[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"] Revere the Emperor, Kill the Alien[/size][/B]

[IMG] http://i.imgur.com/QJ4bq.jpg [/img] [i]A Japanese paper octopus, frequently burned in effigy in pro-Concord demonstrations[/i][/center]

The Martian advance into East Asia was instigated by several Qing counterattacks against Martian raids. General Andronikos used this as an excuse to launch strikes against the Qings northern frontier, quickly escalating until Martian forces were pouring into China. Martian forces move to secure the Gansu Corridor and swept into Central Asia, blocking the ancient Silk Road. Here, the Martians split their forces: one group moved toward the west into Persia, while another moved into Manchuria, the homeland of the Qing emperors. Qing armies, engaged in warfare against the Taiping rebels in the south and the Nien rebels in the north, could do little as the Martians swept through Manchuria. However, they were able to retreat to Chinas old northern defenses and hold off the primarily infantry and cavalry Martian forces.

The Chinese government, controlled by the Empress Dowager Cixi, saw the Martian invasion as both the greatest threat faced by China and a possible opportunity to rise on the world stage. She believed that the Concord of Mankind is the perfect opportunity to have Western military technology hand delivered to Peking, while at the same time the destruction of the West meant that China could catch up. The Martian invasion also gave a great boost to the Self-Strengthening Movement, a reform movement within the Chinese government that called for adopting Western technology while keeping Chinese traditions. Already gaining influence before the Martian invasion, this movement became dominant when it became clear that Mars could only be defeated by learning everything the West had to offer. China offered to join the Concord of Mankind a week after it was formed on the condition that it would be treated as an equal among nations by the West; Chinas diplomats pointed out that the Martian invasion shows that all humans are equally impotent. Knowing that handing the riches of the Orient to Mars was unacceptable, the European powers accepted.

Despite the clear advantages of Concord membership, the decision was still opposed by many within China, especially the Taiping rebels. The Martian invasion was seen as a sign that the Qing had lost the Mandate of Heaven, and that Heaven was showing its disapproval by directly striking at Manchuria. Concord membership sold out China to the West, as the Manchus were foreigners themselves and did not care about the true Chinese. The Taiping additionally argued that Western technology would not save China from the Martians. Only the divine nature of Hong Xiuquan, the brother of Jesus, could save China from Mars. Consequently, the Taiping refused negotiation with the Qing. The Qing, moving most of their forces against Mars, could only provide a skeletal defense against growing Taiping influence.

Angered by continuing hostilities between the Taiping and the Qing, the British launched a campaign of sustained bombardment against coastal cities held by the Taiping and sent river boats to attack inland settlements. Faced with defeat, in 1864 the Taiping were forced to negotiate a settlement with the Qing and join the Concord.

The island nation of Japan could be seen as having gained more than it lost during the Martian War. Japan had only recently been opened to trade with the Western powers, a decision that aroused great controversy among the Japanese people. As an unindustrialized island chain, the Martians did not bother to attack it; in fact, they only realized Japan was inhabited after the invasion. However, the Japanese did not realize this, and after hearing reports of the European and North American landings reformers demanded immediate industrialization. If the West could not stand up to Mars, what chance did Japan have? The desperation of the West also gave Japan the perfect opportunity to learn from the Europeans, especially in military affairs.

Japan is notable among the human powers during the Martian War in that it began and ended a civil war while it was fighting Mars. A Japanese ultranationalist organization, the Shishi, had been attempting to expel foreigners from Japan. Fearing that Japan would join the Concord and become a Western puppet, the Shishi assassinated Tokugawa Iemochi, the shogun of Japan, and attempted to give power back to the Emperor. The assassination succeeded in scaring Iemochis successor into abdicating and ending the Tokugawa shogunate, but this placed the country under the rule of reformist oligarchs who drew closer to the West. When these oligarchs allowed peasants to join the military and abolished samurai privileges, many samurai joined the Shishi in a revolt against the government. This short rebellion lasted for a few weeks in 1863, ending with the defeat of the samurai and the beginning of Japans industrialization.