Random Events:
The Khmers quickly work to rebuild their capital as the "Funan City" (+1 project progress). The ruling couple continues to gain in popularity, in spite of all the troubles that befell the people during their reign (+2 Confidence). A great rebellion in Choson is succesfully incited. The economy is recovering rapidly at home (+1 Economy).
The Nortuguese dynasty's popularity finally begins to grow, with the military victories in Copenhagen (+1 Confidence). The religious tolerance finally declared improves thios further, ending the cultural uncertainty (+1 Culture). Meanwhile, atheism continues to spread, at home and in occupied territories.
Copenhagener forces rally to repulse the Nortuguese (+5 thousands).
Tarunism grows in influence within and around Tarunia (+2 Culture).
Huancac decentralizes for better management (-1 Centralization, +1 Civilian Leadership).
Lord Krichevskoy begins to groom up a new successor, his grandson. The people are very relieved (+2 Confidence).
Parhae gets more and more volunteers (+5 thousands).
The Turkic tribes begin to surrender to the Han Chinese without a fight, thoroughly demoralized as they are.
Garamantes is grasped by crisis again, as the civil war threatens to begin anew (-1 Confidence).
Parhae continues to conquer more and more dissident minorities (-1 Culture).
Hong Kee government begins to grow corrupt (-1 Civilian Leadership), and so does their education system (-1 Education).
Dianese literacy rates begin to fall due to emigration of the more educated persons (-1 Education).
Israel falls into a civil war as the Mercantilists and the pretender David III make a bid for the throne (-1 Confidence, -5 levy thousands).
Bad harvests once more damage Kalinga (-1 Economy). It also seems that someone is sabotaging their kites, with disastrous consequences (-5 kite squadrons).
An ambitious general leads a sizeable contingent of the Chosen Ma Bing into mutiny seeking rule over China, but was defeated by his fellow Chosen troops (-5 Chosen Ma Bing thousands). Turkic raids, piracy and droughts devastate Chinese economy (-1 Economy).
Tufan continues to fracture (-1 Culture).
As yet another emperor dies from stress, the Rising Sun Empire seems increasingly unstable (-1 Confidence).
Several Lucan ships are lost in the storms (-5 ships).
The continued war slows down the Hellenic consolidation effort (-1 project progress).
Spotlight:
The Setting Sun.
"I leave the Empire to you in not quite the best of possible conditions."
- Emperor Ogisawra to his heir Tamasuka, at the former's deathbed. Year 70 AD.
Emperor Ogisawra was born in 19 AD, was a Rising Sun admiral as well as an imperial prince and personally led the attacks on Khmer commerce. Then his father died, and he had to take over the Empire. He did his best, and prolonged the war for quite a while, but eventually came under the influence of incompetent advisors and had to witness the Empire's worst defeat ever. It broke his spirit, and he died in early 70 AD, having not reigned for a day of peace.
His heir, Tamasuka, was noble. Too noble for his own good. And also rather insane. He decided to stand to the last, to win or die, and disturbed the less fanatical of the Rising Sunites by his orders for the people to commit mass seppuku if the enemy occupies Nagasaki. He also alienated the Chosonians by putting more troops in Choson, where his trusted yet corrupt general, Fujiwara Hakushu, started a reign of terror, killing on suspicion alone. Such methods might have intimidated Choson into submission had Hakushu been able to deploy a larger army there; but as it was, this resulted in a general insurrection, as the Imperial resources were already stretched thin. Even Tamasuka knew that the Khmers were coming.
And indeed, they were. The fanatical resistance of the RS fleet that tried to break out of Papua region was not enough; it was nearly-annihilated, and the remaining RS-occupied regions of Khmeria - namely, Sulu and a few islands - plus the RS Papua were all in Khmer hands. The surviving RS fleet was attacked again and destroyed at Nobeoka. The Khmers have started their knock-out attack.
They landed - first at Nobeoka, then at Saeki, then in Beppu, then in Fukuoka, moving from city to city quickly, burning down those cities and looting for supplies. Much of the civilian population had to slaughtered - it resisted fiercely, partially out of sheer fanaticism, partially out of fear of retribution for Ranong and Vyadhapura. These weren't very rich cities, not after decades of warfare and conscription, but the morale effect was worth it - for the first time, Kyushu itself was under attack. It also resulted in Tamasuka becoming even less rational, driven mad by the inability to do anything at all. Defenses in Nagasaki were threatened; the people, even small children and women, were forced to take up arms. Forests were chopped en masse, to make for a new "grand fleet" that was supposed to turn the tide, but there simply wasn't time - or resources - enough for such projects.
Meanwhile, the Khmer expeditionary force seized Pusan and Ulsan, but there, things were much easier - apart from some Nagasakan immigrants, the people there were Chosonians, and they actively assisted the Khmers. General Fujiwara Hakushu died defending Ulsan. The rebels soon took over much of Choson, and agreed to let the Khmers restock at and use Pusan as a base of operations until the Empire of the Rising Sun surrenders. The Khmers didn't reject this gift, striking from Pusan towards the lair of Sunite beast - Nagasaki. There, Tamasuka was waiting for them with a huge, if undertrained, army and a sort of a violent fatalism. Oh, yes. He was waiting for them.
The Khmers didn't quite expect SUCH fanatical resistance. Even though their "modified kites" turned Nagasaki into one huge funeral pyre, even though their elite units easily (and literally) cut through the force-levied civilian population, several times it seemed as if they were about to lose. Inspired by Tamasuka, the Rising Sunite forces gave the attacking Khmers no rest, they kept coming and coming, and the Khmer general Nguyen Khuc Tri even considered calling off the attack - but finally, as fire and sword decimated the Rising Sunite ranks, the Khmers managed to outflank and break the Rising Sunites. Tamasuka was cut into little pieces, as were his relatives and whoever was perceived as them by the enraged Khmers. But finally, the Khmers left, abandoning the Empire of Rising Sun - as once with Bactrasha - to its fate.
Soon after, general Kodama Soichiro assembled a military junta in the northern city of Hamamatsu. He was ready for negotiations.
NPC Diplo:
From: Egypt
To: Carthage
We apologize, but we have to withdraw from your alliance. Our country, as we said before, has only suffered from outside contacts, and we want to minimize them now.
From: Israel
To: Kalinga, Parhae, Luca
What are your peace terms?
From: Chosonian Rebels
To: Khmeria
We would like to ask for your official recognition of Choson as an independent power... we would also like a formal alliance with you.
From: Empire of the Rising Sun
To: Khmeria
Very well, you had your revenge - but know that our empire still has the strenght to make you bleed for every acre. We suggest peace negotiations, as neither side seems likely to win, and even then, whoever "wins" in the end will probably be so weak that the Chinese won't have any trouble enslaving him.
OOC:
Disenfrancised, the lighter "Huanc" colour is used for the tributary tribes.
Reno, what is your capital called?
What happened with BananaLee?
I probably made many mistakes, especially with the Huns and the Lucans. Blame your generals and polar bears. And confusing orders.
Nation descriptions will most probably be done tommorow.
[1] Lesser Ur=Dubai.
[2] Yida=OTL Jiddah.
Something went wrong with my internet yesterday. Google loaded. Nothing else did. As this is the second time in a row, I'm beginning to suspect that my connection has something against late Wednesdays.
