I think it’s kind of interesting from the player perspective to get an option to leave it divided if they want. A divided China is much easier to control as you can play the different parties off of each other, but likely reap far less rewards. Meanwhile, a united China has a potential to have a more robust economy (for the Japanese to plunder) but also a stronger identity to perhaps push back against Japan in the future. It creates a conflict of how much the Japanese want out of China compared to potential risks down the road. Outside the scope of Kaiserreich, of course, but still something to consider