Character Index

  Yunqi: The Emperor.

  Empress An: The Empress, from Kuang's maternal clan. Even though it's one of those "Wow you married your brother's cousin?" situations, Yunqi shares no blood relations with Empress An.

  Chuluo: Khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.

  Nuray: Princess of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, mother is from a prominent Turkish tribe.

  Halime: Princess of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, mother is from a Persian clan.

  Anle: Princess of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, mother is from a Han clan.

  Shegui: Khagan of the Western Turkic Khaganate.

  Alizhi: Grandson of Chieftain Tumidu of the Uyghur tribe.

  Qazar: Alizhi's cousin, Kayla's hostage.

  Tumidu: Chieftain of the Uyghur tribe. Grandfather of Princess Mingda, Alizhi, and Qazar.

  Heli: The young Chieftain of the Pugu tribe of the Tiele.

  General Yan: Commander of the Northern reinforcements.

  Tuhezhen: Heli's (older) nephew who Kayla had killed on Heli's request to stabilize the young Chieftain's shaky rule.

  Mingda: The Sixth Princess. She has been titled an Imperial Princess by Yunqi.

  Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Lord of the Liang clan, an Oversight Officer in the northern reinforcements.

  Investigator Mi: A young Investigator who accompanied Kayla on her trip North. Finding him promising, she promoted him to the Yanzhou branch in the Northern Wu to fast-track his career.

  Sima Qi: A former Investigator, a young man with a whole lot of things wrong with him. Currently unofficially working for Kayla.

  Dulan: A Pugu tribesman. He learned about Tuhezhen's murder from his friend Geleng in Book 2 Chapter 100.

  Geleng: A Pugu tribesman who accompanied Tuhezhen North and realized that the "accident" was a murder. Also appeared in Book 2 Chapter 100.

  Datan: Heli's mentor and protector. The one really running Heli's affairs.

  Shelun: A Pugu notable.

  Nagai: Shelun's only son.

  Kayla subtly tried to stretch her neck a little as her meeting with Yunqi wrapped up. There was an awful crick in the crook of her neck from where she had fallen asleep over her work last night. Kayla abruptly ceased her attempts as Yunqi’s attention turned back to her.

  The Emperor was in a good mood, with his reforms going well and his Consorts surprisingly getting along with each other just fine. Yunqi had been rather worried about that when three young women were foisted upon him so unexpectedly, but Empress An was broad-hearted enough to live and let live, and the Consorts didn’t kick up much fuss after entering the Inner Palace.

  Unsurprisingly, his thoughts leaned a bit more towards the domestic at the moment.

  “Thank you for your hard work, Wenyuan. Though it is certainly my fault that you are busy, please do find some time for your wife,” Yunqi said. “This can’t be easy for her, especially since she’s married so far away from her home.”

  Just when Kayla had forgotten to be nervous about the baby for half an hour.

  “Of course,” Kayla said.

  “How is she doing?”

  “Well enough,” Kayla replied. “The baby is very calm, so it doesn’t give her much trouble.”

  “Good. But even so, be sure not to neglect her,” Yunqi said. “Even with the healers, childbirth is like entering the ghostly pass for women. She must be nervous, even if she tries not to let it show.”

  “Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, Your Majesty. My wife will surely be overjoyed to hear of your kindness,” Kayla replied.

  Yunqi laughed softly. “It’s what I should do,” he said. “Not only is she my cousin by marriage, she will also become my sister-in-law soon enough. Take good care of her.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Kayla clamped down on the internal screeching that had begun anew.

  If Healer Zhang fucks up I might have to commit murder. She clamped down on the unreasonable thought, not fast enough to stop it from fully forming.

  “My wife is also eagerly awaiting her sister’s arrival,” Kayla said out loud. “I want to ensure that the bride’s delegation has a smooth journey, so I am arranging for more backup residences along the way, in case there is a delay at any point. Setting things up last minute poses too many security concerns, but arranging so many potential boarding places is also rather costly. I was thinking that rather than relying entirely on official posts, where we would foot the bill, we could rely on private households of local notables. They would have to pay out of pocket, and if the Princess does indeed stay at their residence, the costs would be reimbursed. If not, they get a tax deductible equivalent to the costs they spent for preparation. Of course, they would need to provide suitable proof of before and after.”

  Yunqi considered it for a moment, probably thinking back to the Wang clan of Taiyuan. With that example as the tracks of the previous wagon, it was unlikely that any local clan would turn to sabotage.

  “A good idea,” Yunqi said. “I will trust in your arrangements.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. Then I will take my leave now,” Kayla said.

  Yunqi waved her off with a smile.

  She set off from the Emperor’s quarters, taking the main path out of the Inner Palace. Kayla moved quickly, hoping to entirely avoid any of the Empress’ people. Empress An was not discouraged by Kayla’s respectful but distant manner, and seemed all the more certain that it reflected some sort of righteousness or virtue in Kayla’s character. Now that the palace suddenly had three more Consorts, Empress An was redoubling her efforts to get Kayla’s support in advance of any infighting.

  All the while, I’m arranging for the Royal Consort’s wedding, Kayla thought drily. Empress An…seriously, just find someone else.

  At this rate, the Empress would be furious if Kayla supported the Royal Consort, and the Khagan would be furious if Kayla did not.

  Should I just be fair and piss off both of them?

  Kayla briefly entertained the thought.

  No, Chuluo’s spent a bunch of money and effort on this. If he thinks that it’s not worth it, who knows what he’ll do? He still has the Western Turks to deal with for now, but that won’t occupy him for many years.

  Hopefully he died before he had time to turn his attention South. He was old enough to have an aneurysm or something.

  Though I’d be sorry for Ashina. And her sister.

  It had taken a long time for Chuluo Khagan to decide which daughter to send. She would have to be beautiful and brilliant, with the necessary political skills to sufficiently leverage her position as Royal Consort. That didn’t leave many choices.

  In fierce and indomitable spirits, none of his daughters were particularly lacking. But few of his daughters were familiar with harem intrigue, their own mothers having administrative privileges over their own staff and households that would not have been afforded to consorts in the Wu. Moreover, the Khagan’s women were not cloistered in an Inner Palace where proximity bred resentment and deadly competition.

  Experience was not a consideration simply because it wasn’t available. His daughters had even less experience than the daughters from the households of Wu notables, where concubines and wives were forced to compete for limited attention and resources. The same competition existed within the households of some of Chuluo’s trusted retainers, but not so for the wives of the Khagan.

  The most Chuluo could do was to select a daughter with the potential to develop the relevant skills for palace intrigue and influencing the Wu Emperor, in the hopes that she would rise sufficiently to the task and not die in the process.

  To Chuluo’s increasingly impatient allies in the Wu, confusion and uncertainty bred a strange atmosphere, one that had led to a sort of hysteria in which the older officials had all unanimously decided that Yunqi wasn’t having enough sex and proceeded to browbeat the Emperor into taking three new Consorts. All the Wu court knew about Chuluo’s choice of bride was that he would send one in good health, but beyond that, it was hard to say. Likely because he hadn’t expected a new Emperor to crown so soon, he had sent the most treasured of his unmarried daughters to marry Kayla already. He probably regretted it now.

  Kayla, being the one who was married to Ashina, had some more insights than the rest of her peers.

  Ashina had guessed that the princess in question would be her older sister by a Sogdian mother, older by a mere four months and strikingly beautiful, but rather soft-spoken. Or most likely, the eighteen-year-old Princess Nuray, born of a mother from a prominent Turkic tribe. Or, if Chuluo didn’t want to give that particular brother-in-law even more influence, then the twenty-year-old Princess Halime, whose mother was Persian. There was also the possibility of Princess Anle, whose mother was from a Han clan that had gone over to the Khaganate in the beginning of the Wu dynasty after losing a power struggle. The only problem was that Princess Anle was only sixteen. Even if she married Yunqi, it would be a while yet before he would take any interest in her.

  Yunqi had been particularly uncomfortable with the option of Princess Anle–at thirty, the girl was almost half his age.

  To his immense relief, the bride was announced two months after peace talks began between the two Khaganates. Princess Halime was selected as Yunqi’s Royal Consort, and preparations began for the wedding.

  Typical of Chuluo–sending Princess Halime as a bride further served the function of increasing her mother’s prestige, raising the prominence of Persians at his court. He was undoubtedly aiming at the Aswarans who had started flocking Eastwards, trying to lure them to his court and away from Shegui Khagan’s.

  Fuck, are we going to have to deal with Persian heavy cavalry? Kayla paused for a moment. Wait, the princess is here. Can’t Yunqi lure in the Persians too? We could use some heavy cavalry ourselves.

  She made a mental note on that. It seemed that Kayla was doomed to anger Empress An after all. But who knew? Maybe the Empress was more broad-hearted than that.

  In any case, the delegation has to safely complete the journey first.

  And there were not too few parties who would want this to end badly. The Western Turkic Khaganate, discomfited Wu families, nationalist extremists from the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, maybe even agents from the Umayyad who wanted discord in the East.

  And the Tiele…

  The Tiele front had been extremely quiet in the months since the parley in the Northern war. All seemed calm, but a nagging unease continued to gnaw at Kayla.

  Her fears finally spilled over into reality a few days later with a call from Alizhi.

  The young Uyghur noble called Qazar on a semi-regular basis to check in on the teenage hostage, with the full understanding that none of the calls were fully private. This time though, Alizhi made a direct request to his cousin.

  Kayla looked up from her work at a knock on the door.

  “Yes?”

  “Your Excellency, it’s me,” Qazar’s voice sounded out from behind the office door. “May I come in?”

  “Of course,” Kayla said. Qazar came in, as shy around her as always.

  “My cousin wishes to talk to you,” Qazar said, peeking up at her before ducking his gaze again.

  “Sorry for the interruption,” he supplied belatedly.

  “Not at all,” Kayla said. Why was the kid always so scared around her? She’d never even yelled at him before. “Thank you, Qazar. Why don’t you leave the device here for now? You can come back for it a little later.”

  Qazar bowed by way of response and scurried out from the room.

  Shaking her head in confusion, Kayla turned her attention to the communication device, eyes sharpening. Why was Alizhi calling her through Qazar’s device? They had a direct line straight to Commander Tumidu. Alizhi could have easily reached her at any time.

  “Sir Alizhi?” Kayla asked. “What a pleasant surprise!”

  “Greetings, Duke Zhao. I hope that you and your wife have been well,” Alizhi said politely.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “Thank you, all is well on my end,” Kayla replied. “How are your grandfather and father?”

  “They’re well, thank you, my lord.”

  There was a brief silence.

  “Is everything well with you?” Kayla finally offered.

  “Oh, um, yes, my lord.” Alizhi sounded uncharacteristically nervous.

  What the hell is up with these kids today?

  “Was there something you wanted to talk about?” Kayla asked as patiently as she could manage.

  “Yes,” Alizhi blurted out, sounding as if he were rather red in the face. “I–that is–I will get straight to the point, my lord. I hear that the Royal Consort will be passing through the Anbei Protectorate soon.”

  “In a few weeks time,” Kayla agreed.

  “It might be best to avoid the territory of the Pugu tribe,” Alizhi said, still in the same constipated tone.

  Kayla paused for a full moment.

  “What does that mean?” Kayla demanded.

  “I’m not sure, my lord. But I think you should keep a closer eye on the situation,” Alizhi replied.

  So he couldn’t elaborate.

  Kayla’s heart sank. Contacting her as a nonofficial representative of the Uyghur, refusing to go into details, none of it signaled anything good.

  “How bad is it?” Kayla asked.

  “I wouldn’t know,” Alizhi said, sounding increasingly cowed.

  “Since when?”

  Alizhi was silent.

  Pinching the bridge of her nose, Kayla softened her tone.

  “Thank you, Alizhi. Please bring my kind regards to your grandfather and parents,” Kayla replied. “Be assured that I will take this into hand.”

  “Thank you, my lord,” Alizhi said, with a concerning amount of relief.

  Kayla ended the call with a million worst-case scenarios swirling inside her head.

  Just what the hell was going on with the Tiele that had Alizhi so nervous?

  Something that couldn’t be communicated to her through public channels.

  Alizhi. The Pugu tribe. Kayla frowned. And something to do with me. Or they would be using the official line.

  The dots connected belatedly.

  “Oh fuck,” Kayla hissed. “Fuck!”

  Alizhi, who had served as an escort for Hu Qing’s delegation to General Yan’s troops, accompanied by Tuhezhen of the Pugu tribe. Who she’d ordered the death of, on the behest of the young Chieftain Heli.

  I fucking told that kid this was a bad idea. Not that she had the luxury of blaming someone else. In the end, hadn’t she been the one to give the go on a teenager’s shitty idea? It had bought her some peace and quiet in the Anbei Protectorate for a brief period of time, but now it was swerving back to smack her right in the face.

  Fighting to work her expression back into a smile, Kayla called Princess Mingda. The Imperial Princess picked up within moments, looking as if she’d expected the call.

  “It’s good to see you well, my princess.”

  “The same goes for you, dear cousin. I hear that you have been arranging the Emperor’s wedding?”

  Kayla smiled. “Yes, I have.”

  Mingda raised her eyebrows slightly. “How wonderful, to have a new sister-in-law. I suppose that’s good for our country’s future, isn’t it?”

  “Certainly. I can only hope that both our nations will increase in prosperity with our ties being strengthened,” Kayla replied.

  “Paired with your reforms, that certainly will be the case.”

  “If the heavens are willing,” Kayla said. “But since the border will once again become crucial, may I trouble you to keep an extra eye out for the Anbei Protectorate?”

  “Of course. But there are things that I am suited for, and things that you, my dear cousin, are suited for. Have you checked in with Heli?” Mingda asked.

  Kayla tried and failed not to show her exasperation.

  “I did, several times, but he refused to tell me anything other than that everything’s fine,” Kayla said. “I’m rather worried about him. I was contacted by your cousin Alizhi just a while ago, and he seemed concerned about some developments amidst the Tiele. I can’t help but worry that Chieftain Heli will have a hard time of it with his young age.”

  “I certainly hope you have someone who can get there quickly,” Mingda said ominously.

  “Pardon? What do you mean?” Kayla asked.

  And why the hell didn’t you say something earlier?

  “I see that my cousin was reticent–I am not surprised. It would be untoward of him to directly intervene in the affairs of another tribe. After all, I hear that things are not at peace within the Pugu tribe,” Mingda replied. “There are stirrings of disquiet. Talk of the chieftain being a kin killer, talk of him being unfit to lead…they’re only whispers so far, but they’re loud whispers. I ignored it before, but with the Royal Consort passing through the region, it can’t be overlooked. I suggest that you reach out to Chieftain Heli again. Perhaps this time he’ll change his answer.”

  Ahhhh shit.

  “I see. Thank you, my princess,” Kayla said.

  Fuck, this is definitely because of Tuhezhen.

  Kayla shot off a message to Heli from her own device, frustration mounting in behind her temples.

  Again, why the hell did no one think to tell her earlier? She’d had months to clean this up, and all her extremely reliable allies in the North had decided to procrastinate until the last minute.

  A deep breath, and Kayla pushed down her complaints.

  Of course they didn’t tell me. They were afraid it would sound like an accusation.

  They weren’t sure if she had been involved, and deeply suspected that she had.

  And they were probably afraid of what I would do if they happened to be wrong.

  Reasonable enough of a concern, given that they thought her capable of ordering a murder in cold blood.

  Kayla turned Qazar’s communication device over in her hand, coolly examining the craftsmanship on the wooden cover, the gift of a doting mother being parted from her beloved son.

  If they were afraid, they were right to be afraid. Kayla could only hope that the Pugu dissidents were sensible enough to feel the same.

  It’s fine.

  She had never been more secure in her position, nor had she ever had so much control.

  There’s no such thing as a path without obstacles, Kayla told herself firmly. If not one thing, then it’ll be another. I’ll just deal with the problems one by one.

  After a moment of consideration, she sent out another message to Hu Qing.

  I need Hu Qing’s side of the story.

  She had deliberately instructed him to give as few details as possible, only to offer a single nebulous confirmation that couldn’t be pinned down as a confession. Just in case things went wrong or if the message was intercepted.

  Now, Kayla needed Hu Qing to take that risk after all, him being the one person she could trust with such a request. The one she had entrusted with Tuhezhen’s death, with keeping General Yan in check. The most reliable ally she had.

  However he might have fucked up in the process, she needed to make sure he landed on his feet afterwards.

  And who was that Investigator I sent to Yanzhou? She tried to recall the name of the young Investigator she had taken note of on her trip to the Northern border. Right, Investigator Mi.

  The kid was reliable enough. She sent him a message, ordering him to the Anbei Protectorate immediately with the team he was now in charge of.

  And of course, my wildcard.

  Kayla hesitated before sending a message to Sima Qi. The young man was a bit too much of a wildcard to send into a volatile situation, but his lack of a moral compass beyond the principles of repaying his debts was a very useful thing.

  She sent out the message.

  Dulan embraced one of his tribesmen, clasping the man’s hand as he bid goodbye. It had been several months since his best friend returned from escorting a delegation of Wu officials to the North, and everything had changed.

  For one, the Chieftain’s nephew, the decorated and capable Tuhezhen, had never returned from the trip.

  And the second related thing–Dulan’s best friend Geleng had probably been the closest thing to a witness for Tuhezhen’s murder.

  In-fighting took place amidst Tiele tribes just as it did anywhere else. If the sixteen-year-old Heli had actually managed to kill Tuhezhen in battle or in a duel, or even if Heli had sent out his teacher and protector Datan to see the deed done, Dulan probably could have accepted it.

  But Heli had murdered Tuhezhen in cold blood, and he had done it through the hands of an outsider. And not just any outsider–a Duke from the capital, who had no business intervening so intimately into Tiele affairs.

  Geleng, ever reticent, had only reluctantly been wheedled into sharing his story with one of the prominent men of the tribe, Shelun. From there, Dulan had tasked himself with building up momentum against Heli, who he no longer acknowledged as his Chieftain.

  The actual witness was far less enthusiastic.

  Dulan turned to him now, mildly exasperated to see that Geleng was once again tucked in a corner, deep in thought. He approached Geleng with a smile.

  “Come on, Geleng. What are you sulking there for? They all believe you,” Dulan said. Really, it was Dulan they believed, but there was no point in mentioning this..

  Geleng chewed on the inside of his cheek, frowning pensively.

  “But is this alright?” He asked hesitantly.

  Dulan gave his friend a look of disbelief.

  “We have the support of the three major clan heads, even Shelun! If you don’t act now, when are you going to wait until?” Dulan demanded.

  Geleng continued to frown, unconvinced.

  “That’s the problem. Why are the three major clan heads helping us now?” Geleng asked. “I don’t like this. They were content to watch Tuhezhen and Heli fight, but they never stepped in to help Tuhezhen. Now that he’s dead, they suddenly back him so strongly? I think they’re just trying to seize the opportunity of when the Turkic Princess is passing through to put in a candidate of their own as Chieftain.”

  Dulan rolled his eyes.

  “Of course they are, what about it? It’s not like that Duke down in the capital would ever let it happen otherwise! Or he wouldn’t have killed Tuhezhen just because a sniveling brat wanted him to.”

  “But a puppet ruler–”

  Dulan cut Geleng off. “A puppet ruler? A puppet ruler?! We already have a puppet ruler! If not for Datan being halfway competent, this whole tribe would have fallen to pieces already under that brat’s leadership! What qualifications does he have other than having the luck to be born right before his father kicked the bucket? Tuhezhen had proper accomplishments of his own, and he got offed by some capital slick out in the steppes while surrounded by fellow Tiele! It’s a goddamn shame, I’m telling you!”

  Geleng tried to cut in, but Dulan would not be interrupted.

  “The ruling clans of the Tiele have fed their goddamn consciences to the dogs! What have they ever done for us? All they’re interested in is sucking up to the capital and promoting their own kin! When was the last time the kinsmen of a Chieftain actually earned merits on the battlefield, other than Tuhezhen? And they dragged him out and killed him like a dog!”

  “By Tengri, I wish I had never said anything to you,” Geleng said miserably.

  “Fool! Coward!” Dulan snarled, his face red with anger. “Where the fuck is your pride? How long have we been warriors? How many skirmishes have we fought in against the Turks? We still haven’t been listed as veterans on the official record books because the fucking Han generals always list us as auxiliary troops no matter how hard we fight! We’re treated as nothing more than horsekeepers, but they’re the ones who chew us out if we so much as step away from the frontlines!”

  Geleng avoided his friend’s gaze uncomfortably.

  “Will it be better just because we let the three major clans have their way?” Geleng asked miserably. “They spread my story about Tuhezhen everywhere, but if anything goes wrong, they’ll abandon us without hesitation! I’ll probably get executed for libel at the end of this no matter what happens. Think about it, Dulan! What makes the three major clans any better than Heli and his grandfather? They didn’t get to be the three major clans by being just and fair!”

  He flung a hand out in the direction of their residences.

  “Look at Shelun! His son actually passed the Civil Exam–when was the last time a Tiele passed the Civil Exam? The Han schools don’t move, and no Han scholar will deign to migrate with us across the grazing grounds. It’s not like they offer the test in our script either–Nagai would have to be a fucking genius to pass the Civil Exam, but he’s as dumb as a rock! His father bribed the local officials. With what money? Where the hell did he get that much? It’s not like the official accepted payment in sheep and horses!”

  “Nagai’s not that stupid,” Dulan said, not even believing the words himself. “Plus, Shelun only has this one son. Why wouldn’t he try to get Nagai a little something extra to his name?”

  “With what money?! With whose money?! And you’re calling me a fool! Listen, who handles our pay and billeting whenever we’re needed for the border defense?” Geleng demanded.

  “The Chieftain,” Dulan said stubbornly.

  “And who does he hand that task off to?!”

  “Shelun,” Dulan said, very reluctantly.

  “Exactly! And you wonder why we’re not listed as veterans or paid properly–who’s supposed to handle all that? Is the Wu really that stingy? Or is someone skimming off the top?” Geleng snapped. “This is why I didn’t want to tell Shelun! Look at how happy he was. And he was trying to force out a tear for poor Tuhezhen all the while. It’s disgusting!”

  “This is bigger than just Shelun,” Dulan said. “Everyone’s angry! Look at how many people are starting to turn against Heli–this is about more than just Tuhezhen!”

  “And Shelun’s using that,” Geleng said mournfully.

  “Listen, the Wu’s been working to screw us over for generations! Ever since our ancestors surrendered to the Wu, we’ve been trampled underfoot decade after decade. The government only ever takes our taxes, but when the fuck have they ever done anything for us? The Duke down in the capital’s just the latest extension of that! Don’t get all muddled just because he built a communication network–he only did it to keep these useless chieftains in power so that they can keep the rest of us in check!” Dulan said passionately.

  Geleng gave him a look of such genuine sorrow that, taken off-guard, Dulan’s anger melted into concern.

  “Geleng?”

  “Do you think the capital and the Duke are conspiring against us? Against men like you and me with only a few sheep to our name?” Geleng asked, quiet and somber.

  “I guess,” Dulan said, feeling a little foolish saying it out loud.

  “They don’t even think about us,” Geleng said, his voice tightening. “We don’t even register in their thoughts! Containing us? They don’t give a fuck about us in the first place! I can fucking promise you that the Duke down in the capital has never considered us even once. It’s not malice, Dulan, it’s indifference. Indifference! It would be far less humiliating if it was malice! But it’s not. We don’t matter to them. If we live, if we die, it matters less to them than if someone insulted them in passing at court!”

  “Geleng–” Dulan began helplessly, shooting to his feet as Geleng stormed off.

  “Hey, Geleng!” Dulan called after the man’s retreating back.

  Left with a bitter taste in his mouth, Dulan stared helplessly as Geleng swung onto his horse and disappeared into the distance.

  Cultural Notes

  鬼门关/Ghostly pass: A Chinese term meaning extremely dangerous situations that are pretty much the equivalent of entering the pass between life and death (hence ghostly) and returning alive only if everything goes right.

  Hosting royal guests: The practice of hosting Imperial/royal guests in private homes is not uncommon. However, it ran the risk of bankrupting you later in history (especially in the Qing dynasty, where it would cost someone a lot of money to ensure everything was up to standard).

  Wang clan of Taiyuan: Based of a prominent clan in the Tang Dynasty. Kayla framed them for Chuluo's crimes in order to kickstart the communication network and to take the clans down a notch.

  前车之鉴/Tracks of the previous wagon: An Ancient Chinese proverb that refers to seeing the example of someone who already did what you want to do. Aka, the tracks of the previous wagon in the dirt (this was from pre-Qin China when roads were mostly dirt).

  Aswaran: Persian heavy cavalry.

  安北都护府/Anbei Protectorate: Refers to the Tang Dynasty area approximately in modern-day Inner Mongolia and Mongolia (and also Southern parts of Russia) where nomadic tribes lived in semi-autonomy.

  良心被狗叼了/Conscience was eaten by the dogs: A Chinese saying that means someone has no conscience at all, expressing contempt for their lack of morals and their actions.