Great Liao

大辽

The Banner featuring the Liao clan

Great Liao was a short-lived Empire that occurred in the Chinese Plains, arising from the lands of Guangzhou. It was commanded by Liao Jingyi, and after his death, immediately collapsed. It failed to conquer the entirety of *Greater China,* such as Manchuria, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. Thus, it was largely viewed as a Han Empire. Kzat Cinematic Universe Real?

## Guangzhou Republic

The Guangzhou Republic was the re-incarnation of ideals perceived from the **Luoyang Rebellion**, which was organized by conservative elements in the Federal Republic of China opposed to the dominance of the left-wing parties during the time. In fact, Guangzhou was the birthplace of the aforementioned unifier. Known as the *Provisional Government of the Republic of China*, commanded by (former) federal politicians **Yin Luoyang** and **Cao Hanyei**, the rebellion marked a turning point in history for the region of Guangzhou.

The Luoyang rebellion never succeeded, but its ideals were entrenched within the region and Yin Luoyang was respected among conservative republicans for many years. The centre of government was named the *Luoyang Assembly*, which became an important center of the various unfortunate events that would partake in eventual history.

For many years, the Guangzhou Republic remained stagnant. Its conservative elite, while still calling for the unification and 'liberation' of China, was never able to muster the resources required for doing so. Several factors caused this, but the most significant one, was its' polarized politics. The scene was so dull and dry that it was almost impossible to spearhead any growth that could lead for the eventual unification of China.

But, to the south, Vietnam had a successful Communist revolution which brought esteemed prosperity.

### Rise of Jiang Li-Wei

This inspired an important, young politician, known as **Jiang Li-Wei**. While not as radical as the forces down south, he believed a slightly socialist approach to economics and government would allow for a breath of fresh air that Guangzhou desperately needed. He had the best ideas for China in mind. He won presidency, but soon angered the Conservative elements of the country.

It is almost ironic. The Republican ideals consumed themselves in a blind hatred against an unidentified enemy heard long ago, in this case, being revolutionary socialism. The Republicans spat out something that Luoyang or any of the early revolutionaries would have wanted: **Liao Jingyi**.

Liao Jingyi was the Field Marshal of the Guangzhou Republic, commander of the Guangzhou Army. He came from a prestigious, local line of career officers and obtained his rank in part due to nepotism but also due to his surprising trait of actually possessing military intellect. Along with the fiery desire to funnel paper through a rifle, he also possessed strong reactionary and Anti-Vietnamese sentiments. He always disapproved of Li-Wei's reign, but when he started to *negotiate* with the Vietnamese, Jingyi decided to take matters into his own hands.

## Liao Jingyi's Military Coup

Jiang Li-Wei was a native Zhuang, while Jingyi was a Han, with northern mongol ancestry.

## An Insane Madman

It was well-known that Liao Jingyi was a crazed person. Tales of his exploits spread fear over the rural entries of China, which is partially why there was a large lack of resistance to his conquest of China (see below). Decades after his death - centuries, even - he is feared as a legend representing a variety of negative ideals. Some of the folktales do not mention Jingyi outright, with each few villages having different portrayals of his story. He was seen as a god in a way he would have never wanted.

Before his exploits were well known, however, he was highly received by residents of other Chinese governments, as he was a strong leader calling for unification and the expulsion of all foreign elements. This tactic, appealing to nationalist sentiment, was a staple in Jingyi's personality.

## Conquest of China

As stated in the introduction, the conquest of China only subscribed to the "plains", or the core territory of the Chinese people. Manchuria, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet were never incorporated into Great Liao. This was in part due to Liao Jingyi's death, caused by old age, shortly after the conquest of Beijing. Due to his heavy nationalist beliefs, which included the hatred of Mongolia for the Menjiang Invasion, it is expected that if he lived China would have expanded its national borders significantly.

The motion to unify China occurred directly after the proclamation of Great Liao. The motives for the unification of China, as according to Liao Jingyi, were eliminating the 'Three Scourges', which are as follows:

* The Whore in Vietnam

* The Barbarians in Mongolia

* The Tyrants in Japan

Vietnam's immediate response was declaring the newfound state a regression of society.

## Relationship with Vietnam

Prior to the reign of Jiang Li-Wei, Vietnam served as a rival to the Guangzhou Republic. This appeared to have sprouted from ideological differences - Vietnam having been a communist state, with Guangzhou pertaining strong anti-marxist sentiments. Some modern historians argue that the elite of Guangzhou were bitter about the fact that Vietnam had been more economically successful than Guangzhou was in its current standing. This directly influenced the aspirations of Jingyi; hoping to outshine his rival.

Jiang Li-Wei attempted to mediate relations with Vietnam, which eventually lead to his demise, as stated previously. In the end, this only made things worse for the two nations, as Vietnam perceived their northern rival as much more of a threat; fathering hate for them so hard that it was capable of toppling their own government. Vietnam occupied the island of Hainan, which is where Li-Wei fled to following Jingyi's military coup.

The Vietnamese labelled Jingyi as the 'Little Samurai', mocking him in song and comedies.

### Zhou Fen's Reprise

Seeing Jingyi's mental state worsen after the massacre of Wuhan, one of his private servants - Zhou Fen, escaped from Jingyi's presence and fled south to Vietnam. He exchanged various secrets, not only about the structure of Great Liao but of Jingyi's life himself. When Jingyi heard of this, he became infuriated, leading to more mental distress.

## Collapse and Legacy

*The collapse never occurred in roleplay and is only added here as flavor text. (later)*