Add NE Asian Balkans: Japan, Korea, Jianzhou Republic, Mongol Khanate

Japan: Pacific industrial power (Tier 1.5), Jianzhou rivalry, Alaska/Kamchatka empire
- Core: catch up to Tier 1, Sakhalin dispute, Pacific expansion vs consolidation
- 150yr modernization legacy, fur empire declining, naval dominance

Korea: "Belgium of NE Asia", small industrial mining state
- Nationalized mining, squeezed between 3 powers, survival through balance
- Identity question: Korean vs Chinese-influenced vs independent nationalism

Jianzhou Republic: industrial city-state, oligarchic republic
- World's oldest industrial zone (400yr), porcupine deterrence strategy
- Arms dealer to everyone, Song reconquest threat, Sakhalin dispute with Japan

Mongol Khanate: vast, sparse, mineral-rich
- Resource curse vs resource blessing dilemma
- Multi-vector diplomacy between great powers
- Genghis Khan legitimacy, nomad vs miner cultural split

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

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+# Mongol Khanate (蒙古汗国 / Mongol Ulus) — V3 Start 1836
+
+## Basic Info
+- **Official Name**: Yeke Mongol Ulus (Great Mongol State) — claims Genghis Khan's legitimate succession
+- **Capital**: Karakorum (rebuilt/symbolic) or a more practical steppe town
+- **Head of State**: Khan (Genghisid bloodline, Tolui descent)
+- **Government**: Traditional khanate with council of chiefs. Modernizing elements from 185 years of mining industry. Hybrid: tribal chiefs + mining company directors.
+- **State Religion**: Tibetan Buddhism (adopted after Tibetan alliance period) + Tengri shamanic remnants
+- **Technology Tier**: 3 (mining/processing industry from nationalized Song operations. Some railways at mines. Cities have telegraph. Countryside is pastoral nomadic.)
+- **Population**: Very small (~2-3M? Vast territory, extremely sparse)
+- **Literacy**: Low overall (nomadic population), moderate in mining towns
+
+## Territory
+- **Mongolia proper**: Steppe heartland. Pastoral nomadism. Karakorum.
+- **Northern Manchuria / Jianzhou area**: Forest zone. Jurchen/Evenki tribal peoples. Hunting/fishing.
+- **Siberia (eastern)**: Vast, empty. Nominally claimed. Some fur trading posts.
+- **Mineral deposits**: Copper, gold, coal, iron — nationalized from Song companies (~1650). The country's economic lifeline.
+
+## The Modern Mongolia Parallel
+Mongol Khanate ≈ modern Mongolia but in a 19th-century context: vast, empty, mineral-rich, sandwiched between great powers.
+
+```
+  Great Khanate (west — declining but huge)
+       │
+  MONGOL KHANATE (vast, sparse, minerals)
+       │
+  ├── South: New Song (enormous, wants economic control back)
+  ├── Southeast: Jianzhou Republic (industrial neighbor, arms seller)
+  └── East: Siberian wilderness → Pacific
+```
+
+## Opening Situation
+
+### Strengths
+```
+  ├ MINERALS: copper, gold, coal, iron, possibly oil (undiscovered?)
+  │  → nationalized from Song companies ~1650 → state-owned mining sector
+  ├ Genghisid legitimacy: the Khan is THE direct descendant of Genghis Khan
+  │  → cultural/symbolic prestige far exceeding actual power
+  ├ Vast territory: hard to conquer (emptiness is a defense)
+  ├ Self-sufficient in food (pastoral economy, low population = plenty of pasture)
+  ├ 185 years of mining industry → some real technical knowledge
+  └ Strategic position: between Great Khanate and Song → both want friendship, can play them off
+```
+
+### Weaknesses
+```
+  ├ TINY population (~2-3M across a VAST territory)
+  ├ Almost no manufacturing (mines extract ore, limited processing)
+  ├ No railway network (a few mine-to-town lines, nothing connecting the country)
+  ├ No navy, no significant military (can't fight any industrial neighbor)
+  ├ Mining economy = dependent on commodity prices (boom/bust cycles)
+  ├ Former Song economic colony: nationalized the mines but the EXPERTISE left with Song personnel
+  │  → Mongolian miners can extract but can't innovate
+  ├ Nomadic population resists modernization (herding culture vs mining/factory culture)
+  └ Caught between great powers — independence is a gift of geography, not strength
+```
+
+## Core Gameplay: Resource Curse or Resource Blessing?
+
+### The Central Dilemma
+```
+  Mongol Khanate has minerals that the whole world wants.
+  
+  Option A: SELL ore to foreigners (Song, Jianzhou, England, Great Khanate)
+    → Easy money
+    → But: dependency on foreign buyers, no domestic development
+    → "Resource curse" — rich in minerals, poor in everything else
+    → Like historical Saudi Arabia or modern Mongolia
+    
+  Option B: DEVELOP domestic processing/manufacturing
+    → Use mining revenue to build factories, railways, schools
+    → Hard: no expertise, no workforce (nomads don't want factory jobs)
+    → Slow: takes decades to build an industrial base from scratch
+    → But: only path to real independence and power
+    
+  Option C: SELL mining CONCESSIONS to foreign companies
+    → Let Song/Jianzhou/English companies mine for you
+    → Instant revenue (concession fees)
+    → But: back to economic colonization — the thing Mongolia escaped in 1650
+    → Politically toxic ("we fought for independence and now we're selling it back?")
+```
+
+### Journal Entry: "Industrial Mongolia"
+- Long-term goal: transform from pastoral-mining economy to industrial economy
+- Steps: railway network → processing plants → manufacturing → education
+- Counter-pressure: traditional chiefs resist (modernization threatens their power)
+- Foreign pressure: neighbors prefer Mongolia as a raw material supplier, not a competitor
+
+### Playing the Great Powers
+```
+  Mongolia's best asset isn't minerals — it's LOCATION.
+  
+  New Song wants Mongolia friendly (buffer against Great Khanate, mineral access)
+  Great Khanate wants Mongolia friendly (buffer against Song, Siberian claims)
+  Jianzhou wants Mongolia as customer (sells weapons/equipment) and ore supplier
+  Japan wants Mongol minerals for Pacific industry
+  England wants to prevent any one power from monopolizing Mongolian resources
+  
+  → Mongolia can auction its friendship to the highest bidder
+  → "Multi-vector diplomacy" — play everyone against everyone
+  → V3 mechanic: competing foreign influence meters (Song influence vs GK influence vs others)
+  → Player must prevent any single power from gaining dominance
+```
+
+## Flavor
+
+### Genghis Khan's Legacy
+- The Khan claims direct descent from Genghis Khan → Tolui line → 600+ years of lineage
+- Symbolic prestige: other Mongol-descended states (Great Khanate, Ilkhanate) have diluted/lost their Mongol identity
+- Mongolia is the ONLY state where Mongol culture/language/identity is dominant
+- "We are the true Mongols — everyone else forgot who they were"
+- Journal Entry (flavor): "Restore the Empire" — absurd but available as an ultra-nationalist dream
+  - Requires: industrialize fully → build military → somehow reconquer... everything?
+  - Essentially impossible but provides long-term aspiration content
+
+### Nomad vs Miner
+- National identity split: traditional herders vs mining town workers
+- Herders: resist modernization, want to preserve steppe culture
+- Miners: want development, railways, schools, modernization
+- Khan must balance both constituencies
+- Flavor events: mining town vs herding clan disputes, environmental damage from mining, cultural festivals
+
+### The Empty Frontier
+- Eastern Siberia: vast, unexplored, potentially mineral-rich
+- Bering Strait: known but unexploited
+- American awareness: Mongolians know the Americas exist (Jianzhou/Japanese exploration)
+- Could Mongolia send its own Pacific expedition? (Probably not — no navy, no resources — but a flavor decision)
+
+## Relationships
+| Country | Relationship | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| New Song | **Major power, cautious** | Former economic colonizer. Wants minerals + buffer. Mongolia plays along but fears re-colonization. |
+| Great Khanate | **Declining neighbor** | Competes for Siberia. But both too weak to fight seriously. Wary coexistence. |
+| Jianzhou Republic | **Arms dealer/neighbor** | Sells weapons to Mongolia. Buys some ore. Pragmatic relationship. |
+| Japan | **Distant buyer** | Wants Mongol minerals for Pacific industry. No direct border. |
+| Korea | **Minor** | No direct relationship. |
+| England | **Potential patron** | England supports Mongol independence (prevents Song/GK monopoly). Might invest in mining. |