20demayo Chapter 51 Kublai Khan as a Little Kid
Chapter 51 Kublai Khan as a Little Kid
A thin layer of water vapor reflected a rainbow in the sunlight.
Kublai Khan, Möngke Khan, and the others who had just been saved by him were stunned and knelt down on the ground.
"Stop kneeling, you silly boys, he's not a god."
"He is your father's sworn brother, Yang Kang from Shandong."
Hua Zheng had already met Yang Kang before, so she was naturally pleasantly surprised to recognize him and quickly rode her horse to stand before him.
"General Yang Kang, thank you so much for saving us, for saving the entire Golden Family!"
"You are the benefactor of our grasslands!"
As Hua Zheng was speaking, she was about to dismount and kneel on the ground.
"Princess Huazheng, you're too kind. If I hadn't come, how would I have had the chance to meet you?"
"So you're not just someone who cries and whines beside Guo Jing; you can also draw your bow and shoot enemies. No wonder you're Genghis Khan's daughter."
Yang Kang helped Hua Zheng up with one hand and laughed heartily.
Hua Zheng lowered her head in embarrassment.
While the two were talking, Zhelemie led his troops in a counterattack, annihilating the routed Western Xia cavalry before returning.
Börte, supported by a group of servants, arrived before Yang Kang.
After reporting the battle situation, Zhelemie, on Börte's instructions, came before Yang Kang.
Upon seeing Yang Kang, the old Mongol general immediately knelt down respectfully and bowed with his left hand.
"Respected General Yang Kang, thank you for saving the entire Great Ordos."
"I could never repay your great kindness, even if I laid my head on the ground and shed all my blood."
Yang Kang looked at the one-armed old man in front of him with a puzzled expression, and then remembered after a moment.
"I feel like I've seen you before."
Yang Kang said, puzzled, that he didn't understand why he looked so familiar with the one-armed old man on the grassland.
Zhelemie was immediately filled with shame; he hadn't expected that Yang Kang had already forgotten him.
"General Yang Kang is brave and invincible, so naturally he wouldn't remember a nobody like me."
"But in the Battle of Yehuling, I was one of the people who, along with Jebe and Subutai, blocked your path."
Upon hearing this, Yang Kang suddenly realized what was happening. He looked at Zhelemie's empty right hand and felt somewhat embarrassed.
"General Zhelemie, your bravery and loyalty are truly admirable."
"It is my honor to be an enemy of such a loyal and brave man as you."
Yang Kang nodded and helped Zhe Le Mie up.
Börte walked over at this moment, and Hua Zheng immediately wanted to step forward to introduce her.
"No need, Hua Zheng, I know who this is."
Börte smiled, her heart filled with gratitude.
"My husband Temujin often told me that there was an invincible general in the world who possessed power as invincible as a god."
"Honorable General, thank you for saving me and my descendants?"
"I think you must be General Yang Kang, whom my husband often talks about."
After Yang Kang performed a simple bow according to Mongolian etiquette, he took out Zhu Chi's letter from his pocket.
"Your Excellency Börte Khatun, I am indeed Yang Kang."
"When I met Genghis Khan in Khwarazm, Jochi was also in the camp, and we got along very well."
"He was enfeoffed by Genghis Khan to the Kipchak Steppe, and it is feared that he will be unable to return to the steppe for some time."
"I wrote you a letter specifically so that I could give it to you upon my return."
As Yang Kang spoke, he handed the letter to Börte.
Börte was slightly surprised, not expecting that this invincible general had come all this way to save them, only to deliver a letter.
She took the letter, opened it, and was shocked to find it was written by her eldest son, Zhuchi, in broken New Mongolian script.
The letter was filled with sorrow, grief, and longing.
As Börte looked at the book, she couldn't help but shed tears.
"My stubborn son, Zhu Chi, will the rift between him and his father truly only disappear when the river dries up?"
As Börte was weeping, the slaves who had been standing there suddenly came running towards her.
"Khwarazm, something terrible has happened!"
"Aunt Heda'an, she has passed away!"
Upon seeing this, Börte was greatly alarmed. Disregarding her dignity, she left her servants and ran towards the distant camp.
Out of curiosity, Yang Kang followed them.
There, a haggard old woman lay weakly on the oxcart, glanced at Börte, and then breathed her last.
"Aunt Heda'an's health has always been poor, and today's attack by the Western Xia people took away her last bit of vitality."
Hua Zheng said sadly.
Yang Kang looked at the white-haired old man and saw nothing particularly special about him.
"Is there anything special about her?"
Yang Kang asked Hua Zheng.
"My aunt Heda'an saved my father when he was young, and my father once promised to marry her."
"But when they met again many years later, she refused her father's promise because she had been married before, and only wanted to stay with us as a servant."
"Her father left her with her grandmother, and when her grandmother, Ke'erlun, died, she was the only relative she had left."
As Hua Zheng spoke, she led all the descendants of the Golden Family to kneel down before the old man.
Even Börte knelt before her.
"Aunt Heda'an, the Golden Family will never forget this day, and we will definitely avenge you!"
Hua Zheng shouted angrily, and everyone present shouted in unison at that moment.
Looking at the Mongolian woman who was abandoned by Guo Jing in the original story, Yang Kang suddenly realized that she was not just a simple supporting female character.
To prevent the Western Xia people from returning, the camp of the Great Ordos underwent a continuous migration.
Yang Kang, determined to be a good person to the end, also stayed by their side to escort them for three days.
Hua Zheng also learned from Yang Kang that Guo Jing and Huang Rong had run away together.
"I know, General Yang Kang."
"A few days ago, Guo Jing's mother, Aunt Li Ping, sent someone to tell me that she was going to go back to Guo Jing's hometown."
"For a woman on the grassland, being abandoned by her man is somewhat shameful, but not something unacceptable."
Hua Zheng said with a hint of sadness.
Yang Kang remained silent, having nothing to say about such matters of personal affection.
Three days later, the Great Ordos' camp had moved to the foot of Mount Burkhan.
Outside the camp, Yang Kang set off to take his leave. Before Börte, Hua Zheng, and the others could speak, little Kublai Khan pounced on his feet and hugged his legs.
"Uncle God, will I ever see you again?"
Kublai Khan looked at Yang Kang with eyes full of admiration.
Kublai Khan's mother, Sorghaghtani Beki, came over with a face full of apology, hugged Kublai Khan, and smiled shyly.
Beside her, the young Möngke and Ariq Böke looked at Yang Kang with faces full of admiration.
Yang Kang patted Kublai Khan's head and said something with a deeper meaning.
"I'll be back soon. Next time I come, will you be my guide?"
Kublai Khan nodded excitedly.
Before anyone could react, Yang Kang mounted his horse and galloped away into the distance.
"He's a hero like no other in the world! Hua Zheng, I hope he's the one you marry in the future."
Börte gazed at Yang Kang as he walked away, then looked at Hua Zheng beside her, and shook her head with a sigh.