The Markets Pre-Modern History

## The market

The Heavenly Southern Winds Market, or more commonly known as the Fish Market is a expansive realm located at the coordinates 19°01'50.5"N 114°38'02.6"E. It is known for its vast array of sea delicacies, and unnatural phenomenon's that are hitherto unknown to the outside world. Many adventure to this vast network of 5 main islands in search of clairvoyance in life, yet nobody seems to find it.

### Early history

The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years, with evidence of civilization since almost 760 BC. Yet, the modern civilization was founded in the wake of the collapse of the Ming dynasty. It was said a ship of around 270 Ming loyalists set sail from Hainan to Taiwan yet were blown off course by a monsoon, all were killed except one. He would wash ashore on the main island in November of 1646, and from there would begin establishing a small settlement. The natives of the island would welcome the founder and would help him in his establishment of a new settlement for some time, until the great fire.

#### The great fire

The great fire was a series of arsons committed by the founders followers in the wake of the murder of captain xi-huang Xu, a trusted advisor and friend of the founder. It saw the burning and destruction of tens of hundreds of native homes across the main island, and would be catalyst for the period of darkness, which was a year constant war and famine on the island. The natives would retaliate by destroying the rice fields of the founder and his followers which would bring on the great famine of 1649-1650, and would see the death or departure of almost 7000 new settlers, almost a third of the population. They would also raid into the main settlement of Xīn shānxu and capture or kill 200+ more settlers. This would be the last time the natives of the island would be on the offensive.

##### The wars end

The founder would raise an army 8000 strong of men, women and children to march across the island and burn, pillage and destroy every native settlement they found. It would take 7 months, and almost 1/4th of the army would die in the skirmishes, but all major and minor native outposts would be destroyed and the natives would flee to the secondary island. This victory would cement the founders place in mythology and would begin an era of peace and prosperity for the next 70 years.

## The era of good fortune (1650-1720)

The era of good fortune refers to a time of economic growth and prosperity across the main island. Its start is marked by the expulsion of the natives off the island and the founding of the Heavenly Southern Winds Market on a small island in the bay of rén in the year 1651. The market would see many new fishermen flock to the island, and these fishermen would go on to found the so called "5 suit families" that would run the market for many years to come. The market would also see the creation of 2 new companies that were set to manage the growing fishing and rice industries that swept across the island, these were the "Heavenly rice company" and the "Heavenly fishing company".

### Public works and connecting the realm

The public works projects of the 1660's-1680's were some of the largest to ever take place in the markets history. It began with the "declaration of connection" that stated famously "we have made the civilization, now we must make the civilians.". This would kick off the construction of the trans-island trail in the year 1664 that linked heavily populated south eastern bay of the main island to the more rural and sparsely populated north west. The trail would finish fully in the year 1668 and would begin the great migration of many who lived in the south to the north due to the souths yearly flooding. The trial would also see the expansion of trade to the northern rural towns, who began the export of many new unknown fish to the market.

#### The rén canal

The rén canal was a canal that set to cut travel times between the bay of rén and the southern shores of the island in half by cutting between the rén valley. The project would start in the fall of 1685 and would end with the first boat passing through in the summer of 1687. This would mark a high point in trade across the island, with the north, south and west all being linked to the heavily populated and wealthy east. The market would begin exporting its fish across the island, and establishing new pop up markets in the northern settlements in the year 1691. The south would also be wrapped into the easts prosperity, and would become a central point for further fishing and to the southern sea.

##### The port assembly

The port assembly was a series of construction projects headed by the leader of the Jingmei family (one of the 5 suit families). Its purpose was to expand western port infrastructure to match with the south and east, and to grow the lacking fishing business on that side of the island. Construction on the first port would begin on the 8th of March, 1699 and would end a surprising 4 months later, on the 5th of July 1699, due to the family hiring skilled laborers from the very skilled northern settlements. A following 8 ports would be constructed from the southern side of the west, all the way to the north section over the next 4 years, although many would fall into ruin due to a monsoon that would ravage the north west of the island. This monsoon would end the project before it truly could advance the western coast and would lead to Ma Jingmei being replaced by his son, and new head of the family Li zon Jingmei. Many of the ports are still present on the western half, and some such as the first are still very important locations for the island.

### Exploration and conquest

The period of good fortune also saw the civilizations expansion to the neighboring islands of the archipelago. The first expedition to the northern island was launched in the year 1693, and saw 47 men funded by the Yīngwo family set sail in the hopes of establishing a settlement and trading post. They arrived after only a journey of 2 weeks and established a small settlement, and set out to find resources to expand the settlement. The next week an expedition of 10 men discover the north coast of the island along with an abandoned settlement. Not much is known about what occurred next , but according to a journal entry by one of the men, the settlement was attacked by a group of natives who amongst other things were said to have "the face and body the same as that of a fish." The journal entry also stated:

"They seemed to show no regard for human life, and did not seem phased by any of our repulses towards them. These men ran off with 3 of my fellow men, and much of our supplies. Our journey has been cut short, and we are to set sail to civilization as soon as we can. I do not know of their fates, nor do I truly wish to know."

The remaining members of the expedition would return to the island to tell the others their experience. Nothing would come of their expedition, and these men would all be labeled as outsiders for what they believed they saw, and would all fade into obscurity, dispersing across the northern region of the island.

#### The second expedition

The second expedition would be launched 12 years later in the year in the year 1705 by the Yīngwo and Zèng family to curb the growing power of the heavily influential Jingmei family, who up until this point, had been the main family fishing and doing business in the northern seas. 10 ships and 8000 soldiers were sent to the islands to fully conquer and subjugate the islands. The ships were launched in the summer of 1705 and reached the islands in the winter of 1706, due to being blown off course by a monsoon. The ships landed on the eastern side of the island and soldiers began making camp, but later that night they would be ambushed by the fishmen. 48 men would fall, as opposed to 12 fishmen. The next day, the general who would be leading the troops, general Yuan Lu Zèng, brother in law to head of the Zèng family, Lan Zu Zèng began his expedition west. The troops would march for 2 days and not discover a single settlement nor would discover a single native. General Zèng was on record saying:

"When I was given the task of subduing an island of "savages", I expected the island to have said savages"

This was until after almost 3 days of constant marching, the army set up camp in a valley filled with large dense forest many miles inland. Night began to fall when the soldiers were awoken by a barrage of arrows raining down upon them. In the first minutes of the ambush, 700 men were killed and many many more were wounded. The fishmen began running into the enemy camp, catching the resting soldiers off guard and massacring them in their own tents. When the battle was over, 6894 lied dead, with all the remaining left wounded. General Zèng would be decapitated in the fighting after attempting to run from the fishmens advance, and his head would be left in the camp. The soldiers who remained fled the camp with only some weapons and managed to reach the ships in just 2 days. 300 more would be killed during their retreat and 40 soldiers would be taken to an unknown fate. As the remaining 718 soldiers reached the coast, they needed but one ship to return to the islands. Upon their return, they spread their story to the masses, and eventually word spread to the head of the Zèng family and the founder. 4 years later, the founder would act upon his instincts.

##### The final conquest

The founder upon arriving to the market, sent out a message for all citizens to meet him in the city center. There he would give a speech, rallying the citizens around him, to "avenge our fallen brother, fathers and sons who have been slain by the barbarians." He would entail the following message into the peoples mind:

"As we did almost 60 long years ago, we will beat back the barbarian hordes, and instill a safe, and peaceful future for our children. It is with a heavy heart that I call upon all able bodied men, to join me in a conquest of the northern realm, for our civilization, and for our people."

As the founder returned to his fortress north of the market, an envoy from the Zèng family would arrive giving their full support to the conquest. They promised 40 ships and as many men as they could muster for the invasion. At the same time the head of the Norzu family approached the founder. He explained to him a vision he had, and that the northern islands would not fare him well. He was stated as saying "Do not listen to the Zèngs, for they have their own motives. For Hars Norzo had an eerie dream, and they have proven to be foreboding.". The founder would ignore these warnings, and in the spring of 1711, he would lead 100 ships and 12,000 men to the southern coast of the northern realm.

The army would reach the island in the winter of 1711, and would immediately locate a village of 120 natives. They would burn the village down and continue marching across the island. As they marched, the natives would begin to assemble an army of 9000 men to face the invader. The founder and his army reached a large plateau base and began to set up camp. The native army marched on the camp, and on the 4th of February 1711, the battle of the black Plateau began. The native army began raining arrows onto the unready soldiers, who were still putting on their armor and getting their weapons, very reminiscent of the previous attempted conquest. 1000 soldiers would attempt to break the arrow barrage and succeeded, killing 1/3rd of the bowmen and sending the rest into retreat. The fishmen general then set out 400 troops to the right and left to attempt to pincer the founders army. This move would cause the side halves of the now ready army to at first fall back, but then stand strong and defeat the incoming natives.

In the middle of the battle, the founder himself would rush out with his most elite soldiers to break the natives front guard, crucially though he would run out without any of his armor on, nor his shield. With arrows raining from all sides, a singular arrow flew out and hit the founder in the neck, killing him instantly. At that point Zèng and Norzo rushed into battle, with their armor on and even then they were not able to break the natives front wall.

On the second day of the battle, a final frontal assault was called. The assault saw 5 thousand men push into the natives guard of 2000 shield men, and resulted in an overwhelming Natalist victory against the natives. Once the wall broke, the bowmen who were protected were cut down and finally after 2 days of fighting, the battle of the Black Plateau finished. What remained of the native army fled into the forest, only to be hunted by reinforcements from the main island. The next 2 years saw the destruction and massacre of almost all fishmen on the island, and the rest being forcefully exiled to a smaller north eastern island. A journal entry from one of the soldiers contained the following line, that summed up the conquest of the island:

"A lone arrow became our founders bane, yet so it was that his men conquered the land and the barbarians law was culled there at the black plateau."

###### Colonization of the northern island

With the natives of the north island being mostly routed by the year 1713, settlement began by average citizens. Many resources were plentiful on the island including timber, fur and silver and they attracted the eye of many of the lower class citizens. In only 3 years, 20,000 people would migrate to settlements on the southern coast, and over the next few years would diffuse across the rest of the island. The remaining natives on the island numbered around 700 and were mostly regulated to the north east of the island. Skirmishes would continue until the last natives would be either killed or pushed off the island in the 1720s-30s.