Zheng Empire

The Zheng Empire is an Imperial Chinese dynasty that, as of the start of the story, has been in existence for 85 years.

Founded by Emperor Wu of Zheng after a military revolt that overthrew its predecessor, the Zheng empire ruled over all under Heaven as a unified state for a brief 20-odd years, until the Catastrophe of Yanchang and the invasion of foreigners from the north and northeast forced the court into a southward retreat, from its original capital in Luoyang to the new capital of Jiankang (modern-day Nanjing).

Foundation
The Zheng Dynasty was founded by He Shao (better known as Emperor Wu of Zheng), who supplanted the preceding Qi Dynasty where he originally served as a general. The entire reign of Emperor Wu was spent in wars to destroy the opposing rebellious forces, whether they rose against the Qi regime or against him.

Civil War and Catastrophe
While the reign of Emperor Wen of Zheng was generally prosperous and honest, his reluctance to firmly name a successor enabled a festering conflict to boil over between several of his sons. As such, from the last year of his reign on, the disastrous Contention of the Three Principalities broke out. The war would destroy three short-lived emperors, and also allow the barbarians from the north to invade the Zheng empire proper.

The result of all this was the Catastrophe of Yanchang, when the capital of Luoyang was captured by prince Cao Zhan, who thoroughly sacked the city and declared the new empire of Great Han. In the wake of this, the remnants of the Imperial house under Prince He Chang, who would become Emperor Jing of Zheng, successfully escaped the barbarians and fled to Jiankang, which became the new capital of the diminished Zheng empire.

Refugees vs. Locals
A major matter of contention among the elites of the newly founded regime was between the Refugee Clans - namely, the great clans whose base had been in the north, who had fled south with the Imperial Court - and the Local Clans, whose power base was now the entirety of the empire.

List of Rulers
This table, for clarity, uses the Dynastic Count - namely the number of years since the Zheng dynasty was founded.