Russia was in chaos. The urbanites of Londongrad and Yorkutsk were close to rioting in the streets, the war against Arabia was going poorly, and there was no consensus in the Imperial longhouse on the Philosophy/Golden Age debate. Duels threatened to break out amongst the subchiefs. Order needed to be restored. "Enough!" Peter shouted above the bickering in his throne room. "I am the KING, here, and my will shall be obeyed!"
With that, he ordered the Golden Age begun and restructured his government:
Peter's autocracy was recast as a Monarchy, and troops were authorized to use lethal force to bring rebellions back in line. Slavery was abolished as a barbaric institution, and state-run schools trained citizens from birth in Science, Commerce, and the Arts. Finally, religious worship was codified and orthodoxy was established, increasing production amongst the faithful. The people looked upon these changes and were made glad.
The Arab War was a boondoggle. Russia's pitiful army was completely incapable of assaulting the fortress-town of Mecca, and foreign aid did not seem to be forthcoming. So, after a few years of half-hearted pillaging, Peter accepted peace for gold:
The gold was a pittance, but through careful financial management, it funded deficit research for decades. The Russian troops turned north and headed back to Blokhov to protect our Scandinavian holdings. Saladin celebrated the closing of a front by building the Hanging Gardens. Gotta love the idiot AI...
It was fortunate that we decided to recall our soldiers, though we didn't do so early enough. For Louis XIV, Emperor of the Desert Kingdom of France, decided that Scandinavia made more sense as his possession than our own:
Our Worker in the eastern Tundra finished chopping down the forests that surrounded him, bringing its bounty into the city as he was rode down by the leering Charioteers. The lumber was fashioned into Spears, and the detour to kill our civilian laborers gave us time to train soldiers in their use. The fleet was destroyed. By the time Louis could send a second wave, this time headed up by a fearsome unit of Horse Archers, our forces had returned from Mecca and were ready to help in any way they could. We lost two units of Spearmen in the war, but Louis lost far more.
With the threat passed, Neal did what Neal does best. He wheeled and dealed, getting what he could for his technology:
Construction finally made the rivers that crisscrossed the empire navigable, and Calendar allowed us to mollify our populace with the fine Dyes of our Home Island. Regarding the trade with Isabella, well, deficit research is always hungry for more gold, and, being out of the war with Saladin, I wanted to gradually take the pressure off our Arab neighbor.
Because the rest of the world was finally stepping up their efforts to wipe him off the map:
There's a massive combined Greek/Japanese stack there on the Stone, with a small force of Mongols to the north. Saladin's efforts to survive, from the establishment of the Heroes of the Sword to getting the Romans to declare themselves a War Ally, were futile.
In 20 B.C., the new, hungrier nations of Europe swallowed up their second weak link:
The Japanese would prove to be absentee landlords, thankfully (A Greek Mecca would be quickly integrated and make Alexander that much more of a long-term threat), resulting in a significant lessening on the cultural pressure on Londongrad. Before the takeover, though, a third Great Scientist was born in the Russian capital! This visionary, Antony van Leeuwenhoek by name, researched Philosophy, founding Taoism in Oslodonsk! So my gambit to take the Golden Age and run a ton and a half of Scientist specialists during the boosted period paid dividends! We got the best of both worlds! At least, this was what Peter told his assembled advisors who, being subject to royal writ, could only nod mutely at his wisdom.
With Saladin dead and Louis' forces smashed, the French leader found himself pondering his own mortality, and decided to end his military adventures:
He later subjected himself to the protection of the much more staid (to the faithful, anyway) Isabella. Gotta say, seeing Spain take a Vassal was rather thrilling for this old Earth map veteran. And the pragmatist in me knew that she would be much easier to keep happy than the occasionally mercurial Louis.
The early A.D.'s were a relatively peaceful time. A few brushfire wars sparked here and there, but there were no campaigns of annihilation like those that had consumed Saladin and Asoka. And Peter found a way to bolster his peace, currying favor with the ill-tempered Japanese:
65 gold for +3 with, say, Mansa Musa is a ripoff. But with Tokugawa? The guy who would rather embrace 21st-century Longbows than open his borders to trade? That's a bargain.
In 310, we received a fateful quest:
Why, I was just building Harbors, anyway! And I'm currently researching Optics to build Caravels! Yes, please!
Here's a look:
(Thanks to z0wb13)
I don't know which of those I want, but I definitely want one of them! I'll probably go Navigation 1, but I can be persuaded otherwise.
That same year, I was able to trade a few older techs for the secrets of Feudalism!
Looks like Frederick, who seems to be in Mali's spot down in Africa, is filling Mansa Musa's shoes nicely.
So in 340 B.C., we've finished Optics. We have a Great Scientist waiting for orders in Yorkutsk. We have the Angkor Wat on the way, which at this point is largely a vanity project, but with Taoism, Buddhism, and Judaism within our borders, may eventually be a major boon. And we have a Tech decision to make:
I presently have Merchants running in Londongrad to pair with our Great Scientist for a second Golden Age. But if we get two Scientists, we could double-bulb Astronomy and potentially have colonies in South America by 500 A.D.... Hmm....
Here's a look at the Tech screen:
Considering that we haven't taken five enemy capitals by now, I'd say we're doing pretty darn well in the tech race. I'm not spreading Optics around just yet. I feel that it's a big advantage for the moment, especially if we can get Astronomy online.
Finally, here's the map as we know it:
I have a Spy sneaking around the Aztec subcontinent over there. Roosevelt and Hatty are kind of jerks, and I don't think I'd Open Borders with them if they wanted to. A Spy, though, suffers no compunctions about sneaking around other people's lawns.
Oh! Brestislav. Kind of a minor city on the Dye in the northwest of France. Probably a mistake, but I figure that, at the very least, it gives us a guaranteed landing spot in case we decide to become less... hands-off with continental politics.
So, anyway, what are you all thinking? Astronomy this early is awfully tempting, isn't it? Then we can bolt for State Property and really get this show on the road! The save is up in the previous post (obviously). Thanks for reading and commenting!
