Empire of Silver. Conn Iggulden

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      Ogedai smiled bitterly to himself. Even the mention of his father was like tearing the scab off a wound. He knew every one of the rumours. He had started some of them himself, to keep his enemies jumping at shadows. Yet he was the chosen heir of Genghis, the first khan of the nation. The warriors had almost deified his father and Ogedai was certain he had nothing to fear from mere gossip in the camps. His relatives were a different matter.

      The door swung open to reveal Baras’aghur and a dozen Chin servants. In moments, they had surrounded the two men, placing bronze cups and food on crisp white cloth before them. Ogedai gestured for his uncle to sit cross-legged on the tiled floor, watching with interest as the older man’s knees creaked and made him wince. Baras’aghur sent the servants away and then served tea to Temuge, who accepted the bowl in relief with his right hand, sipping as formally as he would have in any ger of the plains. Ogedai watched eagerly as red wine gurgled into his own cup. He emptied it quickly and held it out before Baras’aghur could move away.

      Ogedai saw his uncle’s gaze flicker over the scribe Baras’aghur had summoned, standing in a respectful attitude against the wall. He knew Temuge understood the power of the written word as well as anyone. It had been he who had collected the stories of Genghis and the founding of a nation. Ogedai owned one of the first volumes, copied carefully and bound in hard-wearing goatskin. It was among his most prized possessions. Yet there were times when a man preferred not to be recorded.

      ‘Give us privacy, Baras,’ Ogedai said. ‘Leave the jug, but take your scribe with you.’

      His manservant was too well trained to hesitate and it was but moments until the two men were alone once again. Ogedai drained his cup and belched.

      ‘Why have you come to me tonight, uncle? In a month, you can enter Karakorum freely with thousands of our people, for a feast and a festival they will talk of for years.’

      Temuge studied the younger man before him. The unlined face looked weary and stern. Ogedai had chosen a strange burden for himself, with this city. Temuge knew there were only a handful of men in the camps who cared more than a bronze coin for Karakorum. To the Mongol generals who had known Genghis, it was a colossal conceit of white marble and Chin design. Temuge wished he could tell the young man how much he loved the creation without it seeming like greasy flattery. Yet he did love it. It was the city he had once dreamed of building, a place of wide streets and courtyards and even a library, with thousands of clean oak shelves lying empty for the treasures they would one day hold.

      ‘You are not a fool, Ogedai,’ Temuge said. ‘It was not by chance that your father chose you over older brothers.’ Ogedai looked up sharply and Temuge nodded to him. ‘At times I wonder if you are a strategist like General Tsubodai. For two years, the nation has been without a leader, without a path, yet there has been no civil war, no struggle between princes.’

      ‘Perhaps they saw my personal tuman riding among them, my scribes and spies,’ Ogedai replied softly. ‘There were always men in red and black watching them for treachery.’

      Temuge snorted. ‘It was not fear but confusion that held them. They could not see your plan, so they did nothing. You are your father’s heir, but you did not call them to take the oath. No one understands it, so they wait and watch. They still wait to see what you will do next.’

      Temuge saw Ogedai’s mouth twitch as if he wanted to smile. He longed to know his nephew’s mind, but with this new generation, who knew how they thought?

      ‘You have built your city on the plains, Ogedai. The armies have gathered at your call, but now they are here and many of them have seen this glorious place for the first time. Do you expect them simply to bend the knee and give their oath? Because you are your father’s son? He has other surviving sons, Ogedai. Have you considered them at all?’

      Ogedai smiled at his uncle, amused at the way the man seemed to be trying to pierce his secrets with his gaze. There was one he would not find, no matter how closely he peered. He felt the wine spread its glow inside him, easing his pain like a caress.

      ‘If that was my intention, uncle – to win two years of peace for myself and build a city – well, I have done it, have I not? Perhaps that is all I wanted.’

      Temuge spread his hands. ‘You do not trust me,’ he said, genuine hurt in his voice.

      Ogedai chuckled. ‘As much as I trust anyone, I promise you.’

      ‘A clever answer,’ Temuge said coldly.

      ‘Well, you are a clever man. It’s what you deserve,’ Ogedai snapped. All the lightness had gone from his manner as he leaned forward. Imperceptibly, his uncle eased himself back.

      ‘At the new moon,’ Ogedai went on, ‘I will take the khan’s oath of every officer and prince of the blood in the nation. I do not have to explain myself, uncle. They will bend the knee to me. Not because I am my father’s son, but because I am my father’s chosen heir and the leader of the nation.’

      He caught himself, as if he was about to say too much, and Temuge watched a shutter drop over his emotions. Here was one son who had learned the cold face early.

      ‘You did not tell me why you came to me tonight, uncle,’ Ogedai went on.

      Temuge let out a sigh, knowing the moment had slipped away.

      ‘I came to make sure you understood the danger, Ogedai.’

      ‘You are frightening me,’ Ogedai said with a smile.

      Temuge flushed. ‘I am not threatening you.’

      ‘Where can this terrible danger spring from then, in my city of cities?’

      ‘You mock me, though I travelled here to help you and to see this thing you have built.’

      ‘It is beautiful, is it not?’ Ogedai said.

      ‘It is wonderful,’ Temuge said, with such transparent honesty that Ogedai looked more thoughtfully at his uncle.

      ‘In truth,’ Ogedai said, ‘I have been considering the need for a man to oversee my library here, to collect scrolls from all corners of the world until men of learning everywhere know the name of Karakorum. It is a foolish dream, perhaps.’

      Temuge hesitated. The idea was thrilling to him, but he was suspicious.

      ‘Are you still mocking me?’ he said softly.

      Ogedai shrugged. ‘Only when you blow like an old sheep with your warnings. Will you tell me to watch my food for poison, I wonder?’ He saw Temuge’s face grow mottled as his peevishness resurfaced and he smiled.

      ‘It is a real offer. Any other man in the tribes can herd sheep and goats. Only you could herd scholars, I think. You will make Karakorum famous. I want it to be known from sea to sea.’

      ‘If you set such a value on my wits then, Ogedai,’ Temuge said, ‘you will listen to me, this once.’

      Ogedai sighed. ‘Speak then, uncle, if you feel you must,’ he said.

      ‘For two years, the world has waited for you. No one has dared to move a soldier for fear they would be the first example you made. Even the Chin and the Sung have been quiet. They have been like deer who smell a tiger somewhere close. That has come to an end. You have summoned the СКАЧАТЬ