(Who's up for a monster round?)
Chapter 5
Subjugation (Part 1)
Goals for This Round:
* Win the Liberalism race with an eye towards Military Tradition
* Subjugate the continent under Egyptian control
* Gear up for a war with the other continent
* Keep the economy solvent
The time for half-measures and diplomacy was over. Egypt was great--the largest and most scientifically advanced empire in the world. Her cultural lure was so great that English citizens were throwing in with the empire by the droves.
But they had not all come to Ramesses--not yet. The sovereignty of the Mayan and English states was troubling on one hand but trifling on the other. Millennia ago, the War Chariots of Thebes had wheeled on Japan, bringing Tokugawa to heel.
The Maya and the English, however, knew many secrets. Left with their empire intact, they could serve Ramesses well as slave-states. The Kohen had no doubt that there was wisdom in this approach, and he kept it in mind even as his scholars perfected the ultimate in cavalry warfare. The War Chariot philosophy of quick, fearsome strikes would be even more potent on a massive scale; all that was needed was a means to bring this war machine to bear.
Still, Ramesses made a point to keep things appearing routine. A trade for Horseback Riding and Feudalism was made with the English king in exchange for the relatively useless Divine Right. Mohammed Shah, prophet of Kyoto, was sent to Tokyo to gather gold. And the Egyptian settlement project finally reached its conclusion in the north and east.
These were all minor settlements, of course, but pure land and population was more valuable to the emperor than viability at this point. And better cities than these were willing to throw in with the Egyptian Empire without the cost of a settling party.
Seeing his people throwing into revolt thanks to the all-consuming Egyptian cultural barrier, Churchill sought out Egyptian secrets in arts and sciences in exchange for more practical knowledge.
It did Churchill little good, however: Coventry too joined the ever-expanding Egyptian juggernaut in a few short decades.
Chung-Tzu, a fiery cleric at the Apostolic Palace, rose to prominence in Kyoto. He, like his brothers, traveled to the Jewish holy city, seeking to inspire the population there to greater productivity and generosity in tithes.
Yes, life in the Egyptian Empire seemed a matter of simple routines. Great Prophets came and went, as they had done for centuries. Continental relations with the distant Maya were tense and strained, but they never came to blows. Egyptian culture remained the envy of the world.
Then, at the dawn of the 14th century, everything changed.
All at once, the bureaucrats of Thebes dispersed into a network of feudal warlords who administered their orders with the fervor of the Jewish See. All at once, the network of stable-building and barracks construction across the empire--previously thought to be mere rigamarole or even miscommunication of the king's whims, made a mad sort of sense. Even as the drafting of the Egyptian Constitution in 1380 led to the institution of a Representative government (ruled, of course, by the priest caste), Ramesses himself led the military with the shades of his old fervor. Mounted Cuirassiers from as far north as Byblos were trained and equipped and sent to the newly integrated city of Coventry to wait.
Churchill, knowing that the See at last seemed ready to advance on the Maya, was pleased to offer Ramesses the tools needed to help the mounted gunners make haste down English roads.
(Yes, I took the trash tech. All of our GPs wanted to bulb it, so I figured I'd get it out of the way if another bulb was in order. It probably won't be, but still. Call it completionism.)
At the advent of the Printing Press, Ramesses felt his forces were ready.
This was the first of several waves Ramesses had planned; irregulars moved to the front at breakneck speed to support their allies. The Mayan warlord had grown comfortable with the uneasy peace that had enveloped the land, allowing his border cities with his worst enemies to remain largely undefended. When he, on a routine visit to Oxhuitza, heard the thundering of hooves in the distance, his jaw dropped, and he began to shake with terror.
The uneasy peace had ended.
Under normal circumstances, the pharaoh would be tempted to order these piddling settlements burnt to the ground. However, his soldiers were ordered to show mercy, doing their best only to wage war on active military resistance.
Only one of Pacal's cities, in fact, offered any kind of active military resistance: the Taoist holy city of Lakamha.
Of course, it too fell to Egyptian force of arms with few casualties.
Ramesses scoffed at the city's contents. The Parthenon and Sistine Chapel were beautiful structures--of this there could be no doubt--but the sorts of... rabble that they attracted infuriated the pharaoh.
Artists? What good was it to pursue such pointless ambitions when the will of the gods themselves could be read? The implications were staggering.
Seeing Lakamha fall, Pacal's will to fight wavered. If the Egyptian mounted gunners could march on Lakamha, then surely they could bring Mutal to heel as well.
The Maya were no warriors--of this Ramesses was certain. When Pacal traveled to Thebes under armed escort, the pharaoh greeted him not with contempt, but with a warm smile and a glass of wine.
"Do you know what I have learned, Pacal?" he asked. "I have learned that it does one no good to break the back of a slave. A strong slave, of course, moves greater stones. A weak slave.. well, there's no point in keeping a weak slave around."
He winked at Pacal. "Will you be a strong slave?"
The reaction from the Jewish faithful was one of shock. Pacal, the belligerent warlord of the Maya, was allowed to
live? Pacal, who defied the See and the Kohen himself by adopting the Christian faith, would be granted control of his old cities? In Ramesses's mind, he knew the decision was the right one. Pacal had much to offer in the way of technological secrets--offering Optics and Astronomy in trade--and could be allowed to research technological paths that the Egyptian pharaoh dared not yet explore. Two heads, as they said, would be better than one.
Winston Churchill, of course, scoffed at the decision, even as the Maya underwent a perfunctory conversion to the Jewish faith. "You're growing soft, old boy," he chuckled, slapping Ramesses on the shoulder.
Ramesses smiled back. "We shall see, old friend, just how soft I am."
By adopting the Maya as a vassal state, Ramesses gained access not only to his new ally's maps, but also diplomatic contact with several leaders from across the sea. Two of these men were warlords of the highest order, having engaged in an epic series of military campaigns centuries before. Ultimately, however, the mighty Roman Empire--home of the elite Praetorian Guard--had fallen before the might of their neighbors. The proud emperor Julius Caesar pledged fealty to his feudal master, the cunning and charismatic Alexander.
(Geez... no wonder I saw a ton and a half of Great Generals get spawned! Speaking of Great Generals, I'm putting them to use, but only for promotions for units; none of them will be settled, so I don't get any Rep beakers from them. I figured this was a decent enough compromise. 
)
And the map's final king was an ambitious and much beloved glorious emperor, one whose people loved and admired and respected. They were a free, happy, and productive people whose achievements in the arts and sciences were unparalleled. This is what Mao Zedong of the Glorious and Mighty People's Republic of China was pleased to report to Ramesses... over... and over... and over.
(Quick recap of the other continent. Alex is, of course, the major power. China's carved out a nice little niche for itself and is teching okay--we got Banking from them in a trade for Philosophy. Greece and China both have decent armies--Greece has a higher power rating than us--but both are hilariously behind in tech other than Mao having Banking on us. I'm going to make sure to direct Pacal to close down trades with them later on.)
All of this diplomatic bluster, however, was a mere sideshow. The veterans of the Mayan War were gathering on the border, presumably to make a victorious charge back to Egypt.
They were to charge.
But not for the reasons that Winston Churchill expected.
TO BE CONTINUED!
)
