Ch.297Conquest (1)

I cut through those who stand in my way.

“Out of my way! Weaklings!”

I said this as I cut down the Song Dynasty soldiers.

Every time my sword flashed with light, people fell.

“Gack!”

“Urgh!”

As people fell like autumn leaves, these thoughts came to me.

Who am I?

Am I a person from the future with a name I can no longer remember?

Or am I a Mongol, born on horseback, living on horseback, and destined to die on horseback?

“Who am I!”

The soldiers following behind me shouted loudly.

“Red Warrior! Ulaanbaatar!”

“You are the Warrior of Heaven!”

“The only one blessed by Tengri!”

“You were born with the destiny to rule this land!”

And they chanted my name.

Yesugei, Gurkhan, and Lord of the Four Seas.

I am the embodiment of terror and a sword that cuts down enemies!

“I am Yesugei, born with the destiny to conquer and rule this land by heaven’s command!”

With those words, I thrust forward my sword, sticky with the blood and vengeful spirits of Song Dynasty soldiers.

And I shouted in a loud voice.

“Chaaaaarge!”

“The Khagan’s order has been given! Charge!”

Then Munglig, who had been guarding the rear, drew his sword.

And he rushed forward.

Behind Munglig, who was cutting through the wind, the Kheshig followed.

The infantry, emboldened by the charge of the brave cavalry, followed closely behind.

As the rear unit led by Munglig advanced, I could catch my breath.

“I’m getting tired.”

I felt the taste of blood in my mouth from fatigue.

It was a moment when I felt in my skin how frightening it is to age.

No matter how much muscle you build, a person’s life is predetermined.

That was heaven’s will and humanity’s shackle.

“I can only do my best with what I’ve been given.”

I said this as I took out the fermented mare’s milk from my saddle.

After quickly wetting my throat with it, I surveyed the battlefield.

“The enemy’s response is lukewarm.”

The unit led by Mengong was an elite unit.

Since both his grandfather and father were from the renowned Akga military, I expected Mengong’s unit to be the same.

Additionally, Mengong had conquered Sichuan faster than anyone else.

Of course, he had operated his army targeting our rear without completely subduing Chengdu, which was occupied by the Jin Dynasty, but even considering that, it was clearly a mobile unit.

That’s why I wanted to lead the soldiers myself and observe the enemy’s movements with my own eyes.

I believed that was the only way to counter the elite unit led by Mengong.

But contrary to my prediction, the enemy’s response was not agile.

The movements of the Song Dynasty soldiers were slower than expected, even dull.

“Something has clearly changed.”

According to the Six Secret Teachings attributed to Taigong Wang, now revealed to be a pseudepigraph in modern times, the core of strategy was always mobility.

Even in The Art of War, speed was considered most important, and Mengong knew this well.

Knowing this, he had clearly made a clever move to target our rear.

“A sharp move, but lacking in meticulousness.”

The Song Dynasty soldiers appeared strong but had many gaps.

The proof was that they were being overwhelmed by the mounted close combat we were deploying.

If it were Mengong, he would have predicted that we would use cavalry for close combat.

There has been a change within the enemy.

This was the conclusion of my speculation.

However, this was just a suspicion.

Therefore, I needed to confirm it.

“Centurion.”

“I await your command, Gurkhan.”

“Lead the infantry and attack the left flank.”

I pointed my sword at the left side of the Song Dynasty formation.

Currently, the Song Dynasty unit was split on both sides due to Munglig’s cavalry charge.

In this situation, if we attacked the left flank, the enemy would surely change their formation to surround our infantry.

“Do you mean to draw the enemy’s attention?”

The centurion, showing a high understanding of the battlefield, asked me this question.

My order seemed to anyone like it was intended to draw the enemy’s attention and make them deploy encirclement tactics.

Therefore, it made sense for the centurion to ask me such a question.

“If it seems like the enemy will surround you, flee. If not, continue moving and strike their rear.”

At my command, the centurion showed considerable surprise.

I had ordered him to penetrate deeper and strike the rear if the enemy didn’t surround them, in a situation where it seemed certain they would.

This was essentially a suicidal act, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“I will follow the Khagan’s order. However, before carrying out the order, I have something I wish to ask the Khagan.”

“What is it?”

“I dare to ask if Gurkhan believes there is a possibility that the enemy will not encircle us. Please understand that I am not asking this question because I value my life.”

At the centurion’s words, I nodded in understanding.

“I do not doubt your loyalty. But I should answer your question first.”

I raised my sword and pointed to where I presumed the enemy commander was located.

The centurion followed my sword and looked there.

“If the enemy is Mengong, he won’t encircle. He’s the type of person who wouldn’t mind being bait himself if it meant securing victory.”

Mengong was an excellent strategist who had thwarted all my plans.

Such a person wouldn’t miss a golden opportunity to take my head because he valued his own life.

He would use his own head as bait to capture me.

Therefore, if the centurion penetrated the left flank, Mengong would immediately realize that the central army was weakened and would dispatch a separate unit.

In that case, at the very least, we could achieve mutual destruction.

“But if the enemy commander is not Mengong, he will choose to encircle.”

This judgment was based entirely on my experience.

From the unification of Mongolia to Western Xia, Western Liao, Jin Dynasty, and even Byzantium.

Based on valuable experience gained from personally traversing battlefields for decades.

This experience whispered to me.

“Do you mean… that the enemy commander is not this Mengong?”

“That’s right.”

The enemy commander is not Mengong.

Such dull and immobile defensive tactics would never be employed by Mengong.

This was the tactic of a coward who wanted to achieve military merit and gain fame but lacked the courage to risk his own life.

A coward.

The Mengong I knew was not such a person.

“It’s clear that a cunning individual has ousted Mengong and taken his place. Of course, this is just a suspicion.”

Therefore, I needed evidence.

To obtain that evidence, we had to accept some sacrifices.

Understanding my words, the centurion knelt on one knee.

Then, making a fist salute, he shouted loudly.

“I will uphold the will of Gurkhan!”

At his spirited appearance, I nodded.

And I asked him a question.

“What is your name?”

“I am Jurchedei from the Uruud clan of the Nirun Mongols.”

Jurchedei.

A person belonging to the Two Spears, Yichen, equivalent to the Four Heroes.

He was a master of close combat, rare even among the Mongols.

“Jurchedei. A good name.”

After saying this, I pointed to the spear on his back.

Without hesitation, Jurchedei offered me the spear from his back.

Taking his spear, I poured fermented mare’s milk on it.

Then I handed it back to Jurchedei.

“This spear will be the weapon of the Ulus, punishing those who defy my will.”

Jurchedei nodded with a moved expression.

Then he received the spear with both hands and stood up.

“I will not disappoint you.”

* * *

“These Mongol bastards are quite something!”

Jiasidao said this while fanning himself.

Then he pointed to the center with his hand.

“They say Gurkhan is there.”

“Yes. He’s leading the cavalry at the very front.”

“Hmph. Gurkhan acts as if he has two lives.”

As a commander, he stands directly at the front.

For Jiasidao, who valued his own life like gold, this was incomprehensible behavior.

“Can we capture the Mongol leader?”

At Jiasidao’s words, the adjutant couldn’t say anything.

Seeing this, Jiasidao clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. I should have known from when you couldn’t quickly recapture Sichuan.”

At Jiasidao’s words, the adjutant felt a surge of indignation.

This was because it was Jiasidao who had come as an inspector just as Mengong was about to recapture Sichuan and usurped his command.

Of course, one couldn’t blame his actions since the emperor was in danger.

But even considering that, if Jiasidao hadn’t taken Mengong’s command, they would have had more than enough time to recover Sichuan by now.

As a result, the adjutant could only bow his head and grind his teeth to suppress his feelings.

“Well, fine. Time will resolve this anyway.”

Jiasidao knew that the current battlefield situation was very favorable.

The unit led by Jiasidao was occupying Hubei Province, and the unit led by the emperor was in Fujian.

The Mongol unit was caught in between, so they were essentially surrounded.

If they continued to pressure the Mongol army like this, it was clear that the Mongol army would be defeated due to numerical inferiority.

However, this was just Jiasidao’s delusion.

He knew the theory of strategy and tactics well but had never actually fought against the Mongol army.

Because of this, the adjutant knew that Jiasidao’s actions were dangerous.

So, thinking he should prevent this, he carefully advised:

“It would be better not to underestimate the enemy. The enemy is…”

“Yes. It’s natural for you to say such things, having been under the command of a provincial governor who didn’t move an inch in Sichuan out of fear of those Mongol rustics.”

Jiasidao trampled on the adjutant’s advice by mocking Mengong.

At his arrogant behavior, the adjutant had no choice but to immediately give up on offering advice.

Anyway, while this tense atmosphere continued, Jiasidao spotted the Mongol infantry moving towards the left flank of the Song Dynasty.

Seeing this, Jiasidao raised his fan and gave an order.

“Stupid Mongols. The enemy is penetrating our left flank. Deploy encirclement tactics immediately!”

In this situation, deploying encirclement tactics would create a gap on the right.

The adjutant tried to inform him of this, but Jiasidao ignored the adjutant’s gaze as if he had no intention of listening to him.