Ch.60Plains Battle (1)

“I now understand what Father meant.”

“That’s good to hear.”

In the original history, Bekhter had been at odds with Temujin. But perhaps because I hadn’t been poisoned, his relationship with Temujin had improved, and as a result, he was showing this mature side.

My son, having seemingly gained great insight in this ger, was now addressing me.

“Father… no, great Khan of the Ulus.”

“…”

“I earnestly request your permission to lead from the front in this upcoming war.”

“From the front, you say?”

“Yes. I wish to cut down enemies from the front line and build achievements as a warrior of the steppe.”

“Are you still fixated on honor?”

“No. I simply want to earn military merit like Temujin… to gain independence.”

“…”

Let me reiterate, Bekhter was originally the eldest son of our family. But suddenly, when Yesugei kidnapped Ho’elun and made her his wife, Bekhter became the son of a concubine.

As a result, Bekhter, who should have been independent by now, had no choice but to remain by my side. And now this same Bekhter was telling me he wanted independence.

“Independence…”

“I’ll earn military merit and gain recognition from everyone on the steppe. I won’t bring shame to the Khan’s reputation.”

Bekhter, being born of a concubine, was worried about damaging my reputation. Looking at my son, I shook my head.

“Don’t worry, Bekhter. No matter what anyone says, you are my proud son.”

“F-Father.”

“So I will respect your decision and grant what you wish for.”

Bekhter silently nodded at this.

I stroked his head and murmured softly.

“Nature arranges everything according to its proper order. So that we may continue to live on this steppe.”

With these words, I rose to my feet.

Bekhter silently stood up and bowed to me.

I looked at my son.

Beneath his bowed face, droplets were falling one by one.

Bekhter’s shoulders were trembling.

My son was trying to hold back his tears.

There was only one thing I could do.

All I could do was embrace my son who was trying to become a man.

* * *

With all preparations complete, it was time to depart. As we were about to leave Khara-Khoto, the city governor Li Byeongsang and the residents came out to see us off.

“Please return safely.”

“We pray that glory accompanies our great leader.”

The people of Khara-Khoto had no idea that we were going to fight against those who had come to save them. From our position as military leaders, there was no need to inform them of this fact.

Anyway, as we were about to leave, one of the wealthiest men in Khara-Khoto approached me.

“Great Khan, before you depart, please accept our gift.”

He turned his head and showed us the gift he had brought.

The gift was none other than dogs. But unlike ordinary dogs, these had glossy black fur and appeared larger than wolves.

“What are these dogs?”

“These are hunting dogs brought from the Tibetan plateau. Commonly known as lion dogs, they are fierce but absolutely loyal to their masters, so they will be of great help in battle.”

At the wealthy man’s words, I turned to look at the dogs. They reminded me of Chow Chows I’d seen on the internet.

I think this breed was called Masti-something, but I couldn’t remember exactly. I had once seen an educational documentary showing these lion dogs being raised in Mongolia.

They were called Bankhar, and there are records that the Mongol Empire army assigned 2 to 5 dogs to each arban, a unit of ten soldiers. There were even records of releasing Bankhar around enemy villages during night sieges, resulting in the annihilation of enemies—so there was no need to elaborate on how powerful these lion dogs were.

Anyway, the wealthy man was giving us these excellent dogs, useful in battle, as a gift.

“I gratefully accept your kindness.”

After expressing my gratitude to the wealthy man, I gestured to summon an attendant. The attendant approached and bowed, and I gave him an order.

“Give this man a wooden token.”

The attendant handed a wooden token to the wealthy man. To the wealthy man who looked at me wondering what this was, I began explaining the use of this wooden token.

“With this token, you will be able to trade safely anywhere on the steppe. And I promise that when the Ulus’s territory expands, you will be respected there as well.”

At this time, trade was generally conducted between countries. This meant that without the cooperation of those in power, trade was difficult.

But with this token, trade would be possible anywhere within the Ulus. In other words, it was almost like granting the wealthy man the right to trade.

“Th-thank you. Thank you, Khan.”

“I would like you to continue bringing these dogs to the Ulus in the future. Of course, I will pay for them then.”

At this, the wealthy man expressed his gratitude once more and bowed with an expression indicating he would certainly do so.

In truth, it was a bit excessive for receiving several dozen dogs. But with many onlookers, there was some intention behind giving such an excessive reward.

By providing such generous compensation, more people would want to offer tributes like this in the future.

Anyway, I received several dozen Bankhar from the wealthy man. Then I called for Jadaran Elunka.

“You called for me, Khan?”

“Make arrangements to manage the Bankhar.”

“I receive your command.”

Following my order, Elunka called for the tamma and took the Bankhar away. Since these dogs couldn’t be immediately deployed in battle, I planned to assign them to the tamma for now.

Thus, after receiving tributes from the people of Khara-Khoto and their farewells, it was time to face the Western Xia army in battle.

* * *

Soldiers in shabby attire were barely moving forward, using spears as walking sticks. Seeing their struggling appearance, the man at the front raised his hand to order a halt to the march.

“Stop the march. We will rest here.”

At the commander’s order, the soldiers sat down as if finally relieved. The commander, looking at the soldiers, sighed and removed his helmet to survey the surroundings.

“This place has hills, so we can respond even if enemy forces appear.”

“Would you like to rest as well, Military Commissioner?”

At his aide’s words, Zhao Yunchang, the Commissioner and Military Governor, shook his head. Then he continued speaking.

“We don’t know when the enemy might attack, so we need to maintain vigilance. Divide the resting soldiers into groups—half should maintain a vigilant posture while the others rest. And have the fastest cavalry scout the surroundings to find water sources.”

“I will follow your orders, Your Excellency.”

Currently, the Western Xia forces were extremely tired from the long march. In this state, without proper hydration, it would be difficult to engage in battle.

Of course, supply wagons had been brought with water to prepare for such worst-case scenarios. But the water in the wagons was to be drunk only in the most dire situations, so it was important to find nearby water resources now.

Fortunately, this area had many oases. Therefore, finding water wasn’t particularly difficult.

Anyway, following Zhao Yunchang’s orders, the aide dispatched quick cavalry to survey the surrounding area. After a short while, the aide returned with the cavalry to Zhao Yunchang.

“We’ve confirmed there’s an oasis not far from here.”

“That’s fortunate. We’ll rest here first, then head there.”

Although the schedule to reach Khara-Khoto was tight, he couldn’t push the soldiers too hard. Therefore, Zhao Yunchang planned to recover some strength at the oasis before heading to Khara-Khoto.

There was a reason behind his decision. Being a settled person, he believed it was impossible for nomads to occupy Khara-Khoto.

Again, even though nomads were formidable on the plains, they couldn’t climb city walls on horseback. Therefore, from his perspective, it was nearly impossible for nomads without siege engines to have captured Khara-Khoto fortress.

For this reason, Zhao Yunchang thought the Mongol cavalry was still tied up at Khara-Khoto. If he hadn’t thought this way, he wouldn’t have taken rest in such an open plain.

“Still, it would be better to send someone to Khara-Khoto just in case.”

“Your Excellency is right. The cavalry still has much strength left, so I’ll send them to Khara-Khoto right away.”

Zhao Yunchang nodded at his aide’s words.

On the battlefield, the only thing one could rely on was information. Therefore, Zhao Yunchang was not just relying on his intuition but was sending people to check directly.

While selecting scouts to send to Khara-Khoto, murmuring sounds were heard among the soldiers. Zhao Yunchang personally led his horse toward the commotion.

When the Military Governor arrived, a Western Xia soldier and another soldier in distinctive attire were engaged in a fistfight.

“How dare you!”

“Ha! Did you think you could survive after insulting our tribe?”

Perhaps because of the increasingly heated atmosphere, the situation showed no signs of calming down despite Zhao Yunchang’s personal arrival. Eventually, the aide standing nearby had no choice but to step in with his sword.

“Fighting within the ranks! And such disgraceful behavior in front of the Commissioner!”

At this, the two soldiers who had been fighting bowed their heads before the aide. The aide was about to punish both fighters according to military law when Zhao Yunchang stepped forward to stop him.

“Since the fighters are a Western Xia soldier and a Shanwa soldier, there must be a reason. Let’s first understand why they fought.”

The Shanwa people, a branch of the Qiang ethnic group living in Hengshan, were known for their bravery and were considered stronger than Western Xia soldiers. As a result, Western Xia often employed them as mercenaries.

Although the Tangut people were also a branch that split from the Qiang, they had undergone significant sinicization and were quite different from the Shanwa tribe. Anyway, as Zhao Yunchang tried to examine this conflict within the ranks, the Shanwa soldier stepped forward first and pleaded.

“Military Governor, this man insulted our Shanwa tribe, calling us an inferior tribe that engages in thievery.”

“This man actually stole the water I brought. So the one lying is that Shanyong fellow.”

At the derogatory term “Shanyong” used to refer to the Shanwa tribe, the Shanwa soldier glared at the Western Xia soldier. The Western Xia soldier responded in kind.

“Enough! You will both be punished separately.”

Finally, seeing no signs of the situation calming down, the aide ordered the two soldiers to be separated. As a result, the two soldiers were dragged away by other soldiers.

Zhao Yunchang, who had been silently observing this, spoke to his aide after the two soldiers were taken away.

“The soldiers’ thirst seems serious. We’ll end our rest and head straight to the oasis. We’ll continue our rest there.”

At Zhao Yunchang’s order, the aide bowed and then issued marching orders to the soldiers again. The soldiers, with tired expressions, had no choice but to get up again.

With the soldiers’ throats parched, Zhao Yunchang’s order was very reasonable. However, because of this order, the army of 100,000 found themselves in the painful situation of having to march again without proper rest.