And I'm back! Fairly short round here, but there's a lot going on.
Xerxes began the round by sending emissaries to the broken Indian people, huddled in their Himalayan strongholds. Perhaps, in exchange for the secret of the mysterious "Thunder Sticks" brandished by the Roman nations, Persia would be willing to reveal the methods of rapid knowledge distribution that could keep a massive empire functioning:
Asoka was so pleased that he also threw in what little gold he could afford to spare. This pleased Xerxes. India was no longer worth conquering, so good relations and profitable trade were beneficial.
In 1080, the people of Thebes, despite their supposed sophistication and the worldliness of the empire, continued to cling to their superstitious ways. A young demagogue named Mo Tzu spoke again and again in plazas and markets, gaining quite a following and reputation:
The city's Knights, being Immortals at heart and loyal only to Xerxes, swooped in and detained the rabblerouser. He was charismatic, and could sway the hearts of the people. Until he was needed, though, he would be detained.
South of Egypt, Hannibal sent four of his powerful Elephants, accompanied by an honor guard of Longbows, to wreak havoc on Khartoum and Rwanda. Hastily recruited units of Pikemen, along with reinforcements of Egypt, quickly smashed the force. The enlistment of troops to take the fight to Carthage was slow, though, and Hannibal had clearly had enough of the fight:
Xerxes sneered defiantly, but he could see the writing on the wall.
He voted a simple "No" and moved to get what he could from the backwards people of west Africa:
At the very least, this would help to finance the race for Economics.
By 1110, the Persian army, having slipped quietly past the fortress-city of Guangzhou, stood at the gates of Shanghai, peeling away its defenses while withstanding harrying attacks from Chinese irregulars:
This was part attack, part diversion, though, for a second, equally powerful stack to the south approached Nanjing.
Ten years later, a young merchant studying in Persepolis became known as the founder of modern Economics:
Leif Erickson's financial savvy, together with the charismatic sway of Mo Tzu, would revolutionize Persia. Under their combined leadership, Towns became more profitable, Mines became more productive, and sweeping governmental changes became possible.
As the citizens and administrators of Persia enjoyed the benefits of the Golden Age, the generals in the east saw that time was of the essence. Nanjing (and, to a lesser extent, Shanghai) was lightly defended, but Chinese reinforcements and counterattackers were trickling in from the north. There would be no time for a proper siege:
The Trebuchets merely scoured away the city's defenses and the troops rushed in headlong. There was much loss of veteran lives, but the city fell:
Not much of a prize, especially as long as Guangzhou stands, but It's a victory.
Shanghai was an even nearer thing. Our troops were exhausted, the city still stood with a 2-strength Knight, and all I had left to move was our noble Medic Warrior. He had 40% odds. It was kind of a long shot, but waiting a turn would result in our army being torn apart peicemeal by the Chinese Knights and Cho-Ko-Nus looming around them. I sent him in, resigned to failure...
Success!
Okay, so that was a stupid thing to do and, if it failed, I probably would have cussed up a storm and reloaded. So, uh, don't take that turn as a lesson on how to succeed at Civ. I just got ridiculously lucky, all right, kids? Don't do what I do. Bring a bigger army!
Needless to say, with Shanghai manned only by the Warrior and a half-dead Knight of our own, I figured it was probably time to accept peace with China, at least until I can get some more soldiers to the front. Thankfully, Qin is still willing to take it, and he's willing to give up quite a bit for it:
So that's where I decided to call things. I'll let the experts advise me on what the best haul is from the Chinese.
I also need to decide on a Civics change:
Our government is... a little outdated. Do we go whole-hog military and go Vassalage/Theocracy (Which we would have to trade for)? Mercantilism or Free Market? Is Bureaucracy worth it with our somewhat lackluster capital?
The Tech screen:
Asoka's willing to give us Chemistry, but he wants Liberalism, Economics, AND 125 gold! That strikes me as a little steep, though it would let us go straight to Steel... As you can also see, it looks like we
just beat Hannibal to Economics. Whew!
The Diplomacy screen:
Caesar's tough to get up to Pleased. But I think that as long as he's hitting China, he'll leave us alone.
The Power Graph:
Julie's still the big boy. And China's catching back up pretty darn fast...
Finally, the world as we know it:
Hopefully, our Caravel can get around the Tierra del Fuego before Boudica finishes mapping things out. Other than that, not a whole lot to report.
So, what do you all think? What's the best deal from Qin? What Civics should we adopt? Is Replacable Parts-Rifling the best tech path right now?
Here's the save:
