NationStates Jolt Archive

the Mishin Empire
The Mishin empire has been around for thousands of years in the area of RL China. Presently ruling is the Chiang Dynasty, with the area of about RL Han Dynasty China. The Empire boasts a large population of content citizens and well-based military standards, as well as a rather rich economy from foreign trade and inventive ideas.

Castes
The Castes of the Mishin Empire are unofficial and were subconciously and unintentionally created over the ages of the empire, and movement is possible between castes.
Royalty and Nobility
Based in the Royal City of Mishin, the Royalty rules the Empire rather unconcernedly and decently. Mainly, they concern themselves with disputes and justice, and money.
The nobility is generally well-connected with the Royalty and many nobles have a governship over one province, city, or locality. Generals are generally considered nobility and also gain provincial status as they grow in esteem.
Merchants
The merchants are pretty much any businessman in the Empire, since pretty much all businesses are run successfully in father-son methods by the educated. However, when "merchant" is mentioned to any Mishin, what usually comes to mind are the great traders of the great camel caravans of the great westward trade routes. Trade also goes east and south.
Peasants
96% of the population resides as peasantry, who are farmers in the rural areas and workers in the urban settings. This is also the main source of men for the military.
Slaves
Slaves are generally held by the merchants and nobility, and are brought back from the west on the caravans, from the north in the recent conquests, from the south in general trade. Slaves are bound for a life of servitude unless freed by their masters.

Military
The Mishin have a recorded knowledge of warfare from the past, so their leaders have a good basis for strategy.
The Army of Mishin is mainly consistant of footsoldiers, armored in bamboo and chainmail, armed with pole-spears with large stabbing or downward- blades. Archers include shortbowmen and crossbowmen. Over 200,000infantry are readily available, with about 50,000 in active duty right now. A smaller part of the army is made of cavalry armored in bamboo and armed with light bamboo spears (throwing or stabbing) and shortbows. The cavalry is trained by hired experts from northern nomad tribes, and if needed, many more nomands could be hired to join the Army.
The Navy consists primarily of warjunks (though sometimes fireboats are used tactically), which are concerned with protecting merchantships and subduing piracy in the seas. Great expeditions have been launched in the past, but many of the great maps thereby made are outdated.
A percentage of the military is leaned towards developing more effective weaponry, armor, and tactics.
Ranks:
General - armies- at least 5000 men in an army
Commandant - 1000men
Lieutenant -100 men
Charge -temporarily appointed over small units when needed (recon, more control in battle)

For signals, the army often uses primitive gunpowder rockets/fireworks, which take the place of bonfires or smoke signals in the West and to the east.

Land
The Mishin Empire looks much like the RL Han Dynasty, with the far-most region bordering Madnestan (sp?), thinning out along the trade routes by the desert, bursting into the fertile main provinces all the way to the coast. Newly acquired are the provinces of Turyang and Rinyang (RL Manchuria and Korea), where the majority of the active portion of the Army is situated to quell the instability and revolts.
The Royal City of Mishin is located south-central, slightly inwards from coast.

Trade
The Mishin do a lot of trading in the world. This is centered westward along the Silk Road (going through Madnestan to Ralish) and eastward to the Kirisubo Federation. The Mishin bring with them many wonders, gems, valuables, and sometimes even innovative (and likely irreproducable in the West) artifacts such as crossbows, fireworks, gunpowder, gadgetry, and tactics.

Technological Basis
Because the Mishin are very innovative and technological, their agriculture and husbandry is top-quality, (though the husbandry is not always put to good use). Weaponry and simple gadgets are often invented for the Army, Navy, and general populace. The Mishin are technologically apt, and thus concentrate on innovation, agriculture, and trade over war.

Goldraed 'Silk' was a trader. He had brought his caravan safe along all the hazards of the Silk Road, the greatest of which was the arrogance of the Alshorian Empire, in his opinion.
They were now, apparently, approaching the lands of Mishin. He wouldn't have known himself - it was just more barely populated near desert to him - but his caravan strung out behind him made him hope they were nearly there.
They had plenty of water, but the food was beginning to run short, but if they hadn't had the guards he'd have lost his goods a hundred times, it went round and round.
Not, of course, that the bandits had known it was highest quality Incognitian wine he carried. That would have had them attacking all the more ferociously.
And now the proof that they were close: the city came into view.

OOC: And here you can describe your first city seen by incoming travellers on the Silk Road. Feel free to control Goldraed's party through getting into the city, any bureaucracy, etc. They'll be polite, cooperative, suitably awestruck by anything grand, just don't try to separate them or remove them from their goods.

The city, renamed after the area's conquest a century ago as World's End in the Mishin tongue, first gave off a view of a dirty-looking wall.
As the caravan moved closer, it became apparent that sand blasted often against the south and west sides of the city.
Approaching the sand-tinted west gate, the caravan leaders were stopped by guards, who checked a few leading bags and then lazily let the caravan enter.
The open gates revealed a small city of plaster buildings, closely placed and with many narrow alleys and passages leading into the deeper areas of the place.
The city did not look much at all like a city in Mishin-proper, noted a weathered and travelled trader who'd been through a few times. Goldraed certainly wasn't astounded by his first sight of Mishin premises. Momentarily a herald came along, asking for any leaders of the caravan to follow him to the governor's palace, to sign off paperwork and the ilk to allow the large caravan entry into Mishin. Goldraed followed wearily along with a few partners to the palace, which was notably made of some authentic Mishin material and architecture, though not completely. Goldraed allowed himself to feel a little bit better about his trip when he saw the great banners of nobility, status, and wealth hanging on the inside halls of the palace. Shortly, he and his friends were shown to Governor Oyanjan.

Most of the town was drab, and now this central palace or whatever was tawdrily gaudy.
Goldraed knew enough as a trader not to let his hosts see what opinion he had formed, but that much was clear enough. This was not a trading nation of free men, with not a decent house that he'd spotted other than the governors.
The functionaries and so on had been polite enough, but...the fact that you had to register to enter the country? Surely anyone but an army could just enter and leave as they pleased, paying any excise duties on goods they carried?

This nation might be vast, it was probably ancient, and it had goods that could make a man fabulously wealthy. That was the end of the upsides.

Governor Oyanjan rose from his chair and walked over to greet the traders, shaking their hands awkwardly, though with obvious geniality. Oyanjan called over a translator who translated Oyanjan's odd language for the Westerners.

"Welcome to the city of World's-End and welcome to Mishin! We are pleased to have visitors from the West!"
Oyanjan handed the men papers to sign.
"If you would take a seat and fill out these papers, you can continue on your way--the Emperor preers to keep track of who enters and exits his lands, more for a record of trade than anything else. I can have someone take you to the stables for your camels and to a place to spend the night, if you need the rest. I recommend it--it's three day's travel till you find another town large enough to accomadate you and your many men."
The Governor returned to his seat at the end of a decently-sized wood table, and motions for the traders to sit down.

Goldraed signed the paperwork; after all, he had an investment in this trip, and a large one at that.
For now, they would stay here. As soon as it was practical they would move on to where the best deals were to be had - a town not much more than a glorified border post was not likely to fit that condition.

The Governor summoned his servants, and in a while, the caravan leaders were treated to a fine meal, a mix of Mishin, nomad, and Madnestan cuisine.
The Governor began chatting with one of the caravaneers (who knew Mishin language) about the West--Oyanjan knew little about that direction. He told the caravaneers via translator that their's was the biggest he had seen cross the border in many years, and would see to it that they were supplied and stocked. Around dusk he send them back to their caravan with blessings and some remaining Mishin cuisine. The aging Governor retired into his palace chambers without thinking much of the foreigners again.