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down the east-ern hill. The bodyguard, normally an impressive sight, seemed no more than a few drops in
the sea of fighting men assembled in the shallow valley. The mandarins, each riding in a covered sedan
chair carried by four bearers, followed the imperial guards. Behind the mandarins came the em-peror's
palanquin, a huge yellow affair carried by sixteen men. Then, also in sedan chairs, came a series of
subminis-ters, high-ranking consorts, imperial relatives, and influen-tial eunuchs. Finally, another thousand
guards brought up the procession's rear.
The only sounds in the valley were the rhythmic tramp of the imperial bodyguards and the gasping of the
wind. When the first guards reached the center of the meadow, they formed a ring around the kowtowing
nobles, Batu's tent, and the pyramid. A few moments later, the first sedans ar-rived and the mandarins,
dressed in white ceremonial robes, climbed out of their chairs. As they went to kneel in their places, two of
the ministers, Ju-Hai Chou and Ting Mei Wan, inclined their heads in greeting to Batu.
Next, the emperor's palanquin stopped at the steps, but the Divine One did not show himself. The doors
remained shut until the last relative kneeled behind the pyramid and the last member of the guard took his
place in the defensive ring.
Then, without further ceremony, the Lord of Imperial Sacrifices opened the palanquin door. The Divine
One stepped out. He wore a robe of gold cloth and a jade crown carved into a likeness of the sacred sky
dragon. Hundreds of mystic symbols, representing all the important nature spir-its, had been sewn into his
cloak with gold and silver thread.
As the emperor ascended the pyramid, he looked pale and tired. Batu did not find his appearance
surprising. To purify himself for this ceremony, the emperor had gone without food or sleep for three days.
According to the Book of Heaven, the spirits perceived the resulting state of exhaus-tion as a symbol of
submission. Therefore, they were more likely to look favorably upon the Divine One's request. To Batu,
who was not a great believer in either the celestial bu-reaucracy or the mystic spirits, such privations
seemed an unnecessary and risky taxation on the Son of Heaven's health.
At the top of the pyramid, the emperor stopped and glanced down at Batu, then at each of the other
com-manders, and finally at the Mandarinate. At this signal, they all touched their foreheads to the scratchy
grass. Batu was unhappy to hear several nobles grunt with the simple effort of lowering their heads to the
ground. More often than not, the armies of fat commanders were filled with chubby, un-skilled soldiers.
The Divine One did not take time to speak any words of in-spiration. Even if the soldiers could have
heard him, it was not for him to inspire them. That duty fell solely on the shoulders of their commanders.
The emperor was here for one reason only: to ask for supernatural cooperation and aid.
Accordingly, when he raised his arms and looked toward the sky, he spoke in the throaty, mystic
language of the an-cient shamans. Of all the tens-of-thousands of men assem-bled in the valley, not more
than ten understood his words.
As the Divine One's mystic entreaty droned on, Batu's thoughts turned to his conflict with Kwan. He
wondered if all his preparations were for naught. The general felt angry at the thought of the old man
interfering with the intricate plan he had developed over the last two weeks. The sound of Batu's grinding
teeth was soon louder inside his head than the steady drone of the emperor's voice.
Realizing that where there was one Tuigan spy, there were bound to be more, Batu had gone to great
lengths to keep his preparations secret. In fact, only he, Wu, and Tzu Hsuang knew exactly how he
intended to defeat the barbar-ians. Batu had even kept his plans secret from the Divine One, for his
father-in-law had hinted that a thousand ears heard what was whispered to the emperor.
It had not been easy to finalize the preparations without revealing his intentions, but Ju-Hai Chou had
done a great deal to help. Ju-Hai had convinced the Ministry of Magic to send a hundred wizards to support
the armies. The High Minister had even lent Batu the Mirror of Shao, a huge look-ing glass that allowed
men to communicate over great dis-tances. At Batu's request, Ju-Hai had assembled a fleet of five hundred
merchant junks. With Ting Mei Wan's help, the minister had also fulfilled another of Batu's requests,
ar-ranging the evacuation of an entire riverfront village. In all cases, Ju-Hai had honored Batu's desire to
keep the reason for his strange preparations secret.
Now, just a week after being charged with winning the Barbarian War, everything Batu needed was in
place—as long as Kwan stayed out of the way, and provided the bar-barians did not alter their tactics.
Batu was not confident that he could handle Kwan, but he felt sure the barbarians would not change
strategies. Ac-cording to the field dispatches, his scorched-earth policy had slowed the Tuigan advance to a
crawl. Their foraging parties were being forced to search for food hundreds of miles from the front lines.
Despite the general's satisfaction with the course of the war, the week had not been entirely a good one.
Batu had spent most of his time making plans, pleading for blind cooperation, and speaking with exhausted
riders. There had been little opportunity for leisure. When he did have a mo-ment for his family, Ji and Yo
had seemed sad and fright-ened. His children's misery had almost been enough to make him lament the
war.
Batu was so absorbed with his thoughts that he did not re-alize the emperor had finished the supplication
until the mandarins began to rise. He barely managed to return to his feet in time to hide his inattentiveness.
His subcommanders stood next, then the thirty armies slowly returned to their feet and waited at strict
attention.
The Divine One paused to look over the vast assembly of troops. Then, speaking to the Mandarinate, he
said, "I have asked the spirits for their blessing, and here is what they said: 'Emperor Kai Chin, your soldiers
have the superior weapons of Shou Lung, the courage of the heavens, and the leadership of a wise general.
The barbarians have only the speed of starving horses and boldness born of ignorance. Why do you need
our blessing?' "
The Divine One paused and ran his gaze over the com-manders of the thirty armies. Finally, he
continued. "Here is how I answered: 'Great Ones, we know our armies can de-feat the enemy horde. We
ask your blessing because no ar-row can pierce a spirit's armor, no hero can outrun the wind, and no
general can match the wisdom of the uni-verse. What I ask is that you support us with favorable
con-ditions, so that we may catch our enemy and halt his vile invasion.'"
The emperor paused long enough to wet his lips. "Here is what they answered: 'Then you shall have our
favor, Kai Chin, for the enemy is an abomination to nature. We would like your armies to destroy this thing,
for our sakes as well as yours. If it rains and slows the advance of your armies, do not worry. It will rain on
the enemy twice as much. If the sun beats down upon your heads and parches your throats, it will beat [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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down the east-ern hill. The bodyguard, normally an impressive sight, seemed no more than a few drops in
the sea of fighting men assembled in the shallow valley. The mandarins, each riding in a covered sedan
chair carried by four bearers, followed the imperial guards. Behind the mandarins came the em-peror's
palanquin, a huge yellow affair carried by sixteen men. Then, also in sedan chairs, came a series of
subminis-ters, high-ranking consorts, imperial relatives, and influen-tial eunuchs. Finally, another thousand
guards brought up the procession's rear.
The only sounds in the valley were the rhythmic tramp of the imperial bodyguards and the gasping of the
wind. When the first guards reached the center of the meadow, they formed a ring around the kowtowing
nobles, Batu's tent, and the pyramid. A few moments later, the first sedans ar-rived and the mandarins,
dressed in white ceremonial robes, climbed out of their chairs. As they went to kneel in their places, two of
the ministers, Ju-Hai Chou and Ting Mei Wan, inclined their heads in greeting to Batu.
Next, the emperor's palanquin stopped at the steps, but the Divine One did not show himself. The doors
remained shut until the last relative kneeled behind the pyramid and the last member of the guard took his
place in the defensive ring.
Then, without further ceremony, the Lord of Imperial Sacrifices opened the palanquin door. The Divine
One stepped out. He wore a robe of gold cloth and a jade crown carved into a likeness of the sacred sky
dragon. Hundreds of mystic symbols, representing all the important nature spir-its, had been sewn into his
cloak with gold and silver thread.
As the emperor ascended the pyramid, he looked pale and tired. Batu did not find his appearance
surprising. To purify himself for this ceremony, the emperor had gone without food or sleep for three days.
According to the Book of Heaven, the spirits perceived the resulting state of exhaus-tion as a symbol of
submission. Therefore, they were more likely to look favorably upon the Divine One's request. To Batu,
who was not a great believer in either the celestial bu-reaucracy or the mystic spirits, such privations
seemed an unnecessary and risky taxation on the Son of Heaven's health.
At the top of the pyramid, the emperor stopped and glanced down at Batu, then at each of the other
com-manders, and finally at the Mandarinate. At this signal, they all touched their foreheads to the scratchy
grass. Batu was unhappy to hear several nobles grunt with the simple effort of lowering their heads to the
ground. More often than not, the armies of fat commanders were filled with chubby, un-skilled soldiers.
The Divine One did not take time to speak any words of in-spiration. Even if the soldiers could have
heard him, it was not for him to inspire them. That duty fell solely on the shoulders of their commanders.
The emperor was here for one reason only: to ask for supernatural cooperation and aid.
Accordingly, when he raised his arms and looked toward the sky, he spoke in the throaty, mystic
language of the an-cient shamans. Of all the tens-of-thousands of men assem-bled in the valley, not more
than ten understood his words.
As the Divine One's mystic entreaty droned on, Batu's thoughts turned to his conflict with Kwan. He
wondered if all his preparations were for naught. The general felt angry at the thought of the old man
interfering with the intricate plan he had developed over the last two weeks. The sound of Batu's grinding
teeth was soon louder inside his head than the steady drone of the emperor's voice.
Realizing that where there was one Tuigan spy, there were bound to be more, Batu had gone to great
lengths to keep his preparations secret. In fact, only he, Wu, and Tzu Hsuang knew exactly how he
intended to defeat the barbar-ians. Batu had even kept his plans secret from the Divine One, for his
father-in-law had hinted that a thousand ears heard what was whispered to the emperor.
It had not been easy to finalize the preparations without revealing his intentions, but Ju-Hai Chou had
done a great deal to help. Ju-Hai had convinced the Ministry of Magic to send a hundred wizards to support
the armies. The High Minister had even lent Batu the Mirror of Shao, a huge look-ing glass that allowed
men to communicate over great dis-tances. At Batu's request, Ju-Hai had assembled a fleet of five hundred
merchant junks. With Ting Mei Wan's help, the minister had also fulfilled another of Batu's requests,
ar-ranging the evacuation of an entire riverfront village. In all cases, Ju-Hai had honored Batu's desire to
keep the reason for his strange preparations secret.
Now, just a week after being charged with winning the Barbarian War, everything Batu needed was in
place—as long as Kwan stayed out of the way, and provided the bar-barians did not alter their tactics.
Batu was not confident that he could handle Kwan, but he felt sure the barbarians would not change
strategies. Ac-cording to the field dispatches, his scorched-earth policy had slowed the Tuigan advance to a
crawl. Their foraging parties were being forced to search for food hundreds of miles from the front lines.
Despite the general's satisfaction with the course of the war, the week had not been entirely a good one.
Batu had spent most of his time making plans, pleading for blind cooperation, and speaking with exhausted
riders. There had been little opportunity for leisure. When he did have a mo-ment for his family, Ji and Yo
had seemed sad and fright-ened. His children's misery had almost been enough to make him lament the
war.
Batu was so absorbed with his thoughts that he did not re-alize the emperor had finished the supplication
until the mandarins began to rise. He barely managed to return to his feet in time to hide his inattentiveness.
His subcommanders stood next, then the thirty armies slowly returned to their feet and waited at strict
attention.
The Divine One paused to look over the vast assembly of troops. Then, speaking to the Mandarinate, he
said, "I have asked the spirits for their blessing, and here is what they said: 'Emperor Kai Chin, your soldiers
have the superior weapons of Shou Lung, the courage of the heavens, and the leadership of a wise general.
The barbarians have only the speed of starving horses and boldness born of ignorance. Why do you need
our blessing?' "
The Divine One paused and ran his gaze over the com-manders of the thirty armies. Finally, he
continued. "Here is how I answered: 'Great Ones, we know our armies can de-feat the enemy horde. We
ask your blessing because no ar-row can pierce a spirit's armor, no hero can outrun the wind, and no
general can match the wisdom of the uni-verse. What I ask is that you support us with favorable
con-ditions, so that we may catch our enemy and halt his vile invasion.'"
The emperor paused long enough to wet his lips. "Here is what they answered: 'Then you shall have our
favor, Kai Chin, for the enemy is an abomination to nature. We would like your armies to destroy this thing,
for our sakes as well as yours. If it rains and slows the advance of your armies, do not worry. It will rain on
the enemy twice as much. If the sun beats down upon your heads and parches your throats, it will beat [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]