Over a thousand years have passed since the great Gospodar Khan Yesugei invaded and conquered what is now the Ming Dynasty of Northern Cathay. The Dynasty has ruled unbroken since the days of Yesugei. There has been a chain of glorious Khans that have ruled their Empire and have expanded it far beyond the borders of the first conquests of Khan Yesugei.
The present ruler is Kaidu Khan, who is a young man in the prime of his years and is just developing into the ruler, strategist and diplomatist that he must be to rule such a vast Empire, with its diverse peoples. From the Gospodar of the Northwest to the Tartars of the West, to the Chin of the central and Southern portions of the Empire. To the north lies the Chaos Wastes, with the constant danger of chaos incursions.
The Ming Dynasty has trade relations with Nippon, the Han Empire, and several of the tribes of the nomadic Tartars and other peoples that border upon their Empire. There has been a long established trade route with Kislev and the Empire of Karl Franz. From Erengrad, the products of the Ming peoples are sold to traders from all the ports of the Old World. The Ming silk trade is very important to their economy, as is the trade in ceramic ware and gemstones. The Ming traders also trade in exotic spices and foodstuffs.
The Ming have developed a strong and diverse military to deal with the many threats to its borders and to provide guards for its merchant caravans. The military has gone far beyond the primitive tribal organizations of the Gospodars, even though it retains many of the terms for units, leaders and organizations. Do not let the antiquated names fool you, the Ming have a thoroughly professional and up to date military system, developed over centuries of continuous warfare with their enemies and the developments of their war colleges and their great military sages.
The Ming have a diverse culture, and freedom of religion is one of the cornerstones of their law. Only the foul cults of Chaos are banned, along with any worship of the Chaos Gods, and all sacrificial rites are banned. The strongest sect is the sect of Tao and the philosophies of Kung ftz Zu, who taught that to be whole a man must develop both body and mind. He developed a ritualistic training system for the mind to teach reading, calligraphy, philosophy (which includes the sciences), culture, and the history of the people and the gods, which he saw as one history as the people cannot exist without the gods and the gods cannot exist without the people. He also developed a highly ritualistic form of physical exercise and martial arts. It was his belief that a man must learn all of these to be whole.
The Imperial Government uses the series of tests developed by Kung ftz Zu and the other philosophers and sages of Taoism to test all aspirants to the Imperial bureaucracy and to test them for promotions to higher ranks in the bureaucracy. To hold high rank in the Imperial bureaucracy, you must have highly developed education and you must be a highly developed person according to the teachings of the Tao. This has made the Imperial bureaucracy both efficient and trustworthy. It is very hard for anyone to slip by the examiners that does not deserve his position.
The Ming Dynasty rules from the great capital city of Khanbaligh. In the center of the city stands the great fortress palace of the Khans. It is said that the palace of the Khan contains a thousand rooms, and it is decorated with the finest shilact woods and jades and precious metals from all over the Empire. The hangings are of the finest silks embroidered by the finest tapestry makers to be found in all the known world. It is said that the Khan's audience chamber contains more wealth than most western kingdoms' treasuries in its decorations alone. Only the highest ranking officials and nobles of the Empire are allowed audience with the Khan. All others are seen by lesser officials within the bureaucracy.
You can get some idea of the Ming outlook on life from these poems:
First, a poem by Li Po on life:
The yellow river flows towards the eastern ocean,
The suns sinks into the western sea.
Like time, the water is gone forever,
Neither ever stops its course.
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Other poems by Li Po:
Would that I might ride a Celestial Dragon,
To breath in the essence of sun and moon
And become an immortal.
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The sun and the moon will go out,
The earth will return to ashes.
Why, because you will not live for a thousand years,
Do you complain that life is short?
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The Ming have a belief that you must make yourself one with all life to succeed in your life. You must Devote yourself wholly to whatever occupation you are endeavoring to master, whether it be as the leader of a province, the general of an army, or te lowliest soldier or labourer, you must master your occupation completely and do all that is called for to be successful in your occupation. This means that all Ming forces are well disciplined and well trained and led.
Ming warfare is an almost perfect combination of firepower, shock tactics, and mobility. The moves themselves, built on a sound framework of experience, training, and discipline, are performed like clockwork. Strategy seems to be inately understood and their morale is unquestionable. They believe themselves to be invincible and most of their enemies believe it of them also.
The ming prefer to deal with the field forces of their enemies before penetrating very far into hostile territory, so they will use strategems to draw the enemy into a pitched battle in a location of their choosing, where they will have the advantage of chosen groun that will give them the room for maneuver and areas from which their light cavalry can launch ambushes and lightning attacks upon their enemies' flanks.
Ming Appearance, Clothing, Weapons and Armour
Ming Army Organization and Army Selection & Wargear List
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