The Star of Guangdong - A United Provinces of China AAR

[Korona]

​

Hello, and welcome to the Star of Guangdong. This will be an AAR/Alternate History set in the Kaiserreich universe focusing on a scenario where Chen Jiongming was able to successfully unite China under the Federalist banner. Credit where it’s due, this AAR is heavily inspired by “The Crown Atmoic”, cookfl’s fantastic history of a restored United Kingdom. I’ve been reading about Chen and his vision for Federalism in China for most of the summer, so I’m hoping to bring some new perspectives to this underrated figure of Chinese history. Feel free to comment with any quetions, constructive criticism, and family friendly jokes.

Also, I want to make it clear that this thread is not a place to discuss the modern Chinese politics or current events. There will be mature themes discussed in this alt-hist, so be sure to treat everyone with respect in the thread and follow Paradox forum rules.

The books that I will be using as references for this AAR are
An American Diplomat in China - P.S. Reinsch
Chen Jiongming and the Federalist Movement - Leslie H. Dingyan Chen
The May Fourth Movement - Chow Tse-tung

 

[Korona]

Chapter I: The Genesis of Chinese Federalism

​

It had been thirty years China was last unified. The Empire of the Great Qing were the last true masters of China, but their Mandate of Heaven had expired despite the best efforts of the German Empire - an autocratic state that suffered the same fate as the Qing. Black Friday marked the beginning of an eight year period commonly referred to today as the Chinese Civil War - a brutal and bloody conflict between ideological warlords and corrupt governors that saw over 3.53 million Chinese casualties. Compounded by the short yet bloody and oppressive Second Sino-Japanese War, China in 1942 was a fractured state, a remnant of what once was. This was the world which forged Chen Jiongming, the father of modern China and architect of Chinese Federalism.

A young Chen Jiongming at the time of the Xinhai Revolution​

Prior to the establishment of the United Provinces of China, Chen Jiongming had been one of the most prominent and influential figures in the late Qing and Republican eras of Chinese history. Born in Haifeng, the future Chief Executive of the United Provinces of China would find himself immersed in Chinese classics and the fundamentals of Chinese history from a young age, his wealth enabling an educated upbringing that would see the young Hokkien become an ardent revolutionary in his young age, joining the Academy of Arts and Sciences where he would become a barrister in Guangzhou. In Guangzhou, Chen would establish himself as an ardent revolutionary in the tradition of Sun Yat-sen, as Chen himself would become respected in the city due to his skill as a magistrate, which would give him the political clout to become a leader in the city. Joining Sun Yat-sen's Tongmenghui in the early 1900s, Chen would lead a number of aborted rebellions against the Qing for the next ten years, turning Guangzhou into a hotbed of revolutionary Chinese activity. Due to his experience in leading armed raids against the Qing from 1906-1911, Chen was made one of the major military leaders of the force that would topple the Qing in Guangzhou (then referred to as Canton). The aftermath would see Chen enlist with Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang, becoming the leader of the Kuomintang's military as Guangxi and Guangzhou were united in the single state known as Guangdong.

Chen's relationship with Sun would quickly deteriorate however, as the two would increasingly come to blows with one another over the role of the executive in the new Chinese state, as well as Sun's proposed plan to execute the Northern Expedition. With a stronger power base and more people supporting him, Sun was able to oust Chen and his burgeoning Federalist movement from Guangzhou, relegating the Federalists first to Haifeng, and then to the remote village of Shendu. During this time of exile, Chen would ally himself with Lu Rongting, a member of a clique that had ruled Guangxi in the immediate aftermath of the Xinhai Revolution. Together, Chen and Lu were able to rebuild their forces and strike out at the Kuomintang and Sun's successor, Chiang Kai-shek. The failure of the Northern Expedition to retake northern China would lead to Chiang's assassination in 1927, and the restoration of Lu Rongting to rule in Guangxi, and Chen to the governorship of Guangzhou as the duo would make a secret agreement with Sun Chuangfang to work with him in his League of Eight Provinces. The German intervention would restore the Qing to power in Beijing, a move that Chen temporarily supported when he was informed by Qing Premier Cao Kun that federal reforms were on the way; this hope was quickly dashed as the emissaries Chen send were quickly shut down by members of the Zhili clique in Beijing. Unwilling to cooperate and propagate the status quo, Chen withdrew to Guangzhou in 1936, where he would become a frequent collaborator with Lu Rongting in Guangxi as the two worked to improve their provinces with the near unlimited autonomy given to them by Sun Chuangfang.

A headshot of an aged Chen Jiongming at the proclamation of United Provinces of China​

Six years later, three million Chinese were casualties of a brutal Civil War that had consumed the nation and been largely driven by external forces - namely German and Japanese-aligned warlords - and the aforementioned Chen Jiongming was the proverbial 'last man standing' in the battleground that was China. As first Governor of Guangzhou, then Commander-in-Chief of the Guofanjung (National Defence Army), and finally as Provisional Chief Executive of the United Provinces of China, Chen had succeeded where countless others had failed and united the country. The herculean task he had in front of him, however, would prove almost more daunting than the actual unification of China.

The Chinese Civil War had completely devastated eastern and northern China, while the west was ruined by years of famine and corruption that resulted in endemic poverty, especially in Sichuan. Southern China had been spared the worst of the damage, as Guangdong, Hunan, Guangxi, and Yunnan were considered not only stable, but in the case of Guangzhou, thriving. Despite a two-month Japanese occupation of Guangzhou and Hong Kong (the latter city was seized in 1938 after the collapse of the Legation Cities Administration), the two port cities were able to quickly rebuild from the aftermath of war and reestablish themselves as centers of commerce and trading within China. This was the China that emerged from the Treaty of Tientsin, the document which ended the Second Sino-Japanese War and saw Japanese recognition of Korean independence, Federalist China, and the cession of Taiwan to China as well. Returning from Tientsin to Beijing, Chen sought to quickly capitalize upon the legitimacy given to him by his victory over the Japanese, and eighteen days later on January 27, 1942, Chen Jiongming officially declared the United Provinces of China in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in the early months of 1942​

Chen chose the spot for his announcement tactfully, as he wanted to ensure that with his act of declaring a new Chinese state in the place from which the old were ruled, the new order was made explicit to the Chinese people. Chen gave a long winded speech to an assembled crowd of some 150,000, before saluting the Guofanjung as they paraded past their Commander-in-Chief on Tiananmen Square. Above the entrance to the Forbidden City, the Chinese characters for 'United Together' (團結在一起 ) were lifted to the former resting spot of a monumental portrait of Pu-Yi. With it, Chen had fully appropriated the former Imperial palace, officially marking an end to monarchy in China. However, Chen would not remain in Beijing for long. After the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in March of 1941, the Federalist leadership relocated to Nanjing, unwilling to risk capture by the invading Japanese. The Japanese 2nd Army would eventually take the city of Guangzhou, before Chen Mingshu would retake the city two months later. Despite the cities recapture by the Guofanjung in September 1942 however, the Federalist movement had already turned Nanjing into their new home.

Sun Yat-sen's Presidential Palace, formerly the Celestial Palace of the Heavenly King, was a grandiose complex built in the Neoclassical style, with a blend of European and Chinese architectural elements. Formerly a Qing palace, it had been the brief home of the Republic of China in the 1910s before becoming the home of Sun Chuanfang and the headquarters of the League of Eight Provinces. After the League's collapse in 1936, the building remained essentially vacant and was looted by the forces of Chen Tiaoyuan in 1939. When the Federalists arrived in 1941, the building was quickly reoccupied and renamed the Federal Capitol District of Nanjing (referred to as the Federal District), the name directly inspired by Washington, D.C. (American aesthetics would be a common theme in the early Federalist era). Chen himself would make his residence a small villa on the Qinhai River, only a ten minute walk from the Federal District.

A map of the United Provinces of China (ignore my bad paint.net skills)​

It was from this area that the new Federalist power base was built, and where Chen announced the formation of the Provisional Government of the United Provinces of China. Reluctantly, Chen Jiongming was elected by the Chinese Zhi Gong Party (Public Interest Party, or CZGP), as the provisional Chief Executive of the United Provinces of China. Though Chen envisioned a decentralized republic where the executive was beholden to the provincial legislatures, which were in turn elected by communes across China, the reality of the early Federalist period was that of a presidential dictatorship, where Chen Jiongming, the anarcho-socialist warlord ironically was the Chinese state.

The world in which Chen Jiongming had to navigate his infant republic in was one of concluding conflict and, much like China, saw the rise of new nations and power blocs. The socialist regime of Thubten Choekyi Nyima, the 9th Panchen Lama, and the Republic of Korea (established with Guofanjung support), lead by the social liberal Kim Koo were the only official allies of the Chinese government in early 1942, constituting the beginnings of a regional power bloc based around the UPC. Japan was still unstable after a clique of hardcore nationalists within the military attempted to topple the democratically elected government that had replaced the Centralist regime in late 1941. However, the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere still was held together, if by rubber bands and duct tape, as Japan counted the autocratic Kingdom of Siam, the democratic Republic of the Philippines, occupied Transamur, and the Presidential regime of Sukarno in Insulindia among its closest allies. Indochina remained under Japanese occupation, as the colonial government of German East Asia was able to fortify in Borneo where Alexander von Falkenhausen was firecely leading the German resistance to the Japanese. India remained divided, as the Indian Civil War between the Princely Alliance, British India, and Subhas Bose's Bharatiya Commune stagnated into a stalemate in the jungles of Chhatisghar. To the north, the regime of the Mongol prince Jodbajab remained tepidly friendly with China, with the behemoth of Savinkovist Russia looming on the Manchurian Border.

The French Commune's victory over Imperial Germany was all but assured after the fall of Frankfurt in 1942 (Image Credit: u/Hussardcore on reddit)​

Across the ocean, the Pacific States of America (officially the United States of America) tensely coexisted with Norman Thomas' Socialist Republic of America. The Democratic Party, lead by former Arizona Governor Robert Taylor Jones enjoyed support from the Entente, as Canadian materiel enforced the ceasefire that reigned over Columbia. Crossing the American continent, the Second Weltkrieg was on the verge of completion as the Commune of France had just taken Frankfurt by early February, the stalwart German military unable to fight both Savinkovist Russia and the orthodox syndicalist Commune of France. Britain however, was gripped in a bloody invasion by the Dominion of Canada that saw Great Britain divided in two, with Scotland and Wessex occupied by the Entente. Further east, the Ottoman Empire had been shattered by Egypt and Iran, the Middle East hosting a number of infant republics and monarchies akin to Africa. The collapse of Mittelafrika saw the rise of an innumerable amount of petty warlords, republics, communes, and nation-states. With the rest of the world gripped in either the throngs of the Second Weltkrieg, or in China's case, recovering from a brutal war of her own, Africa for the first time was given relative independence from the rest of the globe to pursue it's own affairs. The world in which Chen Jiongming was to lead China was fraught with conflict, instability, and violence. However, as time would prove, the steady hand of the Chief Executive, along with a concerted effort from the Chinese people, would see the worlds' oldest civilization undergo a national rejuvenation as the shackles of the past were finally cast off.

 

[Nikolai]

Ah, I love Kaiserreich stories! Subbed.

 

[RustyHunter]

An excellent start to the AAR! Kaiserreich is always fun, and I look forward to seeing your take on a Cold War scenario. I have only played the HOI2 DH version, so I'll have some questions about the HOI4 version.

I'll be curious to know more about Chen Jiongming since all I know is he turned on Sun, lost, and died in 1933. If I recall correctly, both the KMT and CCP revile him as a traitor, so I'll enjoy getting a more nuanced look at him.

The German intervention would restore the Qing to power in Beijing

I thought HOI4 Kaiserreich had reworked China's lore, removing German intervention? Did they at least get rid of German East Asia? I like the idea of Germany heavily influencing various warlords, but direct intervention always struck me as silly.

Republic of Korea (established with Guofanjung support), lead by the social liberal Kim Koo

Good to see another fan of Kim Koo! He showed up in my HOI3 ROC AAR since he seems like the logical leader for a Korea founded by China. He definitely makes more sense than Rhee anyways.

Mongol prince Jodbajab remained tepidly friendly with China, with the behemoth of Savinkovist Russia looming on the Manchurian Border

Was Sternberg removed from Mongolia, or did they just take a native path this game? Savinkov's Russia could be a bad neighbor, but you don't own anything he'd want, right?

Great Britain divided in two

It's interesting to see your war in Europe is fairly well balanced. The Entente are returning to Britain even as France conquers Germany, so it seems like there could be a three way struggle. Savinkov also seems like something of a wild card, and I'll be curious to see where a reunified China fits in all this.

 

[Korona]

An excellent start to the AAR! Kaiserreich is always fun, and I look forward to seeing your take on a Cold War scenario. I have only played the HOI2 DH version, so I'll have some questions about the HOI4 version.

I'll be curious to know more about Chen Jiongming since all I know is he turned on Sun, lost, and died in 1933. If I recall correctly, both the KMT and CCP revile him as a traitor, so I'll enjoy getting a more nuanced look at him.


I thought HOI4 Kaiserreich had reworked China's lore, removing German intervention? Did they at least get rid of German East Asia? I like the idea of Germany heavily influencing various warlords, but direct intervention always struck me as silly.


Good to see another fan of Kim Koo! He showed up in my HOI3 ROC AAR since he seems like the logical leader for a Korea founded by China. He definitely makes more sense than Rhee anyways.


Was Sternberg removed from Mongolia, or did they just take a native path this game? Savinkov's Russia could be a bad neighbor, but you don't own anything he'd want, right?


It's interesting to see your war in Europe is fairly well balanced. The Entente are returning to Britain even as France conquers Germany, so it seems like there could be a three way struggle. Savinkov also seems like something of a wild card, and I'll be curious to see where a reunified China fits in all this.

Super happy to have you on board, and happy to address some of your questions. How I interpreted the China lore is that the Germans financially supported the Qing, as well as giving them limited military aid to create the illusion of Qing hegemony in the 20s.

With Sternberg, in the new lore he's the dictator of Mongolia and can pursue his weird Buddhist-Natpop ideology, but the whole Genghis Khan II meme has been thankfully cut out from the game.

I'm super excitied to flesh out this world, so your comments are appreciated and I look forward to seeing what you think about the next Chapter!

Ah, I love Kaiserreich stories! Subbed.

Happy to have you, welcome to the AAR!

 

[RustyHunter]

Super happy to have you on board, and happy to address some of your questions. How I interpreted the China lore is that the Germans financially supported the Qing, as well as giving them limited military aid to create the illusion of Qing hegemony in the 20s.

That seems like a lot more reasonable way to view China, and it fits well with the OTL German-ROC relationship.

With Sternberg, in the new lore he's the dictator of Mongolia and can pursue his weird Buddhist-Natpop ideology, but the whole Genghis Khan II meme has been thankfully cut out from the game.

I like that a lot better. Sternberg was fun as a meme, but it's not really good for a semi-serious AAR.

 

[Korona]

CHAPTER II: Institution Building in Federalist China

Guangzhou was rapidly becoming one of the more populous and diverse cities in China​

China had been unified, or so the Federal Government in Nanjing proclaimed. In reality, Federal control was tenuous at best the farther north and farther west you went from Nanjing. Southern China was more or less fully integrated, as Guangxi, Guangzhou, Yunnan, Hunan, and Sichuan were the first five provinces to join the then-burgeoning Guangzhou Federal Government. These provinces were stable, had democratic institutions from the county up, and were already home to some major industrialization efforts, such as the Nanning-Guangzhou railroad. Though insignificant long-term, the Nanning-Guangzhou Railroad represented one of the core pillars of Federalist ideology - that is the Reconstruction Plan. Envisioned by Chen Jiongming in the 1920s, the Reconstruction Plan called for mass industrialization and modernization of the Chinese economy, a daunting task due to the sheer size of the country, as well as the difficulty of sourcing credit and capital for this effort. However, the Reconstruction Plan remained one of the major selling points of Federalism, it advocated for the equitable modernization of the country, with land reform and fiscal reform that would redistribute much of the wealth of China.

The Reconstruction Plan was just a smaller part of the greater picture Chen wished to paint, which was the Federalization of all China. Drawing upon his anarchist roots, Chen sought to build Chinese democracy from the "ground up", a drawn-out process which required the near-deconstruction of the Chinese state before building it up again. In order to understand the China that Chen sought, it is first important to understand how he intended to govern the UPC. To this end, the Federal Government in Nanjing would establish the Federal Census Bureau, a body which was tasked with the daunting mission of carving the most populous country in the world into administrative units. The smallest administrative unit in the new Chinese republic was the commune, which would come to define the disparate rural villages that made up much of China. These communes were largely self-governed, state-organized rural cooperatives that were directly responsible to the next step up in the Federalist administrative hierarchy, the county. Counties were the most common administrative unit in China, with the Federal Census Bureau establishing 2,212 counties in their initial census of the country in 1943 (the number of counties would change over time, as the first census was considered largely unreliable). In each county, there would be a county commission, which was an elected body that would then elect the county commissioner, the de facto head of government. After the county, was the prefecture, which would govern a number of counties, sometimes upwards of fifty to even a hundred in the more populous and densely populated provinces. Largely powerless in the grand scheme of government, prefectures mostly served as a mechanism of governmental efficiency for the most important administrative unit in China, the province. The basis of the country, there were 25 provinces at the end of the first census. Each province of China was a polity unto its own, with it's own unique constitution, assembly, and elected governor who served as the head of state and of government of the province. Clearly based off of the federal model of the United States, the Chinese province actually had significantly more power when compared to their American counterparts, their courts were stronger and their legislatures had more power over their provincial economies.

A Map of the Provinces of China
​

As the Federal Census Bureau worked to divvy up the provinces of China into counties, the most pressing issue facing the Federal Government in the early Federalist period was the integration of the provinces of China. As mentioned earlier, southern China was largely integrated by the declaration of the United Provinces, with functional democratic institutions, though corruption remained an endemic problem within the provincial assemblies. It was northern China, especially Outer Mongolia, Manchuria, and western China (Xinjiang) which were the farthest from the pale of Federalist rule, with these regions having little Federalist influence outside of major cities, and even then it was tenuous. Other provinces, such as Shanxi and in the Shandong Peninsula, there were still roaming bands of bandits, many of whom were former soldiers in the armies of Yan Xishan and Zhang Zongchang.

Much like his 'conquest' of China, Chen first sought to use diplomatic and political power to integrate these regions into the United Provinces. But in order to do that, he first had to give his opponents a reason to join him. In April of 1942, Chen would assemble the Provisional Government of the United Provinces of China, officially inaugurating his Federal Ministries (cabinet) in Nanjing. Officially a parliamentary republic, whoever Chen picked as Prime Minister would almost be guaranteed to be his de facto sucessor, as the interim Chief Executive announced his intention to retire upon the promulgation of the first national elections. For Chen, and the Public Interest Party, the choice was obvious. Chen Qiyou had been Chen Jiongming's deputy in Nanjing since the Japanese invasion, his quiet demeanor and attention to detail complementing the Chief Executive's natural charisma and political acumen. Though other members of the PIP, namely Li Jishen and Tang Jiyao, campaign heavily behind the scenes for their respective camps, Chen Qiyou was inaugurated as the Provisional Prime Minister on April 5.

Huang Dingchen, The Minister of Foreign Affairs​

Inaugurated along with him was physician and politician Huang Dingchen as Foreign Minister, with the former civil engineer Zhong Xiunan in charge of the Ministry of Finance and Reconstruction. Huang was conciliatory, and had a tremendous reputation among the socialist Tibetan government, and a decent working relationship with the de facto dictator of Mongolia, President Jodbajab (known in China as Shih Hai). The first task given to the Foreign Ministry was securing the recognition of the rest of the world, as the young United Provinces only had diplomatic relations with three states, the Bharatiya Commune, the Socialist Union of Burma, and the Republic of Korea. Over the next months, Huang would open Chinese embassies in Paris, Moscow, Turin, and Cairo. Canada, still angry with the Federalist government over their unilateral annexation of Hong Kong and the Legation Cities, refused to open full diplomatic relations with China, while Germany's foreign ministry was more focused on negotiating the evacuation of the Imperial Family to Entente-controlled London. Japan, still holding onto Taiwan and Macao, had been forced to recognize China during the Treaty of Port Arthur (Dalian), but relations between the market liberal 'Showa Democracy' and the United Provinces of China were yet to show any signs of amity. With all of Southeast Asia under the clutches of the Co-Prosperity Sphere, China's southern border quickly became a point of national security.

In the Ministry of Economy, and responsible for rebuilding China, was Zhong Xiunan. Zhong Xiunan had studied civil engineering in America before returning to China in 1928 and serving as one of the architects of the Reconstruction Plan. A analytical, but cold man, Zhong was a valued and high-ranking member of the PIP hierarchy. His approach to effecting the Reconstruction Plan was instituting public ownership over critical institutions and infrastructure in China, while allowing for private industry to develop around the framework dictated by the Reconstruction Plan. As part of this plan unions became a key piece of the new industrial hierarchy that Zhong sought to create, as state power was utilized to protect and empower workers and farmers unions in China. While workers unions were popular, farmers unions were still difficult to create and maintain, yet still both were empowered in Federalist China.

Gen. Chen Mingshu had become of the heroes of Federalist China for his victories in the National Reclamation War​

But the most important appointment was that of the Minister of National Defense, Chen's landmark policy that would bring civilian control to the Chinese military for the first time in arguably hundreds of years. To this position, Chen supported his longtime intellectual sparring opponent and friend, Chen Yun. Chen Yun would find allies within the Guofanjung (Army of National Defence) itself, as their leading officers, Chen Mingshu and Chen Jitang were both stalwart supporters of bringing about civilian control, and officially ending warlordism in China. To effect this, the Ministry of National Defense would institute the New Model Army decree in late August 1942, which officially called for the birth of a "voluntary, professional, politically impartial military force that is sworn to serving the constitution of the United Provinces of China". The concept was radical at best, and almost impossible to achieve. The first act of the New Model Army was to discharge hundreds of thousands of conscripts within the Guofanjung, which had swelled to well over 1.1 million strong by 1942. Trimming the military down to a strong 640,525 thousand, the Guofanjung was able to maintain operational efficiency while reducing a major cost that was draining on the Federal treasury. The returning some 550,000 were given various pensions by the Federal government, guaranteed by policies implemented Economics Minister Zhang Jiao. Meanwhile, Chen Mingshu and Chen Jitang were both given command of two large field armies, as the remaining conscripts within the two armies were given the choice of remaining in the military or being discharged. 625,521 professional, volunteer citizen soldiers remained afterwards. The volunteer army had been hastily assembled through the cutting of metaphorical 'fat', and with two respected, (generally) apolitical officers who were loyal to the idea of a civilian military, the radical seemed to have been accomplished - albeit tenuously.

As the dust of the New Model Army project began to settle, the Federalists would continue in their all-too critical task of institution-building, as Chen Jiongming would officially inaugurate the Federal Senate of the United Provinces of China in June of 1942. Each integrated state would send two interim Senators to what would become the upper house of the legislature of the United Provinces. For many provinces, these offices were directly elected, but some states, especially those that were not integrated, were given appointed senators directly picked by Chen himself. With the formation of the upper house, the beginnings of discontent against Chen began to manifest. Allegations of hypocrisy and authoritarianism was levied at Chen and the Federalist government from across the Chinese political spectrum, with the most biting attacks coming from Chinese syndicalists Chen Duxiu and Soong Qingling. Seeking to genuinely address these claims, and also out of a desire to expand democracy in China, Chen would establish the House of Delegates, the lower house of the Federal Congress of the United Provinces of China (the full name of the legislature of China). With the legislature established, though it barely functioned as more than a rubber stamp body for Chen and the Federal Ministers, the establishment of a legislature meant that the UPC needed some set of rules to operate on - a constitution.

The Great Hall of the People in Nanjing​

In Nanjing at the Great Hall of the People - the meeting place of the Federal Congress - Chen would open the Constitutional Convention of the United Provinces of China, with 1,287 delegates attending. The constitution was already drafted, it's deliberation a long, drawn-out process that had taken place over the previous six years. In short, the Constitution of the United Provinces of China would establish a Federal parliamentary bicameral republic, with the head of state being the Chief Executive, a position elected by the House of Delegates, which were in turn directly elected by the well-over one thousand constituencies of the UPC. The Premier would serve as a the head of government, a position appointed by the Chief Executive, although the expectation is that the Premier would be the leader of whatever party is able to form a government in the House of Delegates. The judicial branch would be separate from the legislative/executive branches, with the Supreme Court of the UPC being nominated for 9-year terms by the House of Delegates, and confirmed by the Senate. No state could have a constitution that directly conflicted with that of the United Provinces, and the constitution also made provisions for gender equality, land reform, and it most notably reestablished the Chinese civil service as a meritocratic, skill-driven body that was meant to be devoid of corruption.

The flag of the United Provinces of China​

The Constitution of the UPC would also affirm the flag of the UPC to be the white jing on a blue canton over a red field. The shape of the jing divides the canton into 9 spaces representing the 9 classical regions of CHina, as well as the traditional system of land division with 8 equal farm plots surrounding a ninth communal plot. It was meant to both unite the ancient regions of what was called 'China', while calling for a new future for the Chinese people. Chen himself hated the flag, but was convinced to abandon the Five Nations Under One Banner flag after being convinced of it's association with Yang Yuting's Japanese puppet regime and the Beiyang government of Yuan Shikai. With China's new identity and most basic law set, the natural factionalization of Chinese politics began to take place.

Once allies, now rivals, Chen Qiyao and Tang Jiyao​

First to splinter from the Federalist coalition was the Chinese Democratic League, a social democrat party that was mostly born out of personal differences between Chen Jiongming and Carsun Chang, a prominent leader of social democratic politics in China and a renowned public figure. In the Public Interest Party, the reigning Chairman of the Party, Chen Jiongming would resign, announcing his intention to retire from politics altogether after the first national elections were held. The founding father of China was left deprived of any political position, save that of Provisional Chief Executive, a title coming with authority he detested having. Taking his place as the leader of the Public Interest Party, and essentially becoming the de facto heir to the leadership of China, was Chen Qiyou, longtime Federalist leader and deputy to Chen Jiongming (no relation). Chen Qiyou was a staunch proponent of the Reconstruction Plan, but his reelection came at a cost. Tang Jiyao, opportunistic as ever, had sought leadership of the PIP. so when he lost to Chen Qiyou, he would splinter the party, bringing the moderate/right-wing of the PIP across the aisle to the Democratic Constitutionalist Alliance (DCA), a haphazard coalition of business magnates, former warlords, Confucianists, and traditionalists. Popular in and around Beijing, the Shandong, and Anqing, the Democratic Constitutionalists would elect Tang as their President, giving the Governor of Yunnan the platform to potentially rule China. The Kuomintang, legalized at last and allowed to field candidates, would elect Soong Chingling as the Chairwoman of the Central Committee, with many major socialists and syndicalists such as Zhou Enlai and Zhu De in China rallying to the White Sun. Luoyang and Wuhan would become the two centers from which the Kuomintang would grow, their syndicalist ideology popular among the educated and the left-wing working class. Further left, the Chinese Syndicalist Party would find limited support in southern China and in Guangzhou, as Chen Duxiu would emerge as the Chairman of the CSP General All-Union Committee. The Chinese right was mostly either in prison, or had fled the country following Chen Jiongming's nationalization and redistribution of a majority of the land in China. However, a right-wing party under the leadership of Zhang Xueliang would emerge, referred to as the National Harmony Party, they would find their power base to be in the Shandong and in Manchuria. Regionalist parties would emerge, mostly from Muslim Turks in Xinjiang and Mongol parties in Outer Mongolia. The political future of China was beginning to be seen in some more clarity, and as national elections - the first true democratic elections in Chinese history - loomed, the pressure was on to see if the United Provinces experiment could pass muster.


Hope you all enjoyed, I've been working on this for a while so I have a bunch of chapters pre written already.

 

[RustyHunter]

This is certainly an interesting political position. A lot of the people that dominated OTL China have been brushed aside in Kaiserreich, leaving room for lesser known people. It's also nice to see democracy taking shape!

I'm trying to get a handle on Chen Jiongming's political views. You've mentioned anarchism, but the government seems heavily based on the United States. He seems some sort of moderate-left to me. Is that an accurate estimation?

provisions for gender equality, land reform, and it most notably reestablished the Chinese civil service as a meritocratic, skill-driven body that was meant to be devoid of corruption

I'll be curious to see where all this goes. High ambitions, but China can be a hard place to follow through.

Chen himself hated the flag

I have to agree with Chen on this one, it's a bit of a crappy knockoff of the much more aesthetically pleasing KMT flag

Democratic Constitutionalist Alliance (DCA), a haphazard coalition of business magnates, former warlords, Confucianists, and traditionalists

So that's where all of OTL Chiang's clique ended up!

Kuomintang, legalized at last and allowed to field candidates, would elect Soong Chingling as the Chairwoman of the Central Committee, with many major socialists and syndicalists such as Zhou Enlai and Zhu De in China rallying to the White Sun

Well that's certainly an interesting change from OTL. Would Wang Jingwei be an important figure in this left-KMT, or does Kaiserreich do something else with him?

The Chinese right was mostly either in prison, or had fled the country following Chen Jiongming's nationalization and redistribution of a majority of the land in China. However, a right-wing party under the leadership of Zhang Xueliang would emerge, referred to as the National Harmony Party, they would find their power base to be in the Shandong and in Manchuria.

Why are they in prison? Was this because of the civil war? I'll be curious to see how Zhang Xueliang is as a leader. He doesn't strike me as a good politician, but perhaps I can be surprised. Was he still warlord of Manchuria in TTL?

Hope you all enjoyed, I've been working on this for a while so I have a bunch of chapters pre written already.

Well that's good to hear, this was an interesting update!

 

[Nikolai]

I too have trouble pinpointing the political views of Chen. But I agree with @RustyHunter on his guesses.

 

[Korona]

This is certainly an interesting political position. A lot of the people that dominated OTL China have been brushed aside in Kaiserreich, leaving room for lesser known people. It's also nice to see democracy taking shape!

I'm trying to get a handle on Chen Jiongming's political views. You've mentioned anarchism, but the government seems heavily based on the United States. He seems some sort of moderate-left to me. Is that an accurate estimation?


I'll be curious to see where all this goes. High ambitions, but China can be a hard place to follow through.


I have to agree with Chen on this one, it's a bit of a crappy knockoff of the much more aesthetically pleasing KMT flag


So that's where all of OTL Chiang's clique ended up!


Well that's certainly an interesting change from OTL. Would Wang Jingwei be an important figure in this left-KMT, or does Kaiserreich do something else with him?


Why are they in prison? Was this because of the civil war? I'll be curious to see how Zhang Xueliang is as a leader. He doesn't strike me as a good politician, but perhaps I can be surprised. Was he still warlord of Manchuria in TTL?


Well that's good to hear, this was an interesting update!

You're pretty much right with Chen being moderate-left, at least as far as I see it. Really, his anarcho-socialist roots influence the social and legal reform that he's trying to do, as well as the Land to the Tiller program whichw ill be detailed later. Wang Jingwei is a member of the KMT, and leader of the L-KMT in 1936 at the start of the mod, but I have it in TTL as the L-KMT was defeated militarily by the Anqing Clique, Wang fell from power and Soong took his place. I'm planning on detailing the status of the right, but a number of rightist warlords and members of the Qing government are under house arrest by the Federalists. Zhang, as warlord of Manchuria, was able to secure clemency in exchange for swearing his military's loyalty to the Federalist government and allowed their disbandment. I want to detail the Second Sino-Japanese War in maybe an information post or something, but what happened is that Yang Yuting couped Zhang Zhoulin, joining the Japanese and invading the Federalists in 1938, a war which ended in 1941 and was the start of this AAR. Zhang Xueliang escaped death at Yang's hands, and joined up with Chen to retake Manchuria in exchange for what was stated above.

Honestly, I could've been a lot more clear with a timeline or something leading up to this, but my intention was just to jump into the frying pan so to speak and skip all the pre-unification stuff.

 

[RustyHunter]

You're pretty much right with Chen being moderate-left, at least as far as I see it. Really, his anarcho-socialist roots influence the social and legal reform that he's trying to do, as well as the Land to the Tiller program whichw ill be detailed later. Wang Jingwei is a member of the KMT, and leader of the L-KMT in 1936 at the start of the mod, but I have it in TTL as the L-KMT was defeated militarily by the Anqing Clique, Wang fell from power and Soong took his place.

Well I'm glad I got the right perception. It's interesting that Wang Jingwei is still a leftist and never got into fascism like OTL. Perhaps he will branch out to regain power?

Zhang, as warlord of Manchuria, was able to secure clemency in exchange for swearing his military's loyalty to the Federalist government and allowed their disbandment.

That seems reasonable. I would keep an eye on him though, he's a bit of a loose cannon

I want to detail the Second Sino-Japanese War in maybe an information post or something, but what happened is that Yang Yuting couped Zhang Zhoulin, joining the Japanese and invading the Federalists in 1938, a war which ended in 1941 and was the start of this AAR.

That makes sense. My main issue is I have not looked into the HOI4 version's setup in China, so I was operating without the starting point. That makes sense though, so thanks for clearing it up!

Honestly, I could've been a lot more clear with a timeline or something leading up to this, but my intention was just to jump into the frying pan so to speak and skip all the pre-unification stuff.

I think it's good since you dived right in. Kaiserreich can feel a bit samey as it always starts from 1936 and gives a huge lore dump, possibly driving off readers. I like getting into this alternate world you're building.

 

[Korona]

CHAPTER III: Consolidation and Conflict

The Flag of the United Provinces of China\​

It was now July of 1942, and the United Provinces of China was no longer a twinkle in the eye of Chen Jiongming. Since the declaration of the UPC in late January, Chen had managed to consolidate most of southern and eastern China into his Nanjing-based government, with Federalist authority at least loosely asserted over Beijing, Outer Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Manchuria. While the Federal Constitutional Congress continued to deliberate the exact wording of the supreme law of the land, the focus of the Federalists became the full integration of the rest of China, and most importantly, the return of Shanghai and the Shangdong Concessions from Germany. Currency reform, the reintroduction of the Chinese civil service exam, and foreign crises would also dominate Chinese politics from July-December of 1942. Yet in that six month span, Chen Jiongming would prove his worth to China as an astute leader, successfully navigating the young Chinese republic through the tumultuous first year of it's existence.

The first of many crises that would strike Chen's government would be the greatest threat posed to the United Provinces since it's inception only six months earlier. In Chengde, outside of the ancient palace that the Qing Emperors once resided in, former warlord turned rebel Zhang Haipeng declared his intent to resist the "Federalist revolutionary movement that sought to undermine Chinese culture." To many, the Chengde Uprising was more than just random violence, it was the last gasp of the 'men of the guns'. Flocking to Zhang's banner would be far-right traditionalists, Buddhist generals, former officers, and many were former soldiers who only knew how to fight. Before the Federal Government could react, Zhang Haipeng had a force of some 67,000 within a week, with it growing by the day. It was a massive test of the United Province's unity, national cohesion, and Chen Jiongming's ability to bring a fractured state together.

Zhang Haipeng, the "Last Warlord" ​

While most expected a harsh suppression of the Chengde Uprising, Chen would surprise observers as he did not immediately denounce Zhang Haipeng, instead calling for a meeting in Beijing with Zhang to negotiate a peaceful resolution. Zhang, for his part, wasn't as driven by ideology as some of his followers were, but rather his rebellion was driven out of personal pragmatism. He knew that because of his extensive ties to the Qing Government and Yang Yuting's collaborationist regime (he had served in the armies of both factions), he would be facing arrest if he submitted to the Federal government, who had imprisoned a large number of warlords and collaborators for "treason against the United Provinces." Thus, Zhang Haipeng refused to submit to Chen, instead styling himself as the "last Manchu" who would enforce right order and the veneration of traditional Chinese culture. Zhang's message was attractive to right-leaning Chinese who felt like the socially progressive message of the Federalists was going beyond the pale for what was acceptable, particularly their embrace of the New Culture Movement. However, Zhang still agreed to meet with Chen in Beijing. In the former capital city, the two would quickly come to blows over Chen's vision for a new Chinese society which was one free of the traditional hierarchies and protected traditionally marginalized groups of Chinese society. Zhang demanded that Confucianism and traditional Chinese culture was to be venerated, to which Chen refused. Instead, the Chief Executive offered clemency to the rebels in Chengde in exchange for disarming and swearing their loyalty to the United Provinces. It was the standard offer that Chen gave to prominent warlords, often throwing in a pension and state protection to persuade former warlords into an 'early retirement'. Though such an offer was easy to accept for men such as Yan Xishan, Zhang Haipeng had nothing to lose, his Manchurian homeland had been destroyed and the power structures that aided him were gone. Zhang rejected Chen's offer, demanding a position in the Guofanjung and reiterating his desire for the state veneration of Confucianism. Chen, conciliatory to a fault, would continue negotiating with Zhang for another week until he finally accepted the fact that the Chengde Uprising could not be put down diplomatically, which he preferred. Resigned to this, the Guofanjung was ordered in to suppress the Chengde Uprising on July 8th. In the first test for the New Model Army, General Huang Qixiang's 4th Field Army moved from their garrison in Beijing to encircle Chengde, before systematically advancing on the city and engaging Zhang Haipeng's warlord army just outside of the city. As expected, the professionalization of the Chinese military had paid it's dues as Huang was able to decisively defeat Zhang's much less disciplined force within a matter of days. Zhang Haipeng was arrested, his trial scheduled and thrown in prison in Beijing. To outsiders, the Chengde Uprising was nothing more than a new state securing it's authority, but in China, the Chengde Uprising signaled the end of the warlord era in China, and it's ultimate suppression is now considered the return of 'law and order' in China. It also illustrated the Federal Government's strength to other similar groups in China and sent them a message. Though celebrated publicly for it, Chen Jiongming would later cite the deaths caused by the Chengde Uprising that pushed him towards retiring from politics early.

The "Good Turk," Yulbars Khan vs. the "Bad Turk," Khoja Niyaz​

After the Chengde Uprising, Chen recognized that he needed to continue asserting his government's authority through peaceful means if possib, primarily in the provinces in Manchuria and Xinjiang. Manchuria was suffering from endemic violence stemming from an irregular cavalry force known as the Honghuzi (Red Beards), which were decentralized former soldiers who had turned to banditry to make ends meet. In Xinjiang, Kumulik Uyghurs under the leadership of Yulbars Khan and Nasir Shah had established a de facto independent state around the city of Kumul (referred to as Hami by Han Chinese). In Manchuria, Chen moved Huang Qixiang's 4th Field Army north from Beijing, basing Huang's forces out of Harbin, where irregular cavalry of a Federalist variant was deployed to counter the Honghuzi after they refused to disarm. In Xinjiang, Chen would finally succeed in negotiating peace in China. To appease the Kumulik Uyghurs, Chen authorized the creation of an Autonomous Kumulik Territory, a constitutional monarchy based around the city of Kumul, preserving the traditional title of Kumul Khan in exchange for the loyalty of the Uyghurs in the area. Though well-received in Kumul, the decision to carve off a chunk of Xinjiang for a non-Han ethnicity was received poorly in Nanjing, particularly from the Han nationalist Kuomintang, who derided Chen's "betrayal of his commitment to transforming China" as indicative of the Federalists giving in to the demands of minorities. In Chen's eyes however, the existence of the Kumul Khanate was exactly what he sought to achieve with the United Provinces - the creation of a local government which preserved the diversity inherent in China while still subject to the Federal government in Nanjing. Farther east, intermittent armed rebellions organized by Khoja Niyaz and the East Turkestan Independence Front would necessitate a much stronger reaction from the Federal Government, as their demand of total independence from China was a non-negotiable for the Federalists. East Turkestan would continue to be a thorn in the side of the Federal Government for the next half decade, but never became large enough of a problem to warrant a crisis, as by 1942, most within Xinjiang sought peace and prosperity over the prospect of another two decades of war.

The Bund along coastal Shanghai​

The rest of July would see the continued integration of northern China into the UPC, as Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Shandong formally joined the United Provinces, their provisional governments being dissolved as provincial elections were held. Yet, one final obstacle remained before Chen could truly say that he had united China. The German Concessions. After the dissolution of the Legation Cities following their bankruptcy in 1939, the German Empire had assumed control over Shanghai in addition to their concessions in the Shandong Peninsula. Long one of the most important ports of China, and one of the first cities to fall under Western control, German Shanghai was more than just a physical reminder of the 'Century of Humiliation', it was the symbol of foreign influence in China. Chen Jiongming was well aware of the importance of Shanghai, so on August 10th, 1942, he would authorize the most brazen move yet made by the young Chinese republic - an invasion of Shanghai. The Second Weltkrieg had been raging for four years now, and the German Empire was on the verge of defeat. Communard forces had been able to push through the Low Countries to take much of the western bank of the Rhine, while Savinkovist Russia was on the verge of capturing Konigsberg. Farther east, Japan, unable to conquer China, had turned it's eye towards the rest of Asia, having invaded the East Indies, and critically, German East Asia in 1941. With the Asian Squadron of the Kaiserliche Marine tied down near Singapore, Shanghai and Qingdao were ripe for the taking. In the early morning of August 15th, Guofanjung forces stationed outside of the borders of the Shanghai and Qingdao concessions made their move. Demanding the immediate surrender of the garrison forces, forces under the command of Chen Mingshu and Chen Jitang began to advance into the city. The German garrisons were overwhelmed, and without sufficient naval support, put up little resistance before capitulating to Chinese forces. The flag of the United Provinces was hoisted along the Bund, a neighborhood of Western buildings in Shanghai that were the most physical representation of the Western settlement zones. In Nanjing, Chen officially declared an end to the unequal treaties, and more importantly, the end of the 'Century of Humiliation' that began with the First Opium War. Across China, celebrations were held exhorting the end of foreign imperialism in China.

The borders of the United Provinces of China and her neighbors in September 1942 (forgive my poor paint.net skills)​

With the last of the treaty ports now back under Chinese control, and his mission of 'national liberation' ostensibly complete, Chen's new primary focus would be giving whatever government succeeds him a foundation upon which a new, modern China could be built. To do so, Chen began with a critical component of any would-be state - the introduction (or reintroduction) of a stable currency in China. Ever since the Xinhai Revolution, there had been a high number of competing currencies in China, with provincial warlords and disparate governments issuing their own currencies in order to undermine the other. In a strange twist of history, the silver-backed Mexican dollar would become the most commonly circulated currency within China from 1911-1942. By 1942, the southern half of China was operating on the silver dollar, while the other half was operating off of the Qing-era gold-backed yuan. To this end recently appointed Minister of Finance H.H. Kung decided to standardize China's currency, officially creating the new Chinese Yuan in late August 1942. Pegging the new Yuan to the gold standard, Kung gave the populace of China six months to exchange their currency to the new Yuan before it was invalidated. Though heavily inflated, a necessity due to the nonexistent credit of the UPC, the new Yuan was more or less successfully implemented, and Kung anticipated that as the Chinese economy built itself back up from the ashes, inflation would go down. For the first time in decades, China had the semblance of a national government, and more importantly, national unity.

 

[RustyHunter]

New Culture Movement

Is this going to be along the lines of OTL's New Life Movement? I hope the UPC can get better results.

Minister of Finance H.H. Kung

That could be trouble! From what I understand, he and T.V. Soong were some of the most corrupt in OTL's ROC. I'll be curious if they keep that up or can be restrained. They were certainly competent, so I look forward to where the government goes when Chen retires.

 

[grievousrommel]

I mean Macau is still owned by the Portuguese so not all of China is restored yet.