Part 2: The Awakening of The World (1417-1445)

        ‘With history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of a nation.’
                              -Son of Heaven Taizong of Tang

Like the Qin Shi Huangdi, Son of Heaven Yanzong was an inexorable conqueror, and fell in battle like one too.  The great man had subdued the Manchu tribes and was attempting to bring down the Chagatai Hordes and reopen the fabled Silk Road. His death did not completely end the dream of prosperity and discovery for Zhongguo, as his son Kang Ding assumed the dragon throne. Kangzong grew up with much pragmatism, and it would be this pragmatism that would lead him through his long reign. He ended the war but kept the lands surrounding the Taklimakan desert. The lands once ruled by the Tang were restored to Zhongguo.

Seeing opportunity in the instability of transition, multiple revolts sprung up in Manchuria as the Jurchens sought to restore their independence and nomadic ways. When Yanzong conquered the lands of the Jurchens he sought to end their barbaric practices and assimilate them into the Han people. He outlawed the yurt, and forced the Jurchen people to build and settle into cities. Their queue hair was banned under penalty of death, and access to the ‘a bow of the nomads’ was strictly controlled. Even though he hated their barbarian practices, Yanzong allowed five thousand Jurchen horsemen into the Tumen that oversaw the provinces of Manchuria. Even though they wanted to believe they were Jurchens, the rebels in Haixi fought like their Han masters and were slaughtered at the Battle of Yarbin because of it. Those rebellions consumed the first three years of the mighty reign of the Enlightened Emperor.

All of Zhongguo was devastated by the long revolts in Jurchen lands and in the southern lands.  There population was decreased by both the war in the Taklimakan and in Manchuria, and production almost ceased entirely. The new emperor laid out a long and extensive plan to strengthen and stabilize the new economy, and executed those who tried to siphon resources for themselves off this restructuring plan.  Kangzong dispatched some of his most trusted officers to reveal or destroy secret societies, bandits, and loyalists to his rebellious factions. By moving many people and employing as many people form the existing population, Kangzong spent fourteen years rebuilding the long ignored Grand Canal. The Grand Canal still carries goods from foreign lands into a now prosperous Zhongguo.

In 1434 Kangzong resurrected the exploration fleets of Hanzong, and they sailed as far away as the lands of the dark skinned men in Ts'ong-pa, bringing back long necked beasts and bearded lions. The Silk Road brought further baubles and maps of the white men’s puny kingdoms and nearly endless states and kingdoms of Buddhist homeland Shendu. Using this new wealth of information, Kangzong sought to expand the middle kingdom without war, but doing so nearly started three wars. In 1430, following Hanzong for the first time, Han colonists settled the northern island of Yesso by Japan. The Yesso island chain to its north and Shakahlin were added to the empire in 1435 and 1440 respectively. The islands of Sulu and Palawan were discovered and settled a year later. ‘The Great Expansion’ continued into the south and east as the Vassal States Lan Xang and Dai Viet were absorbed when their lords died without issue. In 1443 the last Emperor of Japan was assassinated by one of the feudal lords, leaving the throne open to the only living claimant, Empress Kiyuku, a consort of Kanzong.  Kangzong only fought two wars of conquest during his long reign. In 1425 he attacked an conquered the barbarian Ryuku islands, using his new fleet and dark powder weapons to batter their castles and kill their king. After killing the princess sent to marry the king, a Tumen under the command Duan Ping Ting seized the stubborn kingdom of Champa in 1441.

Kangzong sponsored and created many cultural traditions. He promoted Confucianism and kept traditional ritual ceremonies with a rich cultural theme. His respect for classical culture was apparent. He commissioned his Grand Secretary, Xie Jin, to write a compilation of every subject and every known book of the Chinese. The massive project's goal was to preserve Chinese culture and literature in writing. The initial copy took two years to transcribe it. The book, named the Kang Encyclopedia, is still considered one of the most marvelous human achievements in history. He spent much of his reign patronizing the arts and painting animals from the Forbidden City Menagerie. The Son of Heaven Kangzong ascended into the afterlife in 1445, at the age of sixty and three. His eldest son ascended the Dragon Throne (and the Chrysanthemum Throne) at the age of twenty and three, commissioning this chronicle.

This history was written by Lu Zhuo