Chu Shangli

Military Service

Battle of Peikang (1930)

Chu Shangli (忠上例) (10th December 1887 - 19th August 1978) was a Zhi Dynasty era politician and military officer of Lion Rank. He served as the Chancellor of Zhi, and temporary leader of the Baohuang Dang (Protection of the Emperor Party), the wartime government of Zhi. Leading the nation with his old friend and political ally the Huanzhou Emperor, meeting the Emperor during his years in exile. He famously gave public speeches around Zhi, and did his best to keep the nation united against their enemies.

## Biography

### Early Life

Chu Shangli was born in Shaotai to a peasent family, in 1883. His mother and father gained from the Taiqing Rebellion by purchasing a farm in southern Zhenjiang. This allowed his family to begin crawling out of poverty due to the deeply unpopular "Grain Edict", when the government would enact punitive taxes against the rebellious southern provinces to fuel agricultural subsidies and expansion. This propelled the family to a middle class lifestyle, and made Shangli loyal to the Imperial Throne. His father, an overt Zheng nationalist and Republican, would regularly dodge Imperial taxes and join anti Zhi movements formed in the decades following the Taiqing. When the Imperial Standard Army were relegated to a policing role following the begining of the Army Reformation, they had a backlog of cases, and sent officers to the Chu home. Shangli was tending the farm as the soldiers arrived, and professed loyalty to the Zhi Throne. To repent for his father's sins, he volunteered for the unpopular New Army program, allowing his family to avoid the dreaded "Line Execution". He was sent to Mingwei for training and initialisation into the New Army.

### Quanguo Army

When he arrived at the Mingwei Province, drilling began immediately. He was attached to the 1st Army, 32nd Infantry, 4th Battalion. He was introduced to a figure that would become infamous in Zhi's history, Genzu Baozhen. As Shangli's commander, Genzu was a ruthless commander, but an efficient one. In Shangli's memoirs, published as "Loyal till the End" Chu wrote

> "When I first met the future Chancellor, I had a feeling that he would one day rise to power. Very popular and famous in the Imperial Court, with whispers that he was personally appointed by the Emperor. These were false, as I would find out with hindsight. The man made the First Army into his Clique, fanatical to him, and not Shaotai. A dominating figure, Baozhen was the sort of man that no one could disobey."
>
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While training, Shangli became famous for his poetry and refined taste in combat doctrine, earning him the respect of Baozhen. Conflicting reports state that the two were extremely friendly, combined with Shangli's very neutral commentary of Baozhen in his book. This would lead to his privileged position in Baozhen's regime. The First Army served against Treko, performing admirably, and many heroic exploits were recorded by Shangli. Baozhen increased the man's political power dramatically.

### The Favoured Commander

On 1918, Chu was promoted to Tiger level officer, making him the Fourth Battalion Commander. This promotion was unprecidented, and was partially due to his friendship with Baozhen. He would continue to distinguish himself against Treko, commanding his forces in a conservative way to best make use of the defensive terrain. He would even attend court for the Huanzhou Emperor's coming of age speech in 1919. Ecstatic to meet the Emperor, with more rigour and enthusiasm than most ministers, was able to discuss poetry with the Boy Emperor, and avoid the scolding he gave the rest of the ministers for their actions during his regency. The two became even closer friends, with Huanzhou informing Chu in advance of his plans to escape Shaozi Palace, and the army officer kept this secret, as requested. The two sent letters over the Emperor's exile, though Chu remained a loyal soldier to Baozhen till 1924, when he requested the ability to retire to his home to raise his family. This was granted, and he became something of a local legend, earning the Lion Level Officer Rank, the second highest rank in all the Zhi. He would meet with Huanzhou in 1928, and the two would begin rallying forces to retake power and purge the court. Chu sided with the Emperor fanatically, commiting the 32nd infantry to the attack. The 32nd Infantry was one of the most competent of the loyalist forces involved in the Battle of Peikang.

### Military Officer turned Politician

With Chu's military expertise, he was appointed Minister of War for Zhi in 1930. He was popular in Shaotai and the northern provinces, for this reason, he was allowed to tour Quanguo very frequently, increasing popular support. The Huanzhou Emperor appointed a pliant Chancellor, Manxin Dazu. This was deliberate, so that Huanzhou could take full political authority and appeal to the people directly. As Minister of Defense, he continued the modernisation and streamlining of the Quanguo Army. He was made Chancellor during the Second World War to be a unifying figure to work alongside Huanzhou, as well as bring the army on side. He was an effective wartime leader, meeting other figures like Mun Sung-Nam in the various Conferences of Kaldesia.

### Post War and Death

After the War, he retired from politics, and his name "Chu" was made into Princely House in Zhi. This allowed the Chu family to function as local lords, though Chu was content with returning to his family and writing letters to Huanzhou till the latter's death in 1965. He wrote memoirs called "Loyal to the End" where he discusses his life and his private relationship with both Huanzhou and Baozhen. He died in 1978 of natural causes in his home.