History Characters / KaiserreichChina

->'''Ruling Party:''' Zongchang Pai[[note]]Zongchang Clique[[/note]]

->'''Party:''' Zongchang Pai[[note]]Zongchang Clique[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Country Leader[[/note]] (Coup), Political Advisor (Qing, Successful Manchu coup backer)

%%!!''Zhu Peide''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_zhu_peide.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Country Leader[[/note]] (Civil war victory)
%%->'''Party:''' Guomin Geming Jun Di San Jun[[note]]Third National Revolutionary Army: Whilst the NRA distinguished itself in battle and its generals became renowned throughout China for their strategies, it simply couldn't endure the grueling halt of the Northern Expedition followed by the German Intervention. Now reduced to a shell of its former self, exiled to Yunnan, the NRA remains cautious of both Tang Jiyao's stern, autocratic government, as well as the new socialist direction that the KMT has embraced. The repeated conflicts between Tang's beliefs, versus the NRA's own progressive republicanism have prevented the NRA from ever being properly integrated into Yunnan's military, leaving them dangerously autonomous, loyal only in name to the man who once granted them refuge.[[/note]]
%%->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
%%----

[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Zhao as a General]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_hunan_zhao_hengti_3.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Country Leader[[/note]]

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: The general population does not like Puyi and his restoration. Fortunately for him, most don't care that much to try to remove him, and the actual powers resided in the Zhili clique, so most of the political fighting are directed at the Zhili clique instead.

* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: The Fengtian Government (of the Republic of China) characterizies itself as the "Good Republic", and the Qing Empire centered at Beijing as the "Evil Empire". The truth is more nuanced, and both sides are actually MirroringFactions, with both being warlord cliques that puppet nominally democratic governments (and given the same ideological grouping - Authoritarian Democracy).

* AddledAddict: Perhaps even more of an opium addict than his father, Zhang is a massive addict to the point where it's an embarrassment to even the Fengtian Clique, whose general staff is full of addicts.

* IFightForTheStrongestSide: Shanxi will join with whatever faction works towards their interests (The Zhili Clique, Fengtian Clique, R-KMT, or National Protection Alliance for Yan Xishan, Federalists, R-KMT, or L-KMT for Feng Yuxiang), or even try to declare themselves the actual government if an opportunity arises.

* TheCoup: Lu Han can take power by overthrowing his alleged half-brother Long Yun.

* LaResistance: The Left-KMT guerrillas in the [=MinGan Zone=] are a force of resistance against Qing/Zhili rule.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Because of the completely different circumstances around the world, Wang Jingwei did not turn to the right-wing and does not get a chance to collaborate with Fascist Axis powers and getting remembered as a traitor. The worst he can do in Kaiserreich instead is instituting an authoritarian socialist, but still ultimately nationalist and non-collaborationist government.

* InSpiteOfANail: The leader of totalist Mongolia is Khorloogiin Choibalsan. In real life, Choibalsan was the head of government of the Mongolian People's Republic from 1939 to 1952 (''i.e.'' during Stalin's reign in Soviet Union), when the country was a Soviet puppet. OTL's Choibalsan was actually nicknamed "the Stalin of Mongolia".
* PuppetKing: Ungern, being a foreigner, is unable to unite Mongolia in spirit. The person that actually acts as the unifying figure and official ruler of Mongolia is the 9th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, but he's 3 when the game begins, and thus subservient to whomever is in power. Whatever leader that comes to power will still have to respect the existence of the 9th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu.

%%!!''Ölziin Badrakh''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_mon_olziin_badrakh.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Country Leader[[/note]] (Released by a Radical Socialist country)
%%->'''Party:''' Mongol Ardin Nam (Radical Wing)[[note]]Mongolian People's Party[[/note]]
%%->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism

%%!!''Peljidiin Genden''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_mon_peljidiin_genden.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Country Leader[[/note]] (Released by a Syndicalist country)
%%->'''Party:''' Mongol Ardin Nam (Syndicalist Wing)[[note]]Mongolian People's Party[[/note]]
%%->'''Ideology:''' Syndicalism

%%!!''Khorloogiin Choibalsan''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_mon_khorloogiin_choibalsan.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Country Leader[[/note]] (Released by a Totalist country)
%%->'''Party:''' Mongol Ardin Nam (Militarist Wing)[[note]]Mongolian People's Party[[/note]]
%%->'''Ideology:''' Totalism

%%!!''Jodbajab''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_mon_jodbajab.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Country Leader (Released by a Paternal Autocratic country after Sternberg is ousted)
%%->'''Party:''' National Unity Front
%%->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tibet]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_tibet_flag.png]]
%%Note: The in-game flag has a yellow border to the right.
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Flag of the Sacred Union]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tib_sacred_union.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Official Name:''' Kingdom of Tibet, Sacred Union of Tibet (Roerich), Tibetan Autonomy (KMT puppet state)
->'''Ruling Party:''' Traditionalists
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
Tibet declared its independence from China under the 13th Dalai Lama in 1913, and has used the chaos in India and China to move in their army and claim areas with Tibetan populations. Their move into Xikang brought them into conflict with the strongly nationalist Ma Clique, who invaded Yushu in 1932 and occupied Yushu and Golmud. The death of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1933 brought 5th Reting Ripoche, Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen, as the regent of Tibet until a new Dalai Lama can be found. Regent Jamphel has very little influence however, and he acts as a figurehead to the chaotic government. With chaos within, and threats without, Tibet's future is an uncertain one.
----
* FeudalOverlord: Tibet in 1936 still maintains its feudal society with a serf system.
* TheTheocracy: Tibet is a theocratic country based on Tibetan Buddhism. Their head of state is supposed to be the Dalai Lama, who are religious leaders as well. However, the 13th Dalai Lama died in 1933, and currently the 5th Reting Ripoche, Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen, is serving as the regent.
* WarriorMonk: Tibet maintains a group of ultraconservative warrior monks who keeps peace in the countryside, known as the Dob-Dobs.

%%!!''Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_tib_reting_ripoche.png]]

%%->'''Party:''' Traditionalists
%%->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy

%%!!''Dalai Lama''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dalai_lama.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Dalai Lama[[note]]Country Leader[[/note]]

%%!!''Tsarong Dzasa''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tsarong.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Country Leader
%%->'''Party:''' Young Tibet Party
%%->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy, Social Conservatism

%%!!''Tsipön Lungshar''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_tib_tsipon_lungshar.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Country Leader
%%->'''Party:''' Kyicho Kuntun
%%->'''Ideology:''' Social Liberalism, Market Liberalism
%%----

%%!!''9th Panchen Lama''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pachen_lama.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Country Leader
%%->'''Party:''' Tibet Improvement Party
%%->'''Ideology:''' Social Democracy, Radical Socialism
%%----

!!''Nicholas Roerich''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_tib_nicholas_roerich.png]]
->'''Role:''' Country Leader
->'''Party:''' Sacred Union Party
->'''Ideology:''' Totalism, Syndicalism
----
* GoingNative: Roerich is a Russian (of Baltic German descent) that can become the leader of a post-revolution Tibet.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Roerich's background is just as, if not even more insane than Roman von Ungern-Sternberg. Roerich is a Russian Baltic German (coincidentally just like Sternberg) who became an artist and a mystic. In ''Kaiserreich'', Roerich initially opposed Lenin due to his social conservatism, but after a meeting with Gandhi in the Bharatiya Commune and a trip to Tibet, he had a religious experience that made him snap back to a Lenin supporter and synthesize his spiritualism with socialism to create ''esoteric Leninism''. He was then endorsed by Gandhi to create the Sacred Union party in Tibet, in order to lead a new Tibet that would be both socialist and Buddhist.
* TruthInTelevision: As batshit as "Esoteric Leninism" sounds, Nicholas in real life did synthesize Buddhism with Leninism, and even had plans for a massive Buddhist-Communist utopia in Central Asia, stretching across Siberia, Mongolia, and Tibet. His talks of "Mahatma Lenin" are real too.

%%!!''Chao Kung''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_tib_chao_kung.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Country Leader (Released by a National Populist country)
%%->'''Party:''' Traditionalists
%%->'''Ideology:''' National Populism
%%----

%%!!''Ma Biao''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_xsm_ma_biao.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Country Leader (Ma Clique puppet state)
%%->'''Party:''' National Unity Front
%%->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
%%----

%%!!''Huang Musong''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_tib_huang_musong.png]]
%%->'''Role:''' Country Leader (RKMT puppet state)
%%->'''Party:''' National Unity Front
%%->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
%%----
[[/folder]]

->'''Official Name:''' Kumul Khanate, Hami Prefecture (Long Xielin), Xinjiang Administration (Fan Yaonan), Uyghur Republic (Khoja Niyaz Haji), Hami Clique (Ma Zhongying)

!!''Khoja Niyaz Haji''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_niyaz.jpg]]

->'''Role:''' Monarch[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Imperial Commissioner Plenipotentiary and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, Head of State (Failed Manchu coup)

%%->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Political Advisor[[/note]] (Cao Kun succession), Head of State (Sichuan, Armament shelters Zhili Remnants, Embrace the Civilian Wing or Liangguang, UPC elections)

%%->'''Role:''' President[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhili Republic or UPC elections)

%%->'''Role:''' President[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhili Republic)

->'''Role:''' Head of State, Head of Government (Zhang Xueliang cabinet)

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Zhang Zuolin succession)

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Japanese puppet state)

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Authoritarian puppet state)

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Democratic puppet state)

->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Socialist puppet state)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Coup), Political Advisor (Qing, Successful Manchu coup backer)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Coup), Political Advisor (Qing, Successful Manchu coup backer)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]], Chief of Army (Qing, Successful Manchu coup backer)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Power struggle victory), Head of State (Chinese reunification)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Armament victory, successful coup)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Baoding victory, Deng Xihou asserts control)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Baoding victory, Liu Wenhui asserts control)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Industrial victory)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Officer victory)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Officer victory, elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Armament shelters Zhili remnant)

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Baoding/Officer shelters Federalist remnant)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Long Yun coups Tang)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Lu Han coups Long)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Civil war victory)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Civil war victory)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhu intervenes in the Yunnan Civil War)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhu De steps down)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Power struggle victory)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Power struggle victory)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Post-Northwestern War)

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Post-Northwestern War)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Qing-imposed)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Sun Chuanfang succession)

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Elections or Military takeover)

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Elections)

->'''Role:''' Field Marshal, Governor-General[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, Merchants' Corps takeover)

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, KMT takeover)

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor of Guangxi (Lu passes away), Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, Old Guangxi Clique victory)

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, New Guangxi Clique victory)

->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Chairwoman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Wang ousted)

->'''Role:''' President[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (KMT Civil War, CRS victory)

->'''Role:''' Political Advisor, Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Hu cabinet)

%%->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (KMT Civil War, Beijing Government victory)

%%->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Song cabinet, KMT-RF path)

%%->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Song cabinet, CSP-Orthodox path), Head of State (Syndicalist puppet state)

%%->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Radical Faction has most influence of Syndicalists)

%%->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (World Society has most influence of Syndicalists)

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Nasir Shah succession)

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Post-war power struggle victory)

->'''Role:''' Head of State (Post-war power struggle victory)

->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Head of State (Post-war power struggle victory)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Elections), Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Released by Socialist country)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Pro-Canadian Path)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Pro-German Path)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Pro-Japanese Path)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

->'''Role:''' Head of State

->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Losol ousted)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Failed self-coup)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Elections)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Invited by the KAN or Aristocrats in power)

%%->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Released by a Radical Socialist country)

%%->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Released by a Syndicalist country)

%%->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Released by a Totalist country)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Released by a Paternal Autocratic country after Sternberg is ousted)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Dalai Lama[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State

->'''Role:''' Head of State

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Released by a National Populist country)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (Ma Clique puppet state)

%%->'''Role:''' Head of State (RKMT puppet state)

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]'His Imperial Majesty, the Son of Heaven, the Xuantong Emperor’ - while Pu Yi holds many titles, the young Emperor has little power, and has never really possessed any ever since his birth in 1906. Deposed in the Xinhai revolution at the age of 5, he was returned to the throne as a condition of the German intervention in China, a move detested by the general population. With day-to-day governance largely handled by the civil government in Beijing, he has spent the last decade idly sitting in the Forbidden City, occupying his days with tennis matches and calligraphy. But the Xuantong Emperor may secretly harbor ambitions to restore China and his dynasty to the greatness they enjoyed centuries ago...[[/labelnote]]
->'''In-Game Biography''' (Manchu Restoration)[[labelnote:Click to Show]]Restored following what has now been deemed the Manchu Coup, Aisin-Gioro Puyi now sits at the helm of a government scrubbed clear of warlord influences. While some observers feared a return to traditionalism, the new Qing government opted for a much more modern model. Puyi still lacks much power, but this is of his own design. Fearing a tyrannical descendant of the same type that doomed his predecessors, the Emperor and legal scholars have drafted a constitutional structure of monarchy where Puyi exercises spiritual and patriotic power while only having an advisory role in legislature and day-to-day governing. While this new structure of government is untested, it seems strong, and many in China and around the world are hoping Puyi can lead the nation into this brave new world.[[/labelnote]]

* ThePuppetCutHisStrings: A successful Manchu Coup would allow Puyi to end Zhili rule and see his authority as Emperor restored.

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Narrowly escaping death at the hands of Puyi, Pujie, and the other Manchu noblemen who plotted to overthrow the Zhili clique, Wu Peifu has now dropped any façade of Imperial rule over China. Naming himself ‘interim head of the nation’, he is now tasked with building a legitimate system of government for his nation. A military man for his entire life, Wu is not expected to remain in power for long, and transfer control of the country to a hand-picked successor.[[/labelnote]]
The leader of the Zhili clique, and de facto ruler of the "Qing Empire".

!!''Yan Huiqing''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_qie_yan_huiqing_0.png]]
->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Political Advisor[[/note]] (Cao Kun succession), Head of State (Sichuan, Armament shelters Zhili Remnants, Embrace the Civilian Wing or Liangguang, UPC elections)
->'''Party:''' Zhili Clique (Civilian Wing) (Sichuan), Hexie Shetuan[[note]]The Harmony Association is a loose collection of Zhili bureaucrats, governors and hangers-on that represent Wu Peifu and Cao Kun's attempts to present a facade of democratic legitimacy in the Beijing Assembly. Officially they are a separate political party, completely divested from the military. Unofficially, however, most realise that the HA's sham democracy is little more than a half-hearted attempt to cover up the endemic corruption, inefficiency, and waste of the Zhili bureaucracy.[[/note]] (Zhili defeats Qing) (Sichuan), Democratic Constitutional Party (UPC)
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy, Social Conservatism (UPC)
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A native of Shanghai and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Yan received prizes and medals for debate, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Yan taught English at St. John's University, Shanghai for a short time after coming back from the United States, where he became a Freemason, and then went to Beijing to start his political career. In 1906, Yan became an editor at the Commercial Press, received a Doctorate in in Literature from the Beiyang University (now Tianjin University), and was appointed to the Imperial Ministry of Education. Yan distinguished himself as Foreign Minister of the Beijing Government under Wu Peifu. During the 2nd Zhifeng war, Yan translated and compiled Stories of Old China in Hong Kong.[[/labelnote]]

* TheRemnant: Yan Huiqing will become the leader of the Zhili remnants in Sichuan if their civilian wing is empowered.

!!''Hu Shih''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_qie_hu_shih.png]]
->'''Role:''' President[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhili Republic or UPC elections)
->'''Party:''' Hexie Shetuan[[note]]The Harmony Association is a loose collection of Zhili bureaucrats, governors and hangers-on that represent Wu Peifu and Cao Kun's attempts to present a facade of democratic legitimacy in the Beijing Assembly. Officially they are a separate political party, completely divested from the military. Unofficially, however, most realise that the HA's sham democracy is little more than a half-hearted attempt to cover up the endemic corruption, inefficiency, and waste of the Zhili bureaucracy.[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A political philosopher and intellectual, Hu Shih may seem like an odd choice for first president of the 'Beijing Government of the Republic of China'. Yet the political philosophy he developed, 'pragmatism', was deeply influential to Wu Peifu during the years immediately following the restoration of the Qing, and the two frequently met in Hu's office at Peking University, discussing how both men, former republicans, could and should dedicate themselves to the imperial project as the 'least bad' option for China. But with the Manchu's tyranny revealed, Wu has selected Hu to lead the new government, hoping that the philosopher's writings and public persona can lend an air of legitimacy to a government seen by most as a sham and a front for the Zhili clique.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Vi Kyuin Wellington Koo''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_qie_koo.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:a.k.a. Gu Weijun]]
->'''Role:''' President[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhili Republic)
->'''Party:''' Hexie Shetuan[[note]]The Harmony Association is a loose collection of Zhili bureaucrats, governors and hangers-on that represent Wu Peifu and Cao Kun's attempts to present a facade of democratic legitimacy in the Beijing Assembly. Officially they are a separate political party, completely divested from the military. Unofficially, however, most realise that the HA's sham democracy is little more than a half-hearted attempt to cover up the endemic corruption, inefficiency, and waste of the Zhili bureaucracy.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]V. K. Wellington Koo, or Gu Weijun as he is known in China, is one of the nation's foremost diplomats and statesmen. Influential in the negotiations surrounding the end of the Weltkrieg, during the Imperial restoration he served as ambassador to the United States. Recalled due to escalating political tensions, Wu has now appointed him president of the 'Beijing Government of the Republic of China', hoping his diplomatic skills can help in achieving international legitimacy and recognition.[[/labelnote]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fengtian Government]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_fengtian.png]]
->'''Official Name:''' Fengtian Government, Republic of China (Chinese reunification)
-->'''Puppet State:''' Manchurian People's Federation (Socialist), Republic of Manchuria (Democratic), Manchurian State (Authoritarian), State of Manchuria (Japan)
->'''Ruling Party:''' Guangfuxi[[note]]Recovery League: A loose association of fallen generals, governors, bureaucrats, and politicians without any strong ideological affiliation, most of whom find themselves in Fengtian because there are few other places where they might hold any semblance of power. Easily bribed and tempted, they often serve to promote the interests of whoever is willing to pay, and consequently the 'league' is highly splintered despite controlling a large portion of the Assembly, lacking the political will to act decisively.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy

The Republic of China, "replaced" by the Qing monarchy in the Zhili-sponsored Xuantong Restoration, was "restored" by Zhili's rivaling Fengtian clique after Fengtian narrowly survived the Zhili-Fengtian Wars thanks to Japanese aid. Though securing a temporary peace from an armistice, the Fengtian Government is adamantly against the Zhili-Qing government in Beijing, and renewed conflict over Beijing seems inevitable.

* AllohistoricalAllusion: Fengtian is a Japanese puppet state (or at least a Japanese-aligned) state on the Northeastern Provinces of China. Just like Manchukuo in real life.
* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: The Fengtian Government (of the Republic of China) characterizies itself as the "Good Republic", and the Qing Empire centered at Beijing as the "Evil Empire". The truth is more nuanced, and both sides are actually MirroringFactions, with both being warlord cliques that puppet nominally democratic governments (and given the same ideological grouping - Authoritarian Democracy).
* HereditaryRepublic: While it claims to be the heir to the Republic of China, the real rulers of the Fengtian Government are a warlord clique under the leadership of Zhang Zuolin, who in turn is subject to the "benevolent" oversight of the Empire of Japan.
* {{Irony}}: Manchukuo in real life was a Japanese-installed puppet state with Puyi as a puppet king, while the rest of China was a Han-led Republic. In ''Kaiserreich'', Manchuria is now a Han-led Republic, while the rest of China is a puppet state of Germany, with Puyi as a puppet king. Doubly ironic is that the restored Qing has no access to Manchuria, the homeland of the Manchu people that formed the Qing dynasty.
* PeaceConference: After defeating Qing, Fengtian can launch a National Reunification Conference to bring Fengtian allies into the fold, and also to negotiate with Southern Republican factions (mainly the Federalists, though the KMT can support Fengtian if they were utterly wiped out) and possibly unite with them peacefully. If the conference is unsuccessful, or if Fengtian decides against the conference, then they will have to subjugate and reunite the rest of China militarily.
* PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny: Fengtian claims to be a democratic republic but it is in fact a puppet state under Japanese influence and controlled by a military clique.
** The Republic of Manchuria is also noted to be one if formed.
* PuppetState:
** {{Downplayed}} at game start. Fengtian is independent but Japanese-backed, with Japanese influence mainly coming in the form of economic management through the Mantetsu.
** If Fengtian goes down the "Unification by Subjugation" path after conquering Beijing, Zhang Zuolin will step down and try to put his son Zhang Xueliang in charge. Japan can choose to meddle in the affairs, attempting to assassinate Zhang Zuolin and put the submissive Yang Yuting in charge of Fengtian, pointing the country down a pro-Japanese path. Fengtian will join the Co-Prosperity Sphere, join the Yen Bloc, and eventually become a virtual puppet of Japan, getting renamed to "Reformed Government of China", which was the name of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformed_Government_of_the_Republic_of_China Chinese collaborationist puppet state]] during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
* TheRemnant: The Fengtian Government is made up of remnants from the Beiyang government, who were exiled following the Qing restoration.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: While definitely a part of the Japanese sphere, Fengtian-Japanese relations are not exactly stable. This can be seen by their relationship at game start; Fengtian is guaranteed by Japan, but isn't in the Co-Prosperity Sphere. Depending on Japan and Fengtian's actions throughout the game, Fengtian-Japanese relations can improve to the point where Fengtian joins the Co-Prosperity Sphere (to the detriment of Fengtian legitimacy), or deteriorate to the point where Fengtian declares war on the Co-Prosperity Sphere.

!!''Zhang Zuolin''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fng_zhang_zuolin_8.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State, Head of Government (Zhang Xueliang cabinet)
->'''Party:''' Guangfuxi[[note]]Recovery League: A loose association of fallen generals, governors, bureaucrats, and politicians without any strong ideological affiliation, most of whom find themselves in Fengtian because there are few other places where they might hold any semblance of power. Easily bribed and tempted, they often serve to promote the interests of whoever is willing to pay, and consequently the 'league' is highly splintered despite controlling a large portion of the Assembly, lacking the political will to act decisively.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Born to an impoverished family near Shenyang, Zhang Zuolin began his meteoric rise as a bandit exploiting the chaotic military situation of the late Guangxu Era. After securing governorship of Manchuria, Zhang went on to fight a series of wars with the Anhui and Zhili Cliques, at times extending his influence as far south as Shanghai. Despite Zhang's best efforts an economically unstable home front, German intervention, and Wu Peifu's military genius have seen him again contained to the provinces north of the Great Wall. He has been stoking old ambitions ever since, converting his formerly regionalist administration into a bastion of republicanism, claiming direct lineage from the Xinhai Revolution. His actual commitment to democratic principles remains to be seen.\\\
Despite his poor literacy and lack of a formal education, the 'Old Marshal' is a capable and self-aware leader, happy to seek advice and delegate where necessary to cover his deficiencies. However, he is also known for a short temper and an unforgiving nature, readily holding deep grudges. Zhang is also sometimes greatly self-centered, formerly crashing the entire Northeastern economy to support his war efforts. And so, in ideological terms, he could be described as staunchly 'Pro-Zhang'.[[/labelnote]]

* AssassinationAttempt: When he tries to pass his leadership down to Zhang Xueliang, Yang Yuting and his Japanese-aligned Shikan Clique will attempt an assassination on Zhang Zuolin and try to seize power.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: For a certain value of "hero" (Since he isn't much different from the Qing he despises), but Zuolin is quite skeptical towards universal suffrage, viewing that as "[[ValuesDissonance non Confucian values]]". Can be downplayed if his PeaceConference goes well as he eventually gives the female population voting rights and (limited) participation in politics for the general population.
* RagsToRiches: Zhang Zuolin started off as a poor and uneducated bandit in rural China before rising up to become one of the most powerful warlords in China, and he can go even higher from there.
* RedBaron: The Old Marshal.

!!''Zhang Xueliang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fng_zhang_xueliang.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote: Zhang as a General]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fng_zhang_xueliang_army.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (Zhang Zuolin succession)
->'''Party:''' Zhanghui[[note]]Zhang Clique: A collection of loyalists and generals, the Zhang Clique holds no specific ideology beyond promoting the furtherance of the Grand Marshal's political powers. While making pretences to democracy, Zhang's supporters are not committed to republican ideals, and promote them only for their utility."[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Zhang Xueliang joined his father's army in 1917, and soon become a close friend to Guo Songling at the Fengtian military academy. His combat record has been mixed, having suffered an honourable defeat during the First Zhili-Fengtian War, performed exceptionally during the Second, and again experiencing defeats in the Third and Fourth Wars.\\\
Although previously considered to lack ambition, he has slowly risen to become his father's political heir, and an informal leader of the so-called 'Zhang Clique'.\\\
However his political career has been frequently undermined by problematic personal habits, supposedly coping methods for war-related trauma.\\\
He has been known to frequent the Legation Cities, especially Shanghai and Tianjin, where he has spent days smoking, gambling, and carousing with women. Despite his father's best efforts, and those of some close friends, his attitude has yet to change.[[/labelnote]]

Zhang Xueliang is Zhang Zuolin's son, and a possible successor to his father.

* AddledAddict: Perhaps even more of an opium addict than his father, Zhang is a massive addict to the point where it's an embarrassment to even the Fengtian Clique, whose general staff is full of addicts.
* MeetTheNewBoss: Very little changes from the rule of one Zhang to another.
* PuppetKing: When his father Zhang Zuolin begins his push to unify China, he resigns to allow Zhang Xueliang to run the country as a gesture towards constitutionalists. Zhang Zuolin remains as head of government and control over the army, and with Fengtian's government system (a military dictatorship), Xueliang's addictions, and Zuolin's [[TheGeneralissimo title of Marshal]], it's pretty clear who has the real power.
* RedBaron: The Young Marshal, son of the Old Marshal.

!!''Yang Yuting''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fng_yang_yuting.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (Japanese puppet state)
->'''Party:''' Concordia Association
->'''Ideology:''' Market Liberalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]\\
Born: August 29th, 1885, in Faku, Fengtian, Qing Empire\\
Political Career: Yang Yuting served as the Fengtian's Clique Chief of Staff during its early days, and participated in early raids against Zhili with Xu Shuzheng of the Anhui Clique. Since then, he has served as the Chief of Staff for the Fengtian Army, Army Training Director, and manager of the Three Northeast Provinces Armament Factory.\\\
He has long been a core member of Zhang Zuolin's inner circle, but he had an informal relationship with the Japanese Kwantung Army which proved fortuitous as relations soured between Shenyang and Tokyo. Sceptical of Zhang's ambitions to reunite China, and retaining a regionalist attitude, he saw the Japanese as an opportunity to gain fortune and power as well as protect Manchuria's autonomy.\\\
He and other members of the Shikan clique sought to use Japanese investment to develop and modernise the northeast, building lasting ties with the Concordia Association and the Kwantung army. While the formation of an independent Manchuria was not necessarily their first intention, they have proven eager to accept the new realities of Japanese rule over Dongbei, even as their Japanese patrons continue to pull the strings in the background.\\\
To them, this surrender is the only way to preserve any degree of freedom from further encroachment by Tokyo, even as they are denounced by the wider Chinese world. Whether with eyes closed or open, Yang Yuting and his followers stumble into an uncertain new era, daring history to judge them.[[/labelnote]]

* TheQuisling: Yuting is the leading figure of Japanese collaboration.
* RegimeChange: Japan will install Yuting as leader of Fengtian if the Republic fails to break away from the Japanese sphere.

!!''Fu Shuangying''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fng_fu_shuangying.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (Authoritarian puppet state)
->'''Party:''' Huanghanui[[note]]Imperial Han Society[[/note]], Shikan Clique (Puppet state)
->'''Ideology:''' National Populism, Paternal Autocracy, Authoritarian Democracy (Puppet state)
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]\\
Born: 1894, in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, Qing Empire\\
Political Career: A minor commander of Manchu descent in the Fengtian clique, Fu Shuangying was nothing special in the old order: a graduate from the prestigious Baoding military academy with a checkered record on the battlefield and some ties with Japanese interests in Manchuria. His lack of entrenched ties with the Zhangs or Tokyo, military education and bureaucratic experience gained administering (among other projects) the Jingxing Mining Bureau ultimately worked in his favour however when foreign authorites began searching for a candidate to lead an independent Manchuria.\\\
Largely a figurehead for foreign rule and with a questionable legitimacy even among ethnic Manchus, Fu has nonetheless taken on the role with stride. He has allied with elements of the so-called Shikan clique, working together to protect the region's autonomy.[[/labelnote]]

* TheQuisling: Fu Shuangying is the puppet leader for a Manchuria conquered by an authoritarian regime.

!!''Zhao Xinbo''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/man_portrait_zhao_xinbo.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (Democratic puppet state)
->'''Party:''' Manchuria Democratic League
->'''Ideology:''' Social Democracy, Social Liberalism, Market Liberalism, Social Conservatism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]\\
Born: 1890, in Wanping County, Zhili Province, Qing Empire\\
Political Career:A Manchu bannerman with the Imperial Guard during the waning days of the Qing Empire, a young Zhao Xinbo enrolled in the Tianjin Beiyang University. Amid the growing turbulence of Xinhai, he joined the Beijing Wenming New Theatre Troupe as a female actor and also the revolutionary Tongmenghui.\\\
After the failure of Sun's second revolution 1913, the light of Chinese republicanism dimmed and Zhao fled to Dalian. He became a Chinese teacher for Japanese students before successfully enrolling in law classes at Meiji University. There he became the first Chinese student to receive a doctorate in law from the Tokyo Imperial University in 1925. Heavily connected to Japanese influence, he was a legal advisor to Zhang Zuolin after graduation. Under Zhang Xueliang's patronage, he founded the Northeast Law Research Association.\\\
An otherwise minor, pro-Japanese figure in the Fengtian clique, he was nevertheless willing to make the jump when foreign authorities decided to create a new Manchurian state. Zhao proved to be an eager collaborator, helping establish the Liaoning Province Local Maintenance Committee, which issued a declaration of independence for Manchuria on behalf of his masters. He successively became mayor of Shenyang, President of the Supreme Court, and President of the Legislative Yuan, influencing the creation of nearly all of Manchuria's nascent institutions during foreign occupation.\\\
With his power growing, the so-called "Midwife of Manchuria" was finally granted his wish: an independent Manchurian republic. Easily elected into the role of President with the backing of a hastily cobbled together "Manchuria Democratic League", the future of his republic remains extremely shaky. Worse, he has been known to shamelessly embezzle money from the treasury. Beneath a thin veneer of democracy, designed mainly to cater to his foreign patrons, lies a largely unpopular strong-man oligarchy - a sham he may not have the competency to maintain.[[/labelnote]]

* LesCollaborateurs: Zhao Xinbo is initially a pro-Japanese collaborator, albeit a minor one. He can become a much more important collaborator for whichever country puppets Manchuria.
* CorruptPolitician: As leader of Manchuria he shamelessly embezzles money from the treasury.
* OpportunisticBastard: Despite his pro-Japanese stance, he won't hesitate to jump ship in order to become leader of Manchuria.
* TheQuisling: He is the leader of Manchuria if puppeted by a democratic regime, and an eager collaborator.
* RedBaron: The "Midwife of Manchuria" for his role of the foundation of the Republic.

!!''Guan Xiangying''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fng_guan_xiangying.png]]
->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Socialist puppet state)
->'''Party:''' Kuomintang, Northeastern Syndicalist Party, Socialist Party of Manchuria
->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism, Syndicalism, Totalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]\\
Born: 1890, in Wanping County, Zhili Province, Qing Empire\\
Political Career: Born to a Manchu family of the Guerjia clan, Guan Xiangying, from an early age, saw the horrors of imperialism firsthand as he toiled away in a Japanese-funded printing company. He saw Manchuria gradually fall under the influence of the Japanese and witnessed firsthand the rampant corruption of the Fengtian Clique, which holds dominion over the vast plains of Manchuria. At the age of 22, he joined a Socialist youth league, and when the Northern Expedition down south broke out in 1925, he joined the Chinese Syndicalist Party - joining many others in a fervor of anti-imperialist nationalism.\\\
Unfortunately, with the collapse of the Northern Expedition and the disintegration of the Kuomintang, the Chinese Syndicalist Party found itself even more disorganised. In those trying times, Guan was forced, like many others, to go into hiding and bid his time for the revolution. And yet the revolution has indeed come. With foreign socialist troops having freed Manchuria from the Japanese and Fengtian Clique, Guan has emerged out of hiding and guerrilla war to participate as the leader of a new revolutionary Manchuria - one that will champion and value the true labour of all the peoples in Manchuria!\\\
Or so he claims. In practice, the newly founded Socialist Party of Manchuria (modelled heavily after the Chinese Kuomintang) remains largely unpopular with the entrenched establishment they oppose and with the apathetic peasantry. Many resistance fighters feel betrayed by the foundation of an independent Manchurian state, and Chinese nationalism endures. Chairman Guan himself is said to be privately unhappy with recent develpments, but has accepted this arrangement as a necessary evil to ensure the withdrawal of foreign occupiers.[[/labelnote]]

* TheQuisling: Guan Xiangying is the puppet leader for a Manchuria conquered by a socialist regime.
* RebelLeader: Guan Xiangying is a leader of the underground Chinese Syndicalist Party, engaged in a guerilla with Fengtian and Japan.

[[folder:Shandong Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_shandong.jpg]]
->'''Official Name:''' Shandong Clique, Shangqing Tianguo (Yiguandao), New Qing Empire (Yiguandao, Chinese reunification)
->'''Ruling Party:''' Zongchang Pai[[note]]Zongchang Clique[[/note]]

A Fengtian-aligned warlord clique that has recognized Qing authority due to pressure from the German garrison in Qingdao. Ruled by the infamous Zhang Zongchang, Zhang competes for influence with the Qing-aligned Qu Yingguang and local religious leader Zhang Tianran.

* ArmyOfThievesAndWhores: Almost all of Zongchang's generals have some form of criminal record or another. Many are former bandits, others are murderers and serial arsonists, the two Japanese mercenaries he has are disgraced samurai also with criminal backgrounds, and the only general that doesn't have a criminal record is a drug addict.
* TheCoup: Either Zhang Tianran or Qu Yingguang can overthrow Zhang Zongchang.
* GraveRobbing: Zhang Zongchang's greedy (and somewhat crazy) subordinate Sun Dianying will attempt to rob the graves of old Chinese Emperors and Empresses to further his own wealth. His actions will outrage the Qing government, who can do nothing but watch.
* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: Both Zhang Zongchang and Zhang Tianran can "intervene" in the LEP war to grab land from the LEP.
* MeleeATrois: The Shandong Clique, Yiguandao, and the Society for Restoring Benevolence all want to end the other two to secure their rule over the Shandong province.
* WretchedHive: Zhang Zongchang's rule has turned Shandong into a mess, with his opium dealings, brutal generals, and awful leadership creating a province with rampant crime and violence.

!!''Zhang Zongchang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_zhang_zongchang.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Zongchang Pai[[note]]Zongchang Clique[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Zongchang himself felt no great national pride for Qingdao when it was lost in 1897 to Germany, but the 1911 revolution did motivate him to action. Arriving in Shanghai to pledge allegiance to the Republic, he fell in with Feng Guozhang and joined the Zhili Clique when they emerged in 1917. When the Fengtian and Zhili Clique turned on each other in 1920, Zongchang was withdrawing his forces from across Northern China back into Shandong. This allowed Zongchang to commit most of his forces to the Fengtian Clique when Zhang Zhoulin made peace with Sun Yat Sen in 1926. Zongchang ordered his army again to retreat into Shandong when the Fengtian Clique needed him most. This retreat made Shandong into his prison as well as refuge, where he was an illegal but tolerated occupying force under the shadow of the Qing. An ability to utilize railroads effectively as well as the unusual charisma of a man referred to as “filthy” by even his allies carried him through to victory. As medicine was out of his reach financially, a bout of sickness drew him up the 6,600 steps to a Yiguandao doctor. Zongchang eventually met the Yiguandao’s Honored Teacher, Zhang Tianran. Whether it was his sickness or the lack of anything else to do up on Mount Tai, Zongchang promised Tianran that he would follow the esoteric lifestyle espoused by the cult for his health.[[/labelnote]]
The infamously corrupt, despotic, and comically eccentric Fengtian-aligned warlord of Shandong. Loyal to Zhang Zuolin, he currently maintains a precarious state of neutrality between Zhili and Fengtian due to political pressure.

* AddledAddict: Zhang Zongchang is a massive opium addict, which could explain his wacky antics.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: While he is completely bonkers, Zongchang is a capable general and has had many successes in the past.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Zongchang is very eccentric and unpredictable, and gives no respect to anyone or anybody. This gave him an infamous but also fearsome reputation, and also gave him several like-minded followers.
* GettingHighOnTheirOwnSupply: Zongchang deals drugs through Shandong, and is also a drug addict himself.
* RedBaron: The Dogmeat General, refering to his gambling addiction and also for eating dog meat.

!!''Zhang Tianran''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_zhang_tianran_7.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (Coup), Political Advisor (Qing, Successful Manchu coup backer)
->'''Party:''' Yiguandao Hui[[note]]Yiguandao Society[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' National Populism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Tianran aspired to nothing in his life until he was introduced into the cult of Lu Zhongyi. Lu Zhongyi was the leader of a small group of religious syncretists called the Yiguandao in 1918. Lu Zhongyi had always planned for his sister Lu Zhongjie to succeed him to lead the Yiguandao, and had even recognized her supposed divinity as the reincarnation of the Buddhist God Guan Yin. A theological schism occurred after the passing of Lu Zhongyi in 1930, wherein Lu Zhongjie took followers loyal to her out of the Yiguandao and relocated to Henan, where they remain to this day. Tianran, having the full trust of his members as well as a newly divined wife Sun Suzhen, began to tell startling revelations. In 1922, Tianran had built a shrine on Mount Tai, which grew until it encompassed the other monasteries on the mountain. By 1924 Mount Tai had become the year-round home for Zhang Tianran and his inner circle. A spirit writing session that same year foretold Emperor Puyi was in danger of being poisoned, and a trip to Beijing was planned. Tianran amused and flattered Emperor Puyi with promises that the Yiguandao would reinforce loyalty to the Qing through charity and warfare if need be. The first Red Spears and Big Swords arrived to Mount Tai in 1925. The greatest catch was Tianran’s supposed conversion of Zhang Zongchang in 1935.[[/labelnote]]

The leader of the Yiguandao, a Shandong-based millenarian religion syncretizing elements of traditional Chinese religions. Popular among the peasantry, and supported by some peasant militia converts, Yiguandao is politically influential in Shandong. The group subscribes to an "idiosyncratic" vision of Qing monarchism, and vehemently rejects warlordism.

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: Qing and Shangqing have some aligned interests, and Qing can use Shangqing to defeat all the foreign influences in Southern China before having Shangqing submit to Qing and annexing all of Southern China.
* DrugsAreBad: Zhang Tianran immediately ends the opium dealings in Shandong after rising to power.
* NonIndicativeName: The Yiguandao is National Populist InNameOnly. It doesn't fit at all with the pseudofascist or ultranationalist paths that other countries have for their national populists - the Yiguandao is a whole different beast onto itself. The developers have admitted that the Yiguandao doesn't really fit National Populist, but they basically have nowhere else to put it.
* TheTheocracy: Zhang Tianran's Shangqing Tianguo is a theocracy built around Yiguandao.
* WarriorMonk: Zhang Tianran has militias dedicated to Yiguandao, and new military units formed after his ascension to power will all be fully dedicated to the teachings of Yiguandao.

!!''Qu Yingguang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_shandong_qu_yingguang_3.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Coup), Political Advisor (Qing, Successful Manchu coup backer)
->'''Party:''' Guiren Hui[[note]]Society of Restoring Benevolence[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Qu Yingguang was born March 14th, 1883, in Zhejiang. He was inspired by Qiu Jin to become a revolutionary, but later aligned himself with the cliques of the Beiyang Army. In 1919 Qu was appointed Governor of Shandong, which became an adoptive home province for him. He distinguished himself as a good leader, improving management of the Yellow River and making efforts to protect the province’s religious and cultural legacy, in part by fostering ties with the Duke Yansheng. Years later, he joined the Beiyang Government and grew close to Duan Qirui. Both men were followers of Buddhism, a belief Qu learned from the maternal side of his family. He spent time working with religious societies and charitable organisations, earning the Buddhist name “Faxian” and the nickname of “Qu Bodhisattva”. He then moved to Shanghai shortly before Duan’s overthrow in 1926, dissatisfied with authoritarianism and corruption in Beijing. The Shanghai Uprising of 1932 devastated his charity, the “Benevolence Alliance”, as it was feared to be infiltrated by Syndicalist agents. He fled the city like many of his peers, choosing to return to Shandong, but there witnessed the horror that China’s “Basest Warlord”, Zhang Zongchang, had wreaked upon it with opium and debauchery. Through ties to members of the Anti-Drug Association in Shandong, as well as friends like the Duke Yansheng and allies in Beijing, his Benevolence Alliance was reformed in Qufu as the “Society for Restoring Benevolence”. Though rarely publicly opposing Governor Zhang, Qu opened secret talks with the Zhili and the Imperial Court, working to find a way to pull the corruption in Shandong up by the root. Qu believes China must defeat corruption and sin, which a religio-political order upheld by an Emperor can best achieve. He’s cautious of the Manchu princes but supports Emperor Puyi, with whom he was granted an audience once. He is greatly interested in Puyi’s Buddhist sympathies, having come to believe that the Emperor is the best candidate to impose a harmonious, dharmic political order in China.[[/labelnote]]
----
* OnlySaneMan: Between a drug-addicted warlord and a cult leader, Qu Yingguang is the sanest out of the three leader options in Shandong.
* TheRemnant: Qu Yingguang could be considered to be this to the Anhui Clique with his affiliation with the Anfu Club and personal ties to Duan Qirui. Downplayed in how such an allegiance to the Anhui Clique does not really play much into his content.

[[folder:Shanxi Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_shanxi.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Flag of the Republic of China (Feng)]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shx_feng_unifier_flag.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Official Name:''' Shanxi Government, Zhongyuan Government[[note]]Central Plains Government[[/note]] (Unification path), Republic of China (Chinese reunification)
->'''Ruling Party:''' Yan Clique
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
The territory of opportunistic Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan, which has recognized Qing authority after military defeat in the Fourth Zhili-Fengtian War. Yan's clique also competes for influence with the KMT-aligned forces of the ''Guominjun'', which the clique has absorbed after the Northern Expedition was crushed by German intervention.

* IFightForTheStrongestSide: Shanxi will join with whatever faction works towards their interests (The Zhili Clique, Fengtian Clique, R-KMT, or National Protection Alliance for Yan Xishan, Federalists, R-KMT, or L-KMT for Feng Yuxiang), or even try to declare themselves the actual government if an opportunity arises.

!!''Yan Xishan''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_shanxi_yan_xishan.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]], Chief of Army (Qing, Successful Manchu coup backer)
->'''Party:''' Yan Clique
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
->'''In-Game Biography:''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Governor Yan Xishan is a larger-than-life figure in many ways - the son of a wealthy family that lost it all, a soldier turned revolutionary, a native son of Shanxi who drove out the haughty Manchu mandarins, a Model Governor of his beloved province. Some say he simply does not live up to this reputation in life, with an increasingly divided and stagnant government, endemic corruption leading all the way to the top, and a failed national contender during the struggle for northern China in the 1920s. Whatever the case, as Shanxi reels from the impacts of the shifting political tides, Governor Yan is forced to work with (and against) his erstwhile allies in the Guominjun, led by Feng Yuxiang. Despite all the troubles he faces, and despite all the odds, Yan still believes a day will come when he will save China from its disunity and bring about the stabilising, guiding hand that it so desperately needs. Yan Xishan was born to one of Shanxi's once numerous banking and commercial clans and given a traditional Confucian education expected of his status. This, combined with his family's loss of status following a major economic downturn, perhaps explains his uneasy, fractious alliance/relationship with the gentry. After enrolling in Taiyuan military school, he went abroad to study in Japan for a few years. This experience was eye-opening for him as he saw a society that had rapidly modernised under an authoritarian, centralised government. He further admired the discipline and "Bushido" code of the Japanese military, and praised their success in defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese war. The German Empire's victory in the Weltkrieg further turned him down the route of autocracy, reinforcing his belief in the need for strong leadership. Governor Yan took up leadership of Shanxi after the Xinhai revolution of 1911, though he cut ties with Sun Yat-sen after 1913. Despite his desire for Chinese unity, he remained suspicious of successive central governments' attempts to undermine his control of the province. He achieved fame for his many modernising programmes for Shanxi, though more cynical observers note that quite a few have failed to come to meaningful fruition.[[/labelnote]]

* SmallRoleBigImpact: If Qing falls to chaos and a coup is attempted on Wu Peifu, Yan can lend support to the coup in exchange for promises of reforming the monarchy. The coup support majorly impacts one of the biggest factions in China, and Yan would have a say in the new Qing politics due to his support.
* OpportunisticBastard: Perhaps the most opportunistic warlord in China, Yan is willing to support any faction outside of the L-KMT or Federalists. Most of the time he supports the Zhili, as they're the closest and most powerful in the region, but should they fall all bets are off.
* TheUsurper: Yan is a member of the Zhili Clique on paper, but if he sees an opportunity he can declare a rival government in Shanxi and take Beijing.

!!''Feng Yuxiang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_shanxi_feng_yuxiang_8.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Power struggle victory), Head of State (Chinese reunification)
->'''Party:''' Guominjun[[note]]National Army[[/note]], National Revolutionary Party
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography:''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]How does the son of a poor soldier go on to become a great man? In the old days, it was said that such a great man would not talk about his lowly birth, but in the ailing days of the Qing Empire, history was written by many sons of the "laobaixing". The grandson of a peasant and the son of a former bricklayer, servant and labourer turned soldier, Feng Yuxiang spent his childhood raised by impoverished opium addicts. Born Feng Jishan, at age ten his life changed when his father's friends, placed him on the soldiers' roster in order to double his family's payroll. Apparently by error, his name was recorded for the first time as "Yuxiang". Over the next few years, his mother died and he continued growing up in a military camp - turning into an effective soldier of a dying empire. Several attempts at gambling and becoming penniless helped Feng develop a lasting resolve - to never gamble or drink again and to save his limited money. An eager soldier in a corrupt military, he quickly became disgusted by the rampant corruption, incompetence and foreign domination of the humiliated nation. It was no surprise then, that this soldier once deemed a "foreign snack" (that is, one destined to be killed by enemy invaders), turned to revolution. As the units around him developed into the Beiyang Army under Yuan Shikai, Feng became a Christian and increasingly dissatisfied. In the chaos of the 1920s, Feng stood out as a travelling commander/governor known for his strict religious discipline for himself and his growing command. Dubbed the "Christian General" in 1919, his service with the Zhili clique came to an end with his participation in the failed 1924 Beijing coup. In its aftermath, Feng fled northwest with his army, now known as the Guominjun. An attempt to reverse his fortunes by allying with the Kuomintang and its Northern Expedition proved to be a deadly failure. Forced to retreat to Shanxi, he has come to an accord with Governor Yan Xishan in an effort to ward off the growing power of Wu Peifu. Nearly a decade later, however, many wonder if this alliance can possibly last...[[/labelnote]]
----
* ChummyCommies: Feng Yuxiang's personal beliefs are a strange mix of Christianity and socialism, he associates with the leftist faction of the KMT as a result.
* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Feng Yuxiang is a Chinese nationalist in the style of the KMT, and despite being a Christian and reorganizing the army and state in a more modern and western-inspired way, he always seeks the end goal of creating a strong china without foreign influence.
* RedBaron: The Christian General, emphasizing his faith.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sichuan Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_sichuan.png]]
->'''Official Name:''' Sichuan Military Government, Zhili Clique (Zhili remnant), Chongqing Government (Zhili remnant, unification path), Republic of China (Chinese reunification), Chongqing Federal Government (Federalist remnant), United Provinces of China (Federalist Chinese reunification)
->'''Party:''' Wubei Xi[[note]]The Armament Department enjoyed a half decade of prestige after Yang Sen was recognised as the legitimate ruler of Sichuan by the Zhili Clique, but the bold and cunning general slowly witnessed his grip slip away. The Yunnan Clique's invasion of his province was the last straw which corroded his authority, putting much of Sichuan back in the hands of warlords and radicals. The Armament Department was forced to adapt to these disastrous circumstances and reluctantly invited several of these key warlords to join the government.\\
Yang since then strove to rebuild his authority over Sichuan, Jan, but faced great resistance from the newly emboldened warlords, as well as opportunists within his own clique such as the Confucian general Liu Cunhou and the leader of the bandit suppression army, Tian Songyao. Much of the department doubts if Yang can maintain this moribund, decentralised government much longer. His generals eagerly hope he will at last reign in the warlords, or finally give up and make way for more aggressive leader like Cunhou. Without a firebrand like him to egg them on however, the generals may very well fall back in line behind Yang.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
The Sichuan province, formerly the site of multiple conflicting sub-warlord cliques, was unified under Wu Peifu's ally Yang Sen after the advent of the Zhili hegemony. Despite nominal unification, Sichuan is still embroiled in warlord conflict, and is desperately hanging onto the stabilizing thread of Zhili hegemony.
----
* CivilWar: The Sichuanese Civil War will erupt between the warlords of the province after the collapse of the LEP.
* TheFamine: A drought in March 1936 will plunge the Sichuan province into a massive famine ([[http://www.disasterhistory.org/sichuan-famine-1936-1937 which happened in reality]]). As the LEP collapses around the same time, this forces the warlords of the province (who are beginning to turn on each other and collapsing the province into a civil war) to manage it by themselves, causing massive troubles for everyone.
* MeleeATrois: There are four major warlord factions in Sichuan (though one is massively weakened): Armament Department, Industrial Corps, Baoding Department, and Officer Department. The former three are currently in a shaky alliance, which shatters when the LEP collapses and the Industrial Corps backstabs the others in an attempt to gain power.
* TheRemnant: Sichuan, if under the right warlord, can host loyalists to the Zhili Clique (if under the Armament Department) or remnants of the Federalists (if under a pro-Federalist warlord) after they are overthrown in their respective powerbase.

!!''Yang Sen''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_szc_yang_sen.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Wubei Xi[[note]]Armament Department[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]After joined the army in 1904, Yang Sen had his first brushes with politics when he joined the Tongmenghui Society while attending the Sichuan Education Hall in 1906. After graduating in 1908 he went on to serve in the Newly Created Army of the Qing Empire until 1911. His background and connections allowed him to gain prominence when the Xinhai Revolution occurred. While serving under Cai E, he was eventually promoted to the rank of general in 1921 and posted in Chongqing. This pattern of rising in the ranks through political ties and manoeuvring more than military accomplishments went on when Yang Sen became an ally of Wu Peifu in 1925. When the Zhili became the dominant clique in the fully restored Qing Empire, Yang Sen was elevated to governorship of Sichuan.\\\
As governor of Sichuan, Yang Sen stands out from other warlords with his platform of rapid modernisation both in the social and economic spheres, spearheaded with various infrastructure and educational projects that have improved the lives for many in Sichuan. While he is a competent enough military leader, the fact that Yang Sen owes much of his success to dealmaking and supporting the right people at the right time has put him and the Armament Department in a precarious position. His position is further undermined by his own lifestyle contradicting what he claims to be best for Sichuan, which has limited his public support. For instance, he would earn the ire of more conservative elements of Sichuan by speaking out against traditional roles for women and practices such as foot binding, and would then squander any goodwill he might have gotten from reformists by having eight concubines of his own and as many as thirty children between them.\\\
Despite his many imperfections, he's managed to hold on to power thus far with enough support both from the army and common folk to be a force to be reckoned with. And as long as he's in charge, the Zhili will have a reliable ally in Chengdu.[[/labelnote]]
----

!!''Liu Cunhou''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_szc_liu_cunhou_8.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Armament victory, successful coup)
->'''Party:''' Wubei Xi[[note]]Armament Department: In the wake of Yang Sen's sudden, unfortunate death, coupled with the rapid disintegration of the Armament Department's political rivals, a massive power vacuum emerged in Sichuan Province. The position of leadership was swiftly filled by a popular, charismatic figure among the Armament Department's generals, the zealous Confucian and chaotic rabble rouser Liu Cunhou.\\
Liu has in many ways turned Sichuan's greatest weakness, its factional disputes and decentralised government, into his own greatest strength. By bribing, threatening, extorting and executing those generals who have questioned his authority, he has filled much of the province with loyal yes men and greedy opportunists, who will I gladly manage their own fiefs and maximise the province's overall profit through completely unscrupulous measures. While this Whilst this chaotic confederation of warlords is functioning for the moment, some of Liu's colleagues quietly doubt if it can hold on for the foreseeable future. However few dare to bring this up to his face and none have ever done so twice.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]The son of wealthy salt merchants, Liu Cunhou is more of a brutish bandit than a strategist, let alone a governor. He attended Sichuan's military academy in 1903, went on to study in Japan in 1907, and returned to Sichuan after Graduating in 1908. He made a name for himself during the Xinhai Revolution where he initially led anti-bandit forces and went on to lead larger forces as his loyalty earned him the trust of his superiors. During the conflicts he participated in, however, his forces were often more concerned with extorting wealth from the locals than functioning as a proper military force. While his soldiers often behaved like bandits, he's managed to strong-arm himself into a position of relative power in Sichuan in the process, though he's hardly endeared himself to the people.\\\
During the Sichuanese civil war, Liu Cunhou hardly contributed to the Armament Department's breakthroughs, though his forces were plentiful enough to exploit the ones that were created during the conflict. As he was mostly experienced in anti-banditry operations, his forces spent most of the war flushing out Kuomintang loyalists and mopping up routed remnants of the Industrial Corps. Thanks to this, his forces were left in a relatively unscathed state compared to the rest of the Armament Department, eventually allowing him to outmanoeuvre his supposed ally Yang Sen once the dust of the war had settled.\\\
His reign as a governor of Sichuan would end up being little more than his de-facto banditry on a larger scale. Imposing countless of taxes upon the people and using his army to extort the rich and poor of Sichuan alike, he quickly grew to become a hated tyrant that chiefly managed to maintain power through violent repression and shameless bribery.[[/labelnote]]
----

!!''Deng Xihou''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_szc_deng_xihou_4.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Baoding victory, Deng Xihou asserts control)
->'''Party:''' Baoding Xi[[note]]As its name implies, the Baoding Department was formed by graduates of the Baoding military academy and officers of the Baoding army, who either originated in Sichuan or found themselves stationed in the province. Although they are considered politically liberal and fiscally responsible, the Baoding Department has earned a reputation for favouritism and nepotism, frequently interfering with Yang Sen's Sen's government. Deng Xihou's faction within the Department is quite idealistic and believes in implementing genuine reforms, unlike some of his more pragmatic peers which merely pay lip service to these ideals. Deng's name is almost synonymous with fiscal responsibility thanks to his "Model Province Project". To implement these impressive reforms he has built up extensive connections in the Sichuan, allowing him to greatly influence the government's military as well as economic developments.[[/note]], Deng Clique of the Baoding Department (Deng Xihou asserts control)
->'''Ideology:''' Social Conservatism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Deng joined the army in 1906 and went on to enrol in the Baoding Academy, though he would later discontinue his studies to return to Sichuan when the Xinhai Revolution occurred. Deng went on to rise through the ranks over the years until he was promoted to general in 1923. Having been more active behind a desk than on the various battlefields during this turbulent time in China earned him a reputation as a trustworthy and competent careerist, though he hardly earned much fame and fortune in the process. While he was respected among his colleagues from the Baoding Department, he would eventually go on to be subordinated to Yang Sen as the Zhili Clique favoured the Armament Department over the Baoding Department.\\\
Despite not having the favour of the Zhili, the Baoding Department managed to cooperate with the Armament Department, putting them in a position where they were able to fill the vacuum in Sichuan left by the eventual collapse of Yang Sen's clique in the Sichuanese Civil War of 1936. As the most prominent figure in the more traditionalist side of the Baoding Clique, his reforms focus on rural development and improving the lot of the farmers of Sichuan. His widespread support in the countryside and the army combined with the broader support earned by his diarchy partner Liu Wenhui has put the Baoding Department in a position of political flexibility rarely seen among China's warlord cliques. He aims to turn Sichuan into a model province for the rest of China, generally putting the well-being of Sichuan's people ahead of ideology or lofty expansionist ambitions.[[/labelnote]]
----

!!''Liu Wenhui''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_szc_liu_wenhui_40.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Baoding victory, Liu Wenhui asserts control)
->'''Party:''' Baoding Xi[[note]]As its name implies, the Baoding Department was formed by graduates of the Baoding military academy and officers of the Baoding army, who either originated in Sichuan or found themselves stationed in the province. Although they are considered politically liberal and fiscally responsible, the Baoding Department has earned a reputation for favouritism and nepotism, frequently interfering with Yang Sen's Sen's government. Liu Wenhui, the uncle of the infamous Industrial Corps leader Liu Xiang, perhaps best embodies the liberal politics of these senior generals, with his laissez-faire approach to governance, he has conceded much ideological ground to the well-educated and well-meaning progressives in his department, as long as he can maintain his hold over Sichuan's opium production and foreign policy. Although this has led to some radical reforms, some believe Wenhui's greed and ambition ultimately hinders Sichuan's potential.[[/note]], Liu Clique of the Baoding Department (Liu Wenhui asserts control)
->'''Ideology:''' Market Liberalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A lifelong military man, Liu Wenhui has been in the army since he was thirteen. He graduated from the Sichuanese Military Academy in 1911, enrolled into the Baoding department in 1914, and went on to graduate from it in 1916. While he owes a lot of his success and influence through nepotism and convenient connections, he's nonetheless connecti managed to become a respected and influential figure within the clique. After the end of the Northern Expedition, Wenhui went on to side fully with Deng Xihou and would go on to become one of the clique's more notorious members.\\\
After the defeat of his nephew Liu Xiang in the Sichuanese Civil War, the Baoding department ascended to power. His friendship with Deng Xihou earned him a position of leadership with what has become the country's diarchy where he - in stark contrast to his nephew - represents a more reformist branch within the diarchy. Popular within the military and the more urban administrative class, he's allowed the department to broaden its me deparme support far beyond the conservative constituents that Xihou appeals to. While he's unlikely to make it into the history books as one of China's greatest military leaders, as long as the cooperation between the two friends in the diarchies continues he's sure to be remembered for his stalwart efforts to rapidly modernise Sichuan and improve the lot of the province's citizens.[[/labelnote]]
----

!!''Liu Xiang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_szc_liu_xiang.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Industrial victory)
->'''Party:''' Shiye Tuan[[note]]The enormous army of the Industrial Corps, led by Chongqing warlord Liu Xiang, is frequently derided by Zhili Loyalists and progressive officers as nothing more than a host of bandits. Whilst it is true that his oversized military favours quantity over quality and has certain moral failures, the Industrial Corps have accomplished great things thanks to their raw manpower and their intense firepower. The fact that Xiang has managed to keep his hold over south-eastern Sichuan as well keep his countless men paid and fed is testament to this fact.\\

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Liu Xiang initially rose to prominence in 1920 when he helped lead Sichuan's forces to a victory over Yunnan. He rose through the ranks and would eventually lead a large contingent of Sichuanese forces against the Kuomintang during the Northern forces against Expedition. During this conflict he managed to gain a reputation as a skilled, albeit reckless, commander with numerous victories to his name. Once the Northern Expedition had been soundly defeated, he returned to Sichuan and was assigned to Chongqing as the head of the city's garrison.\\\
While his performance during this conflict allowed him to establish his own clique and remain a force to be reckoned with within Sichuan, he was never granted the governorship of the province that he felt that he deserved. Instead, he was made a subordinate to Yang Sen, a loyal stooge of Wu Peifu and the Zhili. Liu Xiang saw this as an insult and petty cronyism. As a result, he began to harbour a deep resentment towards both the Zhili and their puppets in the Armament Department.\\\
This resentment eventually led to him seizing the moment after the collapse of the Qing hegemony in the early days of 1936. After successfully rallying his subordinates in the Industrial Corps against Yang Sen, Liu Xiang managed to claim Chengdu for himself and defeat both the Armament and Baoding departments through a series of daring military gambles during the Sichuanese Civil War. After making himself the governor of Sichuan and moving the province's capital from Chengdu to the industrial powerhouse of Chongqing, he set out to rapidly modernise the region, hoping to eventually settle his scores with the Zhili.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Xiong Kewu''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_szc_xiong_kewu.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Officer victory)
->'''Party:''' Junguang Xi[[note]]The Officer Department emerged as a political force in Sichuan after Tang Jiyao's invasion of the region in 1931, wherein numerous republican aligned officers were recruited to Yunnan's side and organised into a rival Sichuan government in an attempt to weaken Yang Sen's legitimacy. Whilst Tang Jiyao's invasion failed and the officers were driven into hiding a weakened guerrilla force, their radical political legacy still endures. One of Tang's personally handpicked leaders for the Officer Department was an old colleague, Xiong Kewu, a former governor of the province who had administered it during the Xinhai Revolution. Xiong and Tang shared many political principles, most notably in regards to Federalism, but Xiong had an independent streak and desired to run the Officer Department himself, free of the Yunnan Clique's heavy handed political influence. He eventually worked to organise an independent base of power, joining forces with old friends and enemies, such as Lu Chao and other senior officers to operate free of Tang's meddling.[[/note]], Zizhi Zhengfu Dang[[note]]Self-Government Party[[/note]] (Provincial Assembly restored)
->'''Ideology:''' Social Liberalism

!!''Lü Chao''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_szc_lu_chao.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Officer victory, elections)
->'''Party:''' Sanmin Dang[[note]]Three Principles' Party[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Social Democracy

!!''Jiang Baili''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_qie_jiang_baili_2.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (Armament shelters Zhili remnant)
->'''Party:''' Zhili Clique (Military Wing)

->'''In-Game Biography:''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Born: 1882\\
Haining, Zhejiang, Qing Empire\\
Military Career: Born into a relatively prosperous family, Jiang entered the Qing civil service in his youth and attended Tsinghua University, graduating in 1901. He studied in Japan, returning in 1910 for a brief stint in governance before going abroad again, this time to Germany. He served in Yuan Shikai's government before he declared himself emperor, a decision Jiang strongly opposed. Following the collapse of Yuan's 'Empire', he began working with Wu Peifu, becoming a close confidant and assisting him in defeating the Fengtian clique in 1928. He has become a close ally of Wu, and has spent most of the early 1930's attempting to prepare the country against the threat of Japanese invasion, something he sees as an inevitability.\\
Important Notes: Skilled military theorist, and has written several works on defensive strategy, though several have criticised him of stealing ideas from his subordinates.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Chen Jiongming''
->'''Role:''' Head of State (Baoding/Officer shelters Federalist remnant)
->'''Party:''' Public Interest Party[[note]]The Zhongguo Zhigongdang, or China Zhi Gong Party (Public Interest Party of China) is the main political party of the Federalist movement in China. Founded in 1925, the party united disillusioned Kuomintang politicians and Overseas Chinese (especially Freemasons of the Hongmen), calling for the reform of the Republic of China into a proper federal state and multiparty democracy. While these hopes were quickly dashed by the Qing Restoration, they remain a significant force, albeit banned in Qing/Zhili-controlled lands for their explicit republicanism. Their platform, outside of federalism and republican democracy, espouses progressive social and political views from land and education reform to elected assemblies for all government levels.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Social Democracy
See his entry in the Liangguang Clique folder.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yunnan Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_yunnan.png]]
->'''Official Name:''' Yunnan Government, Kunming National Government (R-KMT unification path), Nanzhao Autonomy (L-KMT puppet state), National Revolutionary Government (L-KMT unification path)
->'''Party:''' Jing Guo Dian Jun[[note]]Army of National Pacification: Tang Jiyao has ruled Yunnan for decades, somehow managing to endure and outlast his own bouts of incompetence, numerous internal rebellions and countless failed military expeditions. In some ways, his diligence and his ambitious nature is quite respectable. His officer corps is loyal to him, even if they question some of his political and military decisions. Yet as the balance of power in China continues to change, it remains to be seen if Tang Jiyao can change with it, or if he will return to his old warmongering, overconfident ways.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
A republican-aligned warlord clique who has recognized Qing authority due to military defeats, ruled by the ambitious but increasingly unpopular warlord Tang Jiyao. It currently hosts a large contingent of KMT National Revolutionary Army remnants, which the clique accepted (as a part of an internal power struggle) after the failure of the Northern Expedition. As Tang's followers increasingly lose faith in him, the tangled allegiances of Yunnan's armies gradually unravel, laying the seed for a massive, multi-sided power struggle.

* EnemyMine: Tang Jiyao's personal clique and the NRA forces are not friends in the slightest, but are forced to collaborate inside Yunnan since both sides hate the Zhili-controlled Qing government more.
* MeleeATrois: If Tang Jiyao tries to invade Hunan immediately after the LEP collapses, he will get couped by Long Yun, and the Yunnan clique collapses in on itself. A four-way power struggle begins between Long Yun, Yunnan clique general Hu Ruoyu, and the KMT-associated generals Zhu Peide and Lu Han.
* TheRemnant: A large portion of KMT's National Revolutionary Army is holed up in Yunnan, and represent the remnants of Chiang's right-wing KMT.

!!''Tang Jiyao''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_tang_jiyao.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Tang as a Civilian]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_tang_jiyao_suit.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Jing Guo Dian Jun[[note]]Army of National Pacification: Tang Jiyao has ruled Yunnan for decades, somehow managing to endure and outlast his own bouts of incompetence, numerous internal rebellions and countless failed military expeditions. In some ways, his diligence and his ambitious nature is quite respectable. His officer corps is loyal to him, even if they question some of his political and military decisions. Yet as the balance of power in China continues to change, it remains to be seen if Tang Jiyao can change with it, or if he will return to his old warmongering, overconfident ways.[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A loyal follower of General Cai E, Tang began his political career in 1911, when Cai E ordered him to take part in the Wuchan Uprising, beginning the Xinhai Revolution. After the success of the revolution, he became governor of Guizhou and would later return to his home province of Yunnan in 1913 to replace Cai E. When Yuan Shikai announced his ambitions of becoming an Emperor, Tang immediately seceded with the support of the likes of Cai E and Li Liejun, who would spearhead the National Protection War alongside Tang. With their victory in the National Protection War, Yunnan became one of the main hegemons of the continent.\\\
Since then, Yunnan's glory days have long since faded away. Tang has led one failed expedition after another, with his failure in defeating Sichuan causing him to almost be deposed by Gu Pinzhen in a coup d'etat in 1921. However, the failure of the Northern Expedition became a blessing for Tang's control over Yunnan. With the threat of the Zhili Clique and their German Patrons looming in the distance, the presence of the surviving NRA members as well as Tang's own forces have largely deterred them from taking action against a seemingly hostile Republican province. However, Tang's flamboyant and over ambitious character have largely alienated many of the officers residing in Yunnan, and his control over the province is much weaker than it seems from the outside.[[/labelnote]]

* AmbitionIsEvil: Tang is too ambitious for his own good. If he maintains power, he might choose to expand into Indochina, start the National Protection Alliance to launch a second National Protection War and overthrow Qing, or even declare himself ''King''. The last one of course, does not sit well with his large base of republican-minded subordinates.
* HeelFaceTurn: While Tang Jiyao starts out as an ambitious warlord, he has a chance to redeem himself by genuinely backing Chen Jiongming's democratic federalist movement and begin reforms on Yunnan. If he doesn't betray the Federalists mid-way and stays with Chen to the end, he has a chance to lead a party in the democratic United Provinces of China and get democratically elected as leader of China.
* OpportunisticBastard: Tang supports the Federalists only because a federalist system would allow him much power as governor of the province.
** If Tang is denied the Public Interest Party ticket for the United Provinces of China elections, Tang can switch to run for the Democratic Constitutionalist Party if it backs his candidacy.
* TooDumbToLive:
** Declaring himself King in China's most republican province results in him being overthrown and executed by Long Yun shortly afterwards.
** When the LEP collapses, Tang wants to invade Hunan to take Zhenyuan. However, Yunnan was in a lot of economic trouble in 1936, and he has a very weak grip over his clique. If he immediately declares his ambitions to invade Hunan, Long Yun will coup him and execute Tang. He even mocks Long Yun as a coward when Long Yun sends his ultimatum.

!!''Long Yun''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_long_yun.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Long as a General]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_long_yun_7.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Long Yun coups Tang)
->'''Party:''' Jing Guo Dian Jun[[note]]Army of National Pacification: Long Yun emerged as the only man capable of quelling the falling out between the various factions of the Army of National Pacification. Even meant having to turn on his own brother, he undertook the necessary measures to entrench his administration in Kunming and hold the city. Now that the dust has settled after this period of brief civil war, it remains to be seen if this young, ambitious Yi General has what it takes to rebuild Yunnan. Long Yun had often dreamed of one day surpassing Tang Jiyao, and now he finally has a chance to do just so.[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]In his youth, Long Yun became inspired by the radical Anti-Qing student movements among his peers at the Yunnan Military Academy. He joined a local militia and fought in the Xinhai revolution, climbing through the ranks until he was serving under Tang Jingyu as commander of the Fifth Army, within the Yunnan Clique. His rise to power was helped by the close comradeship he held with his superior, as well as his alleged half-brother Lu Han. Yet in time, these friendships would be tainted with political rivalry and a heated competition for power in the declining revolutionary movement. It has taken many sacrifices, many betrayals and certainly regrets, yet Long Yun has now risen to lead the Yunnan Clique as its new warlord.\\\
Long's hold over Yunnan is tenuous but determined, he holds plenty of ambitions to remain a leading figurehead for the coming years, yet just like how he ousted his predecessor there's a distinct risk his own subordinates could turn on him at any minute. This is not helped by Long's ethnic background as a member of the Yi minority, although it has helped foster friendships between his administration and his kinsfolk. A pragmatist, an outsider to the Han political elite, and an ambitious warlord: 'The Dragon of Yunnan' may be a force for China to reckon with.[[/labelnote]]

* CivilWar: Soon after his coup, Long Yun will have to face a civil war inside Yunnan, as many different warlord generals try to seize power from him.
* TheCoup: Long Yun can launch a coup on the unpopular Tang Jiyao to seize power, after Tang Jiyao completely alienates all of his generals by declaring war on Hunan.
* RedBaron: The Dragon of Yunnan.

!!''Lu Han''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_lu_han_28.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Lu Han coups Long)
->'''Party:''' Jing Guo Dian Jun[[note]]Army of National Pacification: The rebels would never say their ambitions over Tang's office were out of jealousy, but rather due to a strong belief that the Yunnan Clique was going down a dangerous path and needed a new leader to save it. Despite this, it's been an open secret the officer corps has feuded with Tang for over a decade. Neither side had previously dared to openly attack the other, but it seems the recent disaster of a military venture finally provoked them to strike first.[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Rumours have long circulated that Lu Han was the alleged half-brother of Long Yun, which is said to have been one of the reasons behind the two men's close comradeship. Whether that is the truth or not, it seems that whatever bond of blood or friendship existed between the two was not thick enough to prevent Lu Han from seizing this latest opportunity. The young Yi general has served with the Kuomintang, fought with the Việt Nam Quốc dân Đảng of Indochina, and now lead a daring coup against his former comrades. Lu has desperately gathered his forces in the capital and has set out to weather the coming storm. Yet the men around him wonder: can a man who betrayed his own supposed brother really be trusted?[[/labelnote]]

* TheCoup: Lu Han can take power by overthrowing his alleged half-brother Long Yun.

!!''Hu Ruoyu''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_hu_ruoyu.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Civil war victory)
->'''Party:''' Jing Guo Dian Jun[[note]]Army of National Pacification: The rebels would never say their ambitions over Tang's office were out of jealousy, but rather due to a strong belief that the Yunnan Clique was going down a dangerous path and needed a new leader to save it. Despite this, it's been an open secret the officer corps has feuded with Tang for over a decade. Neither side had previously dared to openly attack the other, but it seems the recent disaster of a military venture finally provoked them to strike first.[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]The new administration was not to last, as the men who ousted Tang Jiyao have now turned their knives and guns on each other. Hu Ruoyu has made the first move, making a play to control the capital with the aid of his small band of followers. Unlike his peers, Hu came from a privileged family of scholars and landlords, yet found himself drawn to the revolutionary politics of the early 20th century. Under the patronage of Tang Jiyao, he climbed the ranks of the Yunnanese Army, eventually landing a comfortable position in the Kunming Military staff. With deep pockets and close connections to the officers and garrisons of the capital, Hu has made a risky gamble to oust and arrest his co-conspirators, proclaiming himself as Yunnan's new leader. Now time will tell if that risk will pay off...[[/labelnote]]

!!''Zhu Peide''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_zhu_peide.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Civil war victory)
->'''Party:''' Guomin Geming Jun Di San Jun[[note]]Third National Revolutionary Army: Whilst the NRA distinguished itself in battle and its generals became renowned throughout China for their strategies, it simply couldn't endure the grueling halt of the Northern Expedition followed by the German Intervention. Now reduced to a shell of its former self, exiled to Yunnan, the NRA remains cautious of both Tang Jiyao's stern, autocratic government, as well as the new socialist direction that the KMT has embraced. The repeated conflicts between Tang's beliefs, versus the NRA's own progressive republicanism have prevented the NRA from ever being properly integrated into Yunnan's military, leaving them dangerously autonomous, loyal only in name to the man who once granted them refuge.[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A scion of a distinguished Lufeng family, Zhu Peide could trace among his ancestors proud servants to the Ming Dynasty and loyal administrators of the Qing Empire. Despite his lineage, he aligned himself Dr Sun Yat-sen's cause as a zealous and scholarly revolutionary. After a brief stint in Jiangxi as the province's chairman and a lengthy career in the Kuomintang, Zhu Peide fled into exile after the KMT's failed Northern Expedition. Alongside most of the remaining 3rd NRA army, he returned back to the remaining 3rd NRA arm his home region of Yunnan, beginning to build up a new career within Tang Jiyao's administration. When Tang's government fell, Zhu Peide seized the opportunity to rally the remnants of the Rightist Kuomintang and denounce Long Yun's takeover. Alongside his comrades, he marched west for Kunming and lead a successful takeover. Now comfortably seated in the capital of Yunnan, he has sworn to rebuild a National Government, honouring Sun Yat-Sen's legacy.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Zhu De''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_zhu_de_9.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhu intervenes in the Yunnan Civil War)
->'''Party:''' Zhongguo Nonggong Minzhudang[[note]]Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party: Like so many other squabbling leftist movements in China, the CPWDP emerged from the power vacuum created by the collapse of the Kuomintang. Ostensibly modelled after the farmers' and workers' parties of Europe and America, the CPWDP is headed by Chinese intellectuals who have studied in European universities, and even in me new the new Syndicalist nations. Whilst they reject syndicalist doctrines, they also acknowledge the limitations and failures the old Kuomintang's moderates, thus pledging to build a platform that can synthesise socialist ideas with a functioning administrative, economic and political system.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Famed as a man who rose from humble beginnings, Zhu De was nothing bit a dirt poor peasant, a simple tenant farmer in the Sichuan countryside. At nine years of age, he was taken in by a wealthy uncle and later sent to study at Yunnan Military Academy. His time at the academy saw him enlist in the Tongmenhui, the predecessor to the Kuomintang. The next years in Zhu De's life were a turbulent series of travels throughout China, fighting at various revolutionary fronts with the National Republican Army, serving various political factions and building up a great network of connections. From Sichuan to Shanghai, Tibet and even a brief stint as a student in Berlin, the roads of fate eventually lead Zhu De back to Yunnan. In recent years he fell afoul of the warlord Tang Jiyao's despotism, being driven to resign his position in the National Republican Army and promise to abstain from politics rather than face an umpteenth journey around the Asian continent.\\\
Zhu De had perhaps expected to spend the rest of his life as a teacher at the Yunnan Military Academy, yet the news that Tang's government had fallen, and that all hell was breaking loose in Yunnan convinced him resurface from obscurity. Outwitting and outlasting the failed would-be despots of Yunnan, Zhu has set out with a simple goal, to here in Yunnan build the moral and responsible democratic institutions which he has studied, taught and dreamed of.[[/labelnote]]
----
* {{Cincinnatus}}: After ending the civil war, Zhu De will step down and hand the governorship to Zhang Bojun.
* RetiredBadass: Zhu De is a retired teacher at the Yunnan Military Academy, and a very capable general. If the Yunnan conflict goes on for too long, he'll come out of retirement, gather an army, and curb-stomp all the other petty warlords in Yunnan to return order to the province. Then he'll voluntarily cede power to a KMT leader, because he's not interested in politics.

!!''Zhang Bojun''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_yunnan_zhang_bojun.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Zhu De steps down)
->'''Party:''' Zhongguo Nonggong Minzhudang[[note]]Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party: Like so many other squabbling leftist movements in China, the CPWDP emerged from the power vacuum created by the collapse of the Kuomintang. Ostensibly modelled after the farmers' and workers' parties of Europe and America, the CPWDP is headed by Chinese intellectuals who have studied in European universities, and even in me new the new Syndicalist nations. Whilst they reject syndicalist doctrines, they also acknowledge the limitations and failures the old Kuomintang's moderates, thus pledging to build a platform that can synthesise socialist ideas with a functioning administrative, economic and political system.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism
----

[[folder:Ma Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_ma_clique_9.png]]
->'''Official Name:''' Ma Family Military Clique, Huijang Autonomy (KMT puppet state)
->'''Party:''' Tianshui Military Administration

Three politically aligned warlord cliques of Hui Chinese generals ruling over Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia. Though their individual members have differing outlooks and allegiances, the Ma cliques had respected the nationalist governments of both the Beiyang Republic and the Qing Empire, and saw themselves as the protectors of Northwest China. As Tibet and Mongolia slips from Chinese control, the Ma cliques aims to restore Chinese rule over the rogue provinces and pacify Northwest China.

* ClashingCousins: Ma Hongkui and Ma Hongbin are cousins and rivals.
* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: Ma Clique generals all come from a few related Ma families, with many being cousins of each other.
* PatrioticFervor: The Ma Clique is very nationalist, and can go to war with Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang to bring back what they see as "rogue provinces" back under Chinese leadership.
* PlanetOfSteves: All warlords of the Ma Clique are Muslims and have the surname Ma (a Chinese rendering of ''Muhammad'').
* SuccessionCrisis: The death of clique leader Ma Fuxiang in 1936, combined with the collapse of the Zhili hegemony, will trigger a round of power struggles in the Ma Clique.

!!''Ma Fuxiang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_xsm_ma_fuxiang.png]]

->'''Party:''' Tianshui Military Administration
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Ma Fuxiang is considered one of the founders of the Ma Family Clique that has cemented itself in the Northwest. Serving like many others in his family under Dong Fuxiang, he managed to make a name for himself in the Boxer Rebellion by serving in the Kansu Braves. By the dawn of the Xinhai Revolution, him and his nephew Ma Xinhai Revolution him and Hongbin protected Catholic Missions while figures like Ma Anliang fought in the name of the Qing against the republicans. While Anliang managed to secure victories during the revolution, the inevitable fall of the dynasty caused Anliang and the rest of the family to declare loyalty to the republic. Anliang passed away not long afterwards, leaving Fuxiang as the unifying figure of the northern Ma Clique. Fuxiang's main goal that still remains true was to ensure that they do not lose their position in the north-west. Before he knew it, him and the rest of the family were siding with the Guominjun as they occupied lower Gansu in a bloody campaign. This didn't last for long however, as he with the rest of the family following him betrayed the Guominjun and sided with the Zhili, an allegiance that has lasted Fuxiang nearly a decade at this point. Being named governor of Gansu and Suiyuan, Fuxiang's constant allegiance switching switching finally paid off.\\
Now leading a more peaceful life, Fuxiang holds a key role in the north-west. Being the head of the Tibetan and Mongol Affairs Commission, he oversees relations with these two rather hostile oversees groups. On top of this, his new mission is "humanising" the Huis to the Han through his own unique blend of Confucian and Islamic beliefs that has had managed to have moderate success, with some even citing him as a scholar. A decade of peace has been brought by Fuxiang, one that will last for as long as he does.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Ma Lin''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_xsm_ma_lin.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Power struggle victory)
->'''Party:''' Xining Civilian Administration

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Ma Lin is the son of famous Kansu Brave Ma Haiyan, who with Ma Fuxiang fought the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900. Growing up in a confluence of Han and Hui influence in Gansu, Ma Lin allied himself with the Xidaotang Hanafi Muslim sect. Ma Lin often served as a mediating influence in the first two decades of the 20th century to the more radical Ma family members, including Ma Zhongying. Ma Lin was able to repulse Ma Zhongying's raid in Gansu during the Ma-Guominjun war. Ma Lin succeeded his brother, Ma Qi as Governor of Qinghai following his death in 1931. This appointment greatly displeased his nephew, Ma Bufang, who voiced his own qualifications for Governorship. Ma Lin's work as Governor saw the expansion of Qinghai into Amdo in 1935, garnering praise from the Ma families. By the end of 1935, Ma Lin had formulated a plan with Ma Fuxiang for integrating Yushu into Qinghai proper, but this was cut short by Ma Fuxiang's death.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Ma Bufang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_xsm_ma_bufang_2.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Power struggle victory)
->'''Party:''' Xining Military Administration
->'''Ideology:''' National Populism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Ma Bufang is the younger brother of Ma Buqing and the son of Ma Qi, and served alongside them in the Qinghai Army starting in 1915. This appointment was approved by the Beiyang Government in 1919, and allowed Ma Bufang to enhance his reputation. Ma Bufang studied Islam during his army tenure, becoming familiar with the Dongguan Mosque and Ma Wanfu's Yihewani Vihewani before his promotion to General. Ma Bufang followed Ma Fuxiang's allied Guominjun until their betrayal, receiving the brunt of the family's ire for brunt of the family's i his lack of conviction to fight the Guominjun directly. After Ma Lin was appointed Governor of Qinghai in 1931, Ma Bufang dove deeply into his Muslim devotion, officially endorsing the Yihewani in 1933 as the premier patriotic form of Islam. Ma Bufang has less-than-committal relationship with Ma Hongbin and Ma Hongkui, as Ma Bufang personally admires Ma Zhongying's fighting spirit while denouncing his betrayal of the family.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Ma Hongkui''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_xsm_ma_hongkui.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Post-Northwestern War)
->'''Party:''' Tianshui Military Administration
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Ma Hongkui is the son of the 'Hero of the Northwest, Ma Fuxiang. Ma Hongkui graduated from Gansu Military Academy in 1909, and aligned with the Xinhai Revolution in 1912. Ma Hongkui declared himself a 'Bandit Suppression Commander', which initially put him inside the Guominjun as part of Ma Fuxiang's alliance with the clique. When Feng Yuxiang betrayed Ma Fuxiang, Ma Hongkui brutally purged his Brigade of Guominjun as part of the Ma-Guominjun war. Following the destruction of Gansu, Ma Hongkui doubled down in his opposition to the KMT, going so far as to denounce Ma Hongbin for his prior association with them. Ma Hongbin's struggle during the early 1930s was balancing the Governorship of Gansu he inherited from his father with the economic woes brought by Han immigration.[[/labelnote]]

* ThePurge: Ma Hongkui brutally purged Feng Yuxiang's Brigade of Guominjun after the latter betrayed Ma Fuxiang.

!!''Ma Hongbin''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_xsm_ma_hongbin.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Post-Northwestern War)
->'''Party:''' Ningxia Civil Defence Administration
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Ma Hongbin grew up in the shadow of his father, Ma Fulu, who gave his life against the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900. Unlike his father however, Ma Hongbin chose to protect a Christian mission in San Dache and received the Order of Leopold for this action after the Boxer Rebellion. Early during the Warlord era, Ma Hongbin made overtures to ally with the KMT, sending General Chiang Kai-shek a notification of his new governance of Ningxia in is new governance of Ningxid 1920. Unexpectedly, Chiang in 1921 requested Ma Hongbin open Ningxia up to Han settlements, which would violate the autonomy f the Hui. Ma Hongbin officially denounced Chiang in 1925. Unfortunately for Ma Hongbin, Ma Hongkui became agitated at Ma Hongbin's relations with the KMT, and denounced Ma Hongbin as a Socialist spy publicly in 1930. This rivalry was interrupted by the Ma-Guominjun war, which saw Ma Hongkui fighting alongside Ma Hongbin against Feng Yuxiang. Ma Hongbin has recently been alienated for his failure to stop the rouge warlord Ma Zhongying from recruiting raiders in Ningxia.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Liu Zhidan''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_xsm_liu_zhidan.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State
->'''Party:''' National Unity Front
->'''Ideology:''' Syndicalism
----

!!''Aisin-Gioro Pugong''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_qie_pugong.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Qing-imposed)
----

! League of Eight Provinces & LEP Collapse
[[folder:League of Eight Provinces]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_lep.png]]
->'''Official Name:''' League of Eight Provinces, Nanjing Clique (LEP collapse), League of Southeast Provinces (League War victory)
->'''Ruling Party:''' Nanjing Clique
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
The League of Eight Provinces is the domain of Sun Chuanfang, the Nanjing-based leader of the Southern Zhili clique. Originally the League of Five Provinces, Sun seized KMT provinces after the failed Northern Expedition to form the League of Eight Provinces. The ambitious Sun Chuanfang has exploited Wu's reluctance for concessions to make exploitative deals with Germany, leasing out port cities for arms and capital. This has enriched Sun massively, but also created deep resenments from locals, which may soon come back to haunt him.

* CorruptBureaucrat: The LEP is a vast kleptocracy, with corruption on almost every level. The exclusive German economic exploitation allowed the corrupt leadership to swindle even more money for themselves, and crimes organized by corrupt officials is rampant.
* EnemyCivilWar: When the League collapses, the Anqing Clique and the Nanjing Clique, both sub-cliques within the Zhili Clique, declare war on each other. Both of their leaders, Chen Tiaoyuan of Anqing and Qi Xieyuan of Nanjing, consider the other one to be a traitor.
* FunWithAcronyms: The name of the German administration for Sun Chuanfang's leased ports is AOG, or ''Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatische Generalverwaltung'' (Supervisory Board of the East Asian General Administration). It's an OverlyLongName, and is purely made just so that it can share the same acronym with its predecessor, the ''Allgemeine Ostasien-Gesellschaft''.
* LesCollaborateurs: The Qing government has token German influence through the Nanking Kommission, but the Nanjing Clique is where Germany really earns its money. Sun Chuanfang has spent years selling railways, economic influence, and exclusive leases on coastal Chinese cities to Germany through the [=AOG=] trade organization. This has made Sun and his inner circle fantastically wealthy and at the same time earned massive resentment from huge swaths of the Chinese population. In game terms, the Nanjing government gets construction and factory output bonuses in exchange for sending a percentage of civilian factories and extra trade to German East Asia.
* MeleeATrois: The collapse of the LEP will start a war between Anqing Clique, Nanjing Clique, Left Kuomintang, and Shandong Clique (if Zhang Zongchang or Zhang Tianran is in charge there). All four of them will fight with each other until only one remains in control of the coastal provinces from Shandong to Fujian; the only case where two of them don't go to war are if Anqing and Zhang Zongchang's Shandong are both Fengtian-aligned.
* PuppetState: Thanks to Sun Chuanfang's collaboration, Germany has even more power in Southern China than in the North, through their Nanking-Kommission. The Nanjing Clique is even more explicitly a [[LesCollaborateurs German collaborator]] faction, being led by a warlord that collaborated with Japan in real life.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: AOG's decision to buy out several rail lines in China causes a ''massive'' unrest in the LEP, which causes the assassination of Sun Chuanfang, collapses the LEP, and shakes up the power dynamic in China so much that it literally triggers a period of renewed active warfare after a decade of relative peace following the Shanghai Conference.

!!''Sun Chuanfang''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_lep_sun_chuanfang.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Nanjing Clique
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Like many of his peers who flaunt a variety of colourful monikers, Marshal Sun Chuanfang is known as 'The Smiling Tiger'. His greatest strength lies in careful cultivation of personal relationships, as he is a master of navigating local webs of influence and intrigue; leveraging everyone from old army friends, to wealthy bankers, to foreign dignitaries. It is this last category in particular that has proven to be his best asset, and his German connections have become indespensible.\\\
However, his nickname also carries sinister undertones. Beneath a mask of smiles he is known to be hard to read, and he has executed former friends and former enemies alike after assurances to the contrary. These qualities have left Sun sitting at the head of a vast bureaucratic pyramid, and one of the most powerful men in China.[[/labelnote]]
The ruthless, ambitious, and corrupt leader of the Southern Zhili clique. Sun Chuanfang's German connections had made him one of the most powerful men in China, but also made him a lot of enemies, which may soon bring him and his empire to a swift end.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Sun Chuanfang's decision to lease out territory to the Germans made him ''massively'' unpopular among the people, which is what eventually led to his death and the subsequent collapse of his League.
* AllohistoricalAllusion: Sun lives past his real-life assassination by a few months, before getting assassinated in almost the same way.
* DecapitatedArmy: The League had already been a very loosely unified confederation, unified only because there's a man with a very big army at the top. With Sun's death, the resultant power vacuum instantly collapses the League.
* LameLastWords: Sun's last words were him complaining about his breakfast, before he succumbed to his wounds.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Sun's inevitable assassination collapses the League of Eight Provinces, and also completely shakes up the power dynamic across China, allowing all sides to enact their plans and begin a new round of power struggle.
* TheQuisling: Sun Chuanfang is far more willing to work with the Germans than Wu Peifu is, and was responsible for leasing coastal cities to Germany and creating the AOG.
* RedBaron: The Smiling Tiger.
* TheStarscream: Sun's long-term goal is to usurp the rule of Wu Peifu's Northern Zhili and possibly control all of China for himself. Unfortunately, the LEP's collapse cut that short.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Sun is inevitably assassinated in February 1936, just two months into the game.

!!''Qi Xieyuan''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_qi_xieyuan.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Sun Chuanfang succession)
->'''Party:''' Nanjing Clique
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]At the academy Qi earned a reputation for short height, masterful calligraphy, and cunning. As a soldier only one of these served him well, but it nontheless catapulted him to prominence in Eastern China, his rise only cut short by a combination of invasion and allied betrayal in late 1924. For the next several years Qi remained in exile, plotting his return, and in the aftermath of the Shanghai Conference he secured German sponsorship, giving him leave to set up shop in the city of Wuxi. Sun Chuanfang tolerated his presence, perhaps feeling that enemies were best kept close; a feeling he may have since come to regret.[[/labelnote]]
Qi Xieyuan is a power-hungry subordinate to Sun Chuanfang. Immediately following Sun's death, General Qi declares himself the Acting League-Marshal and takes control of Nanjing, aiming to pacify and cement his rule over the Southern provinces. Like his predecessor, Qi cares only about his own power, and sees little problem with selling out to Germany.

* AllohistoricalAllusion: Qi Xieyuan in real life worked in the Japanese collaborationist government of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In ''Kaiserreich'', large parts of Qi's tree involves him expanding German collaboration, basically selling out to Germany.
* CultOfPersonality: One of his later focuses (after he pacifies the original five provinces of the League of Five Provinces) involves building a cult of personality around him.
* MeetTheNewBoss: Like his predecessor Sun Chuanfang, Qi Xieyuan cares only about his own power.
* TheQuisling: Qi Xieyuan will scale up German collaboration, selling out even more of China to secure more power for him and his clique.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anqing Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anqing_flag.png]]
->'''Official Name:''' Anqing Clique
->'''Ruling Party:''' Anqing Clique[[note]]In the years after the Zhili triumph and the ostensible reformation of the empire, there were opportunities aplenty for ambitious young commanders to forge some new disunity from what was meant to be a glorious restoration. Chen Tiaoyuan was one such, and over the past decade he has set about building a base of power from the city of Anqing and the province of Anhui he governs. This historically agricultural, but recently industrialising, province would be the perfect stage from which he rallied support — support from the unlikeliest of places.\\
The leftist rebels he suppressed turned to him as an alternative to what they saw as doomed revolt; officers shoved aside in Sun Chuanfang's administration saw in him an opportunity for advancement; nationalists wishing to cast out the oppressors joined him, sensing in him a strong will and proud heart.\\
Perhaps some of them were even right in seeing what they did in Chen — but it's ultimately become irrelevant, as he can hardly back down now. Like it or not, Chen Tiaoyuan is a symbol of national pride and a form of anti-imperialism more stable, less radical, than the Kuomintang's shouts from the south. During the 1932 Shanghai Uprising, he chose to keep his troops at home against the wishes of League-Marshal Sun, whom he was meant to serve. The Northern Zhili have maintained a more positive view of him ever since, hoping to sow discord amongst their southern competitors.\\
Now this 'Anqing Clique' must break from the legacies of exploitative warlords and foreigners alike, and journey forward to build a better China. Whatever that looks like.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Paternal Autocracy
The Anhui province under Anqing-based governor Chen Tiaoyuan is subordinate to the League of Eight Provinces, but disagrees strongly with Sun Chuanfang's German dealings and his callousness against civilians. When Sun dies, and Qi Xieyuan takes control of Nanjing, Chen declare war on Nanjing, accusing Qi of ordering Sun's assassination. Aiming to pacify Southern China like Sun, Chen has connections in both Zhili and Fengtian, and his allegiance may prove critical in the outcome of the Zhi-Feng rivalry.

* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: The Anqing clique is strongly motivated by their support for the Anti-Concessions Movement, and they desire to overthrow the foreign concessions that are occupying Chinese land.
* OneSteveLimit: The base territory of the Anqing clique corresponds to the province of Anhui; the clique isn't called "Anhui Clique" because for one it contrasts Qi Xieyuan's Nanjing Clique (as both cliques are sub-factions of the Zhili clique, based in different cities), and also because there already is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anhui_clique Anhui clique]], which the Anqing clique isn't related to at all.

!!''Chen Tiaoyuan''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_anq_chen_tiaoyuan.png]]
->'''Role:''' Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Anqing Clique
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy (Pro-Qing), Paternal Autocracy (Pro-Fengtian)
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]In 1916, at age thirty, Chen Tiaoyuan was a commander in chief of the military police in Jiangsu Province. This modest career was interrupted by the short lived reign of Yuan Shikai, whose military adventure left a power vacuum for younger officers such as himself to advance. In these early years, Chen served along Zhang Zongchang, a friendship that ended when the latter's lack of discipline became apparent. Chen's loyalty drifted from the Fengtian Clique to Sun Chuanfang in the same manner, for which Sun showed his gratitude by giving Chen command of the Anhui Army.\\
Under Chen's regime, the province of Anhui was refused investment by the German Aufsichtsrat. Compared with their compatriots in Jiangsu and Fujian, Anhui Province was seen as both impoverished and helpless to industrial innovation. Chen has won respect and prestige for his antagonism towards Sun Chuanfang's pro-German policies. In recent years, the intertwined interests between the Germans and Sun have broken Chen's trust in the League and Sun.\\
Now, Chen must decide between cooperation with a country many see as just another imperial power, or loyalty to Beijing. Whichever he chooses, he is certain of one thing: one way or another, China will be made whole, and Chen Tiaoyuan will be in its government.![[/labelnote]]

* DefectorFromDecadence: If Wu Peifu does not back the Anqing Clique, Chen Tiaoyuan will use his Fengtian connections to align himself with the Fengtian Government, and fully reject the anachronistic, pro-German Qing monarchy. Similarly, if Fengtian supports Zhang Zongchang, he can switch his allegiance to the Federalists.
* RedBaron: Referred to as The Dice-Roller General in the Anqing Clique's starting focus. This likely refers to the series of opportunistic career moves that Chen made over the course of his military career.

[[folder:Hunan Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_hunan_clique.jpg]]
%%For some reason, the in-game flag has a white border.
->'''Official Name:''' Hunan Clique
->'''Ruling Party:''' Hunan Federalists
->'''Ideology:''' Social Conservatism
The warlords of Hunan are broadly autonomous, with each pursuing their own agendas and alignments within the greater China. It is currently ruled by Zhao Hengti, a self-proclaimed Federalist with Zhili connections, who had been forcibly annexed into Sun Chuanfang's League. However, he has a rival in the form of Tang Shengzhi, an NRA-aligned general who briefly ruled the province during the Northern Expedition.

!!''Zhao Hengti''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_hunan_zhao_hengti_civilian_3.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Zhao as a General]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_hunan_zhao_hengti_3.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Hunan Federalists, Zhao Clique (Sham Democracy)
->'''Ideology:''' Social Conservatism, Authoritarian Democracy (Sham Democracy)
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Zhao Hengti, the governor of Hunan, has been governing Hunan for over a decade. Born in 1880 in Hengyang, Zhao Hengti attended the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, graduating with a specialisation in field of artillery. He joined the Tongmenghui under Sun Yat-Sen and participated in both the Xinhai Revolution and the Second Revolution as a military commander. After the failure of the Second Revolution, Zhao was imprisoned by Yuan Shikai. After his release, he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Hunan Army, and the governor of Hunan Province. Zhao Hengti introduced the first provincial constitutional movement in Asia, formulated the Hunan Provincial Constitution, established a democratic provincial council and gubernatorial elections. As governor of Hunan, Zhao limited his power as the governor, a move commended by many.\\
With the onset of the Northern Expedition, Zhao was pushed out of Hunan in favour of his rival, Tang Shengzhi. He sought help from Wu Peifu, who restored Zhao as the governor. However, his position was as a military governor appointed by the Central Government, not as an elected governor as he wante as he wanted himself to be.\\
Zhao Hengti was tied to the League of Eight Provinces, and although he was the one who holds the most power over his province, not answering to Sun Chuanfang in Nanjing, he chose to stick with him to avoid troubles with Germany.\\
Now, after the collapse of the League of Eight Provinces, Zhao Hengti has finally asserted his independent position once again and restore Hunan to his vision.[[/labelnote]]
Zhao Hengti, a Hunan native, is the governor of Hunan since 1920. He was couped by Tang Shengzhi before the Northern Expedition, but returned to power after its failure. A self-proclaimed Federalist, but also a close friend of Wu Peifu, Zhao may see fit to join either the Federalists or Zhili with his connections.

* ConflictingLoyalty: Zhao Hengti has both Zhili and Federalist connections; the former due to his personal friendship with Wu Peifu, the latter due to his ideology. He may either join the Zhili faction or the Federalist faction, usually depending on who comes to him first.

!!''Tang Shengzhi''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_hunan_tang_shengzhi.png]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Elections or Military takeover)
->'''Party:''' Buddhisisation Society
->'''Ideology:''' Social Democracy
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Born in October 12th, 1889 and a native to Hunan, Tang Shengzhi has successfully clawed back power after over a decade. A graduate of Baoding military academy and a staunch Buddhist, Tang enjoyed a prominent role in Hunan's military before internal tensions resulted in his defection to the National Revolutionary Army during the Northern Expedition. There, he was appointed Governor for the KMT, but was ultimately driven out with the collapse of the NRA. Forced into exile, his brother's prominence and his shrewd political scheming has allowed for him to return to Hunan and successfully challenge sitting governor Zhao Hengti in elections.\\\
Triumphant, Tang now seeks to implement his version of Buddhist Socialism. His doctrine holds that Buddhism and socialism are identical, materialism and spiritualism are interconnected. This, however, hardly means he can take Buddhist support for granted, and to many his approaches to the faith are far too revolutionary. It remains to be seen if this so-called Buddhist general can truly transform Hunan for the better.[[/labelnote]]
Tang Shengzhi, nicknamed "Buddhist General", is a Hunanese general associated with the NRA. Removed from the position for ten years, Tang Shengzhi now has a chance to come back in the midst of the LEP's collapse.
%%he can align with the Federalists, the National Protection Army, or the Right KMT

* RedBaron: The Buddhist General, emphsizing his commitment to his faith.
* WarriorMonk: As the "Buddhist General", Tang Shengzhi wants to create an army with buddhist beliefs.

!!''Cheng Qian''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_cheng_qian.png]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Elections)
->'''Party:''' Cheng Clique
->'''Ideology:''' Social liberalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]General Description\\
Born: March 31 1882\\
Liling, Hunan, Qing Empire\\
Military Career: Cheng Qian was raised in a wealthy family of landlords and received a classic Confucian education. This allowed him to pass the civil service examination and study at Changsha's Yuelu Academy before switching over to a military career at Hunan Military Academy. Later, he would go to Japan for further studies, where he met budding leaders of the Tongmenghui. He would convert to their cause after meeting Sun Yat-sen, and after graduation from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, he would join the Xinhai revolution breaking out in 1911. A long-time KMT general, he would lead the NRA's invasion of AMI general, Hunan during the Northern expedition and join the establishment of a provincial government under Tang Shengzhi. The failure of the expedition however, saw Cheng go into exile - at least until the emergence of a rebellion in Fujian. There he would again rise to prominence. However, with the announcement of a new election in Hunan, Cheng decided to go on leave from his post and contest Governorship from sitting governor Zhao Hengti.\\\
With Cheng emerging victorious in the election, he is now free to begin implementing the Three Principles of the People and the KMT program in the province. However, he is looked upon with some suspicion by his former comrades, despite his supposed loyalty to the left-leaning Central Committee many believe he secretly continues to affiliate with the rightist elements of the KMT...[[/labelnote]]

* TheRemnant: Cheng Qian is the leader of the remnants of the Kuomintang in Hunan.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Liangguang Clique]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_liangguang.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Flag of the Guangzhou Federal Government/United Provinces of China]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_federalist_china_6.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[quoteright:350:]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Flag of the Liangguang People's Government]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_chen_mingshu_flag.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[quoteright:350:]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Flag of the Liangguang Military Government]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_r_kmt.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[quoteright:350:]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Flag of the Liangguang Merchant Corps/Guangdong Clique]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/merchant_corps.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Official Name:''' Liangguang Clique
-->'''Federalist (Chen Jiongming):''' Guangzhou Federal Government (Unification path), United Provinces of China (Chinese reunification)
-->'''Left-KMT (Chen Mingshu):''' Liangguang People's Government, Guangzhou People's Government (Unification path), Liangguang (Joins L-KMT alliance)
-->'''Right-KMT (Li Zongren):''' Liangguang Military Government, Guangzhou Nationalist Government (Unification path), Republic of China (Chinese reunification)
-->'''Old Guangxi Clique (Ma Ji):''' Guangxi Clique, Nanning Government (Unification path)
-->'''Merchants' Corps (Chen Lianbo):''' Guangdong Clique, Guangzhou Government (Unification path)
->'''Ruling Party:''' Grand Republican League[[note]]The Gonghe Datongmeng (Grand Republican League) was founded in 1928 as an alliance of Chen Jiongming, representing the federalist Zhigongdang, and Duan Qirui, representing the by-then defunct Republic of China and Anhui Clique, a coalition of of republicans. While the League attracted fairly little attention, it became Chen's formal coalition in the Guangdong Provincial Assembly. The league is wide and unwieldy, containing federalists of all colours, Kuomintang remnants, business and gentry interests, and even syndicalists. With the collapse of the League, the coalition is on the verge of collapse as they barely share a common platform in maintaining stability in Guangdong, let alone republicanism.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Social Liberalism
The Liangguang Clique is a union of the Guangdong and Guangxi cliques under Chen Jiongming and Lu Rongting, who were overthrown in the Northern Expedition and developed an alliance in their exile. Restored under Sun Chuanfang's League after the KMT's collapse, the League's own collapse finally gives Liangguang its full autonomy. Chen Jiongming has a vision of a federalist Republican China, but he has many obstacles in front of him, including a succession crisis in Guangxi, a power struggle in Guangdong, and a new Guangdong-Guangxi War.

* CivilWar: The Guangdong-Guangxi War is essentially one.
* TheFederation: Chen Jiongmin and the Federalists want to create a unified federalist and democratic China.

!!''Chen Jiongming''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_jiongming_7.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Chen as a Field Marshal]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_jiongming_army_2.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Chen as a LKMT General]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_jiongming_lkmt_4.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Field Marshal, Governor-General[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Grand Republican League[[note]]The Gonghe Datongmeng (Grand Republican League) was founded in 1928 as an alliance of Chen Jiongming, representing the federalist Zhigongdang, and Duan Qirui, representing the by-then defunct Republic of China and Anhui Clique, a coalition of republicans. While the League attracted fairly little attention, it became Chen's formal coalition in the Guangdong Provincial Assembly. The league is wide and unwieldy, containing federalists of all colours, Kuomintang remnants, business and gentry interests, and even syndicalists. With the collapse of the League, the coalition is on the verge of collapse as they barely share a common platform in maintaining stability in Guangdong, let alone republicanism.[[/note]], Public Interest Party[[note]]The Zhongguo Zhigongdang, or China Zhi Gong Party (Public Interest Party of China) is the main political party of the Federalist movement in China. Founded in 1925, the party united disillusioned Kuomintang politicians and Overseas Chinese (especially Freemasons of the Hongmen), calling for the reform of the Republic of China into a proper federal state and multiparty democracy. While these hopes were quickly dashed by the Qing Restoration, they remain a significant force, albeit banned in Qing/Zhili-controlled lands for their explicit republicanism. Their platform, outside of federalism and republican democracy, espouses progressive social and political views from land and education reform to elected assemblies for all government levels.[[/note]] (Post-Guangdong-Guangxi Wars)
->'''Ideology:''' Social Liberalism, Social Democracy (Post-Guangdong-Guangxi Wars)
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A unique case among the warlords of China, Chen Jiongming was a lawyer and elected official before the Xinhai Revolution. As a member of the brief Guangdong Provincial Assembly, formed in 1909, Chen quickly made a name for himself as a successful and enthusiastic, albeit radical, reformer, with his republican and anti-Qing leanings being an open secret to local officials. When the Xinhai Revolution began in 1911, Chen, as a member of the Revolutionary Alliance, became commander of the Guangdong Army and was instrumental in helping Sun Yat-sen of the KMT set up the Constitutional Protection Movement. However, the two men developed a fierce rivalry, having very different opinions on the future of China, which boiled over in 1922 when Chen revolted revolted against Sun. Chen would be forced to surrender and flee after Sun's ships indiscriminately bombarded Guangzhou. The KMT's Central Committee never forgave Chen for his "betrayal", ensuring severe tension between the two most prominent republican movements in China.\\
Chen Jiongming returned Guangdong after the failure of the Northern Expedition, which he had predicted, and he was quickly asked to become governor of the province once more. Through unprecedented cuts in military spending, Chen was not only able to rebuilt the province, devastated by a decade and a half of conflict, but make it one of the most prosperous despite the German's dubious concessions in the provincial capital.\\
As governor of Guangdong, Chen has been able to put his ideals into practice. He is one of the very few genuine believers of democracy and federalism and that successfully implementing them in his "Model Province" will lead to the rest of China following suit, seeing the clear benefits of self-rule and genuine democracy.[[/labelnote]]
->'''In-Game Biography''' (Field Marshal) [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Born: January 18th 1878, in Haifeng, Guangdong, Qing Empire\\
Military Career: Chen Jiongming's military career started abruptly, as he had no formal army education. He was merely an upstart member of the Provincial Assembly, having only been part of an aborted attempt at an uprising before the Xinhai Revolution. When Guangdong declared its independence in October 1911, Chen was elected commander-in-chief of its forces, the Xunjun, an army of defected army officers, peasants, and revolutionaries. He would lead the revolutionary army and free Guangdong, forcing the Governor-General to flee Guangzhou before joining up with Sun Yat-Sen's forces. Under Sun, Chen was known as cautious, perhaps overly so, but competent. When Sun returned in 1917, Chen would be the one to drive Guangxi forces out of Guangdong in a couple of months when Sun split with Lu Rongting. Chen repeatedly advised caution over the Northern Expedition, which, along with intrigue from other Kuomintang officers, further drove Sun and Chen apart until the split in June 1922. In 1925, Chen would return to lead the Guangdong army against the KMT, but would be defeated and forced into exile. The Kuomintang was then defeated by the Zhili with German help, making Chen's earlier caution rather prophetic as he returned to a Guangdong sapped of its wealth. As Governor of Guangdong, Chen maintains his cautious style, preferring not to gamble his aries needlessly, always weary abut collateral damage and his people's wellbeing.[[/labelnote]]

The Governor-General of Liangguang and the leader of the local Grand Republican League, Chen Jiongming is an idealist desiring to apply American-styled democratic federalism to China. However, his provincial decentraization was accused of being pro-warlord and rejected by the centralist KMT, sparking violent conflicts between Chen and Dr. Sun. Now in control of Guangdong again, Chen sees his best chance to reunify China under Federalism.

* ActionPolitician: Chen Jiongmin is Governor-General and also a Field Marshal in Liangguang's army.
* AssassinationAttempt: If Guangdong defeats Li Zongren's invasion, Ma Ji will attempt to assassinate Chen Jiongming (after helping Guangdong defeating Li Zongren) and then invade Guangdong himself. If Chen dies in the assassination, then Chen Lianbo or Chen Mingshu can be elected to the lead Guangdong.
* {{Cincinnatus}}: After uniting China under the United Provinces of China, Chen steps down to let democracy take its course, as he considers himself to be a provisional leader.
* TheExile: If Chen Jiongming is overthrown due to either Chen Mingshu's coup or defeat in the Guangdong-Guangxi War, and Sichuan is not controlled by a Federalist-aligned warlord to accept him, he will flee to Hong Kong. The Legation Cities will get an event on him, though he cannot take power again.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Chen endorses democratic federalism. However, the KMT hates him because he betrayed Sun Yat-sen due to differences between Chen and Sun's ideologies.[[note]]Furthermore, he shelled Sun's residence in 1922, causing Sun's wife, Song Qingling, to miscarry.[[/note]]
* {{Realpolitik}}: A big challenge of Chen Jiongming's federalist movement is that many of its supporters are corrupt and power-hungry regional warlords like Tang Jiyao who support federalism as a ruse to hold on to their power. Chen Jiongming can either accept them and compromise his ideals, or reject them and hurt his political influence.

!!''Tang Jiyao''
->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)
->'''Party:''' Public Interest Party[[note]]The Zhongguo Zhigongdang, or China Zhi Gong Party (Public Interest Party of China) is the main political party of the Federalist movement in China. Founded in 1925, the party united disillusioned Kuomintang politicians and Overseas Chinese (especially Freemasons of the Hongmen), calling for the reform of the Republic of China into a proper federal state and multiparty democracy. While these hopes were quickly dashed by the Qing Restoration, they remain a significant force, albeit banned in Qing/Zhili-controlled lands for their explicit republicanism. Their platform, outside of federalism and republican democracy, espouses progressive social and political views from land and education reform to elected assemblies for all government levels.[[/note]] (PIP Candidate), Democratic Constitutional Party (DCP Candidate)
->'''Ideology:''' Social Liberalism (PIP Candidate), Social Conservatism (DCP Candidate)
See his entry in the Yunnan Clique folder.

!!''Chen Qiyou''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_qiyou_4.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)
->'''Party:''' Public Interest Party[[note]]The Zhongguo Zhigongdang, or China Zhi Gong Party (Public Interest Party of China) is the main political party of the Federalist movement in China. Founded in 1925, the party united disillusioned Kuomintang politicians and Overseas Chinese (especially Freemasons of the Hongmen), calling for the reform of the Republic of China into a proper federal state and multiparty democracy. While these hopes were quickly dashed by the Qing Restoration, they remain a significant force, albeit banned in Qing/Zhili-controlled lands for their explicit republicanism. Their platform, outside of federalism and republican democracy, espouses progressive social and political views from land and education reform to elected assemblies for all government levels.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Social Democracy

!!''Yan Huiqing''
->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)
->'''Party:''' Democratic Constitutional Party
->'''Ideology:''' Social Conservatism
See his entry in the Qing Government folder.

!!''Hu Shih''
->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)
->'''Party:''' Democratic Constitutional Party
->'''Ideology:''' Social Conservatism
See his entry in the Qing Government folder.

!!''Zhang Junmai''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_zhang_junmai_6.png]]
->'''Role:''' Head of State (UPC elections)
->'''Party:''' China Democratic League
->'''Ideology:''' Social Liberalism

!!''Chen Lianbo''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_lianbo.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Chen as a General]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_lianbo_army.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, Merchants' Corps takeover)
->'''Party:''' Merchants' Public Safety Organisation[[note]]The Guangzhou Yueshang Gongan Weichihui, or Merchant Corps for short, is the armed militia under the control of the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce. Founded in 1912, the businessmen of the city organised and funded their own self-defence capabilities as the province descended into warlordism and banditry. The Merchant Corps rose up against the Kuomintang in 1924, convinced that they were spreading syndicalism, but were utterly crushed. Chen Lianbo, its leader from the beginning, fled to Hong Kong, only returning after the failed Northern Expedition. As part of Chen Jiongming's coalition, the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce and its paramilitary represent business interests in the province, their anti-union stance forcing the coalition to water-down progressive legislation, creating great tension.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Market Liberalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]The leader of the Guangzhou Merchants' Self-Defence Corps, Chen Lianbo was born to a wealthy merchant family and educated in Hong Kong. As a British national, he worked as a Comprador for the HSBC, managing his own silk farm as well. After successfully speculating during and after the Shanghai Financial Crisis of 1910, he became one of the most influential businessman in the South.\\
The Xinhai Revolution and the chaotic first years led to poor social and financial security, and the Guangzhou Merchants' Public Safety Organisation, Merchant Corps, was founded to remedy the situation and Chen would lead it. The Merchant in the Corps would ensure stability in the city through the Republican era and later incre Republican era and, later, increasing expropriation and mismanagement from the KMT rebels.\\
Chen Lianbo's Merchant Corps rose up against the KMT in 1924 in an attempt to overthrow them, but failed, and the remnants would flee to Hong Kong, where they would ally with Chen Jiongming's Federalists to preserve Guangdong's stability and autonomy.\\
The Merchants' Corps, after the failure of the Northern Expedition, would work with both the Germans in Guangzhou and Chen Jiongming's provincial government, ensuring a Chinese presence and protection from both German encroachment in the city and increasingly radical reforms in Guangdong. Chen Lianbo himself maintains a great public image by sending a tion of his wealth to charity, significant portion of his wealth to charity, especially hospitals and schools, and he remains well-respected as a rich philanthropist devoted to ensuring prosperity and stability in Southern China.[[/labelnote]]
The head of the Merchants' Corps in Guangzhou, Chen Lianbo represents the interests of the merchants in Guangdong.

* TheCoup: Chen Lianbo takes power in the Merchants' Corps takeover.

!!''Chen Mingshu''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_mingshu.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Chen as a General]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_mingshu_army_9.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Chen as a LKMT General]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_chen_mingshu_lkmt.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, KMT takeover)
->'''Party:''' Productive People's Party[[note]]The Nationalist Party of China was once a revolutionary force about to guide China towards modernity and liberty- only to be stopped at the Yangtze. The Northern Expedition may have failed, but the KMT remains underground and a powerful force in Liangguang. Chen Mingshu's Productive People's Party serves as a front for the remnants of the National Revolutionary's Fourth Army and the region's social-democratic politicians of the Party. Wang Jingwei's faction of the Central Committee, however, is quite weak, most of the members in Liangguang favouring Song Qingling's Populists.[[/note]], Zhōngguó guómíndăng línshí xíngdòng wěiyuánhuì[[note]]The Provisional Action Committee was formed during the League War by those who supported Song Qingling and distrusted the authoritarian nature of the returned Central Committee led by Wang Jingwei. Believing in the notion of achieving total socialism by the workers and the peasantry, the PAC draws its name from its desire for the Kuomintang to take action as a revolutionary vanguard with the masses gaining revolutionary consciousness and taking action as well. They have emerged as an opposition party to the Kuomintang's right-wing dominated government.[[/note]] (Unification path, L-KMT was defeated)
->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A Guangdong native born in 1889, Chen Mingshu participated in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. By 1921, he was commander of the Guangdong Army's First Division, fighting in the north by the time Chen Jiongming revolted against Sun Yat-sen. In 1925, Chen became commander of the Tenth Division of the National Revolutionary Army's Fourth Army, also known as the Iron Army. His division would participate in the failed Northern Expedition in 1926, with the Fourth Army decimated by the German Intervention Force. After a brief exile in Hong Kong, Chen returned to Guangdong, where he would reorganise the KMT remnants in the province under the auspice of Governor Chen Jiongming. With these remnants, he founded his own party, the Productive People's Party (ostensibly little more than a KMT front), participating in the province's burgeoning provincial democracy, supporting a shaky alliance with the Governor supporting despite the latter being widely seen as a traitor by the KMT.\\
Chen Mingshu would prove to be an able politician, maintaining the KMT's presence in the southern province and ties with Soong Qingling's faction of the Party. However, he remains distrusting of Wang Jingwei's Central Committee, critical of their exile in France and their lack of commitment towards Minquan, or democracy according to Sun's Three Principles.[[/labelnote]]
->'''In-Game Biography''' (Military Commander) [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Born: October 15th, 1889, in Hepu, Guangdong, Qing Empire\\\
Military Career: A Baoding graduate, Chen Mingshu was an early member of the Kuomintang. He was a commander in the National Revolutionary Army's Fourth Army, the Iron Army, during the Northern Expedition. However, that army would be When stuck in the quagmire of the Battle of Wuhan, the turning point of the Northern Expedition. He proved himself competent during the retreat to Guangdong, but it was for naught as the NRA found itself stuck between the Northern warlord forces and the German Expedition. In the aftermath, he organised the remnants of the NRA in Guangdong under the auspices of Chen a united Jiongming, whom wanted to maintain a republican front protected from the Qing's restoration. Chen Mingshu remains a commander in the underground NRA, even if he remains busy with maintaining the Party's political arm, ensuring that they remain ready should Chen Jiongming fail and the revolution begin anew.[[/labelnote]]

A former KMT member, Chen Mingshu leads the Productive People's Party, a front of KMT remnants in the Guangdong democracy. Though still loyal to the KMT, Chen Mingshu supports Song Qingling's Minquan faction of the KMT, and distrusts Wang Jingwei's Central Committee, and this conflict may boil over into an outright violent power struggle.
%%Apparently he can join Right or Left KMT

* TheCoup: When Li Zongren invades Guangxi, Chen Mingshu can decide to avoid further bloodshed by deposing Chen Jiongming and establish KMT rule over Liangguang.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Chen Mingshu has allegiances to both the KMT and Chen Jiongming's Guangdong democracy. When Li Zongren invades Guangdong, he can choose to stay with the KMT and coup Chen Jiongming, or he can choose to stay with Chen Jiongming and denounce Li Zongren's R-KMT as just another warlord clique.
* RebelliousRebel: Chen Mingshu can decide to denounce Wang Jingwei's KMT and declare war on them (just like Li Zongren can), as his democratic ideals conflict with those of Wang Jingwei. This is somewhat of a parallel to the Fujian rebellion he led in OTL, where he rebelled against Chiang Kai-shek.
* YouAreInCommandNow: If the Left Kuomintang was wiped out by someone else, and Chen Mingshu leads Liangguang, he can take up the leadership of the Left Kuomintang, and literally tag switch to the Left KMT tag. The transition is quite messy gameplay-wise, as almost everything Liangguang had will be deleted and replaced whatever Left KMT had before their capitulation.

!!''Ma Ji''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_ma_ji.png]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Governor of Guangxi (Lu passes away), Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, Old Guangxi Clique victory)
->'''Party:''' Guangxi Clique[[note]]Often called the Old Guangxi Clique to differ it from Li Zongren's own Clique, the Guangxi Clique represents one of the most powerful warlords of the Republican era, Lu Rongting. They are little more than a militarist provincial government which is interdependent with the Guangdong government for protection and support. Its large army is at the centre of everything while the Clique's culture is surprisingly pluralistic, collecting many of Guangxi's ethnic minorities with little discrimination.[[/note]]

->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Ma Ji is the head of the Guangxi Clique following Lu Rongting's death. As the younger adopted son of Lu, his views and attitudes were heavily influenced by his adoptive father. He valued maintaining the Clique's image as a pluralist military entity that was fixated on maintaining Guangxi's independence.\\
When Lu Rongting became governor of Guangxi the Xinhai Revolution, Ma was his deputy, and the two would be involved in the National Protection Movement that overthrew Yuan Shikai's regime.\\
After a brief war with Yunnan, Lu's Guangxi Clique was evicted from the province by the KMT-aligned New Guangxi Clique. While Lu retreated to Hong Kong and allied with Chen Jiongming, Ma Ji, who was in Hunan at the time, went north and joined forces with Wu Peifu's Zhili Clique. By the time of the KMT's failed Northern Expedition, he was leading the Fifteenth Army against the KMT. He scored a victory against the retreating Nationalists' Seventh Army, which was also composed of soldiers from Guangxi. He would later convince them to stand down, declaring that "Guangxi people do not fight Guangxi people".\\
Since the Northern Expedition, Ma Ji rejoined Lu Rongting after his restoration to the Guangxi provincial government. From there, he led the provincial army's modernisation plan, giving him ample influence and experience in managing the Clique's affair. He remains devoted to the province and its people, strongly promoting regionalism and Lu Rongting's pluralist legacy.[[/labelnote]]
Lu Rongting's adopted son and the successor to his leadership in the Guangxi clique. He shares his father's views of regionalism and pluralism.
%%He may join Zhili if he is threatened by another Southern warlord; he also joins Zhili as a general if he is defeated.

* MeetTheNewBoss: Ma Ji is a fairly typical regional warlord and seeks to uphold the legacy of his predecessor Lu Rongting.
* {{Plunder}}: Ma Ji can launch border raids into neighboring provinces. If the raids are successful, he will earn extra political power.

!!''Li Zongren''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_li_zongren_5.png]]
[[caption-width-right:156:[[labelnote:Li as a LKMT General]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_gxc_li_zongren_lkmt.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Role:''' Military Commander, Head of State (Guangdong-Guangxi War, New Guangxi Clique victory)
->'''Party:''' New Guangxi Clique[[note]]Li Zongren's New Guangxi Clique briefly ruled during the Northern Expedition, where the National Revolutionary Army's Seventh Army distinguished itself despite the campaign's failure. The New Guangxi Clique represents the Kuomintang's militarist right-wing, believing in the NRA's supremacy and the importance of Sun Yat-sen's First and Second Stages of Revolution: Overthrowing the old system by force and the army's interim rule of China.[[/note]], Whampoa Clique[[note]]During his leadership as the headmaster of Whampoa Military Academy, the late Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek created a cult following amongst his right-wing students. They are also heavily influenced by the right-wing ideologue of the Kuomintang, Dai Jitao and are considered to be the far-right of the Kuomintang. With the empowerment of the right-wing of the Kuomintang organisation, the Whampoa Clique finds itself growing in strength daily as more and more radical students fall to the lure of its militaristic tone of revolution.[[/note]] (Political Tutelage continues and Chen Brothers joined R-KMT)
->'''Ideology:''' Authoritarian Democracy, Paternal Autocracy (Political Tutelage continues and Chen Brothers joined R-KMT)
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Li Zongren is one of the National Revolutionary Army's most competent and skilled military leaders. He was a member of the Tongmenhui at a young age despite understanding little about Sun Yat-sen's vision for China initially. Educated by Cai E, he quickly rose through the ranks under the Guangxi and he would personally rise to prominence through Yunnan's invasion of Guangxi in 1923. Gathering a significant force as Yunnan retreated, he aligned himself with the KMT forces and established the New Guangxi Clique after evicting the Old Clique from the province. During the Northern Expedition, Li's skilled leadership of the Nationalist Seventh Army earned it the moniker of "Army of Steel", being one of the few NRA commanders to have defeated Wu Peifu on the field. However, the Expedition failed, and Li was forced to retreat to Guangxi, where he would be dislodged by a combined Old Guangxi-Guangdong force aligned with the Zhili Clique. The New Guangxi Clique then fled to Yunnan protected by Tang Jiyao in order to safeguard his province's autonomy.\\
After his defeat, Li Zongren focused on rebuilding his forces and consolidating, rapidly becoming the informal leader of the KMT's right-wing. From there, he plotted to invade Guangxi when the opportunity would present itself and re-establish a Nationalist presence in Southern China. That is, one not tainted by Wang Jingwei's French-dependent Central Committee and would truly reunite China first instead of "playing revolutionary" from a comfortable exile.[[/labelnote]]
Li Zongren is a former Guangxi clique general who swore allegiance to the KMT, and was one of the most skilled generals in the NRA. After the KMT collapsed, Li Zongren retreated into Yunnan, and has been rebuilding forces to retake Guangxi. He opposes Wang Jingwei's Left-KMT Central Committee, and is the unofficial leader of the right-wing KMT remnants.

* CultOfPersonality: A "Cult of the Generalissimo" will be created for Li Zongren by his government.
* TheUsurper: As the unofficial head of the Right-KMT, Li Zongren has no love for Wang Jingwei's Left-KMT dominated Central Committee. As such, he wants to form his own Central Committee and eventually usurp Wang Jingwei's leadership.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Left Kuomintang]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_kmt.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Flag of the National Revolutionary Government/Republic of China]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flag_of_taiwan.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->'''Official Name:''' [=MinGan Insurgency=] (League War), National Revolutionary Government (End of the First Repatriated Congress), Republic of China (Chinese reunification), People's Communes of China (Syndicalist puppet state)
->'''Ruling Party:''' Central Committee of the Kuomintang[[note]]After the failure of the Northern Expedition, the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee formed a government in exile in Paris. Led by Wang Jingwei as their party chairman and president of the so-called Republic, they have successfully secured the cont continued recognition of their hosts in the Internationale. In that time, the Reorganised Comrades Association - a group founded by supporters of Wang Jingwei (albeit without Wang's direct participation) has consolidated their grip over the party apparatus.\\\
That being said, their singular rule over the Kuomintang has been challenged over the last decade or so. The MinGan insurgency has created its own parallel government, while many liberal members of the movement have based themselves in Hawaii. Still, a fracture has been avoided thanks to Wang's careful diplomacy, and in this new revolution he has at last been given an opportunity to free his homeland.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism
Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang was supposed to bring down the warlord-dominated Beiyang government in Northern Expedition, but instead found itself struck down by German imperialists, who feared the Syndicalist-supported leftist wings of the KMT. Fragmented but not extinguished, the Left-KMT reorganized themselves in the mountains of Jiangxi and Fujian under Dr. Sun's wife Song Qingling, forming the "[=MinGan=] Insurgency" under the noses of Sun Chuanfang's dogs. Gathering support from the Chinese proletariat, the restored KMT aims to topple the rule of the warlords and create a truly free and independent China.

* AllohistoricalAllusion:
** The L-KMT uprising in the [=MinGan Zone=] mirrors the OTL Jiangxi–Fujian Soviet.
** The Kuomintang in general takes the place of the CPC in real life as the main socialist political force in China, having a much stronger left wing faction.
* CivilWar: The Kuomintang can undergo a civil war between rival factions.
* GovernmentInExile: Since the KMT was crushed following the failure of the Northern Expedition by German-backed forces in the 1920s, the Central Committee of the Kuomintang formed a government in exile headquartered in Paris while other remnants took refuge in the United States or in Socialist India. At game start the Left Kuomintang has no land of its own or core territory until the collapse of League of Eight Provinces gives it the chance to return home.
* LaResistance: The Left-KMT guerrillas in the [=MinGan Zone=] are a force of resistance against Qing/Zhili rule.
* TheRemnant: When the Northern Expedition collapsed, several things happened to the Kuomintang:
** A large faction of the KMT Central Committee escaped abroad, either to Paris or Hawaii. The biggest faction is led by Wang Jingwei, located in France.
** A big portion of the National Revolutionary Army escaped into Tang Jiyao's Yunnan, and stopped taking orders from Wang Jingwei's Central Committee. They represent the split-off remnants of the right-wing faction of the KMT.
** A section of Left KMT troops and some of the Central Committee escaped into Southern Fujian, and went underground. They started waging a guerrilla war against Qing/Zhili forces.

!!''Wang Jingwei''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_wang_jingwei_kr.png]]
->'''Role:''' Chairman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]]
->'''Party:''' Central Committee of the Kuomintang[[note]]After the failure of the Northern Expedition, the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee formed a government tin exile in Paris. Led by Wang Jingwei as their party chairman and president of the so-called Republic, they have successfully secured the cont continued recognition of their hosts in the Internationale. In that time, the Reorganised Comrades Association - a group founded by supporters of Wang Jingwei (albeit without Wang's direct participation) has consolidated their grip over the party apparatus.\\\
That being said, their singular rule over the Kuomintang has been challenged over the last decade or so. The MinGan insurgency has created its own parallel government, while many liberal members of the movement have based themselves in Hawaii. Still, a fracture has been avoided thanks to Wang's careful diplomacy, and in this new revolution he has at last been given an opportunity to free his homeland.[[/note]], Reorganised Comrades Association of the Kuomintang[[note]]Zhongguo Guomindang gaizu tongzhi hui: When the Kuomintang's left-wing dominated Central Committee fled to Europe following the end of the Northern Expedition, most left-wingers joined the Kuomintang Reorganised Comrades Association (RCA). The RCA, led primarily by Chen Gongbo, but including the closest friends and followers of Wang Jingwei - believes that if the revolution is to be saved, it must be reorganised in the same spirit of 1924. The Kuomintang, in their eyes, must be purged of its excess democratic and reactionary forces; only then will China achieve her national revolution.\\\
Once a secret faction amongst the Chinese expatriate community in Europe, with the return of the Central Committee, the RCA has emerged as one of the Kuomintang's two major political parties. They adhere to a model of strict leadership (seeing the Kuomintang as the vanguard of the socialist revolution) and a party for the peasantry, workers, and petite bourgeoisie. They hold warm and cordial ties with the Third Internationale, and many RCA members also hold relations with the Radical wing of the Chinese Syndicalist Party. Nonetheless, it is a movement that sees the Chinese Nationalist cause as not just one for China but also one for the entirety of Asia. The RCA runs on a platform that China is the socialist vanguard, spreading the revolution far and wide and liberating the oppressed peoples of Asia from the chains of imperialism. The RCA consists of two wings - the Radical wing led by Chen Gongbo and a Moderate wing led by Gu Mengyu - with their views differing over issues such as the nature of class struggle or land reform.[[/note]] (End of the First Rapatriated Congress), Residence Faction of the Kuomintang (Wang stays)
->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]In his youth, Wang Jingwei was enamoured with the lives of Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishu, seeing them as model men who transformed Japan from a backwater into an industrial nation. How can it be that China is so stagnant, he wondered - turning to the works of Liang Qichao and Sun Yat-sen. In the latter, he saw a beloved mentor, and in Sun Yat-sen's Tongmenghui, he exploded into national prominence when he attempted to assassinate the Zaifeng regent (father of Emperor Puyi) despite his failure and imprisonment.\\\
When the Xinhai Revolution broke out, Wang was freed, but he refused to swear an oath of loyalty to the disillusioned Sun, who had found himself sidelined by national politics and the warlords. He instead travelled to France but returned shortly after Sun's triumphant returned to Guangzhou in 1921 to participate in the newly founded Kuomintang's revolutionary government. Wang was present at the party's reorganisation in 1924, slowly began to represent the party's growing leftist wing, although he hardly fancied himself as a socialist ideologue. When Sun died in 1925, Wang was present on his deathbed and help write his will.\\\
The triumvirate of Hu Hanmin, Chiang Kai-shek, and Wang Jingwei quickly became one of Kuomintang's most contested and bitter power struggles. Wang emerged the victor following Hu Hanmin's death in 1925 and Chiang Kai-shek's assassination following the failure of the Northern Expedition. But the collapse of the expedition forced him and his political allies to flee to Europe in the hopes of one day returning to carry out Sun's revolution. In exile, he has consolidated his position as the leader of the Kuomintang's Central Committee, far and often distant from the MinGan insurgency on the mainland.\\\
At last, he has returned and claimed his place as Chairman of the Kuomintang, leader of the Chinese revolution. With a large cadre of loyal supporters, the backing of the Internationale and other allies, Wang confidently strides forward as Dr. Sun's rightful successor.[[/labelnote]]

%%* AllohistoricalAllusion: Wang Jingwei, leader of the Radical Socialist Minsheng Faction of the KMT, proposes the "Wang Jingwei Thought" that desires to create a national social revolution that will change China top-down. This echoes the real life "Mao Zedong Thought", though the specifics of the ideology are quite different.
* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Because of the completely different circumstances around the world, Wang Jingwei did not turn to the right-wing and does not get a chance to collaborate with Fascist Axis powers and getting remembered as a traitor. The worst he can do in Kaiserreich instead is instituting an authoritarian socialist, but still ultimately nationalist and non-collaborationist government.
* TheRemnant: If the KMT was utterly destroyed, but the Federalists triumphed, Wang Jingwei will lead the KMT remnants to negotiate with the new government and find a seat in the new political spectrum.

!!''Song Qingling''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_song_qingling.png]]
->'''Role:''' Chairwoman[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (Wang ousted)
->'''Party:''' [=MinGan=] Provisional Government[[note]]While many fled the nation in wake of the Northern Expedition's collapse, there have been many who chose to stay behind with the people and go underground to resist the oppression of the Zhili clique. Initially led by Marshal Li Jishen and operating with networks flowing in and out of Shanghai, the defeat of the 1932 uprising forced them to retreat southwards to the Jiangxi-Fujian area.\\\
In the mountains, Song Qingling, Deng Yanda and others published the "Declaration to the Revolutionary People in China and the World", announcing the formation of the Provisional Action Committee of the Kuomintang to autonomously manage the guerilla zone. This, combined with weakening communications with Wang's government in exile, has created a certain independence within [=MinGan=] cadres, even as the movement has reunited again. Although for now the Kuomintang leadership have made a show of getting along and indeed plenty have freely came and went from [=MinGan=] and Paris throughout the years, some strains have begun to show.[[/note]], Provisional Action Committee of the Kuomintang[[note]]Zhongguo Guomindang linshi xingdong weiyuanhu: The Provisional Action Committee was formed during the League War by those who supported Song Qingling in the [=MinGan=] Provisional Government and distrusted the authoritarian nature of the returned Central Committee led by Wang Jingwei. Believing in the notion of achieving total socialism by the workers and the peasantry, the PAC draws its name from its desire for the Kuomintang to take action as a revolutionary vanguard with the masses gaining revolutionary consciousness and taking action as well.\\\
The main ideological facets of the PAC is a total social revolution through democratic land reform to reward the land to those who till it, the installation of local self-governments as a result, and the necessity for China to adopt a method of "National Capitalism" to transition China from a feudal society into a socialist one. While some members of the PAC view the Third Internationale's extension into China as a potential threat to the native revolution practised in China, the PAC nonetheless has shown a willingness to work with members of the Orthodox Faction of the Chinese Syndicalist Party as well an equally beneficial relationship with the World Society. As one of the two major political cliques in the Kuomintang, the PAC seeks to enlighten the masses of China and transform the Chinese proletariat into a force of revolutionary change to entirely defeat the warlords, expel the imperialists, and fulfil the dream of Sun Yat-sen.[[/note]] (End of the First Rapatriated Congress), Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang[[note]]Zhongguo Guomindang gemingweiyuanhui: The Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang is the natural successor of the former Provisional Action Committee with many of its leading members, the founding members of the former PAC. In accordance with the "guanxi" system of connections and leadership - many of the members of the Kuomintang's Revolutionary Committee are familiar with one another and, in most cases, are even long time comrades such as Deng Yanda and Huang Qixiang. In accordance with the ideals of PAC, the Revolutionary Committee believes that the goal of the Chinese Revolution is to implement socialism and democracy at a direct level - however, it believes that this process is gradual and that a revolutionary committee is needed to allow the revolution to naturally progress.\\\
Following the defeat of the former Chairman Wang Jingwei and his Reorganised Comrades Association, the Revolutionary Committee has assumed de facto full control of the Party, and it is often linked with the Whampoa Military Academy Revolutionary Classmates Association - with many of its leaders holding dual membership in both organisations.[[/note]] (Wang ousted)
->'''Ideology:''' Social Democracy, Radical Socialism (Wang ousted)
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A rebel from her youth, Song Qingling explicitly challenged her parents' opposition to her marriage to the late and honourable Dr. Sun Yat-sen, going as far as to run away from home to elope with the revolutionary statesman. Western-educated, fluent in English and Chinese, graceful, elegant, and charitable - she demonstrated her utmost loyalty to the revolutionary cause when she told Sun to flee ahead of the warlord Chen Jiongming's bombardment, despite reportedly suffering a miscarriage and never being able to bear children again.\\\
Loyal to his side, she was with Sun when he agreed to work with the Third Internationale and was present at his deathbed when his final will was read aloud. And then came the Northern Expedition, in which she participated in the Northern Expedition, untouchable and unchallenged by anyone within the Kuomintang due to her status as the widow of the great Dr. Sun. But when the expedition failed, she refused to see it as the revolution's failure. Instead, she and other leftist Kuomintang generals fled to the [=MinGan=] Insurgent Zone, where she spent her time travelling between the insurgent zone and Shanghai to secure aid and support for the guerrilla war against the despicable Zhili warlords.\\\
Serving alongside her had been none other than her close friend - Deng Yanda. The two had been together since the halcyon days of the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government and found themselves united, a brother and a sister in the revolutionary struggle. Together they formed the Provisional Action Committee, with the belief that it must be up to them to fully realise the dream of the late Dr. Sun.\\\
At last, however, she finds herself merely more than the figurehead of the [=MinGan=] Zone… no, she has ascended to the Chairwoman of the Kuomintang. Now, she commands not merely the mantle of the Chinese Revolution but the revolution for all oppressed peoples worldwide - the promise and dream of her late husband will finally become a reality.[[/labelnote]]

* RebelLeader: Song Qingling is the leader of the KMT insurgents of the [=MinGan=] Zone.

!!''Hu Zongnan''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_hu_zongnan_kr_3.png]]
->'''Role:''' President[[note]]Head of State[[/note]] (KMT Civil War, CRS victory)
->'''Party:''' China Revival Society[[note]]Zhongguo Guomindang zhonghua fuxing she: The China Revival Society (CRS) is a clique formed by radical officers of the National Revolutionary Army and holds close ties with Dai Chunfeng's shadowy BIS or Juntong. Led primarily by Hu Zongnan, He Zhongshan, and Deng Wenyi, the CRS emerged as a new political faction following the First National Congress and is especially popular amongst the military's young guard.\\\
Their ideology consists of a host of influences from far-right Savinkovism, Japanese Bushido, Maximist British economic planning, but the Sorelian necessity of revolutionary cleansing violence most inspires them. The CRS sees the complex bureaucratic nature of the Kuomintang to be the party's downfall and wishes to see the party purged of its democratic elements - with the end goal of a party led by a glorious dictator (the lingxu). From there, they envision China to be developed into a highly militarised and equal society with the notion and ideas of class struggle eradicated in favour of a complete totalitarian and socialist nation. They look to China's antiquity and its Confucian order of old as not elements of ancient history but rather a sense of halcyon tranquillity that will eventually be achieved under the rule of the benevolent lingxiu. If China is to be saved, if she is to be liberated, and if she is to become a respected mighty power once more - she will have to be reconstructed from the ground up.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Totalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]As a bright-eyed and ambitious cadet at the Whampoa Military Academy, the words on the gate of Whampoa were forever etched into Hu Zongnan's memory "Don't go into this door because you are greedy for life and fearful for death." In those halls, he distinguished himself among Whampoa's very first class despite his short stature (only accepted by the intervention of Liao Zhongkai himself). Quickly deployed to war, the young officer earned the praise of Marshal Chiang for his valour. Those halcyon days came to a bitter end when the Northern Expedition failed, forcing Hu to flee abroad. In France, he and other dissatisfied military officers felt aimless, marooned with an "army" no more than 10,000 strong. Studying across the Internationale, this growing clique learned of the ideas of Mosley, Mussolini, and Sorel. Having had plenty of time to reflect, they concluded that the revolution was betrayed. Moreover it had to be cleansed, purged of the excess of parliamentary democracy. When the Central Committee returned to Fujian, Hu commanded a battalion of British-trained cadets. Despite his vague commitment to socialism, he nonetheless holds the profound respect of many in the NRA's Young Guard. Scornful towards the militias formed in the Jiangfu Insurgent Zone, he yearns for the rigid, disciplined revolutionary army of his youth. In this he found an open listener in Dai Chunfeng, connecting him with radical officers such as He Zhonghan and Deng Wenyi to form a web of Whampoa alumni disillusioned by civilian infighting. Together they staged a coup as the leaders of the China Reconstruction Society, placing Generalissimo Hu at the helm of a broken nation. As their Lingxiu, Hu Zongnan commands the CRS's fanatical devotion as they purify the Kuomintang and transform it into the revolutionary army worthy of Whampoa's legacy. [[/labelnote]]

* TheCoup: The Totalist path involves him launching a coup against the victorious KMT; after the KMT emerges victorious in China, if party radicalism is too high, a civil war between factions of the party will occur, with provisional president Sun Fo calling upon Hu's CRS to maintain order. If successful, the CRS then seizes control over the instruments of government.

!!''Dai Chunfeng''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_dai_chunfeng.png]]
->'''Role:''' Political Advisor, Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Hu cabinet)
->'''Party:''' China Revival Society[[note]]Zhongguo Guomindang zhonghua fuxing she: The China Revival Society (CRS) is a clique formed by radical officers of the National Revolutionary Army and holds close ties with Dai Chunfeng's shadowy BIS or Juntong. Led primarily by Hu Zongnan, He Zhongshan, and Deng Wenyi, the CRS emerged as a new political faction following the First National Congress and is especially popular amongst the military's young guard.\\\
Their ideology consists of a host of influences from far-right Savinkovism, Japanese Bushido, Maximist British economic planning, but the Sorelian necessity of revolutionary cleansing violence most inspires them. The CRS sees the complex bureaucratic nature of the Kuomintang to be the party's downfall and wishes to see the party purged of its democratic elements - with the end goal of a party led by a glorious dictator (the lingxu). From there, they envision China to be developed into a highly militarised and equal society with the notion and ideas of class struggle eradicated in favour of a complete totalitarian and socialist nation. They look to China's antiquity and its Confucian order of old as not elements of ancient history but rather a sense of halcyon tranquillity that will eventually be achieved under the rule of the benevolent lingxiu. If China is to be saved, if she is to be liberated, and if she is to become a respected mighty power once more - she will have to be reconstructed from the ground up.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Totalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]Born: May 28th, 1897, in Jiangshan, Zhejiang Province, Qing Empire\\
Alignment: CRS\\
Political Career: Born to a small village and raised by a strong-willed single mother, Dai Chunfeng's life had a rocky start. At once both a brawling, vice-filled troublemaker and a prodigious student (first in his class), he studied to be a teacher but was expelled for theft. He then became a gambler, but was caught cheating and severely beaten. He also tried a variety of other careers before attempting to be a militiaman, flunking out of that as well.\\\
He then tried to become a Shanghai gangster, meeting Du Yuesheng and Yang Hu and serving as a low level attendant who was often unemployed. At age 30, he seemed to be a failure, "living off the land" (and mooching off his cousin), if it it wasn't for suddenly meeting with small group of revolutionaries. This "Shanghai group" consisted of fellow Zhejiangers Chiang Kai-shek, Dai Jitao, and Chen Guofu. Perhaps because of them, or because of his connections in organised crime, he became a student at Whampoa.\\\
A bat-man for Chiang, he tried to make himself useful by absorbing information from his classmates. A cavalry cadet, he spent so much time spying that he never actually finished his coursework. He shed his flamboyant personality in favour of silence.\\\
This served him well after the Northern Expedition failed. Unemployed once more and with his master dead, he set out to create a network of his own - the League of Ten. Tapping into the many now driftless Whampoa alumni as well as Dai's old connections in the Shanghai underground, they have become a potent (albeit small) force.\\\
Notes: It would not be wise to dismiss Dai as an ordinary gangster. Ambitious, nationalistic, and fraternal, he insists on extreme discipline for his agents... and his masters, too.[[/labelnote]]

* TheSpymaster: Dai Chunfeng (a.k.a. Dai Li) is a potential leader of the KMT's intelligence network, forming the "Bureau of Investigation and Statistics," an outgrowth of his "League of Ten", if he is selected, or appointed head of the Ministry of State Security in case of a compromise with Zhon Enlai.

!!''Chen Gongbo''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_chen_gongbo.png]]
->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (KMT Civil War, Beijing Government victory)
->'''Party:''' Reorganised Comrades Association of the Kuomintang[[note]]Zhongguo Guomindang gaizu tongzhi hui: When the Kuomintang's left-wing dominated Central Committee fled to Europe following the end of the Northern Expedition, most left-wingers joined the Kuomintang Reorganised Comrades Association (RCA). The RCA, led primarily by Chen Gongbo, but including the closest friends and followers of Wang Jingwei - believes that if the revolution is to be saved, it must be reorganised in the same spirit of 1924. The Kuomintang, in their eyes, must be purged of its excess democratic and reactionary forces; only then will China achieve her national revolution.\\\
Once a secret faction amongst the Chinese expatriate community in Europe, with the return of the Central Committee, the RCA has emerged as one of the Kuomintang's two major political parties. They adhere to a model of strict leadership (seeing the Kuomintang as the vanguard of the socialist revolution) and a party for the peasantry, workers, and petite bourgeoisie. They hold warm and cordial ties with the Third Internationale, and many RCA members also hold relations with the Radical wing of the Chinese Syndicalist Party. Nonetheless, it is a movement that sees the Chinese Nationalist cause as not just one for China but also one for the entirety of Asia. The RCA runs on a platform that China is the socialist vanguard, spreading the revolution far and wide and liberating the oppressed peoples of Asia from the chains of imperialism. The RCA consists of two wings - the Radical wing led by Chen Gongbo and a Moderate wing led by Gu Mengyu - with their views differing over issues such as the nature of class struggle or land reform.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Radical Socialism

!!''Sun Fo''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kr_sun_fo.png]]
->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Song cabinet, KMT-RF path)
->'''Party:''' Overseas Chinese Commission[[note]]Based in Hawaii, many of the more liberal and American educated members of the Kuomintang refused to join Wang in France, instead rallying around the figure of Sun Fo in Honolulu. Publishing a magazine known as the Reconstruction Review (Zaizao Xunkan) and slamming the Reorganisation Faction's Revolutionary Critic newspaper for rehashing Marxism and abandoning the Three Principles, they often refer to themselves as the Reconstruction Faction.\\\
However, most know them as the Hawaii Clique and they are heavily distrusted by many members of the left as bourgeoisie traitors. They have stopped short of outright forming their own committee (limiting their proposals to demanding a total re-registration of Kuomintang membership to excise internal rot), but a lasting enmity has been created.\\\
They wait and watch to see the outcome of the League War, refusing to go in person until the region is secure. That being said however, their control over the Overseas Chinese Commission and influence within the Vermillion society has given them sizable influence within the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia. Their steady flow of donations, despite continued troubles with leadership, gives hope there might be reconciliation yet.[[/note]], Reconstruction Faction[[note]]Zaizao hui: Not every Kuomintang member is an avowed socialist or an autocratic military man. When the Kuomintang broke over the 1924 Reorganisation and the United Front, Sun Fo's "Crown Prince Clique" was caught in the middle. Initially siding with the right-wing Western Hills Faction of disgruntled civilian rightists, he and others ultimately submitted to Wang Jinwei's authority as a dormant liberal faction dominated by bourgeoisie interests.\\\
Sidelined in the Wang-Chiang-Hu power games, the failure of the Northern Expedition saw Sun Fo flee to Hawaii where he and his associates were derogatorily referred to as the "Hawaii Clique". These moderates, however, were happy to lash back, blaming radicalism and military rule for the disaster. They called for a total re-registration of Kuomintang members to expel warlords and their corrupt cronies, and founded a magazine known as the "Reconstruction Review" (Zaizao Xunkan), giving them their name.\\\
Suspicious of the RCA's Marxism and the PAC's radical leftist views, they have nonetheless accepted an uncomfortable alliance with the new government, often a "third wheel" ic civilian affairs. Their power was and continues to be derived from their extensive contacts within the Overseas Chinese Commission (OCC), keeping the donations flowing from wealthy, nationalistic, and liberal Chinese and diaspora businessmen.\\\
They are aided by an alliance with a smaller faction known as the "India Clique" of officers led by Sun family friend and former personal bodyguard Zhang Fakui. Those officers, sent to India as part of a deal between Wang and Sun in 1934 as part of a military mission ostensibly yo help maintain Kuomintang influence in Southeast Asia, represent the rump rightists in the military disaffected with the army rule of other Kuomintang factions.[[/note]] (End of the First Rapatriated Congress)
->'''Ideology:''' Social Liberalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]The eldest son of Dr Sun Yat-Sen, Sun Fo has been a constant presence within the Kuomintang, though not always a prominent or powerful one. While respected because of his father, Sun Fo is not a charismatic or exceptional person himself. The centrist factions in the KMT that have come to be represented by him rely on his familial name and his 'iron neck' to keep their criticisms of the so-called "Reorganisation" programme represented within the party's discourse. With control of the Nationalist Government returned to its moderate factions, Sun Fo is in the unenviable position of both having to reconcile with non-syndicalist powers while scaling back the social aspects of the National Revolution.[[/labelnote]]

!!''Chen Duxiu''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_chen_duxiu_1.png]]
->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Song cabinet, CSP-Orthodox path), Head of State (Syndicalist puppet state)
->'''Party:''' League of Chinese Syndicalists[[note]]Zhongguo Gongtuanzhuyi tongmeng: The League of Chinese Syndicalists is a hopeful movement, albeit a dysfunctional and divided one. Founded by Chinese Syndicalist Party in conjunction with the World Society in 1925 to unite non-Kuomintang socialists under one broad banner, the League hosts plenty of independent anarchists, orthodox Marxists, communists, and others who promote a generally urban-based, libertarian vision for the future. These beliefs had received a major boost in credibility thanks to the successes of the Internationale, but the successive failures of the Xinhai Revolution has disillusioned many and the senior leadership of the League are largely content being the junior partner in the United Front.\\\
They hope to use the Kuomintang revolution as a vehicle for their agenda, playing the long game towards Chinese Syndicalism. Many members have dual memberships with the Kuomintang, further diluting them number of "true believers" and frequent (and increasingly public) infighting has weakened the League's capability for independent operation.[[/note]], Chinese Syndicalist Party - Orthodox (Syndicalist puppet state)
->'''Ideology:''' Syndicalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]A lifelong experience of failing his Confucian exams taught Chen Duxiu one thing that the old order had to go. Centuries of archaic decrepit institutions from the perfidious Manchus simply clogged the progression of mankind especially in regards to the Marxist interpretation of history.\\\
In 1915, he would go on to found the popular journal "New Youth" and joined fellow leftist educator Cai Yuanpei in Beijing where both men lashed out against the perceived backwardness of China and the necessity for a new model, a new method allow China to enter the modern age and reassert herself in the world once more. In Beijing, he was attracted to Li Dazhao's Marxist study group and when word broke out of revolution in France in 1919, Chen Duxiu believed that a syndicalist model was China's natural progression in the Marxist paradigm; the Chinese workers and peasants would lead the revolution against the corrupt bourgeoisie and feudal warlords to save China from ruin. Inspired, in 1921 Chen Duxiu and other prominent socialist leaders gathered in Shanghai to proclaim the Chinese Syndicalist Party (CSP).\\\
When the Kuomintang rose up in 1923, the Commune of France's recognition of the Kuomintang was granted only on the condition that the Kuomintang accept the CSP as a junior partner in the national revolution. Emboldened, Chen and the CSP organised the greater League of Chinese Syndicalists in 1925. However, when the Northern Expedition ended in failure in 1927, the Chinese Syndicalist Party fled alongside the Kuomintang. Chen Duxiu headed for a life of secrecy and exile, changing locations frequently from friendly Guangdong to the narrow alleyways of Shanghai's red-light districts.\\\
Chen Duxiu takes up the mantle of leadership in a time of great strife. Victorious only with the aid of foreign powers, he has distanced his party from the thrice-failed Kuomintang, but nonetheless factionalism persists. The League, even with the Chinese Syndicalist Party, struggles to maintain cohesion despite being on the cusp of victory. Still, although these circumstances are far from ideal, Chen Duxiu is determined to make his vision for China a reality.[[/labelnote]]
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!!''Chen Shaoyu''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_chen_shaoyu.png]]
->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (Radical Faction has most influence of Syndicalists)
->'''Party:''' Chinese Syndicalist Party - Radical Faction[[note]]Zhongguo Gongtuandang-jijon pai: Representing a younger, European-educated generation disillusioned with the CSP's Orthodox Faction, these socialists push for a more active, hardline role of the CSP in Chinese politics rather than merely staying in the shadow of the Kuomintang. To them, the chaos in China is not merely a product of imperialism or warlordism but capitalism itself. Imperialism, business, landlords, the gentry, and capitalism must be destroyed thoroughly and immediately.\\\
This materialistic socialist radicalism has brought them closer towards the RCA, particularly Chen Gongbo's wing, seeing them as natural allies in implementing syndicalism in both the cities and the countryside. Zealous by nature, they reject the notion of any alliance with warlords or non-socialists, and have have a tendency to create fights with more moderate Kuomintang elements.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Syndicalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]\\
Born: May 23rd, 1904, in Jinzai, Anhui Province, Qing Empire\\
Political Career: Chen Shaoyu was born into a poor peasant family and entered Zhicheng Elementary School in Gushi County. He then entered the Agricultural School of Anhui Province which was founded by the revolutionary Zhu Yunshan, who had a profound influence on the school's students - introducing many progressive journals and books. He was also highly influenced by his teacher Qian Xinchun, who would teach Chen Shaoyu about famous leaders such as the martyr Vladimir Lenin and Chen Duxiu. During his school years, he became highly active in the political movement and led boycotts against Japanese and German products and corrupt elections. He formally joined the Chinese Syndicalist Party in the summer of 1924 and participated in the May 30th Movement on the eve of the Northern Expedition.\\\
After the expedition's failure, the newly organised League of Chinese Syndicalists sent Chen Shaoyu to study at the Sun Yat-sen University in Montargis, France, where he was able to master the French language and became enamoured with the "ultra-syndicalism" movement within the Commune of France. It was here that he became a leader of the more radical members of the Chinese syndicalist revolution, those that believe that the revolution must be handled by the workers and unions in its true orthodox form. The radical tone of these politically ambitious and younger Chinese syndicalists has earned them the moniker of being the "Radical" faction and their presence represents some of the tensions that permeated both the League of Chinese Syndicalists and the fragile united front with the Kuomintang.\\\
After a tumultuous opening of the National People's Congress, CSP Radicals staged a soft coup that allowed them to force out their more moderate "Orthodox" rivals, setting the stage for Chen to take control of the fledging government.[[/labelnote]]
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!!''Yi Peiji''
[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_chi_yi_peiji.png]]
->'''Role:''' Premier[[note]]Head of Government[[/note]] (World Society has most influence of Syndicalists)
->'''Party:''' New World Society[[note]]Shijie She: Having met shortly after the Boxer Rebellion, the "Four Elders" founded the World Society in 1906 - China's first anarchist party. Running early socialist publishers like Xin Shiji and programmes such as the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement, they mentored many future Chinese socialist leaders including Wang Jingwei, Chen Duxiu, and Chu Minyi.\\\
The syndicalist revolutions gave them considerable validation but their participation in the KMT's authoritarian leadership damaged their reputation among "true" anarchist circles. The rise of the Chinese Syndicalist Party eclipsed their influence, while their relationship with Wang Jingwei soured due to the growing vanguardist RCA's growing influence\\\
The Four Elders have since clawed back their influence within the Syndicalist movement with protege Yi Peiji as their mouthpiece. Members also include the anarchists Liu Shixin and Bi Xiushao, amongst other libertarian socialists who have been willing to subvert their ideals in favour of national unification. Proponents of Proudhonist class reconciliation and universal harmony, they also insist on a gradual and voluntary moral uplifting of Chinese culture. Although rejecting traditionalism and openly opposing Christianity, they are known to disdain iconoclasm and needless class strife. Ultimately, they are strong proponents of a utopian socialist Chinese ideal led by the KMT under the influence of their World Society.[[/note]]
->'''Ideology:''' Syndicalism
->'''In-Game Biography''' [[labelnote:Click to Show]]\\
Born: February 28th, 1880, in Changsha, Hunan Province, Qing Empire\\
Political Career: The son of a Qing military officer, Yi was inspired by the rising wave of nationalism and anti-concessionism following major Qing defeats in the Boxer Rebellion and Sino-Japanese war. A classmate of Zhao Hengti, Yi later studied in Japan and became a teacher in the post-Xinhai political environment. He joined the Kuomintang in hoping to overthrow the Hunan government, becoming an advisor to Sun Yat-sen. He became friends with Li Shizeng, growing with the Paris Anarchists' "(New) World Society". Yi became their mouthpiece within the League of Chinese Syndicalists, hoping to rally anarchist and syndicalist thinkers closer to the Kuomintang establishment while preventing the party from drifting too close to authoritarianism.\\\
After a tumultuous opening of the National People's Congress, the clever manoeuvring of the World Society allowed them to rally anarchists, dissatisfied members of the League, and Kuomintang remnants to usurp control of the LCS from CSP control.[[/labelnote]]
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%%!!''Xu Fulin''
%%[[quoteright:156:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xu_fulin.png]]
%%->'''Party:''' Dangwài[[note]]Independent and Associated Republicans: The "Dang Wai" or party outsiders refers to those who participate in the Kuomintang's assemblies and Congresses as "independent candidates" but are not members of the Central Committee. As a result, they are hardly relevant to the Kuomintang but they represent republicans who support the platform of anti-imperialism and anti-warlordism but nonetheless, are not nominal members of the Kuomintang.[[/note]]
%%->'''Ideology:''' Market Liberalism