Serving the Empress

I found this document amongst the effects of my grandfather Jan van Loon. As will be obvious, it was omitted (for reasons I need not explain) from his famous book about his twelve years as a guest but captive in the Imperial Palace. As with the others it is based on an interview which he made secretly and recorded in shorthand which he transcribed following his escape and return to Holland. I have donated it along with all his other papers to the university library, where it will of course be in the restricted section for serious scholars. The interviewee must have trusted my grandfather a lot. Of course, he would not have expected Jan to escape. (Translated from the Dutch by S.R..)

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My name is Wu-Chow and I am a sergeant in the Imperial Guard at the palace of the Emperor. My duty is of course to protect the lives of the Emperor, his family and the officials with my life, but I have served in another less well-known way.

My mother died when I was five, so my father married her sister and I was raised by my auntie.

It started when I was a young man of 19 working in my family's fields in a province far away from the Imperial capital. I stopped work to have a piss and decided to have a wank as well. City people may be surprised to hear that I just did it out in the open, but that was quite usual in rural areas, at least in my province. Everyone saw animals having sex and knew that young men get frequent erections and need relief. Thus I did not bother me that my sister and auntie were working in the field nearby. I just closed my eyes and enjoyed it. After all, it would be many years before I could afford to get a wife.

As I opened my eyes I saw an official in fine clothes standing nearby. He had evidently got out of a carriage standing on the road, and was accompanied by a fearsome looking soldier. I guessed that this must be some sort of terrible offence to a representative of the Emperor, so I pulled up my loincloth and fell on my knees to beg forgiveness.

The official spoke our language, but not well. He instructed me to stand up and turn around and asked me my name and about my family. I almost laughed when he asked me if I had a wife. "Not very likely for a poor young man like me," I said. He said I was not to worry, but noted that I was a fine strong man, and he would recommend me to the Imperial Army; then told me to wait.

I was unhappy because I did not want to be a soldier, and my family needed me to work the fields. He came back with a short letter he must have written in the carriage. Of course I could not read it. He said I should take it to the local prefect and follow instructions. Because I was tall and good looking, he was recommending me for the ceremonial guard which did not go out fighting. That sounded better. He added that my pay would more than compensate my family for the loss of my labour and it was a major life opportunity for me.

I did as I was told, and was sent to the local garrison where I received basic training as a soldier. Being big and strong, this was not too bad, though I preferred my life as a farmer. After three months I was sent with a group of soldiers going back to the capital. The cities we passed through on the way amazed me, but they were nothing compared with the capital itself. It was there I first saw the palace guard in their blue clothes and yellow armour, both beautiful and frightening. They looked much more capable than mere ceremonial soldiers.

This was shown by the next phase of training. The training was done in the language of the capital which many of us did not know, but we managed to learn enough to get through. Ordinary soldiers like me were competing to join the Imperial Guard, and it was clear that only the best would do. Individuals were selected for specialist training based on their talents. I had made a friend and hoped to serve with him, but he was taken away to be an archer. Some were injured, many failed to meet the requirements, and others were taken to special groups, until there were only twelve of us. I did not realise that actually we had been selected for special duties.

We were ordered to put on our best uniforms and marched into the actual palace itself. It was bigger than the biggest town I had known in my province! I did not realise that I would never be leaving. While we kept fit and practised our weapons, our training was now about the protocol and ceremonies with much marching about and polishing. We had to learn the language of the court and not to use some of the vulgar terms which our trainers had used. (Though we would rarely speak to anyone other than another soldier.)

I also learned to write my name and to read a few words. I sent a letter to my father and auntie and told the scribe to say that it would be my signature on it. He drew a box into which I carefully wrote my name and he added the explanation. I got a letter back in which my auntie called me a scholar. I think they believed I had written the whole letter! However, I was pleased to learn that they had been able to hire workers with the pay I sent them.

Eight of us were instructed to collect all our kit and were taken to a door by a sergeant. On the other side we were met not by a soldier, but by a palace official: a plump man in extremely expensive clothes, whom I guessed was a eunuch. He took us to a room and ordered us to undress completely, even loincloths. He then inspected us, looking particularly at our cocks, I supposed for evidence of disease (but we had not had the chance of a woman for months!)

He spoke in a high voice. "Yes, you are all handsome men and have satisfactorily large penises," (using the court rather than vulgar word). "I think you will do. Now listen carefully."

"You are to join the guard of the Empress herself. This is a great honour, and also a great responsibility. Be aware that the penalty for failure can be death. If you die defending the Emperor and his people your family will get a generous pension. If you are executed for treason, they will get none, and will be turned out of their homes." He paused for effect.

"It is a rule that all women must be naked in the presence of the Emperor. The sole exception is the Empress herself. Thus when accompanying her for a meeting with the Emperor, you may see some of his wives and concubines naked. These are some of the most beautiful ladies in the land, but you must show no emotion and not stare. If you do, you will be flogged."

"Now I come to the most demanding part of your duties. The Emperor has many women, but the Empress has only one husband and meets him on the couch only rarely. However she demands sexual satisfaction nearly every day, and it is her special guard who must provide it. This is of course secret. Revealing it to an outsider may cause your death. Do not talk of it with the other palace guards or where you may be overheard and never say anything to a visitor which may suggest it."

"The usual arrangement is that five of the guard are offered to her each morning. She may choose one or all or none, depending on her wishes and the advice of the astrologer. You must do anything she tells you. It sometimes amuses her to see men performing sexual acts on each other. You may have to lick her anywhere she says. You cannot refuse, you cannot complain. You should not speak unless she clearly requests it. Be aware that she sometimes likes to use the vulgar terms such as cock and cunt."

"I said that you must obey her every command. That is, every command but one. She may tell you or even beg you to put your seed inside her. This you must not do. This is the command of the Emperor, and takes priority."

"If you do, you will be made into a eunuch and go to be a kitchen servant in the women's quarters. If she becomes pregnant by you, then she will have an abortion and you will be put to death."

I guess we all had mixed feelings. We would be fucking the Empress herself, but must not come in her. Would I end up as a eunuch? And what else might she tell us to do?

We were sent for some unusual military training. There was a house with some experienced courtesans whom we had to learn to fuck, but withdrawing in good time. The penalty for withdrawing late was the loss of a month's pay. (They had some methods to prevent getting pregnant, though occasionally one did.) We first learned the correct way to mount a woman in the positions favoured by the Empress in the usual army manner of a sergeant shouting at us and making us do it again. Then we practised fucking as long as possible but stopping in time. However, when we were quite good at this, they started to hold on to us and beg us to come inside them, which we had to resist. Some had a trick of sort of sucking us with their cunts which felt wonderful and was difficult to leave.

We were also taught how to suck and massage breasts for pleasure. This was enjoyable until I became desperate to wank or fuck, which of course was not allowed. It was the most difficult part of our training to hold back when my cock was aching with desire.

The most military part was learning to please a cunt with my mouth. We none of us wanted this as it was so demeaning to a man. However, if the Empress commanded, we would have to obey. The cunt was more complicated than I realised and was presented to us with drawings, similar to an engineer's design of fortifications and explained in much the same way! A sergeant demonstrated how to hold yourself in a way which was comfortable for a long time, which would sometimes be needed. The courtesans guided us to the points of pleasure and we practised techniques from a document called a pillow book. I did not know that writing was used for such purposes! (However the sergeant privately suggested that we did not do this too well, as she might ask for us again. I had already learned that avoiding further work was the main aim of a professional soldier.)

We also had to do it when the courtesans were in blood. We were told that this was rarely required, but we had to be ready.

It was organised in a very exact way. We were ordered to have a wank then wait a certain number of hours. We then had to fuck while an official measured how long we lasted without coming, using a device I had never seen before called a clock. Thus we were prepared to service the Empress.

In addition we were trained to wank each other, not for our pleasure but in a way which displayed it well. We all had to fuck another soldier up the arse, and be fucked ourselves, neither of which I liked. The sergeant said those who wished should practise on each other, and he would try to arrange that there were always two willing to do this if the Empress demanded. However, she could order any of us to do this, as she could order us to suck cocks.

The first time I was terrified. There were three experienced guards and two of us for the first time. Back home I had the biggest cock in the village. Here I was just average, and about the middle in terms of how long I could last. The other guards had told us the Empress was everything from a small girl to an old witch, that she was fat as a pig and hairy. We did not know what to expect.

We got up and washed, then put on special clothing. It was sort of military but decorative, basically a tunic and short trousers. Two others in full armour came with us to relieve the guards on her bedroom.

We had to wait in an anteroom along with some of the Empress' handmaidens. They were lovely girls, beautifully but modestly dressed. A bell sounded and the handmaidens took down our shorts and began to wank us until we were fully hard. They mainly had to work on me and my new companion, as the others were used to it, but we were nervous. A bell sounded and we followed the experienced ones into a room decorated with the most amazing pictures and furnishings. On a large bed lay a woman with a full mask of makeup and in a blue gown embroidered with peacocks, which she slowly opened. I would say she was a fine woman somewhere between 30 and 40, with a little less pubic hair than the courtesans.

She looked us over slowly, and pointed to my companion. "You, the new one. Fuck me." (Using the vulgar word.) He got on the bed and entered her. As we had been instructed he held himself up on his arms and did not touch her breasts since she had not commanded it. He was capable of lasting longer than me, and I began to droop before he finished. One of the handmaidens who was standing nearby moved behind me and reached around to make me hard, just in time as he pulled out. He was also just in time, and began to spurt onto the floor as she watched expressionless.

"Now you," she said pointing at me. I was relieved to enter her moist and hairy slit at last, and started fucking. I was rising up to the point where I must withdraw, and she must have realised it because she suddenly pulled me down and said "Come in me!" Then she laughed and pushed me away, saying "go!"

I stood there, confused, my cock stiff and dripping but not yet coming. She pointed to one of the experienced ones and said "Finish him off," which he did, not taking long. She clapped her hands briefly but prettily then pointed to my companion and said "Lick me."

He did this for a while until she said "Useless!" and pushed him off. She lay back and stretched.

"I want to see two beasts fucking."

At once two of the experienced guards stepped forward and took up position like a bull on a cow. I later understood that if this was not done immediately she would choose. Those that were happy to do it greased their holes in advance, as did many others just in case they were ordered.

When they finished she seemed satisfied and said "Enough! Go!" and I followed the others out. When we got back to the barracks the one who had been fucked immediately did the same to his companion. I soon got used to seeing things like this.

Of course, most of what we did was marching around. The Empress received many visitors and we were there as guards. There was also the real possibility of an assassination attempt on the Emperor or Empress, by various factions including members of their own family. As members of the Imperial Guard we were the only people allowed to be armed in the presence of the Emperor. The only place we did not guard her was in the women's quarters where every man inside had to be a eunuch. I was told that many of them had been soldiers or civil servants with wives and children, but had been castrated voluntarily to get a better paid position and life for their families.

As guards of the Empress we take orders only from our officers. The Empress is effectively our commander in chief. Thus no general or palace official can order us to stand aside or deviate from our duty, although we show them all due deference to their rank. Only the Emperor in person can do this, as he does sometimes when they are together. In training we often contest against the other palace guards, and there is a special rivalry. They have an advantage in that they take tours of duty with the army, and have experienced combat. However, we must be prepared to fight and kill them, should they attack the Empress, as happened two hundred years ago.

The Empress does not often leave the palace. When she does, she is accompanied by one unit of her own guard and two of the other Imperial Guard. While we have been fully trained in other ways we only act as foot soldiers, staying close by the Empress. The others include archers and cavalry. If attacked by bandits or anyone else, our orders are to let the others die, and only to fight the enemies who break through. We have practised with the captain taking the part of the Empress, shielding her from arrows with our own bodies. Thus she is always surrounded by two rings of protection. We know that another purpose of this is to prevent us leaving or outsiders getting access to us, because of our secret duties.

Once we had finished our training we had special privilege to fuck a courtesan once a week. (I think there was a deduction from our pay, whether we did or not.) This was a great pleasure. Of course the previous garrisons had a brothel with prostitutes which the soldiers could use on their off time, where they could pay for services. Only the Imperial Guard had courtesans. I had never used a prostitute, but the sergeant told me that they just did it as a job of work, trying to get the man to come as quickly as possible and not enjoying it themselves. They would fuck as many men in day as they could get, often twenty or more. By contrast a courtesan was trained to provide the man with experience of a good wife or mistress. They took more time for conversation, made an effort to enjoy the sex themselves, and served no more than six of us per day in this way. We were actually allowed to come inside them, which was such a relief. Of course, from our training we could take some time, and from her training we could both get the most pleasure, so this was the best part of our week. However I think spending time with a woman, holding her and talking as I might with my wife, was even better than the fucking.

Of course there were cooks, cleaners and washerwomen, but the courtesans and handmaidens were really the only women we ever got to talk to, because of our restricted life. I believe the Palace authorities gave them to us to prevent discontent.

I have described how it was at the beginning, but over the years I began to understand the Empress more. The handmaidens often spoke to us afterward to say what we had done well, and what we had got wrong. They also sometimes gave advice while were waiting. Thus, although we were formally just obeying commands, we learned to guess her desires and act upon them in little ways, sometimes just a caress in the right place, sometimes slowing or quickening, or changing the direction a little. It was pleasing to see when I had done something right which she enjoyed, and made it much better than a mere duty. The courtesans sometimes explained things to me.

The first time one of my companions brought her to the special woman's pleasure, I was frightened, thinking that she had had some attack, but one of the handmaidens told me not to worry, that it was a great success. Two guards pulled him out quickly and he came on the bed.

It looked as if she was suffering, but the courtesans told me it was the greatest of pleasures. I had not seen it myself in training. I might have, if I had not taken the sergeant's advice about licking.

I was glad I had seen it, so I was less frightened when it happened again. It mostly came from licking, with some guards being particularly good, but it happened to me when I was fucking her. It was wonderful, and I was grateful to the guards who pulled me out as it was so exciting and so hard to leave. Realising that it could have meant my death, I was prepared the next time she showed signs and pulled out. She was angry, but one of the courtesans had given me advice, and without her asking I started to lick her and brought her back to the peak, even as I came myself on the bed.

I stayed with my mouth on her royal cunt until she had finished and waved me away. She asked me my name, and said "Well done, Wu Chow!" which was a great compliment. Thereafter she named me instead of pointing, and (as one of the handmaidens pointed out) never made me the first or second to serve her.

Over the years we had to do everything that we had been trained for, but it was mostly fucking. Sometimes it was nothing at all. Sometimes she just got us all to be wanked. I think she liked to see men come and would have loved to experience it much more often in her cunt, but she had the same restriction as us. It was clear that women are much more sexually capable than men, and I was sorry for the Emperor's many wives and concubines. The Empress was an ordinary woman in an extraordinary situation and I cannot blame her for taking pleasure from us.