Ch.27The Yeke Mongol Ulus (6)

# The Jin Dynasty Learns of the Steppe News

The Jin Dynasty belatedly learned about the developments on the steppe.

Emperor Renzong of Jin quickly dispatched troops to prevent Yesugei and Toghrul Khan from seizing power on the steppe.

However, contrary to his intentions, Jin couldn’t send troops,

and the reason was none other than Goryeo.

“I clearly ordered Goryeo, as our vassal state, to send their crown prince as a hostage.”

“That is correct.”

A confident statement from the Goryeo envoy.

Emperor Renzong could immediately tell from the man’s white beard and straight posture that he was no ordinary figure.

“You stand before the Emperor of Great Jin. How dare a Goryeo envoy speak falsehoods before the Son of Heaven!”

Wanyan Liang shouted.

In response, the Goryeo envoy, Kim Bo-dang, shook his head.

“I speak only the truth, without a shred of shame under heaven.”

“How dare you!”

Emperor Renzong raised his hand to stop Wanyan Liang’s outburst.

Then, after taking a calm deep breath, he glared at the rigid Goryeo envoy standing before him.

“Is Goryeo such a faithless country? The letter clearly stated that you would send the king’s eldest and most beloved son.”

To this, Kim Bo-dang nodded and pointed to the young boy standing to his right.

Despite the child trembling in fear before the Jin Emperor’s anger, Kim Bo-dang continued without the slightest hesitation.

“As you can see, this is Prince Manhyo, the tallest among King Jang Hyotae’s sons and His Majesty’s beloved child.”

“As I understand it, the crown prince and heir is Hyoryeong. Why have you sent this Manhyo whom I’ve never heard of, instead of Hyoryeong?”

“As stated in the letter, we sent the tallest son.”

The Goryeo envoy’s brazen answer.

What he meant was clear.

They had sent the literally tallest son among the king’s children, not the crown prince.

In other words, they had played a word game.

Upon hearing this, Chancellor Wanyan Liang couldn’t help but fly into a rage.

“Goryeo will have to face Jin’s wrath before it comes to its senses!”

“That cannot be. Goryeo has observed the proper etiquette of a vassal and has served Jin faithfully, without a single falsehood in what was reported. If the suzerain state persecutes Goryeo despite this, then Goryeo will fight to the death to repel Jin’s attack, just as we defeated the Liao Dynasty at Gwiju in the past.”

Though his words sounded reasonable, he was essentially saying that Goryeo wouldn’t sit idle if Jin attacked.

Astounded by this, Wanyan Liang tried to retort, but the Goryeo minister Kim Bo-dang wasn’t finished.

“If Jin attacks Goryeo, which has fulfilled its duties as a vassal, the world will condemn Jin for violating the natural order. This condemnation will spread to the Song Dynasty, Japan, Western Xia, and even as far as India. I hope you remember that these nations will aid Goryeo to prevent Jin’s unjust actions.”

“Are you threatening the suzerain state?”

“Not at all. I’m merely mentioning possibilities that haven’t yet occurred, so there’s no need for the Chancellor to react so intensely.”

“Hiss…”

Wanyan Liang gritted his teeth.

Seeing the Goryeo envoy manipulate the Jin Chancellor with his clever tongue, Emperor Renzong could only wave his hand in exasperation.

“Very well. This is our fault for not properly examining the letter. Take Manhyo back to Goryeo and return with Hyoryeong.”

“I am grateful for Your Majesty’s ocean-like generosity. Before that…”

Kim Bo-dang turned to look at his entourage behind him.

Behind him stood men who were clearly merchants, waiting with expectant eyes.

“Since we have visited the suzerain state, we wish to offer tribute according to custom. Please accept it.”

Emperor Renzong’s face immediately contorted.

This was because if he accepted these goods, Jin would have to bestow gifts worth at least three times the value in return.

Jin was already struggling to collect proper taxes due to discontent among the Han Chinese in the northern regions.

Thanks to Emperor Renzong’s excellent political skills, they had barely managed to cover the deficit that had existed since Jin’s early days, but now the Goryeo envoy was trying to take that away.

However, he couldn’t show this outwardly.

After all, the Goryeo envoy had come to Jin entirely at Emperor Renzong’s request.

Emperor Renzong, who had recently noticed that relations with the Song Dynasty were improving again, had sent people to Goryeo to investigate internally and prevent Goryeo from joining hands with Song. That’s why he had ordered them to send the crown prince.

As a result, they had sent Manhyo, the tall son, rather than Hyoryeong, the heir.

From Goryeo’s position as a vassal state, since they had come at Jin’s request, there was no reason to miss this golden opportunity to gain maximum profit through trade.

“A-ahem, very well. I will gladly accept the tribute from our vassal state.”

At these words, Kim Bo-dang’s face brightened.

He gestured, and the Gaeseong merchants behind him began to unpack their loads.

What emerged from the unpacked loads was none other than Goryeo red ginseng.

By drying the original ginseng well to reduce its volume and increase its shelf life, they were able to bring more than the original ginseng in their loads.

And there weren’t just one or two of these loads, but dozens.

The value of Goryeo red ginseng was roughly equivalent to one horse, so one could immediately understand the great value of each load the Goryeo envoys had brought without having to count.

“You’ve brought quite a lot.”

Emperor Renzong’s expression was very pale.

He couldn’t help but fall into deep contemplation about how to bestow gifts worth three times the value of the ginseng they had brought.

“We’ve brought plenty of red ginseng for the health of His Majesty the Emperor of Jin. Additionally…”

The Goryeo envoy was about to take out something more.

At this sight, Emperor Renzong found it difficult to maintain his composure any longer.

* * *

“The expenditure is too great, Grand Chancellor.”

A statement from Secretary Zhang Hao.

At these words, Wanyan Liang ground his teeth and began cursing the Goryeo envoy.

“Damn those Goryeo bastards. We should completely crush them this time.”

“Please calm down, Grand Chancellor. If we do that, who knows what the Song Dynasty might do.”

The greatest threat to Jin was none other than the Song Dynasty.

Although Jin and Song had already established a suzerain-vassal relationship, Song was constantly looking for opportunities to reclaim the northern regions.

Because of this, Jin always had to keep a close eye on Song,

and couldn’t help but view Goryeo, which had formed a secret alliance with Song, as a thorn in their side.

“Sigh… if we try to deal with Goryeo, Song moves, and if we try to deal with Song, Goryeo moves…”

Wanyan Liang clicked his tongue.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and then looked at the map.

“In the end, because of those Goryeo bastards, the Khamag Mongol is about to seize power on the steppe.”

The Khamag Mongol had already gained momentum.

Even if troops were dispatched to stop them, it was clear they would arrive only after the Khamag Mongol and Keraites had unified the Mongolian steppe.

This meant that Jin could no longer use the divide-and-rule tactics they had been employing against the Mongolian steppe.

“Since we made the decision to empower the Khamag Mongol, it’s already spilled milk.”

Wanyan Liang’s face reddened at these words.

This was because the Khamag Mongol’s growth had been backed by Jin’s full support.

To be precise, they had supported the Khamag Mongol to punish Megujin-se’uldu, who had rebelled against them.

Wanyan Liang had originally planned to make the Khamag Mongol and Keraite tribes, who had joined hands during the Tatar conquest, turn against each other after supporting the Khamag Mongol.

However, this plan had been thwarted when the astute leader of the Khamag Mongol, Yesugei, passed all his achievements to Toghrul.

Of course, this was still acceptable.

Wanyan Liang believed that by recognizing Toghrul as the sole king of the steppe and intervening appropriately whenever power struggles erupted on the steppe, Jin could maintain control.

“But who would have known those Goryeo bastards would interfere like this.”

Wanyan Liang’s bitter remark.

Secretary Zhang Hao nodded in agreement.

Just when Jin was about to intervene in the steppe power struggle, Goryeo had incredibly obstructed Jin’s actions.

When told to send the crown prince as a hostage, they sent the tallest son.

Additionally, they brought a lot of expensive red ginseng as tribute, straining Jin’s finances before disappearing.

In other words, Goryeo had taken all the money needed for the soldiers to be sent to the steppe—for their clothing, food, and lodging, and for the war.

Moreover, they couldn’t even do anything about Goryeo’s annoying actions.

When they tried to intimidate Goryeo with force, Goryeo threatened them, asking if they wanted to end up like the Liao Dynasty.

“It’s inevitable that the Khamag Mongol and Keraites will unify the Mongolian steppe.”

“The fortunate thing is that even if the steppe is unified, it will take quite some time for the chaos to settle.”

Zhang Hao nodded at Wanyan Liang’s words.

“Perhaps it would be better to focus on taming Goryeo for now? If they join hands with Song, it will pose a great danger to our country.”

“The steppe forces unifying would be a great threat to our country. But we have an ace up our sleeve in the Keraite chieftain, and we can use him to cause internal division. So, as the Secretary suggests, it seems better to focus on Goryeo and Song for now.”

Again, Jin shared borders with both Song and Goryeo.

Unlike these two countries, Mongolia was in a barren land, and there were massive mountain ranges blocking the border with Jin, so they weren’t an immediate threat.

Separate from these issues, Wanyan Liang had developed a grudge against the Goryeo envoy.

Unlike the Mongols, who respected the Jin Emperor as Khagan and showed minimal courtesy, the brazen Goryeo, despite being settled people, was defying the suzerain state.

Behind this emotion was also the history of the Jurchen people suffering under Goryeo’s oppression in the past.

“It’s time to show those Goryeo bastards who the suzerain state is.”

At Wanyan Liang’s words, Zhang Hao nodded.