Sacred Eight
The Sacred Eight were eight war leaders during Sun Dynasty Laeral who were gifted deeds of land and feudal lordships by Emperor Sun Liang along the Sun Empire's southeastern border to guard it from incursions by enemy warlords. Initially proclaimed by Emperor Sun Liang in 1548, on the 20th anniversary of his rule, the system of border fortification by the descendants of the Sacred Eight would persist until the 1620s, when Emperor Sun Zhan brought the Cheyu "barbarians" to heel in the Cheyu Conquest.
History[edit | edit source]
During the early decades following the establishment of Sun Dynasty Laeral, the empire faced threats of foreign invasion from numerous directions. While Emperor Sun Liang's conquests subdued the Haemin satrapies to the north and the rival Hejun kingdom to the southwest (notably through the Conquest of Miaoshi in 1538), the territory known as Cheyu (modern-day Corday, Sarene, and Felliere provinces) was inhabited by hostile Cheyu nomads, referred to as barbarians in contemporary texts. From the Cheyu territory, clans of nomadic raiders would threaten the farmlands around Jinyu and even the outskirts of Miaoshi, which held immense significance as the home of the Minjian Faith. They would typically seek to steal herds of grazing livestock, food, and portable valuables.
As the territory's low-lying and marshy terrain favored the agile Cheyu raiders while rendering it unprofitable for farming, the emperor sought instead to neutralize the threat of Cheyu raids by constructing defenses along the western bank of the Espoir River.
Aging after twenty years on the throne, Emperor Sun Liang, on the occasion of his birthday in 1548, named eight of his trusted generals as feudal lord of eight baronies along the Espoir River's western bank and the plains to the south, in the "Sacred Eight" Proclamation. In return for title and the right to rule these territories as feudal lords, these 'Sacred Eight' would maintain fortified strongholds and cohorts of at least 80 mounted soldiers apiece.
The eight sacred baronies (namely: Far Eastern Qiuhuan, Eastern Qiuhuan, Central Qiuhuan, Northern Qiuhuan, Western Qiuhuan, Eastern Fudong, Central Fudong, and Western Fudong) served as an effective method of deterring Cheyu raids. In writings on the Sacred Eight, they are typically portrayed as heroic wartime leaders and models of martial prowess.
Legacy[edit | edit source]
The notion of the Sacred Eight has resonated in Laeralian history as a well-recognized example of brotherhood, and has been invoked in popular culture, politics, and sports. Coupled with the Laeralian superstition of eight as a lucky number, a 2019 study found that Laeralian corporations were more likely to select exactly eight members for committees or task forces compared to other numbers.
Squads in the Laeralian National Security Force, Laeral's army, which are composed of eight soldiers, often draw upon the notion of the Sacred Eight to promote camaraderie and unit cohesion. The military academy at Pont Caprilieu has cadets train in eight-member squadrons for a similar reason.
The term "Sacred Eight" has been employed in the politics world as well. For instance, Léon Zeng, prime minister of Laeral from 1981 to 1987, announced when his People First Democratic Party entered a coalition government with the right-wing that while privatization of state-owned corporations would proceed, a "Sacred Eight" of public corporations would be preserved under state ownership. In the present day, negotiations between the houses of the National Assembly to negotiate compromise legislation on thorny issues is often carried out through a "Sacred Eight Committee" consisting of four senior members of each chamber.