Ice and Fire: Chung Kuo Series Read Free Page B

tall, elderly and very upright, his staff held in front of
     him like an unflagged mast. It was ebb tide and the current was in their favour. Ben
     kept the boat midstream,
     enjoying the warmth of the midday sun on his bare shoulders, the feel of the mild
     sea breeze in his hair. He felt drowsy, for one rare moment almost lapsed out of consciousness,
     then Meg’s
     cry brought him back to himself.
    ‘Look!’
    Meg was pointing out towards the far shore. Ben shipped oars and turned to look. There,
     stretching from the foreshore to the Wall, was a solid line of soldiers. Slowly, methodically,
     they moved
     between the trees and over the rough-grassed, uneven ground, making sure nothing slipped
     between them. It was their third sweep of the Domain and their last. What was not
     caught this time would be
     gassed.
    Peng Yu-wei cleared his throat, his head held slightly forward in a gesture of respect
     to his two charges.
    ‘What is it, Teacher Peng?’ Ben asked coldly, turning to face him. Lessons had ended
     an hour back. This now was their time and Peng, though chaperone for this excursion,
     had no
     authority over the master and mistress outside his classroom.
    ‘Forgive me, young master, I wish only to make an observation.’
    Meg turned, careful not to make the boat tilt and sway, and looked up at Peng Yu-wei,
     then back at Ben. She knew how much Ben resented the imposition of a teacher. He liked
     to make his own
     discoveries and follow his own direction, but their father had insisted upon a more
     rigorous approach. What Ben did in his own time was up to him, but in the morning
     classes he was to do as Peng
     Yu-wei instructed; learn what Peng Yu-wei asked him to learn. With some reluctance
     Ben had agreed, but only on the understanding that outside the classroom the teacher
     was not to speak without his
     express permission.
    ‘You understand what Teacher Peng really is?’ he had said to Meg when they were alone
     one time. ‘He’s their means of keeping tabs on me. Of controlling what I know and
     what I learn. He’s bit and bridle, ball and chain, a rope to tether me like any other
     animal.’
    His bitterness had surprised her. ‘Surely not,’ she had answered. ‘Father wouldn’t
     want that, would he?’
    Ben had not answered, only looked away, the bitterness in his face unchanged.
    Now some of that bitterness was back as he looked at Teacher Peng. ‘Make your observation
     then. But be brief.’
    Peng Yu-wei bowed, then turned his head, looking across at the soldiers who were now
     level with them. One frail, thin hand went up to pull at his wispy grey goatee, the
     other moved slightly on
     the staff, inclining it towards the distant line of men. ‘This whole business seems
     most cumbersome, would you not agree, Master Ben?’
    Ben’s eyes never left the teacher’s face. ‘Not cumbersome. Inefficient’s a better
     word.’
    Teacher Peng looked back at him and bowed slightly, corrected. ‘Which is why I felt
     it could be made much easier.’
    Meg saw the impatience in Ben’s face and looked down. No good would come of this.
    ‘You had best tell me
how
, Teacher Peng.’ The note of sarcasm in Ben’s voice was bordering on outright rudeness
     now. Even so, Peng Yu-wei seemed not to notice. He merely
     bowed and continued.
    ‘It occurs to me that, before returning the animals to the land again, a trace could
     be put inside each animal. Then, if this happened again, it would be a simple thing
     to account for each
     animal. Theft and disease would both be far easier to control.’
    Peng Yu-wei looked up at his twelve-year-old charge expectantly, but Ben was silent.
    ‘Well, master?’ he asked after a moment. ‘What do you think of my idea?’
    Ben looked away. He lifted the oars and began to pull at them again, digging heavily
     into the water to his right, bringing the boat back onto a straight course. He looked
     back at the
     teacher.
    ‘It’s a hideous idea, Peng Yu-wei.