Unsuspected connection

[wombat_socho]

While reading Flashman and the Dragon I suddenly realized where a lot of the flavor of the Gubernio Civil* (prostrations before the Governor, certain turns of phrase, attitude towards barbarians) came from. Drake - or more likely Striling - adapted them from the Ching Dynasty. Now that is one weird cultural melange - the Gubernio Civil has elements of the Byzantine Empire, Ching dynasty Chinese Empire, Regency England, and 17th-century Spain. Makes for an interesting sociological stew. :)

*The "good guys" in the David Drake/S.M. Stirling novels that make up the Raj Whitehall series.

10/3 1340: Edited for clarity.