Chapter 61: Ceasefire

His eldest son Jochi, second son Chagatai, third son Ögedei, and youngest son Tolui were all in their hands; if anything happened to them, it would cut off the very roots of Temujin.

Facing Temujin’s threat, Guo Jing sneered and said, “Fine, if you want to fight, we’ll fight. You may not be able to swallow us—no one knows who will win yet.”

“Uliangda, Toghtobuha, when the battle begins, kill these seven men and use their blood to consecrate the flag.”

Nie Huaishang pointed to the seven men brought forward and instructed his two division commanders behind him.

“No, I think we don’t need to fight—why must we kill each other?”

Temujin quickly urged them both with soothing words; if war broke out, his losses would be too heavy—he was already nearly forty.

How long would it take to father more sons? How long would it take to raise them to adulthood and secure his legacy?

Nie Huaishang and Guo Jing were constantly discussing in their group chat.

Nie Huaishang: “Should we kill these men now? If they die, Temujin will suffer a devastating blow.”

To be honest, Nie Huaishang was quite tempted to kill them; if these men died, future Mongol Empire figures like Batu, Möngke, and Kublai would never be born.

After all, calculating the timeline, the eldest among them, Batu, wouldn’t be born for another eight years.

Guo Jing: “No. As long as Temujin lives, he will inevitably lead the Mongols to rise again. What matters most to us now is to build our strength and wait for the next chance to kill him.”

Nie Huaishang: “The next chance you mean is when Wang Han ambushed Temujin, right?”

Guo Jing: “Exactly. That time, Temujin was careless and had only a few thousand men with him. If we arrived then with a large army, we could kill him for sure.”

Nie Huaishang: “Alright, we’ll keep these men here as hostages. With them in our hands, Temujin won’t dare rashly attack us—he has all his sons here; if he fights us, he risks dying without heirs.”

After speaking thus, Guo Jing and Nie Huaishang exchanged glances and turned to Temujin.

“Your proposal—we’ve just considered it and think it makes sense. We agree to cease hostilities between our two sides.”

Hearing this, Temujin exhaled in relief; as long as they could negotiate, it was fine—he could not possibly accept any harm coming to these seven men.

Thinking this, Temujin said to them both, “Since we’ve agreed to cease hostilities, shouldn’t you return our men? We’ve already stopped fighting.”

Guo Jing and Nie Huaishang could only smirk at Temujin’s words—did he really think they’d release their hostages just like that?

Are you taking us for fools? Release these men, and once you’ve grown stronger and crushed the Tatar remnants, you’ll turn on us?

Guo Jing sneered in refusal: “Temujin, you’re a mighty warlord—don’t speak such childish words. These men are our prisoners; we won’t release them.”

“Then name your price—how many cattle and sheep do you want to return them?”

For Temujin, no matter the cost, he was willing to pay to redeem them.

“These six men are impossible to return—they’ll remain our hostages. But I can return the Golden Wheel Dharma Master to you—for two thousand warhorses.”

Nie Huaishang clearly wouldn’t let Temujin get his way; these men were top-tier talents—he couldn’t let them go and strengthen Temujin.

As for why he was willing to release the Golden Wheel Dharma Master, it was because, in Nie Huaishang’s view, the man was merely a warrior—his only notable trait was his martial skill.

He would later cripple the Golden Wheel Dharma Master’s martial abilities, shatter all his meridians, and sever his path to cultivation forever.

A crippled man in exchange for a large number of warhorses—why not?

But Temujin clearly refused, rejecting outright:

“No. Either return all of them to us, or we resume fighting.”

“Fine, then let’s fight.”

Guo Jing said without fear; these men would never be returned. Even if they lost all ten thousand cavalrymen in this operation, it would still be worth it.

Though they hadn’t killed Temujin, they’d already destroyed nearly twenty thousand of his troops; and exchanging ten thousand cavalry for Temujin’s extinction? They came out ahead either way.

Temujin glared fiercely at Nie Huaishang and Guo Jing, but neither cared—let them fight, they had nothing to lose either way. What was there to fear?

After a long stalemate, Temujin finally chose to yield.

The cost of war was too great—he couldn’t afford it. Temujin sighed and said:

“Alright, since you insist on keeping them as guests, I won’t refuse. But if anything happens to them, I will lead my army personally and slaughter every last one of you.”

With that, Temujin ordered his men to bring forward two thousand warhorses to exchange for the Golden Wheel Dharma Master.

Guo Jing secretly used the Five Thunder Correct Method to channel electricity and destroy every meridian within the Golden Wheel Dharma Master’s body, completely severing his path to martial cultivation.

After receiving Temujin’s two thousand warhorses, Nie Huaishang and his men waved their forces away.

The entire army erupted in thunderous cheers as they departed—unlike past campaigns against minor tribes.

This time, they had defeated none other than the famed Temujin—far beyond any minor tribe with only a few Battalion Commander.

Temujin, by contrast, had just recently crushed Jamukha’s coalition with his adoptive father Wang Han, then annihilated the Taidi tribe to avenge his old chains.

He was at the height of his glory—until an unknown minor tribe ambushed him, killing his great generals Borjigit, Hobol, and Subutai.

His great generals Chiltemun and Jelme, along with all his sons, were captured; he himself had been driven to the brink of death, yet he could only watch helplessly as they left.

Watching the retreating figures, Temujin sighed to Muqali beside him:

“Such an orderly army is rare on the steppe—these two men not only possess martial prowess beyond ordinary men, but also extraordinary talent in military command.”

Muqali agreed: “Indeed. Compared to them, whether the Kerait, the Naiman, or Jamukha’s coalition—all are mere rabble.”

“To ignore them was our greatest mistake.”