stocktracker
Prince
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I assume another war with Germany is inevitable, they have cities on a few islands that you don't have yet.
The Shiji, Book Two: Project Kaguya
- Thread starter Sima Qian
- Start date
Slaughter
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I think that this is a big challenge indeed. You better try to go to Magnetism as soon as possible, then try to get the greatest navy.
Sima Qian
太史令
- Joined
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Chapter 8: Beyond the Chrysanthemum Throne
Inishie no / Nara no miyako no / Yae-zakura / Kyo kokonoe ni / Nioi nuru kana
Eight-fold cherry flowers / That at Nara--ancient seat / Of our state--have bloomed / In our nine-fold palace court / Shed their sweet perfume today.
Lady Ise no Osuke (A.D. ?-1063)
It did not take long for Shogun Tokugawa to realize that he really did not like being a monarch. The only real benefit of the new government was that the mines in the hills and mountains were more productive, and larger harvests were reaped from the irrigated cropland. On the other hand, he was still paying a hefty sum each year to support his military, and that was in addition to the maintenance costs of all the aqueducts and colosseums that were now built in the cities. Perhaps there is something better, he wondered.
He recalled the negotiations at Samarra, where Hammurabi had mentioned that Babylon was a republic. After checking with his embassies elsewhere, he found that all of the other civilizations were also republics, and that only Japan was a monarchy. If they all like it so much, he thought, maybe it would be better for us as well.
He wasn't quite sure how a republic actually worked, so he consulted one of his neighbors, Alexander of the Greeks.
"Ahh, a fine system it is indeed," said Alexander. "But you will have to work hard at it. No more sitting idly upon your throne while ruling by decree. You must try to satisfy your people, for it is their support that keeps everything in order."
It turned out that winning this "support" would be more difficult than Tokugawa had expected. Many of the Japanese citizens were complaining that it was "too crowded" in the cities, even though they were all quite small compared with their foreign counterparts. In the past, he would try to maintain order by keeping military police in every city, but Alexander had told him that this would no longer work in a republic, and now, he had no idea how to proceed.
"Tell me," he asked the Greek leader, "what might be your secret for keeping your citizens happy?"
"You must be there to listen to them," replied Alexander. "Your people will want to express themselves and air their grievances. Personally, I think it is best when you have them follow some form of organized religion, and build cathedrals where they can worship."
It was a blatant lie, for Tokugawa knew that the Greeks had a profitable luxury trade with their neighbors, but nobody was interested in presenting such an opportunity to Japan. Still, he did not want to point this out, fearing that he might accidentally anger Greece. Reluctantly he accepted Alexander's advice about the cathedrals and gave him his payment for the consultation.
Afterwards, Tokugawa sought a second opinion with another leader, Bismarck of the Germans. Much to his surprise, Bismarck agreed with Alexander's suggestion for the cathedrals, and offered some additional advice relating to religion and theolgy. Tokugawa was not interested in more of that, though. Instead, he focused his attention on the new weapons he noticed the German military was using, which Bismarck pointed out as achievements by his brightest inventors.
The Japanese cities took their time in building the cathedrals, and Japan would remain in monarchy for an entire century. Growth was slow, and Tokugawa's approval rating remained at rather low levels. It was not until 950 AD, when most of the cathedrals had been completed, that he finally felt confident enough to make the change. In a grand ceremony, he stood up from the Chrysanthemum Throne that had been the symbol of the Japanese monarchy, vowing never to take the seat again. He donated Hammurabi's crown to the palace museum, now open to the public as a tourist attraction.
He would not regret it. Commerce flourished under the new republic, and at last, Japan's treasury began to show signs of a budget surplus.
Meanwhile, the war that had been going on between Persia and Babylon was slowly winding down. For several years not a single ship was seen passing by Lagash. No cities had ever changed hands, and it did not seem like either side would be getting the upper hand anytime soon.
Maybe Xerxes had underestimated the military strength of the Babylonians. Tokugawa, however, liked to think that the Persians simply did not understand military strategy well enough to launch an effective attack, and thus they were ultimately unsuccessful at repeating Japan's previous victory.
And while Tokugawa had struggled to bring Japan out of a corrupt and inefficient government, the other republics had already made many other great achievements. Xerxes had built a grand cathedral in honor of his court composer, bringing joy to all the music-lovers of Persia.
A little later, it was reported that Hammurabi had sent an ambitious expedition to sail around the world. Even though that feat had already been accomplished by the Japanese many years before, historians would not acknowledge the fact that mere galleys had crossed the oceans, and they gave the credit to Babylon instead. Tokugawa grumbled at this, but he did admit that the frigates and galleons in Hammurabi's fleet were still vastly superior to his own galleys.
Hammurabi's expedition had also established strong trading relations with the other civilizations, giving Babylon a tremendous economic advantage. Tokugawa soon learned that the profits from trade with Babylon were so great that Hammurabi no longer had to pay to maintain his harbors; rather, the foreign merchants would do it for him.
Not to be outdone, Otto von Bismarck had another project ready in Berlin. It was a great theater, a gathering place for artists and performers of all kinds, further heightening Berlin's status as a cultural capital of the world. Tokugawa was curious as to why Shakespeare's Theater only affected one particular city, but he assumed that Bismarck had a good reason for building this Great Wonder.
He had a strange idea that perhaps Bismarck really wanted to build Smith's Trading Company all this time, and ultimately had to change his plan when Hammurabi managed to pull that off before him. If Tokugawa had the required technology, he certainly would have preferred Smith over Shakespeare as well. But Japan was still lagging far behind the other civilizations in technology, and Tokugawa knew he never even had the slightest chance with these Great Wonders.
As if to confirm the Shogun's suspicions, the very next thing he knew, Germany had declared war on Babylon.
It all makes sense now, Tokugawa said to himself. Bismarck is a sore loser. He cannot accept the fact that he lost the race to Smith's Trading Company, and now he thinks he will get away with this instead.
The Shogun had little compassion for either side in this conflict, as he had fought against Babylon before, while also submitting to Germany's demands of tribute. But this war was likely to be different from the one that Persia and Babylon had fought earlier, because now, the two opponents shared a land border. It will be interesting to watch this, thought Tokugawa. I'll send a few longbowmen over to see what is going on.
Inishie no / Nara no miyako no / Yae-zakura / Kyo kokonoe ni / Nioi nuru kana
Eight-fold cherry flowers / That at Nara--ancient seat / Of our state--have bloomed / In our nine-fold palace court / Shed their sweet perfume today.
Lady Ise no Osuke (A.D. ?-1063)
It did not take long for Shogun Tokugawa to realize that he really did not like being a monarch. The only real benefit of the new government was that the mines in the hills and mountains were more productive, and larger harvests were reaped from the irrigated cropland. On the other hand, he was still paying a hefty sum each year to support his military, and that was in addition to the maintenance costs of all the aqueducts and colosseums that were now built in the cities. Perhaps there is something better, he wondered.
He recalled the negotiations at Samarra, where Hammurabi had mentioned that Babylon was a republic. After checking with his embassies elsewhere, he found that all of the other civilizations were also republics, and that only Japan was a monarchy. If they all like it so much, he thought, maybe it would be better for us as well.
He wasn't quite sure how a republic actually worked, so he consulted one of his neighbors, Alexander of the Greeks.
"Ahh, a fine system it is indeed," said Alexander. "But you will have to work hard at it. No more sitting idly upon your throne while ruling by decree. You must try to satisfy your people, for it is their support that keeps everything in order."
It turned out that winning this "support" would be more difficult than Tokugawa had expected. Many of the Japanese citizens were complaining that it was "too crowded" in the cities, even though they were all quite small compared with their foreign counterparts. In the past, he would try to maintain order by keeping military police in every city, but Alexander had told him that this would no longer work in a republic, and now, he had no idea how to proceed.
"Tell me," he asked the Greek leader, "what might be your secret for keeping your citizens happy?"
"You must be there to listen to them," replied Alexander. "Your people will want to express themselves and air their grievances. Personally, I think it is best when you have them follow some form of organized religion, and build cathedrals where they can worship."
It was a blatant lie, for Tokugawa knew that the Greeks had a profitable luxury trade with their neighbors, but nobody was interested in presenting such an opportunity to Japan. Still, he did not want to point this out, fearing that he might accidentally anger Greece. Reluctantly he accepted Alexander's advice about the cathedrals and gave him his payment for the consultation.
Afterwards, Tokugawa sought a second opinion with another leader, Bismarck of the Germans. Much to his surprise, Bismarck agreed with Alexander's suggestion for the cathedrals, and offered some additional advice relating to religion and theolgy. Tokugawa was not interested in more of that, though. Instead, he focused his attention on the new weapons he noticed the German military was using, which Bismarck pointed out as achievements by his brightest inventors.
The Japanese cities took their time in building the cathedrals, and Japan would remain in monarchy for an entire century. Growth was slow, and Tokugawa's approval rating remained at rather low levels. It was not until 950 AD, when most of the cathedrals had been completed, that he finally felt confident enough to make the change. In a grand ceremony, he stood up from the Chrysanthemum Throne that had been the symbol of the Japanese monarchy, vowing never to take the seat again. He donated Hammurabi's crown to the palace museum, now open to the public as a tourist attraction.
He would not regret it. Commerce flourished under the new republic, and at last, Japan's treasury began to show signs of a budget surplus.
Meanwhile, the war that had been going on between Persia and Babylon was slowly winding down. For several years not a single ship was seen passing by Lagash. No cities had ever changed hands, and it did not seem like either side would be getting the upper hand anytime soon.
Maybe Xerxes had underestimated the military strength of the Babylonians. Tokugawa, however, liked to think that the Persians simply did not understand military strategy well enough to launch an effective attack, and thus they were ultimately unsuccessful at repeating Japan's previous victory.
And while Tokugawa had struggled to bring Japan out of a corrupt and inefficient government, the other republics had already made many other great achievements. Xerxes had built a grand cathedral in honor of his court composer, bringing joy to all the music-lovers of Persia.
A little later, it was reported that Hammurabi had sent an ambitious expedition to sail around the world. Even though that feat had already been accomplished by the Japanese many years before, historians would not acknowledge the fact that mere galleys had crossed the oceans, and they gave the credit to Babylon instead. Tokugawa grumbled at this, but he did admit that the frigates and galleons in Hammurabi's fleet were still vastly superior to his own galleys.
Hammurabi's expedition had also established strong trading relations with the other civilizations, giving Babylon a tremendous economic advantage. Tokugawa soon learned that the profits from trade with Babylon were so great that Hammurabi no longer had to pay to maintain his harbors; rather, the foreign merchants would do it for him.
Not to be outdone, Otto von Bismarck had another project ready in Berlin. It was a great theater, a gathering place for artists and performers of all kinds, further heightening Berlin's status as a cultural capital of the world. Tokugawa was curious as to why Shakespeare's Theater only affected one particular city, but he assumed that Bismarck had a good reason for building this Great Wonder.
He had a strange idea that perhaps Bismarck really wanted to build Smith's Trading Company all this time, and ultimately had to change his plan when Hammurabi managed to pull that off before him. If Tokugawa had the required technology, he certainly would have preferred Smith over Shakespeare as well. But Japan was still lagging far behind the other civilizations in technology, and Tokugawa knew he never even had the slightest chance with these Great Wonders.
As if to confirm the Shogun's suspicions, the very next thing he knew, Germany had declared war on Babylon.
It all makes sense now, Tokugawa said to himself. Bismarck is a sore loser. He cannot accept the fact that he lost the race to Smith's Trading Company, and now he thinks he will get away with this instead.
The Shogun had little compassion for either side in this conflict, as he had fought against Babylon before, while also submitting to Germany's demands of tribute. But this war was likely to be different from the one that Persia and Babylon had fought earlier, because now, the two opponents shared a land border. It will be interesting to watch this, thought Tokugawa. I'll send a few longbowmen over to see what is going on.
... to be continued
tupaclives
Tupac Lives on!!
Grat update Sima! Love this story! I am curious though, why are the techs so cheap?
conquer_dude
Imperial Slave
Great update. He is behind but trust me he'll win.
BTW welcome to civfanatics pneuma!![[party]](/images/smilies/partytime.gif "Party [party]")
Edit could we have an overview of the AI island?
BTW welcome to civfanatics pneuma!
Edit could we have an overview of the AI island?
conquer_dude
Imperial Slave
Nah I meant just show an overviwe of the island anyway. I dont get where all the civs are located.
Sima Qian
太史令
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- 732
Chapter 9: The Great Library Revisited
ie wo izuru / hito to shi kikeba / kari no yado / kokoro tomu na to / omou bakari zo
Because I heard you were someone / who had left the household life / my only / thought was to warn you / don't let your mind dwell / on this borrowed lodging!
Saigyo (A.D. 1118-1190)
Regardless of how curious Tokugawa was about the war between Germany and Babylon, sending a few observers into that area would be a little bit more troublesome than he thought. They first hit a snag when they passed through Greek territorial waters, and Alexander was not in a particularly welcoming mood.
"You expect to sail right under the noses of my governors in Herakleia and Knossos without bringing me any gifts?" he said. "Surely you think too highly of yourself, Tokugawa."
The Shogun humbly apologized, and asked his men to hand over an updated world map and a small amount of gold to appease Alexander. It was not much of a price to pay, so Tokugawa had little to complain about.
It was when they later passed into Babylonian waters that they noticed that Hammurabi was in some trouble. Germany had a significant advantage in being able to fight on their home island, while Babylon would have to ferry over all of its reinforcements. Nippur and Samarra seemed likely to fall any time now.
The arrival of the Japanese fleet was not a welcome sight to Hammurabi. He still remembered how the last one he saw totally overwhelmed his forces at Lagash, and was certainly not prepared to deal with another invasion. But Tokugawa assured him that he meant no harm. As a matter of fact, he was more interested in helping keep the balance, by helping out his former enemy against the Germans.
Hammurabi was very grateful for this, and offered rights of passage through Babylonian territory, as well as a discounted price on the secret of gunpowder.
Naturally, the reaction from Germany was furious. "What the hell?" shouted Bismarck. "Tokugawa, you worthless scum! You could not have taken Lagash without my help before, and now this is how you repay us?"
"Oh, please." Tokugawa did not want to put up with this. "The so-called 'help' you gave only amounted to overcharging us for the rights of passage. You never actually did anything that would truly benefit Japan."
Bismarck was startled and shocked by Japan's sudden declaration of war, but there was little he could do about the Japanese fleet that had now entered German waters. His ships were in far-off fighting against their Babylonian counterparts, and could ill afford to return to defend against the new enemy.
Or that was what Tokugawa thought. For it was not long afterward when a German caravel was spotted off the coast of Hakodate. The governor said he had no information as to whether or not the vessel was carrying troops to land on the island, but Tokugawa would not take any chances, and he ordered a longbowman to be recruited from the island immediately.
It turned out to be a false alarm. The caravel set a new course toward the west, away from the island. Tokugawa would not forgive it for causing such an inconvenience though. He ordered the nearest Japanese galley to pursue and destroy it, regardless of what it might cost him elsewhere. It was a rather weak attempt, for the men aboard the galley had never seen combat before, but they certainly learned from this experience.
Tokugawa was about to congratulate them for a job well done when soon he heard the tragic news that had befallen his victorious seamen. Clearly, in pursuing the German vessel too far out to sea, they had made a fatal mistake.
It was the first loss ever suffered by the Japanese navy, and even though it was not a combat defeat, it certainly made Tokugawa much more hesitant to make his next move. While Germany and Babylon fought on land, his troops remained hiding off the shore, merely observing what was going on. The alliance with Hammurabi was expected to last for another one hundred years, and he could certainly wait before coming in for the kill.
But it didn't. By 1270 AD, Samarra had been captured by the Germans. Hammurabi had been expecting some kind of help from the Japanese on land, but Tokugawa's stalling had cost him dearly. "What kind of alliance does he think this is?" muttered the Babylonian leader. "We are shackled to a corpse."
The fall of Samarra was enough to bring Hammurabi to the bargaining table, and after some negotiation with the Germans, he declared the alliance dissolved and signed a peace treaty.
"Oh dear, Hammurabi, look what you have done!" Tokugawa was annoyed that the alliance had been broken, but Hammurabi's accusation did have some merit. The only thing the Japanese had done was destroy a German caravel in some far-off waters that really had little effect on the war. Now Japan was left alone to fight Germany.
The Shogun's advisor had a more positive view of the situation though. "Do not panic," said Hideyoshi. "No alliance means we are free to end the war whenever we choose as well. And I can assure you that we are ready to make our move." With that, the Japanese troops were ordered to land on the German mainland, ready for some intense fighting.
The German forces had barely any time to come back from the front lines in the war with Babylon, and now Bismarck was left with a very weakly defended core. Miraculously, the Japanese landing force managed to hold their ground against the German counterattack.
With nothing else left to oppose them, Tokugawa's men scored a stunning victory at Berlin. Bismarck managed to flee to Konigsberg, but his beloved capital city was now in the hands of Japan.
The Shogun was surprised that the battle had been won so easily. "Who was in command of this flawless victory?" he asked. "I must give him a great reward for his performance."
One of the men stepped forward. "Minamoto no Yoritomo at your service, sir," he said. Tokugawa was so impressed that he had Yoritomo brought back to Kyoto, where the leader was given a whole army of his own to command.
In the meantime, the soldiers spent their time in Berlin exploring the many Great Wonders that the Germans had built there. Some attended the shows at the Shakespeare's Theater, while others who had been injured during the battle recovered at the fine barracks of Sun Tzu.
But it was the Great Library that had been the biggest prize of all, for that is where Tokugawa's men discovered the most incredible collection of books on every subject known to mankind. Over the next five years, he ordered them to load all of the books onto the ships, which returned them to Japan for his scholars to study in detail. There were so many books in the library, that there were some which Bismarck never even got around to reading himself, but the Shogun made sure that every last scrap of knowledge would be accounted for.
The new technology acquired from the Great Library instantly brought Japan up to par with the other great civilizations of the world, even matching the glorious Persians and Babylonians. And it transformed Japan into a great industrial powerhouse, ready to meet the challenges of a new era.
ie wo izuru / hito to shi kikeba / kari no yado / kokoro tomu na to / omou bakari zo
Because I heard you were someone / who had left the household life / my only / thought was to warn you / don't let your mind dwell / on this borrowed lodging!
Saigyo (A.D. 1118-1190)
Regardless of how curious Tokugawa was about the war between Germany and Babylon, sending a few observers into that area would be a little bit more troublesome than he thought. They first hit a snag when they passed through Greek territorial waters, and Alexander was not in a particularly welcoming mood.
"You expect to sail right under the noses of my governors in Herakleia and Knossos without bringing me any gifts?" he said. "Surely you think too highly of yourself, Tokugawa."
The Shogun humbly apologized, and asked his men to hand over an updated world map and a small amount of gold to appease Alexander. It was not much of a price to pay, so Tokugawa had little to complain about.
It was when they later passed into Babylonian waters that they noticed that Hammurabi was in some trouble. Germany had a significant advantage in being able to fight on their home island, while Babylon would have to ferry over all of its reinforcements. Nippur and Samarra seemed likely to fall any time now.
The arrival of the Japanese fleet was not a welcome sight to Hammurabi. He still remembered how the last one he saw totally overwhelmed his forces at Lagash, and was certainly not prepared to deal with another invasion. But Tokugawa assured him that he meant no harm. As a matter of fact, he was more interested in helping keep the balance, by helping out his former enemy against the Germans.
Hammurabi was very grateful for this, and offered rights of passage through Babylonian territory, as well as a discounted price on the secret of gunpowder.
Naturally, the reaction from Germany was furious. "What the hell?" shouted Bismarck. "Tokugawa, you worthless scum! You could not have taken Lagash without my help before, and now this is how you repay us?"
"Oh, please." Tokugawa did not want to put up with this. "The so-called 'help' you gave only amounted to overcharging us for the rights of passage. You never actually did anything that would truly benefit Japan."
Bismarck was startled and shocked by Japan's sudden declaration of war, but there was little he could do about the Japanese fleet that had now entered German waters. His ships were in far-off fighting against their Babylonian counterparts, and could ill afford to return to defend against the new enemy.
Or that was what Tokugawa thought. For it was not long afterward when a German caravel was spotted off the coast of Hakodate. The governor said he had no information as to whether or not the vessel was carrying troops to land on the island, but Tokugawa would not take any chances, and he ordered a longbowman to be recruited from the island immediately.
It turned out to be a false alarm. The caravel set a new course toward the west, away from the island. Tokugawa would not forgive it for causing such an inconvenience though. He ordered the nearest Japanese galley to pursue and destroy it, regardless of what it might cost him elsewhere. It was a rather weak attempt, for the men aboard the galley had never seen combat before, but they certainly learned from this experience.
Tokugawa was about to congratulate them for a job well done when soon he heard the tragic news that had befallen his victorious seamen. Clearly, in pursuing the German vessel too far out to sea, they had made a fatal mistake.
It was the first loss ever suffered by the Japanese navy, and even though it was not a combat defeat, it certainly made Tokugawa much more hesitant to make his next move. While Germany and Babylon fought on land, his troops remained hiding off the shore, merely observing what was going on. The alliance with Hammurabi was expected to last for another one hundred years, and he could certainly wait before coming in for the kill.
But it didn't. By 1270 AD, Samarra had been captured by the Germans. Hammurabi had been expecting some kind of help from the Japanese on land, but Tokugawa's stalling had cost him dearly. "What kind of alliance does he think this is?" muttered the Babylonian leader. "We are shackled to a corpse."
The fall of Samarra was enough to bring Hammurabi to the bargaining table, and after some negotiation with the Germans, he declared the alliance dissolved and signed a peace treaty.
"Oh dear, Hammurabi, look what you have done!" Tokugawa was annoyed that the alliance had been broken, but Hammurabi's accusation did have some merit. The only thing the Japanese had done was destroy a German caravel in some far-off waters that really had little effect on the war. Now Japan was left alone to fight Germany.
The Shogun's advisor had a more positive view of the situation though. "Do not panic," said Hideyoshi. "No alliance means we are free to end the war whenever we choose as well. And I can assure you that we are ready to make our move." With that, the Japanese troops were ordered to land on the German mainland, ready for some intense fighting.
The German forces had barely any time to come back from the front lines in the war with Babylon, and now Bismarck was left with a very weakly defended core. Miraculously, the Japanese landing force managed to hold their ground against the German counterattack.
With nothing else left to oppose them, Tokugawa's men scored a stunning victory at Berlin. Bismarck managed to flee to Konigsberg, but his beloved capital city was now in the hands of Japan.
The Shogun was surprised that the battle had been won so easily. "Who was in command of this flawless victory?" he asked. "I must give him a great reward for his performance."
One of the men stepped forward. "Minamoto no Yoritomo at your service, sir," he said. Tokugawa was so impressed that he had Yoritomo brought back to Kyoto, where the leader was given a whole army of his own to command.
In the meantime, the soldiers spent their time in Berlin exploring the many Great Wonders that the Germans had built there. Some attended the shows at the Shakespeare's Theater, while others who had been injured during the battle recovered at the fine barracks of Sun Tzu.
But it was the Great Library that had been the biggest prize of all, for that is where Tokugawa's men discovered the most incredible collection of books on every subject known to mankind. Over the next five years, he ordered them to load all of the books onto the ships, which returned them to Japan for his scholars to study in detail. There were so many books in the library, that there were some which Bismarck never even got around to reading himself, but the Shogun made sure that every last scrap of knowledge would be accounted for.
The new technology acquired from the Great Library instantly brought Japan up to par with the other great civilizations of the world, even matching the glorious Persians and Babylonians. And it transformed Japan into a great industrial powerhouse, ready to meet the challenges of a new era.
... to be continued
Sima Qian
太史令
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2006
- Messages
- 732
tupaclives said:
pneuma said:
Yes, I was very far behind. You can tell from my last update how far everyone else got ahead of me.
Also, keep in mind this is a small size map, so the tech costs are decreased.
conquer_dude said:
I don't quite get it, what exactly do you want me to post? I thought you could tell from the minimaps, or the world map from before.
conquer_dude
Imperial Slave
Yeah, thanx I forgot about that world map.
stocktracker
Prince
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2005
- Messages
- 414
You somehow have to find a way to keep up in technology, and build up your military so you can wipe a few capitals out during the space race. And since you don't have conquests, scientist farms are not very useful. Looks challenging!
Mirc
Not mIRC!!!
This resembles real history! Japan became from a medieval society a highly developed one in very little time!
Great update!
Great update!
Mirc said:
I do get a kick out of it when Civ replicates history--or even comes close enough with some "mightabeens". I'm currently running a game where Russia, Rome, and Egypt are fighting a sort of "Great Game" in central Asia, as they partition the technologically backward English--a once powerful medieval civilization. Very odd.
Like the update. Keep 'em coming.
Sima Qian
太史令
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2006
- Messages
- 732
Chapter 10: The Age of the Zaibatsu, the Technology Brokerage
Kimi ga tame / Haru no no ni idete / Wakana tsumu / Waga koromode ni / Yuki wa furi tsutsu
It is for your sake / That I walk the fields in spring / Gathering green herbs / While my garment's hanging sleeves / Are speckled with falling snow.
Emperor Koko (A.D. 830-887)
Once the sacking of the Great Library was complete, Tokugawa found that there was nothing interesting left in Berlin. The German citizens were determined to resist Japanese rule, and Chancellor Bismarck's troops were steadily returning from the Babylonian front. It would only be a matter of time before the Japanese forces would be overwhelmed.
But Tokugawa still held Berlin, the former German capital, and for each day that went by without it being recaptured, Otto von Bismarck grieved for his people, his great civilization, and in particular for the loss of the three Great Wonders that had been built in the city. He would never display his emotions in public, and not even his closest advisors understood what he was feeling, as he did not want to appear weak in difficult times. Still, his soldiers were only returning gradually from the war with Babylon, many of them injured or exhausted, and it would take time before they were ready to fight again.
And so it was with great surprise that in 1285 AD, he suddenly received a message from Kyoto, which turned out to be Japan's terms for peace. And remarkably, the Shogun was willing to return Berlin to Germany, but for a hefty price. Two outlying German cities would be exchanged for the capital, but Bismarck was so desperate to regain control of Berlin that he immediately agreed. He trusted that the Japanese would promptly vacate German territory afterwards, but he was still so badly shaken by the Japanese invasion that he did not dare move his government offices back from Konigsberg.
True to his reputation, Tokugawa kept his word and withdrew his troops from Berlin. They boarded the galleys that had brought them so far from Japan, and they stopped over at Bremen to check on the new iron mines around the city. It was not particularly important to Bismarck, for there was another source of iron near Heidelberg, and the mines at Bremen had not even been connected with a road yet.
On the other hand, Hannover was a distant German colony on an island far in the southeastern part of the world, close to the western coast of Russia. It shared a land border with the Babylonian city of Sippar to the south. There was no defense force present in Hannover at the time, and it would be many years before the first riflemen would arrive from Japan, but as the war with Germany had been partially fought in an alliance with Babylon, Tokugawa had little to fear from any sneak attack by Hammurabi.
And so with the Treaty of Berlin in 1285 AD, there was peace in the world once more. While Tokugawa was busy with the peace negotiations, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had been perusing the books recovered from the Great Library. One of them in particular interested him a great deal was the Athenaion Politeia, a text written by Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher. It described in great detail the history and politics of the Greek people, and their system of government in which all political offices were elected directly by the demos, the people.
On Hideyoshi's recommendation, it was decided that this system of democracy would be most beneficial to the Japanese people. And by 1290 AD the transition from a republic had been smoothly carried out, with Tokugawa Ieyasu taking on the honorary role of President of Japan.
It was also from works found in the Great Library that the Japanese learned of a system of banking, that would enable them to amass much greater amounts of wealth by providing loans and collecting interest. Conglomerates run by a few powerful families, known as the zaibatsu, would soon dominate this business, and the gold that they added to Japan's treasy would soon prove immensely useful in the upcoming trades of technology with the other civilizations.
But first, the secrets of the Great Library had to be shared with some of the less advanced powers, whom Tokugawa felt could not be left too far behind lest their stronger neighbors suddenly acquire too great of an advantage. The Shogun noticed that neither Hammurabi nor Bismarck understood the concepts of communism, and offered to teach them the subject. Hammurabi was quite impressed and in return he demonstrated to the Japanese around the Babylonian factories, which could at last be built after the period of industrialization.
Bismarck had much less to offer as payment, but Tokugawa did not mind having some extra gold to pad his coffers. Besides, if we don't make this trade with the Germans, he convinced himself, someone else surely will.
Shortly thereafter, news came from Persepolis that Xerxes had built a great university there, and their research was bolstered by the phenomenal discoveries that the Persian scientists were making at the time. Perhaps this was Xerxes's response to Copernicus's Observatory in the Babylonian city of Akkad, but Newton's University was in a much better location, with plenty of gold to be found nearby and little corruption under the watchful eye of the Persian leader.
It was at Newton's University that Persian scientists, now the best and brightest in the world, made the shocking discovery of how electricity worked, and how its power could be harnessed for productive purposes. For a price, Xerxes showed a demonstration of the phenomenon to the Japanese, who eagerly noted every detail of the experiment, and also sent a worker over to Japan to help them make use of the new technology.
But it would not be fair if this technology was withheld from the other powers, and especially Hammurabi, who had now become one of the zaibatsu's favorite trading partners. Fortunately, the Babylonian leader also had something new to offer the Japanese: the secret of espionage.
By this time the Russians had also developed espionage and electricity on their own, but there were still two others who needed to be filled in with the details. The first was Germany, who offered a substantial annual tribute to Japan in exchange for these secrets.
The other was Greece, who had much less to pay, but by this time the knowledge was so widespread that Tokugawa was willing to accept their comparatively meager offer.
Last but certainly not least of Tokugawa's priorities, Russia also had something new to trade. It was an industrial process of using replaceable parts in the assembly of new, complex equipment, a truly fascinating technique. Tokugawa paid a steep price for this, and soon found that the other countries had learned of it as well, but he had little reason to be unhappy with the result. His workers could now perform their tasks in only half the time it took them before.
With the amount that had been spent for replaceable parts, even the powerful zaibatsu's resources had been nearly exhausted, but there was still some more hope. For in the year 1360 AD, a new palace was completed in Tokyo, making it the equivalent of a second capital of Japan. Corruption and waste fell sharply, and once again Tokugawa would have great surpluses in his budget.
It was fortunate that all these years were peaceful, allowing the technology brokers of Japan to make profitable trades at home and abroad without ever angering any of the other civilizations. Tokugawa was grateful to the heavens for the peaceful times that the Japanese democracy was going through, but deep down inside, he had a strange feeling that this would not last for long.
Kimi ga tame / Haru no no ni idete / Wakana tsumu / Waga koromode ni / Yuki wa furi tsutsu
It is for your sake / That I walk the fields in spring / Gathering green herbs / While my garment's hanging sleeves / Are speckled with falling snow.
Emperor Koko (A.D. 830-887)
Once the sacking of the Great Library was complete, Tokugawa found that there was nothing interesting left in Berlin. The German citizens were determined to resist Japanese rule, and Chancellor Bismarck's troops were steadily returning from the Babylonian front. It would only be a matter of time before the Japanese forces would be overwhelmed.
But Tokugawa still held Berlin, the former German capital, and for each day that went by without it being recaptured, Otto von Bismarck grieved for his people, his great civilization, and in particular for the loss of the three Great Wonders that had been built in the city. He would never display his emotions in public, and not even his closest advisors understood what he was feeling, as he did not want to appear weak in difficult times. Still, his soldiers were only returning gradually from the war with Babylon, many of them injured or exhausted, and it would take time before they were ready to fight again.
And so it was with great surprise that in 1285 AD, he suddenly received a message from Kyoto, which turned out to be Japan's terms for peace. And remarkably, the Shogun was willing to return Berlin to Germany, but for a hefty price. Two outlying German cities would be exchanged for the capital, but Bismarck was so desperate to regain control of Berlin that he immediately agreed. He trusted that the Japanese would promptly vacate German territory afterwards, but he was still so badly shaken by the Japanese invasion that he did not dare move his government offices back from Konigsberg.
True to his reputation, Tokugawa kept his word and withdrew his troops from Berlin. They boarded the galleys that had brought them so far from Japan, and they stopped over at Bremen to check on the new iron mines around the city. It was not particularly important to Bismarck, for there was another source of iron near Heidelberg, and the mines at Bremen had not even been connected with a road yet.
On the other hand, Hannover was a distant German colony on an island far in the southeastern part of the world, close to the western coast of Russia. It shared a land border with the Babylonian city of Sippar to the south. There was no defense force present in Hannover at the time, and it would be many years before the first riflemen would arrive from Japan, but as the war with Germany had been partially fought in an alliance with Babylon, Tokugawa had little to fear from any sneak attack by Hammurabi.
And so with the Treaty of Berlin in 1285 AD, there was peace in the world once more. While Tokugawa was busy with the peace negotiations, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had been perusing the books recovered from the Great Library. One of them in particular interested him a great deal was the Athenaion Politeia, a text written by Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher. It described in great detail the history and politics of the Greek people, and their system of government in which all political offices were elected directly by the demos, the people.
On Hideyoshi's recommendation, it was decided that this system of democracy would be most beneficial to the Japanese people. And by 1290 AD the transition from a republic had been smoothly carried out, with Tokugawa Ieyasu taking on the honorary role of President of Japan.
It was also from works found in the Great Library that the Japanese learned of a system of banking, that would enable them to amass much greater amounts of wealth by providing loans and collecting interest. Conglomerates run by a few powerful families, known as the zaibatsu, would soon dominate this business, and the gold that they added to Japan's treasy would soon prove immensely useful in the upcoming trades of technology with the other civilizations.
But first, the secrets of the Great Library had to be shared with some of the less advanced powers, whom Tokugawa felt could not be left too far behind lest their stronger neighbors suddenly acquire too great of an advantage. The Shogun noticed that neither Hammurabi nor Bismarck understood the concepts of communism, and offered to teach them the subject. Hammurabi was quite impressed and in return he demonstrated to the Japanese around the Babylonian factories, which could at last be built after the period of industrialization.
Bismarck had much less to offer as payment, but Tokugawa did not mind having some extra gold to pad his coffers. Besides, if we don't make this trade with the Germans, he convinced himself, someone else surely will.
Shortly thereafter, news came from Persepolis that Xerxes had built a great university there, and their research was bolstered by the phenomenal discoveries that the Persian scientists were making at the time. Perhaps this was Xerxes's response to Copernicus's Observatory in the Babylonian city of Akkad, but Newton's University was in a much better location, with plenty of gold to be found nearby and little corruption under the watchful eye of the Persian leader.
It was at Newton's University that Persian scientists, now the best and brightest in the world, made the shocking discovery of how electricity worked, and how its power could be harnessed for productive purposes. For a price, Xerxes showed a demonstration of the phenomenon to the Japanese, who eagerly noted every detail of the experiment, and also sent a worker over to Japan to help them make use of the new technology.
But it would not be fair if this technology was withheld from the other powers, and especially Hammurabi, who had now become one of the zaibatsu's favorite trading partners. Fortunately, the Babylonian leader also had something new to offer the Japanese: the secret of espionage.
By this time the Russians had also developed espionage and electricity on their own, but there were still two others who needed to be filled in with the details. The first was Germany, who offered a substantial annual tribute to Japan in exchange for these secrets.
The other was Greece, who had much less to pay, but by this time the knowledge was so widespread that Tokugawa was willing to accept their comparatively meager offer.
Last but certainly not least of Tokugawa's priorities, Russia also had something new to trade. It was an industrial process of using replaceable parts in the assembly of new, complex equipment, a truly fascinating technique. Tokugawa paid a steep price for this, and soon found that the other countries had learned of it as well, but he had little reason to be unhappy with the result. His workers could now perform their tasks in only half the time it took them before.
With the amount that had been spent for replaceable parts, even the powerful zaibatsu's resources had been nearly exhausted, but there was still some more hope. For in the year 1360 AD, a new palace was completed in Tokyo, making it the equivalent of a second capital of Japan. Corruption and waste fell sharply, and once again Tokugawa would have great surpluses in his budget.
It was fortunate that all these years were peaceful, allowing the technology brokers of Japan to make profitable trades at home and abroad without ever angering any of the other civilizations. Tokugawa was grateful to the heavens for the peaceful times that the Japanese democracy was going through, but deep down inside, he had a strange feeling that this would not last for long.
... to be continued
Sima Qian
太史令
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2006
- Messages
- 732
Player's note: The peace treaty described at the beginning of this update was the "exploit" that I hinted about earlier. This is only possible because I'm playing on Civ 3 vanilla v1.07. I've been told that in later patches this kind of city trading is impossible, but for some odd reason those patches don't work properly on my computer, so I have to hold off on upgrading until I get C3C.
Well, a bit too late for me to go back and fix that now. I don't consider this an "abuse" of the game mechanics though. A real abuse of the city trade would be getting Bremen and Hannover out of the peace treaty, and then immediately turning around and retaking Berlin before the Germans could move in any troops to defend it. I've tried to be as fair as possible in the peace arrangement, by making a trade that would be strategically advantageous to me, while not taking too much advantage of "bugs" in the game.
Just FYI, the Germans were also willing to cough up the city of Bonn in addition to the other two in the peace treaty, but I decided that would probably be a bit too unfair to them. Plus, Bonn was in a pretty bad location too.
I'll be posting a new world map sometime soon, since now the map has been competely explored.
Well, a bit too late for me to go back and fix that now. I don't consider this an "abuse" of the game mechanics though. A real abuse of the city trade would be getting Bremen and Hannover out of the peace treaty, and then immediately turning around and retaking Berlin before the Germans could move in any troops to defend it. I've tried to be as fair as possible in the peace arrangement, by making a trade that would be strategically advantageous to me, while not taking too much advantage of "bugs" in the game.
Just FYI, the Germans were also willing to cough up the city of Bonn in addition to the other two in the peace treaty, but I decided that would probably be a bit too unfair to them. Plus, Bonn was in a pretty bad location too.
I'll be posting a new world map sometime soon, since now the map has been competely explored.
tupaclives
Tupac Lives on!!
Terrific update Sima! 
Ansar
Détente avec l'été
Great use of the city trading bug!
soul_warrior
Termite!
great updates.
and a VERY NICE catching up, too
and a VERY NICE catching up, too
Mirc
Not mIRC!!!
Nice update!
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