The Shiji, Book Two: Project Kaguya

That's the challenge for your next story right?

With a non-industrious civ it will be hard to clean all the pollution!

Argh, so many pictures not showing up, I think I'm overwhelming ImageShack's servers

I re-uploaded a few, hopefully they won't disappear this time...

Next update in the works.

Mirc said:

With a non-industrious civ it will be hard to clean all the pollution!

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I'm not so much as afraid of the time it takes to clean up the pollution as I am of the unit support I have to pay to keep a large army of workers. At least despotism gives 4 free units per city, regardless of size.

All the pics are showing up for me. (but maybe after you done this)

Chapter 2: In Search of New Lands


The defeat of the Aryan tribes spelled the end of the barbarian threats on the island of Japan. Tokugawa was determined to never have to face any barbarian enemies again, and the best way to do this was to bring the entire land into Japanese sovereign territory. They built more temples and shrines, in hopes that the evil water god would not strike back at them again, but more so because it was the only building they knew how to construct in their cities, other than their homes and granaries.

"We have plenty of food, but nowhere for our people to go," grumbled Tokugawa. The island was small and poor, with no precious metals to be found anywhere in the hills and mountains, and no horses or deer roaming the fields. Even the coastlines were devoid of fish, only with cold waves crashing upon the shore from the seemingly endless, empty ocean.

Well, it was not so empty after all. More exploration parties had been sent from Kyoto and Osaka in search of new lands, and from atop the hills and mountains in the west, they sighted beautiful hills and grasslands on the other side of the sea. But the stories they told were not consistent, sometimes contradictory, leaving Tokugawa to wonder if they had discovered one new island or two.


Never mind that, he thought. We still need to figure out a way to get off this island. Still, there was no news from his scholars and priests, all of whom insisted that divine guidance would lead them to new discoveries. They had nothing to show for all their efforts, so Tokugawa decreased their funding even further.

In the meantime, Kyoto had grown again and more citizens wished to escape the curse of the evil water god. They would build a new city in the west, on the coast facing the islands across the sea, in a clearing where they felt the friendly forest spirits and yashas would be forgiving and protect them from danger.


Other explorers and settlers headed east, hoping to find the resting place from which the sun arose each morning, where they would be able to enjoy a warmer and healthier living. But they were greeted only by more cold tundra, and there were no islands to be seen in that direction. The sea only seemed to extend infinitely outward, and the sun clearly came from a land even further beyond.

In spite of this, they were not discouraged. They sent a message back to Kyoto, proclaiming that they had settled down at the Land of the Rising Sun. It was just a little white lie, since even though the sun still rose from a distant place past the ocean, they always be the first people in all of Japan to see it every day. Tokugawa did not take offense at this, but instead sent them his wishes that they take good care of their new settlement.


Nearly another thousand years had passed by the time Kyoto's scholars had something new to offer. They blamed him for the meager funds that he had dedicated to their work, even though he knew that they would not have worked any harder even if he gave them the entire Japanese treasury.

But the development of writing was quite impressive to the Shogun, and especially the new paper medium that they wrote on. In time, much of the trees in the forests were harvested for their bark, upon which scribes could write their works in a dark black liquid known as ink.


It was not just the scribes who took advantage of this new technique. Artists also learned to use the brush and parchment, drawing beautiful tapestries of the rich history of the Japanese people. A few others were interested in illustrating the landscape, hoping to capture the details of the island terrain in their images. Their skills were poor to begin with, but Tokugawa knew that given enough time to practice, they would be masters of the art of map making.

The progress was slow, but steady. Still, it did not prevent Tokugawa's advisors from complaining that Japan was far behind other great civilizations that inhabited this world. Tokugawa had never heard of these names before, dismissing them as just gibberish, but he did take their warning seriously.

We will have to make contact with these foreign peoples and learn from them, he promised to himself. If only we could leave the island...


Tokugawa checked on his scribes and artists and found that they seemed to be getting close to perfecting the technique of map making, but they were still making fundamental errors that prevented them from success. Frustrated, he traveled to Osaka to see several craftsmen attempting to build something similar to the barbarian galley off the coast, but as soon as it was put to sea, water leaked in and sunk the vessel.

We are not ready yet, moaned the Shogun. Will this curse of the evil water god ever go away?

"Yes," said a voice behind him, as if it had just read his mind. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had followed him from the capital shortly thereafter, bearing some wonderful news. "The curse upon our people has been lifted at last," he declared. "The green hills of Kyoto shall remain green forever!"

Tokugawa wasn't particularly confident about this, knowing that the water god was wrathful and fickle, but nevertheless was extremely pleased with the result. The orange slime that had corrupted the land for so long had finally been cleared away.

Note that even though there's at least 5 or 6 other places I could plop down another city, I'm playing with the "no overlap" restriction, so I'm out of room now

Go on, go on! I read the last one and I loved it. I think you should explore the stretch of land west. Also, I hope you r good in techs, cities, and other stuff.

Good job thus far.... I realized this morning at work that I'd heard about Kaguay Hime before.... It was in the Inu Yasha movie Kagami no Naka no Mugenjou (The Illusory Castle Within the Mirror), which essentially is based on the Kaguya Hime no Monogatari, but with some twits.... I was wondering when/if you'd make some references to that movie (the first time I saw it was at the Daiei Theater in Yokosuka Japan), and here I see that pic from said movie at the beginning of the first chapter....

I don't see how you play with these insane variants, though. I find the regular game hard enough on Monarch that I don't see why I should torture myself further. (Then again, if I spent more time PLAYING the game, rather than MODDING the game, I might be a better player)....

Nice story, though

Chapter 3: A Warm Welcome


In the years that the Japanese people were stranded on their island, rumors spread about events from far and wide. Tokugawa did not know how the information reached the shores of Japan, and with so many of them saying different things, he was at a loss as for what to do. Stories spread of the Great Wonders that had been constructed in distant lands, many of which he hadn't the slightest clue what they actually were.


Tokugawa longed to be able to fly across the ocean to see these Great Wonders for himself, but his cartographers still had not yet mastered their techniques. Each day he berated them for their ineptitude, while they continued to give the same old excuse that they were underfunded. "Patience," Hideyoshi urged the Shogun. "You don't want to have the first boat we send out to sea sink as soon as it disappears from view, now do you?"

Even when they finally were able to draw accurate maps and build primitive galleys, they still did not know which direction to set sail in order to make contact with these rumored people who supposedly possessed advanced technology. By this time, Tokugawa was so fed up with the slow pace at which his research was going, and decided it would be best to simply stop funding it altogether. No matter how much his advisors insisted that this new technique of bronze working would benefit their country, he would not let them pursue it. He was much more interested in finding the other civilizations with whom he still shared this world, and perhaps they could teach their tricks to the Japanese.


The Japanese maps did not mark where any of these people could be found, but it did seem to provide some clues. There were the islands to the west that had been sighted from the mountains near Kobe. The first Japanese galleys were sent in that direction, along with a group of settlers in hopes of finding a rich new land where they could live.

The nearest island was a very tiny one, but it boasted a great hill of gold upon which the settlers decided to build their next settlement. From atop the hill, they spotted whales in the distance, and although they still did not know how to reach them, it would only be a matter of time before these magnificent beasts were brought within Japan's maritime borders.


More importantly, the people of Niigata confirmed that there was another, even larger island further to the west, and although much of it was barren tundra, a small patch of fertile land was found in the southeastern corner. Cattle grazed on the grasslands there, and a bit further to the southeast, smoke was spotted coming from a small village.

Without any further hesitation, Tokugawa sent the next group of settlers, where they built the second Japanese colony overseas. A band of warriors was also sent to meet the villagers, and they advanced carefully, hoping they would not be hostile barbarians.


They were greeted by a shy but friendly people who called themselves the Yayoi. They were quite surprised to see visitors after the many thousands of years of isolation they spent on their island, but it did not take long for them to sense that the Japanese meant no harm, and that they would be welcome to join the new city of Fukuoka at any time.

In the end, a few of the villagers were quite impressed by the Japanese warriors, and offered their services to the Shogun. Because of their familiarity with the local geography, they soon showed Tokugawa everything that they knew of the island.


With guidance from the Yayoi villagers, another island was discovered further to the west. The land was even more barren than the Yayoi island, but it boasted rich deposits of gold, and the seas around it were well stocked with fish. Another settlement was built on the site, primarily just to claim the island for Japan.


Meanwhile, another galley had been exploring to the east, and discovered another great landmass across the sea. From the deck they spotted a strange new animal grazing in the fields, much unlike the cows that roamed around Fukuoka. These horses galloped around the grassland at a remarkable speed, and Tokugawa wished he could tame them so that they would be able to work for his people.

Several of his citizens expressed an interest in making the ocean crossing to see what they could do with the horses, as well as explore the area a bit further. When they arrived, they built a new city on the island.


The settlers of Kagoshima soon found out about a barbarian village near their city, and decided to pay them a visit. There they found the Hsung-Nu tribe, who greeted and entertained them. The Hsung-Nu were a nomadic people and did not wish to give up their lifestyle, but in their hospitality they offered the maps of the region that they had gathered over the many years they had roamed here.

The map also marked a strange border to the south, which they said was another advanced civilization. Tokugawa wondered who they could be and eagerly awaited the day when he could meet them.


The Shogun soon learned from his advisors that horses were a strategic resource, and it was the first of many that he would later find. He hoped there would be other islands even more bountiful than these.

Nice expansion there.

Do you have plans to put any other Japanese animation in your story other than Inuyasha?

stocktracker said:

Do you have plans to put any other Japanese animation in your story other than Inuyasha?

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The short answer is yes. There will be more variety to come later on. I have a few other titles lined up for the middle, industrial, and modern ages.

Hikaro Takayama was right about the reference to Kaguya-hime in the movie, and that's part of the reason why I included it. (The other reason is that it's pretty easy to find pictures from Inuyasha online. )

To be honest, I'm definitely not some kind of Inuyasha freak, as I consider it a relatively mediocre anime. Some people will take offense at that, while others will think I'm being too lenient in my assessment, but whatever.

EDIT: No guarantees there. What if the AI wipes me off the map before I get out of despotism?

Great update, though I clearly misunderstood the game restrictions. I was under the impression that you were only allowed 1 city not on your original island ALL UP

tupaclives said:

Great update, though I clearly misunderstood the game restrictions. I was under the impression that you were only allowed 1 city not on your original island ALL UP

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Oh, good point. I think I didn't make that clear enough in my introductory post. I'll go correct that now.

Thanks for bringing it up.

looking forward to another wacky game

Sima Qian said:

The short answer is yes. There will be more variety to come later on. I have a few other titles lined up for the middle, industrial, and modern ages.

Hikaro Takayama was right about the reference to Kaguya-hime in the movie, and that's part of the reason why I included it. (The other reason is that it's pretty easy to find pictures from Inuyasha online. )

To be honest, I'm definitely not some kind of Inuyasha freak, as I consider it a relatively mediocre anime. Some people will take offense at that, while others will think I'm being too lenient in my assessment, but whatever.

EDIT: No guarantees there. What if the AI wipes me off the map before I get out of despotism?

Click to expand...

I aggree that the anime is mediocre, but the manga r0x0rs!! It was Inuyasha that partially inspired me to start on my own medieval Japanese fantasy type story, Reitekina Sensou, and my username is the name of the main charachter in that story....

I just hope the AI doesn't wipe you out, before you get outta the ancient age, though... That would suck.

can i see a world map to see the islands locations better

Chapter 4: New Neighbors, New Horizons


With help from the Hsung-Nu maps, the Japanese galleys ventured further beyond their present horizons, hoping to find the advanced civilizations that ruled over the rest of the world. Shogun Tokugawa was in a good mood, as he was sure the knowledge of these foreigners would be greatly beneficial to Japan.

The first civilization that they met were the ones marked by green borders on the Hsung-Nu maps, although by then they had colonized many other islands in the northern seas. Within these green borders lived a people known as the Greeks, whose leader, Alexander the Great, was quite annoyed to see Japanese vessels in his maritime territory.


The Greeks were a remarkably advanced civilization, with knowledge of many technologies beyond poor Tokugawa's imagination. Their cities were guarded by magnificent phalanxes of hoplites, strong fighters clad in gleaming bronze armor. Their people ate sumptuous feasts of bread and meat, with a variety of salads on the side and further enhanced by a strange intoxicating drink called wine. They boasted of grand colosseums and libraries built in their cities, spreading their culture far and wide. In exchange for Japan's world map, they were willing to teach many of these secrets to the Japanese people.

Tokugawa was about to agree to this deal, but Hideyoshi stopped him. "My lord," he cautioned, "remember that the Greeks are not the only tribe with whom we share this world. If we show them our map, surely they will show it to their other neighbors, and we will lose the strong bargaining position that we have right now."

"But we do not know where they are," grumbled Tokugawa. "And the Greeks will not show us how to contact them."

"Relax," said Hideyoshi. "I am sure we will reach them soon. The world is small, and our galleys are swift."

Sure enough, another exploring galley sighted a large landmass due south of Osaka, inhabited by another advanced civilization, the Persians. Tokugawa instructed his cartographers to mark the Persian borders in purple on Japan's maps.

From the information they gathered, Tokugawa learned that the Persians were even more powerful than the Greeks. They had 13 cities to Greece's 10, and were on roughly equal standing as far as technology. The Persian people were blessed with a rich land full of resources. They burned incense in their temples and made offerings of beautiful ivory to their gods at the Oracle in Persepolis. The Persian workers were remarkably industrious, but their leader, Xerxes, was no less annoyed by his new visitors.


"Can't we trade now?" asked Tokugawa. "I think Xerxes is running out of patience."

Hideyoshi shook his head. "Two down, three more to go. We will try to pass around them, and see who else is there."

Many more years passed before the next tribe was found, on a hilly wedge further along the coast of Greece. These were the Russians, ruled by an elderly woman named Catherine the Great. Tokugawa ordered his map makers marked Russia with gray on their charts, supposedly because of the Czarina's gray hair. But in reality, it was purely out of jealousy that he chose this drab color, for the Russian people wore beautiful clothes made of multicolored silks.


The Russian cities numbered 12 in total, putting them slightly behind the Persians in terms of power, but their technology was just as advanced as the others. The Japanese sailors noted that the cities were defended by spearmen, slightly less intimidating than the Greek hoplites but still quite formidable in battle.

Three new neighbors, thought Tokugawa. That means there are two other civilizations left. I wonder where they are...

The fourth tribe was discovered by the galley that had sailed around the coast of Persia, carefully avoiding Xerxes' disapproving gaze. These were the Germans, a fair-skinned people similar to the Russians. They were a fierce and combative people, and their warriors roamed all over their island, ready to crush any unwanted guests.


Like Russia, Germany also had a dozen cities and possessed advanced techology. The German people wore even fancier clothing than the Russians, made with the warm furs and colorful dyes of their land. Tokugawa longed to get his hands of these German luxuries, but their leader, Otto von Bismarck, showed no interest in such a trade, and made no effort to hide his annoyance with the Japanese.

"If you have no business being here, then get out," snapped the Chancellor. "You are not welcome in Germany."

Tokugawa sighed. This Bismarck must be evil to the core, he thought. With that, he chose the deepest black ink to draw the borders of Germany on his maps, a further insult to the colorful German textiles.

There was only one more civilization that had not been met: the Babylonians. Every other civilization so far had held them in high regard, and Tokugawa was certain that Babylon would be a truly incredible sight. But nobody offered him directions on how to find them, and for many years his galleys wandered the seas aimlessly, with no sight of their goal.

It was not until the year 210 AD when seamen cruising past the Greek city of Pharsalos noticed a band of warriors clad in bright orange uniforms wandering around the coast. They were unlike any of the foreign people the Japanese had seen before, and after speaking with them they were confirmed to be from the great civilization of Babylon.


Upon further inquiry, they found out that these Babylonian warriors had come far from their homeland and were only part of some distant colonies of their people. Babylon was 13 cities strong and growing quickly, for they had the potent blessings of the Pyramids. Their leader was a certain King Hammurabi, who had written a famous code of laws that had by now spread through the rest of the world except for Japan. The Babylonian people put delicious spices into their food, and also drank the same mystifying beverage as the Greeks, wine.

Despite how badly Tokugawa would have wanted to secure these luxury goods to bring back to Japan, Hideyoshi insisted that they must make up the technological difference first. "We have now made contact with every great civilization in the world," he said proudly. "Let us reveal our maps to them, and learn whatever techniques they have to offer."

And so the trading began. The leaders of the foreign civilzations showed remarkable eagerness to see Tokugawa's maps, and were very pleased that they showed so many places they had never been before. In return, they taught the Japanese people many new things.

They had a warrior code, and trained skilled archers to shoot at distant targets with deadly accuracy.


They taught the Japanese how to tame and care for horses, and eventually showed them how to mount them and ride them into battle.


They demonstrated the methods used for working with metals, how to cast bronze into long spears and iron into sturdy swords.


They called forth their mystics, who showed their strange ways of gaining control over the forces of nature, how to exorcise the demons that haunted them and how to keep the mind calm in stressful times.


They instructed the Japanese people in the studies of mathematics and literature, exposing them to new fields of knowledge and encouraging them to go out and learn for themselves. They offered many books for Tokugawa to read, some of which covered topics in philosophy, while others described Hammurabi's code of laws.


They showed Tokugawa the miracles of construction that they had built in their great cities, the Wonders of the World. It would be a long time before Japan would be able to match them in these skills, but as Tokugawa was getting all of this just for showing them his world map, it was an incredible bargain.


In addition to all of the above, each foreign leader also showed Tokugawa the maps of their own territories. And it was only now that he realized how important Hideyoshi's advice was, for only one civilization would have been willing to come forth to share their secrets if he had shown them Japan's map earlier. Cheerfully he patted his trusted advisor's back, and together they celebrated their success.

IronMan2055 said:

can i see a world map to see the islands locations better

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Yes I do have a world map. Well, an incomplete one, but it should still be helpful in getting the big picture at this stage.

Here it is, dated 210 AD, right after all the trades with the AI.


(Caution: very big!)

Also, in case you're curious, this is what each AI offered for my world map:

Russia: bronze working + masonry + warrior code + mysticism + philosophy + code of laws + literature + territory map + 73 gold
Greece: iron working + mathematics + territory map + 26 gold
Persia: horseback riding + currency + territory map + 19 gold
Germany: construction + territory map + 17 gold
Babylon: polytheism + territory map + 10 gold

Apparently in C3C map trading got moved to the end of the middle ages, so I should be glad I'm on Vanilla. This was a real bargain!

Sima Qian said:

Apparently in C3C map trading got moved to the end of the middle ages, so I should be glad I'm on Vanilla. This was a real bargain!

Click to expand...

Yes, a problem I fixed in my Tweaked Out mod (see sig for details)... There were a number of annoying things with C3C epic game that bugged me, which is why I made that mod.... Of course, now that I know some things that I didn't know at the time I made it, I'll have to update it, but that will be after I get my current mod done.

And I do hope you'r planning on putting a city on the tundra Island with the game and Whales... Once you get Engineering, plant trees, and with a harbor, that city should be plenty productive (even if it is off the beaten path).