Ch.329Exam (6)

A tingling sensation still remained in my hand.

And I could feel the heat of the gun barrel against my skin.

Acrid smoke.

After the smoke cleared, I put down my firearm and shouted.

“Surrender. Your chieftain is dead.”

The plains, which had fallen silent at my shout, began to buzz with murmurs as if time had started flowing again.

Amid the confusion like a marketplace, I shouted once more.

“Drop your weapons and surrender!”

At those words, our soldiers regained their senses and approached the Jurchen warriors with weapons drawn.

Reading the atmosphere created by the approaching armed soldiers, the Jurchen warriors ceased fighting.

They dropped their weapons and raised both arms.

Seeing this gesture of surrender, I ordered my soldiers to disarm them.

The number of surrendered Jurchen warriors was approximately 200.

Originally they had outnumbered us, but most had fled after their chieftain’s death.

In other words, those we captured were simply those who couldn’t escape.

“Bring me the highest-ranking person among the surrendered.”

One of my soldiers approached them.

He conversed with them, and fortunately, one of them knew how to speak Mongolian.

An elderly man who could speak Mongolian approached me.

After bowing, he addressed me.

“It is an honor to meet the great Golden Clan.”

“Do you know who I am?”

The old man shook his head.

“No, I do not. I merely recognized the flag that only the Golden Clan may use.”

“I see. State your name and affiliation.”

“I am Takbal-ryun, a tribal chief who served the now-deceased Baishan Beile.”

It seemed the name of the man whose skull my gun had penetrated was Baishan.

“Very well. You have surrendered, so you must follow my commands.”

Takbal-ryun nodded.

However, he kept glancing at me as if he had something to say.

Noticing this, I asked him a question.

“Do you have something else to say?”

“Who might Your Excellency be?”

At this, Ko Yoon stepped forward to rebuke the old man.

But I raised my hand to stop him and introduced myself.

“I am Tolui Khan, the rightful heir of the Yeke Mongol Ulus.”

“Tolui Khan…”

Takbal-ryun’s eyes sparkled.

It seemed he had heard of me before.

“It appears you’ve heard of me.”

“Yes. The prodigal son who went to Goryeo…”

Takbal-ryun held back his words.

No matter how much of a scoundrel Möngke Khan was, he was still a member of the Golden Clan and my father.

He couldn’t insult my father to my face, so he had to swallow the rest of his words.

“It’s fine. The fact that Möngke Khan is my father is known to Tengri, to God, and to everyone.”

Denying blood relations was impossible.

At least as long as Möngke Khan lived.

So it was better to face it head-on.

“In your eyes, do you see me as the same as my father?”

“…No, I do not.”

Takbal-ryun bowed deeply.

I nodded and walked past him to approach Ko Yoon.

“Has the disarmament of the captured enemy been completed?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. How would you like us to handle the collected weapons?”

“Store them separately.”

Though they had surrendered, the enemy outnumbered our forces.

Storing weapons in front of such people would be madness that could incite rebellion.

So it was better to keep them out of sight, stored separately.

“Understood. But what about the surrendered enemy soldiers?”

“Now we must persuade them.”

As I said this, I looked at the Jikjehak.

The Jikjehak stepped forward as if he had been waiting.

“It seems I have work to do, Your Majesty.”

“Indeed, Jikjehak. It’s your turn to take action.”

The Jikjehak and I headed toward where the prisoners were.

There, the defeated soldiers stood bound.

As we approached, they naturally turned to look at us.

“Is there anyone among you who can speak Mongolian or Goryeo language?”

“I can.”

“I know how.”

“Somewhat.”

There were some who could understand, though not as well as the old man.

It seemed that as raiders from the border regions, they could manage basic conversation.

Now that we knew communication was possible, it was the Jikjehak’s turn to act.

The Jikjehak stood before everyone and opened a book.

Opening a book on the battlefield was not something one could easily witness.

Because of this, the Jurchen tribesmen wore expressions of disbelief at Yi Hwang’s incomprehensible behavior.

“What is he doing?”

“I don’t know.”

Unlike the murmuring Jurchen, Yi Hwang remained calm.

He looked at everyone and began to read a passage from the book.

“Self-cultivation, I wish to teach you all about self-cultivation, which is most important in moral cultivation.”

The Jurchen tribesmen tilted their heads at Yi Hwang’s dignified appearance.

Some even laughed at him, thinking he looked like a pathetic scholar.

Yi Hwang noticed those who were laughing but did not react, only smiling.

“He’s angry.”

I said this while observing Yi Hwang’s expression.

He was my teacher. So I knew better than anyone when he was angry.

Yi Hwang was a madman.

A madman who smiled more brightly when he was angry.

There was something he did when his anger reached its peak.

“You there, come forward.”

“Me? Ha!”

A large man stepped forward.

Everyone expected the Jikjehak to flinch at the appearance of a man larger than himself.

But the Jikjehak didn’t even budge.

Instead, with a face full of smiles, he patted the giant man’s shoulder.

“Your deltoid muscles are lacking. You’ve focused on martial arts, but it seems you’re deficient in moral cultivation.”

“Ha. Are you saying your martial arts are superior to mine?”

“Not at all. I’m merely pointing out your deficiencies according to moral cultivation.”

With those words, blood vessels concentrated in the Jikjehak’s right hand.

Suddenly, the giant man began to scream.

“Aaaaargh!”

“W-what’s happening…?”

“What’s going on? That guy…?”

Unlike the confused Jurchen soldiers, the Jikjehak maintained a serene smile.

“See? With such deficient deltoid muscles, you’re subdued by such a simple attack, aren’t you?”

“Cowardly Goryeo dog… suddenly attacking…”

“Attack? This is education.”

“This kind of attack is just… Aaaaargh!”

The man trembled in pain.

Despite having a much larger body than the Jikjehak, he couldn’t remove the Jikjehak’s hand.

“S-stop! S-stop! My shoulder feels like it’s breaking!”

“Do you now feel your deficiency?”

“Please let go!”

“That’s not it. You should politely say, ‘Please teach me.'”

“P-please… please teach me…!”

The once-arrogant man began to beg, tears and snot streaming down his face.

At this sight, the Jikjehak smiled and released his shoulder.

Once freed, the man backed away, trembling as he looked at the Jikjehak.

“Now, if there are others who refuse instruction, come to me. As a scholar following Confucius’s teachings, I will educate you with proper etiquette.”

Education.

The Jurchen tribesmen were speechless at that word.

* * *

“Are you sure it’s alright to leave this to the Jikjehak?”

I nodded at Ko Yoon’s question.

“The Jikjehak is more than capable of civilizing(?) them.”

Yi Hwang was an outstanding Confucian scholar.

Moreover, as a scholar who taught Confucianism in the imperial palace, it was difficult to find anyone more excellent.

In truth, it was closer to torture than civilization.

“Do you really think those barbarians can be civilized, Your Majesty?”

Unlike the Jianzhou Jurchen and Haixi Jurchen, the wild Jurchen were true barbarians.

The very barbarians that frequently appear in history.

Even after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, they did not submit to the Jianzhou Jurchen and lived as separate entities.

Even in modern times this was true, so bringing them into Goryeo’s fold was nearly impossible.

“They will be civilized. However, I cannot say for certain whether they will submit to Goryeo.”

Ko Yoon wore a puzzled expression at this.

The probability of the wild Jurchen submitting to Goryeo was very low.

The main reason was that the wild Jurchen were clearly nomads.

As such, they followed the khan’s orders and the laws of the steppe.

The Goryeo-Liaodong Federation followed Belgutei’s bloodline, but now they were clearly a settled people.

It would not be easy for the nomads to accept such a settled culture.

Moreover, the current Emperor of Goryeo considered himself Korean, not Mongolian.

In such a situation, the wild Jurchen knew well what procedures awaited them if they requested submission.

The wild Jurchen culture would disappear and be absorbed into another culture.

Just like the Jianzhou Jurchen, Haixi Jurchen, and Khitan people who had already been absorbed into the Goryeo-Liaodong Federation.

“The wild Jurchen are nomads. The only one who can make them submit is.”

I cut off my words and looked at Ko Yoon.

Ko Yoon answered as if he had just realized.

“Only the Golden Clan.”

I nodded at this.

My active participation in suppressing the wild Jurchen was not just to gain the Emperor’s recognition.

I also aimed to bring the wild Jurchen under my command.

“I have no intention of hiding my plans from my brother.”

“…”

Ko Yoon was clearly a military officer of Goryeo.

For someone like him, my actions could be seen as a threat to the Emperor.

Therefore, as a Panyun, he had to restrain me.

“I think my brother, as a subject of Goryeo, will surely see this action as a deviation.”

“That’s correct.”

“But I have no intention of rebelling against the Emperor. What I desire is only the Mongolian throne.”

“…”

Ko Yoon studied my expression.

And soon, feeling my determination, he sighed deeply and nodded.

“I will trust Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

“However, I must report this to His Majesty. Please understand this point.”

“I understand.”

Persuading the Emperor was my responsibility.

The shrewd Emperor couldn’t possibly miss the fact that I had the wild Jurchen under my command.