Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 164 Temujin is seriously injured and his life is nearing its end!

Li Zunxu and Li Deren are dead, but the resistance in Zhongxing Prefecture continues.

The Tangut people have existed for over 240 years since Li Jiqian raised his army at Jialuchuan. They have established a state, a military system, laws, and their own language and script, naturally possessing their own pride and glory. Now, facing the brink of national subjugation, countless Tangut men are determined to resist to the death.

On roads, in courtyards, inside houses, in Buddhist temples, and on towers, the figures of Tangut men resisting could be seen everywhere.

They brandished swords and spears, fired bows and crossbows, and even threw stones and bit with their teeth, using every means at their disposal to fight the Mongol army to the death.

Killing one is enough to make a profit, killing two is a bonus!
Even if I'm going to die, I'll take someone down with me!

Even if the Xia Kingdom is destined to perish, the Mongols must pay a heavy price!
Of course, this was just wishful thinking on the part of the Tangut people.

Faced with overwhelming strength, the resistance of the Western Xia people could not cause much trouble for the Mongol army.

At this time, Zhao Shuo had already led 20,000 Balu soldiers to occupy the palace. Zhao Shuo's main force advanced street by street and courtyard by courtyard in Zhongxing Prefecture, suppressing those who resisted.

Taking advantage of the situation, the armies of Ögedei, Chagatai, and Tolui opened the city gates on the west, north, and east sides, and 200,000 troops swarmed in during the night.

The Mongol army that stormed into Zhongxing Prefecture numbered 300,000!
Boom boom boom!
Thunderclaps were being launched, billowing smoke and raging flames.

The Greek fire was burning, setting ablaze the houses that were still resisting.

So what if you're not convinced?
So what if I'm unwilling?
Faced with a well-armed Mongol army possessing various advanced weapons and organized units, the Tanguts' idea of ​​inflicting heavy casualties on the Mongol army was nothing but wishful thinking.

These Tangut men were met with nothing but merciless crushing!
As Zhao Shuo said, from this day forward, there will be no more Xia Kingdom!

Perhaps, the Western Xia should never have existed.

During the initial confrontation between the Song and Liao dynasties, Li Jiqian rebelled against the Song. Emperor Shengzong of Liao, Yelü Longxu, appointed Li Jiqian as the military governor of Dingnan Army and the commander-in-chief of military affairs in Xia Prefecture, and also married him to Princess Yicheng, the daughter of Yelü Xiang, a member of the imperial clan. It was with the support of the Liao state that the Western Xia was able to successfully establish itself.

Later, the Western Xia survived by being caught between the Liao and Song dynasties, and between the Jin and Song dynasties, and has continued to this day.

It is fair to say that without the opportunity of conflict between the North and South, even the weak Song state alone could have destroyed this small country.

With the rise of the Mongols, the balance between the North and South has been completely disrupted, and the Western Xia has lost the possibility of continuing to exist.

The Tangut people could only face the fate of national subjugation.

How glorious the Tangut people were when they founded their kingdom! And how tragic their fate was when their kingdom was destroyed!
Finally, by noon on the second day, the resistance of the Western Xia people was completely wiped out, and Zhongxingfu fell completely into the hands of the Mongols.

Three days later, a grand victory banquet was held in the main hall of the Western Xia imperial palace.

Temujin himself, his three sons Ögedei, Chagatai, and Tolui, officers of the rank of chiliarch or above who participated in the attack on Western Xia, and even Zhao Shuo's son Zhao He, Ögedei's sons Guyuk, Köden, and Köchü, Chagatai's son Mu'atugan, Tolui's son Möngke, and Jochi's son Orda were all present.

Zhao He grew into adulthood, and Zhao Shuo took him along on his campaign against the Western Xia, appointing him as a deputy commander of his own troops. During this campaign against the Western Xia, Zhao He personally beheaded three Tangut people.

Ögedei, Chagatai, and Tolui all sent their sons to fight in the war.

Orda, however, was representing Jochi in presenting Temujin with this year's game. In addition to ten cartloads of game, Orda also brought three thousand Mongol soldiers.

Clearly, if the Mongol army's attack on Western Xia fails, Orda's three thousand Mongol soldiers will also be sent to the battlefield. Jochi only had nine Mongol chiliarchs under his command, so sending three thousand Mongol soldiers was a show of great filial piety towards Temujin.

However, the Western Xia dynasty was destroyed in less than three months, and these three thousand soldiers only arrived yesterday and were not put to use.

Even if it's not of any use, the filial piety is enough.

Temujin was in high spirits today and said, "Toluan!"

"exist!"

"Have you tallied up the spoils of war from the Zhongxing Prefecture of the Broken Xia Kingdom this time? Read them to those Yans."

"Yes."

Toluan was the eldest son of Temujin's "Monglik father" and the elder brother of Tongtianwu Kokochu. After the Tongtianwu's rebellion, Temujin did not treat Toluan differently and continued to give him important responsibilities as before.

He was not only a hereditary commander of a thousand men under Temujin, but also one of the six "Chebi'er" who assisted Khunan in handling military and national affairs for Temujin.

After Khunan retired to Jochi's fiefdom, Toluan succeeded him.

Soon, Tuoluan read out the Mongol army's spoils.

Six hundred and eighty thousand taels of gold!

One million three hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver!

Five million six hundred and forty thousand strings of copper coins!
86,960,000 horses!

There are 63,000 camels!
……

The Western Xia Dynasty had 24,565 artisans!

There were 96,341 young women, of whom 849 were members of the Western Xia royal family!

Three hundred and forty-five boxes of various jewels!

The spoils from this conquest of Zhongxing Prefecture were far greater than Zhao Shuo had anticipated. However, this wasn't surprising. The Western Xia had deeply offended the Mongols and had long since prepared for a scorched-earth policy, concentrating most of the nation's wealth in Zhongxing Prefecture.

Moreover, there were numerous Buddhist temples within Zhongxing Prefecture, and these bald monks had accumulated a great deal of wealth.

With over two hundred years of accumulation, it seems normal to have such a large fortune.

Temujin said, "Ashuo."

"Here!" Zhao Shuo stood up and bowed slightly.

Temujin said, "You performed very well in this battle to break through the Zhongxing Prefecture of the Xia Kingdom, and I am very happy. What makes me happiest is not that you cut off the heads of the Western Xia Emperor and the Retired Emperor, but that you took the lead and charged into battle."

"After returning from this western expedition, many Mongols said, 'Why fight anymore? The wealth we plundered during the western expedition is enough for us to live on for a lifetime.' I am deeply worried about this, fearing that we Mongols have become addicted to pleasure and lost the courage to fight."

"What use is all that wealth then? The fate of the Western Xia rulers and their ministers is proof of that."

"Your willingness to lead from the front in battle shows that a life of wealth and privilege has not diminished your will. You remain the greatest warrior of our Mongol people! All other Mongols, whether they are noyan or ordinary herders, should take you as their role model!"

"According to the rules, I will get 30% of all the spoils. Ashu, you made the greatest contribution in the battle to capture Zhongxing Prefecture, so you will get an extra 10% of the spoils. The rest of the spoils will be split equally with Tolui, Ögedei, and Chagatai. In addition, you will have priority in selecting all the Xia Kingdom's artisans."

Zhao Shuo nodded and said, "Thank you, Father Khan!"

Whether he gained more or less gold and silver, Zhao Shuo didn't really care. After all, he had acquired far too much gold and silver during the western expedition.

But the craftsmen of the Western Xia were truly remarkable.

Western Xia wart armor, divine arm bow, whirlwind cannon, Xia sword... Western Xia was a weak country, yet it was able to invent so many good things, which shows the quality of its craftsmen.

It was a pleasant surprise that Zhao Shuo had the right to choose the craftsmen first.

Temujin then said, "Orda."

"Here!" Jochi's eldest son, Orda, stood up and bowed slightly. Temujin said, "Although you did not participate in the battle to capture Zhongxingfu, you did lead three thousand elite troops here. Even if you did not achieve great merit, you have still put in a lot of effort. How about this, I will give you half of my thirty percent of the spoils, so that you can share in the joy."

In truth, Temujin felt that Tolui, Ögedei, and Chagatai had all gained something. Orda, representing Jochi, had come from afar but received no spoils, which he felt was somewhat unfair.

Ögedei, however, had a sudden thought and said, “The fact that Father Khan will receive 30% of the spoils is stipulated by the Great Yasa. How can it be changed arbitrarily? Why don’t we give half of my due spoils to Orda?”

"So good."

When Temujin heard Ögedei say this, he was overjoyed.

Jochi almost fought Chagatai for the throne of Great Khan, but Ögedei ultimately prevailed.

When Jochi returned and thought about it carefully, how could he not understand that he had been tricked by Ögedei and Chagatai?

This time, Ögedei was willing to share half of his spoils with Jochi to ease the tension between the two. Isn't that a good thing?
Although Temujin guessed that Ögedei might be trying to please him by showing his demeanor and demonstrating his ambition to become the Great Khan of the Mongols.

However, as long as you are willing to make a reconciliation gesture, what you think in your heart is irrelevant.

Even as the Great Khan of the Mongols, Temujin still had to do things he didn't want to do in order to maintain balance among his subordinates.

If Ögedei is willing to continue doing this, he will be a qualified Great Khan, and it would not be unreasonable to pass the title of Great Khan to him.

Immediately, Temujin said happily, "Ögedei, Tolui, Chagatai, and Ashoka, I often tell you brothers the story of the multi-headed serpent and the single-headed serpent, and I want to tell it again today."

"On a snowy night, a multi-headed snake, seeking warmth, tried to crawl into its burrow. However, fearing the cold, each of its heads tried to be the first to enter, resulting in a fierce struggle that lasted all night. In the end, the multi-headed snake froze to death at the burrow entrance."

"The other one-headed snake, however, managed to hide in the cave and survive that unusually cold night because it only had one head."

“I am old and I fear I will not live for many more years before I am summoned by the Eternal Heaven. After that, as long as you brothers unite and become a single-headed serpent, any country in the world will be at our Mongol's disposal. If you cannot unite and instead fight like a multi-headed serpent, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Ögedei, Chagatai, Tolui, and Zhao Shuo all said in unison, "We will obey our father Khan's teachings!"

"Remember what you said today, and never forget it!"

"Yes!"

Then, Temujin's interest was further heightened. He raised his wine cup, looked at the Mongol nobles in the hall, and said loudly, "Tell me, what is the greatest happiness in life?"

"Ride a fine horse and hunt wild beasts!"

"Drink fine wine, sleep beauty!"

"To be a high-ranking official, and to have countless subjects!"

……

Everyone spoke up.

Temujin shook his head slightly and said, “What you all say is not good. The greatest pleasure in life is to suppress the rebels, defeat the enemy, eradicate them from the root, take everything from them, make their married women weep and wail; to ride their smooth-backed steeds and use the bellies of their beautiful concubines as nightgowns and cushions. Guards!”

"exist!"

"Bring up the prepared beauties from Western Xia!"

"Yes!"

At Temujin's command, more than two hundred Western Xia beauties, dressed in magnificent attire, entered the main hall of the Western Xia imperial palace.

Temujin proclaimed loudly, "Now, let us enjoy the greatest pleasure in life! These beauties are mostly women of the Western Xia royal family, and some are noblewomen of Western Xia! Now, their country has been destroyed by us, and their relatives have been killed by us!"

"They could only obediently sing beautiful songs and dance joyfully for us, celebrating our victory!"

"Today, let's drink and eat to our hearts' content! Then, take whichever one you fancy back and let her serve you well!"

The Mongol nobles all shouted in unison, "Thank you, Genghis Khan!"

Soon, the former noble ladies of Western Xia were reduced to singing girls, singing and dancing to entertain the conquerors.

The group of people were enjoying themselves immensely, drinking and eating meat while watching beautiful women dance.

Temujin was also in high spirits, drinking one cup after another.

Even his personal physician, Liu Zhonglu, tried to persuade him several times, but he wouldn't listen.

After all, Temujin was quite old, and his health was not what it used to be. Ten days ago, while hunting outside the camp, he accidentally fell from his horse and was nearly injured by a wild boar. Now, he had to take better care of his health.

Finally, it was Tolui who persuaded Temujin to stop drinking.

He selected a particularly beautiful woman from among the dancing Western Xia beauties, and took her back to rest with her.

The beauty's name was Gurbelejin, the Crown Princess of Western Xia, and she had been married for less than a year. Although Emperor Li Deren of Western Xia had only recently ascended the throne, he was already forty-two years old, and his empress was hardly anything interesting.

However, this Crown Princess Gurbeljin was not only young and beautiful, and of high status, but also extremely seductive when she danced, twisting her waist and stretching her legs, her alluring eyes captivating everyone, which greatly interested Temujin.

Zhao Shuo didn't find any of these beauties appealing and didn't choose any.

It's a very simple logic. In terms of status, the seven most beautiful princesses of Western Xia had long been given to the Mongols, and Zhao Shuo had already obtained Li Anquan's youngest daughter, Li Yan.

In terms of looks, apart from Gurbeljin, whom Temujin chose, none of the beauties in front of us are particularly outstanding.

Not long after Temujin left the banquet, Zhao Shuo returned to his residence. After working hard for Yang Miaozhen's third child, he held Yang Miaozhen and fell asleep.

However, just as Zhao Shuo was drifting off to sleep, Taerhun's voice suddenly rang out from outside, saying, "Prince Consort, are you asleep? Surun requests an audience."

"Sulen?"

Zhao Shuo suddenly opened his eyes.

Su Lun, the eldest son of veteran Su He.

Eighteen years ago, Temujin formed the Kheshig army and reserved six chiliarch positions for the sons and nephews of Muqali, Bo'orchu, Bo'orchu, Chilaun, Jochitai, and Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo had no sons or nephews, so he recommended Su Lun to be a commander of a thousand men in Temujin's Kheshig army.

Suren represents Temujin.

What is he doing here at this time?
Zhao Shuo quickly put on his clothes and got up, then went to see Su Lun in the living room, saying, "It's so late, what is the Khan's decree?"

"No...no decree."

Over the years, Su Lun has long since grown from a naive young man into a composed and capable middle-aged man.

However, Suren was clearly very nervous. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his fingers, which were sticking out of his sleeve, were trembling slightly. He said, "Prince Consort, something terrible has happened! Genghis Khan has been... no... assassinated... in short, seriously injured!"

(End of this chapter)