In 1444, the Ming dynasty ruled over most of China Proper with the Mandate of Heaven securely in their grips. They weren't the first or the last to do that; before them, over 20 dynasties claimed the Mandate before collapsing. Some competed for dominance with rivals with others conquered into the previous dynasty's lands and adapted to rule the people. The dynastic cycle only stopped in the 20th century with the collapse of the Qing dynasty.
The dynasties were founded by both the rival states following the collapse of a bigger state and by outsiders from the north (Yuan and Qing were founded by Yi (ethnic outsiders) and conquered all of China while others like the Liao and Jin, while not Chinese, claimed to be Chinese dynasties and successors to previous dynasties due to ruling over a large Chinese population). These powers crushed their opposition in dynamic wars, took advantage of internal strife, and unified the people with the Mandate of Heaven.
The current warring states period following a big Ming-plosion is lackluster at best, with a huge series of complex alliances causing a massive stalemate between what should be vicious and bloodthirsty rivals. Outsiders also tend to avoid involving themselves in Chinese affairs and conquering Chinese territories when the opposite should be true. Both the warring states and outside nations should be actively fighting to reunify China under their own dynasty, as was done for thousands of years.
My proposal is a series of missions and decisions that would, should the Ming lose the Mandate of Heaven and at least one state successfully rebels, allow the rebellious states and the neighboring nations with Chinese tech to expand into China and eventually found a new dynasty, which would serve as the Chinese cultural union. The states would have highly negative modifiers to all nearby states, which would eliminate an unbreakable web between the 3 strongest states and all the rest. They would instead seek alliances with other neighbors and, failing that, fall back on their immense wealth for mercenary armies.
It would be a series of missions giving claims on the nearby Chinese provinces, with prestige and morale boosts for 10 years following. Once the nation has conquered enough continuous Chinese land (not just random pockets of valuable land), has a Chinese cultural group as accepted, and has certain important cities (Beijing, Nanjing, etc.) they can declare a new dynasty, which gives extended (50-75 year) claims on the rest of China. Chinese states and the Manchu nations would have priority and get more claims with the initial missions (and an AE reduction or manpower boost instead of prestige, maybe). This should lead to the reunification of China or at least a new dynasty within a century unlike the current eternal sitzkrieg of Wu, Liang, Yue, and Shun.
This would allow the Manchu to exit the Chinese cultural group (which makes sense since the Manchu were very distinct from the Han until the later reign of the Qing. They spoke a different language and lived nomadic lives, as opposed to the Chinese, who had more sedentary lifestyles) and give the other Asian nations a goal to achieve. Of course this would exclude all Empire-status and different tech group nations, since a dynasty would have to be founded by a nation that shares at least some amount of culture with the Chinese region and hasn't already made an empire to begin with (the Yuan split off from the main Mongol horde and was thus not founded by the the Mongol Empire). This would eliminate the possibility of rapid Western expansion or making Japan even more overpowered than it already is.
In addition to that ambition, founding a dynasty would allow you to pick a new set of National Ideas, since each dynasty had its own policies. It would be either a custom nation-esque arrangement where you choose the individual ideas and their potency from a pool of points (perhaps determined by legitimacy or the amount of Chinese land already conquered) or from a set divided into Bureaucratic, Military, and Eunuch-y (snip snip). The dynasty would then adopt the Celestial Empire government, choose an Eastern religion to follow, and proceed Ming-style (still conquering the last of China from remaints, mind you) until they themselves fall as well.
Overall, this layout should lead to a more dynamic East Asia if Ming should fall, which it often does. It abides by the dynastic cycle that China has followed for eons and it would replace the dull passiveness of the East and give birth to the period of war, conquest, and glory that it ought to be.
The dynasties were founded by both the rival states following the collapse of a bigger state and by outsiders from the north (Yuan and Qing were founded by Yi (ethnic outsiders) and conquered all of China while others like the Liao and Jin, while not Chinese, claimed to be Chinese dynasties and successors to previous dynasties due to ruling over a large Chinese population). These powers crushed their opposition in dynamic wars, took advantage of internal strife, and unified the people with the Mandate of Heaven.
The current warring states period following a big Ming-plosion is lackluster at best, with a huge series of complex alliances causing a massive stalemate between what should be vicious and bloodthirsty rivals. Outsiders also tend to avoid involving themselves in Chinese affairs and conquering Chinese territories when the opposite should be true. Both the warring states and outside nations should be actively fighting to reunify China under their own dynasty, as was done for thousands of years.
My proposal is a series of missions and decisions that would, should the Ming lose the Mandate of Heaven and at least one state successfully rebels, allow the rebellious states and the neighboring nations with Chinese tech to expand into China and eventually found a new dynasty, which would serve as the Chinese cultural union. The states would have highly negative modifiers to all nearby states, which would eliminate an unbreakable web between the 3 strongest states and all the rest. They would instead seek alliances with other neighbors and, failing that, fall back on their immense wealth for mercenary armies.
It would be a series of missions giving claims on the nearby Chinese provinces, with prestige and morale boosts for 10 years following. Once the nation has conquered enough continuous Chinese land (not just random pockets of valuable land), has a Chinese cultural group as accepted, and has certain important cities (Beijing, Nanjing, etc.) they can declare a new dynasty, which gives extended (50-75 year) claims on the rest of China. Chinese states and the Manchu nations would have priority and get more claims with the initial missions (and an AE reduction or manpower boost instead of prestige, maybe). This should lead to the reunification of China or at least a new dynasty within a century unlike the current eternal sitzkrieg of Wu, Liang, Yue, and Shun.
This would allow the Manchu to exit the Chinese cultural group (which makes sense since the Manchu were very distinct from the Han until the later reign of the Qing. They spoke a different language and lived nomadic lives, as opposed to the Chinese, who had more sedentary lifestyles) and give the other Asian nations a goal to achieve. Of course this would exclude all Empire-status and different tech group nations, since a dynasty would have to be founded by a nation that shares at least some amount of culture with the Chinese region and hasn't already made an empire to begin with (the Yuan split off from the main Mongol horde and was thus not founded by the the Mongol Empire). This would eliminate the possibility of rapid Western expansion or making Japan even more overpowered than it already is.
In addition to that ambition, founding a dynasty would allow you to pick a new set of National Ideas, since each dynasty had its own policies. It would be either a custom nation-esque arrangement where you choose the individual ideas and their potency from a pool of points (perhaps determined by legitimacy or the amount of Chinese land already conquered) or from a set divided into Bureaucratic, Military, and Eunuch-y (snip snip). The dynasty would then adopt the Celestial Empire government, choose an Eastern religion to follow, and proceed Ming-style (still conquering the last of China from remaints, mind you) until they themselves fall as well.
Overall, this layout should lead to a more dynamic East Asia if Ming should fall, which it often does. It abides by the dynastic cycle that China has followed for eons and it would replace the dull passiveness of the East and give birth to the period of war, conquest, and glory that it ought to be.
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