Novy Zhongguo

History

Near the beginning of the mad rush for territory and space colonization, China and Russia both had their eyes set on a world near the edge of both their territories. Known as Shouzhi to the Chinese and Chasovoy to the Russians, it was positioned just before a gulf of space on the other side of which lay virgin world upon virgin world. The little gem twinkling in the vastness of space would be a perfect manufacturing center for the legions of ships that would be sent out to plunder the resources of the breadbasket that lay across the gulf.

Unfortunately, both powers wanted it for their own. Rather than get into a war that would result in massive losses for both sides over one planet, they decided to share – and thus the Bisection Treaty was signed. Each power would get one half of the planet, divided at the equator. As on Earth, the ‘north’ side was allotted to Russia, and the southern side was allotted to China. The treaty wasn’t without its detractors, and the tension was such that the demilitarized zone around the equator was expanded year after year to no avail. Skirmishes were constant, and the planet was barreling towards a tipping point.

Then, the Breakdown happened. The fledgling colony was cut off from all its supply lines, the Chinese ships unable to reach the planet and the Russians too caught up in trying to hold their own territories together. The planet had yet to develop its own infrastructure very far; starvation and struggle became rampant after only a few days’ worth of no supply shipments. This was just the spark that was needed to ignite the bonfire of conflict. Outright war erupted between the already-tense nations. Shouzhi used their few walker suits and larger mechs sparingly, but Chasovoy’s population was largely made up of those who had modified themselves into more posthuman bodies, far more suited for war than the average shaved ape. They quickly gained the upper hand, forcing China to mobilize more infantry. The balance of power teetered back and forth for a while, until supplies of ammunition and other weaponry began to run out. The two nations reached a stalemate and focused on building up their infrastructure, and once more the cycle repeated over and over in a planetary arms race, pausing only for each side to rebuild and develop. It seemed as though they would carry on like this until both nations were wiped out to a man.

Then, like magic, the shipments started rolling in again and with them, news of the outside world. The cause of the colonies’ abandonment had been a terrorist attack that disabled the dust-reliant FTL travel of Chinese ships. A simple hack had thrown them into thirty years of war – and what was worse, China and Russia were coming to reclaim their colonies, with all the power Russia had gained after thirty years of being able to travel the space lanes. The planets they had been meant to seed, too, had been taken over – a newer threat had arisen next door, that of the Magnates. The colonies were suddenly surrounded with threats that would certainly wipe them out were they to remain at war with each other… and would likely destroy them if they were allied, as well.

There was little choice but to make another agreement. The Treaty of Novy Zhongguo – the New Middle Kingdom – was signed into being, and the single nation could get to the business of preparing themselves for war.