They Came In Haste With Ahmad At
Their Head, And As He Entered The Palace Wangchu Struck Him Heavily With A
Copper Mace And Stretched Him Dead.
Wangchu was arrested, or according to
one account surrendered, though he might easily have escaped, confident
that the Crown Prince would save his life.
Intelligence was sent off to
Kublai, who received it at Chaghan-Nor. (See Book I. ch. lx.) He
immediately despatched officers to arrest the guilty and bring them to
justice. Wangchu, Chang-y, and Kao Hoshang were publicly executed at the
Old City; Wangchu dying like a hero, and maintaining that he had done the
Empire an important service which would yet be acknowledged. (De Mailla,
IX. 412-413; Gaubil, 193-194; D'Ohsson, II. 470.) [Cf. G. Phillips,
in T'oung-Pao, I. p. 220. - H. C.]
NOTE 5. - And it is a pleasant fact that Messer Marco's presence, and his
upright conduct upon this occasion, have not been forgotten in the Chinese
Annals: "The Emperor having returned from Chaghan-Nor to Shangtu, desired
POLO, Assessor of the Privy Council, to explain the reasons which had led
Wangchu to commit this murder. Polo spoke with boldness of the crimes and
oppressions of Ahama (Ahmad), which had rendered him an object of
detestation throughout the Empire. The Emperor's eyes were opened, and he
praised the courage of Wangchu. He complained that those who surrounded
him, in abstaining from admonishing him of what was going on, had thought
more of their fear of displeasing the Minister than of the interests of
the State." By Kublai's order, the body of Ahmad was taken up, his head
was cut off and publicly exposed, and his body cast to the dogs.
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