The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 538 The Envoy from Mongolia

In the winter of 1138 AD, the Jin dynasty surrendered to the Song dynasty.

With the Jin dynasty's territory annexed by the Song dynasty, Wanyan Zongjun and Wanyan Zongpan joined the Gu Ming Tang (Hall of Regents), bringing the total number of members in the Gu Ming Tang to twenty-two, or twenty-three if Yue Wenxuan is included.

Spring of 1139 AD!

The snow had just melted when an envoy rushed into the capital city in a great hurry.

At this time, the Song army was still maintaining order in the capital and had not left. Yue Wenxuan, Gong Erniangzi, and the others were all present, so the envoy did not miss his target and was quickly brought before Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi by the guards.

The envoy bowed deeply and said in somewhat broken Chinese, "I am a messenger sent by Changhebul Khan of the Mongol people. I wish to request the great Song Dynasty to confer upon our Khan the title of King."

Gong Er Niangzi was completely dumbfounded when she heard this.

Wanyan Zongjun stepped forward and whispered, "This Khabul Khan, whose full name is Borjigin Khabul, is just a minor chieftain of a Mongol tribe. He's nothing special. He used to get beaten up by our Jin Dynasty all the time."

As soon as he said that, Gong Er Niangzi understood.

Mongolia used to be frequently bullied by the Jin Dynasty, but now that it has heard that the Jin Dynasty has been destroyed by the Song Dynasty, it has rushed to the Song Dynasty to show goodwill.

Asking the Song Dynasty to bestow a title upon the king is akin to the tactic of "a son recognizing his father."

This was a minor matter, and Lady Gong Er originally intended to simply agree casually.

But then Yue Wenxuan stepped forward with great interest and asked the envoy with a smile, "Is your clan leader called Borjigin Khabul? Does he also have a son named Baltanba Atuer?"

The envoy was taken aback upon hearing this. "Huh? It's not surprising that the Han people have heard of our Khabul Khan, but what's surprising is that he actually knows about our Great Khan's son, Baltanba Atuer."

This strange name is very difficult to remember clearly according to the language habits of Han Chinese.

However, what puzzled the envoy even more was what followed.

Yue Wenxuan continued, "Does Ba'ertanba A'tu'er have a child named Yesugei, who should be... well, between four and five years old this year?"

The envoy was greatly shocked!
What's the situation with this Han Chinese?
The envoy's bewildered expression was essentially an admission that Yue Wenxuan was right.

Yue Wenxuan chuckled inwardly: Here it comes, the inevitable has arrived. Genghis Khan's great-grandfather, grandfather, and father have all begun to take center stage in history. If left unchecked, Mongolia will become a major problem for the Song Dynasty.

Of course, it's just a minor problem and won't become a major threat, because the Song Dynasty now possesses a large number of firearms, making it impossible for the Mongol cavalry to cause trouble.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said to the envoy, "You're requesting investiture from the Song Dynasty, right?"

Messenger: "Yes!"

“Fine!” Yue Wenxuan said, “But I cannot appoint Khabul Khan as king; I can only appoint him as the governor of the Mongolian Autonomous Region.”

Upon hearing this, the envoy was stunned: "Huh? What does 'Regimental Head of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region' mean?"

Yue Wenxuan spread his hands and said, "Let me give you an example. Our army has just captured Shangjing, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, but the majority of the population in Shangjing is currently Jurchen and Bohai people. Given this special situation, I am preparing to establish the 'Shangjing Jurchen Autonomous Region,' where Jurchens manage other Jurchens, to avoid management errors due to cultural differences and to prevent unnecessary ethnic conflicts." The envoy was stunned for a moment, but he quickly understood the core idea: Yue Wenxuan meant that Mongolia must be incorporated into the Song Dynasty like the Jin Dynasty, and then become a region of the Song Dynasty, not an independent country... Therefore, a king could not be appointed, only a regional chief could be appointed.

The envoy was furious: "You...you have quite the nerve! I'm here on a diplomatic mission, not to surrender!"

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "Sooner or later, this day would come."

Messenger: "Then let's meet on the battlefield."

The envoy was extremely arrogant and rude, and a group of generals behind Yue Wenxuan were tempted to rush up and kill him.

But Yue Wenxuan was not angry at all; he even stretched out a hand to stop the generals from acting impulsively.

“I know why you’re not afraid of us,” Yue Wenxuan laughed. “The Mongolian grasslands are vast, incredibly vast, and the Mongols don’t have cities; they’re all nomadic people. Once my Great Song army arrives, you can just pick up your yurts and run. And when my army is exhausted and returns home, you can come and attack again, right?”

Messenger: "Hmph!"

He snorted dismissively, but inwardly he thought: This man is shrewd. Since he knows this, why does he still dare to demand surrender from my Mongols?
Yue Wenxuan immediately changed the subject: "But I have a way to break your nomadic tactics, do you believe me?"

Messenger: "Hmph!"

Yue Wenxuan: "I can first venture into the grasslands and build several cities on the edge of the grasslands and the Central Plains. In these cities, we can establish trade markets, exchanging our Central Plains goods such as rice, beans, cotton, silk, ironware, and tea for the cattle and sheep of the Mongolian herders. After gaining the basic trust of the Mongolian herders, we can build several factories in the cities to process wool, cowhide, beef jerky, and other products, and hire Mongolians as workers in the factories..."

At this point, Yue Wenxuan held up three fingers: "Three years. In just three years, I can turn most of the Mongolians near these cities from nomads into migrant workers. Only a few Mongolians will be able to continue to live by herding cattle and sheep, but they will no longer go to distant places to roam. Instead, they will live with these cities as the center of their nomadic life."

The envoy was startled upon hearing this.

Yue Wenxuan said, "The biggest problem with Mongolia is its lack of unity. There are countless small tribes on the grasslands that are not of one mind with Khabul Khan. Do you think these Mongolian tribes near the cities will listen to me or Khabul Khan in three years?"

The messenger wiped the sweat from his brow.

Yue Wenxuan continued, "Three years later, once these cities are stabilized, I will continue into the grasslands, moving forward for dozens of miles, and build several more cities... In a few decades, the Mongolian grasslands will no longer look like what you see now."

The envoy panicked and angrily said, "Don't think that just because the Mongols are like this, they are willing to be the dogs of the Han people."

Yue Wenxuan: "What if we weren't treated like dogs, but as friends? What if we were on equal footing with Han Chinese, with equal status?"

The messenger glanced sideways, clearly not believing the statement.

Yue Wenxuan didn't need him to believe him. He waved his hand and said, "Go back and tell Khabul Khan that if he's willing to be the head of the Mongolian Autonomous Region, I'll welcome him anytime and even add a position for him in the Regent's Hall. If he's not willing, then I can only watch as my city continues to expand into the grasslands until he has nowhere to hide."

In fact, regardless of whether Khabul Khan agreed or not, Yue Wenxuan planned to build a city in the grassland.

Because this is the only reliable way to subdue the nomadic peoples of the grasslands!
We must assimilate them, allow them to live a stable life like the Han people, and have most of the Mongols settle in cities in order to fundamentally solve the problem of nomadic peoples harassing the Central Plains people for thousands of years.

(End of this chapter)