Topic: The Life and Times of Liu Pei: My After Action Report
Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
The life and Times of Liu Pei By Blayne Bradley
This is to be the first installment of a series of chapters of the transitory history of the Middle Kigndom from the perspective of Liu Pei servant of Ming Zhou. Dealing with Zhou's rise to absolute power as Emperor of China dealing with many enemies along the way. This starts of with the plot/character development. Critics would be nice. *Also* for the Hatrackers reading this is meant to be an AAR for the weekly March Through Time game of Europa Universalis II, I decided to do it in novel form and with the time I had oculd only do the first chapter. Enjoy! Inform me if I may have made any mistakes esp. in regards to Chinese customs.
“During the last half of the what the foreign devils call the 14th century the Middle Kingdom was ascending, the Emperor’s of the Ming Dynasty have added the Manchu Kingdom and the Kingdom of Assam into the direct dominion of the Middle Kingdom. This added millions of new subjects for the Emperors and enriching China. However, this is now without its problems. The many wars have exhausted the people, drained the treasury, and blunted many swords, leaving many discontented and popular rebellions have not been uncommon and put down with ruthless force, but as the Empire expands many people begin to have interests in the results, whether it be gaining a piece of the growing silk monopoly, controlling the trade of opium, influence among the Imperial court, there are many places where the nobles scurry about plotting and scheming for more power. The Emperor Chengui, is very wise and able and learned well from the mistakes of his father Jingtai. But his reign is approaching its end for there are sinister forces at work plotting his downfall so that they may take his place and have all the power of the Emporium at their finger tips. Will the Mandate of Heaven remain with the Ming? Or will they lose it when a much harsher and crueler Emperor takes Chengui’s place? Only the Ancient Ancestors know for sure…”
Nanjing 12 years ago…
“Emperor! Emperor! The Empress has given birth to a healthy boy! And she has named him Zhou… this is indeed good fortune!” said the servant, the Emperor smiled it was indeed good fortune to have a boy, his first three children were all girls and was beginning to worry that he would not have any male heirs. But now finally, a boy Ming Zhou, he will indeed be a great heir one day if raised correctly. As Chengui pondered how the best means of raising his child was one of his trusted servants requested an audience.
“aaah Liu Mei! Why do you bless me with my presence!? How is your husband?” To this Liu Mei replied. “My husband left a week ago to train to become a solider but I have great news my liege, I have given birth to a son, I have named him Pei, Liu Pei I ask that you my venerable sovereign to bless him so that he may receive good fortune.”
“Oh? I must be getting old, for I did not notice the bundle in your arms, silly me of course I will…. Wait, that is brilliant Liu Mei! I will do more then give my blessings I will assign your son to be the friend and servant to my heir! I never had a companion I could trust or confide in in my youth, my son will be raised in the courts but hopefully Liu Pei will be the friend he needs.”
Liu Mei couldn’t have been happier, her son was to receive a prestigious position as the servant to her Master’s son good fortunes indeed!
Chapter I 12 years later… In the garden of the Imperial Library…
“Zhou! ZHOU! Pay attention master!” *whack* “owww” Zhou was hit by the improvised bamboo weapon fashioned by Liu Pei. Zhou found himself on the ground hurting. Liu Pei went over and helped him up remarking “You, Master would do much better in these sparring sessions if you paid attention to my leg and eye movements and not to you day dreaming.”
“I know that!” Zhou retorted. “I was thinking about things, important things. Things that make me nervous.” Liu Pei lowered his weapons and said “I know, one day you will become Emperor one day and will lead China to greatness!” He smiled, Liu Pei was like that, always thinking far out into the future imagining that things will always go well and assuring him of it. But, he himself didn’t see things the same way, he wasn’t enthusiastic to be Emperor it was something he took for granted, something that to him wasn’t important. He would be Emperor if he had to be but he didn’t want to be Emperor.
“Liu Pei, why do you think I should be Emperor?” Zhou wondered aloud. “Master its because of the very fact that you yourself is reluctant to be Emperor.” He smiled that same smile he always has, the one that makes him seem very wise. “Also, by being reluctant to rule you will not rule any harsher you have to be, a ruler who seeks power actively will use whatever means necessary to maintain that power. One who receives power reluctantly will only use the minimum power necessary to rule effectively and will be a wise and efficient leader of people’s.”
Zhou looked at Liu Pei quizly. “How do you know these things?” Liu Pei laughed and replied “Because for as long as I can remember I have been raised to understand our nation’s great history and to know of all our classics, essentially to be raised as a scholar to best aid you, I thought you knew this.” Zhou exclaimed “eeeeeek, and so I do but there times like now where I am so caught up in my thoughts that I forget these things…”
Zhou layback and starred at the clouds, imagining that they looked like Dragons, great mighty dragons who watch over the throne… Why oh why do I have to be Emperor? It is only going to be so much hard work, there won’t be any time for fun anymore, and I’ll never have the time ruling from my capitol to see the countryside, even now I’m not allowed because it is too dangerous according to the Regent and when I’m Emperor I’ll be too busy to see the people, my people.
“Liu Pei”
“Yes?”
“There are many who would not like to be servants anymore, how do you find being a servant?”
“Master life is all about 2 things, balance, and karma. Life is not and never will be perfect and one has to keep life in balance in order to maximize ones happiness but nothing is perfect or else we would be gods. Being your servant is the best I could hope for since it allows me to best take care of my family, provide me with housing, an education, and to be privy to events of great importance, and best of all I get to be your friend and there is no higher reward either in heaven or on Earth and throughout the Middle Kingdom then that.”
“Liu Pei you never cease to amaze me with your wisdom.” Zhou suddenly stood up, stared at the sky a little longer and noticed dark clouds coming.
“Its going to rain, best we return to the library… I don’t want to be lectured again for dodging my studies again…”
Ming Zhou and Liu Pei brushed the dirt off of their robes and walked back into the library, where to their dismay their little (2 hour) “break” had not gone unnoticed by their tutor and both were punished severely as a result. After they were punished they were forced to resume their studies, today they were memorizing the stories of the famous female generals.
“Zhou, we know that in history there have been many women who as they lived served to act as moral exemplars, can you give me an example of one?”
Zhou thought to himself for a moment and answered. “there was the famous warrior poet Xu Mu nearly 2000 years ago, who defended her native kingdom Wei against the Di people! When the Di conquered Wei, Xu Mu left her husband's kingdom of Xu, rallied her brothers, and marshaled support from neighboring kingdoms to successfully defend her ancestral home.”
Zhou’s teacher was impressed but hid it well. “Correct, I also know of a famous poem written by her “speeding away” I think. Can you recite it for me?”
“Bu shi, I cannot.”
“How very unfortunate Zhou, as Emperor, knowing well the history of your people and to be knowledgeable in your nations traditions should be very important to you.”
Liu Pei was getting angry at how this teacher was mistreating Zhou and spoke up. “Master Teacher, while it is true that an Emperor should be knowledgeable in history, doesn’t mean he should know every poem by every general, hindsight is not as good as foresight, my Master’s skill should be dependent on his own will and not just on the examples of our venerable ancestors who came before us.”
Now it is the teacher who is being enraged by the impudence of this servant and slapped him, Liu Pei sat there stunned holding his hand to his cheek which was now getting redder and still being only a young boy was trying to hold back tears.
“How dare you strike my servant, it is my decision whether he be punished for any misdeeds!” Zhou said angrily.
“You are his age as well and not yet Emperor and it is my duty to teach you the wisdom needed to rule effectively! It is my duty in this room to punish who needs to be punished and as severely as the misdeed allows.” Retorted the teacher.
Zhou was mad and wanted to attack the teacher, but hesitated for it would not have gotten him anywhere, it would’ve been a rash move and would’ve eliminated any chance of gaining the upper hand against him.
“I know of the poem.” Stated a shaky Liu Pei.
“Then recite it.”
Liu Pei sat down and took a deep breath and from there proceeded to recite the poem. “The wheels turn fast, the horse trots on, I return to my brother in Wei A long, long way the carriage has come, To Caoyi, my homeland to stay. The lords who follow me, far and long, Have caused no little dismay. Harshly though you may judge me, From my course I will not veer. Compared to your limited vision, Do I not see far and clear? Harshly though you may judge me, My steps you never can stay. Compared to your limited vision, Am I not wise in my way? I've climbed the heights of A Qiu, Gathered herbs on the slope alone. All women are prone to sorrow„ Each follows a path of her own. The people of Xu still blame me, Such ignorance has never been known. I walk the land of my fathers, The wheat fields are green and wide. I'll tell the world of my sorrow, All friends will be at our side. O listen, ye lords and nobles, Blame not my stubbornness so! A hundred schemes you may conjure, None match this course that I know.”
The teacher looked at Liu Pei and simply nodded his head and smirked. “At least, your servant will make up for any of you shortcomings Prince.” The Teacher walked over to the window overlooking the garden, there were servants now maintaining the garden removing the weeds and repairing any of the bushes damaged in the sparring match between Zhou and Pei. The Teacher turned around sighed and said that the studies were over for today and ushered them out of his library. Liu Pei and Zhou were escorted by the Palace guard back to the Palace, Liu Pei being a servant broke away from the main contingent. “Master, I must return to my family now my mother is sick and needs to be taken care of but please remember these words. “even the strongest Oak tree must bend against a strong wind.” While I believe the Teacher to be cruel in his ways I am certain his intentions are noble and that we must earn his respect, I beg you master to consider what he is trying to teach us.” Liu Pei spoke earnestly. Zhou thought to himself for several moments and then nodded, he trusted Liu Pei’s judgment and more then that as he thought about it the Teacher was a wise scholarly man even if he thought very highly of himself and lowly Zhou believed of himself. “I think you may be correct Pei, I must win over his respect and his loyalty for how am I ever going to rule as Emperor one day if I can’t even win over one single scholar’s respect?” Liu Pei bowed to Zhou then quite suddenly started jogging towards his family’s quarters, Zhou continues on with the rest of the contingent back to his Palace quarters.
*Edit* I intend to fix up the exchanges between The Teacher and Zhou/Pei a little so that the Teacher seems alot more like a wise scholar guy person.
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I believe that Blayne is writing an AAR of his recent China game, rather than a story for publication. He is presumably posting it here for critique, but there's no worries about publishing rights. Incidentally, the grammar seems much improved, at a quick glance.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
The Life and Times of Liu Pei by Blayne Bradley
Chapter II
The capitol of Nanjing was a large bustling city of over a million subjects, trade, industry and commerce happened all the time within the cities looming walls, so much people required a lot of food and thus farms from all around the city and up the Yang tse river supplied the inhabitants of Nanjing with all the food it required to feed its multi million populace. However, Nanjing was more then an economic hub it was also the center of government for all of the Middle Kingdom. The home of the Emperor himself and his family, attended by his court of noblemen and noblewoman, concubines, courtiers, entertainers, and of course the bureaucrats… The Empire is run from this place and it is in this place only where official policy can be devised under the watchful gaze of the Son of Heaven. However, humans are human beings, flawed and thus seemingly doomed to constant bickering and intrigue. The court is full of nobles, nobles of great wealth and powerful as well as smaller and far more petty ones, all educated in the classics and all have different ideas for how the Empire should be run and each of them competes with each other for influence and to gain Imperial favor. However, all is not what it seems, sometimes when gaining influence abroad as a General is not an option and when all methods of attaining position are exhausted and loses favor one can become spiteful and filled with malice and arrogance .It is these people who eventually go down the path of darkness and become traitors, thieves, pretenders to the throne and murderers all for the pursuit and one thing only. Power. A skilled Emperor discovers them early and puts their skills particular to their personality to good use and keeps them competing with one another so that they can never turn against him, but once every few cycles you have such men become so thirsty for power and influence that no position granted by the Imperial Court can be enough, only the throne itself will ever be enough for these people. And one such man, Jiao Shen… is who one day will hold the fate of China within his hands…
Nanjing 59th Cycle of the Chinese Calender
A Wizened old man is wandering seemingly at random through the Inner City, this is odd because the inner city is the home of the famously rich, actor families, noble of the highest rank, merchants who travel to far away lands and the occasional general. Servants are always bustling about on errands for their masters and mistresses but to have a single old man in simple cloths of a scholar wandering around with no purpose? Preposterous! But wait, he stops and looks about aimlessly until he finds what he is looking for. He goes down a particular street past the Ancestral shrine of Yama, judge of the dead. He went swiftly past it to one large mansion and was allowed entrance by the guards with barely a look, a sign that they knew him well and past though here often. He steps along the marble pathway to the front of the mansion and allows himself in. Here as is custom a servant escorts him to the rear of the mansion to an enclosed garden with several small ponds populated by many fish birds. Statues of many beings from folk tales, dark tales dot the garden. The Scholarly man shivered sensing the bad chi flowing into the garden and knew the master of the house was nearby and as expected the other man waiting for this old man spoke.
“So we meet again, old man. Hmm, have you finished my request?” He said fanning himself with a fan decorated with golden dragons on a red backdrop. The old man took a deep breath and replied “I have done as you requested, I have on your behalf requested an audience with the Emperor he has agreed to grant you an audience tomorrow to discuss important matters of state.” The old man felt very old, he had been alive for a long time now and seen many things and can predict what this man is going to do, he would stop it, oh how he would do anything to stop it but no one would believe him and this man could simply deny the accusation at a whim and if he tried to kill him his family would pay the price even if he was willing to forsake his family the result would not be certain for this man protected himself well with several body guards even in his own residence. Especially in his own residence. The man continued fanning himself and soon smiled. “Excellent, it is about time that I am given the chance to hopefully encourage some reason into that man!”
“But he is the Son of Heaven, mandated by them to rule the Middle Kingdom, speaking such words is shameful my lord!”
“Nonsense, even if he is part God he still possesses the wisdom of men and sometimes such wisdom can be in folly. He is too soft on the peasants, too soft on the merchants and too soft on the barbarians abroad! How can such a man possibly possess the responsibility to rule China if he even can’t run the Empire efficiently!? Obedience on demand, swift efficient obedience is what I needed. We must instill the populace with the iron willed obedience that we once had or else the empire will collapse! Can you imagine that? If the Empire collapses it will because of his actions! This cannot come to pas I must reason with him and hopefully I can persuade him to see what is wise in this matter and take tougher measures against the masses, the merchant scoundrels and of course our enemies abroad and within!” He continued to rant on for several minutes before he calmed himself and snapped close his fan. “You are dismissed I have nothing more to say.”
The old man, bowed to the Noble Lord and vacated the presences. Though his bow while in respect was not the bow of a servant to a master and this always irritated the noble because no one was really sure who this man was and as such did not know if he was a servant and to whom. However he owed a great many debts to the noble and could not, ever leave his service or else his life and the lives of his family would be forfeit. The nobleman waited several moments before stating. “You may leave now, no one is watching and you and your associates had better succeed, I have no tolerance for failure and I am giving no small fortune for this service.” He spoke with narrowed eyes.
The man who stepped out of the shadows was of stealthy build and was clothed in many darkly shaded clothing’s giving the air of a man not to be troubled with but was not immediately apparent of which profession for his robes were trimmed with silver stitching, a sign of a wealthy man but of unusual tastes in clothes. “It will be done Master, when given a task the Hand of Niirti never fail.”
“You had better not, the fate of the Middle Kingdom hangs in the balance.”
The darkly clothed man bowed once and left making little noise, and even the nobleman shivered a little.
In the Imperial Palace, downtown Nanjing
The Imperial Palace was a building bustling with many scribes, Confucian Bureaucrats, scholars, librarians, nobles from every level of the Imperial bureaucracy, scribes, guardsmen, and many more. At the center of it all was one man, the Emperor of China. Ming Chongzi, 60 years old and still handsome he was a man to be admired. A man who has ruled China for 30 years and commanded all of China’s mighty armies during times of crisis and here he was slowly getting older as the weight of the nations troubles, hopes and dreams fell upon his shoulders. Attended by his favorite servants stroking his beard gazing off into what he hoped would be a glorious future for the people of China.
If it weren’t for the damned Bureaucrats.
They were a pestilence, yes they were essential for running the Empire but they’re level of influence within the organs of the state were too great in his opinion, they resisted reform, resisted attempted to create a more flexible standing army and navy and were doing whatever they could to strangle economic growth that didn’t go in line with their principles. Something has to change and it has to begin during his reign or it might not happen ever.
Its possible the Emperor would have continued on this line of thought if it weren’t for events happening in the here and now, the Captain of the Guard stepped into the throne room announcing the arrival of various nobles who had successfully requested an audience with him, an annoying yet essential part of the routine of being the Monarch of over 300,000,000 subjects. Many were representatives of the great merchant families requesting various favors or suggesting changes in policy to help encourage the growth of the merchant sector, he listened to them all and made sure to listen to each one and to make each one know what he listened and is considering their words though, not by actually telling them for it is beneath him to have to explain everything, they are not fools.
After an hour of these audiences and meetings with Generals from far away frontiers came the time to break and rest before continuing with these audiences, he sat up and attended by his entourage made his way to the food table to satisfy his hunger he moved over and began eating the prepared meals and stopped and exclaimed when he saw his pride and joy. His son Zhou was present today! Zhou dressed in robes designating his position as heir to the throne wearing a ceremonial sword was obviously looking very awkward. Such pomp and attention (for several if not dozens of noblewoman were trying to talk to him about oh so many insignificant things) were not things he was used to, he was far more used to studying in a cozy library or philosophizing with his servant for life Liu Pei. The Emperor Chongzhi of the Ming Dynasty gazed upon his son and his son’s servant and beckoned them to come forth smile a grand smile whenever in the presence of close friends and family. He tuffed his son’s hair and nodded with no small earned respect for Liu Pei for he had himself observed the intelligence and wisdom of Liu Pei and was never more proud then in that moment, never had the smallest amount of doubt then that he had chosen well for his son that Liu Pei will no doubt aid Zhou and one day help him become a good Emperor. He wiped off his smile and took a grim demeanor stood tall and spoke. “My son, Prince Zhou of the Ming heir to the Throne of the Middle Kingdom. How goes life? I have not seen you in 2 years.”
“Life goes well father, Son of Heaven I am studying hard and one day I hope to be as good an Emperor as you one day.” While Zhou spoke these words he felt a stab of pain for he knew that he deep inside did not want to be Emperor Period, but spoke these words nonetheless for he did not want to cause a scene or upset his father. “Very good my son but a position as important as Emperor requires more then just books and classics however important they may be, you need real field experience, you need to see China, to see your people for yourself one day and soon! Before your responsibilities become so great that you are unable to do so.”
“As you say, but you are the Emperor with the power to command the seas at will if you ask it so, why would you not be able to take your leave of these surroundings and see the people? Are you not the Son of Heaven?” Zhou exclaimed, for he had not previously believed that there were limits to power.
There was an odd silence near them as the surrounding nobles were stunned at the absurdity of the question and quickly went on to their business for fear of catching what they felt must be the rage of their Emperor. And at first Chongzhi did indeed seem angry but quickly controlled it and sighed. He moved on and ushered the 2 boys to follow him to a quieter part of the hall and beckoned his troops to move away some distance.
“My son, once before I was Emperor I was a Prince as your are now, I had no power in the shaping of policy yet and yet I had all the choices I could make. Now I have all the power and no choices, no choice at all in anything…” His father now seemed very old, and very tired as if suddenly his father no longer seemed the god-like being that had up to this point guided his life but now seemed not just a man, but a man who has given so much and cared so much and worked so hard to achieve seemingly so little. This was indeed his father and Zhou gazing into the care worn face of his father felt very sad and yet also felt a new strength, this man was his father and never before now had it become so apparent that this wise and honorable man was such a man.
Zhou, knew he had to tell his father his reluctance to be Emperor and tugged his fathers robes. His father slowly turned to face his son when to Zhou’s horror, a horror so terrible that it was forever burned into his memory, for a man wearing the clothes of a grain merchant had removed from his clothes a hand crossbow loaded a bolt and prepared to fire the bolt into the chest of the Emperor of the Middle Kingdom, a man in richly adorned robes shouted My Lord watch out! And pushes the assailant aside but it was too late. It seemed to Zhou that day that everything was happening in slow motion, the bolt slowly piercing his father’s clothes, then the protective mail shirt under it, the skin, the muscle tendons, and then proving the expert training of the assassin entered the heart. And then everything resumed to its normal speed with the court panicking as several armed warriors removed their outer robes and began to systematically butcher any noble they can find, the guards sprung into action and began engaging the assassins and meanwhile the Emperor had fallen backwards caught by both Ming Zhou and Liu Pei and lowered gently into the ground but they could tell there was nothing they could do for this man. Chongzhi was losing a lot of blood, he was sweating and his skin was becoming cold and clammy.
“The dart had been poisoned, even had it not pierced his heart it would still have killed him.” Liu Pei stated sadly, stunned that the Emperor himself had been so easily slain. He yelped in shock as Chongzhi got up and grabbed his son’s collar and pulled him close.
“My son, I know that I have not been as good a father as I wished I could be and I know that things will be very bleak for some time but please my son, be strong, that is all I ask just… be…. Strong…” Emperor Chongzhi of the Ming took his last shuddering breath then and approximately 3 PM on the 5th day of the 6th month in the 58th cycle of the Chinese calendar the Emperor of China died.
Soon the assailants were all killed by the heroic efforts of the Imperial Guard and several other officers of the army who engaged in the fight to aid their fellow soldiers, none could be captured and so no information could be ascertained of who conspired to murder the Emperor, the Prince was escorted to secure quarters whilst an investigation was being launched. The man who tried to save the Emperor life was already being considered for his bravery to be appointed the Regent to safe guard the safety of the boy until he reached the age when he could attain the throne as Emperor his name as it was mentioned to the Prince sitting upon his fathers a week afterwards was Jiao Shen, a powerful noble who had been recently responsible for reorganizing the upper echelons of the Confucian bureaucracy and to organize new merchant guilds for the proper reorganization of the merchant tax base. After exchanging greetings with many of his fathers close advisers and this Jiao Shen himself he retired for the night to his quarters in the Imperial Palace, he had not yet decided to change quarters as of yet. The guard has been quickly reorganized to prioritize his safety but Zhou doubted that there would be an attempt on his life anytime soon.
He closed the door behind him and sat down on a bench on the porch overlooking the garden 2 floors down, the sun was setting so the scenery was beautiful but he couldn’t shake his sadness. It is then that Liu Pei as always came by his master’s side to provide comfort.
“Master, nothing can bring your father back, he was a good man and we mustn’t ever forget him but master you must be strong!”
“He is dead Pei! Dead! I cannot believe this, it had been 2 years since I last saw my own father in person and now he is gone forever! Liu Pei I just don’t know what to do.” Zhou said with bitterness and restrained anger.
“Master, there is nothing I can do to relieve your hurt but allow me to try a poem.” Liu coughed to clear his through and began to sing softly a poem by a ancient classical poet Du Fu.
"I remember the temple, this route I've travelled before, I recall the bridge as I cross it again. It seems the hills and rivers have been waiting, The flowers and willows all are selfless now. The field is sleek and vivid, thin mist shines, On soft sand, the sunlight's colour shows it's late. All the traveller's sorrow fades away, What better place to rest than this?”
“As you can see master Zhou it is a song about a souls life and death journal, your father has now moved on with his life and has many great adventures yet to embark upon but you must find the resolve within you to go on and forge a new future, the rest of the world cannot keep you going by our efforts or your momentum alone.” Liu Pei said.
Zhou stopped crying. He wiped away his tears and stood up gazing at the horizon and just for a moment thought he saw what his father had been trying to gaze at for years.
China.
In all its glory, strength, and splendor and he knew that all of it rested on the backs of the tens of millions of labourers and peasants who worked hard everyday to make the impossible possible. It is then that Zhou realized the strength within himself and turn to regard his trusted and forever loyal servant.
“Liu Pei.”
“Yes Master.”
“I will become Emperor, this I promise never before had this desire burned within my very soul, I desire the Imperial throne and I will get it, I will bend every universal law to make sure that I and I alone hold that power. My father lived and died for the people of China and I will not just do the same I will do better, I will expand China’s borders, make China at peace with itself and bring all the bureaucrats in line and forge a new destiny for the Chinese people! I will find out who killed my father and before I have him beheaded I will thank him, for instilling within me the resolve to carry out any task I desire. I will need allies, I will need to make every effort to unite all of Chinese society under my banner to achieve this, Liu Pei are you with me now? Now more then ever before?”
“Yes I am”
“Good, for starting now I am a new man, a new man for what will become a new China.”
Zhou turned back to the opening that allowed him to view the garden and nodded.
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