Chapter 107

After days and nights of nonstop travel, they galloped without pause until they entered the territory of the Western Xia capital. When the magnificent palaces of Western Xia came into view, Temujin could not hide his astonishment—he could not imagine that this small nation of merely three million people had built such grand and opulent palaces. The gilded rooftops shimmered under the sun, the intricately carved eaves seemed ready to take flight like phoenixes, and every brick and stone appeared to speak of Western Xia’s glory and splendor.

A sense of curiosity and longing stirred in Temujin’s heart, and he began to imagine what the palaces of the Jin and the Song must look like—perhaps even more magnificent, their gold and splendor surpassing even Western Xia’s wildest dreams.

Witnessing Temujin’s utter shock, the Western Xia monarch could not suppress a flicker of contempt deep within, silently sneering.

“This barbarian from the north has clearly never seen anything in his life.”

Yet remembering what his frontier general had told him, he could not help asking: “My general says the Mongolian steppe has been unified by a force called the Chinese Democratic Republic. Are you asking me to send troops to help you rebuild your tribes?”

“No,” Temujin replied calmly, “I have come specifically to help the Great White High State perish, just like us.”

“Audacious!” a minister barked. “The Great White High State has stood for over a hundred years, its strength immense, its population thriving, its armies mighty. The former Liao, the present Song and Jin—all once sought to destroy us, yet all failed, retreating in disgrace. But you barbarians? You number barely a hundred thousand. How dare you stand against us?”

Hearing the minister’s rebuke, Temujin did not grow angry or discouraged. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed aloud, as if the most absurd joke in the world echoed in his ears.

“Hahahaha! Who would have thought my sincere offer of aid would be met with such treatment? Sir, do you know how many people and soldiers the Chinese Democratic Republic had just one year ago?”

“Its population was under two hundred thousand, its army only twelve thousand—nine thousand of whom had surrendered less than two months prior. Yet even with all our tribes united, we were crushed, our armor scattered, our weapons abandoned.”

“Now they have swallowed the entire steppe. In that time, they will have one million herders and one hundred thousand soldiers. I ask you—how confident are you that you can stop them?”

As soon as Temujin finished speaking, the grand hall erupted—like a stone cast into a still lake, ripples spread rapidly. The power of this force was utterly staggering: twelve thousand soldiers, nine thousand of them newly surrendered.

To defeat the united tribes of the steppe with such a force—and then expand to over a hundred thousand—was a nightmare beyond imagining. Everyone shuddered, too terrified to pursue the thought further.

The atmosphere in the hall turned heavy. Every soul felt the invisible pressure pressing down.

“Ah, Chief Temujin, what a clever scheme—to use our troops to help you restore your kingdom! I admit your enemy is formidable, but we of the Great White High State are not like you. Our passes are steep and impregnable; your cavalry gains no advantage here.”

“We need only hold our passes. Why venture onto the steppe to invite trouble?” the Western Xia monarch chuckled softly.

“That force, after embarrassing itself, simply left.”

“Left after embarrassing itself? Hah. Your Majesty, you do not understand this force. Its very purpose is to overthrow the mountains crushing the people and establish a government truly ruled by the people. Its mission is to exterminate every exploiter and oppressor.”

Temujin scanned the ministers, then fixed his gaze on the Western Xia monarch.

“In their words, you—slave-owning nobles, scholar-official landlords, and Your Majesty yourself—are bloodsucking parasites clinging to the people’s backs, trampling them, exploiting them, oppressing them. Do you know why they have gathered such fierce cohesion in so short a time? Because they share a common hatred.”

“You cannot imagine the tsunami of rage that erupts when generations of humiliation ignite. They will hoist slave-owners like us onto platforms to be denounced and cursed. They will wash away centuries of shame and hatred with the blood of their masters.”

“And you think such a people, after a single setback, will simply retreat in embarrassment?”

Temujin’s words were like a sharp dagger, laced with biting mockery—yet the hall fell eerily silent. No one dared to refute him. Not because they ignored his taunts, but because the profound sense of crisis in his words had shaken them to their core.

His speech struck like an invisible hammer, slamming into their hearts, forcing them to feel the terror and despair of being dragged violently from their lofty thrones.

“Your Majesty, since its founding, the Great White High State has mobilized its entire population. We alone have one hundred thousand elite troops—the Capture-the-Living Army—and over five hundred thousand stationed across our territories. Moreover, we have Temujin himself, a hero who has ridden the steppe since childhood. He knows every inch of the land, every habit of its people. With his guidance, we will be like tigers with wings—unstoppable, sweeping all enemies before us.”

Hearing this, Temujin was speechless. Wang Han’s Kereyid clan had fought them to a standstill—how could anyone imagine sweeping away Wang Han’s revolutionary army?

Sweeping the revolutionary army? You really dare say that.

For Western Xia to merely contain the revolutionary army’s momentum in unifying the steppe is already stroke of luck. To sweep them? Temujin only hoped to strike while the revolutionary army was still unsteady, to delay their consolidation.

To truly cripple or destroy this force, the Jin Empire—with its million-man army—must be drawn into the conflict.

And it must be done quickly. If we wait too long, Western Xia will be swallowed whole. Then the revolutionary army’s population will triple or quadruple; its army will at least double.

By then, even if the Jin poured in a million soldiers, it would be too late.