"Birds?" "The great Genghis Khan demands a tribute of birds from our enemy?" "Not birds, young Kublai." "Chinese swallows." "Ten thousand." "You question your grandfather?" "No, Lord Genghis." "Merely curious." "Nesting birds and well-fed dogs always return to the walls of their master." "You understand, don't you, Kaidu?" "Live by the laws of the Blue Sky and you will follow in the steps of your father who follows in mine." "You will one day be Khan of the Mongols, child." "Release it." "I like you, round-eye." "I like how you drink baijiu." "But no round-eye can drink more white poison than Skinny Crane." "You hear the words of Skinny Crane?" "He says you will soon fall on your white, Latin ass." "Tell the gentleman that one of the mysteries of the Far East is how a fat bastard like him got the name "Skinny Crane."" "You know what I think?" "I can hardly wait." "I think you are a round-eyed devil." "The Mongols now own this city." "But a Latin shit like you?" "By what authority are you here?" "It's time." "Let's go." "I am hunted by the Khan's men." "A friend within Cambulac helped me escape." "You cannot stay here." "You are a danger to the cause." " I seek safe passage." " To where?" "To the Boy Emperor, Zhao Xian." "You know who I am." " Your brother was a great hero." " Yes, he was." "His name inspires loyalty." "His name inspires me to join the Emperor's guard and refuge." "May Song dynasty rise and endure." "As an imperial of the great Song, you must know the story of how a sadness so great formed the River of Tears." "His Holiness is sheltered from such sadness, so that he knows only the lotus blossom and flocks of doves." "If she were meant to find the Emperor, her brother would've given her the information she seeks." "Help me to the refuge." "Let me stand by His Holiness as I have stood by him since his birth." "We cannot take the chance." "Mongols!" "You." "Come with me." " Did you find him?" " We're close." " You know you don't have to do this." " Yes, I do." "My heart is full." "As is mine." "_" "What are you doing?" "The capture is meant to be symbolic." "You wouldn't respect me if I made it easy on you." "I doubt you will in future, as well." "I have quite an exemplar to live up to." "If my mother's your exemplar, I'm in trouble." "Byamba." "He came." "Of course." "Speak, Governor." "Great Khan, no longer is there a divide between North and South." "You have unified all China, my Grace." "My Emperor, you are adored." "What is your concern?" "Speak freely." "We welcome the paper currency of the new dynasty." "And may I say Your Holy Personage is quite handsome." "But one note is equivalent to 50 Chinese notes." "The people of my province voice concern." " Which province, again?" " Wuji." "Ask my subjects in Wuji if they've lived better under the Cricket Minister Jia Sidao, the corrupt pretender I saved them from." "They bow to the new emperor." "They cherish and adore." "They simply voice concern over the trade rate and also rising taxes on silver." "Is Wuji not the same province that had its crops destroyed by locusts days before harvest?" "Yes, Great Khan." "Did we not send grain to feed the farmers?" "The people, their children, the poor?" " You did, Great Khan..." " So, I'm confused." "Did we charge you for our bounty?" " No, Great Khan." " Then I grant you leave to return to the fortunate province of Wuji to speak of nothing else but goodwill of your Khan and Emperor." "Great Khan." "But first... eat, drink, laugh well on this day." "And thank you for attending my heir's wedding." "Your petition has been heard, Governor." "Fifty to one?" "If my Khan and Royal Father wishes to look east and west to expand his territories... the empire's coffers must also expand." "West." "As the Governor said, they bow and cherish, hmm?" " Who's next?" " The Sultan of Khwarazm." " Not him." " Trade matters." "I've already missed Capture the Bride." "I don't want to miss the archery games." "When men drink and tell stories... they tend to hide within the stables." "Why?" "It is the perfect repository for horse manure." "What words of wisdom have you for me, Sifu, on this most auspicious of days?" "I have taught you the ways of Wudang Fist." "I have taught you the scholar's sword and how to fight five opponents from the eight trigram circle." "But I have no secrets to share on how to manage your four wives." "On this, may the goddess of mercy be with you." "Look out there." "Listen." "The empire you will one day inherit is growing." "Spreading under the banner of your father's house." "The larger it becomes... the larger a target is the heir to the throne." "Do you try to shrink my resolve on my wedding night?" "No, I try to inspire it... as I have since you were 12 summers old." "Tastes like dog piss." "I recommend plum wine from the southern regions." "You drank the whole bowl." "I did." " Brother." " This is a surprise." "I've come to see my father." "On the day of our brother's wedding?" "Well, he's busy." "I have urgent business from the capital." "You're standing in the capital." "And I know all its business." "What's yours?" "Just tell him his son is here to see him." "Which is it?" "Urgent business from the capital or his son?" "Just tell him." "Why don't you visit the baths, change your clothes?" "And the Khan will receive you when he receives you." "I'll wait right here." " You'll be a beautiful bride." " Thank you." "Yeah, be happy." "The boys are encouraged to drink away their nerves, yet we must face this day sober as stone." "Others you can mislead, my sweet." "My son, he sees what he wishes." "My husband, what he decrees." "But I see what is in front of me without filter or fiction." "A brave face on a most unhappy daughter." "Thank you, Empress, but no." "I was not asking." "I wish to tell you something of your Latin and I want you receptive." "He was a boy abandoned by his father to a strange land." " I was there." " What chance had that boy?" "What hope of a future in this foreign and dangerous world?" "None... if not for my husband." "You cannot compete with Kublai." "You will never mean as much to the Latin as the man who holds his future in his hands." "You cling to a fragment of a broken soul." "His morals will be determined by what my husband asks of him, as will his actions." "Nothing more, nothing less, and certainly nothing to do with you, so..." "You have been greatly blessed, child." "When the sun sets today, you will be wife and mother to gods." "Mother to Khans." "As my mother always said, "Peasants marry for love, royalty for a cause greater than themselves."" "Our dear Blue Princess, blessed and cursed with royal blood... let us today be greater than ourselves." "Do you understand?" "I do, Mother." " Bad wine." " In every province?" "As it turns out, yes." "Orders are orders." "And you follow them like a good foreign errand boy." "If this boat tips over and I go in, will you be my white savior?" "You don't need saving." "Who would save me if you chose to turn shackle to noose?" "Not them." "Lotus blossoms and flocks of doves?" "What does that mean?" "Flocks of Doves is a tree that grows on the palm islands in the river bottom." "My brother used to store currency and weapons there for the day he might be forced to flee Xiangyang." "We saw to it that he did not." "You were there when he perished." "Did he fight to the end?" "He did." "That deserves praise." "You hated him." "It's well known." "He was my brother." "You still hated him." "Seeing life now, back in Quinsai, a city of such beauty ravaged by barbarians..." "I wonder if he was right." "The Khan fully intends to right these wrongs." "By hunting down a child." "A child your people call "Son of Heaven."" "When they see him walk side-by-side with the Great Khan, they will come to embrace the birth of a new dynasty." " You're certain of this?" " I am." "Then behold, errand boy." "The people of South China, so ready to embrace their new emperor... they have taken their own lives." "Boatmen, stay your course." "When do you make your pilgrimage?" "Fortnight, God willing." "Transport Minister, Vice Regent, Left Chancellor..." "The Khan's given you more titles than he has consorts in his harem." "He honors me with lack of sleep." "The Khan will see you now." "Lord Ahmad, you called for me?" "Prince Nayan of Manchuria, this lovely creature is Ling, daughter of the former Emperor Duzhong of China." "I have met great sultanas and Persian queens, and you, little one, have the bearing of a princess." "Ling, these great men have traveled far." " Will you play for them while they wait?" " Of course, Lord Ahmad." "A warrior pope." "He wielded no weapon." "Merely the word of Christ." "You believe that to be a powerful weapon." "As a Christian and a Mongol, let me be clear... should trouble come my way, I will pocket the book and carry the sword." " Uncle." " My Khan." "Please." "Sit." "Hmm, these crusades must come to an end." "Only when the non-Christian threat is extinguished." "Shared goals of mutual annihilation... without one army outweighing the other ten-fold, is destined for bloody stalemate." "Someone will win." "Hmm." "Ahmad has granted you safe passage to your little gathering in the Latin East?" "He has, Great Khan." "Make sure he has more than he needs." "Sire." "When you're finished kowtowing at the foot of your pope return to me with word." "Of?" "Anything that might be deemed significant." "You mean anything you deem significant." "Tell your pope I look forward to the day of meeting him in his city." "Enjoy what remains of the day." " We will share a cup later?" " Oh, we'll share several... if I can get outside." "Your prodigal son's returned." "He wouldn't dare miss his brother's wedding." "He wishes to speak with you, urgently." "Send him to me as I dress." "Would you have done... as they did?" "You can't speak the words, can you?" "Even though you're partly responsible for it." "Would I have drowned myself amidst the mangroves?" "No." "If your daughter weren't alive behind the walls of Cambulac..." "Well, she is." "So don't waste your breath." "How dull your life must've been at home to make this your new one." " I didn't choose it." " But you do now..." " and don't even know why..." " Quiet." "Let me out." "Let me out." "What will they think when they see me in shackles?" " Father, I must..." " I did not bid you speak." "Nervous?" "What man would not be?" "To leave his father's house on a day of glory and go to dwell with a rival?" "What man would be at ease knowing that some might doubt his motives?" "Dwelling in a traitor's camp." ""Spy," some might whisper." "Eyes of the empire upon him." "What man would not stand here atremble before his father and Khan?" "I'll tell you which man." "My son, Byamba." "Because he knows he's always welcome home... wanderlust or not." "Especially on the day of his brother's wedding." "It's good to see you well, Father." "I miss you on the hunts." " Father, I must speak to you." " Come, walk with me." "We will see the sheep's neck break together." "How's the wrestler girl?" "She is..." "like no other." "And neither are you, Byamba." "You might be born of a concubine, but never disparage, or hide from your mother's blood." "You never speak of her." "She was Javanese." "Very, very tall." " Father..." " I accept your apology." "Let's raise a cup to your brother and speak of nothing else." "I come with word from Kaidu." "Speak." "I said, speak." "Lord Kaidu is challenging your claim to the Mongol throne." "He's calling for a Kurultai." "You fool." "He sent you." "He used you against me." "No, Father." "I asked, I chose." " You chose?" " Yes." "If you had to hear this, I wanted you to hear it from me." "Oh, you thought it would soften the blow?" " To have it come from my own blood?" " I did..." "Get out." "Don't speak." "You have followed the river a long way... just to get fucked and die." " State your business." " Doing yours." "Hunting spies." " And taking them where?" " This one is special." "A white pet of the barbarian devil." "I am to deliver his head to the Imperial Majesty." "No one travels beyond this point." "Execute the foreigner here." "As for you, spy hunter..." " Red Lotus." " What is left of them." "They are to send us black powder and more arms." "The Mongols guard the river at Quinsai, but the supplies will come soon." "If I don't deliver as promised, they might never come." "Let's go!" "Let them pass." "I took the wall that no Khan could topple." "I conquered the 300-year-old dynasty, I expanded the Mongol Empire, and Kaidu would challenge me to a Kurultai?" "And on the day of our crown prince's wedding, no less." "Impeccable, our good cousin, Kaidu." "The Mongols will never back that sheep-fucker in an election." "I am their Khan." "The only Kurultai that should be called is the one to condemn him to death." "Kaidu has no horse to mount in such a challenge." "Unless, of course, he tries to raise a tempest out of dust." ""Dust"?" "What do you mean, "dust"?" "The slurs from years ago, Sire." "That our Khan might not have been fairly elected." "If Kaidu wishes to challenge his Khan with drunken rumors, let him." "You are not only his Khan, Father... but the first Mongol to become Emperor of China." "Precisely." "How can the Khan of Mongolia oversee the affairs of his motherland when he now must govern all of China and outwards?" "It is a doomed prospect." "This is what they will say." "This is how they will challenge you." "Respectfully, Sire." "Then let the many voices of the motherland choose who should be Khan." "Whom would you elect?" "Our Royal Father, who has grown this Mongol Empire larger than even Genghis dreamed?" "Or Kaidu?" "Who wants not for expansion, but Mongol isolation." "There will not be many voices." "Only one." "Mine." "This is what I say..." "Just as I took my brother's head, I will take my cousin's." "Enough!" "As Empress of this court, I dismiss this council at once." "Jingim, your attendants await you." "Don your robes, present your gifts, and prepare for the final vow." "You would dismiss my war counsel?" "Don't soil this day with talk of tomorrow." "It is time for the Khan's toast." " The wedding must go..." " The wedding?" "The quest for an heir?" "What is this all for if not tomorrow, hmm?" "What?" "Open." "Rain stones." "My gift to you on our own wedding day." "Any man who rises to greatness will face envy from his brothers, his relations." "You stand above them all, because you know compassion is the greatest shield." "Have compassion for these smaller men..." "smaller minds." "I once drowned my own dog when he would not stop killing sheep." "Is that not compassion?" "There will be no Kurultai." "Only war." "Your mind was far from war on that day..." "was it not?" "I remember." "I remember it well." "Capture the bride." "That fiery Onggirat girl..." "who could ride a horse like a wind demon." "I, too, think much on it." "More so of late." "You fought me well, like a Mongol queen." "That's when I realized just how formidable ally my Chabi would become." "I sniffed your cheek." "And you stabbed me with an elk-horn knife." "And I will do it again if you don't come out and give the royal blessing like the Khan you are." "Brother." "You would call me "brother" now?" "The news was coming." "The only question was who carried it." "Better a stranger than to be stabbed by blood." "I wish you well, brother, always." "To say that is also why I came." "I wish you hadn't." "You do not look pleased." "Relations." "One cannot select them as we do our friends." "Just some clan trouble in the old capital." "The old capital is far from here." "Let it remain that way tonight." "You are beautiful, truly." "And you are most handsome." "I know that this is beyond your choosing." "And I have been foolish to not recognize my blessing." "I give you my word, and I stand by it." "What I say in this moment must live only between us two." "I am tremendously drunk." "You hide it well." "Do I?" "No, not at all." "Still, I speak the truth when I say that I will protect you... in this life, and for many years to come." "And I will honor you, not only as Imperial Lady, but... as friend... and a most excellent rider." "I will be a faithful and devoted wife." "And now..." "I give your gift." "Early." "As my grandfather said," ""Nesting birds and well-fed dogs always return to the walls of their master."" "I'm Jia Mei Lin, sister of the great, last Chancellor of the Song Empire." "May it rise and endure." "I have come to be reunited with my Emperor." "I recognize your voice... but not the words of praise for your brother." "As it is said of man and woman... the hunter is ours, the sable weaver is yours." "But if the sable weaver has no mother and father to stand with her, what does this mean?" "It means only this... she, too, is now ours." "I take this child into my house..." "as my daughter." "Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other." "Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other." "I know it's hard to imagine, Ling... but someday, you, too, will be married." "The Mongol Empire holds both your fates in our hands." "Perhaps even to a prince." "And these fates are now merged..." "Deliver to us, the rightful heir... who shall one day rule the Earth..." "under the mandate of heaven." "Let this marriage be made." "My father accepts."