Character Index

  Dulan: A Pugu warrior who wants to overthrow Heli. Dissatisfied with the sidelining of Tiele tribes in policies and administration.

  Geleng: A Pugu warrior who accompanied Tuhezhen to the Eastern Khaganate and whose suspicions of Tuhezhen's murder led to the current movement against Heli.

  Heli: The sixteen year old Pugu chieftain, suffering from anxiety due to a bunch of powerful full-grown men wanting him dead.

  Sima Qi: A former Investigator turned independent actor, he was the poison tester for Kuang.

  Investigator Bao: An Investigator from the Yanzhou branch, under Investigator Mi's command.

  Investigator Mi: A young Investigator ranked at hundred-household commander (aka the chief of a small police station within a city in modern-day equivalent). He was one of Kayla's security detail on the trip to escort Ashina to Luoyang. Being viewed as promising, he was promoted to a position in a branch office so he could get some commanding experience.

  Investigator Geshu: A Turkish Investigator under Investigator Mi's command. His name is based on the Tang-dynasty official Geshu Daolun, the son of a Turkish family who surrendered to the Tang.

  Tumidu: Commander of the Uyghur tribe, grandfather of Princess Mingda and Qazar, Kayla's hostage.

  Datan: Heli's right-hand-man, mentor, and guardian.

  Tiezhen: Head of a major Pugu clan.

  Shelun: Head of a major Pugu clan, the mastermind behind the current opposition to Heli.

  Anagui: Head of a major Pugu clan.

  Nagai: Shelun's son. Passed the Civil Exam, a difficult feat for even bright young Tiele due to having Chinese as a second language and the incompatibility of traditional Han schooling systems with nomadic life. Given that Nagai is widely known as an idiot, his miraculous accomplishment is viewed with great suspicion.

  Princess Halime: Ashina Ibilga's half-sister, has been promised to Yunqi as a bride. Her mother is from a Persian clan who sought refuge under Chuluo.

  Dulan and Geleng sat under one of the sparse trees on the plains, refusing to look at each other. Their heated discussion of tribal politics had fizzled out into sullen silence yet again. Dulan had half a mind to ride off without his friend, but that didn’t seem right. He’d been the one to drag Geleng out to their usual spot so he could grill the man on just why Geleng was being so moody.

  If he just left like this, their friendship would start going downhill as well.

  The more worked up his tribesmen got over the public denouncement of Heli, the more unhappy Geleng became. Of everyone, it was the person who had started all of this who was the most displeased.

  Dulan shook his head in exasperation. That was Geleng for you. A worrying, indecisive man with good intentions, but by Tengri did he take patience to handle. Dulan was tempted to give another go at arguing Geleng over to his viewpoint, but preemptively gave up.

  It wasn’t that Geleng couldn’t see that this was their chance to instate not just a new ruler but also new reforms and a new relationship with the central court, but simply that Geleng didn’t think they would succeed.

  Before Dulan could make an offer of peace through a lighthearted comment, a far-off figure caught their attention.

  “What the hell is that?” Dulan asked, peering at the distant figure suspiciously.

  “A person,” Geleng said flatly.

  “He’s not from here,” Dulan said. Sure, the person was on horseback, but though they were still too far off to see clearly, that was not a hat that any self-respecting Tiele would wear. Especially not in winter.

  “Oh, leave them be,” Geleng said irritably.

  Dulan gave Geleng a sideways look, his own irritation flaring again. But arguments could wait. What the hell was that person doing?

  The figure on horseback had seemed to start moving away from them, then stopped to hover hesitantly before turning back and heading towards Dulan and Geleng.

  Then halfway over, the man paused–they were now certain it was a man–and looked around. He was almost a caricature of a lost person with the obvious puzzlement and the constant swiveling of his head, made all the more obvious by his upraised arm shading his eyes from the sun. Why was he even bothering to shade his eyes when he had a brimmed hat?

  “You think he’s lost?” Dulan asked, feeling stupid after saying it. Of course the man was lost.

  Geleng, decent enough not to take a jibe, nodded.

  “I think he is.”

  “Why the hell isn’t he coming over then–look at this fucker, he’s heading off north now,” Dulan said in exasperation. “No, he’s turning back.”

  They watched as the man came to a stop again, still a good distance away.

  “I’m going to go ask what he wants,” Dulan said, losing his temper at the display of ineptitude.

  “Leave him be,” Geleng said, “He’ll come over in due time.”

  And he did, meandering and radiating confusion. The reason became more obvious as the man came close enough for them to get a better look–rather than calling him a man, it would’ve been more accurate to call him a boy. Probably five or six years older than their teenage Chieftain by his physique but with a face that looked a little younger than that, the man-boy-person came over, his eyes scrunched from the harsh white glare of the winter sun. Which was blocked by his hat.

  “Excuse me, good sirs,” he greeted them, his accent immediately discounting any chance he was a foreigner. “I’m afraid I’m rather lost.”

  “I’m sure you are,” Dulan said drily.

  The boy looked even more confused and lost. “I am,” he agreed without any sign he’d noticed any mockery. “Would you be so kind as to direct me to the nearest town?”

  Dulan scowled. The boy seemed to be Han from his accent, and certainly had never been in the plains before from his utter lack of navigation skills. Who knew how the kid would act if he sniffed trouble? He certainly had no loyalties to any of the Tiele.

  “That way, another fifty miles or so,” Dulan said, pointing in the direction of their neighboring tribe, the Tongluo.

  The boy immediately looked crestfallen.

  “That far?” He asked in dismay.

  Geleng sharply jabbed Dulan in the ribs.

  “He’s just joking, it’s nomadic humor,” Geleng said, a subtle warning undercurrent in his voice. “Our town isn’t too far from here.”

  The look of relief appeared so fast on the boy’s face that it was almost comical.

  “You’ve never been in the plains before, huh?” Dulan asked, not willing to give in just yet.

  The boy shook his head with a sheepish smile.

  “So what brings you all the way here?” Dulan asked.

  “I was recommended to serve as a translator for a Turkic caravan,” the boy said, upset creeping into his face again. “They wanted a Han translator for when the Princess’ delegation would pass through. But the caravan I came north with was delayed and when I got here they’d already left! They found a Sogdian who speaks three languages, damn him–but that’s not fair, they promised me first! The bastards–I even paid for my own journey here!”

  “Where were you supposed to meet them?” Dulan asked suspiciously.

  “At the town of the Uyghurs,” the boy said. “But they’d left, and I was running low on funds, so I tried to make my way back to Shengzhou but I got lost.”

  So the boy had gone off-course, but the general direction was right. Dulan's suspicions faded.

  “You should’ve gone with a caravan,” Geleng cut in. “Wandering around by yourself like this–you must have a death wish.”

  “I didn’t think it was that dangerous,” the boy said, face pale. “B-by the way, am I still in Anbei?”

  “No, this is the Eastern Turkic Khaganate,” Dulan shot back. “That’s why we all speak the language of the Han.”

  It took the boy a great deal of confused blinking before he registered the sarcasm. Probably for the best that he hadn’t gotten the translator job.

  “We’ll take you into town,” Geleng said in a tone that didn’t broker argument from Dulan. “You can head south with the first caravan that comes along.”

  “Thank you so much! Oh, I really hope it won’t be too much trouble!”

  “Not at all,” Geleng said. “I’m Geleng. This is Dulan. What’s your name?”

  The boy beamed at them.

  “I’m Zhu Wulang,” said Sima Qi. With an affable smile that matched his humble pseudonym, he followed the two nomads to his destination.

  As the town before them came into sight, a young Investigator turned towards his equally-young commanding officer.

  “There it is, sir,” Investigator Bao said.

  “Alright, men. Remember, we’re just merchants passing through,” Investigator Mi said. “The wheels on our wagons are busted because the manufacturer was a stingy fraud. Stick to that story no matter what.”

  The sole Turk in the group smiled, patting one of the exhausted horses dragging the half-broken wagons. Their cover story was based on his experience as a boy in his father’s merchant caravan, and he’d known exactly what mud splash patterns on the wagon coverings would be most convincing.

  Investigator Mi himself was uncharacteristically nervous. He’d led his fair share of missions over the past few months, but this was on a different scale.

  “I have orders from the Director to take this seriously,” Investigator Mi said, trying to effect the importance of their task on his team of six. “He wants a thorough job, and I intend to give him that.”

  His subordinates nodded, the younger ones wide-eyed and a little cowed. Orders directly from the head of the Bureau–even higher ranking members in the branch office didn’t have that kind of access. It had become pretty clear over the past few months that their young supervisor was explicitly marked for promotion. Some older, more senior Investigators were bitter and sarcastic in response, but most of the branch office members had the reasonable mindset of not offending someone who was very likely to be ranked over them pretty soon.

  Upon entering the town, their motley crew of worn-out horses and wagons and men was received with a small degree of suspicion that melted away into lukewarm sympathy for their plight. The single inn in town was pointed out to them, and the small crowd of interested onlookers scattered.

  The mood in town was not-quite-right, but it certainly didn’t seem to be on the verge of violent revolt either.

  One of the wagons decided that this was a good time to completely fall apart–the Investigators in charge of causing a convincing amount of damage had been a bit too enthusiastic–and the entire party was burdened with collecting fallen items and trying to salvage the situation. They took that excuse to stop altogether, still close enough to the center of town to get a good look at its on-goings. Some small children stopped to watch them, one biting her fingernails. A woman emerged to herd them away, glancing back over her shoulder at them. But as it became clear that these were just wind-frozen men having trouble collecting small items off the snowy ground, the suspicious glances from passersby disappeared.

  That is, until someone started approaching them directly.

  The Investigators stiffened, and fought not to react immediately or all at once. The man coming towards them had a ridiculous hat more suited for a sunny summer day, and was definitely not one of the Pugu.

  “Who’s that?” Investigator Mi muttered. Investigator Bao eyed the man suspiciously.

  Instead of turning away or shirking, the visibly out-of-place man ambled over in complete naivete to his cool reception, two Pugu tribesmen trailing behind. He didn’t seem to be under watch–the Pugu warriors seemed more like adults watching over a troublesome toddler. Wary, not of him but rather for him.

  “Good sirs, are you heading south by any chance?” The man asked breathlessly as he approached hearing distance.

  “We’re preparing to head further north once we can fix our wagons,” Investigator Mi spoke, eyeing the man carefully. “We've got busted wheels.”

  At a glance the man seemed harmless. Upon second glance though, he also seemed harmless. A hapless Han merchant…not a merchant. Not a scholar either. Probably a translator or a clerk then. Out of place, yes, but from the ample dust and dirt all over him and the squinting eyes of a snow-blinded man, it was because he was lost.

  Visibly harmless. Visibly lost. Warning bells went off in Investigator Mi’s head. Wasn’t it a bit too much of a coincidence for such a man to appear just now?

  Said man was busy looking crestfallen. Very convincingly, if it was an act. Investigator Mi’s paranoia began to melt away.

  “What’s the matter, my friend?” Investigator Mi asked.

  The young man proceeded to rattle on about some broken contract and getting lost. Evidently he wanted to go south and needed a caravan to latch onto, being a complete lost cause for navigation.

  “Well, I’m sorry, but we couldn’t help you,” Investigator Mi said apologetically. “Like I said, we’re going north as soon as we can manage. Better luck with the next one.”

  “Dulan said that not a lot of caravans pass through this way,” the young man said in frustration. “And I just missed one heading south two days ago!”

  One of the tribesmen–possibly the cued Dulan–stepped in, looking exasperated with his self-imposed charge.

  “Perhaps if you’re heading to one of the larger towns, you could bring him with you? He would have better luck there,” Dulan offered. The idea evidently hadn’t occurred to the young man, who lit up. Investigator Mi’s last doubts melted away.

  “Well, we’re already in a bind here,” Investigator Mi said reluctantly. “The wagon merchant screwed us over and now we have to fix all the carts–it’s already quite a burden.”

  “I speak Turkish!” The young man offered.

  “So does he.” Investigator Mi gestured to the visibly Turkish Investigator in their group.

  “Come on, boss, let’s take him,” the Turkish man said amicably. “He can help me out.”

  With that, the Turk gave the youngster a conspiratorial wink.

  “Please, I can be useful!”

  “Alright then,” Investigator Mi conceded. Internally, he was reluctant, but this type of thing was common among caravans. Given how harmless the youngster looked, their group would only look suspicious if they refused. “What’s your name?”

  “Zhu Wulang.”

  “Alright then, Wulang, you’ll have to make yourself useful.”

  The young man thanked him profusely, started thanking the Turk and the tribesmen profusely, and Investigator Mi turned out the endless rattle of thank-yous and blessings. He only quieted down after the two Pugu warriors had left.

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  “My name is Geshu Daoyuan,” the Turkish Investigator was now introducing himself. “You can call me by my surname Geshu or by Daoyuan, whichever suits you.”

  “You’re older than me, I think I should call you by surname to be polite,” Zhu Wulang said shyly. Just as Investigator Mi was about to turn away from the stray they’d taken in, he caught Wulang glance after the retreating figures of the Pugu warriors. The warning bells came back at full volume.

  The sharpness of Wulang’s eyes were those of a blade–a sharpened blade. Geshu evidently noticed as well, his friendliness vaporizing faster than the wind could blow.

  Even at the sudden hostile intent directed at him, Zhu Wulang was unbothered. He scanned their surroundings, confirming that they were now alone and unwatched, the townspeople having lost interest. Then he turned towards Investigator Mi and smiled.

  “Investigator Mi, right?” Zhu Wulang greeted him. “I’m Sima Qi, the backup that the Duke told you about.”

  Investigator Mi felt his neck burning with embarrassment up to the back of his skull. And to think he hadn’t noticed–sure, he had suspected, but it was the same as not noticing at all. Was this guy the same age as him? Younger? It didn’t matter–an unranked man, technically a civilian, and he’d already outwitted the hundred-household overseer Investigator Mi in their first meeting.

  “Codeword?” Investigator Mi asked, trying not to sound too clipped. His annoyance was at himself, not at the guy who was evidently better at the job.

  “I search fruitlessly in the crowd hundreds and thousands of times,” Sima Qi said, pausing expectantly.

  So he was the real deal.

  “I silently turn back, the one I seek stands among the shadows,” Investigator Mi finished.

  “It’s very poetic,” Sima Qi said cheerfully. “Do you reckon the Duke wrote it himself?”

  “I prefer not to speculate,” Investigator Mi said stiffly. "Come on, let's go somewhere we can talk."

  The group made their way into a quiet alley, carefully checking their surroundings for people as they reached an empty clearing with a sealed well.

  Investigator Mi turned towards Sima Qi, forcing himself to be more amiable. “Did you get lost on your way over?”

  “No,” Sima Qi said. “I found the town hours ago, but I was going around to find a local or two who could bring me in. I didn’t want to just stumble in as a complete outsider. It’s better if they bring me here on their own volition so that they’ll at least suspect me less.”

  “You’ll stand out though,” Investigator Bao pointed out.

  “We’re outsiders. We already stand out.”

  Investigator Geshu was smiling fondly now. “And do you even speak Turkish?”

  “Yes, of course,” Sima Qi said earnestly.

  “You’re not an Investigator,” Investigator Mi said, leaving the question unstated. So how were you trained?

  “I used to be one,” Sima Qi said sadly. “I was let go due to some internal issues, but the Duke and Senior Investigator Li vouch for my character and ability.”

  The Duke had indeed vouched for Sima Qi in his message to Investigator Mi. “Well, it’s good that you’re here. The situation seems to be under control for now, but they’ve already publicly denounced the Chieftain.”

  “After that, if it garners sufficient support, it’ll go to a vote among the clan heads,” Investigator Geshu supplied, being the most familiar with the Tiele administrative processes. “If that passes, they’ll petition the court for a change or just change him out first and beg for permission afterwards. But given their timing, the most likely option is that they’ll forgo the tribal vote. They need to assemble at least nine-tenths of the clan heads or their authorized representatives for a vote to oust Heli, but with a good third of the clans in their winter grazing grounds right now. They can’t assemble the numbers required for a vote.”

  “So it’s a coup,” Sima Qi summarized.

  “Essentially so,” Investigator Geshu said. “Either they’ll oust Heli violently by seizing the town and killing him, or they’ll stir up enough of a fuss while the Royal Consort passes through to force the measure through.”

  “We need to prevent either from happening,” Investigator Bao said. “The best way is to force them into going through the proper voting procedures by having the other Tiele chieftains mediate. Duke Zhao said that we have Commander Tumidu’s support, and also that of the Tongluo Chieftain’s–he’s Heli’s maternal uncle.”

  Sima Qi’s eyes widened in realization. “And that would delay the process long enough for the clan leaders to be bought.”

  “I’m getting the sense that they won’t be so open to mediation from other tribes,” Investigator Geshu said mildly.

  “They’re not necessarily ready for violence either,” Sima Qi pointed out. “Those guys just now definitely know of what’s happening–Dulan tried to send me off to the Tongluo instead of letting me in town. But they still let me in, which means they’re still holding a peacetime mentality and acting in accordance to the usual norms of hospitality.”

  “What do you think?” Investigator Mi asked Investigator Geshu.

  “They let us in too,” Investigator Geshu said mildly. “If they were ready to go to war, they would have closed off the town. But I really don’t recommend arresting their leaders, or we’ll really have a revolt on our hands.”

  "If outside mediation and arresting the leaders won't work, then we'll follow protocol. We'll establish contact with Datan and focus on demolishing the dissidents before they can take action,” Investigator Mi said.

  His men nodded approvingly, but Sima Qi didn’t give any reaction. Investigator turned towards the young man, who was watching on with a blank, innocent smile like a child who wasn’t completely sure what was happening around him.

  “What do you think?”

  “Well, I’ll go with whatever you decide on,” Sima Qi said. “For now.”

  “For now?” Investigator Mi asked, his voice growing strained.

  Sima Qi smiled. “I’m not sure what the Duke said to you, but he did tell me to go with Investigator Mi’s plans first, and if that doesn’t work, to have me take over.”

  Investigator Mi curled his fingers into his palm.

  “He said the same to me,” Investigator Mi said reluctantly. He didn’t mention that the Duke had also said that letting Sima Qi loose was their last resort.

  Still, it had been a mistake to openly question Sima Qi. Now his own authority would always be under implicit challenge from this outsider. Investigator Mi tried not to show that he was flustered.

  “Investigator Bao, find us a covert location where I can contact Datan,” Investigator Mi said. "The walls might have ears in the inn."

  He efficiently delegated duties to his men, skipping over Sima Qi, before following Investigator Bao over to an abandoned shed a few feet away from the sealed well, now falling apart. A half-withered tree tilted unsteadily next to it, but Investigator Bao climbed it with ease to watch for any approaching strangers while Investigator Mi made the call.

  Investigator Mi waited patiently for Datan to answer–the man was a busy figure and a well-known one. It wasn’t easy for him to get alone.

  A few moments later, Datan finally answered, a little out of breath.

  “Yes?”

  “This is Mi Zhu from Yanzhou,” Investigator Mi said, using his pseudonym first.

  Datan paused for a moment. “Codeword?”

  “Overnight, the east wind adorns a thousand trees with blossoms,” Investigator Mi dutifully recited.

  “Then scatters them loose, the stars falling like rain,” Datan said, his gruff voice an utter mismatch with the delicate poetry. Neither Investigator Mi nor Datan were literary men. They blankly recited the codewords with flat voices, secretly wishing the Duke had just chosen utter gibberish instead.

  “We’re in town,” Investigator Mi reported. “Our men are settling in the inn, posing as a merchant caravan.”

  “Good,” Datan said, sounding a little uneasy. “How many of you are there?”

  Investigator Mi nearly said seven. “Eight,” he said, adding in Sima Qi. “We’ll scout out Tielun’s house as soon as we can to identify potential entry points.”

  “Shelun’s the real problem,” Datan said.

  “We’ll scout him too, we’ll scout everyone. Give us everything you have on Shelun, Tiezhen, and Anagui. Scandals, rumors, anything. The more sordid the better,” Investigator Mi said.

  “I’ll send it over,” Datan said. “What are your plans?”

  “Discredit, demoralize, distract. That’s the classic handbook,” Investigator Mi said crisply. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll turn to more drastic measures.”

  “What does that entail?” Datan asked suspiciously.

  At Investigator Mi’s stubborn silence, he softened his tone.

  “We’ll cooperate however needed, as we agreed with the Duke. We just want to know so we won’t get caught by surprise,” Datan said.

  “The strategy is pretty simple. You can look at the name and comprehend its meaning–discrediting the leaders and their motives, demoralizing the dissident movement by making it seem impossible to succeed, and distracting them with as many internal divisions, conflicts, and problems as possible,” Investigator Mi said. “So we’ll be needing men who can be hired to infiltrate and spread rumors.”

  “That won’t be hard, I'll arrange it immediately. The divisions haven’t become solidified yet,” Datan said. “Shelun’s son Nagai could be a good entry point–he passed the local Civil Exam despite his lack of education. And there’s more–I’ll send it all to you shortly.”

  “Good,” Investigator Mi said. “And can any of them be connected to the Western Khaganate? If we can frame them out as traitors who are weakening their own tribe for the military interests of a foreign country, that would be the most effective.”

  “Tiezhen was in contact with a caravan from the Western Khaganate two days ago,” Datan supplied immediately. “Those caravans usually don’t come through this way.”

  “Noted,” Investigator Mi said. Hadn’t Sima Qi heard something similar from Dulan and Geleng? “We’ll also need to cause a little bit of damage in the town–minor things, but you’ll see the effects pretty soon.”

  “What do you mean?” Datan asked, his hackles rising immediately at the mention of damage. “What the hell are you going to do?”

  “You agreed to let us do our job,” Investigator Mi said. “Don’t worry, the Duke’s orders are to minimize the impact, which is what we plan to do. But remember–distract. Movements are likely to fall apart when the basic needs of their members aren’t met. We’re going to have to poison some of the livestock.”

  “You’re going to what?! That’s not minor, that’s the basis of our livelihood!”

  “I said some of the livestock, not all of it,” Investigator Mi said. “But it should affect at least a good chunk of the town. It can’t just be limited to the households of the dissidents or it’ll be too obvious as sabotage.”

  “Good Tengri,” Datan said in horror.

  “They won’t die,” Investigator Mi said. “The doses are all tested and pre-approved.”

  “You guys test and approve this kind of thing?” Datan asked, sounding sick to his stomach.

  “It was developed under the previous administration,” Investigator Mi said primly. “I wouldn’t know about it.”

  “This isn’t what we agreed to,” Datan said. “I’m not about to hurt our own people’s livelihoods! The Duke didn’t say anything about this!”

  The Duke hadn’t given any specific orders, Investigator Mi thought with a hint of irritation, making it entirely Investigator Mi’s responsibility.

  No domestic use of poisoning or sabotage had ever been documented. The drugs also were never recorded in the inventory. Investigator Mi hadn’t even known they existed until he left the capital, for this type of thing was never used there. But there was a tacit understanding that Investigator Mi only learned hands-on in the branch office–outside of the capital, certain things just happened, and couldn’t be attributed to anyone and therefore couldn’t be reported or punished. Fires started, wagons overturned, livestock sickened, and greater turmoil was prevented bloodlessly in the end. Investigator Mi thought that the Duke definitely understood as well, when he gave the order, that such “coincidences” were necessary to clean up Heli’s mess.

  The Duke watched out for his own–that much Investigator Mi was certain of. He’d been a beneficiary of the Duke’s generosity during their trip up North, when he’d been promoted instead of demoted for fucking up the security so grandly. But it was one thing to accept generosity once and another thing to take advantage of it repeatedly. Investigator Mi had no intention of fucking up again.

  Investigator Mi’s orders had made it clear that Datan and Heli were on the same boat as him, and that they would listen or be left out to dry. Based on that alone, he had the confidence to hurtle forward even in the face of the Chieftain’s right-hand’s outright disapproval.

  “All of this is off the books,” Investigator Mi said. “For your sake as well as ours–do you think the Emperor would look kindly upon the Chieftain’s murder of his own family member and botching of the aftermath?”

  “That doesn’t mean you can just show up and poison our livestock!”

  “The animals will be fine–they’ll just be sickly and unable to produce milk for some time. When that happens, the dissident leaders will be under pressure to supply medicine and food to their supporters, but that’ll leave the non-dissidents unhappy. What the Chieftain should do is to be extremely generous to everyone equally, even those who have blatantly opposed him. Don’t worry about money–the Duke won’t leave you without.”

  He continued, ignoring Datan’s attempt to break in with more protests. “Any other type of sabotage would be too obvious, but illness among animals is generally thought of as a naturally occurring phenomenon. At the same time, we’ll flood the town with information discrediting Shelun, Tiezhen, and Anagui. It’ll seem like the illness is a punishment for following the words of disloyal men, and if we’re lucky, the dissidents will kill their own leaders. This will be the easiest way–and a potential outbreak of plague, even if it’s only for livestock, would give an excuse for the Royal Consort’s procession to avoid the area altogether, and for both the Chieftain and his opponents to refrain from meeting the delegation. In fact, we can arrange for the local administrators to actively pass an order to contain the town as a protective measure for the Royal Consort. That’ll get you past the crucial time, and the rest will work out naturally.”

  “This is madness,” Datan said, his voice thick with outrage. “I can’t agree to this. You don’t understand anything about our lifestyle–if the livestock get sick during winter, they’ll have a difficult time reproducing in the spring. This will cause damage to countless families!”

  “Alright,” Investigator Mi said pertly. “We’ll leave then.”

  That set Datan off.

  “How arrogant can you get?! Even the Duke never speaks so callously!”

  “The Duke is also not the one who needs to take these risks for you,” Investigator Mi said. “So what will it be? Do we have your cooperation or not?”

  “You can’t poison the horses,” Datan said through gritted teeth.

  “It’s not enough for only the sheep to fall ill given our limited timeline,” Investigator Mi said patiently. “The horses are worth more–”

  “It’s not about price! Horses are the wings of the Tiele! They’re not just livestock to us, we live and die together–we even bury a man with his horse, and here you are, speaking of this as a trivial matter!” Datan snapped, voice shaking now.

  “If you have any other ideas, I would love to hear them,” Investigator Mi said. “Shall we just go ahead and assassinate Tielun, Shelun, and Anagui instead?”

  Datan fell silent, fully aware that it was impossible. Doing so would only fan the flames of revolt–or Datan would have acted already.

  “Hold on, I need to think about this,” Datan said.

  “You have until evening,” Investigator Mi said. “And don’t even think of selling us out to win over the dissidents–the Duke should have made it clear to you beforehand the consequences of that.”

  Datan didn’t hang up immediately, which Investigator Mi took as a good sign. The man was probably weighing in his mind the consequences of telling Heli first, and realizing the lengthy delays convincing the timid and indecisive young Chieftain would entail.

  Datan’s voice shook when he finally responded. “Fine.”

  At least he was decisive enough.

  “So you agree,” Investigator Mi confirmed.

  Another long pause, and then Datan spoke through gritted teeth. “You can’t kill civilians for this. And don’t kill the livestock either!”

  “We have no intention to,” Investigator Mi said, finally softening his approach. “Believe it or not, we’re not fond of causing harm either. We like to prevent it, not deal it out. But things have already progressed to this point, what are we supposed to do? Just be grateful that it hasn’t gotten to the point of violence yet, or we would have to do a great deal worse. Even if the Chieftain will have to spend a significant sum of money, the Duke will make sure that he won't want for funds.”

  Deeply unhappy, both at what he’d agreed to and at being spoken to so callously by someone so much younger, Datan gave his clipped approval and ended the call, agreeing to send an informant to them. Datan would arrange the infiltrators, but the Investigators would also receive a roster.

  Satisfied with the fruits of his work, Investigator Mi waved to Investigator Bao, who was reading messages off his communication device.

  “All good?” Investigator Bao asked.

  “I suppose this is as much as we can accomplish in a day,” Investigator Mi said. “He needed some convincing, but Datan agreed to my plan–we can begin immediately. How are the others?”

  “They’re settling in at the inn and preparing to conduct reconnaissance,” Investigator Bao said.

  “What about Sima Qi?”

  “He went off on his own,” Investigator Bao said. “I don’t like that guy.”

  “Me neither,” Investigator Mi said. “He’s too friendly. I find him insincere.”

  “He’s dangerous,” Investigator Bao muttered. “Guys like that end up being the most trouble in the end.”

  Investigator Mi grimaced. “Let’s just put up with it for now. After all, it’s the Duke’s arrangements. Sima Qi’s probably here to shoulder any blame, since he’s outside the system and can’t really be made to shoulder any consequences. So think of it as being for our own sake and try to look kindly upon him.”

  Quietly discussing the matter of the livestock, they made their way back to the inn as the sky darkened above them.

  Cultural Notes

  Tongluo: One of the Tiele tribes.

  Pugu: One of the Tiele tribes.

  Sogdia: An Ancient Iranian civilization in modern-day Central Asia.

  Shengzhou: A Tang Dynasty administrative region in Northern China.

  Anbei Protectorate: A Tang Dynasty semi-autonomous administrative region in Northern China, including parts of modern-day Mongolia.

  众里寻他千百度，蓦然回首，那人却在灯火阑珊处/I search fruitlessly in the crowd hundreds and thousands of times, I silently turn back, the one I seek stands among the shadows: Lines from a famous Song Dynasty poem by the general, politician, and writer Xin Qiji who lived during the Southern Song dynasty and suffered from the unrealized ambition of retaking the North all his life. Kayla is using Song Dynasty poems because she can be certain that they haven't been written yet, and are therefore safer than relying on existing literature, proverbs, or the like (following the tradition of drawing code words from literature).

  东风夜放花千树,更吹落,星如雨/Overnight, the east wind adorns a thousand trees with blossoms, then scatters them loose, the stars falling like rain: Another line from a famous Song Dynasty poem by Xin Qiji.

  Horses in Turkish culture: Scholars today agree that the Tiele are a confederation of tribes of Turkish ethnic origin, but there are few records of their cultural traditions. I draw on Chinese records (which are very limited), and also on the work of 11th-century Turkish scholar Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Kashgar who was born in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, which borders modern-day China. Horses were viewed as very important in Turkish cultures, believed to be faithful companions, having great significance in shamanic rites, and also in the lifestyles of Turkish nomadic groups. One of the proverbs Mahmud records is "Horse is the wing of the Turk." Archeological excavations have also found many burial sites where people were buried with their horses.

  Han-Nomad relations: Han civilization has always had a very complicated relationship with nomadic civilizations. Early on in history, in the Qin and first parts of the Han dynasties, the Xiongnu nomadic federation often conducted raids and invasions against agricultural civilizations to the South. Han scholars denigrated the Xiongnu as nomadic savages who lived barbaric lives in comparison to their own civilized ways of life, while the Xiongnu disdained the Han as being weak and crafty. As time went on, and warfare tactics, intermarriage, and migration from both sides increased the intermixing of populations, especially after Emperor Wu of Han used up pretty much the entire Treasury to fund his wars against the Xiongnu, the gap between the two civilizations slowly grew smaller. In the tumultuous times that followed the fall of the Han Dynasty, popularized in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, even more intermingling between nomadic populations and Han populations occurred, and the founder of the Tang Dynasty had Xianbei heritage (an ancient nomadic group residing in North Asia). The cycles of conflict and coexistence meant that the lines of "insider" and "outsider" between Han and nomadic were constantly being redrawn. Following two conquests by northern nomads (the Mongolian Yuan dynasty and the Manchurian Qing Dynasty), the relationship has grown even more complicated, especially as narratives of nomadic barbarism became centered in an almost compensatory manner, which is particularly prevalent entering the 1800s when European imperialism began to encroach on China, which previously had been self-assured in its regional hegemony. This topic is a bit too complicated to cover briefly, but essentially, xenophobia, fear of the unknown, historical grievances on both sides, and nationalist sentiments have all shaped Han-nomadic relations over history, often spilling out into other realms of society such as gender relations (particularly in regards to beliefs about female chastity) and popular culture.