Hongli
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| Hongli | |
|---|---|
 Emperor Hongli in 1944 | |
| Emperor of the Heavenly Empire of Daxia | |
| Reign | 1938 - 1946 |
| Predecessor | Emperor Zhishun |
| Successor | Office abolished Emperor Rui (Pretender) |
| Born | March 18th 1895 Palace of Columns, Mirzak, Daxia |
| Spouse | Anru Keuto |
| Issue | Rui, Puru, Kosei |
| House | Royal Qian clan |
| Father | Emperor Zhishun |
| Mother | Empress Enfu |
Emperor Hongli (18 March 1895 - 22 September 1948) nicknamed His Joyful Majesty was the twelfth and last emperor of the Qian dynasty to rule over Daxia. His reign lasted from 1938 to 1946, having succeeded his father Emperor Zhishun after the latters death. Ascending to the imperial throne during the height of the Second Great War, he continued his predecessors anti-Levantine policies and pushed for continued participation in the war. Daxian failure to achieve its major war goals, the rapidly deteriorating economic situation and the rising agitation of socialist forces caused the army led by general Dai Hanjian to carry out a coup in 1946. Dubbed the Glorious Revolt, it marked the end of the Qian dynasty and of the millenarian rule of Daxia by monarchs. Hongli was placed under house arrest until 1948 when he died of complications of diabetes; his teenage son and heir fortuitously was not in the capital when the coup took place and was secreted out of the country; he was later reunited with his mother. Hongli's royal consort, Princess Keuto of Metzetta was allowed to depart back to her homeland with two of the emperor's daughters after renouncing any imperial pretenses on their behalf. Modern evaluations of Hongli see him as an ineffective leader too fixated in the war that dominated the early part of his reign, allowing internal events to spiral out of control and destroy the monarchy.
Early life
Hongli was born in 1895 in the Palace of Columns, seven kilometres west of Mirzak. He was the second son of Emperor Zhishun, his mother was Empress Enfu. Hongli's elder brother died of tuberculosis when Hongli was seven, making Hongli the heir apparent to the imperial throne. Hongli was educated by private tutors in the Palace of Columns and spent the majority of his time there, going to the capital on rare occasions. He disdained traditional royal pursuits such as calligraphy and poetry, preferring hunting and womanizing in his leisure time. Upon reaching the age of fifteen he was enrolled in the Imperial War Academy, graduating after four years and being commissioned as a lieutenant in the imperial army. His father insisted he pursue further education at the War College, but Hongli declined by saying that while he loved the Army, the lifestyle of a soldier was too constraining for a future statesman. As crown prince Hongli was moderately interested in the development of the military and was endlessly fascinated by the strides Daxia had made in its military modernization and construction of the Great Arsenal. In 1915 he was married to Princess Anru Keuto of Metzetta, seventh child of Emperor Ingun-Hu. The imperial couple had three children between 1917 and 1922, the crown prince Rui and his sisters Puru and Kosei. Hongli's many vices and inattentiveness resulted in an unhappy marriage, but the alliance between Daxia and Metzetta would continue.
Reign
Emperor Zhishun died in the autumn of 1938 after a long illness. Hongli, then 44, was crowned Emperor at the ancestral city of Daguo amid great pomp. Hongli's accession was wanted by many in the military, who believed his fascination with the Army, would allow him to be steered towards more militarist policies.