You were tike a brother to me, he thought, as if addressing Tsu Ma in his head. Why, then, did you take my bride away?
As if in answer, the words from Ch'u Yuan's "Heavenly Questions" floated into mind.
Dark Wei followed in his brother's footsteps and the Lord of You-yi was stirred against him. . . .
In a sense it was true—he had taken his brother's wife, and in turn his brother—Tsu Ma—had done the same to him.
But now it was done with. Death had paid all debts. Now he could let that matter go and remember his cousin with affection.
He turned back, bowing deeply to Tsu Ma, his hands pressed together, palm to palm, as he offered his respects, then he looked to Tao Chu and nodded.
"There is much to do, cousin Tao. We had best begin at once."
KARR HAD BEEN expecting the order for some time; even so, as he unsealed Rheinhardt's handwritten letter and read its contents, he felt his heart sink, the spirit go out of him. He was to abandon Mannheim and go at once to Bremen, taking whatever forces remained at his disposal.
This is it, he thought sadly, folding the letter and slipping it into his tunic pocket. Another day and all is gone. On whim he took out the picture he carried and looked at it, studying the smiling faces of his girls. He kissed it fondly, then returned it, and, calling his Duty Captain to him, began to issue orders.
"It is no good," Li Yuan said, pointing to the southern half of the map, indicating the five remaining tiny islands of black around Bordeaux, Lyon, Turin, Ravenna, and Belgrade. The rest was solidly white now— more than two thirds of the City; almost everything beneath the ancient Loire and Danube rivers—while to the north, Li Min had made encroachments in at least a dozen places. "We shall have to let them go. Issue the order now, General Rheinhardt. I want all of our forces pulled back above the Seine in the west and the Danube in the east."
"But Chieh Hsia," Rheinhardt began, appalled by the thought of relinquishing so much.
"You have your orders, General. Now do it. And get Karr on the screen. I have a use for him."
Rheinhardt bowed and left the room, leaving Li Yuan alone with Nan Ho and Tsu Tao Chu.
"Was that wise, Chieh Hsia?" Nan Ho asked quietly. "Rheinhardt knows what he is doing, and those garrisons . . . well, they have served to tie up a great number of Li Min's troops."
"And a great number of ours too," Li Yuan said, leaning across the map and drawing an imaginary line from west to east with his finger. "No, Master Nan. It is time from drastic measures. What is lost is lost. We must conserve what can yet be saved. Li Min's new forces have swung the balance heavily against us. Yet all is not lost. Until now we have been hampered by the need to hold down a vast area, to try to police it even as we wage a war. But now that responsibility is Li Min's. He must now subdue those parts of the City he has conquered. That will tie up more and more of his forces, while our own will be freed to defend what remains. Moreover, if we keep our forces here in the north, in this section"—he indicated a swath of territory less than a quarter of the City's total size—"then we also have the advantage of keeping our supply lines short."
Nan Ho studied the map a moment, then shrugged. "Even so, Chieh Hsia—"
Li Yuan snorted. "Aiya, Master Nan! Must I constantly be held back by you and your even so's? We must draw a line to preserve it. If we fail . . ."
Tsu Tao Chu stared at the map a moment, then nodded. "A line, cousin? Why not a physical breach . . . some kind of gap?"
Li Yuan stared at him awhile, then smiled. "Yes! A gap—as about Tunis! We could destroy a line of stacks . . . here." He drew the line again with his finger, this time more definite, his eyes shining with excitement. "We could make a break two U wide and defend it ... as if we were fighting a fire."
He looked to Nan Ho. "Have we still got those stocks of ice-eaters that were confiscated that time?"
"We have, Chieh Hsia, but—"
"No buts, Master Nan. The idea is an excellent one. And Karr . . . Karr's the man to implement it, neh?"
Nan Ho looked to his master, imploring him with his eyes to drop the idea, but Li Yuan was adamant. After a moment Nan Ho bowed his head. "Very well. I shall arrange it, Chieh Hsia."
Tsu tao C H U sat in the window seat, chewing a thumbnail, while Li Yuan paced the room in front of him, reading the latest reports.
That evening Tao Chu was to be appointed T'ang of West Asia in an official ceremony in the Hall of Celestial Virtues. But by then, it seemed, West Asia would be gone and he would be T'ang of nothing. Nothing but these ancient stones.
After two hundred years of peace Asia had fallen into darkness once again. Warlords had divided the great continent among them, reacting to the scent of blood like sharks in a feeding frenzy. The twin cities, once the jewels of Chung Kuo, now burned, and tens of millions died each hour as the darkness fell.
"Is it bad?" Tao Chu asked, looking up to him, a youthful innocence in his eyes.
Li Yuan sighed. "It could not be worse, Tao Chu. It is all slipping away from us. It might be best if we prepared to take our courts . . . off-planet."
"Off-planet?" Tao Chu looked alarmed. "As bad as that?"
Li Yuan nodded.
Tao Chu got up suddenly, then, with a polite smile and bow to Li Yuan, made to go past him to the door, but Li Yuan held his arm.
"Cousin? Where are you off to in such a hurry? I thought we might talk."
Tao Chu looked down, embarrassed. "Forgive me, Yuan, I ..."
Li Yuan smiled. "I remember the first time we ever met. It was after your grandfather Tsu Tiao's death. You were . . ."
"Eight . . . and you twelve." Tao Chu nodded thoughtfully, then looked to Li Yuan with a smile. "I remember that I gripped your arm, I was so afraid. I thought that my uncle"—he shivered, a look of pain flickering across his eyes—"I thought he had killed Tsu Tiao. I did not know it was only a GenSyn copy."
"Was that the first time you had encountered death?"
Tao Chu nodded. "I remember you explained it all to me. Why my uncle Ma had to kill the image of his father to become his own man. Yet I never truly understood. Not deep down. To kill one's father . . ." He shuddered.
Li Yuan reached out and held his shoulder gently. "The first of the craft from Tongjiang will be here shortly. Perhaps you would like to come and greet them with me?"
Tao Chu shook his head, his eyes avoiding Yuan's. "I ... I would prefer to get some rest, cousin. I ... it has been a very trying day for me."
Li Yuan bowed. "I understand. The times take much from us, neh?"
Tao Chu bobbed his head in response, then, with a strange, pained glance at his cousin, went to the door and out.
Li Yuan stood there awhile, staring at the open door, wondering if there were anything he could do to ease his young cousin's suffering. Then, with a heavy sigh, he went out to meet the incoming craft.
THE FIVE CRAFT came in from the east, in tight formation. Li Yuan, watching from the parapet above the Eastern Gate, saw the faint wisp of smoke that came from the exhaust of the central craft and, at the same time, heard the slight difference in the tone of its engine, and knew at once that something had happened.
He hurried across, lifting his silks so he could run, the honor guard exerting themselves to keep up with him. As he came to the hangars, they were already disembarking. Li Yuan made his way through until he stood before the Commander of the flight, who was busy examining the damage to one of his craft.
"What happened?" he asked, staring past the Captain at the smoke-blackened side of the cruiser.
The Captain spun around, surprised, then bowed low. "Forgive me, Chieh Hsia. We were attacked coming over the Uzbek plantations . . . three ships out of Tashkent. We gave them the imperial codes, yet they attacked all the same. Deliberately, it seems."