The Celestial Bureaucracy

Okay, so I have some announcements to make.
I'm resuming my pursuit of higher education in September so between that and my fall job, I won't be able to feasibly update this for a lengthy interim.
I was writing updates for this while school was in session when this story began but that was because I was getting all my Liberal Arts out of the way last semester.
Not so this semester. 20-30 hour assignments per week from a single class, here I come.

I hope you guys will be nice to this thread while I'm gone (And I will still be around, just not updating).

I'm planning to squeeze in at least three updates and possibly another character sketch before then. But no promises. You may also vote for which character gets rendered next . It helps me to see what kind of characters are popular and such and such. I was either going to sketch Fairfax, Agent Ibis or Kohaku but I'll let you guys decide. Map update is next. Although you will only be able to discern how my rivals have grown via squinting at the mini-map. To hold you over for the time being, I traded maps with the French and now have a good picture of Europe there in the minimap. Also, America is included in the next update as well, but there won't be any colonization for awhile. If you're playing an Asian faction on this map, and you don't clean house in the region before you go out to explore, you will surely regret it.

Also, my Word document that I'm drafting this story on just hit 100 pages.





The Chinese offensive continues unrelentingly, across land & sea. Against the wrath of the Xia Emperor, nothing can shield or hide itself from the gravity of his will.

“Wa is beautiful, Morita,” Mohammed said as he took in the sights and sounds of Kyoto.
“It sure is,” Morita responded. “I come here every other year to visit family.
That’s right, before I forget, I want to say that we’ll be meeting up with my cousin later in the day. I can’t have you staying at an inn now, can I?”
Mohammed immediately noticed just how different everything looked.
Sure, his home city of Tokyo still retained much of its original Yamato architectural style but here he was in Kyoto, taking in the real thing.
The biggest difference perhaps came from the curious looking robes that the women on the streets were wearing.
To be specific, they looked extremely similar to Hanfu but bore several aesthetical differences that set themselves apart from the standard Imperial robe.
“What are those?” Mohammed asked, being polite enough not to point but just cocking his head in the general direction of a gaggle of girls.
“Oh those? They’re yukata summer robes. Native Yamato clothing.
We are here in time for all the summer festivals after all.
Not all of these women are ethnically Yamato though.
Some of them are Han and…” Morita was trying to visibly restrain himself from exercising old habits.
“Burakumin. But yes, it’s just our regional style over here in our little corner of the Empire,”
“It’s like this in Chaoxian too,” Choi added as he returned from purchasing some sweets from a vendor.
“My mother is a Han, but she wears the Hanbok on a daily basis,”
Noticing Choi’s food, Morita remembered something he wanted to mention.
“You should try the food here, Mohammed. Granted, I know you’ve had Yamato food in Tokyo, but that stuff is more of the Han-Yamato fusion variety.
You get the real deal over here. Have you ever tried octopi before?” Morita asked.
“You mean squid? I’ve had calamari a few times,” Mohammed commented.
Morita shook his head. “No, there’s a place I need to introduce you to; octopi is way different than calamari, and you’ll love it, I swear,”
“Later tonight, if we have the time,” the Arab veteran responded.
“We need to pay Shao’s family a visit first,”


Reports that the Vajra Republic had stationed a massive army numbering close to one million on the Imperial border spread like wildfire amongst the public and all sectors of the government. The Xia Emperor assuaged the public that there was nothing to fear but held secret talks with his war council about the situation. Intelligence gathered from within the Vajra Republic from both Pashtun agents in the vicinity indicated that they were possibly preparing for a preemptive strike against the Empire, taking advantage of the chaos in Indochina.

“Is this the address?” Mohammed asked.
“It looks like it,” Choi said as he read over the listed address again.
The address in question was listed in the courtyard of a small apartment complex.
There were children all around the courtyard, playing football but a few of them had taken notice of the visitors and watched them quietly.
Trying to get away from the prying eyes of the children, the three soldiers soon navigated up the staircase and eventually found themselves outside
Number Twenty Six on the second floor of the building.
Mohammed knocked on the door as his two comrades stood behind him.
“I told you military men that I don’t want to talk to you!!” came a shout from behind the door.
“Ma’am…” Mohammed began as he looked towards Morita & Choi.
“Just GO AWAY! What else do you want to take from ME?” the voice wailed.
“You don’t understand…” Mohammed attempted to continue.
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND?! YOU TOOK MY SON AWAY FROM ME!!” she sobbed.
“Mrs. Shao, please. We served directly alongside your son. He was our squadmate,” the Arab soldier finally got a word in when the wailing subsided.

The door opened, revealing a slender, middle aged woman who still maintained vestiges of the beauty of her youth.
Her eyes were puffy and red and her black hair was a bit disheveled.

“You served with my son?” she asked, still sniffing.
“Yes. We wanted to come and pay our respects to our good comrade’s family.
If it’s a bother to you, we’ll leave immediately,” Mohammed offered.
“No…it’s about time I face the facts,” Mrs. Shao said. “Come on in, boys,”





With the growth and expansion of houses of higher education being established across the Empire, came new schools of thought and philosophy. Several of them would heavily influence internal Imperial politics well into the modern day.

All three veterans removed their sandals and placed them by the shoecase, then promptly followed the woman into the apartment suite.
There were some of Shao’s younger siblings in the small hallway inside the apartment suite,
peeking out at the new guests but Mrs. Shao shooed them back away to their room.
She bade the three veterans be seated around the dinner table on the floor and left to fetch the tea kettle and cups for the guests.
The grieving mother only begun to ask her questions after the three guests had taken their first sips of tea.

“H-How did he die?” the woman asked with much trepidation.
“Ma’am,” Morita spoke up, trying hard to maintain eye contact without staring into his teacup.
“Shao died saving my life. He pushed me out of the way from a fatal stroke and took the blow in my place.
I am ashamed to admit that I did him wrong while he yet breathed. I…insulted him via insulting…you, ma’am,” It was impossible for him to look at her eyes now.
“I would do anything to make up for my transgressions, Mrs. Shao. Just say it and it’ll be done,”

“I…I have some peace now, knowing that my son died heroically…but there isn’t anything I need from you.
My eldest children now support both myself and the rest of the family.
The only things I could possibly want now are my son and my late husband back.
Both of which you cannot possibly give me,” she said.
“Mrs. Shao, please allow me to repay you,” Morita said as he procured a medium-sized sack of coins and held it out for Mrs. Shao to take.
“The military is already sending me reparation payments, I can’t take your money,” she shook her head.
“No, Mrs. Shao. Your son always spoke fondly of you.
Talked about how you sacrificed and endured through so much hardship and hatred to raise him,” Mohammed spoke up.
He held out his own sack of coins as did Choi.
“Use this money to send them to trade schools or houses of higher education. This family deserves better.
You deserve better, Mrs. Shao. We won’t leave until you take our tribute in memory of your son,”
The middle-aged woman was flabbergasted but she recognized the sincerity in the young man’s word.
“I’m proud of my son. Proud that he left such an impact on his peers,” she said quietly.
“No ma’am, we’re proud to have had him as a comrade,” Choi smiled.


The explosion of growth in the field of education lent directly to the vast progress made in the fields of astronomy and nautical engineering. The junks that were built during this time were the biggest of their day, reaching the sizes of small villages.

The three veterans stayed for a while longer, recanting the various exploits and instances at camp with Shao until the sky turned orange, indicating it was time to go.
Shao’s mother invited them to stay for dinner but the three veterans politely declined and made their way out into the courtyard.
Choi left to meet with some of his relatives on his father’s side of the family, leaving Mohammed and Morita to walk down the city blocks to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet Morita’s cousin.

Eventually, they saw him at one of the outdoor tables.
He got up and embraced his cousin, happy to see him after so long.
They exchanged familial pleasantries and then Mohammed came into his view.
“Who’s that?” he eyed Mohammed suspiciously.
“Mohammed is a comrade of mine from the War. We served in the same unit,” Morita answered.
“Where are you from?” he asked, no longer suspicious and being amiable now that the fact came to light.
“Tokyo,” Mohammed replied.
“No, I mean, where are you really from?” Morita’s relative replied, clearly unable to perceive Mohammed as a fellow Imperial.
“Stop it, he’s really from Tokyo, lived there all his life, Imperial as you or me,” Morita answered in Mohammed’s place.
“If you say so,” Morita’s cousin responded with a shrug. “As long as he’s not a dirty Burk, right?”
Neither Mohammed nor Morita laughed.
“I don’t find that funny anymore,” Morita said.
“The war must have really messed you up,” Morita’s cousin laughed.
The look on Morita’s face told him not to push it and he quickly looked away to hail for a taxi chariot.

“I’m sorry about that,” Morita said to Mohammed.
“There’s no need to be,” Mohammed said sagely, “He doesn’t know any better,”
“That doesn’t make it okay. You’ve taught me that,” Morita frowned.
“It’s going to have to move one step at a time. It’s going to be slow, sure. And it probably won’t happen in my own lifetime,” Mohammed turned to Morita after noticing that the chariot had arrived and was waiting on them. “But it’s better than letting the people who want everything to stay the same have their way. Progress is like the rain. It never seems to show, but it’s an unstoppable force, capable of grinding mountains into dust and bringing new life where there was none before. The people who don't want anything to change, the people who want to pretend none of these problems exist; they're powerless in the face of this of this force and the only thing they can do is just barely delay it. You’re living proof that progress works, Morita. I did help you to see after all, didn’t I?” Mohammed grinned.

“Now come on, the taxi’s waiting for us,”





Dragon Marauder marines in concerted action with the Tortoise Armada navy seized the island of Borneo from the Kampuchean colonists.

Great update!
Are you planning to write more stories like this ( after this one is finished, in two years or so). I know they take a lot of effort, but they are GREAT.

Where are you going to get next after you finish the Khmer?
Could we have a look at all your stats at some point as well?

Good luck with your classes, TD!

@strijder20

I don't know if I'll do another story or not.
If I ever do, it will most likely be along the vein of a gameplay-oriented story with short commentary.
I actually wanted to try my hand at modding and make either a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (there's not enough cities though ) or a World of Darkness mod scenario. I've tried modding before and I'm not terribly great at it (perhaps Yoshi could help me if I appeal to his Canadian pride? CFC Empires isn't even done yet though. ).

@hoplitejoe

I think it's possible to infer from one of the previous screenshots who my next obvious target is.
As for the stats, I unfortunately did not take many screenshots of them until near the end of the campaign.

@Mosher

Thanks, I'm going to need it!

Ermmm... India?
Also Good luck from me as well

Yeah, have fun (or not) with your classes

Awesome update, good luck with your classes... and

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

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or a World of Darkness

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Contrast much

There should be a TVtropes page for this. And for PotU.

Only up to chp 16 but this is le awesome!

Terrance888 said:

There should be a TVtropes page for this. And for PotU.

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definitly

and India has a city with 22 pop in 1190 AD, it may not even be their largest, and its not right

If this were YouTube, I would be fixing up a 10k view special for you guys but this isn't so I can't.
220k more to go before I catch up to Princes of the Universe.
Anyways, an update may or may not come around next week; I have quite a schedule lined up next week.

Tomorrow's Dawn said:

If this were YouTube, I would be fixing up a 10k view special for you guys but this isn't so I can't.
220k more to go before I catch up to Princes of the Universe.
Anyways, an update may or may not come around next week; I have quite a schedule lined up next week.

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Don't worry, you'll get there eventually!

Sisiutil's had about 23 x more time to get those views, TD, so you're all good.

and you said this story would take like 2 more years at least to finish, plus drawings, extras (culture stuff) so don't worry

Great update as always TD! Who are you going to destroy next?

Also, good luck with your choice of education, hopefully you will show us your art and illustrations more often.

“I’ve become something of a community leader in the Arab Quarter since we were recalled from the War.
Organizing heritage events and spending portions of my inheritance to sponsor the development of a university and to expand the neighborhood.
Apparently, I’ve caught the notice of the Governor of Tokyo through my public organizing and philanthropy.
She invited me to publicly speak tomorrow on the subject of inequalities as part of a panel organized for the purpose of
restructuring the city management and solving pressing issues.
She also expressed interest in introducing me to a certain Bureau after noting the veteran status in my personal file.
I know enough about societal issues, but almost next to nothing about governing.
I wonder what this Bureau has in store for me.

Enough about me.

I named the first school I founded in Tokyo after you and Shao.
I think you would have liked it. They offer oratory & literature courses at Shao Han University; equipping individuals with the tools necessary to make their voices heard.
No one else knew about your struggle. I didn’t even tell our squadmates even after the fact.
After you died, everyone was still confused about what had transpired in the Kampuchean Palace but I pieced two and two together and understood.
When I think about how much you had suffered and how you endured it so stoically.
I cannot help but weep in your memory.
No one deserved that, least of all a good man like you.
I am not a deeply religious man, but I will pray for you and your family.
May you rest in peace and reunite with your family in the gardens of Paradise.

Your comrade, Mohammed,”


Nagara Jayasri falls. Only one relict Kampuchean city remains in Indochina.
Malay insurgents are prepared to assist Imperial efforts in taking down the last stronghold, which controls the valuable canal passageway between the Indian Ocean & the Gulf of Siam.

The astronomer, Bai Xiaoyan stared out from the deck, tracking the position of the stars from her telescope.
She was a woman well in her prime; aged forty-three, she commanded the respect of every member of the crew in no part due to her mastery of the stars & esteemed status back in the Core. Even before the voyage, she had established a reputation of being a wise & resourceful researcher amongst the scientific community in Dailiang. She took an eye off of the glass to see some of the crew harassing a young man on the lower deck, trying to make his way across to the helm. The same could not have been said for the voyage’s resident linguist, Azuma Seimei. Being young and bookish, he was often the target of derision & slander by the majority Li Caste crew. At this moment, the sailors placed themselves in front of Azuma, preventing him from passing through.

“Look at how scrawny Azuma is, guys!” the Yamato sailor pressed as he blocked the way.
“You think he’ll ever find a wife?” the Saxon sailor asked mockingly.
“Nah, he’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’d put up with his face stuck inside those books all the time,” the Han sailor answered.

As Bai watched, she could see Azuma raising his voice and trying to push through, only to be tripped by the burly Yamato sailor. The young Yamato scholar fell flat on his face onto the deck and dropped the pile of books he was carrying. Sharing a laugh at his misfortune, the three sailors promptly left the scene to return to their duties. The elder researcher sighed and made her way down the stairs to give Azuma a hand in gathering the books.

“Thank you so much for the help, Lady Bai. To think of what would happen if these books fell off the deck! How am I supposed to keep my mastery of European diction sharp if my books become swallowed up by the sea?” Azuma said to his older colleague as he reached out for a French manuscript.
“Doesn’t it bother you that they bully you so often?” Bai asked, trying not to sound as if she were his mother.
“I’ve learned not to mind it too much, I have the satisfaction of being a learned man of good breeding while men like them continue to act as brutes. I appreciate the concern, Bai,” he said as he picked up the last of his books.

He couldn’t hide it from her though. She could literally smell it off of him that the sailors had struck a sensitive nerve with the whole wife thing. Bai was a self-assured, confident individual with no desire to pursue companionship as a means to validate her own existence. She recognized though, that Azuma, as a young adult male, would probably place much more value on it than she would.

Nao Caste children were often brought up with the ideology instilled into them from a young age that, if they succeeded well in their areas of study, they would make a comfortable living, marry a Xin Caste bachelor or beauty and find satisfaction in life. The comfortable living bit was certainly true in highly populated urban centers like Dailiang, Kyoto or Kaesong, which boasted large, influential Nao Caste populations. However, being raised with only other Nao Caste individuals as company left the majority of the intelligentsia unprepared to properly interact with members of the other two Castes. The real world was not as accommodating as many parents had tried selling to their children, leaving many young Nao Caste post-graduates ill-equipped to interact with their fellow citizens, much less enter adult relationships with them. And not even arranged marriages could solve that. It was not uncommon to hear of a Nao Caste bride being left at the ceremonial altar by her prospective Xin Caste groom or the Xin Caste bride running away on the wedding day from her Nao Caste groom.

While she herself was raised in a small commune with healthy contact between the other Castes, many like Azuma did not have that same kind of upbringing and more or less encountered much conflict whilst interacting with members of other Castes. Case in point, he did not get along with the Li Caste sailors whatsoever. “I have to retire to my cabin. Again, I appreciate your assistance. Good evening, Bai,” Azuma said as he descended into the hold. The elder astronomer simply shook her head and let him go.
In truth, both parties had their faults but she could not help but sympathize for Azuma, who reminded her of many a pupil she mentored in Dailiang.



Bai was awoken at dawn by the sounds of rapid movement and a general atmosphere of excitement that pervaded the air. Captain Cao Ying’s voice could be heard booming across the holds for all hands to congregate on the deck. Up above on the mast, the phrase being called from atop the mast by the spotters was unmistakable. The one that the entire crew had been waiting for all this time on the voyage.

“Land, ho’!!!” cried the spotter repeatedly. He was so excited that he nearly fell from the crow’s nest.



The deck was being swarmed by every member of the crew, hanging onto the railing on the right side of the junk, taking in the sight of the new land on the horizon. The excitement was absolutely infectious but Azuma was not impressed.
“We knew we were going to find land eventually, so I don’t understand the point of all this,” he said.
“Come on, kid! Lighten up, we found LAND!” a sailor said as he slapped Azuma on the back with enough force that he fell off and over the railing and into the water.
The young man’s top knot came undone and his long hair could be seen sprawling on the surface of the water before he resurfaced.
A riotous peal of laughter erupted from the group of sailors as they watched Azuma struggle.
“Drop a rope for him!” Bai shouted towards the sailors.
“Oh he’ll be fine, the water is fairly shallow here and we’re already close to shore,” the men responded as they passed around a bottle of soju saved for the occasion that land was sighted.
“He’s wearing robes! He’ll drown!” Bai exclaimed.
As she was wearing heavy robes herself, she was in no position to come to her colleague’s rescue.
Not expecting help in the slightest, Azuma beagn to wade to shore, swallowing sea water all along the way.
“Wait a minute. Over there, do you see it?” Captain Cao Ying said while pointing towards the beach.
He squinted and did a double take to make sure his eyes weren’t fooling him.

“Is that…a person…?”

Seimei waded to shore eventually, albeit struggling to keep afloat even in the shallow beach waters.
Gasping for air and coughing out great volumes of water, he fell back onto the damp sand lay limp for a moment as the waves crashed against his body. The linguist gathered up his strength and flailed an arm out to try and gather support for himself when he felt his left hand touch…another. Completely startled by the sudden physical human contact, he fell backwards and scrambled a little bit back into the waves.
He looked up to see the face of a striking young Caucasian woman with curious violet eyes, a mass of lush, dark brown hair, adorned with decorative beads hanging from the various curled locks, smiling warmly at him as she reached out to help him up again.

“Hi, sweetie,” she giggled in perfect English.




In search of Kampuchean strongholds in Indonesia, Tortoise Armada ships inadvertently discovered the isolated Kingdom of Oceania. Curiously enough like the discovery of Varangian peoples in the Manchurian North, the denizens of the Kingdom of Oceania were also found to be Caucasian. Initial relations were described to be pleasant and indicated a prosperous future relationship between the Empire and the Kingdom. However, the presence of Caucasians so far away from Europe called for a serious academic investigation. Between this and the Varangian mystery in Manchuria, there were no clear answers. As soon as word reached Nao Caste researchers, the universities across the Empire exploded with rigorous debate. While the presence of Varangians in Siberia was widely explained by simple migration across the Central Asian steppes and accepted as academic truth, Caucasian Oceanians had literally thrown everything the researchers knew about the history of human migration out the window.


Angkor Wat now stands alone against the ceaseless march of the Imperial Army.



It's not the best world map, but I cropped this out just for you guys. Enjoy.
Not visible on this map: I believe at this point, Babylon has already been colonizing Russia.
Visible on this map: Yes, that is Dutch Ireland and Dutch Norway.
Massive Poland as usual. In GEM, Poland can definitely into space.

computeruse200 said:

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Huh?

Oh, and good update. Seeing your screenshot of Australia, I remembered one reason why I decided not to use GEM: Because of it's usage of LH's from other Civ's. Not big of a deal for most people, but it's one of my pet peeves . I was too lazy to switch LH's.

I think that's a spam post.
I can request its removal from a moderator, right?
EDIT: The offending post is gone. Thanks, ori!

Tomorrow's Dawn said:

I think that's a spam post.
I can request its removal from a moderator, right?

Click to expand...

Of course. The Mod's will probably ban the user too. He's made the exact same post in 3 other highly viewed threads.