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Last time, we finished off with the age of regional cultures. The first phase of the spring and autumn period with the grisly death of its first hegemonic ruler, Duke Juan of Chi.

In the aftermath of the Duke's murder, his five sons desperately grappled for the power of

the throne, factionalizing the state and fatally undermining its power and respect across the Joe Empire.

The hegemony would sit vacant for a full decade before any state would be able to claim it once more.

This time we launch into the middle portion of the spring and autumn, known as the age of encroachment's, spanning the 97 year period between

643 and 546 b.C.E.

The age of encroachment is marked by the further breakdown of unity between states,

the rising tempo of interstate warfare, and the solidification of regional spheres of influence

among the four superstates and their allies and satellites.

We begin, though, by momentarily rewinding to 676 b.C. E. during the hegemony of

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