The FRHK begins the Great Northern Campaign
FRHK troops march along the route to Changsha
At 3:35 today, Army Minister Zheng Fan announced that the FRHK has begun the largest military operation in the history of the Republic. The Great Northern Campaign, as it is being called, aims at reuniting China under one rule. Sources say that the plan has been in the works since last March, around the time that Prime Minister George Chai gave his speech on the role of the FRHK in post-Republic China.
“China is a land of wealth, and the nations of the world know this.” stated Zheng Fan at a news conference. “And as history has shown, these foreign powers will always seek to exploit any weakness China may have. Therefore, it is vital that the whole of China be united under one nation. If we fail, the horrors that the Japanese Empire inflicted on our people over a decade ago shall return.”
Several hundred thousand troops have been recruited over the last few years, with a massive surge occurring in 1955. The National Volunteer Army alone has swelled in size at least ten fold. To accommodate this massive increase in forces, the FRHK began The Steel and Grain Initiative, a large scale industrialization program aiming to establish a network of farms, factories, and roads to supply the goods and armaments needed for this campaign. As a result, the once impoverished Guangdong province has been transformed into a major economic center, having increased its industrial and agricultural output to twice what it was just a year ago.
Army Minister Zheng Fan also announced that several independent republics have pledged their support to the FRHK’s campaign. “The cooperation of these independent states is vital to the success of this campaign. The biggest failing of the Republic of China was political divisiveness. If the FRHK can overcome this, then victory is assured.” Many of the states have agreed to lend financial and military aid, as well as accept integration into the FRHK, in return for protection some local autonomy in running their own affairs.
Orders:
-34 LP into armies
Expansion:
-Use 36 armies in the Great Northern Campaign
-Keep 10 armies back in the south
Diplomacy
To: The Mugen Tenshin Shogunate
From: The Free Republic of Hong Kong
Re: Two Part Proposal
The FRHK would like to offer the Shogunate a two part deal, with the latter part being dependent on the former.
The first part is a boundary agreement. Should the Shogunate agree not to expand into the old borders of the Republic of China and Mongolia, then the FRHK shall agree to not expand into the Korean peninsula, the Japanese Archipelago, or the Russian Far East. In addition, the island of Taiwan is to be divided, with the north going to the FRHK, and the south going to the Shogunate.
FRHK claims in maroon; Shogunate claims in purple.
Should an agreement be reached in regards to the first part, then a second part shall be proposed: a non aggression pact. Both parties shall agree to take no hostile action against the other, and will agree to settle disputes diplomatically. In addition, both parties shall agree to not fund rebel and/or dissident groups within the other's borders. Violation of this treaty shall render it null and void.
The FRHK sincerely hopes that the Shogunate does not follow in the footsteps of its predecessors.
-Foreign Minister Wen Bao-Chen
To: The Republic of Free India
From: The Free Republic of Hong Kong
Re: Trade Proposal
The FRHK would like to propose the following trade agreement. The FRHK is willing to provide several tons of consumables (rice, wheat, millet, ect...) and in exchange for several tons of cloth products (mainly, several million National Volunteer Army uniforms).
-Foreign Minister Wen Bao-Chen