[center][b]The Dragon Imperium of Hiron[/b]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/p6PPXJq.jpg[/img][/center]

[b]April 2nd, 1899, Senryu, Hiron[/b]

Another day, another consultation with the ministers. The Dragon Emperor sat solemnly once more, staring at the sunset, probably going blind slowly. He had high ambitions for his nation: a sprawling industrialized nation whose hands cradled the world. But as it was, Hiron barely made itself within Settumu, let alone beyond it. Hiron needed more influence, power, and technology. It needed a stronger industrial base. The ministers had spoken, by this time, the young and brash Emperor's eyes were already set on the future.

He turned his head about slightly and spoke, "I have had an idea. The Continentals almost all use railroads, connecting their major cities and industrial centers. Hiron completely lacks a rail network. We need to fix that. And not only do we need to fix it, we need to eventually push to have it crisscross the nation. I want to make it so that a man in the North can easily visit another in the South one day, without having to ride a horse or in a wagon, or heaven forbid, walk. This is one of my ultimate goals, but first, we should focus on linking the industrial centres and the major cities to further enable trade and industry. Minister of Economics, I want you to create the Imperial Rail Authority, get on it immediately. You shall have all funds necessary and access to the nation's steel supply."

The Minister nodded and headed out to do what was necessary, as the Emperor continued, "Senryu International is certainly coming along quite well, but we need to push [i]harder[/i], and immigration policy is currently restrictive towards foreigners. I realize this might be risking the stability of the nation, but we must open ourselves to the world, economically, politically, and socially. The Continentals have many ideas, and I want to mold Hiron to incorporate them. If they are to come to Senryu International and Hiron in general, they must be allowed to immigrate. Change the policies to allow for the uncapped immigration of foreign skilled workers, primarily those who have graduated university, and to give them a small living stipend for three months to find work here." It was an ambitious move considering the homogeneity of Hiron, but the Emperor's word was law. The people would have to grow more accustomed to living alongside foreigners if Hiron conquered new lands anyway.

The Emperor stood and waved the Ministers away, save for those of the Army and Navy. Those two, he motioned to join him on a walk around the small Imperial Palace, "Ministers of War, how ready are we to engage Meung or the other small island nations?"

That of the Army spoke first, "My Emperor, Meung is not someone the Army is prepared to fight. Their lands are vast, their population high, and their army likely large. If we are to fight them, we must increase the size of the army and prepare it far better. I would also recommend having an ally or two... As for a few islands, we could probably take them if necessary."

The Emperor nodded and looked towards the Minister of the Navy, who gave his opinion, "Taking islands is easy enough. The Navy is quite prepared to crush their pitiful defenses and then shell them into oblivion or surrender, whichever comes first. As for Meung, I'm not entirely sure, but chances are we could beat them on the seas handily. A blockade would be quite effective, and if we shell their cities, perhaps we need not even fight on the land. But if we wish to swallow Meung whole, a land war is necessary."

Ryugo walked along silently for a little while until the group came to the western edge of the Palace, from which he looked towards Meung, unseen beyond the horizon, "I am not sure yet what I wish to do with Meung. We must take control of them, either officially or through subjugating them politically. I will consider the possibility of allies when dealing with them. As for the puny islands not yet under our control, Minister of the Navy, I believe Hiron will soon be sieging them..."

[hider=Summary]Hiron creates the Imperial Rail Authority and tasks it first with uniting the major cities and industrial centers, but its future goal is to unite every city, town, and village in Hiron.

It also loosens its immigration policy towards foreign skilled workers and incentivizes them to come by offering a small living stipend for three months until they find work.

At the same time, the Emperor consults his Ministers about stretching Hiron's hands across Settumu, though no immediate action is taken...[/hider]