Wu of the Wu dynasty was the supposed Dragon Emperor of Grand Cathay during the 17th century IC. For the scholars of the Old World he was a far-sighted leader who gave great importance to trade between the Celestial Empire and the west, imposing himself fiercely into the Known World's commercial routes thanks to his armies but also establishing good relations with the merchant princes of Tilea.[1a]
Not much is known of the relationship between Cathay and Araby, other than that a rivalry existed between them over control of the spice trade from the Southlands to the Old World. By 1690 IC, several Cathayan traders, such as the Tei-Pings, plied the maritime route between Cathay and Araby. Dragon Emperor Wu attempted to gain supremacy over the trade by conquering the mysterious regions of the Southlands where spices were harvested, but he had not reckoned upon encountering a powerful and flourishing realm of the Lizardmen there, nor upon the Slann's mighty magical powers -- which sunk his great Cathayan fleet by unleashing two mighty typhoons.[1a][1d]
It was later revealed that "Wu" was a mistranslation by scholars from the Old World of the individual actually responsible for Cathay's commercial efforts in that era: the Sea Dragon, Yin-Yin, the Cathayan Dragon daughter of the Dragon Emperor who was the Lord of the Eastern Provinces of Cathay and the Admiral of the Grand Dragon Fleet. It was Yin-Yin who ordered the Cathayan fleet to invade the Southlands in the hopes of securing a monopoly over the spice trade to the Old World from the Arabyans. "Wu" actually means "Great Dragon Leader," which is a title used in the Celestial Empire for the true Dragon Emperor, Xen Yang, the immortal ruler of Cathay.[4][5]
History[]
The Spice Trade: Cathayan Encounter with the Lizardmen[]
By 1690 IC, the Cathayans did not know of the existence of the contient of Lustria in the New World, and had heard only vague references to a mysterious race of "lizard-daemons" that lived in the Southlands. In that year, western scholars of the Old World report that Dragon Emperor Wu of the Wu Dynasty launched an invasion fleet to conquer the regions of that continent that weren't under Arabyan or Undead control in order to take the spice trade from Arabyan hands.[1a]
Wu's huge fleet, however, was struck by a typhoon soon after its departure, with several ships straying off course. One of these was that of the Cathayan sailor Yin-Tuan, which reached the western coast of the Lustrian isthmus of Pahuax, which is the narrow stretch of land which joins the continents of Lustria and Naggaroth. His party would have passed perhaps as close as within one or two hundred miles of the Norscan colony of Skeggi and even closer to the Lizardmen temple-city of Pahuax. Yin-Tuan of course had no idea that these places even existed.[1a][1b][1c][1d]
Believing they were on the western side of the Southlands rather than an entirely different continent, Yin-Tuan and his companions crossed the Lustrian rainforests, clashing with Skinks and Kroxigor only after stealing seven gold plaques from a ruined temple-city. After returning them and arriving without further harm to the shores of the Great Ocean on the eastern coast of Lustria, they built a new ship and attempted again to reach the Southlands.[1a][1b][1c][1d]
The prevailing winds and currents carried Yin-Tuan's ship far to the south of the island-continent of Ulthuan, and blew it towards the coast of the Southlands. His small army decided to cross through the jungles of the Southlands to reach the Dragon Emperor's fleet, but were attacked and defeated by Saurus Warriors. All the Cathayan survivors were sacrificed, save for Yin-Tuan, whose Imperial Dragon tattoo on emblazoned on his naked back reminded the Skink Priests of their god Sotek. He was therefore imprisoned rather than sacrificed, but managed to escape during the night and reached a river flowing eastwards. On the eastern shores of the Southlands he found the remains of the great Cathayan fleet and was rescued by Cathayan spice traders.[1a][1b][1c][1d]
From them he learned that the Dragon Emperor's fleet had been wrecked while at anchor by a second terrible typhoon. By that time the bulk of the remaining Cathayan troops had already disembarked. The leaders decided to march inland and attempt the conquest of the Southlands rather than report a failure to the Dragon Emperor. The survivors had marched inland and disappeared. The Dragon Emperor had therefore ordered all Cathayan traders to keep watch on the coasts for any sign of their banners. Yin-Tuan was the only survivor of that mighty expedition to be found alive.[1d]
It is quite possible that the Slann mage-priests with their arcane power to influence the geography of the Known World, brought about the two disastrous typhoons which destroyed the Cathayan fleet. One typhoon struck as the fleet set out, the other as it lay at anchor. The Slann would have needed no advance warning of the Cathayan invasion of their lands. They would have acted according to the predictions of the Old Ones. Thus the typhoons would with uncanny accuracy coincide with the Dragon Emperor of Cathay's attempted invasion. It is possible that only one typhoon was required according to the predictions of the Old Ones, but that two opposing schools of thought among the mage-priests of different temple-cities resulted in two typhoons being unleashed, separated by several weeks in time.[1d]
The Silk Road to Tilea[]
However, the accounts of what had happened to the great Cathayan fleet in the Southlands appear to have been forgotten, lost, or at least not widely known by 1699 IC, since other Tilean traders still did not know what lay beyond the Worlds Edge Mountains and the Dark Lands. In that year, the brothers Ricco and Robbio, Tilean merchants in Karaz-a-Karak, bought a tattered but exceptionally fine silk banner from some Dwarf adventurers who had been far to the east. They claimed to have captured it from a band of Hobgoblins.[3b]
The banner bore the symbol of a Dragon, and the Dwarfs, not bothered about keeping what they believed to be an Elf banner, were eager to sell it for gold. The significance of the banner was not lost on Ricco and Robbio. If it was an Elf banner captured by the Hobgoblins, it could be the answer to a question which had been vexing the minds of many Tilean merchants: was it possible to get to Ulthuan by going eastwards as an overland route instead of sailing westwards over the sea? If such a thing were possible, it could mean that Ulthuan was at the eastern end of the great Old World continent. It would also mean that the mortal world of Mallus was round and not flat as most people believed.[3b]
Sea Elf seafarers had never revealed much about Ulthuan. The Norscans seemed to think it was an island. Marco Colombo in his writings speculated as to whether it was an island or a peninsula of a great northern continent attached to Lustria. He believed, as did many others, that only this could explain where the Dark Elves came from and why they fought against the High Elves.[3b]
Ricco and Robbio suspected that if they journeyed far enough to the east they would either arrive in Ulthuan, or maybe even Lustria, or on the far coast of the Old World continent opposite Ulthuan. Unfortunately this coast might be held by Dark Elves. The fine workmanship of the silk banner and its Dragon motif suggested a High Elf origin, so perhaps it had been lost in battle with the Dark Elves and captured by Hobgoblin lackeys in their employ. Ricco and Robbio scoured the Dwarf strongholds of the Worlds Edge Mountains seeking more artefacts of Elven workmanship which had come out of the east. They ultimately acquired a small hoard of objects, including scrolls bearing what appeared to be Elven writing, weapons, and silks which Dwarf traders were pleased to sell for gold.[3b]
The two brothers returned to their home city of Verezzo and tried to raise funds for an expedition into the east. Their intention was to find an overland route to Ulthuan and possibly even Lustria. This would avoid the hazards of a long sea voyage and show the High Elves that they might rule the seas but not the land. Also it would enable Verezzo to get one up on her trading rivals in Remas, which was enjoying a monopoly on the western sea trade at that time. The Prince of Verezzo was very enthusiastic about the venture and all the merchant princes of the city followed his example. Merchants from Luccini, Miragliano, and Pavona also contributed to the enterprise.
It was decided that the expedition was so dangerous that only a powerful armed force could be expected to fight its way across the continent. Therefore a great mercenary army was gathered, led by the best mercenary commanders of the day. Furthermore, there was a large civilian contingent of merchants, artisans, craftsmen and others, together with their wives and camp followers. The baggage train stretched for over a mile. The intention was to set up a trading post as far east as possible.[3b][3c]
As the expedition passed through the lands of the Border Princes it gathered further contingents motivated by a sense of adventure. When it reached the Karaz Ankor, several Dwarf contingents joined the column, notably Slayers, attracted by the generally held belief that the expedition was doomed. In 1699 IC the expedition, now numbering over a thousand Tileans and various other mercenaries, left Karaz-a-Karak for the Far East, travelling up the Worlds Edge Mountains to the Road of Skulls and beyond.[3b][3c]
It was many years before anyone in Tilea heard of the fate of the expedition or what they had discovered. Then, in 1714 IC, a merchant caravan of pack yaks arrived at Verezzo, laden down with bundles of silk. With the bales of silk came a message from Ricco and Robbio explaining they were now residing in the westernmost outpost of the Celestial Empire of Cathay. It was now clear that there was no eastern route to Ulthuan or Lustria. The Known World was indeed flat and much, much larger than anyone could have imagined.[3c]
Instead of Elves, the Tileans had encountered an entirely unknown realm. Indeed it was a populous empire of vast extent and unimaginable wealth. Apparently Ricco and Robbio had not been permitted to enter the Empire of Cathay because, as the Cathayans had politely explained, they were hairy and uncouth barbarians. However, the Dragon Emperor Wu had been intrigued by these strangers. He had been delighted with the return of the banner of his Palace Guard and was gratified to receive the submission and tribute of the entire land of Tilea -- a ruse pulled by the cunning Ricco and Robbio in order to avoid being summarily beheaded. The Dragon Emperor had agreed to hire the entire expedition into his service, having been impressed by a battle in which the mercenaries had held off a Cathayan army which, although small by Cathayan standards, had in fact outnumbered the Tileans by about three to one.[3c]
Since that time, a foreign mercantile quarter has flourished in Shang-Yang, which is the westernmost of the Cathayan fortress cities on the Silk Road. This is the name by which the trade route to Cathay opened up by Ricco and Robbio has become known. Trading caravans now move along this route very rarely and only a few reach their destination due to the terrible hazards of the journey and the scourge of the Hobgobla-Khan and his Great Horde which, when all his loyal tribes are drawn up for battle, is said to extend from horizon to horizon.[3c]
The Tilean mercenaries in Shang-Yang have become "guests" of the Dragon Emperor of Cathay and valued warriors in his service. The Dragon Emperor uses these "barbarian" troops to help defend his western frontier against the wrath of Hobgobla-Khan. Of course, by doing this, the Tileans serve their own interests by keeping open the Silk Road and allowing its wealth to continue to travel westwards.[3c]
Trivia[]
The destruction of the Cathayan armada by two powerful typhoons is likely based upon the two Mongol Invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. Like its fantasy counterpart, the armada launched by the Mongol Yuan dynasty of China was amongst the largest naval invasion forces ever raised in the Eastern Hemisphere until the Pacific conflict of World War II.
In total, both Mongol invasion forces together would have numbered nearly 6,000 ships which carried around 200,000 Mongol and Chinese soldiers. Both naval forces were struck by a typhoon of immense size which destroyed half of the fleet before they made landfall on Japan. These storms were seen by the Japanese as the work of the Shinto gods of Japan who sought to save their people. For this reason they were called the kamikaze or "divine wind."
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Skaven (4th Edition)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (5th Edition)
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition)
- 4: Total War Blog - An Introduction to Grand Cathay by Ben Barrett
- 5: Full Youtube Interview With Total War: Warhammer III Lead Writer Andy Hall, Lorebeards Podcast, October 12, 2021