Usurping the Mongols: My Father-in-Law is Genghis Khan

Zhao Shuo, accompanied by two attendants, hurried to Temujin's central army camp. Upon entering the royal tent, he found only three people inside the large space.

Temujin, Huhan, and a young man of fifteen or sixteen, with a somewhat youthful face.

In later generations, fifteen or sixteen was still underage, but on the grasslands, they were already warriors who could fight on the battlefield.

Zhao Shuo recognized this person as Bo Ba'er, the eldest son of Tuo Luan.

Zhao Shuo bowed slightly and said, "Father Khan, did you call me for something?"

"Alas, it's not good news."

Temujin's expression was not good. He gestured for Zhao Shuo to sit down and instructed, "Bo Ba'er, tell him the story of today again!"

"Okay."

Bo Ba'er didn't seem to feel any embarrassment and said angrily, "My fourth uncle, Kuo Kuo Chu, is rebelling! He should be killed!"

His fourth uncle was naturally the shaman Kuo Kuo Chu.

"Nonsense! What's with all this talk of killing?" Temujin frowned and said, "Just simply tell the story of what happened again. Kuo Kuo Chu is your own uncle, the son of my father, Menglike. Even if it's not determined that he's rebelling, even if it is, it doesn't necessarily mean he has to be killed."

"But… but he is rebelling," Bo Ba'er said somewhat unconvinced.

Zhao Shuo asked, "What exactly happened?"

Bo Ba'er said, "Tonight, my father, several uncles, and grandfather were drinking together, and I was serving on the side. Suddenly, my fourth uncle said that he had received the will of the Eternal Sky last night: It is too hard for Temujin to manage the grasslands alone. Half of the power should be given to the shaman Kuo Kuo Chu."

"At that time, I said, 'Fourth Uncle, you're crazy! The Khan is so good to our family, even if you really received this will from the Eternal Sky, you should keep it to yourself!'"

"Grandfather also said, 'What Eternal Sky or not? Fourth, you have some ability, others may not know, but I, as your father, do? Don't daydream in the future, and don't say these nonsense words.'"

"Fourth Uncle didn't dare to say anything bad about my grandfather, so he scolded me, saying, 'You're just a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair, what do you know? This is not your place to speak!'"

"Father also helped Fourth Uncle scold me, saying, 'Quickly apologize to your Fourth Uncle! What's with all this talk of crazy or not, is this how you should talk to your own uncle?'"

"I said I was not wrong, the one who was wrong was Fourth Uncle, and I refused to apologize."

"As a result, I was whipped several times by my father and kicked out of the tent. Look… look!"

As he spoke, he took off his clothes, and sure enough, there were several red whip marks on his body.

It seemed that Bo Ba'er had been whipped quite severely.

"Good child, quickly put on your clothes, don't get cold!"

When Bo Ba'er was telling Temujin what happened, he didn't show the wounds on his body.

Temujin felt great pity in his heart and personally picked up the clothes, helped Bo Ba'er put them on, and said gently, "Bo Ba'er, did anyone know you came here?"

"Khan, don't treat me like a child either," Bo Ba'er said with some grievance, "I know the importance of such a big matter, so I sneaked out."

"Very good. Then sneak back secretly. Don't tell anyone about today's events," Temujin stared into Bo Ba'er's eyes and carefully instructed, "Remember, don't say anything even if you're beaten to death. Otherwise, no one can save your fourth uncle!"

Bo Ba'er looked surprised and said, "You… you won't kill him?"

"Alas, I didn't even kill Uncle Dari Tai, let alone Brother Kuo Kuo Chu?"

Dari Tai was Temujin's uncle. As soon as Temujin's father, Yesukai, died, he abandoned Temujin's family and went to associate with the Taichiwu people.

Later, when Temujin gained power, he came back, and Temujin accepted him without holding a grudge.

As a result, after the battle with the Tatars, because he was dissatisfied with Temujin's way of distributing the spoils of war, he defected to Temujin's mortal enemy, Jamukha.

This time, Temujin destroyed the Naiman people, and Dari Tai surrendered again.

Temujin was indeed as cold and ruthless as winter to his enemies.

However, he tried his best to be tolerant to his family and attendants, as long as it wasn't really unbearable.

Of course, Kuo Kuo Chu's great prestige as a shaman was also the reason why Temujin didn't want to take action.

"Good child, go!"

Temujin smiled and watched Bo Ba'er leave, then his expression immediately turned solemn.

"This matter is really difficult to handle," Temujin looked at Zhao Shuo and said, "Even if I pretend to be confused this time, what about next time? I know Kuo Kuo Chu too well, he is a person who doesn't know how to advance or retreat. I'm afraid he will become even more aggressive and eventually take action, and I will still have to kill him."

Huhan explained, "Khan means to strike down Kuo Kuo Chu's arrogance and let him know his own limitations. If he can repent and wholeheartedly assist the Khan in the future, that would be great. As for how to strike down Kuo Kuo Chu's arrogance… A'Shuo, do you have any good ideas?"

Temujin nodded and said, "It's not that I'm soft-hearted. It's just that my father, Menglike, is old and in poor health. I can't just watch him lose a son. Moreover, the grasslands have just been settled, and rashly taking action against the shaman may cause people's hearts to be scattered, which is not conducive to appeasing the various tribes."

"I see."

Zhao Shuo thought for a moment and came up with a good idea. He said, "Didn't the shaman say that the Eternal Sky sent down a decree that the remaining wounded soldiers should return to the embrace of the Eternal Sky? Coincidentally, I just invented three good things."

In the grasslands of this era, the shaman and the doctor were not separated.

The shaman and the physician were one and the same.

Temujin attached great importance to the wounded warriors. He ordered the shaman Kuo Kuo Chu to lead the shamans and physicians to carefully treat these warriors. As for the effect, well, hehe.

Zhao Shuo briefly introduced the ultra-high proof liquor, allicin, and aspirin.

Finally, he added, "The shaman can receive the decree of the Eternal Sky, can't Father Khan, as the most beloved son of the Eternal Sky, receive the decree of the Eternal Sky?"

"You can completely tell the warriors of the grasslands that Father Khan received the decree of the Eternal Sky, and the Eternal Sky said that it wanted to keep more soldiers in the world to fight for Father Khan on the battlefield. Therefore, the Eternal Sky bestowed the methods of making these medicines to heal the soldiers."

After listening, Genghis Khan's gray-blue pupils lit up, and he asked, "A'Shuo, how confident are you?"

"Very confident!"

Zhao Shuo smiled calmly and said two words lightly.

Of course, he was very confident.

The attack on the Western Xia city resulted in the loss of over five hundred men. Nearly two hundred died on the battlefield, and over three hundred were seriously wounded. Minor injuries were not included in the statistics.

Currently, over two hundred of the seriously wounded have died, thirty have escaped danger, and over eighty are still experiencing high fevers and other symptoms.

Based on his experience, Koko Chu announced that they would soon be summoned by the grace of the Eternal Heaven.

Zhao Shuo refused to believe that he couldn't save even one of the eighty-plus wounded soldiers. If he could save even a few, the method would be considered a success!

"If Ashuo says he's 100% confident, then he truly is! Good, that's wonderful!"

The gloomy look on Temujin's face vanished in an instant, replaced by a kind and relaxed expression.

This action could not only shake the prestige of the shaman Koko Chu but also save dozens of brave and fearless warriors for Mongolia, truly killing two birds with one stone.

However, Temujin quickly thought of another problem and said, "These three miraculous drugs are all thanks to you, Ashuo. If I were to say that I received the will of the Eternal Heaven, wouldn't that be the same as stealing your credit?"

Temujin frowned slightly. Of course, he knew how great Zhao Shuo's contribution was in inventing the miraculous drugs.

Every grassland warrior is an elite, with powerful combat strength, making them difficult to train. The drugs invented by Zhao Shuo can save a large number of warriors. If this contribution were attributed to someone else, bestowing the title of chiliarch wouldn't be a problem.

Zhao Shuo was about to say it was nothing, but Temujin had a flash of inspiration and said, "I've got it! How about we say that I received the will of the Eternal Heaven to keep more soldiers on earth. And you, Ashuo, also received the will of the Eternal Heaven to invent these drugs. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

For Temujin, the shaman's control over the interpretation of the Eternal Heaven's will was too uncontrollable.

He definitely wanted to weaken Koko Chu's prestige.

If he were to simply say that he received the will of the Eternal Heaven, the implication against the shaman would be too strong.

At that time, it might provoke Koko Chu to revolt directly.

But if Zhao Shuo were added, the intention would not be so obvious. Moreover, with more people receiving the will of the Eternal Heaven, the shaman would become less valuable.

Hulan agreed, "Indeed, it's a win-win situation! This way, the駙馬's prestige can also rise to a higher level!"

Temujin said, "Then let's do it this way. If this matter succeeds, Ashuo, I will reward you with fifty thousand taels of gold and thirty Western Xia beauties."

Before conquering the Naiman people, even if Temujin had cleaned out his treasury, he wouldn't have been able to produce fifty thousand taels of gold.

However, the western grasslands can trade with both Western Xia and Western Liao, which is much better than the eastern grasslands, which are subject to the Jin Dynasty's technological blockade.

After plundering the wealth of the Naiman people, Temujin's treasury became full.

Now Temujin can take out approximately one hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold.

This time, after breaking through the small city of Western Xia, according to the standards of the grassland people, there are only about a hundred women who can be considered beauties.

Temujin also took out a large third of them.

The importance attached to Zhao Shuo's contribution is evident.

However, Zhao Shuo did not directly thank him for his kindness but requested, "Forget about the fifty thousand taels of gold and thirty beauties. If this matter truly succeeds, it would be better if the Khan rewarded me with four hundred and twenty black steeds."

"Four hundred and twenty black steeds? Why?" Temujin was a little puzzled.

The grasslands lack everything except horses, cattle, and sheep. And a hundred taels of gold for a steed is quite generous, not only on the grasslands but also in the Central Plains.

Zhao Shuo smiled and explained, "Father Khan also knows that I have formed a Black Cavalry Army. Although they are now wearing black heavy armor, the warhorses under their crotches have not yet been unified in color, which is somewhat unworthy of the name."

"So, you only have eighty black steeds now and want to ask me for four hundred and twenty more?" Temujin asked with a smile.

Zhao Shuo nodded, "Yes."

"This is a good thing, of course, I must support it!" Temujin made his statement without hesitation.

He turned to look at Hulan and said, "If Ashuo really accomplishes this, forget about four hundred and twenty, let's make it an even five hundred. Hulan, you are responsible for this matter, and you must select the best five hundred black steeds from the millions of horses in the country."

Hulan bowed slightly and said, "Your subject obeys!"

Temujin added, "Since it's Ashuo's request, I won't give you the fifty thousand taels of gold. But I can't let you suffer too much, I will still bestow the thirty Western Xia beauties."

Zhao Shuo nodded, "Thank you, Father Khan."

Of course, all these rewards are based on the premise that Zhao Shuo's drugs are truly effective.

Hulan added, "In addition, this old minister suggests that we let those doctors we collected in Western Xia go with the駙馬 to the wounded soldier camp to learn how to treat the warriors."

Temujin naturally had no objection to this.

Currently, the shamans on the grasslands are all under the control of Koko Chu. The shaman's prestige is so high, which is also a very important reason.

If the shaman's dance brings someone back to life, it is the shaman's credit. If the shaman's dance leads to death, it is the Eternal Heaven taking them away.

Anyone who survives must thank the shaman for their contribution.

It would be strange if their prestige wasn't high.

If Zhao Shuo can train a group of doctors with more advanced medical skills, it would also be a very significant blow to Koko Chu's prestige and a great boost to Temujin's prestige.

However, in the end, this is Zhao Shuo's medical skill, and Temujin still has to respect Zhao Shuo's opinion.

He asked, "What do you think, Ashuo?"

"No problem," Zhao Shuo nodded. He invented these three drugs to enhance the overall strength of Mongolia.

Those infected warriors are all top-notch elites, and it would be a pity for them to die like this.

In the future, when destroying Jin, slaughtering Xia, and conquering the West, these warriors will all be fierce fangs.

"Alright, the doctors captured from Western Xia, along with their families, will all belong to you, Ashuo. You pick a few to go to the wounded soldier camp with you."

"Thank you, Father Khan," Zhao Shuo stood up and bowed slightly, saying, "Time is of the essence, I will go and make arrangements now."

Immediately, Zhao Shuo took Gerile and several attendants with him, first went to the prisoner camp, selected ten Western Xia doctors, then returned to the camp to collect the drugs, and walked towards the wounded soldier camp.