Out of the Rubble III – The Chinese Empire

MSTK

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(NOTE: The below story is picture-intensive)

Some of you who have been following my stories know that my history with Civ isn’t quite as lucky as I’d hope it would be. I’ve lost my disk, crashed a hard drive, changed computers, got grounded, and everything else (not in that order, of course).
Unfortunately, Out of the Rubble I (Byzantine) is most likely cancelled. Forever. And so is Out of the Rubble II (Carthage), as well, due to these hard times.

So, anyway, here is my list of other OotR Stories:
Out of the Rubble I – The Byzantine Empire
Out of the Rubble II – The Carthaginian Empire

I strongly recommend that you read OotR #1 before reading this one. And, from what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty good read, rated 5/5 with over 12k page views…

My inspirations are heavily drawn from the great legends of Civ stories – some gone, and some still here – and include Symphony D, daftpanzer, Sandman2003, and Vanadorn.
And remember, I am writing this to improve my playing style! Any critique is welcome and requested.

So, anyway, here are some misc. notes:
1) I’ve gone name-crazy, naming almost every land formation I find
2) To make the name-crazy worse, I use names from books that I have liked, sometimes.
3) The first chapter is a bit slow
4) I think I’ve taken too many pictures
5) When things are in Small italics, they usually are not in the context of the story.
6) Every chapter is written from a different perspective.
7) Most names do not sound Chinese. They are named after people I've RPed with and admire online, along with some names from books I’ve read and some names from the last story.
8) All of my images are deleted after one year of inactivity. If you are ever bored, please be kind and go through every page, in case I forgot, to view every picture. This is not necessary, but I'd appreciate it. After all, you wouldn’t want people to come a year later and see the story with no pictures, eh?
9) Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting
10) I also haven’t played Civ for a while (just re-bought it a week ago), so, um, I might be a bit rusty.

Maps:

(2110 BC)

Well…here goes nothing :D
 
Out of the Rubble III – The Chinese Empire
Civ: China
Difficulty: This game will be on the Regent difficulty level
Map: This will be a Large map on Continents with 70% water, and with all defaults (AI/Barb Aggression, rival numbers, victory conditions, etc.)

As a historian I have been asked to chronicle the history of the Chinese Empire. While I cannot do this first-hand, I have compiled numerous sources. Be assured that my time here is brief – I must move onto other worlds. The Byzantines, the Carthaginians…all have crumbled into sand. It is my hope that this world shall not suffer the same fate.
I present to you, out of the rubble, the Chinese Empire.

- Coullon Elsar


CHAPTER ONE: The Beginnings
Quoted from The Seeds of the Chinese Empire; Published by Doughton Muffin.

Nobody is quite sure why the nomads who eventually called themselves the Great Chinese threw off their customs of hunter-gatherers and looked towards the great promise of civilization. But historians today do know when – around 4000 BC, as did all other Great Civilizations of this world. Little by little, those living around and in the Lake Youdu gathered at the coast near the fringes of a great field that would be named after the great battles that took place: The Fields of Blood.


(Figure 1:Under the guidance of The Yellow Emperor, the Chinese People gather for the unification.)

Unfortunately, not all things went easily. There was a group of tribes that resisted the efforts of The Yellow Emperor. They called themselves the Ku****e, and were a peaceful tribe. However, to the Yellow Emperor, the Ku****e were a barrier in the way of their expansion.
The years that followed lead to great wars. Great blood was shed over the Fields of Blood, giving it its name. The lake was stained red, and the forests were nearly burned. The Two Hills – Forgotten and Forsaken – were the site of the major battles. They were named so because, after the battles, nobody ever took down the dead bodies. It is said that their spirits still roam today.
Because of this, the boundaries of the Chinese Empire did not expand past the Hills Forsaken and Forgotten. It extended west to the borders of the Great Waters beyond the Ku****e Tribes, north to the sacred Charred Forest, south to the Cattle Plains, and beyond to the far shores of Lake Youdu.
In the end of the war, the Ku****e had all but been exterminated. As the last prophet was executed, he shouted out, “4000 years shall pass before China’s crash into the Rubble.” And so, people counted the years before the crash. The first year of Chinese Civilization was known as “4000 BC”, or “4000 years before crash”. The Ku****e yielded Ceremonial Burial, so that they may rest in peace.

“The wandering have been received; the great had been gathered.”
- The Yellow Emperor​


(Figure 2:The Great Gift of the Ku****e.)

However, a peace activist (darned those hippies) of China itself assassinated the Yellow Emperor. And so, the rule passed on to Chairman Mao, whose successors would rule over China for the ages. He re-structured the Chinese government to consist of one despot and his advisors. After much deliberation, it was said that the Chinese Empire needed to expand. It was also said that food was needed in the empire, for it to grow even greater.
But how could they know what was out there to conquer? So they toiled about their means. For two hundred years this crisis remained unsolved. Finally, a large group of warriors were trained and gathered, and the Great Warrior Battalion set forth.


(Figure 3: The first Warrior Battalion, created 3800 BC)

As they set off, they were so successful another group of courageous men followed after them.

(Figure 4: The first Warrior Battalion, created 3650 BC)

The First Battalion went north while the Second Battalion went south. Who knows what dangers they would find? Who knows what treasures lie ahead?

But most of all…who knew what the other civilizations across the world were doing?

If you want to find out, buy the Seeds of Civilization Series, which has been out #1 grosser and will continue to be if you keep on giving us money.
 
CHAPTER TWO: Brothers in Arms
Recovered from the lost diaries of ancient Chinese warriors.

The following has been recovered from long-lost diaries of the Great Warriors of Ancient China. These date from 3800 BC to 3300 BC, and were meticulously transcribed by our researchers. So, if you find anything inaccurate…back off.

1st Battalion:
Finally, glorious China has set off from its primitive homes to expand its borders far beyond the horizon. As a tribute, I will record my thoughts onto rocks along the way. After all, we have not researched The Alphabet or Writing yet, so, I’m pretty much screwed.
I am Brae Elsar, and, my does this rock look pretty. Maybe some day, five thousand years from now, someone will find this. When they do, I’ll be famous. I’ve always wanted to be famous. I want to buy a nice house and a nice horsey and shiny stuff and…

[Some parts omitted because those who tried to read it fell asleep]

…and to top it off, I love cake. So, anyway, we are now sitting on top of The Forgotten Hill. As I look across the fields, I can feel the dead calling. They call me forward. And so I go.

2nd Battalion:
Today, I follow in the footsteps of the Great Warrior Battalion. I am Danier Elsar, but nobody takes me seriously. I’m probably the youngest of the company. There are three hundred with me. The First Batallion has long left northward. We get word from it nearly every month. They are the heroes of our day. And now, we are here to become heroes, too.
We go south, but they go north. It seems I’ll never meet those immortal men, but, who knows?


(Figure 1: The journeys of the Great Warriors of Ancient China and the map of the known world.)

1st Battalion:
We have been blazing the trail for hundreds of years. We are the proud, the few. And the crazy, of course. We’ve been stuck in the same place all month. Not that I’m sad. Ah, hah. This incense is good. We’ve been smoking it all month. We love the smell. We love the effect on us. It makes us feel very…high. I can’t describe it.
(NOTE: Research and carbon-dating shows that they were actually not on the Hills of Incense as they thought, but on the Hills of Cocaine, which is a bit east of it.)


(Figure 2: The Great Blunder of the Second Batallion)

2nd Battalion:
Mad panic. That is what has happened. We have traveled long and hard until we discovered another civilization – something like that of the Ku****e. They called themselves the Toltec. We tried to do wait our ancestors did with the Ku****e – we tried to dominate them. We tried to bring them under our control; we tried to destroy them. But, they resisted. And this time, the entire Chinese Nation were not behind our backs. Were we to fight these barbarians ourselves?


(Figure 3: China expands)

1st Battalion:
China has made us proud. Our ancestors would have been happy. Thanks to our explorations, China has finally expanded beyond its borders. Unfortunately, bad news has come from the South. It seems that our counterparts do not fare with the same luck as we have.
I wish we could help. But all we can do now is look forward.

2nd Battalion:
We now stand on the Barbarian Hills. An entire third of our number were exterminated. What we had tried to achieve through violence had backfired. Perhaps this is a time to rethink our ways? Perhaps this is a time to consider peace?
It is not my place to decide, but maybe – just maybe – there is a better way.
 
Remember MSTK..3rd time's the charm! This will be the finish, the clincher, the best, the one, the story that you will....ACTUALLY GET THE CHANCE TO FINISH!!!

Alright for you! Can I get a 'woot, woot' from the peanut gallery?!

Good luck and keep on writing!

V
 
Yay! MSTK is back! :dance:

Love the story!!
 
I miss the Byzantine story (read some of it last year) but this looks awesome. Love the maps. ;)
 
Invisible Rhino said:
That's so ridiculous it can't say Ku****e.

Good story so far, I like the retrospective style.

Ku****e.

Wow, you'd think words like this would be excluded from the filter but I guess not.
 
Hm...this is a new Point of View that I haven't tried before. Hope you like it.

CHAPTER THREE: The Intermediate Years
Private testimonial of patient in the NMIA (National Mental Insanity Asylum).

You see, doctor, I don’t really know when I was hooked. Just one more turn, I always said. One more turn. Just one more minute. One more turn. I kept on playing the game. I always thought I was in control. I was in Control!

But I really wasn’t, was I? You see, I’ve been playing this recent game with the Chinese.
Beijing, the capital city, was about to riot. Panic. The fear rises within me. How could I have let them come so far?! My precious Chinese people! Did they not love me?!
I was being driven insane. On top of the rioting, they were also working UNIMPROVED TILES?! How could I have let things gone too far?

I panicked. I couldn’t sleep. I just stared at the computer screen for hours. Nothing would draw me away from it. I couldn’t even touch the keyboard or the mouse. I was weeping in tears. Then finally, I remembered my training. All of the things I’ve read, they came back to me, you see. They came back to me. I knew they wouldn’t let me down.


(I have attached a screenshot of my solution to make the people of Beijing happy again)

Ah hah! That was it. I was now crying in joy. I ran out of the house, into the streets, crying in happiness. “Beijing lives! My people do not hate me!” I was clicking my heels together, jumping in glee. I even ran to the local Gaming Store and shared my testimonial. Everyone immediately urged me out of the building. They didn’t say it, but I knew that they wanted me to continue playing this game.

A new hope. Renewed purpose for living. I sat down again and continued playing, not knowing where my life may lead me this time. I played on, and, my south scouting battalion came across a hill with TWO wheat tiles next to it! I nearly fainted out of joy. It would be the perfect place to build a city! But my joy soon turned into sweet sorrow. It was a bittersweet feeling of fading happiness. Alas, the city location was way too far away. That would lead to corruption, which would lead to more sadness. And those people needed to be as happy as possible.

They are real people, you know? The people in the game? All of them have lives, jobs, and children…and to disappoint them as their God…I wouldn’t do it for the world. What the heck, when I play this game, I own the world! I’d be crazy if I let them down!

I continued guiding my people and their warriors through time. Years passed like seconds. My people were happy under my rule. I was the most generous and benevolent ruler to ever exist. Finally, Beijing expanded, and…ah! Shanghai was founded! Another city! People flocked to it, and it became populated by my loyal subjects. They loved me. I basked in their love. Nowhere else could I have felt so loved. The city right next to a supply Incense, too! I immediately summoned some people to open up the supply, so that the people of Shanghai could enjoy it!


(Another picture…showing my empire extended!)

And, I started building another Warrior Battalion. I think that two warriors are always better than one spearman.
OOS NOTE: Okay, erm…I don’t really know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Please help me correct this if it is a bad thing.

Wow! There is a Barbarian Tribe out there! I MUST convert them to my cause! They can’t keep on living in their huts. They must receive food and shelter. I check my screen, and they are apparently the Toltec Tribe. Those are the same people that tried to attack me earlier, to the south. The shame on them! Maybe this time, the shall learn their lesson.

When I saw the next thing that happened, I nearly had a heart attack. My people loved me, I knew! They loved me so much that they offered to improve my palace! Not wanting to be a tyrant, I submitted to their demands. I knew that I made them so happy. I felt as if my purpose in life had been fulfilled.


(My humble abode in the gaming world. I wonder what my digital counterpart looks like? He must be very attractive.)

After some walking around, my northern battalion discovered…borders! Yay! Borders! Borders! Can you believe it? Borders! That must mean that…borders? Hold on a sec! Another ruler wants to combat my authority! They think that they can control people whatever way they liked! What the heck? Do they think that they can lead innocent people into poverty and unhappiness?

They were wrong.

Well, anyway, at that time…my hardworking sages discovered the ability to store things inside pots. It wasn’t exactly practical, but…whatever made them happy.


(Pot is cool. I mean…pottery, that is.)

And then…yeah! I was so excited! I was ranked TOP 3


(We were the Fine Chinese!)

My joy was so overwhelming that I was waving around my smoke and bouncing off the walls. I didn’t care. I was so happy. I ran around everywhere. I even went to the president’s office! I wanted to show him how successful I was at ruling the world.
I was denied entrance, however. When I got back home I found that my house had burned down. I called 911 to ask them to rescue all of my loyal subjects.

They put me in this insanity asylum place. Strange. Oh well, that was my story.
 
Yes, i'm so glad you're back. i read your other 2 stories, and they were excellent. too bad you couldn't finish them. anyway, good luck with this one, and make sure to finish it. :p
 
(I have attached a screenshot of my solution to make the people of Beijing happy again)

Since your rusty... Here is something I re-learned during the current COTM or is it GOTM? Anyway # 14.

Use the lux-slider. If you put 10% lux you can keep working the game-forrest shaving a turn of your settler and 6 extra food in the food bin for new growth

Good luck on the game :)

Edit: On Regent any spearman is a bad spearman... Try playing without any defensive units.
 
^yeah, sometimes the slider's better, other times specialists are. When only a few cities are unhappy, use specialists. If alot are unhappy, use the slider.

On top of the rioting, they were also working UNIMPROVED TILES?!

Oh noes!! :eek: :lol:
 
MSTK said:
One of the neat things is that later on I actually get a 5-turn settler factory working :D
Oh, and one thing I didn't mention: I actually "solved" Beijing before it rioted. Yeah, I'm still rusty, but...that seems neat to me :p

Awesome. :thumbsup:
 
IroquoisPlisken said:
^yeah, sometimes the slider's better, other times specialists are. When only a few cities are unhappy, use specialists. If alot are unhappy, use the slider.
This time only 1 city unhappy that would qualify as a few. But to pay 1gpt for 2 food & 2 shields ... I still say use the slider!
More growth, Earlier settler. Maybe little less research now. Mucho more research a little later to catch up!
And he has a clown, not even a Scientist. No extra beakers there...

Anyway... by my calculations I will get growth 3 turns faster using the Slider instead of the Specialist. That alone will allow me to get 3 more beakers on next growth and 3 more the one after that and 3 more and 3 more and so on...
Just for investing 3g now.... Seems like the perfect "investment" to me....
And I am not even counting the added shields and/or the added bonus from having the settler out 1 turn faster.
 
namliaM said:
This time only 1 city unhappy that would qualify as a few. But to pay 1gpt for 2 food & 2 shields ... I still say use the slider!
More growth, Earlier settler. Maybe little less research now. Mucho more research a little later to catch up!
And he has a clown, not even a Scientist. No extra beakers there...

Anyway... by my calculations I will get growth 3 turns faster using the Slider instead of the Specialist. That alone will allow me to get 3 more beakers on next growth and 3 more the one after that and 3 more and 3 more and so on...
Just for investing 3g now.... Seems like the perfect "investment" to me....
And I am not even counting the added shields and/or the added bonus from having the settler out 1 turn faster.

Ah, stop making me feel stupid :crazyeye:
 
Woah! You did that?! :eek:

Anyways, I think you can get a 4 turn settler factory. (2 mined BG, 1 irrigated cattle, 1 mined game tile, and the city center) You get another mined BG on growth.

So a size 4 to 6 factory. I hope you do that, even though you already didn't. :crazyeye:
 
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