Full name:
The Aoxia Dominion
Flag:
Location on the map: (anywhere in shaded)
Government type:
Monarch-led Confederated States
History:
In the distant past when the seas boiled and the gods built mountains, man scrambled to claim their lands, greed and survival driving settlers south. Meeting cold winds and vast bodies of water, several communities sprung up in the southern corners of the great continent. When bronze glistened in this dawn of civilization, rivalries and wars broke out to fracture the peace seeking people.
Several land-owning and elite households had rose to prominence, and they vied for farmlands and power. They surrounded themselves with great walls and formed citystates, with outlying villages and farmsteads paying tax and tributaries to the capitals in exchange for protection with their lords armies. Alliances and coalitions between the states were characteristic for seasons unending, the people hardened into the cycle of war. These conflicts were resolved through matches of spear and pike, conscripts forming a razored line in open battle to meet the maw of chariots. Peasants were obligated to serve six years before returning to their fields, yet the rule of the households were strong and kept them safe.
Nine families governed over this splintered region. These were the houses of Yin, Zhei, Yao, He, Liu, Che, Xu, Sui, and Shen. It was the figure Sunming Shen that would be the warlord to unite these factions. Shen was a small state compared to her enemies, and positioned in the central plains left them constantly on guard. Sun's father had married with a Che noble's daughter, aligning the two houses in a military pact. Xu, which held the largest land to the south, came storming into Che territories. Obligated to fight, Shen-Che forces met their foes outside the Che capital's gates. However outnumbered by an army twice their size, Xu toppled the defenses and took the city. Sun's father had been killed leading a chariot charge, and the Che family line had ended during the razing of the city. Sun was now heir to both houses, yet his position was weak. Xu was occupied governing their new lands, and did not push into Shen borders. Knowing an invasion would come, Sun went about reforming his army and policies. The central plains made for fine horsebreeding, their chariots renowned for speed and endurance. Shen looked to cast away the dated tactics of chariot driving, instead training his conscripts to mount armored warhorses. Heavy cavalry was devised for shock tactics to break a pike wall, however these were costly to maintain and was in limited stock. More abundant was the use of light cavalry, able to scout and harass the enemy.
As the head of Yin had died from illness during a long winter, his three sons had squandered and contended with each other for control. Yao allied themselves with the eldest, while He supported the youngest. Sun found the middle son at his gates, seeking aid. Taking an opportunity to test his cavalry, Sun agreed and set out to meet the Yao spearmen. While Yin clashed with Yao, Sun flanked the enemy with heavy cavalry, crushing the forces and causing a rout. Later the same year while attempting to collect the remnant loyalist forces, the middle brother died of poisoning. The armies of He soon after moved into Yin lands, although Sun had acquired a substantial portion of the Yin. Sun drove his cavalry into the distracted He's holds as they were off plundering the Yin countryside. When they came back they were met with Shen banners flying about their city walls. A siege took form, however Sun had hidden away his cavalry, and they came charging into the He rear, ending the siege. Shen now held control over Yin and He territories, and Yao was crumbling to Liu incursions.
Liu had successfully taken Yao lands piece by piece, and they began to rival Xu and Shen in size and wealth. Sui sought to restore lost territories from past Zhei rivalries, and called upon Liu to partition Zhei lands. As Zhei was engulfed in war, their royal family sailed south and found quarter at Xu. Liu-Sui next turned their interests to Shen. Launching a large scale campaign against Shen holdings in previous Yin marches, Xu intervened on behalf of Zhei and broke off a Liu force. Sun sent Shen cavalry to pursue the Liu and turned his Yin infantry to hold off any Xu advances. Sui would withdraw from aiding the Liu, finding no cause to fight a losing war. In time Shen would lay siege to Liu, forcing a surrender and the taking the territories. Xu, growing weary of the amassing Shen strength reached out to Sui to attack Shen on both sides. The Zhei took offense to this, raising an insurrection in which resulted in the death of the Xu king and a brutal massacre of the Zhei family. Xu's heir was a naive and easily manipulated boy, who was withdrawn from military matters. He holed himself in his cities walls, perhaps in fear from the early death of his father. Thus Sui found itself without allies once again, and Shen easily toppled their armies.
Xu nonetheless held out, their armies hardened and walls thick. Barbarian riders from the north threatened the northern marches of the Shen state, and prevented anymore plans against Xu for several years. Sun had aged considerably since his early ventures, and was beginning to feel the impressions of time. Duke Wei of Yin took grasp of the army. A series of strongholds in the north was built, serving as the realm’s defense against invaders, with a considerable wall built around the ancient citadel of Beisai. Wei introduced several new conscription mandates, requiring the bastions to be fortified with one thousand soldiers year round. Taxes were also reevaluated, and a formal currency adopted to phase out the separate coin system of the city-states. Furthermore, commonfolk were forbidden to bear arms. A more formal military was adopted based around age and health requirements. Professional cavalry became a position that when served under for ten years would warrant a seat in the ministry. Thus all future administrators and cabinet members would have military service and experience. Sun in his advanced age had grown to become austere and sober in temper. Religion based around ancestral worship and nature and elemental spirits had existed in this southland for ages. While kept distinctly separate from most governments, Sun had adopted policies that were geared towards spiritual matters. Dedicating time to temples and the sermons of monks, Sun outlawed arthouses, brothels, and the consumption of alcohol. Books unrelated to history, military matters, and practical education were burned. Scholars and poets were executed. Largely unpopular by the populace, the ministry reversed most of these laws, however the damage held been dealt considerably. What did remain was the meritocratic system of schooling and government office position. Offices and the military were held in high regard in this demanding society, and it would take centuries for the arts to recover.
Sun however remained a cautious and calculating military mind. His final campaign to destroy the Xu was based on a scorched earth policy threatening total destruction to those that failed to yield. While a massive Shen army cut a bloody swath through Xu lands, the Xu government fled on boats, riding the course of the Rulong river. Upon reaching the firth the mouth of the river, they were greeted by the Shen fleet. Begging amnesty and promising to exile themselves, the government hoped to escape the Shen conquerors. When their desperate pleas were answered by a hail of arrows, the Xu princes flung himself from the ship and drowned into the deep river.
The citystates had finally been united, and Shen power was at its zenith. The city-states were reformed into prefectures, and a capital, Shenhua, was designated as the seat of imperial power. However Sun only revered in his victory for two years, as his strict reforms concerning culture and behavior left him with animosity on all sides. On a particular early morning as Sun was reciting holy mantras, the temple around him was set ablaze, and in his advanced age he succumbed to the fire. Regardless of who committed the affair, power was passed onto the respected and able Wei family.
The Wei Dynasty survived for sixteen generations, in their time they relaxed military laws and adjusted to peacetime governance. Nonetheless a populace that had endured centuries of endless conflict still rested upon a martial mentality. Iron would replace bronze, and steel would be introduced by the Wei's late reign. Conscription was still present and military service required for government offices, and a decent navy was kept, however limited to coastal waters. Venturing out towards other civilizations and societies was neither prohibited nor encouraged. A people distrusting of outsiders and proud of their own, it would take time to build relations with foreign powers. City planning and stonework became government institutions as populations rose. Irrigation, standardized building codes, and wheat/rice stores were commonplace at the twilight years of the Wei rule. The frigid regions of the south meant constant fires and burning of fuel, popularly charcoal. Furtrapping is a popular trade that contributed to local economy. Overtime as succession crises and stagnant governance became noticeable, the Wei line would be replaced by the present Hsia Dynasty, ambitious and curious rulers that look to the seas and outside for greater ventures.
Main cities:
Changhui
Shenhua
Hezhou
Liuhuang
Nanhai
Jinshan
Beisai
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