It is too easy to be disheartened by a lack of feedback. But keep it up. This is really enjoyable.
Getting used to the quiet out there, but this thing has been in my head for so long I am just having a lot of fun getting it out.
The Horse and The Jaguar
- Thread starter phildup
- Start date
- Status
Getting used to the quiet out there, but this thing has been in my head for so long I am just having a lot of fun getting it out.
The Horse and The Jaguar...11 Plans and Power Plays
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[/FONT]At his camp on the Bay of Alagh, Songghumal Khan set his goal to expand the Khanate, establish additional colonies on both coasts and extend his hegemony. While he made certain that Orghui Biskigür had what resources he could provide, he also sent expeditions to establish small bases on two large peninsulas to the west and north. These had been explored by the northern expedition sent out in 1294. These lands had good resources, rich soil and few remaining people from the ruined cities. Each of the Khan’s colonies would be founded near one of the abandoned sites near the coast where they could take materials as needed from the decaying buildings. These would be military colonies to start so the population would be mostly soldiers and their families, later he would send more farmers and herdsmen as well as additional livestock.
In the area around the bay he encouraged intermarriage, sharing of technology and ideas and developed resources that would help his country and people grow. The bay of Alagh was now producing huge quantities of agricultural products, there was no hunger, and there was no want. Everyone ate vegetables, nuts, fruits and meat as they pleased. The cattle, sheep goats and especially the pigs thrived. To the flocks of chickens and ducks brought by the Yuan turkeys were added. Fishing was better than ever since the Chinese and Vietnamese had introduced methods current in Asia which the Ngöbe had embraced and improved by adapting their own practices. Between the productivity of the land and the generosity of the sea the people of the Khanate thrived and prospered.
Songghumal had begun to notice that there was a certain amount of idleness developing since the needs of life no longer required every minute of the day. He saw this as a potential workforce that could be set to tasks not possible in the past. The Khan set about to train a portion of the Ngöbe and other native men, for the Bay was attracting people from other tribes, as soldiers. Others would learn the arts of the builder for Songghumal had determined that the Khanate needed a capital city. It was becoming unseemly for the Great Songghumal Khan to live in a yurt, no matter how grand it was.
The new Ngöbe made enthusiastic recruits for the Khan’s army. The soldiers had always been looked upon as privileged beings, and now the Khan was extending that privilege to them. They quickly learned the art of the Mongol bow, since the Ngöbe made very good bows themselves although they lacked the power and some of the range of their Asian counterparts. They also soon mastered the long spear and presented a formidable front of infantry. They wore what little armor the khan could provide but quickly abandoned it as cumbersome and ungainly. Since there was no source of iron to make steel, the khan did not teach them the art of swordsmanship for they could not be equipped with a blade but he did integrate weapons of their own into his arsenal.
This indigenous weaponry came into it’s own when the natives adapted the skills taught by the Mongol and Chinese instructors to suite the terrain and environment that surrounded the Bay. They excelled at the subtle art of fighting invisibly, where they moved through the forests and fields, attacking the enemy without warning and then disappearing back into the cover of nature.
Many of the foals that had been delivered in the first year at Alagh were finally of an age to be ridden. They had been trained constantly since very young and were almost ready to bear a man into battle. The Khan wanted to find out if these men, who had never seen a horse before he arrived were able to conquer the art of horsemanship. The example of his adopted son, Nugün Ürije seemed to indicate that they might be very good. So he ordered skilled Mongol cavalry to teach the Ngöbe the intricacies of the horse. The best students would be assigned to existing Mongol cavalry units and further refine their skills. Over time the Khan was pleasantly surprised at how well they performed; so many of them became sound cavalrymen that Songghumal had to limit the number brought into the army due to the lack of mounts.
In June, two ships arrived from Chan Chan. One was the normal courier vessel and the second was a larger transport. Those witnessing the arrival thought that the Chimu were sending an unusually large amount of trade goods this trip. In actuality the larger ship was transporting the 20 Llama that had been given to Chun Bo Fen as a present for the Khan. Along with the Llamas and the normal cargo for the markets were the gifts that Mayta Cápac had sent to Chun, thinking him to be a king.
The Governor had sent a monk on the voyage to present the gifts to the Khan. Chun had forwarded a few beautiful pieces of gold and silverwork but the majority of metalwork that the Khan received was copper and bronze, the finest pieces had stayed in Chan Chan. Of the wonderfully woven wools that the Inca had offered the Khan saw simply decorated linen in earthy colors, again, the best had remained in the palace of Chimor. Unimpressed by these gifts from this Mayta Cápac, who was obviously king of a poor country, the Khan was delighted by the 20 Llamas which the monk presented as “from my lord, the governor of Chan Chan”. He and the monk then sat for some time and talked about the visit of the Inca and the situation in the province. The monk was well versed in the game Chun was playing and performed his role admirably, painting a picture of a steward who is carefully improving his master’s holdings and who thinks only of pleasing that master.
Notwithstanding the message of loyalty and fealty offered by Chun’s monk, Songghumal also met with one of his agents who had returned with a sealed message from his superior for the Khan. Breaking the seal Songghumal read the contents which largely supported the message delivered by the monk. He felt almost as if he had misread Chun Bo Fen and his distrust was misplaced. He had been concerned that the governor was not being forthcoming with all that he had learned and was withholding information that would be important to him. Somewhat relieved, he began to question the man who had delivered the message.
He asked the agent if he was aware of the contents of the message and was told that the letter had been sealed before it was given to him, so, he had not seen it’s contents. The Khan then started to ask questions that would confirm what he had been told by the monk and read in the message from his spy. His first few questions garnered satisfying answers but when he began to question the man about the Inca’s embassy the story was markedly different, particularly in regard to the gifts received by the Governor. The agent described the train of Llamas, the hundreds of soldiers, the lavish presents of gold, silver, gems, copper and bronze as well as the extraordinary woolen fabrics. The Khan was listening calmly but had begun to seethe inside. When his agent produced a small strip of fabric that he had been able to cut from one of the finer samples Songghumal saw the intricate weaving, the bold colors and the dramatic patterns. His anger boiled over and the agent was ordered out of his sight.
After regaining a sense of composure the Khan was able to consider what could be done. He knew that Chun had sent the paltriest samples of cloth and mere trinkets of metalwork from the Inca. He was aware that the Governor had claimed the Llamas as a gift from himself and not the Inca. But the land, his province of Chimor, was prosperous and peaceful and making valuable contributions to the Khanate. He could understand the acts of an ambitious subordinate although he needed to act to rein Chun in before he would become uncontrollable and a challenge to the Khan’s authority.
Songghumal reviewed the power situation with Ike Mense, comparing the positives and negatives of each power base. The Khan had more ships and more trained men under arms, but many of them were now divided among the three colonies. Chun had more people under his rule, although many would be no match against the Mongol army. Chun also had a more sophisticated culture he was dealing with. Although the Ngöbe were a fine people with wonderful assets and strengths, they had little that would be recognized as high culture in China.
The Khan knew that before he made any military move against Chun he must build his strength at home. The Governor, secure in his far away province, with his loyal troops and crews must be weakened and his acts hampered.
Songghumal ordered a strong fleet assembled. It should have ten war junks and assorted transports and support vessels. 2,500 soldiers would sail with the fleet for Chan Chan. Namgung Seok, the Korean, was placed in command and hastily summoned back from Asi Ügei. When Namgung arrived he was brought before the Khan who raised him to a position equal to Chun Bo Fen’s rank of Admiral of the Fleet. He was given his orders and then left the Khan’s presence with Ike Mense. The old general impressed upon Namgung that the Khan had placed great trust in the Korean and the Khan’s anger would be immeasurable should he fail Songghumal.
Namgung’s orders were to sail to Chan Chan and present the Khan’s decree that a corvee should be raised and sent to Alagh to assist in the building of Songghumal Khans Capital. Artisans and craftsmen of all sorts were to be sent including woodworkers, smiths, metalworkers, masons and laborers. They would work for the Khan for one year when a new corvee would be sent to replace them. Chun Bo Fen was to send 2,500 skilled craftsmen and 4,000 laborers.
When the Governor of Chimor was told that there was a large squadron to junks approaching Chan Chan, he gathered his aides and went to meet the ships on the shoreline. Once he saw the war junks and their number he knew this was a show of strength on the part of the Khan. Namgung landed with a substantial number of troops, but the greeting between the two sailors was warm and cheerful. They walked back toward the palace with Chun’s escort around them and Namgung’s soldiers following, Chun was aware that his men were heavily outnumbered.
They dined together that evening while the goods and animals that had been sent from Alagh were unloaded. Exchanging news, Chun learned of the Capital city the Khan had decided to build, the integration of the army with natives becoming soldiers, the success of the colony at Asi Ügei and the Khan’s expansion with the founding of two colonies up the coast from the Bay.
Chun told Namgung that there would be a market in the next week and goods would be provided for him to take back to Alagh for trade, but the Korean told him he would not be taking goods back. This alarmed Chun, although he did not show it, because that could mean that Namgung and his fleet were going to stay in Chan Chan to insure his own good behavior. He did not want a large number of troops and ships loyal to the Khan stationed in his province. His plans would be compromised.
The Governor then asked Namgung if he was planning on staying in Chan Chan and received the answer he wanted; no, they would be returning to Alagh within a few weeks. Relieved at this news, but knowing the Khan would not simply send goods and livestock out of the goodness of his heart he was concerned that there was another purpose to the voyage. Namgung then presented the Governor with the written orders from Songghumal Khan and, begging the Governor’s pardon, returned to his flagship, leaving the troops he had landed camped on the shore.
Chun read the decree from the Khan with growing anger. Sending that many skilled craftsmen away for a year would be a heavy blow to his plans. They were needed for the restoration of his cities, to maintain strong trade and to build his army. But he could find no way to avoid honoring the Khan’s command. Faced with heavily armed ships within gunshot of the palace, a significant number of well equipped soldiers, his wife and child in the Khan’s custody and his own power still limited, he complied.
The day after receiving the Khan's orders from Namgung, Chun received a message from his agent at the Khan’s court. The agent wrote that the Khan was suspicious but could not act against Chun because he was overextended. Chun fingered his lump of iron ore like worry beads as he considered his next moves. He ordered members of some of the corveed men’s families taken under his protection, as “guests”, and charged those men to provide him with intelligence about the new city and it’s defenses.
Chapter 11
Plans and Power Plays[FONT="]
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Plans and Power Plays[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[/FONT]At his camp on the Bay of Alagh, Songghumal Khan set his goal to expand the Khanate, establish additional colonies on both coasts and extend his hegemony. While he made certain that Orghui Biskigür had what resources he could provide, he also sent expeditions to establish small bases on two large peninsulas to the west and north. These had been explored by the northern expedition sent out in 1294. These lands had good resources, rich soil and few remaining people from the ruined cities. Each of the Khan’s colonies would be founded near one of the abandoned sites near the coast where they could take materials as needed from the decaying buildings. These would be military colonies to start so the population would be mostly soldiers and their families, later he would send more farmers and herdsmen as well as additional livestock.
In the area around the bay he encouraged intermarriage, sharing of technology and ideas and developed resources that would help his country and people grow. The bay of Alagh was now producing huge quantities of agricultural products, there was no hunger, and there was no want. Everyone ate vegetables, nuts, fruits and meat as they pleased. The cattle, sheep goats and especially the pigs thrived. To the flocks of chickens and ducks brought by the Yuan turkeys were added. Fishing was better than ever since the Chinese and Vietnamese had introduced methods current in Asia which the Ngöbe had embraced and improved by adapting their own practices. Between the productivity of the land and the generosity of the sea the people of the Khanate thrived and prospered.
Songghumal had begun to notice that there was a certain amount of idleness developing since the needs of life no longer required every minute of the day. He saw this as a potential workforce that could be set to tasks not possible in the past. The Khan set about to train a portion of the Ngöbe and other native men, for the Bay was attracting people from other tribes, as soldiers. Others would learn the arts of the builder for Songghumal had determined that the Khanate needed a capital city. It was becoming unseemly for the Great Songghumal Khan to live in a yurt, no matter how grand it was.
The new Ngöbe made enthusiastic recruits for the Khan’s army. The soldiers had always been looked upon as privileged beings, and now the Khan was extending that privilege to them. They quickly learned the art of the Mongol bow, since the Ngöbe made very good bows themselves although they lacked the power and some of the range of their Asian counterparts. They also soon mastered the long spear and presented a formidable front of infantry. They wore what little armor the khan could provide but quickly abandoned it as cumbersome and ungainly. Since there was no source of iron to make steel, the khan did not teach them the art of swordsmanship for they could not be equipped with a blade but he did integrate weapons of their own into his arsenal.
This indigenous weaponry came into it’s own when the natives adapted the skills taught by the Mongol and Chinese instructors to suite the terrain and environment that surrounded the Bay. They excelled at the subtle art of fighting invisibly, where they moved through the forests and fields, attacking the enemy without warning and then disappearing back into the cover of nature.
Many of the foals that had been delivered in the first year at Alagh were finally of an age to be ridden. They had been trained constantly since very young and were almost ready to bear a man into battle. The Khan wanted to find out if these men, who had never seen a horse before he arrived were able to conquer the art of horsemanship. The example of his adopted son, Nugün Ürije seemed to indicate that they might be very good. So he ordered skilled Mongol cavalry to teach the Ngöbe the intricacies of the horse. The best students would be assigned to existing Mongol cavalry units and further refine their skills. Over time the Khan was pleasantly surprised at how well they performed; so many of them became sound cavalrymen that Songghumal had to limit the number brought into the army due to the lack of mounts.
-----
The Governor had sent a monk on the voyage to present the gifts to the Khan. Chun had forwarded a few beautiful pieces of gold and silverwork but the majority of metalwork that the Khan received was copper and bronze, the finest pieces had stayed in Chan Chan. Of the wonderfully woven wools that the Inca had offered the Khan saw simply decorated linen in earthy colors, again, the best had remained in the palace of Chimor. Unimpressed by these gifts from this Mayta Cápac, who was obviously king of a poor country, the Khan was delighted by the 20 Llamas which the monk presented as “from my lord, the governor of Chan Chan”. He and the monk then sat for some time and talked about the visit of the Inca and the situation in the province. The monk was well versed in the game Chun was playing and performed his role admirably, painting a picture of a steward who is carefully improving his master’s holdings and who thinks only of pleasing that master.
Notwithstanding the message of loyalty and fealty offered by Chun’s monk, Songghumal also met with one of his agents who had returned with a sealed message from his superior for the Khan. Breaking the seal Songghumal read the contents which largely supported the message delivered by the monk. He felt almost as if he had misread Chun Bo Fen and his distrust was misplaced. He had been concerned that the governor was not being forthcoming with all that he had learned and was withholding information that would be important to him. Somewhat relieved, he began to question the man who had delivered the message.
He asked the agent if he was aware of the contents of the message and was told that the letter had been sealed before it was given to him, so, he had not seen it’s contents. The Khan then started to ask questions that would confirm what he had been told by the monk and read in the message from his spy. His first few questions garnered satisfying answers but when he began to question the man about the Inca’s embassy the story was markedly different, particularly in regard to the gifts received by the Governor. The agent described the train of Llamas, the hundreds of soldiers, the lavish presents of gold, silver, gems, copper and bronze as well as the extraordinary woolen fabrics. The Khan was listening calmly but had begun to seethe inside. When his agent produced a small strip of fabric that he had been able to cut from one of the finer samples Songghumal saw the intricate weaving, the bold colors and the dramatic patterns. His anger boiled over and the agent was ordered out of his sight.
After regaining a sense of composure the Khan was able to consider what could be done. He knew that Chun had sent the paltriest samples of cloth and mere trinkets of metalwork from the Inca. He was aware that the Governor had claimed the Llamas as a gift from himself and not the Inca. But the land, his province of Chimor, was prosperous and peaceful and making valuable contributions to the Khanate. He could understand the acts of an ambitious subordinate although he needed to act to rein Chun in before he would become uncontrollable and a challenge to the Khan’s authority.
Songghumal reviewed the power situation with Ike Mense, comparing the positives and negatives of each power base. The Khan had more ships and more trained men under arms, but many of them were now divided among the three colonies. Chun had more people under his rule, although many would be no match against the Mongol army. Chun also had a more sophisticated culture he was dealing with. Although the Ngöbe were a fine people with wonderful assets and strengths, they had little that would be recognized as high culture in China.
The Khan knew that before he made any military move against Chun he must build his strength at home. The Governor, secure in his far away province, with his loyal troops and crews must be weakened and his acts hampered.
Songghumal ordered a strong fleet assembled. It should have ten war junks and assorted transports and support vessels. 2,500 soldiers would sail with the fleet for Chan Chan. Namgung Seok, the Korean, was placed in command and hastily summoned back from Asi Ügei. When Namgung arrived he was brought before the Khan who raised him to a position equal to Chun Bo Fen’s rank of Admiral of the Fleet. He was given his orders and then left the Khan’s presence with Ike Mense. The old general impressed upon Namgung that the Khan had placed great trust in the Korean and the Khan’s anger would be immeasurable should he fail Songghumal.
Namgung’s orders were to sail to Chan Chan and present the Khan’s decree that a corvee should be raised and sent to Alagh to assist in the building of Songghumal Khans Capital. Artisans and craftsmen of all sorts were to be sent including woodworkers, smiths, metalworkers, masons and laborers. They would work for the Khan for one year when a new corvee would be sent to replace them. Chun Bo Fen was to send 2,500 skilled craftsmen and 4,000 laborers.
-----
When the Governor of Chimor was told that there was a large squadron to junks approaching Chan Chan, he gathered his aides and went to meet the ships on the shoreline. Once he saw the war junks and their number he knew this was a show of strength on the part of the Khan. Namgung landed with a substantial number of troops, but the greeting between the two sailors was warm and cheerful. They walked back toward the palace with Chun’s escort around them and Namgung’s soldiers following, Chun was aware that his men were heavily outnumbered.
They dined together that evening while the goods and animals that had been sent from Alagh were unloaded. Exchanging news, Chun learned of the Capital city the Khan had decided to build, the integration of the army with natives becoming soldiers, the success of the colony at Asi Ügei and the Khan’s expansion with the founding of two colonies up the coast from the Bay.
Chun told Namgung that there would be a market in the next week and goods would be provided for him to take back to Alagh for trade, but the Korean told him he would not be taking goods back. This alarmed Chun, although he did not show it, because that could mean that Namgung and his fleet were going to stay in Chan Chan to insure his own good behavior. He did not want a large number of troops and ships loyal to the Khan stationed in his province. His plans would be compromised.
The Governor then asked Namgung if he was planning on staying in Chan Chan and received the answer he wanted; no, they would be returning to Alagh within a few weeks. Relieved at this news, but knowing the Khan would not simply send goods and livestock out of the goodness of his heart he was concerned that there was another purpose to the voyage. Namgung then presented the Governor with the written orders from Songghumal Khan and, begging the Governor’s pardon, returned to his flagship, leaving the troops he had landed camped on the shore.
Chun read the decree from the Khan with growing anger. Sending that many skilled craftsmen away for a year would be a heavy blow to his plans. They were needed for the restoration of his cities, to maintain strong trade and to build his army. But he could find no way to avoid honoring the Khan’s command. Faced with heavily armed ships within gunshot of the palace, a significant number of well equipped soldiers, his wife and child in the Khan’s custody and his own power still limited, he complied.
The day after receiving the Khan's orders from Namgung, Chun received a message from his agent at the Khan’s court. The agent wrote that the Khan was suspicious but could not act against Chun because he was overextended. Chun fingered his lump of iron ore like worry beads as he considered his next moves. He ordered members of some of the corveed men’s families taken under his protection, as “guests”, and charged those men to provide him with intelligence about the new city and it’s defenses.
Well, this is embarrasing...
...It has just been brought to my attention that I have been found guilty of improper usage of the English language!
I have been misusing and abusing apostrophes.
Please overlook all the instances where I have typed "it's" instead of "its". Yes spell/grammar check picked it up every time as "commonly confused" and I ignored it because I thought I was using the "'" correctly.
I stand corrected...mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
...It has just been brought to my attention that I have been found guilty of improper usage of the English language!
I have been misusing and abusing apostrophes.
Please overlook all the instances where I have typed "it's" instead of "its". Yes spell/grammar check picked it up every time as "commonly confused" and I ignored it because I thought I was using the "'" correctly.
I stand corrected...mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
The Horse and The Jaguar...12 Ah Kom Xiu’s Gambit and a Prince’s Birthday
Orghui Biskigür had ordered exploration in detail of the region surrounding Asi Ügei. Numerous additional villages had been located and brought under the General’s rule, normally with only minor displays of power. The units that were sent to survey the western coastal areas however found that the natives were increasingly difficult to subdue. Wishing to increase the strength of his core, the commander ordered of the western group ordered his unit to re-group at a recently captured village. The natives here had resisted the Mongols for several days and his men had only been able to dominate this settlement with difficulty. As one of the units was approaching the village and searching for a place to ford the river they were set upon by a large company of natives. They struggled valiantly but there were too few of them and too many of their foe for the Mongols to defeat and the patrol was lost. Although many of the enemy was killed in the skirmish, nine Mongols died and all but one of the remaining Mongols were taken prisoner. The sole survivor made it to the village and was quickly sent back to Asi Ügei.
The surviving man told Orghui that these natives were not like the ones they had encountered before. They were cunning, violent and wore different clothing than the locals. They seemed to be well led and following a plan. They fought from the cover of the forest using spears, bows and blowguns and when they emerged to do combat they used axes of stone and bronze, clubs with teeth and claws and were protected by cloth padding that was hard to penetrate and protected them from most blows. Orghui was alarmed to learn that nine men had died, 10 were taken prisoner and all their horses and weaponry lost. He was angered and astonished that hostile natives had overpowered one of his units; for no Asian had yet been killed in battle by the natives. Their organization, tactics and weapons were just not up to the task. The success of this attack on his men was of the gravest concern
Orghui had been raised as a warrior and was not afraid of a fight but he knew that the Khan’s army was small and resources were limited. They could not set out in the tens of thousands as they had when they conquered the world to the west. If they were being confronted by a strong enemy they might not have time to build their strength. The defense of the Khanate would be a great concern. He ordered a substantial part of his forces to patrol the western villages and warn of any approach of this unknown enemy. Some few trusted natives were sent to obtain as much intelligence as they could. Messengers were sent to the Khan to advise him of the ambush and to request additional naval infantry, for Orghui had nearly completed the reassembly of the three junks that had been sent overland.
The General’s plan was to send one of the junks west along the coast with a company of soldiers. An additional column would march along the coast. They were to locate the villages where these hostile natives lived and eliminate them. The remaining two junks would remain in Asi Ügei for its defense.
When Orghui arrived at the site that would become Asi Ügei, one of the local headmen had dispatched canoes to advise Ahau Coat Cocom, the King of Mayapan and leader of the Mayan League of their presence. They were intercepted some distance from the Mayan homeland but the standard that Ah Kom Xiu had given to them provided safe passage to Zama. There they were conducted to the great city of Mayapan and into the presence of Ah Kom Xiu and then to Ahau Cuat Cocom himself. The natives were terrified by the size of the “Stone Village” and the sheer number of people. The King stood on a platform above them seemingly in a cloud of many colored feathers. He was adorned with so much gold ornament that the man (if that was what he was) nearly disappeared.
Ah Kom Xiu retold the story the villagers had brought with them, of the soldiers, the animals and the camp the strange men had set up on the headland. They had not seen or heard the logs that thundered or the walking tables and none of the great horned animals were with these men, but they had the animals that carried them willingly on their backs. The king listened intently and asked a few questions whereupon he instructed Ah Kom Xiu to return to the area with a force of men to keep an eye on the invaders. Runners would bring news back to Mayapan and carry the King’s orders to Xiu.
Acting now as the King’s military agent, Xiu assembled a force of about a hundred men and set out for Zama where he boarded large canoes and, with the villagers in his company, set off for the native’s bay, which the Mongols had named Umardu. His plan was to land west of the bay and establish a base camp. Then he would scout eastward under the cover of the forest until they encountered the foreigners and could gauge their strength. He did not plan on fighting the Mongols unless he had to, but if the right opportunity arose, one that would not compromise the mission; he would take advantage of it.
Ah Kom Xiu landed not far from the westernmost village the Mongols had occupied. Moving inland into the deeper forests he established his main camp and began his surveillance of the Asians.
He questioned the locals telling them not to speak of the Mayan presence or the gods would be displeased, that was enough to insure the silence of these defacto spies. From them he learned the approximate strength of the Asian forces, the locations of their camps and the villages they controlled. He discovered how carefully they protected the horses, never letting the natives near them. The Mongol use of mare’s milk as food was described, which amazed the Mayans because they had never thought of milk as food for anything other than infants. The chain of post riders was explained to him so he understood how they could quickly transmit messages and orders. There were rumors that they were building three of the great winged temples that the Mayans had heard about, at their main settlement to the east. All of this was promptly dispatched to Ahau Cuat Cocom in Mayapan.
Due to the slow but constant expansion of the Mongols, Xiu was forced to relocate his camp in early June. While moving to the new site, scouts discovered a group of the Asians as they traveled along a river on their strange animals. It was apparent that they were searching for a place they could ford the river with their animals. Word quickly got back to Xiu who determined that this was the opportunity to strike. There was no more than twenty of the enemy to his one hundred soldiers. The guide that was traveling with the Mayans led them undercover of the forest to a place they would be able to cross unseen. Having forded the river with little more than a few strokes in the deep parts, he wondered idly if the strangers or their animals could not swim? They did look very heavy for their size.
Now on the same side of the river, he sent a few men to track the enemy and inform him if they changed their rout. The local guide was certain the foreigners would have to cross the river at a spot a short distance from where the Mayans had crossed it. Xiu determined his course of action. He would surround that place except for a passage along the river for the Asians to follow. Some of his men would be hidden in the forest and the brush across the river to prevent an escape in that direction. When the Mongols had entered the ambush his men would close the path in and the men on the far side would fire arrows and darts causing a moment of confusion. During that moment his men surrounding the ford would begin to send arrows and darts into the foreigners from this side as well. Then, once weakened and before they could re-group, his troops would rush them with clubs and axes and swords.
Ah Kom Xiu made it very clear that he wanted to take as many of these men alive and that it was even more important to take the animals alive. He wished to send them back to Mayapan as proof to Ahau Cuat Cocom that they had successfully engaged these men and they could be beaten. He hoped the gods would find these captives to their liking.
The ambush went as planned. The Asian horsemen came along the river bank in file. Once they were in the chosen place, the Mayan archers, dartmen attacked with a flurry of projectiles from the other river bank. As intended this caused the Khan’s men to be thrown into a moment of confusion as they tried to wheel and return the way they came. At this moment the forest surrounding the Mongols erupted in a rain of arrows, darts and spears from all directions. Men were thrown from their mounts and the Mongols, struggling to see their enemy, did not know where to turn to defend themselves. Ah Kom Xiu gave his signal and his men charged out of the woods swinging clubs and obsidian lined blades. Arrows and spears continued to come from the forest on their flank and more of the natives had appeared on the riverbank to complete the envelopment. There seemed to be no retreat for they were surrounded on all sides. The Mongols fought from the backs of the horses until it was clear that in these close confines there was no advantage so they dismounted and engaged in hand to hand combat with the Mayans. The Asians fought hard and their weapons were very deadly. The King of Mayapan’s men eventually prevailed, but it was a bloody encounter.
Ah Kom Xiu’s force lost 28 men killed. Nearly 50 were injured; several of would die of the wounds they had sustained from the Mongol scimitars. Nine of the Mongols had died, ten had been captured but one had escaped by jumping on one of the animals and charging through the Mayan force at great speed, the animal running over two of the Mayans in its escape, crushing one of their skulls. He had also captured six of the animals, surprisingly uninjured. The other beasts had disappeared into the forest or suffered wounds that would shortly lead to their death.
Along with the Mongol horses he also had their weapons, to bring to the King. They had never seen anything like the compound bow and were amazed at the strength needed to draw it. They were even more amazed by how far its arrows flew. The blades were of a metal they had never seen, grey, hard, nearly as sharp as their obsidian lined blades, but capable of shattering the stone and cutting through the wooden blade that held it. The strangers wore clothing with similar metal attached and metal hats to protect their heads. This metal clothing could deflect the blow from a club or sword, or even one of their own metal swords, as they proved on one of the mortally injured men.
Their animals wore seats for the men to sit in and the Mayans did not know how to control them. They had seen the men get on and off of them, but they could not get close enough to try it themselves, largely due to fear and uncertainty on both their part and the part of the beasts themselves. These animals were bigger than any that they had seen before and they were not certain what they ate. Did they eat meat? They had no fangs or claws like the jaguar and other hunters. Ah Kom Xiu set his men as a human fence around these animals, enclosing a large area. Eventually the beasts calmed enough that they began to eat the grass on the ground, although they were alert to any movement among the men surrounding them.
Men sent to capture the one escapee returned that night to tell Ah Kom Xiu that they could not catch the man on the animal. It ran too fast.
Songghumal, when he heard of the ambush on the other coast, was not happy. He sent the additional Naval Infantry to Asi ügei as requested by Orghui. He ordered that the lone survivor return to Alagh so he could hear the details from the man himself. When the soldier arrived at the Khan’s camp, still recovering from his wounds, he was taken into Songghumal’s presence. There, with the Khan, were several of the monks and shamans as well as the headmen of the nearby villages, and off to the side, sitting quietly to observe, the Khans son. The assembled men listened to the story of this simple Mongol soldier. It was direct, full of detail and bereft of the embellishment and self aggrandizement so often heard when the lowly speak to the mighty of incredible things. The gathered headmen and their shamans quickly came to the conclusion that these were not local villagers, but men from the stone villages; Mayans. The Khan’s understanding of the Maya had grown over the past few years and he understood that they were often a warlike people who fought among themselves as readily as they fought others. They were very powerful with large cities whose temples rose above the trees and whose gods desired the sacrifice of human blood, even that of their kings.
The Khan had listened to the tales told by the Ngöbe shamans of the great empire the Maya had once possessed, stretching from one sea to the other and from far to the north almost to Ngöbe lands. He had heard of the wars they fought with each other that destroyed that empire and the stories told that they went north into the great forests and rebuilt their cities and their way of life.
If he was to dominate in this land, he knew he would have to deal with these cities and their armies someday. For now he was not in a position to challenge them. His forces were stretched thin because his new native soldiers were not ready yet, so he would continue to build his strength, training men, breeding the herds and trying to find iron. This last was perhaps the most important because without iron, his ability to build ships, weapons and siege machines was limited. The only source he had was the fleet where he would salvage what iron he could from derelicts, but often a quantity of the iron in a useless ship had corroded to the point where it was useless. The very limited supply he had was dwindling.
He had found a site for his capital in the great valley northeast of the bay. It stood on a hill and looked down towards the great gulf to the west where islands of the Olturigh Subud, the Pearl Islands, lay. The city would be well watered with its own springs and had open land for the horses to graze in. Although the site was in the middle of a valley, the city would be elevated above the plain and in a strong defensible position.
His masons had found a suitable source of stone not far into the mountains and a road was built to transport the stone to the site of the new city. Local men were learning the art of stone cutting and others Asian carpentry methods. These skills would be used to build the great wooden halls of the city and to preserve the fleet. Other men were learning how to make tiles for the floors and roofs of the city buildings. Once the corvee from Chan Chan arrived and the men were put to work, some adapted the skills of the tile makers to build a drainage system for the city which would carry its waste away.
Ah Kom Xiu left a large portion of his men in the area west of the Khanate as sentinels. They were quartered in the local villages and disguised themselves as locals, although they did not work. The villagers saw to their provisioning to avoid the King’s, and his gods, anger. Xiu had to return to Mayapan overland because he was unable to carry the horses in canoes.
The Mongol prisoners needed to walk with the animals because the Mayans could not control them, so Xiu had the Asian’s legs shackled to prevent them from trying to escape on horseback. He also hobbled the horses to prevent them from running away. The march took many weeks and was very hard for the prisoners, several of whom had severe wounds and died en route, but Xiu treated the remaining Mongols well, for he wanted them to be alive for the king when they reached Mayapan, and, of course he needed them for the horses. The Mongols could speak a little in the tongue of the Ngöbe so Ah Kom Xiu took the opportunity to learn as much as he could about the strangers and their people. Much of what he heard was so fantastic and unimaginable that he decided they were lies, but in fact he was given a truthful account of Mongol history, as these men knew it.
When Ah Kom Xiu arrived at Mayapan the remaining six Mongols were all ill to one degree or another. The journey through the forests and jungles had been very trying on them and the horses. He wanted to keep them alive as long as he could, knowing that they were more valuable alive than sacrificed to feed Kukulkan, at least for the time being.
Xiu’s took no rest upon reaching Mayapan. Knowing that the king would be at the great temple on this day, for it was a day of sacrifice, he marched directly into the city and to the temple plaza. A great crowd followed him trying to see, but not get too close to the bizarre animals that walked beside the strangely dressed men. Xiu’s soldiers kept the rabble at bay and they arrived, to great tumult, at the temple where Ahau Cuat Cocom first saw horses. There were four of the beasts remaining. The king did not see them in full riding tack, but as naked animals. He found them very strange but somehow he found them pleasing to look upon. Nonetheless, the king feared them because they were large and unknown.
Xiu, knowing that his status had just taken a huge leap, bowed to the King who motioned him up the temple stairs. The Mongols however were quite disoriented, because the crowd that pressed all around them was so alien to their experience. The dress, noise and the sheer numbers caused the Asians to almost faint. Adding to their discomfort was the sight of the blood stained steps that Ah Kom Xiu had climbed. There were severed heads lying at the bottom and Xiu had blithely stepped over them to ascend to the King.
Ahau Cuat Cocom asked Xiu what he should tell the crowd below about the procession that had entered the plaza. Xiu turned to the masses at the base of the plaza and said; “The Great Lord Ahau Cuat Cocom heard of strange and powerful men who had come from the west into lands nearby. The Great Lord sent this insignificant servant to show them the power our Great Lord wields as the blessing of Kukulkan. By that power and blessing the invaders were overwhelmed when Our Great Lord’s army fell upon them and took from them their magical animals which carry them from place to place and into battle. Give thanks to The Great Lord and to Kukulkan for the good fortune and blessings they shower upon us, their meaningless people.”
The King was pleased and instructed Xiu to take his prisoners away and find suitable shelter for them. Xiu was to bathe and come before the King that evening to tell him what he had learned.
The Mongols looked very bad; they were ill, dirty and thin. Ah Kom Xiu sheltered them at his own compound and made sure that the horses had their needs met. The prisoners were attended by Mayan healers, fed, bathed and rested.
Xiu’s meeting with the King that night lasted well into the next morning. The King asked him what he knew of the strangers, what had he learned and what he had seen. Xiu told the King that the men said they came from a great country many months across the western ocean which had conquered the entire world. They were an army sent by the emperor of that land, whom they called Khagan. They had come in the winged temples the king had heard of, of which they had many. They now served their own emperor in this land, whom they call Khan. He has a great army and rules vast lands with many people. They travel in the winged temples along the coast and have conquered a distant empire called Chimu. They have many wonderful weapons that throw fire and thunder and uncountable animals, such as the four that had been brought to the city, which they call horses. These, they ride into battle and across great distances. They also have huge beasts with horns who give milk for the children and meat and something called leather when dead. They pull the walking tables, which does not really walk, but are like a child’s toy which rolls. They carry great burdens and prepare the land for planting.
Ahau Cuat Cocom was surprised to hear Chimor mentioned, for he had heard rumors and legends of the empire and its wealth and power. If these men had indeed conquered this mystical place, they must be very powerful.
The King asked Xiu what he knew about their city. Xiu told him that the prisoners had told him that their Khan does not yet have his own city, but lives and reigns from a great tent, always prepared to move to the battle. The Khan, they say has started to build a city but still lives under the favor of the Endless Blue Sky, which is the god of his people. The army of this Khan is made of people from many different lands that the Khan’s people have conquered. They have many different gods and spirits. Some of them worship many gods and others a single god. Curiously, even to the prisoners, there seem to be several single gods because those with only one god worship different ones.
Ahau Cuat Cocom agreed with Ah Kom Xiu that it must be very confusing for them, because they could not know who to pray to or sacrifice to.
The King continued to question Ah Kom Xiu, and in a few days two of the prisoners were brought to the palace to answer to the King. They reiterated what Xiu had related and Ahau Cuat Cocom sent them away once he knew that his agent was giving him the truth.
The horses saved the men from the honor of feeding Kukulkan. They needed to be cared for and the only people in the entire empire who could were the six Mongol prisoners. There were three mares and one stallion in the Mayan herd. One mare was already carrying a foal when captured and the other two were soon in the same condition. The King had sent some of his own men to learn what they could about the animals and it was now apparent that they would have much to learn. Instead of learning to care and feed a horse, they would learn how to0 raise and break a horse as well.
Ahau Cuat Cocom, having decided on a course of action, increased his influence and power over the other cities of the Mayapan league. He knew he would need to field a great army, perhaps greater than any yet seen by the Maya in their long history. This enemy could be greater than any they had ever faced and a victory over them would seal the greatness of his reign and the power of Mayapan for many k’atuns to come. Aside from the soldiers, he needed to have his own riders of animals, his own horse-men.
The Khan’s adopted son, Nugün Ürije, turned 13 during the year. He had spent the past four years trying to make up for the nine years he had spent as an Ngöbe in order to be ready to accept the responsibilities and privileges that a Mongol boy received when he turned 15. He had learned everything he could about horses and riding and was indeed nearly as good as some of the Mongol cavalry when it came to horsemanship. He had become a fine archer and a competent swordsman for his age. What was most impressive was that after only a few years he was virtually indistinguishable from a Mongol of the same age.
His Aunt, who had taken it upon herself to insure that he retained his Ngöbe identity; the language, customs and beliefs of his father’s before him, was also satisfied; always a good fisherman and skilled in a canoe, the boy made sure he spent time with the shamans and learned how to hunt in the Ngöbe manner. In her presence, he always spoke Ngöbe and took part in all the festivals and special days with the. He had learned Asian techniques of fishing and employed them to increase his catch when he went out in his canoe. He had also had fallen in love with sailing and the sea and the Khan had allowed him to go as crew on several missions, particularly to a new camp that had been established on the coastal plains to the west of Alagh. These voyages, several days out and back, had been magical for him. He had never lost sight of land before and did not know the waters were so vast.
He enjoyed great popularity with the Khan’s men and his enthusiasm, natural ability, curiosity and inventiveness made him a favorite with the cavalry and fleet alike. Ike Mense, who had taken the boy under his wing to train him in the arts of the infantry, noted that it was here that his creativity truly stood out. The boy had the knack of combining his growing knowledge of Mongol and Chinese strategy and tactics with his intuition and understanding of this world, which was his birthright as an Ngöbe. Knowing when to use a blow gun instead of a Mongol bow, how to make the best use of the forest cover, where to go and not to go, and how to use the tools the forest gave him, it’s animals, plants, poisons and insects.
Ike Mense was so impressed with his overall abilities that he suggested to Songghumal that he honor the boy on his 13th birthday with a yearling. This horse would be old enough to ride into battle when Nugün turned 15. The Khan was indeed pleased with the progress the boy had made since being brought into his household and agreed to give his son a yearling mare. It was a gift he would never regret as Nugün spent as much time as he could with his mare, even bringing her into Songghumal’s yurt on one occasion, much to the Khan’s delight and the amusement of Ike Mense.
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Chapter 12
Ah Kom Xiu’s Gambit and a Prince’s Birthday
Ah Kom Xiu’s Gambit and a Prince’s Birthday
Orghui Biskigür had ordered exploration in detail of the region surrounding Asi Ügei. Numerous additional villages had been located and brought under the General’s rule, normally with only minor displays of power. The units that were sent to survey the western coastal areas however found that the natives were increasingly difficult to subdue. Wishing to increase the strength of his core, the commander ordered of the western group ordered his unit to re-group at a recently captured village. The natives here had resisted the Mongols for several days and his men had only been able to dominate this settlement with difficulty. As one of the units was approaching the village and searching for a place to ford the river they were set upon by a large company of natives. They struggled valiantly but there were too few of them and too many of their foe for the Mongols to defeat and the patrol was lost. Although many of the enemy was killed in the skirmish, nine Mongols died and all but one of the remaining Mongols were taken prisoner. The sole survivor made it to the village and was quickly sent back to Asi Ügei.
The surviving man told Orghui that these natives were not like the ones they had encountered before. They were cunning, violent and wore different clothing than the locals. They seemed to be well led and following a plan. They fought from the cover of the forest using spears, bows and blowguns and when they emerged to do combat they used axes of stone and bronze, clubs with teeth and claws and were protected by cloth padding that was hard to penetrate and protected them from most blows. Orghui was alarmed to learn that nine men had died, 10 were taken prisoner and all their horses and weaponry lost. He was angered and astonished that hostile natives had overpowered one of his units; for no Asian had yet been killed in battle by the natives. Their organization, tactics and weapons were just not up to the task. The success of this attack on his men was of the gravest concern
Orghui had been raised as a warrior and was not afraid of a fight but he knew that the Khan’s army was small and resources were limited. They could not set out in the tens of thousands as they had when they conquered the world to the west. If they were being confronted by a strong enemy they might not have time to build their strength. The defense of the Khanate would be a great concern. He ordered a substantial part of his forces to patrol the western villages and warn of any approach of this unknown enemy. Some few trusted natives were sent to obtain as much intelligence as they could. Messengers were sent to the Khan to advise him of the ambush and to request additional naval infantry, for Orghui had nearly completed the reassembly of the three junks that had been sent overland.
The General’s plan was to send one of the junks west along the coast with a company of soldiers. An additional column would march along the coast. They were to locate the villages where these hostile natives lived and eliminate them. The remaining two junks would remain in Asi Ügei for its defense.
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Ah Kom Xiu retold the story the villagers had brought with them, of the soldiers, the animals and the camp the strange men had set up on the headland. They had not seen or heard the logs that thundered or the walking tables and none of the great horned animals were with these men, but they had the animals that carried them willingly on their backs. The king listened intently and asked a few questions whereupon he instructed Ah Kom Xiu to return to the area with a force of men to keep an eye on the invaders. Runners would bring news back to Mayapan and carry the King’s orders to Xiu.
Acting now as the King’s military agent, Xiu assembled a force of about a hundred men and set out for Zama where he boarded large canoes and, with the villagers in his company, set off for the native’s bay, which the Mongols had named Umardu. His plan was to land west of the bay and establish a base camp. Then he would scout eastward under the cover of the forest until they encountered the foreigners and could gauge their strength. He did not plan on fighting the Mongols unless he had to, but if the right opportunity arose, one that would not compromise the mission; he would take advantage of it.
Ah Kom Xiu landed not far from the westernmost village the Mongols had occupied. Moving inland into the deeper forests he established his main camp and began his surveillance of the Asians.
He questioned the locals telling them not to speak of the Mayan presence or the gods would be displeased, that was enough to insure the silence of these defacto spies. From them he learned the approximate strength of the Asian forces, the locations of their camps and the villages they controlled. He discovered how carefully they protected the horses, never letting the natives near them. The Mongol use of mare’s milk as food was described, which amazed the Mayans because they had never thought of milk as food for anything other than infants. The chain of post riders was explained to him so he understood how they could quickly transmit messages and orders. There were rumors that they were building three of the great winged temples that the Mayans had heard about, at their main settlement to the east. All of this was promptly dispatched to Ahau Cuat Cocom in Mayapan.
Due to the slow but constant expansion of the Mongols, Xiu was forced to relocate his camp in early June. While moving to the new site, scouts discovered a group of the Asians as they traveled along a river on their strange animals. It was apparent that they were searching for a place they could ford the river with their animals. Word quickly got back to Xiu who determined that this was the opportunity to strike. There was no more than twenty of the enemy to his one hundred soldiers. The guide that was traveling with the Mayans led them undercover of the forest to a place they would be able to cross unseen. Having forded the river with little more than a few strokes in the deep parts, he wondered idly if the strangers or their animals could not swim? They did look very heavy for their size.
Now on the same side of the river, he sent a few men to track the enemy and inform him if they changed their rout. The local guide was certain the foreigners would have to cross the river at a spot a short distance from where the Mayans had crossed it. Xiu determined his course of action. He would surround that place except for a passage along the river for the Asians to follow. Some of his men would be hidden in the forest and the brush across the river to prevent an escape in that direction. When the Mongols had entered the ambush his men would close the path in and the men on the far side would fire arrows and darts causing a moment of confusion. During that moment his men surrounding the ford would begin to send arrows and darts into the foreigners from this side as well. Then, once weakened and before they could re-group, his troops would rush them with clubs and axes and swords.
Ah Kom Xiu made it very clear that he wanted to take as many of these men alive and that it was even more important to take the animals alive. He wished to send them back to Mayapan as proof to Ahau Cuat Cocom that they had successfully engaged these men and they could be beaten. He hoped the gods would find these captives to their liking.
The ambush went as planned. The Asian horsemen came along the river bank in file. Once they were in the chosen place, the Mayan archers, dartmen attacked with a flurry of projectiles from the other river bank. As intended this caused the Khan’s men to be thrown into a moment of confusion as they tried to wheel and return the way they came. At this moment the forest surrounding the Mongols erupted in a rain of arrows, darts and spears from all directions. Men were thrown from their mounts and the Mongols, struggling to see their enemy, did not know where to turn to defend themselves. Ah Kom Xiu gave his signal and his men charged out of the woods swinging clubs and obsidian lined blades. Arrows and spears continued to come from the forest on their flank and more of the natives had appeared on the riverbank to complete the envelopment. There seemed to be no retreat for they were surrounded on all sides. The Mongols fought from the backs of the horses until it was clear that in these close confines there was no advantage so they dismounted and engaged in hand to hand combat with the Mayans. The Asians fought hard and their weapons were very deadly. The King of Mayapan’s men eventually prevailed, but it was a bloody encounter.
Ah Kom Xiu’s force lost 28 men killed. Nearly 50 were injured; several of would die of the wounds they had sustained from the Mongol scimitars. Nine of the Mongols had died, ten had been captured but one had escaped by jumping on one of the animals and charging through the Mayan force at great speed, the animal running over two of the Mayans in its escape, crushing one of their skulls. He had also captured six of the animals, surprisingly uninjured. The other beasts had disappeared into the forest or suffered wounds that would shortly lead to their death.
Along with the Mongol horses he also had their weapons, to bring to the King. They had never seen anything like the compound bow and were amazed at the strength needed to draw it. They were even more amazed by how far its arrows flew. The blades were of a metal they had never seen, grey, hard, nearly as sharp as their obsidian lined blades, but capable of shattering the stone and cutting through the wooden blade that held it. The strangers wore clothing with similar metal attached and metal hats to protect their heads. This metal clothing could deflect the blow from a club or sword, or even one of their own metal swords, as they proved on one of the mortally injured men.
Their animals wore seats for the men to sit in and the Mayans did not know how to control them. They had seen the men get on and off of them, but they could not get close enough to try it themselves, largely due to fear and uncertainty on both their part and the part of the beasts themselves. These animals were bigger than any that they had seen before and they were not certain what they ate. Did they eat meat? They had no fangs or claws like the jaguar and other hunters. Ah Kom Xiu set his men as a human fence around these animals, enclosing a large area. Eventually the beasts calmed enough that they began to eat the grass on the ground, although they were alert to any movement among the men surrounding them.
Men sent to capture the one escapee returned that night to tell Ah Kom Xiu that they could not catch the man on the animal. It ran too fast.
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The Khan had listened to the tales told by the Ngöbe shamans of the great empire the Maya had once possessed, stretching from one sea to the other and from far to the north almost to Ngöbe lands. He had heard of the wars they fought with each other that destroyed that empire and the stories told that they went north into the great forests and rebuilt their cities and their way of life.
If he was to dominate in this land, he knew he would have to deal with these cities and their armies someday. For now he was not in a position to challenge them. His forces were stretched thin because his new native soldiers were not ready yet, so he would continue to build his strength, training men, breeding the herds and trying to find iron. This last was perhaps the most important because without iron, his ability to build ships, weapons and siege machines was limited. The only source he had was the fleet where he would salvage what iron he could from derelicts, but often a quantity of the iron in a useless ship had corroded to the point where it was useless. The very limited supply he had was dwindling.
He had found a site for his capital in the great valley northeast of the bay. It stood on a hill and looked down towards the great gulf to the west where islands of the Olturigh Subud, the Pearl Islands, lay. The city would be well watered with its own springs and had open land for the horses to graze in. Although the site was in the middle of a valley, the city would be elevated above the plain and in a strong defensible position.
His masons had found a suitable source of stone not far into the mountains and a road was built to transport the stone to the site of the new city. Local men were learning the art of stone cutting and others Asian carpentry methods. These skills would be used to build the great wooden halls of the city and to preserve the fleet. Other men were learning how to make tiles for the floors and roofs of the city buildings. Once the corvee from Chan Chan arrived and the men were put to work, some adapted the skills of the tile makers to build a drainage system for the city which would carry its waste away.
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Ah Kom Xiu left a large portion of his men in the area west of the Khanate as sentinels. They were quartered in the local villages and disguised themselves as locals, although they did not work. The villagers saw to their provisioning to avoid the King’s, and his gods, anger. Xiu had to return to Mayapan overland because he was unable to carry the horses in canoes.
The Mongol prisoners needed to walk with the animals because the Mayans could not control them, so Xiu had the Asian’s legs shackled to prevent them from trying to escape on horseback. He also hobbled the horses to prevent them from running away. The march took many weeks and was very hard for the prisoners, several of whom had severe wounds and died en route, but Xiu treated the remaining Mongols well, for he wanted them to be alive for the king when they reached Mayapan, and, of course he needed them for the horses. The Mongols could speak a little in the tongue of the Ngöbe so Ah Kom Xiu took the opportunity to learn as much as he could about the strangers and their people. Much of what he heard was so fantastic and unimaginable that he decided they were lies, but in fact he was given a truthful account of Mongol history, as these men knew it.
When Ah Kom Xiu arrived at Mayapan the remaining six Mongols were all ill to one degree or another. The journey through the forests and jungles had been very trying on them and the horses. He wanted to keep them alive as long as he could, knowing that they were more valuable alive than sacrificed to feed Kukulkan, at least for the time being.
Xiu’s took no rest upon reaching Mayapan. Knowing that the king would be at the great temple on this day, for it was a day of sacrifice, he marched directly into the city and to the temple plaza. A great crowd followed him trying to see, but not get too close to the bizarre animals that walked beside the strangely dressed men. Xiu’s soldiers kept the rabble at bay and they arrived, to great tumult, at the temple where Ahau Cuat Cocom first saw horses. There were four of the beasts remaining. The king did not see them in full riding tack, but as naked animals. He found them very strange but somehow he found them pleasing to look upon. Nonetheless, the king feared them because they were large and unknown.
Xiu, knowing that his status had just taken a huge leap, bowed to the King who motioned him up the temple stairs. The Mongols however were quite disoriented, because the crowd that pressed all around them was so alien to their experience. The dress, noise and the sheer numbers caused the Asians to almost faint. Adding to their discomfort was the sight of the blood stained steps that Ah Kom Xiu had climbed. There were severed heads lying at the bottom and Xiu had blithely stepped over them to ascend to the King.
Ahau Cuat Cocom asked Xiu what he should tell the crowd below about the procession that had entered the plaza. Xiu turned to the masses at the base of the plaza and said; “The Great Lord Ahau Cuat Cocom heard of strange and powerful men who had come from the west into lands nearby. The Great Lord sent this insignificant servant to show them the power our Great Lord wields as the blessing of Kukulkan. By that power and blessing the invaders were overwhelmed when Our Great Lord’s army fell upon them and took from them their magical animals which carry them from place to place and into battle. Give thanks to The Great Lord and to Kukulkan for the good fortune and blessings they shower upon us, their meaningless people.”
The King was pleased and instructed Xiu to take his prisoners away and find suitable shelter for them. Xiu was to bathe and come before the King that evening to tell him what he had learned.
The Mongols looked very bad; they were ill, dirty and thin. Ah Kom Xiu sheltered them at his own compound and made sure that the horses had their needs met. The prisoners were attended by Mayan healers, fed, bathed and rested.
Xiu’s meeting with the King that night lasted well into the next morning. The King asked him what he knew of the strangers, what had he learned and what he had seen. Xiu told the King that the men said they came from a great country many months across the western ocean which had conquered the entire world. They were an army sent by the emperor of that land, whom they called Khagan. They had come in the winged temples the king had heard of, of which they had many. They now served their own emperor in this land, whom they call Khan. He has a great army and rules vast lands with many people. They travel in the winged temples along the coast and have conquered a distant empire called Chimu. They have many wonderful weapons that throw fire and thunder and uncountable animals, such as the four that had been brought to the city, which they call horses. These, they ride into battle and across great distances. They also have huge beasts with horns who give milk for the children and meat and something called leather when dead. They pull the walking tables, which does not really walk, but are like a child’s toy which rolls. They carry great burdens and prepare the land for planting.
Ahau Cuat Cocom was surprised to hear Chimor mentioned, for he had heard rumors and legends of the empire and its wealth and power. If these men had indeed conquered this mystical place, they must be very powerful.
The King asked Xiu what he knew about their city. Xiu told him that the prisoners had told him that their Khan does not yet have his own city, but lives and reigns from a great tent, always prepared to move to the battle. The Khan, they say has started to build a city but still lives under the favor of the Endless Blue Sky, which is the god of his people. The army of this Khan is made of people from many different lands that the Khan’s people have conquered. They have many different gods and spirits. Some of them worship many gods and others a single god. Curiously, even to the prisoners, there seem to be several single gods because those with only one god worship different ones.
Ahau Cuat Cocom agreed with Ah Kom Xiu that it must be very confusing for them, because they could not know who to pray to or sacrifice to.
The King continued to question Ah Kom Xiu, and in a few days two of the prisoners were brought to the palace to answer to the King. They reiterated what Xiu had related and Ahau Cuat Cocom sent them away once he knew that his agent was giving him the truth.
The horses saved the men from the honor of feeding Kukulkan. They needed to be cared for and the only people in the entire empire who could were the six Mongol prisoners. There were three mares and one stallion in the Mayan herd. One mare was already carrying a foal when captured and the other two were soon in the same condition. The King had sent some of his own men to learn what they could about the animals and it was now apparent that they would have much to learn. Instead of learning to care and feed a horse, they would learn how to0 raise and break a horse as well.
Ahau Cuat Cocom, having decided on a course of action, increased his influence and power over the other cities of the Mayapan league. He knew he would need to field a great army, perhaps greater than any yet seen by the Maya in their long history. This enemy could be greater than any they had ever faced and a victory over them would seal the greatness of his reign and the power of Mayapan for many k’atuns to come. Aside from the soldiers, he needed to have his own riders of animals, his own horse-men.
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The Khan’s adopted son, Nugün Ürije, turned 13 during the year. He had spent the past four years trying to make up for the nine years he had spent as an Ngöbe in order to be ready to accept the responsibilities and privileges that a Mongol boy received when he turned 15. He had learned everything he could about horses and riding and was indeed nearly as good as some of the Mongol cavalry when it came to horsemanship. He had become a fine archer and a competent swordsman for his age. What was most impressive was that after only a few years he was virtually indistinguishable from a Mongol of the same age.
His Aunt, who had taken it upon herself to insure that he retained his Ngöbe identity; the language, customs and beliefs of his father’s before him, was also satisfied; always a good fisherman and skilled in a canoe, the boy made sure he spent time with the shamans and learned how to hunt in the Ngöbe manner. In her presence, he always spoke Ngöbe and took part in all the festivals and special days with the. He had learned Asian techniques of fishing and employed them to increase his catch when he went out in his canoe. He had also had fallen in love with sailing and the sea and the Khan had allowed him to go as crew on several missions, particularly to a new camp that had been established on the coastal plains to the west of Alagh. These voyages, several days out and back, had been magical for him. He had never lost sight of land before and did not know the waters were so vast.
He enjoyed great popularity with the Khan’s men and his enthusiasm, natural ability, curiosity and inventiveness made him a favorite with the cavalry and fleet alike. Ike Mense, who had taken the boy under his wing to train him in the arts of the infantry, noted that it was here that his creativity truly stood out. The boy had the knack of combining his growing knowledge of Mongol and Chinese strategy and tactics with his intuition and understanding of this world, which was his birthright as an Ngöbe. Knowing when to use a blow gun instead of a Mongol bow, how to make the best use of the forest cover, where to go and not to go, and how to use the tools the forest gave him, it’s animals, plants, poisons and insects.
Ike Mense was so impressed with his overall abilities that he suggested to Songghumal that he honor the boy on his 13th birthday with a yearling. This horse would be old enough to ride into battle when Nugün turned 15. The Khan was indeed pleased with the progress the boy had made since being brought into his household and agreed to give his son a yearling mare. It was a gift he would never regret as Nugün spent as much time as he could with his mare, even bringing her into Songghumal’s yurt on one occasion, much to the Khan’s delight and the amusement of Ike Mense.
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Coming soon.This is a great TL (almost ASB, but nice to read
How long until the Silver Horde meets the taínos and caribes?
No spoilers, but I will say that the colonization of NA and SA will be different.
Glad to see people have favorite factions.
The Horse and The Jaguar...13 Dangerous Games
In early 1298, Chun Bo Fen sent an expedition to begin mining the iron deposits that had been found far to the south during the previous year. The ore was located about 85 li up the Sama River valley and a similar distance east of a city called Chiribaya. The territory between Chimor and the ore was mostly dry, barren coastal desert interspersed with green valleys. Some of the valleys were densely populated and productive, possessing substantial cities with roads, canals and terraced fields. Here the people grew the grain called maize, another plant called manioc and the fiber called cotton. In the coastal plains there were Llamas, guarded by large golden dogs.
In most cases, the valleys were quite narrow and the cities were built on the slopes and hilltops to preserve the croplands in the bottomlands. Many of these were connected by roads and a strong trade network existed which provided fish to the mountains and potatoes to the coast. It was a vibrant economy and one where many different peoples lived, mostly in peace. It was also not part of the province of Chimor.
The previous year Chun’s expedition had crossed the Moquegua Valley between the cities of Omo and Loreto. This part of the valley is narrow steep and barren with no settlements or agriculture. Only the narrow road connecting the two cities follows the river. This gorge was approximately 60 li in length and would be where the second expedition would cross. The welcome the first explorers had received in Omo and Chiribaya had not been a warm one and the Governor wished to avoid any conflict so far from home for now. Once across the river it was only about 50 li to the ore.
Junks carried the expedition as far south as the Tambo River where they began their overland trek. The ships continued to the mouth of the Moquegua and anchored there, drawing the attention of Chiribaya and Loreto in their direction while the land expedition crossed the river upstream. Of course word of the flotilla of junks had spread along the coast in advance of their passing, so they were expected and shortly after their arrival they were greeted by envoys from the two cities. Chun knew he would need to deal with these cities and had an envoy of his own on board the flagship. A Buddhist monk who had gained some fluency in the local languages.
The natives refused to board the junks, which terrified them, and asked the monk to come to them. Agreeing to their request a boat was lowered and the monk, along with ten heavily armed men, was rowed over toward the local officials. The boat the monk was in was twice as large as the native craft and nearly as intimidating as the junk. They spoke for a short time and agreed to meet on shore, in a more comfortable environment.
Additional troops joined the ambassador on the beach a short way from the mouth of the river. A pavilion was set up for Chun’s envoy who sat on a gold stool placed on an ornate rug from the captain’s cabin. He was attended by servants and, although simply dressed, his robes were of the finest silk and the color of the rising sun. His servants wore armor under their robes and carried knives and other small, deadly weapons which they were adept at using. The native emissaries had no pavilions and only the crews of their canoes to wait on them. Several hundred of the soldiers of Chiribaya were hidden a short distance away and their commanders, seeing the swords and halberds carried by the Chinese troops as well as having heard rumors of the thundering logs and erupting waters used by the Chinese decided that they would observe from a respectful distance, preferably out of sight.
The monk’s instructions were to keep the locals on edge, closely watching the junks, until word was received that the land expedition had reached the ore and set up their camp. When that happened, a week later, he told the officials from Loreto and Chiribaya that the Great Chun Bo Fen, ruler of Chimor, had found rocks that were precious to the Chinese but worthless to the people of the valleys, these rocks were very rare and could only be found in the desert between the two rivers. He had sent men to take the rocks out of the desert so his people would be happy. The rulers of Loreto and Chiribaya will benefit greatly from trade with Chimor if they do not hinder the mining of this worthless rock. He had handed them a sample of the ore and they recognized it as the rock that turns red. It was indeed truly useless. They asked the monk what the Chinese did with the rock and the monk told them it was used in religious celebrations and, indicating his own robes and their hue, that its ability to turn red was appreciated by the Chinese. One of them then asked what would happen if they did not agree to let the rock be mined, at which point the monk, waving off a fly with a piece of orange silk, said; “He will take it anyway”. And one of the junks erupted in cannon fire. The noise, smoke and flame terrified the emissaries, but it was the sudden noise overhead and the falling trees behind them that truly made an impression. The Monk, smiling gently, had not even flinched. From farther away came the sound of many men fleeing in terror as the soldiers ran for their respective cities. At that sound, the monk merely chuckled knowingly.
The deal was made; Chiribaya would become the southern terminus of Chan Chan’s iron trade. Ore would be shipped there from the mines and loaded onto junks for the voyage north. Other trade goods would create a regular commerce between the two regions. Chun had learned that the valleys in this land were rich and productive, providing plentiful food and ample goods. Food was a major part of the vibrant trade network between the cities near the river mouths, the cities farther up the valleys and the cities around the great lake deep in the heights of the mountains. Fish from the ocean, Maize from the terraces, wool from the Llamas, Manioc, squashes, many other strange vegetables and tubers found their way to all the other centers of population. The people on the coast ate potatoes and the people in the mountains ate fresh ocean fish. These valleys were, in fact, as rich as any valley the Chinese in Chimor had yet seen. Aside from securing the iron, this agreement would be an economic boon to Chimor as a whole.
Chun Bo Fen had made a decision. With this, and the other river valleys extending from the ocean he would be able to control much of the commerce with the cities and states in the mountains. He would be able to gain well armed and well trained allies. His game for the moment was control and domination. He needed to expand his hegemony over the entire coast as far as Chiribaya to the south and Guapondeleg in the mountains to the north. His advantage in population and industry meant that he would eventually be able to build a large and capable army and his possession of iron meant that they would be well equipped.
Chun sent ambassadors to as many neighboring kingdoms as he could and began another search for additional sources of iron. He did not know how long this one would last nor if he would be able to hold it against the strength of the nearby kingdoms should he lose favor with them. He needed another source.
He knew that the news of iron could not be kept from the Khan for long and that he would need to send the ore to Alagh. Although the ore seemed to be quite plentiful, he decided to send only a small portion north, telling the Khan that the vein of ore was small and poor. The actual ironworks would be away from Chan Chan and the weapons made from it warehoused elsewhere. While he built his forces in secret he tried to find some way to retrieve his wife and son from the hospitality of Songghumal.
The Governor of Chimor, servant of Songghumal Khan, determined that he would, in time, found a new Celestial Kingdom. He would learn from his new people and his new allies. He would take from the Mongols that which was good and beneficial and effective and use that knowledge to defeat them. His was a rich land and those around him were richer still. The Khan would receive what Chun wished to send him and know what Chun wished him to know. The time would come when the Khan would have to re-unite him with his family.
Songghumal received the news of the discovery of iron with much satisfaction, but he was appalled by where the ore was and the difficulty of exploiting it. Chun had described the mines as being many hundreds of li beyond Chimor in desolate and barren lands full of trackless deserts and vast mountains; all true information but incomplete, with no mention of the fertile and lively valleys that crossed the desert at frequent intervals.
Chun Bo Fen had also advised the Khan that Chincha, the last city to the south and half way to the valley of the mines, was proving difficult and requested that additional naval infantry and a war junk be sent in order to contain them. He told the Khan that he needed more men to work the mines and additional ships to carry the ore to Chan Chan and on to Alagh. There were many resources that needed to be sent to the mines to make them productive and Chun did not have the resources readily at hand.
The Khan’s resources were stretched thin and he could not send more than a few junks to Chan Chan. He ordered one of the remaining war junks with a full complement of naval infantry to escort the transports south to Chimor. Songghumal made certain that the master of the war junk was his man, the ever trustworthy Namgung Seok, whose loyalty was further insured when the Korean’s family was extended the hospitality of the Khan. His orders were to protect the transports but remain independent of the Governor. He was to observe Chun as best he could and report his opinions of the governor’s loyalty to the Khan.
Songghumal did not trust Chun Bo fen, but he knew the Governor was strong and he would be forced to share the ore. The Khan was not ready to get into a war with Chimor because he still viewed the Maya as a potentially greater threat, closer and already hostile. He needed to continue building his forces to confront them. The iron from Chimor would speed that effort but at what cost? Men were needed to work the mines but he was also aware of the need for men and resources to process the ore. He had been informed of the “barrenness” of the location and the need for wood and other materials to dig and support the mining efforts. Lumber was not a problem in Alagh, there were rich forests in the area and the new capital required the clearing of much land. Although lumber was being heavily used for the buildings of the city, additional could be cut for the mines without too much disruption. He ordered facilities to make charcoal and a furnace to process ore built on Aral Arslan, the island at the head of the bay. He would ship some of the charcoal to Chan Chan, the ships would then sail to the mines (he would need to build a settlement there to store the ore) with supplies and return to Alagh with ore for processing. Chun’s ships would sail to the mines with supplies and return with ore for smelting in his furnaces. Both centers would have iron for weapons and tools. Hopefully his would be more productive.
There was still the problem of providing workers for the mines.
Ike Mense suggested that they mount a military expedition to subdue the natives on the coast of the other sea. They had been a thorn in the side of Orghui Biskigür since he had arrived at Asi ügei. By capturing several of the villages the Khan could remove the annoyance to Orghui and obtain the workers necessary for the mines. These troublesome natives would then be Chun’s problem, not theirs. The Asians had not engaged in slavery since their arrival and to move a population of several hundreds of people would be no small undertaking.
Ike felt that once these people were so far from their homes and in a strange land so different from their own, they would be cowed sufficiently to become productive. The Khan was concerned about the potential reaction of the Mayans but they had not been in evidence for some time. Their cities were known to be some distance away and Ike felt that he could accomplish this mission quickly and quietly. The Khan agreed Ike’s plan and placed him in command of the mission.
Chun Bo Fen, by providing misleading information to Songghumal was causing the Khan to expend substantial effort in areas that were not needed. Lumber for the mines was found in the foothills of the mountains and in the river valleys. The transports that Chun had described as being nearly derelict were in fact quite sound. His remaining war junks were also in fair shape, but he did want to get his hands on another. The naval infantry would be mostly Chinese, reinforcements for him. Manpower for the mines would be a problem but was currently being adequately met. The city of Chincha could be a problem but at the moment they were sufficiently cowed by a brief demonstration of Chimor diplomacy. The Governor’s duplicity, the feeding of misleading information, was causing the Khan to expend great resources and effort that would have been better used elsewhere. He had even settled on a course of action he knew would anger the Maya.
In the mean time, progress on the capital was moving forward. The Ngöbe had never seen anything like this in their lands and were amazed by the skills of the Khan’s carpenters and builders. They also continued to demonstrate their ability to learn new skills from their overlords. Soon they had begun to master the art of stone cutting and the walls of the city rose and the streets were paved. The Palace, temples to various gods, markets and residences were planned and built. The city would not be as grand as that of the Great Khan in Dadu, but it would be more than suitable for this new world.
[FONT="]Chapter 13[/FONT]
[FONT="]Dangerous Games
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In most cases, the valleys were quite narrow and the cities were built on the slopes and hilltops to preserve the croplands in the bottomlands. Many of these were connected by roads and a strong trade network existed which provided fish to the mountains and potatoes to the coast. It was a vibrant economy and one where many different peoples lived, mostly in peace. It was also not part of the province of Chimor.
The previous year Chun’s expedition had crossed the Moquegua Valley between the cities of Omo and Loreto. This part of the valley is narrow steep and barren with no settlements or agriculture. Only the narrow road connecting the two cities follows the river. This gorge was approximately 60 li in length and would be where the second expedition would cross. The welcome the first explorers had received in Omo and Chiribaya had not been a warm one and the Governor wished to avoid any conflict so far from home for now. Once across the river it was only about 50 li to the ore.
Junks carried the expedition as far south as the Tambo River where they began their overland trek. The ships continued to the mouth of the Moquegua and anchored there, drawing the attention of Chiribaya and Loreto in their direction while the land expedition crossed the river upstream. Of course word of the flotilla of junks had spread along the coast in advance of their passing, so they were expected and shortly after their arrival they were greeted by envoys from the two cities. Chun knew he would need to deal with these cities and had an envoy of his own on board the flagship. A Buddhist monk who had gained some fluency in the local languages.
The natives refused to board the junks, which terrified them, and asked the monk to come to them. Agreeing to their request a boat was lowered and the monk, along with ten heavily armed men, was rowed over toward the local officials. The boat the monk was in was twice as large as the native craft and nearly as intimidating as the junk. They spoke for a short time and agreed to meet on shore, in a more comfortable environment.
Additional troops joined the ambassador on the beach a short way from the mouth of the river. A pavilion was set up for Chun’s envoy who sat on a gold stool placed on an ornate rug from the captain’s cabin. He was attended by servants and, although simply dressed, his robes were of the finest silk and the color of the rising sun. His servants wore armor under their robes and carried knives and other small, deadly weapons which they were adept at using. The native emissaries had no pavilions and only the crews of their canoes to wait on them. Several hundred of the soldiers of Chiribaya were hidden a short distance away and their commanders, seeing the swords and halberds carried by the Chinese troops as well as having heard rumors of the thundering logs and erupting waters used by the Chinese decided that they would observe from a respectful distance, preferably out of sight.
The monk’s instructions were to keep the locals on edge, closely watching the junks, until word was received that the land expedition had reached the ore and set up their camp. When that happened, a week later, he told the officials from Loreto and Chiribaya that the Great Chun Bo Fen, ruler of Chimor, had found rocks that were precious to the Chinese but worthless to the people of the valleys, these rocks were very rare and could only be found in the desert between the two rivers. He had sent men to take the rocks out of the desert so his people would be happy. The rulers of Loreto and Chiribaya will benefit greatly from trade with Chimor if they do not hinder the mining of this worthless rock. He had handed them a sample of the ore and they recognized it as the rock that turns red. It was indeed truly useless. They asked the monk what the Chinese did with the rock and the monk told them it was used in religious celebrations and, indicating his own robes and their hue, that its ability to turn red was appreciated by the Chinese. One of them then asked what would happen if they did not agree to let the rock be mined, at which point the monk, waving off a fly with a piece of orange silk, said; “He will take it anyway”. And one of the junks erupted in cannon fire. The noise, smoke and flame terrified the emissaries, but it was the sudden noise overhead and the falling trees behind them that truly made an impression. The Monk, smiling gently, had not even flinched. From farther away came the sound of many men fleeing in terror as the soldiers ran for their respective cities. At that sound, the monk merely chuckled knowingly.
The deal was made; Chiribaya would become the southern terminus of Chan Chan’s iron trade. Ore would be shipped there from the mines and loaded onto junks for the voyage north. Other trade goods would create a regular commerce between the two regions. Chun had learned that the valleys in this land were rich and productive, providing plentiful food and ample goods. Food was a major part of the vibrant trade network between the cities near the river mouths, the cities farther up the valleys and the cities around the great lake deep in the heights of the mountains. Fish from the ocean, Maize from the terraces, wool from the Llamas, Manioc, squashes, many other strange vegetables and tubers found their way to all the other centers of population. The people on the coast ate potatoes and the people in the mountains ate fresh ocean fish. These valleys were, in fact, as rich as any valley the Chinese in Chimor had yet seen. Aside from securing the iron, this agreement would be an economic boon to Chimor as a whole.
-----
Chun sent ambassadors to as many neighboring kingdoms as he could and began another search for additional sources of iron. He did not know how long this one would last nor if he would be able to hold it against the strength of the nearby kingdoms should he lose favor with them. He needed another source.
He knew that the news of iron could not be kept from the Khan for long and that he would need to send the ore to Alagh. Although the ore seemed to be quite plentiful, he decided to send only a small portion north, telling the Khan that the vein of ore was small and poor. The actual ironworks would be away from Chan Chan and the weapons made from it warehoused elsewhere. While he built his forces in secret he tried to find some way to retrieve his wife and son from the hospitality of Songghumal.
The Governor of Chimor, servant of Songghumal Khan, determined that he would, in time, found a new Celestial Kingdom. He would learn from his new people and his new allies. He would take from the Mongols that which was good and beneficial and effective and use that knowledge to defeat them. His was a rich land and those around him were richer still. The Khan would receive what Chun wished to send him and know what Chun wished him to know. The time would come when the Khan would have to re-unite him with his family.
-----
Songghumal received the news of the discovery of iron with much satisfaction, but he was appalled by where the ore was and the difficulty of exploiting it. Chun had described the mines as being many hundreds of li beyond Chimor in desolate and barren lands full of trackless deserts and vast mountains; all true information but incomplete, with no mention of the fertile and lively valleys that crossed the desert at frequent intervals.
Chun Bo Fen had also advised the Khan that Chincha, the last city to the south and half way to the valley of the mines, was proving difficult and requested that additional naval infantry and a war junk be sent in order to contain them. He told the Khan that he needed more men to work the mines and additional ships to carry the ore to Chan Chan and on to Alagh. There were many resources that needed to be sent to the mines to make them productive and Chun did not have the resources readily at hand.
The Khan’s resources were stretched thin and he could not send more than a few junks to Chan Chan. He ordered one of the remaining war junks with a full complement of naval infantry to escort the transports south to Chimor. Songghumal made certain that the master of the war junk was his man, the ever trustworthy Namgung Seok, whose loyalty was further insured when the Korean’s family was extended the hospitality of the Khan. His orders were to protect the transports but remain independent of the Governor. He was to observe Chun as best he could and report his opinions of the governor’s loyalty to the Khan.
Songghumal did not trust Chun Bo fen, but he knew the Governor was strong and he would be forced to share the ore. The Khan was not ready to get into a war with Chimor because he still viewed the Maya as a potentially greater threat, closer and already hostile. He needed to continue building his forces to confront them. The iron from Chimor would speed that effort but at what cost? Men were needed to work the mines but he was also aware of the need for men and resources to process the ore. He had been informed of the “barrenness” of the location and the need for wood and other materials to dig and support the mining efforts. Lumber was not a problem in Alagh, there were rich forests in the area and the new capital required the clearing of much land. Although lumber was being heavily used for the buildings of the city, additional could be cut for the mines without too much disruption. He ordered facilities to make charcoal and a furnace to process ore built on Aral Arslan, the island at the head of the bay. He would ship some of the charcoal to Chan Chan, the ships would then sail to the mines (he would need to build a settlement there to store the ore) with supplies and return to Alagh with ore for processing. Chun’s ships would sail to the mines with supplies and return with ore for smelting in his furnaces. Both centers would have iron for weapons and tools. Hopefully his would be more productive.
There was still the problem of providing workers for the mines.
Ike Mense suggested that they mount a military expedition to subdue the natives on the coast of the other sea. They had been a thorn in the side of Orghui Biskigür since he had arrived at Asi ügei. By capturing several of the villages the Khan could remove the annoyance to Orghui and obtain the workers necessary for the mines. These troublesome natives would then be Chun’s problem, not theirs. The Asians had not engaged in slavery since their arrival and to move a population of several hundreds of people would be no small undertaking.
Ike felt that once these people were so far from their homes and in a strange land so different from their own, they would be cowed sufficiently to become productive. The Khan was concerned about the potential reaction of the Mayans but they had not been in evidence for some time. Their cities were known to be some distance away and Ike felt that he could accomplish this mission quickly and quietly. The Khan agreed Ike’s plan and placed him in command of the mission.
Chun Bo Fen, by providing misleading information to Songghumal was causing the Khan to expend substantial effort in areas that were not needed. Lumber for the mines was found in the foothills of the mountains and in the river valleys. The transports that Chun had described as being nearly derelict were in fact quite sound. His remaining war junks were also in fair shape, but he did want to get his hands on another. The naval infantry would be mostly Chinese, reinforcements for him. Manpower for the mines would be a problem but was currently being adequately met. The city of Chincha could be a problem but at the moment they were sufficiently cowed by a brief demonstration of Chimor diplomacy. The Governor’s duplicity, the feeding of misleading information, was causing the Khan to expend great resources and effort that would have been better used elsewhere. He had even settled on a course of action he knew would anger the Maya.
In the mean time, progress on the capital was moving forward. The Ngöbe had never seen anything like this in their lands and were amazed by the skills of the Khan’s carpenters and builders. They also continued to demonstrate their ability to learn new skills from their overlords. Soon they had begun to master the art of stone cutting and the walls of the city rose and the streets were paved. The Palace, temples to various gods, markets and residences were planned and built. The city would not be as grand as that of the Great Khan in Dadu, but it would be more than suitable for this new world.
I wouldn't want any spoilers. But thinking about the butterflies does fascinate me greatly.
Normally I would support the Native Americans since they got such a bum deal in history. But for some reason I want the Mongols to conquer them and create an uber kingdom.
It's probably something to do with their bloodiness and other-worldliness...I find the film Apocalypto impossible to turn away from, even though it drives my blood pressure way up and I know everything that is going to happen. The Mayans are just so...different.
This is a great TL (almost ASB, but nice to read
How long until the Silver Horde meets the taínos and caribes?
This is about the extent of it for the time being. No real drama, the game is elsewhere.
The Horse and the Jaguar...14 Slaves, Treachery and Sacrifices
Ike Mense assembled as large a force of cavalry as the Khan would allow and with a large force of archers and infantry, marched to Asi Ügei. There, Orghui provided what intelligence he could regarding the villages along the coast and their people. Mense’s goal was to capture as many alive as possible. He would send fit men and women to the mines near Chiribaya the remaining adults, elders and children would be left behind. His force was formidable and he captured village after village, extending the Khanate to include the lands around the great bay to the west. In short order he had taken 4,500 Men and women prisoner, destined to work the mines in the deserts south of Chimor.
The Uyghur general sent the captives across the mountain to the Khan and consolidated his conquest of the new territory. The villages, severely weakened, were in no condition to resist and cooperated as best they could with their new overlord. He left his senior Uyghur commander in control of his conquests and returned to the Khan.
Songghumal, contemplating the number of prisoners anticipated a good return from the mines and sent word to Chun Bo Fen of the new labor force.
The entire military operation along the other sea had been noted by the observers left in the area by Ah Com Xiu. He knew that the Mongols were very different from any other people the Maya had ever come into contact with and his orders to those he left behind were to watch the strangers, see what they do and how they do it and report to him. There was to be no conflict, no fighting, just watching and learning. He did not really expect the Mongols to send in what amounted to an army. This was a wonderful development he felt; he would now learn how they used the animals and what sort of tactics they used. He knew this was not the same as facing a strong foe, but it would be mightily informative.
Among the things that he gleaned from the reports and personal observation when he arrived to see for himself, he discovered the strength and range of the Mongol composite bow and how the Asians used it. He learned that they favored deceit in that they employed feigned retreats to lure the other side into traps. Most importantly, he learned that their use of thunder and lightning was very limited. If his men could endure it, there was a chance of victory.
Retreating ahead of the Mongol advance he re-established his network of observers in villages near where the Asians halted and he returned to Mayapan. His henchmen interrogated the Mongol prisoners in light of the new information learned during the Asian’s assault on the villages. These men had been placed in the care of one of Xiu’s retainers during his absence. This servant of Xiu had taken the men, one by one, to the plaza where they observed the fate of those the Maya no longer had use for. The result was that the Mongols were most cooperative and provided their interrogators with much useful information which explained much of what Xiu had witnessed.
For the most part, the prisoner’s life in Mayapan was not unpleasant. They were tasked with raising a herd of horses to provide Ah Cuat Cocom with his own mounted force. Knowing that the horses were their salvation they cared for them as if they were the last ones on earth. Xiu had been forced to expend some precious status to convince the King that the High Priest was wrong to wish to sacrifice the Mongols and the horses to Kukulkan.
Reports continued to be received from Xiu’s observers and the horses did well in their new surroundings. The Maya still had a healthy fear of them but their Mongol caretakers saw to it that they were well taken care of and Xiu guaranteed that they had everything that they needed.
Chun Bo Fen received the message from the Khan that he had a force of 4,500 men and women captured to work the mine with a certain sense of amusement. He did not really need the additional labor, but the Khan did not know that. Chun knew that 4,500 additional mouths to feed would be another small burden among many that the Khan bore so he sent the messenger back to tell the Khan that the he was not ready for them yet, the mines were not yet secure so he could not send the workers there. He needed additional troops since resistance was stronger than expected. He asked Songghumal for additional troops. Chun knew that the Khan’s Uyghur and Mongol forces were his primary defense and were stretched very thin. If the Khan, needing the iron from his mines, sent troops to Chimor, they would be Chinese.
And so it was that Songghumal sent a force of infantry to Chan Chan, aboard sound ships and fully equipped. His message to Chun was that these were the last troops he could spare and once the mines were secure they were to return. Do not ask for more.
Namgung Seok, the Korean Admiral, was still in Chan Chan on his great junk. The Governor knew he was being observed and looked for the proper moment to eliminate this annoyance. Seok had an annoying sense of loyalty and Chun had been unable gain any ground with him. After a time in the anchorage, the bottom of the war junk was encrusted with barnacles and other sea life so the Admiral ordered that it be careened on the beach for cleaning. Chun Bo Fen seized this opportunity and Namgung Seok died when one of the ropes that was hauling the great ship over on its side parted. Seok was thrown to the ground and crushed as the ship rolled over him.
When the additional troops arrived from Alagh, they were, as expected, Chinese. The Governor, overcoming his grief at the loss of the Admiral, welcomed his countrymen enthusiastically and had soon co-opted their loyalty. Chun Bo Fen, Governor of Chan Chan was now, at least on paper, as powerful as the Khan.
Of the three ships that had been re-built at Asi Ügei, one was engaged in fairly constant patrols of the coast and the other two had been dispatched to explore in both directions, one towards the Mayan homeland and one along the coast into the unknown east. Both expeditions encountered many villages once they were beyond the Kahn’s territory. Innumerable islands lie to the east with floating fishing villages and peaceful people. There was no sign in this direction of the presence of the Mayans and the journey continued uneventfully.
The voyage toward the Mayan cities encountered several of the large canoes loaded with trade goods. The captain’s orders were to ignore such things and leave them undisturbed. If canoes carrying soldiers were encountered he was to sink them. Ngöbe traders on board the ship inquired of the canoes where they were from and where they were going and these facts were carefully noted so the Khan would be able to gain a better understanding of trade routes in this sea.
As the weeks passed, the junk came closer to the center of the Mayan world. Their encounters with canoes were more frequent, but many turned away and avoided contact with the strange ship. The guides became increasingly nervous and finally after sailing 4,300 li, through thousands of islands and huge reefs the ship sighted one of the strangest things any of the Asians had ever seen. A bizarre tower rose above the jungled shore. It was brightly painted and many plumes of smoke rose around it. The guides told the captain that they had arrived at Zama, one of the major seaports of the Mayans.
As they sailed closer they could see many of the great trading canoes lined up on the shore. Just beyond stood a magnificent stone city, it was very small by the standards of China, but of good size in this world. The buildings stood many stories tall and were painted in bright colors. They could see a crowd beginning to gather on the beach pointing at them as they neared the city.
The captain ordered the one canon on board prepared. He did not want any of these people boarding his ship. Naval Infantry lined the deck and the entire ship’s crew was either at their post of preparing to repel boarders. None could be sure about the nature of their welcome.
Eventually, ten of the canoes were pushed into the water and came toward the ship. They were carrying mostly soldiers and the captain became nervous. He was not going to sink them as was his order, not here in the home of the Mayans, he wanted to learn what he could before sailing back to Asi Ügei. As the canoes came within a few lengths of the junk he ordered the canon to be aimed at an empty section of the shore and fired.
The confusion was complete. Some canoes tried to reverse direction at the thunderous blast and others turned abruptly. Boats collided and boats capsized. Men dove into the water and men were thrown into the water. On the shore a part of the beach had suddenly erupted in a cloud of sand and trees had fallen. The people on the shore fled in terror as the canoes beat a hasty retreat to the protection of the shoreline. When they arrived on the beach and ran into the city behind the protection of the stone buildings they noticed that one member of their party, the King of Zama, was not with them.
In the confusion, the King had fallen overboard, been struck on the head by a paddle from a fleeing canoe and drowned. His body was found a few hours later, washed up on the beach.
The fact that these strange men in their winged temples could kill the king without even touching him terrified the Mayans and they huddled in the Kings palace trying to decide what to do. Ahau Cuat Cocom had his representatives in all vassal cities, which is what Zama was. The King of Mayapan’s man demanded that the local military destroy the vessel immediately. The military commanders asked him how; for they did not know any way it could be done. Their discussions continued far into the night.
On board the ship, unaware that their actions had caused the death of the local king, the Chinese made plans to land and explore the city. They could see the stone temples behind the walls and knew this was an important city. They would land with naval infantry and investigate the port under the protection of the gun and the two catapults on board the junk. They would record all that they saw for the Khan, demand tribute from the city leaders and then return as quickly as possible to Asi Ügei.
Early in the morning, several canoes paddled quietly from Zama towards the ship. They did not go unnoticed, but they also did not come too close. The watch on the deck aroused the crew in case they needed to defend against the canoes and the infantry again took their place on deck. As the cannon were loaded and the catapults were prepared, the Mayans hurled sealed ceramic pots at the ship. Some crashed against the hull and shattered, others fell to the deck and broke open, and still others broke against the masts and rigging. From every broken pot came swarms of bees and wasps, swirling about the ship stinging anything they could. Many of the Asians jumped into the safety of the water only to be struck by arrows from the canoes or stone axes wielded by Mayan soldiers. The captain was finally able to regain control of his men and unleashed a flurry of arrows from their bows, killing many in the canoes, The catapults hurled explosive bombs destroying a couple of the canoes and the cannon thundered again, this time doing little more than making noise as it’s shot disappeared into the jungle.
The Mayans withdrew, but not before the Chinese had suffered severe losses, mostly from the insects which drove so many into the sea. When the captain saw the Mayans returning to shore he ordered the ship to set sail for home, Firing the cannon and catapults as he went. On his voyage back to Asi Ügei he sank every Mayan canoe he encountered.
For the Mayans, this was a victory. That they had lost far more men than the Chinese was irrelevant, they had driven the winged temple away, and they had captured several of the men who came on it. There was reason for celebration! In the euphoria of their victory the priest of the temple had the privilege of providing two of the healthier survivors as gifts to Kukulkan. The remaining three were too badly injured to be proper sacrifices and would need to nursed back to health.
When Ahau Cuat Cocom learned that the people of Zama had sacrificed two of the Asians before he was even aware of their presence, he was furious. That these fools in Zama had decided that they were able to deal with such a threat to the Mayapan League without the King’s guidance was too much. He needed as much information about these people as possible and a great opportunity had been squandered. The remaining survivors were sent to Mayapan and the care of Ah Kom Xiu. The High Priest of Zama and the officials who had been part of this plan, including his own representative, also went to Mayapan, along with the ruling house of Zama. There they enjoyed the tender attention of Ahau Cuat Cocom until they were called to the plaza. A minor house in Zama was raised to the Kingship, owing all their privilege to the King of Mayapan.
The other ship was also sailing back to Asi ügei, having ranged some 5,000 li to the east. They had explored the long coast with its huge bays and many islands as far as a two large island which signaled the coast’s turn to the southeast. These they named Dorunadu jaq-a aral or “Great Eastern Island” and Dorunadu bagh-a aral “Small Eastern Island”. They were both heavily populated and the natives, though wary and suspicious, were not hostile.
From Dorunadu bagh-a aral, somewhat northeast of Dorunadu jaq-a aral, they turned northwest to investigate rumors of a chain of islands trending far to the north. The first of these was about 200 li from the two big islands. This was a mountainous place with many bays and reefs along the south and eastern coasts. The west coast was easier to sail because there was no lee shore and the waters and winds were calmer, although there were fewer harbors. They sailed for over 100 li along the coast before reaching the northern tip of the island. Along the way they had several encounters with the local inhabitants, who came out to meet them in their canoes. These people were warlike and quickly attacked the junk before being repulsed by archers on board.
The ship continued along the coast, constantly followed by canoes and constantly greeted by new attacks from canoes launched from the shore. The attacks only eased when the ship sailed north beyond the island into a chain of lesser isles, some of which were not inhabited. They named the island they had just escaped Aghurlal Nutugh, or “Angers Homeland”. These smaller islands were far more peaceful and afforded the crew a bit of a rest. These they called Amur Nutugh, “quiet homeland”.
These islands stretched for 200 li towards the north northeast where they came in sight of another larger island about 70 li from south to north. Again they were met by hostile natives as they sailed along the coast. A few firings of the canon were sufficient to force the local canoes to keep a safe distance. Steep and heavily forested, there was a smoking volcano in the North of the island which caused them to name it Sughunagh aral, “Smoke Island”.
Here the captain decided to return to Asi ügei and make his report to the Khan. He had found that the peoples of the coast had much gold and silver, as well as copper and a quantity of emeralds, but no iron. They were good farmers and good hunters led by local chiefs who appeared to have some loyalty to a king in the hinterlands. There were no stone cities, and the language many spoke was similar to that of the Ngöbe. Much of the shore was marshland and for long distances there were no anchorages, but there were also many islands in some areas which offered protection as well as a few large bays. The largest of these actually consisted of an outer bay, 450 by 180 li. From this, an inlet extended to the south for 120 li before opening into a bay that reached nearly 400 li southward and 300 east to west.
Completely surrounded by land, this great bay was shallow and brackish. The people who lived here dined on great quantities of fish and shellfish harvested from the waters of this inland sea. The outer they named Jibqulang toque, “Grandeur Bay” and the inner Ghasighun mören, “Bitter Lake” because of the bitter taste of the water.
Chapter 14
Slaves, Treachery and Sacrifices
Slaves, Treachery and Sacrifices
The Uyghur general sent the captives across the mountain to the Khan and consolidated his conquest of the new territory. The villages, severely weakened, were in no condition to resist and cooperated as best they could with their new overlord. He left his senior Uyghur commander in control of his conquests and returned to the Khan.
Songghumal, contemplating the number of prisoners anticipated a good return from the mines and sent word to Chun Bo Fen of the new labor force.
-----
The entire military operation along the other sea had been noted by the observers left in the area by Ah Com Xiu. He knew that the Mongols were very different from any other people the Maya had ever come into contact with and his orders to those he left behind were to watch the strangers, see what they do and how they do it and report to him. There was to be no conflict, no fighting, just watching and learning. He did not really expect the Mongols to send in what amounted to an army. This was a wonderful development he felt; he would now learn how they used the animals and what sort of tactics they used. He knew this was not the same as facing a strong foe, but it would be mightily informative.
Among the things that he gleaned from the reports and personal observation when he arrived to see for himself, he discovered the strength and range of the Mongol composite bow and how the Asians used it. He learned that they favored deceit in that they employed feigned retreats to lure the other side into traps. Most importantly, he learned that their use of thunder and lightning was very limited. If his men could endure it, there was a chance of victory.
Retreating ahead of the Mongol advance he re-established his network of observers in villages near where the Asians halted and he returned to Mayapan. His henchmen interrogated the Mongol prisoners in light of the new information learned during the Asian’s assault on the villages. These men had been placed in the care of one of Xiu’s retainers during his absence. This servant of Xiu had taken the men, one by one, to the plaza where they observed the fate of those the Maya no longer had use for. The result was that the Mongols were most cooperative and provided their interrogators with much useful information which explained much of what Xiu had witnessed.
For the most part, the prisoner’s life in Mayapan was not unpleasant. They were tasked with raising a herd of horses to provide Ah Cuat Cocom with his own mounted force. Knowing that the horses were their salvation they cared for them as if they were the last ones on earth. Xiu had been forced to expend some precious status to convince the King that the High Priest was wrong to wish to sacrifice the Mongols and the horses to Kukulkan.
Reports continued to be received from Xiu’s observers and the horses did well in their new surroundings. The Maya still had a healthy fear of them but their Mongol caretakers saw to it that they were well taken care of and Xiu guaranteed that they had everything that they needed.
-----
Chun Bo Fen received the message from the Khan that he had a force of 4,500 men and women captured to work the mine with a certain sense of amusement. He did not really need the additional labor, but the Khan did not know that. Chun knew that 4,500 additional mouths to feed would be another small burden among many that the Khan bore so he sent the messenger back to tell the Khan that the he was not ready for them yet, the mines were not yet secure so he could not send the workers there. He needed additional troops since resistance was stronger than expected. He asked Songghumal for additional troops. Chun knew that the Khan’s Uyghur and Mongol forces were his primary defense and were stretched very thin. If the Khan, needing the iron from his mines, sent troops to Chimor, they would be Chinese.
And so it was that Songghumal sent a force of infantry to Chan Chan, aboard sound ships and fully equipped. His message to Chun was that these were the last troops he could spare and once the mines were secure they were to return. Do not ask for more.
Namgung Seok, the Korean Admiral, was still in Chan Chan on his great junk. The Governor knew he was being observed and looked for the proper moment to eliminate this annoyance. Seok had an annoying sense of loyalty and Chun had been unable gain any ground with him. After a time in the anchorage, the bottom of the war junk was encrusted with barnacles and other sea life so the Admiral ordered that it be careened on the beach for cleaning. Chun Bo Fen seized this opportunity and Namgung Seok died when one of the ropes that was hauling the great ship over on its side parted. Seok was thrown to the ground and crushed as the ship rolled over him.
When the additional troops arrived from Alagh, they were, as expected, Chinese. The Governor, overcoming his grief at the loss of the Admiral, welcomed his countrymen enthusiastically and had soon co-opted their loyalty. Chun Bo Fen, Governor of Chan Chan was now, at least on paper, as powerful as the Khan.
-----
Of the three ships that had been re-built at Asi Ügei, one was engaged in fairly constant patrols of the coast and the other two had been dispatched to explore in both directions, one towards the Mayan homeland and one along the coast into the unknown east. Both expeditions encountered many villages once they were beyond the Kahn’s territory. Innumerable islands lie to the east with floating fishing villages and peaceful people. There was no sign in this direction of the presence of the Mayans and the journey continued uneventfully.
The voyage toward the Mayan cities encountered several of the large canoes loaded with trade goods. The captain’s orders were to ignore such things and leave them undisturbed. If canoes carrying soldiers were encountered he was to sink them. Ngöbe traders on board the ship inquired of the canoes where they were from and where they were going and these facts were carefully noted so the Khan would be able to gain a better understanding of trade routes in this sea.
As the weeks passed, the junk came closer to the center of the Mayan world. Their encounters with canoes were more frequent, but many turned away and avoided contact with the strange ship. The guides became increasingly nervous and finally after sailing 4,300 li, through thousands of islands and huge reefs the ship sighted one of the strangest things any of the Asians had ever seen. A bizarre tower rose above the jungled shore. It was brightly painted and many plumes of smoke rose around it. The guides told the captain that they had arrived at Zama, one of the major seaports of the Mayans.
As they sailed closer they could see many of the great trading canoes lined up on the shore. Just beyond stood a magnificent stone city, it was very small by the standards of China, but of good size in this world. The buildings stood many stories tall and were painted in bright colors. They could see a crowd beginning to gather on the beach pointing at them as they neared the city.
The captain ordered the one canon on board prepared. He did not want any of these people boarding his ship. Naval Infantry lined the deck and the entire ship’s crew was either at their post of preparing to repel boarders. None could be sure about the nature of their welcome.
Eventually, ten of the canoes were pushed into the water and came toward the ship. They were carrying mostly soldiers and the captain became nervous. He was not going to sink them as was his order, not here in the home of the Mayans, he wanted to learn what he could before sailing back to Asi Ügei. As the canoes came within a few lengths of the junk he ordered the canon to be aimed at an empty section of the shore and fired.
The confusion was complete. Some canoes tried to reverse direction at the thunderous blast and others turned abruptly. Boats collided and boats capsized. Men dove into the water and men were thrown into the water. On the shore a part of the beach had suddenly erupted in a cloud of sand and trees had fallen. The people on the shore fled in terror as the canoes beat a hasty retreat to the protection of the shoreline. When they arrived on the beach and ran into the city behind the protection of the stone buildings they noticed that one member of their party, the King of Zama, was not with them.
In the confusion, the King had fallen overboard, been struck on the head by a paddle from a fleeing canoe and drowned. His body was found a few hours later, washed up on the beach.
The fact that these strange men in their winged temples could kill the king without even touching him terrified the Mayans and they huddled in the Kings palace trying to decide what to do. Ahau Cuat Cocom had his representatives in all vassal cities, which is what Zama was. The King of Mayapan’s man demanded that the local military destroy the vessel immediately. The military commanders asked him how; for they did not know any way it could be done. Their discussions continued far into the night.
On board the ship, unaware that their actions had caused the death of the local king, the Chinese made plans to land and explore the city. They could see the stone temples behind the walls and knew this was an important city. They would land with naval infantry and investigate the port under the protection of the gun and the two catapults on board the junk. They would record all that they saw for the Khan, demand tribute from the city leaders and then return as quickly as possible to Asi Ügei.
Early in the morning, several canoes paddled quietly from Zama towards the ship. They did not go unnoticed, but they also did not come too close. The watch on the deck aroused the crew in case they needed to defend against the canoes and the infantry again took their place on deck. As the cannon were loaded and the catapults were prepared, the Mayans hurled sealed ceramic pots at the ship. Some crashed against the hull and shattered, others fell to the deck and broke open, and still others broke against the masts and rigging. From every broken pot came swarms of bees and wasps, swirling about the ship stinging anything they could. Many of the Asians jumped into the safety of the water only to be struck by arrows from the canoes or stone axes wielded by Mayan soldiers. The captain was finally able to regain control of his men and unleashed a flurry of arrows from their bows, killing many in the canoes, The catapults hurled explosive bombs destroying a couple of the canoes and the cannon thundered again, this time doing little more than making noise as it’s shot disappeared into the jungle.
The Mayans withdrew, but not before the Chinese had suffered severe losses, mostly from the insects which drove so many into the sea. When the captain saw the Mayans returning to shore he ordered the ship to set sail for home, Firing the cannon and catapults as he went. On his voyage back to Asi Ügei he sank every Mayan canoe he encountered.
For the Mayans, this was a victory. That they had lost far more men than the Chinese was irrelevant, they had driven the winged temple away, and they had captured several of the men who came on it. There was reason for celebration! In the euphoria of their victory the priest of the temple had the privilege of providing two of the healthier survivors as gifts to Kukulkan. The remaining three were too badly injured to be proper sacrifices and would need to nursed back to health.
When Ahau Cuat Cocom learned that the people of Zama had sacrificed two of the Asians before he was even aware of their presence, he was furious. That these fools in Zama had decided that they were able to deal with such a threat to the Mayapan League without the King’s guidance was too much. He needed as much information about these people as possible and a great opportunity had been squandered. The remaining survivors were sent to Mayapan and the care of Ah Kom Xiu. The High Priest of Zama and the officials who had been part of this plan, including his own representative, also went to Mayapan, along with the ruling house of Zama. There they enjoyed the tender attention of Ahau Cuat Cocom until they were called to the plaza. A minor house in Zama was raised to the Kingship, owing all their privilege to the King of Mayapan.
-----
The other ship was also sailing back to Asi ügei, having ranged some 5,000 li to the east. They had explored the long coast with its huge bays and many islands as far as a two large island which signaled the coast’s turn to the southeast. These they named Dorunadu jaq-a aral or “Great Eastern Island” and Dorunadu bagh-a aral “Small Eastern Island”. They were both heavily populated and the natives, though wary and suspicious, were not hostile.
From Dorunadu bagh-a aral, somewhat northeast of Dorunadu jaq-a aral, they turned northwest to investigate rumors of a chain of islands trending far to the north. The first of these was about 200 li from the two big islands. This was a mountainous place with many bays and reefs along the south and eastern coasts. The west coast was easier to sail because there was no lee shore and the waters and winds were calmer, although there were fewer harbors. They sailed for over 100 li along the coast before reaching the northern tip of the island. Along the way they had several encounters with the local inhabitants, who came out to meet them in their canoes. These people were warlike and quickly attacked the junk before being repulsed by archers on board.
The ship continued along the coast, constantly followed by canoes and constantly greeted by new attacks from canoes launched from the shore. The attacks only eased when the ship sailed north beyond the island into a chain of lesser isles, some of which were not inhabited. They named the island they had just escaped Aghurlal Nutugh, or “Angers Homeland”. These smaller islands were far more peaceful and afforded the crew a bit of a rest. These they called Amur Nutugh, “quiet homeland”.
These islands stretched for 200 li towards the north northeast where they came in sight of another larger island about 70 li from south to north. Again they were met by hostile natives as they sailed along the coast. A few firings of the canon were sufficient to force the local canoes to keep a safe distance. Steep and heavily forested, there was a smoking volcano in the North of the island which caused them to name it Sughunagh aral, “Smoke Island”.
Here the captain decided to return to Asi ügei and make his report to the Khan. He had found that the peoples of the coast had much gold and silver, as well as copper and a quantity of emeralds, but no iron. They were good farmers and good hunters led by local chiefs who appeared to have some loyalty to a king in the hinterlands. There were no stone cities, and the language many spoke was similar to that of the Ngöbe. Much of the shore was marshland and for long distances there were no anchorages, but there were also many islands in some areas which offered protection as well as a few large bays. The largest of these actually consisted of an outer bay, 450 by 180 li. From this, an inlet extended to the south for 120 li before opening into a bay that reached nearly 400 li southward and 300 east to west.
Completely surrounded by land, this great bay was shallow and brackish. The people who lived here dined on great quantities of fish and shellfish harvested from the waters of this inland sea. The outer they named Jibqulang toque, “Grandeur Bay” and the inner Ghasighun mören, “Bitter Lake” because of the bitter taste of the water.
A little Geography
Just for clarity...
Asi ügei, (Modern Colon Panama)
Dorunadu jaq-a aral or “Great Eastern Island” (Trinidad)
Dorunadu bagh-a aral “Small Eastern Island” (Tobago).
Aghurlal Nutugh, or “Angers Homeland”(Grenada).
Amur Nutugh, “quiet homeland” (The Grenadines).
Sughunagh aral, “Smoke Island”(St Vincent).
Jibqulang toque, “Grandeur Bay” (Outer Maracaibo)
Ghasighun mören, “Bitter Lake” (Inner Maracaibo)
Just for clarity...
Asi ügei, (Modern Colon Panama)
Dorunadu jaq-a aral or “Great Eastern Island” (Trinidad)
Dorunadu bagh-a aral “Small Eastern Island” (Tobago).
Aghurlal Nutugh, or “Angers Homeland”(Grenada).
Amur Nutugh, “quiet homeland” (The Grenadines).
Sughunagh aral, “Smoke Island”(St Vincent).
Jibqulang toque, “Grandeur Bay” (Outer Maracaibo)
Ghasighun mören, “Bitter Lake” (Inner Maracaibo)
Please keep posting!
I initially dismissed this thread, not thinking much of it, but you have clearly hooked me
This 'new world' will definitely be something when europe comes a'knockin!
I initially dismissed this thread, not thinking much of it, but you have clearly hooked me
This 'new world' will definitely be something when europe comes a'knockin!
The Horse and the Jaguar...15 Preparations
Following the incident at Zama, Ahau Cuat Cocom felt the need to accelerate his preparations for war with Songghumal. He ordered that the roads leading toward the Khanate be improved and, where the roads had fallen into disrepair due to lack of use, made useable again. Beyond these paths were cut which would help hasten the Mayan army toward the enemy.
The King’s raiding parties harassed the Mongol troops that had been left to consolidate and hold the Khan’s new lands. Their goal was not just to annoy the Asians but to capture weapons and observe tactics. In this way the Lord of Mayapan came into possession of swords, knives, axes, lances and Mongol armor and, most importantly, several of the strange bows used by the foreigners and a supply of their arrows. These weapons were not sufficient to equip troops, but they did allow the King to learn what his troops would face.
He learned that the long blades made of bright metal had cutting edges that were not as sharp as his obsidian blades, but that they were infinitely more durable. Where the glass blades embedded in wooden swords would slash through a body with ease, striking hard objects such as the Mongol armor would cause the blades to shatter and fall out of their sockets on the wood frame. The edge of the metal sword would become dull and damaged fairly quickly but the weapon remained effective when swung with force against a human body. It was still useable to break legs, arms and ribs, even if it could no longer penetrate the heavy fabric armor of the Mayans. Most importantly, the end of the blade remained deadly enough that when it was thrust into an enemy it could pierce through any shielding the Mayans had.
The Mongol armor, made with pieces of metal similar to the sword, was a simple matter. The small metal shields were laced together to form a flexible and rather light skin which was sewn onto a cloak or garment. In some cases the small shields overlapped like the scales of a snake, in others they were lined up side by side and one above the other with none overlapping. This armor was able to withstand the blows of Mayan weapons, destroying the obsidian blades and leaving the man wearing it merely bruised and battered, perhaps with a broken rib, but alive.
The knives shared the same advantages as the sword but since they would not be used to smash an enemy, they retained their edges and could, with sufficient force, pierce even the foreign armor, whereas the Mayan blades broke leaving the victim bruised but unbloodied. The spears although too long to be useful in the jungle or forest were similar and functioned like the Mayan spears, but the Mayans used spear throwers which the Asians did not. Asian axes were made of that same metal and were in some ways superior because they remained sharper longer, in other ways they would be different in use. Where the Mayan axes were primarily used to bludgeon their enemy, again the blades shattered quickly and were prone to being knocked out of their grooves, the Asian axe was truly for cutting through your opponent. Even when dulled it proved far superior to the local version when it came to splitting a man’s head open. The Mayan clubs were in many ways unique. They could, when properly wielded smash the Mongol armor into the wearer’s body, causing great harm. When equipped with a spike it was possible to actually pierce the coats and kill the wearer.
The bows were the King’s top priority however. He knew that their effective range far exceeded that of their own bows and that the power with which they struck was astounding. He ordered his bow makers to discover this bow's secrets and his best craftsmen went to work. Their first bows were copies of the shape, made by steaming and bending the wood to approximate the look of the alien weapon. They were dismal failures with little range and no power. They attempted to duplicate the bowstring but none of the fibers they tried were close to comparable until one bowmaker determined that the strings were actually treated animal skin. While some concentrated on discovering the secret of the animal skin bowstring, others carefully broke the bow down. They discovered numerous layers of different materials. It took many months to determine what each layer was and what bound them together. It took even longer to determine how they were made, but the Mayan craftsmen did eventually construct a passable facsimile.
The Mayan copy was not as durable or as powerful, but it was a great improvement on their own bow. They had not been able to prevent the skin string from stretching although they had eliminated most of that problem. There was the problem that the bows had a tendency to de-laminate after hard use, rendering them useless. Their treatment of the bone components was not as flexible or resilient as the Mongol’s and, due to the lack of large game; the sinews that were part of the bow were not of the quality needed.
The Mayans did not know that a Mongol bow could take years to make due to the long periods of soaking and drying of different materials. Once the components had been glued together for example, the unstrung bow was allowed to cure for a year before it was completed. The advantage of the Mayan copy was that it could be made much more quickly and, even though it would only last a short time, enough could be made to insure a ready supply of fresh bows. They did not realize that those bows allowed to sit and age in the stockpiles were getting better by the day.
The arrows were similar, but used the grey metal for points. He ordered arrowheads of bronze to be made and experimented with bronze edged swords, which were a dismal failure. A limited number of jackets were made which incorporated thin bronze scales similar to the Mongol armor. These were lavishly decorated to be worn by himself and his captains in battle.
Where he could and where the Mongol weapon was superior the King equipped his army with the Mayan adaptation. Where the Mayan weapon had distinct advantages he sought to improve it by incorporating Asian influences. In the end, Ahau Cuat Cocom equipped his archers with the new bow and metal pointed arrows. He could not duplicate the Mongol sword but made some modifications to the wood and obsidian Mayan sword to make it more effective against Mongol armor. Clubs received metal spikes but the axe could not be duplicated. In answer to the axe he changed the weight and balance of the traditional Mayan axe to give it more crushing power. His spears received metal tips and his slingers, he determined, could not be improved upon by Mongol weaponry, so they remained unchanged.
While he did not trust the Mongol prisoners in his custody, he had begun to make them feel less like prisoners. His goal was to win their loyalty as much as possible; therefore they had plentiful food, many comforts and women to attend to their needs. The horses had foaled and his herd now numbered seven animals. He used them to entertain the people of Mayapan at festivals and ceremonies and also used them to intimidate subordinate rulers who were less cooperative than he wished them to be.
The King, having made use of a great many prisoners during the testing of the Mongol weapons and the Mayan imitations, needed to bring more allies to his cause and sent troops to test their new weapons on cities that had not yet submitted to the suzerainty of Mayapan. He was soon rewarded with new alliances and “willing” subjects for the temple. Through his efforts the cities of the Mayans were coming together under the very strong dominance of Mayapan and he was building something that had never before been seen by the Maya, a standing army.
Ahau Cuat Cocom would move on the strangers the following year and drive them back into the sea from which they had come. He himself would be the war leader and, wearing a gleaming cloak of gold plated bronze scales, would descend upon Songghumal Khan and his army in the aspect of the great serpent.
In Chan Chan, Chun Bo Fen had quickly earned the loyalty of the Chinese troops sent by the Khan to re-enforce him. They were quick to see his strength and independence and were eager to shake off the yoke of Mongol oppression. Their officers were largely Uyghurs who owed their loyalty to Songghumal, although lately there had been some grumblings among their ranks. Chun needed to address the problem of the foreign officers, Korean, Uyghur and Mongol.
Over the course of three days they and their countrymen were separated from the troops they commanded and not seen again. Some had been ordered to provide the Khan with reports, which continued to be sent, since the scribes and archivists among the troops were all Chinese and had been handling the correspondence in the course of their work. These reports normally reflected very highly on the Governor but there was the occasional report that indicated uncertainty. It would be suspicious if the intelligence from Chan Chan became suddenly ever positive; The Khan expected some amount of intrigue.
The ships sent by Songghumal were primarily under Chinese command and crewed by Chinese sailors as well, so the Governor had little trouble bringing them entirely under his sway. He continued to send regular shipments of trade goods to Alagh and reported frequently to the Khan on the progress being made in Chimor. He never failed to ask that the Khan return his wife and child to Chan Chan, but the Khan always gave a gentle refusal, softly worded, but firm.
Songghumal had also sent hogs, cattle and poultry to help support the troops. The province was wealthy enough to support these additional troops without these animals, but they were nonetheless welcome. The cattle were set to graze on old fields that had gone to grass and the Chimu were taught to herd. The pigs were sent south to the mines, to serve as a source of meat to the miners. The flocks were divided, some stayed near Chan Chan and some sent with the pigs. With this addition, Chun now had substantial herds with which to produce meat, milk, leather and more livestock.
Along the coast were dry forests which had in them a tree which was particularly difficult to work. It was extremely hard and disliked being shaped. It had a tendency to split if it did not ruin the woodworker’s tools. Because it was such a hard wood, it was too troublesome to use in construction, furniture making or shipbuilding, although it did seem to be impervious to shipworms. It did make superb charcoal however and Chun ordered kilns built and the wood harvested for conversion. He would use this excellent charcoal to fuel the furnaces of his ironworks.
As he prepared and planned his conquest of the southern coast he needed to insure the safety of the province in the north and east. He ordered the kings of the cities in the Jequetepeque and Lembayeque Valleys to assemble a force of soldiers and meet him before the walls of Chepen by year’s end. Once his force was gathered there he would train and test his men, integrating new weapons, tactics and strategies with their customary ways of war, so tuned to their world. He would learn how to most effectively combine his own Chinese with the Chimu.
Chun Bo Fen wanted to create a large and battle hardened army with which he could intimidate the great cities of the southern coast and the valleys that climbed into the high mountains. He also wanted to be certain that the polities in those mountains, such as the kingdom of Qusqu, did not hinder him. He knew that he needed to achieve his conquests before those mountain city states allied with the cities in the valleys and on the coast.
The first test for his army would be a large and heavily fortified city deep in the mountains east of Cajamarca and northeast of Chan Chan. By capturing and holding the stronghold of Kuelap he could secure his northern mountain frontier and send a message to the other mountain kingdoms. His campaign would begin early the following year, as long as his army was ready.
Ike Mense’s return from his successful campaign was a cause for great celebration in Alagh. Songghumal Khan met him as he arrived triumphantly at the gates of the still unfinished city. Mense was taken by the khan to see his captives who, now shackled, worked the fields surrounding the nascent capital city. They were well fed and had reasonable shelter in order to be fit to work the mines far to the south when the time came.
Ike had lost minimal troops on the expedition and the Khan was relieved that he had not encountered more than a few Mayans. Songghumal was aware that there were still scattered skirmishes along the frontier and some men had been lost, but his intelligence told him that the Mayan heartland lay far to the north and west of his holdings, so he was content to have occasional encounters. But he realized that the Mayans were competent seamen and could move easily along the coast. He would, in time, need to strengthen his control of the Other Sea which meant he needed more ships and better armed troops. He needed the iron from Chan Chan more than ever for only when he had the iron, could he make the nails and fittings for new ships at Asi Ügei and swords and cannon for his troops.
His spies in Chan Chan painted a fundamentally positive picture of Chun Bo Fen as a loyal Governor working hard to expand and enrich the Khanate. Occasionally there were reports which intimated that the Chinese admiral had ulterior motives but they were always carefully worded to avoid outright accusations or interpret a guess as a fact. Many of the reports referred to the governor’s longing for his family and some suggested that their return would be a show of good faith on the part of the Khan, but the Khan wanted the iron before he made any gestures toward Chun.
Songghumal took great pains to see that Chun Bo Fen’s wife, an Ngöbe woman who had been re-named Dōnggé when Chun took her as his wife, and his son, Bohai, were treated as members of his own family. The boy was well cared for and, indeed, the Khan had become quite fond of him. Dōnggé, while having everything she needed and being among her own people sorely missed her husband. She took every opportunity to petition the Khan to send them back to Chimor. Her pleas moved the Khan, but he had more important priorities. Their return south would have to wait.
At the end of the year, as preparations were underway for the New Year celebration, the Khanate controlled substantially more territory than at the previous New Year. The Khanate was prosperous, his capitol was well under way, his herds grew and prospered, trade was growing and a substantial army was in the making. The Ngöbe were proving to be competent horsemen and adapting well to the new weapons and tactics, although they balked at wearing the simplified armor that was made for them, too hot and too uncomfortable…better to ride nearly naked. His forces had achieved a semblance of peace on the shores of the Other Sea, although there was sporadic raiding near the Bay of Islands and his new colonies were doing well. Roads were being built to link the different parts of the Khanate and his ships had explored many thousands of li of coastline in both seas opening new trade routes and finding new trading partners.
In the south, the Governor of Chimor had found a source of iron and he was taking necessary steps to gain control of it. He was expanding the Khan’s holdings and had established trade routes with many of the local city states. The province was stable and growing and had earned the respect of its neighbors.
The Khan’s plans for the coming year included further expansion along both coasts with more exploration and new settlements to consolidate his conquests, smelting of iron, building ships, re-equipping his army and making new weapons for his new soldiers. He planned to dedicate his new capital by the end of the year.
Chapter 15
Preparations
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The King’s raiding parties harassed the Mongol troops that had been left to consolidate and hold the Khan’s new lands. Their goal was not just to annoy the Asians but to capture weapons and observe tactics. In this way the Lord of Mayapan came into possession of swords, knives, axes, lances and Mongol armor and, most importantly, several of the strange bows used by the foreigners and a supply of their arrows. These weapons were not sufficient to equip troops, but they did allow the King to learn what his troops would face.
He learned that the long blades made of bright metal had cutting edges that were not as sharp as his obsidian blades, but that they were infinitely more durable. Where the glass blades embedded in wooden swords would slash through a body with ease, striking hard objects such as the Mongol armor would cause the blades to shatter and fall out of their sockets on the wood frame. The edge of the metal sword would become dull and damaged fairly quickly but the weapon remained effective when swung with force against a human body. It was still useable to break legs, arms and ribs, even if it could no longer penetrate the heavy fabric armor of the Mayans. Most importantly, the end of the blade remained deadly enough that when it was thrust into an enemy it could pierce through any shielding the Mayans had.
The Mongol armor, made with pieces of metal similar to the sword, was a simple matter. The small metal shields were laced together to form a flexible and rather light skin which was sewn onto a cloak or garment. In some cases the small shields overlapped like the scales of a snake, in others they were lined up side by side and one above the other with none overlapping. This armor was able to withstand the blows of Mayan weapons, destroying the obsidian blades and leaving the man wearing it merely bruised and battered, perhaps with a broken rib, but alive.
The knives shared the same advantages as the sword but since they would not be used to smash an enemy, they retained their edges and could, with sufficient force, pierce even the foreign armor, whereas the Mayan blades broke leaving the victim bruised but unbloodied. The spears although too long to be useful in the jungle or forest were similar and functioned like the Mayan spears, but the Mayans used spear throwers which the Asians did not. Asian axes were made of that same metal and were in some ways superior because they remained sharper longer, in other ways they would be different in use. Where the Mayan axes were primarily used to bludgeon their enemy, again the blades shattered quickly and were prone to being knocked out of their grooves, the Asian axe was truly for cutting through your opponent. Even when dulled it proved far superior to the local version when it came to splitting a man’s head open. The Mayan clubs were in many ways unique. They could, when properly wielded smash the Mongol armor into the wearer’s body, causing great harm. When equipped with a spike it was possible to actually pierce the coats and kill the wearer.
The bows were the King’s top priority however. He knew that their effective range far exceeded that of their own bows and that the power with which they struck was astounding. He ordered his bow makers to discover this bow's secrets and his best craftsmen went to work. Their first bows were copies of the shape, made by steaming and bending the wood to approximate the look of the alien weapon. They were dismal failures with little range and no power. They attempted to duplicate the bowstring but none of the fibers they tried were close to comparable until one bowmaker determined that the strings were actually treated animal skin. While some concentrated on discovering the secret of the animal skin bowstring, others carefully broke the bow down. They discovered numerous layers of different materials. It took many months to determine what each layer was and what bound them together. It took even longer to determine how they were made, but the Mayan craftsmen did eventually construct a passable facsimile.
The Mayan copy was not as durable or as powerful, but it was a great improvement on their own bow. They had not been able to prevent the skin string from stretching although they had eliminated most of that problem. There was the problem that the bows had a tendency to de-laminate after hard use, rendering them useless. Their treatment of the bone components was not as flexible or resilient as the Mongol’s and, due to the lack of large game; the sinews that were part of the bow were not of the quality needed.
The Mayans did not know that a Mongol bow could take years to make due to the long periods of soaking and drying of different materials. Once the components had been glued together for example, the unstrung bow was allowed to cure for a year before it was completed. The advantage of the Mayan copy was that it could be made much more quickly and, even though it would only last a short time, enough could be made to insure a ready supply of fresh bows. They did not realize that those bows allowed to sit and age in the stockpiles were getting better by the day.
The arrows were similar, but used the grey metal for points. He ordered arrowheads of bronze to be made and experimented with bronze edged swords, which were a dismal failure. A limited number of jackets were made which incorporated thin bronze scales similar to the Mongol armor. These were lavishly decorated to be worn by himself and his captains in battle.
Where he could and where the Mongol weapon was superior the King equipped his army with the Mayan adaptation. Where the Mayan weapon had distinct advantages he sought to improve it by incorporating Asian influences. In the end, Ahau Cuat Cocom equipped his archers with the new bow and metal pointed arrows. He could not duplicate the Mongol sword but made some modifications to the wood and obsidian Mayan sword to make it more effective against Mongol armor. Clubs received metal spikes but the axe could not be duplicated. In answer to the axe he changed the weight and balance of the traditional Mayan axe to give it more crushing power. His spears received metal tips and his slingers, he determined, could not be improved upon by Mongol weaponry, so they remained unchanged.
While he did not trust the Mongol prisoners in his custody, he had begun to make them feel less like prisoners. His goal was to win their loyalty as much as possible; therefore they had plentiful food, many comforts and women to attend to their needs. The horses had foaled and his herd now numbered seven animals. He used them to entertain the people of Mayapan at festivals and ceremonies and also used them to intimidate subordinate rulers who were less cooperative than he wished them to be.
The King, having made use of a great many prisoners during the testing of the Mongol weapons and the Mayan imitations, needed to bring more allies to his cause and sent troops to test their new weapons on cities that had not yet submitted to the suzerainty of Mayapan. He was soon rewarded with new alliances and “willing” subjects for the temple. Through his efforts the cities of the Mayans were coming together under the very strong dominance of Mayapan and he was building something that had never before been seen by the Maya, a standing army.
Ahau Cuat Cocom would move on the strangers the following year and drive them back into the sea from which they had come. He himself would be the war leader and, wearing a gleaming cloak of gold plated bronze scales, would descend upon Songghumal Khan and his army in the aspect of the great serpent.
-----
In Chan Chan, Chun Bo Fen had quickly earned the loyalty of the Chinese troops sent by the Khan to re-enforce him. They were quick to see his strength and independence and were eager to shake off the yoke of Mongol oppression. Their officers were largely Uyghurs who owed their loyalty to Songghumal, although lately there had been some grumblings among their ranks. Chun needed to address the problem of the foreign officers, Korean, Uyghur and Mongol.
Over the course of three days they and their countrymen were separated from the troops they commanded and not seen again. Some had been ordered to provide the Khan with reports, which continued to be sent, since the scribes and archivists among the troops were all Chinese and had been handling the correspondence in the course of their work. These reports normally reflected very highly on the Governor but there was the occasional report that indicated uncertainty. It would be suspicious if the intelligence from Chan Chan became suddenly ever positive; The Khan expected some amount of intrigue.
The ships sent by Songghumal were primarily under Chinese command and crewed by Chinese sailors as well, so the Governor had little trouble bringing them entirely under his sway. He continued to send regular shipments of trade goods to Alagh and reported frequently to the Khan on the progress being made in Chimor. He never failed to ask that the Khan return his wife and child to Chan Chan, but the Khan always gave a gentle refusal, softly worded, but firm.
Songghumal had also sent hogs, cattle and poultry to help support the troops. The province was wealthy enough to support these additional troops without these animals, but they were nonetheless welcome. The cattle were set to graze on old fields that had gone to grass and the Chimu were taught to herd. The pigs were sent south to the mines, to serve as a source of meat to the miners. The flocks were divided, some stayed near Chan Chan and some sent with the pigs. With this addition, Chun now had substantial herds with which to produce meat, milk, leather and more livestock.
Along the coast were dry forests which had in them a tree which was particularly difficult to work. It was extremely hard and disliked being shaped. It had a tendency to split if it did not ruin the woodworker’s tools. Because it was such a hard wood, it was too troublesome to use in construction, furniture making or shipbuilding, although it did seem to be impervious to shipworms. It did make superb charcoal however and Chun ordered kilns built and the wood harvested for conversion. He would use this excellent charcoal to fuel the furnaces of his ironworks.
As he prepared and planned his conquest of the southern coast he needed to insure the safety of the province in the north and east. He ordered the kings of the cities in the Jequetepeque and Lembayeque Valleys to assemble a force of soldiers and meet him before the walls of Chepen by year’s end. Once his force was gathered there he would train and test his men, integrating new weapons, tactics and strategies with their customary ways of war, so tuned to their world. He would learn how to most effectively combine his own Chinese with the Chimu.
Chun Bo Fen wanted to create a large and battle hardened army with which he could intimidate the great cities of the southern coast and the valleys that climbed into the high mountains. He also wanted to be certain that the polities in those mountains, such as the kingdom of Qusqu, did not hinder him. He knew that he needed to achieve his conquests before those mountain city states allied with the cities in the valleys and on the coast.
The first test for his army would be a large and heavily fortified city deep in the mountains east of Cajamarca and northeast of Chan Chan. By capturing and holding the stronghold of Kuelap he could secure his northern mountain frontier and send a message to the other mountain kingdoms. His campaign would begin early the following year, as long as his army was ready.
-----
Ike Mense’s return from his successful campaign was a cause for great celebration in Alagh. Songghumal Khan met him as he arrived triumphantly at the gates of the still unfinished city. Mense was taken by the khan to see his captives who, now shackled, worked the fields surrounding the nascent capital city. They were well fed and had reasonable shelter in order to be fit to work the mines far to the south when the time came.
Ike had lost minimal troops on the expedition and the Khan was relieved that he had not encountered more than a few Mayans. Songghumal was aware that there were still scattered skirmishes along the frontier and some men had been lost, but his intelligence told him that the Mayan heartland lay far to the north and west of his holdings, so he was content to have occasional encounters. But he realized that the Mayans were competent seamen and could move easily along the coast. He would, in time, need to strengthen his control of the Other Sea which meant he needed more ships and better armed troops. He needed the iron from Chan Chan more than ever for only when he had the iron, could he make the nails and fittings for new ships at Asi Ügei and swords and cannon for his troops.
His spies in Chan Chan painted a fundamentally positive picture of Chun Bo Fen as a loyal Governor working hard to expand and enrich the Khanate. Occasionally there were reports which intimated that the Chinese admiral had ulterior motives but they were always carefully worded to avoid outright accusations or interpret a guess as a fact. Many of the reports referred to the governor’s longing for his family and some suggested that their return would be a show of good faith on the part of the Khan, but the Khan wanted the iron before he made any gestures toward Chun.
Songghumal took great pains to see that Chun Bo Fen’s wife, an Ngöbe woman who had been re-named Dōnggé when Chun took her as his wife, and his son, Bohai, were treated as members of his own family. The boy was well cared for and, indeed, the Khan had become quite fond of him. Dōnggé, while having everything she needed and being among her own people sorely missed her husband. She took every opportunity to petition the Khan to send them back to Chimor. Her pleas moved the Khan, but he had more important priorities. Their return south would have to wait.
At the end of the year, as preparations were underway for the New Year celebration, the Khanate controlled substantially more territory than at the previous New Year. The Khanate was prosperous, his capitol was well under way, his herds grew and prospered, trade was growing and a substantial army was in the making. The Ngöbe were proving to be competent horsemen and adapting well to the new weapons and tactics, although they balked at wearing the simplified armor that was made for them, too hot and too uncomfortable…better to ride nearly naked. His forces had achieved a semblance of peace on the shores of the Other Sea, although there was sporadic raiding near the Bay of Islands and his new colonies were doing well. Roads were being built to link the different parts of the Khanate and his ships had explored many thousands of li of coastline in both seas opening new trade routes and finding new trading partners.
In the south, the Governor of Chimor had found a source of iron and he was taking necessary steps to gain control of it. He was expanding the Khan’s holdings and had established trade routes with many of the local city states. The province was stable and growing and had earned the respect of its neighbors.
The Khan’s plans for the coming year included further expansion along both coasts with more exploration and new settlements to consolidate his conquests, smelting of iron, building ships, re-equipping his army and making new weapons for his new soldiers. He planned to dedicate his new capital by the end of the year.
1299
I am posting the first part of chapter 16. This is about a very busy and pivotal year, 1299. there will be several posts I expect before we get through this year. I hope you enjoy this as I try to keep things in some semblance of order. Comments are always appreciated. Historical, strategic, economic. I'm no wizard so I don't mind being pointed in the right direction if I do something really egregious.
Thanks Folks
I am posting the first part of chapter 16. This is about a very busy and pivotal year, 1299. there will be several posts I expect before we get through this year. I hope you enjoy this as I try to keep things in some semblance of order. Comments are always appreciated. Historical, strategic, economic. I'm no wizard so I don't mind being pointed in the right direction if I do something really egregious.
Thanks Folks
The Horse and the Jaguar...16 1299 part 1
The Khan was satisfied that all was going well. The new lands conquered by Ike Mense were relatively calm, only occasional raids across the frontier disturbed the peace, and these were manageable. The construction of his city went on apace and he was on schedule to dedicate it before the end of the year although it would be years before it was completed. His population was growing and there was a surplus of food and grain. The training of his native army was going well, but he still could only equip them with a few Asian weapons due to the lack of steel, although that would soon be corrected he was certain. The herds were doing well and he now had additional horses available for his cavalry as the first generation of horses were of the right age and well trained.
Along the shoreline at Asi Ügei, construction would soon be starting on a new junk. He had ordered several of the older and less seaworthy vessels cannibalized to obtain sufficient fittings and material for the new construction. That was even now being carted across the isthmus to the Other Sea. The three ships already there patrolling the coast had captured several Mayan canoes carrying traders and based on what he had learned from them he felt confident in his ability to defeat the Mayans when the time came.
Nugün Ürije, The Khans son, adopted from the Ngöbe was nearly 15 years old and would soon take on the mantle of manhood and ride with the Khan’s Mongol warriors. He had learned well under the tutelage of Ike Mense and was an accomplished rider, skilled bowman and on his way to being an able leader. The lad was highly regarded by the troops and sailors for he never shirked from a given task, learned well and quickly, always carried his share of the burdens and behaved like one of them, not a prince. Because of this strong affection they called him DegüüDarugh-a, Young Brother Commander.
The rainy season came earlier than usual this year and in late March a severe fever swept through the Bay. The Ngöbe suffered no more than a few days of discomfort, but the Asians who contracted the fever were in great distress. They experienced days of high temperatures, cold sweats, vomiting and diarrhea. In the worse cases they were afflicted with delirium, unconsciousness and death. While the peak intensity of the illness might have been several days, the recovery was painfully slow and once rid of the fever they found themselves weakened physically. The soldiers who had been afflicted found it difficult to draw the bow or ride for any great distance.
In Songghumal’s camp, Ike Mense was infected as were many in the Khan’s household. When Chun Bo Fen’s wife and son fell ill the Khan retreated to the mountains and camped there until the disease had passed. Asi Ügei seemed not to be affected and the disease was not carried there by any of the travelers between Alagh and the settlement. The Khan lost over 800 people in Alagh, including his guests from Chan Chan, the wife of Governor Chun Bo Fen and the Governors first born son.
The Mongols still at Alagh had mostly gone to the mountains with the Khan and the fleet fared well since many of the ships were sailing to Chan Chan with additional supplies for Chun Bo Fen. Many of the men lost to the fever were Uyghur soldiers. Songghumal’s forces had been further weakened.
Once Ike Mense’s fever had broken, The Khan sent him by ship to Adughud Bairi, the settlement at the pastures 380 li West of Alagh, to recover from the fever. The climate was reported to be better there and Songghumal wanted his trusted general fully recovered. The ship anchored in the mouth of the river and a camp was set up for the general near the small village that had been built there. With the care of the physicians the Khan had sent with him, Ike began to rebuild his strength and was soon galloping off to hunt deer and explore the area.
By late April, the physicians declared that the General had healed sufficiently to return to Alagh. Ike had been very impatient and although he had enjoyed his forced holiday in the country he was ready to resume his labors on behalf of his friend, The Khan. He ordered the junk made ready for the voyage and they set sail with a fair wind out of the North West, looking at the likelihood of a quick passage along the coast. Several hours after they left the anchorage the wind began to shift and was soon blowing strong from the southwest. The captain tried to sail the Junk away from the coast in order to gain some sea room before the storm he feared was coming struck but the freshening winds thwarted his effort to escape the lee shore. As the evening passed, the junk was making slow progress against the building winds and contrary current and by nightfall. As night fell, Ike Mense’s ship was fighting a full gale.
The storm was as strong as anything the captain had experienced in the seas of China or on the crossing to the new lands. It’s sudden arrival and constantly strengthening winds worried him greatly and he struggled to maintain control of his ship. He knew that the vessel was being driven ever closer to the shore employed every trick he knew to claw his way seaward. Ike Mense, on the other hand, was anxious to get back to the Khan and pushed the captain to make as much speed toward Alagh as possible. The captain carried as much sail as he dared, even as the General ordered him to spread more to the wind, and soon the gale was causing the sails to fail and blow out.
The captain ordered the tattered remains of the sails lowered and the junk was shortly flying before the storm under bare poles. He attempted to hold a course toward Alagh, as Ike Mense wanted, but knew that the effort was futile and that they were approaching the shore with little control of their ship. As the day broke under dark clouds, driving rain and howling wind, the captain saw what he feared most this day. A line of breakers could be seen through the rain. He had not heard them because of the raging wind, but before he could do anything more than warn his crew and passengers to brace for grounding the ship was driven onto the lee shore and wrecked. In the mayhem of shouting men, falling masts, splitting wood, pelting rain and overtopping seas, Ike Mense was dragged overboard, washed away by a huge wave along with several others. At that moment, there was nothing that could be done to save the General or the others without the rescuers being lost as well. What few crew survived the storm and wreck found his body washed up on the beach several li up the coast as they made their way back to Adughud Bairi on foot.
From the settlement a courier was sent bearing the sad news to The Khan in Alagh.
Governor Chun Bo Fen of Chimor spent the first two months of the year training his combined Chinese and Andean troops near Chepen. His vassal kings in the valleys had amassed a sizeable army of nearly 8,000 men. The Governor had brought 4,000 of the troops he had been able to cajole from the Khan along with an additional 3,000 that he had raised on Chan Chan itself. He had no cavalry to speak of, only enough horses for himself, his bodyguard and his Chinese subordinates, about 80 horse in all. Chun was able to field some artillery, including four cannon that had been stripped from junks in addition to catapults, trebuchets and other siege engines.
In the beginning of March, satisfied with the training, the Army of Chimor set off for Kuelap, 500 li to the west north west of Chepen as the Condor flies, but over 700 li on foot.
Kuelap was a magnificent fortress situated on a ridge overlooking its river valley. The walls of the valley were lined with terraced fields which the people farmed and their herds of llamas grazed on the unaltered slopes. The massive stone walls of the city, five layers thick in some places, were said to be impregnable, so Chun would try to capture the city by intimidation. This approach had worked exceedingly well so far since the Asian cannons, the horses and the wheeled carts all seemed magical to the natives.
When the army finally reached Kuelap several weeks later even the Governor was impressed by what he saw. The fortress was indeed magnificent, and huge! How could they have built this? He thought. If there was no longer a great emperor here, there must have been one far into the past.
He sent scouts to look for weaknesses and sent spies into the villages surrounding the city to spread rumors. The main gate of the city had been blocked except for a narrow passage, easily sealed. Many had taken refuge within the walls swelling the population of the city. Only the west gate, overlooking the valley, was clear. This was a minor gate and allowed the city to continue to farm the fields layered on the valley side below the walls. This was a nearly impossible approach, climbing the terraces up t the gate. Each terrace acted as outworks for the main fortress. Defenders would be able to rain down arrows and spears on an attacker. Such an assault would be foolhardy.
The land on the eastern side of the city, where the main gate stood, had been extensively cleared and there was no cover to be found. Any assault on the city from this side would still be an uphill fight, but not an impossible one. On the southern end of the city walls stood a large turret and the northern side was dominated by another turret and a large citadel. This was a well sited city and not a place that would be easily stormed.
Chun determined to approach the walls from the weakest side, the east, near the main gate. He made a great show of marching through the valley below and around the northern walls of the city. In the cleared area before the main gate he set his camp in the open in clear sight of the walls. The camp was out of range of any of the weapons he believed Kuelap might have. They had nothing like the Mongol bow and certainly nothing comparable to the catapult or trebuchet. These he placed behind his camp and the cannon were covered so as not to be seen and placed within the camp.
His horses were paraded back and forth before the walls creating the impression of great activity within the camp. They galloped from one end of the camp to the other. Sometimes a single horse, as if a messenger and other times as a company, wheeling and rearing as they raced past. Chun ordered small groups of men to fan out into the countryside to light campfires surrounding the city and along the valley walls creating the impression of a vast army of innumerable strength surrounding the fortress.
At dawn, Chun Bo Fen caused trumpets to be sounded and great drums to be beat. With this clamor he sent a lord of Túcume, one of his subject cities, along with representatives from all the cities of Chimor, to the city as an emissary. They were escorted by a troop of Chinese soldiers on horseback. As the party approached the walls, the lord being born upon an elaborate palanquin, they were challenged by men upon the walls. The Noble of Túcume then stood, and with great dignity and a powerful voice, told the guards on the walls that he was there to speak with the Lord of Kuelap and save the city from the wrath of the all-powerful Governor of Chimor.
The emissary was ordered to wait and an official shortly appeared atop the wall. He asked the lord who he was and where he was from. The official knew the lords family name and was well aware of Túcume and its wealth. He told the lord to step down from his palanquin and pass through the gate with half of his entourage. The horses would not be allowed to enter the walls. The noble descended and selected eight of his retinue to accompany him along with two Chinese soldiers. The remainder waited for him as he walked into the narrow gate.
Once past the outer wall, the gate narrowed further until it was only wide enough for one man to enter and the passage climbed to the top of the wall. The fortress did not have a wall in the Chinese sense of a free standing wall that a city would shield behind. It was, rather a massive retaining wall supporting a vast terrace upon which the buildings of the city were built. This was not a surprise to the Andeans, for this was a typical way of building for them, but to the Chinese it meant that the cannon could not batter the walls down and attempts at undermining the walls would be futile. Even if the wall were to be breached, the city would still tower above them and they would be fighting uphill, over rubble and unstable earth.
The embassy was conducted to the main plaza before the palace and temple. Here a pavilion had been hastily erected and cushions provided for the foreigners to sit on. The Lord of Kuelap was carried out of his palace seated upon a magnificent golden throne carried on the shoulders of twenty men. He was surrounded by a guard of an additional twenty soldiers and the pavilion by several hundred more, which closed the gap through which Chun’s emissaries entered, completely enclosing them in a wall of spears, clubs and axes.
The Lord of Kuelap, an old man of great dignity but faded vitality, asked the Túcume noble why the governor of Chimor had come into his mountains, and come with such great power? Chimor had wealth, food and trade. What could the people of Kuelap have that he would want? They were, after all, nothing but poor farmers.
The lord from Túcume looked about him at the strong, well armed soldiers that surrounded them, the magnificent city so well fortified, and then back towards the splendidly attired Lord on his golden throne. He responded to the question in this way;
“Your people may be nothing but poor farmers noble lord, but they are exceedingly good farmers. They have brought your land peace and plenty. The Great Governor of Chimor wishes that they should continue to do so. They have built for you this place of refuge to defend against those who would take from you what you have. He requires not your land, but these strong walls to protect both Kuelap and Chimor from those same bandits and thieves.
He came to Túcume for the same purpose, and our lands and people have prospered under his protection. He takes little and gives much in return, which is why all these peoples of the coast and valleys have joined with him and come to your gate.
The wrath of The Governor toward those who deny his wishes is as great as his generosity to those who favor him with kindness and loyalty. Swift and deadly is his anger, unmatched his power. More than one king lies headless where he fell when he defied the generous intentions of Chun Bo Fen. Provide him with this place and he will defend your people as he defends his own. You and they will live as you always have, but knowing that a great lord is protecting you.”
The Lord of Kuelap had seen foreign leaders come to his gates and demand his submission before. They had always retired to their own countries after throwing themselves against his walls in futility. Though this army was more numerous and had strange weapons and animals, it was likely to be the same story again. He responded to the lord from Túcume in this manner:
“We are accustomed to welcoming those who come to trade, or who are traveling to distant places, but we do not welcome those who make demands beyond our hospitality or who trade unfairly.
Return to your Governor without this city. We will retain it for ourselves and protect it ourselves, as we always have. Tell him he should take his kind offers to those who require his generosity. We do not.”
At that, he gave a signal and the Palanquin was raised onto the shoulders of his men. Before they could retire, the Túcume noble said loudly:
“I have the word of my Lord and Governor that he will give you three opportunities to accept his kind request before the middle of the day after tomorrow. As he requires this place for his own land’s security, refusing him will cause great harm to fall upon you and your people. This has been your first.”
The Lord of Kuelap looked at the noble.
“And how shall he accomplish that which none other could?”
Again signing to his men, he retired to his hall. The guards moved into the space the Lord had been and herded the Chimor delegation back out the city gate.
Chun Bo Fen was indeed angry at the refusal of the lord of Kuelap to surrender his stronghold, but he realized that he would not be able to reduce the city with his few cannon and other siege weapons in any reasonable time. It would be like reducing the Earth. He determined that if the city did not surrender by noon of the next day, he would give them a demonstration of strength and generate as much terror as he could. He would threaten the city with a rain of stones and fire. His cannon would fire in high arcs so their shot would fall from the sky. The trebuchets and catapults would loft fire bombs into the midst of the city and set the thatch roofs alight.
Should that fail to produce the submission of the city, he would destroy one of the nearby villages and send their heads over the walls. The siege would then begin in earnest.
At noon the next day a herald was sent near the gate and called upon the lord of Kuelap, for the second time, to surrender the city to Chun Bo Fen and his gentle domination. He barely escaped with his life as he ducked rocks thrown from the walls and arrows fired from atop the gate.
At noon the next day, the herald was surrounded by a troop of archers, but this time the lord of Kuelap had sent a herald of his own to the walls. His message was brief:
“My lord has ordered you to leave his lands and you have not. Leave now. You shall not have this place.”
Within moments, a thunderous roar was heard from the forest behind the Chimor camp. Flame and smoke could be seen. A moment later there was a strange whistling sound followed by the sudden collapse of several roofs. At about the same time, black objects flew from the camp over the walls and wherever they fell fire sprang up. This happened three more times, with similar effect, One of the whistling stones even destroyed the lintel of the entry to The Lord’s hall, narrowly missing The old man himself as he rushed out to see what was happening.
Within the walls was chaos. Many of the defenders left their posts to help put out the fires or make sure their own families were safe. People ran from one place to another to find vessels to carry water to the fires or to escape the burning and rain of stones.
Screams of terror mixed with shouted orders. The Lord of Kuelap stood before his ruined doorway, the fires and falling stones draining his resolve. In all his long years he had never heard of such an assault. The army surrounding his city was still in their camp and his city was being devastated.
After there had been time for the events to make their impression, Chun once again sent his herald out to call for the cities surrender. Getting no response, the herald cried that the assault would resume the next day if the city did not surrender.
By nightfall the fires were out and Kuelap was again quiet. One of the storehouses had burned and their supplies were reduced, several houses had also been destroyed by fire and falling stones. The ambassador of Chun Bo Fen had, it seemed, spoken the truth. With so many outside his walls and such great power that can call stones from the sky, how could the lord of Kuelap and his people defend against them? He was torn for knew that the cities of Chimor were prosperous, as the ambassador had said, and that they indeed did live their lives as they had before the coming of the Governor. They plied their trades, tilled their fields, herded their llamas and worshipped their own Gods, just as before. He also felt that surrendering the city would be a great humiliation for himself and his people.
His councilors, seeing the destruction and the power, fearing for their own safety and welfare, had agreed among themselves that their lord must open the city to Chimor before Chimor destroyed it and them. Beset by doubt, fearing for his people and wary of strangers, the old Lord was distraught. He did not want more devastation visited upon the city but he feared enslavement to another power. His councilors pleaded, argued, cajoled and threatened for most of the night, until the old man fell asleep from exhaustion. Their efforts resumed early in the morning, as if they had continued all night, and finally, weary of his councilors, their arguments and their cowardice, yet still fearful for his city and its people, the lord of Kuelap acquiesced. The Governor of Chimor would have his city and his people would live. The lord then retired to his chambers where he fell into a fitful sleep.
He sent his herald to the walls where he asked that the Governor grant the emissaries of the lord of Kuelap an audience. Chun’s herald instructed the councilors to come to the Governor unarmed and without a military escort. Their safety was guaranteed by the grace of the Governor himself.
Chun Bo Fen received the embassy from the city with grace, garbed not in the armor of a conqueror but in a robe of the finest silk, embellished with wonderful geometric patterns in many different colors. He told them that their people would not be harmed nor their city destroyed nor their lord deposed. They told the Governor how they had convinced the old Lord to capitulate and how much they yearned to be the servants of Chimor. Far more was said about their efforts to change their lord’s mind than about his decision to surrender the city. They were sent back to the city with fine gifts and instructions that the people should come out from behind the walls and return to their fields in safety.
Chun Bo Fen wished to enter the city, but in strength and safety. The gate was designed in such a way that a man on horseback could not pass through so he ordered a ramp to be built on either side of the gate, wide enough for ten men abreast to march up. Upon entering the city in splendor befitting a conqueror, Chun visited the old Lord in his hall, offering all deference as would be expected for the lord of a great city. He told the old man to rule as always, but advised him to find new councilors. Chun would leave troops at the city along with some weaponry and his personal representative, who the Lord would be wise to take into his confidence.
Within a few days, most of the Army of Chimor left Kuelap. Messengers were sent to the cities of the coast telling them to send cattle and farmers to help make the land more productive. As time passed, trade between the cities of the mountains and the coast increased greatly. Roads were built or widened to accommodate the ox carts that were becoming common in Chimor and the hillside terraces expanded and improved.
Chun’s last act before leaving Kuelap was to summon the councilors who had surrendered the city and their families to his tent where he thanked them for their assistance. To their wives and children he gave gifts and honors and sent them home. Keeping the councilors in his presence he upbraided them, berating them for their cowardice, disloyalty and selfishness. Personally taking up a switch, he beat them and stripped them of all position, status and rank. When one of them asked why they were being treated like this since they had shown such great loyalty to Chimor the governor spat back:
“Your loyalty should have been to Kuelap and its lord, not to the Governor of Chimor! You were quick to abandon a noble man who cared for his people in order to protect yourselves and your position. You would crawl under my boots to ingratiate yourselves to me. You are not worthy of position, power or preference. You are not to be trusted, not to be honored. Be grateful for your lives for I have not taken them.
[FONT="]Chapter 16[/FONT]
[FONT="]1299, Part 1[/FONT]
Along the shoreline at Asi Ügei, construction would soon be starting on a new junk. He had ordered several of the older and less seaworthy vessels cannibalized to obtain sufficient fittings and material for the new construction. That was even now being carted across the isthmus to the Other Sea. The three ships already there patrolling the coast had captured several Mayan canoes carrying traders and based on what he had learned from them he felt confident in his ability to defeat the Mayans when the time came.
Nugün Ürije, The Khans son, adopted from the Ngöbe was nearly 15 years old and would soon take on the mantle of manhood and ride with the Khan’s Mongol warriors. He had learned well under the tutelage of Ike Mense and was an accomplished rider, skilled bowman and on his way to being an able leader. The lad was highly regarded by the troops and sailors for he never shirked from a given task, learned well and quickly, always carried his share of the burdens and behaved like one of them, not a prince. Because of this strong affection they called him DegüüDarugh-a, Young Brother Commander.
The rainy season came earlier than usual this year and in late March a severe fever swept through the Bay. The Ngöbe suffered no more than a few days of discomfort, but the Asians who contracted the fever were in great distress. They experienced days of high temperatures, cold sweats, vomiting and diarrhea. In the worse cases they were afflicted with delirium, unconsciousness and death. While the peak intensity of the illness might have been several days, the recovery was painfully slow and once rid of the fever they found themselves weakened physically. The soldiers who had been afflicted found it difficult to draw the bow or ride for any great distance.
In Songghumal’s camp, Ike Mense was infected as were many in the Khan’s household. When Chun Bo Fen’s wife and son fell ill the Khan retreated to the mountains and camped there until the disease had passed. Asi Ügei seemed not to be affected and the disease was not carried there by any of the travelers between Alagh and the settlement. The Khan lost over 800 people in Alagh, including his guests from Chan Chan, the wife of Governor Chun Bo Fen and the Governors first born son.
The Mongols still at Alagh had mostly gone to the mountains with the Khan and the fleet fared well since many of the ships were sailing to Chan Chan with additional supplies for Chun Bo Fen. Many of the men lost to the fever were Uyghur soldiers. Songghumal’s forces had been further weakened.
Once Ike Mense’s fever had broken, The Khan sent him by ship to Adughud Bairi, the settlement at the pastures 380 li West of Alagh, to recover from the fever. The climate was reported to be better there and Songghumal wanted his trusted general fully recovered. The ship anchored in the mouth of the river and a camp was set up for the general near the small village that had been built there. With the care of the physicians the Khan had sent with him, Ike began to rebuild his strength and was soon galloping off to hunt deer and explore the area.
By late April, the physicians declared that the General had healed sufficiently to return to Alagh. Ike had been very impatient and although he had enjoyed his forced holiday in the country he was ready to resume his labors on behalf of his friend, The Khan. He ordered the junk made ready for the voyage and they set sail with a fair wind out of the North West, looking at the likelihood of a quick passage along the coast. Several hours after they left the anchorage the wind began to shift and was soon blowing strong from the southwest. The captain tried to sail the Junk away from the coast in order to gain some sea room before the storm he feared was coming struck but the freshening winds thwarted his effort to escape the lee shore. As the evening passed, the junk was making slow progress against the building winds and contrary current and by nightfall. As night fell, Ike Mense’s ship was fighting a full gale.
The storm was as strong as anything the captain had experienced in the seas of China or on the crossing to the new lands. It’s sudden arrival and constantly strengthening winds worried him greatly and he struggled to maintain control of his ship. He knew that the vessel was being driven ever closer to the shore employed every trick he knew to claw his way seaward. Ike Mense, on the other hand, was anxious to get back to the Khan and pushed the captain to make as much speed toward Alagh as possible. The captain carried as much sail as he dared, even as the General ordered him to spread more to the wind, and soon the gale was causing the sails to fail and blow out.
The captain ordered the tattered remains of the sails lowered and the junk was shortly flying before the storm under bare poles. He attempted to hold a course toward Alagh, as Ike Mense wanted, but knew that the effort was futile and that they were approaching the shore with little control of their ship. As the day broke under dark clouds, driving rain and howling wind, the captain saw what he feared most this day. A line of breakers could be seen through the rain. He had not heard them because of the raging wind, but before he could do anything more than warn his crew and passengers to brace for grounding the ship was driven onto the lee shore and wrecked. In the mayhem of shouting men, falling masts, splitting wood, pelting rain and overtopping seas, Ike Mense was dragged overboard, washed away by a huge wave along with several others. At that moment, there was nothing that could be done to save the General or the others without the rescuers being lost as well. What few crew survived the storm and wreck found his body washed up on the beach several li up the coast as they made their way back to Adughud Bairi on foot.
From the settlement a courier was sent bearing the sad news to The Khan in Alagh.
-----
Governor Chun Bo Fen of Chimor spent the first two months of the year training his combined Chinese and Andean troops near Chepen. His vassal kings in the valleys had amassed a sizeable army of nearly 8,000 men. The Governor had brought 4,000 of the troops he had been able to cajole from the Khan along with an additional 3,000 that he had raised on Chan Chan itself. He had no cavalry to speak of, only enough horses for himself, his bodyguard and his Chinese subordinates, about 80 horse in all. Chun was able to field some artillery, including four cannon that had been stripped from junks in addition to catapults, trebuchets and other siege engines.
In the beginning of March, satisfied with the training, the Army of Chimor set off for Kuelap, 500 li to the west north west of Chepen as the Condor flies, but over 700 li on foot.
Kuelap was a magnificent fortress situated on a ridge overlooking its river valley. The walls of the valley were lined with terraced fields which the people farmed and their herds of llamas grazed on the unaltered slopes. The massive stone walls of the city, five layers thick in some places, were said to be impregnable, so Chun would try to capture the city by intimidation. This approach had worked exceedingly well so far since the Asian cannons, the horses and the wheeled carts all seemed magical to the natives.
When the army finally reached Kuelap several weeks later even the Governor was impressed by what he saw. The fortress was indeed magnificent, and huge! How could they have built this? He thought. If there was no longer a great emperor here, there must have been one far into the past.
He sent scouts to look for weaknesses and sent spies into the villages surrounding the city to spread rumors. The main gate of the city had been blocked except for a narrow passage, easily sealed. Many had taken refuge within the walls swelling the population of the city. Only the west gate, overlooking the valley, was clear. This was a minor gate and allowed the city to continue to farm the fields layered on the valley side below the walls. This was a nearly impossible approach, climbing the terraces up t the gate. Each terrace acted as outworks for the main fortress. Defenders would be able to rain down arrows and spears on an attacker. Such an assault would be foolhardy.
The land on the eastern side of the city, where the main gate stood, had been extensively cleared and there was no cover to be found. Any assault on the city from this side would still be an uphill fight, but not an impossible one. On the southern end of the city walls stood a large turret and the northern side was dominated by another turret and a large citadel. This was a well sited city and not a place that would be easily stormed.
Chun determined to approach the walls from the weakest side, the east, near the main gate. He made a great show of marching through the valley below and around the northern walls of the city. In the cleared area before the main gate he set his camp in the open in clear sight of the walls. The camp was out of range of any of the weapons he believed Kuelap might have. They had nothing like the Mongol bow and certainly nothing comparable to the catapult or trebuchet. These he placed behind his camp and the cannon were covered so as not to be seen and placed within the camp.
His horses were paraded back and forth before the walls creating the impression of great activity within the camp. They galloped from one end of the camp to the other. Sometimes a single horse, as if a messenger and other times as a company, wheeling and rearing as they raced past. Chun ordered small groups of men to fan out into the countryside to light campfires surrounding the city and along the valley walls creating the impression of a vast army of innumerable strength surrounding the fortress.
At dawn, Chun Bo Fen caused trumpets to be sounded and great drums to be beat. With this clamor he sent a lord of Túcume, one of his subject cities, along with representatives from all the cities of Chimor, to the city as an emissary. They were escorted by a troop of Chinese soldiers on horseback. As the party approached the walls, the lord being born upon an elaborate palanquin, they were challenged by men upon the walls. The Noble of Túcume then stood, and with great dignity and a powerful voice, told the guards on the walls that he was there to speak with the Lord of Kuelap and save the city from the wrath of the all-powerful Governor of Chimor.
The emissary was ordered to wait and an official shortly appeared atop the wall. He asked the lord who he was and where he was from. The official knew the lords family name and was well aware of Túcume and its wealth. He told the lord to step down from his palanquin and pass through the gate with half of his entourage. The horses would not be allowed to enter the walls. The noble descended and selected eight of his retinue to accompany him along with two Chinese soldiers. The remainder waited for him as he walked into the narrow gate.
Once past the outer wall, the gate narrowed further until it was only wide enough for one man to enter and the passage climbed to the top of the wall. The fortress did not have a wall in the Chinese sense of a free standing wall that a city would shield behind. It was, rather a massive retaining wall supporting a vast terrace upon which the buildings of the city were built. This was not a surprise to the Andeans, for this was a typical way of building for them, but to the Chinese it meant that the cannon could not batter the walls down and attempts at undermining the walls would be futile. Even if the wall were to be breached, the city would still tower above them and they would be fighting uphill, over rubble and unstable earth.
The embassy was conducted to the main plaza before the palace and temple. Here a pavilion had been hastily erected and cushions provided for the foreigners to sit on. The Lord of Kuelap was carried out of his palace seated upon a magnificent golden throne carried on the shoulders of twenty men. He was surrounded by a guard of an additional twenty soldiers and the pavilion by several hundred more, which closed the gap through which Chun’s emissaries entered, completely enclosing them in a wall of spears, clubs and axes.
The Lord of Kuelap, an old man of great dignity but faded vitality, asked the Túcume noble why the governor of Chimor had come into his mountains, and come with such great power? Chimor had wealth, food and trade. What could the people of Kuelap have that he would want? They were, after all, nothing but poor farmers.
The lord from Túcume looked about him at the strong, well armed soldiers that surrounded them, the magnificent city so well fortified, and then back towards the splendidly attired Lord on his golden throne. He responded to the question in this way;
“Your people may be nothing but poor farmers noble lord, but they are exceedingly good farmers. They have brought your land peace and plenty. The Great Governor of Chimor wishes that they should continue to do so. They have built for you this place of refuge to defend against those who would take from you what you have. He requires not your land, but these strong walls to protect both Kuelap and Chimor from those same bandits and thieves.
He came to Túcume for the same purpose, and our lands and people have prospered under his protection. He takes little and gives much in return, which is why all these peoples of the coast and valleys have joined with him and come to your gate.
The wrath of The Governor toward those who deny his wishes is as great as his generosity to those who favor him with kindness and loyalty. Swift and deadly is his anger, unmatched his power. More than one king lies headless where he fell when he defied the generous intentions of Chun Bo Fen. Provide him with this place and he will defend your people as he defends his own. You and they will live as you always have, but knowing that a great lord is protecting you.”
The Lord of Kuelap had seen foreign leaders come to his gates and demand his submission before. They had always retired to their own countries after throwing themselves against his walls in futility. Though this army was more numerous and had strange weapons and animals, it was likely to be the same story again. He responded to the lord from Túcume in this manner:
“We are accustomed to welcoming those who come to trade, or who are traveling to distant places, but we do not welcome those who make demands beyond our hospitality or who trade unfairly.
Return to your Governor without this city. We will retain it for ourselves and protect it ourselves, as we always have. Tell him he should take his kind offers to those who require his generosity. We do not.”
At that, he gave a signal and the Palanquin was raised onto the shoulders of his men. Before they could retire, the Túcume noble said loudly:
“I have the word of my Lord and Governor that he will give you three opportunities to accept his kind request before the middle of the day after tomorrow. As he requires this place for his own land’s security, refusing him will cause great harm to fall upon you and your people. This has been your first.”
The Lord of Kuelap looked at the noble.
“And how shall he accomplish that which none other could?”
Again signing to his men, he retired to his hall. The guards moved into the space the Lord had been and herded the Chimor delegation back out the city gate.
Chun Bo Fen was indeed angry at the refusal of the lord of Kuelap to surrender his stronghold, but he realized that he would not be able to reduce the city with his few cannon and other siege weapons in any reasonable time. It would be like reducing the Earth. He determined that if the city did not surrender by noon of the next day, he would give them a demonstration of strength and generate as much terror as he could. He would threaten the city with a rain of stones and fire. His cannon would fire in high arcs so their shot would fall from the sky. The trebuchets and catapults would loft fire bombs into the midst of the city and set the thatch roofs alight.
Should that fail to produce the submission of the city, he would destroy one of the nearby villages and send their heads over the walls. The siege would then begin in earnest.
At noon the next day a herald was sent near the gate and called upon the lord of Kuelap, for the second time, to surrender the city to Chun Bo Fen and his gentle domination. He barely escaped with his life as he ducked rocks thrown from the walls and arrows fired from atop the gate.
At noon the next day, the herald was surrounded by a troop of archers, but this time the lord of Kuelap had sent a herald of his own to the walls. His message was brief:
“My lord has ordered you to leave his lands and you have not. Leave now. You shall not have this place.”
Within moments, a thunderous roar was heard from the forest behind the Chimor camp. Flame and smoke could be seen. A moment later there was a strange whistling sound followed by the sudden collapse of several roofs. At about the same time, black objects flew from the camp over the walls and wherever they fell fire sprang up. This happened three more times, with similar effect, One of the whistling stones even destroyed the lintel of the entry to The Lord’s hall, narrowly missing The old man himself as he rushed out to see what was happening.
Within the walls was chaos. Many of the defenders left their posts to help put out the fires or make sure their own families were safe. People ran from one place to another to find vessels to carry water to the fires or to escape the burning and rain of stones.
Screams of terror mixed with shouted orders. The Lord of Kuelap stood before his ruined doorway, the fires and falling stones draining his resolve. In all his long years he had never heard of such an assault. The army surrounding his city was still in their camp and his city was being devastated.
After there had been time for the events to make their impression, Chun once again sent his herald out to call for the cities surrender. Getting no response, the herald cried that the assault would resume the next day if the city did not surrender.
By nightfall the fires were out and Kuelap was again quiet. One of the storehouses had burned and their supplies were reduced, several houses had also been destroyed by fire and falling stones. The ambassador of Chun Bo Fen had, it seemed, spoken the truth. With so many outside his walls and such great power that can call stones from the sky, how could the lord of Kuelap and his people defend against them? He was torn for knew that the cities of Chimor were prosperous, as the ambassador had said, and that they indeed did live their lives as they had before the coming of the Governor. They plied their trades, tilled their fields, herded their llamas and worshipped their own Gods, just as before. He also felt that surrendering the city would be a great humiliation for himself and his people.
His councilors, seeing the destruction and the power, fearing for their own safety and welfare, had agreed among themselves that their lord must open the city to Chimor before Chimor destroyed it and them. Beset by doubt, fearing for his people and wary of strangers, the old Lord was distraught. He did not want more devastation visited upon the city but he feared enslavement to another power. His councilors pleaded, argued, cajoled and threatened for most of the night, until the old man fell asleep from exhaustion. Their efforts resumed early in the morning, as if they had continued all night, and finally, weary of his councilors, their arguments and their cowardice, yet still fearful for his city and its people, the lord of Kuelap acquiesced. The Governor of Chimor would have his city and his people would live. The lord then retired to his chambers where he fell into a fitful sleep.
He sent his herald to the walls where he asked that the Governor grant the emissaries of the lord of Kuelap an audience. Chun’s herald instructed the councilors to come to the Governor unarmed and without a military escort. Their safety was guaranteed by the grace of the Governor himself.
Chun Bo Fen received the embassy from the city with grace, garbed not in the armor of a conqueror but in a robe of the finest silk, embellished with wonderful geometric patterns in many different colors. He told them that their people would not be harmed nor their city destroyed nor their lord deposed. They told the Governor how they had convinced the old Lord to capitulate and how much they yearned to be the servants of Chimor. Far more was said about their efforts to change their lord’s mind than about his decision to surrender the city. They were sent back to the city with fine gifts and instructions that the people should come out from behind the walls and return to their fields in safety.
Chun Bo Fen wished to enter the city, but in strength and safety. The gate was designed in such a way that a man on horseback could not pass through so he ordered a ramp to be built on either side of the gate, wide enough for ten men abreast to march up. Upon entering the city in splendor befitting a conqueror, Chun visited the old Lord in his hall, offering all deference as would be expected for the lord of a great city. He told the old man to rule as always, but advised him to find new councilors. Chun would leave troops at the city along with some weaponry and his personal representative, who the Lord would be wise to take into his confidence.
Within a few days, most of the Army of Chimor left Kuelap. Messengers were sent to the cities of the coast telling them to send cattle and farmers to help make the land more productive. As time passed, trade between the cities of the mountains and the coast increased greatly. Roads were built or widened to accommodate the ox carts that were becoming common in Chimor and the hillside terraces expanded and improved.
Chun’s last act before leaving Kuelap was to summon the councilors who had surrendered the city and their families to his tent where he thanked them for their assistance. To their wives and children he gave gifts and honors and sent them home. Keeping the councilors in his presence he upbraided them, berating them for their cowardice, disloyalty and selfishness. Personally taking up a switch, he beat them and stripped them of all position, status and rank. When one of them asked why they were being treated like this since they had shown such great loyalty to Chimor the governor spat back:
“Your loyalty should have been to Kuelap and its lord, not to the Governor of Chimor! You were quick to abandon a noble man who cared for his people in order to protect yourselves and your position. You would crawl under my boots to ingratiate yourselves to me. You are not worthy of position, power or preference. You are not to be trusted, not to be honored. Be grateful for your lives for I have not taken them.
- Status