Turnsheet 11

Tsung Chang Mai

Extract from the turnsheet of the Jinshi Tsung Chang Mai. Written by Ivan.

This briefing is immediately preceded by Recovering the Hellgate in Egypt.

Journey to Cathay

You depart from Haroun on-board one of his ships, the others still loading soldiers of his regiment from the beach though some of those in the bay were already full. The ship carries you swiftly to the northern end of the Gerard Canal, to the city of Port Said which is still held by the Ottomans and in which you are able to make contact with a young East India Company factor still manning his post. Henry Smythe, the factor, is rather horrified to find that the Ambassador to Cathay has turned up in his office, given the briefings he has received detailing just how important she is regarded as being by the Lord-Director. Once he has downed some spirits hidden in his office from the disapproving Islamic customs officials, the colour returns to his cheeks and he set to trying to persuading Tsung to return to Albion and safety at once.

When he discovers this is hopeless and that the Ambassador will press on to Cathay without his cooperation if necessary he takes another shot of spirits and relents. He arranges for you to join a convoy of East Indiamen, armed with more cannon than normal, which are journeying down the Canal to supply the Ottomans. They will have a small escort of Royal Navy and Ottoman Navy vessels and it's the most safe route which he can devise. You order him to fly the characters of your name from the yardarm of the ship that is to carry you and the captains of the little flotilla are surprised and delighted to find that they are mostly unmolested by the demons that pack the western shore. Once through the Canal the journey on to Cathay is swift, a voyage Tsung is utterly familiar with at this point.

Upon reaching the port of Guangzhou, Tsung is informed that the Empress is currently holding Imperial Court in the city of Nanjing which has recently been recaptured from the Manchu invaders. The atmosphere of Guangzhou is calm and there is a sense of prosperity in the city. The people have optimism once more and the people speak well of the new Ming Empress. It may be that here, far from the battles to the north, the Mandate of Heaven is already being restored.

You take ship once more at Guangzhou, this time with an Imperial courier junk flying the flag of the Empress, and heading for the city of Hangzhou. Twice you meet Western ships flying the flag of Albion which prowl close to your vessel but reluctantly depart without a shot when the flag of the Empress is combined with shouted code phrases. The captain of the courier ship informs you that privateers from Albion are still raiding Manchu shipping, though pickings must be growing slim if they are patrolling so far south. (He also, in a whisper, acknowledges that few wish to sail the waters of the northern East China Sea after the fate of Nippon; many say the waters are now cursed. Certainly he has seen what appear to be ghost ships, bleached entirely white, himself in those waters.)

Journey to the Dragon Throne

As Tsung's ships sails into Hangzhou her heart races for it is here that she has arranged to meet her wife Leah. Disappointment fills her however when she discovers that she is not there and that her ship has not yet arrived. Instead she accepts the hospitality of the governor of the city, staying at his mansion before journeying on with an escort of soldiers to Nanjing and the Empress Ming Chang Ping. Upon the way Tsung questions the soldiers about the Empress and in particular whether she has fought in any battles recently. The soldiers are filled with a strange kind of pride in their warrior empress, but although there are many stories of her exploits in battle (lifting up horses to rescue warriors trapped beneath and the like) you judge them just tales. It appears the Empress has taken your advice and is no longer fighting in the front ranks, though she still marches with the army and watches the battles and tends to the wounded in the aftermath. One of the soldiers escorting Tsung claims to have been tended by her himself. The look upon his face as he describes the Empress makes Tsung uncomfortable, it is like the expression on the face of Christine Mayer when she spoke of her mother, unquestioning devotion.

The Ambassador made her report to the Empress, telling her that she had knowledge that might hold back the force that destroyed Nippon and asking permission to found an embassy of Albion. The Empress is relieved to hear that the continuing destruction might be averted, for she tells you that the white void that was once Nippon has slowly spread. It seems that the Ming-allied Kingdom of Joseon (Korea) may be the next to be destroyed, the white stain already visible from its southeastern shores. And then eastern Cathay might follow. A tension Tsung had not even been aware of seems to flow out of the Empress as Tsung assures her that the unmaking can be stopped.

The Empress seems puzzled by your request to establish an embassy of Albion since you have presented no diplomats to her, or a letter from its king, but is agreeable and grants you leave to purchase suitable land with a grant from the Imperial Treasury, the embassy to be made permanent and given grander lodgings once Beijing is free of the invaders.

The land east of Hangzhou, near the town of Shanghai, is the closest to Nippon that is held by the forces of the Ming Empress, so you journey back down the Great Canal to Hangzhou.

Editor's Note

Further event in this turnsheet will be detailed in a later storyline briefing.

From the Merchant Companies Briefing

Cathay

The Empress Ming Chang Ping continues to make gains in liberating Cathay from the Manchu invaders. Our latest reports indicate that the city of Nanjing is once more under the control of the Ming Dynasty. With continued supplies from Albion it is only a matter of time before all of Cathay is liberated and Beijing placed under the rule of an ally of Albion and the Merchant Companies.

Cloudbase

The great secret of the East India Company has been revealed in the skies over Egypt, an engineering marvel and redoubt of Company strength. It is regrettable that Proprietor Silva, and Captain Sir Christophe Swal, who were instrumental in its construction have passed from us before they could see the marvel they helped bring about and the power they have placed in the Albion's hands. The Lord-Director tenders his heartfelt gratitude to Proprietor Mandrake and Ambassador Tsung for their own roles in this achievement.

Ambassador Tsung

The Ambassador from Cathay, Tsung Chang-Mai, is to be treated with the greatest of respect and her wishes to be fulfilled as much as practical to ensure the continuing friendship between Cathay and the Companies. Any slight against the Ambassador is to be treated as an insult to the Companies and treated with the utmost seriousness.

bonus.cathay/11.txt · Last modified: 2009/03/15 13:47 by ivan