Truman not only liberated the world, he freed people from having to use these Third Reich-approved stamps. :laugh:
I have seen that before. I have no idea where it came from but I do not have the picture that was supposed to be there on my current computer. I think it might have been a prank by one of my roommates, who hijacked my computer while I was out of the room and changed some of what I wrote.
Ok, I have simply decided I have had enough of this stupid problem delaying my finishing this AAR. In light of that, it is time to invent a reason why China is not released in game.
The War was finally over. For the people of America, it was something that they had trouble believing. For 13 years they had poured there blood sweat and tears into defeating the forces of Germany and there allies. At the time, it had seemed an impossible task. The American David taking on the German Goliath who had already conquered the most of the World. After 13 years of struggle, that notion had finally been proved wrong. Despite fighting against long odds and at the cost of Hundreds of Thousands of dead, Germany and her allies lay beaten. Even Japan, which had continued the struggle against all of the odds, now had to admit that it was beaten. For the rest of the World, this had an even great significance. They had been fighting Germany since 1939, meaning that this war for them had been going on for 22 years. An entire generation had thus grown up knowing nothing but war, death, and occupation. That had all ended when the Americans finally decided to take a stand. They had sacrificed the flower of their youth in order to free the rest of the World from the yoke of Fascism. These people now owed there freedom and their lives to those brave Americans who had given there lives so that they could have freedom. But America had not done it alone. Canada had been with them since the beginning and many more countries later joined the struggle after America and her allies gave them their freedom. What had started as the brave Americans taking on the rest of the World eventually became a grand crusade with almost the entire world arrayed against the Germans and their allies. It was largest and bloodiest war in the history of humanity and all of there other wars combined had not cost as much in blood as this one war did. For America, the toll had been among the greatest. The bloody slog across Spain alone had cost more men then the entire American Civil War, what had formerly been the bloodiest War America had ever fought. America, with its massive army of over 8 million men, was now without a doubt the most powerful nation in the world and one question now remained. What would America do with that power? Would it take advantage of that massive army to behave like the World Hegemon that it had become, or would it trade on the good will it had won by liberating all of the Old World from the forces of fascism to try and build a lasting peace. To Truman, however, there was never any question. "We did not just fight a war to rid the World of Fascist domination to replace it with our own" was his response to the question. As such, Truman went about deciding just what the world would look like after the War. He started by handing over several small territories that America had seized during the war. For the most part, these territories were given to their original owners. The only exception was Konigsberg and the neighboring Suwalki region, which were given to Lithuania, Germany having given up all claim to them. Poland of course objected, wanting the land themselves, but being in no position to mount any serious armed challenge with its people wholly sick of war, they let the situation pass.
After that, the next big question to face would be what to do with the two behemoths of Russia and China. For China, the problem was even bigger. The Japanese occupation, hated as it was, had managed to do the one thing the Nationalist government that preceded it had never managed to do. It had utterly destroyed the forces of the Chinese warlords who had ruled most of the country. With both the Nationalists and Communists thoroughly discredited, the big question was how would rule the massive nation. This proved any even bigger problem then anyone could have imagined, as the Japanese dismantling of Warlord rule along with the both the Nationalists and the Communists, had left a massive power vaccuum. Before they were ejected, the Japanese had filled this power vaccuum with their own occupational administration. With that gone, the Americans had taken up the administration of the country. Now they lacked any idea of what to do with the Country. Putting the Nationalists back in charge was not an option, as They were widely hated by the Chinese people both for the rampant corruption that had plagued their regime and the utter incompetence with which they had conducted the war with China. They and the Communists had failed to stop the Japanese from conquering their nation and subjecting it to unspeakable horrors. As for the Warlords, they could not be restored either because of the fact that the Japanese had utterly destroyed their old power bases. Surprisingly, their was actually a very vocal minority of people in Congress who actually wanted to break China up into several different, thus weakening it and ensuring that mighty China would never again pose a threat to America. Truman quickly rejected that idea, as it would only lead to interminable wars of unification and whoever won those wars would be in possession of both a war economy and the world's largest population, all of whom would hate America's guts. Since no one knew who to put in power in China, the decision was made to let the Chinese people decide for themselves. The announcement that a Constitutional Assembly would be assembled so that the Chinese people could draw up a new Constitution to decide how they would govern themselves. The Assembly would be composed of one representative from every province, chosen by the people of each province. In the meantime, the Americans would continue to administer the country until the Chinese had decided what form of government they wanted to have. Meanwhile, they would seek out capable locals to administer the regions. Then, when the government had formed, the Americans would turn the country over to them.
The Constitutional Assembly, when formed, was a motley group and would prove incredibly volatile. This was owed to the fact that it was composed of people from all across China and included former Nationalists who were not high up enough to be tainted by its defeat or had reputations for incorruptableness, former Communists who still had some adherents among the peasantry, Republicans, and even a few monarchists. None could seem to agree what kind of government China should have. The Communists wanted a return to the old Communist form of rule through a single party Communist State, the Nationalists wanted a new Authoritarian government, the Republicans wanted a fully democratic China, and the Monarchists wanted a restoration of the Emperors of old. Of these groups, the Republicans had the most members, but not enough to constitute a true majority. Of course, with all of these groups being so diametrically opposed, compromise was made very difficult. For a while, it looked like the Assembly might desolve into an interminable deadlock, each group shouting at each other and never able to reach a consensus. That deadlock was eventually broken by Sun Fo, the Son of the Late Republican hero, Sun Yat-Sen.
Fo had been a prominent member of the Koumingtang, even briefly serving as Premier when Chiang Kai Shek had been forced to briefly retire in 1931 as a result of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Afterwards, he had served as the head of China's Legislature, the Legislative Yuan where he had proved an outspoken critic Chiang's Authoritarian policies, even advocating cooperation with the Communists against the Japanese. This earned him the somewhat grudging respect of the Communists, as he had been one of the few members of the Nationalist Government to realize that the Japanese were really the greatest threat to China. Despite having served in the Nationalist Government, Sun now supported the Republicans, eventually becoming the leader of the Republican faction. Realizing that if Consensus was not reached soon, China stood a very real chance of descending into Civil War, Sun Fo set out to break the deadlock. Correctly identifying the Monarchists as the weakest faction, he set out to win them over first. This he managed to do through two methods. First, he pointed out that they had no chance of getting any where in the Assembly with out support and offered his own support, but with a price. He would throw his support behind The restoration of the Emperor, but only on two conditions. The first condition was that while the Emperor would be Zhu Rongji, the last member of the former Ming imperial house.
Zhu Rongji pictured here with his wife Lao An
This was a no brainer, however as the former Qing Emperor, Pu Yi, had sided with the invading Japanese and had served as leader of Manchuria. This made him the most unpopular man in China. Overjoyed, the Monarchists accepted. What they did not know, however, is that while Sun Fo was perfectly willing to install Zhu Rongji as the new Emperor, he was only willing to do so on one condition: that the new emperor would be a figure head without any real power. Indeed, Sun Fo was actually counting on the people, being disillusioned with the idea of being ruled by an Emperor, rejecting the appointment of an Emperor after the Constitution had been ratified. This would then have allowed him to simply abolish the position, with the powerless emperor being completely unable to stop him from doing so. While he knew this betrayal would lose him the support of the monarchists, he believed that the act would win the vast majority of the people over to his side. With the people firmly behind him, the monarchists would be completely unable to react and the new Republic would be firmly established in the hearts and minds of the Chinese people. Future events, however, would prove this to be both unnecessary and unwise and lead him to eventually abandon the plan. With his block now controlling a slight majority in the Constitutional Assembly, Sun Fo proposed his new Constitution. The Constitution would be a mix of both the British and American Constitutions. From the British, the idea of Constitutional Monarchy was taken. The Emperor position would have only ceremonial responsibilities with no real power and would serve as a figure head and symbol of the nation. Below him, would be a popularly elected President, in whose hands all executive power would reside. The President's term was set at 8 years, with a limit of 2 terms. Legislative Power would rest in the hands of the newly reconstituted Legislative Yuan, which would be composed of two houses. The Yuan would be based largely upon the United States Congress. Whereas the last body had been unicameral, the new Yuan would be Bicameral. The lower house, known as the Council of People's Representatives, would be composed of popularly elected delegates who would be allocated by each province according to population with each member serving a 4 year term. The upper house, Known as the Grand Council of State would be composed of a group of delegates which were appointed by the President, on the advice of the governors of each province and requiring the Yuan to confirm every appointment. Each Province would receive 1 representative in this body and the Representatives would serve for 6 years. Instantly the Communists and Nationalists both attacked the doctrine. Communists disliked it because they believed it a step backward to the old days of the Emperors and believed that the extreme reverance given to the Emperor meant that even without any formal power, he would still have far too much influence with the branches that did have power. The Nationalists also disliked it because they did not trust the Democratic principles it was based upon, believing the average Chinese citizen too undereducated to use their votes responsibly or even understand how the system worked. they advocated a return to the "Political Tutelage" that had always been espoused by Chiang Kai-Shek's government, with One leader holding power until the masses could be educated enough to properly participate in the democratic process. Sun Fo, who had seen this system in action, refused to consider it, as he believed that it could all to easily devolve back into the authoritarian state that Chiang Kai-Shek had governed. However, Sun Fo was able to assuage the fears of many by offering himself as the first President. While Sun Fo was a Republican, he had started his career as a Nationalist. This meant that he was a known quantity to them and many of them believed that with him in charge, they would have a man they could work with in power. This caused the Nationalists to fracture, as many of them, won over by this promise, switched their votes to support of the Constitution. That left only the communists as the sole remaining voice of dissent in the Assembly. However, they were too few in number to block ratification and thus Sun Fo's new Constitution was passed.
The Next day, Sun Fo made the announcement of the new Constitution and Proclaimed the foundation of the newly minted Chinese Nation to roaring applause. After doing so, he handed proceedings over to Zhu Rongji, informing the people that he had been chosen as the new Emperor. At this news, they got very quiet. They were unsure what to think about this, as the idea of the emperor was largely discredited. That was when Zhu Rongji got up and presented the following speech.
"People of China, I have been selected for the honor of serving as your new Emperor. Though my position is largely a symbolic one, I still feel that I am unequal to and unworthy of this position.This is not because I doubt my own ability, but because I believe there is no one who is worthy of leading such a great people as you. I am aware that my family lost the throne centuries ago. We had become corrupt and we deserved the fate that befell us. However, until our family was corrupted with their power, we served with pride and dignity. Further, we did not disgrace our good name by turning to foreigners to try and impose us on our people against their own will. No, we took our deposition with dignity. The Aisin Goro clan has not done so. When you threw them out, their last emperor, Pu Yi, sullied his name and that of his ancestors by going to the Japanese to reinstall him. He willingly allowed himself to become a puppet that the Japanese used to oppress our people and subject them to unspeakable horrors. In doing so, he sullied not only his own name and honor, but that of my own ancestors who served this nation with pride. He has sullied the very name of Emperor with his dishonorable actions and has proven himself to be worthy of nothing but scorn. The sight of my ancestors good name being smeared in the mud by this man fills me with rage. And when his masters the Japanese, invaded to try and inflict him on the people of Manchuku and impose their will on the rest of us, you turned to your government, led by the Koumingtang, the people who had overthrown him before, to save you. However, their leaders proved unworthy of the great legacy bequethed to them by Sun Yat Sen and they failed you. You put your trust in them, and they let you down. Despite their best efforts, they failed to protect you from the Japanese and the result was that you had suffer innumerable indignities and atrocities at the hands of the Japanese oppressors. However, despite enduring horrors that by rights should have broken you, you did not break. You persevered and refused to have your spirit broken by 12 years of brutal occupation. you waited and you hedged your bets, you resisted with brave guerilla acts for as long as possible. You never gave into despair, though by all rights, you should have done so. Their can be no greater indication of the true greatness of a people then their ability to persevere in the face of such horror, and you have passed this test. This has convinced me that you are the finest people in the world and it fills me with pride to be chosen to lead such a people. Their is no greater honor that could be given to me. Though I am unworthy of leading such a great people as you, I will do my best to prove worthy of you. In the end, I hope I shall prove worthy of the trust that has been placed in you by me. You have put your trust in so many people in the past and they have betrayed that trust. I only hope that I will prove to be more worthy then my predecessors."
When he concluded, their remained none in the crowd or listening on the radio who was not swayed by the speech. Any who had been unwilling to accept the idea of a new emperor being appointed were won over by the sincerity that they heard from their new emperor and the crowd in attendance began to shout his name until they made themselves hoarse. The following day, Sun Fo, with the emperors endorsement, was elected the nations first President in a land slide. Over the course of his term, he and the Emperor would prove to be an unbeatable team. Sun Fo set his sights on educating the peasantry, setting up schools in every village with a rigorous curriculum and compulsory education till the age of 16. In addition, he set up numerous universities all over the country that were open to all. In order to encourage the best and brightest from all backgrounds to go to these institutions, he also set up an extensive system of aid to them. Every year, the Ministry of Education would compile a list of all Graduates in the country. They would then place them into one of 4 tiers. The top tier was composed of the top 25% of all graduates based on an evaluation of all their work from when they first enrolled, till graduation. This group would, regardless of background, be given full rides to any college of their choice to pursue any career they wished if they so chose. The second tier was the top 50%, the 25% of students who were still above average, but not quite the best of the best. This group would have the state cover half of their education costs, having to make up the rest with either the abundant independent scholarships that had been set up or out of their own pocket. The third tier were the students who only ranked in at average, the middle 25%. These students received a quarter of their education payed for. The bottom tier, the bottom 25%, would have no public aid for their education. This ensured that the best and brightest, regardless of background, would find no trouble going to higher education if they chose, as all of the money they would receive would require no repayment. If a student in the top tier refused to go to college, their full ride would be given to the top student in the second tier. This helped to motivate the students to push themselves, as if they did well enough, they could rise up in the world regardless of background. With this system, China would go from having a vast, largely uneducated peasant class to having one of the highest literacy rates in the World.
To ensure that all government officials were highly qualified, the Constitution also required that every person who wanted to run for public office or hold a position in the state bureaucracy had to have a college degree or pass an examination that showed they had an equivalent amount of knowledge they would have received in a university. In addition, all those seeking a position in one of the government bureaucracies would also have to pass two examinations. The first was to demonstrate basic competency, of which the vast majority of applicants would usually pass without trouble. The second was to determine how knowledgable you were in the field the agency you wished to join dealt with. Only those who displayed at least a rudimentary grasp of the position were allowed entrance. This helped to weed out corruption and incompetency in the government, both problems that had plagued the nationalist government.
Sun Fo also sought to reform the army, which had been plagued with organizational problems and incompetency during the nationalist era. He set up a new system of organization that largely resembled that of the American army to solve the first problem. To solve the problem of competency, he also instituted a new evaluation process for promotions. When someone was recommended for promotion, their performance up to that point would be reviewed by a superior. If the evaluator was confident that based on that information, they would be able to fulfill their new duties, the promotion was approved. If the evaluator could not find sufficient grounds to approve or deny the petition, the candidate would be given an opportunity to demonstrate their competency with an examination. If the examination results proved that they were competent enough to hold the new rank, they were then promoted. This method would eventual result in the Chinese army being regarded as one of the more professional and disciplined armies in the world.
The majority of Sun Fo's two terms in office, however, would be dominated by one project: the rebuilding of China's industrial capabilities. What little industry China had had been devastated in the war and would have to be rebuilt. China would need to industrialize rapidly if it wanted to catch up to other nations and Sun Fo was determined to do just that. In order to do so, he gave massive subsidies to perspective industrialists to set up new factories and other such industries in the country. He also gave massive incentives for foreign companies to set up branches in China. He also set up a vast array of state run factories in much of China that would later be sold to private individuals once they had been made profitable. This policy would prove very effective and by the time Sun Fo would leave office, China's industrial capacity had already surpassed their pre-war levels of development and was continuing to grow.
Thus, despite suffering one from a long costly war with Japan and an even more brutal 12 occupation, China would emerge from the ashes as a strong nation united behind its strong and dedicated leaders. However, while the issue of what to do with China had been solved, their still remained the issues of what to do with Russia, Japan, and the various territories that still remained under American control. These issues would prove to be the subjects of even more bitter debate then the issue of what to do with China.
Alright, at long last, an update. The next one will deal with Russia but I do not know when it will come out
