"I said to Missionar same way. I said heads in basket. I said Soldat, bandit same way. I told Missionar."

"[A young mission worker in Shanghai told him that] China's nothing but a loosely allied group of principalities that …"

"In his country and mine, a bridge builder never sells guns. [...] In China would a scholar sell guns?"

"Soldiers get paid sometimes. Bandits have to fend for themselves. But when the warlords don't have the money, their s…"

"In China a general's power goes as far as his troops can march in a few days. But from what I know of General Tang, h…"

"At the end of the day you want something. Even if you don't know what it is."

"Peasants can fool you They give in like sheep. They run away and hide. They offer their daughters if you'll let them …"

"Tang is the best soldier in China"

"An acrobat is lucky to die with the price of a coffin in his pocket."

"You Big Swords think you're good riders, good cavalrymen, but you have a long way to go, and you'll never be Mongols."