The Russian envoy had clearly come prepared. He immediately smiled and said,
"His Majesty the Tsar believes that a hero such as yourself is also a wise man, and that you should rightfully ascend to the khan's throne."
Murad had had the deepest thorn in his heart stirred, and his brow immediately furrowed. He replied bluntly,
"I do not need the Tsar to invest me."
Murad had once been the vizier of Bukhara's Astrakhan Dynasty. After marrying the daughter of Khan Abu Ghazi, he launched a coup and seized power.
However, because his rise to power lacked legitimacy, he faced the united resistance of the nation's nobles and could not call himself Khan. He could only become an "Emir," roughly meaning commander or Governor.
Yet Murad also looked down on a khan invested by the Russian Tsar.
Just like Nurali Khan of the Little Horde of Kazakh: after accepting the Tsar's investiture, he had been called "the Russians' lackey" by the Tore at home. Ten years earlier, Selim Datov of the Little Horde had risen in rebellion under the banner of driving out the Russians, but in truth, he had also sought to overthrow Nurali Khan.
Count Kozlovsky waved a hand. "You misunderstand. I mean that if we cooperate, my country will ensure that you become a descendant of Abu Ghazi Khan."
A gleam immediately flashed through Murad's eyes. Abu Ghazi was the Khan of Khiva and possessed the bloodline of the Golden Family. If things were truly as the Russian envoy said, and he could become Abu Ghazi's adopted son, then no one in Bukhara would be able to question his qualifications to call himself Khan!
However, he calmed down again in an instant and said indifferently,
"How can you guarantee that he will listen to you?"
Count Kozlovsky