Lee's Invasion of the North. In May 1863, Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had scored a smashing victory over the Army of the Potomac of Chancellorville.
The mandate of heaven is the thing that Chinese emperors claim was given to them by their deities. A ruler earns it from the previous emperor when he retires, or when he dies. It could be lost when another dynasty takes over and takes the mandate of heaven.
