Xerxes bristled at his humiliation. Someday soon, the rest of the world would pay for this indignity. The streets would run red with the blood of Pericles, Caesar, and the rest. The yarmulke simply did not match his chains
at all!
Still, the current objective was to claim as much of the fertile Russian expanse as possible, so anything that could be done to make nice with the neighbors was, for the moment, a good thing.
The Barbarian hordes, unable to enter Persian lands because of the ancient talisman in Thebes, milled about at the borders. This was to work to Xerxes' advantage:
The Greek Chariots had wheeled again and again, but luck was with the savage Axemen and, with Pericles' weapons of war lying in splinters, the Barbarians descended with relish upon the helpless Settlers. The people of Volgodonsk watched impassively, secretly relieved that war with Greece was, for now, unnecessary.
In 485 B.C., the city of Baku was founded:
Baku would never become a strong settlement. Its founding was mostly to keep the Persian empire contiguous. We had opened our borders, and if one of our neighbors had snuck a city in there, it would have been a thorn in our side for centuries to come. That said, the combination of Deer and Copper would, with a Monument, make the site a reasonable Unit pump in the short term and, with a Lighthouse, it would pay for its own upkeep by fishing the rich waters of the Caspian Sea.
Having learned from the loss of his Settler, Pericles set about improving the quality of his cavalry:
The strength of the Hellenes is, of course, in their foot soldiers, but Xerxes nevertheless applauded their ingenuity. Anything that could be done to bolster them against the powerful Romans was, in Persia's eyes, a good thing.
At this point China, followers of the Egyptian meditation-cult, offered threats to the God-King:
War with distant China would serve no purpose. Qin Shi Huang was alone in his faith, but nevertheless, no one had yet raised their hand against him. Xerxes smiled and sent scholars to teach the brutes the secrets of Currency. The time for war would come...
That said, Xerxes was awoken to the drawbacks of his hoarded knowledge. So as not to be forced to give much of it away for free, he immediately collected what he could on the market:
Pittances, yes. But the harsh constraints of Immortality meant that Gold was precious, so the sacrifices were necessary.
In 305 B.C., the Persian people underwent a welcome revolution:
Xerxes declared that, upon his death, the empire would pass on to his son. This plan of succession mollified the people, as did the newly-named "royal guards" who brutally brought order to the streets of Babylon and Egypt. Of course, Xerxes planned to live forever. But the people didn't have to know that.
Outside of the mystically-protected confines of Persian borders, the native Russians were becoming quite a nuisance:
Caesar could not have been pleased to know that a Barbarian city overlooked the ruins of his own smashed settlement.
In 275 B.C., China's unorthodox faith had finally brought them into international disrepute:
The Koreans were assured that mighty Xerxes supported them in their struggle. The support would be largely moral, of course, but Wang Kon didn't need to know that.
Monarchy was a powerful technology for controlling a vast empire full of conquered peoples. So it would only make sense that Xerxes' greatest rival in imperialism would be interested in it:
It pained Xerxes to share his secrets so freely, but this act of submission Pleased Rome, so I believe it was worth it.
In 245 B.C., a rough approximation of the real-world Moscow was founded, overlooking the ruins of a Roman colony and those of the Barbarian tribe that had overcome them:
I'm wondering if that should be saved for the National Park, or just mowed down and converted to Cottages?
With that, Xerxes decided to once again consult his advisors. He first brought them the map:
He winced as he realized that, with his army already stretched thin over his vast empire, so many of his cities were focused on civilian builds. That would have to change. Persepolis' Settler was likely bound for the East African coast. Most of Russia's riches had already been claimed. A city on the Persian Gulf was also pending, but it could wait.
Xerxes also referred to the Wisdom of the Ancients:
Rome was strong, and their people knew many secrets. A day of reckoning would come. Korea, though, was rich, and their people lacked the knowledge of simple Temple-building. Perhaps such a secret would be worth selling.
Finally, the Diplomatic landscape:
As you can see, the peoples of the world are beginning to be lulled into a sense of security with Xerxes' nominal conversion to the Judaism. Hannibal and Qin are displeased, but they are isolated by their faiths.
So the time for peaceful expansion is, I believe, over. It is time for Persia to once again build an army and lay its enemies low. But which enemies? Is it time to wipe Asoka from the map? Has Pericles become more trouble than he is worth? Should we perhaps begin our battles with Caesar in the forests of Northern Europe? I look forward to your advice.
For those who are interested, the save: