resigned glances and Genghis masked his amusement as they stepped down into thick mud. They were held almost immobile by its grip and their expressions raised his spirits.
‘What does your king have to say?’ Genghis continued, staring at the officer. The man had flushed in anger as the mud ruined his fine boots and took a moment to master his emotions before replying.
‘He bids you meet him in the shadow of the walls of Yinchuan, under truce. His honour will guarantee no attack while you are there.’
‘What does he have to say to me?’ Genghis said again, as if there had been no reply.
The man’s flush deepened.
‘If I knew his mind, there would be little point in such a meeting,’ he snapped. Those with him glanced nervously at the host of Mongol warriors waiting with bows. They had seen the extraordinary accuracy of those weapons and their eyes pleaded with their spokesman not to give any offence that might lead to an attack.
Genghis smiled.
‘What is your name, angry man?’
‘Ho Sa. I am Hsiao-Wei of Yinchuan. You might call me a khan, perhaps, a senior officer.’
‘I would not call you a khan,’ Genghis replied. ‘But you are welcome in my camp, Ho Sa. Send these goats home and I will welcome you in my ger and share tea and salt with you.’
Ho Sa turned to his companions and jerked his head back at the city in the distance. One of them spoke a string of meaningless syllables that made Kokchu and Temuge crane forward to hear. Ho Sa shrugged at his companion and Genghis watched as the other seven mounted and turned back to the city.
‘Those are beautiful horses,’ Barchuk said at his shoulder. Genghis looked at the Uighur khan. He nodded, catching the eye of Arslan where he stood along the line of warriors. Genghis jerked two fingers at the retreating group, like a snake striking.
An instant later, a hundred shafts flashed through the air to take the seven riders neatly from their saddles. One of the horses was killed and Genghis heard Arslan barking at an unfortunate warrior for his incompetence. As Genghis watched, Arslan took the man’s bow and cut the string with a jerk of his knife before handing it back to him. The warrior took it with his head bowed in humiliation.
Bodies lay still on the plain, face down in the mud. On such ground, the horses could not bolt easily. Without their riders to urge them on, they stood listlessly, looking back at the tribes. Two of them nuzzled the bodies of the men they had known, whickering nervously at the smell of blood.
Ho Sa stared in thin-lipped fury as Genghis turned to face him.
‘They were good horses,’ Genghis said. The soldier’s expression did not change and the khan shrugged. ‘Words are not heavy. It does not take more than one of you to carry my reply.’
He left Ho Sa to be taken to the great ger and given salt tea. Genghis remained behind to see the horses as they were captured and brought back.
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