The emperor of China's imperial authority is a really neat subject, because alot of the periods where a dynasty is doing well also coincides with an emperor who is more hands on. The emperor has theoretically total authority and can intervene in whatever he chooses, except he has to know about it and care. Most of the time your typical Son of Heaven is busy getting his dick sucked and doesnt wanna run the country.

Terrifyingly powerful and rich as in "The eunuch cabal absolutely runs the governemnt.", a eunuch who was the emperors personal secretary or in charge of secret police could become de facto emperor. And did so often its a trope in Chinese fiction.

So sacrificing kids in blood magic rituals is absurd, but how many child laborers do you think died to make a given train in that time period?

Circus performer, champion boxer, first ever African American combat pilot, club owner, Jazz artist, and spy. Eugene Bullard was one of the coolest men to ever live.

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Night one: bigbellycomedy.club/event/lions-led…s-live-podcast/
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Sources:

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/eugene-j-bullard

https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20231112-eugene-ballard-pioneering-african-american-aviator-who-flew-for-france-in-wwi

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/bullard-eugene-jacques-1894-1961/

https://www.historynet.com/eugene-bullard-americas-first-black-fighter-pilot/

Episode 289 - Eugene Bullard. The Coolest Man to Ever Live

Chinese soldiers defended the Great Wall of China armed with swords, axes, and martial arts....in the 1930s

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Sources:

https://www.historynet.com/last-battle-great-wall/

https://grantpiperwriting.medium.com/the-forgotten-story-of-japans-attack-on-the-great-wall-of-china-5b7f75e326b8

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/how-imperial-japan-seized-great-wall-china-91386

https://www.republicanchina.org/war.shtml

Episode 292 - The Defense of the Great Wall

Joe and Nate talk about the time South Vietnam attempted to invade Laos. It did not go well.

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SOURCES:
Sources: 

https://www.comanchero.org/LamSon719.html

https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/invasion-02172021125804.html

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27016309

Robert Sander. The Invasion of Laos, 1971

 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3024288

https://www.history.com/news/laos-most-bombed-country-vietnam-war

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/mauled-in-laos/

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-nightmare-mission-into-laos-operation-lam-son-719/

Episode 293 - Operation Lam Son 719

The heroic story of how Samurai Warlord Saigo Takamori rose up against the changing of the times. But actually, it wasn't really about that at all.

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Sources: 

Andrew Gordon. A History of Modern Japan

William Beasley. The Meiji Restoration

James Buck. The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877

Romulus Hillsborough. Samurai Revolution: The Dawn of Modern Japan Seen Through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. 

Noel Perrin. Giving Up The Gun: Japan's Reversion To The Sword.

https://www.historynet.com/satsuma-rebellion-satsuma-clan-samurai-against-the-imperial-japanese-army/

Episode 294 - The Satsuma Rebellion Part 1: Dutch Kabuki

The conclusion to the Satsuma Rebellion! 

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SOURCES:

Andrew Gordon. A History of Modern Japan



William Beasley. The Meiji Restoration



James Buck. The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877



Romulus Hillsborough. Samurai Revolution: The Dawn of Modern Japan Seen Through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. 



Noel Perrin. Giving Up The Gun: Japan's Reversion To The Sword.

Episode 295 - The Satsuma Rebellion Part 2: Imperial Goon Cave

Once upon a time the King of Portugal started a war that went so badly it collapsed his dynasty and killed three different kings all at once. 

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SOURCES:
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/08/343746/why-the-battle-of-the-three-kings-lives-on-in-moroccan-memory

https://www.historynet.com/three-dead-kings-war-in-morocco/#:~:text=By%20midafternoon%20on%20Aug,and%20North%20Africa%20for%20decades.

https://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/Medieval/BattleOfTheThreeKings

Episode 296- The Battle Of The Three Kings

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Orde Wingate was an insane person who thought exercise would cure malaria, wore a necklace of raw onions and garlic, and carried an alarm clock that would go off at random times like he was the Mad Hatter. He was also a commander of one of the most famous British military units during the Second World War. 

BUY JOE'S BOOK:

https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-War-Military-Sci-Fi-Undying-ebook/dp/B0CQ6BH6BD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TQI3C0BO6I0B&keywords=joe+kassabian&qid=1707720101&sprefix=%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-1

SOURCES:

John Diamond. British General Orde Wingate's Blurred Legacy

https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2015/2/13/orde-wingate-and-combat-leadership

David Rooney. Orde Wingate and the Chindits: Redressing the Balance.

Episode 299 - Orde Wingate and the Chindits: Part 1

The Imperial powers of Europe and Japan humiliate China until they create an uprising of magical martial artists who are terrified of period blood. 

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Sources: 

David Silby. The Boxer Rebellion and The Great Game in China

Diana Preston. The Boxer Rebellion: The Dramatic History of China’s War Against Foreigners That Shook the World in the Summer of 1900

Henry Keown-Boyd. The Fists of Righteous Harmony

Joseph Esherick. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising

Episode 301 - The Boxer Rebellion Part 1: Unbeatable Army of Ultra Nerds

Part 2/5

Support the show:
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Episode 302 - The Boxer Rebellion Part 2: Eunuch Fumes

Part 3/5

SUPPORT THE SHOW AND GET THE REST OF THE SERIES RIGHT NOW: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys

BUY JOE'S BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-War-Military-Sci-Fi-Undying-ebook/dp/B0CQ6BH6BD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3K76S781H082F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XHKGWIOva407zn4HjcxVoDwpnrg_teWOwoT_cwv4MFhELwL-P_oC8zl_Tn7SdmE1hqhUiaxIM18D5M9PRpYDktSOd6zkDyGguWFvbaV8Mwn6hHhTfF2w2nBkSMqIZyMmunRrnoLp1hr5HopuXq0OYr1iHAgz9JEoxGKuWIJWNqFmbYFMvKLhHsBpVVbNo9vPPZMn_2BYVOwcUjL9zaORsskz4Q3k5x06kkbFQG5Ct0A.kvo5nqES86hdehPE6YBIEFnCDNpPIYxdJ0Nq9a-xWkE&dib_tag=se&keywords=joe+kassabian&qid=1710749293&sprefix=%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1

The Eight Nation Alliance hits some speed bumps as the various sides seem to want to fight each other as much as they do the Boxers.

Episode 303 - The Boxer Rebellion Part 3: Old Betsy

Part 4/5

A Wild Smedley Butler Appears!

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Episode 304 - The Boxer Rebellion Part 4: The Rembrandt of Violence

The Lions Led By Donkeys podcast is a military history podcast for laughing at the worst military failures, inept commanders, and crazy stories from throughout the history of human conflict.

Our podcast will always be free, but if you think what we do is worth a buck you can throw us one here:
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Episode 301 - The Boxer Rebellion Part 1: Unbeatable Army of Ultra Nerds

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