Chapter 790: The Seljuk Turks

Talas City, the White Tent — this had originally been the deputy governor's office of Li Guoshou, and later became Guo Guangyi's great khan's tent.

Of course, after Li Guoshou surrendered all the power in his hands, Guo Guangyi still granted him a surface courtesy, dividing the not-very-large White Tent into two parts.

The main complex on the east side, near the Talas River, went to Guo Guangyi; the twenty-odd rooms on the west side went to Li Guoshou's family.

Li Guoshou was lying in bed at that moment; apart from the faint rise and fall of his chest, he was no different from a corpse.

Word outside had it, of course, that Li Guoshou was a man of noble character who, for the unity of the tribe, had handed all his power to his son-in-law Guo Guangyi.

But in truth, the two men and one woman inside the room all knew perfectly well that the Li Guoshou on the bed had never once thought of handing power to Guo Guangyi.

Although Guo Guangyi had, seven or eight years earlier, essentially taken control of Talas City and all the authority of this Talas Governor's Office, which nominally owed allegiance to the Khotan Golden Kingdom.

Li Guoshou still wanted to hand power to his grandson Li Quanjie, not to his son-in-law Guo Guangyi.

It was just that many things were not for Li Guoshou to decide. More than two years ago, his only grandson, Li Quanjie — as robust as a wild ox — suddenly fell from his horse and went straight off to see the Buddha. Li Guoshou, stricken with terror and grief, suffered a stroke.

As for why he was stricken with terror and grief, that was simple: the horse Li Quanjie had been riding was a companion he had raised himself for over ten years.

And it truly was a companion, because Li Quanjie was only nineteen when he died, while the horse was already fourteen years old. It had been a birthday gift he received at age five, and he had personally cared for it ever since.

Even more bizarre, the horse was not a fierce stallion but a gentle mare.

Moreover, Li Quanjie had fallen from his horse just outside Talas City, with a crowd of attendants around him, yet he was only brought back into the city for treatment an hour later. It was said that by then, nearly all the blood in Li Quanjie's body had drained away.

The woman knelt meekly before Li Guoshou's bed. Seen from behind, she had fragrant shoulders and a slender waist; her small-apple-like hips rested on her heels, appearing perfectly round, her curves utterly alluring.

Seen from the front, she had a delicate nose and cherry lips, bright eyes and gleaming teeth — a full-fledged beauty. And between her brows there always lingered a faint, unbreakable sorrow that made one want only to take her into one's arms and cherish her fiercely.

Of course, not everyone thought so. Watching the spoon the woman was feeding him, Li Guoshou made hoarse sounds from his throat, clearly trying with all his might to avoid it, utterly unwilling to be tended by her.

"Ah! Grandfather, even now you still don't understand!" The woman let out a long sigh.

"If you had understood even a little, so many of us would not be at Guo Guangyi's mercy."

Hearing her call Guo Guangyi by name, the other two men in the room both showed fearful expressions.

But the woman kneeling with her back to them seemed not to notice, and went on chattering: "Because my surname is Guo, you assumed I was of one heart with Guo Guangyi?

Hmph! Why don't you think about it — if not for Guo Guangyi, Zhou'er would now have entered the Purple Tenuity Palace in the divine capital Luoyang, taking over from my barren cousin, Consort Guo, to become the favored consort of the Sage, and later, after bearing a son or daughter, could have sent the child back to be Great King of Suyab.

Even retreating ten thousand steps, even if I bore no son, I could still have served the Sage, a hero under heaven — would that not have been ten thousand times more glorious than marrying that fool of a grandson of yours, Li Quanjie?"

So this woman was none other than Guo Zhou'er, the one who had nearly been sent to Zhang Zhao's bed. Having spoken, she turned around to look at the two men in the room.

"Two uncles, tell me — should I be grateful to Guo Guangyi? Or should I wish I could carve him into ten thousand pieces?"

The two men looked at each other, hemming and hawing for a long while without managing a single word.

Clearly, they still deeply feared Guo Guangyi, and at the same time, they were not the sort of men with ability or decisiveness.

Guo Zhou'er sighed deeply and slowly rose to her feet. Having pigs for teammates was just this difficult.

She had thought that brute Li Quanjie was useless enough, but she had not expected these two uncles of the Li family to be not only useless but timid as mice.

"Have the two uncles still not received word of Guo Guangyi's defeat? The court army sent out only a few hundred men and sent Guo Guangyi fleeing like a wolf and bolting like a boar. If they were to send a hundred thousand troops west—

Hmph! Guo Guangyi's death would be his own desert, but we haven't gained the slightest benefit — why should we be exterminated to the last household along with him by the court?"

At these words, the two men's expressions finally loosened somewhat. The one on the left asked quietly: "Lady Zhou, are you certain the court will definitely send twenty thousand troops here? What if they only want to hold Suyab?"

Guo Zhou'er's face showed impatience and mockery. "Does Fifth Uncle think the Sage Son of Heaven is a timid, hesitant man like you?

I've heard that Fifth Uncle once served under the Sage Son of Heaven in years past, and was a groom for such a hero as Lord Wang of Wucheng Commandery.

Think back carefully — what kind of man is the Sage Son of Heaven? Guo Guangyi married his woman off to Li Quanjie. Would the Sage Son of Heaven allow him to live?"

Fifth Uncle Li's face took on a reminiscent look, mixed with a trace of pride. The five hundred tents of followers he had been allotted here in Talas had come precisely from that scrap of old connection, from having once been a groom for Wang Tongxin.

"Since Lady Zhou brings the matter up, may I ask — Third Uncle was muddle-headed and dared to have Quanjie marry you. Will the Sage Son of Heaven spare us?" Seventh Uncle Li, kneeling on the right, suddenly asked.

Guo Zhou'er nodded; now that was more like considering the problem. But immediately, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"If it were before, the Li family, over a hundred souls from top to bottom, would have had ten deaths and no life.

Even I, Guo Zhou'er — if my cousin Consort Guo and my nephew the Commissioner of Military Affairs could plead for me, I might perhaps receive the treatment of a green lamp and an ancient Buddha; otherwise I would certainly have fallen suddenly ill and died."

As she spoke, Guo Zhou'er raised the spoon again and brought it to Li Guoshou's lips. "Grandfather, eat a little. Your fine son-in-law is already twenty li away and will soon be back to kill you, and then kill your daughter. This slave will not stay here any longer — leaving early means living a few more days."

On the bed, the paralyzed Li Guoshou's crooked mouth grew even more crooked. He suddenly widened his eyes, and the urgent hoarse sounds began again from his throat. He clearly wanted to say something, but simply could not get it out.

Seventh Uncle Li abruptly rose to his feet and asked, trembling: "Guo Guangyi, that slave-thief, is going to marry the daughter of the Oghuz Yabghu, Danu Ximi?"

Guo Zhou'er immediately stood up, her eyes flashing. "Seventh Uncle truly is the clever one of the Li family! After this great defeat, if Guo Guangyi cannot latch onto a powerful patron, he is a dead man.

So killing Fourth Lady and marrying another woman who can help him is the inevitable choice.

But he will not marry the Great Yabghu's daughter; he will marry the daughter of Talib, chief of the Krik clan, one of the Oghuz Inals."

"Why is that?" Seventh Uncle Li, though barely qualifying as a clever man, was somewhat baffled.

In the Oghuz Yabghu state, the Yabghu clan was the most powerful, while Talib of the Krik clan, though one of the Inals, was not strong — in fact, not even as strong as Guo Guangyi.

"Inal" could be translated as "prince," but in fact, translating it as "elector" would be more fitting.

In the Oghuz Yabghu state, although the Yabghu title was hereditary, it was attained through election, and in theory all the Inals could take part in the election.

Guo Zhou'er slowly took two steps toward Fifth Uncle Li and Seventh Uncle Li. Though she still looked like an exquisite beauty, she somehow had the bearing of a dragon striding and a tiger pacing. The two men, overwhelmed by her presence, almost simultaneously lowered their heads slightly.

"The Yabghu clan is powerful, but its sons contend with one another and cannot form a united force — and the Yabghu has more than twenty daughters alone.

The Krik clan is comparatively weak, but it is united from top to bottom, and Talib has only two sons and one daughter.

As long as Guo Guangyi marries Talib's daughter, he can immediately merge into the Krik clan — far better than marrying a daughter of the Yabghu Danu Ximi whose face even he himself cannot remember."

In truth, Guo Zhou'er left much unsaid. The reason Guo Guangyi wanted to marry a Krik daughter was that Krik himself was no longer young, and his several adult sons had died even earlier than he would.

Of the two remaining sons, one was younger than the other, and the eldest, Seljuk, was only nine years old.

If Guo Guangyi married Talib's daughter, he very likely could control the Krik clan for eight to ten years.

Moreover, the Samanid Persians, facing the threat of the Yabghu clan and of Saktu, who was attached to the Yabghu clan, had been courting the Krik clan, which was at odds with the Yabghu house, hoping the Krik clan would hold their northern border for them.

Then once Guo Guangyi went over, he could persuade Talib to take the Krik clan and simply submit to the Samanid Persians. With the support of the Samanids, who controlled the iron-smelting of Transoxiana, he could resist the court's punitive expedition.

But these things could not be said, because the two fellows before her had limited brain capacity. Saying too much would only stir up their unfathomable minds, and they might come up with some trick no one could foresee.

Guo Zhou'er had plenty of experience with this sort of thing, because Li Quanjie had been exactly that kind of creature. If he had listened to her, he would never have ended up dying by falling from a horse.

Sure enough, those words alone were enough. Fifth Uncle Li and Seventh Uncle Li were already scared out of their wits. It seemed Guo Guangyi was certain to take this path, and if so, they would surely be killed too.

Seventh Uncle Li looked at Guo Zhou'er with a mournful face. "Lady Guo the Second, the court cannot tolerate us, and that brute Guo Guangyi wants to kill us too. Great as the world is, is there any place left for us?"

Only when she heard them call her Lady Guo the Second did Guo Zhou'er realize her palms were slick with sweat. She shook her hands dry, careful not to let it show.

"There is indeed an opportunity before us. This is also why I asked my two uncles to come.

But this matter is extremely risky. If my two uncles cannot trust me completely, then I will say no more, rather than face your suspicion even as we die."

Fifth Uncle Li and Seventh Uncle Li exchanged a glance, then steeled themselves as one. They bit their middle fingers and swore to heaven: "We two now seek Lady Guo the Second's plan to save our lives. In life and death, we follow her!"

"Good!" Guo Zhou'er felt as though the great stone pressing on her chest had been lifted away in an instant. She took out a secret letter and showed it to the two men.

"Zhou'er has an informant by Guo Guangyi's side. Last night he sent secret word: Guo Guangyi has made camp twenty-odd li away, and has already promised the hundred thousand people of the Guo, Pugu, and other clans who came from Suyab to the Oghuz and the Persian mercenaries for plunder, to steady the army's morale.

My two uncles, the Guo, Pugu, and other clans are our own flesh and blood! In former days they fought the Persians together under the Sage's command.

They were moved west of Talas precisely because they refused to submit to Guo Guangyi. They have rendered service to the court.

If Guo Guangyi can sell them out today, he will not hesitate for a moment to kill us.

But Guo Guangyi will need at least two or three more days to gather his defeated troops. If we raise our men now and go to warn the Guo, Pugu, and the rest, we can surely save these hundred thousand lives.

With such great merit, the Sage rewards and punishes clearly. Not only will he not kill us, he will reward us richly. This is a heaven-sent chance to save our lives!"

Seventh Uncle Li glanced at Guo Zhou'er. He knew, of course, why this girl had been able to plant an informant by Guo Guangyi's side: Guo Zhou'er was the most beautiful flower of Suyab and Talas. In former days she was to have been sent to the divine capital Luoyang, so naturally few dared covet her.

But now Guo Guangyi had married her off to Li Quanjie, and now her husband was dead. The sacred halo around her had been torn away, and naturally many men thought of climbing into such a beauty's bed.

And since this woman had always been scheming, winning over a few lechers was all too easy.

Seventh Uncle Li also knew why she wanted to win over the two brothers: although Li Guoshou had lost power, the Li clan's main force still had a thousand tents of trusted men. If Guo Zhou'er wanted to get out of Talas, she would need their cover.

"Good! We two brothers will follow Lady Guo the Second's orders. In days to come, my lady, you must put in a good word for us brothers before Lady Guo the Bright Companion and Commissioner of Military Affairs Lord Guo."

Guo Zhou'er at once clasped her hands and bowed like a man. The reason she had won over these two, apart from what she had said, was plain from their words: though these two had little ability, they still longed for the Central Plains and were unwilling to follow Guo Guangyi and become barbarians.

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