Da Qing (Long live the Qing)

The Qing dynasty was saved by a powerful aristocracy. The war against the progressive South, however, has split China apart.The empire controls now the Northern part of China proper, including Zhili(plus most of the Northeast), Shandong, Mongolia and Xinjiang. Da Qing relies heavily on heavy industries and has a remarkaby modern military. It was a modernized military aristocracy that saved the Qing dynasty from its demise; the emperor however, has lost his formerly absolute power and is now an isolated puppet while the state is de facto a military oligarchy. Manchu traditionalists were subsequently muted by the Western-style army. Under marshal Li Hongzhang, Da Qing could sccessfully neutralize the threats of a rising Japan and an expansionist Russia, while several major uprisings (especially by the Uighurs in Xinjiang) were treated with unspeakable brutality. To avoid further ethnical rebellions, Mongolia and Xinjiang were incorporated as provinces. Fearing a pro-Japanese orientation in Korea, the kingdom was also de jure annexed into Da Qing (in 1895). This policy has been described as "internal Imperialism" by later historians. Nevertheless, trade with Germany, Great Britain, France and the US flourishes. In the West, Da Qing is referred to as the "Northern Chinese Empire".