Gladly. Thank you for showing interest. I am always willing to help along those who don't know and are wiling to keep themselves up-to-date for the sake of the argument, even if you do ultimately disagree.
No problem. It's understandable. I just want people to start taking up my offers to
ask when they don't know or are unclear of what I am referencing, or use the links* I used to provide when basing my argument on top of something else I've previously said
How to Colonize: The basis of the whole thing was that colonization would have to come in phases. It would start with establishing a fortified port town along the north shore. This would serve as the primary base of the colony in its opening years as well as the focal point of the later phases' network. It is believed with what we currently know of the Yetis that a moderate staffing should be enough to hold and repel against any raiders. Furthermore, technology developed during the Winter War would be utilized - and possibly even improved upon with more funding and current access to runes - to keep the heat in the area as well as grow crops (to supplement any fish caught, of course, since griffons are either carnivorous or omnivorous but ponies and yaks might not be).
The next phase would be the railroad system. With a combination of railway development and dynamite to carve paths through the mountains we could create a satellite system of forts interspersed throughout the country and mountainside - think of the tributaries of a river - to better exert a force of control without having to occupy every square inch of the countryside. It will also come in handy with future border control, as well as protecting any mining towns that we develop in the future.
The final phase would be the development of commercial industries and trade. Anything mined can be shipped by the railway to the port, the port could be expanded to a large dock to handle being the central area of the colony, and an airport can be built in the future for airship shipping once we better develop commercial airships within a few years. This would create a healthy local economy as well as further incentivize settlement.
Why to Colonize: There are multiple benefits to colonizing the area. First and foremost, the area will likely be host to many valuable minerals, gemstones, and strategic resources as mountainsides are wont to be. We will continue to be in high demand for strategic resources like iron, coal copper, tin, and orichalcum due to the sheer size of our military. With one of the world's largest militaries (and possibly THE world's largest military depending on what's in the unknown), it will take a lot of metals and coal to properly staff said armies and the logistics for their equipment, rations, and the factories supplying them. Colonizing the area will do a lot to continue feeding the expansion of our war machine beyond what our base resources provide, and our growing civilian industry as well as we continue to advance into our own Industrial Age.
On the minerals and gemstones part, even though we are currently rich in such things, there can never be too many for trade. Developing a near monopoly on such goods for this part of the world (especially with the rich cultural heritage we are developing that could influence fashion) would do us a lot of good on boosting trade income as well as furthering our growing domestic market for it as our middle class begins to build. I had another thing I thought of to put here as well, but seeing as that is based on newly confirmed information and wasn't something I said in previous posts, I will leave it out for now.
I also believe the region would do well to become a new hub for trade, especially with Equestria. Ports along the coast could provide a new trade route along the northern coastline, as well as give refueling stations as we transition over to steam-based ships. Likewise, having an airport on the western side of the continent would do wonders for future shipping and make important transportation convenient, simple, and quick. Commercial airships - which I have argued I wish to keep all airships as owned by the government due to security risks - will take another decade at least before they become truly viable on a mass scale, but even a few early on will be amazing.
Next, continued expansion would do well to better assert the Empire's continental hegemony. Equestria could easily be a rival - though a friendly one - should they ever break from their isolationism and the Yaks, though allies, are stubborn and prideful and unlikely to bow consistently to Imperial guidance. We need to take every opportunity for expansion and growth that we can to make sure we maintain our spot as the preeminent power within our sphere of influence. The world is still young, though stabilizing, so these are rare opportunities that we won't have later on.
Finally, I said before that I do not believe the Yetis will be such a powerful force. They do not appear to be particularly advanced, and more likely are a society of raiders. I believe that we have enough force, organization, and discipline to hold the areas for colonization without heavy effort or expense, even before we actively make some kind of campaign against the Yetis. Equestria only suffers from them as much as they have because they do not appear to have any professional army except for maybe their royal guard, and likely relies on local militia to protect individual villages as would be common for their decentralized, feudalistic model of governance.
I have more than this to say, of course, as there is more to respond to and offer counterarguments against, but this is the summary of everything I've said in previous conversations over the matter. I wish to save new arguments building atop these arguments for a separate, dedicated post. More will also be added or changed to it as we learn more information in recon.
Either way, that is the summary of everything I have said previously, unless I missed something. I hope this is helpful and thank you once more for taking the initiative to ask!
*I stopped providing them because it was obvious people never used them even when I made it evident that they
had to be read to understand what I am getting at. Instead, I just wait for someone to ask because then I know they will read it due to having shown the initiative and interest
