Republic of Cathei

## Republic of Cathei神洲民國

Flag of the Republic. Would later inspire the flag of the WKF

* (Shénzhōu Mínguó)
* (Shenchow Minkuo)

Chairman of the National Revolutionary Government
國民革命政府委員長

President of the Executive Yuan
行政院院長

* name here (first)
* name here (last)

The **Republic of Cathei** (CH: 神洲民國) was the first republic in Kalshei, having came into existence following the Yisi Revolution (CH: 干支革命) of 1905. Almost immediately, it fell to warlordism, and no faction ever managed to reunite the whole country until the Kanikawa Shogunate's invasion formally put an end to the Republic in the 1940s.

## History

### Background

By the 19th century, Cathei was lagging behind the outside world, with Eredanese imperialists, the Lemetiate of Airolia and Kanikawa Shogunate of Zenshan all encroaching on Cathei's sovereignty. While foreign presence had existed for a few centuries (Aogang), imperialism intensified in the 19th century, beginning with the Kanikawan invasion of Kon Thiet ("Kanikawa" is not the name of the country) and Prithanian occupation of Senhaiwei.

Throughout the next few decades, foreigners seized "concessions", built railways, and eroded Cathei's tariff autonomy. The Eredanese had no intent on conquering the large island (though the Kanikawa and Airolians had such ambitions), instead preferring to divide the country into unofficial spheres of influence to take advantage of its large market and abundant resources. The Jianpan Rebellion (CH: 踐番起義) of 1900 and subsequent 1902 Treaty of International Legations led to the creation of the International Legations in Cathei, further fueling Cathese nationalism

In foreign concessions and settlements, the native Cathese were treated as second-class citizens and not allowed to live in certain areas. Foreign missionaries were free to preach and set up their respective churches, and foreigners committing crimes in Cathei were not subject to Cathese law.

### Yisi Revolution

In 1905, a mutiny broke out in Shaoqing, capital of Chajiang Province. The mutineers stormed the Governor's office and seized control of the province. In the subsequent weeks, 7 other provinces broke away from central authority in Xijing declared their support for the rebels. Marshall Shi Zhenxiang was made commander of the military and ordered to crush the revolution, but he instead struck out a deal with the revolutionaries to overthrow the government in exchange for becoming President of the new Republic

### Yangxi Government and beginning of warlordism

Shi Zhenxiang stayed in his powerbase, Xijing. He ruled as a military dictator, as his modernized, Kanikawa-styled army pledged allegiance to Shi himself, rather than to any government or country. As Shi Zhenxiang and many of his high ranking officers were from the Yangxi province, his regime was called the **Yangxi Government**. The Yangxi Government sought closer ties and borrowed heavily from the Kanikawa Shogunate, even signing several humiliating unequal treaties. Because of this, Shi and the Yangxi Government were widely condemned as traitors

In face of this, the former rebels reorganized and became the National League (Kuomin Tongmeng or Guomin Tongmeng 國民同盟), a nationalist, republican vanguard party with its core tenants being "Expelling the imperialists, defeating the warlords, equal land rights and implementing republican democracy" (驅除列強,打倒軍閥,平均地權,建設共和). With the support of several southern warlords, a Second Revolution was launched in 1907, and while it failed to topple the Yangxi government, Xijing's control over the southern provinces was fully ended. In the next decades, while northern Cathei remained united under Shi's Yangxi government and its successors, southern Cathei would see numerous warlord cliques and revolutionary movements vying for power.

When Shi Tang "abolished" the Republic and declared the northern provinces the "Yangxi Empire", the other warlords did not recognize the "emperor" and maintained the name "Republic of Cathei".

### Intensified warlordism and Kanikawa incursion

Shi Zhenxiang died in 1911 and was succeeded by his inexperienced Kanikawaphile son, Shi Tang. Many of the Yangxi Government's warlords did not respect Shi Tang and broke off to form their own cliques, such as the Fangxi Clique under General Zhu Kaishen; and the Meixiang Clique under General Yuan Ruizhang, thus further intensifying the warlord era.

Being a Kanikawaphile, Shi Tang hired more Zenshanese "advisors" and generals to help govern and administrate his realm, replacing his Xia Cathese warlords. This drove most of his warlords to rebelling and/or defecting to other warlord factions. Shi Tang had to hire more Zenshanese administrators to replace them, causing a cycle that resulted in most of the Yangxi Government's commanders consisting of Shogunate military personnel. Shi Tang was seen as a traitor selling out the country to foreigners.

### National League and "Yangxi Empire"

In the South, the National League sought to defeat the warlords and restore Cathese sovereignty, though it lacked organization and military power, and need foreign support. Airolia was a prime choice due to its geographical proximity and opposition to the Shogunate, though Cathese were rightfully wary of Airolian interests and imperialism in both Kalshei and beyond. Other alternatives were Soviet Iljekya, a pariah state in Eredan, and Cadrillist Lesovia, whose new regime had willingly relinquished its colonial possessions in exchange for gold and resources. The National League reorganized itself into a vanguard party based on the Iljekyan Communist Party and United Lesovia, implementing measures including political officers (黨委軍務協調使) in the military, a propaganda department, and a youth organization, among other things. Iljek, Lesovian and Airolian military advisors were also hired to train soldiers, though they were monitored and never given actual command.

In 1923, under the "advice" of his Zenshanese advisors, Shi Tang "abolished" the Republic and declared the northern provinces under his rule the "Yangxi Empire", with him being the "Emperor". By then, the majority of his commanders and administrators were Zenshanese military officers. Shi Tang even created a "Dai Shogun" (大將軍) to govern the realm in his name. Unsurprisingly, the "Shoguns" were all Zenshanese generals. The "Yangxi Empire" had become a colony of the Shogunate in all but name. In 1925, the National League, allied with several warlords, launched the Northern Expedition against the "Yangxi Empire".

## Provinces

Cathei was divided into 16 Provinces (Dao or Tao 道, alternatively known as Circuits), beneath which were Counties (Xian or Hs'ian 縣, alternatively known as Prefectures) and Cities (Fu 府), the basic territorial administrative units. The Counties governed rural areas, and the Cities governed urban areas. The Governor of a province (Xingzheng Zongjian 行政總監) has power over the province's military, political and financial affairs, leading to warlordism in Cathei.