December World - game thread
- Thread starter Ahigin
- Start date
Sniiperman456
Warlord
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2016
- Messages
- 253
My leader is myself. I somehow have a sniper rifle (even though they don't exist yet.) I somehow have modern military gear on. I also somehow have a scope on my sniper rifle. I somehow know how to use my sniper rifle.
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Younger Brother Hong - Leader of all right thinking people!
Seventy seven years ago Our Lord and Saviour Hong Xiquan, younger brother of our other Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, was born amidst great signs, an oath from God to the Han people at the behest of Jesus Christ. God's oath resounded as a fighting call to the Believers, to the Han Race, indeed to All Christians, and remains the lode-star in the historic struggle to usher in the End Times and to bring forth the Kingdom of Heaven.
Younger Brother Hong led the Believers and all Han people to the path of Jesus Christ. He upheld Jesus's teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven. Putting Jesus' teachings into practice our Han people under the leadership of Younger Brother Hong, secured for Believers the fruit of their labour, overthrew the Manchu Warlord, and set in train the coming End Times and the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Younger Brother, as nobody else, profoundly understands Jesus' inspired ideas on the Holy Word, upheld the purity of the Jesus's teaching, developed the Hong-Jesus theory, steeled the Believers in the struggle against numerous enemies, and forged and trains cadres capable of furthering the cause of the Believers...
Younger Brother Hong is our glorious leader from the beginning right until the end, alpha and omega, eternal King, Divine Lord, Right Hand of God, Vice-Regent of God, Younger Brother of Jesus, God's Beloved Son, now and forever and always and his reign will never end.
And now let us sing the Hymn of Our Unending Praise...
Seventy seven years ago Our Lord and Saviour Hong Xiquan, younger brother of our other Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, was born amidst great signs, an oath from God to the Han people at the behest of Jesus Christ. God's oath resounded as a fighting call to the Believers, to the Han Race, indeed to All Christians, and remains the lode-star in the historic struggle to usher in the End Times and to bring forth the Kingdom of Heaven.
Younger Brother Hong led the Believers and all Han people to the path of Jesus Christ. He upheld Jesus's teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven. Putting Jesus' teachings into practice our Han people under the leadership of Younger Brother Hong, secured for Believers the fruit of their labour, overthrew the Manchu Warlord, and set in train the coming End Times and the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Younger Brother, as nobody else, profoundly understands Jesus' inspired ideas on the Holy Word, upheld the purity of the Jesus's teaching, developed the Hong-Jesus theory, steeled the Believers in the struggle against numerous enemies, and forged and trains cadres capable of furthering the cause of the Believers...
Younger Brother Hong is our glorious leader from the beginning right until the end, alpha and omega, eternal King, Divine Lord, Right Hand of God, Vice-Regent of God, Younger Brother of Jesus, God's Beloved Son, now and forever and always and his reign will never end.
And now let us sing the Hymn of Our Unending Praise...
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Die Politieke Exposé: leader of the Boer Republican Party and President of the Kongres (1888-1891)
The Right & Honourable Gerbrant van die Berge, phlebotomist, alchemist, philanthropist
Since the split-vote in the BRP indicating a break in policy over the Portuguese Alliance, the Boer Republican Party has been adrift like an icy floe, and the leader of the once-formidable majority faction in the Kongres now must contend with a fracturing political base. Gerbrant van die Berge is the son of Prussian immigrants Madeleine Flieger and Artur Känowiecz, who arrived in Durban in 1837. The Herr Känowiecz worked as a dock-worker for a few years, before using the small quantity remaining of his wife's inheritance and his own earnings to found the Durban Whaling Company. Känowiecz and his cohorts became quite successful, earning a fortune on the growing whale oil trade that Gerbrant would later inherit. As a youth, Gerbrant worked for his father and studied at the Durban School of Biology, where he became fascinated with natural philosophy and the biology of man. He distinguished himself as a graduate thereof with his thesis on the intellectual differences between those of English and German descent. Although some argued this work was incomplete, its notoriety was sufficient to put Gerbrant into the notice of anti-English political circles.
Gerbrant would later become known as "Gerbrant van die Berge" to his followers as he moved to Kaapstaad to write and study in the Table Mountain villa belonging to the late Lord Saaft. When his father died, he moved back to Durban to take over the family business. His political career thus started as he began to finance additional students of the Durban School of Biology, distinguishing himself as one of their most valuable alumni. His reputation as a teetotaler and a serious man of letters granted him significant political cachet as he embodied republican ideals of citizenship and patronage. He joined the Free Republican Party in 1881 and, following disagreements with the political leadership thereof, formed his own political party in 1888 - the Boer Republican Party that then won a 51% majority of seats in the Kongres. He thus ascended to the presidency in short order.
However, his presidency has been marked with what some have called "a brand of chaos" as the BRP wasted no time in pursuing their aggressive and hostile policies towards peoples of English descent and the British government, pursuing a new alliance with Portugal that was undermined less than a year later by a sudden political spasm rallied by some of the less-disciplined members of the party. The resulting defections shook the party membership and resulted in more than half of the BRP's controlled seats crossing the floor to vote against them in the anti-Portuguese resolution. Gerbrant himself was adamant that the spasm was based in "logical thought" and "expressed a vital concern ... of a conspiracy against the Boer people & state," and his new attitude that Portugal was an enemy to be opposed confused his supporters and invigorated his opponents. Previous enemies of the Portuguese alliance became its new proudest supporters.
It's unclear what the future holds for the current President, though it can be supposed that he will lose the Presidency if his party loses control of the Kongres, as his harsh rhetoric and clinical dismissal of political dissent have earned him few confederates in other parties, even parties that had formerly been allied to his. Gerbrant has been silent about much of these developments except to remark that "the Boer state will live on, no matter what happens to me ... or my office."
The Empress Isabel stands 172 cm tall (5 feet 8 inches) with a weight of approximately 50 kg (110 lbs). She is an avid exerciser, with each of her residences coming fully equipped with a gymnasium. She is a skilled equestrian, and imports the finest horse stock from across the world. She also highly enjoys fencing as a method to keep herself fit, seeing gluttony not only as a sin, but also as an ugly feature. The Empress had long been praised for her beauty, and has such desired to keep it. In addition to exercise, she slept on a bed without a pillow to maintain her posture, and for her skin she used crushed strawberries as a facial mask, took cold showers in the morning, and olive oil baths in the evenings. Washing, drying, and dressing her hair takes two hours in total.
During this idle time though, the Empress does not allow her mind to be idle. While she bathes, she has turned to learning languages, Spanish, English, French, German, and Latin, and has literature read to her; her favorites are medieval legends and romanticist literature. Attending the dressing of the hair of the Empress is a high honor at court, and oftentimes her ministers will make their reports to her as she sits.
As an Empress, Isabel sees herself as the embodiment of the kingdom itself, as its lady and mistress. She seeks to emulate Louis XIV of France in his absolutism, but also the medieval kings of old. Her equestrian and fencing habits help her feel connected to the medieval world. She enjoys making her attendants and courtiers play roles such as a princess in distress, a dark knight, an evil dragon, or a noble squire. She dreams of making a true castle in Brazil, and has dispatched servants to Europe to take note of castles and palaces there so that she might soon design her own.
One of her less traditional interests though is the Carnival. She highly enjoys putting on masks and costumes so she can take part in the festival incognito, with only a nearby guard or two knowing who she really is.
Her relationship with her husband is surprisingly strong for a marriage of politics. She has given him responsibilities in government and has appointed him a Colonel in the 5th Hussars Guard Regiment. She particularly enjoys watching him in military parades, a common sight now in the capital. For his part, the Emperor enjoys his wife greatly, and they have a child together, Princess Madalena
The Empress has only held the throne for a year now, but already her reign promises to be an era of prosperity for her subjects. Let us give thanks to God for such a benevolent and wise Empress!
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Seon
Not An Evil Liar
Stanislaus Preisner, Chancellor of the North German Federation
Stanislaus Preisner is the leader of the SPD and current ruling chancellor of the Federal Council of North Germany, ruling a coalition of SPD-aligned statesmen in the council.
The SPD's fortune within German politics rose to modern day prominent state shortly after the conclusion of the Franco British war and the success of communism in France. The news of the communist regime's rise to power emboldened many radical thinkers, unions, and intellectual populations within the Federation, who desired to see radical reformation of the Federal charter and the Federation's economic policies. After suffering a general strike of workers few years after the end of the French Empire, member states of the Federation called for an emergency election of the lower house in order to assess the changing political situation of the Federation.
The SPD lead by Stanislaus Preisner, a radical thinker for his time, won the majority of the votes in the general election after running a spirited campaign promising major, socialist inspired, reforms to the Federation's economic and social policies. With the SPD and other socialist-friendly parties in control of the lower house and majority of representatives from various states of the Federation, the ruling chancellor of the Federal Council admitted defeat and handed over directorial power over the Federation's policies to Stanislaus and his colleagues in the SPD. Stanislaus quickly used his new power as the Chancellor to successfully negotiate with various union leaders leading the general strike, ushering forth the various healthcare and labor reforms enjoyed by workers of the North German Federation today.
SPD's reforms, while successful in satisfying the demands of the union leaders, have won criticisms from more radical thinkers and elements in German politics, who claim that, while SPD's policies do genuinely appear to protect the workers from the worst excess of capitalism, does not actually dismantle the ways for capitalists to prey upon the workers, and moreover that SPD continues to champion imperialistic ambitions in Africa and East Asia. Others yet point out that despite SPD's work in protecting the rights of German, Czech, and Dutch workers, their protection of the Polish and immigrants from Africa have been far less reaching, with many Polish living in poverty in Plock or as domestic servants of Prussian settlers of the region and many black workers working in harsher conditions than their German coworkers.
Stanislaus Preisner is a known teetotaler, and the rise of SPD to power caused a minor crisis in NGF as liquor prices shot up astronomically due to incredible demands, fueled by fears of an impending ban on the substance (a fear that did not materialize). His choice to drink either tea or fruit juice in social occasions regularly spawn jokes that the reason for the NGF's imperialistic policies in East Asia, Africa, and the New World is to secure a steady supply of rare fruits and teas for his perusal.
He is a personal friend to several rising technology and engineering-related firms and corporations within the German Federation, chief among them being Hugo Junkers, although their friendship have been strained lately after deployment of naval expeditionary force in Zanzibar. Stanislaus' friendship with various corporatocrats have been used as evidence of anti-Marxist agenda of the SPD's policies.
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Kyzarc Fotjage
Rise Up
Chief Director Vice-Admiral Volya
(almost forgot to do this. Its drier than I would've liked. Stupid Exoplanet taking all my story time)
Spoiler :
(almost forgot to do this. Its drier than I would've liked. Stupid Exoplanet taking all my story time)
tobiisagoodboy
Prince
Presidente Mario Idraulico
Mario Idraulico is the most respected "politician" in the Republic. Having fought during the 48 revolution as a young man, he knows what the aristocrats and the church think of the people, not much. Beeing born in Rome and having spent his childhood there, he had to build up his "familia" all by himself. He became famous for his effective leadership, but also his kindness. Those who work hard and honest are normally not molested by his family , the money they demand was always reasonable, so after a few years, they had gotten control over the whole city and all of Latium. With diplomacy and "forceful kindness" he earned the respect of all the major families controlling the then disorganized republic
In 1878 he run for president and, thanks to his excellent reputation, won. The position of President had been mostly symbolic before, but with his charisma and political skill, he managed to become the actual leader of the republic with a few years. The republic has orginazed and the economy was strenghtend since he becae president, which gained him massive popular support. Since he became president, he ahs held the republic together and made sure taht the different familias focused on foreign regions and limited the fighting between the different familys.
He also managed to strenghtend the armed forces, forcing a treaty on the familias, which made the armed forces neutral grounds, no family is allowed to take influence on the army or navy. However, he's gotten old lacks a proper heir. His three daughters are not considered an option and his 15 years younger brother has choosen a military career, making him unavailable. Many consider the posibility that he will adopt a fitting sucsessor, but until today he has not given any statement on this matter.
Spoiler Picture :
Mario Idraulico is the most respected "politician" in the Republic. Having fought during the 48 revolution as a young man, he knows what the aristocrats and the church think of the people, not much. Beeing born in Rome and having spent his childhood there, he had to build up his "familia" all by himself. He became famous for his effective leadership, but also his kindness. Those who work hard and honest are normally not molested by his family , the money they demand was always reasonable, so after a few years, they had gotten control over the whole city and all of Latium. With diplomacy and "forceful kindness" he earned the respect of all the major families controlling the then disorganized republic
In 1878 he run for president and, thanks to his excellent reputation, won. The position of President had been mostly symbolic before, but with his charisma and political skill, he managed to become the actual leader of the republic with a few years. The republic has orginazed and the economy was strenghtend since he becae president, which gained him massive popular support. Since he became president, he ahs held the republic together and made sure taht the different familias focused on foreign regions and limited the fighting between the different familys.
He also managed to strenghtend the armed forces, forcing a treaty on the familias, which made the armed forces neutral grounds, no family is allowed to take influence on the army or navy. However, he's gotten old lacks a proper heir. His three daughters are not considered an option and his 15 years younger brother has choosen a military career, making him unavailable. Many consider the posibility that he will adopt a fitting sucsessor, but until today he has not given any statement on this matter.
Immaculate
unerring
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2003
- Messages
- 7,623
Regardless, I did want to explore some themes and (re-)introduce some characters so I’ll do that here.
Factional Influences within the Tokugawa Savant-Shogunate:
As outlined in the background the official head of state is the Emperor though the imperial seal is little more than a symbol. Real power resides in the Shogun who has ultimate dictatorial control of the state. Despite this, there are three major competing influences/interests within the Shogunate.
The samurai officers have inherited the authority of the bakufu and lead the military operations of the state. Increasingly they are being marginalized by the growing influence of the other two factions and many samurai officers have joined the ranks of the industrialists or savants to further their careers and influence. These traditionalists have influence increasingly witnessed their influence limited to the military itself and not the entirety of the state apparatus.
The technocrats or samurai-savants are a fast-growing faction based on meritocratic development, academic scholarship, and in many ways modeled after the technocracy of Germany or academic institutions of Russia or Britain. They embrace technology, quantification, and are probably the most ‘steam-punk’ element of the Tokugawa Shogunate as I imagine it. They wear bowler or top hats but instead of canes have katanas. They like doing stuff like racing air-yachts and tinkering with brass gear-based devices. Most spike pipes.
The last faction are the daimyo-industrialists, men and families who in tradition held vast wealth primarily in through land-holdings and agriculture but who have, in modern times, successfully weathered the transition to the technocracy by acting as industrialists and factory-owners, fervent supporters of the machine-age but acting not as scientists and technicians but as businessmen. Many of them are patrons of the savants or artists, as well as colleges and places of education and wield considerable influence amongst the savants in doing so. Think of them like the Japanese version of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, and even Henry Ford. In the coming years they will increasingly mature into Zaibatsu-type corporate entities with increasing influence over the state because that’s just awesome from a role-play perspective.
Characters:
Ima Naoaki
https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/december-world-game-thread.620944/page-2#post-14839439
Ima Naoaki is in his mid-30s, has a long mustache that trails to his chin and is of slim build. He is a homosexual and his lover, until recently, was a younger member of the technocracy who was recently killed by Ōta Ieyasu by right of kiri-sute gomen (traditional samurai’s right to summarily execute a lower ranking person who has insulted their honor). In the story involving the carousel it is his lover that he grieves for. He has sworn to himself and his ancestors vengeance upon Ōta Ieyasu for the murder.
He is a member of the technocratic samurai-savant class but is himself not a terribly successful inventor or innovator, being more adept at organizing the efforts of others. That doesn’t stop him from adopting the trappnigs of the class and he wears a top hat and coat with tails and carried a fashionable bronze pocket-watch he likes to spin on its chain. He rides a high-wheeler bicycle because SO AWESOME. He is an avid air-yacht racer and his yacht, the Blind Justess is one of the fastest. I see him as a little bit of a playboy though sad at heart. He served in the Catholic Resistance quest line (basically hunting rebels in the Philippines) where his private yacht was modified for military use and he commanded the Blind Justess as a scouting and attack vessel. I was going to write about that too- and might still do so.
I like his yacht; its based on a story by Jay Lake called the stars do not lie. It is one the first of a new class of airships based on aerodynamic principles. The balloon itself is V-shaped, based on the flight of geese in formation. It has deployable sails and a narrow thin command nest that looks more like the fin-keel of a fast sailboat than the traditional crew-nest form. It is small, crewed by between four and eight and powered by coal-fired steam and hot air.
Like Ōta Ieyasu, he is enjoys both Confederate tobacco and bourbon.
Bugyō Ōta Ieyasu, director of Japanese Foreign Affairs
https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/december-world-game-thread.620944/page-2#post-14837959
Very senior in the bugyo (bureaucracy), Ōta Ieyasu acts as foreign minister for the nation and his signature is on a number of treaties that nation signs in threads. He is older (mid-fifties) and a veteran of the Boshin war that saw the Shogunate victorious. And while he enjoys the privileges and power of technology and the technocracy, not least of which the personal wealth generated through his factories, colonial coal-mines, and steel foundries, he is less enthused by the rise of the savant-samurai or their technocracy.
His killing of Ima Naoaki’s lover was a casual affair, brought on by the stresses of managing Shogunate political alliances and frustrations vis-à-vis the rapid changes in culture and hierarchy in the nation, coupled to what he perceived as a insult to his honor (the boy crashed a rocket-powered recumbent bicycle into his horse while Ieyasu was mounted). He is not aware of the grief the incident caused to Ima Naoaki nor of the latter’s dedication to enacting vengeance.
Ōta Ieyasu is a hawk (and not a dove) and a strong proponent of colonialism. He owns significant holdings in the Philippines and elsewhere, the materials of which feed his factories and foundries and generate nearly unmatched wealth. He wields this wealth primarily to influence political affairs and sponsors a number of savants, artists, and education or cultural organizations, including a racing air-yacht team (I want to write about a race between Ōta Ieyasu and Ima Naoaki’s yachts at some point wherein I’ll introduce the term “racing for pips under Manju rules”).
Like Ima Naoaki he is enjoys both Confederate tobacco and bourbon.
Update 2: January 1, 1892 - December 31, 1892
World map as of 1892:
Spoiler :
Global changes
1892:
As the Qing-Taiping war has ended with full annexation of the Qing state, the Taiping regime has cancelled its mobilization policies, sending countless conscripts back home and cancelling extraordinary procurement orders to its factories. (Taiping Mandate removes “Military mobilization (short term)” and “Economic mobilization (short term)” for no additional price)
The Treaty of Porto between the British Royal Commonwealth and Portugal-Brazil has led to a peculiar colonial exchange. Portobrazilian colonial authorities were allowed to de-facto take charge of the recently established colony of South Patagonia, but no transfer of property of settlers took place, essentially meaning that the territorial exchange was a pure formality, with Great Britain informally controlling most of the colony’s economy.
Pacific Director continued organizing loyal cultural experts on the assorted native tribes, this time with a greater focus on the Manchu and Han peoples, into diplomatic task forces focused on integrating the numerous cultures of the North Pacific into a unified whole loyal to the Directorate rather than non-Russian outsiders. (Pacific Directory: +2 Missions (-18.4 HC, -30.4 IC, -52.2 EC, -5.8 MC)
Two more cargo zeppelins, “Albatross” and “Pobeda,” were commissioned by the Pacific Directory in Russia in addition to the already operational “Vasilisa,” in order to accommodate the flow of exotic goods (whale oil, furs, and walrus bone) and Manchu manual labor to various European nations in exchange, primarily, for their patents, calculating equipment, and educators willing to travel all the way to the Far East.
(Pacific Directory: +12 IC, -25 EC; Sweden: -12 IC, +25 EC)
(Pacific Directory: -24 HC, +21 IC, -32 EC; United Baltic Duchies: +24 HC, -21 IC, +32 EC)
(Pacific Directory: +9 IC, -21 EC; Switzerland: -9 IC, +21 EC)
(Pacific Directory: +6 IC, -13 EC; Moravia: -6 IC, +13 EC)
(Pacific Directory: +50 HC, -30 EC; Italy: -50 HC, +30 EC)
As immigration to the Pacific Directory continued to grow, Director Volya restricted direct political influence vis-a-vis holding elected and appointed positions to property-owning members of the military, with property being defined as land or a seaworthy vessel. Property-owners who weren’t active members of the military were required to join the national reserve. The Pacific Press hurried to claim this was to make certain that those with authority had a stake in the well-being of the country and that those who had a stake in the country were required to defend it, but, in all truth, the move was made largely to prevent the steady tide of immigrants from overwhelming the current political system. (Pacific Directory adopts “Timocratic government” for 40.08 HC)
European painters, drawn primarily from Northern and Eastern Europe, have been inspired by the harsh beauties of the Bering Sea and begun a cultural renaissance in the region. They’ve been accompanied by Swiss and Scandinavian intellectuals who’ve brought the latest in European philosophy and scientific thought to the exceedingly practical people of the North Pacific. These overwhelming changes even touched the upper echelons in the navy, with artists being hired to work on dazzle camouflage for the ships and military officers looking to flex Eastern Russia’s naval might ever further afield. On a related note, Director Volya has insisted that the Pacific Press bring in some actual journalists and that their stories are fact-checked before publishing. Locally written serialized science fiction also started to appear in bookstores on the both sides of the Pacific. Meanwhile, the army, under newly promoted Colonel Kasteen, has begun training in a new military strategy (more accurately, a return to the strategies of Field Marshal Kutuzov during the Napoleonic Wars): bleeding out the enemy over the massive swathes of inhospitable terrain instead of trying to hold defensive lines against massively superior numbers. Further, Director Volya has implemented a national reserve, composed of all property owners and retired military personnel, which can be called up in case of national emergency.
(Pacific Directory adopts “Traditional art and culture” for -1.5 HC, -0.25 IC, -0.5 EC, adopts “Classicism and enlightenment” for -0.25 IC, -0.75 EC, adopts “Impressionism and decadent art” for -0.75 IC, adopts “Expressionism and avant-garde” for -1 IC, -0.25 MC, adopts “Mass culture and popular art” for -2.5 HC, -0.5 IC, -0.25 EC, -0.25 MC, adopts “Bohemianism and counter-culture” for -1.5 IC, adopts “Business regulations” for -0.5 HC, -0.25 IC, -1.25 EC, adopts “Scientific management” for -0.75 IC, -0.25 EC, -0.25 MC, adopts “Citizen's dividend cards” for -2.5 EC, -0.25 MC, adopts “Gambling modus” for -1 IC, -0.75 EC, -0.25 MC, adopts “Socialism and class consciousness” for -0.5 IC, -0.25 EC, adopts “Phenomenalism” for -1 IC, -0.25 EC, adopts “Existentialism and modern ethics” for -1.25 IC, adopts “Psychoanalysis” for -1.5 IC, -0.25 EC, adopt “Biologism and evolution theory” for -0.5 HC, -1.5 IC, -0.5 EC, adopts “Environmentalism” for -0.75 IC, -2 EC, adopts “Eugenics and racial science” for -5 HC, -0.5 IC, -1.25 EC, adopts “Constitutionalism” for -0.5 HC, -0.5 IC, -0.25 EC, adopts “Investigative journalism” for -0.5 IC, -0.75 EC, adopts “Science fiction” for -0.75 IC, -0.25 EC, adopts “Savant culture” for -3 HC, adopts “Dazzle camouflage” for -1.25 IC, -0.75 EC, adopts “Blue-water navy” for -2 IC, adopts “Gunboat diplomacy” for -1 HC, -1.5 IC, -1 EC, adopts “Defense in depth” for -3.5 HC, -0.5 IC, adopts “National reserve” for -3 HC, -0.5 IC, -0.25 EC)
Citing humanitarian concerns, the government of Mexico has taken measures to put an end to the “barbaric” practice of blackbirding and labor coercion. (Mexico removes “Blackbirding” for -38.67 HC, -19.23 IC)
Directorial Russia started cautiously expanding its police force and the Board of Internal Affairs. (Directorial Russia: +1 Mission (-10.8 HC, -18.2 IC, -28.4 EC, -7 MC))
Automotives with internal combustion engines are gradually becoming more and more regularly seen on Russian roads as Russobalt has saturated the market with its new generation of gasoline-fueled automobile carriages. Meanwhile, rapid modernization of the Russian society is creating a generation of socially alienated young artists who are not afraid to step beyond the borders of philistinist “normality.” (Directorial Russia adopts “Bohemianism and counter-culture” for -22.5 IC, adopts “Internal combustion engine” for -19.5 EC, -16.25 MC)
Trade and civil relations between the North German Federation and the Sublime Porte is growing, with German-made calculation devices and specialists trained in their installment and operation being offered to Turkey in exchange for Turkish excess armaments being sold to meet the immediate needs of the Bundeswehr. (North German Federation: -34 IC, +10 MC; Sublime Porte: +34 IC, -10 MC)
North-German art and entertaining equipment are in high demand in Portugal-Brazil, while Portobrazilian agricultural produce is flowing to North Germany in great numbers. (North German Federation: -30 IC, +75 EC; Portugal-Brazil: +30 IC, -75 EC)
Chinese modernization campaign is being fueled by a wide spectrum of knowledge and technology exchange with North German universities and industrial firms, paid back with fruits of Chinese industrial production, primarily staples goods. (North German Federation: -100 IC, +27 MC; Taiping Mandate: +100 IC, -27 MC)
In a development that surprised no one, Italy and the Taiping regime, two leftist states with an unstoppable drive for modernization, have exchanged the output of their respective industries. Reflecting the focus of their economies, the Italians concentrated on turning China into a market for its heavy industry, while actively importing the products of Chinese agriculture and textile industry. (Italy: +150 EC, -25 MC; Taiping Mandate: -150 EC, +25 MC)
Thousands of Chinese laborers have traveled to the quiet North-European centers of learning in order to join local rural workforce, while professional agronomists from Finland and the Baltic Duchies happily traveled to China, where plenty of well-paying positions were created for them by the Taiping government.
(Taiping Mandate: -60 HC, +20 IC; Finland: +60 HC, -20 IC)
(Taiping Mandate: -60 HC, +20 IC; United Baltic Duchies: +60 HC, -20 IC)
North-German Council of Savants has continued its progressive science-driven approach to legislation, improving environmental laws, central banking policy, and anti-epidemic measures. That reflected on the development of the North-German culture, where pragmatist and realist thought and artistic vision are becoming more widely spread. Meanwhile, the army and the navy have continued evolving, concentrating on more defensive measures of the Baltic coast protection. (North German Federation adopts “Army Inter-branch cooperation” for -20 MC, -40 IC, -20 EC, adopts “Blue-water navy” for -15.75 IC, adopts “Dazzle camouflage” for -11.25 IC, -6.75 EC, adopts “Monetary standard and central bank” for -13 HC, -6.5 IC, -9.75 EC, adopts “Environmentalism” for -9.75 IC, -26 EC, adopts “Realism and pragmatism” for -6.5 MC, -9.75 IC, adopts “Vaccination” for -1.5 IC, -13.5 EC)
North Germany continues to evolve as one of the leading continental “soft powers,” both in cultural and economic aspects. (North German Federation: +1 Mission (-11.2 HC, -20.3 IC, -29.8 EC, -8.8 MC), +1 Enterprise (-13.4 HC, -3 IC, -32 EC, -29.6 MC))
In a very surprising move for many, governors of many Brazilian states have turned a blind eye on the fact that many runaway slaves and other illegal quilombo dwellers started to freely travel to the United Communes of the Andes in their search of well-paid work. As a part of the same deal, their ideological rivals from the Andes also silently tolerated that some output of the growing Andean industry started to be sold to Brazilian entrepreneurs of noble descent. The House de Braganza’s flirting with ochlocracies didn’t stop there. In an effort to supply the nation’s growing hunger for quality steel and bronze and taking advantage of its growing agriculture and logging industry, Portobrazilian Imperial Ministry of Commerce provided protection to several deals with influential Italian metallurgic cartels.
(Portugal-Brazil: -70 EC, +10 MC; Italy: +70 EC, -10 MC)
(Portugal-Brazil: -125 HC, +10 MC; Italy: +125 HC, -10 MC)
As the House de Braganza grows ever more interventionist in its pursuit of dynastic influence, it also is starting to realize its vulnerability to enemies within and without. As a shield against them, it has finished the establishment of the Court of Political Affairs, a political branch of the national police force, tasked with censorship and persecution of anti-monarchic extremism. (Portugal-Brazil adopts “Political police” for 76.3 HC, 82.47 IC)
In a move quite fitting to her image of a benevolent and enlightened despot, Empress Isabel of Portugal-Brazil has established a university stipend in her beloved father’s name. (Portugal-Brazil adopts “University stipends” for 101.73 HC, 95.52 EC)
The United Communes of the Andes are reorganizing themselves as a more centralized, well-concerted national entity, expanding its civil administration and central planning committees. (Communes of the Andes: +1 Mission (-12.2 HC, -17.9 IC, -25.3 EC, -3.5 MC), +2 Enterprises (-25.6 HC, -5.8 IC, -54 EC, -37 MC))
The council of mafioso families is growing more accustomed to its informal political leadership over the Italian Republic, extending its influence across the administrative and economic lines of the nation. (Italy: +2 Missions (-22.8 HC, -37.2 IC, -60.6 EC, -17 MC), +1 Enterprise (-13.2 HC, -2.7 IC, -31.5 EC, -26.8 MC))
Gradual quieting down of civil strife in Italy, combined with the rise of its commercial activity with non-ochlocratic countries, has brought about an economic boom nicknamed “the fat years” by the journalists. This has resulted in a wave of innovation in virtually all sectors of economy, combined with increased spending on military training and doctrine development. (Italy adopts “Information economy” for -3 IC, -4 MC, adopts “Scientific management” for -3 IC, -1 EC, -1 MC, adopts “Psychoanalysis” for -6 IC, -1 EC, adopts “Clockwork automata” for -1 IC, -1 EC, -5 MC, adopts “Vaccination” for -1 IC, -9 EC, adopts “Mechanization of agriculture” for -2 EC, -8 MC, adopts “Geologic expeditions” for -2 IC, -1 EC, adopts “Excavators, bulldozers, and tractors” for -9 MC, adopts “Moving barrage” for -20 IC, -2 MC, adopts “Field trenches” for -20 HC, -2 MC, adopts “Military staff system” for -4 HC, -16 IC, -2 EC, adopts “Dispersed combat tactics” for -32 HC, -4 IC)
Education reforms and coronation the progressive-minded Sultan have awakened Turkish intelligentsia and brought a wave of artistic experiments and development to the Turkish society. (Sublime Porte adopts “Bohemianism and counterculture” for -21 IC, adopts “Classicism and enlightenment” for -3.5 IC, -10.5 EC, adopts “Kinotropy and clack-animation” for -3.5 IC, -7 EC, -24.5 MC)
Hungarian bureaucracy, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies are being expanded as the Crown of St. Stephan is trying to carve out a safe breathing space for itself in Central and Eastern Europe. (Hungary: +3 Missions (-36 HC, -47.7 IC, -74.4 EC, -14.1 MC))
While its revolutionary research of revolutionary ironclad landships is progressing, the Hungarian army is modernizing its logistics, armaments, and tactics. (Hungary adopts “Armored trains” for -5.5 EC, -44 MC, adopts “Scatter guns” for -16.5 EC, -38.5 MC, adopts “Defense in depths” for -77 HC, -11 IC)
Seeking to compensate for the “brain leak” problem of South German intellectuals leaving the country, Hungary invited South African academics, artists, and engineers (especially educated refugees of English origin from the Cape) to settle in Hungary as university teachers and industrial advisors, while the Free Boer Republic was allowed to purchase a good amount of Hungarian industrial equipment, something the Danubian nation doesn’t have a shortage of. (Hungary: 200 IC, -50 MC; Free Boer Republic: -200 IC, 50 MC)
The Japanese economy required a short term injection of capital, and the British Consulate in Tokyo has arranged for a short-term, one year loan from the Bank of England, to be repaid in full in 1893. (British Royal Commonwealth: -300 EC; Tokugawa Shogunate: +300 EC)
Another loan of a different kind took place between the Shogunate and the Confederate States of America. As a part of trust exercise between Japan and the Confederacy, the latter offered to dedicate a big portion of its analytical engine’s computing cycles for the needs of the booming Japanese industry, with the agreement that the same amount would be offered next year by the Japanese to the Dixies. (Tokugawa Shogunate: +90 IC; Confederate States of America: -90 IC)
While Finland and the United Baltic Duchies didn’t have the analytical engine power to offer to Japan, they did successfully exchange their academic and engineering expertise for a Japanese labor corps that helped these nations free up a lot of local men to enlist to the army. (Tokugawa Shogunate: -120 HC, +31.96 IC; Finland: +60 HC, -15.98 IC; United Baltic Duchies: +60 HC, -15.98 IC)
With all of the loans and trades, the Shogunate has continued its aggressive program of reorganization of its economy along the lines of central planning, perhaps aiming to stabilize and increase its industrial output. With the savants in power, the entirety of the Tokugawa economy has been dissected, data-point by data-point, and fed into the Edo Castle analytical engine, where shortages, maximal returns, and other metrics were calculated. It is now the responsibility of the Tokugawa savant-samurai to address those results and repair them systematically. (Tokugawa Shogunate adopts “Planned economy” for -106.97 IC, -468.07 EC)
Expanding on the deeply rooted Japanese tradition of law-obedience and strict social organization, the Bakufu government has streamlined the judicial system and clearly established the rules regulating lives of all individuals, pushing into the fringe of society the feudal customs of the ancient regime. The regulations are still draconian and authoritarian, and they have aggressive xenophobia built right into their core, but it’s a code of laws nonetheless, and it will govern what is allowed and what isn’t. (Tokugawa Shogunate adopts “Rule of law” for -313.12 HC, -58.51 EC)
The modernization push sweeping through Japan has slowed down significantly, but still produced some results, such as the adoption of modern naval interdiction tactics by the Shogunate’s navy. (Tokugawa Shogunate adopts “Sea lanes interdiction” for -4 IC, -12 EC)
Decomposition of the Gran-Colombian military, encouraged by their Portobrazilian allies, has reached a new low, as thousands of soldiers fail to show back from home leave. (Gran Colombia: -1 Corps (-maintenance))
As the union of North America is getting more accustomed to its interventionist swing of foreign policy, the Central Intelligence Agency is enjoying expansion of its capabilities. (Union of North America: +1 Mission (-12 HC, -19.7 IC, -28.3 EC, -7.7 MC)))
Modernization of the Japanese economy required extra computing capacities that its own difference engines and the analytical engine of Edo could not fulfill, so the Shogun reached out to the Free Boer Republic, aiming to utilize its own calculative capacities in exchange of opening the valve on labor migration from the overpopulated Japanese countryside to the Kaapstadt. (Tokugawa Shogunate: -240 HC, +63 IC; Free Boer Republic: +240 HC, -63 IC)
Communard France has continued forcing its way through the expansion of the nation’s bureaucracy and intelligence service, financing that effort through channeling the energy of its expansive manual and intellectual labor market into the production of consumer goods and industrial tools. (Communard France converts 606.2 HC and 155.97 IC into 100 EC and 50 MC)
Despite ambitious plans of expanding all branches of government, the Commune of Communes had limited resources in its disposal this year and was forced to limit its power growth “only” to creating several Regional Intelligence Bureaus and communal development halls, while leaving its plans of economic and military empowerment to another year. (Communal France: +3 Missions (-36 HC, -55.5 IC, -81.9 EC, -26.4 MC))
The Sikh Empire chose to expand its civil administration and purchase additional state-owned economic assets, in order to truly establish itself as an unquestionable great player in Asia. (Sikh Empire: +2 Missions, +2 Enterprises (-44 HC, -35.2 IC, -101.4 EC, -41.8 MC))
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was experiencing a societal shift of titanic proportions throughout the year, sending millions of unskilled workers into basic literacy schools and providing them with craft apprenticeships, thus creating a short-term intellectual boom. (Taiping Mandate converts 1002.5 HC and 1476.7 EC for 278 IC and 80 MC)
The Kings-Under-Heavens continued to reshape their nation in the image not unlike that of the previous All-Chinese empires, broadly expanding both the state bureaucracy and its economic possessions. (Taiping Mandate: +5 Missions, +5 Enterprises (-120 HC, -43.4 IC, -183.2 EC, -98.9 MC))
The Oriental Renaissance, as it was nicknamed in Western press, continues its spread throughout East Asia. After first sweeping through Japan last year, now this wave of technological and intellectual innovation has hit Taiping China, changing almost all aspects of life. (Taiping Mandate adopts “Romanticism and orientalism” for -2.5 IC, -2.5 EC, adopts “Impressionism and decadent art” for -3.75 IC, adopts “Expressionism and avant-garde” for -5 IC, -1.25 MC, adopts “Realism and pragmatism” for -2.5 HC, -3.75 IC, adopts “Private and business banking” for -2.5 HC, -1.25 IC, -2.5 EC, adopts “Investment banking and trust funds” for -2.5 HC, -2.5 IC, -3.75 EC, adopts “Corporate ethos” for -10 EC, adopts “Scientific management” for -3.75 IC, -1.25 EC, -1.25 MC, adopts “Gambling modus” for -5 IC, -3.75 EC, -1.25 MC, adopts “Globalism and cosmopolitism” for -2.5 IC, -2.5 EC, adopts “Positivism and futurism” for -3.75 IC, adopts “Phenomenalism” for -5 IC, -1.25 EC, adopts “Psychoanalysis” for -7.5 IC, -1.25 EC, adopts “Biologism and evolution theory” for -2.5 HC, -7.5 IC, -2.5 EC, adopts “Eugenics and racial science” for -25 HC, 2.5 IC, 6.25 EC, adopts “Constitutionalism” for -2.5 HC, -2.5 IC, -1.25 EC, adopts “Investigative journalism” for -2.5 IC, -3.75 EC, adopts “Transnational crime and law” for -2.5 HC, -2.5 IC, -6.25 EC, adopts “Oligarchy and political corruption” for -3.75 IC, -8.75 EC, adopts “Cartels and economic crime” for -13.75 EC, adopts “Steam turbines” for -7.5 EC, -6 MC, adopts “Hydraulic power network” for 10.5 EC, 7.5 MC, adopts “Internal combustion engine” for -9 EC, -7.5 MC, adopts “Still engine” for -6 EC, -9 MC, adopts “Organic chemistry” for -1.5 IC, -7.5 EC, adopts “Electrolysis” for -1.5 IC, -7.5 EC, -3 MC, adopts “Vaccination” for -1.5 IC, -13.5 EC, adopts “Refrigeration” for -12 EC, -4.5 MC, adopts “Geologic expeditions” for -3 IC, -1.5 EC, adopts “Water and land conservation” for -12 HC, -1.5 IC, -3 EC, 7.5 MC, adopts “Dreisines and velocipedes” for -21 HC, -1.5 EC, -1.5 MC, adopts “Moving barrage” for -65 IC, 6.5 MC, adopts “Military staff’s logistical service” for -65 IC, adopts “HQ difference engines” for -39 IC, -19.5 MC, adopts “Bicycle-riding and ski infantry” for -65 IC, -26 EC, -6.5 MC, adopts “Field trenches” for -65 HC, -6.5 MC, adopts “Dispersed combat tactics” for -104 HC, -13 IC, adopts “Specialized troops” for -117 HC, -13 IC, -6.5 EC)
In a predictable move to have a better grip over national economic investments, the Heavenly Kingdom chose to introduce dirigist elements to its budgeting system. (Taiping Mandate adopts “Dirigist economy” for -127.22 IC)
As the number of workers displaced by the religious and social policies of the Taiping regime grows, the nation has started to combat that woe through creation of workhouses for the unemployed. (Taiping Mandate adopts “Workhouses” for -33.9 IC, -204.36 EC)
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Update 2: January 1, 1892 - December 31, 1892
War update: Taiping-Qing war
1892: The lull that lasted all winter and early spring gave both armies to prepare for another year of campaigning across the vast region. This time, the Taiping forces didn’t have the same overwhelming numerical advantage as the last year, having to fight many miles away from Chinese industrial centers, forcing the Heavenly Kingdom’s generals rely on a much more reduced, picked army. Their plan was to launch a two pronged attack with the main strike on Mukden and then past it on Changchun, and the second impulse directed at the “Agate City” of Fuxin, thus taking over the lion’s share of the remaining Manchu industrial base. The Qing dynasty’s Banners, meanwhile, were stretched thin between defending several remaining major cities and unenthusiastically patrolling virtually undefended wilderness between them. The main problem that Qing Bannermen faced was rooted in critical shortage of qualified officers and extremely shallow supply of ammunition, combined with a paralyses of the high command, already disorganized and defecting the Qing court in Harbin “village palace” after the last year’s disastrous retreat from the Forbidden City. When the Mukden-Fuxin offensive came, the battle was rather anticlimactic. Once the defensive lines around Mukden were taken in a violent assault and several ill-guided counter-attacks on the flanks were beaten back, the Manchu army collapsed and started retreating in panic. In more distant parts of the region, whole regiments surrendered to Taiping platoons, demonstrating their cut-off queues as a sign of their abandonment of loyalty to the Qing court. One of the last attempts of organized resistance was put down in a short cavalry battle on the Woken river, where the Palace Guard cavalry briefly overwhelmed an advancing column of Taiping footmen, but was eventually dislodged from the river crossing once Taiping artillery arrived. By September, the war was over, and the remainders of Inner and Outer Manchuria fully annexed into the Heavenly Kingdom. As for the Qing court, it mostly found refuge across the Heilongjiang river, in the Pacific Directory’s city of Blagoveshchensk, while the imperial family escaped to Japanese-held Yomichi and resides there in the vicegerent’s castle-mansion. (Korea-Manchuria: Taiping Mandate gains +19.48% Regional Influence, Qing Dynasty loses -19.48% Regional Influence, Qing Dynasty is annexed, -4.69% Regional Growth Fluctuation, Taiping Mandate losses: -14.14 HC, -2.81 IC, -7.29 EC, -2.86 MC, Qing Dynasty losses: -43.22 HC, -6.89 IC, -20.2 EC, -5.32 MC)
War update: Portobrazilian Conquest of Sokoto and Gobir
1892: Citing vaguely specified and, most likely, made up “persecutions of Christians” in the Yoruba states, the colonial authorities of Portugal-Brazil demanded that Sokoto and Gobir allowed “presence of Portobrasilian troops” in the Niger River delta for the purposes of “investigating the rumors.” This diplomatic bluff was fairly cumbersome and easily called out by both of the nations that once considered each other rivals, but now found themselves united by the need to resist a common (and rather perfidious) foe. That left Portugal-Brazil no peaceful way to escape the situation without losing its face (something that the Empress didn’t want to happen again, after the Boer ultimatum resulted in a dramatic shift of her nation’s diplomatic tone that February). Determined to prove their superiority in this crisis against two “savage” nations, Portobrazilian high command rushed reinforcements to its African possessions and, by May 1892, launched two big expeditions supported by a gunship flotilla capable of navigating the Niger and Benue rivers. Wary of the enemy superiority in armament and tactics, the forces of Gobir retreated to the left bank of the Benue river, abandoning southern confederate emirates to the enemy, but hoping to preserve their fighting power. Meanwhile, the Sokoto Caliphate could not accept the loss of the Niger River delta without seeing the weakened royal authority collapse. In an act of blind desperation, the Sokoto levy force, outgunned and outnumbered, gave an open field battle near Kwale, in which the glorious, but outdated royal cavalry was butchered by grapeshot, machine guns, and rifle fire, and the rest of the levy forces were easily dispersed. Ironically, that first defeat didn’t result in an immediate capitulation, as the feudal Sokoto state fell back for the tactics of protecting numerous forts and fortified rural strongholds across the land, forcing the Portobrazilians fight a long and exhausting campaign of sieges and anti-insurgency. At the same time, Gobir forces of the east turned out to be better prepared for an open battle than for a prolonged campaign. Protecting the Benue river crossings proved to be impossible, due to the Portobrazilian river flotilla, and when the river was crossed, the Gobir confederacy gave the Europeans a two-day-long general battle at Bauchi, which they hoped to miraculously win, just like the battle of Gawakuke that gave the city-state union its birth half a century ago. The battle was hard-fought indeed (at least, given the discrepancy in equipment and technology), but once the Gobir army was beaten, all cities allied to Gobir chose to abandon the war cause. By the end of the year, the campaigning was over, with both nations effectively conquered. Portobrazilian attempts to woo local nobles into collaborating with the new conquerors largely failed, since vast majority of Sokoto nobility was decimated in the war, and the eastern merchant class, dominating pro-Gobir city-states, remained loyal to their Maghrebi trade partners (if they were lucky) or lost its entire fortune in the war (if they were not). Now Portugal-Brazil is left in the possession of a vast, populous, and desolated region which is boiling with dissent. (Niger Region: Portugal-Brazil gains +60% Regional Influence, Sokoto loses -30% Regional Influence, Sokoto is annexed, Gobir loses -30% Regional Influence, Gobir is annexed, -11.56% Regional Growth Fluctuation, Portugal-Brazil losses: -4.63 HC, -2.36 IC, -4.66 EC, -7.12 MC, Sokoto losses: -14.72 HC, -2.06 IC, -7.36 EC, -0.38 MC, Gobir losses: -13.86 HC, -1.34 IC, -6.45 EC, -0.31 MC)
