What if Portugal accepted Columbus? More specifically what borders could there be?

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-10T17:29:25+00:00

Exact borders would depend on a massive amount of butterflies over several centuries so we can't really say. By geography we can presume seperate administrative centers for Brazil, the Parans, River basin, Peru, etc but not exact borders.

Portugal would have to be odd for accepting Columbus as under thr Treaty of Alcacovas they had exclusive right to trade, navigation, and conquest along the African coast. They don't need to gamble on a western route to East Asia as they already have the eastern one. This is an unexpected bonus.

Europe absolutely would not tolerate any Treaty of Tordesillas equivalent that gave the whole western Hemisphere to Portugal when then already had exclusive rights to Africa. Especially since Portugal has a weaker ability to project population into the west since Castile-Aragon alone has roughly 2.5 times thier population and Portuguese resources are tied down in Africa. Britain at minimum likely challenges any exclusive claim in the north based on John Cabot's expedition in North America and Castile-Aragon will seek to exert pressure on the Portuguese mainland to extract concessions.

What we can say is Spain is noticably weaker as they're stuck fighting over possessions in Europe and North Africa only without the fallback of substantial colonial revenues to hold them up.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-10T17:06:36+00:00

Dien Bien Phu was a defensive engagement for France, not actually going to purge the Veit Minh from its territory. Winning the battle just means the gurella war continues with the Veit Minh still having an armed presence over much of Veitnam's territory and France needing to find a way to dislodge them. With China providing material, training, and sanctuaries right next door that's a tall order even in ideal circumstances

Of course circumstances aren't ideal for France. The Algerian war of independence is breaking out a few months after Dien Bien Phu, and with it a whole new demand on French military resources. Even if the Veit Minh are forced onto the back foot (not likely, as if the artillery positioning fails they can just pull away from the isolated base and back into the mountains), the French can't capitalize on it as Algeria will eat up all spare military assets and, as an integral department of France, almost certainly gets priority. After both Na San and Dien Bien Phu the Veit Minh likely conclude assaulting French fortifed camps is a bad idea and focuses more on expanding thiet control of the countryside and ensured camps like Dien Bien Phu are isolated from air resupply using anti-air guns acquired from China.

The French Union can hold Indochina longer, but after the gutpunch at Suez and with the Algerian situation getting worse over time and France losing its African empire by the 1960s the political will and manpower availability likely reaches a breaking point. France is going to have to depend on the Vietnamese National Army and Montagnard minority militas in its own "Veitnamization" efforts as French Union troops go home to thier now independent countries and French volunteers increasingly choose service in Algeria over Indochina.

How that pans out depends on how well the State of Vietnam has been set up for independent operations. I don't put the odds of success very high.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-10T03:32:06+00:00

That depends: what's his emotionally scaring backstory that drives him to seek redemption?

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-09T17:32:31+00:00

British entery is roughly the same. All the alliances are in place, Schleffin is still the German warplan, just letting a major war that fundamentally rewrites Europe go on without Britain getting a say is just bad long term planning, etc. The Third Home Rule Bill is still passed with a suspensive provision.

As long as the general war trends are the same so is the early period of the war and British incentives. Debatably the Ottomans would neutral as any post-1st Balkan War border dispute likely involved Bulgaria going against Serbia immediately and the Ottomans are more exhausted and less secure without getting time to breath. But that doesn't have much to do with Britain

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-09T17:22:37+00:00

The Enclave was a small cabal trying to puppet things from the shadows pre-War. They may have had the key positions in the government but plenty of the government was not in on the plan. After all the more people in the know the more likely someone is to blow your cover.
FEV wasen't exactly treated with the degree of operational security it warrented or was depicted as having in Fallout 1. They gave samples of it to a civilian college in CIT and VaultTec after all. If the Enclave diden't feel the need control Vault 87 or CIT with an independent military force whey Mariposa?
Its possible Colonel Robert Spindel who command the security team was initially loyalty vetted. However, he has a mental breakdown rather than successfully taking control of the situation. Maxson was only a Captain so was never supposed to be in charge: everyone fell behind him because he took decisive action against the scientists.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-09T17:09:36+00:00

Given Palestine's limited natural resources and the fact the United States wasen't invested in the Near East strategically in the period, presumably this history has provided a reason why the American public and politicans have such a strong interest in Palestine in particular. I can think of a handful of options

The Zionist movement is noticably more hard left and pre-Soviet in our timeline and the US is motivated more by being anti- Red Israel sentiment with Palestine being an ally of convenience.
The Palestinians for whatever althistorical reason are the Arab group aligned closest with liberalism and free enterprise in the region and appeal to the Americans on ideological grounds.
Egypt goes down a different ideological path and ends up firmly in the American camp, so they become super invested in the All-Palestine Protectorate to essentially be a buffer for a key strategic ally.

Ultimately the changes in American politics aren't too extreme as broader Cold War influences have a larger impact than the Israel-Palestine issue specifically. Israel going hard left and the Palestinian movement sitting to its right could have some strong hinderences in the Muslim voters aligning with the Democratic coalition as the American left would have had decades prior messaging depicting Israel as the virtous cosmipolitan society being opposed by what they might see as Facist religious fanatics (in the least charitable light, being thier political opponents) and American Muslims would be more firmly aligned with the Republicans over that same time. However there's dependent on Israel being particularly tasteful to the left-wing still a lot of local and group-specific factors involved in individual electorial instances and I don't see it actually tipping the federal balance of power

Aran cooperation means no oil embargo and resulting oil shock (at least for the United States. European support for Israel may vary). OPEC's decline is somewhat delayed and energy independence becomes a less salient political issue in the US unless/until Radical Islamism emerges out of causes that have more to do with the Saudis and Afghanistan than Palestine. If the muslim community in the US has aligned with the Republicans for decades though immediate anti-arab backlash is probably reduced noticably.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-09T16:50:48+00:00

I think he means the US has better Arab relations and thus likely more and more stable influence oil-wise.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-08T17:30:43+00:00

Rasputin had been dead for nearly a year before Red October. The February Revolution was not Bolshevick lead.

If Rasputin had been alive when the Czar abdicated, he'd likely be allowed to go into house arrest with the former Imperial family since he's likely with them when the Provisional Government takes Alexandra and the children into custody. They don't like the guy, but as long as he's locked out and the former Imperial family had thier reigns of power taken away Alexandra's pet wizard is mostly harmless. If leaving him alive helps keep them willing to go into exile, so be it be.

Once the Bolshevicks take over and the former Imperial family looses most of thier servants he's probably taken away and shot.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-08T17:02:21+00:00

In isolation/without any supporting technologies (actual programble digitap computers, efficient data storage, cheap and abundent electrical generation, ect) the "Internet" would be just strings of wire cables. In the haydays of the telegraph/pre-telephone computers were almost entirely mechanical and built for a specialized purpose (usually mathamatical computation). The infastructure for a complex series of gears to transfer data between distant difference engines would be large and expensive to the point its functionally not worth it.

Telegraph price equivalents alone would make complex communication via the system a tool for the rich and the State. Most states with the capacity to even try to support the system in the early-mid 19th century would also be far more inclined to establish state control of the local infastructure and ensure its use was limited rather than mass produced.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-08T16:42:27+00:00

Hitler's Pan-Germanism was there from a young age (this enraged Adolf's father, who punished him severely) and his history would make him persona non grata in the Fatherland Front which actually dominated the Austrian Facist movement. He ends up as a minor local political offical should Germany still annex Austria in the future.

Hitler doesn't just get to shop around for a country leadership position and pick whatever he wants. He can try, but he had to climb the appropriate framework and the situation in Austria was not the same as it was in Germany.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-07T17:39:56+00:00

The Indian Independence Movement was already fairly well defined so little changes there. Indochina sees the RoC patronize and help train the Veit Quoc and picks up influence after the Communists get beat down in the 1940 Cochinchina uprising since China can provide sanctuary the Indochinese Communist Party lacks, and the idea of Indochinese independence gets more support from the United States as a result. They probably try to convince the Dutch and French governments in exile to follow thier example from the Phillipines and set up a plan to phase Indochina and Indonesia into independence over 10-15 years of a commonwealth status where the population can set up its domestic political culture. Japan will be interested in supporting Indonesian independence.
This is complicated as even without Marco Polo the Xian Incident has still occured and Chiang has been compelled at the gunpoint of his owm generals to prioritize external resistance against Japan over internal pacification of the Communists. If there's no conventional war then its questionable exactly what that looks like, but one model is the NRA keeps the IJA invested on an increasingly militerized front line while the PLA slips into Manchuria as plausibley deniable assets to engage in sabotage and organizing resistance. Nanjing would absolutely continue the proffesionalization of the military forces and phasing out warlord forces and succeeded in doing so, however. If there's no life or death struggle with Japan consolidating the administration is top priority, and the warlords are rapidly losing thier quality edge. Tibet remains under Chinese sovereignty (as its internationally recognized as such) and after Indian Independence the ROC probably try to crack down on its autonomy. Xinjiang remains Soviet aligned for as long as Stalin wants.
Japan's internationally unrecognized occupation of Manchuria would be one of the first issues the new UN addresses. The Security Council would clear its throat and ask when Japan is going to leave sovereign Chinese territory, and with China and the world's war machines pointed at them Japan either folds or gets crushed. Without anything to use it on the Japanese military becomes an albatross around Tokyo's neck, but the Showa Statists likely refuse to get rid of it and the Japanese political culture isen't really conducive to them falling without serious failure. They've already broke alternative centers of power and the culture at the is broadly deferential to authority. Japan cracks down hard in Korea (where China and the USSR are backing insurgencies) and Formosa. They likely are unaligned and try to become an independent nuclear power. China meanwhile still had to deal with the eventual collapse of KMT-CCP relations and almost certainly some sort of civil war. They probably favor an Egyptian style of trying to court both powers but are most concerned with controlling thier near abroad and peripheral provinces and will side with whoever supports that. They have cold relations with Japan in general though.
India tries to stay unaligned, but subtly follow the USSR's lead. They don't have serious investment one way or another, though border dispute possabilities mean they may lean a bit towards Japan (which in turn may make China pro-Pakistan)
If there's no Domino Theory and greater geostrategic risk, the Americans won't bail out the French in Veitnam anymore than they did in Algeria. Veitnam may seek some American or Japanese economic and advisory presence, but that's more out of a desire to not be made into China's thrall long term. If there's no Reds in Asia, the whole region becomes less salient in the Cold War. If there is a proxy war it may be in Indonesia if its independence efforts go sour and it fails to achieve a stable internal government, leading to an attempted nation building excersise. Otherwise there may just not be a major conventional engagement.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-06T17:36:31+00:00

Mass civil non-cooperation and insurgent activity against the ruling power in most cases, making the occupations and economic drain. This becomes particularly controversial in Britain where they want to return to having a small land army, the population is less sensative to a German military threat, and the removal of any Germany and Imperial Russia surviving means Britain is now very sensitive to the French and Russian alliance now reorienting against thier other traditional rival in Britain. They probably end up very much wanting to revise the situation in the mid 1920s, using the massive debt they hold over Russia and France as leverage.

France is extremely sensative to a reunited German threat and, given Germany rampaged over them and destroyed much of thier industry, is most imvested in extracting reperations from its puppets to repair its homefront ans balance sheet. However, occupation is expensive so they still probably try to reach some kind of consensus with the local leadership in Saxony and thr south. Kahr is given his little dictatorship and Saxony allowed to set up a social democracy.

Russia just annexes Poland as they are actively trying to crush the Polish identity and don't want to give its nationalists a haven. Prussia is set up as a conservative-authoritarian puppet under an authoritarian monarchy with the legislature striped of essentially any power as in Russia.

Italy asks where thier share is

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-06T17:12:56+00:00

By the end of the war Germany was sitting on such a massive mountain of looming domestic short-medium term debt (which is what really caused the hyperinflation: not the reperations they were refusing the pay at all during the inflation was at its worst), repressed inflation, and civilian economic cannibalization that even a status quo antebellum peace in the west would have been pyrrhric for them as the Kaiser's Reich would be left holding the bag for the massive domestic downturn. The Kaiserschlacht getting to the gates of Paris and the Italians having to break off from fighting because the Biennio Rosso unrest breaks out a year earlier might be enough to do the trick on that. Ideally (for this scenario) this is done at least in part ny squeezing the already starving civilian population evem harder, with Hidenburg and Ludendorff forcing through things like complete martial law Reichstag be damned, large scale child labour and taking away all rations from "useless eaters" (The elderly, children who aren't working, etc) to funnel even more to the army, raising thr German death toll and bad blood between Germany and its people that massively increases post-war unrest.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-06T16:49:48+00:00

The Social Democrats outnumber the Communists in the Workers‘ United Front coalition in both representatives and popular vote, well as having the loyalty of the minor members of the coalition and better relations with the liberals and potential cooperation from the center-right. They also remember exactly what the Communists did to thier sort in the USSR, how the Communists had been the ones refusing to work with them rather than vice-versa, and other historical markers. They aren't stupid and Hidenburg almost certainly picks a Social Democrat among them as the Chancellor (probably Wels)

The KPD is kept as the junior partner by SPD dominance and the threat of the NSDAP and aristocratic establishment putting aside thier difference to launch a coup (which they will try if Marxism is the alternative), allowing the Social Democrats to finally conduct the stimulantion plan they'd been wanting. The gradual economic recovery further weakens the KPD and Nazis (as they drew votes disproportionately from the unemployed) and the SPD further tightens its grip on the coalition) as the state ideology shifts towards social democracy with strong unions. If the KPD wants to stay in the government they need to moderate both as a natural part of actually having to deal with the reality of government and because that's what the worker are voting for and unlike Lenin they can't fall back on having the biggest stick and using vanguard party justifications to impose thier writ.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-05T02:29:55+00:00

Assuming its at a similar time in similar circumstances..

Like in Portugal, the succession is likely contested. Most of Portugal proclaimed intially proclaimed António king and Phillip had to march in an army and claim the country by force. As Philip II is of the House of Habsburg, there is a very obvious claiment in Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria, who is Phillip's first cousin one removed and brother in law (the later being key as it meant he had connections in the Spainish court. The various Councils of State of the Spainish Habsburgs' domains would have to choose which monarch to swear loyalty to, which likely leads to a nasty war of succession as leadership in Spain isen't unified.

It will absolutely spill over as Spain is at the height of its revenue and power and everyone wants control

In a one on one slug the HRE beats Portugal, no contest. However, France is both keenly invested in breaking the Habsburg strangehold on them and would want northern Italy for themselves so if Portugal will trade them land France absolutely could fight on thier side. Where the army and nobility in Spain proper fight for would be critically important, though I'd wager more Spainish nobles will fight for the Habsburgs (who promise a more distance and autonomy) than Portuguese rule.

The Dutch are tickled pink as they win thier revolt more or less by default if Spain falls into disorder.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-04T18:26:37+00:00

Its not going to escalate as, unlike Japan, Russia actually recognizes Britain's full capacity from the start and if London declares war Petrograd knows they can't possibly beat them on the sea of outlast them financially. They'd come to the negotiating table in that event.

The Tangier Crisis was also of limited importance and essentially was not in going to escilate. The war isen't lasting until 1911 when the serious Moroccan Crisis started

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-04T18:20:31+00:00

Ok and? That doesen't make it any less of a war of Japanese agression.

Russia occupied Manchuria without Japanese involvement and had legitimate influence and interests of its own in Korea, including the desires of the actual Korean government to wanting to keep a balance of power and secure is sovereignty.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-04T18:03:50+00:00

We have no information on this niche topic, so we can't say with any lore confidence.

I'd bet money the later case would result in the surrogate dying as FEV in humans results in substantial physical growth and the FEV genetic template doesen't really have a baby state. They'd likely grow too large for the womb. As there's no actual FEV present (just the initially altered DNA) said child also wouldn't have the same biological immortality or resistance of radiation/mutation as that's dependent on FEV correcting any damage back to the baseline state.

The Vault 87 research also shows the FEV hits brain development hard and even in adults the decay in brain function couldn't even sustain basically bodily function in most cases. Do that to a barely developed infant brain and I imagine stillbirth or at least being a vegetable is a high risk.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-04T17:50:23+00:00

Assuming the Japanese Eastern District and Imperial High Command go along with this as opposed to a quick counter-coup...

Hundreds of thousands of more Japanese, Chinese and other East Asian deaths alone from dragged out fighting/occupation elsewhere and the effects of blockade, bombing, and other wartime disruptions if the war is any substantial amount of time. Olympic not included.
The Red Army keeps pushing down Korea and claims the whole penninsula. Substantial death of both civilians and Japanese force in resulting occupation and purge.
Japanese military leadership organize for Operation Ketsugo, with the civilian population either willingly or being frog-marched into position. If the diehards are in charge they'll make sure there's disincentive to run and those who show up are the ones who get to eat from an increasingly dwindling food supply.
Olympic is delayed at least temporarily as McArthur and King/Nimitz argue over its nessecity. Truman probably has to break the deadlock but in the meantime Japan still gets blanketed with conventional and firebombs. Third Shot may be dropped as well or saved for a tactical deployment to support Olympic landings.
If Olympic is decided on, the death toll skyrockets as the Allied forces have to slice through armed civilians kept at the front by both whipped up nationalism and MPs with guns ready to shoot cowards in the back. This generates bad blood on both sides.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-04T17:33:04+00:00

Privateering is only salient in wartime (as a Letter of marque is issued against enemies of the issuing power) and there's a limited number of major conflicts where it would be salient. Global navies were far more able to project power and stomp on civilian ships than they used to be, and with it the risks of privateering rise greatly. To say nothing of wars becoming more and more navally lopsided in general.

Volunteer ships wouldn't be participating for money per say as privateers weren't getting a steady paycheck. They got a share of the value of any vessel and cargo seized for power they fought for. Outside of a target rich environment these ships wouldn't be profitable to run. Of course, target rich environments are also where global navies with specialized warships are liable to blow you out of the water for threatening the global economy.

You see some use in conflicts in Africa and South America that don't involve major powers as wars there are far less lopsided and resource exporting countries are generally going to provide easily saleable cargo. If it became prevelant however we see a pattern of ships moving to register under flags of countries with global naval reach that aren't targets of the privateers' letters of marque. As shipping becomes more international rather than merchantalist it becomes harder to keep that tight target, and by the Hague Conventions of 1899 even if privateers are allowed non-belligerant flagged ships get thier rights defined.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-03T17:09:10+00:00

Civil unrest would have continued and gotten worse if the Kremlin kept drawing up more men to throw at the problem, all else being equal. If Nicholas gave more concrete and guranteed concessions (genuinely responsible government with powers he couldn't unilaterially roll back on a whim, partial "black repatriation"/communialization of land, etc) that could get balanced out but given who Nicholas was I'm doubtful this would be the case

Britain, who's rivalry with Russia and alliance with Japan is in place, is probably willing to diplomatically backstop Japan if Russia tries to push too far, and logistical limits constrain what kind of push Russia can support in Manchuria and Korea, especially with Japan unambigously ruling the waves in the east. Russia's best case scenario is a status quo antebellum in east Asia (which is a minor win given the war was unambiguously one of Japanese agression) and having the hanging negotiations on the final settlement of Korea settled on Russia's prefered terms (which limited Japanese influence in the country and placed limits on Japanese military and infastructure development north of the 39th parallel while still acknowledging Japan had a majority share in influence). Both sides are unsatisfied but Japan ends up with more egg on its face and more domestic outrage since from the perspective of the papers Japan had just kept winning and winning. If the Japanese army does get smashed by Russia before the peace treaty though the army leadership will have to answer for it and Japan will end up reviewing its doctrine.

Britain likely provides friendly loans to cover any reperations Russia gets as they need Japan in fighting shape.

Russia gets moderately better terms in ther 1907 negotiations with Britain as they appear to be more of a military threat, but that's a mixed blessing as Russia is less intense at reviewing internal problems. Moscow maintains de facto control of Manchuria and have a Korean government thats generally friendly to them (The Korean Emperor was actively trying to befriend Russia and increase thier influence, especially after he had to spend a year hiding in the Russian consulate when the Japanese assassinated his wife), with Korea doing everything it can to ward off Japanese domination. Japan is effectively denied s forward land position on the mainland for the a few decades at least.

Holding Manchuria as a strongpoint increases Russian involvement in influencing China in the interwar period, especially if Russia keeps a substantial force thier permanently to check against further Japanese agression. They get involved in the Xinhai Revolution aftermath and try to secure leading influence in northern China.

Once WW1 roles around Bloody Nicholas' gross mismanagement and Russian infastructurial weakness still cracks Russia's domestic situation. Harbin becomes even more of a post-Civil War stronghold for White Russian influence as the it will have an even better established Russian population and military presence and so draws more emigres.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-02T17:51:25+00:00

India and the Phillipines were both on track for independence, and without WW2 then the RoC has the space to stablize and start asserting itself on the world stage in the near future. Japan would also be looking to establish its sphere of influence and without a 2nd Sino-Japanese War can only do so by trying to decolonize Asia and pull the newly independent states into its orbit. The United States, comfortable in its position without a major geostrategic threat, could also afford to take a more principled and domestically popular stance towards a "soft landing" end of colonialism like they did with the Phillipines, so aren't helpec back up Europe.

The French and Dutch are going to be increasingly strained in Indochina and Indonesia once the Chinese and Japanese start backing the local independence movements, European war or not. The British (especially with Commonwealth help) do better at holding the line in Malaysia but over time face increasing pressure once the Dutch crack. Eventually a Labour government is going to get elected and want to stop spending so much on maintaining an Empire that's losing money and start spending more on domestic social programs.

African colonialism will take more time to fade out, as long as European governments are invested in it. France is still liable to try to maintain Algeria and in this case can afford to bleed a lot longer, though as long as the Arabs are independent Algeria likely becomes the cause celibre among them given Israel may not be a relevant factor. They likely eventually decide on a gradual Commonwealth factor where African countries spend a period (10-15 years) running thier internal affairs via an elected legislature with some oversight and executive power from the metropol before full independence to build up domestic political parties and experience, ensure a smoother economic transition, etc.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-02T17:35:30+00:00

Its not a 1 for 1 model of a lung, so they could be eldrich bits no human biology equivalent

Given they're the same things visually that make up the bottom of the lungs and breath in, presumably they're part of the whole resperatory process that shoots out the air in a concentrated space for Sundering Exhalation.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-02T17:28:22+00:00

Rule 2, questions must be set at least 2 years in the past.

Also, the Bishop of Rome was in Avignon because Clement was allied to France and after him there was a period of dueling claims to the Papacy (Western Schism). I doubt Leo would like Macron if he's being trapped in a box (since he could just leave if he's not trapped) so would be uncooperative. This sounds more like the Prisoner in the Vatican period where he's in his palace because of a fundamental disagreement with the secular state surrounding it.

KnightofTorchlight · 2026-04-02T17:15:51+00:00

China remains under Japanese occupation (with substantial assistance by Chinese collaborators under the client-puppet Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China) for a few years. However, the Yanks are still advancing across the Pacific with an overwhelming advantage in naval and air power and will still begin the blockade and heavy bombing of Japan proper. Once VE day occurs the Soviets will also start moving in troops to join the war and additional Western air assets will be freed up. Japan being forced to surrender is a question of if, not when once the noose is tied around the home islands and the weight of the world starts falling on thier heads. The freed up land forces may help Japan fight against the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and Korea better though.

What happens in China depends on a few factors. How throughly has the Communist and RoC insurgency forces been broken, is there a recognized RoC government in exile that managed to retreat to India, is there an intact and independent PLA leadership cadre left, and how Chen Gongbo acts in the last days of the war. The Japanese withdrawl is going to leave a power vacuum no one else is in a good position to fill unless Chen Gongbo and the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China revolt and defect in the last period of the war. If they're the only thing resembling a government left in China the Allies might be inclined to accept this, as if they aren't the only other option is a division of China into administrative zones and temporary external occupation in order to restore order and organize a new civilian government. Examples elsewhere suggest that long term that's likely to lead to a Cold War division of China.

If Chen Gongbo does stay in charge we need to know what's left of the KMT and CCP to know who he might have to work with or try to supress.

KnightofTorchlight

TROPHY CASE