Spring and Autumn | 春秋

[Toungoo]

Prologue​

The Shang Dynasty has reigned over Huaxia for centuries ebbing and flowing between periods of peace and those of turmoil. The uneventful reign of the late Emperor Xiánfēng (Zhu Baotian) saw the empire slump into stagnation with foreign powers dominating nearly all sectors of society. In the twilight years of Xiánfēng Emperor’s rule was dominated by the empress Xu Rongfang, mother of the present emperor. The nation was split between those that supported westernization and reform and those supporting the empress and her traditional, conservative coalition against foreign forces. When the Xiánfēng Emperor tried to institute a constitutional monarchy in the early 1890s, Empress Rongfang and her supporters orchestrated a palace coup. She purged the government of reformers and confined the Emperor to his palace apartments. Rongfang’s purges culminated in the Baotian’s mysterious death eighteen months later. Following the death of the Xiánfēng Emperor in 1894, he was succeeded by his son, Zhu Changwei, as the Qiánlóng Emperor at the age of 18. Empress Rongfang, now Dowager Empress, continued to rule as the power behind the throne. For the first decade of Changwei’s reign saw a pursuit of conservative policies that led to more restrictive laws. The economy went into a depression with foreign economic flight, disparity between the aristocratic elite and the common masses grew. In 1904, a leading provincial governor rose in rebellion against the dowager empress and the imperial regime, proclaiming the Shang had lost the Mandate of Heavan and founding a new dynasty. This rebellion would last for ten years and devastated the realm. In the first few years the rebels found success against the Shang, even battling up to the capital of Shangqiu. The dowager empress fled, along with the imperial court, however, the Emperor remained. After some fierce fighting, imperial forces, led by the young army officer Sun Hsiuchen, pulled out a victory in the battle of Shangqiu. In the aftermath the Qiánlóng Emperor banished the dowager empress from the imperial court. Sun Hsiuchen, now a general, was placed in command of the army and instituted several military reforms. General Sun and his reforms slowly began to turn the tide. After several more years of brutal battles, imperial forces finally took the last rebel strong hold. The war left over 15 million dead, the economy shattered, and the nation traumatized. The Empire soon began the process of rebuilding, with the repeal of most of the anti-foreigner policies of the past. Restoration was slow, but steady. Reforms were enacted, but many fell short of what many wanted. The devastation of the rebellion left a scar on the generation that lived through it and left many hearts harden. However, the new generation coming of age have no memory of the horrors of their parents and are now growing restless of their state of affairs. Can the leadership of old be able to meet the challenge of the day? Or will history repeat itself?

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