Thibet, Pt. 1
The mountains of far Thibet have long been isolated from the outside world, and have, for thousands of years, persevered against foreign invasion and subjugation. When the Fall came and the Red Empire's soldiers withdrew to deal with peasant revolts at home, the villages of Thibet remained idle and complacent, unsure what to do with their newfound freedom. The Dalai Lama, the God-King and Saviour of the nation, had yet to return from the lands beyond Nepal, and the Red administrators soon found themselves in an uncomfortable position, cut off from their homeland in a land of hostile and impoverished peasants. For the next few decades, the nation remained gripped by anarchy and warlordism, with each village having a different ruler than the next. Lhasa herself remained in the grip of the Chinese warlord Ren Ao, a former Chin general who had not fled during the Years of Troubles. For the longest time, Thibet remained a poor and fractured nation with the only benevolent force within the land being the monks of the old order, who the warlords and their soldiers dared not touch.
Then, five hundred years after the Fall and four hundre and forty years after the ascension of the Chin general Ba Gui (a lieutenant of Ren's son) to the throne in Lhasa, something changed.
From the fortress village of Gyatso in the south rose a great warrior and messiah, whose name was soon to become a blessing (for some, a curse) on the people's lips: Yi Laiwen (Avgan Yi). He killed the corrupt local magistrate, and claiming to be the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, seized the town with a force of peasants and monks. Preaching with fire and sword, Yi's army swept north and south, east and west, slaughtering all that came against them, and giving land and bread to the poor peasantry. Fanatical Buddhist monks painted their faces black and red and rampaged through the country, killing landlords and corrupt officials. When the Chin lord of Lhasa Tsai Chiung heard of this threat, he raised a massive host, and prepared for the defence of the city. The armies of Yi came like a black horde, and the two forces met outside the city gates. The day was won by the force of Yi, and the battle concluded with the fearsome prophet throwing the decapitated head of his enemy Tsai into a deep well. The city was stormed, the Chin minority fled, and Yi rode through the streets of Lhasa as the conquering warrior.
The monasteries were reopened, and crowds of frightened farmers and villagers cheered the new ruler, who took Potala Palace as his residence and the late Tsai's daughter as his wife. Since then, the dynasty of Yi has ruled Lhasa, and few have disputed this in the past few centuries (though there have been ambitious generals and governors). The city was restored to her former glory, and massive statues were constructed in honor of the new Dalai Lama, who twisted old beliefs to center around himself.
With the dynasty of Yi entrenched in Lhasa and the rest of Thibet relatively united, the new ruler began to reorganize the broken provinces system within the nation.....
((More coming on Thibet (and possibly one of the Chinese states) at a later date....))
