Zhijun: Difference between revisions

The Late Qian era saw renewed attention on the island by metropolitan authorities due to its perceived vulnerability to naval attack during the [[Second Great War]]. One of the junior commanders of [[Daxia]]n forces during the [[Stenzan War of Independence|Peratran War of Independence]], General [[Tang Jun]] was appointed as Imperial Viceroy in place of a bureaucrat to prepare the island for the possibility of attack. Tang Jun imposed a heavy handed military government which at first led to periodic outbreaks of civil disobedience and [[Green Army|armed rebellion]]. Eventually Jun's grip was tightened enough that finally order was restored across all of the island. Tang Jun successfully defended Zhijun during the course of the war and maintained it as a crucial naval base to prevent Allied encroachments. The end of the war and the collapse of the Qian dynasty with [[Hongli]]'s abdication in 1946 left Tang Jun at a crossroads: accept the new government led by the army putschists or declare Zhijun's autonomy or even independence. In the end his loyalty to the dynasty and his personal antipathy for [[Qiu Heng]] resulted in him publicly rejecting the new government as illegitimate, furthermore declaring that Zhijun was still under the authority of the Qian dynasty and would remain a separate entity until the imperial family was reinstated to power. Tang Jun was able to prevent a takeover of the island thanks in part of his good relations with the commanding officers of the [[Australis]] Naval squadron, which was one of [[Daxia]]'s strongest fleets. The mainland government declared Jun a traitor and criminal but were unable to mount an effort to oust him that had any real chance of success. In the meantime Jun maintained the fiction of Qian loyalty by continuing to don the robes of an imperial viceroy and printing money with [[Hongli]]'s picture, all the while he toyed seriously with the idea of declaring total independence. The crisis was only resolved in 1950 when [[Qiu Heng]] sent secret messages to the commanding officers of Tang's fleet, threatening their families in the mainland with arrest and worse unless they sailed the fleet back to [[Daxia]]. The threat worked and suddenly Tang Jun found himself bereft of his shield at sea. Faced now with the real possibility of invasion, Tang Jun filled a passenger plane with all the currency he could from the regional treasury and flew to exile in [[Takatta Loa]]; afterwards he was lampooned in the press as the 'flying kitty'.

The end of the Hluttaw Rebellion saw a negotiated settlement take place and the co-optation and installation of [[Green Army]] bureaucrats as the island's administrators and their institutionalization as part of the [[Daxia]]n government. The new peace brought increased attention and federal funds to develop the island, with the [[South Seas Development Company]] building sugar refineries and the government increasing infrastructure spending that resulted in port facilities, waterworks, power stations, paved roads, schools and entertainment facilities being built. The increased amenities coupled with fiscal and monetary incentive began attracting more people to move the islands.