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If Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei had managed to live a little longer, how much worse could his persecution of Buddhism get? Would greater support enable Daoism to continue in strength? Daoist theocracy might be a strong term for the Northern Wei during his reign, but it's not a bad term. In this scenario, Kou Qianzhi and Cui Hao probably need to stick around a little longer. How far could the Daoist theocracy be established in China?

I'm going to concede that Taiwu had a relatively long reign for a Chinese ruler already, and his predecessor and successor had shorter reigns. However, a decade longer doesn't seem unreasonable. Also, would there be a possible successor to continue the anti-Buddhist policies? Taiwu's historical crown prince seems to be a Buddhist devotee, but I imagine that there has to be some prince eligible for the throne who would agree with Kou and Cui and their ilk.
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