Ch.26The Yeke Mongol Ulus (5)

“Huff… huff…”

A man was breathing heavily.

He discovered a small village near the Altai Mountains and hid himself.

“I… haa… such humiliation…”

A clear knife wound carved into his abdomen.

When he touched the wound, the man trembled as if feeling the pain.

“We’re almost there, Father. Please endure a little longer.”

“Haa… haa… I was wrong… to trust those Merkits… haa…”

The man’s rough voice.

Hearing it, his son nodded with bloodshot eyes.

“Son… *cough*… listen carefully to me…”

“Sp-speak, Father.”

“Take the soldiers and head west to seek help from your uncle… Though we don’t get along well, he will protect you as family.”

“F-Father, what about you…?”

“I don’t think I can move any further.”

The man turned his head to look outside.

His face was filled with complicated emotions.

“Kuchlug. My son. Do not oppose Ulanbaatar.”

“Wh-what are you saying?”

“Yesugei is the ruler of the four seas, destined to rule beyond the ulus. I realized too late how fearsome he truly is. *cough*…”

The man paused to catch his breath.

He took his son’s hand and murmured quietly.

“Remember my words, Kuchlug.”

“I-I will remember them.”

“Good. You are now the Khan of Naiman.”

At his father’s words, Kuchlug began to wail.

“The only Khan of Naiman is Tayang Khan! Father! Naiman can only survive with you alive!”

“Run, my son. The blue wolves… are coming…”

With those final words, Tayang Khan fell silent.

The flame that had flickered pitifully in his eyes was extinguished.

“Father…”

At that moment, the sound of hoofbeats began to echo from the distance.

Hearing this, those who had followed Tayang Khan looked to Kuchlug, who had become their new Khan.

“We must evacuate immediately.”

“If we stay, we’ll be captured by Yesugei’s sons.”

“…I understand.”

Kuchlug rose from his place after hearing his officers’ words.

Then he looked at his father’s cold body.

“Tayang Khan is here!”

“You Naiman jackals! Did you think you could hide?”

At the voices of the Khamag Mongol trackers, Kuchlug quickly fled the scene.

Many soldiers and officers followed Kuchlug.

And so, only the body of Tayang Khan, who had met a lonely end, remained behind.

* * *

“Tch… they escaped after all.”

Bekhter clicked his tongue.

Temujin, surveying the surroundings, sighed.

“We should have arrived earlier, Bekhter.”

“Isn’t it because you were dawdling? Temujin.”

“So you’re saying it’s my fault?”

At Temujin’s words, Bekhter merely shrugged instead of answering.

Instead, he scolded Jamukha, who had become Temujin’s anda.

“Your anda is quite curt, isn’t he? Right, Jamukha?”

Jamukha found himself in an awkward position.

Even though he had become Temujin’s anda, Bekhter was his older brother-in-law, so he had no choice but to be respectful.

“Haha… it’s… it’s my fault.”

Bekhter laughed heartily, showing his teeth at Jamukha’s response.

Seeing this, Temujin clicked his tongue and addressed Bekhter.

“Instead of arguing about this, wouldn’t it be better to find Tayang Khan’s body?”

“That’s for the younger brothers to do. Why should we move?”

While they were conversing, Belgutei and Khasar approached the three.

The two were coming with triumphant expressions, dragging something.

“Brother! We found it!”

“We found Tayang Khan’s body, so help us out.”

At their words, Bekhter and Temujin dismounted and approached Tayang Khan’s body.

They could immediately tell that Tayang Khan had died from continued bleeding due to a deep stab wound in his abdomen.

“What about the Naiman soldiers? Did you find any traces?”

Temujin asked.

Belgutei nodded and answered.

“It seems they all fled, brother.”

“Abandoning their Khan’s body when their lives were at stake. Tsk tsk.”

“That was a poor choice.”

At Bekhter and Khasar’s comments, Temujin nodded and stood up.

Then he looked at his brothers and spoke calmly.

“Still, we’ve completed the mission Father gave us, so let’s head back now.”

“Aren’t we going to chase after those who fled?”

Jamukha asked.

Temujin nodded at the question.

“This is Naiman territory from here on. Even if Tayang Khan and Buiruq Khan weren’t on good terms, he wouldn’t ignore a request for help from Kuchlug, who is of the same family. And with Chiledu Khan of the Merkits still remaining, it’s better to return.”

As Temujin said, the battle wasn’t completely over with the Merkit tribe and Tagar Khan still remaining.

So Temujin’s explanation was entirely reasonable, and his brothers nodded in understanding.

With the decision to return settled, Bekhter looked at Temujin and asked a question.

“What about the body? Should we behead him and just take the head back?”

Bekhter pointed his sword at Tayang Khan’s neck.

Temujin shook his head to stop Bekhter and raised his hand to instruct the soldiers.

“Let’s wrap the body in good cloth to preserve it as much as possible, then return.”

“What? Have you suddenly become Chinese?”

Belgutei remarked.

On the steppe, it was common to either leave bodies for birds to peck at or to pile stones as a burial.

So wrapping a body carefully in cloth for preservation seemed like something sedentary people like the Chinese would do.

“Do I really need to explain that preserving Tayang Khan’s body and presenting it to Father will bring greater rewards?”

“What are you talking about? Father told us to bring back his head.”

“That’s right.”

At Belgutei and Khasar’s words, Temujin, the eldest, sighed.

Then he began explaining his decision to his less perceptive brothers.

“If we just take the head, the Naiman tribe will consider the Khamag Mongol their enemy. But if we recover the body and give it a proper burial according to Naiman customs, they’ll direct their anger more toward the Merkits and Tagar Khan who didn’t come to their rescue.”

“Oh…”

“I think brother is right.”

“You think I’m right… sigh. And these are my brothers.”

Temujin clicked his tongue.

Bekhter, who had been silently listening to Temujin, looked at him and asked a question.

“How did you come up with that?”

“What?”

“Weren’t you the type to act impulsively without thinking things through?”

“This is a bit difficult to explain…”

As Temujin trailed off, Khasar, who had been listening from behind, stepped forward and continued the explanation.

“Our brother has been reading books lately.”

“Hey, Khasar. Why are you telling him that?”

“…Reading books? You don’t even know how to read.”

“I’ve been learning bit by bit from Jamukha. Father said he would find someone to teach me letters, but I thought it would be awkward if I knew nothing when I started learning.”

Temujin replied with an embarrassed expression.

At his words, Bekhter nodded as if he had realized something.

“Bekhter?”

“It’s… nothing. Anyway, since you’re the eldest, I’ll follow your lead.”

Khasar and Belgutei were surprised by Bekhter’s words.

Even Temujin looked at Bekhter with a surprised expression.

“Why… why are you all looking at me like that?!”

“Well… usually when Temujin suggests something, you always suggest the opposite…”

“Did you eat something bad?”

“You brats!”

“Just kidding. So we’re following Temujin’s lead, right?”

Khasar asked.

Both Bekhter and Belgutei nodded without argument.

“Thank you, Bekhter.”

“Hmph. I’m only acknowledging you this once. So don’t… don’t get the wrong idea that we’re getting closer.”

“…I didn’t say anything…”

“Anyway! Let’s hurry back. Father is waiting.”

Bekhter mounted his horse before Temujin could finish speaking.

Seeing this, Temujin shook his head and mounted his own horse.

With everyone now on horseback, Khasar, who hadn’t mounted yet, tilted his head and looked at his brothers.

“So who’s in charge of the body?”

“Obviously the youngest should do it.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

A familiar feeling.

Not wanting to be taken advantage of again, Khasar turned to look at Jamukha.

“Don’t think about making Jamukha do it. He’s older than you and he’s my anda.”

“…”

And so Khasar was left all alone.

It was sad to be born the youngest.

* * *

“…For these reasons, I brought back Tayang Khan’s body, Father.”

Temujin explained.

From his explanation, I could feel that my sons had grown mentally by leaps and bounds.

The fact that they didn’t just do what they were told, but analyzed their actions and acted based on that analysis.

Such behavior made me feel, as their father, that my sons no longer needed to remain under my shadow.

“You made a truly excellent decision, Temujin.”

“It was only possible because my brothers followed my decision.”

After saying this, Temujin turned to look at Bekhter, Belgutei, and Khasar.

Meeting Temujin’s gaze, the boys blushed in embarrassment.

“Haha. This makes me happier than the victory over the Naiman.”

I approached the boys and patted each of their heads while continuing my praise.

The boys were embarrassed by my praise but clearly pleased.

Though large in stature, they were at an age equivalent to middle schoolers in modern terms, still needing love, which gave them these endearing qualities.

“Since everyone worked hard, tell me what each of you wants. I’ll reward you as promised.”

The boys were surprised by my words.

With the promise of rewards for everyone, they couldn’t help but look as happy as children receiving Christmas presents.

Unlike the others, Temujin maintained a serious expression.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I’m truly grateful for your words, Father. But since the battle is still ongoing, I think it would be better to receive the reward after the fighting is over.”

“You’re a thoughtful one.”

When I praised Temujin, the boys blushed.

I didn’t scold them but comforted them instead.

“It’s natural to be happy at the thought of receiving a reward, so don’t be embarrassed. It’s only right that you receive compensation for your efforts. But as Temujin said, now is not an appropriate time for rewards, so let’s discuss this later as our family’s eldest son suggested. Think about what you want in the meantime.”

The boys nodded at this.

Then they left the ger in small groups, discussing what they wanted to receive.

“You handle the children well, brother.”

“I see you’re still saying such things, which means you need more exercise.”

Munglig grimaced at my words.

That was understandable since he was currently doing shoulder presses with dumbbells beside me.

“L-lack of exercise? I worked hard to persuade the Khongirad Khan as you instructed…”

“Well, that’s true. Since I increased your exercise repetitions every time you failed to memorize what I told you, I suppose you’re not lacking in exercise.”

Munglig quickly nodded at my words.

I had planned to send Munglig to persuade the Khongirad Khan, but there was a problem with him not properly memorizing the sentences I told him to.

The solution to this problem was none other than exercise.

It was a miraculous memorization method where I would test him on the sentences I told him to memorize, and if he couldn’t answer, I would increase the repetitions.

Thanks to this miraculous memorization method, Munglig was able to successfully persuade the Khongirad tribe.

While I was thinking about this, someone opened the ger and entered.

I turned my head to look in that direction.

“Anda, it’s time to end Tagar’s life…”

Toghrul Khan couldn’t continue his words.

Munglig sweating, with me watching him with a satisfied smile.

He looked at Munglig and me with an expression that seemed to ask what on earth we were doing.

“Yesugei… you…”

“Don’t misunderstand. This is simply…”

A situation full of elements that could easily lead to misunderstandings.

Since such exercise was unfamiliar to the Mongols, I could immediately tell what Toghrul Khan was thinking.