Chapter 0:
A History of Blood and Rice
Blood and Rice
I Yin Lu Fu, distant heir to the sacred clan of Zi in my divinations have found an appointment from my ancestors of yore to record the annals of the story before you. Yet before such tales can be properly relayed an understanding of what came before must be laid before you, much as in the building of a keep one must build its foundation first, lest it collapse into chaos and ruin.
In the year 1098 (1670 BCE) my ancestor born Zi Lü though known to history as Da Yi overthrew the corrupt King Jie of Xia at the Battle of Mingtiao thus ending the reign of the Xia Kingdom over the Huaxia people and starting the reign of the Shang Kingdom.
In the year 1652 (1046 BCE) the foolish Ji clan ruling over the Zhoufang attempted to revolt against the Shang Kingdom. They attempted to defeat an army of 170,000 with a pitiful force of 45,000 men. Their forces outnumbered three to one were slaughtered, the rumors of a grand mutiny, betrayal, or slave revolt proved false as King Zi Yīn Shòu or Dì Xīn led the Shang forces to Zhouyuan and raised the city to the ground. The entire Ji Clan including the head fool Ji Fa were all sacrificed to Shangdi and the citizens of Zhouyuan who weren't sacrificed were enslaved and relocated to the Shang Capital at Yin.
In the Year 1684 (1014 BCE) King Zi Dan or Hu Lei the Reformer after years of quelling minor rebellion after minor rebellion set about to reshape the realm. Starting with the minor change to officially rename the Shang Kingdom to the Yin Kingdom as to help further the minds of the people away from the infamously decadent rule of his ancestor King Dì Xīn and tell them that change was on the way. As to deal with rebellious vassals he created new laws where each ruling vassal had to offer the king their first born daughter's hand in marriage. Alongside laws making it where vassals had to rule their lands from offices in the capital at Yin instead from their forts. These reforms eased the minds of many peasants and quelled the ambitions of many vassals, yet the greatest reforms; those that would shape the very fabric of civilization across not just Huaxia Civilization but the civilization across all the surrounding lands forever after would be religious in nature. Hu Lei would emphasize and further legitimize both his own rule and the rule of the Yin Kingdom through divine mandate with elaborate public sacrifices and divination rituals. The grand plaza was built in the center of Yin where elaborate rituals of sacrifice were held for all the public. Great beheading sacrifices were performed upon rebels, foreign warriors, and slaves; for grand rituals in the hundreds over several days, and for minor rituals in the dozens. All were sacrificed to Shangdi to prevent floods and other natural disasters, for great divinations, and prove both the Yin Kingdom’s and the Zi Clan’s divine mandate to rule the land. Turning human sacrifice from a minor right of divination, to the central foundation of the great Huaxia Civilization. Thus it was that the rebellions that plagued the former Shang and then on Yin Kingdom for decades ceased and a new golden age was had.
Yet this first golden age could not last forever as in the year 2050 (648 BCE) the mongrel rouge Huaxia and Barbarian peoples of the Chu Kingdom struck Northwards with savagery. Their diabolical king Xiong Lü led his forces and defeated the Yin Kingdom's forces at the Battle of Ao before going on to sack the capital at Yin. There he would ritually sacrifice King Zi Sheng or Wu Jia to his own barbarian ancestors. With their illegitimately obtained new wealth, prestige, and legitimacy the Chu expanded their forces and forced tributary from all the neighboring Kingdoms that once paid tributary to the Yin, such as the Wu and Yue. While the Yin maintained their dominion over the Huaxia people it would be Chu who truly dominated the region for a time.
Though this dominion would be much shorter lived as in the year 2193 (506 BCE) the Wu Kingdom under king Guang or Helü of Wu would successfully rebel against the Chu. Later again in the year 2203 (495 BCE) the barbarian Wu Kingdom under king Fuchai of Wu would invade the neighboring barbarian kingdom of Yue and sacrifice its king Luo Goujian to Shangdi the Wu Kingdom would overtake the Chu Kingdom as those who dominate the land.
Yet the greatest tragedy of the age occurred in the year 2222 (476 BCE) when after centuries of oppression under the heels of the Chu and Wu barbarians the Yin Kingdom and its capital declined to such a point where they had lost dominion over the Huaxia people. The sacred clan of Zi had fractured into its numerous subclans and the Kong Clan of Shangqiu under King Kong Zì or Jianguo weakly attempted to take its place with the Fù Kingdom. Yet try as they might, dominion over the greater lands and surrounding kingdoms they could not wrestle away from the barbarian Wu Kingdom.
In the year 2382 (316 BCE) the truly barbarian Ba people would overrun the Shu Kingdom with iron weapons. Sacrificing the Shu king Lu Zi to their white tiger god Lin Jun, their king Peng Moushang then set about establishing the united Bashu Kingdom. Later in the year 2385 (311 BCE) the Bashu at the Battle of Zhoujiazhai would defeat both the Chu and Wu forces and establish themselves as the dominant kingdom of the land.
Yet their dominion was a short lived one as in the year 2493 (205 BCE) the Chu under king Xiang Ji or Xiang Yu overthrew the Bashu Kingdom at the Battle of Jinsha and sacrificed the Bashu King Peng Rebachong to their ancestral god Zhurong. Thus reestablishing themselves as the dominant kingdom of the land.
It would only be in the year 2707 (10 AD) that King Kong Man or Zu Xin of the Fù Kingdom led a war against the Chu. Defeating the Chu army at the Battle of Shouchun and sacrificing the Chu King Xiong Yan to Shangdi and for the first time in centuries a Huaxia Kingdom dominated the land and neighboring states.
In the year 2963 (266 AD) Lin Yan the Lord of the city of Erlitou led the Rebellion of the Four Cities overthrowing the Fú Kingdom and sacrificing its decadent king, Kong Téng to Shangdi. Overthrowing the Fú Kingdom and replacing it with the Yì Kingdom.
In the year 3006 (310 AD) the nomadic barbarian Xianbei conquered the Beidi founded Kingdom of Dai from its Xiongnu overlords. Their chieftain Tuoba Yilu declared himself King of the Dai. This laid the foundation for the Dai kingdom conquests of the surrounding Yì, Yiqu, and Yafau kingdoms starting in the year 3083 (386 AD) under King Tuoba Shegui or King Daowu. Thus bringing the second era of Huaxia dominance to an end.
It would only be in the year 3278 (581 AD) that the Lord of the city of Ao, Ao Jian would have organized the great Ao Rebellion against the Dai. Overthrowing them and establishing the Ao Kingdom, and while the Huaxia regained self rule this would be the start of a chaotic era where no kingdom held true dominance over the land. Many writers such as myself call this era the Time of Chaos.
To add to the chaos would be many numerous tribal migrations and small conquests originating from the great mountain lands of the West. The most relevant to our tail would be the Muya barbarians. In the year 3334 (638 AD) they came down from their mountain homeland to the West and pillaged a path across the Bashu, Chu, and Ao kingdoms before settling at the foot of the Taihang Mountains where it meets the bank of the Wei River. There they would build their capital city of Yásà with their stolen horde of goods and Huaxia slaves. Soon they would bastardize Huaxia culture as they forfeit their original barbarian culture. They would call themselves the Bumji-shang for they had adopted the great Shangdi as their chief god, and attempted to claim descent from the Shang Kingdom and the sacred clan of Zi as well.
Further calamity fell upon the land in the year 3453 (756 AD) when an alliance of Xihu (Sogdian) merchants who had long been a trading medium between the Huaxia and peoples of the distant West, used their gold and influence to hire Tujue (Turkic) mercenaries and seize both the kingdoms of Yiqu and Dai, establishing their new kingdom of Zern. Their leader Kang Farn became their first king and set about with conquest across the land, making tributaries of the Ao, Yafau, Chu, Wu, Yue, and Bashu Kingdoms, establishing themselves as the hegemons of the land, and monopolizing all trade to the West.
The last great calamity struck in the year 3460 (763 AD) when the Bumji-shang using a combination of political alliances and bribes convinced the Zern Kingdom to help them overthrow the rebellious Ao Kingdom. Zern and Bumji-shang forces decimated the Ao forces at the Battle of Yin who then went on to sack the city of Ao. King Ao Lü or Da Sheng was sacrificed to Shangdi by the lord of the Bumji-shang who declared himself King Shang Guī of the Bumi Kingdom though his true name was Yà Mù as his barbarian kingdom claimed to be a return to the old Shang Kingdom.
Now here in the year 3564 (867 AD) is where our story begins in earnest. The Bumi still lord directly over the Huaxia and the Zern Kingdom still dominate the land above them, making all beneath them pay lavish tribute and forcing all trade in or out of the West be dictated by the whims of their merchants. Yet to the southwest lay a band of barbarian raiders, one of whom I Yin Lu Fu, would come to know as my pupil.
In the year 1098 (1670 BCE) my ancestor born Zi Lü though known to history as Da Yi overthrew the corrupt King Jie of Xia at the Battle of Mingtiao thus ending the reign of the Xia Kingdom over the Huaxia people and starting the reign of the Shang Kingdom.
In the year 1652 (1046 BCE) the foolish Ji clan ruling over the Zhoufang attempted to revolt against the Shang Kingdom. They attempted to defeat an army of 170,000 with a pitiful force of 45,000 men. Their forces outnumbered three to one were slaughtered, the rumors of a grand mutiny, betrayal, or slave revolt proved false as King Zi Yīn Shòu or Dì Xīn led the Shang forces to Zhouyuan and raised the city to the ground. The entire Ji Clan including the head fool Ji Fa were all sacrificed to Shangdi and the citizens of Zhouyuan who weren't sacrificed were enslaved and relocated to the Shang Capital at Yin.
In the Year 1684 (1014 BCE) King Zi Dan or Hu Lei the Reformer after years of quelling minor rebellion after minor rebellion set about to reshape the realm. Starting with the minor change to officially rename the Shang Kingdom to the Yin Kingdom as to help further the minds of the people away from the infamously decadent rule of his ancestor King Dì Xīn and tell them that change was on the way. As to deal with rebellious vassals he created new laws where each ruling vassal had to offer the king their first born daughter's hand in marriage. Alongside laws making it where vassals had to rule their lands from offices in the capital at Yin instead from their forts. These reforms eased the minds of many peasants and quelled the ambitions of many vassals, yet the greatest reforms; those that would shape the very fabric of civilization across not just Huaxia Civilization but the civilization across all the surrounding lands forever after would be religious in nature. Hu Lei would emphasize and further legitimize both his own rule and the rule of the Yin Kingdom through divine mandate with elaborate public sacrifices and divination rituals. The grand plaza was built in the center of Yin where elaborate rituals of sacrifice were held for all the public. Great beheading sacrifices were performed upon rebels, foreign warriors, and slaves; for grand rituals in the hundreds over several days, and for minor rituals in the dozens. All were sacrificed to Shangdi to prevent floods and other natural disasters, for great divinations, and prove both the Yin Kingdom’s and the Zi Clan’s divine mandate to rule the land. Turning human sacrifice from a minor right of divination, to the central foundation of the great Huaxia Civilization. Thus it was that the rebellions that plagued the former Shang and then on Yin Kingdom for decades ceased and a new golden age was had.
Yet this first golden age could not last forever as in the year 2050 (648 BCE) the mongrel rouge Huaxia and Barbarian peoples of the Chu Kingdom struck Northwards with savagery. Their diabolical king Xiong Lü led his forces and defeated the Yin Kingdom's forces at the Battle of Ao before going on to sack the capital at Yin. There he would ritually sacrifice King Zi Sheng or Wu Jia to his own barbarian ancestors. With their illegitimately obtained new wealth, prestige, and legitimacy the Chu expanded their forces and forced tributary from all the neighboring Kingdoms that once paid tributary to the Yin, such as the Wu and Yue. While the Yin maintained their dominion over the Huaxia people it would be Chu who truly dominated the region for a time.
Though this dominion would be much shorter lived as in the year 2193 (506 BCE) the Wu Kingdom under king Guang or Helü of Wu would successfully rebel against the Chu. Later again in the year 2203 (495 BCE) the barbarian Wu Kingdom under king Fuchai of Wu would invade the neighboring barbarian kingdom of Yue and sacrifice its king Luo Goujian to Shangdi the Wu Kingdom would overtake the Chu Kingdom as those who dominate the land.
Yet the greatest tragedy of the age occurred in the year 2222 (476 BCE) when after centuries of oppression under the heels of the Chu and Wu barbarians the Yin Kingdom and its capital declined to such a point where they had lost dominion over the Huaxia people. The sacred clan of Zi had fractured into its numerous subclans and the Kong Clan of Shangqiu under King Kong Zì or Jianguo weakly attempted to take its place with the Fù Kingdom. Yet try as they might, dominion over the greater lands and surrounding kingdoms they could not wrestle away from the barbarian Wu Kingdom.
In the year 2382 (316 BCE) the truly barbarian Ba people would overrun the Shu Kingdom with iron weapons. Sacrificing the Shu king Lu Zi to their white tiger god Lin Jun, their king Peng Moushang then set about establishing the united Bashu Kingdom. Later in the year 2385 (311 BCE) the Bashu at the Battle of Zhoujiazhai would defeat both the Chu and Wu forces and establish themselves as the dominant kingdom of the land.
Yet their dominion was a short lived one as in the year 2493 (205 BCE) the Chu under king Xiang Ji or Xiang Yu overthrew the Bashu Kingdom at the Battle of Jinsha and sacrificed the Bashu King Peng Rebachong to their ancestral god Zhurong. Thus reestablishing themselves as the dominant kingdom of the land.
It would only be in the year 2707 (10 AD) that King Kong Man or Zu Xin of the Fù Kingdom led a war against the Chu. Defeating the Chu army at the Battle of Shouchun and sacrificing the Chu King Xiong Yan to Shangdi and for the first time in centuries a Huaxia Kingdom dominated the land and neighboring states.
In the year 2963 (266 AD) Lin Yan the Lord of the city of Erlitou led the Rebellion of the Four Cities overthrowing the Fú Kingdom and sacrificing its decadent king, Kong Téng to Shangdi. Overthrowing the Fú Kingdom and replacing it with the Yì Kingdom.
In the year 3006 (310 AD) the nomadic barbarian Xianbei conquered the Beidi founded Kingdom of Dai from its Xiongnu overlords. Their chieftain Tuoba Yilu declared himself King of the Dai. This laid the foundation for the Dai kingdom conquests of the surrounding Yì, Yiqu, and Yafau kingdoms starting in the year 3083 (386 AD) under King Tuoba Shegui or King Daowu. Thus bringing the second era of Huaxia dominance to an end.
It would only be in the year 3278 (581 AD) that the Lord of the city of Ao, Ao Jian would have organized the great Ao Rebellion against the Dai. Overthrowing them and establishing the Ao Kingdom, and while the Huaxia regained self rule this would be the start of a chaotic era where no kingdom held true dominance over the land. Many writers such as myself call this era the Time of Chaos.
To add to the chaos would be many numerous tribal migrations and small conquests originating from the great mountain lands of the West. The most relevant to our tail would be the Muya barbarians. In the year 3334 (638 AD) they came down from their mountain homeland to the West and pillaged a path across the Bashu, Chu, and Ao kingdoms before settling at the foot of the Taihang Mountains where it meets the bank of the Wei River. There they would build their capital city of Yásà with their stolen horde of goods and Huaxia slaves. Soon they would bastardize Huaxia culture as they forfeit their original barbarian culture. They would call themselves the Bumji-shang for they had adopted the great Shangdi as their chief god, and attempted to claim descent from the Shang Kingdom and the sacred clan of Zi as well.
Further calamity fell upon the land in the year 3453 (756 AD) when an alliance of Xihu (Sogdian) merchants who had long been a trading medium between the Huaxia and peoples of the distant West, used their gold and influence to hire Tujue (Turkic) mercenaries and seize both the kingdoms of Yiqu and Dai, establishing their new kingdom of Zern. Their leader Kang Farn became their first king and set about with conquest across the land, making tributaries of the Ao, Yafau, Chu, Wu, Yue, and Bashu Kingdoms, establishing themselves as the hegemons of the land, and monopolizing all trade to the West.
The last great calamity struck in the year 3460 (763 AD) when the Bumji-shang using a combination of political alliances and bribes convinced the Zern Kingdom to help them overthrow the rebellious Ao Kingdom. Zern and Bumji-shang forces decimated the Ao forces at the Battle of Yin who then went on to sack the city of Ao. King Ao Lü or Da Sheng was sacrificed to Shangdi by the lord of the Bumji-shang who declared himself King Shang Guī of the Bumi Kingdom though his true name was Yà Mù as his barbarian kingdom claimed to be a return to the old Shang Kingdom.
Now here in the year 3564 (867 AD) is where our story begins in earnest. The Bumi still lord directly over the Huaxia and the Zern Kingdom still dominate the land above them, making all beneath them pay lavish tribute and forcing all trade in or out of the West be dictated by the whims of their merchants. Yet to the southwest lay a band of barbarian raiders, one of whom I Yin Lu Fu, would come to know as my pupil.
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