Taizhou

Great and Illustrious Meng Hegemony ᠳᠠ ᠮᠧᠨᠺᠦ᠋ᠠ ᠪᠠᠴᠤᠤᠨ Dah Menqhwa Bahchyuan
Flag
Motto: ᠶᠡᠷᠦ ᠱᠧᠢᠩ ᠢᠤᠭᠠ ᠤᠧᠣᠨ ᠢ ᠢᠣᠤ ᠱᠠᠩᠰᠢᠶᠡᠢ Her Sheanggwo Yeong jou Shanshoei "Peace Reigns Forever Over the Mountains and Rivers"
Anthem: ᠬᠢᠩ ᠢᠤᠦᠨ ᠭᠧ Ching Yun Ge "Song to the Auspicious Cloud
Capital	Nucen (Northern) Jingze (Southern)
Largest city	Nanshi
Common languages	Chorigtol (court language) Maesanese (court language) Imperial Shu (court language, civil administration, religious affairs Tsurushimese (court language, religious affairs) Xi (court language)
Demonym(s)	Zhou
Government	Devolved absolute diarchy with elements of theocracy
• Northern Hegemon	13th Yellow Northern Hegemon
• Southern Hegemon	13th Yellow Southern Hegemon
• Imperial Preceptor	Kang Xiu-Ying
Legislature	None Imperial Debates
Foundation
• Coronation of Huangwu	19 August, 1754 CE
• Imperial radiance	1943 CE
Area
•	2,152,000 km2 (831,000 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	166,290,000
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$2.568 trillion
• Per capita	$15,442
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$1.2 trillion
• Per capita	$7,192
Gini	42.8 medium
HDI	0.717 high
Currency	Wen (TZW/₩)
Date format	yyyy.dd.mm
Calling code	+61
ISO 3166 code	TZ
Internet TLD	.tz

Taizhou (Imperial Shu: ᠲᠠᠤᠶᠣᠤ; Cloelius-Arellius: Tayjou), officially the Great and Illustrious Meng Hegemony (Imperial Shu: ᠳᠠ ᠮᠧᠨᠺᠦ᠋ᠠ ᠪᠠᠴᠤᠤᠨ; Cloelius-Arellius: Dah Menqhwa Bahchyuan), also referred to as Great Taizhou (Imperial Shu: ᠳᠠ ᠲᠠᠤᠶᠣᠤ; Cloelius-Arellius: Dah Tayhou) or Illustrious Meng (Imperial Shu: ᠮᠧᠨᠺᠦ᠋ᠠ; Cloelius-Arellius: Menqhwa), is a sovereign absolute diarchy located in Ochran. Covering an estimated area of 2,152,000 km², Taizhou is one of the largest nations, by area, in the world. It borders, from clockwise, Chagadalai, the Daitoa Republic, the Makrian Ocean, and Yuzol. The nation has an estimated population of 166,290,000, making it the largest nation in the world by population.

The nation has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 22nd century BCE with the Xi'ang River civilisation. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Taizhou saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. In the 7th century BCE, the Zhu unified the core of Taizhou and established the Celestial Zhou Empire. For the next millennia, various dynasties would rule over Taizhou, gradually expanding its borders to cover much of East Ochran. Instability and stagnation in the early 900s under the Shao dynasty would see Taizhou fall under the control of the rapidly expanding Bayarid Empire. The khans of the Bayarids would stabilise Taizhou and reestablish Imperial authority, and rule over Taizhou for the next three centuries. The only foreign dynasty of Taizhou, the Wu dynasty, would rule over both Taizhou and Chagadalai for the next century before famine and rebellion would see them overthrown. The newly established Jiang dynasty is considered to be the golden age of the Celestial Zhou, with Taizhou making several scientific, economic, and military advances, including the widespread adopting of gunpowder to make firearms. The Jiang would rule Taizhou for the next five centuries.

By the mid-18th century, the Jiang dynasty faced famines, rampant political instability due to a large and unwieldy bureaucracy, and civil unrest. In 1752, Jiang General Lu Gui-Ying would start an open rebellion against the 37th Vermilion Northern Hegemon. In 1754, Lu's army would besiege the northern capital of Nucen and take it in February, 1854. The Chongzhen Hegemon and the Jiajing Hegemon were both executed shortly after the fall of Nucen, ending the Jiang dynasty. In August of that year, Lu would enthrone his son, the 1st Yellow Northern Hegemon, as the first Northern Hegemon of the Yellow dynasty. The initial years of the Yellow dynasty were wrought with wars and internal unrest as many of Taizhou's neighbours began to seize territory from the ailing power. The Celestial Zhou would eventually lose all of its peripheral territory until only its core provinces of Taizhou remained. The borders of Taizhou finally stabilised by 1893, but by that point, all Imperial prestige of the Celestial Zhou had faded away, with many former tributaries and other Ochran powers starting to simply refer to Zhou as Taizhou. Following the Great Tumult, Taizhou turned inward and began a campaign of government restructuring and modernisation known as Imperial radiance. The Imperial radiance would continue until the modern day.

Taizhou is a devolved absolute diarchy with both executive and legislative power consolidated under the northern hegemon and southern hegemon. This, in practice, creates a sort of monarchical autocracy with political power vested in the Yellow dynasty. The two hegemons are considered to be the Son and Daughter of Heaven; therefore making their judgement and rule infallible. Alongside the hegemons are their respective retinues that take the form of the northern and southern courts. Under the current system, the northern hegemon and his court handle all foreign and military matters of the realm while the southern hegemon and her court are tasked with the domestic and economic affairs. This set up reflects the contemporary views of gender roles in Zhou society. A legislature exists in the form of the 1000-member Imperial Debates. These members are not voted into office and are merely appointed by the hegemons to their posts. The Imperial Debates cannot pass laws on its own and can only propose laws. Because of this system, no political parties exist and elections do not occur.

The nation's economy is considered to be state capitalist with a large manufacturing industry. It has an estimated worth of $8.3 trillion in natural resources, 90% of which are various hydrocarbon deposits and rare earth metals. The state has attracted criticism from [Democracy Watchdog] and various human rights group for its lack of political freedoms, usage of torture on dissidents, discrimination against members of the LGBT+ community, and use of the capital punishment. Taizhou has consistently ranked poorly in human rights, freedom of the press, and income equality. The nation is considered to be a fledgling regional power within Ochran and a rising great power. It is a member of the Forum of Nations and is a founding member of the Four Rising Nations Summit.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Kadaria

Taizhou is an absolute diarchy and a theocracy, with multiple classes of aristocracy of significant influence operating beneath the central government. The diarchs of Taizhou, termed the Northern Hegemon and Southern Hegemon respectively, are both the supreme temporal rulers of the realm, and the supreme spiritual leaders of Taizhou. The hegemons are considered to be intermediaries between the gods and the people, and are believed to be the physical manifestations of the god Shangdi (for the Northern Hegemon) and the goddess Doumu (for the Southern Hegemon). Because of this relationship, not only are the words of the hegemons considered to be both infallible and law, but to go against the hegemons is considered to be heresy. Beneath the monarchy, the government of Taizhou is supported by several classes of aristocracy including nobility, clergy, scholar-gentry, and military officials. These classes are organised around the respective courts of the hegemons: the Northern Court headed by the Northern Hegemon that deals with foreign and military affairs, and the Southern Court headed by the Southern Hegemon that legislates domestic and economic affairs.

The nation is devolved, with its component administrative divisions enjoying a great degree of local autonomy in local administration. This has led some political analysts to describe Taizhou as a neo-feudal polity analogous to those seen in Belisaria. These comparisons are largely superficial in their nature and do not accurately reflect the reality of the Meng administration. Outside of lands under the direct rule of the hegemons, Taizhou is divided into fiefs of various size that are administered by appointed bureaucrats, who are typically from the families that form the noble class within the realm. While the lands administered by the bureaucrats are not de jure hereditary, the territories have become de facto hereditary and families will often remain in control or retain significant influence in the territories they administer. Because of this appointment system, there are no elections within Taizhou and by extension, formal political parties do not exist and are effectively banned. This has at times drawn international criticism for the nation's lack of political freedoms and jailing of political dissidents.

Monarchy

Main article: Monarchy of Kadaria

Under Kadaria's diarchic system, the position of sovereign is filled concurrently by the Western Hegemon and Eastern Hegemon. As absolute corulers, both the hegemons theoretically enjoy unlimited power over all stately affairs and the population – both being subordinate to and defined by allegiance to the monarchy – by the very nature of the office of the monarchy.

The title of "hegemon" (Imperial Kadarian: 帝; Romanisation: Hükümdar) carries significant religious connotations. Its character stems from the same ideogram for "altar." The hegemons are the chief mediators between the gods and people. They thus are deputised for the gods, not only being the physical avatars of the god Asar and goddess Aset, but also officiating key religious rituals and choosing the sites for the construction of new temples. Both hegemons are responsible for maintaining Teng, the cosmic order, balance, and justice. This responsibility serves as the basis for the power of the hegemons, as the actions of the hegemons are interpreted as contributing to Teng.

The Duvarişehir is the main residence of the Kadarian monarchy.

Each of the hegemons have their own sphere of power. The Western Hegemon (Imperial Kadarian: 西帝; Romanisation: Hükümdar-i-batıda) is considered to be the senior leader and is the de facto head of state and government. The office of Western Hegemon oversees the defence of the Kadarian realm and interests abroad, and manages the relations of Kadaria and foreign powers. In this capacity, the Western Hegemony acts as the commander-in-chief of the Kadarian military, has the ability to declare war on foreign states and intervene in foreign conflicts, and regulate relations with foreign polities. Conversely, the Eastern Hegemon (東帝; Hükümdar-i-şarkta) oversees the internal affairs of the state. These internal affairs include: the management of the nation's economy through the collection of taxes, levying of tariffs, and regulation of businesses, managing the nation's bureaucracy, and maintaining law and order.

Both hegemons rule through pieces of legislation called imperial writs, which vary in function but are broadly analogous to edicts. Imperial writs are documents or handwritten notes of an official nature composed by either the western or eastern hegemon. These notes are commonly written by the monarch personally, but they can also be transcribed by a palace scribe. They most commonly are written as responses to a document submitted to the monarch by the grand vizier or another officer of the government. Thus, they could be approvals or denials of a letter of petition, acknowledgements of a report, grants of permission for a request, an annotation to a decree, or other government documents. Imperial writs are considered to be legally binding and replace the normal legislative process seen in other nations.

The position of western hegemon is elected from a pool of eligible candidates. Candidates' eligibility is limited to male offspring within two generations of the ruling western hegemon, translating to the western hegemon's patrilineal sons and grandsons. In practice, the first son of the western hegemon and his principal consort is elected as the successor, although there are exceptions to this practice and it is in no way the norm. Conversely the position of eastern hegemon is reserved for the principal consort of the western hegemon. The eastern hegemon is usually, but not always, a female relative of the western hegemon, with closer relations favoured over more distant ones to ensure the divine essence is kept at its strongest and most pure for the future generations of the Imperial Family.

Government

Main article: Government of Kadaria

The government of Kadaria serves as the executive organ of the monarchy, and exists to carry out the will of the diarchs as dictated in their Imperial writs. Known colloquially as the three departments and six ministries after its structure, the government is divided into nine agencies each assigned to a specific task of administration. These administrative bodies are staffed almost entirely by scholar-gentry, who arose as an elite aristocratic class following the implementation of the Imperial examination in 1704. Prior to this period, the central government was staffed entirely by clergy and non-ruling nobility. Scholar-clergy are promoted through a system based on merit and performance in an attempt to limit corruption and nepotism.

The Gökçebahçede is the headquarters of the Kadarian government.

The three departments of the Kadarian government are considered to be directly below the hegemons, and while theoretically they are equal with each other, a hierarchy soon developed after their implementation in 1591. The highest of these departments is the Marshal Generalate, or simply the Marshalate, whose function is serving as the main policy-forming agency of Kadaria by proposing and drafting decrees to be turned into an imperial writ. These decrees can come from the diarchs themselves, the consensus of the Imperial courts, or petitions from local governments and agencies. The Marshalate is also responsible to ensure that imperial writs are to be carried out by the relevant parties that are addressed in the writ, be they the subordinate ministries or local governments. Following the Marshalate is the Grand Vizierate, or simply Department of State Affairs, and is responsible for carrying out all imperial writs concerning the central government. To accelerate this process, the Grand Vizierate is further divided into six subordinate ministries that have their own specific function. The last department is the Chancellery. The primary role of the Chancellery is reviewing imperial writs to ensure proper and non-confusing wording and content is used, and to make sure that the content does not contradict any other imperial writs in effect. The Chancellery also supervises the bureaucracy as a whole through auditing, investigations, and other means.

The Grand Vizierate is divided into a further six departments, called vizierates (部; vezirlık), to help facilitate the enactment of imperial writs. These vizierates are broadly analogous to the various state ministries seen in the governments of other nations, and superficially may be compared to as such. Even still, because of the small number vizierates, many of them perform a wide array of tasks that would otherwise be broken up among two or even three ministries in foreign governments. These vizierates, as the name implies, are headed by viziers that are appointed by the acting Grand Vizier.

The six component vizierates of the Grand Vizierate are: the Vizierate of Rites, Vizierate of Justice, Vizierate of Personnel, Vizierate of Finance, Vizierate of War, and the Vizierate of Works. The Vizierate of Rites is in charge of conducting foreign diplomacy, organisation of state functions, and religious ceremonies. In addition to these roles, it, alongside the Jade Guard, is tasked with the translation and distribution of foreign texts and other material. These translated documents are often heavily censored, especially if dealing with a sensitive subject. The Vizierate of Justice is analogous to a judicial branch, and oversees the implementation of Imperial law at all levels of government, and ensures local laws do not contradict with imperial writs that are in effect. The Vizierate of Personnel is responsible for the management of the bureaucracy. To this end, it is responsible for the appointment, promotion, and demotion of civil servants, as well as the administration of the imperial examination. The Vizierate of Finance is responsible for the implementation of Kadaria's fiscal policies through the collection and distribution of taxes, conducting the census, maintaining all land and title records, and estimating the revenue of local governments and aristocratic demesne. The Vizierate of War coordinates the overall military effort of Kadaria. It is responsible for the appointment, promotion, and demotion of military personnel, the deployment of military units, and the oversight of armament procurement and development. Lastly, the Vizierate of Works supports and coordinates the construction and maintenance of public works and infrastructure, including authorisation of major construction and resource extraction, maintenance of roads and canals, as well as standardisation of weights and measures.

Imperial court

Main article: Imperial court of Kadaria

The Imperial court is considered to be the de facto legislature of Kadaria, and is composed of the nation's most influential noble elite, high-ranking clergy, business moguls, military officials, and members of the Imperial Family. This lends to the Imperial court being highly influential outside of its advisory position. Because of the diarchy, the Imperial court is nominally broken down into two distinct bodies: the Western Court and the Eastern Court.