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Lijiang:





--- Quote ---"VERTEBRAE PORTS" TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION
--- End quote ---

Dragon Emperor Tielin II has today asked for the Council of Imperial Knights to begin implementing a programme that is being called "The Majestic Network of Vertebrae Ports". The Imperial Knights who hold lands neighbouring the huge river known as the Dragon Spine have been asked to examine their lands and report back if they believe that a port could be constructed on their land. The aim of the consultation is to highlight a series of locations for modern ports to be built along the river helping improve the nations trading infrastructure. Currently the river, which runs 3/4 the length of the nation, has a port at its mouth in Lóngzui and another in the capital Fengtai capable of handling large capacities of cargo. The new programme would see a further four constructed along the river in a move that is hoped will allow businesses to transport goods in large quantities up and down the nation. One Imperial Knight has explained he is desperate to get one of the ports for his area. "We in Rizhao would be perfect for this port on the Spine. We are one of the major producers of silk and currently moving the harvests to the roads and then the long journey to Fengtai can take several trucks and each one see us having to pay a driver for days of work and before it reaches Fengtai a huge amount has been added to the price. IF the port is open we can easily move goods in vast amounts much cheaper. This is good for us as we can make make more money, it is good for customers as we can cut some of the prices perhaps. It also means we can even consider trading in other nations without troublesome logistics."

The project marks the first major construction project ordered by Dragon Emperor Tielin II who has spoken of the need to modernise the nation in many ways. "Lijiang is an economy on tick over. We have not utilised the vast potential of the Empire for over a century. While we have naturally not just ceased to work, to trade or farm we have seen no urgency in improving things so we can export more. We are a nation that can be largely self sufficient in terms of food, heating, shelter, clean water, and everything we need to survive. I do not though want us just to survive I want us to thrive and for that we will need to bring industries we have not yet fully embraced into the Empire. To give us the funds to do that we need to move our goods out of the nation. The key then is to ensure a smooth transit process can take place."

The Emperor is due to begin a cruise of the Dragon Spine the day after his impending marriage to Lady Dandan. He will first travel to the Sea Dragon Temple in Lóngzui before boarding a royal boat and heading the full length of the river stopping in several places en route. He will then travel south until he reaches Gāodì which is the Southern most province. The Emperor undertakes this journey so he can say from early in his reign he has visited each Province and the Dragonheart Lake in Gāodì is bordered by three provinces making such a journey a speedy and effective way of achieving the aim of seeing all 13 provinces.

Lijiang:




--- Quote ---FUTURE QUEEN'S TITLE SELECTED
--- End quote ---

Today the pre-wedding ritual of determining the Omens for the upcoming royal wedding took place. At the Sanctuary of the Two Dragons the Dragon-Priestess was joined by the Imperial Family and all  of the High Lords in order to determine the answers to several questions relating to the upcoming wedding that will take place on the 7th day of February in the 2021st year of the Mundus Common Calendar. The most significant question answered during the rituals was the exact title by which Lady Dandan will be known once she becomes Queen.

The young 16 year old noblewoman was taken at sunrise from the Golden Enclave under armed escort by what will be her detachment of Imperial Guards across the river known as the Dragons Spine to the Sanctuary of the Two Dragons. There she began a period of meditation alone with the Dragon-Priestess. Two hours after sunrise the various other people expected to take part in the day arrived and took their positions to witness the rituals. Dragon Priestess Xi Mengyao first asked Lady Dandan if she was willing to accept the Omens of the day whether they be "fair or foul" before asking the Dragon-Emperor if he would accept Dandan regardless of the outcome. Once this had been confirmed a lock of hair from Lady Dandan was thrown into the wind and a vial of her blood added to a bowl of water. From these signs and various other things seen by the Dragon-Priestess that morning a conclusion would be reached about which of the Dragons would accept her as their Queen. While the Dragon-Priestess interpreted these omens with a group of Priestesses the Imperial Family and guests meditated.

It took two hours for the decision to be worked out. The decision would determine which of the four families of Dragons would accept her as their Queen or which individual powerful Dragon would agree to guide her. The decision is highly important for Lijiangian Queens as it determines which festivals and rituals she is expected to take a lead in as well as the best time of the year for her to become pregnant. The Dragon-Priestess announced, "Upon her marriage to the Majestic Dragon-Emperor Lady Dandan shall become known as the Azure Dragon Queen Dandan the First. The omens show that she is closely connected to the Azure Dragons who bring new life in the Spring. We believe this is because the Azure Dragons including Qīnglóng have blessed her and shall bring forth a great many children enhancing the fertility of the entire Empire." The news has been greeted with great celebration across the Empire as the Azure Dragons are among the most favoured because of their connection to agriculture and the fertility of the land.

Following the naming of her new title Lady Dandan was taken into the Temple part of the Sanctuary where she was ritually bathed by the Dragon-Priestess before being dressed in robes of the colour associated with her new title, colours that she will now wear on most formal occasions. Having been dressed she was introduced to the assembled group by her new name which will be revealed to the nation on the day of her marriage. Lady Dandan will now switch her residence to the Sanctuary until her wedding day where she shall spend time with the Dragon-Priestess preparing for her ceremony. Meanwhile the Dragon-Emperor will be spending time on visits to the various Temples around the city of Fengtai making offerings to the various Dragons. It was also confirmed that the omens had permitted the invitation of foreign guests.

Lijiang:




--- Quote ---MES HUANGDI ASKS TO BE ADOPTED BY NEW QUEEN
--- End quote ---

The Naval corvette the Majestic Empires Ship Huangdi has today formally requested to be adopted by the future Azure Dragon Queen Dandan the First. The practice of the Dragon-Empress and Queens of Lijiang adopting a single vessel in the Navy goes back to the very beginning of the creation of the Navy. The Dragon-Empress has adopted the flagship of the Navy, MES Nuwa, and the ship now features a special ensign flown alongside the naval one and its crew are permitted to wear gold piping on their uniform. The MES Huangdi is named after a mythical Dragon-Emperor who was devoted to the Azure Dragon deities and as such is seen as being closely associated with those Dragons the omen have suggested support the future Queen. It is unlikely with the ships Captain so publically stating that they have asked to be adopted by the soon to be Queen Dandan and the ships namesake being so closely connected that no other ship in the fleet is likely to ask now. Upon becoming Queen the decision will be made public and if accepted the ship will be permitted to also fly the Queen's banner alongside its own ensign and its crew would wear bright yellow piping on their uniform. The ship is likely to not be in port when any decision comes as it is one of a number of ships now moving out of port to go and conduct military exercises with the Navy of Royal Seleucid.

His Excellency High Councillor the Lord Kexing lauded the upcoming exercises saying. "We recently hosted the King of Royal Seleucid and he thankfully agreed to support us with our attempts to examine the standard of our military. I am hoping we give a good account of ourselves and I am confident our men will do the best they can with what we have and hopefully turn a few Seleucid heads in doing so with their skills. Once the exercise is over we look forward to several thousand Seleucid servicemen visiting our nation and thank the local communities who have agreed to host them and ensure their stay in Lijiang is an experience they will treasure."

A large military contingent is heading for the North coast for the exercise while another heads to the capital ready for the upcoming wedding.

Lijiang:





--- Quote ---FIRST OIL DRILL TO ARRIVE BY END OF MARCH
--- End quote ---

The Ministry of Commerce has today confirmed that the first oil drill acquired from Royal Seleucid will be in Lijiang by the end of March. It is well documented that the Empire has a sizeable oil reserve which has largely gone un tapped. The new Dragon-Emperor believes that developing an effective oil industry could be a key to the long term prosperity of the Empire. The exact size of the amount of oil that could be extracted has not fully been quantified as of yet however some experts believe there is enough for the Empire to be able to rival the output of the Midaranye nations for "at least the next 40 years" however this estimate does not yet reflect the fact the nation has little real infastructure for large scale oil extraction. This though is set to change following a "Food for Oil" deal concluded between Dragon-Emperor Tielin and King Heydar of Royal Seleucid. Under the terms of the deal the Empire of Lijiang will provide food shipments to Royal Seleucid and in return shall be given equipment to allow the Empire's blossoming oil industry to get underway. The arrangement is seen as a win-win by many experts as several years ago the people of Royal Seleucid went through a significant famine because of damage done to their own food production of drought and locust. By exporting long life products such as legumes and rice it is expected Lijiang can ensure that Royal Seleucid never have food security issues again.

The first drill will be set up in the southern town of Madixiang and is likely to provide around 200 jobs initially with Seleucid engineers currently training a work force. Half of the initial jobs will be carried out by Seleucid citizens with experience in the industry however moving forward it is expected the enterprise shall be entirely Lijiang staffed. The initial government plan is for a total of 40 extraction sites to be utilised by the end of the year.





--- Quote ---MILITARY TO GET BOOST
--- End quote ---

Following the conclusion of the military exercises with the military of Royal Seleucid the Dragon-Emperor has granted permission for his senior military advisers to begin examining a restructuring of the military. General Jiang reported to the media about the exercises and said. "I'd like to begin by saying how exceptionally proud I am of our service-men and also how grateful I am to the armed forces of Royal Seleucid for being our opponents during the exercise. We discovered that our navy was well drilled and inventive with their equipment and possibly was the best performing part of our armed forces. In terms of our air-force our pilots did a highly commendable job but at times it was clear a technological edge was in favour of the Seleucid. Finally our Army are extremely well disciplined and tough however some of the small gadgets of a 21st Century army certainly turned our heads. We are extremely confident that when we look at our current armed forces there is no doubt they can defend our nation and are ready to carry out a vast array of missions. What we need though is to help our men to do there job in the safest of conditions and with giving them as much of an edge as possible. With that in mind we shall be scouring the markets to make some purchases."

It is expected that the Air Force will get the first injection of cash with brand new procurement being lined up. It is though then thought that the Army will be upgrading much of its current inventory with modifications. The military also confirmed that Azure Dragon Queen Dandan I will accept Majestic Empires Ship Huangdi as her flagship. The vessel had asked to be adopted by her as the historic figure Huangdi was a monarch dedicated to the Azure Dragon. The Corvette will now fly not just the ensign of the Majestic Empire but also the Azure Dragon banner. The crew will also now wear bright yellow piping on their uniform. The new Azure Dragon Queen has yet to make a public statement following her wedding and coronation.

Lijiang:





--- Quote ---NATION CELEBRATES SPORTING BID SUCCESS
--- End quote ---


It was announced yesterday evening that the 2021 Mundus Rugby World Cup will be coming to Lijiang. The sport is a relatively minor one in the Empire and so the fact that the Dragon-Emperor pushed for the nation to even enter a team surprised many thus meaning a hosting bid came completely out of the blue. The Emperor explained his decision to make a bid saying. "For 120 years we have seen very few, practically no outsiders come to our Empire. We are a nation with a great deal to offer the world, not just in terms of resources but in social and cultural ways. I could honestly see a thriving tourist industry operating here and while we have an excellent "Staycation" infastructure this has not turned its hand to the overseas market. We need to have an advertising promotion so to speak, give people an excuse to come here. Rugby is a sport that is fantastically followed across Mundus and hundreds of thousands of fans will potentially travel to the ends of the world to watch their team. I am confident that we can host a World Cup that will not just allow a high level of competition but will be an experience like no-other world cup for the fans."

The Lijiang National Rugby Team, known as Dragon Rugby, is managed by 36 year old Bo Pan, a member of Zhedu Rugby Club and a brewer from Fengchu. "I am shocked that we'll be playing in our first world cup at home. We have a lack of international experience and the sport is not enjoying the popularity of many sports such as soccer, table tennis or martial arts but hopefully this will encourage the youth of the nation to come and join us." With the Empire needing to now turn their attention towards ensuring the smooth running of the competition it was announced by Bo Pan that he had reached out to former World Cup Winners and current Mundus Games gold medallists East Moreland for a series of warm up games. "We have asked the Morelanders to come and experience a kind of pre-world tour. They will play in the same stadiums to be used and use the facilities expected at the World Cup. These are top class players and top class coaches. They have been told to inform us of anything falling below the standard needed for top sports stars and it gives us a chance to remedy the situation. It will also give our people a chance to have exposure to the sport and we are looking at making arrangements with some East Moreland High Schools to give their students a chance to come as fans to ensure we even have our hospitality workers get experience of working for foreign guests." While initially it was announced as an East Moreland team it is understood that the squad will feature a number of senior players who announced their retirement from international rugby following the last world cup and younger players from what are referred to as "The Kits" which is the East Moreland Under 21 squad. This is likely because they are trying to ensure their senior players are not injured during the tour. Bo Pan clarified this saying. "The visiting squad will be formidable, former world champions and I suspect future world champions. We're excited to see how we can do against them and hopefully set a marker for the rugby world cup."

The games will take place in Shèngdiàn at the 82,000 seater National Stadium with the Morelanders staying in the old Summer Garden Complex, a former Imperial Park which features a large number of lodges arranged around a large man-made lack dating to the 10th Century. From there the action will head to the smallest stadium for the tournament, the 15,800 capacity Hézhun District 4 Arena. The Morelanders will then stay at the cities Silk Spa hotel which is famed for its heated natural springs. The final game in the three match series is to take place at The Forest Heart Arena in Mùgǔ where accommodation will be provided in the Forest Towers hotels famed for their awe inspiring views across the valley forest. Dragon-Emperor Tielin will attend the first match which will mark the first time the National Stadium, known as the "Dragon Stadium" has been used for a rugby match. It is also understood that the Dragon-Emperor has extended an invitation to King David of East Moreland to visit for the games as it is well known their King is a huge rugby fan however it is not yet confirmed whether he will be making the visit.




--- Quote ---DIASPORA TO BE GRANTED "RIGHT TO RETURN"
--- End quote ---

The Dragon-Emperor Tielin has today announced that he will be putting in place reforms to the nations rules for foreign nations to take up citizenship and residency in the Empire to create what he is calling "The Right to Return". Currently their is in depth scrutiny of anyone wishing to come to the Empire for any reason other than a holiday meaning foreign nationals (other than diplomatic workers) account for less than an estimated 250,000 people. Meanwhile during the period of mourning a great many individuals left the Empire to take advantage of oppurtunities elsewhere on Mundus. One prime example is the family of former Nya Åland Allsherjargoði(Prime Minister) Jin Odinsson. Mr.Odinsson's family left the Empire in 1975 having converted to the Odinist faith following his father's interactions selling metal products to a Nordic business. The Dragon-Emperor has approached Mr.Odinsson as a possible tutor for his children who he wishes to expose to a series of "respected experts in their field from a wide variety of nations." It is not yet known whether Mr.Odinsson is has accepted the role however he is a good example of the people that the Dragon-Emperor wishes to see return and this was explained today as Dragon-Emperor Tielin visited a new Shūyuàn (Academy for teaching classical Lijiang art and literature) building in Fengtai. "We lost some great minds when the period of mourning began and throughout. Our laws currently state that once you take citizenship of another nation you give up your citizenship to Lijiang, it is impossible to be loyal to two nations and while I plan to maintain this attitude I believe that those who can trace their heritage and ancestary to Lijiang should be welcome here and we'll explore how to do that. I hope Mr.Odinsson will find his way home along with the countless others who are son's and daughters of Lijiang spread across Mundus."

The exact number of Lijiangians who left during the period of mourning is unknown with experts putting the figure at somewhere between 200,000 and 1million people.

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