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In the winter of 854 relations between the cadet branches opposing the central government broke down and descended into infighting. The Fifteenth emperor Cao Leng immediately sought to take advantage and ordered his general Cai Rong to attack them. Cai Rong objected on the grounds that an attack during the harsh winter was ill advised as supplies were low and attacking the cadet branches at such a critical juncture would force them to quickly make peace between themselves. The emperor's advisers accused Cai Rong of cowardice and of holding uncertain loyalties and Emperor Cao Leng ordered his arrest. Cai Rong managed to slip away from Daguo on horseback and go to his army on the outskirts. There he denounced the emperor as an unjust and bloodthirsty tyrant and his troops rose in rebellion with him. Cai Rong's army then marched back to Daguo and laid siege to the imperial capital for two years. Eunuchs sneaked out of the city with gold to raise a relief army instead absconded with the money. In 856 Emperor Cao Leng was arrested by his own captain of the guard and handed to Cai Rong, who ordered him tossed into a cauldron of boiling oil. With the death of the last of the Shang emperors, Cai Rong claimed the Mandate of Heaven and declared himself Emperor Cai of the Chen dynasty. The Thrice Cursed War would continue on for several years with the Shang cadet houses fighting on to try and reclaim the imperial throne. | In the winter of 854 relations between the cadet branches opposing the central government broke down and descended into infighting. The Fifteenth emperor Cao Leng immediately sought to take advantage and ordered his general Cai Rong to attack them. Cai Rong objected on the grounds that an attack during the harsh winter was ill advised as supplies were low and attacking the cadet branches at such a critical juncture would force them to quickly make peace between themselves. The emperor's advisers accused Cai Rong of cowardice and of holding uncertain loyalties and Emperor Cao Leng ordered his arrest. Cai Rong managed to slip away from Daguo on horseback and go to his army on the outskirts. There he denounced the emperor as an unjust and bloodthirsty tyrant and his troops rose in rebellion with him. Cai Rong's army then marched back to Daguo and laid siege to the imperial capital for two years. Eunuchs sneaked out of the city with gold to raise a relief army instead absconded with the money. In 856 Emperor Cao Leng was arrested by his own captain of the guard and handed to Cai Rong, who ordered him tossed into a cauldron of boiling oil. With the death of the last of the Shang emperors, Cai Rong claimed the Mandate of Heaven and declared himself Emperor Cai of the Chen dynasty. The Thrice Cursed War would continue on for several years with the Shang cadet houses fighting on to try and reclaim the imperial throne. | ||
===Chen Dynasty (856-915)=== | ===Chen Dynasty (856-915)=== | ||
The period after the fall of the main Shang dynasty was one of continued turbulence and civil strife. The northern Degei confederation reneged on their status as a tributary state and once more threatened to attack the northern borders. On the west, Shang remnants coalesced into a 'Western Shang' and propped a minor as Emperor Cao Fu. Seeing the Western Shang as a dire dynastic challenge that needed to be quickly crushed, Cai Rong chose to send off one of his daughters as bride to the Degei Khan along with a dowry of 50,000 pounds of silver as dowry to seal an alliance. With the north secured from attack and a sizable nomad force marching with his army, he turned west. General Bi Liao of the Western Shang put up stiff resistance but ultimately was forced to take his emperor and retreat west into | The period after the fall of the main Shang dynasty was one of continued turbulence and civil strife. The northern Degei confederation reneged on their status as a tributary state and once more threatened to attack the northern borders. On the west, Shang remnants coalesced into a 'Western Shang' and propped a minor as Emperor Cao Fu. Seeing the Western Shang as a dire dynastic challenge that needed to be quickly crushed, Cai Rong chose to send off one of his daughters as bride to the Degei Khan along with a dowry of 50,000 pounds of silver as dowry to seal an alliance. With the north secured from attack and a sizable nomad force marching with his army, he turned west. General Bi Liao of the Western Shang put up stiff resistance but ultimately was forced to take his emperor and retreat west into Rusani territory. Emperor Cai contented himself at first with reimposing his rule on the recovered territory, but Bi Liao's constant raiding and ambuscades finally convinced him of the necessity of further pursuit. | ||
====Chen-Rusani Wars==== | ====Chen-Rusani Wars==== | ||
After the loss of control by the [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]] by the year 860, the territory of modern [[Rusana]] was divided in three independent kingdoms at the time: Lakdu in the southwest, Ghanim in the east and Zawad in the north; Ghanim being the closest to Corumm. In 870 Chen | After the loss of control by the [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]] by the year 860, the territory of modern [[Rusana]] was divided in three independent kingdoms at the time: Lakdu in the southwest, Ghanim in the east and Al-Zawad in the north; Ghanim being the closest to Corumm. Relations between these Oduniyyad successor states and the empire was fractious, with the Corummese never forgetting the muslim invasions in the name of spreading their religion. In 870 the Chen court made the determination to send forces into Ghanim to destroy the remnants of the Shang dynasty that had taken refuge there, and if feasible and practical, to force the kingdom of Ghanim to become a tributary and buffer state. General Qu Hou; a veteran of the last Oduniyyad jihad, was given command of the army and advanced into Ghanim's territory at the head of forty thousand men and six thousand Degei auxiliary cavalry, pursuing an estimated twenty thousand Shang loyalists under General Bi Liao. Too outnumbered to stand his ground, Bi Liao sought to evade battle at every turn and sent messengers to the local ruler asking for support. Bi Liao's messengers painted Qu Hou's incursion as an invasion aimed at Ghanim rather than a punitive expedition solely aimed at the Shang remnants. Seeing the sizable Chen army continue to make its way westward, King Farukh agreed to join forces with the Shang to oppose it. Farukh mustered thirteen thousand men, consisting mostly of lightly armored footmen with the exception of the kings own fifteen hundred strong infantry bodyguard clad in heavy lamellar mail. He also brought forth twenty war elephants he had bought from [[Pukhgundi]]. The joint Ghanim-Shang force moved to intercept Qu Hou's army and the two forces came into contact at the Battle of Horoz Plain. | ||
[[File:CDA.jpg|thumb|300px|Chen Army at Horoz Plain.]] | [[File:CDA.jpg|thumb|300px|Chen Army at the Horoz Plain.]] | ||
Altough numerically inferior, Bi Liao decided to give battle due to the fact the Degei cavalry appeared to have deserted Qu Hou and he expected his elephant squadron and the king's heavy cavalry to give him the decisive edge. Unbeknown to him the Degei had separated on purpose from the main army shortly after entering Ghanim and shadowed them at a distance, and were now rushing to approach his army from the rear. At the onset of the battle Farukh's elephants were sent charging against Qu Hou's center, nearly buckling it until concentrated volleys of fire arrows and rudimentary rockets caused the elephants to panic and turn back just as Bi Liao's infantry was charging, crashing into them and throwing their lines into a panic. Liao now tried frantically to rally his panicking men to face the Corummese charge while Farukh led his elite bodyguard forwards to buy the main force time to reorganize. As Liao's men slowly managed to bring the elephants down while losing ground to Hou's advance, the Degei nomad cavalry arrived at the battle, releasing several volleys that killed and wounded hundreds of men before charging into the rear of Bi Liao. This charge broke the morale of the joint army and sent it into panicked fleeing. Bi Liao was killed by Degei horsemen while trying to escape and his severed head was presented to Qu Hou, while King Farukh was captured and forced to prostrate before Qu Hou. In the aftermath of the battle the kingdom of Ghanim retained its independence but was was forced into becoming a tributary of the Chen dynasty, handing over both the infant Shang pretender, the king's own heir as a hostage and the fertile plains around Lake Doyeon to the Chen. The fate of the child emperor of the Shang is unclear after this, the most common theory being that he was asphixiated with a pillow on his way back to the Chen court. | Altough numerically inferior, Bi Liao decided to give battle due to the fact the Degei cavalry appeared to have deserted Qu Hou and he expected his elephant squadron and the king's heavy cavalry to give him the decisive edge. Unbeknown to him the Degei had separated on purpose from the main army shortly after entering Ghanim and shadowed them at a distance, and were now rushing to approach his army from the rear. At the onset of the battle Farukh's elephants were sent charging against Qu Hou's center, nearly buckling it until concentrated volleys of fire arrows and rudimentary rockets caused the elephants to panic and turn back just as Bi Liao's infantry was charging, crashing into them and throwing their lines into a panic. Liao now tried frantically to rally his panicking men to face the Corummese charge while Farukh led his elite bodyguard forwards to buy the main force time to reorganize. As Liao's men slowly managed to bring the elephants down while losing ground to Hou's advance, the Degei nomad cavalry arrived at the battle, releasing several volleys that killed and wounded hundreds of men before charging into the rear of Bi Liao. This charge broke the morale of the joint army and sent it into panicked fleeing. Bi Liao was killed by Degei horsemen while trying to escape and his severed head was presented to Qu Hou, while King Farukh was captured and forced to prostrate before Qu Hou. In the aftermath of the battle the kingdom of Ghanim retained its independence but was was forced into becoming a tributary of the Chen dynasty, handing over both the infant Shang pretender, the king's own heir as a hostage and the fertile plains around Lake Doyeon to the Chen. The fate of the child emperor of the Shang is unclear after this, the most common theory being that he was asphixiated by eunuchs with a pillow on his way back to the Chen court. | ||
====The Four Great Impostors==== | ====The Four Great Impostors==== | ||
Following the great victory at Horoz and with its western flank now secured, the Chen dysnasty appeared to be finally solidifying its position and for the next fifteen years would turn inwards in what is known as the Short Spring Awakening. A widespread purge of corrupt officials led to improved governance in the provinces and increases in collected revenues for the central treasury. Building of a new palace and tomb complex for the dynasty in the Mengguan hills began in this period. Shang remnants however were not completely erradicated at Horoz and several grandees continued to hold out in the countryside throughout the Short Spring Awakening. In 877 the first of the great impostors arose in the western province of Kuchil; claiming to be Emperor Cao Fu returning to claim his inheritance. An army of Shang loyalists, disgruntled officials and bandits soon coalesced around him and defeated an army led by Kuchil's governor sent to stop him. By 879 another Chen army had been defeated, the king of Ghanim sensing an opportunity to shake off Chen vassalage began to support the false Cao Fu with money and supplies. As he marched on Daguo, the false emperor died poisoned possibly by a member of his inner circle aiming to secure a pardon by the government. Although his army attempted to maintain its cohesion, its lack of a figurehead saw many desertions before being ambushed and defeated in the outskirts of the capital. | Following the great victory at Horoz and with its western flank now secured, the Chen dysnasty appeared to be finally solidifying its position and for the next fifteen years would turn inwards in what is known as the Short Spring Awakening. A widespread purge of corrupt officials led to improved governance in the provinces and increases in collected revenues for the central treasury. Building of a new palace and tomb complex for the dynasty in the Mengguan hills began in this period. Shang remnants however were not completely erradicated at Horoz and several grandees continued to hold out in the countryside throughout the Short Spring Awakening. In 877 the first of the great impostors arose in the western province of Kuchil; claiming to be Emperor Cao Fu returning to claim his inheritance. An army of Shang loyalists, disgruntled officials and bandits soon coalesced around him and defeated an army led by Kuchil's governor sent to stop him. By 879 another Chen army had been defeated, the king of Ghanim sensing an opportunity to shake off Chen vassalage began to support the false Cao Fu with money and supplies. As he marched on Daguo, the false emperor died poisoned possibly by a member of his inner circle aiming to secure a pardon by the government. Although his army attempted to maintain its cohesion, its lack of a figurehead saw many desertions before being ambushed and defeated in the outskirts of the capital. | ||