Tsukimotoan Revolution

The **Tsukimotoan Revolution** (Tsukimotoan: 수케 혁명, *Su'ke hyeogmyeong*) was a period of radical political and societal change in the Republic of Tsukimoto from 264 G.E. until 266 G.E. The Revolution resulted in the *Moriguchi* - an ethnically Shingōan and elitist interest group that had dominated Tsukimotoan politics since the formation of the republic - losing its control over governmental and social affairs. Additionally, the Revolution led to the implementation of several changes which sought to make the country more democratic, most notable of which were the creation of a new constitution and the abolition of the ban on ethnically-Tsukimotoan individuals from running for public office. These reforms marked the end to the period of ethnically Shingōan individuals' dominance over Congress and led to the rise of new political parties which represented larger shares of the population.

## Historical Background

Throughout the the period of the Tsukimotoan Independence War, in which various groups inhabiting the Tsukimotoan Islands were fighting for independence from the Empire of Shingō, Tsukimotoan militia groups received large amounts of aid in the form of weapons, supplies, and funds from the ethnically Shingōan syndicate group known as the *Moriguchi*. Under the rule of the Shingōan Empire, the activities of the *Moriguchi* were heavily regulated and their businesses were severely taxed. Consequently, the Moriguchi provided large amounts of aid to the Tsukimotoan rebels in exchange for political and economic power in the newly-formed Republic of Tsukimoto.

Throughout the first century of its existence, the Republic of Tsukimoto was dominated by members of the *Moriguchi* and other ethnically-Shingōan elites with heavy ties to the syndicate group. Ethnically Tsukimotoan social leaders were left in debt to Moriguchi businesses and the national military was frequently used to enforce the will of the elites. During this period, ethnic Tsukimotoan rebels (and some other minority groups) organized protests against the government in hopes of installing change in the government. All of these protests, however, were heavily suppressed by the military and essentially none of their demands were met by the national government. Throughout this period of *Moriguchi* dominance, it was extremely rare for ethnic Tsukimotoan individuals to occupy high-ranking governmental positions; however, some were able to assume positions in city councils and provincial legislatures (only in the case that they were supported by a large *Moriguchi*-affiliated political party).

In 251 G.E., ethnic Tsukimotoans and other minority groups launched a nation-wide strike which shut down the majority of all businesses across Tsukimoto. Individuals involved in the strike were attacked by members of the military and agents of the *Moriguchi*-controlled secret police, which led to even greater public backlash. After two weeks of strikes which had damaged the national economy, the government agreed to transform the region of Gijang (which was over 95% ethnically Tsukimotoan) into a "special province" in which ethnic Tsukimotoans could hold public office. This resulted in the ethnically Tsukimotoan Chang Taek-sang becoming the Premier of Gijang.

In 260 G.E., after completing two terms as Premier of Gijang Prefecture, Chang Taek-sang created his political party called the "Peoples Democracy Party" and announced his candidacy for President of Tsukimoto. While this declaration was met with praise from the general public, it was met with severe backlash and criticism from sitting members of Congress (all of whom were ethnically Shingōan) and from members of the *Moriguchi*-affiliated elite. As Chang's popularity continued to rise amongst the population, Congress responded by enacting a highly-unpopular law which prevented all non ethnically-Shingōan individuals from voting in future general elections.

## Period of Revolution

In 264 G.E., Chang Taek-sang was assassinated by undercover agents of the *Moriguchi*-controlled secret police, sparking public outrage and officially beginning the Tsukimotoan Revolution. Across the country, revolutionaries shut down major businesses, roads, and ports, effectively stopping all trade and shipments in the country. Military soldiers and metropolitan police officers blockaded the government quarter of the capital city of Amaiwa (now Ikeda). Rioters and protesters gathered around the capital barrier and engaged in a two-day-long standoff with military soldiers, during which rocks and bottles were thrown and individuals who attempted to break through were arrested. The standoff ended when violence broke out between the soldiers and the rioters at the end of the second day. After a large group of protesters climbed over the city's southern barricade, they clashed with military soldiers, leading the soldiers to kill all members of the group with swords and projectile weapons.

The killing drastically escalated conflicts between the revolutionaries and the military, as soldiers began using lethal military weapons against all rioters and protesters. This escalation in violence led to the formation of several militia groups, most of which were ethnically Tsukimotoan. These groups would establish bases of operations in the southern region of Limburg and the eastern region of Gijang and would start sourcing weapons from black market arms dealers in Shingō and Rösdal. While violence in the streets appeared to have subsided by the latter months of 264 G.E., conflicts were soon reinvigorated on October 12th by the Amaiwa Onsen Fire, in which revolutionaries conspired with the owner of Amaiwa Onsen (Kaito Sanbe) to lock high-ranking *Moriguchi* officials - who were theorized to have been involved in Chang Taek-sang's murder - in the bathhouse and set the building on fire. All officials inside the building died and the perpetrators were caught on the same day by metropolitan police and executed. On October 14th, two days after the Amaiwa Onsen Fire, large numbers of *Moriguchi*-affiliated elites, government officials, and members of the military went undercover to perpetrate the Midnight Slaughter. The Midnight Slaughter saw undercover individuals burn and vandalize over 60 houses and kill over 80 people in an ethnically-Tsukimotoan neighborhood just outside of Amaiwa.

In response to the Midnight Slaughter, militia groups began carrying out organized attacks against government buildings, supply hubs, and military bases. Additionally, on 21 March 265 G.E., revolutionaries detonated a bomb outside a well-known restaurant in Amaiwa inside which a meeting between the Premier of Wakuya Province and two members of the National Congress, killing all people inside. In response to the bombing, the government began to rapidly expand and mobilize the national military against the revolutionaries. Throughout the remainder of the year, military soldiers would clash with rioters and rebel militia groups. By the latter months of the year, the government had accumulated large amounts of debt and was beginning to suffer the impacts of rapid inflation of their currency. Government-funded military soldiers had gradually become less equipped and were no longer able to defend against enemy forces and their guerilla warfare techniques. The government suffered a major blow to its strength on July 28th when, in response to the sinking of a Shingōan trade ship by the Tsukimotoan Navy, the Shingōan government froze all *Moriguchi* assets in Shingō and imposed a trade embargo on Tsukimoto. By the end of August, revolutionaries and rebel militia groups had taken full control of several major cities throughout the country and had dominated the regions of Limburg and Gijang.

Throughout the month of December, militia groups launched numerous attacks on the capital city of Amaiwa, inflicting heavy casualties on the defending military soldiers. By December 27th, the military garrison had almost entirely run out of munitions and food, and the majority of defending soldiers had deserted the unit and left. On 8 January 266, revolutionaries and militia members began their attempts to enter the city, held off only by police officers and unorganized military soldiers. By the end of the day, the rebels had managed to push into the city, leading to great losses in life in violent events such as the Red Bridge Incident. As members of the Moriguchi elite were attempting to escape the violence, they were attacked and killed by the rebels, regardless of whether or not they were armed. Additionally, members of ethnically Tsukimotoan militias began to target all ethnically Shingōan individuals in the city, infamously killing civilians as they attempted to cross Amaiwa bridge in order to leave the city. In the attack on the capital, rebels killed several high-ranking members of the Moriguchi, including members of Congress who were targeted when armed rioters forced themselves into the Capitol building.

## Immediate Aftermath of the Revolution

Throughout the period of violence in the capital, the National Congress was unable to hold any meetings and effectively had no power to assert its authority. As the rebels secured their control over the country, Moriguchi-affiliated members of Congress traveled to the northwestern islands of Tsukimoto to establish a government in exile. While this exiled government essentially had no power over the rest of the country, it remained the only official government body in the country for roughly two years until the formation of a new National Congress in 268. Throughout this period, Takuma Ishige of the Integrity Party remained President of Tsukimoto but had no true power.

Throughout the rest of the country, a temporary body called the "Reconstruction Administrations Council" was established to aid the process of rebuilding the country, physically, economically and socially. Individuals associated with the *Moriguchi* were purged from their positions of governmental power or ownership of large corporations. Many people who were ethnically Shingōan left the country to live in Shingō or Nangoku. Large protests occurred in the Shingōan capital of Chukyo demanding the government to refuse entry to fleeing *Moriguchi* members; however, most *Moriguchi*-affiliated were ultimately allowed to enter Shingō.

## Post-Revolution Governmental Order

In 267 G.E., the first free and open elections were held across the country to elect new members of the National Congress. Throughout the months leading up to the election, the newly-formed Constitutional Democracy Party emerged as the frontrunner. The largely ethnically-Tsukimotoan Party promised to enshrine civil rights and civil liberties in a new national constitution and vowed to introduce sweeping reforms across the country to promote democracy. The Constitutional Democracy Party ended up winning the election by huge margins and their leader, Jang Hyo-chan was nominated to be the next President of Tsukimoto. By 8 January of 268, all new members of Congress were inaugurated (the vast majority of whom were ethnically Tsukimotoan members of the Constitutional Democracy Party). The new Congress subsequently demanded members of the government in exile to appear publicly and formally resign. On the 16th of January, these members formally resigned from their positions and were subsequently detained. However, the President, Takuma Ishige, refused to resign and was subsequently removed from his position as "President" via vote of no confidence by Congress (the vote total being 45-0). Jang Hyo-chan was then inaugurated as the first ethnically Tsukimotoan President of the country.

Over the following years the new Tsukimotoan government, under the leadership of Jang Hyo-chan and the Constitutional Democracy Party, would usher in many popular changes in the country that define the modern Tsukimotoan political system. They would draft and implement a new national constitution, pass laws promoting fair elections, give economic aid to those oppressed by the previous government, and set free all political prisoners imprisoned by the previous government. The legacy of Jang Hyo-chan - which would also be aided by Tsukimoto's success in the Great Tōkai War - would lead to the Constitutional Democracy Party's dominance over Tsukimotoan politics, with the Party ruling essentially uncontested throughout the next century.