[RFC-DoC] No Cities Left Behind (The Super Secret History of the Mongols)

[christos200]

So you kept Yelü Chucai? I think that you should re-setle every city you raze in china.

 

[strijder20]

Good job.

 

[Tigranes]

So you kept Yelü Chucai? I think that you should re-setle every city you raze in china.

:giggle: Nope, Yelu Chucai is not a city, he was the most famous domestic adviser for Mongol Khans, promoting moderation and healthy fiscal system. In Super Secret History Great Khans didn't let him to go beyond the domestic affair of Qara Qorum, though. They stubbornly razed every single city that offered a hint of resistance. The only exception is reserved for gifting cities to vassals upon the city conquest. Mongols themselves always kept one city only! If they had something like Mongol Camp unit, they wouldn't even need their capital!

_____

 

[Tycho]

Who needs diplomacy when you are a Mongol after all?

Though really, Temujin or Genghis Khan was a guy who preferred to be a peaceful fellow and try to resolve differences. Didn't work so well here though...

 

[Tigranes]

11. He [Genghis Khan] ordered that all religions were to be respected
and that no preference was to be shown to any of them.
All this he commanded in order
that it might be agreeable to Heaven.
The Great Yasa of Genghis Khan​

That's right. Mongols learned how to separate the state and the church long before all those so called civilized nations got some clue. As you can see from all the screenies below we already have Taoism but for some reason cannot convert yet . Every nation appears with some religion sign in the score list except us:



Also, notice above that entire Europe was visited by Black Death, except for Russia. Asian countries were immune to plague, even though conventional history thinks otherwise. They say that the Black Death began in north-western China, or perhaps the steppes of Central Asia. From its origin at the eastern end of the Silk Road, the Black Death traveled west. They blame us, Mongols, for helping to spread it -- what a nonsense! At Central Asian caravanseries and Middle Eastern trade centers, it infected people all across Asia. The Egyptian scholar Al-Mazriqi noted that "more than three hundred tribes all perished without apparent reason in their summer and winter encampments, in the course of pasturing their flocks and during their seasonal migration." He claimed that all of Asia was depopulated, as far as the Korean Peninsula. But apparently Eternal Blue Sky does not support this claims and we can see the Plague among Europeans only.

Too bad Russia is not counted as European for Plague purposes. You could see in the picture above how strong are the guards of Kiev, Russian second and most famous capital after the fall of Moscow. We need to lure that Pikeman out somehow if we ever to take Kiev. And we need to take Kiev badly hopoing that this will collaps Russia somehow. Time is not on our side. Every turn Russia gets stronger, settles more cities in Siberia and even around Volga. They rebuilt Caricyn, the very first Russian city we razed like hundred years ago. Those Russians breed like rabbits, they just keep building settlers. Russia also has an upper hand in the war with Turkey. They conquered Crimea and besieged Ottoman capital Konya. Triple promoted Russian Knights roam around our Settlers at Volga river (our Settlers representing the mobile capital of Golden Horde Sarai). Batu Khan orders our people to relocate toward the Kuban region of the North Caucus:



Because of constant raids by Russian Knights Tolui has sent his Ghuzz Elephants from the Middle East to Batu Khan. I am not sure how Elephants survived Russian winters, but their 50% bonus against the mounted units was certainly welcomed by our people there. Ulus of Jochi feels more protected now. By this time the population of the Golden Horde were largely a mixture of Turks and Mongols. Most of the Horde's population was Turkic: Kypchaks, Volga Tatars, Khwarezmians, and others. The Horde was gradually Turkified and lost its Mongol identity , while the descendants of Batu's original Mongol warriors constituted the upper class. They were commonly named the Tatars by the Russians and Europeans. But I will keep calling them Mongols, because of the national pride, I guess

Thanks to the pressure from Ottoman Turks Byzantine Emperor was ready to make a peace with us and pay required tribute:



Never mind the name of the Emperor. It says Justinian, but in fact it was Andronikos III Palaiologos (Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341). In 1320, Andronikos accidentally murdered his brother Manuel, whereupon their father died of grief. The murder, and the general dissolute behaviour of Andronikos and his coterie, mostly the young scions of the Empire's great aristocratic clans, resulted in a deep rift in the relations between him and his grandfather, Andronikos II Palaiologos. The elder Andronikos disowned his grandson, whereupon Andronikos III fled the capital and rallied his supporters around him in Thrace. From there he waged an intermittent civil war against his grandfather, which first secured him recognition of his post as co-emperor, and ultimately led to the deposition of Andronikos II in 1328. Under Andronikos the Byzantine Empire came closest to regaining a position of power in the Balkan Peninsula since the Fourth Crusade. Although an energetic campaigner, the empire during this period was just too weak to defeat its enemies in Anatolia, Bulgaria and Serbia. His loss of the empire's few remaining territories in Anatolia made the Ottoman Turks posed to expand into Europe as did its lack of strength following his reign to prevent the formation of the Serbian Empire. Yet none of this was due to a lack of leadership on Andronikos' part. I guess he paid us off in order to focus on Turks.

We made two more peace deals during the same year of 1336. Naked dude from the Part 10 was replaced by semi-naked Hayam Wuruk:



Hayam Wuruk, also called (after 1350) Rajasanagara, (1334–1389), was a Javanese King and the fourth monarch of Majapahit empire. Together with his prime minister Gajah Mada, he reigned the empire at the time of its greatest power. I have no idea why the Eternal Blue Sky calls him the king of Srivijaya Hayam Wuruk means "scholar rooster". People praised Hayam Wuruk as a handsome, bright, talented, and exceptional student in courtly martial art of archery and fencing, also mastering politics scriptures, as well as arts and music. He was known as an accomplished ceremonial dancer in the court. Some accounts report about Hayam Wuruk performances in a traditional ceremonial Javanese mask dance. I don't know about you but I don't find this guy too handsome. At least he covers half of his shoulder, clearly Srivijaya --> Majapahit transition benefited Indonesian leaders

Finally we got Khmer Emperor knocking our door:



His real name should be Jayavarman IX. Very little can be said about him, except that Khmer Empire was clearly in decline. By this time Khmer rulers adopted Theravada Buddhism: they were therefore no longer considered "devarajas" (Hindu concept of god-king, and there was no need to erect huge temples to them, or rather to the gods under whose protection they stood. The retreat from the concept of the devaraja may also have led to a loss of royal authority and thereby to a lack of workers. The water-management apparatus also degenerated, meaning that harvests were reduced by floods or drought. While previously three rice harvests per years were possible — a substantial contribution to the prosperity and power of Kambuja - the declining harvests further weakened this empire.

I think when I am done with my History I will create a grand list of all the civs that payed us tribute, acknowledging our superiority.

AD 1339 brought both good and bad news. New breed of race horses generated some modest income for our Nation. But, alas, our hero Jebe Noyan was killed by cursed German Knight. This war with Holy Roman Empire is a pain in the neck, when we still not done with Russians .



The same year Korea agreed to stop their phony war and pay us tribute:



Even though we didn't capture any city during the 1330s we were able to win four wars without much fighting. Just give us some time and we will capture the Kiev and Wien one day. All this Mongolian blood was not shed in vain!

 

[momo1000]

You can't convert to Taoism because you're running Pantheon as a civic

 

[MaxWar]

Fascinating update, as usual! You gotta love all the historic details.

 

[christos200]

Great update.

 

[Tycho]

Great update, and you must be enjoying the bribes other civs are giving you.

 

[Tigranes]

Great update, and you must be enjoying the bribes other civs are giving you.

It was well known even before I discovered the History that if a population agreed to pay the Mongols tribute, they were spared invasion and left relatively independent. I think Mongols borrowed the Chinese concept of tribute, as a proof of superiority. It was an integral part of the Confucian philosophy and was seen by the Chinese as equivalent to the familial relation of younger sons looking after older parents by devoting part of their wealth, assets, or goods to that purpose. There is a clear differentiation between the term "tribute" and "gift." The Chinese emperors made sure that the gifts they paid to other states were known as mere gifts, not tributes. Even at times when a Chinese dynasty had to bribe nomads from raiding their border such as in the Han Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, the emperors gave "gifts" to the Xiongnu and the Khitan. The only time when a dynasty paid formal tribute to another was during the southern Song dynasty, where tribute was given to the Jin Dynasty for peace.

I think that's the reason why Mongols especially like to get tribute from China .

_____

 

[thecaesar]

Oooh, Korea paid up real well...

And also: KILL THE GERMS!!!!! (That is, Germans.)

 

[Linkman226]

Anyone else see the irony in that? Namely the fact that DoC itself is created by a German.

 

[Tigranes]

Anyone else see the irony in that? Namely the fact that DoC itself is created by a German.

I see more irony in German modmoding the creation of an Italian If RFC is Roman Empire, DoC would be HRE On the killing issue -- Mongols were instructed by Genghis to kill everybody who is not capitulating. It's just a little easier said than done, though

_____

 

[thecaesar]

Yeah, those Germans are a vicious bunch...

 

[Princeof Persia]

What's the Kingdom of Srivijaya

 

[strijder20]

Indonesia.

 

[Princeof Persia]

That's in this mod?

 

[strijder20]

Yes, as far as I know the mod adds Korea and Indonesia.
Well, 'Indonesia' : a civ located on it.

 

[Tigranes]

12. He [Genghis Khan] forbade his people to eat food offered by another
until the one offering the food tasted of it himself,
even though one be a prince and the other a captive;
he forbade them to eat anything in the presence of another
without having invited him to partake of the food;
he forbade any man to eat more than his comrades,
and to step over a fire on which food was being cooked
or a dish from which people were eating.
The Great Yasa of Genghis Khan​

Nobody likes a poison in his food, be it a captive or a prince. And stepping over the fire can burn your pants -- all kinds of nasty stuff can fall into your food when you are stepping over it! This Yasa quote also explains why all that talk about child obesity was absent in our Mongol Nation . If everybody eats no more than the worst eater among your comrades -- how can you possibly gain weight? The only awkward part comes when you constantly check how much the others are eating -- to make sure you are not eating more than them. But, hey, staying slim and fit comes with the price!

War also comes with the price and our first hundred years of war with Russia prove that point. Take the disastrous death of Jebe for example (see Part 11). He was scouting around Kiev when German Knight came from the East (!), basically from the very wrong side, and ambushed our hero:



If you are used to the glorious stories of super big stacks taking city after city after city -- this History can only provide you with painful truth -- we were constantly balancing on the edge of defeat and total annihilation of our few troops. Only the lack of coordinated efforts from our opponents helped us to survive and prevail little by little.

More bad news came the very next turn (AD 1342), when Ottomans, the only civ we had an open borders with, capitulated to Russians and declared on us! Can you imagine? Russian stack conquered Turkish capital Konya, so Ottomans moved their capital to Baku ( :cough:, :cough: ) and became Russian protectorate:



As you could imagine, most world leaders are furious with us, so any attempts of tech trades are met with the same silly reply: We will never trade with you, our worst enemy. Ironically, the only exception came from the civ, that was supposed to spell our downfall -- the Mameluks of Egypt. They opened borders and gave us very valuable Theology:



We immediately changed civics and finally adopted state religion, which will help the great deal with our domestic as well as military efforts:



Our beloved Tengriism (very naturally represented by Taoism in my screenies) incorporates elements of shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. In Tengriism, the meaning of life is seen as living in harmony with the surrounding world. Tengriist believers view their existence as sustained by the eternal blue Sky, Tengri, the fertile Mother-Earth, spirit Eje, and a ruler who is regarded as the holy spirit of the Sky. Heaven, Earth, the spirits of nature and the ancestors provide every need and protect all humans. By living an upright and respectful life, a human being will keep his world in balance and maximize his personal power. The Mongolian Great Khans of the 13th century ideologically based their power on a mandate from Tengri himself, and began their declarations with the words "by the will of Eternal [Blue] Heaven."

The Tengriist universe consisted of three worlds, a lower or underground world, the middle world in which human beings lived, and the upper spiritual world. The lower world could be entered by means of a spiritual “river.” The middle world connected with the upper world by means of a sacred World Tree. There are no official symbols of Tengriism, however the symbol of the World Tree with nine leaves and the four directions symbol are common, as can be seen on this shaman's drum:



Our military efforts did not gain us anything during the 1340s. Our few troops in Russia were engaged in constant skirmishes, followed by periods of healing, while our Chinese forces finally trained a Trebuchet and commenced the VERY protracted siege of Kaifeng:



We also met with very exotic (for us Mongols) civilization of Portugal. Predictably they paid a tribute to Great Khan, even though we are at the bottom of the scoretable:



The actual name for the Portuguese king during AD 1348 was Afonso IV, nicknamed "the Brave" (Portuguese: o Bravo). Well, he wasn't very brave with us, was he ? He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon. However, he was not, according to several sources, Dinis' favorite son; his half-brother, the illegitimate Afonso Sanches, enjoyed full royal favor. From early in life, the notorious rivalry led to several outbreaks of civil war. As king, Afonso IV is remembered as a soldier and a valiant general, and Portuguese troops played an important role in the victory of the Battle of Rio Salado over the Marinid Moors in October 1340. But perhaps his most important contribution was the importance he gave to the Portuguese navy. Afonso IV granted public funding to raise a proper commercial fleet and ordered the first maritime explorations. What strikes me the most, however, is how closely my screeny represents the historical portrait of Afonso :



The early 1350s did not bring us any good news. To the contrary -- the last surviving son of Genghis Khan was killed in Middle East fighting against the overwhelming force of Independent Elephants and Cataphracts. This Cataphract unit was the same we have seen in Kandahar back in Part 3! They deserted Byzantium after she managed to conquer Kandahar long before we spawned, joined Independent Afghan forces, and all of a sudden made their surprise raid to Arabia and Iraq . I mean, we really need a break from this losing streak



Our long awaited break-through in war with Russians came only in AD 1354. Russian Pikeman guarding capital Kiev left the city to score an easy (as they thought) victory over one of our Keshiks -- the odds were overwhelmingly in the favor of Russians and Batu Khan was getting ready for yet another KIA report. But the tide finally turned in our favor



With strongest unit guarding Russian capital gone, our forces attacked Kiev without any delays. The chief commander in Kiev was voivode Dmytro, the number of defenders inside the city was only about 1000 (two regiments of Axemen). On December 5th, Kiev's walls were breached, and hand to hand combat followed in the streets. The Kievans suffered heavy losses and Dmytro was wounded by an arrow.



When night fell the Mongols held their positions while the Kievans retreated to the central parts of the city. Many people crowded into the Church of the Tithes. The next day, as our Mongols commenced the final assault, the church's balcony collapsed under the weight of the people standing on it, crushing many. After the we won the battle, they plundered Kiev. Most of the population was massacred (out of 50 000 inhabitants before the invasion, 2000 survived). Most of the city was burned and only six out of forty major buildings remained standing. Dmytro, however, was shown mercy for his bravery:



The fall of the second Russian capital (after Moscow) was a heavy moral and military blow to Russians and allowed Batu Khan to proceed westward into Europe. You can see that Russian stability turned into collapsing -- just like we planned. We are hoping to collapse Russia and see all the Russian troops to loose promotions.

When the news of Mongol victory reached our only city Qara Qorum -- the spontaneous jubilation erupted and carried on for nine days and nine nights. To sweeten our succes a new Great General was born to lead Mongol Keshiks -- the famous Kublai Khan! He was a the second son of blessed memory Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki and a grandson of Genghis Khan, and younger brother of Möngke, our current Great Khan and supreme Mongol ruler. I believe that the day will come when Kublai will established the Yuan Dynasty, which will rule over Mongolia and China, and some adjacent areas, and he will assumed the role of Emperor of China, claiming Mandate of Heaven:

 

[MaxWar]

Excellent update, i am finding this fascinating as usual