‘Who are you?’ Batu demanded.
‘General Bayar, my lord. Officer to Kublai Khan.’
Batu shook his head in confusion.
‘Send your men away and have them camp in the valley two miles to the east. I won’t have them frightening my villages. There will be no looting, or contact with my people, general. Is that clear?’
‘I will give the orders, my lord,’ Bayar replied.
The older man seemed to be studying him, his expression still astonished. Bayar watched as felt rugs were laid out on the grass and tea put on to boil. He sent word back to his tumans and then settled himself. He only hoped he could find the right words to impress the man who sat across from him.
Batu waited until Bayar had taken a bowl of tea in his right hand and sipped it, tasting the salt.
‘Now explain, general. You know, I almost hope you are a madman. That would be a better thing than the news I think you have brought.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Samarkand was a beautiful city, with white mountains in the distance and walls so thick that three horsemen could ride abreast on the crown. Blue towers showed over the sand-coloured walls, but the great gates were closed. Kublai’s tumans had driven farmers and villagers ahead of them like geese, the crowd growing as they rode the last few miles. Unable to enter the city, they sat and wailed in front of it, raising their hands to those within. Kublai’s warriors ignored them.
All along the walls, armoured Mongols and Persians looked down in stupefaction. No army had besieged Samarkand since Genghis. Yet there were many still alive who remembered the horrors of that time. Hundreds, then thousands of the inhabitants climbed steps on the inside to stare at the tumans.
Kublai looked up at them, sitting comfortably on a thin horse as it nuzzled the ground for anything worth eating. His face and fingers still ached from the cold he had endured in the mountain passes. Though the sun was strong, he knew he would lose skin on his cheeks, already darker than the rest of his face as it began to peel and crack.
Zhenjin trotted his mount over to his father, though he did not speak as he too looked up at the great walls. Kublai smiled to see his son’s expression.
‘My grandfather took this city once, Zhenjin,’ he said.
‘How?‘ the boy replied, in awe. He barely remembered Karakorum, and Samarkand was designed to impress exactly the sort of force Kublai commanded.
‘Catapults and siege,’ Kublai replied. ‘He did not have cannon then.’
‘We have no cannon, father,’ Zhenjin replied.
‘No, but if I must, I will have the men build heavy machines to break the walls. It will not be quick, but the city will fall. That is not why I came here though, Zhenjin. I have no interest in killing my own people, unless they force my hand. There are faster ways, if they know their history.’
He signalled to Uriang-Khadai and in turn the man snapped an order to two of the warriors. They leapt from their saddles and began to unpack equipment from spare horses. Zhenjin watched as they took rolls of material and spars onto their shoulders, grunting at the weight.
‘What do they have there?’ he asked.
‘You will see,’ Kublai replied, smiling strangely to himself. The scholar he had been was very far away at that moment, though he took joy in the story of his family and the history of the city. History was more than just stories, he reminded himself as the men walked forward with their burdens. It taught lessons as well.
Under the eye of their khan, the men worked quickly, heaving layers of cloth onto a wooden frame and hammering pegs and ropes into the stony ground. They had walked into arrow range and their stiff backs showed how they tried to resist the fear that someone would put a shaft into them as they worked.
When they stood back, the tumans broke into a roar of challenge, unplanned, a crash of sound that echoed back to them from the walls. A white tent stood before Samarkand.
‘I do not understand,’ Zhenjin said, shouting to be heard over the noise.
‘The senior men in the city will,’ Kublai replied. ‘The white tent is a demand for surrender, a sign to them that the khan’s tumans have declared war. As the sun sets, if their gates remain closed to me, a red tent will follow. It will stand for a day before their walls. If they ignore that, I will raise a black tent before them.’
‘What do the red and black tents mean?’ Zhenjin asked.
‘They mean death, my son, though it will not come to that.’
Even as he spoke, the huge gates began to swing open. A cry of hope went up from the crowd of terrified refugees around the walls. They streamed to that one point as if a dam had burst, pushing each other in desperation and getting in the way of riders trying to leave the city. Kublai grinned at his son.
‘They remember Genghis still, at least in Samarkand. See there, my son. They come.’
Lord Alghu was sweating heavily, though he had bathed in cool waters as the sun rose. He had been called from his palace rooms by senior men, their faces white with fear. He could still hardly believe the sheer size of the army that had gathered before Samarkand. For the first time in his life, he understood how it must have been for the enemies of the nation to wake and see tumans waiting for them. He wished his father Baidur still lived. He would have known what to do in the face of such a threat.
Alghu had rushed up to the crest of the wall, sagging against a stone pillar as he stared out into the distance. Had he offended Arik-Boke in some way? Lord Alghu swallowed painfully, his throat dry in the breeze. If the khan chose to make an example of him, his beloved cities would be burnt, his people slaughtered. Alghu had no illusions about the destructive strength of a Mongol army in the field. The tumans before Samarkand would tear through the Chagatai khanate like an unstoppable plague. He saw his own death in the fluttering banners.
His senior men had climbed the sandstone steps to see and they looked to him to give orders. Lord Alghu summoned his will, forcing himself to think. He led them all and their lives were in his hands. He did not blame his daughter. Aigiarn was young and headstrong, but whatever insult Arik-Boke believed he had been given did not warrant sending an army. He would send her away from the city so that Arik-Boke’s malice would not fall on her. Lord Alghu shuddered at the thought.
‘My lord, I cannot see the khan’s banners out there,’ one of his men said suddenly.
Lord Alghu had been turning to the steps to go down. He stopped.
‘What do you mean?’ he said, coming back and peering out again. The day was clear and he could see a long way from the height of the walls.
‘I don’t understand,’ Alghu muttered as he confirmed it with his own eyes. Arik-Boke’s banners were missing, but he did not recognise the others flying there. They seemed to have some animal embroidered on yellow silk. It was too far to be certain, but Lord Alghu knew he had never seen those flags before.
‘Perhaps I should go out and ask them what they want,’ he said to his men, smiling tightly.
Their expressions didn’t ease in reply. All of them had family in Samarkand or the cities around it. The Chagatai khanate had not been attacked for decades and yet they all knew the stories of slaughter and destruction that had come with Genghis. It was impossible to live in the khanate and not hear them.
A small group of warriors walked forward from the tumans in front of his city, each man bearing rolls of cloth. Alghu stared down in confusion as they approached the walls. One of his soldiers began to bend a bow nearby, but he snapped an order to be still.
Thousands watched curiously as the white tent began to take shape, the men below hammering pegs and stretching ropes to hold it. It was not as solid as a ger and its sides fluttered in the breeze. When Lord Alghu recognised it, he fell back a step, shaking his head.
‘It can’t be,’ he whispered. Those who remembered stood in shock, while their friends demanded to know what it meant.
‘Ready the gates!’ Lord Alghu shouted suddenly. ‘I will go out to them.’ He turned to his me
n, his expression sick with worry.
‘This has to be a mistake. I do not understand it, but the khan would not destroy Samarkand.’
He almost fell as he ran down the steps, his legs weak under him. His horse was on the main street into the city, waiting with his personal guards. They knew nothing of what he had seen and he did not enlighten them. The white tent was a demand for total surrender and it had to be answered before the red tent rose. As he mounted, Alghu told himself he had a day, but he could hardly think for fear. The red tent would mean the death of every male of fighting age in the city. The black tent was a promise to slaughter every living thing, including women and children. The city of Herat had ignored Genghis when he threatened them in such a way. Only lizards and scorpions lived in that place when he had finished.
‘Open the gates!’ Lord Alghu roared. He had to answer the demand immediately. His soldiers removed the great bar of oak and iron and began to heave them apart. As a line of light showed, their lord turned to one of his most trusted men.
‘Go to my sons, my daughter. Take them safely to …’ He hesitated. If the khan had decided to destroy his line, there was no safe place in the world. Arik-Boke would hunt them down and no one would dare give them shelter for fear of the khan’s vengeance.
‘My lord, the village of Harethm is a hundred miles to the north and west,’ the bondsman said. ‘I lived there once and it lies within the borders of the Hulegu khanate. No one will know they are there but you. I will protect them with my life.’
‘Very well,’ Alghu replied, breathing in relief. ‘Go now, from another gate. I will send for them if I can.’
As the gates opened further, Lord Alghu saw a crowd of men and women pressing in, their hands outstretched in panic. His soldiers began to shove them back to let their master pass. Lord Alghu had no eyes for them as they streamed around his men. The city was no safer than their place outside it.
He stared out at the dark lines of the tumans waiting for him. Fear was a knot in his stomach as he dug in his heels and began to trot forward. As he passed under the shadow of the arch, he saw his bannermen begin to unfurl his personal flags.
‘White banners,’ he snapped, close to panic. ‘We go out under truce.’
His men stared at him, seeing his fear. They had no white flags, but one of the refugees wore a white robe. In an instant, the unfortunate man had been clubbed to the ground and stripped, his garment raised to flutter on a spear as Lord Alghu rode out.
‘Would you like to come with me?’ Kublai asked his son. Zhenjin grinned, showing white teeth. In answer, he dug in his heels and his horse lunged forward. Kublai nodded to Uriang-Khadai and the orlok whistled to the closest jagun of a hundred warriors. They detached from the ranks, forming up on both sides of the two senior men. Kublai’s bannermen came with them, carrying yellow flags with Chinese dragons on them that caught the sun and glittered.
‘Be silent and listen,’ Kublai murmured to Zhenjin at his side as they closed on the force from the city.
‘Are we going to kill them?’ Zhenjin asked. The idea did not seem to trouble him particularly and Kublai smiled. He had seen the white flag flapping above them.
‘Not unless I have to. I need this khanate on my side.’
They halted together, demonstrating their discipline to those who watched from the walls. Lord Alghu’s men pulled up with less precision, the sort of sloppy display Kublai’s tumans expected from city soldiers.
Lord Alghu came out with his most senior man and Kublai matched him with Uriang-Khadai. The two smaller groups faced each other in the bright sunlight, casting long shadows on the sandy ground. Kublai waited, standing on his dignity for once and forcing them to speak first.
The silence lasted only moments before Lord Alghu cleared his throat.
‘Who are you to raise a white tent before my city?’ he demanded.
‘I am Kublai Borjigin, grandson of Genghis, great khan of the risen nation. Give me your name and acknowledge me as your lord and we have no quarrel.’
Lord Alghu gaped, slumping in the saddle. He had met Kublai as a boy, but the years had changed him beyond all recognition. The man he faced wore a Chin silk robe over a tunic, with dragons embroidered on the material. Yet there was a sword at his hip and he looked strong and dangerous. Lord Alghu peered into the sunlight and saw the light gold eyes that so often marked the line of Genghis. He swallowed.
‘I am Alghu Borjigin,’ he stammered, ‘khan of the Chagatai territory. If you are …’ He hesitated, having been about to say words that suggested he doubted Kublai’s claim. He could not afford to insult a man with twelve tumans. ‘I am your cousin, son to Baidur, son to Chagatai, son to Genghis.’
‘I met you when I was young, did I not? Before Guyuk was made khan in Karakorum?’
Lord Alghu nodded, trying to reconcile the memory of the thin boy with the man he faced.
‘I remember you. You have returned from the Sung lands, then?’
Kublai chuckled. ‘You are a man of rare insight, with me standing before you. Now surrender your city, Lord Alghu. I will not ask again.’
The older man’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. He shook his head, simply unable to take in what he had been told.
‘Arik-Boke is khan,’ he stammered at last. To his horror, Kublai’s expression turned cold and the yellow eyes seemed to gleam with anger.
‘No, Lord Alghu. No, he is not. I claim the khanate and all the nations within it. My brother will bow the knee to me or fall. But that is for another day. Give me your answer or I will take this city and put another in your place.’ Kublai turned to Uriang-Khadai, his voice light. ‘Would you be interested in ruling Samarkand, orlok?’
‘If it is your will, my lord khan,’ Uriang-Khadai replied. ‘But I would rather ride with you against the usurper.’
‘Very well. I will find another.’ He turned back to Lord Alghu, still watching with a slightly open mouth. ‘Your answer, Lord Alghu?’
‘I … I gave my oath to Arik-Boke. To your brother, my lord. I cannot take the words back.’
‘I release you from your oath,’ Kublai replied immediately. ‘Now …’
‘It is not as simple as that!’ Alghu snapped, anger finally breaking through his shock.
‘No? Who else has the authority to release your oath, if not your khan?’
‘My lord, this is … I need time to think. Will you enter the city in peace for a night? I grant guest rights to you and your men.’
For an instant, Kublai felt for the man he had put in an impossible position. Twelve tumans faced his city, promising certain destruction. He could not break his oath to Arik-Boke, but Kublai was giving him no choice. His will hardened.
‘No, Lord Alghu. You will make a decision here and now. You have chosen to give oath to the usurper, but I do not hold you responsible for his crimes. I am the rightful khan of the nation. I am the gur-khan. My word is iron and my word is law. I tell you again that you are released from your oath, your vow. It is done. At this moment, you call no man lord. Do you understand what I have said to you?’
Lord Alghu had grown pale. He nodded.
‘Then, as a free man, you must make your decision. My place is not here. I have other concerns than this khanate, but I cannot leave an enemy behind me while I seek out my foolish brother. I cannot leave a supply line into Karakorum, when I will bring that city under siege. Do you understand that?’
Lord Alghu nodded again, unable to reply. Kublai’s voice softened, almost to friendliness.
‘Then choose, Lord Alghu. We have so few real choices in our lives. I will have no choice but to destroy Samarkand if you make the wrong decision here, this morning, but I do not wish to threaten you. The nation is in error, Lord Alghu. I have merely to put right what has gone wrong.’
Alghu thought of his children, already on their way to a safe village. He had no illusions about what Kublai was describing. Arik-Boke had a vast army and he would never surrender to his brother, not now
he was khan. No Mongol force had ever fought against their own people in battle, but it would come, and it would bring destruction on a scale he could hardly imagine.
Slowly, carefully, under the watchful eye of Kublai’s orlok, Lord Alghu dismounted and stood by his horse, looking up at the man who claimed to rule the world. The Chagatai khanate was just a small part of that, he told himself. Yet if he gave a new oath, Arik-Boke would send his own tumans in reprisal. There would be no mercy, no quarter for an oath-breaker lord. Lord Alghu closed his eyes for an instant, caught between impossible forces.
At last, he spoke.
‘My lord,’ he said, ‘if I give you my oath, my cities lie within reach of Karakorum. It will be an act of war with the great khanate.’ He blinked as he realised the words he had used, but Kublai only laughed.
‘I cannot promise you safety, Lord Alghu. There is no safety in this world. I can say that I will keep my brother’s attention on me for this summer. After that, the khanate will be restored and I will look kindly on your cities.’
‘If you lose, my lord …’
‘If I lose? I do not fear some weakling brother who thinks he can stand in my place. The sun is hot, Lord Alghu, and I have been patient with you. I understand your fears, but if I stood in your place, I would know what to do.’
Lord Alghu stepped clear of his horse. On the dusty ground, he lowered himself to both knees.
‘I offer you gers, horses, salt and blood, my lord khan,’ he said, his voice almost a whisper. ‘You have my oath.’
The tension went out of Kublai’s frame as he spoke.
‘The right decision, Lord Alghu. Now welcome my men into your city, that we may rest and drink the dust from our throats.’
‘Very well, my lord khan,’ Lord Alghu said, wondering if he had just thrown away his honour, as well as his life. He had been considering bringing his children back to the city, but it would do them no harm to spend a season with the villagers, as safe from harm as anyone could be with the khanates about to erupt into civil war.
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