Something Keepers might be interested in
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2016 3:25 pm
I am putting this here because I am not sure which part of the forum it should be in. I was playing Europa Universalis III and created something (Country) that could be used for a game set partly in an Alternate Universe.
Kingdom of Shan
The Kingdom of Shan is located roughly where Burma is in the main timeline, but does not have a sea-coast in 1562.
In 1399 it was a fairly typical quasi-tribal state. In the 1420s, however the Chinese decided to bring what they termed a rebellious vassal (Dai-Viet) to heel and in the resulting war Shan backed the Vietnamese and found itself overrun with Chinese armies and forced to accept the status of vassal to the Chinese.
This did however bring about a much needed improvement in administration as Chinese 'advisers' took over much of the running of the country.
In the 1460s the Kingdom was forced to accept absorption into China as a province and the then king (Binya-Nwe II) was set up as a provincial Grandee while the Chinese launched an intensive program of Sinification, eventually (Though with much internal upset) managing to pursuade the populace to accept the teachings of Confucius rather than Buddha.
This status changed when the Emperor Xuande decided that a vassal state in the West would be more cost effective than direct rule over the area and elected to reconstitue an expanded Kingdom of Shan, incorporating not only the original regions ruled by the Kingdom prior to its absorption into the Empire, but imperial regions to the west the Emperor considered would be useful in helping to establish a strong vassal to guard the south-western flank.
The new Kingdom of Shan under the son of the last King (Binya-Nwe III) came into being in June of 1516 and after some initial difficulties (In the form of a revolt of Burmese peasants put down with the aid of Chinese troops.) has settled down into it's new role as guard of the Empires south-west flank.
The kingdom has sent troops in support of Ming offensives in south-east Asia, but has become increasingly worried about it's western flank, where the explusion of Muslim rulers has resulted in internal chaos with several Hindu successor states battling for domination, chaos that the current King of Shan, Shengtsaubu I views with concern, especially with the reports of foreigners from the distant West becoming involved in these conflicts.
The attached pictures show the kingdom as it exists on the 13th of November 1562 and the countries rather interesting demographics resulting from the Kingdoms dissolution and reconstitution, with a three way split existing between the original Shan inhabitants, Han Colonists and Burmese (The Han and the Shan tend to stick together against the Burmese...). In terms of internal organisation, the country is run as a scaled down version of the Ming Empire, most trade goes either east to China or west to the markets of India.
Negotiations are afoot with the Ming to secure support for an offensive designed to secure access to the sea rather than relying on the stability of the nations to the west and south for trade. (I am thinking of restarting from an earlier save though.)
The kings of Shan up to the point I stopped playing (1562) are:
Binya-Nwe I 1385 - 1418
Binya Keng 1418-1421
Binya Dhamma 1421-1426
Binya Ran I 1426-1456
Binya-Nwe II 1456 - c.1460
Chinese Interregnum c. 1460 - 1516
Binya-Nwe III 1516 - 1547 (Son of Binya-Nwe II)
Binya Ran II 1547 - 1555
Shengtsaubu I 1555 -
How to use it, have the players pass through a gate (or crash a plane in Burma...) and find themselves confronted by soldiers wearing uniforms similar to but not quite the same as those used by Chinese soldiers in the 1500s...
Kingdom of Shan
The Kingdom of Shan is located roughly where Burma is in the main timeline, but does not have a sea-coast in 1562.
In 1399 it was a fairly typical quasi-tribal state. In the 1420s, however the Chinese decided to bring what they termed a rebellious vassal (Dai-Viet) to heel and in the resulting war Shan backed the Vietnamese and found itself overrun with Chinese armies and forced to accept the status of vassal to the Chinese.
This did however bring about a much needed improvement in administration as Chinese 'advisers' took over much of the running of the country.
In the 1460s the Kingdom was forced to accept absorption into China as a province and the then king (Binya-Nwe II) was set up as a provincial Grandee while the Chinese launched an intensive program of Sinification, eventually (Though with much internal upset) managing to pursuade the populace to accept the teachings of Confucius rather than Buddha.
This status changed when the Emperor Xuande decided that a vassal state in the West would be more cost effective than direct rule over the area and elected to reconstitue an expanded Kingdom of Shan, incorporating not only the original regions ruled by the Kingdom prior to its absorption into the Empire, but imperial regions to the west the Emperor considered would be useful in helping to establish a strong vassal to guard the south-western flank.
The new Kingdom of Shan under the son of the last King (Binya-Nwe III) came into being in June of 1516 and after some initial difficulties (In the form of a revolt of Burmese peasants put down with the aid of Chinese troops.) has settled down into it's new role as guard of the Empires south-west flank.
The kingdom has sent troops in support of Ming offensives in south-east Asia, but has become increasingly worried about it's western flank, where the explusion of Muslim rulers has resulted in internal chaos with several Hindu successor states battling for domination, chaos that the current King of Shan, Shengtsaubu I views with concern, especially with the reports of foreigners from the distant West becoming involved in these conflicts.
The attached pictures show the kingdom as it exists on the 13th of November 1562 and the countries rather interesting demographics resulting from the Kingdoms dissolution and reconstitution, with a three way split existing between the original Shan inhabitants, Han Colonists and Burmese (The Han and the Shan tend to stick together against the Burmese...). In terms of internal organisation, the country is run as a scaled down version of the Ming Empire, most trade goes either east to China or west to the markets of India.
Negotiations are afoot with the Ming to secure support for an offensive designed to secure access to the sea rather than relying on the stability of the nations to the west and south for trade. (I am thinking of restarting from an earlier save though.)
The kings of Shan up to the point I stopped playing (1562) are:
Binya-Nwe I 1385 - 1418
Binya Keng 1418-1421
Binya Dhamma 1421-1426
Binya Ran I 1426-1456
Binya-Nwe II 1456 - c.1460
Chinese Interregnum c. 1460 - 1516
Binya-Nwe III 1516 - 1547 (Son of Binya-Nwe II)
Binya Ran II 1547 - 1555
Shengtsaubu I 1555 -
How to use it, have the players pass through a gate (or crash a plane in Burma...) and find themselves confronted by soldiers wearing uniforms similar to but not quite the same as those used by Chinese soldiers in the 1500s...