Cheng Xu leaned back in his chair with the kind of relaxed confidence that made other people nervous and said, "Did you not just tell me that the Jian slaves are currently busy squabbling with the Khalkha Mongols, tugging at each other like two dogs over the same bone, neither willing to let go and neither daring to bite too hard, so why not use that little quarrel to pin them in place and keep their hands tied?"
Shen Shikui frowned, clearly unconvinced, and replied, "The Khalkha are weak, painfully weak, and everyone knows it. The reason the Jian slaves are still wrangling with them instead of crushing them flat is simply because they are not taking it seriously. If we strike Dandong and the Three Shun Kings cry for help, the Jian slaves will immediately stop playing around. Once they get serious, they can slap the Khalkha over in a single blow, gather their banners, and march straight to reinforce Dandong without missing a beat."
Cheng Xu smiled, that infuriatingly calm smile of someone who already saw three moves ahead on the board. "The Khalkha alone may be weak, but Mongolia as a whole is not weak, and if we add just a little nudge, a little encouragement, perhaps even a little support, you might be surprised how loud the grasslands can roar."
Shen Shikui blinked in disbelief. "The whole of Mongolia? That sounds like a fantasy."
"Everything is possible," Cheng Xu replied softly.
...
Zhoushan, Maritime Academy.
Erzh'e had just completed two hundred meters of freestyle, slicing through the water with stubborn determination before erupting from the pool in a splash, hauling himself up to the edge and collapsing there, chest heaving, lungs burning, water streaming from his hair and down his shoulders. This Mongol boy had swallowed enough pool water to irrigate half the steppe before finally mastering the art of swimming, and now that he could keep himself afloat without flailing like a drowning goat, he swam with a speed that even surprised himself.
Two special service soldiers waiting by the pool stepped forward immediately and handed him a towel.
Erzh'e wiped the water from his hair and grinned broadly. "Tell me honestly, am I swimming well now?"
The two soldiers nodded in unison. "Very well, far better than before."
Joy lit up his face. "Next time the Demon Star rolls back into Zhoushan Harbor for resupply, I will cling to the side of his ship again even if I have to shamelessly beg my way aboard."
The two soldiers shot him a sideways glance. "You may apply properly, but you are not allowed to sneak on again. Last time we lost track of you, the two of us nearly got locked up in confinement."
Erzh'e scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry about that. I truly did not mean to cause you trouble."
Just as he was speaking, a voice crackled from the device on one soldier's chest. "Erzh'e, there is something you need to be informed about."
He straightened at once. "What is it?"
"News has arrived from Bencun. The Jian slaves have begun stirring up trouble with the Khalkha Mongol tribes. As the Heavenly Khan of Mongolia, this concerns you directly, so you must be informed."
Erzh'e's eyes sharpened, and he listened intently.
"The Jian slaves are attempting to force the Khalkha to acknowledge their suzerainty and send tribute. Huang Taiji has even prepared to incorporate the Khalkha into his banner system. The Khalkha naturally refuse, and several small-scale clashes have already occurred, with casualties on both sides."
At this, Erzh'e's temper flared. "How outrageous. The Khalkha are part of my Great Yuan legacy. I am still the Heavenly Khan. How can they bow to another emperor while I yet live?"
The soldier nodded gravely. "Indeed, it is excessive. They did not even bother to consult you before reaching out to seize your subordinates. If it were me, I certainly would not endure such an insult."
Erzh'e clenched his fists. "What should I do?"
"You should exercise your authority as Heavenly Khan. Issue an order immediately, call upon all Mongol tribes to unite, support the Khalkha, and resist the Jian slaves."
"That makes sense," Erzh'e said eagerly, then hesitated. "But my imperial jade seal is not with me."
"That is no obstacle. The seal is safeguarded in the main fortress at Gao Village. As long as this is truly your will, or rather since it is your will, we can notify the fortress, draft a proclamation in your name, stamp it with the jade seal, and send it out. There is no need for you to travel thousands of li."
Relief washed over his face. "Excellent, then let us do it that way."
With that settled, he turned back toward the pool. "I will swim another lap. I just grasped a new trick for breathing, and I feel I can go faster and farther. As for the affairs of the steppe, I will leave them in your capable hands."
Soon afterward, a logistics officer arrived at the principal's office of the Maritime Academy. Li Dao Xuan's primordial spirit appeared there briefly each day during maritime lessons, and as long as one caught that window of time, matters could be reported directly to Dao Xuan Tianzun.
The special service soldier conveyed Erzh'e's stance.
Li Dao Xuan sighed softly. "He understands, but he pretends not to understand, because even if he resisted, it would change nothing. Poor child."
Once news reached Li Dao Xuan, it might as well have been transmitted by wireless radio.
Minutes later, Gao Yiye took out the Yuan dynasty's imperial jade seal, dipped it into vermilion ink, and pressed it firmly onto a proclamation of punitive expedition that had long been prepared in advance, the sharp sound of the seal striking paper echoing faintly in the hall.
...
"The Heavenly Khan commands that all Mongol tribes unite under the leadership of Zhebu, the new chief of the Wushen tribe, and march to reinforce the Khalkha."
"The Heavenly Khan commands."
The proclamation spread across the grasslands with astonishing speed, as though it had sprouted wings and taken flight from tribe to tribe.
One chieftain in a relatively remote region, poorly informed about the shifting balance among the major tribes, glanced at the document and curled his lip. "After the old Wushen chief broke his leg, they pushed his son forward as the new leader. This Zhebu, who is he supposed to be, and why should we give him face?"
Someone nearby quickly interjected, "Do not underestimate him. Zhebu was raised among the Han people. He has gained even stronger support from them than the old chief ever had."
"Is that so?"
"It is absolutely true. The Han are backing him with full strength. He is not someone you should provoke."
The chieftain snorted. "I refuse to believe such nonsense."
He decided to acknowledge the order in name while ignoring it in action, reasoning that the Heavenly Khan's prestige had long since faded and the old Wushen chief could no longer fight, so what was there to fear.
A few days later, a terrifying wailing roar shattered his sleep. He stumbled out of his tent without even dressing properly and saw, stretching across the southern grasslands, a vast expanse of black iron vehicles rumbling forward like a moving wall of steel, while Mongol cavalry galloped ahead to clear the way.
At their head rode a young man.
Zhebu.
He reined in before the chieftain and shouted, "The Heavenly Khan has ordered you to raise your troops and aid the Khalkha. Why have you not moved?"
The chieftain was not frightened by Zhebu himself, but his gaze drifted to the iron monsters behind him, and he sucked in a sharp breath. "Those iron carts. The old Wushen chief only had a dozen or so. Now there are this many?"
Zhebu smiled proudly. "My father had ten. I have one hundred."
The man nearly lost his soul on the spot.
"Now you have a choice," Zhebu continued. "Option one is to raise your troops and fight me here and now. Option two is…"
The decision required no deliberation.
"I choose option two," the chieftain blurted out almost instantly.
Zhebu roared, his voice carrying the raw force of a young wolf asserting dominance. "Option two means you march to reinforce the Khalkha and fight the Jian slaves. What are you waiting for? Mobilize immediately, at once, right now."
Though young, when he shouted like that, there was already the bearing of a head wolf about him, and the chieftain, pale and trembling, scrambled back into his tent to don his armor, screaming to his men, "We march, we march at once!"