Shogun Yamato stood on his balcony, overlooking the palace's flower garden. His mind swarmed with the recent goings-on in his nation. First had come the founding of his two great new cities, Kobe and Hiroshima. Already the people there cried for the connection of Kyoto's road system to their cities. Yamato knew that for those cities to thrive they needed infrastructure as advanced as that found in the Capital. And so he ordered that roads be built connecting Kyoto to the two outlying cities. Along these roads, small settlement... "really little more than way-stations," he thought... were to be built. This way travelers could sleep for a night and have a decent meal as they moved between the cities. He also ordered the building of improvements within Kobe and Hiroshima. Both cities would be fortified with great stone walls like those around Kyoto. Both would also benefit from public parks and temples. In Hiroshima a great harbor was to built, increasing sea trade and fishing, and also setting the groundwork for a great Japanese navy. Such things would make his citizens happy. But the Shogun had more to worry about than just his own people.
The embassery from Korea had been well received. Though his people had been at first suspicious and hostile towards the newcomer, when he managed to explain that he was on a peaceful mission to contact us, Japan had bestowed upon him the best of its hospitality. He had been brought before the Shogun, where he underwent a ceremony making him an honorary Japanese citizen and an honorary member of the imperial court. Yamato had then thrown a large feast in his honor, with fine foods from throughout the island: rice, noodles, meso soup, sushi, numerous varieties of broiled, boiled, and fried fish, crab, and beef, with beer and sake of the finest quality to drink. Shogun Yamato hoped this help seal a friendship with the Korean people.
The final question that kept swimming through Yamato's mind was what to do about his friends and allies the Tokugawa. The Tokugawa Shogunate had fought alongside Japan and had proven themselves good friends. Yamato had had Tokugawa himself to dine at the palace several times. But the old Tokugawa shogun had died, and had left no rightful heir, and so an illegitimate son with no real claim to the throne had come to power. He was a weak boy, both physically and mentally. His councillors had no confidence in him, his mother made most of his policy for him, and his people were becoming uneasy. There was even word that some yearned for the advanced infrastructure and thriving economy enjoyed by the Japanese. Yamato had an idea, but he feared the possible consequences. He could offer the Tokugawa people a chance to peacefully join the Japanese nation, with all the benefits of Japanese citizenship and culture, plus semi-autonomy over their domestic affairs. Yamato knew many would spring for this opporunity, but feared the young new Shogun would not be mature enough to do what was right for his people. On top of that, he commanded a sizable army -- though the loyalty of his troops to their Shogun was somewhat questionable. Yamato decided he had no other choice. He would send the offer to the Tokugawa.
To Korea:
Agreed. The Japanese people, though skilled in the arts of war, are fundamentally peace-loving. Our terms for the treaty are as follows: Korea will agree to make no expansion into the Home Islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Korea will also make no expansion into Sakhalin Island, the Ryukyu Islands, or the Kuril Islands. Similarly, Japan will not expand into the Korean Peninsula, the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, or Manchuria. Neither Japan nor Korea will launch agressive war against the other. Deal?
To Tokugawa:
Friends, we have fought side-by-side in war, and lived side-by-side in peace. We speak the same language, worship the same religion, eat the same food, and are descended from the same ancestors. Why should it be that you live in a society with a failing economy, insufficient infrastructure, low quality of life, and restricted civil liberties? We cannot sit by idly while our brothers live in squalor. I hereby offer you the opportunity to join the Empire of Japan as full citizens. You will have all the rights of Japanese citizens, will benefit from the same infrastructure projects as those going on in Kyoto, Kobe, and Hiroshima, will prosper under the Japanese economy, and will retain semi-autonomy in your domestic affairs. Do you accept this offer, given to you in peace and friendship?
Orders:
-Build infrastructure of Kobe and Hiroshima. Build walls, a public park, and a temple in each. Build a large harbor in Hiroshima.
-Connect Kyoto, Kobe, and Hiroshima by roads. Build a way-station every few miles along these roads where travelers can stop to sleep, eat, and drink.
-Build the economy through the expansion of road networks, domestic sea trade via Hiroshima, agriculture in Kobe, and commercial fishing and other sea harvesting in Hiroshima.
-Continue to expand at the fastest rate possible. Show the Ainu tribes of the island the glory of Japanese culture and try to peacefully incorporate them into the empire.