Princess of the Jurchen Empire

1
Giant Wang Li
 Today, in these stuffy, August days, I remembered a story that I saw in a dream as a child.  Then it was also August and I was the same age as the princess of the Jurchen Empire when she was hidden in the secret city of Zhen.  Yes, it was also August then, it was stuffy and foggy.  And that was many, many centuries ago.  The princess was carried to the secret city to place her small, childish hands on the scales of time.
 So, the scales of time... By the way, the scales of time are in the secret city of Zhen even now.  Long ago, the grandfather of the Jurchen Emperor built this underground city so that the nation could survive.  Grandfather had the gift of foresight.  He saw the future!
 The army is broken, there are a few surviving soldiers, but a handful of civilians, where to go?  The enemy is on the heels.  Order: "Cut under the root!"  soldiers of the enemy army understand literally.  Under the root means not to leave anyone alive - no one, no old women, no babies.  The nation must disappear!  But the Jurchens left.  There were few of them left, they went through blood and pain. In the small crowd there were, among others, old women, old men, and babies.  The mothers clamped the mouths of the babies, but the babies didn’t cry anymore - they were weak from hunger. The soldiers covered the rear. Unfortunately, the prediction came true, and now the grandson of the great grandfather, the Jurchen Emperor, ordered before his death to save the remnants of the nation at any cost and take him to a secret city.  The emperor was dying.  Suffering from a wound, he nevertheless held on, he waited for the general to return.  The general was a childhood friend of the emperor, only he was trusted by the great emperor.
- Save the remaining children!  We need to take them to the secret city!
 Is my daughter still alive?
 -Yes, my lord!  She is very weak, but conscious!
 - Blessed be the Buddha! - the emperor fell silent, every word was given to him with difficulty, - bend down, I will tell you a secret!
 The story took the last strength from the emperor.  At least an hour passed, only then the ruler of the Jurchen Empire spoke again.
 -Find the tallest and toughest warrior, put him to the test.  Cut off part of the earlobe. If the warrior passes the test with honor, take an oath from him and tell him everything.
 My daughter must be taken to the secret city, like all other children.  No one must know that a warrior is carrying a princess.  I know that spies report everything to an insidious enemy.  To confuse the tracks, a warrior must carry six children.  Do you understand?
 - My lord, six is ;;not enough, among the six it is easy to find a princess.
 -Yes, you are right.  Let him carry eight.  Eight is the number of happiness and good luck!
 The first halt should be made near the stone of the bird, the second - near the sacred lake, the third halt - near the red gate.  I...
 -My lord, wait, I'll call the doctor!
 The emperor came to his senses after three hours.  He could no longer speak loudly, he whispered and whispered, and the general wiped his tears and listened.  The general remembered, of course, that men do not cry, but he could hardly restrain his sadness and pain.  Finally, the emperor was convinced that his friend remembered everything, after which he leaned back on the pillow, smiled happily and breathed his last.  His people, his fallen army and the inhabitants of his empire who died at the hands of the enemy, were waiting for their master on the border of light and darkness.  They celebrated his departure from the world of the living with jubilation.  The dead people extended their hands and helped the emperor to cross the border between the worlds.  When the border was passed, the emperor saw his empress.  She smiled and called him!  His people, his army knelt before the greatness of the dead emperor, but the emperor was now happy.  The pain has finally left him!  This is how the emperor of the Jurchen nation passed away.
 The general saluted the fallen ruler of the empire.  The priests who survived were invited.  Nothing further depended on the general.  The emperor will be taken to the valley of sorrow and buried.
 Now the general faced the most difficult, the remnants of the army must cover those who go to the secret city.  The soldiers were ready to give their lives, if only women with children and the elderly were safe.
Wang Li - a giant warrior carried children.  His earlobe was bandaged, and blood was still oozing from under the bandage, but this was not what caused the soldier pain.  His heart was now there, on the battlefield, where his friends, soldiers of the army, were dying one after another.  However, the order of the emperor was sacred to him.  Wang Li carried the children carefully, but his special concern was the princess.  The warrior tried several times to check if the princess had a pulse, but immediately stopped himself.  If there are spies among those who go with him, they should not know that Wang Li is carrying a special girl among other children. The children were sleeping, they were given sleepy grass to drink before leaving, so these children did not cause trouble.  Other children who were in the arms of their mothers and grandmothers screamed and cried, and the children who slept in four knapsacks carried on the back of the giant Wang Li slept soundly and nothing disturbed them. Finally, the fugitives reached the limits of the earthen hill.  Wang Li lowered the knapsacks to the ground and began to rake the ground with his hands, three old men rushed to his aid, they were still strong men, who, unfortunately, were not taken into the army.  Soon a passage appeared.  Eileen, the widow of Wang Li's friend, wiped the giant's hands with a wet rag.  Among the children that Wang Li carried were her children, a boy and a girl - twins.
 Wang Li went last.  He looked back anxiously, but, nevertheless, patiently waited for the old women, women with children and old men to come downstairs.  Eileen was next to last, she was waiting for Wang Li.  Before stepping into the ground, the giant carefully, one by one, handed over the sleeping children to Eileen.  The children were again put in knapsacks.  They walked in complete darkness, but this did not disturb the giant. In order not to stumble upon those walking in front, they called out to each other in a whisper all the time.  The children in the arms of their mothers and grandmothers were silent, the darkness had a calming effect on them.  Wang Li knew that if they reached the bird stone, they would be safe. Finally, a dim, pulsing light appeared ahead.
2.
The Mongols are overtaking

 Our fugitives are relatively safe now, so let's leave them for a while and talk about something.  If you refer to Wikipedia, you can find out that the capital of the Jurchen Empire was, among other things, in the city of Ussuriysk, of course, then this city had a different name, because the events that I am telling you about took place in the twelfth century.  In fact, there were many capitals, but three of them were located on the territory of modern Ussuriysk and in its environs.  The secret city of Zhen, to which our fugitives are now going, was and is located under the territory on which the city of Vladivostok now stands.  If the city of Ussuriysk, or as they called it then - Xupin, was the center where life was in full swing, then the territory where the current city of Vladivostok is located was a wild, unexplored land.  Along the seashore there were a number of houses where fishermen lived.  Actually, this is all, in this dense region there was then nothing even remotely resembling a village or a small village.  That is why, when the grandfather of the deceased emperor decided to build an underground city, his choice fell on this land.  Now you can drive from Ussuriysk to Vladivostok in an hour and a half, by bike in 5 hours, if you go on foot, you need to spend about 16 hours.  But this is if you walk along paved streets and well-groomed roads, consistent with the signs, and following the arrow that dictates the way to you from your mobile phone, but, as you understand, there were no such roads for our fugitives then.  A handful of unfortunate, hungry, sick and wounded people left through the taiga, pursued by soldiers of the enemy army.  The soldiers of the Jurchen army defended their compatriots to the last soldier, but the moment came when the last defender fell and the citizens of the Zhen state were left face to face with fear and misfortune.  not one but ... Among the fugitives, as you know, there was a princess, who, among other children, was carried by the giant Wang Li.
3.
Spy

 Irina Mutovchiskaya

 If the Mongol army overtook the fugitives, then the Mongols would have acted simply, they would have destroyed adults and children.  Why look for a princess, doubt the choice, if you can solve the problem simply - destroy everyone!  For a spy who walked among his compatriots, it was important to prevent such an outcome.  Still, people he had known since childhood were walking with him now.  Yes, and to be honest, the spy doubted that if the Mongol army overtook a handful of fugitives, he would be left alive.  If the spy could figure out which of the children was the princess, then the problem would be solved.  Somewhere at rest, the spy would have quietly killed the princess, and left a signal flag and the princess's breastplate in a tree, indicating that the chase could be abandoned because the princess of the Jurchen Empire was now dead.  But the spy, no matter how hard he tried, could not figure out which of the children was the princess.  The children were in a terrible state, dirty, ragged, hungry, they wandered after adults. A distinctive feature of the boys of the Jurchen Empire was always long hair gathered in a bun, but before fleeing, the shaman ordered the parents to shave all the children baldly. Nobody dared to disobey, and now it was  it is not immediately clear whether the spy is facing a girl or a boy.  First of all, the spy's suspicion fell on the giant Wang Li.  The giant was carrying eight children in four knapsacks.  It was announced to people that these eight children could not walk on their own, they were so weak and sick that a soldier of the Jurchen army, the giant Wang Li, took care of them.  Spy, I won’t reveal his name to you yet, I won’t even tell you his gender, because, as you understand, not only a man, but also a woman could be a spy, I understood that the princess could be not only in the giant’s knapsack, she could  to be among those children who, with their last strength, were now following adults.  When the children were weak, they were picked up, but not for long.  Adults - women, old men and women, also walked at the limit of their strength.
4.
The capitals of the Jurchen Empire were not only on the territory of the present Primorsky Territory.  Several capitals were located in China, in the current province of Jilin, and also not far from Harbin, that is, in the province of Heilongjian.
 From time to time, the emperor traveled around the capitals to check if everything was in order.  Thus, the emperor tried to prevent conspiracies against his majesty, and also punished the stealing officials.  Any inhabitant of the empire could submit a petition to the emperor against the offender. In those days when the emperor visited one of the capitals, people crowded around the chamber of justice from the night demanding to punish the offenders.  It was golden time!
 Of course, everything happened, but the emperor dreamed of becoming a father and the sun of the empire for his subjects!  Own children were strict and did not receive concessions from their father.  The emperor in question had 9 sons from his wives and concubines, but he had only one daughter.  The baby was born weak, and the brothers, as well as all the imperial relatives, did not look for souls in her. Then the Mongols invaded the land of the Jurchens, the war could not be avoided.  The brothers fought on a par with the emperor.  One day, one unfortunate morning, all the princes were killed, and the emperor was mortally wounded.  The Empress died of illness two months earlier.  To save the lives of other wives and concubines, the emperor ordered his women to get out of the besieged city as best they could.  Someone managed to grab the jewelry, and someone ran just like that.  And so it happened that of the entire imperial family, only a small, sick and weak girl remained in the world.Let's go back to our fugitives that I left in the first chapter.
 Ahead, a dim glow appeared, which rippled and from which waves of dark, matte light went.  A detachment of exhausted people had already reached the glow, when screams and rattling of weapons were heard somewhere far away, probably right at the entrance to the dungeon.  The chase overtook the fugitives.
 Wang Li, who, along with his burden and the woman Aileen, walked last, quickened his pace a little.  He was no stranger to walking for longer distances, but the problem was that the children began to wake up, they tossed and turned in knapsacks and began to whimper. Finally, Wang Li also reached the limits of the bird stone.  The stone was warm.  The old people who were frozen in the dungeon tried to warm their hands, and they succeeded!  People anxiously turned their heads, but did not budge, they were waiting for the decision of Wang Li, who was recognized as the unspoken leader.
 - Hush! - Wang Li put his finger to his mouth, - calm the children.
 After a few seconds there was silence.
 “Unfortunately, we cannot stay here for long, although the emperor appointed this place as the first stop.  We must go further.  They have found us and probably hope to destroy us. I see that you have no more strength.  If someone is especially ill, then I will take this person in my arms.
 “But what about the children?” a quiet voice was heard from the crowd of people.
 - I will distribute the children, I will leave only two for myself, these children are so weak that they cannot walk at all.  Well, is there someone who can't walk at all?
 The soldier's answer was only silence.
 "Well," the soldier sighed, "then let's go!"
 The fugitives went farther and farther, and the chase could not overtake them.  Why?  I will talk about this in the next chapter.
Now it's raining outside and not just rain, but a downpour.  Once again, it seems, the third) announced a storm warning.  A huge number of villages in Primorsky Krai and the city of Ussuriysk were in the water.  The video on Instagram shows how young people frolic and swim where only a few days ago there were roads and sidewalks.
 Then, in a stuffy August, in the distant distant past, when the Mongols came to the land of the Jurchens, the weather was about the same.  The invaders did not attach any importance to the beginning of the rain.  But what happened next thwarted their plans.  It rained continuously for a whole week, the capital of the empire went under water, terrible streams of water carried away the Mongols.  The head of the shamans, leaving with the deceased emperor to the valley of death, opened the floodgates.  Water no longer soaked into the ground, it became a formidable weapon that defeated the invaders.  A week later, the water left, the towers of the imperial palace appeared.  But there was no one to rob the palace and the houses of the townspeople.  And then the sun came out.
5.
And where are our fugitives?  Yes, still here, in the dungeon.  Wang Li understood that he had to hurry, but he felt sorry for the old people, who were tired and were warming themselves near the bird's stone.
 - Wang Li, - the same voice was suddenly heard from the crowd, - where are you going to go?  Before us is a wall that blocks the passage!  Where did you take us?  Do you want us to die?
 -It can't be! -the giant looked around, -It's true, the wall!  Wait, here's the map, the general handed it to me before leaving.  Look!
 Several people approached the giant.  At this time, the child was crying.  One of the Eileen twins slept all the way and woke up just now.  Now all eight children have woken up completely from the sleeping grass.
 At that moment, the unthinkable happened!  The wall trembled and crumbled into small pebbles.
 The path has been opened!
 -Look!  Look!  Miracle! - people began to chatter, - The wall disappeared!  Let's go!
 -Stop! -The man was still hiding in the shadows, but his voice had already gained strength, -What if this is a trap?  I would not recommend going there!
 -Who are you? -Eileen stepped forward, -I don't recognize your voice!  Show yourself!  It's not the first time you've tried to stop us from moving on!  Show yourself!
 However, the voice subsided, the owner hid among the crowd.
 “That's right,” the giant hid the map in his bag. “These marks: the bird stone, the lake and the gate, were left on the map by Emperor Aguda.  Who dared to doubt? - Wang Li belatedly raised his voice - do not hide!
 At that moment, a rumble shook the dungeon.
 Wang Li fell to his knees
 -Sorry, I forgot!  I won't speak out loud anymore.
 Following the giant, everyone knelt down.  Finally, the rumble subsided and the fugitives moved forward, to where the lake of truth was waiting for them.
 As soon as the fugitives moved quite far from the stone of the bird, the rumble was heard again.  The stone wall again blocked the space of the dungeon, but the fugitives did not even suspect this.When the pursuers approached the stone bird, they did not find anyone.  There was no further way!
 -Where are they? -the chief's face was distorted, -what will I tell the khan?
 Maybe they didn't come down here?
 -They were here!  The spy tag doesn't lie!  Did you see the blue rope on the tree branch near the entrance to this hole?
 - Yes, yes, - those who came with the chief began to chatter, - we saw it!
 - Nui, - the chief turned to one of the soldiers, - do you see, the stone is a bird?
 -Yes, chief!
 - In the beak of a stone bird, something is turning white, maybe it seems to me, of course, but ... Get me this!
 - I'll do it now, chief!
 The Mongolian soldier rushed to obey the order, but the very next minute a scream shook the cave.
 -It hurts, I'm on fire!  Help!
 The hands of a soldier named Nu were covered in blisters.  The burn from the stone of the bird turned out to be no joke.
 However, the commander did not even move his ear.  Calling another soldier, he ordered to carry out the order.
 The second soldier decided to be smart, he approached the stone bird, took out an arrow and tried to pick up what was in the beak of the stone bird, but he could not resist and fell on his stomach on the stone.  Now two of them were screaming in pain.  The commander called the injured soldiers idiots and dunces, but he himself was in no hurry to approach the stone.  Time passed, the soldiers continued to shout, finally the chief got tired of it and he gave the order to turn back.  The commander understood that for failure to comply with the order, something worse awaited him than burns, but there was no way out.  The fugitives have disappeared.
6.
Was amazing, but the path from the stone of the bird to Lake Truth appeared to the travelers. The fact that old men and old women stopped moaning his role. Those who managed to warm up the bird of the bird, even walking ahead of everyone. Older people forgot suddenly about pain and felt great! The rest of the travelers also cheered up. Of course, people did not know that the pursuit of them was discontinued, but something in the air gave hope that today it will not be for them the last. If I still didn't say you, I will say now, the travelers did not have a light source, and the way to the stone of the birds were in the dark, but the closer they approached the Lake Truth, the better you saw everything that surrounds them around. Earthy arch in this place was not solid and passed day rays. Everything was fine, the only thing that the travelers worked now is that the children cried and stronger and asked for food. The Giant persuaded people to suffer, he knew that in no case could it be stopped until they reach the Lake Truth. To help the trails, in addition to eight children, the giant is still four more. These children felt themselves now by the mute, nobody granted on them, and they were not forced to go on foot. The feet in children were wounded, their shoes had long swatched and born. Parents of those children whom Wove Lee Ness in Kotomoki from the very Imperial City were offered to gloach already to the earth for the earth so that they walked themselves. Wang Lee and I would like to do this, but he understood that then he would have to take out of the cat and the princess, and this was categorically impossible to do this. First, it would be found that the girl had no parents here, and secondly, the princess was so weak, which could not make five steps. That is why the giant continued to drag his hard nos. Parents of children were grateful, but were surprised that the Giant stubbornly continued to reject their proposals. Finally, the air warmed so much that people began to dump clothes. This meant that the lake of the truth is completely close. Couples from the lake stood all around. Having passed a few more steps, people finally understood, soon you can relax. However, it took another fifteen minutes. Finally, people fell without power, the lakeside was in front of them. Rested long, about two hours. All reserves that remained in Kotomoki, people posted on a common, improvised table. There was nothing to hide and hide. People decided, it is unknown what will happen next, so let this dinner will satisfy at least children. There was little water, but it was impossible to do anything here.
The water was divided fairly, between the oldest and the youngest.  The giant generally refused food and water.  After two hours, the crossing over the lake of truth began.  In the beginning, everything was fine, people calmly crossed the warm water, the bottom of the lake was sandy, and the transition promised to be comfortable.  So, in general, it happened. Wang Li distributed the children to their parents, because the lake of truth, every person, no matter whether he was an adult or a child, had to cross with his own feet. Eileen knew the secret of the princess, Wang Li was forced to share with a woman, he needed although  one ally.  The woman was the wife of his deceased friend, and the giant was confident in her as in himself. Wang Li was the last to go, the princess also stepped uncertainly into the water. But she could not go far, taking a few steps, she almost fell into the lake.  However, a few steps were enough for the lake to understand what kind of person was in front of him.  After the princess fell, Wang Li wiped the girl's legs and put her back in the knapsack.  And then he began his transition.  However, the giant did not have time to go far.  The clouds of steam suddenly thickened even more and lightning began to sparkle in them.  Suddenly a man appeared in front of the giant.  Wang Li did not personally know this person, he only saw him from afar several times.  The man was wrapped in a cloak with a deep hood all the time and it was impossible to see his face.  The giant was dumbfounded, the man was not alone, he held a knife at the woman's throat.  The man's face was purple and coughing shook his body, but nevertheless, the man's hand was firm, the knife he held at the woman's throat was Mongolian.  Seeing this knife, the giant realized that he had a spy in front of him, about which the general warned him when he gave the card.  The spy could not cross the lake of truth, and did not find anything better than to take hostage a woman who did not let go of her child's hand.
7.
 - What do you want? - Wang Li asked the kidnapper, - let the woman go, take me hostage!
 - Stop!  - the kidnapper shouted, - one more step and the woman will turn into a corpse!  I'll kill her and the baby!
 - Well, - the giant lowered his tone to calm the kidnapper, - you see, my hands are empty, I step back.
 - No, you will also go with me, but from behind, at a distance!
 Why do you need this woman?
 -I do not need her!  She's just a maid! I need a girl!  See, she's the only one with long hair!  She also wears a ribbon of imperial house flowers!
 “No,” the woman who was taken hostage suddenly screamed, “this is my daughter and she is not a princess!”
 -Don't lie, and don't twitch! You're just a servant! Stop yelling, otherwise I'll kill you right away!  I don't need you, I need a girl! - and the kidnapper tried to snatch the child's hand from the mother's hands.  However, he was not very comfortable doing this because he continued to hold the knife at the woman's throat.
 Wang Li finally understood the situation.  The woman who was now held hostage returned from a neighboring village just at the moment when it was decided to take the remaining inhabitants of the empire to a secret city.  By this time, the priest who cut the children's hair had already left, and the girl's hair remained uncut.  The woman and the girl were from a noble family.  The heiress of the family was not used to walking with bare hair, but the escape, as you know, lasted several days, the fugitives wandered through the taiga, dusty roads, burning fields and gloomy thickets, there was no time for hairstyles.  Gradually, all hairpins, hairpins and ribbons were lost.  The girl suffered and cried, her hair was tangled and clung to the branches. The rest of the fugitives looked reproachfully at the girl's mother, but she could not do anything, the daughter suffered and complained loudly.  Finally, at one of the micro halts, the princess, who woke up from the crying of the girl, touched the giant on the shoulder
 - Sir, I have a ribbon, my hair will not grow soon, so give the ribbon to this girl!  I feel sorry for the girl!
 The giant gratefully accepted the gift.  The mother braided the girl's braid, secured it with her hairpins, and finally her daughter calmed down.
 This is probably why the spy made the wrong decision, he thought that the girl was a princess, and the woman was a servant or maid of honor.
8.
- We have already moved quite far from the lake of truth, - the giant turned to the kidnapper again, - I would still like to know where we are going and what do you want?
 - You have no right to be the first to ask a question, here I decide whether to answer you or not, but so be it, I will answer.
 We're going back to the exit from here.  Everything will become easier when we pass the stone bird.
 - Well, - Wang Li agreed, - But if you want me to go with you meekly, answer my questions.
 “You cursed soldier who caused my family to suffer, how dare you dictate your terms to me?  If it wasn't for you, if it wasn't for people like you, if it wasn't for your damn emperor...
 The kidnapper coughed, the hostage looked at Wang Li, but he shook his head.
 This signal meant that it was not yet time.  The hostage nodded her head, she even stroked her daughter's head, because she was afraid that the child would start crying.  And no wonder, a girl accustomed to living in luxury, accustomed to not bothering her legs, because she was always carried in a palanquin, over the past few days she has covered an incredible number of kilometers and realized what it is when you run away from death, and death catches up with you.  However, now the girl was silent, she was so tired that she did not even have the strength to rebel.
 The kidnapper finally came to his senses.
 - What did you get up? - he rudely turned to those whom he forced to go along with him by force, - thought I would give up?  Don't wait!
 They walked in silence.  The giant pressed the princess to him and thought hard about something.  Finally, according to his calculations, the light of the bird's stone should have already appeared, but there was no light, it only got darker, people had been walking in complete darkness for a long time.  The kidnapper walked in front, in front of him he led a woman, to whose neck the knife was still attached.  The fact that there is a wall ahead was an unpleasant surprise for the kidnapper.  He hit the wall and loosened his grip, but the hostage was so tired that she did not even immediately take advantage of this circumstance.
 But Wang Li quickly understood everything.  The giant's eyes were accustomed to the darkness, and he quickly got his bearings!  Grabbing the woman by the hand, he took a few steps back from the kidnapper.
 Now it's time for the giant to dictate his terms.  The kidnapper was raging, brandishing a knife in the dark and shouting.
 - I kill you all!  Let me out of here if I don't bring the princess talisman, the Mongols will kill my husband and children!  Let me out of here, give me the princess!  This is rubbish, this heiress of a rotten family, still not a tenant, why do my three children and my husband have to die?  Hear me, let me out of here!  Give me the princess!
 The giant relaxed, apparently, the spy, or rather, the spy, lost her last mind, hitting the wall.The fugitives turned back, they walked hurriedly to where, beyond the lake of truth, the rest were waiting for them.  They heard the spy's cries for a long time, but finally it began to lighten up, and the cries subsided.  The woman relaxed, the giant carried her daughter, and the girl fell asleep.  The woman hoped that time would erase from her daughter's memory all the horrors that she had to endure.  In the meantime, now, the woman's daughter was asleep, as was the little princess.
9.
 - I won't tell anyone! - the woman broke the silence
 “What don’t you tell me, madam?” the giant straightened his shoulder bag.
 - I will not tell anyone that the princess is sleeping in your bag.
 - Thank you, lady! But I think that the time of secrets has passed.  I hope there was only one spy.
 -When the baby grows up, I will begin to introduce her to the palace etiquette.  I was a lady-in-waiting to the emperor's third wife.
 - Oh, Buddha!  - the giant smiled, - you are so supportive of the princess!  Thank you ma'am!
 -We are indebted to the princess for the ribbon she shared, and this debt will never be repaid!  I heard the princess is sick?
 Yes, she has weak legs, she hardly walks.
 - It will be necessary to ask people if there is a doctor among those who left with us! And they also say that it helps from weakness in the legs ...
 The woman talked and talked, it seemed that she had already forgotten about the horrors of the last hours. Wang Li looked askance at the energetic woman, he liked the fact that she immediately took the bull by the horns, but still, the giant would prefer that decisions were not made so quickly  .
 When they reached the lake of truth, they had to wake up the girls and dip their legs into the lake, there was no other way.  After that, the princess again fell asleep in the arms of the giant, and the woman's daughter decided to go herself.  She slept well and ran forward.  The red gates appeared as dusk fell on the ground.  It got dark here, in the dungeon.  People started clamoring when they saw the woman, the children, and Wang Li.
 Eileen was especially happy, the last few hours were very unsettling.
 The red gates were loosely closed, however, they opened with a slight push.  There was a sign above the gate, which was crowned with the inscription: "Traveler, you are entering the glorious city of Zhen"
 Having passed the first gate, the travelers immediately found themselves in front of the second.  There was no inscription above the second gate, it was just a gate that let tired travelers into the secret city.
10.
Although the people were able to rest, the children, who were literally exhausted, needed help.  Entering the gates of the secret city, the giant realized that the children needed to be saved.  Children simply fell from fatigue and malnutrition.  Fortunately, Wang Li knew salvation was near!  As soon as the travelers entered the city, the shutters opened in the dome, which looked like the night sky.  The night air of the upper world dispersed the accumulated dust, cobwebs and dampness.  At the same time, lamps were lit throughout the city.  There were many lamps, they lit up over every house, and there were also lamps at every crossroads.  The giant invited people to choose their homes.  Those who could not go, he ordered to respond and promised his help.  A murmur was heard - the fountains began to work and at the same time, huge, shiny barrels began to fill with life-giving water.  The giant, as he could, helped people.  For those who did not have the strength, he brought life-giving water from barrels.  People who, having drunk water, received energy, helped those who could no longer even sit down.  Water, which was in shiny barrels, could not, of course, replace food, but could temporarily replenish a person’s strength and energy.  Finally, the square in front of the gate was almost empty.  Each family received a house in which they were to spend the night.  The underground city was huge.  The inhabitants of all three capitals could fit here, and there would still be room.  So, I have already said that by the time it was midnight, the area in front of the gate was almost empty.  Right now, only Eileen and her children and Wang Li and the princess were here.  After a brief consultation, Wang Li decided that the princess would spend that night with Eileen and her children.  When Eileen suggested this option to the giant, he did not object.  Wang Li understood that a woman knows better the needs of a little girl.  However, when the giant handed the little princess Xi into the hands of Eileen, the girl began to cry.  After stroking the baby's head, Wang Li smiled and walked out of the house with a determined step.  The house that Eileen chose was right next to the house where the giant decided to live.
 After washing himself with water from the fountain, the giant scooped up water from the barrel with his large palm.  The water tasted amazing!  Entering the house, the giant looked around.  The triangular yurt-like house was brightly lit as soon as Wang Li lifted the curtain and entered.  The house was empty; there were only walls and floors.  Wang Li was ready for it.  Fortunately, the floor in the house was warm.  It was like heaven!  The giant lay down on the floor and dozed off.  But he couldn't sleep.  The canopy lifted and Alyn entered the house.  The princess cried in her sleep and called for her savior.  It even seemed to Eileen that the baby had a fever.Having driven away the remnants of sleep, the giant sighed and left the house.  The princess didn't really sleep.  Her eyes shone feverishly, and she wept softly.  And the baby started coughing.  Wang Li filled a flask of water from a barrel.  The water was cold, so he placed the flask between his clothes and his heart.  When it seemed to him that the water had warmed up a little, he gradually, a few drops, began to pour water into his small mouth.  The girl clutched the man in a death grip.  Sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, the giant and the princess fell asleep.
11.
 The giant woke up abruptly, as if from a jolt.  He felt like someone was calling him.  However, everyone was asleep.  Dawn was slowly creeping into the secret city.  The baby slept uneasily, she sobbed and called her father, but she rarely coughed.  Lightly touching Eileen's shoulder, the giant waited until the woman wakes up and only then put the princess in her arms.  As he left the house, he looked back.  The lights went out as the dawn brightly illuminated every detail in the sleeping city.  Taking out a map and a short explanation from the general, Wang Li turned around his axis several times.  The subject of his interest were tree trunks, which now did not even have branches.  The houses formed a figure of eight, that is, behind one fence, in one yard there were two houses.  Around the perimeter of the fence, the yards were planted with strange trees without branches.  And now let me introduce you to the trees that grew only in this area.  I'm talking about Butramousse trees.  The trees in question did not grow only here in the secret city, these trees also grew above, above the secret city.  However, up there, these trees grew in a natural setting.  That is, they bloomed in spring, fruited in summer, and slept in autumn and winter.  Here, in the secret city, the trees took root with great difficulty.  To obtain fruit from such trees, it was necessary to make an effort.  Fortunately, the trees were unpretentious, and the effort that a person had to make was minimal.  Once again checking the map, the giant Wang Li filled a flask of water from a life-giving spring, and simply watered the trunk of one of the trees.  After that, a miracle happened.  Shoots sprouted from the trunk.  The shoots immediately revived with foliage.  And that was not all.  The giant poured water on the barrel for the second time.  The shoots became flexible and soft, and then began to wrap around the trunk in a circle, striving for the top.  Having reached the top, the shoots formed something similar to a nest.  When the giant watered the trunk for the third time, the tree was adorned with fruits.  It was a tree that was famous for its apples even in China. So, the apples hung from the branches, and the giant breathed a sigh of relief - the threat of famine had passed.  One apple was enough to feed an entire family.  The conversation is about those apples that hung from the branches.  At the very top of the tree, in the recess of the nest, which appeared due to the fact that the branches aspired to the sun, lay another apple - a giant fruit.  Yes, it was also the fruit of the Butramousse tree, however, this fruit acted not only as a source of food, but also as an aphrodisiac.  The person who ate this fruit was saturated with so much energy that ...However, if I start to develop this topic, I will have to go back to the story when the village of Butramousse was on the territory of this place.  But, I don't want to do that.  If you are interested, you can read this story for yourself.  I will only add that, for the extract from the giant fruit of the Butramuss tree, shamans and healers from the harems of Chinese emperors hunted.
 Wang Li lifted his head, that's right, the giant fruit was at the very top of the tree, it smelled sweet and attracted insects.  However, the giant was not now concerned about this fruit, he was thinking about whether there would be enough apples that hang from the branches for all the travelers.  He came to the conclusion that it was not enough and got down to business again.  By the time the fugitives woke up, about thirty trees were already green near the houses and their branches were sagging under the weight of the fruits of the Butramousse apple tree.
12.
I already wrote that Zhen Underground City was huge.  It was possible to enter the underground city from several sides.  To be precise, there were four gates.  However, all paths led to one place, to a huge square on which stood the majestic temple of the Jurchen people.  Near the temple was a strange structure.  The people called this building the scales of time.  At first glance, the scales of time were a rather awkward structure.  They were huge, their size was amazing.  If we correlate the scales of time with modern buildings, then the height of these scales corresponded to about a five-story building.  However, when a person approached the scales of time, the cups of the scales fell down.  The heroes of my already written books entered the underground city of Zhen from different sides.  I already wrote that the city was incredibly huge, moreover, in front of different travelers, the city turned in different, sometimes quite unexpected, facets.  Glass galleries, labyrinths, greenhouses, magic mirrors, books of time, Buddhist temples - travelers could see all this when they entered the city, or they could ... And not see it.  When the city was founded, sorcerers, geomancers, shamans, and soothsayers were invited.  Prince Aguda listened to everyone.  A lot of ideas have since been brought to life.  But the main purpose of the underground city, as I said, was to protect travelers in trouble.The stone bird and the wall of coincidences were in a single copy.  But there were four lakes, as well as gates.  Unfortunately, not a single fugitive or traveler could subsequently tell how he got into the secret city.  The scales of time erased all memories.  Therefore, you, my dear readers, will have to take my word for it.  So I repeat, before the various fugitives who entered the gates of the underground city, the secret city of Zhen appeared in a different form.  So this time, the underground city opened up to the satellites with that facet that I meet for the first time.  But let's get it right.  When people woke up and left their houses, it turned out that not everyone could endure the hardships of the journey.  Several dozen people got sick.  When we left Xuping, there were about three hundred people at the beginning of the journey.  When they had gone several kilometers, ten people refused to go any further.  These were two families who believed that the unknown that lay ahead of them was worse than the Mongol army.  Wang Li tried to dissuade people, but they did not listen to him and returned back.  Twenty more people refused to go further when they saw an abandoned village where no one lived now.  These people decided that they could live happily in an abandoned village without fear of any threats.  270 people, or rather 269 people, reached the secret city of Zheng, not counting the Mongol spy.  So, I repeat, together with their leader, the giant Wang Li, there were now 269 people in the secret city.  The giant wanted to gather everyone who came to the city with him and talk, but it turned out that several dozen people were seriously ill.  The giant believed in the magical power of water from barrels, and asked the audience to drink small sips of those who fell ill with this water, and those who fell ill ate Butramuss apples.  By evening, there were no patients left.  Water and apples really had healing powers.  Even the little princess Xi tried to keep up with the other children when the children had a common game. The giant decided that it was time to finally talk.  He was about to begin his speech and unroll the scroll that the general had given him, but Wang Li's speech was interrupted.  Several women laughed and pointed somewhere sideways and down.  Lady Ming, a lady who was a lady-in-waiting to one of the imperial wives, stumbled upon a hot spring bath while walking.  It was there that she called the women now, but Wang Li suddenly became furious.  To be heard, the giant had to strain his voice.-Stop!  I answer to the emperor for every life.  Danger can lie in wait for the ignorant even here in the secret city.  There are several black spots on this map,” Wang Li held up the map above his head.  This means that you cannot go to these places categorically.  Only dedicated people, when laying the city, knew what was in these places.
 The people quieted down.
 - We walked for so long, we overcame so many obstacles to survive, - the giant calmed down and began to speak more quietly, - each of you is valuable to me, I don't want to lose you!
 “I'm sorry, sir,” Ms. Ming lowered her eyes, “I didn't mean to endanger anyone.  Could you show me if there is a bath that I found on the map, and I would like to believe that the bath is not blacked out.
 Ms. Ming's expectations were confirmed, the bath was on the map, and luckily it wasn't blacked out.
 The giant relented. The idea occurred to him that the baths are exactly the place where everyone can gather and, after bathing, talk.
13.
 This was the fourth flood in a row.  However, the leader of the Mongols still doubted and did not give a signal to retreat.  The fourth flood was the most powerful.  It caused a lot of trouble.  More than half of the Mongol army was washed away by powerful streams of water.  Horses, people, carts, ammunition - everything has sunk into obscurity.  The leader of the Mongols bit his lips in rage, but could not do anything.  Chirik - that was the name of the Mongol soldiers, it was their common, collective name, I will give the same name to their leader.  The sun was setting.  Here, on a hill, it was not so dangerous, but something terrible happened below.  Water at breakneck speed carried away everything that the Mongol army was proud of.  Chirik was waiting for those whom he sent after the fugitives.  However, all deadlines have already passed, and his people did not return.  The leader was confused in conjectures, but the simplest solution did not occur to him.  He could not even imagine that the few soldiers he sent after the fugitives decided not to return.  The soldiers understood what awaited them if they returned without the princess and, therefore, simply decided to hide for the time being.  This land was wild and unexplored, and there was simply no chance of finding people who did not want to be found.  Chirik was also a forced person, and he also understood that if the princess was not delivered to the khan, then death awaited him.  I think it's time to explain why the khan was so eager for the death of a small, sick girl.  The fact is that a long time ago, an old shaman, before he died, made a prediction for the khan.  According to the prophecy, the Khan will die if he does not destroy the entire family of the Jurchen Emperor.  As you know, only the little princess Xi remained from the whole family of the emperor, there were simply no other heirs now, they all died on the battlefield.  That is why so many Mongolian troops were pulled into this wild land.  Almost the entire empire of the Jurchens was destroyed, but the leader of the Mongols did not achieve the main goal - the princess remained alive.
- Sir, - Chirik's thoughts were interrupted by one of the soldiers, - what to do with the hostages?
 “Are they still alive?” the general grimaced.
 - Yes, you know, we are waiting for news from the spy. Kill the hostages?
 -Yes.  However, stop!  Why waste arrows?!
 -I don't understand!
 -It's simple.  We'll just leave them here.  That's how it is now, connected.  Weather, hunger, thirst and wild animals will deal with them.
 -But what if the spy still arrives with the message?
 -Won't arrive.  In any case, not in the near future.  A report has just come in that we are cut off from the place where our soldiers and spy have gone.  Water washed away bridges, crossings and crossings, rockfall and earth descent completed the work of rain.  The water is rising too fast!
 -Then what to do?
 -What to do?  What to do... Well, give the signal to retreat!  We need to leave before the water blocks our path completely.