Chapter Twenty: Treachery

Huaiyuan, formerly known as Yinhancheng (modern-day Yinchuan), stands as a shimmering pearl on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Helian Bobo of the Xia State stationed troops here and rebuilt the Pear Garden. Building upon that foundation, the Northern Zhou Dynasty established Huaiyuan Commandery and the seat of Huaiyuan County.

The severe snow disaster in the first year of the Wude era forced Shibi Khan, who had resided in the northern deserts, to relocate his royal tent southward. Today, Shibi Khan has established his camp in the city of Huaiyuan, north of Lingzhou. Although Huaiyuan holds the rank of a commandery seat, its scale remains modest, as it sits at the crossroads of the Qiang, Tibetan, Tuyuhun, and Turkic peoples.

Shibi Khan’s royal army consists of over 30,000 elite guards known as the "Fuli" forces, alongside more than 100,000 mounted archers—a total force of nearly 200,000. Such a massive host could not be contained by a small city like Huaiyuan, nor indeed by any city in the realm, save for major metropolises like Chang'an or Luoyang. Consequently, Huaiyuan has become the Khan’s temporary palace; while the royal attendants and the 30,000 Fuli guards are stationed within the walls, the remaining hundred thousand soldiers are encamped in small garrisons outside the city, forming a defensive perimeter.

On a late, frigid winter morning, Shibi Khan awoke to the pale, greenish light filtering into his tent. Two warm, supple bodies, as smooth as soft jade, lay pressed against his chest, fast asleep; their shoulders, exposed above the covers, were as white as snow. His hand wandered beneath the quilt, tracing the soft, heavy curves of the woman on his left. She stirred in her sleep, her breasts pressing against his ribs, and she wrapped her slender legs tightly around his own hair-covered thighs. Intrigued, Shibi Khan hooked his finger and pressed it into the woman’s plump buttocks.

Suddenly, the rapid clatter of horse hooves shattered the morning silence.

Just as Shibi Khan prepared to "mount his steed," the tent flap was abruptly flung open. A blast of icy wind made him shiver. He was on the verge of unleashing a torrent of curses, but upon seeing the intruder, he swallowed his vitriol.

It was none other than his titular wife, Princess Yicheng of the Sui Dynasty.

Princess Yicheng had been married to Shibi Khan’s father, Qimin Khan, in the bloom of her youth. Nominally, she was not only his Khatun (Queen) but also his stepmother. It had been twenty years since she was sent to the Turks in the eighteenth year of the Kaihuang era (598 AD). The harsh northern winds had long since withered her beauty, and Shibi Khan felt no interest in a woman of his mother’s generation.

Men are notoriously single-minded; regardless of status, they crave young, beautiful women, and Shibi Khan was no exception. Liang Shidu had once gifted him over three hundred beauties at once; even if he were to spend every night in a bridal chamber, it would take him nearly a year to finish.

With his primary wife standing before him, the naked Khan felt neither discomfort nor shame. "Khatun," he said coolly, "why are you up so early?"

"The Khan certainly has the leisure for deep slumber!" Princess Yicheng ignored the two women in the bedding and sat down with authority in the center of the tent. "I hope I have not interrupted your enjoyment, Khan!"

Since the onset of winter, Shibi Khan’s health had deteriorated. Even in his bedchamber, he was often willing but unable. Within half an incense stick’s time, he would be spent, leaving his body feeling as if it were falling apart.

Shibi Khan, accustomed to the barbaric customs of his people, felt no embarrassment. "If you have nothing to say, Khatun, then please return to your quarters."

Just as Shibi Khan held the Princess in low regard, she reciprocated the sentiment.

"Look at this first," she said, tossing a roll of sheepskin at his feet.

Shibi Khan picked it up and unfurled it. As he read, his expression shifted to one of boiling rage.

After the official Qilifu She had returned, he was consumed with fury. After conferring with his confidants, such as Bulugen, they decided to lobby Princess Yicheng. Qilifu She knew full well that the Princess viewed the Li-Tang regime as usurpers of the Sui throne and harbored a deep, abiding hatred for them. In fact, she had consistently supported Shibi Khan’s alliances with the likes of Liang Shidu, Liu Wuzhou, Xue Ju, Li Gui, and Gao Kaidao against the Tang.

She was an ideal partner for their goals. If they could persuade Shibi Khan to launch a full-scale assault on the Tang, Qilifu She would be granted command of the army—and with that command, he would be confident in bringing the troops under his own influence. Undeterred by the bitter cold, he had ridden through the night from Wild Boar Ridge to Huaiyuan, arriving just as dawn broke.

The Princess and Qilifu She found common ground immediately, leading to her bold intrusion into the Khan's tent. Qilifu She’s report had twisted the truth, claiming he had been stationed at the ruins of Boguli when a sudden, treacherous Tang raid cost him 20,000 men and a massive quantity of supplies.

*Crash!* Shibi Khan smashed his favorite white porcelain teacup against the ground, shattering it into fragments. A concubine nearby, busy painting her eyebrows, jerked her hand and ruined her makeup.

"Losing twenty thousand men? Is Qilifu She a fool?" Shibi Khan’s voice was dark and chilling.

Princess Yicheng observed in him a restless, indomitable spirit. To her, he often seemed too reliant on struggle and conquest, yet she could not deny that she was, against her better judgment, drawn to his aura.

"Yiwuzhenmo!" Shibi Khan roared. "You go yourself, and take the Qibi tribe with you!"

Yiwuzhenmo, also of the Ashina clan, was one of the twelve *She* of the Turks. As the son of Ashina Shetu and younger brother to Dulan Khan, the thirty-year-old was a renowned warrior and one of Shibi Khan’s most trusted men. He accepted the golden arrow of command and turned to leave.

"Khan," Princess Yicheng interjected, "you have a prior agreement with the pseudo-Tang regime. Why not send an envoy to demand why they have so lightly ignited the fires of war?"

She knew well that when Li Yuan had risen in Taiyuan, he had sworn an oath of blood with the Khan. She could not fathom why Shibi Khan refused to strike the Tang directly, opting only for covert schemes—inciting Xue Ju, Liang Shidu, or Liu Wuzhou—while strictly forbidding his own tribes from marching south. It was a strategy that filled her with profound dissatisfaction.

"The Khatun speaks with reason," Shibi Khan conceded. "Yongyulü, you go to Chang'an and ask Li Yuan why he has broken his word!"

Yongyulü was one of the four great *Yabghus* of the Turks, second in status only to the Khan himself—even ranking higher than Shibi Khan’s own son, Shibibi, and his brother, Qilifu She.

"I obey," Yongyulü replied, bowing low.