Quick question. Why did the the Liberal Faction and Court Faction (1836) change their names to the Liberal Party and Court Party? (1846) If I recall you only explained the Restorationist/Loyalist name change.
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Found where those few million people have gone yet? Must be somewhere in america, hopefully not Austrian colonies....
Interesting stuff. Good to see your RPs are improving nicely. Most surprising for me is seeing Scotland comfortably amongst the GPs. Well, comfortably at present, I doubt they'll remain their for a great deal longer. Also surprising is that Russia and France have more provinces than you. Surely something that need be righted soon!
wonderfully detailed update ... do love graphs and tables. Given the anti-military bias of your population that may well lead to Socialist popularity later on?
Very informative update. I'm really interested by your population decline, especially whether the people leaving are from Japan or the rest of the empire.
Also, who owns the dark green colony in Canada? Russia?
Also, who owns the dark green colony in Canada? Russia?
I don't have a core on Sakhalin, and there's much better land available to me elsewhere. Besides which, Castile is a close friend of the Empire, and there aren't many powers I can say that about.
Japan is modelled to an extent on nineteenth-century Britain. I don't need a big army as I'm not intending to fight major wars, so I'm haven't built one. That's beginning to change though.
Everyone loves graphs and pretty maps (or at least I do).
Interesting stuff and a very thorough presentation, kudos for that. Kind of a "behind the scenes" look into the game behind the story.
Thanks, glad you like it. I feel that the narrative can sometimes obscure the underlying game (sometimes, in fact, it's intentional). This is an opportunity to let people know what's going on and for me to take stock of how things are going.
The simple answer is that 'Faction' is the vanilla V2 name, whereas Party is what I've been calling them in the modded version. The in game explanation is that it reflects the increasingly formalised party structure that is developing throughout the period.
Yes, RPs are about where I want them. Scotland is also about where I want it, but might not be able to hold its own, especially if Britain gets frisky. I'm comfortable with France and Russia being bigger. I have more population, so should be able to support a larger army and industrial base if need be.
The population seems split between the very pro- and very anti-military. Must make for some interesting debates. I'd try going a while without war to address this, but it doesn't really fit with an activist foreign policy.
I'm covering that in the coming update.
Indeed, it's Canada, who I think were revolters from Scotland.
1846: The threat to the north
State opening and Emperor's speech
The opening session of the 1846 Diet was dominated by talk of war with Russia. Isolationists deputies were predictably fiercely opposed and there was little enthusiasm from the Court Party either. The Loyalists' central argument - that a border with Russia would inevitably lead to war, so the Empire must go to war to remove the border - was derided as "fighting a war to avoid a war". Others were concerned about the cost of a conflict, the need to avoid Japan being perceived as an aggressor and the limited gains such a war would bring.
The year's Budget was identical to that of 1845 despite the high burden of taxes and tariffs. The Finance Minister announced that the surplus would be used to bring the Japanese Army up to a peacetime establishment of 300,000 men.
The resulting Army Act of 1846 added a further 32 brigades to Imperial forces, all of them based on the Chinese mainland.
Japanese-controlled Manchuria would supply seven brigades of cavalry, while Chinese troops would be recruited into newly formed provincial armies.
Japan prepares
Russia's response to the build-up of Imperial forces was almost non-existent. The Russian consul in Kyoto, Vladimir Zavalishin was aware of the Loyalist's hostile response to the annexation of Mongolia, but did not command sufficient seniority within the Russian Foreign Service to ensure that his communiqués were read in a timely manner.
From Russia’s standpoint, Japan was in the middle of one war and was not thought likely to begin another. With the efforts at professionalising the Army occupying the lion's share of senior commanders' time there was little appetite for more than a swift end to the Malaccan war.
Fortunately for Japan, that end was a foregone conclusion. The Battle of Lopburi had destroyed all Malaccan hopes of winning the war and by February they had no choice but to accept defeat and their place as a junior partner in Japan's system of regional alliances.
The end of the Malaccan war brought peace to the Empire, but the Cabinet viewed it as no more than a chance to prepare for the coming conflict. The Loyalists believed that a successful War with Russia would cement Japan's position as the dominant Asian power and themselves as the natural party of government.
It remained unarguably the case that Russia's foreign policy was aggressive to the point of foolhardiness. Following the end of the war with Manchukuo the Tsar revived an old Russian claim to all the territory west and north of Lake Baikal. While it was artfully left unclear as to whether this included Imperial provinces in the valley of the Songhua, it certainly encompassed the new Castilian settlements along the Heilong.
Following desultory efforts to have the Russian claim recognised by diplomatic means, Russia declared war on May 1st. If St Petersburg believed that it would quickly conquer the distant provinces and rapidly bring the war to an end it was to find out that it had badly miscalculated.
To the Tsar's dismay the ongoing political turmoil in France - which had seen reforms even more far-reaching than those in Japan so hated by the Loyalists - did nothing to deter Charles VIII and his government from honouring their commitment to Castile: indeed, from the government's point of view this was an opportunity to prove its credentials internationally.
In Japan the Loyalists viewed the conflict with a mixture of delight and trepidation. On the one hand, Russia had now given ample proof of its hostile ambitions in East Asia and had embroiled itself in a major war. On the other, Japan was simply not ready for intervention and the size of Russia's armies gave further pause for thought. Only fully mobilised would Japan would be able to match Russian manpower, and with so many troops in Europe, Africa and the Great Eastlands the Empire would be vulnerable if the enemy were to concentrate their power in one place.
For now though the Russians had enough on their hands. The Japanese Foreign Ministry allocated over £50,000 to fund the Franco-Castilian alliance for the remainder of 1846, with assurances that they would continue to receive funds to keep the fight going for as long as was needed.
French entry into the war changed its dynamics from a simple case of occupying a colony to a major conflict between two powers sharing a land border. Although the territories in Eastern Europe and Anatolia were not directly connected to metropolitan France the kingdom's expanded navy ensured that it could move troops to where they were needed.
Once it recovered from the shock of being in a much more serious conflict than it had anticipated, Russia would find itself with several advantages over the allies. Having mobilised its troops early in the war the Russians could field over 500,000 men and could send them to either front by land: a long trip, to be sure, but one that negated Franco-Castilian naval superiority.
In the European theatre the Russians were thought to favour an offensive into French-held Serbia, where it was believed that the local Slav population would prove supportive. Alternatively, it could attack along the Black Sea coast towards Constantinople, the capital of France's eastern possessions.
In the east, Castile defied expectations by taking the offensive. Large armies were hard to supply on the northern steppe and for this reason the Russians were unable to mount an effective response to Castilian raiding parties.
It was thought that such successes as were had would prove temporary given the number of troops the Russians could eventually deploy. However, the Castilian's success emboldened advocates of war within the Empire.
By November of 1846 Japan's military build-up had been completed and the new formations were taking up their positions in northern China. The initial forces allocated to the front comprised 39 brigades, while discussions were ongoing as to the possibility of deploying the Army of Italy in support of France.
For its part, Castile had already indicated it would allow Japanese troops to transit through its territory and had gone as far as promising all possible logistical support to the Empire.
By mid-December the final piece of unfinished business was resolved with the completion of the Army's reform programme. With the officer corps instilled with a new sense of professionalism Japan's forces would fight more effectively than ever.
The Cabinet now turned its attention to the standard of care given to the wounded. Having studied the French system of 'flying ambulances' the War Office was determined to introduce a similar service to the Imperial Army. However, it was thought unlikely that anything could be introduced in time for the coming war.
Domestic affairs
Domestically, the Cabinet pursued the same policies in 1846 as it had the previous year, but despite the harsh penalties that dissent attracted there seemed to be no shortage of challenges to Imperial rule.
The majority of the disturbances were located in central China and it was possible that the Qin attempt to rouse resistance amongst the Imperial subjects there was having belated success. With war on the horizon the Cabinet were determined not to show signs of weakness, even when the alternative was - as happened in Jian - a low-level guerrilla war.
As well as directly confronting the authorities, Japanese subjects were voting with their feet. The 1840s had seen rapidly rising emigration - much of it officially sponsored - but instead of remaining in the new Imperial settlements in the Great Eastlands many were absconding.
A commission of inquiry established by the Diet not only proved the truth of this, but also identified the British Empire as the émigrés' main destination. Although the commission recommended the immediate suspension of the Great Eastlands settler programme, the Cabinet felt unable to oblige. Whatever its faults, the settlement project were vital to securing Japanese control of the new continent.
With the intensification of British and Castilian colonisation efforts the frontier was rapidly closing. The Cabinet was determined that Japan should secure all the territory it could, and if that meant a few malcontents fled to Britain, so be it: they were hardly likely to find a warm welcome there. Opposition deputies were less sanguine, but for now the policy would stand.
The year also saw continued intellectual ferment, with the publication of a definitive liberal response to the Court Party's 1842 statement of principles. Taking its inspiration from their French counterparts, the Liberal Party's 'Rights of Man' argued that government should concentrate on security and the rule of law and otherwise have no involvement in religious or commercial matters.
Prime minister Kuroda fired back with a blistering speech to the Diet in which he recommitted himself to the traditionalist support for hierarchy and combined this with a defence of the established authorities: just as wives followed their husbands and sons their fathers, so society's less fortunate must trust the judgment of their betters as part of a system that had been proven by the passage of time.
Foreign affairs
Aside from the Russian war, 1846 was marked by financial instability. Modena, a state towards which Japan bore little ill-will but had nevertheless fought two wars with in the past decade, had gambled on a war in Africa to revive its fortunes, but had ended up bankrupting the state.
While there were calls for Japan to protect its interests by force, the Loyalists were too preoccupied by the Russian threat to respond. They were also reluctant to commit to another war in Europe; doubly so when those whose interests they were defending were mainly of liberal sympathies.
Before the year was out a fresh challenger to Russian hegemony was becoming the talk of Europe. Sweden, which had suffered greatly from tsarist expansion, was rapidly becoming a power in world affairs.
Despite this, the Cabinet reckoned such talk of Swedish power overrated its changes against Russia. However, it was possible that Japan was not the only state seeking to take advantage of Russia's troubles.
End of year
The elections to the 1847 Diet produced yet more gains for the Liberals as electors proved worried by the increasing authoritarianism of the Loyalists and the impact that war with Russia could have on Japan's trade.
As the Empire prepared for the opening of the Diet, it seemed certain to all that the new year would bring war.
State opening and Emperor's speech
The opening session of the 1846 Diet was dominated by talk of war with Russia. Isolationists deputies were predictably fiercely opposed and there was little enthusiasm from the Court Party either. The Loyalists' central argument - that a border with Russia would inevitably lead to war, so the Empire must go to war to remove the border - was derided as "fighting a war to avoid a war". Others were concerned about the cost of a conflict, the need to avoid Japan being perceived as an aggressor and the limited gains such a war would bring.
The year's Budget was identical to that of 1845 despite the high burden of taxes and tariffs. The Finance Minister announced that the surplus would be used to bring the Japanese Army up to a peacetime establishment of 300,000 men.
The resulting Army Act of 1846 added a further 32 brigades to Imperial forces, all of them based on the Chinese mainland.
Japanese-controlled Manchuria would supply seven brigades of cavalry, while Chinese troops would be recruited into newly formed provincial armies.
Japan prepares
Russia's response to the build-up of Imperial forces was almost non-existent. The Russian consul in Kyoto, Vladimir Zavalishin was aware of the Loyalist's hostile response to the annexation of Mongolia, but did not command sufficient seniority within the Russian Foreign Service to ensure that his communiqués were read in a timely manner.
From Russia’s standpoint, Japan was in the middle of one war and was not thought likely to begin another. With the efforts at professionalising the Army occupying the lion's share of senior commanders' time there was little appetite for more than a swift end to the Malaccan war.
Fortunately for Japan, that end was a foregone conclusion. The Battle of Lopburi had destroyed all Malaccan hopes of winning the war and by February they had no choice but to accept defeat and their place as a junior partner in Japan's system of regional alliances.
The end of the Malaccan war brought peace to the Empire, but the Cabinet viewed it as no more than a chance to prepare for the coming conflict. The Loyalists believed that a successful War with Russia would cement Japan's position as the dominant Asian power and themselves as the natural party of government.
It remained unarguably the case that Russia's foreign policy was aggressive to the point of foolhardiness. Following the end of the war with Manchukuo the Tsar revived an old Russian claim to all the territory west and north of Lake Baikal. While it was artfully left unclear as to whether this included Imperial provinces in the valley of the Songhua, it certainly encompassed the new Castilian settlements along the Heilong.
Following desultory efforts to have the Russian claim recognised by diplomatic means, Russia declared war on May 1st. If St Petersburg believed that it would quickly conquer the distant provinces and rapidly bring the war to an end it was to find out that it had badly miscalculated.
To the Tsar's dismay the ongoing political turmoil in France - which had seen reforms even more far-reaching than those in Japan so hated by the Loyalists - did nothing to deter Charles VIII and his government from honouring their commitment to Castile: indeed, from the government's point of view this was an opportunity to prove its credentials internationally.
In Japan the Loyalists viewed the conflict with a mixture of delight and trepidation. On the one hand, Russia had now given ample proof of its hostile ambitions in East Asia and had embroiled itself in a major war. On the other, Japan was simply not ready for intervention and the size of Russia's armies gave further pause for thought. Only fully mobilised would Japan would be able to match Russian manpower, and with so many troops in Europe, Africa and the Great Eastlands the Empire would be vulnerable if the enemy were to concentrate their power in one place.
For now though the Russians had enough on their hands. The Japanese Foreign Ministry allocated over £50,000 to fund the Franco-Castilian alliance for the remainder of 1846, with assurances that they would continue to receive funds to keep the fight going for as long as was needed.
French entry into the war changed its dynamics from a simple case of occupying a colony to a major conflict between two powers sharing a land border. Although the territories in Eastern Europe and Anatolia were not directly connected to metropolitan France the kingdom's expanded navy ensured that it could move troops to where they were needed.
Once it recovered from the shock of being in a much more serious conflict than it had anticipated, Russia would find itself with several advantages over the allies. Having mobilised its troops early in the war the Russians could field over 500,000 men and could send them to either front by land: a long trip, to be sure, but one that negated Franco-Castilian naval superiority.
In the European theatre the Russians were thought to favour an offensive into French-held Serbia, where it was believed that the local Slav population would prove supportive. Alternatively, it could attack along the Black Sea coast towards Constantinople, the capital of France's eastern possessions.
In the east, Castile defied expectations by taking the offensive. Large armies were hard to supply on the northern steppe and for this reason the Russians were unable to mount an effective response to Castilian raiding parties.
It was thought that such successes as were had would prove temporary given the number of troops the Russians could eventually deploy. However, the Castilian's success emboldened advocates of war within the Empire.
By November of 1846 Japan's military build-up had been completed and the new formations were taking up their positions in northern China. The initial forces allocated to the front comprised 39 brigades, while discussions were ongoing as to the possibility of deploying the Army of Italy in support of France.
For its part, Castile had already indicated it would allow Japanese troops to transit through its territory and had gone as far as promising all possible logistical support to the Empire.
By mid-December the final piece of unfinished business was resolved with the completion of the Army's reform programme. With the officer corps instilled with a new sense of professionalism Japan's forces would fight more effectively than ever.
The Cabinet now turned its attention to the standard of care given to the wounded. Having studied the French system of 'flying ambulances' the War Office was determined to introduce a similar service to the Imperial Army. However, it was thought unlikely that anything could be introduced in time for the coming war.
Domestic affairs
Domestically, the Cabinet pursued the same policies in 1846 as it had the previous year, but despite the harsh penalties that dissent attracted there seemed to be no shortage of challenges to Imperial rule.
The majority of the disturbances were located in central China and it was possible that the Qin attempt to rouse resistance amongst the Imperial subjects there was having belated success. With war on the horizon the Cabinet were determined not to show signs of weakness, even when the alternative was - as happened in Jian - a low-level guerrilla war.
As well as directly confronting the authorities, Japanese subjects were voting with their feet. The 1840s had seen rapidly rising emigration - much of it officially sponsored - but instead of remaining in the new Imperial settlements in the Great Eastlands many were absconding.
A commission of inquiry established by the Diet not only proved the truth of this, but also identified the British Empire as the émigrés' main destination. Although the commission recommended the immediate suspension of the Great Eastlands settler programme, the Cabinet felt unable to oblige. Whatever its faults, the settlement project were vital to securing Japanese control of the new continent.
With the intensification of British and Castilian colonisation efforts the frontier was rapidly closing. The Cabinet was determined that Japan should secure all the territory it could, and if that meant a few malcontents fled to Britain, so be it: they were hardly likely to find a warm welcome there. Opposition deputies were less sanguine, but for now the policy would stand.
The year also saw continued intellectual ferment, with the publication of a definitive liberal response to the Court Party's 1842 statement of principles. Taking its inspiration from their French counterparts, the Liberal Party's 'Rights of Man' argued that government should concentrate on security and the rule of law and otherwise have no involvement in religious or commercial matters.
Prime minister Kuroda fired back with a blistering speech to the Diet in which he recommitted himself to the traditionalist support for hierarchy and combined this with a defence of the established authorities: just as wives followed their husbands and sons their fathers, so society's less fortunate must trust the judgment of their betters as part of a system that had been proven by the passage of time.
Foreign affairs
Aside from the Russian war, 1846 was marked by financial instability. Modena, a state towards which Japan bore little ill-will but had nevertheless fought two wars with in the past decade, had gambled on a war in Africa to revive its fortunes, but had ended up bankrupting the state.
While there were calls for Japan to protect its interests by force, the Loyalists were too preoccupied by the Russian threat to respond. They were also reluctant to commit to another war in Europe; doubly so when those whose interests they were defending were mainly of liberal sympathies.
Before the year was out a fresh challenger to Russian hegemony was becoming the talk of Europe. Sweden, which had suffered greatly from tsarist expansion, was rapidly becoming a power in world affairs.
Despite this, the Cabinet reckoned such talk of Swedish power overrated its changes against Russia. However, it was possible that Japan was not the only state seeking to take advantage of Russia's troubles.
End of year
The elections to the 1847 Diet produced yet more gains for the Liberals as electors proved worried by the increasing authoritarianism of the Loyalists and the impact that war with Russia could have on Japan's trade.
As the Empire prepared for the opening of the Diet, it seemed certain to all that the new year would bring war.
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Three of the great powers at war, and now Japan plans to join in! To what madness has our world descended?!
Though I'm still busy with another game, I've been meaning to ask if I can somehow obtain your starting save/mod, so I can try it out. I find Trebizond, in particular, absolutely fascinating in this alternative history.
Though I'm still busy with another game, I've been meaning to ask if I can somehow obtain your starting save/mod, so I can try it out. I find Trebizond, in particular, absolutely fascinating in this alternative history.
One of the reasons I dumped my AAR was what you've got in a screenshot above -- the dozens and dozens of province events with ridiculously low MTTHs, and which seem to have so little an effect. They happen a lot in vanilla, true, but they seem more frequent in conversion AARs.
Wow, Russia certainly has ended up on the wrong side of things. Let's see how they manage when Japan is added to their current list of enemies...
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Love the maps and charts in the decade summary; they appeal to my inner statistician/hair-splitter. Poor Russia seems to have shot itself in one foot, while the other is about to step on a land mine.
I would be tempted to pummel Manchukuo as well, if only to remove that ugly gap (by the second "A" in Japan). Taking it would give Japanese China much prettier borders. (I realise not every player has that disease, but... well, I do.) Granted, it would be very inconvenient and somewhat dastardly in the eye of the diplomats.
Although you're roleplaying them very effectively, I have to say I can hardly wait until Kuroda and company get the boot. Nearly 66,000 souls emigrating per month ought to be sounding alarm bells to somebody.
I would be tempted to pummel Manchukuo as well, if only to remove that ugly gap (by the second "A" in Japan). Taking it would give Japanese China much prettier borders. (I realise not every player has that disease, but... well, I do.) Granted, it would be very inconvenient and somewhat dastardly in the eye of the diplomats.
Although you're roleplaying them very effectively, I have to say I can hardly wait until Kuroda and company get the boot.
Nearly 66,000 souls emigrating per month ought to be sounding alarm bells to somebody.
Almost 50,000 emigres to the UK per month is astounding. I would love to know what effect this is having on the British colonies. Any chance of a North America update (comparing the Great Eastlands to the other colonies) at some point?
Is there still a massive case of joblessness for your craftsmen or have you managed to fix that now? If not then its pretty easy to see what could be driving that emigration. The rest of it must be the pretty harsh policies of Kuroda-san.
Still, you don't want quitters and lay-abouts in your country. Its good news that they are leaving, more space for true patriots who want to work and be taxed for the good of the Japanese empire.
Still, you don't want quitters and lay-abouts in your country. Its good news that they are leaving, more space for true patriots who want to work and be taxed for the good of the Japanese empire.
The coming war with Russia promises to be a great read, I fail to see how they will be able to stand against their current foes. The level of emigration you are experiencing is truly extraordinary, I've little idea of how it could be curtailed though. Well, perhaps conquering the British Empire would remedy the situation!
What was Kazakhstan before you converted it (Kazakh horde?), and why is it spelt wrong?
Great update Dewirix! I especially love the establishment of subsidies for a grand alliance against Russia. The emigration is a touch worrying though, especially to Britain!
great update - this promises to be one epic war. Pity your populace are emigrating to the British though ... is it something you said?
Agreed. If I'm not mistaken though, Tuva is owned by Manchukuo and surrounded by Russian provinces. It would make sense to gain territories from Russia and gain a land border to Tuva first before annexing Manchukuo.