Preturn:
I take a look at our overall MMing situation. While it's awesome that we can get MT in four turns, I really don't see the point in sacrificing as much as we are in many of our cities, including some core ones. So I do a bunch of MMing. The result is that, while we get MT in five turns instead of four, none of our core cities are starving, I can set the cities that are doing wealth to settler production instead (we have a lot of soon to be cleared Greek lands to fill up), we're getting +9 gpt (which will come in handy in a few short turns), and we're not going to get any cavalry builds in less than 5 turns anyway so we don't need to rush.
Science 30%
Lux 10%
Taxes 60%
I also take a look at our build situation. Nothing really to complain about there at this exact moment, except that someone has a courthouse fetish that I'm not sure I like. As mentioned, the cities in our south that were on wealth are now on settler duty.
All our units are moved, so there are no decisions to be made for this turn.
IBT: Our 3/5 horse retreats from the Persian immortal. Smart move, horsie! (0-0)
Greek units converge rapidly on Herkleia. Total inside or at the borders: 6 LB + a hoplite.
Two Russian galleys appear at our canal area from the south.
Vikings start Sistine Chapel.
860 AD (1): We build... nothing. MT says 5 turns still as we lost a scientist from Athens when it starved. I'm confident we can make that up elsewhere.
I decide to sell the marketplace in Athens for 25g, since it's going to be a lousy town for a while and we can use the cash.
Trebs go 2/4 at Mycenae, knocking both hoplites to 2/3.
4/4 LB vs. 2/3 hoplite = 1/4 LB.
4/4 LB vs. 2/3 hoplite = 2/4 LB. (2-0).
We capture Mycenae (size 4, 4 resistors). Mycenae has the only source of horses that Greece had, and it also has furs, so I really want to hold this if possible.
LB from our stack vs. LB near Herakleia: 3/4 LB (3-0).
LB from our stack vs. LB near Herakleia: 3/4 LB (4-0).
Crusader vs. LB near Herakleia: 2/4 crusader (5-0).
5/5 horse vs. LB near Herakleia: 2/5 horse (6-0), who then returns home.
Our LB/musket army moves and attacks Corinth...
losing 6 HP but killing a 3/3 hoplite... (7-0)
and capturing the town??? That seems suspiciously easy.
Hengest now has clear roads to get up to Dortmund in 2 turns, and sets out at maximum warp speed.
4/4 horse kills a LB near Corinth, promoting to elite (8-0).
Down Panama way, trebuchets decimate the Persian immortal pair, which are finished off by a 4/4 longbow (promoting), and our army (which returns to its perch). (10-0)
We'll have two Persian knights incoming next turn, two more the turn after that.
Move a bunch of units.
IBT: Not much.
870 AD (2): We end resistance in Athens, and quell two resisters in Corinth.
At Panama, it takes 12 of our 13 trebs to take two knights all the way down, but they do. A 5/5 LB and our army do the trick (12-0).
It takes two longbows to dispose of a Hoplite at Herakleia (13-1).
Our southern group advances on Thessalonika, on the western Greek coast. Clearing and holding that town will give us a nice front to take care of any Greek units while we clean our back door up.
On the way to the Persian horsies, I take out their wines. Teehee.
IBT: No attacks.
880 AD (3): Athens starves. We quell one at Mycenae.
At Thessalonika, We bomb the crap out of the two hoplites. Hengst takes them both out, and we capture the town (size 2, 1 resister.) (15-1).
An eHorse kills a stray Greek longbow (16-1).
We say good night to two Persian knights at Panama (18-1). Our army loses 5 HP taking one HP from a knight.
Clear out two Greek longbows at Herakleia (20-1), and that part of the world is secured.
After looking a few things over, we can actually get MT in one turn instead of two with some MM, so now I go back and do the MM of some of our outer cities (basically borrowing a taxman or scientist here and there). We have 36g, and will get MT in one at -29 gpt. Sounds like a deal to me. Hope I'm not miscalculating something with the scientists disappearing afterturns... we'll see!
Pillage the Persian horsies.
890 AD (4): We get Military Tradition... and a very pleasant surprise, I think you'll agree: