186 Genghis Khan (2/2)
...
On a day like any other, Ed lazily sat on his throne while paging through one of his favorite books. 'Ah, perhaps I should write my own book someday.' He smilingly thought to himself.
”Shah! Shah!” A panicked man suddenly ran into the throne room.
”Hmm? What is it?” Ed calmly replied. It was unusual to see his general panicked like this, but he was sure it was something he could handle.
”Shah...” The general gulped as he nervously bowed. ”The Mongols have invaded!”
”So, the time has come.” Ed nodded and stood from the throne. ”How far have they made it? Are our defenses holding well for the time being?”
A dire look appeared on the general's face. ”We've already lost far too much. They invaded the east with a detached force and have already taken it over. For now, Otrar, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Urgench are all under siege, though they're holding the line.
”Damn.” Ed frowned. ”I didn't think they would progress so quickly. Send reinforcements at once. We can't afford to let the cities fall.
”At once!” The general nodded and hurriedly left to pass on orders. Of course, he had already sent reinforcements before coming to the Shah, but it was his duty to keep the empire informed of what was happening in the war.
...
A month soon passed, and things only grew worse. The Mongolians had learned siege warfare from the Chinese, and their battering rams were quickly turning the tides of war in their favor. This, combined with their strong cavalry and horse archers, made for an extremely deadly foe. Additionally, the Khwarezmian Empire proved to be less united than previously thought, and some cities had actually surrendered without even putting up much of a fight. Otrar held strongly for over a month, but it soon fell as well. Governor Inalchuq was captured by the Mongols, and rumors said that the Great Khan himself had executed the Governor by pouring molten silver into his eyes and ears, turning the man into a silver statue. After the city was conquered, the Mongols actually diverted a river and flooded the city to destroy it! Otrar was gone from the maps, and the land had forever been changed by the Great Khan's madness!
Soon, the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Urgench also fell, and there was very little left remaining to stop the Great Khan's warpath. Millions had died as a result of the Mongol's savage and brutal methods, and the Khwarezmian Empire was all but destroyed. Cities were razed to the ground or flooded by diverting nearby rivers. Countless historical artifacts, valuable books, and other records were destroyed. The value of such destruction was astronomical, and the deaths were more than any massacre the world had ever seen before. Even if they managed to stave off the invasion, how many centuries would it take the Khwarezmian Empire to recover? How many centuries would it take the Islamic world to recover? This was the start of the end of the golden age of the Islamic world!
Unfortunately, the chance for a comeback never came. The Mongols sent a detached force of nearly 50,000 men ahead of their ongoing sieges, and they headed straight for the capital!
Ed's face was extremely dark after he heard the latest reports from his leading general. ”They're coming straight for my life?” He stood from his throne while sighing. ”Call for my advisors and my son.”
...
A meeting was soon held in the palace. The throne was officially abdicated to Ed's son, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu. Perhaps this would sooth the Mongols wrath, though it seemed unlikely.
Ed fled the empire in exile through the Caspian Sea. He arrived at the Abaskun port of a small island where he planned to stay until he found refuge somewhere within the Muslim-controlled region of Khorasan.
Ed sat alone in a tiny home that he was temporarily using as his residence. 'Where did I go wrong?' He sighed as he rubbed his tired face. One of the greatest empires in the world had just been destroyed to the point of nearly being wiped off the map, and it was all his fault. What would his father say to him if he was still alive? What would his ancestors think of him? ”I should've studied warfare.” He sighed while staring up at the sky. ”Would things have been different if I had been born a commoner? Would I have struggled more and eventually won my rightful place as Shah?”
Little did he know at the time, these would soon be his final words. Ala ad-Din Muhammad II died of the disease pleurisy just a few weeks after having escaped to the island. Later, his empire would be completely destroyed by the Mongol Empire, and his son would serve as the very last Shah of the Khwarezmian Empire.
...
Ed awoke again, staring at the Samsara wheel. 'What a failure of a life...' He thought to himself in shock. Even if he was far from perfect in his last two lives, and he could even be described as absolutely vile in one of them, he had still lived successful lives. He was fairly surprised how much of a failure he had been in the life before Napoleon. He had never even heard of the great Khwarezmian Empire before, and he considered himself someone fairly well-learned when it came to history. The Mongols had so thoroughly destroyed the empire that only those that specialized in history or were truly passionate about it would likely know about it today. Well, such a thing was normal. After all, there were plenty of fallen empires that had been all but forgotten in modern times except by the select passionate few that studied such things.
'So, Ala ad-Din Muhammad II wanted to start lower on the totem pole and struggle in his next life? Is that how Napoleon came to be? Did Napoleon want to be a doctor near the end of his life? He didn't recall thinking of that during his life as Napoleon, but Napoleon had died of stomach cancer, so the idea wasn't particularly farfetched.