I discovered, some years ago, that the history of Confucianism in China has something in common with the history of Christianity in Europe: both were persecuted in their first centuries of existence, only to become the main religion/state ideology later. So, what if Confucius simply did not exist, or what if master Kong's teachings did not manage to overcome persecution and become the ideology of the Chinese Empire for millennia? Butterflies would be huge, since Confucianism as a school of thought is as widespread in Asia as Christianity is in Europe and America. What would become of China without Confucianism? The most immediate answer would be a bigger influence of Buddhist and Taoist morals and/or religion even more than OTL, but is it the most plausible scenario?