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

Chapter 334 Zhao Shuo ascends the throne, shaking the world!
October 3, 1249.

Beep~~
Beep~~
With the sound of horns, Zhao Shuo strode confidently onto a three-zhang-high altar, on which stood the "Nine-Winged White Banner," symbolizing the highest power of the Great Mongol Empire.

The contemporary sorcerer Zhuo Erkebu followed closely behind.

Below the high platform were ten thousand Kheshig soldiers, more than two hundred Mongol noyans, and their more than ten thousand followers.

Zhuoerkebu proclaimed loudly, "The auspicious decree of the Eternal Heaven has descended upon the grasslands, and we have welcomed a master as wise as Genghis Khan. He is the Khan of all people under the Eternal Heaven, the Emperor of all mankind, Zhao Shuo! The Eternal Heaven bestows upon him the title of Heavenly Khan!"

Zhao Shuo looked up at the sun in the sky, then bowed slightly and said, "I obey the decree of the Eternal Heaven."

Then, turning to the crowd below the platform, he said, "I, Zhao Shuo, today assume the throne of the Heavenly Khan, and I wish to share wealth and honor with Genghis Khan's Golden Family, all the Mongol noyans, and the heroes of the Han people! I wish to share the world with the Han people and the Mongols!"

"Where our horses' hooves reach, our land will be covered with every inch of sun-drenched soil! With sails billowing, the vast oceans will become our inland lakes! An unprecedented feat since the beginning of time will be accomplished in our hands!"

As soon as Zhao Shuo finished speaking, everyone knelt down in unison.

The crowd said, "Zhao Shuo, the favorite of the Eternal Heaven! Today we support you as Khan, you are our Heavenly Khan!"

"Zhao Shuo, you've become the Heavenly Khan! With enemies at your feet, we're willing to be the vanguard and charge forward to bring you beautiful girls and noblewomen, palace tents and treasuries! We'll also seize beautiful noblewomen and beauties from foreign lands, and fine geldings, to give to you!"

"Zhao Shuo, you have become the Heavenly Khan! We are willing to entrust you with the power of fairness! If we have any disputes, you shall decide! If we have not left a will that the world can believe, you shall also decide our successor!"

"Zhao Shuo, you've become the Heavenly Khan! We'll hand over the power to open banks to you! Only you can issue currency within our country!"

"In times of war, if we disobey your orders, you may separate our wives and concubines, confiscate our property, and throw our heads to the ground! In times of peace, if we violate your decisions, you may confiscate our servants, take away our wives, concubines, and children, and abandon us in a desolate place!"

After the Noyans swore their oath, the Kheshig army and their followers sang a ballad: "When hunting deer, we swear for the Heavenly Khan to exhaust them, we swear for the Heavenly Khan to kill them!"

"Charge into battle, risk your life, seize the people and camps, and offer them to the Heavenly Khan!"

"Attack foreign tribes, conquer people, capture beauties and warhorses, and present them to the Heavenly Khan!"

What Zhao Shuo just said clearly demonstrates his commitment to the Great Mongolian Kingdom.

The oath made by the multitude was originally a three-point agreement between Zhao Shuo and them.

The songs of others symbolize the loyalty of ordinary grassland people to the Heavenly Khan.

After the song was sung nine times, everyone kowtowed to Zhao Shuojiu on the altar.

Nine holds special significance in the minds of the Han Chinese: it represents the "ultimate number." In the minds of the Mongols, it is a number associated with "happiness and good fortune."

With this, the ceremony was completed, and Zhao Shuo officially became the Heavenly Khan.

This ceremony was basically based on the two sets of ceremonies that Temujin used when he became the Great Khan of the Mongols and when he became Genghis Khan.

Then came the ceremony of Zhao He ascending the throne as the Great Khan of the Mongols.

This is similar to the process by which Ögedei Khan and Güyük ascended the throne.

Kuochu supported Zhao He's left arm, Mengge supported Zhao He's right arm, and Batu supported Zhao He's waist as they walked up to the high platform.

Zhao Shuo announced that Zhao He was the new Great Khan of the Mongols.

Yesu, on behalf of the crowd, toasted Zhao He.

The Mongolians present bowed to Zhao Hejiu.

Then, Zhao Shuo and Zhao He led the Nayan people in a sacrifice to the Eternal Heaven, thanking it for its protection.

After all the ceremonies were over, the usual practice after the Great Khan of the Mongols ascended the throne was to eat and drink.

Zhao Shuo was certainly not a stingy person, and announced that the banquet would last for a month.

Following Mongolian custom, countless merchants drove their wagons, laden with their goods, to the Kurultai (assembly).

Unlike the ancient Chinese dynasties, the Mongols did not discriminate against merchants. With vast, sparsely populated grasslands and no traveling merchants, where did the grassland people get their daily necessities?

The food at the Kurultai was, of course, mainly supplied by the new Great Khan. However, not everyone was satisfied with the food provided by the Great Khan, and the noyans still wanted to eat something different. In addition, as was customary, at the end of the Kurultai, the Great Khan would bestow generous rewards upon the noyans, who were particularly willing to spend money at this time.

When Ögedei and Güyük ascended the throne, they even bought up all the merchants' goods at high prices and distributed them as rewards to the noyans. What the noyans could not take with them was given to the people of Karakorum, who could take whatever they wanted, and many people took the opportunity to make a small fortune.

In any case, in the following days, countless supplies poured into the grasslands near the source of the Onon River.

The people of Nayan were enjoying their wealth and luxury to the fullest, as if they were in paradise on earth.

However, on the seventh day, Möngke led an ordinary Mongol into the Khan's golden tent, where a feast was being held.

The Mongol knelt down and said, "Heavenly Khan, Great Khan, terrible things have happened! Dark clouds have obscured the sun, wolves are lurking in the grass, and cunning snakes have bared their fangs! Haimishi, Hucha, and Naohu are plotting a rebellion! Please make a decision quickly!"

Mongke said, "This is Xue Jie, he is in charge of my mules and horses. Xue Jie, tell me what you saw and heard."

"Yes."

Xue Jie said, "Mongke Khan's favorite mule ran away, and I searched for it for three days and three nights on horseback. Suddenly, I encountered Queen Haimishi's caravan on the road, with countless large carts."

“Someone’s car broke down, and he mistook me for one of their men and asked me to help him fix it. I asked what was in the car, and he said it was the same as everyone else’s cars, all weapons. I quickly made up an excuse, rode back on horseback to report them.”

Zhao Shuo didn't speak, but instead gave a slight nod to Zhao He.

Zhao He frowned slightly and asked, "Approximately how many people were in the lost convoy?"

Xue Jie said, "There are probably more than a hundred large vehicles and six or seven hundred people."

Mongke glanced at Kochu, wondering if this matter had anything to do with him, and said, "Six or seven hundred men won't amount to much. However, if they have an inside man here, on this auspicious day when everyone is feasting, they could suddenly take out their weapons under the cover of night and wipe out our Tolui lineage. They could then kidnap the Heavenly Khan's lineage and become the new Great Khan of the Mongols."

Kuo Chu quickly knelt down and said, "I can swear to the Eternal Heaven that I absolutely did not participate in this matter and that I sincerely support Uncle Zhao Shuo and Brother Zhao He."

Zhao He said, "That doesn't make sense. If it weren't for you, Kuochu, acting as an inside man, even if they were stupid, what could they possibly do with six or seven hundred men? We have ten thousand of the Qie Xue army alone; they really have no chance of winning."

Kuo Chu said, "Perhaps some of their people are mixed in with the merchants selling goods. Hai Mishi, Hucha, and Nao Hu each have three commanders of a thousand men."

Zhao He shook his head and said, "Three thousand commanders are still too few. Three thousand against twenty thousand, the odds of winning are too small. There is a more than 99% chance that they will suffer a crushing defeat and lose their lives. Even if everything goes smoothly and they become the Great Khan of the Mongols, they will not be able to pacify the vast territories of the five Mongol lineages. How could they be so unwise?"

Mengge said, "Xue Jie is one of the people I trust most; he would never lie!"

"Maybe... I understand now! This is Hai Shi's desperate act!"

Boom!
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he kowtowed heavily, saying, "Kuoduan was not killed by the Tolui faction, but by Haimishi's assassins! She didn't like Kuoduan's rise to power and wanted to use Kuoduan's death to frame the Tolui faction. I only found out afterward, but it's too late now. Our Ögedei faction has no way out but to go to war with the Tolui faction."

"The Heavenly Khan thinks this matter is impossible to investigate thoroughly, and I don't intend to tell anyone either. Originally, Hai Mishi was safe. But Hai Mishi doesn't know! Once this matter is exposed, she's dead! She doesn't believe this secret can be kept forever. If I don't speak, will my wife definitely not speak? What if she accidentally lets it slip? She can't silence us, so she must be restless." "Also, her two trusted subordinates are afraid she'll kill them to cover it up. They might try to persuade her to take a risk. Hucha and Naohu are young and not particularly outstanding, and they've been bewitched by Hai Mishi."

After a pause, Kochu kowtowed again and said, "I will not admit to what I did not do, but I admit to what I did! I knew that the Tolui lineage was innocent, yet I still brazenly launched a war. I beg the Heavenly Khan to punish me."

Actually, there was no other way to avoid going out of business.

Hemisphere can't silence him, but neither can he silence Hemisphere!

If Zhao Shuo captures Hai Mishi and his two henchmen, and interrogates them carefully, wouldn't everything become clear?
If you confess now, you might be able to get leniency.

"I see."

Zhao Shuo truly hadn't expected to be able to uncover the truth behind Kuo Duan's death. One could only say that Hai Mishi was incredibly foolish, personally pushing the Guyuk lineage into an abyss of no return.

He said, “If what you said is true, and this happened before I ascended the throne, then it’s not that I can’t be treated leniently. Here’s what we’ll do: Poland was once divided in two, given to you and the Tolui faction. You should give up your half of Poland to the Tolui faction.”

Kuochu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "As the Khan commands!"

Möngke also said, "Thank you, Heavenly Khan, for upholding justice for us."

Batu asked, "What does the Heavenly Khan say about that vile woman Haimishi, and those two brats, Hucha and Naohu?"

Zhao Shuo said, "I can't just listen to the side of Mengge, Kuochu, and Xue Jie. How about this, let's agree to Heiba ​​Atu'er!"

"exist!"

"You lead the Black Riders and be on high alert."

"Yes!"

“Bolu!”

"exist!"

"You lead two thousand Kheshig soldiers and capture Haimishi, Hucha, and Naohu. It would be best not to kill them, and tell them that I will allow them to defend themselves."

"According to the order!"

“Suren!”

"exist!"

"You lead the remaining eight thousand Kheshig soldiers to keep an eye on the merchants. Also, be on high alert and protect the safety of the Kurultai assembly."

"Yes."

Zhao Shuo had given the order, and everyone obeyed.

The next day, Bolu led two thousand Kheshig soldiers to surround Haimishi and his party.

Seeing that resistance was hopeless, Hai Mishi, Hucha, and Naohu brought dozens of guards and Bolu to see Zhao Shuo.

They certainly wouldn't admit to treason.

However, by interrogating them separately from their confidants, without resorting to torture, it became clear that there were many contradictions in their statements.

Twenty days later, they all confessed.

He left himself in a precarious position and dared not plead for them.

Möngke gritted his teeth and wanted to kill them. After all, Tolui had died at the hands of Ögedei, and killing Ögedei's eldest son Güyük's wife and two children would be a form of revenge for Tolui.

Besides, Tolui's lineage had already wiped out the entire lineage of Temujin's younger brother, Temuge. If Zhao Shuo were to be soft-hearted and not carry out the killing, wouldn't it make Tolui's lineage seem utterly devoid of brotherly affection?

Batu, from the perspective of upholding the dignity of the Heavenly Khan, was also determined to kill him.

Yesuz was in a similar situation to Kuochu, but he was even more timid than Kuochu. To prove that he had nothing to do with the matter, he shouted for battle very loudly.

Zhao Shuo and Batu had similar thoughts.

If treason can be pardoned, what else is unpardonable?

Besides, a Heavenly Khan must possess both the compassion of a bodhisattva and the ruthlessness of a thunderbolt. Now that he has just ascended the throne, he can use this rebellion of the three men to kill them and establish his authority!
Therefore, Zhao Shuo issued an edict to sew Hai Mishi into a cloth bag and throw him into the water to drown. Hucha and Naohu were also sewn into a cloth bag and trampled to death by horses. Guiyou's youngest son, Hehu, was too young and had not participated in the rebellion, so he was not prosecuted.

With the issues of Hai Mishi, Hucha, and Nao Hu resolved, the Khuriltai assembly was drawing to a close.

"King, what is the next step for our Great Mongol Empire?"

Kuochu said, "Although the world is vast, the most prosperous places are Europe and India. Next, you or the Great Khan, lead us to continue conquering Europe or India!"

The Ögedei line originally controlled half of the Western Liao, Poland, and Northern Goryeo. After this war, although they gained several dozen more Mongol chiliarchs, their territory was reduced to only the Western Liao. No one was more eager to expand their territory than they were.

Kublai Khan shook his head and said, "There are too many stone fortresses in Europe, which are really difficult to conquer. India is also a great power in the world, and it is not so easy to attack. In my opinion, we should head towards the New World."

"Go and fight Europa! In this world, only Europa can pose a threat to us. Let's wipe out Europa first! We can deal with other places slowly."

"India is not bad either!"

"The New World is too far away. Besides, sea voyages are too risky."

……

The Mongol noyans all spoke up.

For the vast majority of Mongolians, the New World was desirable, but ocean voyages were still viewed with dread by those who had grown up on horseback.

Zhao Shuo said, "Kublai Khan wants to go to the Americas, which is great, and I can support him now. However, as for Europe and India... I mean, we should wait five years before fighting them. Because too many steppe warriors died in the previous Mongol civil war."

"We need our grassland warriors to recover and have new children. We need new young men to grow into qualified soldiers. Let's give ourselves five years to recuperate."

"For the next five years, the taxes on your steppe warriors will be waived. I will use funds from the national treasury to compensate you. Five years later, we will once again conquer Eurasia. What do you think?"

"The Khan is wise!"

……

Thus, the Kuriltai came to a successful conclusion.

The world was shaken when news spread that Zhao Shuo had ascended the throne as the Heavenly Khan, made a three-point agreement with the noyans of the grasslands, killed Guyuk's queen and two children, and reduced taxes for the grassland warriors!
(End of this chapter)