Ch.276Proxy (1)

# “It is an honor to meet the Lord of the Four Seas, Gurkhan.”

Fluent Mongolian was flowing from the mouth of the Dai Viet envoy.

I raised my hand to acknowledge his greeting.

“You must be tired from your long journey. Who is the current emperor of Dai Viet?”

“He is a descendant of Emperor Shenzong.”

The son of Dai Viet’s Shenzong… it seemed to be Emperor Yingzong.

The reason I knew about this person was because he was the figure who created the territory of modern Vietnam.

I had heard about him from Vietnamese seniors who were friends with a Mongolian senior I worked with at construction sites.

He was a prominent figure who conquered northern tribes and received the title of King of Annam from the Song Dynasty.

However, I knew he had died prematurely at the age of 39.

But seeing the envoy mention his name now, it seemed history had twisted, allowing him to live a bit longer.

“I know the previous emperor as an excellent ruler who defended against the Khmer Empire’s attacks. His son, the current emperor of Dai Viet, has also shown his prowess as a conqueror by defeating northern tribes, making Dai Viet even stronger.”

When I listed their achievements, the envoy’s face showed deep appreciation.

“How is the great ruler who leads Dai Viet’s golden age faring?”

“He is doing well. Thank you for your concern.”

The envoy said this while observing proper etiquette.

Judging by his expression, he seemed pleased that I referred to the King of Annam as the Emperor of Dai Viet.

Like Goryeo, Dai Viet was a nation that maintained the form of “foreign king, internal emperor.”

So when trading with the Song Dynasty, they called themselves the King of Annam, but within Dai Viet, they used the title of Emperor.

“That’s good to hear. Now, what brings you to the Yeke Mongol Ulus?”

I went straight to the point.

The Dai Viet envoy bowed and revealed his reason for coming.

“I have come here to form an alliance with Mongolia.”

“An alliance with us?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t help but feel pleased at the Dai Viet envoy’s words.

This was because I wasn’t sure about their relationship with the Song Dynasty.

It was true that Yingzong had received the title of King of Annam from Emperor Xiaozong of the Song Dynasty.

This made it appear on the surface that they were on friendly terms with the Song.

Of course, knowing the original history, I knew the Song Dynasty wasn’t a trustworthy nation.

So I could only infer that while Dai Viet outwardly maintained peace with the Song, they actually harbored a desire for revenge.

However, this was merely my speculation.

In diplomacy, such speculation could lead to misjudgments.

To avoid misjudging, I needed confirmation.

So I decided to test the Dai Viet envoy.

“Dai Viet has received the title of King of Annam from the Song Dynasty. I understand you frequently exchange and build friendship with them. Yet you come to the Ulus, an enemy of the Song, seeking an alliance. Your intentions seem suspicious.”

Hearing my words, the envoy nodded as if he fully understood.

“Your concern is completely valid. May I offer some explanation on this matter?”

I gestured for him to continue.

“As I mentioned earlier, Dai Viet is an independent sovereign nation. However, the Song Dynasty oppresses us and wants us to join the Central Plains order.”

During the Han Dynasty, Dai Viet was incorporated into Jiaozhi.

Similarly, after the fall of Gojoseon in our country, the Han Commanderies were established there.

Later, Goguryeo was able to push out the Four Commanderies, including Lelang, and secure its territory.

Dai Viet had also broken free from Jiaozhi’s influence and emerged as an independent nation.

But China wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

China continuously sought to annex Dai Viet because there were enormous gold and silver mines near Dai Viet.

For this reason, central powers like the Song Dynasty tended to exert stronger control over Dai Viet, unlike their relatively loose control over the Korean peninsula.

This naturally made Dai Viet instinctively dislike the central powers.

“The Song Dynasty has expressed a friendly stance, but considering the history Dai Viet has experienced, we know they could change at any moment.”

“So you want to form an alliance with the Ulus, an enemy of the Song?”

“That’s right. If Mongolia and Dai Viet join hands, bringing down the Song Dynasty won’t be very difficult.”

The Dai Viet envoy’s words were accurate.

If Dai Viet supported us from the rear, we could easily bring down the Song Dynasty.

It was clearly a proposal we needed right now.

It seemed almost too perfect, making it feel like a trap.

“What if you say this, then join hands with the Song Dynasty and attack the Ulus?”

“Dai Viet has absolutely no reason to join hands with the Song Dynasty and attack Mongolia.”

“Why are you so confident?”

The envoy rose to his feet.

Then, spreading his arms wide, he exclaimed loudly.

“The Song Dynasty has oppressed Dai Viet for a long time. Mongolia and Goryeo, who were in similar situations, would understand this. You know how treacherous those Central Plains people are.”

Tianming.

China was the center of the world.

Everyone else was a barbarian.

The Western Rong, the Northern Di, the Eastern Yi, and the Southern Man.

According to the Central Plains order, they were barbarians outside of civilization.

Under the pretext of enlightenment, the people of the Central Plains had committed countless acts of violence against them.

“I simply want to see the Song Dynasty, which tormented my parents, my family, my village, and my homeland, burn.”

At the envoy’s words, the officials present nodded in understanding.

The fall of the Song Dynasty.

It was everyone’s wish.

I stood up, looked at the envoy, and spoke.

“We feel the same way.”

* * *

Elunka and Munglig participated in the meeting to discuss what was needed for the alliance with Dai Viet.

It was more appropriate for these two practical officials to participate rather than me, the emperor, directly.

“I understand Dai Viet’s intentions, but this is still diplomacy between nations.”

The Ulus was clearly a great power.

As such a power forming an alliance with Dai Viet, we needed to get something of equal value in return.

Otherwise, the Ulus might end up being used by Dai Viet.

“Besides, they might just talk about forming an alliance and do nothing…”

When the Jin Dynasty and the Song Dynasty fought, the Ulus benefited.

Conversely, when the Song Dynasty and the Ulus fought, Dai Viet benefited.

Therefore, we had to move cautiously.

In short, Dai Viet had not yet earned our trust.

So they needed to offer something to gain the Ulus’s trust.

“Since the meeting will take time to conclude, I’ll handle other matters for now.”

I said this while looking at my desk.

There were still many documents waiting for me there.

“The students need to graduate soon and help me. Don’t you think?”

At my words, the officials around me flinched.

“Haha… y-yes, Khagan.”

“Your words are absolutely right.”

I nodded at the officials’ responses.

Leaving the officials to their paperwork, I picked up the first document.

“The village administrator is unable to collect taxes…”

At my muttering, one official hurriedly stood up.

He rushed to me and began bowing repeatedly.

“I apologize, Gurkhan. It seems my document was mistakenly included.”

He gave me a look that suggested he wanted to take back the document in my hand.

I shook my head at his gaze.

“Tax issues are important matters. As the leader of the nation, I must know about them.”

Taxes were necessary to run a country.

Without taxes, we couldn’t govern, pay officials their salaries, construct new buildings, or make weapons for the army.

Nations operated on taxes.

This was obvious logic, but it was an unfamiliar concept to the nomadic Mongols.

In actual history, the Mongols didn’t collect taxes from conquered territories until they employed Yelu Chucai.

More precisely, they didn’t properly understand the concept of taxes.

Mongols only knew about offering a portion of what they obtained from hunting on the Mongolian steppe.

As a result, they questioned why farmers or those engaged in commerce and industry didn’t pay taxes, but they didn’t impose any sanctions.

The reason was, as mentioned earlier, they believed these people couldn’t pay taxes because they couldn’t hunt.

Of course, unlike the original history, the current Ulus was collecting some taxes from conquered territories.

However, since the ruling Mongols were unfamiliar with the tax system, such problems often occurred.

“Why is this village’s administrator unable to collect taxes?”

“It seems… they’re unfamiliar with the process.”

“Unfamiliar?”

“Yes. The tax items haven’t been clearly defined, so the tax collectors are in a difficult situation.”

At that time, paying taxes with goods was the norm.

More precisely, it was common to pay taxes with local specialties.

Goryeo’s tax system was also like this.

There was Gongse, where local specialties were offered as taxes, and Jeonjo, which was divided according to the size of cultivated land.

The early Joseon Dynasty also followed this system from Goryeo, but later introduced the Daedongbeop due to the severe problems with the tax system.

The problem with the tax system mentioned here was about tax items.

If the government demanded uniform Gongse without knowing the local situation, people had to purchase items they couldn’t obtain locally at high prices to pay taxes.

This problem was severe even within Goryeo, and for Mongolia, which ruled a larger territory, it was likely to become an even bigger issue.

“The tax items aren’t clear…”

The best way to solve this problem was to follow the wisdom of the ancestors.

Daedongbeop.

It was a system where, instead of local specialties, taxes were paid in rice, hemp cloth, cotton, or coins according to the size of the land.

For nomads, rice, hemp cloth, and cotton were hard to obtain.

So I was thinking of creating something on this occasion.

“Then we’ll need to create paper money.”