Chapter 215: No Retreat Left to Speak Of

Xue Shouli walked along the main street of Bukhara, two young men of the Xue family following behind him. The three of them bought a few flatbreads at a small food stall and each ordered a bowl of mutton soup.

Bukhara was calm, no different from usual. Neither in the food stall nor on the street was there the slightest trace of tension.

The originally rumored terror that the Gur Khan stood ten zhang tall and ate a pair of virgin boys and girls at every meal had also come to be treated as a joke.

Xue Shouli lowered his head and took a big gulp of mutton soup before he managed to stop himself from bursting out laughing on the spot. The Great King was already preparing to take Khujand, and the people here still knew nothing at all.

"This dihqan, if you keep going north and cross three street intersections, you'll be at the residence of the North City secretary!"

Xue Sili tossed out two copper coins, and the young waiter at the food stall enthusiastically gave them directions.

The North City secretary was Prince Hamid's secret confidant; this was intelligence provided by Salah.

And the secret letter written in Salah's own hand would be delivered into this secretary's hands before he in turn passed it to Prince Hamid.

"Many thanks! Many thanks to this young brother! Alhamdulillah! (All praise belongs to God!)"

Xue Sili wiped his mouth and thanked the young waiter with a face full of smiles.

With his mixed East Iranian and Turkic features and his fluent everyday religious blessings, he looked no different from the Bukharans who believed in God.

"Alhamdulillah!" The young waiter responded, flattered, to these country dihqans who had come from Khujand and were preparing to buy some property in the North City.

"Let's go! Be careful in everything!" Xue Shouli said to the brothers beside him, then raised his head and looked in the direction of the Ark Citadel.

One hundred and fifty years ago, it was from there that the order had been issued, and a hundred thousand holy warriors had charged into the Kingdom of Fergana.

From that time on, the Xue family could only flee far away, changing from the royal Xue family of Fergana into the Xue family descended from the Anxi Army.

"Sili, Tongli, you two stay outside. Let me go deliver it alone. Once the matter succeeds, I'll have someone hang a piece of red silk cloth at the door.

But if by this time tomorrow you haven't seen the red silk cloth, hurry back to Fergana."

As he spoke, Xue Shouli drew a deep breath. "One day, we will come back. We will come back to the Ark Citadel and take back everything that was originally ours."

Late at night, within the castle, Prince Hamid clutched a piece of sheepskin parchment, his whole body trembling with fury, his fingers turning white from the extreme force of his grip.

The content on the sheepskin parchment was top-secret news passed to him by a hidden agent of his in the Ark Citadel.

The Grand Vizier Balami had quietly entered the palace yesterday evening and proposed to his father, Nasr II, that the ghulam guards stationed in the south of Bukhara and the ghulam guards stationed in Samarkand be exchanged with each other, and that this be made a regular practice, exchanged once every three years.

Although he was the Grand Salar who commanded all the ghulam guards, in reality the only ones Prince Hamid could control were the ghulam guards stationed in the city of Bukhara. After all, even though he was Grand Salar, he still had to obey the Emir.

Therefore the ghulam guards in cities such as Samarkand were not so close to him. Most of the middle and upper officers among those ghulam guards had been directly appointed by Emir Nasr II and obeyed only the Emir.

And the ghulam guards in the south of Bukhara were led by his brother-in-law Hussein, and were the elite of all the ghulams in Bukhara.

They were the guarantee on which Prince Hamid's survival depended. Without the protection of these ghulams, he would long ago have lost count of how many times he had been put to death.

This was no troop rotation; this was taking his, Hamid's, life!

"Father! Why do this? Why must you do this? I have been a proper crown prince for twenty years. Why, in the end, can I not even keep my life?"

Prince Hamid's eyes reddened as he muttered in a low voice. In his heart, the father who had taken him riding and hunting as a child, and performed the khutbah (the Islamic rite) together with him, had already vanished.

In his place was a terrifying existence that could take his life at any moment.

"Your Highness, General Hussein and Secretary Lahore have come by the secret passage, saying they have matters of the utmost importance that they must report to you in person!"

Just as Prince Hamid's heart was welling with boundless resentment toward Nasr II, his personal attendant outside the door reported in a low voice.

"Quickly invite them to the secret chamber. Tell them I will be there shortly."

Prince Hamid hurriedly composed himself and used the corner of his robe to wipe the moist corners of his eyes where tears had nearly slipped out.

Hussein and Lahore were both his most trusted ministers. For them to come together at this moment, there was surely something very important.

"Xue Shouli, envoy of His Majesty the Gur Khan, the noble Khan of Khans, come from Khujand, greets Prince Hamid!"

Prince Hamid looked at the man before him, whose features were similar to his own but who spoke fluent Turkic and called himself an envoy of the Gur Khan, and felt a jolt of alarm.

He looked doubtfully at Hussein and Lahore, not understanding how they could have brought an envoy of the Gur Khan to this secret place.

"Khujand... has Khujand already fallen?"

Hamid asked softly. If this envoy claimed to have come from Khujand, did that not mean Khujand was already gone?

"Your Highness seems surprised? Adural's army of thirty thousand has been completely annihilated. Salah the Hakim went to take up his post with only two hundred men. Did you expect him to hold Khujand?"

Xue Shouli smiled faintly and asked Prince Hamid in return.

"You're lying! I have been to Khujand. It is even stronger than Samarkand. Even with only a few thousand defenders, it would not be so easy to break through! Where exactly have you come from?"

Prince Hamid shouted, putting on a fierce front while inwardly afraid.

"Your Highness, why not first read the secret letter Salah the Hakim has sent you? After reading the letter, Your Highness will no longer quibble with me over whether Khujand still exists."

Xue Shouli handed the sheepskin secret letter to Prince Hamid's attendant. Prince Hamid's eyelid twitched; he had a faint, hazy premonition.

Sure enough, after reading the secret letter, the expression on Prince Hamid's face was quite remarkable: a trace of anger, as if there were also a hint of excitement, and of course, more than anything, disbelief.

"His Majesty the Gur Khan has probably found the wrong person. As the crown prince of Samanid Persia and the heir of this great dynasty, toward my father the Emir I have only respect and nothing else.

Moreover, the Emir has merely been deceived by treacherous ministers. Wise as he is, one day he will see through the slanders those villains have made against me."

Xue Shouli gave two cold sneers and spread his hands toward the two men beside him.

"General Hussein, Secretary Lahore, it seems His Highness does not trust me at all, to the point of saying things he himself does not believe.

But that is only natural, because many people do not possess the great His Majesty the Gur Khan's vision that can see through everything.

But I must remind you two and His Highness: if you wait until the raised butcher's blade comes down before thinking of resisting, it will already be too late."

After Xue Shouli finished speaking, Prince Hamid said nothing and expressed no displeasure, but Hussein stood up and tapped his fingers on the table.

"If — I say if — everything the Gur Khan has predicted is correct, and we are willing to accept the Gur Khan's help, then on what basis should we believe that His Majesty the Great Khan is telling the truth?

Could any amount of treasure compare to the temptation of capturing Bukhara?"

"An excellent question! It shows that General Hussein has already realized the danger." Xue Shouli nodded.

"But if you understood the territory ruled by the Gur Khan, you would have no such worry.

Because the Gur Khan already possesses the greater part of the Karakhanid realm, including Suyab and Shule, as well as the entire Khotan Golden Kingdom and the Kingdom of Fergana. The vastness of his domain far surpasses your country.

And yet this vast land is inhabited by only two or three million subjects. If we were to conquer Bukhara as well, where would we find the people to maintain our rule?"

Moreover, Bughra Khan Satuq has not been destroyed — he fled to the far north. To put it bluntly, the enemy of the Gur Khan is Bughra Khan Satuq. As for Prince Hamid..."

Xue Shouli did not finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear: in his eyes, Prince Hamid was not even qualified to be an enemy of the Gur Khan.

Hussein, burning with rage, drew the curved blade at his waist in one motion. "Although you are the Gur Khan's envoy, if you say such words again, I will show you the wrath of the Samanids!"

"Release the envoy, my general. Words cannot harm a true king!"

Prince Hamid, his face flushed red, practically squeezed the words out through his teeth, because he was already beginning to believe in the sincerity of this transaction.

"Forgive me, Prince. I meant no offense. It is only that in my heart, the Gur Khan's grand vision surpasses every monarch in the world."

Xue Shouli straightened his collar. He had dealt a blow; now, of course, he needed to offer some comfort.

By now, that lofty, superior air about Prince Hamid had faded considerably. Negotiations could continue.

"The Prince should believe what I say, because from Shule to Bukhara is a full four thousand li, and from Shule to Suyab is more than three thousand li. Such vast distances are extremely unfavorable for governance.

What His Majesty the Gur Khan needs is wealth with which to reward brave warriors. As for territory, we already have more than enough.

Besides, are the twenty thousand ghulam guards under the Prince's command all lambs? That we can do whatever we please with them?"

Prince Hamid stared at Xue Shouli. Only after a long while did he slowly nod — but then his brow furrowed again.

"The Gur Khan may be unable to reach Bukhara now, but what of the future? Once the population grows and multiplies, you will still come to attack Bukhara!"

"Heh heh!" Xue Shouli, imitating Zhang Zhao's expression, laughed meaningfully a few times.

"At a time like this, the Prince still wishes to discuss the future with me? Without the Gur Khan's support, do you even have a future?

The five thousand guards of the Ark Citadel ensure the Emir's safety, but how much longer can the twenty thousand ghulam guards under the Prince protect you? Can they breach the Ark Citadel? Will they even fight to the death for you?

I fear that once the Grand Vizier Balami and his faction strip away your military authority, the Prince's present will cease to exist — so what future is there to speak of?"

"The Prince should heed the envoy. Given how His Highness the Emir conducts himself, we may soon lose even the present. When that happens, all who follow you will die without a burial place!" The secretary Lahore, who had remained silent until now, could not help speaking up.

But Prince Hamid, seated, still had his brows tightly knit and said nothing. His father Nasr II's authority over him was too deeply ingrained. Even now, Hamid found it very difficult to summon the resolve to rebel.

Deep in his heart, he even still harbored some hope — perhaps his father Nasr II would not approve this troop-transfer plan.

"On my journey here, I heard that His Highness Emir Nasr II is in excellent health. It is said that living another thirty years will be no problem.

The Prince has already been heir apparent for twenty years. Even if the Emir trusts you, perhaps the Prince should consider what it would feel like to remain heir apparent for another thirty years.

Has there ever been, in all the world, a crown prince of fifty years?

By then, General Hussein and Secretary Lahore will both be over sixty. Most of the trusted followers around you will have aged, or even died.

They have followed the Prince their whole lives, yet in the end would not enjoy even a single day of wealth and honor. Would they not die with their eyes open?"

This was the killing blow. Prince Hamid's face instantly turned deathly pale. Fifty years as heir apparent! Just hearing it was terrifying.

By then he would be nearly seventy. He even doubted that, simply in terms of staying alive, he could necessarily live another thirty years.

And the faces of Hussein and Lahore grew even paler. What had they followed Prince Hamid for?

Was it not so that the day the Prince became Emir, their wealth and status could advance a step further?

But if they had to wait thirty years, they would no longer even be around — what damn use would wealth and status be then!

"Prince, make your decision! We have no other choice!" The two men dropped to one knee simultaneously and spoke in unison.

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