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Beijing, 1926

A small group of soldiers advance through the early morning, carrying German rifles. They advance on the Forbidden City stealthily, the sleeping inhabitants unaware of their impending doom.
With ease they scale the walls of the former imperial palace using grappling hooks. One guard notices them, but it is too late, as another commando ambushes him from behind and strangles him.
Now nothing can stop the soldiers from reaching their main target--dictator and "president" Yuan Shi-Kai of the Chinese Republic.
Behind them, reinforcements arrive. The soldiers open the Tiananmen Gates and let in a small light tank. The noise from this machine is large enough to fully wake up the inhabitants, and chaos breaks out.
As the guards scramble to their senses, the commandos shoot them down with silenced rounds and run toward the living quarters, where they find the dictator still in his bed, guarded by four Mongol bodyguards. The soldiers immediately shoot down the Mongols and aim their weapons at Yuan, who puts up his hands in defeat. Surprisingly, the soldiers don't shoot him down on the spot. Instead, they make way for another man, a younger man with a moustache. Yuan recognizes him on the spot by his uniform.
"
General Chiang Kai-Shek," says Yuan, "I didn't expect you to show up at a time like this."
"
Give up, Yuan," Chiang replied, "It's all over. The facade of a republic no longer needs to be maintained."
"
What are you going to do, proclaim yourself president? As if you were as skilled a politician as I was!" Yuan laughed.
Chiang struck him with the butt of his rifle. "
Oh, I'm not going to install a true democracy, at least not me..."
He leaned towards Yuan, who was by now trembling in his bed.
"
The Celestial Emperor and the Kaiser would like to have a word with you."
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(Pardon the bad description, it's a custom event.)

This is my first AAR, playing as the Republic of China, which I began a couple months ago. I used some console commands as I was not expecting to make this an AAR, so please bear with me. I'm using the Kaiserreich mod, which like the Darkest Hour mod has the Central Powers win the First World War.
Awesome
 
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Some of those events don't seem to exactly fit this timeline, unless the Nazis have indeed come to power despite the German victory in WWI.

Now it is China's turn to create their own Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
 
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Glad you liked it!
Some of those events don't seem to exactly fit this timeline, unless the Nazis have indeed come to power despite the German victory in WWI.

Now it is China's turn to create their own Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
The Spanish Civil War is kind of pushing it. I for example wonder why Germany would support fascist Spain when they are monarchist? It just feels weird. The best I could do for Nazis in power is make Hitler a colonel in the Imperial Army (for narrative purposes).
As for the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, just wait until 1950. Something really big happened unexpectedly...
 
Well, Germany would probably support Fascists over Communists. It doesn't make sense for the Fascists to be anti monarchist here, though, as they don't have Hitler giving them incentive.
 
The point I find weird is that Germany is supporting a fascist state against a constitutional monarchy (which is supported by the Soviets). Last I checked there was no communist Spain faction.
 
For some reason, it's Nationalists against the Monarchy (which is not communist). The flags are a bit messed up.
 
Chapter 5: The Third Sino-Japanese War, aka the War against Japanese Aggression, Part 1

Bill liked being home. It was a pleasant escape from the horrors of the battlefield.
His daughter Victoria was turning 18 today, and she had invited over all of her friends, as well as a boy named Albert Deng, the well-educated son of a local farmer. With the recent education reforms since 1921, it was getting easier to go to school and stay in school. Things weren't like they were when he was young. His own son George had signed up in the newly established Imperial Air Force.
Bill went to get the mail as the boys and girls sang some songs and his wife got the 壽桃包 ready. Outside, he saw people chatting excitedly, and an army truck passed by, carrying Imperial troops out of the neighborhood.
What was going on?
He leafed through his mail. Aside from an acceptance letter from the Imperial University in Nanjing for Victoria, he found a letter for George from the Air Force. He was to report to the nearest airfield immediately.
Looking further, Bill found a mobilization notice--for himself.
They were sending him to war again.
He rushed inside, dropped the mail on the table, and switched on the radio.
The Emperor was giving a speech.
"
Loyal subjects of the Empire. Today We have given the order to mobilize the Army. The upstart Empire of Japan has gone too far. They must be stopped. The Japanese will be put in their rightful place. Let it be known that the Empire shall have its vengeance!
"We begin bombing in five minutes."

In a minute, the hit song turned national anthem "March of the Volunteers" was being sung all across the city.
 
They're not much of "volunteers" when they're conscripted, hmmm? :p
Well, "March of the Conscripted" doesn't sound that patriotic.
Let's just say that the conscripts all "volunteered" during the conscription process...
 
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Chapter 5: The Third Sino-Japanese War, aka the War against Japanese Aggression, Part 2
All members of the Chinese tributary system agreed to help the Empire. Germany politely declined to help.

As the Imperial Navy was not ready for battle after a recent overhaul resulted in too many ships for the Admiralty to handle, all soldiers were airlifted in over the Japanese Home Islands.

Over Japan (Tokyo)
"JUMP!" shouted Commander Jing, pointing his scarred arm out the open end of the transport plane. "It's payback time against the Eastern devils!"
This time, the plane didn't blow up immediately. The Jade Battalion followed the other paratroopers out and descended upon the city below. Their target was Nara. Other armies, each numbering at least in the tens of thousands of men, assaulted other major cities.
Defending Nara, with three thousand men, was Hiroshi Kataoka. He and his armies did not stand a chance against almost a hundred thousand angry Chinese soldiers.
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Bill got his much deserved revenge against Hiroshi when his troops overran the city.


In other news:
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Puyi responded with a single word: "
No."
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On October 5, Japan sued for peace on the terms of the Empire:
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Not pictured: Chinese annexation of the islands making up the Japanese colonial empire (including Ryukyu) and the Korean conquest of Sakhalin.
Extra
Statistics of the Empire:
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The German and Commune colonial regimes in Vietnam broke down, and the Chinese stepped in to restore order in the form of a Vietnamese puppet state, with a Nguyen king reigning from Hanoi and swearing fealty to the Emperor. The Germans gladly sold the land to the Chinese immediately, but the Commune needed some "convincing."
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By the time Bill returned home, China was a vastly different place. It was now the most powerful nation in the world.
The Middle Kingdom--the Celestial Empire, ruler of all under Heaven--was back.
 

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Now that's more like it. Much better when you don't lose a hundred times more men than the enemy. :D

I wonder how much longer Japan can hold onto their great power status.
 
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Now that's more like it. Much better when you don't lose a hundred times more men than the enemy. :D

I wonder how much longer Japan can hold onto their great power status.
I got them as low as rank 8, but their industrial score kept them afloat. I managed to kick them out from the Great Powers permanenty afterwards, but I'll get to that later.
 
Doesn't KRUSTY for Voctoria 2 have a completely annex wargoal? You should do that to the Japs and release them as a puppet.
I've never heard that abbreviation before; what does it stand for? Yes, there is a full-annex wargoal, which is absolutely broken, and you'll see how it works very soon, although not necessarily demonstrated by me.
 
I've never heard that abbreviation before; what does it stand for? Yes, there is a full-annex wargoal, which is absolutely broken, and you'll see how it works very soon, although not necessarily demonstrated by me.
Well, that was Autocorrect being a jackass. It was supposed to be KR, which means of course Kaiserriech. It was pretty funny though.
 
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Chapter 6: Interlude

April 30, 1940
Dear Diary,
Hi there! My name's Vicky. I am a freshman at the Imperial University in Nanjing. Things are going great here! I love my major (which is political science).
I decided to start writing in this diary because something truly momentous happened in Europe. That dictator Franco is gone! The "Republicans" are victorious! I wonder why they're called republicans if they support their king...
Oh well, got to go to class! See you later!

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October 5: Sometimes my professor gets me confused when discussing the situation of India. Why did the British promise Home Rule for the Indians but keep the Europeans in positions of power? I doubt an Irishman would know how to manage the lives of millions of Indians. It doesn't seem like much has changed over there since the days of the Raj.

I've been following this in the news since August. Hope you find it interesting. They're calling it the "Baltic War."

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Our old ally in Germany decided to fight against the syndicalist menace. Go Jerry go!
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December 15: Anschluss. That's what they called the German annexation of the Austrian portion of Austria-Hungary. Apparently the Habsburg family could no longer keep things together and fled to the Kaiser's court.


****
Berlin - June 2, 1941
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Kaiser Wilhelm II in civilian attire


Puyi rushed to the hospital, his bodyguards barely catching up with him. This was urgent business. Besides him was his wife, Victoria Louise von Hohenzollern. Both were worried about the person they were seeing.
The official explanation--the one closest to the truth--was that a week ago Wilhelm was visiting troops at a camp in eastern Prussia when the camp suddenly came under attack from Soviet and Swedish fighter planes. The German troops bravely managed to fend off the attack, but Wilhelm was shot in chest, near his heart. He was quickly rushed back to Berlin for treatment, but the doctors could only delay his death.
Puyi and Victoria Louise arrived in the hospital room where the Kaiser lay, surrounded by his family and close associates. There was the heir to the Reich, Louis Ferdinand, accompanied by the German Chancellor, Paul von Hindenburg, and the head of the Luftstreitkräfte, Manfred von Ricthofen, with his sister Ilse. There was the Austrian archduke, Kaiser Otto von Habsburg, and former Russian Tsar Nicholas II (who with his family had managed to escape to Britain in the aftermath of the revolution and later reconciled with his cousin Wilhelm against their common foes in the syndicalists). Even the British king showed up, and Puyi barely refrained from spitting in his face.
Wilhelm saw the Chinese emperor. "
Heinrich," he gasped.
"
Father," replied Puyi. Of course, Wilhelm was his father-in-law and as such was respected.
"
Carry on my legacy," said Wilhelm, his voice fading, "You were my champion in Asia. You were the last of our generation--the generation of kings and emperors who actually did something more than sit on a fancy chair. You know what I fought for in this world since 1914. You know because you were like me."
He coughed up some blood, and the doctors restrained his spasms.
"
Where was I? Oh yes. I could have sent my cousin to reclaim his throne in Russia. I could have installed a Bourbon or Bonaparte on the French throne. I could have even intervened against Mussolini twenty years ago. But I chose you. In you, twenty years ago, I saw promise. I saw anger, rage, a desire to restore what you thought was right and was taken from you. I felt the same way. I was born angry. You know how my arm is. And yet, I harnessed that anger. I shaped an empire under the sun."
He leaned over towards him. "
I need you to carry on the legacy of the Weltkrieg--both of them. There's a third one on the way, and I fear I will not be around to see it. Heinrich--the world doesn't need democracies that can be abused by the people. It needs kings, emperors, who reign and rule. It may not be what the people deserve, but it's what they need."
As his strength faded, the Kaiser managed one last sentence: "
Be careful. Stay strong. Death to syndicalists and Jacobins."
And he was no more.
His passing was accompanied by the passing of an era--the age of the First and Second Weltkriegs.
A new age had dawned, but what would define it, Puyi didn't know yet.

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Interesting to see how the world is playing out post-ww1, nice update.

As an aside, your tariff/ tax rates are a bit iffy. Unless you've very bad militancy problems, get those tariffs to <1%. Raise taxes if need be, but high tariffs are killer for industry & pops
 
Wow, I could feel the melancholy in that chapter. Congrats on writing such great drama!
 
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Interesting to see how the world is playing out post-ww1, nice update.

As an aside, your tariff/ tax rates are a bit iffy. Unless you've very bad militancy problems, get those tariffs to <1%. Raise taxes if need be, but high tariffs are killer for industry & pops
Really? I didn't know that. I did raise taxes a bit later but I never touched my tariff slider. Maybe that's why my factories kept shutting down despite my intervention. Oh, and I haven't had any serious militancy problems yet. The mod creator made it so that the pops would get most of their needs fulfilled quite easily, and militancy goes down very fast.
Wow, I could feel the melancholy in that chapter. Congrats on writing such great drama!
Thanks! I really didn't think much about this scene when the notification popped up initially. But I just thought that that wouldn't do Wilhelm justice. I am thinking about having Hitler give an eulogy for him in the next segment, or would that not work out?