[hider=The Celestial Empire of Da Nanguo]
[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XUss8BWBrhI/T07tdrNZ_FI/AAAAAAAAAjg/w4QC7CsYcAU/s1600/Qing+Dynasty+Flag.png[/img]

Name of Nation: 
[b]The Celestial Empire of Da Nanguo[/b]

[b]Territory: Light Brown[/b]
[img]http://imgur.com/77S9Mo7.png[/img]

[u]
[b]Description of Government:[/b][/u]

A theocratic monarchy, under Supreme Emperor Jin Ji. Ji resides in the Palace of Heaven, in Diarjing (Shanghai), with all his advisers (composed of family members, close friends, military officials, and the Prime Ministers of Vietnam, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka). Bills are drafted by the advisers, and signed into law by the emperor. 
Laws are mostly lax, although the government reserves the right to claim any corporation or piece of land as property of the state. The young emperor Ji has done this many times since inheriting the throne from his father, resulting in one massive industrial monopoly that stretches across the entire empire. Due to the relatively small number of skilled administrators, government programs run largely unregulated, leading to a great deal of corruption and abuse. Nonetheless, there is universal support for the government, because all state media, education, and literature enforces the notion that the government is divinely appointed, with Ji being a direct descendant of the God of the Heavens. All community organization is centered around local Temples of the Sky, and all legal documents require a prayer to Heaven to be legally binding.

[u][b]
Description of Economy:[/b][/u]

Nanguo's economy was historically upheld by trade in spices, foods, exotic medicines and jewelry. However, with the discovery of blue coal, and its applications, the Emperor began massive, crown funded mining projects across the entire region, and recycled all profits back into further expansions of the industry. Now the economy is fueled overwhelmingly by coal, with great steam ships being built to carry unprecedented loads of cargo across the South China Sea, and even along the coast of Africa and the Middle East. The imperial factories have turned the sky black above Nandijing (Nanjing), Diarjing (Shanghai), Nanhaijing (Hong Kong), and the new industrial megacity of Heijing.
Although countless citizens suffer from what they call "Hei Fei Bing", the Black Lung Disease, the standard of living has otherwise improved. The country prospers under its advanced, new industry, and very few go hungry.

[u][b]Description of Culture:[/b][/u]

The culture of Da Nanguo, while still founded in the traditions of the Hanren (largest ethnic tribe), glamorizes many trends originating from the island peoples of the Dahan Sea (South China Sea). With trade, immigration, and interbreeding being so commonplace throughout the empire's subkingdoms and allies, Daoren (island people) music and food are staples of any major city. Seasonal festivals are observed regularly, celebrating the empire's ethnic diversity. This stands in stark contrast to the military parades that are also regularly held in every metropolitan region.
As the Nanguoren, as they call themselves, learn more about the empire's trading ambitions into the far west, and exploration into the far east, they feel a deep desire to spread their culture to the rest of the world. Missionaries and performers regularly accompany trading and military vessels, looking to bring more people into the empire's "loving" arms. 
Citizens are free to practice cultural, even religious, traditions, so long as they don't bring the authority of the state into question. There is no ban on religious observance, but citizens are required to make weekly non-monetary offerings to their local Temple of the Sky, and pray a prayer of thanks to the Emperor. Legal documents and agreements are required to include a prayer to Heaven in order to binding. Following this, many people include state-sponsored prayers at the end of personal letters, and advertisements. It's believed to be good luck, and to make the Emperor smile upon you for your devoutness. To encourage this kind of behaviour, the Emperor regularly bestows gifts to individuals and charities, claiming to have seen their faithfulness. At this point, it is difficult to know how new or old this tradition is. It may have come about as a method of controlling the masses, once the Emperor saw the power of blue coal, or it may have been a natural evolution of the traditional folklore of East Asia. What's most important of all is that no one cares. Nanguoren are encouraged to live in the present, and forget the inferior ways of pre-industrial, pre-Nanguo Great Han (China) and Laguo (Vietnam).

[u]
[b]Description of Military:[/b][/u]

The Royal Army of Da Nanguo is as ancient as the dynasty itself. It may have changed names over time, as well as form, but what remains constant is its overwhelming size. Simply by number of heads, the Royal Army is an overwhelming force. Swords and spears are still used next to firearms, partially out of tradition by this point, but the hands that wield them are as skillful as they are numerous. When the empire is at peace, officers of the Royal Army serve alongside the Royal Police Force. Needless to say, crime rates range from catastrophic to nonexistent, depending on whether or not a war is underway.
The Royal Navy of Da Nanguo, once moderate and nonthreatening, is now brings great fear to neighbouring countries. While the sailors aren't well drilled yet, and the leadership isn't particularly experienced, again the force is saved by scale. The Emperor's greatest pride are his massive, coal burning warships. The fleet rests off the coasts of Diarjing and Nanhaijing, towering out of the ocean like floating fortresses. Clouds of smog drift across the waves around them. As the ships rock with the roar of their cannons, imposing waves roll from below their massive studded/plated hulls.
There is no Royal Airforce of Da Nanguo, nor does the leadership have any dreams of exploring the technology of sky travel. It's a pointless project, and a waste of money, when the empire already has the keys to endless wealth and power. 

[u][b]History:[/b][/u]

Emperor Ji traces his family heritage through his father (known as the Dream-Killer Emperor, or the Third Prosperity Emperor), through his great grandfather the Qianlong Emperor (now known as the Great Coal-Bringer, or the First Prosperity Emperor), to the earliest members of the Jin (Qing) Dynasty, who united the Jurchen tribes and overthrew Xi (Ming) Great Han (China) in the 1600's.

In the 1700's, through Great Han's long-established land trade routs to the west, First Prosperity learned of the advancements that were being made there with new coal energy. He decided to expend the entire royal treasury on the establishments of mines all across Great Han. At the same time, he went to great lengths to promote and fund the expansion of the state religion. This would be a key social program carried on by his heirs.

In the late 1700's and early 1800's, Second Prosperity began to confiscate Great Han trade companies, merging them into one massive crown corporation. He established land and sea trade routs across all of Eurasia, and the eastern coast of Africa, and constructed massive trade fleets to transport Great Han's goods. Around this time, Akitsukuni (Japan) began its expansion onto the mainland, capturing Shendong and Wodejing (Beijing), among other key areas. Shortly later, the emperor died of suspicious causes, and the country was thrown into chaos. Third Prosperity had all his siblings assassinated, leaving him as the only legitimate heir to the throne. He took command of the Royal Army, and reunited what remained of the country (minus Akitsukuni's expansions). He then refitted all of his father's trade ships as military vessels, and requested that a number of Great Han's weaker (but more strategically important) trading allies declare themselves sub-kingdoms of the larger Great Han empire. This resulted in Laguo (Vietnam), Malaysia, and Sri Lanka becoming subjects of the Emperor, with their state leaders now acting as the Emperor's advisers. He declared this to be the Celestial Empire of "Da Nanguo" (literally "Big Southern Kingdom"). Third Prosperity then set his sights on "Japan", and made great shows of force with his military. The national anthem of Nanguo was changed to a ballad about the thunder of the Empire's cannons. It described the Emperor's fleet as a "merciless storm that kills dreams", and the Royal Army as a "rushing tide of spears and bullets".

Finally, only a couple years ago, Third Prosperity died, leaving his son as the new Emperor. At his own request, the son wasn't crowned "Prosperity", but was instead crowned "Ji", or "Machine". Under him, the mining city where blue coal was first extracted in Great Han, Heijing (in the North-West of China), was declared the second capital of Da Nanguo. Now massive relocation and housing projects are underway, to turn Heijing into the population and industrial capital of the world. Trade networks are being spread, with the goal of reaching every corner of the globe, and a modern military is being assembled and enforced, with the goal of taking back all that was lost to Akitsukuni.

[/hider]