1294 AD
As 1293 came to a close, Shi-bi had firmly established himself in the area surrounding Alagh bay. He had established a military camp on Negan Island, the island in the mouth d a presence on of the bay, and an outpost on Arslan Island, about 24 li away at the north end of the bay. There had been some resistance from the Ngöbe, from the several settlements in the area, but one or two instances of what some called “Mongol diplomacy” had brought them under control. Now Shi-bi had a representative in each village who held that villages Spirit Necklace, and was thus inviolable.
A complete roll call of his forces was one of the first undertakings. He had left China with over 28,000 soldiers, 45,000 sailors and crew, 1000 ships and 1500 horses plus an assortment of servants, monks, shamans and other support people. He now had 7,200 troops and 7,100 sailors, 3,500 naval infantry, 205 ships, 600 horses and about 320 assorted support people. In addition he had landed 200 cattle, 500 sheep, 450 pigs, 800 chickens and 600 ducks. For all the livestock they had taken care to insure the survival of members of both sexes. Mongol war horses were largely mares, because the milk was a central food supply; however Shi-bi had made sure that stallions were preserved against the need to breed his herds.
As far as his forces were concerned, Mongols had survived in greater proportion than the other nationalities, partially because they were officers and partially due to favoritism. Of the 1000 Mongols who sailed from China, nearly 700 were still with Shi-bi. A Mongol warrior needed 3 or so horses to be effective on the field, so Shi-bi could only mount about 200 cavalry at any one time. Most of these were the light cavalry archers, one of his most effective forces. He had nearly 2,500 Uyghurs remaining out of 8,200. Again, there were many officers, but many of these men had started out as heavy cavalry. They would need horses to be most effective, but Ike Manse was training them as heavy infantry in the mean time. Chinese made up most of the balance of the force; primarily sailors, naval infantry, archers and regular infantry as well as engineers, there were about 11,000 in all.
His total force, including all roles, was 18,205. There were 7,100 sailors, 3,550 naval infantry, 7,200 soldiers and 320 in other roles, including various non-combatant clerics and specialists.
Shi-bi had a significant force for the time and place, but he knew too little about both to be confident, so he was cautious. In December he sent scout ships north and south along the coast. In both cases they encountered contrary winds and currents, but made their way, landing reconnaissance parties along the coast.
At the close of the year, Shi-bi’s flocks had grown, his mares, cows, sows and ewes were pregnant, Fish proved to be plentiful and the army was well fed. The local villages supplied additional food as they were able, mostly tubers, vegetables and some grain. Many of these foodstuffs were unfamiliar and the Ngöbe taught the Asians how to prepare them. The earth also provided copper and some gold, although there was no iron to be found. So ships that were irreparably worn or damaged were cannibalized for their fittings and whatever other salvage they could provide.
His domain, the nascent Eastern Khanate, encompassed the entire Bay of Alagh and it’s islands as well as the coastal areas. The great peninsula to the west of the bay was mostly his and he also controlled the large island in the sea to the southwest. Some of his men had taken up with Ngöbe women and there were children on the way, in all likelihood. They would be properly raised as Mongols Shi-bi declared, even if they were Chinese or Uyghur in parentage. The shamans had discovered that the Ngöbe were co-religionists of sorts, but the Buddhists and Muslims were also winning adherents among the Ngöbe. Surprisingly to Shi-bi, the Muslims, so few in number in his fleet (only about 21%), were drawing more attention than Buddhists or Taoists or his Shamans. He was a tolerant man and thought little of this, as long as they would fight when needed.
1294:
The beginning of 1294 looked auspicious. Pigs and sheep were getting close to bearing their young. The cows and mares were well along as well. The animals had taken very well to the climate and the available feed. The forests were full of game, some familiar, such as deer, and some unusual, large plant eaters which were very fond of water. Birds were plentiful, but unfamiliar and many of them had extremely colorful plumage which the Ngöbe used as decoration and signs of rank. The most spectacular birds were held in high regard and hunting them was taboo.
The expeditions sent to reconnoiter the coasts had not returned yet so knowledge of the area was limited to what they had seen and what the Ngöbe could tell them. Several of Shi-bi’s men were adept at learning new languages and the Ngöbe proved to be surprising in their ability to understand and communicate with his polyglot troops. There were, the Ngöbe said, people to the west and north with huge villages in the dense forests. These villages were made of stone and the people there worshiped gods who drank blood and ate men. To the east were more people like the Ngöbe, but these had contact with other tribes that lived in stone villages along the coast and in the hills to their south. There was another sea to the north as well, and the people from the forests used huge canoes to move along the coast trading and sometimes looking for men to feed their gods. And so, Shi-bi knew he was not alone. The “stone villages” were obviously cities, and that indicated developed nations that he would need to deal with at some point. The bloodthirsty gods of the men to the north and west sounded more like demons, so he tasked the Buddhist monks and his shamans to learn what they could about these people and their gods.
The Pox:
In late January, the Ngöbe began to fall ill with the pox. The Asians thought little of it since it was a fact of life in their world. The extent of the illness soon surprised and alarmed them when the realized that the Ngöbe were dying from it in astounding numbers. As many as 80 in 100 fell ill and of those 80, 60 would die. Many of the women who had joined Shi-bi’s men fell ill and died before being able to give birth. It was as if the Gods were again cleansing the world for his great mission.
The plague spread rapidly among the villages and beyond to the neighboring peoples with devastating effect. It also spread from the villages that the coastal expeditions encountered, and soon it was raging throughout the entire region. It quickly spread along the trade routes that linked the tribes and then to the peoples on the coast of the northern sea. There, it traveled by land and water to spread in the cities of the Maya, and from them to their farms and villages.
In the other direction, the pox made its way from coastal village to coastal village in the wake of Shi-bi’s ships. From the coast it traveled inland and eventually reached the foothills of the Andes. In all these places the death toll matched or exceeded the toll among the Ngöbe.
The Chinese had long been using a method which was rather successful in controlling this disease. It involved grinding the scabs from the sores of infected individuals and blowing them in the nose of a person who was not infected. The goal was to induce a mild case of the illness which would result in stronger resistance or immunity, much like modern inoculation. There were a significant number of deaths which would result, but considerably fewer than if the disease was left unchecked. Shi-bi, knowing that he needed the local people to help support his efforts, had those with knowledge of medicine treat Ngöbe and other villagers in this manner in the hope that they would be able to survive the Pox. This effort was successful to the extent that when new cases arose among the remaining people far fewer ended in death. Of course, many of the survivors were physically scarred for life as a result and those who did not fall ill, or who survived without the marks, began to treat them as outcasts.
Shi-bi could not tolerate further weakening of the community his men relied on and promulgated the story that these marks were a sign of favor from the Spirits. They were proof that the Gods so valued these individuals that they had made them live on when they were supposed to die. The surviving Ngöbe Shamans were convinced by the Mongol Shamans that this was the case and the belief that these survivors were blessed began to take root among the people.
As the epidemic ran its course there were fewer and fewer Ngöbe to work the fields, hunt, fish, or otherwise provide for their needs, despite the best efforts and effects of Chinese medicine. Caring for the ill, dealing with the dead and finding enough to feed the remaining population became the focus of life. This resulted in increased involvement of mostly Chinese in farming and food production, initially to supply the Asian forces. Those Ngöbe who survived the illness shared their agricultural practices with the Chinese. The blending of the two farming traditions would result in a significant increase in food production over time, even as the growing Asian livestock herds and flocks increased the dietary variety available to the Ngöbe and other natives.
As summer arrived in the Bay, the epidemic had largely run its course and there were fewer new cases of pox to deal with, although it would never be completely gone, and would occasionally return to ravage the Ngöbe and their neighbors. They had lost half their number in the epidemic and their culture had suffered badly.
Cross-cultural ties:
The Asians, with their huge ships, strange animals, powerful weapons and tools, as well as their seeming immunity to the pox were seen as something approaching semi divine. To be favored by them was to gain status in the villages, to be around them conferred protection. One of the results of this was the willingness and eagerness of Ngöbe women to catch the eye of even the lowliest of their number. One of the changes that arose from this fraternization was the revision of Ngöbe social structure. Traditionally, family ties were followed through the woman’s line. Her family owned the land (or rights to it) and often helped support the in-laws. A man could have more than one wife, but only if he could support them, so as a man grew in stature and wealth he might take additional wives, and as he aged and his power waned might lose them back to their families.
Now, many of the Ngöbe women were leaving their husbands to pair with a Mongol or an Uyghur. This brought additional status to her family. Girls were encouraged to find a mate among the newcomers as well. The new norm that was developing among the Ngöbe was one wife, one husband. The plague had severely depleted their numbers and there were a limited number of women to go around, resulting in strife within Shi-bi’s men and resentment among the Ngöbe men. Eventually, the women would find that they preferred life in the villages to life in the camp and they began to drift back. Many of them were pregnant and there were many cases where the women brought their Asian husband into the family and the village’s life.
It has already been mentioned that the Asian and Ngöbe agricultural practices were being combined to produce higher yields. At the same time, many of the Ngöbe were also learning the intricacies of animal husbandry. The Mongols were very protective of the horses and initially kept the villagers from working with them, however working with the sheep, cattle and pigs was another matter. The Ngöbe proved to be very adaptable and quick learners. They provided tremendous amusement to the Asians as they tried to herd and catch the livestock and particularly when they began trying to ride the cattle as they saw Mongols riding their horses. This was an extreme learning experience for the village men as they fell off, slid off, and were occasionally thrown off when they attempted to mount a bull. During the course of 1294, much of the herds were moved to the mainland, to the area known as the grass fields which were above the head of the bay. Only the horses were all kept on the island where they could be watched over and protected as the herd grew.
The clothing of the Ngöbe was normally made of plant fibers, which were processed and converted into passable cloth. They were amazed at the silk worn by so many of the Asians and could not understand where the vibrant colors came from. Many thought that silk was made from the feathers of colorful birds, such as those they were familiar with from the forests. As well equipped as the fleet had been, there was no need for silkworms on an invasion, so silk production was not a skill they would learn. They would, however, learn to shear sheep and weave wool. At this the Ngöbe were also surprisingly good. The women quickly began to rival the skills of the Chinese weavers in the fleet.
Shi-bi was eager to provide as many of the skills necessary to sustain the army, short of horsemanship and military skills. As time progressed, the local population not only learned enhanced agriculture, husbandry and cloth production, but also tanning, carpentry and aquaculture. The smiths in the army were amazed at the skill with which the Ngöbe worked gold and copper, the only metals they seemed to have. As a result, iron working was added to the list of knowledge that was not shared. The only iron the Asians had was that which they could salvage from scrapped ships. As talented as the Ngöbe were at metalwork, iron working was, along with horsemanship, bow making and sailing, one of the things which gave the army an advantage.
The Asians, for their part, learned from the Ngöbe as well. There were new hunting techniques, including the blow gun, that were particularly useful in the dense forests. The shamans shared their knowledge of local medicinal plants and animals with the Chinese physicians. Specific techniques to enrich and maintain the soil for farming as well as new food crops were added to the Asian agricultural repertoire.
A culture of interdependence began to develop as the Asians recognized that they needed the Ngöbe to fill many of their needs and the Ngöbe recognized that, having survived the plague, they were learning new skills and production methods which were beneficial. They had never really experienced want before the coming of Shi-bi, but they had never experienced consistent plenty either.
The Northern Expedition:
The ships that had sailed west and then north returned in midsummer. They brought with them news that confirmed the Ngöbe tales of a great civilization to the north. The ships returned with wonderful examples of textiles, gold work and samples of writing. Shi bi and his scholars were unable to make anything of the documents since they were written with symbols that were unintelligible to them. But they were in awe of the intricacy of the script. The cloth was as good as what the Chinese could weave with the same material and the gold work was even more exquisite than what they had seen from the Ngöbe. The captains spoke of great cities, seemingly in decline. They told tales which supported the Ngöbe stories of people being fed to the gods. In all, it seemed that there was a rich nation on its last legs to the north, and this interested Shi-bi greatly.
The captains also told him that compatriots of the people they met lived to the east, in the great forests and retained the full vigor of the civilization.
As the expedition returned to the bay, they noted that the towns and cities they had encountered on the outward journey were consumed with the pox, and so they hastened back to the safety of the fleet. What they could not know was that the pox had spread into the heartland of the Maya, the people they had encountered, and was at that moment ravaging the populations of the great cities of the hinterland.
The Southern Expedition:
The ships that had gone west and south returned with stories of great cities along the coast, some weeks away. One city had a population that they estimated at over 30,000 individuals. There were great palaces, huge fortresses, immense temples that rose to the sky. The kings of this land wore garments of feathers and the finest wool the captains had ever seen. Their weaving, gold work, pottery and all the skills they had seen were as good as or better than those exhibited in China. But they had no horses, no cattle and no iron.
The ships had initially encountered people who were related to the Ngöbe, but as they went south the people became more and more different. One of the things that Shi-bi and his councilors noted was that these people in the south did not feed their gods people. Their gods were more familiar in their needs and demands, particularly to the Buddhists and the Tngriists.
The land Expedition:
Shi-bi had also dispatched an expedition to the north and west by land. They had maintained constant contact with the general by sending riders back to the camp on a regular basis. From this expedition, Shi-bi learned that the horses were seen as magical by the population, who had never seen them before. He also learned that there was a trade network which used large canoes along the coast of the other sea. Again, the scouts returned with samples of wonderful cloth, gold work and feathers. Their payment for these things, beads, some few knives, wool cloth and scraps of silk also carried the pox to the cities they could not reach. And so the plague continued to spread through the Yucatan.
Summary:
1294 was a year that was not good for the people who lived in the isthmus or the adjacent areas. The Asians had unwittingly spread smallpox through the local population and along the trade routes to the other cultures in the area. They had also spread it to the Yucatan, southern Mexico and the coastal plains of Peru and the foothills of the Andes. That first year, it spread as far as the kingdom of Cuzco. After the months of disease in the environs of the bay, the only people left alive were those who survived, developed immunity or had avoided infection. The Ngöbe had taken the opportunity to learn from the new comers and had actually grown in strength and resilience as their numbers declined. The Asians, for their part had discovered a virgin land in which they could prosper, with willing women, tolerant men and plentiful resources, except iron.
All parties did well that first year, after the plague had run its course among the Ngöbe.
