“I am afraid the crate’s contents are essential for locating the seals,” Wuya replied. “Have your men bring it to the gate, and my soldiers will carry it inside.”
“My men are more than qualified to carry the crate.”
“No,” Wuya said, his voice low. “Until our deal is finalized, your men will wait outside the gate. All of them. The only soldiers allowed inside are Forbidden City soldiers sworn to protect the Emperor.”
“My men are sworn to protect me,” Tonglong said. “That should mean something to you, considering our agreement up to this point. I will not enter alone, and I will not enter unarmed. Neither will my men.”
Wuya paused, as if contemplating something. He sighed loudly enough for ShaoShu to hear. “I will make an exception this time.”
Wuya raised his voice for all to hear. “You may bring four men with you to carry the crate. No more. All of you may be armed.”
Tonglong nodded.
“Welcome to the Forbidden City,” Wuya said.
ShaoShu watched as Tonglong shouted orders and four soldiers, each with a musket slung across his back, picked up the crate ShaoShu knew contained the Emperor. The men followed Tonglong and Wuya across the Forbidden City’s threshold, and the enormous gates began to close.
There was no point in ShaoShu hiding there any longer. He needed to give Ying an update. With everyone’s eyes still fixed on the closing gate, ShaoShu slipped out of the shrub, back into the moat.
Seh stood on the deck of Charles’ sloop in the moonlight, scanning the canal’s shoreline for signs of movement. He saw nothing. Neither did Charles, Hok, Malao, or even Fu, with his extraordinary low-light vision.
“Are you sure this canal goes all the way to the Forbidden City?” Seh asked. “We have been on it for quite some time and have not seen any sign of the bandits.”
“Positive,” Charles said. “This is the canal that connects the Forbidden City’s moat with the Yellow River. It is the main route over which goods are transported to the Forbidden City from all over the country. I cannot wait to unload our cargo there. HukJee really came through for us.”
“You can say that again,” Seh replied, glancing about at the wooden crates filled with muskets, pistols, and ammunition, not to mention the three small cannons and numerous oak barrels filled with black powder. “Will we be able to sail right up to the gates?”
“No. There are bridges over the moat that we will not be able to sail under because of the height of my mast. Cargo is usually off-loaded to horse-drawn carts at the first bridge. However, that bridge is within shooting distance of the main gate.”
“Do you think we will go all the way to the Forbidden City without meeting the bandits?” Hok asked.
“It is possible they went on to the Forbidden City without us,” Charles said. “Or maybe they have been delayed and are behind schedule. I am certain that tonight is the night we were supposed to rendezvous.”
“I wonder if Tonglong has made it to the Forbidden City yet,” Seh said. “If he has—”
“There!” Fu interrupted from the bow. “I see a bridge coming up, and I can just make out a very tall wall beyond it.”
“I see it, too!” Malao called down from the very top of the mast, Charles’ spyglass in his hands. “And there’s the main gate. There are a bunch of horsemen in front of it.”
“Bandits?” Seh asked.
“No,” Malao replied. “Tonglong’s men. They are all wearing red uniforms. Wait, some of them are going inside! Let’s blast them!”
“Not so fast,” Charles said from the helm. “We need to get closer to be within firing range. We also need to make sure those are Tonglong’s men, and not the bandits.”
“It’s them, all right,” Fu said. “Unless Mong, Hung, Sanfu, NgGung, and Bing made seventy new friends who all have horses and like to wear red.”
“You can see all that?” Charles asked. “You are not human, Fu.”
Fu growled.
“Is it possible to go faster?” Hok asked.
“This is the best we can do,” Charles replied. “We cannot risk raising any more sail in this relatively narrow canal, and rowing will do little more than make a lot of noise. They will see us soon enough as it is. Unless you want to turn around—”
“Never!” Fu said. “We will fight.”
“Mong said that the bandits could fight Tonglong’s army right in front of the Forbidden City gates for days and the imperial army would not get involved,” Charles said. “They have sworn an oath to not step foot outside the walls. Do you think this is true?”