Chapter Thirty-two When Shall the Spring Blossoms and Autumn Moon Cease? (II)

　　Said:　　An old friend left Chang’an to the west; in Chang’an one lover stays behind.　　That lover’s heart has not changed — she wishes to be the worthy wife of the younger man.　　A month after Xue Rengui’s death, in the third month of spring, Turk scouts returned and told the khan’s commanders Ashina Gudulu and Ashide Yuanzhen: “Sire, we have learned that the Tang general Xue Rengui died suddenly a month ago. Now is the time to act.”　　Ashina Gudulu and Ashide Yuanzhen, hearing that Xue Rengui was dead, were like men waking with a pillow — frantic with joy.　　The khan Ashina Gudulu cried, “Heaven helps us; this is the moment to march.”　　Ashide Yuanzhen agreed: “The mandate favors our tribe; we must follow it.”　　Ashina Gudulu and Ashide Yuanzhen were, respectively, the Turk khan and one of his chief ministers.　　Months earlier the Nine-Tailed Fox had projected her spirit and appeared as the Morning Star to Ashina Gudulu in a dream, saying: “The Tang’s mandate is ending; when Xue Rengui falls ill and dies, that will be your time to strike.”　　This message startled Ashina Gudulu; he had long harbored such hopes but dared not speak them aloud.　　When he awoke he found beside him a copy of the Tui Bei Tu the Fox had created.　　He had heard of the Tui Bei Tu’s prophecies; he opened it and much of it seemed to confirm what the visionary had said.　　Thus his three-parts belief grew, his three-parts doubt eased.　　Now this report of Xue Rengui’s death resolved most of that doubt.　　That night Ashina Gudulu and Ashid