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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
CHAP. XXV.
THE KAAN'S TWELVE BARONS
431
now I will tell you particulars about them and their
establishments.
You must know that these twelve Barons reside all
together in a very rich and handsome palace, which is
inside the city of Cambaluc, and consists of a variety of
edifices, with many suites of apartments. To every
province is assigned a judge and several clerks, and all
reside in this palace, where each has his separate
quarters. These judges and clerks administer all the
affairs of the provinces to which they are attached,
under the direction of the twelve Barons. Howbeit,
when an affair is of very great importance, the twelve
Barons lay in before the Emperor, and he decides as
he thinks best. But the power of those twelve Barons
is so great that they choose the governors for all those
thirty-four great provinces that I have mentioned, and
only after they have chosen do they inform the
Emperor of their choice. This he confirms, and grants
to the person nominated a tablet of gold such as is
appropriate to the rank of his government.
Those twelve Barons also have such authority that
they can dispose of the movements of the forces, and
send them whither, and in such strength, as they please.
This is done indeed with the Emperor's cognizance,
but still the orders are issued on their authority. They
are styled SHIENG, which is as much as to say " The
Supreme Court," and the palace where they abide is
also called Shieng. This body forms the highest
authority at the Court of the Great Kaan ; and indeed
they can favour and advance whom they will. I will
not now name the thirty-four provinces to you, because
they will be spoken of in detail in the course of this
Book.'
t;
NOTE I.—Pauthier's extracts from the Chinese Annals of the Dynasty, in illustration of this subject, are interesting. These, as he represents them, show the Council
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