It is the year 1936, and amity and cooperation form the backbone of China following the admittedly tumultuous Shanghai Conference of 1928, heralded by the resumption of conflict between the Zhili and Fengtian Cliques, however, German money and intelligence proved enough to stall Zhang Zuolin's ambitions, and peace would be restored, leaving two rival governments staring at one another across the Great Wall, one holding the unfortunate burden of restoring the Qing, while the other standing as a fanatical republic calling for vengeance against the old order in honour of the Xinhai revolution.

With foreign companies dotting the coast and spreading their wealth through large-scale infrastructure plans, along with the growing unrest as the KMT does not seem entirely extinguished, China seems to be on the precipice of another disaster as the memories of the Weltkrieg fade, and drums of war beat across the modern world, already exhausted by recession and the sheer loss of life felt throughout the conflict. With a weak Russia in the north, a growing Japanese power in the east, and a fractured and rapidly bleeding India in the south, China has become something of a beacon of stability, though that has come to cost it dearly as tens of thousands of foreigners flood the international legations and the German AOG reaps the profits of their monopoly over the League of Eight Provinces. Generals once contempt to lord over single provinces now hold government positions faced with innumerable challenges as the Qing Empire seems to be on the verge of disintegration every passing day.

Beneath the surface, distrust only continues to grow between Germany and Japan. A fierce war of ideology and espionage is waged beneath Shanghai’s neon signs and in the winding alleyways of ancient cities. Some call for unity, others for Asian brotherhood, and others still for revolution. Across China years of rivalry are only suppressed, not extinguished, and these deep divisions mar an already fragmented sense of unity. The stakes have never been higher, and when the next war comes – which it inevitably will – the fate of China may be decided once and for all.

OOC info

Set in the Kaiserreich universe, this game is most definitely going to only really appeal to a small group, hence why I am not doing anything particularly intensive in terms of mechanics and development. To join, all you have to do is post your top 3 claims (with 1 being most preferred, 3 being least).

Orders aren't split up or anything, with 1 general order covering your actions for a turn (which will encompass roughly 3 months) with a soft cap of 250 words. To send your orders (which are generally written OOC in order to avoid any misunderstandings), simply PM me with KRC - [Faction Name]

Do note, despite the relatively sparse list of playables, this also means players will be able to switch organisations and factions within their playables as the game progresses, and no one is limited to their starting pick.

Playables
Great Qing (Northern Zhili Clique)
League of Eight Provinces (Southern Zhili Clique)
Republic of China - Fengtian Clique
Yunnan Clique
Sichuan Clique
Shandong Clique
Shanxi Clique
Kuomintang - Wang Jingwei's faction
Zhi Gong Party - Chen Jiongming's faction
Mongolia - Ungern-Sternberg's Clique

Stats are broadly very basic and will be provided in this thread when the game launches.

Stats
Template
Country name
Country leader - Ideology, @Player name
Popular support % / Legitimacy %
Army: Size / Equipment / Quality
Economy: Size / Outlook

Key
Ideologies: National Populism, Paternal Autocracy, Authoritarian Democracy, Social Conservatism, Market Liberalism, Social Liberalism, Social Democracy, Radical Socialism, Totalism
Popular support is represented as a percentage, but for internal reference we should assume that any domestically stable regime should have over 20% popular support or it falls apart.
Legitimacy more applies to NPC diplomacy and how easily one can opt a more diplomatic route than simply military conquest; for example, the WRRF would have high legitimacy.
Army size*: Tiny / Small / Medium / Large / Huge
Army equipment*: Obsolete / Dated / Modern / Cutting-edge
Army quality*: Awful / Poor / Average / Good / Exemplar
Economy size*: Tiny / Small / Medium / Large / Huge
Economy outlook*: Depression / Recession / Stagnation / Slow growth / Strong growth / Booming

*relative to the rest of China

Are we doing old DH canon, or the newer one?

Looks like I'm gonna have to brush up on the China lore