Yes, Alp's position had improved materially during his summer's exile, thanks to the dishonor among thieves.
Uga had made a fatal mistake when he practiced to betray Alp. For Alp was a true Steppe nomad, born a Uigur, among whom betrayal was punishable by dismemberment and death. He had kept faith with his friend—but now that Uga had broken faith, he was an enemy. There was no such thing as keeping faith with an enemy. A whole new set of standards prevailed.
When it came to loyalty, the Uigur was absolute. And when it came to deceit, he was a master.
Alp's new campaign had begun with his message of reproach. He continued with a barrage of false pleas for rapprochement with the Wang Qan, Togrul. Temujin's brother Qasar made contact, for Qasar's family had fallen into the power of the Kerayit. Qasar really believed in the mission, so Uga's trick truth-swords could not give him away. And Uga, thus misjudging the temper of his adversary, was lulled. He actually thought all was forgiven.
Alp made a secret march through space. He also disguised himself and went into the enemy lines to complain of ill-treatment—and to admit incidentally that Temujin's horde was still far away. The Kerayit officers, not to be fooled, sent him back with an escort of several ships to check for themselves. Togrul might be foolish; his strategists weren't.
Naturally the party encountered the deploying Mongol forces. But Alp, alert to what to look for, was first to spy the advancing fleet. He knew that the Kerayit, well mounted, could turn and escape, giving the alarm—if they realized. Quickly he reined in his horse.
'What are you doing, deserter?' his suspicious escort-captain demanded. 'We have a long way yet to ride—if what you say is true.'
'A malfunction in my engine,' Alp said. It was good to lie freely again! 'I think I can fix it in a moment.'
'We'll give you a remount.'
'No need! This has happened before, but I like this horse. Just let me nudge the panel, here...'
And while he stalled, to the sputtering frustration of the captain, the Mongol vanguard surrounded the Kerayit party. There was not even a fight; the Kerayit were taken prisoner, and the secret was preserved.
'You should not take such risks, Qan!' Jebe reproved him on the screen, smiling because it was exactly the type of exploit Jebe himself indulged in.
'
Not long thereafter the Mongols fell upon the Kerayits, who were taken utterly by surprise and scattered. Wang Qan did not retain a loyal cadre this time, and there was no ally Temujin to succor him. He fled to Naiman space where, unrecognized, he was shot down. That quickly did his elimination from the Game follow his defeat.
Alp sighed, his rancor gone. He had done what was necessary. But he wished it had not
The surviving Kerayit made submission to Temujin. Alp resettled their elements among the various Mongol clans, his standard precaution. Never again did he intend to face a unified enemy Kerayit nation! In time the Kerayits would be absorbed, and they would be Mongols, with complete loyalty to the Mongol Qan. Uga had hoped to assume the Mongol title; Alp had converted the Kerayits to Mongols in another way!
Now only one major independent power remained in central Steppe: the Naiman. They controlled the western part, while Alp controlled the east. Jamuqa was with the Naiman now, though he no longer had the nerve to sport the pretentious Gur-Qan title. Alp knew that he could not rest until that threat had been eliminated.
Alp reorganized and drilled the enlarged Mongol forces, forging them into the most formidable fleet yet. Then in 1204 he prepared to move against the Naiman.
Jamuqa, awed by the force Alp had mustered, fled with his Jajirat clansmen just before the battle was joined. Alp, advised of the desertion, sneered; without Uga, Pei-li turned out to be nothing more than an opportunistic coward!
Meanwhile, the bulk of the Naiman stood firm. Qasar commanded the Mongol center and showed consummate leadership: courage counted for more than craft, this time. The Naiman were pushed back, decimated. Their Tayang was wounded. Barely clinging to Game-life, he was conveyed to a small planet to the rear of his lines. Alp had a spy in that entourage who managed to broadcast what followed:
TAYANG: 'Who are these who pursue our ships with such devastation?'
FIRST OFFICER: 'They are the hunting dogs of Temujin: Jebe the Arrow, Jelme the Devout, Subotai, Borchu, Qasar... They feed on spaceships and are leashed with lasers; their skulls are of brass, their teeth hewn from primeval rock; their tongues are swords and their hearts of iron!'
SECOND OFFICER: 'What should we do, Tayang?' (Silence.)
THIRD OFFICER: 'Arise, Chief! Your wives and mother await you!'
(No response.)
Then the last of the Naiman returned to their ships and resumed the hopeless battle. Alp, moved by their courage in adversity, would have spared them. But they fought on resolutely until the last man was eliminated from the Game.
'They must have had a great leader!' Alp said, shaking his head. Would his own troops serve him like that, after he died?
The bulk of the Naiman populace now submitted to Alp. But Jamuqa remained to be hunted down. That was to take two more Days but was inevitable, for Alp had conquered Steppe.
Chapter 18
QAN
For the moment there were the Naiman to be assimilated into the empire. First Alp checked the officers and aristocracy among the captives, determining their potential usefulness to the new order. It was his policy to waste nothing, and he considered human skills to be the greatest resource of all. By properly utilizing the talents of the men in his empire, he could forge it into a stronger power than had ever been seen in Steppe before. One that could successfully tackle the perennial enemy of all the nomads: China.
