REVISDED 1298
This is a re-post.
The first post I made for 1298 was rubbish. I learned so much in the last few days that I had to re-do it because it was ASB.
One of the things I love about this exercise is that, if you do it right, old ideas are blown away by new knowledge. In this case, the knowledge that the coast of Peru, at this time, was a hotbed of activity. Cities were growing, falling, expanding, shrinking. Canals were being built and abandoned, roads as well. Civilizations were in their death throws just as others were rising to replace them.
When I started this, I thought I had a reasonable handle on the period. Was I Wrong! This is an exciting, dynamic period. The Inca are just getting their footing, The Aztec have just found a home, The Maya still have power and are struggling to keep their cities viable. It is, in short, a pivotal time in the history of the Americas that I have decided, inadvertently, to invade with an influx of Asian technology.
1298
Chan Chan
In Chimor, Chun Bo Fen was planning an expedition to mine the iron deposits found far to the south. The territory between Chimor and the ore was mostly dry and barren, coastal desert interspersed with green valleys. Many of the valleys were densely populated and possessed substantial cities with roads, canals and terraced fields growing the grain called maize, another plant called manioc and the fiber called cotton. The coastal plains were full of herds of the humpless camels, called Llamas, which were herded by large golden dogs.
In most cases, the valleys were quite narrow and the cities would be set on the slopes to preserve croplands. Many of these were related 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.
Chun’s scouts had received warm welcomes in some locations, but had been harassed in others. Horses were their trump card, allowing escape or engendering awe among the populace. The scouts had progressed nearly to the mining sites when they came across a rich river valley which had been missed by the previous explorers. This valley had a barren stretch of nearly 60 li, which is where the first scouts had passed. They had not seen the great cities both upstream and downstream of this empty gorge. This place was very close to the source of Iron.
Chun considered his options. This rich valley provided much food, which was shipped to the cities near Cuzco and the great lake of the mountains they had heard of. Fish from the coastal cities, Maize from the terraces, wool from the Llamas, Manioc, squashes, many othjer strange vegetables and tubers found their way to the other centers of population. It was, in fact, as rich as any valley the Chinese in Chimor had yet seen.
Chun Bo Fen made a decision. With this, and the other river valleys extending from the ocean he would be able to challenge the Khan. There were more people in these lands than the center of the Khanate, the land was rich in food and minerals, If he could dominate several of these valleys, he could rule this side of the world. Of course, as populous and rich as Chimor was, it was not ready to challenge and conquer the entire coast. He would need to bide his time, and find a way of retrieving his wife and child from the hospitality of the Khan.
Ambassadors were sent to as many of the nearby kingdoms as he could. Most importantly, Chun sent envoys to the most important cities in the valley, Chiribaya and Omo which were nearest to the Iron ore. He wanted to ingratiate himself to them so that he would be able to use their manpower in the mines.
This is what was going through the mind of Chun Bo Fen at this time:\
· The Khan has my family
· Chinese completely outnumber the Mongols and their close allies, the Uyghur
· China is under the thumb of the Mongols
· If I can rouse the Chinese within the army and fleet, the Mongols will lose control.
And so, Chun Bo Fen determined that he would found a new Chinese Empire in this new land. He would learn from the Mongols that which was good and employ that knowledge to defeat them. There was enough wealth in this land for him to prevail.
He would need to gain control or at least dominance of the kingdom of Cuzco. They would be an important ally.
Chun began a campaign of disinformation, not telling the khan everything that was known of the populated coast south of Chan Chan.
Alagh:
Songghumal received the news of the discovery of iron with much satisfaction, but he was appalled by where the ore was located and the difficulty of exploiting it. His resources were stretched thin as it was and he was unable to send much more than a few junks to Chan Chan with their compliment of naval infantry. Chun Bo Fen had asked that a war junk be sent as well, in order to contain the people of Chincha. The Khan complied, but made sure the captain of the ship was his man. His orders were to protect the transports and stay independent of the governor. Shortly after arriving in Chan Chan, this captain, who was Korean, lost his way and was found the next morning, floating in the sea.
The Khan was not ready to get into a war in Chimor, he was still consolidating his forces to confront the Maya, but he was also aware of the need for men and resources to process the ore. Chun Bo Fen had informed him of the “barrenness” of the location and the need for wood and other resources. Lumber was not a problem in Alagh, there were rich forests in the area and the new capital required the clearing of much land. He also ordered facilities built to process ore in Alagh, 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.
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.
The Khan 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 subjects of the Khanate. He accepted Ike Mense’s suggestion and charged him with the leadership of the expedition.
The duplicity of the Governor of Chimor in providing misleading information caused the Khan to expend great resources that he could have used elsewhere, including an invasion of the borderlands of the Maya.
In the mean time, progress on the capital was moving forward. The Ngöbe had never seen anything like this is 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.
The Other Sea:
The ships transported to Asi ügei and then sent into the other sea discovered many more people along the coast. They encountered several canoes carrying trade goods from one center to another and discovered uncountable islands with fishing villages. Eventually one of the ships arrived at Tulum. When the Mayans came out to meet the junk in their canoes, the captain, in an over abundance of caution fired his one canon. The shot did no physical damage, but the local king was drowned when his canoe capsized in the confusion.
The fact that these strange men in their winged temples could kill the king without even touching him terrified the Mayans. All the remaining canoes withdrew in a panic. A representative of Ahau Cuat Cocom demanded of the local military that the vessel be destroyed. They did not know how it could be done and discussed it far into the night.
On board the ship, unaware of the king’s death, 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 discovery. They would land with naval infantry and investigate the port under the protection of the gun and the catapults of the ship. They would record all that they saw for the Khan and demand tribute from the city leaders.
Early in the morning, several canoes paddled quietly from Tulum 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. As the crew prepared the canon to fire, the Mayans hurled sealed 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 and stinging anything they could. Many of the Asians jumped to the safety of the water only to be struck by arrows from the canoes or stone axes wielded by Mayan soldiers. The captain was able to regain control of his remaining men and unleashed a flurry of arrows from their bows, killing many in the canoes, but not before he had lost nearly a third of his men.
As soon as the Mayans withdrew, he raised anchor and sailed for Asi ügei.
The Mayans celebrated a victory, sacrificing one of the few survivors they had captured. Ahau Cuat Cocom was not happy when he heard that the people of Tulum had sacrificed one of the Asians before he was aware of their presence and even less happy that the ship had gotten away. He needed more information about these strangers. The few remaining survivors were immediately sent off to Mayapan to the tender mercies of the King.
[FONT="]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.[/FONT]
From the 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 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 a 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 if 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.
Ike Mense and the invasion of the Mayan lands:
Ike Mense, looking for bodies to work the mines of Chimor, crossed the mountains in an effort to subdue and capture the troublesome people of the Other Sea. He brought with him as large number of the available Mongol cavalry as well as a large force of archers. He quickly defeated local forces and extended the Khan’s control over the great bay west of Asi ügei, capturing many men and sending them to Alagh to be transported tpo the mines of Chimor.
In this conflict, Ahau Cuat Cocom, realizing that this enemy was different from anything his people had seen, ordered his troops in the area to stand back and observe the way the strangers fought. How did they use these animals, what were their tactics, their weapons, how did they compare against the best the Maya had. He had supplied the local villages with the most advanced and best Mayan weaponry.
He learned the strength and range of the Mongol composite bow, as well as 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, they had a chance of victory.
Once he had his reports from the battles, he had the Mongols in his custody interrogated to fully understand what he had learned. These men, who had been the Kings prisoners for some time, were very helpful in interpreting what the king had learned. They saw the four horses captured by the Maya, and their foals as theis salvation and would do anything to protect them. Some of the priest had suggested to the king that the horses be sacrificed to Kukulkan.
Ike Mense, in the meantime, had consolidated his conquest of these regions west of Asi ügei and returned to the Khan, leaving his senior Uyghur commander in control of the new territories. He brought with him a great number of captives for the Chimor mines. The Khan, pleased by this, sent word to Chun Bo Fen, carried by a fast war junk, of the new labor force.
Chun, knowing that this forced labor was probably not needed, wanted the Khan to be forced to support them and sent a message back that he had no means of employing them yet. He needed to secure the site of the mines and needed troops to do so. He knew that then Uyghur and Mongol forces were stretched very thin and were the primary defense for the Khan. If the Khan, needing the iron from his mines, sent troops to Chimor, they would be Chinese.
And so it was. Songghumal sent a force of infantry to Chan Chan, aboard sound ships and fully equipped. Chun Bo Fen, at the first opportunity, co-opted the loyalty of these men and was soon, at least on paper, as powerful as the Khan, but also possessed the ethnic loyalty of nearly all his troops. He felt the Mandate of Heaven descending upon him.
This is a re-post.
The first post I made for 1298 was rubbish. I learned so much in the last few days that I had to re-do it because it was ASB.
One of the things I love about this exercise is that, if you do it right, old ideas are blown away by new knowledge. In this case, the knowledge that the coast of Peru, at this time, was a hotbed of activity. Cities were growing, falling, expanding, shrinking. Canals were being built and abandoned, roads as well. Civilizations were in their death throws just as others were rising to replace them.
When I started this, I thought I had a reasonable handle on the period. Was I Wrong! This is an exciting, dynamic period. The Inca are just getting their footing, The Aztec have just found a home, The Maya still have power and are struggling to keep their cities viable. It is, in short, a pivotal time in the history of the Americas that I have decided, inadvertently, to invade with an influx of Asian technology.
1298
Chan Chan
In Chimor, Chun Bo Fen was planning an expedition to mine the iron deposits found far to the south. The territory between Chimor and the ore was mostly dry and barren, coastal desert interspersed with green valleys. Many of the valleys were densely populated and possessed substantial cities with roads, canals and terraced fields growing the grain called maize, another plant called manioc and the fiber called cotton. The coastal plains were full of herds of the humpless camels, called Llamas, which were herded by large golden dogs.
In most cases, the valleys were quite narrow and the cities would be set on the slopes to preserve croplands. Many of these were related 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.
Chun’s scouts had received warm welcomes in some locations, but had been harassed in others. Horses were their trump card, allowing escape or engendering awe among the populace. The scouts had progressed nearly to the mining sites when they came across a rich river valley which had been missed by the previous explorers. This valley had a barren stretch of nearly 60 li, which is where the first scouts had passed. They had not seen the great cities both upstream and downstream of this empty gorge. This place was very close to the source of Iron.
Chun considered his options. This rich valley provided much food, which was shipped to the cities near Cuzco and the great lake of the mountains they had heard of. Fish from the coastal cities, Maize from the terraces, wool from the Llamas, Manioc, squashes, many othjer strange vegetables and tubers found their way to the other centers of population. It was, in fact, as rich as any valley the Chinese in Chimor had yet seen.
Chun Bo Fen made a decision. With this, and the other river valleys extending from the ocean he would be able to challenge the Khan. There were more people in these lands than the center of the Khanate, the land was rich in food and minerals, If he could dominate several of these valleys, he could rule this side of the world. Of course, as populous and rich as Chimor was, it was not ready to challenge and conquer the entire coast. He would need to bide his time, and find a way of retrieving his wife and child from the hospitality of the Khan.
Ambassadors were sent to as many of the nearby kingdoms as he could. Most importantly, Chun sent envoys to the most important cities in the valley, Chiribaya and Omo which were nearest to the Iron ore. He wanted to ingratiate himself to them so that he would be able to use their manpower in the mines.
This is what was going through the mind of Chun Bo Fen at this time:\
· The Khan has my family
· Chinese completely outnumber the Mongols and their close allies, the Uyghur
· China is under the thumb of the Mongols
· If I can rouse the Chinese within the army and fleet, the Mongols will lose control.
And so, Chun Bo Fen determined that he would found a new Chinese Empire in this new land. He would learn from the Mongols that which was good and employ that knowledge to defeat them. There was enough wealth in this land for him to prevail.
He would need to gain control or at least dominance of the kingdom of Cuzco. They would be an important ally.
Chun began a campaign of disinformation, not telling the khan everything that was known of the populated coast south of Chan Chan.
Alagh:
Songghumal received the news of the discovery of iron with much satisfaction, but he was appalled by where the ore was located and the difficulty of exploiting it. His resources were stretched thin as it was and he was unable to send much more than a few junks to Chan Chan with their compliment of naval infantry. Chun Bo Fen had asked that a war junk be sent as well, in order to contain the people of Chincha. The Khan complied, but made sure the captain of the ship was his man. His orders were to protect the transports and stay independent of the governor. Shortly after arriving in Chan Chan, this captain, who was Korean, lost his way and was found the next morning, floating in the sea.
The Khan was not ready to get into a war in Chimor, he was still consolidating his forces to confront the Maya, but he was also aware of the need for men and resources to process the ore. Chun Bo Fen had informed him of the “barrenness” of the location and the need for wood and other resources. Lumber was not a problem in Alagh, there were rich forests in the area and the new capital required the clearing of much land. He also ordered facilities built to process ore in Alagh, 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.
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.
The Khan 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 subjects of the Khanate. He accepted Ike Mense’s suggestion and charged him with the leadership of the expedition.
The duplicity of the Governor of Chimor in providing misleading information caused the Khan to expend great resources that he could have used elsewhere, including an invasion of the borderlands of the Maya.
In the mean time, progress on the capital was moving forward. The Ngöbe had never seen anything like this is 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.
The Other Sea:
The ships transported to Asi ügei and then sent into the other sea discovered many more people along the coast. They encountered several canoes carrying trade goods from one center to another and discovered uncountable islands with fishing villages. Eventually one of the ships arrived at Tulum. When the Mayans came out to meet the junk in their canoes, the captain, in an over abundance of caution fired his one canon. The shot did no physical damage, but the local king was drowned when his canoe capsized in the confusion.
The fact that these strange men in their winged temples could kill the king without even touching him terrified the Mayans. All the remaining canoes withdrew in a panic. A representative of Ahau Cuat Cocom demanded of the local military that the vessel be destroyed. They did not know how it could be done and discussed it far into the night.
On board the ship, unaware of the king’s death, 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 discovery. They would land with naval infantry and investigate the port under the protection of the gun and the catapults of the ship. They would record all that they saw for the Khan and demand tribute from the city leaders.
Early in the morning, several canoes paddled quietly from Tulum 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. As the crew prepared the canon to fire, the Mayans hurled sealed 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 and stinging anything they could. Many of the Asians jumped to the safety of the water only to be struck by arrows from the canoes or stone axes wielded by Mayan soldiers. The captain was able to regain control of his remaining men and unleashed a flurry of arrows from their bows, killing many in the canoes, but not before he had lost nearly a third of his men.
As soon as the Mayans withdrew, he raised anchor and sailed for Asi ügei.
The Mayans celebrated a victory, sacrificing one of the few survivors they had captured. Ahau Cuat Cocom was not happy when he heard that the people of Tulum had sacrificed one of the Asians before he was aware of their presence and even less happy that the ship had gotten away. He needed more information about these strangers. The few remaining survivors were immediately sent off to Mayapan to the tender mercies of the King.
[FONT="]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.[/FONT]
From the 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 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 a 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 if 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.
Ike Mense and the invasion of the Mayan lands:
Ike Mense, looking for bodies to work the mines of Chimor, crossed the mountains in an effort to subdue and capture the troublesome people of the Other Sea. He brought with him as large number of the available Mongol cavalry as well as a large force of archers. He quickly defeated local forces and extended the Khan’s control over the great bay west of Asi ügei, capturing many men and sending them to Alagh to be transported tpo the mines of Chimor.
In this conflict, Ahau Cuat Cocom, realizing that this enemy was different from anything his people had seen, ordered his troops in the area to stand back and observe the way the strangers fought. How did they use these animals, what were their tactics, their weapons, how did they compare against the best the Maya had. He had supplied the local villages with the most advanced and best Mayan weaponry.
He learned the strength and range of the Mongol composite bow, as well as 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, they had a chance of victory.
Once he had his reports from the battles, he had the Mongols in his custody interrogated to fully understand what he had learned. These men, who had been the Kings prisoners for some time, were very helpful in interpreting what the king had learned. They saw the four horses captured by the Maya, and their foals as theis salvation and would do anything to protect them. Some of the priest had suggested to the king that the horses be sacrificed to Kukulkan.
Ike Mense, in the meantime, had consolidated his conquest of these regions west of Asi ügei and returned to the Khan, leaving his senior Uyghur commander in control of the new territories. He brought with him a great number of captives for the Chimor mines. The Khan, pleased by this, sent word to Chun Bo Fen, carried by a fast war junk, of the new labor force.
Chun, knowing that this forced labor was probably not needed, wanted the Khan to be forced to support them and sent a message back that he had no means of employing them yet. He needed to secure the site of the mines and needed troops to do so. He knew that then Uyghur and Mongol forces were stretched very thin and were the primary defense for the Khan. If the Khan, needing the iron from his mines, sent troops to Chimor, they would be Chinese.
And so it was. Songghumal sent a force of infantry to Chan Chan, aboard sound ships and fully equipped. Chun Bo Fen, at the first opportunity, co-opted the loyalty of these men and was soon, at least on paper, as powerful as the Khan, but also possessed the ethnic loyalty of nearly all his troops. He felt the Mandate of Heaven descending upon him.
