"The wheel of fortune turns
round incessantly,
and who can say to himself, 'I shall today be uppermost.'
"
Confucius
Confucius is set in imperial China during
the Ming dynasty, which lasted from the mid 14th to
the mid 17th century. It was a period of restoration
and reconstruction after the peasant rebellions that
had overthrown the previous Mongol rulers of China.
The government was re-established by the Emperor Hongwu
under a new legal code stressing family relations and
based on Confucian ideas. Using a vast standing army,
areas of China under Mongol control and many adjoining
territories were brought into the Empire through military
conquest. The Empire also expanded its knowledge of
the world through Zheng He’s great oceanic voyages
that may have reached as far as the Americas.
In Confucius each player represents
a Chinese family trying to extend its power in the government,
the army and the navy through the subtle application
of political and social influence, rather than through
direct conflict. Money, the manipulation of government
officials and the strategic giving of gifts so that
rivals are obliged to help your family; these will be
your weapons.
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