Another World: Naval Storm

"This is the nth time that the people of Xunyang have petitioned?" Leo asked.

"This is the third time!" Dawson replied.

In 1905, the Xunyang court sent five ministers abroad to study constitutionalism. In July of the following year, it officially announced that it was preparing to implement constitutionalism. The bourgeois reformists welcomed it and established the Shencheng Preparatory Constitutional Association, the Fukubei Constitutional Preparatory Committee, the Funan Constitutional Association, and the Qiongdong Autonomous Association. The leader of the royalist faction announced that the Royalist Association would be reorganized into the Xunyang Empire Constitutional Association and the Political News Society would be organized in Kyoto, Japan. In the autumn of that year, constitutionalists from various provinces wrote to the Xunyang court one after another, requesting the convening of the National Assembly and the early implementation of constitutionalism. Some even sent representatives to Beijing to petition.

The court of Xunyang promulgated the "Outline of the Imperial Constitution" and announced that the preparation for constitutionalism would take nine years. This was actually a retreat to advance. A lot of things can happen in nine years. In 1909, the provinces of Xunyang established advisory councils, and the constitutionalists were in the majority. In November, the director of the Suzhou Advisory Council invited representatives of the 11 provincial advisory councils to meet in Shanghai, forming a petition delegation and launching three large-scale congressional petitions.

The first petition submitted on January 1910.1.6, 1913 was rejected by the Xunyang court. The second petition was submitted on May , the second year, and was rejected again. In September, the third petition campaign was launched. On October , the Xunyang court was forced to announce that the preparatory period would be shortened from nine years to five years, and the National Assembly would be convened in , and an order was issued to ban petition activities. Subsequently, the Imperial Cabinet was established, and the constitutionalists petitioned to reorganize the cabinet, but were rejected by the Xunyang court. The constitutional movement thus failed.

"The Xunyang court has lost half of its territory, and it still doesn't know how to advance or retreat!" Leo sneered. The Xunyang bureaucracy has suppressed the progressives. The monopoly of power by the landlord class and the scholar-official group has made it difficult for the reform to proceed smoothly. At that time, most farmers and workers were indifferent to politics and did not support the reformers enough.

Fortunately, from 1911 to 1912, a large-scale revolutionary uprising broke out in Xunyang.

In the summer of 1911, the Railway Protection Movement broke out in many provinces southwest of Xunyang, and the movement was particularly fierce in Sichuan Province. On September 9, Lirong County became independent and became the first regime in Xunyang to break away from the Xunyang court, pushing the Railway Protection Movement to a climax. On the evening of October 25, the Eighth Engineering Battalion of the Xunyang New Army fired the first shot of the Wuchang Uprising. The revolutionaries in Hanyang and Hankou captured Hanyang on the night of October 10 and Hankou on October 10 respectively. After the rebels took control of the three towns of Jiangcheng, the Fubei Military Government was established, Li Datou was elected as the governor, and the country was renamed the Hanyan Republic. Within just two months after the victory of the Jiangcheng Uprising, fifteen provinces including Funan and Qiongdong declared independence from the Xunyang government.

"Indeed, the new troops trained by the Xunyang court in recent years have all defected. It seems that this country is about to be turned upside down!" Dawson also saw it very clearly.

"The new governor has ordered the garrison troops in Qifeng to prepare for defense and let the fleet be ready as well!" The new governor of Qifeng is Mel Wadek. Governor Paul has returned to his homeland due to illness.

"Civil war breaks out in Xunyang, do you still dare to attack us?"

"Remember, this is a strange land. We are renting the land by force. You can say that we are robbers! So be vigilant at all times!" Leo warned solemnly, letting Dawson face the facts. No matter how high-sounding they appear on the surface, they are invaders.

"I wonder how long the Xunyang court can hold out?"

"It will be soon. It depends on how many troops the Xunyang government can still control!"

"Intelligence shows that the commander of the northern army has established his own army and is no longer willing to listen to orders from the Xunyang court!"

"It seems that the end of the Xunyang court is about to come!" Reality came faster than Leo imagined.

On February 1913, 2, Empress Dowager Chongman of the Xunyang court announced her abdication in the name of the last emperor Zhuang Yi, who was only 12 years old, marking the end of Xunyang's rule. It had been more than four years since the death of the old Empress Dowager Xunyang, and she died with her emperor son. Since the death of the two, the Xunyang imperial family could no longer control the devastated empire. When Empress Dowager Chongman decided to announce Zhuang Yi's abdication, the attitudes of the Xunyang imperial family were very different. Some firmly disagreed with Zhuang Yi's abdication, while others fully supported Zhuang Yi's abdication. In the end, it was Empress Dowager Chongman who decided to announce the abdication.

If Zhuang Yi abdicated, the princes and nobles of the Xunyang Dynasty would no longer be able to make money by doing nothing, and would no longer be able to plunder the people's wealth. Therefore, when Queen Dowager Chongman summoned the royal family to discuss the abdication, many princes and nobles were opposed.

The royal family members and others who held an opposing attitude formed the Zongshe Party, and were determined to keep half of Xunyang.

At that time, the Zongshe Party composed of these princes and nobles was a very powerful political force. They were the main opponents of Zhuang Yi's abdication, and their attitudes were very tough. They all insisted on convening and integrating the Eight Banners troops, no longer relying on the Beiyang New Army, and using the Eight Banners troops to fight a decisive battle with the revolutionaries.

Unfortunately, the Eight Bannermen are no longer the skilled warriors of the past, nor do they have the courage to fight to the death. Now, if the Eight Bannermen do not smoke opium and drink wine, they are considered human beings.

Many of the Eight Banners children changed their names and blended into the ordinary people of Xunyang. Who made the Xunyang emperor unable to pay salaries and allow many of the capable and loyal Eight Banners children to fend for themselves? Now if you want to recruit troops, who will care about you?

At that time, the commander of the north was Yuan Duren, who was temporarily recalled by the Xunyang court to organize the Beiyang Army to suppress the uprising of the revolutionaries. However, Yuan Duren was self-reliant and planned to use the power of the revolutionaries to force Zhuang Yi to abdicate. Then he would use the Beiyang Army to suppress the revolutionaries and further control the power of the country. There was no one in the Xunyang court who could suppress Yuan Duren's ambitions, and he also wanted to sit on the throne of power.

Yuan Duren saw that Empress Dowager Chongman was hesitant, so he wanted to add fuel to the fire and force her to compromise and decide to abdicate as soon as possible. Therefore, Yuan Duren sent his capable general Duan Hefei to station troops in Ji San, threatening to lead his troops into the capital to reason with the Empress Dowager. Of course, this was just an excuse. In name, he wanted to reason with Empress Dowager Chongman, but in fact, Duan Hefei led his troops into the capital to force her to abdicate.

"Tell me, what should we do now? You force me, and outsiders force me too. How can we, an orphan and a widow, survive?" Empress Dowager Chongman leaned on the couch, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

"Queen Mother, our ancestors' kingdom cannot be lost in our hands!"

"That's it!"

"We can't give this vast territory back to the Yan people for nothing!" The leaders of the Zongshe Party and the royal relatives in the hall spoke out one after another, and the scene was very noisy for a while. The main ethnic group in Xunyang is the Yan people, accounting for 70% of the total population of Xunyang. Xunyang is a country where the Langya tribe outside the pass took advantage of the internal strife of the Yan people to enter the pass and rule with killing and terror.