Reformed Government of Senria
Reformed Government of Senria 千龙国維新政府 Qiānlóngguó wéixīn zhèngfǔ Senryuukoku Isin Seihu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927–1934 | |||||||||
 Flag
 Seal
| |||||||||
| Anthem: Ready to fall like ten thousand sakura blossoms | |||||||||
| Maximum extent of the Reformed Government shown in red. Maximum extent of the Reformed Government shown in red. | |||||||||
| Status | Administratively autonomous component of the Heavenly Xiaodongese Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Oue (1927-1931) Sakata (1932, de facto) | ||||||||
| Government | Provisional government under military dictatorship | ||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||
• 1927-1934 | Shanrong Emperor | ||||||||
| Chief Minister | |||||||||
• 1927-32 | Yosito Otuzi | ||||||||
• 1932-1935 | Itio Fuziwara (exile) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| April 7 1927 | |||||||||
• Exile from Senria | 1934 | ||||||||
• Dissolution | 4 May 1934 | ||||||||
| Currency | Silver Yen (1927-1931) Yuan (1932, de facto) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of |  Senria | ||||||||
The Reformed Government of Senria (Xiaodongese: 千龙国維新政府; Qiānlóngguó wéixīn zhèngfǔ; Senrian: 千龍國維新政府; Senryuukoku Isin Seihu) was the official name of the areas of Senria occupied by the Heavenly Xiaodongese Empire during the Great War from 1927 to its collapse in 1932. Throughout most of its history the Reformed Government controlled a substantial part of the island of Tousuu, with its headquarters being in Oue; it also controlled the Isotama Islands and, briefly, regions of the island of Kousuu.
The Reformed Government was created on the basis that Xiaodong, which had rapidly industrialised during the late 1800's and enjoyed political stability, was destined to lead southern Coius; Xiaodong invaded Senria in 1927 partly due to the political instability following the Senrian Revolution and also due to the Senrian annexation of the Xiaodongese concession of Sakata. The political future of Senria was initially uncertain - initial occupation authorities where made up of a joint Senrian-Xiaodongese government, which aimed for the new state to be part of a Xiaodongese bloc that would see the restoration of order in Senria. However, in the later months of 1927 the government became increasingly dominated by Xiaodongese officials under Qiu Hanjie who proposed to divide Senria into two zones, one to be deported of ethnic Senrians and replaced with ethnic Xiaodongese and the other to be a rump puppet state.
Under the Reformed Government the Senrian Genocide was carried out. However, the war turned for the worse for Xiaodong in 1931 and, by 1932, the majority of the territory of the Reformed Government was reclaimed by Senria. The Reformed Government was officially dissolved in January 1934, but the entirety of the Senrian archipelago had de facto been in Senrian hands since June 16 1932.
History
Background
The early twentieth century in Senria saw a substantial divide between an increasingly revolutionary republican movement and the the traditionalist forces of the imperial house. Despite a limited degree of industrialization starting during the Keiou Restoration, Senria remained a predominantly agricultural country; this weakness was seized upon by Xiaodong in 1909, who seized the city of Sakata after delivering an ultimatum to Senria. This became known as the First Sakata Incident and fatally undermined support for the Senrian monarchy.
In April 1918, this disquiet with the Senrian monarchy - exacerbated by the ongoing effects of the Great Collapse - led to a series of riots that morphed into an armed conflict, starting the Senrian Revolution between republican forces led by Ryuunosuke Miyamoto and the monarchy. The republicans were able to capture large parts of the Senrian archipelago being supported by Estmere and Werania, whilst the monarchy was supported by Xiaodong and Gaullica. The republicans formed a government in Ukyou which, after Miyamoto's death, was dominated by Isao Isiyama. Yosito Otuzi was originally seen as a protégé to Miyamoto but was displaced by Isiyama, leading to an increasing rivalry between the two, which caused Otuzi to leave the Kyouwakai after Isiyama became its leader. In 1926 a group of generals under Katurou Imahara (known as the "Gang of Six") were able to carry out a successful coup d'état, ending the Senrian monarchy. The Gang of Six's government in Keisi and Isiyama's government in Ukyou agreed to form a united body known as the Council of the Senrian State, evenly divided between Imaharists and Isiyamists; this body quickly became paralyzed due to the political rivalry between the two men, however, which caused a loss of public faith in the new government.
The increasing dominance of colonial powers in Senria such as Werania and Estmere, coupled with the more aggressive posturing of Xiaodong following the ascension to power of the Shanrong Emperor, led to nationalist fervour in Senria. Although the mainstream of Senrian republican leaders saw Xiaodong as the greatest threat to the nation, some, such as influential republican figure (and rival to Isiyama) Yosito Otuzi and some members of the Reimeisa, saw peace and cooperation with Xiaodong as the best defence against Euclean colonialism, with the intent to create a pan-Coian bloc. Otuzi also had become attached to functionalism as was being practiced in Gaullica and saw Senria's republican system as being unsuited to the country, creating the Party of National Reconstruction to advocate functionalism and anti-Euclean colonialism. Monarchists in the Genyoukai (Black Ocean Association) also opposed the new Senrian state with some monarchists - such as Prince Teruhito - seeing Xiaodong as the best hope for the overthrow of the republican regime.
In light of the continued presence of monarchist forces, the rise of far-left organisations, and shaky popular support of the government, the Council of the Senrian State decided to retake the city of Sakata from Xiaodong, at the time guarded only by a light garrison. The Council believed that their alliances with Estmere and Werania, coupled with the weak Xiaodongese economic situation as a result of the Great Collapse, would deter Baiqiao from initiating hostilities to retake the city; concerns were also raised about potential interference from Gaullica, which had been leased a portion of Sakata's harbor as a coaling station by Xiaodong, but the Council concluded it would likely simply shift these operations to Jindao. On November 17, 1926, Senria initiated the Second Sakata Incident, quickly retaking the city; Xiaodong, with Gaullican support, issued an ultimatum that would have essentially vassalised Senria. Senria refused to abide by this ultimatum, leading to Xiaodong and Gaullica to declare war; this, in turn, led to the invocation of a web of alliances that escalated into the Great War.
Establishment of the Reformed Government
On February 2 1927 the Xiaodongese Senrian Expeditionary Army (SEA) under the command of Qiu Hanjie landed at Sakata, Oue, Urasoe, and Mutumura in a large-scale assault on Senria. The SEA contained the Second Army under Lu Keqian; the Fourth Army under Liao Yinzhai and the Seventh Army under Qing Qishuo organised into 16 divisions. The SEA soon took control over much of northern Senria, setting up their operational headquarters in Sakata. Xiaodong had been able to capture the city due to it being weakly defended under the forces of Lu Keqian. Within the month, larges areas of the Sakata and Misaki prefectures, as well as much of Mutumura prefecture and some areas of Sueoka and Sekiguti prefectures were occupied by Xiaodongese troops.
During the invasion, monarchist members of the Reimeisa and supporters of Otuzi attempted to plot a coup in Keisi that would replace the Council of the Senrian State with a government that would expel Euclean forces from Senria and attempt to negotiate a peace with Xiaodong. This conspiracy was soon discovered, with Otuzi and leading Reimeisa figure Iehiro Tokudome fleeing to the Xiaodongese occupied zone on the 24th of February.
Between the 5 February when the city of Sakata fell to the 30 March when SEA Commander Qiu Hanjie, quartermaster general Ren Xilian and Peace Preservation Brigade commander Shen Jinping arrived in Senria the occupied zone was effectively controlled by general Lu Keqian. Lu instantly began preparations to create a puppet government to administrate Senrian territory, anticipating a long war with Senria and therefore aiming to more easily manage the occupation by allowing the SEA to focus on combat activities and letting civilians govern the territory.
Xiaodong at this point had framed the invasion in its propaganda as a measure to impose order over Senria in the aftermath of the Senrian Revolution, and had attempted to incorporate ethnic Senrians into the regime by promising them a "strong Senria in a Greater Xiaodongese Order", warning against the dangers of Senria descending further into republicanism, liberalism and socialism.
A series of pro-Xiaodongese municipal councils were organised in Oue, Urasoe and Mutumura whilst Lu issued the "Charter on the Development of Senria" on the 3rd March 1927 which promised to create an independent Senrian state under Xiaodongese protection. On the 14 March 1937 Lu appointed Yosito Otuzi to head a provisional government that would consist of pro-collaboration forces - monarchists from the Genyoukai, Reimeisa members loyal to Tokudome (having formed a splinter party they termed the True Reimeisa after being expelled from Reimeisa), and functionalists in the Party of National Reconstruction - who would be under the umbrella of the pro-Xiaodongese Sintaiseikai (New Order Society). The new government would be based in the city of Oue, although, as it had to report to the SEA HQ in Sakata, a large amount of its operations took place in Sakata rather than in Oue.
On the 30 March 1927 Qiu and Ren arrived in Senria where they supported Lu's creation of a puppet government and formally petitioned the Shanrong Emperor to approve of a client state. The Shanrong Emperor approved on the 5 April and on the 7 April Otuzi formally declared the creation of the Reformed Government of Senria (千龙国維新政府; Senryuukoku Isin Seihu). Otuzi claimed the government was rather then a new entity the successor of the pre-1926 republican government, and as such the legitimate government of Senria; Otuzi stated that the unification of Isiyama's Ukyou government and the Gang of Six's Keisi government in 1926 had been illegitimate, and that the Keisi government therefore constituted an illegal regime.
The same day the Reformed Government was created it signed a Friendship and Cooperation Pact with Xiaodong, recognising the Xiaodongese Emperor as the provisional head of state, relinquishing all claims to Sakata, mandating the SEA provide oversight for all governmental, judicial and military functions, ban anti-Xiaodongese propaganda, allowing the SEA extraterritorial rights over territory controlled by the Reformed Government, allow the SEA total control over political appointments and allow the SEA veto power over "decisions relating to the anti-banditry campaign" (the Xiaodongese name for the war with Senria). In effect these moves made the Reformed Government a puppet state - all vice-ministers in the Reformed Government's cabinet were Xiaodongese whilst the ambassador to the government was Qiu Hanjie, who in his capacity as SEA chief held de facto veto power over all government operations.
The Xiaodongese had during the invasion also captured the Isotama islands from Senria. However despite protests from the Reformed Government these islands were directly annexed into Xiaodong with native Senrians being expelled from the island and local Isotaman politicians appointed to its administration.
Development of the Reformed Government
Despite founding the Reformed Government the SEA did not move quickly to entrench new institutions for the new state. Much to the chagrin of Otuzi the Reformed Government was initially barred from founding an army, a judicial system or a police force with Xiaodongese commanders demanding that Otuzi declare martial law and give control of judicial affairs exclusively to the SEA. Otuzi having little negotiating room acquiesced to this demand despite visible protests from the three parties that made up the Sintaiseikai. This increased with the imposition of several new measures by the Xiaodongese government such as the creation of a system of sexual slavery, forced seizures of businesses and laws stratifying Senrian socity into racially-divided castes.
This changed in June 1927 when with the arrival of Senrian prince Teruhito to the occupied territory. Teruhito had substantial support amongst Senrian monarchists and sections of the Xiaodongese command with the central government in Baiqiao openly floating the idea of instating him as dragon-king of a new Senrian empire. This alarmed those in the SEA who were distrustful of Teruhito who upon his arrival in the occupied territories declared his regel name and increasingly demanded to be restored to the throne.
On the 28 June 1927 a new Friendship and Cooperation Pact was signed by Qui and Otuzi. A new flag, seal and anthem were introduced that contained no overt monarchist symbols; the creation of judicial system was permitted albeit working in parallel with the Xiaodongese military courts; a police force, the Peace Police, was set up; and most dramatically the Reformed Government was permitted to create its own army albeit being restricted to a maximum of 80,000 men. The Xiaodongese also set up other trappings of an independent state such as the creation of a new currency, a confederation of trade unions, several social groups with associated militia's such as the Young Daughters of a New Senria and its own foreign ministry which had been banned under the first Friendship and Cooperation Pact.
The creation of greater autonomy within the occupied areas was contested bitterly within the SEA who saw such measures as undermining plans already being drafted to partition Senria or even eventually eliminate it as a state. However the signing of a new Friendship and Cooperation Pact was driven by two strategic calculations by the SEA command. The first was to straightforwardly prevent Teruhito from becoming monarch by legitimising functionalists and pan-Coianists so to present the Otuzi government as a fait accompli to Baiqiao given Teruhito still retained important support within the central government. The second was to commit unreservedly to total war with Senria and making anything short of total victory over Imahara's forces out of the question; by creating a legitimate Senrian government recognised by the Entente powers Xiaodong would not be placed under pressure by its allies to settle with a more limited peace with Keisi. It was reasoned by the SEA that partition and deportations of large amounts of Senrian people could be performed concurrently with the expansion of the client regime.
Shortly after the new friendship treaty was signed Qiu demanded Otuzi appoint Yosimoto Hideaki, a pan-Coianist and fervent Xiaodongese collaborationist, as both Foreign and Propaganda Minister. The appointment confirmed the subservience of the new regime to Xiaodongese interests disappointing both the functionalists and monarchists within the collaborationist regime that yearned for a more assertive stance. Hideaki was also frustrated by the Xiaodongese Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially lacking interest in expanding the Reformed Government's international recognition. Nevertheless hope remained high within the Reformed Government, especially amongst monarchists, that the Xiaodongese would allow more autonomy in the future.
The same month the new Treaty of Friendship was the same that the first concentration camp in the former military barracks of Rokkaso was created. Founded as a prisoner of war camp the facility was operated by the Peace Preservation Brigades under the oversight of Shen Jinping. According to a secret memorandum passed by the Peace Preservation Brigade leadership the new facility was intended as a pilot scheme to be applied to those within occupied zones deemed to be threatening to public order. The creation of such a camp was approved by SEA commander Qiu who saw bureaucratising the internment of dissidents as preferable to less organised punitive measures. The approval of the creation of a camp was done outside the remit of the Reformed Government with the Rokkaso camp not under the control of the Reformed Government. This was followed by another "pilot scheme" in October 1927 that saw the village of Kitayufutu cleared of its residents and transformed into a POW camp.
The increased autonomy of the government allowed Otuzi to purge his internal opponents, particularly members of the Black Ocean Association and bureaucrats who had served both the republican and reformed governments, from the bureaucracy. Otuzi sent lists to Shen Jinping, the leader of the Peace Preservation Brigades and second-in-command to SEA chief Qiu, of senior bureaucrats and politicians who were involved in "anti-Xiaodongese, communist and pro-Imahara activity". This purge led to the Xiaodongese rounding up 5,000 individuals who were shipped off to some of the newly established extermination camps. Although this move allowed Otuzi to further cement his power it set a precedent for the Peace Preservation Brigades to extrajudicially round up perceived opponents to be sent to concentration camps whilst also depriving the new government of several highly skilled bureaucrats who had been crucial in maintaining public order following the invasion.
As Xiaodong continued its offensives in Senria it was slow to turn over authority in occupied zones from military governors to the Reformed Government. This was partly due to racism towards Senrians but also due to the severe lack of technical expertise in the Reformed Government whose senior bureaucrats following Otuzi's purge were often ideologues and traditionalists. Writing to Chief of Staff Yao Fuzhang in August 1926 Qiu stated that after attending a cabinet meeting of the Reformed Government that he was left shocked at the "delusions and fantasy that senior ministers and bureaucrats were spouting. They were talking of production and recruitment targets that outstripped the Keisi-based government."
By Autumn 1927, the Reformed Government had begun the process of creating pro-government militia forces to work alongside the SEA, army and police to restore order. This came in the context of rising resistance within occupied areas from groups such as the Continuation Army, the Senroukaibu and yakuza groups. The prospect of serious resistance within Reformed Government areas led to the SEA to increasingly begin to advocate for an expansion of the concentration camp system and to ensure that the Senria that emerged from the Reformed Government was both weak and hopelessly dependent on Xiaodong.
1928 saw several key developments for the Reformed Government. The Gaullican Admiral of the Flotte de l'Austral, Léonard Bertillon, met with officials from the Reformed Government where he confirmed that the Gaullican government would recognise the Reformed Government as the legitimate government of Senria effectively cutting off relations with Imahara's Keisi-based government. This was a huge propaganda coup for the Reformed Government as Gaullica's allies swiftly followed suit.
Despite foreign recognition helping legitimise the regime externally internally Xiaodongese forces sought to expand the steadily growing concentration camp which was undermining the Reformed Government's limited sovereignty. In March 1928 Xiaodongese forces slaughtered Senrian inhabitants at the village of Sueoka, an act that was heavily criticised. The SEA authorities refused to condemn the massacre stating that the Xiaodongese Army acted honourably and accusing the Imahara government of spreading misinformation intended to undermine the image of the Xiaodongese government. In April 1928 Qiu Hanjie officially approved the massacre and detainment of the inhabitants of the village of Itinoseki creating the first civilian-only concentration camp. This began the massive expansion of the Senrian Genocide which would primarily take place within the Reformed Government's territory.
In March 1928 the Xiaodongese occupation authorities also imposed the Three Year Plan on Senria. Intending to reorganise the economy of northern Senria to support the Xiaodongese war effort the Three Year Plan nationalised all major industries in the occupied areas, enforced economic planning and confiscated land from Senrian peasants. All Senrian men were also conscripted into forced labour to meet extremely high production quota's. The Three Year Plan was bitterly opposed by some within the Reformed Government as it was deeply unpopular amongst previously apathetic peasants and effectively gave Xiaodongese bureaucrats complete control over the regional economy, but was passed by the State Council after Otuzi and Hideaki emphasised the Reformed Government had no alternative.
The 1929 Senrian offensive disrupted the expansion of the Reformed Government's territories, leading to measures such as rationing to become more draconian. The expansion of guerrilla movements also undermined the Reformed Government's operations, although the 1928 assassination of Teruhito was broadly welcomed by the SEA and Otuzi regime. Senrian discovery of the Sitigahama concentration camp, subsequently referred to as "extermination zones" in international parlance, undermined Xiaodongese claims of liberating the Senrian people from political collapse and caused a major crisis within the Reformed Government. The press although already compliant to the Reformed Government came under extremely strict censorship whilst SEA officials reprimanded attempts by the Reformed Government's officials to examine the camps.
1930 saw the "peak of the genocide" when 56 of 61 of the concentration camp facilities were operating at once. At this point the Xiaodongese government and occupation authorities had embraced the Yasuoka Plan which planned to annex the entirety of northern Senria and depopulate it of ethnic Senrians, marking it out instead to be settled by ethnic Xiaodongese. As such the mass, institutionalised slaughter of Senrians became official policy of the SEA over the objections of the Reformed Government who increasingly saw their powers stripped from them as they opposed Xiaodongese intentions for the territory.
As well as this the 1930 Xiaodongese offensive also placed greater strain on the civilian population of the Reformed Government. The exploitation of land led to a famine to occur that significantly contributed to the genocide and highlighted both the corruption and incompetence of both the Reformed Government and the SEA.
In 1931 in order to shore up support for the regime Otuzi announced that the three parties that existed within the Reformed Government would be merged into a single entity, the Sintaiseikai (New Order Society). The merger was intended to be the logical step in the further formation of a single-party regime that would come to garner popular support from the populace as well as function as a united front against the SEA's policies towards Senria, particularly a proposal by the Shanrong Emperor to appoint his sister Princess Wenzhuang as the monarch of Senria. In both these aims the Sintaiseikai failed miserably - the forced merger turned some members of the Black Ocean Association and True Reimeisa societies against the regime as they saw the merger as little more then an attempt to submerge their organisations behind Otuzi whilst the SEA were scornful of the Sintaiseikai and continued their genocidal policies without reservation.
Ukyou Uprising
The Ukyou Uprising - which would last from February 2 1931 to March 28 1932 - would fundamentally change the face of the war in Senria and the overall direction of the Reformed Government. The SEA under the command of Qiu and with a Lu Keqian shuffled out in favour of Li Yongjin planned to undertake a third offensive in April 1932 and the deployment of a new army in Senria. This would be undertaken after guerrilla forces would be largely destroyed or marginalised over 1931 through actions taken by the SEA, the deployment of the New Senria Army and the expansion of the extermination zones.
However Senrian resistance forces had over the past few months been consolidating within the occupied zone to form the Army of Tousuu which nominally reported to the overall command of resistance groups, the Aitekidou. The Army of Tousuu aimed to seize the city of Ukyou, the largest on the Tousuu island, which they hoped would be relived with a Senrian offensive. The Army of Tousuu were aided by the Xiaodongese-appointed mayor of Ukyou, Okazaki Kawasima, who passed large amounts of information to the Army of Tousuu due to his disgust of Xiaodongese conduct in occupied territories. The Army of Tousuu was commanded under the joint leadership of Akira Nakano, Hayao Akimoto, Takesi Sasada, and Nobuyosi Yokoyama.
On February 2 the Army of Tousuu made its move, intending to capture Ukyou's city hall, railway station, police and fire headquarters, and industrial district. In this they were successful - local Xiaodongese units were overwhelmed especially as the civilian populace largely rose up to support the rebels. General Liao Yinzhi, considered to be the most able of the SEA leadership was stabbed by one his concubines who had been bribed to do so. By nightfall the rebels had seized Ukyou, the town of Sinsoumizu and areas of the towns of Hiroi and Kitamati. Using the collapsed Xiaodongese garrison weapons the rebels were able to cobble together a respectable defence of their gains.
Xiaodongese counterattacks forced the rebels to retreat to defend Ukyou where they were airlifted aided by Imahara's forces. However, the grand offensive the rebels had envisioned the Keisi-based government to undertake did not materialise. The Xiaodongese implemented a total blockade of the city and placed it under a devastating siege, intending to starve out the rebels. During 1931 through to 1932 the 8th and 11th Armies were deployed by Xiaodong to recapture the city often moving a single block at a time to retake the city. By March the rebels exhausted collapsed with the Xiaodongese retaking the city, executing most of the rebels and slaughtering many civilians.
Although the Xiaodongese had won against the rebels the uprising was a huge blow to the war effort. The continued use of resources for the slaughter of civilians alongside generally repressive measures had induced massive resistance to the Xiaodongese, a total lack of support for the Reformed Government and the diversion of valuable resources away from the war itself. The uprising had also scuttled plans to launch an offensive in 1932 and saw the Xiaodongese armies drained of men and supplies as well as allow the Senrians an additional year to prepare a counteroffensive.
The uprising led to for all intents and purposes the end of the Reformed Government as a body. Its legitimacy which had always been minimal was non-existent after the wholesale slaughter of civilians in Ukyou whilst it had shown itself to be both utterly incapable of restraining the SEA from their repressive actions nor implementing order within occupied territory. As a result the SEA effectively abolished many of the institutions that it had created for the Reformed Government; the legal system was dissolved with SEA military courts taking up its role; the police force and militias were dismantled; the currency due to hyperinflation was scrapped; the New Army was cannibalised of its equipment and reduced to a policing force; and thousands of bureaucrats were dismissed and shipped off to extermination zones.
Shortly after the uprising Yosito Otuzi was dismissed as Chief Minister and placed in the Rokkaso Extermination Zone on the 2 April 1932. He was replaced by the commander-in-chief of the New Senria Army Itio Fuziwara. Fuziwara was bluntly told upon his appointment by Qiu Hanjie that his role was primarily to continue his command of the New Senria Army and that the Reformed Government as an entity was no longer responsible for the administration of occupied areas.
Exile and dissolution
Between April to June 1932 Senria began its second offensive of the war against Xiaodongese units which would ultimately become successful. Bogged down fighting Euclean units on mainland Coius, bruised from the Ukyou Uprising and facing a famine in Xiaodong itself the Xiaodongese army was unprepared to meet with the now more-mechanised Senrian army and registered huge defeats. As a result of this genocidal actions became more blatant in the final months of the Xiaodongese presence in Senria - when they could no longer operate concentration camps in many cases Xiaodongese units sent Senrians on death marches.
On the 27 May 1932 Itio and Hideaki sailed out from Sakata to Baiqiao to continue the operations of the Reformed Government in exile. Many in the Xiaodongese government had no real pretence of restoring the Reformed Government to power but hoped that their presence in Baiqiao would enable them to use recognition of the Keisi-based government as a bargaining tool in negotiations with the Grand Alliance.
The defeat of the Xiaodongese navy and Flotte de l'Austral in the Battle of Hurasima Strait scuppered plans to evacuate more members of the Reformed Government and the SEA leadership out of Senria. The last two extermination zones operating within occupied Senria, Rokkaso Extermination Zone and Imadate Extermination Zone, were liberated on June 4 and June 8, respectively with Otuzi being executed by Senrian forces shortly after the liberation of the Rokkaso zone. As Senrian forces approached Sakata Qiu Hanjie having escaped Senria earlier made the decision to raze the city in an attempt to halt the Senrian advance and buy time for the Xiaodongese garrison to regroup. The city's near destruction was mostly successful but the garrison failed to mount a successful defence - on June 16 the final Xiaodongese garrison in Senria surrendered.
The Reformed Government continued in exile with a small cabinet led by Itio. Its main duty was the mobilisation of Xiaodongese Senrians to serve in the remaining regiments of the Reformed Army, which numbered around 8,000 men. This policy was unpopular amongst Xiaodongese Senrians who felt little affinity for a government claiming to rule Senria. When Senria invaded Xiaodong in July 1933 the New Senria Army was often ineffective in halting Senrian advances with its Xiaodongese-born members often deserting.
On the 4 May 1934 the Xiaodongese government officially withdrew recognition of the Reformed Government, the last country to do so after the surrender of its other Entente allies. The newly enthroned Taiyi Emperor hoped to some form of settlement with Senria and saw the Reformed Government as an obstacle to that goal. A few hours after the removal of recognition Itio made the decision to formally abolish the Reformed Government.
Many members of the New Senria Army subsequently became bandits in Xiaodong or associated with yuanminghui groups. When Senria seized Baiqiao in 1935 it arrested many former members of the Reformed Government who had entered retirement. Hideaki committed suicide prior to entering Senrian custody whilst Itio would ultimately be placed on trial and executed for treason to Senria alongside senior SEA officers.
Xiaodongese intentions regarding the territory
Pre-war plans
Prior to the Senrian Revolution Xiaodong aimed to align Senria as a vassal state of the Xiaodongese monarchy. Senria's strategic location and the memories of Euclean imperialism in Xiaodong meant that Xiaodong saw Senria as a vital buffer state. The signing of an alliance with Gaullica did not completely allay Xiaodongese concerns, who feared Gaullica would take advantage of the alliance to annex Senria into the Gaullican Empire and thus maintain Xiaodong as a powerful but truncated ally. Following the seizure of Sakata in 1909 the first governor-general of the new territory, Jiang Dongbiao, stated that the seizure was the "first and most decisive step" into "economically, politically and military penetrating Senria and as such giving Xiaodong an early advantage in aligning Senria into our sphere".
During the Senrian revolution Xiaodong alongside Gaullica supported the Senrian monarchy, with Xiaodongese leaders seeing the monarchy as more amenable to Xiaodongese influence. Support was limited under the Jiayin Restoration in 1922 saw the Shanrong Emperor cement himself as an absolute monarchy and promote the militaristic Great Harmony Association to power. The Shanrong Emperor approved of a 70,000 men expeditionary force to be sent to Senria in order to prop up the monarchy, led by Zhang Haodong. Zhang's forces however refused to be put under the authority of the Senrian monarchy and operated largely autonomously on the island of Tousuu, hampering their effectiveness. In 1925 the expeditionary force was withdrawn, with Zhang stating to the government that the Senrian republican forces were likely to win but that Senria would be militarily "incapable for the foreseeable future" and recommended a policy of maximum pressure to cause the collapse of new government that would allow Xiaodong to extract considerable concessions from the collapsed Senrian state.
During the revolution an influential Xiaodongese figure writing about Senria became Chen Guanbiao, a radical socialist theorist who called for a new society in a Xiaodongese dominated Senria that would be pan-Coian in character, with harmony between the people of Senria and Xiaodong. Chen originally a supporter of the Senrian Revolution became disillusioned with what he saw as the chaos it had unleashed - Chen blamed the revolution's failure to achieve social reform in real terms on the fact that it embraced liberal and nationalist ideology. Chen called on the Coian nations to reject barbaric nationalism and to submit to Xiaodong which would liberate the Coian world of reactionary practice and promote peace between people's. These ideas were later adapted by right-wing theorists. These rightists promoted Chen's analysis that liberalism and "barbaric nationalism" had destroyed Senria and that a new society in Senria needed to be built, but rather than promote an anti-nationalist, utopian pan-Coianism instead called for Xiaodong to subjugate and destroy Senrian society in its entirety.
Radical socialist followers of Chen advocated for Xiaodong to intervene in Senria and influenced war planners. Yao Fuzhang, the Chief of Staff of the Xiaodongese military, was convinced that a war with Senria to contain the "republican experiment" was imminent but that a pro-Xiaodongese, monarchist Senria was still possible to restore. Yao submitted to the Emperor a proposal that in the event hostilities with Senria broke out Xiaodong would not push for concessions with Senria but instead aim for full blown regime change and the re-orientation of Senrian politics and its economy to Xiaodong. Yao's plan was opposed by those of the extreme right of the government such as Ren Xilian, who called for "the orderly and complete dismantlement of Senria and the elimination of is people's" but was widely accepted by most political factions, despite concerns that regime change would be a costly endeavour doe Xiaodong. The Emperor was also friendly with the exiled Senrian Prince Teruhito who heavily advocated for a Xiaodongese invasion that would restore his family to the throne. Following the annexation of Sakata by Senria, Xiaodongese officials crafted an ultimatum to be given to Senria or face. The ultimatum was designed to be politically unacceptable to Senria to they would reject it and as such its six points were designed to move Senria into the direction of a vassal state, with these being -
- Senria will recognise the authority of the Son of Heaven and pay tribute.
- Senria will relinquish all claims to Sakata and return the territory to Xiaodong.
- Senria will halt all anti-Xiaodongese agitation and cease all anti-Xiaodongese propaganda.
- Senria will remove all officials who express views demeaning and insulting the Xiaodongese nation.
- Senria will allow representatives of Xiaodong to supervise the affairs of the Senrian state in the interests of collective security and mutual friendship.
- Senria will present all those with civil and military posts in Senria to be examined and approved by representatives of the Xiaodongese state.
The final push for Xiaodong to adopt a strategy of regime change came after Senria rejected Xiaodong's ultimatum - with this rejection the Shanrong Emperor labelled the Senrian government as being "completely impossible to reason or negotiate with" and that a "responsible government is needed to end the anarchy on these islands".
Proposals for a monarchy
When Xiaodong declared war on Senria in 1927 there was still debate within the government over the future setup of the new Senrian state. Although the initial propaganda highlighted that the main aim would be the implementation of the Six Points in full - which Gaullica believed to be the only aim of Xiaodongese forces - the Shanrong Emperor had informed the military almost immediately that the main priority was regime change and the destruction of republicanism in Senria.
Following the invasion various collaborationist parties emerged - these included the monarchist Black Ocean Association, the ultranationalist, anti-Euclean True New Dawn Society and the functionalist Party of National Reconstruction. All those whose supported the new Xiaodongese regime were based in the traditionalist, anti-republican right of Senrian politics albeit not all of them - particularly the Party of National Reconstruction - supported monarchism. An important collaborationist early on, influential former republican Yosito Otuzi, was particularly vocal in his opposition to a monarchical restoration supporting instead the creation of a new state based on national functionalism. This contrasted to prince Teruhito who despised modernisation and wished to restore Senria to a semi-feudal, authoritarian monarchy that would restore the "samurai spirit".
Following the invasion general Lu Keqian announced the creation of a provisional government in Sakata choosing Otuzi as Chief Minister of the Reformed Government. Lu was a republican and personally despised Prince Teruhito who he saw as a "epitome of the gutless character of the Senrian people, whose deception is not even marked by any finesse" and worked to prevent a restoration of the Senrian monarchy to the islands. Lu's appointment of Otuzi was approved by his superior Qiu Hanjie who whilst not being a republican distrusted the Black Ocean Association as being comprised of opportunists, instead promoting Otuzi loyalists in the Party of National Reconstruction to lead the collaborationist government. Qiu sponsored the creation of the Sintaiseikai, an alliance of the three collaborationist parties and other independent collaborationists with the hope it could form the nucleus of a single-party state.
Shortly after the appointment of Otuzi as Chief Minister Teruhito returned to Senria and declared his regal name to be Kyuuan, increasingly adopting the title of Dragon King is official parlance. Teruhito's move alienated his supporters in the Xiaodongese government, who had not yet secured the exact terms of his return to the throne and vindicated the reports of people like Lu and Qiu who saw Teruhito as an untrustworthy ally to Xiaodong at best. Teruhito's move also was a propaganda gift to the Senrian government who began to more readily associate monarchism with collaborationism, increasing support for the Senrian republican government, a fact bemoaned by Xiaodongese generals. Shortly before Teruhito's death the Shanrong Emperor wrote to the prince urging him to cooperate with the occupation officials or risk losing support for his restoration.
The Shanrong Emperor remained supportive of the restoration of some form of Senrian monarchy, but had become increasingly drawn to annexing sections of northern Senria in order to ensure Keisi was "always in range of our artillery" as well as being a "fine prize for the men we have lost". Prince Teruhito increasingly came to oppose the annexation of such large swathes of northern Senria and the Black Ocean Association became far more marginalised as the Shanrong Emperor became far less supportive of a Senrian monarchist restoration, although was still opposed to the radical functionalists in Senria supported by occupation authorities. The Shanrong Emperor tapped his sister, Princess Wenzhuang who spoke Senrian, as a potential candidate for ruling over a southern Senrian state.
In January 1928 Senrian guerrillas were able to assassinate prince Teruhito which led to Senrian monarchist collaborationists to lose their primary advocate - the Shanrong Emperor however was still unsure of a non-monarchist government. Princess Wenzhuang soon became the Xiaodongese government's choice for a Senrian monarch and in March 1928 she was sent to Sakata ostensibly as the imperial representative to the reformed government. Princess Wenzhuang was chosen partly due to her fluency in the Senrian language but also due to her lack of political ties with established Xiaodongese or Senrian political factions.
Princess Wenzhuang's proposal to become monarch was opposed by Qiu Hanjie and other military leaders in the occupation authorities after Wenzhuang criticised some of the conditions Senrians faced in the occupation zones. At a meeting with Qiu in June 1928 Qiu was reported to continually shout at Wenzhuang that Senrians were "dogs" and that she would become a traitor to the country if she continued to argue with the occupation authorities over the status of Senrians in the occupation zones.
By 1929 as the Senrian genocide started in full the Shanrong Emperor delayed the plan coronation of Wenzhuang until after the war. In 1931 Wenzhuang was found to be passing information to the Senrian resistance, some of which was blamed for helping the Ukyou uprising; as a result of this but to avoid embarrassment for the imperial family the Shanrong Emperor demanded she return to Baiqiao where she placed under house arrest, dying shortly afterwards of what was suspected to be a poisoning. With Wenzhuang's withdrawal the Shanrong Emperor lost interest in restoring a monarchy for Senria with the idea rarely being proposed afterwards.
Plans for partition
Although some plans early on had envisioned maintaining Senria as a united state, following the invasion quickly it became popular within Xiaodongese government circles to eventually partition Senria following the war's end and the annexation of Senrian territory into Xiaodong directly. The reasoning for a partition was coached in various ways; military planners saw control of the strait between Xiaodong and Senria as vital for Xiaodong to maintain naval supremacy and that by moving the Xiaodongese border to be near Keisi that they would be able to permanently be in a position to strike at the Senrian capital at a moments notice. Demographers also wanted to move a large amount of rural unemployed Xiaodongese into new areas to create settler colonies, with a transfer of parts of the population into Senria being similar to moves into Duljun and Tinza. Ideologues also believed that Xiaodong had a natural right to expand its borders and that Senria as a nation that had defied the more powerful Xiaodong deserved punishment through loss of land.
Partition plans from the very start saw to divide Senria into areas designated for Xiaodong to be depopulated of Senrians, repopulated with ethnic Xiaodongese and absorbed as integral provinces of Xiaodong and areas to make up a rump Senrian state. Usually these plans roughly saw northern Senria including the island of Tousuu absorbed into Xiaodong and southern provinces remaining an independent Senrian state. A minority, mainly based around Ren Xilian, wanted to annex the entirety of Senria but this idea was rejected by the Shanrong Emperor after Chief of Staff Yao Fuzhang called such a move logistically impossible.
In April 1927 the Shanrong Emperor appointed General Li Yongjin, based in the newly-created Yasuoka military district, to devise a series of recommendations regarding the future territorial boundaries of Senria. Li was a protégé of Qiu Hanjie and believed that Xiaodong had an inalienable right to expand into and annex large sections of Senria. Li observed that as a bastion of republicanism northern Senria should be depopulated as its citizens were already less likely to accept Xiaodongese rule and thus the most surefire way to pacify them would be to remove them completely; Li also stated that by moving such a large amount of Senrians that it was inevitable that their population would enter rapid decline and thus reverse the increasing tend of Senria's population "catching up" to Xiaodong, thereby allowing Xiaodong to retain an overwhelming demographic advantage over Senria.
Li recommended that the Ontoudou, Tousandou, Ongokudou, Tintoudou, Toukokudou, Hokkaidou, Hokusandou, Kennandou, Toukaidou, Tuukaidou, and Sanyoudou regions of Senria should be annexed into Xiaodong and depopulated of their Senrian inhabitants to be replaced with Xiaodongese. Depopulation was either to be done via Senrians to be imported into Xiaodong as slave labour and to force the remaining Senrians to undergo cultural "Xiaodongisation" or for the physical removal and genocide of the Senrian people as a whole. Although Li was a staunch advocate for the latter substantial parts of the military advocated the former who feared more radical measures would redirect vital supplies from the front lines.
The Li proposals were named the Yasuoka Plan and were enthusiastically adopted by Qiu Hanjie. Qiu presented the plan for partition to Otuzi as a fait accompli, stating that the imperial house had already approved it and that Xiaodongese forces would dissolve the reformed government if Otuzi did not agree to the proposal. Otuzi attempted to negotiate the retention of Sanyoudou and Hokusandou but this proposal was vetoed by Qiu. As a result Otuzi accepted, leading to the Yasuoka Plan to become the official policy of the Reformed Government. Although the central government approved of the plan, it is unclear if they did so prior or after Otuzi was presented with the proposal.
Administration
The Decree for the governance of Senria laid out the basic administrative structure of the Reformed Government. The head of state was left vacant whilst the Emperor of Xiaodong was designated as being "above the government" and the Senrian Expeditionary Army afforded extra-territorial rights. An executive known as the State Council was created headed by a Chief Minister, whilst a legislature was due to be created at an undefined date. Three political parties existed - the Black Ocean Association, True New Dawn Society and the Party of National Reconstruction who were organised into a single alliance, the Sintaiseikai (New Order Society). After 1931 the parties were formally merged into the Sintaiseikai as the Reformed Government became a single-party state.
There was great debate over whether to restore the Senrian monarchy under Prince Teruhito or a Xiaodongese one under Princess Wenzhuang, but these proposals both never came to be implemented. The chief minister, Otuzi Yosito, was seen to be the highest ranking Senrian official in the regime and its main representative abroad in lieu of a head of state.
The centre of political power however was in the hands of the Commanding Officer of the Senrian Expeditionary Army. The State Council and Chief Minister were little more than rubber stamping bodies as the military appointed ministers and ran local government. The Sintaiseikai and its associated militias served only as a conduit for the mass mobilisation of the Senrian population in Xiaodongese occupied territory rather than as genuine political entities. This meant that effectively the Reformed Government was a military dictatorship ruled by the SEA Commanding Officer Qiu Hanjie.
In 1932 Otuzi was removed as Chief Minister and replaced with Itio Fuziwara, the chief of staff of the New Army who had already relocated to Xiaodong. After Xiaodongese forces were removed from mainland Senria in 1932 the Reformed Government continued to function as a government-in-exile in Baiqiao until 1934 when Fuziwara signed a decree dissolving the government after Xiaodongese officials pressured him to do so, hoping to come to a negotiated peace with Senria. The Fuziwara cabinet was captured by Senrian forces during the invasion of Xiaodong with the majority being tried and executed for treason.
Ideology and political parties
Up until their merger in 1931, the Reformed Government included three political parties - the Party of National Reconstruction, the True Reimeisa (New Dawn Society) and the Genyoukai (Black Ocean Society). The three parties reflected competing ideologies on the Senrian far-right - functionalism, anti-Euclean nationalism and monarchism. The three parties officially worked under the loose coalition of the Sintaiseikai (New Order Society) that generally promote close relations with Xiaodong.
The three parties in common espoused traditionalism and an idolisation of peasant life. All parties saw the westernisation of Senria as responsible for moral and political decline seeing a return to a pre-industrialised society. Corrupt bureaucrats, opportunistic politicians and greedy industrialists had to be purged from Senrian society with Senria being best served under an all-powerful leader backed by a military that enforced the busidou code in society. Democracy and republicanism being absent from Senrian society for millennia was to be rejected as a creed alien to Senria and its traditions. Capitalism also was routinely condemned in propaganda as was modernisation in general. Many within the Reformed Government saw superior will - the so-called "samurai-spirit" - was sufficient in absence of technological developments. As such the Reformed Government in much of its propaganda appeared as intensely anti-modernist.
Although created as a puppet state of Xiaodong the ideology of the Reformed Government had an ambivalent stance towards its benefactor and overlord. Xiaodong had since the 1880's loyally adopted westernisation and technological progress, adopting ethnic nationalism as necessary for the modernisation of the state. As much of the Reformed Government consisted of intense nationalists the Xiaodongese plans to partition Senria elicited alarm amongst some of the less loyal collaborationists. In general, attitudes to Xiaodong in state ideology could be divided into three groups. The first supported an elimination of the republican regime and hoped that following its fall Senria would be revive the samurai-spirit and unite the kokutai to restore Senria to greatness, essentially biding time for a later victory over Xiaodong. The second - led by Propaganda Minister Yoshimoto Hideaki - saw cooperation with Xiaodong in idealistic terms, seeing Xiaodong as the main Coian power as being destined to destroy Euclean colonialism and that as a similar civilisation to Xiaodong Senria would become a "brother nation" to Xiaodong, equal in status with a relationship built of anti-Eucleanism. This group saw Xiaodong's rise from a nation colonised by Eucleans to being equal to them as something to emulate for Senria, usually through the same combination of rapid industrialisation and political authoritarianism. The third group were both opportunistic and pessimistic in nature, seeing a Xiaodongese victory over Senria as nigh-inevitable and that Senria would be best suited managing its place in a Xiaodongese-led order in Coius rather then resisting.
The regime placed the Great War as a confrontation between Coian nations and the forces of international bankers and colonialists from Euclean powers such as Estmere, Werania and to a lesser extent Etruria. As the Reformed Government was allied nominally with Gaullica it refrained from presenting the conflict as one between Coians and white people, instead emphasising Estmere and Werania. In the occupation zones state propaganda encouraged Senrians to boycott Euclean goods and anti-Euclean campaigns in the media was extremely common. Functionalists such as Otuzi deeply admired Gaullica's Popular Party and wished to create a single-party state - possibly one even with a puppet monarchy - similar to Gaullica. Nevertheless the Reformed Government above all else spoke against the "materialism, individualism, liberalism and socialism of Euclean society" instead promoting traditionalist, collectivist and spiritualist themes.
After the death of Teruhito the monarchists within the regime faded from relevance. More nationalist members also were purged as Xiaodong increased the intensity of the Senrian genocide and started plans to fully partition Senria. When the three parties were formally merged into the Sintaiseikai in 1931 the state ideology was formalised as being based on restoring the bushido spirit, rejecting Euclean influence in Senria, returning to a pre-industrialised state, becoming a homogeneous society and affirming friendship with Xiaodong. This generally reflected Xiaodongese desires of a weak Senrian state that would effectively be run in a semi-feudal manner.
International recognition
As the Reformed Government claimed sovereignty over the entirety of Senria it attempted to portray itself as the legitimate government of Senria and as such tried to secure international recognition from other countries. At the declaration of war with Senria Xiaodong had already withdrawn its diplomats from Keisi and following the creation of the Reformed Government immediately recognised it. Tributary states also extended diplomatic recognition.
The creation of the Reformed Government was almost instantly was denounced by members of the Grand Alliance including Senria, Estmere and Werania. Katurou Imahara called the Reformed Government a "parody of a country... fabricated by traitors to destroy the sovereignty of the Senrian nation", and called for the "free nations of the world to reject this Xiaodongese imperialist creation"; Isao Isiyama, a longtime rival of Yosito Otuzi, referred to it as "a gaggle of traitors led by a vulture". Countries like Etruria and Nuxica continued to recognise the Keisi-based government.
Xiaodong invested heavily in convincing other members of the Entente to recognise the Reformed Government, particularly Gaullica so Gaullica would not pressure Xiaodong into signing a separate peace with Senria and support Baiqiao's aim of complete regime change in Keisi. In 1928 the Commander of the Flotte de l'Austral (Gaullica's Coian-based fleet) Léonard Bertillon met with members of the Reformed Government where he confirmed that the Gaullican government would formally recognise the Reformed Government.
Other Entente states such as Marirana and Amathia followed Gaullica's recognition of the Reformed Government. Despite intense lobbying from Otuzi for other neutral nations to extend recognition to the new government no government outside the Entente and their puppet states recognised the Reformed Government over Imahara's government. In May 1934 Xiaodong no longer saw the Reformed Government as a viable strategic benefit and withdrew recognition - as the last nation to hold diplomatic ties with the Reformed Government such an action led to the government to dissolve itself a few hours after the withdrawal of recognition.
Military forces
The Reformed Government was only afforded a limited military of 80,000 men, known as the New Senria Army. The army was mainly comprised of monarchist soldiers from the civil war who had been marginalised by the new republican government and followers of Otuzi, as well as various far-right elements of the Senrian army who saw the Imahara government as to reliant on Euclea. Xiaodong's reasoning for maintaining a small Senrian army was twofold; on the one hand it wished for post-war Senria to be a weak state that could not militarily threaten Xiaodong. On the other Xiaodongese officials saw Senrians as being unlikely to join the New Senrian Army in large numbers and so instead wanted a smaller, more elite force that would actually be useful in prosecuting the war against Senria. The Reformed Government possessed a small airforce and a navy containing a handful of patrol boats and a destroyer, but neither of these were seen as a serious force. The army was also subject to the Xiaodongese army command, making it a de facto part of the Heavenly Army.
The New Senria Army was mainly equipped with surplus Xiaodongese and captured Senrian equipment; despite possessing a small amount of armoured cars and a cavalry division, it was mainly an infantry force. The New Senria Army was mainly deployed playing a supporting role for Xiaodongese units in battle as well as controlling the cities to officially "restore order". Unlike the militia forces that Xiaodong also set up, the New Senria Army was generally loyal to the regime until the 1931 Ukyou uprising saw it decimated and its members defect in large numbers. According to Senrian historian Kuroda Hayasi the New Senrian Army's loyalty to the regime came from the fact they tended to be recruited from the most ideologically extreme right-wing forces that were pro-Xiaodong, received extensive ideological training and tended to experience better living conditions then even some of their Xiaodongese counterparts. Despite this the New Senria Army never reached its assigned 80,000 manpower capacity as set out by Xiaodong despite attempts to increase conscription measures.
After the Ukyou uprising however the New Senria Army was increasingly hollowed out by Xiaodong; the majority of its equipment was transferred to the Xiaodongese army, its officers reassigned to commanding paramilitary forces tasked with stamping out resistance groups and members suspected of treason deported to extermination zones. By 1932 the New Senria Army was beset by defections and many of its members committing suicide.
Militias
To encourage local support for the new regime, volunteer militias were created by occupation authorities that aimed to incorporate Senrians into the new regime and defend against resistance groups. The largest of these was the Anti-Banditry Corps which was created to root out anti-Xiaodongese Senrian resistance groups. Other militia's included the All-Women's Defence Battalion and the Youth Brigades, both of which were the military arms of the Senrian Women's League and the Youth for the Restoration of Senria, mass organisations created by occupation forces to shore up support for the regime from all sectors of society.
All militia groups were nominally voluntary, but in reality Senrian citizens were pressured into joining them; Xiaodongese commanders frequently used kidnapping and impressment to recruit. Milita members were deemed more expendable than Xiaodongese troops and as a result were frequently denied supplies and intentionally sent on suicide missions by Xiaodongese commanders. The vast majority were not loyal to occupation forces, with many aiding and abetting guerrilla forces and Senrian espionage activities, and large numbers of Senrian milita members defected or surrendered to Senrian troops when given the opportunity.
The militia groups were dissolved in November 1930 when all Senrian citizens in occupied territory were designated to be deported into extermination zones, although militia groups had been used in the genocide prior to their dissolution.
Judicial system
In the initial period following the invasion of Senria the judicial system was dissolved. Upon its creation Otuzi's first act was to declare martial law and allowing the Senrian Expeditionary Army to administrate justice through temporary military tribunals. In June 1927 a new judicial system was formally inaugurated, being modified from the legal system that existed prior to the invasion. A parallel legal system was formally created - Xiaodongese military courts would deal with matters relating to the operations of the Xiaodongese army whilst Senrian courts would deal with matters not related to Xiaodongese interests. However if there was overlapping jurisdictions then the Xiaodongese court would take precedence. Senrian courts were often said to be ineffective and slow; in contrast their Xiaodongese counterparts were highly efficient often processing trials in as little as ten minutes, although these were often seen to be kangaroo courts.
The new legal code was based on emphasising the collective kokutai over the individual - as such citizens didn't have automatic rights but rather were conferred rights if they abided by various responsibilities. The legal system formally enshrined discrimination between Xiaodongese and Senrians as well as enforce the death penalty for a much wider variety of crimes including for spreading sexually-transmitted diseases to Xiaodongese soldiers, not reporting to local governments for formal registration, for giving any assistance to enemies of the state, for failing to join forced labour brigades when requested and for failing to meet production quotas. Failure to bow to Xiaodongese soldiers was punishable by a beating, although said soldiers could determine the severity of such a beating.
Legal enforcement was divided between two entities - the Xiaodongese Peace Preservation Brigades (治安维持旅; Zhì'ān wéichí lǚ) who functioned as a secret police force on behalf of the Xiaodongese military and operated the Extermination Zone system - and the Peace Police (治安警察; Ti'an Keisatu) who were ethnically Senrian. The Ti'an Keisatu were mainly seen as an auxiliary police with limited responsibilities mainly being tasked with dealing with purely ordinary criminality. Although consisting of around 12,000 officers the Ti'an Keisatu were never seen as a reliable force by Xiaodong who tasked important policing matters with the Peace Preservation Brigades. It is estimated as much as 30% of Ti'an Keisatu members were associated with the resistance by 1931.
In the aftermath of the Ukyou Uprising the separate Senrian legal system was folded into the Xiaodongese military courts. The Ti'an Keisatu were dissolved with their members either being deported to the extermination zones or folded into the New Senrian Army's military police unit, which was tasked with restoring order in Senria.
Administrative districts
Demographics
At the height of the occupation the Reformed Government contained around 24 million people. Of that population it was observed that around 88% of them were ethnic Senrians, 11% Pangcah and 1% Xiaodongese, the latter grouped almost entirely in Sakata.
Over the course of the war, the Xiaodongese state aimed to fundamentally reconfigure the entire ethnic makeup of Senria, beginning its conversion from a multi ethnic but predominantly Senrian to a homogeneous Xiaodongese state. Under the occupation Xiaodong divided the population along socio-ethnic lines. Ethnic Xiaodongese were afforded the highest privileges, followed by honorary Xiaodongese (Senrians who cooperated with Xiaodongese authorities), Senrians, burakumin and Pangcah. The latter two were initially classified as subhuman and as a result became the earliest targets for repression. A day after the Reformed Government was formed a decree was passed confiscating the majority of property owned by burakumin and Pangcah, evicting them from their houses and moving them into large ghettoes.
All aspects of life in the Reformed Government was segregated on ethnic lines. Each group had different rights, food rations, allowed strips in the cities, public transportation and restricted restaurants. Housing was tightly controlled with much of the ethnic Senrian population crowded into slums whilst ethnic Xiaodongese seized their own property.
The Reformed Government saw a substantial displacement of people due to the chaos of the invasion. Following the start and expansion of the Senrian genocide the population of the Reformed Government went into decline; as the Senrian genocide affected primarily the occupied zones, its population was reduced by almost half.
Economy
At the time of the invasion in 1927, northern Senria had an agricultural economy with the vast majority of people working as peasants. Land reform which had been started during the Senrian Revolution had only been haphazardly implemented; as such most farms in northern Senrian was small and family owned. The major industrial centres were the cities of Ukyou and Sakata, the latter having been built into a major hub for shipbuilding and as a conduit of Xiaodongese investment in the region under Xiaodongese rule.
When Xiaodong invaded, the economy of the occupied regions was restructured to benefit the Xiaodongese war machine. Large sections of the economy were nationalised with the SEA planning to operate a planned economy that would be integrated into Xiaodong's economy. Ideologically the Xiaodongese justified this expansion of state power in the economy by publicly extolling corpratism where the unity of the kokutai was placed above individual rights. Trade unions were merged into a single organisation, the Council of Labour Unions of Senria (Hyougikai) that was subordinate to the Sintaiseikai. State rhetoric decried both socialist trade unions and plutocratic industrialists, advocating a "return to the land" and idolising rural life.
Initially during the occupation agricultural and industrial productivity increased as Xiaodong set up new industrial centres to create munitions for the Xiaodongese army. In 1928 the first three year plan was drafted for Senria. In effect, the plan called for all Senrian males over the age of 13 to be conscripted for forced labour in fields and industrial plants. All land was also nationalised by the government. The Senrian Yen was replaced by a new currency which was pegged to silver. The new currency, the Senrian Silver Yen, was abandoned by 1931 as hyperinflation had rendered it completely useless with the Xiaodongese yuan being the sole currency used in occupied areas.
Production quotas outlined in the Three Year Plan were seen as impossibly high and needlessly harsh, leading to economic productivity to slow by 1929. Continual destruction of railway lines by resistance members and the massive expansion of extermination zones also placed greater pressure on the economy. The extermination zones also under the direction of Shen Jinping underwent a transition from producing war goods to forced labour for the simple sake of crushing the morale of inmates, which meant more goods had to be imported from Xiaodong proper.
Economic exploitation of the land led to a de facto famine in 1930 and severe water shortages leading to a collapse in the northern Senrian economy. A decree was issued which mandated non-Xiaodongese women over the age of 13 also had to participate in forced labour and in 1931 the age for all those required to go into forced labour was lowered to 11. During the famine northern Senria - a breadbasket for the region - was still exporting food to Xiaodong, especially the regional speciality of udon noodles despite massive food shortages. Coal, the primary way families heated their homes, was also distributed exclusively to the Xiaodongese army. Price controls intended to restrain the impact of inflation were lifted in 1932 after it became clear that Xiaodongese forces were to lose the island leading many to be unable to buy basic necessities; as well as this a campaign of mass bombing saw much of the industry Xiaodong had built up in the beginning of the war destroyed. The razing of Sakata by retreating Xiaodongese forces also saw the industry of that city almost completely destroyed.
By the time the Reformed Government was driven from the Senrian islands the economy of northern Senria had completely collapsed; fields had been burnt by retreating Xiaodongese forces whilst most industry had been destroyed. The genocide also saw a large section of the labour force killed and those who remained were often overworked and malnourished. Some parts of northern Senria never recovered from the economic damage done from 1930-1932.
Resistance
During the initial months of Xiaodongese occupation of Senria, resistance movements were weak and in the minority. The majority of the population consisted of politically apathetic peasants who had only loose loyalty to the government in Keisi, whilst under the orders of Lu Keqian the Xiaodongese occupation forces emphasised stability and "maintaining order" in the occupied territories, refraining from large punitive actions over the majority of the population.
The Imahara government's "three-point plan" also at this stage did not envision large scale support for an organised resistance movement and still largely relied on conventional warfare to defend against Xiaodong, with guerrilla war not part of official Senrian military planning. Nevertheless resistance groups - mainly comprising of Senrian army units still operating within the occupied zone known as the Continuation Army and members of far-left organisations such as the Senroukaibu - already had formed after the initial invasion, mainly performing small-scale skirmishes and sabotage to Xiaodongese units and collaborationist forces.
The repression of burakumin in Xiaodong led to some of the best organised early resistance groups to come from yakuza groups whose members were often rooted in burakumin groups. The yakuza's established skills in evading legal authorities, smuggling, and use of violence meant they were ideal for carrying out resistance work and soon cooperated with other groups to better manage resistance activities, most of which consisted of sabotaging Xiaodongese supply lines, smuggling food and other goods into occupied areas, and distributing anti-Xiaodongese material.
Resistance activities were usually divided between those that were focused on guerrilla war, those focused on intelligence activities designed to sabotage the Xiaodongese war effort, and those that aimed to increase the standard of living in occupied zones whilst smuggling in anti-Xiaodongese material. Prior to 1929, the latter was the main method of resistance. Resistance groups usually operated in autonomous cells within small clusters of towns and cities.
Although these cells frequently cooperated, there was little overarching structure to them at first, making them easy to eliminate individually but almost impossible to destroy entirely. The concept of busidou was often invoked in resistance propaganda to increase recruitment and protect against double agents within the resistance.
In 1929, Katurou Imahara and the Senrian government - having noticed the efficacy of these comparatively small resistance operations - decided to fully support the Senrian resistance with political, military and logistical support, establishing an umbrella organization known as the Aitekidou (literally, "Patriotic Resistance Alliance") and making resistance to Xiaodongese rule official government policy. As a result of this, the Senrian resistance massively increased, which in turn led to increasing Xiaodongese repression in occupied areas. A key reason for the expansion of the resistance was the 1928 Xiaodongese policy of seizing rice fields forcing peasants into working in them as de facto slaves; this turned the previously apathetic peasantry staunchly anti-Xiaodongese.
Following the expansion of the resistance it began to engage more in organised guerrilla warfare. Northern Senria's terrain - which was predominantly mountainous - meant it was ideal for resistance groups to conduct guerrilla warfare from as well as disrupt Xiaodongese supply convoys, which had to rely on narrow mountain passes to effectively transport supplies through. The destruction of railways, the main way Xiaodong was able to mobilise troops and manage supplies, was often employed by resistance groups.
Within cities resistance groups would attempt to assassinate Xiaodongese military officers and collaborators as well as destroy supply warehouses. Prince Teruhito and General Liao Yinzhi were the two highest ranking individuals killed by the Senrian resistance, the latter killed by a prostitute who stabbed him in his sleep. The Senrian resistance also attempted to liberate extermination zones, most successfully doing so in 1930 at Hiraizumi.
Some members of the collaborationist government often acted as double agents for the resistance, passing key information or sabotaging the governance of occupied areas. One of the earliest and most important of these was Okazaki Kawasima, appointed as the Mayor of Ukyou by the Xiaodongese but who following his appointment passed large amounts of information relating to Xiaodongese troop movements to resistance groups. Another high-profile double agent was Princess Wenzhuang who did so after being distraught at the conditions faced by Senrians during the occupation. As Xiaodong increasingly lost ground in Senria and the extermination zone system was expanded more members of the collaborationist government - especially in the lower levels of the administration - began to pass information to the resistance.
The most important act of the Senrian resistance was Ukyou Uprising. Figures like Kawasima and Wenzhuang were known to pass key information to the Army of Tousuu, a collection of resistance groups operating under the Aitekidou umbrella. After the uprising, Xiaodong massively increased the expansion of extermination zones and repression of Senrians which weakened the internal resistance in occupied areas; the failure of the uprising whilst buying time for Senria to begin its final and successful offensive hugely undermined the resistance as many of its top leaders were captured and sent to extermination zones. Nevertheless, by the end of the war the resistance had become highly organised and an integral part of the Senrian army, especially after the Senrian government began to deploy divisions specialising in long-range penetration to bolster guerrilla operations in occupied areas.
Senrian Genocide
.jpg)
