Paleosiberian Rumblings

Minhay's armed forces and the prefectures assembled hastily on red alert. Koguryeo had launched a surprise attack on Japan early in the morning and were marching towards Edo. A few hours later the Ainu Federation invaded Japan from the north and had seized huge portions of Honshu. Already refugees from Japan were fleeing on boats headed for the Ming Empire, the Philippine kingdoms Kirmay and the Sultunate of Daligan, all the way to Australia. Some refugees had landed in Seal Speaker Country, which wasn't prepared to deal with the humanitarian crisis.

Minhay was worried that the fighting between the Kingdom of Koguryeo and the Empire of Yamato, old enemies from days of yore, would inadvertently spill into Minhay. More worrisome was that the Ainu had mobilized, which Minhay had always regarded as a threat since the 1300's when they raided Salmon Speaker shores. The Salmon Speakers and Horse Speakers were coordinating closely with each other to guard Upper Minhay, a rare instance of cooperation between these two historical rivals. So once again, the bickering tribes of Minhay put aside their differences and united in solidarity to a foreign threat.

The Emperor of Japan had fled and initially asked Minhay for permission to land, but Minhay, unwilling to anger Koguryeo, turned the Emperor's jet away. The Emperor then headed to Kirmay, then Daligan, both of which also refused permission to land. Finally, His Imperial Magesty's plane, after being given permission to land briefly in Kolkata to refuel, finally found refuge in the Sultunate of Oman. King Gaengweto demanded the Sultan turn over the Emperor to Koguryeo. The Sultan refused, to the fury of the Gaengweto court.

Minhay sent its ambassador to the Ming Emperor's court to ask that the Ming Empire negotiate a peace treaty between Koguryeo and Yamato. But the Ming Emperor indicated the Empire would remain neutral in deference to its longtime ally. The reality of the situation was that both Minhay and the Ming Empire were in an awkward situation as both were allied with Koguryeo. The Ming needed Koguryeo's friendship to counterbalance the Soviet Union; Minhay needed Koguryeo to keep its Ainu allies from misbehaving, and serve as a deterrent against any Hairy-Face flotillas that might be making mischief in the North Pacific.

These indeed were worrisome times. Fears of another world war had already started to spread.