Ch.310Side Story (9)

# Conquest

The territory conquered by Emperor Yesugei during his lifetime was more extensive than that of any other conqueror in human history.

This is a fact acknowledged by historians worldwide, and none would dispute it.

There is, however, a slight misunderstanding regarding certain details.

Specifically, the misconception that the Emperor conquered all of Europe during his lifetime.

While it’s true that the Emperor did campaign in Europe, to be precise, he only advanced as far as the Balkan Peninsula.

After conquering the Byzantine Empire, Gurkhan was crowned as co-emperor.

Later, when the empire was threatened by an alliance between Japan and the Song Dynasty, he entrusted the Crusade campaign to Crown Prince Temujin and returned home.

Therefore, it would be more accurate to attribute the reconstruction of the Roman Empire and the conquests of Germany and France to the achievements of Crown Prince Temujin.

## Character

On a personal level, he was generous and frugal, though at times he could be described as someone who held grudges.

He was ruthless toward resisting enemies but boundlessly generous to those under his command.

During the Tatar campaign, after settling his personal vendetta, he liberally distributed the spoils of war among his troops.

He would even give away his own share to his generals and children first.

At that time, there was a tendency to inadequately reward officials who managed supplies.

Historically, even in Mongolia, there was a culture of dismissing quartermasters while lavishly rewarding war heroes who led armies to victory.

However, the Emperor properly rewarded supply officers for their contributions.

Conversely, he would demote those who failed to produce results, even if they had been at the forefront of battle.

In a way, he had established a detailed reward system similar to how modern organizations operate.

The Secret History of the Mongols records that he rewarded Bo’orchu, who made significant contributions to the conquest of Western Liao, with horses, silk, and silver.

The fact that he paid attention to such details, despite living hundreds of years ago, demonstrates how effectively the Emperor managed his organization.

“You’re making me sound too good…”

I felt almost embarrassed by how positively I was being portrayed.

After all, leaders before me had certainly understood the importance of rewards and punishments.

That’s why I was never stingy with sharing.

“Of course, I wasn’t sharing what I owned—I was giving away what I had taken from others.”

The ulus was fundamentally based on a plunder economy.

We secured goods and labor by raiding other tribes.

This made it easy to distribute spoils. It was essentially like taking credit for giving away things that weren’t mine to begin with.

That’s why I could invest generously in acquiring and educating talented individuals.

“I handled expenses with Song Dynasty money before the Western Xia campaign, and with Jin Dynasty money during the Western Liao campaign.”

Before the ulus was properly established, I paid tribute to both the Song and Jin dynasties.

The purpose of these tributary missions was not only for trade but also to receive gifts.

While these might not have been significant amounts from their perspective, for us, they were seed money—funds that could make our nation larger and more prosperous.

“I might have gone a bit overboard when plundering the Jin Dynasty.”

When I presented them with Korean red ginseng, the Jin Dynasty couldn’t help but falter.

Of course, the Jin Dynasty was already financially strained due to overlapping disasters like floods, which made them particularly vulnerable.

Anyway, it felt strange to receive praise for actions I had taken without much thought.

“But I’m not sure about being described as someone who holds grudges. What makes them say that?”

As I thought this, I scrolled down.

The reason immediately became apparent.

While he was infinitely generous to his followers, he showed no mercy to those who opposed him.

This became evident when he nearly died from Tatar poison.

Even after being saved by the monk Bandak and converting to Nestorian Christianity, he never abandoned his desire for revenge against the Tatars.

As soon as he recovered, he built up his muscles through training.

With this physical strength, he requested permission at the kurultai to punish the Tatars, but his relatives refused.

Although his relatives expressed their opposition due to Jin Dynasty interference, the Emperor would not accept it.

Through bokh wrestling, he killed those who opposed him by breaking their spines and absorbed the tribes they had led.

After conquering the Tatars and completely annihilating them (…), his anger finally subsided.

While this might be considered justified revenge under steppe law, by modern standards it could be seen as excessive.

Additionally, his pursuit of the fleeing Kuchlug during the unification of the Mongolian steppe, and his revenge against the Jin Dynasty by invoking his great-grandfather, suggest he was someone who held grudges.

Beyond these external matters, the Secret History of the Mongols records instances of grudge-holding in his daily life as well.

According to the Secret History, when Lord Munglig joked excessively, he would make him exercise all day to maintain discipline.

The numerous records of such incidents suggest he had many human qualities.

“…When you put it all together like that, it’s true.”

Although steppe law was invoked, from historians’ perspectives, these actions would inevitably appear vindictive.

As the leader of the ulus, such behavior certainly provided good pretexts for invasion.

However, objectively speaking, especially by modern standards, I could be seen as someone who held grudges.

Additionally, on a personal level, making Munglig do strength training as punishment for joking around… that was probably excessive.

With these thoughts, I scrolled down.

While he displayed many human qualities, he was undoubtedly an exceptional commander.

Particularly, except for his retreat at the Battle of Khara-Khoto, he never lost a battle.

Even the Battle of Khara-Khoto wasn’t a defeat but merely a retreat due to unfavorable weather.

Considering that Khara-Khoto fortress was on the verge of falling, this aspect becomes even more significant.

In the subsequent Battle of Xingqing, he demonstrated his mastery of terrain.

Blocking all waterways around Xingqing and mobilizing engineers to cause flooding, turning Xingqing into a sea of water, could fairly be described as an ingenious tactic.

Some might dismiss it as merely a water attack, but just a year earlier, he had been operating exclusively on the steppes, which had little to do with water.

While Mongolia had rivers, they weren’t suitable for water attacks, and the highlands made such tactics difficult to employ.

For someone like that to develop and successfully execute water-based tactics in a completely different environment confirms his innate talent as a commander.

Additionally, he was an outstanding field commander.

The Mongol swarm tactics relied heavily on timing.

The repeated pattern of hit-and-run required precise coordination; otherwise, troops risked being surrounded by the enemy.

Of course, this could have been easily resolved by providing written instructions for soldiers to follow.

However, considering that most Mongol soldiers were illiterate at the time, it becomes immediately apparent how challenging it was to train such tactics.

Gurkhan solved this by creating songs.

Through songs, he made it easy to understand when to attack and when to retreat.

Thanks to this, Mongol cavalry could quickly execute swarm tactics according to their commander’s orders.

The Emperor didn’t stop there; he also issued orders through songs.

For example, when ordering an attack on the eastern side of Western Xia followed by dispersal to raid villages, he created songs for the commanders of ten to memorize.

This enabled Mongol cavalry to properly execute their commander’s orders without forgetting them.

As mentioned earlier, the Emperor possessed military talent and the patience and ability to assert his will despite facing life-threatening situations and clan opposition.

This allowed him to rise above formidable competitors to become the dominant force of the steppe and ruler of the four seas.

The meritocratic, egalitarian society he established strengthened the community.

This isn’t just an evaluation from a modern perspective.

It increased the efficiency of the entire nation.

While the massacres he committed are morally difficult to justify, they did help dismantle the entrenched social hierarchy to some extent.

This allowed talented individuals to flourish regardless of their social status.

Considering that many talented individuals in Europe and the Middle East were forced to emigrate due to social status issues, Gurkhan’s choice can be seen as rational.

While he appears as an outstanding ruler, capable and majestic, he was also apparently an ordinary man.

As mentioned earlier, he had many human qualities and openly expressed his emotions.

It’s said that Gurkhan had many conversations with his children while practicing archery before they became independent.

In fact, records show that Temujin had 355 conversations with Gurkhan before his death.

Bekhter had 421, Belgutei had 520, and Khasar had an impressive 1,021 conversations.

This level of interaction could fairly be described as that of a doting father.

Additionally, he had good relationships with his wives. The Secret History records that he shared his bed with three empresses every day.

This has led to modern jokes about him fighting “mandatory defense battles” daily.

There’s even a saying that Gurkhan’s relatively short life was due to his three empresses.

Folk tales suggest that the reason Gurkhan launched the Japanese campaign immediately after returning from the Crusades was to avoid these “mandatory defense battles” and get some rest.

“…H-how did they know?”

The primary reason for launching the Japanese campaign was to prevent an alliance between Japan and the Song Dynasty.

However, there was indeed an underlying motive to avoid those “mandatory defense battles.”

As I keep mentioning, relationships with three married women were truly challenging.

No matter how muscular I was, it had nothing to do with endurance in this matter.

Yet I couldn’t reject my wives who missed me.

So I honestly told them it was difficult, but…

“As if that would work.”

The sexual desire of married women surpasses that of boys their age.

By a vast margin.

So in the end, I started a war.

To survive.

Recalling this after so long gave me chills.