2021 team event - The Emperor's Throne - Round 1

[pompeytheflatulent]

To the office of GDod, Captain to Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty:

I regret to inform you that the extra 200 pounds of silver that you have allocated to the war funds have been badly squandered, through absolutely no fault of my own, and entirely the fault of everyone else around me, including all my staff and subordinates. Besides the usual amount lost to embezzlement, (with the exception of the incorruptible your truly of course, that brand new mansion I was showing off before leaving on campaign was an inheritance from a rich uncle I swear) It appears that most of the remaining silver was spent buying fancy new boomsticks for troops whose fighting ability turns out to be nowhere near as good as their ass-kissing ability. While the cavalry arm's cries for more resources lest they be badly outmatched by the Joseon cavalry fell on largely deaf ears. I fear that defeat on the battlefield is surely to follow.

Your humble servant, Pangpei the gassy, commander of the vanguard.

[GDod]

Zuó tiān wǎn shàng, wǒ pèng jiàn le yī gè chǒu bā guài! ...that money was allocated for more regimental guns. Confucius says: Don't stand by the water and long for fish, go home and weave a net, or would you prefer....................de tóu huì gǔndòng. !

[pompeytheflatulent]

To the office of GDod, Captain to Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty:

I am pleased to report that, after much hard fighting, our vanguard has overcome the lead elements of the Joseon army. As second in command it falls upon me report this to you in place of Pangpei, who, fearing defeat and subsequent discovery of his various embezzlements, defected to the Joseon shortly after battle commenced, leaving behind a cryptic note saying that he was "going full Alcibiades". Our spies in the Joseon court have reported that Pangpei fled Joseon for the Ming shortly after his defection, after being accused of sleeping with the Joseon king's wife. I urge you to immediately arrest Pangpei's extended family and attempt to recover the vast amounts of embezzled wealth that they must posses, although I fear it might be far too late. Personal letters found during a search of Pangpei's tent suggests that he had made arrangements for his family to sell off all non-portable wealth and rendezvous with him in Shaanxi province even before his defection.

If you wish, I shall send a more detailed report on the battle itself at a later date, as presently I have my hands full dealing with the fallout from Pangpei's defection as well as the heavy casualties our army suffered during the battle itself.

Your humble servant, Wang Dong, acting commander of the vanguard.

[GDod]

To Wang Dong, acting commander of the vanguard
Greeting from his imperial Majesty Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty.

His imperial Majesty is pleased with you dedication to his divine right of conquest and he celebrates your victory bestowing on you the title of :-
Marques of the First Rank (Yī děng hóu)

You are also hereby commanded to accompany my chief eunuch (and your cousin) No Dong, along with the Empress, 3 Consorts, 9 Imperial Concubines, 27 Shifus and 81 Imperial Wives to Shaanxi province, to arrest this Pangpei. Hopefully, the Imperial Consorts can use their charm to distract Pangpei long enough for you to arrest him for his dishonorable actions and, at the same time, recover my favorite Ping Pong bat and Bamboo dragonfly, which he shamefully took during his last sleepover at the palace.

Oh...and don't forget to take your army as I fear a second battle against the troublesome Joseon is on the cards

From the office of GDod, Captain to Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty.

Victory.jpg (29.15 KiB) Viewed 4576 times

[pompeytheflatulent]

To the office of GDod, Captain to Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty:

I, Wang Dong, am grateful for the title his imperial Majesty bestowed upon me. The following is my report on the course of the battle:

As you are well aware, the practice among our cavalry commanders of hoarding men and horses in competition amongst themselves to have the biggest sized units like some dong measuring contest have become widespread to an alarming degree. This has left our cavalry with a chronic shortage of maneuver units compared to our Joseon adversaries despite having sunk in more resources overall on our part. This problem was exacerbated by Pangpei's decision to divert money to equip as many of our infantry regiments as possible with light guns. I suspect that expensive 'gifts', from iron mine owners and foundry managers, made their way into Pangpei's hands which influenced this decision. During battle this would prove to have disastrous consequences.

Our matchlock equipped troops would repeatedly huddle around and gawk at the newfangled regimental guns firing off against distant targets, even when there are Joseon troops within 100 paces directly in front of them and they should be reloading their own harquebuses like their life depends on it! An truly idiotic plan by Pangpei to put a stop to this practice, by stationing our light cavalry in such a way as to limit the field of fire of our regimental guns, backfired spectacularly. As Joseon troops charging after our light horse were able to come to grips with our infantry at several points along the line without receiving any fire from our matchlocks.

At this point Pangpei made the baffling decision to send one of our best cavalry units into a suicidal position, and then immediately turn around and scream and curse at his aide-de-camp to raised the "UNDO" signal flag. I have never heard of such a signal flag existing or employed by our forces, so I am unsure whether Pangpei was delirious at this point, or whether it was all part of his plan to sow confusion to aid in his defection, for he disappeared shortly after this point. The destruction of this high-quality (although bloated in terms of manpower) cavalry unit threatened to collapse our entire left wing. It was at this point that our bubing, having drank their morning tea laced with opium, charged into the Joseon lines with sword in hand, chanting 'We feel no pain' as they went. This changed the course of the whole battle. I witnessed one group charge at the Joseon pants-less, for they had huddled to watch the regimental guns fire earlier in the morning, and got caught standing too close to the muzzle blast. This particular group zigzag its way through the heart of the Joseon army, shattering unit after unit, as Korean troops fled in all directions before their onslaught. A second group rolled down the line towards our left wing, where they stabilized the situation there. At this point, with over half of their troops fleeing from the field, the remaining Joseon units began to withdraw. Our casualties were fairly heavy, with over 2000 men killed wounded or missing, and a third of our units broken and fleeing.

It will take some time to rebuild this army, and years, perhaps decades, before we are strong enough to launch an expedition into Ming territory as deep as Shaanxi**, as you have suggested in jest. Even then it will be an undertaking of incredible difficulty unless the Ming were to somehow collapse from within. For surely you remember the fate of our last Emperor Nurhaci at the gates of Ningyuan just last year? Unless you are suggesting that we send the imperial harem on a clandestine mission deep inside of MIng territory? I would not even speak of such things in jest, for if word of it were to get back to the current Emperor, both you and me would be lucky to escape with our heads still attached, much less our commands.

Your humble servant, Wang Dong, acting commander of the vanguard.

**Shaanxi is the setting for the next battle, where the peasant rebellion that overthrew the Ming started, I think ahuyton spelled it differently.

[KiwiWarlord]

In more simple language,

Round 1 Result between Pompeytheflatulent, Jurchen, and Kiwiwarlord, Joseon.

Win to the Jurchen, 30%, over Joseon 61%

Just love the banter emanating from the Jurchen Camps

[pompeytheflatulent]

To the office of GDod, "Captain to Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty":

I have recently noticed that you have been giving orders in the name of Wanyan Yongji, the 7th emperor of the earlier Jin dynasty, who reigned from 1208-1213. While our Later Jin dynasty do claim lineage from the earlier Jin dynasty which was destroyed by the Mongols, giving out orders on important military matters in the name of an Emperor that's been dead for over 400 years is a bit of a stretch eh? I am not sure what games you are playing at, but I have already reported the matter to our current emperor, his majesty Hong Taiji. I hope that you have your explanations in order when his majesty summons you to court.

Marques Wang Dong, acting commander of the Jurchen vanguard.

**Out of character** I"m sorry, I had to do it, it was too funny not to.

[GDod]

To Wang Dong, acting commander of the vanguard
Greeting from his Imperial Majesty Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty.

We have read your report. Again congratulations. Don't worry as soon as our peasants have finished re-writing their anti-imperial graffiti on the palace walls with the correct grammar and spelling we will send you them as replacements.

However, we insist you replace all your cavalry commanders. Send the current batch to work in lowly positions at the urine dying vats at Silk's-R-Us in the ol' factory region of Pu.

While you're there visit the neighbouring Shaanxi province, not only so the emperor's chief eunuch entourage can facilitate the arrest this Pangpei, but to also facilitate clandestine spying on Dang Ming, the Merciless to ascertain his army composition for the next round. Ask for our informant, who is the Chief Sommelier at the factory canteen, Lei Ying Lo, or his assistant cook Hu Yu Hai Ding

We also recommend that you widen the use of your morning tea additive and immediately investigate the procurement and use of an "UNDO" signal flag (We know for certain that the Emperor has one that he uses regularly when playing Mahjong with his courtiers. In fact, they encourage him to use it regularly ever since they started to lose their heads when they inadvertently won.)

GDod, Captain to his Imperial Majesty

[GDod]

To Wang Dong, acting commander of the vanguard
Greeting from his Imperial Majesty Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty.

Sorry, did I say his Imperial Majesty Wanyan Yongji? I meant to say his Imperial Majesty Wanyan Yongji's mummy and my personal Zhānbǔ zhě

While most subjects haven't seen Wanyan Yongji for a number of centuries...orders are issued daily from his personal quarters at the palace, which just happens to be adjacent and connected to my own personal rooms. Rest assured, the Dod descendants have been acting on the soothsayers imperial edicts for the last 400 years. I'm sad to report that Hong Taiji was caught some months ago changing all the palace stationary from the Great Jin to the Great Qing. He even attempted changing our beloved people's name from Jurchen to Manchu.

Luckily for me (oops I mean his Imperial Majesty Wanyan Yongji) his head now adorns the palace gate. And I must warn you that daring to question my...oops I mean the emperors wishes is tantamount to treason...so beware Wang Dong! I smell a rebellion in the air. so, I've sent my personal aide Sum Ting Wong to accompany you on your mission, and report back your actions.

It remains to be seen whether the people here in the capital will succumb to your implied threat and lies, and rebel. Or, I...(oops I mean) his Imperial Majesty Wanyan Yongji's mummy marches with the Ming armies. Well... no so much marches, rather accompanies.

From the office of GDod, Captain to Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty.

[pompeytheflatulent]

Whelp, round 1 isn't even over and GDod has already killed the founding emperor of the Qing dynasty in a palace coup. At the rate this is going off the rails I wouldn't be surprised if by round 5 we'll be playing as werewolf Wu Sangui fighting steampunk Peter the Great over control of eastern Siberia.

[GDod]

An excerpt from an audience with Wang Dong. reprinted here by the kind permission of the Jurchen Journal April 1st edition. 1627

"Don't be absurd Wang Dong.

In Russia the Eastern part of the country is not viewed as Siberia. The eastern region of Russia next to Siberia was historically called the Far East in Europe and Russia.The local population of the Far East do not see themselves as Siberians either.

However, it does appear that it extends to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and to the national borders of Mongolia and China. So, mmmmm...it's a possibility after China Good thinking Wang Dong. Send for my aide... Ho Ping, we ride for Transylvania."

[ahuyton]

Esteemated Captain Gdod to the Jurchen Emperor Wanyan Yongji,

I can report defeat of the Joseon Pretenders, lead by the unfortunate Sems Jon So 77th. Jurchen cavalry sweeping around the enemy flanks and finest manchu matchlockery in their front routed the enemy by 47-12.

Already my scouts tell me that the Ming Emperor has fled to his Hermitry in the mountains and a messenger gallops to offer you the Throne.

[pompeytheflatulent]

What's everybody's feelings on the 200 point advantage? Too much? If the game was at normal size I'd say no point advantage needed, since the Jurchen are only forced to buy one large sized cavalry unit. At large size battles they have to buy four large sized cavalry units so, eh, I'm not sure. 200 points might still be too much, with some back of the napkin math, the four large cavalry units only result in about ~100 points 'wasted'.

[KiwiWarlord]

What's everybody's feelings on the 200 point advantage? Too much? If the game was at normal size I'd say no point advantage needed, since the Jurchen are only forced to buy one large sized cavalry unit. At large size battles they have to buy four large sized cavalry units so, eh, I'm not sure. 200 points might still be too much, with some back of the napkin math, the four large cavalry units only result in about ~100 points 'wasted'.

Alan & I played some test games and found the Jurchen were out numbered by a huge margin and lost every time on even points, Alan suggested 100 point advantage, I pushed for 200 points.I think we used more cavalry in our test games than players have used in the Round 1 games.
I must admit I never dined out & did napkin maths on the points/effectiveness of the Jurchen, just looked at total numbers per side and game results. We did not want a lopsided game and moans from players. Cavalry heavy armies tend to be at a disadvantage numbers wise in SJ.

I think you should be assigned as ' Technical Assistant ' to the Organiser Pompey, Alan will supply the meals & napkins

[GDod]

From the office of GDod, Captain to the Reincarnated Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty.

A report from the hill-tops of Wonton : Destruction!

Yes, wonton destruction on both sides with a 61-59 percent Cadmean Victory to those detestable Joseon pretenders. Confident of their rightful claim our force assailed the cowardly Josey's who take taken up position on hilltops and dense woods. after a long drawn out fir-fight (intentional pun ) the two sides clashed. Unimaginable carnage and screams of... that wasn't in my fortune cookie ensued until the Jurcs (another intentional pun ) ran en masse, as did the Josey's.

Both commanders were horrified by the Wonton cowardice in the face of the enemy. What remained of the Jurchen clawed their way to a winnable lead until the last turn when their resolve broke (as did their swords that were recently bought from shady looking Joseon traders the night before) Despite routing yet another Josey unit to take our lads over 60%, an enemy unit suddenly remembered that they had left their Fuwa behind on the field and stopped to rally.

It was better luck on our second front with the emperor's servant General Ahuyton's resounding success. The emperor has granted Ālán the title ofZhenguo jiangjun Defender General and Groom of the Stool with the added privilege of wearing huālíng peacock feathers on your mandarin hat and the huángdàizi yellow girdle

Needless to say that our esteemed reincarnated Wanyan Yongji - Seventh Emperor of the mighty Jurchen Jin dynasty has also issued a reward for the capture of the Ming Emperor and the destruction of his Hermitry in the mountains.

Alans new hat.png (63.23 KiB) Viewed 4417 times

[GentlemanRanker]

Sensation news from the province of Korea! Celestial Captain GDod mugged on route to the coronation of Jurchen Emperor Wanyan Yongji. The virtuous Korean patriots under lowly court functionary GentlemanRanker suffered 59% casualties, but held the field, as GDod’s army limped away having suffered losses of 61%. Let the unvarnished truth be told!

Due to the perfidious scheming of plenipotentiary ahuyton, the Jurchen forces have descended in overwhelming numbers on all fronts. However, my spies suggest that GDod must have kept some of those extra troop to guard his august personage, to greet any flying columns of “assistance” sent unexpectedly by his loyal subordinates and acolytes [yes Wang Dong, I’m looking at you].

The confident Manchu advanced boldly on all fronts. Falling upon some frightened conscripts cowering in the forest, they caused mass panic, routing one and all, and to the eternal shame of the Korean forces, panic spread to the centre, and that too collapsed. However, the troops on the Korean left were made of sterner stuff; they had eliminated all the Manchu infantry units sent against them, also seeing off the noble cavalry, who wisely decided that there were easier pickings elsewhere on the battlefield. When the previously victorious Manchu emerged from the forest to attack the Korean left, they were sent packing in their turn, due to accurate arquebus and bow fire, and vigorous charges. On the Korean right, a brave, but numerically inferior, force of cavalry, with sterling support from a few raw archers, held the finest Manchu cavalry at bay, and even began to put pressure on the Manchu centre.

By the end of the battle, bodies were piling up on all sides, but the exhausted Koreans heroes just managed to hang on long enough to secure the field.

Astrologers have cast the I Ching, and predict “interesting times” for a chastened GDod.

[KiwiWarlord]

Arists impression of the defeat of GDod, sycophant of Jurchen Emperor Wanyan Yongji, in the forests of Josean by the virtuous Korean patriots under lowly court functionary GentlemanRanker who has brought Solace & Honour to the Joseon Military.

[GDod]

Who is that artist? We need to commission him for a Royal Portrait of our Jurchen Emperor Wanyan Yongji. Only could he add a little more color to his cheeks? His last Portrait was far to accurate.(Oops, I mean not very flattering )

Emperor Wanyan Yongji.jpg (6.37 KiB) Viewed 4379 times

The artist has been hanging by his fingers over a very hot flame for some weeks now!

[pompeytheflatulent]

To Sun Chuanting, Governor of Shaanxi:

I am eternally grateful to you for taking me in after that horrible misunderstanding at the Joseon court. I trust that our agreement for me to provide Jurchen state secrets in return for a military command is still in place? As a sign of my devotion I would like to snitch on my neighbors, I mean warn you of a grave threat to peace and stability. A group of vagrants including Kiwiwarlord, Snugglebunnies, GentlemanRanker, and Sems Jon So, have been observed conducting secret meetings with known local troublemaker Li Zicheng, who also failed to repay the money I loaned him. I fear that these conspirators are plotting rebellion. I implore you to arrest this Li Zicheng and his con-conspirators and pre-emptively cut off the head of this threat. But first make Li Zicheng pay back my money plus interest, before the cutting the head off part.

Your grateful guest, Pangpei.

[pompeytheflatulent]

To Sun Chuanting, Governor of Shaanxi:

As part of our deal I have shipped a batch of newly developed elixir to Wu Sangui, a general currently stationed in Liaodong for field testing. This elixir should grant superhuman strength and ferocity akin to a ravenous wolf. I hope that further development of this elixir would eventually help our northern garrisons fight off the nosferatu Wanyan Yongji and his hordes north of the Great Wall. Since this elixir is still being worked out, the first batch may cause side effects including but not limited to: hunger for human flesh, excessive hair growth, and an affinity for the full moon. But we probably shouldn't tell Wu Sangui that should we?

Your grateful guest, Pangpei.