The Tortoise in Asia (32 page)

Romans call the formation a Testudo, their word for tortoise, because the interlocking shields look like the scales that form the creatures carapace. It lumbers over the land like a tortoise, slowly and exorably, its shell designed to protect it against predators.

Fierce hand to hand fighting swirls around the fortress, neither side prevailing. Collapsing the Testudo, the Romans cut their way forward with thrusting gladius and push the enemy back. The Han cross bows begin to have effect and the Hsiung-nu take heavy casualties. But they have a lot of fight left in them. Still mounted, they swing their long swords at close range with animalistic fury. Their resolution stops the Roman advance.

Marcus is at the front of the cohort with Gaius beside him. They carve a salient into the enemy mass and the Romans begin to make progress again. In the heavy fighting, three Hsiung-nu gang up on Marcus, separating him from his comrades. He fends them off but one of them lands a blow on his helmet knocking him out temporarily. He falls to the ground and while he's recovering his senses the Hsiung-nu move in to finish him off, their horses stamping impatiently. His shield dropped, he rolls over on the ground and uses his short gladius to parry the slashing swords coming at him from all sides. Desperately trying to save himself he fears he's done for. All he can do is keep rolling, present a moving target until finally someone gets him.

Gaius sees his friend through the chaos. He rushes over and, standing over him, smashes the first Hsiung-nu's horse with his shield with such force that the animal is stunned. The blow, which only Gaius could deliver, causes its rider to lean over, almost breaking the bond between horse and man. Seizing the vulnerability, the Roman runs him through. He does the same to a second. Marcus gets up, pulls the third one off his horse and stabs him with Owl's Head.

“Thanks Gaius” Marcus yells and runs back to the fray.

After three hours, about as long as soldiers can fight at peak form, especially in this heat, the tide turns and the Hsiung-nu begin to flee. Most escape around the back of the fortress and gallop off into the desert, yak tail standards sinking into the sandy horizon. It's a complete victory and Gaochang is spared. But everyone knows what a close call it was. A few more days on the Road would have sealed the fate of the town and all the families in it. The uncertainty is likely to have titillated the heartless Communicator.

As the Romans trickle back towards the place where their camp is to be set up, Marcus seeks out his saviour.

“Gaius my friend, thanks for what you did out there. You saved my life. I owe you. If we were back in Roman territory you would get the corona civica for that. No doubt. Absolutely no doubt. Here you just get my thanks – for ever.”

He gives the big man a long hug.

“Marcus you would have done the same for me. You don't owe me anything. Life-long friends don't owe each other. Let's have a drink.”

“Good idea. I need it.”

They take a swig of the Hsiung-nu poison from a leather pouch Gaius has carried with him. The strong liquor hits their throats in a pleasant jolt.

❧

The next day, Chen summons Marcus to the fortress. When he arrives he's led to the great hall; its mud brick walls and high ceiling give some respite from the heat. Outside it's intolerable. To conserve the cool, the windows are small, letting in only a miserly amount of light. No one wants to add the heat of torches so the hall is sombrely dark.

Gan, Chen and Kang are there, sitting cross-legged in silken splendour on a polished wooden dais at one end of the rectangular room. Gan is in the middle on a slightly raised rostrum. Military banners flank the dais like poplar stands. The hall is full of people, all silent and impassive, sitting cross-legged on the stone floor. A space of at least five paces separates the dignitaries from the audience. Gan gives Marcus a slight nod which seems friendly and a sentry takes him down one side.

After several rows, he sees women, presumably wives and daughters. They're sitting about a third of the way back. One particularly is noticeable – a pretty girl who seems around twenty. In a few steps he gets a good look at her, more like a stare. It seems she notices him; perhaps there's a suggestion of friendliness. Probably it's just his imagination.

She's sitting in the row behind the one he's is led to, beside an older woman, probably her mother. Several rows are taken by women. The rest of the hall is occupied by about two hundred officers. There's no indication what the occasion is, but undoubtedly it's important.

After a silence long enough to be eerie, Gan begins to speak, announcing that this is to celebrate the great victory at the Talass River and the saving of Gaochang.

“It's also to honour the courage of our soldiers. As the representative of the Emperor in the Far Western Commanderie, I'm authorised to award honours for bravery and will do so today.”

A number of men come up one by one to receive awards. Marcus hears his name called. Somewhat bemused he walks up to Gan.

“You and your men were observed to fight well in the action at Gaochang. I'm pleased to declare that henceforth you'll be officially integrated into our army. You Romans will be given permanent residence here and appropriate accommodation as soon as it's built. In the meantime you'll continue to live in your tents”.

Kang seems pleased, Chen inscrutable.

Marcus mumbles a thankyou and returns to his seat, looking at the girl again but trying not to be obvious, which of course he is.

After the awards ceremony has concluded, a name is called out and a soldier comes forward, looking dejected. Chen says

“Wu-Jiang, it's been reported that at the Battle of Gaochang, you showed cowardice in the face of the enemy. You turned and tried to run away. This is particularly disgraceful since we were trying to save our families. For that you'll be punished with ten years' imprisonment.”

Marcus remembers Wu-Jiang who was in a unit fighting alongside the Romans, in fact got to know him a bit afterwards. The report is wrong. There must be some mistake.

Before Chen has finished his criticism, Marcus leaps up as if stung by a wasp and quickly walks to the front.

“That's a false report, Colonel Chen, completely false. I was there at the time and saw Wu-Jiang. He did fall back with some of his men, that's true. But it was only a feint to draw the Hsiung-nu in. As soon as they were extended, he attacked with great courage and routed them. Instead of being condemned he should be given an award for bravery.”

Chen's face tightens and his long sleeves twitch. He says in a loud voice, almost a shout,

“How dare you interfere with our proceedings. This has nothing to do with you. You're a foreigner. Be silent and sit down or you'll get into trouble. Wu-Jiang must be punished for what he did and that's all there is to it.”

“But Colonel Chen, the report you're basing your decision on is wrong. The facts don't support it. I don't know why someone would say such a thing. I can only suspect there was a personal motive behind it. Anyway Wu-Jiang is not a coward. He's a brave man.”

“Be quiet”

“I cannot just stand by and see an innocent man condemned. I implore you to at least order a formal investigation into the case. Give Wu-Jiang a chance to defend himself, bring forward witnesses who saw what happened. I'm one. There's a great injustice being done here.”

“You've gone too far, mercenary. I'm satisfied with the verdict. It's not your place to question it. You're a foreigner, foreign, foreign, foreign,” he says jabbing a finger that suddenly jumps out of his sleeve like a striking snake. “You've insulted the Empire. Cheng – Jing, arrest this man.”

Marcus is stunned. Like a puddle of winter water in a flash freeze, he's suddenly changed his state – once again. Just a few words did it, words which he need not have spoken. Or was there a necessity standing in wait for the time to act? However fast the reversal happened, its cause lay in the past, in his wounded soul. He takes a deep breath and stands tall. As two soldiers lead him down stone stairs to the dungeon he feels strong and clean, as if he has just completed a healthy exercise and washed in the Pierian spring.

H
e's pushed roughly into a small lightless cell. Nothing is in it except a bucket in the corner, no bed, no chairs, just a blank mud brick enclosure with no windows. The door slams shut with a harsh rattle and a key scrapes in the lock. He's been deprived of his liberty before but never locked up. On one level it's frightening, being alone in the dark with no idea for how long – people grow blind without light after a while, but on another, its horror is assuaged by the events in the hall. His sprits soar out of the cell as he savours the one thought that comes to him over and over again. He's done what was needed to placate the Eumenides. Now he can breathe without a clamp on his heart. Deep down at the spiritual level he feels a new sense of freedom. He doesn't care about his incarceration. It's sure not to last long; something will happen to release him.

The night passes well, though he has difficulty sleeping on the stone floor. The torturing birds don't appear. While the tormentors didn't come every night, the threat was never absent. This time is different; he knows they'll leave him in peace now.

When he wakes up, the warden comes to move him to another cell – doubtless at the behest of Kang. At least now there's a small window, simple but reasonably comfortable bedding, a small wooden chair, and visitors. Gaius is the first, bringing his books. And with him is Ting Ting. As soon as he puts him down, the little dog rushes around Marcus wagging his curly tail and making squeaking sounds. The warden brings in some straw and tosses it in a corner. He seems a bit friendlier than he was last night. Gaius says;

“Marcus, we're doing all we can to get you released. Not much we can do though. I spoke to Kang. He's sympathetic. That damn colonel's an idiot. Shit, he should know we need you if we're expected to fight for them.”

“Thanks for that Gaius. I want you take charge of the cohort until I get out of here. Be sure to keep the men busy. I don't know when they'll release me, but I can't see it's in their interests to keep me in forever.”

“By the way Marcus, why did you have to antagonise him like that? So what if one of their men gets falsely accused. We don't owe them anything.”

“I felt I had to do it, as simple as that.”

“All right, your decision, but it seems odd to me. Anyway, we'll do all we can to get you out of here.”

He hears the scratching of a key and the clank of the door opening. Ting Ting barks furiously and runs to the door. Kang appears. Gaius says hello and leaves.

“I'm very sorry for this, Marcus. Colonel Chen's hot tempered and rash sometimes. I've looked into the Wu-Jiang affair. You're right. He was unjustly accused. There was somebody out to get him. He played to Chen's prejudices. He's an extreme nationalist, despises everyone but the Han.

“Wu-Jiang comes from the minority nation in the south west. He's spoken out for the rights of his people sometimes, perhaps a little too forcefully. Chen doesn't like that. You know we have a lot of minorities in our country. Relations with them aren't always easy.”

“It's good of you to come, Kang. I appreciate it. What d'you think can be done?”

“It's a difficult situation. Colonel Chen has taken a stand – can't back down without losing face. You must understand face is very important in our culture. It's how we're judged.

“It's a good thing that the Protector-General is a wiser man. He can take a broader view. But unfortunately we must let some time go by, work quietly in the background for a while. It wouldn't be prudent to push things yet. In time the issue won't be as sharp. Maybe some pretext can be found to get you out. Then Colonel Chen won't appear to change his mind.”

“How much time?”

“I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. I'll try to get the Protector-General to review the case, but he won't cross his Deputy. Especially since he's such a strong- willed character. The way Colonel Chen put it in the Great Hall was that your intervention was a type of treason. That's very serious. Clearly he overstated it but that impression is still in the minds of the people who were there. Time is needed to dull the memory, allow an adjustment in perception. I'm afraid you'll just have to be patient.”

“All right. I've got no choice. I still have my books to keep me occupied. And Ting Ting. Why was what I said taken so badly?”

“You shocked Colonel Chen when you spoke to him like that. He's second in command – a man of authority. In our culture it's disrespectful to confront authority directly. An indirect approach, through an intermediary, would have been expected if you had something to say. You must realize how seriously we take the need to obey the rituals of behaviour – what Confucius called “li'.

“At first, Colonel Chen might have ignored your breach of etiquette because you're a foreigner. But when you persisted, as if you considered yourself his equal, it cracked his patience. His reaction was aggravated by his dislike of anything foreign. He's a fervent patriot who wants to maintain our traditional culture. He won't tolerate any attitudes from abroad that might sully its purity. He fully believes that the Han are the superior race, with others in diminishing status the further they are from us.”