Dazhou
 | |
| Official language | English |
|---|---|
| Capital | Devicta |
| Largest cities | Vires and Victum |
| Forum | http://dazhou.proboards.com/index.cgi |
| Number of citizens | 9.6 million |
| Number of active citizens | 2 (As of 22 july 2011) |
| Date founded | 22 July 2011 |
| Government | Senate |
| Current leader | Gareth Shanks (Porcia Curio) |
| Currency | Hou |
| National animal | Yellow Crowned Cranes |
| National fruit/food | Apple |
| National drink | Cider |
History
Giovanni Agoio formed Dazhou on 16 July 1338 as a small kingdom in the north west of Apollonia. Founding the capital, naming it Devicta. Up until 1794, the nation expanded and grew to be known, as a strong maritime and merchant country, whose trading fleet sailed in every sea on Micras, although this would not bode well for them in the future as their southern neighbors the Labin Republic, looked upon Dazhouian lands with envious eyes.
In the autumn of 1794, Ludovico Manin marched a Labinian army into Dazhouian lands sweeping aside the unprepared Dazhou army, took control of the arable farming lands in the, putting a stranglehold on Devicta’s food supply and then moved to lay siege to city. Two years later the city fell and the Labin Republic became the Labin Empire, its warlike nature continued to capture nearby nations. Trade in Dazhou was heavily taxed, making the former-nation a heaven for corruption, crime and poverty.
It continued like this for many years, Dazhouian men were drafted into the army and forced to fight in foreign wars and the high level of taxes carried on, until 1873. The Labin Empire finally bit off more than it could chew, against a southern country its army was caught off guard at a small town called Moldove. Out of the 37,000 men that marched south, fewer than 2000 marched back north. Labin’s coffers were empty, civil war erupted and the empire collapsed on its self, four months after the slaughter at Moldove, Labinian soldiers left Dazhouian lands, never to be seen again.
Things did not improve though. Struggling to find its former greatness the nation went through many different governments, corruption allowed men to stay in power for years, poverty remained high and law and order was none existent. Until 1922, tired of seeing a few prosper at the expense of the many; Benoiulio Marcoion an ex-general took control of the country by force. He removed the national police force and instated the National Dazhou Defense Force (NDDF) that curbed the national crime rate, he introduced the death penalty for extreme crimes and the crime rate dropped to the lowest it had been for over 200 years. He started major modernization projects: in which he built massive steel smelting factories that became world renown for their high quality steel. Huge seaports, which exported and imported good from around the world, huge housing projects for the poor, (Who Benoiulio felt massive sorrow for, he attempted to improve the common workers life at every turn) cut unemployment down to its very lowest point in Dazhou history. Another one of his schemes was to reshape the Dazhou military, benefits, better pay, improved training and veteran aftercare were some of the major changes and the armed wing of Dazhou was transformed into a competent fighting force, which was also nearly increasing in size by four folds.
Although not all of Benoiulio’s policies were well liked by the citizens of Dazhou. The NDDF were, at times, too rough in their idea of justice and in the early days, many people were executed, only for the NDDF to later discover they were innocent. As well as the injustices a forced draft for unemployed men in between the age of 17 to 38 was introduced, (National Service to Dazhou as it was known (NSD) carries on today, meaning unemployment, and by extension, crime is low.) most of these bad moves were over looked. As the years advanced, Benoiulio’s grip on the nation did relax to some extent though, he did instate a national senate (in 1951), in which an elected members could vote on laws, although they’re power was limited at first it grew as the years passed.
By 1965, research had gone into trying to find the Agoio bloodline, which had been lost since the Labin invasion. A massive effort was made, and surprisingly a descendant of Giovanni Agoio himself was found. Equally surprising, Benoiulio Marcoion offered him back his royal title, albeit with no actual powers and only a small pension each year, Dazhou now had a senate and a king. Out of gratitude, the new king changed his title to ‘Marco’ named after the man that had gave him so much.
On the 30th march 1967, the man who made Dazhou what it is today passed away in his sleep and there is only one statue of him, located at Moldove square. This is named after the famous battle, where four months later the Dazhouians threw off their shackles of imprisonment and rose to freedom.
Travel guide
The climate- Being as Dazhou is quite northern most of the year the weather is quiet cold. This is in part due to the close proximity to the northern ice caps and in part due to the high level of carbon dioxide by the nation’s large number of heavy industry factories. (Who are attempting to look for cleaner energy sources, with little luck so far) The most northern cities do occasionally see a few inches of snow in the winter months, although this is somewhat rare, visiting these towns in the summer months is strongly advised against because as the temperature increases, so does the amount of smog and there has been some major crisis in the past few years. In the arable southern towns and villages, weather is must nice, reaching nearly 20 degrees Celsius in the summer months.
The peoples and settlements- Dazhou is split into five counties, Central Dazhou holds the capital Devicta and is the densely populated area of the nation. Western and Eastern Dazhou have Vires and Victum respectively as their regional capitals. These three cities are all located within miles of the coastline and each will have huge seaports which import and export goods from around the world, it can be an amazing sight to see the thousands of sailors, dockhands and workers unloading and reloading the massive transport ships. Due to the fact, so many sailors come ashore on Dazhou the pub trade is booming, so much so that nearly every street in any major city has at least a handful of public houses. There are around thirty-four thousand foreign workers operating the giant seaports, this leads to the major cities becoming large cultural melting pots. Southern Dazhou is much less populated, as the farmlands are the lifeblood of the nation, if you enjoy fresh air and friendly locals then southern Dazhou is the place for you, as well as this the south is developing a large rambling and hiking scene. The three northern islands are very sparsely populated, with only Taberna having a small weather station located on it, boat services can be hired to the islands. This is very popular with bird watchers and the like, the national animal; the Yellow Crowned Cranes are to be found on Taberna as well. In short, Dazhou has something for everyone. Religious buildings are rare in the north, but are more active in the southern villages.
Government- Dazhou is a welfare unitary state. It has a large history of welfare schemes, many of them started in the Benoiulio Marcoion days of Dazhou. After his death, the senate grew in power and size, a second house was set up in 1998, and more power was put into the people’s vote. The below explains how the government of Dazhou works. As well as this, governmental positions are decided by the senate vote. Political parties in the strictest sense are unheard of, although it is known for several likeminded senators to loosely band together, so to speak.
Chamber of the Lower Senate- 61 democratically elected senators vote on issues to be passed onto the upper senate, for a something to be passed on to the upper senate there needs to be a 75% swing in favor of the law. Should 50% of vote be gained, but not 75% three times in a row, then a national referendum is held.
Chamber of the Upper Senate- Five senators elected by the lower senate vote on matters, they have the final say and at least four of the senators must vote in favor of the law. Each senator represents one of the five counties.
The list of current ministerial positions is as follows- • Head Senator • Senator for defense • Senator for internal affairs • Senator for external affairs
Health- Health care is free in Dazhou; the ‘Dazhou National Service of the Health of the People’ or DNSHP for short is in charge of the health care for the country with several hospitals in every major city. For tourists it is a slightly different case, the DNSHP have a duty to care for the seriously injured. Nevertheless, for a foreigner to have say, a tooth removed they would have to pay full trade price. In late 2001, the government offered a way around this. From 2002, tourists could apply for a short-term health license, in which they pay a set price for however long they are staying in the country. This way they are covered by the DNSHP for the stay of their holiday and the price to pay is usually cheaper than holiday insurance.
Education- Is compulsory for children aged 4-16, with an option to extend this to 18 by attending a sixth form or a college. There are currently three universities in Dazhou. Benoiulio university of Devicta. 3300 places, specializes in healthcare and seamanship. Southern university of Devicta. 2400 places, specializes in sport. Victum’s agriculture university. 2500 places, specializes in agriculture.
Policing- The National Dazhou Defense Force is in charge of policing the streets of Dazhou. Although with a history of being quick to judge and to arrest, this is simply not the case for the modern police force of Dazhou. The nation has one of the lowest crime rates on Micras; this is mainly due to the ‘Take it to them’ campaign, where the government increased the amount of foot patrols by 67%. It is very common to see NDDF officers carrying firearms, so do not be alarmed! Every NDDF officer is trained to use high-powered 9mm pistols, but many are also trained in using heavier weapons. The NDDF do have a second use, they are the ‘home guard’ so to speak and every NDDF officer is trained to the same standard as the an infantry-man, although they are designed to be used as a defensive force.
Infrastructure-
“All the major cities and town are connected by large sprawling motorways and interconnecting roads that spread out like veins from the heart” – Danilo Maxious, Ex head of Transport.
In every way, he is right, northern Dazhou has many roads to support large numbers of cars that transport the countries large population around. One main train line runs through Devicta, Vires and Victum but this is mainly used to transport heavy-duty goods, like coal. Public transport in urban areas is kept at a minimal, with a few bus routes at the start and end of rush hour, other than that the main way of getting around is by car or by foot. In the south, there is no motorways, expect for one which leads to Vox. There is though, more than enough roads to get you where you are going. Sport- Rugby league is the national sport, with eight professional teams playing in the Dazhou King’s league. The sport is so popular that on the day of the final, when two teams are preparing to battle it out for the King’s Cup, for the country to come to a standstill. Many employers just tell their workers not to come into work, instead of using one of their sick days. Rugby union is also a major sport in the south, but because it barley exists in the north there is no professional league. The third sport in Dazhou is athletics, with several small stadiums dotted around the nation, finally, the fourth sport is football, which did not come to Dazhou shores until the early 1990s, and there is a small amateur league of eight teams, 2010’s average football attendance was 356 compare this to the rugby league average attendance of 36,000. Now you are starting to get an idea of the difference in the two sports.
Landmarks-
Fort Tutamen- Is an historic fortification located on the southern border of Dazhou, built by the Labin Empire just after the conquest of Dazhou it is nearly perfectly persevered expect for the outer walls, local farmers have taken stones from the fort for their farms
Delicium Stadium- This impressive looking 92,000-seater stadium was built in 2004. It is home to the Dazhou national rugby league team, as well as the national rugby union team. The football team has been known to play at the stadium, but due to small crowds, this is not often. It also has a 16,000-seater second stadium for athletics and other smaller sports.
The Golden Lady- Built during the costly southern campaign with the Labin Empire, around 3,500 Dazhouian men served in this army, none returned. After independence was regained, this 32ft stone pillar was built, on the top of it there is a 5ft golden woman.
