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

Chapter 38 Five Hundred Black Horses

Zhao Shuo, accompanied by two attendants, hurried to Temujin's central army. After entering the royal tent, he found that there were only three people in the huge tent.

Temujin, Hunnan, and a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old with a childish look on his face.

In later generations, although fifteen or sixteen years old were still minors, they were already warriors who could fight on the battlefield on the grassland.

Zhao Shuo knew this person; he was Tuo Luan's eldest son, Bo Baer.

Zhao Shuo bowed slightly and said, "Father Khan, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, it's not a good thing."

Temujin's face looked unhappy. He gestured to Zhao Shuo to sit down and said, "Bobar, tell me what happened today again!

"it is good."

Bo Baer didn't feel that there was anything difficult to say, and said angrily: "My fourth uncle Kuokuo is plotting a rebellion, he should be killed!"

His fourth uncle was naturally the all-knowing wizard Kuokuo.

"Nonsense! What's the point of killing or not?" Temujin frowned and said, "Just tell us what happened. Kokochu is your uncle, the son of my father Menglik. Not to mention that he hasn't been convicted of treason, even if he was, he doesn't have to be executed."

"But...but he is plotting a rebellion." Bo Baer said somewhat unconvinced.

Zhao Shuo asked, "What exactly is going on?"

Bobar said, "My father, several uncles, and grandfather were having a drink together tonight, and I was waiting on the side. Suddenly, my fourth uncle said that he had received a message from the Eternal Heaven last night: Temujin was too tired to manage the grassland alone. He should give half of his power to the all-knowing wizard Kokochu.

At that time, I said, "Fourth Uncle, you're crazy! The Khan has been so good to our family. Even if you really have received the will of the Eternal Heaven, you should keep it to yourself!"

Grandpa also said, what's the point of Changshengtian or not? Fourth brother, how capable are you? Others don't know, but I, your father, don't know? Don't be so wishful thinking in the future, and don't say such nonsense.

My fourth uncle didn't dare to criticize my grandfather, so he scolded me, saying, "You're a child who hasn't even grown all his hair yet, what do you know? You don't have the right to speak here."

My father also helped my fourth uncle scold me, saying, "Hurry up and apologize to your fourth uncle! What are you talking about? Is this what you should say to your own uncle?"

I said I was not wrong, it was my fourth uncle who was wrong and refused to apologize.

As a result, my father whipped me severely and drove me out of the tent. Here... look!"

As he spoke, he took off his clothes, and sure enough, there were several red whip marks on his body.

It seems that Bo Baer was severely whipped.

"Good boy, put on your clothes quickly and don't get cold!"

When Bobar was telling Temujin what had happened just now, he did not reveal any scars on his body.

Temujin felt pity for Bobar upon seeing this. He personally picked up the clothes and helped Bobar put them on. He said gently, "Bobar, does anyone know you're here?"

"Great Khan, please don't treat me like a child." Bobar said a little aggrievedly, "Such a serious matter, I know the seriousness of it, so I sneaked out."

"Very good. Then you can sneak back. Don't tell anyone about what happened today." Temujin stared into Bobar's eyes and warned him carefully: "Remember, you can't tell anyone even if you are beaten to death. Otherwise, no one can save your fourth uncle!"

Bo Baer looked surprised and said, "You...you won't kill him?"

"Hey, I didn't even kill Uncle Daritai, let alone Brother Kokochu?"

Dalitai was Temujin's uncle. As soon as Temujin's father Yesugei died, he abandoned Temujin and his family and went to live with the Taichiwu people.

Later, when Temujin came to power, he came back and Temujin accepted him without holding any grudges.

As a result, after the battle with the Tatars, because he was dissatisfied with the way Temujin distributed the spoils, he defected to Temujin's arch-enemy Jamuka.

This time, Temujin destroyed the Naimans, and Daritai surrendered again.

Even though Temujin was fed up with his uncle, he did not kill him.

All I can say is that being ruthless doesn’t necessarily make one a hero, and how can a man who loves his children not be a real man?

Temujin was indeed as cold and ruthless to his enemies as winter.

However, when it comes to your family and companions, you should be as tolerant as possible as long as you can, unless it is absolutely intolerable.

Of course, Kokochu's great prestige as a wizard was also the reason why Temujin did not want to take action.

"Good boy, let's go!"

Temujin smiled as he watched Babar leave, and then his expression immediately turned solemn.

"This is a difficult matter," Temujin said, looking at Zhao Shuo. "Even if I play dumb this time, what about next time? I know Kokochu all too well; he's a man who doesn't know when to advance or retreat. I'm afraid he'll get worse and eventually take action. I'll have to kill him."

Hu Nan explained, "The Khan's intention is to dampen Kokuchu's arrogance and let him know his own strength. If he can repent and wholeheartedly assist the Khan from now on, that would be perfect. As for how to dampen Kokuchu's arrogance... Ah Shuo, do you have any good ideas?"

Temujin nodded and said, "It's not that I'm soft-hearted. It's just that Menglik's father is old and in poor health. I can't just watch him lose a son. Besides, the grasslands have just been pacified. If we rashly attack Tongtian Wu, it might cause disunity among the people and be detrimental to pacifying the tribes."

"So that's it."

Zhao Shuo thought for a moment and came up with a good idea. "Didn't the Wu Tian say that the Eternal Heaven has issued a decree that the remaining wounded soldiers must return to the Eternal Heaven's embrace? It just so happens that I just invented three good things."

On the grasslands of this era, witch doctors and shamans are inseparable.

The relationship between wizards and doctors is one and two, and two and one.

Temujin took the injured warriors very seriously. He ordered the all-powerful witch doctor Kuo Kuochu to lead the witch doctors to treat these warriors with great care. As for the effect, that's unclear.

Zhao Shuo briefly introduced super-proof liquor, allicin and aspinline.

Finally, he said, "Tongtian Wu can obtain the will of Changshengtian, but as Changshengtian's most beloved son, Father Khan cannot obtain the will of Changshengtian?"

"You can tell the warriors on the grasslands that you, Father Khan, have received a command from the Eternal Heaven. The Eternal Heaven wants to keep more soldiers on earth to fight for you on the battlefield. Therefore, the Eternal Heaven has bestowed upon you the methods for making these medicines to heal your soldiers' injuries."

After hearing this, Genghis Khan's gray-blue eyes lit up and he said, "Ashuo, how sure are you?"

"very!"

Zhao Shuo smiled calmly and uttered two words lightly.

He was certainly confident. Over five hundred people were killed in the attack on the Western Xia city. Nearly two hundred were killed on the spot, and over three hundred were seriously injured. Minor injuries were not included in the statistics.

Now, more than 200 seriously injured people have died, 30 people are out of danger, and more than 80 people are still suffering from symptoms such as high fever.

Based on their experience, Kuo Kuo Chu announced that they would soon be summoned by the grace of the Eternal Heaven.

Zhao Shuo didn't believe that there were more than 80 wounded soldiers and that none of them could be saved. As long as a few could be saved, this method would be considered a success!

"A Shuo said he's 100% sure, so he really is! Great, that's great!"

Now, the depressed look on Temujin's face disappeared, and his face was full of warm and relaxed expression.

This move can not only shake the prestige of the all-powerful witch Kuo Kuo Chu, but also save dozens of brave and fearless warriors for Mongolia, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

However, Temujin soon thought of another question and said, "These three magical medicines are all your credit, Ah Shuo. If everyone says that I received the will of Changshengtian, wouldn't that be equivalent to me taking away your credit?"

Temujin frowned slightly. He certainly knew how great Zhao Shuo's contribution was in inventing the miracle medicine.

Every grassland warrior is an elite with powerful combat capabilities, so training them is naturally difficult. The medicine Zhao Shuo invented can save a large number of soldiers. If this credit were given to someone else, they would easily be granted a thousand households.

Zhao Shuo was about to say that this was nothing, but Temujin suddenly had an idea and said, "I got it! Why not say that I have received the will of the Eternal Heaven, and more soldiers will remain in the human world. And Ah Shuo, you have also received the will of the Eternal Heaven and invented these medicines. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

For Temujin, Tongtian Wu's right to interpret the will of Changshengtian was too uncontrollable.

He must have wanted to weaken Kuokuochu's prestige.

If we simply say that he received the will of Changshengtian, it would sound too strongly like he was targeting Tongtian Wu.

By then, Kuo Kuo might be provoked to rebel directly.

But if Zhao Shuo is included, the intention is not so obvious. And as more people receive the will of Changshengtian, Tongtian Wu will not be so valuable.

Hu Nan agreed, "It's the best of both worlds! This way, the Prince Consort's prestige will be even higher!"

Temujin said, "Then let's do it. If this is accomplished, Ashuo, I will reward you with 50,000 taels of gold and 30 beautiful women from Western Xia."

Before conquering the Naimans, even if Temujin's storehouse was cleaned out, he still couldn't produce 50,000 taels of gold.

However, the western grasslands could trade with Western Xia and Western Liao at the same time, which was much stronger than the eastern grasslands which were subject to technological blockade by the Jin Dynasty.

Only after plundering the Naiman people's wealth did Temujin's treasury become full.

Now Temujin can come up with about 150,000 taels of gold.

This time, when they captured the small Xixia town, they captured only about a hundred people who could be considered beauties according to the standards of the grassland people.

Temujin also took out more than one third.

This shows how much importance was attached to Zhao Shuo's achievement.

Zhao Shuo did not express his gratitude directly, but instead requested, "I'll give you fifty thousand taels of gold and thirty beauties. If this is truly successful, how about you, Great Khan, reward me with four hundred and twenty black horses?"

"Four hundred and twenty black horses? Why?" Temujin was a little confused.

The grasslands lacked everything except horses, cattle, and sheep. A hundred taels of gold in exchange for a thousand-mile horse was considered quite generous, not only on the grasslands but even in the Central Plains.

Zhao Shuo smiled and explained, "Father Khan knows that I have formed a Black Cavalry. Although they are now wearing heavy black armor, the horses they ride on are still not of a uniform color, which is a bit of a misnomer."

"So, you only have eighty black horses now, and you want to ask me for another four hundred and twenty?" Temujin asked with a smile.

Zhao Shuo nodded and said, "Yes."

"This is a good thing, of course I have to support it!" Temujin said without hesitation.

He turned to look at Hu Nan and said, "If Ah Shuo can really accomplish this, don't count 420 horses; round it up to 500. Hu Nan, you will be responsible for this. You must select the best 500 black horses from the million horses in the country."

Hu Nan bowed slightly and said, "I obey your command!"

Temujin added, "Since it is your request, Ashu, I will not give you the fifty thousand taels of gold. But I cannot let you suffer too much, so I will still give you the thirty Xixia beauties."

Zhao Shuo nodded: "Thank you, Father Khan."

Of course, the prerequisite for all these rewards is that Zhao Shuo’s medicine is truly effective.

Hu Nan added, "Also, this old minister suggests that the doctors we have gathered in Xixia should all follow the prince consort to the wounded camp to learn how to treat the warriors."

Temujin certainly had no objection to this.

Now all the witch doctors on the grassland are under the control of Kuo Kuo Chu. This is also a very important reason why Tongtian Wu has such high prestige.

If the shaman dance brings the person back to life, it is the work of Tongtian Wu. If the shaman dance dies, it is the work of Changshengtian.

Anyone who survived has to thank Tongtian Wu for his contribution.

It would be strange if his prestige was not high.

If Zhao Shuo could train some doctors with better medical skills, it would be a severe blow to Kokuchu's prestige and greatly enhance Temujin's prestige.

However, after all, this is Zhao Shuo's medical skills, and Temujin still has to respect Zhao Shuo's opinion.

He asked, "Ashuo, what do you think?"

"No problem." Zhao Shuo nodded. He had invented these three medicines to enhance Mongolia's overall strength.

Those infected soldiers were all top-notch elite soldiers. It was such a pity that they died like this.

Later, when they destroyed the Jin Dynasty, slaughtered the Xia Dynasty, and marched west, these warriors were all fierce fangs.

"Well, this time, the doctors captured from Xixia and their families are all yours, Ah Shuo. Pick a few and go to the wounded camp with you."

"Thank you, Father Khan." Zhao Shuo stood up and bowed slightly, saying, "There's no time to lose. I'll make the arrangements right away."

Zhao Shuo immediately took Geerle and several of his companions to the prisoner camp and selected ten Xixia doctors. Then, they returned to the camp to get medicine and headed to the wounded camp.

(End of this chapter)