Trigger
I had murdered the Sultan and destroyed his sultanate.
To the Saracen First Princess, I was nothing less than her sworn enemy.
Recruiting her was impossible.
Temporary employment was no different.
She would surely harbor a deep-seated murderous hatred in her heart and try to take my life.
For a beast that refused to submit, all you could do was fit it with a sturdy collar and a noose. Setting aside humane negotiations with the First Princess, whose heart seethed with murderous intent, I resorted to coercive threats.
"Submit to me. Swear loyalty to the Turkic Khaganate. If you refuse my offer..., I'll throw every one of the Sultan's concubines captured on the battlefield into brothels. And I'll resume the pillaging, thoroughly plundering and ravaging every possession and every subject of the sultanate."
"You truly are despicable and vicious, Eastern sovereign...! To force me into submission by using the palace mothers and the innocent people of Saracen as your leverage!"
Hatred. Humiliation.
The sultanate's warrior princess cried out her hostility.
Was it not enough that I'd killed her father and destroyed her homeland? Her hand trembled as she raged at my blatant intention to tame her like an animal locked in a cage.
"Your father was far too weak and incompetent. He was in no way fit to command the sultanate. In an age where the strong prey on the weak, a feeble, ineffectual ruler is a worse scourge than a tyrant. From now on, I'll take the place of that weak Sultan and establish the sultanate upon the firm foundations of the Central Continent."
"Ghk!!"
Just how far did he intend to go in insulting and mocking the Sultan?
Scheherazade ground her teeth in fury.
But she did not stubbornly cling to reckless bravado, swept away by her emotions.
Her mothers' safety,
her people's homes and peace,
and the lives of the subordinates captured on the battlefield were all at stake.
She valued courage and pride, but put cool judgment first. Looking down at Scheherazade as she finally bowed her head to her enemy, I gave her a satisfactory passing grade.
"I will obey..., the Great Khan's orders...! I will gladly accept any whip or chain. So, Great Khan-nim..., will you swear to the god you believe in and promise the safety and proper treatment of the palace mothers, the people of the sultanate, and my subordinates?"
"I swear it in the name of Ashina."
The First Princess's forehead touched the cold stone floor.
I reached out a hand and accepted her.
[Scheherazade bint Muhammad Alsharif has been recruited.]
[Loyalty: 15 (Hostile)]
[Faction changed to the Turkic Khaganate.]
[Recruitment successful. Renown: +350]
[Recruitment succeeded through unjust means. Infamy: +700]
"The First Princess of the sultanate will wait in the palace. I'll give you orders later."
"...Yes."
I allowed her to bathe in the palace bathhouse and change into fresh clothes.
I permitted her to be treated as a princess.
The desert leopard, tamed with a collar and noose, left the harem under the guidance of the dancers. The Turkic war chief, who had silently watched the whole affair, gazed after Scheherazade and spoke.
"Great Khan-isiyeo, that woman will never bow so easily. She'll surely conceal a sharp blade in the shadows and wait for the chance to strike at your divine mandate.
"I know. She and her subordinates will wait for the moment to assassinate me."
"If all you desire is the woman's beauty..., I'll sever her tendons so she can no longer wield her murderous intent."
"A beast with all its teeth pulled is just a stray cat. I want a beautiful beast that can command the sultanate's cavalry."
There was a lesson I had learned over thirteen years of bloody fratricidal strife on the steppe.
Heaven's favor existed.
Even if it couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
Ever since I had possessed the body of a twelve-year-old runt, I had repeatedly received help from that invisible fortune.
Even if the beautiful desert leopard harbored a desire for revenge, I was certain powerful heavenly fortune would remain on my side. If I let my guard down and was killed by the sultanate's princess, that would simply mean I was 『a loser abandoned by heaven's favor』.
"For now, I've managed to force the desert leopard's loyalty from her, however clumsily... From here on, I'll tame the sultanate's captured troops under Ashina's banner. Release every soldier of the sultanate who swears loyalty and submission."
"As you command."
[The prisoners of the Karakur Sultanate have pledged to serve under the flag of the Turkic Khaganate.]
[Unit morale has decreased by 10.]
[Additional funds and provisions will be consumed.]
[Recruitable]: Karakur Sword Cavalry. Karakur Light Cavalry. Karakur Sipahi. Karakur Azak.
****
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Recruiting and training each unit type one by one took considerable effort and money. The easiest way to solve that problem was to enlist prisoners.
Of course, it wasn't a cure-all.
The morale of the troops as a whole would fall.
Defectors were at high risk of deserting.
To recruit noble units, you had to provide rewards and fiefs.
There were plenty of risks.
But recruiting prisoners was well worth taking them.
"Unit morale can be gradually restored by handing out rewards..., I'll assign military officers to prevent desertions..., and I can use the gold and silver treasures stored in the Sultan's palace to keep the noble units in line."
As I enlisted the prisoners, I also ordered recruitment throughout the Karakur Sultanate. Then I sent messengers back to the homeland, instructing the vassal kings to send reinforcements.
A month later,
a translucent system window appeared with a notification chime.
[An envoy from the Burgund Star Empire has arrived in Ordu Baliq.]
The flood of shock and fear over the mysterious forces gradually began to recede. Like a gigantic wave on the horizon crashing against a breakwater and sinking into foam.
There had been plenty of barbarians who came from the East.
The Karakur Sultanate, which had illegally occupied the Empire's eastern territories, was the foremost example.
A rabble.
Losers driven out of the East.
To the Burgund Star Empire, the eastern barbarians were a thorn in its side.
Yet despite its disdain and cold reception, the Star Empire dispatched an envoy to the mysterious forces before any other power on the Central Continent. Its goal was to discuss negotiations and trade while learning the disposition and movements of the new barbarians.
"To destroy in an instant the barbarians who dared to call themselves a kingdom.... We must never underestimate the might of these new barbarians from the East."
"You're worrying too much, Viscount Berman. They merely brought down a country ruled by a weak Sultan, thanks to fortune. Didn't our Star Empire weaken the sultanate by waging war against it for years?"
The fear in one's heart must never grow greater than the danger that truly existed.
Count Clermont, the envoy's leader, said as he stroked his magnificent mustache.
The return of their ancestral lands.
Negotiations for a new military alliance.
And information on the mysterious forces.
Bearing the missions assigned by the Golden Empress, the Star Empire's delegation entered the sultanate's capital, now occupied by the mysterious forces. As they passed through the gates, the imperial envoys caught sight of soldiers clad in unfamiliar, exotic helmets and armor, and their shoulders tensed.
"You must be weary after crossing the desolate plains. On behalf of the great Khan of the steppe, I offer greetings to our guests, who have traveled such a long way."
"Ahem...! Thank you for your hospitality."
A brown-skinned man dressed in exotic clothing welcomed the Star Empire's delegation.
He was the interpreter assigned to facilitate negotiations between the Star Empire and the Turkic forces.
Hmm.
At least they understand basic manners.
They'll be easier to reason with than those stubborn, ignorant Saracens.
Welcomed by their hosts, the Star Empire's envoys entered the palace, now ruled by a new power. They seemed taken aback by the barbarians' unexpectedly friendly attitude, but they maintained their composure.
"As the great Khan of the steppe, heir to the golden mountains of Ashina and the silver wolf, who has conquered both the vast seas of the East and the expansive mountains of the West, makes his entrance, let all the courtiers bow in reverence!"
A resounding voice filled the palace, announcing the Great Khan's presence.
At once, every Turkic warrior knelt without hesitation.
'Young. Far too young.... He must be about the same age as Their Highnesses the princesses. To think the Eastern sovereign who destroyed that wretched sultanate would be a fresh-faced young lad.'
A black-haired young man strode forward, escorted by guards clad in iron armor. His youthful appearance, barely out of his teens, filled the Star Empire's delegation with wonder and astonishment.
Curly black hair.
Sharp golden eyes reminiscent of a bird of prey.
And an oppressive presence only possessed by someone who had endured every kind of hardship.
Silence and pressure descended upon the entire palace, weighing down on everyone.
The Star Empire's nobles paid their respects to the young ruler with formal bows. At the delegation's perfunctory show of respect, the Turkic warriors glared, openly displaying their hostility.
"The Turkic Khaganate welcomes the Empire's guests, who have traveled such a long way."
"We are grateful for your hospitality."
Immediately after the greetings,
Count Clermont, the delegation's leader, cut straight to the point.
"I bring a proposal from Her Majesty the Empress. Her Majesty of the Star Empire wishes to reclaim at least half of the ancestral lands once illegally occupied by the Saracen forces. We humbly ask that you, chieftain, show us the kindness and generosity to make this noble decision."
"Return the land?"
"Her benevolent Majesty has promised ample support in funds and provisions. If the return of the ancestral lands is agreed upon, our Star Empire will offer you its full support."
"......"
Not 『your esteemed country』.
Count Clermont referred to the Turkic forces as 『your faction』.
He did not recognize them as a nation.
Because they were merely a band of people who had come from the East.
And he had even thrown in the arrogant insult of belittling the great Khan of the steppe as a mere 『chieftain』.
"Yabgu Bey, bring me an axe."
The Great Khan's decision upon facing the Star Empire's insolence was firm and decisive.