The Bother With Blockades {France and Taiwan}

[France]

January of 1884, Port of Tamsui

It had long been decided by France that the main problem with the world was that other people-and nations alike-did not always agree with him. Sure, every now and then someone would come around to his way of thinking and realize that Francis really did have some good ideas. Every now and then, an old rival even might come around and be forced to grudgingly admit that a nation as powerful and old as Francis did in fact know what he was doing when it came to conquest and watching over his borders and interests. It seemed to him though that those instances were few and far between, especially in recent times. More often than not, if he had keen interesting in doing something then some other nation was going to get bent out of shape and attempt to hinder him somehow.

Staring out at the growing shape of a French ship slowly coming sailing towards the port, Francis reflected on how that was exactly what was happening now. These Asian nations were proving to be very problematic for his plans. Not just Vietnam either-who probably had the best reason to be sore about Francis’ dreams of conquest- but China and even Taiwan were making things more difficult than they had to be.

Originally the idea had been so very simple and straightforward for France: Annex some provinces of northern Vietnam so that he could spread his influence and gain a few privileges. There was nothing wrong with a powerful nation wanting to spread their influence a bit more, right? It wasn’t like he was trying to claim all of Asia for himself. Besides, he was doing it for more noble reasons as well, like spreading the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. People needed religion, especially his predominant religion, right? Of course they did by his reasoning. Although since his foray into these exotic lands, Francis was starting to doubt whether even the church would be able to help some of these savages.

And that was exactly what these Asians were proving to be. If they were not whining about how his merchants had been treating them, they were forming groups of resistance to try and stop his advances. In the case of the Chinese, they were simply refusing to adhere to written agreements and were content to make things as difficult as possible by not leaving and then arranging ambushes for Francis’ brave soldiers. It was downright infuriating. With all his recent captures, Francis had expected that Yao would be ready to back off and just accept the fact that Francis was going to lay claim to the Tonkin area.

Of course Yao had not done that. So now Francis was forced to get nasty and attempt to hinder the Chinese menace by creating a blockade in Taiwan’s southern ports. Had the Frenchman not been standing out in some truly foul weather, he would have smiled a little at the thought of Yao not being able to use the Pescadores Islands for landing anymore. If he weakened the enemy’s forces enough, surely that would give him and advantage that might even make up for losing so many of his men the last couple months to disease. His Frenchmen were clearly of better quality than the barbaric Chinese, so even if he was only slightly outnumbered he was confident that he could overtake the enemy forces.

Then again, with such awful weather and conditions, it was hard to keep optimistic about anything while stuck in this Hellish port. France breathed a heavy sigh as he turned his sights from the struggling French vessel and started off along the wooden docks. It had been raining since he could remember now, with the fog and humidity making the place downright awful for comfort and visibility. Sure he was used to foggy ports back in his own lands, but foggy, wet and humid? The longer he stayed alongside his men here, the more he started to think that maybe Hell itself was located underneath Taiwan. The tropical climate just did not agree with him and having to sleep on mud every night in leaky structures was the farthest thing from "French" that he could think of. His uniform was often coated in mud, only to be washed out later by the insistent downpours -which made him then look like a miserable, blonde drowned rat.

Wandering along the slippery dock to allow the rain to wash away the mud from earlier, Francis hoped that soon enough he would be able to leave for drier lands again. Stopping to watch with detached interest as a smaller French vessel was unloading a few supplies from nearby, the blonde country couldn’t help but feel so very homesick.
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((Lame starter post is lame. This of course takes place within the "Keelung Campaign," but I made it happen right where the main blockade seemed to be. Also interesting to note, but the whole blockade idea actually was not that effective fore Francis at this point.))

[duckie]

Taiwan wasn't sure what to think about this entire ordeal. Oh, logically she knew- she was China's 'property', and she should have absolutely hated the fact that she was being blocked off from her big brother by this European swine... but she was still rather sore with Yao over the splitting of her territories into two distinct areas of North and South when she was perfectly fine just being one whole Taiwan, and it gave her no small measure of amusement to see his struggles against this France. Oh, to be sure, the blockade, as it were, wasn't doing much good- Gege could still get to the Pescadores, still supply her southern half well enough. But his frustration was evident, and, well, it wasn't as though any Taiwanese civilians had been injured in this little scuffle they were having.

When it had first started in July, Yao had been worried enough to suggest to her that she needed more military defenses. He hadn't bothered with an agreement, just sent troops her way, and she knew better than to fight him on it- after all, she was a rather important trade stop for any nation wishing to barter with China, and it would hurt Gege if he couldn't reach her at all anymore. She'd still thought they were being silly, but, well, she supposed it was different to them. She couldn't say- she'd never been in a real war- but she was fairly certain that the nations took all of this very, very seriously.

The first attack came in August, and failed, clearly not having expected that Keelung would have been so reinforced. She'd watched from the Port- she wasn't going to die, after all- and had been sure that they wouldn't give up after just the one try. Still, it was two months later before they made their second, more successful attempt, taking and holding Keelung, and Taiwan had retreated to Tamsui. It was easy for her to blend in with the crowd of confused civilians- she'd done it before, when hiding from Gege- and she was indistinguishable from the general masses, strong parasols jostling above their heads to protect themselves from the rain that the French clearly had not quite been expecting.

France lost Tamsui for a while, then regained it, and all the while, Taiwan simply watched. She wasn't in charge of her own military, or anything, really, leaving her just as powerless as a human citizen, though of course, not quite as utterly clueless. She watched the French forces get more and more despondent as the rain continued, humidity increasing until one could almost swim in the air as well as in the ocean. She laughed the first morning she heard foreign curses at the thick cloud of fog that liked to take up residence low on the ground over the winter- she wasn't the only one, either. And, like most of her citizens, she adapted to the French presence, cooking meals for the soldiers who would deign to eat her food rather than their own supplies, perhaps subtly making it not entirely what they ordered, but never really doing any harm.

It was now January, the temperature mild and the air thick, and Meixiu was watching the Frenchmen again. It was endlessly entertaining- they didn't even try to stay dry anymore, though her own citizens walked around with parasols and thick, warm clothes and, for the women, even slightly elevated shoes that were not the easiest to walk in, but kept their feet dry. Her interest ratcheted up a level or two as she saw the man that represented France walking past, clearly unhappy with his current situation. Gege had pointed him out to her, once or twice, and she found her feet moving before she could give it any thought.

The soft clack of her shoes was drowned out by the rain, and she smiled as she approached him, fingers hidden in long sleeves, face hidden by obscuring strands of thick hair that frothed into incessant waves when the air was so thick with water that one could barely breathe. It was their own language, Shaykomay, that she spoke when her lips parted, amusement thick in her voice and spilling forth into her words.

"Have you had enough yet? As m-miserable as you seem, I would think you would have left, already." It wasn't the politeness and deference that Gege had drilled into her, but then, she didn't think that applied here anyways.

~~

[[Oh, France. You and your silly blockade. Though I find it worthwhile to mention that in January of 1884 France hadn't even started considering to blockade Taiwan yet. I think you meant 1885?]]

[France]

With the rain falling in endless heavy torrents, it was impossible for the bedraggled Frenchman to make out any sounds of approach. The heavy droplets were peppering the wooden docks with a seemingly sadistic fury, further hindering Francis from being able to sense anyone nearby. Usually on docks one could be able to sense someone approaching because of the vibrations, but that too was completely thrown off kilter with the terrible weather conditions.

"Have you had enough yet? As m-miserable as you seem, I would think you would have left, already."

Francis turned quickly at the sudden sound of someone speaking to him, his wide, blue eyes coming to rest on a somewhat familiar form. He had remembered encountering the dark haired woman before in his interactions with China, and knew her to be the nation of Taiwan. If nothing else, the fact that she had used their common language had given her away. No normal Taiwanese woman would know that. Unless Taiwan herself had made it a habit to go around randomly teaching her people the distinct language of the nations. But that would require her to reveal her true identity to them, wouldn’t it? And no nation would want all that attention, right?

It wasn’t entirely true though. France had revealed his identity to a few of his own citizens before. Not that the people had really appeared to believe him. Though they were naturally more cautious about revealing themselves, they still were capable of it if they so desired. But Francis seriously doubted that Taiwan had indeed went around teaching all her people the country common language whilst publicly revealing her true identity.

“It takes more than a little rain to hinder me and my forces.” Francis replied with an unmistakable air of pride. He may have been homesick and soaked to the bone, but he was just as vain as ever. It was something that even terrible weather couldn’t wash away from him completely, though it might dampen it. Brushing some wet, blonde hair out of his eyes again, he straightened his posture as he studied the other nation.

“Real nations can handle anything fate throws at them, be it bad weather or overly persistent foes. China will surely be backing off soon anyways, with our blockade in place to keep him at bay. So I‘ll be leaving soon enough I imagine.” His eyes shifted to the parasol she held in her hand, noticing how the pink, flowery thing seemed to do a fine job of keeping her dry in the rainstorm, despite it’s smaller size. Suddenly the blonde found himself toying with the idea of he and his men perhaps seizing a collection of the Taiwanese parasols and maybe trying to make a leak-proof roof with them. They would surely do a better job than what they were currently using for their temporary homes.

Taiwan may have made things more difficult by being so closely connected with China, but France was not about to be overly harsh with the girl. Some of her people were at least decent to his soldiers. It wasn’t like her people were fighting him the whole time he was stationed there, trying to kill and maim his men every chance they got. They obviously did not like the occupation, but things could be far worse he figured.

As he let his eyes wander over the Asian nation’s slender form, he decided to at least try and be polite and courteous. “I don’t believe we have officially met before, though I know who you are and you obviously know who I am. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am France, or Francis if you prefer.” He gave a very slight bow with the words, his eyes remaining focused on the pretty woman before him even as he did so.

[duckie]

Ooh, he was a confident one, wasn't he? She settled, weight shifting subtly as she flattened her feet against the shoes- she would have to shift again to start walking, but that position was awkward after a while, and if she was going to stand here and talk, she certainly wasn't going to maintain a pose that required her feet to be twisted. She tilted her head as she looked up at him, contemplating his response. Did he really think Gege was going to back down so easily...? Surely he was just being brave. Or, perhaps he was honestly that cocky. Hmm.

Either way, he was still talking to her... as well as looking her over thoroughly, and that was a little creepy, but as she recalled it was just a western thing- they didn't know how to be subtle, how to look out of the corner of one's eye, as she did now, averting her eyes. If he was going to try to be polite in his strange, foreign way, then so would she. She would, however, be proper about it.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Francis," she murmured. "I, as you clearly know, am Taiwan, and my name is Lin Meixiu. And, were I you, I would look into finding a more suitable place to sleep than the ramshackle little hut you have been staying in. The rain will get much worse before it gets better, and I do highly doubt that Gege will give in soon enough that your men will avoid taking ill."

Not, of course, that she particularly cared if the Frenchmen fell ill. It was just that things were relatively peaceful at the moment, and she would like them to stay that way... And that was unlikely to happen if the French forces started to get sick. People, especially westerners in her limited experience, tended to be cranky and more prone to violent tendencies when ill, which was the last thing any of her people needed.

As to where else they could possibly stay... well, that wasn't really her problem, was it?

[France]

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Francis.”

At least this nation seemed capable of returning his politeness. That was always a good sign when first becoming acquainted with another country. All too often he had been so kind as to properly introduce himself only to have the invaded nation get all upset and rude. His people always treated the natives in the occupied zones nicely, right? So why they would be so bitter about things was beyond him. Luckily, Taiwan was a nice change from those types of nations.

"I, as you clearly know, am Taiwan, and my name is Lin Meixiu. And, were I you, I would look into finding a more suitable place to sleep than the ramshackle little hut you have been staying in. The rain will get much worse before it gets better, and I do highly doubt that Gege will give in soon enough that your men will avoid taking ill."

“Gege?” For a moment the Frenchman stared at her in puzzlement. Was that the name of her leader? No, it didn’t make much sense in that context. She must have been referring to China with that term if she was talking about this “Gege” giving in. The word must have been some sort of Taiwanese term of endearment? Asian cultures were so strange and exotic to Francis, so it usually took him awhile to figure out some of their more cultural or language specific terms.

“In any case, the pleasure is all mine, Mademoiselle.” It struck Francis that his formality must have looked and sounded so very out of place in such an exotic, eastern port. Probably all the more so with him being so wet and miserable looking. He more than suspected that he no longer looked his usual degree of handsome and noble.

No sooner had Francis spoken, he also realized that this nation seemed to be showing concern for both him and his soldiers. His eyes reflected his surprise for a second or two as he stared at the girl in wonder. Why would she offer him any advice? Wasn’t she mortified to be cut off from her big brother figure? If anything, he had fully expected her to be insanely happy to see his men fall ill from inadequate housing.

“Mademoiselle, with me and my men being the invaders here, why would you offer advice to help keep us healthy? Not that I am not pleasantly surprised by your concern, but it seems strange given the circumstances, non? Also… how could the rain get any worse than this?” He gestured upwards towards the dark grey heavens. The one comfort he had always clung to concerning the weather was that he had been certain that it couldn’t get any worse. And once things had reached rock bottom, they had to get better by his logic. Now this woman was telling him that the rain could get worse than what it already was? He hoped she was just joking.

[duckie]

That was something to consider. Why was she concerned? She couldn't exactly claim that she was a humanitarian, or that she valued all life... no, there were some people who she thought should just go and die already, but she didn't feel that way about the occupying French force. She tipped her head, twirling her parasol and making it obvious that she was thinking about her answer before actually saying it.

It was just that, aside from the fact that she didn't want their illness to affect their judgement and start them on fighting her people, out of the few occupying forces she'd experienced (the Netherlands, briefly Spain, Japan, China...) this was one of the least unpleasant. They'd not attacked her citizens, yet. They'd not outright called them stupid barbarians- or at least, when they did it seemed to be joking. They'd not invaded their homes, or taken their food unless it was offered... Yes, this was certainly the least unpleasant of occupations she'd experienced.

And perhaps, just perhaps, she wanted Yao to suffer for a little longer. If they got sick, they would fall to the Chinese forces that much sooner and be forced to flee. Her lips twitched in amusement at the thought of how much China as a military whole seemed to be panicking and losing their most profitable port- cruel, perhaps, but then, no one had ever accused her of being a paragon of virtue. Quite the opposite, really. It had taken so long for China to find her acceptable to be seen in public after he first found her...

"Let us just say that I have my own reasons, and the fact that your men have not been unduly cruel to my people is among them," she finally settled on. "And you are polite, instead of calling me uncouth or any number of other things, which prompts politeness in return." She turned her gaze up to the sky, barely blinking as a drop of water dripped from her parasol onto her nose. "It is not that bad, yet, the rain... It does get worse, later in the winter, though spring will lessen it slightly."

[France]

The young woman before him seemed to have to think deeply about his question. She had tilted her head slightly, and was twirling her parasol as though considering his words thoroughly before formulating an answer. Not that he minded waiting for her to gather her thoughts. He couldn’t say the view was half bad at all and his blue eyes took to sweeping over the Asian’s slender frame with renewed curiosity. Taiwan was a very pretty nation, that much he was certain of. Weren’t all of their kind unusually pleasant to the eyes though? Even nations he did not necessarily get along with-like England- were nice looking in his opinion. He had yet to see an ugly country in fact.

Taiwan was much shorter than he was of course, but her height did nothing to hinder her looks. Even with her strange outfit, he could tell she had a nice body, which was accented by rich, dark hair and equally as dark eyes. She had that whole slender Asian beauty thing down perfectly as far as the overly lustful Frenchman was concerned. Even with the fact that he was drenched and completely miserable, Francis couldn’t help but feel the urge to lick his lips at the sight.

"Let us just say that I have my own reasons, and the fact that your men have not been unduly cruel to my people is among them."

France drew his eyes up to her face again, smiling slightly despite his current predicament. It was true, his people were not so horrible to the Taiwanese. In fact, they were being far better behaved here than many of his past armies had when they had overtaken and occupied areas. Maybe it was because her people had given so little resistance? Usually his soldiers were far more aggressive and upset when they had to fight tooth and claw to occupy an area. Something about losing comrades had a way of making them far more irritable. But, Taiwan’s people were even offering them rooms sometimes and feeding them. A big change from some recent occupations.

"And you are polite, instead of calling me uncouth or any number of other things, which prompts politeness in return."

He refrained from telling her that he had certainly thought her people to be more uncouth and primitive than his own, even if he had not said it. And it was true as far as he was concerned. They were less advanced and civilized than his people were. Wisely, he decided to never bring this up to Taiwan while his people still somewhat relied on her and her people’s cooperation, and in some cases, shelter.

"It is not that bad, yet, the rain... It does get worse, later in the winter, though spring will lessen it slightly."

He sighed. “Let’s hope I won’t be here long enough to see it get worse then. This is already too much as far as I am concerned. I am having a hard time imagining it as any worse.” Then his mind actually did get images of more rain, and it was a scary and depressing image. He imagined that if things got too much wetter here, then he and his men would surely be up past their necks in flood water and washed out to sea.

He gestured for her to follow as he started to walk along the docks again. “How do your people live in such an inhospitable climate, Taiwan?” he wondered aloud, his soggy boots making a sloshing sound as he walked. “Don’t get me wrong, you are a very beautiful place.” He flashed her a quick smile before continuing on. “But I don’t understand how anyone could survive all this rain and humidity. I am amazed all of your people don’t get sick more often.”