01x07 - Kyoudai

[bunniefuu]

This must be the moment
I've been waiting for.

What could we possibly
hope to accomplish?

I have knowledge.

Let me serve you
as your new jada stone, Highness.

Please lend me your power.

Let the two of us summon a storm.

What have I done?

Not only did I ignore
Princess Sorghaghtani's orders...

Wait, I'm...

I'm not Sorghaghtani's sl*ve.

Ah, there you are.

Fatima!

- I've been looking for you!

- Lady Töregene has bore her undulled pain
for longer than I have mine.

- If you failed to get in, you should return
to Princess Sorghaghtani at once.

- Hey, Fatima.

- Which is why...

Tell Princess Sorghaghtani this.

I've found my way into
a more convenient position.

I-Is that right?

All the better, then.

No need to worry. I understand now.

I know what I must do.

Just you wait, Mongols.

What's this now, Chagatai?

I offer my deepest apologies.

Not only did I challenge
the Great Kha'an to a wager,

I displayed the utmost
insolence by winning.

Oh, you mean that?

For such a grave offense, I am prepared
to face a flogging—nay, a death sentence.

Please do with me as you will.

With this, you are forgiven.
You know I am not angered so easily.

Ögedei Kha'an has shown me his mercy!

Praise be his magnanimity!

Huzzah! Huzzah!

- Huzzah!

- Huh? What?

With this, I take my leave.

I swear, what was the meaning of that?

Prince Chagatai put on
that performance for your sake.

Chinqai.

It hasn't been long since you took
the throne as Ögedei Kha'an.

Honor upon your name
is what you require most at this time.

And what quality is prized
among steppe tribe leaders?

Magnanimity.

Exactly.

Merciless to his foes,
yet magnanimous to his subjects.

You've now shown yourself
to be just that, Great Kha'an.

I understand, but does he need
to be so dramatic?

Oh, I see now.

Magnanimity, is it?

Kurultais were held under Ögedei Kha'an
to discuss matters of future policy.

What's more, in the Mongol Empire,

the emperor's consorts took part
in these political matters.

Töregene?

What are you doing at a kurultai?
I hardly ever see you attend one.

Am I not allowed?

There are some who wish
to attend, but cannot.

Listen to me, Uqai.

I'm Otai. Please try to remember
my name, Father.

Today's discussion will outline
our next military campaign.

Our target is the Jin dynasty,
our long-standing enemies to the east.

I hear many of our forefathers
were abducted and k*lled by the Jin.

Yes, but truth be told,
that's of little consequence now.

The House of Tolui
has the largest military.

The House of Chagatai,
which the Great Kha'an has great trust in.

Jochi, the head of the House of Jochi,
is dead, and his territory is far away.

And my own territory, that of
the House of Temüge, is close to the Jin.

Now that our houses rule over
a great deal of subjects,

we all want a role for ourselves
that won't incur losses.

How will the new Kha'an fare
in appeasing us all?

What say you, Daritai?

It's Otai.

How will you handle this, Great Kha'an?

I wish to build a capital.

Uh-oh.

A capital?

Yes, a capital.

We will construct a city in the steppe.

One of permanent buildings, not tents.

Wh-What are you going on about?

What of the Jin campaign?

A capital, you say?

Do we have to live there?

Mongols take pride in crossing mountains
in pursuit of unseen lands.

Live like settled people? Disgusting.

Everyone, the Great Kha'an
hasn't finished speaking.

It will be a capital,
but not one for us to live in.

It will provide workshops
for crafting weapons and jewelry,

and also serve as a trading post
where foreign merchants can gather.

We will continue our nomadic lifestyles.

But at times, we will stop by the capital
to spend extravagantly.

In a show of our generosity
and magnanimity.

Word of it is sure to attract people
and goods from across the land.

What say you?

I don't see the sense in it.

Does my idea lack merit?

Sounds great to me!

A curious proposal, indeed.
I think it's worth doing.

Tolui.

By the way, Great Kha'an...

When will we broach the subject of w*r?

What?

At last, the time is ripe to do away
with the Jin, our long sworn foes!

Their formerly vast territory has shrunk.

Now they're cornered like tiny rats.

The one to deal the final blow
will be our Great Kha'an!

This w*r will be just like a circle hunt.

The hunting ground will be
the Jin capital, Kaifeng.

The Great Kha'an will first set up camp
across the Yellow River, north of Kaifeng.

While the rats tremble in fear,
we will pincer them from the south.

That sounds more like
hunting deer than rats.

Call them fawns if it makes you happy.

Tolui, the Jin mustn't be underestimated.

Even on the verge of collapse, they vastly
outnumber us in soldiers and subjects.

Uncle, that's why I want you to send
their citizens running from the east.

Just like you would coax animals
into a hunting circle,

if we can chase the Jin populace
inside Kaifeng's walls,

all those soldiers and subjects
will be trapped in a closed-off city.

After winter passes
and their food runs out,

what state will the city be in?

Oh, as for you, Brother Chagatai.

I think it's best if you stay in Mongolia
to look after affairs.

We should leave our home to the one
the Great Kha'an trusts most.

Right?

Well, that's fine by me.

Jochi's kin won't have a part
to play here, I'm afraid.

What?

In exchange, you'll be leading
the campaigns to the west.

How does that sound?

Are any of you unhappy
with these w*r plans?

Prince Tolui.

We must enter Southern Song territory
to approach Kaifeng from the south.

Through precipitous
mountain roads at that.

That poses no problem. The Southern Song
considers the Jin an enemy.

The enemy of our enemy is our friend.

As for the precipitous mountains...

We'll persevere.

That's everything I heard at the kurultai.

Thank you very much.

If Tolui's plans succeed, starvation
and cold await the people of Kaifeng.

I'm confronted with
this knowledge, and yet...

Do you feel unwell, Sitara?
You're trembling.

My apologies. I'm fine.

Sitara.

Lady Töregene. Please call me Fatima.

Fatima?

Sitara is my name from when I was a sl*ve.

It'd be improper for someone of low birth
to serve the Great Kha'an's consort.

I, too, pass myself off as a Naiman here.

Having married a Merkit man,
I would call myself a Merkit,

but there are many Mongols
who don't take kindly to them.

That's why I chose to keep my past
as a Merkit a secret from everyone.

Please keep it a secret too, Fatima.

I will.

She has the scent of danger about her.

So where do we go from here?

There is indeed a power imbalance between
the Great Kha'an and the Tolui family.

The House of Tolui commands
the largest Mongol army,

the Great Kha'an
has the highest authority,

and the House of Chagatai supports him.

We must cause a rift between them.

In order to accomplish that,

we need Prince Tolui's plans to succeed.

Pardon the intrusion.

How are you feeling, Boraqchin?

Seeing your face has brightened
my mood a little.

What's that?

A medical text brought here
by Quanzhen Daoists.

Our bodies, in the process of living,
gradually lose the qi they started with,

eventually leading
to maladies and death.

Through training,
you can stop the flow of qi.

That's their technique
to achieve immortality, it seems.

Will those techniques return you
to health, Boraqchin?

Möge.

You're supposed to be the one sitting
at the Great Kha'an's side for kurultais.

You, the cleverest of us all.

Political matters are not decided
by kurultais alone.

What is important is to discreetly
maneuver all manner of affairs.

Now, Möge.

Tell me everything you heard.

This plan entails Prince Tolui
bearing a great burden,

but in return, should he succeed,
he will earn the most acclaim.

And he will most likely succeed.

The House of Tolui has the strongest army
of the Mongols, after all.

The Mongol army's audacious tactics
are sure to startle the enemy.

However...

However, the other Mongol princes
will reach the same conclusion.

That the House of Tolui...

Even if Tolui himself
doesn't intend to betray anyone,

should the other houses fear his strength
and harbor distrust,

and should they collude against
the House of Tolui, I'm certain that...

The Mongols will fracture,
and eventually fall to ruin.

There will be those who aim
to sow the seeds of discord.

So what can we do?

Möge, you are young
and attractive, unlike me.

You are an honest and amiable girl.

To ensure the Mongols are not divided,

and to ensure our hearts remain as one,
I need you to take steps in my stead.

If you say so, Boraqchin.

Driven into a closed-off city
to perish from hunger and cold...

The people of Tus
could have met the same fate.

To the citizens of Kaifeng,
I am just another Mongol.

The Great Kha'an heads to w*r as
Prince Chagatai stays to watch the steppe.

What shall we be doing?

We will accompany the Great Kha'an's army
to the front-line camp.

Chagatai is here now
to see the Great Kha'an.

Once we depart, we won't be seeing
Chagatai for a long time.

In order to cause turmoil
among the Mongols,

we need a faction that will oppose
the House of Tolui.

The House of Chagatai
is an indispensable part of that.

Then, allow me to go as your messenger
and greet Prince Chagatai.

I, Fatima, am your humble servant.

Sir Qadaq, why are you following me?

I can't let you go by yourself.

Oh, I never took you
to be such a gentleman.

No, I'm saying I don't trust you.

Lady Töregene has trust in me.

She's not the one I serve.

Long story, but right now,
I'm acting on someone else's orders.

Huh? Aren't you Töregene's sl*ve?

What are you doing out here?

Th-This woman is...

Lady Möge, the fourth wife
of the Great Kha'an!

Oh, I see. You don't learn, do you?

Wh-What? What?

You must be lost.

Well? You are, aren't you?

I bet you still haven't learned
the locations of all the tents.

I had my suspicions ever since
you got caught wandering around last time.

Töregene's explanation
didn't seem truthful, either.

Or perhaps—

Y-You've found me out!

I figured as much.

What do I do? I'll bring shame upon
Lady Töregene and be scolded again!

It's none of my business
if Töregene scolds you,

but bringing shame upon the Great Kha'an
is another matter.

Allow me to show the way.

I cannot thank you enough, Lady Möge!

I need to find my way out of this somehow.

Something about Lady Möge
seems different than last time.

Her earrings.

I'm so sorry!

Do I look strange without them?

N-No, I wouldn't say "strange"
as such, but...

Did you happen to lose them?

No.

The Great Kha'an sold them.

Great Kha'an! O Great Kha'an!

I beseech you to buy this melon from me.

I am ever so impoverished.

What a small melon.

Möge, give this man your earrings.

What?

Don't be distraught, Möge.

I believe those earrings
will return to you in the future.

Return to you? What could he have meant?

I haven't a clue. I don't understand
the Great Kha'an in the slightest.

Lady Möge!

Lady Möge, the Great Kha'an
is asking for you.

What does he want?

I wasn't informed of the details.

Chuu!

It won't be long now.

Oh, there she is.

Greetings, Möge.

Come sit by me.

I have here a gift for you.

It can't be...

My earrings!

Where did you obtain these?

That would be Khorasan.

While on my journey to Samarkand,

I was fortunate enough to meet a man
selling fine treasures from the east.

I asked him where he came across
such splendid pearls.

He told me he found them
by a stroke of luck in a Uyghur city.

He traded them for bread from a poor man
on the verge of starving to death.

Khorasan, is it? They traveled
farther than I thought.

Earrings so splendid as these
befit the conqueror of the world.

That is why I came here to present them
as an offering, Great Kha'an.

They really returned to me.

Thank you for delivering them.

I will buy all of your goods and
those of the merchants accompanying you.

Thank you very much.

All of them?

Bring me more wares in the future.
You won't regret it.

Um, over there, if you would.

Put them with all the others.

Be careful handling that.

I didn't think he'd buy everything.

Coming to Mongolia was the right decision.

Excuse me.

Have you traveled here from Khorasan?

We did. Who are you?

I hail from Khorasan as well.

Why have you made your way to Mongolia?

Why, you ask?

Because Mongolia is where the most profit
is to be had, of course.

The Mongol emperor was likely to pay the
most for wares from Khorasan and the west.

Weren't you afraid to come here?

The journey is a long one,
and the Mongols are a frightening people.

Not at all. In fact, it's safer
to travel now than before.

The Mongols appoint officials
to govern the lands they conquer.

Their duty is to protect merchants
passing through.

The emperor is a remarkable man, indeed.

Thanks to your earrings, I've ascertained
that all is functioning as it should.

Will everyone see things my way
after we defeat the Jin?

Next time: "Great Khatun Boraqchin."