Age of Steam and Steel: Gameplay Thread

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

New Year Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Seollal of the second year of his reign (29 January 1835) the following edicts:

Edict Concerning Propriety
The troubles afflicting China point out the need for a ruler to maintain harmony and order in order to maintain the Mandate of Heaven. To that end, the following is ordered.

1. There shall be established a Ministry of Inspection, whose function shall be to inspect the doings of government officials and determine that they are performing their function in accordance with propriety and justice.

2. They shall have authority to inspect the records and facilities of all government offices.

3. In the event they find that an individual has abused his office to enrich himself, his family, or his friends, they shall report such findings to the appropriate officer of the Ministry of Justice, as well as the immediate superior of that individual.

4. In the event that they find the records kept are insufficient to come to an accurate determination of fiscal impropriety, they will inform that official and his immediate supervisor, and if on a future inspection they find the lack has not been corrected, they discover that the lack has not been corrected, they will report that to the supervisor's supervisor.I


Edict for the Promotion of Learning

1. The Ministry of Eonmun (aka Hangeul), established by King Sejong the Great and disestablished by King Jungjong, is hereby reestablished. Among the ministry's first tasks will be the preparation of an authoritative version of the Thirteen Classics in the vernacular tongue using eonmun for ease of comprehension.

2. As soon as practical, there will be instituted schools in each community of 200 or more to teach the use of eonmun as well as arithmetic, the Thirteen Classics, and other subjects determined to be desirable to impart to our youth.


Edict concerning Certain Foreign Scholars

It has come to our attention that certain foreign scholars who claim to follow the teachings of a certain Jesus of Nazareth have been disturbing our realm.

In the words of this Jesus, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other."

In accordance with the wisdom of the above, all persons within our realm who seek to convey the teachings of this Jesus shall either exit our realm or present themselves to one of our officials that they swear to not follow the direction of any other earthly potentate or the direction of their subordinates, in any matter temporal or spiritual. Such potentates include but are not limited to such potentates as the Bishop of Rome, the King of France, the King of Spain, the King of Portugal, or their subordinates.

Note also the words of a prominent scholar of this Jesus, namely one Paul of Tarsus, "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God." Hence in accordance with this wisdom, all persons who seek to convey the teachings of this Jesus within our realm shall also swear to follow our dictates in all temporal matters.

Any scholar who conveys the teachings of this Christ without having sworn the above to one of our ministers shall be subject to a fine of thirty ryang (aka tael) of silver (approximately fifty silver dollars) or receive thirty lashes, after which such scholar shall have thirty days in which to absent themselves or make the aforementioned oaths.

Any such scholar who has sworn such oaths and is found to have violated them shall upon the first offense be punished as above, and upon further offense shall be subject to penal servitude or beheading depending upon whether there is need for such services as that scholar might render.

All scholars to whom this edict applies shall have until the end of this year to either exit this realm or to swear the appropriate oaths to our officials. In the meantime, they shall not teach their scholarship to others until and unless they have so sworn.

This edict shall not apply to scholars who limit their teachings to foreigners who may be part of such enclaves and embassies as the King may establish to facilitate intercourse with such foreigners.


Edict on Navigation and Naval Matters

Whereas the protection of our coastlands and fisheries are a significant part of our government mandates, the following is ordered:

1. The development of port facilities at Incheon for purposes of foreign intercourse is hereby ordered. Save for other arrangements that may be made on a bilateral basis, all foreigners in our realms shall be restricted to Yeongjong Island within Incheon harbor.

2. Busan shall be the principal port of the Joseon Navy. The Navy shall have first call on all levies of manpower and taxation in the province of Gyeongsang assigned to military uses.


We expect to issue further edicts once our grandson's advisors have prepared additional documentation concerning our current naval strength.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Basic Naval Law of the Court of Joseon

(Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this fifth day of the month of the Tiger of the second year of his reign (2 February 1835) the following law detailing the basic naval structure of the Royal Joseon Navy.

一
The principal naval port and naval headquarters of the Royal Joseon Navy shall be established at the port of Busan. The head of the Royal Joseon Navy shall hold the rank of daejang 대장 (literally high flag officer aka admiral or general) and the heads of the principal commands and bureaus shall hold the rank of jungjang 중장 (literally middle flag officer aka vice admiral or lieutenant general)

二
The following are the principal commands and bureaus:
1. Battle Flotilla (consisting of the capital vessels of the fleet, based in peacetime out of Busan)
2. Eastern Flotilla (consisting principally of hyeopseon 협선, roughly equivalent to green-water frigates, based out of Pohang, and patrolling the East Sea, aka the Sea of Japan)
3. Western Flotilla (based out of Mokpo, and patrolling the West Sea, aka the Yellow Sea, and the Korea Strait)
4. Southern Flotilla (based out of Jeju Island, and patrolling the East China Sea)
5. Royal Joseon Marines
6. Bureau of Yards and Docks
7. Bureau of Supply
8. Bureau of Personnel
9. Bureau of Ships

三
The banner of the Royal Joseon Navy shall be as follows:


(Wikimedia Commons)


We expect to issue further edicts once our grandson's advisors have prepared additional documentation concerning our current naval strength.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Yes, I'm being a bit anachronistic here, as neither of these flags would historically be proposed for some decades. All images are from the Wikimedia Commons.

Flag Law of Joseon

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this first day of the month of the Rabbit of the second year of his reign (28 February 1835).

For the convenience of overseas barbarians who are of the custom of using flags to designate ships and institutions holding allegiance to a particular sovereign, we order the following flags to be made official.

Government Flag
The following flag shall be used by government ships and institutions, except as otherwise specified:


Military Flags
1. The flag to be used by the Royal Joseon Navy shall continue to be that specified in the Basic Naval Law of 5 Tiger 2 Heonjong.

2. The flag to be used by the Royal Joseon Army shall be the government flag with  a black field and white trigrams instead of the white field and black trigrams of the government flag.

Civil Flag
The following flag may be used by our subjects in those contexts where a flag would be expected by overseas barbarians.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this tenth day of the month of the Rabbit of the second year of his reign (9 March 1835).

Edict Concerning Joseon-held Islands

The edict of King Injo, restricting travel between Jeju Province and the mainland provinces is hereby revoked.

There is to be established Ulleung County, consisting of the islands of Ulleung-do and the islands of Dok-do, which are all in the Eastern Sea. Ulleung County will be administered as part of Gyeongsang Province.  The decline of piracy in the Eastern Sea means that the safety concerns which caused prior kings to discourage settlement of Ulleung-do are now obviated. To facilitate settlement, those sentenced to exile may choose to settle in Ulleung County instead of departing our realm entirely, but will not be permitted to leave the county.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

This is an out-of-character comment. I'm surprised that concerns over Suez would cause an impact on tobacco prices in Europe. Historically, Europe in this era sourced its tobacco from the Americas and the Balkans. Possibly the report was made by a Dutch journalist as it was in the 19th century that growing tobacco as a cash crop in the East Indies began. Or maybe tobacco traders are factoring in the possibility of being cut off from Turkish tobacco.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The Convention of St. Petersburg

In consideration of the fraternal affection and longstanding ties shared by the the Russian and Holy Roman Emperors and in the interests of the maintenance of peace in Christendom, the signatories hereby renew their commitment to mutual defense should they find themselves attacked in their European or Asiatic holdings.

X Francis, Holy Roman Emperor

An out-of-character comment from the peanut gallery.  I was not aware that the Voltairian Empire had any Asiatic holdings to defend.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Treaty of Tsushima

The countries of Joseon and Nihon reaffirm our commitment to amity and friendship.

Japanese merchants, traders, and others engaged in commerce will be permitted direct access to the port of Yeongjing-do in Incheon harbor, as well as the port of Donghae.

Joseon merchants, traders, and others engaged in commerce will be permitted direct access to the port near Nagoya-juku, as well as the port of Noshiro.

To this end, we agree that the waters between our two realms that are beyond the sight of either of our shores shall be open to fishermen of both our realms in equal measure.

In the event of storms or other dangers, our fishermen shall be able to seek shelter and succor in the harbors of either of our realms.

Our navies shall cooperate in the suppression of pirates and foreign interlopers in our shared sea.

xShogun Tokugawa Ienari

xQueen Regent Sunwon in the name of her grandson King Joseon Heonjong

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Surital of the second year of his reign (4 June1835) the following edicts:

Edict Concerning the Ministries and Provinces

1. The government of the realm shall be entrusted to various ministers (장관 - janggwan) and governors (지사 - jisa). Miinsters shall head ministries responsible for certain functions of government and governors shall be responsible for governing a province according to the edicts of the sovereign. Subministers (부장관 - bujanggwan) shalll oversee ministry performance within a particular province and shall be subordinate to both their minister and their governor. They shall attempt to resolve conflicting instructions from their superiors and if unable to secure harmony from their superiors shall bring the matter to the attention of our court for resolution.

2. The governors, ministers, and subministers shall all be appointed by the king and serve at his pleasure.

3. There are to be nine provinces. In addition to the eight traditional provinces established by King Taejong (태종), there is established a ninth province, Jeju (제주) consisting of the island of the same name and all other lands of Joseon beyond the sight of the Joseon peninsula, except for those in Ulleung County, which shall remain attached to Gyeongsang Province.

4. The following are to be the principal ministries:

• Ministry of State(국무 사역)
• Ministry of Justice (법무 사역)
• Ministry of War (전쟁 사역)
• Ministry of Ritual(의정서 사역)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs(야만인 사역)
• Ministry of the Navy (해군 사역)
• Ministry of Finance (재무 사역)
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries(농림 수산 사역)
• Ministry of Commerce (상무부 사역)
• Ministry of Transportation(교통 사역)
• Ministry of Eomnum(언문 사역)
• Ministry of Mines and Prisons(광산감옥 사역)
• Ministry of Inspection(검사 사역)

5. Clarification of certain ministerial responsibilities and requirements.
Emissaries from the courts of China, Japan, and Viet Nam shall be received by the 국무 사역. In light of this, the Minister of State and his subordinates shall be required to be proficient the use of hanja (한자). All other emissaries from beyond are realm shall be received by the 야만인 사역, save those that the Minister of Foreign Affairs deems to be from lands that are sufficiently civilized that the Ministry of State would be best suited to handle relations with.
Edict on Import Duties
Except as specified in this edict, the Minister of Commerce is directed to levy excises upon all articles of foreign origin the same as would be levied by the Minister of Finance upon articles of domestic origin.

The exception shall be that for items whose origin is from countries that levy excises upon articles from the Joseon realm that would not be levied upon articles produced in that realm, the Minister of Commerce shall devise a schedule of excises of proportionate effect, taking into account the differences between what our realm imports from that realm and what our realm would export to that realm in the absence of such excises upon our products.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Small side question.

What happened to the metric system in this timeline? I presume that at minimum, the grave was never renamed to the kilogram, but were Bishop Talleyrand and the French Academy of Sciences even able to get the project off the ground?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

A Proclamation concerning the Nazarenes

We wish to make clear that we intend to chastise those who venerate the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth only if they are part of a church that owes allegiance to a foreign potentate.

Furthermore, beheading was intended to be a last resort for those who refused to either renounce such allegiances or depart from our realm.

However, it has also become clear that such people prefer to have an organized church and that simply banning those churches which have such traitorous allegiances is insufficient. A national Church of Joseon that those who are Nazarenes can be a part of without also having such allegiances is therefore seen as desirable to bring the current situation to a harmonious resolution.

To that end it is ordered that those who desire to participate in the organization of a national Church of Joseon, should assemble on the day called  오순절 (Onsonjul aka Pentecost) by the Nazarenes (May 22) in the city of Pyeongyang for a synod to organize a national church in the manner of those European churches that call themselves Lutheran. Foreign scholars shall be allowed to be present for these deliberations, provided that they do nothing to encourage disloyalty to the realm while visiting and travel directly between Incheon and Pyeongyang. We have also invited the Bishop of Uppsala to attend, so that the Synod of Pyeongyang can see to the creation of one of our temporal subjects as the first Bishop of Pyeongyang to be the spiritual head of the Church of Joseon.

By order of Queen Regent Sunwon on behalf of her grandson King Heonjong of Joseon

(Source:Wikimedia Commons)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

My grandson, King Heonjong, told me a joke the other day that for an eight-year old was both quite amusing and quite insightful.  It was just after he'd received his weekly tutoring in the Anguish Language spoken in both Old and New Angland. "The Governor of Egypt is the King of De Nile." Granted , it took some time for the pun to be translated into a civilized language for my comprehension, as despite this translated version of my comments, I have no skill in the tongue he told his childish joke.

Humor is always in the ear of the listener, so I will comment only on the insight. The Valley of the Nile, from its delta to its cataracts, is the heart of Egypt. Suez is for Egypt only a nearby desirable borderland, but so long as the Governor controls the Nile, he will demonstrate that he possesses the Mandate of Heaven for the sovereign territory of Egypt. Rather than whining about events beyond his ability to control, I'd recommend instead either seeing if there is anything he could honorably offer the self-appointed Suez Canal Commission that would induce them to accede to his stated desire of including him in their deliberations, or seek opportunities elsewhere along his borders, such as in the interior of Africa.

Queen Regent Sunwon

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Surital of the third year of his reign (1836) the following edicts:

Revised Edict Concerning the Ministries and Provinces

1. The government of the realm shall be entrusted to various ministers (장관 - janggwan) and governors (지사 - jisa). Minsters shall head ministries responsible for certain functions of government and governors shall be responsible for governing a province according to the edicts of the sovereign. Subministers (부장관 - bujanggwan) shall oversee ministry performance within a particular province and shall be subordinate to both their minister and their governor. They shall attempt to resolve conflicting instructions from their superiors and if unable to secure harmony from their superiors shall bring the matter to the attention of our court for resolution.

2. The governors, ministers, and subministers shall all be appointed by the king and serve at his pleasure.

3. There are to be nine provinces. In addition to the eight traditional provinces established by King Taejong (태종), there is established a ninth province, Jeju (제주) consisting of the island of the same name and all other lands of Joseon beyond the sight of the Joseon peninsula, except for those in Ulleung County, which shall remain attached to Gyeongsang Province.

4. The following are to be the principal ministries:

• Ministry of State (국무 사역)
• Ministry of Personnel (인원 사역)
• Ministry of Justice (법무 사역)
• Ministry of War (전쟁 사역)
• Ministry of Ritual (의정서 사역)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (야만인 사역)
• Ministry of the Navy (해군 사역)
• Ministry of Finance (재무 사역)
• Ministry of Public Works (공공 사업 사역)
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (농림 수산 사역)
• Ministry of Commerce (상무부 사역)
• Ministry of Transportation (교통 사역)
• Ministry of Eomnum (언문 사역)
• Ministry of Mines and Prisons (광산감옥 사역)
• Ministry of Inspection (검사 사역)

5. Clarification of certain ministerial responsibilities and requirements.
Emissaries from the courts of China, Japan, and Viet Nam shall be received by the 국무 사역. In light of this, the Minister of State and his subordinates shall be required to be proficient the use of hanja (한자). All other emissaries from beyond are realm shall be received by the 야만인 사역, save those that the Minister of Foreign Affairs deems to be from lands that are sufficiently civilized that the Ministry of State would be best suited to handle relations with.

The Ministry of Public Works shall be responsible for the construction of government buildings, facilities, and forts as well as bridges, canals, and reservoirs. As such it will coordinate with other ministries, especially those of State, War, and Transportation, to see to their needs. It shall also coordinate with the Ministry of Mines and Prisons concerning what prison labor resources it can make available for the construction of public works.

(Out of game comment: I learned about the traditional Joseon ministries since I wrote the original edict, so I am revising the edict to include ones to handle functions that had not been handled at the ministry level in the original edict.)
Edict on Academies

To supplement the scholarship of the Seonggyungwan (성균관), there are to be established specialized academys (학회 hakhoe) in the fields of military affairs, naval affairs, engineering, agriculture, mining, and science. These academies are to be involved in not only domestic scholarship and research, but also in studying and adapting for domestic use the techniques and skills of foreign scholarship. As such, they shall be authorized to bring in foreign scholars who shall not be subject to the usual restrictions on foreigners in where they may go within our realm, for a period of no greater than three years per scholar, with which to collaborate and to assist in the education of our young scholars and military officers. They are also directed to prepare translations into our language of foreign books and journals relevant to their subject area.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Is Blair still interested in playing? Britain is the only one of the seven Suez powers to not sign the Treaty of Versailles and I haven't heard back on a PM I sent, but he has been on TE some.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamation of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Chuseok of the third year of his reign (1836) the following edicts:

Edict Concerning Railways

It has come to our attention that some peoples have begun to make use of railways to ease the transport of goods and people.

1. The Ministry of Transportation is ordered to establish a Bureau of Railways (철도국 Cheoldogug).
2. The Bureau is ordered to begin surveying potential routes, with priority to be given to the following routes:

• Seoul to Incheon
• Pyeongyang to Nampo
• Busan to Daegu
• Seoul to Suwon
• Seoul to Kaesong
• Pyeongyang to Wonsan
• Suwon to Daejong
• Pyeongyang to Sariwon
• Daejong to Daegu
• Kaesong to Sariwon

3. The Bureau is directed to make preparations to produce or procure rails of domestic manufacture.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Treaty of Busan

The realms of Britain and Joseon pledge to the promotion of peace and amity between our subjects.

Among the measures taken to so promote amity shall be measures to promote commercial intercourse.

To that end British ships and merchants shall be permitted to trade at the Joseon ports of Incheon and Busan while Joseon ships and merchants shall be permitted to trade at the British ports of Botany Bay and Auckland.

x Queen Regent Sunwon on behalf of her grandson King Heonjong of Joseon

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamation of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Dongji of the third year of his reign (1836) the following edicts:

Edict Concerning Coinage

1. Future issues of 1 mun and 2 mun bronze cash coins shall carry inscriptions in both hanja and eonmun.

2. The Bureau of the Mint within the Ministry of Finance shall investigate whether it would be worthwhile to undertake the production of silver coins and if so, of what purity and size. This report is to be prepared as a memorial to be presented to the court next year and shall consider whether such coins would be useful and acceptable to our merchants, farmers, and wrights for domestic use. Hence, the coinage of other countries shall only be considered to the degree necessary to prevent such coins from being fraudulently presented as being equivalent to Joseon coins of greater purity or weight.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Surital of the fourth year of his reign (1837) the following:

Edict Concerning Piracy

Given the habit of some countries to resort to privateers in time of war to attack the shipping of other countries and the habits of those privateers to not be particular of whose ships they prey upon, it shall be the policy of the Joseon Navy to treat as pirates all armed ships operating without a flag flying indicating their allegiance.

Edict Concerning the Batanes
It is our intention to to elevate a suitable notable among the natives of the Batan Islands to the rank of Grand Duke (대공 Daegong), to have autonomy in the domestic governance of the islands.  Military, navigation, and trade issues will be the responsibility of the Joseon Kingdom.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Regulation Concerning Shoddy Foreign Goods
Given the reports of shoddy goods being supplied to Egyptian forces, and the recent violent reactions of Persian customers towards Scandinavian merchants, the Ministry of Commerce announces that effective immediately, goods of Scandinavian origin shall be subject to a 4% surtax when imported, the proceeds of which shall be used to test said goods so that any found to be of inferior quality may be barred from the Joseon Kingdom. Unless renewed, this regulation shall lapse in one year.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Samjinnal of the fourth year of his reign (1837) the following:

Edict Concerning Commercial Standards

1. The Ministry of Commerce shall establish a Bureau of Standards (표준 국 Pyojun Gug).

2. The Bureau shall promulgate standards for various commercial and military goods.

3. The Bureau shall establish procedures by which merchants may obtain certification that their wares meet the Bureau's standards.

4. In letting government contracts, preference shall be given to products meeting the Bureau's standards.

Edict Establishing a Central Bank

1. To ensure an adequate supply of credit for both commerce and government, there shall be chartered a Bank of Joseon (조선 은행 Joseon Eunhaeng) modelled after the Bank of England (잉글랜드 은행) and the Riksbank (국립은행).

2. At least one branch shall be established in each province.

3. The Bank of Joseon shall be used to collect and disburse government funds.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Hansik of the fourth year of his reign (5 April 1837) the following:

Edict Creating the Ministry of Health

1.  There shall be established a Ministry of Health, within which shall be established the following bureaux: the Bureau of Hospitals, the Bureau of Physicians, the Bureau of Pharmacy, the Bureau of Sanitation, and the Bureau of the Environment.

2. The Bureau of Hospitals shall promulgate standards for the operation of hospitals and shall establish in each province at least one hospital to serve both as means of promoting the public health and to be a place where medical professionals may be trained.

3. The Bureau of Physicians shall promulgate standards for the knowledge, skill, and ethics of physicans, and certify those individuals who meet those standards.

4. The Bureau of Pharmacy shall promulgate standards for the preparation and dispensing of medicines, and certify those medicines that meet its standard and those pharmacists that oversee the preparation and dispensing of medicines.

5. The Bureau of Sanitation shall in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Works design, construct, and maintain such aqueducts, sewers, and other water works needed to ensure our cities and towns are well provided with fresh water.

6. The Bureau of the Environment shall promulgate and enforce standards on how the byproducts of mines, smelters, factories, and other workplaces are dealt with in a manner that does not contaminate the water or air with poisons or other noxious substances. It shall coordinate its efforts with the Bureau of Standards in the Ministry of Commerce.
Incheon-Seoul Railway
In accordance with plans ordered to be prepared last year, the Bureau of Railways is ordered to begin construction of a railway line from Incheon to Seoul with a track gauge of 5 cheok (5 feet), and to acquire or build locomotives and rolling stock for use thereon. Preference is to be given to rails, locomotives, and rolling stock of domestic manufacture.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Treaty of Bandar Abbas

The realms of Qajar and Joseon pledge to the promotion of peace and amity between our subjects.

Among the measures taken to so promote amity shall be measures to promote commercial intercourse.

To that end, Qajari ships and merchants shall be permitted to trade at the Joseon port of Incheon while Joseon ships and merchants shall be permitted to trade at the Qajari port of Bandar Abbas

x Queen Regent Sunwon on behalf of her grandson King Heonjong

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Dano of the fourth year of his reign  (1837) the following:

Edict Concerning the Export of Basic Foodstuffs

Whereas the fighting in the Middle Kingdom has greatly disrupted the agriculture there and we are concerned that certain merchants might seek to deprive our people of the food they have grown so as to feed their purses with silver, it is hereby ordered that an export duty of 1 tael of silver per 10 gwan of grains or lentils be enacted as an emergency measure for the remainder of this year. Said duty may be paid instead with a tithe of the grain or lentils sought to exported instead.

This export duty shall be suspended during any time the silos of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries are at least 80% full.

(OOC: Roughly 40 Spanish silver dollars per ton of grains or lentils.)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this first day of the month of Wonsungidal of the fourth year of his reign (1837) the following:
 Revised Flag Law of Joseon
In accordance with the international custom of using flags to designate ships and institutions holding allegiance to a particular realm, we order the following flags to be made official. Flags specified in previous flag laws may continue to be used until too worn to be flown or until the end of next year, but all new flags procured by the government must conform to the standards laid out here.
Government Flag
The following flag shall be used by government ships and institutions, except as otherwise specified:

Royal Standard
The royal standard shall be the same as the government flag except that the field shall be saffron gold instead of white.

Military Flag
The flag to be used by the Royal Joseon Army and the Royal Joseon Navy shall be the government flag with a black field and white trigrams instead of the white field and black trigrams of the government flag. Also, the blue portion of taegeuk shall be shaded more towards cyan so as to increase contrast with the black fiel. There shall no longer be distinct flags for use by the army and navy.

Civil Flag
The following flag may be used by our subjects in those contexts where a flag would be expected. It is the same as the government flag except that the trigrams have been removed to make the flag less costly to be procured.

All armed vessels shall fly the flag of the realm they are beholden to.  Any armed vessel without a flag flying to indicate its allegiance shall be treated as being pirates.  The Ministry of the Navy shall promulgate a regulation specifying the maximum caliber of weapon that will be considered a small arm and how many small arms may be carried by the crew without causing that ship to be considered armed for the purposes of the flag law.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

조선 법원 선포
Proclamations of the Court of Joseon

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Queen Regent Sunwon in accordance with the advice of the advisors of her grandson King Heonjong, announces on this Jungyangjeol of the fourth year of his reign (1837) the following:

Coinage Act, 4 Heonjong
The Bureau of the Mint is directed to produce the following coins:

Brass Coins
Brass coins shall consist of at least 8 parts copper to 1 part alloy, the alloy to be of 8 parts zinc to 1 part tin.

Brass coins shall be minted using the cast cash method in the denominations of 1, 2, and 3 mun, with at least 1 don (3.75g) of brass per mun.

Silver Coins
The Bureau is directed to acquire the equipment necessary to begin production of milled silver coins. Once acquired it is to use the equipment to produce silver coins, which shall bear the image of a mugunghwa flower on one side and a dragon on the other.

Silver coins shall consist of at least eight parts silver to one part brass.
They shall be minted in denominations of 1 don, 2 don, 3 don, 1/2 nyang, and 1 nyang, containing the stated amount of silver. (1 nyang = 1 tael = 10 don = 375 g ≈ 11 Spanish or Mexican silver reales )

Gold Coins
As the purpose of minting coins is to facilitate commerce, gold has such a large value per unit of weight, and it will take time to produce an adequate amount of silver coinage, the Bureau is forbidden to mint gold coins of any standard or purity. Moreover, unlike some realms we do not presume to be able to set a fixed ratio in value of any two metals.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

An Open Letter from the Queen Regent
The disturbances we hear are occurring in Europe should not be ignored just because they are happening so far away. They serve as a reminder that the Mandate of Heaven lasts only so long as those entrusted with the mandate act as faithful shepherds of those placed under their charge.

That is why in conjunction with my grandson's advisors, my primary focus has been on eliminating corruption within the government and improving the economy of our realm.

To further those ends, I am announcing the appointment of Gim Jeong-hui as Minister of Personnel.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Treaty of Okhostk

The realms of Russia and Joseon pledge to the promotion of peace and amity between our subjects.

Among the measures taken to so promote amity shall be measures to promote commercial intercourse.

To that end, Russian ships and merchants in general shall be permitted to trade at the Joseon port of Donghae while Joseon ships and merchants shall be permitted to trade at the Russian port of Okhostk.

Moreover, the merchants and ships of the Russian-American Company shall be treated as a separate customs regime from Imperial Russia, such that reciprocal tariffs under the Joseon Edict on Import Duties, 2 Heonjong for their goods shall be determined solely on the basis of the tariffs imposed on goods imported to Russian America and not by the tariffs on imposed on goods imported to Imperial Russia.

Furthermore, the merchants and ships of the Russian-American Company shall have access to the ports of Incheon, Donghae, and Jeju in exchange for Joseon merchants and ships having access to the ports of New Archangel (Sitka), Ounalaska (Dutch Harbor), and Paul's Harbor (Kodiak).

x Queen Regent Sunwon on behalf of her grandson King Heonjong of Joseon