Toki Reform Movement

The Toki Reform Movement (土岐改革; Xiaodongese Tǔqí Gǎigé; Senrian Toki Kaikaku) was an unsuccessful reform movement in the Toki dynasty pursued from 1853 to the demise of the Toki in 1858 during the Baiqiao Revolution. The brainchild of Emperor Toki Hayato, the Toki Reform intended to create a centralised state with a unified army, industrial capitalist economy and to weaken the influence of the Xiaodongese aristocracy.

The reform was unsuccessful as the ethnically Xiaodongese gentry fearful of the implication of a loss of power if the reforms were successful backed the Xiyong Emperor ad his Southern Army during the Baiqiao Revolution which resulted in the creation of the Heavenly Xiaodongese Empire. Whilst the reform was unsuccessful in the short term and failed to achieve the aim of preserving Toki rule over Xiaodong, a similar more successful movement in the form of the Zhengfeng reforms under the Xiyong Emperor would see the creation of a national military and a centralised, industrial state.

Origins

Toki Hayato was the architect of the reform movement

The Toki Reform Movement was the result of a long running conflict between the interests of the ethnic Xiaodongese aristocracy and ruling ethnic Senrian elite in the Toki dynasty. The Toki in order to consolidate their power following their takeover in the 1600's had divided the duties of the state between ethnically Xiaodongese institutions inherited from the preceding Jiao dynasty and new institutions, most prominently the Daizou-kan, which was run by ethnic Senrians. The Toki also allowed much of the feudal domains that existed prior to the Toki takeover to continue to exist provided they pledged allegiance to Toki rule, most prominently allowing them to maintain personal armies. Under the Toki there was no national army, with the Toki themselves relying on their own personal military force to maintain order.

As a result the Toki's power in Xiaodong was somewhat limited as local feudal landlords held enormous power over their domains. The government had previously attempted to centralise power under Toki Yousuke in 1760 which met with a backlash amongst Xiaodongese aristocrats. Under subsequent Emperor's Toki Kobayasi (1774-1812) and Toki Seizi (1812-1833) there had been a decline in imperial power as the ethnically Xiaodongese aristocrats exerted more power.

The growth of Xiaodongese nationalism as an intellectual force amongst the ethnically Xiaodongese elite alarmed the Toki rulers. Most notable was the works of Jiang Yunshan who called for the expulsion of the Toki from Xiaodong stating ethnic Xiaodongese were above ethnic Senrians. The Toki elite believed that the current dual government system and substantial distribution of power to the Xiaodongese gentry class was undermining Toki rule, and that reform was needed to quell the force of Xiaodongese nationalism and reassert Toki power.

The assumption of Toki Hayato of power in 1833 gave impetus to the reform movement amongst the Toki elite. Hayato was concerned over the power of the Xiaodongese aristocracy and after coming into contact with diplomats and traders from Euclea became convinced that centralised rule had to be imposed to maintain Toki rule. Hayato believed centralisation had to include modernisation of the economy, administrative restructuring and the creation of a single military that would all serve to weaken the power of the ethnic Xiaodongese gentry.

Plans of reform

In 1847, Hayato and some of his key advisers such as Kabayama Okada and Sigetarou Takesi began to draft an ambitious reform programme with the support of the ethnic Senrian elite and some key Xiaodongese nobles who were intended to benefit from the reforms.

The first reform planned was to modernise the economy from a feudal to a capitalist one, being based on the industrial revolutions in Euclea, especially Werania and Gaullica. Hayato believed that by removing the feudal system in which wealth and power was tied to land ownership and that peasants were tied to the land the gentry owned the gentry's power would be weakened in favour of a new class of industrial capitalists who would be more inclined to support the Toki. Hayato thus wanted to introduce private land enclosures, investments in industry and manufacturing and the development of external commerce to economically modernise Xiaodong as a capitalist state.

The second reform was to create a national army and to create modern weaponry. Hayato saw reliance on the gentry to provide their own armies for the Emperor to be unsustainable and so believed that the creation of a single national army under the Emperor would cripple the power of the gentry and greatly increase that of the Emperor.

Finally the most ambitious reform was to be administrative restructuring, which would entail the abolition of the dominions - the centre of the gentries power, which were to be replaced with prefectures. Hayato believed this would lead to centralisation and also enable him to dissolve the former Jiao institutions and assert the Toki Emperor's power.

These reforms were seen as extremely radical by much of the ruling elite, but the ethnic Senrian aristocrats were convinced to accept the reforms as necessary to maintain their power.

Reform process

The first reform implemented was the attempted industrialisation of Xiaodong. In 1853 new taxes were levied on luxury goods and property holdings to pay for the development of textile factories in Rongzhuo, whilst a year later a decree was declared that allowed the gentry to enclose their land and no longer "tie" peasants to it, effectively allowing for a dismantling on feudalism. Whilst some pro-Toki gentry did this move many were opposed; some gentry wanted to maintain the privilege and power the feudal system gave them whilst the peasants put up resistance to being removed from the land and effectively left to fend for themselves. In 1854, a new edict was passed that allowed the government to confiscate food en masse if it pleased - this policy of requisitioning was designed to ensure an industrial working class would be fed in the event of food shortages.

In perpetration for the development of a unified army the pro-Toki Xiaodongese warlord Yao Xingzhe was given money by the Toki government to modernise his own Southern Army, importing weapons from abroad, creating a western-style military structure and creating the Baiqiao Military Academy. However under Yao's nephew Yao Qinghong the Southern Army would increasingly become highly nationalist with Yao eventually leading the Baiqiao Revolution.

Failure

The famine of 1855 saw the government requisition rice to feed the industrial population of Rongzhuo in line with the Toki's modernisation policies, resulting in riots around Xiaodong. The disastrous effects of the famine and the requisitioning policy in particular resulted in 350,000 peasants to starve as the authorities often used brute force to implement their requisitioning policy. This alongside the upsurge in Xiaodongese nationalism and widespread opposition to the Toki reforms from the gentry led to them to support the Xiyong Emperor during the Baiqiao Revolution between 1856-1858, providing the Heavenly Xiaodongese Empire with the necessary military forces needed to oust the Toki. The removal of the Toki from power in 1858 and exile of Hayato effectively ended the reform movement.

Legacy

In the short term, the new government repudiated and reversed the Toki reforms, with the Xiyong Emperor's early government being highly reactionary supporting and entrenching the power of the Xiaodongese gentry.

However, the reform movement became prominent again after 1867 when Du Xuecheng became one of the Xiyong Emperor's closest confidantes where he proposed similar reforms to the Toki - creation of a centralised state with a national army and a industrial capitalist economy. Starting in 1870, the Zhengfeng reforms would see a more successful variant of the Toki reforms implemented, often being supported by the same forces that promoted Hayato's ideals.