"I want campaign command," Batu said. "Real authority over the western territories and the campaign's execution. The senior Jochid prince directing what gets done afterward."
The lamp on the table had been burning since before he arrived. Outside, the provision quarter moved through its afternoon, and the sounds of it reached through the felt walls in low undifferentiated fragments.
Her eyes continued on him across the table. "Subutai will be there."
"Subutai is the finest field commander alive and I will use his talent. What I'm asking for is strategic authority, what it is done and what gets built afterward. That authority belongs to the senior Jochid prince in this theater."
She was still for a moment. "That's a distinction most men don't make."
He had been watching her since the exchange opened. She took what he said and put it against what she already held.
"You didn't ask me to explain it," Batu said. "Which tells me you already understood it."
