The Poppy War, #3
The Burning God
by R. F. Kuang
Contents
Chapter 12
Overview
A Hesperian memorandum reports smooth commercial conquest of Nikan while missionary work falters. It downplays the risk of rebellion, framing southern guerrillas as backward and reliant on Fang Runin. The memo highlights opium-based counters and new anti-shaman research targeting Rin and Yin Nezha, expecting the south to fall swiftly.
Summary
A Hesperian general reports to the Office of Foreign Affairs that open trade in Nikan is yielding rich returns. The Consortium acquires mining rights and identifies lucrative goods—porcelain, jade, and textiles—suggesting swift commercial entrenchment with minimal resistance.
He notes that missionary efforts by the Gray Company face cultural resistance not from rival faiths but from opposition to discipline and organized worship. Despite this, he insists their religious mandate will continue, framing conversion as a civilizing duty.
Turning to security, he argues the Nikara lack capacity for a unified uprising, citing historical passivity and recent consolidation under Yin Vaisra. He labels southern guerrillas in Rooster and Monkey Provinces as backward, crediting their morale to Fang Runin’s shamanism, and asserts that opium weapons negate such powers. He references ongoing research on Yin Nezha as further countermeasure and concludes that once Rin is neutralized, the southern resistance will collapse.
Who Appears
- Major General Josephus Belial TarcquetAuthor of the Hesperian memo; outlines exploitation, missionary setbacks, and anti-shaman strategies.
- Fang Runin (Rin)Named as the southern rebels’ key asset; target of Hesperian anti-shaman measures.
- Sister Petra IgnatiusGray Company missionary whose reports document resistance to conversion and shamanism analysis.
- Yin NezhaSubject of Hesperian research into countermeasures against shamanic powers.
- Yin VaisraCited as having quelled northern remnants, used to argue low risk of Nikara uprising.
- Su DajiReferenced as the defeated former regime, framing the Republic’s consolidation.