After the sudden deaths of the two major rivals for power in the empire of Rus, a third and unlikely leader stepped forward: Corbski the Second.
Turn 0
The empire had been growing quite well, and was stable when Corbski the Second rose to power, though a migrating band of Frankish military forces were in Russian territory. The first and most significant act of Corbski was to offer Ghengis Khan of the Mongols an exchange of knowledge. Thus the Rus gained understanding of the Calendar in exchange for teaching the Mongols the wonders of Polytheism and the Alphabet (I took this because I wasn't sure if it would last, and no one else would trade us Calendar yet).
Turn 1
The southern band of Russian Settlers moves a tile north to gain better access to the fertile river valley to the northeast. The greatest portion of the military of the empire is mobilized and sent south, in hopes of sacking the small city-state of Zapotec in the southwest. Russian workers finish a farm near Novgorod and scramble to build a silk plantation before the citizens of Moscow begin to get angry with the crowded conditions and lack of new luxury goods.
Turn 2
Moscow finishes training a new Archer battalion, and begins conscripting a band of Workers (this should enable the silk to be hooked up before Moscow grows). Novgorod finishes building a new city Granary and begins training a unit of Archers to reinforce the borders (anything else we build here will probably have to be chop rushed, at least for now, unless it's something cheap like an Archer). Corbski does not want to be caught without a solid army in the north, but this may be the best that can be done for the moment. Messengers reach the court at Moscow that the Franks have instituted something called Hereditary Rule, which seems an interesting concept. The southern Russian city of Yaroslavl' is founded and begins work on a Granary (I neglected to notice that since we now have Calendar, we cannot start work on new Obelisks - oops
). Russian Swordsmen scout Zapotec and discover two Archers and two Workers within the city.
Turn 3
Russian Swordsmen continue to stream south towards Zapotec.
Turn 4
The Mongols have now instituted a system of Hereditary Rule. Workers near St. Petersburg connect rice to the empire's trade network. They begin clear-cutting to boost production in St. Petersburg (will overflow into a Library, which we could use since our tech rate & GNP are both in the dumps). The Germans agree to teach us about Hereditary Rule in exchange for information about the Calendar, though Russia stays stable for the time being (not much to be gained by revolting, since Moscow is the only city that needs happyness and can be dealt with for now). Russia is still the most backwards empire in the world.
Turn 5
An Archer from Zapotec attacks our Swordsman. We win easily, but there are still two defenders in the city so we hold off from counterattacking. Mao of the Chinese asks for Open Borders, and gets it. Moscow finishes training workers and begins training more Archers (not much else to build, and the more troops we have the safer we are). Novgorod completes recruiting an Archer unit, and begins laying plans for a Library (it'll have to be chopped for reasonable speed, but we can do it). The Archers depart to reinforce the garrison of St. Petersburg. Another notable event was the death of the reigning despot due to overindulgence on food (I took a break when the pizza delivery arrived).
Turn 6
The English send a troop of soldiers towards Zapotec, but we will easily beat them to it. The silk plantation is finished a turn earilier than needed, and workers begin heading south for Yaroslavl' and Zhou
Turn 7
Moscow grows, and finishes training an Archer. Next up is a band of Settlers, as the Archers head south to pave their way (we should probably settle that iron sooner or later anyway...). The great battle of Zapotec will likely be fought soon...
Turn 8
The Chinese insist that Russia cut relations with the Americans. The Chinese do
not get what they want this time. Construction of a cottage and rice farm is begun at Zhou. Most importantly, the battle of Zapotec is fought!
City Raider II Swordsman kills City Garrison I Archer
City Raider I Swordsman kills Regular Archer
We pillage Zapotec and burn it to the ground, capturing two workers. Also, our City Raider I Swordsman earns another promotion.
Turn 9
Zhou completes its Obelisk and begins constructing a fleet of Work Boats to improve the clam harvest (should finish about the same time as the borders pop to give access to the clams). Messengers report that a new religion, Christianity, has been founded in a distant land. Workers near Novgorod begin clear-cutting to build the Library that has long been in the planning.
Turn 10
Rostov finishes building an Obelisk and starts work on a Lighthouse. Multiple improvement projects are begun in the Yaroslavl' area.
Well, that's my turn. Mostly focused in the south, with the sacking of Zapotec and founding of Yaroslavl'. Moscow will finish its Settler next turn, and we'll get construction the turn after that (which nobody else seems to have, so we should try trading it around - while we've gained some ground on score we're still way behind the tech leaders). Our money situation is ugly, with only the pillage money from Zapotec allowing us to run 50% science. I think that we should focus on economic improvements in the next couple turnsets, since we've about taken up all the land we can grab. It would also be nice to acquire a religion, but it looks like we'll have to wait for one to spread (maybe Vicky's Taoism will spread from London, if we're lucky). Sorry for the lack of in-action screenshots, but there wasn't that much visually interesting going on.
Screenshot of the northern half of our empire:
Screenshot of the southern half of our empire:
And the save:
Scout settlement area with chariot conveniently provided. I will move yellow dot one tile north to grab both whales.
