February 1
The Empire of Qing
Jiancheng Wall East Side
Plumes of smoke rose up from beyond Huijiaba in the distance. Commander Alioth Nara already knew what had happened. She'd received the reports mere minutes ago, by a exhausted rider that had immediately collapsed after reaching the hastily-built fortifications. Suining had fallen, after a brutal and arduous three-week siege. Hundreds of Bannermen lost, and even more civilians perished. She'd received word from scouts that the rebels had split into two large groups of five thousand each, almost as much as the Bannermen guarding this part of the Chengdu-Chongqing Fortifications.
Two armies. Two upcoming battles. She would think this would be one of the major battles to beat back the White Lotus. If they won, they'd be able to successfully rid Chongqing and Chengdu from being anywhere near the White Lotus. If they lost, they'd face certain defeat with the possible sieges of the two cities.
She sighed and walked back to the tent. The grueling battle could wait.
Commanding Tent'I don't see why we should change anything in our army. The recent loss was just...a stroke of luck. Yes! The gods must have said it was not an auspicious time to battle. Just a fluke.' Always cocky, High Officer Lihong stated.
'As your superior officer, didn't you see how terribly we fought in the battle? It was a miracle that scout lasted so long to get here, in a normal situation, he would've been shot in the first few minutes! Anyways now, for our plan, they will most probably not attack Chengdu from the West, as the mountainous regions currently serve as a base for our gunsmen to shoot down. We still have sent two divisions to patrol the area.
The rebel army was seen amassing the bulk of their forces in Lezhi, and we suspect their next target...is us. We estimate it will take them two days, three at most to arrive here, so until then, I would order everyone to ramp up their military excercises. Remember. We must not let Chengdu fall. We must ensure the survival of the Qing.'
Commander Nara looked around after her speech, only to be met with a chorus of nods. As the officers shuffled out of the room, she went over to her desk, sat down and started writing a letter.
Outside the tent, formations were being made, and the fortifications were getting noisier and noisier with the sound of offiers shouting, continous extensions being made to the wall and various patrols coming and going.
February 3
Empire of Qing
Dongxizhen, Outskirts of JianchengTang Huan stared up at the impressive walls towering near him. It was mere metres away, on the other side of the Tuo River. These walls-he almost couldn't believe it had been built in mere weeks, it looked like a part of the Great Wall had been moved south. That could be it. After all, there was no knowing what the Red Lotus could do.
It was quite a pity it would have to be destroyed. After all, what was a stone wall to an army of five thousand armed with muskets and horses?
He could see the small fires lighting the walls in the distance. So far, they were concealed by the light hills and trees, but when they charged through the shallow river, they were most vulnerable to the shots by the Green Army. That was why his commander had told them to be fast, avoid the shots, and destroy the Red Lotus. The ladders were prepared, and muskets ready.
Steeling himself for death, he called out to what might be his final charge.
With sporadic gunfire and shouts of pain echoing all around them, the five thousand White Lotus soldiers charge towards the Jiancheng Wall.
February 3
Empire of Qing
Jiancheng Wall, East SideThe soldier collapsed, a multitude of arrows bursting into him. A Nest of Bees? Alioth Nara, looking from a watch-tower, was surprised. She once had thought the White Lotus would have acquired better weapons than this. But that was to be expected from such a lowly rebel group. The aim was quite surprising, though. That was almost the maximum range of a weapon of that kind, and yet the shot went directly into him.
Soon enough, causalties could be seen on both sides, with musket fires and early multistage rockets exploding midair. Nara walked down from the watchtower, and began to watch the 'firework' display first-hand.
February 4
Empire of Qing
JianchengzhenBloodied soldiers lay unmoving on the banks and in the river Tuo, causing the it to bleed red. Cinereous vultures pecked at the ones that hadn't been moved aside, and small fires could be seen being extinguished along sections of the wall.
Amidst the corpses and the carnage, Commander Nara walked through the recently-trampled grounds, reading a detailed report written by the officers of the recent battle. Totalling 900 deaths, 400 injuries, and more than a hundred missing...quite the bloody battle. At least it wasn't as much of a Pyrrhic victory than the other battle at ...more than a thousand deaths and still climbing.
One of her officers shook her away from her thoughts. 'Commander, now that we have banished those lowly rebels from Chengdu, shall we send reinforcements towards Chongqing, or make a strike towards the den of the tigers?'
Nara thought for a moment, and replied,' We shall do the latter. Contact the rest of the ten towns surrounding the White Lotus...Chonqing, Zhangjiajie, Changde, Jingzhou, Jingmen, Xiangyang, Shiyan, Ankang, Hanzhong, Guangyan and Mianyang. We need a unified strike inwards, and reclaim the city of Yichang.'
Walking onwards, the officer was left to write down hasty orders and call the riders.
No more than fifteen minutes later, 30 riders left Chengdu for the other cities.
February 2
The Empire of Qing
Old Summer Palace, BeijingThe meeting was in full swing. A letter had been recieved from the Spanish in the Philippines.
To: Imperial Household Department of the Great Qing Dynasty
From: Governor-General of the Captaincy-General of the Philippines
To whom it may concern,
I have dispatched an emissary of the Captaincy-General on behalf of the Empire of Spain to the capital of China to negotiate the possible opening of trade relations between our two empires. Please grant this emissary safe passage and an audience with the relevant government representative.
Yours,
Raphael de Aguilar y Ponce de Leon
Prince Tulisen stated clearly,' Well, one thing's obvious. We have to let the emissary move on safely. We can't risk a war with Spain, not when we're still dealing with the Rebellion. The King has given me permission to let this emissary pass by, but I have to ask you if you have any questions or regrets.'
Head of the Privy Purse Nihan Cuyen replied, 'Prince Tulisen is right. This could also open up new legal markets for the traders, satiate their needs for less taxes, and improve our economy as a whole. Besides, the Huntsmen Department could have Spanish personnel trained in different specialities if all goes well, and couldn't the Imperial Buttery use some new meat?'
Although many of his fellow colleagues had opened themselves up fully to this Spanish emissary, the Head of the Huntsmen Department was skeptical. 'How do you not know if those Westerners are going to sneak spies into our jobs? Ah, yes, speaking about jobs, they should only be given to Manchu and Han people! Imagine if our citizens saw top jobs being taken by foreigners! We'd have another rebellion on our hands.'
Head of the Imperial Armoury Aisin Qiao was another supporter of this idea.' No, no. Just give the Westerners lowly jobs if they even do come here for work. Plus, we could really use some Western weaponry and improve ours. I've heard rumours those Western powers have better guns than ours now, and we might get invaded
Imperial Stable head Hu Manwan laughed at his close colleague's statement. 'That gives me an idea. Let's invite them here, and go through with the meeting, but first, we should treat them to a military excercise, full with cannons, cavalry, soldiers and all the bells and whistles! Show them the true might of the Qing!'
Tulisen replied to Manwan, saying, 'I'm going to have to red light that idea. Showing off our military could make us seem more hostile, more aggressive, and ruin possible relations. Let me think for a short moment.'
Five minutes later, Tulisen had made up his mind. 'I'm letting the emissary go through. They'll meet with me and the Viceroy of Zhili here at the Old Summer Palace. Now, onto the next important topic to discuss. Commander Nara, a frontliner of the White Lotus Rebellion who has led the Qing to several victories in the Rebellion, wants to talk about the matter of improving our weaponry.'
After an ardous day of meetings, Prince Tulisen wandered off to his own rooms in the Palace, and started drafting a letter to the Spanish.
To: Governor-General of the Captaincy-General of the Philippines
From: Grand Chancellor of the Imperial Household Department
To Raphael de Aguilar y Ponce de Leon,
We would be glad to host your emissary at our fine capital Peking. Trade relations between our nations should be set in stone, and we hope this could lead to further strengthening of relations between Spain and China. We have prepared lodgings for you at the Old Summer Palace, and a guide will be waiting for you once you arrive, and when you have settled in, she will lead you to the place of the meeting. You will be seeing the Viceroy of Zhili and me, Grand Chancellor Prince Tulisen. We hope you will find your stay relaxing.
Yours,
Tulisen Mingan