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Kai Tsao Shou Chin was the emperor of Shou Lung in 1357 DR[4] and 1358 DR[5]

Personality[]

Kai Tsao was an individual who was calm and thoughtful and slow to anger. He ruled with a firm hand over his country.[4] At heart, he was an honest man who admired heroes and believed that all Shou of good will could join him in the rebirth of the empire.[4]

Relationships[]

Kai Tsao had several concubines, the third of whom was Lady Feng, a wu jen that had been exiled to the embassy of the Ginger Palace in the Dragon Coast region of Faerûn.[3] Together they had one son, Prince Kao Chou Tang.[6]

Activities[]

Under the Gathering of the Pearls policy, the emperor had regained a lot: the navy and armies had been rebuilt, and peace was made with Wa and Kozakura. However, the Mandarinate still opposed many of the emperor's ideas of reform. The addition of science and alchemy to the traditional ministries was fear by many, as was the replacing of corrupt officials with newcomers. The nobles didn't agree with him stopping new fiefs and properties from being taken from peasant lands.[4]

History[]

Kai Tsao was born as the eight son of emperor Hsiao Chin, the Seventh Emperor of the Chin Dynasty. However, early in his life, his mother fell into a disagreement with the emperor and she fled with him from the Great Court, starting a new life in far Kao Shan.

Here, he lived like a simple noble until he ascended the Jade Throne in the year of 1339 DR, taking the name of Kai Tsao Shou, as well as the alias He Who Rebuilds the Dragon. "Kai Tsao Shou" means "reformer", or, "one who reforms".[note 1]

With his first official proclamation, he established the Gathering of the Pearls, creating many new ministries devoted to recovering what had been lost by the weak and foolish dynasties before him. He commissioned great public works and revived the navy.[7]

In 1357 DR his greatest concern was the romantic involvement of Princess Mei Ling with a young prince of T'u Lung[4]

In 1358 Kai Chin's main concern was Chu' Yuan province, troubled by mysterious assailants. The Emperor send General Goyat Nagumo to pacify the area but he went missing. Ka Chi then selected among participants at Komite some adventurers and tasked them with the mission to went to uncharted Kumandang Valley to find general Goyat and take him back live or dead[5]

In 1359 DR Kai Chin was greatly worried about the Horde invasion, especially after the tuigan managed to broke the Dragonwall and defeated the War Minister Kwan Chan Sen at the Tsen-Ching, a tributary of the Sheng-Ti river. Under suggestion of the Minister of State Ju-Hai Chou the Emperor convoked the general Batu Min Ho, of tuigan ancestry, and ordered to him to solve the matter. To ensure the loyalty of Batu Kai Chin promised to watch over his wife and children.[8]

Batu managed to siege the tuigan army at the city of Shu Kuan but meantime the Minister of Security, Ting Mei Wan, that secretly collaborated with the tuigan, killed Batu's wife and children. Batu went back to the Emperor to explain that Yamun Khahan had launched the war against Shou Lung only because Kwan Chan Sen and Ju-Hai Chou had conspired to have him killed: Yamun only wanted those two men in exchange for peace.[8]

Kai Chin agreed with the peace offer of Yamun Khahan after Batu exposed Ting Mei Wan as traitor. So the Emperor ordered the death of Ting Mei Wan and to sent to Yamun Kwan Chan Sen and Ju-Hai Chou. After he offered to Batu one of three now vacant seats in the Mandarinate but Batu, angry about the death of his beloved, instead resigned from Shou military.[8]

Appendix[]

Appearance[]

Adventures
Ronin Challenge
Novels
Dragonwall
Referenced only
The Veiled Dragon (as Kao Tsao Shou Tang)
Card Games
AD&D Trading Cards

Notes[]

  1. This "shou" is not to be confused with its homophone, Shou, which means "to receive". Rather, this shou means hand, which when attached to the end of a verb, nominalizes it (i.e. to reform -> reformer).

References[]

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