The dawning of the Middle Ages finds the meek Dutch Republic at war with the mighty Inca and Mayan nations. Lucky for William, neither of his enemies had a method to reach his poorly defended cities.
The Spanish representative demands left William furious, but what could he do, with a couple of spearmen-defended cities located on Spanish borders and with Isabella having swordsmen, the knowledge of Philosophy was wrested away from him. Get the joint chiefs in here immediately he bellowed to his aides.
Im tired of every petty monarch demanding our technology and having to cower before them due to a lack of military might. I want to know what plans you gentlemen have to put a stop to these outrages, William asked to the heads of his military.
General Grahamiam of the Army was the first to respond; Well sir, as you know the resources to allow training of any advanced troops are not yet available. We have begun the building of the Knights Templar and when completed the troops trained there will finally give us an offensive weapon. As we speak our workers are busy building roads to the iron mine and the horse fields and soon the harbors under construction will make those resources available to our main cities. We have contacted the Swiss about hiring their Pike Mercenary units and the negotiations will be complete once we have the iron available. Until then, Im sorry but we have no choice but to continue to yield to their demands.
Admiral Bugsy spoke next As a naval power, we are quite impotent, having only the ability to move our troops from island to island. We however, have seen no one yet who can prevent us from doing that.
So, Im relegated to waiting and accommodating whatever demands are made, sighed William I would appreciate ending this trend at the soonest.
The arrival of a Inca warrior in the west and the settlement of the Incan city of Juli, finally gave William a chance to use is meager arsenal of archers and the razing of Juli was the needed leverage to achieve peace with the Incas, and the ransom of the Incan governor cost the Incan treasury nearly 400 pieces of gold. Soon the Mayans, hearing of Julis fate were willing to end the 200-year ghost war, in an exchange of government styles.
Skaara, the Egyptian ambassador met the Spanish Ambassador, Don Cortez in the hallway outside the office of William. It was just too easy this time, currency for a simple demand he chuckled. Don Cortez was not smiling when his demands for Feudalism was rebuked. Unfortunately, Isabella was not to go to war to avenge this slap in the face of Spain. The completion of the Statue of Zeus by Spain would soon allow her to reconsider war with the Dutch.
The arrival of iron at the harbor and the training of the first Swiss Mercenary came late as rebuffing the Zulu demand for Monotheism, led Shaka to become the third nation to declare war on the Dutch. William once again called for his military leaders.
The Zulus pose no threat to us, however with Spain have completed the Statue of Zeus, well soon be facing Ancient Cavalry, I need to know how you plan to deal with this new threat.
General Grahamiam smiled as he began Sir, tomorrow we unveil the Knights Templar in The Hague and word from Amsterdam is that the completion of the Great Library is imminent. These two events will present us with an unusual set of circumstances. Well soon be able to focus our development on the military and still manage to keep abreast of the world technology wise. If youll come with us to the map room, I wish to show you our plans to annex Spain.
For 300 years, the Dutch Republic bided its time training crusaders, knights and Swiss Mercenaries and positioning them for the war of Spanish acquisition. The day the final galley sailed from Groningen, the large number of Incan scouts crossed the borders near Arnheim.
We must act now, General Grahamiam shouted and William rose to answer then General We shall, get me the Incan and Spanish Ambassadors he ordered to his aides.
Don Cortez and Titu Cusi, the Incan Ambassador sat in the lobby waiting to be summoned by the Dutch leader. I wonder what new technology Ill be able to squeeze from him this time. Don Cortez said with a wide grin. Only Titu Cusi was grinning as the day ended. He had acquired 180 pieces of gold and the heart of the Spanish Ambassador as gifts from the Dutch to seal their alliance against Spain.
Isabella turned white as a ghost as she gazed in horror at the head of her ambassador as it lay on the floor at her feet. I want revenge for this now she screamed. The brave defenders at Eindhoven withstood charge after charge from the Spanish Ancient Cavalry, but soon they had no strength left to fight and were overwhelmed. It was during the first charge of this siege that a Swiss Mercenary would defeat a charge and the Golden Age of the Dutch had begun. They had absorbed nearly all off the Spanish offensive troops in what would prove to be a Pyrrhic victory for Spain. With the cries of Remember Eindhoven, the Dutch Crusaders and Knights routed the Spanish defenders in Salamanca and Santiago and the following day the wounded Spanish troops in Eindhoven fell to the Dutch Knights and the city was reclaimed.
Sir, the Incan Ambassador and his staff have been reported boarding a ship and leaving the country, Admiral Bugsy announced as the daily briefing began I fear our alliance will be short-lived. Its ok Admiral, theyve served their purpose. They were much more inviting targets for the Spanish counterattack and have allowed our troops to advance on weakened Spanish cities from defensible positions answered William. And he was right as the Incan troops turned on their allies as the dawn broke, however the Dutch defenders routed the outdated Incan attackers and moved to victories over the Spanish defenders in Murcia and Seville. Lets give the Incan a more inviting target, call in the English Ambassador William said.
The 200 gold pieces weighed heavy on the right arm of Lord AlanH as he entered the English embassy. Contact the Queen, weve have an new ally against the Incan menace, he ordered to his squire.
What a glorious day it had been in Amsterdam, William sat beaming on the new balcony of the palace watching the sunset as he reviewed the all of the good news the day had brought. First the victory in Valencia, then the successful siege of the Spanish Capital and the capture of the Hanging Gardens and Temple of Artemis, next the completion of Leonardos Workshop in The Hague and finally his rebuking of the Mayan demand for Incan Contact, which gave him great pleasure in watching the ambassador meekly exit his office. The new Spanish Ambassador, has been ordered to return tomorrow and well see what offerings he brings.
The report of Barcelona falling was all it took for Isabella to offer all her gold and all territory except her island capital. William smiled until news of the deaths of garrison in Barcelona. Two wounded knights and a Swiss Mercenary were killed as the city revolted back to Spain. Only the exploits of an Elite Knight, Abel Tasman as he overran an Incan Longbow contingent and was carried from the field on the shoulders of the other knights, were able to save the day. Send him to Madrid, I think that would make a fine location for my winter palace ordered William.
With the Incan troops tied up attacking England, our own troops sit idle after the capture of Toledo from the incompetent Incan defenders. General Grahamiam offered to his staff, Draw up invasion plans for France, Ill get an appointment with William.
William returned from the intensive trade meetings with Lord AlanH & Skaara exhausted, but satisfied at adding the knowledge of Banking, 71 pieces of gold and the promise of 52 pieces per year and was ready to head to bed when the General entered the room and showed his the plans for Operation April in Paris. The plans intrigued him so, he would not drift off to sleep until the wee hours of the morning.
The French Musketeers in Marseilles had heard of the declaration of war from the Dutch, but did not believe it until the Dutch Crusaders began charging the city from the overlooking hillside. The battle was short, yet bloody for the French and soon the red, white and blue stripes were horizontal on the pole above the city.
Lord AlanH of England was not completely happy with the events of the day. The new alliance with the Dutch against France brought additional gold to the English treasury, but the end of the alliance against the Incan and the subsequent peace between the Dutch and the Inca would leave England to go it alone against the fierce Incan soldiers.
At the opening of the Observatory of Copernicus, William announced to the cheering crowds, the annexation of Tours and Orleans. William left the celebration to meet with the emissaries from the Incan, Zulu, England and Egypt. He left the meeting with the knowledge of Economics, Music Theory, the promise of Egyptian dyes and gold for his treasury, all for some simple introductions and excess resources. He was not surprised to hear of peace between the Inca and English, as things had not gone well for England facing the Inca alone.
Meanwhile, in France, from an Elite Knight unit, the hero, Wilhem Janesz defeated the final defender of Paris and was commissioned as the Leader of the Crusader Army. This unstoppable force pounded the defenders of Rheems to submission and move towards Lyons.
Another exhausting trading session left William collapsed in his chair and reviewing his take, Navigation, Democracy, a couple of guest workers, nearly 500 pieces of gold and the promise of annual gem deliveries were on the table. He had ended the day by refusing to surrender dyes to Skaara and was happy there were no repercussions.
With the victory over Lyons defenders and the capture of Joan dArc, the nation of France was no more. Joan would soon arrive in Amsterdam and be assigned quarters in Williams private segment of the Palace where much hanky-panky was rumored to occur.
As the Dutch declared war on Spain and captured Barcelona, a flurry of wonder completions, Bachs Cathedral in Thebes, Smiths Trading Post in Cuzco and to the delight of William the Heroic Epic in Utrecht, were a precursor to the discovery of Metallurgy and the entry of the Dutch to the Industrial Age.
The clouds of a violent war a gathering on the horizon as Incan troops entered the Dutch lands, but the tales of the valiant defenders of Lyons will have to wait for another day.
Editors note: As with many others the Inca appear to be the 800lb gorilla and unlike other games, they will have to be dealt with and not avoided. Spain, France & England all seemed to be falling with relative east to either the Dutch or Inca. I'm wondering if it's poor starting location or weakness of their traits on this map. I did see quite a few sucessful privateers (Egypt lost 2 caravels and Spain lost a galley & caravel to attacks). The resource scarcity and locations proved to sharply increase the difficulty on this game.
![[c3c]](/images/smilies/c3c.gif "Civ3 Conquests [c3c]")
I am clueless about FP placement.
. I then slowly ate up the horseless Maya to claim a domination victory in 1210 with 9051 jasons. It's very nice to fight horseless people: you can move faster because the counterattacks can never reach the towns you've captured straight away - little defence needed.
(and a 2 Swiss Merc garrison)
), that were available. This allowed me to pretty much keep the Taxes at 0%, for most of the MidAges. The Astronomy made the Great Lighthouse a non-issue, but I still couldn't trade Luxuries or Resources with the main continent; no one else had a harbor!
