- Location
- Nice try
[X] Plan: Overcoming Early Difficulties
Class War Never Changes: A Fallout Quest in Pre-War China
- Thread starter TheInnerMoon
- Start date
TheInnerMoon
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The vote is now a bit too close for me to call it. Anybody want to be the definitive tiebreaker?
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You need to put an x in the brackets if you want the vote to be tallied. Regardless, tie definitely broken.
TheInnerMoon
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Indeed.
TheInnerMoon
Anarchist, Author, All-Around Philosopher
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Now let's see about those quality rolls:
TheInnerMoon
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Guess I didn't need to roll to add on the coordinating capacity action, so let's ignore that 24.
Supply Depots: Hunan Lv 1 17
Supply Depots: Yunnan Lv 1 93
Supply Depots: Shaanxi Lv 1 38
People's Weapon Caches: Chongqing Lv 1 13
People's Weapon Caches: Shaanxi Lv 1 42
Ministry University: Hunan 51
Designate Safe Zones (0->480/400) 18 + 20 = 38
Shock Labor Battalions [Labor]: Ministry University Cost Reduction (0->220/180) 22 + 22 = 44
Expand Our Coordinating Capacity: Central Committee 1d (auto, eats the 24)
Set a Ministerial Labor Standard 2d 27 + 53 = 80
Supply Depots: Yunnan Lv 1 93
Supply Depots: Shaanxi Lv 1 38
People's Weapon Caches: Chongqing Lv 1 13
People's Weapon Caches: Shaanxi Lv 1 42
Ministry University: Hunan 51
Designate Safe Zones (0->480/400) 18 + 20 = 38
Shock Labor Battalions [Labor]: Ministry University Cost Reduction (0->220/180) 22 + 22 = 44
Expand Our Coordinating Capacity: Central Committee 1d (auto, eats the 24)
Set a Ministerial Labor Standard 2d 27 + 53 = 80
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TheInnerMoon
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The overfunding calculation is percentual, so these actions get a +20 and +22 respectively.
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The Ministry isn't completed yet, so no roll is required. You also left out the Supply Depot for Chongqing. And don't forget the Practice Makes Perfect bonuses. So it's...
Supply Depots: Chongqing Lv 1 - 17+2 = 19
Supply Depots: Hunan Lv 1 - 93+2 = 95
Supply Depots: Yunnan Lv 1 - 38+2 = 40
Supply Depots: Shaanxi Lv 1 - 13+2 = 15
People's Weapon Caches: Chongqing Lv 1 - 42+8 = 50
People's Weapon Caches: Shaanxi Lv 1 - 51+8 = 59
Designate Safe Zones (0->480/400) 18 + 20 = 38
Shock Labor Battalions [Labor]: Ministry University Cost Reduction (0->220/180) 22 + 22 = 44
Expand Our Coordinating Capacity: Central Committee 1d (auto, eats the 24)
Set a Ministerial Labor Standard 2d 27 + 53 = 80
Still more frigging below average sets of rolls. The dice gods are running dogs of the counterrevolutionaries. The best I can say is that since decent quality is 40+, we technically manage to do it on 4 of the 6 here. And that Fuel-Saving Designs did well, so that might give us a bit more leverage with the Ministry of Energy going into Zhang's Gamble.
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The dice don't like Supply depots
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- He/Him
Honestly, if all the cost of the low rolls on Supply Depots are an extra turn to complete, that not really a problem in my mind. The real issue so far is Mobilization crapping out on us, even with the overfunding bonuses.
Sweet thanks for the correction. Not sure how I left out Chongqing, I even thought about it rolling low lmao.
51+8 = 59
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- He/Him
Blah, thank you.
TheInnerMoon
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I updated the last post with two useful links, and also added the last results post's lore elements to the directory.
Those links give some back round at least to Zhangs gambit
- Location
- Nice try
It would be nice to have some side stories to flesh the background of the world. Specially since this is China a virtually blackhole in Fallout verse so the QM and readers are given a great deal of freedom to act.
TheInnerMoon
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- They/Them
The next update is now live on Patreon! Sorry for taking so long, there was some academic work that had to get finished. There's actually more of that coming up, so I can't promise the next post will arrive any sooner. Not to mention all my other quests and essay work. If you want to keep up with some of that, I would refer you to my website or aforementioned Patreon.
Turn 2: Running On Fumes (2066 H2 Results)
TheInnerMoon
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Turn 2: Running On Fumes (2066 H2 Results)
The country runs aground in August, when it turns out that the nation's fuel reserves are less plentiful than the Energy Ministry's books implied. This in itself could have caused a huge scandal, were it not for the Party's own reticence to admit error. Most of the upper leadership was already expecting an escalation of the energy crisis anyway, just not before next year at the earliest.In the short term, the State does what it can to ameliorate the shortages. Any factory that can be deemed 'non-essential' is shuttered, making idle hands out of millions of workers. With many of the factories being in the domain of consumer production, the population now has to make do with handicraft, a practice of the most inefficient kind. The situation is even worse out in the countryside, as the people's communes are not getting enough heating oil to make it through the winter. Instead, they've been forced to use charcoal and firewood, a disaster for public health and the environment.
Everywhere you look, the fruits of modernity are receding fast. Something has to be done.
-2 to Environment in small and mid-sized provinces, -2 to Industry in mid and large ones
Supply Depots: Sichuan Lv 1 (Completes this turn)
Supply Depots: Henan Lv 1 (Completes this turn)
Supply Depots: Chongqing Lv 1 (0->100/100) 19
Supply Depots: Hunan Lv 1 (0->100/100) 95
Supply Depots: Yunnan Lv 1 (0->100/100) 40
Supply Depots: Shaanxi Lv 1 (0->100/100) 15
"Fuel use has been restricted to essential logistics, which apparently doesn't include our construction effort. We've had to shut down most of the machines too, using manpower instead of horsepower. Or, well, sometimes we've had to use actual horses. It's all backwards. Now the officers want us to show that we're struggling alongside the people, so we've had to pitch in as common day laborers. The Red Guards in our detachment can't get enough of it. As for me, if I see another bag of flour before the bombs drop, it'll be too soon."- Anonymous soldier's letter, Hunan Province Construction Department
- Ministry Letter to the Hunan Province Construction Department
Their meager stock and unfavorable location kept the supply depots from producing much change in the wasteland. As the bombs fell, they were sought out by the people who'd originally built them, hoping to use the unventilated warehouses as impromptu fallout shelters. Uselessly ensconced, the doomed squatters would quickly run out of anti-radiation supplies, filling the depots with all manner of jiangshi. Along with the story of the Trash Keepers, this ghastly fate would cement a folkloric association between the jiangshi and the egui, the 'hungry ghosts' of the Buddhist reincarnation cycle. Some even supposed that the entire pre-war world had been a realm of hungry ghosts, their insatiable appetite setting the stage for their ultimate destruction.
Overall though, such mythological musings would do little to change the fate of the Middle Realm. As it was, the only significant difference would come to the life of Chongqing's Sole Survivor, who was asked to secure one of the local depots by their PLA superiors. The mission would serve as their introduction to the state of the Chinese wastes, teaching them some valuable lessons about close quarters combat before encountering the Yankee enemy.
Overall though, such mythological musings would do little to change the fate of the Middle Realm. As it was, the only significant difference would come to the life of Chongqing's Sole Survivor, who was asked to secure one of the local depots by their PLA superiors. The mission would serve as their introduction to the state of the Chinese wastes, teaching them some valuable lessons about close quarters combat before encountering the Yankee enemy.
People's Weapon Caches: Chongqing Lv 1 (0->200/200) 50
People's Weapon Caches: Shaanxi Lv 1 (0->200/200) 59
Another day, another cache of arms for the people. Local party branches are not too happy about hosting these armories, but as long as they stay small, your efforts will escape the notice of bigger fish.10% Progress on Red Guards Partnership
With the urban centers on high alert, the Chongqing weapons cache see no use before the end of the world, becoming just another location for the Sole Survivor to loot on their way to safety.
In Shaanxi, however, the terrain is more favorable to a Rustication Revolt, and the resultant rising proves about as potent as the ones in Yunnan and Hunan. Like these other locations, only a few dozen insurgents manage to survive their conflict with the PLA, depending heavily on the support of local communities. This comes in useful when the bombs finally drop, since the rebels' contacts allow them to link the region's settlements together more quickly than elsewhere, keeping the peace between them in the process.
As in Hunan, a degree of syncretization between Red Guard ideology and local folkways proves inevitable, though the results are markedly different from the Buddhism-Maoism of the 108th Route Army. Instead, for instance, Mao's quotations are taken up as a substitute for the Yijing, becoming an alternate source of everyday divination. The veneration of ancestors also grows intermingled with Red Guard histories, with figures like Zhu De or Zhou Enlai becoming auxiliary saints to the central splendor of Mao Zedong. Overall, the common people are taught to emulate their communist forebears in all affairs, not least of them being the need to be both peasant and soldier. This latter tradition stands the Shaanxinese in good stead once they finally encounter other nearby communities, as they refuse to be pushovers in the face of petty raids.
Occasionally though, when the need for diplomacy arises, a less militant road is taken. Along with sending swathes of volunteer organizers out among the people, teaching wasteland survival and political theory both, the mountain Maoists of the "New Yan'an Soviet'' will grant the role of People's Representative to one of their most virtuous soldiers. Within their emergent spiritual traditions, this figure is said to channel some of the power of the original CPC leadership, and so they are often referred to by one of the old names. For our purposes, the most interesting of these is the Representative Mao Zedong, who was sent out to meet with the First Emperor Reborn. In times to come, I will relate their adventurous stories to you.
In Shaanxi, however, the terrain is more favorable to a Rustication Revolt, and the resultant rising proves about as potent as the ones in Yunnan and Hunan. Like these other locations, only a few dozen insurgents manage to survive their conflict with the PLA, depending heavily on the support of local communities. This comes in useful when the bombs finally drop, since the rebels' contacts allow them to link the region's settlements together more quickly than elsewhere, keeping the peace between them in the process.
As in Hunan, a degree of syncretization between Red Guard ideology and local folkways proves inevitable, though the results are markedly different from the Buddhism-Maoism of the 108th Route Army. Instead, for instance, Mao's quotations are taken up as a substitute for the Yijing, becoming an alternate source of everyday divination. The veneration of ancestors also grows intermingled with Red Guard histories, with figures like Zhu De or Zhou Enlai becoming auxiliary saints to the central splendor of Mao Zedong. Overall, the common people are taught to emulate their communist forebears in all affairs, not least of them being the need to be both peasant and soldier. This latter tradition stands the Shaanxinese in good stead once they finally encounter other nearby communities, as they refuse to be pushovers in the face of petty raids.
Occasionally though, when the need for diplomacy arises, a less militant road is taken. Along with sending swathes of volunteer organizers out among the people, teaching wasteland survival and political theory both, the mountain Maoists of the "New Yan'an Soviet'' will grant the role of People's Representative to one of their most virtuous soldiers. Within their emergent spiritual traditions, this figure is said to channel some of the power of the original CPC leadership, and so they are often referred to by one of the old names. For our purposes, the most interesting of these is the Representative Mao Zedong, who was sent out to meet with the First Emperor Reborn. In times to come, I will relate their adventurous stories to you.
Ministry University: Hunan (0->300/750)
Shock Labor Battalions [Labor]: Ministry University Cost Reduction (0->220/180) 44 (pass)
"With the recent factory shutdowns, Changsha has become a hive of indigent labor. That's going to be a real danger in a while, since the local party heads will have to chase the pigs back into the countryside eventually. They'll get the army to do it, I'm sure. At the moment though, it's great for us, since we get to pick anyone we need for the university construction project. If anything, we've had to keep the jobless masses away from the work site! The Red Guards are taking care of that now, executing on the mass line and all that, telling the younger workers that they'll get to be a student as soon as construction is done. I wouldn't count on that if I were them. Really, the kids are the only ones I feel sorry for. I don't think they'll get to study anywhere at all."- From the journal of Xiao Hailiang, construction supervisor in Hunan province
Fuel Saving Designs
Holotape Report by Professor Shen Jiahao, Research Department:"It is little surprising that the Ministry of Energy would seek out organic renewables as their main alternative fuel source. It can be used as a simple additive to existing fossil sources, with low concentrations requiring no major engine adjustments. This effectively enables a steady transition to a full biofuel regime, which would have been an ingenious strategy had we committed to it thirty years ago. At present, it's too little too late. Given the margins involved, using our cropland for fuel production would wreck the agricultural sector, never mind the mass rebuilding of our vehicle fleet. I remain optimistic about increasing the efficiencies of relevant cultivars, but even a conventional extractivist approach would be more advisable in the short term."
+1 to Industry and Network nationwide
20% Progress on Ministry of Energy Partnership
New Ministry of Energy Mandate: [ERROR: communication disrupted. Please stand by]
Logistically speaking, the advent of ethanol additives would change little about the life of post-war survivors. With arable land in short supply, no community was willing to waste their crops on a luxury like motor transport. Besides, the few vehicles that were still in use could just as easily be run on the available fuel reserves, of which there were many. Paradoxically, the one resource which had produced the Great War was now relatively bountiful, if only because there were so few people left.
The one major difference which ethanol fuels would make in the Chinese wastes came as the result of both boredom and foolishness, key attributes of the average American soldier. Caught up in the insanity of the Shanghai offensive, US troops would try anything to take their mind off things, including various bizarre chemical concoctions. Among these, 'Tank' was a more conventional one.
Named for the enemy vehicles the soldiers siphoned it from, the mix of gasoline and ethanol could give one a potent high if sufficiently treated, although the immediate health effects made its name all the more appropriate. Still, in an environment where life was cheap and booze was not, Tank was a preferable alternative to sobriety. To manage the taste, it would sometimes be combined with available stocks of Nuka-Cola, thus creating the despicable brew known as 'Tankola'. In time, Tankola would become a marker of elite status among the Yankee command staff, and either of its scarce ingredients could fetch you an excellent price with the Nation's Quartermasters.
If someone ever offers Tank to you, though, do whatever you can to decline.
The one major difference which ethanol fuels would make in the Chinese wastes came as the result of both boredom and foolishness, key attributes of the average American soldier. Caught up in the insanity of the Shanghai offensive, US troops would try anything to take their mind off things, including various bizarre chemical concoctions. Among these, 'Tank' was a more conventional one.
Named for the enemy vehicles the soldiers siphoned it from, the mix of gasoline and ethanol could give one a potent high if sufficiently treated, although the immediate health effects made its name all the more appropriate. Still, in an environment where life was cheap and booze was not, Tank was a preferable alternative to sobriety. To manage the taste, it would sometimes be combined with available stocks of Nuka-Cola, thus creating the despicable brew known as 'Tankola'. In time, Tankola would become a marker of elite status among the Yankee command staff, and either of its scarce ingredients could fetch you an excellent price with the Nation's Quartermasters.
If someone ever offers Tank to you, though, do whatever you can to decline.
Designate Safe Zones (0->480/400) 38
Any fool with the most basic understanding of Chinese geography could compile a map of likely safe zones. Thankfully, your ministry has many such fools. Taking into account such factors as population density, wind patterns, and general elevation, a set of distinct evacuation regions is quickly compiled. Maps of them will soon be provided to every major shelter site. Of course, even if the people know where to go, there's no guarantee that they'll be able to go there, or that there'll be any place to receive them if they do. But that's what the rest of your remit is about.+2 to Subsistence and Knowledge in mid-sized provinces
It would be useless to relate to you the history of the Hundred Hamlets, being far too short and far too tragic in many instances. While there were more than a hundred of them at the outset, they would 'consolidate' over the course of the Century of Annihilation. Often, the need to survive would force them to cannibalize their neighbors, and not always in a figurative sense. To avoid such sordid details, I would prefer an abstract approach to the hamlets' history: how did these settlements come about, and more importantly, how did they survive?
It all started with your recent decisions regarding evacuation policy. As expected, the designation of regional safe zones did little to ameliorate the instant death of nuclear bombardment. Among those who survived, however, the maps you distributed were a piece of much-needed hope. Misplaced hope, in many instances; when those who should have stayed put went out to search for safety instead, they found nothing but a lethal amount of rads. Even where the evacuees weren't killed along the way, they would only find minor villages in the remotest of places, of the kind that couldn't bear more mouths to feed. At the same time, the villages that weren't on any maps would face their own existential crises, lacking the expertise they'd need to survive the exigencies of post-atomic life. Taking all of these factors into account, it was only in those areas where demographic capacity met migrant expertise that anything viable was established. Here is where one would find the Hundred Hamlets.
In surviving a state of total social collapse, one would expect the first few years to be the hardest. The history of the hamlets shows us that this is not always the case. Given their remote location, secured against the worst fallout, any village that could incorporate its refugee arrivals had a good chance of making it through the first decade of post-atomic terror. They were lean years, to be sure, and the outside world presented many new and terrifying dangers. Still, if the grain stores had been kept up, and the soil was still somewhat workable, the peasants could survive the shock relatively intact.
Alas, even these distant enclaves of Chinese civilization could not escape the end of industrial society, and all the troubles that would bring with it. It is easy to throw up walls, to try and keep out the assorted horrors of the wasteland. But when the village tractor breaks down, or your supply of medicine runs out, the outside world suddenly looks a lot more inviting.
Venturing beyond their immediate locale, groups of daring and desperate peasants would make up the first major bands of rural scavengers. (Their urban counterparts are a different story altogether, as seen in the mythology of the Trash Keepers.) Proper scrap sites were hard to come by in these sparsely populated areas, and usually came down to either a local military base or a slightly larger regional town. In both instances, there was a high chance of running into another scavenger party, or at least finding the remnants of such. Wherever they interacted, things mostly ended well. Mostly. For if they were looking for the same scarce resource, or their encounter awakened some pre-existing hostility from before the war, it was not impossible for either party to not go home at all. Combined with the general attrition of the radioactive wastes and wilds, many villages would lose their best and brightest to these expeditions, along with the material lifelines they were aiming to establish. A great dying could be the only result, more meaningless even than natural selection, with the difference between survival and calamity being utterly arbitrary. Chaos reigned, and China died.
It wasn't until a few decades into the collapse that one could speak of anything resembling stable settlements. By this time, the hamlets that remained had necessarily built up a tradition of wasteland exploration, and were even beginning to trade their specific goods with one another. Though none were yet able to live off trade alone, it was clear that the more centrally located villages could become regional capitals over time. From there, the road to further state-building would be obvious to us: trade would need to be secured for the capitals to survive, and so outlying farmers would have to be taxed to fund the necessary bureaucrats and enforcers. But here we forget that the State is hardly an inevitable formation, and that the tradition of unilateral authority is rarer and more fragile than the 'civilized' assume.
As the earliest Chinese philosophers had already understood, the emergence of the state was closely tied to the emergency of banditry. There was always just a thin line between a tax man and a thief, or between a market fee and a protection racket. The greatest ruler was really just the most successful bandit, with Virtue or Divinity being their justification after the fact. However, in the absence of either standing armies, standard currencies, or permanent elites, there was little to drive the Hamlets into a state of permanent banditry. To be sure, they feuded among one another, but these were usually petty conflicts, retributions for perceived slights. At the most, they might redress an evil like murder by taking captives in return, a practice that would also spring up in times of falling birth rates.
In general, we can say that conflict in this meager time was highly ritualized, since all understood the danger of mutually assured destruction. Breaking that tradition would require the enticement of a far greater social surplus, along with a profoundly antisocial motive. Neither was all that likely in the first decades of the Century of Annihilation. Still, it remains an intriguing possibility: who would be the first organic 'Bandit King' of the new China, and what perennial evils would follow in their wake? I will leave that question for another time.
It all started with your recent decisions regarding evacuation policy. As expected, the designation of regional safe zones did little to ameliorate the instant death of nuclear bombardment. Among those who survived, however, the maps you distributed were a piece of much-needed hope. Misplaced hope, in many instances; when those who should have stayed put went out to search for safety instead, they found nothing but a lethal amount of rads. Even where the evacuees weren't killed along the way, they would only find minor villages in the remotest of places, of the kind that couldn't bear more mouths to feed. At the same time, the villages that weren't on any maps would face their own existential crises, lacking the expertise they'd need to survive the exigencies of post-atomic life. Taking all of these factors into account, it was only in those areas where demographic capacity met migrant expertise that anything viable was established. Here is where one would find the Hundred Hamlets.
In surviving a state of total social collapse, one would expect the first few years to be the hardest. The history of the hamlets shows us that this is not always the case. Given their remote location, secured against the worst fallout, any village that could incorporate its refugee arrivals had a good chance of making it through the first decade of post-atomic terror. They were lean years, to be sure, and the outside world presented many new and terrifying dangers. Still, if the grain stores had been kept up, and the soil was still somewhat workable, the peasants could survive the shock relatively intact.
Alas, even these distant enclaves of Chinese civilization could not escape the end of industrial society, and all the troubles that would bring with it. It is easy to throw up walls, to try and keep out the assorted horrors of the wasteland. But when the village tractor breaks down, or your supply of medicine runs out, the outside world suddenly looks a lot more inviting.
Venturing beyond their immediate locale, groups of daring and desperate peasants would make up the first major bands of rural scavengers. (Their urban counterparts are a different story altogether, as seen in the mythology of the Trash Keepers.) Proper scrap sites were hard to come by in these sparsely populated areas, and usually came down to either a local military base or a slightly larger regional town. In both instances, there was a high chance of running into another scavenger party, or at least finding the remnants of such. Wherever they interacted, things mostly ended well. Mostly. For if they were looking for the same scarce resource, or their encounter awakened some pre-existing hostility from before the war, it was not impossible for either party to not go home at all. Combined with the general attrition of the radioactive wastes and wilds, many villages would lose their best and brightest to these expeditions, along with the material lifelines they were aiming to establish. A great dying could be the only result, more meaningless even than natural selection, with the difference between survival and calamity being utterly arbitrary. Chaos reigned, and China died.
It wasn't until a few decades into the collapse that one could speak of anything resembling stable settlements. By this time, the hamlets that remained had necessarily built up a tradition of wasteland exploration, and were even beginning to trade their specific goods with one another. Though none were yet able to live off trade alone, it was clear that the more centrally located villages could become regional capitals over time. From there, the road to further state-building would be obvious to us: trade would need to be secured for the capitals to survive, and so outlying farmers would have to be taxed to fund the necessary bureaucrats and enforcers. But here we forget that the State is hardly an inevitable formation, and that the tradition of unilateral authority is rarer and more fragile than the 'civilized' assume.
As the earliest Chinese philosophers had already understood, the emergence of the state was closely tied to the emergency of banditry. There was always just a thin line between a tax man and a thief, or between a market fee and a protection racket. The greatest ruler was really just the most successful bandit, with Virtue or Divinity being their justification after the fact. However, in the absence of either standing armies, standard currencies, or permanent elites, there was little to drive the Hamlets into a state of permanent banditry. To be sure, they feuded among one another, but these were usually petty conflicts, retributions for perceived slights. At the most, they might redress an evil like murder by taking captives in return, a practice that would also spring up in times of falling birth rates.
In general, we can say that conflict in this meager time was highly ritualized, since all understood the danger of mutually assured destruction. Breaking that tradition would require the enticement of a far greater social surplus, along with a profoundly antisocial motive. Neither was all that likely in the first decades of the Century of Annihilation. Still, it remains an intriguing possibility: who would be the first organic 'Bandit King' of the new China, and what perennial evils would follow in their wake? I will leave that question for another time.
Expand Our Coordinating Capacity: Central Committee 1d 24
Set a Ministerial Labor Standard 2d 80
Less than a week after the start of the crisis, Zhang bursts into your office with his characteristic lack of tact. The privilege of a patron, in his view; courtesy is for subordinates.Despite the evident interruption, Zhang starts off jovial. He was just coming to see how she was settling in! Maybe she needs some administrative assistance? He has some great clerks on staff, and of course you're welcome to borrow his mechanical porters. You return his smalltalk honestly, kvetching about the usual bureaucratic dysfunction. All the while, you wonder when he'll get to the point. Is he trying to bore whoever might be listening in?
"We need to get rid of the Oil Gang."
There it is. Let's try and be diplomatic, you think. He's in a tough spot, so maybe he'll meet you halfway.
"Frankly, I don't disagree. The Ministry of Energy is far too conventional for our liking as well. Professor Shen is eager to match the Americans on fusion power, but the fossils won't Sanction it, and we can't fund it alone. Still, we are building a working relationship with the ministry, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize that. Can you keep the fallout to a minimum?"
It feels good to appear so ministerial in his presence.
"Oh, don't worry, you'll hardly be involved. We just get our friends in the other ministries to make some noise, then you voice your own complaints in the Mobilization Commission, and finally I deliver the killing blow in the politburo. By my reckoning, some pals on the standing committee are already fed up with the situation as it is, so we only need to suggest that things could get worse. And they will, especially if the present negotiations with the imperialists fall through."
"Yes, I've seen the projections. Our current progress in biofuels won't be able to make up for the shortfall."
Zhang raises an eyebrow. "That's not exactly what I meant. The Oil Gang wants that Alaskan deposit, one way or another. It's a matter of national security."
You know what that euphemism means. The drums of war, growing ever more audible.
"I…I understand." You put your head in your hands, and to his minimal credit, he lets you have a moment.
It wasn't a surprise, not really; the present crisis had but one 'simple' solution, however catastrophic its side effects. The CMC's liaisons were also growing more interested in her ministry, implying that the PLA deserved as much attention as the Red Guards. They wouldn't force the issue yet, but it wouldn't be long. You'd have to make the most of the time afforded to you. But does that mean you should sanction Zhang's coup?
Have him give you something, you think.
"Your plan…is one we can work with. I'll get some of my people to prepare a formal complaint about the lack of cooperation on energy. I can't let our efforts suffer from the crossfire, though, so let us at least finish the current biofuels project. That'll be a few more months at the most."
"Hmm." Much of Zhang's earlier bravado has disappeared. "I'm afraid that's not fast enough. The situation is only going to get worse, and we need to present a plausible alternative if I'm to talk the politburo off the ledge. I need you to put your whole administration on this as soon as possible."
"You know I can't do that, Zhang! We have our own political pressures to respond to."
"What, your act of prostration before the Central Committee? If we do this right, they'll be far more pleased with you in the long run. I certainly won't forget it."
There's also the labor effort, you think. But he would just mock you for that too. No, it's clear that you've lost this round, and that Zhang will get what he wants.
"We'll do it your way then. The department will need a few days to put its present work on ice, but after that, a report can be written up quickly. Heaven knows we have stuff to complain about."
He smiles. "I look forward to it. With the Oil Gang gone, we might save this country yet!"
No, Zhang. It will just die more slowly.
Zhang's Gamble 24+80=104 (pass)
Minister Zhang is preparing his takeover of the Energy Ministry. Large changes incoming.
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TheInnerMoon
Anarchist, Author, All-Around Philosopher
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Some notes on the update:
- Sorry for sabotaging your political actions. History has a way of intervening, and this was an opportunity I didn't want you to miss.
- The bit about Tank is inspired by the ridiculous ways Soviet soldiers would try to get high at Stalingrad.
- Yes, the Energy Ministry's research is kinda shit. That's the point.
- Was the bit about the Hundred Hamlets just an excuse for me to rant about state formation? Yes.
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Nobody ever has to apologise about state formation rants.
Also I think it's really cool that you're taking an approach to world building that goes beyond the processualist 'stages of civilisation'.
TheInnerMoon
Anarchist, Author, All-Around Philosopher
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The original version of that segment was a little too stageist, which was exactly what I was trying to avoid. I think the origins of permanent social stratification are too easily naturalized, as if they would automatically result from simple population density. As it is, the biggest 'dangers' in terms of post-war state formation are either some pre-existing concentration of monopolizable capital (such as as pre-war facility), or else an ideological holdout like the Yankees or even the Red Guards. Old world blues is hard to overcome.