The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 199

[Episode 199, Reverse Engineering (2)]

-1207, Jbe’s Main Camp-

The great Holy Mongol Empire’s power had a clear limit. It was the uncertain future of the Holy Mongol Empire itself.

Since the Great Khan Temujin [Genghis Khan] was not immortal, conflict would inevitably arise after his death, much like Alexander’s empire.

The Great Khan’s successor did not fear Jamukha, so there was a high possibility of political discord and clashes. Whether he liked it or not, Temujin, who had converted to Christianity, had the capacity to embrace Jamukha, but it was uncertain whether the Great Khan’s children would possess the same abilities as him.

That must have been why Temujin, the Great Khan of Jebe, was hastening the great task of conquering the world.

‘If only those two had been of more amenable character, the Great Khan wouldn’t have needed to be so rushed.’

People thought only Chagatai had an odd personality, but those in power under Temujin, like Jebe, knew well that while Chagatai was like a reckless thug, Jochi had suffered for so long that he had developed a severe victim complex.

For these reasons, Jochi and Chagatai had already proven their incompetence in their own ways.

Ogodei was more capable than his brothers, but he had limitations as a successor. He was the third son, and as such, his support base was weak.

“Checkmate.”

So, Jebe knew that the recent events were not trivial. The discord, which exploited the weaknesses of the Mongol ‘princes,’ was clearly orchestrated by the West.

“General…”

“This is the work of the West.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Safe Zone… Who else could it be?”

Jebe knew who the true mastermind of the West was. Safe Zone was a famous figure even in Mongolia.

Naval supremacy.

It was John of England, who held the massive naval power of Genoa and Venice, who interfered with Mongolia through naval supremacy in the Mediterranean.

It was also John who began to obstruct Mongolia with the practical force of the Fourth Crusade [a Western European armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III in 1202, originally intended to reconquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt, the Crusade instead sacked the Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire].

Now, it was John who was weakening Mongolia by inducing fratricidal strife between the two brothers.

Of course, Jebe was skilled in intelligence rather than strategy. Therefore, as soon as he sensed John’s involvement, he took swift action.

“A report has come from a spy. However…”

“What happened?”

“All the liaison officers heading to Persia have been killed.”

“…Damn.”

‘They even prepared for that?’

The most dangerous commander dispatched to the Middle East was Godfrey, who could be called King John’s right-hand man.

Once known as the greatest bastard of all time, he was outwardly a middle-aged knight, but he was just as cunning.

“What about the liaison officer sent to the Great General?”

“Yes…”

“What is the probability that Great General Jamukha moved first?”

“It’s unlikely. The Great General is already clashing with the Eastern Roman Empire.”

Eastern Roman Empire.

The Mongol Empire once dismissed them as the empire of weakened Greeks, but they were strong enough, already holding ‘half’ of Anatolia.

Jebe sighed and asked again.

“Ogodei Khan must be having a hard time too, right?”

“Isn’t he the Great General’s adjutant right now? And he probably doesn’t want to save his brothers.”

In fact, Jebe knew this. He knew it all too well, which made it hard to accept the reality.

“I’ve been had. Then I’ll have to drink this bitter cup.”

A bitter cup.

It was a self-deprecating remark about a visible trap that he couldn’t ignore.

As a result, Jebe could not stop the conflict.

The Crusaders and Islamic resistance forces blocked his path in various ways.

Of course, Jebe, who knew the geopolitical value of Persia and the Silk Road, ran, but he was repeatedly blocked along the way and could not move.

“You can’t go!”

Because there was a wailing wall he had to overcome.

The Crusaders, fluent in Mongolian, were that wall.

“Are the people of the West now acknowledging our Mongolia as a major enemy?”

Jebe smirked.

If the Mongols learned Latin and Angevin [languages spoken in medieval England and France], the representative languages of the West, in preparation for war, the West had also learned the Mongol language in some way.

That was proof that the West had acknowledged Mongolia as a major enemy.

All the forces in the Middle East seemed to be watching Jebe’s movements. Afterward, they did not fall for any of Jebe’s army’s strategies and only hindered their progress.

“Today, we will kill the lackeys of Mongolia.”

“They will never break the strategy of the great Safe Zone.”

The English Crusaders, following Safe Zone’s orders, gritted their teeth and prevented Jebe or his subordinates from going to Persia.

“Subutai. I have no choice but to trust him.”

Jebe was fighting hard against the Crusaders to manage the situation in Persia, but even so, he sensed that internal strife was already beginning.

“Exterminate the Westerners!”

“Yes, General.”

But the hunter never intended to become prey. Wasn’t his name, bestowed by the Great Khan, Jebe (Arrow)?

He could not prevent things from happening, but he moved to manage the situation as much as possible.

His cavalry was rapidly traversing the desert.

* * *

-Jochi’s Governorate-

News arrived in the governorate ruled by Jochi.

Chagatai’s army had truly begun to advance here from the Silk Road.

Jochi’s justification was the complete annihilation of the Merkit clan, who had colluded with Catholic forces.

To put it bluntly, Jochi was saying that he would take care of eliminating the Merkit tribe.

Jochi really didn’t expect Chagatai to fall for the provocation.

“Governor, this is the work of the enemy. Isn’t it obvious that this is a plot to sow discord?”

Subutai, a prominent commander, was trying to prevent this conflict.

It was Chagatai who first drew his sword and aimed at his full-blooded brother from the same mother.

Even if their fathers were different as the slander claimed, they were born from the same womb. His brother had never seen his brother as human.

“General Subutai, didn’t I tell you before? Chagatai knows that this is a plot to sow discord.”

Jochi was getting annoyed. It was because of Chagatai’s lack of generosity. Either way, he was only going to receive territory and be pushed aside. The Great Khan was doubting Jochi’s lineage. In a way, if Chagatai managed the Silk Road well and maintained good relations with his brothers, he would have a high chance of becoming the successor after the Great War.

To put it bluntly, Chagatai couldn’t tolerate even a small territory for his ‘full-blooded brother.’ How could he be called a son of the ‘Great Khan’ with such a lack of generosity?

Just then.

“Governor! It’s dangerous!”

“Protect the Governor!”

-Thwack.

-Thud.

Jochi was almost hit by an arrow.

“Kill the bastard.”

“Move for the true Crown Prince!”

Chagatai’s spies, who had been hiding their identities as maids and servants in Jochi’s governorate for a long time, moved openly.

Of course, Jochi was lucky enough to survive, but he could no longer tolerate it.

“Subutai, a capable commander cherished by my father. He and I have now crossed a river we cannot cross back.”

“Haa… Then we must suppress them quickly. As soon as possible.”

Subutai really couldn’t understand Chagatai, who had fallen for the enemy’s scheme even though he knew it.

Wasn’t the reason for giving him the Silk Road the Great Khan’s way of half-acknowledging Chagatai?

But there were too many emotional people than rational people in this world, and thanks to that.

At the most important moment, Mongolia suffered the most unnecessary waste of power.

‘The movements of Middle Eastern commanders like Jebe have been restricted.’

At this moment, Subutai had no choice but to think the same as Jebe.

It was a checkmate.

* * *

-Eastern Europe-

The Kingdom of Poland had fallen, but the war continued.

What was different from before was that the power of the Fourth Crusade was being properly projected.

It was no longer a picture of the Mongols being unilaterally defeated as before.

“In the name of God.”

“Overthrow the false prophet Temujin.”

“Mongolia is the Antichrist.”

The Crusaders moved spiritedly towards the Mongol army.

It was still an awkward alliance, but they shared the goal of defeating the Mongol Empire.

“Defeat the Mongols!”

“Do not retreat.”

The European army was fighting the Mongol army with a desperate resistance, but Temujin realized that the movement was a ‘deception tactic.’

‘Are they abandoning this place?’

Mongolia was attacking Hungary and Bohemia.

But they were openly checking Temujin’s main force.

Temujin realized the reason shortly after.

The conflict between Chagatai and Jochi.

Even if they were terrible sons, he didn’t know they would do such foolish things.

“What is Ogodei doing?”

“Ogodei Khan is currently fighting with Great General Jamukha.”

The power of the Eastern Roman Empire was too strong. That meant that the battle on that front was so fierce that Jamukha could not intervene in the rear disputes.

“His brother is fighting for the empire right now… and those things are acting like brothers!”

It was really frustrating. How could those princes not see the big picture?

Temujin knew well.

If things continued like this, Mongolia would be forced to make two choices.

‘Stop the advance or completely collapse.’

Temujin, the founding emperor of the Holy Mongol Empire, was forced to choose.

“Drive out the Mongols!”

“Your Majesty… the Crusaders are surrounding us from all sides.”

“Even if they are just a pack of dogs, there are too many of them.”

Temujin realized Safe Zone’s blatant intentions.

Safe Zone had induced the strife of the wolf cubs. He was also a living witness who had fought with his brothers for the throne, so he could not have been unaware of the power of that conflict.

* * *

-England, Rouen-

“Send the best diplomatic envoy. I will give generous bonuses.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I always think about it, but a great war cannot be fought with just one country.

That is why diplomacy is important.

Napoleon and Hitler, when you think about it, had the power to amaze the world, but they did not engage in diplomacy. No, even if they did, they only knew how to deceive the other party, but they did not attempt diplomacy in the true sense.

England sought the cooperation of other countries diplomatically as much as possible, just as the British Empire had done. Of course, it was closer to a ‘deal’ than intimidation. From my little Eleanor sister’s country, Spain, to that hateful and uncomfortable France, and even the nobles of the Low Countries [Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg], whom I had always looked down on, I always sincerely sought ‘help.’

The formation of the Fourth Crusade was a means to gather the power of Europe to fight against Mongolia, but consolidating the newly formed Crusade could be more important.

Because we need even more support right now.

The Crusade cannot be done only by the leading countries. The reason why the 1st and 2nd Crusades failed was that the participating countries tried to play individual players, and the grand strategy of cooperation collapsed.

But now that there is a common threat called Mongolia, if England properly strokes their pride, they will at least not go wild.

“As His Majesty thought it would be.”

Peter said. That it went as I thought it would.

It is a new mercenary contract.

No matter how much England has occupied the continent, the population is woefully insufficient, and it is difficult to send new troops to the battlefield unless it is conscription.

“In the first place, they are nothing more than a huge mercenary group.”

They provided some of their manpower to England as mercenaries, and some decided to go directly to the front lines. Their minds, which had been trying to watch quietly, had changed.

Sweden and Denmark formed an alliance after the fall of Poland. Considering that the two countries are usually like enemies.

The fall of the kingdom of love and hate, Poland, was a huge shock to the two countries.

Now, Northern Europe has also sincerely entered the shadow of the Crusade.

‘Our England is the last force.’

In that sense, England’s future was not bleak.

No matter how bad the situation is, England will volunteer to be the rearguard and endure as much as possible, just like in World War II.

‘Brothers, Father… help me.’

Now that the burden of war is tormenting me, I thought of my dead brother and father.

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