[center][b][h2][color=blueviolet]The Tyrian Empire[/color][/h2][/b]
[color=blueviolet][b][i]"Unbowed and Unbroken"
February, 1905[/i][/b][/color][/center][hr][hr]
[center][b]Never Again Defeat[/b][/CENTER]

The Imperial Minister for War, Field Marshal Hans von Mollard cut a dashing figure today before the Imperial Diet. Garbed in full military dress and armed with a bristling mustache, he sung the praises of the Imperial Defence Act, a piece of legislation he had been directly responsible for and one which had been successfully pushed through the Imperial Diet to be made law in the previous month. Known as the Emperor's blunt instrument in politics, the Field Marshal who had earned renown during the Tyro-Helroxian War had not been elected but appointed directly by the Emperor to his current position, to some observers this was a testament to the monarch's increasing desire to take a more active role in matters of the military. Before the assembled House, the Field Marshal had this to say:

[i]"Through the passing of this bill we have taken a step towards assuring this grand nation's place in the world. Not since five years ago has this nation been tested and in that incident we were found wanting, I am here to promise that in my capacity as Minister for War I will assure that Tyria will never again know defeat. Never again will we be forced to endure living in the shadow of another nation in disgrace, for we shall be a leading light in this world, righting the wrongs committed against us and the anvil against which any foe who would seek to test us will break. Such is my promise to the Emperor and this government. 

Now I am also here to remind you gentlemen, that in our efforts to assure the defense of this nation we will have to do more. I am speaking of complete rearmament, an endeavor which I trust this government will support for the alternative is to risk peril. Make no mistake my friends, this is a path we must take to ensure the sanctity of this nation and her rightful place as a great power against the baying wolves who would see her humbled. God save the Emperor! God save Tyria!"[/i]

The Field Marshal's speech has earned varied responses from within the Imperial Diet, with monarchists, conservatives and notable warhawks praising the emboldened direction of the Ministry for War while members from the liberal benches continue to decry the idea of increased budgetary expenditure on the military as preposterous with more radical members declaring the military a relic of a bygone age.  

[center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Rudolf_St%C3%B6ger-Steiner_von_Steinst%C3%A4tten.jpg/329px-Rudolf_St%C3%B6ger-Steiner_von_Steinst%C3%A4tten.jpg[/img]
[i]Portrait of Field Marshal Hans von Mollard, Imperial Minister for War, Circa 1905[/i][/center][hr][hr][b]OOC:[/b] +1 to all actions of February