Ch.87More and More China

# Sun Yat-sen pondered for a moment.

Recently, the British had actually approached with an offer to sell weapons.

Thinking about it, the possibility wasn’t entirely out of the question.

“So we should accept it?”

“It’s acceptable since they’ve attached the condition that Duan Qirui of the Beiyang Government must completely step down. Though it’s not a complete downfall, he’s agreed to return to the Anhui Clique and promised never to seek the presidency again.”

“Even so…”

What an unsatisfying conclusion.

Just when they were finally gaining momentum.

“We don’t know how long Russian support will continue. Isn’t it good enough that this war has allowed us to remove Duan Qirui?”

Russia had indeed been providing support free of charge until now.

That imperialist nation offering free support? It probably wouldn’t last long.

The United States of Greater Russia would likely try to extract something as time went on. Their immediate proposal for mediation might even be aimed at military intervention if rejected.

If things continued as they were, they could somehow force Duan Qirui out. But now they had to leave it in foreign hands.

The mediation was probably happening because Russia and Japan disliked the intervention of other powers.

But if they refused here, Russia and Japan would intervene militarily.

At that point, instead of forcing Duan Qirui out at gunpoint, Russia and Japan might stamp their seal on a document dividing Duan Qirui and China.

Moreover, Sun Yat-sen knew he didn’t have much time left.

If that was the case, the only option was to conclude matters here and prepare for what came next.

His health had been poor recently, so he needed to prepare for the future anyway.

“Ugh! Huff. I have no choice. I’ll have to accept it.”

After a brief show of resistance, Sun Yat-sen accepted.

“Just as the Tsarina said.”

“What do you mean?”

Mao Zedong, who had essentially become Chen Jiongming’s confidant, asked with a puzzled expression as they left Sun Yat-sen’s office, responding to Chen’s muttered comment.

“Would Sun Yat-sen normally accept this? A man who bears grudges against Japan? Who even says he’ll only take support from Russia without giving anything in return? He’s a man who doesn’t see reality and is swayed by ideals and emotions. He wouldn’t have accepted it.”

Something was wrong with Sun Yat-sen’s body.

Even in today’s meeting, Sun Yat-sen had been assisted by his wife, Soong Ching-ling.

The day the Tsarina spoke of was approaching.

Once Duan Qirui stepped down and Sun Yat-sen died, the era of federalism would truly begin.

“Now that you mention it, his physical condition did seem different from before.”

Yes. Honestly, even Chen Jiongming had been skeptical.

But to think it would come to this.

Originally, he had prepared for the worst case scenario if the mediation proposal wasn’t accepted.

Assassinating Sun Yat-sen, or forcing him to accept the mediation.

Of course, Russia had also declared its intention to intervene fully if Sun Yat-sen didn’t accept, so he had no choice but to agree.

“His days must be numbered. Is the Communist Party ready?”

“Yes. The Communist Party is prepared.”

“We should start getting ready.”

Chen Jiongming and Mao Zedong had been making preparations behind the scenes for that day.

Once Duan Qirui of the Beiyang Government stepped down, that would be the time.

Sun Yat-sen would be gone any day now. Then Chen Jiongming would take the lead in achieving federalism.

And so.

The conflict between the Constitutional Protection Government and Duan Qirui ended with direct intervention from Russia and Japan.

Unlike actual history, Duan Qirui could have maintained real power. But that was as far as it went.

Duan Qirui himself recognized his limitations and agreed to step down from his position in the Beiyang Government and return to being the commander of the Anhui Army—effectively returning to being a warlord.

And then.

Just as they were about to welcome a new government.

Sun Yat-sen reached his end faster than in the original history.

“Huk! Hrgh!”

“Darling! Darling!”

Was it the toll of the Constitutional Protection War? Or the mental strain from the warlord coalition?

Sun Yat-sen’s health deteriorated faster than in the original history.

As his life flashed before his eyes, something occurred to him.

The Tsar of Russia who had intervened in China. The United States. The federalist Chen Jiongming. China, still divided into warlord territories despite being nominally unified.

His mind raced.

‘Wait, could it be!’

Though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, right before death, he felt that all of this was connected to the Russian Tsarina.

That Chen Jiongming had been deceived by the Russian Tsarina and would divide China.

Of course, he couldn’t be certain if the Tsarina in far-off Moscow would really do such a thing.

But one thing seemed clear.

After his death, China would not be unified.

He needed to get up somehow. At the very least, he needed to tell Chiang Kai-shek about this.

Before dying, Sun Yat-sen tried to squeeze out words to his wife Soong Ching-ling about what would happen after his death.

“Darling. Darling. Please say it again. What are you trying to say?”

But Sun Yat-sen, already too weak to speak, departed from this world while looking at his tearful wife’s face one last time.

Many in the Constitutional Protection Government mourned the news of Sun Yat-sen’s passing.

But Chen Jiongming, who saw this as an opportunity, called for Mao Zedong.

The day they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Chen Jiongming and Mao Zedong had been waiting for this day.

For federalism, they needed to tarnish the dead Sun Yat-sen as much as possible.

In other words, while everyone was mourning Sun Yat-sen’s death, they planned to throw cold water on his memory and make people point fingers at him.

Following Chen Jiongming’s orders, Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party claimed from the shadows that Sun Yat-sen had actively accepted the mediation proposal, inviting foreign intervention more eagerly than anyone else.

“Sun Yat-sen knew his days were numbered. He accepted the seemingly reasonable mediation proposal just to claim it as his achievement!”

“Impossible! Dr. Sun Yat-sen?”

“Are you saying he did something that would obviously be exposed?”

“Many within the Constitutional Protection Government are already disappointed in Sun Yat-sen for this reason!”

“It did seem strange that Russia and Japan suddenly proposed mediation and he accepted it.”

The continent heated up over these contradictory truths about Sun Yat-sen.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely false.

Sun Yat-sen had been near death and unable to make proper judgments.

While many throughout China still respected Sun Yat-sen, it was enough to shake the warlords.

Having gathered only because of Sun Yat-sen, their relationships were fragile.

Any of them could rise up at any time to seize control of the Republic of China.

And then. Chen Jiongming, the Guangdong warlord commander, convened the warlords.

Though they weren’t pleased with Chen Jiongming’s summons, the warlords couldn’t completely ignore the call from someone who had been a close advisor to Sun Yat-sen in his final days.

Moreover, Chen Jiongming’s army had been trained into an elite force by Russian White Army advisors.

Since refusing to attend would be tantamount to declaring war, they responded to the summons to see what Chen Jiongming intended.

The gathering included prominent figures from the Constitutional Protection Government such as Wang Jingwei, Chiang Kai-shek, Tang Shaoyi, Tang Jiyao, Xu Shuzheng, Qu Tongfeng, Cao Kun, Wu Peifu, and Feng Yuxiang—even warlords who had fought on opposing sides.

Among them, Chiang Kai-shek, who considered himself Sun Yat-sen’s successor, appeared quite displeased, but he intended to wait until Chen Jiongming spoke nonsense.

So with a face full of discontent, he decided to speak first.

“Listen here, Guangdong Commander, what do you intend to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Now that the Provisional President is dead, aren’t you, with Russia’s backing, going to seize control of China?”

Yes. That would be a good approach.

Honestly, for a moment, Chen Jiongming was tempted by such ambition.

But that wouldn’t be good.

The civil war hadn’t been completely suppressed, and Duan Qirui’s Anhui Clique, though reduced to a warlord faction, was still alive.

If he announced here that he would take control of the Beiyang Government.

If he tried to claim the position of President, equivalent to an emperor in this era.

The warlords would likely storm out of this meeting.

They would probably form an anti-Chen Jiongming coalition, and he would end up in the same situation as Duan Qirui.

If he received excessive intervention from Russia, he would truly be called a traitor.

He wouldn’t do that.

From the beginning, Chen Jiongming had no such power hunger.

Guangdong alone was already the size of a decent country.

Now he just wanted to hold Guangdong, develop it peacefully, and wait for the day when all Han Chinese in central China would hold the name of Chen Jiongming of the Guangdong Clique in their hearts.

The Russian Tsarina would support him not just because she favored federalism, but also to check Japan.

So now he would persuade the warlords with a friendly face.

“I’ll be frank now. The previous mediation was decided unilaterally by the Provisional President. I didn’t even agree to it. And the result, as you can see, was an imperfect end to the civil war, an incomplete central China.”

“You’re suddenly changing the subject. Why is the Guangdong Commander, directly connected to Russia, suddenly talking about this?”

Chiang Kai-shek, bluntly asked Chen Jiongming, who was disparaging Sun Yat-sen and placing all blame on him.

In response to Chiang Kai-shek’s question, Chen Jiongming continued without changing his expression, snorting slightly.

“The Chinese continent is vast and its population is enormous. The very existence of so many warlords is proof of that. Because of the large population, each of you here governs as a warlord a force that could establish a country on another continent. Let me be straightforward. Don’t you all dislike the idea of giving up the power you hold?”

Everyone cleared their throats at Chen Jiongming’s words.

He wasn’t wrong.

If Sun Yat-sen were alive, it might be different, but with Sun Yat-sen dead, the warlords at this meeting had mobilized the forces of their regions to fight against Duan Qirui of the Beiyang Government during the Constitutional Protection War.

Currently, Chen Jiongming’s Guangdong Clique had the strongest position, but they didn’t want to surrender to him the authority they had enjoyed ruling like kings in their respective regions.

So when Chen Jiongming, backed by foreign powers, spoke these words, their ears perked up.

“So?”

“From the beginning, today’s China lacks the capacity for true unification. Rather, wouldn’t it be better if the warlords here each developed their regions until they have enough capacity that even foreign powers cannot interfere, and then establish a unified government to determine the presidency?”

“So you’re saying we should divide everything?”

It was essentially suggesting a return to the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms, or the Warring States period.

But just listening to it, it sounded plausible.

Even if they forcibly created a unified government now, it wouldn’t truly integrate, and it was uncertain whether the regions the warlords cherished would properly modernize.

No, to be honest.

They just needed a pretext.

A pretext to rule their regions like kings as warlords.

“If Sun Yat-sen were alive, we would have united around him whether we liked it or not, but as things stand, won’t we just fight each other? If that happens, intervention by foreign powers is inevitable. This time it was a mediation proposal due to Sun Yat-sen’s foolish choice in his final days, but next time they might demand compensation. So I propose we formally place Puyi as Emperor of the Republic of China and implement federalism.”

“Not a bad idea.”

The warlords agreed with this proposal.

All except one—Chiang Kai-shek.

“Isn’t this saying we won’t unify?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that as things stand, everyone is dissatisfied.”

“Then what are you proposing?”

“Later, we can gauge which region has developed the most. If we decide through elections then, couldn’t everyone accept that? As I said, we’ll have an emperor, so how can this be seen as division?”

There is no division to begin with. After all, all warlords will properly restore the Qing Emperor in form.

Isn’t this a simple solution?

The United States of Greater Russia has small republics, but China will have warlords in the Chinese way.

At least, that’s how Chen Jiongming judged it.

“Not a bad idea.”

With the unanimous agreement of the warlords, Puyi, the former master of the Forbidden City, was formally restored to the throne.

And with the warlords each taking charge of their regions, “for now” federalism seemed to begin.

“This is how China should be.”

Of course, to Anastasia who received the report, it was merely a return to the Warring States period, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, or the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms.