ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
In the palace of the Chinese princess, widow of the great ruler of the Usuns, Unguymi, a feast was in full swing. In the large guest room with two columns, the Usun tribal leaders drank imported Fergana wine and their own kumys, eating fatty lamb. The table was strewn with fruits. In the honored place sat the current ruler of the Usuns, the great kunbag Nimi-Kuanwan, a young man with black, coarse shoulder-length hair and slanted "Hunnic" eyes. The hostess herself served him - as he wished. For the Chinese princess from the Han house, this was, of course, a great humiliation. It was no wonder that when she presented him with a bowl of sweet wine, hatred flashed in her eyes for a moment. Kuanwan noticed this and smirked. What did he care for the hatred of this old woman! A year ago he made her his wife, and she even bore him a son — thanks to this, the young ruler became a relative of the Chinese emperor, the Son of Heaven. And now let her bite if she can!...
— Wine! shouted the kunbag
The princess stepped out into the courtyard. On three sides it was bordered by residential service quarters, as well as military towers, and on the fourth side were the main gates and the tying posts, where a couple of dozen horses were crunching on fresh grass.
The princess looked around grimly. This rural estate, called a "palace," had been built forty years ago by the old ruler of the Usuns for his young wife, also a Chinese princess. At that time, the Usun rulers first allied with the Han house. Great China and the Land of the Usuns formed a military alliance against the powerful bandit state of the Huns. And for forty years, the alliance has been strengthened through marriages of nomadic Usun leaders with princes from the distant and beautiful Han. But now a different time has come.
She clenched her fingers tightly. How she hated her current master, this self-satisfied young man! Both the people and most of the nobility disliked him for his laziness and arrogance. It was evident that the Hunnic blood showed — from his mother from the Hunnic steppes. What kind of ruler is this Nimi-Kuanwan? What kind of husband is he? He is her worst enemy! According to the will of her late husband, the great Feiwan, her son Yuanquimi was to inherit the Usun throne.
But this half-Hunnic with his supporters crossed paths and seized power, pushing aside the rightful heir. And yesterday he struck her with a whip - to make her submissive.
— Li Tai! — the princess called softly. A tall warrior from the guard detached himself from the tying posts.
— What do you command, my lady?
— It’s time! — said the princess.
Li Tai looked her in the eyes. Despite her forty years, with adult sons and daughters, she was still beautiful. It wouldn’t be a pity to give her life...
— You will bring him this jug of wine. When he takes it, you will strike. They will help you there.
Li Tai bowed and took the vessel.
...In the hall with two columns, the feast was in full swing. The guests were already quite drunk: this was evident from how they all spoke at once, interrupting each other and even the kunbag. Li Tai squeezed his way to the ruler. No one noticed the sabre hanging at his side. Nomads usually did not part with their weapons. Even now, each had a long dagger in hand, with which they cut the lamb.
The warrior bowed and presented the jug, and when Nimi-Kuanwan took it, he suddenly drew his sabre and struck the ruler in the chest. But the sabre slid off the broad chest, ripped the clothing, and plunged into the left armpit... A breastplate was found under Kuanwan's shirt.
— Treachery! — the ruler shouted hoarsely and deflected a second blow with his dagger. What a commotion arose! The drinkers sobered up at once. Everyone jumped up, someone slipped on a plate of lamb and fell on the banquet tablecloth, someone recoiled to the side, trying to get outside. But most grabbed each other: there were both supporters of the ruler and his secret enemies.
The princess wisely retreated to the tower in advance. From there, she saw how a tangle of fighters rolled out of the doors, and from the crowd burst the hated Nimi, who, in a few jumps, reached the tying posts, cut the tether with his dagger, and tried to mount his horse. His left arm was a hindrance — it hung like a whip, and the entire side of the ruler was soaked in blood. But now he managed with the horse, he was in the saddle. Other enemies and friends were running to the horses?... It was hard to tell. Two guards at the gates were killed before the princess's eyes: the wide doors swung open, and the hated Hunnic bastard, screaming furiously, flew outside. After him came several more riders...
— Oh, great Shang-di, why did you not help me?.. He slipped away, slipped away...
The Alliance of the Han with the Usuns
The Usun State