The Roman Saga. Behind The Great Wall

– Get up and speak! Are you the one who brought the paintings here from the land of the Xiongnu?

– Yes, it was brought by your slave… It’s a gift from General Chen Tang, – he replied, rising, but still not daring to get up.

– Then show us what was there, since we are already here, – the Emperor unexpectedly ordered. – The whole court talks so much about this that even my concubines were seduced by your stories.

– Wise Ruler, – came the cautious voice of one of the courtiers accompanying him, – no one should see the Son of Heaven!

– No one can see not the Son of Heaven, but his face! Isn’t that right, Shi Xian? Are we speaking correctly?

– The Thousand-Year Master is right always and everywhere, – the senior eunuch bent even lower in a bow.

– Then we want you to take the concubines and go to the palace. And we will take their fans so that no one can see our face. By the way, Shi Xian, make sure their rooms are full of peaches tonight! Since they love them so much…

– Your slave will do everything, – the answer followed.

– We’re ready. Start telling us, – the Emperor’s voice rang out, addressing Fu Xing. He, still not daring to look up, walked to the very beginning of the picture and, resting his palms on his knees, began his story. The Romans were ordered to quickly dress and wait for the command. The musicians sat sideways to the aisle so as not to be suspected once again of daring to look up at the Master of Heaven. When the rebuilding ended and Paul Domician sang several songs with Zeno, the Emperor tapped his fan and said:

– They sing very well. Hmmm… sometimes it’s worth looking at a person differently22. We have never heard such voices. We enjoyed listening. But we don’t understand who is standing in front of us, – a yellow robe with golden dragons on the chest and shoulders approached Lacius a few steps when Fu Xing’s voice was heard:

– Wise Ruler, be careful! This is a very dangerous barbarian! – there was so much genuine fear in his voice that he involuntarily stopped and turned his head towards the head of the guard.

– How can he be so dangerous for our invincible warriors? Moreover, he is all in chains. If our warriors captured him, then he cannot be dangerous. If he is so strong, then our warriors are stronger. Are we speaking correctly?

– The Buddha of our days is always right, – came the voice of the same courtier, who warned the Emperor the first time. – But I heard that he is not only strong. He knows how to throw swords and kill from a distance, – after these words there was silence, and two attentive eyes from behind the fan stared intently at Lacius’ scar. He was a small, short man in a robe, like everyone else. The upper half was not visible, the lower half was solid silk. And there was no threat, just complete calm, characteristic of those, who know that there is no one higher, neither in heaven nor on earth.

Lacius was hampered by his helmet, which sank to his very eyebrows, so he looked from under his brows at the bizarre structure on the Emperor’s head, similar to a small round cap, from which three golden dragons protruded. Each of them had a small pearl in their mouth, and in front of them was another, very large one. Interpreting the Emperor’s long silence as doubt, the courtier added: – And he’s also smart. Very smart.

– This is really dangerous, – the ruler of the Han Empire unexpectedly agreed with him. – A smart enemy is always dangerous. Always.

– I’m not an enemy, – Lacius couldn’t resist. Something told him that now he could speak without fear and his words would be heard. – I am a prisoner. I was a prisoner of the Xiongnu. Your enemy Zhi Zhi has been killed. Your general killed him. And I was the same prisoner of Zhi Zhi. That’s all…

– Do you understand us? – the Emperor was sincerely surprised.

– Don’t you dare talk to the Emperor himself! – hissed some courtier next to Lacius. He mincedly approached him in small steps and, without straightening, tapped him on the back. – Say “the slave knows, the slave listens’!

– Leave him, – the Master of Heaven interrupted the old official. – He is a slave of a slave and does not know how to talk to us. – So do you understand everything? – he asked Lacius again.

– Yes, I can speak and understand, – he answered briefly. Behind the fan there was a strange sound, like a surprised grunting and clattering.

– Okay, we want to know if you’re honest or not. Do you know why you are here?

– Yes. We were taken here so that you forgive General Chen Tang, – Lacius said without looking away, and from the silence that suddenly hung in the air, he realised that he had said what everyone was thinking about, but were afraid to say out loud.

– He-he, – a condescending cough was heard again. – This is true. You are not deceiving us. Then tell me, why do we need you? I heard you could build bridges and threw swords. But this can be learnt. What do you know and can do that we can’t? Surprise us, and then you will live.

Lacius had to think it over but he had no time to mull it over. His throat felt sore. But not from excitement, but from stuffiness. He couldn’t remember anything worthwhile. If everything could be learnt, then how were they different? Only the colour of his skin… Nothing else came to his mind.

– Rome, tell him about Rome! – Paul Domician whispered from behind, wanting to help.

– Your blind friend can speak louder. We can’t hear him! – said the Emperor. And then Lacius remembered what happened at the peasants’ festival in the Xiongnu camp!

– The singer says he can sing, – he said quickly and added: – But that’s not the most important thing. – I can show you what we can do, but you can’t. We can speak very quietly and understand each other. Look! Hey, Lucro, move away, – he asked from a comrade standing next to him. – Ten steps. Now turn your back. Listen to me and show me what I say, – Lacius whispered “Thumbs up’ and Lucro raised his thumb up. Then he whispered “Helmet’, and Lucro raised the helmet above his head. Then there followed “Right hand’, “Left foot’, “Chain on the feet’ and “Jump’. Lucro repeated everything flawlessly. – You see, – Lacius said with a smile and turned his head towards the large fan, – he understands everything. – But in your language this is impossible.

– Possible! – there was a cry of indignation and disbelief. Lacius smiled because the Emperor was clearly hurt.

– How can you contradict the Wise Ruler! – the courtier intervened again, trying to contrive and hit Lacius from a half-bent state, but instead the Emperor sent him to Lucro, where the unfortunate man had to turn his back and straighten up to hear the voice of his master.

The old man did everything in his power, even turning his head, but it did not help. The Han people did not know how to speak in a whisper. Their words had different meanings because they said them with different intonations. And without intonation they all turned into incomprehensible sounds. Therefore, no matter how hard the Emperor tried, nothing worked for him – his whisper merged into a quiet, monotonous sound and the unfortunate courtier did not hear anything. Trembling with fear and wiping his sweaty palms on his robe, he turned his head first one way and then the other, trying to hear at least one word, and even tried to repeat Lucro’s movements, hoping that the Emperor was saying the same thing, however, in the end, he could not stand it and shouted at him:

– You are apparently completely deaf! We tell you: Step back. Don’t you hear?

– Your slave can’t hear, – the courtier bleated in a squeaky voice.

– Shi Xian, take his place, – the Master of Heaven turned to the senior eunuch. – You’re not that old yet and you should hear us.

But nothing worked out with the eunuch either. Then the Emperor ordered the concubines, who had not yet left, to be brought from the stretcher. They happily returned, but they didn’t hear anything either. Throwing out their hands in confusion, they looked around, but could not repeat what their Master was whispering. After that, tense silence hung under the canopy for some time. The Emperor frowned and thought. Finally, he turned to Lacius and said:

– You can live in peace. But… – there was some doubt in his voice, bordering on curiosity. – But can you say what surprised you most? If this surprises us again, the rest of the slaves will also live.

– What surprised me? – Lacius felt that now his heart was beating faster and from the side where the Romans stood, a wave of fear and horror washed over him. He forgot that the rulers of fate cannot be trusted and they can change their minds in the blink of an eye, he forgot that the Emperor’s wife was going to see them die at the holiday, yes, he forgot, because the desire to help his comrades was stronger than all other feelings.

Lacius feverishly turned over in his head everything he knew, but these were events from his world, which was alien to this strange man. He could only be surprised by what he knew himself. But what could he know? And then he remembered Chow’s stories about her family, the ancient generals and eunuchs who ruled instead of Emperors, writing on silk and bamboo sticks, and the great Emperor, who built a great wall. And he made up his mind. – I’m not sure you’ll be surprised. But it struck me, – he began and coughed. His throat was dry, but Lacius couldn’t afford to ask for water. – Sorry… my throat… it’s hot… – he shook his head, holding his neck. The Emperor remained motionless. Swallowing non-existent saliva, Lacius continued: – One person surprised me most of all. – He lived a long time ago and wrote the history of all rulers since ancient times. He wanted to write down all the names and all the actions, all the wars and all the betrayals. But he lived in difficult times. One official suggested that the Emperor change taxes in the country. And this historian supported the official. Then the Emperor got angry. He ordered the historian to cut off his reproductive organs. Usually this meant loss of face. The historian had to kill himself to avoid disgrace. But it was possible to stay alive, cut off your balls, and continue to live in shame. This man chose a life of shame to finish his work on the history of your people. He emasculated himself by saying that the history of the great Empire is more important than his unborn children. That’s what surprised me, because I’ve never met such people. Nowhere, – Lacius finished his short story and heard a thoughtful voice from behind the fan:

– Sima Qian! It was Sima Qian! Yes, he was a strong man. He did a lot. We know about this, – after these words, the Emperor fell silent again, and none of the servants, bending in a bow or lying on the ground, dared to break the silence while he was thinking. – Alright, – he finally said in a calm voice, – you reminded us of the past. Once upon a time this surprised us too. Let your people live! Call Bao Shi!

– Your slave is here, – came a voice from somewhere on the side, and under the canopy showed up the governor, doubled over, wearing an expensive robe stained with dust. Unable to stay on his feet, he fell to the ground and touched his forehead to the ground three times.

– Take them. Let them live for now. Feed and water. We’ll think about what to do with them. Make sure they don’t die! And we think they need water.

– Your slave will do everything, the Wise Buddha of our days! – Bao Shi once again poked his forehead into the dust. The Emperor, without looking at him, turned around and walked towards his servants. They also stood bent in a deep bow. Lacius wondered how long they could stand like that without moving. After all, it was much harder than standing on all fours. He was torn from these thoughts by a blow to the legs with a stick – Bao Shi’s servants again reminded the Romans that they should lower themselves to the ground and not look at the Emperor. At the same time, they also did this in a half-bent state, which is why they hit the legs, and not the heads and shoulders, as before. But the Romans did not need to be forced; they immediately fell down, as if on command, and after some time began to take off their breastplates and helmets.

It seemed that in the chaos that had arisen, no one cared about them now. The Emperor disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, the stretcher with his two concubines, surrounded by a large number of eunuchs, was already approaching the gates of the inner palace, and the servants under the canopy still continued to fuss and run, carrying some sticks, barrels, water and bags. They brought a lot of water to the Romans. Other servants were collecting shields, breastplates, and helmets at this time. Soon happy time came – the governor allowed them to be taken to the river. Even the chief of security, Fu Xing, was surprised that Bao Shi would condescend to do such an act. Although everything was clear without any explanation – the officials of the imperial court were still near the canopy and could then tell the Emperor how the governor behaved after the departure of the Master of the Celestial Empire.

– Tell them to thank the governor loudly! – said the head of security to Lacius.

– Why not the Emperor? – he was surprised.

– “Bo Le appreciated the horse’23, but you are the governor’s slave.

– What?.. Which horse? I don’t understand anything… Why are you talking so strangely? First Chow Li, now you…

– Shut up and thank the governor!

– But why didn’t we thank you when you took us there at night? – Lacius smiled slyly.

– Don’t say that! – Fu Xing was scared. – I am the governor’s servant, – and added louder: – Long life to the governor! – Don’t make me “give you three instructions and explain to you five times’24!

– Why three… – but he didn’t have time to finish, receiving a blow with a stick from another guard. Kneeling, Lacius conveyed the order to the others, and the Romans in discordant voices began to shout out words of gratitude to Bao Shi, who was condescendingly listening to them in a black robe with yellow peacocks on the back and sleeves. Two servants were already bustling around nearby, shaking off the remaining dust from the luxurious silk.

CHAPTER VIII. UNPLEASANT NEWS ABOUT THE HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR

After the river, the Romans were taken to the outskirts of the city, where rich people lived. The house of Governor Bao Shi was located there. They were all pushed into a large empty barn and left overnight. They spent several days there without going outside. On the fourth day, at dawn, Lacius was awakened by two servants and taken to an outbuilding, near which four servants stood. They were barefoot and shirtless, wearing only pants. He was clearly not being taken to the governor or the Emperor. This thought immediately made him feel better.

Along the walls there were two benches and several bundles of brushwood. Everything was carefully cleaned. There was a beautiful screen hiding in the corner. A lake with thickets of reeds and flying birds were drawn on it. In this miserable and gray room, it looked very strange and seemed like a random object, as if they had forgotten to put it away after some special occasion.

However, everything soon became clear. Sitting behind the partition was Chow Li. Next to her were two eunuchs and two maids. Chow spoke in the Xiongnu dialect. She did not want her compatriots to understand her. The news was different, but not all very good: the Emperor ordered an urgent gathering of ministers to talk with them about Chen Tang; the Emperor’s wife was angry that two concubines saw the paintings given to her; yesterday five eunuchs were punished for this; everyone began to prepare for the holiday of the year, and the Romans were supposed to be shown to the entire courtyard during that show. This meant that Governor Bao Shi would have to prepare them for exhibition stick fighting.

Lacius knew that stick fights usually ended in a fight with swords and spears. So, it was necessary to come up with something so that they would not be killed in the very first minutes of the holiday. Although there was no joy in the fact that they would be killed a little later. At that moment, he remembered with regret that no ruler had ever kept his word.

The second bad news concerned Chow’s sister named Yeng. She wanted Lacius to be killed in any case. It didn’t matter where. She said this was her revenge for the fact that Chow was his slave. And Chow could not explain anything to her older sister. She didn’t believe her. At least that’s what Chow Li said, trying to make her words sound sincere.

Lacius also learnt that all the Xiongnu women were taken away from the city. There, beyond the wall, they worked in the Emperor’s distant gardens, waiting until he decided what to do with them. But the most unpleasant thing was that peasant unrest began in the south of the country and none of the merchants wanted to go there. Therefore, Chow could not help Latium disappear unnoticed from Bao Shi’s house and end up in the cart of merchants carrying salt and silk to the south. Moreover, her father, the former chief censor, demanded that she return to the province, since she was now an unmarried woman. The father himself lived in a small provincial town, where the unrest had just begun, and Chow was soon to go to him.

Everything was turning against Lacius again. The escape plan could not become a reality and remained just a dream. He could not imagine that someone was leading him up the garden path. So he naively believed that other people and external circumstances were to blame for everything.

– You promised to help, – Lacius said thoughtfully after listening to her. He did not understand how he could now escape from this city and get to the sea.

– I’ll help, but later. Now you have to stay here. We have to wait. Let everything pass. I’ll let you know.

– How?

– Through Fu Xing, the head of security.

– Can you ask him to bring us more food? We can’t eat just rice and beans. They also give us lentils, but they are tough. We need meat. I understand that it is difficult, but without food we will die.

– I don’t even know… Even Bao Shi’s servants don’t eat meat. – It’s very difficult, – Chow answered carefully, trying not to sound rude about her refusal.

– Okay, can you tell Fu Xing to send us to work? We can carry water, build, dig. Then it will be easier for him to feed us.

– You speak wisely. Okay, I’ll try. That’s it, go, I have to go. There will be guests in the house today.

– Wait, tell me, why are you and your sister so different? – getting up, he asked.

– Have you seen my sister? – there was surprise and confusion in her voice.

– Yes, when the Emperor’s wife came.

– Oh… But this is impossible! Have you seen her face? Erm… Did you like her? – questions rained down one after another.

– Dunno. She’s just not like you. At all.

– No, she isn’t. We have different mothers. She is the elder sister. But she is dearer to me than all the other people in the house.

– Who are the rest? Do you have many sisters and brothers? And you… – but Chow did not listen to him and called the servants. They took Lacius out of the outbuilding and brought him to the barn, where he, with relief, threw the iron ball on the ground and sat down next to it.

All his comrades lay there, staring blankly at the low ceiling. Flies were buzzing everywhere. The walls were made of the same bamboo as in the barn, where they had stood for several days. Lacius came up and pulled the stick in the wall. It didn’t give in. Then another, one more, until in the corner, right next to the pillar, he was lucky enough to pull out a thin bamboo three fingers thick. Such a stick was lighter than a sword and lay a little awkwardly in his hand, but Lacius was pleased.

– Get up, – he called to Mark and Zeno, who were throwing stones on a small area near the door, trying to knock them out of the middle of the circle. – Let’s get down to business.

– You came back changed, – came the quiet voice of Paul Domician. – The red colour comes from you.

– Yes. The gods don’t want to let me go home, – Lacius smiled wryly. – The Fates are playing their weird games again.

The blind singer just shook his head and said nothing. Dissatisfied, Mark and Zeno each pulled out a stick from the wall and began fooling around with Lacius. But, having received several strong blows to the legs and even to the stomach, they realised that he was not joking.

In the evening they were joined by Lucro and three people from his former group. The next day, Tiberius and his people came. They did not believe that they could be killed after the Emperor’s forgiveness, but Fu Xing, who sometimes came to check on their condition, gloomily confirmed Lacius’s words.

Now they began to be taken out to work in the fields and in the yard. The Romans’ ability to work with stone was useful when building a new cellar on the other side of the house and laying out wells. For this, they began to be fed better. However, in the evenings, Lacius still forced everyone to remember close combat techniques, although from the outside it looked like artists performing on a small stage, especially Mark and Zeno: they could not take even two steps, and were forced to dodge Lacius’s blows and crouch and twitch from side to side, like trees in a strong wind.

Thus, began the training of all surviving legionnaires. And the more they worked, the more thoughtful Lacius became. He saw that the young men who were with the old men became faster and more agile, but he seemed to have lost his speed. He lunged forward a little slower, was just a little late to dodge the blow and, quite unexpectedly for himself, felt an incomprehensible slowness throughout his body. It seemed like it didn’t listen to him and did everything late. He weakened and began to get tired faster. All this made him despondent, which he tried to drown out with new exercises. But there was no strength. The body gave up before the mind, and the arms fell limply down, aching from overload and fatigue. And he was sadly forced to admit to himself that he was beginning to grow old.

CHAPTER IX. THE EMPEROR’S DECISION AND GOJU’S HELP

At this time, completely different events were taking place in the palace. Two opposing opinions regarding Chen Tang’s campaign again forced the Emperor to choose, which party to give preference to. Neither concubines, nor musicians, nor the stories of court historians and astrologers pleased him. Then he remembered his wife and ordered the senior eunuch Shi Xian to bring her.

– Ten thousand years of life, Wise Ruler! – Yu Wan greeted him, kneeling down. – Long life to you for the benefit of the entire Han Empire…

– Get up! – Yuan Di interrupted her discontentedly, – my father used to say that the peasants, when the Emperor was driving past them, first shouted “Ten thousand years of life’25, and then they said among themselves that “Even the Emperor cannot buy himself a thousand lives’.

– Sad thoughts have visited you, our lord. Are you sick?

– No!

– Fine. But I’m glad that your thoughts returned to me again. My love will help you…

– Love, love, what does love have to do with it? You scared Feng and Fu so much that they don’t even go out into the garden!

– My guilt is limitless, Wise Ruler… But I follow you in all joys and sorrows, I see my fate together with yours, I do not complain about injustice and do not demand seven men a week when my master does not come to me, – she said with feigned sadness, hinting at the lascivious Feng and Fu.

– Yes, we agree. They are like that. But they are concubines.

– They have children from my master, – Yu Wang added more harshly.

– Alright, we’re tired of these eternal arguments and complaints about each other! Enough!

– What worries the Son of Heaven? – she said again with humility and affection.

– Everything! What should we do with Tang? – he blurted out, no longer able to contain the tension that had accumulated for so many days. After listening to all his doubts, she looked away and pursed her lips. The Emperor Yuan Di knew that he needed to wait a little and give her time to think. But this time, the beautiful Yu Wan spoke immediately. Apparently, she has thought about this problem more than once and has long come up with a solution. The Empress saw that her husband “doesn’t know where to put his hands and feet’, and thought about how to lead him to the right decision in a shorter and gentler way.