Postby Asahina Shimato » Mon Aug 31, 2015 7:23 am
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.