A Tryst with Destiny

VGL said:

And another one:why do you write in Italic?

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That my friend shall remain a mystery trapped in the realm of off topic discussions

Update : the power unexpectedly went out, which means there won't be an update tonight. I'll work it out next morning.

Noyyau said:

It would be kind of absurd to have voted for Republic but not accept the outcome of a votation.

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While your other points are valid, since this was not an election but in effect a vote to end all votes, to rebel against the result is entirely in keeping with pro-republic ideals...

DKVM said:

Let us keep the peace people! We have just exited a recent civil war and cannot afford another one so soon. My foreign agents tell me that an ambitious man has risen from Greece. He calls himself Alexander of Makedon. He plans to build a Hellenic Empire through conquest. He also plans to steal our hard-earned wealth and subjugate us. We must stay united in the face of such evil. I say, let us put political factions behind us for the moment to stand up to this impending threat at full strength!

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What do you think of my speech out of 10? I would give it a 6.

You convinced me to flip to peace! I give it an 8.75.

DKVM said:

What do you think of my speech out of 10? I would give it a 6.

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i would give it a 5.99 only

A regime change was happening and this was no easy process. Bharata was coming under one undisputed ruler, one samrat. The transition meant that old offices would have to be cleared for new ones, and old structures abolished in favor of the new one. The King's Council which had served the realm for five centuries since King Srutunjaya had first introduced it was finally abolished. It wasn't very difficult to do, as the office had become only a nominal one since Acharya Dhrittiman had assumed the throne.



New governors had to be trained and appointed in Indraprasth and Takshashila as well as Kashi. This affected production, for five years all administrative and economic activity came to a near halt in these cities. The moment was ripe for the enemies of Magadh to launch their attacks.



"Now is the time" Shishunag II said, "The time to begin our operation. Long enough have I waited to retake my rightful place on the throne of Magadh. Long enough have my people waited for Justice, Vengeance, Fire and blood". He unsheathed his sword and gave a small cut to his thump and drew out a tika on his forehead. "I swear by the words of my dying mother, that I shall fulfill my oath".

Scouts reported suspicious movements in the jungles South of Magadh. Before long the sight of legions of spear wielding Santhals emerged from the jungles. Shishunag II meant to launch a surprise attack from the jungles south of Magadh. These were forbidden lands for the people of the plains. They were notorious for diseases and strange vicious beasts. The people who lived among them were considered untouchable. But it was among them that Shishunag plotted his vengeance. The santhal tribes knew the terrain better and could move through the thick vegetations on the hills of the east. The jungles thus gave the enemy the tactical advantage.

A force of fifteen thousand Santhals were sent out to attack Pataliputra. The plan was to surprise the garisson of Pataliputra before the government could fully re-establish itself. The presence of the troops exacerbated the situation of anarchy as citizens feared an attack by vicious legions of tribal soldiers. The surprise however, was foiled and the bands of santhal skirmishers began retreating from the jungles to the South. It would seem they headed to the province of Kashi.



No sooner than new government was established, the new samrat nand, ordered three thousand citizens be drafted into combat. A new division of armored axemen were hastily trained to meet the threat from the South.

But the people did not want any of it. Soon riots would break out, the recruitment offices were targeted. The people of Pataliputra would not tolerate any more tyranny after having suffered generations of tyrannical rule. In a sheer twist of irony, the troops which were drafted for battle would now have to be used to pacify the city. Yet again, the army of Magadh would have to unsavory task of massacring their own. Autocracy was not off to a good start.

This wouldn't have happened if we chose city states

It's just one problem, we can fix it. Let Autocracy do its thing.

Hooray.peace!

adhiraj.bose said:

Instead you'd have the monarchists and autocrats teaming up with each other to retake the rest of the realm for Magadh in a vicious civil war which would leave india devastated in addition to the wars against Shishunag and his hordes of Santhal warriors. If that wasn't enough, the bruised and battered India would then have to fight against a big army of hoplites and catapults on its Western border.

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But we chose peace

adhiraj.bose said:

A question on World builder. I originally intended the stack of skirmishers to attack the cities, but in my first trial run they just went back to the native city and one swordsmen went around attacking. How do I make sure an enemy stack would attack a target instead of just going back? Is there any way to ensure this ?

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It would require some serious coding. What you can do is you can delete the units (taking note of how many there were, what types, how much xp, and which promotions) and then place them wherever you want. Then save and hope you get lucky

It would require some serious coding. What you can do is you can delete the units (taking note of how many there were, what types, how much xp, and which promotions) and then place them wherever you want. Then save and hope you get lucky

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That is what I'm going to do in the next update. ... maybe

The people of the plains and the tribals of the jungles and hills to its South were never at the best of terms. But there was an understanding between them which kept peace between the two peoples. Amatya Shishunag sowed the basis for a lasting peace between them, a peace broken by Udayabhadra and then by Acharya Dhrittiman. Now the Santhals fought for Shishunag's son. The skirmishers stealthily went through impassable jungle from Pataliputra to Varanasi ultimately finding their way to the iron hills of Kashi.



There, the garrison of axes and spears and Naga Sanyasi warriors readied their arms to face down this attacker. And as they were preparing, the santhals left. They went South now to the iron mines. It was there, that the true intentions of Shishunag's plans were revealed.



The hills South of Kashi were filled with the sounds of hammers and picks digging the earth. Of lashes hitting the backs of unwilling sudras forced to work till death to mine iron for the emperor. The mines would not sleep, the night was no different than the day, when toilers would be worked till death in the iron mines of Kashi. Their suffering would end on this day, the day that the reaving Santhals descended upon the hills from the North.

Santhals call their attack with drums. The miners remember hearing two sounds then, one was of the ominous sound of a fox and the other the dreadful sound of the santhali drums. The mines weren't defended by any soldiers, till now there was no need for it. That was until today, when the santhal horde attacked. They came like a whirlwind by moonlight, with ferocity in their eyes and spears in their hands. They came and they slaughtered all who resisted them, which were only a handful of soldiers and slave drivers. They were all killed before they had a chance at defending themselves. The miners saw the end of their tormentors right before them.

They cheered the Santhals, but cheers turned to screams when the santhals turned upon the miners. They killed every man they saw before them. The mines were destroyed and the miners killed, just as Shishunag had ordered. The armies of Magadh were now condemned to fighting with sticks and stones.

Just as Magadh was licking its wounds from the disastrous raids by Shishunaga's army, another army approached, this time from the West. "These lands were once ours, and they shall be our's again!" declared the king of Avanti standing on the banks of the Narmada. On the banks of the river, he dreamt dreams of glory and the revival of the house of Pradyota. "In water we shall find our salvation", and so they did.

The kingdom of Avanti found a novel way to deceive the armies of Magadh, instead of marching over land through scorching Thar desert, the army sailed on boats up the Sindhu river till they reached the borders of the Matsya Kingdom. Seven thousand Five hundred archers landed on the East side of the river readying to besiege Takshashila. But the king of Avanti, had made an error. He underestimated the vastness of the armies of Magadh, and the strength of its armored infantry. The Death Batallion was sent to deal with the army of Avanti. Three thousand armored axes against more than twice that number of archers. The two armies met on the fated fields of Kurukshetra which has stood witness to bloodshed since the time of the Mahabharat.



Before departing for the fields of Kurukshetra, the captain of the death batallion had told the doubting samrat nand, "Samrat! It is not without reason that we are named the Death Batallion, for we are the minions of Yamraj on Earth. Tell me o wise ruler, can man overcome death itself ? Three thousand minions of death against seven thousand archers does not sound like a fair fight. I feel sorry for our foes".

The fighters did their best to prove their captain's claim. The axemen were given shields to fight with this time, and taught a new technique on how to fight with axe and shield. They used it to deadly effect. The shields were used to deflect volleys after volleys of arrows, and the axe to cut them in half. The death batallion made the first charge against the archers and broke through their defensive lines. When the battle was done, an entire division of archers lay dead, but not a single axemen. The victory unnerved the besieging army. Death was now upon them.



The second battle saw much the same results as the last one, with the only exception that around fifty axemen were killed in the charge. Tactics were changed and the batallion adapted to archers. Only one division was now remaining of the original force sent out from Avanti. With experience in dealing with archers, the now more lethal death batallion was joined together by a division of archers from the garrison at Takshashila. This combined force decimated whatever remained of would be conquerors from Avanti. Magadh showed its power before the rest of Bharata.




But in the midst of these great battles, it was the innocents of Pataliputra who seemed to suffer the most. After the violent anti-draft riots and its brutal suppression, Samrat Nand ordered that all those who were caught of rioting would be put to forced labor. Over ten thousand were worked to death in building Pataliputra's library complex. A project begun under Acharya Dhrittiman's rule, but completed by his best student. That dealt with the problem of riots but only for a short while. As the city came back to rest, riots began once more, though less violent than before.

Pataliputra had seen riots before. The night of long knives was still in the minds of the people of the city. Each riot was a strain on the fabric of the city. This was one of the six greatest cities in the world, but it was declining. That much was unmistakeable. The draft and ensuing riots led to a flight of refugees from Pataliputra to the surrounding towns. The towns grew even as Pataliputra shrank.

We need to take Avanti! That's where Mumbai should be but isn't!


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I figured that but it isn't Mumbai as we founded it so I propose we raze it then refound it so it is purely our culture