The Palace of Heavenly Purity, May 23, 3004
Beijing, the center of the universe, home of hundreds of millions. It is the largest city on Earth, the capital of a glorious empire of seven billion souls. The beating heart of China's culture, a great artery in the trade which flows across the nation, a mind pulsing with the thoughts of a hundred thousand scholars. Within the Forbidden City, the scratching of a million pens can be heard, and the clacking of twice that many keyboards as clerks and bureaucrats go about the business of empire with the dedicated efficiency which can only be achieved when one works a 12 hour shift and lives under one's desk.
Outside the walls of the Imperial Palace, the city was on fire.
Elements of the Imperial Guard had mutinied in the morning, while most of the city's garrison had quickly joined them. Now, the fighting had reached the steps of the Gate of Supreme Harmony, courtiers were fleeing in all directions as the New Model soldiers of the Western Armaments Corps advanced in lockstep, paused, fired, reloaded, and came on again. The bodies of the slain, hundreds on each side, filled the yard as the loyalists at the gate returned fire with their own muskets.
General Yi Pan of the Blue Banner turned his eyes from the sight. It was painful, to be sure. China had suffered much in the last millennium, and its rise to greatness had been checked savagely during the War of Justice a hundred years back now. And this foolish empress, who thought herself to be a god in reality was threatening to throw what was left away.
Seven of the ten Banners had joined in the coup. The Blue, Red, Green, White-Red, White-Blue and Purple had comitted themselves fully to the change of Emperors, but the reticent ones, the Green-White, Brown, and Orange had remained obstinately loyal to their mad Empress. This crazed woman who had starved millions because of her foolish conception that the Han did not trade with Europeans, who had send hundreds of thousands of soldiers to their deaths with her mad human wave assaults against the French line infantry, who had hauled ancient combat tanks from moldering bunkers and declared them fit for battle.
Yi Pan had balked, but had borne these insane plots until, finally, he had watched as, on the Empress' personal order, the entire Red Banner was hurled against a French fortification with nothing but the clothes on their back and their muskets. He had watched as the merciless volleys of French musketry slaughtered thousands with each blossoming of white vapor, had seen the bodies pile up until, at last, long after sane men should have retreated, the army broke, leaving a gaping hole in the line because of the foolish order of 'no retreat'. Every officer of the Red Banner present that day had been executed and the banner reformed. Fortunately, Yi Pan had been able to exert his influence in the matter, enough so as to ensure that every one of the new Red Banner command were his men.
Beside Yi Pan, Zhu Youtang, who would, with luck, shortly be the Emperor, grasped his own sword. The boy, for he was no more than twentyfive if Yi remembered correctly, had proved a dab hand at moving through the palace silently and dispatching those guards who Yi could not convince to switch sides.
Now, they stood before the doors to the throne room where the Empress had spent the previous month, refusing to leave her throne.
"Your highness...Are you ready?" Yi glanced at the young man, and the blood on the ornamental saber he bore. As soon as word had gotten to the empress that trouble was afoot, she had ordered the young man's guards to kill him, although he had known nothing of the coup until now. Yi had seen to that for his own safety, although apparently it had been meaningless.
"Ready as ever, I suppose." He was a tall, thin youth, still in his night clothes, a loose fitting robe stained here and there with blood.
Yi simply nodded and pushed the doors back. They were immediately met by a pair of guards, their desperate eyes showing white through the eyeholes of their decorative helmets. Both men were plainly terrified, as they should be. They had spears, whereas General Yi bore a repeating rifle, his prized possession. Yi gestured with the rifle, "Put them down."
Two spears clattered to the tiled floor.
"Run." Yi suggested.
Both guards ran, vanishing down the corridor. A clatter of metal suggested that they had abandoned their helmets on the way.
Before Yi and Zhu stood the Dragon Throne, a vast, ornate construction of gold and lacquered wood. A huge dragon which curled its way through the room to form the base of the throne, its head leaning out over the seat to gaze at whoever was unfortunate enough to stand before the Empress. The woman herself was almost vanishingly small, a bundle of robes seated on a cushion in the folds of the dragon. She could not have been much older than Zhu, who gestured to her with the saber.
"Sister." He raised an eyebrow.
The empress stood slowly, then paused. For a long moment, nothing happened. She swore under her breath as she recalled that her servants had fled some time ago, leaving her without her accustomed special effects. She adopted a sneer, looking down her pug-nose at the young man, "Traitor."
Yi could not help but speak out at that, his anger overcoming good sense and protocol for the moment, "Not even the Ruler of Heaven has the right to call another a traitor when they have put their nation in such straits as you! I-"
"Yi." Zhu cut in, and Yi suddenly seemed to remember where he was and who he was talking to. He quickly fell to one knee, staring at the ground. Zhu went on, "My sister, your reign is at an end. If you give yourself up peacefully, we can end this now. You may go on to live in exile in Sinkiang, and I will see to it tha-"
It was Zhu's turn to be interrupted, "Give up?! Hah! Do not play with me, brother! I am the Ruler of Heaven, chosen by the powers of Heaven and made immortal! I am the will of the Empire! I am the embodiment of the Dragon! ME? GIVE UP? Perhaps if you surrender now I will grant you a quick death, but that is it! Lay down your little sword or suffer eternal damnation in the lowest of the hells!"
Zhu sighed and stepped forward. The empress, smiling widely, touched one of the arm's of the throne.
Nothing happened.
Her eyes widened.
"The embodiment of the dragon indeed, sister. Alas, the dragon has been unplugged." Zhu took another step, and another.
"Stop! Stop or I will strike you down with terrible lightning!" Her voice was desperate now, and her hands waved before her frantically, "Stop! STOP!"
Zhu did not speak. He stepped forward and, with a single slice, severed the Empress' head.
Yi kept his eyes lowered the entire time. There are some things that one does not want a memory of. He only raised his eyes as Zhu passed by, touching him on the shoulder, "Remember her as she was before."
The general nodded, standing, and turned to leave the room as the Empress' blood slowly filled the gaps between the tiles at the base of the throne, rolling to the floor and spreading across it.
---
A DECLARATION OF THE GREAT MING
BY HIS MAJESTY, THE RULER OF HEAVEN, THE HONGZHI EMPEROR
Let it be known in the eyes of Heaven and all those who read this declaration that the Taichang Empress is dead. I, the rightful heir to the throne Zhu Youtang do hereby decree my ascension and acceptance of the Mandate of Heaven, succeeding to the ancient line of the Ming.
Let it also be known that all those who remain loyal to the Kingdom of Heaven would be wise to swear their allegiance to myself, or face destruction at the hands of those who know where the Mandate of Heaven rests.
Let it be known, I am the Dragon, the King of Heaven and the Lord of the Universe, I am Storm and I am Fury, I am Peace and I am Prosperity. Let all those who read this know that, and for that knowledge see the world as a better place.
These Are the Words of the Emperor as Copied by His Scribes
BY HIS MAJESTY, THE RULER OF HEAVEN, THE HONGZHI EMPEROR
Let it be known in the eyes of Heaven and all those who read this declaration that the Taichang Empress is dead. I, the rightful heir to the throne Zhu Youtang do hereby decree my ascension and acceptance of the Mandate of Heaven, succeeding to the ancient line of the Ming.
Let it also be known that all those who remain loyal to the Kingdom of Heaven would be wise to swear their allegiance to myself, or face destruction at the hands of those who know where the Mandate of Heaven rests.
Let it be known, I am the Dragon, the King of Heaven and the Lord of the Universe, I am Storm and I am Fury, I am Peace and I am Prosperity. Let all those who read this know that, and for that knowledge see the world as a better place.
These Are the Words of the Emperor as Copied by His Scribes
---
A Dispatch to the King of the Franks, Emperor Charles,
From the Imperial Hand
Greetings,
As has no doubt been relayed to your august self by this time, the previous occupant of the Dragon Throne has, by the will of Heaven, ceased to occupy that throne. As her unfortunate decisions, caused by an affliction of the mind as you will no doubt understand women are sometimes prone to, have led us to this terrible juncture. We must express our deepest and most heartfelt regrets for all of the lives lost in this unnecessary and unfortunate war.
In the interests of avoiding further bloodshed, and in allowing both of our peoples to recover from the fires of war which have so traumatic fires of war, I would hereby propose a ceasefire be effected until such time as we can concluded a lasting peace between our people.
We offer our deepest apologies for the past conduct of our predecessor, who's name is even now being struck from the Imperial Record for her treasonous incompetence and mad warmongering.
In order to discuss these terms, it would be our greatest pleasure to host you in some neutral location that we may discuss these matters personally, that you may see the depth of our regret that such events as these must come to pass.
These Are the Words of the Emperor as Copied by His Scribes