House of Chen

We packed up and headed west towards the villa. It seemed almost too idyllic to be true, but as we left Shipao and entered the heartland of this province, a large building came into view. It was hard to miss with it's impressive entrance gates, walled garden and multiple roofs. Xin and I wondered if there would be room for us. I saw a few outbuildings and headed in their direction. "Xin, I don't know about you, but I really don't fit in there," I said, pointing toward the villa and its grandeur. I'd not stepped inside, but had already made up my mind I didnt want to go inside. " I'll stay in one of these if that's okay?" Xin looked torn and was about to say something. I stopped her.  "It's fine. You go ahead, stay with Bǎo and his men. You know where I am and when I'm needed, you can come and find me." I patted her on the arm, "go on, I'm fine, honestly, I am quite content to spend some time in my own company. After...

Chun Xian looked up at his commanding officer and wept silent tears. He knew the mess Mu men would have made, he'd had them on his family's land many a time and fought to stay in control. His listened to the speech about rising to the fight; he was ready. He had a thought and went in search of his unit officer. "Sir, may I have a word with you? It's regarding a place to train. My family has a fairly large estate not far from here." His superior nodded and Xian continued, "My father is the Governor of the province of Shipao and has a villa not far from here. It has fields, game, fresh water, fishing and accommodation blocks. The villa itself has many rooms where the sick could rest and be attended to, as well as a large yard where men could train, say one hundred at a time. Would something like this be useful?" The officer looked at Chun Xian, he appeared sincere enough. "I'll take you to Major Chen, see what he thinks." With that Chun Xian ...

"Sir" the attendant came to Second Master's tent, "Hàorán wishes to see you." "Send him in." He turned and faced the entrance as Hàorán ducked under the half open flap and came straight over. "I'm ready to leave but do you sense a murmuring in the camp? Somehow, word has already got to them. Shall I go now or wait and see what....." "Wait." Second Master gathered his things and strode out the tent, anger and frustration oozing from every pore, "Come with me. The talk is happening now. I want the men to know first hand and there's no one better than yourself." Hàorán nodded and followed in Second Master's wake. He recognised this mood, he'd seen it before. Last time it resulted in a group of men being beaten to death. He muttered to himself, 'I've not seen him like this in years. If his father sounds off today, it won't be good'. "Gather the men." Second Master barked at his attenda...

  Xin and I watched the moon setting one last time. We were making the move today and we anticipated being through the pass by sundown. The journey should go without much trouble as most of the big cats and bears will be sleeping by now. We’d noticed the herds had already started to move south, a sure sign bad weather was coming this way. You could feel it in the air, and see it on your breath, it was cold to the core and getting colder each day we delayed. Xin poured out two cups of warm water and a piece of meat each. We sat, silently, just watching. The men had cleared the tents and everything was packed away. The animals were either already in harness and ready to hitch up, or were tied to the sides of wagons so they could walk freely without a man on their backs. We’d not heard from the Senior Master since his initial outburst, so peace reigned supreme. I watched as Second Master assumed his role as head of the caravan and calling the officers forward, I watched as he ...

Bǎo looked out in the hope the scouts were returning. Still nothing. He was getting worried. As yet, he had nowhere to lead the caravan to and it was approaching midday. He went in search of Second Master.  "Sir." Second Master turned at looked at him, in expectation of news he was praying for. "No, Sir, they've not returned. I suspect the combination of water, food possibilities and space enough for the whole caravan is proving tough. Can we wait a little longer? I'm sure the men would appreciate it?" Second Master nodded, he had no choice but to extend the stop. Hao Yang saw them together and came over. "So when do we move?" "Sore point. We've not had word back yet and I'm not willing to set off blindly." Second Master looked pensive. All three looked into the distance almost willing the men to return. "Give the men a while longer to sleep or rest. When we move we need to be capable. Have the animals had a chance to graze?...

By the time I had wa l ked back to the front of the caravan of men, horses, wagons and carts, I realised the front had come to a halt and Officer Băo was in deep conversation with my brother. There was a lot of shrugging of shoulders, looking forward into the distance, gesticulating, and then further conversation. I suspected they were discussing where and when to stop. At least that’s what I hoped. Slowly all the other wagons drew to a stop and the men, in automatic mode, seemed confused by this. They bumped into one another, it was like watching the walking dead. Some took the opportunity to drop to the floor, whilst some wavered and then collapsed, asleep before they hit the ground. I went to join my brother. “Glad I caught up with you, I don’t know if you’ve seen the men behind, but they cannot continue another step. I am concerned we will run out of room in the wagons soon, as more men succumb to illness and over fatigue.” I looked from one to the other and I could tell they ...