Daxia: Difference between revisions

[[Siege of Ayermer]]

====Glorious Revolt and military rule====

The Daxian involvement ended amid acrimony and disagreement between the army and the monarchy, many objectives had not been met for the cost that was paid. The army was under the control of two strongmen, [[Dai Hanjian]] and [[Qiu Heng]]. Both ended the war as full generals and popular ones at that, they were the main planners and executors of the offensives in west [[Audonia]], the [[Caldera]] operation and the reclaiming of [[Cheun|Ayermer]]. [[Qiu Heng]] was made chief of staff of the land forces one year after the end of hostilities, both to to install someone seen as a monarchist and to restore the confidence of the army in the leadership. Both him and his colleague [[Dai Hanjian]] believed the home front had been badly neglected by the imperial government and the drug addled emperor [[Hongli]]. They especially disliked the growing popularity of democratic and socialist movements and their demands for a liberalization of the political system. To many in the military, the imperial system and bureaucracy had stopped being a guarantee of stability and transformed into a liability that stood in the way of dealing with internal agitators. The two officers created a secret society named the [[Lodge of the Righteous Serpents]] to gather like minded officers and overthrow the Imperial system and replace it with a military dictatorship. On December 16th 1946 tank columns aligned with the lodge entered the capital from all sides while squads of soldiers went took over ministries. Other groups went to the houses of ministers to arrest them, the minister of defense was shot and killed after he tried to resist his captors. [[Qiu Heng]] himself led the takeover of the imperial palace and the capture of [[Hongli]], forcing the imperial guards to surrender under the threat the emperor and his family would be executed once the palace was inevitably taken. The coup was carried out in two hours and resulted in minimal casualties on both sides, stemming from the element of complete surprise achieved by the putschists and unwillingness on the part of many soldiers to defend the failing monarchy. An ecstatic [[Dai Hanjian]] took to the airwaves and announced the [[Glorious Revolt]] had succeeded and the era of dynastic rule had come to a definitive end; he declared the formation of the Committee of National Restoration that would lead the country with himself as its head and [[Qiu Heng]] as his deputy.