Peter knew what must be done. The treasury already suffered under the strain of overseas expansion, and with more Settlers on the way, the burden was only going to grow. Only State Property, with its promises of peace, land, bread, and no maintenance costs from distance to palace, could make the empire profitable in the long run. And, with the nation spiraling rapidly into debt, the long run might come sooner than we'd like.
Well, first thing's first. State Property needs Communism, and Communism needs Liberalism and Scientific Method. Perhaps Russia's dalliance into Gunpowder was a bit premature. We were still a long way from Communism, with a hemorrhaging budget. So Peter sent an emissary to his Greek allies, asking for a long-term loan. Alexander, though, refused to enter into such a mercenary agreement. "We are friends, after all," he said, sipping Black Forest Beer and munching on a bit of baklava. "Friends do not make loans. They give gifts! And if, say, you were kind and generous enough to grant me a few sailors, a few shipbuilders to teach me of your seafaring ways, why, I would have no choice but to help you in any way that I could with your financial difficulties."
Peter took the hint. He had wanted to keep Optics and especially Astronomy a secret from the world, but concessions had to be made to the realities of the situation. It wasn't exactly like Optics was a monopoly these days, after all.
Word came that the Settlers of Paramarislavl, being isolated from the mainland and largely unschooled in the True Faith, came to worship the heathen gods of the American continent:
This caused significant consternation among the conservatives of the empire, particularly the Priests at Angkor Wat in Yorkutsk. But Peter was pleased at this news. There was much that could be learned from Hinduism, after all, and the Russian king dreamed of a day in which Hindu culture could combine with those of Buddhism, Judaism, and even the rogue Taoist faith of Scandinavia to make Russia a truly cosmopolitan superpower.
Hearing these seditious musings coming from their monarch's mouth, the clerics of Yorkutsk were shaken to their core. It was this crisis of faith, more than the mere whim of the random number generator, that resulted in a Merchant, rather than a Prophet, being born into the city:
Magellan was, in this universe, no intrepid explorer. He hopped a simple Galleon trip across the channel to Mecca, where he made a quick, shady deal which set him up for life and put 1,950 gold in our coffers. Peter was able to breathe a little bit easier for a little bit longer. But not all was sweetness and light. As you can see, our allies, the Greeks and Romans, continue to squabble, and the Inca continue to dominate the tech race.
Peter had heard of Cyrus, but most of his accounts were from Mali sailors, who would only describe him as a "very bad man" who ruled over his vassal lords and many slaves with an iron fist. These portraits were enough to dissuade the Russian fleet from straying too near their shores. Finally, though, Peter decided to be a man of reason, and stretch out his hand in friendship:
Cyrus was not the monster described by Mansa Musa, but he was no enlightened monarch, either. The Persians were a backward people, ruled by an unkempt tyrant who seemed content to wallow in mediocrity. The part of Neal that had bogged down against Persia as Germany so many years ago exulted in the sight of this humbled, dejected warlord, but, more than that, the visit made him sad. With a simple "farewell," Peter allowed Cyrus to return to obscurity.
Rio de Volga was founded in the year 850, pushing the barbarian darkness ever farther back into the interior jungles:
And, yes, the city began on a Harbor. Peter still clung to hope for the Harbormaster quest, even if Scientific Method and the Industrial era were fast approaching.
As with Europe, the Americas boiled with wars that Russia refused to play a hand in:
Mansa Musa is a trustworthy leader, and a good man. But this war was his affair, and his alone. After all, with the way AIs handle naval movement, it wasn't like anyone was going be killing anybody...
With Rio de Volga established as a settlement (those first few years were rough, with fever, food spoilage, and even Barbarian incursions), Russian troops struck south against the Nationless stronghold of Khoisan:
The city fell quickly to our superior training and weaponry, and, during the pacification process, came to be known as Dobry Vordukh.
While most of Peter's day-to-day affairs concerned his colonists in South America, he kept a close eye on the progress of the sciences across the world, especially in the desert kingdom of the Inca. When Huayna Capac beat Russia to Education even after researching Chemistry first, the King of the World panicked. He knew, then, that things were dire, and that the secrets of the stars and seas would need to be shared if he was to get back into the race:
Huayna was smug as he sent the papers on Education over to Londongrad. He knew how highly prized Astronomy was to Peter, and he knew that he had won it from him. Peter could only take solace in the sheer time it would take the Inca to get a Galleon fleet and Settlers over to the Americas.
The Scientific Method, though, did not need the sciences alone. No, Astronomy (or Chemistry, researchers supposed) would be needed, but for a true scientific revolution to take place, new discoveries would have to be disseminated. We would need the Printing Press:
Isabella would have accepted a second technology in lieu of the purse of gold, but Spain was a sleeping giant. Any advantages that could be kept from the Spaniards would be advantages that we hold over them.
Peter had done much hand-wringing over his impulsive decision to pursue Gunpowder as early as he did. Sensing this unease, his generals sought to make the investment worthwhile. After all, firearms are the future of war!
Needless to say, with this pronouncement, any production of Longbows or Macemen were immediately switched over to Musketmen. I think the Taj Mahal is out of reach at this point, and the Vassalage bonus is a pathetically small purse of gold. The straight effect, though, giving our Muskets Pinch, could be quite useful in the future, maybe even making them worth upgrading.
As the new millennium neared, Peter decided on a bold course of action. Research was cranked down as Harbors and Caravels were built in both the Old World and the New. This risked the Liberalism race, but the potential rewards of a swift navy were deemed to be worth it (especially if you consider my ability to reload if I failed miserably
).
As you can also see, the Buddhist world declared a crusade against the heathen Egyptians of the snowy tundra. Nothing came from the war (at least, nothing that I saw), but it was good to see that brat get her come-uppance. Of course, the war didn't last long, as she quickly capitulated to Alexander. After all, he IS dreamy.
Concepcibirsk was founded to claim the southern reaches of the continent:
A small band of well-armed bandits is encamped south of the settlement, and will take some effort to dislodge, but, for now, they do little outside of denying us the Deer that roam within their territory.
Thankfully, our gambit paid off:
The Inca went for Nationalism rather than Liberalism, clearing the way for us to claim both it and the Navigation I promotion for our ships. Of course, as you can also see there, Huayna Capac now has Germany in his sphere of influence. The rich get richer, I suppose.
Anyway, in 1090, our plans came to fruition:
But, as seen in the second screenshot, we're still a long, long way from our ultimate goal: Communism. I'm sure we can juggle around a few specialists, maybe even set a city or two to building research, but gaining that tech is going to be a long, depressing slog.
So where do we currently stand in the scientific community?
Scientific Method is, obviously, a monopoly, but, interestingly, Liberalism is not. Had we delayed one more turn, the dastardly Frederick would have snagged it out from under us! Is going for Communism the right choice? Other techs would be cheaper, but I feel like we're going to live with that maintenance albatross around our necks until we give in and embrace our inner Lenins.
The world is, all told, rather peaceful right now:
Monty and I are sharing a military struggle against the Far Eastern English, and Roosevelt's engaging in a purely phony war against the Mongols, but that's about it.
Finally, I will leave you with a few maps of the empire:
So, how'm I doing? I think that if we can adopt State Property before it all comes crashing down, we've won the game. The trick is getting there in time. Any advice? Complaints? Praise
? The save is in my previous post.
