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[b]August 9th, 1900, Senryu, Hiron[/b]

The wind blew lightly on a sunlit day as a honeybee flew absentmindedly across the ground. Strangely, the ultraviolet light reaching its eyes showed not a single blade of grass beneath it, nor a single flower, a fact that didn't dissuade the incredibly simpleminded animal. What did surprise it, however, was the sudden gust of wind that knocked it hard to the ground, and the splinter of wood that pierced its thorax thereupon. Were it able to cry out in pain, it would've done so, but it was a mere honeybee, one that was killed instantly anyway.

Further down range, the soldier lying prone on the ground looked towards the spotter peering through a small telescope, who announced, "Center mass hit, probably would've been the heart on that one." Considering the distance of 550 meters, such a shot wasn't bad. Head shots were unnecessary most of the time anyway, and as far as the Kalpians talked, usually one bullet was all it took to knock a soldier out of the fight.

The Head of Design of Imperial Arms, Mazuki Sunichiro stood next to the Minister of the Army, Saito Yasujiro behind the soldier and his spotter. Saito clapped his hands together and motioned to have the rifle brought to him. Clasping it, he tossed it up and down a few times, "This is fantastic. Honestly, it might be even better than the Continentals which is a damn good surprise."

To that remark, Mazuki adjusted his glasses, sweating somewhat, "There is one minor problem I haven't worked out yet. The rifle has a tendency to start to jam after three to four hundred rounds. I think it's an issue related to the metal of the receiver in some way, that it's warping, but it would take me some time to resolve. Either that, or perhaps a maintenance issue. We can start production immediately of course, considering the recent issues with Violette, but the jamming issue is likely to persist."

Saito waved him off, handing the rifle back to the soldier, "Don't bother, take your time. Just ensure you fix the problem, alright? The Imperial soldiers don't need their rifles jamming at the worst possible moment. Everything else is fantastic. If it takes a little bit more weight or cost for better metal, or instructing our boys to clean the damn thing better, so be it. I want the Continentals to look at our rifle with envy and perhaps even order them at a premium, haha! I'll explain the delay to the Emperor, don't worry. The Radenans gave us plenty of rifles in the meantime."

Mazuki bowed deeply, gracious that the Minister was so understanding. Indeed, that was probably the best move since this rifle would likely serve the Imperium for a solid number of decades.

[b]August 11th, 1900, Senryu, Hiron[/b]

Unceremonious changes to the budget were made, very quietly so considering the issue at hand, as the Dragon Emperor ordered that 23 million more dollars be put into investment in food production in order to resolve the, in his words, "Fucking absurdity that our nation cannot feed its own people on its own. What the fuck happened to our farmers and fishermen after the Radenan deal? Did they fucking stop working?! Why the hell did no one tell me about this earlier?!" The inability of a nation to feed its own people is a massive, glaring national security issue, one that the Imperium needed to address as soon as possible. The investment would be used to fund and spread advancements in farming, as well as techniques such as fishing, in order to maximize food production. Further land would be set aside for agriculture, primarily farming as opposed to animal raising due to inherent inefficiencies in raising animals, and plenty more fishing vessels would be constructed using modern techniques.