Chinese map of Chang’an during the Han Dynasty
14:24 (China Time)
Northwest gate of the imperial capital of Chang’an
Central China
Lady Zu, wearing her noblewoman’s outfit and jewels and riding one of the captured horses led by Nauca, couldn’t help cry with joy at the sight of the imperial capital and its 25.7-kilometer-long walls.
‘’CHANG’AN, AT LAST! MAY THE ANCESTORS BE PRAISED!’’
She then hugged her equally happy daughter, who was riding a horse next to hers and was also wearing her original silk outfit.
‘’Soon, we will be able to see the Emperor and to tell him how this traitorous Huo Qing murdered your father. Then, that bastard will finally pay for his crimes.’’
On her part, Nauca was detailing what she could see of the vast walled city ahead of the caravan. Since entering China proper, the caravan had encountered numerous villages, small cities and farming communities, all of them not too different from what she had seen around Tanais, Bactriana and Sogdiana. Chang’an, on the other hand, was a totally different and most impressive affair. The Chinese imperial capital was defended by a triple line of walls, themselves surrounded by a large moat which partly followed the bed of the Wei River, which flowed past the city. Those walls, built of bricks, were a good twelve-meter-high and appeared very thick. The city’s northwest wall, towards which the caravan was traveling, was pierced by three large gate towers, each pierced by three large gates. Another large walled complex, which Yurkan had told her was the Jianzhang imperial palace complex, sat to the East of the city proper, separated from it by a tributary of the Wei River. Chang’an was by far the largest city she had ever seen and Nauca could easily picture the kind of power it represented. Before the caravan got to the limits of the northern suburbs of the city, which spread out beyond the walls, Yurkan had stopped his caravan to have lunch. He had then told his people to wash and change into clean clothes after eating, so that they would look at their best when entering the imperial city. While Lady Zu and her daughter had happily changed into their original silk dresses, Nauca had put on the fine Punjabi silk outfit she had purchased (at an inflated price) in Samarkand, which consisted of an embroidered red and gold tunic over orange baggy trousers. She had also stored away on her pack horse most of her weapons, keeping only her battle-axe and dagger on her. The one thing she had kept on her all along, a small leather purse hanging from her neck by a bronze chain and containing the collection of precious gems which constituted much of her wealth, was still hanging between her breasts, safe from pickpockets and purse snatchers.
Nauca smiled when she saw that watching caravans come and go was a popular spectator sport for the inhabitants of the city’s northern suburbs, with young children in particular eyeing with intense curiosity the riders and their long files of camels and horses loaded with bundles and bags. Maybe some of those children would one day grow up to become merchants themselves. What was also apparent to Nauca was that she, a woman traveling with a caravan and mounting a horse of unusual height and strength, attracted more than her fair share of the popular attention. As she passed by an old beggar sitting against a wall, she threw him a silver coin while saying in Mandarin Chinese a sentence she had learned during her trip since leaving Khotan.
‘’May the Ancestors be with you, old man.’’
The beggar quickly caught the coin and bowed his head, thanking her profusely.
‘’May life be kind to you, pretty stranger.’’
The caravan soon arrived at one of the northwestern gates of the city, which was guarded by no less than thirty soldiers. However, contrary to the reception they had received in Khotan, they were not made to pay an entry toll, something that surprised Nauca. Trotting up to Yurkan’s horse, she asked the merchant about that, bringing a benevolent smile on his lips.
‘’They don’t need to collect tolls at the gates, Nauca: the imperial administration takes in more than enough money via the sales taxes applied to the trading of goods coming from caravans like ours. Here, every commercial transaction is taxed, although at a rate that is still reasonable.’’
‘’Oh, I see! How long are we going to stay in Chang’an before heading back towards Samarkand?’’
‘’We will stay here for at least two weeks, time to sell our wares from the West and to buy new wares to bring to Samarkand. That will also give a chance to our horses and camels to recuperate from their long, arduous trip. You will have plenty of time to visit Chang’an in the meantime, my good Nauca. However, as soon as we will be installed in one of the caravanserais adjacent to the main market, you, me and Lushan will escort Lady Zu and her daughter to the imperial palace. I will feel a lot better once she is our responsibility no more.’’
Nauca could only nod to that: she and Yurkan had feared that a second cavalry column would have been sent by General Huo Qing after the first one had been ambushed and destroyed. Thankfully, the caravan had not been threatened after that.
Passing through the monumental gate, with its thick, iron-reinforced wooden doors, the caravan then followed a long, 45-meter-wide avenue split into three parallel lanes. That avenue, intersecting at regular intervals with side streets, was bordered by a succession of walled residential districts which lodged the population of the capital. Soon, the caravan arrived at the limits of a huge market plaza, where Yurkan made it turn left and follow the limits of the plaza until they arrived at the gate of one of the numerous walled caravanserais built around the plaza. Entering the caravanserai with his horses and camels, Yurkan quickly jumped down on the ground to go see a thin Chinese man who was watching the Sogdian caravan enter the courtyard.
‘’Lu, you old bastard! It is nice to see you again after all these months.’’ shouted in Sogdian Yurkan, making the man grin.
‘’And it is nice to see you again, you thieving merchant! I will get the best fodder for your beasts right away. Follow me and I will show you which stalls to use.’’
With Yurkan telling his associates and camel drivers to follow him, he went with the caravanserai owner to a long line of empty stalls. Yurkan, who had used this caravanserai many times in the past, had his pack beasts drop their loads in front of a nearby warehouse before distributing his beasts among the empty stalls, where stable boys got busy at once feeding the horses and camels and providing them with fresh water. Looking at the people composing the caravan, Lu was not a little surprise to see two women and a little girl in the lot.
‘’Women? This must be the first time that I see women as part of your caravan. From their outfits, I take it that they are not slaves you brought here to be sold, right?’’
‘’Lu, you know very well that I never deal in slavery: Ahura Mazda would not approve. The one there is Nauca, one of my caravan guards and possibly the best archer I ever met. As for the Chinese woman and girl, they joined my caravan in Khotan.’’
Yurkan let it at that, not wanting for Lady Zu’s story to be known until she was safely at the imperial palace. Lu, who understood the value of privacy and confidentiality, simply nodded his head at that.
‘’So, you will need lodging for 26 men and three females: thankfully for you, I still have plenty of rooms available for you and your people. I hope that your caravan is carrying some spices: I could use fresh supplies for my inn’s kitchens.’’
‘’Don’t worry, my friend: we have plenty of spices with us, including lots of curry spice from India.’’
‘’Aah, excellent! I love curry!’’
The two men then discussed the cost of food and lodging for the caravan, quickly arriving at an understanding based on a two-week stay period. With that done and after paying in advance the discussed price, Yurkan next went to supervise the storing away under key of the merchandise brought by the caravan in the nearby warehouse. With Lu giving him the key to that warehouse, Yurkan then told Artaios, one of his associates from Samarkand, to lead their people to their respective rooms, then went to see Nauca, Lushan, Lady Zu and little Zhang.
‘’We can now go to the imperial palace. With luck, the Emperor will accept to see us today.’’
‘’He will, once he knows why we want to speak with him.’’ affirmed Lady Zu, sounding quite sure of herself. Yurkan, despite not sharing her optimism, simply shrugged, then got back on his horse and pointed the gate of the caravanserai to the Chinese noblewoman.
‘’Please lead the way, Lady Zu. I will let you discuss with the imperial guards at the palace.’’
Lady Zu, who had plenty of time to learn how to properly mount and control a horse during her months of travel with the caravan, on top of learning some Sogdian, gracefully took his offer and, followed by her daughter, Yurkan, Lushan and Nauca, trotted out of the compound.
They rode along the periphery of the central market plaza, known as the ‘Nine Markets’, then took a westward avenue leading out of the city walls. Once there, they found themselves on a road leading to a bridge over a small river linking the city with the imperial palace complex. A large group of imperial guards then stopped them at the entrance to the bridge, with their officer then approaching Lady Zu.
‘’Who are you and what is the purpose of your presence here, Lady?’’
‘’I am Lady Wei Zu, wife of imperial envoy Wei Shan, who was assassinated in Khotan by the local general when he tried to arrest him for corruption. Those merchants helped me evade that general’s soldiers and protected me while bringing me to the capital. I need to report at once the malfeasances of that general to the Emperor.’’
The officer, who had already dealt in the past with numerous cases and claims of corruption and criminal behavior by officials and who knew how the Emperor took those claims seriously, bowed his head to Lady Zu.
‘’I will escort you to the palace complex’ gate proper, where I will hand you to one of the Emperor’s personal retainers. May I ask who your three companions are?’’
‘’You certainly may! They are the master of the caravan who protected me, one of his associates who speaks Mandarin Chinese, plus the female guard who initially hid and protected me from the renegade soldiers in Khotan.’’
The officer gave a critical look at Nauca at those words, noting her war axe and dagger, before nodding again.
‘’Then follow me, Lady Zu.’’
The officer then walked across the bridge, leading the five riders at a quick pace. Once on the other side of the bridge, he spoke with the officer defending that extremity of the bridge, then proceeded to the fortified gate in the wall protecting the palace complex. Lady Zu felt relief when she recognized the imperial official who came out to listen to the officer’s story. In turn, that official also recognized her and bowed to her.
‘’Lady Zu! What brought you back so soon to Chang’an from Khotan?’’
‘’The corruption and treason of General Huo Qing, the commander of the Khotan garrison, my good Zhenjun.’’
She then took a minute to tell her story to the official, whose face became progressively sober.
‘’A most scandalous story indeed, Lady Zu, and one the Emperor will be eager to hear. I will escort Lady Zu and her companions to the imperial palace, Commander. You may return to your post.’’
The officer bowed down in response and walked back across the bridge, leaving Lady Zu’s party with the official, who showed his knowledge of Sogdian by addressing Yurkan.
‘’You and your associates will have to leave your weapons on your horses, which will then be led to nearby stalls. We will continue on foot to the palace.’’
Yurkan, imitated by Nauca and Lushan, agreed readily to that and jumped off their horses before slipping their few weapons in their saddlebags. As an imperial soldier led their horses to a nearby barn, eight more soldiers formed an escort around the official, Lady Zu, little Zhang and the three caravan persons. Walking at a measured pace, the group then headed towards one of the impressive, magnificently decorated pagoda-style buildings of the complex, crossing on its way numerous imperial functionaries and quite a few noble ladies with their servants’ retinues. Those noble ladies in turn eyed Nauca in particular, sometimes with evident arrogant disdain. Nauca did her best to ignore them, although she would have loved to teach those aristocrat women some humility.
Their group finally arrived at the foot of the stairs of a palace building that was positively covered with gold decorations and was guarded by a good hundred imperial guards. There, Zhenjun spoke at length to the officer in charge of the palace guards, who then let him go inside the palace while telling Lady Zu and her companions to wait. After a fifteen-minute wait, Zhenjun was back and bowed to Lady Zu.
‘’The Emperor will receive you in the Throne Room. Please follow me.’’
As he led Lady Zu and her daughter up the stairs, the retainer explained quickly to Yurkan, Lushan and Nauca the rules of etiquette to be followed.
‘’You three will have to stop and wait once inside the Throne Room, where you will kneel and bow while Lady Zu goes forward to tell her story to the Emperor. You are not to speak, unless the Emperor directly asks you a question. Any disrespect shown towards the Emperor could cost you your lives. Do you understand me?’’
‘’Completely!’’ replied Yurkan, while Lushan and Nauca bowed their heads in understanding. Passing by more guards standing at the entrance of the palace, they soon entered a splendidly decorated hall in which a golden throne sat atop a dais at one end of the hall. On the throne sat a man in his late twenties or early thirties dressed in a rich silk robe and sporting a long, thin beard and moustache. On a sign from Zhenjun, Yurkan, Lushan and Nauca knelt and bowed deep, with their heads touching the floor. Lady Zu and little Zhang were then escorted towards the throne, stopping and kneeling once within ten paces of it. A fast conversation in Mandarin followed, with Lady Zu telling her story and then answering multiple questions from Emperor Xuan. Nauca, who had learned a few words and sentences in Mandarin with the help of Lushan during their trip, did not understand more than a few of the words that were said, but she could tell from the Emperor’s expression that he was listening most seriously to Lady Zu’s story. To Nauca’s surprise, Emperor Xuan stood up from his throne after proclaiming some edict in Mandarin that was noted down by a scribe, then walked down from his dais to go meet Lady Zu, who he then gently made come to her feet, along with her daughter. He then kissed both on their cheeks and hugged them before having a court lady advance and escort away the noblewoman and her daughter. What followed stunned Nauca as well as the imperial retainer: Emperor Xuan actually walked to her group and, stopping three paces from them, gave an order in Mandarin Chinese, which Zhenjun translated in Sogdian.
‘’You are to get back on your feet, but keep your head bowed, unless the Emperor says otherwise.’’
Lushan, who was Chinese, started sweating as he got up: such courtesy shown by the Emperor to commoners was unheard of! Emperor Xuan examined the trio with interest for a few seconds, showing particular attention to Nauca, then spoke in a friendly tone, translated by Zhenjun.
‘’The Emperor thank you for protecting Lady Zu the way you did and is most grateful to you.’’
The Emperor then pointed at Nauca and spoke further, his words translated at once.
‘’The Emperor wishes to see your face, woman. He wants to know why you risked yourself and your caravan to hide and protect Lady Zu.’’
Realizing how important this moment was, Nauca looked straight into the eyes of the Emperor and answered him with complete frankness.
‘’I did so because I saw the ultimate fight and death of Lady Zu’s husband and of his last bodyguards, who heroically resisted vastly more numerous opponents in order to give a chance to Lady Zu and her daughter to escape their assassins. I simply could not make their sacrifice go in vain and let those jackals massacre a mother and her young daughter. When Lady Zu came to me, pleading for help, I hid her and her daughter inside one of the stalls occupied by Yurkan’s caravan. Yurkan then misdirected the soldiers who were looking for Lady Zu.’’
Emperor Xuan listened to the translation by Zhenjun, then nodded soberly at Nauca and said a few more words.
‘’You have shown both compassion and courage, young woman, and you are to be admired for that. Your caravan master also showed commendable courage by supporting your actions, risking dire consequences for his whole caravan if those soldiers would have then found Lady Zu. You have both merited greatly and will be rewarded accordingly. First, though, I would like to know where you came from originally, young woman: I never saw the likes of you before, since the caravans who come to Chang’an rarely include women.’’
‘’Your Majesty, my name is Nauca and I was born in the steppes of Sarmatia, north of the Pontus Euxinus. The Greeks called us Sarmatian female warriors ‘Amazons’ and many Sarmatians fought for King Mithridates of Pontus against the Romans, until King Mithridates was finally defeated some two years ago.’’
To Nauca’s surprise, Emperor Xuan’s eyes opened wide at the mention of ‘Amazons’.
‘’You are one of those famed ‘Amazons’? I have read many stories imported from Greece, particularly following the wars fought by the celebrated Alexander of Macedonia, and was struck by the stories about mounted female warriors. The courage you showed in Khotan certainly honors the reputation of those Amazons.’’
Feeling pride fill her, Nauca bowed low to the Emperor while replying to his compliment.
‘’I am greatly honored by your words, Your Majesty.’’
Turning sideways and signaling Zhenjun to approach him, Emperor Xuan then whispered a few words to him, making him bow in response, before saying a few ultimate words to Nauca.
‘’I wish you a long and prosperous life, Nauca of Sarmatia. Enjoy your stay in my capital.’’
‘’You are too kind, Your Majesty.’’
Making a last smile, the Emperor then turned around and walked away, leaving Yurkan, Nauca and Lushan alone with Zhenjun and four imperial guards. As Nauca blew air out following her surprise exchange with Emperor Xuan, Zhenjun showed them the entrance of the Throne Room.
‘’If you may go out and wait outside, by this door, I will go take care of something, then will escort you back to the city gates.’’
Obeying at once, the three caravan persons left the Throne Room and went to wait outside in the main hallway of the building as Zhenjun quickly walked away. Lushan, still shaking a bit from the emotion, wiped away sweat from his forehead.
‘’By the Spirits! I would have never believed that I would one day be received like this by the Emperor.’’
Yurkan, equally impressed, nodded his head at that.
‘’And neither would I! I will have something to brag about to my brother Hiram once we are back in Samarkand. As for you, Nauca, you sure seemed to make an impression on Emperor Xuan. This is a moment truly worthy of remembering.’’
‘’What could come next, Yurkan?’’
‘’The Emperor promised that we would be rewarded for our acts. I thus expect this Zhenjun to return soon with our reward, probably lots of gold.’’
‘’Gold is always good!’’ said a smiling Lushan, attracting a retort from Nauca.
‘’Yes, but I will be most happy when that bastard of General Huo Qing will pay for his crimes. The World will then be a better place without him.’’
Yurkan patted gently her shoulder in response, looking fondly at her.’’
‘’Nauca, you would make an exemplary disciple of Ahura Mazda: you have true good in your heart.’’
Some twenty minutes later, Zhenjun was back, followed by two male servants carrying a compact but apparently heavy wooden coffer. Lushan’s eyes glistened at the sight of the coffer.
‘’I already feel that I will like our reward.’’
On their part, Yurkan and Nauca kept silent as Zhenjun made the two servants put down the coffer in front of them and smiled to them.
‘’Please accept this small gift with the heartfelt gratitude of the Emperor. This coffer is now yours. You may open it if you wish so.’’
Unable to resist that offer, Yurkan knelt and slowly opened the coffer. His eyes opened wide at the sight of the hundreds of glistening gold coins filling the coffer. There was however a flat, polished and sculpted jade-covered box atop the gold coins. Zhenjun then bent down and grabbed the box, to then offer it to Nauca.
‘’The Emperor thought that simple gold coins would not be appropriate to truly show his admiration towards your beauty and courage, Nauca of Sarmatia.’’
Taking the box and gently opening it, Nauca felt blood rush to her head at the view of the magnificent set of jewels inside, which included a sort of tiara that included a golden chain meant to lie across one’s forehead, two bracelets and a pair of earrings. All of them were made of splendid, polished precious gems mounted on gold chains or plaques. She looked back at Zhenjun, gratitude and happiness in her eyes.
‘’These are truly magnificent! Please thank the Emperor on my part for such a splendid gift to me.’’
‘’These are meant to thank you, Nauca of Sarmatia.’’ replied the retainer, smiling with malice. ‘’But I will tell him that you liked them. If you will now follow me, we will go back to the bridge leading to the city gates.’’
With the precious jade box in her hands, Reproduction of ancient Chinese set of jewels Nauca then left the palace behind the retainer, while Yurkan and Lushan teamed up to carry the heavy coffer full of gold. They did not comment between themselves until they were back on their horses and had crossed the bridge leading to the city gates.
‘’Wow!’’ exclaimed Lushan once out of hearing range of the imperial guards. ‘’Those jewels you got are truly worthy of a queen, Nauca. They are probably worth as much as the gold coins we are carrying.’’
‘’Maybe, but both Borund and Gurak deserve to be rewarded as well: they fought with me against those Chinese cavalrymen.’’
‘’Don’t worry about them, Nauca: they will get their fair share of gold…and so will you! Those jewels you received as gifts are undoubtedly worth a fortune, but they won’t help you buy food and fodder during our return trip and I would hate to see such royal jewels being peddled away. You should consider them as a personal gift from the Emperor to you, to be worn on important occasions in the future, so you will get your share of gold coins.’’
Lushan was about to protest that but was cut by Yurkan with a raised finger.
‘’if Nauca would not have decided on her own at night to hide and protect Lady Zu and her daughter in Khotan, then we would have received none of this gold, Lushan. That she now asks that Borund and Gurak be rewarded as well showed her sense of fairness and honesty, which I can only admire. Don’t worry, Lushan: you will also get rich.’’
The Chinese gems and spices merchant had to recognize the truth in his arguments and clamed up.
21:49 (China Time)
Nauca’s room, inn of Chang’an Caravanserai # 6
Having drank only moderately during the party thrown by Yurkan to celebrate their safe arrival in Chang’an and the reward received from Emperor Xuan, Nauca had returned early to the room she occupied alone in the inn of the caravanserai in which the caravan was staying. Removing her clothes except for her loincloth, she sat on her bed, made of a straw mattress resting on a wooden frame, ready to go to sleep. However, the same conflicting thoughts that had been running in her head since she had left the imperial palace were still present. Getting up and searching under her bed, she pulled out the precious jade-decorated box she had received as a gift from the Emperor and sat down, then opened it to contemplate the set of magnificent jewels inside. While she truly admired their visual beauty, what they represented was what was troubling her at the present. She had been born in the wilderness of the steppes and had spent most of her young life living in community with raw nature, hunting, trapping, helping raise horses and moving to new grounds with her family at the start of every Winter and Spring. She had been content with that life until she had lost her family to bandits, some four years ago. Then, she had been left with little choice but to establish herself in Tanais on a semi-permanent basis in order to survive and have a point of operation that would allow her to launch on hunting and trapping trips. She had not disliked her three years spent in Tanais at the caravanserai run by Thanos, while she had made a very good friend in Artemisia, but it had not felt like how she truly wanted to live. The urge to move around and explore had finally decided her to join Hiram’s caravan and travel all the way to Samarkand, where she had then joined Yurkan’s caravan to go to China. Up to now, she had not regretted leaving Tanais to travel eastward, if she excepted the loss of her friend Artemisia. She had been travelling to her content, seeing new vistas and people nearly every day while being one with her horse Tamat and hunting to provide food to the caravan when the occasion permitted. She had also lived through a few adventurous moments, like when they had been attacked by bandits and when she had ambushed that Chinese cavalry column. However, her arrival in Chang’an and this gift from Emperor Xuan was now reviving her questions about what she truly wanted to do of the rest of her life. Both the loot she had been accumulating during her trip and the gifts she had received, including the jewels and precious objects she had received from King Mithridates when he had stopped overnight at her camp in the Taiga, had made her technically rich, if she compared herself to the average commoner. However, that had also created a dilemma for her. There was no truly safe way to hold on to and protect those riches while traveling with them, especially when alone. One day, she was bound to get robbed of them while sleeping or, worse, their mere possession would cause her to be attacked and killed by people wanting to grab them. She didn’t want to become paranoiac about safeguarding her treasure while travelling far and wide. There was also the added factor that she was a young and pretty woman, something else that could likely attract attacks on her. She was realistic enough to accept the fact that this World was often a cruel, merciless one where a lone traveling young woman was at even greater risks than merchants and peasants. If that traveling young woman also happened to carry a fortune in gold and jewels, then her safety prospects became grim indeed. What was she to do then? Renounce her life on the trail and establish herself for good in some place like Samarkand or Tanais? Nauca rejected that option about as quickly as it had come to her mind. She was not and never would be a city-dwelling person, except for short periods between long distance trips and voyages. Maybe, when she became too old to continue doing long and arduous trips, she would become more sedentary, maybe. However, she was still only eighteen-years-old and in excellent health and had decades of adventurous life ahead of her. Unable to take a firm decision at this time, she resolved herself to search next morning for the counsels of a much wiser and seasoned person. Hiding back the precious box under her bed, Nauca then laid down and went to sleep.
08:05 (China Time)
Friday, June 30, 62 B.C.E.
Great hall of the inn of Chang’an Caravanserai # 6
Yurkan was about finished eating his breakfast when Nauca came to sit at his table in a corner of the inn’s great hall, a reserved expression on her young face.
‘’Good morning, Yurkan! Could we speak in private for a moment?’’
Looking around him and seeing that the nearest other occupant of the hall was a good six paces away, Yurkan nodded once and spoke in Greek.
‘’Go ahead, Nauca. Is something bothering you?’’
‘’In a way, but not because of you or of your caravan.’’ replied Nauca, also using Greek. She then spent a couple of minutes to expose to the caravan master her life dilemma, ending with a question.
‘’What would you counsel me to do, Yurkan?’’
The Sogdian merchant, his expression now most serious, put down the knife he had been using to cut pieces of cheese and stared in silence for a moment at Nauca.
‘’I can understand your dilemma about this, Nauca, truly. Part of the reason I became a caravan merchant was precisely