Chapter 21 - Greater California
Emperor Thao II is the adoptive son of Emperor Nicholas the Great; he’s an ambitious and diligent man, with a paranoid streak. Rumor in the court is that his small stature is due to early exposure to Radiation, the fickle god of the Atomicists.
To celebrate his coronation, Emperor Thao II distributes grain to the people of Sacramento, continuing the tradition of the Armour Emperors.
The emperor also follows in his father’s footsteps and joins the Disciples, further increasing their standing in the court.
He also prepares to take his exams; he drowns himself in preparations, as he must live up to the high standards of Emperor Nicholas the Great.
Exam day comes and the emperor is joined by hundreds of other hopefuls. He leaves the examination center confident in his ability; his confidence is well earned, as a few weeks later his results proclaim him worthy of the third rank, that of the Valley Quail.
The emperor’s first child is born in July of that year; she is named Doris and made the provisional heir, to be replaced with the emperor’s first son.
With the Imperial Council’s power on the decline, Emperor Thao II institutes the largest reform of Imperial bureaucracy ever seen: the Imperial Administrative Reform limits aristocratic power, while revamping the Imperial structure to provide more power to the bureaucrats, usually at the further cost of the aristocracy.
Most of 2741 passes in peace and prosperity, until September when news from the Mid-East reaches the Imperial Court; the zealous Catholics of the region have won their Crusade to reclaim Booneland for their faith. Slowly, the Mid-East is becoming the core of Christianity outside of the Holy Columbian Confederacy.
The throne is never safe from outsiders, as in 2742 news reaches the court that Lily Gable, a distant relative of the old Jeffersonian ruling family, intends to take back her family’s old titles and prove that House Armour no longer has the Prime Mandate. She’s supported by the nobles of the Gaian kingdom of Lincoln, who are not eager to see a strong California.
In defiance to the threats to his rulership, Emperor Thao II hosts a grand tournament that same year; the message is clear to anyone who attends: the power and wealth of California will endure. It is a great success, as the best fighters in all of California come to Sacramento to prove their worth; the resulting two months of celebrations increases the overall prosperity of the capital. A minor Death Valleyan noble is named the victory, bringing glory to his court and house.
The emperor also releases his first teaching. A Study of the Prime Mandate is an in depth look at just what the Prime Mandate is and how it has been lost in the past; since it has only been lost once, by the Yudkow Emperors, it ultimately concludes that it is beyond understanding by anyone who has not studied it for many years, such as the current sitting Emperor.
There is still some talk within the Disciples of removing On Ekpyrotic Cosmogony from the Imperial teachings; when the topic reaches Emperor Thao II, he refuses to even consider it.
By 2744, Lily Gable has managed to gather a large group of Gaian mercenaries and disaffected Californian nobles to her cause and her invasion to take back Jefferson is finally under way.
The rebel force splits itself in two armies, the larger of which invades via Lincoln; the smaller one hopes to make its way through the Great Basin Desert to strike at the an undefended Sacramento. Thankfully, Battleborn scouts from the Death Valley are able to keep the Imperial Army informed; in June of 2745 the two forces meet at Hawthorne, where the superior Imperial Army easily beats the smaller rebel army.
The Imperial Army then swings north towards the remaining rebel army; they meet on the field in October, where they drive the rebels out of the city of Weed. With both her armies in retreat, Lily is forced to admit defeat; she is brought back to Sacramento in chains. The Prefect of Redwoods, her husband, begs the emperor to release her; he does so, for a hefty amount of gold.
At the start of 2747, Empress Ntxhiav announces her second pregnancy; Emperor Thao II hopes that this time the child will be male, to ensure the continuation of House Armour. In September, the emperor’s prayers are answered, as young Thao is born. He is made heir immediately.
The irrigation project started by the last emperor continues, as revenues from 2748’s surplus taxes fund a massive grant for farmers who wish to improve their farms.
Some of the surplus is also given back to the people of Sacramento, the real wealth of the nation.
Emperor Thao II’s Imperial Administrative Reform finally comes to completion, as he now has full control over California. He’s finally come into his own as an emperor.
The expansion of trade offices along the Golden Road continues as well; as a stable and unified empire, the revenues from the Golden Road are the Imperial treasury’s main source of gold.
2750 arrives and the celebrations in Sacramento are bigger than ever, as the emperor gives a public speech to his people. In it, he declares a new age for California, one of expansion and growth; long ago, the Yudkow Emperors attempted, and failed, to claim the three Gaian kingdoms of Cascadia, Lincoln, and Idaho and allowed the dream of a Greater California to die. It was this action, Emperor Thao II claims, that caused their slow decline and loss of the Prime Mandate to House Armour. He refuses to make the same mistakes; he declares a holy war to reclaim the lost Cascadian lands and bring the light of California to their Gaian brothers and sisters. After years of peace, war has finally returned to California.