Dzi dynasty

The Dzii dynasty (齊, dzii or dziai, 752 – ?) was a dynasty that governed Themiclesia and a number of foreign territories in modern-day Columbia, Maverica, and Meridia. It was founded in the wake of the financial crisis at the end of the Meng dynasty and was itself replaced by the Drjen dynasty, excessive military expenditure triggering an aristocratic revolt. The dynasty saw rule by 19 monarchs in 15 generations.

History

Financial crisis

The Meng dynasty (孟, mrangs) introduced the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to Themiclesia. This named the holder of the Mandate the supreme monarch of world and was justified through the ruler's righteous conduct and strengthened by the appearance of foreign states bearing tribute. When the Meng ruling house lost the last of its territories in Menghe and sought refuge in Themiclesia, it was concerned to have lost its Mandate; thus, in Themiclesia, it vigorously sought re-affirmation in the form of tributary activity. However, since Themiclesia did not maintain a standing army that could dominate surrounding polities, the Meng court used bribes to solicit them, with promises of more gifts once tribute was paid. In the 500s, this economized on military expense and generated the prestige desired; however, as news of free gold and brocade spread throughout the continent, expenditures mounted, sometimes accounting for 50% or more of annual outlays.

The court obtained its gold by conscripting peasants close to gold mines irrespective of their normal activities; the secondment of agricultural labour injured the financial interests of some of the nobility, who demanded changes to this foreign policy. To provide the labour-intensive silk brocades (surviving examples show double- and triple-cloth work), female prisoners were condemned to a life in weaving. In 684, an edict directed judges to "increase prison sentences to contribute to the defrayment of public expenses." In the final decades of the Meng dynasty, agricultural taxes reached half of total product, and peasants were further obliged to provide free labour for public works and to remit fabric as well as local peculiarities. Access to forests and rivers and the resources found in them were further dutiable. Of the revenue collected, half was regularly spent on foreign gifts, a quarter to finance the expenses of the imperial court, and the other quarter to pay civil servants' salaries.

Establishment and stabilization

In 721, Siaw Gjong (蕭侰) became War Secretary. From a gentle house favoured by the system, he was shocked by the abyssmal conditions in the border garrisons. He described it as "hardly a single inch of cloth not patched or inch of flesh not famished". When he investigated the causes for the garrisons' destitute, he discovered that resources nominally diverted to their use were commandeered by local magistrates to pay their starving counties' annual grain tax and cloth levy; the Council of Correspondence, however, did not permit him to reform the situation, as the missing resources had been diverted by the Finance Secretary. In the following year, he submitted to the court that "destitute is fueling discontent and stoking ulterior motives"; the court responded by paying some groups of soldiers more to create jealousy. When a revolt occurred in 726, the court awarded the rebelling regiment's allotment to the regiment that put the them down. To prevent future rebellions, the court shortened each rotation from three to two years and reduced the size of garrisoned units, so soldiers could return home sooner on furlough and not pose such a large threat when rebelling as a unit.

While the court solved its military problems, the death of the penultimate Meng emperor in 737 further exacerbated financial difficulties. The construction of his tumulus and mausoleum would require tens of thousands of corvee labourers conscripted and possibly an equally large number of soldiers; the rebellion still fresh in mind, the court did not wish to gather so many soldiers togehter. Then, in 739, a Gramuchan principality invaded, engendering the appointment of Siaw Gjong's nephew, Siaw Mjang, as general to repulse the invasion. The campaign was troublesome from the start. Of the regiments he was granted, half were so ridden by desertion as to be virtually missing, and the other half had so little provision that soldiers were dying of starvation before engagement. Yet, due to his unusual tactic of crossing crossbow fire, the Maverican prince's forces were routed. He sent for permission to pillage the prince's camps, but the Foreign Secretary forbade it on diplomatic grounds. He replied that if they were not allowed to take anything, the soldiers would all die on their way home, which the Prime Minister said was "not an urgent problem". Siaw Mjang then exhausted his own funds to purchase provisions for the returning soldiers, while crediting the imperial court; he knew that if he took credit, his entire family could be executed for treason. This act bought him much fame as a wise and humane general, and he was promoted to Left Secretary in 741.

As his prominence grew, Siaw Mjang began a campaign of austerity amongst the aristocracy that flocked to his support. This strategy made him increasingly famous, since it meant reducing levies on aristocrats' rural tenants; simultaneously, it also meant more peasants wished to enter their service, allowing them to retain more productive farmers and replace recalcitrant ones. In 746, he was made Public Secretary, which empowered him to re-invigorate the household registration system that had been maintained recklessly under his predecessor. This permitted him to penalize the aristocrats that opposed him by fining them for not reporting tenancy and income figures correctly. Amercement income also permitted him to make an ally out of the Finance Secretary by reducing tax rates slightly, from 9/16 of net product back to 1/2. There were calls for him to become Prime Minister. However, he could not become Prime Minister without support from the entire aristocracy, which was increasingly polarized due to his own machinations; to obtain their support, he relented on revamping the household registration system. In 749, the financial situation worsened when the [Iroquois] delegation to court consisted of representatives of an extra 163 chieftains, each of whom demanded a sizeable gift. The Great Treasury (大府, t'ais-pja) was unable to defray this expense in gold and brocade.

Proving the severest test to his abilities yet, he led the delegation to stay in aristocrats' homes, rather than the palace. There, they were banqueted as usual but treated to gifts of lesser value. He explained to the delegation that if they were to receive their usual gold and brocade, the aristocrats homes would have to be deprived of their furnishings. Then, he invited them to tour the capital city's military garrison and witness the terrible state of disrepair in which they existed. The delegation, not wishing to appear hostile to friendly hosts, temporarily agreed to remain in allegiance to Meng. The following day, they were invited to the palace to do homage to the Meng monarch, who had been under the impression that a diplomatic calamity was about to occur. The court credited the Prime Minister for his ingenuity and "touching humanity" to avert humiliation and made him Lord of Tong-djuar. He was promoted to Prince of Dzii in 750. For his mastery of the tributary question, arguments began to surface that the Prince held the Mandate of Heaven because he was able to command the loyalty of distant rulers, while the Meng monarch could not, by his own methods and means. With this, Siaw Mjang finally amassed sufficient reputation amongst the aristocracy to be considered for the throne. In 751, the Meng monarch abdicated in favour of Siaw Mjang, who became the first emperor of Dzii.