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This is the first part of my TL wherein the failed Yuan invasion of Java results in their landing in the Americas. Comments appreciated.


The Will of the Tngri

Having been driven from the shores of Java by the treachery of Raden Wijaya of Majapahit with the loss of some 3,000 crack troops, Shi-bi, the Mongol leader of Kublai Khans invasion of Java, pondered his next move. His fleet had sustained minor damage and still numbered over 900 vessels and his army numbered 25,000. He could still try to defeat Majapahit to satisfy the Great Khan, but there was little time left in the season. If they were to return to China, they would need to do so very soon while the winds were still favorable.

His subordinates, Ike Mese and Gaoxing were of two minds, Mese wanted to land and pillage the kingdom, Gaoxing felt they must be bound for home. Shi-bi balanced their arguments and decided to agree with the Chinese Admiral. The Great Khan would be unhappy at the defeat of his army, but he would be even more unhappy at the loss of troops and ships if they were caught by a typhoon. There would be hell to pay in any case when they returned to Da-Du.

The fleet sailed north-east, to the straight between Nusa Tanjungnagara and Sakasanusa with the goal of crossing the Sea of Sulawesi and turning north toward China. Shi-bi wanted to avoid the Majapahit fleet that was almost certainly expecting them to return via the Java Sea and was probably waiting to ambush them. His was an invasion fleet, not a war fleet, and while he had numerous war junks, they were needed to protect the transports and supply ships and he could not afford to lose them by challenging the Javanese.

As the great fleet sailed through the islands at the bottom of the straight, it was struck by an unseasonably early storm, which scattered the fleet across a great distance. In the confusion and difficult conditions of the storm, many of Shi-bi’s ships were sunk or foundered on the shores of the islands. When the fleet regrouped off the coast of Sawaku near Tabalung, Shi-bi was concerned that he had lost nearly 200 ships, mostly war junks. There were no longer enough to fully protect the remaining fleet. Several thousand more men had been lost in the wrecks, among them was Gaoxing, whose ship had been driven onto the rocks and broken.

With the strongest voice for a return to China now silenced, Shi-bi considered his options. He had lost a good portion of the Great Khan’s fleet, and over 6,000 men in all. He had failed his mission to subdue Java. To return to China now would certainly mean loss of status, position and property for him and his family, not to mention the possibility of physical punishment. If he did not return, his family would suffer and the Khan would send a fleet out to destroy him. If his fleet was lost at sea, his family would remain with their position and possessions mostly secure. And so, Shi-bi set out to be lost at sea.

Ike Mese was surprised by the way his commander’s thoughts had turned. Shi-bi was now of the mind that they should land and the army at a good place, conquer the local peoples and carve out new kingdoms for themselves, Shi-bi had consulted the navigators and geographers on board to determine where the knowledge of the court in Da-Du was weakest so he could pick a land where word would not get back to the Khan, too quickly.

Shi-bi settled on occupying the island of Halmahera in the Maluku islands. Halmahera was large enough to feed his men and would be a good place to set up a Khanate in the East. It would take Kublai some time to find him and by then it would be more advantageous to accept his allegiance as a tributary kingdom than to wipe him out. The Great Khan’s anger could be tremendous, but his pragmatism was stronger, the influence of China Shi-bi thought.

Pickett boats he had sent out returned with word that the Majapahit fleet had been sighted, and was sailing their way in company with a great number of pirates. The weakened Yuan fleet could put up a fight, but the hope of success was low. Shi-bi’s ships were larger and faster, but the Javanese fleet would be far more maneuverable. This created a significant chance of defeat and Shi-bi did not want to risk his future on an unnecessary sea battle.

Shi-bi and Ike Mese concocted a plan to tell the fleet that the Khan had also ordered them to conquer some of the Islands in the Malukus to use as a base against Majapahit should their invasion of Java itself fail. They were therefore sailing for Halmahera, there to found a new khanate for the glory of Kublai, The Khagan.

Within a day, the fleet was once again underway, this time north-north-east to the Sea of Sulawesi and then East to Halmahera, a distance of nearly 4,000 li. As luck, or more accurately, fate would have it, the Yuan fleet had no sooner entered the Sea of Sulawesi and turned east with the intention of sailing through the Sangihe islands north of Tagulandang when they were again hit by a violent storm which raged for four days. The fleet was driven North-east by the terrible winds, where they entered a strong easterly current. As the storm abated, the prevailing winds continued strong toward the east and attempts to sail against the wind and current were to no avail. Yuan ships could be seen on the horizon all around Shi-Bi’s junk and he signaled them to rally around him. The signals were passed on to ships on their horizons and within two days, the remaining fleet was once again sailing in company, where they did not know.

Again, Shi-bi had lost a great number of ships and men. He was now down to less than 500 ships and 10,000 men. He ordered the ships to be examined and supplies concentrated on the most seaworthy of the remaining vessels. He similarly had the soldiers, horses, livestock and other supplies re-distributed. With his force now more secure, he summoned Ike Mese, his other commanders and the seers, shamans, monks and holy men who traveled with the army.

He gave them one day to consider three things and render their thoughts;
· The army had been defeated on Java
· The fleet had suffered great losses in two great storms
· When they chose to go one way, the universe sent them in another

Shi-bi had been born northwest of Karakorum on the steppes of Mongolia. His childhood had been that of a traditional Mongol boy, horses, archery, and hunting. Moving from pasture to pasture and following the ways of the Mongol, as had been done for all time. He had gone to war with the conquerors of China and had earned great honor at the Battle of Yamen, when he was only twenty three. Throughout his life he had clung to what he knew were the fundamental things that made Mongols what they were, rulers of the earth. He held the traditions and beliefs of his people as truths, and while he tolerated other beliefs, as was the Mongol custom, he was unswerving in his faith in the truth of Mongol life. He was exceedingly superstitious.

He gathered these men together the next day and asked them for their musings. He heard many things, from the mystical to the mundane, from the “will of Heaven” to simple bad luck, but none seemed right to him until a Mongol Shaman named Megujin spoke. He was an old man of the steppes who had spent much time in Da-Du. He had studied Buddhism and Taoism as well as Muslim and Christian scriptures. His words mattered when discussing issues of the Gods.

Megujin said;
“That we could not conquer the Majapahit means that we were not intended to. That storms have twice ravaged the fleet and army and taken a great number to their deaths means that we have been cleansed. That we cannot go where we want to go means we are supposed to go somewhere else.”
And he fell silent.

Shi-bi was quiet for a moment and then asked Megujin;
“If we were not meant to conquer Java, what are we meant to do? You say we have been cleansed by the storms, but why have we been cleansed? Where are we supposed to go?”

The reply was measured and quiet;
“I will tell you from back to front. The Gods want us to go where ever they deign to bring this fleet and they have cleansed it in preparation for a great task to be done when we come to the end of this voyage. Köke Möngke Tngri (Eternal Blue Heaven) guides us and Qurmusata Tngri keeps our fires burning for this purpose. Were I Buddhist, I would say that the Buddha guides us on our journey. If I were Muslim I would declare that Allah commands us to go. The Chinese would tell you that it is the Will of Heaven. But I am a simple Mongol from the steppes. We must trust that Köke Möngke and Qurmusata have set a task for us and we will recognize it when it comes, until then, we must follow their will and let them guide us.”

Shi-bi grunted and looked at the old Shaman. Then he stood and returned to his cabin. The fleet sailed on, pushed by the wind and current through the night as Shi-bi wrestled with his thoughts. He had failed in the mission set for him by the Khan. He had lost many men to battle, illness and storms. The heavens had taken half of his ships and conspired against every move he had made. He himself had conspired against the Great Khan to set himself on the throne of the east as Khan. The 99 Tngri must mean for him to cleanse himself to atone for these things, and the atonement must lie to the east. The fleet would sail on as the Gods directed them.
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