Unlike my last two, this could be considered not strictly sci-fi; however, most of the time alternate-history books all get lumped into the sci-fi category, so I'll put it here and see what responses I get.
Anyway, we are rather wondering why this would happen.
Simply put, and this for those who know what the heck I'm talking about, could the Ming Emperor Yongle have defended China against Tamburlane's planned invasion, had he not died in 1405 while enroute for said invasion?
This is one of those potentially fortuitous deaths in history that nobody really thinks about, considering he'd already worked over the mid-east; however, it was rather important for China. OTOH, if China was capable of withstanding the Timurids it is definitely right now.
Tamburlane against the Emperor Yongle.
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The Duchess of Zeon
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Tamburlane against the Emperor Yongle.
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In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
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The_Nice_Guy
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Grrr... And that idiot made us chinese lose our chance to take over the world when he had to die and his successors order the dismantling of Zheng He's fleet.
Anyway, back to the topic in question, I think Yongle was quite capable as an emperor. His appointment of Zheng He to command his fleet alone indicated that he knew how to use his subordinates, so it was likely he would have handled the imminent invasion with vigor.
Much of the time, chinese dynasties often collapsed after at least a few hundred years when the regime was no longer capable of keeping up with the changes, or had rotted within so much that it was incapable of withstanding any external blows, like foreign invasion.
As Yongle was the third Ming emperor, the decay had not really set in yet, so I expect a pretty efficient government able to handle crisis. Furthermore, the fear of mongols could still be fresh in the minds of people, which serves as extra impetus for any military action against Tamerlane. Ancient chinese were famously xenophobic.
The Nice Guy
Anyway, back to the topic in question, I think Yongle was quite capable as an emperor. His appointment of Zheng He to command his fleet alone indicated that he knew how to use his subordinates, so it was likely he would have handled the imminent invasion with vigor.
Much of the time, chinese dynasties often collapsed after at least a few hundred years when the regime was no longer capable of keeping up with the changes, or had rotted within so much that it was incapable of withstanding any external blows, like foreign invasion.
As Yongle was the third Ming emperor, the decay had not really set in yet, so I expect a pretty efficient government able to handle crisis. Furthermore, the fear of mongols could still be fresh in the minds of people, which serves as extra impetus for any military action against Tamerlane. Ancient chinese were famously xenophobic.
The Nice Guy