Conn Iggulden Quotes

No congratulations?' Derry said cheerfully. 'No "well done, Derry"? I am disappointed in you, William Pole. There's not many men could have pulled this off in such a time, but I have, haven't I? The French looked for foxes and found only innocent chickens, just like we wanted. The marriage will go ahead and all we need to do now is mention casually to the English living in Maine and Anjou that their service is no longer appreciated by the Crown. In short, that they can fuck off.

Within two years, they would be attacking us. The emperor has seen what we can do and he will not make the same mistakes again. One chance we have made for ourselves, Khasar. You cannot wound a bear and run. It will chase you down.

The world has grown too large for one army of the nation, my brother. You will ride where I tell you to ride, conquer where I tell you to conquer. The world is yours, if you can put aside the base part of you that tells you to rule it all. That you may not have. Now give me an answer and your oath. Your word is iron, brother, and I will take it. Or I can just kill you now.

The world cannot be full of lead dogs, or the pack would pull itself apart.

If he had learned anything in manhood, it was that it didn't matter what other people thought of him - even the ones he respected. In the end, he would patch together a life, with its sorry errors and its triumphs, just as they had.

For the khan, we will take their cities, their women, and their lands. This is the great raid, the farthest strike in the history of the nation of Genghis. We will not be stopped.

The eagles ruled the air as the tribes ruled the land.

He holds blood in his right hand," she whispered. "He will walk with death all his life.

Vengeance is a fine thing, but forgiveness can be just as cruel.

There is a world outside the one we know," he said softly, "with cultures and races and armies who have never heard of us. Yes, and cities greater than Yenking and Karakorum. To survive, to grow, we must remain strong. We must conquer new lands, so that our army is always fed, always moving. To stop is to die, Chagatai.

My son's name is Temujin," he said. "He will be iron.

Behold a people shall come from the north, and a great nation. They shall hold the bow and the lance; they are cruel and will not show mercy; their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses every one put in array, like a man to the battle.

No worthy goal can be achieved easily. A virtue is born in suffering.

This story began with a single, starving family, hunted and alone on the plains of Mongolia - and ends with Kublai Khan ruling an empire larger than that of Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar. Over just three generations, that is simply the greatest rags-to-riches tale in human history.

When I am gone, I do not want men to say Look at his piles of wealth, his cities, his palaces and fine clothes." Genghis paused for a moment. "Instead I want them to say Make sure he is truly dead. He is a vicious old man and he conquered half the world.

No man could be a khan to his mother.

The point of war is to win, Kachiun. It does not matter how we do it, or how long it takes.

Sometimes it's better to just let the wave overcome you and then pick up the shards when it passes

You cannot deceive the mirror

No worthy goal should come easily, he told himself. Suffering created value.

There is a price for all things.

The nation of my father is too strong for a man who cannot command even his own body.

There are many who say 'I believe this,' but would they hold true to those beliefs if their children were threatened? No. But Genghis would. If you told him you would kill his children, he would tell you to go ahead, but realize that the cost would be infinite, that he would tear down cities and nations and the price would never be paid. He did not lie and his enemies knew it. His word was iron.

As he prepared to ride on, he chuckled at the thought of the wolf entering the sheepfold. He would not ride with fire and destruction. The shepherd did not frighten his own pretty lambs.

What we make can survive us.

They have kept us apart for a thousand generations, Kachiun. They have ridden us until we were nothing more than savage dogs. That is the past. I have brought us together and they will be trembling. I'll give them cause.

I say you are tribeless wanderers, without marks of rank or blood,' Khasar said. 'Don't leave your posts while I am gone. I am going to ride into the city over your bodies.

There was no justice in the world and evil men prospered. Kachiun struggled not to despair as he wrapped his deel around him, but there were times when he hated as ferociously as Temujin did. There should be justice. There should be revenge.

History was more than just stories, he reminded himself as the men walked forward with their burdens. It taught lessons as well.

The eyes show the soul and they are the hardest to conceal.

He who controls the heartland controls the world.

Some people will always be animals, while the others want to be... people.

We will not stop until the sea bounds us in every direction. I am Genghis who say this and my word is iron.

They were few, but they were hardened in fire. They had been cast out and many would hunger as he did: for a tribe, and for a chance to strike back at a world that had abandoned them.
"It is begun here," Temujin whispered. "I have had enough of hiding. Let them hide from me.

I rode with Genghis when I was younger than you, barely able to stay on a saddle."
"What was he like?" Zhenjin asked.
Kublai opened his eyes to find his son watching him.
"He was a man who loved his children and his people, Zhenjin. He took the Chin foot off the throat of the nation and made us look up from the struggles of tribes. He changed the world."
Zhenjin looked down, playing with a cherry twig in his hands, bending it this way and that.
"I would like to change the world," he said.
Kublai smiled, with just an edge of sadness in his eyes.
"You will, my son, you will. But no one can change it forever.

Why do you have sons, if not to grow up and test their boldness? Boldness cannot be laid like bones in the sack. It must be driven and again shown on the light, each time stronger than the last. You're mistaken if you think you can keep it, until you need it. It's like everything else, that gives you strength. If you neglect it, your sack will be empty, when you need it the most.

Every man can break, after certain time period. It's only necessary to find the levers that move his soul

Mother's love is unusual and complicated, unresolved to reason

We feed the soil with our blood, our endless feuding," he said after a time. "We always have, but that does not mean we always should. I have shown that a tribe can come from the Quirai, the Wolves, the Woyela, the Naimans. We are one people, Arslan. When we are strong enough, I will make them come to me, or I will break them one at a time. I tell you we are one people. We are Mongols, Arslan. We are the silver people and one khan can lead us all."
"You are drunk, or dreaming," Arslan replied, ignoring his son's discomfort. "What makes you think they would ever accept you?"
"I am the land," Temujin replied. "And the land sees no difference in the families of our people.

Nothing sapped morale like the fear of being attacked from behind.

Keep him alive," he whispered to the sky father. "Keep him strong and healthy. Keep him alive, for me to kill.

There shouldn't be walls among the allies

The suffering of my enemies will be a feast to the spirits. When I am old, I will remember the tears they have shed and it will ease my bones.

You can't just wound the bear and run. He'll come after you.

He would never understand women, he thought. They were life's great mystery.

They are the great tribe," Temujin replied, almost to himself. His voice was so quiet that Kachiun had to strain to hear. "I will give them a family again. I will bring them in and I will make them hard and I will send them against those who killed our father. I will write the name of Yesugei in Tartar blood and, when we are strong, I will come back from the north and scatter the Wolves in the snow.

His generals were ready; his sons were. It remained to be seen whether the Arab nations were ready to meet them in war. In their arrogance, they had invited annihilation.

It was not a good death."
"No such thing," Sorhatani said, wheezing. "It is never kind, Kublai. All we can do is ignore it until the time comes." The effort of speaking was enormous and he tried to stop her, but she waved his objections aside. "People do that so well, Kublai. They live knowing they will die, but no matter how many times they say the words, they don't truly believe it. They think somehow that they will be the one death passes by, that they will live and live and never grow old.

The wisdom of age is bitter when those you have failed have gone.

Nothing pleased the Mongols more than a good trick on the field of battle.

I will kill them," Temujin promised, rage kindling in him. "I will burn them and eat their flesh if they do." "That will bring you peace, but it will not change anything for Borte," Hoelun said. "What else can I do? She cannot kill them as I could, or force them to kill her, even. Nothing that happens is her fault." He found himself crying and wiped angrily at bloody tears on his cheeks. "She trusted me." "You cannot make this right, my son. Not if they escape your brothers. If you find her alive, you will have to be patient and kind." "I know that! I love her; that is enough." "It was," Hoelun persisted. "It may not be enough any longer.

I have been distracted from my duty as a father to some extent, but there is no greater exercise to a man's talents than the upbringing of his son.

Courage cannot be left like bones in a bag. It must be brought out and shown the light again and again, growing stronger each time. If you think it will keep for the times you need it, you are wrong. It is like any other part of your strength. If you ignore it, the bag will be empty when you need it most.

He chuckled to himself as he walked. A warm woman and a battle to come. To be alive on such a night was a wondrous thing.

A good general is ready for every option.

The man attempted to salute and Renius forced himself to smile, biting back his temper at the sloppy manners. He watched the fat figure run away into the buildings and wiped the first beads of sweat from his brow. Strange that such men as that should understand loyalty where so many others threw it aside at the first hint of freedom.

Be careful of raising me too high, brother. I have no special strength, unless it is in choosing good men to follow me. The great lie of cities is that we are all too weak to stand against those who oppress us. All I have done is see through that lie. I always fight, Kachiun. Kings and shahs depend on people remaining sheep, too afraid to rise up. All I ever did was realize I can be a wolf to them.

To be betrayed by those he trusted seems to have ignited a spark of vengeance in Temujin, a desire for power that never left him. His childhood experiences created the man he would become, who would not bend or allow fear or weakness in any form. He cared nothing for possessions or wealth, only that his enemies fall.

The world will hear my name." When he spoke again, it was so quiet that Kokchu had to strain to hear him.
"This is not a time of death, shaman. We are one people and there will be no more battles between us. I will summon us all. Cities will fall to us, new lands will be ours to ride. Women will weep and I will be pleased to hear it.

Winter is our time. They shut up their cities for the cold months. They put their horses in stables and sit around great fires in enormous houses of stone. If you want a bearskin, do you attack in summer when it is strong and fast, or cut its throat as it sleeps?

I am not you and all my choices have already been made, good and bad.

...the fire doesn't know for who is burning.

This is no game of thrones, but real endings and real blood.

A knowledge isn't dangerous. Only the man is dangerous.

It does not matter what others think of how I lived my life. It does not matter if we go down in Temuge's histories as tyrants or even cowards. All that matters is what we do now. We are our only judges, Kachiun. Remember that. Those who come after will have other trials, other battles to worry about.

We are the silver people, the Mongols. When they ask, tell them there are no tribes. Tell them I am khan of the sea of grass, and they will know me by that name, as Genghis. Yes, tell them that. Tell them that I am Genghis and I will ride.

What is the purpose of life if not to conquer? To steal women and land? I would rather be here and see this than live out my life in peace.

I am the land, the bones of the hills," he said fiercely, "I am the winter. When I am dead, I will come for you all in the coldest nights.

Kublai went on as if he had not spoken.
Before you all, in the lands of my enemies, I declare myself great khan of the nation, of the khanates under my brothers, Hulegu and Arik-Boke, of the Chagatai khanate and all others. I declare myself great khan of the Chin lands and the Sung. I have spoken and my word is iron!

Just as the kids are afraid of the dark, so too are grown ups scared of power. It lures, but, also, consumes. It's a game that mustn't never be taken lightly.

To defeat the enemy, we must know him first

Genghis had once told him he should never give an order they would not obey. He should never let them see the limits of his authority. The

It is the quality of the burden you must consider, Brutus, not the weight.

You will revenge my father's death and we will be one tribe across the face of the plains, one people. As it should always have been. Let the Tartars fear us then. Let the Chin fear us.

Unaware of them all, Temujin began to chant words he had not heard since old Chagatai had whispered them on a frozen night long before. The shaman's chant spoke of loss and revenge, of winter, ice, and blood. He did not have to struggle to recall the words; they were ready on his tongue as if he had always known them.

Sometimes, power could change hands as quickly as a knife thrust.

If you are asking if my family will take what they want, of course they will. The strong rule, Chen Yi. Those who are not strong dream of it.

The Buddha said, 'Gripped by fear, men go to the sacred mountains and sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines.' I am not afraid of death, my lady. I need no god to comfort me in my fear.

There is a price for all things, my son, for all men. I have merely to find his.

Your brother beat him almost to death, Temujin. He held him and kicked him until he cried like a child. He is afraid of you, so he hates you. It would be wrong to hurt him again. It would be like beating a dog after it has loosed it's bladder. The spirit is already broken in him.

You do not placate a tiger by feeding it your own flesh.

To be strong - that's the first thing the man must learn. If you don't have strength, others can take you everything you have or make

The decision took a moment, but it lasted a lifetime

You have a mighty army, but the greatest force is the one that you don't have to use.

We are all fools with our sons. We wipe them and suckle them and all we expect is for them to be grateful to the end of their days.

Those who cannot conquer must bend the knee. They must find strength, or serve those of us who have. You are my generals. I will send you out: my hunting dogs, my wolves with iron teeth. When a city closes its gates in fear, you will destroy it. When they make roads and walls, you will cut them, pull down the stones. When a man raises a sword or bow against your men, you will hang him from a tree. Keep Karakorum in your minds as you go. This white city is the heart of the nation, but you are the right arm, the burning brand. Find me new lands, gentlemen. Cut a new path. Let their women weep a sea of tears and I will drink it all.

The greatest joy a man can know is to conquer his enemies and drive them before him. To ride their horses and take away their possessions, to see the faces of those who were dear to them bedewed with tears, and to clasp their wives and daughters in his arms.

Enjoy the peaceful moments, Zhenjin. When the fighting starts, this will be a pleasant memory.

From this day, you are no longer children. If you have to fight, even if it is a friend, put him down as fast and hard as you possibly can. Kill if you have to, or spare him - but beware putting any man in your debt. Of all things, that causes resentment. Any warrior who raises his fist to you must know he is gambling with his life and that he will lose. If you cannot win at first, take revenge if it is the last thing you do. You are traveling with men who respect only strength greater than theirs, men harder than themselves. Above everything else, they respect success. Remember it.

Genghis snorted. Men always die in war. Their kings expect it. I want them to know that if they resist me, they are putting their hand in the mouth of a wolf. They will lose everything and they can expect no mercy.

This is a hard land and the people are used to death. If I am to rule them, they must know that to face me is to be destroyed. They must be afraid, Chakahai. It is the only way.

I have not given thought to what comes after the battles. Perhaps I will rule. Is that not the right of a conqueror?

It is done. We are a nation and we will ride. Tonight, let no man think of his tribe and mourn. We are a greater family and all lands are ours to take.

Xuan smiled at the thought of men sleeping peacefully next to those they would try to kill in daylight. Only humanity could have conceived such a strange and artificial way to die. Wolves might tear the flesh of deer, but they never slept and dreamed near their quarry.

Men respect the silent; they despise the garrulous. - Marius

I have called those who had no tribe," he went on, "but still had honor and heeded the call of blood to blood. They rode us in trust. And I say to you all, there are no tribes under the sky father. There is only one Mongol nation and it begins this night, in this place.

Cities make you afraid.

Know the enemy and you will know how to kill him.

Your life is just a bird's flight through a lit room. You pass from infinite darkness into endless night, with only a short time in between.

There was no justice in the world - unless he made it for himself. Unless he cut twice as deep as he had been cut and gave back blow for blow. He had the right.