Destiny of Empires [Diplo Game] [Story Thread 11 - August 2011]

[India (DoE)]

5. China says they have never given away any units to Japan (what benefits does Japan gain from being allied with them we ask again?), but where did Japan get 15+ Riflemen? There were only 2 realistically likely nations that could have upgraded Japan's units in such numbers so quickly. Russia or China. Both nations believe it is right that India be reduced to a 6 city nation, but considering the hatred they harbour against us for our freedom, the most likely candidate is China.


There are so many such things we could point out that show the giant in the east for what it truly is. They seek India's destruction for we are the only nation in the area that is not subjugated. Their words and actions all show this. Yet India has always sought peace and balance. We are victims of a brutal bully's attacks and the world spits on us. Yet our humility allows us to suffer through and we will never be broken.


Regarding Indian Riflemen
Since these riflemen should have been in Indian possession since before the Great war we will not send them away unless Japan agrees to do the same for 3 of the ships they will receive from foreign powers.

[Japan (DoE)]

Official Letter from Emperor Meiji of Japan,

I have been unable to fight my own war not thanks to my state of health and in my absence India has seemed to be back to there ways for folding the truth to suit there needs. Japan is not a puppet of China nor have we ever been. We find it sad that India would rather tarnish the good names of other nations instead of owning up to there mistakes. Japan was willing to work for peace but clearly India is not. Japan disclosed all its dealings prior to the treaty yet India did not share any information with China or myself. If India will refuse China's simple demands then Japan will refuse India's demands. Japan will not withdraw ships that we have disclosed with all nations involved prior to our treaty. If it is your wish for China, who has done everything possible to end our war without getting involved, to invade your lands then Japan will not stand in the way of this.

[Arabia2 (doe)]

Arabia is disturbed by recent events and by the lack of true peace negotiations.

We ask: Is China involved in this conflict?
- if not, then why should they be informed by anyone. India did the right thing telling it to the Ottomans, it's their job to mediate peace between the warring nations.
- If China is involved, then we ask "by what right?". When we have asked this before they couldn't answer just telling some story about their great plan about "unified asia" and how the mongols have attacked them. This has nothing to do with this conflict. China's slogen about thestability of the region is also false because what they are intending to do is just the opposite, to escalate the war..

We are in no position to say even opinion about the islands' ownerships, the two involved nations should try to compromise in the matter, and if they can't do it now, then a limited war in the colonies is still better than an escalated conflict, destroyed nations..

In case anyone is wondering: We are not interested in who wins the war. Arabia has one concern only and that is the true stability of the region.

[Japan (DoE)]

Leaders of Arabia,

Do not get me wrong, Japan's only wish right now is for peace and we have tried everything we could to bring peace. We have been open with all of our dealings yet India was not. It was India's duty to inform all nations in the treaty about any troops from other nations coming to them. China is only acting according to the treaty agreed to by India, Japan, China, and the Ottoman in which it is stated that any nation receiving troops not stated prior to the treaty will be invaded by China. If Japan would have done what India has done it would be Japan who is invaded by China.

Arabia is disturbed by recent events and by the lack of true peace negotiations.

We ask: Is China involved in this conflict?
- if not, then why should they be informed by anyone. India did the right thing telling it to the Ottomans, it's their job to mediate peace between the warring nations.
- If China is involved, then we ask "by what right?". When we have asked this before they couldn't answer just telling some story about their great plan about "unified asia" and how the mongols have attacked them. This has nothing to do with this conflict. China's slogen about thestability of the region is also false because what they are intending to do is just the opposite, to escalate the war..

We are in no position to say even opinion about the islands' ownerships, the two involved nations should try to compromise in the matter, and if they can't do it now, then a limited war in the colonies is still better than an escalated conflict, destroyed nations..

In case anyone is wondering: We are not interested in who wins the war. Arabia has one concern only and that is the true stability of the region.

[China (DoE)]

The world is my witness, the Indians have clearly broken the treaty that was agreed upon. Even after breaking the treaty they refuse to fairly rectify the problem by removing the offending units.

The penalty for a break in the treaty is Chinese military intervention, as explicitly stated in the treaty, which was agreed to by all parties, including India.

We have been urging an end to this conflict for an eternity and signed this treaty as a sign of patience and respect towards Japan and India. What we got in return was further proof that India is not capable of respecting rules of honour and diplomacy. If you cannot act in a civilized manner you will be dealt with in the more barbaric terms that you will understand. You will end this war with Japan and if you do not China will declare war on you and bring violence to your land.

Who will come to your aid now that you have conducted poor business with any nation that has foolishly traded with you? Who will stop us from pillaging your land and starving you until you understand that this war is over.

With the permission of the international community and the treaty maker the Ottomans, China will begin scheduled attacks on Indian land improvements until India submits and makes peace with Japan.

If anyone has valid reason to oppose this speak now or let your silence be your support for our actions.

India, you can avoid this by declaring peace with Japan. Until you do the attacks will increase in violence, first your lands, then your soldiers, then your cities.

[Arabia2 (doe)]

Leader of China,

We never saw any permission for this attack from anyone.. unless you took silence as a permission.

So anyone who thinks that the Chinese intervention is just and gives permission for the attack: speak up now! Ottomans? "inernational community"? We for one, as part of the community raise objection. (0:1 so far)

You had presented an ultimatum for peace which had blatantly favored Japan, leaving all the conquered colonies in their hand after a successful surprise attack. You ignore the fact that India had those riflemen in question before the treaty.

India is not our ally, but we will not watch idly as a greedy monster destroys a free nation. Right now in the Arabian parliament there is an ongoing debate about what answer should Arabia give in the event of a Chinese invasion on India, and one option is the full military support to defend the Indian cities from the aggressors. It's not yet decided but you can expect that our diplomatic channels will be closed immediately.

Peace can not be made by threats, but by reason. We should not let tyranny, politics of aggression triumph.

[Ottoman Empire (DoE)]

Notice to Arabia, Japan, China and India

To Arabia:

China is involved because China is the local superpower and like any local superpower China wants conflicts in their region to end quickly, as prolonged conflicts invite other powers to become involved, either directly or via proxy. This can result in the presence of super-large foreign armies being present in the region, armies that can threaten the superpower.

Consequently, China delivered an ultimatim. Either the war would end, with each side accepting their holdings as-is or China would invade and crush India, to bring a swift end to the conflict. The reasons China chose India as the target seem simple and numerous. First, China and India have always had hostile relations, while China has good relations with Japan. It would make no sense to enforce the ultimatim against a friend. Second, Japan chooses to co-operate with China's vision of a unified Asia, while India does not share this vision. This does not mean China's vision is morally any better than India's, just that it makes sense that China would protect those who see things their way at the expense of those who do not. Third, China has easier military access to India, as India is on the same continent while Japan is on islands. Fourth, it is a well settled principle of international law, that lower ranked nations have an unqualified privilege to try to expand at the expense of higher ranked ones. Otherwise lower ranked nations would have no hope of increasing their rank. Fifth, Japan is fine with ending the war immediately as they are happy with keeping their conquests, while India wishes to continue for a bit to get an opportunity to win back some territory, so it makes sense that China would enforce the ultimatim against the party who wants to keep fighting.

Hopefully this makes China's role in this matter clearer, but Arabia should take note, that China does not owe anyone an explanation for their role in this matter, nor does China have to prove what "right" they have to be involved. China's "right" is self-manifesting and self-establishing, in that no one is in any position to stop them, save by requesting them to do so politely and respectfully.

More to the point. Unless Arabia is prepared to Declare War on China in order to come to India's aid, then all this blustering against China is nothing but instigation, and does nothing to help India. Therefore, as the mediator accepted by the parties, I request that Arabia cease their public inquiries and instigation against China, and allow the actual involved parties to work together to avoid catastrophe.

To Japan:

Emperor Meiji, The statement you made about your ships suggests that you would be willing to accept India's claim to the Rifles so long as they do not question your right to the ships, despite the fact that the ships were disclosed before the treaty was final, while the Rifles were not. If this is true, then perhaps China will agree to overlook the Rifles in the interest of letting the war period play out without intervention. Please feel free to contact me privately about this.

To China:

I greatly appreciate the patience, fairness and willingness to compromise throughout this affair. I now ask if it would not be possible for China to allow India to receive these measley 3 Rifles, as they appear to be owed from long before the war. Valhalla was in a difficult position, albeit of their own making due to their unreasonable delay, whereby they either had to break their word, or risk offending China. India certainly can not control what nations gift units to them, and now that China has made her position clear, surely no other nation would make this mistake again. To my recollection, China neglected to issue a public decree of non-interference as was discussed privately. The only thing issued was my personal request of non-interference on China's behalf. Therefore perhaps China can forgive this misunderstanding.

As far as Valhalla's reprehensible conduct, I am sure that Vikings could offer some small token of respect to compensate China for their grave and grievous insult, which would alleviate the need to punish India for Valhalla's mistake.

To India:

I beg you to please reconsider your position. I again take responsibility for not disclosing our conversation about the Rifles Vikings owed you. As I mentioned, I chose not to disclose it because I regarded it as untimely and disruptive. I regret this now, as it is still potentially disrupting the path to ending this conflict in an orderly, measured way. I ask you again to please contact me privately to say you have reconsidered. Do not be misled by the blustering and instigations of nations that have no intention of offering you any real help. Listen to those who have tried to offer you real help through this crisis. I beg you.

Aysecan, Public Relations

[Arabia2 (doe)]

Aysecan,

China is claiming that they are acting by your government permission and is about to declare war. I think it is the last minute to say something in this matter.
And you say our communiqué is not helping India.. perhaps.. but what we see is that your efforts are not helping either because China is already determined in his attack. We can not make the situation worse so at least we protest this aggression.
And we do it because we believe we live in a civilized world where even regional superpowers don't do anything they please, we do it because our conscience tells us to not remain silent. And we do it because if we don't then easily we could become the next victim.

[Arabia2 (doe)]

By the request of the Ottoman negotiator we want to make the following statement:

Arabia is respecting the treaty signed by the involved nations. We did not and will not interfere by sending units or by any other means.
We also state that whatever happens we are not hostile towards Japan. We don't want to be the judge in their current conflict with India and hoping we can have good trade relations with them as we did in the past.

King Abdus Salam

[Ottoman Empire (DoE)]

Public Letter to The King of Arabia

King Abdus Salam,

As you are aware, I have sent a private letter addressing your concerns in detail. Turkey has stated our position very clearly on China's actions. But to repeat, under the India-Japan Limited War Treaty, China has enforcement power against either nation who violates the terms of the treaty. Absent a violation, China will not interfere. India has violated the terms, so China has the right to enforce against them. I have asked both parties to compromise, and this process is ongoing. I must request again that outsiders refrain from interference. I will take your last statement to mean that Arabia will not interfere with China's enforcement of the treaty, as you pledged to respect the treaty signed by the involved nations. China is an involved nation, and one of the parties who signed the treaty.

Aysecan, Public Relations

[Aztecs (DoE)]

Without going into who has done what, as we clearly have no full picture of what is going on in the Japan - India - China situation,

AND we have no ties to any of the parties involved,

AND we are of the opinion that a lot can be said for the stance of each party involved,

We Aztecs find that there should be a close relationship between actions and consequences.



If the action is about a number of riflemen (not going into the matter who is right about what, as we clearly can't judge that),

then the consequence should not be a large scale war which involves an awakening giant (China) against a relatively small neighbour.



Honor lies in restraint.


To China I say: of course you want treaties honored, as they should be.
To India I say: you could be right, but realize you could be dead too.


Once more I say to you: honor lies in restraint.


A limited action should result in a limited counter-reaction.



I have spoken,

Camaxtli, leader of the Aztecs

[China (DoE)]

The nation of China has decided to let the war period continue until the agreed upon termination date.

We greatly respect the Ottoman peace builders and would not want to derail their valiant efforts, even though China is within our rights to enforce this treaty.

India, you have shown yourself to be dishonest.

Arabia, you have shown yourself to be ignorant of world history.

Vikings, you have shown yourself to be untrustworthy.

China has much better things to do then to hold grudges and extends an olive branch to these 3 nations. You have wronged China in our eyes. At the moment we do not have good relations. If you would like to have good relations, we would accept a token of friendship, let it be physical or symbolic. I can assure you that friends of China enjoy this friendship, you may ask your neighbours who have done business with us.

We have resources to trade, gold to buy your wares, and military might to protect us and you.

Why have an enemy when the choice to have a friend is so easily attainable?

[Ottoman Empire (DoE)]

Notice to all Nations

Mighty China has spoken. I beg again for all nations to cease their meddling and instigations, and allow Japan and India to finish their war without interference. China has been gracious, fair and patient in this matter and I humbly give my thanks.

Aysecan, Public Relations

[Inca (DoE)]

Death of an Emperor

July 4th, 1776

Thick, black smoke billowed from the imperial residence this afternoon as the tyrant Mako Panuta burned alive on his throne. The ancient traditions of tyrannicide were followed with some new, unknown flair, and a great celebration erupted throughout the empire. This was no simple "flushing of the imperial latrine," though, and great changes are now afoot.

In the ensuing power vacuum, Llam'to Matalin came to the fore, promising a new age of prosperity and progress for the Inca people and nation. Within minutes of the announcement of the emperor's death, this new man came to the lords' assembly in Capaco.

"Today is a great day in Inca history," Sp. Matalain proclaimed, "this transition will not be like the ones before, where power is seamlessly handed to another, yet more corrupt and personally-interested 'noble'." The derision in his voice was overwhelming on that one word alone, and the force of his spite was said to have caused a few of the assembly to wither and faint in their seats.

"Today, a logic and clarity of purpose is taking charge of this unwieldy and wayward apparatus. Today, we begin to think outside the box, and in time we will reach out to our new traditions, finding in them our salvation and future. Let us 'touch base' with these future selves now, and see in the present the possibility of tomorrow." With this a cheer of finely and smartly clothed men exploded throughout the hall, and quite a few of the nobles in attendance found themselves adding to the uproar.

"Now," his voice shifting into a more serious tone, "some of you may question my legitimacy. Some of you may say to yourselves that this man, this horse-rider, this tullacotanapachucta [man who wipes his own chute] is unfit to rule such an august body such as yourselves. But, I ask you, who is fit to rule such a body? Such a corrupt and diseased body, one riddled with the plague of excess and fattened beyond use? Only a head similary bereaved by its own incompetence, gluttony, and myopia? You would have a rotting corpse, a plaguitone, of an empire to be ruled by the head of a pigeon, and call this 'a step forward'?! What ludicrosity!"

The hall erupted again, this time the mixture of seething bile in the general exclamation was undeniable. A riot nearly ensued, prevented only by the immediate arrival and deployment of the Royal Guard. Their presence, always a calming one in Inca politics, gave the speaker a chance to regain the floor.

"Thank you for your considerate silence and approval, dear colleagues," at this only the slightest murmur. "I come today not to insult you, but to lay bare your failings and inadequacies for the posts you so covet. In so doing, I hope to show you how your salvation lies not in yourselves, but in the efficiency and soundness of fresh blood and life. You are overtaken by your arrogance and prejudice, and in this you hate me now, but in time you will see how wayward you truly are, how hopeless in your eternal slumber of corruption. Today is the alarm at your side, your servant's calming voice, alerting you to the coming afternoon, begging you to awake and meet the already mature and busy day. You may despise this man and his message, but it is the truth, and you are past due for your duties. Past due not by hours but by centuries, my friends! Here, now, is your rebirth!"

And with that the doors were opened, and into the chamber marched a thousand mercantiones and assorted craftsmen. "The people have arrived, the fresh blood is here, and..." at this point Sp Matalin's voice became drowned out and all but imperceptible among the cacophony that broke out in the ancient hall. The sapanes at first sight of this motley crowd rose in antipathy and attacked viciously the incoming men, and the men, prepared with the simple tools of obedience, clubbed and struck them back. The padding was ripped from the chairs, their frames broken and tossed, masonry legs carried and hurled, and scepters and canes alike used to counter this invading force. But as this wave of merchants looked to be pushed back by the raving mob of nobles, the doors opened a second time, and two thousand more marched in behind them, pressing and pushing into the crowd.

Sensing that their position was not perhaps as impregnable as they first thought, many of the sapanes took to flight, or took to cowering under the speaker's pedestal. Those who ran to the back doors found there the royal guard, trained on their bodies (not a difficult thing to aim at, truth be told), those who ran under the pedestal found safety, and those that remained in the fray found their deep opulence hung out in shimmering red for all the assembly to see. Those under the pedestal watched in horror, and begged in all manner of tones for safety and forgiveness. As the mercantio mob turned towards the cowards and desperate, Sp Matalin spoke, his voice now carrying the ears of all.

"No more, this ugly business. No more, my fellows. Let us leave this place and begin our task of reshaping this decrepit nation. You are sated, and I am satisfied. Open the doors for all to see the hallowed and privileged halls of nobility, let the city come to see the true insides of the ruling apparatus. You, my fellows, you can see for yourself, how simple these walls and ceilings truly are, not gilded nor mystically infused with the divine. You can see how simple tools make poke a hole in them, and how all but a simple mercantio hand is needed to pull out the truth: these men are not special, nor is their place anything but an accident of history. Now, let the whole see this pathetic head for what it is."

And with that the mob turned and left, the speaker stepped down and the Guard followed him out, and the sapanes immediately headed the other way, out the back, and filtered quickly, and with many a fit of breathlessness and heartlessnesss, into their various estates.

[India (DoE)]

Notice to Japan:

You declared war on the most peaceful people in history. As a result of your ruthless conquest millions of Indians have perished from your attacks, your wanton cruelty and the blockade you initiated against us.

Now your generals' incompetence has resulted in your forces being outmanouvered and you will lose the city of Manila. Unless you agree to return the colonies of Lahore and Agra, which you have had the gall to rename, the city of Manila will next year not be found on any map.

Your call. We are not bluffing.