flames.
‘You were my brother Mongke’s man, Uriang-Khadai. I know it and it does not trouble me.’ He glanced at the orlok, but Uriang-Khadai said nothing.
‘You have proved yourself to me against the Sung …’ Kublai went on. ‘But that is past. It seems I must take my tumans home. If it comes to battle, we will face Mongol tumans on their own land. We will face our own people, men that perhaps you know and respect.’
Uriang-Khadai turned from the flames, his eyes and the planes of his face in shadow. He nodded briefly.
‘And you wish to know if I can be trusted, my lord. I understand.’ He thought for a time, wiping some of the droplets of rain from his face. ‘I do not see how I can make you certain, my lord. It is true that your brother Mongke chose me to lead your armies, but I have obeyed every order from you. I have been loyal and I gave my oath with the rest when you declared yourself khan. If that is not enough, I do not know what else I can offer you.’
‘Your family is in Karakorum,’ Kublai said softly.
Uriang-Khadai nodded, the muscles in his jaw tensing.
‘That is true. It is true for most of the men, the new tumans and the old. If your brother Arik-Boke uses my family as hostages, there is nothing I can do to save them. I
For an instant, his eyes revealed a flash of raw anger and Kublai had a sudden insight that brought something like shame. His family had manipulated this man for years. Kublai looked away first. He had sent the women and children of his tumans back to Karakorum and he would have given his right hand to undo that innocent decision. It gave Arik-Boke a piece to play that would cut to the heart of those who fought with Kublai. He did not know yet if Arik-Boke would use the threat, but as Chabi had said, he no longer knew his brother.
‘I must plan a campaign against the homeland,’ Kublai said, almost in wonder. ‘Will you help me in this?’
‘Of course, my lord. You are the khan. My loyalty is yours.’ Uriang-Khadai spoke each word with such quiet certainty that Kublai felt his doubts vanish.
‘How would you begin?’ he said.
Uriang-Khadai smiled, aware that the crisis had passed.
‘I would withdraw immediately from Sung lands, my lord. I would make my base in the Chin territory, around Xanadu. There is food enough there to keep us in the field. Your brother has to bring in grain and meat from the Chagatai khanate and Russian lands, so I would move to cut those lines. Supply will play a part in this war.’ The orlok began to pace in unconscious mimicry of Kublai’s movements before he had entered. ‘Your brother will have vassal princes, personally sworn to him. You must break the strongest of those quickly, to send a message to the rest. Take your brother’s power, his support, and when you face him in battle, he will collapse.’
‘You have thought about it,’ Kublai said with a smile.
‘Ever since the news came in, my lord. You must return home and if you have to, you must tear down Karakorum. You are the khan. You cannot allow another to claim the title.’
‘You are not troubled at the thought of facing our own people in war?’ Kublai asked.
Uriang-Khadai shrugged.
‘We have fought almost continuously for five years, my lord. The tumans under you were the best Mongke could give you, but they have become far stronger. I do not flatter them when I say that. No one your brother can field could stand against us. So no, I am not troubled. If they choose to draw a line in the ground, we will step right over it and gut them.’
Uriang-Khadai paused, weighing his next words.
‘I do not know what you intend for your brother. You should know that if Arik-Boke threatens the families of our tumans, you may not be able to spare his life at the end. I have seen you grant mercy to entire cities, but your warriors lost only silver and loot when you did. If your brother has blood on his hands when we meet him …’ He broke off as Kublai grimaced.
‘I understand,’ Kublai said. The older man was watching him closely. ‘If this begins, I will end it. I do not want to kill him, orlok, but as you say, there are some things I will not ignore.’
Uriang-Khadai nodded, satisfied at what he saw in Kublai’s face.
‘Good. It is important to understand the stakes. This is not a game, or a family feud that can be settled with a good argument and strong drink. This will get bloody, my lord. I take it you have not informed your brother of your intentions? I saw you were holding the yam riders prisoner.’
Kublai shook his head.
‘That is something, at least,’ Uriang-Khadai said. ‘We will be able to surprise him and that is worth half a dozen tumans. I suggest you make Xanadu your stronghold, my lord. It is within striking range of your brother and we can leave the remaining camp followers there. Moving fast, we can break his supply lines and take the lands of whichever princes support him. We need information on those men, but with a little luck, the war could be over before your brother realises what is happening.’
Kublai felt the older man’s confidence lift him. He thought of the letter from Arik-Boke once again. His brother had boasted of the princes who had given their oath to him.
‘I believe I may have a list, orlok. My brother was kind enough to give me the names of his most prominent supporters.’
Uriang-Khadai blinked and then smiled slowly.
‘There were no yam lines when you made yourself khan, my lord. He may not hear for months yet what you have done. We can stay ahead of the news and be welcomed by the princes before they have any idea of our intentions.’
Kublai’s mouth tightened at the thought. He did not enjoy the idea of approaching men who thought of him as an ally and then destroying them, but his brother had left him with few choices.
‘If that is how it must be,’ he said. ‘Mongke’s two oldest sons declared for my brother, Asutai and Urung Tash. Do you know them?’
‘No, my lord. They will have been given lands in exchange for their support. Who else?’
‘Chagatai’s grandson, Alghu; Jochi’s son, Batu. Those are the most powerful of his new allies.’
‘Then we will take them first. I am not worried about Mongke’s sons, my lord. They will be minor players and they have not yet made their names. Batu will control the supplies of food and equipment coming from the north. He is the one we must attack first, then Alghu.’
Kublai thought for a moment.
‘Batu … owes me a great deal. Perhaps we can bring him to our side.’ Uriang-Khadai looked at him questioningly but he shook his head, unwilling to discuss it. ‘Even so, it means going around the homeland. Thousands of miles.’
‘Tsubodai managed three times the distance, my lord. Send a small force, two or three tumans to make the raid. General Bayar would bite your hand off if you offered him the chance to act for you. You and I will assault the Chagatai territory to the west.’
‘My brother Hulegu has a new khanate around Damascus. I will send someone to him there. Then Karakorum,’ Kublai said softly. ‘Each one in a season, orlok. I will not spend years on this. I want this finished quickly, so that I may return to the Sung.’
‘As you will, my lord khan,’ Uriang-Khadai said, bowing.
Arik-Boke opened the door and leaned against the frame as he stared into the palace hall. The room was large enough to echo at the slightest noise, but the host of scribes seated at desks were almost silent. Only the scratch of quills and the gentle thump of ink-stamps could be heard. They sat with their heads bowed, writing and reading. Occasionally, one of them would rise from his seat with a scroll in hand and cross the room to check it in whispers with his superior.
Batu peered through the open doorway. He was much older than Arik-Boke, though he too was a grandson of Genghis, descended through the line of Jochi, the first-born son to the great khan. His black hair was shot through with grey and his face was as weathered as any herdsman who spent his days in wind and rain. Only his paler skin showed his lands lay in the Russian north. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of the scribes and Arik-Boke chuckled.
‘You wanted to see the beating heart of the empire, Batu. This is it. I admit, it is not what I imagined when I became khan.’
‘I think I would go mad if I had to work in such a room,’ Batu replied seriously. He shrugged. ‘But it is
