe’s fury was manifesting through that massive body.

“People born on the steppe! Those who live and die on horseback! Slaughter these dismounted wolves!”

Following Yesugei’s command, the Khamag Mongol soldiers charged at the Naiman soldiers.

The Naiman soldiers belatedly raised their weapons to defend themselves, but having dismounted, they were essentially infantry and no match for the charging cavalry.

“Argh!”

“Gah!”

“Aagh!”

Screams erupted everywhere as the cavalry charged.

As the screams grew louder, even those holding weapons beside Tayang began to falter.

“Don’t flee! If you run, I’ll kill you myself!”

The soldiers hesitated at Tayang Khan’s shout.

But since staying meant certain death anyway, the Naiman soldiers had no choice but to flee.

“Run!”

“R-run away!”

“D-damn it.”

With his soldiers beginning to flee, continued resistance became impossible.

Tayang Khan finally abandoned the fight and began to retreat with his men.

“Haha! So the Naiman runt tucks his tail and runs after all!”

Yesugei shouted, then issued orders to his sons in a cold voice.

“I’ll reward whoever captures Tayang Khan. Who will bring me the head of the Naiman wolves?”

Temujin, Bekter, Belgutei, and Khasar’s eyes gleamed at this.

They immediately gripped their reins and began to gallop.

Yesugei’s sons had become hunters.

And their prey was none other than the fleeing Tayang Khan.

* * *

Upon hearing that the Naiman tribe’s position had collapsed, Tagar led his soldiers toward the Merkit tribe’s location.

“Khan Chilaidu!”

“You’ve arrived, Tagar Khan?”

“How could this happen!”

At Tagar Khan’s outcry, Chilaidu shrugged and looked at him.

“What has happened?”

“What has happened? Our ally, the Naiman, is under attack! Why are the Merkit forces still here after receiving their request for aid?”

Despite Tagar’s fiery anger, Chilaidu remained calm.

“It’s too late for us to go to their rescue. Besides, our own position was attacked by Ong Khan—how could we have had time to help the Naiman?”

“Ha! The Kereit forces were few in number. You could have defeated them and immediately gone to help the Naiman…”

Chilaidu, who had been listening quietly, drew his sword, unable to tolerate Tagar crossing the line.

“You’re overstepping, Tagar.”

“…”

“You seem to have forgotten that you are merely someone who requested our help.”

Unable to deny Chilaidu’s words, Tagar had to take a step back.

However, if he backed down completely, their ally Naiman might collapse entirely, so Tagar changed his approach to persuasion.

“Please calm yourself, Khan Chilaidu. I seem to have gotten too excited. But if the Naiman tribe falls completely, the Khamag-Kereit allied forces will outnumber us, and we could be defeated.”

Hearing Tagar’s reasonable argument, Chilaidu paused to gather his thoughts.

After organizing his thoughts, Chilaidu calmed down and sheathed his sword.

“We must save the Naiman.”

“As expected of the wise Khan Chilaidu.”

Though it might already be too late, this was better than giving up entirely.

With this in mind, Tagar breathed a sigh of relief and was about to explain how they might rescue the Naiman.

At that moment.

“T-terrible news, my Khan! Enemy forces… enemy forces are launching a surprise attack!”

“What!”

Chilaidu shouted.

In place of the agitated Chilaidu, Tagar calmly questioned the scout to assess the situation.

“What is the enemy’s strength? From which direction are they coming?”

“I couldn’t confirm their exact numbers, but I saw the banners of the Onggirat and Oirat tribes, as well as the Kereit tribe. As for which direction they’re coming from…”

It seemed the scout was too shocked by the enemy’s approach to observe properly.

Seeing this, Chilaidu clicked his tongue and then drew his sword, beheading the scout on the spot.

“Gah…”

Chilaidu’s sudden action.

Everyone in the ger froze at this display.

“What are you doing!”

“My soldier failed to perform his duty properly. As Khan, it’s only natural that I punish him, isn’t it?”

Though his words sounded reasonable, Tagar couldn’t help but think Chilaidu was simply venting his frustration from their earlier exchange.

This thought wasn’t unique to Tagar—the expressions of Chilaidu Khan’s aides and the other khans in the ger were equally displeased.

But voicing such thoughts could put their lives at risk, so they all chose silence.

Unlike these khans and aides, Tagar believed they couldn’t afford more internal problems.

So, to calm Chilaidu, he spoke with a composed expression.

“A soldier who neglects his duty deserves punishment. But couldn’t we have extracted more information from him?”

At Tagar’s calm explanation, Chilaidu looked as if he’d just realized his mistake.

Only then did he notice the disapproving looks from the aides around him.

He had acted like a tyrant to hide his insecurity.

In other words, he had shown weakness.

A leader showing weakness.

On the steppe, this meant only one thing.

“A-ahem. He’s already dead… nothing to be done. Anyway, all forces prepare for the enemy’s surprise attack!”

The khans and aides remained motionless despite Chilaidu’s words.

Chilaidu began brandishing his sword, pressuring them.

“Follow my orders! These are the commands of the Merkit Khan!”

Faced with Chilaidu’s rage, the khans and aides had no choice but to leave the ger.

Now only two remained in the ger.

Tagar’s gaze grew increasingly complex as he observed the extremely unstable Chilaidu.