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I'm sure this war against the Seljuks would pave the way for Hassan and the Cult to take root in the Islamic world and spread their influnce from their, which sadly leads to their downfall.
Hassan was the vizier for the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir based in Egypt and the Levant, but I could see him gaining influence after leading armies in battle against the Seljuks.
I think Osman becoming the Ottoman caliph of Sunni Islam and securing rights for them in Baghdad and his descendants going off to fight for the Reich in wars like the Timurid Conquests and Sunrise Invasion would be an interesting one off, which could be accompanied by later one offs for the Fatimids in any period (Hakam in particular as he was part of the trio that defeated Oculi Actal in Sunset Invasion) and Abbasids during the Crusades.
Funny how me scripting an event the wrong way could turn into an interesting one off. Osman sounds like a cool idea. I never did explain how he almost immediately abandoned his rebellion.
At this point, what do you think a TL-191 story for the Maximist Wars would be like here, since you’ve said you would like to redo the scenario you originally wrote for it early in this thread? I think an interesting scenario would be for the Maximist regime to genuinely democratize overtime under later Kaisers more dedicated to movement like Prince Martin, but still have to deal with Maximists who want either a republic (a democratic republic earlier on with a socialist republic becoming popular later on as Equalism catches on) or an authoritarian nationalist regime (resulting in something like the Freedom Party near the end of the series, which the remaing Siegfriedists and Maximists will have to join forces to defeat), remaing Siegfriedists who either still want a meritocracy or have become reactionary and conservatibe like the Carlists and Action Française, and a tense stand-off with China that results in a WW1 they lose and results in a fascist dictatorship.
Still not quite sure. I haven’t thought too much about it, other than having the Maximist outright win and take over the whole empire, no Siegfriedists splitting off or anything. Maybe the Siegfriedists go to Russia and cause it to adopt meritocracy instead of going the autocratic route (like how the Union adopted German-style militarism). I like the idea for the Maximist slowly adopting real democracy but having to fend off extremist factions on both sides (Freedom Party-like nationalists and left wingers who want a republic of some form).
At this point, what do you think a TL-191 story for the Maximist Wars would be like here, since you’ve said you would like to redo the scenario you originally wrote for it early in this thread? I think an interesting scenario would be for the Maximist regime to genuinely democratize overtime under later Kaisers more dedicated to movement like Prince Martin, but still have to deal with Maximists who want either a republic (a democratic republic earlier on with a socialist republic becoming popular later on as Equalism catches on) or an authoritarian nationalist regime (resulting in something like the Freedom Party near the end of the series, which the remaing Siegfriedists and Maximists will have to join forces to defeat), remaing Siegfriedists who either still want a meritocracy or have become reactionary and conservatibe like the Carlists and Action Française, and a tense stand-off with China that results in a WW1 they lose and results in a fascist dictatorship.
Still not quite sure. I haven’t thought too much about it, other than having the Maximist outright win and take over the whole empire, no Siegfriedists splitting off or anything. Maybe the Siegfriedists go to Russia and cause it to adopt meritocracy instead of going the autocratic route (like how the Union adopted German-style militarism). I like the idea for the Maximist slowly adopting real democracy but having to fend off extremist factions on both sides (Freedom Party-like nationalists and left wingers who want a republic of some form).
Speaking of TL-191 I remember from the Biography that @CaptainAlvious did on Senator Nicholas Dandolo (https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ew-world-order.1022999/page-217#post-26134635) and how him being assassinated by the Angeloi in 1935 in his runup to the examinations in 1936 reminds me of OTL's Huey Long and how in OTL's TL-191 he was the last domestic opponent to Jake Featherston leading to Featherston to send an agent to try and "bring him into line" but when Long did not he was assassinated. I did like how in TTL's cannon the fate of Dandolo's family was a lot more muddled than them just being killed or sent to Concentration Camps with his brothers in TTL actually joining the Angeloi and his wife and son joining the Loyalist. Mabey in TTL's TL-191 you could go into more detail on what became of Dandolo's family?
Speaking of TL-191 I remember from the Biography that @CaptainAlvious did on Senator Nicholas Dandolo (https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ew-world-order.1022999/page-217#post-26134635) and how him being assassinated by the Angeloi in 1935 in his runup to the examinations in 1936 reminds me of OTL's Huey Long and how in OTL's TL-191 he was the last domestic opponent to Jake Featherston leading to Featherston to send an agent to try and "bring him into line" but when Long did not he was assassinated. I did like how in TTL's cannon the fate of Dandolo's family was a lot more muddled than them just being killed or sent to Concentration Camps with his brothers in TTL actually joining the Angeloi and his wife and son joining the Loyalist. Mabey in TTL's TL-191 you could go into more detail on what became of Dandolo's family?
I actually had no idea that Huey Long appeared in TL-191 until now so it was a complete coincidence that I wrote about the Angeloi assassinating Nicholas Dandolo when I wrote his biography, but that sounds like a good idea.
Is it just me, or does the way that Fredrich the Glorious' first wife died during his affair with Sbyslava and right before marrying Gunhilda come across as Fredrich murdering her, especially since I remember Wilhelm saying that Fredrich the Glorious' wife also had affairs of her own like Ida had. I don't think it was meant to be interpreted in such a ruthless and sinister manner as this, but the way the events in CK2 unfolded gives this impression to me.
It seems kind of tragic how the two Fredrichs and Saint Gunhilda died in their early-mid fifties, which is relatviely young to Saint Wilhelmina reaching 82. Granted, I know Saint Wilhelmina's life span (and how well she aged relavively speaking) is an outlier in the middle ages, but it's notable to me since lots of CK2 characters live past their fifties in game.
Speaking of TL-191 I remember from the Biography that @CaptainAlvious did on Senator Nicholas Dandolo (https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...ew-world-order.1022999/page-217#post-26134635) and how him being assassinated by the Angeloi in 1935 in his runup to the examinations in 1936 reminds me of OTL's Huey Long and how in OTL's TL-191 he was the last domestic opponent to Jake Featherston leading to Featherston to send an agent to try and "bring him into line" but when Long did not he was assassinated. I did like how in TTL's cannon the fate of Dandolo's family was a lot more muddled than them just being killed or sent to Concentration Camps with his brothers in TTL actually joining the Angeloi and his wife and son joining the Loyalist. Mabey in TTL's TL-191 you could go into more detail on what became of Dandolo's family?
I actually had no idea that Huey Long appeared in TL-191 until now so it was a complete coincidence that I wrote about the Angeloi assassinating Nicholas Dandolo when I wrote his biography, but that sounds like a good idea.
Yeah, same here. It's been years since I last read TL-191 so I forgot he was in the books. I don't think I even noticed him the first time as I didn't know who he was when I read them.
Is it just me, or does the way that Fredrich the Glorious' first wife died during his affair with Sbyslava and right before marrying Gunhilda come across as Fredrich murdering her, especially since I remember Wilhelm saying that Fredrich the Glorious' wife also had affairs of her own like Ida had. I don't think it was meant to be interpreted in such a ruthless and sinister manner as this, but the way the events in CK2 unfolded gives this impression to me.
I know it gives off that impression, and I have known that ever since I used the console to kill her off. It was a hard decision to make as in-game she had done nothing wrong (I don't remember Wilhelm's comments about her supposed affairs). In-universe I assume she died of an illness or something. Maybe the Worm cult killed her.
It seems kind of tragic how the two Fredrichs and Saint Gunhilda died in their early-mid fifties, which is relatviely young to Saint Wilhelmina reaching 82. Granted, I know Saint Wilhelmina's life span (and how well she aged relavively speaking) is an outlier in the middle ages, but it's notable to me since lots of CK2 characters live past their fifties in game.
Not really much of an outlier, actually. Life expectancy was just down significantly before modern medicine came around due to high infant/child mortality. If someone survived childhood and didn't get killed in a war or something, they'd have a good shot of surviving to their 60s-70s.
I know it gives off that impression, and I have known that ever since I used the console to kill her off. It was a hard decision to make as in-game she had done nothing wrong (I don't remember Wilhelm's comments about her supposed affairs). In-universe I assume she died of an illness or something. Maybe the Worm cult killed her.
Now that I reread the Ck2 chapters, you are right about Wilhelm saying nothing about Fredrich the Glorious's wife having affairs (hence Saint Wihelmina killing a bunch of people that allegedly tried to seduce her in story and you locking the seduction focus to the AI in game). I think I got confused because of general discussions in Ck2 about the AI spamming the seduction focus during the reigns of the two Fredrichs. I still think that this impression of events leading that I described would probably be what the general public would think what would happen, which likely won't be good for Fredrich's mental health as he might already feel bad for cheating on her.
I do wonder how Saint Wilhelmina and Ali's relationship would've worked out here, since that likely started right in the middle of the widescale discrimination against Arabs throughout the former Islamic World that she spearheaded. That might be a relationship that could be as interesting to explore as her other family dynamics like the estranged mother-daughter relationship of Gunhilda and Wilhelmina or the brother-sister dynamic of Kirill and Wilhelmina.
Now that I reread the Ck2 chapters, you are right about Wilhelm saying nothing about Fredrich the Glorious's wife having affairs (hence Saint Wihelmina killing a bunch of people that allegedly tried to seduce her in story and you locking the seduction focus to the AI in game). I think I got confused because of general discussions in Ck2 about the AI spamming the seduction focus during the reigns of the two Fredrichs. I still think that this impression of events leading that I described would probably be what the general public would think what would happen, which likely won't be good for Fredrich's mental health as he might already feel bad for cheating on her.
More specifically, I completely disabled the seduction focus as it was broken and unbalanced at the time. People would definitely think this whole sequence of events was suspicious though, and Friedrich the Glorious wouldn't take it well.
I do wonder how Saint Wilhelmina and Ali's relationship would've worked out here, since that likely started right in the middle of the widescale discrimination against Arabs throughout the former Islamic World that she spearheaded. That might be a relationship that could be as interesting to explore as her other family dynamics like the estranged mother-daughter relationship of Gunhilda and Wilhelmina or the brother-sister dynamic of Kirill and Wilhelmina.
So due to the fact that I did not really cover the Hanseatic League or the Jomsvikings in my Scandinavia update I decided to write this addendum which covers their history to 1936.
Tianxia-Legacy of the Great War:
The Norse Fylkirate (Addendum)
Hanseatic League
It is difficult to say when the alliance of cities that would become known as the Hanseatic League first arose but what is known is that in 1226 the city of Lubeck would rise to become a major trade city on the Baltic coast. For most of the city's history it would be a Norse city and was fought over numerous times by the Reich and the Fylkirate. Lubeck would go on to form alliances with other important trade cities such as Rega, Rostock and Wismar. This almost came crashing down during the Sunset Invasion large tracts of the Reich and the Fylkirate itself were taken by the invading Mexica forces of Ocuil Acatl but by the 1260’s they had been driven out of Europe. Lubeck was one of the few cities that was not taken nor was its citizens sacrificed to the Mexicas God's leading to the city recovering faster than most to where by 1293 it had regained its former prestige. In 1303 a new terror was ravaging European cities. It was a disease that historians would call the Black Death. It would kill millions of Europeans to the point where there would be bodies piling up in the streets due to how quickly people were dying. In just Bremen, Hamburg and Lubeck alone half of two-thirds of the people in Bremen, three-quarters of the town council in Hamburg and one-third of the people in Lubeck all died. 1356 saw Lubeck convene the first conclave of Hansa towns in which future decisions by different cities would only be valid if confirmed by the League; this measure was to assert authority over merchants in foreign places. Bergen, London and Novgorod along with outer outposts would join the league within two decades. Bremen, who was expelled in 1284 rejoined on harsh conditions but its leaders believed the benefits outweighed the cost.
In the 1400’s Lubeck would try to integrate the towns of the Hanseatic League but this was only somewhat successful due to the interference by Roman and Norse governments trying to break the monopoly that these towns had. In the 1400’s the Hanseatic League had three layers one was the Hansetag who made the final decisions, followed by the regional assemblies in were the Hanseatic Drittel (thirds or regional cities) would come together and make decisions based on their region, however the town councils themselves were the most important since they would call assemblies and send emissaries to participate in them. Some of the things that the Hanseatic League traded in was giving cloth to places like Novgrad in exchange for furs and wax with Dried Cod and Salt Herring from Scandinavia were traded across Europe and wine was traded down the Rhine. After 1500 competition by Britannian and Frisian merchants saw the League enter a slow decline but seeing the growing demand for general merchandise during the 19th century many of these merchants pulled together their money and by 1857 their first sales shop was opened followed by eight new stores between 1859 and 1902. The first World War severely damaged the value of the League due to the fact that not many people had the money to go to the store during war time but the League persisted. After the war the League decided to revitalize its fur-trade and real-estate activities as well as try to diversify its operations by one of these ventures being going into the oil business. As 1936 rolls around it remains to be seen if the League will survive or not.
Jomsvikings
Like the Hanseatic League it is difficult to say when the Jomsvikings were first created but what is known is that they have been a force in the Baltic long before they ever made it to Britannia. It is believed that their homebase was a place called Jomsborg on the polish coast then known as Wendland. The Jomsvikings have participated in the numerous wars between the many Danish, Norwegian and Swedish lords in the area. Even though many were followers of the Norse gods there were some who have been reported to have fought with anyone who would pay them even if that meant working for Christian lords. This type of attitude has caused many historians to view the Jomsvikings in a similar way to the Medieval Knight orders such as the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitaller.
One of their most legendary leaders, a man named Thorkell 'the Tall' was a prince of Scania in southern Sweden. He was the son of the Jarl of Scania Strut Harald who in turn is believed to be related to Gorm 'the Old' who ruled Denmark from 936-958 who was a half-brother to Harald Bluetooth who succeeded Gorm and became the ruler of Denmark and Norway. Thorkell under the command of his brother Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson would go on to participate in numerous battles and raids until he would join Cnut who would invade England with Thorkell a part of the invasion force consisting of Danes, Swedes and Poles. The Battle of Ashingdon in 1016 in which the new English king Edmund 'Ironside' would die leading to England to once again become part of the Danish realm and the North Sea Empire. In 1017 the leaders of Cnut’s armies would be given land in England. Men such as Thorkell who would be given all of East Anglia. But Thorkell and Cnut would come to blows when in 1021 Thorkell's wife supposedly poisoned Cnut's son despite proclaiming her innocence this loss of face caused Thorkell to flee to Denmark in Scania but the two once again repaired their relationship in 1023 in were Thorkell was given the position of Jarl of Denmark. Thorkell would soon vanish from historical records with many theories as to what happened to him. Everything from living out his last days in peace to being killed by Cnut to being exiled. Magnus 'the Good' of Norway would sack Jomsborg in 1043 putting an end to the historic Jomsvikings. The North Sea Empire would start to fall after Cnut’s death in 1035 with it finally falling in 1042.
In 1046 Harald “Hardrada” af Yngling a former Viking explorer and member of the Varangian Guard would become King of Norway and in 1066 invade England from the east at the same time as Norman Duke William de Normandie invaded from the south. Despite being supposedly killed by an arrow to the neck and revived by an agent of Odin Hardrada would successfully conquer England and defeat William de Normandie taking Normandy as well he would form the Norse Fylkirate. It is believed that some of the forces accompanying Hardrada during his campaign were descendants of the Jomsvikings. It remains to be seen if these claims are true but the story goes that these descendants would form a new military order known as Odin's Ravens but would also be known as the Jomsvikings as well and people would use both names interchangeably. The Ravens would also partake in the invasion of Leon and Andalusia. However all the regions outside of Scandinavia proper would be lost to the newly reborn Roman Reich. Despite this massive setback Odin's Ravens would continue to serve Hardrada’s descendants becoming the heart of what is today Scandinavia’s Royal Guard. Parts of the Royal Guard would go on to fight in numerous campaign’s from the numerous crusades against the Reich to the First World War or Great War. After the Great War and the collapse of the Roman Reich the Fylkirate would take most of the former Reich’s Baltic coastline retaking the historic settlement of Jomsborg which became an important training ground for the Royal Guard as well as helping in taking the historic Kingdom of Mann and The Isles a Norse Kingdom from 849 to the 1100’s. In 1936 the Fylkirate is eyeing the territory that the Norse used to own and plans are being made to take them back. But due to the Syndicalist nations of Britannia and Gaul along with the growing Syndicalist movement in Scandinavia itself it remains to be seen if these plans come to fruition.
So due to the fact that I did not really cover the Hanseatic League or the Jomsvikings in my Scandinavia update I decided to write this addendum which covers their history to 1936.
Tianxia-Legacy of the Great War:
The Norse Fylkirate (Addendum)
Hanseatic League
It is difficult to say when the alliance of cities that would become known as the Hanseatic League first arose but what is known is that in 1226 the city of Lubeck would rise to become a major trade city on the Baltic coast. For most of the city's history it would be a Norse city and was fought over numerous times by the Reich and the Fylkirate. Lubeck would go on to form alliances with other important trade cities such as Rega, Rostock and Wismar. This almost came crashing down during the Sunset Invasion large tracts of the Reich and the Fylkirate itself were taken by the invading Mexica forces of Ocuil Acatl but by the 1260’s they had been driven out of Europe. Lubeck was one of the few cities that was not taken nor was its citizens sacrificed to the Mexicas God's leading to the city recovering faster than most to where by 1293 it had regained its former prestige. In 1303 a new terror was ravaging European cities. It was a disease that historians would call the Black Death. It would kill millions of Europeans to the point where there would be bodies piling up in the streets due to how quickly people were dying. In just Bremen, Hamburg and Lubeck alone half of two-thirds of the people in Bremen, three-quarters of the town council in Hamburg and one-third of the people in Lubeck all died. 1356 saw Lubeck convene the first conclave of Hansa towns in which future decisions by different cities would only be valid if confirmed by the League; this measure was to assert authority over merchants in foreign places. Bergen, London and Novgorod along with outer outposts would join the league within two decades. Bremen, who was expelled in 1284 rejoined on harsh conditions but its leaders believed the benefits outweighed the cost.
In the 1400’s Lubeck would try to integrate the towns of the Hanseatic League but this was only somewhat successful due to the interference by Roman and Norse governments trying to break the monopoly that these towns had. In the 1400’s the Hanseatic League had three layers one was the Hansetag who made the final decisions, followed by the regional assemblies in were the Hanseatic Drittel (thirds or regional cities) would come together and make decisions based on their region, however the town councils themselves were the most important since they would call assemblies and send emissaries to participate in them. Some of the things that the Hanseatic League traded in was giving cloth to places like Novgrad in exchange for furs and wax with Dried Cod and Salt Herring from Scandinavia were traded across Europe and wine was traded down the Rhine. After 1500 competition by Britannian and Frisian merchants saw the League enter a slow decline but seeing the growing demand for general merchandise during the 19th century many of these merchants pulled together their money and by 1857 their first sales shop was opened followed by eight new stores between 1859 and 1902. The first World War severely damaged the value of the League due to the fact that not many people had the money to go to the store during war time but the League persisted. After the war the League decided to revitalize its fur-trade and real-estate activities as well as try to diversify its operations by one of these ventures being going into the oil business. As 1936 rolls around it remains to be seen if the League will survive or not.
Jomsvikings
Like the Hanseatic League it is difficult to say when the Jomsvikings were first created but what is known is that they have been a force in the Baltic long before they ever made it to Britannia. It is believed that their homebase was a place called Jomsborg on the polish coast then known as Wendland. The Jomsvikings have participated in the numerous wars between the many Danish, Norwegian and Swedish lords in the area. Even though many were followers of the Norse gods there were some who have been reported to have fought with anyone who would pay them even if that meant working for Christian lords. This type of attitude has caused many historians to view the Jomsvikings in a similar way to the Medieval Knight orders such as the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitaller.
One of their most legendary leaders, a man named Thorkell 'the Tall' was a prince of Scania in southern Sweden. He was the son of the Jarl of Scania Strut Harald who in turn is believed to be related to Gorm 'the Old' who ruled Denmark from 936-958 who was a half-brother to Harald Bluetooth who succeeded Gorm and became the ruler of Denmark and Norway. Thorkell under the command of his brother Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson would go on to participate in numerous battles and raids until he would join Cnut who would invade England with Thorkell a part of the invasion force consisting of Danes, Swedes and Poles. The Battle of Ashingdon in 1016 in which the new English king Edmund 'Ironside' would die leading to England to once again become part of the Danish realm and the North Sea Empire. In 1017 the leaders of Cnut’s armies would be given land in England. Men such as Thorkell who would be given all of East Anglia. But Thorkell and Cnut would come to blows when in 1021 Thorkell's wife supposedly poisoned Cnut's son despite proclaiming her innocence this loss of face caused Thorkell to flee to Denmark in Scania but the two once again repaired their relationship in 1023 in were Thorkell was given the position of Jarl of Denmark. Thorkell would soon vanish from historical records with many theories as to what happened to him. Everything from living out his last days in peace to being killed by Cnut to being exiled. Magnus 'the Good' of Norway would sack Jomsborg in 1043 putting an end to the historic Jomsvikings. The North Sea Empire would start to fall after Cnut’s death in 1035 with it finally falling in 1042.
In 1046 Harald “Hardrada” af Yngling a former Viking explorer and member of the Varangian Guard would become King of Norway and in 1066 invade England from the east at the same time as Norman Duke William de Normandie invaded from the south. Despite being supposedly killed by an arrow to the neck and revived by an agent of Odin Hardrada would successfully conquer England and defeat William de Normandie taking Normandy as well he would form the Norse Fylkirate. It is believed that some of the forces accompanying Hardrada during his campaign were descendants of the Jomsvikings. It remains to be seen if these claims are true but the story goes that these descendants would form a new military order known as Odin's Ravens but would also be known as the Jomsvikings as well and people would use both names interchangeably. The Ravens would also partake in the invasion of Leon and Andalusia. However all the regions outside of Scandinavia proper would be lost to the newly reborn Roman Reich. Despite this massive setback Odin's Ravens would continue to serve Hardrada’s descendants becoming the heart of what is today Scandinavia’s Royal Guard. Parts of the Royal Guard would go on to fight in numerous campaign’s from the numerous crusades against the Reich to the First World War or Great War. After the Great War and the collapse of the Roman Reich the Fylkirate would take most of the former Reich’s Baltic coastline retaking the historic settlement of Jomsborg which became an important training ground for the Royal Guard as well as helping in taking the historic Kingdom of Mann and The Isles a Norse Kingdom from 849 to the 1100’s. In 1936 the Fylkirate is eyeing the territory that the Norse used to own and plans are being made to take them back. But due to the Syndicalist nations of Britannia and Gaul along with the growing Syndicalist movement in Scandinavia itself it remains to be seen if these plans come to fruition.
Well the Hanseatic League could eventually become like the Legation Cities of OTL's Kaiserreich depending on how Scandinavia goes. One possible example could be if the Syndicalist movement in Scandinavia gains traction then the Hanseatic League could declare it's neutrality and become somewhat to the Pacific States are like in TTL in were they do not pick a side and stay neutral. In that similar vein the Jomsvikings/Royal Guard could on orders of the Fylkir declare Martial Law in were they control all of Denmark with some areas in Sweden due to their religious significance like Stockholm along with Jomsborg due to it being the home of the old Jomsvikings while the Syndicalist in control of Norway. Finland could declare independence and become a member of the Tianxia alliance or a puppet of Russia depending on if Russia becomes National Populist like in OTL Kaiserreich and by 1946 is like the Soviet Commune in the actual story in were it controls its own faction?
Well the Hanseatic League could eventually become like the Legation Cities of OTL's Kaiserreich depending on how Scandinavia goes. One possible example could be if the Syndicalist movement in Scandinavia gains traction then the Hanseatic League could declare it's neutrality and become somewhat to the Pacific States are like in TTL in were they do not pick a side and stay neutral.
In that similar vein the Jomsvikings/Royal Guard could on orders of the Fylkir declare Martial Law in were they control all of Denmark with some areas in Sweden due to their religious significance like Stockholm along with Jomsborg due to it being the home of the old Jomsvikings while the Syndicalist in control of Norway. Finland could declare independence and become a member of the Tianxia alliance or a puppet of Russia depending on if Russia becomes National Populist like in OTL Kaiserreich and by 1946 is like the Soviet Commune in the actual story in were it controls its own faction?
Depending on how the syndicalist in Britannia and Gaul do against the remnant Hohenzollern's in Prussia I could see them either being a syndicalist state in the International or merged into a syndicalist Germany. If Russia becomes like the Soviets in the actual story I can see them become national populist.
Using that train of thought they could take over but allow the Royal Family to remain as figureheads like become like OTL's fascist movement in Italy and in TTL's Iran and the early Committee when they claimed to be acting through the will of the Hohenzollern's?
Depending on how the syndicalist in Britannia and Gaul do against the remnant Hohenzollern's in Prussia I could see them either being a syndicalist state in the International or merged into a syndicalist Germany. If Russia becomes like the Soviets in the actual story I can see them become national populist.
Using that train of thought they could take over but allow the Royal Family to remain as figureheads like become like OTL's fascist movement in Italy and in TTL's Iran and the early Committee when they claimed to be acting through the will of the Hohenzollern's?
You know if Fredreich the Glorious' life is gonna be revamped, it'd still be a tragic one, poor man lost his parents to the Cult. Lost his grandfather due to the stress of keeping both the ERE and the HRE at peace. Was always in danger of being couped by the Greek nobles. Lost his first wife (who by all means was definitely a decent one if the CK2 portion is to go by) to either illness or the Cult again. And he dies maimed in the end. I can see why he probably had an affair with the Tsaritsa if his wife died before then. Poor man had a hard life.
You know if Fredreich the Glorious' life is gonna be revamped, it'd still be a tragic one, poor man lost his parents to the Cult. Lost his grandfather due to the stress of keeping both the ERE and the HRE at peace. Was always in danger of being couped by the Greek nobles. Lost his first wife (who by all means was definitely a decent one if the CK2 portion is to go by) to either illness or the Cult again. And he dies maimed in the end. I can see why he probably had an affair with the Tsaritsa if his wife died before then. Poor man had a hard life.
Only reigned for 21 years too and had to spend those two decades keeping the unified empire together instead of collapsing back into the various realms. All while having to deal with all of his family issues. No wonder he picked up the Necronomicon.
Also I think the affair with Sbyslava happened while his first wife was still alive.
You know if Fredreich the Glorious' life is gonna be revamped, it'd still be a tragic one, poor man lost his parents to the Cult. Lost his grandfather due to the stress of keeping both the ERE and the HRE at peace. Was always in danger of being couped by the Greek nobles. Lost his first wife (who by all means was definitely a decent one if the CK2 portion is to go by) to either illness or the Cult again. And he dies maimed in the end. I can see why he probably had an affair with the Tsaritsa if his wife died before then. Poor man had a hard life.
Only reigned for 21 years too and had to spend those two decades keeping the unified empire together instead of collapsing back into the various realms. All while having to deal with all of his family issues. No wonder he picked up the Necronomicon.
Also I think the affair with Sbyslava happened while his first wife was still alive.
When you put it this way, coupled with the fact he most certainly didn’t have much of a childhood due to the loss of his parents, scheming nobles and having major responsibilities being put him in both his regency and his rule, I wouldn’t be surprised if he suffered from lifelong depression and other mental health issues even if he didn’t have the depressed trait in game. While it doesn’t excuse them, the things he and his daughter did to unfornate groups like the French, Arabs and Poles is a little understandable now given the places they were in politically and emotionally. I guess they were really lucky to have Gunhilda in their lives at all, even if they did piss her off at times.
Anyone find it ironic how South Japan is an authoritarian ally of Jerusalem despite it being majority non-Christian, while the Christian North is (presumably) more secular, opposed to the South and by proxy Jerusalem, and is in the middle of democratizing? Too bad the North and the Ainu’s odds of actually winning against the South are low due to Han not caring about what happens in Japan. Also, I think a one off discussing the rise and fall of the Christian Shiba Shogunate and the Korean, Manchu and Ming Chinese partition could be interesting.
Great update as usual @GhostRider124 , very nice lore for the Hansetic League and the Jomsvikings regarding what they’ve done throughout this timeline and where they ended up, I find the Jomsvikings becoming the Flkyir’s bodyguards especially interesting. For some reason, the Jomsvikings’ alternative name of Orin’s Ravens reminds me of @dragoon9105 ’s House of Ravens AAR, and I like that.
When you put it this way, coupled with the fact he most certainly didn’t have much of a childhood due to the loss of his parents, scheming nobles and having major responsibilities being put him in both his regency and his rule, I wouldn’t be surprised if he suffered from lifelong depression and other mental health issues even if he didn’t have the depressed trait in game. While it doesn’t excuse them, the things he and his daughter did to unfornate groups like the French, Arabs and Poles is a little understandable now given the places they were in politically and emotionally. I guess they were really lucky to have Gunhilda in their lives at all, even if they did piss her off at times.
Pretty sure he didn’t have a childhood at all considering he was only a baby when his parents were killed and his grandfather assumed power in the east as his regent. The poor man had a lot on his plate from Day 1. It’s something future generations forgot in favor of the idealized Friedrich the Glorious.
Anyone find it ironic how South Japan is an authoritarian ally of Jerusalem despite it being majority non-Christian, while the Christian North is (presumably) more secular, opposed to the South and by proxy Jerusalem, and is in the middle of democratizing? Too bad the North and the Ainu’s odds of actually winning against the South are low due to Han not caring about what happens in Japan. Also, I think a one off discussing the rise and fall of the Christian Shiba Shogunate and the Korean, Manchu and Ming Chinese partition could be interesting.
I’ve noticed the irony a couple times while writing about them. The north is more pluralistic but not secular, which is funny because it was originally partitioned off as a Christian state, while the south which was originally created as a pluralistic nation has embraced single-faith nationalism.
As for a one off for the rise and fall of the Shiba shogunate, I think it would be suited better for a “study session” like discussion sometime in the future.
“At approximately 0200 hours, the Tawantinsuyuan army crossed the border into the Kleinvenedig region, marching towards major population centers on the coast,” Heinrich said, “In a press release at the same time, the Sapa Inca explained he authorized the invasion because of our recent treatment of Nahua and Quechua populations in areas under our control.”
“That is preposterous,” Theodor said, “He lies. All the Sapa Inca wants is Kleinvenedig’s oil.”
“We should be formulating a response before they reach any major cities,” Heinrich said.
“Home Guardians in the area report the army is roughly twenty thousand strong,” Moria said, “The number is sure to go up the longer this continues and we get more information.”
“I say we deploy Crusaders in strictly self-defense operations,” Heinrich said, “Keep the Tawantinsuyuans away from the cities, giving us time to secure the region and get civilians to safer areas.”
“Lame,” Theodor said, “They attacked us, and we’re not even fighting back?”
“I am warning against further escalation,” Heinrich said, “We risk dragging in the rest of the Eimerican Federation if we retaliate with our full power.”
“What’s the point of full power if we’re not even going to use it?” Theodor said. “It’s our duty to maintain order and do the right thing for both our people and the world.”
“Explain,” Elias said.
“Fighting isn’t a choice in this situation,” Theodor said, “It’s a duty. Did Tawantinsuyu pose an immediate threat to our empire before it attacked? No. But it is now. So we must retaliate and destroy Tawantinsuyu to prevent it from carrying out such attacks in the future, or even supporting other threats around the world. If left unchecked, Tawantinsuyu wouldn’t stop at taking Kleinvenedig. They’d take the rest of Outer Neurhomania, then Inner Neurhomania, and then invade Europe and Africa for even more! It would be another Sunset Invasion! Their flag has a sun on it, for crying out loud. Same goes for the rest of the Eimerican savages, who would attack and destroy us if they had the chance, as the Thirteenth Century Crisis tells us. Preemption is the chief weapon of a global empire. Nobody said empire was easy, but it is right, good, and required both for our people and the world. And that is an unequivocable fact.”
“I see,” Elias said, “Good point.”
“Elias, are you seriously agreeing with him?” Heinrich said.
“I have to agree with the Megas Domestikos, Elias,” Josiah said, “What the hell is this?”
“Hard truths, Professor,” Moria said, “We all must swallow hard truths to defend our empire.”
“Facts don’t care about your feelings, bookworm,” Theodor said.
“I cannot in good conscience recommend escalation,” Heinrich said.
“Well, you don’t hae a choice,” Elias said, “The Tawantinsuyuans have invaded, and the generals have already begun counteroffensive operations. We have to support our troops.”
“Or is there another reason why you don’t support our troops?” Moria said. “Are you not a man?”
Heinrich sighed. He had no other choice.
“Okay, fine,” he said, “What do we do?”
“First things first,” Elias said, “Activate SVI to target Tejas City, Tenochtitlan, and Cusco. And prep our men in Neurhomania for aerial insertions into those cities. They didn’t learn from the Sunset Invasion, did they? Well, I’ll make them learn.”
Gunnolfsfell - October 9
Another day, another round of frustrating talks that went nowhere. Wilhelmina had long since given up. As long as Jerusalem kept , this was all they could ever talk about. Just calls for unity and containment that wouldn’t work. She didn’t think she would get this cynical, but here she was. Even after the LKR guy had been expelled, people were still arguing. So she decided to conserve her energy and focus on Persona Emblem. Yukiko had gotten good stat boosts on the last level up.
“…I’m not even going to try to demand an answer,” the Tawantinsuyuan delegate said, “I know I’m not going to get one, even if that both sides idiot is allowed back into this place. All I ask this time is for people to wake up to the threat Jerusalem poses. The Sapa Inca has gone missing after the latest SVI strike, and we’re running on an emergency government now. We need help and fast.”
“I’m afraid Mexico is in a similar predicament,” the Mexican delegate said, “Half of Tenochtitlan’s been leveled by SVI. The Lake Texcoco causeways have been destroyed, so we can’t ship in supplies by road. And that’s not even considering the Crusaders overunning the other half of the city. At this rate, we fear we may lose the city within the next three days.”
“Tejas City is also under siege,” the Tejan delegate said, “We’re doing much better, thankfully, but SVI focused on our military, so we’re already overextended just helping ourselves.”
“Jerusalem has shown its true colors,” Thordarsson said, “Now, I would understand if they fight back against Tawantinsuyu—no offense to the Tawantinsuyuan delegation—”
“None taken, at least that would be expected in a war,” the Tawantinsuyuan said.
“But to attack other EF members unprovoked?” Thordarsson said. “Our policy of containment no longer works. Jerusalem cannot be contained. Yes, Tawantinsuyu unilaterally attacked, and we will address that later, but in the meantime the Federation has no choice but to commit fully to Tawantinsuyu’s defense. Because Jerusalem has not only attacked Tawantinsuyu, Mexico, and Tejas, but also all of the Federation. We must show unity against this new threat to our existence. I call upon all member states to mobilize their reserves and pitch in to the common defense of the Federation.”
“I also call on the other nations of the world to condemn this act of aggression by the unrecognized Jerusalem regime,” Kahenta said, “We must present a united front against further hostile actions from Berlin.”
“Nonsense,” Sakamoto said, “You’re a hypocrite, you know that? Tawantinsuyu invaded sovereign Jerusalemite territory first. It is only right for a nation to act in self-defense.”
“We stand with Jerusalem, the victim in this whole matter,” the Nepalese delegate said.
“I agree,” Zhao said, “Jerusalem is justified in its actions. You should expect your enemy to counterattack if you invade them. It’s only natural.”
Oh right, Wilhelmina thought. Zhao was here too. Even worse than usual.
“Justified in invading Mexico and Tejas and razing their capitals?” Tsai said. “Are you out of your mind, Zhao?”
“No, you’re crazy,” Zhao said, “Jerusalem was attacked first. Why do you deny it a right to defend itself? Oh, right. You did that to China while you were in charge. At least my friend Han is fixing your twenty year mess.”
“More like ruining the nation!” Tsai said. “Like you did!”
“What about the equalists rampaging through Tianjin right now?” Zhao said. “Those crazy kids killing cops and burning cars on the streets? If you were in charge, you’d have already shot the emperor and declared a socialist republic!”
Wilhelmina already knew where this was going.
“That’s not true!” Tsai said.
Don’t take the bait, don’t feed the troll…
“So you repudiate the left?” Zhao said.
Please, Tsai, don’t fall into the same trap.
“Those aren't rioters!” Tsai said. “Many are good people who are protesting against Han!”
…frak. Wilhelmina sighed.
“There, reporters!” Zhao said. “You have your headline! ‘Ex-chancellor praises Tianjin equalists as good people’! What a beautiful sight, as you would say. You haven’t changed a bit.”
Tsai opened her mouth to respond, but Wilhelmina shook her head.
“You’ll only make this worse,” she whispered.
Tsai glared at Zhao and sat down again. Zhao leaned back, kicked his feet up on the table, and smugly grinned at her and Wilhelmina.
“Ha!” Zhao said. “Look how you are brought to heel by your Roman puppetmaster! You truly are a Roman dog, Tsai. Absolutely disgraceful. You don’t deserve to be Chinese.”
Wait a minute. There was something in Zhao’s words that seemed off. Something like a…contradiction. Ace Attorney music began playing in her head. She had to protect her friend. And she now knew how to respond to this madman. Wilhelmina pushed up her glasses and put away her game. She stood up, spun around, and dramatically pointed at Zhao.
“OBJECTION!” she said.
Everyone stopped and stared at her.
“Uh…the representative of the Roman Reich…has the floor, I guess?” Kahenta said.
Wilhelmina pushed up her glasses and focused on Zhao.
“If she doesn’t deserve to be Chinese, maybe you don’t either,” she said.
Zhao looked at her. “Excuse me, 蠻子?”
“You know what I said,” Wilhelmina said, “You and Han say so much about defending Chinese civilization and protecting your culture…but then you turn around and destroy any aspects of Chinese culture you don’t like. Non-standard dialects? Erased from public use. Classical Guangzhou opera? Banned. The Hong Kong movie industry? You shut it all down because you hated their movies. Avatar: The Last Airbender? Banned with the death penalty because you’re jealous it represented your own culture better than you could ever have done. The video game industry? Completely purged and shut down—you even banned kids from playing games, how could you? Chinese and Penglai democracy? Your own voters don’t like you, so instead you found a way to pick your own voters, instead of the other way around.”
“They were all destroying what it meant to be Chinese!” Zhao said. “I had to purify our civilization so we remain Chinese!”
Good, good, exactly as planned. Keep him talking about civilization.
“Sounds like a certain international pariah,” Wilhelmina said, “You know what they say about birds of a feather.”
The bait was ready.
“You…you’re not even Chinese!” Zhao said. “You are a 蠻子! You hate us! You just want to split us apart like before 1868 and keep us under a barbarian heel! We won’t let you! Because the Sinosphere has never been more united! Fusang even agrees with us!”
“Care to explain?” Thordarsson said.
Uh…that was unexpected. He took the bait, but the conversation was now going in a different direction.
“You should know,” the Fusang delegate said, “The Empire of Fusang stands with the Republic of Penglai and the Empire of China against any threats to Chinese civilization.”
“But you are part of the Federation!” Thordarsson said.
“We can do both, you know,” the Fusangren said, “Nothing says we can’t.”
“The terms of your accession to the Federation clearly states the Federation will manage all of Fusang’s diplomatic matters,” Thordarsson said.
“This isn’t a diplomatic matter, but a military one,” the Fusangren said, “And there’s nothing saying the Federation can manage our military outside of troop sharing, which is purely voluntary. This is a matter of defending Chinese civilization, and thus this matter takes priority over Federation ones.”
And the conversation was fortunately brought back to talking about civilization. Now that everyone was well aware of Zhao’s stance on the topic, it was time to bring it all down.
“Anyways, back on topic,” Wilhelmina said, “Zhao, you want to defend Chinese civilization, right?”
“That’s correct,” Zhao said, “I’m surprised you finally got it through your—”
“And Han wants to do the same, right?” Wilhelmina said.
“Of course!” Zhao said.
Excellent. He had taken the bait. The guy had been led so far down the path of single-minded nationalism he couldn’t see the inconsistency he had just walked himself into. That was the thing with people calling themselves patriots. They were so wrapped up in all that talk about defending their nation and civilization and holding it above all others that they failed to see the contradictions in the details. Now it was time to make Zhao see those details.
“And yet you align yourself with Jerusalem—which has no qualms with accusing China of any hostile military actions even when there weren’t any—while Han is firmly anti-Jerusalem,” Wilhelmina said, “He has taken actions to sanction Jerusalem, while you have consistently acted to thwart all of those attempts, weakening China and helping Jerusalem. And yet you still consider yourself on his side, on the side of Chinese civilization. How can you justify this?”
Gotcha.
Zhao’s face turned red, his smug grin disappearing instantly. He opened his mouth to try to respond, but he couldn’t figure out what to say. He began waving his arms around, like he usually did in his speeches, but now he just looked like he was flailing helplessly. Truly a beautiful sight, as Tsai would have said. It more than made up for the rest of the session.
“I…what…no…” Zhao said. “You lie! You’re just trying to split us apart! Like before 1868! I’m not falling for it, 娼妇!”
“Why has this guy not been expelled for foul language yet?” Tsai said.
“You’re not even answering my question!” Wilhelmina said. “How can you be both with and against Han? How can you claim to defend Chinese civilization like that? Whose side are you really on?”
“How about YOU answer ME?!” Zhao said. “The Reich has done this plenty of times! You’ve been opposed to China for centuries, yet you ally with the Tran Dynasty and later on the junta! You played both sides of the Eimerican wars of independence! You claim to support fairness and opportunity for all, but you still oppress minorities! You say you want a free world, but what you really want is a world under your rule! Answer to that, tyrant! You’re a hypocrite!”
“You’re still deflecting,” Wilhelmina said, “You haven’t answered my question.”
“If I’m a hypocrite and inconsistent, you’re even more hypocritical and inconsistent!” Zhao said. “Deep down, this is what the Reich truly is, just another would-be conqueror. Nothing you or I say will change the fact. And you know what the most damning evidence is? Jerusalem itself! How else could such a regime arise, if not out of the Reich’s mess of contradictions and hidden hatred?”
“You still haven’t answered me!” Wilhelmina said. “Enough of your whataboutisms and deflection and gaslighting! It’s clear you are the real danger to the world, not me or anything I might do in the future! As long as you tie yourself to Jerusalem, you are complicit in what it does to the rest of us!”
“Order!” Kahenta said. “We will have order in this conference room!”
“You can’t stop the truth!” Zhao said. “As Anders Humboldt would say, the truth will always make itself be heard!”
What. The. Frak.
“How DARE you quote Anders Humboldt when you hate and silence EVERYTHING he and his fellow reporters stood for!” Wilhelmina said. “You have no right using his words when you spent the last twenty years murdering reporters and silencing journalism in Penglai!”
“Shut up, it’s a free country!” Zhao said. “And that sucker’s dead anyways. I’m free to use his words however I see fit. Unless you want to stop and censor me. Freedom of speech, am I right?”
“Wait, isn’t Penglai expelled from the UN?” Wilhelmina said.
“Observer status!” Zhao said.
“I’m revoking that right now,” Kahenta said.
“You’re censoring me!” Zhao said. “Just like Jerusalem! Just like the equalists!”
“You’re just like the LKR guy, you know that?” Wilhelmina said.
“Guards!” Kahenta said. “Escort the president of Penglai out of here! Permanently!”
Two guards appeared and led Zhao out.
“Well, that was certainly…something,” Kahenta said.
Just another crazy day at the UN.
Isfahan - October 12
Alex stirred awake to the sound of power drills whirring down the hall. Half-awake, he noticed the bed was empty. He climbed out of bed and shuffled down the hallway, making his way towards the source of the noise. Rounding a corner, he made out Thea sitting in their workshop, hard at work on some contraption.
“What are you doing?” he said. “You’re up again.”
“Not until I get this finished,” Thea said.
“What’s that supposed to be?” Alex said.
“I should demonstrate,” Thea said.
She picked up a small chip that was beeping red.
“This is a Panopticon,” she said.
“A what?!” Alex said.
“Actually, it’s a Panopticon emulator,” Thea said, “Mina’s email came with the Panopticon blueprints, so I built something that could simulate their functionality. Don’t worry, it can’t send data or connect to the main network.”
“And you made one to do what?” Alex said.
“To do this,” she said.
Thea picked up her contraption and aimed it at the emulator, pushing a button. Alex saw no changes in the light.
“Damn,” Thea said, “Still not there yet. But it should be able to effectively disable actual Panopticon units.”
“Really?” Alex said.
“It would remove the Crusaders’ advantage over those without Panopticons,” Thea said, “And force them to fight using only their own senses.”
“Would be helpful,” Alex said, “But seriously, it’s 3 in the morning. You need to sleep.”
“No,” Thea said, “This is of the utmost importance. I’m the only one besides my brother with access to the company archives. I’m the only one who can develop a countermeasure to those Panopticons. I have to do this, for everyone’s sake!”
“You can’t do it while sleep deprived,” Alex said.
“Tomorrow, I’ll sleep more,” Thea said.
“You’ve been saying that these last few days—wait, this is what you’ve been staying up for?” Alex said.
“I told you, this is important,” Thea said, “We may not have time later on.”
“We will, Thea,” Alex said, “Please, you can’t just keep doing this. What if the final result isn’t as good as you hoped?”
“What if we run out of time?” Thea said. “I’m worried the Kleinvenedig crisis will escalate into something even worse.”
“I’m worried too, Thea,” Alex said, “But when it happens, it happens. Right now, we need to focus on staying in good shape. I don’t want to see you so tired, Thea. Please. Just go to sleep.”
“I should be able to get this,” Thea said, “I have detailed information on the Panopticons. I know exactly how they work. So why isn’t it working?”
After adjusting the device, she pushed the button again, but the light didn’t turn off.
“Almost there…” she said. “May need to adjust the frequency it operates on.”
“Tomorrow, Thea,” Alex said, “We’ll approach it with a fresh mind tomorrow. Maybe loop in Alexandra and Magnus on this. Would be nice to see them again. But please don’t work at it at 3 AM.”
Thea looked at her work. Then she nodded.
“Fine,” she said, “Alright, Alex.”
“Thanks, Thea,” Alex said.
Aircraft carrier SMS Saint Gunhilda, Kaiserliche Marine Second Pacific Fleet, east of Hawaii - October 19
“Sir!” the radar operator said. “Unknown aerial contacts!”
“What is it?” Admiral Konrad von Gablenz said.
“I don’t know!” the radar operator said. “They’re moving to intercept!”
“Battle stations!” Konrad said. “Now!”
Alarms blared, and sailors rushed to their stations. On the flight deck, fighter jets rolled onto the main runway.
“More contacts!” the radar operator said.
“Where?” Konrad said.
“Dead ahead!” the radar operator said.
“Helmsman, turn us around!” Konrad said. “Comms, radio Adamshaven!”
The first enemy jet roared overhead, and the admiral could just make out the insignia of the Fusang Navy—a golden heron-winged circle with the symbol 金 inside—on its wings. Seconds later, the first missile struck a destroyer, causing damage to its front deck and main gun. More missiles steadily rained down, hitting more ships.
“SMS Reinhard Gabriel hit!” an officer reported. “Wilhelm Johann hit! Malintzin hit! Florentina Gregorios hit! Beathan Tavira hit!”
“Return fire!” the admiral said. “Get our antiaircraft cannons up!”
It was no use. A missile struck the aircraft carrier, blowing up the runway and sending two jets toppling overboard. A second missile hit the superstructure, and the bridge exploded in a large fireball. Within minutes, the loyalists’ Second Fleet had been wiped out.
Nanjing
“Targets have been eliminated,” a Chinese admiral reported, “Roman naval power in the eastern Pacific has been decisively crippled.”
“Any survivors?” Han said.
“Only four ships,” the admiral reported, “The Saint Gunhilda and three destroyers are still afloat, but barely. They are retreating to Hawaii as we speak and should not pose a threat.”
“Good,” Han said, “Let them go. They will spread the world that China is back, and there is nothing stopping us from taking back the Dahai. Thank you.”
The admiral saluted. “Of course, Grand Secretariat.”
“We are doing good work,” Han said, “The sun will soon rise on a world led by China.”
After all, Tianxia meant all under heaven.
---
Some of Theodor’s dialogue comes from Ben Shapiro calling for American imperialism in Iraq.
The Korean government doesn't particularly care for the Koreans of Kyushu. They just want the land. They don't care if they die in any invasion. They can always send new settlers once they control it. Not a good time to be a Korean in Japan.
Great update as usual @GhostRider124 , very nice lore for the Hansetic League and the Jomsvikings regarding what they’ve done throughout this timeline and where they ended up, I find the Jomsvikings becoming the Flkyir’s bodyguards especially interesting. For some reason, the Jomsvikings’ alternative name of Orin’s Ravens reminds me of @dragoon9105 ’s House of Ravens AAR, and I like that.
Huh I did not know that. I chose that name mainly because from what I know of Norse Mythology Ravens are associated with Odin. One example being the story of Huginn and Muninn two Ravens who brought Odin information.
Also I do not know if it was you or Zen who was working on a rewrite of the Sequel Trilogy for TTL and wanted to let you know that the Templin Institute did a video in were they reimagined the New Republic
If you cant find the one I posted on the First Order reimagined then here is another link.
“First things first,” Elias said, “Activate SVI to target Tejas City, Tenochtitlan, and Cusco. And prep our men in Neurhomania for aerial insertions into those cities. They didn’t learn from the Sunset Invasion, did they? Well, I’ll make them learn.”
Another day, another round of frustrating talks that went nowhere. Wilhelmina had long since given up. As long as Jerusalem kept , this was all they could ever talk about. Just calls for unity and containment that wouldn’t work. She didn’t think she would get this cynical, but here she was. Even after the LKR guy had been expelled, people were still arguing. So she decided to conserve her energy and focus on Persona Emblem. Yukiko had gotten good stat boosts on the last level up.
“…I’m not even going to try to demand an answer,” the Tawantinsuyuan delegate said, “I know I’m not going to get one, even if that both sides idiot is allowed back into this place. All I ask this time is for people to wake up to the threat Jerusalem poses. The Sapa Inca has gone missing after the latest SVI strike, and we’re running on an emergency government now. We need help and fast.”
“I’m afraid Mexico is in a similar predicament,” the Mexican delegate said, “Half of Tenochtitlan’s been leveled by SVI. The Lake Texcoco causeways have been destroyed, so we can’t ship in supplies by road. And that’s not even considering the Crusaders overunning the other half of the city. At this rate, we fear we may lose the city within the next three days.”
“Tejas City is also under siege,” the Tejan delegate said, “We’re doing much better, thankfully, but SVI focused on our military, so we’re already overextended just helping ourselves.”
“Jerusalem has shown its true colors,” Thordarsson said, “Now, I would understand if they fight back against Tawantinsuyu—no offense to the Tawantinsuyuan delegation—”
“None taken, at least that would be expected in a war,” the Tawantinsuyuan said.
“But to attack other EF members unprovoked?” Thordarsson said. “Our policy of containment no longer works. Jerusalem cannot be contained. Yes, Tawantinsuyu unilaterally attacked, and we will address that later, but in the meantime the Federation has no choice but to commit fully to Tawantinsuyu’s defense. Because Jerusalem has not only attacked Tawantinsuyu, Mexico, and Tejas, but also all of the Federation. We must show unity against this new threat to our existence. I call upon all member states to mobilize their reserves and pitch in to the common defense of the Federation.”
“I also call on the other nations of the world to condemn this act of aggression by the unrecognized Jerusalem regime,” Kahenta said, “We must present a united front against further hostile actions from Berlin.”
Although I kind of agree with Thordarsson in that Jerusalem attacking Tawantinsuyu would have made sense the Committee went to far by attacking Mexico and Tejas as well.
“I agree,” Zhao said, “Jerusalem is justified in its actions. You should expect your enemy to counterattack if you invade them. It’s only natural.”
Oh right, Wilhelmina thought. Zhao was here too. Even worse than usual.
“Justified in invading Mexico and Tejas and razing their capitals?” Tsai said. “Are you out of your mind, Zhao?”
“No, you’re crazy,” Zhao said, “Jerusalem was attacked first. Why do you deny it a right to defend itself? Oh, right. You did that to China while you were in charge. At least my friend Han is fixing your twenty year mess.”
“More like ruining the nation!” Tsai said. “Like you did!”
“What about the equalists rampaging through Tianjin right now?” Zhao said. “Those crazy kids killing cops and burning cars on the streets? If you were in charge, you’d have already shot the emperor and declared a socialist republic!”
Wilhelmina already knew where this was going.
“That’s not true!” Tsai said.
Don’t take the bait, don’t feed the troll…
“So you repudiate the left?” Zhao said.
Please, Tsai, don’t fall into the same trap.
“Those aren't rioters!” Tsai said. “Many are good people who are protesting against Han!”
…frak. Wilhelmina sighed.
“There, reporters!” Zhao said. “You have your headline! ‘Ex-chancellor praises Tianjin equalists as good people’! What a beautiful sight, as you would say. You haven’t changed a bit.”
Tsai opened her mouth to respond, but Wilhelmina shook her head.
“You’ll only make this worse,” she whispered.
Tsai glared at Zhao and sat down again. Zhao leaned back, kicked his feet up on the table, and smugly grinned at her and Wilhelmina.
“Ha!” Zhao said. “Look how you are brought to heel by your Roman puppetmaster! You truly are a Roman dog, Tsai. Absolutely disgraceful. You don’t deserve to be Chinese.”
Wait a minute. There was something in Zhao’s words that seemed off. Something like a…contradiction. Ace Attorney music began playing in her head. She had to protect her friend. And she now knew how to respond to this madman. Wilhelmina pushed up her glasses and put away her game. She stood up, spun around, and dramatically pointed at Zhao.
“OBJECTION!” she said.
Everyone stopped and stared at her.
“Uh…the representative of the Roman Reich…has the floor, I guess?” Kahenta said.
Wilhelmina pushed up her glasses and focused on Zhao.
“If she doesn’t deserve to be Chinese, maybe you don’t either,” she said.
Zhao looked at her. “Excuse me, 蠻子?”
“You know what I said,” Wilhelmina said, “You and Han say so much about defending Chinese civilization and protecting your culture…but then you turn around and destroy any aspects of Chinese culture you don’t like. Non-standard dialects? Erased from public use. Classical Guangzhou opera? Banned. The Hong Kong movie industry? You shut it all down because you hated their movies. Avatar: The Last Airbender? Banned with the death penalty because you’re jealous it represented your own culture better than you could ever have done. The video game industry? Completely purged and shut down—you even banned kids from playing games, how could you? Chinese and Penglai democracy? Your own voters don’t like you, so instead you found a way to pick your own voters, instead of the other way around.”
“They were all destroying what it meant to be Chinese!” Zhao said. “I had to purify our civilization so we remain Chinese!”
Good, good, exactly as planned. Keep him talking about civilization.
“Sounds like a certain international pariah,” Wilhelmina said, “You know what they say about birds of a feather.”
The bait was ready.
“You…you’re not even Chinese!” Zhao said. “You are a 蠻子! You hate us! You just want to split us apart like before 1868 and keep us under a barbarian heel! We won’t let you! Because the Sinosphere has never been more united! Fusang even agrees with us!”
“Care to explain?” Thordarsson said.
Uh…that was unexpected. He took the bait, but the conversation was now going in a different direction.
“You should know,” the Fusang delegate said, “The Empire of Fusang stands with the Republic of Penglai and the Empire of China against any threats to Chinese civilization.”
“But you are part of the Federation!” Thordarsson said.
“We can do both, you know,” the Fusangren said, “Nothing says we can’t.”
“The terms of your accession to the Federation clearly states the Federation will manage all of Fusang’s diplomatic matters,” Thordarsson said.
“This isn’t a diplomatic matter, but a military one,” the Fusangren said, “And there’s nothing saying the Federation can manage our military outside of troop sharing, which is purely voluntary. This is a matter of defending Chinese civilization, and thus this matter takes priority over Federation ones.”
And the conversation was fortunately brought back to talking about civilization. Now that everyone was well aware of Zhao’s stance on the topic, it was time to bring it all down.
“Anyways, back on topic,” Wilhelmina said, “Zhao, you want to defend Chinese civilization, right?”
“That’s correct,” Zhao said, “I’m surprised you finally got it through your—”
“And Han wants to do the same, right?” Wilhelmina said.
“Of course!” Zhao said.
Excellent. He had taken the bait. The guy had been led so far down the path of single-minded nationalism he couldn’t see the inconsistency he had just walked himself into. That was the thing with people calling themselves patriots. They were so wrapped up in all that talk about defending their nation and civilization and holding it above all others that they failed to see the contradictions in the details. Now it was time to make Zhao see those details.
“And yet you align yourself with Jerusalem—which has no qualms with accusing China of any hostile military actions even when there weren’t any—while Han is firmly anti-Jerusalem,” Wilhelmina said, “He has taken actions to sanction Jerusalem, while you have consistently acted to thwart all of those attempts, weakening China and helping Jerusalem. And yet you still consider yourself on his side, on the side of Chinese civilization. How can you justify this?”
Gotcha.
Zhao’s face turned red, his smug grin disappearing instantly. He opened his mouth to try to respond, but he couldn’t figure out what to say. He began waving his arms around, like he usually did in his speeches, but now he just looked like he was flailing helplessly. Truly a beautiful sight, as Tsai would have said. It more than made up for the rest of the session.
“I…what…no…” Zhao said. “You lie! You’re just trying to split us apart! Like before 1868! I’m not falling for it, 娼妇!”
“Why has this guy not been expelled for foul language yet?” Tsai said.
“You’re not even answering my question!” Wilhelmina said. “How can you be both with and against Han? How can you claim to defend Chinese civilization like that? Whose side are you really on?”
“How about YOU answer ME?!” Zhao said. “The Reich has done this plenty of times! You’ve been opposed to China for centuries, yet you ally with the Tran Dynasty and later on the junta! You played both sides of the Eimerican wars of independence! You claim to support fairness and opportunity for all, but you still oppress minorities! You say you want a free world, but what you really want is a world under your rule! Answer to that, tyrant! You’re a hypocrite!”
“You’re still deflecting,” Wilhelmina said, “You haven’t answered my question.”
“If I’m a hypocrite and inconsistent, you’re even more hypocritical and inconsistent!” Zhao said. “Deep down, this is what the Reich truly is, just another would-be conqueror. Nothing you or I say will change the fact. And you know what the most damning evidence is? Jerusalem itself! How else could such a regime arise, if not out of the Reich’s mess of contradictions and hidden hatred?”
“You still haven’t answered me!” Wilhelmina said. “Enough of your whataboutisms and deflection and gaslighting! It’s clear you are the real danger to the world, not me or anything I might do in the future! As long as you tie yourself to Jerusalem, you are complicit in what it does to the rest of us!”
“Order!” Kahenta said. “We will have order in this conference room!”
“You can’t stop the truth!” Zhao said. “As Anders Humboldt would say, the truth will always make itself be heard!”
What. The. Frak.
“How DARE you quote Anders Humboldt when you hate and silence EVERYTHING he and his fellow reporters stood for!” Wilhelmina said. “You have no right using his words when you spent the last twenty years murdering reporters and silencing journalism in Penglai!”
“Shut up, it’s a free country!” Zhao said. “And that sucker’s dead anyways. I’m free to use his words however I see fit. Unless you want to stop and censor me. Freedom of speech, am I right?”
“Wait, isn’t Penglai expelled from the UN?” Wilhelmina said.
“Observer status!” Zhao said.
“I’m revoking that right now,” Kahenta said.
“You’re censoring me!” Zhao said. “Just like Jerusalem! Just like the equalists!”
“You’re just like the LKR guy, you know that?” Wilhelmina said.
“Guards!” Kahenta said. “Escort the president of Penglai out of here! Permanently!”
Two guards appeared and led Zhao out.
“Well, that was certainly…something,” Kahenta said.
Alex stirred awake to the sound of power drills whirring down the hall. Half-awake, he noticed the bed was empty. He climbed out of bed and shuffled down the hallway, making his way towards the source of the noise. Rounding a corner, he made out Thea sitting in their workshop, hard at work on some contraption.
“What are you doing?” he said. “You’re up again.”
“Not until I get this finished,” Thea said.
“What’s that supposed to be?” Alex said.
“I should demonstrate,” Thea said.
She picked up a small chip that was beeping red.
“This is a Panopticon,” she said.
“A what?!” Alex said.
“Actually, it’s a Panopticon emulator,” Thea said, “Mina’s email came with the Panopticon blueprints, so I built something that could simulate their functionality. Don’t worry, it can’t send data or connect to the main network.”
“And you made one to do what?” Alex said.
“To do this,” she said.
Thea picked up her contraption and aimed it at the emulator, pushing a button. Alex saw no changes in the light.
“Damn,” Thea said, “Still not there yet. But it should be able to effectively disable actual Panopticon units.”
“Really?” Alex said.
“It would remove the Crusaders’ advantage over those without Panopticons,” Thea said, “And force them to fight using only their own senses.”
“Would be helpful,” Alex said, “But seriously, it’s 3 in the morning. You need to sleep.”
“No,” Thea said, “This is of the utmost importance. I’m the only one besides my brother with access to the company archives. I’m the only one who can develop a countermeasure to those Panopticons. I have to do this, for everyone’s sake!”
“You can’t do it while sleep deprived,” Alex said.
“Tomorrow, I’ll sleep more,” Thea said.
“You’ve been saying that these last few days—wait, this is what you’ve been staying up for?” Alex said.
“I told you, this is important,” Thea said, “We may not have time later on.”
“We will, Thea,” Alex said, “Please, you can’t just keep doing this. What if the final result isn’t as good as you hoped?”
“What if we run out of time?” Thea said. “I’m worried the Kleinvenedig crisis will escalate into something even worse.”
“I’m worried too, Thea,” Alex said, “But when it happens, it happens. Right now, we need to focus on staying in good shape. I don’t want to see you so tired, Thea. Please. Just go to sleep.”
“I should be able to get this,” Thea said, “I have detailed information on the Panopticons. I know exactly how they work. So why isn’t it working?”
After adjusting the device, she pushed the button again, but the light didn’t turn off.
“Almost there…” she said. “May need to adjust the frequency it operates on.”
“Tomorrow, Thea,” Alex said, “We’ll approach it with a fresh mind tomorrow. Maybe loop in Alexandra and Magnus on this. Would be nice to see them again. But please don’t work at it at 3 AM.”
I hope Thea succeeds in creating that Panopticon counter. I do wonder is it only limited to a certain area like an EMP or douse it act like a virus an disables the whole system?
Aircraft carrier SMS Saint Gunhilda, Kaiserliche Marine Second Pacific Fleet, east of Hawaii - October 19
“Sir!” the radar operator said. “Unknown aerial contacts!”
“What is it?” Admiral Konrad von Gablenz said.
“I don’t know!” the radar operator said. “They’re moving to intercept!”
“Battle stations!” Konrad said. “Now!”
Alarms blared, and sailors rushed to their stations. On the flight deck, fighter jets rolled onto the main runway.
“More contacts!” the radar operator said.
“Where?” Konrad said.
“Dead ahead!” the radar operator said.
“Helmsman, turn us around!” Konrad said. “Comms, radio Adamshaven!”
The first enemy jet roared overhead, and the admiral could just make out the insignia of the Fusang Navy—a golden heron-winged circle with the symbol 金 inside—on its wings. Seconds later, the first missile struck a destroyer, causing damage to its front deck and main gun. More missiles steadily rained down, hitting more ships.
“SMS Reinhard Gabriel hit!” an officer reported. “Wilhelm Johann hit! Malintzin hit! Florentina Gregorios hit! Beathan Tavira hit!”
“Return fire!” the admiral said. “Get our antiaircraft cannons up!”
It was no use. A missile struck the aircraft carrier, blowing up the runway and sending two jets toppling overboard. A second missile hit the superstructure, and the bridge exploded in a large fireball. Within minutes, the loyalists’ Second Fleet had been wiped out.
Nanjing
“Targets have been eliminated,” a Chinese admiral reported, “Roman naval power in the eastern Pacific has been decisively crippled.”
“Any survivors?” Han said.
“Only four ships,” the admiral reported, “The Saint Gunhilda and three destroyers are still afloat, but barely. They are retreating to Hawaii as we speak and should not pose a threat.”
“Good,” Han said, “Let them go. They will spread the world that China is back, and there is nothing stopping us from taking back the Dahai. Thank you.”
The admiral saluted. “Of course, Grand Secretariat.”
“We are doing good work,” Han said, “The sun will soon rise on a world led by China.”
So is China attacking all Loyalist forces in the Pacific like Hawaii and Sumatra or is this just a warning?
Also I looked up what this symbol 金 meant and according to Google Translate it means "Gold" and I was wondering what douse the "Gold" stand for in this case?
They probably have a worse situation than the real life Zainichi as they were former conquerors who became second class citizens under the people they formerly ruled over. There's a lot more bad blood between Koreans and Japanese here due to centuries of Korean rule in Japan.
Huh I did not know that. I chose that name mainly because from what I know of Norse Mythology Ravens are associated with Odin. One example being the story of Huginn and Muninn two Ravens who brought Odin information.
Pretty funny since I've lately been referring to Fylkja Aleta as the Raven Empress and described her as having a fondness for ravens. Maybe that could play into the Tianxia Jomsvikings' story somehow.
Also I do not know if it was you or Zen who was working on a rewrite of the Sequel Trilogy for TTL and wanted to let you know that the Templin Institute did a video in were they reimagined the New Republic
That was CaptainAlvious, who just did the opening crawls. I don't feel like doing the sequel trilogy as I would have to learn more about the Yuuzhan Vong and the Legends continuity and I don't have time to read dozens of novels (and I doubt online summaries would do their plots justice). I've by now seen the First Order reimagined video but I don't think I've watched the New Republic one yet.
Although I kind of agree with Thordarsson in that Jerusalem attacking Tawantinsuyu would have made sense the Committee went to far by attacking Mexico and Tejas as well.
There's no kill like overkill. I do agree it would have been diplomatically acceptable for Jerusalem to fight back against Tawantinsuyu, but they took it too far by targeting nations that weren't even involved in the conflict.
I wanted his breakdown to be more dramatic (like antagonists in Ace Attorney breaking down after their plots are exposed), but I felt that would have been too over the top.
I hope Thea succeeds in creating that Panopticon counter. I do wonder is it only limited to a certain area like an EMP or douse it act like a virus an disables the whole system?
China (through Fusang) has effectively opened hostilities against the Loyalists. They aren't attacking Jerusalem itself, but rather an easier target in the Roman Pacific territories.
Also I looked up what this symbol 金 meant and according to Google Translate it means "Gold" and I was wondering what douse the "Gold" stand for in this case?
It is pronounced "Jin" in Chinese. The Jin Dynasty of the 13th century that Fusang is descended from is known as 金朝 in Chinese. So that's why the Fusang jets have the character on their wings.
