Huguang-Zhongyuan (1983: Doomsday)

Hubei, officially the Socialist People's Republic of China, or alternatively SPRC, is a landlocked nation located primarily in pre-Doomsday's Hubei Province, China. Considering itself the successor to both the historic People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan), the SPRC has a complicated relationship with the rest of China.

In a state of undeclared war with the New PRC and Taiwan, Hubei is only beginning to establish diplomatic and economic relations with the other survivor states in China. This is because the SPRC refuses to acknowledge the full sovereignty of the other Chinese nation-states, which Hubei considers to be unlawfully occupying its territory, or as autonomous entities.

Given the current affairs in China, Hubei's unwavering stance may need to change if the nation is to survive the looming threats of the PRC and reborn USSR's expansions in China.

Pre-Doomsday
Hubei was a prized possession of many ancient Chinese states, as the province lay on the majestic Yangtze River, home to the legendary Three Gorges. Hubei was well known to be abundant in agricultural and mineral resources throughout history. The first state to have control over the province was Chu, of the Warring States Period. Hubei was the site of the epic Battle of the Red Cliffs in the winter of 208/9 CE, where Cao Cao's forces were devastated by Liu Bei and Sun Quan.

Nomadic people invaded China in the fourth and fifth centuries, dividing China into north, led by the nomads, and south, dominated by the local Han Chinese. After the Tang Dynasty disintegrated, Hubei fell under the control of several different regional powers: Jingnan in the centre, Wu in the east, and the Five Dynasties to the north. The Song Dynasty reunited China in 982, and divided Hubei into a number of circuits for easier administration. After the Mongols conquered southern China in 1279, the provinces of Hubei, Henan, and portions of Guangdong and Guangxi, were grouped together to form Huguang Province. During Mongol occupation, Hubei was devastated by the world's first epidemic of Black Death, which quickly spread across Eurasia and North Africa.

After the Ming drove out the Mongols in 1368, Huguang was reduced in size: to the point of nearly including all of Hubei and Henan combined. During the last Ming years, Hubei was devastated by rebel factions staking their claims to the Mandate of Heaven. When the Qing took over, they split Huguang into modern Hubei and Henan. Later reforms transformed Hubei into a centre of trade and commerce. In 1911, the Wuchang uprising occurred in the old city of Wuhan, overthrowing the Qing and replacing the centuries old monarchy with the Republic of China. During WW-II, eastern Hubei fell under the occupation of Japan in 1940. The occupation lasted until late 1944, when the Republic of China liberated Hubei only to lose it again when Nationalist forces retreated to the island of Taiwan.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the province was home to infighting between local Red Guard factions. The post-Mao economic reforms did little to improve the livelihoods of the residents of Hubei province, with the eastern and southern provinces outpacing Hubei in economic growth. In the final years before Doomsday, the old PRC began the construction of a subterranean military command structure in Xianning in case nuclear war broke out. However, the complex not prepared enough to survive the events of September 1983.

Post Doomsday
Hubei's capital Wuhan was the industrial centre of mainland China prior to Doomsday. This made it an automatic target for Soviet missile strikes, severing Hubei from contact with Beijing. The cities of Xiaogan, Huanggang, and Ezhou were either destroyed in the blasts or abandoned soon after. Cities that survived the initial effects Doomsday were Yichang, Xiangfan (Xiangyang), Jingzhou, Shiyan, Suizhou, Xianning, Huangshi, Jingmen, and Enshi. A state of emergency was declared instantly, as refugees from Wuhan and the rest of China began to overpower the PRC's control of Hubei.

Initially, the government aided in the construction of slums as a temporary solution to an increasingly difficult situation. By December, the government ceased to function and the People's Liberation Army assumed control of the province. The PLA struggled to maintain authority as the economy collapsed, causing mass famine and unrest. Matters were further complicated as the constant influx of refugees strained Hubei's diminishing resources.

The situation deteriorated further in the spring, as severe weather and nuclear radiation caused mass crop failure across the province. The amount of refugees residing in Hubei limited PLA control to the urban areas. The inadequate health care systems, economy, social policies, and crumbling infrastructure ensured that Hubei had one of the highest mortality rates in the former People's Republic of China. Estimates indicate the mortality rate may have been between 45 and 90 deaths per thousand.

Crisis escalated in the summer of 1984 as severe drought struck Hubei, causing further disorder in the cities. Wildfires struck frequently, often destroying swaths of the slums surrounding areas under the control of the PLA. Between June and August, the PLA was forced to abandon Huangshi, Ezhou and Huanggang due to the risks of severe radiation poisoning, fire, bandits, gangs, and refugees. Xianning fell into total anarchy at the end of August as the PLA failed to maintain control over the looting and raiding, with various PLA, warlord, gang, bandit, local, and refugee factions fighting to secure the city.

On September 1st, 1984, the PLA in Yichang began a systematic repression campaign in urban areas under its control. Rationing became mandatory, as violations were now punishable by imprisonment, beatings, torture, and death. Curfews, effective at sundown, were as strictly enforced. So too were illicit activities like thievery, murder, and public demonstrations. Public acts of violence, particularly aimed at the PLA officials, were punished most severely of all. These acts were deemed treasonous, and punished by firing squad in the cities' public spaces.

Because Yichang functioned as the de facto headquarters of the Hubei PLA, the other cities began to adopt similar measures by the end of the month. Rough estimates indicate that 500,000-750'000 people across the province were arrested, imprisoned, outright murdered, or displaced by the end of the year. Most refugees fled towards the eastern and southern provinces, most likely due to the belief that it would be safest in these regions or as a means to escape China entirely by the sea. However, it is assumed that most refugees were unable to reach their destinations.

It is commonly said throughout Hubei that on February 2nd, 1984, the province was at peace for the first time since the surprise Soviet missile strike. However, the price paid to ensure that peace had alienated the populace, ultimately leading to the PLA's downfall.

Decentralization and Pre-Revolutionary Activity (Under Construction)
By 1986, the PLA was starting to govern Hubei's remaining cities with brutal efficiency. Spring saw the first attempts at the PLA operations to regain control of the province's interior. The PLA met with little resistance in the surviving communities, only encountering roaming bands of nomads, bandits, and gangs in the abandoned settlements and irradiated areas of Hubei. Paradoxically, as the PLA began to accumulate more and more power and resources, the more decentralized the PLA's power structure became.

The decentralization of PLA authority began in earnest by mid-August 1986. Because of Yichang's central position within the People Liberation Army, and as the de facto capital og Hubei Province, the juntas outside of Yichang began to resent Yichang's authority. Officals in Jingzhou and Jingmen were especially discontent with Yichang as the three cities were engaged often in disputes over territorial and resource allocation. On September 23rd, 1986, the general secretaries (also known as chairman-generals or generalissimos) of Jingmen and Jingzhou met at the PLA's headquarters in Jingmen to discuss the possible of mutual assistance to overthrow Yichang's ruling elite.

What became of this meeting is unknown. What is known is that both cities began to actively resist Yichang's orders by the end of the year. Initially, Jingmen and Jingzhou resisted Yichang by lowering production qoutas, refusing to enforce the law, and disobeying or slowing down military operations set by Yichang. These acts would not go unnoticed. While Yichang ignored the two cities' disobedience, the people of both cities were granted greater autonomy, if only temporarily. With the exception of Suizhou, the other juntas began to unofficially support the resistance taken by Jingzhou and Jingmen.

By the winter of 1986, Yichang could no longer tolerate the disobedience of Jingmen and Jingzhou. Their acts of disobedience had become more and more radicalized. On January 1st, 1987, (insert here), General-Secretary of the People's Liberation Army in Hubei, signed a declaration submitting the juntas of Jingzhou and Jingmen to a formal disciplinary hearing, which was set to occur within two weeks of the issuing of the declaration. Both citie's juntas ignored Yichang's demands. Yichang issued a second declaration on January 28th, which was again ignored. On February 13th, Yichang issued a third declaration, calling for the immediate resignation of Jingzhou and Jingmen's generals.

Yichang had not expected the secretary-generals of either Jingmen or Jinzhou to comply. Intelligence showed that both cities were performing unauthorized military exercises and surveillance around the unofficial boundaries around the three city-states. There was also evidence to suggest that both cities were training divisions separately from central command's authority.

The ensuing crisis generated a mix of responses from both the ruling elites and general public of Hubei. While the juntas of Enshi, Shiyan, and Xiangfan prepared for the inevitable civil war, Suizhou recognized that involving it and its people in the upcoming conflict could potentially endanger its survival. Suizhou then began to distance itself from Yichang while enforcing a policy of neutrality when it came to the other juntas. Meanwhile, Hubei's intelligentsia and general public was becoming increasingly apprehensive of the escalating situation.

A small group of disillusioned PLA military officials, intelligentsia, and business owners began to hold private meetings in undisclosed locations across the region, primarily in the vicinity of Yichang, Jingmen, and Jingzhou. Because the information remains hard to obtain, it is not known as to what the meetings discussed. What is known is that what formed out of these meetings became known initially as the Shèhuì Zhǔyì Gémìng Xiānfēng, the Socialist Revolutionary Vanguard.

The Renminjun
After the Valentine's Revolution, the newly liberated people of Xiangfan formed the Renmindahui, the People's Assembly. It was in charge of all national affairs until new institutions could take its place. All through March, the Renmindahui began the process of reconstructing the surviving Hubei region. They set up the Renminzhenxian, the Popular Front, consisting of the former CCP, a new Kuomintang, and a new party, the Chongjiandang, the Reconstruction Party, building hospitals and new schools, factories, et cetera. They also drafted a new constitution, and created the Guohui, the Congress. The next few months saw betterment of people's lives. The Yuan was increasing in strength, more jobs were available, and most importantly, people could have their say and participate in government.

Transition to Democracy
The next two years saw great progress. The mortality rate lowered to 25.7, the economy was back on its feet, a new university was opened, the Yangtze Memorial University, and a new medical centre was under construction, the Three Gorges Regional Medical Centre. But most importantly of all, the Renminzhenxian announced elections running from August 1st-8th, 1990. Thus, the Renminzhenxian folded. The CCP received the least votes, as Communism was blamed for China's destruction. The Kuomintang received not many votes as well, as it was increasingly authoritarian, reminiscent of Chiang Jieshi's old Republic. So the majority of votes went to Lu Banglie's Chongjiandang.

A Nation on the Rise
On August 8th, 1990, Lu Banglie became the first elected Chairman of the Hubei Region. Chairman Lu's first act was to announce the new government independent of the old PRC. It officially became known as the National People's Republic of China, but is commonly referred to as Hubei, particularly in diplomatic situations. He opened up a new position, that of Premier, which is the NPRC's variant of Chancellor or Vice-President. Luo Qingguan of the Kuomintang was offered the post. Together, they would continue the rebuilding and re-aggrandizing of Hubei. The neighbouring juntas of Jingzhou and Yichang didn't tolerate the recent secession of a nation from what they claimed was China. So Yichang sent a force to annihilate the young Republic. The forces of the NPRC won a narrow victory which shook the nation. So Luo Qingquan was declared Dajiangjun, or Grand General. Premier now became a very powerful post in Hubei, heading the government and military. But Luo Qingquan, although heading the Nationalist Kuomintang, never attempted to seize power for himself, remaining loyal to the central government. Between 1990 and 1992, the local militia of 12,634 was raised to a modest 67,300, and was transformed into a formal military, the Renminjun. The Renminjun specialized in mountain warfare, and was centered around infantry and cavalry. During 1994, after the NPRC adopted a new flag, seal and anthem, Luo Qingquan declared a campaign for Hubei, challenging the militaristic "PRC" of Yichang and Jingzhou. After half a year of fighting and a death toll of 34'789, Yichang was conquered and Jingzhou sued for peace. For many years, Hubei remained staunchly isolationist to prevent such a disaster. The next several years saw the reconstruction of a deeply devastated Yichang, and in 1998, after the election (which was also a victory for the Chongjiandang, which from then on is called the Baoshoudang, or Conservative Party) and the lowering of the mortality rate to 22 deaths per thousand, Jingzhou's people finally succeeded in overthrowing the Junta, and defected their decrepit city to the NPRC. By the turn of the millennium, Yichang was on the rise. Major reconstruction of Jingzhou began, and Hubei began a transition to culture and technology as opposed to reconstruction. But tragedy would strike a nation on the rise. On April 1st, 2002, Chairman Lu was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. From that point on, as Lu's health wavered, he lost his political touch, and was hospitalized in July of 2004. After the elections that year, which the Baoshoudang lost to the new Minjindang, the celebrated founder of the nation Lu Banglie succumbed, yet another victim of Doomsday.

The Wang Administration
Following Wang Hongju's inauguration as Chairman, the Renmindahui unanimously voted in favour of keeping Luo Qingquan as Premier.

Government and Politics
The National People's Republic of China is a democratic state entirely devoted to the people. It stresses family values and community, and cultural festivals are a must. All businesses are under government control to ensure that greed will not ruin the country. The country is run by a Congress, the Guohui, which function is to listen to the common people, forward new laws, pass new bills, and in general keep the people happy. The Chairman's job is essentially to keep order and balance, and to approve laws and motions of war.

International Relations
The NPRC had been entirely isolationist until Chairman Hongju's reign, though a delegation arrived from Guangxi in 2000, which was rejected. After the elections of 2004, the NPRC accepted delegations from Guangxi, much to the applause of the people. So far, relations are quite warm. After learning of the existence of the LoN and WCRB, the NPRC is making frantic effort to communicate with both organizations through contacts with Guangxi. Contact with Gansu was made in early 2005, and until the Communist takeover, relations were quite warm. The NPRC is currently attempting to establish relations with Yunnan, ROC, Macau, and Jiangsu.

Political Parties
The ruling party and most popular party currently is the Minjindang, the social-democratic Progressive Party. The former CCP, after receiving a low voting turnout the last election in 2004, was absorbed into the Minjindang in May 2012. Similarly, the Kuomintang was absorbed into the Bouhoudang, the Conservative Party, in June 2012. After the end of the CCP and Kuomintang in Hubei, two newer parties were left. The far-right Quan Zhongguo Dongjing, or the All-China Movement, which believes that the NPRC is the sole ruler of China, and a strong, united front is necessary to destroy the Communist threats from the north. The other party is known as Heliudang, or the River Party. The party is more socialist oriented, but is theocratic. It favours love of nature and peaceful negotiation over war. It supports the independence of Tibet, Manchuria, Yunnan, Taiwan, and Hainan. The Heliudang face ridicule by mainstream politicians, voters and clergy for its support of women's suffrage, which accounts for its suffering in the polls since the early 2000s.

Administrative Divisions
As of September 1st, 2012, a referendum was held establishing three provinces of the NPRC: Jingzhou (Jingzhou) in the east, Jiangzhou (Yichang) in the west, and Hanzhou (Xiangyang) in the north. Much of the NPRC's military-controlled lands is unregistered territory. ==Economy== The province of Hubei is mountainous, yet has a considerable amount of flat plains used for wheat harvest. The mountains also provide for rice terraces. Hubei is also dotted by, apparently, thousands of small lakes and the Yangtze passes through, so there is a significant amount of fresh water. The NPRC makes whatever wealth it has from rice, water, cotton, wheat, tea, electricity, copper, iron, garnet, gold, and borax (a natural, non-chemical detergent), though only in small quantities.

Culture
During recent years, Hubei has experienced a revival of Hanfu fashion and Buddhist ideals, mixed in with a new architectural style originating in Jingzhou: Zhuyi. Zhuyi is a style that combines the sleekness of modernism with the majesty of traditional Chinese architecture. It is gaining strength and is starting to infiltrate areas such as fashion. After Doomsday, as the Yangtze healed quicker than the land, the people of the region have begun to worship the river Yangtze. The new religion has been dubbed Shuidaoism. People worship the Yangtze on September 26th, the date of Doomsday. The founders of Shuidaoism chose this date to symbolize death and rebirth, mourning and celebration, and the annual flooding of the river. To celebrate, people float water lanterns made of lotuses down the river, each having a different meaning, typically wishes and respect for a lost loved one. Incense is burned either in the home, along the river, or at any temple. Shuidaoism is currently the largest growing religion in the former Hubei. The principal temple of Shuidaoism is the Yashuilitan, or the Altar of Rolling Water, a recreation of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, completed in early 2012. The move to build the structure has seen in upsurge in support of the Minjindang.

Science and Technology
After Chairman Lu's death, the NPRC has begun to focus on technology. Currently, the level of standard technology is at a Pre-WWI level. Candles and gas lamps have replaced the electric grid. Many people enjoy it this way, as the power lines were viewed as detracting from the beauty of the landscape. Vehicles and roads are still present, though no vehicles actually work. Chairman Lu simply transformed them into Banglie Buggies: essentially horse-drawn cars.

Military
The NPRC's military is known as the Renminjun. It consists of currently 300,000 personnel when mobilized, which is divided into ten divisions of infantry, with some being specialized to be drafted as cavalry. During peacetime, the NPRC's standing army totals 40,000. These numbers do not include local police forces.