Lycos Palace, Naughten View
His Heavenly Guanxine walked through the grounds of the Lycos Palace, deep in thought. This was unusual for such a man as Ky Morris. Not to say that he was unintelligent, oh no, with an IQ of around 137 and half a dozen degrees, all taken under an assumed name, the Ky, all Guanxine Emperors had their first name as a title, was no doubt a smart and wise man. And with this intelligence came pride. Pride in himself and his people, for they had prospered under his rule.
Part of this prosperity had come from the trader vessels that plied the seas around Guanxi, and especially through the Paulianus Passage. Named after Paulianus XII, Emperor in 28,763AC (1892CE), the Passage was free to travel for most ships, except military ones. That what was worrying the Ky was a single intelligence report, currently locked in the upper right hand draw of a desk in his main office suite. The report, just 90 or so words, contained details of a plot by violent separatist guerillas in the Air Bangsa colony, to attack and board an Anagosian-Yohannes ship carrying arms bound for the Lyran Arms Company.
And when Lyran weaponry goes missing, someone gets blamed. The men named in the report would soon be dead, however, and the Ky was certain that would end any possibility of such an attack, but the problem of the terrorist and other illegal activity in the Paulianus Passage remained. And the Ky would solve it, he was determined to.
A voice from the distant broke into his thoughts, not from another person, but from his own mind, his own memory. The voice of Gallagfu, his tutor as a boy. "To purge the stream of poison, one must first stop the flow of poison into it. Dam the stream, and begin the purge." Ky Morris whispered the words, and an idea occurred to him. He broke into a run, heading for the house, past startled servants and gardeners, almost knocking over an aide who cried in fear. The Ky ignored him, lost in his planning, but he slowed to a work as he reached the council chamber, knowing they'd already be there.
He strode through the doors, noting as silence fell. "Gentlemen, I have a plan."
All freight traffic not expressly cleared by existing agreements between the Angline-Ganxine Empire and others is to avoid the Passage at the threat of direct military action in the form of the seizure of said ship, it's crew and cargo. The crew will be returned to the nation of ship owner's origin, whilst the cargo and ship will be impounded and sold at public auction, with 15% of the sale price going to the owner, minus the administrative and other costs incurred in the seizure, moving and storing of the cargo and/or ship.
All passenger traffic not expressly cleared by existing agreements between the Angline-Guanxine Empire and others shall be allowed to continue, but at a slower pace than normal. Routes that operate more than 10 ships per day will only be allowed to run 20% of it's normal capacity, and these ships will be stopped and searched by the Angline Navy in tandem with the Imperial Air Force. Any ship not complying with these requirements will be met with direct military action, it's crew and passengers arrested and the ship impounded. The crew will be deported to the nation of the ship's origin, whilst some passengers will be allowed onto their destinations and the others taken to the nearest Guanxine Port, to be taken by the Empire Ferry Service to their destination.
Any freight travelling by air through the airspace that roughly corresponds to the Paulanius Passage will be required to submit flight plans no less than 28 days before the plan sets off, to the hour of departure. Any plane not complying with these regulations will intercepted by the Imperial Air Force.
These regulations do not apply to the following nations: Azumethronnia, and Anagonia-Yohannes and Member States of the Sovereign Empires Coalition. The list of nations that may bypass these regulations may change at any time.
ANS Jij, 30 miles west from the Olympus Islands
Johan Isla had been apart of the Angline Navy for more than 40 years, rising through the ranks to become First Maje of the Paulianus Fleet, answerable only to the Lord Admiral and The Ky himself. Johan Isla was a powerful man, as a descendent of Nicene III should do. Yes, Johan was an Lerian, the line of Kings that ruled for more than a thousand years and brought the Angline-Guanxine Empire into the modern age. Johan had a claim to the throne of the Empire, but would not press whilst the Ky lived. He had vowed not to.
Then again, he found himself thinking, the Ky had vowed never to claim the throne, but did so. He shook his head, rereading the latest reports. The 3rd Fleet was acting in tandem with his own, and had blocked the south-eastern entrance to the Passage, with the 2nd fleet doing the patrolling of the coastlines inside of the Passage itself. They would be backed by much of the Imperial Air Force, while Angline 1st Army Corps, the Empire's marine corps, would do any boarding and seizure of vessels and cargo.
The operation was the largest sea mission in the Empire's modern history. Almost 80 ships and over 300 attack and boarding craft working with the best part of 300 helicopters and 200 planes, Operation Dam would be using almost 200,000 personnel total, including logisticians and intelligence and diplomatic personnel. All these were concentrated in this stretch of water. And they had tightened their grip.