Balijaj Chan K'awiil Anabasis
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The B'alijaj Chan K'awiil Anabasis was a military and diplomatic expedition led by the K'uhul Ajaw B'alijaj Chan K'awiil in the Oversea territories of the Global Circuit, mainly Tsurushima, Kahei, Pulau Keramat, Maok'ab, Barriset, and Ankat. It follows the B'alijaj Chan K'awiil previous victories in Oxidentale during the Mutulo-Reze Wars and the Sante Reze Noble Insurrection which secured the Mutul' southern border which remain unchanged to this day. The term of Anabasis is used to translate the Mutli term of Nakaj which can be understood in a variety of ways: "He conquered", "He ascended", "He was crowned"...
It took three years for the K'uhul Ajaw and his fleet to vist the entirety of the Global Circuit (from 1703 to 1706). It left a profound mark in the psyche of Ozerosi and Ochranese countries, such as in Ankat. In the Mutul, it served to reinforce the exceptionalism of B'alijaj Chan K'awiil rule which mark the height of the Global Circuit and the Golden Age of Mutul' prestige, power, and wealth. A status many in the Mutul feel they have not yet recovered as no Divine Lord since then as attempted such a global expedition across the world.
Objectives of the expedition
Balijaj Chan K'awiil, strengthen by his successes in Sante Reze, began working toward an old project of his father: organizing a large scale military and diplomatic expedition through the Global Circuit to re-affirm the proeminence of the Divine Throne over other forces, strengthen the administration of the oversea territories, and help deal with the wars and conflicts that still lingered in the post Ozeros War era.
In truth, the expedition had always been in the mind of Balijaj Chan K'awiil and preparations for it had begun while he was still merely Crown Prince. The Mutulo-Reze Wars had merely delayed the prince' plans. By 1700, the fleet had already been built and gathered. At its core, it was made up of 50 Djongs and Treasure ships escorted by 200 other ships of all sort, from Padewakang to Trimarans for a total of 33,000 men, including 20,000 soldiers, 12,000 sailors, and 1,000 government officials and court members. Enough supplies had been prepared for a one-way trip across the Makrian Ocean, with order already given in the years prior to the Yajawil of Kahei and Maok'ab to prepare themselves to receive and resupply such a massive fleet. Balijaj Chan K'awiil also counted on resupplies from their other protectorates and allies in the Makrian and Ozeros, such as Tsurushima, Ankat, and Pulau Keramat and messages were sent to them accordingly.
When he inherited the throne, Balijaj had sent one of his closest friend and a marine officer, Joplaj Pakal, to serve as Grand Admiral (Mtl: Ja Ajaw, "Waterlord") of the Oversea Fleet. He was de-facto tasked with the preparations of the project oversea and acted as direct representative of the Divine Lord. the Oversea Fleet, the post-Ozerosi war union of all previously private marines in the Global Circuit, would strengthen the Expeditionary Fleet greatly, adding up to 48 other Djongs to the mix and 200 more vessels of various sizes for a total of 20,000 "sailor-soldiers" and 10,000 "specialists" (Engineers, Artillery...). However, the Oversea Navy would rarely be deployed in full alongside the Expeditionary Fleet.
The Expedition
Stop at Kahei
After crossing the Makrian Ocean, the first stop of the Expeditionary Fleet was in the Yajawil of Kahei. Kahei, at the time, was the cornerstone of the Global Circuit: currents and winds made it a necessity for fleets coming in and out of the Makrian to stop at this archipelago first for resupply. As a result it was the de-facto capital and crown jewel of the Mutul' oversea territories.
the K'uhul Ajaw met with the archipelago Viceroy, his cousin B'alam Yax Chi, and the Grand Admiral of the Oversea Fleet in the Yajawil' capital: Juwon Peten the "Shipyard and Marketplace of the West". Balijaj Chan K'awiil' coming had been well prepared in advance: Sakb'eob were repaired or built, a large-scale construction campaign gave Juwon Peten a new face, and once Balijaj Chan K'awiil arrived stelae were erected to commemorate the event. Games and religious ceremonies were organised in every town and market of the province and a holiday was declared.
Beside discussing and planning the rest of the Expedition with his closest associates, the K'uhul Ajaw also met with the representatives of the local aristocracy: the Kahenal Ch'ob. This upper class was famously built around a closely intertwined dual core of an Oxidentale economic and scholarly caste and a Tsurushimese warrior-landlords caste. Balijaj Chan K'awiil fully assumed his role as Divine Lord and Son of Heaven, leading religious ceremonies, presiding over public banquets, following Pitz matches, and holding judiciary courts for all. He also ratified and presented a new Charter to the Viceroy and the Ch'ob which notably gave the archipelago its own Reserve bank capable of printing its own paper money which granted Kahei the monetary and financial capacities and autonomy necessary to truly preside over the economy and finances of the Global Circuit.
Balijaj Chan K'awiil, having established his authority over the archipelago and confirmed its position as head of the Oversea Territories, he left after a week for the next stop in his travel.
Visit in Tsurushima
Relationship between Tsurushima and the Mutul had been strained for decades. Neither the Mikahime nor the Taishogunate recognized their sole trade partner' territorial holding on Kahei despite the Mutuleses ambiguous claim to administer the territory in the name of the Mikahime. The arrival of Balijaj Chan K'awiil further revealed the paradoxical rule of the Mutuleses on the southern archipelago. Nonetheless, the Mutuleses traders still had the sympathies of both the local aristocracy of Kahei and of the Military Governors of Tsurushima who've found great wealth in their dealings with the Mutuleses.
B'alijaj Chan K'awiil arrived at the Mutulese Legation where he met with the local Mutuleses and Tsurushimeses merchants, traders, landlords and clergies. The following days, the K'uhul Ajaw and his escort where brought deeper inland to meet with the young Mikahime Daidoji Tomiko who jointly presided over religious rituals, exchanged gifts, and dedicated games of koshi-kei. B'alijaj Chan K'awiil then met with the Taishogun in the latter own palace. The exact content of their discussion is unknown but it is known that the Divine Lord had planned to marry at least one of his children with a Tsurushimese princess, a proposal that was clearly vetoed by both the Taishogun and the Mikahime.
Overall, despite the mutual reassurances and the confirmation of the Mutul' monopoly on trade with Tsurushima, the K'uhul Ajaw' visit with its displays of wealth and power and its offers of dynastic rapprochements had the opposite effects from what was intended. A strong anti-Mutulese faction would coalesce at court, worried by the Oxidentaleses' show of strength and angered by their perceived arrogance. This nationalist faction, at first tied to the Taishogun, would evolve into one of the cores of the future Republican movement.