Chapter Eleven: The Fortress City

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“We’re here.” Shang Luo stopped before the city gate.

The shadow of the high walls stretched across the street, while the gate tower blocked out the sunlight. The world inside the passage was far livelier than the one outside, but several barrier arms blocked the entrance.

A plaque bearing the words “Garrison City” hung from the gate tower. Behind it, a red flag with a yellow sun flew from the flagpole. It was not the national flag, but a watch flag, signifying that the gate was open. The practice was highly traditional, though not everything here was.

The outer face of the city wall had been coated in white cement. Bricks that had stood for several centuries were sealed beneath it, and the gate tower had been rebuilt in reinforced concrete in place of timber. Only the upturned eaves remained, preserved symbolically as decoration.

Barrier arms stood at both ends of the passage, and both had been lowered. Guards wearing rigid-crowned helmets stood at the entrance. The character “Valor” emblazoned on the center of one helmet marked him as a soldier of the garrison. He belonged to the Imperial Army.

“Ah, Mr. Shang. I still need to see your identification, please.” The guard did not raise his rifle to stop him. He knew Shang Luo well; he had been the one to let him in yesterday to “perform the ritual.” This was merely routine, to verify that Shang Luo was authorized to enter the city.

“One moment.” Shang Luo took a red document from the pouch at his waist. Every page had been bound with xuan paper. The cover bore the four gilt characters “Nanjing Ministry of Revenue,” written in ninefold seal script.

Shang Luo had no intention of producing the token Governor Lu had given him the day before. A Brocade Guard token was far too conspicuous. His own identification was sufficient to get through the gate. He would save the token for entering the library.

The guard took the document, turned to the page containing his personal information, and compared the portrait with Shang Luo’s face.

After returning the identification, the guard picked up the telephone hanging on the wall and called out a sentence into it.

The barrier arm slowly rose. He hung up the telephone and said, “All clear. Go on in. But I’ll have to escort you inside.”

The two men stood by the entrance, watching the barrier rise inch by inch.

“By the way, hasn’t your garrison unit reached the time when you’re supposed to return?”

“Not yet. We of the East-Pacifying Garrison are still waiting for the Left Henghai Garrison to relieve us. Something seems to have happened along the eastern coast. As a precaution, they’re temporarily installing some kind of equipment—that’s what the rumors say, anyway. Things really haven’t been peaceful lately, you know? Don’t tell anyone, but someone was kidnapped yesterday!”

“Oh? I heard about that. Scared the life out of me. What happened to the victim?”

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“Tsk. Apparently they were scared half to death. But the kidnappers were wiped out by the Brocade Guards last night. They clearly had no idea what the word ‘death’ meant. The moment the Brocade Guards arrived, something like this happened, and the governor-general was so furious he smashed his ashtray.”

“Come to think of it, what are the Brocade Guards here for?” Shang Luo had no intention of continuing the discussion about the state of his own soul.

“Who knows? I hear they’re here to investigate a case. Under this bright sky and clear daylight, where could there possibly be a case to investigate apart from a few shortsighted petty thieves? My guess is that someone impeached the governor-general, so the court sent the Brocade Guards to arrest him. Tsk. With all this commotion, our terms of service are going to be extended.”

“Ah…” Shang Luo suddenly felt somewhat guilty. It was not his fault, strictly speaking, but the matter had still arisen because of him. He had caused the man to remain stationed outside for so much longer, and he did feel a little apologetic.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” The guard shook his head. “I’m in no hurry anyway. Overtime counts toward our service term, and every extra stretch we work means several more years of rest afterward. All right, the gate is fine. Let’s go in.”

Old San Francisco Garrison City was a square district covering only four square kilometers, yet it contained thirty percent of the population of the entire city of San Francisco. Three concrete defensive walls divided the inner world from the outer one. Within the walls, Imperial law was enforced; beyond them, the authorities took no responsibility at all. The side facing the sea had no wall, for that was the anchorage of the Yangzhou Navy.

Far from the mainland, Old San Francisco Garrison City was a full-service military settlement. Eighty percent of its permanent residents were military households or artisan households. The forty-one-story Golden Gate Building stood beside the garrison city’s northern gate. It had been constructed by Construction Bureau Four of the Ministry of Works, with an exterior fashioned from red brick, glass curtain walls, and blue-green glazed tiles. The fourteen-story podium housed the Golden Gate Hotel, while the twenty-seven-story tower above had been leased by the Yangzhou Governor-General’s Office.

“By the way, what are we having for lunch today?” Once they had passed through the gate, the entire Golden Gate Hotel came into view. The sight of the building made Shang Luo feel a little hungry, but then he remembered that every meal there consisted of turnips and felt less hungry again.

“The usual: turnip-braised meat and turnip steamed buns. The same old turnip convention. And I wouldn’t recommend eating there at this hour. The Brocade Guards are having their meal right now.”

“I happen to be looking for them. Someone left a pocket watch there to be repaired.”

“Ah… Ah, I see.” The guard gave him an awkward smile, then fell silent.

[Why did he stop talking?]

“Because he thinks I might be a Brocade Guard spy, looking for incriminating evidence against the governor-general. He doesn’t want to get involved. Never mind. I know this place better than he does.”

[So you can eat here for free?]

“Military households and artisan households can. We’ve been sent here from Yangzhou on official business, so the court provides our meals. Civilian households have to pay because they came here on their own, and the court doesn’t feed them. The dining hall is on the second floor of the Golden Gate Hotel. Show your identification and you can eat. I remember coming here often when I was young… Well, I suppose it counts as being young. When I was a child, I used to call this place Turnip Tower.”

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[It really does look like one. The exterior is red, but the roof is covered in blue-green glazed tiles. It looks just like a turnip.]

“I mean that they always serve turnips here. Outside the city, the farms grow nothing but wheat and turnips.” He sniffed the air. “Hmm… Just as I thought. Turnips again. I can smell braised turnips from the first floor. This is what I used to eat when I was a child.”

The faint scent of turnips grew stronger. The meal was ready. Downstairs in the Golden Gate Building, the diners had yet to arrive, and the revolving doors stood motionless.

Since there was a security inspection at the entrance, Shang Luo handed the little pouch containing Apollonia to the guard for safekeeping. He then climbed onto the two-tiered pedestal of the Foundation Building and entered through the revolving doors.

Seconds slipped by.

[I wonder how they’re doing now… Father, did I do the right thing?]

Apollonia turned her gaze toward the sky—but reality soon forced her to draw her attention back.

A powerful sense of danger jolted her awake. She had no idea where it came from, for there appeared to be no threatening targets nearby. The only people present were a group emerging from the Golden Gate Building, dressed in short jackets with their trouser legs wrapped in gaiters. They carried no weapons and seemed to have just finished eating. The scent of turnips still lingered in their mouths.

The man at the very front was none other than Lu Huaiyang, whom they had encountered the day before. He had just finished lunch.

The group came out through the entrance, descended the steps of the two-tiered pedestal, and passed by Apollonia.

“Hmm?” Lu Huaiyang suddenly stopped.

“What is it, Master?”

“Nothing. I ate too much turnip-braised meat and feel a little bloated. Where’s your pocket watch? Has Little Shang not brought it yet?”

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