== ROUND FIVE ==
1020: When I load my Save, Greece again invites me to ally against the Zulus. Tempting, but I decline again. Until I know where the Zulus are, I'm cautious. Two groups of Celtic units appear: Chariot and Horseman near Kabul, Chariot and Settler near Washington. So I guess the Celts are off that coastline, which I already sort of knew anyway. Caerphilly drops everything else and starts building a Trireme to explore the west coast. I know from the American map that there is another continent far west of Washington, and given the AI's perfect intelligence it is probably inhabited, but it is far beyond my Trireme range. For now, I just want to find the Celts. I also decide to rush Karakorum's library so I can build a Trireme to explore the east coasts. I send Nishapur's Horseman to reinforce Kabul.
1040: Three Barb Legions land near Shangtu. An Elephant and a Chariot ride out
from Shangtu to ambush them.
1060: The Barbs advance onto grassland and are cut down.
1080: The Celts sneak attack me. Near Kabul the Horseman kills a Settler, but the Chariot dies against another Settler standing on a hill. Down south, the Chariot destroys Washington, which was down to one pop and only protected by a sentried Horseman. City count: 18. I discover Democracy and revolt - a turn too early cursit. A Chariot from New York kills the Celt Chariot: the Celt Settler has vanished. Nishapur's Horseman kills the Celt Horsemen and avenges my murdered Settler. Karakorum launches a Trireme. Forgetting I don't have Shakes yet, I send a Catapult and a Diplomat aboard.
1100: The Celt Settler reappears. Zulus acquire Republic. I form Democracy. My Chariot kills the Celt Settler. Shangtu and Karakorum are suddenly very unhappy. The former I fix by bringing its Chariot and Elephant home: the latter needs some adjustments because I don't want to recall its Trireme and Catapult, but is eventually made satisfactory.
1140: Zulus acquire Navigation. Zulus revolt to form Republic. Navigation from GL. Navigation upgrades me to Caravel. I switch to Gunpowder.
1180: My west coast explorers - Elephant, Chariot and Diplomat - find and destroy Tintagel, the new Celtic capital.
1200: Following the road north in Celtia, I stop on forest near irrigation.
1220: I see a Celtic Chariot go past my Celtic explorers, but it doesn't attack. Greeks rebel - Zulus capture Halicarnassus. That can't be good.
1240: My Celtic expedition discovers Cork. The Celts want to talk. I refuse, but the wretched Senate signs a Cease Fire behind my back! I don't have the funds to subvert the city, so, disgusted, my expedition reboards its Caravel and leaves Celtia. The Celts will get another chance to backstab me. I'm tempted to drop a colony on Tintagel's site and build it up to kill off the Celts, but alas, although I have only 18 cities I'm not sure that's the best use of one of my limited city slots.
1260: celtic Capital moved to Cork. That decides me: I know that they will come to me if I don't go to them. Ceterum autem censeo Celtia esse delendam. And now I wonder if they are actually on an island: I just found a peninsula north of Cardiff that I somehow overlooked earlier. Could it connect to Celtia? A Settler is investigating. My eastern explorers, moving south, have found land, but it looks deserted.
1280: More eastern shores. They could connect to Germania. A plucky Diplomat has been exploring Germania since the end of the war, and it's a huge area. I decide to turn the eastern explorers east again.
1300: More eastern land. Meanwile the peninsula near Cardiff is quite large.
1320: Celts expel my Diplomat from Celtia.
1340: Frankfurt turns into Settler. City count: 17. Kazan founded in Celtia. City count: 18. My exploring Settler confirms that the overlooked peninsula doesn't connect to Celtia. Karakorum, having pumped out three goods Caravans, starts work on ASTC. Samarkand is 140/400 on LW. I'd like to steal ME out from under the Zulus so depending how things go there's a chance I might switch from LW (which expires with Automobile) to ME (which doesn't expire and might be handy).
1400: My eastern explorers have found quite a bit of land but it appears to be an empty continent. It doesn't connect to Germania, that I can see. Landing a Diplomat. I'll go pick up the Germania explorer to replace him on the boat.
1420: Zulus discover invention. That makes it a difficult choice: if I switch Samarkand to ME to gazump them, they will almost certainly switch to LW. They don't have Economics so I could still build ME in Samarkand and try to build LW in Karakorum instead, then focus all my effort on ASTC, but doubt I can get enough Caravans into K in time to beat the bonus-boosted AI. If (as is likely) he's building ME in Zimbabwe or Bapedi, which are massive Top 5 cities, he could be very close to finishing ME. I kinda regret sending those three vans outa K now - that's 150 shields that would've put K within reach! If I sell all my city walls and some Libraries I may be able to get ME this turn and rush LW next turn. Zulus are researching Gunpowder, so I have some breathing space on ASTC if I can get ME and LW settled.
1440: MAGELLAN'S EXPEDITION IN SAMARKAND. As expected, Zulus switch to LW.
1460: Didn't quite have the cash to rush last turn. News: Zulus have nearly completed LW! What a surprise. Well, all possible Caravans are in, Walls and Libraries sold, taxes sky high and have been for a while. It's just enough. LW rushed. In other news, my Caravel completes a circumnavigation of Celtia, which is indeed an island. I can see both Cork and Rhymney. I've stuck a Pikeman on a forest near Cork, Waiting for the Cease Fire to end.
1480: LEONARDO'S WORKSHOP IN KARAKORUM. I gleefully watch it upgrading my obsolete units! Zulus abandon LW. Bear in mind that with that stupid persistence thing the AI resource boxes enjoy, it will take a while for all those shields to leak away. K starts work on ASTC, hoping it's a while before Zulus discover Economics. I also rather belatedly realise that Ormuz is in the wrong place: it's not eating the fish I intended it to have. Too late now. It's got 7 people in it. I'm not moving it.
1500: Returning to the east with my Germania Diplomat, my newly upgraded Caravel spots a Zulu Elephant! I forgot to put my taxes back down so I am flush with cash again. My Diplomat bribes it from the boat for 226 gold, which is cheap for an Elephant and tells me it was a long way from home. Well, I now have a NONE Elephant to play with. After dithering a bit over whether to explore with it and risk bumping something nasty, I decide to put it on the boat, which with ME is much faster than land and still has the option of attacking from the sea.
1510: Armagh and Boston turn into Settlers. City count: 16. That leaves just Cardiff. Quinsay founded to fill the gap between Phildelphia and Khorasan. City count: 17.
1520: Celts sue for peace treaty. I refuse, knowing where this will go. The wretched Senate signs anyway. My western Caravel sails into the sunset to investigate the western continent that the Americans found, bearing a Settler, a NONE Horseman and a Diplomat. In the east, a Diplomat bumps into 4-pop Zulu Naples. Zulus declare war on me. Naples will revolt for 740 gold, but I don't have enough cash! I land my Catapult and Elephant and my Elephant kills the defender, but I can't occupy the city because I have no movement left.
1530: I must have caught them on the hop because they don't replace the lost defender. I take Naples! City count: 18. I now have a foothold in Zululand, if I can keep it. My Caravel explores the coast and sinks a Zulu Caravel. It will try to get back to Naples for urgent repairs.
1550: I bribe a Zulu Catapult and get a NONE. It pulls back, but my Diplomat stays. My Caravel finds 11-pop Zulu Mpondo across a narrows - seems I am on an island, not the Zulu mainland! GRRR. My western Caravel hits land and finds a road. The Diplomat lands and finds 4-pop Greek Mycenae. He reboards the ship rather than risk being booted back to K.
1570: A few turns moving an army up in Zululand, protected by a Musketeer out of Naples. Poor Naples, it has 1 worker and 2 entertainers, to stop it rioting because it is supporting 2 out-of-city military units (I messed up accidentally homed K's Catapult to Naples). Meanwhile in the west, I find 5-pop Greek Troy.
1580: ADAM SMITH'S IN KARAKORUM. K > Shakes. In the west I find 8-pop Zulu Amatikulu! Zooming out a little, I can almost fit Mpondo and Amatikulu on the screen. So now I know pretty much where the Zulus are. On what I now call Zanzibar, my army occupies a fortress near the unknown Zulu city.
1590: One of my Diplomats bribes a Zulu Elephant outside Isipezi, which is the name of the mysterious city I have been stalking. My NONE Crusader, who was originally an Elephant, kills a Musketeer defender. My new Elephant kills a Phalanx. My NON Catapult kills a Settler, allowing my Naples Catapult and Musketeer to climb onto a hill overlooking the town.
1600: Inter-turn I see a Zulu Catapult move into the town. My Catapult on the hill now kills it, leaving the town defenseless. My Musketeer takes the town. City count: 19. In the west, I pop a hut off the caravel and get a NONE Crusader. The site looks good for a foothold, with the Zulus between me and the Greeks. I land my expedition.
1620: SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE IN KARAKORUM. Steam engine > Railroad. I start stockpiling Caravans for Theology and JSB.
1630: Kerman founded in East Zululand. City count: 20.
1670: Railroad cancels HG. Oops, forgot about that little side effect. I shoulda gone for Theology and built JSB first.
1690: I notice that the Zulus have been researching Railroad since 1660 and concieve a cunning plan. I gift them Railroad in return for peace, wasting their research but saving them several turns. I then go to the Greeks and gift them Railroad, Navigation and Gunpowder, all of which the Zulus have! Now instead of being angry with me, they are both Neutral. With a little luck, they will keep hammering each other while I run away from them technologically. I also go to the Germans, but that works less well - they demand Sanitation, which I can't afford to let them have, and cancel our alliance. Oh, well. I gift Railroad, Steam Engine and Pottery to the Spanish in return for Magnetism and their map. Lol, looks like they wandered around north of Ormuz at some point without meeting me. Swell, now my Caravels are Galleons and can't attack anything anymore - but they move faster, are harder to kill, and don't cause unhappiness.
1700: Greeks capture Zulu Amatikulu!
1710: Zulus have almost finished the Eiffel Tower. I count the Caravans waiting in Karakorum, with more on the way, and grin. K just finished its Bank ... and I could use the reputation boost. Theology is a while away yet.
1720: EIFFEL TOWER IN KARAKORUM.
1750: Peace with the Zulus. I swap maps with the Celts and the Greeks. I gift the Greeks Physics and Magnetism to help them love me - the Zulus have had those for a while. Democracy, 20 cities, pop 6.89m, 41 techs, 408 gold. Units: 92 (24 are Settlers, 16 caravans). Power Mighty, Rep Excellent. Peace with everyone. Celts Enthuiastic, Despotism, 2 cities, 13 techs; Zulus Neutral, Republic, 17 cities (pop 8.98m), 38 techs; Germans Neutral, Republic, 4 cities, 20 techs; Spanish Enthusiastic, Republic, 16 cities, 27 techs; Americans Enthusiastic, Republic, 3 cities, 24 techs; Greeks Enthusiastic, 20 cities, Despotism, 24 techs.
The maps show that the Greeks haven't penetrated far into Zulu territory. Amatikulu was something of an outlier: the real border is at 11-pop Swazi and 7-pop Zunguin. The Zulus are building Ironclads, but their land troops are less impressive - I can only see Elephants, Archers and Phalanxes, although of course by now the cities will all have Musketeers. The Greeks have an impressive array of Catapults outside and approaching Swazi. If they don't get knocked next turn, they could easily take the town. But typical AI, they are not protecting them with Musketeers, so most of them will certainly get clobbered. There is an Elephant outside Zunguin. It's injured, but the town is defenseless. The Zulus move before the Greeks, so I don't expect the town to fall.
