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China's Great Leap Forward
Yang Long's first few months as Chancellor of China would be marked by the proclamation of the "Great Leap Forward", a program to help end the economic depression in China, ensure a more progressive government for China, and strengthen China's power overseas. As part of the Great Leap Forward, during Yang Long's first three years in office, the government instituted a series of radical reforms to the Chinese economy including a limited universal healthcare system, a social security system, regulations to prevent monopolies from springing up in businesses, a minimum wage law, and a ban on children under 13 from working and restricting child labor of children under 16. In addition to this, the government instituted a program of public works including a massive program to develop Xiboliyan infrastructure as to make exploitation of Xiboliya's resources faster and more efficient to fuel the industrial machine of Shun China. It was also during this time that Han Chinese began migrating to Xiboliya as the "first wave" of settlers had largely been Sinicized Jurchens. Other highlights of the Great Leap Forward's infrastructure program included the Chinese government deciding to dam the major rivers of China to control flooding of the major rivers as a result of the damage caused by the 1931 Yangtze Flood, which claimed up to 1,000,000 lives and helped cause China's economic crisis along with the French Flu. Party politics in China were also going through a dramatic shift as Yang Long's faction of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress and the moderate faction of the Democratic Union Party found they had many things in common during the coalition government. On September 2, 1934, Yang Long's faction of the ADP and Kang Shui's moderate faction of the Democratic Union Party formally merged into the Progressive Union Party (Mínzhǔ jìnbù liánméng dǎng) with the radical faction of the DUP led by Xiang Guiying forming the Unitarian Party of China and the rump Alliance for Democracy and Progress forming a coalition arrangement with the Constitutional Protection Alliance. The Jiaqing Emperor called for early elections which were held on October 21, 1934. Said elections were a landslide for the Progressive Union Party as it won 402 of the 684 seats in the Chinese legislature while the Unitarian Party of China won 75 seats, the rump Alliance for Democracy and Progress won 58 seats, the Constitutional Protection Alliance won 63 seats, the National Salvation League won 70 seats, and the Jurchen People's Party (Nuzhen Renmin Dang), a regionalist party representing Jurchen interests won 16 seats. The victory of the PUP gave Yang Long a new popular mandate for passing more progressive reforms as well.
While China was reforming itself during this time, it's time to note that it also was active foreign policy-wise as the Shun Chinese had supported a nationalist uprising in the Ryukyu islands during the Japanese Revolution and a referendum was scheduled for 1934 on whether the Ryukyus would join China or remain independent with the referendum voting 55-45 on union with China (albeit with some autonomy over local affairs). As a response to the formation of the Commonwealth in the "Act of Union", Shun China formed the East Asian Security Association (EASA) in the Treaty of Xiamen (February 26, 1936) with Lan Xang, Dai Viet, Korea, Siam, Burma, Assam, and Brunei as founding members of said alliance. Aceh was supposedly meant to be part of the EASA until the Coup of September 2, 1935, in which a Purple Unitarian regime was installed in Aceh with said regime combining Purple Unitarianism with fanatical Islam and was a pariah in the region. In addition, Shun China forged close ties with the government of Visegrad as well during this time as well. Lusang, initially reluctant to join the EASA, joined the EASA in 1937 due to the increasingly radical nature of the Union of Japan with the Shun Chinese roping in the Khanates of Yarkand and Tibet into the alliance at around the same time. Now, the Orient was locked in a "Silent War" between India and China.
Princess Li Wei, heir to the Dragon Throne after the Royal Succession Edict of 1933
Unfortunately, not all was well in Shun China as the Jiaqing Emperor had no sons, only two daughters, Princess Li Wei, who was born in 1913, and Princess Li Ai, who was born in 1919. The Jiaqing Emperor in 1933 enacted an edict changing the royal succession so if the Emperor had no sons, his first-born daughter could become Empress. Under the Royal Succession Edict, Li Wei would become Empress of China, the first since Wu Zeitan, after the death of the Jiaqing Emperor in 1952. Needless to say, traditionalist elements in the Chinese elite were unhappy with this, especially Prince Li Jin, the Jiaqing Emperor's younger brother. Li Jin also had ties to ultra-nationalist/Purple Unitarian groups like the Empire Renewal Movement (Diguo Fuxing Yundong) and was seen as the "black sheep" among the Emperor's younger brothers as Princes Li Yu, Li Su, and Li Shuren were largely supportive of the Jiaqing Emperor's progressive policies. In conjunction with like-minded officers and far-right politicians, Prince Li Jin plotted a coup to "renew" the Shun Empire along Purple Unitarian lines with himself as Emperor. The date of the coup was set for July 7, 1937. On that day, the plotters who had banded together under the banner of the "Empire Renewal Movement" planned to assassinate senior politicians who they viewed as "selling the Empire out" and then seize power. Unfortunately, the Empire Renewal Movement's plot was revealed by the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei), Cai Xuegang, who had been in contact with the plotters through a network of secret agents as the Jinyiwei had been the intelligence network tasked with dealing with "enemies of the state" during both the Ming and the Shun Dynasties
On that day, the Empire Renewal Movement tried to assassinate many senior government officials but most of their assassination attempts were unsuccessful as the senior officials targeted had been warned beforehand and loyalist forces, led by the Jinyiwei, quickly crushed the "Empire Renewal Movement" and arrested their leaders, restoring order in Beijing. In the aftermath of the 7/7 coup attempt, Yang Long, Li Xiu, and Cai Xuegang quickly moved to purge the Shun Empire of the "Empire Renewal Movement" and their sympathizers to prevent anything like this from ever occurring again in the Shun Empire. The trials against the coup plotters were swift but effective as first the junior officers who had carried out the plot and then the senior officers and scholar-officials who had supported and planned the coup went before the special tribunal which had been established for the purpose of trying the coup plotters and was under the jurisdiction of the Jinyiwei. The verdict was the same in almost all cases in that they were found guilty and sentenced to death. Finally, Prince Li Jin, who had been stripped of his rank and titles by the Shun government, appeared before the court on February 1938. He gave a speech in which he defended what he did as he did so "in the name of the Chinese nation and the Great Shun Dynasty" from "degeneracy". His speech before the special court fell on deaf ears and on March 2, 1938, Prince Li Jin was led from his cell in Beijing and beheaded in the prison yard. Aside from newspapers publishing short articles on his execution and some members of the Shun Imperial Court wearing clothes of mourning, that day was a normal day for the people of Shun China. His execution marked the final destruction of the Empire Renewal Movement as many generals, scholar-officials, and officers who had supported it had been executed before him. Another major event in 1938 was that elections were due to be held on September 1. With Yang Long's party being very popular, few expected any surprises with the elections as Yang Long was set to win another term as Chancellor with his PUP winning 389 of the 684 seats up for grabs.
China's Great Leap Forward: Yang Long's first term
Yang Long had been named Chancellor of China by Li Xiu, the Jiaqing Emperor, in order to solve the economic crisis that China had due to the French Flu. Although China had been less affected by the French Flu and the economic crisis which followed than most countries in Europe or the Vespuccias, Shun China was still affected by the economic crisis as extremist movements had arisen in Shun China and the Japanese Revolution had led to fears of extremist movements taking power in China. Yang Long set to work forming a coalition government between the Alliance for Democracy and Progress and the Democratic Union Party immediately after the Jiaqing Emperor named him Chancellor of China. Yang Long's coalition government would consist of 8 ADP members and 12 DUP members named as Grand Secretaries. The new government of Yang Long would have many challenges ahead for them in the years to come but Yang Long's period as Chancellor would help define modern China for decades to come along with Kang Shui, leader of the Democratic Union Party, becoming Grand Secretary of the Revenue.
Kang Shui, head of the Democratic Union Party
Yang Long had been named Chancellor of China by Li Xiu, the Jiaqing Emperor, in order to solve the economic crisis that China had due to the French Flu. Although China had been less affected by the French Flu and the economic crisis which followed than most countries in Europe or the Vespuccias, Shun China was still affected by the economic crisis as extremist movements had arisen in Shun China and the Japanese Revolution had led to fears of extremist movements taking power in China. Yang Long set to work forming a coalition government between the Alliance for Democracy and Progress and the Democratic Union Party immediately after the Jiaqing Emperor named him Chancellor of China. Yang Long's coalition government would consist of 8 ADP members and 12 DUP members named as Grand Secretaries. The new government of Yang Long would have many challenges ahead for them in the years to come but Yang Long's period as Chancellor would help define modern China for decades to come along with Kang Shui, leader of the Democratic Union Party, becoming Grand Secretary of the Revenue.
Kang Shui, head of the Democratic Union Party
Yang Long's first few months as Chancellor of China would be marked by the proclamation of the "Great Leap Forward", a program to help end the economic depression in China, ensure a more progressive government for China, and strengthen China's power overseas. As part of the Great Leap Forward, during Yang Long's first three years in office, the government instituted a series of radical reforms to the Chinese economy including a limited universal healthcare system, a social security system, regulations to prevent monopolies from springing up in businesses, a minimum wage law, and a ban on children under 13 from working and restricting child labor of children under 16. In addition to this, the government instituted a program of public works including a massive program to develop Xiboliyan infrastructure as to make exploitation of Xiboliya's resources faster and more efficient to fuel the industrial machine of Shun China. It was also during this time that Han Chinese began migrating to Xiboliya as the "first wave" of settlers had largely been Sinicized Jurchens. Other highlights of the Great Leap Forward's infrastructure program included the Chinese government deciding to dam the major rivers of China to control flooding of the major rivers as a result of the damage caused by the 1931 Yangtze Flood, which claimed up to 1,000,000 lives and helped cause China's economic crisis along with the French Flu. Party politics in China were also going through a dramatic shift as Yang Long's faction of the Alliance for Democracy and Progress and the moderate faction of the Democratic Union Party found they had many things in common during the coalition government. On September 2, 1934, Yang Long's faction of the ADP and Kang Shui's moderate faction of the Democratic Union Party formally merged into the Progressive Union Party (Mínzhǔ jìnbù liánméng dǎng) with the radical faction of the DUP led by Xiang Guiying forming the Unitarian Party of China and the rump Alliance for Democracy and Progress forming a coalition arrangement with the Constitutional Protection Alliance. The Jiaqing Emperor called for early elections which were held on October 21, 1934. Said elections were a landslide for the Progressive Union Party as it won 402 of the 684 seats in the Chinese legislature while the Unitarian Party of China won 75 seats, the rump Alliance for Democracy and Progress won 58 seats, the Constitutional Protection Alliance won 63 seats, the National Salvation League won 70 seats, and the Jurchen People's Party (Nuzhen Renmin Dang), a regionalist party representing Jurchen interests won 16 seats. The victory of the PUP gave Yang Long a new popular mandate for passing more progressive reforms as well.
While China was reforming itself during this time, it's time to note that it also was active foreign policy-wise as the Shun Chinese had supported a nationalist uprising in the Ryukyu islands during the Japanese Revolution and a referendum was scheduled for 1934 on whether the Ryukyus would join China or remain independent with the referendum voting 55-45 on union with China (albeit with some autonomy over local affairs). As a response to the formation of the Commonwealth in the "Act of Union", Shun China formed the East Asian Security Association (EASA) in the Treaty of Xiamen (February 26, 1936) with Lan Xang, Dai Viet, Korea, Siam, Burma, Assam, and Brunei as founding members of said alliance. Aceh was supposedly meant to be part of the EASA until the Coup of September 2, 1935, in which a Purple Unitarian regime was installed in Aceh with said regime combining Purple Unitarianism with fanatical Islam and was a pariah in the region. In addition, Shun China forged close ties with the government of Visegrad as well during this time as well. Lusang, initially reluctant to join the EASA, joined the EASA in 1937 due to the increasingly radical nature of the Union of Japan with the Shun Chinese roping in the Khanates of Yarkand and Tibet into the alliance at around the same time. Now, the Orient was locked in a "Silent War" between India and China.
Princess Li Wei, heir to the Dragon Throne after the Royal Succession Edict of 1933
Unfortunately, not all was well in Shun China as the Jiaqing Emperor had no sons, only two daughters, Princess Li Wei, who was born in 1913, and Princess Li Ai, who was born in 1919. The Jiaqing Emperor in 1933 enacted an edict changing the royal succession so if the Emperor had no sons, his first-born daughter could become Empress. Under the Royal Succession Edict, Li Wei would become Empress of China, the first since Wu Zeitan, after the death of the Jiaqing Emperor in 1952. Needless to say, traditionalist elements in the Chinese elite were unhappy with this, especially Prince Li Jin, the Jiaqing Emperor's younger brother. Li Jin also had ties to ultra-nationalist/Purple Unitarian groups like the Empire Renewal Movement (Diguo Fuxing Yundong) and was seen as the "black sheep" among the Emperor's younger brothers as Princes Li Yu, Li Su, and Li Shuren were largely supportive of the Jiaqing Emperor's progressive policies. In conjunction with like-minded officers and far-right politicians, Prince Li Jin plotted a coup to "renew" the Shun Empire along Purple Unitarian lines with himself as Emperor. The date of the coup was set for July 7, 1937. On that day, the plotters who had banded together under the banner of the "Empire Renewal Movement" planned to assassinate senior politicians who they viewed as "selling the Empire out" and then seize power. Unfortunately, the Empire Renewal Movement's plot was revealed by the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei), Cai Xuegang, who had been in contact with the plotters through a network of secret agents as the Jinyiwei had been the intelligence network tasked with dealing with "enemies of the state" during both the Ming and the Shun Dynasties
On that day, the Empire Renewal Movement tried to assassinate many senior government officials but most of their assassination attempts were unsuccessful as the senior officials targeted had been warned beforehand and loyalist forces, led by the Jinyiwei, quickly crushed the "Empire Renewal Movement" and arrested their leaders, restoring order in Beijing. In the aftermath of the 7/7 coup attempt, Yang Long, Li Xiu, and Cai Xuegang quickly moved to purge the Shun Empire of the "Empire Renewal Movement" and their sympathizers to prevent anything like this from ever occurring again in the Shun Empire. The trials against the coup plotters were swift but effective as first the junior officers who had carried out the plot and then the senior officers and scholar-officials who had supported and planned the coup went before the special tribunal which had been established for the purpose of trying the coup plotters and was under the jurisdiction of the Jinyiwei. The verdict was the same in almost all cases in that they were found guilty and sentenced to death. Finally, Prince Li Jin, who had been stripped of his rank and titles by the Shun government, appeared before the court on February 1938. He gave a speech in which he defended what he did as he did so "in the name of the Chinese nation and the Great Shun Dynasty" from "degeneracy". His speech before the special court fell on deaf ears and on March 2, 1938, Prince Li Jin was led from his cell in Beijing and beheaded in the prison yard. Aside from newspapers publishing short articles on his execution and some members of the Shun Imperial Court wearing clothes of mourning, that day was a normal day for the people of Shun China. His execution marked the final destruction of the Empire Renewal Movement as many generals, scholar-officials, and officers who had supported it had been executed before him. Another major event in 1938 was that elections were due to be held on September 1. With Yang Long's party being very popular, few expected any surprises with the elections as Yang Long was set to win another term as Chancellor with his PUP winning 389 of the 684 seats up for grabs.
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