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

Chapter 321 The Death of Guyuk, the Grassland Chicken Dinner Competition Officially Begins!
Zhao He said, "That's a good idea. Right now, North Africa is home to three Protestant countries: Hafs, Zayan, and Marin. They're already at odds with the Roman Catholic European countries. They're separated by the Mediterranean Sea and clash from time to time. If we're willing to spend money to buy European slaves, they'll be even more motivated to plunder Europe."

"As a result, with the war raging on between the two sides, it will not be so easy for Europe to take advantage of this truce to recuperate, let alone cause trouble for us."

"However, we have destroyed countless countries of the True God Cult, and these three countries of the True God Cult are very wary of us. It is not appropriate for the imperial court to intervene. We should leave it to the merchants."

Nubia has gold mines, but what about Hafs, Zayan, and Marin? Even if we conquer them, it won't be easy to settle people there.

In fact, Zhao Shuo and Zhao He had long been planning to make use of waste, so that their three countries and the European countries would wear each other down.

Kublai Khan was exceptionally talented; he had already thought of this point as soon as Zhao He began to make a move.

As for whether this matter will benefit these three North African countries?
So what? After they've wiped out Europe, it'll be their turn. They'll eventually have to give back all the money they've gained, with interest.

We don't even have to wait until then.

By having merchants act as black gloves, or even having people from the Black Ice Agency impersonate merchants to act as black gloves, they could conduct normal trade in addition to the slave trade with the three North African countries!

Liquor, sugar, porcelain, glass, perfume, soap, and cotton cloth were all high-tech goods with huge profits in this era. How could they not want them?
Tea, a specialty of China; coffee, a specialty of Yemeni province; pearls from the South China Sea… how could they not want them?
The money used to buy those slaves would still return to the hands of the Zhao Shuo Khanate.

Furthermore, as the scale of transactions between the two sides expands, won't Black Ice Platform's reach extend into these three North African countries?

It will be much easier to wage war in the future!
Mongke smiled slightly and said, "Actually, it's not limited to the three North African countries. We can also take advantage of the Europeans themselves. Those unscrupulous European merchants run the world's largest slave trade system. Back during the Crusades, they were able to sell the Child Crusaders to the True God Cult. Now, why can't they sell European slaves to us? That doesn't make sense."

The Mongols were not barbarians; their heroes were particularly adept at learning.

Having spent so many years exploring Europe, Möngke also gained some understanding of its history.

More than thirty years ago, a twelve-year-old French boy named Stéphane Croix claimed to have received an oracle. This oracle stated that if a crusade composed entirely of children were formed, Jerusalem would be peacefully conquered by innocent and pure souls. After the King of France ignored the oracle, the boy claimed to have received a second oracle, instructing him to form his own children's crusade and go to Jerusalem.

Ultimately, the boy led 20,000 to 30,000 children to Marseille, claiming that the sea would part there as it had in the time of Moses.

However, after they arrived in Marseille, they prayed by the sea for more than two weeks, but the sea did not part.

Two “devout and kind” merchants provided them with seven boats, promising to take them across the sea, but in reality, they had already found “buyers” for these children.

They were sold into slavery in Protestant countries in Africa, and eighteen of them refused to convert to the heresy and were killed on the spot by Protestant followers.

Having made a fortune through illicit means, these two merchants went even further, colluding with the Saracens to kidnap Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Frederick II was enraged and had them hanged.

Therefore, Möngke believed that as long as money was available, these unscrupulous merchants could stir up trouble in Europe.

Chagatai said, “Besides the slave trade, the Jews in Europe can also be used. The European nobles grant them privileges to lend money at high interest rates. When public resentment boils over, their property is confiscated, thus both taking their wealth and quelling public discontent. To put it bluntly, it’s just mutual exploitation, and they have no loyalty to Europe whatsoever.”

"As long as we're willing to spend the money, we can get them to create conflict within Europe and pass on intelligence to us. However, these people are religious but not stately, and they don't engage in production. After we take over Europe, we still need to deal with them properly."

Guiyou snorted and said, "Just kill them all and be done with it."

……

……

It must be said that, as the people most favored by the Eternal Heaven in this era, the Mongols were all exceptionally talented, rather than simply engaging in barbaric slaughter.

However, the Mongol population was too small, forcing them to resort to massacres to minimize resistance and maximize their gains.

These days, all sorts of underhanded tactics are constantly emerging in Europe.

Of course, this western expedition consumed too much of the Mongols' wealth, leaving them with no money, so the actual execution had to be carried out by the Zhao Shuo Khanate.

After talking for a while, Zhao He took his leave and left the golden tent, and the others also left one after another.

Only Chagatai and Guyuk remained inside the golden tent.

Guyuk was in a good mood and said, "It seems that neither Uncle Zhao Shuo nor Zhao He has any designs on the Khanate. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Zhao He to Bohemia at such a crucial moment, nor would they have spent money to buy slaves from Europe to strengthen our power."

Chagatai said, “Even so, it will not be easy to keep the Khanate in our hands. After much consideration, I have three suggestions for you.”

"You said."

"Although you are now the Great Khan, it is impossible for you to pass the throne to Hucha. He is only twenty years old this year and has no military achievements to speak of. What makes him think he can compete with Möngke? No one on the steppe will be convinced of his merits!"

"Then you mean..."

“From now on, Köden will be the representative of Ögedei’s lineage! He is thirty-nine years old this year, in the prime of his life, and has enough military merits. He protected Ya Laowachi and fought against Empress Naimazhen, so he has a certain prestige among the steppe people. With the support of my lineage, he has the best chance of success.”

Guyuk sighed and said, "Actually, I've thought about this problem many times. Indeed, Khoduan is the most suitable candidate. If it weren't for the struggle between Khoduan and Khochu for the throne, we would have definitely lost. I'm afraid none of my sons would have survived."

He paused, then continued, "But then again, even if Kuo Duan were to vie for the throne, what are your chances of success?"

Chagatai said, "I'm afraid it's only a little over 30%. In order to seize the Khan's throne, we will have to take other measures, which are the two remaining things I need you to agree to. The second thing is that although we won this expedition to Europe, the results were not great. The Nayans gained too little, and the Great Khan must reward them to make up for it."

He certainly wanted to reward even the ordinary Mongol soldiers.

Some of the grassland warriors had followed Guyuk in his campaigns for six or seven years, and in the end they were only given one hundred taels of silver. What could that be enough for?

Those Mongol noyans also gained little.

However, Guyuk was not well-off either, and if he were to give gifts to everyone, each person would receive very little, which would not be of much use.

So, since ordinary steppe warriors had no right to vote at the Khuriltai, they decided to use their resources wisely, rewarding the Mongol noyans handsomely.

Guyuk nodded and said, “Very well. Starting tomorrow, I will begin to reward the noyans. I would rather empty the Khan’s treasury than fail to ensure Godan’s succession.”

Chagatai said, "The third thing is what I just thought of. Since Zhao He is willing to buy foreign slaves, they don't necessarily have to be men, right? We still have about 700,000 young women in Poland and Hungary!"

"Anyway, we only plan to leave 20,000 troops here, and the remaining 80,000 women are enough. The soldiers who are willing to take them will not exceed 120,000. As for the rest, we might as well sell them all to Zhao He."

Guiyou's eyes lit up slightly, and he said, "Yes, that's it. In this way, we can please Uncle Zhao Shuo and also gain more wealth to reward him. It's a win-win situation." Zhao He, of course, accepted all the female slaves who came.

Male slaves from Europe would be sent to China to mine coal and build railways. The 500,000 female slaves, however, would not be sent to China; some would be sent to Bohemia, and others to Egypt, Syria, and West Rus'.

The imperial court's practice of providing wives to immigrants was one of the means to attract them. As long as one was willing to immigrate, there would be two foreign women to serve them, which was quite attractive.

Soon, Zhao He and Gui You reached an agreement to purchase each female slave for ten taels of silver or one tael of gold.

As I said before, the empire didn't mine so much gold and silver just to let it rot in warehouses.

From Zhao Shuo and Zhao He's perspective, converting gold and silver into national strength was the most urgent task.

Moreover, to be honest, the Zhao Shuo Khanate has made a fortune from supplying some of the logistics for Guyuk over the years, and the money spent on buying European slaves is simply returning the goods to their rightful owners.

In the days that followed, Zhao He did not leave Pace City. After all, Guyuk didn't have much time left, and he wanted to see Guyuk off on his final journey.

Zhao He's deputy commander was still Shi Tianze, who led most of the troops and some female slaves to Bohemia.

Su Fei led a Mongol commander of one thousand men, and Shi Shu led three Han military commanders of one thousand men, a total of four thousand men, to protect Zhao He.

Shi Shu is 25 years old this year. He is the son of Shi Tian'an and the nephew of Shi Tianni and Shi Tianze.

Among the younger generation of historians, Shi Shu is the most outstanding figure.

Historical records indicate that he garrisoned Tangdeng and decisively defeated the Song army at Yuanyangtan on the Han River, for which he was awarded a golden tiger tally. During the campaign against the Song Dynasty, he accompanied Möngke Khan in attacking Jianzhou, leading a suicide squad to break through the enemy lines by descending a cliff, and was honored with wine by the Empress.

He then led his troops to quell Li Tan's rebellion, used fire to defeat the rebels, and helped Shi Tianze quell the Jinan Rebellion.

He quelled the rebellion of Kim Tong-jeong in Goryeo and cleverly captured Jindo Island.

Shi Shuduan can truly be described as both wise and brave.

With him and Su Fei protecting him, Zhao He's safety is not a problem.

In any case, a month later, Guiyou reached the final moments of his life.

“In my life, when my father was in power, I pacified the Iraqi region and, together with my eldest sons, pacified the True God religions in Central and West Asia. After my father passed away, I ascended to the throne and conquered Poland, half of Hungary, and many territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Because I was wounded by an arrow on the battlefield, my illness lingered and I am about to return to the embrace of the Eternal Heaven.”

Guyuk lay on the tread, looking at the Mongol noyans who had gathered around him, and in his last moments of lucidity, he gave his final words.

He said, "Overall, I think I have not disgraced Genghis Khan and my father's name, and have done justice to the Great Mongol Empire."

"But before returning to the embrace of the Eternal Heaven, there are two things I can't let go of."

"The first matter is the succession to the Khanate. I promised my uncle Zhao Shuo, Chagatai, and Möngke that I would not designate a successor before my death, and the next Khan would be elected by the Mongol noyans."

"However, is it alright for me to share my thoughts on the next Great Khan? I believe that my second brother, Kuo Duan, is far superior to me in terms of talent, ambition, fairness, and integrity. I would be happy to see him become the next Great Khan after I have returned to the embrace of the Eternal Heaven."

"As for my three sons, neither my eldest son Hucha, my second son Naohu, nor the still-growing Hehu are fit to be the Great Khan. None of them are here now. After you return to the grasslands, you must tell them not to vie for the position of Great Khan."

"Yes."

Chagatai, Zhao He, Möngke, Kublai Khan, Subutai, Köden, and others all nodded in agreement.

Guyuk then looked at Zhao He and said, "Chagatai probably won't last until the next Kurultai. By then, Zhao Shuo's uncle will be the most senior prince in our Mongol lineage. Even if not for my father and me, please at least for Genghis Khan's sake..."

He felt his strength rapidly draining away, and after catching his breath several times, he continued, "Regardless of the outcome of this struggle for the Great Khanate, I urge Uncle Zhao Shuo to... to do everything possible to avoid bloodshed within the grasslands. The legacy left by Genghis Khan... cannot be destroyed!"

When a person is about to die, his words are also good.

In the final moments of his life, Guyuk finally considered the overall situation of Mongolia.

Of course, part of the reason is to ensure that their children and grandchildren are not uprooted in the ensuing turmoil.

In the worst-case scenario, he requested that Zhao Shuo preserve some of his bloodline.

After saying that, he slowly closed his eyes.

His breathing first became rapid, then quickly became weak again until it was barely audible.

After a long while, Khoduan gently checked Guyuk's breathing, followed by a sob, and said, "The Great Khan... has passed away!"

"Guiyu!"

Chagatai wept bitterly, both for Guyuk and for the fate of the Chagatai Khanate.

Although Chagatai had tried his best to increase the chances of Ögedei's lineage winning, he was still unsure whether Ögedei's lineage would emerge victorious in this struggle for the Great Khanate.

If Möngke were to come to power, the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Sweat!"

Zhao He was, after all, a very close relative of Gui You, and they had even played together when they were children, so he felt a pang of sadness.

"Great Khan!"

Möngke and Kublai Khan also fell to the ground, seemingly weeping bitterly.

However, they didn't actually shed tears; their eyes were filled with eager anticipation.

With Güyük dead, the struggle for the new Great Khan is about to begin!

How could Kuoduan and Kuochu's talents compare to those of Tolui and his sons?
They, the Tolui lineage, are determined to seize the Khanate; it's time to avenge Tolui!

They want to uproot the Ögedei lineage!
(End of this chapter)