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the markings on a number of scrolls and then selected one.
He unrolled the parchment carefully, almost rev-erently.  Roman, this is the
chronicles of the travels of the sage Shiu Lao Tze. Placing the parchment on
the table, he quickly scanned the rolls. Sucking his teeth, he turned to
Casca.  What is your full name?
 Casca Rufio Longinus.
Sighing, Tsin set the scroll aside and rubbed his eyes.  Turn your face, he
ordered and held the lamp up to see better.  Yes, the scar is there. Sit down,
Roman.
Casca did as he was bade, opposite the counselor.
Tsin pointed to the scrolls.  Your story is there. When Shiu Lao returned to
his homeland after many years among the barbarians, he spent three years here,
teaching. In that time, he wrote the story of all he had seen and experienced.
His story of the Roman soldier condemned to live by the Jew called Jesus we
took to be but the wanderings of the aged mind. But you are here, and if you
are who you say you are, then it is indeed a wonder. The ways of the gods are
inscrutable and we can only play the part our fate dictates. I believe the
best thing I can to is to help you on your way, but not to Khitai as you wish
to go.
Khitai is where Shiu Lao Tze was born and lived as a child, but the land of
his father s birth, and where he studied, is now known as the Chin. Before it
was known as the kingdom of the Han dynasty but has since been broken into
warring nations the two most impor-tant, eastern and western Chin it is to the
western Chin you want to go. Now, we will find a suitable place for you and
will talk more of what must be done to speed you on your way. The problems you
present are more than I can deal with; I am not the great scholar and teacher
that Shiu Lao was, only a poor bureaucrat. In the land of Chin, you will find
scholars and wiser men than myself.
Taking the scrolls he led Casca back through the labyrinth of passages to his
offices. Casca was turned over to the palace major-domo and shown to the
rooms that would serve him for the time he re-mained in Kushan.
Eleven
ROAD TO THE WALL
Tsin-ta i welcomed his guest and made him com-fortable. With his own hand, he
poured tcha and then dismissed all others, leaving the two of them alone.  I
have thought the last two weeks on your plight and desires and feel that my
original inclina-tions were correct. It is best for me to help you on your
way.
But before you go, it should be under-stood what you are going to and know
something of the people of whom I am honored to be counted, though here I
serve the Lord of Khosun.
From beneath the rosewood table, Tsin took a scroll like the ones Casca had
seen in the dungeon library, and carefully laid it on the table.
 These are the writings of the scholar and his-torian, Ssu-ma Ch ien. Over
four hundred years ago, one Chang Ch ien was sent by the Emperor, Wu Ti, to
negotiate an alliance with a far tribe living beyond the boundaries of the
Hsuing-nu. He was captured along with his servant and spent ten years as
prisoner of the Hsuing-nu. After escaping, he made his way to this very place.
Here he found the Yueh-chih who had been driven from their homelands by the
Hsuing-nu and taken this place for their own. When the
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Yueh-chih came to this land, they first conquered Bactria, which still held to
much of the culture of the
Greeks, even to their art and writings. Here he found friends. To the south
were other great nations not known to the people of Chin. Here too, he found
goods from the southern provinces of the Empire of
Wu Ti. The lands from which these goods came was then called the Shentu, far
to the south and east where the inhabitants go to battle on elephants and live
along a great river. For this information, he and his ser-vant were honored.
Though their original mission to make a treaty with enemies of the Hsuing-nu
had failed, he found here other friends and the news that there was a great
land close to the southern provinces. Chang Ch ien was given high office. Even
his faithful servant was rewarded with the ti-tle of
Lord Who Carries Out His Mission.
 After leaving here, Chang Ch ien was once more captured by the Hsuing-nu, but
this time was able to escape after only a year s captivity and final-ly made
his way to the Jade Gate, which guards the western end of the Wall from
barbarism. The schol-ar Ssu-ma includes a description of that route and that
is the one I think you should take. There is another route the Silk Road runs
all the way to the markets of the west but to reach it from here would take
you far back to the .north.
Taking the route of Chang Ch ien, you will intercept the road at Ho-T ien on
the southern margin of the Tarim basin. An oasis is there that has given the
city wealth and its placement on the Silk Road will sup-ply you with more
current information as to what is occurring in the Empire. A point of
interest Ho-T ien is fed by two rivers which descend to the basin from the
Kunlun mountains. The/form one river and then join and disappear into the
sands of Tkla-Makan except for a couple of months when it may reach the Tarim
river if the season has been sufficiently wet.
Taking yet another scroll from beneath the table, Tsin laid it carefully out,
using a couple of alabaster ink pots to hold the ends down.  This is the map
of the way to the Jade Gate. The map was exquisitely drawn, the work of a
master the high and low regions were in different colors as were the rivers
and deserts. Tsin pointed one polished nail to a spot on the chart.
 We are here. The Indus comes from the north and that will be the beginning
for you. Follow the
Indus. You will go through great gorges and valleys and the way will be
difficult many times, but keep the river always to your right. The Indus will
turn south again when you see the great peaks of the Naga
Parat rising above all others. To reach the clouds, go another three hundred
miles march and the Indus will then be joined by the Panglong Shoa. Follow the
Panglong Shoa which will be the branch on the north for another one hundred
miles and you will reach the trail leading north through the Karakoran pass
and thence to the last of the moun-tain passes before you descend to the
Tarim. Suget pass will be the final marker that you have left the highlands
behind and will soon reach the Silk Road. You will know when you are on it by
the bones of those who failed to survive the trek. Turn to the east once more
and in three days you will reach Ho-T ien. From there, the way is well known [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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