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

Chapter 76: Zhao Shuo's Eldest Son, Borjigin*Zhao He

“Borchu! The Tumad tribe is located deep within the dense forest, with high mountains and dense trees. We steppe people are not familiar with the terrain. Hubuhudu's defeat should not be accidental. You must be careful this time when you go to conquer the Tumad people.”

After Temujin finished giving the order, Borchu walked not far from the golden tent when Zhao Shuo stopped him.

Hearing Zhao Shuo's words, Borchu nodded repeatedly, "I know, A'Shuo, I will be careful."

In fact, Borchu didn't pay too much attention to it. The people in the forest have always had little presence on the grassland. Previously, Jochi went there and easily subdued them. Borchu felt that after he arrived, he would be steady and there would definitely be no problems.

However, he didn't argue stubbornly, after all, Zhao Shuo was concerned about him. Moreover, Zhao Shuo generally wouldn't say things without a purpose. He couldn't refute without thinking like Jochi, otherwise it would be embarrassing to be slapped in the face.

Seeing Borchu's appearance, Zhao Shuo knew that he probably still hadn't taken it with one hundred percent caution.

However, Zhao Shuo didn't continue to say anything.

Good words are hard to persuade a ghost who deserves to die. If he reminded Borchu, and Borchu still died in the hands of the forest people, then he deserved it.

He had fulfilled his friendship as a colleague.

Zhao Shuo followed the Mongolian custom and asked his attendant behind him to fetch two cups of mare's milk wine, handing one to Borchu, and said, "May the power of the Eternal Sky pour down on you like the Milky Way, may your banner spread like wings, and may your horses' hooves never stop raising dust!"

Borchu drank the mare's milk wine in one gulp, "A'Shuo, wait for my good news."

When Jochi returned from conquering the forest people, Khulan was already pregnant. Later, when Zhao Shuo and Temujin went to conquer the Western Xia, Borte took Khulan to her ordo to give birth because she was worried about her daughter's safety.

Therefore, although Khulan had given birth to a son for Zhao Shuo, she was not living in the Hulunbuir Grassland now, but was living in the Mongolian court. Zhao Shuo had to return to the court with Temujin to take his wife and children home.

In fact, now in the court, Temujin had quite a few grandchildren. Originally, Temujin's grandchildren only included Jochi's eldest son, Orda. However, before Temujin went to conquer the Western Xia, Ogedai's eldest son, Guyuk, was born. During the conquest of the Western Xia, Ogedai's wives and concubines gave birth to two more sons for him: Kadan and Khouchi.

Chagatai's wives and concubines also had newborns, a son named Mutukan, and a daughter whose name had not yet been decided.

In addition to the son born to Khulan, Temujin had one grandson he had already seen, who was just three years old, and five grandchildren he had never seen, waiting for him in the court.

“Please, Genghis Khan, drink the mare wine!”

Belgutei knelt at the front of the welcoming team, holding a bowl full of mare's milk wine in his hands.

Temuge knelt half a body behind him.

Then, there was Temujin's wife Borte, as well as Temujin's daughters-in-law and several daughters, and Temujin's other wives and concubines.

Jochi's eldest son, Orda, was three years old, wriggling restlessly like a newborn foal beside his mother.

The other children were held by their mothers, and the swaddling clothes in these women's arms were wrapped in sheepskins of varying shades.

This is the traditional etiquette of the Mongols to welcome returning warriors, drinking mare's milk wine.

First, to thank the Eternal Sky for allowing the warriors to return safely. Second, to welcome the returning soldiers and wash away the dust of travel.

When Khulan welcomed Zhao Shuo back then, it should have been like this in theory. It's just that Zhao Shuo was impatient with these formalities and had already discussed with Khulan to免免 them.

Now Temujin is also in no mood to drink any welcome-home wine.

“Spare the formalities, all of you, get up.”

Temujin hurriedly took the bowl of mare's milk wine and drank it all in one gulp, even ignoring his wife Borte, and walked straight to the children.

“Oh, my Orda, you've grown so tall. Come, let Grandpa hold you!”

“This is Ogedai's child? What's his name? That's right, Mutukan, the little guy is really strong.”

“Guyuk, why are you crying when you see Grandpa? Can you smell the blood on me? Cry a few more times! Let the eastern end of the grassland hear it!” Turning his head, he instructed Guyuk's mother, Toregene: “If he cries too much, don't indulge him. Tie him to the back of a horse to sleep, and the wolf cub must grow up smelling the horse's sweat!”

“Kadan's eyes are rolling faster than a marmot's!”

“Khouchi is quiet, is he like his mother?”

“My lark, you don't have a name yet, do you? Grandpa will give you one, call you Alakhai! Alakhai Bekhi, you will definitely grow into a smart and beautiful girl!”

Temujin lifted this one, hugged that one, and laughed heartily.

Finally, his gaze fell on the child in Khulan's arms.

A layer of white lambskin was specially added outside the Han-style brocade swaddling clothes, and a gilded longevity lock was tied to the baby's left wrist, with the words "Hundred Years of Peace" engraved on the front. This was the only family heirloom of the Zhao family after they fell into the grassland. Passed down from generation to generation, it was finally passed on to this child.

Of course, Temujin's focus was not on this.

The little baby in the swaddling clothes was fair and chubby, giggling energetically, with slightly curly and very short fetal hair, and big eyes, especially a pair of pupils, which were deep blue with light brown irises, looking noble and clear.

“Blue eyes! The symbol of the Borjigin people! Haha, the child of A'Shuo and Khulan has the same eye color as me, blue!”

This discovery surprised and delighted Temujin.

Borjigin, translated into Chinese, means blue eyes.

Because Temujin's tenth ancestor, Bodonchar Munkhag, used "Borjigin" as the name of the tribe because he had a pair of blue eyes.

However, this blue-eyed inheritance seems to be very unstable.

None of Bodonchar's sons had blue eyes.

Later, it was not until Temujin's father, Yesugei, that he had a pair of blue eyes again.

Temujin also has blue eyes, but Temujin's other brothers do not.

Temujin's several sons and daughters also do not have blue eyes.

Unexpectedly, it was passed down to the grandson in the next generation.

Still, the grandson of his most beloved daughter and his most beloved son-in-law Zhao Shuo, how could this not surprise Temujin.

“Ayi～”

Just as Temujin took the swaddling clothes from Khulan's hands and looked at them from left to right, this less than four-month-old Mongolian-Han mixed-race baby stretched out his hand and grabbed Temujin's father's gray-white braid, shaking it from side to side.

Temujin shook his head gently a few times, but he couldn't break free.

“Good baby, don't make trouble!”

Khulan reached out and broke the child's hand open.

Temujin was not only not annoyed, but happily said: “Good child! Strong! Like a warrior grabbing a lasso! He will definitely grow up to be a bahadur like his father!”

He handed the child to Zhao Shuo and said, "Come, quickly give this good child a name!"

Zhao Shuo held his son, and a sense of blood connection welled up in his heart. He was careful not to use too much force. From this moment on, he felt that he had a deep mark in this world.

As for the name, he had actually thought of one a long time ago, which was both Chinese and easy to pronounce in Mongolian, so he said, "Let's call him Zhao He!"

He has the meaning of being prominent and grand.

Zhao Shuo's idea was very simple, he hoped that this child could inherit his mantle in the future and become a prestigious emperor.

“Good, Zhao He!” Temujin laughed loudly, the more he looked at Xiao Zhao He's blue eyes, the more he liked them. Guyuk, Kadan, Khouchi and Mutukan did not inherit his blue eyes, only the child of his most beloved eldest daughter Khulan, Xiao Zhao He, had blue eyes, how could he not love him.

Suddenly, his heart moved.

“A'Shuo, it is rare for this child to have blue eyes like me!”

“Your Han people originally had a distinction between surnames and clans, but now they only refer to the surname and not the clan. We Mongols have a clan but no surname. Why not have this child's surname still be Zhao, and the clan be Borjigin?”

Surname Zhao, clan Borjigin?

Zhao Shuo's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

He didn't expect Temujin to say this.

This is a great thing.

His son already has the blood of the Golden Family flowing in his veins. If he also has the Borjigin clan, then he is the most serious member of the Golden Family, the orthodox Mongol.

For the Mongols, they only see the Borjigin clan of the Golden Family. For the Han people, it doesn't matter, because they see the Zhao surname.

It can be said that this is beneficial and harmless.

So Zhao Shuo nodded and said, "That is this child's honor."

“Good! Zhao He! Borjigin*Zhao He!”

Temujin took Zhao He from Zhao Shuo again, raised him high, and said to his family and all the soldiers present: “Today, I, Genghis Khan Temujin, officially give this child the clan name Borjigin! From now on, he will be Borjigin*Zhao He!”

“Borjigin*Zhao He!”

“Borjigin*Zhao He!”

…

Everyone cheered together, and the sound shook the sky!