Age of Imperialism: A Colonization RP IC

[Revlona]

To: Whomever it may Concern in Mexico
From: The Office of the Heavenly Emperor

We can offer you metals of all kinds, including gold, copper, and iron, we also can offer you sugar, silks, and other agriculture items.

On another note, we ask for your support in the coming conflict with russia.

Off the Coast of Korea and Russia
Aboard the HES Dingyuan

The Northern fleet, comprised of the Beiyang fleet, and the recently finished Ironclads, Shanghai, Peking, Hong, Manchu, and Formosa.

They outnumbered the Russian 7-3 in ironclads, though the support fleets were relatively equal.

The Fleet sat outside Vladivostok, out of range of the enemy ships, but close enough to were any ships attempting to flee could be intercepted if the Fleet chose too.

To: Whomever it Concerns in Japan
From: The Office of the Heavenly Emperor

As you know, tensions are at an all time high between China and Russia, over Northern Manchuria, which Russia stole from us during the Second Opium war.

As your brothers in Asia, we do not wish to level the Might of China and France against you, but instead wish to live in peace with Japan.\

To allow you to save face and stay out of the war, we are offering you the Japanese people, a non-aggression pact.

[Tysoania]

October 1886

Madrid, Spain

To the Spanish Foreign Minster, greetings.

I, Araya, in the stead of my father the Emperor, am writing to you to in response to your proposal on a coffee trading company. This proposal is most pleasing to us, though we must advise you that the country lacks infrastructure and processing capabilities. To alleviate this, it would be most fruitful to focus on the city of Harar and the surrounding region. There are already coffee farms in that region, and with the building of a railway from that city to the port of Tadjoura, exports to Europe are possible. The Governor of Harar has informed me of a foreigner, an English trader by the name of Arthur Rimbaud, who has made it his business to promote the sale of coffee abroad. When your agents arrive in the city, speak with him. I am sure he and your men together can establish many coffee plantations in that area, and turn it into a major center of coffee production. In particular, the Governor tells me that Rimbaud is trying to establish a plant for the processing of coffee beans. With your help, I am confident that this can become a reality.

We are grateful for your offer, and will do anything we can to hasten its coming to fruition.

Araya Selassie Yohannes, King of Tigray, Wollo, Begemder and Dembiya, in the name of His Imperial Majesty Yohannes IV, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Zion, King of Kings of Ethiopia and Elect of God

Juan Cruz put the copy of the letter aside and began shuffling through his papers for a document that laid out the Trans-Continental Coffee Company. The Ethiopian note seemed to accept the offer, and Cruz knew that the offer would certainly complement the Spanish leadership in European sugar imports, but the project would be expensive. There it was, under a stack of old drafts regarding something or other. Cruz quickly skimmed through the report, looking for mention of how the funding was to be secured. The old Foreign Minister had considered it to a be a priority project and had protected it jealously. As a result, the notes and letters regarding the TCCC were scattered and only half-complete; so far, Cruz had had no luck putting together the idea of how the funding had been intended to be secured.

The construction of the infrastructure itself wouldn't be a problem, as Spain had thousands of prisoners in various dungeons from the last civil war. Cruz would just ship them over to Ethiopia as a work-release scheme, have them build the necessary railroad and upgrade the port to fit the dimensions necessary for trans-Atlantic ships, then commute their sentence. If a few of them died of disease, well, that would be an acceptable loss.

As for meeting this agent in Ethiopia, this Rimbaud fellow, Cruz would have to ensure he sent a competent negotiator. That, or abduct the man if he proved to be an obstacle. Finally, coffee shipping from the West Indies would have to bypass Spain entirely to be processed in Ethiopia. Currently, Spanish beans were imported raw and sold as such to European processors. However, by sending it to their own factories in Ethiopia, the beans could be processed cheaply and sold for a much higher profit. Additionally, with nearby plantations also feeding the factories, the processed coffee would be far cheaper than market price, thus allowing Spain to reap higher tariff revenues as sales increased.

The only major problem that Cruz saw was that Mexico would try to undercut them by increasing their own exports to Europe, and that could not be allowed. The easiest way to fix that problem would be bringing Mexico into the fold. If Mexican beans were bought in bulk in Cuba, shipped to Ethiopia with Spain's own beans, and processed in Ethiopia...well, that would give the TCCC a huge market share, and their beans would be cheaper than the competition, and then Spain would get even more tariff revenue.

Overall, it seemed like a pretty good scheme, Cruz thought to himself. He would have three agents set sail for Ethiopia on the next ship out, and he would pay the Justice Minister a visit about that work-release program. As for the funding, well, if a war was going to break out in Asia, perhaps the spoils of war would pay for it. In the meantime, he would have the Coast Guard enact a tariff on non-Spanish sugar imports.

To: Whomever it may Concern in Spain
From: The Office of the Heavenly Emperor
As you have may have noticed, tensions in Asia between the Heavenly Empire of China and the Russian Empire are heating up.
This is do to the Russian Empire holding onto land that they illegally stole from China when we were busy in the 2nd Opium war.

While we do not ask for direct military aid from you, we would be extremely pleased with Spain should it ban Russian trade and harass their trade where you see fit.

Maybe a Naval sortie against Persia would be in the question as well.

Of course this would come with a price, we would be willing to sit down with Spain after hostilities cease to hash out your reward.

This other note concerned him far less. The solution was fairly simple: Spain wasn't to take a side in anything until a military conflict broke out, on the express orders of Alberto XIII. Thus, Cruz's job was mainly to fill out a reply and have it sent off via telegram.

To: The Office of the Heavenly Emperor of China
From: J. Cruz, Foreign Minister of Spain

Greetings,

Under no conditions will the Spanish Empire take action against legal foreign shipping during a time of peace. As such, we will not undertake an assault upon Russian merchants in our waters. Should an armed conflict break out, we will provide naval support against Russian shipping.

As for a naval action against the New Seljuk Empire, we will not attack their forces unless we are provoked into such an action.

Cordially,

Juan Cruz,
Foreign Minister of Spain

Spanish agents are travelling to Ethiopia to buy up coffee plantations there.
Spain plans to build required coffee infrastructure in Ethiopia with inmate labour.
Alberto XIII is on his way to Japan to meet with the Emperor of Japan.
Spanish plantation owners and merchants in Mexico have begun buying coffee in bulk for export to Cuba.

[The Verusian Union]

Mexico City, Mexico

President Porfirio Diaz was now sitting in his office. He had just read reports about the development of Mexico, as well as the invasion on Guatemala. All of it were going well, which made President Diaz happy. It was a great thing, as it showed that Mexico was strengthening, as he wanted.

Recently, however, he decided that Mexico must start a friendship with other nations across the world. A week ago, he started to read about the potential nations that he wanted Mexico to start a relationship with, Grenada, The Scandinavian Union, Ethiopia, China, and the Seljuk Sultanate. After a lot of reading about the history of all those nations, he made a choice. He would start a relationship with all of them.

Now, he went to the office of the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Ignacio Mariscal. He ordered Mariscal to wrote a telegram to each of the nations that he wanted to start a relationship with, Grenada, the Scandinavian Union, Ethiopia, China, and the Seljuk Sultanate. The telegrams had the same offer as the deal to Spain and Japan, to trade with Mexico and invest in it, as well as establishing an embassy and consulate in Mexico. After Mariscal finished writing all of those telegrams, they were sent to it's respective receiver.

From: Prime Minister Ursted - Office of Foreign Affairs of Scandinavia
To: Ignacio Mariscal, Foreign Minister of Mexico

Scandinavia wishes to start a trade with Mexico, as well as establishing a consulate and embassy in the capital of Mexico City, and a consulate in Puerto Vallarta as well. His majesty would like to visit with Foreign Minister Mariscal, and talk on this subject. With this, we offer aluminum, copper, fine textiles, and 250,000 Scandinavian Krone.

Best Regards,
- Khron J. Ursted, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Scandinavia

[Orostan]

GERMAN WORKER'S FEDERAL REPUBLIC

The red tide of Socialism swept away the monarchs and Capitalists in 1848. Increased Union activity and the increased publication of socialist literature prior to 1848 meant that instead of forcing Liberal reforms, Worker's revolts in major German industrial regions with the support of the Peasantry forced off the old systems, and brought on the first Socialist Republic in Europe. Unifying Germany under one flag happened after the 1871 Franco-Prussian war, when the failure of the Paris Commune made it very clear that one unified German state was required to withstand the counter-revolution brewing in France and elsewhere. The first Parliament of the newly formed German Worker's Federal Republic was elected in 1851, with the SDP gaining a large majority in the German People's Parliament. The GWFR provided assistance to the Union in the American Civil war, at one time sending ships to assist in the blockade of the South, nearly drawing Germany into a war with the United Kingdom on account of the UK's support of the South.



A locomotive and tender currently being used on the German Railway network


Economic changes began to take place in the 1850s as well, where most major industry was collectivized into cooperatives and centralized. The German economy can best be described as functioning like one large cooperative industrial giant. Economic planning is done in a very restricted way, on account of the inability to collect real time data on production and consumption. Although this greatly impedes the German Economy, retail orders to factories and mills still greatly assist the Economic Planning Board (Wirtschaftsplanungsbehörde in German) in economic calculation. Most of the time individual cooperatives are allowed to adjust production with orders they receive from other cooperatives. The EPB only provides a guide for how a Cooperative should be operated (how productivity ought to be rewarded, how selling price should be calculated, etc.) and uses these guide lines to assist in the gathering of proper data and economic planning. Rough figures of demand for products, intermediary products, and the production and demand of those products as well as raw materials are used to formulate an annual economic plan, which consists of requirements for new factories, new mines, new farms, and new mills. While this plan is extremely rough due to the limitations of the technology being used, it still provides a general idea of what's got to be done and how. After all, this data is already being collected in every Capitalist country in a multitude of firms, it is just not used in the same way the EPB uses it. Because of the struggle of controlling such a large industrial economy as Germany's the EPB is divided into groups of Cooperatives which dominate their industry, and greatly help in the collection of data and the use of that data. These groups to not need permission from the EPB's Central Office in Berlin to change production or output, but they are required to notify the ECB's local office if they do. A semi-decentralized system like this means that the economy "plans itself". While this is by no measure a perfect system, as communications and production technology develops and expands this system will become more refined and more efficient.

[Arshanid Deccan]

Mexico City, Mexico

President Porfirio Diaz was now sitting in his office. He had just read reports about the development of Mexico, as well as the invasion on Guatemala. All of it were going well, which made President Diaz happy. It was a great thing, as it showed that Mexico was strengthening, as he wanted.

Recently, however, he decided that Mexico must start a friendship with other nations across the world. A week ago, he started to read about the potential nations that he wanted Mexico to start a relationship with, Grenada, The Scandinavian Union, Ethiopia, China, and the Seljuk Sultanate. After a lot of reading about the history of all those nations, he made a choice. He would start a relationship with all of them.

Now, he went to the office of the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Ignacio Mariscal. He ordered Mariscal to wrote a telegram to each of the nations that he wanted to start a relationship with, Grenada, the Scandinavian Union, Ethiopia, China, and the Seljuk Sultanate. The telegrams had the same offer as the deal to Spain and Japan, to trade with Mexico and invest in it, as well as establishing an embassy and consulate in Mexico. After Mariscal finished writing all of those telegrams, they were sent to it's respective receiver.

To: Ignacio Mariscal, Foreign Minister of Mexico
From: Seljuk Mahal, Isfahan, Persia

The New Seljuk Empire is delighted to hear from Mexico for a trade agreement with our nations and we gladly accept. We wish to invest in your mining industry for we see great potential in it. We respect the Mexican people, we see them as loyal and strong, and to become allies with such people would be an honor. We will also allow you to open an Embassy in Persia. May this agreement make our nations prosper and create lasting peace between our peoples.

Your Friend,
Shehzade Arslan Khan II

[Bruke]

Afgooye, Somalia



Engineers and construction workers from the Middle East were hard at work modernizing the dams of the area. The Wazir (Minister) of Farming, Qeyd
Yaasiin, looked on approvingly. Once the work was completed, the whole Shebelle river valley would be twice as productive as before. A simlar project was ongoing on the Juba River. The Sultan, Axmed Yusuf Qaasim, considered the growth of agriculture in this southern region his first priority. It was fitting he would focus here, because the Afgooye area was the traditional home of the Gobroon Dynasty, from which the rulers of the Sultanate of the Geledi descended. Relatives of the old Sultan still held lands here, and the improvement project would mean they would profit greatly. This was the new Sultan's way of easing realtions with the old ruling families of Somalia. Over the previous months, he had visited each of them in turn, offering to make them wazirs and boqortiishes/wakiil-boqor (viceroys) of the royal court. With the granting of titles, authority, and land, they had mostly flocked to his side, pledging their loyalty to him.

Hafun, Somalia



The head of Kaptallah watched as beden, traditional Somali vessels, were being restored to working condition. The company was doing such brisk business that it couldn't send out ships fast enough. After successful voyages to Aden and Muscat, the company re-built its trading relationships in India and Persia, and each trip was more lucrative than the last. There was more than enough to give the Sultan his due (he had loaned the company money to start) and pay the partners at the same time.

Kaptallah becomes one of the largest trading companies in East Africa. Wealth from trading allows the Sultan to pay for infastructure improvements and the restoration of forts along the coast.

[The Verusian Union]

Skeppsborn, Port of Stockholm, Scandinavia



Skeppsborn is filled with an abundance of people, most of them carriers, miners, and ministers of the office of the national treasury help to load shipments that are to be sent to Mexico. the ministers of the Office of the Treasury sign off on the shipment of 250,000 Scandinavian Krone that is a gift from his majesty, King Alexander of Windsor. Miners from northern Norway fill the ships, along with the crewmembers of each ship with metals such as Aluminum, Copper, and Iron. Clothes and other textile goods are to be sent from the Havn port of Oslo in Norway in at a month's time.

Paltamo Military Training Camp, Finland, Scandinavia



43 soldiers are wounded during the quarterly training seasions in Paltamo. 5 died, due to unknown reasons, but higher ranking officials are suspicious that there might be some Suomi farmers nearby that are shooting at the milita. The chief commander decides to call of the seasions until some of the milita talks to local Suomi farmers.

[The Federation of Kendor]

Mexico

As the year was nearing it's end, President Porfirio Diaz decided to improve Mexico again, taking cues from Spain and Ethiopia. First, after reading about how Spain made it's prisoners work on public projects, in exchange for a sentence reduction, he decided to instate a similar program, helping the Mexican modernization program. Of course, they would be forced to labor harder than the regular workers, without pay. But this was what they deserved.

Second, he read about the successes of the trading company in Ethiopia, named Kaptallah, and it's effects on the development of Ethiopia. This inspired President Diaz to made a deal with an influential merchant in Mexico, who ran a trade company called Comerciante. President Diaz decided to buy 50% of Comerciante, meaning that half of the revenue made by the company would go to the Mexican government's coffer. However, President Diaz had to convince the owner on how the government's buying would benefit his company, citing the economic increase from the development, funded by money from the trade company's revenue, as a reason.

Meanwhile, new projects were done. The roads and railways had been finished, allowing more efficient military movement, travel, and distribution between the cities and the ports, reducing cost for products as they could be now sent in a quicker and cheaper way. The electrification of Mexico was continued, with parts of Tijuana already electrified. The project was then continued on other major cities of Mexico, like Oaxaca, Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Ciudad Juarez, etc. A new program on agricultural development was also started, which entailed supporting local farmers and plantation owners, as well as converting more land for agricultural purpose, improving irrigation, and building and upgrading dams to help the irrigation.

Mexico's economic condition, meanwhile, was still good. Indeed, the temporary lifting of the tariff on Spain decreased revenue, but the excessive military produces were sold, while new industries and businesses increased profit, as well as new trades.

As for the invasion of Guatemala, it's done this month. The Mexican army had captured all major cities of Guatemala, before sieging and attacking Guatemala City. After a few weeks of siege, the resistance of the city fell apart, from lack of supplies, as the Mexicans destroyed any food they came across, so soldiers couldn't eat them, though to won the trust of the Guatemalans, the soldiers provided civilians with food. After the city fell, the army advanced into the National Palace of Guatemala, where they caught the President and other government members of Guatemala. They were marched to the city Square and displayed, being photographed for the news of Guatemala's fall. After that, they were sent to Mexico, where they would be sent to the Mexican prison for political prisoners. The dead during the attack was 687 infantries, 198 cavalries, six artillery pieces destroyed, and 43 Rural Guards killed. Guatemala would now be reconstructed, with Guatemalans being granted equal rights as Mexican citizens, though the insurgency was still on.

OOC: Too lazy. I will write more, as well as respond to the telegrams in a later post

[Al-Hind Indus]

Ferdinand was on the field, fighting, when his aide Juan D’Caprio brought to him the news that the Viceroy Antonio De Mendoza had sent 2000 more men from Cuba to support Ferdinand. He also heard that Spain had requested aid from Mexico in filling the supply gap caused by Herminio El-Judio’s insurgency. He was happy that the Hashemez, the Spanish speakers of Hashemite dynasty, had been given an asylum in Spain. He had heard that those people were excellent soldiers and had experience in warfare. Ferdinand hoped that their talents could be used for the Spanish army both in and out of Spanish colonies. He felt deeply grateful to the Viceroy Antonio De Mendoza, who had been helping Ferdinand to curb the rebellion. The Viceroy had sent men to complete the fortifications in the Spanish West Indies including San Juan Bay and Mayaguez Bay. The Colonel, Nicholas Sanchez and the Commander, Ferdinand was currently fighting the rebels in a remote village in San Juan. Though, the capital was now in Mayaguez, Ferdinand was still balancing both the soldiers as well as his duties as Captain-General. The rebels had access to weapons, that were surprisingly more advanced as compared to that of the Spanish soldiers.This again gave rise to the suspicion of foreign involvement in ignition of the rebellion. Ferdinand and the rebels exchanged rounds of fire for six hours on the first day with minimal losses on both the sides. Though the arrival of new troops boosted the morale, but the impact of rebellion could be seen on the faces of soldiers. Islander and Native soldiers began to feel discriminated by the Spanish soldiers. This began to create problems, as the rebels led by Herminio El-Judio too were Islander and Native men. Herminio had created a racial divide which didn’t exist to this extent before. Ferdinand wanted to appoint an assistant commander be to address the problem. But to do so he would have to send a message to the viceroy for asking permission from the viceroy. Further, he could ask permission to provide resources to the militias, as they had begun to demand more. Further, he was worried about possible Spanish involvement in the Sino-Russia War. So, he entered his tent and wrote a letter.

Dear Viceroy De Mendoza,
This letter is to thank you for sending 9,000 men till now. The condition here in Puerto Rico, is better now.

However, an atmosphere of racial discrimination is being felt here in the army barracks, Islander and native men are reporting acts of discrimination and violence by the Spaniard soldiers. Hence, many Pacific Islander and Native soldiers have defected to Herminio El-Judio’s side. Also, we have noticed that rebels are using advanced tech as compared to that available in all of Spain, this has aroused suspicion in our minds of possible foreign involvement. Hence, we request you to approve the position of the Assistant Commander for an Islander/native soldier, as this would reduce the racial divide at least in the army quarters. Also, our local militias have been demanding more men and weapons. We also are afraid of possible Spanish involvement in the useless Sino-Russian war. This could lead to useless waste of resources, which would lead to depletion of our Economy. I understand this is not in your hands, hence, I request you to send a letter to Mr. Juan Cruz the FM of the Spanish empire, advising him to take the stance of neutrality in this useless conflict. I also ask you to advise Mr. Cruz to hire Hashemez men in the army, as their experiences and tactics of warfare could improve the army.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your Soldier,
Fernando D’Souza y Arabe
Captain-General

---

The letter has been sent to the Viceroy.
Men are attacking the rebels in San Juan

[Arshanid Deccan]

Battle of Hosseinia
Diyala Province, Mesopotamia

Haider Syedi slept in peace after a long time in Baquba. He received a letter from the Neighboring city of Hosseinia stating that after the defeat of Abu Hebheb, the city has been celebrating and is currently not under threat. A small militia has been gathered in the city to protect it until Haider Syedi arrives. After spending a day in Baquba, Haider and his men set out towards Hosseinia. They reached the outskirts of the city only to find it looted and in shambles. One if his men shouts, "SIR TO THE NORTH!", as he points in the direction. Haider turns to look and see's a garrison of mixed camel and horse cavalry charging down a hill towards them. Haider immediately orders his men to get into a firing squad position and open fire once they get in range. He tells his Cavalry to move towards the flanks in an attempt to outflank the charging enemy cavalry. The Seljuk Soldiers open fired, and the infantry on the flanks began to advance at an angle, trapping the enemy cavalry on two sides. The Seljuk Cavalry completed the encirclement by closing the box and charging at the enemy cavalry. Haider himself joined in among his soldiers to fight the enemy cavalry. But to his dismay this was just the cavalry. The enemy infantry began to rush in and try to encircle the Seljuk encirclement, Haider ordered a retreat towards the east. Haider and his men retreated to the village of Khan Bani Saad. The ambush took Haider completely by surprise, and he did not know who it was. After sometime Haider received a message from his attackers. It states that Adnan Shababi is the warlord of the region and he takes responsibility for attacking Haider. He was an ally of Abu Hebheb and that Hebheb was going to travel from Miqdadiayh to Al-Wajihiya to meet him. He claims that he is stronger than Abu Hebheb with an army of 20,000 men and that the Seljuk Army has no chance of reaching Baghdad. Haider began writing to potential allies in the region, one was the leader of Bani Hashem which is the clan that is related to the former Sultans of the Hashemite Dynasty but deeply integrated in Arabic culture. The Leader of Bani Hashem resided in Baghdad, having him as an ally will make fighting Adnan Shababi much easier.

In the evening of the next day, Haider Syedi received a letter from the Bani Hashem Clan, stating that they have joined the Seljuk side of the war and will fight alongside the Seljuk Army in exchange for some Autonomy and Power in Seljuk Empire. Haider immediately wrote back to them about battle plans and Haider began preparing his own army. Seljuk scouts have informed Haider of Shababi's soldiers patrolling the path between Hosseinia and Khan Bani Saad. They are prepared to fight the Seljuk Army. But what they weren't prepared for was an attack from the South coming from Baghdad. Haider began to move out with his army towards Hosseinia, the patrolling soldiers were no longer there, and Haider's scouts have also returned telling him that Shababi's soldiers are heading south towards Baghdad, but they have left a garrison of 6,000 men in Hosseinia. Confidently Haider reached Hosseinia and ordered encirclement of the city. He wanted to make this quick so he sent in half of his Infantry to engage the enemy. After a couple of hours the city fell into Seljuk hands, but the battle was not over. Haider Syedi and his men began moving south but then his scouts reported that the Shababi forces are returning to Hosseinia, and so Haider ordered the placing of sandbags and barbed wire on the southern face of the City while his cavalry will hold the flanks. In around half an hour the Shababi forces were seen marching towards the city. Haider ordered his cavalry to go around and poistion themselves behind the enemy in an attempt to funnel them down towards the south side of the city. The two cavalries clashed and the Seljuk cavalry defeated the Shababi cavalry. Seeing that they have been surrounded the Shababi forces surrendered. They numbered around 9,000 men by the end of the battle. Out of 20,000 they left 6,000 in the city which were defeated by the Seljuk Army, meaning 14,000 men went to fight Bani Hashem's attack. Out of which 12,000 were returning, and in the final confrontation the Seljuk Army killed 3,000 of them leaving them with only 9,000 left. The Seljuk Army suffered a loss of 8,000 men from the 75,000 men. Haider ordered the execution of Adnan Shababi. Haider continued to march towards Baghdad where he met his ally the leader of Bani Hashem Prince Mehmet II bin Al-Khataei Al-Hashmi.


Battle of Al Buraimi
Nazwa, South Easter Arabia

General Mehmet X Hashmi sent a letter to Nasir Bin Qais demanding his surrender. Upon not receiving a letter back, Mehmet ordered another charge. He told the Sheikhs with their army of 6,000 men to start recapturing territories that were lost. Mehmet began marching towards Al Madam, he reached the village, but there was no sign of Bin Qais. His scouts reported to him that Bin Qais has retreated back to Al Buraimi. With more confidence Mehmet bagan marching towards Al Buraimi with intent of defeating the tribe once and for all. Mehmet reached the village of Al Yahar around 25 km West of Al Buraimi, he regrouped with the Sheikhs and began marching to take the city. As his men marched, the scouts reported to him that Bin Qais has an army of 13,000 men at the city, other members of the Buraimi Confederacy from different parts of Oman have joined Bin Qais. Mehmet nevertheless continued towards Al Buraimi, he reached the city which seemed to have been prepared for battle. There was no surprising Bin Qais this time. Mehmet set up the maxim guns on a nearby hill. He put all of his cavalry on one flank and the rest of his forces in the center. The maxim gun began spewing out a rain of bullets on the enemy forces hiding behind the sand bags. The cavalry was going around the city to attack the other side, forcing the enemy to defend on two fronts. Mehmet ordered a charge when the maxim guns stopped firing and his professional forces overwhelmed the tribal enemy. Bin Qais and other leaders of the tribe were captured and executed. The Seljuk lost 3,000 men in the process. Mehmet sent letters to neighboring Sheikhs of Oman to discuss the division of the territory of the Confederacy. Mehemt divided the territory to the Sheikhs of Muscat, Ibri, and Nizwa in exchange for their allegiance to the Seljuk Empire and that Oman will now be part of the Seljuk Empire, and obviously he granted them some autonomy, making the Sheikh of Muscat the Governor of Oman, and Sheikh of Dubai the Governor of the Gulf. Mehmet's next mission was to now move towards Yemen.

[Asardia]

To: Whomever it Concerns in Japan
From: The Office of the Heavenly Emperor

As you know, tensions are at an all time high between China and Russia, over Northern Manchuria, which Russia stole from us during the Second Opium war.

As your brothers in Asia, we do not wish to level the Might of China and France against you, but instead wish to live in peace with Japan.\

To allow you to save face and stay out of the war, we are offering you the Japanese people, a non-aggression pact.

To: The Office of the Heavenly Emperor
From: Marquis Inoue Kaoru, Foreign Minister of the Empire of Japan


Greetings,

Japan does not seek an immediate war with China, nor do we want a conflict in north east Asia. We accept your offer for a non aggression pact.


Signed,
Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru

Japan announces Tokyo State Meeting

As tensions between the Russians and Chinese increased over the last few weeks, Japan, an ally of Russia, decided to host a conference including Spain, China, and Russia. The goal of the conference in Tokyo was to resolve the dispute over the borders of Manchuria. China claims Russia stole this land from them, and Japan, not wanting to risk a war, decided to be the intermediary. Despite being allied with Russia, Japan's armed forces was not strong enough to challenge China. Emperor Meiji and the rest of the Meiji Oligarchy hoped they could avoid a conflict at all costs.

[Revlona]

To: Whomever it May concern in Britain
From: The office of the Heavenly Emperor
To strengthen ties between China and Britain, we ask that the unequal treaties regarding Britain be struck down.

In payment for this, we are willing to pay you the equivalent of 1,200,000 British pounds, and a monopoly on any one trade good coming into China.

We also request to purchase the HMS Inflexible in order to Strengthen the Heavenly Fleet.

Manchuria

They were as prepared as they would ever be.

180,000 men in Manchuria alone stood ready to invade, 90,000 alone were outside of Vladivostok and the rest were ready to strike out.

South China Sea
The southern fleet, made up of 2 older broadside ironclads and 4 newer cruisers sailed for Papa New Guinai.

Preparing to bloackade the Russians colony.

[Spaceania]

The Beothuk people of newfoundland have recently unified into the newly created republic of the newfoundland free state to try and stop european colonialism of the island. The nation have been rapidly westernizing hoping that adopting the european strategy's will protect it's independence.

[The Verusian Union]

Unknown location, Newfoundland

The Scandinavian Naval forces that were originally surveying the area now known as Newfoundland leave the island in a hurry as the Beothuk indians unified to fight the Europeans. 12 soldiers were killed by the armed Beothuk people.

Stockholm Palace, Scandinavia

King Alexander writes a letter to the Foreign minister of Mexico...

From: Alexander of Windsor, King of the United Kindgom of Scandinavia
To: Ignacio Mariscal, Foreign Minister of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

Greetings,

Foreign Minister Mariscal, I would like to visit with you and the President of Mexico, Mr. Porfirio Diaz. I would prefer to visit in December, maybe get out of the snow for a bit, and discuss what we could do to better assist Mexico and the Mexican people. I've been informed that Mexico has been working on making most of their cities avaliable with electricity, I congratulate your nation on its success, and may your nation be successful in the future. I shall meet you soon.

Best Regards,
Alexander of Windsor, King of the United Kingdom of Scandinavia

[Spaceania]

Unknown location, Newfoundland

(Image)

The Scandinavian Naval forces that were originally surveying the area now known as Newfoundland leave the island in a hurry as the Beothuk indians unified to fight the Europeans. 12 soldiers were killed by the armed Beothuk people.

Stockholm Palace, Scandinavia

King Alexander writes a letter to the Foreign minister of Mexico...

(Image)

From: Alexander of Windsor, King of the United Kindgom of Scandinavia
To: Ignacio Mariscal, Foreign Minister of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

Greetings,

Foreign Minister Mariscal, I would like to visit with you and the President of Mexico, Mr. Porfirio Diaz. I would prefer to visit in December, maybe get out of the snow for a bit, and discuss what we could do to better assist Mexico and the Mexican people. I've been informed that Mexico has been working on making most of their cities avaliable with electricity, I congratulate your nation on its success, and may your nation be successful in the future. I shall meet you soon.

Best Regards,
Alexander of Windsor, King of the United Kingdom of Scandinavia

President maple of the newfoundland freestate send's a group of the 4 most intelligent indian's to loot the body's hoping that they will be able to successfully reverse engineer any technology they happen to have.After which they have found some gun's and are beginning the process of reverse engineering.

[Savojarna]

Things had gotten problematic in Vienna. When the Germans revolted and formed their worker's republic, Franz Joseph had been new in power and lacked the strength to squash a rebellion, and only thanks to quick reforms in Austria could he survive as the Kaiser. But the Austrians were stumbling right into the next problem when Hungary stood up to its emperor, demanding more rights in the 1860s. It took long and tiring negotiations with Andrassy and his men to achieve a solution to this dispute, with Budapest getting its own parliament and solving the problem of Hungary. But it also meant that Franz Joseph and Vienna had to cede a lot of authority and bring up the spectre of nationalism yet again, with the Polish ardently requesting their own country and the Czechs developing their own sense of nationhood. Prague was pacified briefly by compromise in the 1870s, when Franz Joseph inofficially agreed to give certain key spots in the Bohemian administration to Czechs, but the Polish remained an issue to be resolved. To make matters worse, their network crossed borders, and the Polish resistance increasingly frustrated the Austrian troops by crossing borders into Russia whenever things got hot for them.

If Poland was the thorn in the North of the Austrian flesh, Italy was it in the South. In the period of Franz Joseph's weakness, when Austria was busy with its internal struggles, the Italians had used their newfound confidence to take not only the Adriatic coast, but also Tyrol. It was an unmatched humiliation for the Austrians that they could not avoid with unrest in the state and an insecure international standing, where alliances were unclear and the support for the Austrian cause shaky. Tyrol had to become Austrian again at any price, and the same was true for Slovenia. The loss of the Croatian coast harmed trade for Austria, but could be stomached as they had been quick to carve into the dying Ottoman empire and contain the Italians at the coast. Nevertheless, solutions had to be found for the issues surrounding Austria-Hungary, and there was no way Vienna could stand its ground any longer on its own. In a secret cabinet meeting, the advisors of Franz Joseph I. came together to discuss the possible solutions. [OOC Note: Everything below the following line is secret IC'ly, and shall now be known by anyone in IC except for the present ministers. Exceptions are the letters, sent to whoever is specified in the spoilers, and the Public Note available to everyone]

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The first issue to discuss was the Italian question. It could be roughly divided in two: firstly, the threat of Italy cutting off Austria from the Mediterranean, and secondly the humiliation of Tyrol. General von Beck-Rzikovsky, the head of the Army, suggested an aggressive solution that avoided direct war with Italy. Pointing at the gap between Albania and Croatia, he suggested a campaign to take control of Montenegro in a quick war against the Ottomans, themselves caught in disintegration. It was an easy solution that had the advantage of weakening Albania and strengthening Austrian control in Bosnia, and it was less likely to lead to a rupture with the rest of Europe. Admiral von Sterneck favoured a more aggressive solution to the first problem, wanting control over Trieste to have a strong basis for operations in the Mediterranean. His proposal was a big campaign based in Bosnia to reconquer the Croatian coast from Rijeka downwards and march into Slovenia from the south and the north, eventually encircling Trieste as the final stepping stone. The solution was heavily supported by the Hungarians, knowing that Croatia was their land. Beck-Rzikovsky pointed out the possibility of an attack to Croatia after securing the Montenegrin coast, and the cabinet decided to draft a plan of a combined two-step plan.

Next up was the question of the Tyrolian losses. The Italians had succumbed to irredentism, it seemed, and they had conquered Tyrol in a short war that had to be given up to battle uprisings in Poland. This had sparked major outrage in Austria as large parts of Tyrol were populated by Austrian Germans and belonged to the core of Austria. The foreign minister proposed a negotiation about Tyrol, which could not be as integral to Italy as it was to Austria, but building up a special army to attack in the case of Italy not budging on the issue. In such a case, he proposed, the Austrians should covertly support uprisings in South Tyrol and thus cause Italy to show aggression to the Austrian people, as a direct confrontation in the heart of Europe was unlikely to attract much support. Beck-Rzikovsky reacted somewhat offended. His army, he said, would beat the Italians to Venice within a month, uniting there with von Sterneck's fleet and crushing Italy's ambitions. There was no need for the foreign minister's reluctance in the face of the enemy, a fierce general raged. Franz Joseph tried to calm his ministers down again. There was no use in wasting Austrian blood, he said, but the stance of the Monarchy had to be clear. He decided that the foreign minister should send a harsh note to Rome and that von Bylandt-Rheidt, the war minister, shall prepare a mountain force to combat the Italians if required.

The most impactful decision on that day was the new foreign strategy of Austria. As tensions with Rome grew and Germany increasingly seemed a looming danger for the Austrian minorities with its federal democracy, the question was where Austria should find her new allies. Some looked westwards to Paris and London, trying to use their weight to push Austrian interests in central Europe while lending them their support in colonial negotiations, an area where Austria had little ambition itself. Their goal was to form an alliance against Rome, including the Greeks as well, using Athens to open a second front against Italy in Albania if war came. Another group saw the main threat not coming from Rome, but from the liberal ideas of the Germans and the French. For them, allying with Paris was a deadly mistake. They had turned their heads eastwards, seeing an ally in Russia. The conservatives imagined a Christian-Monarchist alliance that should divide up the remnants of the Ottoman Empire between them and form a bulwark against Germany's progressive ideas. The problem with this view, however, was that there was an elephant in the room. What would happen with Serbia and Bulgaria, the Balkan remnants of the Ottoman empire that would inevitably provoke a clash? Careful negotiations would be required between Vienna and St. Petersburg to come to a solution. The liberals, not present in the cabinet but strong in the parliament, finally advocated to approach Berlin. It was a frivolous idea to Franz Joseph, but only time could tell. Finally, the cabinet came to decisions that the foreign minister Kálnoky immediately put into practice.

Public note of the Austrian Emperor to the world, concerning Italian behaviour in Austrian Lands

For way too long, Italy is now holding the lands of Tyrol. This noble province has been in Our control since 1363 and is a core of the Austrian lands. Our hearts and Our souls are tied to these mountains, which made Austria what it is today, and it pains Us to see Austrian people suffer under the yoke of an irregular annexation, done for nothing but greed. In times when Austria was ridden by interior problems and seeking compromise within Our lands, pursuing the best for its people, the Italian troops stabbed us in the back to obtain a core part of Austria's heartlands. God will condemn the nefarious behaviour of the Italian troops and their leaders, but We extend Our hand to Rome for one more time. We wish to see rightful order restored in Tyrol and urge the Italians to enter constructive negotiations with us about the future of these lands and out negotiations, and We count on the support of Europe to restore Our ancient rights.

Signed,
Seine Kaiserliche und Königliche apostolische Majestät Franz Joseph I. von Österreich.

Your Excellence,

I write to you in the name of His Majesty Emperor Franz Joseph I. concerning the international situation in Europe and especially the Balkans. Times are changing for our nations, and we have many common issues. We have seen that you, too, engaged in the unraveling of the Ottoman Empire, and we have seen that you too struggle with the Polish liberation movement. We believe that the time has come to assess our potential for collaboration, and the k.u.k. Foreign Ministry wishes to invite you to a meeting in our offices to prepare a possible meeting between our foreign ministers and our Monarchs in Vienna. An initial proposal has been attached for your convenience, concerning questions of location, topics for discussion and formal constraints. We ask you to amend these proposals in a way that suits your country and come visit us in the Ministry on Monday to discuss them.

Signed in the name of His Imperial Majesty Franz Joseph I. von Österreich and His Excellence Gustav Graf Kálnoky, Ministers of the Imperial and Royal House and of Foreign Affairs of Austria-Hungary,
Istvan Károlyi.

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ATTACHMENT: Proposal for common negotiations between the Monarchy of Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire

The Monarchy of Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire agree to hold a conference in the upcoming months regarding the politics of Southeastern Europe and the following topics:

- Exploration of possibilities for an alliance against the former Ottoman Empire and anti-monarchist factions in the World.
Our nations are strongholds of Christianity which shall stand united against the Muslim threat in the South. Nobody in the Austrian Empire has forgotten about the horrors that ensued when the Turks had stood in front of Vienna, and Russia has a long history of fighting bravely against the Ottomans. The time has come to build on that tradition and stand against the threat of chaos in an alliance against the hole left by Istanbuls demise. We propose a defensive alliance, and an understanding to protect the Christian people of the Balkans as described below.
- Exploration of possibilities to cooperate against the liberal and national threats to our nations.
We understand that you share with us a commitment to monarchic government, an understanding that our reign is God's eternal will. Recently, this notion was challenged by one of our traditional allies the Germans, and it is possible that this threat will spill over into our nations. Austria and Russia must be prepared for the threats posed by German democracy and Polish nationalism, and we propose a cooperation on this issue. We are willing to enter a defensive alliance aimed against the undermining of the state and the Polish aggression, and to support each other's efforts to deal with these issues internationally.
- Drafting of a plan to liberate the Balkans from the Turkish Yoke.
For centuries the good Christian people of the Balkan region were under the yoke of the Ottomans. Now they had a chance to liberate themselves, and we propose a joint Austrian and Russian effort on the basis of a comprehensive agreement to honour a set of borders on the Balkans. Our initial proposal is to let Russia control the Black Sea and let Austria control the Mediterranean, and take a role of joint protector of Greece. The Greeks shall be our allies against any restoration attempts of the Turks, and if you deem it necessary we shall draft a separate treaty with Athens.
- Further collaboration in technology and trade

These points shall be agreed upon by a conference led by our respective foreign ministers in Vienna, and signed by our monarchs in a ceremony in Vienna or St. Petersburg. Following agreement on the terms of the conference, we suggest to open negotiations about our defensive alliances to other Christian monarchic nations to strengthen our agreement, but to keep the plans for the Balkans secret except for the Greeks if we wish to include them in our framework.

[The Verusian Union]

Stockholm Palace, Scandinavia

King Alexander signs a royal decree allowing for the Jewish residents of Scandinavia to become citizens, as a response to the expulsions of Jews from some countries.

Royal Decree of 1885

All Jews arriving into Scandinavia via Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the Colony of Iceland, have a given natural right to become a Scandinavian citizen. Regardless of where such peoples have lived in previously. This Royal decree will exclude the Colony of Greenland. The Jews will be protected as any Scandinavian in a legal setting and have the same constitutional rights as any citizen of Scandinavia.

New Naturalization Process (effective 21 Jan 1886)

Legal residency in any country inside the United Kingdom of Scandinavia for at least five years, or born in the UKS (this excludes the Colony of Greenland). During these five years, you may not leave the UKS for more than three months.
If married to a native Scandinavian, you must live in the UKS for three years; During these three years, you may not leave the UKS for more than five months.
Read, speak, and write any Scandinavian language (except for Greenlandic.)
All applicants must be at least 13 years of age.

This Royal Decree is to be effective by 21 January 1886

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Alexander of Windsor, King of the United Kingdoms of Scandinavia

[Tysoania]

December 1886

Tokyo, Japan

Alberto XIII stepped off the boat and took a long breath of the fresh air. The voyage had been a long one, but he had had a nice night in Manila to catch up with his old colleagues while the ship had been refueling. Even better was the fact that there was no paperwork at sea that had to be signed or anything; it was essentially a long vacation for him. Perhaps at the end of the conference, he would even go sightseeing in Japan; it wasn't like he missed the formality and heat of Madrid, and the Spanish Embassy in Tokyo would keep him informed of any developments.

The head of the Spanish Embassy in Japan was at the dock to greet him and escort the King to the Embassy, where he would be staying until the end of the conference. He stepped forward and exchanged greetings with the King, then watched the King enter the carriage before climbing in beside him and waving for the driver to go ahead. Hopefully, the Embassy would be to His Majesty's liking.

Havana, Cuba, Spanish West Indies

Dear Viceroy De Mendoza,
This letter is to thank you for sending 9,000 men till now. The condition here in Puerto Rico, is better now.

However, an atmosphere of racial discrimination is being felt here in the army barracks, Islander and native men are reporting acts of discrimination and violence by the Spaniard soldiers. Hence, many Pacific Islander and Native soldiers have defected to Herminio El-Judio’s side. Also, we have noticed that rebels are using advanced tech as compared to that available in all of Spain, this has aroused suspicion in our minds of possible foreign involvement. Hence, we request you to approve the position of the Assistant Commander for an Islander/native soldier, as this would reduce the racial divide at least in the army quarters. Also, our local militias have been demanding more men and weapons. We also are afraid of possible Spanish involvement in the useless Sino-Russian war. This could lead to useless waste of resources, which would lead to depletion of our Economy. I understand this is not in your hands, hence, I request you to send a letter to Mr. Juan Cruz the FM of the Spanish empire, advising him to take the stance of neutrality in this useless conflict. I also ask you to advise Mr. Cruz to hire Hashemez men in the army, as their experiences and tactics of warfare could improve the army.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your Soldier,
Fernando D’Souza y Arabe
Captain-General

The viceroy read over the letter as the sun slowly climbed into the Cuban sky. According to y Arabe's report, some militiamen were defecting to the rebel forces, who were now occasionally fielding modernized weaponry of some kind. Mendoza figured that it was referring to Maxim machine guns, but how those got into the hands of the rebels was still unknown. Perhaps they were receiving outside support after all. However, a blockade of the island would quickly solve that.

The rest of the letter contained a request for more troops and weapons, as well as a desire for Spain to stay out of the brewing war in Asia. The first request would not be easily met. The rebellious sentiment of Puerto Rico had carried over to Hispaniola and Cuba, and local commanders were requesting additional troops to ensure security and tamp down on any thoughts of revolt. This had left the Cuban garrison depleted of troops; because of this, the viceroy was unable to deploy more troops at the moment. Besides, around 15,000 troops were already in Puerto Rico. That should have been enough for a quick victory, but apparently not. After a moment's deliberation, Mendoza decided to allow the transport of the garrison's field batteries and surplus infantry weapons to Puerto Rico.

As for the request concerning Asia, well, that was the Foreign Minister's area. Apparently, the King himself was on a peace mission to Japan, so that would settle this matter for the Captain-General.

The viceroy quickly drafted a response and handed it to his secretary, then began working out an appropriate thank-you note and gift for Mexico. The sugar discounts had greatly benefited both Spain and Mexico, and Mendoza strongly wished to continue the good relationship.

To: Captain-General y Arabe, Puerto Rico
From: Viceroy de Mendoza

Greetings,

In response to your latest letter, the island of Puerto Rico has been blockaded by the Spanish Navy. Several field batteries and small arms are also on their way to the Captaincy-General.

News of the rebellion is spreading throughout the Caribbean and is beginning to spark thoughts of revolt. Please resolve this matter as soon as possible or I will be forced to replace you.

Yours,

A. de Mendoza,
Viceroy of the Spanish West Indies

More artillery and rifles have been shipped to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is under naval blockade.
A gift of priceless art and antiquities has been sent to President Diaz as a thank-you for continuing sugar shipments.

[The Federation of Kendor]

Mexico City, Mexico

President Porfirio Diaz was now reading the reports of what happened in Mexico and Guatemala, while sipping a cup of coffee. Firstly, he read reports from the prisoner labor camp commanders, who reported that the prisoners attempted to rebel and escape, and even tried to incite other, innocent workers to join them. This was very concerning, so he ordered the Rural Guard, as well as the military to guard construction sites, so the criminals could not escape.

Second, he noticed on how Mexico benefitted greatly from helping Spain, which finally convinced President Diaz that he made the right choice. He saw on how the revenue from the sugar discount increased Mexico's economy. Later that day, he would be informed by one of his assistants about the shipment of artifacts and priceless arts from Spain. He would receive it few days later.

Third, he read the rest of Mexico's modernization document, which detailed the modernization's progress, as well as it's effects on the economy, standard of life, etc. It detailed on how Mexico was growing dramatically from 1885 to nearing 1887. In short, Mexico became better from the industries and businesses, with the growth increasing as more industries and businesses were opened, more trades happened, infrastructures constructed, etc. However, he also had to clear up some industrial accidents, to make people happy, by increasing regulations for every cause of accident discovered.

Fourth, he read the Guatemalan condition document. There, it detailed on how Guatemala was captured, as well as the total casualties of the war. It also informed President Diaz of the known informations about the guerilla group, number of troops stationed there to keep the peace, and what the Mexican army was doing now, as well as other infos. Meanwhile, in Guatemala, the army and Rural Guards decided to defend the place and attack the guerrillas, while helping with the reconstruction of Guatemala, sending in workers from the prisoners of Mexico and Guatemala, as well as allowing Guatemalans who accepted the Mexican to volunteer with the reconstruction. Also, Guatemala was now included in Mexico's modernization program.

After that, President Diaz decided to read back the telegrams he received from a lot of nations. All of them were typical telegrams, allowing the Mexicans to construct embassies and starting trade. He soon had Foreign Minister Ignacio Mariscal to to respond to all of the telegrams (OOC: It must be noted that the telegrams were not answered chronologically, as in being answered in a single day. Some of them were answered some days to 1-2 months before.) The reply was typical too, nations were given permission to trade in select Mexican ports, depending on where they were located, while the embassy and consulate requests were accepted. For China, though, the Mexicans decided to accept China's request, wanting to get a good relation with China and because President Diaz had not started a relation with Russia yet.

[Spaceania]

President J.Maple begin's writing a letter to the british, it will be month's before it show's up.

To whom it may concern in the British parliament
From President J.Maple of the Newfoundland freestate.

Greeting’s

I Jonathon maple president of the newly united Newfoundland freestate would like to propose a non-aggression pact between the British empire and the Newfoundland freestate; In exchange we will freely let all British to travel through the island of Newfoundland and even make port’s on the island allowing quicker & safer access to europe.

Respectfully

Jonathan Maple president of the Newfoundland freestate.

[Asardia]

Tokyo, Japan

Emperor Meiji was reading An Outline of a Theory of Civilization by Fukuzawa Yukichi. The book had differing views on Japanese modernization than the Emperor and his cabinet, but it was still an interesting read. Emperor Meiji needed to accelerate Japan's westernization, and that meant that Japan needed to be at peace for as long as possible until it's military was strong enough to defend Japan from the West and the Chinese. With growing tensions over the border dispute between China and Russia, Emperor Meiji decided to host a conference in order to see if a compromise could be made. It was around this time, that the Japanese Imperial Guard entered the room, seeking an audience with the Emperor.

"Your Highness", one of the Guards said, "We've received word from the Imperial Navy that the Spanish have arrived at the Port of Tokyo."

"I see. I will personally be there to greet him. The conference will take place at Akasaka Palace, where I hope the Russians and Chinese will also attend. Make sure the security at the Spanish Embassy is high, we don't need any...incidents here, at such a crucial time."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

[Arshanid Deccan]

Baghdad, Mesopotamia

Haider Syedi and the leader of Bani Hashem Prince Mehmet II bin Al-Khataei Al-HashmI met at the Mosque of Said Sultan Ali. Following the execution of Adnan Shababi and his men, there have been an increased amount of loot the Seljuk Army has obtained especially in the content of ammunition and arms. There were too many guns and Haider wanted to make use of them, so he made a deal with Prince Mehmet II, to arm him and his loyalists in order to help the Seljuk take control of Mesopotamia. If the Prince is successful then he would be given the position of Sheikh of Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf. Mehmet and Haider also decided that they will arm the Kurdish leaders in the Province of Saladin to fight for the Seljuk Army. In exchange the Kurds will be allowed to create Kurdistan an autonomous region inside the realm of influence of the New Seljuk Empire. Haider sent a letter to a prominent Kurdish Warlord Akam Daran regarding this offer. Previously Adnan Shababi controlled territory from Hosseinia to Najaf, since his execution these lands have become even more lawless. Adnan Shababi's subordinates have split the territory and become warlords themselves and are fighting each other for dominance. This would make Haider's job much easier because the divided warlords would be weaker and each of their armies would not number more than a couple thousand, they might not even number one thousand, while Prince Mehmet II's loyalists would number around a dozen thousand. With the new arms deal concluded with the Bani Hashem Clan, Prince Mehmet II with his followers from Baghdad numbering around 5,000 men, began marching towards Karbala to liberate it from the Warlords.

Southern Arabia

After a successful conquest of The Gulf Sheikdoms and Oman, General Mehmet X Hashmi and his army departed from the docks of Sur by ship destined to arrive at the Yemeni docks of Aden. Going by ship would be more easier than marching through the empty desert between Muscat and Sana'a. Mehmet appointed Sheikh Ahmad Bin Hassan as the Governor of the Gulf Sheikdoms and the Sheikh of Oman as the Governor of Oman. After a long journey by ship, the Seljuk forces docked at Aden. Mehmet Hashmi was received by the Vizier of the Sheikh of Yemen. The Seljuk forces began marching towards Sana'a, while Mehmet and the Vizier discussed the situation. The Warlord of Hejaz named Salman bin Wahhab has killed other warlords of Central Arabia and declared himself as Caliph of the Muslim World. Unfortunately Salman bin Wahhab believes that only the people that recognize him as Caliph are true Muslims and so he prosecutes everyone who disagrees with him. He has shed blood in the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina which is strictly forbidden in Islamic law and has executed members of the Shia minority in public. He decided that he will unify all of Arabia and he picked a war Yemen. Following the fall of the Hashemite Sultanate, Yemen was the most stable region because the current Sheikh of Yemen Mustafah Seyeh suppressed Warlords and other militants very early on before they became a problem. But with the large army of Salman bin Wahhab trying to capture Yemen, Mustafa Seyeh has been struggling to keep the Hejazi armies at bay. To help assist him, Mustafah Seyeh sent a letter to the New Seljuk Empire asking for military assistance against Salman bin Wahhab thus the reason why Mehmet Hashmi had come to Yemen.

[The Verusian Union]

Högsta Domstolen, Stockholm, Sweden
The Royal Council of Scandinavia prepares to begin the electrification of Sweden and Denmark by establishing the Scandinavia Electric Authority (Den skandinaviska elmyndigheten, in Swedish) which will cover Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The Royal Council also approves the decision to electrify the country of Finland, and colony of Iceland after five years, covering over 61.5% of the population in the span of seven years.

Stockholm Palace, Stockholm
King Alexander is informed of the council's decision to electrify three nations in the union. His personal advisor walks in to tell the king that he might want to consider marrying a lowborn to keep the Windsor dynasty from disappearing from the kingdom. The king, although displeased, agrees with his advisor's statement. Alexander tells his advisor, to find him a suitable "soulmate".

[Al-Hind Indus]

San Juan
After the former residence of the Captain-General was blown up by Bolivar El-Judio [Herminio's Son] and an attack on the army supply depots [Rebels have robbed weapons and ammunition too], Ferdinand had released the Government's plan to his fellow Generals. The plan is that as more artillery and rifles have been shifted to Puerto Rico, the militias would be easily helped. The militias would attack the rebels in the places where they find shelters. Also, the Viceroy de Mendoza had agreed to send Spanish Navy to blockade Puerto Rico, this would help in reducing import of weapons, by the rebels.
Also, Spaniard soldiers would be divided into five groups. The fifth group would be lead by Ferdinand, himself. This group would fight rebels who were performing Guerrilla Warfare in the hills and mountainsides. Colonel Nicholas Sanchez would lead the first group from the North into the rebel territory. Colonel Eduardo Cruz would attack from the South. Asst. Commander Miguelángel Oquendo, would enter from the East. He and his men are mostly from Islander/Native backgrounds. General Federico Valencia, would attack the rebel strongholds from the west.

Though, Ferdinand and his men are overpowered by the rebels in terms of numerical and technical superiority. Ferdinand hopes to achieve victory by the organization of his soldiers. He had to do something, to save himself and Spain from shame of not being able to hold Spanish Colonies.