(an indirect expansion on ~ Yangaria, The Kingdom Abandoned by its King ~)
Unlike many prominent rulers in War Seas, King Zhang does not hold any Sea Curse nor does he possess any expertise combat skill. What makes him and Yangaria strong, is rather.. diplomacy. Zhang’s succession to the throne might’ve came completely out of nowhere, but he didn’t falter at the need of firmly controlling an entire kingdom that the intended king, Lang Yang, left to rot. Thanks to his way with words and confidence, Zhang was able to prevent the nation from plummeting into utter chaos and despair at the very beginning — though at the price of his old life and the hopes of a foreseen, easy-going future.
Extensive meetings with other political powers and the need to constantly reassure an uneasy population quickly devoured all of Zhou’s spare time; leading to the man barely ever exiting the perimeters of his own castle. And in the end, despite the best of efforts, Zhou was unable to rule Yangaria without forcing any violence whatsoever.
The bloodline of Zhangs overtaking the Yangarian throne not only brought scandals and protests, but also distrust, revolts and the threat of the entire island being conquered: all without ever giving Zhou a chance to demonstrate his potential. To rule with an iron fist was something demanded from the new king at this point, whether he wanted it or not. The nation yearned for a king as asserting as the last one.
Punishment with death for criminals was implemented, as well as the forceful purge of revolt stirring within some cities. As much as Zhou Zhang despised these actions, there was no way to get the public of Yangaria under control any other way.. In fact, after all the insisted bloodshed and suppression, the approval for Zhou from peasants and knights soared up much quicker.
The image of a strong, brutal ruler was forced upon the king who only wanted to stay as virtuous as possible.
Nevertheless, Zhang never grew to like to be seen as a merciless warlord. Leniently, he restructured executions to be reserved only for the worst of the worst of the crimes — and the suppression of internal opposition was done with minimum use of force (resulting in a few of rebelious cities gaining pseudo-autonomy). Most of the military sector, including the army, was entrusted to Generals, while Zhang focused on developing relationships with neighboring nations instead;
And after the appointed meetings with such, he even allows for average Yangarians to come into the castle’s main hall and eat alongside each other, shoulder to shoulder — to try and show that brotherhood and trust will always prevail over dictatorship and brutality that they long for so hard. Yangaria might not hold any Sea Curses or destructive force, but Zhou firmly believes that one day, it will stand strong and united: not because of conquer, but because of harmony.
(Remade the old throne hall that was made at the early stages of construction. It was never shown in any works I posted: and thank God, that place looked so, so bad. I also wanted to do something green-ish because I’ve grown a bit fed-up with the constant work with cold colors (hey, its fun, but it really wears you off with time).)
