Ch.337Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun (3)

Taisun Khan was defeated.

And thoroughly at that.

For a ruler of the Great Capital, the collapse after just one battle might sound like an exaggeration.

But the reason for this complete downfall was his perfect defeat.

“Haha… haha…”

Taisun Khan was giggling like a madman.

And for good reason—his army of 200,000 had vanished after just a single battle.

It was no exaggeration.

Literally, all his soldiers had disappeared.

Of course, not all 200,000 troops had died.

Most were either wounded or had fled.

Nevertheless, the fact remained that an army of 200,000 had been defeated in just one battle.

“Keep Taisun Khan under arrest.”

Though an enemy commander, he was still of the Golden Clan.

Therefore, keeping him as a prisoner could prove to be a useful card to play.

While I was thinking this, Go Yun returned after organizing the battlefield.

“It will take about five more days to disarm all the enemy wounded and take them prisoner.”

The aftermath was more challenging than the battle itself.

Even though the majority of the 200,000 troops had fled, those captured as prisoners numbered in the tens of thousands.

Naturally, it would take this much time.

“The Chief Minister and Grand Censor should remain here and continue the cleanup.”

“Where does Your Majesty intend to go?”

“I plan to head to the Great Capital.”

The Great Capital was Taisun Khan’s stronghold.

We needed to occupy it to achieve complete victory.

One might ask if the war wasn’t already over with Taisun Khan captured.

That would be true in normal circumstances.

Right now, China—no, the Yeke Mongol Ulus—was in a state of princely rebellion.

In this situation, Taisun Khan, who had occupied the Great Capital, had fallen.

My descendants wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

They would surely lead their armies to the Great Capital.

Therefore, if we delayed here, we might lose the Great Capital to others like a dog that lost track of the chicken it was chasing.

“News of Taisun Khan’s defeat will spread quickly. Your Majesty must hasten your steps.”

I nodded at Go Yun’s words.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

After saying this, I approached the Grand General.

The Grand General was discussing something with the Director of Studies.

Noticing my approach, he bowed.

I raised my hand to acknowledge his greeting and then spoke.

“I’ve left the battlefield cleanup to the Chief Minister and Grand Censor.”

“The Chief Minister and Grand Censor will finish quickly and follow us.”

Nurhachi’s words were met with a nod from the Director of Studies.

“Time is of the essence now.”

“I’m glad both of you agree. How long do you think it will take to reach the Great Capital?”

“It should take about 15 days.”

“It would be difficult to reduce it further.”

If we marched too quickly, the soldiers would become fatigued and unable to fight properly.

Even though time was pressing, we needed to move while maintaining our combat effectiveness.

This was because there was a high possibility of a large-scale battle near the Great Capital.

“We need to move while preserving our combat power as much as possible to deal with any sudden actions from the King of Jenam.”

I nodded at Nurhachi’s advice.

At Batur Khan’s suggestion, the Emperor of Goryeo and the King of Jenam had formed an implicit alliance.

However, as the word “implicit” suggests, this alliance could break depending on interests.

“From the King of Jenam’s perspective, the benefits of occupying the Great Capital far outweigh the benefits of maintaining an alliance with us.”

The Great Capital was the capital of the Yeke Mongol Ulus.

Occupying it would bring great legitimacy.

This was, as Nurhachi said, a much greater benefit than what could be gained from the alliance.

“However, Batur Khan will not be pleased with such actions by the King of Jenam.”

The Director of Studies objected to Nurhachi’s words.

Batur wanted to maintain relations with Goryeo.

He had shown such intentions since he visited Byeokrando to meet me.

“The Director of Studies has a point, but to the King of Jenam, Batur Khan is merely a guest. Most of his soldiers are from Jenam, so Batur Khan lacks the means to do much.”

Nurhachi was both a soldier and a politician.

He understood better than anyone the limitations of Batur Khan, who lacked a military foundation.

“The Grand General has a point on this matter.”

I sided with the Grand General.

And I explained why.

“As the Director of Studies said, Batur Khan won’t sit idle, but his limitations are clear. Additionally, there’s a possibility that Batur Khan might ignore this issue altogether.”

Batur Khan might choose to ignore the problem entirely.

He could draw a line saying that the King of Jenam acted independently, separate from his intentions.

This way, he could politically continue relations with Goryeo while simultaneously addressing the King of Jenam’s demands.

“Does Your Majesty think Batur Khan will betray us?”

“Not necessarily. However, we must move assuming the worst-case scenario. That scenario includes this variable.”

The Director of Studies nodded at my explanation.

Seeing that things were somewhat settled, I gave orders to Nurhachi.

“We move to the Great Capital.”

* * *

Taisun Khan was defeated at the Battle of Yoha.

The rumor that the northern prince who had occupied the Great Capital was defeated spread instantly.

“Jeonbuhoja. My judgment of people hasn’t rusted yet.”

Batur said this with a smile.

His aide spoke up at this sight.

“The King of Jenam intends to dispatch troops to the Great Capital. Shouldn’t you stop him?”

“Stop him, you say…”

Batur Khan’s expression suggested he wasn’t particularly keen on doing so.

As if it was a bother.

“If you consider the relationship with Goryeo…”

“I should stop the King of Jenam.”

Batur slowly rose.

He wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to his aide.

“Take this and go see the King of Jenam immediately.”

The aide bowed, received the paper, and immediately set off for where the King of Jenam was.

Upon arrival, a guard stopped him.

“What business do you have?”

“I’ve brought a letter from Batur Khan.”

The guard looked around briefly, and seemingly confirming it was safe, nodded.

He opened the door and informed the King of Jenam of this fact.

“Your Majesty. Batur Khan has sent a letter.”

“Let him in.”

The aide bowed and entered.

Inside, an elderly man was drinking tea.

“I greet the King of Jenam.”

“Yes.”

He extended his hand.

The aide approached with quick steps and handed over Batur Khan’s letter.

The King of Jenam opened the letter and looked puzzled.

Then, as if realizing something, he laughed loudly.

“Hahaha. Batur is still the same.”

The aide looked confused at his loud laughter.

The King of Jenam, seemingly not intending to answer, dismissed him.

“Tell Batur I received his letter well.”

Hearing this, the aide bowed and left.

Once he was gone, the King of Jenam checked the letter again.

“‘Plan.’ He means I should do as I see fit.”

The letter had only one character written on it.

The character for “plan” is the same as the character for “picture,” and it’s typically used when drawing a big picture.

So it had the same meaning as making a plan.

Usually, one would write what kind of plan they were making and then add this character.

“But there’s nothing before or after it. Just the word ‘plan’.”

In other words, it meant “do as you see fit.”

The King of Jenam knew better than anyone why Batur had sent such a meaningless letter.

“He needs to do something considering the alliance with Goryeo, but he can’t stop me from trying to take the Great Capital.”

The King of Jenam found Batur’s actions both amusing and pleasing.

If Batur had demanded a withdrawal considering the relationship with Goryeo, he had planned to stop supporting him.

But Batur showed the art of the middle way, looking after his own interests while not offending the King of Jenam.

That’s why he was pleased.

“Such a lord is worth serving.”

Batur Khan was a being worthy of being the Khagan.

If he became the Khagan, the King of Jenam, as a wang, would naturally become his subject.

Being a subject would naturally come with various restrictions.

But Batur showed a laissez-faire approach, as if saying he wouldn’t impose such restrictions, which was pleasing.

“Anyway.”

The King of Jenam folded the letter.

And he showed interest in Tolui Khan, who had defeated Taisun Khan in just one battle.

“Taisun Khan’s forces were by no means weak. The fact that he was defeated means the other is no ordinary person.”

Tolui Khan.

It was clear that he would be a prominent figure in this chaos known as the princely rebellion.

* * *

After Taisun Khan’s defeat, it seemed everyone had the same idea of looting an empty house.

As Nurhachi had predicted, numerous soldiers had already gathered near the Great Capital.

“We might not even need to convene a separate kurultai.”

Nurhachi laughed in agreement with my joke.

There was no response to the call for a kurultai to determine the next Khagan, but everyone came from all directions just to take the Great Capital.

This scene was similar to that of the steppe.

On the steppe, when prey is hunted, jackals gather from everywhere to get a piece of meat.

“I can’t tell if those before me are princes or a pack of jackals.”

After saying this, I raised my command baton.

The Jurchen cavalry waiting behind advanced.

The pack of jackals began to laugh at our cavalry.

This was because they didn’t look like typical cavalry.

Traditional Mongol cavalry carried three weapons, a bow, and a quiver of well-sharpened arrows.

In contrast, our cavalry wore light leather armor instead of lamellar armor.

And their weapons consisted only of a cavalry sword and a pistol.

This made them think they weren’t proper cavalry.

“I’ll turn that laughter into screams.”

The command baton that had risen high fell to the ground.

The cavalry began to charge forward.