The rise of the American Empire

aaron

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Aaron, the head of the Americans, sat in his palace with his advisors. They were planning the expansion of their empire, trying to determine the ideal locations for their settlers to found cities. Suddenly, the royal messenger threw open the doors and fell to the floor.

"What on earth could be so urgent?" asked the head of state.
"Well, sir" the messenger started, trying to control his shaking, "it is the Persians. They have declared war on us. I just got the message from our embassy."

Aaron furrowed his brow. "Why would they do such a foolish thing?" Indeed, a Persian-American war was laughable. The two countries couldn't be further apart. To fight, the two armies would have to cross Germany and France. Aside from the logistics of the war, there was no reason for the two to fight. They were the two largest known civilizations. Both had ample room to expand, and neither lacked any crucial resources. "What was the reason that Xerxes gave for this 'war.'"

"Well sir, they demanded Literature and half of our treasury" reported the messenger. "Your feelings on giving in to demands are well known, so our ambassadors went through the standard protocol, and tried to talk some sense into them. Xerxes didn't take it well, and before long war was declared."

John Adams, the most trusted advisor leaned over to speak to the leader. "Should we prepare an invasion force?" he whispered.

Aaron sat for a moment and considered his options. Persia was a powerful civilization, but did they really constitute a threat to America? If they built up their military, would they lose coveted land to the French? "No", he declared, "we will not create an invasion force. Let the Persians buy their way to our borders. We will create an army, but move them no farther than New York. Meanwhile, let the highly populated cities continue to produce settlers."

---

New York was a bustling city. It was founded in the hills overlooking Paris by barbarian settlers that had joined the American civilization. It was the furthest city from Washington. The New Yorkers enjoyed seeing the swordsmen and horsemen in the city. The soldiers brought with them tales of battles with barbarians in the wilds of the Northern Peninsula. All was calm in the city until the fateful day that the royal carriage passed through the center of town. It was overheard that the French had joined the evil Persians, and have declared war on the Americans. A panic went through the city. New York had grown rich from its proximity to the growing nation. It would certainly be one of the first targets.

The carriage soon arrived in Washington, and the future was clear. "Tell our ambassidor in Germany that Bismark can have whatever he wants... just get him to declare war on the French."

---

The fog of war fell onto the continent. The Japanese, friends of the French, declared war on their bitter rivals the Germans. Aaron and Bismark worked out a deal: the Americans would declare war on the Japanese, and the Germans would declare war on the Persians. The deal was to the advantage of the Americans. America shared no border with Japan, but Persia and Germany shared a long border.

German cities were falling slowly to the Persians, but the poorly defended northern and western French towns fell one after the other. George Washington led several companies of swordsmen to occupy the hills of Paris.

"Sir, we appear to have them outnumbered," reported one company leader. The city has only a few defenders, and has population has dwindled from settlers leaving the city in masses."

"In the morning, we will attack," declared George Washington.

True to his word, the general charged the city from the hills. The spearmen fought valiently, but were no match for the swordsmen. As Washington entered the city he paused, and took in the beauty of the old capital. "Raze it" he ordered. The flames of Paris were visible all the way in New York.

---

The following day, the ambassidor of France arrived in Washington to plead for peace. The war had not made the American so hard that they did not empathize with the suffering of the French. The military pact with Germany was cancelled peacefully, and the French withdrew from the war. In the deal, America received the Polytheism and Currency and all of France's treasury.

"Well, now what?" asked John Adams.

"Push our settlers into the land that was formerly France. Meanwhile, we will exploit the situation and move our armies to Japan."

Japan was a small country that had previously been blocked by western France. Most of the soldiers had never been so far from America before. Even the wild lands in the Northern Peninsula were close to outpost towns like Seattle. The soldiers were brave, but the distance from home made them nervous. They followed maps provided by the Germans and ancient american scouts to the Japanese frontier. As the campaign began, all of their fears subsided. Soldier and author, Earnest Hemmingway would later write: "We had no knowledge of the Japanese other than a few slaves that we had captured early in the war. We couldn't imagine what was in store for our comapny of men. However, once we met them, we found them to be quite a bit like the French. Their warriors and spearmen died just as easily as their French counterparts."

Tokyo fell within days of the American invasion. Osaka fell soon after. The Japanese began to beg for peace, but Aaron knew that he needed to fulfill his obligations to Bismark first. The noble Germans had suffered at the hands of these American enemies, and the alliance between the two countries was still valid. As the Americans destroyed the Japanese infrastructure and marched towards the Japanese capital, the agreement between the Germans expired. Bismark, weary of war, happily dissolved the alliance. The Japanese offered all that they had (including a promise of all income for 20 years) in exchange for peace. The Persians, who only ever managed a single failed attack on San Francisco, offered 20 gold for peace. Thus ended the first continental war.

Aaron sat alone in his palace. If any country had won the war, it was America. It had emerged as the largest and strongest country. However, the Americans paid a price for their victory. America had depended on scouts to extract knowledge from local barbarian villages for most of its history. However, the world was running out of these villages, and America had fallen behind in research. Had it not been for the military victories, the Americans would be in serious trouble. Aaron knew that if he did not correct the situation, his country would grow weak. In addition, other countries had managed to build great wonders, while his did not. He summoned his advisors, and they began working late into the night.

--

People had gathered in Washington from all around America. Their leader had declared that he needed to address them, and no city or town in the country wanted to dissappoint him. As Aaron took the stage, the crowd erupted in wild cheers. He raised his hand, and the crowd slowly silenced.

"My friends, America has beaten back her enemies. We can look forward to many years of peace. We are the best in the world, but we must do better if we want to remain the best. I have a plan for a library in Washington. It won't be just any library, but a Great Library, which will give us an edge in researching new technologies. In addition, I would like for each city to produce a smaller replica of this library."

"If we don't do this, then when the Persians declare war again, we will not have the tools to stop them. For the forseeable future, we must build our infrastructure, populate the Nothern Peninsula, clear the jungles of Boston, and colonize western France. The military has served us well, but we must turn our attention to other matters. Through peace and research, we will better position our country for the future."

There was a quiet but audible booing coming from the right side of the stage. It was a group of citizens from New York. Paris had been rebuilt in its original location. Even though it was a mere shadow of its former glory, it rightfully made the New Yorkers nervous.

Aaron looked at those citizens and with a wink said: "Well, maybe it won't be entirely peaceful. Let's just say, I wouldn't want to be French right now." The leader walked off the stage as the crowd erupted into wild applause. The New Yorkers were clapping the loudest.

So, this is what I did last night. Let me know if you want me to continue.
 
Wonderful story!
I would like you to continue.
 
Aaron was pleased with the progress on the Great Library thus far. In addition, most cities had produced a library. He felt that he had done well to position his empire for future glory. His smile was erased when one of the royal scouts entered his chamber with a grave look on his face.

"Speak" commanded the American leader.
"Well sir," started the scout, "all is not well with our allies. Germany never made peace with the Persians. The Persian army has crossed the great jungle that divides their empires and has already taken many cities. We knew it was bad, and then we passed several French swordsmen on their way into Germany. It's not a large army by our standards, but it is enough to finish the Germans."

Aaron nodded and the scout quickly fled the room. "How should we proceed?" asked the venerable John Adams.

"Persia looks to weaken us by destroying our feeble allies. We must respond in kind. If the French army has already entered Germany, then it will be years until the can return home to fight off our forces. I doubt that they have much else in the way of offensive units."

John Adams smiled. "I'll send the orders out immediately."

---

For the second time in her history, New York was filled with soldiers. It seemed that every common citizen was an expert in international politics. It was not uncommon to hear a pub patron remark "Well, we can't afford to not hold Paris this time" or something like that. The generals waited impatiently as new swordsmen and horsemen were trained and sent to the front lines. In addition, the generals needed to wait for the units that were patrolling Japan and Germany.

Soon, war was declared, and the American troops were surrounding French cities. Very soon after, word came to New York that the last German soldiers had fallen to the Persians. It was a blow to morale, but it also hardened the American resolve to beat Persia at it's own game. Western France fell almost immediately. Paris needed a few years of bombardment before the generals felt it was safe to attack (this time general Washington decided to keep the city.) Orleans, the capital since Paris fell the first time, could not keep the American troops out, and the Americans occupied the city. As the elite horsemen took care of the small French towns in Eastern France, the bulk of the forces, including Washington's men, marched to the gates of the last great French city, Chartres. As catapults bombarded the city, Washington led his men to an astounding victory, and was declared one of history's "Great Leaders." The Americans returned home as heroes, and the French threat was no more.

---

Dallas, a city founded in what was once Western France, welcomed the soldiers with open arms. Washington arrived and gave a speech that was so inspirational, the people rose up and completed the Forbidden Palace almost overnight. These were great times for the Americans, but all was not well.

---

A royal messenger burst into Aaron's chambers. The leader disliked these interruptions, they always meant trouble.

"Sir, the Persians have demanded that we hand over our new technology 'Chivalry.' When the ambassadors refused, they declared war on us."

Aaron frowned and waved away his messenger. According to John Adams, the American military was 'weak' compared to the Persians. In addition, it was likely that the bulk of the Persian forces were stationed in Berlin, which was close to Dallas. "Move all of our forces to Dallas, we will see how weak our army is."

---

Paul Revere was just a simple knight, but he was beginning to understand the American strategy. He had seen plenty of action, and far more Persians died than Americans. The Americans operated inside their own borders and had the advantage of the roads which had been built. The Persians had no roads and no defensive units. As they marched up to the borders of the city in the barren desert, the American swordsmen and knights descended on the hapless "Immortals." From what Paul understood, the Immortals were amazing on the offensive, but the American generals never gave them the chance to display their prowess. The stream of Persians has slowed to a trickle.

General Lee rounded up the troops and ordered the Americans to move to the offensive. "According to our friends in Washington DC, our army is about the same size as the Persians. As you have all seen, our guys are better and stronger than their guys. Let's go take a few cities!"

A loud cheer went out, and the armies moved north and west to crush the Persians.

---

Aaron and his royal advisors were looking over the maps, trying to determine their next course of action. The minor towns in southern Persia had fallen with little resistance. The next obvious target was Berlin, but it would be difficult for the Americans to cut the roads leading to Berlin (to prevent a Persian counter-attack.) A knock was heard at the door.

"Come in," shouted Aaron. He hadn't bothered to look up, and heard two people shuffle in. He looked up and saw his royal messenger and a knight.

"Sir, this soldier is Paul Revere," announced the messenger. "He has something important that he wanted to tell you directly." Aaron nodded.

"Well sir, there was a great battle on the outskirts of Berlin. We were trying to cut the roads around Berlin, and were surprised by a band of Immortals. Normally, we wouldn't stand a chance, but General Lee kept a cool head, and we beat them back. After the battle, other groups of soldiers started to gravitate to him: calling him one of history's Great Leaders."

John Adams was beside himself with joy. "Should we have General Lee inspire the people to complete a great wonder of the world? Sun Tsu's War Academy is currently under construction in Persia, and would make a fine addition to our war effort."

"No," replied Aaron. "Boston is too far along to interrupt. Have General Lee command all of these soldiers that are coming to him. Let Lee command the greatest army that the world has ever seen!"

"And let that army free the city of Berlin!" shouted John Adams.

---

No one in Washington DC, or Southern Persia fully understood the power of General Lee's men. After a few years, and several Persian cities, the Immortals didn't even bother trying to attack the great army. Both remaining German cities (Berlin and Leipzig) had been liberated. Every major town in Southern Persia had fallen, and the Americans were approaching the main part of the Persian's empire. Lee knew that the rewards of victory would be rich. The Persians had control of all of the world's wine, not to mention several wonders. Xerxes must have known that too, because he contacted Lee in an attempt to make peace.

"I will give you all of the gold that we have," cried Xerxes. "I will pay you 5 gold for the next 20 years. I will give you the secrets of Gunpowder. Please, let us declare peace for the good of our two nations."

Lee sneered... for the good of our two nations indeed. Xerxes must be overstating the military potential of this "gunpowder." Lee had never seen a Persian soldier using any such technology.

"No, Xerxes, I am afraid there will be no peace yet. I know that you cannot stop us, and we are not done taking what we want. We Americans will not be happy until the whole of your empire fits on that little island north of San Francisco. Now run along, I have Persian soldiers to kill, and slaves to collect."
 
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