|
Chapter 29: 1114 to 1125: Tsenmo Purgyal Pelmo 'the Dragon' As told by the Empress  The war had begun in the middle of 1114, with the vassal kings of Nepal, Guge, Orissa, and Bihar in rebellion, backing the Gyalpo Balpo of Orissa to take my place.  He was a bland and colorless person. A colorless little man. His backers were able to imagine any number of positive qualities for him. I doubted he could raise and fight an army if it was just himself. It was what he allowed other people to do - challenge the sacred authority of the empire and the dynasty. We still ruled credibly, therefore we had the right to rule. Could that be said of the kingdoms of the west, which crumbled? No.  I would need to keep a close watch on him.   The loyal lords which had stayed with me - those of Ü-Tsang, Kamarupa, Bengal, and the Sacred Hierarchy as well as the Mongolian Guard had marched south from Lhasa and met the rebellious armies at the land of Mithila.  Our armies then moved west, to where we heard the rebels had gathered. We had taken a rebel city near Jaunpur and moved on.  I had needed a miracle and I had one. My informants had told me they had found where Balpo might be - walking almost alone, with not enough guards for his protection.  Of course, I moved to abduct him. What could you expect me to do? If I had an opportunity to end the war without further bloodshed, I would have taken it. I had him brought with us, for safekeeping.  The disappearance of their figurehead king had not stopped the rebels. Our forces met near the city of Lakhnau, and I believed we had found a good location, as half of their army was cut off through the Ganges river.  It was not so. They had ferried themselves across - ten thousand of them at least - with incredible speed.  Our army was attacked on two sides. We were soon almost entirely surrounded, and the armies from the south had unleashed elephants and siege artillery against us. I was soon separated from the rest of the army and concealed myself in a small culvert.  The sound of it was terrible. I remember hearing the horses screaming and I clapped my hands over my ears and I prayed that I would survive. I knew that, in hearing the battle, that we were soon undone. When darkness fell, I threw off my imperial regalia and retreated in the direction of my camp. About a third of the army had made its way back to our campsite, utterly defeated. The troops were embracing each other and weeping. Balpo had not broken free in the chaos. He was still under guard in a tent near mine, his hands and feet bound. He smiled at me as I approached. I screamed, "Do you see what you have done? Your pride has led to the ruin of the empire." He asked me, "But are you still fit to rule?" I cut his throat. His royal blood seeped into the dirt.  Word soon broke. They knew what I had done.  This led to a temporary halt in hostilities. The conspirators' plans were shattered.  Yet there was a problem. Even if the guards were sworn to secrecy and his corpse destroyed, it was said that he died violently, and now every remaining noble and member of the family had reason to suspect that I had violated some of the most sacred laws of the code instituted upon us by the great Gyalyum, the rescuer of our civilization.  I ask you. What would you have done? After the great plague, years of warfare, the possibility of the extinction of our sacred house and all civilization itself, what would you have done? I have not the military genius of Gyalyum. I cannot work those miracles. Nobody alive does. I did what was allowed to me when I was anointed and the crown placed upon my head. My conscience is clear. I was there. I was not told to do this. I made that decision.  This was only a moment of peace. The conspirators had gathered around a new claimant.  Ngawang was the son of Phagpa and a concubine. Phagpa had once ruled the Fergana Valley before the Mongols took that from us. He was an aged and more respectable figure.  Another figure more suitable than me on the throne, said the vassal kings.  The war was slow to start - it was still winter and our armies needed to recover. Yet I was always - always - surrounded by enemies. I remember the vassal queen of the Tanguts, who I had most conspired with, keep her own secrets.  Plans for self-enrichment? The seizure of others' titles? That I could use. Everyone has their plans, even if they don't know that other people are controlling them or not.  The masses of people are easily convinced to fight for the one rightful ruler.  When the vassal queen approached me for what she had really wanted - land and wealth for her children - I had a more satisfying answer and a series of promises and conditions ready for her. Enough reason to keep her loyal.  The rebels were stopped yet again. Ngawang, already an old man - older than the great Gyalyum when she had passed - died of a bloody cough.  The following weeks were peaceful. The beleaguered Han empress had passed away and was succeeded by her son, a serious man who held the bizarre habit of not taking any concubines.  The final hour came. The rebel kings approached me, under heavy guard. They did not demand my removal from the throne, on the contrary. They would accept my rulership, in exchange for a series of legal reforms as allowed by the Great Tibetan Code and the right of petition.  I accepted. To the depths of my heart, I feared another war breaking out while my army was in ruins, and I knew that my reputation alone was not enough to prevent others from rebelling.  After a tense and hasty series of negotiations, we had some agreement. I would allow the formation of a ruling council, where I would choose the members but the vassal kings would take precedence. They would take a 'consultative' position on major decisions for the kingdom. The declaration for the entire empire to go to war would be held by a simple majority vote of the council. Any major changes in the law that I proposed - say, inheritance law - and the revocation of lands and titles would also be taken by a majority vote. In exchange, I would be able to demand that all vassals stop their internal wars for a set period. I felt sick just thinking about it.  With that, their demands were satisfied. I was able to return to the business of government.  As a test of the new ugly compromise we had settled, and as a test of our capabilities, I had asked the council's opinion over a war against the Pratiharas - the seizure of the city of Lahore and the surrounding lands. The decision was unanimous. At least going to war with the southerners was still popular. Not everything was undone.  Our armies, when they marched west, had brought information about recent developments. The Seljuks had ruined the Hamdanid kingdom made prominent by Khaireddin the Great. The Mongols under the great Genghis Khatun Chagur, however, were pursuing them and had seized everything from Kabul to Nishapur. The Seljuks still clung to a few forts along our border - these would soon fall.  I had avoided the main battles, but instead oversaw them from a distance.   Our victory was sure.  On the return journey to Lhasa, we had heard that the Han had driven the nomads out of their capital and proclaimed a third Han Dynasty. Oh, sure!  I thought of the long line of unbroken succession to the kings and empresses of old. We as kings of Tibet ruled for about 1300 years. I was a relative of the great Temulun Khatun, through my grandmother Ngawang I's marriage to Temulun's grandson. And there was the legendary and inimitable Gyalyum, who had no children of her own with the holy Tse (though I heard she tried all manner of contrivances), and thus proclaimed all of Tibet was her child. Continuity. That is how empires are made. And I, in my moment of cowardice and weakness, produced the first rupture in that chain, in the loss of absolute power. The natural order of things was undone, and I feared that Tibet, too, would fall as the rest of the world had fallen. The forces of delusion and disorder, backed by evil deities, had taken root.  I saw, then, no need to totally surrender. I would use all means to retain the authority of the empire, and everything is allowed. I would use any means necessary to preserve the correct order of nature that was established centuries ago. I could wait.  I would think often about power, its uses, and the need for order and discipline.  As if to confirm my thoughts further, the Han moved against the Tanjavurids to our south.  In the years of truce that followed, I would commission a history of the great rulers of our dynasty.  It would be a useful comparison of the events of the past and correct any errors that have arisen. It would be revealed to the scholars after my death.  The Han, then, enforced the loyalty of the south of India. Tibet still stood on its own. And it would soon fall to us to think about where to go next.
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 01:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 03:46 |
|
|
First Meeting of the Central Secretariat of the Empire of Tibet, Her Imperial Majesty Pelmo I presiding All rise! The empress Pelmo enters in a slow deliberate pace. She flanked by her many guards, as you have your own. She has a blank look on her face and tries to avoid looking at anyone in the eye as she stares ahead and takes her seat. A sculpture of the savior Gyalyum is behind her, flanked by a statue of the holy Tse. Behind them is a mural of fierce deities, with weapons drawn and fearsome visages. Their painted eyes stare at you with an uncanny look.  : ... [in a low voice, almost too quiet to hear]: Are all present? Then let's begin.: I thank you for your cooperation in the war against the Pratiharas and the successful conquest of Lahore. It shows that the period of disorder has come to a close, and that we are again united in a righteous cause against evil forces.: But now we have another war on the horizon, and this has complicated causes and outcomes.  : Some of you may be aware of Gemathar, my distant relative. She was the late Ngawang's second child, and she now lives in Kiranapura. She has, I have been told, a thin and fragile countenance, but a quick and active mind. : In recent weeks, she has been attempting to persuade me in the idea of an invasion of the Kingdom of Rajputana. She has produced a legitimate claim that she should instead rule that kingdom. If our armies were to head to the southwest, she claims, we could reclaim all of that land for the empire and take her seat at this table. : Rajputana is the largest of the remaining kingdoms on the entire subcontinent. They have taken much of the land occupied by the Pratiharas. The northwest part is a vast desert, but the part of that land south of the mountains is more fertile, with wheat, barley, and oilseeds.  : Now that kingdom is ruled by another relative, the Gyelmo Yondagmo 'the Great', daughter of Yondangmo 'the Butcher', who took the entire kingdom during the reign of my mother in a brilliant holy war. I am told that she is a genius in battle, and has the support of the trickster gods. She has a large army under her command and many skilled and brave warriors with her. I am told that she has over 20,000 troops under arms at least. The neighboring kingdoms may support her, and we don't know as much about them.: We know what Tibet is like now. This will be difficult. But this will be our best chance to recover what almost all the land we have lost since the Great Plague. : So I leave the decision to you: WAR or PEACE with Yondangmo for the Kingdom of Rajputana. OOC: This will be a simple yes/no vote. I know there will likely be more voters than the eight people on the council, but whatever. I'm willing to introduce or tinker with more complex mechanisms or more complicated decisions later as the government structure of Tibet adapts and the world changes. Kangxi fucked around with this message at 16:04 on Sep 8, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 05:01
|
|
|
WAR there is absolutely no way going to war now could have any consequences whatsoever
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 05:15
|
|
|
WAR were declared https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS3kiRYcDAo
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 05:15
|
|
|
I'm going to assume everyone will want war, so consider me a token vote for PEACE
Ferrovanadium fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Sep 8, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 05:16
|
|
|
War! The empire must grow!
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 05:20
|
|
|
Sure let's go to War
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 06:47
|
|
|
The drums beat, the trumpets sound, the men cry out for blood! WAR! WAR I SAY! FOR THE GLORIOUS BÖN!
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 07:23
|
|
|
War
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 08:08
|
|
|
War 
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 08:58
|
|
|
And so it shall be War.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 09:32
|
|
|
e: I'm changing my vote to the Peace with intrigue idea. We're already known as a kinslayer. Time to embrace it.
Snipee fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Sep 9, 2019 |
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 09:47
|
|
|
WAR!
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 09:48
|
|
|
WAR! The Empire's vitality must be feed by Blood and Victory!
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 10:35
|
|
|
The person asking isn't good enough, and the one ruling is strong enough. Also she too is family. At least wait till she passes. PEACE.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 10:51
|
|
|
Peace. We couldn't even handle some lovely vassals, going up against someone with 21 martial and a 20K army is probably indigestible right now.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 11:27
|
|
|
Bloodly posted:The person asking isn't good enough, and the one ruling is strong enough. Also she too is family. At least wait till she passes. PEACE. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 13:33
|
|
|
Flesnolk posted:Peace. We couldn't even handle some lovely vassals, going up against someone with 21 martial and a 20K army is probably indigestible right now.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 14:21
|
|
|
PEACE
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 14:26
|
|
|
PEACE! The revenant of Tse seeks to set kin against kin for gods only know what purpose!
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 14:31
|
|
|
Peace.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 14:47
|
|
|
Peace I see no reason to make war on those who share our faith.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 14:52
|
|
|
Cowards, all of you. Have you no faith in the priesthood? In the spirits of Lhasa, in your Tsenmo? Have you no desire for glory? To see the empire expand throughout the subcontinent, as is its divine right? War. It can only be war.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 15:02
|
|
|
I shall trust in Peace.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 15:11
|
|
|
Are we not the heirs of the legacy of Gyalyum and Tse? Rajputana may be a mighty bear, but we have fought bears before. Let us force them back into the fold, a united Faith under a single strong Tsenmo. WAR
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 15:55
|
|
|
Peace
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 16:30
|
|
|
This is much closer than I thought it would be. I'm extending the voting time. Voting closes at 11:59 PM EST, Tuesday, September 10, 2019.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 16:30
|
|
|
PEACE! This is not the time for war.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 16:31
|
|
|
WAR, it's always time for war in Tibet
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 16:52
|
|
|
Greatness is made on the field through the sacrifice of the blood and the throw of the spear, WAR is the way.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 16:55
|
|
|
In honor of that poor ancestor who died during the plague, let's give some more Peace a shot.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 17:12
|
|
|
WAR
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 17:12
|
|
|
Peace
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 17:15
|
|
|
PEACE Why should children of Tse fight when there are much worse dangers lurking on the horizon
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 17:38
|
|
|
ThatBasqueGuy posted:PEACE Go attack some non bon non kinsmen. There’s plenty of them
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 18:07
|
|
|
Peaceish Right now we have an intrigue character who's already a known kinslayer. Let's bump off Mrs. 21 Martial and then press the claim against her underaged daughter while her kingdom is in disarray.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 19:21
|
|
|
FrangibleCover posted:Peaceish Agreed. Peace with Plans.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 19:33
|
|
|
FrangibleCover posted:Peaceish This is the thing to do. Peace with plans.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 21:43
|
|
|
PEACE
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 21:52
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 29, 2024 03:46 |
|
|
Let the Rajputs swear loyalty to the Empire. If they cannot or will not then WAR.
|
|
#
?
Sep 8, 2019 21:52
|
|
