Shen
the Divine Empire of Shen Shen | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: Harmony under Heaven | |
| Anthem: Harmony under Heaven | |
 Shen Empire 2019 | |
| Capital | Sharanfo |
| Official languages | Shen Mandarine |
| Recognised national languages | Mandarine, Monagonan, Rhandi |
| Ethnic groups | Shen |
| Demonym(s) | Shenian |
| Government | Unitary Imperial Buracracy |
• Empress | Wu Zhao |
| Li Kurasan | |
| Establishment | |
• Founded | 522 BC |
• Currenty dynasty | 1912 |
| Population | |
• 2019 est estimate | 195,000,000 (1) |
• 2015 census | 188,939,030 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | 2.86 trillion |
• Per capita | 14687 |
| Currency | Shen Yuan ([[ISO 4217|¥]]) |
| Date format | mm-dd-yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +86 |
| Internet TLD | .ripa |
The Divine Empire of Shen, more commonly known as shen, is an ancient Imperial unitary bureaucracy located in Northern Catia. Its bordered by Zamastan, Gladysynthia, Monagon, Rhand,Arcadia Dazeber and Legionas.
With the surrounding continually occupied since 522bc the Empire is the oldest continuous government in the IDU. Over it's long and storied histories it rose to be the largest Empire in the world, controlling territory in the nations of Monagon, allied Cities, Rhand,Arcadia-Dazabeber, Legionas, zamastan and Xiomera before corruption and a series of rebellions caused it to lose most of its territory.
Years of corruption and stagnation left the nation far behind at the start of the 20th century. But through a hard-fought process of modernization the nation has emerged as a the major low cost manufacturing hub of the IDU, producing more goods by raw tonnage, of any nation in the IUD, thanks to its large population and low cost of labor, and an increasingly prominent figure on the world stage.
In 2019, the over six decades long reign of wu Zhou came to an end and her daughter Wu Zhao ascended to the position of God empress
History[edit | edit source]
Prehistory Archaeological evidence suggests that humans first started inhabiting the Grand River Valley around 40,000 years ago. Evidence of hunter-gatherers foraging along the river banks is found throughout the entire River Valley, leading most modern archaeologists to conclude that there was continuous habitation of the region. The earliest known indications of agricultural settlements are found in the Grand River delta. Radiocarbon dating of primitive farming implements suggest that's the earliest agricultural settlements put down there roots roughly 6000 years ago although it took an additional 2,000 years for agriculture to make its way down the entire length of the river. By the year 2000 BC small agricultural settlements began to coalesce into the first city-states. Located mostly in the north of the country, they were the first real examples of civilization. these small city-states, would lay the foundation for everything the shen state would become. Written language. Complex bureaucracy. Designated primogeniture. All of these institutions began during this time. The city-states engaged in small contest of arms continuously through this period. due to the limited population and threats from Nomads entering into their spheres of control, large-scale military conflict was a rarity. Although several attempts were made to carve out proper Nations by conquering neighboring city-states very few of these Proto Nations survived long after the death of the ruler who had built them, with the cities under occupation quickly rebelling to gain their independence.
colonization and Conquest.
In 1190 bc first Contact was made with a group that would completely altered the history of the Grand River Valley. The so called Xiang empire they first appeared in the first months of 1190. Armed with long Wooden Boats, far larger and more powerful than anything the city-state's could muster, and iron weapons they began a campaign of probing raids. Attempts at repulsing them proved futile. These sea people were far more advanced in both tactics and weapons. Iron swords, and advanced formations allowed them to crush any army thrown against them. While the city bronze weapons, and useless siege warfare tactics, did not prepare them for the armies of Xiang. In 1278 bce the raiding came to a dramatic end as a massive Armada of ships landed on the shores of the river. Over the next 10 years they would conquer most of the river valley, bringing the various political entities that lived there under a single flag for the first time in recorded history.
Large-scale colonization of the Delta Region quickly followed with, the upper-class was replaced with Xiang. As the indigenous inhabitants of the river married in with the invaders, and adopted there language and culture, the first Shen was born .
Starting out with the middle classes of bureaucrats and Priests and finally spreading down to the lower rungs of society's, first the language and then many of the cultures and traditions of the invaders began to be practiced by the natives. by 1050 BCE cultural diffusion had resulted in the overwhelming majority of people in the river valley being part of the new hybrid culture.
The Golden Age of colonization came to an end, as rapidly as it had begun. when a series of natural disasters struck the Colonial Homeland of the Xiang, their empire began to fracture. Legend say there homeland sunk into the ocean after angering the Gods. Tectonic activity dating from around that time suggests that earthquakes and volcanoes eruptions devastated their Homeland.
Losing the Nexus of their Empire, the unity of the sea people began to disintegrates. Their colonies began to declare independence or become overwhelmed by Foreign Invaders, and local rebellions. By 1030 BC the Grand River Valley has gained its independence from what remained of the central government of the sea people. Shortly after that the border regions where overtaken by raiders from the Source of the grand river, soon forming the kingdom of Yan
A council of nobles attempted to rule The Weeknd state from the safety of the East coast, but infighting between the former city states, and breakdown of global trade led to widespread chaos within the valley.
Piece by piece the United Nation began to lose influence over its distant cities. The word of the central government became a meaningless whisper, as local warlords took power.
The age of the sea people came to a violent end when in 970 BC, the grand meeting hall of Biaking was burned to the ground. This marked the end of United rule and shortly afterwards the new shen people, fractured into a series of Warring States.
Warring States
With the collapse of the central government, Regional administrators and military officials quickly acted to consolidate power in their local regions. City-states quickly were consumed by larger entities known as the 6 kingdoms
The chaos of the early Warring States, was marked by nearly constant Warfare. The prosperity and wealth that had been known under the colonial era became a distant memory, as massive armies of men armed with the latest iron weapons marched off to war. It took nearly 20 years for the situation to stabilize. By 950 BC 6 major States had emerged from the violence and formed a stable political order.
Yan, the kingdom of the source- The farthest west of the Warring States as well as the oldest. While having the largest iron deposits known at that time, they're relatively small population and threats of outside Raiders crossing the great lake meant that they were almost always focused on defense. It was formed from the western cities that first broke away with the collapse of the central government, and some of the city states of the upper grand river valley, and blue lake. It maintains a culture most similar to the one that had existed before the colonization.
Fu, Kingdom of the northgate - controlling the city of Biaking which had existed as the administrative capital of the Grand River during the colonial era. They also control the northern entrance to the Grand River. From this position they were able to control half the trade going in and out of the valley. They were in constant competition with the state of Ba
Ba, Kingdom of the south Gate- Centered around the city of SingSe, was another major trading cities located on the opposite entrance to the river valley. They control the southern entrance to the Grand River and we're in constant competition with Fu
Chu, Kingdom of the two rivers - located to the west of the fork controlling the southern Shore of the grand river, and the wulong river valley. The states controlled the most fertile land of any of the kingdoms making it ideal for growing large bounties of crops. There plentiful harvest made them a constat target of raiders and invasions, turing there people into the greatest warriors of the age.
Chin, Kingdom of the norther shore originally - originally extending to both sides of the shore all the way to the north coast of the wulong river, during the era of Anarchy following the collapse of the previous United colonial government, the Chin were pushed to the other side of the river by the Cavalry of the shu. The only thing that protected them was their Navy. for most of the warring state period, they were focused on regaining what was lost, and taking the agricultural heartland of the Shu
Song the kingdom of the Fork . Controlling heart of the Grand River in which splits into 2 as well as much of the Delta region around the fork. This gave them a controlling position, able to play the two gates off of each other and control the flow of goods Downstream from there. They wher based on the trading port of Sharanfo, witch grew into the wealthiest city in the region, by 600 AD. Between 950 BC and 521 BC the Grand River Valley was marked by what are known as "wars of balance" a series of conflicts between the Six States designed to preserve the delicate balance of power.
When the great horse Lord Lu Kang, of shu, marched his army East to take the Fork, the Song, qi, and their ancient enemy, the chin joined in an alliance to crush him, breaking the siege of Shanranfo
When the kingdom of yan, with the help of a barbarian Army invaded the kingdom of Shi and defeated their legendary Warriors, they stood poised to take the entire valley. the remaining five kingdoms joined together to March east as a United Force. They would occupy yan as a joint Army for three years before disagreements between the kingdoms cause them to go to war and yan was able to gain its freedom.
Twice during the tumultuous times of the Warring States. The six kingdoms came together as a United front.
The first time was in 761 bc when the river pirate Boa Boa the Mad assembled the largest pirate Armada that the Grand River had ever seen and had spent a year going up and down the coast raiding every settlement from the smallest fishing Village to the largest city. It took a United force of all six nations combining their navies together to finally win a decisive victory at the Battle of boa boa folly, in which the brilliant Song Admiral Ching Shih was able to bait out the Pirates forces by obscuring the majority of her Fleet before pouncing on them laying waste to the pirate Armada.
The second time was in 527 bc. During The great migration. the Monagon where a group of nomadic Horsemen living on the plains bordering the Grand River Valley and the north riverlands. Contact between the people living in the Grand River Valley and the Monagon had been recorded for centuries before the 5th Century BC but it had only ever amounted to small raiding parties making brief excursions, or limited Trading between people living on the border.
That all changed in 527. 2 years of drought had preceded The Great Migration. The grasslands became thin, the water and wild game that had allowed the mongan to survive become scarce. with their native hunting ground rapidly depleting, the various tribes began to migrate to the north. Slowly these War bands came together. Initial violent confrontations eventually fell by the wayside as an immediate sense of dread bounded the riders together. When the rider's finally approached the borders of chu, Horse lord Chico wrote is his journal " a great wave of Darkness appears on our border. A wave of horses. So thick that you could step on the backs of them and walk from the western border of our kingdom to the eastern border without your feet touching the ground"
Modern analysis of contemporary accounts suggest that the migration could have contained anywhere from 20000 to over 100,000 monagon. The Chu were the first to encounter The Horde. The greatest army of the six kingdoms was obliterated in just a single day of battle being wiped out by the vastly superior Monagon forces.
With the Chu Kingdom quickly falling it didn't take long for the other 5 to join a united front. While the kingdoms were gathering their armies, the mongom wasted no time continuing their advance. With 5 months, chu, chin, and yan had all succumb to The Horde. all Land east of the Fork was under their control.
This left just the Song, Ba, and Fu. The Three kingdoms United their armies and the King of Song, the Queen of Ba and the prince of Fu Marched of together. Realizing that they were deeply outmatched, the king of Song proposed a unique strategy that the other two agreed on. While The Horde gathered on the opposite side of the river waiting for an opportune moment to cross, the king ordered the construction of a series of large Levy's holding back far more water than usual.
When the horse Lords finally crossed the river and set foot on the delta to the south of Sharanfo, the king ordered the levees to be destroyed by his Engineers. The wall of water that swept through the delta smashed into the unprepared hord. Much of it was destroyed and what wasn't was scattered and quickly hunted down by the United Army. This crushing defeat and ended the threat of the Great Migration. While small bands of mongon would ravage the valley for several more years, never again would they be a large enough threat to risk conquering the valley.
With the collapse of the horde most within the valley felt that there would be a return to Orthodoxy. The status quo return like it had after other conflicts. The king of Song had no intention of allowing a return to normalcy. The land to the East of him stood decimate. It would be a simple matter to head East and consolidate his rule over a United civilization. The only two obstacles where the Queen of ba and the Prince of fu. It was at this point that the king received his first "heavenly vision". According to religious texts the gods descended from heaven and told the king that he was a child of Heaven, a God in his own right. And that it was his Destiny to unify the valley and all the shen people who lived in it. The gods have given him a Divine knowledge about the defenses of the two enemy Kingdom. With this Divine knowledge and the element of surprise, the kingdom of Song launched a devastating surprise attack against both of their enemies capitals simultaneously. With such intimate knowledge of their City's defenses, a select group of the finest soldiers, infiltrated the two capitals and not only opened the gates, allowing the army to march in, but burnt their navies at anchor and set fire to a huge portions of their cities. In one move the king had defeated the last two Nations. Qi now would it be Undisputed Master of the rivers. In a ceremony in which the royal families of the two defeated nations, were brought to the new United capital and executed, Su Han declared himself Heavenly king of all Kings. The men and women who had taken part in the attacks were awarded the privilege of defending the first emperor of the Su Dynasty, create the Imperial guard .
At the conclusion of the ceremony, su han declared himself to be a god. At that moment no one in all of the world seems to be able to question that statement.
Imperial age 523 bc - 1450 ad
The new shen Empire was officially declared on February 16th 523 bce. Or the first day of the lunar calendar.
For the next 10 years, the new Empire moved to consolidate its territory. Marching East and defeating what Little Resistance was left after the Great Migration. Consolidating his rule, the first emperor was about to set upon the task of building a United State, ordering his ministers to "find capable people to help him administer his Nation" This command would be the foundation on which the Serene bureaucracy would be built. But the emperor would not live to see his commandment come to fruition. Shortly after giving the order the God Emperor returned to heaven.
Thankfully the God Emperor had planned for his death. According to his will only his second child was to succeed him to the throne. The rest were quietly and quickly disposed of by the Imperial Guard. This quick and painless turnover of power prevented the country from descending into Civil War and would be the standard for which all future successions would be handled.
The second God emperor, Su Chi would rule for the next 50 years. In that time he would take his father's dying order and make it his life's work. Establishing the Serene bureaucracy and many of its initial branches. He would even personally right the first civil service exam that was issued throughout the entire country to look for potential recruits. Having given birth to only daughters the emperor passed away and the first empress came to the throne. This early Ascension of a woman to the highest Authority in the Empire would have a lasting effect. By her own death 15 years later women and men were allowed to serve in almost all positions equally, although this was exclusive to the serene bureaucracy.
Her own eldest son would take her throne after she passed. It was under his 22 year rule, that the modern Imperial Court culture began to form. He was the first emperor to wear the veil and declare that no one may look upon his face. He ordered his servants and concubines blinded. He became obsessed with spirituality and wrote extensively on his own status as a god. Many of the texts that survived to this day are venerated as holy books amongst the faithful to the Imperial cult. He also consolidated the nations southern border, and pushed the easter border to the sea. With the foundations of the state secured by the first four emperors the Su Dynasty, the Empire would enter into a prosperous age. The population that had been decimated by the constant Wars and the Great Migration began to swell. The Serene bureaucracy offered expert Administration to the new Empire. Over the following centuries a great peace fell over the river valley
For 500 years tranquil prosperity allowed for the flourishing of Art and Science within the river valley. A great introspection as the civilization looked inward towards spiritual and philosophical Enlightenment. Some of the greatest works of shenian philosophy would be written and they would form the basis for the mindset that would govern the morality of the nation. The prosperity that had marked the Su period was shaken, when wu siaian passed away childless at the age of 19. With no clear successor. The nation fell into crisis as under the law only be child of an emperor could succeed to the throne. Lines began to be drawn as everyone expected the nation to break up into cliques to fight over the throne. Before it could happen, the royal guard produced a young boy who they claimed was the illegitimate son of the previous emperor. Although there was no evidence to back the claim the existing power structure coalesced around the young boy. The Wu dynasty was Secure, but to prevent another crisis like this from happening the new emperor announced that he had received a new decree from heaven.
The gods would know exactly when an emperor would die without an heir and would bless the world with a new child of Heaven to replace the emperor once he passed. This new system of succession came into effect just three hundred years later when in 365 ad when the child Emperor Su zitan mysteriously drowned in his private garden. General Chang Wolo, one of the commanders of the Imperial Army quickly declared that he was the new son of heaven and marched his troops into the Celestial Palace. Having control of the army and seemingly having all the gates to the city open for him before he even arrived Chang became the first emperor of the chang Dynasty. While the first Su Dynasty had look inward the Chang Dynasty looked outward.
The Empire entered a period of great expansion. While it had always maintained a level of influence Beyond its borders, the armies of the chang Dynasty turned influence into territory.
Each new conquest brought in new people groups. The Monagon moved into the river valley abandoning their nomadic lifestyle after they were conquered. The Dianmian peoples who lived along the Ocean shore, we're also brought into the Imperial fold. With these new conquests the Empire became a more Multicultural state. The tengri faith of the monagon, and the druidic faither of the Dinmian joined hte empire.
With the invention of gunpowder in the late 10th cetnery, the empire entier a period of even more rapid expansion. The gunpowder wars of the 1000 to 1400 saw the conquest of Rhandi, the 5 kingdoms of Legionas, the many small kingdoms and dutchies of the of Arcadia and Dazebeer that had not yet fallen, the Mulangata tribes, and even the Black Islands.
The Chang we're never satisfied. Hatred between Father and Son and rivalries Between the siblings plagues the dynasty. Siblings trying to kill each other to be the last one standing. Fathers ordering the execution of their sons over tiny disagreements. And when the children finally ended up on the throne, they all would attempt to outdo all that came before.
This destructive internal court culture led to the disaster of 1210 Ad. Intent on bringing the entire continent under his sway, God Emperor Chang Lee ordered the army to prepare to March South. His plan would be to March to the southern Coast and conquer the lands that existed on the other side. Deciding that none of his children could be trusted to be left in Celestial Palace alone he ordered that he would lead the Army personally, and all of his children would accompany him.
The Expedition marched out past the southern forts that marked the border, and was never heard from again. Archaeological evidence suggests that a large portion of the army starved to death in the mountains. What did make it to the other side was so weak, that it was easily defeated by the foes it sought to conquer. With the destruction of the Imperial Army and the entire cheng Dynasty in a single moment the empire was thrown into a state of chaos not known since the Warring States 1500 years before.
When no one rose up to claim the title of emperor in the ensuing weeks after it was determined that the Expedition had been lost, the Serene bureaucracy quietly solved the issue. A woman named Liu Yang, claim that she was a daughter of Heaven. Fromaly serving as Secretary of the palace, she has always been close to the seat of power, and was able to gather support. This started the liu Dynasty. Unlike all previous dynasties its power was not based on loyalty from the military. But instead relied on loyalty from the bureaucracy. this started out quite positively as Imperial attention was forced away from continued Conquest and focused back on domestic affairs. But since the bureaucracy was now the power behind the Heavenly throne, it was given more power than it had ever had in the existence of the empire.
With the fall of the Change, the new Empress allowed the last of the Legionas king, the Ezmerat Monarch, to submit to her as a vassle, rather then face the warth of an ivasion. She consolidated the terriory gained by the southern expedition but chose to end the wars of expansion.
Rather then Expand the Empires borders, the Liu Dynasty leverage Imperial power, to bring the nations around them into tributary relationships with the empire. cape Auria, the city states of modern [eiria] and the 4 city states of [xiomera] became Imperial tributary states during this era.
in 1376, King [Quiauhticue] of Xiomera, with the help of Shen General Coa Quin, and his black banner army, launched the unification wars. in 1387, with the war concluded, the Xiomeran Empire was Declared, and would exist as a tributary of shen until the late 1600's
Early modern declines
By the mid 16th century, cracks were starting to show in the apparent Eternal prosperity of the Empire.
While the return to an internal Focus had allowed the Empire to consolidate its vast territory and improve Administration, an internal mindset also led to stagnation. The Sciences were overlooked as money was poured into Artistic Endeavors and education was focused more on philosophy than science. The empire was slow to adapt to any new ideas. The attitude amongst the rulers was that their nation was the closest thing to heaven on the Earth. And if they were so close to Heaven why would they need to undertake reforms? They're arrogant attitude would prove to be the undoing of the dynasty.
The Empire had its first setback, as the natives of the black islands, fighting a gurilla war, finally forced out the imeprail garasion in 1500 AD, marking hte first time land had been permanently lost to the empire. With the dawn of the Modern Age came the rise of international sea trade. Nations all over the world sent out Expeditions and explorers. And soon more and more foreign ships found themselves at the two gates to the Grand River and the other great trading cities of the empire. Merchants began to get a taste for the wealth of the river valley and her Empire. Silks and spices in quantities and varieties found nowhere else in the world. Skilled Smith's making magnificent Artistry out of Gold Silver and Jade. Infrequent exploratory missions soon became frequent trade Expeditions. Ships with cargo Bays full of goods and gold buying up the rare Delicacies to trade in foreign markets. the Horadam Highway, as it was known, also brought new ideas. Chrisnatiy was introduced into Legionas, and would eventually become the dominant faith
As foreign trade became a larger and larger part of the economy, the Commerce Ministry began to step in to regulate trade in between foreign merchants and the domestic economy. Setting up an institution known as the office of preferential trade, the Commerce Department interjected themselves into all foreign business, in all the empire. from now on only an appointed government representative was allowed to do business with foreign merchants. they would set the price and negotiate with foreign Merchants as a single entity. This created much resentment in the lands outside of the grand river vally, who now had to have all trade flow though Sharanfo, and where cut off from other trading partners.
While this allowed the government to draw more direct revenue from foreign trade it also had another more adverse effects. Private merchants not wanting to go through the government created a black market for foreign Goods. With foreign Merchants more than willing to participate in to get the goods they wanted at a significant discount
Slowly the black market began to expand and by 1650 almost half of all foreign trade and an increasing amount of domestic trade was done outside of the imperial system. With the government no longer able to keep track of the economy as it once had stagnation and overproduction began to plague the entire system.
The government attempted to reform the system with the 1666 degree of autonomy which allowed the Commerce Department in many parts of the Serene bureaucracy act with more Independence at the local level to solve the stagnation issue and promote more foreign trade as Imperial revenues plummeted. This system alleviated some of the issues and combined with police efforts to fight against the black market, began to reduce the prevalence of illegal Commerce. But it brought along other problems. The autonomy allowed individual bureaucrats to set prices and negotiate on a one-to-one basis. While the system worked out initially i had one glaring flaw, the fallibility of the bureaucrats. By 1700 the Commerce Department had become corrupted by Foreign Capital. Foreign ships would simply pay a bribe to whatever representative they were meeting with and they would set a price for the goods that would be practically nothing robbing the Empire of any revenue from the sale with the Imperial treasury inevitably subsidizing the loss. With this corruption soon rapidly spreading throughout the bureaucracy, with the Commerce Department paying bribes to other departments to prevent them from stopping the deals with foreign merchants the Empire entered rapid decline. A series of weak Emperors and empresses, who's Ascension to godhood was manipulated by the bureaucrats further exacerbated the crisis. The Imperial treasury began to drain away as the provinces slowly slipped from control of the central government. The hard won conquests of the Chang Dynasty rose up in Revolt in one by one slipped out the Imperial orbit.
In 1716, the Legionas slowly began to revolt. Although the shen wher eable to supress the revolt inintally, it grew in power, and support. By 1750, it had become a full on war on indpence. Able to take advatang of there supeior moral, and native terrian, the shen where driven out of hte Ezmerat Kingdom by 1774. Further wars in 1790, and 1805, finally pushed the shen out of most of legionas.
And as the rest of the world began to enter an era of industrialization the impoverished Kingdom did not have the money or the resources to begin to modernize. Limited Light Industry was set up in the capital but besides that almost everything had to be imported. This put further strain on the economy as a massive trade imbalance formed as things like Steel and Industrial Equipment needed to be imported at a high markup.
Seing the otehr nations of the world starting to grow wealthy, the shen elites in Rhandi, as well as the native rhandi who had grown disatified with shen rule, revolted togther.
In 1803 they launched a war of independence, Which Legionas soon joined in as well and by 1810, the empire was forced to scended the last of its far eastern land.
At the same time, the independence of Zamastan From the Skith empire caused a rise in tension along the Empires Western border. The positive trading relationship between Skith and Shen, as well as the Skith empires only colonizing the shores, far from the border of the Empire, had allowed the two nations to live in peace. there new Colony of Zamastan, as well as Rio plata and Vulkaria, created markets for Shen goods, as well as ports for Skith traders to rest and repair in, allowing shen goods to be sold to even more of the open market. But with the Skiths Empires resonding defeat in the Zamastan war of Independence, the Shen empire had to deal with a new and ambitious nation to there west.
As Zamastan Consolidated its territory, and began to build infrastructure, and move its population closer to the Shen borders, the two states began to view eachother with suspicions.
Not believing his young nation was ready for a war with Shen, in 1815 president Tomias Hapson traveled to Sharanfo, marking the first time the head of state of a Republic, was granted an audience with the Emperor, under Royal privilege. Taking advantage of Shens weekend positions, having just 5 years earlier lost a large chunk of territory to Rhand, Legionas, and was now dealing with rebellions in Dazber, To negotiate "the treaty of friendship" between Zamastan and Shen.
The 1815 treaty, offical establishing the border, making agreemenst on forts and troop movements, setting limits on settlements close to the shen border, and allowing free trade across the border, reduced tensions between the two states. for the rest of Hapsons presidency, Shen and Zamastan would enjoy good relations.
the 1844 assination of President Hapson, and the 1845 death of Emporer Liu Wan, allowed the skeptical Avi Taures to assume the presidency of Zamastan, and for Lius ambitious son, Liu Xieye to become God-Emperor.
Xieye refused to renew the treaty when it expired in 1845, demanding that President Taurus travel to Shen, to rengiosate a deal that was more favorable. Taures refused, thinking that the old treaty that was signed when Zamastan was far weaker, was already offering to much to shen.
2 year of increasing tensions came to an ambrupted end, when Shen marched across the border, its armies spilling into the Pahlan plains. the Louise Mountains War had begun. Although Initially the Shens conquest was met with sucess, with them using there larger army, and more diciplined and better trained Monagon calvery to outflank and defeat the Zamastan army in open battle, Taures changed tactics. Rather then fighting shen forces in traditional open battles, he applied the same tactics that where used to gain Zamastan her freedom, on the new invaders.
able to cripple shen supply lines, and make surprise attacks at there exposed units, the Smaller Zamastan army brought shens advance to a halt. slowly the large force began to withdraw, back to the moutin lines.
Occupying a network of forts, the shen hoped to force the Zamastan to either attack there defenced positions, witch would be costly for the smaller army, or sue for peace.
The Zamastan used there stealthy tactics to sneak behind shens line. on the night of December 31st 1859, the Zamastan won a decisive victory at Wu Dian Fort, lauching a sneak attack in the middle of the night, taking the fort, and caputring the red banner army. with the fort seized, and the army captured, the shen fort line fell apart. within 6 months, Shen sued for peace, the 1850 treaty of Karakom, ending the war, with shen seeding the Louise Mountains, and paying Zamastan 150 million yuan in gold.
with this defeat, the population began to lose any faith they had in the throne
The last bit of faith seemed to disaper in 1866, when the Emperor died leaving his only child Liu Hoptas (( a 13 year olds )) as emperor. When the news of The Emperor's death spread south and ambitious peasant and failed bureaucrat named Zhou Li Rong claimed that he was the son of Heaven. And that he would overthrow the corrupt regime and restore the nation to Glory. The message of this upstart, echoed throughout the majority of the nation and years of frustration swelled forward as the nation descended into the Zhou Rebellion.
Original it seemed like the Rebellion would succeed as they had initial successes defeating the Imperial Army at several engagements. But the boy Emperor had no intention of losing his throne and his life. Realizing that his own Army was ill-equipped to deal with it the boy Emperor used what little he had left in the treasury as well as taking out vast loans from foreign banks and foreign governments to hire foreign experts and finally modernize his army.
in 1868, the numerous ethnic groups of the south of the empire, who had previously been fighting for themselves, united under house Ludwig. taking adantage of the civil war, the souther regions of teh empire declared there intion to seeded from the empire, robbing Zhou of a huge amout of territory, that had previously been under his sway.
the disjointed union would eventually organize itself into the first Arcadian empire in 1872, after it drove off the last troops loyal to either of the waring factions in shen.
shorty after that, Monagon followed suit, with the concsol of 12 khans, voting to declare themselves as an independent stat.
As foreig weapons, and foreign officers poured in to help the struggling Empire the Army did what it could to hold the line. By 1870 most of the nation had fallen to Zhou or had Declare itself free of the Empire, and at war with both sides. It was at this time that the New Model Army was finally complete. The Imperial Army finally returned to the battlefield. And despite being heavily outnumbered began to win engagement after engagement. Slowly they began to push the rebels South. With Monagon and Arcadian forces to there south, and Loyal Shen forces to there north, the rebellion was lost. By 1875 the Rebellion had abandoned traditional military tactics falling back on using guerrilla warfare. The offical government of the rebellion surrended to the empire, ending any seriosu threat to imperail rule. Small pockets of resistance would continue the fight until 1878 when zhou and his last forces would commit suicide, when capture became inevitable.
the 1878 treaty of Sharanfo, officially ended the rebellion. Arcadia was officially recognized as an independent state, under house Ludwig. Monogon, having fallen into its own civil war shorty after it declared independence, agreed to allow the title of Khagan, khan of khans, to be used by the Shen Emperor, creating a personal union between the two states, in exchange for the 12 tribes having autonomy to handle there own affairs.
With the Rebellion crushed, the emperor was now left with a devastated and heavily indebted Empire. Foreign Banks levied the massive influence, holding a huge amounts of government debt gave them to make heavy demands of the state.
Unable to pay the interest on many of their loans, they were forced to privatize huge sections of government own farmland as well as mines and ranch that had been owned by the state. They also we're finally forced to dismantle the Commerce ministry's Monopoly on international trade returning the nation to a system of direct negotiation between merchants without government interference.
Over the next 20 years foreign influence over the state became more and more overt. The city of Binking even became host to a foreign quarter in which foreign businessmen had almost total control. With foreign influence came foreign ideas. Liberalism. Socialism. Anarchism. ideas that will completely foreign concept began to take root, with secret societies forming dedicated to the study and advancement of these ideas. By 1903 the influence of these secret societies was being felt even at the highest levels of government. serious demands for reform from more citizens and even government ministers, made their way to the Imperial throne room.
In order to try and placate the rising tide of discontent, the emperor made a declaration saying that reform would be impossible as long as heavy foreign influence remained around the country. Hoping this would placate of population who would understand the position he was in it instead turned the situation volatile. With the emperor blaming foreign influence, many more traditional and conservative citizens Allied themselves with the secret societies. Together they formed a group called The Golden flag movement dedicated to removing foreign influence from the country. On New Year's Eve 1903 while the Foreigners were celebrating their new years holiday, supporters of the golden flag movement charged into the foreign quarter. Taking thousands of prisoners and ransacking the homes and offices of foreign businessmen and their companies it's sparked International condemnation.
The central government chose not to intervene against the golden Flags movement hoping that allowing them root out foreign influence would inevitably strengthen their own position against them. While the central government chose not to intervene, foreign governments and private mercenaries hired by the companies assembled and in March of 1904, after 100 days of anarchy and mobe rule, they launched an attack to retake the foreign quarter. Crushing the unorganized and untrained peasant Rebels, the foreign Nations issues a series of demands and occupied Binking, the nation's second-largest City. Despite protests by the central government, foreign troops remain in the city for a year until the central government paid for damages to foreign companies and individuals as well as the cost of the occupation. With this National humiliation the public began to question the ruling Dynasty. With the death of the emperor in 1909 the last bit of faith in the dynasty died with him Rebellion seemed inevitable under the current leadership. Knowing that a revolution from the bottom would risk everything, leading figures Within the Serene bureaucracy the military and other figures interested in the National Security of the nation began to plot against the current Dynasty.
When a strike broke out on the docks in 1912 and began to spread to other Industries, it looked like it would be the start of a revolution. It was at this moment, the plot was put into motion and a coup was launched. On November 13th 1912 on a day known as red November, the emperor and many nobles loyal to him where executed. At exactly noon their guards turned on them. In just 60 Seconds Imperial household was struck down. In the vacuum, wu yin. A previously unheard of figure emerge with the support of the Serene bureaucracy, the military, and the Imperial Guard, declared himself to be a child of heaven and was soon elevated to godhood as the first emperor of the Wu Dynasty.
Wu Dynasty (1913-thought present )
Inheriting a nation in crisis, the dynasty set out on what they called the "self-strengthening movement"
First deciding to remove foreign influence from the court and the national economy, they began to plot on how to get back what the banks had forced them to sell. Banks that had requested foreign land in exchange for debt forgiveness or restructuring, where targeted. When they stated facing significant financial hurdles ((either because of natural economic downturns, or other from internal issues)) the new dynasty was more than willing to offer them a quick way out by purchasing back the land that they had bought, usually at a steep discount. They also took advantage of bad times, in order to restructure their debt with other creditors.
Restoring Imperial Revenue, and reducing interest payments the dynasty was now able to focus on rooting out corruption within the Serene bureaucracy. Embarking on an ambitious anti-corruption campaign that's almost 30% of the bureaucracies members either expelled or executed, stable governance was finally restored.
With positive revenue and stable governance the nation was finally able to embark on modernization. In 1971 the Commerce department created a system known as Yīqǐ chéngzhǎng, or growth together to entice foreign corporations to invest in the country. Setting up joint government and corporate Ventures foreign companies were given more stability and faith in their Investments by having them co-signed by the government. In exchange, the government got more say over how they were run, this would set up the basis for the corporatist economic system that would dominate the rest of the 20th century.
By 1936 early industrialization, and a positive Revenue stream had restored confidence in the government and allowed them to begin to pay down the massive debt that has been accrued over the previous centuries. With that the first emperor passed away and his second youngest son took over as the second God emperor of the Wu dynasty. Eventually earning the name Wu the Builder, his time on the throne saw the construction of the nation's first national rail line owned by the state. He also oversaw the first construction of highways and the expansion of the ports to satisfy the need for larger ships as they exported their industrial goods. his tenure as Emperor came to a sudden end when he apparently fell out of his bedroom window and died shortly after hitting the ground.
This caused his only remaining child, 18 year old Wu zhou to Ascend to godhood in 1954. Overseeing the initial harsh austerity measures that allow the nation to pay off the majority of its debt by the mid-1960s, she rewarded the peasantry by initiating the nation's first welfare programs, making sure that the poor were fed and had access to vaccines and that there was adequate housing for all the workers who were flooding into the industrial cities to look for jobs.
The Empire entered a period of econic downturn in the eraly 90’s as foring capital dried up in the midst of a finatlay credit crisis. During that time there where a serios of pro-democracy protest that where violetly crusehd by the empire, making it clear they there would be no reform The construction of large infrastructure projects like the Heaven's Gate dam in the South to regulate flooding and provide hydroelectric power and the blue Falls canal to bypass the Bluewater Falls that have prevented Commerce from the Blue River from entering into the Grand River and vice versa, also brought huge environmental changes as well as massive economic improvements. With the Blue River now totally navigable the interior of the Blue River Valley became the nation's fastest-growing region with massive new industrial Farms drastically increasing the nation's food supply, at the cost of devastating the last of the rainforests along the Blue River Valley. Since then the nation is seeing nearly continuous growth except for a period Of stagnation in the 1980s. Since 1991 the economy has grown every year.
In the Modern day, shen is increasing global in its ambitions, getting involved in the Olympics, and other international events.
Geography[edit | edit source]
Demographics[edit | edit source]
shenin 160 million. 82%
Monagonan 19.5 million 10%
Septas 9.75 million 5%
other 5.65 million 3%
Language[edit | edit source]
Religion[edit | edit source]
The Imperial cult
The Minjian Faith
Catholicism
The Church of the Bound
Culture[edit | edit source]
Government[edit | edit source]
Imperial Court
The entire state is focused around one institution and one institution alone. The Imperial Court. The Heavenly Throne within the celestial Palace the word of the emperor is the word of God. And all power flows out from that seat.
Ever since the reign of the first God emperor a series of elaborate rituals have determined what life is like behind the great red walls of the celestial Palace.
The emperor, once crowned may never leave the grounds of the palace. It is believed that allowing a living God to walk on unconsecrated ground awakens bad spirits who plague the nation with Misfortune. This is backed up by historical examples of god Emperors who left the celestial Palace to lead their armies only to lose on the field of battle. The emperor is never to be truly alone. Although they are allowed a small amounts of privacy members of the Imperial Guard are Within reaction distance at all moments of the day and night.
Due to their existence as living Gods no person may view the face of the emperor. Servants that work directly with the Emperor are usually blind. Originally this was done by manually blinding servants put in the modern era it has proven more beneficial to hire those that were born blind and are better adapted to serving without sight.
All the emperor's concubines are also blind, although it is rare for concubines to have been born that way with most being blinded
Whenever the emperor leaves their private Chambers and must interact with their ministers or other officials they wear a thin veil of gold silk over their face . This allows them to see outward and view the court with relative ease and also prevents anyone from seeing their faces. They may also choose to extend a large silk curtain down over there throne and sit unmasked while they hear the business of government. The only people who are allowed to look at the face of the Sovereign are their chosen spouse and their children When An emperor passes the title of Emperor does not officially passed from him to his successor until coronation has occurred. The dead body of the sovereign still holds all the rights and privlages of the ruler, until the coronation of the successor. Their body is not cremated, until after the coronation. All Emperors are required to inform the Imperial Department of National Security who they plan on choosing to succeed them as emperor. The choice is made from amongst their living children and can be either a man or woman and either born of their spouse or a concubine. After the emperor's death the chosen successor and all the other children of the emperor are located. Each child is assigned a group of Imperial Guardsmen that follows them at all times no matter where they're going. The death of the emperor is first told to guards, as well as who will be chosen to be the next Emperor. The Imperial guards then take the selected successor to the celestial Palace and kill the rest of their siblings. When it is confirmed that all other siblings are dead The Chosen successor is finally placed upon the throne in an elaborate and secretive ceremony known only to the high priests, and the Imperial Guard. The child of the emperor is ascended to godhood and replaces their parent as the god emperor.
the Structure of the Bureaucracy
Standing just below the emperor is what is called the Serene bureaucracy. It is composed of numerous Ministries, Imperial departments, departments, the national bank, and holy orders.
Its entire existence to serve the emperor's will. Although Emperors have found that it often has a mind of its own. It turns decree into policy, and policy into action. Without understanding the secret internal workings it's impossible to tell exactly where the orders are coming from.
There are four classifications of departments
Ministries - staffed by members of the Serene bureaucracy specially trained with the skills needed to handle that department, each Ministrie is tasked with different areas of governance. While on paper each Ministry is a strict meritocracy in which Talent is noted by subordinates, co-workers, and superiors leading to promotion in practice this can often be corrupted by ambitious bureaucrats with connections or charismatic personalities. Each Ministries broken down into many departments which are then further broken down into branches.
Inter-Department are subsections of departments that exist as a go-between between multiple departments to fulfill specific goals that would fall under multiple Department's and multiple Ministries jurisdiction. They are the newest additions to the existing imperial system being introduced in 1915.
The last two are unique cases. the Imperial Bank and the Union of masters
Imperial departments - similar to Ministries, but rather than being staffed by the Serene bureaucracy they are staffed by volunteers, recruited from outside the political system. Promotion in these organizations built not just on skill but on Loyalty to the emperor. This has had mixed results in the past with armies being defeated because they were staffed with Imperial loyalists as opposed to a talented officer Corps.
Ministry of the treasury - tasked with the enforcement of Taxation and managing the budget of all departments. The ministry of the treasury also issues National bonds to raise revenue as well as maintaining the nation's gold and silver Reserves
Ministry of Agriculture- the department in charge of maintaining the existing high agricultural yields. it also directly manages government owned Farmland. While this was once a sizable amount of all the Farmland in the Empire, over the years land grants and privatization has reduced government owned Farmland to a tiny percentage of total agricultural production. They are also responsible for the introduction of new agricultural technology specifically genetically modified crops and have gone to Great Lengths to study their effects in recent years before ultimately deciding to introduce them to the market.
Ministry of Commerce- the ministry in charge of regulating trade and commerce within the Empire and with other nations. They are tasked with enforcing tariffs and customs and enforcing the handful of regulations the central government applies to large business. They also are in charge of standardizing of certifications for professionals, with doctors and Tradesmen being required to register with the ministry to practice.
Imperial Department of War- responsible for the maintenance, training, Supply, and recruitment of her Holinesn’s Imperial Army, her Holiness’s Imperial navy. and her Holiness imperial Air core.
The three branches have always existed under a Joint Unified command structure. Forming a Joint Chiefs centuries before such a concept was thought up by other nations. But rather than having Joint Chiefs in order to better coordinate the military, it exists so that the first two branches and now three branches could check each other's power. Although the Army has always maintained prominence within the military, the Navy has always been tasked with the important role of keeping the waterways of the Nation free of Bandits and pirates, as well as protecting from foreign Invaders.
The Imperial Flying core was split off from the Army in 1951 as its needs became more specialized.
Students who do well on their civil service exams but choose not to enter the Serene bureaucracy are also offered a chance to join one of the two military academies. This trains the bulk of the nation's officer Corps and is also handled by the Department of War.
Ministry of Justice- in charge of maintaining the courts as well as certifying lawyers, the irony of its name is not lost on those who fall victim to its brand of Justice. More interested in gaining false confessions and making examples of low-level criminals the ministry of Justice is home to some of the most sadistic individuals within the Serene bureaucracy.
It also is tasked with maintaining the country's Prison System including a network of forced labor mines.
Ministry of Education- tasked with maintaining the public education system the Ministry of Education is usually the first Ministry that any citizen will have personal contact with during their life. Requiring 10 years of education for all citizens starting at the age of 6, the ministry ensures that by the time they graduate secondary education they have an understanding of science Math, fluency in the Imperial tongue and usually fluency in at least one other language. They also ensure the values of the state are pressed into the individual and they know their place within the order of the empire. At the age of 16 every student is required to take the civil service exam. This is one of the hardest tests in the world and test their knowledge on every subject that they where taught. Children who accelerate in this test are invited to join the Serene bureaucracy. From there on the student will spend an additional two years of general education and at the age of 18 will choose an area to specialize in which will inevitably place them in a certain Branch within the Serene bureaucracy.
Ministry for Energy- tasked with maintaining the nation's energy reserves, maintenance of the National Grid and the operation of the nation's hydroelectric dams and nuclear power plants, the ministry of energy Works around the clock to make sure the rest of the nation can as well.
Ministry of HealthItalic text- well the nation has no National Healthcare System, the Department of Health is still active with its campaigns to improve hygiene in less-developed regions as well as quarantine the outbreak of infectious disease. They are also in charge of the medical schools of the nation and that's train the Nations medical staff.
Ministry of Culture- the best way to win a battle is to never have to fight it. And thus the ministry of culture seeks to create a passive and servantile population that will not rebel against Imperial rule. Controlling all aspects of cultural development they seek to form a national image in the mind of people from an early age. Starting with children's television and Lasting until the elderly are watching soap operas in the middle of the day the government has final say on all media and often intervenes to promote what they view as Orthodoxy in the values presented in television.
Foreign media is heavily restricted and required to go through a censorship board before being distributed throughout the country
Inter-Department of Welfare- handling the nation's limited welfare State, the Department is in charge of maintaining the poor relief programs that gives food to the poorest citizens as well as maintaining the national vaccine program that provides free vaccinations shots to all citizens.
Inter-Department of Statistics - tasked with keeping track of everything within the nation, it has taken over the role of many different departments, and allowed information to be easily accessible to whoever needs it. They also handle the census, witch is held once every 10 years. All departmental statics are recorded, rationalized, and secured the inter department of statisics.
Inter-Department of Urban Development- responsible for the development of urban infrastructure such as Metro's, bus lines, large-scale sewage treatment plants, and public housing. Under the auspices of the inter Department of Urban Development the capital region has slowly been evolving in Megapolis. With the Metro areas of its three main cities becoming more and more intertwined each year
Ministry of the Interior- tasked with protecting the nation's Wildlife and regulating the extraction of Natural Resources, the interior Ministry handles all government owned land, not operated by other departments. Rewarding mining contracts to foreign or domestic companies. Arranging population control methods for wild animals. And keeping chosen Parks beautiful and pristine.
Ministry of Labor- tasked with regulating labor, this organization make sure that the unemployment rate is as low as possible. Mostly through relocating unemployed people from one part of the country where there is a lack of jobs to another part where there is a surplus. They also run the workers disputes department which is the closest thing the nation has too official labor unions. They exist mostly to smooth out issues and prevent strikes
Forign Ministry- International Outreach and maintaining embassies is the function of the foreign Ministry. It is the only branch in which a member of the Serene bureaucracy who chooses to specialize in it will spend most of their life outside of their home country. While serving abroad they not only deal with the handling of diplomacy but also engage in cultural exchanges, bringing what many view was a strange and exotic culture to the citizens of other states. They also promote investment into the Empire to foreign businesses.
Ministry of Infrastructure - tasked with maintaining and improving the nation's vast Transportation Network. Responsible for the construction of the highways system. The rail network. And almost all roads within the nation. They also oversee are ports and harbors upgrading them to meet the needs of an increasingly globalized economy. They are also in charge of the imperial postal service.
Grand Imperial bank- one of the few institutions outside the total control of the Imperial government. The grand Imperial Bank is what is considered a semi Independence Department. Seeing as both an independent bank and is tasked with regulation of the currency, it controls the money supply. Being somewhat outside the Direct Control allows them to have more freedom with economic adjustment. Being able to set long-term growth patterns, free of the short-term goals of any specific Institution. They are also the main Reserve Bank Of The Nation holding trillions of Yuan worth of foreign Reserves
The Union of Masters- in charge of maintaining the temples of the Empires official state religion, the Imperial cult the union of masters get their name, from there position. Masters are the highest level of Monastic priesthood. one can obtain with the imperial cult, having to spend years studying scripture, and in deep reflection. they are tasked with enforcing morality and Orthodoxy in spiritual matters to the faithful. Those who wish to join this organization or more accurately are forced into it by their parents recruited at the age of 8 and study for 8 years. At the age of 16 they became a full monk, and may advance rise to the rank of master within the organization. You may become a monk later in life, but only someone who has devoted their entire life may obtain the rank of master. Membership in this organization is for life and trying to leave before then is a death sentence.
Foreign Relations[edit | edit source]
With some parts of the Empire having spent a millennia under shens rule, postcolonial relations between the two states has always been marked with A certain amount of tension. Although attempts at reconciliation from both sides have met with limited success there still exists a fundamental feeling of mistrust between the two Nations. Despite the mistrust between the two governments strong economic links have existed since Independence.
And the modern-day many companies Outsource Manufacturing of either components or entire products to shen, creating a strong trade relation between the two
Ever since the revolution the Empire and the anarchists have seen each other as natural enemies. Anarchy has been viewed as the single most dangerous ideology to be survival of the Empire. And kivasek weapons have been found in the hands of terrorists within the Empire on multiple occasions. This coupled with the anarchist Smugglers taking part in the drug trade within the Empire has created extreme tensions between the two.
Shen coinage from as early as 500 BC suggests that relations between what is now LOM and shen, stretch back as far as the Empire's founding.
Although shen made attempts to conquer the region a series of natural disasters, outbreak of diseases, and Laeralian influence, prevented them from ever establishing a permanent foothold on the continent to their North.
Since colonization, LOM and the Empire have had strong trade links. Even as governments changed and Nations expanded the two Nations share the strong link.
By the end of the 19th century, Maxian influence in the shen economy was becoming increasingly apparent with the nation setting up a consulate support their business interests in the foreign legation quarters in Biaking.
During the golden flag rebellion when an anti-forign revolt broke out in the Empire and the foreign legation quarters with seized, LOM join the multinational Coalition that invaded the empire and seized Biaking.
Although they were successful their influence in the Empire suffered. By the mid-1920s LOM influence was completely subsumed by the growing Xiomeran Influnce, as shen fell into there sphere of influence.
In the modern-day the strong trade relations continue. Maxian corporations have outsourced to shen and increasingly large quantities to offset Rising labor costs.
Shens support of LOM during the bejion crises helps to build a friendly trust between the two Nations that continues to this day, with the two Nations often collaborating on International efforts. The existence of a sizable shen immigrant community has also had an effective preserving diplomatic relations with many notable Maxians of shen heritage having become prominent figures within the nation
Contact between the two states didn't occur until the 17th century with trade missions between the two Nations finally being able to make the trip between the two nations with regular frequency. Trade has been the foundation of the relationship between the two Nation States since then.
There have been no conflicts between any previous Shuellian government Weatherby the monarchy or the Socialist. And while from shuell participated in the golden flag rebellion the government's official policy of neutrality prevented that from causing any tension between the two states.
In the modern day heavy foreign investment from Shuell, as well as large-scale Outsourcing by Shuellian companies, has fostered a strong economic link between the two Nations. A natural continuation of the trading that is underpinned this bilateral relationship
the four city states that make up the modern Empire of Xiomera, first came into contact with shen in 1231.
The Empire sent the Dragon Fleet to make a circumnavigation of the island. They're stopped at each of the four city-states and made a demonstration of the Empire's vastly Superior technology and agreed to not attack in exchange for a yearly tribute.
With the exception of the Necali tribe, all submitted without a fight.
That political situation continued until 1376, with the start of the unification Wars. Shen sided with the Kingdom of Xiomera, giving them troops and resources allowing them to conquer the rest of the island and declare the Xiomeran Empire.
The new United Empire would exist as a tributary state of the shen, until the late 16th century. slipping out of Shen's orbit and into isolationism.
When the nation emerge from its isolation in the mid-nineteenth century, it established close relations with its former tribute. As Xiomera modernized, and Shen fell futher behind, Xiomeran influence grew.
By the early 20th century it was clear that Xiomera had been able to force out other ambitious powers and pull shen into its sphere of influence. The vast resources of the nation fed the growing Xiomeran Economy.
As the 20th century progressed the ancient empire also pursued modernisation. Rapidly advancing from an almost agrarian economy into one of the great industrial powers of the world. This caused a rise in tension between the two states, but under emperor Topilpopoca Xiomera accepted shen was no longer a subservient, but an equal.
Since then the two Nations as-built deep economic and political ties with their militaries training together, and shen being Xiomeras largest trading partner
Although officially supporting the skith during the war of independence, Shen was quick to recognize the new state when their Victory became inevitable.
The relation started tense and although the 1815 Treaty of friendship greatly reduce tension it still bubbles under the surface.
Between 1847 and 1850 the two Nations fought a bloody war on their shared border resulting in Shen losing, and making territorial concessions.
Since then both Nations have sought to improve diplomatic relations. Mutual infrastructure projects now allow easy transportation across their shared border by both Rail and car. A large group of Shen immigrants call Zamastan Home. And many companies Outsource to the Empire thanks to cheap labor.
The two Nations experienced a sudden rise in tension after the 2019 south xionera sea incident
Military[edit | edit source]
Economy[edit | edit source]
he Imperial economy has been roaring for decades now is they have carved out a unique niche in the global economy.
Shen manufacturing has become heavily specialized in the areas of low cost high volume production. Consistently able to produce Goods quickly and cheaply on a mass scale. Although quality of their goods have never been as high as sums more advanced economies they're specialization in producing large amounts of goods incredibly cheaply have made them an essential part in numerous Supply change throughout the entire world. It said that not a single person goes through the day without encountering something made partially or wholly within the empire.
While this has been a massive boost to the nation's growing economy the low quality of shen goods have caused the label "made in shen" to become synonymous with low-quality goods.
In order to power their manufacturing sector the Empire relies heavily on its mineral deposits in the south of the country. Huge veins of coal iron bauxite Cobalt Jade and even smaller amounts of uranium and other rare earth metals run throughout the shop the country. Heavy extraction for manufacturing and exports how were the economy of the South. Although increasing Automation and industrialization of the mining process has resulted in mass unemployment in the southern part of the country reading too many to head north or move into major cities to seek jobs.
Besides some minor offshore reserves the nation lacks any large-scale petroleum deposits and must import increasing amounts of petroleum every year to meet the demand of its economy and its growing middle class. Efforts to diversify the nation's energy portfolio and seek alternatives to petroleum have met with limited success and it's believed that the nation is set to continue to become more reliant on foreign petroleum for the foreseeable future. The largest single source of petroleum is rhand
The rich rivers of the Grand River Valley and the blue River Valley have allowed the nation's agriculture to prosper for Millennia. A modern-day with the Advent of phosphate fertilizer and Industrial agricultural equipment has drastically increased food production to the point where starvation is basically nonexistent. A combination of incredible cheapness by overabundance and government welfare programs for getting it to those who really can't afford it have eliminated starvation in the country.
The middle of the country and the Blue River Valley produces a bounty of a nation's main Agricultural Product. Rice oh. Well closer to the north of the Country tropical fruits and sugar plantations add to the diet.
Rice and spoiled foodstuff is traditionally also used as the main ingredients in livestock feed. Shens Central Plains have traditionally been at home to herds of cows pigs and chicken which are the staple Meats of traditional diets . Closer to the South Yaks and goats are more common and thus they make up a much larger portion of the staple food in the southern region of the country. rice also forms the basis for the Nations alcohol industry there is the number one alcohol being rice wine although in increasing native brown liquor industry has grown in recent years.
With the rapid growth of the economy and wages in recent decades, a service sector has started to grow even faster than the industrial sector. Meeting the entertainment and Leisure needs of the new middle class theater change an international fast food restaurants are popping up throughout the more populated areas.
Being home to a culture that stretches back millennia, as well as natural beauty like Crystal Falls and the beautiful beaches of the North, shen has a thriving tourism industry mostly filled with cultural tourists interested in seeing the temples and palaces that still stand and are still in use after millennia. A growing Leisure tourism industry along the shoreline has also sparked growth in Resorts and other tourist amenities in the north of the country although they make up a small amount of the GDP