Ch.89Internal Affairs (8)

# Western Xia Imperial Palace Garden

Temujin sat in a garden filled with flowers surrounded by a blue glow.

“So here you are.”

The figure who appeared with his attendants was none other than Bekhter.

Upon reaching Temujin’s side, Bekhter gestured for his servants to withdraw.

“What is it? Weren’t you busy?”

“Not as busy as my wife is.”

Bekhter’s wife was none other than the daughter of Emperor Renzong, the former emperor of Western Xia.

Because of this, most of the internal household affairs were managed by Bekhter’s wife.

“Shouldn’t you be helping her at times like this?”

“That’s true, but… since we haven’t even consummated our marriage yet… it still feels awkward.”

Bekhter scratched his face in embarrassment as he spoke.

Seeing this, Temujin nodded in understanding, which was unusual for him.

“It happens.”

“What’s gotten into you?”

“What?”

“I thought you’d tease me like usual.”

“Tease you? I went through something similar myself.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Then silence fell between them.

It was Bekhter who finally broke the long silence.

“Can I ask you something then?”

“What is it?”

“…What did you do on your wedding night?”

“Ahem!”

Temujin couldn’t help but clear his throat at Bekhter’s innocent question.

Seeing this reaction, Bekhter assumed Temujin was mocking him and made a displeased face.

“I’ve never been with a woman before!”

“Calm down. I’m not making fun of you.”

“Then why are you reacting like that?”

“Well… honestly, I can’t even remember what I did back then.”

“Ah…”

Bekhter nodded as if he had gained great insight.

Temujin scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Anyway, do well.”

“At what?”

“Having children. Now that I’m a parent… I think about many things.”

“…”

“I’ve come to understand how much effort our father put into taking care of our mothers and us.”

Bekhter silently nodded at Temujin’s words.

As a child, he had wanted to be like his father.

And when riding horses across the steppe, he wanted to lead everyone from the front like his father did.

He thought all of this would come true when he became an adult.

But reality was different. Becoming an adult made him realize that being responsible for a family and leading others required tremendous burden and effort.

“Belgutei or Khasar should have heard what you just said.”

“Right?”

Temujin smiled and nodded at Bekhter’s words.

Then he looked at Bekhter and continued.

“Bekhter. No, my brother and Khan of Western Xia.”

“Looks like you’re about to ask a favor. Am I right?”

“I’m trying to set the mood like Father did. Play along.”

“Hehe. Alright, head of the family.”

With these words, Bekhter suddenly stood up.

Then he knelt on one knee before Temujin, taking a formal posture.

“Great head of the Borjigin clan. Bekhter, Khan of Western Xia, is ready to hear your command.”

Temujin made a face suggesting this was a bit excessive.

But what was done was done.

“The Kerait and Oirat tribes will soon attack the Cuman lands. Could you supply weapons, armor, and provisions from the rear?”

The Cumans ruled vast areas of the Eurasian steppe, around the Aral Sea, and near the Black Sea.

Temujin was currently targeting the plains north of Transoxiana within the Cuman territory.

The reason for targeting this area was its central location on the Steppe Road.

It was close to Western Liao in the north and Iranian lands in the south.

And to the west stretched the vast steppe, making it an ideal position for aggressive expansion using horses.

However, being steppe territory, supplies were insufficient even with local plundering.

To supplement this, they would need to raid Western Liao or various small states in Transoxiana, but Temujin’s capabilities and the size of his army were not yet sufficient to face these opponents.

For this reason, Temujin was asking his half-brother Bekhter for help.

“Is this the clan’s wish?”

“No. This is for me and my family.”

At Temujin’s honest answer, Bekhter burst into laughter as if he couldn’t keep up the act anymore.

Temujin looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“You’re still as honest as when you were young. At times like this, you could just say it’s for the glory of the clan, for the Borjigin clan.”

“What can I do when it’s the truth? Unlike you, I haven’t established myself yet.”

At Temujin’s words, Bekhter stopped laughing and looked at him.

Then he held out his fist to Temujin.

“What’s this suddenly? Want to fight?”

“What are you talking about? Since you asked for help for yourself, we should make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of deal?”

“Bumping your fist against mine.”

“…”

At that moment, Temujin couldn’t say anything.

This was because this gesture was something Temujin and Bekhter had done in their childhood.

When they knew nothing about adult matters, the two got along well and played together every day, shooting arrows and riding horses.

After such play, Bekhter and Temujin always bumped fists, making a promise to play together again the next day.

This promise stopped as they grew older.

This was because Bekhter became aware that he had originally been the eldest son before becoming a secondary son,

and Temujin, seeing this, couldn’t understand Bekhter’s jealousy and thought he had changed.

So their unique gesture of promising to play again faded into memory.

“…You remembered?”

“Of course.”

With these words, Bekhter looked at Temujin as if to say “what are you waiting for?”

Temujin smiled and bumped his fist against Bekhter’s.

“Next time, don’t come empty-handed. I need to see what my nephew looks like.”

“Is that really all you want?”

To this, Bekhter nodded as if to say what more was needed.

* * *

“…For these reasons, I plan to send some of the large quantities of rice coming from the Song Dynasty to Temujin.”

At Bekhter’s words, I tilted my head.

Bekhter lowered his body and apologized to me.

“I apologize, Khagan of the Ulus. I made this decision without reporting to you…”

“No, my son.”

“…?”

“The master of Western Xia is not me but you. So I have no reason to interfere with how you use the rice coming into Western Xia.”

“But…”

“My son.”

“I await your command, Father.”

“Who do you think will be by your side when I die?”

“…”

“When I die, only your beloved wife, your children, and your siblings will remain by your side. Will you still search for me, who has gone to Tengri’s side after being pecked by hawks, seeking answers?”

“No, Father.”

“I’m not scolding you.”

I patted Bekhter’s shoulder as I spoke.

He was a child who had proven his abilities by achieving the greatest military accomplishments in the conquest of Western Xia.

I knew better than anyone that his worry stemmed from not yet fully believing in himself.

So I smiled to give my son confidence.

You are a capable child. You can do it. That’s what Bekhter needed right now.

“You did well, my son.”

“…Pardon?”

I didn’t answer Bekhter’s question.

Instead, I changed the subject, creating an atmosphere that suggested I wouldn’t discuss this matter further.

“Trade with the Song Dynasty has officially begun. Our main trade items include alcohol, perfumes, and…”

“Coal, Father.”

I nodded at my son’s answer.

Yes, that’s my son.

“The alcohol industry is just beginning, so it will take time to profit from full-scale trade with the Song Dynasty.”

“Then we should focus on developing perfumes and coal.”

“Exactly.”

Bekhter was a capable warrior.

That’s why he was quick-witted.

“However, I believe it would be difficult to suddenly increase coal mining within Western Xia.”

“Yes. Your assessment is correct.”

“Then…”

“What about buying coal from various small states in Tibet at low prices?”

The current situation in Tibet was not good.

In the Tibetan Plateau, apart from Western Xia, there was no state capable of leading all of Tibet.

With numerous small states scattered about, it seemed not particularly difficult to annex them.

However, the Ulus had not yet fully absorbed Western Xia, making it difficult to wage additional conquest campaigns.

Therefore, I planned to bring them under Western Xia’s influence through trade.

* * *

Ulus envoys visited numerous small states in Tibet.

Their purpose was none other than subjugation.

“The Ulus is the nation that conquered Western Xia, the legitimate successor to Tibet. So follow the greater trend.”

“No nation that resisted the Ulus has survived. The Khagan is ruthless, but infinitely merciful to those who submit.”

With such words, the Ulus envoys began to bring the small states that occupied territories once ruled by Tibet under their influence.

Most of the small states chose submission, overwhelmed by the Ulus’s might.

Just as they were successfully extending influence throughout Tibet, forces that viewed the Ulus’s actions unfavorably began to emerge.

The leader of these forces was the Ghaznavid Kingdom, which had begun to decline under pressure from the Seljuk Empire.

Originally a massive power ruling Persian and Northern Indian regions, it had gradually been pushed back by the emerging Seljuks, retaining influence only in Northern India and parts of Transoxiana.

Still, befitting a nation that once ruled vast territories, they flatly rejected the submission request from the emerging Mongols.

“These lowly Mongols have lost their minds after conquering Western Xia!”

Sultan Zahir ad-Dawla Ibrahim, king of the Ghaznavid Kingdom, was greatly enraged.

He was so angry that he even ordered the execution of the Ulus envoy.

However, his ministers had to intervene as the order was too extreme.

Accepting his ministers’ request, Sultan Zahir rejected the Ulus’s submission demand by expelling their envoy.