Chapter 39: Zhao Liang the Racer

Guo Kang felt that the excuse he had improvised on the spot was quite awkward, but since it was enough to smooth things over with everyone, there was no need to dwell on it.

If one were to truly investigate, many things would be impossible to clarify, and they likely wouldn't conform to the definitions of this era anyway. But that was meaningless.

The Romans were very familiar with the concept of dogma. When the empire was strong, who was orthodox and who was heretical was merely a matter of a single word from the Emperor.

Grand Lama Wang and his companions were well-versed in the history of Nestorianism. Nestorianism had split away precisely because its doctrines were incompatible with the "orthodoxy" of Christianity at the time. One of the main differences was their opposition to the veneration of icons.

However, after Nestorianism reached the Tang Dynasty and received the Emperor's favor, they were permitted to display and offer sacrifices to portraits of the late emperors. At that point, the Nestorians showed no desire to destroy these icons; on the contrary, they were moved to tears, boasting daily about how many portraits of emperors they possessed and what an honor it was, never mentioning the issue of idol worship again.

Therefore, everyone understood the nature of dogma perfectly well. Rather than exhausting oneself trying to align one's words with existing doctrine, it was better to find a way to make Rome stronger and turn one's own words into the new dogma—wasn't that exactly what the old scholars and theologians in the Constantinople Academy were kept for?

Thinking of this, Guo Kang no longer felt embarrassed. He looked at the still-dazed Grand Lama Wang and reminded him, "Master Wang, please continue."

"Oh, right." Grand Lama Wang hurriedly replied. He pondered for a moment and said, "This time, the main purpose is to introduce the changes in the situation surrounding the Ming Dynasty so that everyone can judge how we should adjust our diplomatic direction."

"However, because the distance is so vast, much of the information has been passed down by word of mouth and may not be accurate. As it happens, I have an informant who has some commercial dealings with the East. Shall I invite him to present it to everyone?"

"Is this person reliable?" his adoptive father finally spoke up and asked.

"He is reliable. He is Zhao Liang, the chariot racer who has been making a name for himself in the Great Hippodrome over the past two years," said Grand Lama Wang. "He is of Jurchen descent and has frequent contact with merchants from the East. He has also been inquiring about his hometown for some time. His information might be more accurate than what we could gather in haste."

"Then give the order to let him in," the Empress said.

Grand Lama Wang flicked his horsetail whisk and bowed in gratitude. He gestured toward the door, and the Kheshig guards relayed the command. A moment later, a somewhat reserved young man walked in.

"You are the Jurchen Zhao Liang?" the adoptive father asked.

"I am Zhao Liang, but I am actually not a Jurchen," Zhao Liang argued. "My family genealogy says our ancestors were members of the Song imperial family captured by the Jurchens and taken to Wuguo City—possibly Emperor Huizong himself. I am actually Han."

"Uh..." the adoptive father paused, stunned.

This statement from Zhao Liang sounded very strange, but no one could refute it.

Later historical records liked to emphasize the humiliation suffered by the two Emperors, Huizong and Qinzong, but unfortunately, the perspective of the parties involved seemed quite different. Along the journey, the Jurchens were barbaric and rude, and the entourage suffered heavy casualties; many of the emperors' concubines and palace maids committed suicide to escape humiliation. But these things had a very limited impact on Huizong.

After arriving in Wuguo City, Huizong wrote over a thousand poems, held poetry gatherings, and painted; his life seemed passably comfortable. He also had 19 children with his remaining wives and concubines—five were the children of Jurchens, and the other 14 were his.

Neither Huizong nor the Jurchens cared much about this, and there was no attempt to hide it. Thus, this record should be credible. Combined with Qinzong's four children, the total was not a small number.

Although Wuguo City was a place of bitter cold and the two were fallen monarchs, their lives were far better than those of ordinary Han or local Jurchen civilians.

The two emperors were clearly well aware of this, so their assessment of their own status was quite accurate. They never empathized with the common people and did not take the suffering of their subjects or consorts to heart, maintaining an excellent state of mind. Under these circumstances, leaving behind a large family was not entirely unexpected.

Therefore, his family legend had some credibility.

Besides, Guo Kang couldn't exactly dig up Emperor Huizong's grave and use some omnipotent internal energy to perform DNA testing on them. Since that was impossible, there was no way to falsify the man's claim.

"Is this person famous?" Shi Ke, who had never shown interest in entertainment, couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Very famous. The Greeks love chariot racing; you must have heard of that, right?" Li Xuanying, who often socialized in the city, was clearly more familiar with the scene than Guo Kang. Seeing that Guo Kang didn't answer immediately, he interjected, "These people would start a riot just for a chariot race."

"I've heard of that. And then?" Shi Ke pressed.

"And this person is the hottest racer right now," Li Xuanying explained. "During the annual tournament the year before last, they had a dispute with another team. It turned out the rival team's backer was from the Italian Tang Sect. They were ruthless and vicious—they directly killed his racing horses and threw their heads into the inn where he was staying."

He had told Guo Kang about this incident before.

The so-called "Tang Sect" was one of the five most influential martial arts factions in modern Rome, originating from Italy. It was said that the predecessor of this sect was the "Mafia" that appeared during the Sicilian Vespers in 1282. Later, they came into contact with some Italian upper-class nobles, gaining their sponsorship and utility, and thus developed.

In their organization, ordinary members addressed the sect elders as "Your Excellency," which was "Don" in the local language. The people of the Roman Khanate initially thought this was a title for the organization, so they called them the Tang Sect, and it eventually became a habit.

Because they spent years poisoning and assassinating each other, these people developed various techniques for hidden weapons and poisons, earning the reputation of being the "Western Poison."

"Offending those people is indeed quite unlucky," Guo Kang commented.

"But the man has talent," Li Xuanying said. "Even without his racing horses, Zhao Liang insisted on competing. Time was tight, and he couldn't even find spare horses, so he simply had his partners find a few donkeys to substitute."

"The audience and his opponents thought it was a joke, but the donkey cart actually sped away, leaving behind a crowd of opponents riding fine horses, and he won the championship."

"The audience believed this could no longer be described as a miraculous performance by a racer; it was simply an Eastern miracle. Even his opponents and the Tang Sect were left dumbfounded. After that, he became famous overnight."

"In that case... his claim to be a descendant of the Song Emperor is probably true," Shi Ke commented after a moment of silence.