| By Hiroakira Fengxian | See other fanon and fan fiction works from Hiroakira Fengxian. |
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Co-founded and fully-owned by the noble Fengxian Family, Fengxian Heavy Industries is a sole proprietorship has been the leading provider of arms, ships, and war materials to the Fire Nation for well over 100 years, and has been a major trade power for well over 200. The company's major pursuits include weapons manufacture, logging, mining, steel manufacture, logistics, textiles, freight shipping, ship building, intercontinental trade, and the manufacture and sale of goods for the private sector. Due to the long-held close ties between the Fengxian family and the Royal Family, Fengxian Heavy Industries has an indefinite lease, giving them a monopoly selling arms, supplies and hardware to the Fire Nation Military, and the company also has special exclusive privileges in mining, manufacture, and international commerce. The Company works almost hand-in-hand with the War Ministry, and has been responsible for the reverse-engineering of technologies and the manufacture of nearly all the Fire Nation's war materials, from spears, swords, armor and uniforms, to riding saddles, tanks, siege equipment, warships, explosives, and public works.
History[]
Around 100 B.S.C., a group of enterprising young merchants, lead by Daoban Fengxian, began raising capital and buying ships with the aim of establishing a trade network to the Eastern Earth Kingdom in the wake of the collapse of the Chin Empire, which had previously clamped down on free trade and travel. After a few unsuccessful first attempts, the group was granted a Royal Charter by the current Firelord, and was able to establish trading posts in the eastern and southern Earth Kingdom as the Sunrise Trading Company. Originally trading spices and silk, the trade expanded to include tea, cotton, iron ore, coal, currency metals, jade, dyes, and saltpeter. It wasn't long before the Fire Nation felt the economic benefits, and the Sunrise Company began to expand to ports around the Earth Kingdom and even to the Water Tribes. Sunrise acquired several shipbuilding yards and even began to hire Air Nomads for freelance cartography, and as a result acquired more knowledge and information about the world than ever before, eventually publishing the most comprehensive atlas the world had yet seen. By the time of Fire Lord Sozin, the Fire Nation had become one of the leading world economies. The Fengxian Clan became close supporters of the Royal Family by this time, as evidenced by Avatar Roku's (a distant relative of the Fengxian Family) long friendship with Firelord Sozin. Chan Quan Fengxian, now the Head of the Fengxian Clan, became an economic adviser to the Firelord, and both men agreed that there was no reason that the prosperity of the Nation shouldn't continue to expand. Sozin helped Fengxian seize sole ownership and control of the Sunrise Trading Company, which was renamed Fenxian Enterprises. Unfortunately, their ambitions for expansion were temporarily thwarted around 37 B.S.C. by Avatar Roku, who was then completely disowned from the family. As a result, Fengxian Enterprises refocused on steelmaking, engineering, and technological advancement. By the death of Avatar Roku in 12 B.S.C., the Company, now renamed Fengxian Industries under Shangzu Fengxian, had made a breakthrough with steam-powered iron-clad ships. Firelord Sozin immediately put up orders for new iron warships for his navy, making Fengxian Industries more powerful than ever before. Through his trade contacts, Shanzu brought a disgruntled Air Nomad named Afiko to Sozin's attention, giving the Fire Nation valuable tactical information for their upcoming assault on the Air Temples. Afiko and Shangzu both became close advisors to the Firelord, but quickly began to resent each other. The animosity became so great that Shangzu engineered a situation that implicated Afiko in a coup plot, for which Sozin had the treacherous airbender executed.
Fengxian Industries continued to expand with every Fire Nation victory, building mines and huge factories both in the home islands and the colonies. With the annexation of Fubai Dushi, so near to vast untapped reserves of ore and coal deposits, Fengxian Industries found the opportunity to experiment with a new process of mass-producing steel via air injection. With the resounding success of the first steel plant, the Company experienced a huge boost, building dozens of mines plants, refineries, factories, and machine shops, and turning the once obscure little fishing port into an industrial metropolis to rival any of the big cities of the Earth Kingdom. In addition, the shipyards built at Fubai Dushi became an industrial wonder, able to turn out up to a dozen Dynasty-class steel warships a month (and dozens of smaller craft), and providing the Fire Nation Navy with over a quarter of its total fleet over the course of the War. Shengzu continued to serve Sozin's, and later Azulon's, interests until his death, when his position was taken up by his son, Vice-Admiral Yuan Fengxian, who renamed the company Fengxian Heavy Industries. By now the Fengxian Clan had received the nobility status of Duke, and was one of the most influential and powerful (if not the wealthiest) noble families in the Fire Nation, and with its control over the arms production and employing a vast percentage of Fire Nation citizens, Yuan had power enough to even influence the workings of the government. However, the Fengxian Clan itself was in decline by this time. Yuan was Shengzu's only surviving son, Yuan's wife died of cholera, Yuan's only son Hakan died in an accident involving blasting jelly, and by 87 A.S.C. Yuan had contracted a lung disease that became progressively worse as years wore on. The state also began trying to exert more and more control over the Company, concerned that it was becoming too much of an independent authority. In addition, the mines at Fubai Dushi were quickly being depleted, forcing the Company to focus elsewhere for resources and having to close or sell many of its plants and factories there to smaller, rival businesses. Facing the extinction of the Clan, Yuan took an offer provided by Second Prince Ozai and adopted a mysterious 4-year-old orphan boy who's firebending powers were said to have slain a dragon. Thus, Hiroakira Fengxian became the heir of both the Fengxian Duchy and Fengxian Heavy Industries. Unfortunately, Yuan's health became so poor that he was forced to turn the actual managing of the company over to Qin, the company's board chairman, and following Yuan's death in 94 A.S.C. After the coronation of Firelord Ozai, Qin was made War Minister, presumably to bring the company under tighter government control. Qin would continue to assume interim control of the company until Hiroakira reached his inheritance age of 16. Qin would soon discover a brilliant engineer residing in the Northern Air Temple, and blacmailed the Mechanist into designing machine and weapon prototypes, which Fengxian Heavy industries would then mass-produce, among the best examples being tanks. The introduction of tank warfare greatly sped up Fire Nation victories, and was a major factor in successfully subduing the Rangyi Rebellion.
Major Subsidiaries[]
- Rising Dawn Technologies:
Research and development into weapons, hydraulics, engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, metallurgy, fertiliser, preservatives, hydroponics, refrigeration, and probably other things. For the last seven years, War Minister Qin has held the head position of this particular division, and as a result of extorting prototypes and design plans from the Mechanist, Rising Dawn Technologies has recently produced such items as tanks, jet skies, steam-powered construction equipment, blasting jelly, the Drill used at Ba Sing Se, and has even reverse-engineered a prototype war balloon to begin manufacture on a fleet of airships.
- Fengxian Industries:
The production wing of the company, which oversees all the factories, mines and plants. The majority of Fire Nation tools, weapons, equipment, and everyday manufactured products are produced by this branch.
- Vermillion Bird Printing:
Operates printing presses for posters, books, and national propaganda newspapers, and also breeds Messenger Hawks. They also run a series of lumber and paper mills.
- Fengxian Enterprises:
Cash businesses, including hotels, rented accommodation, restaurants and public transportation. Controls one of the four major railroads in the Fire Nation: the Phoenix House Railway Company. One of the other railroads is in the hands of a private competitor, and the other two are government-controlled.
- Sunrise Shipping:
Cargo and freight shipping and trading. The backbone of the company's early fortune and power and the company's oldest branch. Sunrise Shipping controls the commerse of the Fire Nation, and is so vital to the Fire Nation's war machine that the Fire Navy maintains a separate fleet simply to protect the company's shipping interests and ensure that supplies arrive where they need to be, safely and on time.
- Fengxian ShipWorks:
Manufacture of ships, both for Military and civilian use, and also ship repair. The Fengxian shipyards can build anything from steam-powered jet skies and river boats to the colossal Empire-Class Warships favored by the Fire Navy. Every metal ship manufactured in the Fire Nation in the past 90 years, from Zuko's rusting scout ship to Azula's Royal Barge has been made solely by Fengxian Shipworks. It is through the Fengxian Duchy that the Fire Nation has mastery over the seas. At one time the port city of Fubai Dushi was the crown jewl of the Fengxian Shipbuilding empire, but has since fallen from that position as the city's ore and coal mines have run low, and many of the outdated factories and dry docks fall into disrepair as production moves to newer, more efficient facilities.
- Rising Sun Finance:
Banks, brokerage houses, investment firms. Yuan Fengxian bought out many of the Fire Nation's banks during a brief recession years ago, an act which made the Imperial government wary of the company's growing financial power. A popular joke among Fire Nation business owners is that the Fengxian Duchy is always just a shipload of gold short of being able to buy the Fire Lord's throne.
- Fire Nation Agricultural:
Large commercial fields, orchards, and ranches owned by the Fengxian Family. Although not the largest producer of food for the Fire Nation, Their real power lies in exclusive access to a number of rare spices and teas, often employing Red Hawk to ensure that said access remains exclusive. This division is also very active in animal husbandry, having developed several new breeds of livestock in the past 100 years. The division's mascot is one of their new breeds of Mongoose Dragon: one that can change bright colors that can glow faintly in the dark. Said breed is noticeably smaller, weaker, and prone to more health problems than the main species, and seems to have been bred more as a vanity piece for nobles than anything. There are few, but the still fetch a very hefty price.
- Fengxian Development:
Building construction and land development. Rebuilds conquered Earth Kingdom cities in the Fire Nation's image, builds factories, and constructs fortifications and bases for the military.
- Fengxian Resources:
Suerveying, mineral exploration, coal and ore mining, lumber milling, and excavation. Since the beginning of the War, this particular branch has been notorious for the use of captured enemy troops as slave labor.
- Red Hawk Security:
Fengxian Heavry Industries' small private army, designed to protect the company's interests at home and abroad. Made up of a combination of professional soldiers on loan from the Fire Nation Military and foreign mercenaries, their loyalty in bought with very generous wages and a number of attractive benefits. The Imperial government is somewhat uneasy about a military force within their borders not under direct government control.
- Property Holdings:
Fengxian Heavy Industries, and by extension the Fengxian Family, also owns considerable property in both the Fire Nation and in the Earth Kingdom colonies.
Notable Products[]
- Steel
- Coal
- Chains
- Produce
- Livestock
- Uniforms
- Military Armor
- Spears
- Swords
- Knives
- Crossbows
- Trebutchets
- Catapults
- Ballistas
- Tundra Tanks
- Tank Train
- Fire Nation Drill
- Jet Skies
- Construction equipment
- Building supplies
- Boilers
- Furnaces
- Refrigeration equipment
- Fireworks
- Munitions
- Blasting Jelly
- Fire Nation Battlecruisers
- Empire-Class Battleships
- Coastal Frigates
- Scout Cruisers
- River Steamers
- Transport Ferries
- Royal Barge
- Commercial Ships
- Kayaks
- War Balloons
- Airships
See more
For the collective works of the author, go here.