King of the World #14: Earth18

Argh. Okay, sorry for falling off the face of the planet. Again. It's been a crazy week. I just seriously sat down with the game yesterday. Playing Genghis Khan sucks. You have to be willing to lose everything, and that's not my usual playstyle. I'm working through the round, slowly but surely, and I should have something to post tomorrow. If I'm not careful, there is a very real danger that this could be the last round of the game...

Burn it all! If it has to end, let it end in style!

Well, a mid round report might help your chances!

Okay, I was lying in bed when I was struck with mad inspiration. I hopped on the computer and completed the round to a devious and somewhat satisfactory degree. This'll be fun to write up, but for now, I need sleep. See y'all in the morning.

Make Genghis proud!

This is a good teaser. I'll be watching this thread.

I can't wait! *chews fingernails*

Ooo, can't wait, Neal!

Neal paced through the camp at Karakorum, wondering how he was going to salvage this situation. War with China would be a fruitless endeavor. At Mongolia's current tech rate, it would be centuries before they could compete with the units that Qin was fielding now. No, the best course would be to keep the peace as well as he could, and improve the marginal terrain of the Steppes with Cottages. That would be dull work, but the best long-term move.

As Neal moved among the small yurts that made up his rude capitol, he noticed fearful eyes upon him. These were not the desperately fawning faces of his days in Persia, nor the suspicious gazes of the Chinese court. No, Neal was being looked upon as a rabid animal. There was no attempts to placate him from the people, for supplication was just as likely to bring down wrath as anything else. Genghis Khan was, Neal could see from a short walk in his shoes, an unpredictable madman. Neal didn't know the half of it.

As distasteful as the notion was, Neal's first job was, he could see, to approach the international community, fur-lined hat in hand, and beg for scraps. He was largely unsuccessful (The Great Khan's international reputation was similar to his domestic one), but Louis of France was willing to offer a bit of aid:



Feudalism's Longbows would, at the very least, put Mongol defenses close to the global norm. Neal looked over his international dossiers (which were inscribed on crudely-tanned hides and covered in frenetic scribblings), and discovered that Greece was lacking Theology, and many Civilizations lacked Divine Right. So, grasping at any possibilities for trade, Neal set his wise men to theorize on the meanings and implications of religion. Quaking, the meek elders agreed.

Neal was trying to relax in the massive tent that served as a Palace, eyeing the support poles that looked as if they had been gnawed on by dogs and wondering just how much he could salvage when a Roman Praetorian entered, unannounced. "I have been sent to collect a tribute of 100 gold from your bestial culture. Submit, and peace shall reign. Refuse, and be destroyed."

Neal weighed his options. Rome was mighty, but distant. And 100 gold was no pittance for the struggling Mongol economy. And... and... Neal's mind went numb, his calculations dissolving in a red haze. When he came to, minutes (hours?) later, his mouth tasted of copper, and the remains of the Roman soldier were scattered about the tent. A high-ranking Mongol chieftan stood at the entrance, shaken and nauseated, but not surprised. He had seen this before.

Temujin's mad spirit had not been entirely shunted aside by Neal's arrival, and his thirst for blood, especially Chinese blood, pushed heavily at Neal's thought processes. The more Neal attempted to build Libraries and Cottages, the more eagerly Genghis Khan forced upon him disturbing images of rape and pillage, of Beijing in flames, of Keshiks riding down silk-garbed women and children. If Neal were to spend his days peacefully beautifying the Steppe, he would be driven mad in the process.

Neal sent Settlers to found a pair of towns ("forward bases," he explained to his inner madman) in the tundra:



The cities would never be fantastic, but they blocked off territory from the Persians, who had a Settler of their own in the area, and they would come in handy more than anyone could have expected.

There was no choice in the matter. War with China was impossible to avoid, but it would happen on Neal's terms. A frontal assault would be madness. No, a bit of deception (at which Genghis frothed in indignation) would be necessary. With an uneasy smile on his face, the King of the World opened borders with the Chinese, and shuttled troops southward to bases in India. Qin signed the treaty with a glint of recognition in his eye, but he said nothing. Meanwhile, Theology netted Metal Casting and a handful of gold from the Greeks, and the Taj Mahal was built in Rome. Hopefully, Caesar wasn't going to use that Golden Age to prepare for an invasion from the west. Neal's treatment of his emissary was... less than diplomatic.

After decades of troop movement, Neal finally made his declaration of war, appended by an "I'm so sorry.":



This war was foolish, and would leave Mongolia impoverished and crippled, but Neal's primary concern at this point was quelling Genghis Khan's screams for blood. And, besides, it was obvious that Qin needed to be humbled a bit. But Qin was better-connected than the Mongols, and so he brought in war allies, such as the Germans, the French, and the Romans, who were still seething at our lack of tribute.

Neal's entire army of consequence swooped east from Dhaka and descended upon the border city of Akyab:



The city was burned to the ground. Temujin exulted.

But the Chinese were ready with a counteroffensive of their own:



Neal rubbed his temples and thought about his next line of defense, while Genghis Khan mentally shouted encouragement and threats to the garrison. Needless to say, Old Sarai was overrun, and joined Samarqand as a Chinese possession.

The Mongol horde wasn't done quite yet:



Nanjing was better protected than Akyab, with an extra defender and the advantage of being built on a hill. Many soldiers died, throwing themselves at those walls. The Mongol warriors did not fear death. Which makes sense, I guess. Any afterlife is better than another day under Genghis Khan's thumb. The city nevertheless fell, and was allowed to stand as a testament to China's decline.

As the Chinese army rampaged through southeastern Mongolia, Neal noticed that Beijing's garrison was reduced to a skeleton crew. Of course, Neal lacked the manpower in the north to crack even such a weak garrison. He nevertheless sent a few Longbowmen and Swordsmen, headed up by a Spy, to the gates as a diversionary tactic:



The Walls tumbled down, Neal ordered a few disastrous assaults before simply fortifying the soldiers on a hill. They were promptly wiped out by the main army. Neal considered the time granted by this detour of China's military might to be well worth the gambit.

Unfortunately, while the military assistance of France may have been ephemeral, The Germans and the Romans were more forthcoming in aid:



Things were becoming desperate. The woefully obsolete horde in southeast Asia was rapidly dissolving, while cities were falling left and right to the Chinese and Europeans. Despite Genghis Khan's screams that the war would be fought till the bitter end, Neal didn't want to find out what happened if a leader was killed while possessed by the King of the World.

Neal made a last-ditch assault on Hanoi:



And took the city. Neal foolishly decided to keep it, thinking that China would allow it to remain in Mongol hands after peace talks.

The victory apparently impressed the Germans, who, despite their massive army inside our borders, offered to withdraw for a very reasonable price:



Rome and China (and, to a far lesser degree, France) were still on the offensive, though. Neal had never been on the receiving end of a rout. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Even the gains in southeast Asia were on the brink of being lost:



Nanjing couldn't hold out against Knights and Longbows with a pair of Spearmen and a couple Scouts. And Hanoi would fall soon after. Genghis Khan screamed that the Spearmen's pure Mongol blood would render them immune from harm, but Neal knew better.

Finally, after much deliberation, Neal had an idea. He couldn't keep the cities of Hanoi and Nanjing, no. But that didn't mean that they had to go back to China:



"Heey, man, thaaaanks. You're a groovy cat, y'know that, Genghis?" Neal rolled his eyes at the painful stereotype and turned his attention to other matters. Hanoi culture-flipped back to China, but Nanjing remained in Indian hands, at least for the moment.

Germany had turned back, but Rome continued ravage Mongolia's northwest:



It was only with the bribe of yet another city that he was willing to accept peace:



Not that he couldn't have conquered all of Mongolia with near impunity at that point, but Neal failed to mention that tidbit in the negotiations. Louis also accepted peace, offering a small purse of 30 gold to sweeten the pot. Louis isn't a bad guy, y'know that?

Beshbalik was on the ropes:



And a failed assault on Illinois left the Horde finally spent:



Despite the blood-curdling howls of Temujin in his head, Neal went to Qin on his knees and offered him a useless tundra city in exchange for peace:



Thankfully, by this time, international attention had turned to wiping Greece off the face of the planet. One thing I've gotta say about the AI... They may not be capable of teching, or waging war, or micromanaging effectively, but they sure know how to dogpile.

Unfortunately, despite peace treaties all around, our enemies weren't through with us yet:



The already miserable people of Karakorum stoically dumped spoiled food outside of the camp, and tried their best to live their lives as normally as possible. Watching this solemn spectacle, Neal was saddened. It was through no fault of their own that their leader was a madman, and Neal's supposedly enlightened reign had only reduced them even further into ruin. And, soon, the King of the World was going to move on, and the Mongol people were going to, once again, be subject to the wild animal.

Mongolia, already a backwater, was down to a mere four cities:



Neal was ready to go. He had failed miserably, and his failure weighed heavily upon him. He wanted to be away from horses, away from poverty, away from the Steppe.

He opened his eyes, and found himself standing in the desert sun, perfumed and robed in fine clothes. Gold and ivory glinted about the courtyard. A Chinese "advisor" stood by his side, but Neal was willing to accept his reduced station in life for a few turns of material luxuries. Mali was a subject empire, but willingly so:





I'm feeling a beeline for Astronomy and a colonization of the New World this round. The Mongol experience left a bad taste in my mouth, so I'd like to do what I can to give Mansa Musa a boost. What do you all think?

The save:

The better long term aproach would be focusing on the Congo basin and chop jungle like a madman. Same, in far lesser degree for S. America.

I'm somewhat bittersweet about keeping the vassal status. QSH is clearly a nice umbrella to have but even so... you can be easily dragged to a unwanted war.But OTOH he is being EXTREMELY generous in terms of resources to Mali

About teching ... well , finish Corporation, because it normally sells well and start teching astro ( maybe you will be able to trade for it later....

And last, but not least : You need more workers

Congrats Neal on staying alive!

Intercontinental expansion into South America is just the thing the doctor ordered!

Sometimes, I really love the fact that you live on the East Coast. I wake up and find out that you have already posted an update!

As for Mali, I'm thinking masking inroads into the Congo would be better here. Although, if you can pull off a colonization effort in the time allotted (That is, research astronomy, build a galleon or two plus a few settlers, and settle them in SA within 40 turns, go for it.)

Genghis is prety ed up now, but I don't think genghis would live long anyway : A big attack from china was on the way

If I were to guess... JC probably had his army on the way already. At least you had some fun knocking China down a notch or two instead of just being the whipping post for an inevitable JC/QSH dogpile. Really though, I think GK was screwed all around.

I think that taming the congo is the better long term move for Mali, however if possible getting one or two cities established in south america would also be good.

Good round with Ghengis, the fact he's alive is an achievement in itself. And at least China's power has been slightly damaged to the benefit of India and Rome.

Gifting that city to Asoka was brilliant and hilarious!

Any chance you could take over Spain as Mali?

Shoot the Moon said:

Gifting that city to Asoka was brilliant and hilarious!

Any chance you could take over Spain as Mali?

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Mali's a vassal, so Neal can't declare war this round.

BakingTheArt said:

Mali's a vassal, so Neal can't declare war this round.

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Yes he can Mali is a voluntary vassal of China, so neal can break free and declare war anytime he wants.

Love reading updates from this series, makes my 7 o'clock Civ hour

Subdueing the African jungle should be priority one but I'd still shoot for a couple cities in South America before your time is out. I'd also like to see a beef up in the power rating, no wars, and then a turn before you leave break the vassal agreement.

Oh Loved the Khan victory.