bAARkdreg productions present: China

okay, scrap the AAR for now
started a game, got attacked by dai viet and got slaughtered.
hate it when this happens.
I'll try again some other time

okay, I tried again. This time I made it even more challanging by using Daywalkers excellent AI mod

here is a piece from The Encyclopia AAR: China

It is often thought that the first steps towards China's greatness were made by the Emperor Yongle. While his earlier years of government are to be considered traditional his 5 last years (1419-1424) are revolutionary.
He gave to funds to the fleet to allow the famous Zheng He his expeditions to unknown countries. As we can be read in other chapters Zheng He's travels discovered many lands that in later age's could be colonised or conquered.
Yongle also started the modernization of the traditional ways of collecting taxes. Even though this made the population pay more, he was still a highly popular Emperor, on several occasions whealthy citizens donated large amounts of gold to the Imperial Treasury. Part of this drive for modernization was the move of the Capital to the city of Bejing. Bejing was one of the best defended cities in the known world.
While popular in the Chinese lands Yongle wasn't popular in Dai Viet. Dai Viet had been a vassal of China for some years.
Under the leadership of the feared Le Toi the Vietnamese revolted and started pillaging the neighbouring Chinese provinces. Luckily for China, Yongle was an able general.
After three years of war he reduced Vietnam to the province of Hanoi.
When Yongle died he could have never imagined how big the Chinese Empire would become.

Regent Hongxi (august 1424-may 1925)

Hongxi was a trusted advisor of the late Emperor Yongle.
He ruled the Empire as regent until Yongle's heir was old enough to rule. Under his rule shirt rule the tolerance to other religions decreased.

Hongxi didn't have a great impact on the Chinese Empire.
His greatest achievement was the signing of a militairy acces treaty with the rulers of Pegu. Hongxi tried to create an alliane with the Chagatai Khanata but was rejected by the Khan.



okay, this was a short one, wonder how long the next Emperor will last.

Emperor Xuande

The first years of Emeror Xuande's rule weren't happy years for the Vhinese Empire. Nationalist revolts plaged the newly aqcuired Vietnamese provinces and rebelious peasents ran amok in the provinces of Liaoning and Sichuan Pendi.
Xuande himself led the armies that crushed the rebels.
It was obvious that the young Emperor was a good general.

Xuande was not only a mighy warrior but also a skilled diplomat.
He succeded where he's mentor Hongxi failed.
An alliance was created with the Chagatai Khanate and Pegu.

After the two years of rebelion Xuande finished the work of his father, every Chinese province had taxcollector.
These new funds allowed the construction of fortifcations and the enlargement of the army.

In 1429 Xuande declared war on Manchu and it's ally, Korea.
Not wanting to trouble his allies Xuande decided to wage this war alone.
Xuande faced daunting odds, Manchuria and Korea had an army twice the size of the Imperial army.
The Chinese army retreated to the capital and let the barbarians besiege Hepei and Liaoning.
The sieges lasted nearly 2 years.

Thousands of Koreans and Manchurians had died in the harsh winters of northern China. Their morale was low and their numbers ad dwindled.

Xuande struck. Leading an army of some 90.000 men het totally destroyed the opôsing forces. Only three months after the fall the lost provinces were recaptured by Xuande. The people were jubilant. Now was the time to take the war to enemy ground.

Xuande and his generals led the victorious army from province to province. Town after town was captured. The few small and badly trained armies that opposed Xuande were slaughtered.
In three years the provinces of Jehol, Liaotung,Baicheng,Yalu, Jili and Kogyu fell to the victorious Chinese.
Sadly Xuande was heavily wounded in an ambush by some Manchurian deserters.

Early January Xuande signed the peace with Korea and Manchuria. Korea was now a Chinese vassal and the Manchu's lost Jehol,Liaotung and 150 gold to the Chinese.
The same day the news arrived that the Chinese ally Pegu had annexed Myamar. Peace had returned to the Chinese Empire.
Five days later Xuande died from his injuries.