Conference of Apollo
The Conference of Apollo was a meeting held in 1698 AN between the representatives of the states and factions that formed the Jingdaoese Empire and Çakaristan. It took place at a ruin between the city of Xiacheng (Apollonium) and Wonsong.
Background
After the ascension of Chidao Emperor, the Jingdaoese Empire disintegrated, resulting in the Post-Chidao Troubles. In Çakaristan, terrorist attacks were carried out by one of the factions, Seishi rebels. This involved that country and with the consent of the Xinshi Emperor, the Seishi rebels were attacked. Operation: Nae jeevan kee raksha, as the Çakari invasion was called, was successfully completed and the Seishi rebels were defeated. This caused discomfort among the other factions.
Zhang San, who had been captured by Taizong of Seishi and freed by Çakari commandos, made a diplomatic tour of all the factions. The aim was to unite Jingdao again, as the country seemed to be falling prey to Raspur-linked entities. The distaste for the Raspur Pact and discomfort over the Çakari invasion resulted in a conference. That conference took place near Xiacheng, formerly known as Apollo City or Apollonium.
Report on the meeting
Proceedings
Just outside the city, at a ruin on a hill, the conference was held. The ruin consisted of a circular central room. The historic star/sun symbol is engraved in the stone floor. In a three-quarter circle are chairs for all the representatives of the states and Çakaristan, each with a second. Above each of those chairs hangs a canopy of dark red tent cloth. Although the structure is partly missing, the acoustics in the open space are still as they used to be. All invited guests had immunity to attend the conference. And so each delegation arrived at the appointed time.
There was discomfort among the Jing factions present at the arrival of the Sultan of Çakaristan and his chief general, Adarsh Farrah. While other representatives greeted the other representatives shamelessly, the Sultan went around all the factions. A word of greeting and respect was uttered by the Sultan. Then the Xinshi Emperor arrived who actually only greeted the Sultan kindly. Two places remained empty, those of Dalmacija and Xianbei. Zhang San stepped forward and welcomed all those present. "The purpose of this conference is to achieve peace in Jingdao and unite the empire once again. Our former enemies are lurking at our borders, waiting for us to weaken sufficiently. It is now time to stand strong together and resist those enemies. May I give the floor to each representative to speak in the spirit of these words."
The Xinshi Emperor spoke first: "This empire must not fall to internal strife, let this empire be an exception in history. We don't want to end up like Shireroth yet? A fragmented conglomeration of nations. My high regard is for the ruler from the east who defeated the tyrant in the north. If Jingdao unites, and if Jingdao needs a strong leader, it is the Sultan." Other representatives protested those words, but Zhang San ordered silence.
Yoshi Iwao, leader of the Gunbatsu Clique, said, "Foreign troops in our territory is sacrilege! Let alone a foreign ruler on the throne. Only I follow the Heavenly Light. In doing so, fragmentation is even worse than strangers serving the Xinshi Emperor."
Wu Pei, leader of the League of United Jingdaoese Provinces, said, "We strongly support reunification of Jingdao. Only with a stronger role for a democratically elected people's government. An imperial throne may remain, only with a more democratic basis. A new constitution is needed for this."
Li Suyi, Tegong Marshal, said, "The termites of Dalmacija and Xianbei must be crushed. If we reunite, we will use our nuclear weapons against those renegades."
Liang Dumyan, leader of the Kantai-Ha Clique, said, "We are defending the Empire; to do so, unification is essential. Because not only is our country fragmented, so are our armed forces. If we are attacked, we can be conquered piece by piece. See the Çakari victory over the Seishi Clique."
Zhang San invited the Sultan to speak, who initially hesitated. He stood up and stepped forward, "Since the existence of the Ultimate Çakar Sultanate, we have been loyal to the Union of States around the Sovereign Oceans. To this end, we are also loyal to Jingdao. With the fragmentation of the Empire, we reacted with restraint. But when we became undesirably involved, we also acted." The Sultan was interrupted by Li Suyi, who said, "Our information shows nothing of Seishi involvement!" Zhang ordered silence and allowed the Sultan to continue speaking. "Our actions have always been in accordance with the Xinshi Emperor. And now we may rejoice that the Seishi rebels no longer dominate northern Jingdao." Again the Sultan was interrupted, this time by Yoshi Iwao, who said, "Your soldiers, they are treading on sacred ground!"
Before Zhang could intervene, the Sultan responded, "You preferred the Seishi rebels? We are all Apollonians, therefore we are not strangers, but neighbours!" Yoshi Iwao calmed down and sat down again.
The Sultan continued, "For all of us present here, there is no doubt of the risks for as long as the Jingdaoese Empire remains in its current fragmentation. So we must reunite in some way and in a very short time. Only in this way can we together withstand this threat and secure our future. This is also in the interest of Çakaristan, especially now that the USSO has to call out two member states and unrest is looming in Arbor. If we have insecurity on all our borders, then the chances of internal unrest will only increase."
Zhang San thanked the Sultan, as he sat down again. "So we have a common goal: peace on our continent. How can we cash in on that goal in reunification?" There was silence for a moment. "It is clear that we cannot simply return to the situation from the time of Chidao Emperor. Too much has already happened for that. We need to move towards a new future."
Decisions
Zhang San continued with his cautious speech: "In all modesty, I have been thinking of the following: a joint restoration of the Apollonian Republic and the Apollonian Confederation combined with an Imperial Empire. So the new empire has an emperor as head of state, a Grandshire as head of government and a bicameral system. But this new empire is a composite of states, each of which has its own government and a degree of autonomy. This is just a rough sketch."
The Xinshi Emperor was the first to respond after a period of silence: as one of the initiators of this project, she had prepared herself to make the ultimate sacrifice. Before this, she had already rejected political power over Jingdao in order to concentrate on the spiritual and now she suggested for the sake of peace: "Who will be the Emperor then? Because your proposal also implies the incorporation of Çakaristan. I may be young and inexperienced, but provided that I have to focus on Heavenly Harmony, I see the role of my House as rather limited. I look to the King of the East to fill the void. Had I not trusted him and his House in this worldly function, I would not be sitting here now."
Several representatives of the political groups looked around in surprise. There seemed to be a momentary stir among those who had hoped to restore imperial power. Wu Pei, on the other hand, seemed rather relieved that room for political renewal was in the air. Zhang San nodded and said: "Your majesty, your wisdom is heavenly. May I suggest that we take a vote here and that everyone accepts the result of that vote, regardless of the outcome?"
Akbar, somewhat flattered by the Xinshi Emperor's compliment, said, "The incorporation of Çakaristan is not something I want to decide without question. For that, at least, I want to question the people of Çakaristan in a referendum." "That is your right," Zhang San replied. Wu Pei responded and said, "The same or similar referendum I would like to conduct for the League of United Jingdaoese Provinces." "Then we have our first vote," said Zhang San, "we call a referendum on the formation of the empire. Who is in favour of that?" All agreed.
Zhang San said, "Back to the choice of emperor. Her majesty, Xinshi Emperor, has announced her choice." Yoshi Iwao stood up and said, "We follow Xinshi Emperor's choice." He nodded to Akbar and sat down. Wu Pei stood up and said, "We have great respect for the Sultan of Çakaristan. The performance of his troops is admirable. We vote for the Sultan." Li Suyi said, "Out of the need for unity, I do want to vote for the Sultan as emperor." Liang Dumyan said, "Now it is difficult to deviate from the unanimity here. We are loyal to the Xinshi Emperor, we follow her choice".
Then everyone turned to Akbar. After a dramatic moment of silence, he stood up and said, "May I thank everyone for their trust. Of course, I still need to gain some of the trust, but there is enough confidence in the Xinshi Emperor's choice to vote for me. Thank you." He sat down again. Zhang San came forward and bowed his head to the emperor. "As Emperor from the East, may you lead this ancient land, this union, into a new future. Whatever gods you worship, may those gods strengthen you in this task. Long live the Eastern Emperor, long live the Tobu Emperor!" The others repeated the last words.
Articles of Union
At the Conference, a first draft of an agreement was drawn up. It laid the foundations of the new nation. Zhang San was appointed Imperial Chancellor to lead the transitional government. The most important part of the Articles was the prospect of drafting a constitution for the new Empire.
With the acceptance of the Articles, Zhang San proclaimed: "This Empire will be truly great, Great Apollonian Empire."
Referendum (1698)
In 1698 AN a referendum was organised in all states. Xianbei and the Dlamcian provinces initially refused to participate. A military campaign was then prepared to force the local governments to participate.
As Zhang San said: "Autonomy within the Union is a possibility, independence outside the Union is death. "
Joint operation
The joint military operation was led by Jingdaoese officers and the army was a composite of Çakari and Jingdaoese troops.
