Ch.51Winter (2)

# Methods of Attacking Western Xia

There were several ways to attack Western Xia.

Among them, the easiest method was undoubtedly attacking Khara-Khoto.

This made sense because Khara-Khoto was located at a trade hub with smooth transportation. Therefore, it was suitable as a military supply base.

Additionally, occupying Khara-Khoto was absolutely essential for developing trade through the steppe routes after conquering Western Xia.

For this reason, I had to put more effort into this than the previous local battle against Khara-Khoto.

This was because this time it was about occupation, not destruction.

For this reason, I had positioned Elunka’s Tamma units around Khara-Khoto in advance to gather intelligence.

And now, a big fish had been caught in the fishing net we’d set up for information gathering.

“What is your name?”

“I… I’m Li Byeongsang.”

At my words, the Tangut merchant standing right next to me began interpreting.

The bound man in front of me had introduced himself as Li Byeongsang.

“Li Byeongsang… what is your relationship with Li Deyun, the governor of Khara-Khoto?”

“I… I have no relationship with him.”

Seeing Li Byeongsang tell such an obvious lie, I shook my head.

Then I raised my hand, signaling my attendant to bring in his wife and children.

“F-Father!”

“M-My husband!”

“M-My son! D-Darling!”

And so, Li Byeongsang had a family reunion in enemy territory.

Looking at him, I asked my question once more.

“What is your relationship with Li Deyun? If you lie again, you will never see your son again.”

With those words, the warrior beside me pulled out a branding iron that had been heated in the fire.

It was an item prepared in advance to carry out branding, considered one of the extreme punishments even among Mongols.

In Mongolia, the part of the body branded depended on the severity of the crime.

For minor offenses, the branding was usually done on less visible areas like the buttocks or thighs.

But for major crimes, they would brand the eyes or tongue, blinding the person or rendering them mute.

Not answering the Khan’s question within the Ulus was considered a serious crime.

Therefore, if Li Byeongsang lied again, his eyes would be branded, and he would never see his loved ones again.

“I-I’ll talk. I’ll talk. Please, just my wife and sons…”

“Don’t worry. No harm has been done to your son and wife. If you give us the answers we want, you’ll be allowed to stay with your family.”

“I-I understand.”

At my words, Li Byeongsang swallowed hard before answering.

“I-I am Li Deyun’s cousin. As his cousin, I served as his Shirang.”

The Shirang in Western Xia was typically a position that managed military affairs, somewhat different from the Shirang in the Song Dynasty. In Song Dynasty terms, it would be equivalent to a Tosa.

A Tosa was a position that could be appointed by a Chotosa, serving as an assistant to the Chotosa who functioned like a local governor.

Of course, the Chotosa position was usually temporary, appointed only during times of war.

In the case of Khara-Khoto, it was a special region within Western Xia—a region with autonomy—so it was somewhat similar to a Jeoldosa.

However, while the position of Jeoldosa could sometimes be hereditary, Chotosa could not be inherited, so comparing it to Chotosa was more accurate.

In any case, Li Byeongsang had served as a Tosa assisting Li Deyun, making him an important figure.

This meant that Li Byeongsang knew a lot—the two were directly connected.

“Then you must know a lot about Khara-Khoto.”

Li Byeongsang nodded immediately at my question.

However, judging by his worried expression, there seemed to be something difficult for him to answer.

“According to the Tamma’s report, you were leaving Khara-Khoto and heading toward Xingqing.”

“Y-Yes, Great Khan.”

“You know well how far it is from here to Xingqing.”

“…”

Li Byeongsang couldn’t readily answer my question.

To reiterate, the distance from Khara-Khoto to Xingqing was like the distance from Busan to Dalian.

Even on horseback, traveling to Xingqing with a wife and children would be difficult.

“Moreover, I’ve heard that your relative, Li Deyun, has friction with the emperor of Western Xia.”

“T-That’s…”

Li Deyun had political friction with the Western Xia emperor.

That’s why he didn’t request support from his country during the previous battle at Khara-Khoto, as we learned after the battle ended.

This was information obtained through cross-verification of intelligence from Tangut merchants and the Tamma, so the possibility of it being wrong was very low.

“If you, having deserted your post at Khara-Khoto, try to hide in Xingqing, the emperor won’t leave you alone.”

“…”

“I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

Actually, there was no need to say it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

It just slipped out because I was a genuine fan of that movie.

But apparently, the phrase “an offer you can’t refuse” sounded quite frightening in the Western Xia language, as Li Byeongsang trembled and looked at me.

“Surrender to the Ulus. Then I will make you the governor of Khara-Khoto. And I will show special mercy to those who follow you.”

“G-Governor, you say?”

“As the Khan of the Ulus, I swear by God, Tengri, and Vairocana Buddha.”

I swore by the Christian God, Tengri of the Tengri religion, and Vairocana Buddha of Esoteric Buddhism.

Most people in Western Xia believed in Mahayana Buddhism, but the nobles tended to believe in Tibetan Buddhism, or Esoteric Buddhism.

So when I mentioned these deities, Li Byeongsang couldn’t help but be tempted.

From Li Byeongsang’s position, it was an offer he absolutely couldn’t refuse.

This was because the source of his influence came entirely from Khara-Khoto.

Additionally, since his family was also based in Khara-Khoto, becoming the governor would allow him to restore his family’s standing.

“W-What do you n-need? I’ll tell you everything I know.”

* * *

“Most of the information provided by Li Byeongsang appears to be correct.”

I nodded at Elunka’s response.

Currently, the Mongol Empire was obtaining information from two directions.

General information was obtained through Tangut merchants,

while military information was gathered through on-site investigations by the Tamma.

We were operating by compiling this information, cross-verifying it, and extracting reliable intelligence.

However, there was one problem with this information gathering:

it was difficult to obtain information that could cause significant damage to the enemy.

That’s why we needed information provided by important enemy figures like Li Byeongsang.

However, in such cases, people sometimes provided false information to save themselves.

For this reason, I had Elunka cross-verify the information, and only after some time passed could we confirm that what Li Byeongsang said was accurate.

“What’s the most important piece of information?”

“The information that part of the eastern gate wall of Khara-Khoto is filled with stones unsuitable for walls, not solid stones.”

Most attackers of Khara-Khoto were nomads coming from the north.

As a result, there was no need to build walls entirely of solid stone against nomads who lacked even basic siege technology.

Above all, given the size of the city, it was impossible to fill all the walls with solid stones.

Not only was there the issue of manpower, but building stone walls to protect Khara-Khoto, standing in the middle of the desert, would cost an enormous amount of money.

Again, this place was near the Gobi Desert, so stones were quite scarce.

These stones were needed not only for walls but also for building waterways to bring agricultural water from Luzhou.

Additionally, I personally thought there was a possibility that Li Deyun or his subordinate officials might have embezzled construction funds from the central government.

Whatever the case, it was important information for us.

“Relay the order to Bulqa Khan to deploy the trebuchets to the east.”

The attendant who received my order bowed and mounted his horse.

Deploying trebuchets was originally Munglig’s role, but since Munglig had to recruit new soldiers with the Kheshig, this order had to be delegated to Bulqa.

“Is there any other information?”

“Additionally…”

Information about how many soldiers were guarding nearby Luzhou.

The population of surrounding villages.

Key military secrets such as the number of troops stationed inside Khara-Khoto.

“Some information doesn’t match exact place names and requires additional investigation.”

“I’ll leave that part to you.”

“I receive your command, Great Khan.”

Since Elunka was the commander operating the Tamma, it was much more efficient to entrust this to him.

By delegating roles like this, I could focus on coordinating the overall attack schedule as the commander-in-chief.

“They should be coming soon…”

Speak of the devil—as soon as I said this, someone was approaching from the distance.

The ones approaching, kicking up dust, were none other than my sons, Belgutei and Khasar.

“Great Khan, as you ordered, we have moved the Hui technicians in advance.”

“All necessary materials have been hidden behind the hill.”

“Well done.”

Seeing me praise my sons, Elunka looked at me.

Then, with a playful expression that suggested he found something regrettable, he jokingly said to me:

“Looking at this, I see all the Khan’s sons have radiant faces and extraordinary eyes. I never thought I would regret not having a daughter so much.”

Elunka began flattering my sons with kind words.

In response, Belgutei and Khasar blushed and expressed their gratitude to Elunka.

“We thank the Jadaran Khan.”

“Thank you for your high praise.”

“Not at all. Both of you will surely be recorded in history as figures who leave their names behind. One of you possesses the intelligence to establish a royal family, and the other has the courage to campaign eternally beside the great Khan.”

At Elunka’s words, I wondered inwardly if he had some kind of foresight.

This was because even in actual history, Temujin said that it was thanks to Belgutei’s strength and Khasar’s archery that I was able to grasp the world.

Belgutei’s descendants campaigned with the fourth Great Khan, Möngke Khan.

As for Khasar’s descendants, although they were briefly persecuted by Temujin, they survived and prospered enough to form one of the three eastern royal families.

Of course, it might have just been flattery.

But from my position of knowing the future, it was difficult to dismiss Elunka’s assessment casually.

While I was thinking about this, I belatedly realized that my sons and Elunka were looking at me.

I put aside my thoughts for a moment and gave them orders.

“Belgutei and Khasar, lead the soldiers toward Luzhou. When the order comes, eliminate the soldiers guarding that place and build a dam to block the waterway.”

“We receive the Khan’s command.”

“We will follow the will of the Great One.”

After giving these orders, I turned my head to look at Khara-Khoto.

Last time, we had to retreat regrettably, but this time was different.

This time, I would grasp Khara-Khoto in my hand.

In the name of the Ulus.