NationStates Jolt Archive

The sun rose high into the sky as the morning light dawned over the Forbidden City (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/Upum/Han%20Empire/The_Forbidden_City_by_handsomematt.jpg). With the rising of the sun, hundreds of trumpets sounded as it rose over the horizon, welcoming the light coming bathing onto the great land of the Son of Heaven. A line of ten palace servants walked along the high palace walls, ringing a golden gong held in each hand. They proclaimed the hour and the most recent of news from the Emperor’s Court. The captain of the First Heavenly Gate and his troops in charge of the main gate of the Citadel of the Forbidden City marched out into formation and awaited the morning's duty orders. All around the complex of extravagantly built buildings and courtyards, some ten square miles in size, tens of thousands of palace servants and guards came awake and began the days work.

Emperor Shui Han Di (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/Upum/Han%20Empire/Emperor_by_GenyaXAdrian.jpg) rose from his large bed of silks, a mattress easily ten paces across by eight paces. He felt very well and invigorated. Two of his concubines lay still sleeping on one side of the bed. He smiled but did not allow himself to be distracted. Today he would be meeting with his generals and he needed his energy. He crawled ten feet over the edge of the bed and came to stand on the floor. Servants immediately came bowing forward and put a golden silk robe and golden slippers on him. His hair was combed back with a pearl comb and a golden piece of silk was used to tie it into a simple bun. Feeling a bit irritated at how the servant had managed to sting his head by pulling the comb too hard he motioned for them to leave.

He walked past them as they bowed out and through a series of other large rooms. The walls were decorated with red-gold imperial colors and great murals of dragons, warriors, and flowers. A great room divider was up in the middle facing the doors of the fourth room he entered. Beside it was a great porcelain bath tub. More servants were already waiting, water inside it steaming with heat. Shui Han Di walked over and had himself undressed by the servants. He stood as servants soaped his body with scented lotions and oils. He then stepped into the bath and immersed himself into its warmth. He felt the soaps and oils slide off him, cleaning his skin. He stayed inside the bath for several minutes and then rose up. Servants rubbed him down gently with towels and dried him off.

More servants approached and he stepped into another silk robe and slippers. He marched off, ignoring the servants around him which bowed as he passed, to his closet room. It was several hundred meters long and wide and was lined with his robes, shoes, hats, and other personal items. He chose the set he wanted and servants brought it down and helped him get into it. He then walked off to one of his meal rooms to eat his morning breakfast.

It was at the Hour of the Hawk that his generals assembled in the War Council Room. It was a great hall with a large table at its center. The table had an accurate model-map of the world. A small red castle sat in the position of what was Shui Han Di's capital and citadel of the Forbidden City. Around it were hundreds of smaller cities. Small figures looking like soldiers holding a miniature royal banner stood for the armies of the Emperor, showing their current locations. A small yellow-red line showed the border of the Empire.

Emperor Shui Han Di walked into the room, a dozen servants simultaneously proclaiming his arrival. All the generals, old and young men, all talented warriors and leaders of men, bowed low as he came forward and sat in a throne-like lacquered chair that stood over the table.

He smiled at them. "My dear generals. I hope to find you in health for I have a new campaign for you." Shui Han Di took a thin pole and brought it around to the table. He moved several of the small figures. Two went outside the yellow line to the edge of the coast, where Imperial Law did not extend, even though to the North and South of the area the line did touch the sea. It was a small pocket of land that had yet to join the Empire.

He then moved three other figures through three separate passes through the World Mountains (Himalayas) and into the land to the South-West. Here only brave merchants had traveled through the lands to the far West where they had other great nations. The Silk Road, they called it.

"I am going to extend my Empire in these places. I leave to you Generals Shou Di, Loa Shang, Lan Hi, Pao Kong, and Pei Han Di to conquer these places at your own discretion. I leave it to happen by this time next year," said Emperor Shui Han Di.

The generals he had named stepped forward and began looking at the areas they would be invading. The all turned and bowed as one to the Emperor.

"We will do as you command," they said. With the Mandate of Heaven the armies of Han would march forth and conquer, of that Shui Han Di had no doubt.

Three Months Later…

General Lao Shang (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/Upum/Han%20Empire/2008222230772559905.jpg) guided his horse around the latest bend of the coastal rocks and on, his personal guard following in his wake. Before and behind him came the raucous cadence of 30,000 Han Imperial soldiers marching. His expedition had crossed the second western river in the Han-controlled lands of Inda and marched for three months until it reached the coast of the sea. It was the farthest any Han Imperial expedition had been, with perhaps the exception of the Imperial navy.

Lao Shang slapped his neck as another insect bit into his neck, trying to draw from his life’s blood. He was quickly growing to hate the land he was traveling through, even if he had been commanded by his Emperor to conquer it. The general was just about to start listing all the reasons for why he hated the land he was in when a mounted scout came cantering towards him from the front of the army’s column. The man was covered in dirt and grass, his armour slip-shod.

The scout jumped down from his horse and came to one knee, his head lowered and bowed. “Your humble servant bows before you great general.”

“What news do you have?” Lao Shang asked. “And why is your appearance such that it makes me despise the sight?”

The scout brought his right fist up and covered it with his left hand, the sign of obedience and respect. “My most humble apologies great general. Your servant was scouting as your orders proclaim when I discovered foreign barbarians living in the lands some twenty miles from here. They seemed strong and numerous, so I rushed back to report to you, great general.”

Lao Shang sighed and thought about what the scout had said. If there were indeed a large and numerous people before them, then it was his duty to conquer them or force them to submit to the Imperial Flag. He looked down at the scout who remained kneeling and hands raised in the sign of respect.

“Return to the area you mentioned with more scouts. Report the disposition of any soldiers and if they have a fortified town or village,” Lao Shang ordered.

The scout bowed even lower then rose and jumped back atop his horse. Once again he cantered off into the distance, a group of other mounted scouts breaking off from the main column of the army to follow him. Lao Shang turned to his aide, a fox-like man, who smiled at the general.

“Seems we’ll have some sport, great general,” Captain Li-min said.

“Indeed, so it seems,” replied Lao Shang.

Newcastle's darkened streets were illumined by the rising sun as Laurence II of Anglia, the dread sovereign lord of millions, rose from his bed to take a morning stroll while his wife and children still slept in relative peace. He had not been the King for long as he had to take over from the childless descendant of Good King Henry when he left the temporal world. Laurence could only have taken the throne because of his somewhat royal blood. It was not as pure as previous monarchs but he had still been chosen to lead his nation as the King and now he was their liege. Confident and calm, Laurence walked through the many halls of his palace to gaze upon intricate designs on the walls including some mosaics of the Saints of the Judeo-Christian God and of those animals created by the same deity. His predecessors did not want bland walls all over the palace and so they were decorate elaborately and exquisitely. While the Englishmen of his homeland waged war against the people of France and while Europe was embroiled in bitter conflict, the Anglian people were in peace on their island nation; not knowing much about the outside world other than that their ancestors came from across the Great Ocean as they called it. Laurence knew this well; his own family drifted across the Great Ocean from England and had made a good life for themselves in this bountiful land of plenty. But, he thought, it made him think often if there was life beyond Anglia and England. Perhaps, he thought, that he could send people to explore the world in Anglia's name and in the name of the dread sovereign lord King Laurence. As he stood in the halls as if in deep thought about something peculiar, he could feel the warmth of a woman's hand on his shoulder. "Doucebelle....." The beautiful and enchanting Doucebelle had played a major role in gaining her family influence and prestige just by marrying the King but she married him for love and not for prestige. "Are you alright, Laurence?" Doucebelle said kindly but concerned as if she thought something was wrong with her husband or at least as if something was on his mind. "I am alright, my lady. There is nothing to fear."

--------------

While Doucebelle and the kids scattered about in the Palace and its environs, King Laurence II called a special session of Parliament and the highest ministers of the land to discuss his plans for overseas exploration which, he felt, would bring Anglia much wealth and prestige. All the men around him were in regal looking robes and seemed quite stern and stubborn; some of them still had to accept the fact that there was a new dread sovereign lord in town. "My esteemed ministers..." Laurence began with a sly smile. "I have convened this meeting to discuss my proposal for the Kingdom which I do hope you will consider."

The others nodded their heads in solemn silence before Laurence began to speak again. "For decades we have lived on this bountiful island settled by the subjects of Richard the Lionheart and yet we only know little of the lands outside of it, that is, the lands in the Great Ocean. What I propose is that we fund an explorer's journey to find new lands and claim them in the name of our nation; the abode of honest Englishmen."

Edmund Vaughan's eyebrows rose curiously when he heard those words. As an admiral in the ever-expanding Anglian Navy, he had command over several ships and was known as the descendant of an English admiral who indeed had fought in France to dispose of those who would prevent the right of blood to be realized fully. When he heard his King's words, he began to listen to what the responses would be. One of those responses came from the King's own chaplain, Alan Vawdrey.

"It is my personal opinion that there must be life on the lands across the Great Ocean for if God can create life upon the island of England then I am certain that He could do so all around this world. Let us not forsake this opportunity to discover more about God's creation."

The King's ministers vigorously debated whether there was a need if any to explore the world but, in the end, the King's plan gained the support it needed and he went through with his idea. Soon, Laurence's eyes were cast upon the face of Edmund Vaughn. "Sir Edmund, you will be chosen to explore the world in the name of Anglia. May God's peace and help be with you."

Edmund remembered those words even as he stood upon his massive ship...ready to make discoveries in the name of his nation and in the name of its dread sovereign lord.
-----------------------
It did not take too much time for Edmund not only to discover that he had landed on an island near India but that he built the massive citadel of New Hastings which earned its name from where William the Conqueror enforced his claim to England's throne. Its towering walls and towers were distinctively Medieval European in nature and a great castle stood nearby the middle of the settlement; in it lived Edmund and his wife (along with their kids) who he had brought back from Anglia. Dressed in simple but regal looking clothes as the Viceroy of the newly found lands, he looked out the window while his wife, Margaret, held him from behind. Edmund had been worried about sightings of foreign warships nearby his island and he was hopeful that they were mere rumors but, if he had to, he would make sure that any posession of the sons and daughters of England would be defended well. "Edmund, you need to sleep." Margaret said a bit seductively as if enticing him to come to bed for an hour of passion. "You can't worry about those warships too long."

Edmund smiled before giving his wife a kiss. "I am not that worried, my love. I do fear, however, that if those rumors are true than that those sailors may be planning an attack. If that happens, you may have to be sent back to Anglia." Margaret sighed and embraced her husband tightly as if she would never leave him like that. "Don't say that...don't say that...." Eventually, Edmund and Margaret got into bed together which replaced Edmund's worries about the warships with carnal thoughts about his wife. Neither of them knew what roles they, their children, New Hastings or the merchants of Anglia would have in the upcoming events of the future. All that was needed was a visitation......

OOC: I've decided that New Hastings will be on an island near India; not India itself. Just say the Han soldiers stumble upon it and then make an attempt to seize control of it afterwards.

bumped.

bump.

bump.

OOC: Sorry. Posting tonight. Have been busy with family matters.

OOC: Sorry. Posting tonight. Have been busy with family matters.

OOC: No problem. Just post whenever you are able to. Thanks for telling me about this.

The three scouts peered out from their position atop a wooded hill that overlooked a great bay. Pure white sand stretched on for what seemed an eternity, the sun shining down and reflecting off as if against so many mirrors. The land around the bay had been cleared, cut down and turned to human ingenuity. A gathering of homes enclosed by a stockade fence were scattered about the inland area, clustered about each other in a pattern not unfamiliar to the scouts who had passed through hundreds of such sea-side villages. However it was not the village on the inland that bothered the scouts. It was the fortress that sat in the bay.

Perched atop a craggy edifice of rock like a piece of land desperate to stay above the rolling waves of the sea, the high walls of a stone citadel sat. Using a length of hollowed bamboo and a series of carefully placed mirrors inside it, the scout could look upon its walls as if he were standing on the prow of a ship anchored beside it. The walls were thick and powerful, easily twenty feet, if not more, in height. Towers were placed at even spacing along it, soldiers dressed in foreign livery pacing along them on duty. Banners and flags that none of the guards had seen before flew from its towers and the tiers of the keep inside its walls. It looked impregnable.

The scout with the telescope surveyed it carefully. A narrow, winding road, more of a beaten path than a road, came down from the front gates of a squat guardhouse to a dangerous looking land bridge that connected the crag of rock to the inland on the far side of the bay. Even there a small fortified tower sat, watching over the path as men bearing pack horses and other goods came and went between the inland town and the fortress. Then the scout spotted a strangely fashioned ship sitting at anchor within the bay, protected by the arms of the shore and the fortress crag. It was entirely different than the ones used by the Han Imperial Navy, but no less impressive. It had great white sails, instead of the red silk of their own, and strange emblems similar to the flags that flew atop the fortress were on its largest sail.

Another of the scouts looked out over the town and then again back to the fortress. There could easily be several thousand people in the area, with perhaps even more inland from the bay, beyond a large set of hills that hid a pass going further into the continent. The scouts looked at each other and nodded. They had all the information that they had come for; it was time to return to the general.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

General Lao Shang sat atop his horse watching his army pitch camp, hidden behind a series of forested hills from the town and fortress lying in the bay ahead. From the information his scouts had given him it was plain to see that they had encountered a new kingdom of foreigners. Not only that, but they were advanced and held a fortress of impressive scale. Lao Shang himself had road at once to see it, guided by his scouts. Just by gazing at it he knew he would lose many men by taking it by arms. The bay itself was precious, since it could serve as a forward base for the rest of his campaign further into the continent and beyond to other empires that the Son of Heaven had heard tell rumor of. So Lao Shang decided that he would offer a choice to these foreign devils, and see if they accepted it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hours before sunset was about to come a group of fifty horsemen bearing large red banners with the great, gold Imperial Dragon upon them came ridding along the road from the wooded hills and beyond. At their head was a man girded in silver armour and bearing a banner of white with an open hand upon it like heraldry. People in the town and around it fled from their approach but the horsemen moved on. They passed by the town, its occupants fleeing into their homes and closing their stockades, and approached the far side of the bay.

The group of horsemen halted before the large fortified tower that guarded the only passageway to the powerful citadel that sat upon the crag in the bay. Men bearing bows and spears stood atop its parapet and looked down. The officer in silver armour rode forward and stopped before the large iron-shod door that was the entrance to the tower. Arrow heads peeked out from firing loops beside it.

The officer pulled out a scroll and called out in a language known to the indigenous people of the last village they had encountered a few dozen miles east of the bay. He hoped they understood.

“Attention to the Lord of this area! I come on behalf of my general who serves the Son of Heaven and the Middle Kingdom that is the ruler of the world! You live within his territory and within distance of the authority of his writ. My general asks that the Lord come forth and present himself in fealty to the Imperial Banner and by essence the Son of Heaven, and thereby become vassals. In doing so the Lord shall keep his life and the life of his people. We will come on the morrow for your answer.”

Without another word the officer threw the white banner into the earth, its sharpened bottom sticking into the earth. He turned his horse and rode back into the wooded hills from where he came.

Edmund Vaughan had been sleeping in his bed with his wife after having a session of carnal pleasures with his wife before he was awoken by a concerned soldier who had notified him about the arrival of the Han soldiers as well as their demands. Waking up quite annoyed while his wife looked on with concern of her own, Edmund began to contemplate the demands of the so called Middle Kingdom which put some claim of world domination at his feet. Edmund looked emotionlessly at the Han banner standing in the city but did not order it to be taken down just yet; he'd consider this proposal of vassalage for now but he knew many would outright reject it. No Christian would bow down to the so called Son of Heaven; a title reserved only for the Son of God who walked the earth centuries ago. He called a special meeting with his generals who each demanded that New Hastings be defended no matter what the cost. To them, surrender was anathema; a repugnant sin against their people. Edmund knew well that the Han wanted vassalage or conquest; there could be no compromise with these people no matter how much anyone wanted it. Finally, after a while, the citizens of New Hastings were told about the possibility of a Han invasion and they all prepared for the worst while Edmund went to the church to pray; pray for divine intercession to smash the invaders. Edmund took the Han banner and threw it away; replacing it with an English banner. He then stood at the walls and declared: "An Englishman's city this is and an Englishman's city this shall stay!"

When the full moon rose over New Hastings, Edmund looked at the sleeping Margaret who laid in his bed after he had some time, so to speak, with her earlier in the night. He knew that he may die in the coming day and he wanted to make sure that Margaret and his family could escape the Han onslaught and get back to Anglia if it was possible. He, however, would die or be a prisoner of the Han; he knew well the risks associated with his decision. He walked into the rooms of his children and smiled at his sleeping progeny before he walked outside; eventually ending up at the walls where he looked into the pitch black distance. Emotionlessly, he looked into it as if it were some sort of infinite limbo which was soon to be covered with blood, tears and guts. He would be at the forefront to defend English property, to guard English women, and to make sure that he could never be called a coward by future leaders. Edmund made the sign of the cross and prayed solemnly: "God, guide my people to victory. Guide my family to safety and guide the enemy to their destruction. In Lord Jesu's name I pray. Amen." After a while, he noticed the sun rising slowly up into the sky; soon, he knew, he would be either celebrating victory with his soldiers or he would charge into battle only to end up at the Pearly Gates with St. Peter. The soldiers were sharpening their swords and poleaxes, stringing their bows and preparing their bodkin arrows. Edmund had ships ready to take Margaret and his children back to Anglia if needed; though he sincerely hoped it would not be.

As dawn broke on the following day, its yellow arms reaching down from the heavens to waken the mortals bellow, a small sound of thundering hooves could be heard resounding around the bay. From the depths of the forest and through the hills came a line of horsemen identical to the ones who had ridden forth the previous day. This time however there were only three men. One officer in a silver armour and uniform, a man bearing a large red banner with the golden Imperial Dragon on it, and a third man who bore a lance and a large calling horn on a strap around his neck.

The trio sped across the beach of the bay and scattered the peasants who had been about to go out for the early fishing. They came around to the fortified watch tower where once again the guards became alert and arrow heads stared unabashed down through loopholes. The officer seemed not to care and simply led his horse forward until he was twenty feet away from the tower's armored door. He looked around and saw that the white banner of peace had been replaced with a foreign banner, one that bore the local lord's insignia.

The officer raised his hands to his mouth and shouted. "What answer does the Lord of the castle give to the great General Lao Shang to whom serves to almighty Son of Heaven and Divine Emperor of the Middle Kingdom?"

The officer raised his hands to his mouth and shouted. "What answer does the Lord of the castle give to the great General Lao Shang to whom serves to almighty Son of Heaven and Divine Emperor of the Middle Kingdom?"

The Anglians had seen the Han soldiers approaching the walls of the settlement but did not give any threatening apperances; rather they stood calmly at their fortifications with their weapons in their hands and their flags raised to the fullest height. The governor, Edmund, watched the situation closely with his wife at his side; having satisfied her curiousity in seeing the Han soldiers. Finally, after a while, Edmund calmly walked towards Lao Shang and with a solemn voice spoke to him from the walls. "We shall not forsake our freedom to your liege. Go, and tell him that he will have no choice but to force it from us if he wants our freedom so badly. We will not bow down to you."