Battle of Portcullia
| Battle of Portcullia | |||||||||
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 Model of a ship of uncertain nationality from the era | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Themiclesia |
 Menghe | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Djon Nglawk-ka (淳樂詁) | |||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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Parts of the South Sea Fleet Complement of naval infantry Porticullia garrison | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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32 combatant vessels approx. 1,500 men | 100 combatant vessels | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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20 vessels lost 629 men accounted for | |||||||||
The Battle of Portcullia (Shinasthana: 岌之海役, ngjep-tje-hme-les) was a series of naval and land engagements between Menghe under the Yi Dynasty and Themiclesia under the Drjen Dynasty. Themiclesia administered the island since the 1050, and merchant fleets have used its natural harbour since the 8th century. In 1323, a detachment of Menghean ships arrived at the island, requesting the Themiclesian administration to surrender the island to Menghean authorities; the administration rejected the proposal. Subsequently, a new Menghean emperor ordered much larger fleet to vindicate this perceived defiance 1324. The battle first occurred when Menghean troops landed in the harbour and attempted to take the fortifications there; gunpowder was used but mainly had a psychological effect. Mengheans acquired the fortress and pursued the Themiclesian forces, which evacuated with the isle's civilians by sea. A naval battle happened afterwards, seeing several Themiclesians vessels captured or sunk. This battle was seen to herald the decline of Themiclesian naval power in Meridia, to be cemented in the Battle of Tups (濧之海役) in 1352.
Themiclesian presence on Porticullia
Porticullia first appeared in Themiclesian records c. 845 in surviving journals kept by merchant sailors, who recorded the altitude and azimuth of celestial bodies in relation to geographical features as navigational guides. Though it remains doubtful if the 845 record actually demonstrates Themiclesian presence on the island itself, unmistakable notes identifying the shapes of mountains as observed from due north have been considered proof that some Themiclesian navigators knew about Porticullia; excavated coinage of Themiclesian affinity also appeared in northern and western Meridian settlements, corroborating the theory that Porticullia was a known entity with a specific locale and name.
The geography and oceanography of the Porticullia Inlet placed it ideally as a natural port for fleets crossing the Porticullia Strait from Hemithea. Such fleets, particularly Themiclesian ones, usually travelled along the Maverican coastline, then that of Innominada, then across the Strait at its narrowest point. The narrow mouth of the inlet and the mountain range enveloping it prevented hostile fleets from entering en masse or easy ambushes from another landing point on the island. As piracy initially flourished in the calm waters on the Meridian coast, the court eventually saw the need for a permanent, local defence force to protect the expanding commercial activity there; with such a decision, Porticullia was officially surveyed between 1048 and 1049, and it appeared as Ngjep County in Themiclesian arhcives starting from the taxation year of 1050.
Commercial activity was taxed by the Ngjep County authorities at a fairly consistent rate. Contracts relating to sale of real property were fined at 0.4% the transaction value as well as a fixed stamp duty of one coin per page of paperwork. Merchandise entering the port were not taxed, but all goods exiting were dutiable according to their market value; rates ranged from as much as 10% on goods in demand in Meridia, to around 2.25% for staples. These proceeds went towards maintenance of the relatively elaborate defences on the island and represented a dependable source of income for the court in Kien-k'ang.
Contemporary accounts suggest that by 1100 the island supported a population in excess of 5,000 residents without significant agricultural or fishing activity, indicating that a merchandise economy had assumed shape on the island; the diversity of this population was considerable, as the local magistrate appointed interpreters for multiple languages to adjudicate disputes arising between different trading parties.
Menghean discovery of the island
Court policy on island
Initial contact and Menghean reaction
In 1345 [3], a samll fleet consisting of five ships (eight, according to Themiclesian sources) docked in the harbour; a Menghean emissary name approached the local magistrate and relayed the Menghean court's policy on the island, namely to annexe it. Records from both nations indicate the meeting was polite and civil, though some interpretation was requisite. Allegedly, the Themiclesian magistrate declared that he "may not default on an office and receive remuneration from it" (既受俸祿，不能瀆職). When pressed, he contended that the most he could do was to refer the message to Kien-k'ang—and he did so immediately. Deciding that prolonging the conversation may expose him to suspicion locally and at court, he sent the Menghean emissary away with a letter detailing his position on the matter.
Battle
Siege
On account of the message delivered to Kien-k'ang in 1345, the court ordered the fleet to be ready for evacuation of civil and military personnel; when the Menghean fleet arrived, the magistrate of Ngjep County (岌縣) commanded the local garrison commander and the floatilla to delay Menghe's advance for as long as possible, to obtain time for an orderly evacuation. However, the Menghean advance was not halted for nearly as long as the Themiclesians have hoped, and the garrison and the part of the naval infantry on land soon were fighting to cover the rear of the evacuation. Themiclesian forces took considerable losses in this engagement, and morale reportedly plummeted due to the court's want of commitment (or ability) to defend the isle and Mengheans' explosive ordnance in hand-held and animal-drawn formats. The fortification, which had been mostly deserted, became the site of a brief siege, as the defence there attempted to divert the attention of Menghean forces from the evacuating convoys; this tactic did not last for long before the evacuation became apparent; the defenders then proceeded to flee the fort on horses, hoping to cut ahead of the Menghean detachment and join the evacuation.
Pursuit
The following day, the convoys arrived at a smaller bay, where merchant and some naval ships set aside were docked in anticipation; the Mengheans in close pursuit, civilians were required to abandon their personal effects to hasten the departure and to distract the Menghean soldiers. A brief naval engagement thereafter occurred between Menghean and Themiclesian naval infantry, the latter somewhat restricted by the mission to prevent the Menghean fleet from encroaching on the merchant fleet.
Aftermath
The outcome of the battle did not come as a surprise to the court in Kien-kang, as Themiclesia found itself embroiled in a much more expensive conflict in what is now the Organized States; the great majority of combatants in the South Sea Fleet were stationed along the west coast of OS in defence of maritime and terrestrial trade facilities against Rajian incursion. However, it was declarative in affirming Menghe's position as a seafaring power since the 1300s and opened a new path of opportunities for Menghean exploration and trade in west Meridia and indirectly with Casaterra. Knowledge from this exploration is ultimately connected to the spread of Menghean technology, such as gunpowder and paper, to Casaterra, and the introduction of Casaterran artifacts to Menghe.
Analysis
While this battle is not the first defeat Themiclesia has suffered abroad and at sea, historians have described it as a pointer Themiclesian naval power declining around Hemithea and Meridia. However, this process was neither quick nor shocking in Themiclesia, and Themiclesia's navy remained influential in the Halu'an Sea and around the western Hemithean coast. The battle was notable as the first in recorded history to see decisive use of gunpowder. As Portcullia was a major trading post that hosted Themiclesian, Menghean, and Hallian traders, its acquisition by Menghe informed the Casaterran continent of the advent of gunpowder. Only a few decades later, a Menghean mariner was abduced by Rajian forces and compelled to divulge the formulae for producing gunpowder, and within a century its use was common in Casaterra.
From a continental perspective, this battle hails the waxing of the Menghean Yi Dynasty's power and evertion of its expansionist policies in Hemithea. 35 years after this battle, the Yi cavalry traversed the Dzhungestani Desert and forced Themiclesia to pay tribute to Menghe for more than a century. Some historians name this period the Pax Mengheana in respect to the Yi Dynasty's overwhelming influence in its vicinity.