Empire of Lao Tzu (Laow-Zoo)
The Empire of Lao Tzu has long been the dominant political power on Oresis, the eastern continent of Terrathria. Their many dynasties have seen the rise and fall of myriad other bandit lords, would-be kings, Soamis and Sultans. Through it all, from the earliest days of the Khemetine pharaohs, the empire of Lao Tzu has persisted. They are a well-organized empire, with connections to the surrounding kingdoms though avenues of diplomacy and trade.
In recent years, the current Emperor Zhe Dong Ma has taken a much more expansionist approach to foreign policy, conquering the nearby coastal nation of Chonseon, as well as the Yaguri tribes of the nearby highlands. They have invaded the Kingdom of Hokkai for as yet indiscernable reasons, Luckily, the samurai have been able to repel the foreign invaders- with the help of The Shinobi Corps, of course- and reclaimed most of their isle.
Structure
The Empire of Lao Tzu is organized similarly to the Kingdom of Hokkai, simply on a larger scale: their emperor is a hereditary title that has been passed down for generations, and there is a large bureaucracy to help support and disseminate the emperor's wishes. They hold military service in a much lesser regard than the Hokkaidan society: with a much larger population, they can field much larger armies of citizen or career soldiers. They- like the neighboring states of Rigaveda and Sharyia- also participate in a pan-global trade network that stretches between hemispheres. Their faith and religion is much more a philosophical doctrine, backed by centuries of myth and parables to help explain social constructs and societal norms.
Culture
The Laozi Empire is a feudal society, much like Hokkai. They worship their ancestors and some deified humans- though they lack the worship of natural spirits that the Hokkaidans embrace. They have for many centuries held to a Vedic tradition of dhamma- a sort of cosmic order put in place by the gods, which must be rigidly adhered to in order to keep things in balance. Because of this order, upward mobility in Laozi culture is almost unheard of: the station to which you are born is by and large the station which you will occupy for your entire life. They do not stratify their society in the way the Vedic people do- at least, not explicitly- but it is rare for a peasant to rise to renown the way that an ashigaru might, though honorable service to his lord, rise to the rank of samurai in Hokkai.
There are two notable exceptions: passing the imperial examination to become a scholar or bureaucrat; or becoming a merchant and, ideally, giving back to your community or to a noble imperial cause. Knowledge, especially of classical literature and history, is highly valued among the aristocracy, as it gives them a shared sense of ancestry and identity. Though theoretically anyone could pass the imperial exam and become part of the bureaucracy, in practice, the rank is still mostly limited to those who have easy access to written works, as well as the spare time to devote to studying them. Additionally the acquisition of wealth, and the proper redistribution of said wealth, is seen as a noble pursuit in Laozi society: as major participants of the pan-Oerikan trade routes that run across the eastern continent, the Laozi have long understood the value of coinage, and the many goods and services it can be traded for. Whereas the Hokkaidan gentry don't have much use for coinage in their centrally-planned economy, the Laozi nobles actively participate in the free market to enrich their own communities.
Because of the long, unbroken history of their culture, the Laozi do have a mild sense of superiority to their neighbors. This national pride has been much inflated during their most recent push of imperial expansion, to the point of active disdain for foreigners and a desire to bring their superior culture to "civilize" those around them, particularly the tribespeople of the Yaguri Steppes, which has long surrounded the center of the Laozi empire.
Public Agenda
Their current agenda seems to be to take over the world, at least from the perspective of the conquered peoples of Chonsi and the Yaguri Highlands. It's unclear why they've chosen to cross the narrow sea and spend so much of their efforts to take over Hokkai specifically, but they seem hell-bent on doing so, despite the resistance from both the standing army of samurai and the shadow warriors of the Shinobi Corps.
Assets
The Laozi have one of the most central locations in on the continent of Oerik, and a good relationship (at least until recently) with their neighboring kingdoms. Now, after several years of conquest, they have control over not only the most arable farmland on the continent, but after their conquest of the coastal nation of Chonsi, now they also possess the strongest naval force in the Eastern Hemisphere. They are using this fleet of ships, armed with cannons- inspired by the Sharyian advancements in gunpowder technology- to establish dominion over most of the Eastern Hemisphere.
History
The Laozi people have a long and storied history: they are the longest-surviving kingdom on the continent of Oerik. When the grand empire of Khemmet was building their titanic monuments and monoliths, Lao Tzu was bringing peace to its 9 Warring Kingdoms. When those decadent pharaohs consigned their empire to oblivion, buried forever beneath the sands of the Ashalan Desert, Lao Tzu's heirs were continuing to grow and develop the grand empire that their grandfather had established. When the Vedic peoples banded together and formed their first city-states, The descendents of Lao Tzu formed an alliance with the first Maharajah, acquiring many fine spices, mammoth ivory, and the enlightened knowledge of Dhamma, which they soon incorporated into their own theology. The Laozi supported the Chonsi seafarers who first explored the coast and mapped the Sea of Sun-Shin. Those Chonsi sailors, along with Laozi ambassadors, were the first outsiders the Hokkaidan people had ever seen, and though the Hokkaidan people are by nature insular, they had lukewarm dealings with the empire across the narrow sea that separated them.
In truth, the recent negative shift in Laozi's relationships to its neighbors is quite abnormal- as long as one ignores the construction of The Carpenter Wall, designed to keep the Yaguri peoples out- and the desires and designs of its new emperor, Zhe Dong Ma, seem inscrutable when taken in the context of its long and relatively peaceful history.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Alternative Names
The Orchid Empire
Demonym
Laozi (Laow- Zee)
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
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