State of Xandu

State ensign of Xandu.

Xandu is highlighted in both light yellow and green; aftermath of the Chen-Thornia War

### Government

Rump state; provisional community-led government under military supervision

### Founding

* November 2019 *(transition from Huang dynasty to Chen dynasty and entry into the League of Palus)*
* December 2019 *(end of the Free State of Xandu and founding of current state)*
* March 2020 *(beginning of Thornian occupation of Xandu)*
* 11 May 2020 *(end of de jure Thornian occupation and withdrawal from the League of Palus)*
* August 2020 *(resumption of Thornian control)*
* February 2022 *(independence of Shanjing; and annexation of eastern and northern territories by Thornia-Aphthonis)*
* April 2023 *(annexation by Thornia; eventually restoration and expansion by the Dark Realm of Han)*
* 2 May 2023 *(independence re-established under Thornian occupation)*

**Xandu**, officially the **State of Xandu** and alternatively **Shan Guo** or **Chen Xandu**, is a state that was at various points in its history independent, a constituent part of the Chen Empire, and an occupied territory or puppet state of Great Thornia. It is the successor to what is now known as Old Xandu. Since May 2023, the State of Xandu has existed as a provisional rump state under Thornian occupation in preparation for transition to Thornian rule under a new constitution.

Between late 2022 and mid 2023, the country's government ceased to control any Xandunese territory. Much of its government split into two rival governments-in-exile, one in Shantouxian and one in Tyavyli. The Shantouxian government collaborated much more closely with their former Thornian occupiers and eventually joined the provincial government that succeeded the Xandunese state. The government-in-exile based in Tyavyli turned against its former Thornian benefactors and its former allies in the Chen Empire.

The Xandunese capital of Shanjing is the largest city in the world by surface area for most of its existence until late 2020 when the Metropolitan City of Elysia overtook it. Due to the extensive agricultural projects of the previous regime, the state is considered the breadbasket of the western half of the world.

The current Xandunese state is effectively a rump state as most of its political power has always been held by the power occupying its territory. The Chen dynasty only ruled over Xandu proper (Nanshan and Beishan) for a few months before effectively abandoning it. It then granted Great Thornia administrative rights in Shanjing, but a mass attack by pillager forces led to Thornian forces occupying the rest of Nanshan, Beishan, and later the former imperial territories held by the former Huang dynasty. The withdrawal of Thornian forces in Nanshan and Beishan led to widespread anarchy. Thornian rule briefly continued in the north under the Protectorate of Smarna, but that too collapsed as The Great Plague and Second Pillager War intensified. Chen dynasty forces re-entered Xandu in early 2021, and by August 2021 their rule was reduced to Shanjing and its environs.

In early 2022, Shanjing was briefly broken off into its own nominally independent state known as the *Free City of Shanjing*. The Union of Thornia and Ume re-took control of villages to Shanjing's north east, while Aphthonis had completely taken over the former Shantouxian region. By late 2022, Shantouxian was abandoned and Shanjing was restored as the capital of Xandu.

Between March 2023 and May 2023, the Thornian Empire and the Chen dynasty fought over control of Xandu. During this time, the Thornian Empire briefly annexed Xandu into Thornia-proper only to lose the territory to a Chen counter-offensive. A final offensive in early May 2023 saw Thornia regain control and establish a provisional government after the Chen dynasty formally surrendered control of the territory.

## History

### Background

The current iteration of the Xandunese state came into existence after the *de jure* dissolution of the former Huang dynasty regime in December 2019. In the months before, the territories of the Huang were already under the control of the Chen dynasty.

### Transition from Huang to Chen (November 2019 - December 2019)

The Chen dynasty, as the Dark Realm of Han, joined the Holy States in November 2019. It did not include the Xandunese lands but they were a de facto part of the union nevertheless as the absent Huang dynasty's alliance with the Chen entrusted them with governance of their territories.

In December 2019, Ray of Huang formally declared the end of the Huang dynasty's rule over Xandu. The Weihan did not immediately claim Xandu, but the Holy States claimed it instead on behalf of the Dark Realm.

The Holy States' federal government attempted to create a legal union of the Dark Realm and Xandu as the *Free State of Xandu*. This was not recognised by Weihan, but not rejected either. Chen rule was also fairly chaotic during the beginning of the union as the royal court was lost after extensive expeditions south of the Dark Realm and Xandu's territory within the No Man's Land. The court claimed the No Man's Land as its territory and established a temporary capital near the border with Umia.

### Separation of the realms (December 2019)

In December 2019, the Chen court rediscovered Fort Han after extensive searching with aid from Umia. Governor Wey Yao of Umia also carried out an expedition north of the Dark Realm on behalf of the Chen dynasty. There, he discovered a vast plain that he claimed for the Chen. This claim has not been legally enshrined with an annexation or the creation of some sort of legal entity, it is unclear what the status of this land claim is.

With the court's move back to Fort Han, the Chen renounced their claim of the No Man's Land and subsequently announced that the Dark Realm would leave the Holy States to be an independent state. This automatically dissolved the Free State of Xandu, but the Chen continued to rule Xandu *de jure* (most of their time and resources were spent in the Dark Realm).

### Thornian Wars (December 2019 - Present)

After the Dark Realm's withdrawal from the League, it remained unclear if Xandu was also being withdrawn from the League. This confusion led to a cascade of events that has seen Xandu being attacked by pillager forces, coming under Thornian occupation, falling into anarchy, and being partitioned.

#### Thornian occupation (March 2020 - 11 May 2020)

*See: Thornian occupation of Xandu*

In March 2020, Weihan accepted an offer by the Crown of Great Thornia to help with the development of urban areas in Xandu. Thornian developers built new shop houses on the West Bank of Shanjing and completed abandoned housing projects on both sides of the Shanjing River into new housing. Repopulation efforts saw Shanjing rise to become the second-most villager-populated city in the world behind Elysia overnight.

On 27 March, Shanjing was attacked by several large pillager armies. These armies were defeated by Thornian Royal Iron Guard units stationed in the city. The Battle of Shanjing was the first engagement of the Pillager War in the mainland, south of the Great Jungle, and also the first outside of Great Thornia's empire. In the aftermath of the battle, the Royal Iron Guard was renamed to the Federal Guard in order to continue their operations in territories of the league outside of Great Thornia. Thornia eventually left the League on 5 April, though Thornian forces continued to occupy the state.

#### First abandonment (11 May 2020 - August 2020)

Occupation authorities withdrew Xandu from the League of Palus, citing that "the League would only serve to endanger the long-term security of the state". Xandu was thus made a neutral state (in-line with Chen dynasty policies), and Thornian authorities ended their occupation on 11 May.

#### Resumption of occupation (August 2020)

The Great Plague that began earlier in the year had, by August 2020, ravaged much of Xandu. Thornian forces that were still active in the region took the opportunity to re-establish Thornian control of Xandu. This was repelled by a revolt in Shanjing. However by mid August Xandu had become the epicentre of the plague and much of Shanjing's populated was killed off by it.

Thornian forces re-established formal control in the aftermath of the plague in Xandu. The overthrow of Thornia's monarchy did not deter the occupation operation. The new Transitional Council (also known as the Golden Trident) divided Xandu into two provinces, Nanshan and Beishan, and has resumed plans originally intended for the first occupation. The council initially intended to annex both provinces and much of the former Huang dynasty era imperial possessions but eventually decided against it.

#### End of direct Thornian rule (1 September 2020 - early 2021)

De facto Thornian rule ended on 1 September 2020 as the Thornian Army withdrew its remaining military resources from Shanjing to aid with the Second Pillager War in Goruid. The country has since largely fallen into anarchy as bands of pillagers have been raiding villages and attacking Shanjing.

In mid September 2020, Thornia passed its de jure rights to administer the territory to the League of Palus. However the League's inactivity and indifference have allowed the anarchy in much of Xandu to continue.

The Thornian Army reoccupied parts of the Jungle Territory and the Shantouxian Area towards the end of September 2020. These occupied territories were organised into the Protectorate of Smarna. Thornian forces were withdrawn at the end of 2020 to fight against pillager tribes across Aphthonis. Thornia's territorial claims over Smarna were abandoned after the Thornian Army regrouped in Petrodis after the Elaseum Uprising. The Chen dynasty sent the few remaining Xandunese militias northward to the Shantouxian garrison. These forces refused to aid their Chen masters as the Dark Realm collapsed and Xandu lost much of its territory outside of Shanjing.

The Xandunese state is currently under absolute military control, with a member of the Chen dynasty leading the army in the Shanjing area. The senior members of the Chen dynasty went missing during the Fall of Fort Han.

#### Aftermath of the Thornian Civil War, the War of the Three Regions, and the Chen-Thornia War (2022 - Present)

In February 2022, the Thornian Territorial Defence Forces covertly entered Shanjing and seized the city with the intention of weakening neighbouring states to prevent them from taking advantage of a weakened Thornia in the aftermath of the Thornian Civil War. The Thornian Army declared the creation of the *Military Administration in Shanjing*. The Chen Army attempted to retake the city in a chaotic battle which briefly saw it push the Thornian Army to the Shanjing swamp. Thornian reinforcements from Palus managed to surround Chen forces in Fort Shanjing, but the Chen Army withdrew before a proper siege of the fort could begin.

In May 2022 as part of the federalisation reforms in Thornia, the ***Free City of Shanjing*** was created as the new semi-independent government of the Shanjing area. Thornian forces remained in the city. The Xandu Nationalist Party (XNP) won a majority it what was considered a heavily rigged vote. The XNP were largely sponsored by Thornian intelligence. The XNP government attempted to privatise food production and reform the Bank of Shanjing.

In the wake of the July Mutiny in Thornia, a majority Thornian troops withdrew from the city but left behind a small garrison. Frequent protesting, rioting, and looting took place across the city between July and September. Chen forces managed to covertly raid the Bank of Shanjing headquarters and recovered all of Xandu's liquid assets. The ease of the operation convinced the Xandunese rump government that retaking the city was now relatively easy.

The Government of Peace in Thornia attempted to form an alliance with the rump government, promising that they would formally restore Shanjing to Xandunese control. The deal was rejected and the Government of Peace's retreat into Central Ume led to the garrison withdrawing to join them. Chen troops re-entered the city in late September. The few XNP ministers who had not fled to Shantouxian and Tyavyli were arrested and executed after a show trial. Two rival governments-in-exile were formed, one with the continued backing of the Thornians in Shantouxian, and another in Tyavyli. Both governments-in-exile chose to be known as the governments of the whole State of Xandu.

The Free City of Shanjing continued to exist as a Chen military occupied zone until the middle of October as order had to be restored. 15 October was declared a public holiday across the Chen Empire as Restoration Day.

In early April 2023, the Thornian Empire captured the entirety of Xandu. At first there was an intention to setup another puppet government, but this was later reneged when the imperial government decided to annex Xandu outright. This was the first time that Xandu was annexed as a province of another country, and not as an autonomous state. The country was divided into the new Province of Sauria, covering the Greater Shanjing area, and the remainder was merged with the Province of Travonnia to form the new Province of Iegranera.

The Xandunese government-in-exile in Tyavyli was enraged at the lost chance to be re-invited by the Thornians to form a friendly puppet government. The government-in-exile in Shantouxian was shutdown as its cabinet unanimously agreed to move back to Agos, formerly Shanjing, and to join the coalition of Thornian Army leaders, Aiwanist and Raloffian religious authorities, and a small number of Xandunese collaborators in forming the government of the new Province of Sauria.

Between 17-19 April, the Army of the Dark Realm launched an ambitious offensive to retake Xandu. Thornian defenders were outflanked from the north as the Dark Realm army reached the border of Travonia village. The remnants of the Southern Rangers launched a surprise attack on Ume City, forcing the Thornian defenders in Shanjing and Shantouxian to evacuate to both Travonia and Ume. The Aiwanist and Raloffian militias helped the Thornian Army to hold defensive lines along an axis spanning from Trabonnia, Travonia, and the north-eastern mountains of Greater Shanjing. On 19 April, both sides agreed to a ceasefire.

Xandunese territory was expanded into include the Nanshan region which was previously lost to Ume, and eventually became the southern coastal region of the Province of Trabonnia. This granted Xandu a coastline for the first time in several years.

In late April and early May 2023, Thornia recaptured most of Xandu and even managed to advance into the Dark Realm of Han. The war was declared over on 2 May 2023, but negotiations have been ongoing on the status of Xandu. The Thornian occupiers re-established the State of Xandu government with the de-facto leaders of the various districts and refugee camps as members of a small leadership council. It is widely expected that the Crown of Thornia and the Chen dynasty would both co-rule the territory whilst allowing a neutral, democratic government to handle domestic political affairs.

## Administrative divisions

### History

#### Modern

The Chen dynasty agreed to allow Great Thornia to administer Shanjing in late 2019. The continued inactivity of the Chen dynasty led to Thornian rule spreading to all of Greater Shanjing by early 2020.Original provinces

The Thornian administrators initially reorganised Greater Shanjing into the three provinces of Beishan, Nanshan, and Nan'an. There were plans to construct provincial capitals of Beishan and Nan'an (as Shanjing became the capital of Nanshan). These plans did not materialise due to the First Pillager War.

After the First Pillager War, Nan'an was merged into Nanshan and the plans to construct new provincial capitals were formally abandoned. However, these plans were replaced with plans to construct new districts for Shanjing in addition to those built in early 2020.

#### Early Chen dynasty

During the early stages of Chen rule, the original Huang era administrative divisions were retained but were often listed alongside those from the Dark Realm of Han. There was little distinction between the territories of Xandu and of the Dark Realm.

The old borders came back into effect when the Chen dynasty withdrew the Dark Realm from the Holy States.

#### Huang dynasty

During the Huang dynasty, Xandu was simply divided into the three regions of Greater Shanjing, The Jungle, and the Shantouxian Protectorate. The Jungle Territory and Shantouxian were gradually abandoned throughout 2016.