The generals looked at each other, and finally Muqali nodded slightly to Genghis Khan.
Genghis Khan said calmly, "I have 300,000, but you haven't said what you want to do with it yet."
I whispered, "Baozi is surrounded by 800,000 men of Jin Wuzhu. I need to find someone to rescue her."
Genghis Khan paused and said, "You mean the fourth prince of the Jin Dynasty?"
I nodded and said, "That's the kid. Brother, this battle will be very useful to you. Since we'll have to fight the Jin Kingdom sooner or later anyway, it's good to let your men gain some practical experience in advance."
Genghis Khan scratched his head and said, "Isn't Wanyan Wuzhu dead now?"
I said, "I have a way to get our people to meet him decades ago."
Genghis Khan nodded, not asking further questions, and slowly said, "But Xiaoqiang, you must know that the Mongols are still in the period of development and expansion. With our strength, it is not yet time for us to fight a decisive battle with the Jin Dynasty."
"No need for a decisive battle, just scare him. I've already gathered over 2 million men from elsewhere."
Genghis Khan pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, it would be good to spar with the Jin army in advance. However, our battles are not so casual. It is not yet the time when the water and grass and horses are at their fattest, and the supply lines for sending troops out will be in trouble."
Seeing that he had excuses on both sides, I said anxiously, "Brother, are you going to help me or not?"
Genghis Khan smiled and said, "How about this? Do you still remember our agreement? You can ride a horse across the grassland for a whole day, and I will reward you with all the land and people you pass by. You exchanged this for a bowl of wine—now you regret only drinking one bowl, don't you? Hehe."
I scratched my head and said, "How can you take that seriously?" I have experienced the vastness of the grassland firsthand. At this time, Genghis Khan's territory also included present-day Outer Mongolia. You might not see anyone even after riding a horse for a whole day. What if you get lost?
Genghis Khan said solemnly, "We Mongols value our promises the most. Since I said it, I will definitely do it. If you want to borrow troops, it all depends on your luck and ability. — Someone, go and bring Xiaoqiang the fastest horse."
Seeing that things had come to this, I could only sigh and stand up. Mu Huali had seen me ride horses before and knew that my horsemanship was terrible, so he suppressed a laugh and said, "Xiao Qiang, I think you should give up. Getting lost on the grassland is no joke." The implication was that even if I could find a place with people, I wasn't sure how many good things would come out.
Everyone was smiling at me, and I stormed out of the tent in a huff. Genghis Khan's guards had already placed a tall, fine horse at the door, and, suppressing a laugh, kindly reminded me, "Keep running north, and if you're lucky, you might find a small, inhabited tribe there."
There aren't even any stars in the sky, how am I supposed to know which way is north?
I mounted the horse, but dared not let it run freely, so I let it wander slowly, feeling utterly lost. The horse, disobeying my commands, bounced around Genghis Khan's tent once, and when it returned to the tent entrance, it looked back at me innocently, as if asking me where I was going.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me. I burst into laughter, jumped off my horse with a smug look of triumph, and strode into the Khan's tent. The generals were just about to resume their meeting when they saw me return, and they were all puzzled. Genghis Khan looked up in surprise and asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"
I laughed and said, "I've already finished my journey."
Mu Huali asked curiously, "Are you done walking?"
I said, “The Khan said that all the places and people I passed by on horseback in a day belong to me. I’m sorry, but I just rode around you all once—now you all belong to me.”
The generals looked at each other, and I turned around and walked out, saying, "Alright, it's just you few. Come with me."
Seeing that no one moved, I emphasized, "Great Khan, you Mongols are known for keeping your promises. Do you stand by what you've said?"
Genghis Khan was speechless for a moment, then burst out laughing, "You cunning little cockroach, you're more terrifying than the wolves on the grasslands." Everyone laughed.
I knew Genghis Khan wouldn't be willing to let me take his right-hand men to some unknown place, so I smiled and said, "Then about borrowing troops..."
Genghis Khan beckoned, and his generals all stood up with a thud. Genghis Khan said solemnly, "The enemy we are facing this time is the one we will soon conquer. Go and gather your bravest warriors. The Mongol scimitars will soon fall upon these unfortunate enemies."
The generals responded in unison and went out to prepare. Genghis Khan looked at me and laughed, "Then I'll give you 300,000 men, but you can't take all four fierce generals and four outstanding generals with you. I'll put Muqali in command. Also, we're not well-off right now. 300,000 men can only carry three days' worth of rations. If you want them to stay and help you fight, you'll have to figure out the rest of the supplies yourself."
I thought about it and realized that it would probably take less than a day to get from here to the Northern Song Dynasty. In other words, the Mongol cavalry could help me besiege Jin Wuzhu for three days. Then we would have to wait for the armies of Qin Shi Huang and Xiang Yu to arrive and launch a unified operation. I said, "Then you will set off in six days."
Genghis Khan nodded: "I've heard that Jin Wuzhu is the greatest general of the Jin Dynasty. I've always wanted to fight him. Now I'll see what he's really made of."
I said, "Brother, there's one more thing. I don't know where my car is."
Genghis Khan walked to the front of the tent and looked outside, saying, "They should be back soon."
I asked, puzzled, "Even if you find it, it's so heavy, how are you going to get it back?"
Genghis Khan laughed and said, "The one thing we have in abundance on our grasslands is horses."
As we were talking, I suddenly saw dozens of horses in the distance, each pulling a long, thick hemp rope. The other end of the rope was tied to my broken gold cup, and they were gliding across the grass as easily as sled dogs pulling a sled.
I said worriedly, "I don't know if it can be fixed. If it can't be fixed, I'll have to stay here with my older brother and herd horses and sheep."
I got into the car and opened the hood. The rubber insulation on the wires was completely ruined, but the metal wires were still intact. Now I just didn't know if the circuit board was faulty. Many herders gathered around to look at this strange thing. Just as I was feeling helpless, Genghis Khan peeked out and said, "It might be that the distributor has shorted to ground. Let me find some sheepskin to wrap it up for you and see if that works."
I:"……"
Genghis Khan laughed and said, "When I was with you, I was bored, so I learned car repair from Wang Yin for a few days."
I did as instructed, found a few pieces of sheepskin, thinned them, and managed to fix it. I lit a fire, and it caught fire!
Genghis Khan hurriedly ordered someone to load a bucket of mare's milk wine onto my cart and stuffed a few pieces of dried meat into my bag for the journey. I rolled down the window and shouted, "Brother, don't forget to send troops in six days!" I waved to the hospitable Mongolian people and headed straight for Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty.
Enough of the chit-chat. This time, I used the same method as seeing Zhao Kuangyin to find the sleeping Zhu Yuanzhang and slip him the medicine. This time, however, I was led by a young eunuch who ran just as fast as a palace maid. The palace truly is a place where hidden talents abound! I especially noticed his obvious hurdling motion when he climbed the stairs… Zhu Yuanzhang's initial reaction upon waking was similar to Zhao Kuangyin's; once fully awake, he displayed unparalleled enthusiasm. I knew that since becoming emperor, Old Zhu had few friends; his brothers who fought for the empire were all gone. The only people he could have a proper chat with were those with my special status. He first personally roasted a duck for me, then, wiping his greasy hands, winked and said, “Try it, authentic Peking duck. I invented it, didn’t you know?”
I also gave him the cured meat and mare's milk wine that I brought from Genghis Khan: "Here, have this, it's a local specialty."
We set a table full of food ourselves and chatted as we ate. I clinked glasses with him and said, "Brother Zhu, I need your help."
Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled mischievously and said, "Understood—you'll stay here with me while Baozi is pregnant. I'll make arrangements for you tonight."
"...That's not it—of course, we can talk about that later—I mainly came here to borrow some troops from you."
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became alert and asked, "What do you need troops for? How many do you want to borrow?"
I put down my wine glass and said, "Baozi is in trouble and I'd like to borrow 500,000 yuan from you to tide me over."
After hearing the whole story, Zhu Yuanzhang clicked his tongue and slapped his thigh, saying, "Why didn't you come sooner? There was one last month!"
That sounds so familiar... Oh, I remember now. Back when I was still working at the pawnshop, an old thug I knew from a gang fight asked to borrow 2000 yuan. I said something like this, feigning regret, "Why didn't you say so sooner? I had it last month..."