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

Chapter 168 Infighting Among Brothers: The Beginning of Civil War in Mongolia

What kind of idiotic decree is this?
Zhao Shuo, of course, was quite dismissive of Ögedei's decree.

In this way, those who commit crimes will naturally be grateful, but what about the victims? Their relatives were killed, or they themselves were harmed, and just because Ögedei Khan ascended the throne, those who harmed them will get away with it? What kind of logic is that?
Even if the emperor of the Central Plains granted a general amnesty upon ascending the throne, there was still a prerequisite of "ten unpardonable crimes".

The "Ten Abominations" refer to "treason, plotting rebellion, plotting rebellion, heinous crimes, immorality, disrespect, filial impiety, discord, injustice, and internal strife."

These ten crimes will not be pardoned during a general amnesty.

During the Song Dynasty, the measures became even stricter. For example, when Emperor Taizong of Song granted a general amnesty upon his ascension to the throne, the amnesty decree specifically stated that corrupt officials would not be pardoned.

The amnesty decree issued during the Shaosheng era of the Northern Song Dynasty explicitly stated that those who committed robbery-murder, murder, intentional killing, or fighting-related killings were not eligible for amnesty.

It must be said that although Ögedei was the most learned of Genghis Khan's four sons, he was not very good at governing the country, and his first decree after ascending the throne revealed his incompetence.

Of course, this has little to do with Zhao Shuo, since he has no intention of carrying out Ögedei's decree in his own fiefdom.

If Ögedei is unhappy, can he really send troops to attack? He would have to ask Jochi and Tolui if they agree, Khasar, Belgutei, and Temuge if they agree, and Bo'orchu and Boru if they agree.

Now, the grassland army is mainly divided into three parts.

Firstly, the troops of Temujin's brothers, nephews, and sons.

Hasar had four chiliarchies, and Belgutei had three chiliarchies.

Because Temuge inherited his mother Hoelun's army, he commanded the largest force, with ten commanders of a thousand men. This strength was one of the reasons why Temuge constantly stirred up trouble during the selection of the Great Khan of the Mongols.

In addition, Temujin's nephew, Eljidai, was also assigned three chiliarchies.

Secondly, there were Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei, and Zhao Shuo. Jochi had nine hereditary commanders of a thousand households, Chagatai had eight, and Ögedei had five.

Furthermore, since Ögedei was the Great Khan of the Mongols, the Kheshig (imperial guard) belonged to him. However, among the ten commanders of the Kheshig, one commander was called the "Imperial Commander."

The Imperial Guard Commander was not only the best equipped and had the most valiant soldiers, but he was also in charge of Temujin's food and drink, supplying his four great harbours. This Imperial Guard Commander was essentially Temujin's private property, and also belonged to Tolui.

Thirdly, Tolui.

Apart from the chiliarchs who were separated from the main force, all the steppe warriors were considered to be under Tolui's command, totaling one hundred chiliarchs. Adding Temujin's personal chiliarch, that makes one hundred and one chiliarchs.

Tolui had two major military leaders under his command: Boru, the son of Borchu and Muqali.

Bo'erchu was the commander of the left-hand army, and Bolu was the commander of the right-hand army.

Among them, the left-hand army had thirty-two commanders of a thousand households, and the right-hand army had sixty-eight commanders of a thousand households.

Theoretically speaking, the left-hand army must obey Borchu's orders, and the right-hand army must obey Boru's orders.
In reality, each of them only had one hereditary commander of a thousand men who were truly under their command. They also had nine other commanders of a thousand men who were considered their direct subordinates and obeyed their orders militarily. The rest of the troops were only nominally their subordinates, and in most cases, they were directly under Genghis Khan's command.

But after Genghis Khan's death, the fate of these people became somewhat complicated.

Should they obey the orders of Borchu and Boluk? Or the orders of Tolui? Or the orders of the Great Khan Ögedei?
Borchu and Boru are fine, but what if Tolui and Ögedei's orders are contradictory?

The only way forward is for Ögedei and Tolui to constantly test each other, clash, and gradually work things out. If not handled properly, it could lead to the disintegration of the entire Mongol Empire.

That day came quickly.

Before Ögedei Khan ascended the throne, there were three days of heated debate, followed by a forty-day feast.

Now that Ögedei has ascended the throne, the whole country is celebrating, and a grand banquet must be held. Ögedei decreed that the banquet should continue for forty days.

While drinking, eating meat, and enjoying beautiful women, the nobles of the grasslands would also get moving around.

On this day, Ögedei, Chagatai, and Tolui were riding slowly when Chagatai proposed that the three brothers race horses, with the second and third place winners each giving three fine horses to the first place winner.

Let's have a competition then.

As a result, Tolui came in first, Chagatai second, and Ögedei third.

What were three fine horses to these three men? After the comparison, Chagatai and Ögedei readily handed over their three fine horses to Tolui.

It was just a small bet between brothers, and Tore didn't take it to heart.

However, when the Mongol noyans were feasting in Ögedei's golden tent until the second watch of the night, and many of them were already drunk, Chagatai suddenly stood up.

dong dong dong~~
He strode forward, bowed deeply to Ögedei, and cried out, "Great Khan, I have committed a grave crime, please punish me!"

Swish!
As soon as Chagatai finished speaking, the surrounding area fell silent.

Even the Mongolian nobles, who were still making a lot of noise in the distance and were already drunk, suddenly stopped after being reminded by their companions.

Ögedei, however, seemed quite drunk, slurring his words as he waved his hand and said, "Guilty? What crime could my second brother have committed? Even if he has committed any crime, he will be pardoned! Get up, let's drink together as brothers."

Chagatai resolutely shook his head, saying, "My sins are too great. If the Great Khan does not punish me, some people will say that the Great Khan has been unclear about rewards and punishments since the beginning of his reign, has failed Genghis Khan's dying wish, and is not worthy of being the Great Khan of the Mongols."

"Is...is it that serious? Then tell me, what crime did you commit?"

“During the day, I raced horses with Tolui and the Great Khan, but I overtook the Great Khan. This is the crime of disrespecting the Great Khan, and I beg the Great Khan to punish me.”

"It's not that serious. Our horse racing is just a betting contest between brothers. How does it have to do with respecting the Khan?"

“That’s not how it works. When Father Khan was on the throne, his prestige was immense, and no one dared to challenge his authority, so the rules could naturally be more lenient. Now that the Great Khan has just ascended the throne, his prestige is not yet strong, so we must nip problems in the bud. As the Great Khan’s elder brother, I should set an example and respect the Great Khan’s authority.”

"It's not that serious, Second Brother, get up quickly!"

"No, I won't get up unless the Khan punishes me!"

……

Thus, Chagatai continued to demand that Ögedei punish him, but Ögedei resolutely refused.

Finally, Ögedei seemed to have run out of options with Chagatai, sighed, and said, "Alright, since you insist, Second Brother, then I'll punish you... punish you with three horses."

“Three horses are too few. If I had won, I would have won three horses from the Khan. Now, I ask the Khan to punish me with thirty horses.”

"Thirty horses are too much. How about this, I'll punish you with nine horses. That's settled then, Second Brother, no need to say more."

Chagatai respectfully kowtowed and said, "As you command!"

Zhao Shuo and Jochi, who were drinking in the tent, exchanged a glance and couldn't help but let out a cold smile.

What are you pretending for?
Who doesn't know that Chagatai and Ögedei are in cahoots?

Did Chagatai really have such high regard for Ögedei?
Who was he trying to impress with his overly fearful demeanor just now?

Tolui!
Besides Chagatai, weren't there also the horse races between Tolui and Ögedei? Ögedei is currently the supreme ruler of Mongolia, but more than 80% of the Mongol chiliarchs are in Tolui's hands. Can Ögedei really be at ease? Perhaps some minor incidents should be used to give them a warning.

Zhao Shuo could easily imagine that Ögedei's current situation was extremely awkward. Based on his own strength alone, let alone comparing himself to Zhao Shuo and Tolui, he couldn't even guarantee a victory against Temüge. Even with Chagatai's strength added, he wouldn't be much stronger.

If Ögedei wanted to possess power like Genghis Khan, there were essentially two paths he could take.

One road, to swallow up Tolui's forces.

Another option is to annex Zhao Shuo's forces.

Zhao Shuo didn't have many steppe warriors under his command; the main force consisted of the Han Chinese Eight Banners and the Semu Eight Banners. These troops were built by Zhao Shuo himself, so how could Ögedei possibly have any influence over them? If he angered Zhao Shuo, his reign as the Great Khan of the Mongols would be over.

That would only mean annexing Tore's forces.

Most of Tolui's men were former subordinates of Temujin. If they could obey the orders of Temujin's fourth son, why couldn't they obey the orders of Temujin's third son? Besides, Ögedei still held the title of Great Khan of the Mongols.

What Ögedei Khan needed to do was either completely subdue Tolui and make him obey orders, or kill Tolui directly and then slowly annex his followers.

Of course, what does the struggle between Ögedei and Tolui have to do with Zhao Shuo?
He sat calmly on his platform, looking towards Tolui's face.

Tore was drinking one glass after another.

It seems that the wine provided by Ögedei was so delicious that he completely forgot about Chagatai's apology to Ögedei earlier.

"Fourth brother, why don't you say something too?"

Chagatai, his face grave, spoke first, saying, "In today's contest, I surpassed the Great Khan and was punished with nine fine horses. You not only surpassed the Great Khan but also won three horses from him. What should your punishment be?"

Tore slowly cut a piece of roasted lamb leg with his knife and put it in his mouth, saying indifferently, "It's just a bet between brothers, what crime could I have committed? Second brother, if you want to flatter third brother, go ahead and do it yourself, don't drag me into it."

"You...is this how you act as a brother? How dare you speak to me like that!"

"Is this how an elder brother should act?" Tolui retorted sharply, "You make things difficult for your own brother over such a trivial matter!"

"Alright, stop arguing," Ögedei said, trying to smooth things over. "Second brother, there's no need to hold a grudge against fourth brother. You're older and more thoughtful. Although fourth brother has been by Father Khan's side for a long time and has been taught by him, he is still much younger. Even if he doesn't show enough respect to me, I can tolerate it."

'Am I not respecting you enough?'

Whoops!

Tolui overturned the low table in front of him and sneered, "Just because I won a bet against you doesn't mean I disrespect you! Third Brother, don't you think about how you got your position as Khan? If I really didn't respect you, you might not be sitting on this throne today!"

"Ok?"

Ögedei's face quickly darkened. He said, "Fourth brother, I can be lenient with anything else. But when it comes to the throne of the Great Khan, I must make this clear to you. My position as Great Khan was chosen by our father's dying wish and through the recommendation of the Noyans. What does it have to do with you, Tolui?"
Tolui sneered, "So, Third Brother, you're going to kick me while I'm down? Fine, let's see. Tomorrow I'll take my army back to my own ulhu and see if you still have the ability to hold onto this Khanate!"

Ögedei, not to be outdone, retorted, “Those troops are both your Tolui’s and my Mongol troops. I refuse to believe they will obey only your orders, not mine, the Great Khan’s! Besides, think about it carefully: how many of these chiliarchs are actually willing to go to Persia with you?”

Tolui looked at Bo'orchu and Boru and said, "Bo'orchu, Boru, what do you say? Will you stay on the grasslands with my third brother, or come back to Persia with me?"

"Tolui Khan, please calm down. This matter needs to be discussed more carefully!"

"No, no, it's not that serious. Why let a simple traffic jam cause a rift between brothers?"

"Tolui Khan, are you drunk? Shall I help you to rest?"

"Great Khan, please calm your anger!"

"The Khan is drunk! Quick! Help the Khan to rest!"

"No wonder Genghis Khan often said that drinking would lead to trouble and forbade everyone from drinking too much. Now it seems that Genghis Khan was indeed wise!"

……

Bo'erchu and Bolu certainly didn't want to get involved in this mess. Neither Ögedei nor Tolui were people they could afford to offend.
Other Mongolian nobles also chimed in, blaming everything on the wine.

In fact, this was also Ögedei's original intention.

It's perfectly reasonable for people to speak recklessly after drinking.

He certainly didn't want to immediately turn against Tolui; he was just giving him a warning. If Tolui, influenced by Chagatai, backed down, that would be ideal. He could then use various methods to gradually annex Tolui's power later.

If things get out of control, then use being drunk as an excuse to reconcile with Tolui. We'll figure out a way to kill Tolui later.

The next day, Ögedei summoned all the Mongol noyans to the golden tent and publicly apologized to Tolui.

Tolui, seizing the opportunity, apologized to Ögedei.

Zhao Shuo was fully aware of the two men's thoughts, but he simply remained invisible at the scene.

Unexpectedly, the conflict between Tolui and Ögedei also affected him.

Ögedei said, "Initially, my father Khan appointed my brother-in-law Zhao Shuo as a commander of ten thousand households, with a hereditary fief of five thousand households. That is to say, there were five thousand households, but they were not my brother-in-law's hereditary thousand households; they were just his subordinates. Later, my father Khan personally bestowed the fief upon my brother-in-law, and he had his own fiefdom."

"So now, do these five commanders belong to my brother-in-law or my fourth brother?"

"I've thought it over and over. They've been under my brother-in-law's command for a long time, so it's best for them to return to him now. What do you say, fourth brother?"

Tolui had 101 commanders under his command. Even if these five commanders were removed, there would still be 96 commanders left.

The allocation of the five thousand households to him was of no concern to him.

Furthermore, although he and Ögedei have seemingly reconciled, the seeds of fraternal distrust have already been sown, and they are not so easily dispelled. In order to deal with the alliance between Ögedei and Chagatai, he also needs Zhao Shuo's support.

Besides, these five commanders were originally Zhao Shuo's subordinates, and Tuolei had no intention of returning them.

Tolui nodded and said, "Very well, let it be as the Great Khan says."

Ögedei looked at Zhao Shuo and said, "Then these five commanders will also be my brother-in-law's hereditary commanders from now on."

"Thank you, Great Khan." Zhao Shuo nodded in greeting.

He certainly understood that Ögedei was trying to win one over while attacking another.

Since Ögedei couldn't touch Tolui for the time being, he simply assigned five commanders of unknown allegiance to him. This served two purposes: weakening Tolui's power and showing him goodwill.

But so what?
Since Ögedei was eager to give it to him and Tolui had no objections, he naturally had no reason not to accept it.

(End of this chapter)