TLKNES: Belle Epoque

To: Japan
From: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

We regrettably inform you that we would also look disfavourably upon an attempt at forming a pan-Asian alliance. We strongly urge you to reconsider this course of action, as well as urging the governments of the invited states to strongly consider the consequences of our displeasure should they join this venture.

To the World I think the treaty I proposed was misunderstood. It is not a military alliance of any sorts, it is a treaty designed to garanty peace and cooperation between asian nations. Its objective is not to menace the colonies of other nations; it is to garantee the independance of its signataries. Nothing else.
Also the Emperor clearly stated that he is ready to bring modifications to that treaty.
But as the rest of the world seems to take this treaty as a menace (wich it is not), the Emperor acepts to widthraw his proposal even if he begs them to reconsider.

To France
The Emperor harbours (nor has the means to) no longer any agressive intentions towards Ezo. Why else would Japan have agreed to demilatarize its border with Ezo and invite Ezo to participate in the treaty? And this treaty would also engage Japan to defend Ezo's independance but if you all take this a s a menace I see myself forced to widthraw this proposition.

From: China
To: Japan

The Son of Heaven, Emperor Guangxu, has to decline your offer. The Son of Heaven, knowing that Japan is a child of China and that it was civilized by the Chinese, cares for you and so advises you to refrain from acting against the interests of the Western Powers. Once Japan proves to have stable relations with the Western Powers, we can consider a trade agreement with you.

Guangxu Emperor is, as usual, in his study and reads some reports about Japanese attempts to create a Pan-Asian Alliance and sighs. "Can't they understand that without approval from the Western Powers, any attempt will fail?". The Emperor is a person who loves Western ideas and culture. He has been trying to learn French and has read a Chinese Translation of Plato (translated from an English translation). However, he absolutely loves the traditional Chinese Martial Arts. Although he himself is by no means an expert, he is crazy about Martial Arts and every few months he invites Martial Artists to the Palace. This time, he has invited a swordsman who is said to have great skills, the Taoist Priest Yang Li.

Commander Li Bu Bai enters the Emperor's office and bows before him.

"What is it?", the Emperor asks.

"Your Majesty, Priest Yang has arrived."

"Good! I shall go see him."

The Emperor runs out of his study and goes to the Imperial Garden where he finds a middle-aged Taoist Priest waiting for him. When the Priest sees the Emperor, he kowtows three times before him and, after the Emperor orders him to do so, he gets up.

"So, you are the famous swordsman Yang?"

"Your Majesty is right.", he replies with a soft voice that is neither manly nor female but sounds like that of an Eunuch.

"I want to see how good your Martial Arts are." Guangxu then turns to Li and shouts "Call Zuo Huang."

Zuo Huang is one of the most able men of the Imperial Guards and is an expert in Martial Arts. A few minutes later, Zuo arrives and kowtows before the Emperor.

"Zuo, I want you to compete on swordplay with this Priest.", the Emperor orders.

Zuo stares at the Priest for a few seconds and asks "What swordplay are you using?"

"Bixie Swordplay."

"Bixie?"

"A swordplay originated in the Ming Dynasty. It was used by the Lin family and Huashan leader Yue Buqun. Everyone thought it was lost after Yue Buqun died. But, after searching for many years on Mt. Huashan, I found a manual of the Bixie Swordplay. It is said that the manual has the same origins with the Sunflower manual used by Dongfang Bubai."

"I've never heard of this swordplay. Let me see how good it is."

With a sword in his hands, Zuo speeds forward against Yang. Yang goes on the defensive and the two blades clash with a great 'clang'. Zuo attacks again, but Yang somersaults and lands behind Zuo. The Emperor, seeing this, claps his hands and shouts "Good jumping!".

Zuo charges once again against Yang, but Yang dodges all of his attacks. Yang is able to move very fast and his movements have an elegance in them, like that of a lady. Zuo, instead, relies on his physical prowess.

Yang, laughing, says "Now it is time for me to go on the offensive."

Yang speeds forward with his sword and aims directly towards Zuo's throat. Zuo blocks the sword with his own sword, using all his might, and a great "clang" is heard. Yang somersaults and attacks again Zuo with his sword. Zuo flinches, but his shoulder is struck.

Now, Yang gains the upper hand. He moves too fast for Zuo to compete and Zuo is forced on the defensive, fighting now not for victory but for holding as much as he can against his enemy before being defeated. Zuo sees that the movements of Yang are soft and do not seem to have great power in them, but like water overcomes huge stones, Yang's soft movements overcome his physical prowess. After a few minutes, Yang stops attacking, allowing Zuo to go on the offensive once again. How would Zuo know that this is a trap? He thinks that his enemy has got tired and so he charges against Yang.

When Zuo charges with his sword against him, Yang makes no move until the sword is only one inch from his nose, then stretches out his hand and grabs it by the hilt. Zuo lets out a ragged breath and the Emperor claps his hands and, laughing, shouts "Excellent swordplay."

"Thank you, your Highness."

"Please, stay here in the Palace, so we can talk later about your martial arts."

"Since you insist, I cannot decline."

Some servants take Yang to his room and the Emperor walks along with Commander Li.

"Commander Li, how did you find his Martial Arts?"

"They were were outstanding, your Majesty."

"That's what I also think. But, now let's talk about state affairs. Have the Russians agreed to send Military Officers to train our Army to the Western style of fighting?"

"Yes, your Majesty. They have agreed."

"Good. With our army modernized, we shall not be bullied anymore by the Europeans. We can then industrialize slowly but steadily our economy and soon the Chinese Dragon shall rise again!"

OOC: The King of Denmark should be Christian IX, and the prime minister should be Jacob Estrup, leading the Højre (Conservative) party. Also, orders sent.

A Dixie Doctor in Sungkyunkwan.

Dr. William Hollymede III stood over the practice corpse addressing the group of Korean medical students. "With advances in medical equipment the taking off of a limb should take no longer then eight minutes."

The westernizing orders by Emperor Gojong, pushed greatly by the Empress Min, had opened all fields of study to research. One of the orders included the hiring of non-military personal by private individuals to teach western ideas. From a expert coal miner to the top surgeon all were needed to bring Korea into the modern era.

The Dr. William Hollymede III was one such hire. Shi Hoon, Minister of Forgien Research, a newly created position, had found and hired the doctor on his first mission to the United States. He hire the doctor as a private citizen instead of using government funds. This gained him respect, support at court and a great treasure for the privately funded Sungkyunkwan School. The school had been the center of Korean research and education since it opened in 1398.

The American doctor had been a well respected teacher at the College of William & Mary, Virginia. The college had been closed do to lack of funding the previous year. Meeting with the Korean he had all his requests agreed to and a contract was signed. Now he was the Head of Surgical Medicine at the Sungkyunkwan in the rapidly growing capital Hanseong.



Blaze Injun

OCC
I do use historical bits & pieces. The college of William & Mary did close in 1882.

The East Asian nations continue to keep impressing me with their stories/world-building. Everyone else is disappointing.

Even though I was hoping to get in orders tonight, a significant portion of you haven't sent them in yet; so I'm going to have to hold off updating for a short while. Get them in as soon as you can!

Brazil orders sent.

OOC: And some more RP.


Guangxu Emperor has called Priest Yang Li to his study. The Emperor was very impressed by the excellent swordplay skills Yang Li showed in his fight against Zuo Huang and, since he is crazy about martial arts, wants to talk about those skills with Yang Li and ask him if he can learn them.

When Yang Li enters the Emperor's study, he bows and kowtows before him three times before getting up.

"My Emperor", he says with his soft eunuch like voice, "What can I do for you?"

"Priest, I want to ask you about your Martial Arts. They are really amazing. Is it possible for you to teach me those skills?"

Yang Li laughs for a few seconds before replying "I can teach you and it will be easy for you to learn them. In no time, you will be a Kung Fu expert."

"Great!"

"But.....I believe that you will not want to learn those skills."

"Why?"

Yang Li approaches the Emperor and whispers in his right ear: "Because the first instruction of Bixie Swordplay is: To learn the Divine Skill, castrate yourself."

Yang Li walks away laughing while the Emperor stares at him startled and shocked. After a few seconds of silence, the Emperor can only ask: "So, you....castrated yourself?"

"There is no other way to learn the Bixie Swordplay. Since I am a Taoist Priest and have to abstain from sex, sacrificing my manhood was not that difficult for me."

"Oh....I see. Your skills are excellent, so I shall give you a mission!"

The Priest bows before the Emperor and shouts "Give me your orders, Your Majesty!"

"Anti-Opium Militias attack opium shipments and murder Europeans. I have already send military forces to protect the ports. I want you to go to the important port of Shanghai and protect Opium shipments. You are thus appointed Commander of all Military Forces in Shanghai."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Two weeks later

In the port of Shanghai, several muscular workers carry wooden boxes containing Opium. They are overwatched by military forces and Priest Yang Li, as well as by some European businessmen. Everything seems normal but, suddenly, four men dressed in black garb and with axes on their hands charge against the workers.

One of the Europeans, a middle-aged British man, says in an English accent "Oh! My goodness. Those anti-opium rebels attack once again."

"There is no need to worry", Yang Li softly replies. "They will soon be dead."

The Qing soldiers are ready to charge with their spears against the men, but Yang Li orders them to stay behind and protect the shipments, for this attack may be a diversion. He then pulls out his sword and charge against the rebels.

Yang Li somersaults and thrusts his sword directly towards the throat of one of the attackers. He moves too fast for the man to defend against, and the man's throat is stabbed, spurting lots of blood. Yang Li then moves against the second of the four attackers and with a swift move beheads him. The third attacker attacks Yang with his axe, but Yang's sword meets it and a great "clang" is heard. Yang Li strikes out at the man with his left hand with such power that his palm makes a whistling sound. His palm punches with immense force the attacker's stomach, causing him to vomit blood.

The man chops down with his axe at Yang, but somersaults, lands behind the man and stabs him on the back. The fourth and last attacker, seeing his comrades dead, throws away his axe and pulls out an Enfield Revolver pistol and fires twice at Yang. The first time, Yang dodges the bullet, but the second time the bullet hits his right leg. Nevertheless, Yang continues to run against his enemy and when he reaches him, he makes a vertical cut which opens up the man from throat to crotch.

As he lets out a rugged breath and relaxes, a Qing soldier runs towards him and informs him that they were able to repel an attack by the rebels. The four attackers had been diversion. While he was fighting the four men, twenty men attacked the Opium shipments. But because of his cautiousness of leaving behind his men and fighting alone the four attackers, his men were able to successfully protect the shipments and their attack failed.

No more revisions accepted.

I am still accepting new orders, if you haven't gotten them in.

I'm working today, so I don't know if I'll be able to pull an update out as quickly as the last one, but I'll try my darnedest.

I amsorry, but I will not be able to get my orders in till tomorrow because I had little time to do so in the past few days ( though I should be able to come up with some more backround by then )

I am sorry but I will not be able to get my orders in until tommorow

I'm sending orders shortly.

On that note, I will only have sporadic access to CFC for the next 3 weeks or so. I'll try to send orders in that time but I can't promise I'll be able to.

I'm going to be out of the country from June 29th to July 13th, I'll try and get orders in. If I can't get anything detailed in, I'll try and send a rough guideline.

Alright, I'm officially jumping into the update. If you still need to send orders, try to get them in, though I won't promise that I'll be able to use them (depending on how far I get).

Orders are in. Sorry for the delay.

Now some RP:
Extract from "Japan in the second half of the 19th century ot the Shattered Enlightenment" By professor Akihito Harada, 1987

In 1868 following the arrival of a large French fleet in Honshu to break Japanese isolationism, large upheaval occured in the bougeoisie and the most reformist faction of the nobility and the shogun fled Edo. In his place came the reformist Emperor Meiji Tenno. A bitter civil war ensued between the shogun; backed by France, and the Emperor, backed by Britain. After 10 years of fighting and almost a million deaths the shogunists forces retreated into Hokkaido, forming the Edo Republic, that was in practoce controlled by France. These ten years of confused fighting had meant that the Meiji (or Enlightened) emperor was unable to put into practice the reforms he had meant [...]
In 1879 when the Meiji Emperor was assassinated by a conservative extremist, his son Taisha Tenno came to rule the Kingdom of the Rising Sun.

He also claimed to the title of Meiji (ot Enlightened) but in practice achieved little. During the civil war the old aristocracy had maintained its power and Taisha Tenno was in practice not the strong and charismatic leader his father was and failed to bring about any real change.

That all changed in the wake of the Franco-Japanese war of 1880. Following the humiliation of the nation he had tried to lead, the Emperor was profoundly disturbed. It is commongly said that, following the armistice signed with France, he retired in the Shinto Temple of his palace for three whole days. When he came out, the Emperor was barely recognizable. Something had changed. A cold, grim resolution had born into him. A will that never his homeland shall suffer such humiliation again.
- end of the extract-

OOC: I'm going to assume that the birth years of the Japanese Emperors have changed, since in 1880 Taisho would have been about 1.

The Emperor of the rising sun entered the Council chamber. He bore a grim, resolute expression. Everyone remained silent since it had been three days since we last saw the Emperor of the Rising Sun. Without any other form of warning, the Son of Heaven began speaking.
" My friends I come to speak to you in these grave hours. The glorious Kingdom of the Rising Sun must stay united through these difficult times. Our ancient and glorious nation has been once again humiliated by foreign powers.
The Japanese people can longer bow down in this manner to the West. We should no longer try to attack the West for it remains immensely more powerful than us. That is why the Japanese must, instead of rejecting the West, fully embrace it.
We shall become strong using their own methods and engage into modernizing on the model of Western nations, in order to achieve the independance and prosperity of our people. A Great Patriotic Reform must occur for us to be able to rivalize with the West and for our nation to become strong.
For the Kingdom of the Rising Sun shall rise again!
On these words, the Son of Heaven left the chamber and there was great upheaval amongst the concil.
I was suprised of these words, almost even more than the fact that I had been invited to seat amongst the Emperor's council.
But the greatest suprise came the next morning when the Coucil received a paper signed by the Emperor promoting a series of revolutionnary reforms and I a letter telling me to inform my government of a treaty proposed by the Son of Heaven, namingly the Treaty of Edo.

- Extract from "Memoirs of a Englishman at the Court of the Emperor of Japan", Richard A. Morgan, British ambassador at Edo during the reign of Taisha Tenno.-

DC123456789 said:

OOC: I'm going to assume that the birth years of the Japanese Emperors have changed, since in 1880 Taisho would have been about 1.

Click to expand...

OCC: Yeah I know but at the beginning of the NES I saw that Japan was non-industrializes in the stats and that the Ezo Republic had endured so I decided to invent a story to justify that and decided that Meiji would die before he made his reforms so I made his son come into power earlier I sacrified historical accuracy for consicstency in my stories

Alright gentlemen, no more orders are accepted from here on out.

I got a pretty decent portion of the update done already, just going to try to crank out the rest. Keep in mind there is still time to get some world building things posted, so you all can get bonuses in the update. No matter how small it is, whether it just be a picture of your flag, a list of political parties, notable politicians, stories, etc.