Greater Menghean Empire

Greater Menghean Empire 대멩제국 大孟帝國 Dae Meng Jeguk
1927–1945
Flag
Anthem: Aegukka
Capital	Donggyŏng
Common languages	Menghean
Government	Unitary absolute monarchy
Emperor
• 1927-1945	Kim Myŏng-hwan
Premier
• 1927-1937	Kwon Chong-hoon
History
• Established	18 February 1927
• Menghean intervention in Dzhungestan	7 December 1932
• Menghe declares war on Sylva	7 May 1935
• Menghe declares war on Anglia and Lechernt	10 June 1938
• Atomic bombing of Dongrŭng and Anchŏn	8-11 November 1945
• Articles of surrender signed	15 November 1945
• Allied occupation begins	31 November 1945
• Republic of Menghe established	5 June 1953
Area
1935	3,721,000 km2 (1,437,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1935	200,290,000
Currency	Menghean Won
Preceded by Succeeded by Federative Republic of Menghe Menghean Occupation Authority
Today part of	Menghe

The Greater Menghean Empire, also known as Imperial Menghe or the Empire of Menghe, was the historical government of Menghe between 1927 and 1945. It was proclaimed on 18 February 1927, the day of Kwon Chong-hoon's military coup, and formally disbaned on 31 November 1945, which marked the official handover of the country's administration to the Menghean Occupation Authority. The next sovereign Menghean government would be the Republic of Menghe, which was formally established on 5 June 1953.

The Greater Menghean Empire was proclaimed during a period of substantial economic expansion, industrialization, and modernization, which had recently elevated Menghe to the status of a fledgeling great power. Its formation marked the reassertion of military nationalism over the civilian elite, many of whom had embraced Western values under the Federative Republic of Menghe. Hoping to restore Menghe's Yi dynasty status as the main hegemonic power on the continent of Hemithea, Kwon Chong-hoon led the Greater Menghean Empire into a string of offensive wars against Themiclesia in Dzhungestan (1932), against Sylva over Altagracia and Innominada (1935), and against Maverica over the kindgom of Nersia in 1937, drawing Menghe into the Pan-Septentrion War. This drew Menghe into additional conflicts against Anglia and Lechernt, Hallia, and Sieuxerr, among others, decisively tipping the scales against Menghe. On 8 November 1945, the Allied forces dropped a nuclear bomb on the city of Anchŏn; Dongrŭng suffered a nuclear attack on the 11th. This led Kim Myŏng-hwan to seek a ceasefire deal on the 13th; Menghe's surrender was accepted on the 15th in Donggyŏng's time zone.

For its entire existence, the Greater Menghean Empire had one Emperor: Kim Myŏng-hwan, formally styled as the Donghyi Emperor. From 1927 to 1937, the Emperor served mainly as a figurehead, and most political power lay in the hands of Premier Kwon Chong-hoon. In 1937, Kim Myŏng-hwan dismissed Kwon and appointed a replacement Premier; from that year onward, the Emperor was the primary decision-maker in national politics, with the Premier serving as his deputy and chief advisor.

Names

In Menghean, the country established in 1927 was known as the Dae Meng Jeguk, written 대멩제국 in the Sinmun alphabet and 大孟帝國 with Gomun characters. Western press sources were the first to translate this into Anglian as the "Greater Menghean Empire," and Menghe's government adopted this translation as early as March 1927, but the use of "Greater" is misleading. Dae Meng (대멩 / 大孟), though literally meaning "Great Meng" or "Large Meng," has been used in the official name of all other modern Menghean states, including the Federative Republic of Menghe (Dae Meng Yŏnbang Gonghwaguk), the current Socialist Republic of Menghe (Dae Meng Sahoejuyi Gonghwaguk), and even the Anglian-controlled Republic of Menghe (Dae Meng Gonghwaguk), but "Great" is not used in the Anglian translation of any of these states' names. Nevertheless, owing to its widespread press use and official Menghean adoption, the translation "Greater Menghean Empire" stuck.

Previous dynasties, in keeping with the above, had been known simply as "Great Yi" or "Great Myŏn" (Dae Yi, Dae Myŏn), without the appended "Empire," at least in official state texts. The Greater Menghean Empire never adopted an official dynasty name, though Dae Meng could be interpreted as making it (a second version of) the Meng dynasty. The term "Kim dynasty" is sometimes used to describe the House of Kim, but the four Kim emperors were only a dynasty in the Western sense (i.e., a group of monarchs under their family name) and never in the Eastern sense, and the Kim dynasty also presided over the Three States Period (in the State of Sinyi) and the Federative Republic of Menghe (as purely ceremonial monarchs).

The term "empire" proved to be a source of controversy for some subsequent Menghean governments, which embraced strident anti-imperialist rhetoric while also adopting a generally sympathetic view of Menghe's efforts in the Pan-Septentrion War. Etymologically, Jeguk is comprised of 帝 (supreme ruler; emperor) and 國 (country; state) and might be more properly understood as "a state ruled by an emperor." Yet jegukjuyi (제국주의 / 帝國主義) remains the common Menghean term for imperialism in the sense of far-reaching territorial aggression.

Formation

Background

In 1901, in compliance with a ceasefire agreement signed two years earlier, the Namyang Government and the State of Sinyi formally merged into the Federative Republic of Menghe. At the behest of Namyang negotiators, this country was headed by a Casaterran-style system of government, with a Federal Assembly electing a Prime Minister to rule the country and the Emperor serving as a purely ceremonial figurehead. Kim Dae-wŏn, who took on the title of Yŏngtong (Eternal Unity) Emperor to commemmorate the new era, was entirely content to withdraw from politics and live out the rest of his reign in luxury, and the country was relatively democratic, with universal adult male suffrage granted in 1920.

With its trade-friendly policies, pragmatic approach to reform, and broad focus on modernization and industrialization, the Federative Republic of Menghe experienced substantial economic growth, and in 1923 it was symbolically recognized as a great power through its inclusion in the Selkiö Naval Treaty. Yet many Menghean military theorists felt that Menghe's growth would be constrained by its exclusion from other states' imperial trading spheres, especially after world trade broke down during the WSS, and argued that Menghe could only survive with its own sphere of influence. Menghean nationalists also chafed at the intrusion of Western institutions, values, and even sartorial fashions into the country, seeing it as a form of cultural infiltration. More radical nationalists aspired to re-establish the regional order of the late Yi dynasty, when Menghe was the dominant land power on the continent of Hemithea and the dominant naval power in the South Menghe Sea.

Conspiracy plots

In the late 1920s, a group of high-ranking military officers began conspiring to overthrow the Federal government and establish a stronger, more unified, and more disciplined state. The eventual coup ringleaders were mostly high officials in the Navy General Staff, which owing to its mission had a more outward-looking strategic focus, though they operated with the knowledge and support of many of the Federal Army's officers.

Most coup plots of the 1920s, including a botched uprising by Army officers in 1921, centered on restoring the Emperor to power, which would symbolically reject Western-style government and maintain continuity with the existing Kim imperial line. A persistent challenge for these coup plots was the nature of Kim Dae-wŏn, the reigning Yŏngtong Emperor. During his years in direct power in Sinyi (1897-1899), Kim Dae-wŏn had proven to be an inept, indecisive, and uninspiring leader, contributing to Sinyi's disastrous defeats in the war's final years. Once demoted to the status of symbolic figurehead, he had adopted a lavish lifestyle, with a growing court of servants and concubines. Though never reprinted in official presses under pain of lèse-majesté, rumors of his extravagant spending and debaucherous parties steadily spread throughout the country. Worse still, he had welcomed Western music and fashion into his court and was addicted to opium, making him a living symbol of the intrusion of Western culture into the country.

For most of the 1920s, the top officers in the military had suggested waiting until Kim Dae-wŏn's death, at which point they could intervene behind the scenes to influence the selection of a successor. By 1926, however, motivated by a growing sense of urgency, the Navy General Staff decided to expedite their plans and place a new heir on the throne ahead of time.

Coup of February 28th

On 18 February 1927, a squadron of ships of the Menghean Federal Navy sailed up the Kimhae Sea off the coast of Donggyŏng and fired a salvo of blank artillery rounds over the city. This marked the signal for two brigades of Menghean marines, deployed into the city the night before, to storm the Parliament building and the Donggwangsan palace. Aboard the lead ship was Fleet Admiral Kwon Chong-hoon, along with Kim Myŏng-hwan, a 23-year-old prince who had previously lived in relative obscurity.

Army conspirators in Junggyŏng surrounded the Summer Palace the same day. There, they invoked a clause of the 1904 Constitution, which permitted a sitting Emperor to abdicate the throne if he judged that he was no longer fit of body and mind. The Yŏngtong Emperor abdicated without resistance.

As soon as this information was confirmed via telegram, Kwon Chong-hoon had Kim Myŏng-hwan crowned Emperor in Donggyŏng. He adopted the reign name Donghyi, or "Eastern Light," to symbolize Menghe's return to glory as the leading power in the Eastern Hemisphere. In the same ceremony, Kwon unveiled a new Imperial Charter, which would replace the Menghean constitution of 1904. In doing so, he permanently dissolved the Federal Assembly, replaced the system of federal regions with a unitary system of government, and changed the country's official name to the Greater Menghean Empire. The Imperial Charter also established an Imperial Council to advise the Emperor, and a Premier to head this council. Per the carefully choreographed coup plan, Kim Myŏng-hwan appointed Kwon Chong-hoon as Premier, and approved his appointments of a slew of military officers to other top administrative posts.

Government

Kwon Chong-hoon in military uniform as Premier.

The most important organ of state in the Greater Menghean Empire was the Imperial Council, similar in structure and role to a cabinet or state council. The Council of Ministers was headed by a Premier, who was appointed by the Emperor. The Premier then appointed the other members of the council, with the Emperor's approval. Under the Imperial Charter issued in 1927, the Imperial Council was responsible for advising the Emperor on state affairs and implementing his decisions, making it his only direct legal interface with the rest of the political system.

In practice, this meant that the Council, and particularly the Premier, could wield supreme power on the Emperor's behalf, either leaving him out of key discussions or instructing him on which decrees to issue. From 1927 until 1933, the Imperial Council functioned in this exact manner, with Kwon Chong-hoon serving as Menghe's unquestioned dictator and Kim Myŏng-hwan serving as a legitimizing figurehead. In the mid-1930s, encouraged by his rising age and motivated by the military operation against Themiclesia, Kim Myŏng-hwan began questioning Kwon's judgment in internal debates, and after Kwon ordered an attack on Sylva in 1935 without alerting the Emperor beforehand, these disputes moved out into the open. Tensions passed the breaking point after another of Kwon's adventures led to the outbreak of war between Menghe and Maverica. On 3 October 1937, after securing the approval of factions in the Army, Kim Myŏng-hwan invoked the Imperial Charter to dismiss Kwon Chong-hoon from his position and appoint a replacement Premier. After a heated scuffle and a scattering of street battles between pro- and anti-restorationist forces, Kwon agreed to resign that afternoon and was placed under house arrest at his estate in Jangryŏng Province.

From that point onward, Kim Myŏng-hwan wielded primary political power in Menghe, with the Premier serving as a deputy or chief advisor. Kim replaced the Premier on several other occasions, namely 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944, and twice in 1945, partly to express his dissatisfaction with incumbent Premiers' decisions and partly to prevent any other Premier from emerging as a rival.

As the Federal Assembly was dissolved in the wake of the Coup of February 18th and never reorganized, there was no elected legislature in the Greater Menghean Empire. Legislation was instead drafted and issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Similarly, the federal regions were dissolved, and provincial governors and city mayors, previously elected, were appointed by officials two tiers up.

Economy

In the economic realm, Kwon sought to promote the slogan of Buguk Gangbyŏng (부국강병 / 富國强兵), literally "rich country, strong military," which had already grown popular in the Federative Republic era. Compared with his predecessors, Kwon urged a greater focus on heavy industry, including coal, oil, and steel.

While this strategy led to impressive growth in Menghe's industrial output specifically, and allowed it to shoulder the costs of a long conventional war, it also came at a cost to light industry and other sectors. Kwon's aggressive foreign policy also led to a decline in trade and foreign investment, which intensified the military's search for potential resource-rich colonies.

Throughout the later interwar period, and the war itself, Menghe remained a largely agrarian and deindustrialized nation, leveraging its large population to compensate for its other weaknesses. While its total steel output was respectable, per-capita figures fell well behind the overall norm, and quality of life for most citizens remained poor. These problems were especially visible in the final years of the Pan-Septentrion War, as the cost of ten years of mobilization became apparent.