Chapter 42 Chapter Forty

The pharaoh's special meeting is held after the early morning worship ceremony.The sun was blazing, and everywhere people were looking for shade.Some fat officials were dripping with big drops of sweat, and they had to be fanned when they moved a little. Fortunately, it was cool in the king's drawing-room, and those high windows were justly designed to bring in waves of air that made the place pleasant.The king was informal, wearing only a plain white robe, while several ministers competed with each other.The Prime Minister, the High Priests of Memphis and Elio, and the Commander of the Desert Security Garrison all attended this special meeting.

Ramses sat on his father's right, watching those people carefully.Some are timid, some are worried, some are bragging, some are meditating... All kinds of people gather here, under the authority of Pharaoh.Only the authority of Pharaoh could maintain the harmony of all, without which they might have ostracized each other. "Desert Guard Commander has sad news," Seti said, "ask him to report." This senior official is about sixty years old and has gone through all the official ranks to reach the pinnacle.Taciturn and shrewd, he knew every byway in the eastern and western deserts, and was responsible for keeping the caravans and miners' expeditions safe across those open areas.He has no ambitions for glory, only to enjoy a peaceful retirement in his Aswan turf.He was not often invited to speak on such a solemn occasion, and everyone listened carefully to his report.

"The gold mining team that set out to the eastern part of the desert a month ago has disappeared." There was a long silence after this staggering report, and Seth's lightning was no longer powerful.The high priest of Ptah asked the king to speak, and the king agreed. According to the rules of the meeting, he could speak only with the king's consent, and everyone was not allowed to interrupt others' conversation while listening to the speech.Regardless of the subject matter, no noise is allowed.Finding the right solution starts with respecting the ideas of others. "Are you sure about the reliability of this news?"

"Alas, yes. Usually, the progress of such expeditions is regularly kept in touch with me by a series of relay units, but I have lost track of them for several days." "Has this ever happened?" "Yes, during times of turmoil." "A Bedouin attack?" "It's not possible in that area, we check very closely." "Unlikely or impossible?" "No tribe can keep this expedition from disappearing, and there is a mobile and experienced vigilante team protecting the gold prospectors." "What is your hypothesis?" "I'm not assuming anything, but I'm concerned."

The gold of the desert is dedicated to the temple - "the skin of the gods", an incorruptible raw material, and a symbol of eternal life, which adds an incomparable brilliance to the work of the craftsman.As for the government, it is used as a means of payment for certain imported goods, or as a diplomatic gift to foreign monarchs to maintain peace.Any interference with the extraction of this precious raw material will be severely punished. "What do you think should be done?" Pharaoh asked the commander of the garrison for his opinion. "Don't waste time, send troops immediately."

"I will lead the procession," Seti announced, "and the Regent will accompany me." The special session adopted this decision.Xie Na has been avoiding speaking, only privately cheering up his brother and promising that the materials will be prepared and can be processed as soon as Ramses returns. On the twentieth day of the third month of the ninth year of Seti's reign, a powerful expeditionary army of 4,000 people, led by Seti and the regent, walked on the scorching desert to the north of Edgar City and Proceed more than a hundred kilometers south of the trail leading to the Ouadi Hammamet quarry.This place is near Uad Mia, the place from which the last news came back to Memphis.

The reports were unremarkable and contained no alarming news, and the gold prospectors seemed to be in good spirits, as did the health of all the travelers.The clerk did not indicate that any surprises would occur. Seti kept his army on alert around the clock, and despite assurances from the chief of the desert guard that he had his best troops at his side, he feared that the Bedouins would come crashing down from the Sinai Peninsula.Looting and massacre are the Bedouin's habitual way of survival. The sudden and frenzied assault exposed the most brutal criminal features of their leaders.

"How do you feel, Ramses?" "The desert is beautiful, but I'm in a bad mood." "What did you see over the dunes?" The Prince Regent was attentive.With a strange, almost otherworldly look in his eyes, Seti surveyed Aswan to discover another new quarry. "My vision was blocked... there was nothing behind those tall sand dunes." "Yes, nothing. An empty scene of a horrible death." Ramses trembled. "Is it a Bedouin?" "No, a more insidious and ruthless murderer." "Should we prepare for war?" "no need."

Ramses held back the fear, even though it had gripped his throat.What kind of enemy made the gold prospector a victim?If it were a monster of the desert, as the common soldier believed, no human weapon could defeat it; those winged beasts, with huge claws, would not give them a moment to strike back before tearing the flesh from their opponents. Chance. Before climbing the dunes, all the horses, donkeys and personnel drank enough water. The hot weather did not allow intermittent rest, and their drinking water was about to run out.Within three kilometers, they will come across a large well in the area, and they will be able to fill their sheepskin bags with water.

Three hours before sundown, the troops set out on their way, crossing the dunes without much difficulty.Immediately, there appeared the Nari Well, which was hewn out of large rocks and covered under the foothills where the gold mines were buried. The gold prospectors and the troops protecting them are not missing.They were all there, by the well, on the hot sand, face down or basking in the sun.Blackened and bloody tongues protruded from their open mouths. No one was rescued. Most of the soldiers were frightened and ran back.Seti ordered the camp to be set up and put on the alert, as if the camp was threatened with a surprise attack; then he ordered the soldiers to dig graves for those who had lost their lives.The straw mats they used for travel happened to be the shrouds of the victims, and the king personally presided over the ceremony of salvation and resurrection.

The funeral was held in a calm atmosphere after the sun had set to ease the nervousness of the soldiers.The expedition's medic went to Seti. "What was the cause of death?" the king asked him. "Thirsty, Your Majesty." The king then went to the well which was guarded by his personal guards, for the cool and refreshing water one always hopes for when camping. This large well was filled with stones up to its mouth. "Let's clean it up," Ramses proposed. Seti agreed. Seti's personal guards went to work without disturbing the main force.The group displayed impressive efficiency, with Ramses in charge of scheduling and morale. As the full moon illuminated the bottom of the well, the corporals watched exhaustedly as the regent lowered a heavy amphora by a rope.Although impatient, he worked slowly, avoiding breaking the urn. The amphora was filled with water, and the regent showed it to the king.The king smelled it, but did not drink it. "Find someone to go down to the bottom of the well." Ramses tied the rope under his armpit and tied a strong knot. He asked the four soldiers to hold on to the other end of the rope tightly. Not at all risky.At two meters above the water, the moonlight allowed him to see the bodies of several donkeys floating.He climbed up in utter disappointment. "The water in the well is polluted," he murmured. Seti poured the water from the urn into the sand. "Our compatriots were all poisoned to death by drinking the water from this well, and then a murder squad, probably Bedouins, filled it with stones." The king, the regent, and all the members of the expedition were affected, and had they set out for the valley at once, they would have died of thirst before reaching the plain. "Go to sleep," Seti demanded, "and I will pray to our mother that the sky is full of stars." Early in the morning, news of the tragedy spread like wildfire, and no soldier was allowed to fill the disappointingly empty sheepskin bag. A yelling man tried to muster his companions, and Ramesses blocked him in the way.The infantryman, afraid of being trapped here, shook his fist at the regent, and Ramesses grabbed him by the wrist and ordered him to kneel. "Losing your cool will kill you early." "There's no water..." "Pharaoh is with us, have faith." No other riots occurred.Ramses addressed the entire army: "We have a map of this place, it shows some military secrets, it points out other routes to ancient wells, some of which still have water. Drinking water across half of the desert. We only have persistence and courage, temporarily hide in a shady place, don't waste energy." Ramses set off with a dozen people and six donkeys with empty sheepskin bags hanging from them.One veteran was careful not to drink up his water, and the group shared the last of it after their lips had been moistened with morning dew. Soon, every step became a torment, the heat and the sand burning the heart, but Ramses was walking fast, and he didn't want to see his companion collapse.There is nothing in everyone's mind but a cool well. The first road no longer exists, the desert wind has buried it, and if you continue blindly in this direction, you will kill yourself.The second road led to a cul-de-sac, a dry riverbed, and the cartographer wasn't doing his job right.At the end of the third road, there is a circle of dry stones!They rushed forward in a swarm, but fell down by the well that had been covered with sand for a long time. Although this famous map is labeled as "military secret", it is actually nothing more than a trap.Perhaps ten years ago it was accurate, and then some lazy clerk only sketched it casually without checking it exactly, and his successors followed suit. Facing Seti, Ramses did not argue, his expression answered for him. It has been ten hours and the soldiers have not touched a drop of water.The king addressed the officers: "The sun is in the middle of the day," he observed, "and Ramesses and I went to find the water. When the shadows of the sun begin to slant we shall return." Seti climbed the hill.Despite his youth, it took some effort for Ramses to keep up with him, then imitate his father's footsteps.Seti carried only one thing with him: two smooth acacia branches stripped of their bark, tightly bound at each end with a piece of twine. The rubble rolled down around their feet, kicking up a cloud of hot dust, and Ramses, panting like a cow, finally joined his father at the top of the hill.The desert scene was stunning, and the King Regent enjoyed the view for a few minutes before the lingering parched mouth reminded him that the desert was a cemetery. Seti shook the two acacia branches in front of him to separate them, and soon they folded smoothly together again.He walked around very slowly with them, and suddenly, the magic wand broke free from his hands, snapped, and jumped several meters away from him. Ramses picked it up and gave it to his father, and they walked down the hill together.Seti stopped before a pile of smooth stones with thorny plants growing on them.His stick is throbbing. "Get some quarrymen and let them dig a hole here." Ramses' fatigue disappeared immediately, and he ran desperately over the pile of rubble, bringing back more than forty workers, and they started working immediately. The land is loose.Just three meters deep, there is a clear spring gushing out. One of the workers knelt down. "It was God who guided the king's soul...the waters flowed like a river!" "My prayer was answered," Seti said. "The well will be called 'May the truth be holy and light'. When everyone's thirst has been quenched, we will build a city for the gold prospectors and a place where the gods live." temple; they shall live in this well, and guide the way for those who seek the shining raw material of the Holy Spirit."