Dàjiā hǎo (Hi everybody!) and welcome to Communist China’s the Chinese Soviet Republic’s proper Dev Diary, where we, I , PDX_Danne, and PDX_berthier will guide you through the changes that are coming to China with No Compromise, No Surrender.

Please remember that all of this is subject to change as it’s still in development!

The situation for the communists in China was dire at the start of 1936. The Long March saw the Red Army reduced from 100 000 to less than 10 000 before arriving in Shaanbei. The new headquarters is a remote, underdeveloped, and arid place - but not all hope is lost! The new base area is easily defensible, and the Communists are poised to rebuild and start the struggle anew if they work hard and smart. Except a new enemy is on the horizon… And former enemies may yet become uneasy allies.


On the political side, Zhang Wentian has become the new General Secretary of the Communist Party, after Bo Gu’s strategy led to the near destruction of the Communists at the hands of the KMT. Although Mao Zedong is the de facto leader of the Party, rivals are poised to strike.


Looking at Communist China’s National Spirits doesn’t really give any reason for optimism either; being forced to embark on the Long March and hunted by the Nationalists really did a number on the Communists:


All of this lines up with one of our major design goals for the content; to give the player the feeling of playing the ultimate underdog - down but not yet out. The Communists start in a weak position, with barely any military, industry, or tech. And somehow they still managed to win the Civil War and become a superpower. We wanted to hone in on this feeling of barely having anything to become equal to the other major powers - but before we get to that, let’s take a look at some map changes! Who doesn’t love maps around these parts, am I right?

Map Changes

One of the major points of feedback we’ve received was a desire to have a more accurate map of China. Though there will always be compromises that need to be made for gameplay reasons, we’ve been sure to address most of the major feedback, as well as updating various names for regions and warlords, etc.

Old / New

Additionally, we’ve made terrain changes to be more accurate, such as mountains in correct positions.

Tied to this, the Chinese Soviet Republic now controls territory more accurate to the actual situation in 1936.

Old start position and new

The eagle-eyed observers of you who also read the Dev Corner covering China, will spot that the Communists now start with two states, but don’t get fooled into thinking both are equally good for you. The truth is that the CCP never had full control over these regions, as there remained Kuomintang-loyal troops in the area throughout WW2 and during the ensuing Civil War. We’ve represented this with a state modifier called The Yulin Garrison (which you can remove through a decision or focus effects):


Having familiarized ourselves with the new starting position, it’s time to dive into what we’re all here for; the new Focus Tree!

Industry

The industrial branch

The industrial situation in Communist controlled Northern China is…. not great.

Did I mention we want you to feel like you are building from nothing?

But fear not! The Chinese Soviet Republic has the chance to not only recover from their dire starting situation, but also to quickly industrialize and become something of an economic snowballing powerhouse.

The industrial situation from a game in 1945, while still at war with Japan. While not on the scale of more industrialized nations, this represents a 4000% increase in factories from the start.

Economic Planning

When it comes to central economic planning, we felt we wanted something slightly different from other focuses like in the Soviet Union or Germany. We wanted to introduce some risk/reward and give the player a choice in how risky they want to play it.

The focuses and requirements for the missions from the industrial situation in screenshot above

The missions

Both bonuses give bonuses to the industrial might of the nation, but with that comes expectations that need to be met. If you were to meet them, great things await. Should you fail… well, you will only have yourself to blame for not planning correctly.

Rural Surveys

If the player joins the Second United Front with all the warlords and Nationalist China, the player can become surrounded by allies and (temporarily at least) locked from expansion. That meant the player could get locked from expanding their industry, so to solve this we added this focus. (The focus is a reference to how General Secretary Zhang Wentian conducted rural surveys during the war).


These unlock the decisions to spend PP to get building slots, thus allowing you to expand your industry even if you’re too busy fighting the Japanese to expand your territory.

Rural or Urban development

We wanted the player to have a choice in the industrial branch whether to try to focus on developing the rural areas of China, or focus on urbanization.


The player starts with the idea Agrarian Society, which can be modified in the industry tree. The player can also change the idea to Agrarian Reform, or if they take the path towards urbanization, the idea can be replaced by Urban Society.

The player starts with Agrarian Society, but can improve it to Agrarian Reform. Later in the tree the player can turn it into Urban Society. The numbers and balance are not finished yet.

Military

Generals

One of our priorities was focusing on increasing the number of characters available to the PRC, reflecting the actual situation in 1936. That does not mean we necessarily will have everyone, but we’ve tried to emphasize the most important ones.

Here’s a list of all the starting Generals. He Long and Zhang Guotao are on a road trip (they can join you later on) at the start of the game.

And yes, there are even a few admirals - though you will have your work cut out to create a navy. The first of these challenges being that you are playing a landlocked country 1200 kilometers from the nearest coast line (I checked with Google maps - that’s quite the roadtrip!). More on that later.

We wanted to synergistically (I stole that word from Zwirbaum’s hydrodynamics dev corner) tie the effects of the Long March to the Generals who participated in them, which became a national symbol of the Communist struggle. One way to achieve this is by the new trait associated with the respective Generals.

Survivor of the Long March trait

Starting Military Situation

As mentioned in the intro, the Long March caused the Red Army to be reduced to a fraction of its previous strength. But more importantly, not all forces have arrived in Shaanbei yet, including veteran Generals He Long and Zhang Guotao (more on him later) and their respective armies. That means that the early focus for the player is to rebuild and rearm the Red Army to become a sufficiently strong force to guarantee the safety of the Chinese communist cause.

In the early part of the military, the goal for the player is to catch up and recover from the Long March.

After that, the player will have the chance to form the People’s Liberation Army, and all of its different branches (actually it’s most - you’re not getting a space force this DLC, I’m terribly sorry to disappoint).

The different late game military branches

Army

The main choice the player will be able to make during this part is choosing whether to focus on a small, professional army, or one that deploys a lot of soldiers.


Additionally, we needed a way for the Communist player to be able to catch up in regards to armor, compared to nations who start with a tradition of a mechanized and armored army. We took inspiration from the 1950s, with PRC’s early tanks being primarily Soviet made T-34/85s before domestic construction of T54s started.

Tanks. Tanks.

Navy

I may be in the minority (I probably am but I’m living in denial), but one of the most fun aspects of HoI4 is naval roleplaying. Ie, building up a navy from scratch, focusing on creating a balanced navy capable of sailing the High Seas (you should see my private excel sheets from my naval RP saves). So, what better nation to cater to that fantasy than a landlocked nation with no navy?

That’s right, folks! It’s time to look at the naval branch of the focus tree!!


The main theme for this branch, which mirrors the history of the PRC navy, is playing catch up. So I wanted to reflect that in the type of focuses you can pick. Obviously your first priority will be to construct dockyards.


Beyond that, the early PLAN consisted of a lot of Soviet era ships purchased in the 1950s (including the Anshan class destroyers, which were originally Soviet Gnevny class), so we reflect that in the focus tree while also expanding upon that with some alternative ship classes.

Soviet ships

Air Force

“Okay, let’s see what planes were used by Communist China in the 1930’s and 1940’s…. Oh. Well. Oh. Hmmmmmmmmm.”


Well, what to do? We decided to focus on having the player playing catch up primarily in the forms of technology boosts. I wanted to ensure that the player would be able to build a proper late game air force.



As such, the focus is on research bonuses, establishing production to actually build planes, and having focuses that give radar and AA to help supplement your lack of air force.

Additionally, we wanted to have a more accurate representation of the possible air chiefs than previously. This is in line with our goal of representing more characters.

And here is a look of all the capstone focuses on the military branch, leading up to the creation of the Central Military Commission.

MIO's

Before we go into the tech tree, I wanted to go through all the different MIOs available. Some are shared, but most of them are exclusive to the Chinese Soviet Republic.

Tank MIOs

Naval MIOs

Aircraft MIOs

Material MIO

Having gone through the Common Branches, it’s time to turn to….

Politics

Power Struggles in the Central Committee

While Mao had mostly solidified his leadership over the Central Committee and the Communists at large by early 1936, there were still challengers and rivals seeking to usurp his control. This is the basis for Communist China’s Balance of power.


The main rival(s) to Mao were the 28½ Bolsheviks (more about them later), but also another military commander, Zhang Guotao, who had attempted to establish a rival Central Committee in 1935 but ultimately failed. Each one of these three internal factions has its own bonuses based on its level of influence in the Balance of Power.


While not a central part of playing the Chinese Soviet Republic, the Balance of Power bears keeping in mind, because the bonuses you get from it might be very helpful in your struggle against both the Nationalists and Japan.

Historical

As already mentioned, Communist China is in a really tough spot in 1936 - and things aren’t looking up either. There are limited opportunities for early expansion, and Japan is *knock knock Kon'nichiwa* on the door. Time is not on the Chinese Soviet Republic’s side, but play your cards right, bide your time, and you’ll be able to become the undisputed ruler of all of China! Before you can go down the historical path and see Mao assume complete leadership over the Communists, or have one of his rivals ascend and claim power over the Central Committee, there are a few focuses you can take to help grow militarily and industrially before facing off against the Japanese.


You can engage in Border Wars with your neighbours with The Eastward and Westward Expedition, but these Border Wars will be hard-fought affairs with a tired and belligerent Red Army. Completing Know the Enemy will give you some temporary bonuses against your neighbours, but it will hardly be the only thing you have to do to quickly expand your territory. It will however unlock the Raid Border Defenses - helping you even further to gain control of your neighbouring areas.


Usurp Control over Yan’an works a bit differently, though; depending on when you do this focus, you’ll get another Border War, or you can get a state for free if you’re allied with the Nationalists (psssst maybe just waiting around for nothing might help you too because of some extra content exclusive to the Northeast and Shaanxi Army warlord directly to the south).


Having solidified your control over Yan’an, you can choose to either develop your new holdings or take a more aggressive stance against the rest of China.


With Burn the Paper Tiger, you can beat everyone else in China to creating a faction and invite the Nationalists - thus becoming the faction leader (even though several of the Warlords are likely to shun your leadership and refuse to join the faction and the Nationalists might usurp your leadership). Rally the Peasants and Guide the Central Committee will unlock decisions to push the Balance of Power in Mao’s favor so that you can Embrace the Change in Leadership and have Mao solidifying his grip of the Central Committee.


Having done all of this, you are ready to face the Japanese! From afar, that is; you’ll probably still lack a big industry and a substantial army, so you’ll want to play it safe and let the Nationalists do the heavy lifting. You can’t be too passive, though, since the front lines risk collapsing and you’ll be overrun, just like everyone else. To help you at least slow down the Japanese onslaught, you can pick a page from Mao’s book On Guerilla Warfare, which will strengthen your militias (which will work very well in synergy with the Infantry sub-doctrine Irregulars or Operations sub-doctrine People’s War) as well as unlock Guerilla Warfare Decisions.


From this side of the branch, you can continue down to Establish Bases Behind Enemy Lines, allowing you to Establish Sabotage Operations on your core states against any country you’re fighting. With Empower the Guerillas you’ll halve the cost for taking Guerilla Warfare Decisions and improve the effects of said decisions.


Going down the other path after Embrace the Change in Leadership with Propaganda Efforts, you’ll start to contend for the leadership within the United Front by increasing your Faction Influence contribution. With Secure the People’s Support, you’ll unlock the Rally Support in Chinese States Decisions, which will allow you to infiltrate Chinese states that you’re not at war with - whether they be allies or not. These decisions will help you in a potential future war later on, as they will give you bonuses for fighting in that state. You can even infiltrate the state so thoroughly that it’ll flip to your side once war is declared between your countries, with a militia unit rising up in support of your cause.


Beware, though, when you establish a Guerilla Cell, or launch a Sabotage Operation, or infiltrate Rally Support in a state, your opponent will be able to counter your actions - so don’t assume your job is done because you succeeded once.


Remember how we talked about the limited production capabilities of the Communists during this time period? Well, there is another way to get weapons without producing them - they might even be more modern than the ones you’re able to produce yourself! That alternative way is called Raid Weapon Depots and is unlocked through the…. Raid Weapon Depots focus…. Who’s coming up with these names?? Oh…. This unlocks a land raid you can launch on states with a supply hub where you have either established guerilla cells or launched sabotage operations. Depending on the success of the raid, you’ll receive infantry equipment from the targeted country.


With the Yan’an Rectification Movement, you’ll cement Mao as the supreme leader of CCP, giving him a new leader trait depending on where you are on the Balance of Power.


Having finally established Mao as the sole leader of Communist China, you can launch an offensive through the Hundred Regiments Offensive and Prepare for the Inevitable upcoming continuation of the Civil War against the Nationalists (if they still exists that is).

And that is more or less all there is to the Historical path for Communist China, but that doesn’t mean this Dev Diary is done yet. It’s time to look at the other political paths available to you, starting with the confusingly named….

28 (and a half) Bolsheviks

The 28½ Bolsheviks, so called because of the 28-29 (depending on who you ask) Chinese intellectuals who studied in Moscow in the late 1920s to early 1930s. The two current leading figures (Zhang Wentian was a member of the group before becoming a closer ally to Mao) are Wang Ming and Bo Gu. Both have had strong positions in the party up to the Long March, when the party was led by Bo Gu. In 1935 he was deposed of that position, though he remains with the party leadership.

The focus paths for 28 ½ Bolsheviks

Both Bo Gu and Wang Ming can return to lead the Party, should the faction gain enough influence to take control.

Bo Gu and Wang Ming

The player can take a focus to upgrade the trait for all leaders and advisors of the 28 ½ Bolsheviks

Should the Bolsheviks take power, it will come with a different perspective on Communism, a more urbanized and intellectual rather than the rural perceptive advanced by Mao. Additionally they will seek a closer co-operation with the Soviet Union, where the 28 Bolsheviks studied in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The strength of the modifier gained from Embrace Stalinism is based on the current Balance of Power value

The 28½ Bolshevik will have access to a unique mechanic that relates to the new Faction feature.


The Influence The Faction mechanic is a decision system where you can send Zhou Enlai on diplomatic missions to other faction members in the Second United Front to gain Faction Influence.

Tier one decisions

Tier two decision

You will still have access to the Infiltration and Guerilla mechanics, but they will be much weaker. However, if you then further progress down the branch you will be able to halve the cost of these decisions.

If you prefer diplomatic gameplay over infiltration, this path might be for you!

The Unwilling Diarchy

To go down this path, you’ll have to first wait for Zhang Guotao to arrive in the Chinese Soviet Republic, and only then can you form the Unwilling Diarchy between Guotao and Mao, sidelining the 28½ Bolsheviks in the Balance of Power.


With Gain the People’s Trust you’ll unlock the Rally Support in Chinese States infiltration decisions already discussed, and with Mobilization of the People you get an additional 4 units of militias and more manpower overall. But to be able to withstand both the rest of China and Japan, you’ll have to fight smart and Promote Guerilla Warfare, but also build up and Promote a Regular Army before ultimately choosing which way you want to take your strategy; will you lean into guerilla warfare with raiding weapon depots to supplement your meager military production, or will you decide to mimic the Soviet Union and truly reform the army and build a more conventional army? No matter what you choose, you will be favoring Mao or Guotao over the other in their power struggle to achieve control over the Central Committee, and ultimately the country - but it will not necessarily determine who will come out on top, but it will make it easier for them. Having decided in which direction you want to take your armed forces and strategy of war, it’s time to finally decide who to ascend to leadership over the country! Will it be the sly Mao Zedong or the more direct Zhang Guotao?


Having decided on what direction you want to take your country, you can finally focus on your external enemies; you can coerce and Demand the Loyalty of the Warlords, creating your very own faction, or you could go for the Preemptive Strike and stab the Nationalists in the back when they have their hands full of Japan. You could also bolster your limited production capabilities if you Secure Lend Lease from Soviet Union.


Having settled the internal power struggle and secured your position (either with a faction, lend-lease, or striking against the Nationalists), you can either Reach Out to the West or get Closer Ties to the Soviet Union - both with their own set of bonuses.


To help you in your war efforts, you can institute emergency protocols to either bolster your supply efforts or production efforts. You’ll be able to prolong these efforts and eventually make them permanent.


With that out of the way, the Unwilling Diarchy branch is almost done, and only two more focuses are necessary to progress further down the tree - namely Every Peasant a Soldier and The March to Victory.


What happens now, then? What happens once you’re ready to truly take to the offensive and become the sole hegemon over China?

End Game

All the different political branches lead down to this shared branch focusing on the forming of the People’s Republic of China.

End game political branch

The player will be able to take focuses that unlock coring and integration efforts, retake old territories, as well as focuses aimed at providing content for a post-proclaimed PRC, such as improving Zhou Enlai’s trait to First Premier and moving the capital to Beijing.

In conclusion, the player’s main focus will be to rebuild and grow from a very delicate starting position while handling the warlords and nationalist China, with Japan at the doorstep. Should you decide to put aside your differences and form the Second United Front and fight against the common enemy, or do your best to fight against all? Regardless, after Japan has been dealt with, well. Time to turn attention to more domestic matters…