Mengjiang’s Revenue
Madhavi Chakravorty, Group 2: Fiction, French International School
he year was 210 BC. The powerful Emperor Qin Shi Huang had been ruling over China for more than
15
years, but he was troubled by the tough tribal fighters from the North, the Xiongnu. They sneaked in
and attacking his army constantly. Fifteen years ago, when he unified the Warring Tribes and became
Emperor, he had ordered the Great Wall to be built specially to defend the North. He thought that it
would be finished in a few years. But now, 15 years later, there were still huge gaps. The Wall was
simply taking too long to be built! “Prime Minister Li,” he said one day, “why is the building of the
wall taking forever? It must be finished at once!”. “But emperor,” said Li Si, “we simply cannot find enough
criminals and soldiers to build fast enough”. “Then force the people to volunteer,” said the Emperor.
T
It was thus, that the Emperor’s men reached the beautiful village of Huang Da Hai on the Yellow Sea. “All
men are to assemble on the beach at once!” said the menacing head soldier. “What do you want?” said the
villagers. “All able bodied men are to report to me at once!” he shouted. “They will go to build the Great Wall
for the Emperor, and will be back in a few seasons with a lot of gold. The Emperor himself has promised this,”
he said. “You have no choice! If you do not come, we will send you to jail!” he yelled. Like all the young men,
Zhi Peng, the village teacher went with the soldiers. His beautiful wife, Mengjiang, like all the other wives in
the village, was sad, but hoped for the best.
Many years passed, but there was no word of the men of Huang Da Hai. Eventually, the villagers lost hope.
One day, a worn-out and starving man staggered into the village. “O villagers! Don’t you recognize me?” he
cried weakly. “I am Wei Long!” “Wei Long, what has happened to you? Why are you so thin? Where is your
hair? Where are the others? Where is the gold?” yelled the villagers, crowding around him. “It was all a lie, a
big lie! The Emperor lied to us!” he wept. “We had neither food, nor drink, and were made to work for most of
each day. If we did not work, they beat us and starved us,” he cried. “Many died in front of my eyes! They made
us dig holes to bury them where they fell. It was horrible, terrible!” he wept. “I managed to escape on a
moonless night, and made my way here by sheer luck,” he said. Hearing this, the villagers began to cry
disconsolately. But Mengjiang was quiet. “I will take revenge on the Emperor,” she said.
The next day, she took directions from Wei Long, and set out for the Great Wall. She had to travel for many
days, on foot, on ox-cart, on horseback, and on mule-back. Strangers were kind to her when they heard her sad
story, and gave her food and shelter.
At the Great Wall, there were scenes of utter confusion. Soldiers and labourers were milling around, and a big
platform was being built. “The Emperor himself will visit in a few days to inspect the wall!” shouted a gigantic
soldier with many medals. “Get to work at once! No sleep until the wall is finished! I will kill the sleepers with
my bare hands!” he threatened. In the meantime, Mengjiang started searching the burial holes which were
shallow and had been made quickly. She could see the remains easily. It took her a day and half to find a hole
with the skeleton of Zhi Peng. She identified it from the ring on its finger. Finally, she who had been strong for
so long, broke down and cried incessantly through the night.
At daybreak there was a big hubbub. The Emperor had arrived! He was a mean looking scoundrel, dressed in
fine clothes and wearing many jewels. He stood on the platform with his big sword. “This is good, very good!”
he said in a high, squeaky voice. “Keep up the good work!” As he got to the platform, his eyes fell on
Mengjiang. “What a beauty you are! Come with me. I will marry you and make you a queen in my palace!” he
said.
Mengjiang said “O Emperor ! I am mourning my husband, who has been killed under this Great Wall by your
cruel soldiers. I will come with you, only if you make a promise to give a grand burial to my husband and if you
allow me to visit the sea before our marriage!!!” The Emperor was not used to making promises, but such was
the beauty of Mengjiang and so greedy was he that he could not resist. “I agree,” he said.
A grand burial was held for Zhi Peng that very day, and a big tomb with fancy marble was built on the spot.
Priests were called, and incense was burnt to bless his spirit. The Emperor then took Mengjiang to the sea by
horseback himself. When she reached the sea, she flung herself into the waters crying “Now you will learn what
it is like to lose someone you love, you nasty Emperor!” The Emperor made his soldiers dive into the waters to
find her, but no matter how hard, or how long they tried, they couldn’t find any trace of her. The sad Emperor
wept at his loss, and went back to Xiangyang, a sad and broken man. He never recovered and died in a few years,
the Great Wall still incomplete.
As for Mengjiang, she had been swept away by the tide into the secret underwater palace of the Pearl Goddess,
which none could find. There she lived out the rest of her days, contended to have achieved her goal. The
villagers built a temple for her on the beach at Huang Da Hai.