24th January – 3900bc
"Ah, smell that?" Xi says, smiling at me. We sniff the air, and the pleasant smell of Vanilla enters our nostrils. "That's the smell of the incense farms outside of Beijing. In our shrines and temples, we have lots of incense burning. We believe this pleases the gods." Xi exclaims.
"So, basically, we are nearly there?" Franco asks rudely. Xi stares at him in shock, but nods. I mouth the words "be nice" to Franco. Franco seems to be slightly afraid of Foreigners. We do not know what to call this irrational fear, but it will come to us eventually.
After many minutes of climbing an incredibly steep hill, we gain sight of the wondrous city Beijing. The only similarities between Paris and Beijing are the large, spiked walls. But that's where the comparisons end. Beijing has many large pagodas, each towering high above the other. A large winding river seems to flow right through the centre of Beijing. It's such a beautiful and peaceful sight.
Well, scratch that.
It was peaceful until all the citizens began to scream. "Barbarians!" They shout, as the workers rush into the city limits and some warriors carrying a different kind of weapon, this weapon seems to be a large stick with a sharpened stone on the end, march out onto the field. They prepare for battle.
Xi and Franco rush out to the Chinese 'spearmen', and greet them. I walk slowly behind, partly because it would be un-professional to run, and that hill was REALLY steep.
As I catch up to the group, it seems as though Xi has already recalled what has happened to his scouting party. That must be why he has fresh tears rolling slowly down his cheek.
"Xi?" yells out a spearman from one of the rows at the back. Xi, looking confused, turns his direction to the spearman. A man runs out of formation, and runs to Xi. They hug in a warm embrace. They must be family.
"Xi! I thought we lost you! Everyone thought we lost you! Oh, Muqin will be so glad you are still alive!" The man says. Xi and the man look incredibly similar, with the same colour eyes, hair, and skin tone. It seems as though each family shares this trait. Dunno why.
"Chi, my trip was so long… so tiring… so difficult! If it wasn't for the benevolent French, then I wouldn't even be standing here!" He bursts out, smiling at me in particular.
In a near instant, all of the soldiers, including Chi, bow down right to the floor. Franco and I look oddly at the Chinese spearmen, but in a mere second, it all becomes clear.
A beautiful woman, in glimmering red and gold robes, comes walking slowly towards us. She makes even me, in my pristine light blue uniform, look like a peasant from the streets. Franco and I share confused looks.
The lady, flicking her long, shimmering black hair back, strides toward us. She bows in respect to me, and I smile at her.
"Greetings. I am Wu Zetian, Empress of China. China seeks peaceful coexistence and fair trade, but will respond forcefully to aggression. We hope you are of like mind." She says, smiling at me. "Welcome to the glorious city of Beijing. May I ask for your name?"
"Ah, yes. I am Lord Napoleon, Emperor of France. I am loyal to my friends, but death to my enemies. I hope you are a friend." I say, smiling. I shake her hand, and she leads me forward. We enter Beijing.
It seems that all citizens, no matter age or status, bow to the empress whenever they see her. It really is magnificent, and I begin to wonder if I should follow her in footsteps with adopting more policies.
We walk into a magnificent square, full of banners with some writing that I do not recognize. It must only be speech that we can understand. As I walk further into the square, I notice carts full of supplies. Many people are trading goods. I ask one merchant if I can buy an incense stick, but he says that I can have it free of charge.
Fantastic. It does smell nice.
Me and Franco enter the palace, and immediately notice that the architecture is incredibly different to the Parisian style. Beautiful walls, with beautiful works of art. It truly is magnificent.
Wu Zetian opens a door, and ushers me in.