Tales of Two Horizons OOC 1.4 OPEN

[Military Lands of the Scottish People]

ill free the slaves after i get back from buying a gallon of milk son

[Military Lands of the Scottish People]

posting rn

[Tales of Two Horizons OP]

France has been added to the roster

[Fossia]

Generic Info
Nation Name: Empire of the Great Ming
Symbols:

团结就是力量

Location: 65
Population: 1.6 Million
Capital City: Xīnhoudōu (New Capital) [Melbourne]
Civilization Status: Civilized

Government Info
Government Type: Absolute Monarchy with Meritocratic Bureaucracy
Brief Explanation of Government: The government has a tier system, the highest is the Emperor, below him is the Secretariat. Part of the secretariat are 6 ministries; those of Public Works, Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, and Justice. The bureaucrats of the empire are drawn largely from the Kē Dà Xué, the Royal Academy, however applicants from rural regions may go through private education, and then take the civil service exams, if they pass they will be sent to a year of training before being assigned a position. All bureaucrats must pass the civil service exams, a series of intensive exams on politics, philosophy, arts, and language over the course of 5 days. The empire is divided into 7 Lu (Commonwealths), these are Hongtuxī (Western Australia), Hongtuběi (Northern Australia), Caoyuánlo (Victoria), Hongtunán (South Australia), Shānlánsè (New South Wales), Wāntàiyáng (Queensland), and Daopútáo (Tasmania), the commonwealths are further divided into prefectures, and below them are townships and cities.
Ideology: Nationalism, Modernism, Progressivism
Leader/s: Zhu Hongde
Relations N/A

Population Info
Brief Description of your people: The majority of early settlers came from the Fleeing of the Ming, boosting the chinese population of a mere 800 (largely based around the town of Hongzhi [Darwin]) The population spread across the continent as the Ming set up a system of government. The local aborigines were slowly integrated into the population through organized marriages, this brought more tan skin tones to the population which give much of the people a more south east asian look. This was coupled with continued immigration from the mainland, largely from people of the poorest rungs of society looking for a new start. The Ming (who were famous for their favoring of Taoism), used their influence of the new, quite devoted, populace, to enforce Taoism. Cities were designed with large plazas for Tai Chi, and a large Taoist Monastery and Academy was built in the new capital of Xīnhoudōu. Culturally, every Ming citizen is taught at a young age that they have a duty to help the Empire, so that one day they may regain their rightful place in China. This is becoming less accepted among younger generations who feel increasingly distant from China, and many in the Royal family do not even believe in the idea of returning anymore. Nevertheless, the population is still fairly devoted to the idea of "The Triumphant Return" as its known. The population is also fairly accepting of foreigners as opposed to mainland counterparts, and is more interested in western ideas and principles than mainland nations as well.
Religion: 74% Taoist, 11% Chinese Folk, 7% Buddhism, 5% Confucian, 2% Islam, 1% Other
Main/Accepted Culture(s): Wu Chinese, Han Chinese, Yue Chinese
Other Cultures: Korea, Manchu, Qianese

Military Info
Army: 6 - Active: 30,000; Reserve: 100,000; Active In Militias: 170,000.

Army of the Ming Empire
To become an enlisted man, one must first pass a series of physical and mental readiness exams, failure to do so, will result in disqualification from the process. After passing the exams, prospective soldiers will become recruits and enter a rigorous training camp. After graduating the camp they are an enlisted soldier. To become an officer, one must spend at least 2 years as an enlisted man before being permitted to take the Officer Exams, after doing so, the candidates will be further narrowed by a series of interviews. After passing this process they will be entered into the Military Academy where they will train for 1 year. After spending 15 years in service in the military, men will receive a pension, and plot of land/house in a city. Military units are rigorously trained in desert warfare, marksmanship, tropical/beach warfare, and mountain combat. The diverse territory of Hongtu requires this level of flexibility among the military. Should a soldier die in combat or of disease while in service, their families will receive a pension. There are three major groups in the army, the Infantry (approximately 23,000 of the total force), the cavalry (approximately 6,000 of the force), and the artillery (the remaining 1,000). As being in the artillery is considered desirable due to better service conditions, there are extremely rigorous tests to get in, and artillerists must constantly prove their value or they may be relegated back to the infantry in favor of another soldier. The standard armament of the military is the Yung Rifle, domestically produced, based on foreign designs. It also has a carbine variant for the cavalry and artillery. Officers carry a Chinese Broadsword, as well as a pistol, while soldiers will carry an additional bayonet (which can function as a knife) and a multi tool entrenching shovel. The standard rations are 5 Liters of Water, 3 packets of 100 grams of rice, a dried meat (fish, beef, or kangeroo), tofu pudding, and a packet of fruits or vegetables. Whilst in fort/camp, usually a chef will be preparing better meals, and their rations will matter less as the food is prepared per regiment. The army's smallest regiment is the squad, consisting of 10 men, above the squad is the Company (usually around 30 men), and above the company is the Regiment (usually around 200-300 men). Above the regiment is the Battalion which is typically 1,000 soldiers strong, and above that is a brigade, usually 4-5,000 strong. And finally above that is the division, which is usually around 10,000 strong.
Standard Infantry Uniform Ming Imperial Guard Uniform

Militia of the Ming Empire
Both Reserve members and others are counted as part of the militia. The Reservists are people who have served in the military for at least 1 year and then retired early, they can still receive a pension by remaining a reservist until they are the age of 40 and they continue to pass physical exams every 2 years. Militia members have undergone no such service but have signed contracts to bear arms in defence of their communitaries when needed. All members of the militia train atleast once a month for a 2 days. When in combat all members of a local militia will form a unit known as a Ling, a Ling is stipulated to have no more than 100 men, and should the local gathering of militia have more than 100 they will be divided into two or more units. Each unit will immediately elect a captain by show of hands, the captain will then choose 5 sub commanders, and an agreement will be made about an order of succession should each of them die. After this is done, the unit will perform its orders as instructed. Militiamen have no formal uniform, they are instead dignified by a Tan fez cap with a black tassle, and a yellow square pinned onto their shirt, the sub commanders will have a blue square, while the captain of the ling will be given a red square pin.

Navy: 5 - Though small in size, the navy has strict training and operating procedures. The fleet doctrine is largely based around coastal defence, with patrol vessels doing reconnaissance to allow coastal forts to prepare. The navy also has a coast guard function in fighting pirates and protecting commerce. The naval breakdown is as follows:
40 - Sun Class War Junks
14 - Turtle Ships
2 - Hongwu Class Long Range Junks
The requirements to be a sailor a not very high though a mental readiness exam is required before joining. Sailors are trained for 6 months in one of 6 naval training points. At the 4 month mark they decide if they will be a fort operator (work at a coastal defense fort) or a ship sailor. Officers, similar to the army, must be a sailor for 2 years before they can apply for the officers exam and go through a year long training course at the naval academy.

Other Info
Economic Strength: 7 - The economy of the nation is largely agrarian. This is very well illustrated by the early history of the nation. Its original capital was in the north, however the region was too dry for large scale rice farming, to resolve this, the government built several cities in the south east (a much wetter and more humid region), this allowed for further rice cultivation. Meanwhile the Lu of Hongtuběi and Hongtunán are largely based around meat production and processing. In Western australia, the main industry is fishing and dry farming. The few goods that are exported are Silk, Rubber, Rum, and Copper. Though due to the size of the population and the industries themselves, the quantities exported are all quite small. The government takes a protective approach for agriculture goods, with high tariffs on foreign food imports, but the rest of the economy is relatively unprotected from foreign trade. The key ports are located at Xīnhoudōu, Yìndùcūn [Perth], and Hongzhi [Darwin].
Development: 5 - Only a few stone paved highways exist throughout the nation, the largest being the South Coast Highway running from Shāmòxuě [Adelaide], along the coast all the way to Zhiguang [Brisbane]. This highway is fairly maintained with guard posts throughout to provide protection from native animals and bandits. Plans have been discussed to build a rail network in the nation, however not much has materialized yet. Most coastal cities have a fairly developed port, as such, coastal shipping and transit is the predominant form of transportation across the nation. In regards to land trade, most people travel in armored caravans for protection from Bandits and local wildlife.
Public Order: 13 - The population is quite trusting in the government and its meritocratic structure. Nevertheless, a growing percentage of the population wants to throw away the shackles of the Triumphant Return doctrine so they may rejoin world trade and grow as a nation. Should the empire fail to do this in the future, it might lead to further instability.
Goals: Modernize, Expand Economic Activity, Increase Population, Expand Infrastructure, Join global trade
History: The Southern Continent, Hongtu (Australia), was discovered initially by the Majapahit in the 900s AD who then began to trade with the region, around the 1100s AD, the Chinese followed suit. The Ming dynasty arose out of the region around Shanghai, establishing vast power over the region. In the 1300s they became the rulers of China establishing control over large portions of the region. However, as with the winter snows, monarchies too melt and become weak and brittle. The growing failures within the Ming government were thrown into the limelight with the Tumu Affair, subsequently leading to the all out collapse of the Ming government. In perhaps the only decent plan in a generation, the Ming and their supporters were able to escape the forbidden city at night getting on boats in Tianjin and sailing all the way down to Taiwan. Taiwan, however, was still in open proximity of the new rising Chinese warlords, and it wouldn't be long before one of them built a navy a stormed the island themselves. A stroke of luck hit when word came from a far away land. Only a few years before the Chinese had established a trade post in Hongtu, and the local magistrate was an avid fan of the Ming, still indoctrinated by his early education.

The Ming left Asia behind, arriving to a warm welcome on a pier in Northern Hongtu. Subsequently a power struggle occurred within the Ming Clan. Who and what were to blame for the failures of the Ming government had to be decided, this began the 2 year long "Sunny Execution", a court was set up by nonpartisan eunuchs who then questioned all the leadings figures, a number of people were disowned from the Ming family and then killed, some people who were not of the family such as military commanders were reprimanded and stripped of rank. The court nullified the bloodline of the previous emperors, and selected a new emperor from the heirs present. They settled on Zhu Yongli, a lower member of the family but the one who planned and secured the flight of the clan and its supporters from the mainland. The court also installed a new system of heirs to try and abolish the Dynastic Cycle. Instead of the titles merely being passed to the oldest, the Emperor could choose any son or nephew as his heir. A declaration of heirship had to be made in front of a court of witnesses and a ceremony was designed, this would ensure a stable transition of power, more so, the procedures for power changes and the actual powers of the king were all legislated in a constitution.

Subsequently, the Emperor went about establishing settlements across the continent, and made trade agreements and intermarried chinese with the local native population, helping integrate the native aborigines over the next 2 centuries. In 1530, the government declared that all Chinese were free to attain citizenship within the Ming Empire, if they so wanted. A stream of political prisoners and poor farmers fed the regions immigration from this point onward. In 1599, the Ming capital was moved from the northern city to the far more agriculturally advantageous south, the region was more suited for settlement and had a better natural port. In line with mercantilist thinking the empire funded state run monopolies in all fields were private business did not spring up. This was mainly in the field of arms manufacturing.

The 1600s also marked the start of a number of infrastructure projects, namely the Grand Road along the south eastern coast. Immigration began to curve after the establishment of colonies in Fusang, the region was far more suited to settlement, and due to more people, more natural resources were discovered. To try and combat the lowering immigration, the government started a land ranching program; a law was established that if the person had not directly worked the land they owned in a decade then the property was no longer theirs, this immediately allowed the government to remove the wealth of rural aristocrats who might one day try to start their own dynasty, and furthermore, it allowed the government to start a land distribution program. The government then promised free farm land to any immigrants to the region, this again spurred immigration, and, working with privateers, the government was able to establish undercover transit operations from Shanghai and Canton to the region for nearly 30 years allowed easy transit. Eventually these operations were figured out and stopped, in the 1700s immigration began to rapidly decline as Fusang became an increasingly more promising place to settle and live, and that coupled with travel bans from the chinese mainland put a big damper on the region. To try and curb this, the government began offering a deal to rural Koreans, if they came to Hongtu, then the government would give them Chinese Identities, teach them Chinese, and give them free land and work. Some took the government up on this offer, but not many.

It became clear, the government needed to focus on developing the population that was already there. Firstly the Grand Road and a number of other road projects were completed, the government then offered free education to all males ages 8-12, discussing history, chinese art and literature, and agricultural practices. This allowed the government to start easily indoctrinating the youth through school but also create better farmers. The government then began an urban development program, establishing city planning protocols and funding the creation of cobblestone paved roads in cities and towns. Building safety protocols were legislated, and in the 1760s the Ming family itself paid for the establishment of hospitals across the nation. The government began to view each citizen as an important asset as they had to build a large population quickly, and a healthy populace was key to that. A rice dole program was established in 1798 providing food aid to poor people in cities, and the government sponsored development of ports and the fishing industry. The Ming government hired prospectors in the 1810s to begin looking for minerals along the southern coastal mountains, a number of copper and iron deposits were discovered allowed for the development of a metal industry. In 1820 the government established a Central Bank to insure the national currency and support a local banking industry, furthermore the government began sponsoring settlements further inland with the development of trail networks through the outback, in 1829, the town of Ur Doo (Alice Springs) was established, it was also the first town to feature a sinicized version of an aboriginal name. This allowed the government to start funding prospectors in the potential inland deposits beginning in 1840.
429 - Do not remove. This is for tracking purposes.

[Tales of Two Horizons OP]

So, following discussion, we have done a timejump to 1839, with corresponding map changes. Things that were in motion before 1839 still would carry (Austria joining the Zollverein, the escalation of the Zhou civil war, etc), but further retroactive actions are not at this point permitted.
We also are going to have a few new things we are doing for posting frequency and player enjoyment.

1. While realism will still be observed and recommended, it will be much easier for players to do things that strictly speaking would not be realistic. While the IEC will still moderate these actions, more player wiggle room is to be expected.

2. To make sure that if we want to have this rp continue it has enough steam to continue, a few new rules will be going into effect for posting frequency.
- Active players must post at least once on the discord a week, unless they cannot access discord.
-Active players must post at least once on the Nationstates OOC a week, unless they are unable to for a good reason at IEC discretion.
-Active players must post at least once every two weeks in the Nationstates IC if they wish to retain their chosen nation.

3. Reservations are now a thing, and a reservation form will be added to the OOC. Reservations are valid for 24 hours.

The changes to the map and conditions of nations for the timejump from 1837 to 1839 are as follow

-76 North Zhou was killed by South Zhou following the entrance of Qian into the war for South Zhou.
-102 Meiguo was annexed by Fusang Texas style.
-48 Russian Empire is at war with the Central Asian uncivilized minors, following a failed diplomatic conference. They have made decent progress, but still have a ways to go.
-82 Min Confederacy has pulled through a successful centralization campaign, and following the adoption of a new constitution is now tenatively known as the United States of the Greater Min.
-18 Kingdom of Hannover is still under personal union with Britain, following a hissy fit by William IV before his death.

*More may be added later, but this is the current general list of changes. Feel free to telegram @The Industrial States of Columbia for further details or ask on the OOC forum.
-

[Audunia]

Reservation:
Location:45
Nation Name: Kingdom of Greece
635 - Do not remove. This is for tracking purposes.

[Kargintinia]

Russia will prevail

[The Industrial States of Columbia]

Russia will prevail

You will try

Any case, new poll up, I went with the broadside ironclad for my answer, Warrior is a personal favorite, though some of the sail frigates with paddle wheels are real nice too. What's everyone else going for?

[Zedeshia]

I definitely wouldn't be opposed to some greater activity. Perhaps expect greater tensions between Spain in the Caribbean before the eventual fall of the Carlist monarchy.

[The Industrial States of Columbia]

I definitely wouldn't be opposed to some greater activity. Perhaps expect greater tensions between Spain in the Caribbean before the eventual fall of the Carlist monarchy.

That sounds funny. Any particular spoilers or just nervously hold my breath while the Caribbean gets ready to combust?

*Also, you don't use discord too much or at all, correct Zed?

[Zedeshia]

I definitely wouldn't be opposed to some greater activity. Perhaps expect greater tensions between Spain in the Caribbean before the eventual fall of the Carlist monarchy.

That sounds funny. Any particular spoilers or just nervously hold my breath while the Caribbean gets ready to combust?

I believe that it would be best if the exact developments remain secret until they are eventually revealed, though I will say that it may literally become explosive later on.

*Also, you don't use discord too much or at all, correct Zed?

That is correct. I generally don’t involve myself with any Nationstates matters on Discord.

[The Industrial States of Columbia]

That sounds funny. Any particular spoilers or just nervously hold my breath while the Caribbean gets ready to combust?

I believe that it would be best if the exact developments remain secret until they are eventually revealed, though I will say that it may literally become explosive later on.

*Also, you don't use discord too much or at all, correct Zed?

That is correct. I generally don’t involve myself with any Nationstates matters on Discord.

Nice.

And fair enough. Feel free to drop something in the OOC if you need to do a diplomatic meeting via google collab.

[The Palmetto]

Horrible news post, hardly elaborated on why the cheese is free. Why raise such a philosophically and socioeconomically important question if you're going to leave us hanging like that? Why is the cheese REALLY free Columbia? WHY?

ANSWER ME

[Tracian Empire]

I definitely wouldn't be opposed to some greater activity. Perhaps expect greater tensions between Spain in the Caribbean before the eventual fall of the Carlist monarchy.

Sorry that I did not manage to answer, Austria would have replied to that message and would have established diplomatic relations, I'll do that retroactively.

As for the Carlist monarchy falling, well, as long as Metternich is in power Austria would be trying to prop up the Carlists, but since he might get removed soon, an Alfonsine monarchy would also not be completely rejected

[Latvijas Otra Republika]

Wooden ships are better cus of aesthetics

[Da Klan]

I gotta say that uhhhhh South America would look funny under Bolivar Thought

[Da Klan]

Wooden ships are better cus of aesthetics

Wooden ships are iconic I agree

[The Industrial States of Columbia]

I gotta say that uhhhhh South America would look funny under Bolivar Thought

"Bolivar eyes intensify"

[Fossia]

-snip-

Finished

[Intermountain States]

Hmm, a Taoist Ming

[The Industrial States of Columbia]

-snip-

Finished

Accepted

[Greater Redosia]

Wooden ships are better cus of aesthetics

Wooden ships are iconic I agree

The sloop-of-war shall bring victory with the hull that is invincible.

[Kargintinia]

https://youtu.be/XjvBP7JzbFM

Me and the boys in Central Asia

[Da Klan]

The reason my app is taking forever is because I look at South America and start fantasizing about conquering it sorry

[Intermountain States]

The reason my app is taking forever is because I look at South America and start fantasizing about conquering it sorry

Understandingable, have a nice day