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Zhu Bolin: Difference between revisions
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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. | 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=== | ===War of the Eastern Crag=== | ||
[[File:Battle of Daxiang.jpg|thumb|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 [[Stenza|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 [[Peratra]]n 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. | The naval skills of the Child Admiral were soon called upon when a slave rebellion erupted in eastern [[Stenza|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 [[Peratra]]n 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. | 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 [[Daxia]]ns. As the battle lines smashed together, the mass of eighty thousand Arakan tribesmen threatened to buckle the smaller [[Daxia]]n 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 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 [[Daxia]]ns. As the battle lines smashed together, the mass of eighty thousand Arakan tribesmen threatened to buckle the smaller [[Daxia]]n 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. | ||
===Later life=== | ===Later life=== | ||
[[Category:Daxia]] | [[Category:Daxia]] | ||
[[Category:Dwarfs]] | [[Category:Dwarfs]] | ||