As they approached the outskirts of the city, Long saw a great wall. In fact, Xie told him, it was the Great Wall, which was known by many different names. This wall began thousands of li away in China’s southeast, and ended here in Tunhuang in the northwest. The wall had been built in sections over the course of more than two thousand years, and was created to keep marauding “outsiders” like Mongolians from getting into China.
Long was surprised when they reached the wall and Xie told him that they would travel to the gates of Peking—the city in which the Forbidden City was located—on top of the wall. Long’s sedan chair was carried up a gigantic stone staircase, and once they reached the top he found the wall to be massive both in height and thickness. It was so wide across the top that several horsemen could ride beside one another down its entire length.
They began their march east, and Long soon learned that in many ways, the wall was as much for communication as it was for protection. Not only could horses race across it to deliver messages, signal fire and drum stations were positioned at regular intervals to allow soldiers to pass information along with amazing speed.
Long also saw that watchtowers had been built every thousand paces along the wall’s top, and that there were four soldiers in each tower at all times, scanning the horizon. The towers were designed with special windows to make it easy for archers to shoot out of but difficult for enemy archers to shoot arrows into. Additionally, many of the watchtowers in high-trouble areas were equipped with cauldrons of boiling oil to pour down upon enemy combatants attempting to scale the wall.
It seemed every possible precaution had been taken into account when building the wall. Long wondered how many of these design ideas had made their way into the Forbidden City. If Tonglong ever made it there, they were going to need all the help they could get.
ShaoShu crossed the frosty hillside in the night, his cupped hands filled with cold boiled dumplings. He reached the mouth of a small cave and snuck past the two sleeping guards like a rodent slipping past napping felines. If Tonglong ever found out that these soldiers had slept on the job, he would eat their livers for breakfast.
ShaoShu crept to the back of the cave, over to the stinking, battered pig crate. He knocked lightly on its side. “Emperor, it’s me, ShaoShu. Are you awake, sir?”
A weary voice groaned within the crate. “Little Mouse, what are you doing here? I was told you ran off.”
“I did run off—with Ying, after the battle with the bandits. However, we have been following Tonglong ever since. We’ve been spying on him and his men, and I’ve been swiping food, too. I’ve brought you some. Here it comes.”
ShaoShu carefully dropped seven dumplings through one of the crate’s airholes.
“Thank you,” the Emperor said.
“You are most welcome. How are you doing?”
“Much better whenever you sneak food to me. I have missed you. If I should make it out of here alive, you will be rewarded handsomely.”
“I only want to spend time with my friends.”
“Are you referring to the young Cangzhen monks you have told me about?”
“Yes.”
“That is most admirable of you. Do you include Ying among this lot?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I still find it difficult to believe that Ying is attempting to help me,” the Emperor said.
“It’s true,” ShaoShu replied. “In fact, he is the reason you are heading to the Forbidden City so far ahead of schedule.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ying having attacked Tonglong is driving Tonglong crazy. Literally. I have watched him stomp around camp, ranting and raving to himself about Ying coming back from the grave to try to kill him. I think Ying’s attack made him realize that he could die anytime. He was going to wait for all of his troops to arrive at the stronghold before marching to the Forbidden City, but as you can see you are already on the way.”
“How long before we get there?”
“The soldiers say about a week.”
“How many men does he have again?”
“Some died in the attack against the bandits, but he still has about eighty elite soldiers, plus their horses.”
“There are three thousand highly skilled imperial soldiers within the Forbidden City. Tonglong does not stand a chance.”
“They keep calling this a ‘diplomatic mission,’” ShaoShu said. “Tonglong’s men say there will be no bloodshed because of who Tonglong bribed.”
“Did they mention any names?”
“Just one, but they say this person is really important—Wuya, or Crow.”