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040 - Book Second Part 1 Chapters 25 to 28 Concerning the twelve barons who are set over all the affairs o · The Travels of Marco Polo, Volume 1

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  Speaker 1: Section forty of the Book of Sir Marco Polo, the
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  Speaker 1: Venetian concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, Volume one.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Anna Roberts. The Book
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  Speaker 1: of Sir Marco Polo, the Venetian concerning the Kingdoms and
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  Speaker 1: Marvels of the East, Volume one by Rusticello de Pisa,
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  Speaker 1: translated by Henry Yule. Book second Part one, Chapter twenty five,
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  Speaker 1: concerning the twelve Barons who are set over all the
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  Speaker 1: affairs of the Great Khan. You must know that the
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  Speaker 1: Great Khan Hath chosen twelve great barons to whom he
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  Speaker 1: Hath committed all the necessary affairs of thirty four great provinces,
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  Speaker 1: and now I will tell you particulars about them and
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  Speaker 1: their establishments. You must know that these twelve barons reside
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  Speaker 1: altogether in a very rich and handsome palace, which is
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  Speaker 1: inside the city of cambelluc and consists of a variety
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  Speaker 1: of edifices with many suites of apartments. To every province
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  Speaker 1: is assigned a judge and several clerks, and all reside
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  Speaker 1: in this palace, where each has his separate quarters. These
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  Speaker 1: judges and clerks administer all the affairs of the provinces
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  Speaker 1: to which they are attached, under the direction of the
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  Speaker 1: twelve Barons. Howbeit when an affair is of very great importance,
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  Speaker 1: the twelve barons lay in before the Emperor, and he
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  Speaker 1: decides as he thinks best. But the power of those
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  Speaker 1: twelve barons is so great that they choose the governors
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  Speaker 1: for all those thirty four great provinces that I have mentioned,
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  Speaker 1: And only after they have chosen do they inform the
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  Speaker 1: Emperor of their choice. This he confirms and grants to
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  Speaker 1: the person nominated a tablet of gold, such as is
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  Speaker 1: appropriate to the rank of his government. Those twelve barons
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  Speaker 1: also have such authority that they can dispose of the
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  Speaker 1: movements of the forces, and send them whither and in
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  Speaker 1: such strength as they please. This is done, indeed, with
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  Speaker 1: the Emperor's cognizance, but still the orders are issued on
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  Speaker 1: their authority. They are styled Shiang, which is as much
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  Speaker 1: as to say, the Supreme Court, and the palace where
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  Speaker 1: they abide is also called Shiang. This body forms the
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  Speaker 1: highest authority at the court of the Great Khan, and
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  Speaker 1: indeed they can favor and advance whom they will. I
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  Speaker 1: will not now name the thirty four provinces to you,
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  Speaker 1: because they will be spoken of in detail in the
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  Speaker 1: course of this book, Chapter twenty six, how the Khans
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  Speaker 1: posts and runners are sped through many lands and provinces.
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  Speaker 1: Now you must know that from this city of Kambaluk
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  Speaker 1: precede many roads and highways leading to a variety of provinces,
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  Speaker 1: one to one province, another to another. And each road
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  Speaker 1: receives the name of the province to which it leads.
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  Speaker 1: And it is a very sensible plan. And the messengers
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  Speaker 1: of the Emperor, in traveling from Kambaluk be the road,
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  Speaker 1: whichsoever they will find at every twenty five miles of
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  Speaker 1: the journey a station which they call yam, or, as
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  Speaker 1: we would say, the horse post house. And at each
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  Speaker 1: of these stations used by the messengers there is a
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  Speaker 1: large and handsome building for them to put up at
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  Speaker 1: in which they find all the rooms furnished with fine
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  Speaker 1: beds and all other necessary articles in rich silk, and
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  Speaker 1: where they are provided with everything they can want. If
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  Speaker 1: even a king were to arrive at one of these,
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  Speaker 1: he would find himself well lodged. At some of these stations, moreover,
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  Speaker 1: there shall be posted some four hundred horses standing ready
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  Speaker 1: for the use of the messengers. At others there shall
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  Speaker 1: be two hundred, according to the requirements and to what
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  Speaker 1: the Emperor has established in each case, at every twenty
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  Speaker 1: five miles, as I said, or anyhow, at every thirty miles,
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  Speaker 1: you find one of these stations on all the principal
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  Speaker 1: highways leading to the different provincial governments, and the same
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  Speaker 1: as the case throughout all the chief provinces subject to
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  Speaker 1: the Great Khan. Even when the messengers have to pass
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  Speaker 1: through a roadless tract where neither house nor hostel exists,
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  Speaker 1: still there the station houses have been established just the same,
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  Speaker 1: excepting that the intervals are somewhat greater, and the day's
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  Speaker 1: journey is fixed at thirty five to forty five miles
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  Speaker 1: instead of twenty five to thirty. But they are provided
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  Speaker 1: with horses and all the other necessaries just like those
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  Speaker 1: we have described. So that the Emperor's messengers come, they
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  Speaker 1: from what region they may find everything ready for them,
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  Speaker 1: and in sooth. This is a thing done on the
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  Speaker 1: greatest scale of magnificence that ever was seen. Never had emperor,
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  Speaker 1: king or lord such wealth as this manifests. For it
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  Speaker 1: is a fact that on all these posts taken together,
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  Speaker 1: there are more than three hundred thousand horses kept up,
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  Speaker 1: especially for the use of the messengers. And the great
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  Speaker 1: buildings that I have mentioned are more than ten thousand
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  Speaker 1: in number, all richly furnished. As I told you, the
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  Speaker 1: thing is on a scale so wonderful and costly that
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  Speaker 1: it is hard to bring oneself to describe it. But
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  Speaker 1: now I will tell you another thing that I had forgotten,
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  Speaker 1: but which ought to be told. Whilst I am on
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  Speaker 1: this subject, you must know that, by the Great Khan's orders,
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  Speaker 1: there has been established between these post houses, at every
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  Speaker 1: interval of three miles, a little fort with some forty
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  Speaker 1: houses round about it, in which dowell the people who
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  Speaker 1: act as the amer foot runners. Every one of those
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  Speaker 1: runners wears a great wide belt set all over with bells,
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  Speaker 1: so that as they run the three miles from post
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  Speaker 1: to post, their bells are heard jingling a long way off,
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  Speaker 1: And thus on reaching the post, the runner finds another
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  Speaker 1: man similarly equipped and all ready to take his place,
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  Speaker 1: who instantly takes over whatsoever he has in charge, and
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  Speaker 1: with it receives a slip of paper from the clerk,
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  Speaker 1: who is always at hand for the purpose. And so
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  Speaker 1: the new man sets off and runs his three miles.
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  Speaker 1: At the next station he finds his relief ready in
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  Speaker 1: like manner, and so the post proceeds with a change
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  Speaker 1: at every three miles. And in this way the Emperor,
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  Speaker 1: who has an immense number of these runners, receives dispatches
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  Speaker 1: with news from places ten days journey off in one
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  Speaker 1: day a night, or if need be, news from a
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  Speaker 1: hundred days off in ten days and nights. And that
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  Speaker 1: is no small matter. In fact, in the fruit season,
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  Speaker 1: many a time fruit shall be gathered one morning in Campbellouke,
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  Speaker 1: and the evening of the next day it shall reach
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  Speaker 1: the Great Khan at Chandu, a distance of ten days journey.
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  Speaker 1: The clerk at each of the posts notes the time
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  Speaker 1: of each courier's arrival and departure. And there are often
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  Speaker 1: other officers whose business it is to make monthly visitations
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  Speaker 1: of all the posts, and to punish those runners who
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  Speaker 1: have been slack in their work. The Emperor exempts these
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  Speaker 1: men from all tribute and pays them besides Moreover, there
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  Speaker 1: are also at those stations other men equipped similarly with
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  Speaker 1: girdles hung with bells, who are employed for expresses when
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  Speaker 1: there is a call for great haste in sending dispatches
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  Speaker 1: to any governor of a province, or to give news
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  Speaker 1: when any baron has revolted, or in other such emergencies.
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  Speaker 1: And these men travel a good two hundred or two
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty miles in the day, and as much
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  Speaker 1: in the night. I'll tell you how it stands. They
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  Speaker 1: take a horse from those at the station, which are
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  Speaker 1: standing ready, saddled all fresh and in wind and mount
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  Speaker 1: and go at full speed as hard as they can
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  Speaker 1: ride in fact, and when those at the next post
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  Speaker 1: hear the bells, they get ready and a nod other
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  Speaker 1: horse and a man equipped in the same way, and
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  Speaker 1: he takes over the letter or whatever it be, and
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  Speaker 1: is off full speed to the third station, where again
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  Speaker 1: a fresh horse is found already. And so the dispatch
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  Speaker 1: speeds along from post to post, always at full gallop,
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  Speaker 1: with regular change of horses, and the speed at which
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  Speaker 1: they go is marvelous. By night, however, they cannot go
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  Speaker 1: so fast as by day, because they have to be
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  Speaker 1: accompanied by footmen with torches who could not keep up
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  Speaker 1: with them at full speed. Those men are highly prized,
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  Speaker 1: and they could never do it, did they not bind
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  Speaker 1: hard the stomach, chest and head with strong bands. And
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  Speaker 1: each of them carries with him a ger falcon tablet
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  Speaker 1: insign that he is bound on an urgent express, so
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  Speaker 1: that if perchance his horse break down, or he meet
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  Speaker 1: with other mishap whomsoever he may fall in with on
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  Speaker 1: the road, he is empowered to make him dismount and
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  Speaker 1: give up his horse. Nobody dares refuse in such a case,
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  Speaker 1: so that the courier hath always a good fresh nag
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  Speaker 1: to carry him. Now, all these numbers a pus. Those
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  Speaker 1: horses cost the Emperor nothing at all, And I will
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  Speaker 1: tell you the how and the why. Every city, or
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  Speaker 1: village or hamlet that stands near one of those post
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  Speaker 1: stations has a fixed demand made on it for as
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  Speaker 1: many horses as it can supply. In these it must
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  Speaker 1: furnish to the post, And in this way are provided
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  Speaker 1: all the posts of the cities, as well as the
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  Speaker 1: towns and villages round about them. Only in unhabited tracks
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  Speaker 1: the horses are furnished at the expense of the Emperor himself.
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  Speaker 1: Nor do the cities maintain the full number, say, of
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  Speaker 1: four hundred horses always of their station. But month by month,
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  Speaker 1: two hundred shall be kept at the station, and the
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  Speaker 1: other two hundred at grass, coming in their turn to
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  Speaker 1: relieve the first two hundred. And if there chance to
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  Speaker 1: be some river or lake to be passed by the
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  Speaker 1: runners and horse posts, the neighboring cities are bound to
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  Speaker 1: keep three or four boats in constant readiness for the purpose.
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  Speaker 1: And now I will tell you of the great bounty
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  Speaker 1: exercised by the Emperor towards his people twice a year,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven. How the Emperor bestows help on his
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  Speaker 1: people when they are afflicted with death or moraine. Now
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  Speaker 1: you must know that the Emperor sends his messengers over
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  Speaker 1: all his lands and kingdoms and provinces to ascertain from
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  Speaker 1: his officers if the people are afflicted by any dearth,
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  Speaker 1: through unfavorable seasons, or storms, or locusts, or other like calamity.
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  Speaker 1: And from those who have suffered in this way, no
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  Speaker 1: taxes are exacted for that year. Nay more, he causes
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  Speaker 1: them to be supplied with corn of his own for
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  Speaker 1: food and seed. Now this is undoubtedly a great bounty
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  Speaker 1: on his part. And when winter comes he causes inquiry
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  Speaker 1: to be made as to those who have lost their cattle,
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  Speaker 1: whether by moraine or other mishap, and such persons not
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  Speaker 1: only go scot free, but get presents of cattle. And thus,
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  Speaker 1: as I tell you, the Lord every year helps and
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  Speaker 1: fosters the people subject to him. There is another trait
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  Speaker 1: of the Great Khan, I should tell you, and that
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  Speaker 1: is that if a chance shot from his bow strike
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  Speaker 1: any herd or flock, whether belonging to one person or
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  Speaker 1: to many, and however big the flock may be, he
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  Speaker 1: takes no tithe thereof for three years. In like manner,
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  Speaker 1: if the arrows strike a boat full of goods, that
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  Speaker 1: boat load pays no duty, for it is thought unlucky
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  Speaker 1: that an arrow strike any one's property, And the Great
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  Speaker 1: Khan says it would be an abomination before God were
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  Speaker 1: such property that has been struck by the divine wrath
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  Speaker 1: to enter into his treasury. Chapter twenty eight, how the
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  Speaker 1: Great Khan causes trees to be planted by the highways.
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  Speaker 1: The Emperor moreover hath taken order that all the highways
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  Speaker 1: traveled by his messengers and the people generally should be
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  Speaker 1: planted with rows of great trees a few paces apart.
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  Speaker 1: And thus these trees are visible a long way off,
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  Speaker 1: and no one can miss the way by day or night.
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  Speaker 1: Even the roads through uninhabited tracts are thus planted. And
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  Speaker 1: it is the greatest possible soulaced travelers. And this is
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  Speaker 1: done on all the ways where it can be of service.
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  Speaker 1: The Great Khan plants these trees all the more readily
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  Speaker 1: because his astrologers and diveners tell him that he who
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  Speaker 1: plants trees lives long. But where the ground is so
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  Speaker 1: sandy and desert that trees will not grow. He causes
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  Speaker 1: other landmarks, pillars, or stones to be set up to
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  Speaker 1: show the way. End of Section forty