This is only possible with the “Take the Mandate of Heaven” casus belli. You’ll get this CB if:
You have a border with the current Emperor of China (EoC) Your state religion is any of these:
Fighting the Emperor of China
Ming is the current EoC at the start. They seem big, but they’re not that strong. First, consider these points:
- Ming’s strength is their massive manpower reserves. They can outlast you even if you keep crushing their armies.
- The Chinese tech group has the worst units in the early and mid-game. They only get decent at around Military Tech 17–19.
- Ming’s starting ruler has the “Craven” personality, which gives them -5% army morale.
- Ming either gets negative or positive modifiers depending on their Mandate value. At 0 Mandate:
+50% Shock Damage Received +50% Fire Damage Received -50% National Manpower -50% Mercenary Manpower +5 National Unrest
At 100 Mandate:
-2.5 National Unrest -0.03 Monthly War Exhaustion -10% Stability Cost
- The combat debuffs at low Mandate makes their already terrible units easy to stackwipe.
- At low Mandate, large rebellions may become more frequent in Ming, which often leads to the “Ming-splosion”. This is when several Chinese states break away from Ming and declare independence. Therefore, the trick to defeating Ming (or any other EoCs) is to hurt their Mandate.
The Mandate Mechanic
You can check the Mandate by clicking the dragon icon beside the mini-map.
Mandate Modifiers
The modifiers that increase or decrease the Mandate are: Tip: Open the Mandate screen and hover over the growth/decay number to see what’s affecting it.
Celestial Reforms
The EoC needs at least 80 Mandate to pass a celestial reform. After doing so, they’ll lose -70 Mandate and -1 Stability. The AI usually does this as soon as they’re able. If you’ve allowed Ming to accrue a high Mandate, wait for them to pass a reform. They’ll become vulnerable, giving you an opportunity to attack.
The Destiny of Ming
Ming has several disasters and events which often lead to their downfall. Triggering these are crucial to defeating Ming.
Disasters
The progress meter for this disaster appears when:
Ming is neighboring a steppe nomadic horde. This horde is not a tributary of Ming. They’ve at least 300 development. They’re not in a truce or in a war with Ming.
Once these are met, the disaster will gain monthly progress by: Note: All neighboring steppe nomads will be notified when this disaster reaches certain progress milestones. These are at 10, 75, and 100 progress points. If you’re not a steppe nomad, this is the alternative that you want to trigger. The progress meter for this disaster appears when:
The Age of Discovery is over. Ming isn’t the EoC or they’ve less than 50 Mandate
This will gain monthly progress by:
Bad Events
While either disaster is active, a series of bad events can happen in Ming. These are collectively known as the “Mingsplosion”.
General Tips To Become Emperor
Oirat and the Jurchen tribes are the closest steppe nomads to Ming. Their missions and events also give them massive advantages against Ming. The Jurchens can form the nation of Manchu. They’re the most likely horde to trigger the “Unguarded Nomadic Frontier” disaster — even if they’re AI-controlled. If the Manchus become the EoC, they’ll form the Qing dynasty. They get bonuses to Mandate growth, which makes them more stable than Ming. But they’ll also switch tech groups from Nomadic to Chinese. Just occupying Beijing, Canton, and Nanjing can harm the EoC’s Mandate by -0.15. Prioritize taking them first. If possible, try to prolong your wars against the EoC. Get their war exhaustion to rise so their unrest increases. This makes their rebels spawn more often. Do not attack any of Ming’s rebels. Let them wreak havoc to hasten Ming’s demise. The three marches’ 100% Liberty Desire means they won’t help defend Ming from invaders, even if they’re formally part of their wars. Their armies will just stay within their own borders. The Mingsplosion isn’t limited to the events mentioned above. Other rebel-occupied areas can declare independence from Ming.
East Guangdong West Guangdong Guangxi
- Wu and Yue gain 100% Liberty Desire.