Taiping Empire

Still in progress! This nation is a collaborative project with Isseiryu and Sun Ling

History
A nation made out of governments-in-exile, the Taiping Empire (太平天山聯盟帝國, literally The Empire of the Peaceful Mountain of Zion ) was formed by Holy Emperor Li Jun, who, as the governor of Sichuan, managed to, through the use of landscape and geography, defeat an invading Japanese Force. However, its military deficiency led to the loss of its original capital, Hong Kong, and defeats everywhere outside of Jiameng (the gate to Sichuan). The capital was removed to Chengdu. In the months that followed, many other nations in southeast Asia, fearful of the growing power of the Japanese Empire banded together and formed the Taiping Empire, choosing as Secretary Li Jun. Li Jun, whose specialty was economic war, waged a successful propaganda and economic blockade that avenged their human losses in supplies, weapons and the like stolen from Japanese Transports. When the US, fearful of the growing size of the New Japanese Empire, asked the two nations for an Armistice, both sides were more than happy to oblige. On August 12th, 2003, the two nations signed a nonagression pact. While the Taiping Empire has changed many parts of Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia has molded the Taiping Empire into an interesting mix of Christianity, Chinese Culture, and diverse governments that range from liberal democracies to suppressive Empires. Members of hte Empire are encouraged to marry across racial lines--as the name suggests, August emperor Li Jun had solicited the support of the South Korean Government-in-exile and had married the daughter of president Seung-woo Park. As a precondition, had converted to Roman Catholic Christianity, obtaining the support of the Vatican and the right to be called the Holy Emperor. At a later time, Sun Tziling (孫志靈), a former Chinese Diplomat in China, arrived, and was kept by the Empire as Prime Minster. Sun Ling followed in the next few years by mending relations with Japan, opening up more trade routes and opening friendly relations with Great Britain and Italy. This has increased trade between the two nations. Recently, the Emperor Li Jun was retired in favor for his son, Li Yun (李雲 - 智德). An intelligent ruler, Li Yun has managed to prove himself capable to his rank by bringing the Philippines into the fold of the Holy Empire of the Taiping. However, increasingly, the government has been divided into Pacifists, who believe all is for the best, and radical Chinese and Korean Ministers, who wish to regain their homelands and free their people.

Recently, increasingly nervous of the New Japanese Empire, the Governments of Tibet and Nepal have considered joining the Taiping Empire. This has caused tensions to arise between the Indian Government and the Taiping Government (which has sent military Aid to India). Skirmishes have begun to change into full-fledged battles as Korean Research Teams announce they have reached a breakthrough in the Yinghua Project and will soon deploy the first of two series, the antigravity Tianyang Frames and the Humanoid Baima Frames, though neither have passed Prototype stage. Meanwhile, Taiping troops have begun to enter Indian Territory. Nepal and Tibet, in exchange for autonomous rule both approved resolutions to join the Taiping Empire as member states.

Government
The Taiping Empire is a immense alliance of Constitutional Monarchies, Juntas, Democratic Republics and Empires. Each member nation is ruled in its own way, making for a surprisingly diverse mix of governments, though the leaders of each country are ranked as Lords. The hierarchy for government is arranged in the following way:

Emperor (the leader of the Empire and of all nations) > King (The leader of a bloc, such as President Seung of Korea or the Emperor of Thailand) > Lord (The leader of an individual nation--a Lord who is also a King is referred to as a King. Ex: Governor of Sichuan) > Minister > Governor.

Emperor: Li Yun, Reign name Yong'an

Prime Minister/Director General: Lord Sun Tziling

Dalai Lama of Tibet: Dalai Lama XIV

King of Thailand: King Bhumibol Adulyadej

King of the Khmer Kingdom (Cambodia): King Norodom Sihamoni

King of Burma: General Than Shwe

King of Nepal: 	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia: King Mizan Zainal Abidin

Sultan of Brunei: Sultan Al-Muhtadee Billah

President of Nepal: Lord Ram Baran Yadav

President of Bangladesh: Iajuddin Ahmed

President of Singapore: Lord S.R. Nathan

President of Indonesia: Lord Jusuf Kalla

President of Vietnam: Lord Nguyễn Minh Triết  President of South Korea (Korean Guizhou): Lord Lee Dong-min

President of East Timor: Lord José Ramos-Horta

Prime Minister of Laos: Bouasone Bouphavanh

Governor-General of Chengdu: Cai Wuliang

Governor-General of Taiping Bengal: Sukhdeep Patel

Governor-General of Yunnan: Liu Daixin

Military Hierarchy

"Five Tiger Generals": The name used to denote the 5 most capable generals of the Taiping Empire. They all have an honorary position as Knight and a rank named after a gemstone.

-Yi Jin-Sang: "The Sapphire," a Korean General who not only managed to, during the war against Japan, escort the whole government of South Korea to Vietnam in time, but also later eliminated almost the entirety of Japanese Aircraft Carrier Support.

-Sun Li: "The Jade," Chinese citizen of from Guangzhou who led a guerrilla force that for the whole duration of the war was never caught and caused major transport and communication disruptions to Japanese Forces. Fights best in Mountains and one of the two Female Generals.

-Lai Due: "The Diamond," Vietnamese Air Commander who prevented a Japanese Force from sneaking over Jiameng pass. A skilled commander who strategy-wise is a martinet, but in battle proves to be extremely adaptable.

-Cao Anping: "The Onyx," a former commando trained in martial arts, he is the leader of the Royal Guard and is tasked with defending all Foreign Leaders. Rarely seen in battle, but said to be able to take on a platoon with just his hands.

-Chao Fa (Class II) Chai Vadhana: "The Pearl," Prince who commands the submarine fleets and oversees commando operations. the rich son of a consort, he is also involved in the R&D Department of the Taiping Army.

Economy
The Taiping Empire's economy is primarily trade-based, though it produces enough of its staple food (rice) to export. Despite its best attempts at industrial advances, most of the Empire remains heavily agricultural and production capacity is limited. Due to its electronic defenses, though, the Taiping Empire has a reputation for securing information, and the Data Security sector in the Taiping Empire is extremely strong. In terms of Oil and Natural Gas, the Taiping Empire is limited by lack of oil fields, and frequently imports. As such, its trade taxes are frequently devoted mainly to buying oil. The Taiping Empire uses Taels, based on the unit of currency before the Yuan.

National Policy
Being a largely mercantile nation, the Taiping Empire is averse to engaging in world conflicts, preferring to advance its cause through economic sanctions, well-planned acts of philanthropy or loans in terms of favors. Occasionally, though, the Empire resorts to a naval blockades, which, while relatively ineffective against air, hinders the delivery of large amounts of either weapons or supplies. Many nations have condemned the Empire's penchant to naval blockades as "State-sanctioned Piracy", though allies of the Taiping Empire defend it as "Privateers in defense of the state."

February 8th, 2009
Members of the Chair, Heads of States and Delegates,

I come to you all today as the representative of the Taiping Empire. Some of us, of the Taiping Empire, believe in Yin and Yang, the two poles between light and darkness, right and left, fire and water. If one pole becomes too strong, the other will weaken and eventually vanish as the dominant pole now dominates. The balance of power is of utmost importance. In East Asia, The Taiping Empire and Japanese Empire are Yin and Yang. The Japanese Empire, a nation of kings, is Yang, the masculine, the Rising Sun, a nation which has brought many under its wings. We of the Taiping Empire are the Yang, the Moon, the Feminine—we are not fighters, but we will do so whenever others call for our help. And the peoples of Tibet and India have done so. Years of corrupt governing have, far from improving, gotten worse in India and in Tibet where they have done more wrong to its people than even the original Chinese Government whose corruption led to its deserved demise under the Japanese Empire. As a federation of kingdoms, not as a kingdom, we seek to defend, not to attack, the peoples of Tibet and India, as we protect any one of the citizens of Bhutan, of Nepal, of Korean Yunnan, of Vietnam. And in doing so, we are also ensuring that neither Yin nor Yang will dominate Asia. A united Asia will be problematic to all nations politically and economically, regardless of whose flag that Asia will be under. Provided that the Japanese Empire no longer expands as wildly as it has done, seizing Russia, the Taiping empire has no desires outside of India. We ask that the Japanese Empire now join hands with us in contentment with our holdings, and that the international community refrain from reaching rash conclusions as to our ambitions. Peace cannot be obtained when one nation stands tall over all others. In attacking our forces, Everetti forces are only causing India to destabilize and, even in your success, will you gloat of it in the shadow of the Japanese Empire? I do not say this out of jealousy, but of necessity. The Balance of Power must be maintained.

Defences
The Taiping Empire is protected by the environment and tough terrain. As a powerful trading nation, has a large trade profit that it uses to invest in weaponry. Due to the diverse climates, many parts of the empire are self-ruled, with the only thing uniform being the National Military. The Taiping Empire has strong advantages in Guerrilla Land combat and sea/air combat, but are weak in terms of traditional fighting styles and purely air combat. Having Lost much of China, the Taiping Empire does not have much production capacity for sophisticated production. It compensates by purchasing weaponry from Russia and the West Coast of America.

Military Spending and Technology
The Taiping Empire spends about 30% of its GDP for the Military, a fairly large amount. It can mobilize fully within 72 hours. Each command center, usually placed at 80 mile intervals, is stocked with its own food due to the diverse terrain and difficulties in resupply.

In terms of Electronic warfare, Chinese Hackers remain a fairly competent force that can threaten even relatively advanced web defense systems. On the other hand, its own electronic defenses are not exceptional, if not deficient. There are rumors that research has been done on the study of Psychics, magic and demonology, though these are all solidly denied by the government.

Forces
Ever since the invasion of the New Japanese Empire, the army has reformed into the 太平聖山護國解放軍 or the "Taiping Patriotic Liberation Army", often shortened to "TPLA" The TPLA comprises five main service branches: the TPLA Ground Force (TPLAGF), TPLA Navy (TPLAN), TPLA Air Force (TPLAAF), TPLA Cavalry (TPLAC) and TPLA Support Forces (TPLASF)

Infantry (TPLA Ground Force/TPLAGF)
Standard issue equipment: (Per soldier)

1x M4 pistol - 3 clips 2x Frag grenades 1x COM radio 1x Combat Knife

Standard issue equipment: (Per squad)

1x Flare

Division

A squad consists of six members A team consists of ten squads A platoon consists of twelve teams A battalion consists of eight platoons A brigade consists of six battalions A division consists of three brigades The army consists of thirteen divisions The soldiers in the main infantry army total 1347480. There are several thousand more in reserve.


 * (A sidenote, the REAL PLA (The Chinese army on the Earth we know) has 1.6 million infantry, so this is a decent number.)

Firesquad
Each firesquad consists of:

1x Rifleman 1x Submachinegunner 1x Sniper 1x Medic 1x Demolition Specialist (using things such as grenade launchers, bazooka or the like)

Firesquads are transported in AAV's (Armored Assault Vehicles)


 * Ten firesquads makes a Fireteam, which may be quickly moblized in a dropship.

Sniper Squad
Each Sniper squad consists of:

3x Snipers 2x Spotters (equipped with Machineguns) 1x Rifleman

Snipers are equipped with silenced M99B's. All members in a sniper squad wear lightweight camo-kevlar.

Infiltration Squad
Each Infiltration squad consists of:

6x Infiltrators

Infiltrators are equipped with light bending technology causing them to appear invisible when still. When in motion, a blur is visible. Each one is equipped with a silenced MP5, although they are trained to fire as a last resort. In addition, they may have various equipment pertaining to the specific mission. Ex. Sabotage missions: C4 Information gathering missions: Micro-cameras with live video feed

Heavy Infantry Squad
Each H.I. (Heavy Infantry) squad consists of:

2x Riflemen 2x Machinegunners 1x Sniper 1x Demolition Specialist

Each member is equipped with heavy armor, even the sniper. The demolition expert also carries a MP5 in addition to his heavy weaponry.

Anti-Air Squad
Each AA (Anti-Air) squad consists of:

1x Machinegunner 4x Demolition Specialists (equipped with SAM (Surface-to-air) missiles launchers) 1x Sniper (Using AP (Armor Piercing) rounds)

The machinegunner is mainly for defence against other infantry, although it was chosen due to the machinegun's long range. The sniper's job is to kill the pilot in a  stationary helicopter, or to shoot and destroy vital mechanisms.

Demolition Squad
Each Demolition Squad consists of:

4x Demolition Specialists 2x Machinegunners

This squad just causes carnage in and out of the battlefield.

Anti-Tank Squad
The A.T. (Anti-Tank) squad consists of:

3x Demolition Specialists 1x Mine Setter 1x Sniper 1x Machinegunner

The sniper is only to provide cover for the mine setter, who is also equipped with an MP5.

Para-Trooper Squads
Paratrooper squads are any type of squad, only they are trained to drop out of airplanes.

Elite Squad
Elite Squads are also any type of squads, only each member is a highly trained veteran. It's more of a status or a rank than a diffrent type.


 * Elite Paratrooper squads of any type also exist

Navy (TPLA Navy/TPLAN)
The Taiping Empire retains one of the most powerful navies in the world. There are 4 Fleets, each led by a commander, all of which carry a minimum of 3 Aircraft Carriers. Submarines, a staple part of Taiping naval blockades, are not included in these fleets, most of which are not very well-known. Taiping Carrier-based planes can fight on par with Japanese Empire fighters, though their relatively smaller arsenals and firepower are augmented by superior maneuverability and larger fuel capacities. Marines are a relatively frequently-used part of Taiping fleets, usually landing raiding parties that are used to sabotage. Anti-air defenses are also fairly sophisticated. The Taiping Empire's Naval domination over the Pacific, unfortunately, is because of its land and armored forces' relative deficiency in comparison to those of its peers.

Cavalry (TPLA Calavry/TPLAC)
The TPLA remains relatively behind in terms of armor, most of its tanks imported either from its trade partners in Russia or those in the UK. Even so, its armored forces remain heavily deficient.

Support Forces (TPLA Support Forces/TPLASF)
The TPLA has been experimenting with Yinghuarite (Sakuradite), a synthetic radioactive resource that has proved to be a powerful energy amplifier and superconductor. During a short border skirmish with India, the Taiping Empire revealed the Tianyang, a tanklike armored unit with maneuverability and targeting that would not be regularly seen in an armored unit. However, only two Tianyangs were deployed, one of which malfunctioned. Further elaboration on the Yinghua Project is currently impossible, though rumors include either massive suspended aircraft or humanoid armor. All allegations, though, have been deflected by the Taiping government.

Electronic Support Forces (TPLA Electronic Support Forces/TPLAESF)
The TPLA's massive expertise with network encryption and sophisticated Information technology has led to the forming of the TPLA Electronic Support Force. During a recent battle with Indian forces, a Taiping-manufactured computer virus stymied US-produced air-defense systems and allowed Taiping troops to, for the first time, enter Indian Soil.

Demographic
The Taiping Empire is extremely splintered, but the main frontiers are guarded by large international forces of exiled Chinese or Korean Forces. In Government, Ethnic Chinese, Koreans and Thai tend to dominate the higher-up levels, though diversity increases as one goes down. Ethnically, most of the Chinese now live either in Chengdu or in Singapore. There have been problems between the Burmese in Myanmar, who have clashed multiple times with the Vietnamese, who have been immigrating into Myanmar. Negotiations remain tense.

Flag
Its 8 stars represent China, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, Laos/Cambodia and Malaysia. The eight points represent Unity, Strength, Peace, Honor, Duty, Loyalty, Morality and Filial Devotion. The hole in the center are the lands taken by the Japanese Empire and the Taiping Empire’s desire to defend whatever is left and to regain what is taken and so fill in the hole. Since its alliance with the Japanese Empire, though, the Empire has considered getting a new flag that would be more friendly to allies. At the moment, though, the idea remains purely theoretical. The New Taiping flag was only recently released, but has yet to be adopted.

Anti-gravity
The Taiping Empire has confirmed research on anti-gravity technology, research which has been ongoing during the past six years. The technology to simulate gravity is nearly completed, although in a stroke of serendipety, the Taiping Military Research Department (TMRD) have achieved a method of repelling an object by inducing a flash of gravity in the opposite direction, allowing much higher projectile velocity when coupled with traditional gunpowder. Several prototype models were produced. On the 8th of February, the testing was a success and the technology is being applied to all guns, although it will take a while before it becomes fully standard issue. Currently, only soldiers situated in and near the capitals have this technology, though the military is rushing the application of this technology to the rest of the army.

Cloning
Cloning technology has been researched for the past 9 years. The research department believes they are nearly ready to deploy cloning techniques in hospitals. Imperfect complete cloning is possible, however the clones are currently projected to having a life span of approximatly six months. This process is developed, and the research department is hoping to be soon able to create complete clones. The imperfect clones have weak mindstates, but are able to react to simple commands, making them an efficient boost to the amount of soldiers without having to further waste life, as they are currently similar to simple humanoid robots. This has also inspired work on droids which are able to work efficiently and mostly alone. The government denies plagerizing the idea of the Union of Everett.

Electromagnetic repulsion
A new research is commencing, the TMRD is attempting to create a portable weapon which is able to magnetically fire projectiles. The general idea is aligning electromagnetic coils to accelerate a bullet at extremely high speeds, although currently, it is only possible to create this effect with an extremely large weapon. Two prototypes were fitted on a ship and were tested. Initial testings have failed, although the anomaly has ben corrected and the EMACR1 (Electromagnetic Acceleration Cannons Revision 1) is in testing. So far, these have proved successful and research on a way to reduce the size of this weapon is being conducted.

In January '09, though, South Korean Researchers in Korean Yunnan announced they had successfully created a bomb that, while doing no damage to biological beings, releases an electromagnetic pulse that would shut down almost every electric system. However, it's effectiveness remain unknown. Attempts to load one on the EMACR1 has remained unsuccessful.

=Space Program=

On December 31, 2007, The Taiping People's Space Research Agency (太平太空研究部門 - TPSRA) began construction of the Tiandi (天帝, literally "Heaven Emperor") Space Station and communications satellite to coordinate the hundreds of lesser Tianshi (天使 - Literally "Angel") communications satellites. In a nation such as the Taiping Empire, where communications is the most important thing, the TPSRA receives ample funding for its space program. Like every other country, it has denied allegations that the satellites could be for military purposes. The launch of many new satelites occured on the 9th of Febuary. Though no information was released, the launch was seen by a few people and the information, though obscure, spread. Any information on specifications and cause is not released, nor is the launch known to the general public. Rumors that the Taiping Empire is using a mix of research in Asian demonology, Yinghuarite technology and the new Dummy Plug system to engineer a colony or military ship have been vigorously denied. However, the Taiping did confirm it had developed its first manned and unmanned armed satellites, including the Yi Soon-Jee-classed satellite and the Oracle-classed fighter, both of which are built for space combat. In place of traditional weaponry such as guns (which cannot be used in space), both use a mix of Electromagnetic weapons technology and light missiles. They will be deployed on the Taiping Space Station Zhang Heng, which remains docked outside of missile range. Recently, though, the Taipings have been left in the dust as the Everetti space agency releases the first ever armed space settlement.

=Diplomacy=

Alliances
The Republic of South-East Asia

Pakistan

United Kingdom

Non-aggression pacts
The New Japanese Empire New Lyon the Imperial Nation of Siberia

Hostile
India

Neutral
The Union of Everett Iraqistan Colorado Zulkavita