Camian embassy affair
The Camian embassy affair was a crisis that occurred in Themiclesia in 1868, in consequence of the Treaty of P′a′ of that year that formally ceded the Isle of Liang to Camia, eliminated tariffs on Camian and Maverican exports to Themiclesia, and imposed reparations for war costs in the Battle of Liang-la. Due to the unrest in Kien-k'ang during the war that threatened the Camian mission, the treaty allowed Camia to deploy up to 200 troops to protect its embassy in the city afterwards. Their presence and behaviour became objectionable to many Themiclesians, resulting in political controversy. The Liberal government appealed to multiple nations and ultimately obtained a peaceful resolution of the crisis, bolstering its own reputation in 1870.
During the Battle of Liang-la which saw the Camian and Maverican navies blockading the mouth of the P′a′ Bay and its merchant traffic for seven months, Themiclesian merchants and social leaders began to send aggressive letters to the Camian mission in Kien-k'ang, complaining that their military action wreaked havoc on their revenues. After this, a mob sometimes gathered near the residence of the envoy and would not disperse for several days straight. Several stones were cast into the building, but no injury was reported. The Camian mission appealed for government assistance, but the government only offered the envoy a residence in the palace, where secrecy could not be guaranteed.
The Lord of Nja-'rjum, as Themiclesian prime minister who negotiated the treaty, did not contest the Camian desire to station troops in its Themiclesian mission's chancery. Arguments about the reparations and eliminations of tariffs took up most of his administration's attention and deemed, by them, more important. His aquiescence in this matter was recorded by colleagues, writing after the fact, as a bargaining chip on the tariff and reparation discussions. After the treaty was signed in July 1868, the Camians deployed 100 marines to the mission's grounds along with a new ambassador, who was recorded by contemporaries, in both Camia and Themiclesia, as a disagreeable person.
The choice of these troops was by some Themiclesians interpreted as meaningful. They were the same troops that spearheaded Camia's invasion of the Isle of Liang, which was lambasted in the press as an act of aggressison in the middle of the Themiclesian capital city. On the other hand, it may also be an innocent imitation of Themiclesia's customary practice of using marines as bodyguards for diplomats, since these soldiers were present on ships that carried diplomats to their postings. On November 12, 1868, the Liberal newspaper the Globe ran the headlines "Battle-hardened Camian Soldiers to Defend Envoy Against Us", which caused a stir in both houses of Parliament.
Conservatives, on the other hand, had virtually dissolved as a political party due to disenchantment with the obvious unreadiness of the military and perceived incompetence in negotiating the settlement. Most tellingly, the administration had thrown away the agrarian interests of the aristocracy, leading to a reshuffle in the political landscape. The Lord of M'i, new Conservative leader, told the House of Lords that the 100 Camian troops were completely negligible in the actual defence of the realm and "not worth a single additional second of this noble house's time." His partner in the House of Commons, Lord Gwrjang′-goi, said that their presence was "purely cosmetic".
The matter died down for a while until mid-1869, when the Camian troops went on a field trip away from the envoy residence to Prjin. They went first by railway then stagecoach to Klong-dzi (公齊), fully armed. Questioned by locals, they provided that they intended to exact revenge for the 1791 invasion of Camia. After several days, the House of Commons returned to sit and resolved to launch an inquiry into the missing Camian troops, whose whereabouts were only then being relayed back to the capital city. The Royal Signals troops, after discovering them, followed closely on horseback.
According to one of the Royal Signals troops, writing in 1890:
I mouthed, "Go back to your envoy, he might be missing you." And their commander, I think for he wore the most badges, more than what becomes a soldier to my mind, replied, "You will now pay for your devious and low invasion of 1791 when Camia was defenceless." At that I fell silent, for I could not believe their government allowed them to have guns. Were I Camian, I should not even trust them with as much as toy guns. Then when the coach drivers, seeing us, wanted to stop, then loaded their guns and bade him drive forth.
At Klong-dzi, they torched several rows of houses after turning out their occupants. They then arrested a few locals and asked where was the site of the tomb that belonged to Long Lêt, the Themiclesian general who led the 1791 invasion of Camia. The locals replied that Long's family had died out twenty years ago, and the general's resting place was forever lost. Not satiated, they picked out several of the larger tumuli in the county and detonated them. The local militia was mustered several hours late, but they successfully prevented the Camians from further damage to local property. A telegram came through to the local magistrate to escort them back to the capital city, under the authority of the Foreign Secretary.