The Emperor's Tomb

Confucius was the Roman label given by 17th-century Jesuits to a sage whom disciples knew in the 5th century BCE as Kong Fu-Zi. His ideas had survived in the form of sayings, and his central belief seemed to be that man should seek to live in a good way, always behaving with humanity and courtesy, working diligently, honoring family and government. He emphasized “the way of the former kings,” encouraging the present to draw strength and wisdom from the past. He championed a highly ordered society, but the means of accomplishing that order was not by force, rather through compassion and respect.

Qin Shi was no Confucian.

Instead, the First Emperor embraced Legalism.

That counter-philosophy believed naked force and raw terror were the only legitimate bases for power. Absolute monarchy, centralized bureaucracy, state domination over society, law as a penal tool, surveillance, informers, dissident persecution, and political coercion were its fundamental tools.

Both philosophies desired a unified state, a powerful sovereign, and a population in absolute submission, but while Legalists knocked heads, Confucians taught respect—the willing obedience of the people. When the Legalist First Empire fell in the 3rd century BCE, Confucianism became its replacement, and remained so, in one form or another, until the 20th century, when the communists brought a return of Legalism.

Confucian thought, though, was once again popular. The people identified with its peaceful tenets, especially after sixty years of harsh oppression. Even more disturbing was the rise of democracy, a philosophy more troubling than Confucianism.

“There is some good news,” the expert said. “I found some further confirmation on the other matter.”

He followed the man to another of the stone tables.

“These bamboo scrolls are like annual reports of the First Empire.”

Tang knew that the ancient Chinese maintained detailed records of almost everything, especially natural phenomena. Within his specialty, geology, they classified rocks into ore, nonmetals, and clays. They noted hardness, color, and luster, as well as shape. They even isolated which substances were formed deep within the earth and determined how they could be found reliably.

“There are accounts here of drilling exploration,” the expert said. “Quite specific.”

He’d already spotted other silks. Maps. “Is our site noted?”

The man nodded. “The general area is shown. But without geographic reference points it’s impossible to know for sure.”

Though the ancients developed the compass and cartography, they lacked latitude and longitude, one of the few revolutionary concepts the Chinese did not first develop.

“Remove and preserve the maps, and anything else that directly relates to our search.”

His expert nodded.

“The rest are unimportant. Now, to the other problem. Show me.”

The man reached into his coat pocket and handed him a silver object, shiny in the light.

A watch.

Industrial looking, with a face and digits that glowed in the dark. A winding screw protruded from one side, and the word SHANGHAI indicated its place of manufacture.

“This is decades old,” he said.

“It was found inside when they broke through. This, even more than the manuscripts, is what the museum’s archaeologists became excited about.”

He now understood the gravity of the director’s containment problem. “Somebody has been in here before?”

The expert nodded. “Clearly. There were no watches in Qin Shi’s day. Turn it over.”

Engraved on the back were a series of Chinese characters. He stepped closer to the light and read the script.

SERVE THE PEOPLE.

1968

He’d seen a watch with the same inscription before. They were given to select Party members on the occasion of Mao Zedong’s seventy-fifth birthday. Nothing pretentious or expensive, just a simple remembrance of a grand occasion.

December 26, 1968.

Precious few of those first-generation leaders remained alive. Though they held a special status in the communist pantheon, many fell victim to Mao’s purges. Others died from old age. One, though, remained active in the government.

The premier, who’d occasionally displayed his gift from the former Chairman.

Tang needed to know for sure. “There are no Confucian texts here? You are sure?”

The expert shook his head. “This room has been purged of every one of them. They should be here, but they are gone.”

Challenges to his plans seemed to come from all fronts. Jin Zhao. Lev Sokolov. Ni Yong.

Now this.

He stared at what he held.

And knew exactly who the watch had once belonged to.

ELEVEN

CASSIOPEIA STEPPED AWAY FROM THE MAN LYING STILL ON THE floor and approached the doorway. Finally, she was on the offensive, and she’d shoot anyone who came between herself and freedom.

Carefully, she peered into the narrow hall. Two meters away the door for the bathroom hung half open. Another door, a meter or so past on the other side, was closed. The corridor ended in what looked like a brightly lit entrance hall.

She stepped out.