We are the Manchu.
Beating up the Xin has drained our economy and manpower. We need to regain that, and fast.
Doesn't help that hero of the war, Hoogle Folun, has just died.
...Sure.
I mean, dang Japanese pirates!
The pirate event chain continues.
And reforms in our army continue as well.
It will make our troops a bit stronger.
Yinreng has died, and Yangzheng sits upon the throne! His son is eight years old, and has very nice stats.
However, Yangzheng believes that it is time for the Manchu to accept their future more fully.
That we're to rule the Chinese people as their new dynasty - Xin failed, and shall fail again.
Therefore, let the Qing Empire be born!We lay proudly and publicly announce our claims to the entirety of the China, let the Xin tremble and prepare for our inevitable reconquests!
Just as we prepare our troops and reserves for it.
Chihan culture, the main culture of Chinese peoples, is now accepted in our courts.
All to better prepare them for assimilation by the Blue Dragon!
This raises our inflation, sure, but that bump of 2000 tech points brings us very close to next level.
That will give us a National Idea slot, and a much needed one too.
The Japanese pirates keep poking Liaodong and other places, and finally it's time to do something with it.
Some money is thrown at the problem!
And yes, our Prestige is plummeting - it's because of all those unclaimed cores we have in the south.
There it is!
We grab National Conscripts right away - with them, we get more than 1000 Manpower per month (max is above 60000).
Preparations for an expedition against Wokou pirates have been finished!
We send a regiment to deal with the criminals of the sea.
The truce has expired, and time has come to fight Xin again!
This time we're much better prepared, and they're in much worse shape.
Especially their war exhaustion remains high!
The battle order of this war is as follows:
Two armies besiege the Xin provinces, one remains at the back.
If any Xin Army enters combat with the siegers, the reserve 7th Army, led my 5 Movement general, Zhanhung Tianfu will rush in.
Once again we send our spies in - and once again they provide us with maps and movements of the Xin.
They're consolidating their forces in the south - that is good.
The first large battle of the war occurs at Handan.
We're victorious - the invervention of Zhanhung Tianfu was both timely and effective!
The 'Two Dragons, One Snake' strategy we're using is working superbly well.
So far, 4 Xin armies were wiped out! That is somewhere about 50-55 regiments destroyed.
The Xin Empire, of course, has much more, and their manpower is still high. It shall be gradual, bloody, meat grinder.
ARGH THE STRETCHY WINDOW I mean, Wokou pirates have been defeated!
We get 50 ducats out of it and population increase in Gyeonsang.
It is a risky strategy, for we must juggle our Armies' positions well to avoid attrition.
Still, it pays off, even if we almost let Xin retake Jinan province.
Just as before, we've reached a point in which we must merge our armies and consolidate regiments.
We're down to about half of the regiments we've had at start. We're still making progress, however.
And more importantly - Xin's war exhaustion is climbing upwards.
Our manpower is rock bottom at the moment, and we've had to use mercenaries to fill up our ranks.
There are pessimistic talks amongst Qing courtiers about outcome of this war.
We obtain maps of the West!
What a clusterfeck of vibrant colors it is.
Meanwhile, as years pass by, we simply recover our manpower and regiments.
I accidentally missed the pop-up informing us that Mongke Temur is now Emperor of Qing, oh well.
It allows us to pass Militia Act, helping with our discipline.
This battle is almost a disaster - but we win it and destroy the Xin Army involved.
We're on the defensive right now, and it shows.
For a brief, brief moment, Mongke Temur was tempted. To accept the offer and resume the life of peace in the north.
"Do not!" Said his concubine. "If they offer peace, they're weak. Press on with your conquests!"
Was the concubine a Taoist mystic that she knew the truth?
Xin troops, despite edge in numbers and technology, are once again losing to our armies.
What's more, we're capturing more of their territories.
This battle is unique because the Xin army does not retreat - it is
annihilated on spot.War exhaustion and negative stability is wreaking havoc amongst Xin forces!
Pretenders and independent warlords show up their heads in south and centre of China!
This all works for us in the long run.
We relentlessly refuse peace with the Xin and capture more of their cities.
We attack their armies rallying at the capital of Hanyang and win the battle.
We annihilate the fleeing soldiers, butchering them like pigs for a feast!
Hanyang, the capital city of the mighty Xin, has fallen into our hands!!
But Mongke Temur is not yet satisfied - he believes we can get many more.
Terrible news! Mongke Temur, the Qing Emperor, dies during siege of Hangzhou!
His averagely talented and barely adult heiress, Zhuangjing, is scared of further fighting with Xin.
"It's time we make peace with our neighbours." She says, dipping the brush in the ink jar.
The Xin Emperor humbly bows in front of the throne of Qing Empress, presenting his reply to the peace deal.
The treaty is sealed and the sacrifices to the ancestors burnt on the altars.
We take the wealthy provinces between Beijing and Nanjing.
This kills the Xin, their back is broken. They shall never recover from this -
and for Qing, there's only glory ahead!