Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 129: Zhao Shuo’s new fiefdom! It refers to Tianzhu and the Indian Ocean!
Zhao Shuo's troops received a total of more than 37,800 Samarkand women. According to the rules, more than 10,000 of them belonged to Zhao Shuo's private property.

With so many women, Zhao Shuo certainly couldn't handle them all by himself.

He only selected 500 good ones, either for his own use or to reward meritorious soldiers in the future, and sold the rest.

The same was true for the Wanhu and Qianhu under Zhao Shuo. Only a small number of beauties were kept, and most of them were sold.

By now, they all understood why Temujin liked to play with women of status. There were so many beauties, all kinds of beauty, it was simply overwhelming. Without the bonus of status, unless they were extremely beautiful, they all felt the same and there was no way to keep up.

The selling price is not expensive either.

The soldiers all have wives in their hometowns, and now they are satisfied with having a woman to enjoy. They are not willing to spend too much to buy a private female slave and then keep her.

So, on average, it’s about five taels of silver each.

Among the Mongolian grassroots soldiers, there was probably one woman for every two or three of them.

All the men in Samarkand were killed. Whether these women wanted it or not, the children they would give birth to would be Han or Mongolian. The demographic structure of Samarkand would be completely changed.

This situation will continue in the future, and the descendants of Han and Mongolian people will be spread all over the world.

In short, in the next few days, the Mongols and Han people near Samarkand recovered from the fatigue of the war while working hard to sow seeds.

It was at this time that Muhammad, who had fled to the city of Heshab south of the Amu Darya (later the city of Karsh in Uzbekistan), received the news of the fall of Samarkand.

Think about how high-spirited and ambitious Muhammad was back then.

At the beginning, Khwarezm and Western Liao broke up, and Muhammad led his army into the Transoxiana region, occupied Bukhara, and captured Samarkand. His reputation in the Islamic world increased greatly, and people called him the "Second Alexander."

Later, the Ghurid Empire in India was forced to retreat to Afghanistan after being harassed by the Indians. Muhammad seized the opportunity to conquer the Ghurid Empire and occupy Afghanistan. People gave him the title of "Shadow of the True God on Earth."

However, in just two years, this "second Alexander" and "shadow of the true God on earth" had all his main ministers killed by the Mongols, all his underage sons were beheaded, and his concubines and daughters became playthings of the Mongols. He became a huge joke.

"Come on, what should we do now?"

Muhammad looked dejected as he looked at the Khwarezmian dignitaries who had been temporarily summoned.

"I believe the Sultan should now go to Yulongjiechi. Yulongjiechi has a population of 1.2 million, well-trained soldiers and abundant food. It is also the foundation of our Khwarezmian Empire, far superior to Samarkand. If the Sultan holds Yulongjiechi firmly and calls on all forces to come to his aid, the Mongols will not be able to gain any advantage."

The person who said this was Sherifuddin, the eunuch who fled with Muhammad.

However, how could Mahmud be willing to return to Chilongjiechi?
That was the Queen Mother's territory, not Mahmud's. Yulong Jiechi's city was indeed strong, but I was afraid that the Queen Mother could assassinate him and establish a new king with just one order.

Besides, if Samarkand can’t be defended, can Yulongjiechi defend it?

Mahmud had no confidence.

He looked at the others and asked, "What do you think?"

Timur Mili said, "I think the Sultan should urgently conscript all able-bodied men south of the Amu Darya to establish a defensive line along the Amu Darya and guard against the Mongol army advancing south. As long as we hold the Amu Darya line, most of Khwarezm can be preserved. The Mongols have come from afar, and when they see they can't break through the Amu Darya line, they will retreat."

Timur Meli was the original defender of the city of Zhandi. The Mongols spent a lot of effort to capture the city of Zhandi.

Later, when the city of Zan was broken, Timur escaped by boat.

Now, he has made peace with Muhammad.

"Doesn't that mean we have to fight a decisive battle with the Mongolian army on the banks of the Amu Darya River?" Muhammad was a little confused at the time and said, "Let me think about it carefully."

Then, another man named Amadumulek offered a plan, saying: "The Mongols have come from afar, can they really destroy our Khwarezm? They are just trying to plunder some women and property. The Sultan's status is so precious? Why bother to fight the Mongols head-on?

"In my opinion, it would be better to retreat to Iraq. Iraq is far from Samarkand, so the Mongols will probably not attack. Even if the Mongols attack, Iraq has sufficient troops. The Sultan can muster a hundred thousand troops to resist, and the exhausted Mongols will not gain any advantage."

During this era, Iraq was called Mesopotamia by Westerners, but the Khwarazmians called it Iraq, just as it was later called.

Muhammad's three adult sons were still alive.

The eldest son, Jalaluddin, was enfeoffed in Afghanistan.

The second son, Luke Riding, was sealed in Iraq.

The third son, Wusila Heisha, was beside Queen Mother Yulong Jiechi.

This Amadul Mulek was the vizier Muhammad had assigned to Luklaidin. Luklaidin did not like having such a spy for his father beside him. So, he sent Amadul Mulek under the pretext of delivering a gift to Muhammad, and it happened that Muhammad was escaping.

Amadulmulk's hometown was in Iraq. In order to return to his hometown, he tried his best to encourage Muhammad to go to Iraq.

Mahmud was really persuaded by him.

The city of Samarkand, which was originally planned to be defended for three years, was captured by the Mongols in less than a month, completely shattering the confidence of this "shadow of the true God on earth."

What about holding on to Yulongjiechi and building a defense line on the Amu Darya River? They were all too close to the Mongols and too dangerous.

All he wanted now was to get as far away from the Mongols as possible.

Immediately, Mahmud nodded repeatedly and said, "That makes sense. Then let's go to Iraq."

"Father, no!"

Zhalandin quickly spoke up to stop him.

He was originally the eldest son of Muhammad and was named Crown Prince.

However, the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is the most difficult conflict to deal with throughout history.

Jalaluddin's mother was from India, and was not liked by the Queen Mother, who was from Kangli.

So, the queen mother used all kinds of means to force Muhammad to depose Jalaluddin from the position of crown prince.

The mother of Jalaluddin's third brother, Osrahesha, was from Kangli and was very much loved by the empress dowager. He was now named the crown prince.

Now, Jalaluddin was only granted the title of "Governor of Gur and Gejining".

The land of Ghor and Ghojinin was the name given to Afghanistan by the Khwarezmians in this era.

Upon hearing that the Mongols were coming to attack, Muhammad abandoned Samarkand. Jalaluddin was anxious and rushed to Heshab to meet up with Muhammad.

He shouted, "How could my father abandon the prime lands along the Amu Darya River and take refuge in Iraq? Haven't you heard the people's opinions? They say you only know how to collect taxes and impose forced labor. When the Mongols came, you only knew how to flee, leaving these people to be ravaged by the Mongols."

He didn't say what he said next, but Mahmud knew it: These taxes might as well be fed to a dog! At least when robbers come, the dog will bark a few times!
"do not talk!"

Muhammad was furious and shouted, "I have made up my mind. I will flee to Iraq. Jalaluddin, since you are my son, you should obey my orders and not listen to the nonsense of the people."

"Alright. If father must flee to Iraq..." Jalaluddin took a deep breath and said, "Please leave all military affairs on the front lines to me. I will organize the army, establish a defense line along the Amu Darya River, and fight the Mongols. Let's see whether our true god is more powerful, or whether their Eternal Heaven can protect them more."

"Ok?"

Muhammad looked Jalaluddin up and down, suspecting that the former crown prince wanted to seize military power and rebel.

He shook his head firmly and said, "Zhalandin, since you are the governor of Gurkha and Gejining, you can only manage Gurkha and Gejining. You have no say here. Go back to your fiefdom. Everything here will naturally be decided by me."

"But...but..."

"Okay, it's nothing to worry about. Take Zhalandin away!"

"Yes!"

The guards dragged Zhalandin away.

Finished!

My father was unwilling to defend the natural barrier of the Amu Darya River and only knew how to escape. I am afraid that Khwarezm will be defeated in his hands!
Jalaluddin felt a chill in his heart and went out with his guards to return to Afghanistan to arrange military affairs.

Finished!

The eunuch Sherifuddin who fled with Muhammad thought the same.

He knew only too well who was the most capable among the Khwarezmian royal family.

Compared with Jalaluddin, Muhammad and his other two sons were not even worthy of carrying his shoes.

Not to mention the Khwarezmian royal family, I am afraid that there is no hero in the entire Khwarezm who is greater than Jalaluddin.

Now, Jalaluddin’s opinions are completely not adopted, and Khwarezm is not complete. It is simply unfair.

I'm afraid that the almighty God is on the side of the Mongols and on the side of "God's disaster"!
Sherifuddin's mind raced. "If the Sultan is going to Iraq, why not leave me here to guard Heshab? I will keep the news of the Sultan's departure a secret, so we can buy him some time."

"That's very good, Sherifudin. You are very loyal."

Muhammad trusted Sharifuddin very much and immediately agreed to this suggestion.

The next day, Muhammad left Heshab under the pretext of hunting and fled to Iraq.

The reason why Sherifuddin chose to stay in Heishabu City was actually that he had the intention of surrendering to the Mongols.

Before this, he was indeed very loyal to Muhammad.

But no matter how loyal you are, it is not as important as your own life, right?

He saw that Muhammad looked like a king who had lost his country, and Jalaluddin, the only one who had a chance to turn the tide, was useless, so he was unwilling to be buried with Khwarezm.

It would be better to surrender to the Mongols now and sell out the intelligence of Khwarezm, so as to maximize one's own value and preserve one's wealth and glory.

So, Sherifuddin took control of Heshabu's power, pretended for a few days, and then secretly slipped away with a few close confidants to Samarkand to meet Temujin.

"What? Muhammad was so distraught that he fled to Iraq? Doesn't that mean Khwarezm is doomed?"

Temujin was very happy to hear the news.

Although the Mongols had won a series of victories since their invasion of Khwarezm, they had also suffered considerable losses. Furthermore, Khwarezm was vast, and the Mongols had not even completely occupied Transoxiana, so they were still far from conquering Khwarezm.

Now that Muhammad had fled without fighting, Temujin really saw the dawn of victory.

Immediately, Temujin summoned Zhao Shuo, Jochi, Ogedei, Chagatai and Tolui for a military meeting.

Temujin hung up a map of Khwarezm brought by Sherifuddin.

After asking Sharifuddin to explain the circumstances of Muhammad's escape, Temujin asked Sharifuddin to introduce the geography of Khwarezm.

Khwarazm can be divided into six parts.

The first part, the core area of ​​Central Asia, can also be called the Transoxiana region.

Located between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, it has the most developed agriculture and the largest cities.

Among them were the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, which the Mongols had already conquered. Another major city, Gollongjechi, with a population of 1.2 million, which the Mongols had not yet conquered, was in fact Gollongjechi, also known as Khwarazm, the original site of the Khwarazmian people's rise.

Part Two, the Persian region.

This is self-explanatory. Geographically speaking, most of Persia is composed mainly of plateaus and deserts, but it has developed oasis cities and is an important node on the Silk Road.

Part Three, Afghanistan and Khorasan Region.

It includes most of later Afghanistan, western Pakistan and eastern Iran.

It is mostly mountainous and has plateaus, and has two famous cities: Herat and Balkh.

Moreover, it has an important strategic location and serves as a bridge connecting Central Asia and South Asia, allowing the attack on India to the south.

Part 4, Northwestern South Asia.

It includes the northern part of Pakistan and northwestern India in later generations, mainly the Indus River Plain, with fertile land suitable for agricultural development.

But in this area, Khwarezm was only a vassal state.

The Sarghurid dynasty and the Nasrid dynasty of Sistan, as vassal states of Khwarazm, established real rule there. They owned the two famous cities of Lahore and Multan and were the trade centers of the Indus Plain.

Part Five, Caspian Sea and Caucasus Region.

It includes later Azerbaijan, Georgia and northern Iran, and is mainly composed of mountains and grasslands. It is an important channel connecting Central Asia and West Asia. It has two famous cities, Tabriz and Tbilisi, and controls the strategic location of the Caucasus region.

Part 6, Parts of West Asia.

Including northern Iraq and eastern Syria in later generations, this area is mainly mountainous and grassland, mainly in the Mesopotamian region, with fertile land and extremely rich.

In fact, Khwarezm did not have complete control over this area. For example, Alifa in Baghdad controlled some areas near Baghdad.

Temujin said, "Before we set out, I said that after conquering Khwarezm, we would allow Jochi, Asho, Chagatai, and Tolui to establish their own kingdoms. It seems the Khwarezmian Sultan is completely powerless. Now, let's divide Khwarezm. Tell me, which part do you want?"

Ogedei said, "Khwarazm can be divided into six parts, but my father wants to establish four vassal states. How should we divide them?"

"You choose first," Temujin said. "The rest will be distributed according to the merits gained in this campaign against Khwarezm. By the way, this time we will first destroy Western Liao and then attack Khwarezm. The original territory of Western Liao will be your future hereditary territory, Ogedei."

Although Ogedei was designated as Temujin's successor, he could only inherit Temujin's position as the Great Khan.

Temujin's territory and army were mainly handed over to Tolui, who was known as the "youngest son guarding the stove."

Whether Ogedei's descendants could become the Great Khan would be decided by convening the kurultai assembly.

Therefore, during this Western Expedition, Ogedei must also be given a territory.

Ogedei stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Father Khan!"

Temujin looked at Jochi and said, "Now, the others can start choosing. Jochi, you are my eldest son, so you go first."

Subuchi thought for a moment, pointed at the map, and said, "I'll choose the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus region. I like steppes. This area is mainly mountainous and grassland, which suits my taste best. Moreover, the northwest of here is the Kipchak steppe, which will also make it easier for me to expand my territory in the future."

"Very well, Jochi, you will establish your own Ulus (state) in the Caspian Sea and Caucasus regions. What about you, Chagatai?"

Chagatai said, "I am different from my elder brother. I like cities the most. Among all the places in Khwarezm, Transoxiana is the richest. There are also three major cities: Bukhara, Samarkand, and Yulongjiechi. I will choose this place."

Temujin said, "From now on, Transoxiana will be your Ulus, Chagatai. Next, Asho, choose where you want to establish your Ulus."

The reason why he let Zhao Shuo choose third.

On the one hand, even if Zhao Shuo was considered his own son, he was still older than Jochi and Chagatai. On the other hand, Tolui was destined to inherit most of Temujin's wealth and army, so the success or failure of Khwarezm was of little consequence to Tolui.

On the other hand, Zhao Shuo was undoubtedly the most capable fighter. After conquering Khwarezm, he would undoubtedly achieve the greatest merit and even gain a piece of territory. The best territory in Khwarezm would undoubtedly be chosen by Jochi and Chagatai first.

Zhao Shuo smiled faintly and said, "Then I will choose the Khorasan region, Ghor and the land of Gejining."

The Khorasan region, Ghor and Ghaziabad were later part of Iran and Afghanistan.

He chose this place because he actually regarded the wealthy Tianzhu region as his own.

Further south of Afghanistan and Khorasan is the Sarghurid dynasty, which was vassal of Khwarezm, and the Nasrid dynasty of Sistan.

These two places are already part of Tianzhu.

Choosing this place was equivalent to opening the door of the entire India to him.

According to historical records, three hundred years later, after the Timurid Empire fell apart, Babur first conquered Afghanistan, then marched towards India and established the famous Mughal Empire.

This place is the most suitable place for farming people to grow crops.

Moreover, to the south of India is the Indian Ocean.

With the technological level of this era, how can a vast empire be controlled without relying on sea transportation?

(End of this chapter)