United Cities: Difference between revisions

|official_languages = Corummese

The reigning Chen dynasty of [[Corumm]] saw a succession of revolts and uprisings starting in 877. The rise of the Four Great Impostors who sought to claim the imperial throne posed an existential threat to it. The second of these pretenders, Tengu Peg Leg, first rose in the city of [[Heng]] in 896. Claiming descent from the last Shang emperor, he and his supporters took over the city administration by force and gained the support of its citizens by abolishing taxes for three years and promising to give every citizen five slaves from towns he conquered. Other cities in the region expelled their imperial garrisons and approached Tengu for protection and relief from imperial taxation . With these defections the territory controlled by Tengu's loyalists grew to cover all of the Corummese northwest. He declared himsef emperor with [[Heng]] as his capital and styled his domain as ''Northern Shang''. The loss of important economic centers like [[Heng]] and control of important trade routes to the north represented a heavy blow to the Chen dynasty's finances and hobbled its capacity to respond quickly.