Courts of the Crane Clan

As I sip my sake that I'm sure somebody spit in, I just would like to say to all of you, kiss my obi you rotten bunch of eta.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go home and put some water in Moto Naleesh's mama's dish. Good evening.



(In all seriousness, I thought the resolution was pretty fair. I wasn't expecting Seiken to be like "Have at it, I want siege cannons on Shiro Kakita in a fortnight.")

Beautifully crafted siege canons and Exploding Kakita Blades.

"One strike is all we'll need."

So I've been doing some thinking in regards to this subject and I think that the crane using the gift to cleanse the shame of the Daidoji is a good move politically. While it doesn't increase their power or standing in anyway, it does remove a weakness.

If another clan discovered the Crane's use if gunpowder and brought it before the Emperor, the Crane would be cast out of the Empire at best. Hunted down to the man at worst. Spending this political capital to ensure the Clan's continued existence is a smart move.

Storywise, I enjoyed it. I hope the story team keeps up the good work. My only complaints are that the past shame of the daidoji wasn't forgiven, but that is probably asking for to much. My other complaint is the fictions are coming out to slow. I love reading your writing

Yeah, it kind of looks like we didn't benefit all that much from the Emperor's Gift, but I think it was worth it in the long run.

We got the Emperor to "clarify" the conditions under which gaijin pepper research and use is permissible. (I.e., we changed gaijin pepper policy from "nobody use this, EVER" to "Only Crane are allowed to use, only in case of non-Rokugani invasion." That is a pretty spectacular policy shift AND gives us a monopoly.

By the way, when was the last time we achieved a lasting result in the courts that left us with more than we had before? That in itself is noteworthy.

Also, we got blackmail insurance. Considering that the Dragon essentially blackmailed us into going to war against them over the very same subject (and they would only relent once we changed our domestic policies so they like them better,) having insurance that no clan can successfully do this again is a godsend.

And while we couldn't make gaijin pepper use entirely honourable, we got the Emperors tacit permission and that alone provides a solution to the honorable clan vs. treasonous clan quandary: We cannot be both, so either our honour or the treasonous quality of the act has to give. If the emperor gives us special secret permission, it is no longer treason, which allows us to keep our dirty little secret AND our honour.

The other thing I want to know is how the Emperor's proclamation will affect the Daidoji family themselves- specifically the part where Iweko II says that the past crimes remain unforgiven. Will the Daidoji now feel further shame now that the questionable actions of their ancestors have been made known to the Throne?

Martino, I am learning to delight in the mischief you can accomplish.

If you play this game long enough, you learn to hate every neighboring clan and want to fight all of them. At once.