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

Chapter 75 Lu You and Xin Qiji Sending Their Sons
Lu You had seven sons and two daughters, among whom the fifth son, Lu Ziyue, died young.

There are still six sons and two daughters alive today.

His favorite, of course, was his youngest son, Lu Ziyu, whom he brought with him and educated personally.

However, the one he favored the most was his sixth son, Lu Zibu.

Lu Zibu was gifted and showed extraordinary talent at a young age. Lu You entrusted him to his best friend Zhang Yan for teaching and placed high hopes on him.

Xin Qiji was slightly shocked by Lu You's words and shouted, "Lu Wuguan, what exactly are you planning? Are you going to let your son act like a despicable villain and sow discord between Zhao Shuo and Temujin?"

Lu You said proudly, "How is that possible? You don't trust me, and you don't trust Zhang Yan either. Zibu has been taught by Zhang Yan since he was young. He is a gentle, honest, resolute and courageous gentleman. Even if I, as his father, ask him to do something despicable, he wouldn't be able to do it."

"Gentleman? What's the use of a gentleman around Zhao Shuo?" Xin Qiji asked in confusion.

"If Zibu goes to Mongolia, he will regard Zhao Shuo as his lord and serve him wholeheartedly. However, aren't there many cases in the world where people become too powerful and threaten their rulers? Not to mention father-in-law and son-in-law, there are even many cases of fathers and sons killing each other. If one day in the future, Zhao Shuo can no longer gain a foothold in Mongolia, wouldn't it be a good thing for Zibu to take advantage of the situation and persuade Zhao Shuo to return to Song?" Lu You said.

Xin Qiji sneered, "Zhao Shuo betrayed Temujin, who had shown him so much kindness, and pledged allegiance to the Song emperor, who had almost nothing to do with him? Do you believe it?"

"If Zhao Shuo refuses to return to Song..." Lu You gritted his teeth and said, "Then Zi Bu will persuade him to establish his own independence!"

Fearing Xin Qiji might misunderstand, he quickly added, "When the Jurchens rose to power, the Song Dynasty suffered the Jingkang Incident and lost half its territory. What if the Mongols rise and destroy the Jin Dynasty? How much territory will the Song Dynasty have left to lose? To avoid the worst-case scenario, I would rather Zhao Shuo declare himself king and block the Mongol invasion for the Song Dynasty."

"Oh? Really? Brother Fangweng, don't lie to me." Xin Qiji stared into Lu You's eyes and said with a half-smile, "What if Zhao Shuo not only declared himself king but also had ambitions for the prosperous Song Dynasty? Your son is serving under Zhao Shuo. Aren't you afraid that your reputation will be ruined in an instant?"

"Youan, there's no need to test me."

Lu You snorted and said in a deep voice, "At our age, what is there to be worried about? Let me put it bluntly. The fall of the Song Dynasty to the Mongols is a greater tragedy than the Yongjia Southern Migration and the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China. I am afraid that my Han family will be forever doomed.

If the Song Dynasty fell to Zhao Shuo, it would be nothing more than an ordinary change of dynasty. My son, as a founding father of the new dynasty, might not only not bring disgrace to my good name, but even bring some glory to my afterlife.

"Haha! Well said!"

Xin Qiji was so excited that he ignored his illness, picked up the wine pot, stood up, and drank most of the wine from the spout. He wiped the wine stains on his lips with his sleeve and said, "The fall of the Song Dynasty to the Mongols was the fall of the Chinese world. The fall to Zhao Shuo was just a change of dynasty. China has been prosperous for thousands of years, so this is not uncommon."

Lu You said, "Besides, it doesn't necessarily mean a change of dynasty. Didn't we just speculate? Zhao Shuo is very likely a descendant of the royal family. The change of this divine artifact is just a family affair of the Zhao family. I wonder who in the world can say anything about it."

"Haha, you're right!"

Xin Qiji sat down, his condition seemingly improved. He said, "No, I can't let you, Brother Weng, have all this good fortune to myself. My youngest son, Xin Lu, is most like me: bold and daring, yet intelligent and resourceful. Why not let him go to Mongolia with Zi Bu so he can be looked after?"

"That's great! This is exactly why I came to see You'an today," Lu You said happily. "Although Zibu is a man of strong character and meticulous mind, he's surrounded by foreigners in Mongolia and I'm afraid he won't be able to achieve anything on his own. With the help of my nephew Xinru, they will surely complement each other and accomplish something great."

……

……

There were undercurrents within the Jin and Song dynasties, and the situation within Mongolia was not very peaceful either.

"What? The people in the forest are rebelling?"

Not long after Temujin's army left the city of Olahai and returned to the long-lost grassland, they received bad news before reaching the base camp.

"To be precise, the Tumat tribe of the people in the forest rebelled, but it seems that we can't blame them entirely..."

The one who came to report the news was Beilegutai's eldest son Han Tuhu.

This time, Temujin led 30,000 elite troops to attack the Western Xia, leaving his third brother Belgutai and fourth brother Temuge to look after the family, and to discuss and deal with any matters. Unexpectedly, the two of them really encountered a very difficult problem.

When Temujin ascended the throne as Genghis Khan, he fulfilled his promise by appointing the sorcerer Horchi, who had first predicted Temujin's unification of the steppes, as the rank of "Ten Thousand Households." This "Ten Thousand Households" actually included some tribes of the forest dwellers. In other words, some of this was an empty promise. Shortly after Jochi pacified the forest dwellers, Temujin led the elite Mongol army to invade Western Xia.

Huoerchi went to collect his new subjects happily.

Of course, it’s mainly for the beauty.

Temujin had promised Huoerchi that one day he would become the Khan of the entire grassland. He would not only make Huoerchi a thousand households, but also allow him to choose thirty beauties from his tribe to be his wives.

Huoerchi, this guy, doesn't like beauties from other places, and only likes the beauties from the Tumati tribe, the common people in the forest.

There is no other reason. The Tumati tribe is located in a dense forest, the air is humid, and there is little sunlight, so the women's skin is good.

Therefore, Huoerchi decided to catch a sheep and pull it to death, and all thirty beauties were selected from the Tumati tribe.

In theory, this is nothing. Since a new superior has arrived, the Tumati tribe is willing to offer beauties to please him.

However, what he should never have done was fall in love with a widow.

At that time, the leader of the Tumati tribe, Daiduhulesahuer, had died, and his widow, Lady Tarhun, inherited the management rights of the tribe.

Huoerchi fell in love with Lady Tarhun.

The people in the forest were furious and regarded it as a great humiliation, so they detained Huoerchi.

After Beilegutai and Temuge learned about this, they discussed it and felt that it was not a big deal, so they sent General Huduhe to lead an army of 3,000 to attack the Tumati tribe and rescue Huoerchi.

I didn't want to fight, but the Tumati tribe was so powerful that they even captured Huduhe.

This time, Beilegutai and Temuge had no good solution. Upon learning that Temujin had successfully conquered Western Xia and returned with his army, they quickly sent Hantuhu to report the matter.

"Great Khan, let me go!"

"Great Khan, send me!"

……

After conquering Western Xia, the generals were eager to fight and asked to join the battle.

Especially Borchu, who was the adopted son of Temujin's mother Hoelun, and one of the "Four Heroes" in front of Temujin, on par with Borchu, Muqali and Chilaowen.

Now, the other three heroes have made many military achievements, and their reputation seems to be surpassing Borchu.

As the most noble of the four heroes, Borchu was of course eager to make achievements, and his expression and voice were the most excited.

"Okay, Borchu, you lead 5,000 soldiers and horses." Temujin knew Borchu's thoughts very well and felt that it was not a big deal, so he agreed to Borchu's request.

However, when Zhao Shuo heard Temujin's words, he frowned. He vaguely remembered that in history, Borchu seemed to have died in an ambush by the Tumati tribe.

He was the only Mongolian general who died early among the Four Great Mongols.

Temujin felt deeply regretful at that time.

Could it be this crusade?

(End of this chapter)