Siam
"Oh great King Mongkut I. We met the Vietnamese outside the jungles where our caravans leave for China. They were armed with bows and arrows and dressed in various assortments of light-armor, making them as swift as hares. When they met our men they gave a passionate yell and let loose a hail of arrows upon us. They took many a Siamese warrior, but we caught up to them and would've slaid an equal number amongst their lines had they not run back into the shadows of the jungle.
My scouts tell me that after this encounter the Vietnamese are retreating back deep into their homeland, whose terrain is much the same as our lands around Bangkok. They may have took more of our men than we have of theirs, but we are in the end the victors, having gained more of their land. With this battle, we have secured the path Chinese merchants often take on their way to our villages. I am confident that we will soon have all of Vietnam under our boot. Nontheles I kindly ask of you to send reinforcements as soon as possible.
Loyally serving the king
General Alak Srisai"
Mongkut was pleased with the news, but resented the number of men that had lost their lives. Peering outside the window he noticed the Military Academy growing ever closer to completion. He knew he would never see it completed while he was alive, but knowing that one of his descendants would control an army powerful enough to defend Siam from all surrounding barbarian threats was a comforting thought.
In the meanwhile he'd have to worry himself with his own problems. Taking up a piece of parchment, he quickly scribbled the orders for the deployment of 100 more soldiers to the battlefields to join General Srisai's army.
'There' he thought. In his youth Mongkut was enthusiastic about military reforms, always running down to the training grounds to see the legendary infantry of old Siam training themselves in military organization. When he took over the throne as a very young man, he thought that he would perhaps lead his people to conquer the world. Now however, he knew no such thing was to happen. He could feel death looming over him, ever-present, and instead he focused on more important things, such as the cultural advancement of the Siamese people, or proper education. 'It were those things,' he thought. 'That I would be proud to be remembered by after I could feel no more'. And moments later, he indeed couldn't feel no more.
--------------------
Orders
- Continue wonder, Siamese Military Academy (4/8 -> 5/8)
- Increase education by building yet more temples
- Recruit 100 more men (1 economy level)
- Keep pushing into Vietnam with the army