Chapter 106: Western Xia

"Where is Temujin of the Kiyat tribe?" After wiping out the Naiman tribe and capturing the Taiyang Khan alive, Guo Jing could not wait to ask about Temujin's whereabouts.

"We didn't see Temujin. Temujin never came here at all. We only saw Sangkun passing through our area with his defeated troops, but they didn't stay here long before leaving." The Taiyang Khan's voice trembled; clearly he had been thoroughly frightened this time.

Guo Jing frowned slightly. Since Temujin had not fled west, he must have fled south or east. As for Sangkun, Guo Jing paid him no mind—the man was destined to make no waves of any consequence.

"Take him away. The Naiman nobles must be kept under strict guard. In a while we will gather evidence of their crimes and make them pay the price for their crimes." Guo Jing spoke with iron resolve, his tone revealing an unquestionable firmness and decisiveness.

The separatist forces on the steppe had just been destroyed, and this was a turbulent time; there was no room for the slightest carelessness on their part.

At the same time, in the Western Xia, which occupied more than twenty thousand li across Ningxia, Gansu, the northeastern part of Qinghai, western Inner Mongolia, and northern Shaanxi, a group of visitors from the Mongolian Plateau had arrived. They had traveled a long road, their faces covered in dust, looking utterly exhausted, their spirits utterly deflated. They bore wounds, light or heavy, on their bodies, looking wretched, like a pack of beaten dogs fleeing in defeat.

Although they now looked as wretched as beaten dogs, the sturdy warhorses beneath them and the sharp bows gripped in their hands still inspired awe in the Western Xia soldiers on guard, who dared not show the slightest negligence. These soldiers knew well that even fallen warriors were by no means easy opponents. So they immediately took action, loosing arrows in front of the fallen men as a sharp warning.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot. I am the Mongol Khan Temujin, come especially to seek refuge with your Great King. We have important matters to discuss." The leader immediately raised both hands, dismounted, and walked toward the Western Xia position.

"Father Khan."

"Great Khan."

Seeing Temujin act this way, Jochi, Ögedei, and a host of generals called out to Temujin one after another.

"Shut up. We people are like a pack of wolves relentlessly pursued by hunters. Without the courage to face life and death head-on, without the resolve to stake everything in a desperate fight, I'm afraid we can only let the hunters close in step by step and end up beaten to death in the most wretched way."

"We must be like wolves, straining with all our might to break free, seeking the hope of survival, only then can we live through the hunters' pursuit."

Having spoken, Temujin strode in great steps toward the Western Xia army's camp. Seeing that only Temujin alone was approaching, the Western Xia soldiers stopped shooting to block him.

Arriving among the Western Xia troops, Temujin sighed and said: "Now I have important matters to discuss with your general. We people have very important things to tell the King of Western Xia."

Seeing Temujin's utterly serious expression, the officer in charge of the search dared not slacken in the slightest, and immediately set off at a brisk pace. Before long, a Western Xia general, cloaked in heavy armor and astride a tall, powerful horse, came over in magnificent style. His gaze was sharp as an eagle's, radiating intense authority. When he caught sight of Temujin's wretched appearance, the corner of his mouth curled into a contemptuous, cold smirk, and he could not help but mock:

"Oh, isn't this the Mongol savage from the north? How come in just a short while you've ended up so wretched? Going to see our Great King looking like this—won't you be an eyesore to him? What, cat got your tongue?"

For some unknown reason, when this Western Xia general faced that savage's gaze, an indescribable panic welled up inside him. His eyes could not help but want to look away.

He tried hard to steady himself, attempting to meet that savage's stare with a resolute look. But every time his gaze met that deep one, he could not help but feel a chill run through him, as if all his pretense and defenses had been seen through.

Finally the savage spoke: "General, I admit that the Great White High Kingdom is a powerful nation. It has far more people and soldiers than we do. Our soldiers can't even muster enough sabers, while you can clad your soldiers in iron armor. But if you are so powerful, why are you helpless against the raids of savages like us?"

"Your expression looks a lot like my foster father Wang Han, and like Jamukha of the Wang Gubu. Do you know what happened to them? They're gone. My Kiyat tribe, my foster father's Kerait tribe, my sworn brother Jamukha's Wang Gubu—all gone. Now only the Naiman tribe remains on the steppe, but how long can the Naiman tribe hold out?"

After hearing Temujin's words, the Western Xia general who had earlier been so arrogant and full of himself now felt as if struck head-on by a great wave, the shock within him beyond measure. His face instantly went pale, his eyes bulged wide, as if he could not believe his own ears.

"Impossible. Even if our Great White High Kingdom marshaled the entire nation's strength, we could not wipe out the Kerait tribe. No force on the steppe could wipe them all out within a year—not even if the Great Jin dispatched a million troops to campaign against them."

The general roared at the top of his lungs.

"Why would I lie to you? I am even more unwilling than you for it to be true. You only need to send people to the steppe to inquire, and you'll know there is only one force on the steppe called the Huaxia Democratic Republic."

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Temujin's mouth, his voice tinged with helplessness and heaviness. As his words fell, a shadow of loneliness immediately settled over his face.

"Your troops stay here. I'll take you to see our King." That Western Xia general immediately ordered a fast horse to be brought for Temujin.

The general led his personal guards and Temujin, racing day and night without pause, galloping toward the Western Xia capital. Along the way, they dared not slacken or delay in the slightest, as if the hourglass of time were flowing faster in their hands, every moment filled with urgency and tension.

How helpless—Western Xia's geographical position was truly awkward to the extreme. Since its founding, it had been trapped in a situation surrounded by enemies on all sides, as if ringed by wolves. To the south lay the Great Song Dynasty, densely populated and culturally flourishing. To the north lay the Great Liao Empire, with strong soldiers and horses, its momentum like a rainbow, its iron cavalry sweeping across the land like a flood, unstoppable.

Western Xia was like a grain of sand wedged between these two giants, forced to contend with the Great Song's greedy gaze to the south and guard against the Great Liao's ambitions to the north. Surviving in this narrow space was truly fraught with hardship, every step difficult.

After much difficulty, both the Great Song and the Great Liao had weakened, only for an even fiercer power to emerge—the Great Jin. At its first move it wiped out the once-invincible Great Liao, then turned its armies south and destroyed the Northern Song, capturing both of the Northern Song's Emperors and dragging them off to Wuguo City. Living next to such a fierce neighbor, Western Xia did not even dare to draw a deep breath.

Now things are even worse—not only the south and the east have strong enemies, now the north has one too. Can Heaven not leave the Great White High Kingdom any way to live? How is it that every enemy that pops up is fiercer than the last?