Zhu Bolin

Zhu Bolin
A 17th century depiction of Admiral Zhu Bolin, his captain's hat is decorated with victory laurels.
Admiral of the Right Trident of the Qian
Preceded by	office created
Personal details
Born	24 September 1615 Touxian
Profession	Naval officer
Military service
Nickname(s)	Child Admiral
Allegiance	Qian dynasty
Branch/service	Qian Fleet
Rank	Admiral
Battles/wars	Daxian colonization of Australis Daxian Polynesian Wars War of the Eastern Crag

Zhu Bolin (1615-1682) was a Daxian naval officer and eunuch who served as an admiral for the Qian dynasty during the 17th century. Zhu Bolin was born a dwarf and sold early in life to the Imperial Palace to serve there. Turned into a eunuch, he would later rise to become one of Daxia's most noteworthy naval officers of the early Qian era. Fleets under his command participated in the colonization and conquest of Peratra and he commanded the fleet known as the Right Trident of the Qian during the Daxian Polynesian Wars. After his defeat at the Siege of Dun-Kurrengev in 1665 he was disgraced and removed from all of his commands. Restored to imperial favor in 1668 he once again was placed in his old command and his fleet supported imperial forces in Yaoyuan during the revolt known as the War of the Eastern Crag. Zhu Bolin was nicknamed the Child Admiral for his height of only four feet and two inches.

Zhu Bolin was one in a long line of dwarves who emerged from lives of servitude in the imperial palace and rose to become highly placed bureaucrats, generals and admirals. Dwarfism in Daxia had before been seen as a curse and those born with the condition lived meager lives; the Qian dynasty however held particular beliefs in mysticism that looked favorably upon dwarves and this affected their treatment. Zhu Bolin is favorably portrayed by modern Daxian history as a figure who overcame the limitations of his condition and became a capable and patriotic naval commander.

History

Early life

The date of Zhu Bolin's birth is tentatively given in imperial records as September 24 of 1615 and while the circumstances of his birth are not well known, historians roughly agree with the date. Extant administrative scrolls record that Zhu Bolin was sold to the Imperial Palace as a newborn child of only two weeks, for a payment of four bushels of wheat and a bag of rice. The infant Zhu Bolin was then given into the care of the Matron of the Warren who was in charge of the first years of educating the dwarf children and seeing to their needs. The Matron of the Warren employed several wet nurses, usually women of very large girth, to feed the infants. Zhu Bolin grew greatly attached to his wet nurse, a woman named Wu Di, who would sometimes give him some extra time at her teat; he would help her settle down outside the palace later in life. When Zhu Bolin reached the age of nine, he was castrated with a hot knife and his parts burned in a brazier as part of the ritual to become a palace eunuch. Usually around two out of every five dwarfs to undergo the process died of blood loss or infection. As one of the survivors Zhu Bolin was now put to work as a tea boy, his task was to quickly carry tea cups for officials and guests, pass them to the majordomos and wash the used cups he was given back. His efficiency and excellent manner in conducting himself as a palace tea boy saw him get promoted to Head Tea Boy of the eastern palace wing, with one hundred younger tea boys under his command. In 1628 he served as adjutant to the Imperial Stool Groom in charge of keeping the imperial scented soaps safe. This brought him closer to members of the imperial family than any other of his past positions. One of the imperial princes he ingratiated himself to recommended Zhu Bolin to the palace school for dwarves. Zhu Bolin attended the palace school for ten years, until 1638; during his time there he learned to write and read, studied subjects such as mathematics, philosophy and astronomy. During the last three years he was chosen to delve into naval strategy studies which he excelled at. He graduated from the palace school and was awarded with the rank of Vice Captain of the ship Flowing Majesty, which made him the second in command of the vessel.

The Flowing Majesty participated in various skirmishes around the island of Zhijun and later was part of the squadron under the command of Admiral Xi Haifong that bombarded the capital of the kingdom of Taualai in Peratra. Zhu Bolin supervised the keelhauling of fifteen polynesian nobles as part of the punishment of Taualai's ruling elites. During the return trip to the mainland, the fleet entered a violent sea storm in which one of the ships was sunk. Zhu Bolin's captain also seemingly fell into the sea during the storm and could not be rescued, giving Bolin an impromptu promotion to captain. Some uncharitable chroniclers of the era ascribe the captain's death to Zhu Bolin and 'the unnatural greed and ambition that is at the core of all dwarfs and eunuchs'. The ultimate cause of his superior's untimely demise remains shrouded in mystery, it cannot be disputed that Zhu Bolin's command of the Flowing Majesty allowed him to gain prestige and notoriety that a mere Vice Captain could not hope to achieve.

Captain of the Flowing Majesty

Zhu Bolin's assumption of command was ratified by Xi Haifong and his ship was assigned to Port Bondor as its operational base. In 1640 Zhu Bolin was ordered to take his ship and two others on a raiding mission to Sudmoll. The polynesian natives of the then uncolonized island were sending scaveging parties and raiders to the coast of Yaoyuan and causing trouble to tribes that had submitted to the Qian. Zhu Bolin's taskforce bombarded eleven coastal villages before landing their crews and attacking further inland. One hundred and forty two natives were taken as slaves, including two of the islands chiefs. A rare polynesian albino dwarf was also captured, Zhu Bolin named him Mala Jong and made him into his personal servant and cupbearer. Bolin's forceful and swift redress of the Sudmoll situation won him plaudits back at the imperial court and rivals of Xi Haifong took note of the young and diminutive captain as a potential replacement of the old admiral. Bolin outwardly kept faith with his superior but rumormongers of the era affirmed that while in his cups he mocked the old admiral and boasted he would be named admiral within a couple years, giving credence to the old whispers about ambitious and crafty dwarfs. In any case the expected showdown did not come to pass, Xi Haifong died in Rakin on an infected ulcer before he could marshal his allies in court to try and cut Zhu Bolin's career short.

Bolin immediately did something that was considered quite scandalous but the societal norms of the time, he seized Xi Haifong's estate and used the money in secret, to bribe officials at court to secure a promotion for himself. The bold bid worked and he was appointed Admiral of the Southern Waste in 1650, a dizzyingly fast pace of promotion from Vice Captain to Admiral in a mere twelve years; Zhu Bolin was at this time only 35 years old and the youngest admiral in the Qian fleets. His bought title however brought him not only prestige but also danger, many distrusted him for his youth, lack of qualms and now evident corrupt nature. Moreover the friends of Xi Haifong at court were now Bolin's enemies and would constantly seek to cast him down for the rest of his naval career. It was after his promotion that Zhu Bolin began to be derisively called theChild Admiral, but never to his face. The new admiral continued his career for the next eleven years supporting the growing encroachments of Daxia on Peratra, combatting Bergendii and Kiravian piracy and protecting the Southern slave trade from which he also personally profited.

Daxian Polynesian Wars

Kiravian artist's rendition of the siege of the fortress of Dun-Kurrengev

The expanding sway of the Qian over the Ocean of Cathay required it to continuously build up its naval power. Zhu Bolin's Fleet of the Southern Waste was renamed to the Right Trident of the Qian in recognition of its coming role as one of the main instruments of Qian policy at sea. While Zhu Bolin was able to grow his fleet significantly during this time, he also had to compete with the Harmonious Flotilla Invincible, the private fleet of the South Seas Trading Company. The competition for imperial resources was fierce and Bolin had to personally attend court many times to prevent his funds from being slashed by the dogged lobbying of pro Company ministers. While the South Seas Trading Company at this time favored a policy of consolidation of the colonies of Peratra and argued its fleet was solely for the defense of said colonies, Zhu Bolin argued that Daxia should expand its control east across the sea and push back the 'white men' before they arrived on the shores of Peratra. His ambitious proposal resonated with Emperor Xiaodan's own notions and thus he won the argument; Zhu Bolin proposed to attack Kiravian Sarolasta first, its position in the northern Polynesian would serve as the northern anchor for a 'naval net' blocking access to the Ocean of Cathay; the second anchor would be Zhijun which was already under Daxian control. Zhu Bolin then spent the period from March to early May 1664 gathering an impressive armada of one hundred and twenty ships; composed of 70 galleys, 30 galleons and other ships of various sizes. The South Seas Trading Company also sent a small force of armed dhows crewed by Christians in support, commanded by Caphirian mercenary Luidan Răzvala Saminian Dovinofo. His ground contingent counted with four hundred cannons and 15,000 men between soldiers and ship crews. Five thousand ghulams sent by the sultan of Ghanim, a Daxian vassal were also taken along to serve as first wave. The armada set sail from the port of Zong on June 25 1664, calling at Zhijun before heading north to Sarolasta, arriving withing sight of Dun-Kurrengev on August 13. The Siege of Dun-Kurrengev would be the official start of the Daxian Polynesian Wars and the Right Trident of the Qian would strike the first blow.

The siege was a grueling event from the start, it was clear the naval bombardment would not force the surrender of the fortress no matter how intense. Disgorging the land contingent on a nearby beach, Bolin now took on the role of general and ordered the circumvallation of Dun-Kurrengev. A crisscrossing network of trenches, tunnels and strongpoints were dug out by thousands of Polynesian slaves while siege towers were constructed and cannons brought to bear on the land walls. Zhu Bolin ordered consecutive attempts on the wall, with waves upon waves of slaves clambering upon the walls and being thrown back amid massive losses. For seven long months the siege proceeded with attacks through tunnels and over the walls, night assaults and attempts to pull down the walls with massive hooks. The climax of the siege came in November 1665 when news came of a large Kiravian relief fleet under Alcibiades Verramar making its way from Æonara; only weeks remained to wrap up the siege.

Impeded from advancing to the north of the island by a chain of fortifications, the only choices were taking the fortress or retreating by sea. With the army suffering from bouts of dysentery and plague and mounting heavy casualties, Zhu Bolin, his commanders convened a late night conference that included representatives of the soldiery. It was agreed on one final assault attempt on November 22th, if it failed the siege would be abandoned. During the early morning of the 22th a sustained cannonade finally cracked a hole in one of the northern walls, upon seeing this a general assault was ordered. Daxian assault columns charged forth with mobs of pickaxe-wielding slaves running ahead to clear the rubble. The battle for the collapsed gap in the wall saw the most ferocious melees of the siege yet; two of the defenses chief lieutenants were killed there as was the mercenary leader Răzvala who lost an arm and was speared through the neck. Zhu Bolin charged into the battle firing a specially made crossbow from atop a palanquin carried by slaves. The fighting raged for hours but eventually the gap was choked up with bodies and the Daxians began to pull back, with the dwarf leader being carried off after his palanquin was set on fire. The failure to take the gap mean the last effort was defeated, the Daxians burnt their siege camps along with the dead they had recovered before reembarking and sailing southwards; the siege of Dun-Kurrengev ended in a victory for Kiravia.

Fall from grace

The defeat at Dun-Kurrengev proved to be a severe blow to the reputation and career of Zhu. Shortly after the return of his fleet to port he was summoned to appear at court and explain the failures. He was ambushed by hid old enemies among the ministers who attacked him and swayed others against him; they lambasted him as an arrogant and overly ambitious buffoon. Some of his allies at court defended him vigorously against the accusations, throwing back their own accusations of sabotage, of withholding supplies and reinforcements to the siege. Nonetheless Zhu Bolin was stripped of his position as admiral and of his incomes and commanded to report to the Imperial Lemon Grove to work there as a lowly gardener. This was a catastrophic fall from grace for someone who just weeks ago had commanded one of the largest fleets under the banner of the Qian. Zhu spent the next four years alternating between despondently working as a gardener and plotting his comeback.

He still had currency with some of his former allies, he could still bribe people with money from secret stashes he had managed to hide. While to all appearances he was a lowly gardener, he had built a network of eunuchs working and reporting news and whispers back to him; be it what concubines and prostitutes were the ministers having sex with to who was stealing food from the kitchens. In 1668 the Xiaodan emperor carried out a purge of the court, sweeping many of Zhu Bolin's strongest detractors to their deaths. The former admiral was plucked again from obscurity and restored to his old responsibilities. Zhu Bolin carried out his own purge of his enemies and fair weather friends, one of the first to go was the High Gardener under whom he had served in the Imperial Lemon Grove; the man was reportedly thrown down a well. Several officials who had betrayed him by taking bribes from him but refusing to help him were found strangled or stabbed in empty corridors of the palace. Once more historians of the time put the blame for the murders squarely on the 'Bloody Dwarf' but it is just as likely that they were the result of different factional struggles or other unrelated reasons.

War of the Eastern Crag

The battle of Daxiang between Qian forces and the Arakan coalition

The naval skills of the Child Admiral were soon called upon when a slave rebellion erupted in eastern Yaoyuan that threatened to cut the territory controlled by the Qian colonies in half. In response Zhu's restored fleet ferried an army of fifty thousand men to Peratra within two months. Judging that a display of courageous resolve would help his battered reputation much, he opted to leave his fleet anchored safely in the northern coast and lead his crews to fight on land alongside the army. The commander of the army, the Marquis of Shenbao disliked the dwarf but since they belonged to separate military arms, he had no authority to order Zhu Bolin and his forces away. The war against the Arakan coalition was fought deep in the jungles of the Peratran interior and near the mountainous Eastern Crag against elusive foes who also had access to a small arsenal of firearms probably procured from Farmandie or Burgundie. Under the harsh jungle conditions, the authority of Marquis Shenbao was constantly challenged by Zhu Bolin who more deviously preserved his own troops in most engagements. Zhu's more extreme tactics also found echo with the common soldiery; he proposed starting massive fires to force the enemy to escape into the open and taking whole villages hostage to force the enemy to surrender.

Things came to a head during a military conference where according to sources the Marquis insulted Zhu Bolin's physical stature and threw an orange at him, the admiral in turn pulled a flintlock pistol from his coat and shot the Marquis on the head. With this murderous interaction, Zhu Bolin asserted his claim to lead the entire army, seemingly no one opposed this development as chronicles of the rest of the war mention the dwarf as being in command of Qian forces. The killing of the Marquis might be a shocking event to modern viewers but through the lens of the time, the military system of the Qian dynasty was one of distrust and competition between commanders. Historical sources sometimes mention 'the war within the war' in reference to internal conflict between Qian general that often spiraled out of control and into bloodshed; sometimes victory for the Qian came through sheer overwhelming numbers and firepower rather than superb tactics and attention to military planners from generals more concerned with humiliating their contemporaries. While Zhu Bolin never received official sanction for this incident of 'friendly fire' he did make lifelong enemies of the Shenbao clan, another group who turned into his dogged detractors. Now in command Zhu took the war to new levels of brutality, he liked to say that 'while the Arakan might be as resilient as a rock, I will still squeeze blood from it'. True to his word he increased the reprisals and thievery against uninvolved civilians to goad the Arakan forces to give open battle.

The stratagem worked as the Arakan massed their forces in the slopes of the Eastern Crag and sent messengers to challenge him to approach, as was their custom. Zhu Bolin had the messengers killed and decapitated, tying their heads to their horses and sending them back. The Arakan had their backs to the Crag so retreat would not be easily accomplished other than through narrow and winding tunnels on the mountainside. The Qian army only had four cannons left, the rest had been lost to the jungle, the mud and rust; still they were put to good use now with the cannons being loaded with grapeshot. The Arakan army suffered terrible casualties from the grapeshot but charged across the broken terrain to come to grips with the Daxians. As the battle lines smashed together, the mass of eighty thousand Arakan tribesmen threatened to buckle the smaller Daxian frontline. Zhu then unleashed his cannons again and directed them to fire against the back of the enemy lines to obstruct a retreat over the piling bodies of the dead. The Qian battle elephants painstakingly dragged along all of Peratra were now put to use alongside the kennel of domesticated war hyaenas, creatures the Arakan had never seen before and against which they now quaked. The frenetic baying of the hyaenas especially unnerved the Arakan and the noise of the cannons and the elephants began to cause a panicked rout. From the Qian side thundered the trumpets calling for a general advance and the Arakan were chased back to the ridge they had started at, stumbling over the bodies of the dead. The army began trying to squeeze itself away through the tunnels with the Qian in pursuit. Zhu Bolin himself descended into the caves on foot and exhausting fighting in the caves took place until nightfall.