Ch.275Sichuan (5)

The war between the Jin Dynasty and Song Dynasty had surfaced.

In response, the Song Dynasty quickly dispatched 50,000 troops.

“But they’re not fighting immediately?”

I couldn’t hide my confusion at the messenger’s report.

It made no sense that two nations that should be at each other’s throats would remain so quiet.

“Could this be the situation Yelu Chucai mentioned back then?”

Yelu Chucai’s words.

Recalling what he said, I couldn’t help but nod.

“As long as the Dali Kingdom isn’t stupid, they must know what happened to the islands.”

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly, Japan tried to resolve their internal problems by drawing in outside forces.

Through this, Japan lured the Ulus to the islands, and we pretended to follow their intentions before ultimately devouring all of Japan.

“The Song Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, and Dali Kingdom are likely to join hands.”

This was precisely the danger Yelu Chucai had warned about.

When lips are gone, teeth get cold.

A situation where the Jin Dynasty, Song Dynasty, and Dali unite in the face of the massive enemy that is the Ulus.

“This isn’t good.”

This was absolutely not a good situation for the Ulus.

Especially since both the Jin Dynasty and Song Dynasty were once powerful nations.

In other words, they were nations capable of attacking whenever the Ulus showed any weakness.

Despite having its power significantly reduced after the Ulus invasion, the Jin Dynasty had attacked and swallowed Sichuan in one go.

The Song Dynasty maintained its agricultural productivity despite accumulating damage from Mongol Pirates’ raids.

So Mongolia couldn’t move carelessly.

“That’s why I tried to use Dali… but even that isn’t working out.”

The Dali Kingdom bordered Western Xia, which my son Bekhter ruled.

I had considered using that connection to launch a surprise attack and conquer Dali.

But I learned this was impossible due to the natural terrain and dense forests there.

According to Yelu Chucai, Dali was an incredibly difficult terrain comparable to Sichuan.

Over 90 percent of its territory consisted of plateaus, hills, and mountains, with no proper flatlands like the Mongolian plateau.

Additionally, as a highland area, the mountains were enormous.

The largest mountain in Mongolia is Mount Tavan Bogd at 4,374 meters. But in Dali, mountains routinely exceeded 3,000 meters.

The largest mountain was Meili Snow Mountain, considered sacred in Tibetan Buddhism.

At 6,740 meters, it was 2.46 times taller than Mount Baekdu’s 2,744 meters.

Sending cavalry to such mountainous terrain would be madness.

“Even sending infantry would be difficult…”

Yet we couldn’t just stand by while the Song Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, and Dali joined forces.

Given enough time, the Song Dynasty would inevitably find ways to counter the Mongol Pirates.

Moreover, the Ulus was currently operating on three fronts.

First was the Caucasus front led by Muqali.

Second was the Egyptian front led by Temujin.

And finally, the current front against the Song and Jin Dynasties.

The Ulus had achieved rapid growth in a short period.

Behind this growth, naturally, were accumulated grievances suppressed through violence.

As a result, if anything went wrong anywhere, it was only a matter of time before the entire nation would falter.

“But we can’t stop.”

The Ulus had to continue waging war.

Or more precisely, we couldn’t stop.

Behind the Ulus’s expansion wars was the military.

To maintain them, we should have gradually built up our productive capacity, but the Ulus hadn’t done that.

Having grown by conquering territories and absorbing their productive capacity, our production capabilities were insufficient to support our military relative to our size.

Of course, we tried to address this by establishing workshops, implementing technological reforms, and refining our politics, but it was still inadequate.

Above all, even if the Ulus wanted to stop fighting, we couldn’t.

The Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty, who were waiting for revenge against the Ulus, wouldn’t leave us alone.

If we move first, we face three countries.

If we leave them alone, our enemies grow stronger.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

This was the worst possible situation for our current circumstances.

“So it means we must attack Dali even if we suffer heavy losses.”

The Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty couldn’t move due to various issues.

Therefore, we needed to mobilize troops immediately and conquer Dali, even at great cost.

Only then could we attack the Song Dynasty from the rear through Dali.

Anyway, as my concerns deepened, Jadaran Elunka suddenly entered the room.

“Great Khan. U-urgent news!”

“What is it?”

Honestly, I was hoping the enemy would attack first.

But the words from Elunka’s mouth were completely different from what I had predicted.

“Envoys have arrived from Dai Viet.”

* * *

The ruler of Dai Viet, Ly Chien Tso, was an outstanding conqueror.

Not only had he conquered many minority tribes in the northwest to secure vast territories, but he also strengthened Dai Viet’s national power through domestic policies.

This led the Song Dynasty to approach them first, offering the title of “King of Annam” and seeking friendly relations.

“But trusting those Chinese bastards would be foolish.”

Ly Chien Tso gritted his teeth as he said this.

The Song Dynasty constantly referenced the Han Dynasty era, hoping Dai Viet would become part of the Central Plains.

The evidence was in the title “King of Annam” itself.

While it meant “ruler of the Annam Kingdom,” Annam was originally another name for Jiaozhi, an administrative region established during the Han Dynasty.

This revealed that they essentially viewed Dai Viet as Song territory.

Additionally, there was a personal reason why he turned hostile toward the Song Dynasty.

He had recently experienced a near-death situation and miraculously recovered.

Surprised by this, Ly Chien Tso sought out a shaman, who told him:

Originally, his fate was to live only until age 39.

But his revival happened for a reason.

Gaining great insight from the shaman, Ly Chien Tso believed he still had a mission to fulfill.

What caught his eye was none other than his young son, Ly Long Han.

His son was only two years old.

He knew that if his son became emperor in such turbulent times as he had, the country would falter.

So he resolved to eliminate everything that might hinder his son’s rule before his own death.

This included ethnic minorities, corrupt officials, and the mighty Song Dynasty.

“Your Majesty, trusting Mongolia doesn’t seem like a good choice either.”

Ly Chien Tso shook his head at the official’s words.

He was not only a capable ruler but also a strategist.

He knew that Mongolia, currently in expansion mode, would eventually invade Dai Viet.

“If Dali doesn’t choose Mongolia, Mongolia will conquer Dali even at great cost.”

The Song Dynasty was Mongolia’s archenemy.

Therefore, they had no choice but to attack Dali despite the heavy losses.

Only then could they attack the Song Dynasty from the rear.

“After occupying Dali, they’ll be preoccupied with attacking the Song Dynasty. Won’t they leave us alone then?”

“Dai Viet borders Dali directly. And we’ve been granted the title of King of Annam by the Song Dynasty. Consider what this means before speaking again.”

“Ah…!”

From Mongolia’s perspective, Dai Viet, located behind the Song Dynasty and maintaining an ambiguous relationship with them, would naturally be suspicious.

Whether the Song Dynasty fell or not, Mongolia would likely attack Dai Viet eventually.

“In fact, before attacking the Jin Dynasty, Mongolia clearly established its relationship with Goryeo before engaging in battle.”

Before the war with the Jin Dynasty, Mongolia demanded that Goryeo clarify its position.

The King of Goryeo sent his daughter to marry the Mongolian prince Belgutei.

However, this was a deception by the Goryeo king.

Enraged, Mongolia used Yi Uibang, Belgutei’s father-in-law, to depose the Goryeo king.

Afterward, they formed a cabinet composed of pro-Mongolian forces.

In reality, Belgutei hadn’t used Yi Uibang, and the coup itself was spontaneous.

Moreover, the marriage alliance maintained friendly relations between the Ulus and Goryeo.

Additionally, they designated the Manchurian region as a buffer zone and made Belgutei its king.

Of course, Dai Viet didn’t know these detailed circumstances.

So they could only see Goryeo as subordinate to Mongolia.

“On the surface, Mongolia and Goryeo are allies, but Goryeo is essentially Mongolia’s vassal state.”

“Seeing how they dispatched their navy for the eastern expedition…”

“Your Majesty is correct.”

Goryeo provided an excessive number of naval forces to Mongolia.

Dai Viet was unaware that behind this support was the Goryeo king’s scheme to bring the islands under his influence by marrying his daughter to Khasar.

Therefore, from a third-party perspective, it appeared that Goryeo had dispatched a large navy under Mongolian pressure.

Otherwise, from Dai Viet’s standpoint, it was incomprehensible that Goryeo would provide naval support only to gain Tsushima Island, which was just a rocky island.

“As seen in Goryeo’s example, after conquering Dali, Mongolia will likely make similar demands of us.”

The officials nodded at Ly Chien Tso’s words.

Would they become a vassal state like Goryeo?

Or would they risk war?

If the emperor were younger, he might have chosen war.

But having experienced a near-death situation, he couldn’t favor fighting against the massive enemy that was Mongolia.

If he died during the war, his two-year-old son would have to face them.

So instead, he decided to pursue practical benefits.

“We’ll send envoys to Mongolia first and form an equal alliance with them.”

As allies, they would help attack Dali.

In return, they would secure guarantees for Dai Viet’s autonomy and independence.

While they would fall under Mongolia’s influence, at least they would avoid the possibility of dynasty collapse like Goryeo.

Additionally, they could take revenge on their hostile country, the Song Dynasty.

This was an excellent opportunity to completely sever ties with the Chinese dynasty that had troubled them for a long time.