Neverwonagame3
Self-Styled Intellectual
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2006
- Messages
- 3,549
The Court of King Fa- Part 1
King Fa of Xenshin was only average as a King. An arrogant and stubborn man, he considered himself so brilliant that it was almost impossible to make him agree to anything he saw as somebody else's idea.
However, as a King he was born into fortunate circumstances. The Koryoans, Xenshin's great rival, were weakened from their loss of their capital. The people, having lived with war all their lives, were willing to accept it in perpetuity- as were, more importantly, the nobility. Finally, he didn't really hold the reigns of power.
Qin Huang, known to the barbarians as Dagregio, was a half-barbarian himself. Despite this stigma, he managed early on to become King Fa's close friend, and as a persuader learned to know him well. Exploiting this ability, he managed to become very influential in the court.
i- Guan Yan's Hegemony:
The real architect of King Fa's foriegn policy was usually whoever held Qin Huang's ear- being focused in enriching himself, he was willing to listen to others in matters of state. By the end of his life, there were three primary contenders for control of foriegn and military policy- Guan Yan, Ping Liu, and Tai Sheng.
Guan Yan would hold the majority of power throughout the first ten years of Fa's reign. Qin Huang saw him as a puppet, and made him Foriegn Minister and later Grand General in order to increase his own influence within the court. His foriegn policy was to focus on good relations with the tribes to the north, and his war policy was to leave grand strategy to subordinates and focus on the execution of operations.
ii- The Collapse of Guan Yan's Control:
This began to change due to the rise of Tai Sheng. A man famous for his ugliness, he usually acted indirectly. Through an intermediary, he began to influence Guan Yan, modelling his strategy on that Qin Huang used to influence the King himself.
For a period of roughly three months, Tai Sheng solidified his control. For a further two, he began to dictate foriegn policy (which he considered the only really important area) as he pleased. Qin Huang first failed to notice, and later tolerated this development.
Around this point, in 2850 BC, Xin Shu was executed. Ping Liu's father, Ping Quan, saw the death and swore to end the war. He was soon executed for his troubles, but Ping Liu (in secret) vowed to carry on his legacy. For now, this would not be important- but it would have implications later...
King Fa of Xenshin was only average as a King. An arrogant and stubborn man, he considered himself so brilliant that it was almost impossible to make him agree to anything he saw as somebody else's idea.
However, as a King he was born into fortunate circumstances. The Koryoans, Xenshin's great rival, were weakened from their loss of their capital. The people, having lived with war all their lives, were willing to accept it in perpetuity- as were, more importantly, the nobility. Finally, he didn't really hold the reigns of power.
Qin Huang, known to the barbarians as Dagregio, was a half-barbarian himself. Despite this stigma, he managed early on to become King Fa's close friend, and as a persuader learned to know him well. Exploiting this ability, he managed to become very influential in the court.
i- Guan Yan's Hegemony:
The real architect of King Fa's foriegn policy was usually whoever held Qin Huang's ear- being focused in enriching himself, he was willing to listen to others in matters of state. By the end of his life, there were three primary contenders for control of foriegn and military policy- Guan Yan, Ping Liu, and Tai Sheng.
Guan Yan would hold the majority of power throughout the first ten years of Fa's reign. Qin Huang saw him as a puppet, and made him Foriegn Minister and later Grand General in order to increase his own influence within the court. His foriegn policy was to focus on good relations with the tribes to the north, and his war policy was to leave grand strategy to subordinates and focus on the execution of operations.
ii- The Collapse of Guan Yan's Control:
This began to change due to the rise of Tai Sheng. A man famous for his ugliness, he usually acted indirectly. Through an intermediary, he began to influence Guan Yan, modelling his strategy on that Qin Huang used to influence the King himself.
For a period of roughly three months, Tai Sheng solidified his control. For a further two, he began to dictate foriegn policy (which he considered the only really important area) as he pleased. Qin Huang first failed to notice, and later tolerated this development.
Around this point, in 2850 BC, Xin Shu was executed. Ping Liu's father, Ping Quan, saw the death and swore to end the war. He was soon executed for his troubles, but Ping Liu (in secret) vowed to carry on his legacy. For now, this would not be important- but it would have implications later...
