Beng

**Leader** | Beng Fu (Dead)

> Only power can unite, only power can restore, only power can rule!
>
> Beng Fu's personal philosophy.

The most populous and arguably one of the most powerful factions at the start of the Great Hibernation, the Beng are a faction known for their iron-clad discipline and the iron-fisted rule of its tyrannic leader.

A founding faction of the Survivalist Coalition along with the Chang, the Beng leveraged its immense political and military power to absorb the Chang when Chang Jian died without an heir.

## History and Status

During the start of the Vannai war, the people living in the Northern parts of China were overlooked by the NLA in favour of protecting its larger cities along its coast. This led to one of the highest mortality rates in any geographical zone in China. Eventually, after disavowing the PLA, a group of suit users and their vassals, led by a Harbin native called Beng Fu rose to fight back the Superfort threat. This man eventually gathered more and more loyal followers under his banner, establishing a faction bearing his name: the Beng.

As the PLA collapsed, the Beng were able to consolidate more and more power as refugees from the south came north, seeking safety.
When Chang Jian died, leaving his faction heirless, the Beng absorbed the entirety of the faction, becoming the largest faction in China by population and territory.

However, after the Moqaddas pilot Jeanne fired a nuke directly on their new capital of Beijing a few days after Christmas 2019, its entire leadership structure was vaporised, destroying the faction and causing its survivors to scatter, ending the Beng as a faction.

## Population, Industry and Military

Originally with a population of 26 million, the Beng were the largest faction in China. However, due to the harsh climate in the north and lack of expertise, food was a constant problem. This was somewhat alleviated by the Beng's style of military leadership, requiring nearly all its citizens to be always on rationing. This stopped being a problem when the Chang started to send their surplus to the Beng as a sign of friendship between the factions.

After absorbing the Chang, their numbers swelled to a whooping 45 million, nearly half of the entire population of China at the time. However, the iron-fisted rule of the Beng was distasteful to those used to the Chang's gentle rule, leading to a fractured and rebellious population.
The provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning were ill-suited to the boom in population, with its lands and climate unsuitable for large-scale agriculture. Instead, the Beng focus on mining and manufacturing, often trading with their neighbours for the much needed food. It is also said that the Beng's largest export was unarmed infantry, which might not be too far from the truth.

Militarily, the Beng favored a type of tactic invented by Beng Fu called Vassalage. The equipment and computing power of a suit usually dedicated to drones is given as armor and weaponry to a suit pilot's favored soldiers. These resulted in groups of elite soldiers that were superior to a single suit and its drones. To support these valuable formations, the Beng uses poorly-armed infantry as cannon fodder and buffers, often ending with high levels of casualties every skirmish.

## Significant Members

### Beng Fu (泵福)

 File:Beng Fu.png
A giant of a man as tall as he is wide, Beng Fu was originally a butcher who lived in Harbin. When he was told to surrender the suit that fell into his home garden to the PLA, he took it and hid, disappearing for more than half a year.

He eventually resurfaced as a much more grizzled man, having fought VP forces for the entirety of the time that he was off the grid. With a wealth of experience and a warband loyal to him, he saved his countrymen from the Superforts within his home province.

As more and more refugees came to Harbin, pledging their loyalty in exchange for security, Beng Fu became more and more of a tyrant, likely as a result from the stress for having to constantly choose terrible choices to save those he's sworn to protect.

He died as a nuclear MRBM was detonated mere paces away from his war camp in Beijing, instantly evaporating him and killing more than 4 million of his people in the last few days of 2019.