Chapter 10: Sex Ed

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin.

Island of Ceylon. February 1071

Trading with Korea and Japan had been a bust for the British. The Koreans had no interest in trading for anything the British had, and the Japanese refused to let them land. At least the Explorer didn’t encounter pirates this time as they traversed the Strait of Malacca.

Fàn Zongshi was glad to be in sight of Ceylon since it was a rich island. The Explorer approached the southeast coast and sighted the town of Godawaya, which sat at the entrance to the capital of Maha Nagakula, home of King Vijayabahu I.

Captain Morwenna carefully navigated into the mouth of the Walawe River using the wind, watching to ensure she didn’t run over fishing boats or the natives wouldn’t attack. Also, the guns were manned, and sharpshooters were in the rigging. This caution was due to the hot reception Morwenna received when they visited Luzon on their way back from Japan. As soon as the British entered what in Luke’s world was Manila Bay, natives armed with bows and arrows paddled out in boats, trying to drive the sea monster back. The arrows could barely scratch the paint on the Explorer’s hull, but they couldn’t launch any of their small boats. The ship’s defensive firepower shredded the attacking natives before the Explorer sailed back out to sea.

Looking around, Morwenna could see her crew was just as nervous as she was, which helped her relax for some reason. She passed the word for everyone to relax and keep their weapons tight because the last thing she wanted was for someone to shoot accidentally. Until she knew how the natives would act, Morwenna had no intention of anchoring.

On shore, the natives dreadfully watched the strange ship sailing into their harbor. The latest civil war had just ended, and many worried this ship represented an effort to restart the war. The people were more confused when the ship shortened its sails and came to a halt.

Once the ship had stopped, Morwenna looked at Fàn Zongshi and nodded. He would be the one to negotiate with the locals since it was far more likely someone would be able to speak Chinese than any of the European languages the crew spoke.

As the British crew rowed Zongshi ashore, he wondered again how he ended up working for Marion of York. He had started as the Chinese Emperor’s ambassador and retained that position until he set foot in Britain. It hadn’t taken him long to learn how different Marion’s Britain was and what he could achieve. Under the Emperor, he had a tight budget and little help, while under Marion, he had a much higher budget and the backing of a major military unit. It also helped that Marion guaranteed his family’s safety in Britain, while in China, Zongshi knew that security would only go as far as the Emperor’s will. If he fell out of favor, his family was in trouble, while in Britain, Marion was slowly turning some power over to the people, which would help control the large power fluctuations that occurred when the ruler changed.

Zongshi’s musings ended when the keel of his rowboat struck the sandy bottom. Without thinking, Zongshi hopped over the side with his bodyguard and finished wading ashore. One of the first things he noticed was the oppressive heat and humidity, which he wasn’t used to. The other thing he noticed was the locals were much darker than other people they had met in Asia, with some being almost as dark as some of the locals they met in Africa. Zongshi shrugged and carefully walked up to meet with them. He didn’t care what color someone was outside the curiosity of meeting someone who looked different for the first time.

The locals were far warier of Zongshi than he was of them. With the recent conclusion to the latest civil war, many locals feared the strange ship would bring more enemies. When the strangers rowed ashore, only the village leader came out to meet with them while everyone else watched nervously.

Zongshi started speaking, and the village leader, Abhay Vihara, relaxed. The defeated rebels wouldn’t speak Chinese, and the two men behind Zongshi didn’t look native. The two men were British Marines in combat uniforms, although their rifles were slung on their shoulders when they came ashore. After determining the visitors were not hostile, the village leader signaled Zongshi and his escort to follow him. In the village was a merchant who spoke Chinese.

In the village, Zongshi was introduced to Chandrashekhar, who spoke fluent Chinese. When Zongshi entered the hut where Chandrashekhar lived, his guards stopped at the door and stood on either side.

“Hello, I am Fàn Zongshi, and I represent Queen Marion I, Queen of Great Britain. I come here in the hope of establishing trade relations.”

“Chandrashekhar at your service. Who is Queen Marion, and where is Great Britain? I have never heard of such a place.”

Zongshi nodded and turned to one of his guards, who produced a copy of one of the maps they had made of their journey. Using the map, Zongshi showed Chandrashekhar where Great Britain was and explained that Marion of York was the ruler there. Chandrashekhar doubted a female ruler until Zongshi produced one of Marion’s coins. That took Chandrashekhar’s breath away as he had never seen such a coin before.

“As you can see, the ruler of Great Britain is, in fact, a woman, and she is very powerful. We were sent on a trade mission for her and have traded with various kingdoms along the west coast of Africa and China. Currently, we are on our return trip and decided to stop here to see what you have to trade.”

“What do you have to trade?” Chandrashekhar turned the question around on Zongshi.

“We still have salt, raw metal, and some manufactured goods on the ship. Most of the goods we sailed with were traded to the African kingdoms or China; however, if we can work something out, a trade mission will probably be launched for direct trade when we return home.”

“That is fine. We can trade tea, spice, and precious stones, but before we conduct any trade, you must meet King Vijayabahu I in Maha Nagakula.”

“When would we be able to meet with him?”

“It should only take you a day to travel upriver to Maha Nagakula, but you cannot take a ship like the one you came on because I believe the river is too small.”

“Are there boats here we can hire, and would you be able to translate?”

“There are, and I would be honored to translate for you if you can teach me how such a coin is made.”

“I am sorry to tell you, but I do not know how the coins are made; the production is a closely guarded secret. What I can do is give you that coin.”

“Just this coin?”

“That coin is made from very high-quality gold.”

When Chandrashekhar heard that, he bit the coin and was surprised to see he left teeth marks, indicating it was indeed gold. Seeing that, he nodded, accepting the gold coin for his services.

To help the trade mission get up the river, Morwenna ordered her steam-powered tug launched. The tug had stayed in its cocoon while they had been in China since it hadn’t been needed. As the tug was lowered into the water, Chandrashekhar was being rowed out. He saw the smoke coming from the tug as the engine started, and his jaw dropped. Nothing he had ever heard compared to the sight he was seeing now; the tug began to move without concern for the wind or current.

It took Chandrashekhar every ounce of courage to climb aboard the fire-breathing beast, but seeing women in the crew shamed him into climbing aboard. ‘If a woman can do this, then I can too,’ thought Chandrashekhar. As the tug pulled away from her mothership, Chandrashekhar tried to keep from peeing himself.

After fifteen minutes, Chandrashekhar could relax and enjoyed the trip as he listened to the steam engine chugging. Along the bank, the locals all watched as the strange boat steamed past.

Usually, such a trip would have taken Chandrashekhar a full day, but with the steam tug, the journey to Maha Nagakula only took two hours. Being a businessman, Chandrashekhar immediately saw the possibilities of having a fleet of these boats. Steam-powered boats would allow for faster trade by water and open up more rivers to trade on since the boat wouldn’t have to rely on the wind or fight the current. Being a powered boat would also allow it to move more cargo at once, thus increasing the per-trip profit margin.

King Vijayabahu I was in the middle of a budget meeting when a servant rushed in, babbling about a fire-breathing monster coming up the river. The king looked at his advisers and ordered the servant executed for interrupting a sensitive meeting. However, before they could take the servant away, one of the advisers decided to peek outside. Something about the look in the servant’s eyes told him the servant wasn’t lying. Then the advisers saw what the servant saw, and the blood ran from his face. In the river wasn’t a fire-breathing monster but a fire-breathing machine.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty,” the adviser had rushed back in. “You need to see this!”

King Vijayabahu grumbled, but to calm the adviser down, he walked out onto the balcony and froze; he couldn’t believe his eyes. After rubbing his eyes, the boat was still there. The boat seemed to be on fire but was still moving faster than the best rowers. Behind him, the adviser who convinced the king to look told the guards to hold up on the execution; five minutes wouldn’t hurt anything. On the balcony, Vijayabahu couldn’t get his mind to engage even though he was a combat veteran and had survived many battles in the recent civil war.

On the river, the strange ship tied up to the dock, and Vijayabahu watched a soldier talking with someone on the boat. The soldier didn’t talk long before running toward the gate. It didn’t take Vijayabahu but a few seconds to figure out the soldier was coming to tell him about the boat. Usually, Vijayabahu would have stayed and made the soldier come to him. However, his curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he headed for the gate to meet the soldier.

The soldier and Vijayabahu met at the gate, where the soldier told Vijayabahu there were people on the boat who wanted to trade. Vijayabahu looked at the boat and tried to figure out what they could trade since it was small.

“Very well. Lead on, please,” Vijayabahu stated to the soldier.

When they reached the dock, Vijayabahu grumbled at seeing Chandrashekhar on the boat. They had a turbulent relationship; they knew they needed each other but didn’t like each other. Chandrashekhar was one of the best merchants on the island, while Vijayabahu was the island’s king.

“Hello, Chandrashekhar,” Vijayabahu said without enthusiasm. “Who are your new friends?”

“Your Majesty,” Chandrashekhar replied, bowing. “I am serving as a translator for this group of traders; they are from a kingdom far to the northwest they call Britain.”

“Traders, eh? I fail to see what they could have that would be worth much to trade.”

“They have a much larger ship that stayed at Godawaya, and I am told the trade goods are aboard that ship. This was a mission to see if trade is possible.”

“Oh.” Vijayabahu felt like an idiot. He chastised himself for not thinking things through. He knew traders often traveled on larger ships but used small boats to go up rivers. “What do your friends have to trade?”

“They carry salt, raw metal, and some manufactured goods. Through their translator, they told me they had traded with China and some kingdoms to the West but stopped here on their return trip.”

“What can they tell me about their strange boat?” Vijayabahu changed subjects to get to what he was most curious about.

“This boat is powered by steam produced in a boiler below deck. It’s powerful enough to travel against a strong current; the trip from the coast to here only took a couple of hours.”

Vijayabahu’s mouth dropped. His strongest rowers took almost half a day with a sleek boat and help from the wind. The small boat in front of him made the trip in a quarter of the time and without needing the wind.

“I would like to come aboard to see things for myself,” Vijayabahu declared. Chandrashekhar nodded and spoke to Zongshi, who talked to the officer in charge of the boat. The British officer wasn’t stupid and immediately granted Vijayabahu access to come aboard. Looking around the boat, Vijayabahu couldn’t help but become jealous. Everything necessary was within reach, and the controls seemed simple enough for almost anyone to operate. What Vijayabahu couldn’t figure out was the number of women aboard who wore the same style of clothing as the men.

“Chandrashekhar, why do they have all these women aboard?”

“I asked the same thing, Your Majesty, and was told the British military was open to men and women. A woman supposedly rules their kingdom, and I can confirm another woman commands their trade ship.”

“WHAT!?!? Th ... Th ... That cannot be!”

“I swear it is true, Your Majesty. But if you do not believe me, maybe you can visit their ship to see with your own eyes.”

“I will do just that, but I want to ride there on this boat.”

Chandrashekhar nodded and passed the message to the officer, who nodded and said something back to Chandrashekhar.

“The British agree but say you can only bring two others since space is limited.”

“Very well,” Vijayabahu declared. “I will have my best guards with me while the rest follow in their boats,” Vijayabahu called for his two best men to join him and ordered the rest to follow as best they could.

Once the two guards were aboard, the British cast-off and added some throttle as they turned their boat around. Once the bow was pointed in the correct direction, the officer ordered flank speed, and Vijayabahu had to catch himself from falling over. As he recovered, he noticed the British hadn’t seemed to react to the burst of speed. What bothered Vijayabahu the most was the noise aboard the boat; it was loud enough that he had to speak up to be heard.

The trip down the river was much faster than the trip up the river, and within forty-five minutes, the HMNS Explorer was in sight. Vijayabahu couldn’t keep himself from staring at the monstrous ship now riding at anchor. Suddenly, he remembered his guards, who were doing the same thing. None had seen a vessel of such size or built of such a strange material. It wasn’t until they were alongside that Vijayabahu realized the ship was constructed from some peculiar metal. What he couldn’t fathom was, ‘How? Metal doesn’t float.’

His thoughts were interrupted when the boat he was on tied off to a steep stairway, and the Chinese man traveling with the British told Vijayabahu which way to go and the protocol once he was on the deck. Vijayabahu led the way up the gangplank and was met by a row of the best-dressed soldiers he had ever seen. When he stepped on the deck, they moved as one, bringing their weapons up in front of them and turning their heads to face him. If Vijayabahu was jealous before, he was green with envy now.

“Welcome aboard the HMNS Explorer, Your Majesty. I am Commander Morwenna of Cornwall, representing Queen Marion of York.”

It took a minute for everything to get translated, and Vijayabahu nodded since he was in a state of shock and didn’t trust his voice.

“I am King Vijayabahu I, ruler of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. We have recently concluded a civil war in which we drove out the last of the occupiers.” Vijayabahu paused for translation before continuing. “I am told you wish to discuss trade.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. If you will kindly follow me, I will show you what we have to trade.”

As Vijayabahu walked past each soldier, their head snapped to face straight ahead. Morwenna led the king to the “store” and opened the door. Inside, there was still a decent selection of trade goods and salt, but most of the raw metal had been sold. Vijayabahu looked at the “store” and moved past simple envy to a place he had never been. He had to get his hands on some of these goods, no matter the cost.

“These are your trade goods?”

“Only a representation of our trade goods, Your Majesty. What would you be willing to trade?”

“Spices, gemstones, and exotic feathers.”

“I am sorry, but we can only accept trade for spices and gems; our queen has forbidden us from trading in wildlife or their derivatives. If the animal products are from domesticated animals, then we can trade. Also, before you offer, we are strictly forbidden to trade in slaves.”

Once again, Vijayabahu stood with his mouth open since everyone traded in wildlife and slavery. His own household used slaves for the jobs that nobody wanted to do. Then he noticed the British officer didn’t say anything about goods produced by slavery, which still allowed him to trade most of the goods available.

“Why do you not trade in slaves or wildlife?”

“Slavery is banned in all areas under British control. Many of my sailors were slaves until the queen freed them, and if we took slaves aboard, the crew would fight to free them. I was once a slave, so I guarantee any slave will be free as soon as they set foot on my ship! The queen has banned the trade of wildlife partly to protect Great Britain’s wildlife from non-native competition. She believes people should do their best to balance the needs of humans and nature. If we destroy nature, where would we go?”

Vijayabahu was glad he hadn’t brought his servants with him and made a mental note not to allow any servants aboard the British ship. Since they had established the parameters for trade, negotiations commenced and were quickly moved to Captain Morwenna’s quarters. On his way below deck, Vijayabahu tried to observe everything he could since this ship was much more advanced than anything he had ever heard of.

It took the group the rest of the day to negotiate trade rights for the British ship. Ultimately, Vijayabahu’s desire to get ahold of the British trade goods was too much for him, and he gave in to most British requests. None of the proposals were unreasonable, but they leveled the scales instead of being tipped in Vijayabahu’s favor. The only request that Morwenna truly cared about was the first one she got approved, which was the right to stay in port for repairs and replenish their food supplies. Morwenna figured that would take two weeks, after which they would set sail for the Horn of Africa.

When Vijayabahu was leaving, one of his guards pointed out several strangely shaped objects along the ship’s rail.

“What are those?” Vijayabahu asked, pointing to the objects.

“Those are the ship’s defense system. Would you like a demonstration of what they can do?” Morwenna replied.

When he heard this, Zongshi felt ill. He knew what would happen and wasn’t looking forward to it.

“Yes, I would,” answered Vijayabahu. Morwenna nodded and began issuing orders with a feral smile.

“Gun crew for mount one report for duty.” She then peered out into the river, looking for a target. “Zongshi!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Go ashore and buy one of the villagers’ old boats, please. Once done, anchor it in the river upstream of the village. I don’t want any possibility of a round bouncing off the water and landing in the village.”

“Yes, ma’am. At once.”

Zongshi scurried off the ship to find an old boat to buy. Vijayabahu watched the exchange with awe, even if he couldn’t understand what they said. Zongshi’s reaction to Morwenna’s commands told of the type of commander she was. It took Zongshi almost an hour, but he finally delivered an old fishing boat to a spot 400 meters upstream of the British vessel and returned to the ship.

Once Zongshi was aboard, Morwenna ordered her gun crew to sink the fishing boat. Vijayabahu wasn’t sure what to expect but didn’t expect the gun to come to life. The mount swung toward the bow, and the rotary cannon moved to correct the gun’s elevation. When the gun began firing, Vijayabahu jumped out of his skin as the blood drained from his face. Looking out at the fishing boat, he watched as a five-second burst tore it to shreds and sent it to the bottom of the river in a matter of moments.

When Vijayabahu finally could function again and look at Morwenna, she had a look that told Vijayabahu she wasn’t a person he would want to mess with. He didn’t know the weapon’s full capacity and didn’t want to find out. As Vijayabahu was leaving the ship, Morwenna called out,

“As long as you abide by our agreement, you will never have to face these guns, but if you go back on your word, I will level your palace.”

Vijayabahu nodded at the translation as he hurried down the ladder and onto the tug that would take him home. During the ride, he sat on the bow, thinking deeply over his encounter with the British. They were unlike anyone he had ever met, and nothing in his previous experience had prepared him for dealing with them. One of his only thoughts of comfort was their kingdom was too far away for them to launch an invasion of his kingdom, but they could conduct raids. His only reassurance was his agreement with the British officer and his understanding that they were determined to follow it because they needed time for urgent repairs, and their main goal was to establish trade relations.

By the time Vijayabahu returned to his palace, he was convinced while this encounter with the British would be friendly, future encounters might be drastically different. Their large, fast ships allowed them to project power much further than kingdoms or empires before them.

During the following month, traders across the island descended on the Explorer to trade. Although it had cost him, Vijayabahu had first trade rights and used them to buy what he wanted. His most prized trade was a 20cm knife made from Damascus steel with a brass pommel, guard, and walnut handle. By the time the ship was ready to sail, they had few trade goods left and started trading some lower-value Chinese goods. Some sailors traded their personal belongings for trade goods to take home. Morwenna didn’t care as long as the sailors followed the rules set out for trade.

The day the Explorer was to leave, Vijayabahu showed up with his second wife, Aditi, and Chandrashekhar.

“Commander Morwenna!” he called out, and she smiled at him. “I come to ask a favor. May I send my second wife and Chandrashekhar with you to Britain? They can return on your next trading mission.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. But why?”

“Well,” Vijayabahu felt sheepish. “I cannot believe all the tales you tell of your lands and would like to have unbiased reports.”

Morwenna smiled wider, “That is understandable. Many things in Britain are hard to believe. They will be my guests, and as long as they follow instructions, we won’t have any problems.”

Vijayabahu nodded and signaled his guards to bring Aditi’s and Chandrashekhar’s luggage aboard. Chandrashekhar would bunk with the wardroom officers, while Aditi bunked with Morwenna. After explaining everything, Vijayabahu nodded and kissed his wife goodbye. While he was sad to see her go, he was glad because she hadn’t produced any children. With her gone, he could remarry.

Once Vijayabahu was off the ship, the steam engine was started, and the ship turned around to leave. Vijayabahu watched and saw Aditi waving from the fantail. He watched until the ship had sailed out of sight before returning to his capital. Hopefully, the next British ship would have more to trade.

Aboard the Explorer, Aditi became fast friends with Morwenna and Zongshi’s oldest daughter, Bai. The three would talk as best they could when Morwenna was off duty, and when she was on duty, Bai and Aditi would talk. Bai was as good with languages as Zongshi and spoke English well enough to communicate with the crew.

Rome, Papal States. June 1071

“What am I to do, Sextus?”

“What do you mean?” Sextus wasn’t about to tell the pope what most of the population thought; they wanted Alexander gone.

“With everything happening, why is the Lord working against the church? How could everything come crashing down?”

Sextus stayed quiet. He knew that poor leadership on Alexander’s part was a significant reason the Papal States were in such a bind. It might be terrible for the church if things continued on their current trajectory.

Pope Alexander’s world was beginning to crumble around him. To the southeast, the Byzantines in Bari were strongly resisting, while to the southwest, the Muslims and remaining Norman knights were forging a more robust alliance based on the defeat of Rome and religious tolerance. The Muslims provided the manpower and funding, while the Normans provided the training and heavy cavalry.

If Alexander didn’t have enough problems, his treasury was almost bone dry, and the populace of Rome refused to pay taxes to the church. The taxes collected in Rome were barely enough to keep the city functioning. When the Byzantines struck the previous year, and the city rioted after, most of the wealth in Rome vanished and hadn’t returned. Many of the city’s merchants moved to northern Italy, where the Holy Roman Empire was keeping the peace, and many were growing wealthy very quickly due to increasing trade.

Around Bali, the besieging Papal troops used their limited cannons to pound the city walls. Because of the cannon’s limited size, knocking the walls down was going slowly. Every night, the people of Bali would work to rebuild their fortifications, but they would be overwhelmed unless they received aid soon. Disease had broken out in the city, and more volunteers were killed by Papal cannonballs daily. The city’s only saving grace was the small size of the Papal Army.

Frankfort, Holy Roman Empire. June 1071

Emperor Henry IV had a new problem to contend with besides his nobles, who constantly threatened rebellion. The Lechitic tribes, a group of Slavic tribes on the Baltic coast, were growing restless. They had moved in when the German tribes migrated to France, Iberia, and Italy. Now, they were the power in the region and were beginning to raid along the Baltic coast. To complicate things, they were fiercely pagan, and pagan refugees from Norway had bolstered their numbers.

Many of the refugees were skilled fighters and had experience fighting with and against firepower. This made them valuable to the Lechitic, who didn’t have the experience. Henry IV hadn’t campaigned in the area since the Saxon rebellion and had only stayed until he had a solid treaty with King Hardrada.

As infrastructure work continued in Pomerania, numerous work crews had come under attack by Pagan tribes who resented the Germans encroaching on their territory. With spring and summer coming, the attacks intensified to the point where Henry was forced to do something.

On the summer solstice, a new campaign was launched. Its goal was to clean the pagans out of Pomerania and clear the area for German resettlement. This would be the most significant expedition the Emperor’s army launched since the Saxon Revolt. Like the reaction to the revolt, this expedition would be led by General Roon.

General Roon couldn’t be happier with the resources at his disposal. He had 20,000 men and officers under his command and was to be supplied by rail. Henry had been buying extra rails from Britain throughout the spring and had enough to lay a rail line from Frankfort to Stettin. From there, the supplies would be loaded on wagons and taken to the individual supply points.

To build the railroad, General Roon would employ the same former farmers who had been building railroads for almost a year. Since they had built railroads for so long, they had gotten fast at constructing them. Over clear ground, they could build twelve kilometers of track a day.

After moving out of their barracks near Frankfort, the army only took four days to reach Stettin. Behind them, the rail crews frantically built the new rail line. When General Roon entered Stettin, he could sense the tension of the local population. They were not happy the German Army was in their town, but Roon didn’t care. He had orders from the Emperor to pacify the area, and pacify it he would.

From Stettin, Roon would send patrols out to find any pagan forces in the area. If the patrols couldn’t defeat the enemy, they were to retreat and report. Once the enemy had been driven out of an area, an outpost would be built to keep control of the region.

Using the outpost method, Roon quickly forced the rebels out of western Pomerania, although he didn’t know why they fought so hard for the land. It was too sandy to grow good crops, and there were no other natural resources besides fish. Many pagans decided to convert to Christianity instead of leaving their homes. Roon didn’t care as long as they were loyal to the Emperor.

The ones who refused to convert were driven out, and the flood of refugees disrupted Polish operations in eastern Pomerania and Prussia. Here, it didn’t take the pagans long to defeat the Polish troops and drive them out of the region. This cut Poland’s access to the Baltic Sea and forced them to attack Prussia directly through the forest.

Driving the Polish out wasn’t one of Henry’s goals, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Once he had secured western Pomerania and Brandenburg, which would take a few years, he would continue East.