I am not responsible for the Tartars or any of the families following us. They had to self-supply what was needed and to protect themselves. We would help in any way possible if needed. That was the deal. Well, that was our goodwill. They came alone voluntarily, and they fought willingly and then, they participated in sharing the spoils. True, my soldiers had the first pick, but the Tartars always had the towns for days afterward. They made a good living following us, and we had the additional fighters and the comfort of the home when we needed it. Still, when they required, we helped them. Usually, it was some provisions or weapons. Our doctors went to their camps as well.
In our world, you do not deny food to a hungry, and you protect the weak at the moment of weakness. We all have days like that. We are only people. They helped us, we helped them, and that is how the horde stays together and strong. We are strong and very powerful. I am the Great Khan, but they have the own Khans, the warlords, and the tribal leaders. Even if I did not like them and preferred to boil them in the hot oil, I would show respect and honor them every time I see them. They have the honored place at my table, and I always welcome them. I do not always like that, but I do it every time. But, if they break the rules, they boil in hot oil. It happens, sorry to say, way too often. I really hate it when it happens, but I have to maintain my power no matter what. We have the laws, and we follow them even when the member of the own family is involved. If I must be harsh, so be it. But, if I could be friendly, that would be my choice.
The silk shirts and silk, in general, were the luxuries all my soldiers and the Tatars had to have. Silk, in many instances, was better against the arrows than the armor. It was proven. Everyone in Central Asia and the Middle East knows that but not everyone is using it because of the cost. But we do. The flying arrow is not perfect and spins and quite fast. When it hits the lightness of the silk spinning it into some kind of a knot, the energy gets all wasted on that. The silk takes it all, protecting the body inside. Of course, it did not work like that all the time, but most of the time. In the worst case, the arrow would not penetrate as deep as it could have. That’s what we saw a thousand times, in every battle. I noticed that a bolt from a good crossbow shot from a close distance might penetrate silk fifty percent of the time, if not more. But, from the same distance, it would penetrate the body armor almost always. So, there is a safety benefit.
Thus, I made sure that all my warriors, regular soldiers, and the Tartars, wore silk shirts in the battle as the standard equipment. Therefore, every campaign we went through hundreds of thousands of silk shirts. I spent a fortune on that but Subutai supported me wholeheartedly, and Ogedei allowed that luxury. He thought it was a good policy. Ogedei kept supplying us with silk from China. His Chinese soldiers wore silk shirts as well. This was very practical. I think it came from China in the first place. Chinese are very innovative in many regards. I do not believe we would be as powerful as we are if not for the Chinese and their knowledge of many things. They support science and practice it religiously. Again, religion has a secondary place in their society, but science is very supported and acknowledged there. Science comes first. Thus, we have the gun powder, cannons, crossbows, the silk shirts, noodles, rice, paper money, bamboo spears, printing and the liberal philosophy that is not always humane, but we try. The Chinese are so different from us in many respects, yet they are so close. They taught us a lot, and we pay back with kindness, treating them better than some others. We are a part of the Chinese empire, and China is a part of our empire.
Yes, we always have to choose what enemy should be closer to us because they are all enemies in the end. They would stick a knife in your back given a chance, so do not give them that chance. You never know who an enemy is more — your friend or a foe. Keep your friends close and the enemies even closer. Keep your eyes and the ears open and have a lot of spies on the payroll. There is no such thing as too many spies, and the knowledge of what people are doing is priceless. Use the stick and the carrot, always both, and they would stay somewhat loyal to you. No one is totally loyal to you, but the hopes and the threads together could make it somewhat workable. Threaten families. Hold hostages. And, promise rewards.
One should never lie about either of it. Always deliver what was promised, good or bad, so people will know what was coming. Keeping your word to the point is your integrity. Keep your word even if you do not like the situation. In the swamp full of prowling predators masquerading as your friends, one has to learn the rules, master them well and then, better the “friends.” One had to do it every time if to survive. That’s what the grandfather used to say time and time again. Was he wrong? He knew it so well, he learned it well. He taught us well. And Subutai was the master of the game. He has the acute feeling of something going wrong. He could feel the plot brewing and the plotters getting ripe. They should know it by now and be smarter yet, we have something brewing all the time. Stupid but what can you do. Usually, it happens in faraway camps where our control is somewhat weaker. So, we put more spies in hoping that someone would inform us in time. What a waste, what a waste but you cannot avoid it. That life in the modern world. No matter how much power and wealth you possess, you want more and then, you lose. Does greed ever pay in the end? Should we ask the greedy ones?
Would I plot a revolt? Would I revolt against my own blood? No, not unless my life is threatened already. And even then, I’ll try to resolve the issue peacefully. Ogedei knows that. All of my relatives know that, and that is why they trust me more than the others. I rather stand with them than to betray my own. If they go against each other, I would not take the side or better yet stay with the legitimate claim. That’s how it should be. I would never go against Ogedei or anyone in his place if it were done in our old tradition. The Great Khan had to be elected with all in power, presenting their claims and voting. There should be nothing held against the claimant if no treason was committed. People should be free to speak. There should be no backstabbing, and I’ll be the first to punish the offender. That’s my honor. If we want to run the empire with as fewer problems as possible, no revolts, famine, or the plaque epidemics, we have to learn the way of peace among ourselves. And that is the hardest thing. That’s what the grandfather said. So far, we were lucky and avoided significant disasters but only because of our shrewdness. The hotheads may get you the breakfast, but the cool heads will get you the dinner and the place to rest. Patience is actually more of a virtue than one may think.
If we lost a soldier — killed, injured, crippled, in one of our campaigns and his family has no other provider, we pay a pension to his family for many years ahead. If the soldier is dead, we try to marry his wife to another family, so she and the kids would have a home. We try to do it right with all our people and spare no expenses. How else could you run the empire as complicated as ours, with so many different people and customs and be successful? We have to consider so many things, everything. I do not know any other way, and we are successful.
A family that received a small one-time payment for the killed warrior is allowed to follow the horde for as long as they want and participate in the spoils. They can tend the animals, nurture the wounded, work in any other way, and be trained to become soldiers. Out of respect for the killed and injured fighters, we would kind of adopt them, allowing them and the families to be a part of our lives. They could not stay inside of our camps (that’s reserved for the active warriors), but they could set their own camp within an hour ride from us. Yet, they could visit any time they liked providing that they did not interfere with our routine. They are welcome to the food and the shops traveling with us. They could freely move around but not stay overnight. Could we take that chance? Good question. Why would we if there was a question? We have to be smarter than that. Sometimes we know those people well but not always. We did not want any extra problems to worry about. What if they were with the other side, whatever that side was. We hoped they were not, but we had to be couscous.