"We have tortured their scouts, Imperial Majesty. More than a dozen in the last few days. We lost men to bring them in alive, but it was worth it to know the enemy." The general frowned in recollection.

"They are united. Whether the alliance will fall apart in time I cannot say, but for this year, at least, they are strong. They have engineers, something I thought I would never see. More, they have Xi Xia wealth behind them." The general paused, his face showing contempt for their old allies. "I will enjoy taking the army to the Xi Xia valley, Imperial Majesty, when this is over."

"The scouts, General," Emperor Wei prompted, his impatience growing.

"They talk of this Genghis as beloved of their gods," the general continued. "I could find no hint of a disaffected group in their number, though I will not cease to search. They have been broken apart before with promises of power and wealth."

"Tell me how you will defeat them, General," Emperor Wei snapped, "or I will find one who can."

At that, Zhi Zhong's mouth became a sharp line in his face. "With the outer wall broken, we cannot defend the cities around the Yellow River, lord," he said. "The land is too flat and gives them every advantage. His Imperial Majesty must reconcile himself to losing those cities as we move men back."

Emperor Wei shook his head in frustration, but the general pressed on.

"We must not let them choose the battles. Linhe will fall as Xamba and Wuyuan have fallen. Baotou, Hohhot, Jining, Xichen- all are in their path. We cannot save those cities, only avenge them."

Emperor Wei rose to his feet in fury. "Trade routes will be cut and our enemies will know we are weak! I brought you here to tell me how to save the lands I inherited, not watch them burn with me."

"They cannot be held, Imperial Majesty," Zhi Zhong said firmly. "I too will grieve for the dead when this is ended. I will travel to each of the cities and spread ashes on my skin and make offerings in atonement. But they will fall. I have given orders to pull back our soldiers from those places. They will serve His Imperial Majesty better here."

The young emperor was speechless, his right hand fluttering against the lining of his robe. With a vast effort of will, he steadied himself.

"Speak carefully to me, General. I need a victory and if you tell me one more time that I must give up my father's lands, I will have your head right now."

The general held his emperor's furious gaze. There was no trace of the weakness he had seen before. For an instant, he was reminded of the boy's father, and the notion pleased him. Perhaps war would bring the strong blood to the fore as nothing else could.

"I can gather almost two hundred thousand soldiers to face them, Imperial Majesty. There will be famine as supplies are diverted for the army, but the Imperial guard will keep order in Yenking. The place of battle will be of my choosing, where the Mongols cannot ride us down. I swear to the Son of Heaven by Lao Tzu himself that I will destroy them utterly. I have trained many of the officers and I tell Your Majesty they will not fail."

The emperor raised a hand to a waiting slave and accepted a cool glass of water. He did not offer a drink to the general, nor thought of it, though the man was almost three times his age and the morning was warm. Water from the Jade spring was for the Imperial family alone.

"This is what I wanted to hear," he said gratefully, sipping. "Where will the battle take place?"

"When the cities have fallen, they will move on to Yenking. They will know this city is where the emperor resides and they will come. I will stop them in the range of mountains to the west, at Yuhung Pass, the one they call the Badger's Mouth. It is narrow enough to hamper their horses and we will kill them all. They will not reach this city. I swear it."

"They cannot take Yenking, even if you fail," the emperor said confidently.

General Zhi Zhong looked at him, wondering if the young man had ever left the city of his birth. The general cleared his throat softly.

"The question will not arise. I will destroy them there, and when the winter has passed, I will travel to their homeland and burn the last of them from the earth. They will not grow strong again."

The emperor felt his spirits lift at the general's words. He would not have to stand in shame before his father in the land of the silent dead. He would not have to atone for failure. For a moment, he thought again of the cities the Mongols would take, a vision of blood and flames. He forced it away from his mind, taking another sip of water. He would rebuild. When the last of the tribesmen had been cut to pieces, or nailed to every tree in the empire, he would rebuild those cities and the people would know their emperor was still powerful, still beloved of heaven.

"My father said you were a hammer to his enemies," the emperor said, his voice gentled by his changing mood. He reached out and took hold of Zhi Zhong's armored shoulder. "Remember the fallen cities when you have the chance to make them suffer. In my name, exact retribution."

"It will be as His Imperial Majesty desires," Zhi Zhong replied, bowing deeply.

Ho Sa walked through the vast camp, lost in thought. For almost three years, his king had left him with the Mongol khan, and there were times when he had to struggle to remember the Xi Xia officer he had once been. In part, it was that the Mongols accepted him without question. Khasar seemed to like him and Ho Sa had spent many evenings drinking airag in the man's ger, waited on by his pair of Chin wives. He smiled wryly as he walked. They had been good evenings. Khasar was a generous man and thought nothing of lending his wives to a friend.

Ho Sa stopped for a moment to inspect a bundle of new arrows, one of a hundred others under a rigid construction of leather and poles. They were perfect, as he had known they would be. Though the Mongols scorned the regulations he had once known, they treated their bows like another child and only the best would do for them.

He had long since realized he liked the tribes, though he could still miss the tea of his home, so different from the salty muck they drank against the cold. The cold! Ho Sa had never known such a vicious season as that first winter. He had listened to all the advice they gave him just to stay alive, and even then, he had suffered miserably. He shook his head at the memory and wondered what he would do if his king summoned him home as he surely must one day. Would he go? Genghis had promoted him to lead a hundred under Khasar, and Ho Sa enjoyed the camaraderie of the officers together. Every one of them could have commanded in Xi Xia, he was certain. Genghis did not allow fools to be promoted, and that was a matter of pride for Ho Sa. He rode with the greatest army in the world, as a warrior and a leader. It was no small thing for a man, being trusted.

The ger of the khan's second wife was different from every other one in that immense camp. Chin silk lined the walls, and as Ho Sa entered, he was struck once again by the scent of jasmine. He had no idea how Chakahai had managed to secure a supply, but in the years away from their home, she had not been idle. He knew that other wives of the Xi Xia and the Chin met in her ger at regular intervals. When one of the husbands had forbidden it, Chakahai had dared to bring the problem to Genghis. The khan had done nothing, but the Chin wife had been free to visit the Xi Xia princess after that. It had taken only a word in the right place.

Ho Sa smiled as he bowed to her, accepting the hands of two young Chin girls on his shoulders as they removed his outer deel. Even in that was something new. The Mongols dressed only to keep out the cold and had no thought for correctness.

"You are welcome in my home, countryman," Chakahai said, bowing in turn. "It is good of you to come." She spoke in the Chin language, though the accent was that of his home. Ho Sa sighed as he heard the tones, knowing she did it to please him.