Ch.285Defeat (4)

Maeng-gong frequently visited the Song Dynasty court, meeting numerous officials, especially corrupt ministers, in person.

Thanks to building these political connections, Maeng-gong was able to gain the trust of all officials.

“Sigh… this is truly difficult work.”

Maeng-gong said this while leaning his tired body against the chair.

Then, looking up at the ceiling, he muttered quietly.

“Just how much money have you scattered around, Lord of the Four Seas?”

Most of the corrupt ministers Maeng-gong met were receiving support from the Mongols.

However, he couldn’t report this to the Emperor.

“We’re at war now. If we weed out the corrupt ministers at this time, our internal structure will fracture.”

Maeng-gong despised corrupt ministers.

This was because both his grandfather and father had served as generals in the Yue army.

Because of this, he knew better than anyone the story of General Yue Fei, who ultimately met a tragic end due to the machinations of corrupt ministers.

However, this was merely his personal hatred.

If he were to reveal it openly, the Song court would inevitably split in two.

In peaceful times, it wouldn’t have mattered.

But in the current state of war, it was hardly a welcome development.

So Maeng-gong was trying to keep them close.

While he was catching his breath with these thoughts in mind,

an attendant approached Maeng-gong.

“Your Excellency. His Imperial Majesty has commanded your presence at the palace.”

“His Majesty? At this hour?”

It was late at night.

So the sudden summons was naturally confusing.

However, since it was the Emperor himself calling, Maeng-gong tidied his clothes and headed to the palace.

“You called for me, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor smiled with satisfaction at Maeng-gong’s respectful response.

Then, as if wanting to show his trust with his whole body, he addressed Maeng-gong with affectionate eyes.

“I apologize for summoning such a busy Commander-in-Chief. I called you because I have orders to give you.”

At this, Maeng-gong immediately showed proper respect.

“I am ready to receive Your Majesty’s orders. Please command me as you wish.”

“Haha! You truly are a treasure of the Great Song. Then, attack Sichuan immediately.”

When the word “Sichuan” came from the Emperor’s lips, Maeng-gong couldn’t help but be perplexed.

He thought the Emperor had been influenced by the corrupt ministers’ manipulations, leading him to make a poor decision.

So Maeng-gong tried to object.

“Your Majesty. Now is not the time…”

“I hear the Jin Dynasty has left Sichuan to attack Xingqing. And they’ve occupied it and killed Bekhter, the son of Yesugei.”

It was true that the Jin Dynasty had occupied Xingqing.

But it wasn’t true that Wanyan Liang had killed Bekhter.

Bekhter had only suffered severe injuries from arrows and retreated to Khara-Khoto in critical condition.

However, this rumor had been distorted to make it seem like Bekhter had died.

“Ah…!”

At the Emperor’s words, Maeng-gong inwardly let out a great sigh.

This was because the Jin Dynasty shouldn’t have attacked Western Xia.

The Jin Dynasty should have pretended to fight the Song Dynasty while gathering their forces.

That way, the Song Dynasty could have delayed by questioning the Jin’s battle preparations.

But now that they had suddenly attacked Western Xia, Sichuan had naturally become undefended.

In other words, with no troops defending Sichuan, both the Emperor and Maeng-gong’s supporters would naturally suggest attacking Sichuan.

“Didn’t you say that if we attacked Sichuan, the Mongols would take advantage of the situation because of the Jin Dynasty’s fierce momentum?”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

“But it seems heaven is helping us, as the Jin Dynasty has attacked Western Xia, leaving Sichuan undefended. So isn’t this the perfect opportunity to attack, and why should we miss it?”

“Y-you are absolutely right.”

“Above all, Sichuan is Song territory, and if we don’t recover it quickly, my authority will be completely undermined.”

When the Emperor mentioned his own authority, Maeng-gong couldn’t argue.

For a monarch, authority was as important as life itself.

Since the Emperor mentioned his authority to this extent, Maeng-gong had no choice but to follow his orders.

“I will obey Your Majesty’s command.”

* * *

After leaving the imperial palace, Maeng-gong returned directly to his room.

Upon returning, he ordered his attendants.

“Lock the door and go outside.”

“But…”

“If you’re alone…”

“Leave.”

At Maeng-gong’s single word, the attendants had no choice but to bow and leave.

Left alone, Maeng-gong clasped his hands behind his back and heaved a deep sigh.

“Haah…”

Then came silence.

Soon his face reddened, and he kicked the bed.

Crash!

Despite the tremendous noise, Maeng-gong didn’t move a muscle.

He was only trying hard to suppress his boiling anger.

“Why did they do such a thing…!”

Maeng-gong said this while his hands trembled.

As his rough breathing subsided, he regained his composure and took a deep breath.

Gurkhan’s son, Bekhter, had died.

This meant that Gurkhan would certainly try everything to destroy the Jin Dynasty.

Even if the Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty were tacit allies.

In this situation, the Song Dynasty had only one option.

To take advantage when the Mongols attacked the Jin Dynasty.

“But first I must carry out His Majesty’s orders.”

The Emperor wanted to secure Sichuan.

Before securing Sichuan, it would be difficult to act independently.

If he prioritized other actions over the Emperor’s orders, he would lose the Emperor’s trust.

Therefore, Maeng-gong had to attack Sichuan no matter what.

“Gather the troops and attack Sichuan immediately.”

Swift and decisive.

The water was already spilled, so it couldn’t be gathered back up.

Therefore, the only option left was to occupy Sichuan quickly.

Having made up his mind, Maeng-gong got up.

Then he went outside and ordered a soldier.

“Return to the military camp immediately. Tell them to complete all preparations for departure before I return.”

“Right now, sir?”

It was dawn.

So it was natural to question carrying out such orders at dawn.

“Move right now.”

Maeng-gong urged the soldier with an ominous atmosphere.

Realizing the situation was unusual, the soldier hurried to carry out the order.

* * *

A messenger approached from far away.

He bowed and began to report to me.

“Gurkhan, the Song army stationed near Sichuan is preparing to move to Sichuan.”

I nodded at the messenger’s report.

“Elunka.”

“Command me, Khagan.”

“How long would it take from here to Lin’an?”

“We could arrive in a day and a half.”

We were currently in an unnamed fishing village.

In the future, this place would be called Shanghai, a key trading port in East Asia, but now it was just an unnamed fishing village.

Because of this, despite being in Song territory, this place was extremely quiet.

Thanks to that, even though we had brought a large army, the Song Dynasty didn’t even know we were close by.

Of course, the main reason we could arrive here so secretly was thanks to the Mongol Pirates.

Because they completely controlled the river area, information about our presence here couldn’t be transmitted to Lin’an.

Anyway, various circumstances were working in our favor.

“Tell all troops to be ready to invade Lin’an tomorrow. And tell the Mongol Pirates to control the coastline near Lin’an.”

“Yes, Khagan!”

Elunka, who received my order, moved to carry it out.

As he disappeared, Munglig approached.

“Are you feeling better, brother?”

“The flames are still flickering inside me.”

“I understand that feeling.”

Munglig said this while nodding.

“But this is only anger directed at myself.”

It was my fault for not protecting my son.

Therefore, this anger was directed at myself and at Yesugei.

Yesugei, the original owner of this body, seemed to acknowledge this as he didn’t deny it.

“Your anger is justified, brother. But the Song Dynasty, who knows nothing of this, would feel wronged.”

The Jin Dynasty attacked my son and left him fighting for his life.

Therefore, it would make more sense to blame the Jin Dynasty rather than the Song Dynasty.

“But that would just be personal revenge. The revenge for what the Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty, and all Central Plains countries have done to the Mongols is something greater and more grand.”

The Mongols had been abused by the Central Plains countries for centuries.

This was a yoke that not only Yesugei but also Yesugei’s father, and his father’s father had experienced.

“Revenge for everyone comes first, and then my personal revenge follows—that’s the natural order.”

I said this while looking to the right.

There was a wagon wheel placed there.

“Of course, sometimes the anger of the ancestors aligns with my own anger.”

At my words, Munglig nodded.

Then, looking at me, he quietly asked a question.

“How many do we spare?”

“Leave only the children and women. The rest are unnecessary.”

For nomads, resistant humans were unnecessary.

Young children could be used as slaves for labor, and women could be used to produce such labor.

From a modern perspective, this could be considered a human rights violation, but this was the medieval era.

Therefore, there was no safety mechanism like international law against violence.

Justice resided in the sword wielded by the strong, and the shield of the weak would only crumble.

“What about those who surrender or the nobles?”

“Unnecessary.”

The Song territory was vast and wide.

Swallowing all that land would be foolish.

But leaving it unattended was also impossible.

Since neither option was acceptable, there was only one choice I could make.

One-sided massacre.

The only method was to return the entire Song Dynasty to a pre-civilization state through a scorched earth operation.

“Kill everyone taller than a wagon wheel.”