Zengyu

***“**When faced with total destruction: one has two choices. To cry and sulk about how unfair it is, or to rebuild. One is more effective than the other.**”***
— Yan Jin

**Zengyu** (Qiuan: **Zhengjiu**) is the capital city of the County of Zengyu, Duchy of Qiu Island and the larger Hexad Empire. Zengyu was also the seat of the Zengyuan Empire in the past. Zengyu was razed during the Gemstone Wars by the Republic of Fühlgart. While the Hexad Empire has funded massive reconstruction efforts, the city is still a shell of its former self.

## History

Founded in 264 AW, Zengyu started off as a relatively humble farming settlement under the Nanfu Empire. Zengyu had an excellent geographical position, as it was located almost right in the center of Qiu Island. This made the village accessible to traders and travelers, causing Zengyu to grow rapidly. In 322 AW, the Marquis of Dounan, Ru Yao, noticed Zengyu's strategic position, and fortified the area, constructing Zengyu Castle.

Zengyu was conquered by the Sallanthians in 445 AW without resistance. It was later incorporated into the Nianjie Empire in 450 AW. Zengyu became part of the Hundred Lords' Uprising, being rewarded for its service by the Haishuans by becoming the capital of the County of Zengyu, replacing the previous County of Dounan.

Zengyu was recaptured by the Sapphire Empire in 480 AW, once again with little resistance. The Haishuans failed to retake the area, leading to Zengyu becoming a Provincial city within the Province of Qiu and Gingliao within the Sapphire Empire. The city remained both loyal during and unaffected by the First and Second Gemstone Uprisings in 581 AW and 699 AW. Instead, through cooperation with the Sapphire Empire, Zengyu was able to grow into a minor trading center over the centuries.

Zengyu was abandoned by the Sapphire Empire alongside the rest of the Province of Qiu and Gingliao in 920 AW. Later that year, the city was captured by Yuxin Nadai, a Provincial officer who was native to the city. Yuxin Nadai had himself made the new Marquis of Zengyu and began a series of conquests across Qiu Island, taking the entire island by 921 AW, with the rest of the former Province being secured near the end of 922 AW. With his conquests complete, Yuxin Nadai had himself crowned as the Emperor of Zengyu.

Disputed at first, his victory in the Haishuan-Zengyuan War cemented Zengyu as the new capital city of the entire Gemstone Islands. Unsurprisingly, the city saw an extremely rapid growth rate, as all manners of trade and profit flowed into the city. The Zengyuan Emperors all added their own construction projects to the city in the coming centuries, the most impressive of which being the Onyx Palace, a gigantic palace complex that towered over the entire city.

By the beginning of the  13th-century AW, Zengyu had grown into one of the largest cities in Enselonde, with a population of roughly 1,300,000. Yet, the Gemstone Wars would drastically change the balance of power in the Gemstone Wars. Zengyu came under siege by the attacking Fühlgartians, who used dishonorable weapons such as rifles and cannons against the Zengyuans' swords. Outmatched and outnumbered, Zengyu began to fall. As the Republicans entered the wall, they set fire to the city.

The Raze of Zengyu, as it became known in the future, would do irreversible damage to the city. The uncontrollable inferno trapped and killed civilians in the tens of thousands. The Zengyuan Empire and anything else that resembled a government was annihilated. Many of Zengyu's citizens fled, scattering across the Gemstone Islands. In the coming years, scavengers and bandits frequently preyed on the city, harassing whatever locals chose to remain.

Zengyu would be captured a final time by Liang Nadai, a former Zengyuan princess and a Master of the Hexad Lotus, in 1217 AW. From here, she carved out the Hexad Empire. Under her rule, Zengyu has once again become the capital city of the direct successor of the Zengyuan Empire. Yet, the city has been so devastated that, despite heavy relief programs, it remains a shell of what it once was. With entire districts of Zengyu still lying in ruins, it will be a matter of decades before Zengyu can return to some fragment of its former glory.

## Ownership

* Nanfu Empire, 264-445 AW
* Province of the Gemstone Islands, 445-450 AW
* Nianjie Empire, 450-457 AW
* The Hundred Lords, 457-478 AW
* Haishuan Empire, 478-480 AW
* Province of Qiu and Giangliao, 480-920 AW
* County of Zengyu, 920-922 AW
* Zengyuan Empire, 922-1209 AW
* Protectorate of Lao Muji, 1209-1217 AW
* The Hexad Empire, 1217 AW-

## Buildings

* Grand Temple of the Hexad Lotus
* The Onyx Palace
* Zengyu Castle