The Golden Road

[Hadash]

Imperial Kingdom of Hôinôm | Elva, 1596

"Things may change sooner than we expect or plan...we must be prepared", Hông said.

"I can't see why", Cào replied. "I rather focus in other things. It's too early to think in that. I can't understand why I must stay here".

"It's better that way", Hông said. "Too much freedom is not always good for the nerves".

"Here, I can't do many things", Cào said. "I would like to live, experience and learn new things. We'll have time to think about the future, but not now".

"On the contrary, I feel you experienced too many things already", Hông replied.

"Mother", Cào said, "...I feel that's not fair. I did no wrong. Did I commit any crime? We were only...?".

"Are you stupid?", Hông asked without waiting for a response, not allowing him to end his sentence. "It's not a game. There are things that we are not allowed to do. Can't you think in the consequences? It's not just about ourselves".

"But why can't we move forward?", Cào said. "I understand our position. But I don't want to live my whole life for others, mother. At least not now".

"It's not something we may choose", Hông replied. "You must forget about that. There are things that we control and things and that we don't. That's not one of those things that we do".

"Mother, you don't think to understand...", Cào replied. "I am not prepared for that kind of life...I don't feel joy in living for others. Maybe it's not the kind of life that I'm prepared to live. At least for a while".

"It's not up to you to choose", Hông replied. "Eventually, you get used to it. It's time to move on and prepare for the present instead".

"That's all for now. You can go now", she added.

[Hadash]

United Republic of Tieguo | Fein, 1599


Discontent against Tieguonese government had slowly grown up in the last years. Military intervention had drained more resources than expected, forcing Tieguonese government to reduce the budget in several key ministries -although defense budget had kept increasing-, and tensions in the region had reduced direct foreign investment. While the economy kept stably growing -although at a much lower rate compared to the last decade-, living standards were starting to stagnate, prices considerably increasing, and national consumption decreased, along increasing regional inequality.  Premier Chen Ming Lu's government tried to improve the situation with a number of "modernization reforms" which aimed to improve the economy by increasing productivity and competitivity, while praised by Tieguonese elite and foreign investors, became highly unpopular between students, independent merchants, and state workers.

Student protests had been going for already a few months, demanding to the increase of tuition fees passed by the parliament. Despite the state repression -about one thousand students had been detained at one point, according to local sources-, the movement had grown up into something larger, although chaotic. Workers from state companies facing lay-offs or reduction of salaries joined the protests, as well a tiny organization named "Mothers of the Unknown Soldiers", an organization of relatives of Tieguonese soldiers that had disappeared allegedly in combat in Hôinôm. Protesters were not calling for the end of the Tieguonese Nationalist Party rule, demanding a change of policies and some reforms, but the government grew uncomfortable as the movement seemed to increase its support despite censorship and arrests of their early leaders.

---

Septem 4

On Fein 28, students marched from the main college campus in Duongzhou to the Guiying nearby the local government building. Workers protesting against the lack of investment in state companies and a delegation of farmers joined them. Soon, the protests expanded to move than fifty cities, becoming the largest nationwide protest movement since the convoluted National Revolution years (1528-1532).

Septem 5

On the morning of Septem 5, it was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the National Military Council that martial law had been imposed in six cities, including Duongzhou, to deter the "increase of illegal activity and promotion of violence". Unlike other Tieguonese cities, and despite the increase of the protests, the situation in Duongzhou remained relatively calm. On the evening, state television warned residents to stay indoors and call citizens to "denounce foreign agents and saboteurs...which had infiltrated in the protest movement".

Septem 6

There were rumours that Hui Ru Man, First Genetary of the Tieguonese Nationalist Party -considered the third high-ranking position in the country- had resigned. For first time, slogans against the Tieguonese Nationalist Party were chanted in Duongzhou -they were often heard in the provinces, but the leadership in the capital seemed, until then, more moderate.

That same day, Premier Chen Ming Lu came back to the country, as he had been the previous week in a diplomatic tour that had ended in Belayazemlya. To his surprise, the armed forces had been already mobilized when he arrived. He was received by President Qiu Yu Zhao as soon as he came. Despite Qiu was known for his cold temper and, even if awkward, sense of humour, Premier Chen found him angry for first time since both met, already twenty years ago.

Although there was an official meeting that evening, and a Council of Ministers meeting the next day, he felt that the decision had been already taken.

"We are not Hoinom or Singan", President Qiu Yu Zhao said. "At the end, people understand that only strength speaks. There is no middle way. A doubt is enough to destroy a castle". Premier Chen Ming Lu didn't disagree with President Qiu. However, the mood gave him an unpleasant taste. He felt that nobody could predict how this was going to end.


Septem 7

Unlike the meeting of the National Commitee of the Tieguonese Nationalist Party the day before, the meeting of the Council of Ministers was not too tense and it was shorter than expected. Nobody, except maybe Dong Mu Yuen, the Secretary of National Defense, were very talkative. As soon as the meeting ended, Premier Chen Ming Lu met with President Qiu Yu Zhao again, this time in the headquarters of the National Military Committee. The First Secretary of the Tieguonese Nationalist Party, the local governor, and the rest of members of the National Military Council were also present.

Later that evening, Duongzhou newspapers reported that troops were positoned in key aras in the city, aimed to stop riots provoked by anti-government and foreign agents.


Septem 8

Crashes between Tieguonese police and protestors happened in dozen of cities, including Qing'an, Hunneng, and Daitzou. However, the situation in Duongzhou remained calm and peaceful, even if tense.

A Florinthian newspaper reported that the presence of the armed force were increasingly, although the Brigidnan reported wrote than a local government official had told him that the armed forces were only aimed to prevent violent riots as they had happened earlier that week in Xianmeng. Another Nylander reporter described how the number of arrests -not only between protesters, but local journalists, human right activists, and lawyer assisting the protestors as well- had considerably increased in the last 48 hours.


Septem 9

At about 8:00, the Tieguonese armed forces began to open fire upward into the air as they advanced toward the city centre. However, they failed to disperse the large crowds gathering in Duongzhou streets. The situation became more tense as minutes, even seconds, advanced. Although they were forced to withdraw, the soldiers would came back at 12:00.

A huge noise could be heard only twenty minutes later, as the sound of live ammunition was heard nearby the central districts. Protesters tried to halt the advance of the soldiers by blocking the main streets, but the Tieguonese opened fire against them, inflicting heavy casualties. Similar scenes were destribed in at least twenty provinces. However, most foreign reporters were either arrested or immediately deported, with four reporters -a Goldecian national, two Castlian, and one Tieguonese national working for a Kazemuran newspaper- were declared disappeared.


Septem 10

Tieguonese state media blamed the violence -without confirming any number of casualties- in armed groups that had been hidden between the protesters, opening fire against the police and the soldiers. They also reported than thousands of "foreign agents and terrorist sympathizers" had been arrested.

Despite the government had assured that the situation was under control, the sound of live ammunition could be heard in several cities, including Duongzhou, for the next 48 hours.


Septem 11

With any kind of social media completely shutdown for more than a week, and barely any foreign reported allowed to walk free, a large number of rumours increased. However, by the evening it seemed that the government had regained control of Duongzhou that day.

It was reported that the government had started a largue purge of government officials, civil servants, teachers, and state employees, with dozen of thousands of arrest only in Duonzhou and nearby areas.


Septem 12

For first time since the beginning of the protests, President Qiu Yu Zhao addressed the nation. He declared that the Tieguonese government had effectively destroyed a foreign plot to destroy the nation but that the "government, the state, the armed forced, the Tieguonese people and the [Tieguonese Nationalist ]Party had remained united and strong as always".  He declared that the nation had lived their saddest days in decades, but promised that "we will rise again...and the enemies will be destroyed". He also praised the casualties between policemen and soldiers as "martyrs of the Tieguonese people". He justified that the nation could have ended in a path toward "civil war and foreign domination" if the government and security forces wouldn't have been oriented toward defending "the constitutiona order...with a strong hand".


Septem 14

The Deputy Chairman of the National Military Council announced that, based on "preliminary statistics", nearby 200 people had died, including a dozen of soldiers and policemen. A speaker of the Council of Ministers also declared that at 500 "foreign agents, terrorist militants, enemies of the state, and common criminals" had been arrested for promoting violence in the streets, and the security forced had proof that they planned to promote chaos in order to "dissolve the Tieguonese Nationalist Party and install a Brigidnan-controlled regime like in Singan". He declared that there will no "be mercy with the enemies of the nation".

[Hadash]

Somewhere in Tieguo | Septem, 1599


Bûi Thành Quyên had spent the last six years as a prisoner in Tieguo. The first three years had been exhausting although not really uncomfortable. He had to face dozens of interrogations, in which Tieguonese officials tried to worm information about personal, political and military affairs. The treatment was tough but not unbearable, and he was a priviledged in the camp, as he hadn't to do any kind of labour and his cell -more like a cabin- was big and comfortable enough.

Quyên had not much hopes in the future, and he was not sure what the Tieguonese government could expect for him. As if present was permanent but without a future, every day was pretty much the same than the previous one. He felt in a limbo, as he wasn't sure why he was kept alive, and Quŷen sometimes felt that he was officially dead - even if his life continued without much sorrow and an increasing amount of boredom. Sometimes, when his mind started to desperate, he felt the temptation to share his secret -a secret that his captors couldn't even imagine-, although such temptation faded away as soon as it appeared.

However, his captors seemed to have lost all interests, as it had been years since the last time that Quyên was personally interrogated. He realized that the rations were getting worse and he was forced to do some manual work, but it didn't make his existence less dull than before. In the camp, everything seemed the same, at least in his section, which was mostly empty. One day, he realized that a group of thirty men had suddenly arrived to the camp. Clearly, they didn't look neither Tieguonese nor Hoinomese. They were forced to work in the next section, which was separated from Quyên's by merely a large wooden fence, but Quyên's prudence won over his own curiosity.

Quyên's solitude was interrupted by a man named Chao. He had seen him for months, as the Tieguonese prisoner was one the men tasked to clean the barracks, including Quyên's cabin and other buildings. They did not exchange a word until one day Quyên could hear him humming a melody that Quyên was able to recognize, as it was a traditional Hoinomese song which was pretty popular during his childhood, many decades ago. One day, Quŷen asked the man about it -or rather he tried, as it had been more than twenty years since he learned Tieguonese language- and Chao -in broken Hôi- replied that he had worked in southern Hôinôm for a decade -a few decades ago- before returning Tieguo.

Since then, Chao became the only person whom Quyên talked. They did not talk much, usually only exchanged a few words every day, but they were able to break the monotony and occupy his mind with something else. Their conversations were not too deep, and Quyên did not much about Chao's life, and Quyên avoided to talk about his past or who he was. Quyên did not really trust him, as he believed that he could be a Tieguonese agent aimed to obtain information about him, but he ended appreciating those brief conversations.

The activity in the camp had increased in the last weeks. Quyên observed how many workers had arrived to the camp that week, incessantly working in the construction of new buildings and barracks, expanding considerably the size of the camp. Although it was at the other side of the camp, Quyên could see how some prisoners were helping in the construction.

"It seems there are going to be changes here soon", Chao told Quyên, who pensively observed the work.

"I guess", Quyên replied. "But such activity seems a bit sudden".

"Last week", Chao said, "two boys from Hannui province came here. There were apparently some riots there and the police violently intervened. Hundreds of young men were either killed, wounded, or arrested, they claim".

"I see", Quyên said without effusiveness, but without looking away from the distance.

"There were rumours that riots against Bhmer migrants in the southern provinces months ago", Chao, "but who knows if it is related".

[Hadash]

Tay Lanh province | Dein, 1599

Since the end of the Tieguonese political crisis months ago, hostilities only increased in eastern Hôinôm, while the political situation became even more tense than the other side of the border, after so many months of impasse. At the same time the activity in the Hôinôm-Tieugonese border decreased considerably.

Although supplies to the so-called "Democratic Republic of Hôinôm" had not stopped, the presence of "volunteers" and communication through the border had considerably declined. Tieguonese government has highly concerned about the fact that Tieguonese soldiers that had been active in Hôinôm had participated in recent protests in Tieguo, and that the provinces closer to the Hoinomese border had experienced a higher turnoil and violence by protestors than the national average -although this could also be explained because they were considerably poorer and the existence of ethnic tensions. The restoration of the social order at home took preference regarding Tieguonese goals on the region.

Fighting became most intense between Quang Cai and Tay Lanh, as well as Hoinomese forces considerably increased their artillery attacks from the north, this time without Tieguonese opposition or threatening a reprisal. After months and months of a deadly stalemate, things seemed to move forward faster and faster.

In the last three weeks, Tay Lanh forces unexpectedly started to collapse. In Tay Lanh, the Democratic Republic of Hôinôm felt intact and willing to resist the coming siege of the city, the largest controlled by Lâ Vân Quân's forces. However, along the province, closer to the front, their own soldiers started to abandon, surrender, or simply changing sides as soon as they could. When the Tay Lahn realized, it was too late. President Lâ Vân Quân called to resist, but as soon his government ordered moving the de facto capital to Hanh Minh, a smaller town 20 km from Tay Lanh, the Democratic Republic of Hôinôm collapsed as a house of cards.

Lâ Vân Quân himself was not able to reach their destination. Their convoy was attacked, which forced them to a more chaotic withdrawal. Their cars were forced to cross a nearby village, which they believed safe and still under the control. However, the Democratic Republic of Hôinôm had pretty much faded at this point.

They were ordered to leave their vehicles by a group of young armed men. They were wearing revolutionary uniforms, although several of the soldiers didn't seem to wear the green ribbons that Tay Lahn forces used. Cao Dùc Trai, deputy chairman of Tay Lanh People's Assembly since 1595, identified himself and praised the "authentic fervor of the revolutionary youth" and "brave spirit of [Tay Lanh] soldiers".

However, his speech was interrupted when a smiling young soldier shot him on the stomach. Despite the unexpected attack, the rest of the group did not seem surprised. The other members were forced to leave their cars, including Lâ Vân Quân.

Quân were protests were silenced when another soldiers hit him on the face with the butt of his rifle. He was then kicked, bayoneted and stabbed to death by a group of soldiers. One soldiers ordered them to stop, so they did and started to dragged his body toward a nearby road. His spilled through the way. But Quân was already dead anyway, and the Democratic Republic of Hôinôm died with him.

[Hadash]

Imperial Kingdom of Hôinôm | Elva, 1599


Quân Công Trai had already been Prime Minister for three years. His government was an unlikely coalition of former nationalists, left-leaning liberals, moderates, independents, and military officers such as Kim Vân Dinh, who became Minister of Defense. His government had passed some important reforms, such as an agrarian reform, the creation of the national social fund -aimed to cover health and welfare spending for poor people, returning refugees and war veterans-, and an ambitious education reform. However, the economic remained weak, as foreign investment had not increased as much as expected, and national debt kept increasing. Under his watch, several companies had been nationalized, although most of them were mostly bankrupt as consequence of the recent conflict, which only increased government spending.

Even if after the Septem crisis, Tieguo involvement in Hoinomese affairs had considerably decreased, peace negotiations with the southern revolutionary government seemed to go nowhere, and the confidence in the government kept decreasing, a year before of the election.

The recent northern offensive, the largest military victory since Quân Công Trai became head of government, had given his government a considerably boost. However, that success has shared by Minister Kim Vân Dinh and the Chief of the General Staff Admiral Bûi Hùu Cào. Along with Minister Dô Công Lành, they run the state's law enforcement, without that Trai were able to have much influence. Such was the condition that Trai was forced so he could become a Prime Minister, but Trai was often unsure if he was safer or not in such situation. In the last months, rumours of a coup d'etat had increased in the opposition media. The parliament failed to pass a constitution, which made the position of his government even weaker.

---

"There is no hope in the opposition", Lê Quang Dinh said. "The country needs an alternative".

"Politics are not my environment", Kim Vân Dinh replied. "It's been a pleasure to serve our country, but I don't feel like a politician".

"Well, you are one now, aren't you?", Lê Quang Dinh said. "We are all on this. If Trai gets a majority next time, things may become more complicated. The nation needs a strong leadership, and the opposition is not able to offer that".

"If there is no such alternative", Lê Quang Dinh continued, "who knowns what will happen next. All our efforts in these last years could have been in vain, and everything may collapse if we can't find an alternative".

"All I can promise you", General Kim Vân Dinh said, "it is that I will think about it".