Xisheng: Difference between revisions

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===Autonomy under the Army of Conquest===  
===Autonomy under the Army of Conquest===  
[[File:Yuan Shikai in uniform.jpg|thumb|Hong Huanxiong, Great Marshal of the [[Army of Conquest]] in the early 20th century.]]
[[File:Yuan Shikai in uniform.jpg|thumb|Hong Huanxiong, Great Marshal of the [[Army of Conquest]] in the early 20th century.]]
The military requirements of the campaigns of the Qian dynasty in [[Australis]] and internal revolts in the mainland necessitated by 1770 the gradual withdrawal and redeployment of regular Qian forces from Xisheng. To maintain a sufficiently strong force of deterrence in the colony, the Qian bureaucracy empowered the Governor-General, the local elites and the [[Xisheng Trading Company]] to recruit and equip its own military formations. Ostensibly under the authority of the Ministry of War, in practice these private armies were obedient only to whoever armed and paid them. After a period of tension and skirmishes, a realignment of the interests of local actors led to a process of centralization that coalesced all disparate armies into a single entity dubbed the [[Army of Conquest]]. By the 1850's the power of the [[Army of Conquest]] began to outpace the capacity of the factions that created it to maintain their control over it. The military authority of successive Governor-Generals crumbled away as they only had direct control over at most two thousand troops, the [[Army of Conquest]] numbered some 30,000 at this point. The impetus to construct the [[Great Arsenal]] allowed the army to build its own arms factories and foundries in Xisheng to equip its forces, becoming an entirely self sufficient native military force. With private financial support, the [[Army of Conquest]] founded the Xisheng Military College to train its own officer cadres independently from the Qian army. This institution recruited from all the layers of settler society regardless of class and instructed them in the army's political goals of territorial expansion, strategic autonomy from the mainland and local hegemony over civilian authorities. The most famous alumni of this institution was [[Hong Huanxiong]] who eventually rose to the highest rank attainable in the army. In 1891 Hong secured the governorship of Xisheng in exchange for a payment of two million silver coins to the Grand Vizier, thus finally combining the nominal supreme political authority of the Governor-General and the military power of the Great Marshal of the [[Army of Conquest]]. Hong's authority was now so great that he began enacting a program to disempower the [[Xisheng Trading Company]] by seizing many of the critical assets it had built or acquired for decades, including railways, factories and ports; in this way Hong began securing the productive and economic base for himself and was no longer dependent on the approval of the plutocrats. The sudden and forceful loss of its vast holdings in Xisheng led the [[South Seas Development Company|South Seas Trading Company]] into a downward spiral that forced it to divest itself of other assets in order to raise funds to survive, one such asset was the [[Harmonious Flotilla Invincible]] which it could no longer afford to operate autonomously; the fleet was sold to the Qian navy at a significant loss.
The military requirements of the campaigns of the Qian dynasty in [[Australis]] and internal revolts in the mainland necessitated by 1770 the gradual withdrawal and redeployment of regular Qian forces from Xisheng. To maintain a sufficiently strong force of deterrence in the colony, the Qian bureaucracy empowered the Governor-General, the local elites and the [[Xisheng Trading Company]] to recruit and equip its own military formations. Ostensibly under the authority of the Ministry of War, in practice these private armies were obedient only to whoever armed and paid them. After a period of tension and skirmishes, a realignment of the interests of local actors led to a process of centralization that coalesced all disparate armies into a single entity dubbed the [[Army of Conquest]]. By the 1850's the power of the [[Army of Conquest]] began to outpace the capacity of the factions that created it to maintain their control over it. The military authority of successive Governor-Generals crumbled away as they only had direct control over at most two thousand troops, the [[Army of Conquest]] numbered some 30,000 at this point. The impetus to construct the [[Great Arsenal]] allowed the army to build its own arms factories and foundries in Xisheng to equip its forces, becoming an entirely self sufficient native military force. With private financial support, the [[Army of Conquest]] founded the Xisheng Military College to train its own officer cadres independently from the Qian army. This institution recruited from all the layers of settler society regardless of class and instructed them in the army's political goals of territorial expansion, strategic autonomy from the mainland and local hegemony over civilian authorities. The most famous alumni of this institution was [[Hong Huanxiong]] who eventually rose to the highest rank attainable in the army. In 1891 Hong secured the governorship of Xisheng in exchange for a payment of two million silver coins to the Grand Vizier and a notarized promise not to seek more autonomy, thus finally combining the nominal supreme political authority of the Governor-General and the military power of the Great Marshal of the [[Army of Conquest]], he also ignored the eight year limit for serving as governor. Hong's authority was now so great that he began enacting a program to disempower the [[Xisheng Trading Company]] by seizing many of the critical assets it had built or acquired for decades, including railways, factories and ports; in this way Hong began securing the productive and economic base for himself and was no longer beholden to the approval of the plutocrats. The sudden and forceful loss of its vast holdings in Xisheng led the [[South Seas Development Company|South Seas Trading Company]] into a downward spiral that forced it to divest itself of other assets in order to raise funds to survive, one such asset was the [[Harmonious Flotilla Invincible]] which it could no longer afford to operate autonomously; the fleet was sold to the Qian navy at a significant loss.
 
By 1905 Hong Huanxiong was interested in expanding his territory to northern [[Varshan]]
===The Deluge===
===The Deluge===
attack western territories of [[Nanzitolclatl|Nanzitolclatl]], addition of southern territories
attack western territories of [[Nanzitolclatl|Nanzitolclatl]], addition of southern territories