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

Chapter 329 Usurping the Mongols: Zhao Shuo's intentions are known to all!

Since Batu's unit sided with Zhao Shuo, more and more small groups of grassland people have been actively joining the Hulunbuir Grassland.

It wasn't that Batu, as a centurion, set any example; the grasslands were vast, and the upper echelons were intentionally blocking information, so how could others know?

The drought and war were intertwined, pushing the grassland people's patience to its limit.

Needless to say, the Ögedei lineage used its own Mongol commanders to govern the Western Liao people, and the Western Liao lackeys to govern the ordinary Mongols, exploiting them severely.

The exploitation by Tolui's faction was even more profound than that by Ögedei's faction.

It's a very simple principle: the Ögedei lineage, by using hostages to control the Noyan who originally belonged to the Tolui lineage, and by using the Western Liao people to monitor ordinary Mongols, was morally inferior from the outset and had to be cautious.

But the Tolui lineage was rightfully the master of most of the grassland people, so why should they hesitate to exploit them?
Even the troops of the princes of the eastern region surrendered voluntarily and were incorporated into the Tolui faction. It's already a favor that they were spared; what's a little exploitation compared to that?
If we don't exploit them, where will the Jurchens and Goryeo's vassal armies get their food? Who will fight for Tolui's faction on the battlefield? If we lose this war, everything will be over!

Besides, in this war, Tolui's lineage mainly bribed the wild Jurchens, making the Mongols drive the Jurchens and Goryeos to fight! In Tolui's lineage's view, merely levying cattle and sheep from the Mongols was already a generous treatment, so what more could the Mongols ask for?
Therefore, the tragic circumstances of the grassland people are consistent.

Furthermore, in ancient times, major disasters were always associated with the will of Heaven. The fact that the Eternal Heaven disliked the Golden Family meant that it favored Zhao Shuo.
Some grassland people, like Batu Baihu, were lucky enough to surrender to Zhao Shuo intact, or escaped into the Hulunbuir Grassland, or into the northern border provinces of Zhao Shuo's Khanate.

Some grassland people were discovered by the higher authorities, and all the men were slaughtered, while the women and children were all reduced to slavery.

Some of the grassland people fought to the death to cover the retreat, while others went through countless hardships to surrender to Zhao Shuo.

These people no longer just disliked the Golden Family; they hated them to the core. They desperately hoped that Zhao Shuo would expel the Golden Family and become the Great Khan of the Mongols.

The song, "Charging into battle, risking our lives, seizing the people and the camps, to present to Zhao Shuo Khan!" often rang out from their mouths.

Several more months have passed, and winter has arrived.

The unprecedented drought caused heavy losses of warhorses on the grasslands, depriving them of the opportunity to "feed their horses in the autumn," and the intensity of the war had to be reduced.

However, the exodus intensified.

Winter is the hardest season for the people of the grasslands. Not only is fodder scarce, but they also have to keep warm and are likely to suffer from natural disasters! Next year, they may have to continue fighting!

Who can be confident they'll survive? What are we waiting for if we don't run?
Roughly speaking, the number of Mongolians who fled to Zhao Shuo in scattered groups exceeded seventy centurions!
Five Mongol commanders fled as a unit!
Originally, Zhao Shuo had ten Mongol commanders under his command. Since the start of the war between the three factions, he had initially recruited sixteen commanders, and now he has added twelve more.

Zhao Shuo now commands a total of thirty-eight Mongol commanders!
Even from the perspective of a pure Mongol, Zhao Shuo's strength accounts for nearly one-third!

It was at this time that Zhao Shuo's tenth son, Zhao Yan, went to the central army of the Tolui faction to meet Kublai Khan and Möngke Khan.

"So, Uncle Zhao Shuo, are you really going to redeem all the families of those fugitives?" Möngke and Kublai Khan exchanged a glance, both thoroughly disgusted.

Well, while the three Mongol factions fought to the death on the grasslands, Zhao Shuo reaped the benefits, taking in more than twenty thousand households.

Now look what's happened! In order to win over these surrendered commanders, they're even paying to redeem their families! Won't these people become Zhao Shuo's loyal followers in the future?
Zhao Yan nodded slightly and said, "This is indeed Father's intention. From summer until now, a total of twelve households have requested Father's protection. Father ordered a count, and it is estimated that about three thousand people have sold some of their families to others as slaves. Among them, there are two thousand two hundred and thirty-six people on your side. On the other side, there are one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven people."

"My father's intention is to redeem these people from slavery regardless of whether they are women, boys, or girls, and to do so at a price of fifty taels of silver or five taels of gold, so that they can be reunited with their families."

Mongke shook his head and declined, saying, "If these people were our slaves, even if Uncle Zhao Shuo offered such a fair price, we could send them away without paying him. However, these people are traded privately among the grassland tribes. Even if Uncle Zhao Shuo offers a fair price, they still have to be willing to sell, right? We can't interfere."

Zhao Yan had a plan in mind. He smiled slightly and said, "It's alright if you don't want to sell. Your father is willing to pay more. Here's what we'll do: Your father is willing to pay three times the price, a total of one hundred and fifty taels per person. One hundred taels of silver per person is for the original buyers. The other fifty taels is a service fee, which you, Mengge, can distribute as you see fit. You can keep it for yourself or give it to Nayan under your command, it's up to you."

Although twelve commanders of Zhao Shuo's army had surrendered in the past few months, only about three thousand people actually sold their relatives, while about four thousand were enslaved.

Zhao Shuo offered an astronomical price!

One hundred and fifty taels of silver per person, of which one hundred taels went to the buyer and fifty taels to the Mongolian nobleman.

You know, these are just ordinary women and children, how could they be worth so much money?
This immediately shut down Möngke's excuse of "not selling".

Not selling at a very fair price could be considered a personal choice. But refusing to sell at three times the fair price can only mean that one is intentionally making an enemy of Zhao Shuo. Who can bear the consequences of that?
Of course, a total of only 600,000 taels of silver wasn't much in Zhao Shuo's eyes. Again, did Zhao Shuo's Khanate mine so much gold and silver just to let it mold in warehouses?

Most importantly, on the surface, it appeared that four thousand people were saved and the hearts of three thousand grassland warriors were won over. In reality, it was the hearts of twelve commanders, or even all the grassland warriors!
The Golden Family forced their members to sell their wives and daughters in their struggle for the Khanate. Zhao Shuo, who had no connection with them, redeemed their relatives—what a stark contrast!

Especially for those centurions still under Mongke or Kuoch, those who betrayed their masters and joined Zhao Shuo were able to have enough to eat and wear, receive a monthly military salary, and reunite with their families. Those who did not betray them, however, had to be separated from their families and endure cruel exploitation.

What they'll do next is anyone's guess.
"Uh……"

Mongke naturally understood this principle and didn't know how to answer. If he agreed to Zhao Shuo's request, the hearts of the grassland people would belong to Zhao Shuo! If he didn't agree to Zhao Shuo's request, he would not only be making an enemy of Zhao Shuo, but also losing the hearts of the grassland people—Zhao Shuo was willing to spend his own money to reunite the grassland people, and you were obstructing him, what kind of behavior was that?

Kublai Khan's heart stirred, and he said, "One hundred and fifty taels of silver per person is far too much from Uncle Zhao Shuo; we should agree. However, Brother Zhao Yan, as you know, the grasslands have just suffered a great disaster. Hundreds of thousands of troops are fighting on the grasslands, and what they truly lack is not gold and silver, but food. That's the situation on the grasslands right now; you can't buy food even if you have money. No matter how much money you have, it's useless, isn't it?"

"So, food is very expensive on the grasslands?" "Very expensive! A sheep costs twenty taels of silver now, and there's no market for it; nobody wants to sell."

Normally, two taels of silver could buy a fat sheep on the grasslands. But Kublai Khan wasn't lying; with wars and disasters, the price of sheep increased tenfold!
Zhao Yan said, “That’s alright. Before I left, my father instructed that if you didn’t want money, you could give us grain. How about this, we’re willing to pay 1,000 catties of millet or wheat per person. This grain will be stockpiled in Harka Guicheng on the Hulunbuir Grassland and can be transported to your designated location at any time. How about that? Is this price fair enough?”

Fairness my ass!

From a personal perspective, it's quite fair. On the grasslands today, exchanging a thousand catties of grain for a woman or child is an astronomical price.

But what about from Möngke Kublai Khan's perspective?
They could exchange 2,200 men for a total of over 2 million jin of grain. Compared to an army of nearly 200,000, each person only had a dozen jin of grain—what could that possibly be enough for?

To put it bluntly, Zhao Shuo used minimal effort to achieve maximum effect. By redeeming only four thousand people, he won the hearts of a million people on the grasslands. Even if he charged an exorbitant price, he was guaranteed to make a profit!
Kublai Khan gave Möngke a wink, and Möngke chuckled dryly, saying, "This price is certainly not unfair. However, this matter is of utmost importance; could you allow us to consider it more carefully?"

Zhao Yan wasn't in a hurry and nodded, saying, "Of course."

After seeing Zhao Yan off, Möngke and Kublai Khan quickly summoned Yao Shu for a meeting.

Today, Hulagu Khan is fighting in Iraq, while Ariq Böke is waging war in Transoxiana. Bochok is in the former Eastern Kingdom, and Moke is in North Korea, stabilizing the region and conscripting soldiers and supplies.

The lineage of Tolui was led by Möngke and Kublai Khan.

Yao Shu was the most important strategist of the Tuolei faction, and he was also on the grasslands.

Subutai was wounded in the decisive battle near Karakorum. More than a year had passed, and although he had barely recovered, he was old and caught a cold, which made him seriously ill. Moreover, Subutai's eldest son, Uriyangkhadai, had surrendered to Zhao Shuo, and Möngke and Kublai Khan no longer trusted him as much.

Therefore, such an important matter was discussed by Möngke Khan, Kublai Khan, and Yao Shu.

"Hmph, Zhao Shuo's intentions are obvious to everyone!" Kublai Khan sneered, "He just wants to be the Sima Yi or Sima Zhao of my Great Mongol Empire!"

Mongke's expression also turned grave. He said, "Indeed! According to our intelligence, countless people have changed the songs originally dedicated to Genghis Khan to Zhao Shuo. Could Zhao Shuo have tacitly approved of this?"

"Now, he's pressing us further, demanding an exorbitant ransom for the families of those who fled. Whether we agree or not, he's one step closer to that throne!"

Yao Shu shook his head slightly and said, "Khan and the Four Kings, please be careful with your words. Does Kuochu not know that we are innocent? His attack on us could not have been instigated by Zhao Shuo Khan, could it? As for Helin City, it is said that it was burned down by Queen Haimishi, which has nothing to do with Zhao Shuo Khan, right? This unprecedented drought could not have been started by Zhao Shuo Khan, could it?"

"In the midst of the grassland conflicts, what's wrong with Zhao Shuo Khan gathering a portion of the grassland warriors to preserve some of the vitality of the Great Mongol Empire?"

"Furthermore, you've all read some Han Chinese books. You've all heard the story of Zigong redeeming people, haven't you? During the Spring and Autumn Period, the laws of the State of Lu stipulated that if someone redeemed a Lu citizen who was enslaved abroad, they could receive compensation from the Lu court. What's wrong with Zhao Shuo Khan redeeming the family members of the steppe people who had become slaves?"

Mongke was furious and sneered, "What? Does Mr. Yao think he can join Zhao Shuo because he's powerful? Too many people want to join Zhao Shuo. If you go, Mr. Yao, there won't be a place for you!"

Kublai Khan, however, was calmer than Möngke Khan. He said in a deep voice, "Mr. Yao, why have you repeatedly spoken out in defense of Zhao Shuo today? You are an old minister left to us by our father, and I believe you are not a fickle person."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty."

Yao Shu stood up and bowed slightly, saying, "I have served under Tolui Khan for over thirty years. Both Tolui Khan and the other kings have treated me well. If I were to switch allegiance, would I have any conscience left?"

Mongke had calmed down a bit by now and asked, "Then what exactly did you mean by what you just said?"

Yao Shu said, "I said that to make you see the current situation clearly. Although countless people on the grasslands are now loyal to Zhao Shuo Khan, Zhao Shuo Khan's actions are not immoral at all. In other words, Zhao Shuo Khan currently holds an absolute advantage in terms of both strength and popular support."

Mongke softened his tone and said, "Then, Mr. Yao, what do you think we should do?"

Yao Shu said, "After thinking it over, I have two ideas. First, we can't stop Zhao Shuohan from redeeming people, so why not do him a favor?"

"Secondly, we cannot continue fighting. We must immediately make peace with the Kuochu and convene the Khuriltai Conference as soon as possible. Right now, only the steppe warriors are loyal to Zhao Shuo, and many Nayan still support the Golden Family. If we continue fighting, those Nayan will also be loyal to Zhao Shuo, and we will have no resources left!"

Mongke was well aware of his current predicament. He snorted and said, "Making peace is no problem, of course. I didn't start this war. But tell me, can Köchü agree to it?"

Yao Shu said, "They should agree. We are in great difficulty now, but the situation is even more difficult for the Khan. The Khan also knows that those true gods followers are unruly and have taken advantage of this great war to rebel, and bandits are rampant in the Transoxiana region."

"If it weren't for Zhao Shuohan, we would have been the ultimate victors in this battle. Kuochu was destined to lose; making peace is too lenient for him."

Möngke and Kublai Khan exchanged a glance, nodded, and said, "Very well, please ask Mr. Yao to go to the West and ask for Kublai Khan's opinion. Also, Kublai Khan..."

"exist."

"You should personally go to Zhongdu City to see Uncle Zhao Shuo and request that the Khuriltai be convened immediately."

After a pause, Möngke snorted coldly and said, "I want to see how Uncle Zhao Shuo will mediate our blood feud with Ögedei's line at the Kurultai. And, who will ultimately hold the Mongol Khanate?"

(End of this chapter)