Ming of the West, Koxinga Goes East

Keenir

Banned
Tomb said:
To Name A Land

Mei-Guo: 美国 Beautiful Country

(for the most part). This name is also expressed for the European term of, America for the continent based on the name of Amerigo Vespucci, a Italian explorer.
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there's probably conspiracy theorists in this ATL, saying that Vespucci changed his name (or later historians changed it) to be more like Mei-Guo in an attempt to steal credit for the land's name.

Jin Guo 金国 Gold Country

Ye Guo 野国 Open Country
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these are all excellent names and superb reasons for the names.


have fun in China, stay safe, and enjoy yourself.
 

mosodake

Tomb said:
Well "Mei" also (amongst its many meanings in Chinese) means Beautiful, so America comes out as "Beautiful Country" which I imagine the abundant scenery could be a cause for calling it as such. I don't wish to call it Fusang, the mythical western nation which is either the Americas or Japan in Chinese legend, I could call it the "Dongguo" East-Country but then I would have to call San Francisco "Dongjing" which would also be taking the title from Japan.

Granted I could just use all of them depending on the source, Natives of "Meiguo" call it that, while Natives of China call it "Dongguo" while Japanese pick up "Fusang" possibly.
Click to expand...

This is somewhat of a stretch, but the native tribes living around San Francisco are the Miwoks right? If that was what they called themselves and assuming Koxinga spoke Hokkien since he is Fujianese, then Meiguo is a plausible name. Mei is pronounced "bee" or "mee" in Hokkien which then sounds similar to the first syllable in Miwok. Maybe if the Chinese spot some particularly pretty Miwok girls, they would name the tribe using 美 in the context of "beautiful" and since the tribe lived around the area, name the country after them. I'm just speculating here, as I have no idea whether the Miwoks called themselves that.

By the way, in case you're using it, Fusang would be probably be pronounced in Japanese as "fuso" with a long o.
 

Malta

The Spanish Plot

By the Mid 16th Century, the Golden Gate is seen as deeply hatred cesspool by many of the Hardliner Confucianists in the Homeland, this for the fact that more or less it is a land to itself, the Jin Family having intrenched themselves in support of not only the merchant class but also through the people for which the Golden Gate is a land of freedom from oppression and of opportunity, much in flaunt of the Mandate of Heaven. It is here that the many people can unite in a sort of living community against the oppression of those who rule by divine right, as such an example in the Jin Family which rules on the basis of discovery and of being able to fairly manage the needs of the Golden Gate and of the rulers back home. The Gold Run, the discovery of Gold, has by this time spread the Chinese civilization over much of the West coast from the dominions of the Chinook to the north as far south as Tianchengshi to south though largely the settlement style is very coastal with the only large inland portion of Yeguo being the settlement of the Central Valley to the Dongshan mountains in what is held to be the "Golden Lands" for the gold and wheat grown in the valley.

The population is largely made up of Han Chinese, but their are sprinkling of populations of minority groups from the homeland, or the Japanese or Koreans, or the Yeguo-ren natives but the latest group to become residents of the area are by far the most loudest and troublesome to date.

The Spanish.

Since the discovery and open relations with the Golden Gate and Spanish Mexico, by 1540 a large number of Spaindard Conquistadors, many part of a second wave of young adventurers seeking to make their fortune as Mexico quiets down under Spanish rule, search for the unknown and wealth beyond their dreams. Rumors of a Mountain of Gold leading many to look northward and having these stories validated in their eyes lead many to travel northward to settle in the Golden Gate and pan for gold, but doing so they bumped elbows with their many neighbors. With a swagger and upstartness, the pride of the Spanish is seen as annoying by the pride of the locals, the Spanish carved out for themselves a ghetto in the Golden Gate and many quickly spead toward the Mountain of Gold. The only reason for their prescence in the area was it was encouraged by the local Council of Merchants that relations with the Spanish may be profitable on the account that now with Mexico stabilized they can quite possibly get into not only the Mexican Markets again but also farther into Europe. Trade blocks by Neoconfucianists in the homeland still block the merchants from traveling westward to make their own personal fortunes instead limiting their influence and market with the vast wealth going into the pockets of the corrupted Eunuch Court.

That these men coming into the Golden Gate were soldiers though may have slipped by, with their leader Francisco Pizarro seeking a way to capture the Golden Gate for the Spanish Empire, wanting to set himself up as Governor of a very wealthy and gold glorious city. The plans for this began with the stirring up of troubles with the Han and the Yeguo-ren natives within the interior and on the edges of the Golden Gate's rule. This culminated in the Second Native Rebellion, where fringe native groups and rebellious leaders of those within the Golden Gate's sphere of influence ran amok attacking frontier settlements and retreating into the mountains, forcing Jin Huo the current family head to send troops to deal with the natives and secure the borders, stretching his troops and ships along the coast and inland rivers. This opened the way for a Spanish fleet and army from Mexico to travel up the coast and attack the Golden Gate, once seizing the city Pizarro planned then resistance would soon end and victory would be total.

So in August of 1543, the Spanish fleet sailed from Mexico up the western coast and were at the gate of the Golden Gate when the Trap of Jin Huo was sprung. Spanish troops and supporters within the city were supposed to assail the Gold Forts, the premier sea defensive fortifications guarding the entrance into the Bay, but the night of Yeguo-ren troops ambushed the Spanish forces and their allies, the leak of Pizarro's plot oweing to the fact that a merchant in Mexico had overheard of the plans and spead back to the Golden Gate before the arrival of the Spanish Fleet. Thus when the Spanish fleet began to enter the Bay, eased by the sight of the Flag of Spain flying in view from the Gold Forts in the shining early morning light, they were soon surprised as the guns of the fort, and those of many others arrayed on the hills to either side of the Bay entrance,all opened fire. Pizarro's plans soon unraveled as the Spanish fleet was decimated and limped back to Mexico, soon enough though facing revolt and rebellion in Mexico as Agents from the Golden gate repaid the Spanish in equallity!

As Spanish citizens were seized and captured throughout the area, Pizarro, some of his men and allies made an attempt to flee through the mountains of the southeast but were captured and hauled back to the Golden Gate in irons. As Mexico once again unraveled for the Spanish, the situation began to appear better then hoped for the Golden Gate as those resisting Spanish rule desired aide, the Spanish government deneied support of Pizarro and requested trade resume, and so soon the Golden Gate's influence spread southward again.

The last events though, notedly would be of Jin Liang, the younger brother of Jin Huo who lead the naval forces of the Golden Gate southward in a exploration expedition, that after a nasty storm blew the fleet more southward then any had ever traveled before.
 

Malta

As a treat (inspired by the epic nature of Subversivepanda)to all and saying that I will be continuing ths TL I present a map of th Dominion of Dajinmen.
Na-blank-WestDajinmen.png

Now on the nature of the holdings of Dajinmen and the Jin family, the family through direct ownership or collaboration operate a series of island trade outpost-ports stretching from OTL Aleutian islands down to the Islas Magdelenas that work as small trading posts with the natives as well as a secure route of travel. Prior to the Spanish Invasion of Mexico these ports shipped from Mexico to Dajinmen to China and vice versa with one way going gold and exotics and coming the otherway persons and manufactured products. Largely untill a rise of urbanism in Dajinmen allows for locally produced goods of high quality nature. The Haida Islands are not really settled, but had to be reduced to submission following raiding parties from the island and the neighboring shore.

The mainland population consists of a few fort centers on the coastline as well as the main area of Dajinmen and the Dongshan regions. The Bay area has the highest concentration of population for the entire American West coast if not the Northern Hemisphere, and serves as the main gateway for much of the trade from the California inland, that coming up from Mexico and that coming from Asia. The population of Han Chinese and other immigrants from Asia make up the majority in the various island and coastal exclaves as well as that in a broad corridor from the Bay Area through the middle of the Central Valley up the Sacremento river and as far eastward as the Dongshan mountains. The remainder of the population besides the odd Hispanic, is made up of the more or less subdued native tribes that have either attached themselves to the Chinese through cultural assimilation of force. I am not quite sure on the population estimate myself but I'd give it at somewhere between 100 to 500 thousand. "Immigrant" populations make up a majority by 10-20% margin of the population.

The main economic focus of the region is the exploitation of gold, silver, timber and the other natural resources of the Central valley but with the ever increasing population and search for gold this is leading to a shift toward agriculture. Fishing is a primary amongst the island and coastal exclaves. A small but growing self-sufficent economic model is forming with the influx of artisians and craftsmen who are seeing that Danjinmen gains its own economic base free from China which is going to form a conflicting dynamic between those merchants more loyal to the "Old Country" and those who prefer Dajinmen.
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No hopefully I will have moree time upon my return from China in a few weeks.Oh and I am indeed contemplating dropping my Kongxia portion of this TL.
 

Malta

1550: The Year Things Changed
By Li You 李祐

Following the Sino-Hispanic War of 1545, the Golden Gate once again was on the upsurge in all areas one could possible think of from economic and population growth to pollution and insecurity. These years culminated into what many call a runaway period of expansion that would drastically affect the fortunes of everyone, one could say it was a turning point as events within and without the territory of Jin forced these changes.
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Giving a backdrop to events the end of the Sino-Hispanic War of 1545, something that other scholars give varying degrees of historical credit too-some simply calling it the Pizarro Incident or the Conquistador’s Slip. In my view the incident was important in curbing Spanish influence in the Americas, as the disaster that was Pizarro’s leadership culminated in the largest of Spain in the Americas to that date and showed a moment of weakness that allowed for the Ye people [1] in Mexico to revolt thus sending already precarious Spanish rule [2] and keeping their attention there. Therefore this allowed for the Golden Gate, and a extent the Ming Dynasty, to not only resume a game of playing off the various Ye peoples in Mexico and gaining economic influence but also continue expansion along the Pacific Ocean.
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Following the aftermath of the Sino-Hispanic War of 1545, Jin Liang[3], the younger brother of the Governor Jin Huo [4] and commander of the Naval forces of the Golden Gate advocated for a new period of expansion, to check the Spanish naval influence. Jin Liang was quickly also backed by several merchant influences that wished to seek out more native trade partners and other deposits of important natural products. In what could have only been interpreted as a surprising amount of political independence from the Ming, Jin Huo agreed using the already built up naval forces as a base in 1549 sent his younger brother southward. With four ships, Jin Liang traveled southward with a compliment of two eight masted supply ships, one five masted warship, and one six masted troop ship from the Golden Gate to the Pinnacle Islands [5] the southernmost extent of Ming influence at the time with a small population of just a hundred traders and fishermen. Then he went south and kept on going.
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Meanwhile back in the Golden Gate the continued expansion of the ’Immigrant’ populations of non-Ye and mining of the Dongshan [6] was leading to disastrous results for the Ye peoples who lived in the Central Valley and along the Dayu river [7]. The increasing push for gold in the mountains leads to tenser and bloodier conflicts between the Ye such as the Yana and Maidu tribes as despite being hard-hit by sweeping plagues the populations still number close to 100,000 in number. It was unfortunate, but the Bay area was reaching a point of need to release pressure, as the population had grown from its few hundred to over 100,000 in the nearly hundred year time span since the founding of the Golden Gate. Already numerous smaller outposts were ranged in the northern reaches of the Central Valley and their was growing agitation for even pushing southward. The pollution caused by mining and extraction of the gold and other minerals in the footsteps of the Dongshan was affecting both Immigrants and the Ye at the time, destroying the hunting grounds and life sources of those ancient natives and causing those settlers moving in to want to expand away from areas of mining. Raids and bloodshed between both sides became increasingly common by 1550, as relations between the natives who surrounded the Dongshan turned sour.
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The tension that was running throughout the Golden Gate was all that was needed for one native Maidu chief by the name of Xue Kuai [8] to spark a aptly named conflict between the two peoples.

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[1] Remember (also a Chinese lesson), Ye or野 means wild in Chinese. Yeshengguo 野生国 is the name for the Americas. To them a Native is a Yeguoren 野国人
[2] No Aztecs=More Decentralized Mexico=Harder, Longer Spanish Conquest
[3] 金亮
[4] 金火
[5] 尖阁列岛 or the Islas Marias
[6] East Mountains, 东山 or the Sierras
[7] 大魚河 or Dayuhe or Great Fish River or Sacramento River
[8]血塊 or Gore. Nickname by ATL historians
 

Malta

The Maidu War
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The sudden eruption of what would be known as the Maidu War would begin with a sudden and brutal attack against the Yeguomen settlements along the upper river region of the Dayu river and its tributaries. This was an area where the Yeguomen settlers had gone westward and northward in search for both gold and land, and was the site of several spread out mining and farming communities which quickly found themselves besieged. While able to manage a siege like defense over several areas mostly due to the preexisting military forts due interest of the Jin government to maintain links with the Dongshan mining areas. Though those farming communities and recent outposts of settlers along the further reaches of the Dayu river [1] were subject to attacks and raids by the Maidu and other tribes pushed toward the northern end of the Central Valley. These attacks left over two hundred dead and more wounded, sending settlers back toward Anqing city in terror and flight. Xue Kuai, the leader of the Maidu in this affair directed a ‘control-the-land’ strategy where his forces simply surrounded Chinese settlements and when opposing soldiers and militias attacked his forces melted back into the scenery springing ambushes and burning farms and buildings to divide the Yeguomen. Lasting from mid summer to early winter these attacks greatly angered the people of the Golden Gate when news reached to them downstream, and petitions were made by both merchant guilds and common citizenry to Governor Jin Huo to deal with the unruly Maidu and other Ye-ren.
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Hearing of the attacks, Jin Huo immediately ordered Mori Okada, Commander of the Frontier to go on an offensive against the Maidu and make safe the Central Valley for the people. Okada a veteran of the Sengoku wars in his native Japan vows to crush the Maidu with all the strength he can muster and commands 3,000 soldiers from Anqing setting out for the north.
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At the approach of Okada, Xue Kuai orders his forces to attack and raid the north going column trying to lure them into many small ambushes which in all appearances Okada seems to take inflicting casualties into his forces. Though Okada does not direct any of his main forces into these first raids with the Maidu, instead he continues to march the army northward to the farming community of Hong fuse [2] which was the last of such to remain. Encamping his men, the Yeguomen work to build fortifications and defend the area much to Xue Kuai’s surprise and belief that Okada is a much poorer commander then he had previously believed after seeing how the Yeguomen are now all hopelessly surrounded and so orders a all out attack on Hongfuse.
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The Battle of Hongfuse began with the Maidu assaulting the walls of the settlement completely surrounding the defenders who at first did not fire a shot, withstanding a barrage of gunfire and arrows from the Maidu who came out enmasse to attack the defenders. Those assaulting the walls pressed on and were emboldened by the way the Chinese appeared to pull back and run away from the defenses but their sense of victory was soon dashed when the first few leapt down into the settlement and discovered the assorted piles of gunpowder that Okada had brought with him and lined the gate and walls with. Okada then ordered his engineers to set off the explosive fuses, the explosions sending fire to kill many of the Maidu assaulting the walls and set fire to the battlements which then were proceeded to be fire at with the cannons brought by Okada where the teams aimed at making gaps in the walls. Okada then ordered his men on an all out attack on the mass of assembled Maidu outside, the stunned Maidu quickly coming under fire from the soldiers as they filed out of the settlement with mortar teams throwing bombs into the Maidu. The sheer firepower of the assault completely crippled the Maidu, who were more or less swept away when Okada and his cavalry lead a charge with spears and swords.
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Broken, the Maidu fled with Okada and his forces on their tails and not giving the fleeing enemy any rest. Xue Kuai was cornered and killed a few miles from Hongfuse, already suffering from a shrapnel injury. This totally destroyed the willpower of the Maidu and other natives in the region and the alliance of tribes set up by Xue Kuai crumbled not long after his death and especially soon thereafter when Okada lead a brutal reprisal campaign against the Maidu massacring several villages in the foothills of the Dongshan. The Ye had finally had enough, with some soon petitioning for peace while others fled northward into the Northern Mountain Country [3].
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Settlers once again returned to the region, more drawn back by rumors that Okada’s expedition had found gold and silver in the region. Within a few years the Ye natives would be reduced to living on constantly shrinking lands, eventually beginning the process of being converted to Chinese ways of living. For his actions, Okada was awarded with great tracts of land along the Dayu region and had the status of hero-worship amongst many in the region.
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As the Golden Gate once again began to quiet down, a ship from the south arrived at the Golden Gate in 1552, sent from Jin Liang the younger brother of Jin Huo who had lead the exploration expedition southward. The news brought by the messenger stunned the people of the Golden Gate: More Mountains of Gold discovered

[1] North of Chico, California
[2] Red Bluffs, California
[3] Cascade Mountains, Oregon
 

Malta

A Trip Down South-1550-1551

While the businesses of putting down the Maidu had so utterly taken over the focus and concerns of the people of the Golden Gate the fact that Jin Liang and a good portion of the fleet were somewhere to the south mostly skipped the minds of the people. While the Governor-General had dispatched a messenger during the conflict to the southern islands in hopes of reaching his brother with orders to bring back the men and guns of the expeditionary fleet as well as his expertise. The messenger ship upon arriving at the Pinnacle Islands had found that Jin Liang had sailed southward already, thus making it clear that Jin Huo had to rely on the expertise of Takada in ending the Maidu revolt. Therefore the news of Jin Liang caught many by surprise but the willingness to turn toward better news allowed for the quick proliferation of the findings to the south.
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The captain of the messenger ship was Wen Huili who was accepted to the audience chamber of the Governor-General, much to great fanfare as the news drew in the various social elite across the Golden Gate’s dominion from well respected families to enterprising merchants and even the recent hero Takada. The servants who buzzed around also kept their ears open too, going in and out of the backrooms and relaying news in a interconnected network amongst gossipers and eavesdroppers. Despite being under quite a lot of scrutiny and attention Wen took it all in and when commanded so, retold the last two years to a completely silent and packed room.
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After setting out from the Pinnacle islands they received a brief push along the coastline which after passing off the coast of Oaxaca, where they briefly stopped to exchange greetings with the Mixtec Prince who was fighting against the Spanish. Though soon after continuing southward they ran into a obstacle as the currents changed and instead of pushing them southward fought against them and tried to push the expedition out to sea. Eventually a storm did arise and the fleet was forced out to sea, constantly being hounded by the sea storms but as some sort of strange twist of fate a grouping of islands was discovered in the middle of the ocean where the ships took shelter. There they spent a few days sailing amongst the islands and recording the number of animals on the islands such as the lizards, birds, and large turtles that inhabited the islands, only leaving after a brief funeral for a sailor who had died of drowning and naming the islands, Safe Haven [1].
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Attempting to sail for mainland again the fleet sailed south-westward where to good fortune they found another current that lead southwards and upon finding land they were greeted by the sights of boats off the coastline[2]. At first the Yeguo-ren were frightened of the expedition and fled inland, but in need of supplies after spending several months getting to this point Jin Liang landed at the village and attempted to bargain for food. At first the villagers would not come out from their huts, which frustrated Jin Liang greatly until he ordered a ship to fire its gun to scare the villagers out who upon hearing the great roar of the cannons came out and seemed to beg for mercy. Much more happy, Jin Liang and officials attempted to communicate with the villagers who they discovered did not speak any of the languages of the Yeguo-ren in Mexico which proved a great problem as the expedition leaders were forced to use crude gestures to communicate their desire to purchase food. Here the 500 man expedition stayed to re-supply, but a few weeks after their stay they were soon met by a force of soldiers that constituted of over 10,000.
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Having turned the village into something of a fort over their stay the expedition at this point was well in place to stand any siege with both land and cannon emplacements covering much of the area along with crack expeditionary troops but they could have just as likely escaped with ease. Instead Jin Liang issued a parlay, using the villagers who had been taught some of their language and soon a meeting was arranged between Jin Liang and the head of the army, the local governor, Atahualpa. The first meeting was short but cordial, where both sides looked at one another as an oddity and attempts were made both sides to gauge the strengths and objectives of the others. Giving a few gifts to Atahualpa the meeting ended and the Chinese went back to their area and so did Atahualpa who had managed to at least communicate was Apa-cuna of the Tawantinsuyu. Over the course of an additional month half of the forces of the "People of the Four Corners under the Sapa Inca" left and Atahualpa would come and go, slowly building up a understanding of language. During this time Jin Liang showed the effective nature of his cannons as a move to show his strength but continued to give gifts to Atahualpa and make indications that their was more to be had-not with him but where he came from which was far away. This continued until Jin Liang was invited to the local capital of Quito as a guest of Atahualpa where Jin Liang accepted and took with him twenty men and some of their goods stock.
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Traveling to Quito and settling into the area, Jin Liang finally was made apparent to the situation of Atahualpa and the grander Inca Empire, and were made extremely aware of the richness in gold that the locals had from the massive amount used in decoration throughout Atahualpa’s palace. Apparently Atahualpa was the son of the last Inca and was made by his father [3] the governor of the area when his half-brother Ninan Cuyochi was made Sapa Inca but he faced problems at home due to the slow spread of a disease which over the last decade had made its way into the Empire-halting expansion to the north into Columbia. Asking to look at the disease, Atahualpa showed them to locals who had contracted the disease-which consisted of many small, red pox that covered her body-the Chinese immediately recognized it as smallpox. This bit of news told the Chinese two things, one that a land route must exist between the Spanish in Mexico and that the local politics here just volatile enough to turn toward their benefit. Returning to Atahualpa, Jin Liang told him two things: the first that the disease spread from far, far to the north because of their rivals and then that they had a cure to smallpox. The art of inoculation had been practiced ambiguously in China for a short amount of time, and the Chinese had other more herbal remedies but outbreaks amongst the Yeguo-ren around the Golden Gate had allowed for Chinese physicians to run field tests without running into problems from families.
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The Chinese physicians applied their arts to ‘volunteers’ in Quito and while some did die, others who were inoculated and contracted smallpox lived and so it seemed that the Chinese to the locals had a definite cure for this terrible disease! Atahualpa for his part acted swiftly to keep this information contained, and immediately showed his thanks to Jin Liang by showering him with gifts and a treaty of trade and leasing the land where the Chinese had made set up for a trade post. Pleased with this, Jin Liang now could more easily move on much more deeper subjects, such as the scope of the size of the Inca Empire and the amount of gold and goods to be had. What he was told was again very pleasing, but also was what Atahualpa next asked of him: to help him overthrow his brother.
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[1] Galapagos
[2] North of Machala, Ecuador
[3] Huayna Capac
 
iori

iori

Your TL's all really do have the ability to just get more and more interesting as they go on.

I'd say subscribed, but I already am. :p
 

tallwingedgoat

The Williamette Valley is actually richer agricultural land than northern California. Also the Chinese will be most interested in silver, which is abundant in the region. There are several silver mines in British Columbia, and Silver Valley of Northern Idaho was historically one of three most productive silver lodes in history, after ones in Bolivia and Mexico.
 

Death

Banned
I have re-read this TL three times or more and each time i feel like i have discovered some thing totally new about Chinese Americas.

Has Jin warned the incas about the threat of the Euro hoards yet?
Even better could we see a surviving Inca Empire?:cool:
 

Malta

tallwingedgoat said:
The Williamette Valley is actually richer agricultural land than northern California. Also the Chinese will be most interested in silver, which is abundant in the region. There are several silver mines in British Columbia, and Silver Valley of Northern Idaho was historically one of three most productive silver lodes in history, after ones in Bolivia and Mexico.
Click to expand...

Towards this, the original mission was to find new lands for trade and exploration, and in finding the San Fransisco Bay area with its abundant fishing and space it filled the original purpose. Though as time goes on we will see a shift, as already can be seen the demand for gold/silver and good agricultural land is on the rise as the Chinese get more and more into the interior, and indeed the Williamette Valley will become to New England as California is Virginia.
 

06294086

Just found this ATL.

Happy to see a well-written ATL about the Ming goes to the America.

I'd really love to see those conquistadors' asses got kicked :D
 

Malta

豊
怡
江
启
示

江

The Feng Yi River and the Qi Shi River Valley: The River of Plentiful Harmony and the River of Enlightenment

It was not very long after the discovery and settlement of the Golden Gate region that exploration up and down the eastern continent's coast began and from it the interaction with the various peoples who lived along the coast. While some were more disagreeable with others such as the Haida folk who had to be subjugated by the might of the Ming Dynasty's navy, others were much more agreeable such as the Chinook people. The explorer to make contact with the Chinook people was Captain Xie Tsai, ordered to make contact and map out locations of the local Yeguoren peoples who lived along the coast in 1453. This became a strong need following the growth of the population of the Golden Gate and the need to trade for foodstuffs and that a number of independent merchants were making slick side deals without oversight by Jin Ma.

Sailing north from the Golden Gate, Xie Tsai made contact with a number of small tribes, and when he encountered the Chinook he praised them highly in his following reports as a most peaceful and amicable people. Anchoring his ship at the mouth of the Fengyi River, Xie Tsai lead a delegation to meet with the local Chinook tribal leaders and through a translator expressed the desire for peace and trade offering to them gifts. Noting the social hierarchy of flat headed members of the society and that many of the Chinook were quite shrewd traders as they probed Xie Tsai and his delagation questions about what they had to offer. During this time, Xie Tsai canoed up the Feng Yi river where he saw recorded the sights that he saw, himself painting vivid scenes of the area which are known as artistic treasures. Xie Tsai notably took a trip down a tributary river to the Feng Yi, which he named Qi Shi or Enlightenment. Noting that Enlightenment leads to Plentiful Harmony from the pleasent atmosphere of the region and the plentiful fish and resources that populated the region, even noting that the native peoples that lived there seemed to live a egalitarian life free of war and conflict.

For the next fifty years peaceful trade relations would extend to the Chinook people, as merchants and traders would make stops at their river villages. Eventually in 1497 a permanent Chinese settlement would be created at the mouth of the river, slowly absorbing the local Chinook people there as Chinese sailors notably would sleep witht he local women and also plague would take the locals. The name of the outpost to take place would be called Qin Pian, or To Hold in the Mouth Pearl. To take note of the richness of the area and in part a play on the name of the locals. Inland settlement would not take place until 1540 when Chun Dwoo Woo, a Korean Merchant from Joeson financed the settlement of refugees and immigrants fleeing the bloody power struggles going on in their homeland at the time. Naming their settlment, Ryugyong or Capital of Willows [1] after the numerous willow trees they found in the area, they would be the first to directly trade with the Kayapula people living in the Enlightenment Valley and would help construct the first Buddhist Pagoda Monastery in the area which still stands today (despite the 1700 Great Tsunami).

[1] A Historic Name for Pyongyang
 

Malta

I must redux the above somewhat [3].

A Trip Down South-1550-1551

While the businesses of putting down the Maidu had so utterly taken over the focus and concerns of the people of the Golden Gate the fact that Jin Liang and a good portion of the fleet were somewhere to the south mostly skipped the minds of the people. While the Governor-General had dispatched a messenger during the conflict to the southern islands in hopes of reaching his brother with orders to bring back the men and guns of the expeditionary fleet as well as his expertise. The messenger ship upon arriving at the Pinnacle Islands had found that Jin Liang had sailed southward already, thus making it clear that Jin Huo had to rely on the expertise of Takada in ending the Maidu revolt. Therefore the news of Jin Liang caught many by surprise but the willingness to turn toward better news allowed for the quick proliferation of the findings to the south.
-
The captain of the messenger ship was Wen Huili who was accepted to the audience chamber of the Governor-General, much to great fanfare as the news drew in the various social elite across the Golden Gate’s dominion from well respected families to enterprising merchants and even the recent hero Takada. The servants who buzzed around also kept their ears open too, going in and out of the backrooms and relaying news in a interconnected network amongst gossipers and eavesdroppers. Despite being under quite a lot of scrutiny and attention Wen took it all in and when commanded so, retold the last two years to a completely silent and packed room.
-
After setting out from the Pinnacle islands they received a brief push along the coastline which after passing off the coast of Oaxaca, where they briefly stopped to exchange greetings with the Mixtec Prince who was fighting against the Spanish. Though soon after continuing southward they ran into a obstacle as the currents changed and instead of pushing them southward fought against them and tried to push the expedition out to sea. Eventually a storm did arise and the fleet was forced out to sea, constantly being hounded by the sea storms but as some sort of strange twist of fate a grouping of islands was discovered in the middle of the ocean where the ships took shelter. There they spent a few days sailing amongst the islands and recording the number of animals on the islands such as the lizards, birds, and large turtles that inhabited the islands, only leaving after a brief funeral for a sailor who had died of drowning and naming the islands, Safe Haven [1].
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Attempting to sail for mainland again the fleet sailed south-westward where to good fortune they found another current that lead southwards and upon finding land they were greeted by the sights of boats off the coastline[2]. At first the Yeguo-ren were frightened of the expedition and fled inland, but in need of supplies after spending several months getting to this point Jin Liang landed at the village and attempted to bargain for food. At first the villagers would not come out from their huts, which frustrated Jin Liang greatly until he ordered a ship to fire its gun to scare the villagers out who upon hearing the great roar of the cannons came out and seemed to beg for mercy. Much more happy, Jin Liang and officials attempted to communicate with the villagers who they discovered did not speak any of the languages of the Yeguo-ren in Mexico which proved a great problem as the expedition leaders were forced to use crude gestures to communicate their desire to purchase food. Here the 500 man expedition stayed to re-supply, but a few weeks after their stay they were soon met by a force of soldiers that constituted of over 10,000.
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Having turned the village into something of a fort over their stay the expedition at this point was well in place to stand any siege with both land and cannon emplacements covering much of the area along with crack expeditionary troops but they could have just as likely escaped with ease. Instead Jin Liang issued a parlay, using the villagers who had been taught some of their language and soon a meeting was arranged between Jin Liang and the head of the army, the 'local governor', Topa. The first meeting was short but cordial, where both sides looked at one another as an oddity and attempts were made both sides to gauge the strengths and objectives of the others. Giving a few gifts to Topa the meeting ended and the Chinese went back to their area and so did Atahualpa who had managed to at least communicate was Apa-cuna of the Tawantinsuyu. Over the course of an additional month half of the forces of the "People of the Four Corners under the Sapa Inca" left and Topa would come and go, slowly building up a understanding of language. During this time Jin Liang showed the effective nature of his cannons as a move to show his strength but continued to give gifts to Topa and make indications that their was more to be had-not with him but where he came from which was far away. This continued until Jin Liang was invited to the local capital of Quito as a guest of Topa where Jin Liang accepted and took with him twenty men and some of their goods stock.
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Traveling to Quito and settling into the area, Jin Liang finally was made apparent to the situation of Topa and the grander Inca Empire, and were made extremely aware of the richness in gold that the locals had from the massive amount used in decoration throughout Atahualpa’s palace. It was then that Topa revealed that he was the first son of the current Emperor of the Inca, the Sapa Inca Atahualpa. His father had been crowned Inca following the spread of a disease that had killed Topa's grandfather and great-uncle, that lead into a civil war with his uncle Husacar-which Atahualpa had won and soon consolidated his reign. Atahualpa had appointed Topa as governor of the north to show his favortism toward Topa and drive on the expansion of the empire, which was a show that Topa would be the next ruler. Unfortunalty, the spread of disease decimated local people (thus making tribute taking less then fruitful) and Topa's soldiers and as a result Topa had fallen out of favor with his father who now looked to his second son, Husi Hualpa as his successor.

Asking to look at the disease, Topa showed them to locals who had contracted the disease-which consisted of many small, red pox that covered her body-the Chinese immediately recognized it as smallpox. This bit of news told the Chinese two things, one that a land route must exist between the Spanish in Mexico and that the local politics here just volatile enough to turn toward their benefit. Returning to Topa, Jin Liang told him two things: the first that the disease spread from far, far to the north because of their rivals and then that they had a cure to smallpox. The art of inoculation had been practiced ambiguously in China for a short amount of time, and the Chinese had other more herbal remedies but outbreaks amongst the Yeguo-ren around the Golden Gate had allowed for Chinese physicians to run field tests without running into problems from families.
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The Chinese physicians applied their arts to ‘volunteers’ in Quito and while some did die, others who were inoculated and contracted smallpox lived and so it seemed that the Chinese to the locals had a definite cure for this terrible disease! Topa for his part acted swiftly to keep this information contained, and immediately showed his thanks to Jin Liang by showering him with gifts and a treaty of trade and leasing the land where the Chinese had made set up for a trade post. Pleased with this, Jin Liang now could more easily move on much more deeper subjects, such as the scope of the size of the Inca Empire and the amount of gold and goods to be had. What he was told was again very pleasing, but also was what Topa next asked of him was worrying: to help him overthrow his father.

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Topa had sent word to his father in Cusco about victory over the disease, but his father had sent word back chiding Topa for his lies. Believing that he no longer could restore his position to his father, Topa now sought to overthrow his father and kill his brother-to ensure his own reign over the Empire of Four Corners. Jin Liang was both intrigued and worried by this news for good reason, the wealth of the Inca was immense compared to that of the natives to the north if Topa lost then the Jin family would be shut out of any chance at easily obtaining the wealth of the area. Further, if word got out to rivals in the Golden Gate the Ming Emperor could possibly declare the area for the royal court and cut out the Jin family's already considerable influence in the east.

Jin Liang made two requests of Topa: One being that upon victory his family would have legal right to establish a trade port and trade enclave in Cusco-favoring them over any other foreign rivals. The second request, he asked Topa to delay his coup until he could send word to his brother and bring the full might of the Golden Gate to decimate his father and brother. To both Topa agreed, and Jin Liang and his ships sailed as fast as they could to the Golden Gate!
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[1] Galapagos
[2] North of Machala, Ecuador
[3] Basically, I changed my mind on the pace of the disease reaching the area. Instead it arrived right on time and the Inca Empire continued on as it might have without Pizzaro or the Spanish invading.

 
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