Ch.300Conquest (4)

I stood atop Mount Tai.

This was my second enthronement ceremony, but its meaning was profoundly different.

“O Heaven! The sole ruler of this land stands before you.

Earth! Follow Heaven’s call.

Stars! Look down upon the mortal realm.

Under the brilliantly shining sun, only this noble mountain shall remain unchanged.

I, Yesugei, standing here, swear to control the Yellow River.

I, Yesugei, standing here, swear to watch over the mortal world.

I, Yesugei, receiving Heaven’s mandate, shall manifest the power to rule this world.”

The ceremony to Heaven was complete.

Now it was time to announce this to my followers.

“All living beings of this land.

Follow the rule of me, who is Khagan of the steppes, Emperor of the Central Plains, Shah-an-shah of Iran, and Basileus of Byzantium.

Heaven has bestowed upon me a noble mission.

I and my descendants shall follow this mission for generations to come.

Under the crescent and the moon, this shall be eternal and immortal.

Let history record this fact.”

I drew a long breath.

Then, raising both arms, I shouted loudly.

“Proclaim to all that the rule of the Ulus is eternal!”

All the officials who had ascended Mount Tai spread their arms and shouted loudly.

“Ten thousand years! Ten thousand ten thousand years!”

“Ten thousand years! Ten thousand ten thousand years!”

“Gurkhan, ten thousand ten thousand years!”

“Ulus, ten thousand ten thousand years!”

At their cheers, I raised my fist toward the sky.

The sky was exceptionally blue.

* * *

The enthronement ceremony was over.

After all rituals were completed, I returned to my original place.

My place.

The magnificent palace in the Great Capital.

“I thought you would return to the steppes, brother.”

At Munglig’s words, I nodded.

“I’m old now, so it would be difficult to go to the battlefield anymore.”

Seeing how every joint in my body ached, it seemed too difficult to ride horses and wield swords anymore.

So I planned to rest and support my son from behind.

“Don’t I need to stay here to support Temujin until he finishes the Crusade campaign?”

“That’s true.”

The Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty had completely collapsed, and Central Plains culture was destroyed and disappeared. And the people of the Central Plains lost their identity, culture, and history… such a conclusion would be nonsensical.

Central Plains culture, that is, Chinese culture, was a culture that had continued for thousands of years.

As a result, it was embedded in our lives, knowingly or unknowingly.

So completely removing it was a difficult task.

Of course, that didn’t mean it couldn’t be removed.

As shown in modern history, China had a record of eliminating its own brilliant culture by itself.

Therefore, if administrative power and violence were fully mobilized, it wouldn’t be impossible to completely eradicate Central Plains culture and incorporate it into Mongol culture.

However, this would require a long time and effort.

“I plan to stay in the Great Capital to promote scholarship and culture.”

So I intended to eradicate Central Plains civilization while greatly developing Mongol culture.

If I returned to the steppes, nothing would remain.

Like in original history, Mongolia would surely disappear soon.

I didn’t want the achievements I had built to crumble under the winds of time.

Therefore, I planned to lay the foundation for the Ulus to remain strong in future generations.

Culture could serve as the foundation and cornerstone of such an empire.

“Since you say so, I cannot return to the steppes either.”

“What do you mean?”

“How could I, who am in charge of the Kheshig, go anywhere when you are here, brother?”

“That sounds plausible.”

“Always, isn’t it?”

Munglig answered with a slight smile.

At his banter, I turned my head to look at Elunka.

“By the way, Elunka.”

“Command me, Gurkhan.”

“What happened to the remnants of the Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty?”

“The remnants of both forces…”

The Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty had fallen.

However, that didn’t mean that the forces that belonged to them had completely disappeared.

In the case of the Song Dynasty, we captured Emperor Xiaozong, but failed to secure his eldest legitimate son.

It seemed that Emperor Xiaozong had made arrangements… since no body was found in the battle of Fujian led by Elunka, it appeared he had moved to Tamra Island with the refugees.

As I keep mentioning, Tamra Island was currently Korean territory.

As numerous Song Dynasty refugees were migrating to Korean territory, Korea had no choice but to employ all means to block them.

Nevertheless, because there were so many, many had already crossed over to Tamra Island.

“The remnants of the Song Dynasty have moved to Tamra Island and are pretending to be Korean.”

“Pretending to be Korean?”

“Yes. It seems they do so because if they are discovered to be from the Song Dynasty, they will be sent to the Ulus under the alliance between the Ulus and Goryeo.”

“Isn’t that just hiding their eyes and saying ‘ah’?”

At Munglig’s point, Elunka nodded.

“That’s right. But from Korea’s position, they can’t handle all the incoming refugees at once, so it seems they’re turning a blind eye to those who change their names to Korean style and wear Korean clothing.”

From Korea’s position, they had no choice.

There was a limit to killing them, and Tamra Island was quite far from the Korean peninsula.

Additionally, since there weren’t enough people to control the area, it seemed they decided to embrace those who gave up Song culture and accepted Korean culture.

“Hmph. Those Korean bastards still haven’t come to their senses. The Gurkhan ordered the execution of the Central Plains people!”

At Munglig’s words, I raised my hand to calm him.

“Eliminating Central Plains culture and people will continue. But now is the time to catch our breath. Additionally, I promised not to put further diplomatic pressure on Korea, so this is not my task but Temujin’s.”

It might seem like I was passing it on to my son.

But in this war, I had deliberately put Korea at the forefront and made them lose to the Song Dynasty.

In return, I promised them diplomatic favors.

If I were to reverse this immediately, the Ulus would be in an awkward position.

If I were to forcibly reverse it, from Korea’s perspective, they would no longer be able to trust the Ulus.

Then, if not in this generation, they might rebel against the Ulus in future generations, so it was better not to pressure them too much.

Therefore, it was more appropriate for Temujin to handle this matter than for me.

“I understand, brother.”

Munglig nodded with a disgruntled expression.

Leaving him behind, I asked Elunka about the remnants of the Jin Dynasty.

“What happened to the remnants of the Jin Dynasty?”

“We have received information that the Jin Emperor escaped to Dali.”

“Escaped to Dali…”

The Jin Dynasty, which had secured Sichuan through a massive counterattack against the Song Dynasty, had fallen.

However, unlike the Song Dynasty, which was driven to the sea, they had various escape routes.

So it seemed the emperor led the imperial family to Dali, looking for an opportunity to reconquer the Central Plains.

The Jin Emperor, Shizong, was an outstanding figure.

Even when his power was weakened after being defeated by the Ulus, he counterattacked against the Song Dynasty and temporarily occupied Sichuan.

Given his outstanding abilities, in a normal situation, it would not be a good idea to let him live.

“Leave him be.”

“Leave him… you say?”

At my words, Elunka and Munglig wore surprised expressions.

Feeling that an explanation was needed, I continued.

“Dali is on the verge of annihilation from Dai Viet’s attack. Such a Dali would have no luxury to care for the Jin Emperor.”

The situation in Dali was very poor.

Their capital, Yangzemi City, was on the verge of falling due to Dai Viet’s attack.

In such a situation, there was no reason to welcome the Jin Emperor and the imperial family, who could bring no benefit.

“But they have a claim to the Central Plains.”

“That’s right, brother. If Dali somehow survives and tries to conquer the Central Plains…”

At the words of Munglig and Elunka, I shook my head.

And I reminded them of what they had forgotten.

“The Central Plains no longer exist.”

“Ah…!”

“That’s…”

The land south of the Yangtze River was completely scorched.

All buildings were destroyed, and all the people living there were killed by being tied to wagon wheels.

Additionally, salt was sprinkled on the farmland.

With such thorough destruction, it would take at least several decades for this land to recover.

“The area south of the Yangtze River has already been completely destroyed and made uninhabitable for civilization to flourish.”

Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the area south of the Yangtze River had developed remarkably.

The background was the Grand Canal created by Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.

“The removal of the Grand Canal played a significant role in this.”

The Ulus had no intention of ruling the area south of the Yangtze River.

Therefore, the Grand Canal was unnecessary.

But this alone was not enough.

So, with the mindset of a modern person who cares about nature, I promoted an eco-friendly project to restore the ecosystem south of the Yangtze River to its ancient state.

In ancient China, there were primeval forests south of the Yangtze River.

As a result, I had heard that there was an ecosystem similar to the Amazon.

So there were giant rhinoceroses, man-eating crocodiles, and tigers larger than humans.

“In addition to this, I released tigers, elephants, and crocodiles there to make it difficult for people to live.”

It was difficult for civilization to develop where there were fierce beasts.

This was easily understood by looking at the history of the Korean peninsula, where tiger attacks were common.

Moreover, the beasts could reproduce quickly by feeding on dead bodies.

Of course, there was a possibility that people might still try to live there.

With technological development, people had the skill to hunt fierce beasts.

But if there was nothing to gain by risking one’s life, there was no reason to risk it.

“Thus, the area south of the Yangtze River became the land of the Ulus, but a land where no one lives.”

The Ulus had no plans to develop the area south of the Yangtze River.

I planned to leave it as is, making this vast land a kind of ZOC (zone of control), like in a strategic simulation game.

In reality, it was like the Amazon.

This natural barrier was expected to completely block the land route between Indochina forces and Northeast Asian forces.

Then all countries would have to engage in maritime trade.

In that case, they could not escape the influence of the Ulus, which operated the Mongol Pirates.