The Tzenian Tsuldom

Flag of the Tzenian Tsuldom and the Tzen Clan.

## Introduction

The Tzenian Tsuldom is a total monarchy located in Eastern Krasarang, formed in 2,570 P.A. and inspired off Jionese Dynastical government It was formed by Tzen Tsun Tsu , a Kuric prince who succeeded his father, zsen Lin Su. The Tzenian Tsuldom succeeded the Kingdom of Kur-Woo, a feudal state.

## History

### Escaping the Xun Dynasty (1,070 P.A.)

Around 1,070 P.A., the Jingyin Clan of the Maiyu Province of southwestern Jade Forest was at risk of destruction from the Xun Dynasty due to their refusal to conform to Yulonist doctrine, as well as their refusal to recognize the ruling Yang family as their rulers. With their northern territories quickly being annexed by Xunian forces, the Jingyin Clan knew they could not match the power of the Xun Dynasty. To escape their imminent demise, they would exploit the durability of their ships in order to cross the Wenbei River—a river which would otherwise sweep away a Jionese ship.

Crossing this river would lead them to Giang Forest, a largely uninhabitable region of northeast Krasarang. The only settlers in the region were Dae hunters who lived in the frontiers of Dae territory, beyond the jurisdiction of any Dae Clans who tended to overtax their citizenry. With that being said, it wasn't difficult for the Jingyin to annex this territory and integrate the Dae into their own population. While the Giang Forest was far too abundant with vegetation for any agriculture, the Jinyin brought with them slash-and-burn agriculture which they could use to clear the entire forest, leaving fertile land to plant produce such as beans and melons to sustain the displaced population.

### The First Dae-Jing War and the formation of the Western and Eastern Jingyin (1,079 P.A. - 1400 P.A.)

The Dae government however would be left dissatisfied knowing they had not made proper use of the Giang Forest province of their territory, and so no longer than 10 years after the Jing peoples had arrived in Krasarang, the Dae would declare war on them. Despite being outnumbered, the Jing at this time would have superior technology at their disposal, most notably iron weaponry which would not be developed in Dae-Ja for another 100 years. The Jingyin Clan would thus win the war, securing their position in Krasarang as a new nation.

However after around a century the Jing peoples arrived in Krasarang, the unified faction would slowly split into several other factions. Jingyin's historical ruling house, Zhan, would develop inner conflicts between the son of King Zhan Jun and his younger brother who both rallied forces to support their succession. The war however would never truly end, and instead, two distinct factions would develop which could now historically be referred to as the Western Jingyin and Eastern Jingyin. Within each of these respective factions, further conflicts would occur with various generals and aristocrats declaring themselves the rightful kings of their own singular kingdoms, essentially taking advantage of the political volatility. The Jingyin Clan would thus break apart, devolving into a series of warring Clans which could be comparable to the Tribal Confederation of Ga-Wun, and this bloody period in Jingyin's early history would last for another 400 years.

### The Reunification of the Kur Peoples (1,455 P.A. - 1,763 P.A.)

However 400 years after the Jing peoples arrived in Krasarang, a famous warlord would change this lack of centralization. In 1,455 P.A., Kur Guiying of Clan Kur was a warlord who took over his clan at the young age of fourteen after his father was killed by the rival warlord, Tang Yun of Clan Tang. Being born a genius while also aiding his father in youth with his militaristic ruling, he would already possess the skills to lead the clan and not require a regent, and would immediately earn the respect of Clan Kur. Over the course of a ten year campaign, Kur Guiying would go to conquer every single clan among the thirty seven clans comprising the Mazhai Steppes (The former Giang Forests), earning the respect of his enemies in his honor and intellect and declaring himself the king of a unified Kur nation with the Jingyin now referred to as Kur from there on. This would earn the nation 300 years of peace, and while eventual succession conflicts would once again occur, the Kingdom of Kur was forever seen as a centralized state—not a series of clans.

### The Formation of Kur-Woo (1,763 P.A. - 2,000 P.A.)

However after 300 years of Kur rule, the rival Woo military family lead by Woo Chao Fu would declare their own independent Kingdom of Woo, located around the coastal city of Xiengosu. At this time, Kur rule was mostly de jure and only backed by the aristocracy, yet lacked any sort of militaristic backing, and so the Woo family was easily able to establish a foothold in southern Kur. Dissatisfied with the apathetic leadership of King Kur Jing Meng in regards to the threat of Dak-Rao, Woo Chao Fu would earn most of the Kur military's backing in his rebellion, and so the veteran ruler legitimized the Kingdom of Southern Kur in military power alone. This however wasn't enough, as Woo Chao Fu wanted access to the fertile lands of the Mazhai Steppes to support his army, and so he would declare war on the Kingdom of Northern Kur.

The war was easily won in less than a month, with the capital of Zhu being taken and King Kur Jing Meng being forced to commit suicide. To succeed the Northern Kur was the nineteen year old Kur Chun Yimu, the son of Kur Jing Meng. While Yimu could've easily been killed, the charisma and diplomatic expertise he displayed for the Woo family had allowed him to secure his family's power, only having to submit the Kingdom of Northern Kur to the leadership of Woo Chao Fu. With some convincing, Kur Chun Yimu even managed to earn relative equal status with the Woo family, his family taking over much of the political positions in the nation while the Woo family remained largely militaristic. By 1,763 P.A., the Kingdom of Kur-Woo had been declared, signifying the end of the Kur-Woo war.

### The Jionization of Kur-Woo (2,000 P.A. - 2,564 P.A.)

While the Kuric peoples originally hoped to escape Jionese rule, it was by the beginning of the 20th century P.A. that Kur aristocrats would begin displaying a fascination with Jionese culture. The Lei Dynasty who at this point ruled over Kur-Woo would've facilitated trade relations with southwestern Jia, and thus after 1,000 years of silence, the Kur would regain communication with Jia. Silk and jade were mostly exchanged between the Kur and Jionese, however most notably an exchange of ideas was fostered. Zexian sociopolitical philosophy earned the fascination of Kur politicians, and other Jionese cultural keypoints such as fashion, architecture, and poetry had deeply taken root in Kur society.

While at this point Tae and Jionese languages would've mostly finished merging into what is now contemporary Kuric language, the Kur peoples would've developed a cultural identity distinct from the rest of the Tae world beyond just language and appearance. In 2,079 P.A. this pursuit to form a distinct cultural identity would culminate in an event known as the Jade Cleansing, where Emperor Lei Yu Heon sent his armies to systemically seek out the Marist Dae minority in the nation and slaughter, imprison, or exile them from society. At the same time, Lei Yu Heon would adopt Yulonism as the Kuric state religion, a religion which had been the state religion of Jia for thousands of years. Over the next five centuries, Kur-Woo would slowly adopt Jionese cultural ideas into its own society while at the same time maintaining trade relations with Dae-Ja.

### The Formation of the Tzenian Tsuldom (2,564 P.A. - )

The desire to differentiate themselves from the Tae peoples would be no more apparent than with Tzen Seong Jun, who would take the name Tzen Tsun Tsu upon inheriting the throne of the Shen Dynasty in 2,564. Being an avid reader, Tsu would grow up reading of the entire history of the Kur peoples as well as other cultures such as Jia and even Pashida. From his adolescence, he held the fervent desire to become a memorable ruler in history similar to other historical figures, and he decided the best way to make that dream a reality was in revolutionizing the Kur government and, in doing so, creating a Kur empire. Upon taking to the throne, Tsu would promote Zexian sociopolitical philosophy as the driving force behind Kur culture and governmental structure. This would manifest itself in Tsu seeking to earn the respect of the aristocracy through acts of quid pro quo rather than military threats. As a result, the aristocracy would become avid Zexians as well, and a a trickle effect would proliferate throughout Kur-Woo where the nation would begin to resemble a family structure with mutual respect across social classes.

While Zexianism flourished throughout Kur-Woo, the Dae minority of the nation was looked at with increasing contempt, and a sense of nationalism had begun to develop around the Kurs, who viewed their race and Jionese culture as a whole as superior to Tae. Once the nation had begun to unite behind Tsu's vision of a Zexian-structured society, Tsu was nonetheless still not satisfied, and wished to build an empire rivaling Jia in power. In the spring of 2,570 P.A. a war between many of Dae-Ja's most prominent clans and Kur-Woo's western vassal state of Zu-Ping would occur, and Dae-Ja would quickly get the upper hand in the war with their superior manpower. Tsu however would see this as an opportunity to take the first step in forming his empire, and just as Zu-Ping's capital, San-Kun had been taken by the Dae, the Kurs would choose to interfere.

While the Dae still put up a fight, the war had ended once Tsu's armies had begun their march on Dojan. It was by this point that Tsu called the Dae king, Yong Kyung-Su for a summit as the Kur capital of Zhu, where the Yong-Tzen Agreement had been signed, agreeing for Yong to become Kur-Woo's vassal. Despite the agreement however, Tsu was still paranoid, feeling as if the Dae vassal state would turn against the Kurs similar to how Zu-Ping had one century prior. With that being said, one month after the war had been concluded, Tsu would initialize an event known as "The Coldest Summer," beginning with the execution of Yong Kyung-Su. Thereafter, Tsu's armies would kill off the aristocracy in the Dae capital of Dojan, then going throughout Dae's territories to kill off the leadership of the various Dae clans in hopes of erasing any sense of individuality.

The Coldest Summer would last three months, eventually ending once the last of the Dae clans had their leadership killed off. While the incident was the source of much controversy, Tsu ensured to the Dae peoples that it was outside of their concern, as only the most elite Dae people were suffering from his edict. With the conclusion of the event, Tsu would also seek to draw a distinction between the ancient Kur peoples who despised the Jionese, and the new Kur peoples who were inspired by Jionese culture. To draw such a distinction, he would change the ethnic identity of the Kurs to "Tzenian", being based off his family name. Tsu would also change his rank from king to Tsul, a traditional Jionese dynastical rank roughly translating to "Almighty" and sharing etymology with his own name. The Kingdom of Kur-Woo would thus from thereafter be known as the Tzenian Tsuldom.

## Culture

### Cuisine

The roots of the Tzenians can be traced all the way back to the Jingyin Clan of the Maiyu Province of the Southwestern Jade forest, from around 1,070 P.A. The Jing were known to be skillful fishermen as well as shipwrights, and this is evident in the clan's former naval dominance throughout the Xu'an Isles, which were even named after the Jing admiral and explorer—Xu'an Yin. While the Tzenians aren't as naval-centric as they once were, some of the Tsuldom's coastal territories such as Xiengosu are known for their fisherman-centric culture and, by extent, their seafood.

One of their most famous dishes is Chao-La; a dish consisting of grilled squid with a chili powder and lemon juice rub, usually served with a side of dried seaweed slices and a sesame dipping paste. While not a dish known throughout all of Alonia, it is popular regionally and some aristrocrats from other Krasarang nations will even make the travel to the Tsuldom just to try the dish. Another popular dish, though limited to Renji island, is Kongbao, a frothy stew made with sandshark

meat and garlic seasoning. A famous dish found all throughout the Tsuldom's mainland though originating from Zhu is Maobei Chicken, a boneless chicken covered in a lemon and ghost pepper sauce served over fried rice, usually on top of an over-medium egg.

### Social Dynamics

Tzenians are known for their deference to authority, and this is a trait believed to be inherited from the Dae population that had intermingled with the Tzenians ever since their arrival in Krasarang. While the Dae believe in submitting to authority out of honor and/or duty, the Tzenians see it through a Zexian lens, where the hierarchy comprising society is not equal, yet all hierarchical positions are necessary and dependent on one another—no single class is "useless" or "evil" and fill a niche comparable to that of a family structure. Tzenians have traditionally viewed their leader as being at the mercy of the population's approval, and this is traced back to the Jingyin clan's refusal to submit to the Xun Dynasty. However only recently under the rule of the Tzen Clan but especially Tzen Tsun Tsu has there been a change in this dynamic, where the king, or now Tsul, is viewed as chosen by the gods almost akin to an archon. Tzen Tsun Tsu has even pushed the narrative that the Tzen family are descendants of Yu'lon, and that angering a Tzen is essentially angering Yu'lon. In the home, sons are prioritized over daughters even more so than in Tae tradition.

Both sons and daughters are expected to follow the word of their fathers, however sons usually take over the profession of their father while daughters are taught home professions such as cooking and knitting by their mother. Nonetheless, daughters are ultimately arranged into marriage by their fathers, and if they refuse or elope with someone not approved by their father, they are often disowned, and in ancient times, they would even be imprisoned for such behavior. It is common for the son to aid the father in his professional work, while the daughter aid her mother in her housework. The sons of fishermen, for example, are often expected to jump off a boat into the water with a net to help net a hooked fish into the boat—a job otherwise not performed by grown men. Tasks such as this are however limited to lower class families, while upper class families will tend to treat their children differently. A ruler for example would not often offer hands-on experience to his son, but would rather purchase the services of professionals to educate him in whatever profession(s) that the ruler would hope for his son to gain expertise in. Aristocrats would however not only have a vested interest in broadening his son's knowledge in a single field, but more often than not they are taught a number of different subjects such as poetry and charismatics (a uniquely Tzenian study primarily for diplomats.)

## Flag

The flag on the right is the flag of the Tzenian Tsuldom; derived from the Tzen Clan, current ruling family of the Tzenian Tsuldom. The four squares in the center of the flag are known as the Tzenian Quadrate, an inverted version of the Jing Diamond which is an ancient symbol used by the Jingyin Clan—although originally white in color. The circle surrounding the Tzenian Quadrate is an ancient symbol traditionally used in both Jionese and Tae clan flags, symbolizing order. The green color used on the flag is symbolic of the Tzen Clan's sponsorship of Yulonism, although the green is brighter than the jade color used in Jia. The flag was first created in 2,382 P.A. once the Tzen Clan had installed themselves as the new Kuric royal family, although the flag hadn't been used as the national flag until Tzen Tsun Tsu's rise to power.