Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

My son in the West! Zhang Yong frowned when he heard this. He only had two children left in the West. One had come back with him, and the other was with the queen in Hungary.

So it is obvious who this child is talking about, but not many people seem to know the identity of their son.

This son is the illegitimate son born to Zhang Yong by the Queen of Hungary, and his status in the West is also very special.

Only a small number of people knew that he was their son. In the Mongolian army, only Guyuk and some of his generals knew the truth.

"What do you mean, Batu Khan? My adopted son in the west should have been killed by Batu as a sacrifice. Don't think I don't know about this." Zhang Yong said.

"Your Majesty, to use a saying from the Han people in the Central Plains, it means that a frank person does not speak in secret. Your status as an adopted son is dispensable, but the eldest son of our Batu Khan was deceived by Guyuk and brought to Karakorum." Batu's envoy said.

“So Batu wanted to take his son back, so he killed my adopted son and took his own son back.

Even if he is just an adopted son, he is still my adopted son. He can kill him just because he wants to! What's your attitude? Why don't you give me one? " Zhang Yong snorted coldly.

I haven't settled accounts with you for this matter yet! Batu's eldest son had been brought to Dadu from Kharahelin by Zhang Yong, and was now in his hands.

Zhang Yong intended to use this eldest son to threaten Batu and tell him not to be too presumptuous, but at the moment, it seems that Batu does not care much about his son's life or death.

“Emperor, Your Majesty, we are not actually talking about you, as you should know. I am talking about your other son born in Hungary by the Queen of Hungary. I am afraid you don’t know about it yet, and the news has probably not yet reached us.

The Queen of Hungary's eldest son died in an accident about a year ago, and then some Hungarian ministers and Queen Maria died.

He pushed your youngest son to the throne of Hungary. When he first ascended the throne, Lord Batu sent an envoy to congratulate him.

Guess what? We saw a child with black hair and black eyes! We can probably tell who this child belongs to without even looking at him! "The messenger smiled and said.

"Hahaha! My youngest son became the king of Hungary? This is a good thing." Zhang Yong smiled and said.

He knew that Maria's eldest son would die young because that was recorded in history, but Zhang Yong did not know the exact time of death.

The death of this son must have been a huge blow to Maria, but fortunately, she still had a younger son.

And he actually knew that his youngest son would inherit the throne. Although the news on the road was blocked by you, there was no news at sea.

But what did Batu's envoy mean by saying this? Was he trying to threaten me with this son who was thousands of miles away, or to disclose the child's identity to undermine my reputation?

This is too much to think about! It will take a long time for this news to spread to the East, and it will not only damage my reputation.

Haha! The common people would regard this as just a rumor. If they heard that a son of their own emperor was a king in the West, the common people would just regard it as a piece of unofficial history.

"Your Majesty, your son is far away in Hungary, but our Khan Batu only needs to launch a western expedition.

We can destroy Hungary immediately and capture your son. Then, hehe!" Batu's envoy showed a hint of sneer, as if to say, "You know it, you can do whatever you want."

"So that's Batu's plan? He wants to use the little king of Hungary to threaten me! He wants to use my illegitimate son to threaten me, hahahaha! I really want to know who gave him this bad idea, and who gave him the confidence?" Zhang Yong slammed the table and laughed. Batu, you are too funny, aren't you?
Do you have any political sense? Or are you a little too confident in your own abilities?

To launch the Western Expedition to destroy Hungary, you must take the route through Southern Russia, or the Kipchak Steppe, which was also the route Zhang Yong took to withdraw his troops after the Western Expedition.

However, the control of this road is now in the hands of the Hungarians. Next to it is the rising Byzantine Empire and the two principalities of Serbia and Croatia.

Taking this route to attack Hungary is also an option, but do you think that after being beaten once, the Hungarians will be beaten a second time?
In history, Hungary experienced such a brutal defeat, with an army of 1 annihilated and one-third of the people massacred.

In the end, you were able to recover and defeat the Archduke of Austria. Even your subsequent small-scale westward expeditions were fruitless. What's more, now Hungary has the support of the Byzantine Empire.

Although Queen Maria is not as powerful as Bella IV, if you adopt a defensive approach, it will be impossible for you, Badu, to conquer Hungary.

"Batu Khan, I hope you can release his son. Otherwise, we will bypass the Southern Rus region and directly attack the Kingdom of Hungary. At that time, there will be more than 100,000 troops marching west again.

Don't think that Batu Khan did not dare to do this. In the past, Batu Khan had to leave some troops to guard the Mongolian grasslands and the Chagatai Khanate, but now the Chagatai Khanate has become the Kublai Khanate.

Batu Khan already has a stable rear base. Those western armies are all cowardly. As long as we launch a westward expedition, we can destroy Hungary in a year at most. By then, your son will fall into the hands of Batu Khan.

Of course, Batu Khan does not want to break up with you, so if possible, Your Majesty, please let me take Batu Khan's eldest son Sarida back with me. If you agree, Batu Khan will only attack the Southern Rus region. "The messenger said.

"I conferred titles on several Grand Dukes in Southern Rus, including the Grand Duke of Kievan Rus. Batu is trying to slap me in the face, right? And you're still talking about giving me face." Zhang Yong was so angry that he laughed. What was Batu thinking? Or what was Batu's envoy thinking?
The war hasn't even started yet! You're threatening me first. You should at least finish the war before threatening me! Then your words will be more convincing.

One moment you say you want to attack Hungary, the next moment you say you want to attack the Southern Russia region. Which side are you going to attack?
"I think I understand what you mean. Your Badu Khan wants to close the trade route between the East and the West to threaten me.

Then he asked me to return his eldest son, and then he refused to recognize my status as the Great Khan of Mongolia, openly opposed me, and even attacked the Grand Duke of Southern Russia whom I appointed. Am I right to say that?" Zhang Yong looked at Batu's envoy and asked.

"That's right, Your Majesty, Batu Khan has an army of more than 100,000 in the west, which can sweep across the entire west. In the past, he had to leave some troops behind to guard the rear.

But there is no need for this now. If you are sensible, return his son to him." Batu's messenger said.

"How about this! Your Batu Khan is very confident. When you leave, bring a gift to Batu for me, a very special gift." Zhang Yong said.

You want to slap me in the face? And you want to ask me for a favor. Do you really think you are Genghis Khan, or that you have a strategic advantage?
You have no bargaining chips at all. Once the East-West trade route is closed, I will suffer the least loss, while the Mongolian grasslands, your Golden Horde and those Western countries will suffer the greatest losses.

And do you think that I can do nothing if the land-based merchants are shut down? Why did I build big ships? And the shipbuilders of the Byzantine Empire had already returned, and when they returned, they opened up a new route.

Even the first group of traders had already docked at the southern ports along this sea trade route.

Zhang Yong was planning to open it. His original intention was to cooperate with the trade routes on the road. One ship could match the transport capacity of more than a dozen camels and dozens of horses.

Moreover, ships do not need to eat anything. For maritime trade, the cost of maritime transportation is much lower than that of land transportation. The large ships built in the Southern Song Dynasty can participate in this trade.

"So, Your Majesty, you agree to Batu Khan's request?"

"I promised you, I promised you that I would let you take his son back, but I only want to take his son's head back. When you go back, tell him that his son died entirely because of his stupidity. He shouldn't threaten me, and his army may not be able to conquer Southern Russia, let alone conquer Hungary. Your Golden Horde has developed very well in recent years, but why is it developing so well? Don't you know it in your heart?

Why can you sell your horses, furs, various mutton foods, and mare's milk on the grasslands, and why do the herdsmen have money in their hands? "Zhang Yong snorted coldly.

In a year at most, merchant ships from all over Europe will arrive at their port, and there will be more and more of them in the future.

If you go by sea, it only takes half a year to get here, but if you go by land, it will take at least eight or nine months, or even ten months or a year. Only a dozen people can complete the transportation of goods by hundreds of people and dozens of camels.

These merchants coming from Europe can replenish their supplies locally, enjoy good tariffs, and be protected by themselves. They must be crazy to follow the path of your Golden Horde.

"How dare you? Your Majesty, don't you care about the life or death of your illegitimate son? Aren't you afraid that Lord Batu will destroy his country and arrest both mother and son?" Batu's envoy looked at Zhang Yong and said in disbelief.

He never expected that his threatening words would instead anger the Emperor of Central Plains, who actually wanted to kill their Khan's son.

"If I didn't need you to pass a message to Batu, I would kill you too." Zhang Yong snorted coldly and waved his hand. Immediately, several guards came in and drove out the messenger of Batu.

What the hell, you dare to threaten me! If you close the trade route between the East and the West, the one who will suffer the most is the Golden Horde.

Over the years, you have made a lot of money because of the East-West trade route, and you have all become rich, but you have forgotten who opened up this trade route, who proposed the plan for this trade route, who was doing the work behind the scenes, and who was selling the goods to the nobles in Western Europe.

I am your father. If it weren't for me, what would the Europeans do with you Mongols on this trade route? Buy your cattle, sheep and furs?
Europeans originally produced these things themselves. What Europeans really wanted were silk, tea, porcelain, and various precious items from the East.

The messenger was soon sent out.

Zhang Yong, who was furious, immediately called his personal guards.

"Your Majesty! What do you want me to do?"

"Pass on my orders, and bring out the great prince Sarida whom we have imprisoned, to me tomorrow morning.

Behead him at the city gate, and then put his head in a box and give it to Batu's messenger to take away." Zhang Yong said.

After Batu's eldest son fell into his hands, Zhang Yong treated him well and kept him well fed and well fed. I didn't expect you, Batu, to do this. Okay!
I might as well just take your son's life. This guy is useless anyway. I am too lazy to threaten you with a hostage during the Western Expedition. I will just defeat you head-on.

Originally, Zhang Yong was too lazy to kill the teenager, but since you, Batu, are seeking death and threatening me with this kind of thing, I will not be polite.

Zhang Yong remembered that Batu's son seemed to be a short-lived person in the original history.

After Batu's death, he did inherit the throne. He came to Mongolia to pay homage to the Great Khan, but died of illness on the way back. Only then did Berke successfully usurp the throne.

"Yes! Your Majesty, I will do it right away." The guard nodded to Zhang Yong and immediately retreated respectfully.

Soon he led a team of guards to the place where Batu's eldest son was imprisoned.

After dinner that evening, several of Zhang Yong's sons came to his study together. They were Zhang Dingguan, Zhang Dingxia, Zhang Dingshu, Zhang Dingchuan, Zhang Dingjin, and Zhang Dingzhong.

"Father! Do we really want to kill Batu's eldest son? If we keep this eldest son, he may be useful in the future!" asked the third son Zhang Dingshu.

"What use is he? He will only be a nuisance if we keep him alive. Just kill him and save food. Send his head back to Batu to see." Zhang Yong snorted coldly.

Zhang Yong thought it was ridiculous that you threatened me with Queen Maria and your illegitimate son. You, Batu, want to conquer Hungary, so go fight a battle first! I promise to give you surprises one after another.

The tactics of the Mongolian army are indeed very powerful, but you also have to look at the situation! The opponent does not understand the Mongolian army's fighting style and discipline, but once they understand this tactic and fighting style.

It will be difficult to defeat them again, and to be honest, the last Western Expedition caught the West off guard.

If the West was really that easy to deal with, your Golden Horde would have dominated the world long ago in history and would not have been destroyed by the Principality of Moscow.

As a result, all the land of the Mongolian steppe and the Kipchak steppe was occupied by the Russians, leaving only the grasslands of Outer Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

"I think what father did is right. We are not afraid of his threat. If he wants to close the western trade route, let him do it. He will be the one who suffers the greatest loss after the closure." The fifth brother Zhang Dingjin said.

"Yes! Anyway, we have already opened the sea trade route on an experimental basis. When the time comes, I will take a ship to Europe myself." Zhang Yong's fourth son Zhang Dingshu said.

"It's good that you have a spirit of adventure. As my son, you naturally have to go to the West to have a look. When the time comes, you can go to the West with your elder brother when he goes on the Western Expedition.

Or you can take the sea route, but if you take the sea route, you must keep your identity secret and not let anyone know that you are my son." Zhang Yong said.

"Father! When do you plan to launch the next Western Expedition?" Zhang Yong's second son asked.

"Why, do you want to participate in the Third Western Expedition?" Zhang Yong looked at his second son. Farmaina gave birth to two sons for him, and the younger son was given to Fatima.

The second child was only a few months younger than the eldest. When his mother was pregnant with him, Zhang Yong and Ogedei were withdrawing their troops to Western Xia.

"Father! Don't forget that you are still the Great Prophet. You should make good use of this identity!" said the second son Zhang Dingxia. (I have been mixing up the names of the sons. I am really sorry for everyone. The eldest son is Zhang Dingguan, and was named when he attacked Guanzhong. The second son was conceived during the attack on Xixia, so he should be named Zhang Dingxia. These two names are confirmed for the second and eldest sons. The third and fourth sons are Tulanlun and Bahnaya, Dingchuan, Dingshu, and the fifth son Dingjin is Tulanlun's youngest son. Zhang Dingzhong is Xiaoyun's son.)
"It's rare that you still remember this identity, but this is just the wishful thinking of your mother and your aunt." Zhang Yong said.

Although the second son did not believe in religion, he was more or less influenced by his mother.

"Father, what I mean is that you can take advantage of this opportunity to reduce the resistance of the local people. After all, your identity as the great prophet is recognized by those around you." Zhang Dingxia said.

He does not believe in Allah, but if it can be used, he does not mind using this identity. After all, if he launches another Western Expedition, this identity will be very useful in that land.

Moreover, his mother's long-cherished wish has been to return to the city where she was born. Now his mother is in her forties.

"Well! If you want, you can go on the Western Expedition with your eldest brother. He will attack the Golden Horde, and you will attack the Abbasid Caliphate." Zhang Yong said.

This time, the third Western Expedition, had two routes. One was to destroy the Golden Horde, and the other was to conquer the Abbasid Caliphate, the Muratid Caliphate, and the Mamluk Ayyubid Caliphate.
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(End of this chapter)