Tóngzhì Corp

Tóngzhì Corp logo.

Tóngzhì Corp (Stylized "同治 CORP") is the Chinese megacorporation responsible for the creation of biological superweapons such as The Militant, and Maverick.

Tóngzhì is known for being a highly influential corporation, with deep roots, and connections in both the current, and past Chinese governing bodies. Many higher-ups in Tóngzhì are also very powerful political entities, and vice-versa. Tóngzhì is also a very prominent group on the global economic scene, and has dominated many aspects of the business world for the last century, including areas such as pharmaceuticals, biomedical sciences, computer sciences, bleeding edge technological breakthroughs, research and development, and dozens of other fields.

Tóngzhì Corp is also made up several smaller, but equally well-known, influential, and incredibly wealthy branch companies. The companies are spread out across the globe, all located in varying countries and regions. Some of which are publicly known and identified as Tóngzhì Affiliates, while others might appear as completely unrelated entities.

Tóngzhì Corp is also infamous for creating shell companies, and puppet organizations of which it either uses to funnel intelligence and information to further it's own projects, resources, and knowledge, or to feed to the Chinese Government.

## History

### Shang Dynasty

The early history, and beginning of Tóngzhì's creation hasn't been exactly determined or identified (at least not to the known public), old records of past dynasties show that Tóngzhì Corp has an entity dates back circa 1300 BC, seeming to form around the Shang Dynasty's Golden Age. The earliest iteration of Tóngzhì was formed by the Twelve Baron Merchants of Yi, which at this time served as the Capital of the Shang Dynasty. These twelve merchants have been speculated as being the original Inner Council, or at the very least, the inspiration for them, acting as the governing body for the company. It's been stated that each of these twelve noble merchants were all somehow related to the royal lineage, and would compete against each other, either individually or within small groups to try and install the next monarch as a puppet leader.

At some point, it was agreed upon that if the Twelve Baron Merchants continued to fight against each other, all that it would cause would be chaos throughout the Shang Dynasty, and hurt all of their business in the end. Instead, they would combine and pool their resources, creating a monopoly in Xi, and other smaller city-states throughout the Shang Dynasty's territory, while also having a hand in the political government, and at some points even directly influencing the earlier King's decisions. In these early days, what is now known globally as Tóngzhì Corp was simply known back then as "Tong" or "The Tong".

The organization continued to flourish throughout the rest of the Shang Dynasty, and grew steadily into the next, Zhou Dynasty. The Tong were now both involved in regular business practices, and also underworld crime. They did however, remain close to the Royal family of Ancient China, and even held an official seal of approval.

During the warring states period, the Inner Council of the Tong decided to opt out of it, letting it play out and see which of the states would come out on top, and to whichever one ended up the victor, the Tong only then would get involved, and give their political backing to the new leading state. The Tong also largely cut off their connections, and ties to the former Zhou Dynasty, as the King was no more than a figurehead by this point in time.

### Imperial China

By 221 BC, China had bared witness to the inauguration of the First Qin Emperor. The entire Inner Council realized the position of power that had been declared in the form of the Huangdi (emperor), and thus immediately took action. The Tong were quick to back the support of the Qin Emperor, providing him with the necessary resources to uphold his regime and defend the new Qin Dynasty from those that would see it fall. With the Huangdi backing them, The Tong quickly entered a new era of prosperity. It underwent it's First Expansive Era and spread out to every corner of the Qin Empire's territory, and even began branching outside of it.

However, the First Qin Emperor realized what The Tong were doing, and acted swiftly. He attempted to isolate The Tong, by criminalizing them as an organization, and arresting any and all peoples associated with the group. The Tong seemingly went into hiding for the next 15 years, seeming to have been destroyed. However, the Inner Council had simply looked toward the next person to further their goals, and used their resources to back them. This is what would lead them to finding and meeting Liu Bang, who not only got their support, but actually joined The Tong, and became apart of the Inner Council.

The Tong, for the following few centuries continued to back the Han, helping them in quelling the threat of the Xin Dynasty. The Xin were not fond of the Tong, finding them to be immoral criminals. This would lead to their eventual, and quick downfall as the Tong worked from the shadows to cause the people to turn on the Xin.

For the following several centuries, The Tong decided to go completely underground. They would continue to monitor the rise and falls of several Dynasties throughout the history of Imperial China, but at some unknown point in time, the Inner Council realized that they had grown enough to not need to be reliant on any rising powers. They had watched and even played a part in the rise and fall of several Dynasties by now. So instead they stepped back, and allowed history to play out as it may. Stepping in only rarely, when it was most dire, or anything threatened their operations.

### Qing Dynasty

The Tong would suddenly reappear to the world in the mid 17th Century. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the Tong, which was now referred to as "Tóngzhì" would become a fundamental, and crucial party in the creation of the Industrial Revolution. It's been stated that Tóngzhì hired the greatest minds they could recruit, not just within the Qing Dynasty, but across the world, from Great Britain, to the United States. Speculation has been around that Tóngzhì was directly responsible for such innovative technologies, such as the Steam Engine, and were responsible for their quick distribution and global spread.

### Communism & The People's Republic

Tóngzhì watched as the spread of Communism quickly sprouted throughout China. At first, it was an extremely worrying prospect, and the Inner Council members staggered to try and back political opponents that would squash out any Communist parties from gaining popularity, but one Inner Council member realized that it was too late, and that change was inevitable. Rather than fight against it, Tóngzhì did what the Tong before them always did. They backed the rise of a new Regime, and began installing their own components within the framework, assuring their survival and continued prosperity. However, as the Qing Dynasty was replaced with the Republic of China, Tóngzhì had decided to rebrand as Tóngzhì Corp, alligning itself as an official state-sponsored megacorporation, and working towards furthering China's economy.

Following Mao's death, and the leniency given to capitalist ventures in China, Tóngzhì Corp once again began to distance itself from the Chinese Government. It would remain loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and continued to work and act for them when called upon, but through the late 1900s, and into the 21st century, Tóngzhì Corp cemented itself as a global megacorporation, and was more independent than ever from the People's Republic of China.

## Branches

* Tóngzhì Research & Development
* Tóngzhì Biomedical & Pharmaceuticals
* Tóngzhì Weapons Development & Manufacturing
* Tóngzhì Computers & Digital Tech
* Interstellar Frameworks
* NX-GEN

## Puppet Groups

* MIA
* American Statistics Corp
* International Council of Economics