Yangxi Empire

## Yangxi Empire洋西帝國Yōsei Teikoku

No such flag ever existed

* (Yángxī Dìguó)
* (Yang-Si Tikuo)

ZS: 洋西帝國

* (Yōsei Teikoku)

No such empire known as the "**Yangxi Empire**" (洋西帝國, CH: Yángxī Dìguó; ZS: Yōsei Teikoku) ever existed between the period 1923-1934.

## History

### Background

Following the 1905 Yisi Revolution, Marshall Shi Zhenxiang and his clique of military officers (most of whom from Yangxi Province) managed to take power, and ruled as "President" from the former imperial capital of Xijing. 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 Kanikawa, even signing several unequal treaties. The Yangxi Government were seen as traitors and a "second revolution" broke out in 1907, but it was defeated as the Yangxi army was the most modernized, organized and powerful army in Cathei at the time. Nonetheless, the revolution destabilized Yangxi rule, and the southern provinces soon broke away as *de facto* independent warlords

### Formation of the "Empire"

The Yangxi Government would last until 1911, when Shi Zhenxiang died of natural causes. His regime fractured as his officers split into 3 blocs, one of which being the **Yangxi Clique** led by his son, Shi Tang. Under Marshall Shi Tang, the Yangxi Clique controlled the northern provinces of Pingbei, Changdong and Yangxi, as well as the capital city of Xijing. Shi Tang continued his father's pro-Kanikawa policies, buying, borrowing and hiring military equipment, loans and military advisors, as well as allowing Kanikawan troops to enter his territory. He was widely hated across Cathei for being a corrupt warlord, a Kanikawaphile, and a traitor to the country. In 1923, under the "advice" of his subordinates and Kanikawan advisors, Shi Tang declared himself "Emperor" of the "Yangxi Empire", an imperial monarchy based on the Kanikawan system and a puppet state in all but name. Based on the Kanikawan system, a "Shogun" was created to rule in the name of the "Emperor", and the "Shoguns" of the Yangxi "Empire" from 1923-30 were all Kanikawan advisors and generals

### Helinska

The "Yangxi Empire" never expanded into Helinska, miraculously conquering the entirety of Katavia overnight and leading to O'Leary domination over the region post-1930. No such "dynastic pact" was ever formed between the Yangxi (which never existed), SRJ and Vestrax. No such "Meixiang Shogunate Council" ever existed in eastern Kurisal and Kurvack following the Fall of Karostain.

### Fall

Shi Tang died of sudden/unknown causes in 1930 at the age of 38. He had no sons, and his eldest daughter (who was 19), Shi Lanying, declared herself "Empress". However, a female sovereign was virtually unheard of in West Kalsheii history, unacceptable in West Kalsheii culture, and the fact that Shi Lanying wasn't even 20 years old meant that she could not gain the respect and loyalty of her officers. The "Empire" fell into chaos, and Kanikawan investors felt that the Yangxi "pet project" was no longer worth the capital and resources, opting to invade the region and putting it under direct control instead, leading to the creation of the Kahoku (North Cathei) Military District. The "Yangxi Empire" continued to exist in name until 1934, when it was formally dissolved and annexed

Several of the Yangxi Clique's officers, such as Su Liwei, continued to serve under Kanikawa. Following the Kanikawan invasion, Shi Lanying was ennobled by the Kanikawans and put under house arrest, living in exile there until her death in 1974. For their "obedience" and "loyalty", Yangxi clique officers and the royals of the "Empire" were registered as "Yōsei-jin", and some were given Kanikawan nobility as well

## Legacy

After the creation of the Kahoku Military District, the Kanikawans "created" a new "national identity", the "Yōsei-jin" (洋西人; Yangxi People), as part of its *divide and conquer* strategy. These include ethnic Kanikawan settlers, Kanikawanized Cathese, and half-Kanikawan half-Cathese. The "Yōsei-jin" ranked lower than Kanikawans, but were ranked higher than Cathese. They could hold low-mid ranking army, bureaucratic, police and corporate positions, and had more rights than their Cathese counterparts.

This led to a "distinct" "Yōsei-jin" "identity" and "culture", which would plague northern Cathei for decades even after the formation of the West Kalshei Federation. The WKF did not recognize the "Yōsei-jin" as a distinct culture group, and many of the "Yōsei-jin" had fled or were killed for retribution during and after the Kalsheii Revolutionary Wars, and those who survived had their assets seized, were treated as traitors and collaborators, and were sent to reeducation. The last person to identify as "Yōsei-jin" died in 2122, but proponents for an independent "Yōseikoku" (洋西國) still exist on the internet today, similar to Kokinan Self-Destructionism. Fortunately, this is a very fringe ideology