time yelling at him. And the heir nearly mocks him to his face. Comes as close as he dares. And the emperor knows it too. I wouldn't be surprised if he changed the Heir Designate.”
“He can't,” Kyu said. “He wants to, but he can't.”
“Whyever not?”
“The eldest is the son of the empress. The second-born is the son of a courtesan. A low-ranking courtesan at that.”
“But the emperor can do what he wants, right?”
“Wrong. It only works when they all follow the laws together. If anyone breaks the laws, it can mean civil war, and the end of the dynasty.”
Bold had seen this in the Chinggurid wars of succession, which had gone on for generations. Indeed it was said now that Temur's sons had been fighting ever since his death, with the khan's empire divided into four parts, and no sign of it ever coming together again.
But Bold also knew that a strong ruler could get away with things. “You're parroting what you've heard from the empress and the heir and their officials. But it isn't that simple. People make the laws, and sometimes they change them. Or ignore them. And if they've got the swords, that's it.”
Kyu considered this in silence. Then he said, “There's talk that the countryside is suffering. Famine in Hunan, piracy on the coast, diseases in the south. The officials don't like it. They think the great treasure fleet brought back disease instead of treasure, and wasted huge sums of money. They don't understand what trade brings back, they don't believe in it. They don't believe in the new capital. They tell the empress and the heir that they should help the people, that we should get back to agriculture, and quit wasting so much cash on extravagant projects.”
Bold nodded. “I'm sure they do.”
“But the emperor persists. He does what he wants, and he has the army behind him, and his eunuchs. The eunuchs like the foreign trade, as they see it makes them rich. And they like the new capital, and all the rest. Right?”
Bold nodded again. “So it seems.”
“The regular officials hate the eunuchs.”
Bold glanced at him. “Do you see that yourself?”
“Yes. Although it's the emperor's eunuchs they really hate.”
“No doubt. Whoever is closest to power is feared by all the rest.”
Again Kyu thought things over. He seemed to Bold to be happy, these days; but then again Bold had thought that in Hangzhou. So it always made Bold nervous to see Kyu's little smile.
Soon after that conversation, when they were all in Beijing, a great storm came.
Yellow dust makes the first raindrops muddy;
Lightning cracks down bronze through it,
Stitching together earth and sky,
Visible through closed eyelids.
About an hour later word comes:
The new palaces have caught fire.
The whole center of the Forbidden City
Burning as though drenched in pitch,
Flames licking the wet clouds,
Pillar of smoke merging with the storm,
Rain downwind baked out of the air, replaced by ash.
Running back and forth with terrified horses, then with buckets of water, Bold kept an eye out, and finally, at dawn, when they had given up fighting the blaze, for it was useless, he caught sight of Kyu there among the evacuated imperial concubines. All the Heir Designate's people had a hectic look, but Kyu in particular seemed to Bold elated, the whites of his eyes visible all the way around. Like a shaman after a successful voyage to the spirit world. He started this fire, Bold thought, just like in Hangzhou, this time using the lightning as his cover.
The next time Kyu made one of his midnight visits to the stables, Bold was almost afraid to speak to him.
Nevertheless he said, “Did you set that fire?” Whispering in Arabic, even though they were alone, outside the stables, with no chance of being overheard.
Kyu just stared at him. The look said yes, but he didn't elaborate.
Finally he said calmly, “An exciting night, wasn't it. I saved one of the Script Pavilion's cabinets, and some
“He can't,” Kyu said. “He wants to, but he can't.”
“Whyever not?”
“The eldest is the son of the empress. The second-born is the son of a courtesan. A low-ranking courtesan at that.”
“But the emperor can do what he wants, right?”
“Wrong. It only works when they all follow the laws together. If anyone breaks the laws, it can mean civil war, and the end of the dynasty.”
Bold had seen this in the Chinggurid wars of succession, which had gone on for generations. Indeed it was said now that Temur's sons had been fighting ever since his death, with the khan's empire divided into four parts, and no sign of it ever coming together again.
But Bold also knew that a strong ruler could get away with things. “You're parroting what you've heard from the empress and the heir and their officials. But it isn't that simple. People make the laws, and sometimes they change them. Or ignore them. And if they've got the swords, that's it.”
Kyu considered this in silence. Then he said, “There's talk that the countryside is suffering. Famine in Hunan, piracy on the coast, diseases in the south. The officials don't like it. They think the great treasure fleet brought back disease instead of treasure, and wasted huge sums of money. They don't understand what trade brings back, they don't believe in it. They don't believe in the new capital. They tell the empress and the heir that they should help the people, that we should get back to agriculture, and quit wasting so much cash on extravagant projects.”
Bold nodded. “I'm sure they do.”
“But the emperor persists. He does what he wants, and he has the army behind him, and his eunuchs. The eunuchs like the foreign trade, as they see it makes them rich. And they like the new capital, and all the rest. Right?”
Bold nodded again. “So it seems.”
“The regular officials hate the eunuchs.”
Bold glanced at him. “Do you see that yourself?”
“Yes. Although it's the emperor's eunuchs they really hate.”
“No doubt. Whoever is closest to power is feared by all the rest.”
Again Kyu thought things over. He seemed to Bold to be happy, these days; but then again Bold had thought that in Hangzhou. So it always made Bold nervous to see Kyu's little smile.
Soon after that conversation, when they were all in Beijing, a great storm came.
Yellow dust makes the first raindrops muddy;
Lightning cracks down bronze through it,
Stitching together earth and sky,
Visible through closed eyelids.
About an hour later word comes:
The new palaces have caught fire.
The whole center of the Forbidden City
Burning as though drenched in pitch,
Flames licking the wet clouds,
Pillar of smoke merging with the storm,
Rain downwind baked out of the air, replaced by ash.
Running back and forth with terrified horses, then with buckets of water, Bold kept an eye out, and finally, at dawn, when they had given up fighting the blaze, for it was useless, he caught sight of Kyu there among the evacuated imperial concubines. All the Heir Designate's people had a hectic look, but Kyu in particular seemed to Bold elated, the whites of his eyes visible all the way around. Like a shaman after a successful voyage to the spirit world. He started this fire, Bold thought, just like in Hangzhou, this time using the lightning as his cover.
The next time Kyu made one of his midnight visits to the stables, Bold was almost afraid to speak to him.
Nevertheless he said, “Did you set that fire?” Whispering in Arabic, even though they were alone, outside the stables, with no chance of being overheard.
Kyu just stared at him. The look said yes, but he didn't elaborate.
Finally he said calmly, “An exciting night, wasn't it. I saved one of the Script Pavilion's cabinets, and some
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