Pre-BombNES IV: A New Hope

Requesting background of Korea.
 
Hm, should Castile really be a kingdom? It seems like the monarchy was pretty effectively rooted out, and it's a military dictatorship now.

This reminds me of the First Spanish Republic. Monarchy was ousted and then they started looking for another king of more liberal profile which would suit the interests of the generals and bourgeois holding power at the moment. Thing failed so they eventually established a Republic.
 
This reminds me of the First Spanish Republic. Monarchy was ousted and then they started looking for another king of more liberal profile which would suit the interests of the generals and bourgeois holding power at the moment. Thing failed so they eventually established a Republic.

For a successful Spanish monarchy that prevented the establishment of the First Spanish Republic and the restoration of the Bourbons, check my Alternate History "The Legacy of the Glorious", which you can access through my link! (Yes, I am shilling my stories, but, well, I think some of you would love to read it)
 
Instead of producing a resume of Neses that no longer matter any longer and which would have little bearing on what this nes is going to do, I'll show what I CAN do as Rome

I have been working on my ideal for the Roman Republic as a Populist Theocratic Republic that mixes the glory days of the Old Roman Republic but with a heavy Orthodox Christian dominance over life in the Republic. While the Consuls are elected and do have some authority on day to day life, the direction of the Republic itself is guided solely by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Instead of trying to do a cliche "Military Dictatorship to Empire" type path, I will be focusing on the religious rule over Rome.

My writing has been steadily improving, and if given Rome, this nes will be my first and foremost priority as far as effort goes, with time spent on stories and reports about Rome.

Give me my legions, and I will give you a Rome player worthy of the colossal effort you have put into this game
 
I don't believe I have the time to invest into this the way I'd like to. (Everybody applying for the Roman Republic lets out a sigh of relief.) But I would like to contribute something to the NES because I feel obligated to do so. So, uh, I guess I can put myself out there as some kind of military consultant consultick, available for anybody who needs me to hash out stuff, mod included. Because I know things about warfare, especially in this period.
 
1.) The Kingdom of France
2.) The Principality of Austria
3.) The Kingdom of Vietnam
4.) The United Dominions
5.) The Commonwealth of Bartica

As to my record, it's a bit sparse considering the amount of time I've been hanging around this place, and I suspect most of it's not particularly relevant anymore. I modded PerfNES for a bit a couple of years ago, and while I didn't do a particularly good job I do like to think I didn't completely screw it up. I was Rygia in DaNES II, Danelaw/Nordariki in AFSNES, and the Gauls in INES I, so if nothing else I've got a fairly decent track record when it comes to running insignificant barbarians on the edge of the world.
 
Could I have the United Dominions background?
 
You've captured my heart, Bombshoo.

1. Japan
2. China
3. Matsumae
4. Louisiana
5. Korea
 
In case an actual application would advance my claim:

Spoiler :
My most notable roles have been Areia in DaNES II (in which I probably saved the country from destruction and won a rather difficult war), House Texier in ImmacuNES IIb (in which I advanced the political standing of the house significantly), Venice in BirdNES III (where I conquered Tunis, I think), England in PerfNES (in which I managed to keep Burgundy off my back long enough to conquer Gascony), and Paris-Burgundy and then the Franco-Burgundian Confederation in Capto Iugulum (in which I managed to build up a major power of a fairly unique nature from almost nothing, mostly through diplomacy and steady development, in spite of moderatorial biases and even quite good demographical reasons why it shouldn't have worked, and then, having lost the Great War, preserved the Confederation from revolution or destruction for longer than most of the losing powers). I am also currently modding SprylliNES V: the Peloponnesian War, a historical NES, after several previous NESes that I like to think weren't complete disasters.

I am also British myself - which may be useful - and know more than most do about British history, even if this isn't really a period in which I have especial expertise. In charge of Britain, I will aim to govern competently, responsibly, and in character, and will be able to supply an appropriate range of domestic, military and diplomatic responses depending on the situation. I also have scarcely ever missed an order set in anyone's NES.
 
Here's a few more descriptions to hold you guys over. Northern Europe is the center of attention this time. There should be a couple of the really big ones up later today.

The Grand Duchy of Courland

Spoiler :
Courland (Grand Duchy of Courland): In 1542, the alliance between German and Swedish crusaders in Livonia collapsed, sending the region into anarchy. The first power to intervene in the region was Poland. Seeking to block further German expansion along the Baltic, the Poles sided with the Swedish controlled towns of Arenborg and Reval against the German dominated towns of Riga, Konigsberg and Memel.

Polish intervention on the side of the Swedes soon turned into Danish intervention on the side of the Germans, who saw this as their chance not only to stymie further Swedish expansion in the Baltic, but possibly even take the region for themselves. Unfortunately for the Danes, many of the German crusaders had ties with Denmark’s Hanseatic rivals and were thus for the most part uncooperative. While the Germans accepted Copenhagen’s aid, they did all they could to make sure their victories benefitted Denmark in the least way possible.

The Treaty of Riga, signed in 1550 would see the region divided into three separate fiefdoms: Estonia, Prussia and Courland. The latter two would remain under German domination, while Estonia would be surrendered to Swedish nobles in its entirety. The next century would see relative prosperity for the area as the Baltic trade boomed. Courland would even briefly hold colonies on the African coast. The only serious issue was the ever looming threat of another Polish invasion of the area. This finally occurred in 1652, when Prussia was invaded by Poland.

As Polish troops moved into the region, the Swedes again intervened in the conflict, hoping to secure the area entirely for themselves. Though the Courlanders were not particularly joyful at the prospect of Swedish control, it was nonetheless preferable to Polish domination of the area and Courland joined the anti-Polish coalition along with Sweden and Novgorod in 1688. Unfortunately for the Courlanders, the Swedes were preoccupied by a revival in Copenhagen’s power and the Novgorodians were too busy securing their own borders against the Demir Qoyunlu.

In 1706, Sweden agreed to accept Polish economic domination of Prussia, who would in exchange promise to accept the independence of Courland and Novgorod. To maintain this, the Courland-Novgorod-Swedish tripartite Pact was kept in place. The next century would see some prosperity return to the region, but it would never again see the relative amount of wealth it had throughout the 1600s.

By the 1830s, the Theodosian and Dissolutions Wars (both of which Courland had wisely stayed out of) were coming to a close, and it was during this time that Polish domination of Prussia had also slipped. In 1838, the Grand Duke of Prussia died without an heir and the crown was soon offered to the Grand Duke of Courland. This would have united the two duchies. Seeing this as a clear violation of the 1706 agreement (which had been renewed in 1780), Poland invaded Prussia, occupying the Grand Duchy in its entirety. Though Courland protested the action, it was unable to find another concerned party in a Europe that was still not yet fully recovered from the previous wars.

Ending the Polish occupation and incorporating Prussia soon became a rallying point for Courlanders throughout the next century, with Courland even changing its name from "the Grand Duchy of Courland" to the "Grand Duchy of Courland and Prussia" in 1845. Poland of course, was sure to keep a watchful eye on its irredentist neighbor. As of today, Courland continues to maintain that that Prussia should be vacated by Polish forces, and though this idea receives token support from its allies, both Sweden and Novgorod are less than eager to start a war over the issue.


The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway​

Spoiler :
Denmark-Norway (The Kingdom of Denmark-Norway): In the 12th century, a marriage between Edgar II and a Danish princess brought Denmark and England again into personal union, but just as in Canute’s time, it could not endure beyond a few generations. After the collapse of the union, several semi-successful attempts to restore the Danelaw in England sunk the Danish treasury. Worse were the wars with the Norman adventurers who were to eventually conquer England, and the last Danish vassal in the region, King Oswald of Northumbria was ousted in 1229.

More success was to be had in Sweden and Norway, however, after the “Aethelings” (Danish descendants of the English kings) died out. While Denmark was able to unify with the Norwegian monarchy by the end of the 13th century, further expansion proved a much more difficult challenge. A series of brutal wars against the Hanseatic League resulted in disaster, especially a failed siege of Lübeck in 1304. Denmark struggled through the 14th and 15th centuries without any coherent foreign policy whatsoever, despite a wealth of opportunities. Possessing solid claims on England, Sweden, and Holstein and Mecklenburg in Germany, each successive Danish king would attack a different target, to little effect. The lack of long-term strategic focus caused Denmark to slip into a deep decline with the rise of the Swedish Empire in the 1600’s and soon both Skane and Norway were lost.

A minor reform came under Magnus IV, in the mid 1700’s, as Sweden stumbled in its wars with Poland and Novgorod. Under his rule, Denmark managed to implement an effective standing army before any of its immediate neighbors, and with it (along with technical advisors from Rome and France) he recaptured Norway from the Swedes, and Holstein was taken as well. Following the Dissolution Wars, Denmark was also able to opportunistically crush and annex its ancient archenemy of Lübeck, though this caused the rest of the ex-Hanseatic cities to flee to Burgundian protection. Nonetheless, the Danes were able to rebound and soon set their sights overseas, first by securing their claims on Iceland and Greenland, and later by establishing several outposts in Africa, which eventually blossomed into full colonies. Denmark now faces further opportunities for expansion and modernization, but realizing further Danish expansion will not be easy, as all its foes are now prepared for anything Copenhagen might throw at them.


The German Union

Spoiler :
German Union: Despite the awe-inspiring power that a united Germany could theoretically raise, the German people have repeatedly (and some would say, cruelly) been denied that fate by the intervention of their neighbors and the failure of their own leaders. Both the elective structure of the Holy Roman Empire and the ridiculous patchwork of fiercely independent states would profoundly contribute to German disunity.

For most of the Middle Ages, the Imperial title belonged to the Welfs, whose long war with their Hohenstaufen challengers drained the Empire and tore it apart in interminable civil wars. The Imperial throne mostly traded off between the two families for centuries. By the early 16th century when the Hohenstaufen had finally been exterminated, Emperor Rudolf II (a Welf) died, leaving a child heir. This allowed the Wittelsbach coalition (supported by Burgundy) to take power. Ludwig I slowly centralized Imperial power by emphasizing Church rights at the expense of the feudal lords, and implementing new rights of arbitrage and authority that belonged to the Emperor by prerogative. He also won an important battle against the French in Italy. Germany was on the path to centralization. However, the following Emperor, Ludwig II, with the support of the Pope and much of the burgher classes, attempted to redefine the Imperial monarchy as hereditary, naming his eldest son heir to the Empire. The rebellion it sparked the War of the Circles, between Wittelsbach Bavaria and a disparate coalition of northern German lords.

The war soon broadened into a European affair when France declared war on Burgundy, Bavaria’s ally, and formed the so-called Long Alliance with Poland, which held strong ambitions in Prussia, a Wittelsbach ally. At the Battle of Alsfeld in 1519, a titanic clash of arms between German armies with the French supporting the anti-Imperials, Ludwig won a crushing victory – but it proved pyrrhic as he died of his wounds following the battle. In the subsequent peace, the Wittelsbachs were allowed their legal hereditary control of the Holy Roman Empire, but the autonomy and prerogatives of the various Imperial Circles were reinforced, making them effectively independent of Imperial control. Furthermore, Italy, long detached from the empire in reality, was finally officially separated as well.

The neutered Bavarians were mostly powerless to fight French expansion into Burgundy and Polish encroachments on Prussia. A war with Austria over the Swiss valleys ended badly for Ludwig V, greatly damaging imperial prestige. This slow weakening would continue for the next 300 years, until a brilliant and ruthless king, Joseph II, unofficially allied himself with the equally ruthless Theodosius VII of the Romans against the French. With France distracted by the Theodosian Wars, Ludwig VII would go on to win a series of campaigns, conquering and executing several rebellious Circle dukes, and promulgating a constitution for a new Holy Empire of Germany. Ludwig’s actions would eventually spark the Dissolution Wars, something of a repeat of the War of the Circles. It ended as the last one did, but this time Wittelsbach forces were decisively crushed and the Empire dissolved by the French, Poles and Austrians, again over Burgundian (and token British) resistance.

The German Question, as it had been called for the past century, would now receive a decisive settlement. The current German Union laid forth by the 1834 Treaty of Prague is the legal replacement for the Holy Roman Empire, a ‘voluntary’ confederation of seven autonomous Circles, each with its own separate laws, customs regulations, and militaries. Taxes paid to the Union are entirely voluntary, and the Chancellor (the official head of state) must be approved by a three-fourths majority of the circles. Most Circles of them are ruled by a Duke or Landgraf advised by a council of pseudo-elected religious and municipal officials, though the particulars differ by the Circle. Unofficially, each Circle also has a foreign military mission, the nationality of the mission denoting which Power’s sphere of influence that Circle is tacitly recognized to be. (Lower Saxony has a Burgundian mission, Brandenburg and Upper Saxony have Polish missions, Bavaria and Franconia have Austrian missions, and Swabia and Rhineland Palatinate have a French mission.)

The Union itself is wildly unpopular with almost everyone in Germany, but old rivalries between Circles are played up by the Great Powers to keep the Germans internally divided, and the “silent partition” ensures that reforming Germany would be virtually impossible without expelling *some* of the foreign military attaches, which of course would be impossible without the consent of one or the other Great Powers, and would itself be tantamount to a declaration of war. Nonetheless, the state of Germany has triggered two general European wars before, and it seems very possible that a third might one day follow.


The Kingdom of Sweden​

Spoiler :
Sweden: Sweden was mostly a disorganized mess of rival states until the mid 14th century, when the Danish began to aggressively probe the region, demanding fealty to Copenhagen. A council of Swedish lords met in 1389 and elected one of their number, an exiled lord named Christiern of Götaland, as King Christiern I. The new king lived up to his name, fighting a series of defensive wars against the expansionist Danes in Götaland. The Danish could have easily crushed the fledgling Swedish monarchy at this time, but constant German entanglements gave the Swedes breathing room necessary to complete their conquest of Österland (Finland).

Danish strength faltered after a particularly difficult war against against the Hansa in the early 16th century, and the Swedes pushed them back all the way to Scania. A defensive alliance was formed with the Hanseatic state, and trade ties with the Hansa allowed the export of Swedish grain and iron ore to the European market. This new source of revenue gave the Swedish monarchy a massive boost, and the Swedes launched numerous crusades into Livonia, also clashing with Novgorod, Denmark, German crusaders and other Russian statelets to mixed success. The 1550 Treaty of Riga would eventually grant Sweden Estland (Estonia) in its entirety.

Sweden’s true ascendancy began in 1600, when a Danish civil war afforded them the opportunity to capture Norway. Not long after, the Danes were expelled from Scania, their last mainland holding, and all of Scandinavia was under Stockholm’s dominion by 1650. Just as Denmark was practically eliminated as a threat, the independent Duchy of Prussia, detached from the Holy Roman Empire after the War of the Circles and in the wake of a catastrophic defeat by Zygmunt II of Poland, sought the protection of the Swedish crown. So began the Prussian Wars in 1652, an epic struggle between Poland and Sweden for control of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, a conflict that would last 50 years.

While Sweden fielded an elite and modern artillery corps, the Polish had superior cavalry and manpower on their side. The Prussian Wars seesawed back and forth, and though the Swedes held their ground by an alliance with the Courlanders and Novgorod, it exhausted Sweden’s manpower and resources. 1704 was Sweden’s annus horribilis, as a Danish revival under Magnus VI, a Norwegian revolt, and a massive new Polish onslaught coincided to bring Sweden’s dreams of European empire to a crashing halt. Prussia was lost, though a tripartite anti-Polish alliance with Courland and Novgorod would endure onto the modern day.

While Sweden was somewhat exhausted by the Prussian Wars, it had successfully weathered the storm by conceding Prussia to Polish domination, Norway to Denmark, and retrenching in a more defensive position with the remnants of its empire. This graceful decline continued unabated until the Dissolution Wars, when Sweden acquired Pomerania (which it had intermittently held in the 1600’s and 1700’s) during the so-called Northern Partition that granted Bremen to Burgundy and Lubeck to Denmark.

Despite almost two centuries of “graceful decline,” Sweden still has a strong ally in the Livonian German state of Courland as well as in the Grand Principality of Novgorod, and could form potential alliances to vault itself back into the ranks of the Great Powers of Europe once again, though its neighbors will wonder at whose expense.
 
1) Polish-Hungarian Commonwealth
2) United Dominions
3) Principality of Sao Paulo
4) Sovereign Order of Santiago
5) Novgorod
 
So here is a brief preview of what I'm thinking the stats will look like. As you can see, instead of doing straight quality, points or units, I'm leaning towards brief, but reasonably in depth descriptions combined with hard numbers. I realize this might be more complex on the surface, but after putting some thought into it, I think it's actually pretty simple.

These descriptions you see below will change depending on your orders and spending pretty regularly. There is two primary reasons for doing stats this way. First of all, it allows flexible spending by the players and tells them exactly what could use improvement. Instead of having a quality of 'X' that could mean nearly anything, you now will know what to expect from your army, navy, economy and infrastructure and where to focus on to change it. The second reason is that by doing this, it can actually allow me to cut a substantial amount out of the updates. I will not need to write a mini story covering that Wallachia's railroads are improving. I can simply write it right into the stats and you'll have a rough idea how your program is going.

Income will be in raw currency instead of EP, though it will be fairly rounded and use large denominations to prevent too much trouble. Similarly, the army will also be in raw numbers of people that can be assigned where and how you want. Equipment and doctrine will be covered in the description. Navy as of this time is still a bit up in the air, but there will likely be a large number of vessels to choose from, allowing a good amount of customization. There will however, not be designs. "Designs" will instead be implemented via the descriptions that will emphasize the actual quality and doctrine of your ships and their crews as a whole. If you buy from and are trained by a major naval power, for instance, this will be reflected and taken into account.

The Empire of Mexico (Mexico)/Player
Capital: Mexico City
Head of State/Government: Emperor/Prime Minister
Government: Constitutional Monarchy (Conservative)
Income (revenue-upkeep=total):
Debt (interest rate):
Population: 41,211,000
Army (Upkeep): 250,000 (-)
Army Description: Fairly well trained, though mostly untested in recent years. Up-to-date equipment except in some of the frontier posts. The aging officer corps is somewhat inflexible and conservative. Colonial troops are used in the Philippines and the army acts as a police force on the frontier.
Navy (Upkeep): (-)
Navy Description: The recently reformed navy is modernizing rapidly, both in equipment and doctrine. The officer corps is mostly young, compared to their army counterparts.
Human Services (Upkeep): Inconsistent. Entirely Localized (-)
Infrastructure (Upkeep): Fairly well developed road and rail networks in the Central Valley and along the coasts. The interior is still mostly undeveloped except for a few single track rail lines. Multiple up-to-date port facilities exist on both coasts. (-)
Economic Description: Modernized core in the Central Valley with rapidly industrializing coastlines, particularly along the Atlantic. The booming petroleum and manufacturing industries are increasingly important. Agriculture is less impressive, particularly on the frontier and in the far interior where many continue to rely on subsistence farming. Overall growth is fairly stable.

Edit: Here's a couple more, just for the hell of it.

The Kingdom of the Outremer (Outremer)/Player
Capital: Jerusalem
Head of State/Government: King Amaury d’Armagnac I/Prime Minister
Government: Constitutional Monarchy (Conservative)
Income (raw-upkeep=total):
Debt (interest rate):
Population: 4,124,000
Army (Upkeep): 100,000 (-)
Army Description: Highly disciplined and very experienced, the Army of the Outremer is one of the best organized fighting forces in the world. Though its doctrine is primarily focused on defensive actions, it is actually quite versatile and is especially adept at dealing with irregular opponents. Though its equipment is not completely outdated, it is still not quite up to the standards of the Great Powers. The combat units are exclusively Catholic but other Christians are allowed to serve in support roles.
Navy (Upkeep): (-)
Navy Description: Designed primarily for coastal patrols and rescue operations, the Kingdom instead relies almost entirely on the French fleet based in Larnaca, Cyprus for its naval defenses.
Human Services (Upkeep): Mostly localized, and reserved for the Catholic population. Heavily tied to the Catholic Church. (-)
Infrastructure (Upkeep): Extensive and well maintained. Primarily designed for military use. (-)
Economic Description: While the Catholic population enjoys a comparatively high standard of living, most of the minorities are economically distressed. Some industrialization exists in the coastal cities but cash crops and the few raw materials provide most of the country’s income. The economy is heavily tied to France.

The Republic of Obregon (Obregon)/Player
Capital: Jordan
Head of State/Government: Unitary Republic
Government:
Income (raw-upkeep=total):
Debt (interest rate):
Population: 1,293,000
Army (Upkeep): 12,000 (-)
Army Description: Though the entirely volunteer standing army is small, it is also quite well equipped. Monthly patrols and good surveying techniques keep the forces well acquainted with their own territory, but the army has yet to fight a single engagement in foreign lands. In case of an actual war, local militias can be called upon, greatly expanding the size of armed forces.
Navy (Upkeep): (-)
Navy Description: Despite its many islands and long coastline, the Republic does not yet have much of a naval force or doctrine. The current fleet is designed primarily for rescue operations and coastal patrols.
Human Services: Locally organized. Block grants from the government in Jordan are heavily relied upon by most sizable municipalities.
Infrastructure (Upkeep): Modern and fairly industrialized in the capital district and surrounding area. Outside of this region, most towns and forts are significantly less developed, with many lacking even suitable road systems. The major ports of Seadoll and Langley are slightly undersized, but are being constantly improved upon and expanded.
Economic Description: Fishing, logging and mining are the main industries, though industrialization along the southern coast has increased in recent years, with the creation of canneries and lumber processing mills. The fur trade continues to be an important source of income in the far north, but has declined in relative importance as a whole. The standard of living is decent along the southern coast but the harsh conditions of the far north and interior continue to stunt overall growth.
 
This is good; I think colonies should be accounted for *somewhere* though exactly how to list colonies is kind of a sticky question.

Also, I lean towards some sort of confidence/political stability stat. Rather than having it be "4" or "Disgusted," handling it in a descriptive fashion would be more illustrative and just better. For example, Louisiana's political stability would look something like this:

---

Political Stability: Moderate but stable confidence among members of the landed nobility, church, and urban merchantry. Mediocre and steadily declining confidence among the urban poor who are increasingly turning to radical republicanism. Extremely high among the Miss. valley cities, high among the Indians, mediocre in the hinterlands and among the Montagnards due to opposition to protective tariffs.

---

It would let the player keep track of how things are going internally without resorting to factions with discrete power levels that are not always known. If rebellions are threatened or in progress, they can be noted here.
 
NK & Iggy, I know this has already been asked but...what font did you use for your maps? :p I'm drawing one up alongside yours and I want it to stylistically match up.
 
Shoooot... I think it's a very generically named one in GIMP. Sans? And fiddle with the size until it matches (mine are a tiny bit off from Iggy's, but apparently no one noticed).
 
NK & Iggy, I know this has already been asked but...what font did you use for your maps? :p I'm drawing one up alongside yours and I want it to stylistically match up.

It's Garamond.
 
The Empire of Great Britain

Spoiler :
Britain (The Empire of Great Britain): The collapse of Danelaw in the early thirteenth century sent Britain into chaos. Although Alfred the Black of Wessex, in an attempt to restore order, was quick to crown himself “King of Britannia”, his campaigns into Mercia and Sussex were utter failures. Alfred’s son Egbert, keeping the title King of Britannia, was more successful, establishing rule over most of Southern England, but was nonetheless unable to press into Northumbria, which under King Oswald, was having much success itself at bringing order to the north.

In 1219, Godwin, the Duke of Kent and a vassal to Egbert, sought to marry his daughter, Sigrid, to Robert Traversant, Duke of Anjou, only for Egbert to deny the marriage. Robert, feeling dishonored by Egbert’s interference, soon set to rectify the matter and with the permission of the French King, was able to assemble a force with the intent to claim his bride and restore order to England. In 1222, Robert invaded England, first taking the Isle of Wight, and later moving into Sussex and Kent, which were quick to side with Robert over the domineering Egbert.

Robert was also able to arrange an alliance with Oswald in Northumbria, who took a temporary pause in his war with the Scots in order to move into Mercia. On the Seventh of October, the forces of Egbert and Robert met at the Battle of Swindon. Due to the timely betrayal of one of Egbert’s advisors, Robert was able to ambush Egbert’s larger force, leading to a swift and crushing defeat for the king. Legend says that upon capturing Egbert, Robert made one final request for the king to accept his marriage to Sigrid, only for Egbert to spit in Robert’s face. Robert’s response was to decapitate Egbert on spot, bringing an end to the House of Wessex.

After Egbert’s death, Robert chose not to return to France, instead taking control of the now leaderless Wessex. With the death of Duke Godwin, Kent soon fell into his hands as well, and Sussex was quick to accept his position as the ruler of Southern England shortly later. In just two short years, Robert had succeeded at transforming Southern England into a more coherent polity than his predecessors had managed to in twenty.

Robert next set his sights north, intent to bring all of England under his control while he still had the momentum. Fortunately for Robert, King Oswald was still fumbling in Mercia and the Scots had decided they would rather not wait for him to finish his campaigns south to resume their fight. Robert’s invasion of Mercia was swift and painless, as the war torn region was quick to fall to his forces and Oswald was unable to respond due to his war with the Scots. Northumbria itself was a slightly tougher nut to crack, but again, the exhaustion of the enemy proved to Robert’s advantage and Oswald surrendered in 1229. Oswald, perhaps having heard the story of poor Egbert, was quick to pledge his loyalty to Robert, but was instead sent into exile in Ireland, where he would reportedly spend the rest of his days as a monk.

With all of England proper now under his control and most of his followers secure in their castles, Robert now felt confident enough to finally make his intentions public. On Christmas Day, 1230, Robert declared himself King of All England. Robert would rule for another thirty years, securing his claim, before finally dying at age 80 on campaign in Wales, still leading his troops into combat. Robert passed his kingdom to his eldest son Richard, who at age 62, was already an old man himself upon taking the throne. Richard’s brief but chaotic reign would prove nearly disastrous, as he failed to accomplish anything of note and repeatedly bungled the continuing war with Wales. It was only with Richard’s death that the kingdom was saved when Roger, who at age 23, was by far Robert’s youngest son, took the throne. Unfortunately, Roger’s claim to the throne was contested by his nephew Henry who was seven years his senior. Although conflict was avoided when Roger agreed to appoint Henry’s son, John, as his successor, the arrangement would prove to be a major source of contention in later years.

Roger’s rule would prove to be even longer than that of his father. Ruling for forty seven years, Roger’s reign would cement Norman control of England, and although he was never able to fully conquer Wales, he was able bring about the nominal loyalty of numerous local leaders, paving the way for later conquests. As Roger’s reign was so long, he outlived his legal heir, John, by several years and instead appointed his own son, William, as his successor. While some sources claim that Roger saw John’s death as negating his original agreement, others state that in his old age, Roger had simply forgotten about the deal. Regardless of his reasoning, the conflicting claims of William and John’s son, also named Henry, would prove disastrous.

In 1310, the Kingdom of England entered into civil war, as the two claimants for the throne fought one another. The decade long civil war would eventually see Henry emerge victorious and in 1322, exactly a century after Robert’s invasion, he declared himself King of England. Henry’s fifteen year rule would prove to be turbulent, including wars with an increasingly centralized and powerful Scotland as well as with the Kingdom of France over control of Anjou. Both of these conflicts would continue on for the remaining part of the century, long after Henry’s death. In 1410, Roger III would begin an invasion of Ireland with the justification of restoring order after several peasant rebellions had torn apart Dublin, resulting in the murder of several church officials.

The later fifteenth century would see England allied to the Burgundians as well as supporting an uprising in Aquitaine against the French. These adventures would mostly prove fruitless for England, and would eventually culminate in the marriage of King Robert IV of England and Queen Margot I of France in the interest of securing peace. Despite the intention of Robert and Margot, it would soon prove to have the opposite of intended effect. When Robert passed without a male heir in 1503, his daughter, Cécile, Queen of France, attempted to secure her claim to the English throne, only to be rejected by most of the nobility, under the pretext that the throne could only be held by a male. Cécile, believing that the rule of England by a male was simply a matter of tradition, not codified in law, contended that her claim was valid and launched an invasion of Britain, capturing the Isle of Wight and moving into Southern England.

After much contention nearly leading to another civil war amongst the nobility, a king was finally elected to contest Cécile’s claim. James, the Duke of York, was placed on the throne in London, only to be evacuated shortly later as French forces stormed the city. The early years of the war were devastating for England. James, having been picked as a compromise candidate, was a rather ineffective leader, while most of the nobles found themselves unable to agree on any matters of importance. The height of English incompetence was perhaps best demonstrated when despite losing ground to the French every day, a cadre of lords instead chose to launch another invasion of Ireland in a hopeless attempt to secure claims lost in the chaos.

The murder of King James by one his councilors, with the intent to replace him with a more suitable candidate, instead plunged England further into anarchy. By 1512, England had no king and all of the country, save for the far north, Wales and Cornwall, had been lost to the French. Cécile’s claim seemed all but secured. In 1525, Cécile passed away, leaving both England and France to her son Hugh. Hugh, eager to secure his claims to all of England, immediately pushed for an invasion of Wales and Cornwall, ruining a tenuous peace his mother had established with the Celtic regions. The two regions would prove extremely difficult to conquer, and soon French forces became bogged down, forcing them to also make slight concessions in England proper.

In 1528, John of Cumbria, a Duke and recent vassal to the Kingdom of Scotland, was able to make use of French defeats in Wales and Cornwall in order to reclaim much of central England. With his enlarged realm, John was also able to secure the hand of Queen Merida of Scotland. Using a combined Anglo-Scottish Army, John and Merida were soon able to push the French all the way to London, reversing a long string of defeats. By 1540, the only remaining French possession was the Isle of Wight, though Wales, Cornwall and Ireland remained lost for some time.

In 1547, with both Merida and John dead, the throne passed to their teenage son David, who was crowned King of both England and Scotland, as his parents dying wish. Hugh of France, now an old man, of course contested this, but with wars on all his borders, was unable to respond except by pressuring the Pope into protesting the claim as well. David’s response was to simply oust the Roman Catholic Church from Britain, instead creating the Church of the Britannic Rite, with its own leader, an Archpresbyter appointed directly by him with advice from a council of Bishops. Edward I, the previous bishop of Canterbury, was appointed the first Archpresbyter of Church. David would soon bring Cornwall, Wales, and by the end of his reign, even Ireland back under control. With all of the British Isles under his command, in 1556, David was crowned Emperor of the British, to signify his dominion over both the physical and spiritual realm of the isles as well as all people who lived within them.

David’s reign as emperor would prove prosperous for Britain, but not without its complications. Starting in 1560, David sponsored several voyages to the Americas and Asia, securing multiple islands and trading Post in the Caribbean and Far East for Britain, as well as founding numerous small settlements along the coast of North America, though most of the latter failed within the first few years, either as a result of starvation or Spanish and French aggression. In 1564, Archpresbyter Edward died, forcing the first change in the office in the Church’s history. While Edward’s previous appointment had taken place with near unanimous support from the Council of Bishops, David’s new appointment, a Scottish bishop, John of Edinburgh, was not nearly as well received by the predominantly English council. When David refused to relent, nearly half the council withdrew from the Church in protest over the appointment, stating that kings and emperors, as earthly leaders, had no jurisdiction over matters of the divine.

Although David was quick to put the rebellious bishops in their place, the damage had been done and David’s new Church began to fracture. While Scotland remained relatively content to stay under the Church, southern England, Cornwall and Ireland soon rebelled, with many forming their own independent churches or reverting to Catholicism. Riots filled the streets of towns and villages, and David was soon forced to concede that a supermajority of bishops could veto the Emperor’s choice of Archpresbyter. In addition to this, to quell the remaining insubordinate lords, David also agreed to enlarge his personal council, the Imperial Assembly, incorporating nobles from all across the land into a Parliament that met in London. Despite the concession, many small religious cults remained underground, still objecting to imperial influence in the matters of the church. Many of these groups would be among the first to settle in British North America.

In 1570, David died, leaving the imperial crown to his son Walter I. Walter’s rule would see the development of the first permanent British colony in mainland North America, at Castlereagh (Boston), as well as war with the Spanish that would see the island of Cuba divided between the two powers. Walter’s passing in 1590 paved the way for the ascension of David II, who would grant a charter to Alfred Millhouse to found the colony of Carolina as well as to William Elgin to found “the League of British Merchants Trading into the Indies”, or as it quickly became known, The British Indian Trading League (BITL). The League would eventually come to hold a monopoly on all British trade with the Far East, and in 1608, would seize the city of Lhokseumawe in Northern Sumatra, giving the League its first territorial claim.

The seventeenth century would prove enormously beneficial for Britain. As France, Burgundy and Spain became entangled in their own wars over Germany and Italy, the Empire of the British enjoyed a relatively secure position, allowing them greatly expand their colonies in the Americas, Africa and Asia. The largest setback perhaps came in 1642, when a group of British merchants started a riot in the Chinese city of Humen (a town they were legally barred from entering in the first place), resulting in British ships being barred from all Chinese ports. Though the loss of income was substantial, this event did cement an earlier alliance with the Portuguese who the British were now forced to rely on for trade. However, the BITL was able to secure several offices in the Portuguese Ryukus by which they could trade with China by proxy. Despite its setbacks in China, the BITL would prove to be a force of reckoning in India proper, managing to secure footholds in the ports of Bombay, Calcutta and Visag. The influx of new wealthy elites, having made their money in India and abroad, soon demanded their own representation, leading to a significant enlargement of Parliament.

The early eighteenth century would see numerous conflicts with Britain’s traditional Burgundian ally over trade and land in the Caribbean and Far East. These struggles would climax during the Anglo-Burgundian War of 1721, which would see the British capture of all Burgundian colonies in North America and India as well as the capture and expulsion of Burgundian settlers in southern Africa to a small desolate area at the mouth of the Orange River. Burgundian and British relations would only improve with the founding of the Blessed Alliance between France, Spain and Poland-Hungary. The heightened tensions brought upon by the alliance soon escalated into Nine Years War, in which Britain backed Burgundian attempts to recapture the Rhineland and halt encroaching Spanish and French attempts to move into the Far East. The war would prove mostly a loss for the Triple Pact of Britain, Burgundy and Portugal.

The 1746 Treaty of Rouen would see the Pact lose several colonies in the Far East to France and Spain in addition to finally crushing all Burgundian hopes at reconquering the Rhineland. Longer term, the war and subsequent peace did create an understanding between the Burgundians and British, as both powers finally recognized the other’s colonial claims. Though Britain would find herself entangled in several more small wars throughout the century, particularly in India, it was not until the late 1780s did tensions truly begin to rise again with the ascension of Theodosius VII in Rome and Joseph II in Bavaria.

It was in 1802, in the fifth year of the Theodosian Wars, that Britain finally made its intentions clear. With Spain collapsing and France faltering in Italy, the British Emperor Donald III, felt confident declaring war to reverse the British losses in the previous Nine Years War. In what became known as the Three Emperors’ Alliance between Joseph II, Theodosius VII and Donald III, offensives were launched against French and Spanish colonies all across Asia and the Americas, though British contributions to the European theatre were halfhearted at best. Regardless of Britain’s influence in the main theater, its gains in the first few years were nonetheless impressive. With Spain’s complete descent into anarchy, Britain was able to seize numerous Spanish colonies including the other half of Cuba (though it was unable to capture Maracaibo), and eventually turn these victories into further successes in Louisiana and Quebec as well.

By 1808, Theodosius’s Italian Campaign was disintegrating though fortunately for Britain, Burgundian entry into the war on their side, and Joseph’s continued success in Germany were enough to keep France from striking back at Britain. By 1810, both France and Rome, cut off from trade and depleted of manpower were racing each other to collapse. In early January, numerous Roman cities descended into riots and by summer, the entire Roman Empire had collapsed into a civil war between supporters of the Emperor and a rebel faction loosely organized by a discontented Orthodox Church. France had won the Theodosian Wars by luck, but still having yet to quell Joseph II’s new German Empire and facing numerous riots at home, was forced to come to the table to deal with Britain. With little choice but to accept Britain’s new position as the dominant sea power, France surrendered its American colonies to the now enlarged Empire of Great Britain.

Britain’s 1811 victory against France would see the empire reach its greatest extent. Stretching from the frigid tundra of Baffin Island, to the exotic streets of Calcutta, to the newly founded outposts in New Zealand, Britain was truly a world empire. Britain’s growth would only continue for the next few decades, until 1841 with the passing of the Universal Abolition Act which made slavery illegal across the entirety of the Empire. The outlawing of slavery would have profound effects on Britain’s North American empire. In March of 1841, the province of Carolina declared independence, intent to keep slavery alive within its borders.

Though suppressing Carolina’s rebellion was certainly within Britain’s means, the conflict soon escalated when the French populations of Quebec, Louisiana and Ohio, under occupation since the Theodosian Wars, also arose in rebellion. Britain quickly scrambled to put together a force to suppress the revolts, but was overstretched due to wars in India and Africa as well. In February of 1842, the largest conscription in North American history was put in place within the colonies still under British control. In October of the same year, France and Mexico declared war on the British Empire to help secure the independence of the newly declared states. Mexico soon invaded Cuba, seeking to liberate the Spanish population there, succeeding in occupying the whole island, while French “volunteer” forces under Duke Auguste of Brittany, a brother of the French King, were having much success in Louisiana. By 1844, Britain had succeeded in putting down the revolts in Quebec and Ohio, but was still failing to make any headway in Louisiana or Carolina.

In 1845, a series of draft riots overtook Castlereagh, New Edinburgh and Edwardsville, forcing British troops out of the cities. Depleted of manpower and on the verge of losing their remaining colonies, Britain agreed to come to the table in 1846. Shortly later the Treaty of Copenhagen was signed in neutral Denmark, ending the war with Britain agreeing to recognize Carolina and Louisiana as independent states as well as accept Mexican control over Cuba. In addition to this, Britain also reorganized its remaining colonies in New England and Canada as the United Dominions of British North America, an autonomous union of dominions, tied to the crown, but free to pursue its own policies domestically.

The loss of the Great North American War, as it came to be known, was devastating to British moral. For many in the Empire, it seemed as if a world empire they had been so close to achieving had simply slipped through their fingers. Parliament’s decision to pass the Universal Abolition Act with little preparation, despite warnings from the military and intelligence services of possible results, created an incredible backlash against liberal elements within the country, and in 1852, a new party emerged, the British Imperial Defence Party (BIDP). Composed of both nobles and elements of the new rich, the party’s main platform was that the weak policies of concession and appeasement were what led to Britain’s loss in the war, and that British culture should be paramount in all colonies across the empire.

The BIDP’s policies, supported by the new emperor, Donald IV, led to a massive campaign of conquests in Africa and Asia. In 1861, Donald IV was assassinated while giving a speech at a BIDP rally, giving the party impetus to push for the annexation of all BITL territories directly into the empire, as well as the conquests of the fledging Roman colonies in Western Australia. War with the Romans was only avoided when Constantinople, still weak from its own civil war, and reluctant to antagonize their only possible ally against the French, agreed to allow British passage through the newly constructed Suez Canal duty free.

By 1870, most of the hype surrounding the BIDP had begun to die down, as promises that the newly acquired colonies in Africa and Asia would significantly improve the economy proved untrue. The next decade would see a constant trade between the BIDP and the newly reorganized Liberals for leadership of the country. The inconsistent and often lopsided policies of both parties would see the economy struggle throughout most of the 1880s, only held up by technological progress and a resumption of regular trade with many countries that had been embargoed or heavily tariffed under BIDP policies.

By the 1890s, it seemed that the Empire of Great Britain had weathered the storm of the recession and was emerging once again as a global powerhouse, on close parity to its main rivals in Europe and the Americas. In 1898, the Liberals were reelected for a third term in Parliament and though progress has been substantial throughout their now twelve years in control, if they should slip up for even a second it is inevitable that their BIDP rivals will take power once again.
 
The Great Nan Song Empire

Spoiler :
Nan Song: The hoped for peace following the Song victory over the Mongols in northern China and Korea in the 1550s, proved illusionary as the Demir Qoyunlu campaigns of the 1580s and 1590s nearly extinguished the Song. But a brief civil war among the Demir Qoyunlu saved the dynasty and the intervention of Guanyin herself saved the Empire. Flush with success Emperor Han Shao sent his forces into Vietnam to bring his most rebellious of subjects to heel once and for all. But court favorites proved inept generals, the climate was harsh and the terrain harder still. Those who survived these things died from the strange southern diseases. Still for a decade Han Shao’s armies struggled. The economy collapsed before they could. And with no pay the armies on the frontiers – north, south and west – converged on the capital and burned it to the ground. By 1600 the Song had fallen.

Into the vacuum stepped, Emperor Zihuan, the founder of the barbarian Nan Zhou. Zihuan who was a genius on the battlefield managed in a decade to recapture all of China except for Gansu which he left unwillingly in Demir Qoyunlu hands. Zihuan’s son, Yizong, was not an able monarch but he preferred peace to war and it lasted until 1644 when the Padishah himself campaigned as far as Chengdu. While Imperial arms saved Chengdu they faltered before the Daoist Red Turbans who took Chengdu in 1646. From their mountain redoubt, the Red Turbans began to raid deep into the southern idles of the old Song heartlands. With the Nan Zhou facing off against the Demir Qoyunlu, southern magnates were forced to see to their own defense. This worked well until the 1663 when a secession crisis coupled with a poorly planned offensive against the Demir Qoyunlu led to the shattering of the Nan Zhou’s main field armies.

As the Nan Zhou fragmented, southern magnates were forced to rely upon their own resources. While the Demir Qoyunlu were forced from China, the decline in Imperial power was evident as ambitious generals ruled through a succession of child emperors. The arrangement collapsed in 1678 when the Green Turbans, a millenarian Islamic group, fired the capital to the ground. The South for its part took the Imperial collapse well and made peace with the Red Turbans still ensconced in Sichuan. Life without an Emperor proved problematic and one was swiftly raised up and given the dynastic name: Nan Song.

The new Emperor served as a puppet to leading lineages and his son and grandson fared little better. Tainzong, the fourth Emperor, however broke this tradition by using his successes on the battlefield to cement his independent rule during the 1700s. This newfound success on the battlefield was in part attributable Taizong’s decision to purchase Portuguese arms. European drill and tactics soon followed. Taizong’s death in 1722 kicked off a brief civil war which his beloved second son, Taizu, won the throne by killing his older brother. What followed was a decade of violence as the fifth Emperor massacred the lineages who had stood with his brother. Among those persecuted was the small community of native Catholic and the Daoist Grey Turbans in Henan. Taizu’s massacre of the Catholics lost him chief supplier of weapons. Unperturbed he had them built at home.

A renewed Grey Turban rising in Henan in 1742 saw Taizu massacre half the province in his bid to stamp out the menace once and for all. The Portuguese in the interim seized a number of cities and defensible points, aided by disaffected southern magnates – survivors of the purge of the 1730s – and proved rather tougher nuts to crack. Unable to take the principal Portuguese fortresses protecting Zhangjing and facing another war with the Mongols and Manchus in the north, the Emperor signed the Peace of Donghai in 1746 which saw Catholicism granted some measure of tolerance in exchange for the Portuguese vacating the mainland for Donghai Island and accepting their status as Imperial vassals.

The war in the north was grinding and it was into this space that the Spanish stepped in, eager to replicate the “success” of their Iberian cousins. While the Spanish proved able to capture Shangchuan Island, an attempt to raise the Catholics now spreading in the south failed as Imperial arms proved more than capable of defeating the Spaniards. It was fortunate for the Spanish that at this particular moment that the Emperor decided that the Spanish were more useful as a second source of arms and a useful check on the Portuguese and on the growing Portuguese influence on the native Catholics. Thus was it that the Spanish also came to be imperial vassals and tributaries through the 1748 Treaty of the Towers, though if the Spanish were sure what exactly they agreed to in this treaty is still under debate.

The next 30 years saw the Nan Song gradually assert Imperial authority over northern China as the loose Demir Qoyunlu hegemony in the area slipped do to a lack of funds. By the 1780s, Demir Qoyunlu control over north-eastern China had been loosened by Nan Song armies. Unhappy with the outcome but unable to change it, the Demir Qoyunlu in 1783 agreed to the Treaty of Lanzhou which fixed borders which have held to the present day. The treaty occurred at a fortunate time, as not long after the north erupted into violence as barbarians took up arms against the dynasty. When Imperial arms in the north faltered, treasonous elements decided the time was ripe for rebellion. First Sichuan went up in flames, then Shangdong and finally Hubei. Imperial arms triumphed but at the cost of a country in ruins.

The situation following the end of hostilities in the 1803 was complicated by the death of the reigning Emperor Gaozu and the installation of his three year old son on the throne. Intense factionalism in the court did little to help the situation which was complicated by various parties courting of the victorious generals. Hostilities broke out in 1804 as generals and courtiers (at first) vied for control of the boy Emperor. His death in 1807 while under the care of a leading warlord intensified the struggle as each general championed the cause of a claimant from the large imperial line. The most successful of the warlords was a Christian who claimed much of the south, a Muslim who controlled the middle and another Muslim who controlled Sichuan. The north simply shattered lacking even imperial armies to organize around.

But it was in the north that all scholars know that the imperial banner was raised once more. The Zhengde Emperor had weak claims which helped to explain his presence in the north. But he did have a penchant for women and an easy charm which won him three Muslim wives and the loyalty of three of the largest warlords by in 1810. Moving south his armies swept across Henan and Hubei and drove towards Nanjing which fell after a brief siege. It was here that the Emperor gained his first Buddhist wife and his most able general in the form of his cousin, the second son of the pretender he had just executed.

His next campaign in 1816 saw Fujian and Jiangxi mopped up by 1820. It was in Fujian that Zhengde married his first Christian which won himself Portuguese (and by extension, British) aid. His brief flirtation with Christianity might also have helped. Flush with European arms, Zhengde took the fight into Guangdong and Guangxi, overthrowing another of his kinsmen. It was here that he added his second Buddhist wife. This act and Zhengde’s flirtation with Islam caused the Portuguese considerable concern, which was mollified by his agreement to marry another two Chinese Christians. The campaign against Sichuan proved more difficult dragging on into 1825 but with his conquest of the fertile south complete, the war was all but over. Sending his Muslim kinsmen north to put down rebellions, the Zhengde Emperor could finally rest with his numerous wives and mistresses.

But for all his victories, the Zhengde had significant performance problems in the sack. By the 1840s, the Zhengde Emperor had managed to produce just two children. The first of whom died at age 13 and was rumored to have been the Zhengde Emperor’s son by a Zanzabari mistress which he is supposed to have traded a panda for. His second son by his third Christian wife survived and adopted the title Shengzu when he became Emperor in 1838. The Shengzu Emperor reign was the most peaceful since the 1740s.

It was during this reign that the first Western style factories outside of armaments were introduced. The most significant of which were spinning and textiles mills that catered to the Mestiso population cut off from a Europe that was still reeling from the Theodosian and Dissolution wars. Reform of the tax revenues and the creation of a central fisc strengthened the finances of the state while a decision to channel the European trade through the Mestiso which supported their relative prosperity into the future and status as a comprador class. Muslims also benefitted from Shengzu’s favor perhaps due to his adoptive mother being Muslims, his own having died not long after his birth. It was certainly to his mother’s kin that most of his blessing flowed. For these his father’s most favored soldiers, he granted considerable legal privileges and set them up as a caste apart.

It was also around this time that the Shengzu Emperor agreed to accept Matsumae tribute in exchange for a temporary lease over the frozen north. The status of the Governor-General of the Isabellas as an imperial vassal was also confirmed. Portugal also bent knee again, being officially confirmed as administrators of Ryuku on a provisional basis. In exchange, for the latter the ban against the British trading on the mainland was renewed.

This period of peace and economic growth survived the death of the Shengzu Emperor in the 1850s and continued under his son the Chengzong Emperor until 1865 when Nan Song armies intervened against Thai attempts to snuff out Khmer independence. The war proved indecisive as Nan Song armies proved unable to bring themselves to bear against the distant Thai and concluded in 1867.Chengzong in response began a major campaign to metal roads across the empire and establish large strategic stockpiles on the frontier. The next Thai attempt on the Khmers in 1875 was therefore repulsed with relative ease.

As Chengzong aged it became clear that he his mind was failing. For some proof of this was found in his decision to elevate his debauched first son to the position of heir apparent. For others it was found in his decision to vest supreme military authority in his second son. While Chengzong breathed the situation could be managed but with his death in 1881, civil war descended upon the Empire. The Yongli Emperor his first son started hostilities by murdering most of his siblings. The Emperor’s second son, the newly-minted Xiaowu Emperor took exception to this and the murder of his wives and children and rallied the armies around the capital to his standard. The Yongli Emperor never realising the danger made no effort to escape his doomed capital which the Xiaowu encircled and proceeded to reduce.

Nanjing fell in six months. The Yongli Emperor survived as long as he did through the assistance of certain Europeans. At the end of it all, the Yongli Emperor died along with most of his family. His eldest daughter survived her wounds. The Xiaowu Emperor took pity on his niece and deigned to kill her and instead married her to assuage loyalist elements in the provinces. Unable to revenge himself against his brother, the Xiaowu Emperor settled for killing all the Europeans in the city. Having done that, the Xiaowu Emperor sank into despondency and depression. His niece, the Empress Ju, ruled for the most part in his steed. Under her firm hand, the Empire prospered. But the Empress Ju for all her strengths at home proved weak abroad. In 1888, the third Thai attempt on the Khmer succeeded. Not content with that, the Thai pressed against the Mekong taking it in 1890 and campaigned into Vietnam in the following two years. The Xiaowu Emperor took notice of this and in a lightning campaign drove the Thai back to the Mekong. But he became sick once more and the Empress Ju ceased hostilities with the Thai.

The year is now 1900. The Xiaowu still sits on the throne. But the Empress Ju rules for all intents and purposes. Under her rule the Empire has seen its steel production increase by 200 per cent, coal production rise by 500 per cent, machine spun textiles production increase by 1000 per cent and railway length increase from 2000 kilometers in 1890 to 5000 kilometers in 1900. For all these gains, Chinese industrial production remains modest on a per capita basis. But in absolute terms, Chinese production dwarfs all but the very largest European states. Even so, the north remains poorly integrated and the Empire for all its strength is only just now going through the growing pains associated in industrialization. The war with the Thai is also unresolved as the Empress Ju never concluded a peace.

The Europeans who were cowed by Xiaowu’s massacre in 1882 are regaining their confidence and pushing for an opening of trade. The Xiaowu Emperor for his part opposes it. Empress Ju on the other hand is rather more tolerant of Europeans. It is rumored that she is even a secret Christian although few credit this rumor.
 
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