Ch.47Fall (4)

# Iron Ball with Spikes

To be precise, a hollow iron ball could be of great help to the Mongol army.

Iron wasn’t a problem as it could be obtained by requesting it from Toghrul Khan.

Anyway, apart from that, I was trying to put many caltrops inside this iron ball.

Caltrops were weapons designed to impede the movement of people and horses, named after the water chestnut fruit they resembled.

They were used in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and in our country during the Three Kingdoms Period.

The main reason countries in Central Plains and the Korean Peninsula adopted caltrops was to prevent raids by nomads.

These countries built walls to defend against nomads, and they placed caltrops in front of city gates—the weakest part of the walls—to prevent nomads from approaching carelessly.

With caltrops spread out, nomads couldn’t approach easily, and in times of war, they delayed enemy attacks during sieges, making them useful for settled civilizations.

Unlike these two countries, Mongolia adopted caltrops relatively late.

The reason was simple—Mongolia was a steppe region with few suitable places to deploy caltrops.

From a modern perspective, one might think they could just be placed near encampments.

But such deployment would require enormous amounts of iron and production facilities.

Since Mongolia itself had virtually no buildings to speak of, there was no reason to adopt them in the first place.

Nevertheless, they eventually came to be used in Mongolia, albeit in a rather unique way.

“Does it make sense to throw these like in ninja comics…”

I muttered these words while looking at the caltrop in my hand.

This was because the Mongols used these caltrops by throwing them at enemies to hinder pursuit.

Again, nomads were people with nothing to protect.

To put it bluntly, they had nothing to lose, which made them more committed to raiding than anyone else.

In such raids, life was naturally the most important thing,

and to protect their lives, they used these caltrops by throwing them to shake off pursuing enemies.

Of course, Mongolia wasn’t the only country to use this method.

However, if the Ulus wanted to establish a proper conquest dynasty, such outdated weapon usage methods needed to change.

“Fill an iron ball with caltrops and use it like a grenade.”

I imagined throwing an iron ball filled with caltrops at the enemy.

Whether the ball hit an enemy’s body or fell to the ground, it would burst.

Countless caltrops would scatter out,

making it impossible for enemy forces to immediately give chase, even if they were on horseback.

“That would make the Parthian shot even safer.”

In truth, throwing caltrops one by one might be more effective.

Nevertheless, I prepared these grenade-like iron balls specifically for the Parthian shot.

The core Mongol tactic was based on feigned retreat, essentially a deception strategy.

A small force would charge, making the enemy underestimate them and give chase. When the enemy’s formation broke as they pursued, mounted archers would shoot arrows at them from horseback, accumulating damage.

While it might sound invincible, this tactic actually had quite a few weaknesses.

“If settled peoples were to employ encirclement tactics despite taking damage, there would be no answer, which is why this is absolutely necessary.”

People cannot match the speed of horses.

But for countries that could deploy massive manpower, like the Song Dynasty, things were different.

Even though cavalry might be a powerful force where 10 horsemen could devastate 100 infantry, they had no answer when surrounded.

That’s why we needed to use these grenades to prevent enemy forces from closing in before the encirclement was complete.

“It’s not a fundamental solution, but it will be efficient until we can properly deploy heavy cavalry.”

The Mongol Empire truly got on track after conquering the iron-rich Manchurian region.

By occupying this area, the Mongol army could also don iron armor, allowing them to deploy hammer-and-anvil tactics with cavalry alone, in addition to deception tactics.

While I was thinking about this and pondering the Mongol army’s organization, I sensed someone approaching beside me.

I turned my head to look in that direction.

“What brings you here?”

A blonde woman.

Abd Chechek, one of my wives, was hesitating beside me.

“I’ve come to fetch you.”

“Me?”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head, wondering what this was about.

Since it was my wife’s summons, I thought something might have happened at home and got up.

While I was thinking this, I didn’t even notice that Abd Chechek’s face was flushed.

I should have sensed something strange here… but it was already too late.

Anyway, I headed home without much thought.

With no idea what was about to unfold.

* * *

“Ugh…”

My head was spinning so much that it was difficult to properly raise my body.

So I just stared at the ceiling with a blank expression.

Sochigel approached me from the side.

She handed me water that had been left outside and had become cold.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

“Th-thank you.”

As I tried to sit up to drink the water, a sharp pain shot through my lower back.

I let out a yelp and had to lie back down.

“Don’t push yourself. Yesterday… you worked so hard… hehe… ♡”

Sochigel said this to me.

At that moment, the scattered fragments of memory in my head began to come together.

Three women.

Six droplets.

Three women had taken turns mounting me,

and I had no choice but to move vigorously like a horse.

The entire ger had become like a sauna, so hot that it was difficult to maintain sanity without taking off clothes.

As these thoughts came to me, I couldn’t help but blush.

“A-ahem…”

When I cleared my throat, Sochigel instead showed a pleased expression.

This was because while she was usually calm and gentle, she showed a completely different side at night.

It would be no exaggeration to say that Sochigel was the one who took the lead in our marital activities.

Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Sochigel smiled broadly at my blushing face and clung to me.

“Perhaps… you’re still not satisfied…? ♡”

“N-no, I…”

“If my husband says so… I’ll wash up quickly and return… ♡”

“S-suddenly w-washing…? Why…? W-why…? H-how come?”

Sweat began to form on my body without me realizing it.

Thinking that this would lead to the same situation as yesterday, I quickly gathered and put on my clothes with the thought of survival.

“Hehe… ♡ I’ll be right back… ♡”

Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Sochigel left the ger.

As soon as she left, I got up with the thought of escaping from this place and exited the ger.

“You’re up, my husband.”

Outside, Ho’elun greeted me with an axe in her hand.

“W-why the axe…?”

“We received some timber from the Oirat tribe… hup!”

Ho’elun brought the axe down on a wooden stump.

The axe stuck with a thunk! as if it had been perfectly fitted.

With no exaggeration, she had enough strength to hold her own even against the warriors of the steppe.

In actual history, Ho’elun was often portrayed as a heroine,

and after Yesugei’s death, when Temujin was regrouping his forces at Burkhan Khaldun, she even participated as a commander leading soldiers when fighting against other tribes.

With such a Ho’elun holding an axe… I couldn’t help but shrink back as yesterday’s memories came to mind.

“By the way, where are you hurrying off to, my husband?”

“…I suddenly remembered something important that I need to attend to urgently.”

“My younger sister just left the ger… are you really that busy?”

“…”

Ho’elun, who had approached me, said this while pressing her body completely against mine.

It seemed that if I couldn’t speak properly here, I would be dragged back to the ger.

A moment of life or death.

Fortunately, a savior appeared before me.

“Brother! So this is where you were!”

At Munglig’s appearance, Ho’elun glared at him with an expression that seemed to say “you again.”

Unlike how she appeared to me, her fierce gaze made Munglig flinch as he looked back and forth between me and Ho’elun.

“Uh… sh-should I come back later…? Sister-in-law…?”

“Haah… no. As a wife, I cannot interfere with my husband’s work. Anyway, what’s the matter?”

After saying that, she pulled out the axe she had embedded in the stump with one hand.

Munglig could only make an awkward expression at her powerful(?) demeanor.

“Uh… th-that… b-brother, the Song craftsmen have finished the work you ordered…”

Quite coincidentally, the Song craftsmen had finished making the spheres before I faced my great ordeal(?).

Thanks to their hard work, I was able to escape from being dragged into the ger.

“I’ll let my sister know, so don’t worry and go ahead.”

At Ho’elun’s words, I quickly nodded and headed toward my horse.

Then I mounted the horse and hurriedly left home with Munglig.

“Thank you. Thank you, Munglig.”

At my spontaneous words of gratitude, Munglig tilted his head and looked at me.

“I never thought you’d thank me, brother. What happened?”

“It’s something…”

I had to trail off due to my unspeakable hardship.

Because I couldn’t tell my brother that I was running away because I was afraid of my wives.

While I was thinking this, Munglig examined my complexion and then spoke to me with an expression that seemed to say “don’t tell me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of your wives…”

“Th-that’s not it!”

“It seems like that’s exactly it…”

“A-ahem…”

“No wonder Ho’elun sister-in-law’s face was glowing…”

Munglig said this while shaking his head.

Looking at him, I spoke quietly.

“Treat your wife well… one is enough.”

Again, Munglig still had only one wife.

Though he had risen to a position where others tried to send him concubines,

Munglig was a devoted husband who loved his current wife and didn’t take any concubines.

Anyway, talking about this, we headed toward where the Song craftsmen were.

During the journey, Munglig seemed deeply moved by my story, as he never took another concubine until his death.