The Horse and The Jaguar...1 The Will of the Tngri
[FONT="]Chapter 1[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Will of the Tngri[/FONT]
[FONT="]In 1293, Kublai Khan sent a force of 30,000 men and 1,000 ships to set right a slight which he had received at the hands of [/FONT][FONT="]Kertanagara, the King of Singhasari on the Isle of Java.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The invasion, which is not the subject of our story, did not go well, despite the capture of the Javanese fleet by his Admiral Yighmis. Initial successes were followed by treachery on the part of[/FONT][FONT="] Raden Wijaya of Majapahit, which took the lives of 3,000 crack troops. Shi-bi, the Mongol General given command of the expedition by Kublai Khan, barely escaped death himself and reached the Imperial fleet only with great difficulty.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Having been driven from the shores of Java by treachery, Shi-bi pondered his next move. His fleet had sustained minor damage in it’s battle at the Surabaya Strait, and still numbered over 900 vessels and his army stood at 25,000. He could still try to defeat Majapahit to satisfy the Great Khan but there was little time left in the season. If they were to return to China, they would need to do so very soon before the winds turned against them.
His subordinates, Uyghurs Ike Mese and Yighmis and the Chinese General Gaoxing were of separate minds, Ike wanted to land and pillage the kingdom but Gaoxing felt they must return to China. Yighmis was willing to support either side, as long as he could keep his fleet intact. Shi-bi balanced their arguments and decided the Chinese Admiral presented the wisest course of action. The fleet had re-provisioned while the army was on campaign so they were well supplied and would be able to make the return to Quanzhou without shortages. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Great Khan would be unhappy at the defeat of his army, but he would be even more unhappy at the loss of troops and ships if they were wrecked by a typhoon. In any case, there would be hell to pay when they returned to Da-Du without redressing the insult to Kubali’s dignity.
The fleet sailed north-east, to the straight between Nusa Tanjungnagara and Sakasanusa with the goal of crossing the Sulawesi Sea and turning north toward China. Shi-bi wanted to avoid the Majapahit fleet that was almost certainly expecting them to return via the more direct Java Sea route and was probably lying in wait to ambush them. His was an invasion fleet, not a war fleet, and while he had numerous war junks, they were needed to protect the transports and supply ships and he could ill afford to lose them by challenging the fleet of the Javanese maritime kingdom.
As the great Yuan fleet sailed through the islands that dotted the entrance of the straight, an unseasonably early storm struck and scattered the fleet across a great distance. In the confusion and difficult conditions caused by the storm, many ships were sunk or foundered on the shores of the islands and when the fleet regrouped off the coast of Sawaku near Tabalung, they discovered that the storm had claimed nearly 200 of Shi-bi’s ships, mostly war junks. There were no longer sufficient war ships to adequately protect the remaining fleet. Additionally, several thousand more men had been lost in the wrecks, among them, Gaoxing, whose ship had been driven onto the rocks and broken.
With the strongest voice for a return to China now silenced, Shi-bi again considered his options. A significant portion of the Khan’s fleet had been lost and over 6,000 soldiers would not be returning to Quanzhou and he had failed in his mission to subdue Java ib the Khan’s name. To return to China now would certainly mean loss of status, position and property for him and his family, not to mention the possibility of physical punishment or death. If he did not return and fled to another land, exiling himself, his family would still suffer loss of status and property and the Khan would send a fleet out to destroy him. [/FONT]
[FONT="]If, however, his fleet was lost at sea, his family would remain with their status, position and possessions mostly secure.[/FONT]
[FONT="]And so Shi-bi set out to be lost at sea, at least for a time.
Ike Mese and Yighmis were surprised by the direction their commander’s thoughts had turned. Shi-bi had consulted the navigators and geographers on board to determine the where the knowledge of the court in Da-Du was weakest and where it’s tentacles did not or could not reach. He wished to find a land where the Khan would not find them too quickly, if at all. Shi-bi was now of the mind that once they had found a sufficiently remote place that could support the army; they should land, conquer the local peoples and carve out a new kingdom for themselves until the time was right to return to China.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Shi-bi settled on occupying the island of Halmahera in the Maluku islands. Halmahera was large enough to feed his men and would be a good place to set up a Khanate in the East. It would take Kublai some time to find him and by then it would be more advantageous to accept his allegiance as a tributary kingdom than to wipe him out. The Great Khan’s anger could be tremendous, but his pragmatism was even greater. The influence of China, Shi-bi thought.
Pickett boats returned with word that the Majapahit fleet had been sighted and was sailing their way in company with a great number of pirates. The weakened Yuan fleet could still put up a good fight, but the hope of victory would be low. Shi-bi’s ships were larger and faster, but the Javanese fleet would be far more maneuverable. Shi-bi did not want to risk his future on an unnecessary sea battle with a significant chance of defeat, so within a day, the fleet was once again underway, this time north-north-east to the Sulawesi Sea and then East to Halmahera, a distance of nearly 4,000 li. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Shi-bi and Ike Mese concocted a plan to tell the fleet that in the unlikely event that the invasion failed, The Khan had ordered them to conquer an Island in the Malukus to use as a base against Majapahit. They were therefore sailing for Halmahera; there to found a new Khanate for the glory of Kublai, The Khagan.
As fate would have it, the conquest of Halmahera was not to be. The Yuan fleet had no sooner entered the Sea of Sulawesi and turned east, with the intention of sailing through the Sangihe islands north of Tagulandang, when they were again hit by a violent storm. This tempest raged for four days, it’s terrible winds driving the fleet north-east, into the grip of a strong easterly current.[/FONT]
[FONT="]As the storm abated the prevailing winds continued to blow strong toward the east, and attempts to sail against the wind and current were to no avail. Yuan ships could be seen on the horizon all around Shi-Bi’s junk and he signaled them to rally around him. The signals were passed on from ship to ship beyond the horizon, and within two days the remaining fleet was once again sailing in company.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Where? They did not know.
Again, Shi-bi had lost a great number of ships and men. His force was now consisted of fewer than 500 ships and their crews, 10,000 soldiers and numerous assorted support personnel. He ordered the ships to be examined and supplies concentrated on the most seaworthy of the remaining vessels. He similarly had the soldiers, horses, livestock and other supplies re-distributed. With his force now more secure, he summoned Ike Mese, Yighmis and his other commanders as well as the seers, shamans, monks and holy men who traveled with the army.
He gave them one day to consider three things and render their thoughts;
· The army had been defeated on Java.
· The fleet had suffered great losses in two great storms.
· When they chose to return to China, the universe sent them in another direction.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Shi-bi had been born northwest of Karakorum on the steppes of Mongolia. His childhood had been that of a traditional Mongol boy, horses, archery, and hunting. Moving from pasture to pasture, following the ways of the steppes, as had been done for all time. He had gone to war with the conquerors of China and had earned great honor at the Battle of Yamen, when he was only twenty three. Throughout his life he had clung to what he knew were the fundamental things that made Mongols what they were, rulers of the earth. He held the traditions and beliefs of his people as truths, and while he tolerated other beliefs, as was the Mongol custom, he was unswerving in his faith to the truth of Mongol life. He was exceedingly superstitious.[/FONT]
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Shi-bi gathered these men together the next day and asked them for their musings. He heard many things, from the mystical to the mundane, from the “will of Heaven” to simple bad luck, but none seemed to explain the misfortune the expedition had endured. Then, a Mongol Shaman named Megujin spoke. He was an old man of the steppes who had spent much of his later life in Da-Du. He had studied Buddhism and Taoism as well as Muslim and Christian scriptures. His words were worth listening to when discussing matters of the Gods.
Megujin said; “We could not conquer the Majapahit for that was not intended. Storms have twice ravaged the fleet and army and taken a great number to their deaths so we have been cleansed. We cannot sail where we wish for we are meant to go somewhere else.” And then he fell silent.
Shi-bi was quiet for a moment and then asked Megujin; “If we were not meant to conquer Java, what are we meant to do? You say we have been cleansed by the storms, but why have we been cleansed? Where are we supposed to go?”
The reply was measured and quiet; “I will tell you from back to front. The Spirits want us to go where ever they deign to bring this fleet and they have cleansed it in preparation for a great task to be done when we come to the end of this voyage. Köke Möngke Tngri (Eternal Blue Heaven) guides us and Qurmusata Tngri keeps our fires burning for this purpose. Were I Buddhist, I would say that the Buddha guides us on our journey. If I were Muslim I would declare that Allah commands us to go. The Chinese would tell you that it is the Will of Heaven. But I am a simple Mongol from the steppes. We must trust that Köke Möngke and Qurmusata have set a task for us and we will recognize it when it comes, until then, we must follow their will and let them guide us.”
Shi-bi grunted and looked at the old Shaman. Then he stood, dismissed the gathering and returned to his cabin.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The fleet sailed on, pushed by the wind and current through the night as Shi-bi wrestled with his thoughts. He had failed in the mission set for him by the Khan. He had lost many men to battle, illness and storms. The heavens had taken half of his ships and thwarted every move he had made. He himself had conspired against the Great Khan to set himself on the throne of the east as Khan. The 99 Tngri must mean for him to cleanse himself to atone for these things, and atonement must lie farther to the east. The fleet would sail on as the Tngri directed them.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Shi-bi sent the holy men out to explain to the men of the fleet why they continued toward the east. A sense of unease settled over the ships as the men digested the news that they would not soon be going back to China or conquering a new kingdom for the Khan, but were instead sailing into the unknown Eastern Ocean on a mission decreed by the Mongol’s Spirits. The rational that the deities, in whatever form you perceived them, were behind the defeat, storms and suffering of the army, did have some resonance with the men. The nearly universal agreement of the holy men that Shi-bi was following the correct, preordained path served, in due course, to resign the men to this mysterious course of action. Let the Divinities, Buddha, Heaven, Allah, the Tngri, and God determine the fate of the host and it’s ships. [/FONT]
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[FONT="]And so the fleet continued eastward, ever eastward. The winds would die and the ocean itself would carry them farther to the east. Storms would batter and blow them more quickly eastward, but never west. The Sun shone with the intensity of summer in the Taklimakan. Men continued to be lost to the storms, but now also to the sun and disease. Shi-bi converted some of the ships to care for the sick so sickness would not spread to the healthy crew, but diseases contracted in Java or carried from China and spread among the crew were already quietly infecting the seemingly healthy. The storms claimed more ships as well and Megujin again proclaimed that it was a cleansing, as was the sickness.
Land was not seen at any distance and the men grew restless at the endless journey across an endless sea. Some food supplies were running short and Shi-bi set the men to fishing. Water was collected from the storms that pressed them toward the east. Eggs from the chickens and ducks and milk and cheese from the horses, cattle, sheep and goats also helped to sustain them. They had yet to reach the desperate measure of bleeding their horses for sustenance. Shi-bi was not sure how the Chinese, Uyghurs, Koreans and other nationalities in his force would respond to that particular Mongol solution.
The core Mongol contingent was small in comparison to the others, only about a thousand men and he relied on them as the center of his strength. The Uyghurs were the next most reliable, Led by Ike Mese who had completely supported Shi-bi, he felt they were nearly as reliable as his Mongols, They were after plunder, wealth and glory as well. The Chinese, now led by Zhong Yu as the most senior Chinese officer in his force, were less tractable. He sensed the resentment the Chinese felt toward the Mongols as occupiers of their lands. He would have to address their loyalties at some point. Perhaps he would break the Chinese up into smaller groups and integrate them deeper into the Mongol, Uyghur and Korean forces. The great Chingis had done something similar when he broke the clans by requiring men to serve with warriors from other clans. He would combine their different skills into cohesive battle units. He had the time to do it since the Gods had not brought them to where they were going yet. Time was both an ally and a foe so he would begin to integrate the forces now.
As summer faded into autumn with little outward sign of the passage of time, the fleet pressed ever eastward. On a few occasions they saw birds that live on land or caught the odor of plants and earth, but no mountains rose from the sea. One of the outlying ships had seen a sail of strange shape on the horizon, but it came no closer and was gone in an afternoon. Shi-bi believed that there was land here, not far from their route, but it could not be the land he was meant to reach, for the Tngri sent him past these things into the unchanging sea.[/FONT]
[FONT="]By early October, Shi-bi had begun to question if there was any purpose to this voyage, divine or demonic. His fleet had dwindled to 300 ships out of the 1,000 that had sailed from China. His once great army of 25,000 men was reduced to only about 7,000. Supplies were nearly consumed and rations had been cut for man and beast. Even the fish had abandoned him and few were caught for the table. He determined to make for the next hint of land, if the Gods would allow.
Within a few days, they again saw land birds and caught the aroma of plants and earth. A day later, under a cap of clouds, an island was seen to rise from the sea to their north. Shi-bi determined to reach this island to refresh his supplies if he could and ordered the fleet to make for it. At first the Gods seemed to allow this change in course, but as they neared the land, the winds strengthened and the fleet was again pushed to the east leaving the island resting in the arms of the setting sun.
On they sailed for the next three days, never leaving the smell of land behind them, never without the company of land birds. Shi-bi thought that these constant reminders of the island were punishment for defying the Tngri and trying to land. Frustrated and morose, he kept to his cabin and spoke little. He knew the men were weary, angry and fearful. He knew the dwindling stores would not last forever. He knew that his ships would be lost one by one until he was alone and dying far from the grasses of his beloved steppes.
In his quarters late one morning, Shi-bi became aware of growing activity on deck, men talking excitedly, the sound of men moving ever more quickly, tension in their voices and movements. He left his cabin for the first time that day and came face to face with an excited Mongol warrior in the companionway.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“LAND Great General! LAND! To the east as promised by Köke Möngke and Qurmusata!” he cried, and ran off to spread the news.
Shi-bi hurried on deck and to the forecastle. On the Horizon he could see a row of mountains lifting the clouds above the horizon. The shoreline was not yet visible and he knew the land was still some distance off, but it was unmistakable. He now joined the captain on the sterncastle and ordered the fleet to be signaled to move closer together. The mountains were directly east, and the fleet moved, as always, without deviation, in that direction.
As the hours passed and the fleet continued east, more and more land could be seen. The mountains grew inexorably nearer, spreading farther to the north and south. The day faded and the setting sun illuminated the hills on the horizon as if they were a brilliant promise about to be kept. The captain suggested that they may not want to approach the unknown shore in the dark of night. It might be best to heave to and await the morning light. Shi-bi so ordered. Even the great current that had carried them across an ocean and through the calms seemed to have stopped, as if it’s work was done and the fleet drifted slowly through the dark sea.
They had drifted closer to the land during the night and the dark silhouette of the mountains gave a rough edge to the horizon that the fleet had not seen during their many months at sea. Shi-bi did not sleep well that long night and he wanted to be irritable, but the sight of the white line of surf lifted his soul and he smiled broadly for the first time in nearly a year. He ordered the fleet to set sail for the land.
And so they did. By mid morning they were close enough to see that there was no safe anchorage along this stretch of coast. There was a point a short distance to their south where the land curved away sharply to the east. To their north the shoreline continued to nearly merge with what appeared to be a large island stretching toward the west. Shi-bi sailed north along the coast, knowing that the Gods were happy with this decision, because they had allowed him to do so.
It soon became apparent that the west tending land was indeed an island. They sailed between this island and the coast and found themselves in a great bay. Surely, this must be where they were going. Shi-bi tested the Gods one more time and ordered the fleet to drop anchor off the north shore of the island, where they would be protected.
He surveyed the bay from the stern of his ship, noting another island to the west of his anchorage as well as the headland that enclosed the west side. To his north, another island between the shores and on either side of that a channel that lead farther northward. To his east lay the shore they had first seen, with its low mountains clad with dense forest. All about them was green and alive, gently rolling hills, mangroves and beaches. The gentle waves were no longer the blue black of the ocean, but dappled with the blue-green shades of shallow water. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Above it all, Köke Möngke, Eternal Blue Heaven.[/FONT]