Fourteen Kingdoms period

The **Fourteen Kingdoms** period (十四國時期) was a period of long division in Cerese history, lasting from 1581 to 1663, when the Ji dynasty under the Jingguo Emperor reunited Ceres. Despite being called the "14 Kingdoms", the number of warlords and self-proclaimed statelets exceeded 14, with 14 only being the major ones that were extensively recorded and mentioned in Ji history. The 14 Kingdoms did not all co-exist at the same time, and the period could be divided into 2 or 3 periods. As the Ji conquered the rest of the kingdoms and reunited Ceres, it is not considered as one of the "14 Kingdoms"

## History

### Background

By the 1500s, the Shao dynasty had declined and weakened, while the Wumeng Khanate to the northern steppes continued to grow in power, subjugating other nomadic tribes and openly defying the Shao in 1526. Many Di clans, mostly of the Xianchu, Khandel, Nurkhanid, Khanshut and Delgi tribes, fled en mass into northern Ceres, where they were settled in the frontier regions and mixed with locals. These refugees were treated with suspicion by locals and often competed with them over land and resources. The local governments distrusted them as well, often taking advantage of their status as refugees and non-Cerese to bully and exploit them. Riots and small-scale rebellions often broke out in these mixed areas, but they were usually quelled in no time.

The first major internal conflict the Shao experienced in 50 years was when Gojinese and Xianchu people in the Zhenxi Protectorate (modern-day Gojin) revolted against Cerese occupation in 1559. The rebellion took 7 years to crush, and was the first sign that the days of both the Shao dynasty and Cerese occupation of Gojin were numbered. The general in charge of suppressing the rebellion, Ning Yuwen, would continue holding political and military power in Zhenxi, and would eventually be one of the first warlords of the 14 Kingdoms, founding the kingdom of Ning Yang as the Shao disintegrated.

### First Decades

Though Emperor Aizong of the Shao tried to keep the empire from falling apart, destiny could not be changed, and the Shao dynasty would continue to go down in decline. In 1577, Delgi clans in Dongyu declared independence as the Haiting Khanate. In 1581, Xianchu chieftain Xiong Zhucheng revolted, declaring himself King of Tang. The greatly weakened Shao dynasty could not crush these rebellions, and the capital, Shouchang, fell within a month. Aizong fled southeast to Taihua, but was put under house arrest by the local general, Zhao Xieying, who pressured the emperor to abdicate the throne to him. Refusing to be humiliated, Aizong committed suicide instead of giving the throne to Zhao. Zhao murdered the rest of the imperial family in his realm and declared himself "Emperor of Qin" before leading his troops north to fight against the Xianchu Tang forces. Other provincial generals, such as Zhu Feng in Caojun, Ning Yuwen in Zhenxi, Liu Huixian in Southern Ceres and Tian Wentai in Yanqing refused to recognize Zhao's emperorship and declared themselves kings of their respective regions, as well as calling for the restoration of the Shao. However, all of them were *de facto* warlords, and they fought amongst each other as much as they did against the Tang and Qin.

#### Northern Ceres

Ceres descended into total war, and regimes rose and fell. Xiong Zhucheng's forces were defeated by the Eastern Qin and forced to abandon the Shao capital, Shouchang, but not before burning and pillaging the ancient city. In the east, Xiong's forces fared better against Tian Wentai's Western Qi, taking the strategic river-crossing of Jiujiang and the transport hub of Changjun, but were stopped afterwards. The frontlines in the north gradually stabilized, and Xiong diverted his attention to stabilizing his regime. The Xianchu regime implemented Cerecization policies, stabilizing the realm, adopting Cerese culture, redistributing unoccupied farmland (whose original occupants had either been killed or displaced) and recruiting Cerese officials. However, a rift between the Xianchu aristocracy and Cerese peasants would continue to exist throughout the Tang's existence, with minor rebellions frequently breaking out, contributing to the regime's early downfall

As the northern frontlines stabilized, Western Qi moved its forces south to fight against Zhu Feng's Cao Kingdom, but the Feng Mountain Range provided a natural barrier for the Cao, and Qi suffered great casualties trying to breach the Cao fortifications. Tian Wentai raised taxes and conscripted more troops to sustain his costly campaigns against the Cao, which was unpopular among the people. In the east, Qin pushed the Tang forces to Huxi, but the advances came to a halt there as the Qin supply lines were overstretched. The lands controlled by Eastern Qin were largely barren and sparsely populated compared to those of the Qi, Cao, Tang and Yang, and Zhao Xieying was running out of manpower. He recalled his Cerese troops to his base of power, leaving mostly Khanshut and Nurkhanid soldiers to hold the frontlines.

#### Gojin

Ning Yuwen was one of the first warlords to declare himself a king. He founded the kingdom of Yang in Zhenxi, a realm populated mostly by the Gojinese, but ruled by a small minority of Cerese. Ning took a heavy-handed approach, ruling with an iron fist and crushing local rebellions with sheer brutality and terror, often having Cerese troops and Xianchu mercenaries massacre entire settlements, both to strike fear into the Gojinese and to reward his soldiers. Ning Yang largely stayed away from Cerese affairs, maintaining trade relations with the states in the fertile and rich northern Cerese plains.

#### Southern Ceres

The mountains of Southern Ceres shielded the region from the warfare of the north, and the fertile farmlands attracted thousands of refugees. The states of Zhu Cao and Southern Wei largely tolerated each other, occasionally engaging in minor skirmishes, but never total war. Liu Huixian's Southern Wei conquered the Luyi kingdom of Liyong, which had stayed independent and a thorn to the Shao for over a century. Liu proclaimed himself Emperor in 1590, and the various tribes and kingdoms of the south paid tribute to him. Southern Ceres was prosperous, stable and peaceful for the first few decades of the 14 Kingdoms period.

### 1600s

#### Northern Ceres

After 5 failed expeditions against Zhu Cao, the Western Qi had been severely weakened and bankrupted. Rebellions broke out when rumor spread that the emperor was going to conscript the masses for another expedition, and coincidentally, the Xianchu Tang under Xiong Zhucheng's son, Xiong Jie, invaded. The Western Qi emperor was captured, and his realm ceased to exist. However, the Xianchu were still seen as barbarian invaders, and Qi general Li Xuanhan declared himself King of Teng in Tengchong, continuing to resist the Xianchu forces. Xiong Jie was killed in an ambush by Teng forces, which, coupled with a Gheldun invasion in the north, forced the Xianchu Tang to retreat, leaving a small garrison led by General Zhou Kang to secure the newly conquered territories. The Wumeng Khanate had been overthrown by a coalition of Baljuniids, Jalutids and Ghelduns months earlier, and the son of the last khan, Zhao Hu, fled south and became a Xianchu Tang general.

The power of the Xianchu Tang would decline under Xiong Tai, whose death in 1601 left the throne to his 6 year old son Xiong Zhengyin. Zhengyin's uncle and regent, Yan Wenqing, did not have good relations with Zhou Kang and Zhao Hu, and soon both of them revolted against Yan's regency. Yan was then murdered by his own son, Yan Jing, in a coup, who forced the child emperor to abdicate to him, and then killed him too. Yan Jing's Eastern Zhao, Zhao Hu's Western Zhao and Zhou Kang's Southern Lu engaged in a bloody 30-year long civil war, which would see the Western Zhao rise to the top, under Zhao Duantian and his second in command, Jin Wuheng.

In the east, the Eastern Qin rulers grew increasingly decadent and incompetent. Emperor Zhao Wen indulged in drinking and womanizing, leaving all state affairs to a eunuch named Ma Lin. Ma and other eunuchs were extremely corrupt and tyrannical, purging all officials and scholars who opposed them. Tutei Bargan, the Nurkhanid general of Liping, feared for his own life after several of his allies and family members were executed, and rose up in revolt against the Eastern Qin. He took the capital, Taihua, killing all of the eunuchs and releasing those who had been wrongfully imprisoned by them. Zhao Wen abdicated the throne to Tutei, who would found the state of Sheng. Zhao Yuanxing, Zhao Wen's brother, fled north to Xingping and established a rump state, Northern Qin, which would last for another 11 years before being first vassalized and then annexed by the Sheng under his son, Zhao Cheng. Tutei adopted a Cerese name, Teng Yingxun, and implemented vast Cerecization policies to assimilate the region's large non-Cerese population. Though the Sheng's Cerecization was successful in assimilating the non-Cerese and stabilizing the country, it's military severely weakened as a result, and the kingdom lost conflicts and territories to the Khanshuts, Western Zhao, Xiong Jing, and Chuan tribes, ultimately becoming a vassal of, and then being annexed, by the Ji.

#### Southern Ceres

Southern Wei and Zhu Cao were largely peaceful and prosperous, unlike the constant warfare of the north. Their rulers largely indulged in luxury instead of partaking in state affairs or trying to expand their realm, leaving the government in disarray and allowing the officials to become corrupt. After Xianchu Tang was usurped, a Xianchu prince, Xiong Xi, fled south and swore allegiance to the Southern Wei, where he was welcomed by the Emperor, Liu Xiaoyang, and made Prince of Jing. By then, corruption was rampant in Wei, and rebellions frequently broke out. Xiong rose through the ranks quickly by suppressing the rebellions, and though the emperor trusted him, the Wei court did not.

In 1618, a peasant uprising led by Chen Ming broke out in the western coast. Chen declared himself "King of Wu" and swore allegiance to Zhu Cao as a vassal in exchange for their support. Xiong Xi, who was in the east pacifying border tribes, led his troops east to defend the empire. However, when he reached Wujiang, he heard the news that the emperor had been murdered and usurped by his son, Liu Zhi. Xiong denounced and revolted against Liu Zhi, and so did Han Lian, the general dispatched to suppress Chen Ming's rebellion. Southern Wei was partitioned by 1622, though Xiong Jing would continued using Liu Xiaoyang's era name until 1652. In 1630, the new Cao emperor stopped supporting Chen Ming's Northern Wu, and it was crushed by Han Lian's Southern Wu.

### End of the 14 Kingdoms

Jin Wuheng continued to be an influential general and chancellor in Western Zhao, and after his death in 1645, his position was succeeded by his son, Jin Yongjin. In 1654, Jin Yongjin usurped the throne of the Western Zhao and went on to conquer Zhu Cao, Southern Wu, Xiong Jing and Sheng, reunifying Ceres after 80 years of war and chaos

## List of regimes

### Northern Ceres

* Xianchu Tang (1581-1602)
* Eastern Qin (1582-1623)
* Western Qi (1582-1598)
* Northern Qin (1623-1631)
* Sheng (1621-1663)
* Teng (1599-1652)
* Eastern Zhao (1600-1633)
* Southern Lu (1601-1627)
* Western Zhao (1601-1654)

### Southern Ceres

* Zhu Cao (1582-1660)
* Southern Wei (1581-1622)
* Northern Wu (1618-1631)
* Southern Wu (1619-1662)
* Xiong Jing (1618-1663)

### Beyond Ceres Proper

* Nuosi/ Nosya
* Shaxing Kingdom (1207-1724)
* Ning Yang/Ning Yeong (1581-1662)
* Haiting Khanate (1577-1672)
* Khanshut Khanate (1590-1671)