“Yellow Sky”: Crisis for the Han Dynasty sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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“…Eunuchs,” Mister Wen responded. “The ‘men’ you refer to are eunuchs.”
The Roman smiled and said, “Not so much ‘men’, then.”
“They are not considered so, of course,” Mister Wen said with a smile of his own.
“I cannot think of a worse fate,” the Roman chuckled. “I would rather die than be reduced to that; to be powerless, nothing more than a guard or-”
Mister Wen’s face fell, and he said, “Although they are neither man nor woman, they can be very close to the emperor, and held in high favour. Whatever place they hold in your own society, be warned that you should not mock them here. Many eunuchs are very wealthy, and a select few are would you might call ‘nobility’.”
“Oh, really…?” the Roman snickered. “Such a thing…! …Well, I shall refrain from mocking them… not that I would have, anyway. What of the people…? Are they happy with the rule of the emperor…?”
“You know that such a question is poor etiquette,” Mister Wen scolded.
The Roman smiled and said, “My apologies. It is the same the world over, I think… there are those that are pleased, and those that are not.”
Mister Wen made a slight bow, and frowned disapprovingly.
“…Such a large country must require regional leaders,” the Roman continued. “I assume that they are relatives or trusted vassals of the emperor, mostly…?”
“Your ‘predecessors’ did not have time to brief you very well, did they…?” Mister Wen suggested politely.
“No,” the Roman replied tonelessly. “As you might know, we have had… ‘problems’, I suppose you could say… with our Parthian neighbours lately, and we’ve also had a breakout of disease amongst our pioneers since that defence of our interests began. I’m here at a difficult time.”
“…Of course, such a large and powerful empire as ours requires good governance, at local level, and from here, in the capital,” Mister Wen explained. “Many, uh… ‘inspectors’ of ‘provinces’ are distant relatives of His Majesty, yes. Some are trusted vassals, yes.”
“…I understand that your emperor rules not by blood right, but by ‘mandate’,” the Roman prompted further. “Does this not mean that any man can ascend to the throne… or perhaps, as in our neighbour, Egypt, any woman…?”
Mister Wen scoffed and replied, “Any man… perhaps. Any woman…? …Most certainly not. But yes, the Son of Heaven rules by mandate. The Han have ruled for hundreds of years… their rule is strong, and good, and will endure.”
The Roman smiled silently.
“…I hope that you have been made to feel comfortable…?” Mister Wen prompted.
“Oh, yes, certainly,” the Roman replied immediately. “The tea… is exquisite… your art, and your way of writing… beautiful… your courtesy to each other, the way you bow and smile and give way when passing one-another… yours is a culture of etiquette, certainly, and it is easy to feel comfortable.”
Mister Wen bowed slightly once again, and smiled.
The Roman frowned purposefully, ruffled his short locks, and said, “Forgive me for asking, but… I notice that I am stared at with some concern, with regards to my hair. All men in this land have high hats and turbans… I understand that your people do not cut your hair, not ever… that must be burdensome.”
“Our hair, as with our flesh, is a gift from Heaven… it is seen as desecration of a mother and father’s gift to cut it,” Mister Wen replied uneasily.
“So I have sinned, then…?” the Roman teased.
“It will not be raised as an issue,” Mister Wen promised.
“…Such a land,” the Roman murmured.
At that moment, a second man in courtier’s robes entered the room and whispered something to Mister Wen, who balked.
“Is there a problem…?” the Roman prompted as he looked at the haunted faces of the two men.