Chapter 46 Timur, the Master of Holy War

"Our primary concern is whether the Pacification Commission of the Eastern Expedition is making any moves," Lama Wang said, weighing his words. "If they establish contact with Northern Mongolia via the River Tatar Route, it will affect the entire geopolitical environment."

"Establishing contact is certainly possible," Zhao Liang said after giving it serious thought upon hearing this. "Waterways in the Liaoyang Province are well-developed, and the Ming Dynasty can only control the southern region most of the time. The Jurchen tribes in the north are not entirely submissive to them, frequently wavering between the Yuan and the Ming, and some Northern Yuan tribes often roam here as well. It is hard to completely cut that off."

"However, the problem is that I don't think this connection holds much significance," he offered his view. "The Northern Yuan regime itself is currently unstable, and its legitimacy remains unclear. When I traveled here, I shared a journey with several fur-peddling Mongol merchants and talked at length. Even they feel that the two sides might not cooperate effectively."

"What is the reason for that?" the Empress asked.

"The Northern Yuan court is quite unstable," Zhao Liang said. "Back then, when the court was defeated by the Ming at Buir Lake, the tribal leaders not only failed to come to the rescue, but rushed to kick them while they were down. The Emperor of Tianyuan, Togus Temur, escaped the battlefield only to be killed by Yesuder, a descendant of Ariq Boke—well, how should I put it, anyway, people would rather help the Ming than let these descendants of Kublai survive."

"The khans of the Tolui lineage fought amongst themselves, only to benefit outsiders. In the end, Ogedei's descendant, Gulichi, seized power. Gulichi's relationship with the Ming has always been ambiguous; he dropped the title of the Yuan Dynasty and submitted to the Ming. But a few years ago, the Emperor of Tianyuan's grandson, Bunyashiri, fought his way back, and I hear he has broken ties with the Ming. Who knows what will happen next?"

"I have actually heard of this Bunyashiri," Cao Jian, who had remained silent until now, chimed in. "When my father served as an envoy to Samarkand, he even met this man."

Guo Kang turned to look at him.

Unlike Shi Ke and Li Xuanying, although Cao Jian belonged to the same generation, his relationship with them was not particularly close. This was because he was not actually a biological son of the Cao clan, but a Bulgarian.

His biological father was a close comrade and subordinate of his adoptive father, Cao Zhonglin. When Cao Jian was very small, his father died in battle during the "Anda War" while protecting Cao Zhonglin. Even earlier, his mother had died in childbirth. Having no legitimate sons, Cao Zhonglin adopted this orphaned boy and raised him as his heir.

Due to frequent warfare, the style of the Purple Tent noble families somewhat resembled that of the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, and was also close to that of the Romans. Using an adopted son as an heir was, in fact, a commonplace practice for everyone.

However, Cao Zhonglin led a romantic life; although his primary wife bore no children, he had several confirmed illegitimate sons. These individuals consistently argued that they should be considered "children of concubines" rather than "bastards," and that they deserved at least a portion of the inheritance. Besides, illegitimate sons were closer kin than outsiders, no matter how one looked at it.

Cao Jian was well aware of these matters and thus remained extremely sensitive. Guo Kang believed that he simply suffered from an inferiority complex and placed too much psychological pressure on himself, which was why he avoided contact with other "normal" heirs. Yet Guo Kang could do little about it, as Cao Jian's greatest psychological burden stemmed from himself.

Although they were both adopted by the old man, Guo Kang possessed an distinctly Eastern visage, making him look at first glance like a proper "Khitan Baghatur." Cao Jian, however, was a genuine Bulgarian; even though most of the clan had intermarried and taken on local appearances over time, he cared deeply about this difference.

While the others were either unquestionably Eastern by blood or at least looked the part, he was neither. Guo Kang had no idea how to advise him.

The bright side was that, perhaps to prove himself, Cao Jian had always worked exceptionally hard, developing a meticulous character. He spoke little, but what he said was practically devoid of omissions, leading everyone to consider him highly dependable.

Since this was based on Cao Zhonglin's experience and Cao Jian remembered it, there should be no problem.

"What was he doing running off to Samarkand?" Shi Ke asked with a smile. "Did he also want Uncle Timur to restore his khanate?"

"Perhaps he genuinely thought so, but Timur likely didn't take him seriously. It was only after Timur's death that he received some support and returned to Northern Mongolia," Cao Jian said, pausing to think. "We truly did not anticipate that outcome. Father never expected him to successfully retake the Khanate."

"That wasn't his own achievement," Zhao Liang explained. "Gulichi had a falling out with Grand Tutor Alutai, and the Grand Tutor ended up killing the Great Khan. A country cannot be without a Great Khan, so he simply picked up the scraps."

"Still, perhaps because he is still too young, everyone feels this man has a bad temper and is too impatient to amount to anything—oh, it seems he has already gotten himself into trouble," he added. "Around the time I left, Mongol merchants were spreading rumors that the roads would likely become impassable soon because a war was bound to break out."

"What did he do?" Shi Ke asked.

"The merchants said Bunyashiri killed the Ming envoy Guo Ji. The Ming are furious, and the Qaghan is about to send the Fourth Prince to hack him to pieces," Zhao Liang said. "Everyone figures the Ming army will strike soon, so they rushed to pack their goods and leave to avoid getting dragged into it."

"What? Guo Ji is dead?" Borjan looked even more shocked than the Han military marquises.

Zhao Liang was startled by him and quickly looked at Lama Wang. Lama Wang had no choice but to wave his horsetail whisk, signaling him not to panic.

"These Ming figures are probably more famous here than they are in the Ming Dynasty," Guo Kang explained. "It's normal for everyone to be surprised, so don't worry."

"The Ming envoys Fu An and Guo Ji were detained by Uncle Timur when they went on an embassy to Samarkand. At that time, a group of Europeans in Samarkand, wishing to display their prestige across the world, entertained them and even let them meet the Ming envoys."

"As a result, these two Ming envoys publicly denounced Timur on the spot, stating that he had already defaulted on five years of tribute. Timur was extremely furious and hurriedly dispersed the crowd. The Europeans were greatly astonished."

"Among these people, there was a German adventurer named Schiltberger. After we ransomed him back, he wrote a book mentioning this incident, so everyone knows about it."

"Two years later, the King of Castile sent Clavijo to lead an embassy and visit Samarkand. Seeing that even the Europeans from the far west of the continent had arrived, Uncle Timur, wishing to display his worldwide prestige, arranged a banquet to entertain them and summoned all other envoys to attend."

"As a result, the Ming envoys seized the chief guest seats originally reserved for the Castilian embassy. When Timur demanded that they yield the seats, the Ming envoys publicly denounced him to his face, declaring that he had already defaulted on seven years of tribute. Timur was furious to the point of death and threatened to personally campaign against the Ming. The Europeans were greatly astonished."

"After Clavijo returned, he also wrote a book mentioning this matter, so everyone knows about it as well."

"Then these two envoys... seem quite famous?" Zhao Liang grew astonished as well.

"At any rate, everyone around here knows that Uncle Timur is always defaulting on his payments," Li Xuanying shrugged.

"Looking at it that way, Bunyashiri is a dead man," Tögüs Temür judged.

"Indeed. For Uncle Timur to get that angry and only detain people without ever resorting to physical violence—what weight does Bunyashiri carry that he dares to commit murder?" Shi Ke shook his head. "Mr. Zhao heard people talking about this as rumors when he traveled here. If it's true, counting the time, Bunyashiri must be a corpse by now."

"When all is said and done, this man lacks the calm mindset a ruler should possess. Even Timur, who is evaluated by everyone as brutal and inept at governance, is far more clear-headed than him," Yelu Xin appraised.

"Quite so. A young man shouldn't be too hot-headed."

The crowd chattered and debated for a moment, concluding that Bunyashiri was done for and no longer worth considering.

"Ah, what a pity," Borjan was still sighing. "I heard that after Timur passed away, his descendants released all the detained Ming people and smoothly restored the tribute system. Looking back, they probably left a good path for their children and grandchildren. Who would have thought things would go wrong over something like this?"

"Weren't they saying that Timur originally wanted to launch a holy war against the Ming?" Zhao Liang asked, not entirely understanding. "Many people along the road said so."

"Uncle Timur was a cautious man; he would appropriately choose the targets for a holy war," Cao Jian told him. "I think he was very clear-headed. The Ming Dynasty was clearly not a suitable target."

"It seems that was the only major power left that didn't believe in the Islamic faith, wasn't it?" Zhao Liang pondered aloud.

"If I remember correctly... after Uncle Timur defeated the Ottomans, he fought a single battle with the Knights Hospitaller," he recalled, explaining with a serious expression. "The old uncle waged holy wars his entire life, and that was the only time he clashed with infidels. Clearly, getting bogged down in such simple categories as religion shows an inadequate depth of understanding regarding holy wars."

"On the contrary, he maintained very good relations with us Romans, as well as France and the Iberian realms. You see, that is where his brilliance lies."