Gateway (part 12)
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Early Autumn, IC 687
The senate is a place for grandstanding, for decrying members of the opposing factions and cheering on your own. Actual decisions aren't made there; votes take place once the fix is already in, once the decisions have been made by the opinion-formers in rooms much like this one.
Never let the senate make a decision when you don't know what the result will be.
The Emperor, a legate, a couple of tribunes, a few senior senators from factions loyal either to the Emperor or in favour of aggressive expansion. Not even a token dove. No merchants. No one representing the vassal kingdoms. Diabo's seat is at the opposite end of the table to his father's far grander seat, and the places to his left and right are deliberately left vacant.
If Diabo can convince these people to go along with his treaty, that's the matter settled. It will pass in the senate, the emperor won't veto it and the army won't protest.
If.
"A single crate of gold as a token tribute." Senator Giusto glares contemptuously, not bothering to disguise his feelings now that the setting is more private. "What do they really want?"
Diabo bears the hard eyes well. Certainly better than he would have done at the start. He's using the ring's power to do it, but I'm not having to prompt him. I'm genuinely pleased with his progress.
"A single chest, filled to the brim with gold. And under the gold-" A slight relaxing of people who've just seen where the other shoe is going to drop from. "-they have requested enchanted… Objects."
The military tribute frowns. "What sort of objects?"
"Anything." Diabo shrugs. "I took care to play down what we can actually do with magic, and they didn't seem to care. They are a people who highly value natural philosophy. They don't want to use the… Talismen we will give them. They want to study them, to try and understand how magic works, and how what they think they know of how the universe works is wrong. Even… Copper coins enchanted to glow would be sufficient."
The furrows on the military tribute's face deepen.
"And what will they do with that understanding?"
"That is a problem for their neighbours on their world." Diabo smiles. "By the standards of their world, the nation of Japan is not a first rate power. They are a protectorate that has recently had a dispute with their protector and it is…. Unclear whether or not their treaties are in effect. That does not help us, but it means that Japan has enemies on their own world and cannot afford a prolonged campaign even if they could guarantee that the gate would remain open. While I was there a group of extraordinarii from one of their enemies infiltrated the villa where I was staying, in the centre of their country."
The legate looks intensely interested. "Could we make contact with these enemies?"
"Legate Julius, it wouldn't matter if we could. This nation whose soldiers have no experience of war, whose treaty with their protector binds them to only having a small defensive force, destroyed our legions with little effort. The only way for us to enter their territory is through the gate, and they have fortified both sides. Certainly, I could send them a message, but the gate is in the middle of the Japanese capital city. They could hold the wall around their side of it with a token force until the entirety of their country was overran. We would not profit by it, and we would have a stronger neighbour at the end of it with no love for us for the spoiling attack that we are in no position to make."
"The grain." One of the other senators looks thoughtful. "Why do they need grain? Are they having a famine?"
"No, no. As I said, they have poor soil. Their main cereal crop is something called 'rice'. It is not very nutritious. They can import food from other nations, but it is relatively expensive. We can supply their capital easily from our main farming region at what is for them a far lower cost."
Senator Giusto frowns. "What do you mean, 'for them'?"
"Remember how much more advanced their industry is. Consider how the barbarians value… Polished stones, or beads or feathers. Such things are valuable to them, but a curiosity at most to us. And then imagine what they would pay for a single sword of good steel such as we issue to the legions by the thousand. Flour is the only thing that we can give them in a meaningful quantity that they actually want, not because they need extra food but because what they will give us in return has little value to them."
The Emperor's face is entirely impassive. "What did you agree to trade?"
"Books relating to industry. They would not agree to trade anything from the last eighty years, but we could not use that anyway. They will trade with us books describing how to take the first steps on the road to building the devices they have for ourselves, the steps they once took when they fought as we do."
"Will that let us make weapons like theirs?"
Diabo shakes his head. "Not for a century. My Emperor, this isn't about beating them. It's about beating our neighbours here. Once we have the alchemical formula for the powder that drives their bullets, we will be able to make the very simplest weapons of that type. A 'smoothbore cannon'. A weapon that fires with the power of a trebuchet, but faster, and takes up less space. A weapon that could be mounted on a ship by the dozen. For them, such a weapon is three hundred years out of date, but for us it would turn our navy from an afterthought to the most powerful in the world."
"How long?"
"An improved steel process could be implemented inside a year. Properly forging a metal tube when they are providing the instructions should take a month or so. How long it takes to make the powder depends on whether the components can be bought or must be sought afresh, but it should not be more than two months and may be as little as a day. Learning to combine them and how to speed up the process might take a few months more. By the end of the second year I should have a group of working cannons to show you. Cannons that can demolish a city wall. Or destroy a legion."
Legate Julius looks thoughtful. "How would it destroy a legion? A trebuchet might break a formation if it struck true, but they would reform a moment later."
"A cannon can fire a single large bullet to destroy walls or make a hole in a formation, but it can also be used to fire 'grape shot'. That is a bundle of smaller bullets. The range is far less, but they-" He moves his hands forward, spreading out as they move. "-will destroy any man who stands before them. Would you not want to do to others what the Japanese did to us?"
There are several meaningful glances from one man to the next. Yes, that's it. You need a war to save yourselves, a successful war. The Japanese are there, but you can't beat them. So…
"Such a weapon would not let us hold territory."
"Take a city and ransom it back. Or just destroy it from a distance and demand payment from its neighbours. They would no more understand what they were being struck by than our legionaries did."
The Emperor raises his right hand slightly, and everybody waits.
"How many slaves do they actually expect to have returned?"
"All of them. They have machines which can… Tell how much blood two people share. Our blood is different enough from theirs that it is easy for them to tell their people from ours. That condition is absolute. If they find out that we have played them false, they will go to wherever the slaves are and kill everyone they find there to free them."
Because he and I will tell them where that is. And we have just told the Emperor what to do to rid himself of a few troublesome senators.
The Emperor smiles.
"If this is the treaty, and what you say about their industry is true, then you have done the Empire a great service, my son. What reward do you want in return?"
Diabo looks away for a moment.
"Long ago, our ancestors came through a gate. That is why we call Alnus Hill sacred. While I was in Japan I recognised some images in their history books. Men who wore armour much like ours. I sought more information, and I found that they were called 'Romans'."
Eyes widen and two men gasp.
"I don't know if they were the kin of our ancestors who remained behind, or if it is a coincidence. But I went there, to Rome. I saw the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the ruins of buildings mentioned in our oldest histories. I believe theirs is the world of our ancestors." He shakes his head. "And we do not measure up." He makes eye contact with the emperor. "When you had Kati killed, I was afraid for my safety. I quashed all my ambitions and hid myself away. It was cowardice. But this…" He feels the ring with the tips of the fingers of his right hand. "Has restored my ambition. I am not Kati. I know that I am not ready to be emperor. But if I am successful, I want to be recognised as crown prince."
The Emperor's face is unmoving. "And what of your brother?"
"He has a whore. I have a dragon."
"If that is what you want, then you had better be successful."
Later, Early Autumn, IC 687
Diabo curls up in the shadows against the wall of the senate building.
"…shitshitshitshitshitshit…"
"I thought that went well."
"…shitshitshitshitshitshit…"
"Okay. Just breathe."
The senate is a place for grandstanding, for decrying members of the opposing factions and cheering on your own. Actual decisions aren't made there; votes take place once the fix is already in, once the decisions have been made by the opinion-formers in rooms much like this one.
Never let the senate make a decision when you don't know what the result will be.
The Emperor, a legate, a couple of tribunes, a few senior senators from factions loyal either to the Emperor or in favour of aggressive expansion. Not even a token dove. No merchants. No one representing the vassal kingdoms. Diabo's seat is at the opposite end of the table to his father's far grander seat, and the places to his left and right are deliberately left vacant.
If Diabo can convince these people to go along with his treaty, that's the matter settled. It will pass in the senate, the emperor won't veto it and the army won't protest.
If.
"A single crate of gold as a token tribute." Senator Giusto glares contemptuously, not bothering to disguise his feelings now that the setting is more private. "What do they really want?"
Diabo bears the hard eyes well. Certainly better than he would have done at the start. He's using the ring's power to do it, but I'm not having to prompt him. I'm genuinely pleased with his progress.
"A single chest, filled to the brim with gold. And under the gold-" A slight relaxing of people who've just seen where the other shoe is going to drop from. "-they have requested enchanted… Objects."
The military tribute frowns. "What sort of objects?"
"Anything." Diabo shrugs. "I took care to play down what we can actually do with magic, and they didn't seem to care. They are a people who highly value natural philosophy. They don't want to use the… Talismen we will give them. They want to study them, to try and understand how magic works, and how what they think they know of how the universe works is wrong. Even… Copper coins enchanted to glow would be sufficient."
The furrows on the military tribute's face deepen.
"And what will they do with that understanding?"
"That is a problem for their neighbours on their world." Diabo smiles. "By the standards of their world, the nation of Japan is not a first rate power. They are a protectorate that has recently had a dispute with their protector and it is…. Unclear whether or not their treaties are in effect. That does not help us, but it means that Japan has enemies on their own world and cannot afford a prolonged campaign even if they could guarantee that the gate would remain open. While I was there a group of extraordinarii from one of their enemies infiltrated the villa where I was staying, in the centre of their country."
The legate looks intensely interested. "Could we make contact with these enemies?"
"Legate Julius, it wouldn't matter if we could. This nation whose soldiers have no experience of war, whose treaty with their protector binds them to only having a small defensive force, destroyed our legions with little effort. The only way for us to enter their territory is through the gate, and they have fortified both sides. Certainly, I could send them a message, but the gate is in the middle of the Japanese capital city. They could hold the wall around their side of it with a token force until the entirety of their country was overran. We would not profit by it, and we would have a stronger neighbour at the end of it with no love for us for the spoiling attack that we are in no position to make."
"The grain." One of the other senators looks thoughtful. "Why do they need grain? Are they having a famine?"
"No, no. As I said, they have poor soil. Their main cereal crop is something called 'rice'. It is not very nutritious. They can import food from other nations, but it is relatively expensive. We can supply their capital easily from our main farming region at what is for them a far lower cost."
Senator Giusto frowns. "What do you mean, 'for them'?"
"Remember how much more advanced their industry is. Consider how the barbarians value… Polished stones, or beads or feathers. Such things are valuable to them, but a curiosity at most to us. And then imagine what they would pay for a single sword of good steel such as we issue to the legions by the thousand. Flour is the only thing that we can give them in a meaningful quantity that they actually want, not because they need extra food but because what they will give us in return has little value to them."
The Emperor's face is entirely impassive. "What did you agree to trade?"
"Books relating to industry. They would not agree to trade anything from the last eighty years, but we could not use that anyway. They will trade with us books describing how to take the first steps on the road to building the devices they have for ourselves, the steps they once took when they fought as we do."
"Will that let us make weapons like theirs?"
Diabo shakes his head. "Not for a century. My Emperor, this isn't about beating them. It's about beating our neighbours here. Once we have the alchemical formula for the powder that drives their bullets, we will be able to make the very simplest weapons of that type. A 'smoothbore cannon'. A weapon that fires with the power of a trebuchet, but faster, and takes up less space. A weapon that could be mounted on a ship by the dozen. For them, such a weapon is three hundred years out of date, but for us it would turn our navy from an afterthought to the most powerful in the world."
"How long?"
"An improved steel process could be implemented inside a year. Properly forging a metal tube when they are providing the instructions should take a month or so. How long it takes to make the powder depends on whether the components can be bought or must be sought afresh, but it should not be more than two months and may be as little as a day. Learning to combine them and how to speed up the process might take a few months more. By the end of the second year I should have a group of working cannons to show you. Cannons that can demolish a city wall. Or destroy a legion."
Legate Julius looks thoughtful. "How would it destroy a legion? A trebuchet might break a formation if it struck true, but they would reform a moment later."
"A cannon can fire a single large bullet to destroy walls or make a hole in a formation, but it can also be used to fire 'grape shot'. That is a bundle of smaller bullets. The range is far less, but they-" He moves his hands forward, spreading out as they move. "-will destroy any man who stands before them. Would you not want to do to others what the Japanese did to us?"
There are several meaningful glances from one man to the next. Yes, that's it. You need a war to save yourselves, a successful war. The Japanese are there, but you can't beat them. So…
"Such a weapon would not let us hold territory."
"Take a city and ransom it back. Or just destroy it from a distance and demand payment from its neighbours. They would no more understand what they were being struck by than our legionaries did."
The Emperor raises his right hand slightly, and everybody waits.
"How many slaves do they actually expect to have returned?"
"All of them. They have machines which can… Tell how much blood two people share. Our blood is different enough from theirs that it is easy for them to tell their people from ours. That condition is absolute. If they find out that we have played them false, they will go to wherever the slaves are and kill everyone they find there to free them."
Because he and I will tell them where that is. And we have just told the Emperor what to do to rid himself of a few troublesome senators.
The Emperor smiles.
"If this is the treaty, and what you say about their industry is true, then you have done the Empire a great service, my son. What reward do you want in return?"
Diabo looks away for a moment.
"Long ago, our ancestors came through a gate. That is why we call Alnus Hill sacred. While I was in Japan I recognised some images in their history books. Men who wore armour much like ours. I sought more information, and I found that they were called 'Romans'."
Eyes widen and two men gasp.
"I don't know if they were the kin of our ancestors who remained behind, or if it is a coincidence. But I went there, to Rome. I saw the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the ruins of buildings mentioned in our oldest histories. I believe theirs is the world of our ancestors." He shakes his head. "And we do not measure up." He makes eye contact with the emperor. "When you had Kati killed, I was afraid for my safety. I quashed all my ambitions and hid myself away. It was cowardice. But this…" He feels the ring with the tips of the fingers of his right hand. "Has restored my ambition. I am not Kati. I know that I am not ready to be emperor. But if I am successful, I want to be recognised as crown prince."
The Emperor's face is unmoving. "And what of your brother?"
"He has a whore. I have a dragon."
"If that is what you want, then you had better be successful."
Later, Early Autumn, IC 687
Diabo curls up in the shadows against the wall of the senate building.
"…shitshitshitshitshitshit…"
"I thought that went well."
"…shitshitshitshitshitshit…"
"Okay. Just breathe."
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