Tog Tales Six: A Biography of King Thaksin
Before we consider the newly crowned King Thaksin, it is perhaps informative to consider the make-up of Tog governance, politically, militarily, economically, and religiously.
The Tog are a traditional
palace economy. That is to say, producers provide the vast majority of their product to the central government, the monarchy, who in turn redistributes the wealth as they see fit. The loyalty and participation of individual Tog in the system is reinforced by a cultural traditions, religious support, military force, and a system of formalized education and child-rearing (called the crèche system- see
this post) wherein children are the wards and protectorates of a larger state infrastructure which supersedes the typical family unit which has effectively indoctrinated them into the economic and political system.
Tog nobles, officials, generals, admirals and other forms of leadership are primarily chosen by a system of meritocracy originating in the formal educational system making up the crèche system. While most individuals, are, in practice, able to ascend to positions of leadership based on their performance, in reality some crèche schools are better than others and are known to produce better leaders, craftsmen, priests, or whatever. So a family that would like to see their successes passed onto their children might arrange to have their children attend a particular crèche to continue their family trade.
This means, ultimately, that the government bureaucracy is made up primarily of officials who owe their positions to their own competitive performance and ambition- and not purely to a bloodline or to military power. That said, the monarchy hold absolute power and while the further you travel from the capital the more effective power a governor may hold, ultimately all power officially resides in the crown.
The Tog economic model, as previously mentioned, is extremely centralized. Each of the three major islands (Tog, Muka, Remda) has a governor (or monarchs) palace that serves as a point of collection for local wealth and also as a point of centralized trade and redistribution. When a craftsmen finishes a set of ceramic pottery or a farmer collects his crop, a fair portion of that is collected by the local bureaucrats, catalogued and either traded for goods required or redistributed as seen fit. This system ensures that there is no truly poor and starving Tog. Even the poorest are assured enough rice to survive and though his or her clothes may be ragged, no one goes naked. Because not all goods are taxed by the central authorities, particularly productive individuals or groups are rewarded for their productivity by keeping more of their own products. It is from here that individual wealth arises.
Bureaucrats, and military and naval officers are not only well trained and educated beyond their peers- they are also well paid ensuring that the best and most ambitious individuals are attracted to public service.
With the rise of King Thaksin, the three major islands are governed by the king himself (Tog island), a representative chosen by the Muka (Muka island), and the kings eldest child, crown prince Sunan (Remda island). These three powers communicate extensively with one another to ensure that resources are shared where they need to be; additionally, bureaucrats are frequently shuffled between towns, villages and governors offices to ensure their loyalty is to the state as a whole and to help prevent corruption of their offices. This also ensures that there is a fair distribution of wealth and that the Muka, for example, are not punished, by receiving an unfairly sparse redistribution of wealth.
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Before we consider the king, we must first consider his mother, Queen Ratree, whos legacy has been so decisive in influencing the burgeoning nation of Tog.
The queen had a substantial title, Guardian of the Eastern and Western Tog, Servant of the Six Prophets, Sword of Lytsu, She Who Spills the Blood of Heretics and Blasphemers, and each of these titles she earned over the course of a long and frankly, bloody life. She was an extremely religious woman who truly believed her terrestrial successes were the result of the blessings of Lytsu and that these blessings, in turn, were a result of his accepting the blood sacrifices performed by the queen and her people in his name. This single belief, in turn, shaped every action and decision made by the queen.
The rule of Queen Ratree was characterized by economic autarky and diplomatic isolation. She did not believe she needed foreign powers to strengthen the Tog except to serve as blood sacrifices. Under her rule, the priesthood was greatly strengthened and the great work, Lytsu Picket will forever serve to remind the people of Tog and any who visit the nations shores of the queens dedication to the bloody faith of Lytsu. The military and navy were also greatly strengthened, and, as a result, though the Tog were able to conquer foreign lands and bring new wealth to their coffers, little of that wealth went beyond the military or priesthood and life for the average Tog changed little.
Queen Ratree was extremely popular among the masses. How could she not be with every priest or priestess singing her praise publicly and frequently for all the faithful to hear? She led the Tog upon two great conquests in her lifetime and before that effectively ended the raids of the Muka upon the eastern shores of the Tog islands. These victories, and her public piety were ultimately the source of her support and her popularity.
Perhaps the single greatest moment that any Tog will remember of the now deceased Queen is her escorting the pretender queen (who ruled the Muka as an independent monarch for almost 20 years) up the steps of the great temple in the capital. He face was sublime and humble but obviously ecstatic. She was so happy, that day, to offer the willing sacrifice of the Muka queen to the glory of Lytsu. This event is the single most commonly depicted scene in Tog art and music and is guaranteed to remain a favorite of story-tellers for centuries to come.
Queen Ratree had ordered that her son, the then-prince Thaksin take command of the fleet which besieged Remdas ports during the naval action there and when the Misthali attacked, the princes ship, the Floating Lotus was sunk and he had to swim almost seven miles to the shores of Remda. As he struggled from the beaches, exhausted and bloody from all the Remda blood which had turned the surf pink and frothy and the sands slick and crimson, he decided he had enough blood for a long long time and he would try to alleviate some of the war weariness that he felt and suspected many of the soldiers and sailors felt but would not admit (at least to him).
Only four months later Queen Ratree died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 72.
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Prince Thaksin was crowned king eight days after the massive and ornately decorated funeral barge of the late queen was launched. He was left with a kingdom that had fought in raids or wars without stop for nearly fifty years and now saw itself faced with the aggression of two generally peaceful, but now desperate, well funded neighbors who sought to turn their ships and spears upon the weary Tog. King Takshin could empathize with them in a way that most of his mothers councilors and bureaucrats could not. Ultimately, perhaps, that is what created an opportunity for long-overdue peace in the Serpentin.
The first order of business therefore was to select new councilors. The process went smoothly, partially because a lot of his mothers councilors were getting old and the governorship of small towns and estates in the countryside where they could live comfortably during their later years appealed to them, and partially because many were given religious posts. New councilors were primarily chosen from the navy and from the industrial and trading sectors and a reduced role was provided to the priesthood in determining the fate of the nation.
With new councilors in place, the next job was to seek peace with the neighbors, or at least to break up their alliance. This was an unpopular decision amongst many in the military and the faithful; his mothers aggression and faith in the blessings of Lytsu had brought them one victory after another and had enriched the influence of both military and priesthood. The sailors and soldiers however, were ready for peace and eager to return to their families and to lands that had been promised them since they had first picked up a spear or oar in the name of the Tog.
Ultimately negotiations between King Takshin and the Tamayame were not easy; the Tamayame were intelligent, highly motivated people with a strong sense of self-preservation. Ultimately their aggression upon the Tog came out of fear of the Tog turning their spears and arrows upon their people and when peace was finally ensured, the rest was a matter of negotiating details- peace would return to the west.
With peace with the Tamayame assured, King Takshin turned his attention to the Misthali. The first thing he did was forgive them for sinking the Floating Lotus. This was uncharacteristic for the Tog but did set a good precedent for further negotiation. Originally it was determined that the Misthali would fight the Tog out of a sense of needing to punish those responsible for the massacre of the Remda but later it was determined that they too just wanted to see the Tog war machine put to rest. With assurances of peace and promises of reduced Tog naval presence, they too agreed to stop their aggressions upon the Tog.
Peace had finally come to he Tog nation after nearly 50 years of constant raids and warfare. It was a new era.
Now some of the younger Tog officials are beginning to understand the new Kings approach and some are calling him a visionary, a man who would revolutionize their nation and bring them new opportunities and new wealth- a chance to transition to a new era one their neighbors were already enjoying.
King Takshin would not be known as the sword of Lytsu, but he might well be known as a great leader none-the-less. He began his kingship amongst doubt and some resistance, emerging from his mothers great shadow but now, he too is gaining some popularity and casting a shadow of his own.
Only the future will tell how his people and historians will remember his rule.
