Chapter 5: To Grow, And To Prepare
With the war finally over, the reserves of the army were finally allowed to return to their normal lives, though at a lower amount leaving then had joined. This war had not only showed how important the role numbers were taking in modern war, but of the importance of well-trained officers and generals as well. Much effort would be put into encouraging more officers among the nobility of Taiwan, as well as seeking military instruction from foreign armies, such as Scandinavia and the Dual Monarchy, both of whom seemed interested in our growing nation, both having sent a small number of interested merchants to the port of Shanghai, hoping for exclusive rights to our large supply of tea. They also brought the news that our great Kingdom had fallen from the list of Great Powers, and in our place, the vile Plantagenets. King Zheng personally wrote a letter to the leader of the nation of the Seven Republics, a man calling himself "President of the Seven Republics" a name unheard of among our people, giving him his moral support and any tea his nation requires to bring down these now hated mongrels.
There then came news of yet more war on the mainland, though luckily we are not involved. It seems that the Daxi leadership, upset over the loss of a path to continued conquest against the Ming, decided to overthrow the entire Shun Kingdom and ordered their tired and weary troops over their shared border. This has brought the Shun allies, the Manchu, into the war, and it seems that the Daxi are being whipped for their ignorance.
Time continues on, and a new Upper House is convened, this time with very little change it seems, though the Liberals and Reactionaries have grown a bit. Hopefully this time of peace and expansion will allow the Monarchists to grow once more.
The year continues on, very little happening except plans for new modern divisions to be raised and new infrastructure to be built. Then in February, we receive news from India, that the nation of Travancore has westernized, allowing it to raise modern troops of their own, and giving them the legitimate reason to spread their borders and reclaim any lost land. A royal envoy was sent with a gift to the new nation, increasing our relations with them greatly, perhaps we shall see an ally on the Indian sub-continent in the future.
After this, Zheng Bei decides to make an official state visit to the nation of Grand Colombia on Arcadia, where they have recently released information of a new addition to their republic. For several years, the region of Bikeyah had seen tremendous growth in immigrants from Grand Colombia, and after the recent removal of the lands in Amerique from the republic, had seen to petition to be included into this Grand nation and were accepted with open arms.
After this visit, with several Grand dinners in several Grand palaces, Bei decided to visit the splinter nations on Amerique, one of which that had already garnered the attention of our prestigious King. The King traveled across the tropical lands into several new nations, Granada, Essequibo, Arequipa, and Quito, which had during our war with the Ming, freed their slaves and incorporated them into their society. Bei was very impressed with these nations and their hospitality, and future plans were made for visits from these nation's leaders to Tungning, it was planned that things would be Grand.
Life continued on, when in March it was heard that in the distant land of the Ottoman Empire, a period of civil war for 20 years had finally ended, and with several new nations joining the ranks of the world. We see in these nations, ourselves and our struggle against Ming oppression. Gifts were sent to these fledging nations but no planned visits were made, given the still hot relations between these nations and the Empire.
At the end of March, there was news that the now tiny nation of Crimea had finally westernized, in face of aggressive neighbors to the north. Having lost more than 2/3 of their land to the combined might of Muscovy and Poland-Lithuania, they would need this standing in hopes of intervention from the rest of the world for their continued existence as a independent nation. Though tensions between the Poles and Muscovy Russians seemed to be intensifying with several border disputes and skirmishes.
At the beginning of May, there was the release of a new national census, started after the ending of the war, and much was learned from it. The percentage of people considered in our primary culture, the Min, had dropped from 37.3% of our total population to just under 13 at 12.8% while the level of our accepted culture, the Nanfaren had jumped from 45% to just over 56 at 56.2%. This shocked the nobility, but still provided the opportunity to raise modern armies, accepting the Nanfaren into out ranks with open arms. The total amount of farmers in our nation had dropped to 75% and with laborers jumping to 14.2%, this was great news, as the policy to steer away from farming seemed to be working. The people seemed to still be in a mood for more land gain, as well as a continued uniting religion amongst our people. All in all, our total population jumped to 13.91 million people from our former 14.5 million, thanks to the acquisition from the Ming, though at the cost of these regions now being considered by many as "colonies".
This census was followed by the unveiling of an impressive endeavor by the Ministry of the Navy. This endeavor would see to a complete modernization of the Navy, with an expansion of the transport fleet, new home constructed frigates, as well as foreign built Man'o'wars, 2 being constructed in the Dual Monarchy and 1 in Scandinavia. It was hoped that this modernization would allow for our navy to control the seas off China and allow us to unite all the former realms of the once great empire.
Our scientists soon made a breakthrough in the field of Basic Chemistry, and new effort was being put into the area of Malthusian Thought. This will hopefully allow us to gain more prestige amongst the world as well as our new chemistry giving us more room to develop farming pesticides and fertilizers.
The year continued on, with more things of interest happening. The nation of Rhonnst in the deep forests of Arcadia, had finally westernized upon pressure from the growing powers of Vinland and Qingquio in August. There was then news that the Funj Sultanate had expanded their borders north, at the expense of the Egyptians, this too in August. Finally, in September we recieved news of the ending of the war between the Shun and Daxi. It turns out original prediction on how the Daxi would do has proven true, as they have lost their recently acquired land from the Ming to the Shun. It now looks as if ourselves or the Shun are attempting to surround that little Taiping region.
The in October, great news was heard. It seems that the Empire of Japan, impressed with our current performance amongst the rest of the world, had seem fit to offer us an alliance. They would be our first in over 100 years, so the alliance was quickly accepted and King Bei was quickly off to visit the Japanese Emperor in his palace in Tokyo. Bei and the quickly became geat friends, and a promise of assistance in case of any future wars was ensured.
The Emperor of Japan when they sent us the proposal for an alliance. Records unfortunately have lost the name of this great man.
In November, an event occured in Euopre that would shake many of the old states to their core. The Germans, fed up with the almost endless fighting between the Bohemian and Burgundian states for dominance over the German people, have seen fit to hold what will be forever know as the First German Council in Paris. This has greatly upset the entire region, as representatives from all across the areas inhabited by Germans have been sent to Paris to take part in this Council. If anything, this council has shown the great desire amongst the German people for both political and social freedom, as well as their own Democracy on the continent.
Several days later, the Second German Council in Paris was held. This time, they met to decide what course the German people should make for their own independence. A confederation was instead formed until such a time when a true German Empire could be formed. The King of Bavaria was chosen to lead this confederation, and the Danubian Confederation was formed. This is indeed a great day for the German people in Europe.
That same day, the Confederation became a member of the list of Great Powers of the world, and was attacked by Bohemia, the unofficial leading power in the former Holy Roman Empire. Bohemia was looking to cut down the Confederation to size while the Germans sought to bring about a status quo. Our King Bei quickly sent a large donation of money to the Confederation in their war effort, knowing that this would be the most noble course in such a situation. Bei as well being a great advocator of independence for civilised people all over the world.
This was soon followed with a movement of our own troops. The newly formed Phillipine Garrison, composed of experienced irregulars from our war against the Ming, was ordered to move to the province of Liyushibi, an island only a few miles away from the nearest Tondo province. Tensions had been running high ever since the Colonial Disturbance back in 1836, and a possible border dispute was looking to be avoided with the existance of trained troops on the border.
It would seem, however, that a dispute would become unavoidable, and on December 28, 1839, the Garrison rowed across the channel separating the two provinces and into Tondo territory. It is hoped that this war will end with the occupation of all of their lands, and with very little to no casualties for our troops, seeing as how the Tondo are still equipped with spears and bows.
As the troops moved across the channel, January saw a new change in the Upper House, once again, little change. Hopefuly this expedition in the Phillipines will see a growth in support for the Ruling Party.
There was soon news from Europe as well. On the 8th of January, a peace treaty was signed between the Danubian Confederation and Bohemia, both sides realising that the war would be long and bloody and a status quo was achieved. May this truce between the two powers help to cool tensions and bring about the complete unification of the German people.